And then it vanished, just like that.
I opened my eyes carefully, blinking a few times as the world before me came into focus.
I was floating over a grassy field, the sky bright blue above me, the sun far from the horizon, the world serene.
Except, it wasn’t serene. It was empty.
There was no life, other than plants – no birds, no insects, no animals at all.
My brow furrowed as I focused on a black cord lying on the ground, beginning to move in the air as I followed it, watching it grow thicker and thicker, almost like the root to a tree leading to the trunk.
Except there was no trunk in sight, only offshoots of black tendrils going in every direction, seeming to cover everything below, the grass hiding much of it.
Continuing to fly, I searched for the source of these midnight roots, only to come to a dead halt when my eyes returned to the horizon.
It was something…huge.
I couldn’t understand what I was seeing, so I resumed my approach, feeling like I was flying forever as I tried to draw near to the looming structure that seemed to grow endlessly in size.
Finally, I was close enough to try to grasp an understanding of the behemoth.
It was like…almost like a castle, except it was as large as a city and towered far higher, made entirely of some kind of black material that twisted every which way like a plant.
The entire monstrosity was made of it, having a wet sheen to its appearance, and almost having a dark red hue…as if it was condensed blood.
I hesitated, sensing something ominous about the building, before slowly approaching one of many entrances far off the ground, like massive balconies open for those who were capable of flight. I didn’t set foot on the floor though, instead entering a dark tunnel that was easily the lengths of two semi-trucks wide and possibly four tall – a ten story building could easily fit within.
As I floated further in, I finally sensed something in the distance, giving me renewed purpose, a hope to find life someplace in this empty world. Accelerating my pace, I flew what felt like forever, navigating tunnels higher and higher in the structure, until I finally reached the center.
I entered into a massive room, that immediately reminded me of a cathedral, just without the pews. Massive midnight hallways seemed to go in every direction, with the space otherwise being empty other than the podium on the other end, where I felt two unfamiliar presences.
Cautiously moving closer, I looked up at a massive cross made of those thick tendrils, only to do a doubletake when I realized there was a person at the center – someone familiar, though I couldn’t imagine why I thought so.
It wasn’t my sister, or Miriam, or Riley, or anyone else I knew. And yet, undoubtedly, she was familiar. Her hair was a darker shade of brown than my sisters, though I wasn’t confident about my assessment considering there was virtually no light in the room, despite the fact that I could see with my demonic eyes.
Moving even closer, about halfway across the room now, I realized the shape of the cross matched the shape of her body, as if the tendrils were extensions of her buried posture, her feet close together, her arms straight out to either side, her body suspended in the midnight tendrils.
Unexpectedly, someone near the base rose to their feet, alerting me to the second presence I’d sensed.
The guy had brown hair as well, along with bright red eyes that glowed in the dark, contrasted sharply against his black sclera. His intense gaze stared below and behind me, as if someone near the entrance I’d come through had just caught his attention. But there was no one there.
His body was encased in what looked like black armor, as if someone had poured lava over his body and let it harden.
After a moment, he spoke up.
“Who’s there?!” he demanded.
Unexpectedly, the girl buried within the midnight vines coughed behind him, her voice sounding hoarse. “Noah,” she whispered, coming out almost as a sleep-talking groan.
The guy immediately twisted around to look up at her. “Madison?” he said urgently, only to not wait for a reply.
Instantly, he leapt more than forty feet into the air, grabbing ahold of the vines as he climbed the rest of the way up to her, seeming to bury his legs in the permeable tendrils – as if they were liquid – only to clasp the girl’s pale face in his hands.
“Madison,” he repeated, gently rubbing his thumbs over her cheeks.
There was no response.
He remained like that for a long time, continuing to rub her cheeks gently. And yet, there was still no indication that she was anything other than asleep. Finally, after what felt like for ages, he kissed her gently on the forehead, and then climbed back down, only to return to where he had been originally, sitting on the black podium far below, like a guardian protecting his goddess.
Except there was nothing to protect her from. The entire world was empty. Lifeless. Except for these two beings.
I wasn’t sure how long I remained there, hovering in the air, but I finally blinked and it all unexpectedly vanish.
Instantly, I was hovering over a grassy field again, the sky above me bright blue, the sun far from the horizon, the world around me serene.
Except, it wasn’t serene. It was empty.
Lifeless.
‘Michael?’ an alarmed voice said below me.
I immediately looked down in shock, only to be relieved to see a familiar face with white hair and bright green eyes, standing at the edge of a forest.
‘Amelia!’ I replied in relief, immediately descending and floating closer to her.
However, the moment I set my unseen foot on the ground, the sun vanished, the world disappeared, and I found myself in the middle of a pitch-black forest, with Amelia now standing between two trees, being the only source of light as her body glowed brightly.
‘Michael! What are you doing here?!’ she asked urgently. ‘You shouldn’t be here right now. It’s too early. Too soon. You’ve never come this early before.’
‘Sis, what’s wrong? What are you talking about?’
‘This isn’t right. This isn’t right,’ she began repeating, seeming to become more frantic.
I immediately moved closer and wrapped her in my arms, prompting her to look at me in anguish, her chin tilting high to meet my gaze.
‘This isn’t right. I need to try to send you back. Somehow, I need to send you back. You can’t come this soon. You can’t come this soon.’
‘Sis,’ I whispered gently, watching a tear slip out of her glowing emerald eyes. I didn’t know what else to say. I didn’t know what else I could say.
After a moment, she buried her eyes against my chest, squeezing me as tightly as she could around my torso.
‘Michael, I’ve missed you so much.’
‘I’ve missed you too,’ I replied sincerely, feeling the truth in my words settle deep within my core. I did miss her, as if I hadn’t seen her for years. Maybe longer.
We were both quiet for what felt like an eternity, an absolute silence filling the forest around us, there being nothing beyond the darkness just past the trees.
Finally, she looked up at me again, her expression less panicked. More determined.
‘I have to send you back. I don’t know how this happened, but I can fix this. I have to.’
‘Sis, what are you trying to fix?’ I asked seriously.
Her expression pained. ‘Your past. It’s all you have left, even despite my best efforts. It’s all we have left.’
‘No,’ I retorted. I couldn’t accept that. ‘We can fix this. I don’t know how, but we can find a way – together.’
‘We can’t,’ she disagreed. ‘It always turns out the same, ever since I saved you. Somehow you always return here, and when I try to put you back, you always arrive at the beginning of this all.’ Her expression unexpectedly became more serious. ‘But this is different. This isn’t right. You can’t come back this soon. I need to put you back. I have to put you b
ack from where you came this time. Somehow, I have to make it happen. You can’t come back this soon. And you can’t return to the beginning – not yet.’
‘Sis, I–’
Unexpectedly, she put her index finger on my unmoving lips, as if she were physically shushing my mental thoughts, her expression instantly determined.
I held her gaze for a long time, almost frozen in place, her expression unmoving for an eternity, neither of us moving a muscle, like living statues.
I rarely blinked, but the urge was rapidly escalating, until I finally did, with extreme relief.
But the moment I opened my eyes, in that split second, everything vanished.
The trees were gone, Amelia was gone, everything was just…gone.
Sobbing coming from behind, made me whip around in surprise, seeing a pale naked form sitting alone in the darkness, her arms hugging her legs, her eyes buried against her knees.
Her body was wracked with sobs, a low murmur slowly growing louder, like an empty chant – an empty cry for help.
I tried to move closer, but it felt like I was stuck in mud, like something was physically holding me back, forcing me to listen to her devastated voice.
‘He…left me. He left…me. He left me. He left me. Oh God, he left me.’ Her body trembled violently as she continued to sob. ‘Oh God, he left me. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Please. Please make this nightmare end. I just wanted to protect him. Oh God, I just don’t want him to die! I don’t want him to die! Oh please. Oh please! Please bring him back. Please bring him back!’
Her sobbing continued, a low whine escaping her throat.
‘Please.’
I struggled to move my fingers, trying to reach her.
‘Oh God, please.’
I forced my arm to stretch out, but I was still too far away.
‘Please. Oh God, please, please, please. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. Please bring him back.’
With my arm too short to traverse the distance, I finally forced my wing out, struggling against the invisible concrete that tried to hold me in place, stretching, stretching, until I could just barely touch some of the black hair cascading down her back with a bony midnight finger.
Instantly, she looked up in shock, a pair of brown eyes flashing a bright crimson, seeming to look right through me, like I wasn’t even there.
‘Michael?! Michael?! Michael!’
She urgently searched everywhere, dropping her knees and beginning to crawl as she reached out aimlessly.
‘Come back!’ she pleaded. ‘Please come back. I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please! Please come back!’
Unexpectedly, she grabbed the arm I had tried reaching towards her, looking shocked like she’d just snagged a ghost, urgently searching for some sign of my existence beyond what she could feel.
In a flash, her other hand found my chest, her fingers rushing up my neck until she found my face, finally letting go of my arm to grab my jaw in both her hands. There was a desperation in her touch, a panic in her eyes, as she brought her face closer, resting her lips against mine.
‘Please,’ she begged. ‘Please come back! I’m so sorry! I’ll do anything, just please. Please come back! Don’t leave me!’
I thought my eyes had been open before, but unexpectedly I felt a violent wind surge against my body, whipping at my hair, prompting my eyelids to spring open, watching the Earth far below rush towards me, the world around me seeming to be filled with fire as I plummeted like a meteor.
Simultaneously, within Miriam’s mind, I seemed to drop into her arms, as if I’d been drowning in an ocean and she had yanked me out, her entire body wrapping around me as she cried harder.
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you. Please forgive me. I’m so sorry.’
My thoughts were foggy as I tried to remember why she was so upset, but she was so involved in her own distraught emotions that she didn’t seem to notice my confusion.
‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,’ she continued.
Trying to make sense of her thoughts as the ground far below continued to rapidly draw near, I finally returned her embrace in our heads.
‘I love you. I’m sorry I left you. I…don’t know how it happened, but I’m sorry.’
That finally got her attention as she focused on my thoughts more closely.
‘Love, what happened to you?’ she asked urgently.
Of course, I didn’t know, trying to piece together my scattered memories of the last few hours – helping Jericho recover, going to find my sister, and then…
‘What did you do to make me so upset?’ I finally asked, realizing I was missing that pivotal piece of information.
Miriam practically bowed before my feet in my mind, except in an even more intense, humble, and submissive way, with our thoughts instead just intertangled deeply, with hers radiating subservience, as she explained her supposed grave sin. The whole time her heart was clawed with fear and panic that I was going to leave her again, but she didn’t hide it from me.
And I had to admit I was horrified to relearn that she’d possibly sabotaged my sister’s future self, but at the same time, I understood her reasons, knowing I’d probably do the same if forced to choose between saving her or her brother.
It was…tough. Because I wasn’t okay with what she’d done.
But I also couldn’t hate her for it.
‘I love you,’ I said gently, the ground coming so much closer now. My mind still felt foggy, so for some reason, the thought to slow myself down never popped into my head. Miriam was physically on the move as well, flying rapidly from my right. ‘I’m sorry for scaring you. I don’t know what happened. I…I’m sorry.’
Just as I neared a field below, Miriam came into sight, still accelerating despite the rapidly decreasing distance, only to barrel into me as we both slammed into the ground.
The Earth beneath us seemed to upend, a crater of thrashing dirt burying us in an instant.
Miriam wrapped her body around me in the sudden darkness, her lips locked onto mine, the ground around us feeling like a loose blanket, rather than a premature burial.
‘I’m so sorry, love. Please forgive me. Please don’t leave me.’
‘I forgive you. You’re mine, and I’m yours,’ I promised. ‘Forever, no matter what.’
She sobbed again, the sound muffled by the canopy of Earth above, both of us content to remain hidden from the world forever.
Chapter 16: Consequences
I wasn’t sure what happened to me, but one thing was clear – I was having a difficult time sorting out my recent memories on my own, instead relying on Miriam’s memory to catch me back up to date on everything that had happened in the last few hours.
Jericho had remained near Amelia, both of them extremely worried about my supposed outburst of anger. However, once I’d collected myself enough, I reached out to the angelic demon to reassure her that I was okay, and to have my sister go to Riley’s place now.
Of course, Amelia was reluctant, but eventually listened to her.
Jericho then flew close to where Miriam and I had landed, but kept her distance, waiting for us to unearth ourselves when we were ready.
Now that we had done so, and brushed ourselves off thoroughly by flying to the upper atmosphere and back at a ridiculous speed, we could finally discuss what the future version of my sister said, prior to me disappearing.
Obviously, it seemed like we were in a time loop, although it was very possible that it was only a loop for Amelia, which meant there was no stopping our impending doom. Yet, for some reason I had this nagging feeling that there was a future beyond whatever was coming. It was just that I wasn’t able to get to it for some reason, like there was something stopping me specifically from continuing on into the future past a certain point.
Granted, the vision I’d experienced previously left little hope for any of us. But trying to figure out the unknowns wasn’t possible, so instead we tried to focus on what we d
id know.
The most glaring fact being that something was different this time.
“Okay,” Miriam said with a heavy sigh. “So, possible explanations for why Jericho has never shown up before.” She grimaced, speaking as if she were talking to a crowd. “One, it’s possible that Ragnarok killed Jericho before Michael could save her. Two, it’s possible that Michael decided not to rescue her, or was unable to do so. Three, it’s possible Michael never went back to threaten him, and thus never learned that Jericho was in his custody. And four, it’s possible that Ragnarok never discovered that Jericho was associated with him.”
She paused as we all considered those options.
I cleared my throat after a minute. “It’s also possible this is the first time I’ve ever met Jericho,” I considered.
The person in question became more pensive, her icy eyes tight below her furrowed brow, her arms loosely crossed over her chest. “I’m not sure that’s the case,” she countered. “Everything that led to me spotting you seems pretty set-in-stone. Like Tamar and Hera celebrating the anniversary of their friendship, and my game with…” Her voice trailed off, being reminded of her deceased brother. It was tormenting her below the surface, but she’d been trying really hard to not think about it.
However, the devastating depression that felt like someone was crushing her chest still lingered whether she thought about it or not.
She continued after a moment, meeting my gaze with a pained expression. “There was no way I could have missed you, in any timeline.”
Miriam chimed in. “And Amelia did seem to know Jericho. The future Amelia called her out by name, even before we introduced her. The issue your sister had was that she’d made an appearance now, at a time when she apparently hadn’t before.”
“So then,” I began, only to hesitate. “What if meeting Jericho was intentional? I mean, if my sister had some control over where I’d end up, which obviously must be true, considering I appeared on Venus, then maybe she orchestrated the meeting with Jericho.”
“It’s…possible,” Miriam conceded, meeting the other’s gaze, while still speaking to me. “Out of all the possible people to take care of you while you had amnesia, she’s…objectively…one of the best choices.”
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