Katie slept for a full day and a half in our cabin.
When she wasn't snoring loudly, she was sleep-talking, occasionally yelling "yes ma'am!" and waving her hands up in a dizzy salute.
At one point, she got out of bed, half asleep and silently followed Meg while we prepared dinner. Then after two minutes of standing there like a ghost, she went back to bed.
Now finally awake, she was sitting at the kitchen counter, hungrily stuffing her mouth with a peanut butter sandwich.
"I'm so sorry you guys." She said in between bites, "I didn't expect to sleep that long. I must have been totally exhausted."
"It's alright." Meg shrugged, "It's the least we could do for you."
Katie wiped her mouth and hurried to the center of the small living room and stood there, trying to look official with a peanut butter stain on the side of her mouth.
"So…uh, I guess it's goodbye for now. Please keep in touch. Hylla probably needs me right now."
And with that she disappeared into thin air.
***
A few uneventful days later, Meg and I went for a walk to the nearby town.
The place was half standing but still working…to some extent.
The place looked like it had seen battle. I could see old laser scars on buildings and thousands of claw marks carved on walls. Probably an army of Scokytocles had passed through here.
Now however, a few shops were open and there was some activity on the streets---children running around playing, people gambling on the sides of the streets, generators humming and a bustling Spanish outdoor restaurant. It wasn't bad.
Meg and I settled ourselves at the table closest to the road.
A chubby cheerful-looking waiter rushed over and took our order and disappeared.
"So…" Meg started once the man left us, leaning back and folding her arms. "How are you holding up?"
"Uh…what do you mean?" I asked.
She tapped the side of her head, "Vorthul. I know he's been inside your head. Since the Fire Harbinger's attack."
"I forgot you can literally read my mind." I grumbled.
She shrugged. "Hard not to notice actually. What with all the wincing and panting and moaning in your sleep."
"Moaning?"
"Hard not to want to peek inside your head when you are basically begging me to. Even now…" She leaned forward. "I can sense Vorthul stirring inside you."
She was right. There had been a dull aching pain throbbing behind my eyes from the moment I'd stepped out of the cabin. I rubbed my temples and tightened my jaw, trying to suppress Vorthul's presence.
"I'm sorry about…all this." I said, "And I'm sorry for not telling you earlier but this…" I pointed at my head, "It's just a ticking bomb. Nothing I can do to stop it. Nothing anyone can do really."
Meg opened her mouth to say something but got interrupted when the waiter came back with our order, setting down the plates before us.
For Meg, a grilled chicken sandwich with some fries and for me, pasta with tomato sauce.
After the waiter left, Meg lowered her voice, "I'm going to go inside your head for a little bit."
"What for?" I asked, suddenly self conscious.
"Relax, I'm just going to have a little chat with Vorthul."
"What?"
"Through telepathy."
She reached out and caressed my scalp gently, locking eyes with me.
Blue on Green.
"Are you ready?" She asked softly.
A memory of our kiss involuntarily flashed through my mind and I felt my face heat up.
Meg's face reddened immediately and she forced a glass of water down her throat quickly.
Sometimes her reading my mind wasn't fun at all.
"I-I'll try again." She murmured.
A warming soothing feeling flowed through my mind, driving back that dark presence to a corner.
That's Meg.
Meg's eyes were closed in deep concentration but she muttered, "I hope your brain doesn't explode." and then in my head I heard her voice loud and clear. "Hello ancient nutjob parasite thingie, I need to have a word with you."
At first I thought she was talking to me.
Then I heard that ancient accent, dripping with arrogance. "Megan. You have guts, I'll give you that."
Meg's voice snickered, tickling my brain from the inside, "Well I wish it was something you had too. Hiding inside the head of a college student is kinda pathetic don't you think? I thought you'd be more…godlike."
I felt an unpleasant hissing sound pierce the base of my skull.
It was the weirdest experience I'd ever had in my life. I could see Meg clearly in front of me, her eyes closed and her fingers still tangled in my hair. Around us, people were milling around, chattering and eating.
But every other noise was drowned out by Meg and Vorthul, the ancient cosmic entity, having a loud conversation inside my head.
"Big words for a gnat like you," Vorthul boasted. "In one month, my Harbingers will prepare this world for my arrival, stripping the planet of its world and ending your worthless civilization."
Meg wasn't fazed, "That's pathetic. Zeph and END already took down your Fire Harbinger last week."
Vorthul sneered, rattling my skull, "I will admit taking down my Golden Pillar will…slow down things a bit. But it doesn't matter. Three more Pillars still remain. One of Water, Another of Wind and then the one fashioned from Earth."
"And how long before you actually try to make your move? Which will undoubtedly fail by the way" Meg said.
"Your boyfriend already knows"
My stomach dropped.
I remembered his words; IN ONE MONTH.
"Major attacks from my Pillars—or Harbingers as you call them—will rock this wretched city in preparation for my arrival. And from here, after this body will become mine, I will personally spread my dominance to the rest of the world."
"Why exactly do you need his body specifically?" Meg asked, her tone sharpening, "What's with this "perfect vessel" thingie you've got going on here? What about me or anyone else? I could be a perfect vessel if you ask me."
Vorthul chuckled again, "Foolish child. This boy was chosen because of the sheer tenacity his body has. I could demonstrate this right now if you wish."
I could feel the sudden panic in Meg's voice, "Wait, don't—"
"Just watch." Maliciousness playing in his voice.
A sudden searing pain pressed down on my head, nearly making me lose consciousness.
My body slumped forward but Meg caught me, her eyes tightly shot and a vein popping in her forehead.
"Stop it!" Meg yelled in my head but Vorthul just laughed, thoroughly enjoying himself.
I felt my eyes clouding up in a red haze.
My whole body was now steaming, wisps of smoke curling out the top of my head.
"Focus on my voice." Meg muttered with a determined calm, "Block out every other thing. It's just me and you, Zeph. Follow my voice."
And I did. My mind found happy memories of us; solving arithmetic assignments together in college, hanging out under the pine tree at the edge of camp, training with our friends in Camp and our kiss in the cabin…
Slowly the pain ebbed away, that familiar pleasant warmth pushing it away again, closing the cracks.
I heard Vorthul's fading voice faintly, disgusted and distant, "Insufferable girl…"
And then my mind was clear again except for a faint echoing headache and a small nosebleed.
Meg herself looked drained, her forehead beaded with sweat.
"Shit." She whispered, clearly shook by the experience, "I'm so sorry I —"
"You saved me. Yet again." I said. "Don't you see it? You are literally my remedy."
She tried to smile but for once she couldn't.
I gripped her hand and squeezed it. I'd known this for a while now. For some reason Meg was the only thing that could save me.
Without any doubt I knew I'd be dead without her.
"Maybe with you…we could figure out a cure. A way to purge out Vorthul from my head."
"But that power…It's crushingly overwhelming. It's unlike anything I'd ever felt with my telepathy. If that thing fully manifests in you…"
I didn't want to think about it.
"We need to warn END about the other three Harbingers." I said, after finally taking a forkful of my now-cold pasta. "And Vorthul's appearance by the end of this month."
Meg nodded, clearly still shaken.
"We'll meet up with END forces and make plans on how to take out the Harbingers." I continued.
"Fighting the Wind Harbinger was a bust though." Meg muttered and rubbed her formerly dislocated arm.
"We'll be better prepared this time." I said, a new determination in my veins, "I've gotten so much stronger, you won't believe it."
"Uh huh." Meg said, an amused look on her face as she nibbled on the tip of a french fry.