by D A Rice
My mother watched me, “Zakiya, you must understand. I already know about our unusual guests.”
I started, “what?”
“After you left, I activated your warriors for day rounds as well as night. They saw you long before you gave those sentries concussions at the door. I would have helped you bring them in, my daughter.” Her hand found my cheek and I blinked in confusion. “You have done well, once again.”
A thump and a grunt had me turning as two of my warriors threw Isaac and a barely conscious Gabriel before us. I turned back to my mom, “what are you doing?!”
She sighed deeply, “did you not think that I would be able to tell where you got the saliva from once I ran the DNA? Corrupted though it was, Isaac’s human DNA was still partially there. I was hoping you would come back with him as a Corrupted, but you brought him back whole!” She knelt in front of him, sweeping her lab coat out of her way. Isaac’s eyes narrowed as my mother tugged at his face, gently pulling it up, “Isaac Abadi, you are extraordinary. Your blood is likely the key to the cure.”
“You would experiment on him without his consent?” I growled, stepping forward as two of my warriors reached to restrain me. I had known it was a possibility, but hearing it still sent a shock through my system.
My mother tilted her head as she considered Gabriel next, “and this man... I do not know him.”
“He is dying, mother,” I stated dryly.
My mother nodded, her eyes softening as her hand felt his forehead and then his cheek, “yes, he is burning up. We must get them inside.”
“You cannot just take them!” I yelled and she turned to me, a disappointed look on her face. “These are people, not lab rats.” I had seen the look in her eye, I knew it well. I should not have brought them here.
“You brought them to me, did you not?” my mother stood as her anger began to build, “you were the one who told me we would find a cure together. Science has found extraordinary specimens this day. Their blood could be the key to everything!”
I shook my head and pulled my arms out of my warriors’ grips, “no mother, you are wrong.” She waved her hands and my warriors approached me. Before they could grab me, I pulled out the fruit from Adonai and held it out to her. Her eyes narrowed as she held out a hand. My warriors halted where they were.
“What is that, daughter? What else have you brought me?” my mother stepped forward.
“This is fruit from the Garden of Eden, mother,” I held the fruit higher. “Do you not see how it glows? This is not a fruit you will find anywhere else. I have it on high authority that it, and nothing else, is the cure.” My mother’s eyes widened fractionally.
“And what proof do you have, Zakiya? Are we to rest our futures on a myth?” She sounded incredulous and I smiled.
“Our whole reality is based on a myth, mother. How do we decide what is truth?” I asked her.
She held out her hand, “if what you say is true, give it to me so that I may test it.”
I closed my fist around the fruit, this precious gift from Adonai. I could see now that giving it to her was a bad idea. “I will not,” I whispered. I could feel the cold presence of the Fallen, were they here? They could travel during the day and they had followed us far. They had wanted what I had, his life they had called it. I studied the fruit before me. What did I know? I ran through the list in my mind quickly, taking but seconds to do so.
I knew the Fallen and the Angels were real. I knew Adonai existed and that he was here with me now. I knew the Fallen wanted the fruit Adonai had given me, and I knew that they could get into anyone’s head. I glanced at Gabriel here. I also knew that, despite everything, Zion was more of a corrupted place than the Corrupted themselves. My mother would do anything to synthesize a cure she was happy with. She believed less than I had that Adonai existed. Why would she believe in the Tree of Life? I glanced at Isaac. I knew my mother would treat them both like lab rats, had known that before we had entered Zion. Why had I thought that she would treat Gabriel’s wounds? I trust you, lass. Gabriel had told me not to doubt myself.
I looked up, closing my fist around Adonai’s gift. The Fallen were here. I had never known it until now. I could feel it in the air where I had not before. They were manipulating us from the shadows, pushing our minds. I could see a darkness in my mother I had never seen before. Her eyes narrowed at me. I stepped forward, “you want to see proof?” I glanced at Isaac and he nodded minutely. I smiled as I faced my mother again, “I will give you proof.”
Isaac broke free in an instant, no longer caring who he hurt, and I threw the fruit up. He caught it one-handed, and my mother spun, her eyes wide. “Restrain them!” She faced me again, her eyes furious, “all of them.”
I dodged the hands that reached for me and danced around my mother. Isaac had already pulled off a small part of the fruit and fed it to Gabriel. He hid it on his person as the warriors fell upon him, forcing him, yet again, to his knees. He stilled, his eyes on Gabriel. Someone put me in an armbar choke from behind and I reached back, plucking their arms away from my throat with force. Lifting my chin up and to the side, I slipped out of my attacker’s embrace. In two quick strikes, I struck the warrior in the head then the back of the neck, effectively dropping him. “Zakiya, why do you fight us?” Cofher was in front of me, arms up as he hesitantly paced in front of me.
I shook my head, “I am sorry, Cofher, but I should not have come back.”
“But the cure!” he pleaded.
“Not at the cost of lives, Cofher, never then,” I stilled, dropping my hands as I watched him, “we have lost too many as it is.”
His own hands dropped as his eyes saddened, emotion rolling through them. He nodded, “I did not know Isaac was alive, Harishima. I did not know what your mother had planned.”
I shook my head and placed a hand on his shoulder. No one else came for me in that moment, “it is not her fault, nor is it yours.” I glanced behind me as all the warriors froze. Isaac was still restrained on the ground, Gabriel had not moved from his captors, either. He had not moved since he was seized. Cofher’s eyes widened as he watched, and I smiled. Gabriel was glowing. “Watch the power of Adonai, Zachariah Cofher,” I whispered, then I kicked out his knee. He collapsed with a cry and I sprinted towards Gabriel as the warriors who held him let go, backing away. Isaac shrugged off his own as their grip on him lessened.
Gabriel slumped forward, and I knelt before him. His eyes snapped open and he grinned, “lass.”
“Go, Gabriel. It is time to fly.”
Gabriel’s eyes twinkled as his grin widened. He was glowing in force now as his injuries healed and he became revitalized, “I’ll not go without you and the lad.” I smiled. He had found a family again. I glanced back at my mother as she watched, stunned. There was silence as her face lit up with all the possibilities Gabriel offered her.
“My family needs me, the Fallen has taken root in this place,” I faced him, “I did not know how deeply until now. My place is here.”
Gabriel’s eyes softened as his forehead met mine, “I can not fault you for that, lass. If you ever decide to venture outside the dome again, come find me.”
I laughed, the tears streaming down my face, “I will only have to look up.” The wings exploded from his back, causing everyone to duck. He beat them once, sending a gust of wind over all gathered. “Abadi,” I called. Isaac stepped forward. He took one look at my face and pulled me into him, his mouth finding my own before pulling away again. His hand cupped my face as his thumb brushed away my tears. “Go,” I whispered, “I will find you again. Keep Adonai’s gift safe for me?” He nodded.
With one more beat of his wings, Gabriel hooked his arms underneath Isaac’s, then took off into the sky. My mom raced forward, “NO! ZAKIYA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” I did not move as I watched them through the opening of the dome. She turned me to face her before slapping me, the echo of it vibrating the dome walls. I did not react but Cofher stopped her from issuing another one, lim
ping on one leg. My mother ripped her arm from his, “you have lost us our only hope to survive,” she seethed. “Arrest her!”
I laughed as I was forced onto my knees, my hands were bound behind me and I met my mother’s dark gaze. “I have brought you a story,” I smiled at her.
“You are mad. Clearly the radiation has poisoned your mind,” her fingers touched my cheek, “I will soon fix that, my daughter.” She kissed my temple, “I will cure you first, and then we can try again.” Her gaze drifted up. I could see the darkness around her thicken, but no one else seemed to be able to. I shivered with the implications that left me. Adonai, I hope you are still with me. I felt a butterfly presence and I smiled, my eyes closing. My mother’s voice had me opening them again as I looked up at her. “I now know the cure exists. I will find it again.” She found my gaze, her own cold, “but first to deal with you.”
I did not fight them as they dragged me into the Organization building. I did not say anything at all as my mother’s look tinted to one of obsession. I watched the sky and smiled that Gabriel and Isaac were alive, for I had finally learned to be selfless.
If you are reading this now, do not be afraid. This is our story. We are corrupted, but we are still worth saving, and our story will be told. It is time to do more than just survive.
The End.
Acknowledgements
Just like with any other book, I could not have published this book on my own. I have acquired a great team along the way, bumbling through mistakes and learning to write all the better for them.
I would like to thank Jenny, my editor, and Andrew, my beta-reader, for cleaning up this book and providing some clever ideas to make it better. I also want to thank them for the commentary that kept me on my feet and made me laugh. I would like to thank, as well, one of my home churches, Rez, for helping me with a lot of the Hebrew and background behind it. If I had not grown up having some of that wisdom imparted to me, this book would have been a completely different one.
Along that note, I would also like to thank my Adonai. Without Him, I am nothing.