𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐄 - 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐳¹ ✔

ten | incursion

-TEN-

Adelaide hit solid ground after around thirty seconds of falling. She'd lost track of America a few moments ago, when the Hispanic's hand had slipped away from her own. She swore when her back hit a crumbly, yet painfully solid ground, knocking the wind out of her. She saw her father and Christine, walking away.

"Come on. America and Addy don't have long." She heard her father say.

"Um, Addy has plenty of time." She called out, making both adults freeze and turn around slowly. The girl's hair was messy and knotted in places, and her leather jacket had spots of grey where the ashen ground had hit her.

"How do I know you're not a variant from this universe?" Stephen asked. "Tell me something only my Addy would know."

"Okay, first of all, weird." She frowned slightly, confused, "And second, one thing which only I would know, is that when I was little, I had a habit of sneaking into your room and waking you up by jumping on your stomach." She flicked a strand of hair back and asked, "Is that enough proof?"

"What is something Addy does all the time when she wants to establish a point in conversation?" Christine asked, having observed the girl enough.

Adelaide rolled her eyes and raised her hand, her palm up as if to say 'Hello', but she left her wrist loose, allowing her hand to drop down in an 'I'm gay' gesture. "There. I did it." She scowled. "Now if we're going to keep standing here, I can regain my strength and go save America by myself."

"Okay that is a 100% my Addy." Stephen chuckled. He extended his arm and placed it around her shoulders as she walked next to him.

"So where are we going?" She asked.

"Well, if there's still a Sanctum in this universe, then there might be another, other, "other me", and that's our best shot at getting back to her." He explained.

"Well, I can see why you guys were so worried about incursions." She admitted, looking around at the ashen gray lands which had black, leafless trees scattered around like deathly hands sprouting from the ground. The air hung heavy and cold, as they reached the steps of a haunted-looking Sanctum. The staircase disappeared into a fog, giving it a more foreboding look than anything else.

"Whatever happened... this universe's you didn't do a very good job of stopping it." Christine admitted.

"I'll tell him you said that." Stephen said. "Come on, Addy." He took her hand gently, and the two of them walked up the stairs, with Christine keeping guard below.

The inside of the destroyed Sanctum was scarier than the outside, definitely. Cobwebs hung from the antique furniture like veils of pale silver, and the clutter around invited dust to settle in varying coats on everything, particularly the old children's toys which were scattered around. The musty smell of age, decay and rotting wood hung thick in the air, making each breath more uncomfortable than the last. There was no light in the room, only the pale glow from the spiral of debris from the side of the Sanctum which had been completely ripped away.

"Hello?" Adelaide's voice was soft, but the vastness of the Sanctum made it echo slightly. A voice which she found familiar spoke, "Stop where you are. How did you get here?"

"By accident." Stephen replied, calmly.

"Who are you... what are you?" A figure descended from the rickety stairs. Going on high alert, Adelaide slipped her hand out of her fathers and merged into the shadows right behind the man, who remained unsuspecting.