The constant hum of the elevator was a screaming reminder, one that told Maitho that he was a prisoner in a limited space. The elevator offered, at most, a six-by-six feet room to maneuver, which might not be enough to avoid a lightning strike aimed into the cabin. With enough luck, such a situation won't occur. Sadly, luck seemed to have bid farewell earlier during the night.
The lights flickered in the cabin and small vibrations travelled through the interior. The booming sound of thunder followed shortly after.
Maitho looked at Epona and watched her clench her fists tightly around the crossbow's stock. He knew that they had a little over a dozen seconds before they arrived at their destination on the top floor. If they don't get attacked on the way, that is.
He closed his eyes, knowing full well that he could not use his powers endlessly. The only justification he had to offer was that this situation demanded it. He had no idea what information the Celtic team was hiding about Raiden, and so he was unable to understand his enemy. This was, perhaps, his only recourse.
He pushed with his mind…
...and found himself down on all fours. He noticed a brown carpet beneath him. To his right, a table was pushed against the wall. A vase was positioned on one side of the table and a crystal bowl that looked like it contained something was placed on the other. He glanced up.
Raiden was standing a few feet away from him, possibly in order to maintain a safe distance. The descendant of Thor was looking down at Maitho with his head tilted to one side and a bemused expression caressing his face. A lock of blond hair curved towards his eyes, as though it desperately wanted to touch his iris.
To his left, he saw Epona in front of an open window, clutching her abdomen and shooting darts at Raiden through her eyes. He noticed her hands clasp the crossbow and give him a quick look. Behind her was a window and beyond that was a fire escape.
Without giving him an opportunity to think, she half-raised her crossbow and let an arrow speed towards Raiden. The arrow should have struck his leg. Except that it didn't. Before it could reach its intended destination, arcs of electricity appeared out of thin air and struck the projectile, deflecting it sideways. Without even turning his head, Raiden raised his hand and aimed it at Epona.
"Stay still now, would you?" arcs of lightning began to swirl around his arm…
...and Maitho returned to his body.
He noticed the number three on the floor indicator and the doors slid open. Epona entered the hallway beyond without a moment's hesitation. When Maitho followed, he noticed the carpet below him, but it wasn't the one from his vision. Plus, he had been in a much larger room. This is probably not where they will be attacked by Raiden.
"If we are going to face the threat together, then maybe I could use a weapon. How about that revolver?" Maitho had to get straight to the point. He had no time to play nice.
"Whit revolver?" came the response from Epona.
"Epona, you were the last person to have it."
"'N' ah will be th' last person tae give it tae ye."
This was getting beyond frustrating. "I feel like you are just waiting for me to do something, but I don't know what that is."
At that, Epona turned around, a certain ferocity etched in her expression. "Listen Maitho." The muscles in her neck tightened as she spoke. "Once this situation is resolved, then ye wull end up proving tae us whit we hae veen knowin' all alang."
"Enlighten me. What is it that you know?"
"Yer gonna take th' first opportunity that ye git 'n' get oot o' 'ere. Meanwhile, we'll likelay be put in a worse situation than befor." Epona began to walk away.
"You want it to be true so you can justify your mistakes." His voice had come out in a near shout. It was a desperate plea to gain an understanding, but he knew that his words might dig deeper than he had intended.
His words had a physical effect on Epona. When she faced him again, he took the opportunity to continue. "You can choose to waste time thinking that you are absolutely right. Or you can help me help you. After that, I'll leave and you can go back to thinking you are absolutely right."
The hum of the elevator interrupted any further conversation. It was an ominous sound, as though it didn't belong at that moment; an alien life that had no business coming alive.
"Is Brigid or Bevan planning to join us?" said Maitho, catching Epona's eye and reflecting the concern he saw there.
The woman immediately got to a crouching position. She pulled out her smartphone and dialed a number. Placing the phone next to her shoes, she tapped the button to turn on the speakers. The ringback tone announced that the call had gone through. Epona aimed the crossbow at the elevator as she waited for a response.
A few seconds later, Brigid's voice broke through the speakers. "I hope you are in position."
"Just got here a couple of minutes ago. Did you call the elevator?"
"I am still in the control room." There was a pause as neither woman spoke. On the other end of the line came the sounds of shuffling. "Find someplace to hide." There was an urgency in Brigid's voice. "I'll be there soon. Keep this call connected and remember, trust yourself and only yourself."
When Epona looked at Maitho, he didn't utter a word. He could not respond knowing that Brigid could clearly hear them.
"I'm on my way to you," came Brigid's voice, followed by quick tapping of feet and rapid intake of breaths.
"We'll be in room three-a," said Epona. She got up and walked over to a door. She placed her palm in front of the doorknob. "Fosgail."
The knob twisted on its own and the door opened inwards. Epona looked at Maitho. "Inside. Now."
Maitho followed, looking at the elevator's floor indicator. It had stopped on the first floor. "I think you are too late Brigid," he said, loud enough for the woman on the call to hear.
Epona had stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wider than before.
"Remember our deal Maitho," came Brigid's response from the speaker, her voice raised and her speech quicker. "Don't let any danger reach my team. You face Raiden alone if you have to."
Maitho saw Epona enter the room and followed her. He found himself in a short hallway that connected to a room on the other end. Knowing that this might just be the last opportunity he might receive before facing whatever danger was coming up to greet them, he held out his hand. Epona noticed his action and looked up at him, shaking her head. Maitho insisted, his jaws tense. He knew that no one in the Celtic team would openly defy their leader's orders. It wasn't out of fear, but more because of deep respect. He hoped that he could persuade Epona by letting her know that whatever she did at that point, she didn't have to worry about Brigid knowing about her actions.
The ping of the elevator interfered with his thoughts. He could hear the elevator doors opening slowly.
He froze, with his hand still outstretched, afraid to make any sudden movements. He noticed Epona disconnect the call and switch on the phone's silence feature. She placed the phone in her jeans pocket and brought the crossbow to aim at Maitho.
For his part, Maitho understood. He took a slow step to the side, giving the woman a full view of the room entrance.
The sound of an electrical discharge reached him, followed by something exploding. There was silence for a few moments, one that seemed to stretch for eternity.
Then came the sound of a single tap. A footstep.
"We can't exist in two states, Maitho. We're either fully alive or fully dead." A smooth voice spoke. There was something in the voice. A strange combination of patience and condescension. To Maitho, it felt as though like he was listening to a snake with its jaws open, hissing softly. A predator that can attack at any moment.
"A man named Schrodinger proved this. You must have heard of him, no?" The voice continued. Another footstep. "Anyways, he proved every scientist wrong. Imagine that. All of those intellectual simpletons believed in some philosophical crap about particles existing in two states. Not Schrodinger. He used a thought experiment, using a cat no less, to show that the creature cannot be both alive and dead. Ergo, particles cannot be in two different states at the same time."
A third step. Epona arimed down the sights, his concentration unwavering.
There was no fourth step. "So I ask you this, Maitho. What state are we in? Are we fully alive because we are ever so closer to death? Or are we fully dead because we are far away from truly living? Remember, we cannot be both. You either fight to live, or allow yourself to die."
The silence that stretched afterwards was almost deafening. It felt as though the world itself had come to a halt, waiting for Raiden's next move.
Maitho didn't have time to react. A blast of lightning ripped through the doorframe and struck the wall not more than a few feet away from him. It blew out chunks of plaster and drywall, sending a cloud of dust exploding outwards.
Ducking to the ground out of sheer instinct, Maitho spotted Epona backing away into the other room and followed her.
They entered what seemed like a large living space, equipped with a coffee table, a sofa, a large screen TV on one wall and even a fireplace. Large windows opened to the outside. But none of the décor posed any interest to him. His eyes were drawn to the floor.
More particularly, to the material that covered the floor.
It was the carpet from his vision.
Epona was already taking a crouching position again. Near a window that was familiar to him.
"Make a choice now Epona," said Maitho. Now that the call with Brigid had been disconnected, he didn't have to worry about being heard.
He had positioned himself between Epona and the hallway. He intended to keep his word and try to prevent as much harm from reaching the Celtic team as possible. It wasn't out of loyal or compassion. He had made a promise, and he intended to keep it.
"Save it," said Epona, flexing her fingers on the crossbow. "Ah am trusting mah own decisions."
"Then trust yourself to do what is right."
Epona scoffed. "Stoap talking. Yeh r supposed tae talk tae him, remember?"
Maitho wanted to retort, but willed himself to calm down. There was not a lot of time to engage in unproductive banter. Instead, he looked around the moderately furnished room and the lack of objects that he could use. Then he noticed it.
He quickly walked to the fireplace and picked up the poker. It was not a powerful weapon, but it had reach and that was what he wanted. He tossed it to the far wall.
"Hav' ye lost yer marbles or sumthin'?" said Epona.
"When I say the word, jump out of the window," said Maitho, returning to his original position and facing the hallway.
"Whit does that mean?" Epona spoke behind him, but he didn't have the time to respond.
A blast of lightning on the corner of the wall leading to the hallway threw debris into the room. It was soon followed by two more blasts, each one destroying whatever object or furniture that lay in its path. The view of the hallway was soon partially obstructed by a cloud of dust. A shape moved in the cloud.
"I guess this is where we meet face-to-face," said Maitho, hoping to keep Raiden's attention on him. "Not the same as our earlier plan to meet outside, but this is a cozy place."
"Oh I'd say," said Raiden. Arcs of electricity became visible in the dust. "Are you not going to invite a guest?"
Before Maitho could reply, he heard a quick twang sound. An arrow zipped past him.
It never made it to its destination.
Maitho watched the arrow get swatted out of midair by several bolts of electricity. He could not help but feel awe at the sheer speed at which Raiden reacted. This wasn't a man who should be taken lightly. He also noticed that the arrow was fired at his legs. Or at least, where his legs were supposed to be since the dust was still making the view hazy, at best.
"It's good that I'm not about to talk to Epona," said Raiden. "She's still predictable as usual."
Without warning, a bolt of lightning shot out and slammed into Maitho's chest. It was like being kicked by a giant. The force sent him hurling through the air. When his back collided with the far wall, his breath was knocked out of him. For a moment, his awareness only consisted of a million stars dancing in his vision. He faintly heard another bolt of lightning being released, but this time, the attack didn't hit him. Instead, he heard a small yelp of pain to his left. When his vision gained clarity, he found himself down on all fours.
He noticed the brown carpet beneath him. He checked his right and spotted the table with the vase and the crystal bowl. To his left, he saw Epona in front of the window. She half-raised her crossbow.
In front of him, Raiden had finally exited the cloud of dust and stood a few feet away, head tilted to one side and looking amused.
He knew what was going to happen next. Epona fired a bolt but it was deflected easily. In response, Raiden raised his hand and pointed it at the woman.
"Stay still now, would you?" he said, getting ready to attack.
Maitho was still in pain. He understood that he was probably going to be slow. He might not even be able to land a blow, if he tried. Yet despite all his reservations, he reached his hand out to the fireplace poker he had tossed near the table earlier.
"Out of the window," he yelled, swinging the poker towards Raiden.
The entire action was futile. But the purpose of it wasn't to harm anyone, since there was no way that was going to happen. Maitho simply wanted to distract Raiden long enough to keep his promise.
Another bolt of lightning sent a wave of painful cramping sensations throughout Maitho's body. The sensation drew out the tears into his eyes. He began to cough, each exhale sending spasms of pain. It felt like the muscles of his chest were being ripped apart and reattached, over and over again with each breath he took.
He heard another blast of lightning.
When he turned to his left, he saw a large hole where the window had previously stood. There was no sign of Epona anywhere. Either she had escaped the attack or she was flung outside by it. He couldn't say.
"Now shall we have a conversation Maitho?"