And another Wednesday rolls around. The end of the world came and went without me noticing. Christmas came and went with a lot of activity and fun. And now we have a new year and I'm exhausted. Very content and fulfilled though, so that can't be bad. Back to work today but before I go here's the latest installment of my flash story to move you all on into the new year with a bit of excitement.
Today, the prompt I took was a picture one.
So, without more stuff and nonsense, here is the story.
There was a light in the darkness. A full moon hanging
pendulous in his dark sky. It had been dark for as long as he could remember.
Once, there had been someone here with him, drawing him towards their dark
light. He’d never quite managed to reach them and then, suddenly, they’d gone.
Now something else was coming and it scared him.
At first he’d been happy about it— finally something to
relieve the monotony— but then he started to get nervous and the nervousness
turned to fear. This might all have happened in a day, a year, or a second. He
had no means to measure time.
“Pasha.” The sound of the name shot terror through him and
the darkness pulsed red.
“No,” he screamed, without making a sound.
“Come now, Pasha. Have you no courage in you at all that you
run from me before you know me?”
Courage? No. He had none of that. His heart was pounding in
time with the red flashes, and the screaming went on and on. Then it stopped.
Everything stopped. In the cool darkness a voice spoke. “Be brave. I know where
you are. I’m coming for you.” Something about the voice calmed him, made
everything alright, and he opened his eyes.
He was horizontal, looking up at a dark ceiling. Between him
and the ceiling was a face, which was attached to a body, which had…wings? The
shadow of wings. For a dizzying moment he was utterly confused, then everything
clicked into place and he tried to sit up.
He shouldn’t have been surprised he couldn’t move. Thinking
about it, he wasn’t. It should have frightened him, but it didn’t. It was the
voice, that presence inside him, that kept the fear at bay. There was urgency
about it, something fighting to be with him, to protect him and an
all-encompassing feeling of being loved.
“Uzzi’el.” He was surprised the word slipped out. He hadn’t
intended to speak it aloud. Laughter welcomed it into the world.
“Ah yes, little human.” The face came into sharp focus and
he watched the lips move around the words. “Uzzi’el doesn’t seem to be as
closely linked to you as we thought. He managed to break the connection, didn’t
he? Couldn’t have been strong, could it? I’m so sorry, little human, but it
seems your precious Uzzi’el wasn’t your soulmate after all. Do you love him?
Did you really think an angel could love you?” The face, with the beautiful
blue eyes and curly blonde hair drew the full, bow shaped lips into a smile
that should have been sweet but was anything but.
“He does love me.”
Micha’el laughed, a sweet sound, full of malice. “Silly
little human? If he truly loved you. If he truly was your soulmate, he wouldn’t
have been able to break the bond between you and he would still be imprisoned
in the cage your mind created for him.”
“He…is still there. He…is still with me. I…feel him.”
“You do?” Micha’el looked surprised, then pleased…no
gleeful. “Oh how delightful. I was going to kill you. You’d have been no use to
me. But if that fool Uzzi’el really is still connected, we might yet make that
connection work for us. Thank you. Thank you for telling me that. If I chance
to meet your ‘soulmate’ before he dies I’ll be sure to let him know you were
the one to give me the information that brought him down. If you can feel him,
then he can feel you. Think about that.”
The face smiled again, and stroked his face. “Such a
beautiful boy. If I wasn’t so busy I’d play with you and let your ‘soulmate’
feel that. Unfortunately I have to
leave it to others. Try not to die too quickly.”
Pasha’s dulled mind couldn’t comprehend what Micha’el was
saying but he was aware enough to know it wasn’t good. He watched the archangel
walk across the room.
Something sparked in him, brought the tiny flame inside he
knew was Uzzi’el, into blazing life. He knew what Micha’el was talking about,
what he was intending to do. He knew Uzzi’el was searching for him. He had to
stall as long as he could.
“It won’t make any difference, you pile of shit.” He tried
to shout. It came out as strained gasp, but it stopped Micha’el in his tracks.
“What did you call me?”
“A…pile of shit.”
Micha’el wasn’t laughing anymore. He strode back across the
room. “A human? A measly, pathetic, weak human, would dare speak to an
archangel in this way?”
‘No,’ Pasha’s mind
was screaming. “Yes,” his voice said, speaking out of the place where Uzzi’el
had his spiritual arms around him.
“Are you not afraid of me?”
“Yes. But you’re a bully and I don’t run away from bullies.”
Micha’el narrowed his eyes. “A bully? That’s a human term.
It means nothing to me. Do you have any idea how much power I have? How much
damage I could do to you? I could blast you out of existence with a thought.”
“Then do it.” Pasha was terrified. The more awareness he
gained the more he realised how crazy his actions were. He was taunting an
archangel, one of the most powerful beings in the universe. And this wasn’t a
very nice one.
Micha’el smiled. “Oh no. I know what you’re doing. You’re
trying goad me into killing you, to save your precious Uzzi’el. How sweet. What
a shame it didn’t work.”
Michael’s smile seemed to be growing wider and wider as his
face swelled to dominate Pasha’s vision. He couldn’t turn his head, couldn’t
close his eyes, couldn’t shut it out in any way. The eyes bored into his,
deeper and deeper into his head, burning him. The pain started and it grew at a
frightening rate. It might have driven him insane if he didn’t have something
to concentrate on, something to hold on to. Uzzi’el. He had to protect Uzzi’el.
Now go and check out the wonderful stories written by the other flashers. You've got a feast this week
No one does torture so well. :) You've got these wonderful characters protecting each other, and doing so causes them such pain, but also so much love. Because Pasha loves, he trusts, and maybe he can help Uzzi'el save them both.
ReplyDeleteHe he. I do like torture don't I. Had to be done. Micha'el wouldn't pass up the chance of hurting Pasha to get at Uzzy. What he doesn't realise, of course, is that by activating the connection he's lighting a beacon to guide Uzzy right to Pasha.Question is... will he be in time.
ReplyDelete*Snort* Nephy do torture? Noooooo. LOL. Oh, I think he'll be in time, but it'll be a painfully long journey getting there!
ReplyDelete~M
You think? Uzzi'el might surprise you, I think. He is an angel after all, and a pretty pissed off one. Under ordinary circumstances Micha'el would cream him in a confrontation and he may very well bite off more than he can chew this time but he'll go down fighting, that's for sure.
Deleteoh Micha'el is going to get creamed. I just hope Uzzi'el can protect enough of Pasha's core for him to recover. :( Such a dark story, but you do it so well.
ReplyDeleteAh, now that's another story altogether. Maybe, by the time Uzzi'el gets to him Pasha won't want to be rescued anymore. Maybe there won't be enough of him left to rescue. Maybe there won't be enough left of Uzzy by then. Oooh there are so many ways this could go - light and fuzzy isn't one of them.
Deletelol Nephy, you are such a sadist, ya know! You are positively gleeful in your responses as you tell us these possible terrible fates for them! lol I love it! I like how you don't keep it roses or even dead roses. lol It's dark and cruel at times ...it makes it so much better. I love how you increase the torture in the way that you answer comments!
Delete~cannd
Uh-oh, taunting an archangel, so not a good idea! I hope Uzzi'el will get to Pasha in time.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Archangels can be cocky asses and one of their major faults is that their towering egos can sometimes be their downfall. Micha'el is so keen to hurt Pasha he doesn't think his plan through at all. more importantly, he;s so arrogant he doesn't see the need for protection. Do I hear the sound of bugles in the distance.
ReplyDeleteYes, it doesn't matter how important they are or think they are, any bully will believe they are invincible. So it's a matter of him getting to Pasha before too much damage has been done.
ReplyDeleteIt might be :) Or maybe it's a matter of Pasha getting to him.
DeleteIf Micha'el can get to Uzzy using Pasha, wouldn't it work the other way around too?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Pasha has balls! Go him! I hope Uzzi'el reaches him on time!! *fingers crossed* Can't wait for next week!
Pasha can be brave when Uzzy is with him. I don't think he's in his right mind or he would never be able to stand up to an Archangel. Mind you, I think he's kind of resigned to his face and realises that to save Uzzy he has to give up himself.
Deletequestion: Is Uzzy speaking for him? I know it said the voice was coming from the spot that was him...but when he says that he knows it's crazy to taunt Michael but that he has to save Uzzy...I am wondering if Uzzy was the screaming part of him saying stop.
ReplyDeletethanks
cannd
Uzzy was the screaming part of him saying stop. Pasha is getting strength from Uzzy's presence but it's all Pasha who's speaking. If it hadn't been for having Uzzy's spiritual support Pasha wouldn't have been able to face down Micha'el, but Uzzy is only support.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking someone's got balls - I certainly wouldn't be taking on an archangel. Definitely curious to know what's about to happen.
ReplyDelete