Weathering Storms

by Taborri Walker

  “For you still unsure, still wanting to believe in your Holy Word, that’s fine… but can I ask a question that’s been burning in my head since I heard this particular story?”

  “Thou mays’t,” a man stepped forward. “I be Carl an’ my wife Mary. We ha’e grown up in th’ Word an’ though the Reverend be our leader, he is a man an can sin, as any of us. We know God’s Word to be true an’ every man a liar. But ask, child. Tis no sin to do that.”

  “Allway thinks it is, may I remind you,” Sesha smiled as several ‘Amens’ went around the group. “But it’s this… when your God made the world, first came plants, right?” Carl nodded. “Sun, moon, stars, day and night, right?” more nods. “Sea creatures, birds and all the other animals after, and then the first man.”

  “Has it right, Sesha,” Carl nodded. “What speakest this for?”

  “I have this awful confusion… when he made the creatures, did God make both male and female at the same time?”

  “Yes,” Carl nodded, “for He commanded them to be fruitful and multiply.”

  “Then why didn’t he make a female human at the same time? Why wait a bit, talk to the man, let him name the animals and be lonely? Why wasn’t woman made at the same time?”

  Carl’s mouth opened and closed, then he blurted “it was not in His plan?” clearly he was at a loss, “Reverend?”

  Allway’s eyes were unfocused, darting in all directions as he combed his mind for an answer to a question never asked.

  “God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,” he managed after a moment. “He doth know all an’ the Word tells us ‘Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.’ An’ being from far away, ne’er hearing the Truth, how could you know? Our Lord sayet ‘For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.’ What we cannot answer must be taken on faith, Lass,” now Allway was working to convince Sesha as he had always hoped to do. “Do not question, Sweet girl, just Believe!”

  “So you really have no idea of the answer to that question. Why not just admit that?” When Allway just glowered, Sesha went on. “Then let me draw your attention to something else, something here that can be answered.” Sesha took the book and held it out. “Someone read the verses where your lady Eve was talked to by the Serpent,”

  Nicodemus took the handmade tome and turned the pages.

  “Read the section please,”

  “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” The passage was a well-known one for many voices had joined in reciting as he read.

  “Go back a few words… um, about 7, starting with ‘husband’ please and read those three words,” a small grin played on her face and Allway felt a sudden fear.

  “Husband with her,” Nicodemus replied.

  “So… your Adam was with Eve when the serpent spoke to her, yet he never once opened his mouth? He never once went to Eve’s defense, he never naysayed your Devil, and when Eve took the fruit he willingly bit into it, wouldn't you say?”

  “Then…” one of the women pushed forward, her face becoming angry, “men kept this knowledge to themselves so they could continue to be lords over us,”

  “And the rest was written to keep you there,” Sesha affirmed as outrage settled over the entire female population. “And Allway used every bit of this tome to his advantage, to rule over not only the women, most whom he raped, but over men as well. I’ve heard from several that much of this book isn’t read, either.”

  “I saw notes, back in time, where Peter did write to strike verses and change words,” Beulah nodded. “T’was then I began having doubts an’ shortly after that began becoming ill. I will swear by whatever is asked that my words be true.” A tear now slipped out.

  “Now my beloved congregation,” Allway started to speak, to sooth, to bring them back to his side.

  “That’s enough,” Nicodemus snapped. “No more do we listen to your lies, Allway, you and the Monitors. This ends now,”

  “An’ you plan to do what?”

  “Help the lass get as she needs. Thou an’ thy Minions shalt be locked in th’ sewers, thy most favorite place to mew up any of us,” Darren was grim. The crowd began to swirl a bit now as the Tower Guards took Nicodemus’s orders and began to hurry for the shackles needed. “An’ then she shall help us, either we go with her or go back to civilization of our world. I for one would go.”

  “I’m running out of time,” Sesha addressed the crowd only now. “I need to get the seawater to my ship, start the engines and wake up my crewmates. If any of you want to come with me, when I finish that chore I’ll ferry all of you people who want to come with me. The ones who want to stay here can just get on with life again after we leave.”

  “What will we see?” Nicodemus asked. Without Grace by his side it was either go with this odd child or just start walking out of here.

  “Stars, lots of them. Beings in forms you never dreamed of. New worlds, new customs, almost total freedom. There will be many people who will desire to buy your stories, listen while you tell about your life, wear your style clothing and imitate your life for their pleasure. It will be your choice if you wish to do this or not. There will be schools to attend, even if just to teach you how to live in our modern worlds. You will have rules, but they are universal ones – don’t lie or cheat someone, no stealing, and no murder. Things you don’t do if you’re a morally good person. Now give me a moment; I really want to change clothes.” she keyed her Wrist Gem to tell the Aga One to resume normal function.

  Benjamin had stayed close to Sesha this whole time and just happened to be holding her skirt as the dress faded out, changing to a skin-tight white suit with a thick belt around the hips where all its equipment and computers were, and the ruffle in his hand just vanished. He gasped and stepped back; the crowd oohed, stepping back as well, at the sight of it. “This is how I usually appear when I’m in uniform. On my world, we often run around naked.” She grinned at the young boy.

  The boy grinned too, blushed and ran back to his mother where he clung hard to her arm.

  “Sesha,” Florence’s voice was a bit amused, “coulds’t please put some color? Is almost the appearance of thy skin, dear heart.”

  “Oh! Never thought of that,” so she turned it a rich shade of blue and again the awe-filled noises filled the air.

  23

  There came a shout. “Dogs of God! Attack the stranger!” Monitor Gideon roared loudly. While no one had been really watching, the man had gathered the great beasts to him, out of sight behind the platform. Shortly after arriving here the man noticed the dogs were straying off course on windy days so followed them. They would cluster briefly about some of the precious metal piping when the wind was strongest, sniffing, looking, then leave. His ears also rang while there, when the gusts were strong and again the animals came to just one thin pipe. Gideon got a saw and cut the piece off after which the dogs never came again so he blew through it and lo, the dogs clustered to him. This whistle, coupled with the specific phrase had been trained into the dogs firmly; when fighting each other, one dog would be wrapped in material so its appearance was odd. The command worked every time.

  Now the visitor from another world was gar
bed most oddly. Even with that wicked weapon she held, there could be no hope to take down all the dogs! No more Monitors would die, only her! Then the encampment could be brought back into the Way.

  Before Sesha could respond, Shni did. The beyond-hearing noise had been heard by him and he knew what was happening a moment before Gideon gave the order.

  His form sprang into being, arched forward as if blowing something. No one heard the sound but the dogs, springing up and forward did, and all fell down, stunned. “Now, Sesh, call the dogs off!”

  The words she yelled were growling, sharp and harsh but it did the trick. All the animals, as they recovered, crept to her feet whining. She gave them pets and more words; the dogs spread out, through and into the crowd, huddling up for petting, which kids gladly gave. Outside enough, they’d come to Sesha often and she’d had children come over, making introductions. The ones between 3 and 7 were the most comfortable; faces of this group were washed the most, being the easiest to get to.

  Angry, Sesha strode over to Gideon, her non-Gem arm tightening as her fist closed. Strength, Shni! As he tried to back behind the men they shoved him forward in their fright and Sesha swung. Her fist connected with the man’s chin; blood and teeth sprayed as first his head, then body, flew over backwards.

  “If you really want to try me, keep it up, you men. I will show you some more things that hurt!” Sesha stomped back to the platform and sat, almost done in. She knew Shni was still visible, watching. Brutus trotted over and whined; she put her hand down to pet but the dog put a paw on her knee and licked Sesha’s ear, making her giggle. Damn this ticklishness sometimes!

  “May I ask?” former Monitor Amos came around close.

  “Sure sweetie,” she grinned at his blush.

  “What about our religion?” was his question. “It means everything to some of us… not the cruel machinations of Allway and his men, but what we learned at our parent’s knee, Of how Jesus loves us and cares. Long I have anguished over what I have seen but not known what to do. If I go, what do I believe?”

  “You can keep your beliefs. You can discuss them with others but you cannot under any circumstance attempt to coerce anyone to join you and there must be no harm to anyone over any belief.” Sesha smiled encouragingly. “We have thousands of religions in our worlds, and as long as no one is harmed in any way over any of it, it is allowed. So yes, bring things about your beliefs so you can keep them, if you come with me. It will be welcome.”

  The Reverend had fallen silent as Sesha revealed her true form and began telling lies to his flock. Now he was sure what his last commune with God was – He was warning the Most Holy Lord Reverend about Sesha! As he crept slowly towards his group of Monitors, he plotted carefully how to take her out quickly and regain control in the best manner possible. Sweet Sesha, his combinate, his Hagar, Bathsheba, his key to taking over a large kingdom so he could spread his Word to the world had to die.

  Titus was again closest, he realized as he glanced first at his Monitors keeping Gideon behind them, then at the body of Hosea, his best Strong-Arm man. Not even a twinge entered his soul as he saw the twisted look on the man’s face; losses were expected. When this mess was over, he’d be buried with full honors. Sidling past the mass of flesh and blood while Sesha was answering questions, he hissed “dost thou have thy pistol on thee?”

  “Yes,” the man snorted, “and talk normal. The charade is over.”

  “So who’s coming with me after I get the ship fixed?” Sesha asked. She was turned a bit more away than was safe, but didn’t realize that at the moment.

  “Only until I do what the Lord is commanding me now.” He slipped the revolver into his coat pocket.

  “God never had anything to do with your plans,” Monitor Thaddeus snorted. “It was just a means to your end.”

  “We shall be talking when this is over,” Allway snarled. “I follow God’s commands; if you do not, you will be put out of the City to suffer God’s wrath.” No one but the Monitors heard this exchange, for many were busy. Men were arriving with shackles for Allway and his men, others were fetching water to any who wanted it, children were petting the dogs still and the Congregation was slowly dividing itself. Sesha was trying to stay sharp, Shni was having the computer scan all around but the winds were kicking up dust, which interfered a bit with the program.

  “I want to come,” Beulah started the line of hands.

  “And us,” Anna and her fiancé raised theirs too.

  “Our family!”

  “And ours!”

  “Alright, alright!” Sesha raised her hand as the amount of hands waving at her grew rapidly. “Let me get the seawater into the main tanks first and wake up my shipmates. Then I can ferry all of you up – about twenty at a time. Remember this will be another shock to your mind, just as leaving your homes the first time was – “

  “Look out, Miss Sesha!” Ezra saw the Reverend pull out a pistol, taking aim at Sesha’s heart from behind.

  “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming!” he roared. “Liar! Deceiver! You are Satan, as a roaring lion seeking to devour the only true flock of God there is. I now banish thee to the depths of hell!” He pulled the trigger.

  Time froze with that horrible knowledge of too little too late. Pivoting on her right foot, Sesha turned to face the Reverend just in time to feel the bullet plow into her right shoulder. Along with the horrible pain came the spin of her body that the computer used optimally. With Shni helping, as her left arm flared out from the shock of the injury, her mind screamed shoot, shoot!, the flash tube emitted its most powerful, wide-set beam, and when Sesha finished her spin and landed hard on the ground, there were only a few thumps after hers, but the screams continued for several seconds.

  Cognizant thoughts were not part of Sesha’s mind then; she lay curled, shaking on the hard-packed dirt and watched as her Aga Zero turned from blue to white. When knees covered with various other materials and colors thudded down beside her, it was all she could say.

  “White,” her face was turned up; there was Beulah. “It’s… white. White,” hands rolled her onto her back and she saw a multitude of faces over her. “White… sor-ry,” she just couldn’t get her body to stop shaking so damn hard!

  Sharp tearing noises almost distracted her, then hands over her, laying her flat and holding her.

  “Fold small and press hard, Beulah,” this was Florence. “Who hath hands not smirched?”

  “I do,” Darren had pushed through.

  “Lift the lass carefully, feel behind an’ if the bullet did pierce,”

  “Did not, skin and clothing be intact.”

  Shni came on but his image fluttered some. “Beulah, Florence, listen… her suit wasn’t, um… armored, like your metals, so the projectile damaged it. The com-pu-ter,”

  “Say it as it should; more than five of us know the word now,” snapped Sarah, setting down the water jug given her. Florence jammed another cloth in and began washing around the wound.

  “I beg thy pardon, um,” even Sesha cracked a smile, “the computer is trying to find a way around the torn area so Sesha can keep up what she needs to do.”

  “Get me up,” the water helped, also the suit was doing some things as well. The medical unit had already injected her with painkiller and such medicines to keep her heart rate and breathing up and helped her blood begin clotting thickly. Five sets of hands boosted and she leaned against Beulah, then looked up at where the Reverend used to be standing.

  The crowd had backed away from the sizzling, burning mass on the ground. All around many in the crowd were gagging, coughing throwing up on the spot while the rest stood frozen, staring at the horror in front of them or the group helping Sesha up. When she too saw what it was, Sesha gagged as well.

  Almost all the Monitors had died on the spot, burned into unrecognizable piles of charred flesh. In the pile, three heads were still
groaning, and Peter – the Most Holy Lord, the Reverend, God’s Salvation on Earth, Dictator of the New City, Wanna-be King of his own Nation – was missing the lower half of his body entirely. The rest of him was bloody or blackened and he rested on the top of the pile of former men. It was a horrible sight, this pile, but the man could still hear and talk.

  “Wi-cked wo-man, pee-ple,” he managed to gurgle, “all – of – you, no… excep-tion. You – will – go – to… Hell…”

  “So, Reverend,” Sesha approached close, her Gem now visually recording as well. The question was asked quietly, their heads now the same height, “What will you say to your god when he asks you why you did this?”

  “I… will… say, Lord, Lord, did I… not prophesy in Your Name? And… in… Your Name…” blood was running out his mouth and one eye was weeping red tears, “drive… out… dee-mons…” he began a weird laugh, an awful cackle and managed to raise one burnt black hand to point at Sesha, and then he died, his torso still upright on the mound of burning bodies.

  “What’s the rest of that passage?” Sesha asked quietly, “and is he quoting it rightly or his way?”

  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evil-doers!’ “I would say most likely not that part, if someone wishes to open his tome and see.” A few moments after Beulah finished the passage, Jeremiah looked at her and nodded; that part was not there. The whole crowd stood there in complete silence for a long moment, staring at the still smoldering pile of bodies, the top one forever frozen in his pose of accusation.

  “The weather,” was the cry. “’Tis worsening!” Suddenly, it seemed, the building clouds took over completely. The sun was gone and a brisk wind blew against all of them.

  “To the dining hall!” Beulah promptly took over and no one objected.

  Darren scooped Sesha off her feet for they would not allow her to walk at all. With Nicodemus beside, carrying the flash tube, they hurried after the crowd to the shelter of the building. Delia, in Sesha’s chair, had been scooped up by several and hurried in as well, the other sick who had been forced to get up, were carried as well. The doors and shutters were already shut and candles were being passed out, lit from the fires now roaring in the three ovens.