Pursuer (Alwahi Series) (2 page)

“
What is it?” she asked, suddenly looking up and staring at Zanas. “What’s wrong?”

“
I saw something in the woods; it felt like some sort of sign… I don’t know how to explain it,” she replied. Her sister dropped the page she was turning and reached out towards her Zanas.

“
Let me see,” Asenya whispered, her long fingers reaching out and falling on her sister’s arm. Zanas watched as Asenya’s eyes glazed over and her face became blank. What Asenya was seeing, only she could see.

Asenya had these “fits” since as long as Zanas could remember. Their parents had been terrified, thinking there was something wrong with her. They feared she was having seizures and took her to hoards of doctors, each one probing and prodding, taking their tests and their samples. Asenya had been so weak lying in the hospital, exhausted from yet another test, yet another medication. Zanas had taken her hand, holding it to her face.

“
You must hide what happens,” she had whispered. “We know they will never find something wrong, but they will never stop testing.” Asenya had nodded and they worked together to convince the doctors, and their parents, that it had all been some mysterious illness that Asenya eventually outgrew. Asenya never told anyone but Zanas the things that she saw when her eyes developed the glassy doll stare. She would get flashes of images, sometimes hints at possible futures, and other times, warnings.

Asenya pulled her hand free from her sister’s arm. Her eyes still had a slight dreamlike shine, as though she were experiencing the web like effects of some dream. “I see you running… running free with a pack of your own. It is glorious.
You
are glorious.” With her last words, she shook her head, seeming to be a last attempt at clearing the cobwebs. Then Asenya was back, looking at her with an intense expression. And all she said was, “Interesting.”

… … …

They crowded into the terminal, being jostled by fellow travelers. Zanas was reminded of a cage filled with vultures. Her mother was dressed impeccably, her solon soft hair falling in waves to just below her shoulders. Her father was dressed in a suit and was struggling with their luggage, searching for the tickets. Asenya was seated in one of the chairs in the terminal, and she met Zanas’s eyes with an exasperated expression of boredom. As usual, she was dressed all in black, a long dress that flowed to her ankles, and tiny flats that resembled doll shoes. Zanas was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a black sweater. They looked like a mismatched puzzle, this family of four.

The sky outside the terminal windows was dark and overcast; small drops of water beginning to fall, splattering the concrete with their bodies. Zanas felt a shiver run through her as a sense of foreboding came over her. All morning she had been plagued by a queasiness in her stomach, something did not feel right. Nevertheless, since her sister had yet to mention anything, and she was usually the one that felt such things, Zanas resigned herself to forgetting it.

The first-class passengers where called and they boarded the plane. When Zanas was finally seated, she stared out the window and into the dreary day. Lightning flashed, illuminating the inside of the plane, casting eerie shadows on the twins. Seconds later the resounding explosion of energy vibrated the air, the boom causing Zanas heart to skip in excitement. She had always had some innate need to be outside in a storm, to have the rain beat at her flesh. The danger of the fierce eruptions of lightning only made the thought seem more appealing.

The rain outside the plane turned into a heavy pour, covering the window in a layer of moisture, everything turning to a watery haze. The pounding of the rain sounded like a soothing lullaby, bouncing off the plane with a melody. Zanas drifted off to sleep beside her sister, her parents bickering quietly among themselves across the aisle.

The violent jerk of the plane awoke her, and as her eyes opened, they were blinded with a flash of light. Her vision began to clear and she caught sight of the dark storm that loomed outside her window. Her mind drifted back to her earlier thought of the storm, she had gotten her wish, as the plane flew in the middle of a black cloud of crackling energy. The cabin was once again filled with light; a fierce sound echoed the flash and screamed in her ears, as though a flash grenade had exploded directly in front of her.

White colored her vision and she reach out blindly for her sister, finding her reaching back. They held tightly to each other. Her vision started to clear and she could finally see the scene around her. The frightened faces of her parents and sister were the first things she saw, staring steadily back at her. It took her just a moment to realize it was not
her
that they were looking at, but the view outside her window.

She turned her face, staring out into the eye of the storm, unlike any storm she ever could have imagined in her wildest of dreams. The plane hovered, surrounding by a dark cylindrical mass. The stormy enclosure was alive with energy, tiny bolts of energy bouncing excitedly, a brilliant display of light. The energy began to build, the brightness of the cloud growing brighter and brighter. Zanas watched as Asenya’s long hair began to float around them, flashes of energy sparking from the ends.

She heard the sound of their mother’s frightened voice, and looked over to find her on the verge of tears. She had never seen her mother like this before, too scared to cry, tears only just held at bay. The air almost seemed to be buzzing with energy, as once again everything turned to white, the sonic boom that exploded in the air deafening her.

Her vision cleared this time as she faced the window. No longer was the sky colored dark, a purple line stretched across the horizon, the shadow outline of water was below them. The sky turned once more a brilliant shade of purple, and then it was dark. Zanas could hear the sound of passengers around her as the night sky came into focus.

“
Look at the stars! Look at the stars!” a frightened voice whispered.

The sky was bright with large clusters of stars, so densely packed they almost shinned as one. A beautiful night sky, shinning with radiance. An
alien
radiance, these stars were unknown. The noise of the cabin turned to a deathly silence, as the engines of the plane began to whine, giving one last metallic groan before stopping. The plane tilted violently, as the nose pointed downwards, and cabin once again erupted in sound, as the passengers began to scream.

It all seemed to stop in one thunderous roar, and Zanas was flung forward into a blue pool of light. She chocked for a moment, wondering why she was unable to breathe, and finally realized she was underwater. Zanas reached for her seatbelt and felt the latch release as she clicked it. She searched for Asenya and found her still seated next to her, limp. Zanas fumbled for Asenya’s seat belt and jerked her free. Her lungs started to burn, she was trapped in a dark tomb of death, unable to see.

A sense of calm washed over her, as if her body knew the way to life, to air. She found herself swimming, an iron grip on her sister’s wrists. She swam and swam, not knowing where she was headed, but somehow understanding it was in the right direction. There was one last moment of tension, and her head popped above the surface of water, into a sky of a million twinkling stars. Zanas had never seen a sky like this, so bright and aweing. She found herself gasping at the beauty that was exploding before her. She pulled her sister close, as she felt her body go slack, and collapsed into unconsciousness.

Her face felt rough and stuck. She cracked open her sore eyelids and came face to face with two beady eyes. She jerked her head and moaned, as the sudden movement brought a sharp pain. Her vision started to focus. Zanas realized that she was lying on a sandy white beach, a small crab making its way across her path, the frothy smack of the ocean lapping at the shore. Glancing up she saw the thick forest of trees that lined the beach. It was then that she spotted her sister. Asenya was lying ten yards from her, face down in the sand.

Disregarding the pain that shot through her head, Zanas pulled herself up, and ran to Asenya’s side. With a heave, she shoved her sister over onto her back. Asenya’s eyes were closed and she was so still, that Zanas felt herself holding her breath in terror. She searched for any sign of life. Just when she was about to raise her voice in a wail of anguish, she saw the slight rise of Asenya’s chest. Zanas shook her slightly and felt herself relax when her sister opened her eyes.

“
We survived,” Asenya whispered. Zanas nodded and held her sister close.

There were people along the beach, and a few scattered across the coastline. One woman sat with vacant eyes, rocking back and forth, muttering something incomprehensible to either of the girls. They wandered up and down the beach searching the people, looking for any sign of their parents. They mourned when they turned bodies over, only to find vacant eyes staring back at them. These glass eyes would never again clear and come alive.

The twins searched in vain and found no sign of their parents, who seemed to have been swallowed, like hazy memories into a sea of pain. Zanas tried to recall her last vision of her parents, and only saw her mother’s eyes filled with fear, and unspilled tears. She reached for her sister’s hand and they began to walk towards the group of people who were forming in the center of the beach. Zanas made a mental count of the survivors; nine.

As the girls stepped forward, the survivors turned and stared at them. They consisted of three women, four men and a small child. The woman, who had been muttering earlier, sat silent. All the passengers seemed weary, not quite knowing how to comprehend the situation they had suddenly found themselves thrust into. Zanas walked into the middle of them.

“
We have no idea where we have landed. We do not even know if help will
ever
arrive.” Zanas stressed. “That may be harsh, but it’s the reality. We must start worrying about our basic needs. Two of those are shelter and water. I suggest some of us stay behind and create a shelter, while the rest of us scout the area for fresh water and edible food.”

A low mummer began among them and quickly those who would stay behind, and those who would venture into the forest where established. Four of them would enter the woods; Zanas, Asenya, a young man named Thomas who seemed to be no more than nineteen, and a dark haired woman around twenty-five.

When they entered the forest, Zanas was amazed by how beautiful it was. She had never seen trees so tall or so large; she had never even imagined that trees could grow to be that size. They walked through areas where huge green banana leaves bent across their path and they had to push them out of the way. The air was thick with moisture, so thick Zanas could taste the water molecules as they entered her mouth.

The trees covered the sky with their branches, huge towering arms outstretched in an enveloping canopy. Light beamed down from above through small holes in the foliage and seem to stretch down towards them, like rays sent from a heavenly above. The forest was alive with a thousand different sounds, and Zanas’s ears twitched while trying to discern them. She heard what sounded like crickets, as well as exotic birds that erupted in a haunting cry as they passed them.

They were just coming around a bend when Zanas heard it, the roar of water hitting earth close by. She led them forward past a patch of the biggest plants she had ever seen. They were taller than Thomas, with thick stems that ended abruptly in an open flower. Although she would not entirely describe it as a flower. As the flower itself had no ornamental qualities, but instead, sharp looking spikes that erupted from its sides. Dozens of them formed a giant circular crop, silent figures reaching towards the sky. There seemed something familiar about this plant, but Zanas dismissed the feeling as she led them past and towards the sound of water.

Just around some towering banana leaves, Zanas caught sight of a beautiful waterfall. There was no order to this giant, as it cut from one side of the rock crevice to the other, making the waterfall cascade into a pool of green-blue water. It was so wild and beautiful at the same time. They let out a small cheer as they made their way towards the pool. Zanas dipped her hands into the water and drank deeply, the flavor pure and refreshing.

She relaxed by the shore of the small cove and watched as her sister went for a swim. Asenya’s long dress had been torn down one side and she had torn off much of the bottom when they had entered the jungle. The heat was much too stifling to encourage thicker clothing. Zanas had emerged rather unscathed and had only a few tears in her jeans, but she had long since begun to regret the sweater. Her sister was washing her hair, trying to remove all the debris that had been caught in it from the crash and the trek through the forest. Zanas’s hair was surprisingly still braided; she pulled the long tail over her shoulder and stroked its length, drawing comfort in this somehow.