Time's Tragedies- The Books Of Beginning [2]

83. The Noose Tightens

Eternity ran. She ran like she had never ran before. Not when dodging annoyed customers or pedestrians, not when running from monsters or running across time. Not when running from her past. No, Eternity ran with everything inside of her, she ran like she only ran when she had something to run towards - a future. When she had someone to run to, someone who was more important than anything to her.

Perhaps all the moments, ever since Eternity Time got curious and acted stubborn and ran away with a beautiful stranger named Lili Henrietta Wibberly, and never looked back, had been leading to this. Perhaps the seconds would all come down to Eternity running across bloodstained stands, cloak flapping behind her, all so that she could return to Lili.

She was half convinced she would die today. She was absolutely convinced that she wouldn't die without seeing Lili, one last time. If there was any strength to her stubbornness, her will like iron, she would spend it all now.

The already warm and arid air only became hotter, even as Eternity's legs kept on pumping. She wondered what Rafe and the others were doing to create enough smoke that it stung her nostrils. She wanted to look back. She didn't, however, because she knew that if she looked back, she would have to stop, she would become part of whatever was going on behind her, and she could not afford that right now, not when Lili was waiting for her. She was Orpheus, and Lili was her deathly, devastating Eurydice, and Eternity would not let this story end today.

The his of fire flaring out as Eternity was forced to ascend the sloping terrain filled her ears, far too loud for any of the normal potions turned bombs Rafe had brought along. Out of instinct, Eternity grabbed the hood of the fireproof cloak Rafe had fastened around her with all the tenderness and concern she had always craved from a father, and flipped it up, covering her hair and her face. She pulled the cloak tight around her and braced against the sudden surge of heat that ran up her back. Eternity had no doubt that if it were not for the cloak, she would be knowing the searing pain of burns right now. 

As Eternity continued on, the fire faded, or perhaps she simply was too far away to feel it - she didn't check to see which one. She just pressed forward, trying not to stumble over rocks or displaced ground. Her heart hammered in her chest, a jackrabbit beat that repeated one word over and over again - Lili, Lili, Lili.

An Imp lunged for her, grabbing at the ends of her cloak and trying to drag her down with it. Eternity's torso twisted as she hefted her bat high in the air, before bringing it down hard on the imp's head. Blood gushed from where the nails met with a sickening crack, and she was brought back to the beginning of everything, when she shattered a screecher's skull with a crowbar beneath the busy streets of New York. For a moment, all she could think of was the darkness of that and the red of blood, and then she came back to herself as the imp's body crumpled.

She blinked, seeing the dent her blow had left in the creature's skull. "Mierda!"

She shouldn't feel so good, seeing the damage that she had done, but she did. It made her feel powerful. It made her feel less sick to her stomach with worry. It made her feel like she could compete with this world of seasoned magicians and deadly monsters. Well, she had never claimed to be a hero, she had never lied and claimed to have any virtuosity that she lacked, so it was probably okay. And if it wasn't, well, Eternity could live with that.

She kept running, occasionally smashing in the bones of any monster that tried to get in her way. Some got the hint and fled before she could get in a killing blow. Most didn't. The nails on her bat were coated in cherry red imp's blood and rotten black bits of flesh that had come off the screechers. Viscera and grime flecked the Hello Kitty stickers that she had found so amusing once. There was nothing funny about the image now, though. Eternity's arms trembled but her actions were certain, and there was a mix of desperation and unhinged brutality to her. She would beat the ever-loving-shit out of anyone who got in her way, and she wouldn't feel bad for it.