by Nathan Jay
"Mommy!" Mateo yelled again. But his voice only echoed in the darkness.
There was a rustling of the bushes behind him. Mateo turned to see Leonardo running through the weeds. Mateo stood and gave pursuit. He'd heard the instructions his mother had given Leonardo before she started climbing down the rope, but he never came back as instructed.
Soon Mateo exited the weeds in the back of his house. Leonardo was standing in the middle of the backyard, staring straight ahead.
"Leonardo!" Mateo yelled. But his brother didn't acknowledge him. Instead, the little boy tilted his head curiously, as if he was listening for something.
"I did it. Now what?" said Leonardo. Mateo stared at his brother with a confused look on his face. Leonardo wasn't speaking to Mateo.
Suddenly the little boy ran into the house. Afraid of what his brother was about to do, Mateo walked to the backdoor and opened it.
Although the house was dark, Mateo thought of something his mother used to say.
"Lighting a candle lets God know that you saw the beauty he created today."
The memory brought a smile to Mateo's face.
He opened the door and walked inside.
Mateo didn't realize how scary his house was in the dark. There was a feeling of evil in the atmosphere that he never recognized before. The walls seemed to be pushing in towards him without actually moving. He could hear the wind shaking the tree branches that hung over the house's roof, causing them to scape and scratch at the structure. Although there was no light in the kitchen, Mateo could feel a foreboding presence there. He stayed close to the door in case he needed to run.
Suddenly a match lit in the middle of the floor. Mateo watched as Leonardo ignited the fire on the countertop and the floor.
"Leonardo? Can you hear me?" Mateo whispered.
"Yes," Leonardo responded.
Mateo exhaled.
"Thank God! I thought for sure that…"
Leonardo interrupted Mateo.
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
Confused, Mateo walked over to look at his little brother's face.
"What do you mean, Leonardo? I don't want any of this. What are you talking about?"
"It has to be done."
Leonardo walked over to the cupboard and opened the drawer.
"Leo…what are you…"
Moments later, Leonardo was holding a large knife in his hands.
"No!" Mateo screamed. He ran to his brother and grabbed his arm.
"You can't do this, Leonardo! I love you! Stop this now!"
Leonardo grabbed Mateo's hand and squeezed it until the bones cracked. Mateo screamed and fell to the floor.
"The child is ours!" Leonardo screamed, his voice a deep demonic rasp. Suddenly thin veins appeared in Leonardo's face and began throbbing. The irises inside his eyes became bloodshot and started leaking blood down his face.
"This is my brother!" Mateo yelled. Leonardo smiled at him and placed the knife to his neck. Slowly, he slid the blade across his throat.
"No! Leonardo!"
Blood poured from the slice in his neck with each heartbeat. Soon the pulsating veins in his face turned white. Leonardo collapsed, and Mateo ran to his brother to try to raise him.
"Leo! Leo!"
He grabbed Leonardo's shirt and tried to lift him from the floor. But each time he attempted to raise the boy, air escaped his throat in an unusual gurgling noise; the sound was so disgusting and terrifying that Mateo lowered him to the floor and didn't attempt to touch him again.
"I'll get you for this!" he whispered. Mateo stood and walked out of the room into his bedroom. He grabbed his bible from the nightstand and began reading God's Prayer.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as in heaven…"
Suddenly the temperature in the house dropped. The house began shuddering as sheets of ice formed on the walls.
"Stop," a ghostly female voice whispered.
Mateo continued reading.
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Suddenly Mateo stopped reading and stood with his mouth open. There were thousands of eyes peering at him from behind the ice on the walls. As the eyes blinked and stared at him, Mateo almost vomited. He'd never been so disgusted by anything in his life. Still, he continued to read.
"Lead us not into temptation…"
There was a flash of blinding light that caused Mateo to drop the book, but he didn't need it. Mateo memorized the prayer and knew it word for word. He kept his eyes closed and continued reciting the prayer. He could hear the ice on the walls hissing and popping as it fell onto the floor. Still, Mateo remained focused on completing the prayer. When he finished, Mateo opened his eyes.
Chapter 10: The Origin of Mateo Pt. 5
Mateo's heart sank. He was back in the dark pit with Camila's corpse lying by his side. He knelt next to his mother's body and started crying.
"God! What is this? Did you forget about me?" he screamed into the darkness. He felt forsaken, and he didn't understand why all of this was happening to him. He stood in the darkness combing through the passages of the Bible in his memory. Mateo searched for words – anything that could explain the reason his family was gone. As he looked at his mother's pale face, the desire for death welled up within him. This life was no longer worth living. He wished there was a way he could end it all.
Suddenly laughter echoed throughout the cave. Mateo stood and looked around. There was nothing but darkness. Once again, the laughter rang out. Mateo peered into the far corner of the cave. He wasn't sure, but something seemed to be there.
"Do you think prayer can save you?" whispered a voice. Soon there was more laughter that echoed throughout the darkness.
"We hold the key to your freedom. Freedom for you and your family," the voice whispered.
Mateo recoiled in fear as he noticed a dark shadow standing in the far corner of the cave. The towering shadow stood over 9 feet tall and seemed more like part of the cave than an individual threat. Not sure if he was hallucinating, Mateo squinted. As the monster stepped from the shadows, Mateo began to shake. The beast seemed to be a ghost – half existing and half gone. There was no hair. The creature's head was covered in a thin layer of slime, while hundreds of tiny purple veins pulsated through the thin layer of skin. The figure's gray eyes stared hungrily at the boy as if it craved him like it wanted to feast on his flesh and inhale his spirit. The face had a film of iridescent dust that switched from gray to red in the darkness. Its full mouth had long teeth that looked like shards of clear glass. Thick white saliva poured from its mouth while its jaws opened and closed as though it were chewing, making a metallic clicking sound.
"We've been waiting for you," the monster whispered.
But Mateo couldn't speak. The monster was terrifying. Its body had pale gray gossamer skin that allowed it to blend in with the cave walls. Its fingers were grotesquely twisted and deformed, like tree branches growing in every direction and pointing straight in no discernible way. The entity swayed as it walked as if a breeze propelled it. The odor of burned almonds and gasoline gagged Mateo again.
"Waiting for me?"
The creature stopped in the middle of the cave. Its gray skin shimmered, and its eyes widened.
"When Camila conceived you, we celebrated. We knew the prophecy of the Imawashii was upon us."
The monster's mouth opened and slammed shut, causing saliva to be thrown all over the cave. Mateo felt vomit building in his throat as he tried to stop himself from throwing up.
Suddenly the monster stopped moving.
"I'm sorry. Does my appearance discomfort you?"
The monster drifted back into the corner of the cave. Moments later, there was a flash of red light, temporarily blinding Mateo and causing him to cover his eyes.
"Is this better?" asked a child's voice.
Mateo opened his eyes to see a little girl standing on the other side of the cave. She had blonde curly h
air and wore a red dress. Although she was visually acceptable, she still had the same disgusting odor that made Mateo's eyes water. As the little girl stared at Mateo, her eyes shifted from gray to black and then back again. She walked to Mateo and sat down in front of him.
"Who are you? What do you want?" asked Mateo. Slowly, he backed away from the child. Within the moment, Mateo was honest with himself. He was afraid of the child and everything she represented. Mateo had read things in the Bible about false prophets and bearing false witness, but he'd never seen a physical manifestation of such things. This situation frightened him to his core.
"My name is Nixi. Your name is Mateo, yes?"
"Yes."
"Do you miss them?" the little girl asked as she drew shapes on the stone floor with her fingernails. After a few moments, Mateo responded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because they're my family."
"You'll be together again - one day. In the meantime, you'll forget the pain. The time you spend with us will be much better."
Mateo was relaxed a bit. He gathered his tongue and spoke.
"You keep saying the word us. Who is us?" asked Mateo. Nixi looked at him and brushed the blonde hair from her eyes.
"My family."
This comment made Mateo angry, but he kept his displeasure to himself. Nixi's eyes flickered gray, and she smiled.
"We like your anger. It amuses us. But it's a useless emotion here. You'll need it when your work begins."
Mateo was surprised that Nixi could read his mind.
"How did you…"
"The prophecy of the Imawashii told us that you would be the one to free us. The one to reconnect us with our father."
Curiosity ate at Mateo.
"Who is your father?"
Nixi stood and moved closer to Mateo.
"Our father is your father."
Mateo was confused, and his face betrayed his doubt. The girl giggled.
"You know who we're talking about, don't you?"
"The devil?"
Nixi burst into a full laugh. The deep voice coming out of the child frightened Mateo. It told him that the little girl held deeper, more sinister motivations.
"What makes you think our father is a fictional character in that silly book you read?"
"Well…that's who it is, isn't it?"
"Our Father is the divine one – the same as yours. Some call him Allah, and some call him Jehovah. You call him God."
Mateo twisted his face in disbelief.
"God is your Father? You?"
"Is it so hard to believe?"
"God doesn't create evil."
A smirk appeared on the child's face.
"Do you believe we are evil?"
She turned her back to Mateo and continued to speak.
"No. God doesn't create evil. That is something that happens naturally within the nature of men. It's a disconnect, natural degradation of the soul that happens due to being away from our father's side for so long. The only spirits that remain pure are The Glorious Ones. You call them Angels. They are the only beings that are immune to sin because they live close to God within his kingdom."
Mateo didn't believe what the creature was telling him. It went against all that he knew about his relationship with God. It couldn't be right.
"I see that you are struggling to comprehend. We accept that. The only thing you know of life beyond is from a book written by a man. Man is an imperfect creature God created. While some parts of your Bible are true, it's filled with misconceptions and inaccuracies. They are fables meant to comfort a confused soul. But the truth is vastly different."
"I was taught that a half-truth is a whole lie."
"I see the logic in those words, although the reality is more complex than right and wrong. There are spaces within all facts that truth and a lie can co-exist."
"You're confusing me. First, the Bible is wrong. Now you're saying it might not be? Which is it?"
"Both. Man is both good and bad. And despite all our imperfections, our father still protects us. Try not to focus on the word. Focus on the individual."
Nixi extended her hand to the boy. Within moments an orange halo encircled his body. Mateo watched in astonishment as the circle brightened and dimmed with each breath he took. With one finger, he attempted to touch it but was unable.
"Every one of God's children is born with one of these. A protective aura. Over time, the sins of the individual diminish the aura. The bigger the sin, the greater the damage. Death is what happens when your aura becomes destroyed by sin."
"That doesn't make sense."
"Why?"
"You killed my family. They were innocent and were not sinners."
"Is that what you think I did? Kill them?"
"Yes."
"Sometimes, things are not as they seem."
The girl walked to the wall on the other side of the cavern and swiped her hand across it. The wall glowed blood red and then turned white. Inside the wall were Mateo's mother and father; they were all floating in a clear liquid, staring out into the cave with white eyes. Each of them had auras. Though slightly dimmed, their orange atmospheres were vibrant.
Mateo screamed and ran to the wall.
"Are they dead? What did you do to them?"
Nixi smiled and moved away to let Mateo see his family.
Overcome with emotion, Mateo touched the stone wall and started crying. His heart pounded with so much happiness that he could barely contain his joy. His family was alive! He wasn't alone. Suddenly his smile melted away. Something was wrong.
"Wait…where's Leonardo?"
"He is safe."
"Well, …where is he?"
Nixi walked over to the wall on the opposite side of the room and touched it. Just as the other wall had changed in color, the wall lit up a blood-red and showed Leonardo floating in the same clear liquid. Mateo ran across the room to look at his brother. Something didn't seem right about what he was seeing. Leonardo seemed – different. Mateo's mother and father looked comfortable like they were peacefully sleeping. Leonardo's facial expression conveyed a sense of pain. His features appeared twisted like he was frozen between a feeling of peace and anxiety, as if he were in a permanent state of discomfort. There was a dim orange aura surrounding him. It was cracked and dull as if dipped into a glass of milk. Leonardo's eyes were not white like Mateo's parents. His eyes were a dark yellow – wild and focused on nothing, yet fixated on an unseen object of fear.
"Why is Leonardo separated from mom and dad? What's wrong with him? He seems different."
The girl touched the wall. Leonardo's body began violently convulsing in the liquid. Mateo panicked.
"What's happening to him? Stop! Make it stop!"
Nixi touched the wall, and Leonardo returned to his previous state.
"Leonardo's situation is a little…different."
"Different? What do you mean?"
"Death is not complete until the aura ceases to provide protection. Your parents are alive. Right now, your mom and dad are sleeping. They're stuck in suspended animation. They are not hurt, and they will not get old. They're waiting for you."
Nixi tapped the glass, and Leonardo's eyes widened. The child's eyes seem to follow the little girl as she walked in front of the rock.
"Leonardo's aura is about to be destroyed."
"Destroyed? But he's just a kid! He couldn't have possibly sinned enough for that to happen."
"I assure you it's possible, and your brother did sin. Contrary to what you've heard, free-thought is active once you exit the womb of your mother. It is within that moment that the child knows right from wrong. Leonardo's thoughts are evil. From what we've seen in his thoughts, if he had the physical capability, your whole family would've been murdered many years ago. It is all his mind thought. He prayed for your deaths. Those prayers…"
The little girl paused.
"What?"
"He prayed for the death of your father. He prayed
that God would allow him to be the one to commit the act."
Mateo was horrified.
"No!"
"Yes. Leonardo prayed for your father's death. Fortunately, we intervened and saved your father. Although his body was seriously injured, we were able to prevent your father from exiting this world. Your mother buried his body, but we were able to retrieve and repair it. He's been here with us since that moment. When God heard Leonardo's prayers about his desire to murder his family, God called him for judgment."
"Judgment?"
"God was going to give him the same punishment as ours. Banishment."
"So why didn't he die?"
"Because we saved him."
Mateo turned to the girl.
"You saved him?"
"My mother and I did. Yes. It was a risky calculation. Saving your brother's life could've provoked the wrath of God and caused us to have more years added on to our exile. But we had to accept the risk."
"Why?"
"Because of you."
"I don't understand."
"A long time ago, our father created this place you call earth. Life was thriving. Many people lived here. The place was new and untamed. There were endless fruits and meats for all to enjoy. But my mother became jealous of God's power over the lives of our family. She believed we deserved more than what God gave us. Our lives were simple, but she believed we deserved more prosperity. My mother began to question God. One day she blasphemed during prayer, and God overheard her. He banished her to darkness for 1000 years. After my mother was banished, my family suffered numerous hardships. Hunger. Sickness. Pain. Soon I became angry at God. I cursed him during prayer. As punishment, I was banished to a separate location away from my mother. God gave me a lighter sentence, but still one I considered unfair - 500 years."
"How long have you been here?"
"I estimate I've been here for 150 years."
"Wow."
"We were once like you – young and full of life. But loneliness and boredom create curiosity. It wasn't long before I began experimenting with Imawashii. I pulled the ingredients from the cave to try to escape this dungeon. God found out about my attempted escape and punished me with this hideous appearance. He also gave me an odor so horrible that if I ever tried to escape, he could find me through the prayers of the faithful."