Chapter 4: Divine Gift

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed as she lifted the sweater that she spotted in the thrift store. It was even on brand! Who would give up something this cute! She thought to herself as she instantly placed it up to her front to see how it would look on her in the mirror. She was happy and quickly rushed over to her mom who was waiting for her to select two outfits. Her mother was around five and a half feet and a little overweight. She wasn’t fat, but did have most of the weight around her mid-section. Her hair was a dusty blond and she usually wore a bit too much makeup. All it did was ruin her complexion though, that’s what fourteen year old Elain thought at least.

“Did you get what you wanted? Its not over three dollars, is it?” her mom asked looking at the pink and violate sweater that she had wanted. “I said shirt and pants… not sweaters. Put it back.” She huffed as she turned her attention back to a rando guy she was flirting with. From Elaines perspective though… he didn’t want any of that…

“Yes momma…” Elain said as she went back to the isle that she had found it on and went to put it back up on the rail.

“Do you want that dear?” a older lady asked as she witnessed the exchange between her mother and her. She had to have been ancient. “I can give you the two fifty for it if you want it?” she said reaching into her purse.

Elaine stood a little shocked, but the thought of the pants and shoes she had with that sweater was going to be on point. She smiled brightly but remembered her manors. “If it isn’t too much trouble, but you don’t have to.” She said, a bit too excited.

The old lady with expert makeup and not even a hair out of place just smiled and put a twenty in Elaines hand. “You have a blessed day, God bless.” She said as she walked to the counter with a few old lady hats. You know the ones with the flowers on them and didn’t look like they could be used for anything other than a Sunday brunch.

Elaine with the twenty in her hand and the sweater in the other rushed back to her mother. “Mom!” she exclaimed excited to tell her about the kind lady that had given her the twenty. “Look wh---.”

She was cut of quickly enough, “Don’t you see me talking to someone! Shut your trap and just stand there until Someone says something to you.” She blurted loudly waving her finger in Elaines face inches away. Elaine had actually shrank back a bit from that, expecting something else instead of a finger… more like five with a palm. Luckly for her though she was in public. “Now where was I… Oh yes, you got to look at my cute kitty.” She exclaimed as she pulled out her phone which was obviously the newest on the market.

“Umm… ma’am. Wasn’t that a bit uncalled for?” the obviously younger man asked… he probably couldn’t even have bought beer yet. He took a step back when pure rage crossed the short woman’s features.

“HOW DARE YOU!” she exclaimed shoving her phone back into her prada purse. “I’ll speak to my child how I want and say what I want!” She exclaimed. The whole store could hear her now. “You don’t have the right to question how I raise MY child.” She said as she reached over with her fat fingers and pulled the thin fourteen year old girl closer to her. “Isn’t that right baby?” she asked as she stared down her flesh and blood.

Elaine knew what to say… “Yes ma’am… I’m sorry…” she said knowing what was to come when they got home. It was always like this… she missed her dad. She reached behind her mothers back and placed the sweater on a rail it was in the pants section, but she believed that it wouldn’t matter… she even placed the twenty in a pants pocket. Someone will find that and be really happy… she thought as she knew if her mother found that twenty it was going to even worse.

Elaine woke with a start. WHY THE HELL AM I REMEMBERING THAT SHIT! She screamed in her head and she had to bury the trauma that she had. No… this is why I left I need to be better, I need to get away… she thought as she hugged herself in the cramped cave under the massive tree roots. Its why I chose to become a zoologist… to get away and never turn back. She once again thought as she slowly started to feel the feelings of pain came back to her hand.

“Fuck that hur---” she exclaimed then quickly put her uninjured hand over her mouth remember what was just outside of the cave entrance. Damnit, stupid Elaine!

“Don’t worry… its dead n-*yawn*ow…” a sleepy voice said. It sounded nice, but obviously tired.

“Yes It is Dead! To bad it wasn’t us that killed it.” Another voice exclaimed in her head powerfully.

“Da Fuck?” Elaine said as her mind was once again besieged by something that wasn’t her own thoughts. She looked around though trying to see if anyone was around. “Where are you?” she asked quietly.

“Good question… no idea” said the sleepy voice, “Ask Seraphion.” It felt as if the sleepy voice in her head just rolled over and went back to sleep. That was a really weird sensation. There wasn’t anything physical to it but it still felt weird to know something inside moved.

“Seraphion? What The Hell are you two!” Elain said out loud exasperation clearly in her tone. Am I schizophrenic?

“No your not damaged in the head… well not to that extent.” The inner powerful voice declared.

“Wait you can hear what I’m thinking?” She thought.

“Duh”

“well shit! Why didn’t you say that! I don’t want those Rabbit Dogs to come looking for me!” She screamed in her head. Well it felt like she was screaming in her head. She didn’t know if screaming or whispering in her mind was any different.

“Well you didn’t ask human.” Seraphion stated, feeling smug. “Though I think you could kill one if you had to.”

Elaine paused… “I’ve never killed anything before though.” She stated knowing what Seraphion stated seemed like it would have to happen eventually. “Wait! How do you know they are not out there?!”

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Seraphion seemed to pause as it felt like she was thinking of a way to answer that question. “Well. Lets see… I just moved outside of your body and took a look around… couldn’t go far though.” The voice stated with a mental shrug.

Elaine once again felt that odd movement in her mind as she could feel It moving. It was unnerving to say the least. “Umm… could you stop moving around so much? Please? It feels weird to have something in my own brain moving around inside.” She stated rubbing her good hand on her shoulder trying to comfort herself. Didn’t people that suffered from brain damage actually think things where talking to them? Wasn’t this the same? Wouldn’t the voices say that they are real? She thought to herself.

“ugh…” the powerful voice groaned.

That’s when Elaine felt really weird. It felt like something was pulling at her insides, not physically but something else. It was as if a part of her was ripping away and it was quite painful. She didn’t know how to even explain this sensation as she groaned and gasped as she could feel a popping sensation as she felt the presence inside leave.

“trust me it hurts me too, toughen up human. There are worse pains I’m sure.” Seraphion stated as a haze floated just outside of the cave. It was odd looking as if there should be something there, but not. “And I wasn’t in your brain or mind. I reside in your soul with Zeraphine.” She stated and moved around a bit.

All Elaine could do was stare at the haze before her marveling at how it slightly distorted the light giving itself a reddish hue. “I can’t feel you moving around any more, but I still hear you in my head.” She said out loud. “Is it safe out there?” she questioned hesitantly thinking that this cave could be her home forever.

“yes”

Elaine sighed and pulled herself out of the small cave under the roots of the large tree. If she had to name the tree she would think it was a mix between a redwood in California and some sort of sycamore tree. She tried to not use her bad hand and managed to get herself back into the day light. She looked up and spotted the sun high overhead. Did she sleep for a whole day?

“No. Its only been about twelve hours.” Seraphion stated looking about and at the sun too. “I think the day cycle is around forty eight hours long.”

“Wait what? You mean… wow.” Elaine said her eyes a bit wide as she let that sink in… wait a minute… “What do you mean my soul?!” she asked looking at the haze. “And is that tired one Zeraphine?” she asked.

It was odd she was getting used to this… I mean after all a six legged scaled kitty did try to eat her after all… what else was there to throw a curve ball at her? She sighed… “So I have a soul, well there goes my agnostic thoughts.” She paused for a moment… then it hit her like the moon crashing to earth.

“WAIT was that God?! Like the God!” She exclaimed a bit to loudly.

“Might want to keep it down… but I think so. I was literally born not even twenty four hours ago.” the haze spoke and even Elaine could see that it shrugged. “So maybe? All he said was that I @#)%&@!)#.” There was a pause… “Umm… seems like… I can’t say what he told me?” Why would he do that? Seraphion thought to itself.

“Maybe… *yawn* something with that free will crap they have… you know making choices based on their own beliefs…” Zeraphine stated…. “Oh I don’t think she can hear us by the way… I’m going back to sleep wake me if she ends up doing someti… *snore*”

Why… did he leave me with this one… Seraphion thought. Oh well lets get this girl up to snuff. “Come on girl lets get you out of here. Might want to take care of that hand thought.”

“Oh… it still hurts… those trees have a bite.” Then she remembered as she looked across the field at the half eaten corpse of the scaled kitty. Curiosity urging her forward. “I really want to look at that animal.” She paused and looked back at the haze. “You wouldn’t mind keeping a eye out would you?” she asked moving towards the dead animal not even waiting for a response, her inner knowledge craving the data.

The haze just followed.

She made her way up to it making sure that it was indeed not moving looking for any kind of breathing or anything that would show signs of life. When she couldn’t precive any she knelt down towards its face and gave it a nudge with her sneaker. Yup its dead. She thought to herself.

”I told it was…” the haze spoke with a sigh.

Elaine ignored it and lifted the head opening its mouth and counting teeth and looking over the scales. It was missing some of its scales and teeth from the rapid attacks it had suffered. That’s when something strange started to happen. The more she was looking at the body of the creature the more she started to see how it was formed. The scales upon further examination where closer akin to a snakes. Scales that would reduce the friction and dampen sounds. There was even small patches of fibrous hairs around the edges. This animal was indeed a apex predator. It seemed the more she looked at it the more she wondered how she was even still alive. Maybe its curiosity at something new in its domain? She wouldn’t know until she had the chance to observe some in the wild though. Yet she felt that this creature wasn’t a pack creature but more akin to a bobcat that was a solo animal until mating season.

She looked around for a stick to poke at its exposed insides .

“Wait!”

Too late… with her good hand she reached out and grabbed a thumb sized stick and ended up slicing up her hand and fingers.

“FUCK!” that hurt! Why didn’t she remember that these trees hated her! YOU Know you stupid trees I would love for this whole forest to burn to the ground! She stopped her thoughts… she didn’t think like that normally. What was going on with her…

The haze smiled to itself.

“Oh beautiful man god. Why did you put me here…” she sighed as she started to rip her hem at her sweater with grunts of pain to wrap her hands… wait wasn’t that cat in the tree? She thought as she stopped ripping her sweater leaving a small tail on her left side ripped. She leaned down and used her left hand with its hurt palm and started to look at the paw of the cat like creature.

Interesting.

This cat had a prehensile on its paw. Like a extra thumb… maybe that’s how it gripped so easily to the side of that tree. She looked closer at the paw and even realized that it was closer to that of a polar bear… it was rough and had extra bumps that kept most of the razer like bladed tree bark away from the sensitive parts of the pad.

Wow… with pads like that I wouldn’t be having to worry about what I touched. She thought to herself, and she poked at the paw some more.

A bolt of what felt like electricity shot through her body with that thought and direct contact. Her hands itched and then started to throb even more. More than what it had before. Her eyes opened wide as pain started to pulse through her being. The pain was starting to get worse and worse as she stared wide eyed at her palms.

It was moving… her flesh! It was moving and the pain only got worse as the skin seemed to bleed profusely. Her skin on her palms seeming to discolor and blacken as thick callouses started to develop across her palms and bottom sides of her fingers. It hurt so bad that she even started to cry out in pain as her skin split and bled down her arms.

It wasn’t a pleasant experience to say the least. It felt like hours of torment before she stopped weeping. She discovered at some point she had curled up in a ball next to the dead animal, before realizing that her hands no longer hurt… instead her slightly tanned backs of her hand seemed to fade to a dark black as she stared at her palms.

They looked just like the cat like animals. Except she had all her digits instead of true paws like it did.

~Use your knowledge and the Divine Gift that the god of your galaxy placed within you. ~

“Divine Gift… what the actual fuck is going on.” She called out looking at the palms of her hands in utter disbelief.

I can work with this… Seraphion thought a large smile across its inner mind. The arch angle of Wrath and Patiance knew what god had tasked her with. Maybe this human might be worthy of humanity’s sin after all.