by Luke Valen
“What’s going on? Where are we? And why are you looking at me like that?” Bryon said.
Jade and I embraced him in a strong hug.
“Dean, Jade…I can’t…breathe.” He managed to get out from our tight hold.
“You’re so stupid!” I yelled, punching Bryon in the chest. “What were you thinking?!”
“I saw my friend in danger,” Bryon shrugged. “Plus, I had been wanting to do that for forever. That guy pissed me off! I coulda taken him, too, if you hadn’t intervened.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you,” I said. “I could have gotten us all killed. I was just so focused on—”
“It’s all good, we get it. Just promise you’re not going to try to get us killed by some shark-toothed demon again…and admit that I could have taken that guy,” Bryon said in all seriousness.
“Ha ha—okay! Good, old Bryon, you’re going to be just fine,” I said, and Jade laughed. “Guardians of the Garden, thank you. I cannot repay you for your kindness.”
The faces spun from one to the next.
“It is not us to be thanked. We are but servants to the Almighty. All glory and honor are His,” they said in unison.
“Thank you, J.C.,” I said, looking up to the sky.
“Dudes! This place is incredible! I could live here forever! I mean, look at this view!” Bryon spun in circles, slinging water around and pointing out past the mountain’s edge.
The sky sparkled with stunning colors. It was as if the entire universe was in view, galaxies and stars alike. I must have been so focused before I hadn’t truly noticed the grandeur of all that surrounded us. The cool night air brought upon by the abundant greenery and flowing waters cooled our skin. A gentle breeze greeted each of our senses. The silence that surrounded only to be broken by that of the gentle, flowing rivers watering the earth from the everlasting pond of life. A true Eden. We soaked it all in, taking every moment as it came.
“Rest, and regain your strength,” the Guardians said, their voices softly going with the wind. “The path ahead will test your strength and faith alike. Drink and eat all that is in the Garden. Come sunbreak, you must be ready. Trust one another and walk in faith.”
Their bodies were becoming transparent, slowly disappearing into the dark of night.
“Phew! I’m starving!” Bryon jumped for joy, high-stepping his way through the pond and running from tree to tree, grabbing all the food he could possibly carry, using his mouth as another means of storage like that of a squirrel.
Jade and I laughed in joy seeing our friend alive and well. I would never let that happen again. In all my memory, I’ve had no family other than Uncle. Jade and Bryon were my family now. Uncle has protected me all this time; now it is time for me to be the protector. I couldn’t bear the pain if something happened to them. My strong demeanor slowly shifted…Abigail.
Jade took notice. “Hey, Dean. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just…it’s nothing,” I said, moving along the mountainside. The trees hummed a beautiful tone as I slid my hands across their tall trunks. Each one a different note, like keys on a piano. I found my way to the mountain’s edge and sat in the tall, swaying grass. The view of the stars was otherworldly. I hadn’t noticed, but Jade had followed.
“What happened earlier?” Jade asked with sincere concern. “What did they tell you? I had never seen you like that before.”
“They showed me something I didn’t want to believe.”
Jade was patiently listening.
“They showed me Abigail.”
“What about her?” Jade asked. “I don’t understand.”
“I should have seen it sooner. Everything was so new to me. How was I supposed to know?” I said through quick breaths.
“Dean. What did they show you?” Jade asked, scrunching her brow.
“She is not who I thought she was…” I said.
“I’m not sure I follow,” Jade said.
“I saw it with my own eyes. Her cousins, Flint, her father—it all makes sense now,” I continued. “I’ve seen what she can become. She is one of them.”
Jade was silent for a moment. With a spark of an insight, she said, “But she isn’t yet. Right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, free will. We all have it, right? Maybe she is one of them, okay, but from what I have seen, she doesn’t know she is one of them just like you didn’t really know what you were. She is kind and loving and a healer,” Jade said, placing her hand on mine. I looked up at her green eyes; they were kind and honest. “Demons don’t heal. They destroy. There must be something inside of her that is keeping her from darkness. You can’t just give up on that. You can’t just give up on her.”
“The Guardians told me that if I pursued her, I would fail just as before. This isn’t the first time we are doing this. Something happened a long time ago. I don’t know what, but I think it was her. I think she was the reason I vanished,” I said, dropping my eyes and moving my hand away from hers. I am torn by mind and heart.
“So then do it differently this time,” Jade said.
“How am I supposed to do it differently if I can’t even remember what happened?” I snapped back.
“Change the present, and you change the past. I believe in you,” Jade said confidently. I looked over at her. Something about her was different. Her eyes seemed to twinkle in the starlight. Jade was a smart girl. A smile formed on my face.
I turned back out to the stars. “Thank you.”
We stared off into the night sky, side by side, admiring the beauty of creation. The vast and endless universe that performed their cosmic play for those that watched. Bryon could be heard snoring near the pond, his belly protruding like that of a pregnant woman, stretching his jeans and shirt from all the food he so gladly indulged. The sound of the gently flowing waters accompanied by the soft orchestra of crickets playing their fantastical instruments gradually lulled us to sleep atop the mountainous peak among the clouds. No fear, no worries, only peace.
CHAPTER 16
A SOUL DARKENS
With the rising sun came a new day. The golden birds chirped and spread their wings, greeting the morning rays of light. Animals of all kinds made their way to the small pond to wet their whistles. The skies were clear and the air was cool, beams of light inching their way onto our sleeping faces.
We must have fallen asleep together looking at the stars. Jade’s head was still resting on my chest with her small hand next to it. She looked so different, like I hadn’t seen before. Beautiful. I moved slowly as not to wake her, stretching my arms and letting out a long, silent yawn. I softly placed her head onto the thick, pillowy grass. As I rose to my feet and took in all the beauty the Garden had to offer, my senses awakened. The light smell of roses and daffodils misted the air, and a cool breeze brushed my skin, greeted in return by excited goose bumps. Making my way to the pond for a morning drink, I moved carelessly, the sound of shifting rocks and crunching leaves coming with each step. Tranquility in every sense.
“CANNONBALL!” Bryon yelled at the top of his lungs, destroying the silence of morning as he ran toward the pond, jumped into the air, and pulled his legs into his chest. A wave of water came exploding out of the pond, drenching me from head to toe as I was about to lean in for a drink.
Bryon surfaced from the water, bobbing like a buoy at sea. “Wow, this water is cold!”
“Dang it, Bryon!” I shouted, slinging off water from my arms and wiping hair away from my eyes.
“Oh, shoot!” Bryon said, treading water. “Didn’t see you there, Dean. My bad!”
I shook off as much water as I could with a look of amused annoyance directed at Bryon for ruining my calm morning.
“So, what do we do now?” Bryon asked. “Do we head back to town even though we don’t have the sword?”
“What’s all the commotion so early?” Jade walked over, rubbing her eyes. “And why are you wet?”
“Morning, Jad
e,” Bryon said before diving under the water like a duck looking for fish.
“Morning, Bryon,” Jade responded. “I see you’re feeling better.”
“Much! This water is intense. And the food here, I’ve never tasted anything like it! It makes me feel so…young!” Bryon said, climbing out of the water, opening his arms up wide, and back flopping into the pond.
“How’d you sleep?” Jade walked toward me as I attempted to dry off.
“Really great, actually, despite all that is going on,” I responded, taking off and wringing out my shirt.
“So what should we do now?” Jade repeated Bryon’s question.
“I don’t know. I want to speak with the Guardians…I’ll be back.” I walked off down a narrow dirt path nestled between two rows of oak trees. Jade smiled and turned to the pond.
From behind me, I could hear Bryan call, his voice coaxing, “Jade! You getting in, or what?”
“What the heck?” Jade laughed.
I turned to see her run and jump into the pond. I am happy.
—§—
The dirt path was lined with beautiful, tall green trees filled with fruits of all kinds. Some that I had seen before and others that looked almost alien. The flowers were just as otherworldly, their colors almost metallic shining in the sunlight, glimmering as the gentle breeze acted as music for them to dance to. The sound of birds chirping and hooves trotting seemed elated to be alive.
Finding my way to the end of the trail, it was marked by a small, round patch of dirt encircled by the tallest of pine trees. In the middle of the dirt patch stood a child-sized stone with engravings that covered its entirety. It seemed to call for me, what looked like eyes drew me in like a black hole. I reached out, placing a hand on the stone, tracing the engravings along their path. I could feel the power and history from within the small artifact, so visceral and personal. This is where I had to be. I could feel it.
Kneeling in front of the stone, I bowed my head in respect. “Guardians of the Garden, I need your help. I know it is not your job to help me, but you are the only ones I can turn to.”
“Turn your eyes to Him and all will be revealed,” the voices echoed throughout the Garden, startling me. I looked around hastily. I listened and took a moment to refocus.
“J.C., sir. I could really use your help right now. I don’t know what to do, and there are a lot of people counting on me…” I began. I sighed, rubbing a hand through my hair. “I know you have made me who I am for a reason, I just…I can’t figure out how to do things right. I’m scared that I’m not prepared, that I’m not strong enough to do what has to be done.”
The birds continued to chirp and the animals continued to trot. Silence had become a common response.
“Come on! I’m sorry for all the wrong that I’ve done, but I am trying to make things right. I am trying to be who or whatever it is you made me to be. I just need a little help here. Give me a sign!” I yelled at the rock.
Silence surrounded me.
I rose to my feet and slammed my balled-up fists onto the stone in front of me. The stone became like a crystal, no longer gray and marked but clear and smooth. An image appeared—it was Abigail. She was sitting in a small, dark room with her knees to her chest and arms wrapped around her legs. The room was lit by a fading candle, and drops of water fell to the floor from the ceiling above. The cold stone walls were close enough to each other to shake hands. Abigail sat there nuzzled up, rocking back and forth. I watched as anger built within me.
“Dean…” she let out in a whisper. “If you can hear me…don’t come back. Don’t come back for me.”
The crystal stone returned to its dull gray color, once again rough and covered in its ancient markings.
Hands still on the stone, eyes wide, I stared. Emotions flooded my mind. Thoughts fought each other like brother against brother. What to do. What to do.
“Ah!”
—§—
Bryon and Jade were sitting on a small, grassy hill near the pond when I came bursting through the forest. Their focus turned to me.
“Whoa, what crawled up your pants?” Bryon asked.
I continued to walk toward them, fists balled, muscles flexed.
“Dean, what’s wrong?” Jade stood.
“They have her,” I said, pacing back and forth.
“What? Who has who?” Jade stepped toward me.
“Abigail. They have her in a jail cell. She’s all alone. We left her there. All alone.” I stopped pacing, staring at Jade. Her eyes dropped and quickly looked back at mine.
“Dean, we couldn’t have brought her with us and you know that,” Jade said. “She volunteered to stay back and find out more about what is going on anyway.”
Bryon stood to join the conversation.
“We should have brought her,” I said, annoyed.
“Who has her?” Bryon asked, walking close to Jade and me.
I placed one hand on my head and the other on my hip. “I don’t know. But we need to go back. Now.”
“Now? Right now? But it’s so nice here,” Bryon said as I stared him down. I was not asking. “Okay, okay, but what about the sword? What are you going to do without it?”
“Yeah, and I thought you said that she was not who you thought she was. That she is not fighting for us…” Jade said softly looking away.
“I know what I said. I’ll figure it out when the time comes. For now, we need to get home and get her out of there. Now,” I said, walking over to the edge of the mountain and looking out to the sky. “Guardians. I have one more request. We need your help.”
The ground began to shake at my request. Bryon and Jade lined up on both sides, looking out to the open sky. In an instant, the Guardians materialized before our very eyes.
“State your request,” they spoke in unison.
“Guardians, a friend of ours is being held against her will. We must return home. We have to help release her but cannot get there in time by the means in which we arrived,” I spoke sincerely.
“The girl. She is not of your concern. We have told you this,” their golden faces said, sparkling in the sunlight.
“Guardians, please! I know what you have shown me. I have seen it with my own eyes! But I cannot just give up on her. I cannot leave her to become what you believe her to be.” I stared them in all sixteen eyes.
“What you request is foolish,” the Guardians responded, faces spinning from one to the other. “Although you are strong and your faith is growing, you are not ready. Those waiting for you have grown immeasurably in numbers and strength. You will not succeed.”
“I have to try—I love her.” I said. Bryon quickly looked at me and Jade winced.
The Guardians took a moment, changing between man and ox, eagle and lion, gazing into my soul. “Then you must go.”
“Thank you, Guardi—”
“But be warned, what you are about to embark on is of your own free will. There will be no one to protect you, and should you fail—darkness will rise,” they said in such a tone that chills were sent through my body.
“I understand,” I answered boldly.
“Very well.” The Guardians raised their staff.
“Oh! And one more thing. We have this friend, Scott…” Bryon said.
—§—
Moments later, Jade, Bryon, and I appeared out of thin air back in the old junkyard of AngelFire, New Mexico. The stench was not a happy welcome from the majestic mountain we were just on, surrounded now by buildings of cars and scrap metal, trash, and sewage. We should have just stayed there.
“Blehhhhh.” Bryon threw up violently, bending over with his hands on his knees.
Jade stood leaning with one hand on a pile of garbage and the other on her stomach, finishing a dry heave and spitting on the ground.
“I am never doing that again,” Bryon said, wiping residual vomit from his mouth. “I don’t care how fast we need to get somewhere. I will walk across the world before I have to do that again.”
“What about Scott?” Jade asked, standing up from her weakened position.
I stood strong and solid, showing no sign of sickness.
“Don’t worry, I asked our tall friends to send him back to his plane yard as we were…teleporting? He should be there by now too,” Bryon said, holding his stomach.
“Come on, let’s go.” I said looking for the exit and moving forward.
I started running toward the chain-link fence. Jade and Bryon shook off their teleport sickness and followed.
“Where are we going?” Bryon asked in between breaths as we jogged out of the skyscrapers of trash. We don’t even know where they are keeping her or even who is keeping her.”
Our feet echoed like that of a group of horses running through a forest. The smell of old gasoline and metal filled our lungs. Mud from a rain the previous night flew in every direction with each heavy step from the stampede of our galloping feet.
“I think I know just the person to ask,” I responded through steady breaths.
—§—
The feeling of loneliness became her.
Abigail sat alone on the cold, hard floor. The fear of her own thoughts filled her soul as the sound of silence became deafening. Time became irrelevant—how long she had been there escaped her grasp. Had it been simply an hour or a day, maybe longer? With no concept of sunrise or sunset, no clock to tell time, her mind spiraled.
Who was she really? she thought. All of her life that had led to this point, was it all a lie? Not knowing who her mother was, or what she was, ate away at her very being. Her father, the definition of a lie himself—is that who she was, was that what she was destined to become? Her whole life had been a battle between accepting what her father wanted of her and of what she truly wanted for herself. Sometimes she wanted to be causing nothing but pain and sorrow. While the other times, she detested the thought of hurting another living thing.
No. This was her throne to claim, her time to rise, not that wretched creature in the stone.
What about Dean? No, stop it.
The thoughts were a tornado of emotion and confusion within her mind and soul.