After receiving some reviews, it appears that the first chapter was well received. This makes me super excited, so I hope to get more reviews, readers, and followers. So anyway, enjoy chapter two and as always, review please! Even it's your second, third, or sixty-eigth time!
Chapter II
The clanging sound echoed through the room and into the hall. I waited a moment to see if the guards would come racing in. However, after a few minutes, nothing happened. I examined my hand and could see where I had been holding my necklace. My skin was red, and a cross pattern had been seared into my skin, though strangely enough the pain from the heat was gone. I retrieved the sword from the floor, and it felt well balanced in my hands. The sword was heavy, much heavier than iron or steel. I figured the double-edged blade that extended about four feet out must be tungsten to match my necklace. The silver-etched, emerald green guard stuck up like the letter V and made a design that reminded me of dragon scales. The long grip was bound in black leather and the butt of the sword was an iron ring with my cross pendant embedded inside.
"Is this what you send for my defense?" I asked the sword.
Yes. The ancient Voice once again rumbled through my body, and I felt strength surge into my limbs. With a burst of adrenaline, I swung the sword and drove it into the cell door. The door crumbled like aluminum behind the force of the sword, sending sparks flying. After some more slashing, a large hole had developed in the door, which I took as an exit. I stumbled through the damp and musty halls, trying to navigate out of the school. Every turn was a danger, as the expectance of guards was sharp in my mind. Soon I became careless when none showed. However, when I reached the staircase that led to the main lobby of the school, two guards stood there.
"Halt," the one demanded, but when he noticed the sword in my hands, he shifted his feet back nervously. That action earned him a clonk on the head from his partner.
"You fool. We don't have to be afraid. He has a sword, we have bullets," the other said, and then proceeded to aim a multitude of lasers at me. I lowered my sword, and tried to make myself look fierce, like I was ready to fight. In truth, there was no way I'd be able to fight my way out of there. I'd probably die then, but I figured dying in a fight was better than being executed without a struggle.
"Just let me go. I'm trained and not afraid to kill," I lied, though the quiver in my voice gave me away easily. The second guard laughed a deep hearty chuckle.
"You've got guts kid. I'll give you that. But your generation is too soft, you'd never kill or even harm me. Now get back to your cell, and you won't be harmed," he suggested. However, I stood my ground, even though his observation was correct. I didn't have the guts nor the stomach to kill a bug, much less a human being.
"Maybe we should just let him go," the first guard advised from behind the second guard.
"Are you crazy? Commander Joel would murder us if he escaped," the other retorted, ignoring me to hit his partner again. I took advantage of the distraction and charged.
"God, Jesus, whoever. Please don't let today be the day I die," I begged from under my breath. When the first guard noticed me, he let out a scream and ran up the stairs, effectively disappearing. The second guard turned his attention back on me and let loose a barrage of bullets from his bracelets. Most them missed me or rebounded off my sword, but one of them found a mark in my shin. Pain shot up through my body, and my leg felt like it was going to give out. Black dots danced in front my eyes, forcing me to fight off the urge to pass out. I swung the sword with all my strength, angled so the flat of the blade would strike the guard's helmet. The sword connected with the helmet, and the sound of the helmet visor cracking followed. From behind the cracks, I could see the man's face. An image of his heart registered in my mind. It had the swirling colors, but a bolt of blackness ran from the base of his skull to his feet. I could sense this darkness was pure fear. However, it wasn't of me, but of something worse. I didn't take time to discern the matter as the guard crumbled to his knees. I ran up the stairs and toward the doors leading out of the school. I almost made it when a mass of soldiers assembled in front of the door, cutting off my route. They parted enough for Commander Joel to come walking out, grinning his wicked smile at me.
"I must say, I'm impressed. But not enough to let you live," Commander Joel said.
"Just let me go," I shouted back, trying to sound intimidating, but Commander Joel just laughed.
"Such spirit. I know the King wants to execute you himself, but unfortunately that won't happen. Instead, I get to have the pleasure of doing it. I also see you have a sword," Commander Joel chuckled.
"What of it?" I retorted, my fear becoming mixed with rage. For the first time, I noticed that Commander Joel had a sword on his belt. He drew it, as if he wanted to show it off. It was far thinner than my own sword, and the guard was a circular piece of gold, as was the handle, which was ornamentally decorated.
"Looks like I will get some excitement. This sword is more for decoration, but it'll do a fine job of killing you," Commander Joel explained, before leveling his sword with my chest. I understood in a minute, we would fight man to man, sword against sword. He stepped out to meet me at sword's length. I swung my sword over my head, aiming for his collar bone. I didn't want to kill the man, just disable him. However, he parred with ease so that both our swords vibrated with the force of impact. I tried again, aiming for his legs, but he jumped back to dodge. My sword bounced off the floor, and I lost my grip on it. It skittered a few feet away, just out reach. Suddenly my wounded leg gave out underneath me, and I yelped in pain. I was down on my knees as Commander Joel walked leisurely toward me, swinging his sword in fancy and somehow graceful maneuvers. I made a desperate lunge for my sword just as Commander Joel tried to pierce the floor where I had been kneeling. Swinging my sword backwards, I heard a sickening crack. I turned to look, and was greeted with the sight of Commander Joel curled up on the floor, holding the side of his head. Blood was flowing out, coating the side of his face. It made me sick and I unleashed the little contents that made up my stomach out onto the floor. The flat of the blade must've been what had made contact with his head and the cracking had been his skull.
"Sorry," I tried to apologize, but all I could see was murderous look of Commander Joel. Numerous soldiers rushed forward to help their leader, leaving the door open for me to escape.
"Take your leave now boy, while I'm unable to fight. But mark my words, I will find you and I will kill you myself," Commander Joel vowed. I struggled to my feet and sprinted out the school, dragging my sword behind me. The sight I met outside would torture me for years to come. My hometown was in ruins. Many buildings were in shambles, on fire, or both. Citizens were being guided into large floating levias, each loaded with cannon on perches for gunmen to shoot from. More levias floated in the sky, with soldiers sliding down ropes to reach the ground. All this I took in, and I broke down to cry. I had been arrested and had almost died, but seeing my hometown destroyed and ransacked drove me off the deep end.
"Okay, Amos, get a hold of yourself. You have to get out of here," I lectured to myself, holding myself tight. I rose to my feet and limped off as the pain in my shin flared up. I need a healer, someone with the Gift of Healing, but the only one nearby was being transported elsewhere. My town lay in a valley completely ringed by mountains too high to climb, especially with a bad leg, or even for levias to safely drive over, I groaned when I realized escape meant a journey through the tunnel through the mountain. I hated that tunnel. Perhaps for petty reasons, but hated it none the less. Any time my family had to drive through the tunnel, going to or from Sodom, the stoplight before the tunnel was always red, and we would end up having to wait for like ten minutes. It reminded me of the first time I had come to the town:
Uncle Saul had just picked Ruth and I up in his neon green levia. My parents' funeral had been the day before, and I was still lost in sad thoughts. He was talking and telling jokes, trying to cheer me up, when he slammed on the breaks. My body flew forward, only to be snapped back by the seatbelt.
"What happened?" I asked in a panic. I was terrified we had hit an animal, but Uncle Saul just looked back at me and grinned.
"It's all good Amos. It just this stoplight, I swear. It knows when I'm coming, and I always get a red light," Uncle Saul chuckled. While it didn't make much sense, the way he had said it made me laugh a bit too.
At the time I thought it ridiculous to get mad or annoyed about something like that, but as it happened more and more, I could understand Uncle Saul's point of view. Regardless, it was my only exit. I walked through town the same way I had navigated the halls beneath the school, with absolute caution. I finally made it to the tunnel, which burrowed straight through the mountain. Not to my surprise, a group of soldiers along with four very bulky and cube shaped levias stood in front of the tunnel. I tried to sneak around, but carrying a big sword wasn't making it easy. I was creeping around the corner of one of the levias when one of soldiers said something.
"Why are we here again?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Honestly, I've explained it at least a dozen times," another sighed in exasperation.
"Here let me try to explain it again, so your thick skull can comprehend," a third soldier offered.
"Yeah, sure go ahead," the first replied.
"We are here because Commander Joel ordered reinforcements. There's a kid here who possesses the Gift of Mercy, which makes him a danger to the King. So we captured him, and arrested the rest of Sodom's citizens for treason," the last explained.
"What type of treason?" the first soldier asked.
"They were hiding a threat to the King, duh!" a reply was shouted.
"The threat is what?" the obviously dimwitted soldier questioned.
"The kid with the Gift of Mercy! Haven't you heard the fated prophecy about someone with that gift ending the King's line?" another soldier said.
"Oh yeah!" the first said excitedly.
"Anyway, they'll be sold to the slave trade. So it's like a two for one deal: the threat is ended and we get more money," the soldier who had been explaining originally finished. Unfortunately, that last bit of information hadn't been good for me, and I began to choke and gag at the thought of my friends and family being put up for sale. The worst part was, I couldn't save them. The only thing I had was my sword, because I had left my backpack back in the cell.
"Wait, do you hear something?" one soldier said suddenly. I immediately ended my gagging session and made a run for it. I didn't want to be around when the soldier went looking for the source. Despite it being night, the tunnel itself was flooded with light, so bright it was blinding. As soon as I exited the opposite end of the tunnel, I took a breather to consider my options. The best move, or rather the safest move, would be to follow the road all the way to the next town, which was over an hour by levia. I didn't want to know how long that would take walking, but I had already decided against that. The Imperial Army would definitely start their search for me along the road. The next option would be to hide and wait for the army to leave Sodom and then go back, but I seriously doubted anything would be left. My last option, and the one I decided to take, would be to run into the wilderness and get as far away from Commander Joel and the Imperial Army as fast as possible. My plan after that would have to wait. The surrounding landscape was nothing more than fields upon fields of short, tough grass. I stood up on shaky legs, whether from fear or weariness I didn't know. While outside the tunnel, I could still hear the sounds of alarms from Sodom, but as the distance between myself and my old home increased, the noise slowly faded to the sound of my heartbeat and the pounding of my shoes on the uneven terrain. I carried my sword along with me, but with each step it began to feel heavier and heavier. Eventually, when the first red streaks of dawn appeared, I collapsed. My wounded leg throbbed, and was leaking blood and yellow pus. Not a very attractive sight. My bleeding after I had been shot hadn't been so bad, but with the continued effort and strain on my leg, I was surprised my leg didn't look worse. I didn't have any bandages, so I held my hand over the bullet hole, hoping to slow the bleeding. Soon I resorted to tearing up my sleeves to seal the wound. By then, the sun was fully visible in the sky, but the morning chill still lingered. Realizing that I hadn't slept in over twenty four hours, I stretched to doze, but not before praying.
"Father God, please protect my family and friends as they head for Jericho. Do not allow any harm to come to them. Please also send me some guidance. That would be really great. Amen," I prayed. I laid my head on my sword's grip, which was much more comfortable than the surrounding grass. The grass pricked my skin through my shirt and pants, but I was too tired to care.
Yes. The ancient Voice suddenly spoke. I didn't know what the statement referred to, but I hoped it was a good sign. I didn't consider it further as I slipped into a waking world of nightmares that was waiting to plague me.
How long I slept I didn't know. However, upon my waking I knew something was wrong. The sun blazed overhead, and based on its position, I figured it was some time past noon. Regardless, my sword was no longer underneath my head. Instead, it had shrunken back down into a necklace. I sat up and put it on. My next observation was an overwhelming burning smell. After a quick check to make sure it wasn't me, I noticed a dirt circle had been cleared in the ground. A warm fire crackled within it, and over it stuck two sticks with well charred meat hanging from each stick. My stomach growled, but before I could eat some meat, a person across the fire made their presence known with a short snore. The person was curled up, so I couldn't see their face, but it was obvious they had dozed off while cooking the meat. They wore what had once been a regal white robe with a hood, with gold lace running down its sides. However, while the robe was beautiful, it was not meant for travel. Much of it was ripped in places and shredded at the base, while some of the lace was peeling off, and it had an overall dusty look. I approached the person in an attempt to remove the hood and see their face. Unfortunately, by the time I got close, the person sprang to their feet, pointing a wickedly sharp stick at me. My hands went up in surrender. I could now see it was a girl, but she was different from any person I had ever seen. She had long white hair, despite her seeming to be my age, or maybe slightly younger. Her skin was milky pale, however it had a layer of grime, signaling she had been living in the wilderness a while. The strangest thing about her had to be her eyes. They were bright red, and had a fierceness about them that reminded me of a cornered animal.
"Who are you?" she demanded, poking me in the chest with her pointy stick. It actually kind of hurt.
"My name's Amos. I have the Gift of Mercy. Please don't kill me" I whimpered. The girl's eyes dilated for a moment more, and then she lowered her stick.
"Would you like something to eat?" she asked, offering some meat. I nodded eagerly, and took a huge bite out of the piece she offered me. The meat tasted strange, but was quite delicious. I sat down to finish off my meal.
"My name is Mara. It's nice to meet you," she said before taking a bite from her own morsel.
"Same," I replied, more interested in my food then having a conversation.
"So why are you out here?" she asked, motioning to the vast grassland around us. I finished my meat before I responded, and was able to focus on Mara. Against my will, an image of her heart appeared in my mind. It was significantly different then the other hearts I had seen. The normally bright colors were duller, and swirled around much slower. Black spots littered everywhere, some appearing to be guilt, others anger, and yet others jealousy. How I identified all of it, I didn't know. My only guess was my gift was developing further.
"Oh yeah. Well, I am on the run from the Imperial Army," I said, trying not to sound too dramatic.
"I figured as much. I ran away from home," Mara responded before I could say anything more.
"Why?" I asked.
"I want to take revenge on my father. Unfortunately, the best I can do right now is run away," Mara explained. While that was enough to intrigue my curiosity I didn't want to risk anything more. Suddenly, the sound of thunder became audible. Jumping to my feet, which hurt a good deal because of my leg, I was able to see further away. A dust cloud was rising just at the horizon. Panic rose into my throat, but I suppressed the urge to scream.
"The Imperial Army coming. We have to go," I warned.
"What are you talking about?" Mara said, as she stood up herself.
"See?" I pointed off into the distance. Mara looked, but her eyes did not register the same paranoid fear I felt.
"That's not the Imperial Army," she said.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because they only travel in levias. Not by land. Just trust me," Mara explained.
"Should I run away?" I mumbled to myself, only loud enough that even I could barely hear myself say it.
No. The Voice warned, and I knew I should listen. So we simply waited there as the dust cloud approached. The closer the dust cloud came, the more I realized that Mara and the Voice were right. The dust cloud turned out to be a group of people traveling on horseback. When they were about a hundred feet away, they reigned their horses to stop. An older guy who appeared to be the leader hopped off of his horse and strode over to us.
"Greeting, strangers," he said. He had dark brown hair and weathered skin, and eyes that matched the sky. He was dressed for travel, with leather pants and a linen jacket to keep him warm.
"Who are you...?" I started, but then Mara interrupted.
"They are the nomadic nation of Evangelic, am I not right?" Mara said bitterly.
"How kind of you to recognize us," the man smiled cheerfully, not picking up on Mara's tone.
"What are you doing here?" Mara retorted.
"We were led here by God of course! Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am known as Malachi," the man said. At that name, Mara shut up and sulked backwards a bit, before firmly sitting on the ground. I sighed.
"I'm Amos, and she's Mara. Sorry for her way of treating you. Can you give us a ride to civilization?" I asked.
"Sure, you can travel with us for a few days. But I wouldn't go in any town located within New Canaan's borders if I were you. The Imperial Army will be waiting," Malachi advised.
"You know about that?" I asked, shocked.
"Trust me, I know a lot. But no need to worry, we'll be crossing the border into Zion soon, so you can just got off there. Now, would you like that wound healed?" Malachi asked. I looked down to see that my bullet wound was bleeding through my makeshift bandage.
"That'd be very much appreciated," I said.
"No worries. My daughters are the best healers in our village, at least now that their mother is gone," Malachi said. He waved to two girls near the front of the group, and they climbed off their horses. One had hair so dark I thought it was black before I realized it was brown. The other girl had curly hair that matched her father's, and a face full of freckles. They wore clothes identical to the rest of the group. Both had blue eyes that gleamed like gems.
"The elder one is Sapphira and the younger is Martha," Malachi introduced them, first pointing at the dark hair and then the curly hair.
"I'll take care of that wound for you," Sapphira said, grabbing my wounded leg. I tumbled over backwards and landed flat on my back.
"Sapphira, be careful!" Malachi warned.
"Don't worry father. My Lord Jesus, through me, won't you heal this man?" Sapphira prayed, eyes closed. A green glow sprouted from Sapphira's hand. She placed this hand on my wound, and instead of pain, a refreshing warm pulse spurred through my body. When she pulled her hand away, Sapphira fell backwards, sound asleep, and her sister caught her.
"Is she alright?" I asked.
"She'll be fine. This always happens whenever either of us uses our Gift of Healing," Martha explained. I nodded and unwrapped my bandage to see there was no longer any hole or wound in my shin.
"Thank you very much," I grinned.
"Sure thing. Now let's get you and Mara a change of clothes while the rest of the group sets up camp," Malachi suggested.