*MADE IT TO THE FINALS OF ONC's SHORT LIST*
One makes, one nurtures and one extinguishes - thus, a balance is maintained on Tellus.
But what happens when the scales topple?
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Alice: How long is forever? White Rabbit: Sometimes, just one second.
-Lewis Carroll
─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Something that Ryker's father always used to say was that 'in the blink of an eye, it could all be taken away.' He had never given it much of a thought until he lost both his parents. He had never surmised that in a few years, he would find himself in the same predicament all over again. Not only, at that moment, did he fear losing someone he had just met but he was terrified of not knowing what step to take next.
The horror turned tenfold when he, by some means, got a little distance between them and the tar-men to follow through Ati's brilliant plan and he heard the thud behind him. All of his senses seemed to have frozen as he spared a glance to the far side of the alley where Ati had fallen onto the ground.
This was the second his father had been talking about.
"No," he whispered thinking that Ati was in grave danger but stopped short when the creatures tended to freeze as well. At the same point in time, as if singing in a choir, they turned their heads towards Ati's general direction, keening.
The sound was ear-splitting to such an extent that both Arkah and Ryker dropped down to their knees, covering their ears.
If the incident was not anomalous enough, the beasts, especially the one accountable for Ati's fall, slithered briskly out of the alley, mindfully avoiding the men on their knees. There was an uncertainty in what the creatures might attempt next therefore, they avoided any movement at all. Once the alley was clear, they rushed towards Ati.
Around Ryker, the world faded, and his focus turned solely to the girl whose head he had taken in his lap. He ran a hand through her hair, feeling for an injury. When the hand came out bloody, instinct made Ryker want to pick the girl up and run for the medics.
"Her wound needs to be treated," Arkah's voice sounded yards away, "we should rush her to the hospital."
When Ryker didn't heed, the technician shook his shoulder, "there's no time to waste. Come on."
As if coming out of a trance of anger and disbelief, Ryker picked Ati in his arms, not wanting anyone, apart from him, to touch her. The territorial nature that had just come to him was something he resorted to attending to later. His pulse galloped through his veins on looking at the wee little girl in his arms.
By the time they reached the vehicle, Ryker cursed under his breath, "there will be no space in Ati's car, already Mary's occupying the back seat." This predicament led to a frown to be pasted on Arkah's face but before he could come up with a plan, Ryker abruptly responded, "you drive. There is enough space in the passenger seat, I'll keep her sitting upright, and have the pressure steady on her head to prevent her from bleeding any more than she already has."
