The Venerate Order

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Strafe

I felt torn about whether I loved or hated this new world. Back on Earth, humanity realized that endless war would destroy everything we love. Outlawing war worldwide was a gift to all of the fallen servicemen and women who had died trying to realize that dream. I never had to face death or see much of it growing up.

Even my limited recent experience in combat was starting to wear on me. I knew then why people used to say, "Thank you for your service." It was because what a soldier undergoes never washes away.

We take for granted the psychological and physical strain the servicemen and servicewomen in our armed forces endure. It's something that only someone who's had the experience can truly understand.

I grew up in a Christian household but hadn't quite found my faith growing up. My Native-American side held mixed feelings of pride and sadness. I felt proud to be part of such a proud people, but because my father had left my mother I sometimes felt distressed and angry with that part of me. I didn't like to think of his blood flowing through mine. I was determined to be nothing like him.

So many people had died, and I didn't really even know why yet. All I knew was the Senti seemed to be the aggressors and they were after the Guardian Keys. There had to be more to all of this. Maybe the Guardian Keys offered a way back to Earth? I had to find Yessa and my family, and figure out what was going on with Gain. How could he betray us like that?

The people said that the outlaw of war was God's gift to the Earth. I carried the God Blade, a weapon capable of mass destruction. If human beings had been capable of creating their own peace on Earth, why did I find this sword there? Did He not trust in us enough to decide our own destiny? Or, was it always meant to be found in times of need?

Sunlight pouring over mountains awakened me. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. These dreams I'd had, they weren't just figments of my imagination, that boy was real. Who are you Barzakh?

I took a deep breath.

We had survived the battle of Dhenfen'Ce. Brutus came over and rubbed his cheek on mine and kissed me.

"Ahhh! Seems part of you won't change. You always were affectionate," I noted as I rubbed his face.

"We all need to be there for each other, Strafe. I am your spirit animal after all," Brutus cuddled next to me.

This place we awoke in didn't look like Soria. There were huge grassy hills and a giant waterfall to the east. Rousseau was fast asleep further down in the valley. I looked around and saw Zon standing on top of a hill looking for us when our eyes met. I waved to him, but he didn't reply. He kept his hand on his sword sheath and made his way over. Roya was nowhere to be seen.

"So this is what resurrection feels like," I yawned.

"You are merely in shell-shock," Zon insisted.

"That guy, Barzakh, there was something strange about him. I felt like, I knew him," I said.

"If that is how people from your world greet each other, I will never travel there. Whoever that Barzakh was, he is a murderer. No doubt we will see him again. If you are soft with him, he will kill you before you can blink," Zon replied coldly.

"There was more to him than you might have seen with your eyes Zon. I could smell something very wrong inside him. Like, there were two beings in the same body," Brutus added.

"Two beings? So now we are talking about a demon? That sounds as ridiculous as the thought of us being chosen by a God to hold power," Zon objected.