Cataclysm (13 page)

“We always have a choice! I don’t want to turn into a soul sucker like those despicable beings!” I screamed at them all, my gaze ending on Athen. “We always have a choice,” I repeated, shaking my head in utter disbelief. I grabbed my coat off the chair and headed out of the room.

The candles’ flames in the entry hall dipped and rebounded with the speed that I passed by them on my way to anywhere but where I was.

“I’ll see you guys later,” I yelled back into the room of strangers, hoping nobody would follow me, not even Athen. That last thought surprised me beyond all others.

As I closed the door I heard Arie whispering to Athen and the words were loud and clear.

“We must show her what we’re up against, brother. No matter how hard it is on us all.”

It was as if I didn’t even know my own family any longer. I was finally coming into my own, with more memories of my past than ever before. The flashes of light and the beautiful images would flood my dreams most every night. There were several things I was certain of from my past. We were always a team; we continually did what was right; and we consistently won. But this time, would we be willing to do anything to win and at what cost?

Thinking back to the centuries of war we have all witnessed among the mortals, it was hard to place the same values on the mortal and immortal worlds, as they were now colliding.

Walking down the driveway of our Kingston home made me think back to the first time I arrived here. I was so timid and unsure of myself reentering into this so-called immortal life. Now, my confidence was growing daily, but my role in the world seemed to be constantly shifting. I was released from a life filled with loneliness and blissful ignorance into a life filled with love and grave consequences.

The gravel crunched under my feet as I made my way to the road leading into town. I could feel the tiny pinecones fracturing with every step I took, feeling a bit like my heart, as I thought about the choice my family was asking me to make.

I didn’t know where I was walking to exactly, but I needed a release before I lost my mind in that home. Could Athen and everybody be right? Was there anything in our history that would lead them to think this was the only way, but something I hadn’t yet recaptured in my memories?

The road I was wandering along seemed endless, as did my mind’s constant stream of thoughts. Seeing a glimpse of the ocean through the trees began to give me the strength I needed. The glistening grey-blue water rippled with the currents of the tide, reminding me how very little time we all have had on earth. The water, I so often admired, had been here longer than I could even understand. Were we meant to mettle in mankind’s fate? Was I truly the reason Azazel wanted to destroy the humans? Did he expect me to want to save the mortals by going over to his side, and then he would trick me and destroy all the mortals regardless?

I found myself at a dead end, literally. I looked around, and the road had stopped. There was only a thick forest in front of me. The pavement was no longer recognizable with its beautiful canvas of pinecones peppered on top of the grey stone, littering the ground in a wondrous maze. My short walk alone provided me with nothing but questions. Questions only my family could help me answer. It was so strange that I didn’t see the parallels before tonight. Bending down, I grabbed a few of the pinecones for a keepsake. I needed to better appreciate the world surrounding me because I no longer knew how much longer any of us had it for. Feeling the sap slowly melt down my fingertips, I fully understood why my family was contemplating this alternative, but unlike the sap that I could wash off, I wasn’t sure the decisions we might make would so easily be forgiven.

Turning back around to make the trek back home, Athen suddenly appeared. The beauty of his smile warmed my heart. He always knew when to give me the time I needed, and he sensed when I had enough time by myself to save me from my own thoughts. Clutching me in his arms, I knew the decisions facing us all would, also, change us forever. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.

“I love you, my angel,” Athen whispered into my ear. “All the choices are bad ones, but that’s what we’re faced with right now.”

My face sunk into his wool coat, comforted by his embrace. Taking a deep breath in, I smelled a mixture of the pinecones I picked up and then Athen. The earthy smell from them both was intoxicating.

“Do you think there will be an end?” I asked. “Regardless of what we choose?”

“There’ll be an end. We just need to make sure that we’re as large of a part of it as he is. Let’s get going, hun. It’s getting pretty cold,” he said.

“Is there any way to do it so that they aren’t harmed, for good?” I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

“The humans? Kind of depends on your definition of harmed, I guess,” he took a deep breath in. “There is another method that hasn’t ever been tried before, but…” His voice trailed off. Flipping me on his back, we sped back to our home. The speed of the ride brought me one step closer to making a decision that could change the landscape of the battle forever.

Landing on our doorstep, I slithered off of Athen’s back before I even had time to think about what he implied. Arie opened the door and bounded outside hugging me in a tight embrace, full of sorrow and comfort.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. We never should’ve brought it up like that. We only meant,” she began, but I stopped her.

“No, I understand. I really didn’t want to hear it though, but as I reached the end of the road down there, I realized there are only so many options. That being said, I want to us to investigate them all,” I said, looking directly at Athen.

Knowing exactly what I was referring to, he nodded.

I knew we would be trying that other avenue that nobody had bothered to mention. They just might not know it yet. If the memsors can work for our family, I’d be willing to bet a lot of other oddities might as well, if we have the faith to believe in them.

The scene was more than I could handle. I’d swear I was inside of my nightmares, but I wasn’t. I was wide-awake. I had followed Arie down an alley that had seen better days. Between trash rolling down the cobblestones with the constant breeze, and piles of blankets with living beings huddled underneath, I couldn’t imagine what more depressing thing she had in store for me. We made it to an inconspicuous door that she opened with a heavy scrape. Arie took my hand and led me down to the basement of some sort of club in Seattle.

What I didn’t know was tonight’s events would change my entire perception of the war we were facing. Seeing the graffiti on the brick walls, as we both attempted to navigate the steep stairs, only secured the fear I had brewing deep inside. I was about to encounter a sight I wouldn’t soon forget.

The cigarette-covered concrete floors led the way to a room that radiated evil before I even saw a glimpse of what things were going on inside. The walls of the basement were covered in homemade sconces holding the only light in the building. The candles were casting off just enough of a glow that I could make out the images of humans leaning against the wall, or who were collapsed on the floor. I saw mortals who were at their last breaking point. They were already on the edge between this world and the next.

It was like they were all on some sort of hallucinogenic that I wanted to stay far away from. Their eyes were as hollow as I had seen in any demon, only they were human. I had to remind myself that these, indeed, were still mortal beings.

Doing my best to make my way through the narrow hallway cluttered with people, I prayed that Arie and I would be able to make it out of whatever dungeon she had led us into.

As we walked down the corridor leading to the room that glowed, the anxiety began building in my abdomen. The epitome of wicked mortality seemed to be exploding before me and there was nothing I could.

The stench began to overwhelm all of my senses. A cackle started echoing down the hall, only it wasn’t otherworldly. This was a mortal cackle. What I was about to witness encompassed the evilness that mortals could inflict on each other, regardless of what we do to try to stop it.

These were the humans who could change the outcome of the battles we were facing. If they became possessed in the numbers that were out there, we might not be able to match their numbers. The driving force behind this scene was ignorance. That was one thing I was certain of.

I could sense Arie channeling something to me, but I wasn’t sure if I was coherent enough to receive her message. The loud techno music began tunneling itself towards me as I made my way the last several feet. The thumping from the bass of the music vibrated me to my core. The words were unrecognizable, but the beat put everyone in an almost trance-like state

“
You’re going to be okay. You’re strong enough to see this. I wouldn’t subject you to this if it wasn’t crucial to figuring out our strategy.”
Arie’s words penetrated what little amount of amiable cortex I had available. The pounding music created an inability to gauge what was going on around me.

A thick blanket of smoke began rolling out of the room we were about to enter. I could no longer handle this by myself. I clutched onto Arie’s hand as we both entered a realm not in either the mortal or otherworld. Women’s bodies were sprawled out on the ground, convulsing to the beat of the music. There were other women and men dancing over them all, sprinkling them with some sort of clear liquid from ceramic bowls. It felt like a thrown together ritual that didn’t have much of a point, but they took it very seriously. The air continued to be filled with a thick cloud, making it a lot more difficult for me to understand what I was seeing.

There was a large concrete table centered in the middle of the room, which had a woman tied down to it. She didn’t look like she was aware of what was going on. I assumed she was as drugged as the rest of them. She was outfitted in the same attire as most of the people surrounding her, all black. There was nothing to call out individualism in any way whatsoever. It was like I was seeing a room full of zombies with their flesh still attached. I was certain they were on pretty heavy drugs, but I had no idea what kind.

Then it hit me. They were ready to become the dogs that Azazel so enjoyed toting around with him, only they didn’t know it yet.

“
Have they committed, yet, to Azazel?”
I channeled to Arie.

The bodies around me began rhythmically bowing to the floor in dance-like movements. I, under normal circumstances, would have been worried for my own well-being, but these people were so out of it that all they cared about was what was directly in front of them.

“
What is going to happen to her?”
I channeled to Arie.

“
She’s the sacrifice. She’ll deliver the one-way entry for all of these fools to follow Azazel,”
she told me through our unspoken words.

“
They aren’t going to kill her are they? We can’t let that happen!”
I directed at Arie.

“
No, they aren’t doing that, thankfully, but it is probably just as horrid. She’s their best to stand next to whatever demon summoned this event up. Her soul will no longer belong to her.”

“
Are we going to stay here for the entire process?”
I needed to know what to prepare myself for.

“
I think we should. We need to see how easy the process is for the demons to gather new followers. So far, judging by everything, it looks far too easy,” s
he replied.

My heart sank, knowing the full meaning of what she spoke. Doing my best not to internalize it, I let the music fill my head. I did my finest not to get sucked into what I witnessed. There was no point of us stepping in. I promised Arie that I wouldn’t interfere, no matter what I saw. Little did I know, that what I was going to be witnessing would shake me to my core.

I nodded my head. Finding an area of the brick wall that was void of any sort of flaming light source, I leaned against it to prepare myself for the scene I was about to witness. I did my best to keep the fear tampered down.

Athen and Cyril were in similar circumstances elsewhere in the city. They were recording more events to share with everyone so that we could prepare for our fight better. I had to remind myself that this was for the greater good.

It truly tore at my soul knowing that these less than brilliant humans were about to turn over every precious fiber of their mortality to the dark side. They had no idea. Maybe it was better that way, for their sake.

Arie leaned against the wall next to me. She wore a pair of black leggings and a stylish oversized black shirt with her favorite pair of red stilettos, whereas I only managed to throw on the outfit from the girl who I had the shapeshifting accident on. Her clothes were the closest items in my closet that seemed fitting for tonight’s escapades.

“
Do you think he will show tonight?”
I channeled to Arie.

“
Only if we’re lucky,”
she replied sarcastically.

I suddenly felt as if my worlds were colliding. I didn’t want to be a witness to this type of mortal decrepit activity, but I needed to see it to understand how to win the battles that lay before us. I was so torn inside. It was like a bad accident that we all tell ourselves not to look at, and yet, we bought front-row seats. I only hoped none of the evil would penetrate me.

The music turned to silence. The heavy beats and faulty euphoria were immediately emptied out of the room. The worry began spreading that these humans might figure us out.

“
Are we gonna be found out?”
I asked Arie through our wavelength.

“
No, not to worry. They are all far too focused on what is about to take place.”

The humans were coming from everywhere like a rodent infestation. They were scattering through the hallways and corridors we passed through to get to this room. They all began huddling around the sacrificial being they didn’t seem to think twice about. Maybe since they weren’t killing her in the normal sense, it made it no big deal to them. My stomach began stirring a viscous nausea at the thought of witnessing this event.