Seasons of Heaven (24 page)

James was rowing as quickly as he could, watching the entities come to a full stop at the edge of the water, as if they couldn’t touch it. They stood watching him and the evidence of their anger at him escaping hung heavily in the air. James continued to row and he rowed until the boat reached the current of the river and the boat was suddenly taken away. James had to row furiously now, trying to avoid the numerous, jagged rocks in the water. It was like a rafting trip across the rapids and James cursed and struggled, trying only to get out of this one alive.

From a distance he could see the waterfall that fed into the stream and it had looked like a silent white stream cascading over the rocky outcrops. As he drew closer in the little boat the noise from the falls increased and became a deafening roar. Drawing closer still, he was suddenly directly in the plume of water vapor and in seconds he was soaking wet. His hair clung to the sides of his neck and around his face. James rowed mightily to get through the swirling white caps and once he made it out the other side, the river just stopped and the water became calm. James looked around and he could see that behind him the river was still flowing with the same force as it was previously. Once again confused by the strangeness of this place, he found himself facing a big city. He could see ancient houses and dense vegetation covering the major part of the buildings. The river was obviously used by the inhabitants of the city. The boat floated over and gently touched the shore and as it did, James got out of the boat and rested on the shore for a few moments. His body was wrecked with exhaustion.

When he could at last, he got up and headed to the north of the lake. The voices that he’d been hearing told him that was where the village he was looking for should be. He heard a big noise above him and looked into the sky. There was an airplane and it was passing so close that James could read “Air dream Airlines" written on the side of it against a white background. He felt thrilled and started moving his arms and yelling,

They continued on their path and as James watched them go, he began to notice something strange. The airliner was huge and noisy so James was sure it was really there and he wasn’t hallucinating; but as it flew over so low that James feared it would strike a tree, nothing moved. It was like somehow it was passing by without stirring any wind or affecting the environment in any way. It was something else for James to add to the things in this place that didn’t make sense. His head was full of them and the stress of that along with everything that had happened in the days past had begun to show on his face. His beard became longer now by the hour and his long, greasy hair hung limply across his shoulders. He didn’t know what would happen to him and the strain of it all and his recent suffering pushed him to wander the forest like a zombie…alone and confused...

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“SELF-DEFENSE”

NEW YORK CITY-STRIP CLUB

As Shirley dressed, she looked around the club where she worked and the people that worked here with her. They had just finished their night and she was once again thinking about Yann. Her job was a stable and honest one…but she worried about what the authorities were going to think of her being a stripper and how that would affect her bid for Yann’s custody. She had to prove to them that she was capable of taking care of a young boy and whether or not that was fair, her choice of job would weigh in heavily. That was why she worked so hard at her studies. She was only doing what she had to do in order to make ends meet for now. Her end goal was to have a career…one that both she and Yann would be proud of in the years to come. Nothing was more important to her now than getting to a point where she would be able to get custody of and care for Yann. Yann was in bad shape. Shirley worried about how much longer he could take being at the orphanage. He’d already managed an escape, and being taken back only served to make him withdraw further into himself. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of long-term effects this would all have on him. She was devoting every spare moment she had to the administrative issues related to gaining custody and Matt had been helping her as much as he could. Shirley was grateful that she at least had Ani. It gave her some comfort in the face of the tragedy that had happened to the family she loved so much. It was something that she knew would change her forever…

She slipped on her black coat and turned up the faux fur collar. The temperatures outside were so cold lately that they’d even slowed down the usual rhythm of life in New York City. Typically, because of the somewhat shady neighborhood that she worked in she had security escort her to her car for safety reasons. Tonight, she was tired and just wanted to get home, so she headed out alone.

Shirley made her way across to the parking area. The night was dark but the parking lot was illuminated by billboards and streetlights. As she looked for her car, she noticed a familiar silhouette standing at the end of the long row of cars. It was the silhouette of thing that had been in her nightmare…the night at the Northman’s house…the night they had died.

“Go away! What do you want? Why are you following me?” Shirley yelled at it. She hurried to her car, stopping and searching inside of her bag for her keys.

“Shit! Where are the fucking keys?” she said, beginning to feel panic rising in her chest.

There were suddenly three men standing next to her on the right. They looked rough with torn jeans and black leather jackets. Shirley could see the gleam of a knife in one of their hands.

“Come here, whore,”

Another man, a large fat one said,

“Don’t be shy…. We won’t hurt you!” he let out an ugly laugh and then said, “Come on, come closer.”

“Surround her!” the black man in the group told them. “She’s alone.” he laughed too and his sound was just as ugly.

“Leave me alone. Trust me; you don’t want to come any closer.”

Shirley was trying to sound tough, but she was scared to death. She knows that a fight between her and three men was already a fight lost. She had to stall for time and hope that someone else showed up to help her.

“What do you want, guys? My wallet? My car?” she tried.

“We want your ass, pretty whore. Don’t pretend that you don’t understand.”

“Be nice to her,” one of the other men said, “We don’t want to scare you, precious. We want to be nice to you...real nice. We'll make you feel real good.”

“Come on, guys, you’ll regret this. I’m going to scream…”
              “Go ahead, no one’s going to hear you, or care if they do. This is a whore district; whores make a lot of noise! Hell, you can light the parking lot on fire and nobody would come by and piss on it.”

“Hmm, that sounds like a plan. Let’s set this little pussy on fire!” another man said.

Shirley was terrified. She’d been working here for two years and so far this was the first time she’d ever had this kind of problem. It seemed to her lately like the whole world had gone mad. Things had gone so well for so long and now it was like someone had pulled on a loose string and it was all coming apart. The wheels were spinning in her head, what was she going to do? She reached her hand down into her bag and pulled out a foldable metal bar. One of the security guards had given it to her a few months back when a drunk was giving her problems. She’d not had a chance to give it back to him.

Shirley popped it open and said, “Do you still want to take your chances with me?”

The man with the knife came quickly towards her with the knife pointed towards her neck. Shirley stepped to the side and pulling back her arm, she let go with a brutal strike across his face. The man stunned and in pain, stumbled into the car and passed out on the windshield. His face was rapidly swelling where the metal bar struck it.

“Fucking whore…you killed him! Are you nuts?” the black man said.

“Bitch!” the fat man was closer than Shirley realized. She felt his fist connect with her gut before she even realized he was there. She reacted quickly, catching him in the throat with the metal bar.

Shirley had been practicing Ju-Jitsu in dojo for a long time. She hadn’t had any call to use it before, but tonight, these men were getting a double dose of what she’d learned. The third man wasn’t taking his chances any longer. He ran off. Shirley was left shaking; the fear and adrenaline still surged through her body. Her hands trembled and her stomach lurched. She had to bend forward and vomit onto the pavement. When she finished heaving, she felt dizzy and almost fell over as she stood back up straight. She didn’t have time to worry about all that right now. She needed to get out of there. She shoved the fat, unconscious man off the hood of her car and got inside. She got onto the highway and started driving towards the comfort and safety of home. Her head was still reeling and her stomach aching as her mind went back over the events of the night.

HEAVEN--DAY

Ani was all alone after the boat crashed. He made it to the surface of the water and swam to shore. He climbed up and right away began sniffing the ground urgently searching for Yann. The place he was in is huge and everything was wet. The normal smells have been stirred up and washed away. He was having a hard time finding any trace of his boy.

After a long time of sniffing everything in sight, Ani finally found a trace of the smell of Yann on a wall. It was as if Yann had tried to hold onto it and save himself from the terrible monster that had taken him. Ani had a sense that he had been here before and knew where he was going. He looked around until he found the exit to the cave, stepping out onto a rocky promontory that was high off the ground. He was able to see across the expansive distance from where he stood. He could see the ruins of the trees and vegetation that the monster had left in its wake and he knew that it had passed that way.

He climbed down the rocks and ran in the direction of the forest. He stopped and looked around. He was looking for something. It was strange that he didn’t know what exactly…but he knew it was here, somewhere. He finally spotted a hole in the ground and he knew that was what he’d been looking for. He sniffed around it cautiously and then stuck his head inside to take a look. It was definitely an entrance of sorts and he was sure that it would lead him to where the monster had taken Yann. Ani wiggled down in the hole. It was dark inside, but Ani felt as if he knew where he was going. He’d been here before…maybe in a dream, or a vision? He wasn’t sure, but he knew this place. He walked along sure-footed, avoiding large clods of dirt and twisted, tangled roots. He knew exactly what path to take, where to turn where to stay straight, and he wasn’t the least bit afraid.

Make it more like he already knew that place premonition or memories. All along the way Ani could smell traces of Yann’s hands. He knew somehow that his friend was still fighting as the thing dragged him down there. Although Ani felt like he knew where he was going, he still paid close attention to the smell so as not to lose him.

At last he came to the end of the path. It opened into a huge room that had been fashioned in the center of a cave. It was an enormous one with a gigantic dome built around a metallic structure in the center of it. Hundreds of roots were visible from underneath from the trees and plants that grew overhead in the sunlight. The place was also filled with dark water and the light across its surface made it look almost unreal. It was the point in Heaven where all of the vegetation had its start.

Ani caught sight of the creature near the back; it looked like it was sleeping. Its large, black form was like an undefined mass of stringy, vague dimensions. It had to measure at least fifty feet long and Ani standing in front of it was a picture comparable to David facing Goliath.

Ani looked around the cave, trying to formulate a plan. Next to him on the ground he saw Yann’s backpack. He took a hold of it between his teeth and dragged it over nearer to the wall. He approached the creature slowly, not wanting to wake it. Its numerous long, stringy tentacles lay strewn about and Ani snuck between them until finally he saw Yann. The boy was unconscious and after a few licks from Ani, he woke up. They carried on a telepathic conversation to maintain the silence in the cave.

“Are you all right?” Yann asked Ani. “Thank you for coming to rescue me, I thought it was over. It’s weird, but in a strange way at the same time I was terrified, I had a feeling this thing doesn’t really want to hurt me. It’s almost like it has a split personality.” He pulled himself up slowly and cautiously so as not to wake it and then went on to tell Ani, “Look what I found, the creature dropped it when we came in here.”

Yann was now in possession of two irradiated stones. The two companions had made big progress in their quest. They moved slowly away from the creature. Yann took his backpack and slipped the second stone inside. They knew what they had to do now - activate the two towers.

They again found their way to the exit and climbed out from the cave. As the boys escaped they weren’t aware that the monster was watching. He had one eye open…his plan had worked.

Once outside, they hurried to the first tower situated in the north. The sun was slowly descending. The hills were like a patchwork of green and brown whose hues would change with the shadows of the passing clouds. Yann and Ani skipped and ran through the deep carpets of grass that had embedded themselves into the rocky slopes. The entire time they climbed, getting closer to the top of the summit and seemingly the clouds, they could see the tip of the tower they were chasing and hear the crash and roll of a waterfall nearby. Once they reached the top they could see the valley below them. There was another rocky slope they would have to descend between them and valley below. The valley was thick with trees except for one spot in the center that looked like a huge meadow with nothing but rolling green waves of grass. It looked like a giant green carpet had just been rolled out in the middle of it all. Big white birds soared across the skies with their vast, beautiful wings spread open. They stood prominently out against the bright blue of the sky with only small pockets of white clouds to occasionally camouflage them.