Alexandria (ONC entry)

Part seven

But how? How was she supposed to do that? Resisting the urge to throw the phone out of the cell, she placed it back onto the receiver and stepped out into the dark, the briefcase and her bag safely tucked beneath her arms again. The cold wind slapped her in the face the second she exposed herself to the outside air, and brought her back to her senses, and again she realised just how much trouble she was in.

With every passing second, she had grown more and more sure of herself, and now there was no doubt in her mind any more: Nemesis was going to destroy the world. Nemesis had placed a curse upon humanity, that had somehow been triggered when Maxence had dug up the statue and the documents inside them.

And she was the only one who could possibly stop it.

That was also when she ran into a brick wall, because she didn't have the faintest clue as to how she was going to do that. Tell someone else about what she'd discovered? Who would believe her?

She thought about Asura. About what he was doing right now. A sad smile made its way on her lips, and she ducked her head down, quickening her pace. No matter how much she'd tried to deny it, she had liked the guy. Typical of her to royally screw up like that. She recalled the cold expression on his face when he had stood up and exited the library. The distant look in his eyes. He had truly thought she was crazy, and she'd lost the only ally she'd had in this shitstorm of events.

It was dark outside. The wind stung Maxence's cheeks, and she figured that if she had to get on a plane for Washington the next day she should find a hotel–somewhere she could spend the night. Lost in thought, she had already half-spun on her heel to ask Asura if he wanted to grab something to eat before they settled for a hotel, only realising a second afterwards that he wasn't with her anymore.

Maxence barely slept that night. She'd been tossing and turning, her mind racing a thousand miles an hour, the briefcase seeming to glow in the dark hotel room. She felt eerily alone without Asura there to listen as she rambled about her theories, sometimes throwing in a witty comment or simply humming in response. It was lonely.

But the next morning, she had managed to book a flight to Washington and was stalking into the airport of Athens, revising in her head the massive scolding–possible firing–she would get when she'd show up. She couldn't afford to make any more phone calls. The plane ticket had robbed her of basically all her savings.

She followed the signs immediately to her gate: there was no point in stopping by the check-in desk first since she had no luggage big enough to send into the plane's hold. She wondered what had happened to her actual luggage that had travelled all the way to Washington without her. There had been a really, really expensive pair of jeans in that suitcase. Also a couple of hundred euros' worth of clothes and equipment.

Her head was throbbing. Probably the lack of sleep, she figured as she pressed a hand to her forehead, but it hurt nonetheless. She sat down, waiting for the boarding time–in about an hour, she noted, checking her watch–and put her bag at her feet and laying her briefcase over her knees. She closed her eyes and let her head loll back, trying to block out the bonking in her skull. Would they have Paracetamol on the plane?

The first time she heard it, Maxence thought she was dreaming. Great, he's haunting my dreams now too, she thought bitterly. But when his voice resonated in her head again, a little more insistent this time, she cracked open one eye and almost suffered cardiac arrest.

"Miss Mills, would you follow me, please?" said Asura, looking charming as ever in his flight attendant uniform, his hands clasped behind his back and a pleasant smile curling his lips. A strong feeling of déjà-vu seeped into Maxence's system. There was a strange look in Asura's eyes: they were a little too wide for his expression to be a relaxed one, and immediately Maxence could sense that something was very wrong. Though she wanted nothing more than wrap her arms around his neck and pull him into a hug, she cautiously stood up and grabbed her bag, giving him a stiff nod, gesturing for him to lead the way.