Page 146 of Into the Mist

“I would’ve liked to have made a new world with you too,” she whispered to his grave. “I’ll miss you, Oxford Xavier Diaz. A lot.”

Mercury retrieved the boom box, and she and Khaleesi walked slowly, silently, back to the cave, but instead of going inside, they went to the little knoll on which Imani stood as she stared into the southwest.

Mercury didn’t say anything at first. She just stood beside Imani in the silent, but attentive night. Mercury didn’t look to the southwest. There was nothing there for her. Instead, she turned her gaze up, imagining that Ford might look up at the same star-filled sky from the Summerlands and, maybe, mourn with her for what they’d lost.

Imani gasped, which pulled Mercury’s attention from the stars.

“What’s wrong?” She whispered the question to her friend, not wanting to break the listening silence.

“He will come!” Imani said.

“Huh? Who’she?”

Imani turned her face, and her dark, expressive eyes glowed the emerald green of the fog.

“The Destroyer. Prepare or perish.”

CHAPTER

43

STELLA WAS STILLawake and staring into the fire when Mercury, Khaleesi, and Imani returned to the cave.

“Get the weed. I need it,” said Imani.

“I’m ahead of you.” Stella lifted a smoking joint and handed it to Imani, who looked wan and dazed as she sat heavily beside her.

Mercury sat on the other side of Stella, and the young pitty quickly curled up beside her, careful to always be within touching distance of Mercury. “Imani just prophesized.”

“What!” Stella’s thick silver-blonde mane whipped around her shoulders as she turned from Mercury to stare at Imani.

Imani coughed out a cloud of marijuana-perfumed smoke and passed the joint to Mercury before she answered. “I don’t know that it was a prophecy.”

“Then what would you call it?” Mercury asked.

Imani moved a shoulder restlessly. “I don’t know. I just said the words. I don’t even know if they’re true, let alone where they came from.”

“What words? Would someone fill me the hell in?”

“I was looking to the southwest. Like I do every night,” said Imani. “I knew when Mercury joined me, but I couldn’t say hi or anything. It was like my ability to speak was frozen, and then, sure as hell, there was a thaw because words suddenly poured out of my mouth:He will come. The Destroyer. Prepare or perish.That was it. Nothing else came to me. Maybe, I dunno, maybe I was sortadelirious or in a trance or something. I, um, haven’t said anything, but when I go out there and stare toward my babies, I can feel them. Through the earth. And I know that doesn’t make any sense at all. So maybe what I said doesn’t make any sense either. Maybe losing them has made me lose my mind too.”

“You’re definitely not losing your mind. Your eyes glowed green,” said Mercury. “What you said makes sense, even if we don’t understand it yet.”

“Then we prepare,” said Stella.

“For what?” Imani shouted and then quickly closed her mouth as the three women peered into the darkness of the cave behind them where everyone else was asleep. When no one stirred, she continued more quietly. “I don’t know why I said what I said, and I also don’t know what a Destroyer is. How do we prepare for something we have no clue about?” She sighed and reached across Stella so Mercury could pass her the joint.

“We build our network of homes. There.” Stella pointed up. “Right away. As in we begin tomorrow. We build knowing that it has to be our sanctuary and our fortress.” She looked from Mercury to Imani. “We aren’t fragile or hysterical, stupid or inept. We’re smart, strong, capable. We’re survivors. Hell,we’re magical!We can do this. We must do this.”

“I know you’re right.” Mercury spoke slowly, like her words were heavy. “I know we have to go on. And pretty soon I’ll probably even want to go on. But right now I’m defeated. I don’t want to deal with any more apocalyptic shit. I just want to sleep and sleep and sleep.”

Stella put her arm around her best friend. “It’ll be better in the morning, and then maybe a little better the next morning—and so on and so on.”

“Time dulls the pain,” Imani said. “It doesn’t stop it, but it does make it easier to bear.”

Miserable, Mercury met Imani’s gaze. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to compare my grief to yours. I only knew Ford for just a few days. That’s nothing compared to—”

“Love doesn’t have a time stamp.” Imani interrupted her. “Allow yourself to grieve. It takes nothing away from my loss.”