Chapter 12 – Ruin

Last time on BTL: an angel tries for his freedom but fails, bodily air is freed, Brad Himmelfarb was relieved as his bowels were freed, and a little touch of home was found in the farm owned by Gr8. Now it’s on to ruin…

***********

“Tell me, how does it feel? Describe to me the feelings you have when you reach up to Heaven…and there’s nothing there. Portray the futility, the anguish, the sheer feeling of loss you go through when you know your creator can’t hear you. Because you know what…”

Arzenal pulls back the matted, blood-soaked hair of Wasser near his ear.

“That’s what I’ve been going through all my fucking life!!” He swished the angel’s hair back in anger.

Wasser lifted his head slightly, white blood caked onto his face. “You chose your fate.”

Arzenal looked aimlessly upward and waved his hand around. “Let’s call it…peer pressure, shall we? Imagine looking up to this one person all your life and all a sudden they come to you…they actually notice you and talk to you and want you to do something…. for THEM! Imagine the pride and joy! Imagine not even thinking about the consequences.”

“So you were naive. Why didn’t you state your case?”

“Oh come on! I was thrown down the minute battle lines were drawn.” Arzenal went and sat down across the room from Wasser. “It’s not like He would listen anyway.”

Arzenal slowly pointed a finger at Wasser. “As soon as I take care of these Llamas,” he looked up to the darkened ceiling of the mountain, “the big man will get His.”

*********

Chubs was enjoying himself. And I admit, so was I. I was riding next to a beautiful girl on a beautiful day with scenery to match. Chubs was trotting along stride for stride with a golden mare. She could have been any ole mare because for one reason or another the horses we rode on were male (except for Lil Skold’s donkey) and Chubs still would have been happy that she was of the opposite gender. She could have been lazy, dirty, and large in girth…and Chubs still would have liked her. But this golden mare was only matched in serene beauty, in my opinion, not by Chubs, but by her rider.

Grace had been describing the accounts that had led to the elves and dwarves fighting almost eight cycles ago; only five cycles before I had arrived on the planet. There had been tense relations between the two for as long as anyone could remember. When you take into consideration that the elves tried to become one with the land, live off of it, respect and preserve it; while the dwarves were miners that took from the land to prosper, ripped the land’s heart out as the elves would decry…the natural rivalries only strengthened when each of them moved into the Twins.

As we traveled along the natural roads and slopes towards her own ruined childhood home, she continued her account. The Twins, the two identical mountains brought the two races within fighting distance of each other. She told me of the increased fighting, the capturing of soldiers, several trials and entrapments. Fingers pointing and tempers flaring but nothing ever blew up and all-out war had never occurred.

“Until eight cycles ago.” she said. I turned towards her as she stared straight ahead.

“I don’t know what the trigger was. I couldn’t tell you what snapped inside of the elves. But I do know they had made friends.” She stared straight into my eyes. “Some awful friends. I don’t know how many souls of their own they sold or gave, but the price anyone paid for these alliances was atrocious.”

The elves attacked the dwarves. Took them totally by surprise. Survivors, she said, which there were very few, told that at dinner time, dwarven tradition was for each clan to eat together to plan the next day, where to mine, and prioritize any repair work to the extensive tunnels. Dozens of families together, confined to large eating halls where it was a rarity to bring weapons. Without that to defend themselves, chaos ensued when the elves attacked. There was no place to go except a flight instinct that led to trampling over each other.

They were cattle led from one room to the next. As soon as the elven archers ran out of arrows in one room they were herded by fierce creatures that killed any who ran too slow into the next cavern where more were already stationed and pelted them. Had they attacked while in the mines, they would have been able to defend themselves with weapons, they would have been spread out and harder to kill.

“This was premeditated murder, planned. And they must have had help from the inside to know how the tunnels interconnected; the times they ate; ways to set up the archers.”

I was getting angry just listening to the story. I had to force myself to loosen the grip on Chubs’ pommel.

Those that did escape ran away from the Twins, east mainly. In pursuit were the elven allies. The dwarves, desperate for any help ran by houses, towns; traversing through streams or rivers to lose their scent. Any house that happened to be in the monsters’ way…

I saw her eyes start to glisten.

She guided her mare up a steep incline and trotted up towards the top. I turned Chubs and he sighed as he saw the trail he had to follow. I gave him a nudge in the ribs, and I told him to look at the mare’s butt for inspiration. He stepped lightly up the hill.

My heart sunk as I pulled up Chubs next to Grace who had stopped at the top of the hill and was staring ahead. Tears had started their way down her cheeks.

“Any house in the monsters’ way was destroyed along with those who resided within,” continued Grace.

I looked forward. The charred remains were still there. Untouched, uncared for all these cycles. All that stood was the brick chimney blackened by all the flames and smoke that for one time only, burned on the outside of it.

“Oh my…” her voice trailed off into silence.

I looked at her and waited to see if she needed anything from me.

“My dad…my dad sent my baby sister and me running out into the night. I didn’t even get one last good look…”

I leaned Chubs closer and put my arm around her. She leaned her head onto my shoulder crying.

“I didn’t…I couldn’t bring up the nerve to come here until now. I was afraid of what I would see,” she said pulling away and trying unsuccessfully wiping all the tears off her cheeks.

I stared back at the ruins. “This is exactly what you were afraid of.”

I gently rubbed her neck for a few moments. I pulled her head up and made her look at me.

“Let’s go see what we can salvage out of this.”

I held onto the reins of her mare and nudged Chubs so he would lead us down to the house.

**********

“You know what I hate about your…kind?” familiar spittle splattered against Wasser’s face. He watched as Arzenal danced on his tiptoes. “You’re always doing things because it’s the RIGHT thing to do, the NOBLE thing to perform, it’ll make the world a HAPPIER place.”

“I do not do my duty to get my name in the paper.” replied Wasser in a tired monotone voice.

“What was that?” Arzenal cupped his hand to his ear. “Was that…humor coming from the angel. A very droll sense of it, but I do believe it was humor.”

Arzenal swaggered up to the chained angel.

“While you have humor on your side. I have darkness and madness. I can twist the minds of sleeping babes and their parents…and I can be a hundred miles away! You know how?”

Arzenal bent slightly to look Wasser in the eye. “Fear. The fear that this is the night I will take them. You see people walking down the street looking over their shoulders to see if anyone was following them?”

Arzenal twirled on his toes. “That’s me they’re looking for! I just love it when they just drop a load in their pants when I finally come knocking on their doors. The look on their faces…oh! Just precious!” Arzenal looked at Wasser as he picked something out of his fingernail.

“I guess you could say I have a twisted sense of humor.”

The angel lifted his head up.

“Fallen, I have guarded the gates of Hell for over six centuries. I have seen many twisted souls. I am not impressed by you.”

Arzenal put both hands to his face. “Oh, you hurt me. You cut deep and wound me.” The ex-angel went around a corner beyond Wasser’s eyesight. He returned with his arm around a human teenager. Pasty white skinned and two holes at the base of his neck marked him as a slave of Arzenal. They stopped several feet in front of the prisoned angel.

“And now, I must cut deep and wound you, and have you help me build a better, faster, stronger army.”

**********

I carried a load of wood from nearby trees to the campfire that was burning several yards from the remains of the house. Grace and I had spent hours combing through the wreckage to find any valuables that were salvageable. And then I would spend an hour consoling her as she found something that had reminded her just what was taken in her life, destroyed way too soon. As I was washing my hands by the well, I noticed her inside the remains tracing inch by inch where the bedrooms were, where she had slept as a child, where the family sat together during supper, and even, she told me, where the second board would creak in the washroom. She knew, as every child knows, every nook and cranny of her house. And she, like me, desperately wanted a piece…just a piece of it back.

We were able to salvage only a few recognizable items. Pieces of silverware, a wooden toy that was charred but still had its original shape, and a dress of hers that she had worn on her fifth birthday. Her mother had spent many hours making the garment herself and spent way too much money on the material. She put down the items and I shared and recounted scenes from my childhood. When the yawns started to come forth, sleep was signaling us to heed it.

With the sun below the horizon, warmth had dissipated, and a damp chill was in the air. I saw a moment and must admit I took it like the man I was.

I rolled out my sleeping bag next to the glowing embers of the fire.

“Wanna sleep in here with me?” I tried not to smile, I really didn’t, but I could tell that my mouth was starting to stretch.

Grace put on a suspicious look. “Sounds too much like a line.” She folded her arms. “You gonna have clothes on mister?”

I gave her the most innocent look I could. “Yes. Yes! Of course! It’s cold out!” I mistimed outstretched arms and waved them around proving just how cold it was.

The wheels in her head turned. A pause. And then as my heart skipped, she walked towards me and the bag. “No funny stuff.”

“Nope.” My voice cracked that very instant as the pitch of my voice soared into a soprano.

She laughed. “It’s nice to see you are just hitting puberty.”

“Eh heh heh. Justgetinthebag.”

As I slid into the bag and we snuggled up for warmth, I just kept telling myself, Just don’t get a boner, just don’t get a boner.

I moved her hair a bit since it was tickling my nose and I stared into the dissipating fire. It had been a long time since I had felt this warm and comfortable in bed with someone. Usually, I wake up almost lip locking Jupe or staring at his belly hair since I was the only one who would sleep with him in motels.

I moved my hand gently under her vest and shirt and placed it on her stomach.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Seeing if you have any belly hair.”

“You are so stupid.”

*********

I didn’t wake up on the first sound. I incorporated the neighing of the horse into my dreams. As I was checking someone out at my old job at Waldenbooks and asking them if they had a Preferred Reader card, their answer came out as a horse’s neigh. I frowned at this thinking if I should go on with my spiel or just let them have their newspaper (which coincidently would have doubled their points to 1 out of 100 towards their first five dollar coupon if they had signed up), but then I opened my eyes as Chubs neighed again and switched my mind to consciousness.

Chubs only neighs when he is nervous so I knew something was up. The sun was bright but low over the sky. About 8am earth time, I estimated. I scanned the horizon as Grace got out of the sleeping bag. She looked me over.

“I tell you. I go to bed with a white man and wake up with a blue man. What color would our child be…mauve?”

“Whoa, miss,” I put my hands up in the stop sign level, “that’s really forward of you. We’ve only slept in the bag once and now you are talking kids. How many you want? One? Two?”

“Five,” she answered quickly. I was trying to think of a retort but–

–then I saw him.

Sitting on a jet-black warhorse staring straight at us, unmoving. Black sleek chromatic armor that was sculpted with razor spikes at the shoulders, elbows, and knees.

“What?” asked Grace as I didn’t answer her number. I nodded in the direction of the new player.

She turned, and a gasp of air was all that she could do. Then she spoke the word I didn’t want to hear.

“Ty-paldeen.” she spoke in Acadian.

Anti-Paladin.

“Ok.” I breathed. “No sudden moves, eyes always on him, slowly start making our way to the horses.”

“But that’s towards him!” Grace hissed.

“I know! But we can’t outrun him. Maybe that horse of his is slow.” I said through clenched teeth.

From behind us we heard hooves from the bottom of the hill.

“Oh please don’t let that be his mate or something.”

The hooves were grinding into the hill and the rider came into view.

“Gunblaze!”

Gunblaze guided his stallion around the charred house and trotted to us.

“Where is he?”

I nodded up to the northern rise. “How did you know?”

He opened his helmet so we could see his face. “I didn’t know…I could just feel a presence.” He looked up at his counterpart. Neither moved for several moments and then Gunblaze looked down at Grace and me.

“Get your stuff. He’s not going to do anything.”

“What? How did…”

“Come on, let’s hurry before I read something different from him.”

For once, I felt like I was the kid and Gunblaze the father.

“He’s just letting us know he’s here.”

“A simple letter would have sufficed.” I grunted as I quickly started packing the bag and materials Grace was able to gather from the house.

I hopped up on Chubs backing him up so I could keep an eye the black knight.

“Come on, come on. Let’s get back to the farm. We’ll meet up with him again someday.”

“I was afraid you’d say that.” I moaned.

Gunblaze smiled and closed his helmet. “Let’s go. Y’all interrupted a good breakfast.”

I looked back and the knight continued to watch us leave.

“You guys didn’t have sex, did you?” Gunny asked me matter-of-factly.

“No.”

“Come on, can you give me any details? Positions?”

“Shut up.”

-Next? Aw yeah, a little game of Magic the Gathering!