LiTTLE CHERiNE Book 01 - post150

arthur.grafo (69)in #sfandf-fiction • 6 years ago

^{I put my arms around him and all the pain in me seemed to join with his and I screamed at my protector, ordering it to return us to my world. A flash of white hit me and I lost consciousness.}

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590

PART SIXTEEN

Chapter Sixty Five

When I awoke I was in our bedroom, I was sprawled over Keith.

Quickly I got up and looked around, waiting to sense the link, to feel my girls. There was nothing. Stunned I saw the bedroom was empty. No furniture, totally empty. For a second I thought in my daze that we must have ended up in a different reality again. Then I screamed and screamed and even as Keith regained consciousness and his arms held me tightly in their steely grip, I continued to scream until I fainted.

Keith had guessed immediately and held me tightly even during his initial shock. He lifted my body and carried me through the house. It was all empty. He recalled from my diary that Alki lived next door and smashed the locked garden glass door and walked around to the side until he saw the opening.

Holding me as he was, he kicked at the door to their house. A woman opened the door.

“For gods sake, are you Marian?” She screamed as she saw me and fainted.

As I stirred, Keith set me on my feet, still holding me, and shouted for Alki. He came and staggered when he saw me. Both of us, our faces bloodless, stared at each other. Without a word he bent over and picking up Marian carried her into the house. We followed.

He set her down on the sofa and when he turned to me I saw how his face had aged, the lines of unbearable grief etched into his face.

“They are dead Roberto. All of them, all our lovely girls. They died soon after you disappeared and Cherine died...my babies all dead you bastard!!”

I could not stop my trembling, even as I felt myself shattered, falling away. “I know Alki. Are they in the Kaleidoscope World?”

“How the fuck do you expect me to know! With them gone how do you expect me to go there?”

I desperately held on for Keith’s sake. “Alki, this man helped return me from where I was trapped, he’ll explain to you. My last call on you for the love you used to have for me, give him what money you can and get Tasso to help him with documents; he has a terrible grief and needs to see if this world holds any redemption for him. He gave up a lot to come here. Please.”

“And you, you…where are you going?”

“First tell me, surely Claudia did not also die. She was too new to us.”

“No. But she might as well have. Her sister collected her, but she is nothing but a shell. You have destroyed her too.”

I had already given up all hope, my shoulders were slumped as I replied, “I have a lot to answer for, I cannot ask for forgiveness. One more favour. Please speak to Claudia, tell her I did return, that I was trapped in another world for all this time. I do not know how or why it happened. Tell her to live her life, I will be waiting for her in the Kaleidoscope World.”

I saw his eyes brighten with hope. “How will you get there…you have the power?”

“No Alki, I have no power. I will have to go there the same way you will one day. Can’t you see already? My Cherine, her link, it is gone. I cannot live here anymore. I still love you and Marian. Give to my mother and the others my love. I will be waiting for you, each at your own time.”

I stopped fighting and called. I called and called as I slid into the total dark of the void.

591

I called and called as the void bit into me with its icy teeth and a shadow of light wrapped itself around me. *Sleep my baby. You are coming home* *Dommi? Cherine? Is she with you?* *Shh, we are all here. It is I, you will soon be with all those you love.*

I was rejoicing. Robert was back, part of I. Now I was complete. The burst of love that flashed out was enough to light the void all the way to the alien Worlds. For a long while it was all that mattered. Then I saw the story of the Robert part and understood he had not abandoned those others of I. Again the rejoicing.

The Robert part remained confused far longer than he should have and refused to meld in totally. I became disturbed, distressed. He fought and raged against the fate of the other parts. He called on his protector until I showed him how to access it, allowing him his individuality within me.

Wildly he demanded of his protector, *There must be a way back. There is a way. Either you find it or I meld you back into me and find the way myself.* (I gave it a voice, for I knew my Robert, he would fight beyond reason.) *I cannot find a way to return them and you to life. You may meld me back into you, there is no further purpose to my existence.* *Fuck you. You wait until I tell you to do so. You, the fucking I, give me Cherine. I need to speak to her.* *There is no need, the Cherine part is part of I, you may speak.*

He shot such a hatred of I he destabilised our World. There is no excuse for what he did, he did it with full knowledge of what he was doing. I released the Cherine essence to try and talk sense to him.

*Robert love. Please stop this. We are all together again, it is all that matters.* *This is not my Cherine, it is not even the ghost of my girl. Don’t you dare tell me what matters or else I’ll give you the thrashing of your life soon as I get us back. I will not accept this, if I have to fight you all for the next thousand years.* *A thousand years here is like nothing. It will pass love, but you will become…* *You think so? You think I will spend all of time with this vapid version of my love? Where is the girl who waggled her fingers behind her back at me, where is the spirit that made me love her?* *There is nothing we can do love. Our deaths were too painful, we are all changed.* *Let me remind you of something you seem to have forgotten. I no longer fear the protector. It does not rule my life anymore. I told that fucking I to release my Cherine but it gives me this shadow; either I have all of you back to talk to or I attack your I. This time I will hurt it badly...I’ll damn well shatter it if I have to.* *The I is all of us that you love. You would attack us?* *Yes!!*

*Oh Robert, why are you always so stubborn? If you hurt our World we will all die. You must not do that, not to our loves, our daughters.* *You still do not sound like my Cherine, but I can sense it is all of you now. If you still had the spirit I love, you would be wondering why I fight and be secretly cheering me on. I have an idea how to get us all back to our normal lives, not this shitty ‘I’ business.*

I felt her grief. *My love, our bodies were buried a long time ago. There is no way we can return.*

A pang of pain hit me at her words, but a rage also grew. I called the protector and gave it my orders. It left.

*What now my love?* *You said a thousand years were as nothing, now you cannot wait a few minutes?*

The protector returned. It confirmed what I suspected.

*Cherine, my Cherry baby. We will return. Now listen carefully. How did you girls create Diana?* She was silent a long time. Far too long, but I knew what was going on in her heart and waited. Finally she had to say it. *We cannot be made out of nothing. The healers need a cell from each of us. It is too late Robert. Oh I am so sorry, it was such a good idea, but it is too late.* *Ha! Got you, you little minx. You are always so certain you are so clever! All we need is one cell with genetic information to build on. I’ve got millions, of each one of you! Back in our home, all over the place are hairs and skin cells.*

Suddenly there was a flame of hope in her. I felt the disbelief of the I and then it saw the truth in my thoughts.

*Cherine send your healer with my protector. Look at it, you can see how it suddenly is alive again? It too sees it can do its job again. Let them create your body. Then you and I return. You can then link me to you once more, we were the first and will be the first again. We’ll come back here to collect the others and help them to return. You and I will stay with the last two so that this stupid World doesn’t collapse and leave them to the void.*

592

My healer had long since returned to my body bringing it back to life, repairing the damages of death. When I stirred the other three in the room surrounded me.

“Alki, Marian, dear mother in law, Cherine will be here in a few seconds or minutes, not too sure exactly how long it takes. They are all coming back.”

Alki fell back, drawing away from me in terror. “Den einai dynaton! (It is not possible). We buried their bodies nearly a month ago!”

“Tell me, our home, it is still ours?”

Marian, with a desperate hope in her eyes, replied. “Yes.”

“You see Alki. You never really lost faith, you kept it for us. I guess everything happening too suddenly put you in shock, but you know how it is. Once our gifts get started everything moves fast. Ah, I hear my love, she comes now Marian. Poor girl has no clothes, can you get her something before she has to face my friend?”

Her silvery laugh announced her. She walked through the open door. “Keith, I am so glad to meet you. What you did for our Robert will never be forgotten by any of us.” Careless of her nudity she walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. Marian had rushed back with a tablecloth and seeing Cherine cried out and swooned on us again. Cherine held her head on her lap until she had regained consciousness. Alki just sat weeping, an old man taken past his endurance, or so he thought. I ordered my healer to see to him before returning to help the others. It soon advised me he is well and disappeared.

I waited till the joyful hugs and tears had been shed for a few seconds. After all, I did not have much time.

“Marian, you really must get out of this habit of fainting - you never used to faint, has being married to a Greek changed you this much?” I sensed her sprit flare and relaxed. “We are going to need a whole lot of clothes, the others are coming.” My eyes widened and I struck my forehead. “Cherine, just when I thought I was so clever! Of course! Their healers re-created them all at the same time. Thank God!! At least I won’t have to return to that insufferable ‘I’ again for a while.” As Cherine was about to protest she saw the twinkle in my eyes, anyway the other girls all marched in, first going to Keith and greeting him with a kiss, thanking him. Then they were free to kiss Alki, Marian, each other and even me. I doubt there was this much crying even at their funerals. Even Keith was weeping.

Finally I could think again and I hugged Cherine to me. “Cherine love, which would you say is truer. Joy cannot wait or grief cannot wait to be relieved?”

“Grief my love. You are right. Keith, do you know where she lives, have you been anywhere close to her home?”

“Yes. I know what you mean. There is an alley near her home. I stood there trying to find the courage to face her parents. But thank you, it is not time yet. I need more time for adjusting, I only half believe I am here…and you…” He pointed at everyone else.

“We can wait Keith.”

“I do not think so. Surely you need clothes first?”

“Keith” I asked, “ I wonder if you already exist here?”

“If I do, I do not want to meet him, me, whatever. If she is still alive he is probably still at the university and is a bore, still thinks the world revolves around his brilliant ideas.”

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^{For those readers who have not understood, when they speak using telepathy, what they say is enclosed within stars, and the thoughts exchanged are in italic.}
^{e.g *Hi, I bet you are wishing you could read thoughts.*?}