Remnant Of The Gods

Chapter 15

I knew the moment that he had gone. The weight of his body increased to the point where I could no longer hold him upright. The adrenaline that had kept the pain away long enough for me to talk with him left with him as the physical pain mixed with the emotional. A movement from the side had me moving before I realised.

I whipped my head to see the hound now advancing and I flung myself over Simon's body in defiance. I glared down the shadow as it took another step and I felt the warmth begin to leave Simon's body. The hounds back legs went to sit and I relaxed minutely, not realising that its haunches had not touched the ground but had braced for a spring as it lunged towards me for a second time.

"NO!" I screamed, the hellhound jumped through my body and it felt like my torso had been struck with ice. My head followed the movement instinctively and I watched as it continued through Simon and disappeared.

Thundering footsteps headed towards me as I collapsed, sobbing over Simon's body, screaming out to the treacherous hound. Simon didn't deserve this, not like this but he was stripped from me just as quickly as all the others. The others.

Sandra!

Someone touched me, prying Simon from my grip. As he was lifted, his phone fell from his pocket and onto my burnt hand. The sudden jolt brought my hand back to my chest as I moved and rolled away from the arms of strangers. In the distance my eyes caught on a white form on top of the medical bed, it looked as though it was carved from marble as the blanket didn't waver from the body even with the wind whipping at it.

I am carrier, I am deliverer of souls, I am a harbinger of death. The words echoed in my head as they led Simon away towards the blanketed figure. Not her too. No Sandra. I had nothing left to give.

One of the medical staff tried harder than any of the rest, pumping Simon's chest in a desperate attempt to revive him. I looked on as he seemed to move in slow motion. A blanket of light hair covered his face as he continued, his eyes met mine, confused at the loss of hope I had, the edges rimmed with red just as mine were. His gaze swept back to his patient and his expression changed to defeat when he was stopped by a another paramedic. There was nothing to revive. He was gone.

Time and sense passed me in a blur. Someone had grabbed me and moved me slowly to one of the other ambulances as the light haired paramedic sat on the street, his head in his hands. I hadn't registered when they had taken Simon. I was mute to anyone who asked me questions. My ears roared with the sounds around me and pain i felt physically and emotionally melting together as I sat on the edge of the ambulance vehicle, hooked up to an oxygen mask to dispel the smoke from my lungs. Many of the emergency team probed me and were met only with a dull stare of someone who had nothing left to give. Eventually reporters showed once more and slowly, they too began to move away, influenced by the light-haired paramedic who was up now and keeping them at bay, moving the vultures off to another area.

What the fire had not reduced to ashes, the firefighters remained to fight, dulling the blaze as it raged through the morning. I looked around to see neighbours crying, police and emergency staff shaking their heads.

I slowly removed the mask from my face with my good hand and placed the blanket from around my shoulders neatly on edge I had been perched on. I stretched out my legs, feeling around for any debilitating injuries as my hand had numbed beautifully to the pain. Standing up, a clatter on the ground drew my gaze as Simon's phone hit the road. It had caught in my pants when my hand hadn't been able to catch it and picked it up, rolling it in my good hand. I took one last look at the home, staring out at all of the people gathered far away and walked away.

Knowing I couldn't stand for longer than ten minutes at a time, let alone walk all the way back to my house, I had to resort to calling a cab. Simon had never believed in locking his phone with so many children about, so, using the last of the money reserves I had left, I melted away from the sea of shocked faces until I was out of sight. I knew I looked like hell but I when I handed the cab driver over the cash and told him where I wanted to go, I was lucky that he hadn't flat out refused me.