Rebirth - The Beautiful Fallen (7 page)

             
“Okay." Mama said with a relieved sigh.  "But you still need to be careful about things like that.  I know this is a quiet place, but even quiet places can have bad people.” 

             
I watched as she came in and took a seat beside me.  I mentally prayed that the box I’d wedged behind my bed stayed.  If it fell over, she might get curious about the sound and investigate....

             
Still, I kept up the act.  “I know.  And I’m careful.  I promise.” I told her.

             
By then, she had spotted the bandage on my wrist.  “Are you all right?  You’re wrist…” she started.

             
“It’s okay.  I wasn't looking where I was going, and I tripped on a tree root coming up out of the sidewalk and fell.  I scraped it up pretty badly, so I cleaned it off and wrapped it up.” I interrupted.

             
“Oh my Ariana, you really need to be more careful.  Would you like me to check it and make sure it's okay now?” Mama offered.  She took my hand and looked at the bandage.

             
“No thanks, it's okay.  I had… a friend help me with it a little, and they said that it would be okay.” I said as I pulled my hand back.  I hoped that I wouldn’t regret those words now.  So much for not telling her about seeing Chris again.  But then again, I didn’t want her seeing either that this was actually a burn in the shape of a handprint…

             
Mama immediately came to attention again with those words.  “A friend?  Who?  I wasn’t aware you’d made any friends here.  You’ve never told me about any.” She said. 

             
Once again, I saw the fear come in her eyes.  And I knew then that Chris had been right.  She knew.  She had to have known the truth all along.  But I wasn’t ready to argue all of that yet.  It may not have even done me any good.  If she was this afraid, and if it was truly because of Saffron, she probably wouldn’t talk.  So I downplayed it again.  “Well, he wasn’t really a friend.  This guy just happened to be walking by me and offered to help me when he saw me fall.  He was really nice and all, so I agreed.” I said.

             
“Oh, I see.” Mama said, nodding slightly to herself.  She looked like she was deep in thought now.  But she spoke again before I could begin to ask her what she was thinking.  “That’s good of someone to be that nice.  But be careful about who you trust.  People like that don’t always have good intentions.   Especially men.”

             
I nodded, still playing along.  “I understand.  But he’s been so nice to me, so I thought it was okay to trust him just a little.” I said without really thinking.

             
“He’s been?” Mama said, standing back up.  Oh great, I thought.  I just slipped up big time.  “You saw that boy again, didn't you?” she continued.

             
“Well, I just ran into him.  And he seems really nice.  He's really cute too.” I said.  I wanted to see just what she’d say to that one.

             
For a long moment, Mama just stared at me.  She looked very upset and angry.  But instead of voicing it, she abruptly turned away and walked back to the door.  “Well, there’s not much we can say to that then, is there?  I'm sorry, but I need to get back to my work now.  Please don't stay up too late.  It's not good for you.” She said quietly.  But I could still hear the anger seeping into her voice.

             
Watching her though, I decided to take one more chance.  There was something I wanted to see if she’d respond to.  “Hey Mama, I was wondering about something too.  Did you know my birth father?” I asked her.

             
Those words made my mother freeze in her tracks.  I didn't mistake the tense position she suddenly held either.  That only came from absolute fear.  She had to have suspected that I was figuring things out now.  Still, she avoided the question.  “Why would you ask me such a silly thing?” she responded.

             
“Well, I know that you found me after my mother died.  And you’ve always let me keep this necklace.  I thought maybe he’d given it to you for me to have, and you knew who he was.” I reasoned.

             
“No.  No, I don’t know who he was.  That necklace is just an old family heirloom that I wanted you to have.  And forgive me for saying this to you again, but that girl that gave birth to you was nothing but a whore her entire life.  So I can't even begin to tell you who that man might have been.” Mama replied.  And with that, she quickly excused herself, and went back out of my bedroom door, closing it behind her. 

             
But her reaction spoke volumes to me.  I knew that much as I sat there.  She was lying then.  She was afraid, and she was lying about what she knew of him.  She must have known about Saffron.  Perhaps she’d even known him personally at some point in time, and that was why he'd chosen her to take care of me.  I just wished I could remember a time in my life where I’d seen him.  Maybe, if there was even just one time, it would explain why he’d just left me like this without any knowledge of what I was or was to become….

             
Lying in bed later that night though, I would find myself dreaming again.  But this dream wasn’t like the others I’d been having in my life.  Instead of being in that old stone house amid the massacre, I found myself standing in a small bedroom.  The room itself wasn't that nice looking.  All of the furniture looked older and more worn, and the walls were a deep gray.  The brown carpet under my feet looked almost thread bare.  Apparently, whoever lived in this house didn't take very good care of it.

             
Looking down at my feet, I could see the body of a teenage girl lying there.  Seeing her, I couldn’t help but think that I was looking at Faith Kent.  I wondered if I was dreaming about her death now because of all the things I was reading and seeing.  I knelt down to touch her, but my hand went right through her.  Looking at her body actually made me feel a little bit sad.  It was obvious that her neck at been snapped.  Her vacant eyes still showed some surprise in them as well.  Seeing all of the blood around her, I looked down her body and saw that there was a lot blood seeping from between her legs.  It was pooling around her body from where she was apparently hemorrhaging internally from a horrible trauma that I won't go into.  Her neck being snapped first had made this a quick death, although what was done afterwards was incredibly gruesome too.  Was snapping her neck first someone‘s way of being merciful?

             
Forcing myself to look away again, I stood back up.  But as I did, I realized that there was a figure sitting in the nearby window sill.  I couldn’t help but stare at them.  It was Saffron.  I recognized him right away from the picture.  He looked almost exactly the same, with dark hair and the bluest eyes I'd ever seen.  He was dressed completely in black as well, although I could still make out that his hands and arms were completely covered in blood.  As I watched, he sat there and snuggled a small bundle to his neck.  It only took seconds for me to realize that peeking out of this bundle was a baby.  I felt like I couldn't move from that spot as I stared at this scene.  He was holding a newborn baby. 

             
My God, he was holding me. 

             
But as I stared at him, I suddenly got the sensation that someone was standing beside me.  Looking over, I realized that it was the other Fallen, the one that Saffron had called Jade.  He stood a few feet away from him, over the body as well and looking at the bundle he was holding.  Saffron smiled at him.  “Surprise.” I heard him say.  It actually sounded mocking.

             
“What did you do?  You actually created a child with her?” Jade replied, sounding like he was in complete disbelief.  His cat like green eyes were wide with shock, and he looked like he couldn't move from where he stood either.

             
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?  Another perfect abomination, as they would enjoy calling her.  But I think I shall call her Ariana.” Saffron said.  He didn’t seem to be the least bit concerned over Jade’s reaction.  Instead, he was looking at the baby he was holding and smiling like the happiest man in the world. 

             
Jade was less than thrilled about it though.  In fact, his reaction was quick and angry.  “How long are planning on continuing to play these charades?  It’s not enough that you’ve been keeping this soul from me.  Now you create this life and flaunt it in front of me?”

             
“And what anger should you have?” Saffron challenged, looking back at him.  “After all, you yourself have done it before.  And as I recall, the same soul created yours back then.  You really should look in on him more often.  He may actually understand more of his heritage if you did.”

             
“It is not something so easily done and you are well aware of it.  Just what are you planning on doing now that she's been born?  You cannot possibly keep this child close if you ever plan on following this soul again.” Jade said, apparently regaining his composure.

             
"Yes, that is true.  But you needn’t worry about this precious one.  I already have the plans in order for her care.  You should come with me some time to visit with her.  I know she’ll be beautiful.” Saffron said happily.

             
I abruptly awoke before I could hear the response.  But lying there, staring up at the ceiling, the dream remained crystal clear in my mind.  And I was sure that I had just witnessed my entrance into the world.  Against my chest, I could feel the warm heat from my pendant.  Looking down, I saw the glow fade.  I couldn’t help but rub my eyes as I sat up.  Just what was he up to now?  Was he trying to give me a sign?

             
But thinking about that dream, I couldn’t help but think of what Chris had said earlier.  And now, Saffron had said it too, in a sense.  Jade had a child like me.  Sometime way before I’d been born, he’d had a child too.  And that child was apparently still living when Saffron had me.  If they still existed, and Chris existed as one too, then there had to be more like us.  Maybe an entire race living under everyone’s noses after all.  So maybe I wasn’t alone in all of this.

             
Getting myself up, I quickly got dressed and took the box out from its hiding place.  Taking the picture of Faith Kent where she was pregnant with me and the picture of Saffron, I stuffed them in my coat pocket and opened the window.  I wasn’t sure of how, but I was determined that I was going to find out more answers about myself, and the others that may have been like me.  And I had a decent idea of where I might be able to begin with it all. 

             
Chris Liam.

             
Slipping out of my window, I made my way down the lattice work on the side of the house.  As soon as I was on the ground, I took off running.  I glanced back to make sure that no lights came on.  But thankfully, the house remained dark.  Saying a silent sorry and goodbye to my mother, I resumed running until I had arrived at the beginning of the next block.  By then, I had to stop and catch my breath again.  The streets themselves were quiet, and the streetlights were enough to allow me to see.  There didn’t seem to be anyone out at this time.  But then again, it was well after midnight too.  Everyone was most likely sleeping.  Taking a deep breath, I looked at the houses around me.  I was glad to see that I had a decent memory from earlier.  At least I knew that I could find Chris’s house again.

             
The night itself was quiet and cool.  Looking up at the full moon, I couldn't help but think that it actually felt nice to be out there.  There was a calming feeling in the night for me.  But as I walked down the sidewalk, I slowly became aware of an odd sound behind me.  Stopping for a moment, I turned to look around.  But just as quickly, the sound stopped.  Maybe I’m just imagining things, I thought.  So I started to walk again.  And just as quickly, the sound returned.  It sounded like a strange cross between shuffling and scraping.  I felt my heart beat a little harder.  Something didn’t feel right again.  My mind flashed back to that woman at the house.  She couldn’t be out here, so far from that house, could she?  In spite of myself, I started to run again.

             
Thankfully, I arrived at Chris’s house within minutes.  Knocking hard on the door, I glanced back at the sidewalk.  I felt my heart start beating harder as a dark shape slowly began seeping out of the shadows.  It was very large and strange looking.  Long, slender claws began reaching forward from it.  But before it could reach me, the door suddenly opened and I felt myself get pulled inside.

             
“Didn’t I tell you not to come out after dark?” Chris said angrily as he closed and locked the door.

             
“What the hell was that…” I started.

             
But he quickly threw a hand over my mouth, moving us to sit under the nearby window.  “Don’t let it hear you.  I’m not in any kind of shape right now to take that thing on.” he whispered in my ear.

             
I could hear the scuffling sound move by that window then.  It moved around the house twice, then quickly moved away.  Chris exhaled, letting me go again.  For the first time, I noticed that he had a large bandage under the black tank top he was wearing.  It wrapped over his left shoulder and down across his chest.  “Are you okay?” I had to ask.  I hoped it came out right, considering I was kind of staring.  He was a bit more built then I'd originally thought....