The Sacrifice

A Story by RavenBlack

“You better hurry, or it’s back to the Stone Age for all of us, sweetheart.”

Raven grabbed the lapel of the young man’s jacket and slammed him against the railing.

“Close it!” she demanded. The young man laughed hysterically.

“No can do sweetheart. You see time is very tricky business,” he said, licking his parched lips.

Raven looked up, desperate, the red hole torn into the sky enlarging by the second.

“How does it feel, Saviour?” the man asked. “How do you feel knowing you can’t save the world?”

“There’s still time!” she said frantically.

“Is there?” He looked at his Rolex. “You got two minutes left, sweetheart.”

Raven took an impatient groan. If she looked over the railing she could see the busy streets below. The thought of pushing him over, ending his miserable life, felt so easy.

“Something on your mind, sweetheart?”

Raven’s fists tightened into the man’s jacket. “Tell me how to close the portal!”

“Can’t you feel it?” he asked.

He was right; there was something familiar about the energy coming from the portal. It was the same energy Raven used, the same energy she could manipulate.

“It’s a time portal, isn’t it?” she asked

“Which means there’s only one way to close it!” he exclaimed.

Raven’s eyes widened at the prospect. “No!”

“Yes!”

“There must be another way!”

“Not any that I know off,” the young man teased.

“Don’t lie to me!” she slammed him against the railing breaking the pipes, his body hanging of the edge, his legs kicking wildly in the air.

“Do it!” he challenged.

Raven’s brow began to sweat.

“Come on! It’s not that hard!”

Her grip slowly loosened.

“Just let go,” he whispered softly.

She heaved him up and fell back as he landed on top of her. Her breath quick, her heart pounding. She slammed the ground in frustration.

“Even after five years, you still can’t kill me,” he sniggered, as he rolled off her.

Raven stayed silent and stared at the crimson hole in the sky. She had two choices. Neither of them she liked. Neither of them ended well. He’d win either way.

He sat on top of the air conditioning, legs crossed, arms folded. His lips curved into an amused smile. “Tick tock. Tick tock,” he sung.

Damn it! Raven had forgotten about the time limit. She had to make her choice and she had to make it now.

She ran across the rooftop and bent her legs when she got to the edge before launching into the sky. The winding bashing against her face and white jacket, she flew into the red portal. The man jumped up, clapping in delight.

The crimson hands wrapped around Raven, entwining together it became smaller and smaller till it disappeared.

Although she was gone, her legacy and sacrifice will be remembered. In death humanity was saved once again, but at a cost.