The Ethereals' blue forms shot from the trees like a swarm of angry bees. Their juvenile laughter made my skin crawl. Like thousands of fingernails against a chalkboard to my ears.
They must have come as soon as they heard me scream like a sissy girl. No idea if it was a good thing though.
Conrad looked up and jumped to his feet before I could even say Boo! Hurriedly, he pulled his weapon off my chest. Then he scrambled his way through the trees. A count to ten and he was gone.
Not so tough now, was he?
Silently, I cursed him for still being able to run away. Me and Rosario? We were dead meat. Literally.
One of my lungs must have been punctured. No matter how hard I tried to inhale, it felt like there wasn't enough air coming in. Once again, I was drowning. So I just satisfied myself with watching the Ethereals flit like blue radiant butterflies, though in reality, they were more like vultures.
I kept still and closed my eyes as the creatures swooped over us. I was hoping the lack of sensation all over my body would be enough so that I wouldn't feel it when the Ethereals tear me apart.
All I could was wait. My head was spinning with the noise. Still, I could not feel a thing. I thought I was dead. In next to no time, the shrieks of Ethereals faded into nothingness. Maybe I was indeed dead. I just didn't know it yet.
When I tried to move my fingers, a knife seemed to twist inside my chest below the collar bone.
Pain. I wasn't dead after all. Tch.
Gasping for air, I opened my eyes. A dull haze covered my sight.
A few Ethereals still lingered overhead but they didn't seem to show any interest in us. After a while, they flew away to the course Conrad had taken.
A part of my mind was kind of hoping that they find him and tear him to pieces. He deserved to die watching himself being slowly ripped apart.
With great effort, I rolled over to my stomach and dug my fingers into the ground to drag myself forward. I began crawling painfully with one arm at a snail's pace.
"Rosario," I moaned through the shallow spastic breaths. Just a few feet more and she was almost within my reach.
Her fingers twitched. She was still alive.
When I finally got to her, I pushed myself up, propping myself on my left arm. Frantically, I pressed a hand on her gushing wound.
Rosario was wide-eyed, her chest jerking as she gasped for breath. Her hand searched blindly for my arm. She gave it a frail squeeze. Her hand moved up to my chest, to the part where I was stabbed.
"T-too slow," she choked out in a non-existent voice. Even in a life and death situation, she really knew how to get me all worked up. Like always.
"I know," I whispered back. "Vincent's gonna come and find us, okay?"
"Vin-cent..." Rosario repeated the name as though it was the only thing that mattered.
"Y-yes... Vincent."
"Save him..." she mouthed helplessly.
"We, Rosario. We'll save-"
Suddenly, a million little lights started flickering on top of the trees. I thought the Ethereals were coming back for us. But then, the incandescent lights drifted closer to us in a swirling motion. The fireflies floated up and down in a procession, forming a giant spiral from above the treetops, enveloping us in a giant glittering tower.
I was sure that when Vincent notice the moving lights, he would rush to our aid. A ray of hope.
"Look!" I pointed at the dancing fireflies with a trembling finger, glancing down at Rosario as I did.
A glassy pair of hazel eyes stared back at me. At first, it appeared like Rosario was admiring the picturesque spectacle in awe, unmoving and astonished. But then, I noticed that her chest wasn't rising anymore.
"R-rosario?"
I took her shoulder and shook. No response.
"Rosario!"
Still nothing. I held her hand. It was still pressed on my wound. Except there wasn't any wound. At least not anymore. Even now, my chest had a faint white glow about it, a remnant of Rosario's healing ability.
I felt a short line of raised white scar just above my heart. That was when the tears started to fall.
I started to do CPR. It was no use. More blood just spewed out of her mouth with every compression. Under my palm, I could feel the long slanted gaping wound on her chest-the same one she made me stitch up a few days ago.
"No!" I yelled angrily, shaking her violently. "How could you?!"
But as expected, there was no answer, no retort, no snide comment. Just desolate silence.
I crumpled in the darkness and hid my face on my knees.
For a while, I stared blankly at her face. I closed her eyes with my fingers. The instant I did that, Rosario's body glowed a bright gold it nearly blinded me. Cracks started to appear from her fingertips and toes going up to the limbs, the torso, the head and lastly, the heart. Then, it started to fall apart piece by piece.
In no time, what used to be Rosario was reduced to a glowing pile of rubble. I scooped the fragments with my hands. All of a sudden, Rosario's remains started to float, each particle sprouting tiny heads, bodies and wings.
The newly-born creatures joined the rest of the fireflies over the trees. They spiraled around me before fluttering up, up to the heavens.
Rosario. Gone. A soul lost to oblivion. All my fault.
I knew I had to move if I was going to stay alive. As hard as it was to accept, I had to. So I set off north, where I last remembered seeing Vincent. I didn't draught. I just trudged heavily, commanding my feet to step left and right, cursing this realm, Cairo, Death and all his minions.
I wanted so much to scream, claw their eyes out of their heads. To hell with all of them. Now the woods looked like a never ending tunnel. It wasn't a question of when we would get out. It was more of when we would give up. Or die.
Vincent... I tried to call through the transference link though I wasn't expecting a reply. Vincent.
Distracted, I thought of Conrad. I was hoping the Ethereals hadn't found him yet so I could have the chance to kill him myself. Rosario would want me to avenge her death.
Archie might not forgive me for all eternity. But if he ever gets in my way, there would be no room to hesitate. He spawned a demon after all.
Aramis... Vincent answered from the link after a couple of hours.
I stopped abruptly. I didn't know how to respond.
A few seconds later, he called my name again.
This time, I cleared my throat and closed my eyes. "I'm here," was all I could say.
A while ago, I might have considered yelling at him to death for leaving us behind. Now, I just seemed to have swallowed my tongue, along with the guilt that was eating away at my insides. To my right, about half a mile away, a swarm of fireflies were converging into a tower of pulsing lights exactly the same as when Rosario died.
I just killed two of them. Vincent's voice hinted of concealed excitement, but mostly disgust. It sounded like he got a little piece of revenge. Good for him. One escaped. We have to get out of here. Show me where you are and I'll meet you there.
I looked left and right. I started to run toward the fireflies, making as much distance as I could from the spot where I left Rosario's clothes hidden inside the small hollow of a tree. I wiped the tears away and swallowed the sobs. Deeming it was safe, I showed Vincent where I was through the link.
Not a minute passed and he was already there, covered in gashes but alright. He was wearing a white tattered robe which he must have stolen from one of the familiars who tried to ambush him.
I plastered a casual expression on my face, biting my lower lip to keep it from shaking.
"Where's Rosario?" he asked, feverishly looking around. "You two got separated? How could you be so--" He caught his own tongue.
I didn't answer and fixed my eyes on the ground. How could I tell him?
A low rumble came from his throat as he kicked the ground exasperatedly. His jaws clenched one after the other, his whole body shaking with fury.
I would have gladly taken a slap on the face, some bad-mouthing and a fair amount of beating. But when he looked at me, all I could see in his eyes was self-blame.
Rosario's blood was in my hands. Not his.
"No matter," he said, this time more contained. "I'm sure she can take care of herself."
He sure sounded confident. Well, I would hate to disappoint him.
He paused to give me one sweeping glance. I looked down on myself and saw that my dark blue dress was now black and brown with blood and dirt. It was torn where Conrad had stabbed me.
Mindlessly, I ran my hands over my clothes in a hopeless attempt to brush off the filth. I swept my hair to side, over my shoulder to hide the scar on my chest.
"Killed anybody lately?" he asked, taking my hand. Without giving me a second look, Vincent towed me.
I kept my gaze down. I couldn't look at him. I couldn't even say anything. How I wished he was right. I wished I really killed someone. Conrad, specifically. That way, he couldn't have had the chance to kill Rosario.
Vincent pushed aside the small branches that barred our way. He glanced back at the moving lights marking Rosario's grave. "Kind of flashy, huh? Too grand for my taste, but that's what happens if we die. We'd become insects."
It felt like there were hairballs inside my gullet wanting to come out. I was scared I would start sobbing so I just managed an awkward "Mmmm..."
Almost immediately, I heard the tranquil splash of running water. The nearly unrecognizable path led downhill. Even with the lack of light, the stream sparkled. Vibrant blue-green moss covered the huge blocks of crystalline rocks strewn along the bank. Where there was enough dirt to support plant growth were white lilies, sporadically arranged to fit the enchanted garden feel of the place.
After a couple minutes of walk, we stumbled upon what set off the convergence of fireflies. Just a few steps away lay the glowing remains of two familiars. I could not recognize them anymore as the bodies were both crumbled. They drifted up to join their new kind until all that was left on the stony ground were the red blotches that defeated the magnificence of the hidden sanctuary.
"Will give you nightmares at first," said Vincent, skirting a small pool of blood. "But you'll get used to it." He meant killing people. His voice sounded cool but the way his eyes assumed that far-away look betrayed him.
I kept my mouth shut. I wasn't in the mood to humor him or make up lies.
A three-foot wide Glitch drifted past us, its edges torn unevenly. It looked like a misshapen moving lantern. I stopped to let it go by as though a pedestrian crossing the street.
"What?" Vincent grumbled.
I could see he was stretching his patience, which was record-breaking for him. He must have really felt bad about running off on us.
"Nothing," I replied, sounding almost startled. "Just a Glitch."
With his silver eyes narrowing, he took my arm. "Show me."
Reluctantly, I did. I sensed a faint jumble of emotions when we connected.
We followed the Glitch in a steady pace along the stream. It wasn't that fast. If we sprint really fast, I was sure we would catch up with it. But Vincent was careful, almost loath to get too close.
The Glitch paused every ten minutes or so, lingering idly over the crystal boulders like a tired jogger.
"What exactly are we looking for?" I gave Vincent's hand an annoyed tug.
He faced me, still keeping an eye out for the Glitch. "Doors can't harm you or me. We'll use it to escape. What else?"
I didn't argue. It was a somewhat tested theory. What I didn't figure out was why Vincent changed his mind about saving Vladimir all of a sudden. Just a while ago, he was hell-bent on going back for Vladimir no matter what it took.
"How long do you think we can last inside Nirvana?" I asked, my stomach clenching at the thought of going there. The pain. The madness. If I had a choice, I would rather stay here.
Vincent answered me with a heavy shrug. "Me? Several hours, maybe a day at best. As for you, there's no way to tell. We just have to last until the Purge. By then, all major Spirit Gates would open and that's our way out. Second option; stay here and wait until the Gate out of this realm opens. But I'm not risking going out in the open so Saul and his guys could grab a hold of us. I can outrun them. You, on the other hand, have less than zero chance. You'd slow me down."
I grunted exasperatedly, rolling my eyes. "I'm weak. I'm useless. Yeah, I get it. But it would still hurt going inside a Door. Like a lot."
He smiled and took out something from the pocket of his pants.
"Problem solved." He shook the small vial of SirenSoul in front of my face. "First we find a Door. Before we jump in, we drink some of this so our Nirvana experience won't hurt that much. We'll need to stay sane if we're to live to tell the tale and make a comeback."
"Easier said than done."
I remembered that time a Door almost ate me whole during patrol in Centralia. It was just my arm that got through but it hurt like hell. Just the thought of stepping all the way in and having to stay for twenty-fours in Nirvana made me want to throw up.
"The second we're out of Nirvana, we'd regroup. Once we're with the others, we plan our next move." His tone was rather resolute and final.
"Others..." I murmured to myself. "What others? It's just you and me. Vincent, everyone we know is probably in hiding, captured, or worse-" I bit my tongue. Dead. I couldn't voice that out so I veered away from that matter. "Besides, the Purge starts when? Three days from now? I say we wait it out until the Purge or else, we would be turned into fireflies before the Gates open."
"That's a chance I'll have to take!" he roared, drowning the soft ripples of the stream.
It must be this familiar-thing. Besides my mother, I never trusted anyone before. For so long, being especially wary of people had spared me of betrayal, of pain. But when I looked into his eyes, it was as if all the doubts had instantly been erased. As if suddenly, there wasn't any other option for me but to follow him.
With a sigh, I backed away.
His face was blank, yet I could see the panic in his eyes. I clenched my fists until my fingers bit into my palms. Then I turned my back on him and stepped ahead. I stopped and looked at him over my shoulder before saying "This plan of yours better work."
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Hi there! Are you still there? *cue in tumbleweed and cricket sound fx* Sigh. Oh, well. If somebody's still out there, please please comment, share and vote for Reapers and don't forget to check out my short story in booktrack.com called AURUM. It would mean the world to me!
Love,
Author :) (In my dreams LOL)