Curious, Eliza turned to Kyle. “How’s that? How can they fight for God if they don’t believe in Him?”
“Right now, it doesn’t matter if they believe in God,” Kyle said. “As long as they don’t believe in Devante.”
Refugee Camp Number SLM-23
Eureka, Missouri
In a large tent furnished with only a few cots, Devante sat on a blanket, knees to his chest, arms folded over his knees. He stared at a youthful Todd, who sketched rapidly. Todd’s charcoal pencil moved across the paper, and images appeared almost magically. Devante didn’t notice Jack Ross, one of his henchmen, as he entered.
Jack’s demeanor screamed for Devante’s attention. When he didn’t get it, he tossed a tin plate to the ground. Devante glanced at the plate only briefly and raised his eyes to Jack.
“That…” Jack pointed down. “Is what you are feeding people.”
Devante looked. The contents of the plate had spilled. At first it looked like rice, until the grains started to squirm.
“Maggots,” Jack said. “The food is infested with them.”
Devante lifted his head with a smile. “They should be happy they are eating.”
“You can’t feed people maggots.”
“If they wish to eat, they will eat what is given. They have been told that fresh food will be impossible until the nonbelievers stop bringing death to everything.”
“That shouldn’t matter,” Jack argued. “I won’t eat maggots.”
“Then starve.”
“If you’re all that powerful, then why can’t you create better food?”
Like a thunderstorm, Devante rose to his feet. “You challenge me!?”
“On this, yes,” Jack answered, nervously.
“Then it is the last time you have challenged me.” Devante gripped Jack’s throat, lifted him from the ground, and squeezed his fingers, snapping Jack’s neck.
Jack’s head flopped to the side like a rag doll. Devante released him to the ground. Todd paused, peered at Jack, said nothing, and returned to drawing.
Leonard walked into the tent. “Devante, I…” He stopped when he saw Jack’s body.
“Yes?” Devante asked.
“I… I, uh...” He cleared his throat and forced his eyes forward. “The woman you sought. A...” Leonard looked at his notepad. “Mary Beth something or other? She’s no longer viable. Tennessee prison said they found her dead.”
Devante’s eyes widened. “How? When?”
“They found her this morning when you asked for her. She killed herself sometime in the last two days.” He flipped the notepad closed and shuffled a little further from Jack’s body. “I have a question, though. You’re searching out this woman to infiltrate the town that’s going to be the camp for the other side, right? Well, if they’re that much of a threat, why don’t we just wipe out the town?”
“I wish it were that easy.” Devante laid his hand on Leonard’s shoulder. “Unfortunately, they are protected by a force you cannot see. That force can only be broken from the inside. One of them. An invited guest.”
“Dude!” Todd barked. “Like with vampires.”
Devante and Leonard gave him identical looks.
Todd continued. “You render yourself powerless against a vampire if you invite him into your home. So, like, if they invite one of us into their camp, their force can’t protect them.”
Devante stared at Todd, blinking with confusion. Then his face returned to normal. “Yes. You are correct. They are powerless while we are in their camp.”
“Cool.” Todd returned to his drawing.
The sketch caught Devante’s attention. “Another way.” He faced Leonard. “There is another way. I sense it. I feel it.”
“What is it?” Leonard asked.
“The answer is in the prison camp near here. I want you to go and question the prisoners. I am certain you will find the answer.”
Leonard laughed. “You can’t be serious. There are seven thousand people there.”
“Talk to them,” Devante stated.
“Seven thousand people? Do you know how many seven thousand people are? Most of them are defiant and won’t even...”
“Talk to them,” Devante instructed, sternly. He stepped over Jack’s body and walked out of the tent.
Leonard shook his head and glanced at Todd. “Do you suppose he doesn’t know what we’re looking for? Or do you think he’s just making us work for the answer?”
“Dude, do you want to question him?” Todd gave a nod toward Jack’s body.
CHAPTER TWO
Seville, Ohio
“Shit!” Reggie swung the sword, but the apple fell to the ground, untouched.
“You missed,” Michael said.
“No. Did I? Try it again.”
“That is why we are here.” Michael bent down to the apple and lifted it. “Now, Reggie. Focus. Watch the apple.” He tossed it in the air.
Reggie swung hard and connected, sending it flying. “Oh yes!”
“What is it you are trying to do? Annoy your enemy when you knock him in the head? You’re supposed to slice the apple at least two times before it falls to the ground.”
Reggie laughed. “Yeah, right. No way. Impossible.”
“Try again. Swing hard, and with your inner energy. Ready?”
“Go on.” Reggie took on a look of concentration.
Michael grabbed another apple and tossed it in the air. Reggie swung hard, but succeeded only in spinning herself to the ground.
Michael chuckled. He braced her under her arms and lifted her to her feet. “May I help you?”
“Sure.” The sword dangled in Reggie’s hand.
“I will show you how to hold and swing properly. Where did you learn your technique?” Michael brought his arms around her and laid his hands on Reggie’s.
“Little League.”
Michael moved in closer, a slight smile crossed his face, and he held Reggie’s hands tighter. “Now in holding...” He pressed his upper arms against her. “…the sword...” His words slowed as his fingers trailed across her hands and arms.
Reggie tried not to laugh. “Michael? Why are you feeling me?”
“I don’t know. It is different. It seems as if my hands need to feel your skin. I like it very much.” Michael breathed out. “It is as if I cannot stop.” He glided his hand along the rest of her arm. “Why is this?”
“Because affection is a basic human need.” Reggie turned to face him.
Michael gasped out an, “Uh.”
“What?” Reggie asked.
“You broke it.”
Laughing, Reggie shook her head. “I didn’t break it, I just stopped it.”
“Is it wrong?” Michael asked.
“No,” said Reggie. “Everyone likes to be touched. It feels good.”
“It feels natural. Like feeding.”
Reggie was amused by his innocence. “It is natural, Michael. And there are many levels to touching.”
“Levels?” Michael nodded. “So when you touch your lips to Marcus, it feels good like this?”
“Yes.”
Michael stepped to her with drastically puckered lips.
Reggie snickered. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to touch my lips to yours.”
“No.” Reggie waved her hand. “That’s a level I share only with Marcus. Now…” Reggie raised her sword. “We gonna do this or what?”
Michael smiled.
Like a lost child awaiting a friend, Marcus stared out the window, watching Reggie and Michael.
“He doesn’t know,” Eliza spoke softly. “He doesn’t know why he does it.”
“Does what?” Marcus asked. “I don’t see him doing anything.”
“Really?” Eliza asked. “You aren’t staring out this window? Your view is not the same as mine?”
“What’s happening out there…?” Marcus walked away from the window. “Is a prelude to what I already feel happening here?” He brought his fi
st to his chest. “I waited my entire life to be with Reggie. I got her. Now, Michael and his favorite saying…”
Eliza finished his sentence: “I will need her?”
“Yes.” Marcus pulled a chair from the kitchen table and sat down for a good sulk. “His needing her. His yanking her from the room the second we get a quiet moment. His claiming they should be ‘as one.’”
“Marcus, Michael is very literal.” Eliza joined him at the table. “If God told him he is going to be as one with Reggie, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was trying to figure out how to join their two bodies.”
Marcus raised his eyes.
“Oh.” Eliza covered her mouth. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry. I’m just…”
“Jealous?” Eliza asked.
Marcus scoffed. “No. Well. A little.”
“Marcus, I don’t believe his attraction to Reggie is… well, an attraction.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s an angel,” Eliza sputtered. “Angels aren’t supposed to feel that way.”
“But he’s in a human body.”
Eliza paused. “Still. I don’t believe you should worry. It won’t go that way.”
“But what if he feels compelled to take it that way? Better yet, what if it really is God’s intention?”
“Why would God want that? It doesn’t make sense.”
“No, it makes perfect sense.” Marcus stood. “When Michael arrived, he was obstinate. Being here was his duty.” Marcus moved to the window. “He made no bones about it; it was our fight, not his. And he was here only because God sent him.”
Eliza followed Marcus to the window. “Where are you going with this?”
“You asked why God would want them to literally be as one.” Marcus pointed out the window. “Let’s face it, if I’m right, Reggie can be the difference between Michael fighting just out of obligation, or Michael fighting with passion. Ask yourself: which would you prefer?”
Eliza said nothing, but laid a hand on Marcus’ back and watched with him.
St. Louis, Missouri
The prison was loud with moans and screams. Shouts of outrage were thrown at Devante, along with objects. He needed only a quick glance to deflect them. Led by Leonard and two guards, Devante walked through the masses of people that crammed into the huge fenced-in prison yard. He stared forward and moved strongly.
“I’ll kill you for this!” an enraged man shouted, tossing himself toward Devante.
Already irritated, Devante shot a snarling glare at the man, lifting him from his feet. His head spun backwards with a snap and he dropped, lifeless, to the ground.
“Pests,” Devante spoke as he reached the building. “We should destroy this camp immediately.”
“I agree,” Leonard said, opening the door. “By the way, you were right. We lucked out.” He led him down the empty hall. “I didn’t think we’d find anything, let alone before the end of the day.”
“You have this person held separately?”
“We have to.” Leonard reached for the keys as they stopped at a door. “She lives in the section that the officials here like to call the ‘borderline believers.’ And she’s been seen talking to us.” He opened the door. “When we saw her name, we checked her out.”
Devante entered the room. A woman sat in the chair looking at her folded hands. She was thin. Her dark blonde hair came to her shoulders. When Devante drew near, she raised her head. If she didn’t look familiar enough, her eyes, sparkling and blue, gave her away. Devante had to catch his breath. “I know you.”
“No,” Leonard spoke, “you will, though. She’s your help. Lillian Stevens. Reggie’s mother.”
Seville, Ohio
Reggie thought Herbie Wallaby was a great guy. He had a heart as big as his rotund body, and a soul that was even larger. Reggie felt confident in leaving Michael with him while she sought out her father.
Finding Kyle wasn’t going to be difficult; she knew where he would be in the evening hours. The little room right off the kitchen, a place where Kyle used to do the books for his auto body shop, had become her father’s broadcasting booth.
Kyle sat in an old wooden chair before a short-wave radio, holding an old-fashioned microphone, half a headset tight to his ear. Reggie watched and listened. The clock ticked near nine, and she knew he’d be finishing up.
“Not much of a plan. But it’s getting there. You know the location. Kyle Stevens … KSBS … signing off at twenty-one hundred hours.” He exhaled as he lowered the headphones and reached for the power switch.
“Anything new?” Reggie asked, stepping in.
“Nah. Static. A few responses. Questions.” Kyle made a note on a tablet. “No definite locations, though.”
“People are scared.”
“That don’t help us, Reg.” Kyle looked at her, then peered past her. “Where’s warrior boy?”
“He’s with Herbie.”
“Herbie? How did you pull that one off?” Kyle returned to his note-taking.
“Herbie’s teaching him about sex.”
Kyle paused.
“I mean affection. Human contact. I’m gonna join them in a minute.”
Kyle raised his eyes.
“Daddy.” Reggie shook her head with a smile and pulled up a chair. “We had a little incident today, and Michael needs some teaching.”
“What happened?”
“Well, during training, he was standing behind me, and he discovered that he liked it.”
“I’m your father, Reg. You sure you want to tell me this?”
Reggie snickered. “No. Touching my arms. Human contact. He’s never had any.”
“He’s never been human.”
“True. So, we’re just trying to show him different aspects of human companionship. Love. Affection. You know.” She shrugged.
“How?”
“A movie. An Affair to Remember. Keeping it innocent.”
“Good movie. You think maybe it’s something more?” Kyle turned his chair to face her.
“What do you mean?” Reggie asked.
“Eliza was telling me, Marcus thinks that Michael has intentions.”
“Marcus is afraid, Daddy. And Michael is just confused by emotions, period. We’re supposed to fight together, be this great team. That’s all.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I am not supposed to help Michael discover sex.”
“Good. Because I don’t think you’d be all that good of a teacher.”
Reggie blinked.
“Really, Reg, come on. How can you teach something you just discovered with Marcus?” Jokingly, Kyle shook his head. “Now if it was Herbie…”
Reggie laughed and stood up. She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. “‘Night, Daddy. I love you.”
“Reg?” said Kyle. “In all seriousness, how’s the training going?”
“Very good. Michael says I’m now at a level where he can concentrate on training the others.”
“That’s great. You must be doing one heck of a job.”
“I’m turning into a real warrior.” She winked.
“Great! So… did you finally pull that sword from the ground?”
Reggie turned and walked out.
St. Louis, Missouri
Todd had summoned Devante nearly an hour earlier. His impatience was evident by the intensity with which he played pencil-drums on the tray of his easel. He peeked under the tarp, staring at his recent drawing. When he heard Devante approach, he put the tarp back.
“What is it?” Devante asked. He stepped into the back room of the trailer. “You know we must prepare for this trip to New Orleans.”
“Yeah, but I think you should see something first.” Todd rose from the stool. “You, like, gave me this gift.” He spoke soft and slow. “And you know how I draw and capture things that you need to see?”
“Yes, that was part of our deal.”
“Well, I captured somethi
ng. I just finished it.” Todd lifted the covering from the canvas.
Devante tilted his head in wonder. “What is it? From the vision to your canvas, the translation often becomes puzzling.”
“Okay.” Todd held out his hand. “Pretty much, these are lips, body parts. Nothing sexual. But a wanting. A desire. See? He’s gawking like a puppy. I think the dude is your warrior.”
“Translate.”
“If my hands and feelings are right: he digs her.”
Devante’s eyes widened. “But a few days ago, you drew them battling. They must not be fighting anymore.”
“Well.” Todd bobbed his head. “If they are, they’re gonna stop soon.”
“This is not good.” Devante began to pace. “This presses us for time. This screams union between the two. In any way, union is not good. That is a sign they are ready to build an army.”
“So is it time to move along with the ‘mom’ plan?”
“Yes.” Devante moved to the door. As soon as he stepped from the back room, he saw Leonard approaching from the other end of the hall. “I need the mother. Release her so we can speak fully. Soon, the army of light will gather.”
“Which...” Leonard spoke up, “brings me to a concern.”
“That is?” Devante stopped and turned around.
“I know you keep saying you need this Reggie. I’m gathering she’s a vital part of the opposing force?”
“It is more than that. Though it is unclear what.”
“OK, now just because this Reggie person is a strength, it doesn’t mean her mother is. Lillian is weak. You are sending her into enemy ground alone. That’s not good. They’ll break her if they find out.”
“Then we send her in with someone.” With a “there, it’s settled” attitude, Devante walked away.
“Will that be good enough?” Leonard pursued. “And are you absolutely sure that this woman is the way? She’s not strong at all.”
“It does not matter. She is still a weapon. We need to hit them through the mind as well as the sword.”
“I understand that,” Leonard pleaded. “But my sense is… we’re rushing with this woman.”
Last Days Trilogy Page 31
