Where the Light Lies

“Louie... it’s time.”

Days, weeks, months... time didn’t really matter to Louis. It had stopped having any real meaning since he’d picked up that little pill bottle that had landed him directly in the Greater Light Rehabilitation Center. His time had been stolen from him by nurses in colorful frocks and doctors with stern faces and cold hands. His time had seeped into the yellowing walls and been consumed by the buzzing life behind them. That noise took and it took and it took, until his only measure of time was the number of lukewarm meals that had been placed in front of him between nights.

And then, during one of those endless, food-filled days, the buzzing stopped. The sky cracked and the stars fell, hitting the earth like a million firecrackers. When the last ball of light had finally made its bed within the earth’s soft surface, a sound similar to a great sigh marked the beginning of the silence.

Louis waited. He waited quietly in his little room until the growling of his stomach prompted him to move, his feet carrying him slowly to the kitchen, the realization that he was utterly alone not entering his foggy brain until he was sinking his teeth into one of those little prepackaged brownies with the colorful sprinkles on top.

Louis ate his snack, tossing away the wrapper as he made his way back down the empty hallways and into the game room, the only room on the third floor with a large, mostly unobscured window. He approached curiously, wiping his hands clean on his pants when his dark brown eyes focused on the view outside, bringing all of his movements to a halt.

The landscape had changed. Entirely. The once open fields were suddenly lumpy, peppered generously with smooth knolls. Each summit was adorned with a gnarled, silver tree, wispy branches hanging low and bare, save for one deep red blossom hanging from each drooping bough.

“This is a dream.” He heard the fear in his own voice, but he was already bereft of pride after everything he’d endured, and shame was one of his dearest companions.

“Then nothing can hurt you.” He felt tiny fingers grip his hand and give it a squeeze, and he looked down to see a face he knew well. It was a face he’d last seen years ago, when it had been framed by the silky pink lining of a small black coffin.

“Go on, Louie. You’ve been waiting for this.”

He studied her closely, her face sweet and youthful, her dark eyes lacking all of the innocence he remembered so well. She was devoid of emotion and warmth, despite the endearing smile that played across her lips. Her dress was the one she’d been wearing that day... light blue with little bows on the shoulders and down the back. Her delicate, heart-shaped locket was hanging from her neck, nestled safely against the soft fabric of her dress.

“Kara?” His own voice was hollow, seeming to echo off of the very sky above, its muted blue glow as unnatural as the little girl to whom he spoke.

“Louie.” That tiny voice was somehow suddenly enormous and commanding, and a clear impatience was beginning to weigh down the corners of that little smile heavily.

The silence that had surrounded him for so long now was broken, a deep rumbling coming from... somewhere. Underneath? Overhead? Down the hall? He couldn’t tell, but those delicate pink fingernails were cutting into his palm, and a voice that sounded nothing like a little girl’s seeped from his baby sister’s lips, causing his heart to jump in his chest.

“Louie. Go.”

The shock that hit him stole the air from his lungs and momentarily deafened him. He didn’t feel the impact, but bits of shattered glass were flying around him, dancing in the cool spring air like diamonds, shimmering in the pale half-light of the alien sky.

“Louie. Are you ready to go home?”

He’d woken up in the hold of a strange man, Kara gone, and Isra left in her place. Isra was tall and deceivingly strong, his olive skin covered in tattoos of various styles, his amber eyes thoughtful and sympathetic. He spoke little, he answered questions in the vaguest manner possible, and he brought Louis a peace he hadn’t known since... ever. He felt familiar; indeed, he felt like family.

“Where are we going?” Louis had asked this every day upon waking, pushing himself to his feet and falling into line behind the taller man, never afraid, never suspicious.

“Home. I’m taking you home, Louie.”

“Huh. Right.”

On and on for days. The terrain grew rougher, the sky stayed that calm, soft blue, and every time Louis awoke from slumber, Isra had some sort of nourishment prepared for him... a curious thought, when considering the total apparent lack of life, animal or otherwise. There were only the trees, their crimson petals fragrant and sweet. Louis often ran his fingers along the shimmering branches, noting curiously that many seemed to have been decorated with varying types of jewelry or fine cloth. But these details seemed negligible when one marched daily through an alien land.

And then, one day, they came upon a landscape even more abstract. The endless mounds of dirt were intermixed with deep craters, devoid of vegetation and varying in size. Louis thought little of it, continuing forward until a strong hand gripped his arm.

“Louie. Do you recognize this place?”

“Hm?” His brow creased in confusion, and he followed Isra’s gaze, drinking in the hostile view before them.

“Should I?”

“Louie.” Isra’s tone was bordering on disappointment. He moved his hand to rest heavily upon Louis’s shoulder, his fingers squeezing gently.

“She sleeps here, in the place you both loved. Just look.”

Louis shook his head in confusion, preparing to ask Isra if they’d ever shared a bunk when something up ahead caught his eye. It was one of the silver, gnarled trees, smaller than most of the others, but twisted just as badly. He swallowed down hard, moving forward with eyes fixed upon the object.

“What is this, Isra?” His feet moved faster, and he stumbled a few times, the dread in his chest overpowered only by his deep-seated desire to prove himself wrong. But when he reached the tree... everything changed.

“Isra...” Louis’s voice was barely above a whisper, and he cleared his throat, shaking fingers reaching out as tried again.

“Isra! What... what are these? What are...”

“Louie... you know what they are. Please, just -“ Isra falters for the first time that Louis can recall, but his focus didn’t break from the piece of jewelry that was twisted into the sad little tree.

“We needed vessels. We needed... humans. The revolution couldn’t happen without them.”

The locket was rattling in Louis’ shaking hand, his vision blurred by the indignant heat behind his eyes.

“We owe them a great deal. Without them, your throne would remain vacant. Louie... we owe her much.”

“No!” Louis couldn’t quite comprehend what Isra was attempting to tell him, and he ripped the locket free of its natural prison, gripping it hard in his hand as he turned to confront the other’s claims.

And that’s when he saw it. Feathers. Strewn all about the ground... their colors ranging from simple black to abstract shades that no earthly being had any right to lay their eyes upon. The craters were filled with them... hollow, barren bowls, filled to the top with indescribably beautiful feathers, not soft, but smooth and sharp and dangerous.

“Yes, Louie. The Fall. And these...” Isra walked forward, brushing against Louis with deliberate intent, his golden eyes sliding closed for the briefest of moments. His slender fingers traced the smaller man’s cheek oh-so-softly before he reached out to trail the path of one of the tree’s many weeping limbs.

“The rapture. The guardians; to keep us safe until the battle is won.”

“Us?” It dawned on Louis that Isra was talking about him, as well. It didn’t make any sense... he was just a man, born to and stolen from a destitute young woman, raised by uncaring hands, he couldn’t be...

“Us. You, most of all, my Grace.” Isra’s honeyed eyes held more emotion than Louis had seen yet, and he felt his heart drop, throat suddenly too dry to push forth words.

“Isra, I -”

His thoughts were cut short by a sudden rumbling sound, Louis gripping the rusty locket tighter as he searched for the source of the disturbance. This time, when the shock came, he didn’t lose his footing. His head did spin and his vision blackened, but when the world became clear again, so, too, did his memory. His questions had all been answered.

“They’re here, Louie.” Isra’s gentle hand rested upon Louis’ shoulder, and, despite all reasoning, he felt at peace. The locket was just jewelry, and his focus was redirected... survival. Power. Victory.

“Louie. Are you ready to go home?”

“Israfel...” He closed his eyes, squeezing the locket tightly as he exhaled.

“I’ve missed you, Brother.”

There was a loud crack, loud enough to deafen any man. Louis looked up, fingers growing lax, allowing the locket to drop to the ground, welcomed silently by the deep rich soil of the land that had once nurtured its creation.

Now, however, creation would begin anew.

The sky was changing. The stars would not fall a second time.