Above the Vaulted Sky - Page 75

I look at my old friend. I don't know what to say. What can I say? First of all I'll have to write it down. And what do you write down?

I look at Elle who sits wide eyed, a smile on her face like someone's just stripped off and stands doing a funny dance in front of her.

'Oh but this would be adorable,' she says, clapping her hands. 'I was joking about lovebirds.'

I open and close my mouth like a confused fish.

'Don't leave the poor boy hanging, Easton,' she says.

'What do I say to that?' I say.

'Tell him the truth,' she replies. 'He deserves that.'

'I wasn't expecting this, this morning,' I say, pulling the paper towards me.

'What exactly were you expecting?' Elle asks, interested. 

'That's a good point,' I say, beginning to write.

Graham looks scared in a different way now, apprehensive with a dash of hope after he dived over the void.

There's a sudden breeze in the room that hadn't been there before. 

Elle shudders. 'What's that?' 

I look over to the stairs. The door still sits open at the top of the stairs. 'The front door maybe?' I reply.

It all happens very quickly. Graham looks to his left, back up the stairs too. Obviously it was a universal breeze for the living and the dead. 

'Did you two feel that?' he asks, clearly glad to have a distraction. 'That didn't feel normal.'

In a second, the wall of comic books appears to implode, the glossy pages sucking in to a point and then erupting in a wall of white light.

'What the hell is that?' Graham shouts, scurrying across the floor still sitting. 

'He's found us!' I yell.

Elle grabs my arm. The pool table slides towards the blue light of the man and cracks in half with a tremendous snapping sound. It feels like its blowing a gale inside. The room is filled with a whirlwind of pages of superheroes and bits of equipment. I dive for the table, pulling Elle with me. I snatch the case I know I need which sits at the bottom of a pile under the table top. The rest of the equipment collapses, like dominoes stacked upright and whip past our heads to be devoured by the light.

'I hope this works,' Elle shouts. 

Without warning, she grabs Graham's arm. He shudders violently like he's having a fit.

I try to shout but I already feel the pinch of travelling. I see her close her eyes and we fall into the darkness leaving the maelstrom behind.