Bang.
Rodoreamon squeezed her eyes shut as soon as she heard the sound and then the thud that followed. Her body shook in fear, and she could not move her hands, let alone get the rifle in a position to use it. Paraietta… are you…dead? she wondered. She couldn't bear to look, but her curiosity tugged at her, and she had to know. She had to know if they were going to lose the orphanage to a group of barbaric men. She opened her eyes, gasping at what she saw.
In front of her stood Paraietta, rifle still slightly smoking. If Paraietta was still alive, then… she looked down. Her stomach churned at the sight of blood pooling from the Argentine soldier's face, or what was left of his face. She looked up, to rid herself of the sight, and found that Paraietta was spattered with the man's blood. Her finger rested on the trigger, squeezing it lightly. She pulled again.
Bang.
Another thud to accompany this one. She felt like a child, experiencing death so close to her. Even as a Sibylla, death had been outside of her cockpit. Death had never been mere feet from where she was and she had never seen a fellow Sibylla kill in front of her eyes like this. It was…unreal. "Paraietta!" she shouted, tears rimming her eyes.
Paraietta turned to look at her, a coldness reverberating from her. Her eyes were cold, and she looked to the door once more. "I won't let them take the children," she growled, even if I have to kill each one that tries to enter!"
Something inside Paraietta had snapped. She was no longer the same calm and determined woman. She was determined, but also angry. "Paraietta…calm down…" She felt like she was fighting a losing battle. She received no answer.
Bang. Bang.
Still, more thuds. She heard shots being fired in return, but her eyes were squeezed shut. "Rodoreamon, I need your help!" shouted Paraietta at the top of her lungs.
The previous encounter and the rifle entered her mind. She froze as the image played once more in her head. She could not bring herself to stand, couldn't bring herself to move. She was frozen, eyes looking to Paraietta's blood-spattered front. It wasn't… it wasn't right. What the Argentines wanted… what she knew should happen to them because of it… she couldn't make herself do it.
"Rodoreamon!"
Tempus Spatium… I can't do this. I can't kill them. I can't. Please understand. I hope you will. I don't want to. She shook, a death grip on the rifle now. She wondered how anyone could join the military, let alone kill someone. How did someone like Floef handle this? Did she even want to know? She wasn't sure she did.
"Rodo—"
Bang.
Her eyes shot open and she found her friend gripping at her shoulder, trying to keep the blood from spilling out. Drops splashed onto the floor and she heard that gravel sound once more. She reacted without thinking. Immediately, she drew the rifle, ignoring the pain in her injured arm. When the head peeked in, she pulled the trigger, breathing heavily after the release. Realizing what she'd done, she immediately dropped the offending weapon. I… I shot him… but…he was going for Paraietta…
"Rodore…" whispered Paraietta as she fell shakily to her knees.
The older woman's fingers trembled around the wound, and her face was pale. Her eyes watched the door, but she was not capable of fighting any longer. Her mind had given in to the pain, and instead of fighting for the children, she could very well be fighting for her life if she lost too much blood.
A change came over Rodoreamon and she found herself capable of movement. She rushed to her friend's side, helping to steady her hand. "Paraietta, you need to get this taken care of. You're losing so much blood."
A creepy smile came across the woman's face. "It's all right. I did it for them. I—"
"Don't you dare say that!" Rodoreamon found herself raising her hand, and slapping the woman across the cheek. "You're not giving up!"
"You're right…Rodore... Help me slow the bleeding." Paraietta gave her a half-smile.
Rodoreamon looked for something that would function as a makeshift band aid. All the while, her eyes stayed on the door, knowing that more soldiers could arrive at any moment. They would soon wonder what had happened to their fallen comrades. Frustrated at the lack of fabric to be found, she pulled at the sleeve on Paraietta's left side, tugging the material free from its tight stitching. She removed Paraietta's hand long enough to place the fabric over the wound. She stayed close to the woman, in case she needed to apply more pressure. It was all she could do for now. Later, someone would have to look at it. That is, if they survived this battle.
Her head shot up when she heard the distance crunching of gravel. Another small group of soldiers were heading in their direction, rifles raised. Rodoreamon knew she was in their line of fire, and if she moved for her own rifle, they'd kill her without a second thought.
Squinting her eyes shut, she whispered a soft prayer to Tempus Spatium. She didn't want to die, but at least she'd pray for guidance from this life into the life that awaited her beyond this world. Her arms went around Paraietta, who had seen the soldiers as well. This wasn't how she had wanted things to end. The children…what would happen to them? Her imagination ran away from her, and she began picturing the soldiers storming the building, ignoring the dead bodies of the two women, and snatching the children from the basement. They—
A low humming sound forced her to open her eyes and glance out the door. An eerie, yet strangely calming green light had settled over everything. All at once, Rodoreamon felt safely enveloped, yet nothing was wrapped around her. The green light crept inside, spreading like a beam of light.
"Do you feel it?" whispered Paraietta.
"You can feel it too? What is it?"
"It must be a Ri Majon of some kind. Either that or some weather phenomena. I've never seen a Ri Majon like this before. It's…completely different from the ones we used as Sibyllae."
"What if it's not a Ri Majon? It could be the Argentum soldiers using some secret weapon," pointed out Rodoreamon calmly. Though… what kind of secret weapon caused a person to feel this way?
"Something tells me it's not that."
Rodoreamon tried to look more closely. That was when she noticed the pinpoint of light in the distance. "Look…" she whispered, hand outstretched.
As she pointed, both women watched as the small pinpoint began to grow in size. It grew larger and closer, emitting beams of light in every direction as it did so. Rodoreamon raised her arm to cover her face; the light was much too bright to look at anymore. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut against the fabric, and part of her began to panic. Maybe it was a trap after all.
She felt a warm blast of air engulf her, and felt as though she were floating. Somewhere in the distance, a soft, tinkling tune played. All at once it seemed familiar and unfamiliar, like she'd heard it as a child, but had forgotten it as time had passed. For a brief moment, she felt something wrap around her body and disappear. Just as quickly as the blast had come, it was gone. The disappearance of the warm air made the environment seem cooler. Shivering slightly, Rodoreamon opened her eyes and gasped.
Looking outside, she saw nothing. There were no longer any soldiers bearing down on them. Instead, the soldiers were sprawled mere feet away from the door. There seemed to be no blood, no sign of a wound upon their bodies. It appeared as though they were sleeping, having fallen asleep in the middle of battle. Rodoreamon rose to her feet and stepped just outside the doorframe. Machinery had simply collapsed in place, and various tanks were still smoking. More soldiers lined the area, though just as before, there were no marks on them.
She turned to Paraietta, who was just as surprised as she was. The other woman had risen to her feet, hand still holding the fabric scrap to her wound. She moved forward, trying to get a better look of the area.
"What happened?" asked Rodoreamon softly.
"If that was a Ri Majon… then it's like nothing I've ever seen before. No Ri Majon is this powerful. How could one destroy all of this in one blow?" She gestured to the landscape.
Suddenly, it dawned on Rodoreamon. "Where are Aaeru and Neviril?" Panic seized her, and she searched the battlefield, wondering if their Simoun had been downed. She raced forward, eyes darting back and forth.
"Rodoreamon! Wait! It could be dangerous! It could be a trap!" shouted Paraietta. She tried to catch up with the Home Secretary, but winced. The jarring motion angered her injury.
"We have to find them!" A noise from above caught her attention. She glanced up, knowing from the shape and size that it was a Simoun, but she wasn't yet sure if it was Aaeru and Neviril's. Its flight path was erratic, weaving back and forth in the sky. It appeared to attempt to be landing, but was having a difficult time doing so.
"Something's wrong," stated Paraietta.
The Simoun settled ungracefully on the ground, sliding a few feet forward. It sent plumes of dust into the air, and both women covered their eyes. When the dust cleared, they saw how badly battered the craft was. Part of the glass was completely missing from the auriga cockpit, and the sagitta cockpit glass was cracked. Bits and pieces of the wings were missing, and the communication cable hung limply from the side. The auriga was slumped over, not moving. The sagitta cockpit was soon flung open.
"Neviril, what—" began Rodoreamon.
"Aaeru! Something's wrong with Aaeru!" she shouted. The distraught sagitta quickly climbed down to the auriga cockpit, shaking hands fumbling with the latch.
It was then that both women noticed the shards of glass poking from the maiden's arm, the same arm that she had injured previously. Tiny cuts lined the right side of her face, and blood trickled down from behind her ear and just beneath her hairline. Neviril flung open the hatch, and the rest of the glass cracked and shattered, falling to the ground. She placed her fingers against Aaeru's neck, searching for a pulse.
Neviril breathed a sigh of relief. "She's breathing… but it's labored. If we don't act now, she'll die." The words were eerily calm.
"Let me help you, Neviril," suggested Rodoreamon, climbing up the Simoun. She carefully took hold of Aaeru's right side, and Neviril took the left. Rodoreamon was careful to not put as much weight on her right arm. Together, they gently eased the girl to the ground. Rodoreamon fought the urge to pull away from the girl.
"I'll get a few of the nursemaids to assist," offered Paraietta as she made her way back to the orphanage.
Neviril fell to her knees beside her beloved, and simply watched over her. Tentatively, she took Aaeru's hand in her own, and held it gently. Rodoreamon wanted to offer condolence, but it somehow felt out of place. She stood quietly, hoping that Paraietta would return with help soon. Aaeru couldn't die, not after all that she'd done. Tempus Spatium wouldn't allow it…or would it?
Laeni groaned, awakening. Her body ached all over, and in her grogginess she had no idea why she was looking up at an open sky. She sat up slowly, holding her head as she did so. Her head throbbed, just as her body did. She caught sight of tiny cuts and bruises on her arms and legs, and that was when she saw the farmer…or what was left of him. Part of the horse lay at his feet, damaged nearly beyond recognition. She didn't know where the rest was. Boards from the cart lay scattered about all around them.
Memories of the events before the blast came back to her, and she realized they'd been hit with some kind of missile. "Hey… hey wake up!" she shouted, hoping that the man would somehow still be alive, even though he was missing his arm, and had a large gash across his stomach. "W-wake up…"
It was then that her surroundings became bathed in a soft green glow. She felt warm, and safe. Part of her wanted to sleep, but she kept her eyes open, searching for the source. She couldn't seem to find one. Everywhere she looked, she found green. She wondered if she had actually died too, and just didn't realize it. Maybe this was what happened right before she went to heaven.
Her eyes focused on a pinpoint of light that appeared in the distance. It must be the source. Slowly, it grew bigger, and spread. She smiled softly as the light came toward her. If she were dead… she could see her parents again. "Mama… Papa…" she whispered softly as the light engulfed her body. She closed her eyes, unable to stand the brightness any longer.
Laeni found that she was still conscious inside of the bright light. She still felt calm and at peace. Something wrapped around her body, and she would later tell herself that she had been held, just as her mother had done when she was a little girl. "Mama?" she whispered softly. A tune was sung in the background, a beautiful and pure tune that had no words that she recognized. It all seemed familiar to her, lulling her gently.
After some time, the bright light faded, and Laeni saw her surroundings once more. It was eerily quiet, and she rose to her feet, a bit unsteady. She didn't hear the sounds of a battle in the distance. She wondered if she should stay put, but realized that she was in the open. The cart had been shattered, and both horse and farmer were dead. It was just as dangerous to stay here as it was to continue to the orphanage.
She began moving forward, slowly stepping. Her legs still felt weak. It couldn't be much farther to the orphanage, and maybe if she was lucky she could avoid the next attack. She glanced behind her once more, burning the image of the farmer, cart, and horse in her mind. She had been wrong, and she'd realized it too late.