by Andre Jeter
Then Isaac closes the door and it makes a strange mechanical clicking sound. Sonya gets up and pushes the button. The door doesn’t open.
“Damn it,” she says under her breath. Sonya reaches in her back pocket and takes out the tracking device, and then she activates it.
Sonya’s stares at the monitor watching Isaac perform his ritual; he slowly waves his arms in an unorthodox pattern which causes her eyelids to become heavy. She folds her arms on the table and rests her head on them.
The door again makes the clicking noise, snapping her head up as it slides open, Sonya sees Joseph also with mystic writings on his face and arms. He enters, closes the door and puts down Sonya’s duffle bag.
“The bag was exactly where you said it would be,” he says.
Sonya opens it and finds her weapons.
“We don’t have much time.” She loads a magazine into the Mark 8 assault rifle. They exit the room and walk down the hallway.
“Here, put this on,” Joseph says, handing her an amulet which holds a red liquid. “It will protect you from his spells until the blood runs out.”
Sonya puts the amulet on.
“While I’m blocking his incantation you must find a way to stop him.”
Sonya looks at him, knowing he means kill. They stop at the lab door.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
Sonya activates the Mark 8 rifle. “Ready.”
“I’ll be on the floor above... Good luck.”
Sonya opens the door and enters.
The mystic markings glow red. Isaac is kneeling down in front of Rahna, chanting.
“Step back from Rahna, Isaac,” Sonya says, pointing the rifle at him.
Isaac turns around. “Sonya, what are you doing? You’re disrupting the incantation. Leave now!”
Sonya holds her rifle steady. “Step away from Rahna now.”
Isaac stands up. “You really want to play this game? How do you plan on stopping me? With that silly gun?” He lets out a mocking laugh. Then the markings begin to change to a glowing yellow.
“He’s alive?”
“It’s done, Isaac.” She lowers her rifle. “Let’s go home.”
Isaac’s face becomes furious. “You’re going to have to kill me, Sonya.” He waves his hands, but he’s stunned. He waves his hands again. Still nothing happens.
“Your powers don’t work on me,” she tells him.
“Really?” He says. Then he begins chanting and two portals emerge. Two huge beast-like dogs exit the portal. Isaac ends the chanting. “Are you protected from these?”
Sonya runs towards the stairs, and the beasts chase her. She shoots one and it goes down, tripping the first two. The last beast jumps over and continues the pursuit. Then Sonya hops on the lift and pushes the button. The lift rises but the beast is jumping up, trying to reach. The two other beasts soon join in. Sonya feels the metal support beam weakening. She takes out a small explosive, sets the timer, and plants it onto the platform of the lift. Then she grabs hold of a ceiling pipe and begins pushing the lift over with her feet, using all of her might. The lift falls on two of the beasts and explodes, killing them.
The pipe breaks and Sonya falls onto the second level of the lab. The rifle slips out of her hand and falls below. The last beast jumps up and begins chasing her. He swipes her on the shoulder and Sonya flies off the second level, onto the floor. She gets up and runs towards the window. She pulls out her sidearm and fires four rounds through the glass. The beast leaps forward and crashes through the window as Sonya slides and grabs onto the ledge. The beast howls as it plummets to its death.
Sonya pulls herself up and leans onto a wall. She feels excruciating pain and touches a piece of glass lodged in her side. She yanks out the glass and blood begins leaking.
The markings grow red. Sonya stands up and loads another clip into her sidearm. She walks toward her brother and says, “Stop now, Isaac.”
Rahna’s hand begins to rise, and Isaac opens his eyes with excitement.
“No!” screams Sonya as she fires three times, hitting Isaac twice in the chest and once in the head.
Rahna’s hand falls down and Sonya feels limp, defeated. The glow of the markings slowly fades away. Then Sonya feels hands on her, helping her to sit up.
“Are you hurt badly?”
“I’m fine—arhh.”
Joseph looks at the wound her hand is covering, then he places his hands on the wound and begins chanting. His chanting is soft and pleasant, unlike Isaac’s. She feels the warmth of Joseph’s hands as he heals her.
“There. All done. How do you feel?”
Sonya stands.
“My body is not what you should be asking me about. I just killed my brother.”
“Sonya, you did what needed to be done.”
Joseph walks over and picks up the statue.
“I just killed my brother and—”
“And he was going to kill thousands of people to bring back my sister. Don’t stand there and act like you're the only one who’s hurting. You think that I didn’t give a second thought to let him bring back my sister?” Joseph turns from Sonya and walks toward Isaac. He pulls his body by his arms and lays it next to Rahna’s.
Sonya accepts this as his statement.
“What are you doing to the bodies?”
“The bodies still contain incantation power. They must be sealed and destroyed.” He begins chanting.
Sonya walks away.
“Where are you going?” Joseph asks.
“I can’t stand here and watch while you destroy my brother.”
She exits the lab and runs down the hallway into Noel’s room. She maneuvers around the small toys on the floor and enters his bedroom. She doesn’t see him in the bed but hears whimpers from underneath it. She looks and sees Noel crying.
“Hey little guy,” she says. “It’s okay. Auntie Sonya is going to look after you for a while.”
He slowly crawls out from under the bed. Sonya picks him up and sits him on the bed. She twists and turns around and finds what she was looking for. She climbs up on a chair and opens the air vent.
“Here, Sweetie,” she tells him. “You have to climb in.”
She picks Noel up and he gently crawls in, then she closes the vent and locks eyes with Noel.
“Be very quiet, okay? I’ll be right back.”
Noel nods bravely.
“That’s my boy,” Sonya says smiling. She jumps down and leaves the room.
Sonya enters the lab again to see her brother and Rahna’s bodies lit up in blue flames. She watches as they burn and she can’t help but feel a little envious at the love they had, the promises and dreams they made together. Isaac finally found love, a feeling he didn't want to let go of, but it’s now lost.
****
A Zone bus travels down a street. Noel is asleep on Sonya’s lap. He positions himself to a more comfortable spot on her lap. Sonya softly rubs her head.
A rumbling sound in the air causes Sonya and many others to look outside. A large ship flies high leaving the atmosphere. Sonya watches as her ride to the Gauntlet leaves the planet forever until a beam of light hits the ship and explodes. Hundreds of pieces descend from the sky. Another beam strikes the ship, sending a shockwave that hits the bus. The bus pulls over and everyone exits, their faces staring up at the falling debris.
“Auntie Sonya, what was that?” Noel asks, rubbing his eyes.
“Trouble Noel,” she says. “Trouble.”
To be continued…
SOME THINGS DON’T COME BACK
Billy-Joel and Russell lock eyes on the thirty-eight-special lying on the muddy ground. The gun is solid black with the exception of its dark brown grip. The trigger is dirty with traces of rust on it. Most gun buffs would throw it back into the lake, but not these two country boys. They found a gun and they’re going to keep it.
Russell reacts first, grabbing the gun with his filthy hand.
“Hey!” Billy-Joel shouts at him. “Gimm
e back!”
Russell smiles. “You’re too slow, Billy-Joel.” With the gun in his hand, he stretches his long arm into the air. Billy-Joel jumps up and down trying to reach it, but it gets him nowhere. Then Russell’s teasing smile widens, and Billy-Joel kicks him in the groin. The gun slips from Russell’s hand as he folds together and falls to the floor.
He rubs his privates for a few moments, waiting for his voice to come back. Then he looks up and says, “Jesus Christ, Billy-Joel! Whatcha gon’ do that for?”
“Don’t ya take the Lord’s name in vain.” Billy-Joel picks up the gun and begins rapidly wiping off the dirt on his already dirty shirt. He looks down at Russell. “You started this,” he tells him. “I found it, not you, ya hear?”
“I was gonna give it back,” Russell says evenly. The worst of the pain subsides, and he stands to his feet. He stomps his foot on the ground. “You didn’t hafta kick me in my balls. I know da good book says sometin’ ‘bout that.”
Billy-Joel touches the small stainless steel cross that hangs from around his neck. It was a gift from his nana, Mildred, a week before she died in her favorite wicker chair, watching Wheel-of-Fortune. Billy-Joel was taught the most important virtues for being a follower of the Lord from her: love, patience, kindness, forgiveness, and faith. Forgiveness was the one thing he didn’t want to remember, and he hated being tested on it.
“You right,” he says. “I’m sorry for kickin’ ya in da balls.” He holds out the gun to Russell. “Here, you can have it.”
Russell relents, shaking his head. “Nah, you can have it. You found it first.” He smiles, and Billy-Joel smiles too. “Just don’t go killin’ anybody wit’ that thing,” he adds.
Billy-Joel looks at him like he must be crazy for saying such a thing. “I ain’t gonna kill nobody. Besides, only non-believers are afraid of death.”
“You talkin’ a fool, Billy-Joel. Every man is afraid of death!”
Billy-Joel shrugs. “Not me,” he tells him. “When you understand the power of Christ, you can overcome death.” Russell starts to laugh at him, and Billy-Joel twists his face. “You makin’ fun of my Lord?”
Russell’s laughter stops. “When people die, they don’t come back from the dead like in those zombie movies.” His expression grows even more serious. “Hell, how come yo’ nana didn’t come back?”
Billy-Joel scratches his head and looks up to the sky. His nana had the greatest faith he had ever heard of—second only to Jesus Christ himself. Why didn’t she come back?
“Her faith was even smaller than a mustard seed,” he tells Russell.
Russell’s eyebrows scrunch together. “Mustards come in jars, not seeds.”
Billy-Joel shakes his head. “Her faith was too small, like—” he looks around, then points— “dat small, tiny rock over there.”
“Wow,” Russell says. “Dat’s some small faith.” He looks at Billy-Joel. “What about your faith? Is it bigga’ than yo’ nana’s?”
“Of course it is! I shall fear no death, so long as my Lord is with me.”
Russell scoffs. “Prove it!”
Billy-Joel stands still for a moment, thinking, then he throws the gun on the ground. “Here ya go,” he says.
Russell’s eyes widen. “I ain’t gonna shoot ya, stupid. I was just kiddin’ around.”
“Whaddaya…scared?”
“No,” Russell says furiously, then he picks up the gun and points it at Billy-Joel, who just shakes his head.
“You ain’t shootin’ nobody.”
“I said I don’t wanna shoot ya!” Russell’s hand begins to shake. “Don’t make me do it.” His finger is on the trigger, but soon enough tears run down his face and he slowly lowers the gun.
Billy-Joel approaches Russell. He places his hand gently on top of Russell’s and turns the weapon towards his own head. “You can’t hurt me, Russell. I won’t let ya.” He smiles at his friend. “It’ll be a lot easier if ya close your eyes.”
Russell wipes the tears from his eyes and closes them.
“I’m gonna count ‘til ten and then you gonna pull dat trigger, k?”
Russell shakes his head as he begins counting. Billy-Joel watches Russell’s eyes, then he bends down and picks up a long stick. “Six, seven, eight—” He uses the stick to poke Russell in the stomach. With a jolt, Russell squeezes the trigger, unleashing a bullet that goes into Billy-Joel’s head. In then out. Blood splatters onto Russell’s face. He drops the gun and stares at his dead friend on the ground, the whole in his head the size of a golf ball.
Russell’s eyes roll up into his head, and he passes out.
***
Russell opens his eyes and looks up at the clouds as they pass by. His vision is blurry until he rubs his eyes, then he sits up and focuses them. Then he sees, just a few feet in front of him, right at the edge of the lake, Billy-Joel bent over. He’s washing the blood off his shirt and face. Russell feels his blood turn cold. He did it! He leaps up to his feet and rushes over to his friend.
“You didn’t die!” he shouts. “You really didn’t die!”
Billy-Joel turns around and smiles. He doesn’t have a scratch on him, though trickles of dried blood still remain on his face.
“Of course I didn’t die,” he says. “My faith in the Lord is too strong, not even death can make me doubt.” He starts to laugh, and then so does Russell.
“Boy, ya really had me scared. Did ya see anything while you were dead?”
Billy-Joel wishes immediately that the question didn’t come up. He doesn’t want to tell his friend the things he saw, the people he spoke to, and the events that are about to come. He wants to say that Russell is going to die in just two weeks, but he was told not to interfere with God’s plan and that he will be with his friend soon. Billy-Joel pleaded and begged to the angels to spare his life a little longer, but he knows the outcome will still be the same: death in two weeks.
Billy-Joel balls up his fists but pulls back after an angel touches his shoulder and whispers in his ear. He loosens his fists and accepts the plan.
“Nah,” he says. “I ain’t seen nothin’.” He stands up to face Russell and wipes the dirt from his jeans.
“Come on. It’s almost time for supper,” says Russell with his arm on Billy-Joel’s shoulder.
They walk along the muddy trail singing songs, laughing, and joking with one another, like usual. Billy-Joel tosses out the thoughts of Russell’s death and enjoys the little time he has left with him.
Besides, he thinks, we’ll have all the time we want in Heaven.
THE END
GOOD BOY
The full moon gleams brightly as Jeffrey takes a pull of his marijuana cigarette. He looks up at the moon all lonesome and exhales the fantasy aroma towards it. Being up on the roof of a project building in Brooklyn is grounds for arrest, but the cops don’t care about some old man smoking weed to escape his problems. No, they care about the real crime, drug dealers, murderers and rapist. But here in Brownsville projects, you mostly get the drug dealers.
As Jeffrey sits in his lawn chair--one that he actually stole from a friend during a cookout--he grabs his can of Colt forty-five and takes a huge gulp. He burps and clumsily places the can down.
Jeffrey looks over at the old dead bones of fried chicken. Some chewed and broken in half that the now dark red marrow is visible. The dry bones are bleached white from the months, maybe years, of decay. Some of those bones, he imagines, had to be from the days he would bring Dolo up here. Project elevators always had a way of breaking down and taking Dolo down twelve flights of stairs is a workout for some but a death sentence for Jeffry. He was a good dog an even better friend. Loyal, trustworthy and would take secrets to his grave. And to the grave he went. Not because of old age, Not because of sickness but because of some trigger happy wanna be gangster didn’t like the way Dolo was barking at him. Dolo didn’t like Damarien, he never did, Dolo was a very good judge of character.
Jeffrey looks over to his left at the ne
xt project building. A couple of teens are crowded around one teen who is looking through a telescope--that they most likely have stolen--up into the dark sky hoping to see the meteor shower again. It’s only been two months since the phenomenon and people still talk about it to this day. Jeffrey's neighbor Tawanda called the local news station and asked if they wanted to interview her about it...for a fee of course. With their expensive cellphones, neighbors were taking photos of the shower, it was more like a downpour. Hundreds of blue pieces of space rock ignored our planet. Less than a minute after the meteors passed, another meteor came racing by. But this one was much different from the previous meteors. It had a red ominous glow and was much bigger. When it passed by it gave off a horrifying animal roar sacring the young children and some adults.
The door to the roof opened with it’s rusty hinges. Damarien steps out of the door first and turns stone when he sees Jeffrey’s shadowy figure. He soon realizes it’s Jeffrey and exhales softly.
“Godman nigga!! da hell you doin up here?” Damarien said.
Jeffrey continues looking up at the moon. “Just wanted to enjoy the night breeze thats all.”
“Well enjoy that shit downstairs. We got business and you in my office.”
Jeffery takes another pull of his marijuana and exhales slowly. Any other time Jeffrey would oblige by Damarien’s request. But not tonight or ever again.
“Im not finished yet nigga.”
Damarien’s crew scold and laugh at him. Damarien runs up to Jeffrey, kicks him dead in the chest, knocking him out of the chair and onto the gravel floor. Damarien pulls out a black Glock and points it at Jeffrey. The laughing stops.
“Got something else to say? You want me to waste you like I wasted your dog nigga?”
Jeffrey whistles. A blue glow shines from above on top of the elevator control tower. Damarien and his crew looks on at the mesmerizing light. A creature that resembles a wolf jumps down blocking the exit to the roof door. It’s big like a Camry but slim and muscular. It’s golden eye’s locks onto Damarien and his crew. It’s long tail whips side to side knocking gravel off of the roof.
