Witness

by Lori Darnell

  Jill knew this. Her response to this horror was simply, “and I will be waiting for you to join me. It doesn’t matter. We will be together.” I understood her logic. But how could she be so understanding, knowing the suffering approaching, the way she was destined to die? I was a monster. It was definitely best to keep her away. Just for now.

  I had to force myself to stop this vicious circle of doubt and regret. It wouldn’t help us now. It was the best we could hope for. Our daughter would be safe and loved. We would be together, and we could watch over our family.

  As I walked, I noticed several of the locals stopped to stare. One young woman dropped to her knees. I smiled; these people knew more of the legends than I had originally thought. The woman looked up at me, wide-eyed.

  “Please stand, I don’t want to draw attention, yet.” She stood slowly, nodding. But the damage was done. Several villagers ran for their homes. I could hear whispers of my arrival teeming through the streets. More and more of them continued to stare, not knowing if I were real. I would show them.

  The large doors were right in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I walked through the doors. It was more horrific than the first time I was there. The lobby was full of people. Black robes swirled around the room like a chaotic dance. I could hear crying and screaming through the doors down each hall. But the most noticeable part of all this was the overpowering stench of blood, stale sweat, urine and feces.

  I walked to the front desk. A woman, badly bruised, stood there, writing on some papers. I leaned in slowly, and she flinched. I tried to be calming as possible. “Is there a way you can get people out of here?” She looked past me toward the priests and Reverends.

  “I can, but they will come after us.” She looked back down at her papers. “That is how I got these.” She held up her hands to reveal deep scars in the shape of crosses, healed over by time. How long had she been here? “You must be crazy, coming in here like this.” She looked up again at the movement behind me, fear intensifying in her eyes.. “Please, you’re going to get me in trouble.” She looked like she was about to cry.

  I reached down, touching her hand to get her attention. I felt the heat course through my body, visions of all of the people this girl would save today springing up in my mind. I smiled at her as her mouth dropped open, bathed in blue light.

  “Not today - they will have more important things to worry about.” She looked behind me, she saw several priests coming for me. I saw them too. “Run, save as many as you can.” I began to pray that she could save them all, but then stopped, knowing who I was praying to. The woman dashed down the hall.

  I turned slowly, closing my eyes. “Gentlemen, this establishment has now been closed. I am sorry to inconvenience your sport but, we must leave this building.” There were several laughs and pointing hands. It was the response I expected. I used the visions to guide me, not wanting to reveal myself just yet. Two of the larger priests came to restrain me.

  “Son, you're either crazy, or you must have a death wish, walking in here like this.” The priest to my left shook his head. “I think we need to take this fine looking boy upstairs, maybe he needs to confess.” He came closer to run his hand down my chest. I shuddered in revulsion.

  “I’m not crazy.” I shoved both of them away from me. Looking up at the crowd that had now gathered from the rooms and the rest of the hotel, I saw their reactions, bathed in blue light. “I’m angry.” I scanned the crowd, trying to find Jacob.

  “Marcus, don’t do it. It won’t save them.” Jacob was running from the back of the hotel toward me.

  “I have to save them.” I looked at him closely; the panic in his eyes seemed strange. Something wasn’t right here. Two of the older Reverends were smiling. The visions flooded my mind. With absolute horror, I saw what Jacob was saying.

  James was holding a small envelope that was delivered to him. He had asked the boy who had given him the package to deliver. The boy shook his head no and ran away. Dean tried to follow him. The priests grabbed him, James lunged at them both. It was too late; it was a trap, the priest holding Dean took the envelope from James. “I told you Marcus was with them. Now all there is to do is wait for him.” The priest looked at the others, pleased his trap had worked. I saw the group enter the Red Door - this very hotel. They were so close to getting back to us.

  “No!” I went to the back of the hotel, running up the stairs to the second floor. I heard the sound of several people running after me, but my single-minded focus was to get to James and Dean. I opened the door at the top of the stairs. A large robed Reverend blocked my entrance.

  “You don’t have permission to be here.” He called mockingly at me as I searched around him. I couldn’t see into the room. Anger flooded me.

  “Get out of my way.” He laughed in response. My hand reached his neck before he could stop laughing. I felt the bones crack. I knew I had killed him. I tossed his body from the doorway; I could hear it crash into something large on the first floor. I dropped to my knees. I was too late. The Church must have been tracking them; that is why they were taking so long.

  “James, why didn’t you tell me?” I was looking at the bodies of James, my father, my teacher and my best friend. His lover, Dean was next to him. Their bodies were cold. They had been dead for days. They were positioned carefully to look like they were sleeping. I wondered at the reason, but reason had little to do with the Church from my view. The stench of the rotting bodies in front of me wafted through me toward the open door. Seeing their bodies in the early stages of decomposition was more than my control could take.

  Still frozen, not able to look away from the scene laid out carefully for me, I felt a hand on touch my shoulder. “Marcus, we found these.” Jacob pitched some clinking metal bits on the floor in front of me, they were our wedding rings. The numbers on the inside glinted in the dim light. “I’m sorry, but I told you they would take everything from you. I told you they'd take everything you love, they would find a way." I felt myself take a sharp breath, Jill was so close. I heard Jacob laugh at my reaction. "I won't protect her for you.” He released my shoulder and walked away. I could feel him leaving the building. The others remained, looking down at my huddled, shocked form. One Reverend took a step forward.

  “You are a witness of the Church. Where is Jill? You both have to answer for your abandonment.” Tearing my eyes away from the scene of their dead bodies, I turned back to the crowd.

  “I was going to say, if you touch her you will die. But I really don’t plan on sparing your lives.” I looked back to the bed. They had risked so much. I grabbed the young Reverend near the front of the crowd. “Go outside. When I leave this place, you will go to Rome. Tell them what you have seen.” I felt the tears stream down my face. “Tell them I am coming for them.”

  I dropped him to the floor, he ran down the stairs. He was young; maybe, he could still be saved. I felt the fire build in me. I embraced it, encouraged it. The priests in front of me stood still, shocked by what they were seeing. My skin began to cast an amber glow about the room. The priests in front of me started to run, pushing others out of the way. The hall was filled with screaming as other priests were told what was happening.

  I threw my hands against the walls. Blue flames licked the velvet wallpaper, turning it to ash. The fire spread as I walked down the stairs. The lower level was empty. I touched everything within reach as I exited the building. By the time I reached the front doors, the building was engulfed in flames. I could hear screaming behind me, but I couldn’t find it within myself to care. What was done could never be undone. I couldn’t waste my emotions on them. I had to go to Jill. I had to finish this.

  Outside the burning building, several robed figures stood, watching the destruction. I turned to the building, using the strength I had, I pushed the burning wall down into the fire, the rest of the building collapsed. I could still hear the screaming. It made me smile with bloodlust.

  “How dare you! You are a servant of th
e Church! You have no right!” I turned back to the crowd, ignoring the man yelling at me.

  “I have no right? Who killed James, and Dean? Who had that right?” The young man I had saved so he could go to Rome pointed to the man yelling at me.

  The man glared at his accuser. “You are an ignorant child. God will save me. This man cannot hurt me.” He waved his arms about, to demonstrate my insignificance. "This was nothing more than a parlor trick. He can't hurt you." His claims were smug, and very wrong.

  “Ask your god to save you. I will not, not after you brutally murdered my family. The gods will not save you from me, because I am one of them.” I moved forward as a gasp unified those watching. Several local people dropped to the ground, bowing toward me.

  The man turned to the crowd, exasperated. “Now he claims to be a god. How can we trust him? He seems more a demon to me.” The man turned back to me. He smiled as he walked toward me, foolishly unafraid. “They were filth, they were lucky to die in my hands. They will find absolution now for their sins. What would you have been able to do for them?” He poked at my chest, like he was scolding a child.

  I wrapped my hand around his neck; I could feel him struggle to breathe. “I would have let them live." The words choked out of me between sobs. "I would have let them love. They loved so much more than you can imagine.” I looked to the back of the crowd. I saw her. She couldn’t stay away. For once I was glad she didn’t listen to me. She called to my mind. She had been watching me. She knew they were dead. I could see her crying, clutching her stomach. Who was going to care for her now? My rage overtook me.

  “Your god has not come down to stop me. Are you sure he cares?” I was toying with him, making him a spectacle, and a story that would travel. “You have killed the very man who raised me, who treated me as his son.” I looked up, Jill was running to me. I would wait for her. “It is unfortunate you would kill the one man that may have been able to save you.” The man was crying, begging breathlessly to be saved. There was no answer from the heavens for him.

  Jill reached my side. She looked like an angel, her hair wildly blowing in the hot winds. I calmly turned to her. My rage was radiating through me but I contained it so I could speak clearly. “Jill, this man thinks he should be saved.” She looked at him as I dropped him to the ground. He was choking and gasping, trying to breathe. Jill reached down, lifting his chin to see him better.

  “The Church should have left us alone. You have destroyed our family.” Jill walked away from the man. "You are a sorry excuse of a human. You have no idea what you have done. What you have cost us." She started to cry again. I hated this man for everything that had ever happened to us. For Jill's pain, for my parents, for Dean, for James. His life would be his pennance.

  He started to scream for help, seeing that Jill was not going to save him, she was one of us. She was so fit to be a god. So much more so than me. She was both cruel and kind, but most of all she was ruthlessly loyal to those she loved.

  No one in the crowd came forward to save this man. I leaned down, feeling the flames reach through my body, tickling against my arm. “No one came to save you from the heavens. Are you sure your god cares? It was silly to test that theory now, because," I looked back into the crowd, "no one here is trying to save you either. Maybe you should find a new god.” He crawled forward kissing my feet, thinking I wanted his worship. The very thought of this man worshipping made me sick. I laughed. “Sorry. But I am not a forgiving god, not today.” I reached down pulling him up with my cold hand. “Maybe your absolution lies in death, as well.” I placed my burning hand against his chest. The scream echoed through the village. His body crumbled before me, ashes. I stepped through the ashes reaching for Jill. The flames were gone, I wanted her with me. She flew into my arms.

  “What are we going to do?” She cried softly against me. I didn’t have anything to comfort her. I was numb. At this moment all I wanted to do was go home. But the truth was we didn’t have one. Our family was broken.

  “Let’s go back to the temple. We leave for Rome tomorrow.” I put her down gently. I felt someone pull her away from me roughly before I could react. “No.” I heard myself echo to the empty space in front of me. I turned looking for her. The young priest I saved held her tightly. The silver of a knife I had not seen was pressed cruelly to the hollow of her throat.

  “I will go to Rome, but I am keeping her with me. To ensure I survive.” He looked down at Jill, sneering. “You will keep me company won’t you?” Looking back up at me he cringed. “Be careful, whether you’re a god or not, she is human. And she looks like she could be a ripe plaything.” He ran his tongue against her cheek. “Very sweet, is she sweet to you?” He looked down at her again. “I bet you are.” He grabbed her stomach and froze. “Apparently, she has been very sweet indeed. The Church will be so happy to receive you - at least until you give birth.” Jill wrapped her arms possessively around the baby, and looked up at me. There was no fear in her eyes, just hate. "Just imagine the possibilities. The Church will love to study your child. It will be the Church's prize possession."

  “Jill, sweetheart, someone else can go to Rome.” Jill smiled. The man holding her dropped the knife on the ground and stepped away from her.

  “Don’t ever touch me. Only Marcus may touch me.” She reached for my hand as I pulled her behind me. The man was frozen. The man tried to run, but his feet wouldn’t move.

  “You witch, what have you done to me?” He screamed at Jill. Jill only laughed. The poor man turned and walked slowly, as he was trying to resist, back toward the Red Door, into the fire.

  “That is where you belong. Go into the fire. Maybe your god will forgive you.” She turned to me, ignoring the fresh screams. “Marcus, let’s go.” She clung to my waist as we walked through the crowd. There was a mixture of horror struck faces of the Church officials and pure worship from those who we saved and those who knew of the legends in the temple.

  As Jill and I walked away I was surprised no one followed us. But I shouldn’t have been, not with Jill at my side. With her remarkable power of control, and her maternal need to protect our child, she would never have allowed that to happen.

  Chapter 28

  Numb and speechless, we reached the cottage where Jenna and her father were waiting. We had waited so long for Dean and James to return, all the while unknowing that they never would. The sight and smell of their bodies clung steadfast in my memory, and in Jill’s as well, from experiencing it second-hand, and sickened us both with grief and despair.

  “Marcus, what are we going to do?” She was sobbing uncontrollably. I leaned down picking her up gently to carry her. Even in her advanced pregnant state, she was still effortlessly light – but that probably had more to do with my god-like strength. She cradled her head into the hollow of my neck as we continued to the doorway. Fruitless tears overflowed from her face, wetting my dusty shirt.

  “I don’t know.” I looked down at her ever expanding belly. “We don’t have much time.” We were both lost. As I opened the door, Jenna came running.

  “What happened? Is she hurt?” Jenna pleaded with me to let her help me. I shook my head. I carried Jill to the back bedroom. She needed rest. Jenna followed, closely, holding Jill’s hand. Her father was just a few steps behind her.

  I laid Jill on the bed, Jenna crawled next to her. Jill, still crying, turned in to Jenna's shoulder. We were both beyond words, but they had to know. “The Church has killed James and Dean.” Jill began sobbing uncontrollably again, seeing the visions flash through my mind once more. Jenna, trying to comfort Jill the best she could, looked over at her father.

  “Father, we have to protect her. No one else will be able to.” She looked up at me. She loved Jill so much. We had so few options. We had even less time.

  “Jenna, you have no idea what this will entail. We cannot be responsible for this abomination.” Her father, the guardian, was clearly scared of what would happen to them. I understood his fear. The Church has
already killed to find us.

  Jenna looked back at me, pleading. “Can you stay? We could find her a safe place. You could help us.”

  “We can’t stay. Your father should have told you.” I glanced at the guardian; he was growing pale, while Jenna’s face was filling with suspicion. “When Jill gives birth, she will die. The only way I can take her with me to the heavens is to guide her there.” I looked back at Jill; she was trembling on the bed.

  “For a god to ascend into the heavens, they have to accept their mortality. They have to willingly die.” I walked over to the bed and sat at Jill’s feet. “I must let our daughter’s birth take both our lives, so I can bring Jill home.” I ran my hand along Jill’s calf. She was so cold. “She won’t suffer alone.” We both were sacrificing everything we were for our daughter.

  Jenna was stunned. She knew parts of the process but her father clearly shielded her from the worst. This was no time for the faint of heart.

  “You should have told her,” I stated plainly, glancing at the guardian. He pulled Jenna from the bed.

  “We will talk about this,” Jenna’s father said, a growing look of opportunity appearing in his eyes. “Clearly, we need to take your daughter in. Jenna will love her. The temple will protect and worship her.” He walked forward a few steps, then stopped, pondering. He viewed our daughter the same as the Church. An oddity that he could experiment with. I did not trust this man at all, but I did trust Jenna, and we were lacking any other options. I could only hope that Jenna could protect our daughter from him. Our daughter would only be a child – an innocent, unknowing of any good or evil in this world. Couldn’t anyone else see that?

  “I am truly sorry for your loss. But we can’t stay long. There is much for you to do, and Jill only has a few weeks. I pray the gods will favor us with time.” They both walked out of the room, heavy with a new burden.