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Maynia -- Day Twenty-Six -- 1,958 words
“Here’s the plan.” We watched as Shiela pointed at Samheinrock’s Town Map that Jack had laid down on his desk, we were all ears as we stood around Jack’s home office. The bastard wasn’t kidding when he said he had been doing some research on Shiela’s business, but what I couldn’t wrap my head around on was why he had to be keeping pictures of her too.. The fucker had a tendency to be stalkerish..
Couldn’t really blame him though, Shiela was still a looker even as she unconsciously ran a hand through that now unkempt hair of hers while she kept talking—“I need help in getting everyone safely inside their homes, starting tomorrow night—”
“That’s easy enough, the town probably won’t mind a curfew after a possible arsonist is still on the loose right now. Anything else?” Jack really wanted to get himself involved in this, I could tell—I didn’t know about Luke but I also wanted in on this stuff..
Shiela let out a huff of breath at Jack’s question before she pointed to a spot on the map, “I may also need someone to keep watch at the tower’s base—get them to pour a couple bags of my blood just to jumpstart the tower’s energy enough to help me seal the rift in the mines—” The finger she had pointed at the tower’s location grazed across the map as she pointed out the mines, they were almost at least half an hour away from each other, could be less if you step on it without braking..
“And—?” Jack really wasn’t giving this up.
“And—that’s it. The rest of you can stay here where it’s safe—” Now that had me speaking up, “Woah, woah, woah—where’s the part that you’ll need backup in the mines??”
“Z’s right Shiela, you can’t go there alone. Let me come with you.” I was just about to protest with Jack’s suggestion when Luke suddenly spoke up—“Shiela.. I’m actually more curious about what your blood.. contains—how do we even know if we jumpstarted the tower properly? Will it.. light up or send out a beam or something??”
Ugh. Always with the science stuff, this Luke, now he’s turning the cool blood-show into some homemade sci-fi.. And Shiela just had to jump on the bandwagon when she focused on Luke instead, “No Luke, it wouldn’t light up, nor will it send out a beam but—you’ll feel a tremor instead. Like a slight earthquake happening in Samheinrock, you wouldn’t really notice anything different than that until I leave town..”
“What happens when you leave, Shiela?” Jack asked her but then I had to get the topic back to who was really going with her to the mines, “Yeah Shiela—why don’t you fill me in as well with what we’ll be going up against in the mines?” Yeah, I already put it out there, I’m volunteering myself to go with her.
Jack focused on me then, his jaw ticking as he said, “Shiela’s got me to go with her to the mines.”
“Yeah, she got you there alright..” I snickered to myself as I rubbed my face that mirrored the bandaged side of his cheek.
“The only thing I need to ‘fill you in’ on—” Shiela intervened then, casting a stern look between me and Jack,”—is that the pain you’ll feel is all in your head.” Shiela focused her gaze on me then as she said, “Don’t get lost in your nightmares.”
I swallowed then through my suddenly dry throat, just as Shiela glanced away from me and suddenly had an almost sad look on her face as she stared down at the town map, “As for what happens once I leave Samheinrock.. You’ll just all end up forgetting this nightmare even happened.”
“Like hell I’d let myself forget about her..” I grumpily mumbled to myself as I kept checking the gun that Shiela let me borrow for tonight. This was the second time in a long while that I held a gun like this, like I was back to using it to protect people.. That first instance back in the mines? It suddenly made me feel that I had a purpose to live on, and maybe—if Shiela would just let me..
I frowned when I got pulled out of my thoughts when the guys started getting busy outside, I peeked out from the living room window and saw Luke loading up Jack’s pickup with an icebox filled with a couple of Shiela’s blood bags. I then spotted Jack who was busy pacing outside while he gave out orders for the curfew to be implemented in a few hours—We really kept ourselves busy preparing the whole day while trying to keep an eye on Shiela, just to make sure she wouldn’t be sneaking out on us and decide to head to the mines alone.
That was when I heard purring and glanced down to see Jaden rubbing his furry body against my pants, I scooped him up from the floor and grinned at him as I held him in front of me, “Where’s your pretty owner, dude? Didn’t she say she was gonna be feeding you?”
The cat only gave me a loud ‘mreow’ in return as he wiggled out of my hands and scampered off into the direction of the kitchen, I scratched my head and followed the little devil—only to find that the kitchen’s back door was left open—Ah shit.
“Z! Where are you going?? Where’s Shiela??” Jack called out to me as I rushed back from Shiela’s house and headed straight to the garage before starting my motorcycle.
“Mines! Someone took her!!” I shouted through my helmet at Jack as I sped out of our driveway, my engine’s roar blocking out his next words, letting the rumble of the motors take me back to the last conversation Shiela and I had..
“You know what your story reminds me of? It’s like that supernatural show with the brothers, hopping from town to town!” I glanced at her then and saw her rolling her eyes at me as she had a slight smile to her lips, “You know what you’re missing?” I thumped my chest, focusing back on the road, “You need a partner, sweetheart. Let me go with you when you leave town, just think about it—it’ll be like ‘the new normal’ for you.” I raised a hand from the wheel as I emphasized ‘the new normal’ term to her.
I heard her scoff at my idea but glanced how she hid her slight laugh behind her hand, she seemed to be composing herself when she asked, “Really Z, how’s that even going to be ‘the new normal’?” I grinned as she mimicked me in emphasizing the term I had used.
“Well, it means you can still go on with your ‘normal’ way of living, while having someone new in your life. You got what I meant there, love?” I glanced back at her as she turned to look at me, giving her my flirtiest wink.
This time, she didn’t bother to hold in her laughter.
I gritted my teeth as I slowed to a stop near the mines, turning off the engine, I surveyed the afternoon light that surrounded the area as I took off my helmet. I relied on my senses as I cautiously headed towards the mines’ entrance, hoping that Shiela was alright in there.. Wait for me Shiela, I wouldn’t let you go through this alone.
The occasional dripping inside the mines calmed me somehow, my sense of hearing was the only thing I could rely on at the moment since my headgear’s lights weren’t helping much around this darkness. Fuck, I thought I knew these tunnels like the back of my hand! I didn’t remember it to be this dark the last time!
I had only finished that thought when I glimpsed something pass behind me in the dark, I whirled around, my headlights focusing on nothing but darkness. I gritted my teeth and slowly inched my hand closer to Shiela’s Colt that I had with me, and that’s when I heard a sob come from right behind me.
I didn’t hesitate when I immediately turned back around, gun aimed and ready to shoot when—I was met by blinding brightness. I blinked back and started to adjust my eyes to the sudden light, tensing at the sight that greeted me.
I was standing inside a stone building, the big holes that served as windows looked out into a dry and sandy town. I felt my hand starting to shake as my brain started catching up to me, the only thing that almost made the breath leave my body was when I followed the source of the sob and looked towards the floor to see my.. mom. She laid on the sandy stone floor, breathing in labored sobbing breaths as her red hair almost hid her face, but I knew it was her—I remembered her last moments like this, just as I came home, mostly deaf but still somehow in one piece—what wasn’t part of my memory was the makeshift bomb that she had her arms wrapped around on.
I felt myself now taking ragged breaths but still kept my shaking hands around the Colt—Wake up Z! This is all just part of a nightmare!—I kept my eyes shut but still heard my mom’s labored sobs, before I heard the heavy thud of incoming footsteps. On instinct, I snapped my eyes open as I aimed at the newcomer and saw it was my Sergeant—had he still been alive.
Images of a bloody dog tag in my hands as I sat in a fiery field flashed before my mind’s eye, but here was my commander, shouting at me as he wildly gestured at the bomb in mom’s arms—but I couldn’t hear a thing. I couldn’t even hear mom’s labored sobbing anymore.
The ringing silence was starting to get to me, it didn’t fit well with the chaos that was happening in front of me.. I looked down at the gun in my hands and saw blood there—blood on my hands, like this was all my fault and I had to pay with my blood—"Shoot!” It seemed to be the only thing echoing in my mind, feeling my hand raise it to my head.
“Don’t get lost in your nightmares.”
My finger stilled on the trigger as a pair of lovely green eyes flashed in my mind, then I heard the sweet laughter that followed, and a name.. glowing in the dark of my casted arm.. Shiela.
I slowly lowered the gun from my head, looking at it as I held it in my hand, my thoughts coming back to me—like I was back to using it to protect people.. It suddenly made me feel that I had a purpose to live on..—I glanced back to my mom then, wanting to memorize her face even in this twisted nightmare, before I holstered the Colt as I began running towards her prone form. I didn’t have time to detonate this bomb.. but did I really need to?
DRIP. DRIP.
I jolted as I snapped my eyes open, suddenly feeling relief at the slight darkness that welcomed me. With a groan, I pushed myself off the floor and spotted my headgear not too far away, I held my head but didn’t have time to think back on what I just experienced when I heard the faint shouts that called my name through the tunnels.
Shit. I had to get to the guys.
to be continued...
Image from Pixabay, by Phan Minh Cuong An: https://pixabay.com/users/minanfotos-9565064/ (edited with dreamscopeapp)