I was ready to collapse, stumbling in the dark. Minutes, hours, days; it was hard to keep track when the sun never rose.

Victory was sweet, but it wasn't enough. My fingers itched for more, for completion. A need to finish the task set before me. Maybe this would make up for what I just stood by and watched.

I could still picture it in my mind, the first day I saw the fountain. Water that glowed as light itself, swirling goods and blues. I was only a child, tempted by radiance. I could feel the power beckoning to me then. I gave into the call and took a drink.

The second time I saw the fountain, was the last time anyone ever would.

"I can't imagine what that would've been like," Gloria's words bounced around the memory. Black starless night, erupting flames, Carrick wading through the water. That sick feeling in the back of my throat, begging me to stop him. Begging me to do anything...

"Why didn't you? All it would've taken was a simple song." Her question stood accusing, unable to cut through the images. Carrick's feverish grin laughing at me in the fire glow. My voice paralyzed in its place.

"It was so quiet...I couldn't interrupt the silence." I took a breath, trying to focus on the air in my lungs, the dirt under my feet. I didn't want to remember that night. 

"That's a cowards response."

Gloria's words stabbed me, I tried to run. Locking my legs in place, Gloria sent me stumbling to the dirt. The dry dust caught under my fingernails.

"Tell me the real reason, Alex."

This was insane. I didn't need to answer for this. I laid still, refilling my lungs with oxygen, my limbs unmoving."You're right, I'm a coward. I was afraid of Carrick," I shuddered at my response, refusing to look up. 

Gloria laughed,"You've never been afraid of Carrick for a day in your life." Her soul slipped away from me, a ghostly hand finding mine.

I pulled my hand back. "I was that night! You didn't see the look in his eyes, how he was in that place-" I choked on my words, gagging at the truth.

"It wasn't him you were afraid of… in fact you believed him." She turned  away,  eyes glossed over. 

The silhouette of my hands shook, trembling back at me. An old voice never leaving my head, you will always be a slave to it, the power in your blood. A power that answered to something higher. Chained to this sick game of destiny. As long as the fountain existed I would never be free.

That was the narrative that sold me on inaction. I was afraid of the fountain….afraid of the power inside of me. 

"There is a part in all of us that wants to crush what's good," Gloria whispered, eyebrows locked down. "I just always thought you were different."

Her words stung, slicing at my heart. "I'm sorry, I'm such a disappointment." I got to my feet, dusting the dirt off of my pants. "Will you let me keep moving forward?"

Gloria nodded, a guilty look in her eyes. "Of course, although we have already arrived." 

I frowned at her, my eyes adjusting. Underneath the branches a lone tree, low grass blowing with the breeze. 

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Arrived? This isn't anywhere," I said, Gloria's smile returning.

"It may be nowhere now, but it is a site of importance. Our first direction." She slipped back to me, my hand finding something in my pocket.

 Four little stones. Luminescent, a dim light coming from the orbs.Through the shine my own eyes stared back at me. Empty terror, dead eyes. I tossed them away. 

Gloria took control of my hands, catching each stone before they hit the floor. "Careful!" she shouted. "We don't have time to go back if one of them breaks." 

"Are these...pieces of the gate?" I gagged, the clear glass burning on my finger tips.

"Yes, we're trying to thin it out till it shatters." 

"How did you do this? When did you do this?" I asked, fighting the urge to throw them again.

Gloria tightened her grip on the pieces. "It was before I left Omen. Do you want me to break down the whole process?" 

"No...I just didn't know it could be broken into pieces." I loosened my fingers, keeping them over the reflection.

"The gateway is in essence the same as the thing it comes from. These are merely drops of the body of water."

"I guess that makes sense." I scratched my head. "What do you want me to do with them?" 

A shovel leaned against the tree, Gloria slipped the stones back in my pocket, picking it up. "We just need to bury one here."

"Ah, and then the rest?" I asked, breaking ground

Gloria nodded. "Each has their own site, north, south, east, west. This part in the plan is the most time consuming, but once it's over, the rest will happen quite quickly." 

I threw the dirt over my shoulder. "The rest? You always avoid spelling out exactly what we're doing." 

"No I don't. We're shattering the gateway." Gloria stepped back, a flash of guilt in her eyes. "I'm sorry if that's not specific enough for you."

Sinking the shovel back into the earth, I paused. "It just seems like there's something more."

Gloria glared at me. "Seems like there's more? what does that even mean, Alex?"

"Fine don't tell me," I growled. "How deep does this need to be?"

"I'll tell you when to stop."

“Sure, that’s reassuring.” I threw another load of dirt behind me.

Gloria ignored me, laying back beside the hole. Propping her head up, she stared up at the empty sky. Big blue eyes, so certain, so serene. 

There was something different about her. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. She was more confident now, confrontational even, but I had seen that side of her before. I never thought that death could change a person. I guess it was a significant enough event.

The hole grew deeper with each strike of the shovel. I wiped a bead of sweat off my forehead, Gloria sitting up. 

“This should do.” She swung back, her hand moving as mine. Taking one bead, she dropped it into the hole. Falling as a water drop, it soaked up into the dirt. The light swirling back, forming a little circle.

My one eyes reflected back at me, the same hollowness shining up with the glow. I threw a heap of dirt over it. I couldn't bear to look at it. 

Something of a predictive quality about the image, fate sealed. I wasn't making it out of this alive. Desperately filling the hole with the loose earth. Gloria was quiet...maybe she knew.

A sound started from the bushes, echoing across the field. Loud against the silence. Gloria pulled in closer, eyes wide. I swallowed the lump in my throat, holding the shovel as a weapon. "Who’s there!” I yelled into the dark.

A short silhouette emerged, stomping over the brush. “I guess I'm an idiot for believing your apology.” Avis's voice sent knives down my spine.

"She knows…." Gloria's words slipped out, mixing with my own fears.

Fury reflected in those irises, Avis marched towards us. Across the field she stopped, pulling her dagger from its sheath. "Alexander Wren, I bring judgment against you. For your actions against, Omen, humanity and all that’s holy. I will make certain you burn.”