Michael's steed whirled and those behind him followed as he charged towards the Defender. At the same instant the opposing group charged. The golden sword gleamed in Michael's hand as he charged, and the Defender withdrew his own sword as he came. The battle began, and blood rained down upon the sands.
The figure on the golden throne sat and watched, as tears traced their way across its cheeks and spilled to the white robes. The sounds of the battle reached far across the ocean, screams from dead and dying horses seemingly almost human in their pain and panic; the ringing of metal against metal, almost like the sounds when the swords had been forged and then hammered into shape.
This was a battle that would last without time to mark it, on this strange and alien world. The fallen would be trampled as those that still lived rushed forward to engage whoever still stood or rode.
On a world far away, the figure knew, another battle was beginning. That battle could influence this battle, just as the battle here could alter the battle that had begun on Earth.
The concept of time was only an earthly thing. Here on this world there was no real time, there only was. Days, months, years, none were counted. Here the battle would simply continue until it was finished.
SIX
~ 1 ~
Becky awoke long before Joe, and now sat outside the small tent, watching the last rays of light fade from the sky. It seemed to seep slowly away, and darken the sky above the pines. The wind kicked up briefly, blowing the dead leaves across the ground. They scratched and rattled as they went, making her think of small skeletons rattling in the wind. She felt afraid, and had since she had awakened earlier. She couldn't explain it to herself, but she knew in some way that they were not going to make it to New York in time. She wasn't even sure why they needed to be there, or what sort of difference it would have made if they had arrived in time, she just knew that they wouldn't. She had been tempted to awaken Joe, but had decided after twice starting to do so, to wait until he awoke on his own.
She could tell now though, by the change in his breathing, that he would soon awaken, and she walked to the small fire she had built earlier to start some coffee brewing.
She was still not entirely used to Joe calling her Becky. The first couple of times she had almost not responded when he had, thinking that he must be speaking to someone else, although there was no one else. The name felt good to her now that she was becoming used to it, she thought, as she placed the small tin pot on the coals next to the fire.
She was sitting by the fire wondering how to approach the subject of New York, when Joe slipped his hands around her from behind. He turned her around to face him, and she saw the sadness etched into his face. He already knows, she thought, and before she could complete the thought he proved her right.
"It's too late, Beck," he said, "it's already started... Do you feel it?"
She nodded her head in reply, and then said, "What do we do now?"
He seemed to think for a minute, and then replied softly. "We go anyway, Honey, or at least as far as we can go, I guess," he seemed unsure as he spoke, and shrugged his shoulders helplessly when he finished.
Becky poured coffee in the small tin cups for both of them before she spoke. "I think you're right, Joe. I mean we should go, at least as far as we can. Do you think we can make it all the way?"
He shrugged his shoulders again as he responded. "I think we can make it at least to the water, and then we can decide from there whether to try to cross or not. What do you think?"
"I guess so, I... I don't know. It certainly can't hurt, and where else would we go?" she stared into the fire as she spoke. "I think we should be a lot more careful though. I get the feeling that those people we ran into aren't the only ones around who would just as soon kill us, and I'm not kidding myself about it, I think it was pretty clear. They didn't want to talk, or even to just take us prisoner or something, they wanted to outright kill us. No sense pretending about that like I was at first." She paused.
"I mean, I really thought there, for a second, that they were just scared or something, or maybe saw me and... Well, you know. But that wasn't it. I guess I knew then that it had started, and I think maybe you did too."
When she finished he nodded silently, and then sipped from the cup before he spoke. "You're right, and you're right that I knew, I just didn't want to think about it, Hell, I couldn't think about much of anything except getting as far away as possible, and, I kept thinking about the truck too. Did they do that before they tried to kill us, after, or was it someone else? There's no real way to tell I guess, but even if they were alone I'm not kidding myself that there won't be others just like them. We do have to be careful," he paused, thinking. "In fact I think we need to get off the main road. I don't think it's safe... You agree? I mean, there are lots of other roads that parallel the main highway. I guess it just seems like the smart thing to do, and it feels like the right thing to do. What do you think, Honey?" he asked.
"I think
