Chapter Fifty-Nine

The events that were transpiring spurred Atum on. In his haste, some of the powder was lost, carried away on the wind. He swore under his breath, sheltering under the remains of a bus stop, the seat still in usable condition.

His hands were shaking as the sound of the crumbling warehouse reached him.

"Shu!" He called up into the empty sky, looking up only briefly lest he lose any more of the precious mixture. "Do not allow the humans to be lost!"

'Yes, great one,' Shu's voice carried back, mingled with the soft wail of a crying baby. 'I must make sure these are safe too, then I will on of swift wings.'

Atum nodded, muttering some nonsensical words of acknowledgment. He could see in his mind, the half-dead mother, desperate to save her child, fearful in the arms of her dead husband and older daughter. All around them, life was evaporating and Shu was their only hope.

He turned