Rebirth

by Valerie Willis

  “Ok. Should I set the sound up on the open line?” She pulled the bass strap off and gently placed the bass on a stand she had brought out. “Or would that be pointless? I know everyone is different.”

  “That’s your call. I don’t see how it would hurt. They are replacing you, and well, if that’s how you always have it when we play then it makes sense for them to play your settings.” He smiled at her as he headed back off stage to grab a table for the sheet music.

  Hotan moved off stage, satisfied with the setup, leaving Shellie to configure the open line for her future replacement. He pulled a table closer to the stage and aligned three chairs for them to sit in. Dumping his book bag there, he walked over to the front doors. He took his time unlocking the door as he listened to her strumming rhythms in the background.

  I taught her that one.

  He had taught her what he knew about the bass and she absolutely took off with it. The one and only time that he had actually attempted to teach anyone anything and had managed to not lose his patience. It made him feel good to have been part of her love for the bass. Opening the door, he squinted at the sunlight, hot as it lay upon him. There was still no signs of anyone, or even Kyle.

  “Hey!” Hotan whipped his head back to the left to see what was going on. “Hey, Hotan! I came to audition!”

  “You?” He blinked as he watched Metsy, the girl from his math class, come skipping down the sidewalk. She was looking rather awkward with a bass case strapped to her back. “You play bass?”

  “I’ve got a life outside math class, you know.” She laughed as she came to a stop in front of the club, straightening her punk yoked skirt out. “I saw the flyers and well, I figured it was worth the try.”

  “Yea, definitely,” He opened the door wider to let her in. “I didn’t realize you were 18. To be honest, I didn’t think I would be seeing too many kids from school because of that.”

  “Well, I guess that’s the advantage of being labeled slow in elementary school.” She huffed as she swung the case off her back and carried it in front of her. “I think I was held back like two times.”

  “Really?” He wasn’t sure what would be the best response to the information that had been volunteered to him. “Well, we just finished setting up. If you want to sit and chill after walking all this way, you can.”

  “Oh thanks, I appreciate it.” Metsy flopped down in a chair, happy to take a load off her feet. “Hey Shellie! What’s up?”

  “Metsy!” Shellie chimed waving from the stage, placing her bass on its stand again. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you!”

  “I know!” The two girls hugged. “We haven’t had a class together in some time.”

  Hotan let them catch up with one another. Dragging the heavy ashtray out with him, he propped it as a doorstop. Kyle came around the alleyway, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. Mumbling to himself, he was desperate to escape the bright morning light.

  It was nice to be having a normal day. Everything else just seemed like a distant dream, despite all that he took in yesterday. He didn’t want to think about it. There was plenty of time later to start stressing over the details and create new theories later. Today he simply wanted to be the Hotan with a boring life, or at least while it lasted.

  “Well, we’ll start when you’re ready, Metsy. Hard to say who else will show today?” He smiled to himself as he looked away from the bright skies.

  “Sounds like a plan!” Metsy hopped up, full of energy as she unpacked her bass.

  The day went by rather fast considering how few showed up for auditions. There were some good players, including Metsy, surprisingly. Hotan found himself not paying attention to the players, catching himself staring at Shellie. He was trying to gauge her reaction to the musicians on stage, but also enjoying every smile and giggle. It was keeping him from focusing on yesterday’s overload that kept knocking at the back of his head. He wasn’t sure if Kyle was even paying attention either. Half the time he was yawning or still rubbing his eyes. For now, he would indulge in one last attempt of a normal life before tackling the bizarre issues of his new emerging life.

  Hotan sighed as he placed books in his locker. He was considering it being the last time he’ll see them at the rate his life was going. In fact, the only reason he was coming to school still was he wanted to see what Mr. Piedmont knew. School seemed to be one of the few places he could relax, being there among students made him feel partially human still.

  Can I even consider myself human? I mean, it seems that we are technically people who adapted to possess powers to help us in a time of need. Do any of us really know why we are here and have these abilities? Was this a mistake or flaw in nature? Maybe I should just…

  “Hey, are we still having a show tomorrow night?” Hisota’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

  “Yea, why are you asking?” He turned to look at him, surprised to see that Hisota wasn’t in his face. “You planning to show?”

  “Well,” Hisota smiled to himself and let out a gratifying sigh. “Yes, and I wanted to see if someone could come with me. I met her this past week. Can you get her in?”

  “Yea, I can get, her, in.” He raised an eyebrow at Hisota as his sentence fell apart. It had felt awkward to piece that sentence together. “Who is she?”

  “Her name is Charlotte, cute too.” Hisota shrugged smirking. “Let’s just say, she caught me off guard.”

  “No kidding. Anyway, it shouldn’t be an issue with Chaz.” Eyeing the clock, Hotan saw it was time to get to class. “I look forward to meeting her. See you tonight then.”

  “I’ll bring her by afterschool and introduce her to you.” Hisota jerked himself off the lockers and left in the opposite direction.

  Hotan shook his head, but couldn’t be happier that Hisota had a new distraction. All these years and he would have never thought of Hisota to go out with a girl. As long as he could remember, he would flirt and hit on him to the point it was spiteful and jealous in nature. In fact, back in elementary school Hisota was the big bad bully that seemed to get under everyone’s skin and made the other kids flat out miserable. On the other hand, he had been the silent kid in the background, a complete recluse.

  He’ll never forget that one day out on the playground, watching as Hisota made his claim, taking one kid down at a time...

  He was sitting there eating a snack when he heard a scream behind the pine trees and bushes next to the picnic table. It sounded like someone was in pain and hurt badly. With a sigh of annoyance Hotan had walked over to see what had happened since the teacher was numb to the screams of the kids running about. He came across Hisota and his latest victim, a boy who was new to the school. That boy was Kyle, and for the first time Hotan had a protective sensation wash over him. Considering new information, he knew why, but it’s amazing to know it was there at such a young age. He felt upset and pissed seeing Hisota shove him back on the ground and throw pinecones at him. Kyle had tears streaming down his face.

  The kid, Kyle, had spent the last couple of days trying to get Hotan to talk. All day he would make it his personal goal to sit next to him and talk on and on about anything in hopes he would respond. He had found it amusing and entertaining to see how long Kyle was going to carry the process on. Most response he had given him was a nod here and there thanks to a new sense of guilt that would build up after some time.

  “Hey! Back off!” Hotan’s voice had shook Hisota and he dropped the pinecone.

  “Who are you?” Hisota was denser than he had given him credit for.

  “Who cares?” He walked over and helped Kyle up. “Why are you picking on him?”

  “Because he’s a meanie head!” Kyle sniffled with his bottom lip quivering as he botched his efforts to hold back from crying further.

  “Plenty of reasons, he’s got red hair and I want his gummy snacks.” Hisota walked up and was nose-to-nose, poking Hotan in the chest. “But since you’re going to be in my way, I’ll make you pay
for it.”

  “No.” He looked at Hisota, ignoring the little finger digging into his chest. “How about you give him your snack as an apology for what you did to him.”

  “What?” Hisota laughed, “Yea right.”

  “Yea! Gimme yours!” Kyle antagonized from behind him, “Meanie!”

  “How about I beat you up again?” Hisota shot a glare Kyle’s way and he rightfully withered back into remission. “Just try me!”

  “I don’t think so.” He grabbed Hisota by the shirt and slammed him against the pine tree. “If I ever see you picking on him, I’m going to beat you up.”

  “Ugh.” Hisota was at a loss for words as he stared into Hotan’s, a single tear making its way down one cheek.

  “Come on, Kyle. Let’s go.” He turned and walked back to the picnic table with Kyle at his heels like a puppy dog.

  “Don’t be messing with us!” Kyle was trying to put on the tough guy act and began puffing himself up.

  Hisota had been left there, against the pine tree sobbing. The teacher had marveled at the sudden change of behavior. He stopped picking on everyone and began following Hotan religiously. It was bizarre that somehow that they had become friends. For Kyle it was a friendship, but Hisota had developed this odd obsession with Hotan, creating this boyish crush towards him. Hisota worshipped the ground Hotan walked on until high school. At that point, it began to turn sour. A jealous lover type rage that was getting irritating as of late and embarrassing.

  Everyone had concluded that Hisota was in love with Hotan. Now Hotan was starting to think he was dragging this girl with him in hopes of making Hotan jealous. If that were the case, it was wrong. Hisota should know he had no interest in him, and to move on. He was a good looking guy and there was no reason for him not to be able to snag a relationship with whomever he wanted, whether it was male or female.

  Shellie had seen her share of Hisota’s fits and schemes. The swindles he made beat the cruelest pranks of jocks and cheerleaders. Malicious and outright demonic would be one way to describe the ways Hisota would attempt to drive a stake between him and Shellie. She had fallen victim to conveniently dropped food items, bubble gum in the hair, to even demeaning rumors. Hisota was caught hanging posters so vulgar he was almost expelled over the chaos. How or why Shellie lasted through the heavier antics was a miracle in itself.

  The last year was more subtle, the pranks and mean acts fading away. He would just simply create a confrontation with Hotan, no one else, and then simply disappear. That is until he got tired of hiding away when no one seemed to care or thought he had another opportunity to piss Hotan off further.

  All he could hope for that this new girlfriend of Hisota’s was legitimate and a new outlet. He seemed to be the type that wouldn’t mind having a significant other who worships his every step. It was very clear Hisota wasn’t going to get that from him, especially since he has never done anything significant. You couldn’t even label Hisota a good guy. If he had witnessed a charitable act by him, then hell had frozen over twice fold. It just wasn’t in his nature to be kind to others. He couldn’t imagine him risking his own life for anyone, not even his own mother.

  Once more science class was dragging. Everyone was busy filling in answers on the five-page ditto on yesterday’s lab. Surely, the teacher was going to be testing us on all of these procedures later this month. He sighed as he shoved the assignment to the side and eyed the Book of Ancients in his bag. He pulled it out and continued his research. He started jumping sections now, looking for answers.

  Book of Ancients: Judgment

  He is the most loving and forgiving man on Earth.

  True to his title of elder brother, Talib should have been the leader of the Levites. He was kindhearted, but had the impeccable ability to make sound judgments. Advising his younger brother with utmost wisdom and command as if this was natural. Never was there disdain or jealousy about their father’s decision to make him advisor and Hotan official chief. Instead he was the backbone to his younger brother Hotan. Together they were strong leaders whose only mistake was trusting the council of elders. The council members were supposed to work in conjunction to them. The elders’ selfish espionage led to the destruction of the thirteenth tribe of Israel, now labeled in the history books as the Levites.

  Life before their exile from the motherlands, Talib and his wife Saphellia had been attempting to produce a child. Despite the years of failure, they never loss hope or faith that someday they would be blessed with one. That dream ended when the village burnt to the ground. It further died on the island of Eden, when it became clear that our curses would not allow us the pleasure of continuing our lives or legacies through children. I never understood where all that strength came from to hold such strong happy faces. Perhaps unlike myself, they were able to accept it as part of the sacrifices needed for the miracles we had been given.

  Talib was the element of Judgment. It was fitting and the control he had over his powers was far superior than everyone else. There were several tells for seeing who was actively using their abilities. Markings across the skin, a flaming aura around their bodies, and in lower quantities one would have glowing eyes. When he invoked his ability, not even a shine in his eyes could be seen. It was exciting and terrifying to watch over the centuries how powerful that one element could be. In several cases, Talib had shifted history with one shift to a judgment call. As with all the abilities, he controlled all aspects of this power. The element was interesting as he could make it impossible for someone to decide on something, but more often it was used to force decisions and judgments for the greater good.

  I was most amazed at how easy it was for him to control a large quantity of people all at once. This was a hard thing for the other Humanity based immortals to do, since it required an ungodly amount of stamina. Unable to turn a blind eye, he had made a judgment call to save hundreds of lives. They did not have enough resources or room to save the village with one ship. He had advised the captain and mayor to give up on the settlement and leave to Croatan Island until they can return in a larger ship. Neither of them agreed with him. Frustrated, he watched children playing and chasing some chickens.

  Death was coming, and he could not stop him, but he could make these people disappear before its arrival. It was the first time I had witnessed him sweat and reveal his tattoos as he pushed his power out and over. I watched in awe as everyone stopped what they were doing and marched for Croatan Island. The ship’s Captain and Crew immediately turned back to the ship, a sudden decision to abandon the settlement in every aspect. With one last wave of his powers, he cast that they forever forget about Roanoke Colony. It was the last time I would ever see Talib, the element of Judgment.

  This would soon be a place for Death to reside.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Hotan froze as he finished the last line. He read it again and again. It made his insides twist every time. Something wasn’t right.

  Something is wrong. This book was written as his last will and testament. What was he doing in Roanoke Colony? What did he do that required this drastic of a solution? I need to know what you did, Hotan. I can’t fix this. I don’t even know what I am supposed to fix. What went so wrong that no one but you knew about? Or does Talib really know? What is with all this impending Death? Was it Geliah? Or is there something else out there?

  He went throughout his day mulling over the terrifying statement, a place for Death to reside. It was getting more disturbing. He needed to focus on this mess he had avoided for weeks. Since Lilly’s display of power, he had pushed it off his mind. More information was needed but where to start. He wasn’t ready to confront Talib, there was more he wanted to figure out. Before attempting to bash heads with the most powerful immortal, he would need to build an arsenal of information. Talib could twist him around before he would realize it was even happening.

  I don’t want to repeat that dinner incident again. Where can I start looking? Who do I turn to? Jake? Lilly? Is there
someone else?

  “My goodness! You look older than me today.” Mr. Piedmont’s wrinkled his face in disdain. “Perhaps I can help?”

  “No offense, Mr. Piedmont, but I don’t think you can.” Hotan slumped into the chair as the weight of his burden sludged over him. “I don’t think you’d believe me if I even told you.”

  “Believe you?” Mr. Piedmont smiled at him and leaned over his desk. “Believe that you’re the reincarnate of Hotan? Or that you feel an overwhelming obligation to fix a problem you, nor Jake, Talib or the rest of us have any information on? My boy, please remember you aren’t alone in this matter like you think you are. We want to help and find answers as much as you do.”

  “How, how do you?” He sat up in the chair looking the old man in the eyes. You too? You’re one of us too?

  Yes and I am very worried about you. You keep on going at this alone, but remember we are just as lost as you are on the matter. Mr. Piedmont let out a heavy sigh as he leaned back. “I must say I admire the brilliance of your mind. Hotan always had an amazing ability to take in the world around him and use that information to its fullest. Here lately you’ve been your own obstacle, which never does anyone any good.”

  “I can’t believe you’re one of us too.” He could not shake the feeling that he had been oblivious. “It’s just, I have no idea who is who anymore.”

  “Please understand, I am more of an observer. I have been watching over you and I must say, you’re not doing so well.” It was the first time he had ever heard a serious tone from the old man. “You have to be a little more aware of what’s going on. If you keep going down this path, you will fail to protect yourself, or worse, your loved ones. It’s no grand secret that you are colorblind and have brilliant moments of seeing colors. I didn’t confront you about it sooner because I was hoping Talib would take charge. Honestly, I think we’ve all been praying your memories would return. Until you unlock your powers, do not let it be known you see any color. This was a mistake you made with me between that painting and the candy. If you are wondering why I am telling you now, then let me say this: It has never taken past a month. Never longer than a month for any of us to remember who we were before.” Except you, Hotan.