The Gift of Sky and Soil (Father Sky Book 1)

by Gillian Zane

  “Don’t you have to post your every waking moment to Instagram?” I laughed when she frowned. “You looked happy.”

  “I am. Ooh, can you get a few more?” she laughed, but she must have seen something on my face. “What?”

  “Isn’t there a term for this?”

  “Photographer?” She was playing coy; I could see it in the turn of her lips and the cock of her head.

  “No, it’s like an Instagram husband or something,” I laughed.

  “I think that takes a little more commitment than a few snapped photos of me,” she winked, and I couldn’t help but laugh. If I didn’t know better, I would think she was flirting.

  “Just a few quick ones. Have to give my fans their daily fix.” she leaned against the pine tree and cocked her head just so, placing her leg in an alluring position, and boom, instant pose. I snapped off a few pictures, and she grabbed the phone and nodded appreciatively.

  “Awesome.” She squeezed my bicep, and I felt those damn tingles again just from her touch; the smell of fresh air intoxicating to a man who hadn’t taken a deep breath in a long time.

  18

  Life on Miley’s property was a peaceful existence. Something I could get used to. I was prone to isolate myself. Work in the lab was usually a solo endeavor. My only brush with humanity was when I spoke to other scientists about the date, or if I had to teach a class. Most classes were now online, except the small labs, so even that was a very solo experience since it was mainly just me talking into a computer as if I was recording a video.

  Twice, I had returned to Baton Rouge. Both times with Miley at my side, but I didn’t need her to do her mojo. I wrote up requisition paperwork and managed to get even more equipment than I had planned. My ideas were on par with their endeavors to fight the pollen, and my data backed it up. I got a secondary approval to set up a field lab, and they even issued me a per diem and an expense account. A few of my associates even called me to beg if they could come down and work with me. It was obvious from the data I was collecting that the pollen was more condensed in this area than any other area in the United States that we were measuring. They were hoping what I was finding out in Mandeville would help them in eradicating the pollen. What they didn’t know, was I was planning on doing all of it myself, and nothing they could do in their university lab could even come close to what Miley and I found out now that we had the knowledge of what or really who was behind this pollen.

  Each time I had returned to Baton Rouge, I had marveled at what a ghost town it was. My section of the city centered around the university, and no one was on campus to attend classes. Schools had attempted three times to return to physical classrooms, and three times they had to shut back down. Almost all of the colleges in the world were educating via tele-learning environments. Budgets were slashed, funding pulled. The large colleges were now empty cities. Some had been overrun by rioters and burned to the ground. Luckily, that didn’t happen at LSU. The rioting had taken down the downtown area, which was now what they were calling a “no-go zone.” If you went within shooting distance of those areas and weren’t displaying identification that announced you were friendly to those inside, the gangs inside them asked no questions, they took you down.

  You paired those zones with the barricade the police had set up around the government buildings that were close by, you stayed away from those parts of Baton Rouge. Most people did. The city was a ghost town, most had moved into the suburbs when the second pandemic and then riots hit. Most big cities were like Baton Rouge, the only ones that inhabited them were either desperate, or had a nefarious purpose, and unfortunately the desperate were being caught in the cross-fire every day.

  When we eradicated the pollen, putting a stop to whatever Mother Nature’s plans were, I hoped the human race could come back from the mess it had made of itself in the last decade. It gave me some hope that this wasn’t all caused from our own dark nature. There was a driving force behind our descent into chaos—a goddess, an enemy no one knows about. And I—we, had to put an end to her plans. Daunting.

  It was a task I didn’t know if we could accomplish. But we had to try. Hopefully, we didn't make things worse in the process.

  Miley and I had returned to the trail yesterday on my mission to get as much information as possible. I had collected samples in three different areas and was now processing those. I had sent off our blood samples to a diagnostic center that I trusted for their privacy. All the samples I had collected were coming back with almost identical readings as the initial findings that occurred in Africa. It was like there was an identical plant producing the pollen right in the middle of Southern Louisiana. How it had gotten there was unknown. It was impossible if you looked at it scientifically.

  “I’m sure this is the key to how it is spreading,” I said aloud.

  “What is?” Miley asked as she opened the door from her kitchen into the garage. She held a tray of sandwiches. Our appetite had greatly increased since the initial changes started happening to us.

  “I think there is an identical plant like what they found in Africa. It must be located in that clearing where we got abducted by the Mother.” I held up the printed sheets. They were identical. I grabbed a sandwich from the tray, gave Miley an appreciative nod, and took a big bite.

  “If I can interpret what I’ve been reading, correctly, there should be seven of them spread out around the world.” She had her own print-outs in her hand, and she placed them on the table in front of me.

  “What have you found?” I said it through a mouth full of sandwich and felt like an ass, but I was starving. She walked around to my side of the table and spread out a few sheets in front of me. I felt her press against me slightly, and my skin tingled where hers met mine. I don’t know what she bathed in, but she smelled amazing. She smelled like rain and clean air. I took a deep breath and then held it, feeling self-conscious. She didn’t move away, she actually moved in closer, a strand of her white gray locks falling onto my shoulder. I wanted to touch it. My self-control should be awarded, because I refrained from doing so. I shoved more sandwich in my mouth and concentrated on the papers she put in front of me. They showed some sort of depictions of ancient carvings, then there were pictures that had more modern pictures.

  “Humans have worshiped a Mother or Earth Goddess since Mesopotamia, a goddess called Ki who could also be the Sumer goddess Ninhursag, and later the Greek titan Gaia. The accounts are so old that they get mixed up and confused, but some are so unbelievably similar they were often confused in interpretation. If you study them together, with what we know, it’s—”

  “As if they were one being,” I added, knowing where her path would have taken her.

  “Yes, and depending on which culture or mythology there is a repeated archetype, at some point the goddess, or god, or say angel, gets jealous of the creator god’s creation and war erupts. In some, there are wars in heaven, or the realm of the gods. Gods get torn asunder, eaten, you name it, in other scenarios plagues rain down upon the Earth and humans die. Within most of the myths, rebirth happens after the war, new gods and goddesses are born, either taking control of the heavens, like in the Greek pantheon when Zeus overthrew his father who had swallowed his other children. That one is quite different, though, because it was Cronos who grew jealous of his own children which were gods themselves, not a goddess of Earth. Sometimes the genders are twisted, sometimes they are all males. I think it’s culture based.”

  “So, what are you saying, this has happened before?”

  “In the myths and the legends, it has, so I’m assuming it references real events. There are a lot of mixed narratives about wars, nations battle because the gods battle, that sort of thing. And don’t get me started on the flood myths. There is one in almost every culture.”

  “These myths are in Christianity too, right?”

  “They are, the flood myth is probably the most known, and perpetuates in almost all ancient cultures. But there are similar stories like
the endless struggle between God and the Devil, or the opposite of the main god whatever that incarnation is in most ancient religions. The Christian story is that Lucifer was God’s favorite angel until Lucifer became jealous of God’s creation and rose up against him. He lost, and those that stood with Lucifer fell from Heaven. Christians think he resides in Hell, but it could also be Earth. Lucifer could also be a woman, or who knows if these beings even have gender, they, them,” she laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked, obviously not getting the joke.

  “If it turned out that Lucifer took a female persona, or if they were genderless, the Catholics would shit. They like their men in charge. I love irony,” she shrugged, and I nodded, because it was true, it was the reason my mother was a bad Muslim. Not much place for women in the “old” religions.

  “We could be looped in a script that has been playing out for millennia. Possibly on repeat.”

  “What most of us consider good and evil isn’t that black and white.” She shuffled through the papers, and I noticed she looked tired. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked older. I didn’t know her exact age because I had never asked, but I assumed she was maybe twenty-five or so, younger than me definitely. A pang of guilt skittered through my chest because I had been sleeping really well in my new little house, which was something I wasn’t used to, I had always been an insomniac.

  I was sleeping well because I had accepted my role in this. I had accepted what I had to do. It was a big task and a risky one, but I had set out on this path a long time ago. When I had watched that hurricane trample my hometown and take out my entire family. Maybe before that, when I had watched the plagues decimate Africa and Asia. I knew I had to do something to change it; thinking it was fate that the lab I was in would work on eradicating the pollen. I wanted to save the world, and now I had been directly petitioned to do so. Miley had never asked for this. She had been thrust into this conflict and she was embracing it, but I could see how it would lead to not so sleep-filled nights. Then there was the entire god and goddess thing. I hadn’t been raised with any kind of organized religion; my dad had flitted through beliefs like the hippy he was. Even his worship of nature was half-assed. Opening myself up to a different kind of thought wasn’t anything new. I couldn’t imagine how to process this if I was a Christian. They tended to be kind of rigid about that one God thing, or so I had found in my limited experience with religion and religious people. Miley didn’t strike me as super religious, though but some things were hard to get over.

  She had mentioned randomly the things she did in her spare time. She was an Instagram model. I didn’t know what that took to accomplish, but I’m sure there was a lot more involved than just taking pictures. She had also run her Airbnbs and tended her gardens. Nothing about church or bible groups. So, maybe that wasn’t it. It could be that she was supposed to fight the nefarious plans of a goddess intent on wiping out humanity. That could lead to some sleepless nights.

  I took her hand and rubbed my thumb across her palm. The skin was soft, and the tingles it sent down my spine had me sitting straighter. The wash of comfort that I was getting used to when being near her was overwhelming and slightly unsettling. I was used to being alone. I’ve never wanted to exist near another person this strongly. The smell of fresh air, the slight damping of the air around me as if a storm was about to set in told me there was more to this than some regular lust or need for companionship. It was mystifying but welcome. It felt right. But, was it my own choice?

  She took a deep breath and met my eyes.

  “It’s going to be alright,” I said to reassure both of us.

  “It has to be,” she said quietly. “I found more, though.”

  “What is it?” I didn’t let go of her hand, instead sliding my fingers between hers and clasping our hands together, enjoying the energy between us.

  “The number seven repeats itself in a lot of the mythology that I’ve looked up, like the Pleiades, or the seven daughters of Atlas. The Titan who holds the world on his back, forced to do this task after he led the war against the Olympians. They were protected by Zeus and reborn as stars in the heavens known as the Pleiades star cluster. The Seven Hesperides in Greek mythology. Seth gave Isis seven scorpions after he murdered Osiris. The seven hills of Rome, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, seven sacraments, seven deadly sins… seven seals, and that is just Greek, Roman and Christianity. Seven Heavens in Islam, the seven gates of Jahannam, along with the seven layers of heaven.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “You mentioned seven plants. Could that be it? Each on our seven continents? You say that the plants are the key. If it’s these plants that are causing the pollen would destroying them stop the spread?”

  “It’s possible, but I wouldn’t know how to verify it.”

  “How did you find this one?” she asked.

  “Contact tracing and then drone testing. I thought it was strange that the spread seemed to be originating from the North Shore and not New Orleans. Urban centers are the usual point of origin for most outbreaks, not the suburbs. The tourists bring it in from other locations, but here it was locals that started it instead of tourists, which didn’t make sense. None of them showed travel on their surveys.”

  “Well, that’s how we’ll find the other locations. If you did it once, you can do it again.”

  “You have an awful lot of faith in me.” She squeezed my hand, making me realize we were still holding hands, that trace of a breeze still in the air. It was the most at ease I had felt in a long time.

  19

  It took a lot of courage to venture into town these days. Only about a third of the stores and restaurants had survived the onslaught of the economic crashes and shut-downs that had been occurring over the last few years. I made sure my schedule was rigid and methodical when I went into town. Always on a weekday, I hit two or three stores in a certain order depending on what I needed. The point was to avoid crowds. Nothing good came out of lines and crowds.

  Today, I had to replenish my food stores, along with a few gardening supplies, and Zeke had decided to accompany me on the ten-mile trip into town to help and grab a few items that he needed. I usually went to the big box membership store and stocked up on enough to hold me over for at least 3-weeks. It was always an intense trip and usually cost me a pretty penny with the rise in cost of the basics, and now with two people eating, I figured it would be a lot more, at least double my usual expenditure. I wouldn't complain though, Zeke made sure he chipped in, I think his lab was still paying him a salary.

  Over the last five years I had learned to live without. I had acclimated my pallet to not rebel when it drank powered milk. I had learned that I didn't need that fancy cheese anymore. That I could do without a certain cereal, or coffee. That if I saw toilet paper I had to scoop up as much as the store allowed, that along with cleaning products and soap were a must buy when I saw them.

  It was a different way of living than a few years back but you get used to it. Like wearing a mask and only talking to service people through plexiglass. New world order.

  The parking lot didn’t look that bad at the membership lot. I didn’t like to park close even when I saw a good spot, so I parked near the street with at least two car spaces between me and the next vehicle.

  Zeke and I affixed our face masks and slipped lightweight long-sleeve shirts on over our tank tops; I made sure my hair was affixed tight to my head while Zeke pulled a baseball cap onto his. All of which were a CDC mandate when entering a public place, even though the talking points said it did nothing. The mandate was in place because they said that pollen could stick to the hair on your arms and head and you would spread it by rubbing onto things. They hadn’t tried to force shaved heads — yet, just said not to leave hair loose or flowing because you were more likely to pick up and spread the pollen. But, the talking heads on the news were all screaming bloody murder because it had been suggested. I didn’t think any of these
mandates and regulations that they had quickly passed into law would work as great as they said it would, but I adhered to the policy because all I wanted to do was shop in peace, and if this made people more comfortable, then I would do as required. It wasn’t like they were asking me to walk around naked, or compromise my well-being or health in any way. It was a simple, if not, slightly aggravating task I had to do to make it through the day and if it stopped one person from getting sick, all the better.

  At first, a lot of people had protested the mandates. They had refused to wear masks, even when the police ticketed them. That hadn’t lasted long as more people got sick and scared and the police got distracted by rioting as their idea of policy turned into police brutality and racism and the general population had enough. It had only settled down when the second bird flu hit, and people went from angered to panic. By then, the majority of the police force in urban areas had been decimated by firings and resignations, which left us with the dregs of the last remaining good old boys who did not agree with ticketing the non-masked. Luckily, a good amount of fear cured the protests in the majority of people and most everyone masked and dressed up. But there were a few hold-outs.

  Either too stupid to be afraid, or too stubborn to back down.

  They stood out in front of the stores that enforced the mandate with signs that promoted boycott and called into question your classification of sheep or human when you entered. The government was flirting with labeling anti-maskers as they were called, terrorists.

  I sighed when I saw a group of five of these “constitutional rights” activists. Like there even was a constitution anymore. I didn’t even know who our current president was. After the last election, our first female president, was dead within ten days of the swine flu, leaving her VP in charge. She was deposed and impeached within three months when bank account records of payments from China were revealed. I think we now had the Secretary of State, or maybe the Majority leader as the current president, some guy from North Carolina if I wasn’t mistaken, who barely made appearances and had passed a no impeachment or reelection law after in office for only five days. There were rumors he was sick as well, though. About to be impeached by Mother Nature, I guess.