Ground of oam oams cry, p.15
Ground of Oam (Oam's Cry), page 15
Erickson nodded and said goodbye; he then exited the room.
Levi stood there for a moment thinking. Nothing felt right to him.
He walked outside. The sun was now higher making the sky brighter, and shadows from the buildings stretched across the ground. He made his way to the city gates. He got to the main part of the city which was clustered with buildings. The streets here were made with stone instead of dirt like the rest of the city.
Levi could see the gates in the distance, and saw a huge mass of people forming in front of them. It was a large open area that allowed many people to be there at once. He expected to find Philip there, but he didn’t know how to find him because of the multitude of people there.
He found a higher spot to stand so that he could see better. He looked around for Philip, but everyone wore the same green uniforms. The place vibrated vigorously to Levi, and it was loud with everyone talking.
Levi looked over to one side of the crowd and finally spotted Philip with his family. He saw Vailen, who still looked excited, but Philip looked as if he were disappointed. Levi hurried over, making his way through the crowd. He didn’t know when they would leave, but he wasn’t going to miss saying goodbye.
Philip sat on a small platform that rose from the ground. Levi didn’t know what purpose it served, but that didn’t matter to him at the moment.
“Philip!” Levi called out, getting his friend’s attention. The whole family looked up to see Levi coming. Philip stood up and quickly made his way to Levi.
“There you are,” Philip said, sounding happy, but still looked a little disappointed. He gave Levi a quick hug and looked up at him.
“Sorry, I wasn’t here sooner.” Levi replied. “How are you doing?”
“I’m doing fine, but I just can’t believe that you weren’t selected,” Philip answered. “I can’t go to battle without my best friend.”
It felt good to Levi to know that someone cared, but then he didn’t like seeing his friend disappointed when he used to be excited. This was something Philip had always wanted. Levi couldn’t ruin it for him.
“Don’t worry; you’ll do fine without me,” Levi replied, trying to encourage him. “We will see each other again one day, and you will probably be considered a hero by then.” He hoped what he was saying was true. He didn’t even know if he should say it because everything seemed so uncertain now.
Philip gave a quick smile and said, “But what about you Levi? Even if I did do anything heroic, you would be stuck here doing nothing.”
“Life’s not just about being a hero,” Levi replied. “Who knows what will happen here with me.”
“Yeah, but I imagined us going together to fight the Rebirtha,” Philip said. “We were supposed to be fighting by each other’s side until the end.”
“Life’s not all about what you imagine either,” Levi replied, with a small smile. “It wasn’t meant to be. Things will be better soon though.”
“I can only hope so,” Philip replied. “But you are right, we will see each other again someday.”
Levi smiled again at the comment. He was eager to see Philip excited again.
“So, I guess this is probably the last time we will see each other for a while,” Vailen said, walking up to them.
“I guess so,” Levi replied, shaking Vailens hand. “And we only met last night.”
“Yeah, I know, but it was good meeting you,” Vailen said, with a smile. “I’m sorry you couldn’t come along. You seem like you would be a good soldier to fight alongside with.”
“Well, I wish I could,” Levi said. He wished that he could have gotten to know Philip’s brother better. Vailen seemed like a nice guy.
Jethrim and his wife Lodan came closer to them.
“Levi, I want you to know that if you ever need anything we will be here,” Lodan said. Jethrim nodded his head in agreement.
“Thank you,” Levi replied. The entire family seemed nice. Levi respected them because of how close they seemed to be, and he wondered if he had a family like that somewhere. They spoke for a while longer.
Philip began to feel better, although he was never going to get over the fact that Levi wasn’t coming. This war was going to change everything, and he wished that Levi could be there. He was glad that his brother was going to be there. Philip loved him a lot, but still, not having his best friend there didn’t feel right.
A horn sounded, signaling everyone to formation. Levi cringed at the sound of it. He knew what it meant. It was time for Philip and Vailen to leave. The horn blew again sending everyone to their places. Philip and Vailen gave their parents one last hug. Both Jethrim and Lodan looked sad but were happy at the same time. Tears rolled down Lodan’s face as she cried and Jethrim struggled to hold his tears in.
Philip gave Levi one last hug as well. Levi was sad to see his friend go. Why couldn’t he just have a little longer to be with him?
“Goodbye,” Philip said.
“Goodbye,” Levi returned.
Philip was reluctant to leave Levi there.
“Go and make a difference,” said Levi.
Philip nodded his head and then turned to get into formation. Vailen shook Levi’s hand one more time and then got into formation as well. All the troops assembled in a large and wide column.
Levi got into formation with the others who weren’t going. They stood on the sides to see the troops off. As soon as everyone was where they were supposed to be, another horn sounded. It came from the gates and echoed among the buildings. The gates began to open, and Levi could see all the commanders at the front of the line. He saw Commander Erickson there ready to lead the soldiers.
The horn blew again and the troops went into a march. Everyone started to cheer and wave goodbye to the soldiers. Levi couldn’t even bring himself to wave though. He just watched them all march out of the city. He couldn’t even see Philip among them. A tear ran down his cheek. This was the last time he would see Philip for a long time, and maybe forever.
The gates closed behind the soldiers as they left. People were up on the city walls waving goodbye while Levi just stood where he was trying to pull himself together.
“A sad time indeed, but one that is greatly needed,” a voice said from behind him. Levi spun around to see Timothy Foridge standing behind him.
“Timothy,” Levi exclaimed, relieved to see him. Without thinking he wrapped his arms around him. Timothy let out a chuckle.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to see you sooner when you got back,” Timothy said, while Levi hugged him. “I got caught up doing a lot of things.”
“That’s okay, I’m just glad to see you,” Levi replied, letting go of him. He had been trying to see Timothy ever since he got back from training the other day, but he never could. He looked up at Timothy’s strange colored eyes that always distinguished him from everyone else. His face was broad, and his hair blond.
Levi was so glad to finally see the doctor now. Timothy was probably the first friend he had made at the fort. If it wasn’t for him, Levi would have probably been imprisoned or banished by the people of the fort.
“Did anyone you know get selected?” Timothy asked, sounding concerned.
“Yes, one of my friends did,” Levi replied, disappointed.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Timothy said. “But I’m sure you will see him again soon. No war lasts forever.”
“But I don’t know if he will survive,” Levi replied. “I don’t know if I will ever see him again.”
“Yes, but you must have hope,” Timothy responded, “You can’t let the fear of death stop you from having hope, or we would all be as good as dead.”
“I know,” Levi said quietly, but he didn’t know if he believed it. He felt like forgetting everything that had happened. He didn’t want to feel the pain anymore.
“I’ve been trying to see you ever since I got back,” Levi said, changing the subject.
“For what?” Timothy asked curiously. He sensed that Levi was bothered by something. He was always able to sense when someone was upset.
“It’s about the time at training,” Levi replied. The Oam had still been haunting him the whole time. It wasn’t as bad as before, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.
“Ah. Let’s go talk about it at my place. There’s no need to talk in the open,” Timothy said. He had a feeling he knew what Levi wanted to talk about. Timothy had heard about the Oam which they ran into, and he knew that it wasn’t something easy to overcome. “Follow me if you will.”
Levi did as requested, following Timothy through the city. People were already getting back to their work, as the streets started to get busy. Timothy led the way to the eastern part of the fort. Soon they were off the stone roads and back on rougher terrain. Timothy’s house was on top of a high ledge that rose above the other buildings. They climbed some stone steps that led to the top of the ledge where a large tree was with the house to the left. They both stepped inside of the place.
Levi found himself in the room that he first woke up in. It was the very house that he had been found in. However he had gotten into the fort, he ended up there in Timothy’s place. Levi didn’t know why, out of all the places in the fort, he would have ended up there. Everything was the same as he remembered. A small fireplace was on his right with a small opening in the opposite wall which acted as a window. The small table was still in the center of the room. Levi remembered that it had been raining when he woke up there.
“I still have some hot water that I warmed up this morning,” Timothy said, turning to face Levi. “Would you like some tea?”
“Yes, please,” Levi replied.
“Okay then, go ahead and take a seat,” Timothy said, sounding jolly. He grabbed some small cups and poured the hot water inside. He prepped the tea and handed it to Levi who sat at one end of the wooden table.
Levi took a sip from the tea which wasn’t overly hot. He didn’t know what kind it was, but it tasted good. It felt good going down his throat. The room felt cool to him as well, which caused the tea to feel warmer. Timothy took his spot at the other end of the table with his own cup.
“So what is it you wanted to talk about?” Timothy asked, taking a sip from his cup.
Levi didn’t know how to start. It seemed like there was so much.
“We ran into an Oam,” Levi said, going straight to the point. “I saw some things that I can’t forget.” He looked across the table at Timothy. The doctor didn’t say anything but waited for a while seeing if Levi was finished.
“I’m sure you’re having a hard time getting over it,” Timothy said, leaning back against his chair. “I remember the first time I ran into an Oam. I saw some disturbing things as well that took me a while to get over.”
Levi looked back down into his cup. He watched the tea swirl around as he rotated the cup slowly. He then looked back up at the doctor and said, “I didn’t realize you had ever seen one before.”
“Oh yes, I have seen more than one,” Timothy replied. “It is not uncommon to run into them if you travel a lot. It’s one of those things that you just have to get over, which takes time.” Timothy glanced down at his own cup. “Of course, it also depends on what you saw in the Oam.” Timothy took another sip of his tea that was beginning to cool down. “What did you see exactly?”
“There were people there,” Levi tried to say. He found it hard remembering back to that moment. He still felt guilty, as if it was his fault that it all happened. “We think that they were killed by raiders, but their bodies were deformed and seemed to be melting.”
Timothy looked a little puzzled at that. He had never seen anything of that sort in an Oam before, but it didn’t surprise him to hear it. All kinds of strange things happened in them.
Levi paused a second before continuing, “As soon as we realized that we were in an Oam, we hurried back to the others. On the way back though, I thought I felt something.” Levi paused again, thinking of how to explain it. He had never told anyone about his ability to sense things, and the thought of doing so was uncomfortable. People were superstitious enough about him. He didn’t want to risk causing anymore suspicion, although it made him feel guilty for hiding his secret.
“I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt something watching me, and I looked back,” Levi continued. “I saw someone or something down there watching me. Its stare seemed to hold me in place, and it wasn’t until it looked away that I was able to run.” After Levi was finished he looked at Timothy to see if the man thought he was crazy or not.
Timothy didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t have any answers, so he just said, “I don’t know what to say.” He felt bad for not being able to give an answer, but there was still much he did not understand. You never knew what to expect when living on the islands.
“What is it that bothers you the most?” Timothy asked. “Is it the things you saw, or just the feeling that the Oam gave?”
“I feel guilty,” Levi quickly responded. “I think those people were still alive, and we left them there to die. I tried to help one of them, but it was just useless. I don’t know what I could have done.”
Timothy heard the frustration in Levi’s voice. He could sense that he was disturbed. “Don’t blame yourself,” Timothy said, trying to comfort him. “From the sound of it, I don’t think there was anything you could do. I understand how it must bother you, but you must get over it. We will probably always see disturbing things on these islands, but we can’t let that hinder us from doing what needs to be done.”
Levi didn’t know what exactly needed to be done, especially now that the others had gone to war and left him behind. But maybe he needed something to do just as a distraction.
“I know it will take time, but don’t worry about it.” Timothy continued. “I will be here if you need me, and I’m sure there are other people here as well that can help.” Timothy gave a small smile. “You’re waking up into a new world, Levi; it will take some time to adjust to it.”
Levi thought about it for a while. He was skeptical about meeting anyone else that wouldn’t be suspicious of him, but there was Jethrim and his family. Maybe there were more people that would accept him.
“I don’t know if I have helped any by saying all that,” Timothy said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.
“Thanks for listening, it just feels better when I can tell someone,” Levi replied, putting the cup up to his mouth. He took a drink and was surprised to find it cold. He placed the cup on the table in front of him.
Levi didn’t know if he felt any better or not. He had said everything he wanted to say. There was the thing in the forest on training day, but that didn’t even seem like a big deal to him now. After the Oam, it had just faded to the back of his memory. Levi didn’t know if he should bring it up or not. Maybe it was just a strong wind that blew through, but then he realized that there was more to it than that. He felt something hovering over him, and knew that there was something there. It wasn’t just wind.
“There is another thing though,” Levi said, thinking that maybe it was a good idea to tell it.
Timothy straightened his back and listened. Levi told him about the wind and what he felt on the day of training, which was tricky to relate without giving away his secret.
Timothy was silent for a while after Levi had finished speaking. Levi began to feel uncomfortable with the growing silence. He hoped that Timothy wouldn’t think that he was crazy. He almost sounded crazy to himself.
“You mean you felt something above you?” Timothy asked, with a puzzled voice.
It was obvious that he was confused. Either he would think that Levi was crazy or he wouldn’t.
“Yes, I don’t know how,” Levi replied, thinking about taking it all back. He began to tell himself that it wasn’t that big of a deal and there was no need to talk about it.
Timothy stared out the small window. A beam of sunlight shined in casting its light on the table as well as his face. He didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know what was wrong, but he knew that something wasn’t right. This disturbed him more than what Levi had said about the Oam.
“I don’t know what it was that you felt. It’s just another mystery on this island I suppose,” Timothy said, trying to hide how disturbed he was.
But Levi could see through it. It even seemed that Timothy was hiding something more. It caused Levi’s curiosity to grow. He wanted to know what Timothy was thinking.
“What is it?” Levi asked, examining Timothy’s expression.
“What is what?” Timothy asked.
“It looks like you know something more but just aren’t saying it.”
“Does it?” asked Timothy, with a hint of a smile. “I’m afraid I know nothing of it.”
“Ok, I guess I’m mistaken,” Levi said. Maybe it was nothing, Levi thought. He was probably just being a bit paranoid.
“So, is that all that happened on your first adventure?” Timothy then asked, changing the subject. He said it with a smile, while crossing his legs and putting his hands on top of his knees with his fingers interlocked.
“I guess so, not really anything I want to go back to,” Levi responded.
Timothy laughed, and continued to say how there was probably more to come. The two of them continued to talk about different things, things that mostly had to do with what was going on with the war, and the fort.
Levi was beginning to realize more and more that his life was going to change again. He was about to start a new chapter now and he hoped that it would be a good one. It felt uncomfortable with the change and all that was happening, but he just kept remembering the conclusion he had come to that morning. There had to be a reason for his being there, and it couldn’t have been an accident. Maybe there was more going on than he realized.
Levi didn’t notice how far into the afternoon it was now. He and Timothy had been talking for hours, and he didn’t know what it was that took so long to talk about. Timothy offered some bread to eat, so Levi got a small lunch that also covered breakfast.
Eventually Timothy had work he needed to get done, and they parted ways for a while. It was refreshing to Levi to talk to Timothy finally. The man did have a way of making things seem better than they were.
