The Fifth World 2

Bo: Within the walls we begin to hear the beginning of the attack. A brilliant, bright light shines in the distance, it glows an orange and yellow colour. Smoke reaches up into the night sky. Fire. My mouth falls. They're burning what is left of the town. Again.

"I killed him," Adam says to me, he is hysterical. "I killed him, Bo. I killed him."

He is panicking. Even with my arms around him and the fact that we should be running for our lives he is too distracted with what he has just done. He took Walter's life. His hands shake and I try to calm him but I myself am too distracted with what is going on around us. I know what it is like to take a life for the first time and I know how stressed you become over it. You obsess over it and it can haunt you for a very long time... but you mustn't let it or else everything around you can blur. You will lose yourself in the obsession and it can kill you.

"Adam," I say, "hush, please. We have to find everyone!"

I begin to run and I drag Adam along with me. He still mutters sentences to himself and I notice that he is beginning to tear up... and it pains me to do it but I ignore him. I push him to the back of my mind because right now him being miserable has the potential to slow us down.
After running for what seems like forever I find a familiar clearing and we run to the top of the hill. It is where I stood earlier today, when I arrived with Derek and Johnson... when I saw Adam and Cynric for the first time since...

"Oh my god," I whisper when I see what lies ahead, "no."

I stare at the scene before me. My mouth falls and I begin to tear up too. It is a terrible but vibrant sight. White tents are up in flames, their good, light and neutral colour turning to a black before breaking down to ash. Tears begin to stream down my cheeks and I notice how Adam has become quiet too. Smoke fills the air and the evil armies of Hargon fill the burning town of Seabrooke. Where are all the people?

"Bo," Adam says and he points out over the burning of white tents, "look, they made it."

Through the thick, almost black smoke I see crowds of people staring at the sea of tents. I know that I can barely make out any of their faces but I can imagine their pain, the heartbreak... their home is being destroyed again. A loud horn sounds.

"The horn of Seabrooke," Adam whispers.

"It is Caine," I say.

There are sounds behind us... sounds that do not belong. Adam and I whip ourselves around almost immediately. Three men stand no more than fifteen metres from us. One is a Time Jumper, another a Shape Shifter and the third is a Thorne. Each are armed. Perfect. There may be two of us but I am unarmed.

"Time to go," I say to Adam and we turn to run as fast as we can back into the trees but a poofing sound stops us.

"Where are you two off to? You know I really hate to back down from a fight," I hear a familiar voice.

I feel myself smile and I silently thank whoever it is that is watching over us. Nancy has just appeared in the centre of the distance that stands between the three men and Adam and I. She holds her sword, prepares herself and the three men close in on her. Adam is tempted to join her but I put my hand on his wrist and stop him. Nancy is one of the greatest sword fighters I know, she doesn't need our help, not unless she asks.

Cynric: It is cold in the mountains. The night sky is very dark and few stars light it up. I have been walking for much of the day now but I am glad to know that I have almost reached my destination. It has been a very quiet journey. I have not seen any sign of human life since leaving Seabrooke and I am not certain on whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. I have packed food, water and weapons for my journey but since I have almost arrived I do not think I will need weapons of any sort.

The person I am going to see I believe can help us, can help Bo... but it will be hard to get him on board... after all, he was banished from ever leaving his home... he has been cut from this world almost altogether. I can only imagine how long it has been since he has had human contact.

Bo: "Hurry!" Nancy hisses as we run through the trees that stand directly inside the walls.

If I look to my right I can still see what is left of them, see the stone that lies here and there, that is either broken or dust. I look down at Nancy's sword and see the blood dripping from it. She was quick and precise in killing the three men... now we must catch up to the people of Seabrooke before it is too late. Not only do they need us, because many of them cannot fight without our help, but we need them.

I look back at Adam and see the fear in his eyes. I am unsure on whether he is afraid of who is coming after us, the fact that the home he has known ever since his transformation is on fire or that he just killed Walter... or watched Nancy kill three strangers. I take his hand and he finally looks at me with eyes so scared... he looks so innocent, like my Adam, the child Adam.

"Stop!" Nancy says to us, her arm flies out in front of us and we do as we are told before making sure our bodies are hidden amongst the trees. "They are searching for us. Someone has found the bodies."

"A Time Jumper, no doubt," I say to her as we all peer from the darkness towards the burning village of tents, "word could not spread so quickly."

"What is it they want?" Adam asks, his voice deep and steady.

Nancy looks at me with eyes that are of warning... should we tell him the truth? Why not? Lying to him would only make him angry when he finds out, which he will anyway.

"They want me. An Angelican named Alistair told them of my return," I say with a deep sigh.

"Alistair?" Adam asks, "I have seen him around. Cynric never seemed to like him. I always knew he was dodgy."

"Alistair could tell people their future... he could see it with just a touch of their flesh. I know he can sense things too. He would not have had enough time to see you arrive here today, Bo, and to make it to Hargon. He must have felt you coming and left yesterday." Nancy says.

Nancy stops talking and she puts her pointer finger in front of her lips to warn us to be quiet. None of us move. We do not make a single sound. Outside of the trees a single shadow passes us. The figure disappears quickly. We start running again. It is a heart pounding experience. My breath rushes quickly through my body. The cold air of the night brushes passed my face blowing my hair over my shoulders. My hand still holds Adams. We stay within the trees and are able to hear the roar of fire burning its way through the make shift homes of Seabrooke. When we are finally sure that we are furthest away from any enemy we begin to hear the chatter of people up ahead. They are just departing from Seabrooke now. Little crowds are left within the walls. The first person I recognise is Felicity. I dare not speak to her. I am afraid to. Nancy approaches her first and she is so relieved to see us.

"This is everyone, I have counted a dozen times... everyone except Cynric." Felicity says.

"What?" I ask, my voice higher than usual.

Now I am very concerned. Even if Cynric and I argued, even if he abandons me, disowns me... I will always care about him and worry for him. What we have will never be over.

"He is safe," Adam breathes, he is tired from running, "He left hours ago. He is going to find someone. Someone who could help us."

"Help us do what?" Felicity asks.

"And who exactly is he planning on finding?" Nancy asks, a little annoyed with this revelation.

I am glad that I am not the only person that has been left out of the loop. It would be a bit insulting but not surprising if Cynric told everyone where he was going but me. Also, I am comforted to know that he is not in town somewhere.

"There is only one person Cynric knows that does not live in the city of Hargon," I say, "and only one person who I believe would ever help us..."

"Who?" Adam asks at the same time as Felicity.

"Calhoun Hargon."