Between Two Worlds

I carry Lou to the main building “Wake up, dear.” I say. Her eyes flutter open, and she looks at me uncomprehending. “Come on Lou, I need you to wake up.”

“Huh? Aunty Rain? How did you get here? I was playing hide-in-seek with Altair. Did I win the game?”

I set her down and hold the door open as I talk. People are disappearing into a room at the end of the hall. The stairs to the bunker must be in there. “Yes, you hid very well. Now I need you to go inside, go downstairs, and find your daddy inside the shelter. Do you understand?”

“Are you coming?” Lou asks.

“Eventually, I have a few things to do first.”

“Okay.” She says, skipping into the building and singing, “I’m going down, down, down the stairs.

I smile, momentarily, that girl is always so happy-go-lucky, even when she first wakes up. I wish I could look at the world as she does. I let go of the door and it hear it thud shut. The wind blows my hair into my face and a light rain begins to fall. My feet seem confused on where to go, and I end up just wandering around the town, my mind on Altair and his ultimatum. What do I do? Do I marry this complete stranger? That seems a little ridiculous. There is no way I can marry him. I don’t know him. Just because I dreamed about him doesn’t mean I should marry him. He also seems to have a temper. He got a little angry when I thought I was going to lie to him. Possibly he is dangerous. Besides, there is no way he is going to hurt my family. If he did, I still wouldn’t marry him. That settles it. I am not marrying him. Lightning pops across the sky and I look up to see thick dark clouds circling. Those clouds are Altair; dark, menacing, and circling around me, trying to destroy my way of life.

“Hey, you! Crazy girl!” a voice calls, out over the wind, interrupting my pity party. There is an older, unkempt gentleman, standing near the library. “Why haven’t you gone into the storm shelter, yet?”

Why aren’t you in the shelter? “I uh, left something important at home,” I respond making purposeful strides toward the main building. While I was being stitched up, Altair learned the whereabouts of my new home, building C.

“I hope it’s worth your life because that’s exactly what it’s going to cost you.” Says the guy ducking into the building.

“Whatever, dude,” I say, rolling my eyes. It’s not like you are headed for the shelter, either. I hate nosey folks, always worrying about someone else’s business. I don’t exactly know where I am going, but I do know that I am not going in that bunker. No, way. Not happening. I will take my chances above ground, with the weather. Before Wolfe’s wife died, before Lou was born, I was sixteen, living in a small town engaged to be married. Back then, I was young, naïve, and in love. And now; now I know that love doesn’t exist. It isn’t real. Altair’s threat proves that. What happened five years ago, proves that as well. If love was real, he never would have died…

◆◆◆

“Come on, Rayanna! We have to get to the shelter!” Espen cries out.

“Is it safe, Espen? Wouldn’t it be better to head for the community shelter?” I ask. A gust of wind catches my hair and blows it into my face.

“I dug it myself, yesterday, it’s safe! Besides, we would never it make it to the community shelter, there is a large black funnel heading our way!” he shouts, trying to be heard over the sound of the roaring wind.

I look back towards the community shelter, attempting to see anything beyond me and Espen, and failing. The wind is so strong, blowing leaves, dirt, and trash in a circular pattern around us. “I’ll take your word for it!” I shout back. Espen takes off running, with me following close behind him. We stop at the base of an old tree, and he flings open a door on the ground, revealing a large hole.

“After you, my love!” he says.

I race down the few steps, into the awaiting darkness. Espen shuts the door above us, and it feels as though some large creature has swallowed us whole. I have a temporary moment of panic, the one that happens when you go from seeing, to blind, and I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. “So, are we just going to sit here in total darkness until the storm passes?”

“No. Give me…give me a second.” Espen says. He lets out a grunt, and the ting of something hitting metal fills the air. A few minutes later, the soft glow of fire blooms in the darkness. It reflects off of something glass and then the light grows bigger.

A lantern, he lit a lantern. “You are always prepared, aren’t you?” I ask.

“You can never anticipate every possible outcome, but, yes, I do try to be ready. There have been a few storms, lately, so I wanted to be prepared. We are so far from town and the community center; I figured it would be a good idea to have our own shelter.”

“Better safe than sorry,” I say laughing at his favorite saying.

“Better safe than sorry.” He repeats, also laughing.