A Reason to Live pt. 11
*Disclaimer*
The following (part 11 of the series 'A Reason to Live') contains both mystical/metaphysical and Judeo-Christian Religious aspects. If you are offended by any/all of these subjects, you are strongly encouraged to avoid reading this or any subsequent works with the title 'A Reason to Live' that are written by me. Thank you for your compliance.
A Reason to Live pt. 11
The solemn black garbed figure watched at a distance as the freak storm descended on the remote valley. To the villagers going about their business around him, it looked like he was starring off into space, though. The storm's birth was not his doing, but when he detected it would cross over the general area, he directed it towards its current destination.
"Silly little wolverine" he said to himself. "Do you really think you can defy me?" the man broke out of his trance to find two Furs kneeling in front of him. Both were dressed in layers of heavy skins and patched coats.
"Lord" said one, the husky Jasmine. "We have done what you asked." Both Furs got up off their knees. The man looked at them and began to laugh his harsh, grating laugh.
"I didn't mean for you two to put on your winter clothing; I just meant for you to take it with you." The man surveyed the area for anything out of the ordinary. Seeing only the tribals going about their daily business, he asked the two a question.
"Are your plus ones hiding somewhere out of sight? Afraid of getting too close to me, perhaps?"
"No, boss. There ain't nobody hiding. I didn't ask nobody to come with, and her," Red, the mutt, gestured to the woman standing next to him with his knife. "Well I don't know about her." When the man turned his helmeted face towards the husky, she answered him before he could ask his question.
"I didn't ask anyone either, lord." Her face was downcast, sad. "But I'll have Red with me, lord, if we get lonely where were going." Her face brightened a little, and it was Red's turn to look down, embarrassed.
"It is settled then. Follow me, and do not complain, though the journey is arduous." The man in the powered armor turned around and, with the Furs trailing him, walked towards the southern wall of the village. Though the gate was at the eastern wall, neither Fur said anything. When the ebon clad man reached the wall, he put out both his armored hands, palms forward, and concentrated. Like water pouring from a bottle distorts the image through it, so did the solid stone distort. It twisted and flowed like liquid, then spilled to the ground and began seeping into the plateau. A perfect gate was left behind in the walls, complete with wooden doors. The man pushed the door open, and stepped through. The rest of the mountain range joined the plateau in the southern side, and the man stood facing the mountain. A path, partially hidden by foliage, snaked its way up the face of the mountain. The man walked towards it, his obedient followers pausing only to gape and what once had been unbroken wall.
The quartet was sitting inside the log, listening to the pounding rain drum against the sides and top.
"So, unless the rest of ye want to find a better place in this rain, I believe we should stay here for the rest of the day and tonight." The jackal spoke quietly, but he was still heard over the din of the storm.
"You, Kyle, suggesting we should take a break early? But there's still at least two hours left of daylight. Or there would be, at least." The wolverine had taken of his rain-soaked jacket and was wringing it out.
"Raymond, could ya stop that please? The water's running over here and getting my boots wetter. But yeah, I agree with Kyle, it's probably going to rain the rest of the day anyway."
"Okay, okay, fine, Roxie. But if we stay here all day, we're wasting time. For all we know, the man in black could be at the human base already!"
"I don't think he is there yet, Raymond" said Kyle. "But I'm sure, if he does get there while we're hiding from a little rain, a little discomfort, I'm sure my God will understand" Kyle said sarcastically. Shelly interrupted before Raymond could counter.
"Kyle, if your God is so great, why doesn't he just stop the man in black?" Shelly had slid down the wall of the log, and was sitting on the damp bark floor.
"There is a reason for all things. For sure my God allowed the man in black to exist, to steal the tower shards to gain his power. I believe, at least, that He has a reason for letting the man in black continue to live."
"I hate to break up your philosophy discussion here, but it's getting cold, can we maybe light a fire or something?" Roxanne had begun to shiver. Raymond was also beginning to feel a chill.
"Raymond, do ya have my cloak, or does Roxanne have it?" Raymond bent down and started digging through his back pack. He pulled out the rolled cloak and handed it to the jackal.
Kyle slipped it on over his head began to go through the hidden pockets. He pulled out the small curved blade and a little piece of flint. He used the knife to scrape a through the side of the log until the scrapings coming off were dry. He piled them up in the driest spot inside the log and lit them.
"Try to keep that goin', I'll be back with firewood." He made his way out of the log back into the rain. The other three Furs waited until they were sure he was out of hearing distance, then began to talk.
"So what's Kyle's problem? First, he's all anxious for us to get moving; now he doesn't care what happens with the man in black!"
"Ray just calm down!" Roxanne shouted right back. "He knows something we don't know, and he's obviously got some sort of magic or protection or something, otherwise he wouldn't have escaped from the raiders."
"That could be part of his plan, Roxie! Getting us to believe he is against the man in black when he's really working with him. Think about it, we've never told anyone about him, and we come up on this house in the desert where the guy living there just happens to know all about the man in black. Pretty damn suspicious." Shelly had been feeding slivers of slightly damp bark to the fire. She spoke up.
"I don't know exactly what you two know, but I knew Kyle for the longest, and he was never evil like the human is. Not even when we were young. And maybe what he said is true, maybe his god really does have a purpose."
"You have a point Shelly; Kyle doesn't seem evil, just cold and distant. But hey, who's hungry? I sure am." Roxanne knew her husband couldn't really argue if he was focused on his hunger. Raymond felt the grumblings of his stomach.
"I could eat, does anyone have any food? Roxie, you got anything left?" She shook her head. Just then Kyle returned, carrying an armload of amazingly dry firewood. He set the wood down and took his seat by the fire.
"I heard what ye all said. Raymond, why would I be escorting ye and Roxanne to the only place in a hundred miles where you could find a ticket if I was working with the man in black?" No one answered him, and the makeshift shelter was silent for a time. "If yer hungry there's food in yer bags, plenty enough fer all of ye." Raymond objected.
"We just checked Kyle; there is no food, we ate it all already." Kyle shook his head sadly.
"Have faith, Raymond, and check again. There will be food there." Roxanne unzipped her backpack again and found another bundle wrapped in the same brown paper as before. Roxanne unwrapped as both Raymond and Shelly looked on incredulously. There was part of a loaf of rough grain bread, some dried fruit, and a piece of roasted meat.
"That-that's not possible." Raymond muttered as he opened his own bag.
"How did you do that, Kyle?" Shelly asked. Roxanne tore off a hunk of the bread and a piece of the meat and handed it to the fox.
"I tell you the truth Shelly, you will see greater things than this if you watch." The three Furs had shifted to better positions around the fire, and had begun to eat. The steady drumming of the rain had a quieting effect on the conversation, and Shelly decided not to ask any about Kyle's response.
The man in black and his two followers had been hiking over the rough math path for hours, and the though the sky was clear where they were, it was getting dark.
"Lord, can we maybe stop and take a break? Get something to eat, you know?" Jasmine asked. The human stopped in place, and walked to a flat rock on the side of the narrow path. He sat down.
"You have fifteen minutes; do whatever you feel you need to." Red and Jasmine walked over to where their master was resting. Both Furs looked at each other, and Jasmine nudged Red with her elbow.
"Uh, boss?" the man in the black powered armor looked up to see his servant Red kneeling in front of him.
"What is it now, Red?" he waved his hand, and the Fur got up off his knees and backed up.
"Boss, we didn't, we didn't bring any food with us. We didn't think this was going to be a long trip, boss." The human stood up, and Red cringed back, unsure what was about to happen. The man clapped his armored hands together. Lightning flashed, accompanying the metal sound. Thunder boomed seconds later, and something was dislodged from the side of the mountain and tumbled down to where the three figures stood. It landed closest to Jasmine, who jumped back in surprise.
"What the hell-?" she began. Red came over to where she was, sniffing the air. It smelled sharply of ozone and charred meat. Red bent down, examining the thing. It was the corpse of a mountain goat, its fleece still smoking where it was hit by the lightning bolt. He drew the knife from his sash and started cutting into it. He passed the partially cooked slab to Jasmine, then began to cut another piece for himself.
"Will that be all then, or are your canteens empty, too? Or maybe your feet are sore and you want massages." The human's voice was so laced with sarcasm that it was evident even after it was mangled by the helmet communication system.
"No, lord, we don't need anything else. Thank you for the goat." Jasmine smiled at the ebon clad man, who ignored her. Under his helmet he was scowling at the delay.
After the Furs had eaten their fill, the man spoke up.
"Take all you can carry with you; I may not feel so generous tomorrow. Now come on." The two canines each put a bloody quarter of the goat's carcass over their shoulders and walked on, oblivious to the blood dripping down their sides and backs.
The three Furs had all eaten, and the leftovers were wrapped back up in the paper and returned to the backpacks.
"Let's say, Kyle, just for a minute, that the man in black managed to get to the military base. What would happen?" Raymond shifted so he was sitting directly across the fire from Kyle.
"I don't really know, Raymond. It would not be good. Not end of all life bad, but millions could die, maybe more." Kyle let his words sink in. "Wouldn't be your fault though, Raymond. Only just a newly married kid needing money."
"Sun is probably already set" said Roxanne, changing the subject. "Will we need like a sentry or something tonight? Or do you think we'll be safe here?"
"Babe, no one and nothing is going to try to get us in this storm; I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, we got Kyle and all his powers or whatever to protect us, like you said."
"How about we talk about sleeping arrangements?" Shelly asked, her voice upbeat in contrast to the rain.
"Me and Ray will be bunking together, of course, Shelly. Unless you had something else in mind." Roxanne said suggestively.
"I just wanted to know who was going to have to sleep closest to the ends of the log, Roxie, but now I wanna know what you were thinking." Shelly laughed.
Outside, the rain showed no signs of relenting. Thunder boomed after each fork of lightning lit up the sky, each boom seeming closer than the last.
To be continued...