Chapter Six- Part Two

Irene Albion

"Neither did I." Archie turned to face me as I approached her side. Shoulder to shoulder, we stood facing an orange sky in a deafening silence. It felt tense in the way that both of us wanted to speak but no one could. More precisely, we didn't want to. Afraid of the words themselves or what they would become.

Up in the sky, I spotted two flamboyant birds of massive size, wings larger than a hawk, and navy blue in colour. In the setting sun, they looked like dark, evil silhouettes floating in the sky. Still as can be.

The silence wrapped itself around my heart like a tight blanket shielding me. From what, I don't know.

Eventually, the sky turned purple then black with its cascade of red streaks across the stars. I know I've seen it before but I couldn't help but feel awed as if this was my first time. I just couldn't explain the feeling that rippled through me. I couldn't find the right words.

A stark sadness welled in me, as I remembered that this sky wasn't a sight I was supposed to see. That this world didn't belong to me, and I didn't belong here either. I was downcast at the thought that this memory shouldn't be mine to make.

"Don't blame yourself for something that isn't your fault. You didn't choose to be here."

I looked up at Archie, who I hadn't realized had been staring at me this entire time and was probably somehow reading my thoughts. Or maybe my face was just expressive.

"Sometimes I just wish for a moment I could live in your universe," I stated, "Mine sucks."

"What's so bad about Earth?"

"It's not Earth per se, it's just that over here there's a kind of freedom you don't get to experience. It's like all the responsibility left my shoulders, took flight, and will never return."

"So it's the trouble that Earth brings along."

"I wouldn't label it as trouble, it's just," I struggled to find the right words.

Archie finished for me, "Real."

Before I could reply, Yudai's squeal burst through the gateway up to the roof. Accompanying him were Medina and Helen, canned drinks in hand, and was that…booze?

"Perfect. The whole gang's here," said Helen, briskly laying on a spare chair hanging on the roof. Next to her was a table and four more chairs for the rest of us. We followed her example and sat together in a semi-circle facing the sky.

Helen poured herself a glass of red wine, "I can never get enough of this."

I laughed. "The wine or the view?"

She snickered back. "Both."

Yudai clumsily gave me a random drink from his plethora of choices. Just to make sure, I checked the expiration date and nodded when I saw the drink was still valid. As I sipped the 'blue electrifying lemonade', I made sure to sniff it for poison. You could never be too safe.

For once the drink tasted refreshing.

"Is it like this every night?"

"Us or the view?"

I shrugged. "Both."

Helen's lips twitched into a knowing smirk. "The sky looked like this centuries ago. That same view is replicated into what we see now, heightened by the Aether's powers."

There it was again, 'Aether'. Another mystery of this world, too vague for my liking. Maybe it was my writer's curiosity to know the nitty-gritty details, but something just wouldn't stop bugging me.

But that was a discussion for another time.

"Amazing," I couldn't help but mutter, "compared to Earth, this place feels like a safe haven of sorts. Something you'd find in some fantasy novel."

Yudai called out, "Like in the Lord of the Rings?"

"I was thinking more like Percy Jackson but yeah that works too."

Yudai circled his drink, staring aimlessly as he replied in a saddened tone, "This world isn't all rainbows and roses."

Medina nodded, years of experience behind his resolve. I was almost moved to misery, interested in what exactly pertained to his past. To all of them. What made this life, full of extraordinaire excitement, so dull and bleak? What was there to miss?

I didn't know this at the time, but it was my ignorance talking.

"Only time will tell," spoke Archie, words as vague as ever.

What? Tell me what?

"You know," started Medina, still staring upwards, "Back when Archie first started out as a Raven we'd spy her rehearsing words in the mirror, but she wouldn't stand normally; she'd lie upside down on the bed and in full confidence just start talking to nobody."

"For the record, you weren't supposed to see that."

Helen joined in, her cheeks slightly pink, "Oh how could we not, you were so cute with your little pigtails and braces."

Medina simply nodded. "Don't forget the tinfoil hat."

Helen continued, "Or the smokescreen."

"Or the catfish incident."

"Or the glow-in-the-dark trainers."

Archie raised her hands, "Okay we get it, I was an embarrassment."

I added, "A cute one."

Archie's face hardened for a moment, "Shut it."

Archie couldn't fight the smile that crawled onto her face, one matching my own and everyone else's. She's come a long way in just a few days.

I heard Helen gulp down a glass of wine before gasping for air, shooting her empty glass up in the air. She yelled a victory cry, "May we lay rest to the souls that weep and find happiness in the rising sun."

The others chimed in before awkwardly staring at me, expecting me to follow their example. I shakily raised my drink, embarrassed by their ecstatic expressions, and repeated the words now implanted in my memory.

"May we lay rest to the souls that weep and find happiness in the rising sun."

I don't know why I did but I laughed, chuckling loudly as I was in a fit of suspended giggles, and without instigating anything the others followed suit. From Medina's raucous roars to Yudai's snickers, the rooftop was filled with a chorus of life. Smiles shone and in each peaked an inner child waiting for moments like this to be set free.

And then I was falling.

There was a tight grip on my mouth as I was gagged. I tumbled down, debris falling beside me as faint screeches could be heard. Something was holding me, something cold and empty.

I spotted Archie, her face alert as she yelled incomprehensible words to her teammates and in their hurried frenzy stopped the debris of the roof from colliding with the streets. In a tangled web, the chunks of rubble landed on the ground without harming any bystanders who, from my peripheral, were rushing away to safety. I willed myself to scream but found sound had abandoned me and worse yet, I could not breathe.

I was choking. Something was choking me, they felt like hands all prickly and crisp. So icy it burned my skin, no doubt leaving burn marks in their wake. My view was eventually obscured until all I could see was a void of infinite darkness. For once in my miserable existence, my life was at stake.

I was scared.

Never had I thought I'd float out of control, taken by something other than the flow of life. I was so used to that comfort, of being sheltered and I had forgotten what I'd taken for granted. My regrets swam in my hurricane of thoughts, one demand higher than the rest.

Help.

I screamed. I thrashed. I fought.

Nothing.

Was this it, was this how I died? So weak I couldn't even defend myself. It was now that Archie's words reigned true: this world was not meant for me. If death was what waited for me then so be it, but please let me see her again.

"Irene!"

In the spur of the moment, the darkness dissipated and it flooded with light. In its shadow was Archie's outstretched hand.

"Irene!" She repeated, this time her face appeared. I'd never seen it so stricken with worry, never seen it contorted in such an awful way.

Desperate. She looked so desperate.

"Irene!" I lunged for her outstretched hand, holding whatever was left of my breath. I tried forcing my way out of whatever was holding me down, taking me with it but failed. It was too tight. Impossible to breach.

I watched as Archie roared, raw and powerful. And from her fist shot a glowing lilac ribbon in my direction and wrapped around me pulling me away from that bitter existence. I could feel it cling onto me before its warmth rippled through me, now caught in Archie's arms as we continued to fall.

It was hard to believe all this happened in the span of a few seconds, it felt like an eternity.

And like doom.

"Are you okay?" questioned Archie hastily looking me up and down for any signs of harm. I was gulping air like it was the tastiest dessert. We were on the ground now, safe and sound. Behind Irene were Helen and Medina, gripping the culprit.

It wiggled and spasmed in the clutches of Squad Archie. Like insects, they trapped the void and tethered it to the ground. It could not escape.

"What was that?" I sighed, in relief from my first near-death experience.

Archie helped me up onto my feet, refusing to let go of me clearly fuming at what had just occurred. "That was a Knightmare, a servant of nothing."

A Knightmare. Such a befitting title for the Aether creature that drew the attention of other Squads, all now rushing to the site.

I heard Yudai's voice power over the rush of chaotic chatter, booming with such fervour I was taken aback. "A Knightmare has been captured, I repeat, a Knightmare has been captured and will be taken in for questioning."

This instantly calmed the crowd. Before me was a rare sight, and yet everyone began to treat it as if it were a circus act — chatting away as if it were a regular occurrence. It was a mad sight. Unbelievable.

I shivered. Just looking at the pool of darkness being escorted away sent me spiralling back to that emptiness. Archie must have realised this because she began to rub circles on my back in a calming manner. I clung to her tightly.

"Irene, you're returning home tomorrow, no objections will suffice. Tonight was a clear example of what could happen to you."

With a bitter heart, she finished, "You're not safe here."

I couldn't argue with that logic. Everything had happened too fast and just now my brain caught up. My heart hurt, my body ached and my mind was shaken. All I could muster up were two words, two words that sent me sinking to the floor with tears in my eyes.

"I'm sorry."