Liana looked around desperately: Inaya and the STC agents who were writhing on the ground were engaged in a heavy mental battle while the bomb ticked away while Lun, Marah, and Frest looked frozen on the spot, unsure of how to react. All of the Drotnira that were still here were far away and could not be of any help. Those creatures hated her anyway, and she had no way to communicate with them…
She ran towards the big black bomb, but she couldn't understand how the huge hellish device with all its buttons and meters worked. Only the big red letters that indicated 3:42 and counted down gave some recognition, but not really something she wanted to recognize. She tried to focus herself with everything she was, because she needed full attention and probably all of her ‘powers’ now. Time seemed to slow down now and Liana was strangely clear. She looked at the panel of incomprehensible buttons and wires but didn't dare to touch anything, just in case it would speed up the explosion. She was so preoccupied with the bomb now that she failed notice how one of the soldiers had broken free from Inaya's mental grip. Out of nowhere he fired an unknown weapon at Inaya, who immediately fell to the ground.
Liana screamed on the top of her lungs when she realised what had happened, and everything seemed to stand still for her now. The Americans, well aware again of the danger they were in, all panicked and disappeared into the gate, which flickered one more time and went out. Meanwhile Liana looked from the shot-down Inaya to the explosive and back, and knew that apparently she was the only one who understood what was about to happen, and Inaya couldn't help her now either.
She turned to Lun in panic. “This is an explosive weapon that will destroy everything around here when the countdown is over. That's why they left so quickly. We have to turn it off or leave as soon as possible or we will all be dead!” Lun still stood there, tongue-tied, but now he too was also awake again from everything that had happened in the last few minutes. He stared from the fallen Inaya to the black device and then at the gate. He understood the danger now, but it was much too late. “Can you read the time of this explosive?” He asked. Liana suddenly understood that, of course, he wasn’t even able to read Arabic numerals, but the clock ticked mercilessly, endlessly slow to her senses, yet their remaining time was far too short, and she could do nothing.
Lifeless, Inaya lay beside her, and it was her who should normally have led them all back through the dimensions. The portal of the Americans was also dead and unresponsive, so through there no escape was possible either. Less than two minutes before the explosion now and they were stuck. Was this it then? For a moment she felt the urge to sit down and just wait for the blast, but she couldn't do that. It would be wrong.
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As if on autopilot, she slowly got back up and looked around one more time. On one side of her Marah and Frest still stood. They seemed completely confused but sensed that something was seriously wrong, though they clearly didn't realise what. How far the betrayal of the STC had gone was only now beginning to sink in apparently. Frest had a face full of hatred that seemed to be directed at Liana as well, and Marah had one of question marks. On the other side, Lun knelt by Inaya. “She's alive, but not much longer. She needs a healer as soon as possible. And we have to go.” He said, turning back to her and lightly touching her shoulder, questioningly. “You are our dimension-folder now. Bring us back, Liana-dinn!” He picked Inaya up, ready to leave, and looked at her expectantly.
Liana was completely confused now. She? Was she supposed to be the rescuer herself in this situation? They had less than a minute before the explosion. Could she really be expected to do this? Yet she'd done it once, and under the threat of a much lighter danger. She might indeed be the only one who could do anything now! and There was less than half a minute left!
Everything seemed like a dream now. With her hand she made a movement in the shape of a door, and thought with all her being of the only place she had ever consciously travelled to in this way, the ruins in the in-between world. She gave the bewildered Marah one last look, and said without language “you have to choose now” through thought communication. She grabbed Lun, who was holding Inaya in her arms, with one hand, and Marah, grabbed her other hand after a moment's hesitation that seemed like an eternity, throwing her weapon away. And then the four of them stepped in the door. Liana looked back and just saw the clock read 0:17 as the background faded away and the whole world of Kavanderra was suddenly cut off like a stereo that went silent.
*
She opened her eyes and stared at the letters on the ceiling of the twilight world. It almost seemed like a home to her now after all that had happened. She was extremely exhausted, but she couldn't stop now. Not yet. Akhina had to be warned first, because she herself could not get all of them to Nuanderra with the little strength she had left now. She focused all her thoughts on making contact with Akhina, and when she was sure the message had arrived, she fell down exhausted. She no longer paid any attention to what Lun, Inaya, and Marah were doing around her, as everything went black as she sank into an unconscious sleep.