Flight

Chapter 32

It was now the weekend and Marcus had agreed to come over. She loved having him over when she was having a bad day. She was currently venting while he looked at her bruised knuckles. She stopped for a few seconds which gave Marcus a chance to speak up.

"Kallisto, your knuckles are in really bad shape."

"You don't say," she said sarcastically. She examined her swollen hand in the sun. Under her skin, the colors black, blue, and purple were clearly visible and mixed together almost hypnotically. She huffed. "I'm sorry I'm being so rude."

"Well, you're not having a very good week," Marcus said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She had a couple of thoughts that made her smile. She decided to voice one of them.

"Thank you for being amazing," she said. She was really happy that Marcus existed. He was possibly the best boyfriend on the face of the earth. His reply made her laugh.

"I can't say much just cause it's a characteristic specific to moi."

She sighed and cracked a grin. She really liked these moments with him. She felt like she couldn't thank him enough for always being there for her. She felt extremely grateful.

They were both sitting on the roof of her apartment building. She could see the far stretches of the horizon where the sky met the ocean. She then felt someone staring holes into her skull. She turned around and sure enough, there was Marcus, staring at her.

"What are you looking at?" Kallisto asked softly. Marcus brought his hand to her face and ran it along her cheekbone.

"Oh, you know, just taking in the view," he said. Kallisto smiled and scooted closer.

She put her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her shoulder. They both sat there, enjoying the view of the ocean. Kallisto put her hand on his cheek and turned his head to face hers. He laced his fingers through hers and closed the space between them.

It lasted a while. It was slow and gentle. When Kallisto did pull away, all she could do was smile. Marcus was smiling, too. The two sat there, in each other's arms, watching the ocean waves.

The two loved the feeling of having each other near. It drowned out everything wrong with the world they lived in. Kallisto wished she could stay in his arms and make everything else go away. That would be her heaven.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise. They were both startled to their feet. Behind them was a strange mass. It looked like a cloud of blue and gold. It seemed to be spiraling, almost like a sideways hurricane. It was so odd, yet, it attracted her. Her curiosity was slowly getting the best of her. She took a step towards it, but Marcus pulled her back.

"What?" She asked.

"You don't know what it is," Marcus said.

"No, I don't, but I want to know," Kallisto protested.

"Kal, you don't understand-"

"I don't think it's that bad," Kallisto interrupted.

"No, you don't know if it's dangerous-"

"Or if it's harmless until we see what it is," Kallisto said as if it was obvious, "can we please just see what it is?"

Marcus sighed. "Fine."

He earned himself a kiss on the lips. Kallisto then spun around and slowly crept towards the cloud like mass.

"What do you think it is?" Kallisto called back to Marcus.

"I don't know," he called back. As she cautiously tip tied to the mass, Marcus had a growing sense of not wanting to let her get any closer to the cloud. "Kallisto?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Kallisto asked. She was a few feet from the mass now.

"I don't think you should get any closer," he said from his spot about ten feet from her.

"And why not?" She asked, not turning around. She stopped moving towards the strange mass. She was only about a foot away now.

"Because I have a really bad feeling about it," Marcus said, his voice full of audible concern.

Kallisto just stood there. He always knew what was the more logical choice. She decided against checking out the mass, even though it was right in front of her nose. She stared at the cloud, not wanting to just leave it.

Marcus started to get a little impatient. He didn't want Kallisto to touch the thing and then get possessed or something. He trotted towards her and reached out to pull her to him.

But he did the opposite.

In Marcus's eyes, it all happened in slow motion. Instead of grabbing her, his hand came up too late and caught her right in the wing. The force from his hand pushed her forward. Kallisto tried to catch herself by putting her foot forward, but it got caught on her heal and it led to her tripping and falling into the mass. The mass seemed to grow to the size of a doorway and it engulfed Kallisto in a blue-black fog. Marcus reached to Kallisto to try and grab her, but just as fast as the mass appeared, it disappeared, leaving no trace that it was ever there.

And it had taken Kallisto with it.