The Fifth World 2

Bo: I am awake by noon. My body is a little sore... mainly my legs from hours of walking and a few minutes of running for my life. I wake between Adam and Nancy. Felicity is on the other side of Nancy and beside Adam is Derek. I look around for Caine and since he is no where to be seen I assume he has stayed out all night. The tent is very small and there is little space for me to sit up properly without having at least two of someone else's limbs touching me. I crawl till I am outside of the tent. It is warm outside. The sun shines down on my face and for that I am glad. I hope today will be a good day. Many people are awake and instead of going about their usual, routine daily lives, most are sitting about doing nothing. They are waiting, waiting for news of Seabrooke, waiting for news to keep moving, waiting to fight.

"Sir!" I hear a voice and instantly turn towards a male teenager, he is at least fifteen years old and a Shape Shifter, "towards the hill! Look!"

He is trying to get the attention of Wendell who is chatting amongst some Thornes. Wendell hears his name and he looks over at the boy who is pointing at one of the hills in the distance. I stare at it and wait for something, anything. All I see is a very long green colour passed the hill and then, even further are trees and mountains.

And then I see it.

A figure appears, his silhouette tall and strong looking. From the top of the hill he overlooks the white tents. My mouth drops a little. His skin is pale, very pale, too pale and his hair is the same black. I feel myself smile. His hair is a bit longer and he appears as if he has not shaved in a while. Calhoun is a mess... but it is still Calhoun.
Beside him appears another figure, his blonde hair glistens in the sunlight. My smile widens a little. I am so glad he is safe. Behind Cynric and Calhoun come more figures and I recognise them as the Seabrooke guardians. No doubt they would have seen Cynric and Calhoun coming and have escorted them to everyone. To me. They would have told Cynric and Calhoun what had happened but I am sure Cynric would have found that out when he arrived at Seabrooke sometime this morning or last night to find nobody there... no one - nothing but ash.

I start to run. I run as fast as I possibly can. My legs continue to ache but I don't care. I run across the long and green field. My hair blows in the breeze and grass brushes against my legs. My heart is pounding. I am so excited, so happy, so content. Minutes ago I awoke hoping today would be a good day... so far so good.

Cynric begins to move towards me with Calhoun not far behind him... but whilst Calhoun walks and paces himself, Cynric speed walks... and I know that he is longing to hold me as much as I am longing to hold him. My smile grows. I am almost there. He is so close. I don't care if we fought yesterday. I don't care if we argued. I don't care about anything else. It doesn't matter. He is safe. He went to get Calhoun and now he is here and I am here. The distance between us is closing and I almost feel him... because he is so close... my heart pounds. My eyes even tear because of how happy I am to see him. It is surprising - my reaction. I did not realise how much I had been missing Cynric until now. I let out a little cry... because suddenly all feeling of the present, of my surroundings disappear... and I am shot through time.

I take in a deep breath and I finally burst into tears. I am standing in the middle of my street in Manchester. My hands are at my eyes, covering the shame of my tears whilst wiping them away. Cynric's face fills my mind. He was so close... and now we are so far away from one another. Between time, space. I really don't want to be here right now. After a minute or so I begin to feel hot, I sit up and feel the sweat on my face. I am hot from crying. I look around and realise that the street is basically the same... nothing has truly changed; no new cars in the neighbours driveways, no new fences or bulldozed properties. I must not have traveled too far from the time I came from. I think I am in the future... maybe a few days, or even a few hours ahead of the present.

I try to calm myself down. I even consider talking a walk to Jonathan's house but when I lay eyes on my own home I am very tempted. I am lured in by its vision and the idea of my seeing my mother pops into my head. I only just left her but I am still missing her so much. I move off the road and walk along the footpath towards my home whilst wiping my eyes. I wonder how Mum is going and if Jonathan is doing as I asked him... if he is looking out for her and checking up on her like he promised he would.

When I come to the gate I basically throw it open and run towards the front door, knocking on it very loudly. I wait a minute or so but I do not hear movement in the house. No voices. Nothing. I look around and I assume that from the sun being high in the sky and the temperature being a little warmer than usual that it is just after noon.

I hear people behind me and I immediately turn around to look at them. It is a woman and her husband, they are probably in their thirties and are dressed warmly for today. Their faces are not familiar and I realise that I should stop acting so cautious of everything and everyone around me. This is the Average Human World... I am not a fugitive here. The couple stare at me as I stand at the front door. With odd expressions on their faces they continue on the footpath and on their way. With disappointment I turn myself back towards my old English home and I stare up at it praying that my mother will come to me. I hear nothing. I feel nothing. Where in the world is she?

"Bo?" I hear a voice, a deep and alluring voice.

I instantly smile and I turn around, head down the path and across the street where Jonathan is awaiting me, staring at me in both shock and delight. I wrap my arms around him and I hug him so amorously it hurts. Our bodies our touching, his hand is knotted into my hair whilst the other is safely at the midst of my back.

"Jonathan," I say to him, "Where is my Mum?"

"She headed out for the day. This morning she told me she was going to see some friends."

I sigh in relief, "Oh," these days I am unsure whether she even has friends, "I'm sorry. I am just being paranoid."

"Understandable. Why are you here?"

I hug him again, "I am time traveling."

"Oh. How is Derek?" he asks me.

"He is coping," I whisper, "I feel for him. It must be all so very confusing for him."

"I am sure he is understanding it all a bit more clearly than I am."

I pull myself away from him and I stare at his eyes, he is not telling me something... what is he not telling me? "I want to help you understand all of this, Jonathan, I do, but I can't."

He presses his lips together in a tight line, "Then tell me something... why is it you hold back from me? Why is it that at times I feel like I can be the centre of your universe but then at others nothing but a tiny fragment in your world?"

Oh god.

"I can take care of your mother, Bo, I can keep her safe... but I cannot go on knowing that the way I feel about you, which is so strong that it is insane... is not the way you feel about me."

I feel my voice crack, "You have no idea what it is like."

"Torn between two worlds? Two lives? Maybe I don't... but I do know what it is like to feel loss... that aching feeling you have for someone, when all you want to do is to hold them, to tell them how much you care about them, love them... and yes at times I have done that but it still does not feel like enough. I love you, Bo Abshire... with my whole heart... but I cannot go on loving you like this forever. It is clear to me there is someone else. If it is Derek then I wish you the best of luck-"

"It is not Derek!" I hiss at him almost angrily. The bitterness I spit out shocks the both of us. I compose myself and then I speak again but it is barely a whisper, "It is not Derek."

"But there is someone else?" he asks me, his voice so hurt I can hear his insides shattering.

The look on his face is like death... or even worse. It is so hurt, so tormented that it hurts my eyes to even look at him. Guilt washes through me. A guilt so severe that my fists begin to clench. I would really like to hit myself right now.

"There is."

I close my eyes and I feel a tear fall down my cheek... a strong wind blows and I feel my hair fall across my face and then in all different directions. Everything becomes very quiet... very quiet and Jonathan's presence does not feel there anymore. I open my eyes and do not see my quiet street in Manchester. I see the Fifth World.

I look out over the white tents... lately this is all I have been seeing. White tents. What came from a large sea of them is now like a pond, downsizing, draining away... this world is against these people. We are shut out, hunted and treated very, very cruelly. I have brought trouble to these people over and over. I think it is time I end this once and for all. It is the only way.

"Bo," I hear Cynric's deep and quiet voice from behind me.

I turn around and see him emerge from the darkness of the trees. I gather he has been patrolling. His white clothes are a bit dirty and there is a tear in the leg of his pants.

"You've been patrolling," I mutter, "I tried to find you earlier but nobody knew where you were."

"Yes," he says, "Caine was tired, I offered to take his place so he could rest."

We stare at one another for several long moments and nothing can even begin to describe the feelings radiating between us. The emotions. The pain. There is too much going on, too much war, too much fighting, too much loss. I don't want to have to keep going if things between Cynric and I are going to be like this. We need to make things right.

He moves towards me before I even get a chance to move towards him. He stares at me, stares at every single detail on my face and I stare back at him, gazing. I swallow as his eyes linger at my lips. He then raises his hand and wipes the single tear that has ran down my cheek since my encounter with Jonathan.

"I missed you," I whisper to him because it is true.

I notice the corner of his lip lift upwards, so slightly as his fingers caress my cheek, "I missed you too."

"I'm sorry, Cynric."

"I know."

Our lips touch. Nothing can explain this... this sensation... the electricity. The bells are ringing. The birds are singing. Everything begins to blur, everything around me, all lost in the sensation of Cynric kissing me. The kiss is very soft and very gentle and it is perfect because we are reuniting, rekindling our love. I have missed him so much. So, so much. And suddenly everything has disappeared. I am no longer sad over Cynric or worried for my mother or anyone else. He erases it all.
His hand is at my cheek, his fingers tangled into my hair and he is holding our faces together... making it completely impossible for me to pull away from him - not that I would want to. My heart is pounding, my entire body tingling. I have wanted this for so long... and finally, finally, he is here and I am too and things between us are absolutely perfect. My mouth opens as his tongue crawls inside, tangling with mine and making me want him even more. His hands around my waist now and mine around his strong shoulders keeping him to me. I am becoming so warm with him being basically all around me, everywhere.
My hands release him and they travel to his shirt where the buttons magically let go of the fabric, coming apart so easily. When I discard it I place my hands on his chest, feel the warmth of his skin, the imperfections of his many scars from the different battles we have participated in recently. But are they really imperfections? No. They represent so much; his courage, his faith, his love for me.

If I am going to turn myself in, if I am going to bring an end to this entire battle... and save everyone I care so much about, I at least deserve this one night. This one night of just Cynric and I. Reconciling. Being together.

Once all clothing is removed and thrown in various directions our bodies crash to the ground. We lie beneath the trees, with the moonlight shining onto our bodies. We are away from the rest of the world; away from war, from death, loss, supernatural beings. The second I feel the cold night air bite at my skin Cynric's lips are there warming it up for me. With his body on top of mine we are doing things that are definitely forbidden, illegal, wrong. But nothing has ever felt so right.