Indigo: Abraham, Emotion Vol.1: Emotion, Chapter Two: "EMOTION, part 2 The Bondegrinder"

Chapter Two: EMOTION, part 2 The Bonegrinder

            Alex was stuck like stone.  She couldn’t move, she could hardly breathe.  It felt like being underwater, the pressure of it crushing down on her, leaving her too weak to fight, to stand, and so she kneeled in prayer and stared, and she fought not to cry.  “Carolyne, you’re here.”

            Carolyne smiled down at her, an empty gesture.  She held no love for Alex, no affection.  Rather, she was looking down on her, a queen on high.  “Yes, I am.”

            “Why?  Why are you doing this?”  Alex looked past Carolyne, at Abel, who held Abraham cradled in his arm and waited patiently.  “Why are you helping him?  Protecting him?”

            “Because I have to, if I want to move on, to move past this physical body, to a place where I truly belong.”

            “Beyond this physical body?”

            Carolyne’s jaw went tight.  She swished the thin blade of her Voice like a cat swishes its tail.  “Don’t you understand?”  Then, she shook her head, tilting it like a disappointed parent as she sighed.  “No, of course you don’t.  We’re in the Emotion, the heart of God!”

            Alex breathed through her confusion.  She still had tears in her eyes, but she didn’t have anything to wipe them away.  The pain was dull in her chest, in the emptiness where her heart had been so long ago gone, where Alicia’s death had left it hollow.  “The heart of God?”  The words were heavy on her tongue, full of meaning that was beyond her.

            Carolyne shook her head again.  The smile she wore, empty as it was, receded, and Alex found she missed it.  “No, I’m wrong,” she said.  “The heart of God is here, but it’s not here.  Which is why we need the girl.  She has opened the door, but we still need hear to lead us the rest of the way.”

            Alex remained kneeling, supporting herself with her hands as the sobs shook her body.  Abel moved now, touching Carolyne on the shoulder.  “Enough.  We should leave.”

            Carolyne lingered.  Her hand was tight around her Voice, her skin stretched thin and pale from the tight grip.  “What do you want to do with her? What if she comes after us?”

            Abel spared Alex a glance.  His eyes were dark and bottomless.  They held the entire world in them.  “I’ve arranged to have that taken care of.” 

            “I can do it.”  Carolyne’s wrist twitched as she spoke.  The tip of her Voice bobbed before her.

            “I know, but I have decided.”

            Carolyne glared at Alex and then huffed. Her Voice faded in a flash of light, and she turned and followed Abel’s retreat.  Alex watched them leave.  As the distance grew between them, she found it easier to breath.  She steadied herself and stood, and while she was hurt by Carolyne’s words, she was happy to see her alive.  Whatever their history, she didn’t feel right taking anyone’s life.

            Despite that, she also didn’t feel right letting them take Abraham, either.  She remembered her promise and intended still to follow through.  Liquid steel formed from the air and swallowed her arm.  It extended into a blade and solidified with a red jewel gleaming at its base, held in the open maw of a fierce dragon etched into the bracer.

            She followed them, slowly at first, matching their gait and planning her attack.  Alone, they were stronger than her.  Together, they were unstoppable.  She couldn’t win, but she could surprise them long enough to take Abraham and run.  At least, she hoped she could.  Carolyne was weaker and would be the easiest target.  One slash, and then she would escape with Abraham over her shoulder.

            Alex took a deep breath to swallow her heart.  Then, she broke out into a full sprint.  Two steps later she met a solid wall of muscle and fell to the ground.  A tall man appeared before her, his orange beard and chest hair were thick with sweat.  He had an amiable air about him despite his menacing form.  The enormous hammer in his hands betrayed his true intentions.

            “Who are you?”

            He offered her a hand and helped her to standing.  His meaty fist swallowed her arm as he lifted her, but he grip was delicate and controlled.

            “Goliath,” he said, and she realized that even when she stood he had at least two feet on her.  His naked chest shined with sweat.

            “Move,” she said, and she made to step around him only to be intercepted.  A frown pinched her face.  “What are you doing?”

            “Sorry, but I’m here to stop you.  That’s the orders I’ve been given.”

            She glared.  “You’re supposed to stop me?”

            “Well, kill you, actually.”

            Alex swung wide, her blade whistling as it sliced the wind, and he side-stepped the blow.  He moved quickly despite his size.  The tip of her blade narrowly missed the tip of his nose, and Alex had a feeling he planned it that way.  He bounced back once his feet planted and before she could register the miss his hammer dug into her torso like a fist.  She slid back a few inches before falling flat onto her back and into a fit of coughs.

            “I was trying to be fair about this,” he said.  “I was going to let you lay down your life before me, let me end your suffering rather than prolong it.  And that offer stands.  All you have to do is bow your head and let it happen.”  As he spoke, he lifted his massive hammer with one hand and paced a slow half-circle around her.

            She watched him, his muscles bulging.  His strength matched his size.  He could kill her in seconds, but the thought didn’t scare her.  Death wouldn’t be so bad.  A few hours earlier it had been a small relief.  It is the things she would leave behind that frightened her, the promises she made, and the people she loved.

            Cast not in iron but in flesh and blood, which made it all the stronger, she hardened her resolved.  Her gasps died, and she stood, legs shaking and stomach aching but still proud, and she pointed her blade at him in warning.  “I made a promise.  So, I’m going to have to take you down.”

            He sighed heavily and paused to hang his head in mourning.  “Dear, words are empty without the strength to back them, and sadly, you have so very little strength.”

            “Never heard of David and Goliath?”

            His face hardened, and he shook his head.  “Fine.  Let’s get this over with.”

            He charged her as a rhinoceros, head down and barreling forward.  Once close enough, he swung downward with his hammer.  She stumbled away as the ground cracked around her.  The impact was so strong that the ground shook and groaned under the stress.

            Shortly after he twisted, bringing the hammer around to crush her head like a melon.  She ducked under at the last minute and held to the ground, almost afraid to be blown away by the inertia.

            The attack left him open as the hammer swung back.  Alex push off the ground and lunged at him, driving her blade for his core.  A thrill ran through her, congratulating her for defeating him and cursing her for the life she would take.  It was premature though, as he easily stepped out of range before her blade could touch his big chest.  His big foot met her partway and sent her tumbling backward.

            She landed face down and fell into another fit of coughs.  Everything hurt, and her bones felt flimsy and paper-like.  She applauded her soul though.  Without a Voice, she surely would have died already.

            Slowly, she forced herself to standing and swallowed her coughs.  Each breath brought a sharp pain to her side and chest.  The world spun around her in a hazy blur.

            “Really, this is embarrassing and pointless.  Just give up already.  In fact, if you start begging now, the master may let you live.”

            Mention of Abel, of that man, set a fire in Alex’s soul.  While her bones were weak and her legs shaking, her resolve remained solid.  She charged forward again, having decided it was do-or-die.  This time, she aimed for his heart.

            Goliath brought his hammer around, and Alex had just enough time to turn, throwing her arm up in defense before being hit.  It was like a car crashing into her side.  She dug in and rather than being tossed like a ragdoll, she slid across the ground two feet before falling to a knee.

            Three Gods bent. The synthetic steel fractured.  Blood ran down the side of her arm where her Voice cut into her flesh.  Her legs shook again, but she had no time to lick her wounds.  Goliath continued his assault, bringing an attack down at an angle and aiming for her shoulder.

            Side-stepping the attack, she moved in closer.  He reached out with his free hand and grabbed her by the shoulder, throwing her away like a bag of garbage.  She flew a yard or so and landed on her good side.  On impact she heard a sound like a wet twig snapping, and pain rushed through her when she slid to a halt.

            Lying there, face down on the stones, she shook and sobbed.  What she felt wasn’t simply pain.  It was greater than anything she knew or experienced before.  This time, she wasn’t sure she could get back up.

            Stand up!  Fight!

            The voice came from nowhere.  Alex looked around but saw no one save Goliath, who marched menacingly toward her.

            There is no time!  Trust us, and you will live!

            It was within her, and it was right.  Goliath was above her, his hammer in mid-arc for the final blow.  Alex winced and prepared for the worst, but time slowed.  Sound stopped for a moment, and the pain receded.

            Listen to these words and repeat them aloud.  Express the intent of your soul!

            “Blazing corona, lustrous light, red blade of power, lend me your might!” She hardly spoke the words, but she felt the power flowthrough her.  Intense heat surged through her veins, seeking escape.  She funneled it into Three Gods and watched the blade adopt a blinding red glow. “Burning Blade!”

            She brought her Voice up to meet the hammer and sliced the head cleanly in two.  The top flew off into the canyon wall.  The bottom fell down harmlessly in front of her.  Goliath paused and regarded it for a moment.

            Alex stood still, uncertain of what transpired.  Carolyne had used such a strange gift before, and she had said something about hearing the voice.  She breathed, and the blade dulled, no longer casting heat or light as it had.  The air sizzled faintly against the cooling steel.

            Goliath shifted his stance and twirled the pole-arm of his hammer, using it like a staff.  He caught her in the side and knocked her to the ground.  She rolled away and got to her knees, doubled over, panting, and holding her ribs. Three Gods blurred.

            Goliath lifted her pole-arm and regarded the burnt hammer head.  Then he threw it to the side like a broken toy and reached into the air.  From nothing he produced a large chain attached weight about the size of his fist.  He dropped the weighted end to the ground and grabbed the chain, tugging it hard and twirling the weight around overhead.

            Wheezing and struggling to stay awake, Alex forced herself to her feet.  She didn’t have much longer.  Her Voice was fading, and she couldn’t hear it anymore.  She felt alone and overwhelmed as she watched him stir up the air with his new weapon.  If it would end, then it would end soon.

            Goliath spun and stepped forward, hurling the weight at her.  Alex brought her blade up to meet it, to cut it in half as she had his hammer, but her blade collapsed on contact.  It erupted into shards and then dissolved into the air.  The weight clipped her arm, tearing the skin on the way into the canyon wall.

            Goliath frowned and paced, a predator eyeing his prey.  From the air he pulled out a small, curved blade.  He dropped the chain and marched over to her, twirling his weapon in his hand. Above her his lifted the blade and it gleamed in the light.  With one swift movement he could end her.  Alex looked up, wide-eyed, and then rolled out of the way.  He cut the air where she had been but followed her close.  Gripping her by the throat, he lifted her effortlessly into the air.

            He pulled the blade back and prepared to finish her.  When he swung, she flailed, kicking at him.  The blade left a shallow gash in her right leg, but she managed to kick it from his hands.  Goliath growled, released her and quickly brought his fist back around, knocking her hard into the stone walls.  The rock fissured behind her.  Then he seized her by the torso and tossed her into the ground.

            She hit hard and slid across the dirt.  As soon as she stood, she found herself facing the chained weight again.  He launched it at her head after a short spin.  Again, she held her arms up and, out of pure adrenaline, managed to conjure her Voice one last time.  Three Gods appeared to soak the attack and fractured immediately afterward.

            The weight hit like a cannon ball, knocking her back to the ground and sending her sliding.  Her arm snapped under the force, and she held it and howled in pain.  Tears came to her eyes as she gasped and clawed at the ground.  Slowly, shakily, she forced her way up.

            Through blurred vision she watched him approach.  His body melded with the surroundings.  Periodically everything went black, and she’d come back clutching the wall to keep from falling.  When he was close enough, she stumbled forward, swinging futilely.

            He pinned her to the wall and came in close.  She whimpered and beat on his heavy chest, but she knew it was useless.  He would be her death.  She knew it and accepted it.  Part of her was sad, but only for the people who she left behind, for the people she disappointed, for the promises she would have to break.

            Then he stood there, holding her to the wall.  She could barely see him, but she could feel his presence.  His hand shook, not from weight, but from pity, and he released her.  Her legs buckled immediately, and she fell to the ground.

            He left her there, broken, bruised, but alive.  She wanted to ask him why, but she was too weak even to stay awake.  The last thing she saw was his enormous back as he walked away.

: EMOTION :

            Isaac took Ellen hand and helped her to standing, and then they walked together toward the horizon.  Neither were sure where the prairie ended or when the desert appeared.  The transition was seamless, like film cut and fashioned together.  One minute they were knee-deep in grass and next they were up to their ankles in sand.  Even when they looked back, they saw nothing but dry winds and long ridgelines of golden sand.

            Ellen walked at Isaac’s side, keeping quiet and staring straight ahead.  He grew distant as the heat swelled.  The Emotion was full of life; he had told Ellen as they walked the flat prairieland.  The desert felt different.  It felt empty, save for two presences, Isaac told her after a time.  This put him on edge.

            In the distance they saw the tree and, closer, oily clouds that swirled and spread above a line of rusted refineries.  As they crested one dune Ellen came to a stop, legs bent as she held to her knees for support.  She covered her eyes because, even when hidden behind the dark clouds the sun was too bright, and she stared.  “What’re those?”

            Isaac stopped.  He had his jacket off and wrapped around his waist.  Sweat was showing under his arms and along his chest.  He wiped some from his upper lip.  “I’m not sure.”  It was the first time he had said that to her, and he didn’t seem pleased with it.

            She stood straight and fanned herself.  “Really?”

            He gave her a smile.  “But we’ll figure it out.”

            She nodded and smiled back.  His eyes were green and shined like gemstones in the desert sun.  She didn’t understand what was going on, but she trusted him to see her through it.  So, when he started down the hill, she followed at his back feeling safe in his proximity.