Beyond Comprehension

Forty-eight

That night, as Sean showered and changed, I found a map of the white level, and found the most north-eastern wall. It was a small out-of-the-way segment of the level, and looked like most of the other hallways that branched off into housing areas for EWs, but there were no rooms. Or perhaps they had been covered up. I once again checked on the file for EW-4, again getting nothing but the name "golden rings".

Why were a couple gold rings so pivotal to the war effort against Sofiel? Perhaps they contained instructions, or maybe a map? I had no idea how big the rings were, although I had been picturing jewelry. For all I knew, they could've been giant hoops or gears or pieces of something bigger.

I tried desperately to fall asleep that night, but it proved to be very difficult, with the knowledge of not only the upcoming attack, but King Isaiah's imprisonment in this very facility. How Ice had said that his energy was weak. Was that why James was stressed that morning, why Michael was busy? And, if Isaiah was here, did that mean the boy, Tylor, was here as well?

Too many things were happening.

By the morning, I had barely slept a wink, and Sean could see it.

"What, did my insomnia rub off on you?" He snorted as he brushed his hair.

I forced a chuckle, "Maybe. What do you say to not going to class today? I don't have any meetings either, so we could just spend the day together? Maybe go on a walk with Max and Caspian?"

Sean hummed, "Caspian's that mixed boy, right? The one I can barely understand 'cause of his weird accent?"

I chuckled, more real this time, "Yes."

Another hum, "I'm not too fond of him, but I'd tolerate a walk."

It was my turn to hum, "Why don't you like him? You barely know him."

"Well, I can barely understand a word he's saying, for one," Sean replied, to which I chuckled; Caspian's accent did throw me off sometimes. "Plus, he's Christian; no hate to him, I'm much better than I was, but still."

"Yeah, I noticed you haven't been as weary around the topic of Christianity lately," I nodded, buttoning up my shirt.

"I guess learning you're part angel will do that to you," Sean sighed, running a hand along his black feathers. "It's weird. I'm always aware of them and yet sometimes I forget they're there. And I've gotten more used to the concept of Christianity; it doesn't scare me as much anymore. Maybe because, since I'm an angel, and I know Michael, I'm not as scared."

I nodded, "As much as I respect it, the Bible is a very old book, one that's been rewritten thousands of times. Besides, with all we've learned about the Kin Of Chaos...," I sighed and shook my head, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

Throughout the day, I constantly checked the time as it ticked ever-nearer to noon. Would the attack happen exactly at noon, or in the general time frame of the middle of the day?

Guess there was only one way to find out.

After breakfast, Sean and I walked with Max and Caspian, with Max and I discussing Caspian's hydrokinesis lessons with Ice and the boys generally ignoring each other aside from curious glances.

The minutes ticked by painfully slowly. I constantly checked the time, only finding a few minutes passing in what felt like hours. I tried to keep it together, but how much I was using my inhaler gave me away.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" Max asked.

"Just... one of those days, I guess," I breathed.

She gave me a doubtful look, but dropped it when Sean shrugged.

I kept us in the higher levels, almost giving Sean a proper tour of the facility. He had already seen a lot of the medical ward, and the cafeteria was simple enough. We saw Tadora heading to Michael's chambers with a platter of food, and stopped to talk for a bit. She seemed nervous. Yet again, Tadora always seemed nervous.

As the clock ticked ever closer to noon, I kept Sean and I up on the white level, talking about nothing in particular.

And then, as noon struck, all hell broke loose.