SIXTY YEARS AGO

Cassius ate the banana Aurelius had given him while Aurelius put the bloody cloth back into the bag. Aurelius noticed that the banana was almost gone, so he took another one out of the bag and handed it to Cassius, but he waved him off.

“I am pleased that you have an appetite this time. Your resilience seems to be growing.”

Cassius finished the last of the banana he was eating. “Well, I suppose all the energy I spent screaming from the pain needed to be replenished. Somehow your treatment seems to be working; I don’t feel as sore as I did on the previous occasions.”

“Good. My grandfather had a bad habit of using my younger brother and I as test subjects for his acts of cruelty. I had to learn how to tend to my brother’s wounds without any proper tutelage. This was the best I could come up with.”

“I am sorry that you and your brother suffered that fate. Where is he now?”

Aurelius peeled a banana for himself. “Well, he happens to be doing well. Brilliant boy, much sharper than I ever could be, although he has bouts of illness here and there. In fact, he happened to fall sick three nights ago and was on the verge of death.”

Aurelius reached for the remaining peel of Cassius’ banana while Cassius asked, “Did he survive?”

“Well, interestingly enough, there happened to be a young heretic in the room who somehow knew how to summon the healing power of the divine. He did so without delay or question, and from what I was told, he managed to revive my brother back to excellent health in a much shorter time than the doctors ever had.”

Cassius had his eyebrows as high as he could get them. “That boy was your brother?”

“After our first encounter in this room, I knew that you had a power that not even the bishops could dream of. My brother’s illness is spontaneous, but the toll it takes each time has grown greater and greater. I was not sure how much more of it he would survive, so I found a way to get him transferred to your dorm. I had hoped that your considerable prophetic gift would lead you to pray for him, but I did not know that this was how it would happen. Yes, my brother is why you landed here yet again.”

“Praise be to God that He chose to heal your brother in that manner. However, I am perplexed. You have already expressed your disbelief in God and His power, yet you went to considerable lengths to get him into a position to benefit from the same?”

“My brother and I were born into this place; the products of a priest and the maid he had an affair with for years. She never told him about us, and she did her best to keep his identity to herself. Unfortunately, my brother was too curious not to read her journals, and he told me what he had found. So, I used it to my advantage, but then it led to so much more. That is how I have been able to survive this place unbothered, but it is also why neither of us believe in the gospel. Priests are worse sinners than commoners. With that being said, what I learned about you made me realize that even if I do not believe it, there may yet be some truth to the divine after all. So, I decided to test it and now my brother lives.”

“My faith would not exist had I chosen to allow the punishments of Reverend Carl to get to me. They may be a lot to take but I know my Redeemer liveth. I hope that God gives you the encounters you need to believe in Him. For now, I am happy to keep an eye on your brother and inform you if he gets sick again.”

“I appreciate that, Cassius. I hope he chooses to follow your faith instead of mine.”

*****

PRESENT DAY

Karla shot up out of sleep with her clothes drenched in sweat. She was breathless and her forehead was dripping, as though she’d been fleeing from someone. She looked up and saw Stella rushing in.

“Kay, are you alright?”

Karla looked around her like she was trying to process her surroundings. “I had a nasty dream.”

Stella walked over and sat next to her in the bed. She gave Karla a hug and kissed her forehead, and Karla slid and laid her head on Stella’s chest. Stella cradled her in her arms.

“Tell me.”

“Most of it is still a blur. The only part I remember was you and I hauling ass from this tiger-looking creature that could fly. It was breathing fire at us. We’d barely made it out of sight when a dragon flew in outta nowhere. That thing was heading full speed at us, mouth wide open. But then at the last second, you pushed me into the bushes and stood there, waiting for it to swallow you. I was freaking the fuck out.”

Stella looked down at Karla. “You really should stop watching mythical movies before bed, love.”

Karla looked up at her. “You’re really cute when you get all protective.”

Stella rolled her eyes. “The dream clearly didn’t take away your silliness.”

Karla mock-pouted at her. “I thought you loved me.”

Stella shook her head and gave Karla a peck on her forehead.

They sat in silence for a while. Karla basking in Stella’s warmth, and Stella staring into blank space while playing with Karla’s hair. It had been a few days since Kpodo has told her about Kane’s return, and she had no idea how to process it. For one thing, she had become a person of interest in the case. But her main dilemma at the moment was whether or not to tell Karla. She was still very much on edge and Stella feared that telling her would send her back to a dangerous place. She’d only recently gotten sober again, and the plan was to keep her that away as much as she could.

She was in the middle of those thoughts when two women barged into the room. Before Karla had a chance to spring up, one of the women put her hand up.

“We come in peace. We don’t mean to interrupt your alone time, but this island’s going to be turned to ash in less than five minutes. We’ve been sent to get you out by someone who would very much like to see you guys alive, but we don’t have much time.”

Karla wasn’t buying it. “Who the fuck are you? And who’s your damn boss? How do you even-”

The explosion far away cut her speech, and the ground began to shake violently. Before anyone could speak up again, another explosion hit, this time closer. The chandelier in the room begun to swing out of control, and the items on the dresser were sliding to the edge, just about to fall off.

Karla looked at Stella, who looked back at her. Then Stella looked at the women and nodded as they scrambled to find grab whatever comfortable clothes they could get their hands on.

“Lead the way!”

*****

SIXTY YEARS AGO

Cassius was asleep in the dungeon when he heard a creaking sound. He opened his eyes and stayed still, watching to see where the sound was coming from. The room made it seem like the sound was coming from everywhere at once, but he turned his head just in time to see Aurelius slip in through a hidden hole in the floor.

“You’re usually asleep at this time of the night.”

“I was. The sound from the creaking woke me up.”

“The sound from the creaking never wakes you up. I guess your God wanted you to receive my goodbye in person.”

Cassius sat up as Aurelius closed the hole. “Goodbye?”

“I’m leaving the campus. Leaving the city completely.”

“Aurelius, far be it from me to ask you, but why now?”

“Let’s just say that when you wake up, you will quickly learn why. But whatever they say, know that what I did had to be done.”

Aurelius lowered his eyebrows. “What did you have to do?”

“I can’t tell you. It’s all in this letter. Everything I wish I could’ve told you about my life, including this most recent incident. I want to give this to you, but you must promise me two things in return.”

“If it is within my power to give you my word, you will have my word.”

“Okay. First, you must promise me that you will never show this to anyone. Not even my brother. He can never know what is in this; it will turn him into something this world can never contain. I know him.”

Cassius placed his hand over his heart. “The boy will never know.

“Alright. Now this one matters to me more than even the first one. Promise me you’ll look after Marcus. He’s an extremely bright kid but he is stubborn. As much as I would like to have had a moral grounding of some form, he NEEDS a moral grounding, the same kind that you have.”

“Aurelius, I can barely go two days without Reverend Tumi wanting my head on a stake. Not to mention, your brother has a mind of his own. It will be difficult to speak to him when I have no authority over his. Life.”

“Cassius, I am not asking you to assume the role of his father; I am asking you to see after him. You know, tell him when you think he’s headed down the wrong path. Maybe speak up for him and protect him whenever you can. Just try to keep him from the extremes as much as possible. Can you do that for me?”

Cassius sighed. “I will do my best for you, my friend.”

Aurelius nodded. “That will suffice for me. If we never see each other again in this life, I need you to know that your impact on my life is not a small one. I simply hope to be able to give you the friendship you gave me in a place where everyone scorned me.”

Cassius stood up. “You have been the friend, Aurelius. Your company and your help in my times in this dungeon will never be forgotten. I pray the grace of God for you. I pray He guides you somehow. Good luck, my friend.”

Cassius stretched out his hand but Aurelius embraced him instead. They hugged for a little while, and then Aurelius pulled back and handed him the thick envelope. He nodded to Cassius, then he went back to the hole.

Right before he crawled into it, he looked up at a watching Cassius and tapped his fist to his heart twice. Cassius tapped his fist to his heart once.

Then Aurelius disappeared.

Hmmm, what did Aurelius do? It must be something bad. And who’s blowing up the ladies’ island? Mad stuff!!