by KT Webb
After a moment of silence, Kerr stood and offered a hand to Nora. “Come, my love, to our bedchambers.”
Nora giggled and allowed herself to be lifted into her husband’s arms. The others laughed too and followed them from the library. Kerr nestled his face into her hair and whispered quietly.
“Thank you for reminding me that I am only one part of the plans our Creator has for us.”
“Anytime.”
Nora transported them to their room. They changed their clothes as the others trickled up the stairs. The house had gotten a bit more crowded since Whitley had moved home and the addition of Joe and Callie. Luckily they had enough empty rooms to accommodate their new friends.
Kerr came up behind Nora as she pulled the blankets back on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“I love you, Nora.”
“I love you too, Kerr.”
She turned in his arms and kissed him tenderly. “No funny business tonight. We need sleep.”
Kerr sighed and gave her a devilish grin then leaned closer for another kiss.
“I’m serious, babe. We’ve got a big day tomorrow. Who knows how many people you’ll need to help heal. It takes a lot out of you. We don’t have the luxury of sick days.”
Kerr kissed her forehead and pulled her into bed with him. Nora snuggled up to her husband; it didn’t take long for her to drift off to sleep.
“Mommy!”
Nora opened her eyes to see Keira standing next to her bed. She sat bolt upright and looked around, making sure she was still home. Kerr was still sound asleep, so Nora shook him. He didn’t wake.
“I’m here to see you, mommy. Daddy isn’t going to wake up yet.”
“But how are you here?”
“Oh, mommy, I’m still in Eternity. I just came to visit you.”
Nora shook her head, her dark hair surrounding her shoulders like a shawl. If Keira was here for a visit, she needed to pay attention.
“What do you need, baby?”
“I came to tell you that you can’t stop him. Only the Creator can stop him. More people will die because of Absalom, and you won’t be able to stop it.”
Nora stared at her daughter, wondering what she was supposed to say or do.
“If you try to fight him before it’s time, you will die. You’ll all die, and there will be no coming back for any of you.”
“But we can’t just let him slaughter everyone!”
“Mommy. You can’t stop him. Please don’t try. Promise me.”
Nora sighed. If she made this promise it would mean millions, maybe even billions of people would die. But if she didn’t make this promise, her whole family would die and there would be no hope for mankind. Nora looked into her daughter’s pleading eyes and nodded.
“I promise, Keira.”
“Good. Now, wake up.”
Nora opened her eyes to find that she had dreamt the whole interaction with her daughter. But deep down she knew it was more than a dream. Keira had come to plead with her. To make her promise to be alive when she was finally allowed to leave Eternity. And Nora would do everything in her power to make sure that happened.
Chapter Twenty:
Hadley
Hadley listened to Nora’s story about her visit with Keira. She couldn’t help but wonder if the dream had been put there somehow by Absalom trying to lead them astray. But when she voiced her thoughts on the subject, she had been vehemently shushed.
“Alright, story time’s over. We’d better head to Imaan,” Thatcher announced after a few moments of silence.
Hadley grinned at Thatcher’s awkward way of avoiding the idea that they were not meant to stop Absalom’s “welcome party.” Within minutes, they had gathered their gear and Nora transported them to the mosque they’d agreed to meet at.
Imaan waited for them with a huge grin on his face. Something had happened, and he was barely containing his excitement.
“We’ve received word from all over. We have a busy day ahead of us. They want us to travel to Mecca.” He paused to let the significance sink in. “This is an unprecedented event. Non-Muslims have never passed through the Almushaf gate. We will meet with resistance from some, but when they see you are trying to help I believe they will accept your presence. We will travel to our most sacred mosque, Masjid al-Haram. That is where most of my people have sought shelter.”
“Thank you for helping us, Imaan,” Nora said.
Thatcher took Hadley’s hand and held tight. She gave a small squeeze back. This was going to be a challenging day, and they didn’t want to have to use their abilities to protect themselves. Hadley hoped they would find more welcoming people than displeased individuals.
They spent much of the day traveling to mosques across the United States. People embraced them without question. Hadley was surprised and overwhelmed by the well wishes and blessings heaped on her and her growing babies. By the end of the day, they were ready to move on to Mecca but were in desperate need of rest.
“Imaan, do you think we could impose on these wonderful people for the night?” Hadley asked.
“I don’t see why not. I’ll go ask.”
In the end, they were welcomed with open arms. They set up camp for the night on some of the cots within the mosque. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought about how quickly things were moving for them. The journey they would be taking the next morning was a major win for the Evolved.
Imaan woke them early in the morning. They said their goodbyes and gathered around Nora. The pulling feeling was more intense than ever as they were transported across the world. They arrived at the Almushaf Gate. It was a large structure that resembled a stand Hadley had seen hold the Bible in a church. The longer she studied it, the more she realized that was exactly what she was looking at, only the sculpted book at the top was the Quran. They were greeted by a large SUV and a driver. He introduced himself to Imaan and gestured for them to climb in.
They drove on a gently curving highway, passing frozen clusters of homes and businesses along the way. Hadley noticed large red X’s painted on the sides of the structures they passed.
“The people here have been searching for survivors. Unfortunately, we haven’t found many in the outlying areas. The searchers have marked the areas where they found and removed the dead,” Imaan said in a sobering voice.
“There are so many,” Hadley whispered.
“What have they done with the bodies?” Kerr interjected.
“The bodies that can be removed from the ice have been taken to the center of each city. We have people who prepare them for burial. That is part of what we will need your help with. The ground is frozen, and it is Muslim tradition to bury our dead as soon as possible.”
“I don’t want to sound insensitive, but with the amount of dead you have, why don’t you burn them?” Thatcher suggested.
Hadley saw Imaan stiffen and knew her husband had suggested something offensive. She gave Thatcher a gentle nudge to ensure he caught on to the reaction they were getting.
“I know you do not understand our culture and you have not studied our traditions, but do not under any circumstances make that suggestion to any of my people. We do not cremate our dead.”
“I’m sorry, I—”
Thatcher was cut off by the professor. “There is nothing to forgive. As I said, I know you do not understand our ways. Please do not speak of it again.”
Thatcher nodded his head and gave Hadley an apologetic shrug. They continued passing through smaller towns that became more concentrated as they joined the city. Hadley was sure that Mecca was normally teeming with life, but on this journey much of the city was abandoned. The closer they got to Masjid al-Haram, the fewer red X’s they encountered. Hadley also noticed that the ice had melted completely in a few areas.
Kerr leaned over as though hearing her thoughts. “Romulus and I have discovered that the more concentrated an area is with firm believers, the less effected by the fr
eeze they have been. These people still hold hope in their hearts.”
Hadley thought that made sense, and it actually made her a little giddy. Despite the fact that she had no business infiltrating this holy place, she was excited at the prospect of meeting so many who still believed in the future.
When they arrived at the mosque, there were people everywhere. Children played together as they ran between tents that had been set up for privacy and shelter. Hadley saw a man struggling with a generator. He appeared to be giving up hope that they could get it to run.
“That’s my cue!” She pointed in his direction and went to help.
As she approached the man, she suddenly wondered if she should be fearful of the encounter. Would he accept her help or treat her like an outcast? Her steps faltered as the thoughts entered her mind. The man looked up at her with what looked like the same apprehension she felt. In that moment, Hadley realized that far too often people let their fear and misconceptions stop them from reaching out to others. Instead of letting herself be consumed by what could be, she gave the man a broad smile.
“I can help you with that if you’d like,” she said.
The man regarded her with concern before nodding his head and holding out his hands in the universal gesture that said go for it. Hadley grinned and rubbed her hands together, feeling the electricity start to crackle. She put both hands on the generator and delivered a jolt of energy that would certainly bring it back to life.
“Go ahead and give it a try.”
The man had only seen her place her hands on the generator. He didn’t know that an electrical current could transfer from Hadley to the generator. He didn’t appear to have much faith that it would start, but he tried it anyway. Within seconds, the machine sputtered to life with a gentle hum.
The man was very pleased and nodded his approval. As Hadley walked away, she heard him speaking to those around him, undoubtedly telling them what she had done.
Chapter Twenty-One:
Kerr
While Hadley helped with the generators, Thatcher channeled heat into the walls surrounding the mosque so it was essentially a giant space heater for the people inside and out. Once he was done, Imaan asked him to travel to the outlying settlements to heat the burial sites. He nodded his agreement and disappeared with Nora.
Kerr was working on healing the sick and injured. He could feel all their pain and fear, and he wanted to help ease that as much as he could. The professor introduced him to many people and led him to the areas that had been set up as temporary hospitals. He got to work right away, starting with the children.
It took Kerr hours to make his way through all the people in need of healing. Some were too far gone and wouldn’t regain consciousness, while others only took a few moments to heal. They had only encountered a few people who were unwilling to allow Kerr to help them. He respected their wishes and moved onto the next.
As he stood from helping a young girl, Kerr suddenly felt as though he’d jumped from an airplane with a faulty parachute. His stomach lurched and his head was spinning. He reached to steady himself but failed to find a steady surface.
He fell into the darkness as his body felt like it had shattered into a million pieces. All at once, the pain was gone. He opened his eyes to find himself standing in the hallway of a hospital.
The steady beep and whir of machines around him left him momentarily confused. The clock on the wall read 8:07, and from the lack of sunlight streaming through the window, he assumed it was evening. His disorientation dissipated the instant he saw her. Malice. She was dressed in scrubs moving from room to room as though she were caring for the patients. He cautiously followed her into one of the rooms to find her tucking a little boy into bed.
He couldn’t believe his eyes. Had Malice changed sides too? Her beeper went off on her hip and she picked up the phone in the boy’s room. An announcement came over the loud speaker as Malice’s true nature shined through.
“Boys and girls, Nurse Mal has a big surprise! We have a superhero visitor.”
Kerr knew she wasn’t taunting him. He wasn’t really there.
“Join me in the hallway and we’ll go up to the roof to see him!”
There was no way this was going to turn out well. Kerr wondered where the doctors and nurses were that should be all over in this ward. He made his way to the nurse’s station to find it deserted. The children were beginning to flood into the hallway in their pajamas and robes. Kerr counted at least fifteen of them before he noticed the blood inching its way from under the door of the medication room. He chanced a look through the window. Now he knew where the real hospital staff had gone. They were all dead. Doctors and nurses had been thrown on top of each other in the small space. Malice had cut their throats and left them to die. He shuddered and turned away to find the children lining up in the hallway. Before he was compelled to follow them, he noticed the charts strewn across the desk. He was at the Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He stepped around the desk again and followed them. He felt completely helpless as they filed along behind the monster who had killed their caregivers.
When they arrived on the roof, the superhero was there. Absalom. At the sight of the fiery jinni before them, the kids were excited. They thought this was all fun for them. Kerr willed himself to wake up, but he was stuck in that hell. He didn’t want to know what was coming next.
Absalom called for a volunteer to come forward, and Kerr tried to yell out a warning. The little boy didn’t hear him; Kerr couldn’t make a sound.
The smile on Absalom’s face left Kerr sick to his stomach. He knew the monster in front of him was going to enjoy every bit of this. When the boy was close enough, Absalom reached out and touched him.
If Kerr hadn’t witnessed it himself, he wouldn’t have believed the unnatural scream was coming from a human. The boy lit up like a bonfire as flesh melted from bone. The other children shrieked and cried. They tried desperately to get away from the body and the demon before them. Malice had blocked the door to the stairs, trapping the children on the roof. Kerr could do nothing but watch as Absalom gleefully destroyed the children one after another. One of the older kids had been inching her way to the edge of the roof. Kerr knew exactly what she was contemplating, and he couldn’t say he blamed her.
She looked to be about sixteen, with short black hair. She was wearing street clothes and didn’t appear to be a patient at all. Her lips were moving as she held tight to the silver cross that hung from her neck. Tears were streaming down her face as she scooped up the smallest child, a toddler. She whispered to him and kissed his head as she cradled him in her arms. The girl stepped onto the ledge. Kerr couldn’t help but wonder what she was planning to do with the little boy she held.
She only hesitated a moment, as she glanced back at the latest victim. Then she jumped with the baby in her arms. Kerr was instantly transported to the edge as he willed their death to be less painful that what the children on the roof endured. When he looked down, he expected to find her dead body lying broken on the ground. But instead he found her struggling to stand on what appeared to be a severely broken leg as she clung to the boy. Directly below where she’d jumped to her apparent death was the roof of the rotunda that covered the front entry of the hospital. She had taken a big risk. It was at least six floors down and covered in pebbles. Kerr watched as she scrambled to the far side with the toddler still in her arms.
Absalom seemed to have grown tired of simply burning the bodies of innocent children and had begun launching their flaming forms off the edge of the building. Kerr wished with all his heart that he could close his eyes or shut out the sounds of their tortured screams.
Another child attempted to leap to the rotunda below. This time, Kerr fell with him until his body hit the ground, the life gone from his eyes. Everything went black.
“This is bad,” Hadley whispered.
“He’s been out for hours,” Nora choked out.
Kerr’s stomac
h churned as he regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on the couch in the library. He was staring up at his family. Nora was holding his hand, and Romulus stood behind her with a worried expression.
“What time is it?” Kerr asked.
“Half past ten,” Dorian replied.
“I watched it happen in real time?”
“What did you see, son?” Romulus asked gently.
Kerr closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn’t know what was worse: telling his family about the atrocities he’d witnessed, or knowing there was nothing they could do to stop it. He told his story with as much detail as possible.
“We have to stop this,” Hadley cried.
“We can’t. It’s over,” Nora said through her own tears.
“Come on! We have to do something,” Thatcher urged. “We need to take the fight to him.”
“It’s useless. If we go to him, we’ll be delivering our own death sentences. We can’t do that,” Kerr said, shaking his head.”
Dorian switched on the television to scour the news for reports of the tragedy. Kerr watched the channels blur by until they came to a stop on an unexpected scene. What unfolded before them would alter the course of their lives forever. The White House stood in ruins. The blaze that had once been a proud symbol of America was filmed from above.
“No!” The scream tore from Hadley as though it formed in the tips of her toes.
The door crashed open as Whitley arrived at the sound of her twin’s distress. She looked at the faces of her family and knew something was gravely wrong. The television caught her attention and she too began to scream wildly.
“Nora, we have to go. We have to find Tahlia and Eric. They may still be there,” Romulus insisted.
Kerr squeezed his wife and whispered his agreement. Hadley and Whitley were in no shape to accompany them, but they needed Thatcher. Nora reached out and grabbed Thatcher’s shoulder. When Kerr opened his eyes again, they stood before the White House.