Darkness upon the Land

His hand rested against the overhanging rock as Reuben gazed upon the expanse of desert before him. It was not the stony, scrubby terrain that held his attention, however, but the sheer numbers of military equipment on the move below him.

Tanks, jeeps, and armored vehicles all rolled across the parched hills in numbers that seemed without end. He could appreciate their enormity because of the height and distance he was observing them from. When jets began flying over the assembly, he saw them before he could hear them. They were all advancing to one location and were oblivious to his presence.

As he watched them head to their destination, he noticed his own anxiety mixed with sadness. Yet he also had a glimmer of hope. Somehow … somehow this expansive military force before him signified an end.

When he awoke in the morning and realized he’d had this dream again, Reuben pondered it more than usual as he cleaned up to head out for chores. The last time he had it was the morning of the Burst. For all these years this dream had surfaced with no time frame attached to it, and seemingly had no pattern.

But maybe he was finally beginning to see the pattern, as subtle as it was because it hid within events that often didn’t seem significant at the time. It did seem unusual that the dream occurred the night after their showdown with Baron yesterday. Did that mean something else was going to happen today?

It might not be as obvious as the grandfather of all coronal mass ejections taking out technology, and it could be as normal as his baby sister’s birth. Yet it would be more significant than all the fighting he’d engaged in over the past month and a half.

He regarded his reflection in the bathroom mirror, which in the pale light of predawn revealed little more than a silhouette. The shape of his head did look a little funny from the bandaging wrapped around it. Nobody could agree if the gash two inches above his left eye was caused by gravel scraping when he hit the ground, a part of the bike striking him as he dove for cover, or a bullet grazing him that started the whole mess. He was already in the ditch before feeling the pain and realizing he was bleeding.

Liana stitched the wound but didn’t guarantee there’d be no scarring, which considering it was near his hairline would probably never be noticed anyway. She happened to have purple gauze wrap on hand, and although he couldn’t see its color now, the bandaging reminded him of the hue it was.

He remembered Alexia’s little speech to Baron about turning away from iniquity, and both recollections extracted a memory he hadn’t thought about for a couple of years. When he was four years old, he committed an infraction that necessitated his standing in the corner for a few minutes. After his time was served, Reuben and his mother reconciled, but then she said something that stuck with him ever since.

She always spoke to him in Cherokee. “You shouldn’t forget that even though Dad and I can’t always watch you, ‘The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, seeing the bad and the good.’ He is with you, everywhere and always, and you should think of that whenever you feel like disobeying.”

It didn’t take him long to realize that it was quite difficult to keep awareness of God in the forefront of his mind. Many years later he would run across the principle that the Creator made humanity this way in order for them to exercise free will, because anybody who was always aware of God’s presence could never act freely. Not only did this concept not dissuade him, he took it as something of a challenge to find ways to keep him in touch with the Divine as often as possible.

At first he tried to use trees as a reminder of the Lord’s omnipresence, but trees themselves were so common that didn’t work. Other mnemonic devices failed for various reasons. Then in second grade they learned about rainbows and how they revealed the spectrum of colors contained in sunlight. He already saw significance to rainbows because of the bow God placed in the sky after the Flood, but they occurred too rarely to be an effective reminder. However the color violet, which was a combination of red and blue at the extremes of the spectrum, tied together the first and the last, signifying the eternity of He Who had no beginning and no end.

So every time he saw the color purple, he remembered God was present. He made it a point to include the deep hue on clothes that he wore so that subtle reminder was always there. This made people assume that his favorite color was purple, but although he liked it he would really say that his favorite was red, which was steeped in its own symbolic meaning.

He used to think he was probably on pretty good terms with the Eternal, but these days he wasn’t so sure. The things he’d done over the last several weeks prompted shame, but regret and repentance were impossible while there was still the chance he might have to do them again. Maybe that was why he had started to identify so well with Liana, and maybe during his descent he had helped to give her a leg up. But if somebody had to maim and kill in order to bring about a greater good, why did it have to be him?

Reuben pushed that consideration to the back of his mind as he began the morning routines. After chores he set to the next task of splitting wood. He figured he would head home in another week. Even though he had everything packed and ready to go, Liana would benefit from a little more time to heal, and he wanted their wood supply to surpass adequately stocked before he left.

He was a bit startled to hear shouting come from the road. And it wasn’t just a call for attention. There was great urgency to the voice he suddenly recognized.

“Liana! Liana, it’s Nick! Liana! I’ve got news you need to know!”

He sprinted around the corner of the house in time to see Father Nick come tearing around the curve of the driveway on his bike. The priest was peddling as though a whole legion of demons were in hot pursuit.

Alexia thought she heard distant shouting while she and Mѐre worked on preparing dinner. As she glanced toward her mom they heard Reuben holler toward the house.

“Liana! Get out here! It’s Father Nick!”

The priest hadn’t been at their home since the gangs invaded the town, but the urgency to Reuben’s voice concerned her. She followed Mѐre out the door and across the galerie, where she saw the two men standing together in the middle of the yard. Actually, Father Nick was bent over with his hands upon his knees, and he was breathing heavily.

He was wearing jeans with his clerical shirt, and as he straightened upon their approach she realized it was soaked with sweat. His face was also dripping, and he wiped at his forehead with the back of his lower arm.

“It’s Alexia.” Father Nick was still gasping for breath. “Some army people came into town this morning. They’re looking for her.”

An eerie sensation prickled through her as she stared at the priest.

“How’s that?” Mѐre’s tone was both surprised and angered.

“Two supply trucks rolled into town with nine men.” He continued to gasp. “At first they were like a Godsend, they were delivering food and medicine. But while people were helping to unload the goods, they began questioning everybody. They said they knew about her having some special needs, and wanted to know where she lived and how to get there.” His gaze settled on Alexia. “I can think of only one reason they’d be looking for her.”

Over six weeks ago she’d listened to news stories that made her feel more like she was in a bad dream than reality. That same sensation descended upon her now.

“This time we’ll have to head into the swamp.” Reuben directed his gaze to her mom. “We’ll have to keep moving, but I’m sure we can make better time than they would.”

Mѐre seemed to think about his observation before she replied. “No.”

“We can’t hold out here.” He gestured toward the house.

“No.” She fixed her gaze upon his face. “Reuben, go home. Now. And take Alexia with you.”

He gaped at her. “What?”

“You heard me. There’s no time to lose.” Mѐre’s attention redirected to her. “Grab your bag and go with him.”

She stared at her mom in disbelief. “What about you?”

“I’ll leave too, but head another direction. With any luck they’ll follow me instead of you, and the two of you can get far enough away they won’t be able to pick back up on your trail.”

This was getting more unreal by the second. Only a few moments ago Reuben was going to leave in another week and she and Mѐre would get on without him. Now everything had been turned on its head.

The breath she drew in was a bit shuddering as she clamped down on tumultuous emotions that threatened to break to the surface in their unnatural manner. “I can’t leave you. You’re not well enough. How are you going to make it on your own?”

“I’ll manage like I always have.”

“She won’t be alone.” Father Nick was a little less breathless. “The parish will take care of her.”

“This is crazy.” Alexia glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Mѐre, I’m not leaving you. Not like this.”

“You heard me.” Her response was firm. “Now stop wasting time and go get your bag.” Her attention shot to Reuben. “Take the pirogue and cut through the swamp so that you can bypass the soldiers on their way here. Get going. Now!”

As he immediately nodded and raced to the house to sprint up the stairs, Alexia’s chest began to tighten.

“Now!” Mѐre barked as she looked back toward her.

“I can’t.” She could hardly get the words out. “I nearly lost you once already. What if this time I lose you for good? What if I never see you again?”

As her mom hesitated for a couple of seconds, her firm resolution seemed to melt into tender compassion. She drew a deep breath before speaking.

“Alexia Renee, if you let them capture you, it will tear out my heart and break it into a million pieces. Ever since you were born my life had a purpose I would’ve never otherwise appreciated, and you are a joy to me that I will always treasure. As long as you stay free I will have that joy to sustain me through whatever the future brings. Remember that, and keep it with you, because in that way we will always be together. Now, please go. Please.”

Alexia stared at her as she battled both her writhing emotions and the tears that threatened to break through. As part of her effort to maintain control, she abruptly spun away and marched into the house and to her room. Because it was only yesterday they faced off with Baron-Brent Rayburn, her bug-out bag was still fully packed and ready to go.

She did need to put on her boots for the trip, and the purposeful action helped a little as she continued to keep her disbelief and dismay under control. She recalled again that fateful day back in March, and that prompted her to grab one more item to stuff into the bag.

The blue pouch inside her dresser drawer still contained the rosary she’d carried all the way from Baton Rouge. And today she felt the need to take it as she did back then. With her eyes still stinging, she returned to the yard.

Mѐre and Father Nick were facing each other, the priest’s hands on her shoulders as he spoke to her in a tone Alexia couldn’t hear. Reuben, gear bag over one shoulder and the wrapped satchel of salt and his rifle over the other, was also back in boots as he stood nearby. She knew he would also have the slingshot and pistol, but their cache of firearms that had finally grown would be left to her mother. His attention shifted from them to her as she approached. And then both of them looked toward her as well.

Father Nick removed his hands and stepped back, and Mѐre took a step forward as they approached each other.

“I’m ready.” Alexia’s voice trembled, and she thought to herself how unready she really was.

“You’ll be fine.” Mѐre’s voice was also raspy. Both of them almost collapsed into the embrace they gave each other, and her mom held her tightly as though she’d changed her mind and was never going to let Alexia go. “You’re a brave, brave girl,” she murmured. “And I’m very proud of you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Tears managed to break through. She wiped at her eyes as they released each other, but she managed to glimpse Father Nick shaking hands with Reuben. Then he turned to her and placed his hand on the top of her forehead.

“God go with you.”

Mѐre also wiped at her eyes. “Now leave before they get here.”

Such a sudden goodbye gave her little time to think through everything that would have to happen. As she followed Reuben toward the pirogue, she glanced back. But her mom and Father Nick were already gone from her sight, preparing to get Mѐre on her way as quickly as possible.

“She’s still not fully recovered.” Her voice cracked slightly as they loaded the boat and climbed in.

“She’ll be all right,” he replied. “Father Nick has proven he’s pretty savvy about evasion.”

Alexia kneeled in the front of the pirogue and used the paddle to help them push off. She couldn’t cry – not yet – but she made herself the promise that when they got far enough, when they were finally deep enough into the swamp, she would allow herself that luxury.

She just started offering a silent prayer for her mom’s safety and success at eluding the soldiers when a realization struck her. Regardless of what happened with Mѐre, the military personnel would likely ask the townspeople enough questions to learn about the young man who had been staying at their place. They might determine that she had left with him.

He had been telling everybody he was from Mississippi. Until a few moments ago there had been no reason to conceal his place of origin. Now, if these people believed they could find her by locating him, they would be looking in the wrong state. She turned slightly to glance at her partner paddling at the back of the boat.

How had his uncanny intuition locked in on that detail?

Reuben’s gaze briefly caught hers, and with a sincere, reassuring tone, he repeated, “She’ll be all right.”

He has misread her expression, but she preferred he didn’t know what she was thinking.

It was as though this had always been her destiny. Ever since that fateful evening when she cracked a food case and he murmured to her “I don’t blame you a bit for wanting to keep a trick like that under your hat,” their lives became intricately combined. He became an extension of Mѐre to protect her from those who would want to misuse her talent. More recently he became her ally in defense of home and family.

It was as though he had always been meant to be there for her. And she couldn’t fathom how on Earth she had gained such partiality. Lord knows she didn’t deserve it.

Stay free. That was all she had to do. And it seemed in order for her to accomplish this, she had to leave everything she had known before and proceed with Reuben Baldridge to God only knew what end.

TO BE CONTINUED