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Devil's Tide
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Devil's Tide |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration 
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"Woe to you, oh earth and sea, for the Devil sends the beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short..." Revelations Ch. XIII v.18 By Christopher The fires burned brightly on the nighttime beach. But for some reason, Jason felt no warmth. Inside he felt hollow, empty, devoid of life. The sea matched his mood. For the first time in his life, Jason gazed out upon an ocean that was still. The water, black and placid beneath the moon, beckoned him. It promised an easy release of pain. The water met the beach with nary a stir. The only movement was that caused by inattentive swimmers. Across the expanse of the sand, bonfires could be seen, blazing high in celebration of the coming new year. Teenagers leaped and pranced around, enjoying the life they felt inside. Here and there, couples could be seen making love, oblivious of the others around. Policemen walked up and down the crowded beach, but paid little attention to the underage drinking. Instead, they often stopped to share a beer and chat excitedly about the coming era. Millennium. The end of a thousand years. The end of the world. Jason lifted his grey eyes, searching the heavens for an answer. An answer to quell the dread he felt inside. Something to account for the feeling of loss. Something to explain away the knowledge he had... of the end. But no answers were forthcoming from the heavens, which seemed just. As he'd seen, God had deserted mankind. Had left them to answer for their crimes and inadequacies. And why shouldn't he? What had man done to deserve salvation? What wonders had he done in tribute to that which birthed him? None. Mankind instead, chose to rape and pillage, murder and maim. Wars, racism, everything that the Bible warned against... common everyday occurrences. And now the time had come to answer for them. Now mankind was being called to task, to respond to the accusations. This he knew from his dreams. Seventh of seven. The seventh son. Clairvoyant. Damned. Early on, Jason had learned to hide his visions from others. His prescience disturbed those who did not understand the power of second sight. It haunted those with no wish to know what the future portended. And it was mocked by those who had no belief. Little did the opinion of others matter to him though. His dreams and trances occupied all of his time, leaving little for personal relationships. Even when he was young, he was never able to fit in. An anomaly to the people around him, his classmates would poke fun at him, beat him, ignore him. It didn't seem to matter what he tried. Even when moving to a new school and hiding his gift, the children could sense something, as if they themselves possessed the gift of a sixth sense. So after a few years of trying and receiving nothing in return, Jason had given up. A thing he sorely regretted now. Inside, he found some measure of compassion, a tiny spark of care. He didn't want to see the world end. Sure, there were many things that were ugly, but also many beautiful things. But his desires mattered little, the end was the end was the end. There had been a time when he looked upon his powers as a gift. But no more. Now it was only a curse that had led him through a life of lonely misery, with no hope at the end of the road. As his dreams had progressed lately, and he began seeing the dark times ahead, he longed for the days when something he could do would make a difference. Failing that, he longed only for a little more time... ha! Time. Time to find someone to spend the rest of his life with, short as that may be. But he had no more time. Like a candle burned down the wick, so has the time of man burned down. Wasted time. Jason shifted back to the fire, disdaining the heavens as they'd disdained him. He turned his back on God, showing his heart. He stared at the fire and counted the remaining minutes until the tide of Satan's beast would overrun all life on earth. . . . . . [This message has been edited by Christopher (edited 09-25-1999).] |
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| © Copyright 1999 C.G. Ward - All Rights Reserved | |||
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DreamEvil Member Elite
since 1999-06-22
Posts 2396 |
"He who hath understanding shall reckon the number of the Beast for it is a human number, six-hundred sixty-six." I well remember Maiden my friend and this well captures Seventh Son. Awesome read even did I not know the inspiration. ------------------ Now and forever my heart hears ~one voice~. DreamEvil© [This message has been edited by DreamEvil (edited 09-25-1999).] |
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Severn Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-17
Posts 7704 |
Hmmmm - a sixth sense. You've been thinking a lot about this, me thinks. I like this, Chris, it's very well thought out and particularly chilling. Well written of course! 'He turned his back on God, showing his heart' - like that! Let's hope the world doesn't end too soon, 'cause there are things to do...people to see....  |
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Dusk Treader
Moderator
Senior Member
since 1999-06-18
Posts 1187St. Paul, MN |
This chilled me Christopher, but I sit here enraptured. Incredible piece, vivid and frighteningly true. I hope the world doesn't end too soon though... ------------------ "'Cause there's a hunger, a longing to escape, from the life I live when I'm awake" - Creed - "Higher" |
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Dusk Treader
Moderator
Senior Member
since 1999-06-18
Posts 1187St. Paul, MN |
This chilled me Christopher, but I sit here enraptured. Incredible piece, vivid and frighteningly true. I hope the world doesn't end too soon though... ------------------ "'Cause there's a hunger, a longing to escape, from the life I live when I'm awake" - Creed - "Higher" |
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Marilyn Member Elite
since 1999-09-26
Posts 2621Ontario, Canada |
Very well written my friend. It is very good to see you back here. Your absence has been felt.  |
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Ben Pike Junior Member
since 1999-11-14
Posts 20Southwestern Virginia |
This is a very dark piece with no hope of redemption as written. One problem I have with the plot is that I understand the Christian interpretation of the end of the world as the second coming of Christ when the righteous (or at least repentive) will be granted a place in heaven while we who have ignored their pleas to be purified will suffer with Satan alone. I interpret the narrator as one in tune with his faith and so wonder that he doesn't see a place in heaven for himself at the stroke of midnight. Schematically there is one-dimensionality to the hopelessly bleak in general, like a painting all in shades of black and dark dark brown. A couple of the phrases struck as a bit out of place: "nary a stir" was one and "so has the time of man burned down" also. These are a contrast to the colloquial tone of: "the end of the road" and the majority of the piece. When I heard about the waves beckoning him at the start I thought he would at least toy with the idea of suicide as an alternative, but this thread was left untended to the end. Out of place also was the sentance about finding someone to share time with. The sentance about turning his back on God and showing his heart confused me. To whom did he show his heart? Does this indicate that by giving up hope the character has sealed his fate to the wrath of hell where if he had maintained some sort of faith he may yet have been saved? The idea of policemen having beers at the turn of the year seems out of synch with the current hype about civil unrest at that juncture. "Even when moving to a new school and hiding his gift, the children could sense something..." Technically this says that the children moved to a new school and hid his gift (and could sense something). The opening quote is not Revelations 13:18 in my bible. The writer has poignantly conveyed a hopeless situation. I look forward to seeing more. "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" John 10:34 |
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JennyLee Senior Member
since 1999-09-01
Posts 1461Northwestern, NJ. |
The only words I can find Christopher is..... Entrancing jenny Lee ------------------ Love is an attempt at penetrating another being,But it can only succeed if the surrender is mutual. |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Thanks everyone! Ben- you're right...umm  I misremembered...now I can't seem to find it...oh well... What can I say???LOL, as to one dimensionality...true, but often people see life in that manner... As to the rest, I beg forgiveness... this was written in a matter of ten to fifteen minutes, shrug...one of those ones I didn't have too much interest in, but had to get out! |
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Terrina Kethryveris Member
since 1999-12-06
Posts 53USA |
'Tis a shame that people look upon things they do not understand with hatred. Wonderful depiction of how the end might come, however I am one of the few who belives the world will go on. Terri Truth be known, fantasy is much more appealing than reality. |
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