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Chapter 495
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2024-10-29 19:42:56It was not a dream. When I first open my eyes I’m momentarily confused, but when I see the glowing embers that are that remain of my fire it all comes back to me. It’s morning now, but I don’t know how early. I’m still in the shadow of the cliff, and I can’t see how high the sun has risen in the sky. The air is cold, though, so I know the sun hasn’t been up long enough to begin heating up the day.
I reach into my emergency pouch and pull out the special blanket. Unfolding it quickly, I wrap myself inside it, then carefully place a couple of sticks and small logs on top of the pile of orange embers. I blow softly onto the coals, feeding them more oxygen. In just a few moments the thinner sticks catch fire, followed by the thicker ones. Between my newly ignited fire and my foil blanket, I’m soon warm and comfortable.
I’m also very hungry. I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday, and my stomach feels like there’s a
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 496
I turn back toward the ocean. From my new vantage point, I can see a much broader swath of water than I could from down on the beach, but it doesn’t matter. As far as my eyes can see, the sun-dappled sea is completely empty. I swallow my disappointment. I knew the odds were small, but I had been hoping for a sight of The Star of India, or at least one of the lifeboats. But there’s nothing. The huge, seemingly endless expanse of ocean drives home just how alone I really am. If any of my party survived, they’ve come ashore somewhere beyond my sight.I crawl slowly toward a small clump of leafy shrubs that offers me at least some concealment and push myself up into a sitting position. I’ve been so consumed with getting off the beach that I haven’t really given any thought about what to do next. Well, I’m off the beach now, so it’s time to decide, no matter how futile any decisions might seem.I guess a good place to start is by fi
Leesa's Advent Chapter 497
The road in front of me has disappeared, swallowed up by a giant landslide. Tons of rock, dirt and other debris have come crashing down from the steep hillside, completely covering the highway. Green, stringy weeds and small plants sprout up from the soil, telling me the slide occurred several years ago, at the least. It would take a team of bulldozers to clear the way, and there are no bulldozers anywhere in sight.This section of road is one that skirts the very edge of the cliffs, so there’s no going around the blockage on the ocean side. I’m either going to have to climb the ridge to my right to find a way past it, or pick my way over the remains of the landslide. Neither looks like a particularly appetizing alternative.The hill above the road is bare and almost vertical for the first twenty feet or so. Above that, the terrain is steep and seems to be more thickly wooded than any I’ve passed so far. Maybe that’s just because for the first time I’m seriously considering trying to
Leesa's Advent Chapter 498
I’m standing face to face with a monster. It’s a giant lizard-like creature that looks something like a cross between an iguana and a crocodile. The beast is twenty feet long if it’s an inch, with a long, tapering tail making up more than a third of its length. Thick, slimy green scales cover its body. Four short, bent legs lift it a foot or so off the ground, but its arched back and thick neck raise its elongated snout higher than my waist. The huge head is fully as large as my torso, and a two-pronged red tongue darts in and out between twin rows of yellow, dagger-like teeth. The thing has positioned itself diagonally across the road, blocking it completely.Whether this is a creature that came through a portal from There or is simply a mutant from my own world doesn’t matter. Its bulbous eyes are fastened directly on me, with a look I can only describe as hungry. I hold my machete in front of me, gripped tightly in both hands. The weapon seems puny
Leesa's Advent Chapter 499
The sun is beginning to sink low in the sky. I’m guessing I’ve got maybe an hour of daylight left—enough time to cover two or three more miles before I’ll have to start looking for a safe place to spend the night. “Safe” being a very relative term out here in the wilds, of course.In one section of the western sky, the high clouds have been twisted by upper level winds into an angry-looking vortex of gray and white. At least I hope the clouds have been shaped by high winds. The alternative is a giant Anomaly about to open in the sky and spew forth dangerous monsters. While flying creatures are rare, they’re not unheard of. Rocs and wyverns have been seen by people I’ve talked to, and tales are told of fire-breathing dragons, though no one I know has ever encountered one of those.Speaking of monsters, the reptile creature has still not appeared at the bottom of the hill, for which I’m profoundly grateful. With luck,
Leesa's Advent Chapter 500
I quickly drift off to sleep. Not surprisingly, my sleep is filled with nightmares, each one more terrifying than the last. The visions are incredibly vivid: snarling werebears surround me in an ever-tightening circle; a giant roc ensnares me in its talons and carries me to its mountaintop nest; fearsomely ugly ogres tie me to a spit and begin roasting me over a blazing fire. The dreams all have the same thing in common—I’m about to meet some horrifying doom. I sure hope that my as yet unrevealed Power doesn’t turn out to be precognition!I wake up in the middle of the ogre vision, my heart racing and my body covered in sweat. Opening my eyes to utter blackness only adds to my terror. For a few panic-filled moments, I have no idea where I am and why I can’t see anything. I only barely manage to catch myself before I let loose a scream for help.I force myself to draw in slow, deep breaths of cold night air. They were only dreams, I remind myself
Leesa's Advent Chapter 501
My heart sinks. From where I stand, it looks like there’s no way across the gap in the bridge. I turn my gaze inland. The fold in the topography is deep and cuts far back into the hillside. Climbing down the sheer sides of the ravine and then back up would be much too dangerous, which means I’d have to go around it. I can’t tell for certain, but it looks like I’d have to travel a mile or more out of my way, through the woods and up and over the hill, before turning back down to the road on the other side.That’s a detour I’d prefer not to take. I decide to make a closer examination of the broken section of road first. Maybe there’s a way across the break that I can’t see from here.Once again, I carefully check my surroundings before exposing myself to view out on the bridge. I don’t see anything moving anywhere, and the only sound I hear is the faint crashing of the ocean upon the rocks far below me to my left.
Leesa's Advent Chapter 502
MEANWHILERadar watched helplessly as the slimy tentacle pulled Plush and Lights down into the water. Jordy was firing his rifle into the ocean beneath them, keeping his aim low enough to avoid hitting their two friends but hoping to wound the invisible monster below so it would release them.It didn’t work. The two Miracles disappeared beneath the surface.“Nooooo!” Radar screamed, her heart breaking.Suddenly, the tentacle holding Plush and Lights broke through the water and shot back up toward the ship. For a moment, Radar didn’t understand—why would the creature be returning her friends to the boat? Then she realized she was seeing exactly the same thing she had just witnessed, only in reverse. She turned her head and saw Rerun beside her, his features etched tight with concentration. He was winding back time to rescue their friends!As soon as Plush and Lights were standing on the deck again, Rada
Leesa's Advent Chapter 503
Lieutenant Gregerson smiled. Not only had the cut disappeared completely, but he was no longer feeling dizzy. It was as if the injury had never happened.“Thank you,” he said.He looked toward the lifeboat, but the vessel was now out of sight over the edge of the ship. Four sailors still strained at the thick ropes that held the boat, so he knew it had not yet been lowered into the water. It had to be close, though.“C’mon,” he said to the Miracles. “I think our transportation is almost ready.”He led them across the deck. They reached the broken railing just in time to see the lifeboat land with a loud splash onto the surface of the ocean. The boat came dangerously close to capsizing when it hit the water, but it managed to stay afloat.Three of the sailors maintained their hold on the ropes, while the fourth draped a heavy net over the side of the ship and then used the netting to climb down into the life
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Serena awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the smell of fresh coffee brewing. She rolled over lazily, reaching out for Raphael, but the space was empty. With eyes still closed, she frowned. Where is that man? That man had probably been out of bed since the crack of dawn, beside himself with nerves for today’s big event, she thought regretfully. They were to be married today. Their lives intertwined for all of eternity. What man wouldn’t have cold feet at the prospect? And they’d known each other such a short time, too. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, and frowned again. She had awakened in the safe house. Last night, she’d killed a man in her own home, and knew she could never go back there ever again. She didn’t care how good the Brethren’s cleanup crew could restore her home. It would never erase the vivid memories and horrors of what had happened there. She and Raphael would have to find themselves a new home, together. Until such time, this place would be it, th
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It’s going to be a long day without Raphael, Serena thought, as she washed and dressed. But she carried on. With so many loose ends to tie up, final checks to be made, people and places to coordinate, she scarcely had time to think about anything else. Except for her father. In the quiet moments between the bedlam of planning a wedding, she reflected upon him and her heart ached. She had arranged for a nursing home staffer to drive him and his wheelchair to the Chapel of the Holy Cross for the wedding. They didn’t usually allow weddings there, but somehow, Raphael swayed their decision. Kemuel promised to wheel her father down the aisle beside her, and she loved him instantly for that. But her dream was to have him walk her down that aisle. A sob caught in her throat, and she quickly shook her head to whisk it away. None of that nonsense, Serena. Don’t be greedy. At least he is alive and here to be a part of it all. As the day waxed on to evening, Serena felt unsettled. She hadn’t s
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Raphael spent the next few days cloistered with Serena, away from everyone and everything, like a honeymoon before the wedding. But every morning he made creative excuses to tear himself away from her for a little while and work with Fred. To make sure she didn’t visit her father, he dropped her off at her shop first so she could plan a small wedding with Callie and catch up on the mountains of paperwork.The healing sessions with Serena’s father went spectacularly, and with Raphael’s charisma, he convinced the nursing home staff to keep any improvements secret from her. They thought it romantic that he came to help with his fiancée’s father’s rehabilitation. Everyone there rooted for him, amazed at his miraculous awakening. All of the therapists worked their tails off during his therapy sessions, wanting to see their severely stroke-damaged patient beat the odds and walk his daughter down the aisle.On the morning of the fifth day, Raphael got Fred walking without any assistance.“Co
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Raphael grabbed her hands. “Do it!” he demanded. He placed them on his temples and spoke to her through their bonded connection. She felt every thought he had had of Sirona over the years straight to the present down their threaded connection. She heard every thought he’d had of her, including every word he had spoken while holding her in his arms at Dr. Chappo’s estate. He sent her everything that filled his heart and soul about her, and finally, at last, she knew.She knew. And knowing was everything to her. He gently brought her hands away from his face, kissing her fingertips as he eased them down, and she took a few steps backward, looking at him as if for the first time. No one before had ever felt about her the way he felt about her, let alone express so strongly all he’d expressed when she’d lain dying in his arms.“You’re in love with me.” She gasped, astonished. Tears welled again in her eyes, but this time, for a very different reason.“Yes.” He took a bold step toward her.
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A bundle of nerves, that’s what she’d turned into. Since leaving her father’s, Serena had been nothing but a bundle of nerves, rehearsing over and over again what she would say to Raphael up on the Rock. Looking all around her now, frightening memories kept popping into her mind, making her think that at any moment, Steve or Wheezer were going to jump out and nab her. Unfortunately, she had gotten to the summit way too early, and now paced like a caged bobcat. It had to stop. The bad guys are dead, Serena. Think positive, and let go the past. So, finding a suitable rock to sit on, Serena decided to do a little meditation to soothe her worried heart. “When I see him, I’ll know the right words to say,” she notified the birds. It may sting for a bit, but it’s for the best.****Raphael showed up at the base of the mountain with time to spare, and noticed Serena’s Jeep already parked. Perfect, he thought. He checked his pocket for the millionth time, making sure the ring box hadn’t fallen
Leesa's Advent Chapter 722
Raphael watched Serena leave the nursing home from behind one of the bushes in the front. She seems in good spirits, he thought. Only when he saw her disappear down the street did he dare to venture out of his hiding place. He walked into the nursing home and headed straight to the reception desk.“Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Sikes.” He smiled amiably at the receptionist.“Wow, two visitors in one day. Fred’s a lucky guy. Sign in right here, please. You’ll sign out before you leave. Take this badge so we know you belong here. Room 103 is down the hall, make a left, and he’s at the end on the left.”He looked at her name tag, and winked. “Thanks so much, Judy.”Walking down the hall, he found himself fidgeting with the badge in his hand. Am I actually nervous? Hell yeah! Raphael, the man, is about to meet the father of the woman he loves. Raphael, the man, is about to ask for this guy’s daugh
Leesa's Advent Chapter 721
Great! Just great! There’s a leak in my bedroom ceiling. Wait a minute, that’s not right. I’m not in my bedroom. I’m locked away in Dr. Chappo’s house. She remembered more. Being bound to a gurney, her body broken and dying. But I’m not lying on a gurney now, and I actually feel great. How could she be dying and still feel great? And what’s with the rain shower on my face? Slowly her eyes fluttered open, and she gasped.It was raining. Angel’s tears. Raphael’s tears, to be exact.She lay in his arms, and from the way he shuddered and sobbed, she thought maybe he didn’t know she lived. To be honest with herself, she’d only realized this fact just a few moments before. Iridescent wings were outstretched and trembling though no breeze made them flutter so.She gently raised her hand to caress his cheek and whispered softly. “Shh…there now, Raphael, shh. It’s all right. I’m ok
Leesa's Advent Chapter 720
Raphael noticed a knob on the box. It made sense to dial it to its lowest setting. He followed the tubing to its clamp on Serena’s side and decided to completely clamp it off. Now, no more blood could flow. But he still needed to get the needle out of her arm. He found gauze and tape on the tray stand and proceeded to extrude the catheter from her arm carefully so as not to injure her. He replaced it securely with the gauze and tape. His hands shook. I can’t fall apart like this right now! He quickly shrugged off the threat of paralyzing fear.“Hey, Raphael, this guy says his name is Steve. Isn’t that the name of one of guys who assaulted Serena?” Gabriel asked.“Yes, yes it is,” he said through gnashed teeth. Rage filled him and he clenched his fists, trying to gain some semblance of control. “Bind him, tightly. Make sure he can see Dr. Chappo. I’d like him to see what happens to assholes like him when they choose
Leesa's Advent Chapter 719
Searing hot pain shot like lightning throughout every inch of Serena’s body. Well, every inch she could feel, which left her very disturbed indeed, because she couldn’t feel anything past her waist. She could barely breathe without severe pain ripping through her chest and back. She knew what that meant—broken ribs. But what about her legs? Where were they? And why did her wrists feel shackled? Oh, dear God! What’s become of me? Her shallow breaths quickened. Her heart raced and fought for freedom behind her aching chest. Tears burst through her closed eyes and flowed untapped down the sides of her face.A voice sliced through the whooshing sound in her ears. A voice she knew all too well, and had come to despise with every molecule in her being.“Uh, Doc, I think she’s coming ’round. What do you want me to do?” Steve asked.“Hmm? Oh, nuffin. Nuffin, Seeve. Jus’ keep watchin’,” Dr. Chappo sl
