The Rapture

THIRTY-SIX

PEARL

I pressed my hands over my ears and flinched at the shrill sound of an alarm. The window I was staring out of went dark, vines of metal wrapping around them until they were as hard as the ground I cowered on. I'd never seen something so wild in my entire life.

Vines. Metal vines. They were like snakes!

I did what any other terrified grown woman would've done, and hid under the bed.

Good news? The bed I hid under had plenty of room. Everything was lavish in here; carved, ornate, with gold accents and floral patterns on the walls. Too rich. Even the furniture was lavish; soft, looking so beautiful that I was afraid to sit on it and ruin it.

In just a few minutes, it changed from an elegant space into some kind of loud prison. My breathing came in faster as I willed my racing heart to slow. Something bad was happening.

The door flew open before my brain could explode from the amount of adrenaline pumping through my system. "Pearl!"

I barely heard him over the noise, but as soon as I saw his feet, I scrambled out from under the bed. My stomach twisted as I took in his form: wide-eyed and looking deadly. I'd never seen him so furious. What happened?

He reached for me. As soon as I got to my feet, he picked me up and power-walked out of the room. He swung my legs over his left arm and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"What's happening?" I asked, confusion thickening my voice. I clung to his dark brown jacket, pressing my lips together, trying to hold back what I ate for breakfast.

I was sure my eyes were wide with alarm.

"Everything is alright," he said, moving fast down the hallway. Even though his face was filled with rage, his words were tender. "You are safe."

I swallowed excess saliva in my mouth, sure that at any moment, I was going to lose it. He was very nervous about something, and I had no choice but to gnash my teeth and hope he put me down soon. The swaying was not helping my stomach.

"That's not an answer!" I shrieked, eyeing the Enukis scrambling in and out of rooms. Everything was so chaotic. "Are we in danger?"

He added to my unease as he said nothing.

"Dumuzi! Seriously! I—" I stopped, slapping my hand over my mouth.

He didn't seem to pay much attention to the way I flailed around in his arms.

His steps were quick and determined. As he rounded a corner, I panicked, reaching out for some kind of vase that was on a shelf. I hope this thing isn't culturally significant or sentimental, I thought, then puked into it.

Rather noisily, too.

I hugged the white, beautiful vase to my chest as I desecrated it. The vase would never forgive me. Dumuzi didn't seem to notice much. His eyes locked onto a flight of stairs leading down somewhere.

A few minutes later, we were in a dark hallway somewhere underground. The walls were made of dark green rock with veins of silver running through it. When he stopped at a door, he hugged me closer and kicked the door in with a loud thwack.

Thankfully, down here, the sirens were nothing more than a muted whine. After stepping inside, he sat on the edge of the bed, keeping me caged within his massive arms. This was an Enuki bed, not the one I had; hard, no pillows, no sheets or covers. The room was dark green and bare, save for a few large chairs and one stone table.