Prisoners of Prophecy

Chapter 29

Xantara - Tuesday, July 23rd; 7:04pm

Each minute that passed felt to me like forever, and with each one, my panic grew. I despised feeling so helpless. I kept trying to tell myself that Melany would be alright, just as everyone else had been so far. Maybe a little shaken up, but alright. Nothing could ease my worries, though. This person, whom I had erased completely from my memory for a long time, was now the only thing on my mind. My concern for her was dauntingly great, and it was as lovely as it was terrifying. I was frozen, incapable of anything but staring unblinkingly at the front door of the abandoned house and wait for it to open.
     The longer that I waited, the more afraid I became. My doubts got more persistent, harder to ignore. I was beginning to worry Melany would not come out at all, and I was close to forcing my way through that invisible barrier regardless of the agony it would cause.
     The sight of the house filled me with both dread and anger. It seemed to be looking right back at me, windows like eyes full of broken glass. Almost as if it were confronting me, daring me to challenge it. I was beginning to loathe it. In some way, it had brought us into this. All because none of us could resist going inside, going down into that basement.
     The front door swung open. For a moment, the only thing filling the doorway was the house's impenetrable darkness, which seemed to exist at all times of the day. I held my breath. Even my heart felt like it had stopped.
     The moment that I saw Melany emerge from that darkness - looking like a ghost herself - I shot to my feet. I hurried towards her, at once forgetting the force field around the house. By the time I had remembered it, I surely would have collapsed under the force of it. But it was gone. I wondered if it was the Gods' departure that caused it to disappear... Or if Melany was right, and there was something greater even than them.
But that thought made my head spin and fill me with a hysteria that bordered insanity.
As I got closer to Melany, I realized how tired she looked. Not just tired, she looked haunted. As if the time she had spent in the house had been so torturous that it had altered her in some terrible way forever, and she would never be the same again. She dragged her feet as she walked, like she was too exhausted to move. Her ocean eyes held a million thoughts, and she winced as if every single one disturbed her deeply.
My heart ached with the force of the concern that fell over me then. I grabbed her by the shoulders once I was close enough. For an instant, I almost jerked my hands back. She was freezing, and she was so tense that it felt like touching stone. I peered into her eyes, desperately searching for anything that could tell me what she was feeling, or how to help her.
"Are you okay?" I asked once I finally found my voice.
Melany took a deep breath, exhaled it shakily. "Yeah," she croaked after a moment. She sounded deeply exhausted. Her gaze frequently left mine, frantically taking in our surroundings. "Yeah, I'm okay."
"You're not hurt, are you?"
She shook her head - it was a slow, tired movement. "No, I'm not hurt." She paused, looked around us, then back at me. "I mean, I am hurting, a little bit. But, it's no one's fault."
"What do you mean?" I questioned urgently, wanting to know anything that would make more sense than that weak, fearful expression on her face.
"I mean, he didn't hurt me. Not on purpose, anyways. I don't think." She sighed heavily. "But, being around him... It took a lot out of me. The others were right. The Gods are terribly strong."
I squeezed her shoulders before dropping my arms to my side once more. "Let's go back to your room, so you can sit down. Then you can tell me about it, if you want."
To my surprise, I found I didn't care much to hear about what happened tonight down in that frightening basement. Not right now, at least. The only concern on my mind was Melany - to get her to her room safe, and to make sure she would be alright. The desperate need for that was a bit alarming, but I tried not to linger on that thought.
"Hey, guys!" I recognized it was Calypso instantly, her voice sending a pleasant chill through me. "Is everything alright?"
"It was a nice thought," Melany groaned. "Looks like we'll have to wait on that." She was looking over my shoulder, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.
I turned to follow her gaze. Calypso and Cato were making their way towards us. They would surely have a lot of questions. I found myself worrying even more about Melany, wondering if she would be alright or if their interrogation would overwhelm her. What's up with me? I thought distractedly. She's not a kid. She'll be fine. I chastised myself for being so concerned.
"Everything's fine," I answered once they had stopped a couple of feet away. "She just came out."
Calypso nodded before turning her attention to Melany, who had taken a step forward to stand beside me, our shoulders touching. I thought I could feel a chill coming off of her. "How was it?" She asked. Her piercing gray eyes scanned her intensely, full of both curiosity and worry. "What did they talk about?"
"Should we discuss this right here?" Cato spoke up, glancing around us warily as he did. "Someone could be watching us."
The fact that there was almost surely some opposition in the school - an enemy that was perhaps not even human- had briefly slipped my mind, buried beneath thoughts of Melany. Now, though, that fear was back and stronger than ever. Cato was right. This thing could be around us now, listening... And waiting for the perfect time to pounce.
"You know..." Calypso started, eyeing all of us doubtfully. "I've been thinking, and... I feel like this house is beginning to become the safest place for us."
"What do you mean?" Melany exclaimed, bewildered. "It sure doesn't feel safe."
"I know, it's not the prettiest place," Calypso agreed. "Think about it, though. If we are their enemy, so are the Gods. But power comes in numbers. It wouldn't dare attack us inside, all of us together."
Melany nodded, the expression on her face a combination of both disgust and acceptance. "That makes sense. And I'll run straight here if there's a problem. But, right now, I honestly don't want to be anywhere near it."
To my relief, Calypso responded, "Alright. I understand that. We can all walk you to your room, then, and you can tell us about what happened."
Melany exhaled heavily, as if she had been holding her breath. "Cool. Thanks. I'm so tired I feel like I could sleep a week."
Calypso gave her a weary smile. "It sure is crazy. I won't ever be the same, no matter what happens after this is finished. If it ever is."
I came to the startling realization that they were talking about the effects of meeting a God. I did not know yet how it would feel, and I was terrified to find out. Cato and I were now the only ones who hadn't yet went, alone, into that basement and face whatever divine being had chosen us. And that horrified me. Because, no matter how much I had tried to forget what lie in my future, the time was coming that I would have to confront it anyways. I'd have to see what Achiq had told me to wait until last for, for a reason he had not been allowed to share.
Melany's dry, humorless chuckle brought me from my frightening thoughts. "This is absolutely nuts," she scoffed, and the anger in her tone was a little alarming. "How can this be real?"
Calypso reached for Melany. For a second, she hesitated - and I thought I knew why. Her touch was like some phenomenal drug, and once you had tried it, you would push through the pain it brought to feel that high again. It was daunting, frighteningly addictive, and the longing for it would never fully leave you once you learned of its existence. Even the strongest of us had reacted intensely to the power of it the first time we had experienced it. I was afraid, in Melany's fragile state, that it might break her. Cause her to try and run from this, from what we had been born to do. The idea of that brought a nauseating mixture of sympathy and terror.
And when I thought Calypso would change her mind, she placed a gentle hand on Melany's cheek. I gasped, unable to stifle the noise. Calypso, knowing the power her very touch held, made it a point to avoid physical contact as much as she could, and the action came as a shock to me. I wondered what had come over her, and hoped Melany would not be weak enough that she may be harmed.
But, to my surprise, the only reaction Melany offered was a sharp intake of breath. Her eyes darkened with lust, but it was controlled - almost even indiscernible beneath that haunted expression she had been wearing since coming out of the house.
Calypso was the one who seemed more affected - even if the emotion had only been visible for a moment, it had been there. I saw her pale eyes widen in shock; watched her take a step forward, bringing her close enough to Melany that it seemed as if she would embrace her. Her mouth opened and closed, as if she had suddenly been stunned speechless. A tense silence fell over the group.
Then, the alarming combination of fear and desire on her face was gone. Calypso's confidence shines through and that horrified doubt disappeared. She eyed Melany levelly, with a stare that commanded everyone's attention. "I get you, Melany," she cooed in her sweet, convincing voice. "Trust me, I know how you feel. If I could change how this happened, I would. This is scary."
Melany nodded her head. It was an almost robotic movement. "It is scary," she repeated, a little dreamily. I realized with a sudden force that she had fallen victim to the unyielding force of Calypso's gaze.
I wanted to stop her, but I was unable to. I had no idea what she meant to do, but when she intended to do something, she would. I could only trust that her intentions were good, and that my worry was only because I was on edge, and feeling desperately protective over Melany.
"Let me tell you something, Melany." Though she was not speaking to me, her soft tone and the intense, almost sensual way she regarded Melany caused my heart to race and chills to erupt all over my skin. Melany was still nodding, studying Calypso unblinkingly, lips parted slightly. I was sure not even an explosion could break her focus. "It's tough right now. You're right. But they. Picked. Us. They didn't draw our names from a hat. They had faith in us. Which is what they themselves lack now. Let's have faith in them, too. Faith in their choice to have us save them."
"Uh... Calypso?" Cato interrupted hesitantly. "What are you doing? Shouldn't we be going to our rooms?"
But she seemed just as lost in Melany, for the time being, and did not acknowledge him at all. "I don't want to bother you. I won't even pester you about what happened down there. But promise me you won't run from this." She smiled. Melany visibly trembled. "Promise me, okay?"
Melany nodded again, like a puppet on strings. "I promise."
Calypso dropped her arm and took a couple of steps back. She inhaled deeply, like she had forgotten how to breathe for those few scary moments.
Melany staggered backwards herself, a hand on her cheek where Calypso's had been before, eyes wide and unbelieving. "What the hell was that?" She exclaimed. "What did you do?"
"I, uh..." Calypso averted her eyes for a moment, shaking her head. The confused, even horrified look on her beautiful face was disturbing, and I was relieved to see that it was gone when she was able to look up again. "I'm sorry. I was afraid you might leave, try and abandon this. I'm afraid any of us might, at any time." She took a breath, sighed shakily. "I didn't mean to get so caught up in it. I really didn't."
"Well, maybe, um," Melany paused, cleared her throat. She seemed to have just now remembered Cato and I were here, and she glanced at all of us wearily before looking back to Calypso. She spoke more quietly when she continued. "Maybe let's try a different way next time, huh?"
I grabbed Melany's hand, which was as cold as ice. It was as if a dangerous electricity ran through her veins and it was now pouring into me through her fingertips. Again, I had to resist pulling away from her. Was this Calypso, who caused this? I thought. Or was this from what she had met in the house? She gave me a concerned but grateful smile before looking around at all of us again nervously.
"The God of death," she murmured, so quietly that it was hard to hear.
"What?" Calypso gasped. "What did you say?"
"The God of death," Melany repeated, not much louder than the first time. But we had all heard it that time, I was sure. "My God... is the God of death."
For a moment, no one spoke. I could feel the shock in the air around us. Every time I thought things could not get more strange and utterly confusing, something came along and proved me wrong. I had known that there were Gods, sure. We all did. I had even found out that there was a Goddess of life, so it made sense that there was a God of death - I had learned that in history, studying Greek mythology. The idea of his existence wasn't what had left me feeling so shaken. It was that Melany - the girl I knew as innocent and sometimes afraid; the woman I knew know to mostly be the same - was the one who had caught the divine being's eye. Had he known what she would go through in life? I wondered sadly. Had he known what things she would see?
Had he known that I would be there one day, to help her?