Lost Souls

by Wendy J. Shores

  “So be it wench! When I find him and I rip his heart from his chest you will know that you were the cause of his demise!”

  A gasp of terror escaped her lips as once again she was deposited back on the train beside Raaida who now was back to her living self and grasped her ice cold hand between her two warm ones. Yoska had leapt up to save her but again; she was gone before he could even leave his seat. Now he placed his hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there while the trembling slowed and then finally stopped.

  “You were gone for a long while this time.” Raaida said. “I worry that he will take you and never send you back!”

  “Is there no way to stop him?” asked Marissa.

  “If there is, we don’t know what it would be. We’ve never encountered Death this way. I am not even sure it is fair or right! There is so much we still do not know Marissa. All I can promise is that we will protect you to the best of our ability, I don’t know what else to say…”

  “This time it was terrible.” Marissa cried. “I thought you were both dead and then I found myself in that place yet again, running in the fog until I heard him behind me. Again he demanded I tell him where Dalton is. How can I tell him what I do not know? Even if I did, I’d never tell him, surely he must know that?”

  “The beast has only one agenda Marissa, his own. He cares nothing of you or me or even Dalton. He is angry now that he is tied to this “job” when he used to be free to explore the galaxies and to go where he wanted. He must think that somehow destroying Dalton will free him of this obligation. How strange. Dalton had nothing to do with that decision and there is nothing Dalton could do to change it. Perhaps if you are taken again, you should tell him of this.”

  Marissa shuddered at the thought of having to lay eyes on the beast again and told Raaida so. They could all only hope the rest of their journey was without incident but deep inside, Marissa knew, it was too much to hope for. With her heart still pounding in her chest, she curled herself around her handbag and again leaned her head against the window letting the soothing clacking of the train wheels finally help her drift back off to sleep. It was a deep, dreamless sleep and she was grateful for it. She knew she would need her strength for the coming days for somehow she knew, this was far from over.

  ***

  DALTON WAS SURE he‘d never seen so many gathered here in the hut since his arrival. Everyone was looking anxious and hopeful and couldn’t help glancing his way knowing the reunion with their family was looming ever closer with each passing day. In one corner, Amelia, Fred, Madoc and Kaske huddled close together; a soft murmuring was all anyone could hear from them. Finally, Madoc came to Dalton and the room came to a hush.

  “Before we go to the hut, I think we should explain to Dalton how our objects have evolved and melded together to become what it is today. Spartacus? Do you want to begin?”

  Everyone looked to the warrior who always managed to be alone. Not used to the attention, he nodded his head and began his story.

  “After I fought to free the slaves and we all banded together, we started out to free other slaves in other towns. I wanted to build the most feared army anyone had ever seen. In the end, there were so many of us, the ground shook when we walked as one. We were a band of brothers adding to our numbers with every town we crossed. We had been traveling for months, far now from our home, and my men and I had bedded down for the night. I had been unsettled, tossing and turning, and every noise, from the neighing of the horses to the snoring of the men, seemed amplified. Noticing a mist covering the next field, I got up to investigate. As I approached the mist, I smelled a strange scent. Something I had never smelled before. When I got very close, I turned to call to my men but they were gone. Not a soul was apparent to me. Suddenly I was alone and my 100,000 men had disappeared. I once again turned to examine the mist and WHOOSH!!! There was fire everywhere! I stumbled and fell into a deep pit filled with huge pockets of fire, like the inside of a volcano. Although I could feel the heat, I did not burn. I kept slipping and sinking further down into the pit until I had sunk up to my neck. It was like quicksand! I held my sword above my head not wanting to damage the blade but nothing stopped my descent. I had sunk up to my eyes in the pit, fire still burning around me like I had landed on the sun, yet I found I could still breathe. I sank lower and lower until I dropped into a new land. A land as foreign to me as living on the moon would have been. All around me was fire and brimstone, people chained to huge rocks and crying and moaning. I knew I was in Hell. I had been delivered there because I didn’t know God. We worshipped Kings back in my day you see. There was no talk of God in the Heavens as of yet. I had killed too many men to count and had ravaged many women. I had committed many sins but when I finally landed in Hell, I was taught who God was and what he stood for and given an opportunity to see the errors of my ways, to accept God as my Father and to change. I accepted Him and as soon as I did, I dropped down even further into this place. I have ever since obeyed God and have given my life to His word.”

  “It’s time for all of us to take you to see our invention Dalton. I hope you don’t have any high expectations for it will probably look like a jumbled mess. It has evolved and evolved into a different thing all together with each addition until it is finally what you will see. We have kept it in the small village Kaske and his tribe has built for themselves since we started building it. I don’t know why, it just always seemed to be the thing to do and the proper place to do it. We built a hut around it much the same as I built the hut around the cross so many years ago, more to protect it from the elements than anything else. I want to see what will happen if we add your ring to it where the final small slot is. I had imagined it would be some kind of coin that went there so even I was surprised when you showed me the ring. I still am not positive that that’s what it’s going to take but we need to try it and see.”

  Dalton agreed and they all gathered together into a group and headed out. Kaske’s small village was not even a mile from where the hut was so it didn’t take long to come upon it. Dalton was impressed by what he saw; he had imagined a much different picture in his mind. A picture of grass huts huddled around a big fire is what he had expected but instead, it was a hamlet of small houses… complete with windows and wooden doors with intricate carvings on them that Kaske explained was made from a soft wood they had found there that hardened when the sun cured it. Kaske had said that it was similar to working with bone when it was fresh from an animal but when it dried it was as hard as any oak wood had ever been. Dalton ran his hands over the carvings. Each door held a story of what that person had been doing the day of the storm that had deposited them here. On Kaske’s there was a carving of his wife fixing their sons coat with the needle made from bone, a picture of a simmering pot on a fire, a carving of what had to be Aguta, kneeling on the floor playing with her papoose doll. A mother doll with a beautiful, colorful coat and a baby strapped to her back in a carrier. The color had been added using assorted berries, flowers and roots from vegetables. The story it told was so clear and the art work was so beautiful it almost took Dalton’s breath away. The next hut held the object that Dalton hoped would get him back to Marissa. He held his breath as he swung open the door and stepped inside the darkened room. Someone moved around him and lit the torches that hung on the wall. Immediately the room became bright and the invention stood in front of him. As he looked at it, he could see that hundreds of objects that had somehow melded together and taken the form it was in. He swore he had seen the shape before but couldn’t place where it had been. As he stepped forward and reached out his hand, he had a flashback of being in a different place. In a place where he and Marissa had been before even though it didn’t look familiar to him. He was drawn to place his other hand on it and as he did, it was like he was sucked into a different land altogether. Both of them naked and carefree and feeling the deepest love for each other. He reached out his hand and sure enough, he felt her. Grabbing her and pulling her to him he sobbed w
ith relief of finally having her in his arms again. Marissa laid her head on his shoulder and ran her hand through his hair, pulling herself so close to him it was as if they were one. Although it had been a year since he had seen her, the feeling of familiarity that he felt with her had never gone away. He caressed her cheek as he pulled back only enough for him to gaze into her eyes while he spoke to her and said…

  “Marissa, my one true love. I never ever want to be without you again. We have seen each other at our worst and we have seen each other at our best. We have laughed together, we have cried together. I want to fall asleep beside you every night and wake up to your beauty every morning.” He brought up his hand where the pink diamond flashed and sparkled on his baby finger and slipped it off of his finger and onto hers, and finally said the words he had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity to say. “Marissa, you are my life and my love now and for all of eternity. Will you marry me?”

  A tear slid down her cheek as she lovingly gazed back at him and replied, “I have waited all of my life to say yes to that question…” and with a smile she leaned in to kiss him, a warm, tentative kiss that left him wanting more.

  As he came back to reality, almost like leaving a mirage, Dalton once again realized he was living a fantasy. It had been so real it had to be a premonition. The ache he felt deep inside was becoming too familiar now and he was determined to stop it once and for all. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out the ring and handed it to Madoc who immediately went around to the back of the machine and slid it into the only slot left in the thing. It slid in smoothly, like it was made to be there. All at once the mass started to vibrate and to throw off warmth and a rainbow light the same as it had in the forest that had led them to the garden. This time though the light pulsed and ebbed and made a soft whirring sound. They all turned and looked to the door as they heard a cry go up outside and a sudden rumble of voices as everyone tried to talk at once. At the end of the path that had led to the village, there was now a shimmering force field. It enveloped the tiny village and when one of the men got brave enough to touch it, they realized at once they could not go back the way they had come. They were stuck where they were for who knew how long.

  “Maybe if we take the ring out of the slot it will disappear again…” suggested Amelia.

  Madoc entered the hut once again and removed the ring from the slot he had put it in. Nothing happened. The force field remained exactly the way it had been. Shaking his head he looked at Dalton and handed him back the ring.

  “You’d better hang on to this for now. We don’t know if we are going to need it to enter the garden or whether or not this will be the secret to getting rid of that barrier out there.” Dalton agreed as he reached out and took the ring back but rather than put it back in the box, he slid it onto his pinky finger where it hugged it perfectly, just like in the vision he had had earlier. The only thing they could do now was to wait. Wait for a sign of what they should do next. He could only pray it came soon.

  ***

  MARISSA AWOKE WITH a start and without opening her eyes, reached for Raaida’s hand. She was relieved to feel the warmth that enveloped her back as she gave the woman’s hand a quick squeeze. Her heart seemed to be beating a hundred beats a minute as the knowledge in her grew. While she had dozed, it was as if a microchip had been inserted in her brain with all of the information she needed to get to Dalton. She was afraid to say anything to either Raaida or Yoska for fear that the beast would overhear her, so she whispered into Raaida’s ear that she knew the way. Raaida glanced at her and gasped at what she saw. Yoska fearing the beast had returned once again and taken her, jumped up from his seat and looked at her with the same gasp she had heard from Raaida.

  “What is it?” Marissa asked, running her fingers over her face and neck wondering what had caused that reaction in them.

  Speechless, Raaida made the sign of the cross and reached into her bag and pulled out a small mirror, saying nothing as she handed it to Marissa to see for herself.

  She grabbed the mirror and opened it quickly to see what all of the fuss was about and couldn’t help her own quick intake of breath she gave when she looked in the mirror and saw it for herself. There on her forehead, as if it had been engraved there, was a star. As she looked at it, it ebbed and pulsed and the brightest light she had ever seen seemed to be trying to escape through the lines of the star. She didn’t know what to say or do as her finger traced the lines of the star and she looked up to Raaida and asked…

  “What is this? What does it mean?”

  Flabbergasted Raaida shook her head and claimed she had no idea, as did Yoska when she glanced his way.

  “Is this something the beast has done? Is he marking me?” Marissa asked in a near panic.

  “No child, he would not have the power to do something like this…” Raaida replied.

  Yoska watched her while his fingers traced an invisible line along his chin as if he were in deep thought.

  “I have seen something like this somewhere and I can’t quite place where it was..” he murmured. “I do not even want to hazard a guess at this point but surely it must come from God and not the beast?” he questioned.

  “I agree,” voiced Raaida. The train rocked and swayed as they made their way along the trail, watching the mountains in the distance draw closer. The countryside was so peaceful and beautiful with the blooms on the trees and the long, colorful grasses. It had a way of soothing Marissa regardless of how stressful things seemed to be getting.

  “We will know soon. It isn’t much farther to Tai’an. And I, for one, will be glad to finally get there.” she said.

  No sooner were the words out of her mouth when a huge rumble was heard outside the train car. They all ran to the other side of it and peered outside, straining their necks to try to see ahead. Up further, a cloud of smoke rose into the air, swirling lazily up as high as the cloud line. Marissa shivered in fear always on the alert for the beast and his tricks. This, however, looked to be a legitimate problem and she crossed her fingers and said a prayer that it wouldn’t hold them up and keep her away from Dalton even longer. She was so close… even an hour longer was more than she could bear. Sensing her distress, Raaida rubbed her hand along her arm in a reassuring manner and told her to sit back as it seemed it would be a while before they were on their way once again. Marissa shook her head unbelievingly hoping for the best as she turned and lowered herself back into the plush red velvet seat.

  The car on the train was so beautiful. Old world style that she thought had been long forgotten. Outside she could hear the men from the train calling back and forth in a language she didn’t understand. As she gazed out the window, she could see the mountain in the distance. In the middle of the mountain was a hole where she could see the clouds on the other side drifting lazily in the sky. Staring, knowing this was the place she was supposed to be, she turned to Yoska and said, “This is the place. Gather our things and let’s go.”

  ***

  YOSKA LOOKED TO Raaida and said that he thought they had many miles yet to go. Raaida just shook her head and told him to leave this part of the journey up to Marissa because she was the one being led. Agreeing, he gathered up their things, and together they climbed down the back stairs and off of the train. Ahead of them, in the distance, they could see the stairs, so many stairs! They led up to the hole in the mountain and as they drew closer, the ring began to sing, the song sounding like the voice of angels in a choir. The three of them looked at each other, each as dumfounded as the other and Marissa reached inside to withdraw the necklace that held the ring. She pulled it out of the top of her sweater and as she did, the volume of the music grew even louder. Amazed that they could even hear each other over the now almost deafening noise, they began the climb to the top. Marissa led while Raaida followed and Yoska brought up the rear. It was strange to once again be climbing stairs, reminding her of the stairs she’d had to climb just over a year ago after losing Dalton down the falls, but
this time she knew the ending would be a far better one. As they neared the top, after climbing for what seemed like hours, Marissa could feel the pull and knew they were in the right place. The ring now vibrated as well as keeping up the continuous melody and the closer they got to the top, the louder it got. Finally, as they breached the last set of stairs and came upon the landing, the star on Marissa’s forehead started to spin and flash and to shine ever brighter. When they finally made it to the top, like it had a life of its own, the star flew off of her forehead and rocketed up into the sky where it grew and grew and shone brighter than the sun. Around the world, people from every corner could see the orb now in the sky and hear the symphony ebbing from the ring. Wars stopped, people crossed themselves and knelt in prayer while others began to earnestly make their way to see the spectacle in person. The young helped the old; children led their parents, the innocence of them apparent to anyone who looked. It had begun. The people were being led to their promised land. Together Marissa, Raaida and Yoska climbed, now holding hands and once again forming a trinity. As they drew ever closer to the huge hole in the mountain, a sudden shimmering stopped them in their tracks.

  “What’s happening?” cried Marissa, as she stared in astonishment at the now impassable mountain top.