Eden (Eden Saga)

by Matthew Plourde

  Without a word, her new guide moved off the road and into the rocky badlands that surrounded the town. Her ankle screamed for rest, but the stranger didn’t alter his pace. The pair ascended a small hill outside of town and aglow from the fires below, Alexandra saw a church.

  Chapter 2

  The stranger paused to give Alexandra’s twisted ankle a break. Firelight from the town below outlined the brush, cacti, and stones that made up the small hill. A cool breeze carried billows of smoke to the area. Alexandra settled on the ground and leaned against a rock. As she gazed upon the tiny church, visions from her childhood untangled themselves from the recesses of her memory.

  Young Alexandra decided church was a bore, but her mother brought her to service every Sunday. Alexandra knew the man at the pulpit was saying important things, but she wished to be free of that stone prison. Like robots, her pew-mates recited lines from a book or mouthed automated responses to the Padre. Where’s the excitement in that? What’s more, the crucifixes and clutter of Catholic decorations reminded Alexandra of her mother’s bedroom – a place she avoided. When Alexandra was old enough, she left her home in Mexico to study in the United States.

  Now, for the first time in many years, she found herself in front of a church. She tortured herself wondering what her mother would think of her godless life. The admonition tugged at the corner of her mouth and she felt her eyes begin to water. For what seemed like the hundredth time, she wondered if she was too selfish in her mother’s final years. Alexandra’s career and life in San Antonio commanded her time and energy. She hadn’t visited Mexico in the past five years. When her mother died, Alexandra only sent flowers. Ashamed at how she abandoned her mother, she lowered her head and fought to keep the tears away.

  “Can you continue?”

  The stranger’s raspy voice yanked her from her thoughts. She turned her swollen eyes to the stranger and wondered why she was with him. His unsettling visage flashed into her head for a moment, sending a chill into her blood. She recalled his ashen flesh, which stretched across his bones like the skin of a drum. She wondered why the toothless man and his cronies ran from a beggar. Studying the stranger’s movements, however, she reasoned this man was no beggar. Maybe a few hours ago she would have come to that conclusion, but the night’s events jarred loose some of her assumptions.

  “Can you continue?” the stranger repeated.

  Alexandra looked from the dark sky to her guide. Several tangles of dark hair fell across her face and she brushed them over her shoulder. With her other hand she wiped a few escaped tears from her cheeks.

  “You promised answers,” she said with a quiver in her voice. “You can start by telling me who you are.”

  The stranger sighed. It was a strange noise somewhere between a whistle and a hiss.

  “Once we are inside, you will have some answers,” he said. “Come.”

  Without waiting for a response, he turned and stalked off towards the church.

  Alexandra weighed her options. If she could navigate her way through the darkness, perhaps she could find some help in the town. However, she wasn’t sure she could run on her ankle and it would probably come to that again. The stranger was correct – that town was dangerous. Her gut had led her here so Alexandra decided to hold onto this life raft for now.

  Most of the exterior stone walls were intact, but the inside of the church was trashed. Broken pews and debris littered the center of the one-room building. The stench of rotting daisies irritated her sinuses as she entered. After a quick scan, the only visible religious artifact was a wooden crucifix on the wall behind what used to be the altar.

  “How is your ankle?” the stranger asked as he emerged from some nearby shadows.

  Alexandra jumped and winced when she applied weight to her ankle. “Not good,” she said as she ground her teeth to avoid crying. She slumped to the ground. Her slacks were ruined already, so she felt no regret when she tore them further to fashion a wrap for her wounded joint. For the first time that night she noticed goose bumps on her bronze legs and arms. Her suit jacket provided little warmth.

  “My things,” she said. “You said you could get them for me.”

  “I did indeed,” her companion whispered from the shadows.

  Alexandra closed her eyes and rested her head against the cool wall. “Forget it… who knows where that mob is right now. Maybe in the morning we can-” She trailed off when she realized she was alone. With a sigh, she strained to stand and peer through the window. The small hill was devoid of any movement and the stranger was gone.

  Moments later, she heard a woman’s scream from the town below. Her heart kicked into a gallop and she looked around the small church for a place to hide, a weapon, something! In the end, she curled into a ball under a damaged pew and she cried. It was one of those purifying cries that went on for many minutes. Towards the end, she felt weak and her body shook with each intake of breath. After a few more moments, she let go.

  She must have dozed off for a few minutes. Or maybe a few hours? She opened her eyes to find the familiar cry-crust deposited where her eyes met her nose. Since darkness still filled the church, she reasoned she couldn’t have been asleep for too long. Her problems in San Antonio seemed somewhat trivial compared to her trials that night, and her crisis worsened when she heard booted feet approaching outside the church.

  Where was the stranger? She opened her mouth to call out to him but decided against the idea. Her heart leapt when she heard a thump against the far wall. She was certain more than one person was there! Who were they? Had the mob returned?

  The thump was followed by another one. Closer this time. Though the night was cold, sweat drenched her body. Her breath quickened and panic threatened to overtake her.

  Alexandra attempted to calm her swirling emotions. Releasing a controlled exhale, she steadied her nerves and lifted her head, one inch at a time, until her eyes were clear to scan the room. The darkness parted as her eyes adjusted and the toothless man smiled back from the window.

  Alexandra’s scream died in her throat as she could only gape at the horrifying face in the window. She bolted to her feet and dashed towards the church doors. She was almost there when she heard two more thumps against the door and she stopped hard on her ankle, which twisted and yielded, sending pulses of pain through her body and dropping her to the ground. On the verge of hyperventilating, she scampered backwards against the wall and kept her eyes locked upon the door.

  Wait, where was the toothless man?

  Alexandra glanced at the window and the toothless man was still there - grinning and motionless, as he had been moments ago. Was he dead?

  Something growled outside very near the wall she leaned against. Her eyes darted to all corners of the church. She scanned every possible entrance. When she looked again to the window where she saw the toothless man, he wasn’t there.

  “Crap,” she whispered, as she attempted to quell her thumping heart. She felt the wall for a handhold and found a section with a few missing bricks. Darkness still filled the church and the hill outside, but she ventured a peek through the hole. Until her eyes adjusted, there was nothing. Then, the landscape came into focus. The fires from the town still illuminated the hill and she recognized some familiar shapes, though only bushes and rocks. Abruptly, her view was obstructed for a moment as someone passed in front of the hole in the wall!

  Ignoring the painful cry of protest from her injured ankle, Alexandra jumped to her feet. Before she reached the door, it swung open and the stranger appeared. He scanned the room and nodded to her.

  “Wait here a moment,” he said in his raspy voice as he closed the door, leaving her alone once more.

  Alexandra sighed and looked from the empty window to the door and back again. If she was going to escape, now seemed like a good opportunity. Then she heard voices on the other side of the door. One voice was definitely that of her strange companion. The other was female and they seemed to be arguing. Enough of this!
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  Alexandra run-limped to the door and opened it. The only person outside was the stranger. He turned to face her and grinned as he held out a duffel bag.

  Glaring, she asked, “Who were you talking to?” Swallowed in darkness, the hilltop appeared empty save her companion, who dropped the duffel at her feet.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “No,” she lied. Though she wanted to say more, she couldn’t find the strength. Maybe she was just hearing things? How could there be another person out there? Sighing, she dragged the duffel bag to a pew and kneeled.

  The stranger seemed pleased with her answer. “I’m going to fortify this entry and the window,” he said as he lifted some wood and piled it near the entrance. “Try to get some rest.”

  Rest! Though Alexandra felt she would never be the same after the night’s events, her wits and analytical mind kicked into motion.

  “We can’t stay here!” she told him as she rose to her feet.

  Without turning from his work, he said, “Yes, we can.”

  “We need to get to a phone… to a police station!” She threw her arms into the air. “Somewhere!”

  “We won’t find either of those things now.”

  “Have you even tried?” she asked. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here! I can’t wait here - I’m going to go find help.”

  The stranger dropped a piece of wood and faced her. Fists on his hips, he asked, “What more do you need to see tonight for you to trust me?”

  “I don’t even know you!”

  “It’s well that you don’t,” he said. “All you need to do is trust that I plan to keep you safe. I have proven that much.”

  Alexandra couldn’t argue with that point. Still, there was something about her companion that wholly unsettled her. Until she could place the feeling, she decided she couldn’t trust him.

  “At least tell me your name,” she said, as she eased her way to the ground next to the duffel bag.

  The stranger paused. Then, releasing his fists, he said, “Koneh.”

  She took the name and wondered at its origin. She glanced at the bag and said, “I’m Alexandra… and that’s not mine.”

  With a shrug, Koneh said, “That’s all there was. The bus was picked pretty clean.” He resumed the construction of the barricade.

  She knew before she finished with the zipper. This was a man’s bag. Well, better than nothing! She ducked behind a pew and removed what was left of her slacks. The jeans she replaced them with were meant for a larger waist, but she secured them with her own belt.

  She longed for one of her sports-bras as she removed her suit jacket and blouse. Instead, she settled for a white tank top, black long-sleeve shirt, and gray hooded sweatshirt. Unfortunately, the owner of the duffel didn’t pack extra shoes - men! She doubled up on some white tube socks and was happy to cover her feet with something.

  Once finished with her wardrobe change, she settled on her knees and was thankful none of her friends would see her like that. She must have looked like quite the fashion disaster. The elastic band that once held her hair in check was busted. To keep the waist long strands under control, Alexandra tied her dark hair into a knot.

  Koneh finished with his makeshift barriers and walked around the pew to where she still rummaged though the remaining contents of the duffel. Alexandra smiled as she lifted a brown leather jacket and threaded her arms into the sleeves.

  “Did you find adequate clothing?” he asked.

  Without looking up, she said, “Yeah, it’ll do for now.”

  “Good.”

  Koneh leaned against the pew and curled his left fist several times. The cloth wrappings around his arm appeared wet with some sort of dark liquid.

  “Are you okay?” Alexandra asked.

  After several moments, he looked at her from under his hood, but he didn’t respond.

  She stared into his dark eyes. “Okay. We’ve made our introductions and I trust you enough to believe you don’t want to hurt me.” A shiver rattled its way through her body as she realized the night carried a chill normally reserved for rare winter evenings in central Mexico. “Tell me what’s happening. What was wrong with those men?”

  Thunder boomed in the distance. Koneh allowed the reverberations to subside before he began speaking in his raspy, unconventional tones.

  “Tell me Alexandra, do you believe in Heaven?” he asked as he crossed his arms. She thought she saw the glint of metal beneath his rags but it was gone before she could get a clear look.

  Alexandra blinked and remained speechless for several seconds. “Excuse me?” she said as she instinctively reached for the gold cross at her neck. More memories marched their way into her consciousness.

  She remembered Father Rodriguez asking her what she thought Heaven would be like. Beaming from ear to ear, a young Alexandra told the priest that Heaven was a dream of joy where she could be with her friends and Madre forever and ever.

  Her next memory was one from young adulthood. Alexandra felt she could make more of her life in a city. She said she was leaving. Her mother gave her a golden cross and wished her only child joy and happiness. At the time, she pitied her mother for staying in impoverished Mexico. She thought her mother simple and unknowledgeable of the greater world. Maybe she should have pitied herself, as she now seemed lost in a situation where she believed her mother would know what to do.

  Koneh waited for her to sort through her thoughts.

  “Well,” she said, “Mi madre… my mother-”

  “Solon-om,” Koneh uttered in a barely audible whisper as he bowed his head.

  “What was that?”

  He raised his head and again stared into her eyes with a terrifying intensity. Alexandra noticed his eyes were black-in-black. Was there anything normal about this man?

  He responded, “My deepest respect to your departed madre.”

  Alexandra’s heart pounded several times before she asked, “How do you know about my mother?”

  He loosened his gaze and said, “You failed to answer my simple question about Heaven, Alexandra. Do you need it rephrased?”

  Was he… smiling? She couldn’t quite make out the details of his scarred-smooth face, but she thought she saw the corner of his mouth curl into a grin. How could he joke after all that had happened?

  “I understood your question, Koneh.” She said, mocking his repartee. “No, I don’t believe in Heaven. My mother was foolish to put her faith into something that isn’t real. She’s gone now and I never had the heart to tell her she was wasting her time.”

  Leaning back against the pew, Koneh whispered, “Real. It is a dangerous wall you scale to decide what is real for the rest of us. Through my travels, I have met many people who thought they knew truth.” He paused and added some disdain to his words. “Fools, the whole lot of them.”

  “And you claim to be wise in the ways of truth?” She was intrigued by her new companion’s unorthodox discussion style.

  “The wise do not think they know truth. They teach others how to recognize it. However, I do not claim wisdom, nor the ability to teach. Enough about me. You should get some rest. After the quake and the mob… well, you look like hell.”

  Alexandra nodded her agreement. She felt like hell. Then, her mind caught up with the conversation and she said, “Wait a minute - what quake? You mean an earthquake?”

  Koneh grinned again. This time she was sure of it. He whispered, “How do you think your bus came to be overturned?”

  She felt the scrapes and bruises from the accident cry out for attention. It was as if they heard their name and jumped to be recognized. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t remember what happened on that bus. Exasperated, she dropped her head into her arms and wished she was home - safe in her city apartment.

  Almost to himself, Koneh whispered, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black-”

  Alexandra shook her head when she recognized Koneh’s
words. She raised her eyes and said, “A few fires and a quake don’t equal the Apocalypse.”

  With a sigh he said, “If you don’t believe in Heaven, then it follows you claim Revelations is also an untruth. It is not real in your world.”

  “Yeah, that doesn’t mean I’m not familiar with the passage you just recited.”

  Koneh pushed himself upright and looked down into her eyes again. Through his raspy voice, he said, “Well, the last days are not unfolding exactly as written, but make no mistake - Heaven and Hell have fallen to Earth.”

  “Fallen?” Alexandra was beyond confused.

  “Yes. I intend to find out why. And you are going to help me.”

  Chapter 3

  “Run that by me again. Heaven and Hell have… fallen?”

  “Yes,” Koneh said.

  Alexandra didn’t believe what she was hearing. A few days ago she was wrapping up the last of her cases in San Antonio. Her final act before vacation was to submit her portfolio to be considered for a judgeship.

  The plan was simple, one week in Mexico to sell her late mother's house, and one week in the Caribbean to reward herself with some much needed personal time. Then she could return to San Antonio and attack her career anew.

  Instead of accomplishing that, she awoke in a bed of glass and blood. Men intent upon harming her chased her through the streets of a Mexican village. She found herself shoeless and exhausted in a crumbled church and her guide through all of this was a scarred man who spoke in whispers.

  “Though,” Koneh said, “I suppose you do not believe such a thing is possible?”

  Recalling a phrase used by her first law school professor Alexandra said, “I accept it the same way I believe in life on other planets. I’ll leave it out there as a possibility but I’ll never really believe it.”

  “Interesting. Flawed, but interesting.”

  “How is it flawed?” She closed her eyes and leaned her head against a pew. The night’s events had left her drained.

  “That is a question I should not have to answer for you,” he said as he took a seat near the barricaded window. “Besides,” he said, “we should stop talking so you can rest. We have far to go.”