Rosa and the Graven Kings - A Spiritual Warfare Novella

Chapter 4

Rosa couldn't care that her polished nails were getting dirty as desperation drove her to dig into the earth. Her eyes were still flickering, still dropping tears of sadness from the moment she awoke. She barely got sleep last night. And to make things worse, she had a dream about a man coming into her home and running a pitchfork through her throat because she didn't obey the prophetess.

Well . . . that part may have been her own fears.

Hence, her mind was made up. I'm going to follow that map to wherever it's leading me. It may not be God, but what if I don't try?

A heavy backpack was strapped to her shoulders that contained all the tools she could spare for such a daunting trip. She even brought a kitchen knife and Band-Aids-just in case. A black dirt bike was behind her in the meadow. Rosa's mind drifted back to earlier that morning when she was caught stealing her Dad's bike. "Dad, are you using your bike today?" she asked after he gasped.

"You can have it," her father responded with a smile. "I think that's the first time you tried to slip away with my bike."

So she had everything. Transportation. Tools. Motivation. Food-That's what I may be lacking. Hopefully, it would be a one-day journey. Besides, Rosa had been trying to find work after quitting her former 'data-entry' job, so food was minimal in her house.

Not that Doritos and pears couldn't fill her up.

And not that she regretted getting her own house so soon.

Rosa blinked away the tears and scooped up a handful of soil to reveal a wooden handle. The scroll. Rosa pulled it out, and the golden key emerged with it. Then she tucked them into her backpack. "I got it. Let's go," she whispered, brushing off her hands and walking toward the dirt bike.

Her father wanted her to wear a helmet, but she didn't feel like being tutored, and this was one of the few times she rode this thing. Hopefully, she would remember how.

"Look, I ride a scooter. So what?"

Rosa sat on the bike and kicked the starter with rage, feeling angry at her past mistakes. But before she zoomed down the trail, she stopped and saw two geese splashing into the pond from flight. A sudden thought crossed her mind. What if I never come back? Rosa didn't know why, but she got off the bike and walked near the pond. The curious geese floated closer, probably thinking she had food. But Rosa bent and blew a kiss at her animal friends. Even the squirrel stopped racing up the tree to look. These guys couldn't talk; she knew that. They weren't trained like Courage and Georgie, but at least she said goodbye to someone.

"I want to say goodbye to my family, but they might ask where I'm going and try to stop me," she whispered to the geese. For a second, she wondered if this whole 'key' thing was a good choice if she had to hide it from her family. Nah. All shall be well. . . . I'll just try it out.

Rosa wanted to pray, but she couldn't. It was time to believe the fact that God didn't listen to her anymore, so she needed something else to push her forward.

Suddenly, Rosa remembered what her father said to Rebecca when she was going through a hard time. "Why do you think God doesn't love you? Where did that come from? Babe, I have to tell you that's wrong."

Like I'm to believe that, Rosa thought.

She stood and kicked a cattail-just to see it swing back at her. She turned toward her bike but froze. "Oh-no," escaped her lips as she found herself staring into the eyes of that bearded man in a suit.

The man smiled, his yellow teeth barely showing under the beard. "Greetings."

Suddenly, he clenched his fist and swung a punch at Rosa. Rosa ducked; she saw his fist form before he darted at her. She stepped to the side and failed a punch of her own. But the stranger jolted closer, gave her belly an uppercut, punched her cheek, and then kicked her neck with his heavy boot. Rosa's back hit the floor hard, making her cough. She leaped to her knees and tried to stand, but the man launched forward, looped her midsection, lifted her up like a dog, and flipped her to the floor.