“What are we going to do with the soldier’s bodies?” I asked. Mara down another hole and saw beast. She looked at me and said “why not feed them to the beast?”
“Why not!”
So we picked up the soldiers and threw him down the hole to feed the hungry beasts.
I looked at my father. There was something wrong. I could feel it, but we didn’t have time to investigate. We had to get as far from Eden Two as possible.
There were no soldiers on the back wall. Journey retied the rope to the boulder using an unfamiliar knot. She saw the confused look on my face. “Would you like to know what I am doing, Noah?”
“Yes.”
“I twist rope this way, then, after we get down, I will twist it the other way. The rope will let loose and fall,” she explained. “They will never know how we escaped. Who is going first?”
“You,” Father replied.
Journey made her way down the wall. I followed. My hands hurt bad but I made it. Then Mara started down.
“Something happened up there,” I said to Journey as we waited. “What’s wrong with Father? Do you know?”
“He killed his first man,” she answered. “He has killed beasts, but never a man. It’s sometimes hard to accept what you have to do to live. He needs time.”
Once we were all on the ground, Journey twisted the rope, and it fell down to us. Father and Doc picked it up. We walked for a while and hid the rope under some brush. We walked all night, into the early morning. We found a clearing off the road in which to sleep.
We slept until noon. When I woke, I heard running water and followed the sound to a deep creek with water so clear I could see the rocks at the bottom. It was beautiful. I dove off the bank. The water felt good on my hands, but it was little cold. I remembered swimming with my friends another lifetime ago.
Mara walked to the bank and asked how the water was.
“It’s a little cold, but nice.”
“Dad, Noah says the water is nice.”
Doc and Mara jumped into the water together. They came up with their teeth chattering and began to splash me.
Father and Journey were making bows and arrows.
“Father, the water feels great! Come in!” I yelled.
“No time for that. We’re going hunting,” he said.
“May I go?”
“No. Stay here and get a fire burning.”
They left and we splashed for a while, then got out and gathered wood. When my father and Journey returned, they were carrying a deer.
We would feast to our freedom.
CHAPTER 19
Lessons Learned
Mara and I walked into the woods with Doc. We gathered potatoes, mushrooms, onions, and other green things. Father and Journey skinned and dressed the deer, carving off portions of meat to cook and eat, and others to preserve with herbs and carry with us.
I couldn’t wait to eat. It smelled so good. As we wait for the food we set and talked about are homes. Time past so quickly and Doc yelled “it’s done.” Doc thanked the deer and said a prayer, and then we dug in. The meat was tender, and we ate until we could eat no more.
“So what’s your plan, Bardon?” asked Journey.
“When I get back to Nod, I am going to teach my people how to fight. We won’t lie down again.”
“How can you teach your people to fight, if you can’t even beat me?” said Journey.
“I was raised not to hit a woman,” Father said.
“I don’t know who raised you, but if a woman hits you, you better fight back,” laughed Journey.
“You want a rematch, now?” Father joked.
Journey stood and raised her eyebrow in invitation.
They went to a clear spot and fought hand to hand. My father did pretty well—at flying through the air. He got a good hold on Journey and they wrestled a bit. Then he flew through the air again.
Journey said, “Take five.”
Father walked over to me and said, “How did I do?”
“Well, I thought the flying lessons were pretty effective.”
“I thought you were on my side.”
I laughed. “I am, Father. Go show her what you are made of.”
“Round two,” Journey said.
She told Father to cut a staff. He picked out what looked like a small tree. Journey came back with a long narrow one.
“You like my big stick?” Father asked, winking at her.
“After this, you won’t like your big stick at all,” replied Journey.
They began to fight. Journey was much quicker. She left welts all over my father. He got mad and swung his staff hard. He missed. Journey didn’t. She hit him in the back and knocked him down.
“It doesn’t matter the size of your stick, only that you know how to use it,” said Journey.
Father got up and brushed himself off. “Come with us and teach my people.”
“I am going home, Bardon.”
“Why don’t I bring my village to your village?”
“If your village comes to mine, all the men will be my slaves, and I don’t want that. Let me teach you how to fight, so you will have a chance against the soldiers.”
“Who are you?” Father asked.
“I’m the queen of the Amazons.”
My father just walked away.
“Can you teach me?” I asked.
“Can you teach me?” asked Mara.
“Of course,” she said, as she watched my father walk away.
I turned to Doc and said “how about you?” “NO I got things to do”
“I looked at Journey and said just don’t hit me as hard as you hit my father.”
Journey smiled and we began. After an hour or so, we took a break. Father was watching, but he didn’t look pleased.
I sat with him and said, “It’s not for you, it’s not for me, it’s for our people. Pride will not save us.” I turned to resume my lesson and felt his hand on my shoulder.
“You’re turning into a man, Noah,” he said. “And one day, you will be a great father.”
Father asked if he could join us. Journey just smiled.
My father looked at me and said, “I think she enjoys beating the shit out of me.”
I laughed.
“It’s not funny. I hurt,” said Father.
First, we moved to hand-to-hand fighting. Mara hit me once and knocked me down.
“That’s it, girl,” Journey said.
They all laughed. Now I knew what father was talking about.
Next, we used sticks. I got a long, skinny one. Father had one, too. I smiled at him, and he smiled back.
“Where’s that big stick, Bardon?” Journey asked.
“A good friend taught me that size does not measure strength, and when I learn how to use a big stick, you will be the first to know.”
“Good answer,” she said. “Now let’s see if the little stick works.”
She taught us to swing the stick the right way. She told us to pick a tree and hit it. I swung my stick until my hands were raw and bleeding.
Journey came over and looked at my hands. She inspected Mara’s, too, and sent us to Doc.
Journey and Father picked up the swords they had taken from the guards on the roof.
“I’m going to show you a move that might save your life one day,” she said.
Doc put herbs on Mara’s hands and wrapped them.
“It’s your turn, Noah,” said Doc.
While he worked on my hands, I asked what he meant when he said he had to help a friend.
“I went to see the yeti. I asked if his name was Pap. It was, and he remembered me. I told him that they brand him and I showed him mine. You will die in this hole if you didn’t fight. He just smiled and said he was a peaceful being. I unlocke
d his cage, saying “They will take your soul,” I left.
We heard yelling, and began watching Father and Journey. Their blades were getting pretty close to each other. They stopped to catch their breath.
“We better go,” Journey said. “It’s almost dark.”
“Journey?” I said. “How did the soldiers overtake your village if your people are such good fighters?”
“We were not at our village. We were attacking another one for their men. The soldiers attacked us, so we had to fight the villagers and soldiers at the same time. But angels wouldn’t fight us.
“Do Amazons kill men?”
“No, we just use them, but I always thought little of men until I met you and your father.”
Doc looked at Journey, pretending affront.
Journey said, “You, too.”
Doc smiled.
Father was trying to rub herbs on himself. Journey took the herbs from him and began helping. I sat down beside them.
“Father, what did you write on the hide?” I asked.
“I thanked Captain Skull for helping us escape.”
“He didn’t help us escape,” I said.
“King Seth doesn’t know that. Do you think he’s gotten an ass-whooping yet?”
“I think he got more than that,” Journey said as she kissed my father on the cheek.
We packed up and moved on. Father looked me and said, “what was that all about?”
“She wanted to kill Skull, too.” He smiled at me.
As we walked, we fell into different conversations.
“Do you think I will grow as big as you, Father?”
“I think so. Like father like son, they say.”
“But we are different in some ways. You have blue eyes, and mine are green.”
“You have your mother’s eyes.”
“I wish I could remember her.” I sighed. “Was she pretty?”
“She was beautiful, and every time I see your face, I see her.”
“I’m sorry for killing my mother.”
“Why would you say something like that, Noah?” he cried. At night you cry about her and say we should never had a baby. He pulled me in his arms.
Journey said “let’s stop for a little bit.”
Father I sat down on an old log. He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
“I would die for you. I never told you this because it hurts, Noah. Your mom labored for hours with your birth until you finally arrived in this world. You were not moving and your mom cried out to God for help. You began to cry, and she held you all night and early into the morning, when I took you out of her arms. She was dead, and I cried with you.”
I hugged him with all my strength.
“Time to get moving,” he said, wiping away his tears.
“Do you think my angel has red hair like yours?” I asked as we started back on our way.
“It probably has yellow hair, like you and your mother.”
“Why doesn’t God destroy that king?”
“Maybe that’s what we are supposed to do.”
CHAPTER 20
Journey’s Journey
“Journey, how do you know your way home in the dark?”
“Look up, Noah,” she said. “See the brightest star in the sky? That’s the North Star. We live in the south, so I travel south, away from the star.”
“But what if it’s cloudy?” I asked.
“I go on my instinct.”
“Tell me about your village. Are there really no free men there?”
“Well, there was one. He lived among us, but he’s gone now.”
“Tell me the story.”
“A long time ago, a man came into our village carrying a woman who had been bitten by a snake. He sucked the poison out and took care of the woman night and day. At night, he sang her love songs, and everyone in the village listened. He got sick from the poison, yet he still cared for her. One day, my mom didn’t hear him singing, and she found him unconscious, lying on top of the woman. She was dead. My mom nursed him back to health and hummed the song to him while he was sick. I remember the song like it was yesterday.”
Journey began to sing. “I was looking today for something I lost yesterday. I found you, and you filled my heart every day. The touch of your lips on mine tastes like sweet cool wine. Don’t leave here. Don’t leave me here alone. Your love is like gold. Your love was so hard to find, so don’t leave me alone. My love for you is calling. Will you please come back to me? Oh, come back to me. Oh, come back to me. Give me that sweet, cool wine. Oh, give me that wine. Your love is like no other I’ve known. Oh, don’t you know I love your cool, sweet wine. I love your cool, sweet wine. Don’t leave me, sweet wine.
“My mother grew to love him. He sang her the song for many nights, and one day he took her away from me. We searched for a long time, but they were gone. I think that’s why I like to beat on Bardon so much. That man looked like him.” Journey fell silent, listening. “We have to be quiet,” she whispered. “There are animals close.”
We walked quietly as the animals sounds increased. A death scream pierced the silence. Insects glowed and giant plants came to life to pluck them out of the air with long, sticky tongues. I grew more scared with every step. I slowed and walked closer to Father. Mara clung to Doc. A chill fell, and everything went to sleep. No one spoke for hours. The sun’s rays peeked through the leaves and warmed us. We continued to walk, and eventually came to a split in the path.
“My way is to the left.” Journey pointed. “To the right is your way. Like the narrow path we traveled, our time together has come to an end.”
She turned to walk away. I ran to her and threw my arms around her, my heart pounding as though it would burst through my ribs.
“I’ll miss you so much, Journey.”
She peeled my hands away. “I’ll miss you, too,” she said. “And if I did have a son, I would wish him to be just like you.” I smiled at her.
Mara and Doc hugged Journey and said their goodbyes. Mara began to cry. Father thanked her for all the beatings.
“If you ever need a place to stay, you will always be welcome at Nod,” Father added.
Doc handed Journey some meat wrapped in a cloth.
“Dry your eyes,” Journey commanded. “You are warriors now.”
She wished Mara and I happy birthday and was on her way. We watched until she disappeared from sight. I think we were all hoping she would have turned and waved.
Father turned and motioned to the right. “Let us find our way home.”
Home sounded good. We walked for hours, stopping only to pick berries and eat dinner.
“Can we stay with you a while, Bardon?” Mara asked.
“You can stay as long as you want. Good friends are hard to find.”
“We appreciate that, Bardon,” Doc said. “I fear we will never find our way home.”
“Where is your home, Doc?”
Doc pointed to the sky.
Father said, “You’re from the mountains?”
“We are from a planet much like this called Lair.”
“You are from the stars?” Father asked, astonished.
“Yes,” he said. “Our planet was overcrowded, and we knew your planet wasn’t. We built three ships and left. Two ships were lost in a meteor shower. Our ship was damaged, and we crash-landed. There was a thousand of our kind on our ship, but when we woke, many were dead. Others were missing. My mate was among the dead. We buried those who didn’t survive and said prayers over them. Then we left. We walked for days before the soldiers took Mara and me to the camp. Our ship is too damaged to return home.”
“We have ships, here,” I said.
“It’s not that kind of ship, Noah,” Mara explained. “Our ship doesn’t float on water. It flies in the stars.”
&
nbsp; “You can fly?” I asked.
“I can only fly when I am on a ship. We could fix it, but we need aluminum.”
“I don’t know what a loom-man-in is, but we have plenty of wool and wood,” I said.
“Whoever heard of a flying wooden ship?” said Mara.
“I am sorry about your mate and people,” Father said. “I would love to hear more, but if we don’t get moving, we won’t make it to Nod by nightfall. We can walk while we talk.”
So we began to walk.
“I cannot believe your planet treats its people so cruelly,” Doc said. “Your kind has no respect for animals or the real God. Your people pray to too many gods. On our planet, we pray to one God. We do not hurt our people. We help. We respect all life.”
“Our village is that way, too. You’ll see. Nod is a beautiful place.”
Mara asked me, “Do people get married in Nod?”
I looked at her. “What is ‘married’?”
“It’s when people have a baby and love each other.”
“That’s jumping the broom.”
“Can a woman pick a man?” asked Mara.
“No, just a man.”
“Would you pick me, Noah?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I told the truth. “You have to be eighteen, Mara.”
CHAPTER 21
A Different Nod
When we finally reached the gates of Nod, it was painfully obvious our village had changed. It was no longer so peaceful. People fought over food, and the streets were filled with faces we didn’t recognize.
“Where are the rest of the men that left with you?” asked the few familiar citizens we met.
Father told them the terrible news of the battles, our imprisonment, and our escape. “The king is evil,” he said, “and he takes men’s lives for amusement. Your men are all dead.”
Some people screamed. Some fainted. Others fell to their knees in body-wrenching sobs.
“The soldiers and the angels will come for us. You must go back!” a voice from the crowd shouted. “They will come for you and kill us all!”
“The angels cannot hurt you,” Father argued. “It is God’s law.”
“What about the soldiers?” another voice cried. “The soldiers will kill us!”
Angels of the Second Earth Age Page 10