Order of the Shattered Cross: Pt. 06

"What?" Indigo asked as she walked to the lip of the pool.

"I can't swim," Timothy replied, and Eterna laughed. "I'm serious."

"I can't help you with that," Indigo said and walked across the surface of the water without sinking into it, her footsteps rippled outward for a brief second.

"Can I bring a floaty?" Timothy asked, and realized immediately how unintentionally humorous that must have sounded.

"No dice, you need to be fully submerged. The surface of the water is the doorway. You can't partially step through a doorway that closes. Unless you want your body in Eden and your head in Japan. Your call."

"Shit," Timothy said, and began to breathe deeply in a restrained panic. He stepped away from the pool and turned around to face it again. "Shit."

"Now or never," Indigo said, standing on the surface of the water with her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket.

"Just give me a second," Timothy requested.

"One," Indigo replied in a dead pan voice. "Stare into the water." Timothy released a tense breath and carefully stepped to the edge. His eyes clenched shut, he slowly peeled them open to see the water beneath him. "You as well. If you've both been there, it'll be more stable if you both do it." Eterna stepped to the water's edge and looked down at her own reflection.

Indigo levitated above the water, her eyes shining so bright it reflected off the surface of the water and shined throughout the room. She held her right hand above her head and traced a pentagram with her extended index finger. The pentagram was created by a persistent stream of light. The surface of the water reflected the pentagram, and Timothy noticed she was drawing it backwards and upside down, so the pentagram was correct in the reflection.

"Open your memories. Remember everything about Eden you can. How it looked. How it felt. The very scent of the wind," Indigo instructed, and Timothy and Eterna focused on those memories. Timothy thought of Eve standing before him in the long grass. The air and earth beneath his feet were warm. Eterna remembered her home, and the embrace of her mother. The long journey to the tree, and the reflection of the lake her mother told her about. "Now, think of the sky. It's color. It's clouds. The stars if you saw them. When you see the sky, jump."

Timothy recalled the sky at dusk. The clouds painted in hues of red and orange. Eterna remembered the night more than the day. A world with no electric lights. The sky at night was magic beyond description. Every inch of the black canvas of sky was shining with the stars. She was amongst the first beings to ever use them to draw. One constellation populated her mind, and it appeared in the water beneath her.

"A butterfly," Eterna whispered to herself. "I see the sky, Timothy."

"I see it too. A red and orange dusk," Timothy said.

They knew their skies were different, but also knew it was the same sky. They looked at each other, nodded, and looked at the water again.

"On three?" Timothy asked.

"One, two..." Eterna counted, but right before they jumped Timothy interrupted.

"...I can't..." Timothy started, straining as he said it.

"Just jump!" Indigo yelled at him.

"No," Timothy said, but not to announce his refusal. "I can't move."

"What do you mean you can't..." Indigo said before a blur lunged up from beneath the water and grabbed her ankle. A naked woman with skin as pale as a corpse and long hair that flowed like a drowning woman even when not in water. Indigo kicked at her hand with her other foot, but to no avail. It pulled her screaming into the water.

The effort to keep himself to his feet made Timothy lose balance as the influence of the Void was no longer pushing down on him. He tumbled into the pool and started to sink. Timothy tried to propel himself upwards but continued to go deeper. He turned in the water and saw Indigo struggling with the Void that was trying to drag her lower than the pool was deep. Timothy aimed his hand at the Void and fired the gust of wind that had worked against it before, but it only sent him flying backwards.

Timothy aimed his body at the Void. He fired again to propel himself and collide with the Void. It released Indigo who was nearly drowned. Timothy wrapped his arm around her body and started to kick his way up to the surface. He noticed but didn't concern himself with the fact he could no longer feel the Void's influence. After a moment he saw the surface getting farther away. Timothy felt himself losing consciousness, as the surface began to fade to darkness like the entrance of a tunnel he was getting further from. The distance seemed impossible, but he focused on one last blast to shoot them to the surface.

Timothy underestimated his own newfound power and launched them out of the water by a significant margin. He was in the air long enough to curse and bicycle his feet as if it would help him fly. They crashed back into the water which was now only waist high. He pulled Indigo from the water and carried her to the grassy shore. He rested her onto her back and placed his ear to her mouth and looked down toward her chest. He couldn't feel her breath or see her chest rise.

"Dammit," Timothy said and started chest compressions. "Come on, come on," Timothy said and gave her a breath. He repeated this sequence twice before Indigo coughed up water and rolled to her side gasping for breath. He rubbed her back, but she swatted his hand way and forced herself to all fours.

Timothy rolled to his back and looked at the sky. He was on a warm grassy field and the sky was red and orange. The breeze was warm as well. He slowly stood up and looked all around him.

"Where the hell are we?" Indigo asked.

Timothy offered her a hand to reach her feet, which she reluctantly accepted. He pulled her up and walked up the hill. When they arrived at the top, Indigo was awestruck at the sight. An endless field of grass. A pristine sky. The very air smelled sweet. It was so warm she started to remove her jacket.

"Indigo," Eterna said after she finally reappeared. "Welcome to Eden."