by Joy Johnson
When I found my feet and managed to find a water skin, I stopped for a moment before the creature. I wondered if the Reaper knew what it was doing, if this wasn't a trap. My eyes sought out the others sleeping where they were. If they knew what I was about to do… I knew what their answer would be. They would rather see the Reaper starve and die than show it any mercy.
My fingers played with the cinch band around the top of the water skin as I contemplated what to do. The Reaper's eyes never left mine. A hopeful look played at the edges of them, and though I knew it was trying to hide it, I could still see it. I knew the risks of getting too close to the Reaper, but I also could not let it continue to suffer. In some strange way, I felt a kin to it in that moment; close even, like it could have been a brother or a sister of my own flesh.
My fingers found my machete, and I pulled it free. I gripped the handle of it until my knuckles bore a white color. I cleared my mind with the exception of one thought; a threat. I extended the hand that held the water skin, and the Reaper nodded its head. I shook the machete at the Reaper to make my threat clear. Again, it nodded its head. It seemed to understand my thoughts without my putting voice to them.
My heart pounded in my ears, and a cold sweat began to moisten my back. The look of hope turned to desperate need in the Reaper's eyes as I opened the cinch band around the water skin. Its ears perked when I inched as close as I dared. When I reached out and tipped the water skin forward, the Reaper strained against its binds and opened its lips. I could feel the heat roll out from within its dry throat.
The water skin was almost empty before Ephram ripped it out of my hands. After Garhet and Ephram finished yelling at me, Aleena decided to have her turn. I tried to explain to them that it was cruel to treat any living thing with such a lack of humanity. I argued that if we wanted to learn anything from it, that it would be prudent to befriend the Reaper. My words bore no weight against their anger.
Later in the afternoon, when I could take their ill temperament no more, I retreated to the woods and began hunting. It was a long, but fruitful day by myself. My frustrations and anger turned into a peaceful serenity as I danced from tree shadow to tree shadow. The silence of the woods overwhelmed me and filled me with a sort of magic.
When I returned to the camp near dusk, I found that the three of them were still upset. Their glares followed me the whole of this evening, though I have made camp some distance from them with my own fire. As I clean and cook the meat I have killed, the Reaper strains its head around to watch me.
It has not spoken to me in my mind again, but I can still see that shadow of hope in its eyes. I think back about my words this morning and about what my father used to say to me when I was little. He used to say that if you want the truth about something hard to accept, it is better to hear it from a friend.
The world has turned into a dark and scary place. The existence of the Reapers in this world have made it so. Maybe, in some way, if I try; the Reaper and I could become friends, and in this way, we could impart hard truths to one another more easily. Perhaps this is the only way left for the humans to survive.
June 8, 3078
The Reaper stared at me, and I stared back. We stood apart from each other by mere feet. It still showed no fear of me, and I tried not to show any fear of it. However, I could not help but let my fingertips play with the hand grip of my machete.
The others had not hunted yesterday, and thereby had gone hungry through the night. I had offered them some of my game before I laid down to sleep, but they had foolishly turned it down. This, and Aleena's now constant need for food, forced them to leave me on guard of the Reaper. Garhet made me swear that I would not go near it.
However, after they were gone, I had other ideas. I tried to clear my mind as I had yesterday, but it was difficult. I had so many questions, and all of them created a loud chaos in my mind. My fingers tapped the hand grip of my machete as I tried to focus on one. It was the silliest of all the questions, however it was the first one to come forward in my mind.
“Are you hungry,” I asked with my mind, and then held my breath. The Reaper gave me another snarl of a smile, then replied, “Yes.” Its voice had a kind of strength in it that made me feel like a child talking to a father.
When I found the left over game that I had told the others I ate after they rejected it, I returned hesitantly to the Reaper's side. We stared at each other for a moment more.
“How do – I mean… Do you eat meat?” I asked with my voice. The Reaper cocked its head and gave me a measured look.
“I don't understand your language, just your thoughts, Young One. Although, I imagine that you are asking me about that creature you carry,” the Reaper replied gently in my mind. I nodded, and offered the cleaned rabbit carcass to the Reaper. It observed the creature for a moment before opening its massive jaws. I took a breath. Sharp fangs exposed themselves from behind its lips. I gently tossed the rabbit into its mouth. Within a few seconds, the rabbit was gone.
“What may I call you child?” the Reaper asked.
“My mother called me, Kharon… My father called me, Mal'akh-mashhit. I believe they were what humans call, Christians,” I replied in my mind. A lump formed in my throat. I had not thought of my mother and father's names for me in a long time. The long faded memory of them arguing about which name was better surfaced.
“Which do you prefer I call you?” The Reaper interjected with tenderness. I swallowed the lump in my throat and pressed the memory back into a dark place in my mind.
“Mal, just all me, Mal,” I thought as I tapped my fingers against the hand grip of my machete. The Reaper seemed to apprise me carefully then. Its eyes seemed too wise for its body.
“I am sorry for the loss you are feeling now,” the Reaper added quietly. This brought me up short, but then I realized that if the Reaper could hear my thoughts, why couldn't he see them as well? I nodded my thanks, and we did not speak for a time. I tried not to be resentful toward the Reaper. I reasoned that it was probably not the one that vanished with my father.
June 13, 3078
My camp resides permanently beside the Reaper now, whose name I have learned is, Lokhem. We have begun to share neutral stories about our lives by projecting memories into each other's minds. At first, I could not do this. It takes a degree of concentration that is somewhat difficult to maintain, but at Lokhem's patient insistence, eventually I learned.
Through my mind, I have shown him as many pleasures as I have known Earth to offer. My mind has pulled forward memories of eating wild berries and fresh honey; the feel of my bare feet on wet grass, the blaze of fire across the evening sky at sunset near our old camp, and then the memory of my mother's arms around me as my father told me the bedtime fairytale he was so fond of from my childhood.
Lokhem, in turn, has shown me many strange and beautiful things of his world. My favorites are his memories from when he was learning how to fly. He was terrified of heights, but with the encouragement of his older brothers he managed to learn quickly.
I laughed with him as I watched him take his first leap off the edge of a high cliff in his world. It was as though our minds were one in the memory of him plummeting toward the ground below. I could hear the wind rushing in my ears; the pounding of his heart within his chest. My heart sang with his happiness as he regained control, and then began to soar into his foreign sky. I could feel every beat of his wings as he did, and every moist cloud as we passed through it.
There were streets made out of a brilliant yellow stone that gleamed up at us from the sky. There were massive structures of all shapes and sizes that reflected different colors. They were as jewels jutting out of the ground in a vast arrangement that seemed chaotic.
As we swept over the land below, one of the jewels cracked and opened of its own accord. I watched as tiny creatures on the ground scrambled to enter. Trees all around came to life and waved at us as we passed over them. Great giants that Lokhem called, Dinosaurs, lumbered over the
fields tending to strange vegetation.
As Lokhem's paws touched the ground once more, the memory ended. I was so enthralled by his world, that without thought, I asked about his family. His brothers seemed genuinely gentle and loving in the beginning of the memory. They were completely different from what I had imagined the Reaper kind to be like.
Hesitantly, he told me that where he comes from, he is a member of a large family called, Cherubim. He said that they are considered the warriors of their world, and are trained from birth in a delicate, and dangerous art. When I asked him what he meant by that, Lokhem would not tell me and would not look at me the rest of the night.
June 15, 3078
Lokhem and I were sitting by the fire last night, when I began to think about Garhet. I have missed him these past weeks. It seems that as quickly as Lokhem and I have been become friends, Garhet and I have become distant. There is no reason for me to feel this way. I assure myself continually that Garhet chose this future for us, but I cannot help but to miss him. My strange connection with what he views as our mortal enemy is not helping I am sure.
My mind filled with memories of him then, and my heart began to ache. Lokhem tried to suggest that I go and talk to him. When I rejected that idea he asked me why. His face screwed up with confusion when I showed him the memory of the day he was captured. As he felt and saw the betrayal I remembered, he began to laugh softly.
It was then that Lokhem told me something I could not believe. He said that we had not captured him. Lokhem said that he allowed us to take him prisoner. He also added more carefully that he could break free of his bonds at any time. I laughed at that, but found my feet nervously.
When I asked him why he would allow us to bind him to a tree for so long, he replied that he was merely following orders. I backed away from him, and eyed his binds carefully. Before I could ask him what he meant by following orders, though, he proposed a question that has haunted me all this day.
He asked me how I got the idea in my mind that his family was harming the humans they took. I had no answer.
June 16, 3078
The day is hot, and the sun is high in the sky. My mind is trying to cope with the events of the day, but the pain in my body keeps me from being able. I was in the woods when it happened. I had been gathering firewood, when the first blow caught me across the jaw. When I landed on the ground, my hand flew to the cut that bled freely down my neck. My eyes sought out my assailant, but there was no one there. It was as though a ghost had become angry with me and decided to lash out.
I was barely to my feet before the second invisible blow nailed my left rib. My ears heard the muted pop of my rib cracking before my nerves sensed it. Screams of agony and fear escaped me as yet another blow landed across my shoulders. It was then that my feet found the ground and took flight.
I could barely breathe. I could barely think. My body soared back toward the camp to Garhet and Lokhem. I could not think of what else to do, but when I reached the camp the vision that greeted me was not one that I expected.
There Ephram stood with a large rock in his hand. I watched as it cut through the air, helpless to stop it. The rock tore a piece of skin off the side of Lokhem's face, and a small piece of mine fell to the ground at the same time. I suddenly understood what was happening. I bolted toward Ephram, and brought him to the ground with all my strength.
June 26, 3078
Loathing the four of them is my only comfort. Aleena has confirmed that one of my ribs is broke. My shoulder blades are black with bruising, and, as an added bonus, my face and jaw are now sporting scabs that will eventually turn into nasty looking scars. Every movement hurts. I can barely sleep.
Lokhem has not entered my mind since the day of the incident. He explained after I had stopped Ephram that a side effect of sharing memories with each other is that they helped forge what he calls a telekinetic link in our minds. He has told me to warn the others that what happens to him will also happen to me. He apologized for his part in my present condition, and said that he didn't have a choice. He has not tried to speak to me again, and has not tried to explain to me further what he means.
Ephram, after a few days, came into my tent and said that he was only trying to get information out of Lokhem. He apologized for the pain that I was in and said that if he had known that it would hurt me, he would not have done it. The surprise on Ephram's face when I told him that I had been talking with Lokhem the whole time was enough to make me feel better if even for a moment.
The three of them have many questions for me now that they know Lokhem and I have developed a friendship. However, simply breathing hurts, and so speaking is almost entirely out of the question. Ephram is the most impatient to get answers out of me. He pitches a fit like a small child when I tell him to leave my tent. The others, thankfully, are more patient, Garhet especially.
Aleena tries to get Garhet to leave the tent, but he refuses. Instead, he just sits there carving something out of a hunk of wood. One part of me wishes he would leave, but another part of me is happy that he has not. Loathing him and loving him at the same time breeds confusion in my mind. The sight of him sitting there day in and day out does not help settle this confusion either.
July 16, 3078
My body has healed enough to be able to move around now. I am still in pain, but at least I can sleep when I need to. Lokhem has tried to make amends by creating what he calls a, 'siphon,' in our telekinetic link a few weeks ago. He said that the siphon would allow him to absorb some of the pain, so that I might not feel it so strongly.
We take turns with the siphon now. I take on his pain so that he can sleep, then we reverse the connection so that I may sleep. It has made the pain much more tolerable, and now I am finding that the healing process is much faster than ordinary. In Zephora's camp, I once saw a scout brought down from the mountains with a broken rib. It took him more than two months to heal. Mine has only been broken a month and already I can feel that it is almost done healing.
In the meantime, Lokhem and I have continued our sharing of memories. He has shown me more of the spectacles of his world. Great castles made of shifting water, stand on the tops of great mountains. He calls the place, the High Realm of Megorim Habayit. He has walked me through its airy passages covered in soft purple moss. There are no doors, and fish like creatures dance within the walls. They followed us around the castle's depths poking their wet appendages out into the open air to wave at us as we passed.
Massive rooms filled with glowing creatures tending to what Lokhem called, Cybernetic Interfaces, floated all around us in one part of the castle. In the memory, the glowing creatures spoke to Lokhem in the same way that we shared memories. I was astounded at the sounds of their voices. They echoed off the insides of our mind like the echo one hears when yelling into a deep mountain range. Their words were in a different language but somehow I understood what they meant. This, I realized, must have been what it was like for Lokhem to hear me speak that first day.
When I asked what the glowing creatures were, he explained that they were called, Souls of the Guardian. The Souls, Lokhem said, are creatures bred and born to serve as well as love the Guardian of their world. He said that the ones in the memory where ones who had also passed the test of love.
My mind filled with questions then, and Lokhem laughed. He said that it would all make sense later. I didn't understand what he meant.
July 18, 3078
Last night I did the unspeakable. I allowed Lokhem to become free of his bonds. It was not a decision I made lightly. I knew what unleashing him might mean for the four of us, but I could stand to see him bound to the tree no more. I could feel the pain that it caused him to not be able to use his legs and wings. I knew it every night that I took on his pain through the siphon in our minds. I had to release him.
Waiting until nightfall to do it was horrible. Knowing that I was about to violate three peoples' trust was a heavy weight to bear. Now, I can better understand how Garhet fe
lt when he betrayed me to capture Lokhem. The whole day, as I pretended to go about my normal routines, I had to also pretend not to know that things were about to change. It was very hard to look Garhet in the eye and have normal conversations. My heart ached knowing what I was about to do to him.
The day stretched on endlessly until finally the sun set beyond the horizon, and the others went to sleep. They left me on guard, trusting that I would not betray them. I waited until I could hear each of their breathing slow with the gentle cadence of slumber before I approached Lokhem.
My machete came free as he gave me his usual snarl smile. He had been in my mind all day. He had known what I planned to do the moment I had made up my mind. However, he said something that brought me up short when I began trying to cut his bonds with my machete.
He said that I didn't have to betray my friends. He said that he was willing to wait until they were ready to accept him just as I have, but I refused that notion. I told him that they would never see him as I do; that he would die tied to the tree before they would ever love him the way that I loved him now.
Lokhem seemed surprised at that, and asked if that was truly how I felt. The memories of all the talks we have had, and memories we have shared bubbled forward in my mind. Lokhem smiled as he saw them all. I smiled too and let whatever small fears I still had of him go. My arms found their way around his big neck, and I gave him a small kiss on the side of his furry cheek. When I pulled away, I felt different; a warmth filled me in a way I had never experienced before. All my injuries stopped hurting. My fingers glided over my face and neck. I could feel nothing but smooth skin. I could also feel the warmth in our telekinetic link as well, and knew that he was experiencing the same feeling of deep rooted, wonder.