GLIMPSES OF THE PAST

Samantha's POV I'm not sure why I couldn't get rid of the sensation, but today felt strange somehow. Perhaps it was the way the light seemed to create longer shadows, which would have made everything look colder than it ought to have. Perhaps it was how silent Alex had been, engrossed in his thoughts as he walked back and forth next to the boarded-off window. Perhaps Lena's eyes flicked nervously toward the door every few minutes, as if she were waiting for something—or someone. I sighed quietly and ran a hand over my hair. After running for so long, I started to lose memory of what it felt like to remain in one spot without peering over my shoulder. We hardly ate or slept. The tension was all of us and it became more difficult to hide. Alex had talked little since the previous night. Though he wasn't ready to share yet, something was developing behind his eyes. Before, I had seen that gaze. It made me uncomfortable and he seemed restless and frustrated. Right now, we had nowhere to make mistakes. At last breaking the silence, he remarked, "I don't like this." "What element of it?" My voice sounded more worn than I had meant when I asked. "The running or the fact that Lena's dreams seem to be creeping closer to reality?" He stopped timing and turned to face me. I bit my lip, then looked across to Lena seated close to the far wall, her knees drawn to her chest. Like she normally does after sharing too much, she was subdued. She had provided us with insightful analysis of The Order, but I couldn't help but wonder what more she could be hiding. It was a survival instinct, not anything about trust. She had experienced events that caused her caution and guardedness. More than I would want to say, I could identify with that. Lean against the chilly brick wall, I said, understanding it. But we have to give her time. Alex, she has gone through hell. He let out a short sigh, stroking the rear of his neck. "We are pressed for time, Sam. They're approaching. We are one step behind every day we wait. He was right, as I knew. But running in without considering the whole picture would kill us all. "We need a plan," I remarked, using the same words I had said innumerable times before. Not merely reacting. We cannot afford to remain hapless. Alex's jaw tightened, and for a moment I worried he may crack. Rather, he nodded, his face softening just slightly. "We've been at this for weeks," he said mostly to himself. "Before one of us—how long can we keep on?" Though he left off the sentence, I understood what he intended. How long before one of us failed to show up? I moved forward, lightly touching his arm. "Alex, we have made it this far because we have been wise. We will make it through. But we have to be patient. His eyes locked with mine as his stoic mask battled for control from a frustrated and terrified state. For a split second, there was something else—a fragility he seldom allowed show. But it disappeared just as rapidly as well. Indeed, he said, mumbled. "Patience," Lena broke her quiet later that evening when the temperature fell and the shadows got longer. Her eyes followed the red lines and circles we had created as she fixed herself on the map we had gathered from two towns over, abandoned warehouse two over. She said softly, "There's something I didn't tell you." Alex and I both turned to see her; the tone in her words caught our interest right away. Her voice shook this time from guilt rather than from terror. "What is it?"? Sitting down near her, I inquired. Alex stayed near the window, his arms folded and focused on her. Lena choked hard, her fingers wriggling the edge of her shirt frantically. "Before I fled, while I was with The Order... I listened in and heard something. About The Key. Something about it. My pulse surged. This is it. The lost component. Go on, I advised softly. Her voice almost above a whisper, she added, "They aren't just looking for The Key." "They already know where it is." Alex straightened and narrowed his eyes. "What?", asks You are merely now informing us of this. Lena nodded, guilt written all over her face even as she startled at his sharp tone. "First I didn't recall. Everything seemed to blur after I fled. But bit by bit it returned to me. "Where is it??" With my heart thumping, I asked. Her eyes met mine and carried much melancholy. "It's close to the Northern Ridge among the remnants of the old monastery. They are heading in that direction. They intend to go get it at dawn. The world seemed to stop for a time. The monastery on the ridge north? That was less than the trip from our hiding place in a day. Alex cursed and frustratedly kicked the side of the wall. " it!" We have been squandering time when they are already in motion. We had to go, I murmured, getting to my feet. We cannot allow them to arrive first. Alex already headed toward the door and grabbed his pack. "We are not in a position to choose. Should they lay their paws on The Key... Though he did not finish the idea, he was not obliged to. Each of us understood the stakes. Particularly in the dead of night, the trip to the Northern Ridge was demanding. It was almost impossible to hear anything other than our own footsteps as the cold sank into my bones and the wind howled through the woods. Every shadow seemed to be a menace, every branch snap alerting. Lena set the pace; her knowledge of the region became clear as we approached the abbey. She proceeded deliberately, her steps sure on rough ground. Still, I could feel the anxiety in her eyes even with her familiarity with the territory. She carried memories here, bad ones, and it took everything in her not to flee the other side. Both of us on edge, Alex and I looked at one another as we trailed her. This place seems to have something about wrongness. I couldn't explain it, but the air felt thick and heavy, loaded with something I quite identify with. Just as the first traces of morning started to slink across the horizon, we arrived at the margins of the ruins. The monastery loomed before us, a cracked, decaying echo of what once was. According to the stories, it had been deserted for millennia, yet today it felt alive—pulsing with a terrible force that made my skin crawl. Lena said, "They're here," her voice just heard above the breeze. We knelt behind a cluster of boulders, observing as folks emerged from the darkness with flickering torches in the rising light. More of them than we had anticipated—dozens, perhaps more. "How are we meant to stop them?" My voice was tight with anxiety, I asked. Alex's teeth closed. "We will figure it out." But I couldn't get rid of the sense that we were too late as we saw The Order head toward the heart of the monastery, toward the spot where The Key was concealed. The first explosion knocked me off my feet by throwing a shockwave across the ground under us. I landed hard, the wind knocked out of me as trash and dust swirled around. "Samantha!" The ringing in my ears muffled Alex's speech, which seemed far. My eyesight fuzzy, I battled to sit up and try to make sense of what had just transpired. Now the Order was moving fast, their figures flying through the smoke and debris toward the inner sanctum of the monastery. "We have to migrate!." Alex cried and dragged me to my feet. But another explosion rocked the earth, this one considerably closer before we could get a step. And then I saw it: a figure rising out of the smoke, their eyes shining with an unnatural light, their presence choking the air around us. Lena gasped, her voice faltering with terror. "That is him. That one they refer to as the Shadow. The Shadow is The Order's head. The person was hunting us from the start. And right now he has located us.