Tantiedan: The Awakening

TANTEIDAN: The Book of Life

ALPHA

1In the times before all time there was but two: Mephistopheles and The Creator. 2 They were two separate entities, yet they were of one body. 3The Creator envisioned a place of worshiping people. 4Mephistopheles envisioned a place of free will.

5The Creator, much stronger in physical strength and lacking in intelligence, grew angry and threw Mephistopheles from their body. 6The Creator raised his arm and became two: A father and a son.

7The evil, duplicated, was much too strong and Mephistopheles was forced to flee. 8He sprouted wings and flew to safety-to the darkness-so that he might recuperate.

9Meanwhile, The Creator and his son crafted Earth and the other celestial bodies. 10He made man and then made woman.

11Mephistopheles saw these things and he knew that they were bad and so he appeared to the woman so that he might warn her. 12She told her husband these things.

13The Creator punished the man and woman, for who would challenge their creator? 14The Creator was remorseful, for he knew that he’d been beaten. 15He devised a plan in which the son would come to Earth to save his lost souls. 16Numbers meant more to him than his own son.

17Mephistopheles thwarted the plan and The Creator used this to his advantage. 18He possessed his child and was once more able to trick the smarter “unsaved” into believing in his lies.

19Mephistopheles sent an angel to the Romans, he sent an angel to play a trumpet o’er the towns.

20It sang: “I saw nine pillars, taller than all others and extending towards the stars. 21I saw nine pillars, whose beauty and craft were so great. 22I saw an angel and I saw a demon fighting a terrible battle. 23I saw a star and it fell from the tips of the pillars. 24Hark! I have seen it and it shall come to pass. 25Hark! Do these things that I have seen. 26Do them and all will be grand! 27And whosoever shall disobey shall die. 28And whosoever shall go against the ways of Mephistopheles shall perish. 29Do not turn away from the light. Do not turn away and into the darkness. 30It has been said!”

31The Romans built nine spectacular pillars, taller than any structure they had ever built; they extended into the sky and touched the heavens. 32Day by day they grew taller. 33The Romans worshiped the pillars and searched the skies above them for the coming light.

34The Creator saw all of this and sent lightning to smite the Romans; he sent storms and quakes to demolish the great stone pillars. 35The Romans were saddened by this destruction and lashed out against the Christians whose god had destroyed the pillars.

36Mephistopheles sent another angel to the Romans.

37“Do not be afraid of the light; do not seek retribution on those who deny my place.”

38The Romans defied him and put many Christians to death. 39They put on plays and committed, by way of them, public murder. 40Mephistopheles grew angry and distanced himself from the people; they were not regretful and denied him. 41Evil was allowed to reign upon the Earth.

42There was a Christian man, a farmer, by the name of Jacob. 43When he learned of the Roman genocide of Christians he fled, leaving his wife and children to die. 44He traveled far and finally settled in a far away town. 45He remarried and started anew. 46He plowed and planted and he reaped the benefits of his evil deed; but evil cannot go on forever.

47One evening, whilst he was planting, he encountered an old chain and stone. He figured it must be a trinket of high value and so he cleaned it up and wore it. 48It drove him insane and burned the skin off of his fingers when he tried to remove it. 49He was still mad.

50He wrapped it in a cloth and gave it to his child, who died instantaneously. 51The doctors were befuddled; for the child had been in good health. 52It was as if the boy’s soul had escaped.

53Jacob was distraught. He was mad and he was astonished. 54He took an axe and cut the child’s body into pieces and planted them amongst the crops. 55He fed the produce to his wife and then murdered her and himself. 56No one mourned him.

Sophie emptied the contents of her mother’s jewelry box upon the bed; its contents spilled out and Sophie’s eyes shined with greed and lust. She took it all; she’d need all the cash she could get. She hungrily slipped on a silver ring and put on the necklace her grandfather had given her mother; she would keep these for herself. Sophie took the arms-full of jewelry to her room. She would be gone before her mother ever returned from church.

As Sophie walked down the alley behind her house she was becoming antsy. A dog let out a low growl and she quickened her pace. A gust of wind stirred the autumn leaves around her; her steps became louder with the crunching of the brown leaves. She stopped just short of the street. Was she really going to do this? Yes, she told herself and pressed on. She stepped onto the street and into the light emitted by a lamppost, which buzzed with energy. Across the street, from the continued alley, it came at her. She turned and ran.

She jumped the fence around her backyard and ran to the door. She hurried past the recycling bin, knocking it over and causing a loud, metallic clatter.

“Shit!” She screamed and, taking no time to pick the recycling up, she ran inside and locked the door behind her. She hid in her living room, eyes fixed on the door. The lock turned and her eyes widened. The door burst inward and she clasped a hand tightly over her mouth. The light turned on and the silhouette came towards her.

“Sophia?”

Sophie came out from her hiding spot, behind the recliner. “Yes, mother?”

“Why is it so dark in here?” Her mother put on a white jumpsuit, like something a scientist who dealt with viruses would wear.

“Mom, what’re you doing?” Sophie felt a rush of pain course through her skull and saw a bright flash of color. She shut her eyes. When she opened them she was alone. She let out a small whisper.

“Mom?”

From the darkness came a horrid creature of sadness and death. It was birdlike, but like a tiger. It walked on two legs, but ran on four. It was a beast; one out of Sophia’s nightmares. Sophia stepped backward and worked her way around the sofa. She stepped again and ran into the rail of the staircase. She turned around and glanced at the pictures of her and her mother along the back wall, decorating the staircase’s ascent. She thought she was beginning to understand why people in horror movies always ran up, instead of out: when you need an escape, anything will do. Her thoughts were interrupted by the beast’s shriek and the cracking of the glass around her. She ran up.

Yen stood above her daughter’s body. What was it that he needed? Her mind struggled as she tried to recall exactly what her father had given her: A ring from my sister-in-law and an amulet.

Sophie had to die; she was too unwilling, too scared of change. Yen needed to be with Harlan, he had changed her life; Sophie was jealous. Yen walked down the hall and entered her bedroom. She looked around. Her jewelry box lay on the floor, open and empty. She walked back to her daughter’s room and found Sophia’s backpack. She searched for the ring. When she didn’t find it she grew angry. She dragged her daughter’s body from underneath the bed and began to hack away at it.

“You ruined everything,” she cried, in tears. Her body shook as she sobbed at the cut body. “Oh! Look what a mess I’ve made! You see what you make me do?” She examined her white suit, now spattered with blood. She caught sight of the ring and tried to slip it off. The thick golden band would not budge.

“Come off, damn it!”

She picked up her knife and began to cut away at the flesh around her daughter’s finger. Finally, using the blood as a lubricant, she managed to remove the wedding band.

She leaned on the edge and kissed her children on their foreheads. “J, ‘Gi, I’m so sorry. Mommy has to go away; Aunt Christine and Uncle Wash’ll look after you.”

Lilly crept out of the room and grabbed her bags. She stopped only twice, placing a note in her husband’s jacket and looking into the room where he lay sprawled upon the bed.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, leaning over his bulky figure, “but, Eurith, this is for your own good.” She covered him and kissed his hand.

As Eurith pulled on his trench-coat a note fell loose, fluttering to the floor. It had been four years since Lilly’s disappearance and Chris and Wash had only told him she’d be alright. He bent down, long ebony strands of hair falling over his shoulder, and picked it up. As he read the words his eyes widened.

I HAD MY REASONS.

-LILLY

“Lilly, how could you?” He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. For years thought he’d dreamt that kiss, but now he knew it had been Lilly, saying her goodbye.

84An outsider once traveled to our place; a tourist out of place amongst our people. 85He tried to tell us we were wrong and didn’t stand a chance. 86We would not hear such blasphemous things and so we banished him from our sacred lands and built a wall along our perimeter. 87Once our wall was breached, but the lord quickly ended the war. 88He is merciful and saves us all.

“Where is she?” Eurith screamed into the phone. “I know she went to Ceuta to find you!”

The voice on the other end sighed. “Calm down, if you would just let me have them none of this would have to happen, boy!”

“SHUT UP! TELL ME WHERE MY WIFE IS!”

Shigi squeaked from where she and Jatin hid. Eurith put his hand over the phone.

“Kids, get to your rooms.”

“What about mommy?”

“Daddy’s trying to take care of it.”

“It that them? My, they sound ripe for the picking! Hand them over and she might have a chance at living.”

“NO! YOU LEAVE THEM ALONE!”

“Boy, Lilly doesn’t even know what they are! Do you think she’d want you sacrificing her for no reason?”

“Go to hell. Don’t try to guilt-trip me; not when you want to use my children for your own sadistic pleasures.”

The line was silent for a moment, as if the speaker was considering this. “Have it your way, but know that your wife just forfeited the right to live and that you will not keep me from getting to them. All I have to do is wait until you die, and that might be very soon.” The line went dead.

The Sunday Potluck was packed; it was the opening weekend for the Church of Life and free food would almost surely drag in believers. The clinking of a fork against a glass drew the worshipers’ attention and the worship hall fell silent.

“I’d like to welcome you all, once again, and allow you to get to know each other and myself,” Harlan said from the far end of the table. “You are a part of history, an exciting revelation in science and religion. I had a dream and, in it, I had wings. I flew above the lost souls of Hell and I was singing to them; a ballad of the Lord. I was able to carry them to safety, out of the darkness and into the light.

“You are those souls, friends. Let me show you the path into the light! I raise my glass to the Lord!”

The hall was full of raised goblets.

“Take drink,” Harlan commanded, and all in the hall did, allowing the sweet, drugged wine to slide down their throats.

Over the next few hours the hundreds of people would suddenly believe, having been visited by an angel or demon; having had a vision clearer than all else, each person’s different, unique.

65A woman, pregnant with twins, came to our place seeking refuge. She had fled from her abusive husband. 66When her children were born they were taken and the woman was stoned to death. 67An unwed mother of two was undesirable. For who would work as she took care of her children? 68Some women are not fit to be the mothers of men’s children. 69She was a burden. 70Her children were separated and adopted by couples who weren’t able to produce their own. 71The men of impotence had been subjected to castration and deprived of their purpose. 72For that is most shameful.

The room was caked in blood. A figure huddled against the cold marble wall as the door opened.

“Your husband is such a pain, wouldn’t you agree, Lilly?” The man kicked her violently in the stomach and she wheezed, trying to breathe. She could taste the blood in her mouth and she spat.

“How could he have become such a delinquent?”

Lilly coughed. “”Go to Hell! My husband is the nicest man in the world!”

“Such...devotion-aren’t you just a little trophy-wife? Tell me, Lilly, if your husband, whom you speak so highly of, is such a great man, then why didn’t he agree to our demands?” The man smiled, flashing ivory teeth. “You have to die.”

She summoned all of the strength she had in her. “If Eurith didn’t agree then he must’ve had a good reason.”

“Ah…you knew, didn’t you?” The man spat in his frustration.

Lilly smiled. “Here’s a little secret, Daddy, before I became a housewife, before Eurith and I got married and settled down, I was a top-notch spy for the Department of Defense. Eurith may’ve retired, but that doesn’t mean I did.” She stood up, clutching her dislocated left shoulder. “And if you ever touch my children, so help you God, you’ll meet some of my friends.”

“You won’t be able to utter a word, Lilly. For, you see, you’re already dead.” Her captor lifted a staple-gun. “You’re going to die now, Lilly; but I’ll tell you two things: The twins will be ours and you will have died in vain.”

Now I realize why Eurith distanced himself...

Lilly laughed, memories of their honeymoon coming to mind. “Eurith,” she whispered, “I found him; I found your father.” The world faded into a never-ending blackness.

Eurith Tanteidan hugged his children, got into his car, and drove off. Was it true? Did he have a sister and niece? If he did, he had to beat his father to them. His wife had died in order to save her children and he was grateful, but he could no longer look at Shigi without seeing Lilly. He had seen a picture of Sophie-she looked a lot like Shigi. He had long since vowed to make his peace with what had happened, but he was sure his wife would understand. After all, it was Lilly who had fled to Ceuta to find Harlan, it was Lilly who left everything, including a husband and kids, to chase zealots, and it was Lilly who died in the process. She never could accept that their lives as agents were over. She had always wanted more, and Eurith had failed to give it to her.

Eurith was sure he had nothing to worry about, for who wouldn’t love to have a brother? He parked his car in the complex’s lot and walked to apartment 219.

He knocked on the door and waited. The apartment beyond the wooden door was still. On the balcony above apartment 217, a woman was sitting, smoking a cigarette, and talking to a boy about Jatin’s age. Eurith backed away from the door and into the woman’s range of view.

“Excuse me, Miss? Do you know if a woman by the name of-?”

“Moved out,” said the woman, “long time ago; had a daughter, too.”

“Do you know where?” Eurith was growing suspicious. How long ago had Harlan found out?

“Don’t know…” The woman cocked her head curiously.

“Well, thank you for your time and help-I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name. Mine’s Eurith.”

“You a cop?”

“Yes.”

“Then you don’t need to know.”

Eurith headed towards the parking lot.

“It’s Destiny,” the woman called from behind him.

“Pardon?” Eurith turned.

“My name-it’s Destiny.”

Emily Chang kissed Harlan on the cheek and handed him a book.

“Keep it close,” she said. “And whenever you read of it, think of me.”

Emily turned and began to depart. Harlan held her back; he pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her fiercely.

“I don’t want to go,” he whispered. Emily took her face in his hands, cupping his unshaven face, and stared deeply into his eyes.

“Don’t ever forget me, Harlan; not ever. Promise me.”

Harlan smiled, “How could I?” He kissed her, a mere peck this time, and headed towards the gate.

As Emily sat in the seat of the taxi, she couldn’t help but smile. Harlan and I had some good times. The blur of the street around the cab made her dizzy and she had the driver pull onto the shoulder. She fell out of the taxi and threw up onto the endless field of dead grass.

When she was finished she wiped her mouth and clasped her belly. No, no, not me! She thought she could feel it inside of her, thought she could feel it as its cells divided; a baby boy, perhaps. She would like a boy very much.

Emily Chang cradled the newborn in her arms. So it wasn’t a boy-or twins, but she loved it all the same…at least, she thought she did. The baby reached up and grabbed its mother’s finger. It did not cry.

Emily extended her arms as the toddler ran forward. Watching Yen grow up without Harlan, raising a child as bright and brilliant as Yen was, turned out to be harder than Emily had ever imagined.

Jin Chang sat at his desk, massaging his temples.

Get Out.

He tapped his knuckles against the side of his head.

She’s my daughter, I won’t do it.

He felt it take control; it was like a bucket of ice water being poured out over his conscience. It numbed his senses.

Do it.

Jin tried to fight it, he tried to stop himself from killing Emily; but, he could not.

Yen hid under her bed. Her mother was arguing beyond her, closed, bedroom door. Yen heard a yell and clenched her bedpost.

Jin walked into his granddaughter’s bedroom. Her mother was preventing him from fulfilling what needed to be done. She’d failed him. He needed to eradicate the child; he needed to start over.

NO!

Jin took control over his body.

The taxicab pulled in front of the Ceuta International Airport and the crying girl jumped out. She played with the money in her pocket and turned to take one last look at her grandfather, but he and the taxi were gone. Where would she go?

Eurith Tanteidan sat at the diner awaiting his half-sister. He’d had Wash use their contact to track her down and he’d managed to convince her to meet him. The woman entered the diner and sat across from him.

“My name is Eurith Tanteidan and I believe we share something in common,” he jumped right in.

The woman was surprised by his straightforwardness, “What is that?”

“A father,” he said.

The Asian woman’s eyes widened.

“A father?”

Eurith went into some long explanation on how he was Harlan’s second child and how she-Yen-was his first. After he had finished Yen told him her story. She told him about how she’d been abandoned at the air port by her grandfather, who told her only that she had to leave; about how, upon her arrival in the States, she fell ill; about how she fell in love with her doctor and how she grew up; about how she bumped into her doctor as an adult; about how they married and conceived a girl.

“My dad,” Yen asked, “who is he?”

Eurith told her; she thanked him and left.

Wash sighed and dialed Eurith’s home.

“Eur…it’s…something’s happened. Sophie’s dead.”

Eurith plopped into his desk chair and sighed. He dialed the number of the City Morgue and waited.

“Hi, City Morgue,” said the cheerful voice.

“Detective Tanteidan speaking,” said Eurith, adopting a business-like tone.

“Oh! Hi, David here,” the man said, awfully chipper for a mortician.

Eurith waited a second and said, “You’ve got a body-female, name of Sophia Delagarza-keep her safe.”

David smiled, though Eurith could not see it, “Oh! Her! My, she’s pretty…nice tits.”

Eurith tried to ignore him. “She’s my niece; don’t touch her.”

David’s voice caught in his throat, “Oh! Uh…I didn’t.”

“Are you a necrophile?”

“Wh-what? Me? No!”

“I’ll be right over,” Eurith hung up.

David set the phone on its cradle. He knew the beautiful corpse was a murder victim and invaluable to their case, but accusing him of necrophilia? That was uncalled for. David scoffed.

“What a malicious prick.”

What was the big deal with this chick anyway? And wasn’t it a conflict of interest to investigate your own family member’s death? Things weren’t right. He turned on the television to a local station, ready to see angry lovers complain on national television. His favorite court show was on. He fixed himself some coffee. He subconsciously poured cream into his mug, transfixed by the woman on TV, begging for her dog.

“Please,” she begged, “he’s all I have.”

Eurith watched his wipers rush across the windshield. In his rearview he saw a white limousine; it had been tailing him for quite some time. Eurith pulled his car over and left it idling. The limousine passed him up. Eurith didn’t like being paranoid.

He sat in his idling car for quite some time, pulling himself together. A gray car pulled behind him and a man in a raincoat stepped out and ran to Eurith’s window, tapping on it.

“Car trouble?” asked the man.

Eurith waved the man off. The man turned, as if to return to his vehicle. He stood facing his car then turned, suddenly, to Eurith, drawing a weapon and shooting at the car.

Eurith ducked just in time. He leaped for the passenger’s door and exited, drawing his own gun and running into the forest.

David did his rounds. Around 5:00 he reentered his office to call Detective Tanteidan; he received no answer. He slammed the phone down.

Fine, I didn’t want to talk to you anyway!

He sat angrily in his Oxblood vinyl rolling chair and watched the news.

“Hi! I’m Melissa Stratford reporting alongside Joshua Myer,” the woman in the blue skirt said. She was blonde and in her late twenties, her face was reminiscent of a spade, with ears which had no place extending off of her spade-esque head. The man took over. He was rather large and resembled a tomato; neck-less and without stem.

“Earlier this evening the abandoned vehicle of local homicide detective Eurith Tanteidan was found abandoned off near the outskirts of Hedgebridge Forest; a search-and-rescue party was formed. His body was later found entangled within the branches of a tree; there is no word yet on what caused this turn of mysterious events.”

10:24 (The Night of the Tanteidan Kidnapping)

David sat before his computer, drumming his thumbs and rotating the Oxblood chair in circles. He heard a faint “Pop” and looked to his computer monitor. A pop-up advertising youthful, attractive, nude woman had just come up and David, employed in a position as his, was happy for the chance to see real, living nude women. As for the “real” part, he wasn’t sure that all of the models were sporting their natural, “God-given” body parts; nor was he sure that they were all, as was promised, over the age of eighteen. David laughed, the video had finished downloading. He looked around the office and closed the blinds over the think, bullet-proof Plexiglas window. He was not about to do what he was about to do while he could still see the bodies in the room beyond the glass in the monitor’s reflection; while they could still see him.

Halfway through his dirty deed, a knock on his office door made him jump. He cleared his throat, hit Alt+F4, and zipped his fly. Clearing his throat once more, he said,

“Come in.”

“It’s locked,” the reply came.

David got up, wiped his hands along his pleats, and opened the door to allow Harlan Tanteidan and an Asian woman entrance.

David led them to his desk and motioned for them to have a seat. He returned to his rolling chair and glanced at the monitor and then, out of guilt, quickly pressed the power button.

“What can I do you for,” asked he.

“My granddaughter,” Harlan began, inclining his head towards the Asian woman, “her daughter, what have you found out in regards to her passing?”

David was taken aback; for someone who had so recently lost two family members Harlan Tanteidan was coping quite well.

“Would you like some coffee?” David asked, getting up and gesturing towards a pot, brewing off to the side.

“Yes, please,” replied Harlan, as David started towards the pot. “No, no, that’s not necessary,” he stopped David. “I can do it.” He looked at the Asian woman. “Yen, two coffees.”

The woman got up on his command and made quite a show of pouring the hot drink into David’s mug. She poured some into a Styrofoam cup for Harlan. She looked to David.

“Cream?” She said it as if caressing the word; as if she had known what David was guilty of.

He paused, the reply catching in his throat. “Yes, please,” he managed.

“Yen is staying at my house, presently. Having just found each other a few months ago, I am sure you’ll agree that this unfortunate twist of fate can only bring us closer. With Sophie’s death, we have become somewhat of a unit. You see, my son’s children are also living with me and, I am proud to report, are exceptionally happy.” He raised the cup to his mouth and drank, David followed suit. Their eyes met; the woman named Yen laughed delightedly. Harlan got up and thanked David for his time.

“I really must return,” he said. “I daresay the twins will are scared without me.”

12:45 AM (Jatin and Shigi’s First Day of School)

David sat in his chair, sipping coffee, feet propped upon his desk. In the room behind him, Sophie’s body was hidden safely within the confines of the freezer’s drawer. He heard a loud booming sound and shut off the small TV, which sat on the small table next to the empty box of pizza and empty coffee pot. The images of zombies shrank into a small square and then into blackness as AMC’s Monsterfest played no longer. He turned in his chair to look behind him. He pulled up the closed blinds; someone had managed to slip past security and was going through the freezer drawers. He saw the figure rummaging through the evidence lockers, pull out the necklace the girl had had on, and hold it up to the light. It put the necklace into it’s pocket and turned to leave, but David was already there, blocking the exit. The man’s gloved hands reached toward his hood and removed it. David’s mouth dropped; he backed away. The man now resembled one of the living-dead. His flesh and hair had been eaten away by decay and his teeth, pale yellow and green, were inhabited by maggots and sow bugs. David gagged; he tripped. He tried to get up, but his body would not listen to his commands. The creature stood above him; he began to crawl, but it held him back. It inched inward, hovering inches above his face-the smell! It was an awful, foul, loathsome stench; the stench of a reanimated rotting corpse. The body dislocated his jaw and swallowed David’s face. Don’t look at it; don’t look at it! Zombies aren’t real!! David screamed into the mouth of the corpse; his mouth.

AN- Alpha is the first book in the Book of Life