8)
“You have been brought here to save this land. And the land, in turn will save you. Remember this: everything is linked, Creator. I am here to guide you, I know much about this land; in many ways we were created at the same time.”
Alex looked up through tear streaked eyes. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about; just shut up. Shut the hell up! I’ve no idea what’s going on or who you are! How can I just forget what’s happened to me and carry on as normal?”
“Now is not the time for mindless indulging. I didn’t say for you to forget what has happened, what I said was to concentrate on where you are NOW.”
“Mindless indulging?! You have no idea.” Still kneeling on the floor, Alex’s head felt as if it was cracking. “I never wanted any of this; all I want to do is wake up!”
“Then wake up, Creator, for all our sakes. Please. We’re all waiting for you to wake up. That is why we’re all still here in this purgatory, waiting for you to take hold of yourself, of your destiny. You are the reason the land around you is in the shape it is.
"You do need to wake up, and that is why you have been brought here. But that is not the same as you wanting to wake up. You want to be like the child lying next to you –you wish to escape and forget about what is happening to you.
“I say this to you now; you are no longer a child, Creator, but you’re not fit enough to know your own mind. You need to stand up and be counted as a MAN. You have not the time to indulge in being a child any longer; this is a dying land and you have been brought here to prevent that.
“The boy that is lying at your side is, indeed, a much younger version of yourself, as you were at 13. He is where the story started. I had hoped that the transition to our land would have left you with better sense of identity; I did not realise you were so far gone in yourself. In many ways you were brought here just in time.”
Alex didn’t understand what he was talking about; he looked at his wrists and rubbed them again, but the comments about being a man, though, struck at the very core of his self, making him realise just how much he had been indulging in his fears; he had felt like giving up.
Onyx was right, there was no time for that anymore; he was the only one that could get himself out of this land, so he had to start growing up. Getting up, Alex brushed himself off and looked Onyx in the eyes.
“Why exactly have I been brought here?”
“You have been brought here to save the land, and thereby perhaps to save yourself. You are the land, you are intrinsically linked and in order to save the land you will have to find out how to save yourself.”
“What do I have to save the land from?”
“The child.” Onyx pointed to the boy, still unconscious at his feet.
“No! There is no way. That child cannot be the problem; surely it’s whatever was in the cave, and whatever was in the egg that is threatening this world.”
“They are one and the same, Creator. One will grow out of the other's ruin. That is something that you need to make sure never happens.”
“No! I will not do it, Onyx. You want to kill the boy then you will have to do it!”
“No, you misunderstand; this is something that you must do… but we may already be too late.” Onyx looked beyond him, to the edge of the clearing. Alex followed his line of sight and gasped. The darkness that lay between the trees seethed, it had form and was actually rolling towards them.
“I managed to save you once from the Deluge –when it was in its infancy, but I fear that it has become too powerful now. We will have to run before it swallows us.”
9)
Onyx ran without waiting to see if Alex was following him. Alex could only stand and stare at the churning black mass as it flowed mercuriously towards them, swallowing everything in its path. It was immense, the sheer bulk of it defied all attempts to rationalise what it actually was. A groan from the boy made him realise there was more than his life at stake. He had no choice but to rescue him.
Grabbing the half unconscious boy by the arm Alex ran, dragging him as best he could; the boy’s weight impeding his every move. “Don’t look back, don’t look back.” Alex repeated, focusing on every footfall. He knew they would never make it, but just couldn’t give up.
He heard Onyx shout out to him and glanced round just as the Deluge lunged at them. It struck the boys outstretched leg, swallowing it, jolting Alex mid-run. The boy let out an alarmed cry, terror jamming his eyes wide open. Alex tried to pull the boy out of the pitched embrace but couldn’t. He made one final tug but his sweaty hands couldn’t maintain their grip on the boys arm and Alex fell backwards. He could only watch in horror as the Deluge engulfed the boy, his strangled shrieks echoing round the clearing as his outstretched hand was finally enveloped.
Alex cried out, knowing that he would be next.
The Deluge suddenly rolled back, bringing itself to a height like a cobra but stayed there, quivering. Wide eyed, Alex whirled round. Onyx now stood behind him, arms outstretched, fingers wide open - his face serene. There was a pure, brilliant light shining from him. The Deluge could not move forward because of the energy streaming forth. Onyx spoke to him, though his lips never moved. He heard it in his mind, Onyx talking to him. He said just three words. “Run Creator, RUN!”
Alex didn’t need to be told again – he had no idea how long Onyx would be able to hold back the Deluge or whether Onyx himself would be able to get away from it –Alex was more worried about himself so he ran and ran, and never looked back
10)
Alex ran without knowing where he was going. He ran until his legs shook and it felt as if his lungs would burn and turn to cinders. He ran until his breaths were gulps of pain filled air, and only then did he collapse.
He had no idea how long he had run or whether the Deluge was still after him. He had left both Onyx and the boy behind to their fates, and he cried. Whether his tears were of genuine concern or self-pity he didn’t know. He wanted to escape, to run until none of it mattered, but his legs wouldn’t allow it any more.
He couldn’t go back; he didn’t even know where back was. There was so much he didn’t know; he knew his name, but little beyond that. Onyx had called him creator, which was a joke. Alex knew that he couldn’t create his way out of a paper bag, let alone a whole world; which he was also supposed to save, by the way. How can one save a whole world? By saving yourself, so Onyx maintained.
It was getting dark; shadows were lengthening and the wood was beginning to feel different, less welcoming. Alex didn’t relish the thought of spending the night alone in the wood, especially with the Deluge still somewhere behind him. In the dark there would be no way for him to tell where the night ended and the Deluge began and that frightened him, but he needed somewhere safe to sleep. His first thought was to climb a tree, but most were fairly young and insubstantial and didn’t look as if they could hold his substantial weight, besides he wasn’t that much of a tree climber.
The wood was sparse and still allowed the dying light to shimmer through the canopy; he needed to find shelter now before it got too dark for him to see. He stood up, his aching limbs shaking in complaint, and looked behind him; there was still no sign of the Deluge, so he walked unsteadily on, unsure exactly where he was going.
It wasn’t long before the colour had drained out of the wood around him, the sun had taken its leave of the day, and now the evening was drawing in. Alex didn’t have much time before it became tar black and thick of night.
Just in front of him he saw a large mass silhouetted against the dusk and it took a couple of seconds for him to register that it was actually a house, alien against the trees and bushes that surrounded it. More bizarrely, Alex recognised it. It was the house he grew up in!
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