by V L Friends
“Anaya…” Shane had to interrupt me. “Last night, when I saw you engage with God in such a beautiful way, it moved me more than any human has ever moved me. The way you love is beautiful and you look so much like the Lord that I serve. You fascinate us.”
It began to make sense. The way he was studying me and watching me so closely. He was seeing me in a different way too.
“You are changing and ready for the next phase of your development. What happened last night is a sign of that for sure,” he said.
Then his face seemed to change as if he were concerned.
“You should know that this place you are going… to rescue your father will bring you to dark places, and in those places, you may not be able to see me and I will not interfere but know that I am near you.”
I was expecting him to maybe get angry or still be disappointed, so seeing how much more he understood was pleasing to me, but then I began to feel sad. I was feeling a pain that I was going to lose my dearest friend.
“I don’t understand. Are you going away? Why won’t I see you anymore?”
“You have a journey to follow that does not include me for a time. Just like when you went to Africa. Understand?” I could tell by his facial expression that he was noticing that I was upset.
“No, I don’t. It still sounds like you are not agreeing with me so you are saying that if I choose to go back and save my father and help him, you are abandoning me.”
“Try to understand, Anaya, and try to reign in your emotions a little more. You’re letting your pain rule you.” Shane was starting to lecture. I stood up abruptly.
“So I could die and you cannot be there to help at all. I am on my own? Is that what you are saying?” My pain was turning to anger. Shane stood up. He seemed to be upset now too.
“I get it!” I reacted.
That was it. He was going to say he loved me and say all these things and bond with me and then as soon as I did something he didn’t agree with, he was ready to take off. I was going to leave him first. I started to disrobe. I felt like he was rejecting me because of my walker blood, so I decided to show him a walker trait. No boundaries.
“Fine, I will save you the trouble of saying goodbye!”
“Anaya! I told you I would never be far away!” He reached out to stop me and I pushed him away. “What are you doing? Is this your way of rebelling? What is it you think you are doing? You think this will upset me… shock me!” Shane did look shocked but not because I was disrobing, but I think it was more that I was changing and I doubt this was the kind of change he was talking about earlier. I had been a shy person and would have never done this sort of thing but now, here I was, baring it all! Maybe it was from being with walkers or maybe I just wanted to shock Shane. Truthfully, I don’t know, but all I know is that I felt bold and if I had to walk this next journey out alone I was doing it with one dramatic protest.
I was so tired of people I loved turning on me when I didn’t do what they wanted me to do. The pain was turning to anger.
“How could you hurt me like this? Goodbye then! Here is something to remember me by!”
I threw my clothes at him. He stood there expressionless as I dove into the lake. I forgot how cold it was but this only motivated me to swim faster. My life with Shane was over.
Okay, maybe I was being a little dramatic. A part of me wondered if this was his payback for rejecting him when I ran away to Africa. Naw, that was not him and I knew better. I wanted to be angrier but it was hard to.
Part 2, Love My Enemy?
Okay, I admit it: I had not thought this through. The cold water was tolerable for a few minutes but by the time I got to the other side of the lake the stupidity of my choice was evident. The crisp morning air against my ice-cold wetness brought a stinging reality to my situation. Suddenly walking through the woods naked did not seem like a good idea, but what choice did I have? There was no turning back now. Maybe if I ran, I would get warm.
I inwardly cringed at the thought of meeting up with Louis on the two-mile trail back to my home. Just then I noticed a pile of clothes neatly folded in the middle of the trail with a note on top.
It read: “You didn’t really think this through, did you? You’ll be needing these. You wouldn’t want to startle any poor unsuspecting soul in the woods, now would ya? Love you! -- Shane”
“Very funny!” I yelled out, crumpling up the note and throwing it. It didn’t take long for me to have the realization that he was still taking care of me, and I started to feel a little embarrassed at the tantrum I had just thrown.
“Thank you,” I whispered as if he could hear me.
As I approached the Alexander mansion, I could smell a faint burnt wood smell. The very front of the house was burnt down. The roof had collapsed. I walked inside what used to be the entryway, as there was no door. I wondered why Shane never mentioned this? Everything was covered with black soot. Judging from the tire marks on the road, and the soaked charcoal of remains, the fire department had been here. As I crept in the front and stood in the entryway, I noticed all of the precious artifacts from all over the world had been destroyed. I sighed heavily at the irreplaceable loss but there was something more precious to me that I was searching for.
“Caleb! Julian!” I hesitated to yell out Julian’s name. Maybe I didn’t want him to know I was here. I had a reminder of him trying to kill me still on my throat. The scratches and bruises were healing overnight, as it seemed, but it was still a little tender. Perhaps it was a reminder for me to proceed with caution. There seemed to be no one around. Where was Caleb? Julian said he was still alive but there was no sign of him here. Just then I heard a clang from deep in the basement.
I had to find something for light, as all the electricity was turned off. It was a considerable risk of being here, as the house was condemned and it was a distinct possibility that the roof could cave in on me at any moment. After retrieving a flashlight from the kitchen, I made it to the dark spiral staircase that led to the basement. What would I find? My heart was pounding and my breathing had escalated so that I was inhaling the soot. I paused to pull my shirt up over my nose. I needed to be quiet, as I did not need anyone or anything knowing that I was coming. This was scary enough without a surprise jumping out at me.
Well, here I was in the basement. No one was there. What was it Shane had said? Julian was bound in the cellar?
“Julian,” I whispered. “Where are you?”
There was the clanging sound again. It was much louder and seemed to be coming from under my feet. Shoot, he was in the cellar and it was now directly below me. There were some iron spiral stairs hidden in a corner of the room. I took a deep breath and descended the stairs.
What I found was a jail cell with a heavy iron door. There was a small window where I could see inside the cell. I saw what seemed like the remains of a body chained to a wall. I could see that the smoke had made its way down here, as the body was covered in soot but I was surprised to see that it was also badly burned. I let out a scream as the body began to stir and I heard groaning.
“Julian!!” I frantically pulled on the door but it was locked. As I scrambled to find keys, a low raspy voice called out to me.
“Anaya? Is that you?”
“Julian, I’m coming!”
“No… Anaya! You can’t! It’s too dangerous… get out of here!”
“I am not leaving you.” I tried to hide my tears but there was no use.
“Anaya, listen…” his voice was barely a whisper. He began to choke out his words. “Louis wants you dead. He has been here and is coming back. He put a spell on me to kill you. Get out!” His last words ended with a series of coughing. The agony in his voice was evident.
It was not humanly possible for him to be alive, but I did not know if he could die since he was a walker. Why wasn’t he healing himself? Was he too badly injured?
“Will you die?” I asked him.
He didn’t answer. I sank down against the door. “O
h God help me to know what to do.”
A flash of something metal caught my attention on the floor next to me. The key! The heavy door took some time to get open but, once inside, I had another dilemma. Did the key fit the chain as well? To my surprise, it did. Julian’s body was like lifting a bag of bones. Somehow, I reached down deep and found that part of me that knew I could do this. It was highly unusual for a mere human, but if I could manage to cram a heart back into a body without freaking out, I could do this. At least I knew he could not attack me.
As I lifted Julian’s shriveled form and carried him outside, it occurred to me that I needed a plan. He was so light, I swear I was not carrying much more than his bones and clothes. I heard the sound of horses. The stables still had Chester and Cleo. It was as if they were calling to me.
Holding the unresponsive form of Julian on a horse was proving to be difficult. I had to tie him to me while we both rode away on Chester. The smell alone was hard to deal with and I needed to hide. I remembered a shack in the woods on the property that the Amish used to store their grain for the wild horses on their land. I had five miles to go.
I had packed a bag that had food and water and a few blankets and whatever I could find in the first aid kit. This, hopefully, would last a few days until I could figure out what to do next.
“Julian... what can I do to help you?”
He was conscious and looked around but could not move. I had washed his burns while he was unconscious and changed his clothes. I had to; the smell was making me gag.
“Where are we? What have you done?” he asked.
“I have taken you from the house and we are in hiding in a shack in the woods. Jules, if you let me, I can pray for you to be healed.”
“There is only one way a human being can heal me… and I won’t let you do that. I tried to kill you… why are you helping me? You should have just left me.”
“So, you would rather die than accept my help?” I threw up my hands in frustration. “Unbelievable! Do you honestly hate me that much?”
“You really are a drama queen, love,” Julian’s voice croaked out, barely recognizable, as his throat was so charred. Even in his barley alive state he still found it in him to bait me.
“Julian, listen, I am not leaving you, so you might as well tell me how to help you,” I finally said.
“You need to get me to a place in Brazil. You need to move quickly but not be seen. You must go to our bank and withdraw money and go get a car.”
“Why so far? You said there is a way a human can help you. How?”
“Never mind about that now; just do as I say.” He was getting demanding. Typical for Julian to begin ordering me to obey, even if he was at my mercy.
Reluctantly I decided to trust that he knew what he was doing.
The drive from Cedar Springs, Colorado to New Mexico took us three days. Julian was able to move somewhat but never seemed to regain his strength enough to walk. We were meeting his friend in New Mexico.
Our travels took us to a private airport in New Mexico, where we waited for Julian’s friend to meet us with his private plane.
“You could at least tell me what he looks like, Julian.” I was losing patience after being in the car for days. We even slept in the car so we would not arouse suspicion. I was tired, hungry, and not to mention how long it had been since I had a shower. Most of the time people just thought Julian was a quadriplegic. His burns were mostly healed and his face was okay enough. He was still skin and bone though. I managed to swing by a thrift store and get a wheelchair. He spent most of the drive unconscious so that wasn’t so bad.
“You’ll like him. He’s a doctor but still edgy and artistic.”
“That does not tell me much,” I rolled my eyes.
“He has dark hair and dark eyes and, oh yeah, he is very tall. Is that better?”
“By the way… what makes you think I like the rugged artsy type? I don’t have a type!”
“Did I say he was rugged?” Julian continued. “Oh, I forgot, maybe it’s the innocent, boyish, safari hunter type or the pretty-boy type,” he said with a jab of sarcasm. Why he felt the need to jab at me over what happened with Louis and I, I didn’t know, but it probably had to do with his condition. He was even more cantankerous than normal.
“Have I mentioned that you’re getting on my nerves?” I said.
I think it was safe to say we were both getting on each other’s nerves.
“You know that was not my fault!” He would never let me forget about when I kissed Louis.
“Is there a problem here?” A voice behind me interrupted our banter. I turned to see a tall, dark-haired man. He had on dark slacks and a white cotton shirt that was half buttoned and almost see-through. It made his sun-kissed skin look dark. His perfect looks gave away the fact that he was a walker. He looked to be in his thirties. Another thing I noticed was that even when he cracked a joke, he looked serious.
“Good to see you, buddy! This is Anaya. Anaya, Sebastian. Now that we are all acquainted let’s get the heck out of here.” Julian was anxious to get out of the States.
“I must say, Jules, you have looked better,” observed Sebastian.
My first impression of Sebastian was that he was the serious, quiet type. He did not even so much as crack a smile. In fact, he never said anything to me and didn’t even look at me, for that matter. He grabbed the bags from my hands without a word.
As we were getting seated in the plane, Julian leaned over, after noticing my expression, and said, “Oh, I forgot to mention that Sebastian is not really a people person. He really doesn’t care for humans.”
We arrived at Sebastian’s private air strip in the country outside of Brazil about four hours later. He owned a peculiar home in the country. It resembled a cave, as it was built into the mountain and mostly made of stone. He clearly was an eccentric millionaire. There seemed to be a fortress beneath his home and in it was some kind of a hospital for walkers. He was a trainer and a healer. Some older walkers came to him who were sick or injured and some young walkers came to him for guidance, Julian explained to me.
“So, Jules, what’s the deal with you traveling with a human? In all the time I have known you I have never seen you run with their kind… well, except maybe to use them,” Sebastian turned to ask Julian as he turned off the plane engine.
“She’s my daughter, Seb,” Julian said quietly.
“Interesting… who in the world is the mother?” I think this was the first time our eyes finally met. He stared at me intensely before surprise shone in his eyes as if sudden recognition hit him.
“No way!” He glanced from Julian back to me. Then he leaned in close, studying my face.
“She’s Sarah’s! Of course, I see the resemblance.” Sebastian seemed to look confused then. “B-but how?”
“The usual way.” Julian’s eyes glinted with mischief.
“You knew my mother?” I asked Sebastian and he only nodded. His indifference was irritating me.
“Yes, that’s right,” Julian winced as if he was in pain. “Never mind about that now.” Julian was very weak and needed medical attention, so he was getting impatient.
“I don’t care who she is, she is still a human and let’s just say she is not a welcome guest. There are several sick and injured walkers who would like nothing more than to use your human here to cure them.” Sebastian was back to ignoring me like I didn’t exist and would only address Julian. “She is in danger here. She will need to be locked up.”
“Stop talking about me like I am some kind of pet or object.” I was beginning to wonder why I had come here.
He still didn’t look at me.
“Hey!” I was demanding his attention now. “What do you mean use humans to make themselves better?”
“Jules, didn’t you tell her?”
Julian looked uncomfortable.
“Tell me what?” I demanded.
“Human blood speeds up the healing process for walkers who were da
maged beyond their healing capabilities. So, yes, your blood could have and can help heal your father.”
He turned back to address Julian. “So, yes, you should also know that these particular walkers in my facility right now are the kind that would not think twice about draining this pretty little human of all her blood.”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Mr. Walker who hates humans, you are not locking me up like some kind of animal!” Finally, I managed to get eye contact.
I turned to Julian.
“I just adore your friend, Julian,” I said feigning a smile, while grabbing my bag and pushing my way out of the plane.
Sebastian insisted that I sleep in his room, as Julian was not strong enough to fend off those who would likely try to get to me for my blood as I slept.
“I can look after myself, Jules!” I made it a point of using the same nickname Sebastian had used for him. I liked it and decided to adopt it often. “It really isn’t necessary!” I had the feeling I was going to lose this battle.
Sebastian finally looked at me directly. He had a very commanding presence. I guess it didn’t help that he towered over me, but it was more than that. The intense look in his eyes gave me the impression that he had seen more and knew more than anyone I had ever known.
“Look if you want to live, you will do as I say,” he snapped.
“Listen, Sebastian is trustworthy, Anaya. Do as he asks of you.” Julian couldn’t say much more, as he was getting weaker. The sound of his voice was pleading. I was afraid. I just nodded in compliance. Sebastian had him wheeled off to another room for treatment.
“Come with me,” Sebastian demanded as he led me up some stairs to a large room.
It was very awkward being alone with someone who despised me. I wondered if he was even going to talk to me but I tried to talk to him anyway.
“Is Julian going to be okay?” I asked.
“Most likely, but I guess that has yet to be determined and since I have not had the opportunity to examine him yet, I can’t really say.” He was abrupt and quite rude, I noticed, and I had to wonder if this was his way with everyone or was it just me?