Sitting up vertically, she stops.
Her head begins to turn and twitch.
Her deformed face jerks and halts. As her eyes try to focus in front of her, they dart and stop, and dart again, as they attempt to find an object to fixate upon.
Momentarily, she regains control of her body and rises to her knees. Then, she loosens her neck and back.
Aaron feebly and awkwardly looks behind himself and aims once again. As he hangs upside-down, the blood in his body rushes down and collects in the veins of his face and neck, making his face flushed and throbbing.
He fires another round.
Again it misses, striking the doorframe and chipping away slivers of wood.
From Crystal’s damaged face, a hot, red-blue glow begins to pulsate and expand. Even brighter and hotter light traces the web-like lines of the cracks on her shattered face. Seconds later, the extreme heat it generates spreads throughout her upper body, engulfing her head and burning her torso. Her face, head, and hair start to melt and reshape. Her chest transforms into flowing, molten crystals.
She stands to her feet, as her head and torso wave, like oozing, red lava from the unfathomable depths of the earth.
Her body bends, stretches, and forms.
As her desired shape and structure are achieved, the heat from her body begins to dissipate.
Seconds later, her original facade returns. Then, her body cools.
Crystal loosens her shoulders, like a woman softly waking and raising herself in the morning. Gently she waves her head to the side, letting her long black hair ease and fall down the back of her neck.
Her form is completely restored.
* * * * * * *
From the condemned building’s fifth floor, the shattered, sparkling glass particles of the windowpane fall to the ground, surrounding the two clutching and fighting brothers.
As the brothers plunge, their long, flowing coats appear like tremendous shadowy wings, beating and whipping in the cold, rain-drenched night. The ancient, godlike creatures - Lugalgirra and Meslamta-ea - are two gigantic, magnificent black birds, entangled in contest, within each other’s talons.
Gemini’s back is to the ground, and L’girra steadies himself above him.
As L’girra cocks back his fist, his forearm collides into the slivers of glass that scatter in the air around them. L’girra strikes Gemini in the lower ribs, and then immediately hits Gemini on the side of his face.
Gemini’s head turns around to eye the ground, and he sees the street fast approaching.
They fall past the fourth floor and reach the third.
Gemini wriggles and coils his body in an attempt to switch positions with his brother. But L’girra counteracts and prevents the maneuver.
Gemini slugs his brother in the jaw then tries to push himself away. “Let me go!” he commands sternly.
L’girra wraps his arm around Gemini’s neck and locks Gemini in close. He knows that there are only two simple possible outcomes at the end of their plunge: one dies or they both die. If he can remain above Gemini, a very remote possibility exists that L’girra could survive the impact.
They pass the third floor.
Gemini headbutts L’girra. “Let me go!” he growls. His cool facade quickly fades, as he realizes that this struggle is not merely a struggle within a series of battles with his brother, but it has now quickly and surprisingly become a struggle for the ultimate victor. He was not prepared for this possibility.
The sphere enclosing them hums electric, and its golden light discloses the anger mingled with panic waxing in Gemini’s bright blue eyes.
Separate, the brothers are godlike and eternal, but now entangled in each other’s clutches, they are mere mortals falling, plummeting uncontrollably to meet death.
L’girra’s head snaps back. The pain from the headbutt immediately transfers to and twinges in his brain. But fighting through it, he then quickly wraps both arms around Gemini’s neck, squeezing him in.
Gemini hears the sound of the heavy rain striking the asphalt street become louder and louder. More urgently he acts. With all his might, he pounds L’girra in his unprotected ribs, and he snarls, “Let!”
The blow breaks two of L’girra’s ribs. His arm on that side releases Gemini’s neck.
They dive through the second floor.
With his opposite arm, Gemini swings his elbow twice, in quick succession, into L’girra’s lower jaw. He growls again, “Me!”
The blow shocks L’girra. His eyes roll up into his head. But he is still able to keep his clench around Gemini’s neck.
Falling through the first floor, they speed to collide with the ground.
Gemini, feeling the loosened arm around his neck, pounds the other side of L’girra’s ribs, with all his possible strength. He finishes his angry command, “Go!”
Finally, L’girra’s arm releases Gemini from its hold.
Gemini pushes his brother away.
As the twins split apart, the golden electric sphere that once surrounded them vanishes like a mist, consumed by the falling rain.
Just above the ground, they disappear.
L’girra reappears, hunched over on the sidewalk, at the foot of the condemned building. After a few deep breaths, his mind scans his broken ribs. Lightheartedly, he thinks to himself, That punk brother of mine packs a mean punch. Without delay, he heals himself.
Slowly, L’girra stands up straight, looking for Gemini.
Gemini is in the middle of the road, a few steps away. Once again, he is cool and dispassionate. He lifts the hood of his coat over his head. Then, his words project from under the hood’s shadow, “On a death wish, brother?”
L’girra smiles, “I counted on you to be my cushion.”
“Well, I have to say…that was thrilling.” Gemini almost breaks into a mild grin, “We need to do that again.”
“Sure. It’s more fun if we don’t plan it though. So, let’s play it by ear.”
Casually, Gemini nods. Then, he finally smiles.
For a moment, a fraternal bond emerges, as if their natural conflict and eternal struggle does not exist. They enjoy the moment, as if they were two laughing, teenaged brothers after a prank, narrowly escaping from the chase of an angry neighbor.
But then, after some silence Gemini’s smile fades, and he relays, “Actually, I had my kind of excitement planned. But you, you’re not going to enjoy it.” He waits for his brother to listen. Then, he adds, “Follow me if you can.”
With that, Gemini lunges into the air in swift flight.
L’girra is certain he will not enjoy what Gemini has in mind. However, he has no choice; he needs to follow. He watches, as his brother’s form vanishes in the wet, black night. But he can see the unique energy signature that emits naturally from Gemini’s body, illuminating the air in his wake. It is the same energy he saw coming from Gemini, when he first saw Gemini at the waterspout, over the bay.
Leaping into the darkness, L’girra follows his brother’s lighted path.
Their flight is swift, and within a short passage of time, they reach the eastern coast of the United States. It is at that moment when Gemini decides to spirit himself away at a greater speed. He disappears from L’girra’s sight.
Close behind Gemini, L’girra is briefly caught off guard. In his flight, he peers far out in front. He can see Gemini’s energy sparsely scattered throughout the great distance ahead, but there is not enough to provide a definitive path.
Deciding to see with his mind instead of his eyes, he is able to construct a more directed line from the remnants of energy Gemini left behind. At the point where the path ends, there is a large structure.
L’girra transports himself there.
It is in France: the Eiffel Tower.
Gemini patiently awaits his brother, as he stands on a horizontal, iron suspension beam. He is between the second and third levels of the Eiffel Tower, ensconced among the crossbars of the northern pillar. Focusing his thoughts, Gemini
looks out over the expanse of the park and fields of Champ de Mars. Then, quietly, he turns the opposite direction to overlook the Seine River.
He sees the enormous storm over the Atlantic begin to reach this part of Europe, and now, a light, wispy rain starts to dampen the ground below.
The moon above is partly covered by the storm’s actively churning clouds.
Feeling the mist on his uncovered face, Gemini gazes over the beauty of the lights of the city. His mind focuses on an area further out from his position, at the Basilique du Sacre Coeur, the historic church in which he, many years ago, spent seasons in quiet personal search.
L’girra appears at the western pillar, facing Gemini. He gazes upon the lights of the breathtaking scenery and turns completely around to take it all in.
“Remember this place, Girra?” Gemini asks in a voice just loud enough for his brother to hear.
L’girra recalls the picture in his apartment of his family taken in front of the Eiffel Tower. “Yes, I do,” he calls out. He breathes in the air. Then, in a whisper, he says again, “Yes, I do.”
Gemini allows him to continue to appreciate the view for a brief moment. Then, finally, he asks, “By the way, did you treat Samuel well?”
“Much better than a murderer should be treated, I suppose.”
Gemini takes two steps toward L’girra, along the iron beam. Stopping, he says, “Be careful not to pronounce too harsh a judgment, brother.” Gemini looks above into the far sky. Then, as his eyes return back down, he adds, “For as you measure, it will be measured against you.”
L’girra is ready to return a sarcastic quip, about the irony that his brother himself has actually said such a thing, but he holds back. Instead, he merely stands silent and patiently slides his hands into his coat pockets.
The hum and clang of the metal elevator reverberates from beneath them. Within it are sightseers and tourists, eager to view Paris from the tower’s very top third level.
L’girra moves to hide in the shadows.
The large elevator lumbers by.
Gemini disappears, and then quickly reappears, behind his brother, at the other side of the west pillar. With the pillar in between them, Gemini speaks through the openings between its crossbars, “Samuel deserves to be treated better, you know…after what he’s been through. Do you know what happened to his father? Five years ago?”
Turning around, L’girra responds, “What ever it was, it doesn’t excuse what he’s done.”
Gemini steps away from the pillar. “Oh, I know it doesn’t,” he says, in a soft voice just above the sound of the wind now picking up strength. “But one of these days, my dear brother, Lugalgirra, Samuel will need a second chance, a new beginning, fresh from the woes and the judgment wrought by the evil deeds of his current life.”
A gust of wind suddenly drives rain into Gemini’s face. Casually though, he turns away from it. Then, he lifts his face to see his brother eye-to-eye. He questions, “Forgiveness is a strange and foreign thing. Do you comprehend it?”
L’girra listens to his brother. Surprisingly, he no longer believes that Gemini is merely prattling; he can sense sincerity in Gemini’s voice. Nevertheless, L’girra responds with a tone of disbelief, “I’m not buying that you’re seeking forgiveness yourself, G.”
The wind blows suddenly again. This time, it pushes clouds away that partially hide the moon.
The brothers look up, hailed by the light of the moon.
It is a perfect half-moon. Its shining half forever faces and reflects the sun’s glory. Its dark half is forever hidden from the sun, and by its very nature, unable to see and feel the eternal warmth.
Below the moon, a short distance away, and previously concealed by the shadowy clouds, is the dark entity. Gemini notices its flowing black form. It is watching them, observing them, and listening to them.
As Gemini casually looks back down, he replies, “Oh, I’m not sure that I am. Because, as you’ll soon see…” It is almost imperceptible, but as Gemini speaks, his voice takes on a change in tone, now that he knows the dark entity is near. Gemini continues, “…there are certain things I’m not willing to change or turn away from.” With a slight tilt of his head, Gemini glances up at the rising elevator. It is halfway to its destination. He tilts his head back down. Then, with an opened palm, he extends his right hand toward the south pillar of the tower’s second level. Slowly, he squeezes his fingers together, making a fist.
Suddenly, the iron of the pillar groans and trembles with fantastic noise. Its beams and crossbars crunch and fold into each other. Welding points, once solid and sure, now rip apart, as the thick and heavy crossbars crack and snap away from each other. It is as if a gigantic hand surrounds the pillar, causing it to crumble in a powerful grip.
“Don’t do that, G!” L’girra commands.
With a sudden jerk, the upper half of the tower leans to the side, downward towards the south.
Inside the elevator, the passengers lunge in the direction of the tower’s lean. The elevator operator’s heart jumps upon hearing crunching metal, and feeling the sudden movement. Immediately, he hits a large, red emergency button to halt its ascent. Now panicked, the passengers grip the metal-mesh sides of what has just become their cage in the lofty heights of the tower.
“I’ve only just begun, G,” Gemini announces dispassionately.
Gemini quickly jerks his fist in, as if pulling the pillar towards himself.
In response, the pillar bends and grinds, folding inward. The complete structure of the tower buckles and tilts further down, with the eerie sound of a deep, painful groan of faltering metal.
Bent at its second level, the tower is angled almost forty degrees from its original vertical position.
At the very top level, over a hundred people collide into each other, as they fall down the slippery mist-coated platform, and slide into the lean of the tower. One upon another, they careen and pile against the lowest hanging section of the circular third level. The meshed metal fencing that encloses the third level is the only obstacle preventing them from tumbling down to their demise.
Quickly, L’girra disappears and reappears behind Gemini. He grabs his brother and pulls him backward, slamming Gemini into the iron bars of the pillar. “Stop!” he yells into Gemini’s face, as he grasps Gemini’s coat and pushes him harshly. Burning his eyes into his brother’s eyes, he exclaims, “Isn’t there some good in you?! You don’t have to do this!”
The golden translucent sphere surrounds them once again, making the mist in the air sparkle alive, while droplets pass between the brothers’ faces. From far below and out into the dark distance, the curiously glowing electric sphere is visible. Scattered onlookers down below take quick notice, but they cannot see the brothers while the massive crossbeams hide them.
In his brother’s clutches, Gemini stares directly back. In a tone that reveals he has long ago acquiesced to what he has become, he says in a calm, gentle voice, “Come now, brother, am I not the dark side of the half-moon, forever hidden from the glory of our Father?”
Then, gazing up, Gemini examines his leaning handiwork, saying, “Now this is the excitement I spoke of. There’s nothing like external pressure to strongly encourage, and quickly clear, one’s foggy memory, as yours seems to be.” Now, looking into his brother’s eyes, he adds, “I know you strangely care about these tiny parasites.”
L’girra yanks in his brother, and then slams him into the iron bars once again. He declares angrily, “You! You need to give up Paige. And about that vial! There’s not much I know. The only vision I got was of you chasing me in the desert. There were four of us. That’s it!”
Gemini, with a vehement shove, pushes L’girra cleanly away.
The spherical glow enclosing them vanishes into darkness.
“That’s it?” Gemini asks, in a whisper.
“That’s it,” L’girra answers firmly.
As Gemini slowly turns away to face the night sky, he concentrates on the third
level. Within it, the piled, panicked people try to crawl and free themselves, pushing and kicking each other away.
Gemini’s mind slowly opens a tear at the lowest part of the meshed metal fencing that encloses the captive throng.
Against the tearing fence a woman’s back presses. With the weight of the people pushing down on her, she cannot feel the inch-by-inch splitting of the metal mesh along the length of her back. When the tear grows to reach the whole length of the woman, Gemini’s mind quickly pulls it wide open.
The woman falls through, screaming as she feels her sudden weightlessness.
Another man sinks down through the hole, but both his hands quickly grab the fence, and his fingers weave into the mesh. The body of another woman blocks the tear’s width, preventing others from falling through.
Gemini’s quiet voice answers, “I don’t believe you.”
L’girra hears the screams of the falling woman. His mind immediately scans the woman’s body and her clothes. In an instant, she disappears, and then reappears safely standing on the ground.
Lunging at his brother once again, L’girra grabs Gemini’s arm. Upon contact, their powers nullify.
The fiery L’girra slugs Gemini with a solid fist.
Their clench is the only way L’girra can stop his brother from endangering more people.
“Stop playing with their lives!” he growls, as he strikes Gemini in the face, once again.
Gemini hits him back, and then pushes L’girra away.
They begin to zealously fight.
Upon the metal beam, they pound their fists into each other, tugging and pulling one another back and forth along the beam, slamming one another into solid iron.
But suddenly, their surroundings start to fade away. Both the tower they tussle upon and the city around them begin to dematerialize, morphing into a completely different environment.
Their coats and clothes transform into the dark thick garments and leather strapping of warriors from several hundred years ago.
They find themselves under the ancient glow of a perfect half-moon, centuries ago, in the Japanese night.
Within their hands, they grip gleaming arched swords, the weapon of choice for the Japanese samurai.
RB 01 Through Flesh & Bone Page 66