by Jacob Spadt
I felt the ground. My body gently elongated on its own in an almost animated fashion. It felt like a puppeteer was having their way with me and playing with my limp corpse. My eyes were now open, and awareness told me that my body was lying there in the fog on some soggy surface. The moisture soaked into my clothes slowly, kind of like a creeping doom. Fear rose up in me. This could not be real, but it could not be a dream either. I bit my lip for a reality check. There was no pain. So I bit hard and yelped. The taste of blood made me feel a bit stupid. I began to take in other senses.
It was very cold, yet I was not shivering. The smell of new aromas assaulted my nose making it itch. Very pungent and earthy at the same time, these scents brought different emotions to the surface of my mind one at a time before they dissipated. Blood in my mouth began to accumulate in the recesses under my tongue. I was trying to find a way to process the information my senses provided. The excitement overwhelmed and scared me at the same time if that is possible from not knowing where this even was.
Where was Jason? Where did that couple go? That creature, was it real? A car hit me! Wait…I remember leaning against a tree and getting very sleepy. The last thing I remembered was everything was red.
“Jason?” The name gurgled off my tongue, and I swallowed some blood and gagged. There was quite a lot of it, and I had not realized how much. The crimson taste laced with the hint of iron uniquely clung to the insides of my mouth and with every breath I could re-taste it. As my breath exhaled, the moisture danced in the air for a bit then hung in front of me. Within moments, more light came from the distance illuminating. Shadows and shapes around me shimmered slightly, and aspects of this place began to form. The eerie light did not move but shimmered all around.
Sudden realization hit me in the stomach, and I felt sick. Did I die? I felt my throat get wet as it does before you vomit, but nothing forced its way out.
“Holy shit!” I gurgled forward again, this time mixed with saliva and blood.
“I can assure there is nothing holy about that no matter what culture you are in.” A reply came.
I freaked out. The voice was all around me; feeling like it was in my head as well as every part of me heard it speak. It sounded both feminine and masculine at the same time. Two sounds moved in unison and harmony. I began to look around and now felt panic rise in me like my insides were going to empty. My pulse was racing so fast it seemed like my heart was not beating against my ribs but in my throat. Dry mouth followed by nausea made my stomach knot again.
A figure approached out of the swirling mist. He looked like some tribal chief or holy man to some ancient tribe. He had big feathers in his hair and some crazy looking staff. He walked right up to me as if he had been expecting me. I could smell something not identifiable, but sweet and pungent. The gag reflex hit me again, and my mouth filled with fluid this time and instinctively swallowed it back to where it came from leaving a burning in my throat. My head was hurting now. A sudden fatigue rolled through me, but I managed to sit myself up by the time he reached me. Out came a hand and lifted me effortlessly off the ground by my clothes. He was remarkably strong. He towered over me. My feet dangled.
“There is a storm coming; you shouldn’t be here,” he said as he started to move me off some direction. “It is not your time to be here yet; you are not ready.” As we moved, I noticed there was some sort of cave ahead. It seemed to appear, and he headed right towards it. A whiff of some God-awful smell, like swamp gas or something just as nasty assailed my nose.
“Where am I? Is this a dream?” I asked aloud, not sure if I wanted him to answer. We entered the cave, and he boldly strode in as if it was his or that he at least belonged there.
“It’s no dream. Your spirit is here. I assure the strange sensations you feel are real. Your physical body is in the hospital. For now, you are here.
“Am I dead?” I blurted out, suddenly afraid, thinking of all the things I had not finished. I might be sixteen, but I was not a complete waste of a being.
“No, you are not, not yet. Time will tell. If you survive the tests, then you will be worthy of the greatest gift ever unknown to man. If you do not survive then death will come swiftly, I assure you. But it will be painless.”
He set me down in a lit cave, warmed by a large fire in the middle. The smoke rose gently up. No pressure there, I thought as his words rang in my mind. Weird! How was it that I could forget what my mother told me ten seconds after she said it? His words played forward and back words, faster and faster, as they sunk in.
Something drew me to the smoke as it began its lazy ascent. Images and symbols danced forwards and backwards upon it as it went. The symbols not recognized from any book or text. They seemed almost surreal at first glance but very old and tired. As I watched, I began to see images more clearly of some tribe. A very old and ancient tribe by the look; they lived life right under the stars. Sitting around a campfire, I could see that they were telling stories of great battles and victories with tales of faraway lands full of adventure. Strange I understood, for they spoke some language that did not sound like anything found in the world today. This must be several thousand years ago. I saw many scenes of the life of these people. Their life…their death. Death? Wait I thought, back up, something was missing. It was as though I had blinked, and they were all gone. Nothing but a large bear remained. It made noises as if a great grief or misery had afflicted it. I could feel pain. They were its people and friends that I saw and then everything changed. The image zoomed in on its eyes. It seemed like a male. Something tragedy unfolded.
Then images started again. There were different people, different clothing, from a different time apparently. I could tell it was hundreds if not thousands of years later just by looking at the shift in the stars. The travel patterns that the universe goes through over time as it expands was obvious to me. Astronomy had never been a strong suit for me but see the changes in the stars the astral drift with the naked eye through an image had me reeling. How could I know this without studying? It was perplexing! Something was different, but this time the faces of the people were clear. They seemed to be more of an Indian heritage then a Stone Age tribe.
The bear was gone, but there was a familiar figure in the midst of them. Bigfoot. He seemed to be teaching them. Again, I understood what he was saying although the exact concept was complex. With amazement, my attention held while he instructed them; from hand-to-hand combat to a math that was very basic. Drawing on the ground as the villagers responded with answers like it was an actual class. I was able to see the words and hear them more clearly this time. The language was still very strange to me yet I could understand as if it was English. This was not possible. My history was not that bad, and this was not the thirteenth century or later when English was finally developing.
Ages passed as I pondered.
The image went fast-forward just like a movie. The village changed and grew, and children got older. Life seemed to repeat itself with new faces emerging from the shadows. They learned; they mated and died. Always there was Bigfoot; always teaching them.
Then it happened. The image changed to one of chaos and darkness. There was a rift or tear in the very air itself and there where creatures, thousands of creatures, pouring out. I did not recognize what they were from any pictures or books. It was an apocalypse. The village was being destroyed and almost its entire population slain. Fires blazed everywhere, and the villagers consumed like dry leaves in a fire. Amidst the smoke, there was a large shadow, fighting hand-to-hand with these creatures. It tore the very life out of them. The villagers fought hard, but they could not stand against the tides that poured from this opening. Bigfoot howled with righteous anger as he felled his foes.
He had scores of wounds.
The blood flowed freely in his matted fur and reddened the ground with his very essence. I could hear and feel the earth itself crying out in pain. It was as though that portal was tearing into its very core and releasing cancer that wanted t
o spread. Bigfoot fought on. However, in the end, he fell. There were just too many. The horde of beings filled the very air in which I watched. They seemed to be no end to their numbers.
There was a flash. Rolling thunder followed by howling winds that were so loud my ears hurt. These winds pushed the beasts back into the opening. They did not go quietly or peacefully as the wind tore at them. Lightning struck several times. The smell was awful. It hung thickly on the air. I could feel it getting into my pores, and the taste of burnt flesh was in my mouth. The reflex to wretch hit me hard. Images blurred for a moment.
Then I saw the bear return swatting and clawing at the remaining monsters. Slaughter is too nice of a word for the carnage witnessed. It was gruesome to the core. I liked it. The thick blood was everywhere. I could taste it now as it covered everything, saturating the soil. The blood was ichor-like and tasted horrible, but I began to feel the rush of power as it fueled this bloodlust drawing me in. The bear gained speed as it waded through the army falling backwards before it. Walking bipedal his mighty claws swatted and crushed the remaining tide, pressing the advantage. It felt like an eternity before the energies holding open the gate wavered, and it slammed shut. A bellowing, rage-filled roar came forth from its mighty maw and collapsed, where he lay for many days.
Thinking it to be dead, the emotions welled up inside of me. Without realizing it I spoke, urging the bear to rise that this was not its time. The blood flow lessened and it healing itself caught me off guard. My lack of faith was apparent, as I had given it up for dead. Time passed. The bear arose, to my everlasting joy, many moons later. Then something happened I did not see coming. It changed its shape into that of a man, the very man that had carried me into the cave earlier.
I found my eyes practically glued shut from keeping them closed for a very long time. The process of locking onto one of the runes visually must have transferred the image directly into my mind. My eyes naturally closed. It was a muscle cramp or a twinge that brought me out of this trance. Upon my opening them, he had taken up position across the fire from me; behind him stood a familiar figure. The Man looked very wise and very tired as though he had seen several millennia and fought many battles. We sat there, for what felt like a small eternity, before he spoke. Bigfoot remained quiet. I do not think I could have handled him speaking.
“Those people…” I began.
“They are long gone from your world. They lived and died long ago, an entire age.”
“Why? I do not understand!”
“You will, but now you know what they were. In time, you shall too be able to see.”
“What am I supposed to be able to see?”
“Should you pass the rest of the test, you will see your destiny.” He grinned. I was looking at the smoke again and could not see any symbols anymore. Puzzled, I looked at him.
“Was that part of the test to be able to see the past?”
“If you have to ask that after what you have seen, try looking forward. It works both ways. It will provide you with answers you seek. However, the answer is yes. That was the first test.”
I began to focus on another flame lazily floating above the fire and tried moving past the images on my own. At first, nothing moved, my will was unsuccessful at getting anything to change from the last image seen. Sweat beaded on my forehead as the intensity within me began to build. I felt the ground shake in my image. It was slow at first. Like when a train starts to lumber forward as it picks up speed. The images started to crawl. Moving as molasses, but defiantly moving. I saw the village disappear over time. The seasons began to change. There was nothing left of the village or its people. Soon animals began to wander in and reclaim the area back to nature.
I stopped. “Can I look at different locations?” I asked him. I felt quite exhausted. His answer was not a surprise. I am glad he said it.
“In time.”
I closed my eyes for a moment as I sat, thinking about what had just taken place. All that had just happened. The car, Jason, the fire, the visions, and my head swirled again. I just wanted to sleep. I do not even remember waking up there, or if I ever did.
II
Beginnings
Such a strange dream.
My hands worked to rub the sand from my eyes. The events of the dream stayed with me. Normally, I did not remember my dreams so clearly, but this one had been particularly vivid. With my eyes clear, my surroundings came into view. My hands touched down to raise me up. A woven mat with an intricate weave had been my bed. The patterns were amazing. A quick pan of my surroundings made me shudder.
It had not been a dream.
Perhaps it was a dream within a dream. This notion fled when something hit my groin. I fell backwards with a deep groan, hands cupping my crotch.
The item that had hit me remained in place while I lay there, breathing and clutching, trying to will the pain away. Moments passed, allowing enough air to stem the pain. My strength returned as I sat up, and my hand found what struck me. To my surprise, it was a loaf of bread. It was a large and rather hard loaf at that. Mindlessly, it found my lips and the realization of hunger hit. Nearly breaking my teeth on the first attempt, I tore it open and started to eat. My eyes examined the cave.
The man, if he was a man, sat on the other side of the clearing with his staff resting across his knees. He gazed at me with a blank look. I stared at him for a few minutes still clutching myself and deciding on whether or not I should say something about the assault on my groin. I decided not to challenge someone with his aim. I tried, instead, to gather information.
“So last night was not some crazy dream?” I asked the man. Words found gaps in my consumption. The taste of dirt or mold hit me about the third swallow. At least if I got an infection the bacteria might fight it off, I thought and chuckled, waiting for an answer. Until then, I had never questioned if my meal was a health risk.
“No, it was and is not. You are here. Today I give you another test and if you succeed you will get your first mark and begin your training.”
“Are you sure you have the right person? Just because I could watch that stuff in the fire, you could have given me something to make me feel funny. I may have never taken any drugs, but I know they can make you hallucinate.”
“I assure you, there are no substances in your food, the fire, or the surrounding area that would affect you in that manner. If I wished it, you simply would see what I wanted you to see. You have your free will to perceive what you will.”
“That’s comforting. So who are you a magician or something? Like a Druid? I do not believe in magic, or I should say I did not until I woke up here. If I am supposed to be a chosen then why did you say I should not be here?”
“You would not have survived the storm out in the open. You say you do not believe in magic, well magic is just energy bended to someone’s will. Look outside the cave, you will see tremendous holes in the forest floor.” He pointed towards the entrance around the corner to the right. Rising, my body felt very sore. The pain triggered nervous laughter. My hand held my ribs as I balanced myself and walked toward the entrance. Around the corner my feet froze.
The view of the outside was devastating. The man was not kidding. I could see smoldering holes as far as the eyes could see as if sprinkled over the countryside by a giant hand. It looked like small craters had sprouted overnight out of nowhere. The earthen color of the scattered dirt and huge rocks bore the scorch marks in the aftermath of the storm. The land was devoid of vegetation for dozens of feet around each of these craters; that extended down several feet. Beyond the charred area, vegetation wilted from burns. Smoke rose lazily as if from a small fire or embers left over from a cooking pit. The complete awe of the scene stayed my feet from moving farther.
I heard and felt movement behind me. The man was suddenly there. He did not say a word as we both over looked at the devastation. No words could describe this accurately but it resembled the carpet-bombing from the Vietnam War from the linebacker campaigns
my seventh grade class studied but with smaller craters and much wider devastation. Sickness gripped my stomach, and the little bits of bread previously consumed came back up. A hand on my back lent comfort while my stomach my purged for a few more seconds. His touch was very strong and warm, like a parent's touch to their child. It caught me off guard. A reactive flinch pulled me away abruptly. To my surprise, he was smiling.
“Sorry,” I said, full of embarrassment. Even my manners knew it was bad to lose your lunch in front of the host. My hand cleared any remaining bits while spitting a few times to clear my throat. Out of nowhere, he handed me a cup.
“Rinse and drink.”
I did as instructed. My insides felt much better from the fluid in the cup. It seemed shamefull to waste it, but spitting a few more times ensured my mouth was clean. The liquid had a very sweet flavor to it. As it went down my throat, it was warm and cold at the same time. My stomach felt instantly soothed. The feeling spread to all of my limbs slowly, and within a few moments I realized the soreness faded. I looked at him wide eyed. His smile widened.
“Why the smile, I just puked on the door step of your house?” The smile was still there.
“You passed the test. Seeing nature destroyed invokes such emotions in you and only someone that truly loves life in all its forms would have that response. Your other actions have brought you to this point. Seeing the Defender and the runes were the other two tests. Your training begins tomorrow. You should rest.”