Eden (Eden Saga)

by Matthew Plourde

  With tears rolling down her cheeks, Alexandra whispered, “Look upon the world with new eyes today, Alejandra.”

  “You see,” Koneh said gently, “she was trying to prepare you for your task. However, she never finished. You didn’t go to her when she was dying. She had so much more to teach you.”

  “If your goal was to reopen old wounds, you’ve succeeded,” she said through sniffles and sobs. “I regret the daughter I became. I should’ve been there for her.”

  “The past is gone for us all. It’s the future that we now mold,” Koneh said.

  Alexandra couldn’t wipe the tears from her face. She was numb. Every time she allowed the weight of Koneh’s words into her mind, she was crushed. How could this be true? The world spun and defocused. Up was down. She heard Erzulie’s voice, but it was distant. The cream bougainvillea given to her by Renaldo fell to the ground, but Alexandra didn’t reach to grab it. Then, she realized she was moving.

  She opened her eyes and wondered why she couldn’t remember closing them. She was in the back of Santino’s rig. The quiet rumble of the engine flowed through her seat as she pushed aside a blanket, intent upon standing. A hand held her down.

  “Quiet now,” Father Callahan said. “The last time you tried that, you banged your noggin’.”

  “What’s… going on?” she asked with her hand on her throbbing head.

  “Koneh walked you back to the rig,” Father Callahan said. “You were barely able to stand.”

  “Leaving?”

  He nodded. “You kept saying you wanted to go home… over and over.”

  Alexandra didn’t recall any of it. Again, she started to sit up. Father Callahan grasped her arm, but she said, “I’m fine.”

  Her determination must have carried through her voice, because he complied. She rose enough to look out the side window. The people of Tampico watched as the rig made its way through the ruined city. Each miserable face imprinted itself upon her memory.

  “Why do we get to leave?” she whispered.

  Father Callahan leaned close and said, “Because you have more important things to do.”

  Without turning from the window, she asked, “You believe him?”

  “I believe God works His mystery in strange ways sometimes,” he said.

  Alexandra’s eyes filled with tears again as she watched a woman load a shotgun while two children piled debris around their broken home. “The very thought is… impossible.”

  “In time, it may seem more possible.”

  Now, Alexandra turned from the window and looked into Father Callahan’s eyes. “You do believe him.”

  The front passenger door opened and Koneh joined Santino in the driver’s section of the roomy cab. Koneh glanced at Alexandra and Father Callahan, but he didn’t speak.

  Alexandra returned her attention to the window and noticed the rig was moving past the barricade. Men with torches manned the walls and looked to the black sky from time to time. Though she wanted to stay and help them, part of her was relieved to be going. She wished she was strong enough to tell Santino to turn the rig around. However, the coward in her kept her tongue in check.

  Nobody talked for hours. Alexandra’s mind was as empty as a drum. She didn’t want to think about Erzulie’s proclamation of her heritage.

  “This looks good,” Koneh said to Santino. The truck turned and Santino brought them to a stop.

  The initial shock of this new twist demanded Alexandra’s attention, but she pushed the ridiculous information to the back of her mind. She decided she would prove them wrong, though she didn’t quite know how.

  She raised her head and looked through the window at the dirt and black sky. The low scrub extended beyond the truck’s headlights and the highway held no movement. After Koneh and Santino exited the cab, Alexandra shook Father Callahan’s shoulder to wake him.

  “Wha?” Father Callahan said as he struggled to open his eyes.

  Alexandra smiled. “You were snoring.”

  “Was not. Priests don’t snore.”

  The pair chuckled as they left the cab and stretched their limbs. Besides a few large boulders and an overturned dumpster, the area was empty.

  “Back to the wasteland,” Alexandra said as she surveyed the horizon.

  “We’ll camp here for the night. Just stay close to the rig,” Koneh said.

  Alexandra turned back to the truck to get her duffel bag when she noticed four large barrels strapped to the bed of the vehicle.

  “What are those?” she asked.

  “Oh,” Father Callahan said, “water and fuel. Though Koneh never told me where he got them.”

  “Koneh-” Alexandra whispered. She reasoned he stole them from the doomed people of Tampico. Deciding to fight that fight another day, she tucked the information away for the time being.

  She approached Koneh and instead asked, “Where’s Erzulie?”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but instead shrugged and pointed to the sky.

  “Santino’s going to have to meet her sooner or later,” Alexandra said as she walked past Koneh and dropped her duffel next to Santino. “Mind if I sit?”

  Santino smiled and adjusted his Texas Rangers cap, “’Course not.”

  As he scraped the bottom of a can of baked beans with a spoon Alexandra said, “So, where are you from Santino? Mexico?”

  He nodded. “Si, but I live in Brazil.”

  “Brazil?”

  “Si.”

  “Since he is on our way,” Koneh said, “we have agreed to help each other.”

  “Wait a minute,” she said, “we’re going into South America?”

  “Correct,” Koneh said.

  “I can’t believe you’re making me ask this,” she said. “Eden is in South America?”

  “Not exactly,” Koneh said. “Our destination lies a bit more to the south.”

  Alexandra recalled the image of the multi-colored globe from her first schoolhouse. She remembered how she ran her fingers over the raised line of mountains down the west coast of South America. Rarely did she pay attention to the cap of white at the bottom of the globe. No mountains or cities were there. It was a boring spot on the model.

  “Antarctica?” she asked with one eyebrow raised.

  “I know,” Father Callahan said as he joined the group by the fire, “Sounds pretty ridiculous.”

  “No,” Alexandra said, “ridiculous is what Erzulie and Koneh told me in Tampico.”

  Images of the people in the lost city pushed their way into her mind, demanding her attention. She wondered what happened to the women and children. Was Marco okay? Did anyone survive?

  “You ask me questions,” Koneh said, “and then you dispute the answers. Why do you ask?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know why I ask you anything, Koneh.”

  “Try to get some rest,” Father Callahan said.

  Scowling, she said, “I don’t want rest… I want to know why we’re going to Antarctica. How is it even possible?”

  “Who are you going to ask?” Koneh said.

  “Not you,” she said dismissively to him through narrowed eyes. She turned to Father Callahan and said, “You talk like you know something of our destination.”

  Father Callahan glanced at Koneh, “Yes, but most of my information is from him.”

  “I don’t care,” she said. “Tell me what you believe.”

  “Okay,” Father Callahan said as he pulled his blanket over his shoulders, “I don’t understand much of the science, but I guess the North Pole shifts from time to time.”

  “Shifts?”

  “Yeah, it’s a major event. Climates re-align, ecosystems are wiped out… pretty serious stuff,” Father Callahan said. “So, I guess Antarctica was once a paradise. It was there that God created Eden.”

  Alexandra held up her hand between herself and the priest. “Wait a sec. I wanted you to tell me what you believe. Are you saying you believe every word in Genesis?”

  Father Callahan l
ooked at Koneh and then back at her. “Yes,” he said, “I certainly do these days.”

  “Okay,” she said tentatively, “carry on then.”

  “Well,” Father Callahan said, “I mean to say that parts of Genesis may have indeed happened. Other parts were supplemented by man’s imagination. You see, Eden existed for quite some time – until the North Pole shifted and left Antarctica buried under hundreds of feet of ice and snow.”

  “And Koneh told you our job is to go and dig Eden out?” Alexandra asked.

  “Not exactly,” Father Callahan said. “You see, the North Pole shifted again. That’s what caused the quakes, the darkness and… well, I don’t know why angels and demons are here.”

  Alexandra tried to wrap her mind around the pole-shifting concept. While she struggled with the logic of the idea, Father Callahan continued. “So, everything’s kind of shifted north. Hopefully that means Antarctica is a more hospitable place than it has been for the past… well, many years.”

  “And you believe this?” Alexandra asked.

  Father Callahan smiled. “Enough to hitch a ride with you and Koneh, yes.”

  “And we’re going to… what?” she asked. “Reopen Eden like Koneh rambled about back when we met you, Father?”

  “That is the plan,” Koneh said.

  Alexandra glared at him. “I didn’t ask you.”

  “Yes,” Father Callahan said, “we will open Eden for all humankind. However I don’t know how we’re going to accomplish that.”

  “Shouldn’t we at least have a clue?” Alexandra said. “Otherwise, it all sounds like a big waste of time and energy.”

  “Actually,” Koneh said, “we were hoping you would have an idea.”

  She huffed. “Don’t even mention that craziness about… me. I don’t believe you.”

  “As you wish,” Koneh said, “but search your memory. Your mother must have told you something relevant to our current situation.”

  “Relevant to our current situation?” Alexandra laughed through the words. “As pious as she was, I’m sure my mother never thought I’d be here… talking to you, Koneh.”

  Koneh sighed and said, “I guess we will see what happens when we get there-”

  “That’s your plan?” Alexandra asked in disbelief and amazement.

  He shrugged. “I am just as lost as you are.”

  “Well, that’s comforting,” she said with a sneer.

  “I think we’re all a little lost these days,” Father Callahan said, his gaze wandering.

  Alexandra rested her head on her duffel bag and closed her eyes. She knew sleep wouldn’t come easy. Her mind was teeming like a Texas ant hill. Where was Erzulie in all of this? Alexandra hadn’t seen the fallen angel since Tampico and some questions needed to be answered.

  “No fire tonight,” Koneh said.

  Alexandra pulled her blankets over her head to hide from her companions, and from the world.

  After only a few hours of sleep, Koneh roused the group. “We are still too close to Tampico,” he explained as everyone piled back into the rig.

  As Alexandra faded in and out of sleep in the back of the truck, she overheard bits of conversation between Santino and Koneh.

  “We stay on Route 180, si?”

  “Yes, we shall see what is left of Poza Rica.”

  Alexandra’s dreams swirled into an incoherent jumble. She was with her mother again, then she was in law school. Erzulie taught her Torts seminars. Like the reality around her, Alexandra’s dreams carried her forward to a land of uncertainty. Why was she travelling to Antarctica? Her dreams didn’t have the answer.

  “Let’s keep moving. It looks like someone already got to that wreck.”

  Then, she woke with a jolt. The rumble of the engine was gone, as were her companions.

  Not much was left of Poza Rica. From Alexandra’s vantage point, everything was rubble. Grateful to be free of the cab, she stretched her arms and legs. That’s when she heard the distant whir of a motorcycle engine. Where was everyone?

  A tug at the back of her mind told her she wasn’t alone. Smiling, she raised her eyes to the top of the cab where Erzulie perched.

  “Hi there, Erzulie,” Alexandra said.

  The angel kept her gaze on the horizon. “My Lady, perhaps the cab is a safer place for you right now. I do not know who approaches.”

  Alexandra cocked her ear to the sky. The motorcycle was closer.

  “I’m sure it’s all right, Erzulie,” she said.

  After a few more moments, she saw the silhouette of the figure on the motorcycle. The approach was erratic. Perhaps the vehicle was damaged?

  Then, she recognized him. “Marco!”

  The motorcycle’s front wheel turned and flipped the vehicle, throwing the driver to the ground. Alexandra ran to Marco and helped him into a sitting position. Blood stained his shoulder and arm where his leather jacket was shredded.

  Though he was out of breath, he said, “Good. Found you-”

  “Don’t try to speak,” she said.

  Marco shook his head, “No… time… must-” The wounded leader of Tampico didn’t finish. His eyes widened and focused on something behind Alexandra. Then, he drew his pistol from his hip holster.

  Alexandra whirled to see Erzulie. “No!” Alexandra screamed as she pushed Marco’s arm aside. The gun fired into the ground, spraying dirt and pebbles into the air.

  “She’s a friend!” Alexandra said.

  “No,” Marco said. “They are not your friends. Koneh… Koneh is going to kill you!”

  Chapter 12

  “I think,” Alexandra said, “that Koneh could have killed me by now if he wanted to. You’re delirious, Marco.”

  Marco wiped some blood from his mouth and shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

  The ring of steel filled the air as Erzulie drew her slender blade and approached.

  Alexandra turned to the fallen angel and said, “No, Erzulie. He’s just confused.”

  “Are you safe, my Lady?” Erzulie asked as she turned her pure white eyes to Marco.

  “Yes,” Alexandra said. “This is just a misunderstanding. He didn’t know.”

  The rest of the group came around the rig. Koneh eyed Marco and asked, “What happened?”

  “You know damn well what happened!” Marco said as he again lifted his pistol and aimed at Koneh.

  “Please. Put the gun away,” Alexandra said.

  Marco backed away from Koneh and scrambled to his feet. “Don’t you see? He’s a demon! Like the ones who slaughtered Tampico,” Marco said.

  “Koneh is no demon,” Alexandra said, though uncertain of her assertion. At least the next part was true. “He’s our guide.”

  Father Callahan took a step towards Marco and said, “You’ve obviously been through much. Surely, you’ve seen enough violence today. Do you really wish to bring more upon us?”

  Marco placed his other hand on the grip of his pistol to steady himself. “If I have to, I will. I know who Alexandra is and I’ll protect her no matter the cost.”

  Alexandra noticed Erzulie and Koneh exchange a glance. Without waiting to see what her other companions were going to do, Alexandra stepped to Marco’s side and placed her hands over his.

  “Please,” she said as she applied some pressure to lower the gun.

  Marco conceded and dropped to his knees. “Forgive me,” he said through tears, “I only wish to keep you safe. The demons told me about Koneh and what he plans to do with you.”

  “Slow down,” Alexandra said, “and just start from the top. What happened to Tampico?”

  “Destroyed. Everyone butchered,” Marco said through unsteady lips. “They were looking for you, Alexandra.”

  “Who told you that?” Koneh asked as he took a step towards Marco.

  Alexandra held her palm towards her friends and said, “We do this my way, Koneh. Stay back.”

  Marco leaned closer to her and whispered, “He’s a demon. He’s going to kill you.”<
br />
  “We’ll get to that,” she said. “Go on. Demons attacked Tampico?”

  “Hordes of vile creatures. Our women… the children-” Marco shook as tears poured from his eyes.

  “I know it’s difficult,” she said, “but try to put the pain aside for a moment. Tell us what happened to you. How did you escape?”

  He sniffled. “I killed as many as I could, but we were overwhelmed. Then I was brought to the demon lord. He seemed to know who I was. He said he was looking for a woman and he described you perfectly. And there were dogs. I thought he was going to feed me to them.”

  Alexandra squeezed his hand and said, “Did the demon lord tell you his name?”

  Marco’s eyes flicked back and forth and he said, “Si, Derechi.”

  “So, Derechi just set you free?” Koneh asked.

  “Not at first,” Marco said. “They asked me who you traveled with, Alexandra, and I told them. Then, they told me that all of Hell was looking for you. They were looking for you because you are-”

  “Don’t say it,” Alexandra said. “It’s not true.”

  Confusion spread over his face as he looked into her eyes.

  “Please continue,” Alexandra said.

  Shaking his head, he said, “Well, the demon lord who finds you will be rewarded beyond measure. That’s when they told me that Koneh was hunting you for the same reason, for his reward. They only let me go because I told them you headed north, on foot.”

  “No,” Koneh said, “they let you go because they knew you’d find Alexandra for them. You fool!”

  Koneh nodded to Erzulie, who sheathed her sword and shot into the sky.

  “No!” Marco said. “I’m certain I wasn’t followed!”

  “Get the truck ready,” Koneh said to Santino. Then, he turned to Marco. “You led them right to us.”

  Alexandra’s heart quickened as Koneh’s analysis rung true in her mind. However, she didn’t blame Marco. He followed his heart. He watched his neighbors and family get slaughtered at the hands of demons. She decided to give her new friend the benefit of the doubt.

  “Can you ride that?” Alexandra asked as she pointed to Marco’s motorcycle.