The Outer Reach// Volume 1// Part 1

Part One

For my father, mother, and brother
Who have fought more monsters with me than we care to remember.

*

Zira

London, 1997

Matilda pushes herself forward even though her lower half felt like it was on fire. She holds her new born baby tightly against her chest as the war outside rages on so furiously it tears through the walls. Another bomb detonates and she instinctively pushes a protective field around them.

"MATILDA!" Therin calls out from behind, "DON'T RUN FROM ME MATILDA!"

She races faster down the hall; ignoring his taunting voice; ignoring the war around her; ignoring the blood trickling down her thighs. She is barely to the center of the nightmarish hallway when she senses him. He's waiting for her, suddenly standing ominously at the opposite end of the hall. "Well look at this, little Matilda battling it out till the last possible second."

"You are too late" she glares, "they're still alive. They're all still alive."

"Ugh Matilda, you always were such a stupid, annoying, optimistic thing..." he groans as he approaches her, standing at the edge of her force field. "Now tell me. Where are the others?"

Matilda stands silent, she wanted to look strong, wanted to look untouchable to him.       

"Where will you go?" he asks with a daunting laugh, gesturing to the crumbling world outside, "None of you can escape this! None of you can escape me!"

With a mad look in his eye he gradually pushes the ends of his fingertips through the force field, watching in excitement as the flesh around them burns and shrivels up like leather.

"Therin!" Bryan hollers, suddenly dropping down from above and plunging his saber through Therins' chest. He grunts in aggravation as Bryan hoists him off his feet and hurls him through a cement wall with incredible force.

"Here I am love." he sooths, picking up Matilda. He looks down at their baby boy for the first time. "He's perfect."

Matilda knows they can't linger here; Therin would only be incapacitated for a few more seconds. Without another thought Bryan takes tight hold of them and in a burst of frigid air they disappear- suddenly standing in the center of the 'on-call' room where the others had barricaded themselves.

"Matilda!" Devena gasps, "are you alright?"

"We were cut off. She went into labor." Bryan explains.

Everly wraps her arm around Matilda's waist and swipes the debris off the torn sofa so she can sit down. The sky outside their window turns black and the air becomes foul and hard to breath.

"It's happening." Cyrus announces gravely.

Another massive explosion rattles the ceiling. The barricade of furniture, appliances, and machinery that are propped up against the entrance tremble as Therin rams the door and curses them from the other side.

"We can't do this!" Rin cries as she clings to her baby. "We don't even know if they'll be together when they get to the other side."

"Would you rather them stay here?" Calliope asks shielding her baby's ears as a hellish roar echoes down the hallway. 

"They could be separated! They could be scattered across the entire time thread!"

"They will find each other, Rin." Matilda offers, struggling to keep her newborn quiet.