The bell rung three times in the distance, announcing the end of the war. Panic rose from my stomach to my throat as I looked over the ground. Bodies- the dead bodies of those I was sworn to protect- lay strewed at my feet. Their leathery black skin paled to a sick shade of grey, their green, catlike eyes dimmed and clouded. My eyes flicked anxiously from body to body, looking for a specific one.
Clouds covered both of our suns, the cerulean sky covered by a thick blanket of grey. I could barely breathe, the acidic smell of my people’s blood smeared over my body and face. Tears swam in my eyes, blinding me as I stomped over the matted grass. I swiped away the dirt and sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. Where was he?
“Maximus!” My feet tripped over the arm of one of my fallen warriors, and I collapsed to my knees. “Maximus!” I screamed again and again, my voice ringing out around me. My hand reached for the necklace around my throat. The molded metal glowed as I ran my fingers over the ridges and holes, over its unique shape.
“Reg-Regina…”
That voice had me back on my feet again, eyes searching. I ran blindly towards the voice, my arms pumping hard. I finally reached him, his body coated with blood. My body slumped down next to his as I suppressed back sobs. I didn’t allow myself to think, I couldn’t. Maximus was in front of me, his body whole. It eased some of the tension.
But his heartbeat slowed, his eyelids flickered. His lips twitched as if trying to smile.
“Use… it,” he whispered, his voice faint and rasped. Weakly, his hands reached for mine, guiding them to his face. My eyes searched his, bewildered.
“I- I can’t, it’s too dangerous.” I didn’t move my hands though, just kept them hovering over his sickly pale skin. Maximus was in his true form, and what would be black was now a lighter grey.
He just sighed, and let his arms drop to his side. His breaths grew shallow. He paused, his eyes still.
“No!” Suddenly, my hands were tight against his cheeks. I focused on a little blue dot that hid in the back of my thoughts, pulled at its sides. The little dot grew, and suddenly, it exploded. It ran through my veins, my hair, my fingers.
I sat up straight on the bed, shaking. I could still feel the warmth of the energy as I pressed my hands to both of his cheeks. I could still feel the dirt caked into my nails, the sweat and blood dripping down my forehead.
Not my blood, their blood. Why did I feel so strongly about the loss of the people that didn’t exist? How could this connection to that man be so thick, as if we bore the same blood? Was I going crazy?
As my heartbeat calmed and my back pressed into the bed once again, I closed my eyes. I could almost see my heartbeat, low and sure, somewhere in the distance. Waiting, expecting. I even allowed myself to be swallowed up in that world again, and thought with the mind of no other that it was awaiting my arrival.
I peeked down at my fingertips, and smiled.
