AbOut tiMe riGht?!?

Thank y'all so much for your patience and encouragement! This chapter iS short, but I HAD to get it out. Next POV will still be Damon, I think, as this is only like...half the chapter I planned...maybe a quarter.

Anyway, enJOY the second book in the To Walk Trilogy!!

aCk also here's some mUsic

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RECAP

DAMON RIVER'S POV

          And then the very earth trembled.

          I whirled to my followers, roaring at them, "Flee! We must go, He'll bring the entire building down on top of us—!"

          A deafening roar of hundreds of tons of crumbling stone walls and old wood drowned my words out. Stones large as a horse fell among us, slamming into the dirt and kicking up dust, blinding us. No, no!! Notch had blessed us; this was his will!!

          I lunged for the nearest person, Jasher, but something hard hit the back of my head, fell onto my legs, slamming me to the ground, knocking the breath from me. Blackness descended on me as choking dust filled my lungs...

          Stones were still falling when my eyes rolled back, and I passed out.

END RECAP

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Rescued

DAMON RIVERS' POV

          Darkness...darkness and thick, oppressive silence. Time didn't exist here, neither did thought or feeling... Hours or days, it mattered not, not in this void. I couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't feel...I couldn't even remember if I was supposed to be able to...

          Until pain hit me in the back of my head, hard. Aches bloomed in my arm, in my legs and side, driving me out of the cold embrace of unconsciousness and back into the land of the living. As I drifted into wakefulness, I groaned softly, feeling warm breath pass my lips, though my chest felt...constricted. Sharp pains raced through my head and legs, my right arm with every heartbeat, and I could hardly draw breath, so immense was the weight upon my back. I didn't even try to move; I could feel how well pinned I was. I forced my dry eyes to blink open, wincing a little when the sting of dust met them...accompanied by a thin stream of choked sunlight falling across my bicep, the one stretched out before me and pinned with an agonizingly heavy weight. Every beat of my heart sent a throbbing sensation through it, and my feeling stopped at the wrist...a numb cold had set in.

          I coughed, choking on dust particles that drifted by me, still settling from that quake. Every convulsion of my chest sent fire through my lungs, and I couldn't hold back a weak and raspy cry of pain, try as I might. As the coughing fit ended, I lowered my head to the harsh ground, closing my eyes as despair began to set in.

          Buried alive... Again. I did not expect to die this way...

          A grating sound of wood on stone came from above me, and I flinched a little but paid it no heed. It was probably just the rubble settling around me, forever sealing me in its crushing embrace.

          More and more sounds of shifting rubble came...was it a landslide?

          Then...there were voices. Muffled voices, but they were real.

           My head jerked up a little, my eyes flying open. The back of my head, already sore, met stone again none too gently. I inhaled sharply, lowering my head to rest my forehead against the ground as my headache flared again. Why did stone have to be so hard...

          More muffled voices came, making me flinch. Rescuers...but...who would have come? No one knew of our whereabouts...

          Throwing caution to the wind, I took a shallow breath, forcing my protesting throat, dry and sore from dust, to call out, "H-hey! Who's there...I...I n-need help!"

          The thin shaft of sunlight on my arm flickered, vanished, and a voice, deep and rich, responded, "We're digging you out, worry not. Where are you injured?"

          We... So there were several... Oh to Nether with caution, even if I did get out, I wouldn't be able to fight, "M-my...right arm 's pinned under a stone, my legs ache, feels like a beam is on them...and a large chunk o-of stone on m-my back makes it difficult to breathe..."

          "Right...try to stay awake, we're nearly through. Your companions are freed and are being cared for, worry not about them."

          Relief washed over me, almost making me dizzy, "A-all of them?"

          "Indeed, the youngest is eager to see you, we are continually brushing him aside."

          A raspy chuckle made it out of my throat. Jasher...good...he wasn't badly hurt...

          The weight suddenly lifted from my legs with a great cracking of wood and a rumble of stone, and a hand landed gently on the back of my knee, "Here he is! Hurry, this stone needs support—"

          I twitched a little, unused to the foreign touch, but the hand was warm, soothing me despite my fear. Another raspy cough made my lungs ache terribly, and the hand gave me a comforting squeeze, "It's alright, Damon, you're nearly free."

          He...knew my name? Strange...perhaps the others had mentioned it...

          Rapid shifting, more muttered voices, and the occasional pat to my knee kept me awake, though sleep pressed around me. It was...strange to be so helpless. So much time had passed since I was in such a desperate position...and even when I found myself caught in harsh situations, I was the one to pull the others free, set them on their feet and comfort them with a soft word, a pat on the shoulder... The helplessness I felt now was keen, almost a thorn in my side...I didn't like being at someone else's mercy...

          It...reminded me too much of Him...

          A harsh cracking sound, the wooden scrape of beams on stone, and sunlight coupled with a small shower of pebbles rained down on my head, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut, grit my teeth, and hope the dust wouldn't choke me. Notch...I was so tired...

          "Here, there's his arm, Vorthal, you start easing this stone off him—"

          The weight left my arm, then my back, and I gasped in a lungful of dust-riddled air, not caring how much the particles scratched my sore throat. I could breathe...

          I rasped, "Th-thank you..."

          Immediately, hands were on me, gentle yet firm, I could feel the strength they possessed. The hands ran down my torso, feeling for injuries, then slid beneath my weak, aching body. I was lifted, though I kept my eyes closed, too weary to try and comprehend who it was that now held power over me. I was held to a broad, armored chest, my head leaning against cool metal, and the arm under my knees, along with the one supporting my back, did not tremble with my weight. Light hit my closed eyelids and I moaned softly, wincing as a pang shot through my head.

https://youtu.be/oaJX241hs14

           A swaying motion, like walking, made me relax unwittingly, and a soft exclamation, one I recognized as Jasher's made me sigh softly. He was safe...I didn't have to worry about him. My legs felt damp, as did my arm, now throbbing terribly. Blood...it had to be.

          Then, warmth caressed my entire body, as though I had been carried into a shaft of sunlight. However, the light didn't cause pain in my head...strange. Blinking open my heavy eyelids again, the sight that met me struck me speechless with awe.

          I was still in that strange room the demon had fled from, but...there was so much more. Men, tall and lightly armored, many with long hair caught up in braids and ponytails, stood around the room, several with sheathed weapons on their hips. Some spoke quietly, others were grim and silent. However, what stood out to me were the enormous, spreading wings sweeping from their backs, laying folded against their bodies, some feathers nearly touching the ground. The feathers were sleek, beautiful, rustling gently in the slight breeze, and ranged from brown to black to white. My eye traveled over them in shock as my mind struggled to accept that I was truly awake...

          And then my gaze settled on the man I was being carried towards, and my mouth dropped open in utter disbelief.

          Tall, even more so than the winged people, and broad-shouldered, he wore a crown of gold and white, almost seeming to glow from where it sat atop a shaven head. A black beard, nicely kept, surrounded a smiling mouth, he was speaking to one of the winged ones. He wore a layered tunic of dark brown and tan, edged in gold. A cape of grey and gold swept from clasps of gold on his shoulders, brushing deep grey pants and drifting down to black boots. He suddenly turned, and when his kind eyes fell across my battered form, shining with warmth and immense power, I felt my heart all but stop.

          This...this was Notch.

          With powerful strides, he approached, smiling still, his eyes locked with mine. The fear in them must have been apparent, for as the Creator neared, he chuckled, a deep, rich sound that just...radiated kindness, "Worry not, Damon, you will come to no harm here, and no, you are not dead."

          I could only blink, shock still paralyzing my tongue. This...the Creator himself...was speaking to me?

           Then his warm hand was resting on my forehead, his other on my knee. A golden glow came from it, and a strange feeling of peace washed over me as my aches eased. He...he was healing me?

          His thumb gently brushed my bad eye, closing it, before he drew his hands away, "There you are... Ravon, let him stand."

          I tensed, my mind still struggling to wrap around what was happening...if I was dreaming or not... Then my boots hit the ground, and my support stepped back, leaving me alone, staring up at the most powerful being in the universe. My aches were gone, bruises and cuts healed with new flesh, allowing me to stand strong, though I didn't feel like I could. I felt small, insignificant under his gaze as my mind raced to think of what the proper thing to do in front of your creator would be.

          So, as any human would do in that situation, I bowed my head and dropped to a knee. My entire life had been dedicated to serving him by ridding the world of a monster, and I had failed. Was he here to punish me...?

          A strong hand gripped my shoulder, pulling me up, "There now, there's no need for kneeling here...stand up. I must have a word with you."

          Astonished, my eyes flicked to Notch's face, seeing him still smiling softly. Wait...my eyes...?

          I gasped a little, jerking my right hand up near my temple, touching my eye, my scarred, useless eye...

          I...I could see again.

          Notch chuckled a little, "No need to stand over there awkwardly, come on over."

          I hardly heard; my throat closed up a little. He...he'd healed my eye...

          Then arms wrapped about me, and voices rang in my ears, voices of my followers.

          "Damon! You're alright."

          "Damon, you wouldn't believe what's happened—"

          "Sir, your scar...it's..."

          Lifting my eyes to them, my vision a little misty, I gave the cheerful faces of Soren, Roarn, Candra, and Jasher a wide grin, finally finding my voice, "I...I can see."

          I can see...

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YeehAw! Vote if you enjoyyyeddd! Hopefully I can churn out the next chapter soon...and maybe a short story...?? What do y'all want, a little short story or another chapterrrrr fOrst