With less than two weeks to go until the Harvest Moon, the group of friends decided to meet each night. Each day after Tara’s shift, she and Colt spent a few hours alone together before meeting the rest of the gang.
Most nights their meetings were at Xtina and Mike’s place. Other times they gathered at either the diner or the pizza place in town.
It was funny. When it was just the two of them, they pretended as if the world wasn’t about to end. As if they were a normal couple, spending their time enjoying one another.
They went on hikes, watched movies, even went shopping. Normal things that normal couples did.
He knew that they were just biding their time until her parents showed up. Until the darkness came and took her away. Or the planet was destroyed. Neither outcome was his ideal choice.
So he tried to spend as much enjoyable time with Tara as he could.
Today’s adventure had been clothes shopping. Since he needed a few more basics. Mainly, a warmer jacket, since the weather had taken a turn after all the rain they’d gotten. He’d never spent a fall in the south, but everyone was assuring him that the chill in the night air wasn’t normal.
He wondered if it had anything to do with what was coming but didn’t want to voice his concerns. The group had enough on their minds, trying to figure out a defense.
He’d convinced Tara to move into the hotel room with him temporarily. There was enough space for the two of them without him bumping his head, like in her van, so she’d agreed. He was thankful for it. He’d had a few long-term relationships in his past, but thus far hadn’t lived with anyone. At least not beyond a few single night sleepovers.
Each night, he could tell she was growing more restless. She didn’t sleep more than a few hours and when she was asleep, he often had to wake her up from her nightmares.
She claimed that her mother or her father visited her on a regular basis, and each evening she would go over what had transpired in her dreams.
He had to admit, just hearing what her father was like every evening scared him. If everything she was saying was true, the man was not only a giant, but pure evil.
“We’re always in the silo,” she told the group that evening.
Once again, with the rain outside, everyone was gathered in Xtina and Mike’s place, this time in the living room. A fire was going, and everyone sipped hot tea or hot chocolate and nibbled on the chocolate chip cookies Jess had brought along.
“The place holds power,” Xtina said.
“It’s where we banished Thanatos,” Mike added.
“It goes beyond that,” Liz said. He had noticed that Liz didn’t speak very often, but when she did, the entire group hung on every word she said. “There is power in the soil, in the deepness of it. Before the silo, there had been a cave that was just as powerful.”
“The cave,” Brea said with a shiver. Ethan reached over and took her hand in his. “I… I’ve been there. Before.” She shook her head. “Before I could control my powers.”
“You still can’t some of the time,” Jess added with a smile.
“True, but back then they were going really crazy. There’s the other entrance to the silo. The one through the cave,” Brea said.
“So the place holds power,” Jess said with a shrug.
“We all hold power,” Joleen added. “Maybe all of us working together can send Typhon back where he belongs.”
“Have you seen anything?” Mike asked Jess.
“No, there’s something blocking…” She stopped, gasped, then jumped up. “I need wine.” She disappeared into the kitchen.
Colt heard Jess rummaging around in the kitchen.
“Joe, you’d better go help…” Xtina started only to have the man quickly disappear. Quickly being the key word. One second the man was there, the next he wasn’t.
Then he was back, only this time he walked in slowly, holding a tray of glasses. Jess was behind him, carrying a bottle of wine.
“Sorry, there’s only one bottle…” Jess started to say, but then Joe disappeared again and less than a minute later was back with two more bottles.
“I’ll help pour,” Mike said as he opened one of the bottles. “We keep the glasses around,” Mike started, “for when we need a look at what’s coming.”
“Okay,” Tara frowned down at the glass she’d been handed.
“They’re crystal,” Xtina explained. “They’ll harness the energy, focus it.” She scooted in and held her glass up.
As everyone did the same, they all looked towards Jess and waited.
Jess chuckled. “Okay, I’ve been saving this one…” She held up her glass, took a deep breath, and then said, “Here’s to those who wish us well; all the rest can go to hell.” Jess smiled and then they all moved their glasses together.
The moment the sound of crystal clinking together reached his ears, everything went dark. He thought he heard someone scream, but when he looked about, he was alone in a very large room made of marble.
Glancing around, one of the first things he realized was how warm it was. The second was that he was wearing a toga.
Where the hell was he? He desperately looked around again for more clues.
The furniture, what furniture there was in the massive room, was odd looking, old-fashioned, and it looked extremely uncomfortable.
He turned when he heard footsteps rushing towards him.
He relaxed when he saw Tara rush into the room dressed in a long flowing gown. It was almost the same style as his toga, but it was a pale rose color. Her blonde hair was far longer and pulled up in an intricate bun. Gold earrings swung from her ears as she rushed towards him. Her matching rings and bracelets gleamed in the bright daylight.
“There you are,” she said, taking his hands. “You must go now before my husband finds you.”
“Tara?” he asked, shaking his head. “What… Where are we?”
Tara frowned up at him. “Cyrus, we don’t have time for games.” She tugged on his arm. “You must go before Magnus returns. If he finds you here…”
He stopped Tara from pulling him towards the door. “Tara?” He shook his head. She turned and when she looked into his eyes, he realized that she wasn’t his Tara. Yes, this was the woman he knew, but there, deep in her eyes there was something… missing.
Taking a step back, he shook his head. “This isn’t right.” He felt everything fade to black again.
This time when he opened his eyes, he stood in a diner as loud oldies music played. He vaguely remembered the song as one that his grandmother had always enjoyed on the radio station she listened to when she drove.
He glanced down at his clothes and frowned at the sneakers, the worn rolled-up jeans, and the button-up shirt he was wearing.
“There you are, Bobby,” someone said from behind him.
Turning, he watched Tara stand up from a booth and head towards him. This time she was dressed in a medium length cream skirt that flared out around her legs. She wore black-and-white dress shoes and a soft-pink button-up top. Her long blonde hair was cut shorter, in a curly hairdo that framed her face.
“I thought you’d never get here,” she said, taking his hand. “Jenny was just telling me about the dance.” She tugged him towards the booth she’d just come from.
“Tara?” he said, taking her hands and stopping her again. “What’s going on?”
She looked up into his eyes and smiled. “Who’s Tara, silly?” She giggled and playfully slapped his shoulder.
He took a step back and dropped her hand just as everything went dark once more.
Each time he visited a new place and time, it was the same. He was there, then Tara would come, calling for him with a different name, dressed in strange clothes, in a variety of cultures.
He lost count of how many separate places they had been. How many lives flashed before his eyes?
When it all finally came to a halt, he was standing in the base of the silo, watching Tara, his Tara, kiss him for the first time, only days ago.
“We’ve been circling one another for centuries,” a voice said directly beside him.
He glanced over, and Tara took his hand in hers. “It’s no wonder we felt an instant draw to one another.” She smiled over at him.
“Did you know?” he asked, feeling slightly off balance.
“Not until now. You?” she asked.
He turned to her and once again they were surrounded by darkness, as if pulled into a new place. One where there was only the two of them.
“No,” he answered and bent his head down to kiss her. “But this feels…”
“Right,” she replied with a sigh.
He nodded. “Reincarnation?” he asked.
“Whatever it is”—she looked up into his eyes— “the only steady factor in my life has been you.”