"You monster!" An older, dark haired woman shouted as she beat her fists upon a tall muscular man with green eyes. The man did not move, but shook his head at the woman and pushed her back with his palm on her forehead.
"It is called social darwinism, survival of the fittest. Your daughter died so my son could live. It's simple as that. Besides, that girl was marked to die long before Hurricane whats-its-face came to town. You know that Samentha."
Samentha scowled at him. "I can't believe I ever loved you. You are a monster. All you want to do is take the organs from my precious baby girl and sell them!"
"Belinda agreed that if she were to die she would donate her organs to Matthew. I don't know why you are throwing a fit over something that was decided long before you decided to butt in."
"You cared nothing for her, David" Samentha shouted, staning on her tiptoes so she could look the man in the eye. "You called her crazy girl, babbler, that is all you ever said to her and you were supposed to be happy. She over heard you many times saying those things, and you made her depressed. She died of a broken heart because her uncle broke it! I am away trying to get money for her and you basically kick her into the grave for your own selfish purposes."
"The girl WAS insane, woman!" He gruffly grabbed her wrist and twisted it. "None of the things she spouted ever made sense, not from the very beginning. The doctors, they all didn't have a clue. I think she was possessed..."
Samentha kicked David in the shin. "I should kill you, I should kill you right now."
David trembled in anger. "You have no idea who you are talking to, woman. Say one more word and you'll be joining her."
Samentha stepped back. "David..I...I.."
He pulled out a gun.
"DAVID!"
The morning had came, and the hurricane was gone. The damage was extensive, and there had been some loss of life. Five families had fallen victim to tornadoes that sprung from the hurricane, and two people at a local clinic died later due to injury. Trees had fallen all over the roads, and crews were everywhere, whisking those who had lost their homes away to shelters.
By the time the storm had reached Lina, it was too late to evacuate. Luckily, despite some fallen trees her home had been spared, and she was shocked to hear about the mass devestation that was only a block or two away from her.
I see visions of books and Jacob taunting me...yet I couldn't use my sight to help any of these people. What good is it having my abilities if no one benefits from it? People's homes have been completely destroyed and lives have been lost, and with Jacob around, even their souls are in danger. Knowing my luck I am just waiting for things to get even more crapped up.. Dominic cringed at the images flashed before him on the news, and went outside to take a look at the damage himself.
"Don't go out there, not yet.." Lina hopped up from the den and ran out to Dominic. "You don't want to step on any fallen power lines."
Blank stare.
"Step on power lines...that supply electricity...get electrocuted. "
He rolled his eyes and sat down on the steps outside the door. "There is just too much going on, and this doesn't help things."
She sat beside him and stretched her arms. "You are still worried about that guy, aren't you?"
"Yeah, and all these people. The damage here is unbearable."
Lina rested her arms against her knees and stared down at the sidewalk below. "I know. The storm is still moving too. So other areas are going to have to go through the same things we did."
"Whenever my family had to face a storm, we were well prepared. I'm not saying I haven't weathered a storm before, but it doesn't get any easier to deal with the aftermath of the storm."
Lina stood up and took a few steps forward. She took a deep breath. "We could be out on the street right now, you know that? Its amazing that we were spared. Guess we have some greater purpose in life that we don't know about yet. "
Dominic made an odd face when Lina said that, but remained quiet.
"...I heard the Library took some hits too. Well, at least that book we were looking for wasn't there. Though the Library was the pride of the area and I bet some serious tax dollars are going to be sucked up this year. Listen, I'm going to go out and help the relief effort."
Nodding in approval, he quickly got to his feet and walked up to where she was. "It is about time. I'm sick of being out here doing nothing." It looks like for right now these people come first. But the moment Jacob starts something, well...
At the local storm shelter, dozens of people were handing out much needed supplies to those that needed them. Lina chose to work at the booth that gave out fresh water, and Dominic assisted her, bringing over new jugs from the freezer when necessary. It was a hot day, so eventually Dominic ditched the scarf and set it down on the table.
One second later, a woman in line picked it up.
"This is the water line, ma'am." Lina told the woman as she reached for the scarf.
"I am really cold, and my home can't be lived in due to flooding. I really need this scarf"
"For those who need clothing, go over to the right side of the-"
The woman paced about nervously in front of the booth."I really REALLY need this scarf" she repeated.
"This belongs to him. There are much warmer scarfs over there"
"But I need THIS scarf?"
Lina rolled her eyes, "Why do you need this scarf?"
"BeCAUSE!" The woman was getting frustrated now, "because it is my husband's scarf."
"No its not"
"Yes it is."
"No its not!" Lina stood up and grabbed one end of the scarf, but the other woman would not let go.
"Yes it is, I insist it is, are you calling me a liar little girl?"
Lina scowled. "No. Its. Not."
"Well, it at least looks like my husband's scarf. I know a man who can tell my future if I give him this scarf. He always liked my husband's scarf, and I can't find my husbands scarf."
Lina and Dominic just stared at her.
"I need this scarf!"
"Listen." Dominic stepped up to bat, giving a break for the overly frustrated Lina, "this guy who said he'd tell the future for you, what were you going to ask him?"
"Oh that. I was going to ask him if my husband was allergic to cats."
Of all the things lacking in existence, stupid is abundant. Where is my pipe when I need it? "You wanted to ask a seer about something as trivial as an allergy?"
"Its very simple really. When he went over to my sisters house with all the cats, he started sneezing. Then when I babysat one of her cats, he started sneezing. So I want to know if he is allergic"
Lina put her head down against the desk. "Why don't you, " she paused to make sure she said it right, "take him to the doctor and have him tested for cat allergies."
The woman was absolutely shocked. "Doctors can do that?"
Lina nodded, with her face still facing the table.
"Oh." She dropped the scarf on the floor and hurried off. Two second later she hurried back. "One more thing for me please?"
"Yes?" Lina muttered quietly.
"May I have some water."
Dominic silently handed over a jug and she left again, stepping on his scarf in the process.
Dyana, with white fur coat and tall boots, examined the damage of the storm while driving in her car. "People without homes, missing family members, flooding, a true natural disaster." At a stop light she noticed a family in an SUV making a right turn in the lane beside her. She lifted her hand slightly from the wheel, and a blinding light blocked the SUV driver's vision and caused him to crash into another car. There was a mutiple car pile up on the city streets before Dyana even got the light.
"Anything to help the cause, my love." She smiled and turned on the radio, "This is within his area. Now that the net has been cast, every soul in this area is yours."
"Having fun?" Jacob asked, relaxing in the back seat as he took in all the scenery.
"Yes, of course. But I am not one for this patience bit. Setting things into place is not my style, don't you have a better plan sweetheart?" She did her best to flip her hair in a provocative fashion, but Jacob ignored it.
"Do as your told and you will be rewarded. Umbramancy is not always a speedy process.You can use your healing powers on the masses, and gain this petty fame and fortune that you desire."
"Don't knock it til you try it, babe. Do you like this song?" After not hearing a reply, she repeated again, "Do you like this song? Hun?" She shook her head and concentrated on driving. "That man is impossible I swear.."
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
An evil, cackling laugh was emitted from the front of the car, and Jacob tilted his head and glared. "Will you turn that stupid radio off, I hate this commercial."
"Sorry, Sorry."
A crowd gathered around Luna's bed. Pam went over to her and checked her for any injury or sickness one last time and came up with nothing. Gregory grabbed Pam's hand and squoze it lightly, and with a trembling voice asked her, "She isn't going to die, is she?"
Pam took a moment to think of the right words to say, but when nothing substancial came to mind, she looked Gregory straight in the eye and said, "I do not think so, Gregory, try not to worry. However, I don't know how long she is going to be like this, and why she is like this. If I only knew what was going on, I would be able to give you a much clearer answer."
Greg sat down in a chair and tapped his foot in frustration "Do you think if we talk to her about Dominic, it will help?"
Everyone shrugged, and Gregory looked off.
"Sometimes things like this must occur for even greater events to take place." Miranda walked near the bed and brushed Luna's hair out of her face. "A long time ago I had a student who was a powerful seer, just like my son. She fell ill before her power reached its peak, and as she lay on her deathbed she told me something that I will never forget."
Pam looked up at Miranda in interest. "What was that Mrs. Deegan?"
"She told me that this was not the end for her. She knew that she had a purpose beyond this life, which comforted the heart of me and my students. The next thing she said, though, puzzled me. She told me she would reach places that none present in the room would see, and that her destiny would come after yet another tragedy."
Her youngest son looked up at her, and with a hopeless expression on his face, shut his eyes and rested his head against the wall. "At least this didn't happen to you, Pam, I'm not sure what I would do if I couldn't heal you."
The young nurse smiled and rubbed his hand with her thumb. "I would have to say the same."
Gregory grabbed her hand and started heading out the door. "C'mon, we are going for a walk. I really need some fresh air, being in there is depressing." He manuevered her out of the small hallway to the outside, where it was bright, beautiful, and sunny. "We won't go far, I just am in desperate need of stretching my legs. I didn't get the ability to walk right again just to ignore it."
"Indeed you didn't." Pam giggled and walked beside Gregory, her hand still holding on to his. "You don't think your mother was trying to say that Luna had to die or anything, do you?"
"I don't think so. She's very smart, so I think some of that stuff goes beyond my head."
"Why do you say that?" Pam's hand leaves his and wanders up his back, "I think you are smart."
"Im afraid I don't delve into all the specifics like Dominic loves to do. I think him and mom are more alike than anyone else in the family. Mom says Im more like my dad, but I don't feel that either. I just feel detached at times, not exactly the greatest feeling to experience."
"You shouldn't say that at all! You have the potential to do almost anything at this point. I've seen you in action, and your quick thinking and advanced abilities are formitable, for sure. Don't ever doubt yourself, Gregory."
"Yeah I am pretty awesome, am I?"
"Maybe. You might want to do a little better on protecting that couch fort though."
Gregory nudged Pam playfully and then whispered in her ear, "You could help me a lot better from the inside."
Pam blushed fiercely, and whispered back, "Are you sure you didn't sneak into that city with Dominic?"
"No!"
She laughed.
"People..."
"are..."
"...idiots." Dominic and Luna chimed in on the last word. They were both lying down on the carpet in the sitting room, looking up at the carvings in the ceiling to alleviate their tired minds. Working at the volunteer center was more mentally exhausting than physical, and both of them were more than happy to go home.
"I guess I'll go tomorrow only because I know those people need help." she said as she stared upwards. "Its for a good cause, no matter which way you throw it." Lina sprang herself up and then got to her feet, and let out a huge yawn.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not staying up another minute. If you need anything, ask Spark. He'll annoy me until I wake up." Lina trudged off to bed, leaving Dominic still lying down. He didn't stay there long though, because fatigue was getting the better of him as well. He got up, slowly, and made sure all the doors and windows were locked for the night. He checked to make sure all appliances and lights were turned off, then he made sure his bed was made on the couch. Happily, he plopped down on the couch ready and eager to get a good nights rest. As he shut his eyes, his thoughts of Luna drifted him off to a wonderfully peaceful slumber.
For about two hours that is.
Tweaking, rustling, and creaking stirred Dominic to consciousness. Dead-tired, he sat himself up and looked around for the cat, which he was sure was breaking things while the rest of the household was trying to get some sleep. Stupid cat. He yawned again but before he put his head back to pillow, a soft light shined on him from an indistinct location. It seemed to fill the room but have no source, and this made Dominic clench on tightly to the covers on the couch. I can't distinguish whether this is an illusion, one of Lina's many contraptions, or something else. Damn it, why isn't it coming to me!
"Be patient."
His head turned quickly to where the voice was coming from. A small girl in pink pajamas stood there, and the haze that had initially filled the room faded. She had blonde hair almost down to her feet, and a teddy bear, with one blue eye and one black, tucked under her arm.
"Hi." she said.
"Hi. Who are you supposed to be?" Dominic coiled his feet towards him and put himself on the defensive.
"Belinda Eie. Its a pleasure to meet you at last, Dominic Deegan, Oracle of Lynn's Brook."
"Are you kidding, I left that place a long time ago and...hey, how did you know that?" Dominic removed the covers from him and stood up, feeling slightly more confident that way.
"I am a seer. Have you become so accustomed to this world that you forget such things exist? I only have a short amount of time to talk to you, so listen well. I must complete this and guide my soul into the afterlife before it becomes ensnared by Jacob."
Dominic's face immediately twisted up at the mention of his brother's name, but Belinda held up her hand in silence.
"Jacob has been stealing souls for his own selfish purposes. This world is ill prepared for an attack of that nature, so they are like sheep being lead to slaughter. Any soul that dies within his region he will claim, and I am not yet sure of what methods he will take to ensure his success. You know him just as well as I, he wants to test his powers of death, to make himself stronger and better, to test the natural laws himself to see if he can overcome them."
"I knew that is what he was doing!" Dominic sneered, "It didn't take my second sight to figure that out."
Belinda nodded. "I must tell you, that many things you will encounter in the future, with or without your second sight to guide you, will attempt to throw you off track and distract you from what you need to be doing. Do not lose focus on what needs to be accomplished by past biases and experiences. " The haze begins to settle in, and she takes a moment to hug her bear tight before dropping it on the ground. "...and as far as that book is concerned, it is a diary that you seek. Your eyes will not read the pages needed until your mission is complete here. "
Dominic looks at the soft light and the now fading Belinda, and runs his hand through his hair. "Let me guess, you are going to fade away without giving me any more information and make me figure out the rest for myself?" He muttered to her, obviously annoyed.
"Basically. Oh, but I do have one more thing to tell you. Do not forsake your friends. Talk to Lina. Tonight."
"About..." Dominic started to speak but before he could finish Belinda was gone. "Just as I figured. I knew she was going to disappear mid-sentence." He picked up her now normal teddy bear and slumped back down on the couch. Oddly, an almost sinister smile creeped on to his lips as he flipped himself onto the couch so he could lie down. It's back! My normal abilities! She restored them!
Happily, the much-less-grumpy seer went back to sleep.
For an hour.
He sat up and put his head in his hands. The only clear instruction Belinda had gave him he was ignoring, and he wouldn't let himself get a decent night's rest until he did. He peeled himself out of bed and into the kitchen. He grabbed himself a glass of milk and some of those store-bought cookies (Lina could cook, not bake) and munched on them as he figured out his game plan.
I have to trust Lina with who I am and where I am from. Belinda was right, with everything that is going on now is not the time for secrecy. I just hope that this doesn't put her in danger.
After swallowing his fifth butter cookie, he approached Lina's bedroom and knocked on the door. Lina, who wasn't that heavy of a sleeper anyway, got up and opened the door.
"Something wrong?" she asked with a yawn.
"Sort of. I need to talk to you."
She opened the door wider so he could walk inside. They both sat on the bed and Lina propped herself up against a pillow.
Here it goes. "You already know my name is Dominic Deegan, and that I am not from around here. Where I come from there are no cell phones, televisions, and all night grocery stores. Some things are the same, but for the most part...different...
The part I really need to tell you about is what I am. I am a seer, meaning I have the ability to see the unaltered future. I am also a student of magic, just like my mother who is a very powerful mage. That man I was telling you to stay away from, he is my..." Dominic grumbles, "brother, Jacob Deegan. A long time ago a necromancer attacked my family. Instead of trying to protect us, Jacob was fascinated by this dark art and decided to embrace it instead. Since then he has used my brother as well as other members of the populus as experiments, just to see how powerful he can get.
You know how you were thinking you saw ghosts? Well I have been too, except Jacob is attempting to steal them in a form of umbramancy to test his own power. Since in this world, unlike my own, people have abandoned their focus on magic and put it on technology, these people would not have a chance against him. I don't know exactly what methods he is using, but you see the urgency here..
Unless I ask you do to something, I want you to stay out of the way. You don't know what that bastard is capable of like I do. "
For about five minutes, Lina didn't say a word. Her hands trembled, hearing about necromancers and dead people was not fun to a person who didn't even care for horror movies. She ran over in her mind what to think of what he said, she wasn't sure that she really believed it, but the look in Dominic's eyes was not that of a liar.
"You really believe this?" she finally asked.
"Yes. For me to tell someone here I know is hard to believe..unless I show you." Dominic cracked his knuckles. "You ready?"
Lina nodded. "I suppose. Seeing is believing, thats what they say at least."
"Hello." A voice came from behind her. She turned around and saw Dominic smirking with his arms crossed behind her. She looked back in front of her, and Dominic was sitting there, with the same smirk.
"Whoah. Two of you?"
"Not really." The Dominic from behind her answered. "A simple illusion I learned years ago."
"Yeah." the Dominic sitting in front of her agreed. " Its easy after the first few times"
Lina rolled her eyes. "Now you are just showing off."
"Fine." The Dominic from behind her disappeared and Lina jumped up in surprise. She waved her hands in defeat.
"I believe you! I believe you okay!!" She curled up her knees to her chest and looked at her friend fearfully.
He frowned. "I don't want you to be afraid of me. I'm not going to do anything to hurt anyone. Now, remember that book I was telling you about. Its a diary Im looking for, and that book on gateways is what I need to get back to my own world, and hopefully bring Jacob with me."
Lina relaxed some, and looked directly into Dominic's eyes. She held his hand and looked off to the side to avoid being embarrassed. "Well since this in confession time, I have something to admit to you too. You are...kinda cute. Different, you know. Something about you just really, is amazing. And I thought that even before all the magic stuff."
He blushed, "Wow. I'm flattered I am, but umm...I have a girlfriend."
She looked back up at him, "You what?"
"Her name is Luna Travoria. She's probably gotten sick worrying about me, and I'm worrying about her just as much. I really appreciate you telling me though. Just remember all I said tonight, and I will make sure Jacob doesn't lay a hand on you." With that Dominic got up and exited the room, waving as he did. Lina grabbed her pillow and put it over her head. All she wanted to do was get her mind off of things and sleep. Hopefully she would be asleep for a long time, because she was not ready to see Dominic for a while.