Lovers of Babel (33 page)

             
“I’m going to defend my people.”

             
“But they will use their powers against you. You will be powerless against them. Please, you have to use your powers. Just put your rules aside this one time and use your powers!”

             
“They may have abilities that are better than our man-made weapons, but they aren’t all-powerful, Sage. You have to realize that beyond the magic of their abilities and beyond their godlike power, they are still men and they bleed and feel pain like men. They are not immortal and so we will get them at the point where their immortality weakens. Even if all I can do is slice a man’s cheek with the tip of my sword, it would be worth it. We are going to show them that they too can die and we will stop at nothing until they realize it,” Elliot said with fire in his eyes.

             
His words made me uncomfortable. They were too dangerous. I wanted him to hide somewhere until it was over, but I knew that his determination was too strong.

             
“Please be careful. I don’t know what I’d do if you died. It would be all my fault.”

             
“Everything happens for a reason. There is divine purpose in our lives and the old book tells us that. Here,” Elliott pulled out a pen from his pocket and started to write something on the inside of my forearm.

             
It read:
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.

             
“Who is with me?” I asked.

             
“God is. Always remember that.”

             
I wanted to ask more, but Chad approached us barely able to catch his breath.

             
“Sage we have to go now. The Authorities are making their way down the hill. For some reason they aren’t using their powers yet. I think they want to sneak up on us. We have to go!”

             
I looked at Elliott in desperation.

             
“Please be careful. We will see each other again. We have to,” I said.

             
He placed his hand on my cheek tenderly.

             
“Stay strong and fear no evil. I’ll see you soon.”

             
Chad and I rushed over to Job and said our goodbyes.

             
“Stay vigilant young magi. The mercy of God is always on our side,” Job said.

             
I held onto Chad’s shoulder while he looked into the golden mirror. Just as we disappeared from Providencia, we saw the Authorities appear in the midst of the village and Elliott draw his sword in fierce bravery. That last image put a worry in my heart until I was to see him again.

              When Chad and I arrived in Mammoth Forest, it was very dark and cold. We immediately realized that our usual insulated body suits were replaced by the thin white linen clothes we wore in Providencia. The weather in the village was far warmer than it was in the Equinox. I could hardly believe there was that much of a stark contrast between the two climates. We were immediately thrown into a completely different world and the shock of the cold nearly knocked us out.

             
“I can’t…I ca…breath.” I stuttered.

             
I was shaking uncontrollably.

             
“H-h-here….c-come….h-h-here.”

             
I walked over to Chad and he put his arms around me.

             
“W-we can st-s-ay w-warm l-like th-this,” he said.

             
We laid down for what seemed like an eternity on the dewy grass and held each other.

             
“What d-did Elliot say t-to you b-before we left?”

             
“H-he just wanted me n-not to worry.”

             
“Ugh!” He scoffed.

             
“What?”

             
“H-he’s trying to play the n-n-nice guy, but he only w-wants you for y-your body. You know th-that right?”

             
“Chad! He’s an honorable m-man!”

             
“Psh. Honorable my a-a-“

             
I pinched him on his side and twisted as hard as my icy fingers could. He let out an amusing howl.

             
“I’m j-just saying! Guys like him are j-just trying to c-cause trouble. You should st-say away from him!”

             
Suddenly his grip around my waist got stronger.

             
“Ch-Chad, you know that I l-love you r-right?”

             
I felt him pause suddenly.

             
“You d-do?”

             
“I mean a-as a friend. I love you as a f-friend.”

             
Then I felt his body go slightly limp.

             
We laid there for a while in silence, then Chad said something that knocked the little wind that I had left out of me.

             
“I love you, Sage, but as a man loves a woman. I-I’m sorry.”

             
My body got even stiffer. I wanted to get up and run away screaming and crying, but my body betrayed me. All I could do was lay there like a frozen log, silently. My silence was like daggers that pierced his heart. With each passing unspoken moment I felt a wedge grow between us. The irony was that we were closer than ever. In fact, I had never been this close to Chad. Our bodies were glued together, there, on the forest grass. Our legs were intertwined and his arms were wrapped around my torso. My head lay against his chest while he lay perfectly still under my stiff body. I was able to smell his scent and listen to his rapid heart beating un-rhythmically. It was unsettled and so was mine.

             
Finally, I got up the nerve to speak.

             
“I think we should f-find w-wood to make a fire. I-I’m still free-zing.”

             
“I’ll go. You stay,” he said.

             
I got off of him and watched him as he walked away with his shoulders hunched over. I wondered if he’d ever walk the way he did before; with the pride and valor of a soldier coming home from war. He would walk as if he earned the right to walk that way; never out of step, never unsure of his way, always upright with his head high into the stars. That was Chad. To see a boy stripped of his ability to walk made a part of me die inside. I made him like this. I made him into a pitiful walker who’s head hung into oblivion. Seeing him walk that way was worse than realizing that we had been caught by the Authorities. It was worse than finding out that my father was a heartless ruler who stripped our civilization from their basic rights. Seeing Chad so tortured caused my heart to stir in its peaceful bed.

             
I sat there on the grass with my legs cradled in between my arms rocking back and forth. A million questions flooded my mind about Chad and Elliott. I had always known what my relationship with Chad meant. He was one of my oldest friends. We never crossed the line of our friendship to explore anything romantic, but all of a sudden I was faced with the question:
what are your feelings for Chad, really?
I thought I knew the answer, so it was easy to respond without thinking.
He’s my friend of course
. But suddenly, I wasn’t so sure if I really knew.

             
Elliott was always an enigma to me. Ever since I saw him in the Power Society Library, I was fascinated by his brute-like demeanor. And those eyes. I don’t have the history with Elliott that I do with Chad and for some reason the novelty of a new boy sparked my curiosity.  But of course I couldn’t choose on the basis of curiosity. I had to choose based on an unquestionable certainty, but I wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

             
Why was my father doing this? Where could I call home anymore? What should I have done about the knowledge that I had? Who did I love: Chad or Elliott?

             
Chad appeared from the trees carrying several fire logs in his arms.

             
“Here, I’ll give you a hand.”

             
We laid them on top of each other in alternate directions. I went to find some dry twigs to make a fire. I came back with a handful of twigs just in case, but Chad succeeded in one try. He was always good at doing outdoorsy things. After a few minutes, we had ourselves a nice sized fire.

             
The flames made us a lot warmer, but we were still a little cold.

             
“Do you want to cuddle again to keep warm?” I asked.

             
“No, I think we’ll be okay. Try to sleep as close to the fire as possible without getting burned. I’ll wake up a few times to make sure it’s still burning. We’ll put it out in the morning. Get some sleep. We’ve got to be alert for tomorrow.”

             
We each slept on opposite sides of the fire that night.

             
The next morning, Chad went to the lake to catch some fish for our breakfast. He came back with three medium sized bass fish. We cooked them in silence on the fire and ate them in a matter of minutes. I hadn’t realized how famished I was after the previous night.

             
After breakfast we put out the fire and headed to my grandfather’s house. The plan was that we would tell my grandfather everything first and then tell Conner’s family, my mom and Mia. All of us would then plan to escape to Providencia, if they believed our story, but our plan would not work.

             
We made it to my grandfather’s house a little after noon. I had missed how abstract the sky was in the Equinox. There weren’t any white clouds but there was streaks of color that looked like God had painted it with a brush.
God
.

             
I looked at my forearm and saw that the words,
yea, though I walk
were almost smeared completely off. The rest of the verse was still there. I kissed it.

             
My grandfather was shocked when we arrived at his doorstep.

             
“Goodness child! Where have you been!? And what happened to your clothes?”

             
“We’re in hiding. Can we come in? There’s so much to tell you.”

             
“Of course! Come in, quick!”

             
My grandfather’s house was old-fashioned inside. The décor had not the slightest hint of modernity. Most homes in the Equinox had their own unique style, because they were decorated by creators. My grandfather opted out of having any creator fashion his home, so all he had was a boring black leather couch and coffee table. We sat down and he poured us both a glass of water.

             
“Now, tell me what happened to you all. Do you know that The Authorities are looking for you? Your father is very angry. And your friend Mia is…gone.”

             
“What do you mean? Where did she go?” Chad asked.

             
My grandfather lowered his head.

             
“You father took her away. I think he sent her to the grid pen.”

             
“Oh no! She was only trying to help me!”

             
“Help you do what child? Help you get arrested!?”

             
“We’ve discovered the secrets of our world. Remember how you used to tell me stories about the Underground? Well there was more to it than I thought. My father is a mad man.”

             
“Hush! Sage you know you aren’t supposed to speak any ill will about your father. What would make you say that?”

             
“He stole the Book of Wisdom to keep himself in power while the rest of us serve him!”

             
My grandfather’s expression quickly changed into one of alarm.

             
“Where did you hear that?”             

             
“In his journal.”

             
My grandfather shook his head in disapproval. I placed a soft hand on his shoulder.

             
“We traveled to a land called Providencia. It’s full of peaceful people. They were once Equinoxians, but escaped years ago in search of a better life. I’m afraid father will put us deeper in bondage. He wants to take away our natural freedom! Come with us to Providencia where we can be free.”

             
“Sage, please keep quiet! These words are treasonous!”