ꜰᴏʀ ᴀʟʟ ᴛɪᴍᴇ

Chapter 10: The Void

7 Devils: Florence + The Machine

        My eyes shoot open as I wake up with a gasp. Pushing myself up into a seated position, I quickly look around to see a vast grassland almost resembling earth's countryside in England, surrounding me. Bits and pieces of architecture lay scattered and overgrown as if they were abandoned. Taking a closer look, I recognize most of these objects to be from timelines that the TVA has pruned.

      Dusting myself off, I turn in circles looking for any sign of other life. "Loki?" I call out, seeing nothing but the hills and grass in every direction. "Loki!" I shout once more but there's no answer. Thunder erupts from behind me and I turn around, quickly realizing that I am not alone, but not in the way that I would like.

      A massive storm cloud quickly rolls in. The purple smoke adds to its menacing appearance. As lightning strikes, it lights up the whole cloud revealing what looks to be the face of some creature.

      I suddenly become aware of how close it is as the cloud branches down and encircles a structure next to me. It consumes the building, leaving only a few pieces of glass and rubble once finished. I take a step back but slip on some loose gravel sending rocks rolling down the hill. The storm turns towards me as I catch its attention.

      Being made, I make a run for it, trying to go down the hill as fast as I can without falling. The storm moves at a high speed, like a live animal chasing its prey. With it right on my tail, I push myself harder but to my luck, I manage to catch my foot on an uprooted piece of rubble and I go flying forwards as I reach the bottom of the hill.

       I roll a good few feet until I hit an abandoned car. Not letting the pain get to me too much, I quickly look up to see the cloud raise itself right above me and I cover my face, bracing for annihilation. Before it crashes down on me, a bright light flashes from across the land. The storm turns away from me and returns back to the sky, no doubt heading to whatever caught its attention.

       I let out a sigh of relief and lay my head back on the ground, exhausted. A sting of pain travels through my arm as I remember my previous injury. My head rings slightly from the running and falling, but it gets interrupted as a faint car horn honks. I continue to stare towards the sky as I lay there confused if my brain is now making things up. Slowly sitting up, I turn to my right to see a small blue car with a pizza sign on top. The car honks again as it drives toward me. Bewildered, I slowly stand and make my way to meet it in the field. It stops and the door opens to reveal a face I thought I wouldn't see again. "I thought you could use a lift!"

      "Mobius?" I stare in shock.

       He tilts his head, motioning for me to get in. "Hop in, hurry. Before it finishes its snack and decides to come back for another bite."

       Snapping out of it, I quickly do as he says, closing the door behind me as he steps on the gas, driving in the direction he came from. "You dick!" I yell, punching his arm.

      He instinctively grabs his shoulder in defense. "What-?"

     "I thought you were dead!" I hit him again.

     "Hey, I just saved you!" He says offended and rubs his shoulder.

     "I thought you were dead Mobius..." My voice cracks as involuntary tears run down the side of my face. "You were..." I trail off, hitting him weakly once more but stop and bury my face in his shoulder. "I'm sorry Mobuis, I'm so sorry."

     Mobius immediately turns, allowing me to comfortably lean into his side. "Hey, hey..." He cooes, wrapping his free arm around me as I start to sob, continuously repeating that I'm sorry. "It's okay. You have nothing to be sorry for- if anything, I'm the one who should be the one apologizing." He reassures, then lets out a sigh. "You were right and I was too stubborn to see it. I would much rather ignore things because I thought I was protecting myself and you... but then, you got hurt along the way regardless."