TREE OF LIFE BOOK II
CHAPTER 17
The pilot had just managed to remove himself from the cabin with the gunner's help. "What?!"
Brian raced over to the chopper himself. Vaulting into the cockpit, he pressed the button on the console.
Two missiles launched from their cradles and shot out straight for Julian and the men and women behind him.
Julian raised his arms. His eyes flared red.
Wind whipped up from all sides.
It swirled about and then formed itself into a twister. The twister, now a hundred feet tall by twenty, picked up the missiles in the middle of their flight and swept them up into the air and way up, until they were three hundred feet above them and out of range.
They blew up.
A ball of smoke and fire, fifty feet across, roiled in the air above.
Julian waved his arms about.
The twister from before was now a churning ball of wind. It wrapped itself around the fire and hot gases and enveloped them, trapping them, not letting them go. It continued to feed oxygen into the ball of flames but at the same time, constricted it, cramming it together to build more pressure.
Julian grit his teeth and squeezed his hands together.
The ball in the air above shrank. Now it was only ten feet across. Now five.
It began to descend.
Julian lifted his right hand.
The ball of fire drifted downward, ever downward, toward his upheld and open palm.
Brian had stepped out of the helicopter. He stood facing Julian, jaw again on the floor, pointing his finger at him and it shook. "How...?"
As the fireball descended, it changed in character. It was now no longer fire, but a ball of light. Two giant missiles of fuel and incendiary, designed with enough power to level a military bunker, now distilled into a ball of light no bigger than a softball, now hovering, wavering up and down as it floated an inch above Julian's upraised and open hand. And it hummed. Like it was singing but softly.
Julian lowered his hand. He moved to cradle the ball of light, to hold it close against his chest like a football. He turned his gaze on Brian. He glared at him.
"Now, Julian...I...I..." Brian backtracked a few steps.
Julian's eyes narrowed. They became as slits of red, as he began stamping his way over toward Brian.
"Now, wait a minute..."
Julian shook his head at him. "Brian..."
Brian turned and ran. He raced off for the guns and other weapons still sitting in a pile in the distance.
"Brian!" Julian leaped the distance between them. He caught up to Brian in one bound and landed in front of him, cutting him off from his goal.
Brian stopped. He stumbled and nearly fell. "I...I..."
Julian shook his head at the giant before him. A Goliath defeated.
Brian slumped to his knees. He hung his head. "I'm...I...I never meant for things to come to this...I only..."
Julian edged in closer, still cradling the humming ball of light in his hand.
Brian had his face to the ground. "I never meant any harm. I had only wanted..."
Julian moved in to stand in front of Brian.
Like a king come to preside over his subjects, Julian now stood tall before Brian, with his bright, sceptre of righteousness held in one hand, come to right the injustice he has found eating away in his domain, corrupting it.
"Oh...Julian..." Brian stammered.
Julian sighed. He shook his head.
And yet, the king, at the last, shall be merciful. He will forgive just one more time.
Julian eased down onto one knee. "How have you become like this?" He shook his head. "How have you so lost your way?" He sighed again. Reaching out his free hand, he touched his old friend on the shoulder. "You know that I have always loved you..."
Brian's head swung up.
He jabbed his hand into Julian's side.
Julian's eyes went wide. His mouth gaped open.
Brian sneered. "And I have always...hated you..."
Julian jerked back and struggled to his feet. His eyes drifted down to his side. There, visible by their tails sticking halfway out were three of Brian's special super-eth darts, protruding past the tunic on the left side of his abdomen.
"Julian!" Nicole got to her feet. With Willibald's help, she stumbled off toward her two friends on the field.
Julian turned his eyes back up on Brian.
Brian rose to his feet and stood tall. He tossed his head back and laughed.
Julian lunged for him.
Brian raised his arms but he was too slow. Julian had seized him by the throat with his free hand and shoved him onto the ground. Brian clasped Julian by the wrist. He yanked on it with all his might but it wouldn't budge.
Julian squeezed tighter. Brian began turning blue. He opened his mouth to speak but there was no sound.
Nicole shook herself loose from Willibald and plopped down by Julian's side. "Julian, stop!" She went to pry loose his grip but it was like pulling on granite.
Julian's eyes were on Brian. "How have you become so blind? So blind..." He shook his head.
"Julian!" Nicole shouted at him.
Julian brought in the ball of light in his other hand and applied it to Brian's eyes.
"Julian, no!" Nicole went for the other hand. This one was like marble.
Brian screamed.
Two giant missiles of fuel and incendiary, designed with enough power to level a military bunker, now distilled into a ball of light no bigger than a softball, now pressed between Julian's open palm and Brian's screaming face. It had been humming. But now it stopped. The light was gone too. It had only taken a second but now all of it had been wedged into Brian' face. Through his eyes.
Julian moved his hand away.
Brian was still, completely limp, lying on the grassy floor of the clearing, with his arms spread apart and his mouth gaping open in a now, quiet, silent scream. His eyes were smouldering. Wisps of smoke trailed out of them.
"Brian!" Nicole dove in and checked for vitals—pulse, breathing. Yes, Brian was still alive. She looked up to Julian.
Julian had gotten to his feet. Grimacing, he glanced down and studied for a moment the darts sticking out of his middle. He reached down and wrapped his hands around them in a firm grasp. He yanked. Out they came and he tossed them off to one side. He lifted his tunic and inspected the skin beneath. He brushed away at it.
Nicole peered over at his wound too and she bit her lip. It didn't look like normal skin. Where the darts had penetrated him, Julian's skin didn't look like normal, human skin at all. It looked like tree bark—in a large, oval patch about the size of your hand. At the same time, just beneath the wound, Nicole happened to see that via a drawstring of some sort, Julian had a rod shaped object, about the length of a ruler, secured to the belt around his waist. Nicole couldn't tell what it was. It was wrapped up in a piece of old cloth.
Julian dropped his tunic and covered everything up again.
Smiling at Nicole, Julian dropped down to a crouch beside Brian. He touched him on the face. He smoothed back the hair from his forehead.
Nicole looked to Julian. "Julian...?" She shook her head.
He smiled at her. He leaned in and placed his lips on her ear. "Don't worry! He'll be all right. I promise."
She reached over and hugged Julian, holding him tight into her bosom for a moment.
Julian eased away to have a look at her new arm.
It looked all right. He smiled and nodded. It was pinker than her normal skin colour and it was kind of moist to the touch. Nicole moved it about a little, flexing her muscles here and there and it seemed to work all right too. They smiled at each other.
"Oh, Julian!" She leaned in and hugged him. She eased away again. "What...how is this possible? Is it as Willibald says? That you're all powerful now?" She smiled as she searched into his young face.
He shook his head. "No, not at all. Though both Joseph and I have gained from the joining and my life has been renewed once again..." He shrugged. "...for a time." He smiled too.
She reached out and touched his face. "Is it still you, though? Are you still my Julian?"
"I am. And more." He tossed his head back and laughed and it was a golden sunrise. "Don't worry. I remember everything that Julian remembers." He dropped his gaze. "Though what Joseph remembers is telling me there is no time to waste."
Julian lifted his head and turned toward Willibald and then the other villagers. He got to his feet. He waved them over. Nodding his head, he said something to them in their native tongue. All the villagers reached up with their hands to cover their ears. The women showed the children what to do and they followed suit.
Julian turned to Nicole. "Remember the birds?" He smiled.
"You mean how they came when you called?"
He nodded. "It was something Joseph had forgotten, something an old friend..." Julian blinked a few times and sighed. "...an old friend had taught this to him some time ago. Now Julian has helped him remember." Julian motioned for her to put her hands to her ears.
Nicole covered them as she was told, just like the villagers a moment ago.
Julian nodded at them all.
He began to sing.
It was like the song he had whistled for the birds to come but then again it wasn't. It was fuller, more powerful and it had a sense of urgency and authority, like a command you could not disobey, no matter how strong you were.
Julian had his hand on his belt over his hip as he sang.
Nicole couldn't hear the melody very well, but she could tell what he was doing. Somehow, her feet wanted to stand up but she willed them still and she sat down again.
She looked above. A vision appeared in the sky but it was hazy and you couldn't make it out very well for what it was. It might not even have been there at all or maybe it was just the way the clouds were. But Nicole looked above and thought she saw a shape that resembled a long, shining sword that stretched from one end of the sky to the other. And it was on fire.
Julian's song rose to a higher key. He gripped his belt tighter.
Over in the distance, by the edge of the clearing where the soldiers were, the roots around the men tied down until now, loosened. The tendrils withdrew into the ground. The soldiers rose to their feet. They rose to their feet, without speaking, without looking to one another, without looking at anything at all. They were glassy-eyed, staring straight ahead, barely blinking and their mouths gaped open a little. Some of them were drooling.
Riding on Julian's serenade, the men began to march over, one by one, to pick up all the weapons that had been piled off to one side earlier by the birds. They got into single file and began marching out of the clearing in the original direction in which they had come. Two men got into the tree cutter and drove that out too.
By this time, the lab guys who had passed out by the base of the Tree earlier had also gotten back up onto their feet. They packed up all their equipment. They joined the line at the rear of the soldiers. They marched out.
All except for the last six. They wandered over to where Julian was, still standing over Brian, with Nicole kneeling by his side. The men lifted Brian and carried him out along with the others.
Once all the men had disappeared past the tree line, Julian stopped singing. The villagers lowered their hands, as did Nicole. Julian had a look around. Everything had gone back to the way it was. Except for the two smouldering helicopters in the middle of the field, things were nearly back to normal.
Julian turned to Nicole. He smiled.
Nicole swallowed hard. "Julian..."
Julian shook his head. "No, Nicole. You cannot stay."
Nicole began to cry. She whipped her head from side to side. "No, Julian! Not again! I can't bear it!" She hugged him and she hugged him like she was going to keep hugging him forever and forever.
He whispered into her ear. "Nicole, my precious child. I have not the time to tell you but I know you will be strong. In the days ahead, you will be so alone, with so much to endure, but please know, please, please believe that you are the strongest of us all."
He looked up and directed his gaze upon the villagers nearby. Willibald had moved in closer. At Julian's signal, they all covered their ears once more.
Nicole peeled herself away from him. She glanced around. She blinked her eyes and more tears flowed. "Now will you sing for me also?"
Julian shook his head. He smiled. Bending, he kissed her on her forehead and she could see that he was crying too. "I sing not to make you forget, my love. I sing to help you remember. It will be for you to care for her, to teach her, to show her right from wrong. But when the time comes, you must know how to find your way to me again." He kissed her on the lips this time and it was a long time but it felt a mere moment. He looked away.
He began to sing.
Nicole heard it clearly this time and she concentrated on it, welcoming it into her soul. And it was sweet. Sweeter than the finest honey. Purer than the purest of gold. She let it take her and it seemed to heal the very core of her being and mended it, soothed it. It warmed her. It embraced her, and in that embrace it brought her safely home.
Nicole knew nothing else. The last she remembered was Julian's voice in her mind as she sank into a deep and dreamless sleep.
~~~
EPILOGUE
A month and a half later, things were just beginning to get back to normal. Nicole had returned to her duties in the hospital, seeing patients again, making deliveries. The hospital had asked her to think about becoming the head of the department, but she told them she wasn't looking to take on more responsibility. In fact, she was thinking about...no, she was absolutely sure she needed to close up her practice, probably by the end of the month and maybe quit working here as a doctor for good.
Shocked, they asked her why. Was she ill? Was there a problem in her family? She shook her head and didn't say much. She fingered the half necklace that she had found dangling around her neck once more when she had woken up. And then she went on to tell them that just recently, things had been happening that forced her to stop and take a really good look at what she was doing with her life. Was she spending her time as wisely as she should have been? What were the really important things in life? Was she fulfilling those issues? Well, not in so many words, but she did insist that she would quit, and that was that.
Having put that issue to bed, she had started to feel quite a bit better, at least mentally. Yet this morning, when she woke up and got out of bed, she found that she just wasn't feeling quite herself, like she was overly tired. Her tea didn't taste right. But she made herself go to work anyway, thinking she would feel better once she got a little work done, but it was not to be. She was even feeling a bit dizzy. And nauseous.
And then she thought about it and remembered something else.
She went down to the hospital pharmacy and picked up a kit for fifteen dollars. She couldn't wait. She slipped into the nearest washroom to check it out. When she finished, she flipped the toilet seat cover down and planted herself on top of it. She waited the five minutes. Finally, she lifted the thing to her face, but could not bring herself to open her eyes to look at the result. She muttered a prayer beneath her breath.
She opened her eyes.
The pregnancy test was positive.
~~~
A/N: Please go to my profile page to find the link to Book III! :-) Thank you so much!