Page 44 of Cerulean Truth
"Stephen, what's happening?" I cried out, in full panic-mode.
He shot me a wide-eyed, panicked expression. "I don’t know…it looks like we might be under attack, Emma. Stay low and be ready to follow my lead!" His voice held an undercurrent of urgency, its steadiness contrasting with the fear in his eyes.
“Edward, come stand behind Emma. Don’t create a portal until I tell you to. We’re going to split up, just in case they can track our portals,” Stephen commanded, taking a step forward to shield me with his own body, while I remained crouched behind his imposing figure.
I sensed Edward's presence behind me, but my attention remained fixed on Stephen.
The Gliders were closing in, their footsteps muffled by the smooth asphalt of the road. The dark of the night obscured their faces as they moved with synchronized precision. My heart pounded, goosebumps sprang to life and I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead.
Stephen however, still keeping his back to me, seemed like a beacon of strength and courage. He stretched out his arms sideways, and his white haze shot forth, enveloping us and creating a barrier between us and the oncoming creeps.
“The fog is poisonous, Emma. Don’t touch it,” he ordered me through gritted teeth. I obediently stayed frozen in place, closing my eyes and silently willing the Gliders to step into the mist and be banished to the darkest depths of hell.
After what felt like an eternity, I cautiously reopened one eye and surveyed the scene before me. Stephen remained focused on the Gliders ahead, while Edward assessed the hostiles behind us. Shielded from both sides, I couldn't shake the feeling of helplessness, like a damsel in distress on the verge of screaming for aid. Suppressing the impulse, I tried to steady my nerves.
“This won’t hold for long,” Stephen muttered, his words more directed at himself than me.
“Are you ready, Edward?” He spoke louder, drawing my attention.
My fingers tightened on the fabric of my clothes, knuckles white with tension, as I heard Edward confirm Stephen’s instruction.
In an instant, the world around me blurred, and my fear dissolved as my gaze fixated on a ball of light to my right.
There it was, hovering in the air like a green shimmering, iridescent window to another dimension. A portal. I’d never seen one, but I had no doubt in my mind, that’s what it was. The portal seemed to pulsate with an extraordinary energy, its green color shifting and swirling, drawing me in like a moth to a flame. The air around it felt charged, as if a powerful force emanated from within. As I studied it, I noticed how the surface of the portal rippled like a liquid mirror.
Wow.
“Don’t tell us where you’re going, just leave the portal open for us to follow,” Stephen shouted. Edward nodded and jumped through the green portal without another word.
"Emma, we must follow and jump through. Hold onto me, and whatever happens, do not let go!" Stephen's urgent voice shattered the surreal calm enveloping me, jolting me back to reality.
Blinking twice, I tried to process the urgency and gravity of the situation. Without hesitation, I rose to my feet, took a deep breath, and leaped through the portal, my heart pounding and anxiety soaring. I barely registered Stephen’s grip on my arm as I propelled myself forward.
The moment I crossed the threshold, a surge of confounding energy coursed through every fiber of my being. The world dissolved into a chaotic maelstrom of colors and shapes, as though I had been caught in a tornado of sensations. My stomach churned once more, and I experienced a disconcerting weightlessness, not unlike the sensation of becoming carsick on a particularly turbulent ride.
In an instant, I found myself standing in the vast, unforgiving emptiness of the Nevada desert, Stephen still clutching my arm.Acting swiftly, he slammed his hand onto the black device he held, sealing the portal behind us.
The scorching sun hung high in the sky, its intense rays beating down on us, turning the sand beneath our feet into a blistering stove.
The abrupt shift from the dark surroundings to this harsh, sunlit landscape was jarring. I could taste the dry, dusty air on my tongue, and I realized how parched I was.
Gasping for breath, my heart still racing from the bewildering transition, I turned to Stephen and demanded, "Who were those people? And why were they after us?" My voice trembled as my mind struggled to make sense of the past half hour.
Before Stephen could respond, a sudden, unsettling sound echoed through the hot desert air. It was a low, haunting hum, and the ground beneath us vibrated slightly. We both turned in alarm to witness a new portal opening a few feet behind us. A dark green light, flickering, as if it were torn from the fabric of reality itself.
We couldn’t tear away our eyes as it flared to life, our shock and confusion only deepening as, within seconds, a horde of Gliders poured out from the gaping hole in the air.
They moved at an unsettling speed, their dark hoods billowing like a sea of evil, as they swarmed toward us.
I had never cursed a day in my life. It's not how I was raised.
I hadn't taken offense hearing James swear as much as he did, but I had never done it myself.
But in that moment, there was but one word coursing through my mind.
One word James would've been very proud of.
Fuck.
