The Flame by Werbling on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

“Wait, hello? How can I be blamed for that? Everything I’ve been working for, just as the Exodus nation had instructed, has been toward ultimate victory and the liberation of our country.”

“You have not. You have failed to carry out the mandate; the law you and the others in Beijing II were chosen to carryout that fateful day. You must go to the Flame.”

“What Flame? What are you talking about? Return me to the rally point from which we just came!” I yelled.

Michael then interjected, “No Manny. You’re coming with us. Because you follow this man, this “Brother,” you have fallen because you no longer follow the law.”

I was dumbfounded by the backlash I was receiving. I felt numb and would no longer resist. Lu started the engine and we began traveling towards the unknown destination. It was not long before what was being referred to as “The Flame,” was soon becoming apparent in the approaching horizon. Although we still found ourselves driving in the darkness, a towering flame could now be seen only a few hundred yards away. The inferno was shooting out of an enormous pipe or derrick located high among the plateaus that were further up the road. We continued to follow the winding pathway until we finally found ourselves upon a plateau and directly adjacent to what turned out to be an enormous red flame surrounded by blue light. Lu parked and we disembarked the vehicle.

“This? This is what you brought me to? I don’t see anything.... anything except a natural gas flame.”

“You don’t see anything and you should see everything. Have you become a fool? Use your brain, for once.” Michael blurted.

Michael continued, “You must now see to believe? You see Brother and you see his armies and his battles so you therefore believe in his vision and cause. What’s happened to you Manny? Even 12BFRE was once able to believe in something that went beyond shallow symbols. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I was overwhelmed. I did not know what to say. “What is this?”

Lu followed in, “This is everything. This is the higher voice you once believed in and followed obediently. Set up your radio to Exodus, as you had once done back in the days of Beijing II. Tune in. Place it underneath the Flame. Listen, once again.”

I did what he said. I lowered my hood and went back to the jeep where the radio had been stowed away in my pack. I returned to the center of the gas line and placed the radio directly beneath the pipe which led upwards to the Flame. At first, the Exodus transmission was crackly and full of static. However, once the Flame began to burn brighter, the transmission shot forward as if amplified by a thousand speakers. I was in awe and instinctively took a step back. It was almost as though I could see the words in the form of blue fire.

Lu then yelled into the sky, “He is once again ready to hear your voice."