Yennefer
We are not going to die today
My heart was in my throat as I tried to block Adam from harm. It seemed as if the whole world was coming down and I was at the centre of it. My knuckles were white from clutching Adam's hand so hard.
I haphazardly dragged Adam behind the table, he coughed and came up with blood. A chill ran through my spine, I held him close, finally reaching the shelter of the small table a few ways off from where we had taken refuge. I rested him next to the little cabinet and checked his body for any external injuries, other than the few cuts and bruises he seemed to be fine. But he coughed blood, I pushed the thought away. I put one hand around the small iron cross around my neck, sending a few prayers for getting us through this.
"Adam, Adam are you okay?" I asked taking his face in my hands. He looked disoriented and shook his head violently. I held back a sob. The fear of losing him was too much on top of everything. I took his hand in mine, "It's gonna be okay, stay with me." I whispered. Another explosion threw us down.
We are not going to die today
I jumped when Sam tapped me on the shoulder. "What?" I asked still holding Adam's hand.
"Look, there" he said pointing towards the ceiling, my heart stopped dead in my chest. A six meter long metal beam hung precariously above us, wobbling to keep its balance. I looked at Sam, terrified, he seemed to be just as terrified of this as me but his eyes still somehow managed to hold resolve. Sam wanted to save us all but I feared in doing so he would lose us all instead.
Praj groaned behind us. I winced when I took another look at his legs, they were bent at horrible angles and the flesh was torn down to the muscle. Adam was still semi-conscious in my arms. I closed my eyes, calm down Yennefer. Baby steps. First get the hell out of here, second figure out what the hell is happening. I let out a deep breath. I could feel Adam fighting a losing battle as he slowly sank lower into my embrace. I looked at Sam, I looked at how similar our situations were. I had never thought of death this way before, I had acted, screamed and mourned for a transfixed crowd but it was never me. I remembered that steely look in Sam's eyes, he wasn't the person who would let himself die, and he intended to live, to survive. This gave me some strength, I held Adam's hand more determinedly.
"We need to run" I said, pulling Adam to his feet. He wobbly stood up, grabbing me for balance, his eyelids were heavy with strain. "Come on Adam, you got this, you can do it" I murmured softly as I begin dragging myself out from behind the table. A Streak of white light whipped across the stage, shattering the supports and causing the whole middle section to collapse. I screamed, barely able to keep myself and Adam on out feet. The stage was now tilted at an impossible angle, I barely escaped as a prop fridge slid down past me. I could have been crushed.
I somehow held my ground, making slow progress towards the exits. This was no shooting or disaster, no one could have prepared for this. I kept these thoughts at bad as I dragged myself and Adam to safety. A televised show, our big break funny that we would all die at the hands of impossible phenomenon's before all that ever happened.
I looked behind me and saw that Sam was still with Praj, sitting by his side. "Come on Sam!" I screamed, trying to be as fast as I could to get out of here. There was an emergency exit just behind the stage, if I could make it to there, we could probably be rescued, or at least be sheltered from this madness. I looked behind me and Sam was still crouching behind the table, he seemed to be making no effort to move.
We are not going to die today.
"SAM MOVE IT NOW" I said and as if to solidify my statement the iron beam started to wobble dangerously.
"SAM!" I screamed, torn between getting Adam out of here and saving Sam and Praj.
"SAM" I screamed again, a half sob grazing my throat. "Please" I spoke the last word in a broken whisper.
He slowly turned around to look at me, his eyes red and twisted in pain, he was still holding Praj's hand, his whole body was shaking but he didn't move. He kept looking at me helplessly, his eyes conveying what I had already feared. Too much blood lost.
I trembled shaking my head, No, no, no. Praj was the best of us, Oh God no. I looked at Sam, he was broken, shattered. The ground trembled again, dust clouded the air. A sob left my throat. No, No, we aren't going to die today. We aren't-
The air seemed to crackle and thin itself, I heard my heart beating slowly, one beat, two beats, each a count to the last one. Adam, hung on to me, his body sluggish and heavy, in looking back for Sam we had wasted precious moments. I looked at the exit and I looked at Sam, his face so broken, so lost that I couldn't breathe. I looked back at the door, it stood there invitingly but I didn't move. I looked at Sam who was leaning over Praj, his head in his lap.
I lulled the screaming in my head, I was not going to leave Sam behind, Adam would never look at me the same way. I would never look at me the same way. I rested my eyes on Adam, he was barely clinging on to consciousness, and he looked at me and nodded, I nodded back. The beam was moving precariously now, one more tremor, a little wind would bring it crashing down.
I Clung on to Adam, as I with all my strength ran back towards Sam. I screamed trying to put all I had into getting to him, to my, no our best friend. Another tremor shook the stage and I tripped, time seemed to slow around me, each second seemed like an eternity. The ceiling came crashing down. I looked at Sam, he was softly caressing Praj's hair, and I was falling, the ground speeding towards me. I let out a sob.
We are going to die today.
Something went over my head and I was stunned by the sudden flash of light. It pierced through my eyelids and I screamed. I crashed onto the floor, the debris biting into my skin. I still held on to Adam. A light breeze grazed me, my Victorian skirt was in tithers. I waited for the impact, the fall, the end but none came.
I opened my eyes and the there was no beam, the ceiling was destroyed but I was here, Adam was under me, breathing, barely. Is this after life? I dragged myself to a sitting position and looked for Sam and right there, behind Sam who was sitting with his head down I looked around me and saw rocks floating in the sky, falling still but an unnaturally slow pace. I looked up, the debris seemed to be falling yet it appeared to hand in place, the screams panned out to an eternity, but I felt as if nothing had changed. I looked around and there, in the center of the stage stood the most bizarre sight I had ever seen.
A woman, dressed in all white, a long blade of light gleaming in her hand. I gulped, there was something about the way she was carrying herself it scared yet soothed me at the same time. I rubbed my eyes and almost choked on my tongue.
She has wings I realised. An angels? My mind was playing tricks with me, this was all just a bad dream, I hoped, trembling holding my cross.
I gulped, backing away, still shielding Adam and picking up a piece of rock. My leg grazed a bent metal bar which toppled over the concrete. The girl turned towards me at unhuman speeds. She looked at me curiously, her hair moving in the non-existing wind, her blue eyes piercing every mental barrier around me. It was as if she could read my thoughts. No, it was like I was narrating them to her.
"Stay away" I whimpered my lips trembling, the rock hand raised. She smiled kindly and gracefully folded her wings. Her weapon ebbed into the smoke and mist, and she looked at me. I realised it was completely silent, there was no sound other than my breathing.
Are you Yennefer?" the winged Woman asked, I was scared, my breathing hitched. I nodded, one hand protectively over Adam, she tilted her head, her blue eyes flashing purple, "Oh my, did you know God is dead?"
She was so bright, I blinked rapidly. I felt my body being dragged to the deep end. I tried to hold on to Adam, clenching my hands around his shirt. "No..." My tongue felt sluggish in my mouth, everything was melting into her, bending around her. MY body shivered, finally giving in to the terror wreaking havoc in my body. My adrenaline started to ebb away as I began to silently pray.
She kneeled over me, a half smile playing over her face, "You wish against a wall when there is emptiness on the other side. Our God is dead" her voice was like a song. A song of the beginning and the end.
"No…" I tried to get the words out but that's when my body caved in and I was consumed by darkness.