A violent gust of wind swept through, chilling the skin underneath her short, white dress. She wrapped her arms around herself, shaking
her head. I can’t do this! “I can’t do it!” She sobbed, falling to her knees there on the roof of the tallest building in Phoenix
as flower petals swept across the space in front of her with manic intensity.
Her mind flashed back to clips of her evil mother,
Evanescence, or the Great Witch, as she had heard some call her. She was a breed of evil that the world, this world anyway, had never
seen. She had given birth to Pearl, but that was where the connection to the two ended, at least in Pearl’s mind. Pearl had been born
at the ripe age of eighteen. Nobody else on Earth had been born at such an age, and she quickly reminded herself that this was indeed
Earth. This wasn’t Heaven and it wasn’t Hell…yet, anyway. It was about to be hell on Earth, and she didn’t want to be here for that.
She didn’t want to see the slaughter, the fire and brimstone, the end of the world. The end of this world.
The visions she had
in her mind of the ways those on Earth were going to perish were gruesome and morbid, and had prompted her to try and end her life,
unsuccessfully. She didn’t know if she could be killed by another, but even if she could, she didn’t want to put that guilt on anyone
else. Neither did she want to die by her mother’s own enchanted hands. She knew the witch would torture her, listen to her own daughter
squeal with erratic horror just before ripping her tender heart out.
This is why Pearl had to do what she was setting out to
do. She had to escape this horrible planet. She wanted to be with her father. She wanted to go home.
She wiped the blur from
her eyes and peered off the edge of the building again. The end was so near. What better time to meet her creator? Before the whole
planet became swallowed in darkness, she could go be with the one who had actually formed her, despite what her mother tried to make
her believe.
She stepped up to the edge, the wind threatening to knock her off balance. She certainly didn’t want to tumble down
the side of the building. That would be painful. She wanted a quick, easy way out. A way out of my responsibilities? Perhaps. But
staying here was not an option at the moment. Not with what she knew was about to occur on this poor planet. This poor, defenseless
planet. They don’t stand a chance.
She heard a loud bell ring in the distance. She listened for a moment, keeping her balance
on the ledge, until she was able to count eight chimes in all. She then closed her eyes and tipped her body forward.
For a long
moment, she felt herself caught in a gust of air, as if she was flying. The feeling was spectacular, but then the tremendous pull
of gravity yanked at her dress, at her skin, at her very soul, and beckoned her toward the streets below. As she fell, she smiled
at the thought of being in Heaven tonight.
Her face swept through some of the rose petals she had cried earlier as their floral
scent added a beautiful irony to her coming death. The sounds of the streets grew louder and louder. Someone shouted something about
her falling through the air. Then the noise ceased altogether…
Chapter 1
Thursday, May 22, 2008 -
8:01 p.m.
Gilbert High School Graduation Ceremony
Gilbert, Arizona
Nathan’s eyes opened. Massive pain coursed through the wound
in his forehead. Noise crept into his senses, and he suddenly realized where he was. He scrambled to move his arms, legs, even his
hands. People were pulling him up, standing him to his feet too quickly for his brain to catch up.
The blurriness left his eyes
and the whole graduating class came into focus. Hundreds of seniors in their black and gold gowns were staring, gasping, standing
in awe of his collapse. The teachers who were holding him up helped him to take a seat in one of the folding chairs on the stage reserved
for the faculty themselves.
He bent his head down into his hands and tried to come back to reality. The girl…and the building
ledge…and the darkness—it was all too real. As if he was there. As if he was the girl. Okay, that’s disturbing.
“It’s okay, folks.
It looks like Nathan Pierce is going to be alright.”
He turned his head and saw Principal Carter at the podium. He was smiling
at the audience with intense nervousness. He adjusted his blue tie. “We’ll have medical personnel take a look at Mr. Pierce to make
sure he’s doing okay, and then we will continue with the names.”
One of the teachers, one Nathan didn’t recognize, walked over
and handed him his rolled-up graduation certificate. “You dropped this.”
He took it from her, and that’s when he noticed his
hand shaking uncontrollably. His eyes met those of the aging woman, and he found himself staring into her eyes for a moment—her calm,
blue eyes. He wondered if he knew her from somewhere, somewhere other than school.
“Take heart, Nathan. You have been chosen
for something great.”
“What?”
Her gaze suddenly shifted behind him. He turned to follow it and spotted two paramedics approaching
the stage. The female of the two moved in on Nathan as he turned back and saw that the teacher with the calm eyes was nowhere in sight.
A cold stethoscope was slipped down his black gown and buttoned shirt, pressed cold to his chest. He shivered with the chill of the
metal.
“My name is Janelle.” Then she motioned to the other paramedic who was opening up a large black case to the side of them.
“This is my partner, Michael.”
Michael smiled and pulled a small flashlight from the case, shining it into Nathan’s eyes. “Looks
a little glazed.”
The woman glared at Nathan while she listened to his heartbeat. “It’s important that you be honest with me,
okay?”
He nodded.
“Have you taken any drugs today at all?”
He shook his head slowly. Drugs?
She continued glaring
at him but spoke to her partner. “Elevated heart rate.”
He took his turn to glower at Nathan now. Nathan found he had to turn
away from the both of them, as if he was actually guilty of something.
Janelle held onto his arm. “Are you experiencing any pain?”
“My
head hurts.”
She reached up and pulled his forehead toward her as she gently moved his brown bangs out of the way and peeled
back a black bandage, revealing a stitched gash that was still healing. “Where did this come from?”
Michael nudged her arm. “He
was the one in the paper. The one I told you about.”
Her gaze went soft and she replaced the bandage with nimble fingers. “Sorry.”
Nathan
tried to smile, but it came off as more of a grimace. “It’s okay.”
They dumped their tools into the trauma bag and stood to their
feet. “Take it easy, okay? Don’t do anything overactive tonight. Just enjoy your graduation, and then go home and rest. That cut is
still a long way from healing.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
They left him there. He looked out as the crowd began to seat themselves
again, commotion stirring in the football field as everyone started chatting with each other. He could hear some of the students laughing
in the midst and it made him feel embarrassed. How could he have passed out in front of the whole Gilbert High School senior class?Stupid.
“Now, now. The paramedics have cleared Nathan, so we will continue with the ceremony.”
The names were being called
again. Nathan sat in his chair, burying his aching temples in his hands as his mind replayed his vision over and over again. Who was
this strange girl who kept showing up in his thoughts when he passed out? What was her name? Where did she come from?
The pain
in his head was agonizing, and he found himself wishing he would pass out again so he wouldn’t have to feel it. The hammering made
it to where he could barely open his eyes to watch the next set of students approach the stage and grab their diplomas, some sneaking
glances at the now infamous boy who had collapsed on stage the night of their high school graduation.
To be continued in Black
Earth: End of the Innocence...
Copyright 2010 © David N. Alderman
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