Hello readers! I've been away for a long, long (well, to me) time and I'm glad to be writing again. New stories are always hard to write but just this chapter has been started and thought about for months. I didn't know how to start it, how to introduce stuff, how to show stuff…it was hard. But I'm pleased to say that new ideas are now flowing steadily. I am going to make a big gamble and try to promise weekly updates…I feel like I owe it to you guys for the sheer unpredictability of my last story. I will try my best to make sure that this story does get finished quickly, and that you readers have new material to read every week.
So, I hope your ready…here is the first chapter.
Chapter 1- When the World Bends
The sky was bright; a brilliant blue.
The sun shone radiantly, a disc of glowing amber light. Clouds drifted this way, and that, looking soft and perfect to any observers despite their incorporeal state. It was summer and, the weather, staying true to the season, was baking hot, the air shimmering with the presence of the heat. The sidewalk was relatively empty; many people were indoors cooling down. Every now and then, however, footsteps would sound along the street and a person or two would pass by. Buildings stretched either side of the road, but this was an segregated street, and was rarely used even in normal weather. Shadows cast by the buildings fell onto the asphalt and if someone were to touch the pavement there, they would find it quite cool.
Then a cold wind blew.
It whipped at the buildings and scattered dust; chasing the heat from the air so that the shimmering waves spiralled and then died. The shadows seemed to grow longer and longer, darker and darker, and the suns energy itself lost purchase in the area.
And then the world bent.
The scene seemed to snap inwards, twisting and twisting, as if it was being pushed out of the way. As if it were but a bug being swashed against a window. Stone walls turned, cemented roads twisted…and the whole street disappeared.
Except it didn't. It was still there. The road continued, the buildings still existed, the sky still hung above and looked down. But it was different…the buildings were run down and scorched, the streets were dirty and cracked, and the sky, oh the sky, was a violent grey streaked with shots of black. Thunder boomed and screeched, and then it rained. Droplets fell from the sky in a great cascade, showering the street with water. But it was only that street and, as if separated by a wall, everywhere else stayed the same, bright and happy with its shimmering heat.
There was no gentle gradual change, it was harsh, like a cut in delicate skin, and looked completely out of phase.
"Now that is something you don't see everyday."
The voice was smug, unsurprised, excited even, and there was no one to watch as a woman strolled casually up the street, stopping just before she entered the 'patch' of rain. Blonde hair fell down her back and cunning blue eyes surveyed the area. Lips curved into a smile as the woman stepped forward and walked through the rain moving down the run down street.
Then, with a groan that should have been audible, the world snapped back into place. The street seemed to reset itself, light and warmth returning, and the glimpse of that darker, wrong, place disappeared in an instant.
But the woman was gone.
"I don't see why they should come for dinner. Can't we just cancel already?" Billie complained.
"No, their your parents, the least you can do is give them a chance." Piper replied gently, from her position by the sink, washing up. Her voice was slightly reproachful towards Billie's words and tone.
"The least I can do?" Billie said sarcastically. "What about them? For years I've been looking for Christy, and they…they didn't even try."
"Their still your parents; you should try and make amends with them." Piper answered.
"Why? I've spent years searching for my elder sister, years trying to discover where she was taken, trying to get her back. We don't even talk about her. She's gone and we don't even acknowledge that she existed. They haven't even tried to find her, haven't even looked, and I can't forgive them for that." Billie insisted, unable to control the emotion bleeding into her tone. She didn't look at Piper as she said this, she was too busy remembering the months of confusion after Christy disappeared. And then the years after that, the hole her disappearance had left, the desire to find her.
A plate shattered.
"Piper?" Billie said hesitantly. The woman turned, a look of sorrow and pain in her eyes and Billie felt a rush of guilt. Piper had just lost Leo, her husband, and here she was talking about her sister, someone she had lost. "Oh, Piper, I'm sorry…I didn't mean-"
"-to upset me. I know. It's fine." Piper waved her apology aside with a tense smile. She shook her head and some of the pain melted away from her features. "I understand Billie, you've lost your sister and you feel that no one has tried to find her."
"And you've lost Leo." Billie stated.
"No. Not lost. He's coming back." Piper tilted her head and gave Billie a piercing look. "Maybe if you stopped thinking of her as lost you might have more luck."
"What do you mean?" Billie asked.
"She's not gone Billie, as long as you know that she is still out there, she isn't gone. You know that you'll find her and you know that she's coming back." Piper's expression took on a wistful tone as she muttered. "Even if the angels of destiny seem to think they know best."
Billie didn't know how to reply, so she just nodded. Empathy flooded through her mind and she realised that she wasn't the only one who had lost someone, that others had lost loved ones too. She wondered if it was part of being a witch, if Phoebe and Paige had gone through the same thing, or whether it was just part of life. Piper seemed to understand her loss of words and, after drying her hands, exited the kitchen when the cries of her son reached her ears.
Billie, left alone in the kitchen, walked over to one of the cupboards and randomly opened one. She needed time to think…she had planned to go straight to see another kidnap victim but she didn't think she could dive straight back into the hunt for Christy just yet, Piper's words on her mind.
"Huh, we're out of Toadstool."
Maybe a walk would clear her head.
The police station was almost completely empty.
It was dark, the night having fallen a few hours before, and the streetlights shining through the windows cast dancing shadows on the desks and papers of the rooms it shone into. The station was large, sitting on one of the most rapidly growing crime locations in the whole of England was the cause of that. Most of the staff had gone home, but the place was never completely empty. People were always working, trying to solve cases that they desperately needed to solve. Terry was no different, and as a Detective Inspector, it was is job to bridge the gap between the senior offices and the people who did most of the field work.
"Still here?" his good friend Daniel said, sounding amused from the doorway to Jerry's office.
"Yes, unlike someone I have work to do." the Detective replied good naturedly, continuing to write his report on a mugging down.
His friend winced and then laughed "Ouch. Seriously, you need to give yourself a break. Your going to burn yourself out."
Jerry only raised an eyebrow and replied "I thought you said that a year ago. I think I'm still here…and in one piece. Shocking."
"Now no need to get like that." Daniel laughed but stopped when Jerry put away his report in a large brown file and then put it to one side, pulling out another one, slimmer this time, but the difference was that this one was old…and Daniel had seen it many times before. The man sighed, and then added "Are you still working on that?"
"Yes, and I will continue to work on it until it is solved." Jerry confirmed.
"You've really got to let that go. Your not going to catch the guy." Daniel replied. But it was the same speech he had said a thousand times and it made no difference…Jerry was already opening the file.
"I will. A lot has changed in two years, I'm a Detective now and have a lot more power…and experience. As well as new leads." Jerry replied calmly, he too had said the exact same thing a thousand times.
"What? That organised crime case? You have no evidence. You need to let this one go. Come on, have some coffee at least if you won't go home." Daniel insisted.
Jerry sighed and got to his feet, smiling at his friends determination. "Alright. But I'm coming right back afterwards. These cases won't solve themselves."
But Daniel wasn't listening. "It must be a miracle! The world is ending. Jerry Brown is moving from his office! Oh the horror!"
Jerry only shook his head at his friends antics and walked out of the office, Daniel following with a satisfied smile. The file on the desk remained open. Pages of painstakingly gathered evidence that amounted to much less than the Detective had hoped for. Still, it was enough…or so he hoped. Pictures, blueprints, statements, new leads and what they had amounted to, a compilation of everything Jerry knew, and didn't know, about the person he was desperate to put in prison. It was a hobby of his, once he had done all his work for the day, he would pull out the file and read through it, looking for anything he had missed. He would gather new evidence and then look through that too.
On the first pages of the file, were the blueprints of a museum, and a picture of a sword.
She entered the shop and peered around.
Supplies of varies ingredients sat on the shelves lining the walls, covering them almost completely. The place gave of a crowded, messy, sort of feel and she found that she liked its causal clutter. A clock hung from the wall behind the counter, and there was man that looked about twenty standing by the till nonchalantly leaning forwards, reading something. The shop was quiet and Billie winced as the door slammed closed behind her with sound that seemed infinitely loud in the relative silence of the shop. There were a few people milling around, picking things up, examining them, often with a practised eye. For a moment she felt out of place but then she remembered that these ingredients could be used in potions, and felt slightly better.
Trying to navigate through the shelves proved slightly difficult, but once she realised that things were organised basically in alphabetical order things got easier. It didn't take long for her to find the ingredient she was looking for and, once she did, she felt a distinct lack of purpose. What was she supposed to do now? Go home? See another kidnap victim? The events of the day, in fact the last week, were catching up to her.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Billie wandered around the shop once more stopping to examine a strange purple stone, a vial that looked like it was made of pure crystal, a jar of strange looking things that on closer inspection turned out to be eyes (she put that one down quickly) and a athame.
It was plain looking and slightly rusted but she did need a new athame.
She shrugged and picked it up, taking it over to the counter. The man looked up at her, bored, light blue eyes slightly vacant. He smiled half-heartedly and told her the price in a tone that spoke of the amount of time he spent in this shop. Then he looked at the athame and gave her a oddly surprised look, she found it quite insulting.
"Are you sure you want that?" he didn't seem to be impressed. "Because if you go to the back shelve we have ones of much better quality."
Billie felt slightly affronted but couldn't help but laugh at his unimpressed tone. He laughed too. "No, I'm sure I want this one."
"That's cool. I guess I shouldn't make a habit of telling the customer what to buy, huh?" he replied, voice filled with mirth.
"I guess not. " Billie agreed, handing him the correct amount and watching as he counted out her change with a practised ease and slipped her purchased into a small bag. "Some of the more cranky customers might get a little violent."
To her surprise, he laughed again. "I'll bare that in mind."
She nodded and, after taking the bag of him along with her change and putting both in the larger bag she had brought with her, turned around and walked out of the shop and back into the stifling heat. The sky looked almost like molten sapphire through the heat shimmering in the air. Still, living in this kind of heat all her life, the witch was used to such weather and not that affected.
She felt better now. She didn't know what it was, the weather, the walk or something else, but she felt calmer than she was when she had been in the manor. Maybe it was because she had had some time to think, cool down, and the manor and all her problems with her parents seemed so far away. It was this that made her decide to visit another kidnap victim. She needed to investigate whether it was linked to her sisters, maybe Christy wasn't the only magical child taken from her parents. She had the piece of paper that will determine whether he is magical of not.
Maybe this could help her find her sister.
Well, that went well, Billie thought, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
The tension between the cousin and Rod was palpable and she had felt quite uncomfortable in that room when they had argued. She brushed of her apprehension quickly though…who was she to judge a family feud? And the guy was magical, that must mean something, it had to be significant but what…and how?
She didn't know, but if magical children were being kidnapped from their families then something had to be going on…maybe the demons were looking for something? Something they had found in Christy. Just thinking about that sent a shiver of fear down her spine. The thought of her sister being taken at such a young age for an unknown purpose was horrifying. It didn't matter that years had passed since she had last seen her sister, didn't matter that she, herself had been so young, all that mattered was that Christy was her sister, and that kind of bond just didn't go away.
Maybe another kidnap victim would provide more answers…
But first she had to locate one, and then contact one, and then find out what had happened and then whether they were magical…she just wished there was an easier way.
Billie continued walking down the busy street, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the crowd of people around her. Murmurs of their speech flowed together in her mind, a constant stream of different words colliding and spinning of each other so every conversation was practically indiscernible from the next, a light blanket of noise. She walked across several crossings and turned into various streets on her way through the puzzle like streets of the city and back to the manor. A sharp left took her into an empty street.
She came to a large building that looked to be a car shop and, as she walked passed, looked through the windows. The cars were sleek and the paint shone; obviously expensive, but they looked lost in there all on their own without any customers inspecting them. She marvelled at the expensive layout of the interior, the plush desks and carpets, and skimmed over the black, inky, shadows cast on the walls on the floor. Strange how they looked so peculiarly shaped, almost like smudges. She looked ahead of her, eyes flicking past the 'open' sign on the door, laughing inwardly at how boyish she felt looking, and admiring, cars she could never hope to buy.
The car park was empty except for a red and black motorbike. It's leather clad owner was leant back against the seat, obviously waiting for someone, the matching red helmet tilted up to the sun showed the tell tale signs of day dreaming. Billie rolled her eyes, how could anyone stand to wear leather in this heat? She knew that it was just what people wore when they rode motorbikes but…still. It was weird. Didn't the guy have a car?
Maybe he could go and buy one of the cars in the car shop place instead of standing outside, she thought. Though I don't understand how, I didn't see anyone in there as I walked past. No employees and no people. Odd.
She froze.
I didn't see anyone in the shop. I haven't passed anyone on the street. I haven't met anyone yet. Except…
The motorcyclist.
She turned back to him and saw that he was still in the same position, leaning against his bike casually, helmet tilted upwards, looking completely relaxed.
Billie shook her head. Now she was just getting paranoid. Why did she feel like something really bad was about to happen? It's just an empty street, she told herself, so what if you haven't seen any people yet…no need to be so damn jumpy.
A breeze ruffled her hair and she could have sworn she heard the air shimmer.
"No," she whispered. "It's nothing. Your making something out of nothing. The shop was just closed that's all."
Her thoughts were confirmed when a petite red headed woman and a tall blond man rounded the corner into the street in front of her. They were chatting to each other amiably and were obviously a couple by the way they were holding hands and looking into each others eyes. In an instant, Billie's fear evaporated and she almost laughed out loud at her own stupidity. Her panic melted away just as quickly as her fear and she felt herself relax. This witch thing was getting to her, she decided, if she was jumping at every odd occurrence.
But then the petite redhead smiled, eyes glinting violently, showing perfect white teeth, and suddenly things didn't seem quite right…
Then she realised why.
There had been a sign on the shops door. Saying open. Not closed. That shop should have been full. It was a beautiful day, the city was filled, almost clogged, with people. Walking around and going about their business. But there was no one here.
And those smudges hadn't been shadows. She now knew why they had looked like smudges. They were ash. Left behind after a demon attack…
And the redhead wasn't human. Neither was her boyfriend.
She heard the air shimmer.
She looked to her left, seeing two more demons shimmer in, and then to her right, seeing another two appear. Billie smiled at the redheaded demon, she wasn't going to panic, she wasn't going to let them scare her…if, when, they attacked her, she had to stay focused. It didn't matter that she hadn't taken on six demons at once before, this wasn't a practise, she couldn't just say "sorry I don't really know how to be a witch yet…attack me in a few years."
She almost laughed aloud at the thought.
She readied herself to fight, reaching inwards, feeling her power flow, the redhead was smiling at her…but then she was looking behind the witch with an expression of annoyance and then she smirked coldly.
"Looks like a mortal got caught in our little trap."
Billie turned with the demons, and her heart sank as she saw the motorcyclist still standing in the car park…apparently oblivious to the danger he was in. Run, she wanted to scream, your going to die you idiot! The demons laughed gleefully, and looked at her, there eyes saying that he would die, that she would lose one of her fist innocents. The circle around her closed in, but they weren't attacking yet. These demons had her cornered and they knew it, they wanted to gloat, they thought themselves powerful enough to stop anything she did…they were going to pay for underestimating her.
But, for now, she would play along.
"What do we have here? A witch? Not a very impressive one. You and that mortal are going to die. Preferably horribly but I'm not really that fussed." the redhead mocked, unconcerned that the mortal could run away at any moment, or that the unimpressive witch could vanquish her.
"What do we have here? A demon? Not a very smart one. You and your demon friends are very stupid. Maybe even brain-dead if you think I'm just going to die quietly." Billie said before she could stop herself, feeling a rush at being so flippant in the face of death.
The redhead glared at her, eyes feral and cold and powerful, and Billie remembered that she was talking to a demon, but she still tried to appear outwardly relaxed. The demon snarled at her. "We've got ourselves a bit of a joker here." she ground out. "Lets see well she'll mock us when she's chocking on her own blood."
It happened just like that.
The demons all glared at her together, powering up energy balls, and Billie slipped back into her earlier defensive stance. However, she was interrupted by a loud coughing sound that seemed to make even the demons pause. Without taking her eyes of the demons, she looked towards the sound of the coughing…so did they.
It was the man by the motorbike.
He looked like he was choking…but it was loud, exaggerated coughs that make Billie raise an eyebrow. Finally, he stopped, and his helmet swivelled to look over to them, and seeing them staring, he tilted his head as if in confusion. "Don't mind me. I'm just choking on my own blood over here. May as well get it over with."
He sounded oddly…cheerful.
"After all when you guys have finished with your little chit chat your going to come over here and kill me so I should really get it over and done with to save you the trouble. There's that nasty business with the little spell you have going on here that's stopping me from escaping so I'm going to die anyway."
The red head looked amused. "And here I thought mortals were completely humourless."
This time, his voice sounded confused. "Oh. I'm not a mortal. And I think I've become bored with chocking on my own blood…dying is so overrated. So is letting some irritating demons 'off' me. I think I'll like to live thanks."
Billie laughed; the demons didn't. Huh, she thought, I wonder why.
It just sounded like something Paige would say, one of her sarcastic little retorts, and Billie couldn't help but think her friend would either be the best of friends with this guy…or hate his guts.
The redhead pointed to three of her demons. "You three, kill him. The rest of you, help me kill the witch."
The tall man the redhead was with nodded and took two of the demons over to the car park. Billie didn't even have time to think about helping him before three demons attacked her with energy balls. She dodged the electric projectiles and flung out her hand, sending one demon flying; her bag dropping to the ground in the process. Another energy ball was flung towards her, but she sent it back to the demon that created it, hearing the whoosh of the air as her weapon disrupted the air currents, feeling the crackle of electricity. The demon was hit right in the chest and was flung backwards, exploding in a shower of black ash.
But then she had to dodge a blast of cyan that almost took of her head as it whirled past her ear. She could feel the heat of it, the power, the fury, and she could hear the crackle and hiss of it. Anger and fear exploded out of nowhere. Because that was meant to kill her and it had almost done its job and they had tried to kill her.
Without even knowing what she was doing she hissed at the demon who had attacked her.
"Ash."
The demon…disintegrated, turning to, well, ash, before her eyes. There was no delay, her will was enacted immediately, and the demon didn't even have time to register surprise before it was dead.
The redhead turned to her in shock, face a picture of anger, but Billie wasn't done yet. Fury pounded in her eyes, pumped through her veins, fed her heart and she needed to know.
"Why did you attack me?"
"We were ordered too." the demon gritted her teeth but could not stop herself.
"Why? Why did they want me dead?"
"You were…nosing around. Looking into demonic business that had nothing to do with you. Today was the final push. The demon wanted you out of way so that you could not interfere with her plans." the demon spat, eyes practically spitting fire.
The business. Rod. Kidnappings. A final question…
"Where is Christy? Where is my sister?"
"I have no idea." the demon looked amused and elated to know that there was a question that she couldn't answer. "And, if ever I do find her, I'll kill her just so that you never see her again."
And that was the final straw, fear overpowered her, sadness enveloped her, and the magic broke, and the demon shimmered away.
Billie blinked.
What the hell had she done? How had she done it? She had just killed a demon…by willing it to die. That could not be normal. And then she had demanded the truth and the demon had just given it to her. It was like she had forced her will on them. How? She felt dazed and tired and scared. But there was still the man to save…the innocent who wasn't mortal. So she turned and instead of seeing him being killed by demons she saw three, almost neat, piles of ash on the floor. The motorcyclist was standing unharmed.
She blinked again.
As she watched, he got on his motorbike and rode over to her. His head was tilted in that thoughtful way of his.
"Well," he said calmly. "You make one hell of a lie detector."
And with that he rode way, and made a left at the end of the street, the engine of his bike roaring contently. By the time she recovered from her shock, first from being attacked, then her weird powers and then the so called mortal killing three demons, he was gone, as was the rumble of his bike. The witch sighed tiredly and said.
"This has not been a good day."
Piper sighed as she left the house.
Wyatt was at the age were he hated to sit still, and so he was toddling along next to her, every now and then smiling up at her as if to say "Are you watching? I don't need a pram; I can walk…are you watching?". Piper would smile back because, as always, she was watching, and together they walked down the road. Her sons steps were halting as he struggled to keep up with her long strides but he had a boundless energy about him and didn't seem to mind the intense heat that was making Piper wish she had sent Paige out to get the milk they had run out of.
She thought about Billie for a while; she was young, but would make an excellent witch. Piper understood her pain…the loss of a sister, indeed any family member, wasn't something you just forgot, or got over. But the conversation she had had with Billie had made her think about Leo…and Chris.
Billie had talked about how her parents never acknowledged her sister, never talked about her…as if she had never existed. And how she felt like they had never tried to find her. It was silly, irrational even, but those words had made Piper think of Wyatt…would he ask her the same questions one day? Would he resent her when she told him about Chris?
A voice entered her head.
"Why did you stop looking for him? Why didn't you find out why you never conceived him? Why don't I know my little brother?
Even as she heard it, she couldn't say for sure what it sounded like, all she knew was that she was imagining the voice of her eldest son. No, her only son.
The street blurred in front of her as old emotions and thoughts came flooding back, the old anger over her younger sons disappearance, the sorrow as she lost him, the fury at not being able to find him, the unfairness of never knowing him. It was muted, of course, time had done it's job, but it was like an old wound that kept reopening; the dull pain remained.
Wyatt tugged at her sleeve and she was brought back to the present, the here and now. She shoved her thoughts aside, there was nothing she could do about them now. She wasn't the type to let things overwhelm her, she would continue moving forward. Leo would be saved, he would be with her again, he was coming back. And, just maybe, Chris was too. Because no matter what the Wyatt in her fears said… she had never stopped looking.
She looked back down at her son, too see him looking up at her with a serious expression on his face. Smiling at him, Piper asked "What is it, sweetheart?"
He only moved his eyes so they stared ahead of him, looking down the sparsely populated street she had chosen so that he would not get lost on the way to the shop. It was out of the way, a far cry from the packed streets just a few blocks away. Piper looked in the same direction as her son and saw an elderly man, walking around as he had never seen the city before. He stumbled over to them, seemingly too caught up in his own thoughts to walk properly. Piper felt strangely amused at his awe, but also, for some reason, sad.
His eyes finally focused on them and she saw they were a light hazel, surrounded by wrinkles showing his age. They examined her, as if seeing whether she was a threat, and the Charmed One found herself surprised by the amount of wisdom there…and pain. He seemed to shake himself out of his daze, and it was then that she noticed his shabby clothing, peppered with dust and dirt, and gave her a warm smile.
"Lovely place, eh?" he stated, voice rough and quiet but laced with a strange sort of strength.
Piper blinked. "Yes. I suppose this place is very nice."
The man laughed, an elated, joyful, broken sound that, for some reason, made Piper want to cry. "You must be from before, can't blame you for not seeing what I see."
Piper felt slightly offended. "From before?"
The old man must of heard something in her tone because he replied quickly. "I didn't mean to offend you. I meant it as compliment actually. I'm glad you look confused…it would sadden me if such a young woman understood what I meant."
The word 'young' made Piper smile. Somehow, instead of being condescending, the man made it sound soft and alive. As if being young was something to look up to; not down on. "I'm pleased to see you think I'm so young. But…please. Tell me what you mean."
The old mans eyes seemed to look past her, to a ghost (or perhaps a horror?) only he could see, the sadness and pain in them shocked the Charmed One and she wished she could take back her question. But she couldn't and he began speaking anyway with that strange strength in his voice. "Ah, I will not trouble you with such things. Here is not where the past will be discussed. I will not unleash such a terror upon this place."
Piper laughed, touched by the reverent way he talked about her city. "Fair enough. I'm Piper by the way. And I'm pleased that you like San Francisco. Though a little shocked…why do you like it so much?"
The man looked at her as if the answer was obvious, though not in a cruel way. Rather, in the way of someone who is glad to be asked such a question, glad to meet someone not like themselves. He smiled and replied. "I like it so much because this is Heaven of course."
"Heaven?"
"Yes. Heaven. I've spent my whole life avoiding this place and now that I'm here I don't know why I ever delayed." the mans eyes lit up as he spoke, the utter conviction he had in his words conveyed in his voice.
Piper suddenly felt very cold, and Wyatt abruptly held her hand very tightly. "But we are not in Heaven."
She hated to break it to him, and the words were hard to get out, but he didn't seem to mind. He just smiled that joyful smile and said. "Of course we are, where else would we be? Look at the sky! See how bright and shimmering and blue it is. And the buildings…they are clean and polished and tall. I can hear birds and cars and the distant thud of peoples feet. This place is alive and it is whole and beautiful. Where else is like that? Where else could this be?"
"Your not dead. I'm not dead." Piper replied. What the hell had happened to this guy?
"Of course we are. I am finally free." the man insisted, his wrinkles deepening as he spoke, his eyes alight. "Finally free…"
Piper didn't know what to say, the milk was forgotten, and so she only squeezed Wyatt's hand to let him know she was there. And then she watched in horror as the mans face changed, he looked confused, a hand was raised to his chest, over his heart. Suddenly he dropped like a stone and then he was laying on the floor and then he was gasping for breath and then she was running to his side, trying to help him up.
"What's happening?" he asked her, his eyes wide.
"I don't know. Stay calm. I'm calling an ambulance." Piper assured him, reaching shaking hands into her pocket to pull out her phone. Wyatt was standing solemnly beside her, face serious and eyes as wide as the mans.
"Don't be silly." the man laughed and she saw his panic recede. "You can't die in Heaven. This is probably just someone trying to revive my body. It will pass. I've already moved on. Nothing can drag me back now."
Piper dialled 911 and spoke hurriedly, wanting to get back to the man dying on the floor, from the symptoms she described, they said he was in shock and had probably had a heart attack. After getting of the phone, Piper tried to keep him calm, and that proved to be no problem at all.
He looked up at her happily, still not believing he was going to die, or that he was in any danger. "I wonder if my wife is here, she left quite a while ago you know, and my daughter. I don't know how Heaven works…but I'll be able to see them, right?"
"Yes." Piper replied, her mouth dry. The sight of the mans eyes looking at her so earnestly impossible to refuse. "You'll be able to see them."
"Good." he whispered, smiling. And then, louder. "You'll help me look for them Piper? Oh my goodness, I've been so rude, I didn't even tell you my name. I am-"
But then his breathing stopped and his posture relaxed and he stilled. That smile, the smile that had made it seem like everything was right in the world, still frozen on his face.
Piper froze and it was only when Wyatt reached forwards, a golden glow below his fingers, that she realised that her son could have healed him, but that her mind had never even thought of the possibility. And Wyatt had probably been to frozen to try. It was his eyes, she decided, so sure in there conviction that death was no threat, that had ensnared her and made her believe it too. It seemed like a cruel joke that that one thing, that thing that he had so believed in, had proven to be false.
She heard sirens.
And she pulled her son away and folded him into her arms when he looked at her through tearful eyes, as though he understood that the man would never speak again, that the vacant look in his eyes was not sleep, that he would never laugh in that joyful way. She comforted him softly, and wished for Leo to be there, and then, almost involuntarily, she looked at the body…at the man. The man that had died before even giving her his name.
And she realised, as she thought about the strength in his voice, that she knew what it was. It was survival. The hard, stubborn gift of never giving up. That's why he looked so happy; because he had achieved something. Because he had gotten somewhere.
The shock would be more than medical and she suspected she knew one of the reasons why it had occurred.
He had thought he was in Heaven. There would be no soldiering on. He went into shock because for the last God knows how long all he had been doing was getting by, and now he was faced with a life where he no longer had to 'just live'. Heaven. Paradise.
…a place where he could be free.
Hmm, what's going on? Who was that guy? Who had that cool sounding motorbike? What's with the world bending? Where is Chris?
I'm sure those are questions this chapter brought up. They will be answered lol. Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, I need to get back in the swing of things and also…well, not much is happening now XD. Please review and tell me what you think.
