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Chapter 7
Time Zones
"Oh, this ain't good, this ain't good!" Gallows stated frantically, hands on his head.
The cloud of thick dust had risen towards the sky like a hand rising to the heavens. Staring down into the ever wider precipice, the bottom was smothered in the russet colored smoke.
Clive tapped his chin, assessing the situation, "I have never seen anything like this; quite the phenomena"
"We have to do something!" came Gallows' stark reply as she ventured close to the cliff's edge and felt the unsteady ground tremble. Clive grasped the hasty man's collar and yanked him back as the rocks crumbled.
"I agree, but unfortunately, there is nothing we can do from here. It would be wise to find help, it is possible that someone nearby heard the commotion"
"But we can't just leave 'em down there!" Gallows snapped, indicating the gaping crag with waving arms, "Ginny might be seriously hurt!"
Clive breathed a sigh of uncertainty, "Yes, she could, but she isn't by herself"
Gallows scoffed and crossed his arms, a spiteful expression on his face, "How comforting, she might as well be by herself; I don't trust the punk as far as I can throw 'em"
"Come now," Clive reasoned, securing the sniper around his shoulder, "Jet might be rather vain, but I don't think he will abandon her, I have that much faith in him. Now, let us find assistance and maybe find some information about what's happening," with that said, he treaded off, following the glow of the descending sun.
Gallows grumbled, torn between staying and going. Then with growl he yelled into the wall of dust and grime, "You had better take care of her, ya little…Punk!" Then he turned and scurried after Clive, who shook his head at the absurdity.
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Jet examined the dust filled sky, detecting a faint voice but heard nothing but the scuffing of their boots on the gravel, so he brushed it off without another thought. The light of the sun vaguely pierced the wall of dust that was slowly settling onto his head and shoulders, making him cough. Virginia was several unsteady paces ahead of him. They had walking for only a few long, silent minutes and it was already clear that their search for exit was bearing a fruitless outcome.
Virginia, took another heavy step, steadying herself on a large rock splinter, she stared into the wall of dirt through squinted eyes. With all the mysterious hype lately, this gorge could go on forever; the thought left her heavyhearted.
She laced her fingers and felt a sharp pang of fear in her chest. She searched for that hope that always sparked within her in times when chances were against her, but there was nothing. She turned and leaned against the rock and to glance at Jet, but the haze was too thick to see him if he was near. She had wondered many a time whose side he was on; hers or one of his own. Perhaps he didn't even know, or care.
She clasped a hand over her mouth and nose, feeling the dust sting her lungs and send her hacking. Suffocation would take her before hunger or tire would. Through her trembling hands she asked in near silence, "Father, what would you do?"
Are you afraid yet, Human?
Virginia threw herself forward and onto the rocky ground with a loud yelp, stunned by the all too familiar voice. She turned onto her back just as Jet appeared next to her with his ARM ready to fire on the unexpected visitor.
"Oh, please forgive me, I didn't mean to startle you," said a different voice, a young man with short, fiery red hair and deep green eyes appeared from the other side of the boulder with his hands in the air. He was dressed in familiar clothing; a light blue cloak, black gloves and boots. He was from the Ark of Destiny.
Virginia remained wide-eyed and skeptical of him, that wasn't the voice she had just heard, that was an unpleasantly familiar voice she had heard one before, in her dreams. But this man didn't seem to be a threat at all with his hands raised and apologetic expression, so she left the fright to be a side effect of fatigue. She stood quickly and waved a hand at Jet, biding him to lower his ARM, which he did reluctantly. He still seemed suspicious.
Within, she felt the guardians tremble in fear. Jet must have sensed it as well.
The man seemed relieved as he lowered his hands and said, "I shouldn't have snuck up on you like I did, I was surprised to see someone else stuck down here; forgive me if I'm relieved to see you"
"It's alright," Virginia replied with a small smile, brushing herself off, "I'm Virginia, this is Jet," She indicated her sullen companion, who remained motionless.
"I'm Lechek, it's nice to meet you despite the circumstances"
"Sorry if this is forward, but are you from the Ark of Destiny?"
"Oh," he must known what she was thinking, because he looked down at his clothing for a moment then rubbed the back of his head as if he were embarrassed, "Yes, I was doing some research at the Leyline Observatory or I was planning to, but the ground crumbled during my journey and here I am, I've never felt an earthquake like that, it was tremendous, I only wish I could return to headquarters to report it…"
"So you think this was caused by an earthquake?" Jet inquired with a raised brow, seeming to be unconvinced.
"Most definitely," Lechek replied persistently, "I couldn't imagine what else. Though not much is known about the plate tectonics of Filgaia; I assure you a quake was the cause"
"I see, well I suppose we should find away out before anything like that happens again," said Virginia.
"I agree, but I don't think we will need to search," Lechek, turning and indicating a particular direction with a pointed finger, "Most of the walls in the precipice are evenly leveled, but I found a section where the wall may have collapsed, we may be able to climb"
Virginia smiled, "Great, let's go!"
They followed the Lechek several yards through the dust to the edge of the crag, sure enough the wall had collapsed and was sloped enough to be climbed. Once at the top, Virginia asked, "You said you were on your way to the Leyline observatory?"
"Yes, it's about twenty miles west of here," He pointed, "but I think I'll head back to headquarters to report this"
"Thank you, perhaps we will meet again"
"Yes, perhaps we shall," he said to her in particular with a keen smile and narrowed eyes and then he turned and vanished into the horizon.
When he could no longer be seen, Jet asked, "Tell me you don't believe this guy, after all we've seen, you know this had nothing to do with some earthquake"
"Well, I'm not sure," she replied somewhat absentmindedly, wondering why he had given her the look he had before leaving, then added, "I don't want to exclude any possibility right now. Anyway, knowing that the Observatory is west from here, we should be able to find Little Rock. There, we'll try to get in contact with the others, I guess that's all we can do for now"
Jet shook his head, "What about the guardians?" He pressed.
"You felt that too, huh? Yes that was strange"
"You're little friend was strange"
"What?" Virginia knitted her brows, "I was being polite, the last thing we need is trouble"
Jet waved his hand at her, as if to wave away the conversation, "Whatever. It's going to get dark, let's go already"
Heading southeast, the sun descended in the western sky, casting the long shadows of the dunes onto the sand ground. Virginia examined the ground as she passed with tired eyes. One day there would be life here, one day water will shower from the sky; what a beautiful world it will be, that day. Yet there was so much evil left on this planet, this barren land of nothingness was the punishment for human greed. Alas, the sins of humans and demi-humans alike have sent the planet nearly into oblivion.
It was nightfall when dim lights came into view.
"Look! We finally made it!" Virginia announced, indicated the town with a pointed finger. But as they neared the dusty, dark little town, they were greeted with an unexpected discovery.
Jet read the sign as they neared, "Laxisland"
"Laxisland?" Virginia echoed in shock, "We couldn't have been traveling for that long!"
"Ya think?" Jet replied snappishly, "You can't get to Laxisland on foot; something's up"
Inside Virginia approached a familiar blond woman with a bizarre dialect, "Pardon me, have you noticed anything strange going on lately"
The woman considered her then replied, "I'm not sure I know what you mean, but the ground was shaking rather strangely. But that was last night, what's really strange is the sun rose around three o' clock this morning"
"What?" Virginia said automatically, astonished.
"It's as if we're in another time zone, but no one's making a fuss about it or anything. See, it got dark and it was only four in the afternoon! I swear, technology isn't all its cracked up to be!"
After thanking the woman, Virginia turned to Jet and said, "I had hoped this was just a mistake, but something is really wrong. And no one seems to notice"
"Don't expect them to; most these people barely leave their hometowns"
Virginia put one hand to her forehead, feeling a headache coming on, "Let's see if there are any spare rooms at the inn"
The clock on the wall in the tiny room read eleven at night. Virginia sat on one of the beds next to a candle; according to the desk attendant, the power had been out since the night before. But no one had accounted it to anything out of the ordinary; they all said it was caused by an earthquake. As she loosened the buttons on her lavender jacket, she thought about her family in Boothill. She hoped that they remained unaffected by all the strangeness going on lately, yet the high chances they hadn't stayed as an undying irk in her heart.
The door opened with an eerie squeak as Jet entered, violet eyes glowing slightly in the dark. It was difficult to look into them without being spooked. He held an apple, something hard to come by, in one hand. Laying his ARM on the bed next to hers, he kindly offered the red fruit to her.
Thanking him, she took it happily then paused sadly before it reached her lips, "Aren't you hungry?"
"Not really, just another perk, I guess," he replied, referring to what he was with sarcasm.
She looked down at the apple in dejection as he tugged at the tattered scarves around his neck and removed his black gloves. She took a clean bite out of one side, delighted by the sweet taste. When nothing but the core remained, she discarded it and slipped out of the stuffy jacket. She set the pistols on the desk next to the candle then loosed the buckles of the suede belt around her waist. Finally, she untied each of her boots and drew her legs to her chest and when she glanced at Jet, it seemed he had been watching the little process in its entirety. His luminous eyes were wide and emotionless.
Naturally, when she caught him staring, he looked away.
Virginia fell asleep quickly, lying on top of the blankets due to the heat in the small room. The candle had long since burned out, but Jet could still easily see her from in the blue light of the night that was casted on her face from the window. She lay on her back with her face towards him; she seemed peaceful but her dreams were undoubtedly plagued with worry. And he envied her for that; for having something special to worry over, something so precious that not even dreams could scare the worry away.
He hadn't realized he had stood until he was bent over her. Maybe it was just spontaneity that made him brush his fingers across her cheek or maybe desire. It must have been ticklish, because she pursed her lips and turned her face so it faced the low ceiling above.
Jet withdrew his hand and backed away. If she were to wake, she wouldn't ever let him live it down. Returning to the bed next to hers, he let his head fall against the wall behind him and closed his eyes; but sleep never came to him.
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TBC