The Calling of Time

City of Chaos

That night we slept in the jeep, parked in the lot of a run down, abandoned Walmart. Manda situated us beside a couple of abandoned cars and trucks and we bunkered down and tried to catch a few hours of sleep.

 I curled up and slept as best I could on the back seat, and Jai and Manda tilted their seats back. Neither of them seemed to have trouble with it, and Manda was out nearly instantly, her mouth wide open, snoring.

I stared at her in dismay for a few seconds before turning away to face the seat, curling my knees up to my chest with a sigh. It was going to be a long night. I was already stiff and sore from hours of driving, and Manda seemed determined to drive non-stop the rest of the way. She drove like a crazy person, and we’d only stopped twice in the last six hours. I was pretty sure the only reason we were stopped now is because she was too tired to drive through the night and didn’t want Jai to take the wheel.

Manda clearly had control issues.

I stared at the leather seat for awhile, listening to the duet going on in the front. Manda’s chain-sawing was accompanied by Jai’s deep, even breathing. Occasionally he mumbled something I couldn’t catch. I turned to look at him, careful not to make any noise. His seat was tilted back far enough for me to be able to see his face clearly, illuminated by the light of the moon that was beaming through the skylight above us. Manda had decked the skylight out with mesh as well, and the wire created a criss cross pattern over Jai’s cheeks and throat. He looked peaceful now, and I felt another stab of guilt at what I’d said earlier, about not remembering. It obviously bothered him. I resolved not to mention it again. I couldn't stand the look of guilt and sadness that crossed his face when I’d said that. I didn’t want to be the cause of it.

Questions were still crowding my thoughts though. Earlier, when we’d first met he’d mentioned something about being there when Thanatos took me, but in another form. What the heck did that mean? Did we look different in the Realm of Time? Did the rules of gravity apply there? Where did we live? If I was reborn every three hundred and sixty five years, did that mean they were immortal, or were they reborn too?

I sighed again, rolling over and squeezing my eyes shut. My brain was too full to go to sleep, but my body felt exhausted. But I would never get to sleep with Manda snoring like that. It was like an animal growling, like a dragon. I decided dragon suited her. If she was an animal, that’s what she’d be…

Yeah...a fire-breathing dragon... 

Light was glaring through my eyelids, and I shifted with an annoyed groan. I didn’t even remember falling asleep last night. Mom must have forgotten to close the curtains again…

No. I sat bolt upright, nearly smacking the side of my face on the window. In the front seat Manda started awake with a gasp. Jai groaned and swatted at her. “Calm down. It’s fine.”

I blinked furiously until the blur of sleep left my eyes and found Manda staring at me, a long, wicked looking knife in one hand.

“What’s that for?” I stammered.

“You scared the crap out of me, bursting up like that.” Manda rubbed one hand over her eyes and crouched forward to put the knife back in her boot. “I thought we were being attacked.”

“Really?” I stared at the back of her head in astonishment. “Do you seriously sleep with a hunting knife in one hand?”

“Nope, I’m just a fast draw.” Manda stuck the key in the ignition and turned to Jai. “Ready? Want anything from Walmart? Rubber hose? Kiddie pool? I hear they have just about everything.”