Chapter 3 Strike against a Goddess
I looked over the note in disbelief. Many questions had just arisen because of the note. How had my Grandfather known of his death before hand? What was it that killed him? How was the town cursed? What was the creature of the mountains? Who was the man in the yellow coat?
I was sure that the creature of the mountains was not the Harvest Goddess, for if my Grandfather had wished to describer her you'd think he would just have listed her name, or said 'creature of the fountain.' The town seemed happy and all, but I felt compelled to agree with my Grandpa about something being wrong about it. Especially in the dark of night. Many nights I began feeling a new fear. All of a sudden my certainty for my safety during this war with the Goddess did not seem as strong anymore. But I heeded my Grandpa's warnings carefully. I decided to never stray too far into the mountains, and to go to bed at eight o'clock every night. But this could be hard.
I fell into bed, trying my best to fall asleep. But a strange feeling came upon me. All of a sudden I was afraid of the darkness. All of a sudden I felt insecure even in my own home. For the first time in a long time, I lay in my bed with fear gripping my heart. The next morning I arose at six, after a not so nice rest.
I began my work by brushing and feeding my horse. Then, I fed the dog, and weeded a bit. By the time I finished it was ten o'clock. I wiped the sweat off my forehead, and put my tools back in my house. I had planned on going out to meet the other villagers, but I was in serious need of a bath. Ann had told me about a hot spring which was out in the mountains right next to the Harvest Goddess Spring.
She had said that it was sort of a public bathing area, not in the sense that everyone bathed in it at the same time, but in the sense that anyone could use it. So I changed into my bathing suit, grabbed a towel, and walked down into the woods.
The spring was warm, very warm, and soothing to the skin. I leaned back against the side of the spring, and closed my eyes. I inhaled the steamy air, as I continued to relax. The spring was almost like a hot tub. As I relaxed, I began to slowly zone out. Then I heard a noise.
My eyes snapped open, and I began scanning the area around me. The words of my Grandpa echoed through my mind. "Beware the creature in the mountains." I looked all around me, but saw nothing. Slowly, I stood up, and reached for my towel, all the while looking around for the source of the noise.
I hastily began drying off, as I continued to search the surrounding area. A rustle of bushes! I turned towards the sound again, but saw nothing. I picked up my clothes. I could finish drying and dressing back at my house. A twig snapped behind me. I got out of the hot spring and started walking down the path out of the mountains. A rustle of grass. Running now. Running as fast as possible. Suddenly the sky turned black in a matter of seconds. I turned around to face whatever was behind me. But once again saw nothing. But I could feel a presence. And what a dark presence it was.
'You cannot hide!' said a strange voice in my head. I began backing down the trail, not daring to take my eyes off of where I knew the presence must lurk. The Goddess's pond looked like a hideous pit of hell in this light.
'You are not safe from us! You will not escape from us! You will be crushed by us!'
I awoke with a start in the hot spring. That had all been a dream. I had fallen asleep while I was bathing. I heard a twig snap, and bolted from the spring.
After I had dried and changed out of my swimsuit at home, I went off into the town. I began by heading to the first shop that I saw. It turned out to be the blacksmith's shop. A strong elderly man stood behind a counter with a hammer clutched in his hands.
"Waddaya want?" he said in a gruff, unfriendly voice.
"I'm new here," I said, "so I'm just trying to get to know the town. My name is Zach."
I extended a hand. The old man seemed to brighten up a bit at my polite introduction, and grasped my hand in his much larger and stronger hand.
"M' name's Saibara," he said in a slightly friendlier voice. "I'm the blacksmith of this area. Ya got any tools in need of upgradin', bring em t' me, along with an ore of some kind."
"Thank you," I said.
Then, the door opened and who should come in, but the guy who snubbed me off on my arrival.
"Hey," I said. "I don't think we were properly introduced on the beach."
The guy was about my age with gray hair. He wore the same large baseball hat, and the same unfriendly expression. The guy completely ignored me, and walked around me off towards the back of the shop. I frowned even more than I had before.
"You could at least respond and tell me your name," I said.
But he just turned and gave me a cold stare.
"Oh he's ma' grandson," Saibara said. "'Is name's Gray. Naow c'mon Gray, give the young man a proper introduction."
Gray continued to ignore us.
"Gray!" the old man said again.
"Tell him to go away!" Gray said cruelly.
I quickly exited as things began to get heated. As I left I could hear Saibara yelling at his Grandson. I just kept walking. The next shop I reached turned out to be the Poultry farm, where they sold, poultry, and poultry accessories. Actually, they only sold chickens, and chicken accessories. But hey, what kind of a name is the Chicken farm. When I reached the entrance, I heard someone yelling: "Wait! Wait!"
I looked behind me, and saw no one behind me. Then a chicken ran out of the farm towards me. It stopped before me, as if unsure of how to react to me. Then a girl with pink hair rushed up behind the chicken.
"Stop the chicken!" she yelled loudly.
I picked the chicken up before it could run off again. The little bird didn't like that very much. The little guy went crazy, squawking, flapping his wings, and pecking my hands. And boy could he peck. I gritted my teeth as his beak slammed against my hand multiple times. By the time the girl took the chicken from me my hand was already bloody.
"I am so sorry," the girl began when she saw my bloody hands. "The chicken just ran off and..."
I gave a reassuring smile. "Its alright, I understand. I'm fine, really."
"Oh that's good," the girl cheered up a little. "You must be the new guy on the farm. My name is Popuri."
She extended a hand. I was about to shake it, but I gestured towards my bloody hands.
"I don't think you want me to shake hands with you," I said.
"Oh!" she said in realization. "Riiiight."
"I'm Zach," I said.
"I heard about your Grandfather," Popuri said. "I'm so sorry about his death."
"Thank you for your sympathy," I said as tears began coming to my eyes as I remembered him again.
"It's okay," Popuri said. "You can cry in front of me."
I just smiled. "Well, I guess I'll see you around."
"You should go to the clinic and get some band aids for your hands!" Popuri shouted after me.
"I'll do that," I said.
Popuri smiled and waved as I walked away. I thought her over as I walked away. My first question was how was it possible that she had pink hair? Maybe it was some sort of genetic defect, like the people with blue skin who I heard lived in Kentucky. Pink hair wasn't as strange as blue skin. Popuri, like Gray, Cliff, and Ann was about the same age as me.
I turned around and headed up to the other shops. I met many people that day. I met Duke and Manna, the couple who owned the winery. I met Barley and his granddaughter May. Barley was an elderly man with glasses. He owned Yodel Farm, which, like the poultry farm, wasn't really a farm. He sold cattle, and cattle accessories. I felt very sympathetic for the two of them, for May's mother, Barley's daughter, had dropped her off in Mineral Town early in her childhood, and left right after. Barley was very angry about all of this. Not saying he wasn't happy to raise his granddaughter, but he was ashamed that Joanna (his daughter) refused to care for her own daughter. Barley said that she said that she had more important stuff to do in the city.
"But what could be more important than her own daughter?" Barley had said angrily at this.
After that I went to the clinic to bind my cuts. The doctor there gave me a few band aids, and bid me go on my way. I did, and began heading to the inn to eat lunch, chat with Doug and Cliff, but more importantly, to visit Ann.
I had to admit it to myself. I was attracted to her. And since I was taking over Grandpa's farm, I decided that I should also honor his wish that I get married and raise a family. Not that I didn't want to do this or anything. I wanted to make my Grandfather proud. But what was going on with this town? My thoughts ended when I reached the Inn. I entered to see Cliff sitting at a table looking rather depressed.
"Hey Cliff," I said as I entered. "What's eating you?"
"Oh, hi Zach." Cliff said softly.
"C'mon man," I said, "what's wrong? I can tell that something is wrong."
"Nothing," Cliff replied.
"Something IS wrong," I said.
"I was just thinking about the past," Cliff said quietly. "I have spent my whole... the majority of my life following... nothing."
"Come on man. Just tell me."
"It doesn't matter," Cliff said decisively.
I gave a weak smile, and let the matter drop.
"Hey Zach!" said an overly enthusiastic Doug. "Would you like a drink or something?"
"Yes," I said. "Could I have two pieces of chocolate cake?"
"Sure," Doug said as he handed me my order. I payed him, and returned to the table with Cliff.
"Here," I said as I pushed one of the plates over to Cliff. "This will cheer you up."
"Thanks man," Cliff said as he took the piece and began eating.
"So how's living at the inn?" I asked him.
"Its okay," Cliff replied. "The problem is I'm running out of money. I haven't been able to find a job yet in this town. Now aren't you going to eat your piece of cake?"
"Its not mine," I said as I shook my head.
"What?" Cliff stopped eating and faced me.
"Hello boys," said a familiar cheerful voice behind me.
"Hello Ann," I said without turning around.
"How did you know it was me?" Ann asked surprised.
"It was kind of obvious," I said as I turned around to face her. "Why don't you join us. I bought you a piece of cake. C'mon."
"Aww, thanks," Ann said as she took a seat. "You didn't have to buy me anything."
I shrugged my shoulders. "It wasn't a big deal," I said.
Cliff didn't say anything, but I caught him giving me a look. Ann and I talked a bit while she finished her piece.
"Well I gotta go," Ann said after she finished.
"See you later," I said as she walked out of the inn.
I then turned my attention back to Cliff.
"Why didn't you say anything man?" I asked in disbelief.
"I don't-"
"Look man, I'm shy as well. But you gotta learn to just lighten up and be friendly with people even if you don't know them."
"Its just hard to talk to people."
"What about me? You seem to talk to me just fine. And Carter?"
"Its easy to talk to you two because you are different than most people."
I just sighed and shook my head.
"On a different note," Cliff began in a completely different tone, "what was up with you giving Ann the cake and all?"
I blushed a little.
"Oh," Cliff said jokingly. "I get it. So how many children are you planning on having?"
I punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up!"
"Hey!" he joked. "Kill the messenger! It's the truth man. I see what your doing."
"Look," I replied. "At least I've found a girl. So far you've found none."
"My love life is non of your business," Cliff retorted.
"Neither is mine," I said. "Yet you ask me about it. Therefore I have the right to talk to you about yours. So if do we have an understanding?"
"Uh, no." Cliff said.
"Good," I said smiling.
"Wait a minute," Cliff said confused. "You just said its good that we don't have an understanding!"
"Yeah, so do you understand that I understand that we understand that we have an understanding?"
"Dude," Cliff replied as he shook his head. "Now you're just freaking me out."
"So you do understand me," I retorted.
"That's not what I said."
"So you're saying that you didn't say anything about you understanding that I understand that you understand that we have an understanding. Well I say that what you say is wrong. Because you said stuff about what I said, so I say that you say that we have an understanding?"
"No-"
"But you must understand that we have an under-"
"Don't start that again," Cliff said.
"I'm just saying that we understand about how you understand and I understand that we understand that we have an understanding. Do you understand?"
"Shut up!" Cliff joked as he punched my shoulder. I just smirked.
"Do you understand that we under-"
"I understand that you are an idiot."
"Takes one to know one," I said.
We talked a little while longer, and then I got up and left.
After that I headed down into the mountains to collect herbs and plants to sell. After I finished collecting plants, I began chopping wood. For wood was a necessity on my farm. I would need it to build fences for my animals. As I continued searching around for more wood, I stumbled upon the Harvest Goddess spring. I began chopping the wood around the spring, when suddenly the bright light flashed again, and the Harvest Goddess rose out of the pool.
"You!" she pointed an accusing finger at me, "you dare to enter my spring without a sacrifice!"
"I do not worship you Goddess," I replied without batting an eye. "You know that already."
"It is prohibited to enter this part of the forest without a sacrifice to give to me."
"As I said. I will not worship you. Others may, but I worship God."
"This is deeper blasphemy than the fact that you will not worship me. I demand a sacrifices from you! This spring is a holy place."
"This place is part of God's creation. God created all of this. It is only holy in the sense that it was created by Him."
"Tell me this you heathen, what makes you think that you can live in this town without worshiping me?"
"Its really simple. God's will is that we spend time among the ungodly so that we may spread the gospel. That is what I intend to do."
"You will not succeed. This village is mine. And I intend to keep it that way!" Cold, heartless anger coursed through the eyes of the Harvest Goddess.
"See," I said. "You control these town's people's lives. They worship you because you bribe them by helping the production of whatever their business is. Also because of the threats that you give me of destroying all that I work for. I will show them a God who people worship not because of bribes, or threats, but because they love Him. The people don't love you, at least most of them don't. They just do what you want so that they can stay on your good side. You are manipulating them."
"You will not get away with this. Like I said, this town is mine. The people and the spirits of it obey my command."
"That is because these spirits you talk of are demons."
"Do not blasphemy the holy spirits of this island! They make the weather, and all that I tell them to do, they obey."
"I have God. He is my father, and He will protect me. You say I can't live here and not become a servant of your's. My Grandfather did it, so I will as well."
"Your Grandfather?" the Harvest Goddess said with mild humor in her voice. Then she laughed. "Your Grandfather was so easy to bend to my will. Sure, he never worshiped me, or sacrificed to me, but I still controlled his life."
"What are you talking about," I asked.
"The shipper of this town, who happens to have the same name as you, he worships me. He would buy your Grandfather's crops and stuff, and sell them to people in the town, and ship the rest off to other islands. If I didn't want a certain item shipped, it didn't get shipped. Zach would give it back to your Grandfather telling him that nobody wanted that type of crop or whatever currently. And so it went. Only the things which I wanted to leave the farm did leave the farm. And you must know that your Grandfather went through a lot of times when... Well, I'll just let you find that out for yourself. Soon you will find that you can't live here without worshiping me."
"We'll see about that," I said as I finished chopping wood.
"This is a dangerous strike boy," the Goddess said. "Do not share your faith with Ann, or anyone you meet on this island."
"If I don't, then I will go to heaven with the guilt of knowing that I could have saved them from going to hell."
"This is a dangerous strike Zach," the Goddess said. "This is a strike against a Goddess. I hope you're prepared to fight for your life."
I ignored this statement. I then picked up the wood pieces, and walked back to my farm. The Harvest Goddess disappeared with a flash into her spring.
I carried my wood home, put it in the wood shed, and went inside my house. It. had been a hard day of work, so now I just wanted to relax. My house so far was nothing to speak of. It only had two rooms, which were pretty much connected. Okay, three rooms if you include the bathroom. The rooms were my Bedroom, and the Kitchen. And it was my kitchen. I ruled it with an iron fist. I watched a little TV, but nothing good was on, so I turned it off. I then grabbed my Bible and began to read. I got so engrossed in it that I almost didn't notice when someone started knocking on the door.
I put the book aside, and glanced at the clock. It was seven o'clock. Then I remembered how I had told Ann to meet me at my house at this time so I could explain more to her. I hurried over to the door, and opened it up.
Something hairy leaped upon me, bowling me over. When I looked, I found it was just my puppy, who was furiously licking my face.
"How did you manage to knock on the door Buster?" I asked as I stroked his head.
"He wasn't the one doing the knocking," said a voice outside..
"Oh," I replied. "Right."
I placed my dog aside, and held open the door. Ann stood their, looking cheerful, but also intrigued.
"Hello," I said. "Do you want to come in?"
"Sure," Ann replied as she stepped inside.
"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable," I said as I stepped into the kitchen to grab a drink. "Do you want a drink?"
"No thank you," Ann said. I opened the fridge, and grabbed a glass of milk. I stepped back into the room, and saw Ann gazing around the room curiously. I walked back in, and pulled two chairs out for us to sit in. I then grabbed my Bible, and opened it up.
I began thumbing through my Bible. "The Bible is the basic book of Christianity. It includes the writings of a crud load of different people all ranging from Kings to Martyr's to tax collectors. Their are several different books in the bible, all written down by those who loved God. Many of them lived with Jesus when he was alive."
"Who is Jesus?" Ann asked.
That was how it began, with a simple question on who Jesus was. I immediately turned to the book of Matthiew, and began reading it to her. Ann listened closely throughout the whole story. It got pretty involved. But Ann was very interested. Which was strange to me, for my experience with other people was that if you mentioned the bible they would get all skeptical and not want to hear any of it. If they read it, they didn't think of it as a book, but as a big thing of letters and boredom. But Ann had never seen a Bible, or heard about it in her entire life, so her view was not biased against it.
"That evening as he sat eating with the Twelve, he said, "One of you will betray me."
Sorrow chilled their hearts, and each one asked, "Am I the one?""
I glanced up at Ann. Her eyes were wide as if she had not expected this.
"But they wouldn't betray him," she said, "would they Zach?"
"Just listen and see. Anyways: "He replied, "It is the one I served first. For I must die just as was prophesied, but woe to the man by whom I am betrayed. Far better for that one if he had never been born."
I continued reading, describing the last supper in great detail. Then I read how Peter declared that he would not betray Jesus, but Jesus told him he would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. Then I began describing Jesus' capture. Ann became very tense.
"What are they going to do to him?" she asked me with desperation in her eyes.
"Just listen."
Then I described how Jesus was brought before pilot, and how the crowd cried out for him to be crucified.
"What is crucified mean?" Ann asked.
"Crucifixion was a method of execution used by the ancient romans. It involved nailing the victim's arms and legs to a large wooden cross, and then raising him up in the air. Then they would let him dangle from it until he died."
Ann gave me a look of horror and disbelief. "Nailed?"
"Oh yeah," I said. "Nailed through the wrist area, and through the joints on your feet. Ouch."
I then read how Jesus dismissed his spirit, and died.
"And look! The curtain secluding the Holiest Place in the Temple was split apart from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and rocks broke, and tombs opened, and many godly men and women who had died came back to life again."
"Why?" Ann asked me.
"For one thing nature was crying out for the death of the messiah."
I then read about how Jesus was resurrected.
""Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you' and be sure of this-that I am with you always, even to the end of the world." Jesus ascended into heaven after this. All of that is a true story."
"Wait," Ann said through her tears (for she had begun crying when she realized that Jesus really was going to be killed), "how could that all be true?"
"You can check historical documents. Jesus actually was a real person. Their are records besides the Bible. The question is not was he real, the question is was he the son of God. I believe that he was. Check out this verse: "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." Galatians 5:13"
"But what makes you so sure that the Bible is accurate?" Ann asked.
"Well," I replied. "For one thing the books in the bible were all written by different people. They lived in different parts of the world, and had occupations ranging from Kings to confessed murderers to fishermen. They lived at different times too. They didn't just write the documents because they wanted to create some obscure religion to fool people. No one does that. So they must have believed that what they were writing was true. If they wrote that they saw Jesus performing miracles, then they must have believed that they saw it. The only options here are that either they were right, or they were insane. But how could all those people who were completely different from each other, and lived in completely different places all be insane? And if they somehow all were insane, how is it that they suffered from the same insanity? It's just not possible. The only explanation is that what they say is true. Plus, they died for their beliefs, yes. Many of them were crucified, and stoned until dead for believing this stuff after Jesus had gone back to heaven. If they had fabricated the whole thing, then wouldn't they have denounced their beliefs so that they would live? Why would Jesus have allowed himself to be killed then? Wouldn't he have denied he was the savior to prevent his death?"
"You do have a valid point there Zach," Ann said.
I smiled. "Here," I said handing her the Bible. "You take this."
"I can't," Ann said. "It's yours."
"No," I said holding up a hand. "You obviously need it more than I do. Read some of the stories in it. Maybe you'll learn something from them. Besides, I have another Bible."
"Thanks Zach," Ann said as she stood up to leave.
Just then a low, mournful howl rose from outside the house, crying out sadly to the darkened sky.
"What was that," Ann asked in a frightened voice.
"Probably a wild dog or something," I said. "I should go out and chase it away."
"Zach!" Ann said desperately. "Don't go out there. I've never heard of wild dogs ever coming into the town from the Mountains."
"But my farm is the closer to the Mountains than any other part of the town. I should go chase the dog away. Wild dogs can be dangerous, and they could hurt Buster, for he's just a pup. Just stay inside, I'll be back in a little bit."
Ann still didn't seem to share my optimism, so I gave her a reassuring smile. I then grabbed my axe and walked outside. The air was filled with clouds which blocked out all moon light and star light. The only light to help me search came from the windows of my home. I stepped out into the darkness, looking back and forth for the creature which I knew must have entered my farm. An owl hooted off in the distance, and the quiet chirping of crickets echoed all around me. A strange stillness hung in the air. I almost felt as if I was being watched. I brushed this thought off, and continued walking. The walls of my barn loomed to my right as I continued scanning my darkened fields.
Then all of a sudden, all the crickets stopped chirping. I looked around for a reason why, but could find none. I remembered how often animals would grow quiet when danger was present. It was then that I realized how far from my home I had strayed. I looked over my shoulder, and saw only a dim shimmer of light from my home. I turned around and began walking back towards my house. The silence in the air still remained strong. Suddenly the silence was broken by the sound of rustling leaves and grass. A twig snapped, and I turned to see who was following me. I saw no one, so I continued walking back to the house. Another rustle of grass. This time to my left. Sweat dripped down my neck as fear gripped my heart. I stopped, and looked that way. Something was out there, this I knew. And it wasn't a wild dog.
'Darkness. Beware of the Darkness,' I almost screamed as the strange voice entered my head.
I began running towards the lights off in the distance. I heard grass rustling and footsteps running behind me but I was too afraid to look back. I could feel it, in my soul. Something dark was behind me. Something evil.
'For Darkness has a will of its own. And its will is you! COME TO ME! In Darkness you were born and in Darkness you will die. COME TO ME!'
The noises behind me got louder. I could now see my house clearly. I was almost there.
"Roooooooooaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!"
Ann sat in Zach's house waiting patiently for him to return. In her boredom, her eyes began wandering around the room. Then they landed on the shred of paper which sat on the nightstand next to the bed. Ann went to see what it was, and found that it was a note from Zach's Grandfather. Ann became exited, thinking how happy Zach would be to find last words of his Grandfather. But then she saw what was written on the paper. She read it all, letting it sink into her mind. But one line stood out more than all the other: "Beware the evil in this region, and never, ever go outside at night."
Ann looked at the letter in shock before leaping to her feet and running out the door.
"Zach!" she cried. "Are you okay? Zach!"
So, good readers, how am I doing? Good? Bad? Please leave reviews, even if you are an anonymous person, because I haven't gotten many reviews, and frankly, I am feeling review deprived. Okay, that was by far, one of the stupidest things I have ever said. Anyways, please review more, because I am getting less reviews in this story than in any of my others. And this one has been out longer.
And
the Chapter. What did you think? What happened to
Zach? Will he survive this? Or will his task be left for
someone else? Will Ann find Zach alive, or dead. Will Ann
subscribe to Fortune Magazine? Or not. Okay, she
won't. Anyways, inspirational quote from the Lord of the Rings,
and I'm outa here.
Legolas: Lembas Bread, one bite is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man.
Merry: How many did you eat?
Pippin: Four.
