Our unexpectedly intermingled thoughts weren’t as deep as what she had once had with Darius, nor was it as intimate as what I shared with Miriam. But for her to finally feel such a strong link, and to find acceptance and comfort, was overwhelming.
Miriam looked at her in confusion for a moment, before abruptly staring at me like she was devastated. “What are you doing?” she whispered in shock, truly not understanding what was going on – not being able to see beyond a certain point, despite our own mental intimacy.
I realized I had tears slipping out of my eyes as I stared at her, so I wiped them away and tried to gather myself. However, I honestly didn’t know how to explain exactly, so I took a moment to try to find the right imagery that would make sense.
Miriam could see this part, see me evaluating how intimate our own connection was, with me realizing that the intimacy was like sex. Not the act of pleasuring each other, but the act of physically being connected – mentally in this case, our minds intertwined into one unit.
But with Jericho, it was more like a hug. Firm, close, but also innocent, being no more inappropriate than her holding me in the air when teaching me to fly – except I was the one holding her this time, keeping her from falling. And it was certainly no worse than her crying on my chest earlier.
The problem, of course, was that even the intimacy of a mental hug shouldn’t be possible for a person who was already fully bonded with someone else, like Miriam and I were. The closest two such minds should be able to come together was verbal communication, and nothing more.
Close enough just to hand stuff to each other, barely being able to touch.
Unexpectedly, Jericho spoke up through her sobbing, a pang of fear gripping her chest. “I’ll pull away in just a moment,” she managed. “I just…” Her voice trailed off, unable to speak as another sob wracked her chest.
Miriam took a moment to process the situation, our interacting thoughts shifting in response to each other. Ultimately, it wasn’t the mental hug that bothered her – because it truly was innocent – but, instead, the fact that it was as if I was in two separate rooms, at the same time, with Miriam being unable to directly peer into the room where I was hugging Jericho.
It was the reason why Miriam hadn’t seen me share my memories. And the reason why she couldn’t directly see how close Jericho and I were truly touching at the moment.
However, thankfully, the intimacy of the connection with my love was deep enough that I couldn’t lie to her even if I wanted to, which reassured her that I truly wasn’t trying to hide anything from her, nor was anything inappropriate going on in the other room.
‘I’m not okay with you staying like this,’ she finally thought after a moment, feeling a little deflated by the fact that she had no control over this situation – she was technically powerless against my will. I could do what I ultimately wanted, even if she expressed extreme displeasure over it, and she couldn’t exactly just ‘walk away’ from the situation if I chose otherwise.
But honestly, this wasn’t much different than how it was for human relationships.
And trust was important to me.
Ever since I first laid eyes on Miriam, I had been beyond addicted to her, and that wasn’t going to change.
‘I know,’ I agreed silently, an unspoken promise to not remain like this with Jericho.
That was enough for my love, allowing her to feel secure in us, enough so to focus on comforting someone who had lost everything that mattered to her.
Miriam walked over to Jericho and sat beside her, gently wrapping an arm around the woman’s trembling shoulders.
Jericho froze solid for a moment, before beginning to cry harder while leaning into the offered embrace. Because she had lost everything, and now we were offering hope that she wouldn’t be entirely alone. She didn’t even have any true friends, with Reuben’s lineage from Ragnarok preventing him and his partner from being there for her – possibly out of fear, rather than betrayal.
But we could at least offer her that, if nothing else. Friendship.
Chapter 11: Complications
The sun was high in the sky before Jericho’s ravaging hunger finally began to claw into her thoughts again, with the majority of her wings and tail still needing to regrow. After having initially eaten a ton of food, her body had permitted her to feel again – the devastation – while it digested what she’d eaten and regrew her missing limbs. But now that her horns had fully returned, her tail having grown about a foot, and her similar length wings poking through the black shirt like white knives, she was hungry again.
I saw in her thoughts, as she mentally pulled away from my embrace, that she was actually thankful for the reprieve, knowing she’d have the opportunity to not feel again for a while. Instead focusing on her hunger.
She had also been a little concerned about something being wrong with her perception of the Ryujin back home, but neither Miriam nor I noticed anything strange, so we didn’t worry about it. Not to mention, I had more pressing issues to be concerned with.
Miriam continued to make trips, finding things for our friend to inhale while I stared at the foliage around us, contemplating the vision I’d seen. I really didn’t want to risk my sister’s wellbeing, but if the vision was truly the future of our impending doom, then it was the only choice.
What was odd though, was that I vaguely felt as if I’d had a similar vision as a human, except that this one seemed different. Granted, if I recalled correctly, then my previous vision had ended with the burning sensation of my transforming body, making me feel like I’d been thrown into a bonfire.
So then, possibly my physical condition at the time had influenced what I ‘saw.’
Still, no matter how I examined the situation, it really only came down to two options – either do nothing, and let our demise come, or try to change the future, as Miriam and I had done at least once before, with a nuclear bomb set to blow up an airplane and the city beneath it.
I just wished it didn’t have to risk the well-being of my sister.
By the time Jericho was finished regrowing her limbs, it was late at night at our current location. Although, I knew we were so far away from my sister that it was likely the middle of the day for her. I had kind of left her mental presence abruptly to speak with Miriam’s brother, so I hoped she wasn’t too worried about us.
I took a deep breath once we were all just sitting quietly, Jericho having long since torn off the human shirt, considering she could cover herself now. They were both just waiting on me, or at least, Miriam was.
I didn’t have a close enough connection to Jericho’s thoughts at the moment to know for sure. Close enough for her to speak to me telepathically, of course, and I could still spy on her spoken thoughts when she wasn’t necessarily directing them at me. But right now, her mind was silent, her thoughts indistinct as she just waited, possibly trying not to think about her loss. Afraid she’d break down crying again.
I finally took another deep breath, and let it out slowly – a very human gesture.
“I guess, let’s go,” I whispered out loud.
Miriam nodded, and Jericho instantly looked away, her expression slightly pained.
“You’re coming too,” I clarified.
She looked at me in shock, and then hesitantly glanced at Miriam, a spark of fear evident in her expression.
“I’ve agreed to it,” Miriam said firmly. “You’re respectful of my claim on my partner, as well as our bond, despite this…different…situation. And even though it’s not truly our fault for what’s happened, I still feel partially responsible.”
Jericho immediately looked down, her eyes tight, being forced to focus on her pain.
Miriam’s tone became more gentle. “I don’t have very many friends,” she said quietly. “And I wouldn’t mind being yours.”
A pair of icy blue eyes looked up at her in shock, before she became teary eyed again and nodded, slowly standing up.
“Okay,” she whisper
ed.
It was a simple acknowledgment to it all – to going with us, and to being her friend.
Now that I’d made the decision finally, I didn’t want to waste any more time, leaping into the sky, with the two of them following after.
Warping wasn’t exactly an option, considering I’d have to hold onto Jericho closely in order to do it with the two of them, so we instead flew the normal way. Granted, it still only took barely a minute to reach the town where I used to live. And if we had been going at full speed, then it probably wouldn’t have even taken barely a second, but it did take some time to accelerate to our maximum speed.
Long enough that I had never achieved anything close to going that speed with my wings, prior to flying in space. The Earth wasn’t large enough to even attempt it, unless someone decided to fly around the globe a handful of times – a fairly pointless endeavor.
Once we were a few miles above my dad’s place, high in the sky, I reached out again to try to pick up my sister’s presence, while Miriam slowly descended lower, looking for any signs of military surveillance.
‘She’s not here,’ I realized in surprise, reaching out further in the distance.
‘She might be at school. It is Monday,’ Miriam replied.
I was already checking, with the location of my former educational institution being within fifty miles. But when I still couldn’t find her mental presence there, I then reached out even further, checking at my mom’s place.
If my sister had been a demon, and I supposed of the same lineage as me – originating from Gilgamesh’s bloodline – then I’d be able to sense her no matter the distance. But, her being human did seem to have its drawbacks, with my range of communication with her also apparently being my range to sense her as well.
‘This isn’t good,’ I said, beginning to feel a little panicked. ‘How are we supposed to find her if the military took her?’
‘Calm down, love,’ Miriam said gently. ‘It’s also possible your parents took her somewhere. Like shopping or something.’
‘Not sure they’d want to do that kind of thing when I’m missing.’
‘I know,’ she agreed, still far below me. ‘But they still need food – also, there’s no sign of any military personnel – and I’m just saying we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.’
‘Shouldn’t we?’ I countered, beginning to drop from the sky too, Jericho falling at the same pace by my side.
Miriam considered that for a moment, knowing I was right. Deep down, she just didn’t want me to worry. In her perception, I’d already been through enough stress, and her age was prompting her to have the instinct to protect me like a mother would. After all, as Jericho had already pointed out, I kind of was an infant compared to them both.
But we didn’t have the luxury for her to baby me right now. The world might very well be ending soon, and we had to assume the worst. Better that, and get lucky with a more positive outcome, rather than hope for the best and be wrong.
Once I had caught up to Miriam, all three of us dropped into the woods behind my dad’s place, with Jericho pausing for a moment when she recognized the location where I’d first met Miriam from my memories. Neither of us waited on her though, dashing up the backyard using only our physical speed, attempting to avoid releasing any extra radiation.
Jericho already understood the basic idea behind this new revelation that our kind was radioactive – and that such energy was dangerous to humans – so she likewise followed while keeping it bottled up as tight as she could manage.
Checking the window to my old room, I discovered it was locked, so instead I moved around toward the front of the house, knowing where a spare key was kept. However, just as I reached down to grab the fake rock hiding it, I paused when I noticed my cell phone lying on the porch, off to the side by a chair.
It almost looked like it had been dropped and forgotten. Confused, I walked over and picked it up, putting in my password to unlock it.
When my home screen loaded, I stared in shock, seeing that the GPS app our parents used to locate our phones was already loaded up. Which meant, this couldn’t have been a coincidence. Whether it was the future Amelia, or the present version of my sister, one of them had dropped this on purpose, leaving it for me to find.
It didn’t take more than a few seconds for me to locate her phone’s signal, coupled with my parents’ as well, all of them in the same location.
Fear gripped my chest, prompting me to back up and dash into the sky, both of them following.
‘Surely, they aren’t holding them as hostages?’ I asked anxiously. I already had an idea of where to go, knowing I’d be able to pick up on my sister once I was close enough, but I still kept the phone in hand, just in case.
Miriam didn’t respond right away, sincerely considering the possibility.
‘If they are, then we might have to speak to them. We can’t just wait around forever for them to let your family go. We need to talk to your sister sooner than later. And while you could speak to her mentally, it’s going to put a target on her back if they see her hair change like it did before. They’ll know she’s different too. Better for us to take her and just demand they leave your family alone.’
‘Can we do that though?’ I asked seriously. ‘Isn’t showing ourselves against the rules?’
Surprisingly, Jericho spoke up. ‘There are no consequences for being seen by a few people. Only if we openly revealed ourselves to many, although the exact definition of ‘many’ is subjective.’
‘Right,’ Miriam agreed. ‘After all, that’s where a lot of your legends about vampires, demons, and even angels come from.’ She cringed slightly. ‘It’s not too uncommon for survivors to have seen us. There are some who enjoy playing with their victims, who might leave a few alive, after having been subjected to witnessing a feeding. Obviously, those humans don’t get bitten – just roughed up a bit, and maybe traumatized a little by being forced to watch someone else die.’
‘Your father tolerates that?’ I asked seriously.
Jericho chimed in again, sounding a little confused. ‘Of course. They’re just humans. I’ve also toyed with my food occasionally when I was younger.’
Neither of us replied, staring straight ahead as we flew, trying not to react.
‘Something wrong with that?’ Jericho asked, being completely serious as she glanced over at us.
Miriam finally replied. ‘I’ve always had a different sentiment towards humans than most,’ she explained. ‘And Michael mostly shares that sentiment.’
Assuming she still didn’t fully get it, I offered Jericho my ‘humans eating beef’ reference, and how I didn’t mind eating meat but wouldn’t want to butcher the cow myself. Whereas Miriam was more like a human who would advocate for ‘cow rights’ if she could.
Except, she had to consume human blood to survive, even if rarely, so she only chose humans who were already dying, making sure they were unconscious before she harmed them.
‘Oh,’ Jericho finally replied simply. ‘That’s…that’s different.’
‘Anyway,’ Miriam said, changing the subject back. ‘Those rules were made when cameras didn’t exist. None of us realized such technology had advanced, and become so widespread, in the last hundred years.’
‘More like last thirty or forty years,’ I replied. ‘At least, the widespread part.’
‘Either way, I think we might be alright,’ my love continued. ‘This country’s military already knows about us, and it’s doubtful they would share this type of information with the public. If anything, now might be the best time to try establishing peaceful relations, instead of ignoring the situation.’
Miriam then became pensive for a moment. ‘Truly, this might be the beginning of a new era – a return to when my father, Gilgamesh, lived among the humans, and large numbers of them were aware of our presence. Doubtful we would leave our home, but the awareness aspect might have to change.’
‘What about our diet?’ I wondered.
‘They don’t need to know about that,’ Miriam replied. ‘Objectively, our race is responsible for only about fifteen to thirty human deaths a year, on average. In contrast, mosquitoes are responsible for over a million deaths every year, and almost half a million deaths are caused by humans themselves – and that’s when there isn’t a war going on. Our impact on the human ecosystem is virtually nonexistent in comparison.’
I didn’t even have to question where she got that information from, having heard a similar spiel from my friend Riley about how a person was significantly more likely to get killed by a deer than a shark. No doubt it had been random trivia knowledge that came from my friend’s head.
And sure enough, with that consideration popping into my mind, Miriam automatically acknowledged my thoughts – the information had come from Riley.
‘Okay, so then I guess we’ll go with us consuming metal, meat, and radiation.’
Miriam was pensive again. ‘Honestly, I don’t think it’s necessary to address the issue at all. They don’t have any weapons that can harm us – not even nuclear bombs – so there’s really no reason to worry about them becoming hostile towards us. No reason to appease them. They just simply aren’t a threat, and it’s doubtful they ever will be, no matter how advanced their technology becomes. So humoring their questions seems pointless.’
‘I guess,’ I agreed, being perfectly fine with that arrangement.
We had already arrived at our destination, seeing a military base far below us that appeared to be mostly empty of people at first glance. Of the nine buildings, I only recognized one of them – a large hanger that would be used to house airplanes. There were also helicopters stationed in one lot, along with rows and rows of Humvees and other military vehicles in another area, surrounded by a chain-linked fence with barbed wire at the top.
Just as I was getting ready to search for my sister, Jericho spoke up again.
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