The journey East takes us to a great salt sea.

The air is crisp with the scent of salt.

Micheal must have come here on his way to the land of snakes.

The pilgrim had said that I would find s shade, whatever that is, if I walk along the coast.

With a purpose, Samantha and I wile away our time looking for some change.

"Where the hell is this ferryman?" I ask the air.

I feel my companion's eyes on me as she walks just a little behind me.

"Alright," I groan. "We'll camp here."

The camp is easy to prepare, and some trees off the coast give us the fuel for a fire.

The meal is frugal, just some roasted rat.

The lack of seasoning grows more unbearable with every passing meal.

Still, the meal fills the hole in my gut.

As I eat, I realize that my drive for sustenance is much more powerful than when I was alive.

Thoughts of the past creep up on me. And I think that Lily and my parents have spent their tears and moved on.

With a heavy heart, I hope they have.

My black-eyed companion is looking at me quietly.

I cough self-consciously.

"Why," I ask to distract her. "did your eyes turn black, rather than white or red?"

I hope that my question isn't too intrusive.

Her gaze turns from me to look into the fire.

After a long moment, she says, "There's a war."

I need some clarification.

"What do you mean?"

I see her hands clench reflexively before relaxing.

"It's the war."

Still confused, I puzzle over her answer.

"You mean, as in," I pause for a moment, "Heaven and hell?"

She nods, and I'm left to soak in the concept.

It makes sense—the afterlife, heaven... hell.

"So," I ask in my confusion. "What does that have to do with your eyes."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Samantha looks as if a great weight has dropped on her shoulders.

"It's the legacy. The reason I can exist when all," she chokes up. "When I've lost all of my living memories."

I'm silent while I try to process her answer. There are so many things that I want to know.

"And, your black eyes," I ask, "are a demonic legacy?"

She waits a moment before nodding her head.

My eyes fall into the fire.

"So, I'm assuming white eyes are an angelic legacy. But," I wonder, "what are the red eyes?"

Samantha stands up.

"I'm sorry, Will. But, I... I need to get some rest."

I nod my understanding and watch as she beds down.

Whether it's night or day is irrelevant. We've been walking for a long while.

I give up on the fire and turn to my slumber.

It comes upon me rapidly. But doesn't last long.

I recognize something moving through our camp in the corner of my subconscious.

The fire has gone out, allowing the shadows to coalesce.

As whatever it is knocks over a few embers, my eyes open in alarm.

My bat is readily picked up as I rise to face the threat.

What I find before me is a short 4 ft creature that looks like a fish that decided, one day, to walk on two legs.

Despite its short stature, the creature looks to be a couple of hundred pounds with a gaping mouth full of serrated fangs.

It has noticed me and lets out an incomprehensible garble of words before pouncing at me.

A rudimentary spear of only wood is shoved at me.

My bat comes out to slam down on the primitive weapon.

The strike is strong. But, whatever it is that I fight has a strong grip.

Pointed wood tears into my shirt as I narrowly evade the attack.

The sweat on my neck runs cold as I feel the potential for a violent death upon me.

I notice Samantha rising a little way from me. Unfortunately, so does the fish creature.

My enemy charges for my companion, forcing me to block it.

I feel heat tear through my gut.

It hurts. But, with all the strength I can muster, I strike down on the thing's skull.

Still with the spear in my abdomen, I shove away the stunned creature.

I feel myself fading and offer the bat to Samantha.

"Make sure," I pant, "it's dead.

The spear in my belly needs to be extracted. But, I have no more strength.

I lapse in and out of consciousness as my companion frees the spear of my gut and helps me drink water.

At last, my sleep is undisturbed, and I am left with my dreams.

I see a halo of light fall from the heavens as hordes of angelic beings blot out the sky.

The halo comes down on an expanse of inky blackness.

A battle is to be fought between the forces of heaven and hell. But, both sides stay in their camp.

Finally, the halo clears the blackness from the land, and at its center, I see an attractive woman with a flowing beige cloak.

Stunned as I am by her visage, it takes a moment to see her blood-red eyes.

The moment that I see her legacy, she turns to me.

Her mouth moves. But I cannot hear her words.

As I strain to hear her, I find my reality change. An ache in my belly stirs me to consciousness.

When I come to, I see Samantha nearby. The bat is still on her person.

My hands reach down to the exposed wound. Or, what should have been a wound?

It still hurts. But fresh skin has sealed the wound.

With a groan, I sit up.

Looking at the alert Samantha, I smile.

"Thank you."

Her black eyes shine with pride. And exhaustion.

"You should get some rest," I tell her.

She nods and leaves me to the watch.

I kick myself for how complacent I was in traveling through this world. Danger could come at any time. We got lucky this time. But it was close.

Various thoughts roll around in my head.

To move now could put us in additional danger, for my wound is still healing.

Ultimately, I decide to stay and rest before leaving.

The ocean rocking fills in for the time I would spend watching TV.

Fortunately, more monsters don't approach us as we wait.

I look to my companion.

"What's the first memory you can still remember?"

She looks sad as she scans her memories.

"It was when I took the legacy. I don't know why I went to the demons for my survival. I just know that I did."

I am quiet momentarily before asking, "What was the ceremony like?"

She shudders, "I only remember it finishing. I don't remember anything more."

I nod my understanding.

After a while, I feel ready to move on.

"Let's go."