Chapter Six
Running, Cain knew exactly where his family would take refuge. He could sense them, but a few miles away, his heightened awareness both terrified and thrilled him at the same time. The sounds of the night creatures nearly deafened him with their calls. With the strength and stealth of a lion, he rushed through the forest with a force he’d never experienced. What was he? How? What had the Almighty done? Question after question rushed through his mind as he sped into the night.
He returned to the Cave of Treasures where his family would continue to grieve. A trail of smoke emptied from the opening of the cave. He could hear his father’s voice, the grief and angered that it carried, struck a core within Cain. The urge to creep inside and put an end to Adam grew strong as he approached, until he caught the scent of Luluwa near the cave’s entrance. Carefully, he took his time with his approach, not wanting to scare her or worse, alert Adam of his presence. Wrapped in the skin of a ram, she kept her focus on the dark sky.
“Luluwa,” he breathed as he quietly approached.
She whipped her head around quickly in surprise. “Cain?”
“Shhhh…” he said, inching his way towards her.
“What are you doing here?” She whispered back. “Father will kill you on sight.”
“I know,” Cain said once he stood directly in front of her. “But I had to make sure that you are alright.”
Luluwa studied him, her body tense. He knew she was afraid, but still she stayed. “You are different.” She observed. “Darker.”
“Come with me,” he heard himself say. “You don’t have to stay here. I will protect you.”
She looked away and returned her gaze to the sky. “Father has summoned the presence of Archangels. He knows that you are…different.”
He paused. The Archangels were involved in this too?
“He wants you executed for taking Abel away from him,” she continued. “And mother, well she is devastated.”
He swallowed thickly. Pain for what he’d done to his mother, to his brother would indeed haunt him forever.
“And do you want me executed too Luluwa?” He asked, afraid of her answer.
She looked at him, sadness filling her eyes. “No. I do not. I love you brother. Always have and always will…”
“Then come with me. Be more than my sister, but my wife and I promise you that I will spend the rest of my days dedicated to giving you the best life possible.”
She held his gaze, those slanted grey eyes of hers more beautiful than any sunset. “If I go with you, the angels will hunt me too.”
“I have the power to protect us both,” Cain vowed. “Please go with me Luluwa. Please do not leave me alone…”
His words seemed to hit her -better yet strike her like tree in a lightning storm. “If you are alone, then I am alone too. I will go with you.” She stood up and rushed over to him, filling his arms with her warm body.
Luluwa, his sister and his love and the very fabric of what was left of his dark soul, touched his face. Her gray eyes filled with unshed tears. She held his gaze and nodded, and as their parents slept, they stole away into the night.
Cain learned of his new abilities in the darkness. He learned that he possessed nearly no physical limits. Even the animals knew that he was now an apex predator, and for that reason they remained out of sight. That night, a monster had been born. From the darkness, a byproduct of broken supernatural law, he was something that the earth -though still in its infancy-had never seen before. He carried his sister through miles of thick bush and underbrush, blazing through the forested terrains like a shooting star, settling on a land with rich soil perfect for planting and harvesting that rested of the southern banks of the Nile River. Exhausted from their night’s run, they took shelter underneath a cluster of trees with leaves wide enough to offer supportive roofing. He cradled her next to him, relishing the fact that she had chosen him above their father. She knew that something had changed within him, yet still she trusted him.
But it was on that night, when his reality revealed itself. Unquenchable thirst, insatiable hunger that no fruit or water could ease. The call of Luluwa’s heartbeat, the warmth of her body, and the rush of her blood flowing through her veins became all too much of a temptation. That night, Cain lay with his sister-wife Luluwa, whose beauty rivaled her mother Eve, and that bond would be his savior from the scorching thirst that stripped away his sanity. That night, Cain discovered the monster that he truly had become, and that night, he created another one.
