Descent into the Abyss

Chapter 12

The sunlight sent shivers through his body, the remnants of his warmth being replaced by the sun. Out the door, Marcus stumbled forward and grabbed the nearest support. The rust encrusted handle broke away and the pavement came rushing up to meet him. The impact brought tears to his eyes, and a fresh wave of warm blood covering him.

"Come on, Marcus, " Kou begged him. "We can fix this. Just get up."

Marcus, pushing with the last bits of his strength brought himself to his shaking knees. Staring up into the sky, Marcus watched with dizziness as the clouds floated by, Kou's voice in the distance. As his gaze drifted down, he saw a peculiar sight causing his eyes to focus.

Raising his arm, he pointed towards the darkness floating in the distance.

"That's right, Marcus..." Kou began before stopping cold.

"You can sense it?"

"I can see it too, Kou. It's just floating there. I can feel it pulling me towards it."

"You have to hurry, Young Marcus."

Slowly staggering upward, Marcus began again. Every step jarred his sluggish body, but somehow he continued on. His gaze stayed locked on the darkness in front of him, never faltering. At the banks of the Ohio River, Marcus walked in and submerged himself within the darkness of the water.

Consciousness, awareness, pain, guilt, ecstacy, and power flooded into Marcus's mind. His eyes stared at the morning sky, while his body floated down the river. He could feel Kou's Rozan blood burning deep inside him. It ached for this immersion in his natural element; every second bringing his body and mind closer to Kou's.

"This reminds me of Gyo. Our ocean was filled with this energy, as is yours. The energy that flows within Rozans, and now you, is capable of great things, Young Marcus." Kou whispered in the back of his mind.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Kou," Marcus replied to the soft blue morning sky. "I don't feel like I've done anything great."

"You did what you had to do. To stay alive, you have to accept-"

"I've accepted plenty in my life, Kou." Marcus interjected, glancing over to the river bank. "That's no way to live. Even if it is surviving."

"Your years are few and there is much you have yet to experience, Young Marcus. Do not sum up your brief existence with cynicism. Your future..."

"We have no idea what the future holds, Kou. Vaelone made sure to make that a bit difficult to figure out."

Kou answered with silence and for several more minutes, Marcus rode the current downstream.

"It's faded..." Marcus whispered, glancing around.

"It would seem your sensitivity to the energy has strengthened already. Perhaps being surrounded by all of this Seb has contributed to your advancement." Kou reasoned, noting Marcus's rejuvenated body.

"We got to get back to shore, and back to the supplies," Marcus started, images of the dog flashing behind his eyes.

Kou watched as Marcus turned over and began to swim over to the bank, pulling himself out of the water moments later. They had traveled miles downstream and would need to return, but this time would allow Marcus to cope with the survivors guilt. An hour later, with the morning sun on his back, Marcus walked into town once more. Minutes later, with his eyes averted, he stood next to the notebook that had been pulled from the backpack.

"It might be just an inventory book, used by the unlucky one that met the dog." Marcus started, opening it to the front page.

"They were a scout..." Marcus breathed with a shudder, reading the paragraphs wrote within. "Apparently out of Columbus. Left out a week ago to explore..."