I Will Not Leave or Forsake You

Chapter Seven: Brown Once Again

The men waved their torches from the top of the steps and stopped when the light shone on me.  Their faces showed concern, and it took me a second to process why they had come.  Usually nobody came to the edge of the village unless something serious had happened, and I doubted that Alastor had reported anything to the villagers about kidnapping me.  It struck me then.

I hadn't rung the bell.  They thought something had happened to me.

The light from their torches stopped on me first, and I was an gruesome mess.  Blood covered me, and blood still shot from my arm where my bone had been torn.  The bone from my arm sat beside my body, and my chest was partially caved in.  My face was bruised and bloodied.  I wondered if they could even tell that it was me, but the terrified look on their faces indicated that they knew who I was.

"Asim!  What's going on?  Are you okay?"

I glimpsed at Alastor weakly from the ground.  I knew what the people would think.  "Run," I whispered weakly.

"What?"  Alastor uttered.

He didn't speak very loudly, but he spoke loud enough that the men heard him.  When they saw him, they let out a shout.  I knew at that point what my purpose was.  With every ounce of strength I had left I managed to get up, and just as the men lifted their shotguns to shoot Alastor I jumped in the path.  I felt an array of bullets hit me in the chest and legs, and right after the sound had finished echoing through the cellar I fell to the floor.  My eyes drifted to Alastor, and I could see the tears forming in his eyes as he comprehended what was happening and what I had just done.

I tried to tell him to run once more, but every sound was drowned by the blood filling my throat.  I made an attempt once more with more desperation, but the words still wouldn't come out.  My body was finally beginning to fail me.  My body had withstood many years of abuse and these past couple of days it had withstood immense amounts of pain, but finally it was getting close to time to rest.

Alastor didn't look at the men at the top of the stairs.  He had fallen to his knees beside me.  His face paint was running and smudged, and his facial scar was exposed for the men to see.  He was distressed, and he also looked angry.  For once, he was not angry with me.  He was mad at the situation and the way in which I had sacrificed myself for him.  His eyes stayed where they were.  His eyes stayed on me.

"Father, what have you done?"

My eyes drifted once again to the top of the stairs, and the men seemed horrified at what they had just done.  Even though they wanted to come to my side, they were still afraid of Alastor.  He probably looked like a demon to them.  His face was dripping face paint.  His clothes and skin was covered in my blood.  His face was contorted in its usual fashion, but for people that were already superstitious it was not a far reach for them to assume that he was the demon.  I watched them lift their weapons once again.  This time they would not miss.  This time they would avenge me and save their village from evil.

I gazed upon Alastor once more.  He wept.  I was so happy to see that he was finally allowing himself to feel emotion.  This was the most emotion he had ever displayed.  My prayers had been answered.

Alastor held my hand, and I could see the shock running through him.  He regretted what he had done.  He had loved me as I had loved him.  The event before us didn't seem to be registering with him, and he didn't even notice the men shouting at him in the background.  He was lost in thought and there was no way that I could snap him out of it.

His eyes.  They were the brown color I loved so dearly once again.  After being gone for so long, my boy had returned.

"Forgive me, Father."

I watched him for one short moment before I heard the blasts.  Alastor seemed surprised for one short second.  His eyes widened, and he looked down at himself once to see his body filled with holes.  He quivered a little bit, and slunk down into a laying down position beside me.  His eyes were scared, and he seemed young once again.  I moved a hand to brush his skin, and his lips began to leak the blood I had become so accustomed too.

The eyes that had been brown for one last time faded, and slowly his eyes closed.

I felt my body nearing the end, and I cried for Alastor as the men rushed down the stairs to aid me.  I payed them no mind, and I stayed focused on Alastor.  His skin was still warm.  Though I found him later in my life, he still for a long while was my companion.  It seemed fitting that we would leave together.

My breathing had already started to slow, and I could hear the sound of the men speaking but couldn't make out the words.  My lord had purposed me to save the boy, but not his life.  God had asked me to save his soul.  I wondered briefly if I could have helped to do so, but I didn't ponder it long.  My end was nearing.  Soon I would be back where my lord was, and for that I could only feel joy.

Once more, the verse echoed through my head.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'

God had given me strength.  He had helped me in the times that I was weak and thought I couldn't persist.  My one true enemy was my one companion, and God had healed him as well as myself.  My lord truly was with me.  For that, I could only be grateful.

Finally, it was my time.  Perhaps I had fulfilled my purpose after all.