about to argue that the two DSI operatives were about as far from human as possible—one being a Nephilim and the other a wight, a supernatural killing machine—but I let it go. No point arguing semantics.
Everyone glanced about as if expecting an ambush any second, and I had to admit, I did the same thing. Trapped in an alien prison dimension with only two weapons between all of us, we weren’t exactly prepared for a fight, the first of the day having left the majority of us nursing wounds and completely bereft of magic. We were the dictionary definition of unprepared , our smiling faces pictured in the margin. That thought must have invaded everyone’s head at the same time as we all went quiet like we were playing an impromptu game of Stoplight.
Chatterbox broke the uneasy still a few moments later by humming the opening riff to Iron Maiden’s “Stranger in a Strange Land” in a subdued voice.
I couldn’t agree more.
“Let’s find someplace to hunker down where we’re not so exposed,” Rahim said, motioning for Katon to do just as the enforcer had suggested a few minutes back. “We can figure out where to go from there.” His maudlin monotone made Ben Stein seem emotive.
The decision made, Katon started off, the rest of us at his heels without comment. What was left to say?
Two
(Scarlett)
Reality blurred as I was pulled between dimensions by strange hands, too weak to resist. Stars of white filled my vision, but these weren’t Father’s lights on high. There was no comfort to their brightness, no mercy in their brilliance.
A quiet, feminine voice drifted to my ears as the worlds collided one after another, the message a mystery hidden behind the veil of misery that clouded my every thought. Right there, right then, there was only pain.
I screamed but couldn’t hear my voice. A warm wetness bubbled up instead. It spilled from my throat and oozed over my lips, threatening to drown me. I couldn’t breathe. My side burned as though it lay submersed within a bed of raging coals, and I vaguely remembered a shape hovering over me, reaching, tearing… Agony!
Frank?
My head spun with the name, memories flitting past in a mercurial haze. Could he have truly…?
“Be still.” The command pierced the chaos like sharp steel, drawing me from my distorted reveries. “You’re going to hurt yourself worse,” I heard the unseen woman say and realized my fingers were clasped about hers, my teeth bared as my subconscious fought against her restraining grip. Blood gurgled somewhere in the distance. My ears roared. The woman drew a haggard breath above me, worry and impatience seeping into her voice with equal fervor. “Please, stop. I’m taking you to get help, Scarlett; taking you to Heaven.”
My head lolled at hearing her speak of Heaven, a sudden gush of grateful tears washing the stars from my eyes. I was going home…
To die.
“So…tired.” Coldness settled over me like a shroud as we spilled through the shimmering orifice cut between realms, the gritty sand against my flesh nearly too hot to bear. I feared I might melt and drain into its depths.
“Stay with me, Scarlett,” the woman whispered, the hazy warp of her face appearing above mine, slowly resolving into coherence.
Dark, wild hair formed a halo about the concerned expression that looked seared upon her features. Her words of comfort tumbled over me. They were mindless yet soothing, a parent murmuring nonsense to a child to salve its hurt. Of their own accord, my lips peeled back into a smile, memories of God pulling me into His embrace, accepting me as one of His own. The taint of my past fell away in that embrace, I remembered. There was no other moment in my life, save this one. For all His distance, I was a part of Him. Once I was done, I would return to the whole.
The moment that thought filled my head, the weight lifted from my chest. My fingers and toes tingled, the feeling creeping up my limbs, inch by inch numbing
Everyone glanced about as if expecting an ambush any second, and I had to admit, I did the same thing. Trapped in an alien prison dimension with only two weapons between all of us, we weren’t exactly prepared for a fight, the first of the day having left the majority of us nursing wounds and completely bereft of magic. We were the dictionary definition of unprepared , our smiling faces pictured in the margin. That thought must have invaded everyone’s head at the same time as we all went quiet like we were playing an impromptu game of Stoplight.
Chatterbox broke the uneasy still a few moments later by humming the opening riff to Iron Maiden’s “Stranger in a Strange Land” in a subdued voice.
I couldn’t agree more.
“Let’s find someplace to hunker down where we’re not so exposed,” Rahim said, motioning for Katon to do just as the enforcer had suggested a few minutes back. “We can figure out where to go from there.” His maudlin monotone made Ben Stein seem emotive.
The decision made, Katon started off, the rest of us at his heels without comment. What was left to say?
Two
(Scarlett)
Reality blurred as I was pulled between dimensions by strange hands, too weak to resist. Stars of white filled my vision, but these weren’t Father’s lights on high. There was no comfort to their brightness, no mercy in their brilliance.
A quiet, feminine voice drifted to my ears as the worlds collided one after another, the message a mystery hidden behind the veil of misery that clouded my every thought. Right there, right then, there was only pain.
I screamed but couldn’t hear my voice. A warm wetness bubbled up instead. It spilled from my throat and oozed over my lips, threatening to drown me. I couldn’t breathe. My side burned as though it lay submersed within a bed of raging coals, and I vaguely remembered a shape hovering over me, reaching, tearing… Agony!
Frank?
My head spun with the name, memories flitting past in a mercurial haze. Could he have truly…?
“Be still.” The command pierced the chaos like sharp steel, drawing me from my distorted reveries. “You’re going to hurt yourself worse,” I heard the unseen woman say and realized my fingers were clasped about hers, my teeth bared as my subconscious fought against her restraining grip. Blood gurgled somewhere in the distance. My ears roared. The woman drew a haggard breath above me, worry and impatience seeping into her voice with equal fervor. “Please, stop. I’m taking you to get help, Scarlett; taking you to Heaven.”
My head lolled at hearing her speak of Heaven, a sudden gush of grateful tears washing the stars from my eyes. I was going home…
To die.
“So…tired.” Coldness settled over me like a shroud as we spilled through the shimmering orifice cut between realms, the gritty sand against my flesh nearly too hot to bear. I feared I might melt and drain into its depths.
“Stay with me, Scarlett,” the woman whispered, the hazy warp of her face appearing above mine, slowly resolving into coherence.
Dark, wild hair formed a halo about the concerned expression that looked seared upon her features. Her words of comfort tumbled over me. They were mindless yet soothing, a parent murmuring nonsense to a child to salve its hurt. Of their own accord, my lips peeled back into a smile, memories of God pulling me into His embrace, accepting me as one of His own. The taint of my past fell away in that embrace, I remembered. There was no other moment in my life, save this one. For all His distance, I was a part of Him. Once I was done, I would return to the whole.
The moment that thought filled my head, the weight lifted from my chest. My fingers and toes tingled, the feeling creeping up my limbs, inch by inch numbing
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