Pestilence Rising

by Lea Ryan

  Chapter 9

   

  I recognized him from the dream. He was a thick-necked pit bull of a guy with a bearing that screamed military. He waited, arms crossed, for me to stop the truck and get out. I didn’t bother trying to walk by him or the guys around him, who eagerly waited to do his bidding. They reminded me of the enforcers from the Center, only they wore camouflage pants and green shirts. At first glance, they didn't appear to be armed.

  Some of the underlings had tattoos of the same glyphs the big guy had. Theirs were single or just small clusters of the symbols, rather than the veritable book he carried on his skin.

  “What business do you have here?” Face set on scowl.

  My plan was to go in under the pretense of a friendly visit. After seeing the aggressive way they handled my brother, I knew to be careful around them.

  “I request to see Llewyn.”

  “Why?”

  “I dreamed about her. She called me. She wanted me to come here.”

  Pit bull barked at his men, “Frisk ‘em.”

  The underlings jumped into action. I had grabbed my backpack as I exited the car. They rummaged through my clothes, found the phone and the last of our food, the pain pills and antibiotics. I put out my arms and let them take my gun. Celeste also let them take hers.

  “They’re clean other than these two, Vic.” A shorter than average guy handed over our weaponry.

  Vic. The name sounded angry. The beginning of the word ‘victim’ yet he looked anything but. Maybe it was short for ‘victimizer’.

  “Why are you armed?” Vic asked me.

  “I just came from a fight. The guns were for self-defense.”

  “Any more in the truck?”

  “Probably.”

  “What are those?” He nodded at Celeste. “On her back.”

  How do you answer that question without sounding like a nutjob?

  I responded, “They’re wings.”

  He grunted at me and then circled around to see for himself, “Can they be used as weapons?” He tugged at the base of her left wing. She flinched but let him do it.

  “How do you use wings as a weapon? They aren’t even functional.”

  “Is she some kind of science experiment?”

  “She’s an angel.”

  Vic smirked, “Sure she is.”

  Celeste hung her head in frustration. We might as well have been walking around, introducing her as a fairy princess.

  “You can wait in the lobby. I'll see if the mother is willing to meet with you.”

  The mother?

  We approached double front doors, beneath metalwork in the shape a flaming orb. The tower entrance opened to a room inside with a vaulted ceiling. Windows lining the walls were tall and narrow. A mosaic tiled the floor with an image that looked very much like my experience in the field during our night at the motel. Among clouds in a sky painted in shades of deep blue, a mass of stars swirled.

  Vic left a couple of men behind to keep an eye on us while he left to talk to Llewyn. They stood nearby, watching us intently, their arms crossed in a stance that mimicked their leader’s. Perfectly adorable.

  I surveyed the room. The lobby looked like a lounge. People sat on modern benches arranged against the walls. Others were on the floor talking, most of them my age or younger. A girl with auburn hair played guitar at the center of a ring of other teenagers. At the other side of the room, a group of them lounged and read books. I wondered which of them, if any, were ravagers like me.

  They all seemed to be there willingly. They weren’t in distress or trying to escape. Could a sanctuary be the more civilized solution to the problems the Center saw in us? Is that what this was?

  “Hi.” A cheery feminine voice interrupted my thoughts.

  I turned to find a girl a couple years younger than me. She smiled under a tangle of curly, brown hair. She wore a t-shirt with a picture of a bucking bronco on the front and jeans that were frayed at every edge.  

  “Hi.” I said back.

  “My name is Bree. What’s yours?” She was cute, but there was something off about her. I couldn’t quite decide what it was, but it didn’t stop me from digging the way she smelled like vanilla and flowers.

  “I’m Hunter, and this is Celeste.”

  The men babysitting us uncrossed their arms to stand at the ready, eyes darting around like someone might sneak up on them. They hadn’t anticipated that any of the natives might get the urge to socialize with us. Without their leader, they didn’t know how to handle this situation.

  Bree asked, “Are you moving in?”

  “Just here for a visit. You live here?”

  “Yup. I just love it. The crème brûlée in the cafeteria is to die for, and everyone is so nice. Where I come from, people would sooner slam the door in your face than take the extra two seconds to hold it open. That’s Jersey, by the way, a suburb called Kingston. No one has the time for anything there.”

  She seemed amiable enough, a lot more welcoming than the man watching me over her shoulder. The way he looked at me, you would’ve thought I had a gun pointed to her head.

  Vic returned. His glower deepened when he saw me talking to Bree. He hastened over to stand between us, facing her.

  “I told you about talking to outsiders. Aren’t you supposed to be working in the orchard?”

  “He isn’t an outsider. He’s one of us. I can tell. My orchard duty ended when the rain started back up.”

  Vic shook his head and put his back to her to address me, “The mother has invited you to have dinner with her and stay overnight. Your…companion can also stay; however, she is not invited to eat.”

  “Ok.”

  “Follow me. I’ll show you to the ravager dormitory.”

  “Good guess. What gave me away?”

  He snarled, “We know our own kind, here.”

  Apparently being birds of feather didn’t warrant any friendliness. He walked on for us to follow.

  Most of the ravagers I'd seen weren't military-worthy brutes. No doubt he'd used the ravaging as a weapon more than I had. If Llewyn really was forming an army, he was a general.

  Bree fell in line next to me, “Don’t mind my brother. He’s just a big teddy bear. He commands the guardians.”

  Vic glared over his shoulder at her but said nothing. The guy was more grizzly than teddy. I got the impression that messing with him might land me in the hospital, if they had a hospital. Other than the compound, I hadn’t seen any other sign of civilization since leaving the highway. We were isolated from the rest of the world there, which didn’t exactly instill a sense of security.

  We passed a set of double doors on our left. They were made of the same dark wood as the building entrance, but they were three feet taller and decorated in carvings of glyphs like those tattooed on Llewyn and her followers. The antique finished brass handles were forged into the shape of cranes, their beaks angled toward the sky, their wings at their sides.

  “That’s the temple.” Bree told me. “You’ll probably get to see it tomorrow when -”

  “Brianna.” Vic cut her off.

  She snapped back, “What do you think he’s going to do? The mother will protect us. Although, she won’t need to because you’re friendly, right?”

  “Very.” And I would continue to be friendly as long as I got to see my brother in a timely manner and as long as I found him unharmed.

  At the end of a corridor, Vic swung the dormitory doors open, causing everyone in the room to jump. Each person had their own area reserved for their bed and personal belongings like framed photographs and smaller pieces of furniture. The place was homey but definitely had a military vibe, the order and cleanliness. No clothes littered the wood floor.

  “Leave your backpack here.” He pointed to the bed closest to the door on the right. The footlocker lid was open, revealing an empty interior.

  “What happened to the last person who slept here?” I asked as I dropped my backpack into the trunk and
shut the lid.

  “He doesn’t need the space, anymore.”

  That wasn’t ominous at all.

  Bree said, “My bed is the third on the other side of the room.  Just ask me if you need help finding anything.”

  I asked, “What about Celeste?” None of the other beds appeared to be available.

  “She will sleep in a separate part of the building.” Vic and company led us back out of the dormitory, past a dark cafeteria.

  “You can eat breakfast with me tomorrow, if you want. Raquel will just love you. She’s a healer, but she loves the ravager boys. Doesn’t she, brother dearest?”  

  Vic ignored her. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to date him, not that I had any experience in that area. My impression of women was that they usually preferred nonviolent types, but then again, what do I know?

  The healer dormitory was identical to the ravager dorm. I peered in as we passed, trying to find my brother among the other healers inside. I hung back until the guardian behind me prodded me forward.

  We arrived at a closed door that Vic had to use a key to unlock. Celeste also noticed that her room had the potential to double as a holding cell, but she entered, nonetheless.

  Unlike the dorms, there were two beds and no occupants. She would sleep alone. The only other furniture in the room was a low chest of three drawers, a nightstand and a writing desk.

  “Do you plan to lock me in this room?” She calmly asked Vic.

  “No.” He almost sounded disappointed. “The mother says your energy will contaminate that of the others. You have to sleep separately.”

  She conceded, “Very well. I'll respect your wishes.”

  He told me, “I’ll come back to get you for dinner. Elliott will remain here with you. Bree, come with us.”

  “No thanks. I'm going to stick around and hang with these guys.”

  He pulled her aside by her arm, “These people are strangers. I won't leave you with them. You don't know what they could do to you.”

  “Let go.” She ordered, and he complied. Such an amusing dynamic to witness, the big lug taking orders from a petite girl. She had no fear. “I am grown. I make my own decisions now. We're at home. Elliott is here. Nothing will happen to me. Go.”

  Vic the Barbarian went away sulking. I couldn't say I wasn't happy to see him go.

  “Want to see the library before dinner?” Bree asked.

  I shrugged, “Sure.”

  I wanted to find out as much about my potential enemies as possible. I had to admit to myself that Bree didn't seem like a bad person. She talked almost nonstop.

  “You should've visited a week ago when we had the barbecue out back. We have some musicians, guitarists, a violinist and a bongo player - Mitchell. He's an old hippie. They supplied music for Harriet's Ceremony of Light. I think it was the best ceremony yet.” She didn't even pause when she took my arm, “I wish you could've been there. We didn't complete the ceremony until way after the usual lights-out time.”

  Her energy was infectious. I actually wished that I had been there, with her. I could barely believe she was a ravager. She seemed so free of concern. No one hunted her. No one feared her. In the compound, she was the norm. I was the norm.

  I had to remind myself that her people had kidnapped my brother. I reluctantly dredged up images from my vision, Vic threatening Michael, Sarah helplessly watching the love of her life removed from her home. I couldn't let myself forget.

  Around the corner from Celeste's room, the library entrance was wide open, no doors, locked or otherwise. The well-lighted interior reminded me of the bookstore in the mall near my apartment.

  A large fountain offered soothing background noise to readers scattered around the room in recliners. The domed portion of the ceiling above it housed a mural of clouds against an azure sky. Beyond tables and potted palms, shelves were laden with books. The room was relaxing, but I wasn't at the compound to relax. I needed to gather information about who I was dealing with.

  Bree pulled me by the arm, around the fountain, near the shelves on that side of the room. Llewyn's approved reading consisted of Eastern philosophies, Buddhism, Taoism, the teachings of Ghandi. There were volumes on meditation, organic gardening, art. Most of it was pretty mellow fare as far as I could tell. I saw no titles that spoke of a conquering spirit or a war agenda, no books about politics.

  What if Nigel was wrong? What if they weren't forming an army?

  “Want to meet Fred? He's our resident scribe.” Bree asked.

  Fred was set up in the far corner, at a wide lectern. He was in his sixties and had fluffy gray hair. As we neared him, I heard him humming Camptown Races.

  Before him, on the desk, was a trio of books. He had a composition notebook and a smaller, leather bound book on the left side. On the right, he used a calligraphy brush to ink symbols into a volume that stretched to a couple of feet wide.

  “What is he writing?” Celeste asked Bree.

  “He creates notes from our meditations and transfers them into the official record.” She whispered.

  Fred paused in his humming to interject, “Your skills of stealth leave much to be desired. Might as well walk up and have a proper conversation, now.” His accent had a hint of East Coast.

  “Sorry, Fred. This is Hunter. He's new.”

  “Nice to meet ya.” He swiveled on his stool to shake my hand, “And who do we have here?” He asked Celeste.

  “She's Celeste, Hunter's friend. She's an angel.” Bree offered this information without a shade of doubt.

  “An angel, eh? I studied angel mythology when I majored in theology. Do you have a classification?”

  Celeste blushed, “Guardian.”

  Fred clapped his hands together, evidently pleased with her answer, “Very good. May I ask why you're with us?”

  He didn't seem to doubt her story, either. Also interesting was the fact that the presence of a supernatural being didn't register as unusual or worthy of any significant level of concern.

  “I'm Hunter's protector.” She answered carefully.

  “How wonderful.” His gaze lingered on the wings. The bones had extended even farther and while they weren't as battered as they'd been when we first met, there was something creepy about them. They looked like skeletal hands with pale gray skin that had begun to develop follicles where feathers would eventually reemerge.

  I changed the subject, “What are you working on, Fred?”

  He grinned, “I have the honor of transcribing the notes from our group meditations. I translate them from English into the mother's gospel.”

  “Gospel?”

  “Oh yes.” He held his palms toward the ceiling, “The language of stars.”

  “Our most recent meditation took us into the woods where the Divine Ones made their home when they were human. We saw the creeks they drank from, the animals they hunted. We were very blessed.” Bree told me.

  I realized what bothered me when I first met her. As cute as she was, Bree set off the crazy radar. She was full-on brainwashed, cult style. Did I care? Not really, not until she unleashed the crazy on me, anyway.

  “You tell them too much.” Vic walked in, flanked by two of his similarly dressed guardian admirers. “Dinner is ready.”

  We left Celeste and Bree in the library. My angelic friend watched as we exited. I could tell she didn't think dinner was a good idea, but we needed to play by their rules until I could find my brother.

  Vic immersed himself in angry silence as we left the library behind for empty hallways. For all his obvious disdain, he didn't seem to harbor any worry that I would attack him as he lumbered along dutifully in front of me. He did, of course, have backup in the form of his buddies bringing up the rear.

  When we came to an exit door near the kitchen, I experienced a rush of fear that these lugs planned to rid themselves of me via a bludgeoning or some other violence in the back yard. But as we zigzagged down a ramping, concrete path through raised beds of flowers, no one d
eviated from formation.

  Rain still fell, a mist that drenched me once again. Llewyn of the glass had chosen to dine in the dark, beneath a falling sky. I shouldn't have been surprised. When one communes with stars and wild dogs, there are stranger affairs than dinner in the rain.

  We reached a lawn and continued on, into the night, where lanterns on posts cast shimmers onto the wet grass. We slogged through several feet of water where the river had breached its bank, and on the other side a wooden walkway led to a dock.

  I gripped the rope, not that doing so would've kept me from being swept away by the virulent current lashing the planks at my feet. Having survived the drowning at the hands of my brother when I was small, I never had much of a desire to go swimming. I wasn't even sure how well I could swim, and this position, the dark, the depth of the water beneath us, didn't put me at ease. I had visions of being carried into oblivion. All it would take was a single well-placed shove by either the man in front of me or the man behind me.

  A wooden arbor came into view over Vic’s head before he moved aside. Several guardians were stationed on the dock, a ridiculous number for the fifteen-by-fifteen foot area in which we would dine.

  Curtains, heavy velour things that belonged in a fancy house, draped from the arbor into water surging up through the dock. Candles and hanging lanterns lit the inside of what looked like gypsy tent. Ivy twining onto the wooden beams dripped water onto the table, into drinking glasses and plates of artfully piled shreds of vegetables in several colors. The tablecloth beneath dinner had soaked to a state of transparency.

  Outside, the hull of a boat thudded against the dock, which creaked and shifted. I had no doubt that the entire setup could've sunk into the flood at any moment.

  At the center of it all sat Llewyn of the glass, smiling knowingly at me. The evening chill and sporadic sprays of rain affected her in no way whatsoever. Her eyes were large and impossibly dark against skin so fair that, if not for the tattoos covering almost every inch of her arms and chest, I wouldn't have been able to discern where the white fabric ended and she began. The bottom of her white dress drifted in the water, around her bare feet.

  She was familiar and not just because I had seen her in the glass and spoken to her on the phone. I felt the link between our destinies. Our paths would have crossed, no matter the events that led us to this point. I saw why her followers called her the mother.

  She motioned to the chair across from her, “Welcome.”

  “Who are you?”

  The guardians took up posts nearby, looming over our conversation. I didn't feel comfortable talking to her while they were around. Vic stood directly to my right, close enough that an errant elbow on my part could’ve caught him in the thigh. One false move and I was dead meat. I didn't need to hear the threat to feel its presence between us.

  “Leave us.” Llewyn seemed to sense my agitation.

  “But, Mother. He’s a stranger.”

  “You were a stranger to me once. Take the others and wait at the end of the dock until we're finished.”

  “I don't feel you'll be safe alone with him.”

  “I did not seek your counsel in this matter.”

  Vic waved the others off the dock, then clenched his fists, fuming as he retreated down the walkway.

  When they were gone, I again asked, “Who are you?”

  “I serve many roles. At my very heart, I am a gatherer of souls.”

  “Are you like me?”

  “In order to fully explain what I am, I must first explain what you are.” She clasped her hands beneath her chin, “I need you to understand the importance, the privilege you've been granted.”

  “Nothing about being a ravager makes me feel privileged.”

  She sipped from her rainwater tainted glass, “The world has tricked you into believing you are less. Normal isn't better. You aren't subject to their rules or values any longer now that you're with us.”

  With them? This was my induction into crazy town.

  “Our story began with two brothers much like you and Michael, one a healer name Josiah, the other a ravager called Samus. They lived over a century ago in a village not far from here and discovered their abilities through church, prayer specifically. Ask and you shall receive. That's what God's proponents say. Those two boys asked for the extraordinary - the ability to heal. Josiah received his gift first. Nature gravitates toward balance, however.”

  “Samus became the ravager.”

  “Indeed, he did. They were able to keep their abilities secret until adulthood, but all comes to light eventually. When the townspeople discovered what the brothers could do, they were convicted of witchcraft and put to death. While their family and friends watched them burn, Josiah and Samus took the only course of action available to them. They prayed to be as the stars.”

  My brain involuntarily conjured the image of the stars in the field, the stars across the surface of water the night of the accident, so like embers from a flame. I nudged it away to get her out of my head. She didn't appear to notice.

  Llewyn continued, “Their souls were shattered, but their life forces did not die. Instead, the fragments were scattered over time and space, finding new life to latch on where they could.”

  “The anomalies.”

  “We don't use that term here. To us, outsiders are the abnormalities.” Llewyn drew back her shoulders to sit up straight, “Each ravager, each healer, lives with a fragment of the shattered souls within them. Ravagers are components of the group soul of Samus. Healers belong to Josiah. Together, we are the immortal forms of the Divine Ones and the life balance they represent, life and sickness, light and dark.”

  “Why did you take my brother?” I kept my tone even and respectful, but that was the question of the day.

  “I need all the fragments in order to resurrect the Divine Ones. While I regret having to resort to such methods, they are necessary in some cases. Most people come to us willingly. Some must be coerced. All end up finding a place among us.”

  Her attitude toward her questionable recruitment practices struck a nerve. Her methods were too similar to Center methods.

  “What about you? Are you light or darkness?”

  “I am both. I received an impossible gift - a piece of both healer and ravager. I am immune to the effects but can wield neither ability. I hope you'll stay with us. We would prefer that you do. We all belong here.”

  Rather than give voice to my anger at the unspoken threat, I ate some of the shredded veggies on my plate. I couldn’t participate in any further conversation on the matter, just then. The information was too much. Turns out, I really was part of something. Too bad I didn’t have a choice.

  As we ate in silence, a conflict took root in my mind. The longer I considered what she offered, I found myself wanting to believe that she meant no harm. I liked the idea that we could have this place and a purpose beyond hiding what we were from the rest of civilization. I needed to remind myself they were criminals.

  I finally asked, “When can I see my brother? Is he alright?”

  “You will see him tomorrow at the Ceremony of Light. I’ll personally see that you are reunited.”

  I supposed I could wait that long. I finished my dinner and rose to leave.

  “Thank you. I appreciate your hospitality.” I said as diplomatically as I could.

  “You're quite welcome.” The touch of her slender hand on my arm sent an electric pulse through my skin, “You should talk to some of the others. If you get to know them, you'll find a place of your own in our family.”

  I was powerless to do anything but nod in agreement. I turned, suddenly disoriented but unafraid, and headed back down the lighted planks, hands on the rope to keep from stumbling.

  Victimizer and his fellow guardians greeted me with the same cheery demeanor I had become accustomed to receiving from them. However, this time, they let me return to the building unescorted. Vic hurried back the way I'd come, presumably to tend to whatev
er Llewyn might need. I went back the way we came, through the flowers and the rain.

  Bree emerged from a shrub next to the door. “How was it?” She asked excitedly. “What did she say to you?”

  Her wet hair clung to her face. I could smell her shampoo, more floral that overpowered the vanilla, or maybe it was the flowers around us. Either way, it was intoxicating.

  “She invited me to the Ceremony of Light tomorrow.”

  “Wow, a personal invitation.” She slipped her hand into mine as if holding my hand were the most natural action she'd taken that day, and we went inside, “She took to you quickly. Not everyone gets a personal audience with her, especially so soon after arriving.” Bree sighed wistfully.

  “Did you come here on your own?”

  “Yes. Vic heard about the compound first. He came to check it out, and when he determined it was safe, he sent for me. He's very protective.”

  “I noticed.”

  “We've been here five years. Vic was eighteen. I was fifteen.”

  “Your parents didn't mind you taking off?”

  “I accidentally ravaged a boy I liked at school. After that, they were afraid of me. Dad was a military man and prided himself in keeping our house in order. He didn't understand what I was. The whole ravager thing threw a wrench into the machine. Somehow, Vic has always managed to keep control.” She leaned her head on my arm. “What brought you here?”

  “My brother.”

  “More siblings! How exciting. We have several sets. The Divine Ones were brothers when they were human. The mother says they gravitate toward siblings because they feel the bond.”

  I bet they didn't feel the bond between my brother and me.

  Michael's phone rang in my pocket. The screen showed Gideon's cell number.

  “I have to take this.”

  Bree pulled me down to kiss me, “I'll see you back at the dorm.”

  I watched her go until she turned the corner at the end of the hall. I answered the phone and moved toward the lobby. No one would be there that time of night.

  “Hey there, Gideon. How are you feeling?”

  “You cocky asshole.” He coughed, “You think you're so damn smart. Nigel should’ve shot you.”

  Judging by the rasp in his voice, he hadn't quite recovered from the ravage. I didn't think the effects lingered afterward. He'd been hit three times in relatively close succession. The attacks were probably wreaking havoc on his immune system.

  “Aw, don't be too hard on the guy. He really didn't have much of a choice. Besides, looks like I might be useful to you.”

  “You're with the cult?”

  I made a quick scan of the lobby to ensure I was alone, “Oh yeah.”

  “What have you found out?”

  “I can't talk now. Is there somewhere we can meet?”

  “The Center set up a base of operations in a town about ten minutes from you. I'll transmit the coordinates to the GPS in that truck you stole from me. I'm going to want that back, by the way. Be there at noon tomorrow.”

  “Will do. Take care of that cold. I hear chicken soup is good for the sick. Maybe Nigel can whip some up.”

  “Screw you, anomaly. You'd better make this meeting worth my while or I’ll take you in. I’d be happy to do it.” He ended the call.

  “Lights-out was fifteen minutes ago.” Vic stood behind me, alone for once. That guy was all business.

  “Got it.” I left the lobby for the dormitory.

  Vic followed me the whole way. He was a ravager like me, though, so we had to sleep in the same place. I had a feeling that even if I were a healer, he would have remained nearby, slept by the door or watched me on a security camera. Did he act this crazy to everyone who showed up at the compound or just me?  

  When I got back to the room and hit the bed, I didn’t care who watched. I don’t know if it was because I was surrounded by people like me or just that I had a comfortable bed after such a trying day, but I fell asleep almost immediately.