Ch. 3
Cain and Abel
"Death may be the greatest of all human blessings."
-Socrates
"Sheol!" A voice called, full of excitement. The sound pulls Sheol from his thoughts, and he looks at the leaves around him in mild surprise, as if the tree had grown around him instead of him climbing it just this morning. "Sheol!" The voice calls again, and Sheol knows that it is his friend-brother looking for him. Sheol looked down from his tree branch, a smile creeping over his face.
"I am up here, Cain." Sheol chuckles, and Cain looks up both startled and relieved. "You are acting as if I had ran away."
"I wouldn't be surprised." Cain scoffs, watching Sheol drop gracefully to the ground. "If it weren't for Abel and me, I would imagine you travelling far and wide, exploring new lands and having grand adventures."
"All alone?" Sheol asks, raising a dark eyebrow. "I would much rather you and Abel come with me. The adventure would be all the more exciting."
Cain huffs a laugh, grabbing a hold of Sheol's shoulder, pulling him in the direction Cain had just come from. "You know Abel and I cannot leave mother and father! They need our help caring for the young ones, ploughing the fields and tending to the animals…" Cain frowns, a wistful look appearing on his face. "Perhaps, when the young ones are old enough to help, we can adventure."
Sheol smiles at his friend-brother, knowing that the likelihood of travelling with them is low. But he agrees with him quietly, if only to appease him.
Another shout startles Sheol, and he looks up to see Abel running towards them, a grin on his face.
"Sheol! Cain! Did you hear the news?" He looks excited, "The Shining One plans on visiting us!"
"The Shining One?" Cain asks, surprise clear on his face. "He wants to visit us here?" The surprise turns to joy, then to terror. "We haven't done anything wrong, have we brother?"
"No no!" Abel stops in front of them, winded from his run. "He's visiting us with good tidings!"
"We must prepare for his visit." Sheol said, his smile mirroring the younger man's. "And I suggest you two take the time to find a gift."
"A gift?" Abel wondered, "What could we give The Shining One that he doesn't have already?"
"Perhaps something you grew or herded yourself?" Sheol suggested, "Show him the hard work you two have been doing, he shall be proud to see it."
"An excellent idea." Cain grinned, his gaze flickering in the direction of his impressive garden. "How long do we have?"
"According to mother, he shall arrive tomorrow." Abel said, his own brow furrowing. Sheol smiled at his youngest friend-brother.
"Worry not, Abel. I am sure The Shining One will love your gift." He reassured him. Abel just nodded, a look of determination spreading across his face.
"I need all night to prepare." He said, breaking away from their small group and dashing towards his livestock. "I want my gift to be perfect!"
Sheol watched him go, clearly amused. Cain chuckled behind him.
"Thank goodness my garden is already perfect. I'll throw something together tomorrow."
It was clear to Sheol who had spent the most time on their gift to The Shining One. Abel's gift of meats was lovely, and it was clear that he had chosen from only the best of his livestock. Cain's gift, however was lacking. It was clear he had thrown it together that morning, and he hadn't even used his best vegetables. Cain caught Sheol's eye, and merely shrugged, a slightly cocky smile graced his lips. Sheol did nothing but shake his head, turning to watch as The Shining One arrived.
"My children." The Shining One said, his voice low and warm. "It is wonderful to see you."
"We brought you gifts!" Abel burst, his face in awe. The Shining One responded with a low chuckle that reminded Sheol of his own laugh.
"I see that. And such wonderful gifts." The Shining One looked at their gifts now. "Thank you Cain for your vegetables. You're harvesting pleases me." The Shining One said politely, turning to Abel's gifts. "Abel, did you use the best of your livestock?"
"I did." Abel smiled sheepishly, looking at his feet.
"My son, thank you. This means more than you know." The Shining One's face glowed with pride and love. Cain shot an annoyed glance at Abel before speaking.
"My plants are far more numerous than his livestock." He said, his voice infused with pride.
"Pride is not a redeeming quality." The Shining One admonished. "Abel's gift was well thought out, yours thrown together. While I am pleased by both, Abel's is the better one."
Only Sheol noticed Cain's face darken.
"You made me look bad!" Cain yelled, rounding on Abel when The Shining One left. "You're always trying to make me look bad!"
"No, brother!" Abel said, shaking his head furiously, placing a comforting hand on Cain's shoulder. "I would never-"
"Shut up!" Cain pushed Abel away, "you've always been jealous of me! You're jealous because I'm better, you're jealous because I'm older, you're jealous because Sheol is closer to me!"
Sheol tried to get between the brothers, placing his hands out to keep them at bay. The black gloves the Shining One gave him contrasting with his white arms. "Friend-brothers, please-"
"Maybe if you had tried harder, The Shining One would have liked your gift better!" Abel yelled, ignoring Sheol.
Anger worse than Sheol had ever seen passed over Cain's face, and before Sheol could stop him, Cain had picked up a rock, throwing it as hard as he could at his brother.
The rock soared quickly through the air, missing Cain's target of Abel's shoulders, and hitting him in the head instead. Abel crumpled to the ground, and Sheol saw the oddest thing.
It was as if the young man was glowing. The aura was powerful, and Sheol had the desire to reach out and touch, to feel the glow of Abel. Peeling off a glove, Sheol walked over slowly, transfixed by the warmth. He bent down, placing his hand gently over the brightest part of the glow, right in the centre of his chest.
The glow was gone, disappearing as suddenly as it had come, and Sheol looked down in confusion. He shook Abel's shoulder gently.
"Abel, awaken." Sheol said. Abel did not respond, so Sheol shook him harder. "Abel!"
Cain walked over, his anger fading to worry. "What has happened, Sheol?"
"Your brother will not wake up." Sheol said, clearly frustrated.
Cain bent down as well, pressing his hand to where the glow had appeared. Panic spread across Cain's face, and he shook Abel harder. "Brother! Wake up, oh please wake up."
"He will not awaken." A quite voice said. Sheol and Cain looked up to see a man standing over them.
"Who are you?" Cain asked, falling away from his brother.
"I am an angel, a warrior of The Shining One. Cain, you have murdered your brother."
"Murdered?"
"His heart will beat no more." The angel said simply. Turning to Sheol, the angel extended a hand. "I have come for Abel's soul."
Sheol looked at the angel, shaking his head. "I have no idea what you mean."
"The glow." The angel looked impatient. "That was the soul trying to leave the body. It can never leave fully without your help."
Sheol looked in horror at young Abel. "This is my fault?"
"No, it is Cain's." The angel fixed his icy stare on Cain. Stumbling to his feet, the young man backed away from Sheol, pain and terror in his face.
"Leave me alone, I did nothing wrong." Cain cried. "Go away!"
"Cain…" Sheol stood as well, but his friend-brother turned away and ran.
Sheol and the angel watched as the young man disappeared. Turning to Sheol, the angel extended his hand. "The soul?"
Sheol lifted his un-gloved hand and clasped the angels, a brief flash of light flickering between the hands before vanishing.
"Thank you." The angel smiled tightly before turning away.
"What are you going to do to him?" Sheol asked, panicking slightly.
"Bring him to paradise." The angel said softly, turning back to Sheol. "He gets to rest in comfort forever with The Shining One."
Sheol nodded once, his head tilting questioningly.
"You have questions." The angel stated, his face amused.
"Just one. What is your name?" Sheol blurted out.
"My name?" The angel chuckled. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because you are taking away my friend-brother." Sheol said hotly.
The angel shook his head, the small smirk still tugging at his lips.
"I have many names. I am an arc-angel, beloved by The Shining One." The angel's smile softened lightly. "But you may call me Mycroft."
A/N: Thank you for all the absolutely wonderful reviews. To the people who favourited/follow this story, you can't imagine how delighted I am. Every notification of a new follower had me dancing around my room. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, it was difficult to write. I scrapped about 3 copies before settling on this one.
always,
Robottko