Where the Rain Never Stopped

A flooding town rediscovers what it means to have faith.

It was on April nineteenth, in the year of our Era 2015. The rains started that morning and they have not stopped since. Five years later and the total landscape had been swallowed by the torrential downpour. The people tried to leave in the beginning. No matter where they traveled, the undying storm followed. They fell to their knees and some cursed the skies, some asked for forgiveness from the clouds and some were too flabbergasted to know what to say at all. Those who asked for forgiveness left to seek an answer. They were never heard from again. No one knows if they ever found any answers.

Those who cursed the skies fell victim to the floods and lightning. Those who were lost, stayed lost. The water and lightning rendered most all modern technologies obsolete or unavailable. It was the darkest time for the lost ones. They sought an answer and found a way to control the storm, yet could not end the tempest above. They learned to move the water, grow the flora, become the fauna, and harness the elements at will. They made their houses waterproof and buoyant. They imported materials from the outside world. They created a new advanced society powered by their watered prison.

At the center of the storm existed a patch of cloud where the sun shone and the rain only barely fell on their skins. A rainbow was an ever present fixture above that ground. The rainbow had no beginning and no end it was just a circle. The rainbow spun loftily above a small island not far from the compound.

That was the only thing that held the storm at bay, though the people of the Arc knew nothing of it. The surrounding hills formed a basin in which the water was withheld from the world. Lost and forsaken, trapped within an expanse of three hundred miles of mud, water, and what the people called the Rainstorm Forest. With the outside world abandoning those cursed by the skies, their small floating island compound became known as the Arc.

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Seven years after their marriage, Lucas and Isabella James still had those feelings of young love. That love where just the slightest movement of the lips and the waterlogged light catching of an eye, could swell their hearts like cumulus clouds in March. Isabella’s blue eyes went perfect with the blue light that was common on the Arc. She used to be of a medium build with dark-brownish hair. Now however; her belly was swollen with her and Lucas’s first child; which led to her losing her perfect figure. Lucas was another story. Genetics spilt the paint on him, and yet it had to be on purpose the way it all blended so well together. His eyes were hazel, but had a gold ring in them. His eye color often changed its value and hue, except for the ring. He was tall and stocky with brown hair, dirty blonde mustache, and reddish goatee.

Lucas was the leader of the Ghosts, who served as the Arc’s guards, among other jobs. The small corps had a variety of tasks to perform; such as searching for items below the water‘s surface, defending the Arc, and assisting with repairs and community-wide cleanup jobs. The people of the Arc, or Arcist, wanted him as the mayor, but he would never commit. His abilities in the Arts were phenomenal. Lucas mastered every element Art there was to learn. No matter how hard he tried though, the storm remained unbreakable before his mastery in the Arts.

Lucas and Isabella were walking down one of the glass corridors that connected the Arc’s buildings to one another. Isabella had one of her arm around Lucas’s arm. Isabella had her other hand pressed to her stomach. The baby kicked against her hand.

“I like days like this when you can see some of the precious light filtering through into our water logged home,” giggled Isabella.

Lucas smiling replied, “One day I will find a way to break those thunder heads. Maybe one day this forsaken land will dry and the sun will shine again. After this I think I need to go meditate in the square.”

The Arcist meditated when they had stress or problems. The Arc had not even had a church in the years since the Night of Sevenfold Revenge. That night all the churches in the basin, seven in all, were burned to the ground. Those who burned them were among the forsaken. They all paid the price of their actions. Some drowned, some were electrocuted, and some just fell sick and died due to the rain. Thus a thriving community was reduced to a mere few hundred, and no one even remembered the churches or that night. The memory of the past seemed to get lost as the years roll by.

Lucas and Isabella rounded the corridor to one of the main buildings, the hospital. Doctor Edward Sylvan was the only outsider on the Arc. He was a volunteer of the relief efforts who just never left. He took up residence at the time on an old party barge. He was blonde in his mid-thirties with a muscular build. Dr. Sylvan often went to the edge of the Arc to swim to the only island that actual saw very little rain. He said there was something unusual in the way the rainbow acted. Everyone noticed it, but fear kept them from ever saying anything. That the rainbow was in a perfect circle that rotated and spun around the island defied anything that Edward had ever seen. He said out side the circle was a symbol for eternity and rainbow was a promise , but all he could remember of that promise was that it had something to do with water. So every time he stood under the rainbow he sought answers. The people of the arc feared the island too much to go themselves.

Last month Lucas and Isabella finally settled on names for the babies. They were having twins, two girls. They would name the oldest, Amberle Lenne, and the younger one, Laka Delaina Rose. Dr. Sylvan greeted them at the door. In the examining room Lucas and Dr. Sylvan struck up small talk about the weather. Good weather to Arcist was a light shower.

“Well the heart beat seems good for both girls and they are growing quite nicely. I would like to see you next month for your seven month check-up on say December 25^th so as not to disrupt the New year holidays,” said Dr. Sylvan.

As Isabella and Lucas left the building a series of Rings resounded from the bells placed around the Arc to alert the Ghosts to report for duty. Isabella quickly kissed her husband as he ran to the most central building of all, the Covenant. The Covenant was the head quarters for the Ghosts and the central nervous system so to speak for the Arc. Lucas ran through the gate. He counted one bell, two bells, three bells, pause for a three count, another bell, two bells, three bells, and so on. This was serious. People were rushing to their homes for shelter. This would not be the first time outsiders have tried to destroy the Arc. The world outside ridiculed them, and believed them evil. Lucas burst through the doors and ran to the equipment room. He grabbed his wet suit and his waterproof custom MP-5. He hardly needed them, but the Ghost rarely used their control over the element on outsiders. The first reason was if one enemy slipped by then the world would descend on them like fire on Solomon and Gomorra. The second was that after using the Arts after awhile, they began to get tired and their focus would slip.

“Captain Commander James, Intel reports five units from the U.S. Homeland Security Task Force headed to the northwest side of the Arc. They believe that at four hundred yards the units will diverge and strike at the north, northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest. I doubt they will not spare our families sir. I will never understand why they want to destroy our people just because we are different and unfortunate victims of the rain,” Captain Sean Patricks told Lucas.

“Patricks, this eternal storm is what made us what we are. We are made strong due to our suffering. These lands have been punished for whatever reason. But I will not lose hope. One day our prison will dissipate and we can shed our pale complections. Until then we must strive to maintain the safety of the Arc,” replied Lucas.

The teams assembled in the east wing. The Ghosts totaled fourteen in all. One team of seven led by Patricks and one team of seven led by Lucas himself. Lucas found himself worried about this encounter. The enemy would of course have explosives, and AK-47, as they never jam, and water doesn’t really affect them. That of course was not the hard part.

How are two units to take on five spread as they are, thought Lucas. Captain Commander was just a title to Lucas, but the tasks that accompany the title played a strong role in Lucas’s life, decisions, and actions. Suddenly the answer became clear, use the Arts.

“Corporal Tara Gonot, create a fog covering the expanse of the Arc,” ordered Lucas. On his waterproof headset he contacted Patricks’s unit, “Spring this is Winter, we are creating a fog. Create an Art current to drift the Enemy off course and into the Cypress before they have a chance to diverge.”

Tara’s eyes rolled back into her head as she focused on the fog seeping from the atmosphere. Lucas knew she was a fog and mist master, but had no clue that she could not cover the whole Arc. The Arc was a sixth of the basin itself. He had not been around the Covenant much due to Isabella’s pregnancy. Tara was a quite youthful girl with blonde her, and black eyes. She was the smallest girl, resembling a preteen girl more than the twenty-two years that she actually was. She always pushed her self to the limits to prove her worth. She would never tell the Captain Commander that she couldn’t do something.

The current began to pick up, Sean had started to change the current to draw in the enemy into the narrow cypress tree lanes. Tara stayed focus on the fog. Lucas sailed out of the fog and waited among the cypress. The faint sound of an MP-5 could be heard. Sean Patricks was engaging the enemy. He would drive them right into Lucas’s snare. Sure enough the narrow area between tree caught the intruders and they were caught between the two units fire. The Ghosts cut down every last man and set the boats ablaze.

Lucas noticed that there was still a fog. He told Tara to release her focus, but she did not respond. A few seconds later she began to convulse and jerk violently in the bottom of the boat. Blood trickled down her lip into the bottom of the boat. Her eyes were in the back of her head. He fog grew heavier and swirled violently around the two boats.

“She is going into Art Shock,” yelled Lucas, “get the injection!” A sergeant handed him a needle with a vibrant purple liquid. Lucas ripped off her vest and cut off her sleeve of her wetsuit. As the contents were pumped into Tara, Lucas realized his mistake in his orders for Tara. He should have known better than to tell her to cover the whole expanse. She was just a corporal, regardless of her abilities, she did not the experience of some one higher in the ranks.

Tara began to stir lightly. She moaned a little and opened her eyes to slits. “Forgive me, Sir, I failed to follow orders,” said Tara.

“No Tara, it is I who should say sorry. I have neglected my duties as the leader of this organization. I am not focused enough, and I let my outside affairs cloud my mind. So I will take a year off and resume command after I have had time to reflect on the dangerous situation I just subjected one of my own to,” said Lucas with down cast eyes.

~Five Year & Half Later~

“Amberle and Laka are almost Five,” Lucas said to Isabella. Isabella was painting a scene of a hill top. She had been trying to figure out what was to go on that hill, but she just fumbled around the answer. She felt she knew; the answers just evaded her.

“I know Honey. I was thinking that we could take them to the new playground in building T-3. You know, the one on the new annex wing they added last month or we could bring the park to them. It‘s up to you,” Isabella replied.

Lucas thought about, smiled, and said “Ok!” The phone rang then. Lucas got up from his couch and walked into the kitchen, where the phone rang on the wall. The caller ID just said GHQ. Lucas knew who was on that line. He had already decided to quit running from his past mistakes, especially the one involving Tara, now a First Sergeant.

“Captain Commander Cochran, it’s me Commander Patricks. Will you be returning to your post sir? The Ghosts miss you and we have never known any leader like you. You were the first and the best. Sir, you still have the loyalty of this outfit. Already it has been years since your scheduled return sir. If I may be so bold, I am worried about you sir.”

“Patricks, I will indeed be returning; do not fret over me any further. I had as you know to fix some issues that took longer than expected. I have been thinking my dear friend, and I think the Ghosts need to start taking a new offensive. No longer do we need to be lost in this storm. Let us go out there and find the answers that have been denied us. I have been working on some new plans, but I will have to tell you about them later. I will call you soon old friend.”

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Amberle and Laka were still asleep when Lucas got home with the hologram scenery. The twins had their hearts always with nature. They loved flowers and animals. Isabella was still in the kitchen baking for the party. She overdid it! She had baked a cake for each girl and another for the guest. She had cookies, pastries, pies, and brownies. Lucas just stared as his kitchen began to fill with all of Isabella’s baked goodies.

“Sweet Angel, after you finish baking every last once of mix and batter we have left meet me out on the smoke deck,” Lucas said as he kissed his wife on the cheek. Isabella just blushed, and smiled a grin from ear to ear.

On the smoke deck, which was outfitted with vents to let smoke out, but no let rain in, Lucas fired up his grill. He learned every grill trick in the trade from his father and brother-in-law. Hot dogs on the top and patties on the bottom. Sausage on the side griller and all had been seasoned to perfection. The sausage had been sitting in BBQ sauce since before he left for the last of the party supplies.

Fifteen minutes later as Lucas counted down his wife baking obsession, Isabella emerged onto the smoke deck cover in remnants of the last once of cake mix, number four, they had. Lucas sighed at his wife cooking love. The adjacent deck which was usually a sparse area used for anything and everything looked amazingly just like a jungle. Isabella’s eyes went wide as a toucan flew from one holographic tree to the next.

“I mixed in real trees in front of the holotrees and disguised their pots with a dirt border, that I will sweep I promise, don’t give me that look, and the frogs are also real,” Lucas told his wife. At the mention of real frogs Lucas jumped back from his wife as she lunged at him with a pair of tongs.

“Real frogs! You put frogs in my house,” Isabella scolded.

“Froggies!” just then two little girls flew onto the spare deck. Amberle the oldest by one minute had eyes like her father with the high cheek bones of her mother. Both girls had dark hair like their parents. Laka had her mother’s blue eyes and gracious smile. Laka looked more like Isabella than Lucas, but she was more rebellious like her father.

Frogs scattered as two pairs of little hands shoot out in an attempt to grab them. Laka cornered one frighten frog and nabbed it. Amberle grabbed one midair, as in the frog stopped in midair.

“No fair Amby, you used the Arts,” Laka said with hurt feeling laid thick on her words.

“Sorry Laka,” Amberle replied with down cast eyes. Amberle fell to the floor as a flurry of tickles hit her sides. Laka and Amberle had their father’s talents, but used them for less conventional means. Isabella, was by no means bad in the Arts, on the contrary she was as good as any one of the Ghost. Laka and Amberle knew this as the mother had often popped their bottoms from quite a ways off before, for getting into her flower gardens.

As their mother chastised them for rough-housing a knock came at the door to the spare deck. Patricks came through it laden with gifts for the girls. Lucas laughed at his best friend’s tendency to spoil his “nieces.”

“Seriously, these girls live like queens between you and Lucas,” Isabella said jokingly to Patricks. Patricks laughed one of his deep, gruff laughs.

Finish Birthday, SCUBA recover, artifacts, clues, battles, dreams, and visions

One morning, Isabella’s best friend came by to watch the girls as Lucas and Isabella went out on a rare occasion, a date. They soon found themselves in the “C” Annex. Isabella and Lucas walked to building C-27, their favorite restaurant, Las Trinity. The Host greeted them at the wrought iron doors, very little iron exists on the Arc. They settled into their quite booth and watched the rain put ripples onto the watery world they called home.

“Isabella I have to tell you that I am madly and hopelessly in love with you,” Lucas whispered into Isabella’s ear. Isabella blushed her rose bud blush. She was a rose without thorns. Where as Lucas was a willow tree sturdy, but flowing as well with the winds of Fate.

Isabella pulled Lucas close and kissed him, “I love you too my little Puppy-Bear, and you can bet that your kitty-Bear…” Isabella’s words trailed off. Men dressed head to toe in Black advanced toward their table. They had a white zero with red wings on their left shoulder. Isabella just hung her head. Lucas kissed her forehead and stood up to meet the men.

“Their had better be an extremely good reason for this disruption or there will be a crucifixion, I swear it! Now Speak man,” Lucas yelled. A young Private cringed behind his faltering Captain. The Captain and his men saluted Lucas.

“Captain Commander James, Sir, Commander Patricks went missing after investigating odd vibrations coming from just south of the Rainstorm Forest. Mayor William Farris is calling for your early return Sir,” the Captain barely managed to get out. Lucas could feel tears welling up, but denied them departure from his tear ducts. It would not raise the moral of his men if he did. Lucas kissed Isabella and promised to return soon.

As Lucas walked out of the building he felt a surge of anger at the loss of his closest friend. He shuddered and no more was Lucas standing on the glass covered walkway. A white fox the size of an Irish wolfhound stood in his wake. The Message Guard never faltered, being used to higher ups transformations. Lucas’s nine tails swayed as he walked. Everyone moved out of his way. Lucas’s temperament was very mild, yet if the point was ever reached he had the deadliest temper known to the Arc. All knew of the nine-tailed white fox that walked to the central building of the Arc. Lucas walked into the Ghost’s main offices and addressed his secretary, who had been assisting Patrick while he was away.

Thank you, Faith. Do tell your husband, Mr. Jennings, that both of you are invited to my daughters’ birthday party. Lucas thought to his secretary. Lucas checked on his equipment sniffing for intrusion, when none were found he had the Captain who retrieved him to read the briefing on Patricks.

“…and so we lost contact about thirteen feet into that cave. We did see a shadow leave a while later on the satellites,” said the Captain. Lucas looked over the photo again and again. Then it hit him. The same shadow was attached to a creature that had been sighted when the rains started. A creature who had tried and failed to do to Ireland what was done to the Arc.

There is a story of a man named Patriclus that drove all the snakes out of Ireland. My memory is foggy, but I remember that that directly correlates to the robed men that saved history by recording and rerecording all the books from Europe. I can not though remember who the men were, but I do know that they are of the same group as Patriclus. That is the shadow of a serpent that was sighted when the rains started. Though our Patriclus failed.

Lucas changed back to his human form. “You may leave Captain,” Lucas whispered. Lucas called Tara to his office when the Captain left. Faith politely returned to her desk. When Tara arrived she blushed either for the shame of driving a senior officer into a sabbatical, or from the fact that she only wore her pajamas. It was most likely the second, but Lucas wondered. The clock said 10:00.

“Tara, suit up for a dive, we are going after Commander Patricks,” Lucas told her. “Yes, Sir!” Tara smiled, “Should I get the others sir?” She almost to the door when Lucas called her back. She got a quizzical expression on her face.

“We will go in alone Tara, we go in dark!” Tara swallowed a lump. A thousand deaths were going through her head. She nodded and they went to equip their SCUBA gear. They attached the heavy armor on around their vests.

In the next hour they were in the water and staring down the mouth of the cave that had claimed the life of one of their own, just hours before. They went in slowly, caution was not a strong point of Lucas’s, but he had two little twin girls to think of now. It is amazing how parenthood changes a man’s priorities. Ten feet in and Lucas turned to check on Tara. She seemed to be ok and she gave him the thumbs up. To divers, that is a “good to go.”

Three feet later the water began to warm. Soon it felt like it was boiling, and all at once it was fringed. Lucas’s Equilibrium Art was an automatic response that kept his mind and body balanced and focused. Tara however almost passed out. “Sir, it is getting dark and I really want to throw up,” warned Tara. Lucas turned and instilled some of his energy into her to balance out her systems.

He could feel the eyes boring into his skull. Lucas turned to see a huge serpent staring down at him. Tara turned to swim out, but Lucas put his arm around her waste and pulled her close to him so she could not do just that. The serpent spoke to them, Young fragile humans. I own you. Tis I that killed your friend, tis I that brought the rains on you, tis I that stole your memories of that wretched power. Twill be I that kills you little Adam and little Eve. You left him Lucas. Patricks was an Abel that you will never be. He told me the story of his name sake Patriclus. Ha! Patriclus was a much stronger man, he had “Him” on his side. The very same “Him” that I deny you to know. That is why at the end of this cave I hid the answers that will fill the void in your soul. I shall deny you Lucas! You will see me again, in my domain, Hell!

The serpent lashed out with his tail hitting Tara against the wall of the cave. Lucas pulled the trigger of his MP-5. The serpent’s scales sounded with the ting-ting of bullets bouncing off their target. Fangs the size of swords descended for Lucas, but found no hold as a force slammed the serpent against the cave. Tara’s eyes glowed and the Art waves rolled off her as she throw stone after stone to protect her captain. The serpent eyes locked onto Lucas with a pure Hell-maddened blood lust.

As the serpent struck out towards Lucas a bright light flashed. It was like the sun used to feel on Lucas’s skin, like the world was perfect, and joy flowed freely through the world. In that Instant Lucas and Tara felt peace, pure, unrestrained peace. Then the cold returned and there was no more feelings of ecstasy. Tara looked questionably at Lucas. The Serpent was gone, as if banished from his own cave by a force much greater than his own.

A faint light shone ahead. Fourteen feet later and the duo found a air pocket. Lucas climbed out first and helped Tara out of the water. They removed their armor and wet suits. Looking around they realized that they were in a colossal dome shaped area with marble pillar leading to an alter gilded gold. Lucifer could never approach the alter, go my son, and retrieve what lies on the alter. It is your destiny to be the next evangelist.

Their was something about that father like voice that reminded Lucas of his Own Father who had died with his whole family in a bombing in a town that laid hundreds of feet under water and he could no longer recall the name of. Tara motioned Lucas to a wall with a window of all things. The sight caught Lucas’s breath. There just out of the window on the floor of their little ocean was an entire town with two bridges over what appeared to be a lake at some time. Lucas’s tried to remember so hard he gave himself a headache.

Lucas turned to the marble arcade leading to the alter. He walked slowly and fearfully down to the golden stand before him. On it was a black book. Lucas opened to a random page and read out loud. Ecclesiastes 3:1, For all things there is a season, and a time for all activities under heaven. Lucas fell to his knees with tears streaming down his face. Tara rushed to his side. Memories flowed into Lucas. Memories of being dunked under water, of hymns song by a choir, and of nicely dressed people. Lucas whispered two words, “I remember!” On his knees Lucas clutched the book to his chest, the book with five letters, five profound letters, Bible.

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Lucas walked into his house with a myriad of thoughts running rampant though his head. He set the Bible on his night stand next to his bed. Isabella was already asleep. No one had yet noticed that the rains had stopped. The silence left in wake of the downpour their lives were accustomed, created a deafening void. As he walked into the den he noticed Isabella’s painting. Three crosses sat upon the hills she had painted. Lucas smiled and said a prayer thanking God for showing him the light and delivering him from his own water-soaked cross.