Dark Time 2

by Iris Sweetwater

  When she said the last part, she was practically in Nick’s face, and for the first time, he noticed the softness and pinkness of her lips. He couldn't help himself as he leaned in the rest of the way placing his own lips against hers. It was a kiss he’d honestly been wanting since the first time he saw her. There had never been a good time. But this was as good a time as ever. He almost instantly knew what was coming before it happened. He should have known better.

  Carlie quickly pulled away, reared back, and smacked him across the cheek. The sound echoed throughout the room. It didn't help that the place was almost empty.

  "Look, I probably deserved that, I am sorry but…"

  "How dare you!" Carlie interrupted, tears starting to stream down her face. "How dare you kiss me and make my heart feel and hope. How dare you make me feel desire and want something. This world is dead, ours is dying, and mine has always been dead."

  Carlie took off running just as Alexandra made an appearance in the room again. The thought to follow her crossed his mind after she bolted, but he didn't feel it was a good idea to chase her. Instead, he sat down on his cot in shock, trying to process what had just happened.

  "I'm so sorry; I didn’t expect to walk into that. Where is everybody?" Alexandra asked the distraught Nick. Nick looked up at her and wondered if she would have any insight on what the heck had just happened when Carlie ran out. He was totally and completely lost right now. Not that he actually expected to be an expert on girls or women at this point, even though he liked to act like it, but this was way out of his league.

  "Gabe and Tanner are out and about somewhere. As far as what's happened, I have no freaking idea. Anyway, could you enlighten me?"

  Alexandra approached, sitting on the edge of the bed and facing Nick.

  "Well, did you do something to upset her?" Alex asked calmly.

  Nick huffed. "Well if kissing upsets a girl, then that’s it. I just kissed Carlie. Then, she ran off crying, saying something about how dare I give her hope. I know it was in the heat of the moment and bad timing, but I didn't think that would make her cry."

  "I don't know as much about her history as Tanner, but from what I know I can see how this might upset her," Alex began to explain. "She grew up in the foster system. I know she had several homes, many that were not nice. I don't know all the gory details, but there was probably a lot of abuse, emotional or maybe physical. She's never had a family of her own. I'm sure she's probably always expected not to have one. Tanner is as close as she gets. But then, you add in the fact that we were forced to leave Kingsbridge, it turned everything upside down. We don't even know our own fate. She is likely afraid to lose you. She probably doesn't even think she deserves you or that she can have you."

  Now that Alex said it, he could understand it. Carlie was a lot like him. They both had sketchy pasts with few supporters. But at least he had love of some kind. He had a family. Carlie didn’t have that. He was going to have to be understanding of her if he even wanted friendship with her at this point.

  Part 2:

  Alexandra

  Chapter 6

  Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. ~Og Mandino

  ALEXANDRA noticed things that night when the others finally showed back up. She could not say where they had been or why they had been suddenly let loose to explore this strange angel headquarters after so long of being locked up with nothing. Everything felt strange and wrong, but she had to be strong. She had to be vigilant. She was still so used to handling all of this on her own. She didn't know how to lean on the others, plus it felt wrong. They were all going through some things; falling in love, the idea of loss, coming to terms with the fact that they may never make it home. Why would she burden them with her thoughts and feelings, to add more uncertainty and burden them with her own?

  She laid down and tried to close her eyes, but this time, it wasn't as easy as the last several times. She didn't know how she had been able to fall asleep in such a strange place as this before, but now her thoughts were just swirling. She wanted to know what was or who was beyond the golden doors. She had found them today when she wasn't with the others. She had been almost certain they were calling to her, but she was too scared to try and open them. Was their leader behind them? Was there something else entirely?

  Then there was the fact that everyone around her was falling in love. They may not have realized it yet, though. Tanner did seem to be openly smitten with their new companion whether anyone trusted him or not. They were all starting to form some kind of bond. It had been why Carlie ran. Carlie was the type to run from love. She hardly knew what it was.

  Alexandra had found out first hand how easy it was for her to fall, and the scary part was she knew that as much as she didn't want to, she could do it again. She didn't know if Amon was still alive, and she had little hope, especially with as long as they had been trapped there. She had been certain the Revenant would give them the answers they needed, and she was still confident in this. Only, it looked like they were determined not to give them in time for her to do anything about what she would learn.

  She stared up at the ceiling and longed for the stars. Alex didn't even know if the stars could be seen from this planet, hardly thought to look with all the burning fire and brimstone going on right outside. It didn't look like a place that would afford something so beautiful, but maybe it did. She had her doubts that they could get out there, though.

  Alex glanced over at Carlie who had squeezed herself into the chair with Tanner. She would have to let the two of them have the bed from now on. There was no need for them squeezing together in that thing, and they did better together anyway. It wasn't like there was any harm in the two of them sleeping together, and she was feeling a bit defiant. She still couldn't tell who was right and who was wrong, and it was exhausting trying to guess.

  As she finally began to drift off, she found herself playing scenes in her mind of her life before all of these secrets came out. Her parents were right in front of her, and she could almost feel their touch on her skin. Their laughter and tears together rang true, and the normalcy was the most appealing thing if only for a moment. She hoped that whatever they were doing now, they were not mourning or looking for her, that they were spending whatever broken days they had left on Kingsbridge, happy with each other. Hopefully there was some excuse as to why she wasn't there, or maybe they didn't remember her at all.

  That would be better for them. That would be okay. At least, that was what she told herself.

  Alexandra woke up to the sounds of voices. Specifically, she could hear Gabe talking with someone, someone she didn't recognise. She peeped through one groggy eye as she rolled over to see that Gabe was at the door with it open, and on the other side, speaking with him, was their favorite guard. He was a cocky fellow, and she could tell even more by his stance. It was like everything he did was deliberately to show how much he loved himself.

  The behaviors she was witnessing from these ‘light’ angels were strange, and she hoped the leader was entirely different, much more on the purity level she had been expecting.

  Alex didn't want to wait to find out what was going on, so she stood up and made her legs wake up, sliding her feet across the floor until they weren't so tingly on her way to the door. She grabbed it and opened it wider, garnering looks from both Gabe and the angel. But they recovered quickly.

  “Naehel here was just telling me that the leader is ready to see everyone. Would you like to wake them up and go now or try again later.” Alex looked at Gabe like he had a giant bird on the end of his nose. Was he crazy? Why would they wait?

  “Everyone! Wake up!” she boomed, startling all of the other three teens awake. “We are being taken to the leader of the Revenant today.” She beamed at them with pride as they came up and in various states of exhaustion.

  Alexandra was pumped and ready for this. She was going to get her answers today whether they liked it or not. She would push and pu
sh until she got something.

  "First, you must dress in a way presentable to meet him," Naehel announced coldly, throwing some clothes into Alexandra's arms. "Don't keep him waiting long."

  The door was shut on them to get dressed, and the girls went to one side of the room and the boys to the other, facing away from each other for privacy after they had picked out something from the pile. Carlie had pulled on a tattered looking white dress, something that could have belonged to Tinkerbelle, perhaps, while Alexandra found comfort in a long sleeve white shirt and long skirt with a belt. She felt clean and new for the first time in a while and ignored the way they were white washed against the background of the walls around them. It was just a silly tradition they had to follow to get down to business.

  "You look sharp," Alexandra commented, looking over the guys as they joined them at the door.

  "Not too bad yourselves, ladies," Nick retorted, popping his collar out and making them both laugh. "Are we ready for this?”

  "Definitely," Alex answered as the door swung open and they were led through the corridors again without any ado.

  Alex held her head high as they were led to those same golden door she had discovered on her own the day before. They looked like they should have been flanked by cherubims or something, but they weren't. This told her a lot about the Revenant without even asking. Either they were truly righteous in all they did and granted something so pure and lovely, or they were haughty and made it for themselves. She didn't know which but she was determined, and her mind always went back to Amon. If she discovered they were the truth, then didn't that make him the bad guy?

  They were led inside and brought before a throne of sorts. It wasn't anything fancy, not the throne anyway. It looked like a repurposed medieval seat, but the room itself was inlaid with golds, reds,and silvers with murals of angels. It was the most colorful and least boring place in the whole of the maze of white walls they had been spending their time in. The most striking thing was nothing but the being that stood before them; the leader.

  He neither looked angry nor happy to see them. His expression was not even straight. It was completely unreadable. His hair was blonde and swung across his shoulders, but it was the brilliant golden blonde that one could not even hope to get from a bottle much less be born with. His eyes were that same golden hue, almost matching the ornate decor on the walls. His face, eyebrows, chin, everything was angled in such a way to be hard yet beautiful. But most surprising were his wings.

  In the same way that Alexandra had been drawn in by Amon's black and fiery wings, these white ones caught her eye as well. She had been certain the wings she had seen this whole time were of the purest white, but now she could see there was purer. Not just that, but their span was incredibly large. She could tell it even as they rested on the arms of the throne at his sides. He was an eagle to the birds in the room.

  Alex looked back as the doors made a loud noise on their closing and could clearly see several angels guarding them, as well as some kind of angelic forcefield. It was this shining blue color, and she was instinctively certain it would be like the zap Carlie experienced but worse if she went through it.

  She turned back to the leader of the Revenant and found his eyes on her.

  “My name is Emuriel. I am sorry we have not had the pleasure of speaking until now, but we have been very busy handling crises throughout the worlds. I am sure you will come to understand what we do here, in time, if you are willing to learn and do what is expected of you.” His voice was soft even as firm as his words and meaning were, and Alex was not afraid, though she could feel fear dripping off the others.

  “What is expected of us?” Alex chimed in, not waiting for an invitation. She could feel the eyes of the other angels on her and knew she had done something wrong by speaking out of turn, but she remembered her strength. How she was the one to discover the first angel, how she had faced the repeating days over and over on her own and stayed sane. How she had said goodbye to the one she loved and allowed herself to be taken by these angels to get answers. If she didn't speak up it would all be in vain. “Is it to sit in a small space day in and day out with nothing to do and never able to be with our families again? Are we to not use our powers for anything?”

  Alex continued until she was silenced. “You have a lot of questions to ask me. I can see that. You are brave not to hold your tongue.” It sounded like a threat, but she didn't really care. Something told her he wasn't going to lay a hand on her. Not yet anyway. “What is expected is that you learn what there is to learn in time. It is to stop using your powers unprovoked and stop sympathizing with the punished angels that have been scattered. It is to stop trying to find a way to stop what is to come and live your lives. In return, I can promise the safety of every single one of you no matter what happens.”

  Alex pursed her lips angrily. She got the meaning of that. They meant for them to allow their world to break and end and to disregard what it meant for Amon or their families. They would be the sole survivors. “Why shouldn't we try to save our world? As far as we knew until now it was the ONLY world, and it IS still the only world that holds our loved ones. I don't see you extending your protection to them,” Alex snapped at him even as Carlie shook her arm worriedly. She ignored it.

  “You can’t save your world, little girl. You’re not meant to. Your world was never supposed to exist.”

  Alex fumed at his outburst and no longer cared what it would mean to walk through those doors. She didn't want to hear anymore just yet even if she did need to hear this. She couldn't begin to imagine what he could mean by that. If a world existed, it was supposed to be there, plain and simple, right?

  Alex turned around and began to storm out, her friend screaming after her not to do it as she approached the force field of sorts. She stood before it and glared at it as well as the angels on either side, daring them not to turn it off. She didn't know if they could or would, but she was walking out either way.

  Determined, she held her head high and kept on walking, shoving the doors open with all her might. She heard gasps and whispers and words of anger from behind her as she made it through the barrier unscathed, though it was still there, shining on the other side of her. For whatever reason, it hadn’t affected her, and she knew now more than ever there was no reason to fear.

  Alex looked to her left down the one corridor they had not been down and saw the way out of the building onto the barren planet beyond. She marched right for it and didn't dare look back.

  Chapter 7

  Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. it's a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other. ~Eric Burdon

  "SHE can't go very far. She will be back," Alex could hear Emuriel say to everyone as she crashed through yet another set of doors, these leading outside. She should have thought of the fact first that there might not be any air she could breathe or that the fire and brimstone look meant excessive heat she couldn't handle, before she just walked out. But she wasn't thinking straight. Not after what Emuriel had said. It was a direct insult to her entire existence, and she wasn't taking it lying down, not now, even as beautiful as he appeared to be.

  Alex knew when the time came she would hear the truth, hear what he had to say and understand, but she would not stand for direct jabs at her home, her family, where she came from because it would mean she was born a mistake; that they all were. If angels, morals, or gods were real, then how could any creation be a mistake?

  As her lungs burned and the hunger and thirst she had been missing hit her like a ton of bricks, she began to breathe heavily, looking around her at the nothingness that stretched on forever. It was a moment of destruction frozen in time. It didn't seem to directly burn her anywhere, though she was careful to walk on the blackened parts of the ground where the ash and lava had cooled. But it was not the safety of the angels she had gotten used to on the inside of their compound. She would feel things out here, and the firs
t thing she began to feel was pain.

  But it wasn't physical pain, though she could almost feel it as that as all the memories and the knowledge came rushing back. She didn't know exactly how they had been able to block the majority of it out, but she grabbed her stomach, certain she was going to be sick.

  Alex could almost feel Amon’s touch on her cheek, on her body; feel his lips on hers as they kissed for the first time. She could see his face so clearly, and she had been certain she had forgotten the details of it until that very moment.

  She cried out not caring who could hear her as her heart shattered all over again for having left him behind in order to save the world. The thought all she was doing was being held captive by angels who said that they knew best, who said that her world was never real, was not worth saving angered her intensely.

  “Oh, dear, what a beauty you are even when you are in tears.”

  The voice made her jump up and spin around, looking for its source. Her tears turned red hot with anger and embarrassment as she saw before her a familiar face; one she certainly would not have expected to see only yards away from where the entire Revenant was residing.

  “Oryx,” she acknowledged, her voice growing cold.

  “Why such a cold welcome?” he asked, coming up to her and trying to brush a tear away that had fallen down her cheek, but she moved just in time. She looked him over weakly through her teary gaze and saw that he was shirtless yet again, leaning against the large sword he always carried. He was in a tight pair of black jeans this time, a belt donning his middle with a large blue gemstone on it matching the one on the hilt of his sword. It was almost comedic the way he bothered to deck himself out when he was a punished soul, a damned dark angel who was meant to collect the dead. Of course, not that he seemed to be too keen on doing his job since he spent so much time with the living.