The Tears of an Angel

We were walking for what seemed like hours when suddenly we stumbled into a large clearing. There were wildflowers growing in the grass, sage, rosemary and many more were scattered throughout the blades, the majority of them a nice light purple. Then I heard it. A small and faint sound came from somewhere farther into the meadow. We walked cautiously trying not to make too much noise, listening intently. It was a beautiful sound, such a beautiful sound that I my eyes began to tear. Whomever or whatever was making it was tortured. Tortured by something too deep to mentally fathom, a wound that would never heal. I knew that I couldn't cry. This must be how it did its killing. If I cried then I would have to close my eyes, and then... I didn't want to think about it.
We came up over a small hill and finally caught sight of it. At that moment It stopped. The weeping ceased and there in the middle of the field a good distance away stood a large structure on top of which the tombstone along with its guardian was clearly visible. It was an impressive structure. Past the tower we could see nothing but field for miles.
"Korey! halt yourself, stay your tears and listen to me. Whatever you do, do not blink unless I give you word." My voice was frantic and full of fear at this point, there was no hiding it. "If we are to live you must trust me entirely do you understand?"
"Hardly, Dante" His voice became equally distraught with fear and I realized that I needed to compose myself for both of our sake. "When can I blink?"
I hesitated for a moment, finally gaining control of my eyes, "Blink now." I said, regaining my determined and more hardy voice. But when you open your eyes keep them fixed upon the angel and wait for my signal to blink again."
"Aye." came the hesitant response.
We both let our eyes fix themselves upon the angel as I said one more thing, "Korey, you need to stay far from it but close enough to hear me. Does this make sense?"
"Not really, but I feel like I no longer have any option but to trust you, so do continue."
"Very well, like I said, keep your eyes upon that angel. Not even for one second can you look away or blink unless I give you word. If you do we will both die here like so many of the others before us."
"Okay, then what is the plan? What are you going to do?"
"I'm going up there..." I said it with as much courage as I could muster and started to move towards the tower quickly. I looked up at the angel and yelled back at Korey, "Blink!" I waited a second until I heard him respond with an all good and then continued, this time sprinting across the meadow through the flowers and grass as fast as I could. Again I stopped and looked up at the angel and yelled, "Blink!" again came the all good response.
This cycle repeated for a few more minutes as both of us advanced across the field towards the tower. When I reached the base I stopped. The angel was perched in such a manor that I would not be able to see it if I advanced any closer to the tower. I had seen this problem coming but had yet to think of a solution. Inevitably I was going to have to make a run for the top. It wasn't too tall, but my only concern was how long the climb would take, compared to how long Korey could keep his eyes open.
"Korey, you've done great so far but we have yet to scratch the surface of this challenge. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask a monumental favor of you." I was hoping that he wouldn't pick up on the doubt that registered in my voice. Apparently though, he had.
"Why do you still doubt me so much, Dante? We've made it this far have we not?"
"You're right, Korey. Forgive me, but I'm going to have to ask you to hold your eyes open for a much longer amount of time now. It may take me up to a minute to get up there or at least get within sight of the angel."
"Dante, at this point I've accepted the fact that we cannot turn back. We might as well give it a try. Am I right?"
"I couldn't have put it better, Korey." I hesitated, knowing he would want a moment of preparation and looked back up at the angel again telling him to blink. "Are you ready, Korey?"
"Yes, yes! Lets get going here now!"
"Okay, you know the drill. I'll take every second you can give me."
"Of course, Dante."
"Blink!" He blinked and I tore my eyes off of the statue making a dash for the entrance throwing the door open and finding the stairs. They spiraled up the walls of the tower along the inside, and without hesitation I few to them and began my way to the top. Only a view seconds had passed but they might as well have been an eternity. Each stair was another second that Korey fought the impulse to close his eyes and relieve himself of the burning that not even a hardened man could stand.
The top came into sight and I tried to throw open the large hatch blocking the way up but it was bolted down. I knew what I had to do. I closed my eyes and pictured the wooden hatch above me, concentrating all of my energy into my arm. Suddenly I released it, and as I envisioned myself punching through the wood and breaking it I felt the grains give in to the blow and crack. It hadn't broken it in two but I gave it one more try and that did it. The boards gave way to my fist and few up out of the hole onto the top of the tower. I climbed up out to the top just ask I heard Korey start to yell for me.
"Dante! Where are you!" His voice was panicked and doubtful. I turned and finally lay my eyes on the angel a few feet in front of me. then yelled,
"Blink, Korey!"
"Oh my eyes, Dante! My eyes!" He sounded as if he were sure he was going to keel over and die on the spot.
"I know Korey, I know! I yelled at him from the top of the tower, always sure to keep my eyes trained on the angel which was still in its original weeping position. What a success this had been.
"Can I ask you to watch the angel once more Korey?" I waited for a moment as my own eyes started to burn,
"Aye! I'm watching it!" was the response. I blinked and led myself to the front of the tomb. It was a beautiful structure, made entirely of marble and engraved with the words, "He who was to change the world, and she who couldn't have prevented it." However I didn't let myself delay, I fixed my eyes upon the angel once again.
"Blink!" the exchange was quick and I took up a position at the head of the tomb a few inches from the angel. "Korey, here is where you truly have no option but to trust me. I want you to look away. Close your eyes, distract yourself however you may please but do not watch the angel!" I was worried and surly it came across in my words but I could only hope that Korey would obey.
"Okay, Dante" His words had a hint of reluctance but the trust that had been constructed in the last few minutes was to deep for him to ignore.
When I could feel that Korey had looked away I prepared myself for the worst and lay a had on the angel's shoulder drawing myself close to it. Then I did what I was sure no one had ever done before... I closed my eyes.

The fact that I was still standing even just a moment after I had closed my eyes relieved me greatly. Every tense muscle in my body unwound itself and I calmed my nerves. I had been right. The I felt the angel move. It scared me at first but I was sure to keep my composure. I forced myself to remain calm and trust my original judgment. It seemed less and less threatening as I felt it hoist itself up from the head of the tomb and position itself standing in front of me. The I felt it.
All of the emotions inside the being welled up inside me as well, pure anguish and self loathing bubbled to the top of these and I was extremely tempted to break contact with the angels shoulder and lose my form but I didn't I waited for the angel to decide. It was still weeping and I could feel its tears fall upon my forearm. They burned like fire, full of sorrow and remorse, each and every one.
When it moved again this time I did not flinch. It took great caution in stepping closer to me and slowly embraced me as a child would its mother. The tears fell less frequently and I opened my eyes, looking out over the angels shoulder but not at it at all. That moment it was I who began to cry. I let out my own feelings. I let it absorb my sorrow and my pains. David, Amanda, Kyle, and all of the other whom believed me to be dead were all there, so close to me at that moment.
That was when I made the request I had come to make. No words ever passed between me and the angel, but I closed my eyes and turned as if to look it in the face pulling out of the embrace gently. I heard a loud noise of which I could not determine the origin. Then I felt something enter my hand. It was smooth and cold to the touch and a length of thread was attached to it. Then the angel ceased to weep entirely. Still having not opened my eyes I turned the object over in my hand. I was ever so curious as to what it was that I found myself longing to open my eyes.I waited however, until I heard the angel shuffle away and take up its position at the head of the tomb once more.
I opened my eyes. In my hand was a small, crystal vial containing a view drops of the substance I had come for. I put the brilliant golden thread around my neck and let the vial hang there. The tears warmed the vial when it shook softly. The angel was sitting at the edge of the tomb, no longer distraught with its horrible fate but looking lovingly down at the marble with its hand brushing the top as though it were a mother ruffling the hair of her infant. I sighed, finally at peace.
I turned to go and heard the strokes of the angel gently on the top of the tomb, and just as calmly as I could, made my way back down through the tower. When I came out of the open wooden door at the base I closed it softly and resisted looking back.
"Korey, are you well?"
"Yes, Dante. " He sounded relieved to hear my voice and I didn't blame him. I never would have been able to do what he did.
"We can go now." I said.
"wait? that's it?" he sounded astonished.
"Yes, Korey. We can go.
"What the hell just happened?"
"I'll explain later." I said.
"But I don't understand! How can we turn our backs on it now?" He tried to look over his shoulder but I stopped him and kept him walking forward through the grass. "Just trust me. She is at peace now."
He was hesitant but nonetheless continued to walk until we got to the edge of the forest once more. Then I turned and allowed him to ask the question again,
"So what the hell just happened, Dante? He was more intrigued then irritated.
"She trusts us... and I trust her..." I knew exactly what had happened, the entire exchange had taken place in my mind. The only two that would ever know were the angel and me, but I found satisfaction in the explanation I finally gave him,
"I forgave her..." The words never sounded like they were enough to describe what took place, and I dare say there are no words that could, but if anything could come close it was forgiveness...

Another Glimpse Through Dante's Eyes

      At that moment, I spotted yet another wave of troops scrambling across the other side of the canyon in our direction. If they were to reach us we would not hold out much longer, certainly not through the next few hours. But I had been tasked with this. This was my job, and I couldn’t be a failure here. There was no room for failures in the Nijasu.

I struck my way through the hoard and found Kyle, “Friend, we have a couple visitors that need tending to,” I yelled over the roar of the men and the clashes of the swords. I pointed towards the bridges linking the two canyon walls together.

“Aye we do,” Came the response, “should we cut the rope on the bridges?”

“No, that would only provoke the shot of bows, for which we don’t have much of anything on hand to defend ourselves with.”

“Good call. Then what?”

I blocked an oncoming assailant and nudged him backwards off the cliff and then yelled back, “We have to slow them down; restrain the flow of their men. I say we cut all but one or two of the bridges and channel them to us individually.”

“Insane, maybe even suicidal, but brilliant if it works; I’m game!”

“Aye! On my break make a run for the farthest two bridges. I’ll be on your heels to cut the bridges and meet you there!” There was a slight pause as another two men flung themselves at us both knocking Kyle down and putting me into the side of the wall. I kicked the man in the side spinning him and caught his head with my arms and turned it rapidly to the side then pushed his limp body away off the cliff. When I looked over at Kyle he was back on his feet and the man was gone but he was clutching his shoulder.

“Are you still up to this?” I asked him.

He looked back at me with eyes I hadn’t ever seen in him before and I knew that there was no way he would back down now. He turned to parry one more before running his blade through the man.

“Break!” I yelled.

He spun on his heels and darted for the bridges and I only took the time to cut down a few more men before I did the same. Everything slowed down at that point. As I dodged the last of the crowd and broke into a full sprint across the Cliffside I reached out and brought my sword down on the first bridge taking out the first rope and then the second. The bridge groaned and fell down across the canyon to the other side. After another couple dozen yards I reach out once more and severed both ropes to the next bridge. Then the next and the next until there were two left and the mass of enemy soldiers had started to cross.

I saw Kyle looking back at me with a slight twisted smile right before I reached the nearest bridge and took up my position at the end. I turned my head to face the enemy and then glanced at Kyle one more time before we both finally charged to meet the soldiers at the middle. The boards were stiff and durable with a few exceptions here and there as they creaked beneath my feet. A stray arrow buzzed through the air as I reached the first soldier and managed to get the first strike off on his head, careful not to cut at the rope. He fell limp and I pulled my sword up out of him as his body rolled to the side swaying the bridge. I stumbled but caught my footing and struck out at the next man who had made his way over his fallen comrade towards me. My blade landed in his chest and I pushed him back into the next victim so as to impale him as well. I put my foot against his chest and heaved my sword out of them both as they fell gasping, one tumbling over the rope into the canyon.

I turned to see Kyle was doing just as well having killed four or five of them already. “Take it easy friend!” I yelled, “It’s not a competition!”

I could hear him let out a quick laugh in the distance then yell back, “Says the loser!”

“Oh that tears it!” I turned and slashed at the clumsy soldier approaching. We were in luck. These soldiers had little to no armor and were obviously poorly trained, save for a few who stuck out with a bit of skill.

One by one they fell at my feet and about ten yards to my left they fell at Kyle’s. Not a single one could match us. Every now and then a stray arrow would come our way and we would lose some ground in order to dodge it or use an enemy as a shield but the fight was in our favor. We had the upper hand; the batter training and circumstances.

Then something went wrong. The sound was familiar; snapping twain. It chilled us and I glanced over to see where Kyle was and my heart sunk in my chest when I saw that his bridge was sagging and had bowed to one side. He was struggling to keep his balance. I through the man I was currently occupied with back against the line and yelled, “Kyle! Fall back! It’s not worth it!”

“The dumbass cut the rope when I killed him!” Came the response.

“Get back and cut the bridge!” I yelled franticly.

“Aye! I’m trying!” He shuffled slowly down the bridge until he reached the side all the while still holding the men off who dared follow him. He reached the edge and finally cut the rope. This bridge fell fast, weighed down by dozens of terrified men.

At that moment an arrow flew through the air and struck me hard in the shoulder. I reeled in pain but forced myself to get back up and fight. The men saw their opportunity and charged at me with newly invigorated vengeful hearts and bloodlust most likely over the ones I’d already killed in front of them.

I desperately slashed and stabbed at them until I couldn’t bear to lift my arm above my head. I kicked the closest man back against the rest stalling for time as I drew my knife from my vest and hacked at one of the support lines. It gave in and screams erupted as the bridge drooped and rolled to one side sending men over the line to their deaths bellow. I wrapped my bad arm tightly in the remaining rope and used my good arm to saw at the line. As the men finally closed in the line gave way and the bridge snapped in two.

I could hear Kyle on the cliff above, “Dante!”

I felt the rope pull tight and strain under my weight as it swung towards the cliff and I braced for impact with the rock. Above the screams of the falling soldiers I could hear a loud snap as my body struck the Cliffside. I was instantly bombarded with an earsplitting headache and I could no longer feel my arm, I took my good arm and grabbed onto one of the boards trying to pull myself up. I couldn’t make any progress.

“Kyle! Pull me up!” I shouted.

“Aye! Hold on!” He retorted.

“No I thought I’d just let go!” I yelled back.

The boards began to grind against the rocks as the bridge slid up the face of the cliff. I looked back over my shoulder and watched the remaining men on the other side of the cliff try to pull up survivors of their own still clinging to the bridge but to no avail. One man’s heels slid through the dirt off the edge and the bridge straightened back out taught with the tension and then snapped under the pressure hurling everything any everyone down the cliff side.

“We’ve got you Dante,” came a voice above me. “Heave!” She yelled.

As I came up over the edge I saw the faces of my men there to welcome me along with Kyle and the ever so stunning Amanda… My savior…

Acceptance

‎          "Look out over the masses, Dante. Thirty thousand strong camp in the valley below tonight. This includes that little friend of yours. The moment you become one of us is the moment that you become more important than all of them. Not individually either, but as a whole. Now answer the question. What part of death is a part of life as well?"
          "The same that is a part of my name..." I replied.
          "Explain your answer, Dante."
          "In this world there are only material things and only literal things. Were I to contemplate anything else in this world it would be a waist of my time. Indeed we will have all the time we need to think of the abstract when we finally become a part of the abstract world will we not? So my answer was born from the idea that the only thing about death that I need be concerned with is that it is a word in my vocabulary."
          "Dante, you're answer is a convoluted one, but also a meaningful one as well... Welcome to the Nijasu." 

If a Tree Falls...

          For centuries people have always wondered what goes on when they're not around to witness action or change. One excellent question asked some time ago concerning a tree and well... nothing else has played with our imaginations for years and years. I would love to offer a solution to said question if you would be merely content to reason with what may be considered simple logic. So if you need not trouble yourself with the minor details of life then read no further, forget you ever read this, and carry on with life disregarding this minute detail. However, if tiny intricate details sometimes amuse you or you’re just someone that always wanted to be able to answer this strange little question confidently, then please my dear friends read on and enjoy the proof I have to offer in support of what I believe to be the fully correct answer.

          If a tree falls in the middle of the forest and nothing is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

          If I were to be completely honest with you I would tell you that the first time I heard this question, I was inclined to tell you: Of course. Why wouldn’t the tree make a sound? If it falls, it creates a sound right? But in a world where I need not be one hundred percent honest I’ll go ahead and say I was obviously a genius when I was ten years old and knew that sound, defined by a standard home dictionary, is “The sensation of hearing; also: mechanical energy transmitted by longitudinal pressure waves (Sound waves) (as in air) that is the STIMULUS TO HEARING.” Now, obviously the dictionary does not have caps lock but I do, and I feel it is definitely necessary to emphasize the final portion of the long statement that if read incorrectly could be misconstrued as counterevidence towards the argument I’m about to offer for this unanswered age old question. If sound is in fact the interpretation of an organized mind or animated control center for an auditory device capable of translating vibrations in the air into something of any meaning or importance to something else then no… that stupid tree wasted its time falling when nothing was around to hear it, because all it did was create vibrations, not sound.

          Indeed, many of you are most likely saying wow. I may have to read that again. If so, please don’t, because I’ve made it much simpler to understand with a little metaphor. Consider an ear, any ear, any device, natural or artificial that is capable of taking vibrations in the air and recognizing them as a sound. Then picture something that makes a vibration. It could be anything but for the sake of simplicity we will use a guitar string. When the string is plucked it vibrates and makes the air around it vibrate as well. The vibrations travel through the air aimlessly, and until they reach our ear or any other auditory device, by definition that is all they are; vibrations. Yet when the waves reach said device and the device interoperates them as information with the help of a brain then the waves are classified as sound. Thus our metaphor is that of a simple three piece puzzle. One piece is the Vibration, another is an “Ear” and the last is a “Brain.” The completed puzzle is sound but if one of the three pieces is absent then you do  not have a completed puzzle do you? So you don’t have sound…

          If you disagree then I'm terribly sorry. You can't reason. Don't waste my time telling me and the rest of the world that you're an idiot by arguing with me. The logic is there. The question STATED was answered and different variations of the question may draw different conclusions. In fact, if the word "nothing" was changed to "no person" then it would imply only the absents of people, not necessarily all auditory receivers.

Prologue to "The Lasting" By Kevin Turner

I tell myself every day that I understand why he did it, believing that that’s the way it had to be. I allow myself to accept and believe that it was for the best… and for the preservation of the world and everyone we loved… for everyone we love. Perhaps it was. Maybe he was right maybe my task now is to take up in his footsteps. But am I really worthy of defending the world from such evil that I have seen in my day? Is it even possible for this person that I’ve become to do that? Even after all of this? I think not… But I can try, and that I will… Rule #21, “Defeat is a state of mind that only you can consent to make your own.”

Excerpt from "The Lasting" by Kevin Turner

          The screaming stopped and the air around me stiffened and grew cold. I was lost. I had no idea how to find camp again, yet alone the beach... I could no longer hear the sound of the waves rolling up on the soft, silky sand or the crackle of the warm campfire. Instead, these noises were replaced by a dark and eerie silence that carved fear into my bones. All I could see was that which was illuminated by the light of my campfire torch.

          I wasn't only lost, I was alone in these forsaken woods with that... creature, whatever it was. I carefully made my way through the trees and brush holding the torch out to light my way. There was caution in every one of my steps and a frantic gasp in every breath as the hands of terror slowly choked the life out of me. Something was watching. It was watching, waiting… hunting me like an animal. I couldn't take it. I began to run, desperately trying to find some opening; trying to get away from these dreadful trees.

          I ran until I couldn't run any more. I was tired and I needed sleep but I forced myself to stay awake. If I didn't I knew I would die. I knew that whatever had dragged that poor man in here would find me and I wouldn’t stand a chance. Gasping for breath, I stumbled upon a small opening in the trees just wide enough to move a few people around freely in; no bigger than a small cabin space on the ship. How I missed that ship now...

          Everything was quiet and my breath was heavy from dashing through the trees but there was a familiar sound in the distance, the sound of the ocean. My heart ached and longed for the safety of the campfire and my friends. The sun was still below the horizon most likely, but I could tell from the color of the night sky that I could see through the canopy above that it was going to be rising soon.

          Turning in the direction of the sounding waves I suddenly found myself staring into four bright eyes about five feet away that burned like fire into the back of my skull. Their pupils were nonexistent and the entire eye was green and shone in the direct light of the torch. I stumbled and fell backwards dropping the torch in the leaves on the ground as the figure made its way down the side of a tree. Fear gripped me and overcame every attempt to scream or get up and run and the figure reached the forest floor. Its eyes hovered there about knee height off the ground waiting and staring at me. What was it waiting for? As it slowly stepped into the moonlight cast on the ground I could make out every feature of it. All eight of the spider's legs were decorated with hair and hooks at the joint. It was a deep blue color with dashes of purple and black on its abdomen and legs. Its fangs were no less than the size of my hand and as it got closer I could make out four more little eyes underneath the originals.

          Suddenly a fiery pain enveloped my shoulder and I struggled to stand up. When I did I could feel the wait of another spider on my back. It was about as heavy as a two year old and it had sunken its fangs into my collar bone. The other spider had just been distracting me. These things were smart... I backed up until I hit a tree and crushed the cursed things legs between my back and the bark. It bit down harder and squealed and screeched in pain then finally let go and fell to the forest floor. I kicked it away and looked around finding the other spider as it was crawling up the side of a nearby tree. The leaves around me had caught fire and it was spreading rapidly.

          I made a break in the direction of the waves I could hear in the distance. Tripping and falling many times along the way, I finally cleared the trees and staggered into the soft wet sand. I felt sick and cold and after falling to the ground on my knees I fell ill, emptying my stomach onto the beach before I turned back around to face the trees. To my horror I whitnessed nearly a dozen large spiders scurrying out of the woods after me.

          Try as I may I couldn't stand or bear any weight on my knees any longer. I collapsed in the sand and watched in utter defeat as they approached me. Then one of them shrieked and hissed as it stepped into the light emanating from the sun that had just a second ago hit the beach as it rose above the horizon. Soon they were all screeching as I watched the sun beat them back to the edge of the forest where they took shelter under the canopy which was now smoking.

          I could also make out a small line of black rising from the beach in the distance. It was camp, but I was completely immobilized. I couldn't even move my fingers. So close to salvation but then so far... The last thing that went through my head before I blacked out was, yell Dante! Yell damn it! Yet the only thing that escaped my lips was a small sigh of despair...

You or the Dog

          If your hands were bound behind your back and you were placed into a small cage on your knees in which a vicious dog was waiting to kill you, would you be able to fight and kill the dog with your teeth out of will to survive and sense of self-preservation? In other words, could a human being become vicious enough... even more vicious than the dog... to kill and survive?