Chapter Twenty Five
Morrighan's smile faded as the sun began to go down over the tree's. Gabriel watched the bright orange and red colors in the sky as the sun was setting over his old home. It was something that happened every day yet he never took the times to enjoy those sunsets. Watching the sunset was bringing to life all of his regrets.
“Come it is time to go.” Morrighan said. Gabriel turned away from the colors and followed Morrighan down his driveway towards the road to Axal. They began walking towards town in silence, and there was no one else on the roads. The sunset faded and the dark of night fell over the old highway.
“I missed too many sunsets in my life.” Gabriel said breaking the awkward silence and trying to spark a discussion.
“I have let many sunsets pass by me..... Their colors unseen. It is the dark of the night that has taken me. Many years ago it came over me like a plague. At first I thought I was cursed, but it was the heavens around me that were cursed.” Morrighan said.
“What happened to you?” Gabriel asked curiously.
“I.... Once thought I knew all there was to know. I had all I ever wanted and then....A great tragedy.” Morrighan paused stopping in the road. She looked up at the night sky with a smile.
“I thought I knew pain until someone I loved asked me to let them die... Now I carry deaths memory.” Morrighan said still looking up at the night sky.
“I am sorry to hear that, I have lost those I loved too...” Gabriel said unsure of what to say next. A tear ran down past Morrighan's smile. She closed her eye's but never let her smile fall from her face. She turned away from Gabriel and they began walking again.
“You know its a long ways to town?” Gabriel said trying to figure out if that is where they were heading.
“Yes, and it is a long night.” Morrighan said. They continued to walk for a few hours. Gabriel thought of what to say but did not want to give Morrighan too much information. The tear he saw fall was her first sign of weakness. Gabriel was begging to find a way to expose her and knew he had to reveal more about her.
“You know I think I can relate to you in many ways. Even though I just met you, but darkness has not taken over me. I guess I am just lost, looking for a place that I belong.” Gabriel said.
“Most of us don't need to find ourselves. We just need to find a place that we belong. I found my place, within the night. Then I had to build the foundations of who I am.” Morrighan said pausing.
“It takes an architect to find oneself.” Morrighan said.
“It seems to me that you built a very brave woman.” Gabriel said. Morrighan turned to him, her face showing her disgust in what he had said.
“I am no woman! I am a goddess, a witch, the horrors in this night!” Morrighan said angry.
“I...I am sorry! I guess I was just trying to find the words to express my emotions and it came out wrong.” Gabriel said backing up from Morrighan. She turned and began walking again, except now it was much faster. Morrighan began to lose Gabriel and she had to pause to wait for him.
“Sorry but I would have to run to keep up with you.” Gabriel said walking up to Morrighan. Gabriel was still thinking about how words express emotions, and trying to find the words to relay what he was feeling.
“Have you heard that saying, words express emotions?” Gabriel asked curious to know if Morrighan knew of worldly thoughts.
“Saying words express emotion is far too vague. It would take digging up the emotions in an insane asylums cemetery to understand what I feel.” Morrighan said slowing down from her fast walk.
“That was a very poetic way to express how you feel.” Gabriel said. He could see a glow of flames on the horizon. It was Axal coming into view and the glow of flames instead of lights. Morrighan stopped to take in the scene of Axal burning.
“What an awful thing, to be poetic at heart in a spiteful place.” Morrighan said with the glow of Axal on her face.
“What has happened!” Gabriel said shocked at the burning town where he was born.
“Retribution, they helped summon me to this retched place with their cruelty. Now we will use them to get us back to my coven.” Morrighan said as they began walking again.
“How will you.. Or I mean how will we do that?” Gabriel asked.
“I will show you.” Morrighan said.
“Hmm okay...So where is your coven?” Gabriel asked as they got closer to the town.
“You ask too many questions. It's in the silence of the night where we will find our answers.” Morrighan said. They walked in silence and Gabriel knew better than push his luck and ask any more questions. The night was very quite and though the flash of a comet, fireball, or lightning would fill the sky, it remained silent. The only thing Gabriel could hear was his foot steps.
They were at the outskirts of town and an amazing sight filled Gabriel's vision. Everyone in the town was in a line standing side by side. Some people clothed, some nude, and they all wore the blood of their sins. It didn't matter, men, women, and children were all in a line. They stood completely still and looked up at the sky.
In their hands were sharp objects of all kinds. Glass, broken bottles, razors, scissors, knives, anything with a sharp edge. Gabriel at first thought they were defending the town. But as they got closer he realized that they were some how possessed. They seemed to make a circle possibly going around the whole town of Axal.
“Whats wrong with them?” Gabriel asked confused.
“They are our summoning circle.” Morrighan said. Gabriel didn't even want to ask any more. At first it was a relief to see Axal burning. Now it was clearly a massacre that he had to find a way to stop. He never would have imagined that a reunion with Axal would be this morbid. Morrighan showed some emotion, but it was clear that she used humans as sacrifice.
They walked through a gap in the towns people of Axal. As they did Gabriel examined a child that he walked by. Everything seemed normal except for the fact that the child was completely focused only on the night. He didn't even blink or move as Gabriel passed by him. Once past the child Gabriel turned to look. None of the people moved, and he hoped it wouldn't be the last time he'd seen them alive.
“Gabriel, come!” Morrighan said as though she was talking to a dog. Looking down Gabriel turned from the people of Axal and began following Morrighan again. Looking around he could see the town was boarded up and had been preparing for the war. But now the town was empty and the people just waited around outside of it.
Fire's burned through out the city, and some houses and building were just glowing charcoal. They had walked at least nine blocks and were nearing downtown Axal. Restaurant’s, bars, and stores were ransacked. Broken glass lined the sidewalks and the insides of the buildings were cleaned out. It was complete chaos and Gabriel tried to imagine how violent things had gotten.
They walked down main street and had made it to the corner where downtown started. The light on the corner hanging from the stop lights were seven men. They were tied up and hung by their necks. One of the men Gabriel recognized, it was the towns mayor. It was too hard to tell who the other men were. Their faces grimaced in horror and their skin a pale blue.
Turning the corner they began walking downtown. The arcade and shops that he hung out at as a child were now used as some type of defensive barracks. The window's and even most of the doors had wood from the hardware store covering them. Some had cars rolled over on their side's blocking them. Looking up he could see bridges lining the rooftops from one building to the next.
The street of downtown was empty, all except for the corpses of people. Most of them were bloated and radiated a horrific smell. Dried blood ran through the gutters and it looked as though there was some kind of a massacre. Maybe some of the people were protesting how the town was being ran and were gunned down.
The dead were unarmed men and women. They all suffered from multiple gun shot wounds and the scars of bullets even left marks in the asphalt. They all died unarmed and some look
ed as though they tried to flee but were caught in the open street. Shot down like fish in a barrel.
Gabriel looked away from them. He did not want to see faces that he knew. Although most people in Axal he did not know anyways. Though even a face seen in passing might be too much. It was a sad display of the horror's Axal was capable of. Gabriel tried not to imagine the horrid things that might have happened. But thoughts of rape, murder, greed, and twisted fantasy filled his mind.
“What is wrong?” Morrighan said as she stopped walking and looked at Gabriel.
“Ohhh... Uhhh nothing I am just tired of walking.” Gabriel said.
“It won't be long and you can rest.” Morrighan said as they began walking again.
“I guess I forgot that human's need rest. To me it's an outrageous idea, there is far too much to do.” Morrighan said. Gabriel was now just looking down at the ground in front of him. Watching the cracks in the concrete side walk was better than seeing the nightmares Axal created. Finally after walking for miles Morrighan turned and started walking up the side walk to a house. The house itself was a new one that was just finished being built and was not damaged like all the others.
“I never liked new houses.” Gabriel said as they walked in the door.
“Why is that?” Morrighan said.
“They don't have the character of an old home, or the ghosts that old houses have.” Gabriel said walking through the dark house.
“Just because a house is new doesn't mean there are no ghosts inside.” Morrighan said as she walked up some stairs.
“You can sleep, rest up here.” Morrighan said. From what Gabriel could see the house didn't even have any furniture. They made it upstairs and began walking down a hallway. Morrighan reached up and pulled down the attic door. Steps came down with it and Morrighan made a gesture for Gabriel to go up them. Walking up into the attic Gabriel could see nothing. No windows to let in the glow of moon or bright chaos of war.
“Why the attic?” Gabriel asked as he heard the attic door slam shut. No response was given but it was clear why. He was a prisoner, something that he was getting used to. Laying down on the cold, hard floor Gabriel shut his eyes. The new home smell filled the air, which was much better than a dusty old attic. It wasn't long before Gabriel was able to drift off to sleep.
“AHHHH.” A scream startled Gabriel from his sleep. Getting up Gabriel looked around but saw nothing but dakrness.
“What was that?” Gabriel asked scared and startled.
“Ghosts.” A voice said.
“Then show yourself, ghost.” Gabriel said. Gabriel searched the room for a response but none could be found. A chill ran down his spine as he got up and started walking around the attic.
“If you wish to hunt for ghosts, then there is no place to hunt but the mind.” The voice said.
“So then are you a ghost in the attic, or a voice in my mind?” Gabriel asked still frightened.
“Does it not matter? You can hear me.” The voice said. Gabriel sat down and rested his back against a wall. Gabriel covered his ears and closed his eyes tightly.
“I was like you once....As a child!” The voice said laughing. Gabriel could still clearly hear the voice even though he covered his ears. Chills and sweat ran down Gabriel's back, he was not sure if he was going crazy or if it was a ghost.
“When I was a kid I never understood reality. I was always waiting for someone to pull the curtains. Now I realize that we are holding the strings and we move these curtains at will. I guess that's what we call insanity?” The voice said.
“So am I going insane?” Gabriel asked still clinching his eyes and ears shut.
“You are still trying to hold on to what was normal. Everyone has expectations of normality. I just accepted that madness is my normality and struggling is madness.” The voice said, as it seemed as though it got even closer.
“So I accept that you are a voice in my mind? But you seem as though you are here in the attic since you seem to have gotten closer?” Gabriel said.
“For now, just accept me as a friend?” The voice said.
“Very well, what is your name friend?” Gabriel asked as he uncovered his ears.
“May my name be ever forgotten, but my words ever remain.” The voice said.
“So what will I call you?” Gabriel asked.
“Inspiration.” The voice said.
“I wish I could see you.” Gabriel said opening his eye's and looking around.
“You do not need to see me. I want you to feel me, and know that there are forces here that are on your side.” The voice said.
“Well that is good to know because right now I feel as though the whole world is against me. I have been on the edge of a mental breakdown and every time I try to take control of my life I fail.” Gabriel said.
“Just know this, finding motivation in failure is the hardest part of success.” The voice said.
“Well inspiration, I am not so sure you live up to your name. I don't think words of comfort or lying to myself with happy thoughts is going to help me now.” Gabriel said.
“Ah but it is all that you have and you don't have to lie to yourself to believe in yourself.” The voice said.
“Can't you see these are just words....They are not going to save me, or those people who are about to be massacred.” Gabriel said.
“Just words? Speaking to you is like writing in the sand. My words and thoughts just wash away when the tide rises.... You just give up, curl up in a ball and close your mind. I would rather have an undefeated record at never giving up, than letting the madness of reality win.” The voice said.
“Why am I getting a pep talk. I just want to go back to sleep and see what the morning brings.” Gabriel said laying down.
“Very well, just know I will be there when you dream.” The voice said. Gabriel woke up and jumped up from the floor. Looking around he realized it was a dream. Just another one of the crazy dreams he had been having. Laying back down Gabriel slowly fell back asleep while he thought about what the voice had said to him.
Waking up again Gabriel felt as though he had slept for an entire day and night. Though the room was still pitch black. The attic was now hot and muggy though, and the air was stale. Not one crevice of the attic exposed any light. Gabriel got up and started feeling his way around the attic. The walls were at a steep angle from the roof. Walking around Gabriel found nothing of use. He could not even remember where the attic door was, or what direction he was facing.
“Hello, Morrighan?” Gabriel shouted. There was no response though and Gabriel got down and held his ear to the floor.
“Morrighan?! Can you let me out?” Gabriel pleaded to the floor of the attic. There was no answer though, not even a sound. Crawling around on the floor, Gabriel searched for the attic door. Gabriel crawled around for what seemed like hours of frustration. He could not find the door, or even a sign of weakness in the floor.
“Morrighan! Let me out!” Gabriel yelled in frustration. Laying on the floor Gabriel waited for a response but once again found none. Getting up again Gabriel felt for the roof. Once he could feel the wall Gabriel balled his hand up in a fist. Winding back Gabriel punched into the roof. With a loud crack Gabriel could feel the bones in his hand break.
Clinching one hand in the other Gabriel groaned in pain. He could feel that one of the bones in his hand had broken through the flesh. Falling to the floor, Gabriel curled up in a ball waiting for his hand to heal. Within a few moments it had healed but he knew he would not get out until Morrighan let him. His mind raced with thoughts of the anarchy in the town, and of heavens abominations. But mostly his mind drifted to the same thing it always did, Tiffany.
The day passed by, and Gabriel just waited there on the floor. The warm air had changed to the cool air of the night. He thought about using his pendant, but he did not want to risk Morrighan finding out. He had to be ready for when she came for him. Holding the pendant in his hand Gabriel fell asleep wondering what crazy dream or
nightmare waited for him.
With a flash of light Gabriel found himself in what looked like an old observatory. It was a huge round room with three large telescopes pointing out into the night sky. At the end of each telescope were old men with large gray beards. They reminded Gabriel of Merlin, or a scientist from the 1600's. The old men were all looking through their telescopes and writing on a parchment.
The old men were not looking at what they were writing. Though their quills were frantically moving as they watched space. Their feet were chained to the telescopes as though they were slaves. Gabriel quickly came to the conclusion that he was once again dreaming. The last the he could recall was falling asleep in the attic, so it had to be a dream. Then again he was holding the pendent when he fell asleep so maybe that was the culprit.
Gabriel felt around on his neck but could not find the pendant. He searched through his pockets and still could not find them. Although he knew he was dreaming, it felt so real. Just like the other ones had been. Or just as it was when he saw Odin and his ships crash into the beech. Except in the dreams he felt even more helpless. He had no pendants as an escape, and they were so vivid that he was now horrified.
“Umm hello?” Gabriel said. The old men did not look away and continued their work. Gabriel walked up to the closest one and place his hand on the mans shoulder. As he did the quill stopped and the man was deathly still.
“Hello...Sir?” Gabriel asked the man. There was no response though. Gabriel looked down to see what the man had been writing. On the top of the parchment was drawings of the universe with many galaxies, with a shooting star. Except in replace of a star was an eyeball with flames coming from it to resemble a shooting star. The shooting eyeball was heading for a black hole. Under the drawing was writing and Gabriel looked closer so he could read it.
“No, I don't want to shoot for the stars. I want to peer into the imagination of the universe, even if it leads to black holes of nothing.” After reading it Gabriel thought about it for a moment. Gabriel was not sure what it meant. To him it simply meant that maybe the man wanted to explore the universe. But Gabriel was always poor at interpreting writing, poems, and art. When Gabriel let go of the mans shoulder he went back to writing and looking through the telescope.
Gabriel walked up to the next old man to see what he was writing. There was another drawing, this one was of a human skull. Inside the skull where the brain should be was multiple galaxies. Below was another quote in massive letters.
“You don't need materials when you have an imagination as vast as the universe.” After reading it Gabriel realized how true it was. Though he never really took the time to explore his imagination. It was another regret that he had. Now that he could be facing an eternity of immortality, maybe he could silence the irrelevant thoughts that imagine a wonderful world of fiction.
Gabriel walked over to the last man and looked down at his parchment. This man was drawing idea's of how to escape from his prison. Calculations of how long it would take to cut the chains. Contraptions that he could make from the telescope. Though none of them seemed very practical. Some of the calculations were unfinished or scribbled out. Below all the confused drawings and numbers was another saying.
“Everything is made up of negative and positive energy. The universe balances out its energy and is equal to nothing. We are the only being that with enough positive energy, we can equal something greater than the universe itself. Proving that something can come from nothing and positivity can create a big bang of imagination.” Gabriel tried to comprehend the collision of science and philosophy. Even after reading it a few times it still confused Gabriel. He never was very good with physics, or positivity for that matter.
“Do not spend to much time in this place.” The old man said turning around to Gabriel.
“What do you mean?” Gabriel said.
“You wouldn't want to be chained here in the land of dreamers.” The old man said.
“And how do I prevent that?” Gabriel said.
“Don't dream.” The old man said smiling. With a huge eruption Gabriel saw a massive explosion. The observatory went up in flames and instantly melted away. Gabriel could see the big bang in outer space and then darkness of space. Looking around Gabriel could see stars and galaxy's all around him. It was so spectacular. Looking down at his body he could see that he was seated on a wooden chair.
A glow of light and the sounds of a sliding door startled Gabriel. Right next to Gabriel through space was a grate the illuminated light. Gabriel could see a man on the other side crying. The view of space turned into a curtain and it was pulled away exposing the inside of a confessional. Gabriel was sitting down on one end and a crying man on the other.
“Please father forgive me!” The man pleaded. Gabriel did not even know what to say, he could only sit there and listen to the man crying.
“I am not a gentleman, I am lustfully flawed by design and unforgivable of lies. I am honestly rebellious in my journey for principle.....My conscience is in rebellion against the wicked in me.” The man said weeping.
“I don't know how to help you..” Gabriel said. Just as he did the man began slapping himself and banging his head on grate like a lunatic.
“Why do you feed me to sinners. Then beg me not to eat in sin!” The man screamed punching the wall. Suddenly the man calmed down and looked into Gabriel's side of the confessional.
“Tell me this father! If I fall will god hold me up, or will my faith?” The man said with a twisted smile.
“I guess god gave you free will. So if you fall, it's up to you to get up?” Gabriel said more as a question than an answer.
“You all think you are so smart and holy. You have answers for everything don't you! But not me I won't lie to myself to feel better or fake a moment. I am a corruptible and ever changing being who is wrong more often than right.” The man said.
“I think we all are.” Gabriel said.
“Why do I even come here!” The man said hitting his head on the grate again.
“I regret the pains I have caused and the scars left behind. They are debts unpaid though I seek forgiveness of it every day.” He said hitting his head even harder. Now blood was dripping down his forehead.
“Stop it!” Gabriel demanded.
“Why....Why should I stop, this pain is far too much for me to take.” The main said.
“You have to forgive yourself, and I guess just live for love?” Gabriel said searching for words to help this deranged man.
“Hah love? Loving people are becoming extinct due to these poachers of humanity.” The man said as he slammed the confessional window shut. Just as he did Gabriel woke up in the attic to the same darkness.