Prophecy of Heaven - Chapter Six

Chapter Six1

Shipwrecked2

Hawk-eye opened his eyes. "Am I dead?" He asked himself out loud. He looked around, he was on an island. Was it the one he had seen from the ship? Had he somehow floated to it? He stood up and looked out into the ocean. It was steady and there were no rain clouds in sight. As if there had never been a storm at all. Pieces of the ship though, were bobbing along on the surface of the water. Going whichever way the swaying of the ocean would take them. He also saw bodies, child bodies. Even a few bodies of babies. He turned the other way, he couldn't look. He couldn't handle it. Chills ran up his spine. His skin felt salty and his lips were dried and cracking. His face felt very moist, when he lifted a hand to his face, he found out it was because he was crying. After some time of letting his tears flow freely, he wiped them away and looked around once again. What would he do here? Was there food here? Could he live here? Where was this place? The island had many trees, bushes and vines. So he decided there must be some with food on it. When he came to the foot of the trees, he hesitated. Did he really want to go in there? Who knows what's in there? There could be monsters, wild beasts, maybe even ghosts. Did he want to take the risk by entering this mysterious forest? "I'm hungry," he stated. He took his first step into the forest. It was very quiet. But the noises that would have soothed him if he were safe at home, were haunting and disturbing here. He looked to the ground and saw a stone as big as his hand. He picked it up. "This is heavy," he said out loud, to no one in particular since he was all alone. But he held it in his hand firmly, ready to throw it at any creature that came into his sight. What was he to know was dangerous and what was safe? He'd never been in a place like this, how would he know what to do? Was there a place he could find shelter there? Somewhere he could sleep? He looked up at the sky. And saw bits of it through the leaves of a palm tree. "It looks like rain." He said, shaking his head sorrowfully. He looked back to what he was facing and taking another hesitant step into the forest. He walked slowly, alertly and quietly, ready for anything. He didn't want anything to surprise him.3

After walking for about half an hour, he started to think the island was deserted. He had walked some time already and hadn't seen a single soul. Now he would openly welcome any creature to come into his view. So then he would know he was still alive and that he was not alone. Eventually, he stumbled upon a cave. It seemed built into the side of the mountain, the one and only mountain on the whole island. It started to rain and he hurried inside. He looked around the cave and then ran back outside to grab some wood to start a fire. He tried to get sparks on the fire by using two stones. Within a few minutes he had a small fire. Hawk-eye sat as close to it as he could. Though the cave kept out the rain, it did not keep out the cold. His clothes were wet and salty. They stuck to his skin, making him very chilly. He curled up in front of the fire and simply thought, "how are my parents? Are they worried about me? What is Lyhavien doing now? Will I ever see home again?" But then his thoughts shifted to things like, "What is this place? Why is it so deserted? Is there any life here? Is there anything eatable? How big is this island? Surely I will run out of food before long. The island is not big enough to have a really good supply of food," once his clothes dried a bit and he felt reasonably comfortable, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.4

His inner thighs were raw and bleeding. He felt exhausted and stiff. Lyhavien looked ahead. It looked the same as the day before. And the day before that, and the day before that. They didn't look any closer to the Kingdom of Heaven than he did a few days ago. Alitia hadn't visited much since he started out either. But he kept wondering, "What is the prophecy of heaven?" He stopped Benadonian and stiffly climbed off his back and onto the ground. "I can't go on right now," he said to Benadonian. Angel had been trotting alongside Benadonian and now she put her paws on Lyhavien's shoe. "I gotta lay down," he said to her. She stuck her tongue out and then barked. He was feeling so exhausted he didn't do much more than put down a blanket, lay on top of it and fall straight to sleep. The problem is, that he forgot to tie up Benadonian and he didn't do anything to keep Angel from wandering off either.5

Hawk-eye opened his eyes. He was surprised to find his fire was still going. And it had huge logs in it. He hadn't gotten those, he wouldn't be able to lift those logs if his life depended on it. Where did they come from? He could smell something, something he hadn't smelled in a long time: warm food. He looked over to the cave entrance and there sat a huge silver tray with oatmeal, toast, warm milk and some scrambled eggs. He rubbed his eyes for several minutes, not trusting what he was seeing and then looked back at the entrance. The tray was still there. He was so hungry, he didn't even question it. He didn't think for a second that it might be poisoned. He hurried over to the plate, it had a spoon and a fork too. It was perfect, almost too perfect. But he forgot about the oddness of it due to his stomach. He grabbed the spoon and started shoveling the warm oatmeal into his mouth. "Mmm..." he said slowly and sighed. "It's food!" he laughed, "real food!" He was so happy to see the tray of food after months of living on bread and pickled vegetables. He grabbed the piece of toast and managed to shove the whole thing in his mouth. In less than three minutes, the whole tray contained only empty silverware. "Perhaps I should have eaten... a bit slower," He said to himself. He put a hand over his stomach which was satisfied but slightly disturbed. He realized that all of that eating had used up his energy and he closed his eyes, thinking, "I'll just rest... for a little while."6

Lyhavien stirred from his sleep. In that state that is awake but still on the brink of sleeping. But then, remembering how he fell asleep his eyes darted open. He looked around. He could not see Benadonian or Angel. "Oh, no," He said. "Benadonian!" He called. "Angel!" He called their names over and over, standing in the same exact place. But they did not come running into his sight as he had helplessly hoped they might. But in the back of his mind, he knew that no matter how much he called them, they would not come. They were gone.7

"Do not be seen by him? You hear me? If anyone is seen by him, they will pay a dear price," Demorius said.8

"Yes, of course, master."9

"Do not let yourselves be known."10

"When shall we make ourselves be known?" Gaufridus asked.11

"Once he finds the weapon!" Demorius roared at the stupidity.12

"Oh, yes, of course master. But of course master. You must forgive my lack of intelligence, master. Not everyone is so wise as you, master."13

"Ah, yes, I know, I know. You are forgiven. Now go, keep yourself busy."14

Gaufridus turned on his heel and hurried out the door.15

When Hawk-eye woke up, it was a little before dark. The fire had more large logs thrown on it and there the tray that had been there before was once again filled with food. "Is this magic?" He wondered out loud. But he went back to the tray and began to eat what was there. It was even warm. "It must have just come," he said. This time he ate more slowly. Loving the savory flavors in his mouth. He looked outside the entrance of the cave, it was still raining. So after he finished his meal he sat near the fire and tried to think of a way to occupy himself. It was then he noticed all the markings on the walls. There were hundreds of them, that look like they were created over many years. So out of sheer boredom, he began to look at some of the pictures and attempt to read some of the writing.16

His voice was sore now and he couldn't call out Benadonian and Angel's names any longer. He fell to his knees and put his hands on his face. What would he do now? Hot tears began to fall down his face as he grieved for what he had lost. He felt a smooth and silky hand on his shoulder, so he looked up and there stood Alitia. "They went off, together. Up the road and a bit to the west. They are resting now, you better run if you wish to catch them."17

"How do you know?"18

"I watched them--followed them--while you slept."19

"And why did you not wake me?" he asked.20

"You needed the sleep. Now don't argue, just run."21

So Lyhavien looked down the road, picked up his blanket and started running.22

When the rain stopped, Hawk-eye decided to wander around a bit. When he stepped outside of the cave he memorized where it was and what the surroundings looked like. Then he wandered out into the wilderness he had wandered in just the day before. He looked around--not knowing quiet what he was looking for--for several hours. He didn't find anything that was unusual. Except for the fact it seemed the island was deserted. When he knew it was very late he headed back for his cave. He curled up near the fire and fell asleep thinking about the writing and pictures on the walls of the cave.23

"Just... a little farther..." Lyhavien reassured himself. Now his feet were aching, his inner thighs were rubbed raw again and he felt weak. His body was yearning for rest and sleep. But he ran on, refusing to give in to his body's demands until he found Benadonian and Angel. His eyelids felt heavy and started to close against his will. He started to slow down and almost dropped to the ground in exhaust, but he caught himself, shook his head and started a running pace again. He saw a light to his left he started to run that way. He didn't know what drew him there, but something did. He was on the verge of "just resting for a little while" when he saw something. A lump on the ground surrounded by a few trees. As he approached it, he found it was Benadonian, sleeping. And cuddled up at his side, was Angel. He sighed a sigh of relief and--for a moment--cried with joy. Then he tied them up as he should have done when he stopped before and went to sleep himself.24