Note: I got the title ‘Everything is as it should be’ from Posse Ponderins (I think – feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) – hope you don’t mind.
Wasn’t going to add anything else but I guess I should point out that the ‘dark’ forces referred to in this story are not dark as in evil but dark as in the absence of light.
The dark energy beneath the earth stopped in its steady climb upwards when it felt a new force join it.
Dan-El? It called as it stretched out to curl protectively around the man.
Where am I?
In the lap of the mother.
Am I dead?
No
Why?
You had to give yourself, body and soul, to the mother – the earth, before she allowed you further passage. It’s in the nature of a sacrifice.
What’s going to happen?
Do not worry about it too much – everything is as it should be
Who are you?
I am who I am
The energy then wrapped itself tighter around the man and whispered a story into the recesses of his mind.
+ + + + + + +
The six men gave a collective gasp as they watched Vin being swallowed by the wall.
"NO!" yelled Chris, finally wrenching himself free from Josiah’s hold and throwing himself at the wall. He felt its surface harden and grow cool as he pounded his fists against it.
"NO!"
There was absolute silence and time seemed to stand still.
BOOM! A loud crashing noise echoed through the mountain and the men watched on, frozen in their stance, as the wall where Vin had disappeared glowed red and pulled apart to reveal a passageway. The sound of women singing filled the small room.
"Vin!" JD called out, shocked.
There in the doorway stood Vin Tanner. He leant against the cave wall, his thumbs hooked into his belt.
"Reckon this is the way to go" he calmly told them tilting his head into the new tunnel.
The men gathered around him all talking at once.
"Tanner you scared the hell out of us!"
"What happened?"
"Are you okay?"
"I’m fine" he said sadly, "I found the path, let’s go"
He turned into the tunnel and began to move.
Chris held his arm, "Ya sure yer okay, cowboy?"
Vin looked at his friend, his eyes filled with pain and sadness. He nodded once, "Lets go"
The men trudged on, travelling downwards the whole way. The sounds of the women surging past them and through them with every step. After what seemed like hours they came to a bend in the tunnel, a dim light flickered on the ground. The men stopped.
Vin gestured to Josiah and indicated the others should wait. The two men then crept around the bend to find their way blocked by huge boulders. They searched for a path around them and soon found a small gap where all seven men could fit through and remain hidden. Just below them they could see the women dancing and singing around the fire.
Vin quickly sat down, pulling Josiah down with him.
"This is it", he whispered trying to control his fear, "Get the others. Remind ‘em to keep low or we’re all dead"
"That man anywhere down there?"
"Nope. Guessin’ he’s hid here somewhere too though"
Josiah stole a quick look over the rocks, his face paled at the sight of the frenzied women. He suddenly understood why Vin hadn’t wanted to come here.
He nodded to Vin; "I’ll get the others."
+ + + + + + +
The women danced on without break their bodies glistening in the flamelight, blood flowing freely down their legs to mingle with the sacred earth beneath their feet. The men watched transfixed by the sight of their bloodied bodies.
Slowly they all became aware of a tremor in the ground beneath them. The women pulled back from the fire and slowed their movements. Their voices dropped to a murmur and the drums began to beat out a slow and steady beat.
Loren’s voice rang out and she stepped from amongst the other women to stand upon the now flattened patch of hot earth. The tremor was stronger here and the woman had to concentrate on keeping her balance as the earth began to buck and heave.
The men looked at each other with surprise when they realised who it was but they remained silent, listening to her words.
Beloved Mother of the ageless womb
From which the many worlds, at once, were born!
I call upon thee of the gentle Earth -
From whose breast, and whose belly our bounty is shorn.
A loud boom could be heard from above their heads and everyone in the cave looked up as a bolt of lightening laced its way down from the cave ceiling. The forced seemed to hit an invisible barrier, just above the heads of the women, and it spread outwards in a sheet of power and light. In the centre of the sizzling sheet flashes of electricity began travelling in conflicting circles – tendrils of energy flashing out to lick at the heads of the murmuring women.
The earth beneath Loren’s feet heaved violently and the woman leapt to one side to avoid being thrown into the force above her. Her voice continued to ring out before finally ceasing. She fell to her knees, exhausted and joined in with the quiet murmuring of the native women.
A persistent humming could be heard growing louder as clods of earth flew into the air. The dark ball of energy had reached the surface and was forcing its way out, directly beneath the whirling vortex of lightening.
The voices did not let up and the air in the cave crackled with the energies collecting above and below. Loren stepped forward once again to squat above the churning earth, she could feel the energy mounting there, it vibrated and pulsed as it waited for something more.
Blood dripped from the squatting woman’s loins and she gestured for the girl/woman to come forth and do the same.
One by one each of the women offered the pure blood of creation to the dark force beneath them. The blood fed the energy making it stronger with every drop. When the last woman had made her offering the ball of energy burst from the soil and flamed upward to hit the vortex above it dead centre, it flashed out following the sheet of lightening that still hung in the air, collected once more in a ball above then exploded with such Power that the whole mountain shook.
The men were totally awestruck and their ears rang as the Power unleashed then gathered together again to drop back into the vortex. It hung there for a moment spinning wildly as a shape began to form within it – arms, legs and a head curled into a tight ball. The body began to unwrap itself from its foetal position and, in one last spin, leapt to the ground to land sure-footed in the centre of the fire.
The room fell deathly silent, the sheet of lightening had dissipated when the figure landed and the cave was once again dark with only the fire for light. The figure stood in the fire, apparently unaffected by the flames, head hung low and chest heaving. Her lips began to move as she spoke in a strange language – her voice lifted and dropped in a sing song style as it spoke of rivers and streams, mountains and valleys, deserts and rainforests – life and the earth.
The woman raised her head and stretched out her arms, the flames licking at her legs flared up as if to consume her. She looked straight ahead to the rocks where the seven men lay hidden, directly into the blue eyes of the Watcher before passing to the man beside him – the Keeper of Knowledge. She felt the menacing presence of the eighth man but ignored him – for now, to search for the other five. Everybody was here – everything was as it should be.
Smiling, Telaisen stepped out of the fire.
+ + + + + + +
JD was shocked when he saw the women dancing around the fire – all but naked and covered in blood. His pale face turned to Buck crouched next to him but the older man was just as shocked as he. They both turned their backs to the scene and sat down roughly.
Buck rubbed his hand over his face, "Oh my gawd!" he drawled.
"I don’t think we should be watchin" JD whispered to his friend.
Nathan crawled over to them.
"Ya okay JD? Ya lookin’ might pale. Put ya head between ya knees and take a couple of deep breaths" he instructed.
JD did as told just glad not to be looking at the women again. Nathan met Buck’s eyes.
"Ya think its some sorta devil worship, Nate?"
Nathan shook his head, "No, must be an Indian thing, like Josiah said. We jus’ gotta remember to stay hid"
"Well, there ain’t no way I’m goin’ out there so that suits me just’ fine"
The three men stayed hunkered down behind the rocks.
"It may be somewhat prudent on our part to choose this moment to depart this place," Ezra said softly into Chris’ ear.
"Scared Ezra?"
"Shit-scared!" he confirmed, his plain language leaving no room for doubt. He carefully made his way back to Buck and Nathan.
"I think they require a little privacy" Ezra whispered to them indicating the still dancing women.
"Don’t like the sight of all that blood, huh?" Nathan asked him giving him a quick check over at the same time. The usually unflappable gambler was pale and trembling.
"No, actually, I don’t think I do" was his reply
Chris, Josiah and Vin continued to watch, unable to turn away. All three jumped visibly as the lightening struck, felt their stomachs turn as the women made their offerings, then fell backwards when the force of dark energy exploded from the earth.
They sat with their backs against the rock that hid them from view. When the room fell silent and dark Vin slowly raised himself just high enough to see what was happening.
He started when he saw the woman in the centre of the fire and reached down for Josiah. As the woman started speaking he leant down to whisper in Josiah’s ear.
"Ya gotta watch Josiah, ya gotta know"
Josiah forced himself to look. Chris stayed where he was as if frozen his eyes squeezed shut, his hands over his ears. Vin put a hand on his arm and pulled him up too.
"Its Tel" he told him quietly. Chris opened his eyes then so he too could see.
They all relaxed as they listened to her calming voice and, although they couldn’t understand the words, visions of the world in all its beauty tumbled through their minds.
When she stepped from the fire her language changed. She was now talking to the women gathered in their own tongue. Josiah and Chris looked to Vin for translation but he shook his head – he didn’t understand it either. The women seemed to though and he wondered if Josiah had been right about a secret language.
Some of the women began crying and dropped to the ground keening their grief. Others held each other close as the words they were hearing filled them with despair for the future of their people.
Slowly, Telaisen began to dance and her speaking became a song. The women joined hands and joined in the slow rhythmic dance. The girl/woman shyly stepped closer to Telaisen who took her in her arms to dance along side. As the two danced past Loren she too was brought to the centre of the circle.
The three women formed a tight circle surrounded by another circle of women dancing in the opposite direction. A third circle of women formed to dance in the same direction as the centre group. Tear-stained faces stared straight ahead as the women shuffled around their feet making circular patterns on the cave floor.
The voice of Telaisen droned on telling the women what needed to be done to protect themselves and the earth. Showing them the path through despair and how to plant the seeds of the future.
Telaisen brought the hands of the girl/woman and her friend up high over their heads and spoke about the Great Re-awakening that was to come and, as her words died away, the Native woman and the white woman came together in a pact that would unite women of the future and give them strength.
It was nearly dawn when the women finally sank to the ground in exhaustion. Telaisen went to each one and offered them a sip of water from a small flask. As each woman drank they stood and, without sound, left the cave to return to their moon lodge to rest, discuss and meditate on the message they had received.
Soon, only Telaisen and Loren remained by the fire. They stood staring at each other. Tears glistened in Loren’s eyes.
"This is it?" she asked, so quietly that Telaisen could barely hear her.
"This is it" Telaisen replied. They came together in a final embrace.
"I’ll miss you" Loren sobbed.
"I know"
Telaisen wiped the tears from her friend’s face. They held each other tightly before Telaisen stepped away and turned towards a large boulder on the far side of the cave. She began to mutter a chant of Power.
A furious scream broke through the stillness of the cave and the man from the saloon leapt from his hiding place. The seven all looked up and towards the obvious threat but did not move. He screamed again as the ache in his head burst into renewed throbbing – the pain was unbearable and the man let forth a string of obscenities.
"Witch!" he yelled, "You’ll burn in hell for your worship of the devil!"
Telaisen ignored his venomous diatribe and continued muttering, her voice growing louder, more powerful as it reverberated throughout the cave.
The man brought up a gun and levelled it at the women standing before him. The seven moved then to protect them, Ezra running towards Loren to pull her away.
The man was totally insane now as his gun instantly switched to the gambler and fired. Ezra fell to the ground writhing in agony.
Telaisen’s voice grew more insistent and the man’s attention was reverted back to her, his eyes became glassy and vacant as the woman’s words filled his head.
Nathan rushed to Ezra’s side and gently rolled him over, one pants leg was covered in blood from a deep wound to the thigh. As Nathan pulled back torn cloth to inspect the wound he felt a tingling begin in his fingers and a small force of energy – dark with flashes of colour shot through it – formed above his hands. The energy engulfed his hands but before he could pull away his head filled with the new sounds he’d been listening too – the sounds of life. As the gentle music spread throughout his body he felt a shifting deep within himself and he was no longer afraid.
He placed his hands upon the wound, the dark energy travelling from his hands to Ezra’s leg as soon as the connection was made. Ezra’s body tensed then convulsed once as the transference was completed. He sat up weakly, mouth dropping open as the pain drained away from his leg. He inspected the ripped trousers, the only sign that he’d been shot was the drying blood and the tear itself – the wound had completely healed.
Telaisen’s voice softened for a moment and the onlookers turned their attention back to the main situation.
"Put the gun down" Josiah’s voice boomed.
The man almost wavered then as a small thread of sanity weaved its way through the conflict in his mind but Telaisen’s voice strengthened again and the thread was cut.
She moved towards him, her voice became harsh and insulting. His fury deepened and he pulled the hammer back on his pistol.
The seven all had their guns drawn but couldn’t fire without hitting the women. Chris started forward in an attempt to physically prevent what he knew was about to happen. This time it was Vin who restrained him.
"No" he said.
Chris looked at him, shocked that Vin wasn’t trying harder to stop this. His whole being sagged when he saw the immense pain and sadness in his friend’s eyes and the haggard expression on his face. Vin spoke again.
"All is …."
"…as it should be" the words fluttered from Telaisen’s lips.
She grabbed the man’s free arm, "and you’ll be coming with me" she told him as he fired his weapon point blank into her body, the bullet piercing her heart. That’ll do it, she thought as the echo of the exploding guns filled her ears. Her grip remained strong as she fell to the ground dragging the equally lifeless body of the unlucky gambler down with her.
+ + + + + + +
Vin threw his gun down and fell to his knees as grief ripped through him. His cries matched Loren’s as they keened their loss. The other men were still in shock as they stared at the grisly scene and at the reaction of the grieving man and woman.
Nobody noticed the shimmering light and the ripple in the air above the bodies, or the dark energy that drained from them both into the earth below as two souls returned to the lap of the mother.
+ + + + + + +
The circular patterns made by the dancing women were still evident in the ground. At the centre, in the dead embers of the fire lay the broken body of a woman. Her naked form covered in a light blanket, her face serene beneath the circular patterns painted on her skin. A violin and bow lay against her unmoving chest and a single silver band glittered on one wrist of her stilled arms.
Seven men and one woman trudged slowly back to the surface suddenly hungry for fresh air and sunlight. As they stepped out into the open they felt the earth tremble beneath their feet and the sound of caves and tunnels collapsing behind them.
"Goodbye" the woman said, looking into the small cave entrance until it too collapsed.
The tired group walked over to their horses and prepared to leave. Nothing further was said until they reached the town they called home.
"I need a drink"
Final Message [Next]
