Redemption (Stand-Alone, Spin-Off to Reaper Series), page 9
The crowd gasped and cried out as Eve’s white and red feathers burst into sight. Eve stood before them, her wings spread wide, watching them all stare at her with wide eyes and open mouths. She heard the clatter of plates and the crash of glass as several waiters dropped their serving trays in shock. Some people reached out blindly for chairs to sit on as their legs became weak at the sight of her. The few reporters who had been allowed inside the hall were now furiously snapping pictures, the camera flashes lighting up the room. Eve looked away from them all and toward Isaiah. She immediately found him, looking up at her from the other side of the dance floor.
Isaiah was staring at her, clearly shocked. However, he was smiling. He had the biggest grin on his face Eve had ever seen on him. He looked like he had just witnessed the first sunrise. At the sight of Isaiah so clearly pleased with what he saw, Eve found herself feeling more confident. She grinned at him, her green eyes sparkling as the thrill of what she had done began to set in. She squared her shoulders and arched her wings, allowing every person present to get a clear view of her wings as Javan grinned beside her, flashes from cameras strobing on his face, admiring her red and white feathers.
9
RISE OF JAVAN
J
avan didn’t blink as the lightning flashed and thunder boomed outside the cave. He crouched on the cave floor by the entrance, silent and stoic, as Eve taught the three dozen or so of Javan’s tribe to speak. They would all echo Eve’s words back at her, some not really understanding what they were doing, but rather just copying the others. Eve was patient with them, despite the fact that not one of them picked up what Eve was teaching them even half as fast as Javan had. It seemed she had been right in saying that whatever she did to Javan would not work as well on the others.
Because Javan is special, Javan thought.
Javan was staying by the cave entrance, staring out into the storm. The wetlands of what was to one day become known as East Africa were always raining of late. Storms were more frequent and the rain made every day things like hunting and gathering far more difficult. Javan knew that the only way they were to survive would be to think. To learn. To change.
Evolution, Eve had called it. They needed to evolve.
Javan stared out into the heavy rain, unflinching with each flash of lightning. Unmoved by each crash of thunder. His back was to Eve and the others as she let the children play with the feathers on her wings. She would let the children get close enough to touch her wings, then give them a thrill by hovering a few feet in the air, resulting in excited screams from the young ones and amazed grunts from the elders.
It was the perfect time to slip away.
No one noticed as Javan exited the cave. Eve was too busy laughing with the children to see him leave. Javan had waited weeks for this chance. He knew he would not be missed for some time. He walked out into the rain, ignoring the cold run down over his body, his face set in determination. Javan walked away from the cave and into a thicket of plants and trees, rendering himself invisible to anyone who might look out of the cave. No one would see him.
Crouching down at the base of a tree, which had a long gouge in the trunk, Javan began to dig with his hands, ignoring the forked light that cracked the sky and the thunder that shook the air. Javan had marked the tree many days ago now, so that he could find his new invention. When his fingers dug into the soft mud and dirt, they brushed against the device. Javan immediately grasped it tightly and pulled it free of the earth.
It was small and generally unimpressive, but Javan knew that it would serve a great purpose. It was nothing more than a short length of strong wood, five or so inches long, which Javan held firmly in his hand, his fingers wrapped around it. He had also wound some tightly braided pelt around the wood, allowing him to maintain a strong grip. At the end of the piece of wood, however, he had lashed a bone that he had smoothed and shaped. It had taken him days to get it perfect. It was as long as the handle, ending in a sharp point, lashed to the wooden handle with strong animal skin and fitted into place with fine grooves in the wood. The edge of the bone was also smoothed out, as Javan had ground it down until it was thin and sharp.
Javan had no name for what he had created, but humanity would one day come to know it as a dagger.
Not far away, the man Javan had named Boulder emerged from his cave. He had to duck his enormous head as he squeezed through the narrow gap to the outside. When he stood upright once more, he glared around at the world with hard, beady, eyes. His hair was long and tangled, his thick beard matted with the remnants of his last meal, now soaking up the rain as it fell heavily upon him. Boulder was as tall as Javan, easily six feet, but he was much wider. His shoulders were broad and solid, as though he was carrying two short logs on either side of his neck. His arms were large and muscular, his legs equally so. His entire body seemed to be made up of nothing but powerful muscles.
Boulder had come outside, stirred from sleep by a strange noise. Like that of a dying or wounded animal, but he was not certain. No animals strayed so close to his tribe, they had long since learned that they would quickly become food should they do so. Boulder picked up his spear from beside the cave entrance and held it tightly in his grasp, ready to use it if he spotted the creature. He began to walk farther into the darkness, ignoring the rain as it poured down on him. He welcomed the rain. The water would mask his scent from the animal.
Thunder exploded overhead and lightning lit up the area, Boulder suddenly able to see for a split second. He thought he saw something move just out of sight ahead, ducking behind the cover of trees as the lightning had flashed.
Boulder quickly raised his spear to his shoulder and prepared to throw it, to kill the creature and make it his next meal. Now that he could not see, however, Boulder did not throw the spear. Instead, he continued to walk slowly and steadily towards where he had seen the creature, placing his feet carefully and silently as he stalked his prey.
Lightning forked across the sky again, and thunder shook the very air, and Boulder saw something moving quickly in his peripheral vision, off to his left. Boulder spun and threw his spear, roaring into the night as he put all of his weight behind the throw. The spear whizzed into the darkness, vanishing beyond Boulder’s line of sight, but he heard it thump hard into something solid in the night.
Boulder took a moment to grunt happily, pleased with the kill, then he proceeded after his spear and to retrieve the meat. As he walked, Boulder shielded his eyes from the rain with his hand, squinting with his small eyes as he searched for his spear.
It didn’t take him long to find. However, when he hurried over to the spear to inspect the kill, he scowled at what he had struck. It was no animal. The spear had merely become lodged in the soft bark of a large tree trunk.
“Grar!” Boulder grunted angrily. The thought of food had made him hungry, and now he had none to eat. As Boulder grabbed the spear and pulled it out of the bark, thunder exploded once more and lightning lit up the world.
Boulder did not see Javan standing right behind him.
With one quick stab, Javan plunged the dagger up beneath Boulder’s ribs with an upward swing. Boulder felt the bite in his flesh and felt the pain. He thought of the teeth of the meat-eating beasts that sometimes carried people away, then felt the bite again as Javan withdrew the dagger and stabbed again.
Javan roughly threw Boulder down to the ground, where Boulder fell hard in the mud and water, watching as his blood was already pooling on the earth. He looked up at Javan in surprise, clearly not understanding what was happening, and was afraid because of it.
Javan glared down at Boulder coldly, peering out from the curtain of hair that hung around his face, ignoring the rain and the lightning and the thunder. He fell to his knees on top of Boulder, raising the dagger above his head, cold and emotionless even as Boulder began to grunt in fear, but had no words to speak.
The dagger came down into Boulder’s chest. Javan pulled the dagger out and saw blood immediately begin to flow from the wound. Javan brought down the dagger again, once more into Boulder’s chest. Again and again and again, Javan stabbed, the weapon rising and falling faster and faster as Javan fell into a frenzy, grunting with each stab as Boulder flailed his hands uselessly, trying to fend off the attack. Javan struck him, again and again, the dagger ripping into flesh and piercing vital organs, blood flowing steadily into the earth, mixing with the rain water and trickling away. Even when Boulder had stopped moving, Javan continued to stab, roaring into the night, roaring into Boulder’s lifeless eyes, blood spraying up into his own face.
Finally, Javan stopped. He remained kneeling over Boulder, panting heavily. He tilted back his head to look to the sky and closed his eyes, allowing the rain to splash on his face. Javan then opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. He looked at his palms, the dagger still in his right hand. Both the dagger and his hands were covered in blood.
Suddenly, Javan sensed movement behind him. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder, holding the dagger tightly once more.
Standing there, alone and small, was a child. Staring at Javan with a blank expression, as he did not understand what he was seeing.
Javan stared at Boulder’s son. The boy was sure to be like his father. Uninterested in new ideas, in change, unless those things benefitted him in a personal way. Never caring how his decisions affected others, only looking for what he wanted, be it food or power. Boulder’s entire family would be the same. All those who did not choose to learn from Eve would be the same. There could be no place for them in the future. They would not evolve.
Slowly, Javan rose from Boulder’s body and steadily walked towards the child, the dagger still held tightly in hand.
Back in the cave where Javan had left them, Eve was looking around in confusion. Javan had simply vanished. Those who understood well enough to answer when she asked did not know where he had gone. Eve frowned as she searched the cave, wondering where Javan could possibly be.
Suddenly, something flew in through the cave entrance, something roughly the size of a basketball. It hit the ground hard and bounced, then rolled deeper inside the cave, drawing the attention of everyone inside. The humans began to shriek in panic at the sight of the thing as it slowly rolled to a stop, and Eve stared at it in dread.
It was a human head. The severed head of Boulder.
That was when Javan entered the cave, holding the dagger in his hand, covered almost head to foot in blood. His face was entirely red, his eyes peering coldly out from behind a mask of blood. He stood tall in the cave entrance, staring around at all those inside, as though silently challenging them to attack him. When no one did, he met Eve’s gaze. She was staring at him with wide eyes, her hands over her mouth in horror. He glared back at her, wondering why she looked so distressed.
“Javan,” Eve whispered hoarsely. “What have you done?”
“I did what Eve teach me,” Javan said flatly. “We evolve. Those who do not, die. Boulder would not evolve. Others would not evolve. I asked them to learn from Eve, as I did. They would not. So they do not evolve. They die.”
Eve looked down at the head of Boulder, lying on the ground with wide eyes. She then looked back to Javan.
“You killed him?” Eve asked in a whisper.
“If that is word, then yes,” Javan replied. “I make sure we free to evolve. To become more like Eve.”
“I would never do this!” Eve shouted, startling Javan. “This is wrong! You can’t just kill people!”
“Why?” Javan asked abruptly. “We kill for food. We kill for warmth.” Javan tugged at his clothing to show what he meant by warmth. “We kill to make tools from bones. We kill to live. Why not kill Boulder? He threaten knowledge. He threaten change. He would stop us from evolve.”
“Was it just Boulder?” Eve demanded. “There were a lot of people who didn’t want to come here. Did you only kill Boulder?”
Javan hesitated before replying. Then he simply said, “No.”
Eve covered her mouth with her hands again, shaking her head rapidly, taking a step backwards from Javan.
“How could you?” she asked in horror. “Those people… Those children.”
“Boulder make people follow him!” Javan roared. “He lead them to death! He lead us all to death! I save us! I save us so we can change! So we can survive! People follow me now! I lead us to future!”
“I can’t stay here,” Eve said. “I have to go.”
Javan blinked in confusion. “Go? Go where? We need Eve. Eve teach us. Eve help us evolve!”
“Not like this,” Eve said. “Not like this.”
Without another word, despite Javan shouting his protests, Eve turned and opened a swirling vortex of violet light and vanished inside. The light then vanished and Javan was left standing at the cave entrance, the eyes of his people all upon him.
10
GOOD INTENTIONS
“A
re you nervous?”
Eve shook her head, aware that Isaiah was looking at her with concern. It was several days later and they were standing behind a curtain at the press conference Javan had arranged at Twenty Toronto Street, which was known for housing events, business meetings, and press conferences. Eve had not looked past the curtain, which separated her and Isaiah from the people who had gathered to hear her speak, but she could hear them all talking.
“It sounds like a lot of people turned up,” Eve said to Isaiah.
Isaiah nodded. “Yeah. I think every reporter in Canada is here. And then some.”
Eve took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. She then felt Isaiah’s hand slip into her own, his fingers entwining with hers.
“You know, you’re taking the whole Angel thing surprisingly well,” Eve said, looking sideways at Isaiah.
Smiling, Isaiah replied, “Nothing’s changed. Not for me, anyway. It’s just that you happen to have wings, now. Think of the airfare we could save!”
Eve grinned, despite her nerves. Isaiah noticed that she was hiding her trepidation.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” he said. “Mr Javan would understand. If this is all too much…”
“It’s not the people,” Eve interrupted. “I’m used to talking to crowds, I do it all the time. It’s just… I’m pretty sure I’ll get in a lot of trouble for this.”
“What, from Heaven?” Isaiah asked.
“From my father.”
“You’re just trying to help, right?” Isaiah said. “You’re just gonna clear the air on the whole Angel invasion thing, answer a couple of questions, then you’re done. No harm, no foul.”
“I wish it was that simple,” Eve said quietly. “I’ve somehow managed to keep this a secret from my father and brother, but after today, they’ll know for sure. I just hope I don’t screw things up.”
“How could you possibly do that?” Isaiah asked, smiling at the supposed ludicrousness.
“You’d be surprised.”
At that moment, Javan came bustling behind the curtain, grinning from ear to ear, rubbing his hands together as though he was anticipating something amazing.
“Are you ready?” he asked Eve. “People are getting restless. There are reporters from all over the world out there. This could be the biggest story in the history of news!”
“So, no pressure, right?” Eve asked sarcastically.
Javan waved his hand like Eve’s words were an annoying fly. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got it covered. I’ll call on the reporters who’s questions we’ve pre-approved and you just do your thing. I do wish you’d let me hold this thing in a church, though. Think of how poetic it would have been. An Angel from Heaven, speaking to the world from a house of God.”
“Like I said before,” Eve began, “any church would have sent the wrong message. Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Islamic, doesn’t matter, it would have seemed like my father plays favorites. He doesn’t. This way, it’s religion neutral, so no one can get the wrong idea.”
Javan nodded. “Fair enough. So, think you’re set? Good to go?”
“I think so,” Eve replied. “How hard can it be, right?” Then she added silently to herself, Yeah, no big deal. I’m only borderline breaking our biggest law.
“Excellent!” Javan said, clapping his hands together. “I’ll go let the media know to turn their cameras on.”
Javan winked once at Eve, then walked back out beyond the curtain. A moment later, Eve heard him addressing the crowd, giving a small speech that he had written in advance.
Eve took a deep breath and was reminding herself of the reasons she thought this was a good idea, when suddenly there was a flash of gold light, startling both her and Isaiah. Turning toward the light, Eve saw Gabriel standing before her, this time wearing his Army of Heaven armor, gleaming silver as it caught the light. Gabriel had also kept his white and gold wings visible, allowing the full majesty of their size to be noticed by the stunned Isaiah, gawking with his mouth open.
“Ah, crap!” Eve sighed.
“Is that all you have to say to me?” Gabriel hissed, his eyes narrowed. “Crap?”
“How’d you find out?” Eve asked.
“We knew all along!” Gabriel nearly shouted. “Do you really think that with all the publicity Javan put into this moment we wouldn’t notice? There are people on the street with signs, protesting your very presence here! The only reason this is still happening is because our father seems to think that you need to get this out of your system. That you need to learn from yet another mistake!”
“Is it a mistake to care for humanity?” Eve demanded defiantly. “They need answers. They’re lost since the invasion.”
“They don’t need to know!” Gabriel growled.
“Whoa, whoa!” Isaiah suddenly interrupted, waving his hands to stop. “Sorry, who are you?”
Gabriel fixed Isaiah with a stare as hard and cold as the armor he wore. “I’m Gabriel. Eve’s brother. Commander of the Armies of Heaven.”
