Darkness upon the Land

This was certainly not the evening he had planned. After Father Nick helped him escort Alexia to the bathroom where he had to use his own finger to get her to throw up, Reuben was stuck with an unconscious girl. He wasn’t sure what he would have done without the priest’s help. Father Nick took care of all the other necessities so he could focus on tending to her needs.

For one thing a couple of people had to be sent to the Gautreaux place so Liana could be informed of what happened. Father Nick offered him use of a spare room in the rectory, so after Reuben got her cleaned up he carried her into the small, brick building behind the church and up its stairs.

He had never been in a priest’s quarters before. The structure was simply furnished but adorned with several religious items. The chamber he brought her into was tidily arranged with the bed and side table, a chest of drawers with a mirror hanging over it, several filled bookcases, and a chair with a small desk. A crucifix hung on the wall across from the bed, and framed paintings of Jesus or Mary or both occupied the other spaces.

After he removed her shoes and socks and pulled the light blanket over her, he brought the chair over and set it beside the bed. He checked her pulse and breathing again, was relieved her signs seemed normal, and then sighed as he leaned back in the chair and placed one hand over hers.

“Hang in there. You’re a tough little cookie. It runs in your family. And you’re probably the toughest of all of them.”

He wished he had a saline drip to give her, but lacking that, he could only let nature run its course and be on hand if she should experience any complications. These waters were a little uncharted for him. Liana had explained what would be necessary if they ever encountered this problem, but that was before her outbursts had started becoming this powerful.

His gaze strayed to the darkening window. At least the celebration had almost made it to completion before that creep showed up. And luckily both shots missed. He could swear he heard a whine past his left ear the same instant he heard the first report. If Father Nick had still been leaping in front of him, the priest very well could have wound up taking the bullet.

That thought settled into his conscience and began to simmer. This was a new experience for him. Since the solar burst he had defended and protected and fought alongside others, but nobody had ever tried to preserve his life by offering their own. It made him feel … very humbled to be in the presence of such a one.

And then there was the other twist Father Nick threw in tonight. Either the priest was mistaken about what he saw, or he lied. Or rather, he voluntarily backed up Reuben’s lie. He had already determined the man was very observant and astute. Did he conclude something unnatural did happen with Alexia that they were trying to keep secret?

About an hour later Father Nick, carrying a lit oil lamp, came to the doorway and hesitated just inside the room. “You want any light?”

“Maybe.” Reuben shrugged. “Occasionally. I’m hoping she’ll sleep through the night and I won’t need it.”

He carried the lamp over to set it on the bedside table. “I’ll bring you some water. Is there anything else you’ll need?”

“We already have everything else. Thank you.”

The priest left the room, and when he returned he placed a pitcher of water and a couple of glasses on the table as well. The he stood beside Reuben and gazed down at Alexia.

“I’m glad you seem to be well informed on what happened and what she needs.”

There it was – the subtle inquiry about what really happened. Usually when any whiff of her ability threatened to become a topic, his protective instincts kicked into full gear and he used every ruse to deny the possibility. But that wasn’t happening this time.

It was still advisable to release information a little at a time. “You’re familiar with her sensitivity to certain ingredients?”

“Yes.” Father Nick seemed to hesitate for a second. “I had no knowledge she would have such an extreme reaction.”

“Something with the food had monosodium glutamate. Her worst reaction is to that.”

“I see.” He hesitated again. “So unlike the night of the battle, when she said it was lack of food that brought on her collapse, this time it was something in the food.”

This time Reuben hesitated. “Did you really see her throw a book?”

The priest’s attention shifted to him. “No.”

“And yet you told everybody that’s exactly what you saw.”

“It seemed a good idea to follow your lead. I know you were looking out for Alexia’s interests. And twice now she’s collapsed after something … miraculous … happened.”

“You’re very good at math.”

Father Nick smiled. “I don’t believe in coincidence. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but I can’t resist being intrigued. And I do want to let you know that keeping confidentiality is part of my job description. My story is that she threw a book and I’m sticking to it.”

“We appreciate it – Liana, Alexia, myself. It’s the real reason she was at the Lapius Biomedical Research University.”

His head cocked slightly. “Weren’t you also there?”

Reuben smirked. “I’m not nearly as interesting as she is.”

“But you seem to need to keep secrets as well. Earlier this evening I overheard you telling some of the other parishioners that you’re from Mississippi.”

Wow. Father Nick was good. “You’re sure I’m not?”

“I distinctly remember once upon a time you told me that your home is in Missou-rah.”

This time he grinned. The stress upon his pronunciation of the state confirmed how the priest had managed to recall the truth.

The irony was he couldn’t explain why he had been compelled to spin that lie. Well, he knew what prompted him, but it couldn’t be justified in any tangible manner. Whenever somebody asked about where he was from, his gut stirred uneasily. It made no sense for him to conceal his home state, but following his gut had always served him well. He chose Mississippi just in case anybody else might have heard he was from Missouri because of the similar sound to the names. Other people’s recollections were easy to tamper with.

“Remember after the battle you commented on my good memory? That was a miniscule example of what I can do. My superior memory blows others out of the water because of the mass and variety of what I can retain and the fact I can put it to practical use. But the flip side is I can’t read worth a hoot.”

The priest nodded. “There’s a certain logic to that. It’s been determined that in the days before writing, people had better retention than they do now. So, you’re not going to tell me why you’re suddenly from Mississippi, or did you forget?”

He chuckled. “You’re a bulldog, aren’t you?”

“I don’t wish to be pushy. You can tell me to take a hike if I get too meddlesome. But again, I admit I’m intrigued.”

“Who wouldn’t be? Yes, I’m gonna drop the Mississippi topic, but you deserve full disclosure about Alex. Her sensitivity to additives in food is one manifestation of her unique biochemistry. But a few years ago it began to work in conjunction with her unique neurology. She can convert energy into a palpable force. It’s a form of bioenergetics.”

He gave Father Nick the few seconds he would need to let that information soak in.

The priest frowned slightly. “To the detriment of her health?”

“That depends. When she just has an outburst – which is what we call them – how forceful they are depends upon how much emotion is behind them. The big ones can drain her. If she has a big one when she’s already in a weakened state, like a glutamate reaction, the result is exponentially worse. The energy she converts is coming from her own body.”

Father Nick studied Alexia. “She put herself at risk to stop the gunman.”

“Maybe. Probably. Speaking of which, Father, I should chastise you.”

He smirked. “I’m sure I deserve it. What did I do this time?”

“I appreciate what you did earlier tonight, but this parish is down to her last minister. I don’t even know if you can give yourself Last Rites.”

A few seconds passed before he replied. “I was praying he would miss.”

“You and everybody else in the room. Luckily those prayers were answered.”

“Yes, they were, weren’t they?” His attention focused on her. “So did she go to the university to learn how to use this ability?”

“Just the opposite. Liana wanted her to suppress it. And not just for health reasons. I’m sure you can imagine the stir this would cause if her talent became general knowledge. It would endanger her. And don’t doubt for one second there are people in positions of authority who would claim that under national security she should be isolated and studied. They would only see the power to what she can do. And there’s something else I should go ahead and tell you. We don’t know where this is gonna stop.”

His attention shifted back to Reuben. “Meaning?”

“When she was twelve she maxed out at popping light bulbs. Now she can send chairs flying through the air. The big ones keep getting bigger. Oh, and there’s another wrinkle, although it doesn’t matter much these days. She could cause interference on electronic equipment. You can see how with a little creative thinking, the wrong people would want to take what she can do and misuse it for their own purposes.”

“Yes, I can certainly see.” His gaze returned to Alexia. “Such a mighty burden for one so young. So you’re going to stay up all night with her?”

“I need to keep an eye on her just in case she should stir before morning.”

“We could take turns, if you’d like. You might get some better rest.”

Reuben shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but I am the expert here. I’m responsible for her.”

“Then I defer to your expertise. If our talking won’t disturb her, do you mind if I sit up with you? Maybe provide a little company?”

“I appreciate that, as well.”

“I’ll get another chair. You’re sure there’s nothing else you need?”

“No, thank you.”

The priest left, and when he did return a few minutes later, Reuben immediately noticed he had changed into a maroon tee shirt and was barefoot when he carried a lightweight dining chair into the room. There was something hospitable about his casualness, as though his unshod feet were an unspoken “Make yourself at home.”

He accepted that invitation and slipped off his own shoes. Before the solar burst he had tended to go barefoot or in in stocking feet whenever indoors, but his level of alertness afterwards had changed all that.

Father Nick set the chair near the foot of the bed. “We’ve had little opportunity to truly talk,” he commented as he took his seat. “There’s always been matters at hand to attend to.”

“And they haven’t exactly gone away.”

“I’m sorry about your difficulties. Yet I must comment that you at least appear to be holding up well. I presume you have a tradition of faith to help sustain you?”

“I’m a Noachide.”

He was the first person who didn’t give Reuben some degree of a puzzled expression upon hearing the term. “I see. Isn’t that a revivalist movement started by some Hasidic Jews in the last century to help usher in the Age of Messiah?”

He was impressed Father Nick knew even that much. “Our numbers have been steadily growing since the last century, but the faith actually goes back to Adam. We’re called Noachides because God added to the Law after the Flood when He permitted us to eat animals. When He gave the Torah to Israel at Mt. Sinai, He established there would be no more changes to the Law. While persecution of the Jews after the destruction of the second temple caused Noachidism to all but disappear from the surface, it persisted in other forms of Gentile righteousness. We are simply those who have already seized the corner of a Jew’s cloak and said, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

The priest leaned forward in his chair and seemed to ponder what Reuben just said. “So, it seems the obvious question here is, why don’t you just become Jewish?”

“You don’t have to become Jewish to earn a place in the World to Come. In fact, the balance of this world may require the presence of both Jew and Gentile. You need only to believe in the One True God and follow His laws, which means I can still get to eat a bacon cheeseburger.”

Father Nick leaned back in his chair and studied him for a few more seconds before a wry smile touched his lips. “I can tell this is going to be an interesting night.”