Between Two Worlds

“Rayanna? Are you okay?” Altair asks, rushing over to me.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just feel queasy all of a sudden.” I say straightening up. I wipe my mouth with the sleeve of my shirt. My legs feel wobbly like jello but heavy as if someone tied large boulders to each one. It’s a weird sensation, that’s for sure.

“You look really pale, and your forehead is covered in sweat. I want you to go home and lie down as soon as we leave here. Don’t worry about the initiation ceremony, it’s not a requirement.” He says, rubbing my back. “Come on, the Cleansing isn’t much further.”

I shakily follow him to the mouth of the cave. Is he going to make me watch that creature, that beast, eat Kat? Waves of nausea wash over me, again, and this time I fight the urge to throw up. I take several deep breaths before speaking. “What lives in here?”

“You don’t recognize this place?” Altair asks.

“Not really. But I’m not exactly feeling the greatest right now, so nothing seems familiar.”

“This is where you had to come to get a hair off of the beast for your scavenger hunt. You should recognize it.”

“I guess so. I don’t know. I wasn’t exactly feeling the greatest then either.” I say.

Altair doesn’t say anything, but instead just stares at me for a few moments before fixing his attention back on the cave. It seems like he knows exactly what was said out here. But how? I guess I better stick with the “I don’t feel well defense”, seems safest. I’m starting to think that I should have just done what Kat suggested in the first place. I should have just gone along with her plan to get rid of Altair. I told her no, thinking it was the right thing to do, but now... I owe her my life and what thanks does she get? Murdered by a wild beast. I wish I could stop it from happening. But what exactly can I do?

All at once, water pours from the skies and soaks us in a matter of seconds. Lightning flashes across the sky, lighting up part of the cave. It’s much larger than I thought, with a dark tunnel stretching out in the back of the cave. The crash of thunder that follows is so loud that I jump, sure that some strange new creature is after me. The storm has finally arrived. I feel the hairs on my body start to stand up, and hear cries of, “Duck inside the cave, quickly!” We make it inside, just as a bolt of lightning strikes a nearby tree and knocks it down with a loud crash.

“Is everyone all right?” Altair calls out.

“I’m afraid we lost Cal, sir.” One of the soldiers replies.

I look around to find Cal’s body laying on the ground. Or what’s left of his body. Lightning hit him and there isn’t much of him left.

Altair lets out a few choice words under his breath, then follows it with, “I hate these freak storms. I lose more people that way. But not to worry my love, we can still make it safely back home.”

“Now what do we do?” I ask Altair.

“Continue on with the plan.” He replies.

“What about Kat?”

“What about her?” he asks.

“What if she escapes?” I ask. “Aren’t you afraid?”

Altair chuckles. “She’s handcuffed and gagged. What exactly can she do? Even if she managed to somehow get herself free; there is still one guard left plus me to contend with. You don’t have to worry about her getting revenge for you betraying her.”

I raise my eyebrows, questioning his last statement but Altair is already walking away, leading the way deeper into the cave. What does he mean, betray her? How did I do that? I didn’t tell him anything about her. I might have admitted to a thing or two that he already knew, but I made sure to make her seem innocent. I follow behind the group, wondering why Altair would lie. A loud boom rips through the air and shakes the ground. The storm must be on over us.

A rumbling sound fills the air, it’s different from the sounds of the storm. And then I watch, almost as if it were happening in slow motion, as a large boulder, falls from the ceiling and lands on top of the remaining soldier. At the same time, a rock the size of a man’s fist falls from the ceiling and hits Kat, causing her to fall to the ground. “Uh, Altair. I think you have a problem.” I call out.

Altair turns around and sees the rock where his soldier used to stand. This time I can hear the string of curse words coming out of his mouth. “It’s fine. It’s fine. We can still do this.”

“Shouldn’t we just...” I start.

“Go home? No! We came here to do a job, and we are going to see that job through.”

“Even if it kills us?”

“Yes. Even if it kills us.” He replies angrily. He grabs Kat’s arm and jerks her to her feet.

She cries out in pain, and I feel my blood boil. She saved my life and now he treats her like some common criminal. I don’t think so. I’m starting to see the man that Kat was so afraid of. The man that will destroy planets just to get his way. And I don’t want any part of it or him. I’m going to help Kat take him out, but how?