Grief.

chapter two

Uliana disliked the storm sounds. This being the first time alone during bad weather made the experience even worse. She lay, hidden under the covers of the bed, shaking with fear. She clutched the pillow over her head to drown out the noise. His scent here would have been welcomed now, a comfort even, but it was absent. She had changed the linens that morning, three weeks plus one day ago. The used sheets already laundered that same day as was her practice. Only sheets and drying cloths were laundered on changing day. Done too early...or too late, her feelings on the timing of that task was still dependent on her mood.

As was her practice, she had laundered early, so the cleaned fabrics had all day to blow in the fresh air and dry leisurely. The scent of him on the sleeping sheets washed away...too late, only the laundry soap and fresh air scent remained. She had cursed her stringent schedule for domestic tasks.

The storm noise sent a particularly powerful shockwave that shook the sturdy house on its foundation. It felt like a tree or several trees had fallen close to the house. She prayed none would fall onto the house. A swift thought passed through her grieving mind that suggested that maybe that wouldnt be so bad...as perhaps fate would take her to reunite with him. Uliana squeezed her eyes shut, deciding to sift through her memories, for a time that he had laid next to her, holding her as she shivered through a different storm. Her memories stirred her loins. She sorely missed his muscular long arms holding her tight.

-oOo-

The impact wasnt so bad, he was still alive at least, he had time to muse, before the pain in his head sent him unconsciousness.

It was stil storming outside when he woke again. The headache was making him nauseous and he really didnt want to move...not even an inch. But, he needed to check on something...or someone...he wasnt sure which. He was unable to make his body move that first dreaded inch, no matter how hard he willed to make it so. The effort was too much and he couldnt blink away the encroaching darkness.

-oOO-

The storm passed slowly. It had lasted throughout the night. With the first rays of daylight, Uliana could see that it would be a bright, clear morning. It did not matter to her. All her days were dull and dark, her grief masking any evidence to the contrary.

Though life now held no joy, she had not given up. She rose with the sun and performed her daily tasks as she had always done. One day just rolled into the next. She was well aware of how she had spent the last three weeks plus one day. Excrutiatingly aware.

This morning though, held a curiosity that she needed to explore. The storm noise that had shook the house was most likely due to fallen trees, but she would need to go out to see if there was any need to worry.

Stepping outside, she saw distant dark clouds. Another storm was approaching. She would need to hurry. Her exploration of the grounds immediately around her home was clear. No tree had fallen that she could see, but the noise had been loud and she was sure somewhere closeby she would find what had been responsible for it.

Several minutes of walking in the field behind her home, revealed the first signs of damage. As she got closer she found the suspicious markings. Deep grooves marred the field, deepening and widening away and out from where she stood. She walked the disturbed ground, looking for whatever had caused the damage. Up ahead, she found the damage abruptly ended, but the tall grass lay flattened as if pressed down by some unseen force. She continued on, intent on examining the field beyond the markings.

She was not prepared when her forward gait was halted as if she had walked straight into a wall...though nothing was there. She fell to the ground from the impact, her nose hurt and bleeding. She picked herself up and held her bloody hands in front of her as she felt forward. She connected with...something and as if by magic, her bloody handprint hung in the air where she had touched. It had not hurt, so she continued to feel the solid unseen surface.

She purposely swiped the blood from her nose to mark the solid air in front of her. Her fingers connected with what felt like a lever, though for the life of her, she could not explain how the air held such solid mass.

She wasnt sure why she wasnt scared to death as she faced this phenomenom. Maybe it was her dullness and her grief or perhaps she just didnt care about what danger may be lurking. Regardless, her curiosity had come to the forefront, ahead of any other emotion.

She pulled on the solid air lever.

A loud hiss made her jump and in fascination, she watched...nothing! There was nothing there! But all her senses told her there was! Besides, her handprints that had hung in the air had shifted and lowered when the loud hiss had occurred. Her foot connected with something, again the solid air. She cautiously toed her way along what felt like a solid incline. Stepping further along, she found herself staring dumbly at the impossible scene. Casting caution to the wind, she stepped up onto the solid air ramp.

The view she saw was stunning...disturbing, but stunning. Where once there had been nothing, she now stood in what appeared to be a small room. The bright sunlight was blocked by the solid air mass. Uliana stepped down a bit to look around the edge of the room. All she saw was the continued landscape of the field. Though turning her head back "inside" was the interior of some kind of room. She stepped further in and jumped, already back pedaling. Two bodies lay deeper into the room. One had his eyes open, unseeing and obviously no longer alive. The other was sprawled at an awkward angle and even from where she stood, she could see he still drew breath.

She could not explain what all this meant, but she knew this injured man needed help. She saw what looked like a storage area above the seats. She rummaged through it looking for something to help her remove the man from his current position. Somehow she needed to get him back to the house, away from this curious and strange room...away from the other man who was beyond help. She found what appeared to be a type of hammock bound to two long metal sticks on each side. If she could roll the man onto it, she would go back for Odan. Poor Odan, who was also grieving for his master. The animal had eaten little over the last weeks, obviously in mourning. She hoped that he was strong enough to pull the the man back to the house from here.

TBC