Ticking Time - Andrei
Holding on / Activating Time
January 2315 BC
The full moon's light casts a eerie glow about the stones of the henge. It's so bright yet so dark. I glance at the pitiful grave we made for the old man who's done nothing but help us. I frown, holding back the pain i feel inside from how wrong this feels. I wish there had been another way but the two of them assured me there wasn’t.
Raven and I stand in the centre of the stones and suddenly I feel the wind change. A rush of wind comes from above and a light as bright at the sun shines from the ground. I feel the energy press me to the ground and I squeeze my eyes shut from the sudden light from below.
I feel Raven’s hand on my own and I squint to look at her. She nods. Then the pain starts.
I gape as a ringing rises in my ears. My head aches with a splitting migraine. I clap my hands to my head as the pain erupts and I feel a hot wetness on my cheeks. I close my eyes, hoping it will end.
Next thing I know, I feel her lips on mine and I feel life flood into me like a raging river let loose from a damn. The pain in my head eases. I take a big gasping breath and open my eyes. I see her lovely face, big eyes and red lips looking back at me, her own hand clutches her head. She looks so…
My skin’s on fire as if someone has peeled it from my flesh and rubbed salt and grit into it. A scream rips from my lips and I fling my arms out feeling everything at once. A darkness closes in on my vision and again I feel her lips.
On and on it continues. Stones fill my veins and I scream in agony, her kiss takes it away just to be replaced with the feeling of every limb breaking at once.
I fall into her arms, blood and tears streaming from my face and her kiss takes it all away.
A crushing weight constructs my chest and I can’t breathe until she breathes for me.
“Andrei, can you hear me? It’s ok, just breathe. It’s ok!” Her kiss awakes me to more pain.
I turn away as she forces me to look at her, lips giving me life for more pain to come.
Why does it hurt so much? Time jumping is never like this! Never! I scream at the stones, “Stop! Please! Just stop…” I whimper.
Another kiss and I see a shape in the light. Great, now I’m seeing illusions. A robed man, tall and grande with an archers bow stands behind Raven. He looks to her and nods, a small smile of approval on his face.
“Andrei Hanganu,” he speaks my name and it seems like an echo across time. “You have come to the end of your journey. You have survived.” He says with a note of finality.
I grit my teeth against the tension I feel in all my joints. “What does that mean you goat?” I grunt.
“With this you have unlocked our power and become a master of time.” He holds out his bow and it morphs into an hourglass no larger than the size of my thumb. He kneels down and presses it into my open hand. “Time is yours.” He says with one final whisper.
His form disappears into a swirling dust cloud that spins around us.
It feels like centuries, millennia even, until I find myself lying, weeping on the ground next to Raven. I’m retching and shaking. I feel so weak and worn out. I look sideways at her beside me and see her eyes flutter. She looks like she’s about to pass out.
She smiles weakly. “We did it. We made it.” She leans down once more and gives me one last kiss. I feel a bright energy course through my veins, lifting my chest, calming my stomach and easing my shaking limbs. As she pulls away I roll onto my side and she keels over.
“Raven, no!” I crawl to her side and hold her head in my arms.
“I’m glad you’re ok.” She whispers. Closing her eyes.
The light around us fades and the wind dissipates. I look around, we’re laying in the centre of the stonehenge in the light of the full moon. The stones lok weathered and rounded and the tops of some are missing. The ground is frosty beneath our bodies.
I hiccup, wiping the warm tears still on my face. I lean down, holding Raven close to my chest. “We made it. We’re alive. Oh my god, we’re still alive.”
A few minutes pass and suddenly Kerry appears from the hidden entrance, followed closely by her black furry friend.
“Oh my goodness, Andrei! Raven! Where have you been!” Worry pours from her mouth as she runs toward and and crouches beside Raven. “Is she ok? What the hell happened to you?!” She asks. Her worry begins to shift into anger and I know need to explain before she erupts.
“I’m sorry for making you worry. We had an accident in the library and we got stuck in the past. I think we’re OK,” I assure her. “She’s just exhausted. I think she needs sleep.” I add.
She nods and together we head back into the bowels of the Stonehenge branch. I know one thing is for sure, I want to sleep for an eternity and I won’t be time jumping for a while. I slip the hourglass into my belt pocket and follow Kerry down, carrying Raven on my back and all the way to the infirmary bed.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to her. “I’m so sorry.”
