Brother Lucas
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                                        Part IV

        Lucas was a young boy again.  As he walked along the dusty dirt road 
towards his home, the sun slowly set on the horizon, casting eerie colors 
and shadows across the landscape.  Slowly, a group of (creatures) walked 
directly towards him, cutting off his route to home and thus to safety.  His 
heart started pounding fiercely, trying desperately to escape the cage of 
bone that surrounded it.
        As the gruesome trio approached, he could see the massive 
sickle-shaped claws dangling from their gnarled, bony fingers, clearly sharp 
enough to slice through steel let alone the soft flesh of a young boy.  
Their tails dragged along the ground, curling back and forth ever so 
slightly as they shuffled from side to side.  Large, conical spines ran up 
the midline ridge of the tail.  Rows of teeth hung from the roof of their 
mouths, white foam dripping from their identical mates on their muscular 
jaws.
        The beasts made their way towards Lucas, encircling him with their 
massive bodies as he froze in terror.  The largest one leaned in close to 
him, close enough for him to feel its hot breath on the back of his neck and 
whispered into his ear.  "Joooooiiiiiiiinn Usssssssssss..." it hissed, its 
long forked tongue tickling his cheek as it did so.

        Lucas sat bolt upright in bed, sweat soaking not only his nightshirt 
but also the bottom sheet and the top sheet as well, the latter currently 
tied around his legs and body in some of the largest knots he'd ever seen.  
His eyes, wide open, gradually scanned the room, taking in his surroundings 
and reassuring his tortured mind and pounding heart that he knew exactly 
where he was.  He looked over at the large red numbers of the clock across 
the room reading exactly 3:05.  Same time as always.  He stretched his legs 
out in an attempt to get the muscles in them to relax just the tiniest 
little bit.  He turned side to side, cracking his back, then sighed and 
rubbed his eyes.  No point trying to sleep again now, he knew.  "Might as 
well finish up the ritual," he thought to himself as he started to untie the 
knots around his legs.  He turned sideways on the bed and started to put his 
feet down on the floor.  He paused momentarily, as he always did, and looked 
down to make sure there wasn't anything (alive) out of the ordinary down 
there next to his slippers.  There wasn't, of course, but he had to check 
anyway.  He slid his feet into the fur-lined leather moccasins and padded 
off down the hall.  He paused briefly in the kitchen for a glass of milk and 
some cookies, then headed downstairs to kill time until a respectable hour 
when he could go about his day's errands.  Good thing this was his day off.
        He grabbed the remote and clicked on CNN as background noise.  More 
election garbage.  Big deal.  He munched his cookies, then dug out his 
baseball card collection and a card table.  He rummaged through his cards, 
pouring over the faces and names he knew so well; each one was a 
time-honored companion and friend.  Most of them were from his days as a 
youngster who could only boggle at the heros of the game.  Oh, there were 
the newer ones too--he still collected the cards even now.  He laughed 
slightly at himself at that thought.  As a boy he'd boggled and wanted to be 
big and old like them.  As an old man he boggled at them and wished he was 
young and could play like them.  "Some things never change," he grinned to 
himself as he returned to the older cards.  They were always his favorites, 
for they'd been with him nearly every step of his life.
        The hours stretched on as he sat, looking at his cards, remembering the 
past and listening to the present on the news.  Suddenly, he was shaken out 
of his trance by a loud ring behind him.  The doorbell?  at this hour?  why 
it was only... he looked at the clock on the wall behind him.  Wow.  It was 
already eight o'clock.  He'd been here a long time.  He clicked off the TV 
and shuffled for the stairs, leaving mister Mantle and his friends to gaze 
up at the ceiling.

        Lucas reached the door, and felt some small amount of apprehension 
as he reached for the latch before chiding himself.  It was probably just 
one of the neighborhood kids looking for a baseball or something.  Who he 
found at the door, however, was nobody he'd have ever thought of.  A lone 
figure, clad in brown robes, waited on the doorstep.
        "Greetings," said the figure, "I'm sure you know why I'm here 
already.  Do you mind if I come in?"
        Never one to refuse a guest, he opened the door for the stranger, 
but found himself at a near loss for words.  "I'm... I'm sorry... but I 
don't believe I do... I..." his voice trailed off as a sequence of events 
fired themselves to life in his mind.  Walking down a road as a young boy, a 
group of figures approaching him... just like his nightmare!  He could 
remember it, but with one difference... a single figure, stepping in to help 
him, to interfere... to save him!  He looked again at the figure, who was 
already making himself comfortable, sitting down at the kitchen table.  
"You're... you were..."
        "No," interrupted the figure, as if he knew what the question would 
be before it was even asked.  "I'm not the same person.  I did know him, 
however.  He was a great man, he was.  Quite noble, intelligent.  Not unlike 
yourself, I imagine.  You'll come with me, I trust?" he asked as he removed 
the hood covering his head.
        "I'm... I don't know..." he said, then remembered the lone figure 
saving him and his words.  "You are under my protection," he had said; 
"Your time will come," he had said.  Perhaps it had indeed.

        "OK, I'll come with you," he agreed.  "Let me just get dressed 
and..."
        "There is no need," said the robed figure.  "Just take my hand, and 
we shall be gone."

        Lucas reluctantly took his hand, and in a flash they were on their 
way.

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To Be Continued in Brother Lucas Part V
        
"Brother Lucas"
Copyright 1996
David R. Hibbs


-- 
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"In the end there will be only one OS, The Mind.. Ponder that for a while..."
        --unknown
"But if the mind is an OS, then there will be infinite OS's, and a vast
        majority of them will still suck."  --me
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