Guardians: The Fallout

by Lola St. Vil

  He also tells us that we need to act quickly before Emmy enters the second stage of the Virus.

  “Most people would rather die than see their loved ones in that kind of agony,” he says to Marcus with a grave expression on his face.

  Marcus gently takes Emmy in his arms and heads out the door. The weight of Emmy’s body should have been no big deal for him. But he looks like he’s carrying a ton. Then I realize he’s not weighed down by what he carries on his shoulder. He’s weighed down by what he carries in his heart; regret.

  He thinks he should have somehow spotted the Virus. He should have somehow stopped it before it had a chance to take hold.

  I could tell him that it isn’t his fault. I could point out that the Sage said the Virus is not visible and that there was no way of knowing. But that won’t help.

  We all head outside. The sun is up now. This means we cannot fly to the address the Sage gave us. Jay Glides home to get the car. We all pile in.

  Marcus gently covers Emmy in a blanket and we drive off to the entry point of Daraquin, the city of Paras.

  Once we get to the location the Sage gave us, we get out of the car.

  “Seriously?” Jay asks as he looks out at the large building before us.

  “This is the address he gave us,” Rio adds.

  “This is bananas, yo.”

  “So, the entry point to Daraquin, the most enlightened purest place in the history of the world, is here?” I ask.

  “Yup,” the Twins say.

  And, with no further inquires, we all head inside the Super Wal-Mart.

  **************************************

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN: NEEDS

  All of us go into Wal-Mart except for Jay, who stayed in the car with Emmy. Once inside, we are faced with tons of shoppers, kids in strollers and everything anyone could ever need or want to buy. The aisles are wide and crowded; the florescent lights bathe the entire store, making even the prettiest girls look washed out and old.

  “So, we’re just supposed to find the camping aisle and go into a tent?” Miku asks.

  “According to the Sage, we go into the one that ‘should be wet but is dry,” Rio says, motioning towards the note.

  “Why can’t he just tell us what the damn tent will look like? Her heart has been stopped for hours now. Argh!” Marcus snaps.

  “We’ll get her to Daraquin. Don’t worry. Let’s just find a clerk,” Rio assures his leader.

  We survey the place. It’s so expansive it takes a few minutes before we can even track one down.

  Finally, I spot a guy about sixteen or so, wearing a blue Wal-Mart vest. He stands on a ladder restocking the shelves.

  “Hey kid, don’t pull on that!” he shouts at the little boy tugging on the Lego display. The boy sticks out his tongue and runs off.

  “Excuse me, what aisle do you keep camping gear?” Rio asks.

  “Ah yeah, that’s over there in--” He stops dead in his tracks.

  Once his eyes land on us, he is unable to tear them away. He’s quite taken by our beauty. I wonder how old he will be when he learns that stuff really doesn’t matter.

  “Hey, you okay?” Miku asks him, amused by the way he is fixing his hair on account of her.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry. How can I help you?” he says as he climbs off the ladder.

  “Camping gear,” Marcus reminds him.

  “Oh, follow me,” he says as he leads the way. When we get there, we find several tents on display.

  There are solid-colored tents, army fatigue-patterned tents and bright rainbow-colored tents.

  “Which one would you like?” the clerk asks.

  “We can figure it out from here. Thanks for your help,” Rio says.

  “I’m here if you need anything, anything at all,” he says to Miku and me.

  “Yeah, we got it,” Marcus says.

  He sizes up Marcus and figures that he’s out of his league.

  He smiles sadly and goes on his way.

  Rio must have sensed some sadness in his wave because he called out after him.

  “Hey, the girl in aisle ten thinks you’re hot.”

  The guy looks stunned. Then he turns his head towards aisle ten and smiles.

  “Which one should be wet but is dry?” Miku asks.

  We look at all the tents on display. After a few moments, Rio smiles and says, “That one, right there.” He points to a big tent in the corner.

  We walk over to it.

  “A weeping willow is supposed to be wet because it’s weeping—”

  “--But it sheds no actual tears, so it’s dry,” Miku finishes for her brother.

  Rio then points to the small imprint of a white willow tree on the corner of the tent.

  Marcus calls Jay and in a matter of seconds he joins us along with Emmy’s body.

  Once inside the tent, Marcus zips it up. Then, seconds later, zips back down and Wal-Mart is gone.

  We are now in a forest of all white weeping willows. The forest stands on the edge of the tallest cliff I have ever been on. The drop from here is over ten thousand feet, at least.

  “Wow,” Jay says.

  We all turn to see what he’s staring at.

  I’m awestruck by what I’m seeing. Just a few miles across from the cliff, stands Daraquin, the city of Paras.

  It is held in midair and is made entirely of ivory and colored diamonds.

  The community is perched on ivory twisted treelike stems that go several stories up into the sky.

  The homes look like life-size lanterns and illuminate various colors.

  The residents fly around attending to their daily lives.

  “I have got to see this up close,” Jay says.

  “That won’t be possible, Guardian. You are trespassing. You will turn back. Now.”

  And suddenly, the city across from us disappears behind a blinding white wall. Or what I thought was a wall, but turns out to be row on top of row of Paras. Each one wearing silk white robes with three red dots on the upper right hand corner. The dots make the shape of a triangle. That is the official sign of the Council.

  “We need to get to Gray. She’s expecting us. It’s a matter of life and death,” Marcus says.

  One of the Paras breaks formation and flies down to us.

  “We do not permit anyone unless they are Paras. I am sorry.”

  “The Sage said you would help us.”

  “He sent you to us?”

  “Yes, we’re running out of time.”

  “The Sage has been a friend for many cycles. And I can feel her heart breaking…”

  “So please let us get Emmy some help.”

  “I was not speaking of the human. I was speaking of your Second-in-Command. She is also in pain.”

  They all turn to look at me. Damn it!

  Paras can’t tell what people are feeling like Rio but they can sense great sadness.

  “We are here for the human,” I say trying to keep the anger from my voice.

  Why does everyone think it is okay to read me? Why can’t they just leave it alone? Can a girl get any privacy at all?

  “If the Sage sent you, you may pass.”

  “She’s not doing too well,” Miku says, looking at her friend’s body on the ground.

  “We may be able to help—both of them,” he says.

  Would it be wrong if I killed a Para for being in my business?

  The Paras break formation and allow us passage into Daraquin.

  As soon as we enter the illustrious city, we are greeted by two Paras. They are wearing the same thing as the guards outside the city but the dots on their robes are blue.

  They instruct us to follow them.

  As we fly toward a large building made of blue diamonds and ivory, I get a chance to look around the city.

  The streets are immaculate. Flowers and plants grow freely along the base of the homes. There is a calmness in the air that makes it difficult to worry or even be troubled. So it amazes me that I’m sti
ll feeling like crap. But then maybe even the Paras can’t stop this pain that insists on attaching itself to me.

  Once we get to what we are told is the healing center, we are taken into a room where Emmy is then placed onto a floating bed of feathers.

  A woman who looks to be about fifty or so then enters. She, like most of her kind, is beautiful. She has eyes as blue as the ocean and her skin is the color of earth.

  “Hello, I’m Gray.”

  “Is she gonna be okay?” Marcus asks.

  “We have to take a closer look and see how much damage the virus has done. It may take a while. You should all go and recharge. You all look exhausted.”

  “No, I’m staying with her,” Marcus insists.

  “I understand. But the rest of you should go.”

  “No, we still need to go get to the Witness and we don’t have any idea what the date the Sage gave us means,” Jay says.

  “Gray is right. You guys need to recharge.”

  “We can’t just go recharge with everything going on,” Rio argues.

  “Taking on the Hun is going to be hard enough without worrying that my team will be too tired to focus. Go recharge; It’s an order.”

  “We have set aside rooms for all of you,” Gray says.

  “I guess we have no choice,” Miku says, not wanting to leave Emmy alone.

  The rooms they set up for us are perfect. They let in a lot of natural light and are absolutely soundless. The others go off to their rooms, close their eyes and stand perfectly still.

  I don’t have to try to know that it is not going to work for me. I have not been able to recharge since Marcus and I…

  Instead, I go off down the hallway back towards Emmy’s room.

  I peak in and find Gray spreading a light blue wave over Emmy with her hand. Marcus looks on, concerned.

  After a few moments, Gray heads out of the side door and tells Marcus that she’ll be back shortly. Marcus is now alone with his girl.

  He starts speaking to her lifeless body. I shouldn’t listen, but I do. Something inside me needs to know what he says. Or better yet, what he would have said had I been the one laying there.

  He speaks in a soft, pained voice.

  “Hey, Piglet.”

  She remains motionless.

  “Don’t worry okay? They’re gonna fix you. Then we’ll find the person that did this to you, okay? And don’t worry about your mom. Jay used his powers to convince her that she let you go upstate to visit your uncle. So, she’s fine.”

  He is trying to sound casual. As if this was just another day, but he isn’t doing a very good job of it. His voice is filled with anguish and regret. He leans in closer and whispers softly to her.

  “I’m sorry we came into your life, that I came into your life and ruined it. I love you, Emmy. Please, don’t die…”

  He takes her hand in his and bows his head.

  A sharp pain travels across my chest and makes its way to my fingers and toes.

  I’m dizzy but I don’t know why.

  I am finding it hard to remain standing. I should go recharge but I’m having a hard time getting off the wall I am leaning on.

  I flatten my fingers against the cold walls and look up at the ceiling.

  “You should be recharging,” I look down and find Miku standing beside me.

  “So should you.”

  “I can’t. My friend is in trouble.”

  “Emmy will be fine, Miku.”

  “I wasn’t talking about her.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “I don’t need Rio to tell me you’re lying.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Talk to me.”

  “About what?”

  “Marcus.”

  “What about him?”

  “Ameana.”

  “Pretty, I know you want me to just break down and fall apart but we are here on a mission. There is no time for that. And besides, it’s no big deal. He was just a guy.”

  “You loved him.”

  “Yeah, well that was one-sided and now it’s over. So, let’s just move on, okay?”

  “If you can move on, why are you standing here spying on them?”

  “I’m just keeping watch.”

  “Mimi, he hurt you, you should be allowed to feel it.”

  “I don’t want to feel it. I want everyone to stay out of my head, out of my waves and out of my face.”

  “So, you’re not even gonna tell me who the new guy is?”

  “How do you know there’s a new guy?”

  “I saw the shoes you brought earlier. They are sexy make-out shoes. They have nothing to do with the mission. Who is he?”

  “No one special.”

  “Then why are you seeing him?”

  “Because that’s exactly what I need; no one special.”

  “Why would you say that? You deserve someone special.”

  I turn my attention back to the couple in the room. He is kissing her hand.

  I reply to Miku’s question.

  “Special breaks your heart. Special forgets he ever loved you…”

  I pull myself away from the door and head down the hall.

  “Mimi, wait, let’s talk,” Miku calls out after me.

  But I don’t stop. I can’t. Not even for my best friend.

  I fly as far away from the Healing Academy as I can without leaving Daraquin. I land on a mountain overlooking the city.

  “This is one of my favorite spots,” someone says to me.

  Why, oh why, can’t I get a moment alone?

  “Sometimes, you get more alone time than you bargained for.”

  Great, it’s the Sage. He is hovering above me on a Port.

  “I came to see how Emmy was doing.”

  “Shouldn’t you know?”

  “The future is like anything else. It can change. While the major things don’t, the smaller things do.”

  “She’s at the healing center.”

  “Yes, I was just there. Marcus is very worried.”

  “Yeah, his girl is dying. Got it.”

  “Not just about Emmy; He’s worried what this will do to you.”

  “Me? Please. I could be set on fire and Marcus wouldn’t give a damn.”

  “That I find hard to believe.”

  “Can I just get a moment to myself?”

  “You need more than that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You see the White Forest? That one your team entered when you got here?”

  “Yes.”

  “There is a tree there called “The Maker”. It is a very powerful and is older than the Paras themselves.”

  “What does it do?”

  “What you need it to do.”

  “For once, can you stop speaking in riddles and just tell me?”

  “The Maker gives you what it feels you need the most. For example, many Paras visit the Maker before they go off to battle. The Maker gives them courage because at the time that is what it feels they need the most.”

  “How does it work?”

  “You walk up to it and place your hand on the trunk of it and then it gives you a surge of what ever you are in need of the most.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Couldn’t someone just keep going to the Maker for everything?”

  “The Maker won’t give you what you want; it will give you what you need.”

  “So, you just touch the tree and you get what you need.”

  “What it feels you need.”

  “Why are you telling me about ‘The Maker’?”

  “I think you should go. There will be many battles ahead. You will lose a great deal before this is over; you all will. But right now, you have a chance to get what you need. So, go. It will help. I promise.”

  And before I can answer, he disappears. I call out after him.

  “How will I know which tree?”

  But he’s gone.

  Curiosity gets
the better of me and I fly over to the White Forest.

  Once there, I am greeted by the same white wall of Paras.

  “Can you tell me where the Maker is?”

  “Right behind you, Guardian,” one of them says.

  I turn and see him point to a winding path along the forest. At the edge of it stands a great twisted weeping willow. The vines all touch the ground. It looks as if it will collapse under the weight of its own branches at any moment. But unlike the other willows, this one isn’t white. It’s translucent with a pale red hue glowing around it.

  I follow the path and walk up to the Maker.

  “So, you’re the all powerful tree, huh?”

  Nothing happens. Well, what was I expecting? It isn’t a talking tree. So, why am I talking to it and expecting it to talk back?

  “Okay, for the record, I don’t believe this will work. I mean it sounds like a fable or something but I’ll give it a try,” I say to no one.

  Then I put my hand at the base of the trunk and close my eyes.

  The Sage didn’t say to do that but I figure it might be best.

  Suddenly, the tree grows warmer underneath my hand. I open my eyes and the Maker is now glowing several shades redder than it was when I first touched it. I want to pull my hand away, but the tree is somehow keeping my hand in place. A few seconds later, the glowing stops and my hand is released.

  I try to gauge how I’m feeling. Am I feeling more courageous? No. Am I feeling better? No.

  The Maker has failed me. The Sage sucks.

  Deflated, I fly over to the edge of the cliff and sit down.

  And here it comes again; the misery of being thrown aside for another.

  And the torture of being discarded like trash.

  How could he not want me? Didn’t I love him well? How could he choose her over me? I love him so much. How long had he stopped loving me?

  Had it been days? Weeks? Months?

  Who’s to say he ever loved me?

  Oh no, was it all just in my head?

  Did I imagine the genuine tone in his voice when he said, “I love you”?

  Did I make up the sincerity of his kisses?

  Did I mistake the desire in his touch?

  I feel something land on my face; a leaf, maybe?

  I brush it off my cheek. It’s wet.

  What the hell?

  I look at the wet substance on my fingers. It’s the most shocking thing I’ve ever encountered since becoming an angel; it is tears.