Today I posted a story I'd written years ago.
Here is a quick blurb:
Secrecy was his ultimate mission.
On the surface, Marty looked like an average teenager. However, buried deep inside his true nature was anything but typical. When a car accident claimed the life of his best friend, Marty's hidden identity couldn't be denied any longer.
Determined to rid mankind from the malice and hardships that had plagued them since their creation, he now must face his most crucial assignment. Will he find the strength and courage to deliver Man from their fate? Can he forfeit his very existence for those he has come to love?
Hope you enjoy.
TROUGH
THE EYES OF ANOTHER
Marty
Angelo tossed his heavy back pack onto the back seat of Kirk’s green Acadian
and climbed in after it. As he leaned back, he glimpsed himself in the rear
view mirror. Pale skin, thin, angular features, topped with dark hair. He
brushed long strands off his forehead. It needed cutting, but he wore it long
on purpose—to hide his eyes. He hated them. One brown, the other light blue. A
red vertical line, centered above and below his blue eye, ran from his brow to
the top of his cheek. A birthmark resembling a scar.
Throughout
elementary school, he’d been teased, called Scarface. Freak. The kids didn’t
know how right they were. As far back as he could remember he’d had fits, like
a stranger would take control of his blue eye and gaze out. His mother had
taken him to doctors and psychiatrists, but they found nothing wrong.
Marty
turned from his reflection and glanced out the side window. The college parking
lot was packed. A number of students lingered, mingling with friends as they
enjoyed the April sunshine; a welcome reprieve from the usual rain Victoria
experienced this time of year. Daffodils bloomed in well manicured gardens and
the pink blossom trees were on full display.
Relieved his Physics exam was over, Marty
sighed and relaxed his tense shoulders.
Kirk
started his car. “So, how do ya think you did on your exam?”
Steven
leaned back in the passenger seat and propped a foot on the dashboard. “I think
I did pretty good. Actually, I found the test quite easy.”
“You
would,” Kirk said as he drove slowly through the campus grounds.
Steven
shrugged. “If you studied instead of playing video games, then you’d have found
it easy, too.”
“Maybe
if you spent less time studying I wouldn’t kick your ass as often when we
play,” Kirk replied with a laugh.
Marty
smiled as his two best friends started an all too familiar debate about who was
the better gamer. Truth was, Kirk could and did kick both their asses.
Steven
turned in his seat and grinned at Marty. “So, here’s the plan. It’s three now,
when we get to my house, we’ll play video games until six, then we’ll study for
our Chemistry exam.”
“Sounds
good,” Marty said.
Once
off campus, Marty placed headphones in his ears and listened to his IPOD,
keeping the volume low. He didn’t want to miss any of Kirk and Steven’s good
natured ribbing.
Two
blocks from Steven’s house, Kirk turned onto a curvy, tree-lined road.
A
deer leapt from the shadows.
Before
Marty could warn his friend, Kirk jerked the steering wheel. The car jackknifed.
“Watch out,” Steven yelled at the same time Marty
slammed into the side of the car, smacking his head on the window. He bit the
inside of his cheek and the iron taste of blood filled his mouth.
The vehicle hit a tree, spun around, and
flipped onto its side, sliding down an embankment.
Pain laced through Marty's head and chest. The
smell of gas clung heavy in the cab. Disoriented, he tried to sit up. Bits of
the broke windshield glittered all around him. A groan from the front seat
shook the fog from his bruised brain. He looked around, trying to get his
bearings. The car lay on the passenger side.
Kirk,
still strapped in his seat belt, hung suspended in his seat, his head hung down
at an odd angle. The groan came again.
Steven.
“Steven.”
Marty pulled himself to his feet. A wave of nausea rolled over him. “Steven,
are you all right?”
Smoke from the engine slowly filled the
interior.
“Marty?”
Steven's voice was weak.
Marty
climbed to the front. “Can you move. We need to get out of here.” He glanced up
at Kirk.
Blood
dripped from a gouge on his forehead. His face was ashen. He didn't move or
appear to be breathing.
Dread
ate at Marty. “No. No. Kirk?”
“Is
he . . . is Kirk all right?”
Marty
quickly unsnapped Steven’s seatbelt. “Can you move?”
Steven
grabbed Marty's arm. “Yes. I'm all right.” His green eyes searched Marty's
face. “Kirk? Is he…”
“Crawl
out the windshield. I'll unbuckle Kirk; you help drag him out.” Marty kicked
the remaining glass, scattering small round bits.
Steven
pulled himself to his feet and crawled out. “Ready.”
Flames
erupted from the engine, making a soft whoosh.
“Hurry,” Steven pleaded.
Marty unclasped the belt and Kirk fell into
his arm, taking them both down. “Grab him. Hurry.”
Steven reached in, grasped Kirk around the
waist and pulled him through the opening. Marty scrambled out. They dragged
Kirk away from the burning, hissing car.
Safely away, they laid Kirk flat on his back.
Steven called for an ambulance as Marty checked Kirk over. Tears blurred his
vision. He didn't need to check for a pulse, Kirk was gone; the absence of life
was perceptible.
“No,” Marty whispered as Steven came over.
“No! Kirk, don't you dare leave.” Marty slammed his fists beside Kirk's head.
“Kirk!” Sobs choked him. In his agony he felt Steven try and pull him off Kirk's
lifeless body.
“Marty--”
“Nooo, he's not dead.” Marty gripped Kirk's
face and stared into his empty eyes. Suddenly, Marty's blue eye moved,
widening, taking in the scene. With a strength of will he didn't know he had,
Marty shut that eye. He began to chant, words spoken in a language he didn't
know, yet were clear in his mind.
“What the hell are you doing,” Steven asked,
voice laced with panic. “You're. . . holy shit, you're glowing.”
Marty ignored him. Kirk’s image blurred,
and when it came back into focus he no longer laid dead on the grass beside the
road. He now walked through a gray, swirling mist towards a warm white light.
Marty followed.
“Kirk,” he called out in a deep, masculine
voice. “Don't go.”
Kirk stopped and turned. “Marty? Is . . .
that you? You look different. Where are we?”
Marty halted. “It's not your time.” He
reached out and touched Kirk's chest.
With a violent jerk, Kirk bolted up,
drawing great gulps of air into his lungs. “Marty? Steven?” He panted, his eyes
wide with wonder. “I think I was . . . dead.”
Nausea churned Marty’s gut. His
surrounding spun. He tried to concentrate on Steven, but there were two of him.
Sirens whined in the distance and the acrid scent of rubber burned his nose.
Dizziness
gripped him. He sagged and then fell forward, spiraling down, down through
blackness, until his thoughts vanished.
When
he came to he was lying on a soft mattress.
I'm home.
And not the two bedroom apartment he and his human mother shared. He opened his
eyes. He was back in his colorless private chamber.
Heaven.
Mordecai
sat up. He was no longer, Marty, a mere human. He was Mordecai, an angel of the
Lord. God—the creator of all life--had sent him on a mission to find out if
mankind was worth saving from Lucifer.
But
why was he back so soon? His mission wasn't complete.
Ah, yes, he had brought Kirk back from death.
He'd interfered.
Sadness sliced through Mordecai's chest when
he recalled the eighteen years he lived as a human. Recalled the people he came
to know and love. He yearned to be back. Yearned for the messy chaos life was
as a mortal.
Was what he learned going to be enough to
persuade The Creator to save humans? Granted, his Sire had witnessed everything
Mordecai had with the use of The Creator's blue eye, but was it enough?
It
had to be. The alternative was unthinkable.
Mordecai sprang from his bed, left the
chamber, and ran down a long stone hallway punctuated with many arched doors.
While he ran through the House Of God, he stretched his cramped wings high
above his head.
He slowed as he approached the Great Hall. He
checked his appearance in a silver urn sitting on a low table. He stared back with
his own brown eyes. His angel's star shone brightly on his forehead. Black hair
framed the sides of his angular face.
Murmuring voices drifted from beyond the
arched doorway. Over his chest, Mordecai made the sign of the cross. He folded
his wings until they lay against his back. As he stepped into the Throne room,
he was struck by the deafening silence. His brothers and sisters lined the path
from the entrance to the throne, where The Creator sat with an unreadable
expression on His face.
Mordecai kept his gaze downcast as he made his
way passed the other angels. He dropped to his knees at his father's feet.
Silence pulsed through the room.
“Rise,” The Creator said.
Mordecai stood. He needed to plead his
case and fast. His father didn’t appear happy about his meddling. “My Lord, I--”
The Creator held up a hand. “I know the
whys of what you did. Your love for the human is strong. I feel it. Still, your
interference is intolerable.”
“It wasn't his time.”
The Creator's blue eyes bored into him.
“That was not your choice to make.”
Mordecai bowed his head, trying to keep
his thoughts blank. “I am sorry, my Lord.”
“Look to me.”
Mordecai glanced up.
The Creator stared back. His gaze
stripped away Mordecai’s soul. After a few moments, He asked, “What say you on
the plight of mankind?”
Relief filled him, but he pushed it
down. “Don't give up on them, my Lord. They are worth saving from Lucifer's
evil clutches. He has turned the earth into a hard, cruel place. He has twisted
what you have created.” A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. “Humankind is
not altogether to blame, my loving Father. Lucifer's influence is strong. He
tempts them at every turn.”
The Creator leaned forward on His throne. “I
have given my children free will. Yet what do they do with this gift? They
choose to listen to Lucifer's whisperings over and over. I am no longer in
their hearts. Most have turned from me.”
“Sadly, tis the truth.” Shame filled
Mordecai’s heart. “During my time on earth, even I lost faith, my Lord. In my
heart I didn't truly believe. Life is full of struggles. Concern for food and
shelter, pain caused by sickness and death take precedence. Surviving leaves
little energy for worship.”
His thoughts drifted to his mother—the
woman who bore his human vessel. The hardships of life had aged her before her
time. Raising a child on her own, working two jobs to keep food on their table
and a roof over their head took all she had, and she did it for love. He
thought of the homeless, the drug addicts, the disasters that left people
broken. All the hurt and pain that came with life.
Mordecai's
pleading eyes met the Creator's. “They are worth saving, and if you won't, I
will try. I will die fighting for them.”
A collective gasp filled the room. Mordecai
glanced at his brothers and sister. “None of you know what it’s like for
humans. I dare any of you to live as they. With no angelic powers. Only then
may you cast judgment.”
The Creator leaned back and studied Mordecai.
“I am surprised. Not long ago you agreed with Lucifer. You conceded men were
nothing but a disappointment, a source of heartache for me. You concurred that
my children should be destroyed.”
“Yea, tis true, and for that I will forever
be ashamed. I have walked in their place. I now know what they go through.” He
sucked in a breath. “Lucifer must be destroyed. He has inflicted more than
enough pain on your children. It is time to rid them of his blight. Give them
the life you intended for them.”
The Creator bowed His head. “Tis the truth you speak, but alas, my heart
is for creation, not destruction.”
“Set this task to me, my Lord. I will see
it done.”
“My angels shall not take a weapon to
another unless death be to both of thee.”
“So be it. I will die for your children.”
The Creator rose, stretched out a
glowing hand and cupped Mordecai's chin. “My son. You bring new hope to my
heart. Though death shall not be the answer. I have another plan for Lucifer.
One he will not see coming. Go to his hell castle and bring me back his Grace.
I will send him to the earth to live as a human until I deem he is repentant of
his sins.”
Mordecai smiled. “Lucifer will learn
firsthand the hardships of humanity. I pray he finds compassion and
understanding as have I.”
“There in is my hope.” The Creator reached
beneath His white robe and pulled forth a golden dagger. He handed it to
Mordecai. “Return to me the Grace I have bestowed upon him.”
Mordecai clasped the blade. “Aye, my
Lord.”
The Creator kissed Mordecai's
star. “My thoughts are with you.” He
touched a glowing finger to Mordecai's forehead, and all went dark as he fell
through blackness. Endless it seemed before he landed with a jolt.
Mordecai slowly sat up. Sweat from the
oppressive heat poured down his face, and dripped from his hair. The putrid
stench of rotten flesh and sulfur burned his throat, making him gag. He gazed
out from the rocky cliff to the valley far below. A lake of fire surrounded by
black mountains was spanned by a long stone bridge, leading to a black castle
far in the distance.
Lucifer's
home.
He
glanced up. There was no sky, just black, scorched earth as a ceiling. He was
in the center of the globe.
Mordecai scrambled to his feet, gathered his
white robe about his body and descended the jagged peak. Once on the valley
floor, a loud bell tolled. No other sound could be heard, yet he knew he was
watched.
Halfway across the bridge, Mordecai glanced
down at the lake of fire. Millions of human souls squirmed like snakes,
reaching out to him with blackened arms, mouths wide as they screamed in agony.
He tore his gaze from their suffering and continued on. Nothing deterred him as
he made his way.
The great castle doors stood open and
Mordecai stepped through. Two twisted, hideous creatures waited. Mordecai
pulled forth his dagger, but the creatures only bowed. In unison they said,
“Our master awaits. This way.”
He followed as they led him up a winding
staircase to a closed door. One knocked before they departed. The door swung
opened. He swallowed his fear, gripped his dagger tight beneath his white robe,
and stepped inside. Across the room, sitting upon a golden throne, was Lucifer.
It
had been centuries since Mordecai had seen his once beloved brother. Golden
hair cascaded to his waist. Beauty beyond measure was his face.
Fluid as a gentle wave, Lucifer rose. A smile
as dazzling as a thousand stars stretched his lips. “Mordecai, my brother. It
has been too long. What brings you hither?”
A shiver coursed through Mordecai. “I come to
end your treachery.”
Lucifer's smile faltered. “My treachery? It is
our father who plays games. He betrayed us all. We knew nothing of His plans. We blindly did His
bidding, toiling, slaving, never asking questions and for what? For God to
betray us with his second children and give unto them our earth that we
created?” He placed a hand over his heart. “It's ours. Father stole from me—us.
For that I'll never forgive.”
“The earth is not ours. It was made for
humans.”
Lucifer's smile vanished, replaced by a
sneer. “Parasites, all of them. I will never bow to those usurpers.” He stepped
over to Mordecai, placing a hand on his shoulder. His voice when he spoke was
soft, hypnotic. “You know I'm right. You felt as I did at one time.”
Mordecai's head swam; he didn't know what
was right anymore. An overwhelming desire to side with his brother filled him.
Suddenly, his Sire's voices filled his mind. “Be wary of Lucifer's voice. He will use it to dissuade you.”
Looking deep into his brother's blue eyes,
Mordecai stroked a finger across Lucifer's brow, right over the glowing star.
“I know different now as you will soon learn.”
Lucifer's face grew hard and he laughed.
“Learn? I know all.” His eyes traveled over Mordecai's face. Disgust clear in
his expression. “You're a fool if you think you can stop me. You know as well
as I an angel can not kill another angel.”
“Aye,
but I have something else in store for you. You will become one of whom you
despise.” Mordecai raised his dagger and plunged it into Lucifer's chest.
Before Lucifer could react, he shoved his other hand through the opening. His
fingers tingled as they brushed against his essence. He seized it.
Comprehension dawned on Lucifer's face as
Mordecai pulled back his hand. White light, blinding in its intensity enveloped
the chamber.
Lucifer stumbled, then sagged to his knees.
He clutched his chest. “No, you can't do this.”
Raw hatred and rage consumed Mordecai,
torturing his mind. The hand clasped around Lucifer's grace burned, the pain
white hot.
In a flash of blinding light, The Creator
appeared before them. He held an open golden box towards Mordecai. “Place what
is mine inside.”
For a brief moment, Mordecai didn't want to
release it. He wanted it for his own.
“My son, let it go. It will destroy you.”
Hand
shaking, Mordecai slowly peeled open his fingers, dropping the ball of light
inside the box. The instant it was gone from him, his mind cleared. “Father, I
am sorry.”
“You did well.” The Creator straightened
and turned to Lucifer. “Your reign is over. You will become mortal until I deem
you worthy of my gift.” With a wave of His hand, Lucifer's soul rose from his
head and was gone.
The Creator closed the box and sealed it
with a chant. “I and the world owe you. Whatever your heart desires shall be
yours.”
“You
owe me nothing. I did it out of love.”
A gentle hand cupped Mordecai's cheek. “Name
it, my son.”
He gazed into his father's bright eyes. “I
would--”
“Tis done.”
Marty Angelo tossed his heavy back pack
onto the back seat of Kirk's green Acadian and climbed in after it. He leaned
back catching a glimpse of himself in the rear view mirror. Pale skin, thin
angular features, topped with dark hair. He brushed long strands out of his
brown eyes.
His
hair needed cutting, but he wore it long on purpose—to hide the star shaped
birthmark on the center of his forehead.
Kirk started the car. “So, how do ya think you
did on the exam?”
Thank you for reading.
