Star Crossed Myth: Black Holes

Chapter 20: Last Prayer

It was Samuel that attacked me first. I knew that I could not match his strength. So all I did, for a long while, was dodge his frightening attacks. He went for all my weak spots. My legs, my head. But I had spent three months having to dodge and parry from murderous children. His movements, to me, felt slow and sluggish. The other children had been much faster, much more decisive. When I looked at his face, all I saw was glee. He took pleasure in murdering our friends. Our helpless friends. He and Jonah. That was why Jonah came for me. Because he honestly believed me to be the most helpless one of them all. I see him strike, swing. He was enjoying his time. He was just playing around. Just having fun. It was why I finally struck his leg.

It violently brought him out of his sick high. Now, he was angry at me. "You dare to fight back at the one who protected you for all these years?" he screamed at me, striking out much more fiercely. I simply returned to dodging and parrying, my body moving more on autopilot than consciously. "How dare you, Imani! How dare you?!" he says, panting now, as he swung again and again. He was getting even slower, his swings becoming even more labored. I was trying so hard to see the Samuel of my memories in this stranger before me. I was trying desperately to convert his twisted features to the only beacon of hope I had. But I couldn't. I couldn't.

And so, with a defeated gasp, I dodged his exhausted swing, and spun round, wielding my stick like a baseball bat. With all the momentum I had, I smacked his shoulder, and it sent him flying into the cave's wall. I was crying now. My heart was hurting so bad. That's why I grasped at it uselessly. Now I was crying loudly, wailing. "Samuel. Stop. Please. Please." I was begging him. I had the upper hand, and I was begging for him to stop. I saw him, trying to stand, holding his probably broken arm. His face, covered with sweat, stared at me viciously. "Please come back, Samuel. Please." When I tried to reach for him, he swung his stick at my hand. "I will kill you. I will kill you, Imani!" he screamed, his face melting into a pitiful sight. I kicked his stick away, hearing it fall far from us. "Please. Stop, no more, no more." I continued to try and bring back Samuel. He was shaking his head, his face changing into one of pure terror. "Stay away, Imani. Stay AWAY." He screamed at me, waving his good hand at me. "Stay away!!"

But I didn't. I walked to him, my arms open, and fell into him. "I want to go back home." I choked, trying to hug a frightened Samuel. "Don't touch me, you Abomination!!!" when he said that, it hurt. It hurt as bad as when I had to kill thirty-one people. It hurt as bad as when I had to bury them. It hurt as bad as when I saw the bodies in the clearing. It made me sit away from Samuel. Just staring. "You have killed more than even me! You, you sick monster!! You fought thirty-one bloodthirsty children, and emerged unscathed! You are the Devil's child!" it made me numb, my bottom lip hanging uselessly. I felt myself take a ragged breath. The Devil's child. I took my stick, turned it to the sharp point, and pressed it to his chest. He was screaming for me to stop. Stop, stop. Imani, stop. I leaned into the stick, and I hear his shrill scream vibrate through the night. The soft, squelching sounds of bone and muscle as the sharp edge pierced into his body. I don't quite know what I felt. I was tired. Very tired. He screamed, on and on, trying to claw at my weapon. It was not a quick death. I wanted Samuel back. His eyes would change back, just like those kids. They would change.

They changed, just as the sky begun to change. Dawn. I sat before him, my legs crossed, as I watched his face. "Imani." He said, barely audible.

"Yes?"

I saw his hand reach out for me. I took it in mine.

"Are you well?"

"Yes."

"I don't have to cut your chest anymore, right? You can breathe just fine, right?"

"Yeah. I can breathe fine on my own."

"Where did you bury the rest?"

I can barely manage to say, "Behind the cave."

"I thought you'd bury them. I didn't bury mine."

I shake my head uselessly, trying to shake the numbness away.

"I'm so sorry, Imani."

"No, it's not your fault." I can't stop the tears, no matter what I do. Why can't God save him?

"Will you pray for me?" he asks in our tongue.

"I will. Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth,

as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

forever and ever."

Samuel died before I could say "Amen."