Phantom Pain (trilogy)

Time Jump

Chapter 17: Time Jump

The first thing I noticed was the feather in my hand. It was long and sleek, tinted auburn.

The second thing I noticed was that Dez and Gavyn were not by my side.

The sword was though. It hung there, in its sheath, energy still rippling through me. I crouched on the curb of a street. The flood water was only half a centimeter from moving up onto the sidewalk. Directly below me was a storm drain, filled completely, and then some. Had I found the feather in the water? I could not remember. To whom did it belong? I was unsure. The colour was not unique.

Getting to my feet, I spun in a full circle. Where was I? The feather still clutched in my hand, I tried to remember exactly how I'd come to be in this position. Everything was power, and adrenaline, and raindrops against skin. The last thing I could remember with any certainty was the beginning of the fight. Had I died again? No. There was no way I could have forgotten that pain.

Without there being a concrete reason, I began to walk down the street. A block down, a set of stairs lead down from a public plaza. The drainage was better here, but water still spilled over the edges of a massive fountain.

“Ramie!” I heard a voice.

Gavyn hung out from the door of what had once been a cafe. I jogged over to him. The feather was a clue. It meant the angels had been here. This is where my brothers had been attacked by the demons. We had managed to reach our destination.

“There you are.” The sixteen year old looked relieved. “I don't understand why we couldn't have come with you.”

He looked a little hurt, and I wanted to ask him what I had said. But I didn't. They didn't need to know about the little memory lapse. I was perfectly fine. Great actually. A demon had probably just gotten into my head, made me think I was more confused than I was. We'd obviously won the fight, and my scars were still perfectly intact. There was no use revealing my weakness, even to them.

“Are you feeling okay?” Dez asked.

She sat with her back against the wall, her rain coat laid out flat on the floor. Her boots were off as well, the soles pulled out.

I nodded. “Yeah, fine. Why?” I walked over to what had been the bar, placing the feather on the counter top. “Come see what I found.”

They padded over, both barefoot.

“It belonged to an angel.” I ran a finger lovingly over the auburn strands. “This is where they were taken.”

“That's great!” Gavyn beamed, but he kept rubbing his palm over his shirtsleeve, repetitive. “Do you have a plan? Anything you need our help with.” He was tugging at the fabric now, like he wanted to rip it right off. “Or not. It's whatever. You can...” He trailed off.

Dez was staring at him, and he looked down at the ground in embarrassment. Why was he so nervous?