The Earthrise Trilogy (43 page)

"Yes, I did," she replied, "and I understand."
 

"Good, for it will be you that the serpent attacks. Always remember, God is with you. He will not leave you, nor forsake you, He is faithful."
 

"Amen to that," Clare said, relieved, "but when will all this happen?"
 

"Soon my child, quite soon. You must learn quickly before you return. Where any two are gathered together in His name, He will be among them."
 

After a short pause, Steve asked, "What is it that we must learn?"
 

"Ah," Abel said, "you will know when you have learned it." He smiled as if teasing, but they knew he couldn't do such a thing.
 

"This might sound silly," Clare said, "but where do you sleep, there are no structures here?"
 

"We have no need of structures as you do, we have no need of sleep. Our bodies are not like yours, which is why you could not detect us, or even the animals. There is no corruption here, so everything is as He Who lives forever intended it to be. Your bodies will become like ours in time, but as that has not happened yet..." He waved his arm and a shelter appeared.
 

"All things are possible to him who believes," he said, smiling.
 

Abel vanished from their sight, and they were left alone.
 

"I must try that one when we get back!" Tris said, with a laugh.
 

"By the sound of things, that won't be long Tris, It seems we have a mission to complete, I wish I knew what it was I'm supposed to learn."
 

Steve scratched his head and headed towards the shelter. They all followed suit.

The shelter was simple but adequate for their needs. Four sleeping places had been provided plus a 'little room.'
 

"Am I glad to see that," Hope said, "if I have to use that contraption on the ship just one more time I'll scream."
 

The other three laughed but Hope was deadly serious.
 

"I suppose they don't need to use these," Clare said, "there's no waste here."
 

"You're probably right Sweetie, nothing corrupts or decays, and that also explains the lack of clouds. It didn't rain on Earth until Noah, Eden was watered from beneath the ground. This really is paradise, as God originally designed it, and these people are still as perfect as God made them. Even Adam and Eve are still vibrant, and full of life, after who knows how many centuries. I could live here." Steve said.
 

"Never mind Hun, our Eden may turn out like this place if we believe for it."
 

"Once we've dealt with that pesky Serpent," Hope added.
 

"You're very quiet Tris, are you OK?"
 

"OK! I'm just wonderful. I've been taking it all in. This place, God, these lovely people, and all the amazing things we can do... How could I not be, OK?"
 

Steve and Clare smiled at him. He'd had a lot to take on-board over the last few weeks, and here he was. coming through it all, and on top. A very tired Forester family went to bed and slept peacefully, such as you can only do in God's paradise.

He Who lives forever came to Steve in a dream. "Fear not my son, for you will see me soon enough. For now, be content with knowing that I am with you. I am always with you."
 

In the dream, they walked together in the cool of the evening, the child, and The Father. Even in sleep, Steve drew strength from his Lord. Strength he would surely need in the troubled days ahead.

Chapter Thirty

Chapter 8.

Battle Plans

The commander of the armies came into the presence. He grovelled and cowered at the sight of his master sitting on a throne of rock; the half-light hiding his face from the subordinates view. The commander knew what his master looked like, he had faced his wrath many times over the centuries, but had always managed to survive the outbursts of rage and hatred. Unlike his predecessor who had failed once too often and been torn into pieces and cast back into the abyss. No, Agallon was a survivor.
 

"What news commander?" The voice boomed, causing the cavern to reverberate wildly. 'Here we go,' Agallon said to himself.
 

"Bad news my lord, the first attack was repulsed, we lost a serpent."
 

"WHAT!" Screamed the voice, "How many came against us?"
 

Now trembling, Agallon replied, "Just one, my lord, a child."
 

"A CHILD! How can this be? Find out, and don't come back until you do."
 

"No, my lord, erm, I mean, yes my lord."
 

Agallon left the cavern as quickly as he could, and whilst he still could. Once outside, he became as fierce and as full of hatred as his master. He screamed out orders for spies to be sent to find out how one child could kill a serpent. Lesser demons went scurrying in all directions to escape the wrath of the commander.

The demons went to the serpents, hissing threats at them. "Go back and find out how this child killed Kellon, and don't come back until you know." The head serpent called for his two most experienced spies, Kedal and Bakal.
 

"Go back to the human settlement and find out about this child, and how he was able to defeat Kellon in battle...GO!"
 

The two snakes left and went to the tunnel that led to the lake.
 

The water was cold as they swam through the tunnel, snakes don't like the cold.
 

"It's always us who get it in the neck Bakal, a serpent loses a fight and all hell breaks lose."
 

Kedal laughed at Bakal's remark.
 

"All hell is right Bakal my friend, and if we don't get the information for them, we'll get there sooner than we want to."
 

They swam on. It was cold and dark. Kedal hit the fallen rocks that blocked the tunnel, and Bakal swam into him.
 

"What's this, the tunnel is blocked, there's no way through. The humans must have blocked it after the raiding party left."
 

"We'll have to go the long way round," Bakal answered, turning to swim back along the tunnel.
 

"I hope they don't see us come out at the other end, they'll probably blame us for the blockage." Kedal said.
 

When they got back to the tunnel entrance they stopped to survey the cavern before getting out of the water.
 

"Quick," Kedal hissed, "while it's clear."
 

The two serpents crawled up out of the water and made for the crack in the rock that led to the surface. Once there, they relaxed a little, there would be no other serpents or demons up here to harass them.
 

They set off for the human settlement, warmed by the sun. Kedal and Bakal were not fighting serpents, like Kellon had been. They were very much smaller and without wings. Their function was stealth, though they were happy to bite any enemy, when the opportunity presented itself. The venom they carried was lethal, but not as deadly as the warrior's poison, that could kill a man in seconds. No, their venom took hours to kill, sometimes days.
 

The grass was good cover for them, and they moved through it quickly and silently, reaching the settlement in a few hours. The two were experienced spies, and knew that if they could find children playing, they would have a better chance of finding the information they needed. On the edge of the settlement, they split up and went around in opposite directions, looking for children. Kedal was lucky, he came across the school, where children were playing outside. He slid into the play area to get closer to them, then, motionless, he waited.

Bakal was moving slowly around looking for humans. He chanced upon the Thomas' house, though didn't know it. Sarah and Paul were playing in the garden. Bakal slid into the garden.
 

"Oh come on Sarah, it's my turn."
 

Paul wanted his go on the swing that their father had made for them.
 

"OK shorty," she said, getting off.
 

Bakal liked this, when children argue, they say things; hateful, hurtful, and spiteful things. Of such, is the Serpent's kingdom.
 

"Hey, less of the shorty sis, I'll be as big as you one day, probably bigger cos I'm a boy. I'll probably be as big as Danny!"
 

Bakal froze in terror, did he say Danny, that's the name of the child who defeated Kellon in battle. Bakal moved away very slowly.

Kedal's patience paid off, he heard one little girl talking about Danny killing the big snake. The other little girl said she'd heard that Danny jumped ten feet in the air to get behind the snake before he killed it."
 

"Ten feet," Kedal hissed, to himself, "that's crazy, humans can't jump that high."
 

The little girls went on, "I heard that he's eaten some of those berries that the grownups have all eaten, the ones that give them special powers, and that's why he was able to jump so high."
 

Kedal had heard enough, and slowly backed away from the little girls. He was just in time to catch Bakal coming back.
 

"Heard anything?" Bakal asked.
 

"No," Kedal lied, "let's go back."
 

Kedal knew he would get a reward for the information he had, and he didn't want to share it with Bakal. Sharing is not part of a serpent's way of life, but lying is.

When they got back to the cavern, Bakal made a hasty exit to escape punishment, but Kedal went straight in to the head serpent to tell him what he had heard. Agallon was there waiting.
 

"What is it snake, and it better be good."
 

Kedal swallowed hard. "The child who killed Kellon has special powers. He has eaten some berries that have given them to him. All the adult humans have eaten the berries as well."
 

Kedal stopped because Agallon got to his feet.
 

"Berries...Powers...Nonsense."
 

He picked Kedal up and smashed him against a rock. Kedal was no more. Agallon left the serpent's cavern seething with anger. Bakal had heard what was said, 'I knew Kedal was lying,' he said, to himself, 'he was too anxious to come back, and look what it got him.' The head serpent was busy eating Kedal's broken body. Bakal slipped away quietly into the darkness.

Agallon went to his master's cavern in fear of his life, all he had for him was hearsay and nonsense. Once again, the commander of the armies came into the presence.
 

"What have you learned dog?" The voice boomed and was terrifying. Agallon fell before his master as if to beg for mercy, though he knew it would do no good.
 

"My master I have news. The child who slayed Kellon has special powers. He has eaten some kind of berry which has enabled him to do great things."
 

"WHAT?" The cavern echoed loudly to the cry. The master knew the significance of what had just been said, and it filled him with anger and hatred. "Has anyone else eaten these berries?"
 

Agallon cowered even more, waiting for the blow to be struck that would tear him to pieces. "Yes, my lord, all the adult humans have eaten them."
 

Agallon found the following silence even more terrifying than the usual screams. When he eventually looked up, he saw his master sitting on his throne, deep in thought, his hand stroking his gnarled chin. He dared not speak or even move.
 

"We must move quickly commander, before they realise what they can do. Summon your forces and prepare for battle."
 

The master knew that the berries were the tree of life, but he didn't tell Agallon for fear it would impair the army's ability to fight. Agallon rose up and left hurriedly. Yet again, he had survived his masters wrath.

❧

Kay and Sam were out walking with John and Lisa Hammond.
 

"Has anyone else got a sense that something big is coming, or is it just me?"
 

Lisa said, almost apologetically, and was looking for confirmation from the others.
 

Sam shook his head a little, and John shrugged, but Lisa responded.
 

"I do, it's as though there was a warning light blinking in my mind. I've had it for some time now."
 

"Me too," Kay said.

"Perhaps it's a 'woman thing'", John joked, looking to Sam, but Sam didn't respond to it.
 

"If only I could put my finger on what it was..."
 

Kay's voice trailed off. They continued to walk in silence, the grass making pleasant noises beneath their feet, the birds were singing happily all around them. It was Sam who saw them.