Portals & Realms

Chapter 13 - It's Raining Somewhere Else

-
-
     Perri and Sif woke up with such urgency no one else could comprehend it. Sif had been in the guest room and nearly tripped down ALL the stairs as he ran down to the reading room, and Perri was leaning over the table, her hand checking Mae's heartbeat, then her temperature, then checking her heartbeat again because oh god what if she's dead.
     "Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up," Perri repeated over and over again as Elvadoer, Ramille and Julian urgently entered the room near them.
    "What's wrong? Is she ok? Is she gonna wake up??" Julian asked urgently and fidgeted with his hands, swaying in place, Elvadoer was pacing back and forth with nervousness written all over her face, and Ramille proceeded to break apart a clay thing she had made during the five hours their experience had taken.
     "I don't know I'm not a professional in demon hijinks!?" Sif exclaimed nervously, "Vetomo couldn't run anymore and Perri had to bring me back, so she got off of Vet's back and then we disappeared and-"
     "In conclusion, we have absolutely, positively no fucking clue!"
    "Oh no, oh no no no no no.. Ghost can't get a hold of another ladybug. He can't," Elvadoer put her hands on her head, leaning on the wall.
     "No, he won't. I believe in her. She can fight him off."
     "Do you remember what abomination he can turn into Perri," Elvadoer snapped and Perri paused her frantic movements and breathing to simply make eye contact with the enraged redhead. "If you had just had a hold of your head you could've brought her out with you! This is your fault!"
     Julian began silently hyperventilating in the corner as Sif was shaking in place. Elvadoer was humming to herself a very angry tune and Perri kept on checking her head and heartbeat."
     "I should've kept on running."
     "Ok Vet I would give you pity and forgiveness right now, but maybe you should've saved that comment till later?" Perri exclaimed, putting her hand on Mae's heart again. She glanced at the other portal hoppers hand and still saw the ladybug. "She still has the bug. It hasn't disappeared yet."
     "I pray to Olympus that it doesn't," Sif chimed in.
     "I pray to... um... The Hanged Man?"
     "You know what I'm going to pray to Death because that's who came to me to try and warn me about WHATEVER THE FRICK GHOST IS," Elvadoer yelled at everyone as Asra and Ramille came into the room, alarmed by the noise.
     Asra muttered something to himself as something was whisked across the room and thrown onto the wall, breaking into two. It was one of the small vases he had on his desk before. "Guys. Calm down. Please. If we continue to be this enraged and blame others for things that aren't their fault, something bad can happen. I don't want to see someone be tainted by their feelings into delving into the same darkness that demon lives in."
     Ramille sighed, looking at the emotionally troubled individuals. "She's going to be ok. Ghost won't get ahold of her or the bug or anything for that matter. She'll get out of there. Now if you would all stop screaming like a bunch of concerned baboons, maybe she'll wake up peacefully."
     Perri, while checking her pulse on her wrist, sighed. "Maybe.. but he was right near her when we got back.."
     "Which means she should be right behind us. Besides, maybe we were in like, a fifteen minute transition period or something! She should come out of whatever state she is in any second now," Sif tried to say enthusiastically, but it just came out as worried. And rightfully so.
     In Perri's hand, and in front of everyone's faces, Mae exploded into a storm of purple and blue petals. And everyone screamed.
     "マングースの聖なる母が消えた!OH いいえ OH いいえ!" Sif screamed and tripped over Elvadoer, who had been right behind him. No one cared to ask what he had said, for he probably didn't even know as Vetomo's voice and Sif's had been mixed together.
     Perri, Ramille, and Elvadoer all shrieked like startled birds and rushed to get away from the pool of flowers that had just been created. Perri climbed over the table and crawled into a small ball on the other side, Ramille ran partway up the stairs and looked in horror, and Elvadoer was stuck beneath Sif.
     "What. Just. Happened," Perri asked darkly, looking at everyone with horrified eyes. Is she dead? Did Ghost kill her? Oh my god she's dead. Mae is dead... dead dead dead she's dead gone forever... Perri's mind stopped clicking between words as her mind was tumbling around the put together what just happened. 
     "Is.. is she? Did she just-" Ramille begun, but couldn't speak.
     Everyone was deadly silent as Julian picked up one of the petals and stared at it in absolute shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He handed it to Perri, and then handed her five more. They all had one word:
Safety.