Sarah looked to the left and right at a mob of hungry Koban fish that were climbing toward them. “No, that’s a lot of fish. And they have teeth!” Sarah began moving backwards.
Rosa screamed as even more fish followed them. As they tried to stand up, the fish caught up to them and started eating right through their shoes.
Just then, the angel swooped down. She was holding him around his waist. “Grab them, Trip.”
The boy held out his hands, and each girl took hold of one hand. The angel flapped her wings and they flew across the sky to the top of a mountain. At the top of the mountain, they smelled something sweet like honey. It looked like the grass was covered in snow, but the air wasn’t cold at all. Then as Trip bent down to touch it, he noticed it felt more like a little like bread.
Maria held up her hands like she was presenting something marvelous. “This mountain is angel territory. You’ll be safe here for tonight.” She nodded at Trip, “Enjoy some of our food. It is called manna.”
Trip began to shove it in their mouths. Sarah and Rosa bent to look at it more closely.
Sarah said, “Wait a minute, guys. Since we are going to be eating angel food, don’t you think it would be right to bless it first?”
“Yeah.” Trip brushed the manna out of this mouth onto the ground as the girls made faces in disgust.
Rosa shrugged and folded her hands.
“Lord, please bless and thank you for this food,” Sarah said.
The kids feasted on the manna. Realizing their thirst, they stood to search for water and found nearby daffodils nearly overflowing with sweet edible nectar.
“What happened back there, Trip? Why did you leave the school?” Sarah asked her brother.
“I was trying to protect the fairy—the fairy you didn’t believe in.” He pointed to Maria. “Well, now she is an angel. Anyway, Miss Kartel found out about her and chased after me. You believe me now, don’t you?”
“After being rescued from man-eating fish wiggling after me by an angel who airlifted us to a manna-covered mountain peak, I won’t argue about the existence of fairies.”
“Good. Well, I kept her safe in a pencil box in my pocket.” He tapped on his pocket which still held the pencil box. “Somehow she morphed into the angel when I let her out. I don’t quite understand it myself. Then we had to leave to rescue you two nutballs from the fish.”
“Nutballs? That’s some kind of thanks for coming after you!” Sarah shouted with a slap to the top of his head.
“Sorry, you’re right. Thanks for coming after me,” Trip said dropping his eyes low to the ground. “I’m hungry for some meat. Did you catch any of those fish? I sure would love to slice one open and eat it right now. I would it raw.”
“Ewww...” the girls said together.
That was the last word said before the three laid down on a bed of moss and drifted off to sleep until daybreak.
Chapter 4: Shadows
Trip was the first to wake in the morning. Smelling the delicious manna, he bent over to pick up a handful of the delicious food. He shoved it into his jeans pockets. He stood up and stretched. He saw Sarah and Rosa laying nearby, but he could not find the angel anywhere. He shrugged and walked over to his sister and her friend. “Let’s get moving. The angel left without us so no free flight back home. We’ll have to walk.”
The girls awoke with groggy looks on their faces.
“Why would she leave without us?” Sarah stood up and looked all around. The scenery from the mountaintop was more beautiful than anything she had ever seen in her life.”Let’s see. The sun rises in the east so it is this way,” she said as she pointed to her left with squinted eyes at the bright sun. “And look! There is the Rock Graveyard!” She looked further into the distance and saw Green Hills. “Home is east! We just need to use the sun as our compass to guide us back home” Sarah spun around. She could only see white clouds to the north. When she looked south, her eyes widened. Small puffs of smoke curled up from a smokestack from a small brick cottage in the distance. She said, “That’s weird. There is a cottage way out here. I did not think any Kobans lived outside of Green HIlls anymore.”
Rosa said, “You’re too ambitious, Sarah. Let’s stay here. Then the angel will know where to find us. She will probably come back and fly us safely back home.”
The kids looked up in the sky for the angel, but instead they saw something terrifying. A dark winged creature with a dagger-like tail and a wingspan that reached as far as the eye could see flew their direction. As it neared, they heard its loud shrieks. They saw that its wings left a trail of complete darkness behind it. Once it flew over their heads, they were in complete darkness. It was darker than it had been during the night that had just ended.
“Did that really just happen or am I having a nightmare?” Trip asked.
Sarah put an arm around her brother. “It could be worse. I am not sure how, but it somehow it could be worse.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but—um, does anyone have a match?” Rosa asked.
Trip said, “Who needs a match? I can start a fire by rubbing two sticks together.”
Sarah took a few steps until she heard a loud crunch underfoot. She picked up the two broken pieces of stick from the ground. “Here you go.”
He took the branches from her and started rubbing them together. Every few seconds, the girls saw a spark and heard blowing sounds. However, the sparks disappeared as quickly as they lit.
“This is taking forever. It’s probably useless anyway,” Rosa said.
Trip said, “Make yourself useful and find something to make a torch. I need a long thick branch and some Koban pine pitch.”
“Pine pitch? What is that? And how am I supposed to find it in the dark?” Rosa asked.
“Pine pitch is like sap. Feel around the tree trunks. If your hand sticks to it, you have probably found it. Hum like this...” Trip began to hum. “Then you won’t get lost.”
“I do not want to be in the dark for another minute. Don’t worry—I will find something.” Sarah started walking with outstretched arms in the dark. She tripped over a large branch. “Ouch!” She picked over the branch that caused her to fall. “I think I found our torch.” She set down the branch next to Trip who was blowing on a small spark that was growing into a flame on the stick.
Rosa began humming a tune. She felt up and down several trees before sticking her hand in an oozing substance. “I found something sticky over here.”
Trip followed the sound of her humming. He dipped the large branch into the pine pitch and then touched the flaming stick to the large branch. “Here goes nothing.”
Rosa loudly exhaled, which nearly blew out the flame but instead caused the flame to burn Trip’s fingers. Before it managed to burn out, he stooped down to the pine to light the torch. The torch lit up a large bright fire.
Sarah said, “Rosa, are you sure you are here to help? It almost seemed like you blew out the flame on purpose.”
“On purpose? Do you think I want to go walking around here in the dark? What do you think that creature was anyway?” Rosa asked.
“Who knows? The Creature of Darkness. One thing is for sure. The myths of Koba are true. There are spirit beings living among us,” Trip offered.
“It looks more like monsters live in Koba—at least one monster anyway. I say we call it the Shadow Monster,” Sarah suggested. She began walking down the side of the mountain.
“I don’t think that’s the way home,” Trip said following after her with the torch.
Sarah said defiantly, “I’m not going home. Before the Shadow came, I saw a cottage with smoke curling up from a smokestack. That’s where I am headed. Maybe they can help us.”
“Shadow Monster? I already named it Creature of Darkness,” Trip said and paused.
Sarah kept walking. “Yeah, but my name is better.”
Trip began walking again and holding the torch to light the path. The siblings talked abo
ut their ideas of what the black monster could be and argued about their theories the whole way to the cottage. Rosa tried to settle their fighting, but she gave up after awhile.
Chapter 5: Bliss Mountain
Sarah stood in the darkness and knocked on the wooden door of the small brick cottage. When there was no answer, she knocked harder and yelled into the crease of the door frame, “I know someone is in there. I can see the smoke coming from your chimney.”
“Someone could have left a pot on the fire while they went to pick berries or hunt a rabbit,” Rosa said. She stood a few feet back from the door alongside Trip.
“It is probably lunchtime. Maybe they already caught the rabbit, and they are roasting it on the fire now.” Trip rubbed his stomach and licked his lips. “Oh yeah, I still have some manna in my pocket.” He pulled it out, but it had tiny white worms on it and smelled terrible.
Just then, Sarah heard whispering on the other side of the door. “Shhh,” she whispered. “I can hear them. Let’s see if it is unlocked.”
“This was your idea, Sarah. If anybody is going in there, it is going to be you. I want nothing to do with this. Let’s just keep walking.” He shivered in the darkness holding the torch in Sarah’s direction.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Keep walking in what direction? We have no idea where we are going without the sun as our compass. We need help, and the person on the other side of this door may be able to help us or give us directions or something.” She twisted the knob and opened the door.
The fire crackled in the fireplace and lit up the space, but the room had cold spots and a moldy smell. Spider webs hung from every corner. What little furniture could be found inside was draped with dusty sheets. Nevertheless, Sarah bravely stepped inside. “Hello,” she called. She walked over to the fire and rubbed hands in front of the flames.
“Hello.” It was a whisper coming from an overstuffed chair facing the fire.
Sarah turned to see where the voice came from and saw a man. Well, it was the upper half of a man. There was nothing below his belly button. He had pale, powdery white skin with bright red lips like they were covered in lipstick. She tried to remain calm even though he gave her the most eerie feeling. “I am sorry I invited myself in like this. We are lost because this—this thing flew overhead and made it dark everywhere. We call it the Shadow Monster because it’s like it spread its shadows everywhere. Well, I call it the Shadow Monster. My brother calls it the Creature of Darkness. I am sure you noticed it was dark outside, didn’t you?”
“Oh— it gave birth, did it?” His arm reached up and stroked his chin.
“What are you talking about? You are not listening!” Sarah forgot she was conversing with a half-man inside of a creepy house for a moment.
“Are you quite done throwing your fit, young lady? I am listening. What you think is shadows or darkness is actually the younglings. This Shadow Monster gave birth to millions of tiny versions of itself. And soon, they’ll be coming after...”
“Are you trying to scare me? I don’t scare easy.” Sarah said as she bent down and leaned into the man’s face.
The man leaned forward so their noses almost touched. “Sarah, they want that little fairy you are carrying around.”
Sarah stood upright and took several steps back. “How did you know my name?”
“What do you want to hear? That I am psychic? I’m not. I heard it from Adeline Kartel. She works for the—what did you call it—Shadow Creature. She was nosing around here looking for you, but I will tell you the same thing I told her. I am not here to help anyone. I paid for this afterlife, and I intend to enjoy it.”
“Afterlife? You mean you are dead?” Sarah kept backing away and was almost at the door now.
“Yes, dead indeed. I gave the lower half of my body. It was a steep price, but I have purchased my years so they are mine....” The half-man turned back to stare into the blazing fire as Sarah slipped out the door.
“What happened, Sarah?” Rosa asked.
“Alright, I admit going in there was a bad idea.” Sarah walked over to Trip and pulled the pencil box out of his pocket. As she opened the top, a bright light shown from the box.
Trip pointed at the pencil box in Sarah’s hand. “Look—a light! It’s coming from the box. No, wait—it’s coming from the fairy. Maria, you were in there the whole time? Why didn’t you say something? We’re saved!”
The fairy sat up as if from a deep sleep and stretched out her arms. “Why are you waking me up? It’s not morning yet. Look, it’s still dark.”
Sarah said, “Nope, it is only dark because the Shadow Monster had babies. They are going to come after us all because of you! We are lost because of you! We might be captured now—all because of you!”
Chapter 6: Black Lake
The fairy explained, “The winged creature and its younglings only want to kidnap us to block the work of God. The—what did you call it? Oh yes, the Shadow Creature hates God and His Son and everything good. You do want God’s messages delivered, don’t you? Do you live for God? If you have made no choice, you must make one now.”
Sarah stumbled over her words. “Yes, I do. I choose God. I don’t know if I have ever said it aloud before, but yes—I choose God.”
Trip waved out his hand as if to present the fairy. “Meet my angel Maria.” He looked at the fairy and said, “My sister calls it the Shadow Creature. I call it the Creature of Darkness. I command you as my angel to call it the Creature of Darkness.”
The fairy stood. “I am grateful for your protection, Trip, but I only take commands from God Almighty. God calls it the Enemy.” Maria looked up to the sky as if she could see the blue heavens through them.
Trip’s eyebrows wrinkled. “I saw you fly away as an angel. How could you have turned back into a fairy and returned to the pencil box in my pocket? And when did you start glowing like that?”
Maria answered, “I return to fairy form every time I am in the presence of an evil being. I always glow, but you can only see my light in the darkness. Try to understand: I am a creature of light. I cannot exist as an angel in the presence of evil. And now that the Enemy’s younglings are everywhere, I cannot deliver God’s messages as an angel that passes through the realms. The younglings are all evil. I returned to you, Trip, because I know you will protect me. The pencil box must be my home until the Enemy’s younglings are dead.”
“I promise to protect you. Plus now we have a light and don’t need the torch anymore.” He stomped out the flame then turned to the fairy who shone brightly giving light to the area all around them. “Tell us their weakness, Maria. How can we kill them?”
Rosa snorted with laughter. Sarah gave her a strange look.
The fairy shook her head and put her face down. “You cannot kill them, Trip. No Koban can. The Enemy’s younglings are powerful supernatural beings. You must know your place. You are a Koban—a lowly being in this universe. You are important and loved by God, but you are still a lower being than the Enemy and the younglings. Keep God’s commands, and He will lift you up with honor.”
Trip’s nose crinkled. “What commands?”
“Love God and love each other. That’s a big one,” the fairy said.
“Come here, Sarah. I want to give you a nice big hug,” Trip said jokingly.
“No thanks!” Sarah pushed Rosa forward. “Here—Rosa wants a hug.”
Rosa shook her head and backed away. “I don’t need a hug right now.”
The fairy said, “Actually, Miss Kartel needs your love, Trip. She’s in trouble.”
“Miss Kartel?!? She wants to capture you! Why would I want to help her?” Trip crossed his arms. “How do you know she needs my help anyway?”
“God commands us to love our enemies too! I saw Miss Kartel in a vision just like I saw Sarah and Rosa when they needed to be rescued from the fish. Your teacher is trapped in a thorn forest five miles west of here.”
Trip said, “Alright, a
lright. We’ll help her, won’t we?”
Sarah and Rosa agreed. The three Kobans followed Maria’s directions. After they traveled awhile, they saw a lake that was smooth as glass. In the middle of the lake, they could see something reflecting light back at them.
“What is it?” Rosa asked.
“It’s a gazing ball.” The fairy turned to Trip. “If you look into the gazing ball, you will see your true self. “
Trip said, “We are on our way to rescue Miss Kartel, remember? Besides, there is no way I would swim out there into the middle of that black lake in the dark.”
The fairy said, “We must always take time to get to know ourselves. There is no other way to make good decisions.”
“Do it. Do it...” the girls chanted together.
“Fine!” Trip took off his high top shoes and socks and his shirt. Then he began to step into the shallow black water. It was chilly, but he liked the way the mud felt as it squished between his toes so he kept putting one foot in front of the other until the water came up to his chest. He was almost to the gazing ball. “Aaagh, what’s got my foot?”