Chapter 3

Across the flat featureless ground, baked hard under the direct glare of the sun, Oscar walked with a strong step as though the heat had no effect upon him. The hot ground produced convection currents that caused the air to shimmer in waves, distorting things in the distance. The effect made him appear as a squiggle suspended slightly above the ground, a comma dancing on the horizon.

On the outskirts of a small village in Iraq, a group of children played soccer on a small patch of land by the side of the road. The boys were running and laughing like children found everywhere in the world. While much of the town was dilapidated, the soccer ball was new. In a way, the ball tied the boys to kids everywhere. It was a universal language, made of kicks, head butts, sweeps, and gestures calling for the ball.

The game stopped when one of the boys spotted a figure walking down the road. The boys fled the field taking their ball with them. Strangers in the small town represented a danger. One of the boys, as he ran through town, screamed, "A stranger is coming. A stranger is coming."

Women ran into houses taking the younger children with them. The men came out of their houses carrying rifles. They gathered together and watched the progress of the stranger as he neared. The men were tense, not sure what to make of the lone figure. Their village was poor, but that didn't stop people from trying to take advantage of them. If it wasn't the Americans trying to change a lifestyle of a thousand years, then it was foreign terrorists trying to recruit them as human bombs.

The figure was soon close enough for them to make out details. He wore a gray robe with an earth colored cloak over it. The hood of the cloak was raised over his head, keeping the sun off his head and hiding his visage. In his hand, he held a shepherd's staff that swung forward and backward in time with his step. The sandals on his feet flashed into periodic view as he strode confidently into the town. A gold medallion hung around his neck.

He walked past the gathered men without pausing or looking, heading straight for the Mosque. They followed behind him, curious about the man that didn't greet them, watching his every action. He stepped up to the door of the Mosque. He raised the staff and slammed it, butt end first, into the door frame. The resounding bang was much louder than commonsense would have predicted. He repeated the action again and then a third time.

The Cleric Fayez Majid came to the door and stared at the man standing before him. He asked, "Who are you that knocks upon the door?"

"I am the Druid Oscar Meyers. I seek entry to this house of Allah," answered Oscar in a voice that thundered over the area.

The men behind him raised their guns to shoot him where he stood as soon as they heard the word Druid. The Cleric stepped back in shock and surprise. From deep within the Mosque a loud booming voice echoed, "Let the Druid enter."

Shocked expressions ran through the crowd since all knew the only one inside the Mosque was the Cleric. The Cleric turned and looked into the building with fear. His heart fluttered within his chest, unable to believe what his ears had heard. He stood to block Oscar's entry.

The deep voice echoed through the building, "Do not make the Druid wait."

Oscar stood in front of the man, watching with a steady stare as the Cleric debated what to do. The crowd had stepped back several steps eyeing the stranger with fear in their hearts. The voice coming from the Mosque terrified the men, none more so than the Cleric.

The Cleric stepped back and gestured for him to enter. Oscar nodded and said, "Thank you."

Slipping off his sandals, he strode through the door, entering the Mosque proper with confident steps. Unable to resist, the Cleric followed him and stared in shock at the room as it glowed with a soft golden light. The Cleric fell to his knees and prostrated himself on the ground. Oscar continued to stand as the deep booming voice reverberated through the room, "You are the Druid Oscar Meyers."

Oscar, his voice deep and resonant, replied, "I am he, sent here by my Gods and Goddesses."

The men entered the Mosque, wondering what was happening inside. Seeing the Cleric on his knees, they joined him on the floor. As the voice originated from the center of the room, the men shook in fear. "What is your mission?"

"To bring peace to this ravaged land."

The voice echoed through the room again. "Are you willing to die for peace?"

Oscar answered, "There is no higher cause."

The voice, strong enough to carry through the whole town, stated, "You shall do."

As the golden glow faded, Oscar turned to leave the room. The Cleric rose and faced him. He felt that he was in the presence of a particularly religious man that had been blessed by Allah. He asked, "What am I to do?"

Oscar smiled and, in the commanding voice that had been his gift from the Two-Sided One, said, "Spread the word of what occurred here. Pray for peace among all that serve the good, including those that serve other Gods."

As the men in the Mosque rose from the floor, Oscar left the Mosque; pausing at the door to slip his sandals back onto his feet. Without a backward glance, he stepped away from the Mosque. As one, the men followed him out the door and down the street, their guns forgotten at the entrance of the Mosque. Oscar did not stop, but continued to walk; leaving the small town within a few minutes.

The crowd stopped and watched as he slowly changed from man- shaped to a dancing squiggle and finally disappeared in the far distance. The Cleric, standing to the side, said, "Come, let us go to the Mosque. It is time for prayers."

Oscar reached the crossroads four miles from town and stopped to wait for the white Mercedes to arrive. He had to wait thirty minutes, but it finally pulled up beside him. He opened the passenger door and seated himself. Once his seat belt had been buckled, he looked at the driver. With a large grin on his face, he teased, "You look sexy dressed like that."

Surprised by his comment, Georgia laughed hysterically. She asked, "You find the burka sexy?"

He smiled and answered, "It shows off your lovely eyes in a most beguiling fashion."

Shaking her head at the compliment, she knew that she could be fully covered except for a small circle on her bottom and he'd tell her that she had a lovely little hole. She asked, "Where to now?"

Pointing down one of the roads, he answered, "We go to Baghdad. I'll have to drive when we get close to any town."

The second-class treatment of women in this part of the world really bothered her, but she was glad that he had brought her with him. She had watched the reaction of the people in town and realized that he had made a significant impact on those that saw and heard. Watching the passing scenery as she drove, she commented, "This is the cradle of civilization."

Knowing that she was not very comfortable with being here, he asked, "And?"

"It's a shame that the cradle never evolved," she answered. It seemed to her that the birthplace of civilization should have remained civilized. Instead, it had stagnated and decayed into a land where power counted more than morals.

Lost in thought, he watched the countryside as they drove towards Baghdad. There was a lot of life in this part of the country. They were following the Tigris River to Baghdad and this route was lush with green plant life. He knew that most people considered Iraq to be nothing more than a desert area, but that was much further south and to the east.

As they approached a small town, Oscar said, "Pull over here. We'll change so that I'm driving. I'd hate it if you were hurt because you were seen doing something that wasn't allowed."

Stopping the car in the middle of the road, she parked the car and got out. As she walked around the car, he got out of the passenger seat and held the door open for her. She climbed in and settled into her seat, her irritation rising at the stupidity that wouldn't allow a woman to drive. Both of them knew that women could drive here, but that it wasn't entirely socially acceptable. Oscar closed the door and went around to the driver's side of the car. Despite the fact that this was a major road, there wasn't a single other car on it. He got in and started driving towards the town ahead.

As they approached the town, a number of cars were pulled over on the side of the road. He looked down the road and saw the roadblock staffed by American Soldiers. Parking the car, he stepped out and approached the soldiers. They spotted him immediately and recognized him as a Druid, but didn't know how to react to his presence.

In the meantime, his fore-sight started screaming at Oscar to get away from the taxi. Oscar paused for a second and started backing away. He shouted, "Get away from the taxi! It's a bomb!"

He turned to put as much distance as he could between him and the taxi. Seeing his actions, the Iraqis scattered. The soldiers may not have known how to react to his presence, but they definitely knew how to react to his announcement of a car bomb. They immediately opened fire on the driver of the car. Seconds later, there was a loud explosion as the bomb went off. The force of the explosion threw people to the ground as metal cut through the air over their heads.

Unhurt, Oscar picked himself off the ground and walked back towards the soldiers. The Iraqis that had been stopped at the roadblock returned to stare at the mangled wreckage that remained of the taxi. The soldiers were getting very nervous wondering if this was going to spark an incident. In a voice that sent shivers down the spines of all those that heard it, Oscar shouted, "Thank the Gods and Goddesses for sparing the lives of innocents."

The Muslims gathered around the wreck of the tax heard, "Praise be to Allah for sparing the lives of his followers."

The Christians present heard, "Praise be to God for saving us from evil."

Oscar turned to the soldiers and asked, "Must I wait for my car to be inspected?"

The man in charge looked at Oscar, taking in the robe and medallion around his neck. He knew this man was to be treated as though he was a Colonel or above. In a voice of respect, he said, "It is dangerous here for you."

With a wry smile, Oscar glanced over at the remains of the taxi and said, "It is dangerous here for everyone."

Catching the not quite subtle hint, the soldier said, "Go on."

As Oscar returned to his car, the Muslims stared at him wondering what they were to do. According to what most of them believed, he was a pagan and was to be killed on sight. For a few others, he was a Magi and was to be respected. That mixture of respect, fear, and hate was typical of the reaction in that world to a Druid.

Oscar drove past the crowd and through the checkpoint. The man in charge nodded as he drove past. The crowd just watched with a pensiveness that would last for days. The one thing that bound local and American was the general uncertainty about dealing with the Druid. All seemed happy to see him leave.

Inside the car, Georgia said, "That was interesting. They didn't know whether to thank you or kill you."

"It's going to get worse with time. Wait until people start waiting for me to show up," replied Oscar with a grin.

She shook her head at the idea. That was going to be when it really got dangerous for him. He guided the car into the town. Slowing down, he started looking around at the buildings until he noticed one that had a glowing door. After driving past it, he stopped the car and got out. From the car, she watched him stride down the street with a purpose that intimidated all those that saw him.

Oscar strode up to the door of the church and halted. Lifting his staff, he struck the door creating a noise that carried through the whole neighborhood. People came out of their houses, wondering what had created the noise and then stayed to watch what followed. The priest opened the door of the church, fear obvious on his face. The recent upsurge in fundamentalism within the country had made being a Christian much more dangerous than ever before.

Oscar looked the priest in the eye and, voice reverberating, said, "I am the Druid Oscar Meyers. May I enter this house of Jehovah?"

The priest stared at Oscar unsure how to answer that question. From within the church, a thunderous voice echoed, "Bid the Druid to enter."

With stomach knotting at the unexpected voice behind him, the priest meekly gestured for Oscar to enter. Striding into the church, Oscar paused as he took in the simple altar at the front of the room. It was not as ornate as he expected, but perhaps reflected the second class positions held by non-Muslims in this part of the world. The air suddenly took the scent of roses, almost overpowering in its intensity. Amid a bright light hovering above the altar, a voice loud enough to carry outside the church rang forth, "You are the Druid Oscar Meyers."