The Seed of Hope

Chapter 42: Deadeye

-"Kate..."- Logan whispered to her. Crickets and other night bugs cried in the thick, cold woods around them as they slept inside the car. While Logan was in the driver's seat, Kate lay in the passenger seat. -"Hm?"- She hummed back.

-"Can we talk?"-

Kate and Logan slowly shuffled deeper into the woods, away from the car or prying eyes that could follow them. Leaves crunched under their feet as the moonlight filtered through the thick tree branches, lighting their way to a small clearing with a pond in the center. Glowing spores gently floated in the air, giving the scenery an ethereal and melancholic feel.

-"Logan...what is it?"- Kate cooed at Logan who held her hand softly, bringing it up to his lips.
-"I feel something coming from you...and I'm not sure if I should worry or not."- He whispered, his soothing hot breath spilling onto her knuckles.

-"What do you mean?"- She asked, frowning her eyebrows.
-"Ever since you fought that doppelganger in Silvios, I...feel something."-
-"Well yeah, I told you that Bassilisk put something in me...I just don't know what."-

The crunching of sticks sounded just a few feet in front of them. Logan stepped in front of Kate, shielding her from whatever it was.

-"It doesn't feel threatening, Logan."-
-"We can't trust anything, just back away slowly."-

They both backed away from the clearing and into some brushes. Kate gasped at what came into the light. Families and groups of Celestians, wander endlessly into the dark forest. Most of them were crying and wailing while others numbly stared at the ground with dead eyes.

-"Celestians...What is wrong with them?"- Kate asked. -"Think about it, after the Great Shift, they were expelled from their homes. They have nowhere to go."- Logan whispered.

Suddenly, a low rumble--like thunder, boomed into everyone's ears and the Celestians began to panic.

-"He found us! He found us!!"- They shouted as their wings began to disintegrate. They began to scatter, some running into the pond and others deeper into the woods.

Kate held her mouth closed in shock. Logan held her close; he knew what Kate wanted to do and he couldn't let her do it.

-"I need to help them!"-
-"No! Sit!"-
-"Logan!!"-

Then, in a flash of bright light, the Celestians screamed and were turned into sedentary orbs of light. Sad will-o-wisps that slowly hovered over the distressed pond.

-"What...happened!?"- Kate asked.
-"Must've been Elohim..."- Logan answered. -"Old Fuck..."-
-"I... need to do something!"- Kate's mind began to race, desperation running rampant into her veins. She suddenly began to run back to the car, -"H-Hey! Katerina!"- Logan sprinted behind her.

Without care for anyone sleeping in the back, she barged into the driver's seat and turned the ignition on. Logan entered the passenger seat and closed the door.

-"Kate, Calm the fuck down!"- Logan shouted.
-"Hey, is everything okay!?"- Rai woke up, his groggy voice waking Naoko and Ivee up.

Kate floored it, ripping grass from the moist dirt and making it back onto the road. Her armor manifesting in flickers. -"I can't keep letting him get away with any of this!!"- She cried out.

-"Kate, slow down!! It's not safe in this darkness!"- Naoko begged.
-"We are going home; I'm going to drop all of you off and I'm going to kill him!!"-
-"Whoa, Whoa, hey! Don't be so rash, you're going against God, the supposedly All-Powerful. You can't just barge in!"- Ivee made a good point but Kate didn't care.
-"It's because of him so many of us have died, it's because of him Prymeria is no longer the same. It's because of him, many of his followers have perished. I'm done!! He can't continue like this!!"- Tears ran down Kate's face as she cried loudly. Logan looked at her and how distraught she was, he let her feel the anger, frustration, and grief, he wanted her to use it as fuel.
-"I can't believe I agreed to help him, fuck him!"- Kate cussed, punching the steering wheel.
-"You are not dropping us off, we are going back to Kirya, checking up on your mom, and then WE will go with you to wherever God is. You are not going alone!!"- Rai mentioned.