Episode-40: Equilibrium

Date: November 27, 3008
Time: 13:00
Location: Outskirts of Sleepywood

~Nova~

The gunshot was deafening, the concussion reverberating agonizingly against my eardrums. Images of my life, my past, of him, all soared through my thoughts. I was paralyzed, standing there like a stone statue, helpless. I had forgotten how to breathe, the life in me was slowly being sucked away. I was in shock, completely numb.

The bloodstains on my shirt formed angry crimson spots that even stood out against the black. Somehow, I had fallen to my knees, my emerald eyes dilated in horror, my lips quivering in disbelief. The rain was matting my blonde hair against the sides of my head, my bangs hung low over my eyes. This could not be…

His eyes were cold and hard, not warm like the Damiver I knew. Yet he did not seem scared at all, but rather calmed and collected. His dark brown irises, despite everything that was unfolding, were hopeful. But I could not see it. All I saw was his lips, frozen solid like a statue, his face growing paler and paler, his eyes losing that flair I had known and loved.

Damiver fell into my arms, the wound in his chest oozing out blood faster than I could try to keep it in. His life was warm in my hands. I groped around in the torrential rain for his hand. It too was steady. My heart beat furiously against my chest, threatening to burst out. Please don’t let this happen… This had to be a dream…

“Nova…” his whisper chilled me to the bone. I felt so cold sitting in the freezing rain with the love of my life in my arms.

“D… Damiver… wha… no… please…” I could not speak. My words came out in a jumble of discombobulated thoughts that cut my nerves and severed my synapses.

“Nova… You still have a… a life before you… Live it now for… for the both of us…” His hoarse whisper wounded me with every syllable he uttered. Every word drove the stake deeper into my heart.

“No… God… Damiver you can’t… don’t leave me here alone… please I need you!” my lips trembled uncontrollably. I was sobbing furiously, my salty tears mingling instantly with the waterfall of raindrops cascading down my cheeks.

“You’ll see me… in due time… Nova you have to let me go…” I repeated his last sentence in my mind. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t. Damiver was my life, my other half, the one that made me complete. To lose him was to lose part of myself. I could not give that up, not again.

“I can’t… Damiver I just can’t…” In the back of my mind, I knew this was it. Whatever I had left to say to him, I had to say it now or forever hold my peace. There were so many things I wanted to tell him, but my mind was on survival mode, still unable to cope with the facts. My lips moved, but no words came out.

“You have to… to let me go…” Damiver smiled warmly, and even through all of my pain and suffering, I could feel his hope. I felt the tiniest bit of comfort crawl back into my heart, just as if he were the one holding me, our positions reversed, fate holding my life in the balance instead. Oh how I wished it were that…

And so Damiver Lazin passed on, forever lost from this world, forever lost in the shadows. The warmth left me numb again, I could not move. My hands were still holding his, though his grip had come and gone for the last time. The sorrow overwhelmed me again, rattling my body with uncontrollable sobs. I buried my head in his chest, calling his name, but his ears would not hear me anymore.

“So sad… you didn’t even get a chance to tell him you loved him…” a low voice simpered out from behind me. I heard the cock of a hammer of a gun I knew all too well. I still had a bullet lodged inside of my brain from it. His voice was so close, I felt I could break him. My despair turned into fury, I was going to kill him if it was the last thing I did.

Fenris continued in a mocking tone, “Well your separation won’t be so long.” The way he waved his pistol around, it seemed like he thought it to be a toy. Then, his condescending manner morphed into a bit of frustration, “Damn Nova, you are so uncompromising. Why can’t you just die?”

His Telepathy Screen hid his thoughts from view, but somehow, I felt connected to his mind. The anger within me boiled up. I was ready to blow. Fenris’ face was the only image I saw. Everything else was irrelevant. He would stop breathing, and I would be the one to end it.

Something in my brain snapped dangerously, and I lunged up at him. He sidestepped, and I skidded to a halt on the wet grass. Mud caked my hands as I picked myself up and whipped around to face him. His sharp wolf like teeth grinned amusingly at me, taunting me. “Come again!” he roared jocosely.

The gale force winds ripped at my hair, making it thrash out wildly like medusa’s snakes. The close trees gave a sense of claustrophobia, too small for the two of us. My emerald eyes met Fenris’ for a brief fraction of a second. In that instant, the connection between our thoughts seemed to spike, and I lashed out with my mind despite his telepathy screen. To my surprise, he stumbled backwards, his eyes sliding slightly out of focus. Moving quickly to take advantage of his moment of confusion, I whipped my S-36X2 off of my back and pulled the trigger.

A hail of bullets screamed through the rainy atmosphere towards Fenris. They sheered through the tree barks, sending up a suffocating cloud of tree shavings and leaves. I dove behind a tree, focusing my mind again. The distant sound of gunfire, seemingly muted before, reached my ears with a new crescendo. I had forgotten all about the others, Naz, Lily, Mikhail’s suicide bomb. But none of that mattered now, trivial pieces in the big picture. Fenris clouded my thoughts.

As the dust settled into the mud, I peeked around the corner. Fenris was no where in sight. Just as I was about to break cover, I saw a burst of fire and ducked down just in time as a stream of bullets seared over the top of my ponytail. When his pistol clicked empty, I swiveled around my tree and squeezed the trigger again. White hot bullets impacted the ground, sending sprays of mud into the air. I saw him duck behind another tree just as my line of fire reached him. The man moved inexplicably fast.

“Haha, that all you got Nova?” Fenris’ jeering laugh echoed through the forest, “I expected more from a Shadow!”

Gnashing my teeth in anger, I unbuckled a frag grenade from my belt and stuck my finger through the pin. But then, I stopped. The sick voice in my mind laughed at the notion. Where was the fun in a grenade? I wanted to see the look on his face as I killed him slowly.

Just as I fixed the grenade back in place, something cold and hard collided into me, sending me sprawling to the ground. The rain pelted directly against my face now as I stared up into Fenris’ eyes. He was on top of me, his left hand around my throat, his right forcing a pistol against my temple.

“Well well well,” he growled in pleasure at the thought of having me dead at last, “Doesn’t this seem like déjà vu?” His eyes glanced around, taking in the rainy environment. I could see his glee just skyrocket, for we were completely alone.

I knew he would take advantage of our situation. Fenris’ hands clamped my wrists down and his body pinned me to the ground. Before I knew it, his lips were on my skin, sliding from my chin to my collarbone, then down my chest. I felt like throwing up, felt like inflicting as much pain as possible on this monster on top of me. His nails scratched me roughly as he tore away my combat vest, revealing my black tank top.

“Get off of me,” I whispered, my eyes narrowing upon his.

“Or what?” he asked, breathing heavily, “There’s nothing you can do but die…”

Suddenly, I saw something behind him, a striking blonde figure darting through the trees. Natalie… There was something shiny in her hands. I needed to distract Fenris.

“What did you take from me?” I asked, keeping my eyes fixated upon him. To my surprise, it actually seemed to work. His eyes snapped from my chest to my face, a wild grin stretching across his lips.

“Your blood has given me your entire arsenal of mental capabilities. You thought I was wearing a Telepathy Screen? Nope, you couldn’t read my mind because I was blocking you. In fact, I can read your mind right now. I know how much you hate me. Don’t worry, all of this is about to end as soon as I get my fun.” there was a maniacal glint in his eyes.

“But you had everything,” I replied quickly, keeping his mind occupied.

“Yes, and no,” Fenris’ eyebrows furled uncomfortably, “It is true I had everything, money, power, but there was something I lacked, something I could never have.”

“Telepathy…” I whispered, finishing his thought.

“Good girl,” Fenris replied with a chuckle, “Getting smarter. Anyways, now that I have your Mental Potency, I can finally rule without impediments. Anyone who opposes me will be instantly crushed. I’ll start with you…” With that, he leaned down to kiss me on the lips. I bit my tongue to keep myself from throwing up. I only needed a bit longer.

As he pulled away, he breathed in deeply, “I’m going to miss your scent Nova. You had a sweet, delicious, floral smell. And now,” he stood up, cocking his pistol, “I’ll send you to your lover.” He pointed the gun at my head, “Goodbye Miss Zerra.”

The gunshot was deafening, completely winding me. All other ambient sounds, the thunder, the rain, the distant battles still being raged, disappeared in a single muzzle flash. Yet my face contorted into a smile, a grin even. Fenris’s charcoal black eyes were still fixed upon me. Out of his throat came an unusual noise. He toppled over, a bloody pool spreading out of the exit wound over his chest. Natalie stood before me with my S-36X2 in her hands, the rain pouring in all around her. She had a wide smile etched upon her features as she reached down to pull me up.

Taking her hand, I straightened myself up and looked over at Fenris’ convulsing body. It was my turn to stand on top of him now. I picked up his pistol and turned to him, “What goes around comes around eh Fen?”

“No! No no no! This can’t be, I was supposed to be the hero!” Fenris sputtered as blood started so spill from his mouth. His eyes finally caught Natalie’s and they contracted in horror, “Who the… what the…?”

“Weren’t counting on meeting my sister were you?” I snickered. In the rain, Natalie and I looked almost identical, though she had her hair hanging straight down while mine was fixed up in a ponytail. I could only imagine what it felt like to be in Fenris’ dying shoes, staring at not one, but two Zerras.

“How could this be?” he choked out some more blood. His terrified expression made the lioness in my heart roar triumphantly. Revenge was such a sweet dish. I felt the numbness wash away as the rain continued to slide down my skin. Best served cold…

“In your words, the world has a natural balance.” I cocked the hammer back, “I’m just correcting that imbalance.” Without the bat of an eyelid, I pulled the trigger.

The wind danced around us in a frightful frenzy. Cold beads of rain lashed down at my skin. Lightning and thunder raged across the heavens, the gods at war. The storm of the century had no intention of calming down, but the hurricane in my heart finally started to ease away.