The Fifth World

Bo: There is panic everywhere, people run in all directions, fear across their faces. There are screams. Plenty of yelling. Children cry for their parents. Parents cry for their children. Cynric's hand still holds mine. I look around, hoping to see anybody else I know and care for. Felicity is the first to catch my eye.

"Bo!" she hisses and sprints towards us. Her hair is tied up and there is sweat on her face.

"Felicity!" I yell at her when she approaches. I almost wrap my arms around her but remember that this is an emergency and there is no time for that - as well as the fact that I am sure Felicity does not appreciate public affection... or what she would call humiliation.

"Is it the government? They have come, haven't they?!"

"No!" she yells, she is out of breath, "there are Thornes! A couple of hundred or so! They are trying to demolish the wall." I have never seen Felicity so tired or afraid - and it is ironic that what she is truly afraid of for the moment is her own kind.

I look towards Cynric, my heart is pounding, "what do we do?"

A bell tolls and many of the people around us begin to run towards Council house. It must be a warning of some kind. It is as if it is a command from a god or something because it appears as if the chaos has calmed, a little - rather than running in all directions people begin to towards Council house. Cynric pulls me with him as he follows the crowds and I just take the fabric of Felicity's shirt in my fingers in time. It is dark as we run down main street, the many stores have been abandoned, even the restaurant has been cleared out - the lights remain on as does the music. Even with the music playing, the panicked voices and sounds of different machinery left on in buildings the thudding and explosions of the wall are not drowned out.

Cynric stops, releases my hand and turns to me whilst putting his hands on my shoulders, "Bo, I want you to jump to Council house. Felicity run there as fast as you can. I am going to find Nancy and Janine."

"No," I say in a bit of a panic, "I want to go with you."

"Bo, I need you to go to Council house. Please."

I feel Felicity's fingers taking mine. She knows that all Cynric wants is to protect me... but how can he? I can move from place to place a lot faster than him. I should be the one looking for Nancy and Janine - however, Nancy is probably already at Council house.

"I want to go with you," I whisper to him, my other hand taking his shirt helplessly. He shakes his head, pries my fingers from him and sighs. I know I have lost. Cynric can't have me around, he believes he needs for me to be safe before he can even go out somewhere without me. He worries.

His eyes leave my face and he looks at Felicity, it is as if he commanding her but his voice is quiet, "go." In a blur of red, black and khaki colours Felicity is gone and probably almost at Council house. Cynric returns his eyes to me and I realise for the first time in a long time that we are alone. It feels like it did on the dance floor - this could either be seconds, minutes or hours but it seems so long and for that I am grateful. His eyes are soft, saddened yet they have the same adoration visible that I saw in my parents that time they were trying to teach me ballroom.

"You will be careful," I whisper to him.

He nods his head. I will not kiss him, I will not hold him. I will just stare at him. There is no point saying goodbye now when I will see him again. I close my eyes and then I jump. Everything around me disappears as does Cynric. Council house appears around me, dozens of people surround me, they are afraid and all talking loudly.

Felicity runs to my side, "Nancy is here, I can't see Janine."

I look around and in the corner of the room I spot Nancy. I look at Felicity and tell her to come with me. We push our way through the growing crowd and Nancy almost leaps at us when she sees us. She wraps her arms around us both.

"Goodness, I was so worried!" she says to me. "Where is Cynric? Have you seen Janine?"

Felicity shakes her head, "Cynric went to go find you and Janine."

I hear a deep yet young voice address everybody. The talking quietens to whispers. Wendell is standing in front of the Council's large stone table rather than at it. The rest of the Council members are scattered across the large room.

"I have received word from my daughter that Thornes are trying to break into our town. It is unknown why but I do plan on bringing the Seabrooke guardians along with myself to negotiate with them. I ask that nobody panics and if the worst happens, I ask you to either stay and fight or run and hide. Nothing like this has ever happened before. It has never been contemplated. I would prefer children to be escorted by several adults outside of town if needed but whilst we try and find out what is going on I would ask for all of you to remain here."

I see Isabelle appear at her fathers side. It is so strange. She looks the same age as him. She whispers something in his ear and he appears to be thinking hard. His eyes connect with her and then he finally shakes his head. I know what that means. It is the same thing that I have been refused for some time now.
Isabelle wants to go with her father but he won't let her.
I spot Calhoun towards the front of the crowd, a glass of whiskey in his hand. I jump to his side and he looks at me up and down then drinks the last of his beverage in one gulp. He doesn't even cringe from the taste. He turns to me with a sigh.

"What happens now, Calhoun? What if the Thornes reach the insides of town?"

His expression does not falter but it is strange to understand how he is feeling. He isn't like the Calhoun Hargon everyone was taught he used to be. He is what is left of him. This Calhoun has been through hell and back. I don't think I could even begin to understand his life. The long years of immortality are a curse. Sometimes I wonder if I am immortal, sometimes I hope that I am immortal... but since knowing Calhoun I'm not sure anymore. "If the Thornes break through the great wall... then the town of Seabrooke will cease to exist. Freedom will not be ours anymore. The second we leave these walls the entire population of Seabrooke will become criminals."

I feel a cold feeling come over me, "what could they possibly want, Calhoun? Why would they do this?"

I notice how many people begin to leave Council house. They follow Wendell and I guess that they are the Seabrooke guardians. Caine is one of them. I almost jump in his path before he leaves the building but I stop myself. He is a citizen of Seabrooke, he is of the Seabrooke guardians. My cares for him will not stop him from doing what he can to protect his people.

"You care for that Time Jumper," Calhoun observes. I nod my head as I watch Caine disappear amongst the crowd of guardians. I feel my face drop.

"He is my friend."

"And a good friend at that. Friendship and love is the only reason why we will all go to war," Calhoun says quietly and folds his arms.

"I don't understand," I whisper.

He looks down at me and for the first time since that first night I stayed in his home I see something human within him, a kind of warmth or something, he appears like a fatherly figure, "Even if Wendell is able to negotiate with the Thornes... it will not stop a battle. The relationship between Seabrooke and the outside world will be tarnished forever. Seabrooke will no longer be a haven. Lives will be lost tonight - whether they are Thornes or people of Seabrooke. When Wendell approaches our wall weapons will be drawn, hands raised and sooner or later someone will get hurt - it could be by accident or simply by anger. If one is injured the rest will show their love for them and fight. I suggest we all leave now."

"Leave?" I hear Felicity say loudly, she is standing behind Calhoun and I. I didn't even know she was there. "I am not leaving. For the first time since I came to this planet I feel like I belong. I will not leave here without fighting."

Calhoun turns to her and looks at her up and down, he scoffs, "typical of the young. You are naive and incapable of understanding when it is time to swallow your pride."
Nancy is standing beside Felicity and instinctively puts a hand on her shoulder as if she is trying to calm her. Felicity barely notices Nancy and I watch her face turn to nothing but disgust. "I am not the one who let themselves go! You are not who you used to be. You are nothing but the remains of a real man. A man who is dead."

My attention is diverted elsewhere. I look around for Isabelle who was standing before Council's table in front of the people of Seabrooke. She is not present. I turn around abruptly and barely hear Felicity yelling at Calhoun. I then see bright blonde hair leaving through the back door of Council house.

"Calhoun," I say quickly, "it is Isabelle!" I point towards the door which is closing behind her. She is not visible but I know that she is out there. Calhoun's gaze follows mine and he looks towards the back of the room. He groans unhappily and begins to push through the crowds until he reaches the back door.

I only hope, for the sake of Seabrooke, that Calhoun finds her. Isabelle may be apart of the Seabrooke guardians but she is also the daughter of an important member of Seabrooke Council. If anything happens to her father she will take his seat. It is her birth right. Seabrooke needs for her to be safe.