“Mom!” I looked at her, flabbergasted. “Shaul’s not my boyfriend. I just met him.” I didn’t want to tell her he might be a stalker. She had enough to worry about as it was.
“I know. I’m just concerned about you getting serious with anyone because things will likely change significantly for you when you turn sixteen. Changes might happen.”
“What kinds of changes?” She was always vague on this subject, a subject we shouldn’t even be discussing because from what I knew about puberty, it was way too embarrassing to talk about. And as far as I could tell, I was already in it, but I wouldn’t tell her that.
“We’ll see what happens and then we’ll talk.”
“I hate when you do that.”
“What?”
“Oh, never mind. I hate this kind of talk about puberty. And how could I get serious with Shaul if we aren’t even moving to the same place? He wouldn’t like me anyway.”
“Of course he would like you—you’re beautiful.”
“Mothers have to say that,” I looked at her with an annoyed expression on my face. “You said you don’t want to go to Seneca Mountains. Did you change your mind?”
“Dear God—no.” Her eyes widened. “We’re definitely not going there.”
“Why don’t you want to go there?”
“I like Shaul,” she smiled, avoiding my question which thoroughly irritated me. “He’s different and very good looking—don’t you agree?”
I didn’t feel like talking anymore. “He seems mature for a teenager.”
“Being on your own does that to a person.” She ran her fingers through her long sandy blonde hair. “You’re pretty grown up too, Cordellia. You were always different than the girls you went to school with in Los Angeles. That’s a good thing.”
“Most of the girls at school were snobby and wannabe dome cinema stars. They thought I was weird because I liked to read and practice extreme sports.”
“Those were the days—you have to admit—when life was so much simpler.” She looked a little teary eyed.
“I miss reading. It’s hard not having TD pods anymore. And I miss our vacations to Marina Island.”
Mom tilted her head back up at the stars. “You were quite a fish on those trips. I couldn’t get you out of the water.”
“Those were the days,” I admitted. “Remember the flying suit I rented?”
She shook her head in disapproval. “I must have been crazy to let you do that. When you jumped off the cliff, I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown.”
“But, it was so exhilarating flying through the sky like a bird, observing the breathtaking landscapes from midair, circling the mountains the way I did. I wish I could do that again someday.”
“You will, you will. Please God.” She had a contemplative look in her eyes like she knew something I didn’t. I hoped she was right. I just wished life could get normal again. We had seen too much death and destruction.
I paddled the raft alongside the dock near the amusement park ruins. Then I climbed up onto a plank and helped my mother out with the cane Shaul made for her. The park looked dilapidated and desolate like an old ghost town of the past. That saddened me.
It was only a couple of years ago that I rode the turbo Ferris wheel. The gate keeper gave us ZPD injections before we got on so that we didn’t permanently lose our equilibrium. Initially, my mother objected to the drug because she was all natural, but because it was my birthday, she gave in that time.
That ride was so fast and spun in so many directions. The bubble lifted up so high in the sky that I thought I was in outer space. It was so fun and my mother couldn’t get me off it. Now the ride was charred from looting fires and the thick center pole hunched over like an old man.
I looked at my mother, hesitantly. “I guess we should wait for Shaul before we sneak on the hydro-cruiser—right?”
“I suppose so—I’m not sure how we can get on that thing by ourselves without getting caught.”
“There’s a guard at the loading ramp and one on each deck.”
She looked concerned. “I wonder what this thing transports. It seems like it has awfully high security.”
“Makes me wonder what they’re afraid of.”
“Or what they’re hiding.” She started plating her hair and braiding it, something she often did when she was nervous.
I felt a cool wind rush up my spine. When I turned around, Shaul was standing there, a wry grin on his face.
“Thought I’d ditched you?” he smirked as he brushed his hair out of his eyes with his fingers.
“Thank God you’re here.” In a moment of stupidity, I almost threw my arms around him. “This place gives me the creeps.”
He shook his head, seemingly amused. “And Sunset Boulevard doesn’t?”
I frowned.
He turned to my mother. “Patravia, you look almost as good as new. Those are some powerful drugs.”
“I feel pretty good too.”
I couldn’t help but notice the glimmer in Shaul’s eyes. There was something strong and fierce about his appearance. “You look all cleaned up and you’re not even wearing the same clothes.” He was dressed in Dizie Toulan khaki pants and a light blue Ceabor shirt. “You look like you’re going to a country club robotics match.” I could just see him sitting regally upon a mechanical digitized horse swinging clubs at space balls in the king’s court with a bunch of rich kids.
He raised an eyebrow and teasingly said in his musical voice, “I have a surprise for you both.”
5
I hadn’t seen anyone dressed so attractively since before the economy crash. Shaul looked debonair in his sleek attire standing amongst the amusement park wreckage.
“From the looks of you, I take it you didn’t swim to the dock like we were expecting?”
“Change of plans,” he said. That crooked grin formed on his wickedly handsome face. “This way, ladies.”
My mother’s eyes widened, looking pleased.
Shaul held out his hands to her. “May I?” he asked as he scooped her up into his arms.
Startled, she giggled like a child, hugging her cane to her body as he carried her.
I followed along beside as we walked off the dock toward the dark, desolate parking lot. He stopped and opened the passenger door of a shiny white speed wave.
“I haven’t seen one of these in a long time,” My mother seemed surprised.
“A friend loaned it to me for our trip. She needed someone to drive it down south for her. We can leave it at the bottom of Seneca Mountains and someone will pick it up there.”
“That’s convenient,” I said wondering who “she” was. Did he have a rich girlfriend? If so, why was he leaving her and going to live in the mountains?
We got into the speed wave. My mother sat in the middle with Shaul and me on either sides of her. It had been a long time since I’d been in an auto and this one was high tech with all the luxuries. The tan leather bench seat was smooth and soft to the touch.
“This is a nice speed wave,” my mother commented as she brushed her fingers lightly across the buttons and switches on the dashboard.
“It is pretty cool,” Shaul’s eyes gleamed. “It’s powered by a high end slush hydro engine and generates electricity for land and disseminates SUH2 to jet engines for flight.”
“You can’t beat that,” I said sarcastically. I could tell it was going to be an adventure hanging out with Shaul Hainsworth.
My mother tilted her head back on the headrest. “The car seems very light weight too.”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “It has to be to fly without wings.”
“It just seems that the autos from before the Economy Crash were a little heavier even though they lifted off the ground.”
“I’m surprised you noticed. A lot of them were heavier actually. This one is a sports model and can elevate higher than the standard.” He started the engine and the speed wave lifted off the asphalt.
In
a flash, we were already headed toward the 405. It was sad to see the houses in the neighborhoods we drove through abandoned and burnt down. In moments like these, I found it hard to believe such a grand, happening city could lose its life force in such a short period of time. Once on the freeway, Shaul lifted the auto higher and we jetted south at about one hundred fifty miles per hour.
It was even weirder being on the 405 in its desolation. Occasionally, another speed wave would whiz past us in either direction, but other than that we drove alone. This was remarkably different than the jam packed interstates of the past. Even the billboards and storefronts near the freeway weren’t lit anymore. Everything had an abandoned, eerie feel to it.
My mother’s face turned pale. “I think serpent people were in that speed wave that just passed us.”
“I figure all the autos that speed by are serpent people’s because they are usually the ones with the gold,” I responded.
“Yes,” she whispered, anxiously. It seemed as if she wasn’t listening to me. She twisted her lean body in her seat and stared out the back window.
“I hope they don’t spot us.” I was concerned about the horrors they would inflict upon us if they pulled us over.
Still looking out the back window, Mom continued, “I hate that demonic race. Did you know, Shaul, that they are the descendents of the original serpent from the Garden of Eden that is described in the bible?” She looked at him.
“I’ve heard that.” His chest rose and fell. “I heard there are two brothers that are actual direct descendents of the original serpent. Supposedly, they each encompass half of his soul, so if that is true, then the devil is here on Earth right now.”
“I know,” my mother agreed, her eyes widening in horror. “I was told that Eve, the first woman on Earth who ate the forbidden apple from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil has also been reincarnated in our time.”
Shaul nodded in agreement. “There is a prophesy that one of the brothers will mate with the reincarnation of Eve and produce a son.”
“Oh, yes. My minister told us that!”
“It is said that their son will be the reincarnation of the original man, Adam, and he will have the power to enter the hidden and protected Garden of Eden that is inaccessible to all others.”
“Yes, yes. And he will take his mother and father with him. Then either the serpent or the reincarnation of Eve will put a DNA imprint of the original apple back on the Tree of Knowledge.”
Shaul brushed his fingers through his hair. “And by doing so, they will correct the original sin of eating the forbidden apple against God’s command.”
“I doubt that.” Mom frowned. Her eyes were wide and glossy. “Some say that once the apple is returned, the world will become entirely good.”
“Yes,” Shaul continued, studying my mother carefully now as he drove. “And evil will cease to exist.”
“And according to that version of the prophesy, serpent people will all die…”
Looking back at the road ahead, Shaul finished her sentence, “…because they are the representation of the evil which will no longer exist in the world.”
“My ministers have been talking about this prophesy for years, but they believe the serpent won’t choose to return the apple and alternatively will eat from the Tree of Life, thus gaining eternal life and evil reign over the world instead.” Her eyes lit with anger. “Are you religious, Shaul?”
He chuckled, uncomfortably. “No. Not really.”
Mom shrugged. “Well, you’re still young. You have time.”
He laughed louder this time as he shifted in his seat.
“I doubt if the first version of the prophesy is true,” I interjected.
“Oh, and why not?” Shaul asked somewhat amused.
“Like my mother, I can’t imagine a purely evil serpent person would even remotely consider martyring himself for the world’s greater good.”
A big smile spread across his face. “You’ve got a point there. From what I know of those brutal killers, they wouldn’t do anything that didn’t serve their own interests. And they certainly wouldn’t kill themselves and all their people to save humanity.”
My mother’s voice filled with hatred. “They have to be stopped, somehow, some way.” Her face was starting to flush now. She looked enraged.
“You’re right, Mom. I know.” I was trying to pacify her. I was concerned about her knife wound. It didn’t seem like a good idea if she got all worked up over them. “Let’s just not think about what we can’t change right now.”
“Once we get settled, I want to start an underground coalition against them.” She spoke through gritted teeth. “God help me, I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done.”
Shaul didn’t seem to pay much attention to my mother now as she fumed about our enemies. He appeared to be consumed with other thoughts, lost in some other world of turmoil.
Though I was concerned about being caught by the serpent people while out on the public freeway, I also felt distracted and started losing track of my mother’s words. Oddly, I felt like I couldn’t concentrate at all. There was a surreal, unexplainable agitation overtaking my senses.
As we drove further south, out of Los Angeles County and beyond, the strangest thing happened. I started hearing music in my mind. The sounds were faint, but utterly beautiful.
As far as I could remember, I had never been this far south before. My mother always insisted I stay in the city.
She was still voicing her hatred for the serpent people when I interrupted her. “Can you guys hear that?” My voice was hesitant.
My mother seemed annoyed. “Hear what?” She looked around.
“It sounds like music is playing.” I glanced at Shaul. The glint in his eyes sparkled, but his expression was mysterious and indiscernible as he drove.
Mom shook her head. Her intensity seemed to calm. I suppose she had vented enough about the evil invaders whom at present we were powerless over.
Then, to my embarrassment, she said, “Cordellia is a gifted singer.” Her face lit up as she looked at Shaul.
He smiled as if she had told him a silly joke. “Really?”
“Oh, yes. She sings like an angel.”
He hissed, “Get out.” Then he looked at me daringly. “Sing something, Cordellia.”
I blushed, frustrated that my mother had put me on the spot. “I’m not going to sing!” I complained.
“Please, Cordellia.” My mother nudged me. “Sing my favorite song.”
“Yes, Cordellia, sing it. Make us happy.” He looked at me through his thick dark lashes.
His mocking expression humored me and I figured, why not? I’ll show him. I might be hunchbacked and skinny with dry, flaky skin, but one thing I had going for me was that I could sing like an angel.
I began singing my mother’s favorite song which was in Hebrew, the language of angels and God as she told me in the past. It was a Psalm from the bible. Though I hadn’t had any voice lessons or any formal training in music, I had been told my voice could reach the stars and radiate on high. That made me laugh, but normal people actually said things like that after I sang to them. In one sense, it was kind of true in a way because as I sang, my mind felt like it was entering, secret places or maybe even other realms and I felt free as a bird, soaring through the notes upwards toward heaven.
It wasn’t a problem that I heard the unexplainable faint sounds of music in my mind this early, dark morning because I was able to incorporate the background into my vocals. The rhythm of the lute brought passion to my voice as I sang about God and spiritual concepts that I didn’t even understand.
But, as I sang, and the more connected I became, I noticed Shaul’s increasing discomfort. He grabbed the steering wheel tightly and his nostrils began to flare. It looked like he was in an agonizing pain that increased in intensity with each lyric. A few more notes into the song, his face started turning red and he shouted, “Stop! Please, Cordellia, stop!”
I s
topped singing at once, feeling embarrassed. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t just pretend to like the song. He pissed me off. Was he trying to ruin the one thing I loved?
I could tell my mother was a little taken aback by his outburst, but she didn’t say anything. After all, we didn’t really know him and we were in a vulnerable situation.
That’s when the seriousness of our actual circumstances started sinking in. We were in a bad place. Now that we had lost our cave on the island, we really had nowhere to go. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go to Seneca Mountains because I didn’t really want to be around Shaul anymore. I sensed that Mom didn’t have any substantial plans for us.
My stomach started knotting up and I just stared straight ahead watching the night, feeling the fright penetrate my essence.
6
“I hear the music too.” Shaul tensed. He tightened his lips, gazing at me through narrowed eyes as he drove.
“Really?” I turned to him looking past my mother.
His stare remained fixed on my face.
My mother rolled her eyes. “I can’t hear anything, but the air whizzing past us.
“Is the song gradually intensifying in your mind as we head further south?”
He turned away, clenching his teeth together in vicious agitation. Grasping the steering wheel tighter, he attempted to calm himself.
Then, suddenly, he turned off the freeway, directing the speed wave over the side rail, over an abandoned food house. He accelerated, lifting over a long stretch of trees, and spun the auto in a three-sixty where he parked in front of an old Victorian home in a residential neighborhood.
“Wait here,” he mumbled. “I’ll be right back.” He rushed out of the car, locking us in, and jogged to the back of the house.
My mother shook her head, her eyes wide. “What’s he doing?”
“I have no idea.” I twisted a strand of my long black hair around my fingers to calm myself.
“What’s all that about hearing music in your heads?” she asked as she tried to unlock the door unsuccessfully.
“I don’t know, but at least I’m not the only one hearing it. Looks like you need your hearing checked, Mom,” I snorted. “Maybe the CDV is on and you’re tone deaf.” I knew that wasn’t true and that the enchanting sounds I heard were in my mind, but I enjoyed teasing her.
Girl Possessed (Book 1 of The Girl Trilogy) Page 3