Babylon (Eden Saga Book 2) Read online

  She switched clothes after a while, as she was sure she didn’t have enough fuel for the fire to last all night. Though not completely dry, at least her clothes were no longer drenched. Her underwear was all but disintegrated, so she tossed it on the fire. As if in protest to her barbarous ways, the clothing popped and fizzled as the flames fought to overcome the dampness.

  In a way, she believed she was shedding more of her former life. Did she really need her delicates in the wasteland? What benefit, besides another flimsy layer, did they provide? General Ryan was accommodating to keep her stocked with feminine undergarments from the base, but she realized the hassle carried little benefit.

  “Other than handy kindling,” she said aloud as she stoked her meager flame. “Did I just sit here and ponder the state of underwear in my new life?”

  Alexandra chuckled and marveled at how she had adapted to that life. Practices that appeared unseemly or downright disgusting a year ago were now commonplace. She thought of her friends and former colleagues in San Antonio.

  “What would you think of me now?”

  Then the thought soured when she realized everyone from her former life was likely dead. Though she reasoned many parts of the world were probably in better shape than South America, she knew that was just another hope waiting to be swallowed by the wasteland. General Ryan had told her that the devastation was worldwide, according to his reports. There was almost nothing left. Only what the few remaining humans, angels and demons clung to. Only what they refused to let go from their old world.

  Only Eden.

  What happened to her original plan to return to Eden? Had she been transformed yet again by her journey to that glorious and accursed place? Did she still want to die?

  She gazed out of the back of the truck to the brightening horizon and said, “Did I ever?”

  Talla lifted his head in response to her words and watched her.

  “Who am I?” she asked.

  “Exactly who you want to be,” Koneh answered as he emerged in the opening.

  Talla barked and wagged his tail.

  “He can see you too?” Alexandra asked incredulously.

  Koneh stepped into the truck and patted the coyote’s head. “Oh, I share a special bond with these curious creatures. Erzulie would often tell me I was much like the coyote. Too cocky for my own good and infinitely dense to my own limitations.” He raised his eyes to Alexandra. “I see we share even more than I originally thought.”

  Simultaneously exhilarated to see Koneh and relieved she might not be as insane as she first thought, Alexandra launched herself into his arms. The musty yet comforting scent of his rags hit her nostrils as he gathered her into his tight embrace. These were the moments she craved. The time they deserved but were denied. Did the world only reserve that one sweet encounter in Eden for them? Was that all that was set aside for them?

  With her eyes closed and head buried in his chest, she said, “I’m still so confused. Sometimes I think I’m seeing the future and other times I feel as if I’m going crazy. What am I seeing? Are you really here somehow?”

  Koneh stroked her hair and said, “Do your questions never end, my dear?”

  She parted from him to examine his smirk. His all-black eyes which frightened her months ago now welcomed her into his heart. Into his soul. His smirk transformed into a warm yet guarded smile.

  “How can I help?” he asked.

  “I don’t need your help,” Alexandra mumbled. She led him to her meager fire. “I need you.”

  Koneh sat beside her and said, “You have me.”

  “For now.”

  “Forever,” he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

  Alexandra frowned. “I was never one for hollow platitudes and sentiment. We both know the score. You’re in Eden and I’m here. We are separated by more than a measurable distance.”

  “I hope you’re not still considering ending your own life,” he said.

  Alexandra shook her head. “I’m so unsure of everything, Koneh. I still don’t know how I can see you. Or how Talla can, for that matter.”

  The coyote had curled himself alongside the newcomer and was resting his head on Koneh’s lap. As their voices rose and fell Talla pivoted his ears and intermittently thumped his tail. Sitting there with Koneh and Talla felt so right to Alexandra. It was familiar. Had she dreamt of this moment? She couldn’t pinpoint anything in her memory but she was certain of her déjà vu.

  “I wasn’t lying to you before,” Koneh said. “I really do not know how this works.”

  “Explain it to me from your end, then,” Alexandra said, desperate for answers. “I mean, were you just lounging by a stream eating grapes and then you were back in the wasteland? Did leprechauns carry you here? Did you fall down a rabbit hole?”

  Koneh huffed. “Leprechauns. Now you are not even making sense.”

  “Does any of this make sense? Your ‘curse.’ Eden. Erzulie. Demons. My dreams. So much of the Bible was true and I’m just having a hard time reconciling that.”

  “The Bible?” Koneh said. “Don’t mistake what has transpired as validation of a few passages from a book.”

  Alexandra playfully punched him in the shoulder and said, “When we first met you were spouting lines from that book!”

  Koneh shrugged. “Only because it was familiar to you.”

  Instead of responding, Alexandra raised one of her eyebrows and waited quizzically for an explanation.

  After one of those long pauses for which he was notorious, Koneh said, “Did you know that every human culture for the past one hundred thousand years has had some belief in the supernatural or spiritual? Some god, gods or religion?”

  “You visited every culture and observed this?”

  “No, of course not,” he said. “But this is a widely held and well-evidenced belief amongst historians and anthropologists. Look it up.”

  Alexandra flashed him a look which silently asked the question: “Are you a moron?”

  “Well, I suppose you can validate my point if civilization ever returns,” he said. “Maybe we’ll find some encyclopedias.”

  “Encyclopedias?

  He chuckled from some personal joke. “Never mind.”

  “I do believe you,” she said. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

  “Think about it for a moment. Do you really believe that there is nothing beyond the world you can experience with your five senses? Has humanity been delusional since our birth? Why would we continue a practice which appears to have no supporting evidence nor survival value? Are we still frightened enough about our universe that we must invent spirituality? Or, does it make more sense that we are merely glimpsing something beyond ourselves? Something a few special people can experience and share.”

  Alexandra shook her head. “Before all of this I was certain we lived in a world of reason and science. Now, of course, I believe that Elah was once here and is now likely gone from this world. There’s just too much evidence supporting these new facts.”

  “Be careful what you call fact.” he said. “Elah is just one of many. Mankind has glimpsed numerous forces external to us and the truth is always a flickering light in the distance. Elah, Allah and God may in fact be three distinct forces or the same entity. Even Erzulie couldn’t be certain of the truth in that matter. Of the many religions dead and gone from this world, who can say where the overlaps occurred? Who can say which ones were pure manufacture and which ones tapped into valid spiritual mediums, for lack of a better term? All I know for certain is that we humans have always been in tune with these forces. The books and beliefs may change but I’m fairly certain these targets of our worship remain in whatever form they reside.”

  Though Koneh’s explanations incited new questions in her mind, Alexandra focused upon the larger picture taking shape. She had caught fleeting glimpses of this elusive concept several times after her bus flipped. But now it took a more tangible form. Her an
alytical mind arranged the information into orderly stacks until she was able to step backwards and analyze the whole.

  “So you see,” Koneh said, “to argue against the existence of these forces is to deny about one hundred thousand years of human history. We have always guessed these forces were out there, we just have a difficult time making sense of it all. Our lens is dull, skewed and wholly inadequate for the job.”

  She nodded as she continued to crunch the information.

  “While this doesn’t answer your question of how we are able to still be together,” Koneh said, “I know you are special. Call it DNA, divine blood, magic or whatever: you are more in tune with these forces than most people. Like a champion athlete is faster and stronger than the average person, you are also different than most everybody else. Unfortunately for us, the why is hiding amongst all of this.”

  “Yes,” Alexandra said, “I think I see it. For the first time since I was a child, everything is coming together.”

  “Well, if you have any insights for an old man, I’m listening.”

  She raised her eyebrows and exhaled. “Nothing monumental yet. I just think we’re finally on the same page here. There’s something out there and I shouldn’t have closed my mind to it.” She frowned and said, “Wow. Now that I say it out loud, am I actually saying anything? It sounds so vague.”

  “Yeah, when I first realized the truth that something was with us, I think I uttered similar words. Hell, after thousands of years I don’t think I’m any closer to explaining it than you are right now. It is nice to have faith in something again, is it not?”

  Alexandra frowned. “Yeah, I guess. If I only knew what that something was.”

  “Maybe just knowing is enough,” Koneh said with a wink. “A belief can be doubted, questioned, changed. Something you know to be true isn’t so easily ignored. I believe there is a difference.”

  “Do you believe or know there is a difference?” she said as she nudged him.

  “Now you are just being a brat.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder and said, “But you still love me.”

  “Always,” he said as he kissed the top of her head. “And since before I knew you.”

  The rain hammered the outside of the vehicle and their puny fire sputtered its last breaths. Events from their last trip together to Eden flashed in her memory. But this time she was alone - no ragtag group to keep her company. After a few more moments had passed between them, Alexandra chuckled.

  “Something funny?” he asked.

  “I was just thinking of the time you put your hands into boiling water, right before you delivered Delia.”

  “It worked in a pinch.”

  Her thoughts wandered to the newborn. Of course, Delia wasn’t an infant anymore. She was likely toddling around Santino’s feet at the army base. Alexandra’s decision to stay with the people at the beached cruise ship saved the child’s life. She was finally able to overcome her guilt and accept that truth. Instead of buckling under the weight of that day, she now smiled at the thought of little Delia terrorizing Santino. One small, yet meaningful, life plucked from the unforgiving clutches of their new world. One life that world couldn’t take because Alexandra said ‘no.’

  “Why can’t this be our life?” Alexandra asked as she snuggled closer to Koneh.

  “How do you mean?”

  “Sharing a pitiful fire, talking about life, enjoying each other’s company,” she said. “Why can’t we have this?”

  As soon as the words were away from her mouth she realized the petulance of her thought.

  “Scratch that,” she said before Koneh could respond. “I’m just glad we get even these few moments together.”

  After more silence hung between them, Koneh said, “You have had some time alone with your anger? This is nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “I suppose you know it well,” she said as she delved into his bottomless eyes.

  “A wise woman once told me this: there is no darkness in the world as deep as the darkness of isolation.”

  She absorbed the words and knew their meaning. Her current journey to Eden was a lonely one where she favored death to life at one point.

  “Who was this wise woman?” Alexandra asked.

  Koneh shifted his gaze to the falling rain beyond the truck’s open doors and said, “My mother. She knew isolation after Eden. She knew it well.”

  “Tell me about her.”

  Koneh returned his eyes to hers and said, “You are fading and I will soon awaken.”

  “Wait. You’re dreaming?”

  Koneh nodded. “That appears to be our mode of transportation.”

  “But I’m not asleep.”

  He touched her chin lightly and said, “Part of your mind must be.”

  She allowed him to draw her lips to his and she closed her eyes. Somehow, she knew when she opened her eyes he would be gone.

  Wishing to delay that event, she squeezed her eyes shut and kissed him like it was the last time she’d ever see him. Her sleepy haze carried her forward in time and she realized she was alone. She opened her eyes to the dark interior of the delivery truck and the drumming rain. The cold stung her nose but not quite as fiercely as it did during her last trip. Talla snored in rhythm with his rising and falling lungs. Everything was just how she left it - stark and lonely.

  Then, like a flash of lightning in the darkness, she realized she wasn’t alone. Someone moved around the perimeter of the truck. This person was attempting to quietly approach. And they were very close.

  Alexandra rose and silently readied her sword. The stealthy footsteps continued along the outside wall of the truck. Though she couldn’t be certain, she thought she recognized the slosh of soggy earth underneath the tread of a boot. The newcomer was likely human. Her heart thumped and she held her breath in anticipation.

  She was only allowed a few seconds to agonize over the decision to call out. Waking Talla and surrendering her position proved too uncertain for her, so she chose to keep her advantage.

  In a flash, a large man with a rifle swung around the side of the truck and trained his weapon into the interior. Alexandra gasped.

  The man seemed just as surprised as she was and he pulled the trigger. The interior of the delivery truck rattled from the explosion as smoke rushed towards her. At first there was no pain. Then, like with Via, her stomach exploded in agony. She dropped her sword and fell to the ground as darkness overtook her.

  Chapter 13

  Alexandra fought through misery’s haze to open her eyes. She was pinned to the ground by the overwhelming pain in her stomach. Blood's stench mingled with the dying smoke from the fire to fill her nostrils and lungs. Warmth pooled around her midsection.

  The interior of the delivery truck sharpened and she recognized some details. Her backpack. Wrappers from the pasta bags. The pitiful campfire.

  A bearded face came into view. Male. American or European. Mid-forties. Squared jaw. Pronounced crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes, like he had spent his life squinting in the sun.

  “I didn't think that would've killed ya,” he said. A slight British or Australian accent was present in his speech. “At least not straight away.”

  “Unghh.” Alexandra attempted to respond but the pain dominated her consciousness. Even moving her eyes seemed to jar ripples of agony from her stomach.

  The man had moved from view and she heard him rustle through her backpack.

  “I really didn't mean to shoot ya,” he said. “Ya just surprised me, is all. Quite sorry 'bout that.”

  He returned and smiled, revealing several missing teeth. “I'd finish ya off, but bullets are gettin' scarce.”

  “Well,” he said, “gotta get movin'. Don't know if you have friends or not, but can't risk it. Many apologies, miss. Your supplies will be put to good use.”

  He whistled as he stepped from the vehicle with her food and water. Blocking the pain the best she could, Alexandra scanned the interior of the truck. H
er backpack was gone but her sword remained. He likely didn't recognize the value of such a heavy, worn instrument.

  Like with Ael, Alexandra realized nobody was coming to save her this time. Gone were the days of Koneh or Erzulie swooping in to rescue useless Alexandra. In this new world, with these harsh rules, she knew the score. If she were to survive the rest of her trip, then everything rested upon her sword hand.

  Though the pain was unbearable, she didn't allow it to defeat her. She visualized barriers between her wound and the rest of her body. Compartmentalizing the pain in this way allowed her to raise herself on her hands. She felt a tearing along her stomach but she didn't allow this new sensation any purchase elsewhere on her body. Only one thing mattered. Survival.

  Hiding and waiting wasn't an option. Without her supplies, she wouldn't last long.

  Through the red haze of her torment, Alexandra grasped the rosary-wrapped handle of her sword and felt the familiar beads dig into her palm. She narrowed her eyes and focused upon raising herself to a semi-standing position at the doorway. The steel was frigid. Rain still pelted the area. Alexandra saw him.

  He knelt next to something on the ground and secured her belongings to his own supply. No time for stealth!

  She started her approach but each pump of her legs racked her body. Each step was a mile. Each breath, a symphony of torture. He noticed her almost immediately.

  The man fumbled for the rifle across his back. Eyes wide, he leveled the weapon at her and fired. Her shoulder erupted in pain and she lost her reckless momentum. She stumbled and fell into a soft patch of mud and dirt. The falling rain was soon the only sound in the area.

  “Damn,” she heard him say as he approached across the drenched ground.

  She laid motionless but she knew she was far from defeated. For some reason, like Koneh, she was able to withstand a bullet. How many bullets? That remained to be seen. Superior material? She was finally a believer. The only thing she knew for sure was this man didn't like to waste ammunition and he was very close.