RB 01 Through Flesh & Bone

by Frederick S dela Cruz

  Gul lowered his eyes, not quite knowing what to say, and not quite knowing whether to encourage him, by saying he would, in the future, make the right decisions. After all, his friend was still half human and still imperfect.

  Facing Gul, he added, “You know, many times during those time loops, you were a leader.” He said, with an approving smiling, “You led a big group of courageous fighters, people who gave their lives to win back freedom.”

  The remark surprised Gul. “Are you sure? You are not joking to me?”

  He nodded. “Let me see your blade,” he asked, with an open hand.

  Gul reached down to his ankle and withdrew the Mesopotamian-styled blade. With the polished black stainless steel able to reflect the little surrounding light, Gul presented it upon the palms of both hands.

  Taking the knife by the handle, the goateed man pointed at the stylistic Arabic inscription, on one of its sides. He said with a grin, “Smiley, you told me what this says.”

  “Did I? Then, that is quite amazing,” Gul said in wonder, “Because in our time, I have not yet told you. So, it would seem that the right time to tell you came to pass in the future. However, it is a future that may no longer happen.”

  Softly, the longhaired man spoke the words of the inscription from his memory, “In the belly of the earth, your brother’s faith grows cold. Sustain him.” Raising his hand, he gripped Gul’s shoulder and shook it in acknowledgement, “You’re a good, honorable, and faithful man, Smiley. You’re a worthy leader. And people will give their lives for you, because they trust you, and they trust your faith in God.”

  Gul looked down to the floor and said, “Those are humbling words.” Turning to him, he says, “Jesus is the author and finisher of my faith. He makes me what I am in my life.”

  Letting Gul’s words sink in his heart and mind, he slowly nodded and pondered their sincere meaning. Then, turning his gaze back to the knife, he chuckled softly and commented, “Well, maybe you guys can author a much-needed win for me, huh?” He handed the shiny steel back to Gul and stood once again. Looking out the window, with his arms folded, he saw a lone, black crow trying to perch atop the roof directly across from his window. With its head crouched down, it hobbled sideways, until it found a point at which to perch. As the rain fell, the black bird began to prune and clean its feathers.

  While staring at the crow, he leaned his hand on the frame of the window and said, “Gemini has Paige. He’s doing something that’s keeping me from sensing her, from finding her.”

  “Yes, and so you have noticed,” Gul said, “the special abilities that God has given you, they cancel each other when you use them directly on one another.” Gul suggested, “He may be constantly concentrating on her, in order to prevent your powers from working to find her.”

  “Yeah, and I think I understand why that’s happening - why we cancel out.” He grinned and turned to face Gul, saying, “And now it’s my turn to say some interesting stuff: I’m now able to see at a sub-atomic level. I can see that my and my brother’s bodies are able to make this certain particle of force. We’re able to make it in abundance, they’re completely within us, and they completely surround us. They give us the ability to do what we can do.

  “When I saw him for the first time, hovering above the ocean, I saw these particles around him, and his are a bit different than mine. It’s more complicated than this, but the best I can describe it is this way: You know that just as light and matter modulates and waves up and down at a frequency, so do these force particles. And Gemini’s modulates at a hundred and eighty degrees out of phase from mine. The reason mine and his cancel out is just like what happens with waves of water. When one wave, at its highest point, runs into another wave, at its lowest point, the end effect is flat and level water: the waves disappear.”

  “Ah, yes,” Gul acknowledged, “This is quite clear to understand. So, when your force particles collide with his, do they merely disappear, vanish?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I saw happening. When we’re in contact with each other, they put on a cool light show. They strike each other and spark, like really intense golden electricity, making a sphere around us. Then, they dissolve into nothing.” With his thoughts returning to Paige, he said, “So, that’s why I can’t find Paige. When he and I both concentrate on her, our abilities nullify.” Leading to a grave conclusion, he added, “As long as my brother is keeping me from sensing Paige, I guess the only chance I’ll have to find her is if he’s dead - I’m sorry to say. Then, I’ll have my abilities for a little while longer, until they eventually fade away. That’s when I can get to her.”

  At that moment, something caught Gul’s attention, and he turned his focus on the television. On it, images of the several massive storms above the U.S. and videos of rising river levels displayed. Reaching for the remote on the coffee table, Gul turned up the volume and said, “Look.”

  The voice of the news anchor became audible, stating, “The sudden appearance of the recent multiple storms, making their way across the continental United States, has not just shocked many meteorologists, but these storms are now causing lake and river levels to substantially rise, throughout the states. The USGS is issuing warnings of high risks of flooding, throughout the stretch of the Mississippi River, and at several other major rivers, in various states. Dams, like the Hoover Dam at the border of Nevada and Arizona and levies in Louisiana are now threatening to overflow…”

  Gul looked up at him and said gravely, “If this continues, many people will lose their homes and lives may be threatened. Can you help them?”

  Seeming almost exasperated, he lifted his arms and clasped his hands on the top of his head. He sighed deeply, “I can…but don’t know, man. What about Paige? Gemini and Sik have killed other women. This flooding is a slow moving problem. Saving Paige’s life is more immediate.” He stepped away from the TV and stood in front of the window once again. Watching the crow, he revealed to Gul, “And to make things worse, Smiley, there’s a sixth explosion. I had a dream - a pretty embarrassing dream that made me look pretty stupid - but I’m cool with it.” He made himself grin. “I’m only cool with it because it meant a lot more under the surface. There were six cannons on a football field. Five exploded and one didn’t; the sixth one seemed to be waiting for the right moment. I believe those first five cannons were the five missiles we stopped. I tried to get Gemini to tell me what the sixth one was, but he wasn’t interested in letting me in on his schemes.” Feigning a mildly appalled look, he said sarcastically, “The nerve, huh?”

  Gul asked, “What do you think it is?”

  “I don’t know.” Then, after a very long pause and much thought, he finally added, “But maybe it doesn’t matter.” He watched the crow stop cleaning itself and saw it turn its head and focus on something coming its way. Then, he said, “If I fight Gemini, and if Gemini kills me, there’s no one to stop him. Even though he may lose his abilities, he could still orchestrate everything, and no one would be able to stop the plans he’ll set in motion. I can see the whole world in despair and maybe even utter oblivion, when total evil takes over. I think that’s the bottom line in this scenario.

  “But if I win, that means Gemini is gone and whatever he has planned as the sixth explosion will either be completely disrupted or it gets more difficult to carry out, because the mastermind no longer exists. And with him dead, I may end up losing my abilities, but the bottom line in this case is: mine and Gemini’s influence is nullified. This allows humans to fight for and determine their own future.”

  Gul listened closely then said, “You have not forgotten, have you, what you have said about the ‘other players’, like the one you call the ‘dark entity’?”

  He replied, “Well, not really, Smiley. Because as you said, there’s a human realm, an angelic realm, and there’s a realm in between that Gemini and I belong to. When the twins are gone, the angels will have their work cut out for them, because they’ll have to be the ones fighting against
those other players.”

  Across the way, on the rooftop, a familiar tiny brown and black-feathered bird swiftly and aggressively flew toward the crow. Tauntingly fluttering around the crow, it sought an opening through which it could peck and drive away the hapless larger black bird.

  From the other side of the window, the longhaired man watched as the crow timidly lumbered and hopped backwards, in order to maintain its distance. Frightened, it cawed, with its head jerking back in a defensive gesture.

  But suddenly, the black crow did something surprising. Raising its wings, it quickly jumped forward. Both wings began to swipe at the smaller foe, and then it used its opened beak to aggressively peck at the little bird.

  Taken by surprise, the tiny bird fluttered backward. However, it quickly decided to hold its position in the air, determined not to easily withdraw.

  But the crow did not give ground. The two birds postured and attacked, pecking and swiping at each other.

  The sight affected his thoughts. He turned to Gul. With somber determination, he stated, “I can’t just back away - I’ve gotta fight back. I need to kill him. Or die trying.”

  Seeing the determination in his friend’s eyes, Gul nodded. For a moment he was silent, but soon he responded, “I believe the time has come to tell you what is written on the other side of this blade.”

  On the Haleakala mountain peak, the cold wind blows against his back, and he turns to confront it.

  The sun, beginning to move once again, sinks lower down into the horizon, almost touching the clouds. His eyes watch its motion, as his mind gains steely resolve.

  Atop the mountain peak, where a demigod harnessed the sun, this Nephilim resolves to sacrifice his life for the world upon which that sun brings its light.

  He remembers the question he asked himself at the waterspout, just before Gemini’s last weapon was to strike him, “Is this where it ends?”

  With both his heart and his mind seizing the meaning of action, he proclaims his answer, “No way, I’m just warmin’ up.”

  Then, within an instant, L’girra - God’s Nephilim - vanishes from the summit, resolute in fulfilling his purpose.

  Chapter 23

  The white and red neon sign of Sik’s motel, in San Diego’s Pacific Beach community, remains lit in the dark rainy noontime. Through the office window, Special Agents Etelson and Stevens are talking to the old proprietor behind the desk. Two sheriff deputies, in raincoats, stand behind the agents.

  As Etelson holds up the sketch composite of Samuel Ian Kessian, the proprietor opens his eyes wide, below his full head of gray hair and says, “Oh, wow. Yes, that’s him.”

  Etelson asks, “Is he here now?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I saw him leave this morning.”

  “What was he wearing?” Stevens asks.

  “Leather, black jacket and a black baseball cap and jeans, I think.”

  “Which way did he go?”

  “I didn’t pay attention. I just see “em come, and I see “em go. That’s all.”

  At that moment, Sik rounds the corner of the street, heading to the motel. His head is down and covered by the baseball cap, and his hands are in his pockets, with his shoulders raised up to his neck. Sik then crosses the street. As he reaches the motel, his head remains low, and he doesn’t notice the FBI Agents and deputies, within the office at his left. His path remains to the right, on his way to his room on the first floor.

  The proprietor, a bit flustered by the questions, and a bit nervous, due to the gravity of the situation, focuses his eyes on the two agents and carefully and truthfully answers their questions.

  Sik walks by, just at the other side of the office window.

  No one notices him.

  Reaching his room’s door, Sik unlocks it, quickly slithers in, and then quickly locks the door behind him.

  Inside the room, Gemini greets him. “How has it been, Samuel?” Gemini asks, with a calm serene voice pleasing to the ear. He lowers the hood of his coat, uncovering his face.

  Unfazed by Gemini’s presence, Sik takes off his hat and keeps it in one hand. With the other hand, he shakes out his short hair and scalp. As he sits on a chair, against a wall, he answers, “It hasn’t been easy, but this place is cool. It’s got a nice beer and pool joint, but the cops are busy patrolling.”

  “Hmm, I don’t want you to stay here too long - cool though it is. I want to keep you safe.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been able to stay clear of them so far. What’s the plan anyway? What’s our next step?”

  While he stands, Gemini leans against the wall opposite Sik. “Since it could become too risky for you here, next step is: I’ll take her…” Gemini nods his head toward the bathroom, where Paige is, and then continues, “…off your hands. My brother is also looking for her. So, I know he’ll try to seek you out and question you. When he finds you - and he will - you can say that I have her. And after that, you’re safe to tell him you don’t know anything else.”

  Moderately satisfied, Sik responds, “Sounds good to me.”

  Gemini breathes, and then exhales gravely. “I want to be honest with you. The next thing I will ask you to do will be very difficult. And you’re going to struggle with it. So, in order to prepare, I’ll need to ask you to remember the events of the past. In that manner, you can remain focused on the tasks of the present.”

  Sik looks down, nods, and looks back up. “I can do that.”

  “Very good. Thank you,” Gemini responds.

  Sik leans back on his chair.

  “By the way,” Gemini says. He pauses for a moment, and then in a matter-of-fact manner, he adds, “Your day is going to be difficult. There are two FBI Agents and two policemen with them. At this moment, they’re at the front office.”

  Cautious but ready, Sik stands.

  Gemini raises his hood, and once again it darkens his face. He continues, “Soon, they’ll be headed this way. More precisely, very, very soon, they’ll be headed this way.”

  At the front office, Etelson asks, “Sir, you’re sure he’s not currently in the room? Can you let us in?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, just let me get the keys.”

  “Is there a back door to the room?”

  “No. But I guess if a guy wanted to, he could break out the window. That would be a shame.” The old man adds, with a light nervous chuckle, “…for me, I guess. It’s my window.”

  Before turning around for the keys, the proprietor takes his eyes off Etelson and glances out his window. At that instant, Sik briskly passes by.

  The proprietor gasps and gasps again. Then, without extending his arm, he points his finger. “There he is! There he is!” he finally exclaims.

  Through the office’s glass pane, Sik hears the proprietor’s excited words that identify him. In mid-stride, he starts to dash away. Adrenaline begins to fill his veins, as his powerful heart immediately pumps the potent chemical throughout his body.

  One deputy starts to run out of the office and yells, “You! Stop! Freeze!”

  The second deputy instantly follows.

  Etelson and Stevens immediately join the chase.

  Sik’s black boots thud over the sidewalk, as his body swiftly glides through the cold, wet air. He turns the corner and runs into a residential area, momentarily losing the deputies. The falling rain lands with constant pings against his cap and his leather jacket. Again, he turns and dashes through one more corner.

  Then, the deputies briefly eye him.

  Once again, Sik quickly rounds another corner then another. He crosses a yard, jumps over its wooden fence, and runs across its backyard. He jumps another fence and crosses yet another yard. Reaching the other side of a parallel street, he loses the police and FBI agents. Sik’s eyes dart left and right, trying to find a place to hide. He passes one house, and then a second.

  Suddenly, Sik rises into the air. He is swung around, and his back slams against a five-feet high wooden fence.

  L’girra stands casually, leaning
against the wall of the adjacent house. “Hi, Sammy boy,” he greets. “Got somewhere to go?”

  Sik winces and grinds his teeth, as the sting from his back works its way down his legs. His arms are forced to spread out, while his feet dangle a foot above the ground.

  Two dogs, one Rottweiler and one Pit Bull, from the other side of the fence, immediately run to the commotion, and then furiously bark up at Sik.

  “We’ve got just a little bit of time,” L’girra says, “since you did a pretty good job losing the cops. They and the two FBI agents are a few blocks away feverishly looking for ya. But if those cute little puppies with sharp long teeth don’t stop barking, they’ll be headed this way.” L’girra then folds his arms and asks, “So, where’s Paige?”

  “Go ta hell!” Sik growls.

  Sarcastically L’girra retorts, “Ah, thank you…that’s so sweet.” Immediately, his mind makes Sik’s body swing through the air, and then slam him, chest-first, into the wall of the house adjacent to the fence.

  Sik’s baseball cap flies off, as his head thumps into the wall.

  The dogs, no longer able to see Sik, begin to jump and excitedly bark.

  With Sik still hanging above the ground, L’girra steps next to him, looks up, and then says calmly, “As you can see, this time I’m comin’ at ya with all my tricks, big boy. There’s no end to what kind of pain I can make you go through.” He pauses, and then repeats his question, “Where’s Paige?”

  With the side of his face shoved against the wall, Sik answers in anguish, “I don’t know…Gemini took her. He told me it wasn’t safe here - too many cops around.”

  “Where’s Gemini?”

  “I don’t know!”

  L’girra swings Sik’s body through the air once again, and his back crashes against the fence, snapping his head and arms out over it.