You've Got Time

When That Ferryman Comes

I'm gonna scrawl my name on the bare bones of the earth
I'm gonna dig my heels into the ground
'Cause when that ferryman comes for to tally up my worth,
I won't leave much to find that can be found.

Vagrant Song (Midwest) - Ryan Ike

-

Nothing. Nothing at all. Then, suddenly, everything.

Azra gasped as her head broke the surface, taking in water along with the air. She choked and sputtered. Before she could even wipe the water from her eyes, a log swept out of nowhere and bowled her back under the surface. She struggled up, again, reaching desperately for air until a swell caught her and forced her back under, again. There was a sharp pain in her head as it hit something, then nothing. Nothing at all.

-

They gasp in a breath. Life, just enough of it, drives the air out, and then back in. Alone. The two of them are alone. The rest of their Fireteam isn't here. Just a Hunter and her Ghost. Water drips up the walls of the chasm.

-

Suddenly her eyes snapped open, some animal instinct keeping her from inhaling underwater. She fought to the surface. Sweet, blessed air filled her lungs. Rain poured down on her face, and she could hear nothing but the rushing of the river. Panic filled her anew as some unseen obstacle caught her ankle and her own momentum dragged her under. Debris hit her, knocking her breath out. She struggled uselessly to free her leg, lungs burning and eyes screwed shut against the hail of sticks. The world had already dimmed and narrowed when something big and heavy rammed through, smashing into her face and freeing her ankle with a bone-crunching snap. Pain ran up her leg, leading to nothingness. Utter nothingness.

-

Azra came back to ꙰'s voice. It seemed to echo in her helmet. Or maybe that was her ears still ringing. "Fireteam leaders: Do not advance on the Wall. Fall back to the Ridgeback District."

-

Cold assaulted her senses. She was confused, because cold wasn't nothingness. There wasn't supposed to be anything. Something urged her to right herself and swim up. She broke into air, taking huge, shuddering gulps as she treaded water. The river here was calmer, but no less swift. Confusion clouded her thoughts. "Go for the shore. The shore!" Someone urged her. So she swam for the shore. The sound of rushing water was getting closer, raising alarm bells in her head, but she couldn't figure out what it meant. A dead tree whipped by her and she tried, futilely, to grab on. The rushing became a crashing noise. Before she could react, the current shot her out over a drop. It was a waterfall, then.

"Well, fuck," Azra said. And then, nothing.

-

The water was cold. Azra choked for a moment, losing some of her air. She grabbed irrationally at the bubbles as she sank through the water. After a second she gave up, watching them run through her fingers and looking up at the light shining on the sea's surface. It was quiet. ꙰ floated next to her.

-

She lived, struggled, died, and lived again in a confused and frantic jumble of events. The whole world seemed to be water and rock and spray. But eventually, Azra came to not in the chaotic current of the river, but face-down on wet sand. She took a moment just to breathe. She was completely soaked, and the rain pattering on her back wasn't helping.

"Eyes up, Guardian," said a vaguely familiar voice. She pushed herself to her hands and knees, then her feet. She was surprised to find she wasn't hurt, or even sore. She felt... fine, though her mind reeled.