Time and Date: 20:48, November 5th, 203X
Location: Seattle, King County, Washington, United States of America, North America, Sol-III, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Universe Bet
~~~
There is a popular statement going on around the world that goes like this: God is dead, and no one should mourn such a being.
At first, he would disregard the statement by sheer dint of having belief in God, but our hero, currently going by the alias Cain’s Abel, had been going through religious turmoil. What had been a strong case of devotion to the Almighty one was no more. After all, he had nothing left to live for, not in this day and age.
Whenever he had the gumption to pray for help, he never got it. He figured he did all his prayers right, especially when compared to certain extremist groups out there that would still roam the planet. Maybe he had done them wrong? He had his Catholic Rosary on hand whenever he prayed. Was he praying wrong in that regard?
His issues started when he turned fourteen, back in 200X. He didn’t have a clue how it happened, but his parents died, leaving him alone in the world. No evidence came forward to say what happened.
For the next four years, he was a ward of the state, not having a choice about where to go to school or what activities he did for fun. He didn’t even have access to his Bible. The only things he had from his life beforehand were his rosary, some scriptures that he had handwritten for comfort, and a photo album containing pictures of his family.
After he was a ward of the state, he realized he had shifted from being a strong Catholic boy to a dangerous man who did not know what he even believed. What was he to do?
He had gotten back to a life of faith when he met the love of his life, Sarah. However, his life of faith died yet again, this time because of cancer popping up suddenly three days before she died. He didn’t like this, especially since she was healthy beforehand. They were even about to consummate their marriage over in Cleveland.
She died five years ago, down to the day of the month.
Well, he needed some time to grieve for her, and he did. He just didn’t have the inclination to trust God with his life. Why would he? The statement of God being dead was quite accurate, at least to him.
He sighed, even as his cab drove him to his hotel in the middle of Seattle, all the way from SeaTac Airport. There was no way he’d be stuck in Cleveland for no reason.
“Are you alright back there?” the cab driver asked.
“Sorry, just thinking about how crappy my life has been to this date,” Cain’s Abel said. “Thanks for your concern.”
“Ah, no worries,” the cab driver said. “I’m sure you’ll get yourself a new job here soon. Just remember, though, that you need to move somewhere without a dense population base.”
Cain’s Abel nodded. “That makes sense. I’ve lived in a dense population center for much of my life. Perhaps it’s time to change.”
He really believed it, too. What he wouldn’t give to be free from the burdens of the past.
After a few minutes, he got off at his stop in the large city; the stop being what had to be the best hotel he could find on short notice. He knew, from personal experience, that the Milton Garden was the epitome of success.
For the time being, I’ll be staying here, at the… wait, this isn’t right, he thought. Where’s the Milton Garden?
His surprise was quite reasonable. He had paid for a trip that would take him to his preferred hotel, yet he found himself at a different place, one called the World Mark by Myndham. What happened to him?
“I think this is the wrong place.”
The cab driver rolled down the passenger-side window. “What do you mean?”
“I paid you to take me to the Milton Garden, not here.”
“Oh, right, you’re not from around here. Is your phone off airplane mode?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Please turn it off airplane mode, then.”
Cain’s Abel made to turn off airplane mode, but then grimaced. Of course, my phone powered off on me, didn’t it?
“Is something wrong?”
Cain’s Abel turned to face the cab driver. “My phone’s dead.”
“Okay, well, the Milton Garden is in this neighborhood. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
“Very well. I’ll go talk with the people here and find out where the right hotel is.”
The driver nodded, letting Cain’s Abel get his stuff out of the trunk, before leaving for his next destination.
And I should’ve paid him extra for the trouble I gave him…
Cain’s Abel walked into the Myndham and found the nearest receptionist. “Excuse me.”
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“Yes, sir? Are you checking in?”
“I’m looking for the local Milton Garden. My phone’s dead, so I needed to ask you where I could find it.”
“Uh, sir, it’s right across the street from us.”
Cain’s Abel looked backwards and found that the receptionist was right. “Well, that makes sense. I’m not from around here, so I don’t know how to find where I’m looking for.”
“That’s a valid point. Have a nice day, sir,” the receptionist said.
“Thanks. You, too, miss.”
Cain’s Abel walked with his luggage to go to the Milton Garden, though he couldn’t quite help but wonder what was bound to happen next. Was there a chance someone would fly a plane into the ground where he was?
Why am I even thinking of that? It’s impossible that something like that would occur.
As if the thought was a taunt to the Devil, a Delta Airlines flight crashed just two yards away from his left, causing an explosion that incinerated him and killed the passengers on board.
#
Why did I tempt that occurrence to happen?
Cain’s Abel felt his essence float into the air above him. Well, to be technical, his body was now made entirely out of essence. However, that was beside the point.
Now what am I going to do? I can’t exactly find a job in this condition, can I?
At that point, he saw a light coming down from the sky. It was a warm, inviting light, at least, or so he thought. But what the light was for, he did not know.
Maybe I can meet the Maker of all things? I hope so, if only to know why this had to happen.
As he floated up to meet the light, he saw an angelic figure that he couldn’t help but describe with one word.
Sexy…
That one word might have been the tipping point that allowed him to leave this reality. Why? Because he suddenly felt a dark and chilly hand grab onto the back of his neck.
What the?! What’s going on?!
“Good sir, I’m coming to save you!” the angelic figure shouted, flying to reach Cain’s Abel. “Just hang in there!”
The person who grabbed the back of his neck chanted in an unfamiliar language to him, even as Cain’s Abel felt his essence drain away. The person chanting seemed to have practiced this act longer than the wait time between the last three Alabama Krat movies.
What’s happening to me…? How do I survive this?
As he thought that, Cain’s Abel suddenly shivered uncontrollably. It was akin to being stuck in the middle of a frozen wasteland that was even colder than it had any right to be. In short, it was like he was in Cocytus, or on Hoth.
Where am I going from here? How come I’m going to wherever that place is?
“This mortal is mine, and nobody will say otherwise, angel.”
The being gripping Cain’s Abel had to be mocking the angelic figure, from what he could tell, and yet… what even was the being? Certainly, the being was nothing he’d ever experienced in his life before.
At the last possible second, as he raised his hand to hold on to the angelic figure, his essence suddenly vanished.
#
Time and Date: 06:15, 19th day of the third Fire Month, Year 6821 of the Divine Calendar
Location: Unknown
~~~
A wailing noise carried out from the parents’ bedroom as all three of the eldest children gathered to watch their baby sibling enter the world. Truthfully, they had to watch this, since they had to experience it from their parents before they tried for children of their own.
“Congratulations, Diana, it’s a boy.”
The midwife who delivered the child into the world announced with such certainty. Indeed, she knew what she was talking about. It was her job to know these things.
“We still need to decide on a name for him, dear. The Divine Spirits have gifted us a great blessing with his birth.”
The man of the house declared what he knew to be the truth. He wasn’t one to go against the strictures of the faith he grew up with, far from it. He wasn’t a fool.
“Wasn’t there a name you decided on when talking of a friend of yours, father?”
The eldest child, a son, asked. He furrowed his eyes in confusion, as if he was trying to remember something important.
“Yes… he did. Good… catch, Jeremiah. Well, Alexander?”
The mother, Diana, affirmed what the eldest said. It begged the question… who was this friend of the father’s?
“Ah, right, I remember what we were going to call him. Gato, in honor of my foreign friend.”
The four other members of the family nodded at the father, Alexander, naming their newest member properly. They knew it would be a long while before Gato, son of Alexander, could live as a person on the land.
Meanwhile, within the consciousness of Gato, Cain’s Abel woke up from feeling his essence fade away.
Where am I? How did I get here? Who’s the old hag holding onto me like I’m a baby?
“Ah, look at how cute Gato is. We’ll need to clean him up more, but he’s cute as a honeysuckle right now.”
Hold on, who’s Gato? What’s going on here?
Cain’s Abel shifted his head to look at who said that, before he saw a young teenage girl pointing at him. Her right index finger was suspiciously close to his mouth, and the digit was way bigger than it had any right to be for him… wait.
Am I… a baby?!
He looked down at himself, then gave off a sigh of relief. He still had his masculine body part attached between the legs.
At least that works out in my favor.
“It’s a good thing Gato doesn’t have to worry about dying at all, what with the Divine Spirits of Nature looking out for us.”
Cain’s Abel looked at the one who spoke this time. It was a tall man with golden yellow hair, green eyes, and wearing what looked to be clothes from the peasantry of the Dark Ages of Europe. In particular, the clothes were dull green rags that were sewn together to make a whole.
What have I gotten myself into? Wait, is the woman who gave birth to me still alive?
“Indeed, Alexander. We need to give thanks, especially since they had blessed us with an exceptional boy.”
Oh, that’s good… wait, who are they going to give thanks to?
“We’ll do that at the temple in two days, as we’ve always done, Mother.”
The teenage girl from earlier said. She held onto a tablet of some sort, with a piece of chalk in her right hand now.
“Indeed, but we can always praise the Divine Spirits early, Cima.”
“I understand, Mother dearest.”
Well, this cements it. Wherever here is, I’ll probably have a tough time of living here… at least, living up to their expectations, I feel. Now, how do I get out of this mess with no trouble? Is that even possible?
If only he knew the reality of his situation.