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Chapter 5

Chapter 5

He heard Anubis snarl, felt the rumble of the ancient god’s anger in his chest. The old, dust-covered scales could be heard rattling throughout the Duat. His rage was unfounded, his purpose long since revoked, but not unjustified; this was practically a spit in his face.

The day had been a blur. Anna now found herself in an unfamiliar concrete room with all the decorative sense of a missile silo. The room was empty except for Will, Tim, and herself, huddled together on a white leather couch, the room's only other occupant. Anna held Tim tight to her chest; he was still asleep, passed out after the events at the house a few hours ago, which felt like only minutes ago.

The Atlanta cops had been quick to the scene, but that police report was going to be hard to believe, and their Good Samaritan, Scott Turner's advice to "Be plenty scant on detail" probably left much to be desired. Granted, magic kids, disappearing bullets, a teleporting cowboy, and a resurrection probably would have gone over like a lead balloon, even with it being an attack on a DA.

And now, poor Will. He had actually died today, but she was leaned on his shoulder. Not that she chose to be; he had pulled her there, but she felt greedy. He needed comfort, not her, but he hadn’t said a word, and his grip was firm. Not that Anna wanted to be anywhere else at that moment. She turned her head to look up at him and found him blankly staring ahead, jaw set, but with the eyes of a man looking into the void.

“Will?” She practically muttered it; they hadn’t said much to each other, too much happening in too little time. His eyes returned to the room, and he looked down at her, but he stared at her for a moment before he spoke.

“Anna?” His voice was normal, like this couch was in their living room. Anna fought the urge to huff at him, a subtle scolding for not being more upfront with his emotions.

“Are you ok? You haven’t said anything in a while.”

“I’m fine, well, mostly. I mean, hey, any day above ground, right?” His voice trailed off with an awkward chuckle.

“Will.”

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“I know, I know. I’m sorry. Dying gives you a lot to think about. Go figure.”

“What happened?”

“You know more about it than I do. Can’t say I remember much after round two. Or was it three?” The urge to huff was getting harder to repress; her chest practically swelled up on its own.

“To you, Will. Between… you know…” Will smiled at her, but now he was trying too hard; that one was clearly forced.

"Well, I got to see my grandpa again," Will began. Anna remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"It was a weird experience. I was a kid again too." Anna wanted to sit up, but she felt his fingers tighten on her shoulder.

"He uh, wouldn’t let me in. Ten years, and the old fart didn’t say a word to me. He just pointed behind me." Will paused, reflecting on the memory. "I turned around to see what he wanted me to look at, and just like that, I’m back in the living room, adult me and all. Except I’m looking down at myself, and our uninvited guest is attacking you."

"I took a swing at him, but turns out that ghosts aren’t great for fighting, who’d’ve guessed?" His voice shook; Anna thought her heart stopped.

"So, I turn back to granddad, and there’s this new guy beside him, dressed real nice, white hair, cream-brown eyes. I’d never seen him before, but it wasn’t hard to guess who it was." Will paused for a second, cleared his throat once. "You know, you think that when you see the big man, you’ll fall to your knees or something. I did anyway, think that, but nope, I walked right up to him and shook him like a leaf. I’d never been so angry."

"What are you good for, huh? You’re gonna let this monster hurt my family? Do something!" Will's voice pitched up as he quietly imitated a yell. He went quiet again; his pauses were getting longer.

"But he just stared right into my eyes, smiling, and I heard him in my head. ‘William,’ he told me, ‘the world will soon face an upheaval unlike any before. The world may need Timothy. I will do what I can to provide what I can, fairly.’" Will continued, his voice recounting the surreal experience.

"I saw a flash of light, so I turned around. That was when Scott showed up, and God just kept talking. ‘I will do my best, but right now, Timothy needs you.’" Anna heard him swallow.

"Then, I felt something, weak at first, but it got stronger, like gravity, pulling me towards my body. I heard granddad’s old front porch wind chimes. I heard the last bit of a conversation he had with my dad, ‘Take care of my grandson Matthew.’ I looked back over at him, and I don’t think I ever saw him smile like that." Will closed his eyes for a moment.

"Then I woke up on the floor, with a splitting headache." Anna was unsuccessfully fighting back tears, which seemed to surprise Will when he looked at her. He just smiled down at her. "Sorry if I scared you."

She couldn’t think of anything to say; she just stared up at his stupid fake grin, crying, until a steel door on the other side of the room slid open, and Scott walked in.