The Day the Sky Shattered

by Stephen G. Levy

  The shaman looked upon all and puffed his pipe. “Ann and Johnny, you are excused.” They got up, somewhat surprised and left to horrors of the rodent world seeking entry into the Indian compound.

  The shaman addressed Banks and Sway: “We must release the soul controlling Evelyn Sands. We must find out who is the new Old Soul. But first and foremost, we must solve the current situation before sunset. So now we must complete Sway’s vision quests and enter the Otherworld. And for you, Banks, just watch.”

  Sway IV

  (Begin Sway Garland’s Narration)

  I want you to think back. Go back as far as you can go. Beyond your days in kindergarten. Beyond early senses of sound and smell. I want you think back before you were born!

  I sense your skepticism. I understand your reluctance. You may not be ready yet to find the truth. Your previous physical state ended at your conception. You are curious of your past physical state. Were you a different person? Were you a cat or dog? Were you a rose? Were you a rock? Were you a falling snowflake? The best time to encounter your previous self is during sleep. You have already seen your previous self in action, but as you awaken your memory fades quickly...you can’t hold on to the fact that you were someone else!

  I remember being a rose intertwined with other red roses. I was placed on a horse. Although I did not have the sense of smell, sight and sound; I did have the sense of touch. I could feel the vibrations of applause and I knew that I was involved in something special. At a young age, I watched horses racing on television. I remember that the announcer called the event the “Run for the Roses.” I was one of many roses in my past life. The group of the strung-together roses were placed on a black horse. Could it be that the horse I was attached to was Banks? As the announcer continued, I heard a new word that described the group...”garland.” And without completely understanding the meaning, I knew that it had importance. I adopted the name to my given name of Sway.

  While you quest for your previous existence, it may be easier to discover it if you accept Peyton’s current and past existence. Once Peyton regains his eyesight he has been given the opportunity to be the quintessence of good. It would seem apparent that his previous existence was evil. Somewhere in his current early years he was a victim of the duality of souls. Yes the Old Soul won out in the beginning unbeknownst to his physical condition, but recently...after he did ‘good’ by aiding the town in ridding the evil that he created, that good triumphed. His reward was revealed as the gift of sight but the Spirit would need a replacement. It was Peyton Powers that made the recommendation of Evelyn Sands to the Spirit after Peyton allowed Banks to live. Peyton found that Evelyn Sands visited their home last Christmas. She created great evil in the Powers’ household. So in his mind, Evelyn Sands was evil incarnate. So it was the Spirit that chose Evelyn, not as the new Old Soul replacement, but rather as a vehicle to once again begin the necessary reign of evil on Juneau and for the new Old Soul to be created to maintain balance for Peyton’s good. Evelyn was never rid of her power to ‘send’ and she so wanted to be beautiful again that anything or anyone would be sacrificed. ‘Sending’ to Peyton was easy. Understanding the cylinder and its powers had to be learned while she was comatose and in contact with the Spirit. It was her great sense of justice that the Spirit found appealing. The Spirit allowed Evelyn Sands to create the rules of the cylinder. He did not promise her the position of Old Soul but allowed her vanity to be the reward. The Spirit only suggested that she may become the Old Soul. Evelyn’s experiences with the creatures followed by her being ravaged by wolves was her catalyst to share the horrors with her captives. It was just. It was justice. Evelyn Sands was on the outs with the Spirit since she failed in two of her promises. An extra animal was alive and no captive had died. She had until sunset to honor her promises.

  We knew the labors that we were about to perform. Odd, they were similar to the labors of Hercules and they were to be performed on Labor Day! Banks and I were a team. We had a clear mission with the help of Dan who now shifted back to being the Monarch Raven. The raven would join us on our missions. The shaman was to stay back and oversee the safety of the compound and keep souls from wandering and prevent animals from attacking. Things were clear. And the realization came to pass that indeed the love of my life was once a black horse adorned with a garland of roses. A real winner!

  May your spirit sparkle.

  Juneau Under Siege

  Mrs. McGruder had thought about the invasion of the creatures last August. She was somewhat certain that she was a ‘leftover’ from the rapture and when the event ended she once again took pride that the next event would include her. She had told her neighbors on Skyline Boulevard that she was going to be saved from the impending doom and the rapture would arrive soon.

  Today she and Mrs. Bundy, also of Skyline Boulevard, were in route to the grocery store to buy a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving. They almost always sell out and she would share her freezer space with her neighbor. They gossiped about the Powers, Abrams and the Kadets when they noted their teamwork of boarding up their house...did they know something that they didn’t?

  When Mrs. McGruder parked her car the two noted an abundance of rodents at their feet...one or two would be not unusual in Juneau, but it appeared that there were hundreds. They beelined for the automatic doors of the Safeway market and they were followed in by shrews, raccoons, weasels and beavers.

  Pandemonium erupted in the store and Mrs. Bundy tripped in an attempt to run down the aisle to the meat department where there would be a safe place within the store. But that was not to be, the shrews covered her, the shrews then feasted on her.

  Mrs. McGruder was in shock. She was led to the butcher’s refrigerated safe place and cried, “It’s a biblical plague!”

  The main street outside the grocery marked was jam-packed with stampeding moose, and wild bison. They crushed everything in their paths. The bears, cougars, lynxes and foxes needed to stay out of the path of the stampede and chose the uphill climb that led to Skyline Boulevard. The stampede headed in the direction of the Native Alaskan Compound and the Indians could hear their pending arrival.

  Roger Rainwater was quick to act. He gathered Johnny and Ann, Ann was holding the watercress-covered White Raven, and pointed to an open location in the middle of the apartment, “Stay here.” He motioned to Marilyn and Carol to carry the separate mattresses containing sleeping Peyton and Tricia. The foursome was now in an imaginary circle. The shaman circumscribed the group with herbs, seeds and spices. “Do not go out of this circle until nightfall.” He carried on a chant in Tlingit as he flailed his arms and danced around the circle. Marilyn and Carol stood outside the circle with spears in hand.

  Peyton continued to sleep while Tricia awakened, “My leg hurts and I have to pee.” Johnny told her that all of them had to stay in the circle and if they didn’t, one might die.” Tricia whined about her leg and her need to pee again. Marilyn turned facing Tricia and pounded her spear on the floor and yelled, “So pee, girl and rub the urine on your leg.” Marilyn turned and smiled at Carol who said, “Isn’t this the best honeymoon?”

  Meanwhile, Sway and Banks stood in the middle of the road facing the onslaught of wild bison and moose. Sway clicked and cawed at the Monarch Raven on Banks’ shoulder. They looked above at the birds. Banks asked, “Crows or ravens?”

  Sway responded, “Ravens. They are bigger, sleeker with a flamboyant tail and their sheen turns purple in the sunlight. They are scavengers and solitary and will peck at all other birds if they come close, thus the term ‘unkindness.’” Banks turned and admired her knowledge. A real Indian!

  Banks said, “We need them as a group now.” He looked at the Monarch Raven, “Have them form a blanket to obscure the vision of the stampede.” The Monarch flew above and issued an edict in the raven language that all the members of the unkindness must obey. What resulted was a complete curtain of blackness that in turn confused the running group causing them to come to a halt. Sway look
ed at Banks as he hopped on a wild bison. Sway mounted a moose by grabbing its antlers. The curtain parted slightly and Banks yelled to the Monarch, “Take us to the graveyard.”

  At the Powers’ house, Dassi prayed in Hebrew as Murray put his good arm around his wife. Stan opened the steel door slightly. “The woodpeckers have stopped.” Julie poured a drink. All shook when they heard the shrieks of eagles. Their talons now were able to grab the loosened boards and seek entry.

  Julie downed her drink, “It’s happening again.”

  Stan soothed with, “They can’t get in here. They simply can’t attack the steel.” And then the group listened to the noise of talons against the steel. Mr. Kadet held his wife closely as the noise added to the physical shuddering amongst the group.

  Inside the grocery store’s refrigerated butcher room, Mrs. McGruder looked at the hanging meats. She thought of her dear friend Mrs. Bundy. “We are all meat. We are meat for the rodents. This is not the road to Jerusalem, this is the road to hell!”

  And the beavers topped one another by crawling on other’s backs all the way to the glass window of the Mrs. McGruder’s sanctuary. She screamed again as they turned and slapped their tails against the window. “Creatures of hell,” she screamed!

  Tricia found it easier to fall back to sleep than argue about her body functions. Peyton’s dreams were a combination of his mind’s eye from the eight years he could not see. They conflicted from his new reality eye which caused him some distress. He felt a sense of ownership of the world through his mind’s eye and he had lost it. Family members were somewhat unrecognizable. Even his hero/mentor Banks Blackhorse was a disappointment. His dreams were not connective with the Spirt Above and for time being were confusing.

  Tricia’s dreams were dealing with wasted emotions. Her best friend Ann was sleeping with Johnny and she could not appreciate Johnny’s attraction for Ann. Tricia excelled in all areas of physical appearance and Ann was more simple and straightforward with her body. She questioned that if Johnny had his filet mignon with Tricia why was he settling for hamburger with Ann? By the same token, she noted that Ann was happy with her new found sex and Tricia thought of herself as sort of a matchmaker. At any rate, Tricia was about to enter her senior year—actually tomorrow—and she knew that she could find a new boyfriend. She wanted to make sure that the new guy was way hotter than Johnny. She never once considered that it was possible for her to be the one chosen to die before nightfall. Finally Tricia gave in to sleep and dreamt about what was really important...shoes.

  Ann was battling with the state of sleep. She was somewhat in between letting go her resistance and staying awake. She thought about Johnny and Banks and knew that would keep her awake. If the past 24 hours were her vision quest, what had she learned? She felt privileged having Dassi and Murray as her parents. She felt guilt during the time she wounded her father with a butcher knife. She felt lucky knowing Tricia who was her guide to style. But right now she felt that it was great to be alive and she wanted to keep it that way. Both Johnny and Banks were her protectors. There was a moment when she thought, “Wouldn’t it be grand to have Banks during the day and Johnny during the night?” She knew this would never work and in her mind she was battling the notion that one girl had to be completely loyal to one man for the rest of their life. She glanced at Marilyn and Carol and thought that they knew the secret and she wanted their advice on how to be happy with love and sex. Then she thought, “What’s the difference if I don’t survive the day?” After all, the Spirit Above chose her to be the Queen Bee of all the women in Juneau. She was the one that orchestrated all of the procedures to keep Juneau contained. Had she failed her mission? Would the Spirit Above want the new Old Soul to punish her? Her stream of consciousness was on overload. She so wanted it to stop. And at the moment of high anxiety, Johnny pulled her over into his arms. She calmed down.

  Johnny Angelo was attracted to Ann’s mind and the fact that she was totally attracted to him physically. He found Ann to be something of a wise but nuanced character that filled the pages of all the Jane Austen books that he loved. The biggest turn on about Ann was that she was so turned on with Johnny. He never had this with Tricia. He felt like a trophy boy with her. Tricia wasn’t really into the sex but rather the status of their being a couple. Tricia was no Jane Austen character. ‘Isn’t that the capital of a state?’ Tricia would ask. Johnny thought that a year of dating Ann during her senior year would be great. And if it all worked out, he would follow her wherever she wanted to go to college. Johnny liked Ann being in his arms because he knew that Ann liked being there. And there was an instant where both closed their eyes at the same moment.

  Outside the secure apartment, rodents that were small and animals that could jump were finding their way up the stairs. The cougars were on the hunt and ignored the small rodents that were able to squeeze through the barbed wire. The animals big and small all met in front of the apartment guarded by Marilyn and Carol.

  At the Powers’ house, the woodpeckers completed their job of loosening the first-floor boards. Mountain goats rammed into the house and began to batter the steel door where the six neighbors attempted to further reinforce the door by moving the refrigerator, tables and anything to delay the animals’ access.

  Sway and Banks were about a mile away from their destination. Holding on to his wild bison, he noted that the Monarch raven flew on ahead towards the grave site. Then, Banks gazed upon a funnel that was headed for the curtain of ravens. Like a vacuum cleaner, it swept up the ravens and enabled them to control the direction of the stampede. Once all the ravens were sucked in the funnel, the vortex retreated and the stampeding animals came to a halt. Sway and Banks jumped off their respective animals.

  Sway yelled to Banks that they would have to jog the rest of the way. Both exhausted from lack of sleep and lack of food, they grabbed hands and headed off. Meanwhile, the wild bison and the moose did an about-face and headed back towards downtown Juneau.

  All About Evelyn

  Evelyn Sands cared for her mother but found her to be weak. Her father worked six months of the year on the Alaskan pipeline and that is the time she was happiest. But during the six months that he was home during the cold and darkness he was abusive to Evelyn and her mother. He literally got bored with freedom. He had no outside interests except for alcohol.

  Evelyn found solace in her school work to escape the tirades and screaming matches of her parents. By the time Evelyn was a junior at her high school, the abuse escalated to a fever pitch. Evelyn stayed after school and participated in all extra-curricular activities just to escape the horror of home life.

  One day in September when her father was about to return home, her mother told her that she had to visit a good friend in Arizona and that she would be home in two weeks. The mother never returned. Never went to Arizona. And completely vanished. But Evelyn’s father came home and was sure that Evelyn knew where her mother was. She felt totally abandoned and decided that this six month period would be her last to live with her father.

  During the summer, she got a job in a law firm and studied the lawyers. She liked the way they spoke, she learned the legal jargon, and she met a law student who worked part time at the firm. His name...Stan Powers.

  She needed a place to live during the six months of darkness and Stan had an apartment. Both young adults had similar ambitions. She read cases that Stan studied. She learned civil and criminal procedure. She cooked and cleaned for Stan in exchange for rent. And she slept with him when he was in the mood. Evelyn knew she was attractive. Even her own father attempted to rape her but failed when he discovered that she slept with a butcher’s knife under her mattress. Sex for Evelyn became a means to accomplishing her goals and would only be used if she got something in return.

  After she graduated with honors from high school, there was a bidding war of scholarships. She decided to take a 3-year scholarship for undergraduate work at a university that had a reputable law school.

  H
er father died on the pipeline during college. There was no sadness. Her mother disappeared from her life. There was no sadness. Evelyn was not going to be hindered by wasted emotions. She would face life alone. When she finished law school, she decided to come back to Juneau to practice law since she had a reputation there and had great chances to eventually get to her goal of becoming a judge on the Alaskan Supreme Court. She would eventually get a lower court judgeship and keep up her connections with Stan Powers since he was on the Judicial Advisory Board. The Governor would appoint a Supreme Court Justice from the list that the advisory board recommended. To maintain that recommendation from Stan, she would keep up her private affair with him. Sex was to be used in return for favors. Love, marriage and motherhood were wasted time and energy for other women. Evelyn was all about ambition and power.

  The relationship that she was having with Stan Powers was to be about sex only. But after sex, he would complain about his alcoholic wife that had become frigid. He worried about his blossoming daughter who might be coming sexually active. He complained about his son who was blind for life. And worst of all, he whined about his Catholic guilt. Evelyn found all of this tedious and finally told Stan, “You and millions of other men have bargained for your heterosexual rut, and quite frankly, Stan; it bores me.”

  But something changed in Evelyn during The Night the Sky Fell. It wasn’t that she became pregnant, it was that she found a new source of power...especially over men. The day that she delivered, she was scooped away by creatures and dropped near a pack of wolves. She was at death’s doorstep but a helicopter rescued her and dropped her off in a comatose situation with body and facial destruction beyond repair. Where was her power now? And then during her sleep she came into communication with the Spirit. The Spirit found her to be a candidate for Peyton Power’s replacement. She would not only have the power to judge, but also be juror and executioner. This was far better than the Supreme Court of Alaska. This was the whole kit and caboodle.