Horror / between heaven and hell (Analysis)
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL
CHAPTER 1
It’s dark! But I’ve grown very fond of the dark. I guess after a century or two you tend to notice certain things you can find solace in. I’ve seen many nights in my time on this earth. I’ve felt many cold, clammy chills run not only up my spine but through my very bones. Tonight it’s different though. Tonight it’s stronger, as if something very powerful has thrown off the natural course of things. The ripple effect on a much grander scale, far beyond the normal scope most humans see it. You see, one act by one person so heinous or pure will reverberate throughout every plane of existence and alter the direction of reality. One being was never meant to be so powerful. Think about it, the game is no fun if one player holds all the cards! How could anyone ever expect or have a chance to win when your hands are empty? It’s impossible!
God was the creator. Lucifer was and is the tempter and the manipulator. The story seems to stop there for most people. So cut and dry so simple, one good one evil. Every religious book ever written spells it out like that. Always so black and white! People always overlook the varying shades of grey between the two. Throughout time various beings and entities have stepped up to assume roles between the war of good and evil. Upon their ascension each Demi-god would unveil their plan for a better existence and a new creation. A new creation!!! That’s a novel idea, but flawed upon inception at best. There can never be a “new creation”. We were created once, we go forth from there. Our flaws and mistakes are our own to accept and deal with. For as diverse races of beings we can change our paths and alter our future, but we can never truly be created again. In order to be created anew we first must become extinct and cease to exist. Only then could a being recreate us in his image.
I’ve seen many of these so called “new gods” gain their followers and reach for their power. No one has succeeded yet; I should know I’ve killed hundreds of them over the course of millions of years. My name is Kaine and I very well may be the worst of all the demi-gods ever created. I have spanned every chronicled year since time began and many of the years before writing was a known form of communication. I watched Mesopotamia nurture forth life; Babylon flourish and Rome conquer all then burn down to ashes. I’ve witnessed the death and rebirth of Jerusalem so many times the number escapes me. The Spanish inquisition, the discovery of the new world, revolutions, civil wars and assassinations all took place before my very eyes. Democracy grew, Hiroshima burned for weeks, Hitler’s suicide and 9/11. I was there to witness it all. I witnessed it because behind every catastrophic event stands the influence of some type of angel, demon or deity. Mankind is completely autonomous from direct rule of either heaven or hell, but they are extremely susceptible to the subtle and not so subtle influence of either!
Actually that’s part of the reason I even started writing these thoughts down here tonight. Something happened, something big! There’s a shift of power going on amongst the Gods and monsters. Not really sure where it’s coming from yet, but I do know it’s been giving me the fucking creeps for days now! Whenever something this large occurs it shakes the very fabric of existence. You ever get that ringing in your ears and say “somebody must be talking about me”? It’s the same thing, only here it’s a shooting pain that builds inside your head until it refracts throughout your body. This pulse is so strong it can be felt by every god, demon, and angel. It even trickles down so far as humans on earth who were born with the sixth sense, their ability to see, communicate and identify supernatural beings makes them susceptible to the shift in the nature order. To put it plainly, when shit rolls down hill that far we’re screwed! So me just being me I figured if this was the end for me here, and if my time was to finally come I’d like there to be some record of who I was and what happened. Some people start reflecting upon their lives after only living for 50 or 60 years. Imagine if you had the chance to live for well over 20 centuries and you still weren’t remembered? It’d give me too much of a complex!
So I guess back to me now? Everything about my existence has been a mockery, a cruel joke played on one god against another. Even my name is meant to torture me! As I said before my name is Kaine, and I was give it for the first murderer in the history of mortal existence. For even though the original Cain has been dead even longer than I have been alive his legacy still lives on in all realms. It’s kind of amazing how you can be so infamous for killing your own brother? I came into existence to fulfill a prophecy that was cast during the Great War in heaven. As Lucifer and his fallen battled for control of the pearly gates the Oracle was inside ciphering his most notable, and last prophetic vision. He foresaw that a child would be sowed, a child merging both Heavens light and Hells flames. He would be conceived on earth and to whoever side he so chooses to embrace, thus shall be the side that stands victorious over the universe. Sounds kinda cool huh? Not if you’re actually living it, trust me! The only kicker was the Oracle never got a chance to finish his reading as to where and when this child would show up. Before he could get it out he was decapitated by War and Famine, two of Lucifer’s elite four horsemen.
Centuries went by without ever revealing any hint of where or when this chosen son would rise up and conquer. Heaven paid it no mind, not particularly looking to rock the boat. They are usually more than content to leave things as is; now Hell is an entirely different story all together. Lucifer began to grow increasingly more tiresome of the wait for his chosen warrior. After a thousand years in the pit, a hundred year war waged against the angels, and another centuries long slow struggle for supremacy over man; patience was far from Lucifer’s greatest attribute. So it was within his infinite wisdom that he thought up a way to hurry up my arrival. Lucifer sent one of his many wives Baphomet to the mortal plane to assume a fake identity. There he orchestrated a chance meeting between a sitting Archangel and the beautiful and alluring Baphomet. In the situation she saw her way to seduce the mighty angel and trick him into fathering a child with her. That child was me! Not only was I conceived but I was also born on the mortal plane, right about the time of man first starting to come into its own. Here’s where it all started to get interesting!
Born on earth with every emissary and grunt of Heaven and Hell gunning for you is not exactly where you wanna be at 2 weeks old! Not that I remember but I was told numerous attempts were made to either kill me, kidnap me or Whisk me off to some other plane of existence. This point and time is where Lord Death stepped in. You see, Heaven is one side and Hell is the other. Death is the only autonomous being ever to walk the dark valleys. Upon his interjection he decreed that I would remain mortal unless I alone discovered my true potential, barring Heaven and Hell from interfering in any way shape or form. So basically if I lived a normal life and died of old age I would never realize that I was truly immortal. But if for some reason I died unnaturally during my existence it would awaken my true birthright. But alas, if either side invaded my life to force my transformation I would immediately be sent to Deaths side to serve as his herald to the dead. Again, Heaven really didn’t care much to shake up their comfortable existence, and again Hell was a different story. Lucifer tried every way possible to get around Deaths ruling. But nothing worked, not possession, third party assaults or the hiring of mercenaries. In the end it took something much more sinister and simple to bring about the great end.
You need to understand that no one is looking to cross Death. He was here before God created man. No one created Death; he was and is a force within the universe. Above all gods and demons stands Death for even a god and demon can die. Lucifer needed a way to ensure my birthright was realized, all while not arousing the suspicions of Death. That is where his first born son Belial came into play. Belial was half demon, half mortal but all evil! He followed within his fathers’ footprints quite closely hoping one day to inherit the throne in Hell. Being that he was part mortal he was able to travel from Hell to earth without raising any red flags up in Heaven, but being a demon on earth he had all the might and magic that came with being a resident of Hell. Belial took on the visage of a poor farmer from the town on the other side of the mountain from mine. It was here that he began coercing the village elders into taking our land and murdering the inhabitants that refused to comply. For all the claws, fangs and fire a good lie was always a demons best weapon. I can’t exactly blame them either? Convincing others to do all the dirty work leaves your hands clean and you got exactly what you wanted anyway.
By the time this all transpired I was far from a child. I had lived twenty five years already and was a village elder myself. You have to remember during this time humans rarely lived past thirty, so the fact that I made twenty five it was looking like I’d never realize who I really was. I can still remember that tiny village like it was yesterday; it was nothing like the towns and cities of modern time. We had no more than ten or twelve wood and grass huts arranged in a circle, with a center point that housed a large fire pit for cooking and warmth during the rough winters. I couldn’t tell you where we were located based on modern maps, for at this time there were no such things as borders except for that of our little huts. Each hut consisted of a wooden frame with loose palm leaf walls bound buy flimsy woven palm leaf ropes. Within each demure domicile your whole family slept on the hard ground, and if you were lucky with animal skin blankets. In the center was a dug out pit, maybe two or three feet deep. This is where each night before bed we’d retrieve red hot rocks from out of the central fire pit and place them in the hole to try and generate a iota of heat within in an attempt to fend off the night airs chill.
On the outskirts of the huts were our four or five fields for farming. All we knew how to grow was a variation of what you would now call wheat, but it wasn’t anywhere near as recognizable. The few who didn’t farm fastened crude weapons and hunted the local beasts for their meat and hides. Mostly ancient relatives of the wild boar and horses, the meat was horrid but I guess necessary for the time period. The huts were only for sleeping really. The center fire pit was the major hub of our village. To me, even calling it a village seems so cold! Everyone there was a family, a family of separate individuals thrust together for their own survival. We helped each other out, cared for one another’s sick and old and defended each others fields because our own lives were intertwined amongst your neighbors. Being there was probably the last time I ever really felt like I had a family. My story for being there was that my mother had died during childbirth, and my father passed due to illness along the trek to the village. It was upon my arrival that I was taken in by a local couple who were unable to have children of their own. My adoptive parents were Tiberius and of coarse another mockery, Mary. She was a slight woman no more that five feet tall. Her gentle brown locks pulled back and tied off with the same frayed rope used to fasten the hut walls. The soft features and dark eyes seemed to make her loving smile stand out further than it already did on its own. Mary was a good woman, and no one could’ve asked for a better mother. With no one being exactly schooled during this time, she always went out of her way to teach me the few skills and trades that the local women plied. She felt it was important for a human being whether male or female to learn everything necessary to live. Fastening clothing and blankets from hides, stripping down and cooking the meat. It was all so centrifugal to life back then, so simple but yet so trying to maintain.
Tiberius was the picture of what you would think a rugged farmer and hunter of ancient times would look like. He was a monster of a man at six foot five inches tall, his muscles always looking strained and in motion even while standing still. I myself am only five foot seven as an adult so you can imagine being a child? He looked to me as if he stretched right up into the clouds when I used to look at him. Tiberius was a true leader amongst the local men. He’d organized the hunting parties, rotate the crop fields, and mediate any disagreement within the village. Always the first to rise and get to work, and always the last to bed making sure the others were tucked away safely and the fire was out. I’ll always remember what Tiberius taught me about hunting, I still use it to this day. He’d say
“Never let the beasts become the hunter boy; if you keep their backs up they’ll run like the wind on the open plains. That’s when they’re at their weakest.”
I never thought way back then, that Tiberius’s words would ring so true about beasts? After all, demons, angels and even humans are all beasts of some sort. It’s just in my opinion and experience that some are certainly more identifiable as beasts than others. No matter how hard you try, you can never distinguish the beasts and the sheep so easily. A man or woman kills 5000 people on earth and they’re a murderer. Now if an angel or a demon kills 5000 people they are a great soldier. The rules seem to change from species to species. Back in the times when I discovered my immortality, living in the village it wasn’t quite so hard to determine what was wrong and what was right. Tiberius always preached living strong and righteous. There were no commandments; there was no code of laws. If you were good, you just realized what shouldn’t be done to live civilly with those among you. While others chose another path which meant you do whatever, wherever and to whomever you want. But I always remember Tiberius never standing for that type of behavior.
In the end I guess it was Tiberius’s own virtues that led to his downfall. With Belial stoking the fires on the other side of the hills, the villagers there began to buy into his rhetoric of expanding at all costs. His fiery speeches and stern tone commanded their full attention. Don’t get me wrong I don’t blame them, not it the slightest. After all they’re only human! Back then anyone who had a presence about them could captivate an army into following them. To be totally honest it’s still pretty much true today. Belial convinced them the only way to truly survive was to take our village and expand their own. I still remember the morning they came. It would be an hour or so before they arrived that we could hear them marching across the land. It was as if we could hear every footfall against the earth as they angrily marched across the mountains. With each step their rage grew greater and greater, fueled by Belials will. The men wanted to rally to arms and defend our little burg, but Tiberius wouldn’t hear of it. He said that no one should senselessly die in a battle over land. He said the earth was here for all of us, and we should all be able to share it without bloodshed. I still cannot say he was wrong, but those men were coming to fight. Discussing the situation was the last thing on their minds.
Being in my twenties now I stood shoulder to shoulder with every male capable of marching to the outskirts of the fields. Some carried hoes, shovels and crudely crafted axes, but still Tiberius would hear nothing of raising a fist towards a fellow man and ordered them to stand down and lower the tools they wielded. THUMP….THUMP…..THUMP their feet were pounding against the rock and dirt as they finally came into sight. Belial had them worked into such a bloodlust that when upon us their eyes were almost red and vacant looking. They were coming now, regardless of whether or not Tiberius wanted it or accepted it. They were still coming and they were coming for blood. I still remember the crunch, it echoed against the backdrop of the hills. The crunch was that of a blacksmith’s hammer caving in the top of Tiberius’s head. The only thing I can remember being more sickening than that thump was the wheeze of his last breath that was forced out of his lungs. Not so much a sigh, but not quite a scream either.
None of the other men moved, they didn’t know what to do? The man who had led them and solved every problem they ever encountered had just had his head caved in right before their very eyes. Even by my standards that was a vicious blow! I think that’s what added to the shock? Not only was their hero murdered but chunks of flesh and blood were strewn onto their clothing and in their faces. More than half of them fell before they could even react. Belials horde ran through them like well trained warriors, despite the fact they were meager farmers not much unlike us. A crude wooden spear pierced the throat of the man next to me; I think that’s what helped snap me out of it, the warm feeling of freshly shed blood sprayed into my face. I mean I wasn’t even a mere shadow of the well schooled, battle hardened warrior I am today. I had never even seen anything like this before, human beings killing other human beings? I’d seen the older men argue, push and shove each other. But never escalate it to the point of drawing blood! It was truly a moment of awakening for me, I just had no idea how much of an awakening it would be?
I don’t really know if it was instinct that kicked in or just fear of death. But I picked up a shovel and tried to defend myself. It was to no avail though. I did manage to raise the shovel above my head, but was met with a crudely fashioned wooden pitchfork in the stomach. For the first time in my life I not only truly felt pain, but saw this red liquid run out from within my body. I mean we’d seen it a hundred times before, we were farmers and hunters. We’d get cuts and scrapes all the time, but nothing like seeing a river of red flow from your stomach.
I clutched the wound immediately, the shock on my face clearly visible to the assassin. It truly is ironic that the one thing I remember about my untimely death there is his face! In essence he was a boy who couldn’t have been older than I was at the time. Even at twenty five years old, I looked at his face and still saw the pudgy cherubic face of a child, the face of a child but with all the innocence gone from within it. I was lying on the ground at this point, gasping for breathe and trying to come to terms with meeting what I thought was my maker. When I peered up to realize the severity of his face! His eyes were a dark brown, not much unlike my own back then. His hair was short with those slight bangs hanging in front of his eyes as he gazed down upon me. I was helpless, slowly slipping away into the grasp of the great beyond.
There was nothing there. I looked deep into his eyes as I began to bleed out and nothing was present beyond those dilated pupils. It was as if he was looking straight through me into the cold earth below. Already having me dead and buried in the cold earth below. I never knew his name; we never really had time to speak. My only words were that of gurgles and gasps attempting to hang onto whatever thread of life I could. I reached toward him with my right hand, my left clutching the wound he had inflicted. He gazed at me in a sort of wonder. He stared at my hand reaching up towards him. My vision was fading, probably from the extensive blood loss. But what I remember about it was seeing him drive the center spike of the pitchfork into my throat. It was a mighty thrust, entering through the front, piercing flesh and cartilage .he yet pushed further moving deeper through bone until it encountered cartilage, flesh, and skin once again. He had literally staked me to the ground through my own throat. My vision faded quickly, slowly working in from the outskirts of my line of sight. The darkness was growing; even the vision of my murderer was disappearing before me. Until he was gone, and everything was black!
I really don’t know how long it took? It could’ve been hours or mere minutes? But the one thing I am sure of is I did awake again, I did awake to a world I never knew existed. It felt like my throat was closed, I couldn’t breathe! I recall thinking it brought me back two years before when I had the sickness. Today it’s the flu, back then it was the sickness and it killed many amongst our village. I survived it, but many were not so fortunate. This had the same feeling; you were awake and aware but barely able to breathe. My eyes opened and though I’d lived twenty five years already I felt as if I’d gazed upon the true world for the first time. I couldn’t help notice the vividness of the colors I saw, despite my struggle to breathe. The sun was a brighter yellow, the sky a brighter blue and the blood I laid in a brighter shade of red. My god! It wasn’t just a pool of blood; it was a lake of it. Everyone was dead! Every single man I stood with before lay dead at my feet. As well as every woman and child from the village was dead near by.
DEAD?
I guess dead is really too much of an understatement. They were slaughtered! Body parts were severed, strewn across the landscape. Bodies of my neighbors and friends were ripped open from stem to stern with their entrails removed and lying beside them. All I could see around me was death and destruction. I could feel the heat from the fires that were still burning against my face. With the sun falling, those fires were all that lit the carnage I sat in. Making it up to my feet I could barely muster the strength to stand. Finally taking in body after body after body splayed across one another through the village. Like I said, dead! All of them! Why was I here? I remembered dying; I remembered taking those last few gasps of air before it all faded away. How did I survive, what brought me back? In the instant I had those thoughts come across my mind I was given the answer.
Against the dark backdrop of nightfall, contrasted by the harsh flames that surrounded me I saw something. Looking at the wall of a still standing hut I saw a great shadow rise up from the ground below. It was a huge figure, at least 8 feet tall. No features were visible of this strange creatures face. It all seemed just as hollow as the cloak it looked like he was wearing. A truly ragged looking cloak it was as well. Not very well kept, tattered and frayed at the ends. It seemed as if it was old as time itself. I didn’t know how right I was at the time, it’s ironic though. I didn’t know how I survived, what I was going to do or who this shadow was. But I never felt scared. All I recall feeling was a definitive cold that was more intense than the most harsh winter I had ever been through. My god it was cold! But I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Finally the being spoke aloud.
“Greetings Kaine .”
His words were confusing? What did he mean I never need worry again? I had no life! Actually I wasn’t even sure I was still alive? Who the hell is this stranger and why is here talking to me? I pulled back away from him, but he was right I still wasn’t scared. He moved closer towards me, revealing more of his appearance amongst the flickering fire light. Indeed it was cloak he wore, a very old cloak! It was tattered and shredded in places, not from blades but from age and time gone by. At the end of each long flowing sleeve his hands were covered by what looked like shiny black leather gloves. I was somewhat taken aback by the length of each figure, as well as how thin they were. In a way they were childlike, but also older than time itself. That cloak was floating around in the breeze, but more so than the breeze should’ve allowed? The folds of it waved and moved about in strange ways, almost as if it was a separate entity from the man wearing it. The most startling revelation was that he had no face! The hood of his cloak was a vacant empty hole. It wasn’t as if he was merely hiding it, directly in front of the flames that burned before him nothing was visible. Despite the hollowness of his hood, it immediately struck me as odd that I always felt as though his eyes were transfixed upon me. No eyes to see, but I could feel them not only gazing directly at me, but through my soul itself. It was here that the being spoke again to me.
“As I said young one, do not fear me. I offer you the key to your true existence. Your mortality as you know it has ended, welcome to the realm of the true immortals.”
His Hand slowly outstretched as if to beckon me closer. I still felt no fear, but the strange uneasiness never went away. Never in my short life had I encountered anyone or anything which had given me such a relaxed state of intrigue. I wanted to know more, but was scared to know. I did manage to finally speak to the creature.
“Who are you? Were you one of them that did this to my family”?
“No Kaine, I was not among the hordes sent here that caused all this carnage. But I did take notice that everyone who passed did so as easily as possible.” He said with a twist of his wrist, flexing his fingers. Who is this person? What did he mean by “when they passed”?
I backed up, almost until I was against one of the few walls that weren’t still burning. “Who or what are you? What do you mean by passed”? His eerie sort of chuckle is one I’ll never forget no matter how many millennia I live.
“I am older than time itself Kaine. I am the embodiment of death, I’ve cradled the universe in my arms when it was in its most infantile state and now I am here to bestow upon you your true birthright.”
Death, how could this be death? Death wasn’t a man, it’s something that happens to all living things. How could something that was a force of nature be standing here in the form of a man? I can still remember the way those words ran throughout my whole body! At this point I had totally glossed over his mention of my birthright until he mentioned it once again.
“Do you know who you truly are Kaine?” His words snapped me back to reality.
“Of course I know who I am. I am Kaine, adopted son of Tiberius and Mary, farmer, hunter and provider. Are you here to take me now?” Again I must’ve amused him somewhat due to his sudden low chuckle. I still can’t fathom how Death has a sense of humor, but when you’re in his line of work I guess it’s a must?
“No Kaine, not who you were, but who you truly are? I shook my head no. “Stand up, no one of your stature should kneel before anyone.”
I rose to my feet and stood before the most powerful force in the universe as he told me I should kneel to no one, not even he. It was then that he opened his outstretched right hand and revealed what he was holding. Lying in his palm was a ball about the size of a large marble. Not long after it came into contact with the cool night air in started to grow revealing more of the detail from within it. I began to see a great light emanating from with in it. It was truly the most blinding white light I had ever seen before in my then short life. But as the size grew the light would shoot out from behind what looked like moving bands of fire. A tiny little world seemed like it was evolving before my eyes. The crackling red energy swirling around within this orb was almost fighting against the light peaking through. One trying to gain a dominance of the other in order to shine or burn at it’s brightest. The light would graze the flames and seem to make it wince away in fear, while the fire would engulf a section of light and flare up in defiance.
This dance continued for what seemed like minutes, a gradual battle of give and take. It was mesmerizing to watch in person. It felt as if I was watching a war take place on a universal battlefield. I couldn’t take my eyes off it! I couldn’t take my eyes off it, until I saw Death motion with his other hand to look up. When I did he turned the hand holding the ball over. Now with his cold icy hand behind it he pushed it forward suddenly, sending it flying towards me! It all happened so quickly, I hope I can remember all the details? But what I do recall without fail was that it struck me straight in the chest and disappeared inside me. The impact was so great; the breeze it created extinguished two of the fires still raging slightly on each side of me. It was a strange feeling! It burned, but my skin showed no scorch marks as I looked down. It was freezing at the same time, although I was sweating from the heat? Nothing made sense? Was I dying again? Did Death come down to simply toy with the mind of man for a cheap thrill?
This hurt more than before. The pitchfork through the gut was painful, but it all seemed to go black and fade away so quickly. This was a fiery burn that went to my soul! I started having visions dance through my head, all the while Death stood eerily still and utterly silent. I thrust out my hand towards him, in a plea to have him save me from this hell. I began to see angels with huge beautiful wings the purest shade of white I’d ever seen in my life. Imagine the clearest day you can remember and think about how the fluffy clouds looked contrasted off the blue sky. I saw them bringing man down to earth, and teaching him ways of life and skills needed to survive. It was all so beautiful, these legendary beings standing side by side with their maker’s new creation showing them the way to a good life and a righteous existence. It was a brilliant sight indeed, until the sky suddenly went dark in the vision. Not storm dark, but a blood red dark!
In that instant it turned from angel helping man to angel versus angel and man being stuck in the middle. Brother against brother, creation rebelling against the creator. It was all there! For some their wings turned a midnight shade of black and others had their beautiful white wings splattered in their own blood or the blood of their brethren. I saw them hung on hooks dangling in a large chamber room as if they were being used as some sort of sick twisted decoration of a battle won. The dark ones were shown being stripped of their darkened wings and impaled upon long spears at the edges of heavens walls. No one lost, but it was also clear that no one was winning. Sons of the father facing off against each other in a trial of wills, until in my vision it became clear that one rose up among the fallen.
His eyes were black as night, it was as if all the light had drained from his soul and only hatred remained. His skin a paler shade than all the rest, his build a slight bit more pronounced than the others. He stood out above the ranks of the fallen; he gave speeches and led them into battle standing amongst the front lines trekking into battle. I heard his words, I felt his dark passion, but it wasn’t until I heard his name that my heart finally jumped into my throat! With his hands raised above his head, fingers outstretched he greeted his masses and proclaimed. “I am Lucifer and we will take back our right to dwell among the gods.”
It was over. The war between God and Lucifer was stopped, stopped by a single prophecy. The prophecy was of me! I was to arrive and shake up the balance of power; I was to be the shifting force among the beings who rule this world. I saw the Oracle speaking the words that someday I would exist and then I saw him take his last breathe amongst the realm of the almighty. The light began to fade; the vision slowly retreated back towards the darkness where it sprang from. In what felt like hours had transpired in only seconds. I was back, back to reality on my hands and knees before the feet of Death.
“I know it’s much to take in such a short time Kaine, but time is of the essence in you accepting what you are.” Death spoke in the same low monotone voice, never showing any inflection in his voice. “You are the son of an unholy union. You were sired by the deception of Lucifer’s concubine demons and a sitting archangel. She took the form of a distraught mortal woman and used the angel’s sympathy to impregnate herself. You Kaine are the fruit of their union. Both the fires of hell and the light of heaven dwell within you. You have abilities unlike any other who have existed before. Do not waste their potential Kaine; you are unique to not only this world, but the universe as a whole. Fear is no longer an emotion you need worry about, but everyone from the highest spire to the lowest pit will fear you. Rise Kaine, rise up and let me be the first to welcome you to the world of the immortals.”
Immortal? That word jumped out at me as I stood up and looked Death in what should have been his eyes. I couldn’t die, I would live forever. Forever! I looked around and saw the bodies of my former family lying slaughtered. Forever was a word they would never get a chance to experience. Their forever ended when the hordes came down off the mountain. Everything they taught me I was now being told to forget, everything they told me I was now being told was lie and I should forget it. I will forget it, but there is something I cannot forget. I started to feel a burning down I my stomach, and a sharp pain in my forehead. I looked side to side, corpse to corpse. Nothing was going to make me forget this; no amount of time would make this scene leave my mind. This was for the first time in my then short life that I truly understood the feeling of genuine hatred. Someone must pay!
I turned my gaze back towards Death and asked only one question. “So I can’t die?”
“That is correct Kaine, you cannot die as a mortal dies. There are things that may kill or trap you, but death as you know it is no more. I’m going now Kaine, but before I take my leave of you I feel I must tell you something. Think twice before succumbing to the hatred you are feeling. Once you choose a side my son, there is no going back. With that said I wish you luck in your quest, and I believe what you are looking for can be found that way across the mountain.”
Death pointed up towards the hills where the hordes had descended from earlier. He knew I felt only rage and sought only revenge against those responsible for taking my family away from me. As quickly as his words faded into the night air: so did his form before me, until he was gone. I was alone again. No one around: the still night air blowing against my face, only the crackle of flames could be heard against the dark backdrop. Many things flashed throughout my mind, but none more prevalent than punishing those who led me to this moment. For this injustice, everyone will pay!
It took me almost all night running full speed to reach the other side of the hills. I remember crossing that last bluff and seeing the village come into view down below. It was exactly like our village had been. Small huts, condensed around a central fire pit. Outlying fields surrounding the huts, separated into each different type of agriculture. Everything was exactly the same. Finally I had reached the edge of the circle of huts. I stopped for a moment to observe the people as they began to stir about. This being the wee morning, everyone was beginning to rise up and get ready to start their day of farming, hunting and such. The men were beginning to gather around the fire along with their young sons, while the woman were bringing them water and cooking food for the morning meal. They were laughing and joking, acting as if they didn’t have a care in the world. That’s what got me the most. Laughing? Joking? Each and every one of their smiling faces was a slap to mine. They seemed as if last night had never happened? Did they not remember slaughtering a whole group of fellow human beings? Did they feel no remorse or regret for what they had done, or were they simply so far gone that they didn’t even give it a second thought as to what they had done.
Again I felt the burning inside rise up inside of me; I started walking towards the center fire pit. Hearing every laugh pass from their mouths as each foot fall hit the earth below me. I began moving faster and faster, until I was in a full run. A rather large man was the first to spot me; he was seated directly across the flames from where I was coming from. I saw his eyes squint shut as to try and identify me. He rose to his feet and tried to address me
“Whoa stranger, what brings you through at such a early morn”?
His words were barely audible to me as I struck. Never even attempting to answer him I leapt over the flames, grasping his throat with both my hands. We toppled to the ground; I rolled on top of him my hands still clutching his neck. Now I could finally look one of the assassins straight in the eyes and make them feel the same fear my people felt hours earlier. The sounds around me were drowned out; all I could hear was him gasping for air I squeezed tighter and tighter.
“MONSTER”! I screamed!
Both his hands were wrapped around my wrists, desperately trying to pull me away. I saw his eyes roll back into his head and small stream of blood ran out of his mouth. He was dead, but I still would not relinquish my grip upon his throat. I would kill him a thousand times through a thousand lifetimes if I could. What finally snapped me out of my blind rage were the three shooting pains in my back that had just hit me. Once the background noise returned I heard the unmistakable sound of a fourth arrow piercing the air around it. Spinning around it struck me straight on in the chest. I stopped; blood flowed forth from the wound. How could I bleed? Death told me I was immortal, he told me I couldn’t die? The villagers even stopped, thinking they’d brought down the intruder. I waited for the white light to appear again, the slow drift of my body entering the after life. But I wasn’t coming, four arrows sticking out of my body and yet I still stood. I saw the blood, and I felt the pain, but I would not die!
Pulling the arrows out of my flesh I clutched one of them tight in my hand as I lunged towards the shooters. I received two more arrows in the chest and they received and arrow jammed through their eye and the other fist to the face. A man coming from my left with an axe was taken down by one his own when I moved and another arrow skewered his throat. Picking up the axe I struck the first across the mid section, the second in the head and a third again in the mid section. Arrows kept flying, I kept chopping. More and more of them piled around me. I could feel their blood flowing down my own face. The remaining survivors all charged at once, they overwhelmed me. I felt a blade pierce my side, another in my thigh, Hands puling at my hair, fist striking my face as I lay at the bottom of the heap. I couldn’t even move, but I wasn’t going to let them bring me down, now matter how much it hurt.
Again I felt the burning inside, it welled up in my stomach and I could feel it slowly move up my body until it reached the top of my head. I could see the flickers of flame and red light dance from my eyes. No one was going to beat me, they would all pay. THEY WOULD ALL PAY!
I remember screaming it as loud as I could. A light, circled by flame railed forth out every inch of my body. I heard only screams answer back to me out of the roar of the flames. I saw bodies incinerated before my eyes. Their flesh curled and peeled of the muscle, the muscle then shrunk into tiny fine threads that were rendered ash, and finally the bones charred and blackened fell to the ground. I had started at the bottom of a pile of twenty people at least, but I awoke standing on my feet inside a crater of destruction. The flames were still leaping forth from my eyes, and my hands still burning with the rage that caused this in the first place. Holding my hands in front of me I could see the flames dance in the wind about a foot off my palms. Could I do it again? I turned and stretched out both hands, concentrated and a burst of flames propelled out from them striking a pile of rock left behind. Death hadn’t lied at all. I indeed was an immortal demi-god. I shot a few more bursts of fire, still amused by my newfound abilities. This is when I heard someone clapping behind me.
“ CLAP….CLAP….CLAP…..CLAP. Bravo, good work my son. I would’ve expected it to take longer until you’d figure out how to use the hellfire”.
His voice ran a chill up my spine; I recall feeling that this guy was creepier than Death was. I turned to see a tall man, dressed in black. His hair was shoulder length and was just as dark a shade of black as his clothing. As he stepped closer towards me I noticed two small horns protruding from his forehead, maybe an inch or two long. He put his hand up to his chin and rubbed it with his blackened fingernails as he circled me, looking me up and down.
“My, my, my. Look how my boy has grown! I will say that you carry on the family genes well Kaine.” He said, again looking me up and down as he walked around me in a circle leaving a smoldering footprint behind after each step.
“Who are you? And how do you know my name?”
Finally he stopped pacing around me and laughed at my question. That evil grin visible for the first time, revealing his pointed teeth. His style of dress was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. It was shiny, and very smooth. Not like our clothes which were coarse and dull in color.
“Hahahaha. I am Lucifer; I am your father Kaine.”
“My father? You cannot be my father. Death said my father was a sitting archangel?” I said in a surprisingly defiant tone.
“Ah but I am an archangel Kaine. I am the first archangel in fact. I was created before and above all those created after me. I saw this universe and this world take shape at the hands of the… heh. Almighty. But it was I who truly orchestrated mans rise to fruition.”
“HALT! Enough of your lies tyrant. You will lay claim to no more of our Lords wonders this day.”
Lucifer’s rant was cut short by the booming voice descending on us from above. I looked up and saw a monstrous man floating down from the sky above. He wore armor emblazon with strange symbols and trimmed in gold, which shimmered just as brightly as his long blonde hair draped over his shoulders. This was all truly a sight to see, but it paled in comparison to the sight of his wings. Protruding from his back were huge beautiful white wings that stretched out at least eight feet in both directions. This is how he appeared to glide to the ground with such grace and poise. They were the purest, most untarnished shade of white I had ever set my eyes on. It was however safe to say that Lucifer was unimpressed by the sight. He clearly seemed annoyed by this persons presence from the instant he heard his voice.
“AH, it just wouldn’t be the same without the meddling of the golden boy now would it?!” Lucifer said with a sneer and flick of his nails. He turned his back towards our new guest and took a few steps away before turning to face us again. “Why is it every time I turn around another one of you mindless members of the flock are there to impede my progress?”
Again Lucifer seemed annoyed and I in turn wondered who could invoke such hatred from a god? Was Lucifer even a god? Was he my true father? This stranger must also hold a key to the puzzle. I was now standing trapped between Lucifer on my left and our winged stranger finally touching down on my right. As his feet hit the earth below his wings folded in and tucked up behind him as I’d seen a birds do a thousand times before. He finally spoke and it was directed towards me.
“Fear me not kaine. I am the archangel Michael, and I was sent here to protect you from this wretch and his fallen horde. Lucifer is the chief among the fallen; he represents everything our lord has deemed impure and sinful. He is the father of lies, the corruptor, and the dragon. Isn’t that right son of the morning?”
“OH Michael, must we quote every name in the book whenever we meet like this? I think we’re well beyond the formalities of a proper introduction. Given the fact that I was present at your birth I suggest you hold your tongue a bit young one. Kaine you have the pleasure of meeting the chieftain of the archangels and the resident thorn in my side. We really need to stop meeting like this Michael.”
Michael was clearly not amused by Lucifer’s mocking, his wings fluttered slightly as he positioned himself in a defensive stance. “No matter how many times we meet like this Lucifer it will never be enough to wash away the stench of fire and betrayal that follows you where ever you go.”
I was stuck between from what I could gather a god and a monster, but at this rate who could tell who was who? I admit now, I was nervous. I mean it’s not every day you find your whole world dead, death speaking to you as an equal, and the close it out by being trapped between two celestial beings! In lieu of my awe I was rendered utterly speechless. It was truly a cold silence until Michael broke it with his recruitment rhetoric.
“Kaine, you have been given a miraculous gift. Lucifer here only wishes to exploit your power and turn you against all that is good and pure. He is a liar Kaine, nothing more. He is about nothing more than destruction and corruption at is purest form. Take my hand, join us and see that he and all other like him fall beneath the burning embers of their own domain.”
Michael’s words were not even finished exiting his lips before Lucifer was spouting back, reciting his own brainwashed lies.
“Oh Michael, how pure we pretend to be. Pay him no mind Kaine; he’s merely following his fathers’ orders. No one who descends from above is ever allowed to speak their own minds! That would be sacrilegious after all, wouldn’t it Michael? Kaine, your destiny lies with me and my brethren.
Lucifer’s lips pursed slightly as he strode back and forth in front of me, his hands clasped behind his back. I recall wisps of smoke blowing forth off his shoulders; he seemed oddly at ease for someone confronting another immortal. Stopping and turning, he relaxed his facial muscles and a sort of smirk drew across his face.
“Michael, Michael, Michael. No matter how many times I hear your glorious speech about the all father it never gets old. My favorite part is about how much of a fiend I am, it never ceases to bring a smile to my face. You Kaine should be flattered. It’s not very often that a first born son of the HEHE LORD comes down here and dirties his boots in earthly soil to claim a prize. You truly are a chosen son.
Michael’s wings fluttered upon his back as he lurched forward as if wanting to tear the head off Lucifer’s putrid shoulders, but as a true emissary of heaven he stayed his hand and let his words do the talking.
“Does your deception and idolatry know any bounds Morning son? It’s been eons since you last set a foot inside the pearly gates and yet your stink still washes over it like a flood every time you corrupt another soul. Mock me all you want dark one, but know this. I will be raised upon a pike and placed beside your throne as a trophy before I ever see you accept Kaine into your ranks.”
This was the first time I’d seen Michael seem to loose his cool. He was angered by Lucifer’s words and was taking an offensive pose with his finger pointed towards Lucifer. I must admit though, even being overwhelmed by the days events I was somewhat annoyed by the fact that I was being ignored as they only bothered to fight with one another. Besides each wanting me to join them, I understood very little of what was going on? These eons gone by, the wars and lands they spoke of were all very foreign to me? If I was indeed as important as they say I was, why was I no longer the focus of their attention? They were more concerned with rekindling old battles with the other.
“That is a challenge I very well may accept Michael. You’d make a spectacular edition to my throne room. For I too would rather be reduced to kneeling before your God again before I see Kaine enter the ranks of your armies. He has no business serving you and your kind as long as he is the son of the devil.”
I had heard enough. I could not take anymore of their bickering back and forth. For celestial beings that could render a world obsolete in the bat of an eye, they flashed bravado like a drunken blow hard and insulted one another like wash women down by the river. I may be new to this whole immortal thing, but I surely wasn’t going to be a part of this embarrassing display.
“ENOUGH! Both of you stay your tongues. I care not for your petty squabbles or your past battles against one another. Is this how it is? Is this how the Gods act? It is no wonder things down here are so poor and desolate. The cause of why either of you is here is of no real concern to me. In a few short hours I’ve lost my family, my village, Met a being claiming to be Death, Murdered another village and now I stand between two representatives of two arguing sides in a war no one on this planet has had a part in. This is why my family was killed, for me?
Both of them stood speechless. Michael’s face sunk and Lucifer could not even raise his head to look me in the eye.
“It is isn’t it? That’s why they were killed, to get to me. Well I have news for you gentleman, I won’t be joining either of you this evening or any evening. Regardless of where I came from, this is my home, and those were my people that died. I will never be apart of anything that led to their demise. It seems to me that your interfering over the ages has caused much of the chaos we are forced to endure here. So Lucifer, take yourself back from hence you came and sulk amongst your followers. Michael, you can ascend to where you came and tell your master I kneel before no man or god. If I must choose, then I choose to stay here and help this world thrive.”
Both of them seemed stunned by my comments. Whatever hopes they had for me were squashed at that very moment. Lucifer was the first to respond. His eyes grew black as night and a snort of smoke came forth from his nostrils.
“You will regret this Kaine. One day you will come seeking answers to your creation and I am one who holds the answers. You will come around my child, regardless of who your father is. We shall meet again.”
In a monstrous puff of smoke he was gone, leaving behind only a strong stench of brimstone. I was left standing face to face with Michael. His hands at his side and looking quite somber and embarrassed by his own behavior, he lifted his head to answer for his actions.
“You have my deepest apologies Kaine, I should have thought more about your feelings. The events you endured today would be enough to make the almighty himself drop to his knees, let alone a mortal. Know that I will push you no longer today, but be fore warned. You are no longer a mere mortal and others will come. Others will come to try a corrupt you, steal your powers and even to kill you. Know that if you ever need Heavens assistance, we stand at the ready to aide you.”
His words rang true in my ears, I knew he meant what he said. The funny part was, I still didn’t care! He was more a part of the problem than being a part of any solution. It may be true that he wasn’t as much a part of the problem as Lucifer was, but he sure didn’t seem to have done his all to ensure things were right.
“Your words sound sweet to the ears Michael, but they’re backed by very little in the form of actions. How many have died under the same circumstances as my people did? How many have perished for the plight or desire of one person? I do however have one question for you. Lucifer made mention of my true mother being one of his consorts, but who is my true father?”
His face hung heavy at the sound of my question. Clenching his fists tightly as to be straining to hold back speaking the answer to my question, he looked away to avoid any eye contact.
“Kaine I………I cannot tell you the answers to which you seek. My Lord has forbidden this information from being told to anyone. Only he, I and two others know the true identity of your father. He wishes the name not be spoken until you choose a side for fear you choose wrongly and use it against us.”
For the first time tonight I actually felt as if someone had felt as much pain as I did. Holding back the name of my father ate away at Michael down to his very being, but that was no real concern of mine.
“If that is your answer then we have no more business here tonight. Leave Michael and know I detest everything you and Lucifer stand for equally. You made mention of life being peaks and valleys. That is true Michael, but it is in the valleys that we learn who we truly are.”
He gritted his teeth and turned his back towards me. Taking a few steps forward I saw his glorious wings extend in both directions and a bright light emanated from the center of his body. He rose up slowly at first, then in the blink of eye rose up beyond the stars themselves. He was gone, and yet again I was alone. I stood alone among the burning corpses and rotting bodies I’d left in my wake earlier. Where was I to go? What was I to do? I guess it really didn’t matter, I’d find a way to get by and accept my new life. Then in the darkness I began walking and haven’t stopped since.
That was how it all began. Which in turn brings me back to today, in the here and now, something is afoot. Many have come to try and kill me over the ages. Most are dead, but a few have survived to come back and haunt me to this day. There is even a few I never learned who they were or why they wanted me dead. Honestly it didn’t much matter to me; I was just used to it. But this is different. Things had heated up a few months back. The activity of the lower level deities had increased to a level I hadn’t seen in quite some time. Now in the past two nights it’s been reduced to nothing. The word in the spiritual underground is something big is in the works? I have reason to believe it’s not only true, but in turn might possibly lead to my demise.
Who it is, I have no idea? When or where it will come is also a mystery to me? But one thing I can say for sure is the balance of power has been upset. Something or someone is coming, and I fear it’s coming for me. Can I beat it, maybe? This is the first time in centuries I’ve felt a sense of dread regarding coming events. That is why I in turn decided to chronicle what is going on. If I do perish at this journeys end, then at least those who follow me will know why and may learn from my mistakes. So as I said in the beginning, my name is Kaine and here is the potential end of my existence
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Wow! This was a very intriguing story. Maybe not so much horror as it is mystery and intrigue. I’m not sure. It is new twist to an old story of good verses evil. The story line flowed well. The story and tention grew with each page. The way that Kaine came to be was very interesting. Your imagery and descriptions made your story come to life. Kaine as a character was of great interest. He was a multi-faceted person before and after his death. His decisions spoke to his character of being brought up well. I felt his decision to remain neutral was a good one as was your intention when you wrote it that way. I did notice a couple of spelling errors—7 0f 35-buy for by and 16 of 35-figure for finger. There may have been more, but I was so engrossed in the story, I may have overlooked them. I would love to read more to find out just what this is that is coming. Maybe he’s not the only one that should have been considered as the one from the prophesy Great Job.
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I like this so far. I couldn’t read it all but i think you should find a publisher or agent.
The ripple effect on a much grander scale, far beyond the normal scope most humans see it. (What is it? The ripple effect?) Maybe- I see the ripple effect on a scale much too grand for a human to understand..
I read half of your story and picture it as a graphic novel. I like the informal storytelling of Kaine- he sounds like a perpetual adolescent at this point. I don’t like your excessive use of exclamation points. But truly, I see it as a spectacular comic- later I’ll read the rest and tell you what I think…
I’ll go with your strengths first: Your grammar is good, the structure, syntax and flow is well done; punctuation isn’t an issue either. I was surprised upon first reading that your character’s voice was distinguished and the story itself was interesting enough for the length. I didn’t expect much, really, only because I’ve been greeted with stories that still need assistance with grammar and punctuation.
What I’m going to say next might irk you, but as anything I suggest, feel free to ignore.
This story is all telling, at least 90% of it is. While that isn’t terrible, the problems you face with all telling is that you won’t hold the reader’s interest and you’re keeping us at arm’s length. This tale lacks immediacy and you tell it in mostly narration summary instead of a “scene”. Dialogue. Action. These are what draw the reader into the story and keep them there. What you have is engaging, but truthfully, I would have put this book down after the first five pages. I’m getting all this information second-hand in a “first person” POV, and that is odd to me. A first person perpective should feel intimate, immediate, personal. I felt perched on the characters shoulder instead of in his head – and yes, depsite the fact he’s “talking” directly to me. Again, the telling plays a big part in this.
This flashback I think would best unfold as a scene, not strictly narration. Some exposition is needed, but most of this story until the last few pages is entirely summary. The pace slowed down, and my interest waned. And where is Kaine at when he’s telling this? I wondered at the end and was left wondering. Without a sense of “place” I feel like I’m floating above the character and not grounded where he is.
Lastly, you have some adjective issues as well, not really purple prose, but I think you might want to trim some words and repetitive sentences and use stronger nouns/verbs. Adjectives label, tell – not show.
If you have questions, message me.
M
THIS IS A REALLY GOOD STORY… THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OF KAINE IS AWESOME… THE STORY FLOWS VERY WELL FROM PRESENT TIME TO PAST AND GIVES THE READER A GENUINE FEELING FOR BOTH TIMES… I THOUGHT THAT KAIN’S ATTITUDE AND THE NARRATION WERE VERY ENJOYABLE TO READ…
pretty darn good kept me riveted throughout. i would like to see the character interacting in todays world, the battle scenes were very vivid and well written. few minor spelling mistakes. the language you used is very good it makes the ancient world come alive, that was one of the things i really liked. keep up the good work
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