Remnant Of The Gods

Chapter 28

I knew that it wasn't real. I was trapped within my own mind again as the memories replayed. Knowing that they were memories now allowed my mind free access to wander amongst them. It still hurt, gods it hurt but I wanted to stay. Mary's eyes would stare at me while the objects in the car flew around us as if we were in space. Tony's eyes then stared out at me as the flames burst from his car, swallowing him whole. I turned to see the last memory, it was Simon, who lay motionless beneath me as I sobbed over his body.

A man came from behind the memory of me, pulling me away while I watched Ander try desperately to pump his chest back to life. It was Ander who tried harder than the rest, his hand tenderly closing the eyes of the man who had raised me as a tear trickled down his face. The memories blurred, only springing back to life as an animalistic-like roar echoed through them. I was privy to another moment in time, not from my memories. The sight of Ander throwing objects all around him, struggling in the grasp of his comrades to be free as he grieved for the man who lay dead. There was such raw pain that he had in his eyes.

I remembered only one other person in my life who I had seen that look from, a child releasing the same animalistic roar, so desperate for the family he craved that he was almost hospitalised when the time came for his adoption. Slowly I walked up to the boy as he lay on the ground, no-one else was able to even remotely get close as his body heaved from the sobs he could no longer contain.

Simon was not only the man who had raised me, he was the man that had raised us.

When the boy had left I had cried like I had never cried before. My tantrum was nearly just as great as I knew I would never see the only person who I felt understood me, ever again. I screamed for him, I screamed for the cruelty of him being in my life only to be ripped away.

Alexis!

Hearing the sound of my name, I emerged from the memories as the owner of the voice shook me to consciousness. Ander stood sweating over my body, eyes wild with fear as he shook me once more as my eyes cleared. His mouth was open in shock and slowly my eyes locked with his, staying there unblinking with only the light rays of daybreak to illuminate his face.

There was no sound to announce his presence and in an instant Demetrious' black form covered the space between Ander and I, forcing us apart. He was as nimble as a cat and planted all four paws neatly around my body and rose. He successfully kicked Ander off, falling directly in front of me as the frightened Ander scrambled backwards, away from the snarling demon.

I watched Ander's face transform as he took in Demetrious' true self and panicked, bringing my arms up to calm both the hound and the man. My heart thudded in my chest as the memory of my first meeting with Demetrious suddenly came, remembering what I had first thought he was - A demon. Something that should not be. An omen of death.

"Listen to me," I took a deep breath to calm myself and reached for Demetrious. He was still facing Ander with his tail facing towards me. I brought my arms up to push down his haunches and grip his chest in a restraining hug. I breathed, letting some of my calm flow through our bond and waited. "Please just calm down, you're alright."

Reluctantly Demetrious started to deflate from his defensive position, relaxing his guard infinitesimally. Ander slowly stood, his expression frozen, looking from Demetrious back to myself probably rejecting what he knew he saw. With one last look of disbelief he ran to the door, wrenching it open and slamming it closed behind him.

Good riddance. The shock I had of his departure kept my frozen for too long, long enough that there was no chance of me being able to ever catch up with him.

"That," I said quietly, releasing Demetrious "Was possibly the only person left on this planet that I could really talk to," my voice raised with anger slowly, "and you just sent him running out the damned door!" By the end of my sentence I was screaming.