Chapter 7
Jesse walked Presley back to the cabin. He was obviously disappointed that Presley had rejected him. He stopped her at the doorway and took her hand.
“Please think about what I said. I really don’t believe Tyler is the one for you. You deserve better,” he whispered.
“Maybe I do. But I’ve been wondering. If you really believe in all that ‘true love’ stuff, then why did you ever even date Sarah? I mean your whole spiel back at the river about ‘the one’ was touching, I'll admit, really. But I’m not sure you truly believe that,” she said.
“What do you mean? I courted Sarah for a short time here,” he confessed, his face flushed.
“Yeah. Well, if you were so in love with Emily, then how do you explain Sarah?” she pressed.
Jesse looked down and shook his head.
“Woman! I courted Sarah for a short time here because I couldn’t have Emily! And I do mean a short time. I figured out quickly that our relationship was not going to work,” he explained. His eyes were eager for her response.
“Why didn’t it work?” she asked softly.
“Because . . . I was still in love with Emily. I learned and accepted, after being here for a while, that I would always love Emily. She was my one,” he said sadly.
“Okay, I see. I don’t know why you’re getting so defensive with me,” she said.
“Because you wanted to know,” he looked at her as if she were crazy.
“Well - now I know. Good night,” Presley said as she opened the door. She took one last look at Jesse before walking inside the cabin. Presley was now not only jealous of Emily, but of Sarah too. And she was a little angry with Jesse for dating either. She couldn’t understand why she was having these feelings. She was too tired to try to sort them out. Exhausted, Presley collapsed her body onto the bed and thought silently to herself.
“Agape love. Jesse and Emily had agape love. That was so long ago. Seriously long ago, the eighteen hundreds. I think love has probably changed since then. Hmm, agape love . . . there’s no such thing,” she concluded. She shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
≈≈≈≈≈
Presley began to dream again. Only this time the images were sharp and in focus. The colors were bright and it seemed so real, as if she were right there. Jesse was riding a black horse and a young lady was riding behind him. The horse was galloping fast and the girl held on to Jesse’s waist tightly with her head resting on his shoulder. Her long hair was curled at the ends, with the sides pinned up. Her long dress flowed as they rode. Jesse stopped the horse and he turned around and kissed the girl.
≈≈≈≈≈
“Get up Presley! We are finally going home!” Paulette announced from the kitchen. Presley rubbed her eyes as she rose from the bed. She staggered into the kitchen and Paulette threw her a piece of bread.
“I’m not hungry,” said Presley.
“You need to eat,” insisted Paulette. “We have a long journey ahead and you’ll need your strength."
There was a knock at the door and Jesse walked inside. He had a book under his right arm. Without even a glance in Presley’s direction, he hastily walked to the kitchen table and opened the book.
“There are several maps. See?” Jesse said as he flipped through the pages. “But this page here. This is where we’ll find Manna. It reads, The Castle of The Panacea of Gnostic.
“Panacea of Gnostic?” Presley repeated. Jesse nodded.
“See here?” he pointed to the written description at the bottom of the page. “Yeah, it means universe of knowledge. Hmm . . . Manna apparently holds a wealth of wisdom about the universe. I believe this is where we need to go- to the castle,” he concluded.
“How long will we have to travel?” asked Paulette. Jesse shrugged his shoulders, still not making eye contact with either of the girls.
“At least two days, maybe three,” he said shortly.
“I’m ready to go,” stated Presley.
Jesse shook his head and took a deep breath as he firmly said, “I need you both to understand just how dangerous this is going to be. Fiend and the other spirits will find us. We have to stay together at all times,” Jesse demanded. Jesse pulled three small bright white stones out of a bag.
“What are those?” asked Presley.
“Crystals,” Jesse replied. “The Book of Codes shows us that the crystals will protect us. They keep the evil spirits away somehow, I think.” He flipped through more pages. “Here’s a picture of Gracie. The book illustrates the layers of rich black soil mixed with crystals.” He turned the page, “Now, this page I don’t really understand.
It was a drawing of frightening demons with red eyes, each with a large black X drawn through them.
“That must be how Gracie can protect us. The crystals are what makes Gracie special,” Jesse shook his head, “I don’t know how this all works. Manna is the only one who truly knows,” he said.
“The Book of Codes was left here to help us figure out how to live here. It warns us of the evil that lurks outside of our town,” Paulette said, as she pointed to the page opposite of the illustrated demons. “See, the picture of the crystals here? There’s a line drawn to the crossed out demons.”
“So, the crystals must kill the demons- somehow,” Presley deducted.
“The crystals have a direct effect on Gracie and this land. This much we do know,” said Jesse. “My theory is that Manna knew that humans would come to this planet and he wanted to help protect us from Fiend. Without the crystals on this land we wouldn’t have been able to live here safely for all these years. We’d all be dead. I don’t know exactly how much power these three crystals hold, or exactly what they do, but I do know that we need to take them with us. When I discovered this book, these crystals were laying next to it.”
“We need to have plenty of food and water, enough for a three day trip. I’ll be back. Get ready to go! Oh, and Presley’s clothes are ready. They’re out on the line. Hurry up!” he snapped. Jesse walked out of the cabin, the door slamming behind him. Startled by the loud noise, Paulette’s eyes grew big as she looked toward Presley.
“Wonder what’s wrong with him. He barely even looked at you,” Paulette whispered.
“I know what’s wrong with him. He asked me to stay here with him and I told him no,” Presley said as she rolled her eyes. “That sounds even dumber when I say it out loud.”
“He asked you to stay? What’s he thinking? He must have it bad for you!” Presley chuckled.
“I guess so. I don’t understand his intentions, though. He acts as if he likes me, but then he goes on and on about how Emily was his one true love. Anyway, I have a boyfriend, not to mention a life that I need to get back to, and besides that- what’s wrong with him? I can’t believe that he’d ask me to stay here. He acts like he knows me or something. It’s weird.”
“Is it weird?” asked Paulette.
Presley thought for a moment and then said, “Yeah, I think it’s weird. So he’s going to be mad at me because I have a boyfriend and family and friends that I want to go home to? Does that even make sense? He doesn’t even know me well enough to be mad at me!"
“I know. It’s like he’s in love with you or something,” Paulette smirked.
“You can’t fall in love with someone in two days. It just doesn’t happen," Presley said quietly, talking to herself.
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Paulette smiled.
“So you believe that you can fall in love with someone that quickly?” asked Presley.
“Crazier things have happened,” Paulette said with a grin. “Let’s get your clothes.”
They went outside and found Presley’s clothes hanging from the clothesline. Paulette unpinned them an
d handed them over to Presley and they returned inside to dress. They finished gathering up the food they would need for the trip when they heard the door open.
“Are you two about ready to go?” Jesse called out. Jesse had a brown bag hanging over his right shoulder. “Hey, Paulette, where do you keep your flint and iron?” he asked.
Paulette reached her hand over the shelf by the fireplace and grabbed an old cloth and the iron and flint. Jesse placed them in the bag, along with the food the girls had gathered. Presley grabbed her cell phone from the table and put it in her back pocket.
Presley followed Jesse out the door. Paulette paused as she looked around her house one last time and said quietly, “I pray that I never have to see this place again.” She slowly shut the door behind her.
They walked until they reached the gates of the town, where they had met only days before. Jesse stopped abruptly and turned to the girls, “Okay, we need to establish a few rules before we leave. First, we all stay together." He reached into the bag and pulled out the three crystals and continued, “The spirits will try to divide us, but if we stay together and have the power of the crystals, I think that we will be safe. Next, we’ll take limited breaks. We don’t have time to rest every hour. We need to get to the castle as soon as possible. Last, we’ll have to sleep in shifts at night, so expect to be tired during the day. We have to keep moving. If we make it to Manna’s castle, we’ll make it together, and if we die, we die together. Agreed?” he asked.
“Agreed,” said the girls.
“Open the gates!” Jesse shouted to the guards. The guards opened the massive wooden gates and they walked out. The land was quiet and peaceful. It was hard for Presley to imagine the massive tornadoes that had tried to destroy her only a couple of days before. They walked around the wall that shielded the town from the evil outside. Then through a field of high grass for an hour or so making small talk until they heard a noise. It sounded like a shuffling in the grass, like someone was walking towards them. Startled, Paulette held on tightly to Jesse.
“It’s just a couple of deer,” Presley said. The deer stood still, staring at them, and then slowly they began to walk closer. Presley held out her hand and the deer brushed her face against it.
“Oh my gosh, she’s letting me pet her,” she whispered. “She is so sweet and soft." The deer were huge, much more muscular than any deer she had ever seen in Missouri. Her hair was as soft and smooth as silk. She was calm and curious.
“Paulette, come here. You have to pet her,” Presley said. Paulette slowly walked over, knelt down by the deer and stroked her brown coat. Jesse encouraged the girls to keep going.
“You have to remember that this is not a good place. We have to move. We need to find Manna as soon as possible. The Manes could find us at any time,” he warned.
Suddenly the deer became spooked. They held their heads up high, with their ears back, and they simultaneously leaped into the air and ran out of sight.
“Come on, girls. Let’s go,” Jesse said anxiously looking around the field. “I think that they’re here. Keep walking,” he gritted his teeth. He pulled out The Book of Codes once again as a guide. “I think that we need to go . . . um through the woods." The woods were creepy, dark and gloomy.
“I feel an eerie presence,” whispered Presley.
“Me too,” said Paulette as she skittishly examined the woods. A strong breeze blew the trees branches and some leaves fell to the ground.
“Guys, I see a dark shadow through the trees up ahead. Look over there. It moves every time we move,” Presley said in a controlled calm voice.
“I see it,” said Jesse. Just hold on to your crystals.”
“How do we use these crystals?” questioned Paulette.
“I’m not sure. I know that they have power, but I don’t know how to use it,” answered Jesse.
“Great. That makes me feel better,” Presley said under her breath.
“I’m not so sure that the crystals are working,” said Jesse.
“Why?” asked Paulette.
“Because there are more shadows right over there,” Jesse pointed over Paulette’s shoulder directly to her left.
“Run!” Jesse screamed. Jesse and Paulette ran, but Presley stood frozen with fear. She couldn’t move. As the shadows grew closer to her, she began to spin around in circles, helplessly trying to find a way to escape them. She held her crystal tight hoping the shadows would disappear, but they didn’t. Jesse and Paulette noticed that Presley wasn’t following them. When they ran back to get her, a dark figure was looming above them, so they quickly hid behind a tree.
Presley looked skyward and saw the mass of darkness plummeting down toward her. Once the shadow was near the ground, it materialized into an evil being. He was the most terrifying vision that Presley had ever seen. He was tall, with dark black, greasy hair, red eyes, pale white skin, and a distinct foul goat-like smell. He stood with a slight slouch in his back; his head cocked to the side and on his head stood two erect horns. Dark wings protruded from his back. Presley noticed the black veins that covered each wing.
“Do you assume because I don’t have eyes in the back of my head that I can’t see you?” the being screamed. He flew up in the air again and landed by the tree that hid Jesse and Paulette. “Are you so naive that you think I can’t find you wherever you are?" the being hissed as he flew back towards Presley. “Do you know who I am?” he screamed. He let out a sound similar to an animal cry that sent chills down Presley's back. “Fiend,” he whispered as he arched his head closer to Presley. He was so close to her that she could feel his breath on her cheek. She shut her eyes tightly, wishing he would go away. He raised his arms up and motioned to the other shadows.
Like Fiend, the other dark shadows materialized into wicked beings. They had red eyes as well and looked just as evil. They had smaller horns which were different in size and color. The demons made strange spine chilling cries as well. Presley was too scared to cry and too shocked to speak. She was surrounded with nowhere to go. Jesse ran intending to ram one of the beings, instead he flew through him. Jesse fell to the ground at Presley’s feet. He quickly got up and stood puzzled. Fiend laughed.
“They are spirits . . . or ghosts,” Jesse whispered to Presley.
“Ya think?” she whispered back.
“No, I’m not a ghost. Spirit, yes. Ghost, no,” Fiend corrected. I prefer demon.” Fiend held out his hand to Presley as he commanded, “Come with me."
Presley began to tremble with fear. She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head.
“No,” she murmured, shaking uncontrollably.
Fiend held out his other hand to Jesse, “Come with us. You two can be together forever if you come with me, now!” he bartered. Jesse looked at Presley and then back at Fiend.
“No,” his voice shook.
“No? Well, then. You are aware that there is no other way for you to be together? I’m offering you . . . your wish,” he looked at Jesse. “And your answer is, ‘No’ - after all these years longing for - ”
Jesse quickly interrupted, with a tremor in his voice. “I said, NO! We will not come with you!”
“I see,” said Fiend.
“Have you lost your touch?” one demon laughed.
“Actually, I’m glad that you declined my offer. This has been amusing. Truly- I’ll see you soon. I’m going to enjoy this!” he shrieked.
The demons gradually dissipated one by one into the grey sky, following Fiend until they were gone.
“What was that?” yelled Presley, as she began to cry.
“Those are the spirits I told you about. I encountered them before when I first came here, but I hadn’t seen them in their true spirit form before,” he said. Jesse held Presley as Paulette came out from behind the tree.
“Are they gone??
?? Paulette asked.
“I think so,” answered Jesse.
“Well, I can tell you this much,” Paulette held up her crystal. “This don’t work." She threw it to the ground. Jesse quickly bent down to pick it up.
“We don’t know how it’s supposed to work,” he said, frustrated. He put the crystal in his bag.
“Let's get out of here,” Presley said as she began to stumble through the woods.
≈≈≈≈≈
They were quiet as they walked, struggling to comprehend the danger that they had encountered. To break the silence, Jesse asked Presley questions to help keep her mind off of Fiend and the other spirits.
“So, tell me about yourself, your parents. What are they like?” he asked.
“In short, my mom is an alcoholic and my dad is dead,” she answered bluntly.
Startled by her statement, Jesse stopped walking. “I’m so sorry,” he said genuinely.
Presley turned towards him. “My dad died a long time ago. It’s fine. My mom’s been an alcoholic equally as long, so I’m used to it. Unfortunately, it’s just my life, I guess.”
“You shouldn’t have to be used to it. You deserve better.”
Presley was confused and taken back by his compassion. She couldn’t understand why he was so sympathetic towards her.
“Have you ever tried talking to your mother about her drinking?”
“Yes, but she denies that she even has a problem, so in her mind there’s nothing to fix. She just gets defensive and angry if I push the issue. I just try to stay out of her way."
Jesse could sense her discomfort and changed the subject. “I see. What do you like to do? I mean for enjoyment?” he asked.
“I like to write music and sing. And I taught myself to play guitar,” she answered.
“So you entertain?” Paulette asked.
“Yes, I guess. Personal entertainment mostly or therapy. Maybe both. I mainly just write for myself, you know? I just like to get my thoughts down on paper. Whether the words become a poem or I turn them into a song; writing has always helped me sort my feelings,” she added.
“I could see you writing songs. Do you play the piano, too?” he asked.
“Play the piano? No. Why?” she asked, confused.
“No reason. Just thought that maybe you did.”
“But why the pian - ”
Jesse cut her off, “You know the worst part about being here for me is the thought of being forgotten. I wish now that maybe I had done something big. So, that people would remember me by something. Anything.
They sat down on a grassy hill for a rest.
“I could understand that. I mean you do only have one life,” Presley stated.
“Yeah. Maybe,” Jesse laughed.
“So being forgotten has been hard on you.”
“Um, well,” he paused, biting his lower lip. “I have spent so many days reminiscing about my old life, from my family and friends to Emily, of course. And now knowing that everyone I once knew is gone and I’m still here, that weighs heavy on my mind.
“It’s almost like being in prison, except much worse,” muttered Paulette.
“She’s right. Everyone I once loved is gone . . . dead.” Jesse looked down at the ground. “I wish I had been more present in my life. Looking back, if I had it to do over again, I would have married Emily sooner than we had planned,” he said.
“Why? What does that have to do with anything?” asked Presley.
“Because if I would have just married Emily I wouldn’t be stuck here,” he explained.
As Presley began to question him her thought was interrupted by a loud roaring sound. They all quickly jumped to their feet.
“It sounds like a tornado!” screamed Paulette.
“No. Look at the sky. It’s blue and there’s no wind,” countered Jesse.
Just then a herd of pristine wild white horses ran through the valley below. As Presley looked closer she could make out the large wings hanging from their sides, and each had a large horn protruding from their foreheads.
“They’re unicorns,” she whispered.
Unexpectedly, like a flock of birds, the winged horses soared into the sky.
≈≈≈≈≈
“I see Gracie a few yards away,” said Presley. Let’s set up camp for the night. They reached Gracie as the sun was going down.
“She’s a small tree,” Presley remarked.
Paulette grabbed one of the draping branches. “Yeah, there’s no way that all of us will fit up there tonight."
Jesse sat on a rotted fallen log, and from his bag he pulled out the flint, iron, and an old cloth.
“What’s all of that for?” Presley asked.
“We are starting a fire,” Paulette said, as she gathered dry large sticks from the heavily wooded area and placed them in a pile. Jesse tore a small piece of the cloth off and put it in the tinder, and then used the iron and flint to make a spark.
“We have a fire, ladies!” said Jesse excitedly. He helped Paulette gather more wood and he placed the logs in a separate pile. “There, that should be plenty for the night." He took half a loaf of bread and some jerky out of the bag.
“I know it isn’t much, but it’ll do,” he said. He handed the food to the girls and they all sat around the campfire.
“Aren’t you gonna eat?” Paulette asked.
“You two go ahead. I’ll eat later,” he said. Presley knew that he was waiting until they were finished before he ate. She split her piece of bread and handed some to Jesse.
“No, really. Eat,” he said adamantly.
“I insist,” she said sternly.
“Okay, since you insist,” he said with a crooked smile.
After they ate, Jesse took Presley’s hand and said, “Come with me."
She stood up and followed Jesse. He led here over to Gracie and he pulled down two of her branches.
“Sit here,” he said.
Presley sat on the branch and Jesse sat next to her. Gently, Gracie raised them both up high into the sky. Three moons shone over them enabling them to see for miles.
“I could never have imagined this place even in my wildest dreams. A whole other world that nobody knows about. Who do you think Manna is? I mean, did he come from our planet? Or this planet.”
“I don’t have any idea. All I know is that he helped write The Book of Codes. Who knows if he’s even still alive. I hope he is for your sake. He may be your only chance of getting back home.”
Presley leaned over and put her head on Jesse’s shoulder. She looked up at him and wondered why she felt so close to him. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, “I think you’re falling in love with me."
Without moving she whispered back, “What makes you think that?"
“Because every time I touch you, you get goose bumps." He gently ran his fingers down her arm. “See, goose bumps,” he said.
“No, I’m cold,” she replied.
“Yeah, okay,” he said smiling. They sat silently together watching the falling stars in the night sky. She felt as if she were melting into him. They both wished time would stop.
Paulette yelled up to them, “Hey, I’m ready for bed. You guys need to get down here."
Gracie slowly lowered Jesse and Presley back down to the ground.
“This tree’s too small for all of us, and it’s probably better that someone keeps watch for Fiend and the others anyway,” he suggested.
“Who's gonna stay up to keep watch?" Paulette asked.
“I’ll stay up first. You two get some sleep. I’ll keep watch for a few hours and then we can rotate,” he said.
“Okay. Wake me up in a few hours and I’ll take ov
er. Presley can take the early morning shift,” Paulette delegated.
“Sounds good to me,” agreed Presley.
Gracie whisked Presley and Paulette up and interweaved her branches to form a large cocoon like shape. It took awhile for Presley to get comfortable.
“Paulette, do you believe in love at first sight?” asked Presley.
Paulette didn’t answer. Presley looked over Paulette and saw that she was already asleep. Presley rolled over and fell asleep too.
≈≈≈≈≈
Jesse kept watch for nearly six hours. When he woke Paulette to take over, they were careful not to wake Presley.
Jesse stayed with Paulette on the ground, in fear that the Manes and Fiend would return. He knew that Gracie held special powers, but was still unsure of her exact abilities. He nestled himself up against Gracie’s trunk and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Paulette sat by the fire and began to think about her mother. She thought about all of the years that had gone by, and how much time she had missed with her family. So much of her life was lost forever. She never had the chance to marry or have children. She was never an ordinary teenager. She had never experienced a first kiss or love. She had missed out on everything. But most of all she missed her mom.
The fire was low so Paulette grabbed a log and tossed it in. Embers flew through the air and the smoke made her cough. She sat back down and stared into the flames. She began to see a faint outline of an object appear in the fire. As she peered closer the entity slowly became clearer.
It was her mother. She was sick and in a hospital, crying for Paulette.
Paulette shook her head and thought, Am I hallucinating? Am I going crazy? She shut and rubbed her eyes, and opened them again. The vision of her mother was still flickering in the fire. Paulette held her hands over her mouth and began to sob.
She inched closer and whispered, “I’m coming home Mom. I promise. I’m coming home."
The heat intensified and the flames grew higher. As the flames popped, Paulette jumped back as cinders leaped out at her.
Fiend emerged from the fire, enveloping the flames.
“Come with me, Paulette. I can help you go home. I’m the only one who can help you. You can’t make it back with the others,” he lured.
“What is happening with my mother? Is she sick?” she pleaded for an answer, as tears streamed down her face.
“Yes, she doesn’t have much time. If you wish to see her, then come with me now,” he said with a sinister tone.
“I don’t know,” Paulette said confused.
“This is your last chance. It’s now or never. Jesse will never be able to get you home. I’m the only one that can help you. Come with me.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Follow me,” he led Paulette away from the woods. She followed him in a hypnotic state.