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Lightning split the sky and thunder rolled through the clouds as he came to a stop at the top of the marble staircase. His heart became a weight nearly too heavy to sit in his chest and his legs threatened to let go underneath him. For a split second, his eyes met hers and he felt her pain sear through his stomach and expand out through his being. Despite her mortal wound, she bore no signs of the pain she felt. He lost all touch with reality as her sword slipped out of her grasp and clattered to the floor.
"You're too late, Adim"
..........
I don't know what woke me up first: the sound of Indy snoring obnoxiously beside my ear or the fact that I heard a branch snap. Either way, I pried my eyes open and shielded my face from the overbearing sun. My cheeks were on fire and I was sure I had a sunburn. My eyes instantly darted over to where Tanis had fallen asleep that night...only to find that he wasn't there. I noticed he had a knack for leaving me behind and going ahead without me. Foliage moved to my right- I saw the long green leaves swaying from something that had passed by- and ever so carefully I pulled my weapon out from underneath my backpack.
"Don't move, Indy." I told him as if he could understand me. He made a barking noise at me and climbed up on my backpack and fell back asleep as I moved to my feet. I quickly tied my dark hair back, glad my head hadn't already fried like an egg from the heat, and moved to the edge of the clearing we had camped out in. A hand came out of the tall grass and grabbed my shoulder and I yelped in surprise.
"Easy soldier," the hand yanked me into a tight squeeze and I nearly cried from joy as I wrapped my arms around him. He laughed at me and squeezed me back before moving us both in the clearing. I held onto him like a child a moment more before stepping away with a smile that hurt my face.
"How did you find us?" I asked breathlessly as more figures emerged from the grass, Tanis among them. He came up by my side with a small smirk on his face. I looked back to my father noticing for the first time that he was different. My father's eyes which were normally the color of golden wheat were now tinged with white towards his irises. As more men emerged, I noticed that some of them bore the same white tinge in their eyes. As they passed us by, they each put a fist over their heart and said "Edin" and "Adim". I immediately frowned, my joy drowned down by something I had never felt towards my dad: mistrust.
"Did you know this whole time?" I asked him, crossing my arms. The Major motioned the new faces out behind us and I watched them continue their path towards the glittering temple. They were moving base camp, and with the confidence that my father was exerting about the area, I had a sinking feeling that he knew this place was here the whole time. Helicopters flew low over our heads on the same path as the soldiers, I counted at least three of them.
Finally he focused his attention on me and I saw a look I had never seen on him before cross his face. He opened and closed his mouth before coming up to scratch his beard-something he only did when he didn't have the answers. My frown deepened. "Yes," he said finally with a sigh. "I did. You have to understand though Molly, I kept it from you because it wasn't time for you to know. This was something you had to find on your own." He motioned around us before letting his hands drop to his sides.
The Major was a man of very little emotion through the years, but now I saw all these new ones flitter across his face and I couldn't stay mad at him...not really. My father always had my best interest at heart, and I knew that. I also knew that this was a part of his life too, and keeping it a secret hurt him as well as me. Now that I was able to learn all these things, it was like seeing my dad as a completely new person. He looked at me with a look in his eyes that confirmed my thoughts and I smiled at him.
Indy had situated himself at my boots and was now kneading at my leg. The Major watched with an amused look as I picked him up from the dirt and situated him on my shoulder. Indy made himself comfortable, wrapping his tail loosely around my neck and leaned against the nape of my neck.
The grass behind him moved again and we watched as a new group of men emerged, all of them wearing the same uniform as Tanis.
"Brought a straggler, Father Time." The men parted and out came a sight for sore eyes.
I lunged forward and Indy tightened his tail around my neck to keep from falling. "Max!" I plowed into him with a force that nearly knocked him back. Max said nothing but wrapped his arms around my torso and buried his face into my shoulder. I could feel the relief radiate off him too and he sighed.
"I never thought I'd see you again" he murmured into my shoulder and I squeezed him tight before pulling away to get a good look at him. It had been almost two days since I had seen him but Max had looked like he had aged thirty years. Stubble was forming a nice shadow on his angular face and his hair was disheveled as if he had ran his hands through it multiple times. His eyes were sunken- a sign that he hadn't slept and I cupped his face, running my thumbs across his cheekbones as he closed his eyes. "Don't scare me like that again, Molls" His hands came around mine and he kissed them both before I moved his hands and stepped back. Tanis's hand brushed the small of my back almost territoriality before he moved past Max towards the other guys that stood idly by.
"My my, Tanny, don't you look different!" He had hair the color of rust and his eyes were greener than the healthiest field with the same white as the others towards his irises. He carried himself in such a way that led me to believe he was far older than he looked, despite looking no younger than Tanis. "I am Alaisdair," he gave a mock bow, smiling a toothy grin and Tanis shoved him sideways. Laughter erupted from behind him as he stumbled to the ground.
"More like Alais-durr" joked the other guy, stepping over his fallen friend. His black hair was nearly as dark as mine and little pieces fell in ringlets around his face. Paired with his olive skin tone, he was quite the specimen. "Edin, I am Yusuf." His eyes were brown but combined with the white, the effect was striking! Alaisdair made a face at him as he brought himself up, brushing of the dirt.
"By the look on yer face, I'm guessin' Robin Hood here never talked about his band of merry men eh? Figures." Alaisdair spoke, coming up next to Yusef. "He likes to keep all the beautiful women for himself." I snorted and Tanis made a noise.
"Does he?" I retorted fixing my eyes on Tanis. He looked at me pleadingly which got a rise both out of Yusuf and Alaisdair. Tanis opened his mouth to reply but my dad held up a hand.
"Save it. We have better things to discuss at the moment than women." He grumbled rounding all of us up and pushing us towards the temple. Dad started forward and the two men that had hung back with him followed close behind. Yusuf and Alaisdair shuffled on ahead of us, with Tanis hanging back a moment before coming over to me.
"For the record," he told me "There are no other women." His eyes met mine before moving over to Max, who had stayed pretty close by my side during the introductions. Despite the fact that we both grew up surrounded by large military men, he looked so out of place and so very confused. I pitied him and I watched as the two sized each other up. I was starting to feel uncomfortable here...
For the first time, I realized Tanis was a very intimidating guy to be around. He wasn't ridiculously beefed up, but the guy had a physique that could strike fear into the hearts of men if he wanted. Compared next to Max's smaller athletic frame, he was huge. The two were playing a silent game of words and I was missing the context, so I cleared my throat.
"I would like to catch up with Max, if you don't mind." The tension was so tight I could cut through it with a butter knife. When Tanis made no intention of moving, I reiterated. "I would like to catch up with him alone, Tanis. I'll find you later." His face remained unreadable and after a moment he turned around to catch up with Yusuf and Alaisdair who had both hung back to watch.
"Do I sense jealousy?" I heard Alaisdair remark sarcastically and Tanis scoffed his reply.
"Hardly, "His jovial attitude, the one I had grown familiar with, had returned and the three of them bantered about each other until their voices faded away. I sighed and turned to Max. He stared off at the trio with an odd expression that I had never seen on him before turning to me.
"Please tell me what's going on, because I feel out of the loop here." He breathed. Indy chittered in my ear, reminding me he had been on my shoulder for a while now and Max's eyes darted to him. "Starting with that thing." He pointed and Indy barked. I began to fill him in on the long and confusing story as I knew it, stopping to grab my backpack before we continued towards the temple. I didn't know why, but I left out the part where Tanis had kissed me. In fact, I barely gave him any information at all on the whole Adim and Edin situation because I hardly knew much about it myself.
As we made our way towards the temple, I saw miscellaneous groups of people moving about the ruins of our new discovery. They all had variously colored eyes with differently tinged irises-some were white as I had seen before and some were darker almost purple. They were spread out along the path all doing different things-getting rid of the overgrown, green brush that obscured paths, removing debris. They were repairing the city and each one I passed gave the same fist over heart nod at me. It was surreal.
...
I learned from The Major that the temple was called "The Garden" or "The Garden of Edin" and I couldn't help but laugh. Of course it was. Max had left me at the doorway where my dad had stood waiting, promising that he would meet me here later on the account of wanting to talk to me about something important. Tanis was nowhere in sight but somehow I could feel him watching me as The Major showed me about.
This place wasn't called The Garden for no reason. Besides the fact that it was the pinnacle of interest here in these ruins, it was covered and brimming with life. As one entered through its massive doors-ones that were oddly reminiscent of modern architecture- they were brought into a large and massive opening with a split staircase that led up to it's floors. The ceiling arched up like a cathedral's would, leaving the beauty of it's painted ceilings to those who entered. It reminded me a lot of the Sistine Chapel and once again I was left wondering I this place is where the inspiration for such a beautiful piece of history had spawned it's beginnings.
Instead of going up the stairs, which dad told me I could search on my own, we went under the split stairs and balcony and followed the wide halls until we came to another set of doors. He told me to open them and I had wasted no time in doing so. The whole entire time I was overcome with a mixture between curiosity and dejavu, but as I opened those two doors I was overcome with awe. Unlike the rest of the ruins, this place was immaculately kept-like time had never even touched it. Tall green trees grew tall towards the sky, providing a nice expanse of shade throughout the area. Plants that I had never seen in my life were blooming, mixed with various fruit trees. A marble path led from the doors and spiraled about, disappearing off into the distance. It was absolutely breath taking.
We had moved about the temple and it was really then that I noticed people moving about different objects. "Dad, what's going on here?" I asked finally, watching as a group of men rolled out some wire and then climbed up ladders to reach the corners of the ceiling. We both watched them string along lights before dad answered.
"Do you like this place, Molly?" he looked at me, studied my face. I mulled the question over. I hadn't been here long but this place felt more like home than our place back in the U.S. did. I loved this place and my father saw that on my face and smiled a smile that reached his eyes. "This is our home now, Molly. This is where we're staying." More men moved past us, carrying different objects. Women bustled about like it was a mansion carrying linens. I felt like Annie did her first time in Daddy Warbucks's mansion. "More people are coming. We're only providing them with accommodations." His voice took on a new level, I could tell he was excited but I was confused now.
"More people? We've only just begun to figure this place out dad!" I argued "Besides, how would people even know this place exists? We didn't even know up until a day and a half ago!"
"We knew this place was here. We all knew." The Major's voice took a different tone now, a more serious one. We moved back to the foyer and towards the stair case on the left. "You have to understand something here," he told me as I leaned back against the wall. "There are people-people just like me who have waited for over hundreds of years to be able to return here. This is where we began and now that you and Tanis are here, we can have our lives back. We can help the people in this world like we intended!"565Please respect copyright.PENANAMO0JFsuPik
Dad was overzealous and excited and it was throwing me off way too much. He tilted his head at me and gave me a sorry face. "Molly, I know this is a lot, kitten." It was a name he hadn't called me since I was a child. "But this is your life now. It's not meant to be taken in all at once. You'll learn, love. I promise. You have so many people here for you this time, too." This time? My head was whirling and I felt on the verge of getting sick coupled with a headache that took pain to a new height.
"I think I'm going to go upstairs and check that out, dad." I murmured, moving up the steps. Dad glanced down at his watch as I started to climb.
"Probably for the best. I need to brief everyone anyways." Just like that it was back to business with him. It was as if this was just another day, with the only difference being that he had more energy about him. He climbed the steps and planted a kiss on my head before dashing away. I sighed and hiked the rest of the stairs up. Both to my left and to my right were long hallways full of rooms. There were a set of double doors directly in front of me, still closed. I moved past the balcony and opened them up.
Saying the room was huge was an understatement. It was massive and as I came through the threshold, I saw that someone had taken the liberty of moving my belongings into it. Set to one side of the room, facing a door that lead to a balcony that overlooked The Garden, were a bunch of suit cases. I was willing to bet they were filled with all the stuff we had left at the home in the states. I walked over to them and began to go through them, searching for the ones that held my clothes. There was a huge bed placed against the wall and combined with dressers and the different armoires, it looked severely out of place. The comforter was pulled folded down revealing a set of crisp white sheets underneath. Plush pillows sat on top and they looked ever so inviting. But sleep wasn't what I was after, despite the fact that I felt fatigue set in my body.
Indy skittered into the room, tongue lolling about him like an excited dog's would and I smiled at him. He clattered across the marble floors and I sunk to the ground and swept him into my lap as Max trailed in behind him.
"I'm having a hard time grasping he's a chimera," he muttered, coming to sit down beside me. We leaned our heads back on the bed and sat in companionable silence for a moment before Max spoke. "I thought I had lost you." His words were quiet, the hurt was evident. I kept staring up towards the sky through the open balcony. The tops of the smaller trees were visible from my angle, and the sky was starting to tinge pink-a sign that the day was coming to a close. How had I wasted away my day already?
"Molly? Are you listening?" I snapped out of my own thoughts.
"Yeah, I just don't know what to say." I answered honestly because I really didn't. I recalled the fall, and that sinking feeling in my stomach. I rubbed the spot on my arm where my bone had broken through. It was still hard to believe it all happened, it all felt so long ago despite only having a day or so past. "I was positive that that was the end." I gave a small laugh as that stupid hook broke in my mind's eye. I could still hear that metal snapping clear as day. "All I could think about was how it was such a lame way to die." We both laughed a moment before silence returned. I could feel the tension rolling off of him beside me and I looked over, while Indy restlessly played with my fingers like a small kitten would. I winced when he bit me. Unspoken words hung in the air, and I watched Max struggle to say something.
He huffed and got up. "Forget it, I guess." He didn't leave me with a chance to say anything, just walked out the door leaving me staring after him.
...
The warm air here had turned hot and humid and my clothes clung to my body. I had unlaced my boots and set them on the balcony to air out along with my socks. I shucked off my disgusting, dirty sweaty clothes and put on a new pair. I had exchanged my heavy cargo pants for a pair of dark green shorts and a white tanktop. Clean clothes had never been so welcome in my life. I left Indy in the expansive room, sleeping on the pillows as I descended down the stairs. My intention was to explore more of the temple but somehow I had found myself back at the garden. The sun dipped behind the mountain tops and I marveled at the lightning bug clusters that appeared, hovering around the light torches scattered along the path. Someone had been kind enough to come out here and light them, providing me with enough light to follow the trail from the Temple, through the garden until I heard the sound of rushing water.
Curious I left the trail and followed the sound through the trees until I found the source. "Holy Moses," I breathed taking it in. I descent sized waterfall rushed into a deep pool of water, and I watched the ripples across the surface fan out. It was a natural grotto as far as I could tell, and there was enough light from the small torches that I could make out the natural beauty of it. It was completely hidden from sight, and I realized that it was quite far from the temple. I stepped down the hill that led towards it and stuck my bare feet just on the edge. Water reached up to touch my skin-it was luke warm and comfortable compared to the muggy heat. Hmm.
I was down hill and far enough from plain view that no one could see me nor know I was down here if I was quiet enough and yet I knew somehow it wouldn't matter. No one would come out here. Giving into temptation, I removed my fresh shorts and tank top leaving me in my sports bra and underwear. I unfurled my hair from it's confine and closed my eyes as it cascaded down my back...and then I dived in! The water felt great and wasn't actually cold at all. I swam towards the waterfall and closed my eyes as I stood underneath it, relishing the feeling of the running water. The area beneath the fall was raised enough to where I could just barely stand. I tilted my head back and forced my overactive not to think about anything and for a long while it was nice.
"I knew I'd find you out here." My eyes snapped open and I sunk down in the water, looking around for the source of that sarcastic remark. I heard him laugh and my heart fluttered as I moved out of the way of the waterfall, crossing my arms protectively over my chest. Never a moment's peace, I guess.
"Or did you follow me out here, Tanis?" I called, still searching. I spun around in a circle and found him sitting on the edge of the grotto above me where the waterfall was coming down. He beamed a white smile at me and tilted his head to the side. He had changed out of his all black attire and was now clad in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that sat a little more loosely on his form than his previous one. It didn't matter though, I realized, he could be wearing a smock and I would still get butterflies. I couldn't help but smile up at him as I rubbed the water out of my eyes.
"How long have you been here?" I asked him, still staying neck above the water as I watched him get up and climb down the side. He came to a stop where I had dropped my clothes. He was barefoot just like me and somehow I found that hilarious.
"Long enough to see you strip down to your skivvies." He replied with a devious smile. I flushed despite the heat and groaned before turning my back on him and moving back towards the waterfall. This time around I noticed that just behind it, there was a small alcove. Images danced across my mind and I was thrown into a bout of familiarity before I heard the long sound of a zipper. I spun around in time to see Tanis kick off his shorts, abandon his shirt and jump in. I waited for him to come back up and when he didn't, I had wondered if he had somehow hit his head. He popped up inches in front of me and I jumped back, my feet teetering on the edge of the rocks under my feet. He grabbed my arm as it came up and yanked me to him. It would be wishful thinking if he drowned under that water instead of coming back up.
"This used to be your favorite place," he commented letting go of my hands. I felt a small tinge of disappointment that he didn't pull me closer but I ignored it and instead watched him drift backwards in the water. His hair was matted back out, showing off his handsome chiseled facial features. He caught me staring and flashed me a grin before floating back against the water, staring up at the sky. "I even remember having this place created just for you." His voice led me to believe it was a fond memory of his and I drifted beside him.
"How do you remember all these things?" I asked, truly upset. How come he got to remember every part of his past lives but I couldn't remember jack shit, or if I did it was triggered by smell or certain images. Tanis brought himself upright to look at me, standing on the flat surface under the fall. He was so much taller than me, and I felt those stupid warm fuzzies crawl into the pit of my stomach.
"I've been alive a very long time," he commented as he brushed a wet piece of hair off the side of my face. "I remember my rebirth-we were supposed to be reborn together...but things didn't go as planned." I saw his eyes zone out as he remembered some memory that I couldn't, and I brought my hand up to cup the one that he had lingering by my face. I don't know why, but I leaned into it and stared up at him. My heart yearned to make him happy, I realized. I didn't like the looks of pain that crossed his face. I just wanted to see that dazzling smile again. "Do you remember what I told you in that pyramid, Molly?" he asked quietly bringing his hand up under my chin.
"Well you said a lot of things, "I retorted and he chuckled.
"In that tomb, after the reincarnation-smartass." When I said nothing he continued. "You're mine. You always will be mine. In this life and the next one and the one after that-even if I have to force you to remember that you love me." His thumb brushed my lips and he tilted my face toward his. Goosebumps broke out across my skin as his other hand came around my waist and closed the small gap between us until I felt the skin of my stomach pressing against the hard outline of his stomach. I was suddenly boiling hot.
Slowly and carefully this time, he brought himself down to my level-until his face was right next to mine. This time, I was the one who crushed my lips to his and he responded immediately by picking me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist as his hands climbed up my back, pushing themselves under the rim of my sportsbra as my arms went across his shoulders. Somehow, we ended up at the alcove behind the waterfall, and he picked me up and set me on the edge of it. My body was acting on its own, my hands were working in frenzy of pulling him up from the water and right back to me. It was almost as if it hurt to have his skin away from mine- I craved him and it was a terrifying feeling. He laid me back against the smooth, cold, hard floor and his hand traced down my side until it gripped my thigh. He brought my leg back around him as he kissed me again-this time with a new added force that nearly drove me mad. I tugged him close, so there was no space between us and bit his lower lip as I shifted underneath him. He inhaled sharply and suddenly I was all too aware of the hardness pressed between my legs. I was on fire.
"Don't tease me," he said huskily "Or I'll take you right here." His beautiful green eyes bored into mine with a whole new level of seriousness and I debated that thought in my head. This vision seeped into my brain-one of the both of us on that giant bed, mixed up in those soft white sheets. In my mind, he was attacking me with his hands and-
"Molly?"My thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice calling my name. I was too addled to recognize it at first. "Molly, are you there?" It was Max. 565Please respect copyright.PENANA9gPx143hiY
Tanis gave a short, mocking laugh before kissing me one last time. Just like that, our moment was over and I groaned as Tanis rolled off of me. I debated on answering.
"Let's go before he finds our spot." We both looked over at each other, and a small grin crept on his face. I sighed as we both silently slipped through the water. I tugged on my shorts and pulled my tanktop over my wet torso. Tanis had slipped back into his jeans, but left his shirt off. I didn't mind the view, and wish sorely that we hadn't been interrupted. "You'll want this," he handed me his black t-shirt and I took it confused. Tanis nodded down to my breasts and I realized that my tanktop was completely soaked and seethrough. Embarrassed I pulled his shirt on over it, the edge of my shorts were just barely visible.
We found the path, and nearly ran into Max. He saw me first and his face lit up-and then he registered that Tanis was with me. He eyed Tanis's naked torso and the giant black shirt I was wearing and I blushed. This looked horrible. "Ah, well..." he scratched his head and started back as Tanis came up behind me, his hand falling on the small of my back. "I just wanted to talk to you about earlier but-I'll catch up with you later." He pressed his lips into a tight line and then quick as a shot, marched back towards the temple.
Just great.
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