Cass stood up and wiped the sweat from her face before returning to her work on the crops. Kneeling back down into the earth, she picked the pods from the bean stalks, quickly filling the woven basket beside her. After a short while, she had filled the basket, and got to her feet for the final time. Gathering her basket, she made her way out of the small field where the beans were growing and toward the small house on the edge. Pausing only to lock the gate at the edge of the field, she swiftly climbed the stoop and made her way into the house. After closing the door behind her, she took a moment to examine her appearance in the hall mirror.
The first thing that she, and indeed, anyone, would notice about her was her height. Cass tended to tower over the people around her, especially her mothers. She ran her fingers through her short, brown, and curly hair, shaking loose a small cloud of dust that she had no doubt picked up in the fields. After waving the dust out of her face, she then examined her clothing. Her flannel shirt and overalls were also covered in dust, especially her legs where she had been kneeling. Patting her clothes caused them to exhale small plumes of dust. She wiped her boots on the rug at the entryway before peeling them off and venturing further into the house.
As she ventured down the hall, she passed an old wooden board with nails driven through it to increase its killing power that had been hung on the wall in an almost ceremonial way. She entered a door on her right and found herself in the kitchen, where her mother was busy at work. Setting the basket down on the table, she snuck over to her mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek from behind. Her mother jumped, and turned around to scold her daughter.
"Cass, you terror!" cried the older woman, but her eyes were kind. "You shouldn't sneak up on an old woman like that. I could have died of shock!"
"After all you've seen, mother, I doubt it."
"So you think. It's been 25 years since I journeyed with him and we made this world safe for the likes of sneaky little brats like you. I'm an old woman, now." Feigning feebleness, hobbled over to the kitchen table and sat down. Cass looked at her and smiled.
"You're still hale and hardy, mother. Maybe not as you were in the past, but you've still got a lot to give." Her mother smiled, and the changed the subject.
"How did your work in the field go today? Crops coming in nicely?"
"I harvested a section of the bean field today. Should have plenty of canning work to be done soon." Cass set the basket down on the table in front of her mother, who delved into it, quickly checking the beans to ensure they were of good quality. After a minute of this, she looked up at Cass, smiling.
"Mel should be home soon, they said they were going out to do some business with Ragan today. Maybe he'll stop by for dinner, as well. It'd be nice to have some of the gang back together, again." Cass's mother got up from her seat at the table and crossed the room to examine a photograph that hung on the wall. In it stood herself, Mel, and Ragan, shortly after their adventures. Though it had been 25 years, time had been kind to Emily. She looked much the same as she had in days gone by, with maybe a few more wrinkles and some gray mixed into the deep brown of her hair. She stood for a moment, lost in memory of the times she had shared with her spouse and friend.
A knock came at the door, causing them to jump. Emily turned to Cass, who nodded and went to answer the door. She strode through the hallway, and, arriving at the door, peered through a window to the side to see if she could discern the identity of the knocker. Standing outside the door was a young man, dressed in traveling clothes. As he was reaching up to knock again, Cass opened the door.
"Can I help you?" she asked cautiously. It was unusual for a traveler to come out this far away from the cities that had sprung up in the time since Christfall. They lived a quiet life out here, mostly sustaining themselves, though sometimes they did venture into towns for trade.
"Hi, are you Emily Evans?" asked the man.
"No, she's my mother. I'm Cass."
"But this is her house, yes?" asked the man. Cass was beginning to be put off by his questions.
"It depends who's asking, I suppose," she replied, her hand reaching for something behind the door.
"I was asked to deliver a message to Emily Evans," he said.
"What's the message?"
"I can't say. I was told to deliver it to her, and her alone."
"Then deliver it," said Emily, who had come up the hallway.
"Emily Evans?" asked the man, unsure.
"Yes," Emily replied, growing frustrated. The man sighed. He opened his coat, revealing a sword hanging at his belt. Suddenly his countenance took on a fair and divine quality, beautiful and terrible to behold. His clothing was bathed in a white light, and his sandy blonde hair seemed to shine with some inner illumination.
"You are to stand trial for your crimes against god," said the man. "You may come willingly, or you may come by force. Make your choice, but understand, I will take you one way or another." Emily stared defiantly back at him, her eyes gleaming with a cold fire.
"I'm not going anywhere," she replied.
"So be it," said the man. "You have elected to travel the harder road." As he spoke, he drew the sword from its sheath and cast his coat to the side. He raised it and brought it down, like a bolt of lightning, slashing at Emily. Before the blade could connect, however, something intercepted it. A long piece of pipe, dented and ageworn, traversed the doorway, blocking the sword from impacting it's target.
"Excuse me," said a voice with a heavy Russian accent. "That's my wife." The man stepped backwards, looking for his attacker. A person with graying hair, a long tattered cloak, and heavily stained and mended clothes stood before him. Their eyes pierced him with their cold, angry stare. So intense was the glare, the man took another step back. Mel Kozlov brought the pipe to a ready position at their waist, preparing for whatever the man did next.
"Mel Kozlov, you are also to stand trial for your crimes against god," said the man. "I take it that you will not see reason and come willingly?" Mel scoffed at him.
"I shouldn't think so."
"Very well," said the man. He sheathed his sword, and bowed his head. Before any of them realized what was happening, a divine and holy light shot down from heaven, engulfing Emily and Mel. They tried to move, but the light seemingly held them in place. Cass watched in horror as her parents, the people who had taken her in, were drawn to heaven against their will. She cried and reached for them, but was unable to pierce the light that surrounded them, and soon they were gone.
She turned her head, seeing the man still standing on the stoop, with his head bowed. Rage filled her. She grabbed the nearest thing to her, the two by four with nails driven into it, and swung it at the man. It caught him in the stomach, the nails piercing his flesh and burrowing deep. Cass wrenched the board from his belly and prepared to take another swing. A blinding flash engulfed her, and she was knocked to the floor, unconscious.
When Cass awoke, it was early evening. She stiffly sat up, rubbing her head, trying to remember what had happened. It then came to her. Her parents had been taken by a messenger from god. Tears sprung to her eyes as she remembered standing there, frozen in fear, unsure of what to do to protect her mother. She had watched as Mel had deflected the attack meant for Emily, thinking that they were safe. She remembered the horror as the beams engulfed them, taking Mel and Emily from her. She remembered wrenching the board from its place of honor on the wall and swinging it with all her might into the man's stomach. She cried.
Tears streamed down her face, and she was almost unable to bear it. The shame and guilt at having been unable to protect the ones she loved. She sobbed into her arms, curled up on the floor, unsure of what to do next. Finally, her tears abated, she glanced to the side, and noticed something strange on the doorstep.
A trail of blood led down the path and out of the yard. Surely, this must be from the wound I inflicted, she thought. That man is the only lead I have to getting my parents back. I'm going to find him, and I will make him return them to me. She stood, dusting herself off, and stooped to pick up the board from the floor.
She knew this board had a long history, and one steeped in destiny. It had been used to fell Henry Winkler when he rose up and told the world to sit on it. It had felled Christ when he attempted to create an eternal hell on earth for those left behind by the rapture. It was the weapon of choice of the hero of both those tales. Well, Cass thought, it's my turn to go on an adventure. Come on, board. Let's get them back.
Cass followed the trail of blood with little difficulty. The man had clearly been bleeding profusely, which was to be expected. She followed it down the road towards the east, away from civilization. She expected to find the man before long, but he had apparently made good time as he struggled along. As she made her way eastward, time seemed to stand still. She had ventured this way before, and she hurried along, ignoring anything strange about her.
Soon she came to a wood, the eaves of which were foreboding and dark. She halted just at the edge of it, unsure if she should continue on. She had been warned against venturing into this forest before. It was a place of magic and mischief, and it was said that few who wandered in ever came out. At the heart of the forest, a great mountain rose to heights unknowable. Some said that the mountain reached its way to heaven.
I have to find him and make him tell me how to save them, Cass thought to herself, making up her mind to step into the dark and sinister wood. She built up her courage and walked in between the trees in front of her. She wandered long and deep into the trees, following the dwindling trail of blood before her. Weaving in between the trees cautiously, keeping her board at the ready, she waded into the forest.
It was oppressive. The trees felt as though they were bearing down on her, threatening her with their beards of trailing moss and lichen. It almost seemed as if the forest was whispering around her, and none of the whispers were pleasant. Every sound was muffled, as though the trees jealously guarded their peace, and every step she made was a violation of that peace.
Cass came to a stop. She realized that it had been quite a while since she had last seen any blood stains. She turned on the spot, trying to locate one in the underbrush, but to no avail. She sat down at the roots of a tree, thinking. I cannot go back, she thought. I doubt I'd ever find my way out; I've been walking for too long, and likely in circles. If I continue in the direction I'm heading, surely soon I'll come to the slopes of the mountain. From there I can look out and try to find my way home. She nodded to herself, stood, and carried on.
She was right. Before long, the ground in front of her began to rise. The mountain before her was steep, but she was young and strong. Using the two by four as a walking stick, she climbed the beginning slopes of the mount. Here and there she came to places where she had to scrabble over fallen logs or clumps of stone, but overall, the going was fairly easy.
Suddenly, the trees disappeared to either side of her. She had crossed into a clearing. The sun shone low over the tops of the trees surrounding it, causing their leaves to appear a beautiful golden color. She glanced around her, feeling a bit of relief at being out of the oppressive forest, if only for a little, before her heart sank. Standing in front of her, at the other side of the clearing, were three creatures opposing her passage; a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf. At their feet was the body of a man in white garments, torn and tattered by the fangs of his attackers.
Cass froze as the animals in front of her stared her down. She slowly lifted her board, readying it to try in vain to defend herself, but nothing happened. The animals stood there, resolutely staring at her. She took a step forward, and so did they, baring their teeth against her. She stepped back and they returned to their starting positions. She stepped to the side, making as if to go around them, but they moved to remain in front of her. The message was clear; she could continue no further up the mountain. She sighed, turning her back on the animals, and began walking down the slope.
Why did I think I could do anything for them? She questioned in her thoughts. I'm just a farmer. I don't have anything special about me. They're the ones who did amazing things.
As she walked through the forest, she remained deep in thought. She worried about her parents, and she worried about herself. She felt that she was trapped in this forsaken wood. Though she had attempted to carry a straight line from the clearing to the edge of the forest, it seemed as though the trees blocked her path and forced detours on her at every opportunity. Hopelessly lost, she flung herself in the underbrush and began to cry out of frustration.
"Hello," said a solemn voice standing above her. She looked up, and saw the speaker. A man, with salt and pepper hair stood in front of her. He wore a long brown coat, a button down shirt and slacks. He appeared to be simultaneously young and old. His eyes glinted with mischief. "Are you lost, Cass?"
"How do you know who I am?" Cass asked, quickly getting to her feet and taking what she thought was a threatening stance.
"I know everything about you, Cass," he replied. "I know you're here searching for answers about what happened to Emily and Mel. I know you have little faith in yourself to rescue them. And I know, with all my heart, that you'll be the one to do it."
"Then you know more than me," she said. "Who are you?"
"I," said the man, "am Steve Plank."