They Say Miracles are Past

Galen had watched her as she slept and was grateful that she was actually able to. He had worried her tortured soul would not find sleep, but she succumbed to exhaustion in her emotional tempest. She had taken one bad news blow after another. He felt horrible for being the messenger. So he watched on over her as she slipped into peace in her sleep. He watched again as her face contorted in sadness and he listened as she cried deep from her dreams, unwaking and piteous.

He turned his back on the scene no longer able to endure what he blamed himself for. Her body shook against him in her soft and rhythmic cries. His attempts to shut it all out proved effective, and between her movements and the warmth of her body, he was lulled into sleep despite his efforts to keep watch.

When the sky became brighter with the approaching dawn, he opened his eyes first with the haze of sleep and then with sudden panic as he realized he had fallen asleep and left them both helpless. As he turned, he noticed she was sitting up beside him keeping watch and hugging her knees. She still looked so wounded circling her arms about her as if she were trying to keep her broken heart from spilling forth onto the ground. When she felt him move, she turned from her vigil and looked down on him.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep," he admitted sheepishly.

"Don't be. It was my turn anyway."

Galen sat up too and looked in the direction that she had been looking. The air was silent; no movement of any kind. Not even the air moved this morning. As if anticipating his questions, she volunteered, "No sign of anything all night."

They sat in the deafening silence then with Galen still remorseful at his part in her pain and Althea still deep in the memories of her dream. The world felt like such a strange place to them on this morning, even more so than when the Mist and Immortuos had arrived.

"How are you..." Galen started his question and trailed off as he had felt foolish and insensitive to ask. Even as he spoke, he felt his words being sucked into a void of blackness from her; he felt as though she were far away, deep in an unreachable darkness. No words of his would reach someone in that much sadness.

"I'm better."

Galen raised his head in surprise at how much he could have misjudged her state. He thought, if this had been him, he would have fallen silent as if dead for at least a week. But here she was responsive and even cared enough for him to keep watch over him the rest of the night. He smiled to hear her respond and at the continuous proof of her resilient soul.

Galen looked around then and then said, "I'm a little embarrassed to say, but I'm a little turned around. Last night was, uh, intense. My directions are all messed up. Which way is the river?"

Althea had relied on him for directions yesterday mostly and had not been paying attention either. She lowered herself to the ground with her palms spread flat against the dirt and fallen leaves. She closed her eyes to fully feel the earth beneath her. Althea then felt the movement of the river, and she could smell the water in the air. She stood up and pointed in its direction, and they gathered their things and made their way towards water.

Despite the terrible night they had just had, their company together seemed much more harmonious. It was as though the weight that they had been carrying was somewhat shed. Even though they had only just met, and even though their new relationship had been tested greatly, they traveled with a newer, stronger sense of trust and unity even if they weren't consciously aware of it.

The gentle sound of the river became clearer with each step. Althea realized that the sound was not what she was preparing to hear. She half expected to hear the sound of the river of dreams, and laughed at herself at how foolish that was. This river was not that river, and it was of this world and not of her nightmares.

When they arrived at the river, they saw that it was very wide and, though fast flowing, very calming. Althea was the first to bend down to the water to drink straight from the current and felt invigorated by the cold water. She splashed some on her face and smiled in the rejuvenating sensation. Galen watched her and saw her smile. It was like sunshine that fought and pushed its way through storm clouds. Though she was clearly beautiful to him before, and a source of continuous inspiration at every turn, but now she was purely stunning. He could certainly see how that man became entranced by her.

"Galen, behind you!"

Galen heard her words and was snapped into the present instantly. He saw her dash up to her knees in the cold waters of the river as she gestured both for him to look behind him and join her in the river. He turned swiftly around to see a single Immortuo behind him. She was a woman who had died maybe in her late twenties and relatively recently. Her body had not deteriorated much before the Mist brought her spirit back into it. She had spotted the two from several meters away and started to run towards them. Galen had been so wrapped up in his own head to notice the signs of her approach. But Althea had noticed the change in the air and the subtle sounds of the labored strides they had and been quick to respond.

Now the threat was charging at them with the anger and hate that the Immortuos were now known for. Galen was so caught off guard by the sudden onset of danger that his turn to run was less than graceful. He fell over his feet but was up almost instantly and making a dash towards the water. As his body hit the water, he took a sharp breath in from the shock of the cold.

Once Althea had made sure that he was hip deep in the water, she turned to swim against the current and better assure her safety. Immortuos had limited control over a body that was in fact dead, and swimming was one thing they could not do well at all. But as she got deeper and further, she realized that the flow of the river was stronger than it had seemed nearer the bank. She was a very strong swimmer, but she was worried about her companion who she knew very little about. She tried turning to face him in the water, but even the slightest break in focus from fighting the current started to take her downstream against her will.

"Galen! Wait!" She tried calling out to him, but the roar of the river from being in the middle of it was far too loud. Galen soon realized the strength of the current and started to struggle against it. But turning back was not an option as the Immortuo had reached the bank and began to rush into the water after them, and this one had more skill at it than they had hoped. The plodding into the water was strong and consistent, and Galen had no choice but to get further into the river.

Though he was by no means a bad swimmer, he was losing his battle with the current and slipping further and further downstream. Althea turned to see him drift further from her, and she let herself be taken down the current to reach him. They were getting much further from where they had entered the river and where they had left all of their supplies, and they were both starting to panic as the water beat them mercilessly. Galen's lips started to turn blue as the river's chill penetrated into his blood. He could no longer feel his arms and legs with surety that they were doing as he willed them.

Althea looked around her surroundings desperately as they slowly got pulled further and further away despite their desperate struggles. She saw the changes in Galen's face and knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this up. A few meters downstream on their side of the river she noticed a tree whose large roots reached out into the water. At least they would be able to gain a hold against the pull of the current there. Althea was so close to him now, and she shouted at Galen to grab a hold of the jutted-out roots and limbs.

As she reached the tree herself, she pushed off as best she could from the bottom of the river to launch as much of her body onto the tree as she could manage. She then turned towards Galen almost in the same motion to make sure he had a grip. Though he managed to get a small grasp of the wood, its wet surface quickly proved too much for his grip. Althea grabbed his wrist and hand before he was taken away by the river. Her own grasp of the tree was strained as she tried to pull him towards her. Galen's eyes were starting to blur as the world seemed to be in a kind of haze in his mind; he was only vaguely aware anymore that she was holding onto him. He fought to clear his head of the unnatural confusion and took one final step against the bottom of the river to help her. With that final push, they were both securely on the tree watching the river rage past them in the swifter, downstream current.

Althea held onto Galen with one arm and the tree in the other. She could feel that the heat that came off of Galen, and it wasn't nearly what it should be. She could tell he was going into shock as she felt his strength to hold onto her lessen more and more. However, the real trouble came from behind them as she could still hear the Immortuo's labored breathes and water splashing as she walked knee deep in the water along the bank towards them. They had jumped into the river for nothing, for they had not lost their pursuer. She had stayed safely along the shallower waters and saw still that they were within her ability to reach.

Althea did her best to keep her heart from racing in panic as she held Galen in one arm and their lives in the other, for sure if she let go, they would both be pulled under the water. But if she didn't let go, the Immortuo would be on them in minutes and descend upon them with such venom and aberration for existence that they would not survive.

Suddenly an instinct came over Althea from a place deep inside of her that she could not place. She closed her eyes and held tightly to Galen. She pushed away fear and panic in her mind and focused on the life within the earth around her. She felt the river, she felt the air, and she pushed out her consciousness into them. She could no longer tell where her body ended and the earth began. Her body became the river, her mind became the wind, and her heart beat with the life of the shore. The river was now the blood in her veins, the wind was now the breath in her lungs, and the earth moved with the motions of her legs and arms.

Galen thought for sure he was hallucinating, but light and warmth came from her then. Streams of curving light danced from her body and flowed outward as if it were alive. In his surprise he was pulled into momentary focus to see that he was being held in safety by the arms of an angel. And he could then see behind her the devil that persisted in its pursuit and felt the panic rise within him. He held onto her as tight as he possibly could, but he knew that his strength was draining from him as fast as the river flowed around him. The cold was biting and overwhelming.

Althea felt his grip tighten but kept her focus. The increased pressure she felt in his arms brought the slightest smile to her face. She didn't know how she did it, or even what exactly she did do, but she pushed out her life force beyond her body and joined with the earth. She could feel the power of her beating heart rise as the roar of the river became louder. As if she had become the very river itself, an unnatural swell from the current reached wide towards the bank and caught up the Immortuo like the hand of a living body plucking away thorn.

The sound the Immortuo made as she was carried away was so full of malice and loathing that Althea felt such pity towards every one of them and their curse. Althea watched as the helpless creature was swept away with the force of the river at her bidding. The Immortuo watched her with hateful eyes before disappearing below the water and out of sight. She knew then with a broken heart that she had a responsibility not just to the people left in fear of the Mist, but also to those who were condemned to misery after death because of it. It all had to end.

Althea struggled to get herself and Galen to the shore when the danger passed. He had become so heavy that she strained beyond what she thought possible to get him to the bank. He dragged his whole body out of the water has he tried his best to help, but his limps were uncontrollable as he shivered.

"Galen? Can you hear me?" She scanned him over with her hands to check for breaks or bleeding from being tossed in the current. "Thank goodness you're shivering. That means your body hasn't lost the ability to react to the cold and is doing its part to warm you up. That's good." She kept scanning him as she talked through her own body trembling and shaking. She noticed some bruising, but nothing major. His lips were still discolored and he seemed disoriented, but he wasn't passed help.

She got up to run for their supplies several meters up the river; she had some fresh clothing in there to keep him relatively dry and one small, thin blanket in her pack. But as she rose, she felt his hand hold tight to her wrist. His eyes were wide in terror at the thought of being left behind. He looked so helpless, and she knew she had to move fast to minimize the damage. But she took her time to kneel back down beside him gently and put his worried hand in hers with patience and caring. "Galen, I won't leave you. I swear I'm coming back. But we need our supplies, and you need to trust me." She felt the felt his grip on her hand relax, and she ran as fast as she could determined to return before he could panic into hurting himself.

When she returned, she found that his shivering had stopped. "No, no, no!" she muttered to herself as she hurriedly unpacked her bag to get at the blanket. The fact he wasn't shivering meant that his body was too cold and was no longer trying to heat itself. His blood would start to slow in his veins soon, so she had to hurry. "Galen, please, you've got to help me." She said as she pulled him to sitting as best she could. He was barely able to keep himself up to sitting as she undid his shirt and peeled it off of his chest. Even the skin on his chest was turning purple. He didn't have enough heat within himself to trap in the blanket; she would have to give it to him.

She draped the blanket around his bare shoulders as she undid her own top to get rid of her own chill and wetness in order to add her heat to his. All she had left was the wrappings around her breasts as she pushed her skin up against his and enclosed their bodies in the thin blanket. Her arms encircled his body as she rubbed his back and arms frantically to push his blood back to circulating properly.

Through the rays of heaven Galen had heard the angel speak and sooth him in his state. He had never believed in them before, or if they had been real, they had long since left this world like the faeries. But perhaps now he had died and was held in the arms of a creature sent from the sun and clouds. Surely this light and this feeling couldn't be real. This angelic vision was a dream.

And as his mind cleared and his blood passed warmer into his heart giving life back to his body, he saw that his vision was Althea. But even with his restored clarity, he was convinced he was being held by an angel.

"You're going to be ok, Galen. I've got you."