Celestial Beginnings (Nephilim Series) (12 page)

“I can’t.
I’m stuck.” Trinity spoke calmly so not to upset Jennifer, but inside she was screaming at the situation.

Her tone did nothing to dispel the other girl’s fear, and Trinity could hear it in her voice.
“What do you mean stuck?” She leaned down as far as she could without losing her grip on Katie. “Give me your hand; I’ll pull you up.”

Trinity tried, but when the girl pulled, the pain was unbearable.
She cried out successfully making her chest hurt. “Stop! Stop!” She continued more quietly. “It’s no use. Just stay up there, take care of Katie and hold on.”

Crying and in full panic mode, Jennifer did as she was told.
They were now back to waiting but this time it was in silence.

The water was now up to her neck, and Trinity was getting nervous.
They still hadn’t seen anyone and her hopes of that changing before she went under were slim. She was still trying to figure out how long she would last under water when she could barely take in air above water.

Not a minute later, she spotted a female jogging down the side of the river.
The first thing Trinity noticed was her fiery hair that had been pulled back. The second thing was that it looked as if she was going to run right past them.

“Jennifer!”
The word was a whisper but somehow she heard. When the girl looked down at her with her tired eyes, Trinity pointed in the direction of the runner. “Yell!”

Looking up, Jennifer didn’t miss a beat.
“Help!! Help us!!”

The woman’s head swung in their direction, and Trinity could tell the moment she spotted them.
Her eyes narrowed and she took a step toward them.

“No! Don’t try; the current will take you.
Go get help.” Trinity used all her strength in her vocal cords to get it loud enough for her to hear, but it looked like the woman wasn’t listening.

The woman took one slow step into the river.
“No!!” Jennifer yelled, but the woman took another step.

Trinity couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
A river that took anything and everything was letting this woman glide right towards them.

When she got there, Trinity and Jennifer were speechless.
If she noticed, she didn’t let on. “Hi! I take it you guys want out of the water, huh?”

Trinity just nodded while Jennifer finally spoke up.
“Oh, yes please.”

“Okay, my name is Terah.” She spoke as she observed the three of them.
As if making up her mind, she suddenly grabbed Trinity’s arm. “I can take two at a time, let’s go.”

Trinity wasted no time in yanking her arm out of the others grasp.
“No.” She nodded her head in the direction of the girls. “They go first. I want them both safe and one needs medical attention as soon as possible.”

Terah shook her head. “That’s not going to happen. You’re in worse shape than these two and I can come back right away for them.” She waved her hand in the direction of the girls.

“No!” Trinity snapped when Terah reached for her again then pointed to Jennifer.
“She has had just about all that she can handle. I am not going to let you take me and leave her by herself for God knows what to happen. Now, I appreciate you coming for us, but you need to get them first…please.” The last word sounded more like a plea. They’re just kids, for crying out loud.

Terah pursed her lips but eventually relented.
“Before I go, let me try to get you unstuck.”

“Only if you hurry.”

When Terah reached around her and pulled up, Trinity screamed out in pain. She didn’t know what hurt worse, her ankle or her back.

“Okay, let me check something out.”
Terah slid down and grabbed above Trinity’s ankle where she was stuck. She gave a small twist that had Trinity about passed out. Trinity whimpered and tapped her rescuer to bring her back to the surface. “No more! It hurts too bad! Just get them to shore and come back for me.”

Terah wrapped one of her arms around Katie and signaled Jennifer to get on her back and hold on tight.
She then looked back at Trinity once everyone was situated. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. If it takes too long… If I do this…” She paused and looked Trinity knowingly in the eyes. “…you know what might happen, don’t you?”

Trinity knew.
She was already stretching to keep her mouth above water. It wouldn’t be too much longer till she went under. She wasn’t thinking about that right now though; she just wanted the girls safe.

“Yeah, I know.
Thank you.” She said to Terah before looking back at Jennifer. “You listen to everything she tells you! Got it?”

Jennifer frantically nodded her head.
“But wait! What about you?”

Trinity put on a false grin.
“Don’t worry about me. I will be right behind you.”

With the reassurance, Jennifer tightened her grip on Terah’s shoulders.

Terah adjusted Katie and turned to leave but turned back to Trinity at the last minute.
Her look was almost mournful when she spoke. “There are not many people like you anymore.” She then lifted her thumb to Trinity’s forehead and made the sign of the cross. “May God be with you, look over you, and protect you in all things.”

Trinity was not a religious person, not since her parents were murdered.
That didn’t stop the warm sensation making her way through her body, ignited by Terah’s words. She didn’t feel as alone anymore, which was craziness when she thought about it.

They had been gone what felt like forever but in actuality, was probably only five minutes.
The water was already covering her mouth and she was doing her best to breath in and out her nose; not so easy when it was already hard to breath.

The water was tickling the bottom of her nose, and she knew at any moment she would be holding her breath.
She stretched as much as she could; wiggled her foot as much as she could and tried to get free. Nothing was working.

She tilted her head back to give herself a little more time.
Trinity wished she could have told Nicci how much she means to her; that she is more of a sister than a friend. She wished she would have gotten to see Renée and Joseph one last time. She wasn’t ready to die!!

The water had finally reached the point where she had no choice.
Taking one last deep breath, she ignored the pain it caused and held it in. She kept one arm stretched tall, above the water. If Terah did make it back, she wouldn’t have a problem finding her.

She had heard about people drowning before.
She could just open her mouth, breath in, and let the water fill her lungs…make it quick. She could also just let the lack of oxygen make her pass out, and then the water would enter her lungs that way. Vaguely she wondered that if she did pass out, would Malachi be there? At least she wouldn’t be scared with him.

She was so weak.
There was no way she could hold on any longer. She relaxed her whole body, and dropped her arm back into the water. It was time.

Malachi
…

******

Listen guys, I need your help. There is a woman here; she’s stuck and about to be trapped underwater. Mal, she is injured pretty bad too, it might be best if you go.

Malachi was in the middle of helping heal a man with a head wound when he heard Terah project this to the team.

Sorry girlie, busy with someone else right now.

The other team members answered her with answers that sounded a lot like his.
It was a big accident with much to do. He understood that.

Please!
I can’t. She was watching over two teenagers and made me take them first, but I don’t think I can make it back to her in time.

The pleading in Terah’s projection swayed Malachi’s decision and he sighed.

Does she have five minutes?

Not much more than that
I’m afraid.

Malachi worked fast.
He had to do all his healing discreetly as not to cause any notice by the humans.

Finally finishing up, he stood and stretched.
It had been a long day, and all the healing was wearing him down. He knew the woman Terah mentioned would probably have to be his last for the day. When he was done, he would resort back to the classic “search and save” and leave the healing to the humans.

He hoped she was worth it over someone else that might need his healing.
He remembered what Terah had said about her forfeiting her chance at rescue for another and he figured that, alone, was worth it.

Okay, where is she?

Terah projected quickly.

She’s stuck in a tree around a bend on the south side of the bridge.
Hurry!!

Malachi was on the shoreline where the bridge once was and was looking down the river.
An aggravated growl slipped past when he couldn’t see past the bend and he had to move. He started to run a short ways down the bank of the river until he could. Scanning the area, he couldn’t find anybody in a tree.

He was about to ask Terah to be more specific when he noticed a pale hand on a tree.
The rest of the body that was connected to that hand was under water. Shit! Now he knew why Terah sounded so urgent.

Malachi jumped into the river at the same time he saw the hand sink as well.
He was strong enough to fight the current, and not be tossed around, which made a direct shot there easier.

Malachi
…

The sound of his name startled him.
He had been projecting with Terah and Tori so long, he knew their sound and signature feel and that wasn’t either of them. This voice was definitely female and felt warm, soothing even, but the two women he worked with were the only females he had ever been able to project with.

He would have to figure it out later, but for now, he was about to reach the tree.
The woman had been under for so long now. Air! She needed air!

Malachi finally reached her and immediately grabbed onto her head to put his lips on hers.
Man, they were cold. He hoped he wasn’t too late, and he pushed air into her lungs using his breath.

She gave a small jerk before she took her hands and grabbed onto his hair to hold him in place.
Okay, not too late, he thought.

When he detached himself from her, he put his hands under her arms to lift up.
Her hands, which were now on his arms, grabbed onto him with a fierce hold but soon nails were digging into his skin when he pulled.   

Malachi surfaced for a quick breath of air, but immediately went back down. He ran his hands around her body, trying to find out what was caught. When he got to her leg, he felt that her foot was stuck in between two branches. At first, he tried to gently twist it out but this caused the woman to start kicking him and pushing at his shoulders. Didn’t she want to be free?

He felt her shaking get worse and realized she probably needed more air.
He brought himself back up her body and once again held onto her while he pushed air into her lungs. Malachi could feel her body start to relax once more but when he moved to pull away, he was stopped when her arms wrapped around him. It actually felt like she was embracing him. In fact…she felt kind of like…

He stopped his thinking right there.
This was not the time or the place for his imagination to run wild.

Going back down to her ankle, he tried to assess the situation again.
The best thing for her would be maneuver her ankle out. He could break one of the branches, but he didn’t know what would happen to her when it snapped.

Yo man!
What’s taking so long?

Of course Gemariah would be there.
Things must have slowed down up top.

She’s stuck…just trying to get her out without hurting her.

She needs more air than what you can give her. Is she better alive or hurt?

Gemariah was right.
When her body, once again started to shake, he knew something had to be done. Grabbing both branches at the bases so nothing would snap against her leg, he pulled them away from each other until he felt them crack.

He quickly wrapped an arm around her before propelling them out of the water using the tree.
The moment they broke the surface, he felt relieved to hear her take a large deep breath in.

The woman felt so weak hanging in his arms.
He turned her on her back so he could drag her to shore. Hooking one arm over her chest, he started to move. Moving sideways, he was now moving against the current and getting more tired by the moment. It had been a long day, and all the times he had to use his powers had slowly taken away from his energy.

When he finally reached land, he stood up and cradled her in his arms.
After taking a moment to get his bearings and catch his breath, he finally started to move onto flatter land.

After everything, he wasn’t surprised it took him a minute to hear the screaming.
Glancing around, he saw a small blonde haired woman running in his direction. It was the same woman he had seen earlier at the bridge describing someone she was looking for. At the time, he hadn’t given her much thought looking at how bad the destruction actually was.