by S. J. West
Nina’s pep talk seems to make Rafe feel better.
Rafe stands a bit taller and holds his staff out beside him. He lifts his staff and thrusts the bottom end of it into the water’s edge. Nothing happens for the first 30 seconds, but then Rafe’s staff begins to vibrate like a tuning fork. A ripple, like a small wave, flows out from Rafe’s staff and floats out towards the rest of the St. Lawrence River. As soon as the wave hits the infected areas, the wormwood disappears like it’s being erased from existence, and the water turns blue again.
“Damn,” Xavier says in awe, “I didn’t think it would actually work.”
“I never had any doubt,” Malcolm says smugly.
“I guess I’m just not used to seeing miracles happen like you are,” Xavier says, sounding envious. “There hasn’t been much on this world to make people remember that God still exists. A lot of them have forgotten about Him.”
“Well, maybe we can change that,” I say. “Maybe it’s time they were reminded that He’s still watching.”
“Maybe,” Xavier agrees.
Once the river is purified, at least for as far as we can see, Rafe turns back around to face us.
“Now what do I need to do?” he asks us.
“I think you need to go to as many places as possible to cleanse water supplies for people,” Mason says. “Nina, you know this world best. I’m sure you can take Rafe to all the major tributaries and such. Highly-populated areas would also be a good place to start.”
“Lucian is sure to get wind of this,” Malcolm says. “Rafe will need to be protected by more than just Nina.”
“I hate to admit it,” Nina replies, “but Malcolm’s right. Lucian has the numbers behind him to overrun us. I’m good, but I can’t take on hundreds of rebellion angels all at once. We’re going to need back-up.”
“I’ll go with you,” I volunteer.
“You should be resting,” Mason says, unable to hide his worry. “You’ve done enough for now, Jess.”
“I need to go,” I say resolutely. “If I just sit around here, waiting for something to happen, I’ll end up feeling useless and will just get depressed. At least out there, I’ll feel like I’m actually doing something productive. Besides, it’s time I saw what was happening in this world. I feel like I’m hiding in my shiny white castle here, where nothing can touch me. The people out there,” I say, nodding to the world in general, “aren’t as lucky as us. I’m here to help, not hide away in the safety of my own fortress.”
Mason sighs, because he knows no matter what argument he makes he won’t be able to dissuade me from my decision.
“All right. I guess we’re going out into the real world then,” he says to me in a resigned voice.
“I need to get back home before Lucian misses me,” Xavier tells us. “I wish you all the best of luck.”
“Good luck to you, too, Xavier,” I say, holding out my hand to him.
Xavier shakes my hand. “Be careful out there. Some of the people of this world have gone completely mad. They’re all in survival mode at the moment. Watch your back. Don’t trust anyone.”
“I’ve got her back,” Mason assures Xavier. “We’ll be careful.”
Xavier nods, accepting Mason’s declaration of protection.
“I wish you both luck then,” he tells us, before phasing back into the lion’s den.
“I like him,” I declare.
“As much as me?” Malcolm questions in a playful voice.
“You’re family,” I say. “I have to love you whether I want to or not.”
Malcolm puts his hands over his heart. “You wound me, Jess. And here I thought you loved me voluntarily.”
“You’re such a goofball sometimes,” I tell him through a smile. “Come on. We need to get our team together.”
It doesn’t take us very long to assemble a good team to back Rafe up on his mission. We add Isaiah, Baruch, Jered, Chandler, and Zack to the team. I’m hesitant to bring Chandler and Zack, but Isaiah and Baruch seem adamant in bringing them along with us.
“They’ve been invaluable to us on our supply runs,” Isaiah tells me. “Zack’s daggers keep the rebellion angels who find us from phasing away, and Chandler’s music has prevented some fights from happening altogether.”
“I didn’t realize you guys had to fight so much on these supply runs of yours,” I admit, having been under the misconception that the expeditions for supplies were uneventful.
“Some of them have been interesting,” Zack says. His expression tells me that he’s glad he can finally come clean with their little secret.
I know why he and Chandler never mentioned the danger they faced while helping scavenge supplies. If they had, I probably would have asked them to stop. Not because I thought they couldn’t handle themselves, but because I would have constantly worried about them. It makes me wonder if Mason’s judgment about my character is right. Did the events of my past shape me into a person who is extraordinarily cautious when it comes to the safety of those I care about? Or is that just the way I am? Either way, I don’t see a problem with caring for the ones I love. Friends are supposed to have each other’s back. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Before we set out on our mission to cure the world’s water stores, I receive a pleasant surprise.
The Andre of this world phases to the castle to speak with Brand and Jai Lin.
“What’s left of the Italian Army has mobilized to take down all of Ravan’s strongholds in Rome,” this reality’s Andre informs us. “The reports I’ve been receiving from other Watchers around the world seem to indicate people are finally waking up.”
“I’m sure the destruction they’ve witnessed has helped them realize Jai Lin was speaking the truth in her video,” Brand adds.
“It certainly forced the non-believers to open their eyes,” Andre agrees.
“And has anyone seen Ravan?” I ask them. “Do we know where she is?”
“From the last report I received,” Andre tells me, “she’s still in the White House. I think it’s the one place she feels safe. Odds are, she’ll try to ride out the rest of the Apocalypse there.”
“Hopefully, she’ll come out on her own,” I tell Andre. “I really need to get my sword back.”
“We’ll get it, Jess,” Mason assures me. “I don’t intend to leave this world until we do.”
“I need to return to Beijing to help my people,” Jai Lin tells Brand. “We need to show strength, now more than ever.”
“I’ll go with you,” Brand says, taking her hand. “I’m not letting you out of my sight until this is all over.”
“That’s a good idea,” Mason tells them both. “Like we’ve discussed, the world will need someone they can trust after we win this war. If the two of you can show a united front, maybe the world will allow the Watchers here to help repair things afterwards.”
Silently, I’m wondering if Jai Lin and Brand will ever get the chance to lead the survivors of this world into a brighter future. Right now, it’s not looking very promising. Nevertheless, Lucifer’s earlier words give me hope that all is not lost. He said he knew a way to turn the tide of this war in our favor. I’m not sure what his plan entails, but at least there’s a glimmer of hope for this world, no matter how slim it might be. All is not lost… at least not yet.
As we gear up to go out into the world, I get a visit from someone I didn’t think I would see again during my time in this reality. I had all but forgotten that John Austin and the rest of the folks from Cypress Hollow had been taken to the salt mines to wait out Armageddon. Unfortunately, it had found them there and chased them out of what was supposed to be a secure place to hide.
“Is there anything we can do for you?” John Austin asks me as I’m packing a small backpack with a few snacks for our excursion.
I look up and see that he and the others are looking at me eagerly. I do a quick count, and breathe a sigh of relief to see that all of them survived the salt mine collapse.
“Jus
t help out wherever possible,” I tell them. “Conditions are changing all the time, so I don’t know where you will be most needed. Desmond and Slade will be staying here to run things. If you see one of them, I’m sure they can find you something to do. Though,” I look pointedly at Beau, “do you happen to make cinnamon rolls?”
“The best ones you’ve ever put in your mouth,” Beau declares proudly.
“We have some flour. If you could bake some for people, I think that would help morale a great deal. I know it would lift my spirits a hundred percent.”
“Then consider it done!” Beau proclaims.
“If there’s anything you need from us,” John Austin says to me, “all you have to do is tell us. We owe you our lives. I don’t think we could have survived any of this without the help of you and your friends.”
“I think you would have. People are a lot stronger than they think they are. Sometimes they just need to face overwhelming adversity before being able to realize their true potential.”
Mason walks into the kitchen and asks me, “Ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready to go.” I zip up my backpack and sling it over one shoulder. “We’ll see you all later.”
The gang from Cypress Hollow wishes us well on our mission, and I realize I’m happy they’re with us. I thought I would feel uncomfortable seeing them here, especially John Austin. But they’ve brought a little bit of home with them to the castle, reminding me what I have to go back to.
“Where are we going first?” I ask Mason as we walk to the library.
“The others decided we should try to cleanse the oceans first. The sea life is going to have a hard enough time enduring the difference in tides, now that half the moon is gone.”
After we arrive in the library, we find everyone who signed up for this mission ready to depart.
“Where to first?” Rafe asks Nina.
“We’re going to phase over to the Pacific Coast, near Santa Barbara,” she tells him. “We don’t really know how far your power can reach. We’ll probably have to phase to a few places to make sure we get the maximum effect.”
“Ok,” Rafe says, tightening his grip on his staff. “Ready when you are.”
After we all join hands, Nina phases us to a beach near Santa Barbara. What welcomes us is…unexpected, to say the least.
I can see where the ocean used to be. There is a wet line in the sand indicating where the water met the shore, but where the water has gone, I’m not too sure about. I knew with only half the moon exerting its gravitational force on the Earth that the tides would be affected in some way, but I had no idea it would do this much damage to the natural ecosystem.
I look towards the horizon, in search of the ocean that’s supposed to be here, but only see sand, rocks, and the corpses of dead fish and other marine life that wasn’t able to make it out to sea with the tide.
“I don’t understand,” I say to the others. “Where’s the water?”
“It wasn’t here when we got here either,” a stranger’s voice says behind us.
When we turn to look at the person who spoke, I find that we are definitely not alone on the beach. There must be at least a thousand people scattered around in small groups, and all of them are watching us with a great deal of apprehension. And why wouldn’t they? It’s obvious some in our group are Watchers, since we just phased in. It probably doesn’t help matters much that we’re all armed to the teeth, ready for a fight.
The woman standing in front of us is covered in soot, just like most of the people behind her. Fires are burning just past the beach area, and I can only assume these people came here to get away from the flames, which are still blazing out of control.
I take a step forward and hold my hand out to her.
“Hi,” I say, wondering if this woman recognizes me from the news or not, “I’m Jess. We’re here to help you.”
The woman looks at all of us cautiously before turning her attention to my outstretched hand. Without as much hesitation as I feared, she shakes my hand.
“I’m Marie,” she says. “I hope you guys are as put together as you look.”
I have to grin at that. “Yeah, I hope so, too.”
Marie smiles and looks over my shoulder. “I don’t know what happened to the water. We just came here, because there really wasn’t anywhere else safe to go… seems like the world is going to hell in a handbasket awfully fast, though.”
“This isn’t good,” Jered says, staring out towards the horizon, frowning. “In fact, this is very, very bad.”
“Why?” I ask, recognizing the worry in Jered’s voice. If Jered’s worried, things are definitely serious. He isn’t one to rattle easily.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Malcolm asks Jered as he stares out at the horizon, too.
“What are you guys looking at anyway?” I ask them, not seeing anything of note.
“Nothing,” Jered replies. “That’s the problem.”
“The water didn’t just disappear,” Mason says.
“There!” Jered yells, pointing at something across the wasteland of sand in front of us.
I have to strain my eyes, but I do end up seeing something appear on the horizon. It’s glimmering slightly, but I can’t quite make out what it is.
“What is that?” I ask, still clueless.
“A wave,” Mason tells me ominously.
“That can’t be…” I begin to say, but then realize what it is I’m really looking at. “A tsunami?”
“Yes,” Jered answers, his voice filled with dread. “The largest one I’ve ever seen. And it’s coming straight towards us.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
My first instinct is to tell Mason to phase us back to the castle. Unfortunately, that isn’t actually an option for us anymore. I turn around to look at all the innocent people trapped on the doomed beach. With a raging fire in the background, and now a tsunami heading directly towards us, there’s nowhere for them to escape.
“Do we have time to evacuate these people?” I ask, even though I fear I already know the answer to my own question. In the background, I can hear the distant roar of the mountainous wave heading straight for the beach like a freight train.
“There isn’t enough time,” Mason tells me. “I’m not even sure where we would take them. We’re already running out of space at the castle.”
“I might know of somewhere,” Nina says just before she phases. Within a few seconds she returns, “It seems safe there. At least there aren’t any fires burning. Besides, I don’t think beggars can be choosers today.”
“If we start now,” Jered says, “we can at least save some of them.”
“I think we can save them all,” Nina declares, turning to Rafe. “When we were in the salt mines, I saw you morph water into different shapes with your power.”
I remember the moment Nina is talking about. It was the time Rafe was entertaining everyone by making different animal shapes from the water in the underground lake.
“I’ve never tried to control this much water before,” Rafe says, like Nina’s suggestion is an impossible one.
“You don’t have to control it all,” she tells him. “Just control enough to make a dome of water over us. While you protect us, we can phase these people to a safer place.”
“Where, exactly?” Mason asks.
Instead of answering, Nina grabs Mason’s arm and phases. They both phase back almost immediately.
“As good a place as any, I suppose,” Mason says, not sounding too enthusiastic about the location Nina has chosen. “We need to get these people closer together, though, so we can phase large groups of them at one time.”
I look out at the faces of the strangers on the beach as they watch the horror of the approaching tsunami.
“They’re too scared to listen to us,” I say to the group.
“Maybe I can help with that,” Chandler suggests, drawing out his flute from his back pocket and immediately bringing it up to his lips.
&
nbsp; The song Chandler plays fills me with a few different emotions, telling me that he’s weaving together more than one tune at once. I instantly feel at peace, even with the largest tsunami in recorded human history about to crash down over our heads. I also feel a need to gather with the other humans on the beach, as if our closeness to one another will insure our survival. I physically see the effect Chandler’s music is having on the others as they walk towards us.
I turn back around, bracing myself for what I’m about to see because the roaring has just gotten a lot louder. The wave reminds me of the first time I saw the Empire State Building. Just as I had to do then, I have to crane my neck back so far I feel like the back of my head is touching the tops of my shoulders. I can’t say I’m not scared witless, because I totally am.
I feel Mason grab my right arm, but I instantly snatch it out of his grasp, recognizing his intensions.
“I’m not leaving until Rafe does,” I tell him stubbornly.
I see Mason’s jawline tense. It’s his tell for when he gets aggravated. However, he knows me well enough by now to realize arguing is going to be a waste of time. If he really wants to get me out of harm’s way as quickly as possible, he’ll need to evacuate every human present first so Rafe can leave.
“Let’s get these people to safety!” Mason shouts to the rest of the Watchers.
Mason and Nina quickly phase the other Watchers to her safe spot, so they know where to go.
I notice Chandler is playing his music more stridently. When I look at the faces of the people in the crowd, I can see how terrified they are. Some of them have completely stopped moving. I look over my shoulder at the wall of water that’s almost upon us. Rafe lifts his arms in the air towards the tsunami, preparing himself to use his power of manipulation to form a protective dome over us.
I run up the beach towards the five people who have been frozen into place by their own fear.
“Come on!” I yell at them as I pull at their tattered clothing. “Move your asses!”
