by Dan O'Brien
Book of Seth:
Exodus
Dan O’Brien
© 2015 Dan O’Brien
“No beginning, no end: only the cycle, one Believer to the next. It seemed like there would never be resolution, but how can it ever stop if the beginning is the end and that end is the beginning of another cycle. Would this one be different? Would it herald a beginning with no end?”
-Words of the Believer
I opened my eyes in the darkness and for a moment I did not know where I was. I was on my back, the floor hard beneath me and shadows surrounding me. Lifting my body onto on my elbows, I realized that I was naked. My planedge was not at my side as it had been for as long as I had known. I felt something stir beside me. For a moment, I felt the familiar crawling sensation of fear snake up my spine.
Then, I saw her hair––the dark curls that I had run my hands through in what seemed like ages ago. Leane leaned against me, a soft murmur escaping her lips as she draped her arms over me. I sighed, relief settling in; and for the first time in my life, I felt as though I had a place. Pushing my body up farther, I shed the sheet that covered us. I pulled my pants over my legs, attaching my blade along my side. The movement awoke Leane, her face as radiant as it had been before. “Where are you going, Seth?”
I picked up my shirt and pulled it over my arms. I looked at her. For the life of me, I could not actually find a reason for leaving her there.
“I do not know. I felt as if I needed to go.”
She smiled at me and pulled the covers across her bare chest. She stood slowly; the trails of the sheets were like a brilliant dress that cascaded off of her. Leane wrapped the sheets around her gracefully and bent down. She picked her clothes from the ground and gripped them in her free hand. Peering back at me, she moved behind one of the fabrics leading into another room.
I shook my head and pulled the shirt completely over my head. As I stood up in the confines of her domicile, I realized the ceiling was far more spacious than any other place in the Fallen. I spied the fabric on the opposite end of the hall that Leane had taken and pushed it aside, revealing the waiting area of the infirmary. The ornate weave was still in its place and cold benches lined the corners of the room.
“Seth?” I could hear Leane’s voice behind me.
I moved back into the previous room and pushed aside the fabric that she had walked through. She was covered in a dark blue dress, the edges crisp and the body of it tight to her figure, a necessity in the perils that we faced.
She seemed so beautiful.
I leaned against the door frame. I tried my best to seem like my former self: the listless, devoid man that had hardened his mind and soul upon the tundra. “Yes?” I stammered. My tongue felt as if it filled my entire mouth, not allowing me to speak.
“Where will we go from here?” Her voice seemed angelic now, a sweet symphony that rang in my ears. Each syllable was a note in a pleasing melody.
“I imagine we will have to travel farther south. There are tribes there that might be able to guide us to warmer climates. I really don’t know except that we need to continue south. Warmer weather is our only sanctuary.”
“South? I have never been outside of these caves. I don’t know the world as you do. I have heard that the tundra consumes men and women alike like a plague––that there is no reprieve from the freezing temperatures.”
I could sense her apprehension. Beneath the tough exterior she feigned, I knew that she felt fear at her core.
“The unprepared man will be consumed by the cold, but we are not unprepared. Ryan and I grew upon that tundra. We will find a way.”
She nodded absently and gathered bits of clothing into a pack.
I saw her grasp the hilt of a blade, a dark-handled edge that I recognized as her father’s blade, Mitigon. She pulled it free of the sheath, the blade longer than her arm and almost as thick. The hilt was carved of granite stone into a veiled being wielding a scythe. The edge itself curved to a point that was much fatter than the base; thin, serrated spikes lined one side. Her eyes welled with tears, threatening to stream down her face. She held them in check, her cold glance centered on the blade. “Will I need this?”
“It is best to be prepared for the worst, especially where we are going.”
“What should I bring? What does one bring on an exodus from their home?”
I almost laughed. “Rations. Heat sources. Wear all the wraps that you can muster: the tighter the better. A weapon such as your father’s blade is good ideal there are things on the white plains that will take your life if you are not careful.”
She looked at me.
I reached down and caressed her cheek. “I will protect you.”
I heard the faint footfalls approaching. They rounded the side of the infirmary, stopping at the far end of the waiting room. The rustling of the doorway fabric came next and I turned back to Leane. “Will you see who that is, Seth?”
“Of course.” I walked into the main waiting room and stood behind the counter that separated the room.
Ryan looked back toward the entrance and began to speak before turning back around. “Leane, have you seen…” As he turned back and saw me standing there with a grin on my face, he finished his thought. “Seth?”
“What can I do for you, stranger?”
He moved toward the counter. Ryan looked back over his shoulder again.
“What is the problem, Ryan?”
“I just heard about what happened.”
I had already forgotten the tense words that had been spoken the night before; although, I could not foresee what would come next. “What of it?”
“They say you threatened violence. The disciplinary soldiers are looking for you. They tried to take Summer this morning, but she had already hid in the tunnels at the entrance. Now, they’re looking for you.”
I was shocked by his words. “Coming for me?” I almost laughed. “To what end? I already told them I would leave.”
“What happened exactly?” Ryan seemed far too tense; something was wrong.
“I went there after talking to you and Summer. I was furious. I told them how I felt––that what they were doing was wrong. They protested. Words were exchanged and they asked me to leave, forever, and I agreed begrudgingly,” I replied, replaying the incident as best I could.
He sighed, part frustration and part relief. “That’s all?”
“Of course. Why would I lie?”
He looked back once more and I reached forward and grasped him by the shoulders, returning his gaze to me.
“They say you threatened to kill Lord Higald and the rest of the Council. That you pulled a blade during the meeting and held it to their throats,” Ryan said quickly.
I closed my eyes and released my grip on Ryan’s shoulders. I slammed my clenched fists in to the counter, splintering the wood.
“Yes, there was a point when I lost my temper and I pulled my blade. How foolish of me. I’ve endangered us all.”
“No, I did the same thing when they were trying to place blame upon Summer immediately following the battle. I just didn’t know you felt as compelled as I did to point out their fault.” I could see gratitude in his eyes, respect that I had stood up for what I believed despite the code of the Fallen.
Leane parted the fabric beside me and the flush upon Ryan’s face was so grand that I thought for a moment he had suffocated.
She looked from Ryan to me. “What’s wrong?”
“Soldiers are coming for me. They are saying that I threatened to kill the Council. We have to go,” I returned. My eyes fell to Ryan. He had already donned his wraps and his weapons were set firml
y in place. “Can you be ready to go, Leane?”
She looked at me worriedly. “I need a little more time to gather some supplies and gather some medicine we will need.”
“That will work. I still have to go back and grab my pack from my domicile,” I replied, suddenly aware that I was unprepared to leave. “We will sneak back across the village as best we can and then gather what I need from my room, which isn’t much. As we are coming back across, we will come for you and then we are gone. There is no other way.”
Her eyes seemed so sad now. There was urgency there, but I knew that time was now against us. “I will do as you say, Seth. I will wait for you here.”
“We will be back as quickly as we can. Avoid contact with anyone if you can.”
“Agreed,” spoke Ryan with a distracted nod.
I had already vaulted the counter and stood on the opposite side beside my brother.
“Come on, Seth. I just saw the disciplinary soldiers turn toward the Common House as I neared here. We need to go,” he urged.
I looked back once more at Leane and crept out the door.
THE INTERIOR OF MY DOMICILE had been destroyed. What little possessions there were had been smashed and torn from the walls. I felt angry. I had for too long been their keeper, their protector from the creatures that stalked them upon the tundra. I felt a need for retribution.
Ryan came up alongside me and whistled when he saw the damage that had been done to my domicile. Couching down, he picked up a shattered piece of glass, a frame that held an old torn picture inside of it.
“Seth,” his words were broken, his voice defeated.
I looked at him and grasped the picture frame. “What is this?”
“It’s our picture,” he replied sadly.
“Our picture?”
“The one he took when I was born….” Ryan tried to continue, but he turned away.
I looked at his back, but he would not turn. Gazing at the broken frame I held, at the images there, I felt what he felt: sadness.
My father stood brazenly, my smaller frame upon his shoulders. A smile was spread across my face, my little arms waving. My father had been a stern man at times; his face wore a thin smile in this picture. His long brown hair was past his shoulders and his fierce blue eyes were oceans of compassion and insight. Beside him was my mother, a beautiful woman. Her long black hair cascaded down her back, braids tangled throughout; her equally dark eyes haunted the picture. In her arms was my brother wrapped in blankets. His tiny hands were extended just above the blankets, reaching for my mother’s embrace. I looked at it and I felt warmth on my face, tears springing to my eyes.
I fell to one knee, my chest heavy and my lips drawn tight. “I….”
“Seth, I’m sorry. They shouldn’t have done this.”
“They sent me out into that frozen wasteland day in and day out and I obliged without so much as a word. I walked to my own death to that Temple and still I said nothing; but now that I have stood up for what is right, they wrong me like this. They took everything from us: our father, our mother, and now our home.” My words boiled now, my anger rising to the surface in waves.
“Seth, there is nothing more that we can do now. Our place is no longer here. We will build another home, another place; and from there, we will make a place worth protecting, worth having,” pleaded my brother.
I knew now that I could no longer harbor any reservations about this place. My anger was complete; my hatred for them was something material now, something tangible. Their cowardice and inability to see beyond their own pitiful gains was no longer my concern. “More will come. You know that, don’t you?” I queried, reaching behind my upturned bed and pulling out the slightly-dislodged stone there. I reached inside the darkened space and pulled my pack free. My wraps were littered on top and my sidearm and sheathed blade on its top. I stood up, grasping the length of the wraps in my hands and began to wrap them around myself, one piece at a time.
“Yes, Summer said more will come,” he replied as he watched me strap the blade along my back.
“There will be no one to defend them.”
“Yes,” he replied sullenly.
“Can you accept that responsibility?”
“What does it matter? They no longer wish us to be here.”
“Yes, it was their decision and we must live with it.”
I felt comfortable in my wraps, protected. I had braved the tundra so many times that these wraps felt like my armor.
Creeping back out into the village, I retraced the steps that we had taken.
WE EMERGED ON THE OTHER SIDE. I negotiated my way around the adobe house next to the infirmary and moved in close to the window there. Peeking over the sill, I saw something that I wish I had not. Leane stood her ground, her beautiful hair cascading around her shoulders; before her stood four disciplinary soldiers. Their faces were young and their jaws stern. They brandished their pikes menacingly as one of them stepped forward and brought it close to her face.
“Where is he?” demanded the stern youth.
Leane looked at him, her eyes hard and cold. “I don’t know how many more times I am going to have to tell you this, but I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Where is Seth, son of Evan?”
She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the boy. “I have no idea. I have not seen Seth since he left the Council last night,” she replied, her lips pursed and her posture strong.
The hit took her off guard. The open-handed slap rattled her face and dropped her to one knee.
If it had not been for the restraint of Ryan’s arm I would leapt through the window.
“Seth,” he whispered urgently. I looked back at him and knew he was right. To rush them from this distance would be endangering her life more than it already was. “Let’s go around the front and surprise them.”
“Agreed,” I whispered back angrily.
As we moved around the building, I could hear the hateful soldier screaming at Leane.
We were about to round the next corner when I realized that I heard voices there as well.
I stopped Ryan by placing my hand on his chest.
“What?” he whispered.
“Voices by the entrance, I’ll take a look.” I peered around the corner.
Two guards stood at the entrance to the infirmary.
My chest heaved and my mind raced. “Guards,” I whispered.
“I’ll take care of them,” replied my brother easily, as if he were talking about going and getting another blanket.
“What? No. We will have to think of something else,” I replied dismissively.
“Think about it, Seth. We’re wasting time just sitting here. They aren’t looking for me; they’re looking for you. I can surprise them, throw them off guard, and give us a chance to get in there before something happens to Leane.” I hated when my brother was right, but his reasoning was sound. I nodded in defeat. “Don’t worry, big brother. I can take care of myself; plus, I wouldn’t want your new girlfriend to get knocked off already.”
He disappeared around the corner before I could respond, but I saw the boyish smile spread across his features as he turned the corner.
I watched him carefully as he approached the two guards.
They turned on him with their pikes, clearly surprised by his sudden presence.
My brother was unfazed. “Hey guys, ease up on the weapons there. I just came to tell you I know where Seth is.”
I held my breath. Would my brother really betray me to the soldiers?
The first soldier did not seem to buy it. “You’re his brother. Why in the name of the Believer would you betray him? If I were him, I’d want to kill you,” he returned snidely.
My brother smirked, his mind working much faster than the soldiers. “Hey, I have to cut my losses. Summer is already in trouble and now my brother. I don’t want to be banished or executed alongside them.”
I didn’t know what to believe; his words se
emed convincing enough.
“Where is he then?” queried the second guard impatiently.
My brother turned and looked right at me.
The two guards’ eyes went wide when they saw me perched along the wall and they raised their pikes in response.
He pointed with a grin on his face. “Right there, gentlemen.”
I stood quickly and drew my planedge, gripping it tightly as I ran around the corner.
“Ryan, you backstabbing little brat,” I roared as I prepared to engage the guards.
My brother beat me to it. He slammed his left fist into the firs guard’s neck, his larger body falling to the ground with a thud. The other turned when he heard his fellow sentry fall to the ground and swung his pike high at Ryan’s head. Ryan ducked beneath it and slammed his flat palm into the guard’s chest. The force of the blow lifted him off the ground and against the wall. His eyes rolled back and he slumped against the infirmary.
“How’s that for catching them by surprise?” he laughed, looking at his handiwork.
“I thought you had betrayed me,” I replied.
He looked down at my drawn blade and laughed. “You need to have a little more faith in me, brother. Come on, Seth. You have your princess to save.”
I stared at him.
He slapped his hand against my shoulder and flashed a youthful grin. Flattening himself against the adobe wall once again, his face became serious. I nodded my head and stepped in front of him, my body flat against the wall as well. I moved through the entrance slowly. I could hear Leane crying and the soldier mumbling something. Moving over the counter with a quick vault, I landed without a sound.
My brother was immediately at my heels.
I inhaled quietly as I parted the fabric and saw the soldier lifting his clenched fist up high.
Leane was on one knee, her face in her hands.
I leapt forward, tackling the soldier. I used the momentum to throw him against the wall, his head colliding with a sickening sound. His body slumped to the floor uselessly. Turning back to the other two soldiers, I used their surprise to my advantage. I held my blade in my left hand and grasped the first soldier’s pike as he swung it toward me lazily in my right hand; I slashed him along the stomach. The razor edge tore through his clothing easily and spilled his intestines to the ground. He fell back against the other guard and as he did, I spun around the dying guard and planted my blade in the back of the second guard.
