Dating Father Time's Daughter (Book 1)

Chapter 48: Wherefore Art Thou BlackHole? (2/2)

Each step forward only increased Inertia's desire to go backwards. She wanted to kneel beside BlackHole and take his pulse, lean her ear near his mouth, and study his fingers for twitches. Her hands squeezed around Joe's scythe a little tighter.

Nearing the others, it was impossible for her to silence the voice in her head. For once, her brain and heart seemed to operate on the same page. They told her that he was worthy. BlackHole was worthy of redemption. She bit her lip to control the exhilaration building inside of her. Getting excited now was only setting herself up for disappointment. She needed to verify, if he was still hanging on to a strand of life that was most likely thinner than air.

The blue portal swirled around her three friends transforming the ground beneath their feet into a flurry of blue and white celestial light. Sheep wasted little time starting up the portal while Inertia sprinted in their direction. It was wise for them to avoid pushing their luck any further.

New Nirvana changed from paradise to perdition. The sunset that poured over the realm had progressed into more of a dusk or twilight. The black liquid spilling and spurting out of the reactor core darkened the realm with every explosion. Tremors unmercifully shook the ground creating cracks in the orange floors and ominous purple ripples in the sky. This alternate realm was doomed to implode in a nuclear black hole explosion. All that lived in this world had a date with their demise.

Wasting little time, Inertia crossed into the portal's threshold and pushed Joe's scythe into his hand. She had to get to BlackHole before the bomb detonated. Her dreadlocks whipped behind her as she pivoted out of the portal just as quickly as she entered it.

"Where are you going?!" yelled Joe clearly concerned about his best-friend, "The world is literally coming to an end!"

The time for circumlocutious explanations was beyond them. Inertia aimed to express herself in as little words as possible. So, she looked back at him with determined eyes.

"I only need a minute."

She refreshed herself of the rules of the blood contract as she raced over to BlackHole. The process involved the swapping of body fluids for a minute. Remembering the massive hole that she left in his chest assured her that the first requirement would be easily achieved.

Her lover was only a few steps away.

She also remembered the logic of the hourglass. The power of Father Time would now flow from him to Pixie to Joe to her to BlackHole. This also meant that BlackHole would become the final descendant. In other words, he was destined to become the sole Time Keeper of the world. She believed that he would use that power responsibly.

The violent tremors made falling to the ground an effortless task. She turned BlackHole over on his back and felt for a heartbeat. Her hands failed to detect a pulse.

Pushing her dreadlocks behind an ear, she leaned forward and placed her head against his chest. While she listened, the pool of blood around him soaked her clothes. She was drenched in her lover's blood.

Light as a whistle, she heard a soft breath leave his lips before she felt a heartbeat. Relief carried her away on a cloud of optimism. Lying over him, she smiled at his lifeless face before leaning into him. She carried the gift of life on her lips. Inches from him, she uttered the words:

"Blood contract."

The seconds were short, but the kiss was long. Inertia forgot about the minute, and kissed him until his eyes peeled open. She pulled back and allowed herself to get lost in the beauty of his uninjured right eye. The mini galaxy that swirled in them made her believe that star-crossed lovers were not always thwarted by the stars. Perhaps, the stars were really thwarting the society that kept them apart.