Blood iced over my racing heart as I was flung from the room and drug up the stairs.

"You will have to jump." She hissed as she fumbled for a doorknob at the top of the stairs.

"Jump?! You have to be kidding me! Isn't there another exit?!" I replied in an anxious and terrified hiss.

"You will jump... Or die... The choice is yours." she glared as she opened the door and shoved me inside.

She shut the door quietly behind me and I was now faced with a catch-22... Face her supposed ravenous son or... jump from the top of what I estimated a thirty foot tower... Decisions... Well I did not have time to ponder over my chances of living or getting away for Adrianna opened the door once more and shoved me out the open window.

"It has been decided." She whispered loudly to me as I fell out the window.

The cool air felt like soft linen as it flowed gently over my body... I remember thinking as I shut my eyes, "If I die well I gave my best effort and I'm so tired." But then her voice reverberated in my ears, "Save Nicole... Save Nicole..." and I felt as though I must do anything to stay alive... for Nicole...

I forced open my eyes, fighting back instinct, and reached out to by chance grab a hanging vine that clung tightly to the tower. The vine shrieked as my weight stretched it to its limit. I soon found myself crashing to the earth and though my crash was painful, it was much softer than what it could have been. Still to this day I cringe at the thought of what might have happened if I hadn't fought back... If I hadn't fallen victim to the adrenaline, the thought of losing my life, and the overpowering emotion someone named love... I would have met an early bereavement...

I wonder what the angel of death looks like... No matter... That's another subject for debate...

I stood wearily to my feet as an ill sensation heaved itself into my stomach and then into my heart. I vaguely remember walking to a nearby bush in which I believe I became very sick. After that, every thing went black as the ill-biding night and I awoke atop the white mare which had brought me to the tower in which I christened "The Death Trap That Needs a Ladder."

I did not know what direction we were headed in and frankly I did not give a damn. I was still tired and extremely sick; though the cool air eased some of my nausea, the constant galloping of the mare was worse than getting seasick...

I wonder if you could ever get horse sick... Another matter and another debate...

We rode on through the vast desert till I became drowsy. The constant movement though it was sickening, seemed to rock me into an extremely uneasy sleep. I dosed for quite some time till I was awoken by the sandy ground in which my face greeted. After spitting sand like a fountain and dusting off, I noticed that my mare had brought me to a small city.

I wearily climbed onto her back and she trotted into the streets. I was very weak at this point not having eaten anything substantial in days and having been thrown into this swirling vortex of a hellish sort... In other words... I was exhausted, I knew Yuna was tired as well for she looked at me wearily before yawning and hiding back inside my sack, and I needed some place to rest.

And just so happen I found one... I came upon an abandon house and since it was becoming late, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity by means and sneaking inside and then collapsing on the floor. When I awoke, a bit rested, I became inquisitive and decided to have a look around this odd sort of place. It was made of mud, clay and sand, it had a tarp for a doorway, and it was furnished. There was a dining room, three bedrooms, and a kitchen. I soon came upon a room of intrigue. It was relatively small, a guest bedroom perhaps. It had a small bed, a few books, and a few small statues. Though these items did not intrigue me, it was something else that caught my eye. In one of the books that told of the Goddess Diana was a small message written at the bottom of one of the pages.

It read,

I have studied the gods and now I will research their children. I am waiting.

Though it could have been written by anyone, Nicole's penmanship was very clear. I had a gut feeling that she wrote it and so I knew she must not be far. Her note speaks of the gods children... The pharaohs... One of which I distinctly recalled being named as the child of Ra himself... Tutankhamen, the youngest ruling pharaoh in all history and I knew of Nicole's fascinations for all things that are different and in the minority, so that is what I deduced as her new topic of interest...My head was throbbing after that deduction.

I went in search of food to help regain some of my strength and came upon a few dried meats and some cool water which satisfied my ravenous hunger and my pained thirst. I rested till morning, dosing and sometimes reading about Diana, hoping to learn something about Nicole that no other knew.

I was hoping to find a way to save her from an obsessed-mad man, which come to think of it I was much like him, and perhaps rekindle the flame which was doused so quickly. The night her beloved Yuna was shot was the night my mother told my father of the demon child and he came to "save me." The bastard... I suppose that is something I have in common with Nicole... I have no father.

Morning soon crept into the small house and I saddled up, feeding Yuna some meat and making sure she drank a bit of water before heading out into the harsh world searching for my lost love.