Chapter Four: To Scream Or Not to Scream...
Kaleb had finished gathering the volunteers for the trip by the time the sun had started to set. He had Starla taken to his hut where she was ordered to remain until morning. By the time the last of the sunlight had vanished, Kaleb was indoors with her and had taken a seat at the fresh fire just in time to hear the first piercing scream in the distant woods.
“How long has this demon been around, Kaleb?” she asked.
“In legends, the demon spirit of Morda has been roaming these lands since Vorda’s death. However, the screaming sounds at night and the deaths of our guards did not begin until just a few weeks ago.”
“A few weeks? That’s it?” asked Starla.
“It seems that Morda was just posing to strike against the world of light when you fell from the stars. It seems more than just chance that you came here at this time in our history.”
“I’m not ready to admit I’m a goddess in terran form just yet.”
“Terran? Is that what you call your physical body?”
“I think so,” she replied. “I remember thinking that I am a terran. Of course, that could be my own religious belief for all I know.”
“So nothing has come to mind yet?” asked Kaleb.
“Nothing yet.”
“I know you are probably thinking about a lot right now but I believe we must try to get some sleep. I want us to leave at the crack of dawn to make sure we have as much time as possible to get to the Pillar of Kazaa and back in a single day.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” said Starla. “I don’t believe I want to risk a confrontation with the demon. I could end up losing out on everything.”
Kaleb excused himself and Starla slipped into the guest room. She collapsed on the bed and looked out the same window that she had seen the children at before. In the sky above the village, the clouds were gone and bright sparkles of light shone in the air. In this moment, as she looked up at space, she started to feel at home.Her home was up there; not here.Goddess or not, Deibren was not where she belonged.
The dream that came this time started out on the ground.
They were all standing in a patch of woods together as Robert walked in front of them with a large automatic weapon at the ready. A moment after they started walking he waved for them to stop. Then, he’d motion for them to start up again shortly before waving another halt.
“Why does he always do that?” asked Alicia. “We’re right here.”
“He likes it,” said William with a smile. “Let him have his fun.”
“Quiet back there!” whispered Robert. “You might give away our position!”
“To who?” asked Anthony. “There’s no one around.”
A split second after the word left his lips, Starla felt the most intense burning sensation slide across her arm before actually hearing the gunshot. She reached up and grabbed the wound as Robert pulled her down.The others all fell to the ground just in time for more shots to ring out, several just missing them as they crawled to the spot where Starla was now laying.
“You okay, Knight?” asked Robert. “Can you feel your arm?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” said William from behind. “I’m the doctor here.”
“It’ll have to wait, Will. There’s an old temple not far from here. We should fall back to that. From what I understand the Kujaens are pretty honorable about going onto the old Zetrani turf.”
“Whatever!” said Anthony. “Let’s just move!”
The group slid along the ground for a moment before Robert signaled for them to go ahead and make a break for it. They leapt up and started running while suddenly people started shouting at them and firing weapons. Thankfully no one got hit and they slid down a rather steep hill before making a sharp turn into an old riverbed.
“It’s just this way!” shouted Robert. “Come on!”
Starla was running her fastest and she rounded the final twist of the riverbed before skidding to a stop in front of what was a large ancient temple.When the others came along behind her, Jeremy Quinn grabbed her by the arm. “Come on Starla, we need to get inside.”
“I don’t know,” she replied.
“It’ll be fine. These things have been abandoned for a long time.”
“It’s not the building I’m worried about,” she said. “It’s the people who built it.”
The dream came to a premature end when Kaleb suddenly shook Starla.
“Time to wake up,” he said when she opened her eyes. He was sitting by the bed with a warm cup of steaming… something in his hand.“Drink this,” he said as he reached it out. “We call it chaka. It will help you.”
Starla took the cup from Kaleb and sipped the drink from within. It had a slightly chocolate taste to it with a mostly coffee flavor. She took a few more sips and then handed the cup back to Kaleb and thanked him for it.
“Did you have another dream?” he asked.
“Yes, I think I did.”
“Did it help?”
“They bring up more questions than answers,” she replied as she looked outside and saw the pink light of a fresh morning peeking over the horizon.
“Did the demon…”
“It sounded only a few times last night. It seemed to be heading away from our village. The screams were quieter than they have been in a long time.”
“For a little bit, I was worried I was attracting the creature here,” she admitted.
“Well let’s just be glad that is not the case. Are you ready to go?”
“Nearly. How long until we move out?”
“The others are just about finished preparing. However, before you go, I was wondering if you might be interested in a quick shower and a change of clothes. You’ve been very busy as of late and your outfit has become…worn.”
Starla smiled and looked down at the uniform. “This emblem,” she said as she pointed to it. “It’s for the organization I fought with. We’re a special group of soldiers. I just don’t know what makes us special. We’ve been fighting someone though; they’re called the Kujaens. I heard the name last night in my dream. We were on a mission to one of their planets and I think they found us.”
“The Kujaens. They are the enemies of your holy alliance?”
Starla smiled slightly. “Yes.”
“So there is war in the heavens?”
“You could say that,” she replied. “At least, that’s what I think.”
“Your clothes are sentimental then. I understand that they must mean a lot to you since you are searching so hard to find the answers to your past. Still, I believe it would be best for your health if you washed up and changed clothes.”
“You’re right,” she admitted. “Do you have something for me to wear?”
“I had the women find a variety of clothing for you,” he replied. “I have left it in a large pile just inside my washroom. If you wish I could have one of them help you bathe or…”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Very well, I understand.”
When Starla stepped outside in her new outfit, she immediately felt that she was in loose clothing that made her feel free and vulnerable. The uniform she had worn had been from her life as a soldier. It made everyone in the village recognize her as someone different; as someone that was not part of their world. Now, as she stood there, several children ran by without once casting a curious stare. Kaleb came over when he saw her standing there and he immediately complimented her on how she looked in the new clothing.
“I do hope my uniform can be washed while we’re away?” she asked.
“Of course, I’ll have them get right on it,” he replied.
“Okay then, I’m ready to go.”
When the group of soldiers met just beyond the edge of town, Kaleb took up the lead and said a few words about the formation he wanted them to stick to and why it was important to stay close. She was following along but she was not listeni
ng to him by any means. It nearly scared her to death when Saiyin showed up and grabbed her from behind. She let out a scream that caused everyone to stop and turn back to see if she was okay.Saiyin smiled slightly and then apologized as the rest of the group turned back.
“Sorry,” he said once it was just the two of them again.
“That’s okay,” said Starla. “I’m just a little on edge.”
“Yeah, I guess scaring you wasn’t the best way of saying hello.”
“You were just joking, I understand.”
“Hey Starla, let me ask you something,” he said as they walked along.
“Shoot.”
“Do you really think you’re a goddess?”
Starla stopped for a moment. The question was something she had been battling with since she first realized that Kaleb felt she was Vorda but up until now she had let the battle rage on in her head without actually confronting the consequences of choosing a side.
“I…just don’t know,” she admitted.
“So you think you may actually be Vorda?” he asked.
“I just have to believe… that if I was Vorda… I’d remember somehow.”
“Saiyin!” shouted Kaleb. “How about you come up here for a few minutes?”
“Oh, yes Kaleb!” replied Saiyin. “I’ll be back later.”
Starla waved as her friend headed up to the lead of the group and Kaleb cut back to the rear so that he could stand next to the woman. He smiled at her and she returned the look but she didn’t say anything to him. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. It had been like she was talking about herself ever since she had arrived on the planet.Now was the time to change that.
“Hey Kaleb, I noticed that you had some things in your home; things that aren’t necessarily found in a single male’s home. Are you married?”
Kaleb sighed and then looked over at Starla. “I guess I owe it to you,” he said. “I was married several years ago. We had just had our son after I became the Chief Royal Guard of King Reznakk the Fourth.”
“Sounds like an important job,” replied Starla. “What did you do?”
“I oversaw the protection of the King. I made sure that the Holy Plains were kept pure and healthy by bringing water up from the wells of Zatis and I scouted the city each day to make sure that everyone was safe, happy, and healthy.”
“So what happened?” asked Starla. “Why are you back in Zabi?”
“One night, King Reznakk was drunk and confided in me something that he should never have let leave his lips. He told me that Zata, our god, was probably a fake. Up until this time our Kings had always heard the voice of Zata and through his guidance they had helped lead our people. For him to admit that to me left me with my faith crushed and my King lackluster.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It is well,” said Kaleb. “The next few days were torture for me. Eventually I told the King I wanted to resign and return to Zabi. He immediately accepted my request and gave me the position of Royal Guard to the village. I packed my family up and returned home.”
“So why did she leave?” asked Starla.
Kaleb looked up to the sky and Starla could see a tear running down his cheek. “She left because I had disgraced her. The King had crushed my spirits and I found myself doubting Zata’s existence as well. I no longer praised our King and I would sit inside for days on end. The only joy I found was in our child.”
“She took the child as well?”
“Yes.”
“Kaleb, I know what it is like to lose something you care about. I know about the frustration and anger that comes with always wondering if you can do something to get it back or if you’ll always have to live without it. I can’t begin to imagine the pain you must have felt losing your child though.”
Kaleb turned back to Starla and put an arm across her shoulder. “It stopped hurting a few weeks ago actually; the first night that the demon came. The first time the screams echoed through the jungle and our villagers came begging me for a blessing of Zata. That night, in my hut, I realized that my wife and child were safe in Zatis. My faith had been tested and I had failed. Personally, I believed the demon had come because of me. I have worked since then to try and right my wrongs. Your arrival is now a test from the planet. If I can help you find your goal while on this world, I will restore my place and my wife will see her husband become trustworthy once more.”
“So you’re doing all this for me…because you think it is a test?”
“I do it because I believe you are Vorda. If I am right, you will take your place as our goddess and hopefully your blessings will shine down on me. If I am wrong, then I’ll help a young woman reunite with her own kind.”
This was the first time Kaleb had mentioned being wrong. It was the first time that anyone on this entire planet had mentioned anything about Starla being a normal person. It actually made her uneasy for a moment.
“Kaleb!” shouted Saiyin. “The Pillar of Kazaa!”
The group came over through a clearing and arrived at a stone obelisk that stood roughly ten feet into the air and couldn’t have been more than a few feet thick. A short ways past the pillar was a jagged cliff that seemed to have nothing along the other side. She walked over and peered over the edge but found that there was nothing there aside from thick clouds.
“I can’t see the bottom,” she said.
“Some people have started to think that there is no bottom,” replied Kaleb.“What do they think is down there?”
The Royal Guard smiled slightly but then turned back to the pillar. “Aren’t we out here for something else?” he asked.
Starla turned away from the edge and moved over to the stone obelisk that speared up from the ground. As she looked it over she saw small engravings that made up symbols and words that were alien in design and yet somehow felt very familiar. Then she came to an indentation in the stone that shocked her. It was a handprint.
“Has anyone tried putting his or her hand here?” she asked.
“Dozens have come to try. It never does anything,” replied Saiyin.
“I wonder…” Starla mused as she reached out and pushed her hand into the rock. Almost immediately she felt a tingling in her hand that spread up through her arm and the cold stone started to heat up very rapidly. When she went to remove her hand it wouldn’t budge. Her curiosity suddenly turned to panic and she jerked backward several times but with the same result. Just below the indentation a small crack of light appeared from within the pillar and the two sides of the stone started to split and slide downward in a v shape that revealed a hidden compartment within the obelisk. The cuts on the rock had been mitered so that when they were together, no one could have seen the divide.The guards around her gasped and stepped back in astonishment but Kaleb stayed at her side as he looked on with childish wonderment. The tingling feeling finally started to fade and when it did she was finally able to pull her hand away. She took a step back and looked down at the compartment.Shining in front of her was a brand new power crystal.
“Coincidence?” asked Kaleb.
“It’s possible,” replied Starla, reaching down and picking up the crystal to give it a better look. It was nearly flawless in its cut and not a single crack ran through it. “This crystal is exactly what we need. We should get headed back to camp so that we can make it before the sun sets.”
“Agreed,” replied Kaleb. “We’ll move out right…”
A sudden gust of wind whipped through the clearing and Starla turned to the direction it was heading to see the darkest clouds she had ever seen in her life. All around them the white turned to black and lightning started to tear across the sky with loud claps of thunder following close behind.
“What’s happening?” asked Starla.
“It’s a storm unlike any I have witnessed before,” said Kaleb. “We must seek shelter immediately!”
Everyone started moving toward the forest and as they did Starla looked up to see that th
e sun was about to be completely blocked out by the clouds on the horizon and something inside of her demanded that she stop running.“Starla!” shouted Saiyin. “Hurry up!”
“The demon!” she shouted back. “The sun is almost gone! Don’t go in the woods!”
Kaleb heard her screams and stopped short of the trees.“Everyone, she’s right! Fall back into the clearing!”
By the time he could halt them all but a few had gotten past the tree line. The rest of them started running back to Starla but Kaleb and Saiyin hadn’t budged from their spot.
“I’m going in,” said Kaleb. “Get back to Starla.”
“I can’t let you go in there alone,” replied Saiyin. “I will come with…”
The familiar scream of the demon suddenly pierced the air and was quickly followed by the screams of the guards that had fled into the woods before Kaleb had stopped them.“What do we do now?” asked Saiyin.
“We run,” said Keleb. “As fast as we can.”
The group took off across the open clearing just as the sun completely faded from view. The rain started to come down in buckets and visibility dropped to only a few feet. Everyone was sticking together and they ran as fast as they could while the screams of the demon seemed to be running parallel with them from within the woods.Suddenly feeling a need to do something, Starla pulled her weapon and checked to make sure that it was still loaded. Then, the moment that the group started to slow and the demon sounded like it was approaching, she broke away from the others and darted into the woods before they could do anything to stop her.
“Starla!” shouted Kaleb from behind her. “Don’t do this!”
She hit the trees and slid to a stop the moment she found a protected area. The demon’s screams seemed to come from all around her and she stood there spinning around with her weapon at the ready and a full clip of ammunition that she was just itching to spend.“Come out!” she yelled. “Come out and show yourself!”From her left she caught sight of something. When she turned, she realized that it was more than just something; it was… darkness. There, just a short ways away from her, was darkness itself… silent… deadly.Without hesitation she turned and it suddenly shot forward at her but she squeezed off several rounds right into the center of whatever she was looking at. The demon’s screams echoed loud and clear and Starla felt as if she was standing next to death before it seemed to sweep past her and slip into the woods again.She spun around and shouted for it to come back.“You call yourself a demon! Why don’t you finish me? Why don’t you let me repay you for what you did to Alicia? Come out here and fight me!”
A loud clap of thunder echoed but the screams had stopped for several moments before Starla finally let her weapon down and collapsed onto the ground. Whatever she had done had scared the beast away. Then, she heard someone she assumed she’d never hear again.
“Starla…”She looked up and saw Alicia standing in front of her. Her friend was as pale as a ghost and had dark circles around her eyes. Her hair had gone jet black and she was wearing her tattered Crusader uniform though it seemed muddy and wet.
“Alicia!” said Starla as she stood up. “It let you go!”
“Run away Starla,” said Alicia. “Run away now.”
“Alicia, I just got a crystal that I can use to help get the other survivors. Maybe…”
“No,” replied Alicia.“Why wouldn’t….”
There was a loud rustling in the woods and then Saiyin suddenly broke through the foliage and saw the two of them standing there before him.
“Great Zata…” he said slowly. “Morda?”
Alicia turned toward the man and then lifted her arm and pointed at him. The sudden screams from all around caused Starla to duck and before she knew it the darkness that she had just confronted passed by her and slammed into Saiyin, throwing him into a tree and leaving him pinned there while he cried out in pain.
“Alicia! Leave him alone!”
“I am not to blame!”
“Yes you are!”
Realizing that she had little choice, Starla pulled her weapon again and fired several rounds into Alicia’s gut. The resulting screams pounded in Starla’s ear and she responded by firing two more shots before Alicia’s hand smashed into her face and knocked her to the ground.When she looked up, Alicia was gone and Saiyin had fallen to the ground where his blood had mixed with the dirt and rain as he desperately tried to get his breath. Starla had no idea what had just happened but she only knew what to do now. It was as though a part of her soldier training kicked in and took over. She ran over to Saiyin’s side and pulled him so that she could hoist him onto her back.
“Hang in there, friend,” she said as she stood. “I’ve got you now.”