Many thanks to Lady of Silentia for the revision!
Chapter 3: The First Interlude
And the Earth becomes my throne
I adapt to the unknown
Under wandering stars I've grown
By myself but not alone
I ask no one
And my ties are severed clean
Less I have the more I gain
Off the beaten path I reign
(Metallica; Wherever I May Roam)
April 2011, Texas...
ooOOOoo
Jeanette was slowly and attentively returning to her stand. It was quite cold tonight, and a subtle breeze chilled her cheeks. But apart from this, everything seemed to be fine. Excellent. Just one hour left and her first nightshift would be over.
It wasn't too hard to stay awake and focused all the time, after all. Perhaps because it was her first time on duty.
She had not met all her colleagues yet, but she knew that there were hard times ahead to earn their full respect. She knew that there were no other women on her team. She had not even met any women on the grounds today.
Well, except Betty, the gatekeeper.
It made her feel a bit strange, but proud at the same time. She had been chosen because she deserved it. Because she was good. Freakin' excellent.
The whole situation was exciting in a way, but mostly just for her. Her friends and family would ask and she would recount how she watched over everything, filled in all the reports, how she passed the stand to another shift without any complication…
She sighed. But that is not exciting at all. But that building behind me, that's something else entirely. It holds all the interesting things. Oh yes, it does. She wondered how many human lives could have been taken by that power which was now hidden and silent. No, that's not the right way of thinking. In fact, she hoped that all the ammo and explosive stuff would stay there forever and fall apart under the power of time. But who would tell what these walls are hiding if we were not standing here with guns and everything?
No, I'm not interested in any kind of trouble. Not tonight.
But when I get used to it, it will turn in a terrible boredom.
Unbearable, terrible boredom.
But not tonight…
The breeze got stronger and turned into a fresh wind. Without thinking, she switched the flashlight on and looked around.
That's ok, Jeanette. Everything's fine. Your gun's ready, you've checked ten times at least, there's no need to get worried.
It was just a mere thought, just a feeling. And look what it's doing with you! Stop it right now!
Jeanette observed the area for the last time and breathed out so quietly that the sound vanished under the wind. She turned the light off.
And then, suddenly, her attention was caught by something unexpected. Well, by something coming from an unexpected direction, to be exact. She looked attentively up to the western sky. What is it?
It began very slowly. At first, it resembled fog or a cloud floating silently across the sky until it vanished into the air. But then, colors appeared. The green was most distinct.
That's… an aurora? Here? Jeanette turned around. Mainly because she wanted to check if she was still standing where she was supposed to. Without a sound, the green reflections spread across the skies in a moment, and a whirl appeared in the center. In the middle of the whirl, small beaming objects began to emerge and fall.
On the way down, the matter of the objects lessened, emitting sparks like a firework. It was so perfectly peaceful, silent and beautiful.
Do the others see it, too? She touched her walkie-talkie, but then saw something different coming. The closer it was, the more intensively it shone. Jeanette realized that the thing was heading toward her, but she could not move. In the end, she just watched, fascinated by the impact which was just about fifty yards away from her.
Jeanette watched the groove appearing behind the fallen object and the rolling and growing mass of mud that it was pushing until the kinetic energy was depleted and it came to a halt.
"Third patrol speaking. Unknown object just fell right in front of me. I'm going to take a look."
"Understood." A voice filtered through the crackling noise. "Shall we send someone?"
Jeanette was thinking. Yeah, maybe. But… "No, there's no need at the time. I'll make it."
"Are you sure?"
"I am. Stay in touch, I'll let you know soon." she retorted a bit angrier than she intended and moved towards the mysterious object.
Should I switch the light on? Well… yeah, I think. Jeanette stopped for a moment and switched her flashlight on shakily. She felt her body trembling, but she managed to keep her finger on the trigger still and ready.
"Is… eh, is anyone there?" Now, that was a bit pointless.
She stepped closer.
And in that moment, her heart stopped with horror.
She just inhaled sharply, but apart from this, she was frozen stiff.
That was a hand! Someone's hand… someone was trying to scramble out of the groove!
What an awful noise, she thought. Wait, it's… it's me! Yes, it was her scared breathing. You whine like a puppy, Jeanette, she realized and pressed her hand that held the flashlight tightly to her chest.
No, it was not an earthquake. The light emitted by her flashlight was just shaking along with her wrist. Her legs felt rooted to the ground when the mysterious figure managed to get out of the groove and stand just a few feet from her.
It was a tall man with long black hair and pale skin. He shielded his face from the light. He would have looked quite normal, if he had not been wearing a golden-and-green armor and a cape.
Jeanette did not have a clue how she managed to do this, but after a while, she moved her hand and dimmed the light.
"W-who are you?" she stuttered, almost whispering. The unknown person was watching her silently; then looked around and up to the sky. And just then Jeanette noticed another strange thing. Tears. His cheeks were wet with tears.
"Do you understand? Do you speak English?" she tried. Silence.
"It was you who fell from – from the sky?" She hesitated. Who would have guessed I would ever ask such a question? From the sky…
"How could you…" She came back to her senses. "Just how the fuck could you survive this?" She continued with anger, disbelief and amazement in her voice. "Look at you, you're perfectly fine!" Well, this was definitely not the exact way how to handle the intruder, but Jeanette was momentarily quite indisposed to observe any protocol.
"So this is Midgard." The stranger spoke calmly and clearly, like falling from the sky was his daily routine.
"What?" she frowned, "Look, I'm the one in possession of a gun here, ergo I'm the one asking questions. You seem to understand English pretty well, so tell me, who are you and what do you want here?"
Yeah, you have a gun. Jeanette felt a bit more confident. But the question is – does it really matter here?
In that moment she heard a very strange and very suspicious clicking noise.
"A gun, you say?" the stranger spoke again, this time with confidence and amusement in his voice. "Well, does it work?"
Jeanette turned away a bit and tried the trigger. Nothing happened. She tried everything she could think of, but every single lock would not move.
"What the… Oh crap!" she exclaimed and threw away her weapon. "You did this?! How?" she asked him desperately and took a few steps back.
"There, there… It seems that our little girl is not so self-assured without her gun. Now, who is the one asking questions?" he spoke amusedly, with a hint of menace. But suddenly he hissed with pain, caught his chest and staggered a bit as he tried to come closer. Finally he stopped, slouching deeply, and breathed heavily.
Jeanette hesitated a bit. She stood there petrified, only her hand was slowly but surely crawling to grab her transmitter.
"They won't hear you." The stranger pointed out through gritted teeth.
How does he know? Why won't they hear me? Jeanette decided to act. In a second, she threw the flashlight away, switched the transmitter on and grabbed her knife swiftly.
She predicted his move precisely and jumped aside. She was about to deal a blow to him, but he was faster and dodged it easily. It was quick, just a few swift movements. But in the end, she was glad to break out of his reach.
The bastard is incredibly fast. Even if he's injured. If he had been all right, she was sure she would stand no chance against him.
She waited, crouching to the ground and listening to the white noise coming from her transmitter.
They were both out of reach of the light cone of the flashlight. However, Jeanette realized that the flashlight was not needed anymore as the entire landscape was perfectly illuminated by the unknown phenomenon above them.
All was quiet around; the only sound coming from the stranger who was breathing so heavily. The pain made him bend forward again; his left arm placed on his chest. But he was still watching her intently. Jeanette thought that she had never seen such green eyes before. Maybe, under different circumstances, she would have been very interested in him. But not now. Not like this.
"What's up? Come on, bring it!" she tried to provoke him.
However, the intruder did not answer. He just looked up instead.
Jeanette could not take her eyes off him, but then the entire landscape was flooded by a blinding glare. She slowly turned around, covering her eyes. When the light weakened, she noticed a giant golden dome with a thorn-like thing attached emerging from the whirl up in the sky.
It was spinning around a shifting axis and the thorn emitted a bright beam that flickered like it was losing and gaining back some unknown power source. Strong wind came as they heard a terrifying, deafening sound. Jeanette stood up but shrunk back a bit upon noticing the stranger standing right beside her. But he seemed to have nothing left up his sleeves. He just watched. Then, almost absentmindedly, he said just one word.
"Bifrost."
"Bi-what?" She asked, confused.
And then she realized what was going to happen as she watched the light beam slice the building next to them in two. Simply, like a knife running through a piece of butter.
She breathed in and out. "Listen, is there something bad you have done?" She asked with a strange calm in her voice. She spoke just loud enough to push her words through the wind.
"Yes." He answered simply.
"Well, then do regret it and pray for forgiveness. 'Cause we're going to die now."
The siren sounded and Jeanette covered her mouth with her hands. "Here it comes." She uttered as tears welled up in her eyes.
No, this duty was not boring at all…
She saw the first explosions and then closed her eyes, resigned, and waited for the blow.
But it did not come. The blinding light that had been getting through her eyelids was shaded. And silence. Terrifying silence engulfed her. Only a strange, muted noise that reminded her of a distant storm could be heard.
Jeanette realized that the stranger was holding her tightly, his arms wrapped around her. When she opened her eyes, she saw the flames, pieces of torn buildings, dust and stones flying past them with amazing velocity and fading away far behind her back. Everything was shattering on some invisible barrier in front of them.
Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. She was trying to catch her breath, but she realized that there was not much oxygen left to inhale.
"I can't breathe." She faltered, clutching at the edge of his cape. "How… how long will that shield last?"
But he seemed to encounter the same problem. His heavy breathing turned into wheezes. He looked over his shoulder. The light beam that caused all of this was approaching them.
"It would have lasted long enough." He gasped. "But I can't go against this. I apologize."
"You don't have to. It'll be all right…" Jeanette breathed and closed her eyes for the last time in her life.
No, this job was not boring at all…
Now, to give some explanation: This chapter is a part of another time line of my story. It is the first part of a series of interludes that will focus on Loki and his fate after appearing on Earth. I hope you will enjoy this point of view, too! See you next time, and please review:)