Chaos (The Realmwalker Chronicles Book 1) (37 page)

Chapter 63

I try to
get up, try to run to him, but I fall back down, too weak to stand.

The coldness emanating from the breach ceases. My eyes travel to the tear site and find it sealed. Kira is putting the final strengthening wards on it now.

The ocean is back to its own natural pull and swell. The few remaining Lesser Shades turn and flee. Simone spears a gorilla-like Lesser Shade straight through its neck before it can escape.

I scan who’s left standing among the Walkers. They stare about them with identical expressions of stunned disbelief as they look around the carnage-strewn beach and find no Elder Shade.

Help Mikhail!
I project to all of them, then retreat back into myself to finish healing. I can’t help Mikhail or anyone else in this condition. Lying in the sand, covered in blood both red and black, I’ve never been more exhausted. As badly as I want to quit—to close my eyes and fade into a peaceful rest, I know I don’t have that luxury. There are others that will need to be healed, damages that will need to be tallied, losses that will need to be counted.

Dizziness overwhelms me as the scene around Mikhail swirls unfocused in my vision. Mikhail is a black blob, covered head to toe in the Elder Shade’s thick blood. He’s distressed—panicked even—trying desperately to wipe the blood from his skin. He manages only to spread it around.

Though the Shade is dead and gone, a heavy sense of malevolence hangs in the air, and it seems to be emanating from the Elder’s remains that are now clinging stubbornly, unnaturally, to Mikhail’s flesh. The others, unable to feel the evil that lingers, stare in worried confusion at Mikhail as he becomes more and more hysterical, trying to rid himself of the cloying filth.

He tears his shirt from his body and picks up handfuls of sand to rub into his skin but to no avail. The greasy blood seems to be seeping into his very pores. Mikhail lets out an agonized groan that becomes a frustrated shout before he collapses, retching into the sand.

I try to speed up my self-healing, but I don’t have the strength to go any faster. I can’t even project my thoughts any more. I want to scream at the others, “Help him!” but I can’t do anything but sew myself back together. Can’t they see his despair? Can’t they feel him suffocating?

Sam reaches me and kneels by my side. “Addy, tell me you’re all right.”

I stretch an arm out and point to Mikhail.

“Help him,” I croak. I look up into Sam’s face, pleading with my eyes. He looks back and forth between the two of us, clearly reluctant to leave me. After what seems like forever, he gives me a determined nod and stands quickly.

Reaching Mikhail, Sam bends and threads his arms around his chest and tries to lift him. His skin is so slick with the greasy Shade blood it’s difficult to keep a grip on him. Sam’s efforts to help Mikhail rally the others. They rush forward as one, each grabbing limbs, offering support. Together they carry the despondent Walker to the ocean’s edge where they lower him gently into the waters.

They encircle him so completely it’s difficult for me to see what’s happening. Comforted with the thought that he’s no longer alone, I close my eyes and shut out all outward distractions.

I travel the length of my body, starting at my head and ending with my toes. Along the way I pull joints together, mend sinews and ligaments, patch together broken veins, strengthen layers of muscle and flesh. Once finished, I make a second trip, this time healing my outermost layers of skins that have been broken down and left raw and bleeding. The damage is so extensive that I marvel I survived at all.

Feeling worn out but more or less in one piece, I manage to get to my feet. I walk toward the huddle of Walkers gathered in the shallows of the ocean. What I see when I arrive both shocks me and warms my heart at the same time.

The Realmwalkers have gathered around Mikhail and have used the ocean’s waters to wash the Elder Shade’s blood from his body with their own hands. Every last one of them is scooping up handfuls of the sea and rinsing every inch of Mikhail.

Kira and Ember are working on his arms. Ben and Mel are cleaning his back and chest. Simone works in earnest to remove the sludge from his short hair. The feeling of darkness that had lingered with the Elder’s viscous remains has faded completely, and the atmosphere is now one of weary excitement and joy. Everyone’s helping—Sam and Mel and Crank and Timothy.

TIMOTHY? He’s alive? Happiness surges through me, but before I can allow myself real relief, I need to be sure that Mikhail’s okay. Gently jostling the others out of my way, I squeeze between the ranks and kneel in the water in front of Mikhail.

Looking at his blood-smeared face, I see his expression has changed from one of agony to wonder. He looks around at the others in complete bewilderment. I clasp his face in my hands and make him look at me. His eyes are wide and when he looks at me, I’m not sure he even sees me.

Using the water at my knees, I begin washing the grime off his face, the whole while muttering assurances to him.

“You did it, Mikhail. You did it. It’s over now. Everything’s okay. You’re okay. It’s all over.”

“It really is over, isn’t it?” Mel asks beside me. Everyone glances around, looking into each other’s faces. They fight back nervous, tentative smiles, as if they are too afraid to hope.

“Yes,” I say firmly. “Mikhail’s killed the Elder Shade. The tear’s been sealed shut. It’s really over,” I confirm to my friends, putting to rest their fears and doubts. I can feel the relief wash over everyone, but I know it will be short-lived. As if reading my mind, Sam speaks to the group.

“We’ve had a victory here today, but it hasn’t come without a price.” I can feel his internal struggle to keep his grief from his words. Immediately everyone looks around. Even Mikhail seems to be taking a mental tally of the Walkers standing around him.

Small gasps can be heard from a few of them, but it’s Ben who whispers, “Faye.”

Sam nods grimly. “Addy helped her pass peacefully. She wasn’t in any pain.” This does little to comfort the group. No one speaks; the sadness is too thick. The only sounds are the ocean’s waves behind us and the quiet sobs of my friends.

It’s Mikhail’s bold voice that finally breaks the silence, surprising everyone.

“We must honor her brave sacrifice.” I look into his eyes and see clarity. Whatever shock he has been through, the stupor has finally lifted. His face is tear-streaked, but his voice is thick with fervor.

“We will not leave her here to lie with the carcasses of these evil beasts.”

Chapter 64

It wasn’t the
kind of farewell we would have envisioned for one as beloved as Faye Devon, but given the state of the bone-weary, battle-worn Walkers, it was the best we could do. We stood and formed a circle, arms across each other’s shoulders, around Faye’s burial site. We had carried her far away from the war zone and found a place close to the entrance to Major Calm.

With a gentle breeze coming in off the surf, we each took turns sharing our fondest memories of Faye. It was difficult to face such a deep loss in the wake of a victory, but the time we spent there saying our good-byes was cathartic and something we couldn’t have done without.

After the last of us speaks, we walk quietly together back to the shelter of the grotto. I scan the group, noting how some walk hand in hand, others arm in arm, each supporting and comforting one another. I’m filled with pride and gratitude to be counted among these great men and women. Once safe inside the garage of Major Calm, I wait until the last of us passes through the doorway.

“All right, everyone, I know you’re all tired, but no one leaves until they’ve been given the ‘okay’ from Doc Shepherd. So form up a line, the worst of you first, please.”

“Are you sure you can manage?” Sam asks quietly in my ear. I nod and smile reassuringly at him. The Walkers are all in fairly decent shape considering the fight we just had. The injuries are relatively minor, the worst being a dislocated collarbone and some broken ribs.

When Tim shuffles up to take his place in front of me, I stretch up and hug him tightly around the neck.

“You were dead. I felt it. I felt you die!”

He pats my back gently until I release him.

“I was,” he says. Smirking comically, he jerks his head at Simone who’s clinging to his arm. “But this one wouldn’t have it.”

I’m not the only one staring in astonishment at Simone.

“She gave me CPR. Wouldn’t give up on me.” His voice is teasing, but his face is filled with tenderness as he looks at her. “She didn’t stop until my heart was beating again.”

Simone’s cheeks flush pink as she feels everyone’s eyes on her. “It’s not that big of a deal,” she says dismissively. When everyone continues to stare at her, she gets defensive. “Sheesh, people, I’m not completely useless. I know things, okay? I played a doctor once in a movie.”

This earns a laugh from everyone, lightening the mood considerably. Embarrassed and seemingly eager to get the attention off of her, Simone says, “Besides, I’m not the hero here. Mikhail is.”

“Yeah Mikhail!” Crank pipes up. “What happened, man? How did you DO it?!”

“Wait,” Kira interrupts, “how did you even get there? I mean, from Inner Silence and all?”

Others start to talk simultaneously, each asking what happened and how. Mikhail seems overwhelmed with the attention and unsure how to respond. It takes Sam intervening to quiet everyone down.

“All right, all right, everyone. Give him some space. Let him explain.”

Mikhail looks shyly around at the others, looking uncertain of himself. When our eyes meet, I give him my best smile and the tension melts off him.

“It was Adelaide,” he says, still looking at me.

I shake my head adamantly but he continues.

“I couldn’t have done it without her. She believed in me.”

“What?” Someone voices their confusion.

Sam interjects, “Addy’s believed for some time now that it was never HER who was meant to stop the Elder Shade, but Mikhail.”

Everyone looks at me with confusion, disbelief, even hurt. Ember seems most injured. Stepping closer to me, she asks, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I tried!” I say exasperated. “No one would listen! You were all so …” I look to Mikhail, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but the look on his face tells me he understands.

“No one wanted to hear about Mikhail. I knew none of you would believe me.” Their confusion and disbelief turn to shame as many of the Walkers avoid eye contact with both me and Mikhail.

“She tried to tell me,” Sam says, shouldering the bulk of the shame upon himself. “I shot her down and left her with no other option but to act without me or my help.”

“I see now,” says Mel. “That’s why the Elder Shade was so intent on destroying you, Addy. He must have known somehow that even though it was Mikhail that could destroy him, he’d never have been able to do it without YOU.”

Realization dawns clearly on the others’ faces.

“Okay, that makes sense now, but that still doesn’t explain how Mikhail was able to get out of Inner Silence,” Kira insists gently.

“I snuck into Inner Silence. On my own.” This alarms the others, so I take a second for the surprise to sink in. “I thought I’d be able to open the doors on my own and I was right.”

They are obviously scandalized, so I plead, “I know. I’m so sorry. It was wrong of me to go behind your backs—”

“Stop.” Ben’s normally gentle voice is angry. I stare back at him, stunned by his demeanor.

“Don’t you dare apologize for doing what you felt you had to. Addy,” he looks at me intently, “if you hadn’t released Mikhail, we’d all be dead now. Do NOT apologize for that.”

Next to me, Ember quietly nods her head in agreement. She reaches out and takes my hand firmly, to show her support.

“So now we know how you got out,” Simone muses. Tilting her head to the side, she looks calculatingly at Mikhail. “But how did you do it? How did you kill that thing?”

“Yeah, I mean,” Crank motions wildly with his hands, “he was like, untouchable man!”

“From the outside,” I clarify.

“What—” Timothy starts but then stops abruptly, understanding dawning on him he looks at Mikhail in disbelief.

It takes a little while for the other Walkers to all catch up, but when they do, they share matching looks of shock. Mikhail squirms visibly under their scrutiny.

Breaking the silence, he explains simply, “I am a shadow traveler. I move through darkness.”

“Mikhail,” Kira steps forward and places a hand on his shoulder. “Were you really inside that thing?” She looks afraid of his answer.

He lowers his head as if in shame and nods. “It was the only way.”

“Thank you.” Kira’s look of fear is now one of marvel and respect. “Thank you for doing that for us.”

Others chime in now.

“Thank you, Mikhail.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“It must have been awful.”

I’ve been finely tuned to Mikhail’s state of being since he destroyed the Elder Shade, and I’ve felt as he’s gone through shock, fear, exhaustion, bewilderment, and unease at all the focused attention. He’s managed to keep all of this under the surface, but now the outpouring of gratitude from the Walkers and the feeling of finally being needed and accepted threatens to overwhelm him.

Fortunately, I have a deeply intuitive boyfriend who also happens to be our caring leader, and all it takes is one meaningful look from me for him to understand.

“Okay Walkers. Listen up.” Sam effectively draws everyone’s attention away from Mikhail, and he continues, “Each one of you performed amazing feats tonight. I couldn’t be more proud of any of you.” I can feel the pride pulsing through each of my comrades at these words.

“It feels as though this war had been a long time coming. All the hard work, the long hours that each of you put into preparation, whether it was thinning the ranks of Shades or putting in extra training time to keep in the very best form, it all paid off. If any one of you had given even one less ounce of effort, I’m not sure we would have succeeded. Congratulations are in order for ALL of you tonight. I think it’s safe to say you’ve all earned some much needed rest. Go sleep, relax, celebrate. You’ve just saved the world.”

The next few days are a welcomed vacation spent recuperating. Each of us has our own way of getting ourselves back into a normal routine. Simone’s idea of therapy is to visit all the world’s most elite shopping destinations. Poor Timothy gets dragged from Beverly Hills to Madison Avenue, then on to Milan and Paris. I’m sure it isn’t his ideal way to spend the time, but he never complains; his affection for Simone runs too deep.

Ben and Mel quietly take care of affairs with the Devon family. They ensure that Faye’s funeral expenses are covered by The Walker Foundation and issue a generous donation to the hospital where she had dedicated her life top-side.

Ember, Crank, and Lang-hao eagerly take on the responsibility of throwing the largest, most extravagant celebration party probably ever thrown. All the Walkers, their families, and friends are flown to New York City to party on the roof of a downtown skyscraper. Lang-hao insists on live music while Ember insists on live exotic animals. No one was eaten, though it was a night to remember.

Kira has taken an interest in Mikhail lately. She works with him daily to help bring him out of his shell. I’m not sure if she’s driven by the guilt she feels for the way she previously treated him, the gratitude for his part in saving the world, or whether she genuinely likes him. It’s difficult to tell, but she seems to be making progress. Mikhail smiles more now than he ever has before. It warms my heart to see the others engage him, embrace him.

Still, in the darkest places in my mind, I can’t fight off the nagging feeling that he isn’t as okay as he lets on. I was only inside the mind of the Elder Shade for a very short time, and it was the worst experience of my life. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Mikhail.

The words he once spoke to me, his fears that night in Inner Silence, still haunt me.

It will change me, Addy. I will be ruined. Darkened.

I can’t know if those words were merely unfounded fears of self-doubt or if maybe they meant something I truly could not understand.

Despite losing Angel and Faye, we’re healing. I feel as though our emotional scars have only made us stronger and brought us each closer together. I still struggle at times to fill the roles they left behind, but I continue to try and it gets easier every day.

Sam and I spend every moment together. He’s my reward. To have the love of a man as strong and good as Sam is more than I deserve.

It’s strange to look backward from here. That person I was the first night I fell into Chaos is a complete stranger to me. Since that night, I’ve faced death countless times. I’ve met with pure evil and come away victorious. I’ve suffered devastating losses but learned that tragedy shapes us, for better or for worse. I’ve grown strong and confident. I’ve come to understand that the deep love of true friendship is the most valuable thing in life. I’ve learned that everyone deserves a chance at redemption, and most importantly, I’ve learned to always have faith in myself, against all odds.

I look at who I am now, at what I’ve become, and I hope it is something worthy of admiration. I hope that when I finally come face to face with my father again, that he will wear an expression of pride. I will forever hold this secret wish deep within my heart. But for now, I’m done looking backward.

I’m unsure of our future. Everything’s peaceful now—blissful even. But if there’s one thing that Chaos has taught me, it’s to enjoy the peace while you have it and to always be ready for the unexpected.