Dawn of Revelation

by A N Sandra

  “Goddammit!” Blaine was shouting over and over again.

  Molly realized she could hear him because the door to his office was cracked, and Barry, her father’s IT guru was trying to leave. There was a terrible crash, then a loud thunk. Molly saw Brianne, the morning maid scurry away. Wise. Molly walked over and pulled the door to the office open to find her father completely red-faced and furious. Looking over at Molly, he ranted.

  “He let her get away! They’re not even sure how long she’s been gone. Maybe two weeks! We don’t know where she is at all. Maybe Brazil, that’s the last place her son Peter’s passport was used, but he let me down!”

  Molly looked to the floor. Barry lay in a strange heap. Blood oozed from his temple. Molly realized that her father was holding a small handgun in his right hand as he raged. He held it carelessly, the way someone might hold a pen they had forgotten they picked up.

  “What a worthless bastard,” Molly fumed, looking down with disgust at Barry’s corpse. She thought of Tilly’s cell phone that had been bugged but never gotten a single interesting nugget of real information. “He’s been getting sloppy lately.”

  “Christina Harris is the face of Plan B, the vaccination chip!” Blaine was clearly too angry to calm down at all. “Without her finishing the promotion… Who knows how much work we’ll have to cover up her disappearance—”

  “Do you think she’s going to tell people about the chip?” Molly wanted to know. They were so close to the next step into their new world...

  “Probably! But I’ll have my media people on it. I own the internet! I’ll find her and her miserable family and the friends who helped her and they will all suffer!”

  Molly hoped so. Anyone who angered her father to that point deserved to be extinguished in the most painful way possible. She looked down in disdain at Barry’s undignified, lifeless form. He had no wife or children. Blaine always insisted that IT people had no families making demands on their time, so he would be unmissed for a good bit.

  “He’ll bleed on the carpet,” Molly said. She used her toe to shift his head to keep the blood from pouring directly on the Persian silk carpet. “I don’t know if you were going to save it, or if you cared about it but…”

  “I’ll get Vance to get rid of him.” Blaine scowled at the mess on the floor that used to be his best IT worker. “This carpet belonged to the royal family of Iran for generations and I do want it in the new house. Even dead he’s trying to mess things up!”

  Blaine picked up his phone to call security to remove Barry’s body, the very existence of which threatened a carpet that was clearly worth more than his life.

  “Can I help?” Molly asked before her father connected to the person he was calling. She was quite proud of herself for keeping her head with a dead man at her feet.

  Blaine shook his head, dismissing her with the gesture, and Molly slipped away, slightly shocked but not horrified. She had never seen anyone kill someone. The only dead people she had ever seen were at the three funerals she had been to in her young life, and one homeless person outside the building years before. There was no sympathy for Barry in her heart at all. He had gotten sloppy with something much larger than a cell phone, and her father was going to have to work harder to complete his plans now. In less than a year I will be really used to seeing dead people anyway, Molly reminded herself.

  Several years before, Molly had met Christina Harris, the legendary brilliant research doctor behind Plan B. Christina had been a lovely woman in her late thirties, almost too pretty to be so intelligent, but clearly dedicated to eradicating disease. Of course, she had been too smart to be allowed to live in the new world. She might use her intelligence to orchestrate plans that would upset the balance of power Blaine Hollister meant to achieve. Now she would have to be tracked down. She wouldn’t die of the virus designed to efficiently kill everyone who got it. She would be murdered, like Barry, only not so mercifully.

  Blaine Hollister had no intention of being anything less than the master of his part of the earth, and no humanitarian doctor was going to stand in his way. Christina Harris had been a means to an end. He would not let her stop his plans for the future.

  CHAPTER 5

  Ancient Earth

  As far as the eye could see grasses waved. Barden and Ursu didn’t look back as they made their way to the playground ahead of them. Virgin land, almost unused by early mortals, with the nearest hills so far away they were not quite visible. A river full of large juicy fish wound through the grassland, and Barden and Ursu knew they would not be hungry as they romped.

  The two companions turned their backs on the civilization behind them and began to explore the prairie of long bendy grasses. Most of them were pale green, although there were darker hues, and some were almost yellow. Life swarmed through the open grassland. Barden was tall for a young child, but the grasses brushed his chest. His mother would have been utterly lost in them.

  A small stream that had not been previously visible opened suddenly before them. Barden almost stepped in it. Ursu sent a huge spray of water playfully over Barden, who shrieked. Two huge purple birds with long yellow beaks were startled from their nearby nest and rustled up into the sky. They flew low, scolding Barden and Ursu before lifting higher into the sky to fly away. Barden imagined them visiting relatives the way he and his mother sometimes visited her parents since Father had left. “They burst in and started throwing water! They were so rude!” Barden imagined the birds telling their friends at their parents’ nest down the stream. “Have some worms and relax,” the hosting birds would say, and all would move on.

  “Ohhhh, you’re splashing too hard!” Barden laughed. He didn’t mean it. Ursu never played too vigorously for him. Ursu was the perfect companion, and his only real companion these days. Father had gone away forever to fight in his war, and Mother was listless without him. She tried to stay in the majestically sculpted stone home and care for the garden, and weave tapestries and baskets, and play with Barden, but she was lonely for Father. Father was not coming back ever.

  The highlight of Barden’s four years of life were the weeks that Father had completely devoted to Mother and himself before leaving. Father had worked in the garden, making it easier for Mother to take care of when he left. He had made sure all the crystals that lit the house and kept it warm in the winter and cool in the summer were shining. Father had increased the security around their stone home so that it was impossible for intruders to come onto the grounds without being stopped by a series of complicated traps. Special weapons of self-protection had been given to Mother. There had been lovely meals and music. Father had made wine and Barden had tasted a little bit. Father had tried to share wisdom with Barden and explain things to Mother. It was hard to accept that Father would never come back, but Barden had Ursu, and that was comforting.

  “There is a war that has gone on before earth, and will go on after it,” Father had explained. “I was created to hold back the void that seeks to expand.”

  “How can a void expand?” Barden wanted to know. There were so many things that only Father understood.

  “The void pulls things into it. Once they are pulled into it, coming back out is nearly impossible.”

  “I don’t want the void to pull me,” Barden told his father.

  “No, you don’t,” Father said. “My kind came to earth to rest from the battle, but we brought it here. We are spoiling the earth with this battle. My fellow warriors are going to chase the void far from earth… but much damage has been done. Earth will never be the same after we leave, but it is possible that the creator will take pity on this place and restore it somewhat if we move the battle.”

  “I want to fight with you, Father!” Barden exclaimed. He caught the desperation in his father’s tone and longed to be of service. “I can help!”

  “You can help by staying here and taking care of Mother.” Father said kindly. “My battles are fought in other realms. I should never have come to earth. Regret
for the pain my companions and I have caused here will never go away. I cannot take you and Mother where I must go. My memories of you and your mother will always be my most treasured memories.”

  “Oh.” Barden had felt rebuffed and left out, but Father was good, and if Father left him out, it was the right thing to do. It didn’t stop the first real pain in Barden’s heart, though. The pain of not being able to fight with Father was unexpectedly sharp.

  Ursu’s playful company kept Barden distracted as they explored the wilderness area outside his home. With the battle gone, Ursu kept Barden safe in nature. Civilization was a different matter. The dark enemy Barden’s father battled had made inroads into changing the culture of groups of humans. The dark arts were practiced under the guise of harmless sorcery, and Barden was an obvious target for those seeking unnatural control over others. Every sorcerer wanted to harness Barden’s spirit and use the power it provided. Elania had been horrified when her own brother had offered her whatever she wanted in return for delivering Barden to him. That had stopped family visits completely. Ursu’s presence was a defense against the evil intentions that certain magi harbored toward Barden, but it was wise to stay clear of them as much as possible.

  The small grassland creatures were fast, but Ursu was faster. There was no rabbit or fox he could not catch. Ursu didn’t eat the creatures he caught very often, but he loved to chase them. Barden would chase Ursu as Ursu chased gazelles and wild horses through the tall grass. Ursu had a wonderful sense of smell, and the thrill of the hunt intoxicated both of them.

  Sometimes they turned over rocks to uncover small animals that hoped to hide. Barden and Ursu were so strong they could turn over boulders several times taller than themselves. Rock badgers were horrified when Barden and Ursu demolished small mountainous islands in the grassland to uncover them.

  “The sun feels so good!” Barden lay on the sandy stream bank while Ursu lumbered in the water, turning over rocks and changing the course of the stream.

  “URROOOHH!” Ursu howled in surprise. Barden laughed hysterically to see a large freshwater crab clutching Ursu’s nose and Ursu flopping his head madly trying to dislodge the determined shellfish. Such a large animal in the grip of such a small one was nature’s justice.

  “I’ll help!” Barden tried to quit laughing and unclamp the crab from Ursu’s face, but Ursu couldn’t stay still long enough for Barden to grip the creature’s slippery shell. As Barden reached for the crab it used its extra pincers to snap at him. The three of them scuffled on the sandy stream bank, in the tall grass, until finally the crab chose to unhook from Ursu’s nose and let himself be flung back into the water.

  Barden rubbed Ursu’s face and both of them enjoyed the unexpected humor of the moment.

  “That’ll teach you to move rocks that are someone’s home,” Barden joked. It wouldn’t actually stop Ursu and they both knew it. Ursu would merely be more cautious for a while. The thrill of lifting the rocks to see what underneath was was too much fun.

  “I’m hungry, let’s catch a fish,” Barden told Ursu when they had sufficiently rested from their tussle. Ursu was the one to do the work of catching the fish, but Barden picked the bones out of it with a very handy multi use tool that his father had given him. The two of them ate firm pink colored fish flesh in the sinking sun and Barden pulled a soft cloth from his travel pack to sleep in as he curled up to Ursu.

  The plains gave way to low foothills eventually. Barden and Ursu knew that Mother would be worried about them and turned to go back. They had taken three days to cross an immense stretch of land, but when they moved, they made wonderful time. They would take less than three days to get back, although they would certainly stop to admire how much the dam Ursu had made in the stream had changed the landscape.

  “Where are you going, young one?” a malicious voice spoke from the grass.

  Ursu growled, but nothing was visible. There was only the voice. There was no way that human pursuers could have gotten close enough to Ursu and Barden to speak and be heard without Ursu’s detection.

  Barden put his hand on Ursu’s shoulder for support and said nothing. His father had warned him repeatedly against speaking to a bodiless voice trying to get a reaction. They two of them kept moving through the grass, saying nothing, ready to pounce on any enemy that would reveal himself.

  “You can’t avoid us,” the voice said. “You can hide from men, but we are the same as you. Join us, or we will drink your blood to make ourselves stronger than we already are.”

  Barden said nothing, keeping his hand on Ursu as they walked.

  “We are not to be ignored!”

  Before him, almost rising out of the grasses like apparitions, were three young boys like himself. They were half mortals also, large boys who were already taller than mortal teens, but clearly not done growing. Each of them had a glittering snake next to them. Oddly, their snakes had short legs and wings.

  Their snakes are protection from the other realm, just like Ursu is for me.

  “You are children, no different than me,” Barden said drawing breath deeply into his chest. “If you could hurt me you would have done it already. I am going to pass, and you are not going to stop me.”

  Ursu moved in front of Barden, and the three of them stepped back, their snakes coiled as Ursu stepped up. Barden knew what to do. His father had explained how to channel his energy to Ursu numerous times and Barden and Ursu often practiced.

  Deception lives in your mind. You cannot overcome it with thoughts. That would be like trying to chase the darkness from a room before bringing a light. Deception is always hovering. You must withstand it by using your mind for good things. The good things right in front of you will drive deception back.

  There was a giant sloth lying on his back in the distance and Barden focused on it. Concentrating on it with all his attention, Barden watched it drop berries into its mouth as it reclined on its back contentedly. He saw the setting sun glint off the animal’s golden fur, the crease of its dark eyes, and he changed his own breathing to keep pace with the gentle breaths the sloth made. The boys in front of him kept trying to talk, both whispering and shouting, but Barden thought of the sloth, and Ursu. Ursu was a true friend. They spoke without words—well, Barden used words, and Ursu sort of sent thoughts that Barden could catch. Ursu is right here. Ursu is a real friend. He keeps me safe, he follows me, he loves me. He loves me…

  As Barden focused on the sloth and calmed his fears, Ursu grew somehow.

  “Ssss—” one of the snakes darted forward to strike Ursu, but with an even faster movement, Ursu swiped the snake with his paw. He sent the snake spinning far away, flinging it so quickly that the snake could not even use its wings to recover. The other two snakes were just beginning to strike when Ursu swiped his paw across the soil in front of him, sending a shower of dirt, grass, and small rocks to stop them for a moment.

  Somehow Barden understood to grab onto Ursu, who began to run. He ran right through the three half mortals in front of them, knocking over the one in the middle, and kept running.

  “I can’t hold on anymore!” Barden yelled into the wind rushing past him. “I can’t do it!”

  Ursu slowed quite suddenly and Barden slid off his back. Barden began to run behind Ursu as fast as he could. Fortunately, Ursu was smashing the grasses in front of him so that Barden was able to run faster. The small animals in front of Ursu squawked and scolded, chirped and fluttered away madly. Barden felt out of breath, but he kept moving, uncertain of how close the others were behind him.

  Shouts came at their backs. Barden couldn’t tell what the boys were shouting, but he assumed they were shouting threats that they would try to fulfill if they could catch him. Barden did not intend to get caught.

  “Urrruuuu!” Ursu grunted and then leaped into an abyss. There was nothing to do but for Barden to follow, throwing himself into the chasm. There was a lot of very cold water at the bottom of that leap. Barden felt the cold water close in around him
and thrashed gently trying to rise.

  “Huh!” Barden gasped as he surfaced and Ursu was right next to him. Together, they floated in the cold water in the dimming light and as they floated the water didn’t get warmer, but it didn’t seem uncomfortable. Barden kept trying to look back for their pursuers, but he could no longer hear or see them.

  “The enemies of the void have their own children,” Rory had warned Barden before he left forever. “They can never be trusted. Their fathers were liars and betrayers, and so will they be. They will accelerate the decline of Earth, they only take and do not give.”

  “They were going to hurt us,” Barden thought out loud. “Even kill us to drink our blood. You saved me.” He hugged Ursu more tightly in the water as the two of them gently bounced down river.

  “Ooofff!” Ursu and Barden could drift along no farther. They had come to the dam in the stream that Ursu had made by moving rocks just two days ago.

  “Look, we are stuck on your creation.” Barden laughed a little as the two of them left the water that had become strangely comforting and slowly felt their way over the rocks in the near dark. They were on dry ground, hungry, but they didn’t stop. Ursu began to go forward and Barden trusted that Ursu knew where home was no matter if he could see the mountains in the distance or not. Barden also knew that Ursu had an amazing sense of smell and could hear things from very far away. If Ursu didn’t stop to catch a fish to eat before they left the stream, they were not safe.

  The night caught up with them, and still they walked without stumbling in the wake of light. Barden was not afraid any longer but was able to concentrate on his steps as they walked. If he quit walking, he knew his mind might wander. The two of them were able to move with competence in the dark. Night creatures scattered before their steady pace. Owls and other night birds made cautious calls but did not come too near. Barden’s legs hurt, and then became slightly numb.