An Alter of Time

Chapter 12

The Final Meet

Our journey has gone far. We've battled against monsters and it made us stronger. It has been days since we went to the Mayan temple.

Carter and Vapor don't bicker as much as before which is a good thing. The journey is exhausting! We'd stop by food stalls and take a quick rest, then we'll head-on with the trip.

Vapor, on the other hand, still has the energy of a bullet. She brings out the good vibes. While me? I've been bothered by the voices I've been hearing inside my head. I don't know what were they saying but it's creeping me out. I haven't told Vapor and Carter about it, though.

The voices would bother me anytime they want. It makes me shiver in fear. Why are there voices inside my head? What were they trying to say? They give me anxiety.

It kept going on for a few days now, it started when we left the hut. They kept haunting me even in my dreams. One night, I woke up scared and sweaty. I was shivering badly. I considered them a nightmare.

We are off to find the final stone, Carter reminded us. I fixed my composure and shrugged off the bad vibes. I need to focus. We've got no time for dramas.

"Alisa, I've been wondering...do you have feelings for Carter?" Vapor asked me teasingly one time when Carter left us to buy us food. I creased my forehead in confusion.

"Jeez, Vapor. What are you talking about?" I asked her back. She smiled at me mockingly. This girl!

"You've got the hots for him, don't ya?" She laughed like crazy.

"Stop it, Vapor. You think I didn't notice you occasionally looking at that guy?" I teased back. I was referring to the tall, attractive guy standing afar in front of us. She blushed instantly and I laughed.

See, Vapor, don't tease me like that. We kept on teasing each other until Carter came. He was weirded out by our behavior, we were laughing like crazy.

"Okay, you two both calm down. Let's eat."

Carter gave us food and we ate it peacefully. Those were the times I forget all my nightmares. Hopefully, when the evil is defeated, everything will be light and happy.

In the forest, while joking around with Vapor and Carter, we saw a group of men with very large jaguars. Even bigger than the ones we fought inside the temple!

We all silenced and slowed down our pace. Carter looked and observed all the men ahead of us. I got intrigued when his eyes widened.

"Why? What is it?" I asked him.

Carter turned to me, "They have the final stone." My eyes widened.

Finally! After days of looking for the stone, now's the time. Yes!

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's beat those men and finally save the world!" Vapor exclaimed.

Cater hushed her down. "Shh! We can't attack impulsively. Those aren't ordinary jaguars, they are stronger than the ones we fought the last time!"

We all looked at the jaguars. They are scarified, just like the ones in the temple, but their scars are unordinary. They are twice the size of the jaguars in the temple, how are we gonna defeat those?

"Let's kill the men first. They are their masters, I'm sure they won't function well without their orders." I suggested. Carter and Vapor agreed.

We decided to create a diversion. Vapor will be hiding behind the trees while Carter and I attack them. Vapor will be shooting the men. Carter and I will try to injure the jaguars.

We proceeded with the plan. I shot the head of one man and they all got alarmed.

"INTRUDERS!" another man shouted.

Carter attacked a jaguar but he was attacked. "Carter!" I went on shooting the jaguars until one fell, I think I broke its limbs.

"Yes!" I rejoiced.

While Carter tried to take down the other jaguar, Vapor was shooting the men behind the tree. When all the men were dead, we battled with the jaguars.

It was very hard, but thanks to Vapor backing as up, we eventually killed the jaguars. It turns out that the final stone was in the belly of a jaguar, we had to open its belly to get the stone.

"Yes! We did it!" I hugged them both.

Vapor was running around rejoicing. Carter sat at the root of a tree, exhausted. His hair was already messy.

"Are you okay?" He looked up at me and softly smiled.

"Don't worry about me, I'm alright." He stood up and patted my head.

"We should find a place to stay, it's getting dark." I nodded and we walked away with Vapor following us.

I was studying the stone, I'm still in a daze. We've completed all the stones!

My smile faded when I heard the voices again. Only this time, the voices were a little clear, and eventually, it leads to one voice.

A man's voice. It seemed familiar. I looked around, searching for anyone who could possibly be here other than us, but there's no one.

"Alisa," the man's voice called, my heart somehow melted because of the way the man called me. My eyes widened when I realized it was my father's voice. "Alisa," my father's voice was clear this time.

I look around again. This time, searching for my father. My heart stopped when I saw him standing beside a tree, wearing a white shirt and slacks.

"Alisa, are you alright?" Carter asked me.

I was already behind Carter and Vapor.

"I saw my father." I said, shaking. Carter's eyes widened.

I looked at my father again and his arms were already wide open, waiting for me to hug him. I ran towards him and locked myself inside his arms.

He chuckled, "You don't seem to miss me." He teased. My tears all fell. "I miss you, dad." I said, crying in his arms. "I miss you so much! I love you!" I exclaimed and hugged him tighter.

"I miss you too, Alisa." He comforted me.

I frowned in confusion when he was slowly loosening his hold on me. "Dad?" My forehead creased. He smiled sweetly at me.

Then right there, I watched him fade in front of me. I cried more. It wasn't real, but I felt him! His warmth, I felt it!

My tears stopped when I realized that I'm slowly sinking to the ground. I tried to lift my feet but it was really hard.

"Alisa!" Carter shouted and ran to me. Vapor followed too. "Alisa!" Vapor exclaimed.

They both struggled to pull me up. I groaned when I felt my foot digging deeper. All of a sudden, I saw my father again.

"I trust you. I know you can do it, Alisa." He said and I loved my father more for that. I got out of the barrier stopping me to get out of the ground. "Thank you, dad." I whispered to the winds.

Carter hugged me.

"Hey, it's ok." He patted my back while hugging me. Vapor was comforting me, telling me sweet things. I'm glad I have Carter and Vapor on my side.

Then, we heard an evil laugh behind us. We turned and saw Zur-U smiling evilly. My reflexes were fast, I used the shards to attack her. Zur-U dodged my attacks.

"You really are testing my patience, Alisa." He disappeared and the ground we're standing disappeared. It was only air.

"Alisa!" Carter and Vapor shouted.