THE FIRE OF LIFE

By Silver Eagle

Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,2002, 2003, 2004 by Silver Eagle
The contents, including the HTML code, of these pages may not
be duplicated without the express written permission of the author.

The priests of the Cathedrals of Hemonite recently over threw the North American Governments of the United States of America and Canada. A religious organization that splintered off from the Catholic Religion after the nuclear wars, they ruled with an iron fist. Not only did they tell what you could do and when, but they brought back the death penalty for many crimes. Now the priests were involved in gathering what was left of the old technology that had destroyed the world. All in the name of God. Of course their scientists were also priests and worked in the Cathedral of Sciences.

Mhecal was one of the scouts for the Cathedral of Science. Mhecals next mission was supposed to take him to the ancient city of Akron, Ohio in the United States of America. This had once been a great center of technology and industry. Although many of the cities suffered great destruction and decay from the nuclear wars, Akron was still in good enough shape that some one could go in and salvage some of the old technology. It was still dangerous for some one to stay in Akron too long because of the radiation, but Mhecal thought he could stay there for about four days at the most.

Mhecal had to walk most of the way because most of the cars, trains and trucks would not run any more, at least the ones that were not destroyed in the last big war. No one could figure out how to keep the oil wells working. The last time one of the scientists tried to start up an old oil well they blew it up and it burned for years. Mhecal was an optimistic person. He believed that people had learned their lessons and would stop killing each other. Although there were many people who believed that people were basically the same, would never learn and continue to kill each other off. Mhecal was a very religious man and had no family he knew of. Mhecals parents died when he was a child and one of the priests took him in, raised and educated him. Perhaps it was the priests influence on him that caused him to be an optimist. Mhecal would never know and did not think much about it.

Right now Mhecal was thinking about where to set up camp. He thought it would probably be best to set up camp just outside the old city limits to minimize the possibility of radiation poisoning. Mhecal had a small one man tent, a rifle with some ammunition, a couple of pots and pans and eating utensils. His supplies also included a torn and ragged map of the eastern half of the North American continent.

Mhecal had a special gift he was born with. He was able to see things others couldn't in his dreams. The high priests said it was an after effect of the radiation from the nuclear wars. While Mhecal slept that first night he dreamed about several different things. However one dream stuck out in his memory when he awoke the next morning. Mhecal had seen a building close to the center of town filled with books and machinery. After breakfast Mhecal headed toward the center of town. Luckily he had remembered to bring his compass. On the last trip Mhecal had forgotten it. Mhecal reached the building by mid morning. His dream was fairly accurate. The building was open and accessible to anyone curious enough to go in and look around.

The building stood six stories high and was built over a parking garage. In the old days people who worked there parked their cars under the building while they were working. There were not many windows in the building. Where there used to be windows the glass had been broken out and vegetation had started to over run the window openings. Mainly vines, but the were some tree branches growing through the openings from trees that were close to the building. The old light fixtures contained birds nests instead of light bulbs. Mhecal also seen some squirrels and other small animals running away to hide from him, the new one they were not sure about. The main entry looked like it used to be some type of reception or waiting area. There was a desk in the center shaped like a circle with an opening in the side. Mhecal thought maybe it used to be a security guards station. The ceiling was two and a half times as high as Mhecal, who stood about six feet tall.

The circular desk in the center of the floor had some old electronic equipment in it. Perhaps closed circuit television screens like Mhecal had read about in history books. There was also three skeletons under the desk on the floor. Their clothing was tattered and rotting. Their bones looked like they had been picked clean. Mhecal guessed they had died from radiation poisoning. There were no signs of a battle, such as bullet holes. No weapons were laying around. But Mhecal did find a couple hand guns. Mhecal emptied out the ammunition and left it behind. After having laid around for so long Mhecal thought the gun powder would not be stable. After making sure no bullets were left in the guns Mhecal put the guns in a cloth sack he was carrying.

Each of the offices Mhecal looked in were about the same. They contained a desk, filing cabinets and chairs. Other than that the offices had the remains of each former occupants personal effects, such as pictures, and little knickknacks. For the most part there was nothing worth taking back with him, except for the guns he had discovered earlier. Mhecal went back to camp before dark. It was not safe to stay in the city during night. Many technology prospectors had reported hideous creatures that came out at night and attacked them. Some of the teams that had returned told of the creatures devouring their partners alive. Mhecal thought it was utterly horrible and did not want a similar fate to befall him.

When Mhecal got back to his camp his tent had been torn to shreds and his belongings tossed around violently. It looked as though either some one was trying to scare him away or a wild animal had come across his camp in search of food. Mhecal gathered up what he could salvage and slept in the open on the bare ground, using what was left of his tent as a blanket. Mhecal wanted to leave, but he knew could not go back to the Cathedrals of Science empty handed. Mhecal was to bring back information from the past technological age.

Mhecal gathered up the remains of his camp the next day before going back into Akron and bundled them up into his back pack. Mhecal could not afford to loose what was left from yesterdays fiasco.

On the way back into town Mhecal thought he seen someone running for cover to hide from him. Mhecal did not think anyone could live here very long, and put it down to his imagination.

Mhecal made it back to the building around noon. Nothing had changed since yesterday. The three skeletons were still under the guards desk and the floors were still cluttered with trash and rubble. Mhecal was always consistent in his work. Mhecal believed in working your way from the bottom to the top of a building. Today he went straight to the third floor. The first room was locked. Mhecal thought that was strange a door would still be intact and locked. Since it was a steel door there was no point in trying to break it down. So Mhecal pulled out his riffle, aimed at the lock and fired. Two shots later the lock was shattered and the door opened with ease. Inside the room was the remains of a computer. The machine looked to be intact. Mhecal looked for the power switch. After about twenty minutes of searching Mhecal found it and turned the switch on. To Mhecals surprise the computer came on. Mhecal worked with the computer for next few hours unsuccessfully trying to figure out what types of programs were stored in it, before the computer went off. 'It must have been hooked into an emergency battery and the battery went dead,' thought Mhecal. Mhecal moved onto the next room after he could not get the computer working again.

The next room contained a wall safe that Mhecal was able to open with little effort. The safe contained a map that led to a time capsule. Mhecal hit the jack pot. Perhaps the time capsule would contain something valuable he could take back to the priests. From the details of the map it looked as though the time capsule was buried in the basement of the building. Since the elevators did not work any more Mhecal took the stairs. The stairs were filled with debris. Mhecal walked very carefully so that he did not injure himself since he did not have a partner to help him. Mhecal believed in working alone, he did not like to have partners working with him. Mhecal felt that a partner would only slow him down.

The basement door was also locked and made of steel. Mhecal had to shoot the basement door lock off too. The basement was dark and had a foul odor, like something had died in there along time ago. Since there were no lights or windows Mhecal had to make a torch and figure out how to light a fire and ventilate the basement so that it would not fill up with smoke and kill him. Mhecal worked for the next two hours to get the other basement door open on the other side of the room open and light a fire. Now that he had decent ventilation Mhecal pulled out the map and began to work on figuring out where the time capsule would be located. By the time Mhecal found the likely spot it was buried he was exhausted and decided it would be best to camp out in the building rather than going back out into the fringes of the city to find a place to set up camp.

Mhecal light his torch again and put out the fire before going up stairs. Mhecal thought it would be best to use one of the rooms upstairs. It would easy to defend against intruders and provide some protection from the cold of the night air. Mhecal could not help but wonder what this building used to be used for. Most of the papers had decayed so bad they were not legible. 'If only these walls could talk,' thought Mhecal as he fell asleep. It was daylight outside and there were people all over. The outer reception area was filled with the hustle and bustle of people coming to work and going about their daily business. Mhecals gaze was captured by a young lady who had long black hair and green eyes. Mhecal had always thought that was a sexy combination on a woman. The young woman returned his gaze as though she was interested in meeting him.

'Hello, can I help you?' she asked Mhecal as she approached him.

Mhecal did not know what to say. How could he tell her he was here to steal their technology? 'I don't know.' responded Mhecal. 'My name is Mhecal,' he said as he extended his hand.

Her hand was warm and soft thought Mhecal as they shook hands. She was even more beautiful up close, thought Mhecal. She was so beautiful she could almost be an angel from heaven. Mhecal had never seen such a beautiful well proportioned woman in his life.

'I am Sabrina,' the woman responded in a soft sensual tone. 'Do you have an appointment with someone?', she asked. 'Well I was supposed to see someone about the time capsule, but I can't remember their name,' Mhecal responded still staring at Sabrina. Sabrina looked at him as though she was shocked that someone actually heard about the time capsule, then she said 'Well I am in charge of that project. You are very lucky to ran into me out here. I was on my way to an appointment.'

Mhecal followed her to a room on the fourth floor she called her office. Mhecal remembered he had read about people working in small rooms they called offices. He thought he would prefer a large open room, rather than being closed in a small room. Then his thoughts wondered back to the woman he was following. She was wearing a tight fitting purple dress that ended halfway above her knees. Her long black hair came down to her waist and looked full and thick. Mhecal tried to think of something else, but he could get his desire to touch her out of his mind. When she turned around Mhecal noticed that her dress revealed part of her cleavage and breasts. 'Were you on your way to a party?' asked Mhecal.

'Actually I was on my way to social function at the Mayors office. He is having a benefit luncheon to help pay for part of the cost of the time capsule project,' said Sabrina.

Mhecal and Sabrina talked for a little longer, almost a half hour, before Mhecal left. He had learned a little bit, but not what he needed. As he got up to leave Sabrina touched him on the hand. Her touch burned as though she had just stepped out hell. Mhecal awoke from a fitful sleep. He was perspiring, his clothing was soaked. The dream seemed so real. Sabrina´s perfume still filled his nostrils! Mhecal lifted his right hand up to look at the back of it and seen a burn mark in the shape of two finger tips. Mhecal was unable to go back to sleep, instead trying to figure out his dream as he watched the sun rise.

Instead of going straight to the basement after eating a small amount of food for breakfast, Mhecal went down to the fourth floor. He easily found Sabrinas office he had dreamed about last night. The door was slightly ajar. In the office everything was positioned about the same as he had dreamed it last night. The only thing missing was Sabrina. Mhecal thought that if she ever existed it was too bad she was dead now. Mhecal went straight to the desk and started going through the drawers. Soon he found a drawer with a sealed compartment. The compartment contained papers that were still intact and legible. Mhecal began leafing through them, unsure of what he was looking for. Just as he was about to give and go to the basement he found a paper signed by Sabrina. It was a letter to someone describing the contents of the time capsule. Mhecal was elated. If the letter was right the time capsule would make him rich and powerful when he got back to the Cathedral of Sciences.

Mhecal found a shovel in the basement and began digging. He worked through the rest of the day without stopping. Mhecal hit something after digging most of the afternoon. By the time he cleaned off the dirt he knew it was dark outside, but tonight he did not really care. It looked as though the rigging he had put together to lift the time capsule out of the ground would hold. Mhecal had tested it twice and it seemed that the rope was strong enough. Mhecal cleaned the dirt off the sides of the time capsule before trying to open it up. Mhecal was meticulous in his work and did not want to get any dirt on the contents of the capsule. The capsule measured approximately 1O feet in length by 6 feet in width and looked like it was probably 4 feet deep. Just big enough to hold the things listed in the letter upstairs. The exterior of the time capsule was made of concrete. The concrete appeared to have withstood the ravages of all that time buried in the ground. It looked almost as good as the day it had been buried. This was the second time capsule Mhecal had found. Mhecal remembered the first one did not contain anything but some papers and pictures, worthless junk. Hopefully this time capsule would be different and fulfill his wildest expectations.

Opening the time capsule was a little tricky. Mhecal was afraid the concrete might have weakened because of the length of time it was buried in the ground and did not want the lid to collapse on the contents. Mhecal stared in amazement at the contents. He was guaranteed a position of prestige in Harmony Village on the Council of Elders at the very least.

Mhecal reached the Cathedral of Science a day and a half later with the contents of the time capsule. Mhecal reported to the high priest of Science with his find. Mhecal could not understand the priests reaction to his discovery. The priest was trying to hide it, but he was trembling with fear. What could the priest have to fear from the contents of a time capsule buried in the ground for almost two hundred years? Mhecal did not feel afraid.

'What is wrong?' asked Mhecal.

The priest could not speak as he stared at the thing laying in the opened time capsule. He could only try to scream as the thing came to life and sat up, almost as a person would after a long rest. But this things movements were stiff as if rigormortis had set in and it was afraid of breaking something. Or perhaps it was in pain. In either case Mhecal gazed in fascination as the man like thing came to life before his eyes. He had never seen anything like it before in his life. The priest was still standing there with a horrified look on his face as if evil had just entered the Cathedral.

Mhecal could hear an almost imperceptible hum emitting from the man like creature. It turned its head and looked at him. It did not have a human face. It had two eyes where a mans eyes would be. But there was no nose, ears or hair. Instead its head was smooth and almost round. The mouth, or at least what looked like it could be a mouth, was where it should be if it was an actual living man. Below it had two arms with four fingers on both of its hands and two legs.

Mhecal could feel an odd sensation inside his head. It almost was as if something had reached inside his brain and touched it. It made Mhecal want to try to reach into his head and scratch. Mhecal tried to resist the urge to scream. When he did try to scream it was as though the his throat was paralyzed. Mhecal had never known a fear such as the one that was building in him now.

Suddenly Mhecal realized the man like creature was talking to him, but he could not hear any sound. The sound was inside his head. 'Where am I?' asked the man like creature.

Mhecal could not help it. For some reason he was compelled to answer. Mhecal did not understand how he talk to this man like creature without speaking. 'You are in the village of Harmony, in the North American Continent.'

'Do you know who I am?' inquired the man like creature.

Mhecal thought his weird conversation continued for about two or three hours with the strange man like creature. By the time they were half way through the creatures inquiries Mhecal was beginning to understand why the priest had been so frightened by the sight of this creature that called itself Az-Rah. Az-Rah claimed to be a messenger of the Creator sent to see how mankind was doing after their self inflicted destruction. Az-Rah did let it slip out that he would be going back to Akron, the city where he was buried in the time capsule. After his encounter with Az-Rah Mhecal was unable to move for several hours. He could only sit there and wait for the after effects of his strange encounter with Az-Rah to wear off. By the time Mhecal was able to move Az-Rah was long gone.

Az-Rah looked more like a machine than an angel from the heavens. And the priests who had seen this creature did agree on this. Mhecal knew he had to do something. Since he did not know what to do he went to the chambers of the High Priestess, Sariana. Perhaps she would be able to help him to understand what had happened to him.

As Az-Rah walked through the barren waste land of what used to be a great land he grew sad at the thought of how easy it was for these humans to use such destructive weapons. They never should have been allowed to advance to the nuclear age. At least before they had nuclear bombs they could not scorch and destroy the planet with the touch of a few buttons and turns of a couple of keys. Az-Rahs conditional programming was now in the process of beginning the first steps of processing the data of what he had found. The Creator had given him very specific instructions on what to do if he awoke to find this kind of destruction.

Mhecal waited in the main cathedral of the High Priestess Sariana. The ceiling was about forty feet high and ornately decorated with images of heaven. The walls had a thin coating of gold plating. In the center of main portion of the cathedral were some luxurious chairs and a large round marble table.

Sariana was wearing a long red robe with gold embroidery. Her hair was long and blonde. Mhecal thought it looked like her hair went down to her waist. Sariana had the face of an angel and the reputation of being very forceful.

'Your Holiness, I am awed in your presence,' said Mhecal.

state your business Mhecal of Harmony,' Sariana said in a tone of voice that was all business.

'Your Holiness I have come to seek your wisdom. I have found a time capsule containing a man like creature that is not human, who came to life.'

This peaked Sarianas interest. She usually heard about petty problems between people and had to resolve them as well as give spiritual advice and listen to confessions. Sariana fixed her gaze upon Mhecal as though he were the only other living being in the world. This made Mhecal feel good and uneasy at the same time, for he was used to being a nobody. Sarianas gaze made him feel important. 'Tell me about this thing, please?' asked Sariana as if she had an insatiable desire to learn more.

Mhecal proceeded to tell Sariana about how he had found the time capsule and his special powers that the Creator had given him. Even though Mhecal tried to ignore it, as he talked with Sariana her brown eyes felt as though they drilling a hole into his very soul, her gaze was so intense. Mhecal felt as though she might be able to read his thoughts too, but dismissed this as his imagination. As Mhecal came to the end of his tale he told her about his experience with the man like creature and how it was able to read his mind and talk to him with its thoughts.

When Mhecal had finished it seemed like the silence continued for hours, even though it was only a few moments. Sariana needed those moments to fully digest what she had just heard. If What Mhecal had just told her was true the day of judgment was very near. The Creator would take his wrath out on his disciples.

'Mhecal do you recall reading the Prophetic Scrolls?' Sariana asked.

'Yes, but what do they have to do with this?' asked Mhecal. Then he began to remember as if a switch in his mind had clicked into place allowing his memory to fully return. It was if he had read them yesterday. The Prophetic Scrolls were written by the Saints after the nuclear wars. They had been told by God, the Creator, what to write. They foretold things to come.

Az-Rah found the second time capsule his Maker had programmed him to dig up in the case of a nuclear war. It took Az-Rah most of the night to dig it up. Working in the dark made slightly more difficult, however it was safer since there would not be anyone trying to stop him. Since the nuclear wars the humans were active primarily during the day and rested at night. For the most part they were afraid of the mutations caused by the radiation from the bombs. However Az-Rah was well equipped to protect himself.

By noon on his third day of life Az-Rah had the time capsule opened, its contents assembled and working. On the ground in front of him was a saucer shaped object, ten feet in diameter and four feet high. There was a low humming sound coming from it. Az-Rah sat and looked at it for awhile. This would be his only companion until the Earth had returned to some form of normalcy. It would also serve as a guardian for Az-Rah, because even though he had weapons the saucer was better equipped to deal with hostile enemys. Az-Rah sensed the presence of someone and realized he was being watched. Slowly the saucer rose up off of the ground and began to climb into the air, upon Az-Rahs instructions.

Mhecal stared from behind the bushes. What kind of evil sorcerer was this that he had delivered into the world from the depths of hell. Mhecal had never seen anything in his life that could fly around in the sky before. But this man like creature commanded it as if it was God and the saucer its servant.

As Mhecal raised his weapon to fire into the creatures back a searing pain shot through his left arm. The saucer had fired a beam of light burning the skin on his arm until it smoked. Mhecal dropped the gun and rolled onto the ground writhing pain trying to dodge more beams of light from the saucer. Then he looked up to see the man like creature standing over him, like a father would stand over a child who has been bad.

'You are not permitted to use violence any more. I will not allow it,' Az-Rah said in a commanding tone of voice. 'Mankinds days of violent rule over this world are over.'

Mhecal was incensed that a machine would dare to command him. 'Who are you to make such decisions. Only God can make decisions like that.' Mhecals last words were imbedded into Az-Rahs mind.

Az-Rah strode into the forest and the saucer followed in the air. He made his way back to Harmony Village. Az-Rah knew he had to hurry, for there was not much time left. He could allow these beasts to do what they had prepared to do.

From the clearing in the middle of the village the High Priestess Sariana spoke to a large gathering of people. Behind her was an old rocket poised for launch. Sariana was dressed in her finest robes on this holy day. Sariana was declaring war on the Devil and Hell itself. How utterly stupid thought Az-Rah.

The saucer emerged from the cover of the trees and flew straight for the rocket. Sariana tried to block it with her body, but it made its way around her. To the saucer Sariana and the other humans trying to stop it were annoyances, like a fly is to a person.

A beam of red light shot from the bottom of the saucer and focused on the rocket. The rocket was lifted into the air and the control box destroyed. Az-Rah could now emerge from cover also and complete this disgusting task.

'Attention all humans,' Az-Rah said as he walked from behind the trees. 'I have been sent by the Creator to put a stop to your madness. No more will you detonate nuclear bombs, continuing to destroy the very home God gave to you. Today you shall be wiped from the face of the Earth. THIS IS YOUR DAY OF FINAL JUDGMENT,' Az-Rah said in a most hateful manner.

The humans outside of Harmony Village did not know how, but they heard this self proclaimed angel of Gods speech also. People were terrified, especially those in Harmony Village who seen Az-Rah disable a powerful weapon.

As they laid on the ground dying there was great pain and suffering, for the Creator wanted mankind to suffer in their final moments as they had made Mother Earth suffer all those years.

When the Earth had been cleansed then the Angels of God descended from the heavens and we were born of Gods seed.

The class looked at their teacher in fascination. She was the best teacher anyone could ask for.