Revenge In Return; Prelude: Now

Prelude: Now1

It was nearing midnight. There was only a matter of minutes before the destiny would be fulfilled and the path of the future of the world chosen. It was all up to Lucy and the luck of her entire species, the species she was to save. She carried the Rutilus Baculus, the tool she would need. Her footsteps echoed in the quiet night. Everybody was at home, praying to their Gods of all the different beliefs. There was peace within the world at this time. Nobody was against another. The World was stable as far as humans concerned, but nobody could cancel out the raging war that Mother Nature herself threatened.2

The clock was ticking and the seconds seemed to fly by. Four Minutes. Three and a half. Two. She was running out of time. She was only a matter of blocks away from the Temple of Ingenium but did she have enough time. Her breath fogged her eyesight as her glasses became clouded. She wiped them off, but continued to run. She could probably trace the way there without eyes at all but it was better to be safe than sorry. A sudden swooping sound filled the air. Lucy didn’t dare look up in fear of ruining her chances of getting to the temple. 3

She looked at her watch again. 45 seconds. If only she could stop time but she knew that was way out of her league. She turned a corner and she saw it. Illuminated by the full moon and the street lamps, the temple stood silent as a feather. She was almost there. Sighing a breath of relief, Lucy summoned all the strength in her to increase her speed. With just five metres from the entrance, the ground began to shake and a nearby clock struck twelve. Screams were heard from nearby houses, but they were barely noticeable over the tremors of the sudden Earthquake. Mother Nature was awake, and she was angry.4

For all these years, the Humans had destroyed her land, killing her. The new products they made, ridding her of her rights and freedom. Slowly, diminishing her power of the Earth, yet she was unable to stop them. But things had changed. Someone; somewhere had granted her the power to stop them and she was soaking up the chance. And now, as the fate of the Human race began to draw to a close, it was all placed in the hands of a mere fourteen year old girl from a normal life. 5

Lucy shook as she made her way towards the temple opening. It was starting to crack and Lucy didn’t think she could make it inside in time. But the luck was with her. She got up the temple stairs just in time, a falling block narrowly missing her and covering up half the entrance. Lucy didn’t turn to check her way out was guaranteed but continued to run through the dark, cold passageways, leading to the central room of the holy, respected building. A year ago, this would have been a public place thriving with people but now it was left untended for and to dissolve into the world’s history.6

The central room was downstairs, quite a way from Lucy, but at least she had made into the sacred building. The ground was shaking more and more and Lucy’s grip on the Rutilus Baculus was beginning to break down. If Lucy failed this, The World of Humans would end, as would everything on it. The world would be overcome by the things of Nature. All remnants of its inhabitants left underground, crumbled and waiting to be dug up (if they were to ever be so) by the future and caring inhabitants of Planet Earth.7

Lucy turned a corner and faced a narrow passageway, down to the final room, where the world would either be saved or lost. The special object that Lucy was carrying would be able to save the world if used correctly, but if she did the ceremony wrong then she would doom her planet and species. She dropped down the passage as quick as she could, tears streaming from her eyes and unable to dry her face. The Rutilus Baculus was beginning to weight her down as the force of Gravity began to increase in order to bring the world to a standstill and a destroyed stature. It felt like something was pushing on her back, as she was forced to bend over, to be closer to the ground. A door faced her. It was made of pure gold and had many pictures engraved into it, but Lucy had no time to look. Grasping the handle, she turned it and opened the door.8

She clapped her hands to herself, dropping the Rutilus Baculus, which rolled into the room. The room was ablaze, all the sacred objects in it destroyed. The attempted plan to destroy the race had worked. Mother Nature had ended the world. Seeing the blaze before her and knowing the task she needed to complete was down the drain, Lucy bid her goodbyes to her family, her friends and even her foes. She clapped her hands together and began to say the Lord’s Prayer. No matter what happened now, she was going to die and she wanted to make her peace with the God and the world before she went. She stepped towards the blaze in front of her, knowing that she would die in dignity and bravery, trying to save the world from an end that nobody could have predicted.9

She was within ten centimetres of the surrounding fire when something stopped her. She was halfway through the doorway and she tried to press onwards. 10

“What is this?” she screamed at the temple, “Is this another of your stupid plans, Lady of The World? What else can you do to annoy me?”11

She punched at the thin air in front of her, only to retract her arm with a pain in her wrist. She sobbed. She couldn’t move and couldn’t control her death. She was going to die the long, painful way. 12

She closed her eyes waiting for the fire to engulf her. It’s heat overwhelming the building. There was a ringing in her ears, as if somebody was blowing a whistle. She opened her eyes to see the Rutilus Baculus hovering in front of her. There was a flash of light and then suddenly she was on floor. But the floor wasn’t hot. The ground around her was ablaze but the floor felt like ice. There was something else going on here. Somebody wanted her alive. 13

Lucy looked up at the Rutilus Baculus again, to see a woman standing there. Dressed in all white clothes, she was smiling. A gleam of light was emitting from her. She was an angel. Lucy must already be dead.14

“Do not be afraid, Lucy Paladin. You will not die tonight. Stand and come towards me. I can help you and together we can help the world,” she said without moving her lips.15

Lucy was surprised. An angel was speaking to her so calmly. She got to her feet and moved towards the angel steadily but nervously. She contemplated the theory that this might be a trap but she didn’t care; either way she would die.16

As she moved into arms reach of the angel, a feeling pressed her against the gleaming person and there was a whipping noise. The room around her blurred, her vision became obscured. She couldn’t see or hear anything. Was this the end?17

“Lucy. Do not be afraid. Stay still and we will make our way out of this okay. We are going to a safe place,” the angel’s voice told her.18

A few minutes passed and then Lucy was slammed against something hard. She opened her eyes but immediately fainted. The world turned black and her brain stopped. Her life had changed and there was nothing she could do to stop it.19