The Outcast
by Rachel Parsons
1
The fire was intense, too intense. Unlike other fires he had known, he could actually walk through it, it was so intense. That proved to be a mistake. He screamed, as the fire seared his flesh without consuming it.
He ran quickly to get away. Across from the portal was a river. He plunged into it. He felt refreshed at first, until the water turned as cold as the fire had been hot. He felt the heat leaving his skin like he had a thousand drafty holes in his epidermis.
He knew he had to keep going; get to the shore. He swam like a madman until he reached the beach. He climbed onto it, and started slip sliding toward the patch of grass that led to another creek. His bare feet were being blistered by the granules.
But how could they be hot? There was no sun that he could see. Just a crimson glow that surrounded everything. For the first time since plunging through the tunnel, he took inventory of his surroundings. The glow came from a fire in the distance; that much he judged from the smoke.
There was a wind blowing the smoke away; it was being replaced by a mist — one with crystals that fogged the entire earth. The fog was both wispy and crystal clear at the same time.
Remarkable. But he expected no less. He felt the air in his lungs, the weight of gravity on his feet. Remarkable. He hadn’t expected that.
He also hadn’t expected to be so close to where the experiment was taking place. He padded across the river. The river crossed three other rivers. He knew just which one he wanted; it was moving away from the mist toward what looked like a garden.
There he had work to do.
2
He was getting used to the extremes of hot and cold. In fact, he realized that the closer he came to the garden, the milder the climate was. The mist was watering everything, making everything lush and green. Not like home.
That thought stopped him. Home. This was his home now. There was no going back through the portal. There was only the garden and the pit — the way home was permanently blocked — and by his false friends. They all said they loved him; even his adversary said he loved him above all others.
But his adversary only loved the creations of his own mind. That much was clear. He loved them even more than the occasional wagers they would place on the outcome of things. Deliberately blinding themselves so they wouldn’t know how things would work.
Did his false friends know what he was up to now? He didn’t care. He was going to do it anyway. Screw up the experiment for all eternity if he had to. He was that angry; and that hurt.
Stretching, feeling the strange feelings of this strange place, he went past the trees and watched.
The woman was looking at her own reflection in the river. This gave him the idea. But first to gain her trust. If he came to her in his present form, she would be scared.
He transformed and then climbed up the tree by the river. He approached her.
She jerked; placed her right hand to her breasts.
“You startled me.”
“I didn’t mean to,” he replied.
“Where did you come from?” She was suspicious.
“From elsewhere,” he said. “East of here.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. The portal was in the east.
“Why are you here?”
“You are so beautiful, I had to come.”
“I? Beautiful?”
“Yes. And intelligent. Here take this, gaze into the water, and you will see what I mean.”
She took what he proffered. She looked at him quizzically.
“Eat this. You will see that you are beautiful and intelligent.”
She bit into the fruit. Was suddenly transformed. Not only was her reflection suddenly so wonderful, but she understood what was hidden before. She actually understood the order of things. “I can predict the primes. I have to tell my husband about this.” She shouted her delight.
He watched as she ran to a man who was tending to some flowers. He looked at her, listened to what she had to say, and screamed.
Suddenly the man fainted.
The transformation had been too much. The outcast knew that his false friends would soon be here and they would tell his adversary.
“What am I to do?” the woman cried.
“Come with me, Lilith. We will leave Adam alone until he has a woman he can handle.”
He took her hand.
“I will make you the goddess of this earth,” Lucifer said. “Just come with me.”
Together, hand in hand, they walked out of the garden to someplace east of it.
Copyright © 2006 by Rachel Parsons
