Where am I? Part Six
"You're in Malus Solum." Adara replied. "My people have been waiting since the beginning of time for you and your companions. All the signs have told us your arrival was at hand and we've begun to prepare but our brethren have also been preparing; they are on a mission to stop you at any cost. We won't allow this, though. They know what is written must come to pass and no amount of anti-preparations can prevent it."
Megan listened but that was about the extent of it. Everything said might as well have been in German for all she cared; none of it made any sense to her. So, "What?" she said.
With a frown that seemed oddly out of place on her face, Adara tilted her head slightly. "Have we the wrong people again?" She shook her head. "The prophecy says, 'Four will emerge from a strange land to end the pain and sorrow of a dying world. They will bear the mark of the gods and bring order to a sea of chaos.' Is this not you and your companions?"
A breath of relief escaped Megan's lips. "Sorry but there are only three of us; Brand, Buba and myself to be exact. No four. You have the wrong people." Much to her relief. She wasn't into believing predictions of the future but she was damn glad she could disprove this one and show it had nothing to do with them.
Darkness continued to wrap around Buba and Brand. For the most part, they remained silent, but that was started to get on Brand's nerves. He had a lot on his mind and really wasn't in the mood to be thinking about things, so he started to hum a little tune, then he cleared his throat and sang quietly:
Always giving up the ghost
In your own private conversation
You're a sweet mystery
There is nothing in between
You and the Mona Lisa
Nothing in particular
And everything in between
This is what you mean to me
Only you and only me
Climbing in the right direction
On the way to everything"
As his voice lowered to a standstill, Brand chuckled. "Hey, Buba. Did you know that the Mona Lisa was actually a self-portrait of da Vinci?"
"No way." Came the reply from within the veil of darkness.
"It's true. I saw a sketch of da Vinci superimposed on a picture of the Mona Lisa and they were practically identical. So, unless da Vinci had a twin sister nobody knows about, it's got to be true."
"That's crazy. Leave it to you to know something like that, Brand."
Brand couldn't help but smile, be it an invisible smile in their current situation. He slowly tapped his foot for a few beats, then started to sing once more:
You look so troubled and I think I know
Just when you think you've come around
There you go
Now I know the business of the heart
And it'll get you anyway it can
You need someone to walk with in the dark, well
I'm your man
I go the trouble like a magnet
That's where I'll be
And trouble is just a place to sing
It's what you need
I swear you look like you're in jail
And all at once you're halfway out the door
One foot dancing, one foot nailed
To the floor
Chasing those circles in the ground
The same old shit is still the same old lie
Just when you think you've got it down
Watch it fly"
"What's bothering you, Brand?" Buba asked quietly after the silence returned. "You only sing when you're getting ready for karaoke night or when you are trying to stop thinking about something."
"Yeah, there's something you need to know." Brand sighed. "This is important and I really don't think you should be without this knowledge given the circumstances." There was a long pause before Brand continued. "Megan is pregnant and before you ask& yes, it's my child."
A surprise? Not really. Buba didn't really expect much different, but things like this were never in his area of expertise. "I thought you two were just friends?"
"We are, well, we are, but we aren't. It's complicated Buba, I'm not entirely sure myself. We were drunk and whatever. I just told you cause you need to know, for Megan's own good. No surprises later on when it's important."
"All right. Thanks, Brand." He couldn't think of anything else to say right now, not without completely pissing Brand off, that is. Now wasn't the time.
The door swung open then and light blinded Brand and Buba. They jerked their heads away, aggravated. "Now what?" Buba murmured.
Adara asked, "Are you not with child?"
Time seemed to grind to a screeching halt for a minute all around Megan. Then her heart started to beat a little too fast for her own good. "H-how did you&" Megan's eyes grew as big as her late mother's good china plates and she stood abruptly. "Nobody knows that except for Brand. There's no way you could possible know it! I want to see my friends!"
For her part, Adara remained calm and seated. She didn't react in the least to Megan's little outburst. "Then you are four." She said. "Do you all bear the mark of the gods?"
"Listen lady, I don't know and I don't care. Let me see my friends right now!" Megan fought with all her being to keep from shaking because inside she was more scared than she could ever remember being. "Now!" She added just in case.
"They're being relocated to a private tent. You'll see them soon." Adara stood now and took a few steps along the edge of the table. "I can make this much easier for us all, if you'll allow me."
Megan's eyes narrowed and she stepped back. "First, you tell me how you knew about me being pregnant. Then you tell me how you can make it easier. Last, but certainly not least, you better not get any closer to me."
Complying, Adara stopped moving. "It's written in the text. It's one of the signs that we've found the right people." She as back to a smile again, something that looked more natural on her face than anything else. "I have a gift. I can look into the minds of others. If you allow me, I can verify all the signs with your memories and find out if you are indeed the chosen ones."
This sounded like a terrible idea to Megan and she voiced it loud and clear. "No, hell no. No way in hell!" Her fear was morphing into anger by the second as Megan continued to try and absorb all this input. "What's the mark of the gods?" She was having a hard time believing her ears but she was determined to get the facts as best as she could. Of course, she was really suspicious of this woman and had no way to verify these 'prophecies'.
"I don't understand some of your words." Adara admitted. "But I get the general idea. As for the mark of the gods, it's a white rose on the upper back, just under the right shoulder."
The memory forced its way to the surface of her mind almost instantaneously. Several years ago, after a late night of drinking and hanging out, Brand, Megan and Buba (the only one not drunk) decided to forever seal their friendship by each getting an identical white rose tattoo. It took some convincing, but Buba finally caved in to their drunken begs and went through with it as well.
Megan smiled at the memory, but that smile faded when she remembered the present. "So, what does that prove. Nobody can predict the future." She rubbed her face hard as if she could wipe away the memories of recent events. "What am I saying? I'm being told we're on some kind of foreign land in some strange place with strange people. This is insane."
"There is much chaos within you right now." Adara offered a warm smile to Megan, which actually did make Megan feel better, if only for a passing moment. "This I can see from afar but worry not for it is another sign. 'The redeemers will come forth in a whirlwind of chaos for order is born of chaos. So it will be in the end times.' As you can see, this is a very accurate assessment of the current situation." Adara bowed her head then called out: "Come bring this woman to her companions and give them all they desire." Then she walked toward the cot in the back and lied down, leaving Megan just standing there in total confusion and disbelief.
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