Kat then redirected his contemptuous glare to someone who would. I shuddered, wet my parched lips, and repeated, 'My name is…'
Suddenly, the samurai lurched up from his seat, armor and bones creaking like some un-oiled, infernal machine. The warrior eyed me over with a grim curiosity on his slashed face, as if I were a tiny frog to be stamped on. Too intense for me, I could not hold this venomous sight, a weakness the man noted with disgust. Focusing my attention instead on my perspiring palm, I extended it for his handshake. Kat scoffed at that insulting lump of flesh, and then turned on his heels and away.
Embarrassed, I felt like bawling my own brand of profanities at his back. Who was he, this short, angry man, and why did I need him?
Keen to express these emotions, Newton suddenly placed his gentle hand on my arm. 'Do not take it personally,' he whispered. 'Kat is not the social sort. Few great men are.'
'Are you sure this is such a good idea? Does this Kat person even speak English?'
'Not a word,' he tittered. 'The barriers of language do not exist here. Kat speaks Japanese, you will hear English, and vice versa. Only, expect conversation with this man to be limited; his swords do the talking, after all. But for good or bad, your and Kat's destinies have collided, and you will have to persevere. His arrogance will require a great deal of patience, but have faith in him, as we have faith in you.'
I nodded, watching the warrior continue in his random course without ever looking back. 'He won’t even wait for me!'
'Kat only waits for God.' said Missy. 'You’d best get a move on.'
With no time for this to sink in, I prepared myself to move when Newton placed a leather belt in my hand. Connected to the belt was a pouch and dagger. Curious, I removed the blade. It was sharp, but plain and uninspiring. 'Thanks,' I said, half-heartedly toying with it. On my way to Hell and given a butter knife to defend myself. I was not impressed.
'Me neither,' said Missy. 'It is a butter knife…'
'Could you stop that?' I said. “It’s weird.”
Innocently slanting her head, Missy wrapped the hair around her finger.
'This is no ordinary dagger,' explained Newton. “It requires enormous responsibility from its wielder. Listen carefully, Daniel: A man cannot extinguish a soul, but this dagger can. The baffling science confounds most in the Heavens, myself included, but makes no mistake, the power of God is now in your hand.'
Immediately I held the weapon more gingerly, as if it were nitroglycerine in my grip. Missy rubbernecked over my shoulder, hoping to see that magical sheen of light and hint of Godly power. Unfortunately, there was only the wood of the hilt and the dull grey of the blade.
'How does it work?' I asked, awkwardly. 'I mean…'
'Like any other dagger,' Newton answered. 'It is God’s gift to you, but I solemnly stress it can only be used once. Prick any soul with this blade and that individual will vanish, never to return!'
Missy and I shared intrigued faces while Newton concluded, 'This blade is one of a kind. Use it when you have absolutely no choice. That is all I have to say. Godspeed.' And that was that, Sir Isaac Newton was gone, with the help of his Faraday forces and warping waves of Maxwell.
Eager to catch up to Kat, I returned the dagger prudently to its pouch and secured the belt around my waist. I then took a brief deep breath and bent to say goodbye to my life support. 'Happy one hundred eighty-ninth birthday.'
Her tears were never far away. 'My birthday was last week. What if you don’t come back? What will I do with myself then?'
'This is not the end,” I whispered. “Remember?'
'I tell you to go!' she exclaimed, pushing herself on my chest. 'I can't stand this and I’ll never forgive you for putting me through it! Go now! Hurry!'
She drew away and I watched her float like a vanishing dream, her mournful face getting smaller and smaller.
'You’ll see me again!' I cried. 'I’ll be coming back, Missy! I’ll make it! I'll come back! You just wait and see!'
Becoming part of the Waiting Plain, Missy also was gone, and I was alone again in limbo. Quickly, I set after the samurai warrior, who was some way away…
5. Savage Road
It was called the Distinct Earth, and the more steps I took toward it, the more this new world revealed itself. I could see the forming of clouds in the sky, and watched contorting shadows steadily transform into trunks and trees. Hearing the chirping birds and the rustling grass excited me. I wanted to run for more, if only to get that constant droning out of my ears, but I did not dare pass this man, this samurai warrior called Kat.
I hadn't seen his face since cowering from his earlier glare. I didn't care to see it again. It felt right to do something about our awkward silence though, but I had no idea what to say to a character like this, and I doubted the samurai would want or care to melt the gathering ice.
A weary spell soon sucked away any enthusiasm I had, and staring mindlessly at my steps, Kat's abrupt halt in front sent my face crashing between his shoulder blades.
'What?' I complained. 'Why do you stop?'
Smudging my sore nose, I discovered every trace of the mundane white plain to be gone; we were now in the Distinct Earth proper. The first thing I noticed was how normal it all appeared, and that maybe, just maybe it was old Earth all along? The sky was a familiar bright blue with a ball of burning sun. The surrounding landscape was lush with long grasses and rolling hills, and apart from the two of us, there was not another angel, creature, or soul in sight.
Under our feet was a narrow path wandering down the hill, then bobbling over others to a far off horizon of green. The samurai paused, eyes squinting, his hand moving toward the katana at his belt. 'What's wrong?' I asked, but Kat remained motionless to my words and to this world. There was no apparent danger, but the man would not be rushed, and I would take time to learn that fact.
The samurai removed his fingertips from the sword hilt, and grunting, lowered himself to one knee. Collecting a handful of stones that made up our path, he analyzed them in his cupped palm. His black eye peered like a scientist down a microscope, and I only could fold my arms and wait. Was this his routine? Was he always so cautious?
A few uneventful minutes later, the Distinct Earth's illusion of normality was shattered forever. A rotten taste hit the back of my throat, like a mouthful of wet dog. I dabbed two fingers over my tongue and felt nothing out of the ordinary, but upon removing them, I baulked at the tips, which were caked in soot. It was the sort of filth you find behind old cupboards or underneath car seats, and repulsed, I coughed a puddle of it into my hand. 'My God, I'm sick! Look at that!'
'It is in the air,' he said simply. 'Harmless.'
I peered again at the clear blue sky, thinking it impossible that this rancid pollution could linger there. I inhaled another breath and knew it was, mold shot up my nostrils and stuck like a clogging flu. 'Ugh!' I gagged. 'I have to get used to…breathing this shit?'
Robot-like, Kat patted the dirt from his hands, stood, and said, 'You will.'
I wiped the hand clean against my jeans and retched. Just one more thing to get used to, Danny. If anything, it was a timely reminder that this Distinct Earth was simply a reflection of a planet with which I was familiar. Sadly, my days on that realm were over.
***
Without rest, I followed Kat up and down the hills and mounds, and the more I watched his back, the stronger my urge grew to thank the man. This warrior was only here for my well-being, leading a complete stranger into the worst place imaginable, and when trouble called, he would be the one to answer it. My shield and sword, my North Star and deliverer from evil — who in their right mind would be happy bearing that responsibility? What sin had Kat committed to deserve this almighty task?
