Chapter 8 Confrontation

Everything happened in slow motion. With horror, I knew what Isiah intended to do. My hand shot forward as if to prevent him from lifting his arm. We needed to be anywhere other than here.

In a flash, we were someplace else. We were in a forest like the one we were in earlier. Isiah was getting up from his knees, and I noticed he didn’t have his gun. He looked a little less confused.

Rounding on him, I was furious. By the time he stood, I had started beating my fists against his chest. He stood there, not bothering to defend himself as I vented my frustration and anger.

“What were you thinking!” I screamed. He opened his mouth to reply. “Shut up!” I snapped before he said anything. “I only have, at the most, a month to live, and you were going to leave me like this? You, of all people, give up.”

Tears were streaming down my face. How could he? He has never given up. Never.

He looked genuinely hurt. Tears were still in his eyes, and he didn’t look at me directly.

“Did you think that was going to make my life better?” I screamed

He opened his mouth to reply again. I beat the bottom of my fist against his chest. “I said! Shut! The Fuck! Up!”

“I know why you are so hurt, Isiah! You feel responsible! Well, stop already! Do you know how many times I’ve had to endure what you are feeling right now? I have watched it countless times. I have seen you hung, impaled, bludgeoned, and beheaded.”

He started to respond, and I held up my fist in anger. He promptly closed his mouth.

“You don’t remember a tenth of what I do. I’ve had to endure you throwing your life away to protect me. I ask myself. Am I worth it? So many times, I wish it were me instead of you.”

I stopped punching him, but I was still angry and hurt. “Do you know the part that makes what you do so sad? Is it NEVER works! Has it ever occurred to you to try to do anything else? To try something other than throwing yourself in front of a bullet or sword? Has it ever occurred to you that I’m strong enough to protect myself?”

His expression was sad, but at the last statement, he looked up, and his face hardened, and he stared back. He spoke slowly. “Lauren, I don’t protect you because you are weak. I do it because you are important to me.”

This time my mouth closed, frustrated at his response. I softened a bit. “I know I am. You are the world to me, but it also means I want you to live and be happy.”

“It isn’t like I go out and choose to do it. I see you in danger, and my impulse is to remove you from it. Making you feel weak is not intentional on my part. That particular memory was,” He trailed off, screwing his eyes shut and clenching his fists.

We were talking in circles. “Where are we?” I asked, and he looked around. “I know what but not where.” He responded evenly. I must have accidentally punched him in the nose at some point because a small trickle of blood rimmed the edge. I wanted to reach out and wipe it away but couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was still pissed. He didn’t even seem to notice his nose was bleeding.

“Fine! What are we?” I said. Realizing it didn’t even make sense.

“The what, is our realm.” He said coolly. “Apparently, I or maybe we, I don’t know, created it a long time ago as an escape but never really used it. It appears identical to earth in nearly every respect except we are the only humans I’ve discovered.”

“You’ve been here before?” I asked. Not recalling any memory specifically but knowing he was right.

“I don’t recall memories here of any other lives. The little I know comes from being here twice in the past few weeks. The most recent is how I learned about our history. Our “father” met me here and explained some of it.” He said the word father with finger quotes.

He tried to take my hand, but I snatched it away. “This way, I have something to show you.” Pretending nothing was wrong. As if he didn’t just try to shoot himself a few moments ago.

The entire feeling of the place was familiar. I knew where Isiah was taking me had some significance but couldn’t pick out what. I knew which way to go, even without him leading me. The roar of the waterfall got louder. I wasn’t prepared for the sight when we left the trees. Nor was I ready for a massive dragon to come swooping in from above. The view went from beautiful to terrifying when the dragon flew ten feet over our heads to land at the top of the waterfall. Isiah’s reaction was odd because he only smiled up at it instead of trying to protect me. NOW he decides to drop the chivalrous act?

He turned to face me and had a rare smile on his face. He held his hands up placatingly. “Relax! He’s friendly.”

“Really? That’s good.” I say with no small amount of skepticism in my voice. To confirm his claim, he jogs up to the cliff to the right of the waterfall and begins to scale it effortlessly. The dragon noted his presence but didn’t react. When Isiah gets to the top of the cliff, he turns to face it. I’m more than a little worried but knew there would be no way I could stop anything from happening at this point. Hesitantly, I move further into the clearing near the edge of the water.

Facing the dragon, Isiah holds his hands out as if he were going to hug the giant beast. “Hey there! It’s terrific to see you again.” He is beaming as if reunited with a long-lost puppy. The colossal dragon lowered its head to the ground, and Isiah walked over and started stroking his palms across the large scaly neck. Sixty feet away, I hear a deep rumble coming from the large animal. After a few moments, it lifted its massive head and regarded me. Intellectually, I knew I shouldn’t be afraid. My guts, however, didn’t agree.

Nonetheless, I moved toward the edge of the cliff. Realizing it was easier to climb than it looked, I slowly made my way up the edge of the waterfall. Just a bit slower than Isiah. It took this long to realize how much better I felt. I wasn’t cured. I was still weak, but being here must have had some beneficial effect.

Cresting the top, Isiah spoke softly to it and still moved his hands along its neck. He must have found a spot the giant dragon seemed to enjoy because the loud appreciative rumble became louder.

“You like that?” He rhetorically asked the dragon. The dragon’s tail slowly moved back and forth in a manner reminiscent of a puppy.

“Lauren, stand here.” Isiah orders. Tentatively, I move to his side. “Place your hands here and move this direction along the direction of his scales.” He indicated a place along the dragon’s neck.

After a few hesitant moments, my tension slowly started to ebb away, and I realized it wasn’t going to eat us. Nevertheless, I wasn’t quite as enamored by the large animal as Isiah was. That isn’t to say I found the giant beast repulsive. It just didn’t have the ‘cuddle me’ vibe. Isiah knew how to treat the large animal, and it responded by exposing its vital areas to be touched and massaged. In a flash of insight, I realized it was a female dragon. I smirked knowingly because it was apparent he didn’t know.

“I see you are warming up to him,” Isiah said. Misinterpreted my change in demeanor

“You mean her,” I responded flatly. Isiah’s hands suddenly stopped moving. I couldn’t help but laugh. “It seems women of every species like you.”

Isiah licked his lips and looked unsure of himself. Just then, I recalled a movie scene in Shrek where the donkey realized the dragon was female. “Why, of course, you’re a girl dragon. You’re just reeking of feminine beauty. Hey, what’s the matter? You got something in your eye?” The thought made me giggle. “Oh, don’t stop now. I think you will hurt her feelings if you do.”

He turned to look at her. Having made up his mind, he placed both hands on her neck. “Doesn’t matter at all. It doesn’t change how magnificent you are.” He verbalized his appreciation. I mused, “If only he were so accepting of a human female’s affection. Perhaps, it’s because there are no sexual expectations.”

“I’m going to go for a swim.” He said aloud to the dragon in a soothing voice.

“Now?” I was shocked at the sudden change. He turned to look at me. “You can swim, right?” He said as he stripped off his T-shirt. He grinned at me with a boyish grin, and just like that, my mind went right into the gutter. I couldn’t help but admire his chiseled, muscular torso.

Mother of God, he was built fabulously. Men as tall as him are usually a little on the thin side or overweight. It’s rare to see a guy his size in such great shape. Damn, he is an impressive sight. In all our years, I’ve only seen him without a shirt a few times. He was looking at me strangely, and it occurred to me he asked me a question. “Sorry, what was the question again?”

He arched an eyebrow.d “Can you swim?”

“Of course,” I said, wondering if he’ll remove his pants also.

The dragon suddenly lifted its head in interest and regarded the two of us. It let out a sound I couldn’t quite identify.

I wasn’t any less shocked when he turned without warning and jumped off a forty-foot cliff headfirst into the water. His head popped up a moment later, and he looked up. Realizing my misgivings, he said, “Cross your arms over your chest and cross your feet and take a big step out.”

“Or I could just climb down and wade in like a normal person,” I called back loudly. Even to my ears, that sounded a bit weak. I sighed, “This is crazy!” Crossing my arms and legs, I leaped. Crashing into the water below, I couldn’t get my bearings right away. Not able to tell up from down, it wasn’t until I felt a hand grip my arm that I realized I was swimming in the wrong direction.

Surfacing, I realized the water wasn’t as cold as I imagined. It also got dark very quickly once you went under the waterfall.

Only barely able to get my bearings, he said, “There is something I need you to see. Follow me.” Then ducks under the surface. I was telling the truth when I said I could swim but clearly, I wasn’t prepared for how fast he could pull himself along in the water. I needed to surface and take a second breath. The second time I was able to catch up to him. The water was almost black where we were, and I vaguely saw his outline. A bright underwater light illuminated the area below. I realized with utter amazement what I was seeing. The brightness of the divinity couldn’t be denied.

I reached my hand out, and the light drifted toward my palm. I was cradling it in my hands. Then, I kicked toward the surface and started wading toward shore. Everything seemed to stop when I sat down on a rock by the water, and Isiah took his place next to me.

“This is it,” I say to him. Nodding, he smiles at me. “I don’t understand. Why is there only one?”

“I don’t know. I assume we have the other hidden somewhere else.” He replies in a matter-of-fact tone.

“If you knew about this, why didn’t you take it?” I was a little confused.

“Because you need it more.”

Anger bubbled up in my chest. “You would sacrifice yourself again?”

He looked at me intensely. “For you, always and without any regrets.”

“Damn you! Didn’t you hear a word I said earlier?!” I stood and angrily tossed it at him. He made no move to catch it. Instead, it fell into the water. Turning my back on him, I looked up and noticed the dragon was gone.

Just then, I heard a loud thud and a crack. Cain stood behind a prone Isiah with a large branch, who had struck him from behind. Isiah lay unmoving in shallow water face up.

I screamed in frustration at it all. Why won’t this asshole go away and leave us alone? Why is he so fixated on us?

Cain swung his large branch again but at me. He connected with my arm and sending me sprawling.

Cain sneered and looked at his makeshift club. “This isn’t a terribly elegant way to kill someone, but it gets the job done, I suppose. I never get tired of killing you two. It’s just way too much fun.”

“Why?” I croaked, thinking my arm might is broken.

“Why? Because he tried to take what was mine. Eve” He said this slowly as if speaking to a child.

“Mom? I don’t understand. How did he try and take her from you?”

He smiled mirthlessly. “He didn’t tell you. He used his charm on our mother, and she fell for him. I found them together naked just before Seth came in and saved you.”

“His charm?” I was confused beyond words.

“Oh yes, I call it Eve’s effect. The Almighty gave her the power to seduce men. It must have made sense when you were the first woman and needed to procreate. None of her children inherited the trait. None, until Isiah. Instead of seducing men, it was women who fell at his feet like bitches in heat. Eve and Isiah’s charm must have drawn each other together. I figured since she was willing to sleep with two men who weren’t her husband, then I certainly could too. Even my wife went on about how attractive he was.” He said the last with no small amount of bitterness in his voice.

“Ask yourself, do you think the love for him is real? Or just some magic the Almighty gave him as power over you.”

The question gave me pause. I have an idea of the charm Cain was talking about. I’ve seen it in women around him. Women who seem overly determined to get his attention. He never mentioned his indiscretion with our mother to me, that I recall.

I looked down at his unconscious form, and I remembered why I was here. The Corinthians quote popped into my head just then. “No greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” I realized the extent of his love for me. Well-proven but is mine the same? Would I do the same for him? The answer came quickly, yes, I most certainly would and more.

When I turned back to Cain, he slammed his fist into my cheek, sending me sprawling. Standing above me, his hand started to glow. “I think it’s time we end your life again. Hopefully, it won’t be so long until next time.”

The hand began to descend, and just then, another hand gripped his wrist, and the light winked out. Cain was yanked roughly and tossed several feet away. Standing next to me was a beautiful redhead woman. She stood relaxed and looked almost bored.

“You’ll pay for that bitch!” Cain snarled in anger and held his hand up. His angry expression turned to confusion. “What did you do? Why can’t I access my power?”

She smiled mirthlessly. “I took it away. You can’t use it while you are here.”

“You can’t do that,” he sputtered. “It’s not possible.”

“Yet, I just did,” she replied easily.

Cain, frustrated at the power shift, suddenly swung with his fist. The movement didn’t seem to catch the beautiful newcomer by surprise and only stepped aside, letting it go past harmlessly. Picking up the heavy branch again, Cain got a little confidence back. His confidence shattered with the branch when he brought it to bear alongside her head, and it only broke in half, leaving her unmarred.

She looked down at his branch and back to him. “Now what?” in response, Cain threw what was left of the branch at her in frustration. Deftly picking it out of the air, she suddenly charged. Blurring toward him, she impaled his shoulder. Then lifted him by the neck as if to finish him off.

“You might not want to do that.” Came a nearby voice.

Michael the Archangel stepped from behind a tree. “The curse of Cain,” he informed the strange woman.

In response, she dropped him and bowed her head in his direction reverently. Cain struck the ground with a thud and grasped at his neck, trying to catch his breath.

Cain cackled with forced laughter. “I’m cursed! Didn’t you know? That’s ok with me. If one master wouldn’t have me, then I learned the other would.”

“Meaning?” the red-headed woman asked emotionlessly.

“Meaning I am only the sword. The actual wielder is someone far more powerful.” He answered cryptically. “Who?” She demanded with a bit of anger in her voice. In response, he slid his fingers across his lips as if sealed by an invisible zipper.

“No matter. I am here on business.” The powerful Archangel informed Cain.

For the first time, Cain looked a little nervous. “You can’t do that.”

The Archangel ignored him for a minute and walked over to where the divinity had fallen. He knelt and picked it up reverently, then smiled down at it. Looking up at me, he held it out with both hands.

I was kneeling by Isiah inspecting his wound when Michael held out his hands. Upon inspection, his injury looked terrible, if not mortal. Yet, I knew without the divinity. I would also die very soon. My eyes misted over, and I looked at our angelic father with pleading eyes.