Cars honked loudly, tightly packed like sardines in a tin. The Sun shone angrily, glaring it's face at the noisy drivers. The heat was powerful enough to evaporate all of Antarctica.
France-lyse dragged me along the pedestrian walkway, marching ferociously like a dragon charging towards battle. Her legs barely touched the ground before she took them back up. Her feet were practically flying.
"Can't we slow down?....", I began.
"Not all of us are tan resistant, Seer!", Tall and Brooding spat, his head, buried beneath his hood.
I glanced back at him. He appeared to be in dire situation; one little slip could mean him going up in flames.
"Why don't you wear daylight rings? I saw some of those in Vampire Diaries... You could"
"It is practically impossible to find those kinds of rings around, or find a witch powerful enough to make them.", he cut me off, looking at France-lyse in slight disgust.
"Keep talking, and we will slow down.", France-lyse said, increasing her pace. My legs struggled to keep up with the flying.
We approached a building enclosed in a wide compound. It's fences were made of iron bars, and one could see through the spaces in-between. The building's painting was white, and it had a lot of cars parked in front of it. France-lyse took us to the door. It was automatic.
Walking in was a drastic change from what we had been experiencing outside. I could hear the faint sizzling from Mr. Vampire behind me, as the powerful rush of air-conditioning bathed us all over. We all stood affixed to our spots, each enjoying the cool rush of breeze that had welcomed us.
"Alright people! See that counter over there, Tobi?"
I looked over at where she had pointed. It was a space designated for payment of purchased goods.
"Yeah, I see it..."
"That is where we will meet if any of us ever gets separated, okay?"
I felt like a child taken to the amusement park for the first time.
I nodded.
"C'est bon. Alright, you and I will go to the clothes section, whilst Derek patronizes the food segment.", she said, dragging me along again as she walked away.
Derek. So that was his name. I looked back at him as he simply turned and walked away. He seemed to know where he was going.
We tried on all sort of clothes on me, from flowing gowns, to suits, to jackets and shorts. There was nothing we didn't put on- France-lyse and I. The dressing room had a cloak over it, but I could make out the shape of her naked body as she took off her clothes to try out the new ones.
"Were you just staring at me?", she said, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
I swallowed hard.
"No. No, I wasn't.", I said quickly, looking away at the dressing room as if I was just seeing it.
She looked a little bit disappointed for a moment.
She walked slowly, closing the gap between us.
"Was I not worth looking at?", she said, putting her finger on my lips. Her eyes glowed with a flame of burning passion.
She smiled, one side slightly above the other. Her left arm wrapped around my neck as her finger slid down and gripped me by the collar.
I could feel her breath on my lips as her toes slowly rose up.
"TOBI."
I looked up above her head, scanning the room. Someone had called my name. The voice was vaguely familiar, and yet, it felt like I had always known it.
She kissed my neck, sucking in deeply as warmth travelled round my body. I could feel my hands circle around her waist. I lowered my head.
"TOBI."
I struggled to ignore the voice as her lips trailed across my face, her breath caressing me. I slid down my hand gently, below her waist.
Her body felt soft, and I could taste her fragrance.
"TOBI."
She tilted her head backwards, looking at me in the eyes, her hands going below my chest. I gasped gently for air as her finger stealthily unbuttoned my shirt.
"COME."
I pulled away, looking at her briefly before turning my face away as I walked out. My body seemed to have a mind of it's own, moving automatically like a programmed robot to the direction from whence the voice had come.
I buttoned up my shirt as I walked down the hallway, looking around to see if the one who had summoned me would appear.
There was an old man standing around the corner, towards the end of the hallway. He raised his hand and beckoned to me as he turned and entered a door. I quickened my pace, trodding swiftly as I walked towards where he had been. I felt a pull in my belly, and at once, it was like I had been sucked in through a portal.
The sky shone in blood red, devoid of any star. The air felt thin. I looked around to see so much debris around me. Buildings laid in utter ruin, and there was no single soul around.
I walked carefully on skeletons and stones. It was like a battlefield on a graveyard. There was so much destruction. I had no idea where I was.
"When, thoust meaneth."
I turned briskly to see who had spoken. It was the old man. He wore what appeared to be worn-out clothes, their fashion in the 14th century. His grey hair bristled as the wind blew raspily, carrying with it dust and the scent of death.
"Who are you? And what is this place?"
He turned to leave, walking gently over the dried bones and broken glass. I followed.
"I am thee."
"Thee?"
"Well, not you per say. I am who you were in your past life, Seer."
"None of what you are saying makes sense."
He crossed over a wide hole, climbing slowly over a collapsed building. I quickly shook my head, and hurried after him, careful not to fall into the ditch.
"Who you are and what you will become has already been written in the stones."
"Could you please speak in clear terms?! I don't understand you at all!"
"Ere thy morn, thoust surely must end."
"In the history of clear terms, that has to be the worst definition ever!"
He looked at me for a moment, blinking his eyes from the dust.
"We are speaking because thou hath summoned me. I would have come earlier but someone kept blocking my access to thee.", he began, looking over the mass of ruins spread across the deserted land.
"Thou art a Seer, the most powerful creature on Earth. Thou seeth what art to come even before it be written."
"And like all Seers before thee, thy purpose art to guard that which would destroy the world.... along with itself ."
"What do I guard?"
"Sadly, thoust seeth all but thyself. Thou art not immortal, and thus, thou can be killed."
"What are you saying...?"
"Beware, for that which thy eyes gaze upon art thy future."