Evil
Page 3
Everything touched by evil was gone. That was except for me and the Walker. We were all that was left of the darkness. I managed to stand, and as I did, I removed my clothes. They no longer felt good on me. They were Walker’s. I walked over to where he stood and wordlessly handed everything to him.
“Look what you’ve done, Mar,” Walker said. “Your people are stripped of everything. They have no houses, no clothing, no food, nothing!”
“Walker, you’re wrong. They have the one building block that will bring them great joy. They have hope! And with hope, all things are possible.”
I left him standing there and climbed the steps into the church. Inside, I saw no one, but I knew Hope was there around me. I found some long-discarded robes in a closet, along with fabrics that had been hoarded all those years ago. I wrapped the robe around me. I grabbed as much of the clean materials as I could hold on to and walked out of the church.
I stumbled on the steps. Clean human hands caught me and set me right. I saw my sisters and brothers staring dumbfounded at their state of undress. I mutely handed them robes. Once dressed, they took the rest from me and distributed them amongst the people who now gathered outside. We clothed all we could with the robes, and when those were gone, we used the material. Not one of the naked felt the need to have more than was their due.
A soft rain began to fall. I urged them all to come into the church. As they walked in, I kept my eyes on the Walker. He just stood there in disbelief. People walked around him on the way in. No one seemed to know who he was. Or what he was. He no longer looked powerful. He just looked like a man standing in the rain.
“Walker, are you coming in?” I asked.
“Mar, I’m not welcome in there,” he said as a wry smile formed on his lips.
“Walker, I don’t know much about this building or what exactly is its religion. But what I do know comes from the man who is hanging on the cross in there. He died so you could walk in there. You just need to leave the past behind you.”
“Mar, don’t you hate me?” he asked, his gaze leveled with mine as he walked to the steps where I stood.
“Walker, I never hated you. I feared you. I hated the part of me that was evil, but I never could hate you,” I reassured him. “I don’t know what makes you evil or gives you such pleasure at another’s misfortune. Why you exist puzzles me as much as why someone’s child had to die so I could be delivered from evil. Although, I will learn and live better just knowing that I have a choice between evil and good.” I walked down the steps and grabbed his hand. It felt warm to my touch. He no longer had the feel of evil on him; he was just a man.
Turning from me he shuddered. “Mar, you scare me now. How can you ask me to come with you? I can’t change instantly. I have been evil for hundreds of years. You want me to give up immortality for this god of yours?”
“Ours, Walker. Think back before you became the Walker. Who you were then, you can be now. I refuse to believe that you were completely evil. You protected me when I came here the first time. You made sure I was brought up and kept safe from the others. It wasn’t lust that drove you to kill Uncle Tag. It was for love. And I believe, where there is love, there is hope.”
I grabbed him and held him to me. I didn’t need to see his face to see the tears that streamed from his long dry eyes. I felt them.
“Walker, I just realized something.”
“What?” he asked, his voice low and soft.
“That you are Hope and Evil aren’t you?” I grabbed his shoulders and brought his face closer to mine. The light, from the rising sun behind me, gave his eyes an ethereal shine. “I should have known when you wouldn’t show yourself to me in the cellar of the church. I don’t understand. How can you be two people at the same time?”
“Every person holds both good and evil in them, Mar. Part of me got locked up in there when the people revolted. The evil in me wanted no part of the good. When I lost this balance, I became two. I never regretted it until you showed up on those steps. When you sat there and cried, you awakened the good part of me that I thought I had locked away in the church. I wanted to protect you from the hell you were born into. But I also wanted to protect you from me.”
“Are you mortal?” I asked, fearing the answer.
“Not now. I was once. I guess if I wasn’t so evil, my life would resume a normal course. I might even die one day.” The Walker reached out and put his arms around me.
His skin no longer repulsed me. I couldn’t hide any longer the need I had to be with him, but I knew that I couldn’t live with evil. That was a deal breaker.
“Are you afraid of being human? Is this why you hold on to the evil? Or is it the power? Walker, can you let go of the power?”
“If I had you, I could be satisfied scraping my, our, way through life. Do I have you, Mar? Can you love me or do you love only Hope? You have to love both of us. I can’t be one or the other, not anymore.”
“Walker, I think I have loved you since you led me away from here the first time. Even knowing what you were didn’t stop that. But I can’t live my life in darkness and horror, and neither can my children. I have seen what it’s like out there, and I know that, with God’s help, I can take myself and the others forward. We can rebuild our world with goodness and light. We can be strong when darkness comes again. This time, we will repel it. Will you stand beside me or against me? I will love you either way, but I can’t live with evil anymore!”
I stepped back because I wanted to see his face. I knew I was chancing so much, but I still had hope.
“I, the Walker, cast all my powers of evil away!” He announced heavenward, “I’m asking for your forgiveness, Lord, for I have fallen far from grace. I have lead others down with me. I have murdered, and I have maimed. I have kept this place ignorant of your love. I have made it Hell. If you can forgive me, please do it now. Or strike me dead, and I will finish my eternity in Hell!” He shouted.
The Walker stood there waiting.
The heavens clouded overhead. The sun disappeared behind black clouds. The wind picked up, and my robe blew around me. No more rain came. Just a single bolt of lightning burst from the heavens hitting the Walker.
I ran and caught him as he fell. The weight of his body forced mine to the ground. I sat on the street and held the unconscious Walker. His clothes had burned away. His hands and feet briefly held familiar wounds put there to remind him of why he was forgiven. When they were gone, the Walker awoke, human.
***
Alexie Aaron
After traveling the world, Alexie Aaron, a Midwestern native, returned to her roots where she’s been haunting for years. She now lives at the top of the mitt with her husband and family.
Her popular Haunted Series was born from her memories of fleeting shapes rushing around doorways, an heirloom chair that rocked itself, cold feelings of mysterious dread, and warm feelings from the traces of loved ones long gone. From the series, another series was born. The Cid Garrett P.I. series, which takes the reader on a more conventional paranormal adventure.
Alexie also writes the Cin Fin-Lathen Mysteries. These mysteries, set in England and south Florida, combine action and intrigue with a liberal dose of humor.
Want more information? Visit www.alexieaaron.com for updates, blog posts, podcasts, and much, much more.