Only Time Will Tell

     The boy was running late. He was supposed to have left to catch the bus to go to work like ten minutes ago. He just hadn't been able to resist trying to clear the dungeon on his game one last time. That stupid boss always one shot his team right at the last minute. He was in such a hurry he almost didn’t see the girl slumped against the wall by the entrance to the apartment building until he was about to rush down the stairs and out onto the street. Seeing her though, made him stop right in his tracks. She was staring right at him. No, through him almost. “Are you okay?”

        The words slipped from his mouth like they had a mind of their own before he could think any better of asking. All thoughts of work and being late had fled his mind the moment he had lain eyes on her. She looked to be in really rough shape. “Do you need help? Should I call someone?” The questions rushed from him one after the other, not really giving her a chance to respond before being followed by another. “What happened to you? Are you hurt?” He rushed down the rest of the stairs, throwing himself down on his knees in front of her, ready to help her up if she wanted him to.

         For a moment, Illianna just stared at the boy, not sure how to answer. He had crazy bright blond hair and an earnest air about him, reassuring her as to his intentions to help her if she needed him to. She thought about refusing his help, but then she noticed the out of order sign on the elevator. She turned her head so she could once more meet his concerned gaze. “I could use some help, if it’s not too much to ask. I just need to get up to my apartment so I can get cleaned up and get some much needed rest. I’m on the third floor and the elevator seems to be out again.” Ignoring the boys look of incredulity, Illianna began her struggle to get up onto her feet. She didn’t make it far before her strength deserted her again and she slumped back into the wall and consequently the floor.

       Seeing this, the boy seemed to come to his senses, brushing aside his wonder and disbelief at the nonchalance the girl was displaying despite her bedraggled and weakened state in order to carefully help her to her feet. “Here, lean on me,” he said. “It’s okay, don’t worry I’ll help you. Just tell me which one is yours.” Once she had established a good balance, leaning quite heavily on him, the pair began making their way up flight after flight of stairs.

         “This one,” Illianna finally gasped out as they neared the end of the long third floor hallway. The climb up the stairs and then the long struggle down the hallway even with the boy’s help had taken a lot out of her. She couldn’t get her fingers to separate out the right key from the mess her lanyard was,caked in dried blood and dirt as it was. Thankfully the boy didn’t ask any questions, just took the keys from her shaking hand, quietly trying each one until the door opened with a slight creak of the hinges. “Thank you, I should be okay now,” she gasped out between painstaking breaths as he helped her inside and to the couch. He had just made his way out the door and was about to close it when she spoke again. “Thank you-” Illianna’s thanks faded out, as the realization hit her that she had never even asked him his name.            “Ambrose,” he said. “My name is Ambrose.” With those last parting words, the door swung closed and her world faded to black as exhaustion overtook her.

     The streets outside the state park where she had awoken to find herself buried under all the men she had killed were packed with people. Somehow she managed to stagger her way home to the apartment building where she had shared an apartment with the man she had failed to protect without drawing much more than a few curious glances. Climbing the stairs to get in to the building itself was proving a greater challenge than it should have been though.       Illianna was just so tired. Tired and drained. She was having a hell of a time keeping her thoughts and emotions from consuming her. For the first time in a long, long time, she just wanted to cry. Z was dead. Finally making it up the stairs, with the last of her strength she managed to pry the door open just enough to slip inside, letting the door close on its own as she let herself slide back against the wall, to come to a rest on the floor. She just needed a moment, a moment to gather her strength before she began the climb to their apartment, her apartment now, hers and hers alone. That was when she heard it. Footsteps on the stairs. She didn’t even have time to move before someone appeared at the top of the first floor landing. No time to hide before they saw her. 

    With a great cry, the raven took flight once more, fleeing from the stirring taking place below. Alighting in the branches of an overhanging tree, it looked down to watch as the woman’s eyes slid open and with a shuddering breath rejoined the world of the living.

   At first Illianna didn’t know where she was. All she could feel was weight crushing her from above. She thrashed from side to side, trying to free herself to no avail. Finally she sagged back against the ground, feeling unusually weak and exhausted. How long had she been asleep? As that thought sprang unbidden to the forefront of her mind, she made herself pause and take stock of her surroundings. That crushing weight.. She was trapped beneath a pile of bodies!

     As this horrid realization sunk in, the events leading up to her current predicament came flooding back, broken bits and pieces of memory allowing her to piece together past events. She had killed all of them. It had been a desperate and failed attempt to protect him. Oh god, him... Refusing to let herself shut down, she shoved those thoughts away intent on freeing herself before allowing any such thoughts to consume her.

     Hours passed. Finally her struggle gave way to success. She at last managed to extricate herself from the gruesome pile. Exhaustion threatening to overtake her, she slowly staggered away, uncertain as to her destination. Once more the raven took flight. It came to rest on the one piece of her she had unwittingly left behind.