Counting Down

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Counting Down Page 8

by Lilah Boone


  “Aislynn,” Deirna said. “The sun is low. It’s time to go.”

  Aislynn almost ran, but held herself back. Slowly she turned towards where she knew the circle of stone lay beyond. Goose flesh covered her arms, excitement slipping down into her toes.

  Deirna locked her arm around Aislynn’s, giggling to herself. “Are you nervous?”

  “Only a little.” She was nervous, but not because this was her last night as a maiden. She was nervous because she was afraid he would not accept her hand. Could there be another girl who would catch his eye.

  Aislynn was not the most beautiful girl in the village. She knew that she was plain compared to some, but still her mother had always told her there was something special about her eyes. Her mother had said any man would want to know what lay within their mossy depths. Aislynn wasn’t quite that confident. After all, mothers were always fond of their children’s beauty.

  As they approached the circle, Deirna’s giggles only increased, but Aislynn was suddenly solemn. The priests were gathering in the center, preparing the ritual space with smoke and water from the sea. Immediately she saw him. His back was too her, one arm filled with a pitcher of ocean. She trembled unconsciously, tightening her arm around Deirna’s.

  “Is that Callum?” Deirna asked. “My, he’s grown, hasn’t he?” When Aislynn only continued to stare, Deirna patted her friend’s hand. “Everyone knows he’s yours Aislynn. You two have always been made for each other. Don’t worry. You’ll get no competition here. Besides, he’s only ever had his sights on you. He will accept no other.”

  Aislynn trembled again. Gods, she hoped Deirna was right. She couldn’t bare it if he chose another. She feared she would ruin the celebration with a fit of rage if he did.

  The ritual began as the night caressed the land. Fires were lit and gods were honored. Aislynn didn’t hear the prayers for her thoughts never left Callum.

  She watched him move around the circle, saw that he now carried himself with the confidence of a man. Each step of his long legs was deliberate, practiced. She watched him, noted the thin beard that had grown in over his chin, the way his dark hair curled just behind his ears. He had grown tall, so much taller than she. The top half of him was bare with only the necklaces of a priest to fall upon his chest. His body had become stronger, lean with muscle.

  The ritual ended, the drumming began, and Aislynn watched him still. His fire-lit eyes scanned the crowd around the circle, searching. He ran a hand through his hair, appeared to sigh with slight frustration.

  The rhythm of the drums entered her, echoed through her body. Something stirred, broke open within her until she felt a rush of determination tighten her limbs, straighten her spine. Finally, she could wait no longer.

  She approached him from behind, stood only inches from his back and took in the scent of the smoke on his skin. She brushed her fingers along his knuckles, tentatively touching him for the first time as a woman. He tightened, started to turn. Aislynn latched her hand into his, felt their fingers come together like two halves of single broken stone.

  When he turned there were no words on his tongue, only a look of relief lighting his face. His eyes, so like her own, danced like the flames of the fire. They locked onto hers, soaked her in as though he were dying of thirst.

  He opened his mouth to speak and Aislynn suddenly felt another stirring in her bones. His bottom lip trembled ever so slightly, and his words stuck in his throat. Before he could gain his composure she stood on her toes and reached for his face. With fierceness and passion she brought her mouth to his.

  He kissed her back with his own longing, nearly sending her off her feet. His arms crushed her too him, one hand holding the side of her face as though to never let her go.

  It took a combined effort to pull away so they could walk out of the circle and into the privacy of the night. Barefoot, they moved into a clearing, dropped to their knees and found each other’s mouths again. The stars blinked above them and the moon watched over, giving them her brightest blessing.

  As they lay together in the tall grasses, Aislynn was taken to a lovely place where she could remember only one word. “Callum.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Wednesday, December 19th 2012, 7:24am

  Kyle stirred awake much later in the morning than he had wanted to. Having drank too much the night before on top of being given a migraine that would bring down an eight hundred pound gorilla, he had the hangover from hell.

  As he lay in bed he knew a headache was the least of his current worries. Nothing a few ibuprofen wouldn’t fix. But there would be no little yellow pill to stop the big bad apocalypse demon that was about to show up at his front door. And now Kyle Windstone, Kansas farmer, was suddenly supposed to be some kind of reincarnated magic man.

  When he had touched Abby the night before he had known it would change them both in some way. Very specifically, he had known it would significantly change him and there would be no way to get back to the person he was before. Even though the vision they shared explained their connection, he still wasn’t sure what to do with it. He also wasn’t sure he was willing to face the feelings that came along with it.

  Slowly he got out of bed and threw on the first pair of jeans he found on his bedroom floor. He stopped in front of the door to the spare room and listened for movement. After a few seconds of nothing but silence he pushed the door open a little and looked in on Abby’s sleeping face.

  Reincarnation wasn’t a concept he really had a hard time believing in. The idea had always made sense to him. Everything was based on cycles. After all, when summer was over you could count on it coming back the very next year; same bat-time, same bat-channel. Nothing in the natural world ever seemed to come to an end. Why would the soul be any different?

  As he watched her sleep he couldn’t help but think about crawling into bed next to her, pulling her tight into his chest, and dreaming with her for a few more hours. The end of the world could wait.

  With their first touch had come all the knowledge of another time, complete with all of the joy and sorrow that came with sharing a life together. He remembered all of the beauty they had experienced; the birth of their love, their children, and everything in between. The details were so stark that he felt as though it had been only yesterday. But he also remembered losing her, watching her die slowly after they had survived the Destroyer’s initial onslaught. He hadn’t been able to save her or their family.

  The image came to him now from a well guarded section of his mind. He saw her lifeless in his arms, her face taking on the shadow of death. A sick wave passed through him and he involuntarily shuddered. She was his and he had never belonged to another. He knew that deep down, but he had no idea how to deal with it.

  Thoughts raced like little stock cars around his head. He knew he wanted to be near her and that seeing her face gave him a simple sense of peace. Beyond that there was the physical pull. Those feelings he found easier to accept. Acting on the things he felt was a totally different matter all together. Though keeping that first kiss in a few hundred lifetimes out of his mind was not going to be easy.

  Abby was a distraction. He needed to stay away from her as much as possible. There were more important things to worry about and he wouldn’t allow himself to fail. Not again.

  There was work that needed doing and watching Abby sleep was not only bordering on the edge of creepy, but it also wasn’t getting anything done. He closed the door silently and headed downstairs to start his morning.

  Kyle was standing in the kitchen pouring his first cup of coffee, still wearing only a pair of faded old jeans, when he heard Abby padding down the stairs. Shit, he thought. He had hoped to be showered and out the door before she woke up. He kept his back to her as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Good morning.”

  He felt his heart wrench a little at the sound of her sleep softened voice. He clenched his eyes and resisted the urge to look at her. He could almost feel her eyes wandering
up the bare flesh of his back, over his shoulders and arms where matching black tattooed bands wrapped around each of his biceps. His skin grew hot. I should’ve put on a damn shirt, he thought.

  “Good morning.” He walked to the table and set down his mug of hot coffee. “There’s diet coke in the fridge.”

  “Thanks. Listen about last night…”

  Kyle lifted a hand. “I’m fine now. Just a headache.”

  Abby frowned, spoke softly. “Oh. Okay.”

  He dared to look her in the eye for a fraction of a second. Big mistake. Confused rejection registered across her features making his brow crease in self loathing. He watched as she bit her lip and looked away.

  Damn it, he cursed himself. Maybe he was playing it a little too cool. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he worried that it might be inevitable. He couldn’t allow her to think they were fated to be a couple because of what they had experienced the night before.

  Kyle knew he needed to keep his head clear. He wouldn’t allow himself to make mistakes this time. Being near Abby in a physical way would make it difficult enough for him to think straight. He needed to push her away emotionally as nicely as he could manage.

  He sipped his coffee casually, kept his mug in front of his mouth as he spoke. “I’m going into town. There’s a list of things that could still use doing. We’re running short on time.”

  Abby just nodded her head slightly and let her eyes drift out the window to the odd reddish colored sky beyond. Kyle took another sip of his heavily creamed coffee, feeling the mild burn of the liquid on his tongue, and tried unsuccessfully not to look at her mouth or remember how it felt under his own. He didn’t know what to say to her just then but he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

  He wanted to tell her that he had been so taken with her on the night they met that he had felt compelled to scrawl out flowery stanzas of poetry, one after the other. He wanted to take her hand and tell her what he knew in his heart to be true – that they were connected and fate had indeed brought them together. But that’s not what he said.

  “There’s a bathroom upstairs that’s all yours. I’ll shower down here.” He knew it was a dismissal, but she smelled like a vanilla cake he desperately wanted to sink his teeth into.

  Abby moved to walk up the stairs then stopped herself with her back turned to him. Kyle thanked multiple gods that he couldn’t see the hurt in her eyes anymore.

  “I dreamt of us last night, of who we used to be.” Her voice was quiet yet clear and Kyle thought he may have even heard a touch of anger. “I know what I saw and I know who we are.” She took another step away, stopped again. “Your name was Callum and I was the woman you loved.” With that she continued up the stairs.

  Kyle stood barefoot on the stone tiled kitchen floor, staring blankly at the coffee cup in his hand. Hearing his name – or what used to be his name – on her lips had left his heart thudding in his chest. He hadn’t expected to hear it, but his soul remembered the sound.

  He took a breath and set the mug down with a bang. He forced the fog from his mind, exhaled. There was no time for notions of past lives and soul mates. Before the Destroyer came calling, he had to make it in to town for some last minute provisions.

  * * *

  A little over a half an hour later Kyle was making his way through Clover Lake. What had once been a quaint Kansas town, complete with people walking their dogs and gathering about the local ice cream parlor, had become little more than a vacant lot. Kyle didn’t see a soul as he scanned the streets for signs of life. A few of the shops were boarded up along Main Street and even the fire hall seemed closed for business.

  He hadn’t watched the news for days, maybe even weeks. He didn’t need to. The visions in his head were enough for him to keep up on current events. He certainly didn’t need to check out the widespread panic in high definition widescreen complete with stereo surround sound. It was obvious that by now everyone on Earth was pretty aware of what was going down. Even if they didn’t know the details, the human race was famous for embracing a good apocalypse. Rumors alone would be enough to keep everyone cloistered in their homes and close to their loved ones.

  With the shops boarded up or on lock down Kyle figured he was going to have to do some good old fashioned looting. He wasn’t crazy about the idea, but he didn’t really have a choice either. Besides, he didn’t have a problem leaving money for what he took. Not those pieces of paper were going to do anyone any good after today, but it would ease his conscience a little.

  His first stop was the local grocery store. Surprisingly he found the doors unlocked and they slid open easily as he walked towards them. Though Clover Lake was a small town, the grocery store was a fairly large mom and pop production. The ceilings of the place were warehouse high though all but a few of the large overhead lights were off. This gave the place a creepy vibe that made Kyle feel slightly anxious as he let his eyes adjust to the dimness.

  He looked around at the shelves to see most of them were empty or littered with random food items. He grabbed two reusable shopping bags from a rack and started shopping.

  He found boxes of breakfast cereal down isle four, a few bags of oyster crackers on isle six, a ton of dry rice, cans of sweetened condensed milk, and tins of mandarin oranges on isle seven, and a bunch of gorgeous ripe yellow bananas misplaced in the dairy section. While he was there he grabbed the last package of butter and stashed it in his bag. Might come in handy, he thought. Plus it could be stored at room temperature for a little while without going bad.

  He made a stop to pick up some toilet paper and found only tissues. Better than nothing, he figured. While he was at it he swiped up all the baby wipes he could find and fit them in his bags.

  Kyle was rounding the corner of the frozen foods section when he heard something fall near the ice cream coolers and echo through the empty building. A tingle ran up and down his spine causing him to turn just in time to see a shotgun barrel pointing between his eyes.

  “Jesus Christ,” Kyle breathed, staring head on into the muzzle.

  “That’s my food you’re stealin’ son.” The man behind the weapon was older and could only be described as grizzly.

  Kyle didn’t recognize him. He wasn’t the owner of the grocery store, that much was for sure. The man in front of him looked to be in his mid-fifties. He was short with a full head of greasy, grey hair and an overgrown beard. Kyle knew the owner of the store, Mr. Hawkins well enough and this man didn’t look a thing like him. He decided it was best not to point that fact out.

  The gunman continued. “I’ve made my claim on this place and I don’t take kindly to looters.”

  Oh shit, Kyle thought. This guy was staking claim to the grocery store like he’d just landed on the New World with a flag. The man was off his nut and Kyle imagined there would be no way to talk sense with someone like that. So he resorted to bribery instead.

  “Oh, I’m not looting.” Kyle kept his voice even and calm. “If you wouldn’t mind taking the twelve gauge out of my face I could pay you for what I took.”

  The old man looked Kyle up and down, probably trying to access whether or not Kyle was a rich man. After a long moment the man finally lowered the rifle to the floor, leaning it against the row of coolers.

  “Sounds fine.” The old mad smiled, showing yellowing teeth. “And I’ll take that jacket you’re wearin’ too.”

  “Okay that’s good. Sounds like a fair trade to me.” Kyle carefully set down his bags and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. He found two hundred dollars within the folds of black leather and handed it to the man. The older man inched closer and snatched the money from Kyle like the bills were a steak and he was a starving dog. But he wasn’t fast enough.

  Kyle took a hold of the man’s upper arm and dragged him away from the gun easily, slamming his back into the wall with a thud. The old man’s reflexes were no match for someone at least thirty years younger. Kyle looked down at his assailant with a disapproving glance before wal
king over to grab the rifle. He popped the barrel open, saw that it was loaded, and slammed it closed again.

  “Sorry buddy, but I’m going to take your gun. You can have the money and this too.” Kyle slipped his jacket off and tossed it. “But I’m not going to let you shoot someone in the face over a bottle of apple juice and a box of saltines.” With that Kyle wandered out of the grocery store carrying a full bag in each hand and a loaded shotgun slung over his back.

  “If this place has a basement, get in it and stay there!” Kyle yelled over his shoulder before stepping away to let the automatic doors close behind him.

  Well that was interesting, he thought to himself. Just a few more stops and then back to the farm before lunch time. He was counting on the morning being productive for his three companions and that all the preparations were complete. He was hoping the time they had left above ground would be mostly free of work. He had no intention of spending his last days of normalcy moving supplies into a bomb shelter.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Wednesday, December 19th 2012, 11:47am

  Abby had been in a foul mood all morning, snapping one minute and silently pouting the next. Jim had noticed her unpredictable temperament and politely given her some space. Alex, on the other hand, was looking for a good fight.

  “What’s the matter Abbs?” Alex stacked boxes of MREs on the back bunks of the sleeping area as he taunted her. “New guy couldn’t do it for you last night? Didn’t he measure up, push all the right buttons?”

  His grin was crude, making Abby want to punch him in the face until his perfect nose flattened out. Instead she simply unleashed some well deserved venom on him.

 

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