God City: The Flood Opening Scenes

Chapter 1

Sacrifice yourself to the Lord of the Cosmos. Your reward shall be great in heaven - Chapter 7, Verse 14, Book of Nephilius

New Eridu, God City, was darkened by a blackening blanket of clouds enveloping the heavens. A deluge of impetuous rain descended down—fat, globulous drops pummeled the buildings, their lights going out like dominoes. A soporific river overflowing the causeways with gloomy dark waters flowed slowly through the heart of the city until it came to an island of red rock like a bleeding eye. Atop that island in the misty air was a massive stone structure, a ziggurat built from the very stones of the ziggurat found at the ruined city of Eridu in Mesopotamia. Its cascading walls and stone staircases led to a flat surface like a halved pyramid and atop the ziggurat was a wondrous, glorious cathedral gleaming magically of lapis lazuli. It rose high into the heavens, a pinnacle of power pointing to the far reaches of the cosmos.

The cathedral, called Abzu—the house of subterranean waters—was dark save for one glowing window, bright like a beacon in the night. Inside that room sat a man. He poured over a book upon his desk, a big, thick book with weathered pages. He read carefully, closing his eyes to ponder the text. He was a meticulous man; he read and re-read each line, skipping none in that soft light of the candle upon the desk. He was a man of the old ways—candles and books in a world of technology. He closed the cover—the Book of Nephilius—and gazed upon the painting hanging on the wall in front of him, a painting that depicted Enki, the Sumerian water god as he was known some five thousand years ago, founding the earth’s first civilized city, Eridu in Mesopotamia. The Sumerian water god, now known truly as the first Nephilim to have visited earth—Enki, a constant reminder of the tasks at hand.

A phone on the desk rang. The man checked his watch before reaching for it. He answered. “What did he say? I see. Where’s he now? He has little faith…call the girl.”

She took a slow, easy sip of the Curacao, just a tentative little sip, its soporific contents oscillating to the brim, reminiscent of tranquil waters where she used to swim under the moonlight of home. She set the martini on the bar, twirling one finger slowly around the rim and the other at a lock of curly blonde hair as she flashed emerald eyes at the bartender, but they were not for him. She turned her back upon the bar, leaning her elbows against the railing wearing a slim, red cocktail dress. She gazed out amongst the crowd as if surveying all the potential young suitors. Club Apocalypse was the hottest club in the city and young men drunk with liquid courage soon approached the girl seeing as she was the most enticing woman there. But she fanned them off like flies as she eyed the one person who caught her interest.

Even he would have to notice her despite the wake of vultures feeding upon his fame—Joshua Hart—Big Its Magazine’s 2004’s most influential persona in pop culture. He relaxed back into a black leather sofa in the VIP lounge against a backdrop of bull sharks swimming conspiratorially amidst luminescent blue lighting. His posse surrounded him—bodyguards, entourage, beautiful girls, his arms around the shoulders of two, vampiric women who whispered flirtations in his ears, their hands gliding down the length of his jeans, his arms, his mid-section, fluidly as if they were sifting through the pools of the water above. He knew perfectly well that he was the most important person there—only just that night 70,000 scantily-clad teenagers flooded his concert clawing and scratching at each other to get a better view of him.

His entourage earnestly fought to win over any one of the girls like those who use the fame of a friend for their own gain, even if only for one night—especially for one night. They stole glances towards Joshua and raised their glasses in salute to make sure he was having a good time; for, if Joshua wasn’t having a good time, the party was over.

Joshua looked up at the bull sharks, alcohol swimming in his veins. Let them have any one of these girls he thought; there would always be girls. When he had first become famous, the girls throwing themselves at him meant the world, but it had become burdensome of late. His entire life would be spent with girls who secretly wanted something from him: fame, money, or both. Now he could only seriously date famous people for famous people had a taste of what he had. He thought of those young girls screaming at him, dressed next to nothing, young minds, young hearts, adoration swimming in their veins. Fourteen-year olds and twenty somethings equally loved him—and wanted the same things too. Enjoy it while you can his friends constantly told him; it wouldn’t always be that way. But, he wanted something else, something more.

It was all paradoxical Joshua knew for he secretly loved, needed those moments, these moments with hundreds of belligerent club-goers dancing amidst colorful laser lights and fog machines. The concerts, the travels, the hoopla were all for these relaxing moments in a club surrounded by people who wanted him; even if, superficially, it was all the same. Burdensome or not, his life felt complete at the moment.

He turned to the girl shouting something into his ear and put his finger to her lips, whispering, “I’m at the top of the world. I can do anything I want.”

“What?” She screamed back.

Joshua drained the Curacao martini and looked toward the bar. For a moment, just a moment, the crowd had parted and he saw what appeared to be a white shining light above a beautiful angel. His eyes focused, squinting at the glow before him.

The girl next to him asked, “Want another drink baby?”

“No,” he said, getting up and moving towards the bar. One of his bodyguards, a mammoth of a man noticed Joshua’s inquisitive gaze and he looked towards the bar and saw her standing there, elbows back, parting her golden hair to look across the sea of people into Joshua’s eyes.

Joshua felt that the entire club had ceased to exist, that all was frozen in time. His entourage, the girls all stopped and stared as Joshua moved, one foot after another, and all watched in disbelief as he glided towards the bar as if he were an inanimate object suddenly coming to life. His bodyguard quickly got in front of him and pushed stunned people out of the way.

Joshua set his empty martini glass down upon the bar and eyed the bartender. “Another,” he said. Then, as an afterthought, “please.” The girl continued to lean back, looking straight ahead, ignoring Joshua. “I’ll write a song about this moment,” he said.

She cocked her head and gazed into those bright blue pop-star eyes, her hands steadily swirling the rim of her glass, its contents now nearly drained. “And how would it begin?” She produced a perfectly practiced smile, her eyes glittering in the twinkling luminescence.

Joshua turned and faced the fish tanks. “In the deep, ocean keep, we found love, with the sharks above, for one night as Fate ordained.” He paused, smiled, his orthodontic-perfected pearls seemingly glistening in the light. “At least for one night.”

His entourage humored, the vampiric girls morose, the bystanders curious—watched as Joshua and his bodyguards left the club with the most beautiful woman any of them had ever seen. Joshua’s brand new Porsche was brought from the valet and the girl looked from one bodyguard to the next with a smirk as she climbed in.

“I think I’ll alright by myself this time,” Joshua said to his bodyguards. “Night, night.”

They sped off down the boulevard cruising effortlessly through the downpour. The girl rubbed Joshua’s shoulder as he careened around the vehicles on the roadway. He looked at her and laughed. “Nervous? Don’t be. This thing handles like a cheetah in the hunt. My place or yours?”

“Mine.”

“Where do you live?”

“Out towards the sea.”

Joshua turned onto a mud-trodden pathway and pulled up to a small house overlooking a magnificent cliff. The rain poured down and the house seemed a dark shadow in the thick overhanging pines.

“This is where you live?” Joshua asked.

“Yes,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful during the day.”

“I’m sure,” he said. “I’ll see it tomorrow morning.”

The two jumped out of the car and made a dash for the covered deck, but they were quickly soaked. Under the cover of the roof, they turned towards the raging sea. The only visible apparition was a large barge rocking back and forth in the turbulent waters with a single glowing beacon as the moon peered down like a blind eye.

“Another beautiful night in God City,” Joshua laughed.

The girl fumbled finding the keys in her purse as her hands shook. When her fingers finally locked upon them, she took a deep breath before opening the door. The house was eerily quiet. Habitually, she roved her hand along the wall for the switch; magically, the living room glowed with light.

Joshua took in the quaint house. There was a bedroom on the lefthand side, which he eyed inquisitively and a hallway on the right. A snug couch, coffee table, TV set and lamp made up the living room, which succinctly tied in with the dining room and kitchen. The walls were adorned with stereotypical oil paintings featuring prosaic landscapes.

“Reminds me of my childhood home,” Joshua said, grimacing sharply. They were not there to hear about this childhood in rural Pennsylvania.

She only smiled at him—she really didn’t want to hear about his childhood, he thought. Most women did. She was dripping wet and had goose bumps all along her arms. She peered towards the bedroom door and then looked back almost frighteningly at Joshua. She’s nervous, Joshua thought; he, was the one in control. It was his turn to smile. “You want to show me that room?”

“No,” she said. “Here, on the carpet.”

Joshua stepped towards her and began kissing her neck, his hands sliding down her dress. Her legs felt leathery from the cold rain, but tone, and his hand gently found its way and he felt the smoothness of satin. He kissed her fully on the lips as she stood there, looking into his eyes.

“You seem distracted,” he said.

“No, I…just can’t believe I’m here with you,” she whispered.

“Yeah, well, here we are,” he laughed, the sound sounding strange and echoing in the quiet house. “Let’s make some noise.”

She stepped back from him and slowly unzipped her dress, letting it fall quietly to the floor. She stood there, her body flawless in the dim glow of the light. Joshua took one look at her and quickly threw off his jacket. He struggled slightly getting his shirt above his head as if it were his first time with a beautiful woman. She looked at his perfectly chiseled body and sighed. The two of them would have been magnificent together in a different life. She undid his belt and tossed it on the couch. She unzipped his jeans and pulled them down. He stepped out of them and she lay down upon the soft fur carpet. Joshua knelt down and began kissing her legs, her thighs. She reached for him and pulled him close and suddenly started clawing and scratching at his arms, his back, biting his wrists.

“Wow, slow down a bit,” Joshua said.

“Hold me down. Make it hurt,” she cried. “I want to feel you.”

Joshua grabbed at her wrists and held her tightly. She screamed and snarled like a wild animal and Joshua was appalled and desirous at the change in her. She bit his wrists until his skin punctured and blood seeped down on her face.

“My neck, put your hands around my neck,” she said.

Joshua squeezed her neck until he thought he had gone too far. He let go.

“Now, now, do it now,” she screamed.

Joshua had no idea what to think, but he maneuvered his body between hers. He held her tightly, kissed her fully, but just as suddenly, she became cold, almost disoriented, looking beyond him at the ceiling, at the bedroom, almost as if she were enduring something for the sake of something else. She was no longer into him; he had never experienced anything like this before. She just lay there. He finished quickly. They were both breathing hard, but neither said anything. He decided it was best if he just left. But then he heard a creak on the deck outside, then another, and another. He stood up quickly, hastily putting on his jeans.

“Do you have a roommate?” He asked, rushing to buckle his belt.

The front door opened slowly. A tall, gaunt, sinister looking man stepped through the doorway as if taking a step through a portal in time—the man from the cathedral. His gray coat dripped water onto the floor into a small puddle. His hair was silvery, his eyes piercing like a nocturnal cat. He wore black gloves, gray trousers, gray shoes. Two large men followed close behind him, one being Joshua’s bodyguard. Then, the door to the bedroom creaked open and another man came out from there.

Joshua looked at his bodyguard. “Lance, what’s going on?” Lance said nothing.

“Do you remember me?” The sinister man asked.

“You…yeah, I remember you,” Joshua stammered. He looked at the man with eyes dark like the bowels of the pit of despair and he shuddered.

“Gravemaker is my name,” the man said. “And, incidentally, it’s my profession.”

“Why…why’re you here?” Joshua remembered the last conversation he had had with the man—it had chilled him even then.

“It’s really a pity,” Gravemaker said. “All those impressionable youth you could have spoken for. You should’ve had more faith. You said you wanted something else, something more.”

“What? Oh, you mean join the Church? I can still join. I will join,” Joshua cried, knowing something was not right.

“Now? Now it’s too late. One must be willing to join; one must choose to join. Take him outside,” Gravemaker said, his face insouciant.

Two of the men subdued Joshua without much of a fight and took him outside into the rain.

The girl lay still on the carpet, naked, crying.

“Why’d it have to be like this? Why’d you have to wait so long?”

Gravemaker looked at her and smiled. “Don’t worry my child, you did wonderfully, flawless in every aspect,” he said, perusing her body. “Besides, we need him in you as that is part of the charade.” He stepped around so that he was standing above her head. Then he leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Sacrifice yourself to the Lord of the Cosmos. Your reward shall be great in heaven.”

Lance grabbed and restrained her arms. The girl looked up at Gravemaker—her eyes widened as she looked from him to Lance, wondering, waiting for what was next—this was not part of the plan. Gravemaker took a plastic bag out from his coat and slowly slipped it over her head and squeezed it tightly so that no air could escape. She tried to struggle, but Lance was much too powerful. She wiggled her head about, but Gravemaker calmly squeezed until her eyes bulged, flawless no more in death.