Embers

by Daniela Elana

  “I dreamt the same thing about the army of giants.”

  “Weird, what do you think it means?”

  “We need to warn everyone again, especially the elected officials.”

  “So another trip to the capital?”

  “No, we can reach out to them through the web.”

  “Aren’t most of the servers down?”

  “I have a friend I can contact to fix that issue.”

  “How long will it take?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “If we’re using the power of the internet then we need to air our message on prime time television. Do you think it’s possible your friend could hack into the media’s servers, preferably during America’s Hot Seat?”

  “You want another segment from Ross Day and his commentators?” he asked with a grin.

  “No, but I know a lot of people tune into his show.”

  “I’ll see what she can do.” He turned and left me standing there alone. Although he agreed upon the plan, still I couldn’t shake my suspicions of him.

  “It’s a nice day out,” Caroline said while she took a seat at the outdoor kitchen table with a glass of lemonade. She smoothed out her black skirt that contrasted well with her pink tie bow-neck blouse.

  “It sure is.”

  “If only the state of this country were like this weather.”

  “I thank God for all we have because we have it better than most,” I said.

  “You can say that again,” she said, adjusting her sunglasses.

  “Does it ever bother you that we’re safe and sound while outside this fortress millions starve, fight and die just to survive?”

  “I do feel bad for them. Those struggling are in my thoughts and prayers. God blessed us, and I’m not going to apologize for the position I’m in no matter how unfair it seems.” Her words did little to lessen my inner guilt. “Leo seems close to you,” she said as she fanned herself.

  “It’s nice to talk to someone who has similar experiences.”

  “I’m happy you two can talk, but it makes Mason uncomfortable.”

  “I know, and I’m torn about it.”

  “Please try not to hurt Mason.”

  “Hurt him?”

  “When you left for DC. He got really depressed and refused to eat or drink. It was the first time I had seen him cry.”

  “That’s scary,” I said, brushing a bead of sweat from my forehead.

  “You two remind me of Kevin and me sometimes, he was just as wild about me as Mason is about you. He pursued me until I said yes.”

  “How long have you and Kevin been married?”

  “Four years. We were high school sweethearts we started dating my freshman year. He was a senior football player, and I was a cheerleader,” she said. I smiled. “He proposed to me my senior year of high school right before graduation, and he was deployed overseas.”

  “Was it hard?”

  “It was actually. I was off in college while Kevin was on the other side of the globe fighting for this country, but we managed, and after his four years were over we tied the knot on my twenty-third birthday.”

  “That’s beautiful,” I said.

  “I’m sure someday you and Mason will do the same. I’ve known him for a couple of years. He’s a good friend and a God-fearing man,” she said. A lump formed in my throat as she went on about him. The more I heard about him, the less convinced I felt about staying with him. “Our bible study prayed God would bring an incredible Proverbs 31 woman into his life. Tammy thought it was her, but God had differed plans.”

  “I’m sure...” I muttered.

  “It’s a shame because so many women have thrown themselves at him over the years because of who he is and what he has, but he never settled.” She beamed, looking up as she spoke.

  “That must’ve been tough for him.”

  “It certainly was, and often he complained about feeling used. But then you came along. You’re the answer to his prayer, Maricel.”

  “Maybe,” I said I rose heading inside entering the kitchen catching a whiff of blueberry muffins.

  “It’s about time,” my mother said as she fixed a plate of food for herself last.

  “I’m sorry, I’m late. I just needed some fresh air.” She smiled.

  Leo was seated at the snack bar with a plate texting on his phone. How was he getting a signal with most towers down? With a deep breath, I lingered to the dining area.

  Mason sat at the table conversing with Kevin Erich, Warren, and Leslie. He glanced at me while I fetched a plate and joined everyone at the table in the dining room.

  “Caroline and I were in the courtyard just a few minutes ago enjoying the weather,” I said. My words were met with silence “Maybe we can take a walk later through the vineyard.”

  “It’s too dangerous,” Mason said, not meeting my gaze.

  “But the vineyard is on your property where it’s safe.”

  “You never know who’s lurking outside these gates waiting to sneak over the gates,” he glanced over at Leo.

  “It was just a suggestion.”

  “One with little thought put into it,” he said. I stood up, glaring at him. “Maricel, where are you going?” Mason asked.

  “I lost my appetite,” I said. Leo was now looking at me from the kitchen region, his mouth slightly open. I stopped in place.

  “Is that fresh toast I smell?” Caroline said as she entered the dining room. Everyone remained silent. “Okay… It’s awfully quiet. I’ll go grab a plate,” she said, picking up on the tension hanging in the air.

  “Mar!” Leslie called after me. I turned away, ignoring her.

  I ventured to my room, closing the door behind me and sat down in a chair. My throat swelled to whimper, but my eyes were too dry to produce tears.” I placed my headphone in my ears, drowning out my surroundings by hitting play and withdrew my journal from the second drawer of the nightstand to write. The words poured on to the page with each pang my heart suffered from the inescapable pain welling inside me

  * * *

  Hours went by as I scribbled on the page after page. My train of thought was interrupted by a light knock at the door. I removed the headphones and answered the door.

  “Come in,” I said. Leo stood with his hands tucked deep in his pockets. For once, he had tamed his unruly curls with gel.

  “You’ve been acting erratic,” he said, eyeing me.

  “Isn’t everyone? The world is burning. I feel guilty, sitting here passive.” I tucked my journal in the drawer.

  “Not for long.” He reached in his back pocket for his phone. “My friend, Crystal Hays, used the deep web to hack into America’s Hot Seat as suggested by you. Ross Day is ten minutes into the segment. When I hit record, you will live stream. Are you ready?”

  “As ready as I’m going to get.”

  “You’re on in three, two…” he said, angling the camera at me. I prayed for strength and guidance from the Holy Spirit as well as peace of mind with the words I spoke. After I finished my prayer, I opened my eyes.

  “I prefer lights camera, action,” I said. Leo rolled his eyes.

  “Action,” he said. The record button beeped.

  “Hello, my name is Maricel. You might remember me for the film The Missing Continent. Today I’m burdened with informing you that the clock is ticking for this nation. It’s almost midnight. We are in the final hour. Although the things you have already witnessed are horrific, they are what Jesus Christ warned about in Mathew 24 concerning the signs of the times. What is to come next is far worse.”

  “I was shown in a dream by the Most High that there will be a home invasion on American soil with a nuclear weapon used. I hope our elected officials will heed this warning and prepare.”

  “Every citizen, I advise to pray and take shelter,” I said. Leo signaled to me that the recording had stopped he lowered the camera. I sighed as sweat whisked down my face f
rom nerves.

  “How did it feel?” He gulped.

  “Weird...”

  The door swung open. Through it stormed Mason with clenched teeth. He shook his fist

  “Are you out of your mind?” he huffed.

  “I can explain!”

  “What’s there to explain? Just when I think you couldn’t have stooped any lower, you do this! I’m disappointed in you, Maricel.”

  “Disappointed? The lives of millions of people are at stake! What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and drink from a posh little beach house while the world goes to hell!”

  “So gracious of you to take everything I gave you for granted! This thug has filled your little head with delusions of grandeur that you’re some doomsday messenger who’s going to save the world!”

  “You said it yourself that I had the gift!”

  “And you think that places you above the law!”

  “It was for a noble cause!”

  “More like criminal. Who’s to say the United States is Babylon or that God is “judging” anyone? How self-righteous are you, Maricel?”

  “The signs are everywhere.”

  “A delusional mind finds signs everywhere!” He frowned. Leo stood not uttering a word. His silence angered me. Leo was as “delusional” as I was, so why was Mason only attacking me? Then again, I should’ve known he hadn’t gotten over this morning.

  “I’m just doing what I feel God is urging me to do.”

  “Don’t bring “God” into this!” He scowled. “You hacked Ross Day’s show because you didn’t like what he said about you a week ago and wanted to even the score. To make matters worse, you mentioned nukes! Now the media thinks your message from God was a national threat, prophetess!”

  “You’re exaggerating things.”

  “If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself.”

  I pushed past him leaving Leo standing in the room alone, and Mason followed behind me down the steps as I moved to the living room.

  On the television screen, Ross Day grinned as he displayed shots from the video of me seated in the chair speaking.

  * * *

  “Hal, I never thought I’d see the day when I’d agree with you. This video is the definition of terrorism,” Krista said.

  “Am I hearing what I think I am?” Ross said. “Did Krista McIntosh and Hal Cornwell agree for once on an issue? I have to say, in the ten years on prime television never has my show been hacked by a mentally disturbed fundamentalist cult leader,” Ross said.

  “I don’t think Maricel is mentally ill, I think she’s using fundamentalist rhetoric to threaten this count,” Hal argued.

  “She does have a messiah complex, which could be the result of a mental breakdown. After all, she had one hit film and since has fallen out of the limelight, so she clutches to this savior complex amid the chaos.”

  “Don’t feel too sorry for her Ross, she’s a psychopath, dog-whistling other extremists!” Hal said.

  “Hal, it’s common for those who are experiencing psychosis to think every catastrophe is an act of God, especially if she’s under the influence of drugs or that man she was with,” Ross said.

  “I don’t buy the whole innocent act. Hacking your show suggests Maricel is calculating!” Hal said.

  “She certainly is methodical since she decided to have her boyfriend hack the number one rated show in primetime news,” Ross grinned. “But she also has a history of seeing spirits. Remember that account two years ago from Casper James and Lyric Break about arguing over demons with her fellow actress Leslie Blake.”

  “That was bizarre Ross. I have to agree with Hal that she might even be the cult leader rather than the guy she was with at Capitol Hill,” Krista said.

  “Up next folks, I’ll have Casper James live streaming from Los Angeles to share what his experience with Maricel was like.”

  * * *

  .

  My blood ran cold as I muted the television. Had I acted on impulse rather than hearing from God? Leo was eager to use me as the face of “our” prediction. He hadn’t bothered to talk me out of it. I covered my face as Mason stood behind me with his arms crossed.

  “You’ve placed us all in danger!”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. Mason tore my hand from my face, forcing me to look at the screen. On it was Casper and his lips moving as he discussed me worsened the sharp pain my stomach. “Now, they’re going to charge you with treason and the rest of us could be linked to you for conspiracy! You’ve compromised everyone here’s safety!” He sneered. Tears welled up in the ducts of my eyes.

  “Please forgive me, Mason, I’ll leave to keep everyone here safe...whatever it takes—” I whimpered. He wrapped his large hands around my shoulders, squeezing them so tight, I tensed up. Breathing in, I did what I could to calm my uneven pulse. His eyes that always delighted in me were now consumed with rage as he shoved me.

  I fell face first and breathed into the Persian carpet allowing the wool to absorb my tears and muffle my whimper.

  Mason pulled me up from behind with the vibration of Erich and Leslie’s footsteps rounding the corner.

  “I’m sorry I lost my temper,” he said. My eyes were still red and puffy

  Leslie scowled at Mason, shaking her head.

  “Maricel, what happened?” She asked. My lips started to move. I covered my mouth too overcome to speak and turned away. Mason grabbed my arm and whisked me around to face him and took my chin into his hands.

  “Please forgive me, Maricel!” he pleaded. His eyes had returned to their usual warm expression.

  With a deep breath, my mouth parted ready to unload the sharp sentences hanging on the edge of my tongue that would let everyone know what he had done.

  His grip was lost with Leo shoving Mason down and kicking him in the abdomen. The couches were displaced with them swinging at each other. Erich and Warren ran out and grabbed both of them.

  “I’ll kill you!” Leo shouted as he was removed from the situation by Erich and Warren.

  “I’d like to see you try,” Mason said, adjusting the collar of his shirt and smoothing back his hair.

  “I’ll sever your throat if you lay a hand on her again!”

  “Get this hoodlum out of my house!” Mason said to his guards. Security motioned to grab Leo. They stopped shoving him when he raised his hands behind his head.

  The guards followed Leo to his room as he packed up his things into his backpack he carried. Meanwhile, I stood speechless in the living room, unsure of what to think. It felt as if the world was spinning too fast for me to keep up with.

  He emerged minutes later with his book bag. He looked at me and tilted to his head as to ask if I were coming. I glanced back at Mason. He wiped a speck of blood from his nose. He scowled at Leo before his gaze shifted to me. If I left, I wouldn’t be welcome back. There was no way I was abandoning my mother and friends. Especially while Mason was in one of his moods. Not for some stranger like Leo.

  I shook my head. Leo frowned and turned away from me with a shrug as he left disappearing out the door.

  I rushed up the steps to the balcony, gripping the railing to watch him traveling further away. He looked up at me, locking eyes. A surge of foreboding ripped through me as we held a stare. Finally, he broke eye contact and continued walking as the sun was setting for the day.

  Everything in me wanted to call after him and beg him to take me with him—better yet, chase him. I couldn’t bring myself to make a peep or move. The same longing I had to follow him was the same emotion that paralyzed me. Leo kept plodding along until he was entirely out of sight.

  Large hands covered my shoulders. They stiffened from the unexpected touch. I pivoted around to see Mason standing behind me, he took me into his arms. He was the last person I wanted to see or hold me. Yet, I knew better to show my indifference.

  “We have to leave.”

  “Leave?”

  “It’s
not safe here. We need to leave town. I have a bunker,” Mason said. How convenient now that Leo had been thrown out and even more reason he was a coward for overreacting to what I had done if this all could’ve been solved with another one of his resources.

  “Let me start packing my things,” I said, turning away to head back inside. Mason nodded. Now that I had violated his trust, it was near impossible to earn it back. I passed my mother’s room, and she looked up at me.

  “Maricel!” she said. I entered and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

  “I thought I was doing the right thing by warning the nation...” I said.

  “I’m sure Isaiah, Elijah, Ezekiel, and many other prophets felt the same feeling you felt. But right now there’s no time to cry.” She took me into her arms.

  “Mason, says we should leave again.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Mom...” Before I could utter the next phrase and confess to her what Mason had done or how trapped I felt, I bit my tongue.

  “Yes...”

  “Nothing.” I helped her collect her things.

  “If you ever need to talk, I’m here to listen. I don’t want to make the same mistake with a lack of communication like what happened when you fell prey to Azazel,” she said. I nodded.

  * * *

  After thirty minutes of packing, I sat beside Mason in a minivan, Leo came to mind. He was all alone out there, but he was an assassin who could fend for himself, right?

  In the minivan, I sat beside Mason, Leo came to mind. He was all alone out there, but he was an assassin who could fend for himself, right?

  We passed burning buildings, weathered architecture that once was crowded businesses districts and main attractions for tourists.

  Mason stopped at a small gas station. As we waited, I noted it was vacant except for the minivan and the clerk’s Toyota Corolla.

  I headed inside to use the restroom donning a baseball cap and removing my glasses, hoping it would make me more nondescript. While I entered, in the clerk squinted and me and his lips pressed into a thin line, adding my unease. Mason came in after me and bartered with the clerk.

  As I left the bathroom, heading back outside, I noticed a blue hummer sitting on the side of the road nearby filled with four plump men with beet-red faces spitting Tabaco. I turned away. Mason was already back in the van, and I got in beside him. I stole one more glance at the truck and the hair on my arm raised. Rather than speak up about my growing concern, I kept my lips sealed and prayed silently about the whole ordeal.