"Chronos: Finale" by Gracia ´Gengar´ Soria

Chronos: 5. The Children

- We failed, Kharma. The disturbance is still on. We arrived there too late. -

Words of failure… of shame. But the council had no time for tears. The disturbance was growing stronger every second, and time was running. All of them were quite aware that every minute of delay, their chances of success were fading.

- Let’s do it, people! We have another chance and we cannot miss this time! We must concentrate, stronger and stronger. First time we went there, we arrived too late… but at least we’ve been there now. We can really concentrate in every little detail. The playhouse, the garden, the clothes Maiden was wearing… all that gave us a bigger chance to make a good vision for the ritual. We must go there again… and this time, we’ll do it right. Get up everybody! -

Santos’ voice was sweet, but harsh at the same time. Hi-tech and Kharma went back to their place, preparing the ritual once again. Only Bluebell remained sitting on the floor, a hand pressing her chest.

- Are you ok, Blue? -

- Yes, Santos, I’m ok. It’s just that... I had a vision while we were traveling there… but now I can hardly remember any detail. I’m fine, let’s do it. -

And even if her smile was fake, Santos had to appreciate her effort, standing there, tired yet strong.

- Think hard, people! We’ve been there before! -

And once again a soft breeze that became a strong wind embraced their bodies. But it was not like the other time… because this time pain was stronger. It was like a sword piercing deep inside their bodies, inside their very minds, like an imp ripping apart every one of their muscles, one at the time. It was torture, it was pain and fear. Kharma almost fade.

But it worked. There they were again, the backyard, the playhouse… and the soft and friendly sound of human voices chatting along the street. The laughs of two little girls coming from the playhouse reminded them of their duty. Maiden was not close to be seen.

- Let’s do it. -

And Hi-tech went into the playhouse once again and crawled inside there. The two girls screamed when they saw that strange man coming close to them. But Hi-tech didn’t really care. He grabbed Caroline by an arm and took her out of the playhouse. Without the minimum consideration for the child, he threw her to the ground. Rainyday went out of the playhouse behind them, but Bluebell grabbed her before she could go closer to her sister.

- Caroline! -

Santos went closer to the girl, his hand in front of him, ready to kill her again.

- NO! -

Maiden’s scream took him out of balance. Maiden jumped to Santos like a wild cat, ready to protect her daughters. Santos and his former lover started to fight.

It all happened in a second: Santos released the electric bolt, and Maiden fell in front of him, her chest still smoking. Bluebell screamed and Rainyday used that little distraction to escape from her arms and run to her sister. Kharma tried to prevent Caroline from running away, but Rainyday found her first. Both little girls embraced each other and suddenly, a huge fire surrounded Kharma. Hi-tech grabbed Caroline’s dress but was repelled with a blow that threw him meters away from the child. A brilliant light was coming from the little girls and the sounds of the street suddenly fade away.

- NO!!! The disturbance is starting again!!! Rainyday!!! – Bluebell ran to her beloved niece but Santos stopped her. Pulling her back, the man went closer to the girls, only to be repelled the same way Hi-tech had been.

- Leave me alone!! – yelled a little voice. A voice sweet and educated… the voice of a child.

Santos saw the two girls collapsing to the floor, and felt the sudden bruise of the disturbance. And then, the world became blurry for him.

Chronos: 6. The Disturbance

The world became blurry for him. The pain came back, harder and harder. But Santos mind was completely filled with only one thing: failure.

- Kharma!! -

Santos opened his eyes when he heard the scream. He was completely tired, exhausted, and was barely able to move his own limbs... but an awful smell, the scent of burned flesh made him react.

The first he saw was Hi-tech, lying on the floor next to him. But when he turned his head he saw something terrible... Bluebell holding the horribly disfigured body of Kharma... and Kharma was still alive.

- Kharma...no... Kharma... hold on, baby... please...

Bluebell was not in the best shape... but she was doing her best to help her friend. Santos went closer to Hi-tech, who was completely bruised on the floor. The blond guy had an ugly hit on the head, and was bleeding profusely.

- Bluebell... we have no time. - The girl raised her head, completely wetted by tears. She was quite aware of that... but her heart refused to leave Kharma.

- Santos, I... -

- I know it, Blue. But if the disturbance goes on, no matter what we do, they’ll die anyway. So we must do it. Don’t waste your magic. Let’s try to help them as much as we can, but remember that we have no more than five or six minutes... -

- Yes, Santos. -

Five minutes later, Santos and Bluebell made the ritual again. They had already used a good part of their strength trying to help the other two members of the council...Santos told the girl that she should try to restrain from using too much of her power in curing, but he also had to admit that he was not capable of leaving Kharma and Hi-tech just like that.

The ritual began. But this time there was no pain. Santos and Bluebell knew that this was their last chance... and the universe was giving them some peace. A great cosmic joke... the last chance was promising to be soft and sweet... because it was waiting to bite them any second.

The ritual had been longer than the past two times, but they were waiting for that. Only two persons were coming back this time…

The world became blurry one more time, and when it became clear once again, they found themselves standing in the middle of the backyard…

…and both little girls were waiting for them.

It was somehow unnerving, watching those two lovely children standing there, looking at them with empty eyes. Maiden was on her knees behind them, crying.

- It’s my entire fault… this is because of me… -

- Daddy… - Rainyday’s voice was soft and sweet, pretty much like Maiden’s… she was just like her mother…

- Rainyday… -

- I’m sorry, daddy… I knew about this since the moment she was born. This was unstoppable. But I did nothing, because she was my sister and I was scared. But I’ve seen all the effort you’re doing to stop the disturbance… and I can’t just stand here, watching. – The dark haired girl took her sister hand, like an invitation to play… went closer to her, and kissed her in the forehead. – I love you, Caroline -

The blond girl fell in the grass. Maiden cried even louder.

- Daddy… - Rainyday was crying as well. She started to run to Santos.

Santos was still in shock when he opened his arms to receive Rainyday. She was like her mother… but she was as strong as his father. She felt their failed attempts for stopping the disturbance… and quite probably, she felt her sister’s pain as well. So she killed Caroline herself, painless and softly… and now she was running to his arms… for the first time in ten years. A soft wind embraced him, and the noise from the street became silence…

Maiden screamed. Santos fell the warm blood of Rainyday spilling his clothes. His breathing stopped in a second.

- Daddy… da… auntie... -

Bluebell was simply standing there, eyes filled with tears, her hands still smoking... she had never been good at controlling the electric bolts. The one she used against Rainyday had burned her hands, and little blood drops were falling from the hurted flesh.

- I’m sorry baby… -

Rainyday’s dead body fell to the ground. Maiden, released from the spell that was controlling her movement, crawled to her daughters. Santos fell on her knees.

- It was in your blood, right sis? That’s why you ran away and found Markus… because he told you that he was able to stop it. But he lied. And you gave birth to his daughter. He told you it was the price for controlling Rainyday… the one that was able to destroy the world… the one with the disturbance inside her. -

- I didn’t want you to kill her! I knew you were going to kill my baby, all of you! You’d never give me a chance!! And you did it!! Murderer!! -

- It was inevitable, sis. She had the disturbance inside her. And she enjoyed it. She even killed her own sister, and was about to kill her own father… but I saw it all while we were coming here, in a vision… and I became sure when I felt the energy gathering around her, absorbing It from the humans around her. I was not going to let it happen again. She was the disturbance. It had to be killed. Like you. You have it in your blood, and quite probably, I have it too. I’m sorry, sis. -

Santos saw Bluebell’s movement but he took too much time to react. Once again, like the last time, Maiden’s dead body fell to the ground, her chest still smoking. Bluebell fell as well, her heart crushed by herself. And the world became blurry for Santos once more.

Chronos: 7. The Council

The council was gathering again. There were only three of them this time: Santos, depressed and silent, Kharma, disfigured but alive, and stronger than ever, and Hi-tech, with a huge scar in his head, where the memory machine used to be, all his memories faded once more. But the disturbance had gone.

Keeper, the newest member, was standing next to Santos, the old leader.

- The council is gathering. I’ve been waiting for you all. -

The council will never die.