“So, how did it go, Mr. Nathan?” asked a cheery Lafonda.
Malick grinned and ran his hand through his hair. “I’ll leave you guys to talk,” he said.
Lafonda pursed her lips and glared at him before returning her attention back to Nathan. “So,” she said, sighing lightly. “How did it go?”
“Not too bad,” he grinned.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
Nathan glanced over at Malick as he walked aimlessly around the other fire pits as the campers piled in. He looked back at her and smiled again. “Nothing,” he said.
Lafonda rolled her eyes. “I found a copy of last year’s yearbook,” she said, with a sigh. “I checked and Leah’s photo is definitely in there.”
“How did you…”
“Being back on campus – I have been thinking more about Leah lately,” she continued. “I remembered that you wanted to know what she looked like.”
“Cool, do you have it with you?”
“No,” she said. “I actually ran into Jonathan Black in the lobby after dinner and he had one with him.”
“So, Jonathan finally showed up, huh?” he asked with a smile.
She laughed. “Yes,” she said. “Erin really let him have it.”
He grinned for a moment and then paused. “Why on Earth would Jonathan Black be carrying around an IUCF yearbook with him?”
Lafonda stood silent and then took a quick glance out unto the lake. “That’s a good question,” she said. “I didn’t think to ask.”
Nathan scanned the beach and the fire pits. Malick was having a conversation with LaDonda and some kid was playing dangerously close to one of the fires. Jonas, he thought. “I don’t see Jonathan,” he said. “I wonder if he has it with him.”
“Oh, I have it,” said Lafonda reassuringly. “I borrowed it from him – It’s upstairs in my room. I can show you her picture tonight when we get back.”
“Sounds like a plan,” smiled Nathan. He looked around the beach again. “I still don’t see Jonathan anywhere.”
She looked around too, “I don’t see him either. But I know I saw him with his group before we got on the trail.” She sighed. “Anyway,” she said with a shrug. “I better get back to the girls and – please do something with Jonas before he burns himself.”
Nathan nodded. “Believe me,” he chuckled. “I know.”
She grinned and then headed towards a group of girls that were talking and laughing around one of the bonfires. Jonas spotted Nathan and waved excitedly at him. Nathan shook his head. “Jonas,” he groaned.
“Hey!” called out Lafonda. “By the way, good job with everything tonight.”
Nathan smiled.
“I agree,” added LaDonda walking over to him. Malick was following behind her. “I was just talking to Stephen about this and would love it if you two would get the fires going again for me next week.” She paused and then placed a hand on Malick’s back. “I spoke to Argus over the phone and he said that you two were easy to work with and Stephen here has already agreed to do it.”
“Argus,” Nathan grumbled. He stared blankly at her thinking that of course Argus was pleased because he and Malick did all the work.
“So, what do you think?” she asked.
He crossed his arms and shifted his glare into the trees. “About what?” he pouted. “I thought you already assigned me for the rest of camp.”
LaDonda placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled.
“Oh, All right,” he agreed reluctantly. “Sure.”
“Thank you, Nathan,” she responded, cheerfully. “I’m sure Roy will be proud of you for all the work you’ve done.” She cleared her throat. “Have you called him since you left for camp?”
“Umm – no, not yet,” he stammered.
“Well, I guess you can tell him all about it when you call him tonight,” she said. “Jonas!” she called out and walked quickly in his direction. “Get from over there. You are too close to the fire!”
Nathan and Malick glanced at each other and both laughed heartily.
“So – who is Roy?” Malick asked.
“Oh,” smiled Nathan. “Roy is my grandfather. He works for LaDonda and maintains the grounds for the Devaro estate.”
“Okay,” he nodded. “So, your grandfather is the caretaker.”
“Yup,” he said. “We stay in the cottage outside of the main house.”
“Cool,” said Malick, with a nudge. “Now I know where to find you when camp is all over.”
“Ha, okay,” chuckled Nathan, sarcastically.
LaDonda gave a good scolding to Jonas about tossing rocks, cans, and whatever else he could find around the beach into the fire. She then recruited him and some of his friends to help set up the refreshments, tables, and chairs carried down the trail by some of the other counselors.
Lafonda sat around one of the pits with some of the girls from her floor and Erin, Angela, and Alan were seated with them. Nathan thought about joining them, but changed his mind because he doubted that Malick would join him. He almost walked past the group until he noticed Jonathan Black. Jonathan was seated in the middle of three teenage girls and looked like he was the center of attention.
“What’s going on over there?” he asked.
Lafonda stopped her conversation with Erin and looked up to acknowledge him. “Oh,” she said with a pause. “Jonathan is sharing some of the Cahokia Legends with some of the campers.”
“Oh, hi Malick,” said an upbeat Angela. She quickly made space between her and Alan. “Are you going to sit down with us?”
Malick stared blankly at her for a moment before finally glancing at Nathan. He almost looked embarrassed.
Nathan cleared his throat while giving him a slight nudge. He then took the seat that was closest to Jonathan.
Malick ran his hand through his hair before taking the seat next to Angela. “Umm – sure,” he uttered, through pursed lips.
“So,” said Nathan so loudly that Jonathan spun around.
“Oh, Nathan,” he responded, surprised. “How long have you been sitting there?”
“Not long,” he said, with scrutinizing eyes.
Jonathan rubbed his red eyes from underneath his square-rimmed glasses. They appeared irritated and puffy. “Well, nice to see you,” he said wearily. A couple of the girls seated around him giggled while he continued to speak. “I was just sharing some of the Cahokia Legends with Samantha, Christina, and Eva Marie here.”
“Hi, I’m Eva Marie Evans,” said the girl with the short wavy hair. “And this is Samantha Darding and Christina Williams.”
Samantha ran her fingers through her long, brown, curly hair; placing a lock of it behind her ear. She smiled. “My friend’s call me Sam,” she said.
“And – let me guess,” said Nathan with a grin. “Chris?”
“Nope, just Christina,” she giggled.
Jonathan opened up a black and green spiral notebook that was sitting in his lap. “I was just explaining how the Cahokia Indian’s…”
“Wait,” interrupted Nathan. “Did you say Samantha Darding – as in Patricia and Jim Darding?”
She placed a loose lock of her hair behind her ear again and smiled. “Yes,” she nodded, readily. “Patricia and Jim are my parents.”
“I knew that Jim had a little sister,” he said, sounding surprised. “But I thought when he said little – he meant little.”
“No, not that little,” she laughed. “I’m sixteen.”
Jonathan cleared his throat. “Well – Nathan probably already knows this, but the Cahokia Indians have several stories that were a part of their folklore – or religion,” he said with a smile. “We know a lot of these stories because they have appeared quite frequently in their paintings and in their writings.” He paused to reposition his glasses. “I would say the most commonly known story is the legend about The Fallen Ones. Wouldn’t you agree Nathan?”
Nathan raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He wasn’t even sure if
he knew the story let alone anyone else. “Probably,” he replied, slowly.
Suddenly, Jonathan perked up; his tired blue eyes getting some life to them. “Nathan here has Cahokia ancestry,” he smiled and with a nod. “His mother’s tribe was a descendant of the Cahokia American Indians.”
Jonathan paused as if he was waiting for Nathan to say something. Nathan looked embarrassed as Samantha, Christina, and Eva Marie stared at him. Over the flames of the fire Nathan could see that Malick was looking at him too but Nathan wasn’t sure if he had heard what Jonathan had said. Most of the people around the fire, including Lafonda, were still having their own separate conversations.
Christina threw back her long brown hair and leaned in towards Nathan. “Is it true?” she asked.
Nathan answered slowly. He wasn’t too thrilled about the sudden attention. “Yes,” he said.
Both Christina and Eva Marie grinned at each other and then beamed at him. “That’s awesome,” they giggled in unison.
“Indeed, it is awesome,” added Jonathan, excitedly. “See, years ago, when they started excavating the caves and mounds in this area they found that almost every wall had the same symbols written on them. When the symbols were finally deciphered and the walls translated, they all included some aspect of the story about The Fallen Ones.”
He paused to reposition his glasses again. “Most scholars agree that the Legend of the Fallen Ones is a part of Cahokia mythology on how the world began; you know – their creation story.”
“This is exciting!” shrieked Eva Marie. “Tell us the story – or legend.”
“Does it involve any cute guys?” asked Christina enthusiastically.
Samantha, Christina, and Eva Marie looked at each other and laughed.
“Cute guys?” shouted Angela over the fire. “I have to hear this story. I’m in.”
Jonathan smiled as everyone around the fire including Lafonda, Erin, Alan, and Malick listened closely. “There really isn’t a Cahokia symbol for cute,” said Jonathan. “But the symbols tell a story about five angels that were created out of the heavens in the beginning and shared in the power with the creator of the heavens as givers of light.”
“Cute male angels,” said Angela. “I love it!”
He laughed. “Well, I don’t know how cute you will find them by the end of the story,” he grinned. “See, according to legend and the hieroglyphs found in the mounds and on cave walls, one of the five Angels of Light, as they are sometimes referred to, had a thirst for power and wanted dominance over all of the heavens.” He held up a page in his black and green spiral notebook. “The Cahokia Indians used this symbol quite frequently when talking about this angel.”
Nathan squinted and cocked his head a little. He was trying to make out the sketch in Jonathan’s notebook. After a few moments, he could see that he was staring at a drawing of a broken wing that was engulfed in flames and constricted by a serpent.
“Some other cultures tell a similar story,” said Jonathan, placing the notebook back in his lap.
Silence fell around the fire and Nathan was surprised to see that Jonathan still had everyone’s attention. “So, the legend is the same story as the origins of the devil in the Bible?” asked Nathan.
“Not quite,” smiled Jonathan. “The popularly held belief that Satan, or by his angelic name Lucifer, was once a prideful angel that rebelled against God is barely portrayed explicitly in the Bible. In fact, it is mostly based on inference. It is quite clear however, that Lucifer was not the mirror image of his angelic brethren Michael, Raphael, Uriel, and Gabriel.” He paused. “He did however find refuge and allegiance from his other brethren Lucas, Lucius, Laban and Luke.”
“Who are they?” asked Nathan. “I’ve never heard of them.”
Malick chuckled and Jonathan frowned. He gave him a stern look over his glasses before continuing. “See, the Bible gives a fair account about the fall of one angel,” he said, “but according to the Cahokia Legend, the story doesn’t stop there.”
Nathan’s face frowned. “But the Bible…”
“Yes,” continued Jonathan, “the Bible does reference other fallen angels, like in the book of Jude for instance, but who they were and what their names are – the Bible does not say.”
“So, according to the legend,” said Nathan, “these other guys Lucas, Lucius, Laban, and…”
“And Luke,” said Jonathan.
Nathan smiled. “And Luke, are the other fallen angels?”
“Or other Angels of Light.”
Lafonda bounced her leg impatiently as her long silky black hair drifted off to one side. “Okay, I think Nathan finally got it now,” she said. “So, can we move on with the rest of the story?”
Nathan rolled his eyes and pursed his lips in protest and Lafonda smiled back at him.
Jonathan gave a quick smirk and turned to another page in his notebook. “See, the other four fallen angels had a similar symbol – like Lucifer’s,” he said. “Just absent the serpent – but each still engulfed in fire.”
“That’s intense,” said Alan.
“The legend goes on to say that after Lucifer and the Angels of Light failed to take over the heavens, they were forgotten and casted into the void,” said Jonathan.
“What’s the void?” asked Alan with a frown.
Jonathan paused and smiled again. Nathan could tell that he was enjoying all the attention. “Most scholars agree that the void was on the surface of the Earth or the physical plane,” explained Jonathan. “Before the creation of man – before the creation of the sun, water, and land.”
He took another pause and noticed that Lafonda looked annoyed again. “And so, continuing on with the story,” he said. “For thousands of years, The Fallen Ones were banished to the void and toiled in darkness. The story goes on to say that it was there that they realized their weakness because not even with their collected powers could they pierce light into the darkness.”
Samantha gasped and covered her mouth. “They were sentenced to darkness forever?” she asked. “That’s really sad.”
Christina and Eva Marie both let out a huge laugh. “Leave it to Samantha to feel sympathy even for the devil,” grinned Eva Marie.
“It just seems so sad to be in the dark – forever,” she said, her cheeks turning a bright red. “But I hope they stay there because I’m not like Angela and I never want to meet them—let alone date them.”
Quickly, Angela sat up straight and her blonde hair bounced readily on her shoulders. “Hey!” she spouted.
Jonathan closed his notepad with a thud. He had a grim look on his face. “We aren’t that lucky,” he said. “See, to their surprise, light eventually did pierce the darkness and as it says in the legend and in the Bible, they rejoiced and cried out to the heavens.”
Behind his dark-rimmed glasses, Jonathan’s blue eyes grew wide and his voice softer. “But they had been replaced,” he said. “To their dismay other heavenly bodies had replaced them and just as many stars had populated the sky…there was a new creature on the face of the Earth – us.”
“See, they are still bound to the void; the same plane we live on,” he explained. “And they are angry because all of this – the stars, the water, the land – was created for us. According to the legend, man was given dominance over the face of the Earth and even in our weakness – made lord over all the angels.”
“Ha – I’m sure they were happy about that,” said Alan sarcastically.
“According to the legend,” said Jonathan, his voice returning back to normal, “they vowed to destroy us – to condemn us – bind us to the same fate that waited for them.”
“And by the same fate you mean…” said Nathan.
“Yes,” interrupted Jonathan, “damnation.”
“This is one cheery story,” said Alan.
“But if we are on the same plane – with the fallen angels,” said Lafonda with a curious look upon her face, “how come no one ever sees them?”
“According t
o my research,” he said, “the Cahokia Indians believed that Lucifer was given dominion over the underworld and his brethren, the other fallen angels, were given dominance over the spiritual plane – a parallel dimension that co-exists with our world.” He paused to reposition his glasses on his sharply angled nose again. “In their mythology, Lucifer is often referred to as the root or source of all evil represented by the serpent in the symbol.”
“It’s just a myth,” blurted Malick. He had a blank, cold look upon his face.
Lafonda glowered and placed her arms across her chest. “Jonathan,” she said, while keeping a watchful eye on Malick. “You don’t actually – believe this stuff?”
Malick looked sternly at Lafonda. “Myth,” he groaned.
She turned her head away from him and stared into the fire. Nathan looked uncomfortable as he looked at her and then at Malick. Alan sighed while adjusting the gold leadership shirt he’d commandeered from LaDonda and Erin tossed dirt from her shoes. A shiny purple hairbrush suddenly materialized in Angela’s hand and Jonathan stumbled through pages in his black and green notebook.
“And most excitingly,” said Jonathan, breaking the awkward silence, “we have found a new symbol!”
Nathan turned his attention away from Malick and Lafonda and focused on Jonathan again. “A new symbol?” he uttered.
“Yes!” he said, while holding up another page from his notebook. “It’s another symbol depicting fire, but do you see the difference?”
Nathan leaned forward. His face frowned while staring at Jonathan’s sketch of the symbol. He thought it was peculiar that somehow it looked familiar; as if he had seen it before. “Is that – what I think it is?” he asked.
Malick shook his head and placed his hand slightly over his mouth.
“Yes,” replied Jonathan, his blue eyes glowing bright. “It’s a man!”
Lafonda crossed her legs again and leaned forward toward the sketch. “What does that mean?” she asked.
Jonathan closed the notebook and smiled. “We aren’t exactly sure yet,” he said. “Dr. Helmsley and I just uncovered it yesterday.” He paused to clear his throat. “Since then, I have been pouring over all the books and archival documents at the Cahokia museum and haven’t been able to find that symbol or a reference to it anywhere. Dr. Helmsley believes we’ll be able to determine what it is after we uncover what’s behind the cavern wall.”
The Legend of the Firewalker Page 11
