Sermon on the Mount

She had a winged helmet of thunder, struck out as two forked prongs on each side like bolts. Her hair was lustrous and well kept. Lithe but not emaciated, healthy and strong, she was dignified in her form as she sat. Imagination could do no favors, and artists of the golden age would describe her as “An opus created by the old masters alongside the land and waters.” Humming without vocalizing, perfectly lying her sword across her lap in repose, her being was of contrasting harmony; grace contra explicit vigor. Measuring her gaze, then doling out as needed, the woman smiled as the officer came before her and sat according to her direction.

She looked like the personification of Eurys. The powerful and wondrous occident. Unyielding and eternal while overlooking the heavens.

Strong arms, like 12-inch guns, painted ivory and outstretched. It reminded him of foreign capital ships docked at the harbor.

Eyes like liquid jade and hair of gold adulterated with a sheen of bronze. Not quite perfect, but who could be—save Him alone? Both demiurge and mortal could agree to that.

“It has been quite the journey for you, has it not?”

“To think that one such as you could appear in such a hostile environment and adapt so quickly. So many have entered the fogs of Gehenna only to lose themselves, returning to ash as they were once formed.”

The woman pointed at Dave.

“But you, you and your mechanism charted a straight course and never faltered. Such is common of man, but your doggedness is something truly special. Even the most stubborn of looters and bandits retreated when the fog set upon them, not knowing that it was already too late, but you never did.”

“Therefore,” she posited, “you must be guided by something other than wealth and fortune.”

“Tell me, in your own words, who you are.”

Compelled by his heart, he spoke the truth.

“My name is Dave Alaric Parker. Second Lieutenant in the Lamian army. I’m with the 4th Company of the 3rd Division of the New Army. I lead a hundred men but haven’t had that many for a long time.”

“Really, I don’t know where I am. I want to go back to the battle and join my men. They need me. The battle awaits. The enemy must be driven out.”

“My men wait for me. I have a wife and child at home somewhere far north of here. But something tells me even if I were to continue, I wouldn’t find them, would I?”

The woman closed her eyes, nodding in reluctant confirmation.

“You would be correct.”

“Then please, Ma’am…” he trailed.

“…tell me where I am.”

“Oh? You’re not asking for help on how to get back?”

“I am.”

She was taken aback before realizing what he meant. The woman broke into a grin before laughing.

“It is only fair. You did answer with your heart, after all.”

The woman cleared her throat.

“This is the ancient city of Gehenna. I am her keeper. Man knows me as archangel, my children call me maman, but you may call me Junelle.”

A pang of realization hit him.

“Ah! If you are this “maman” then you must be the mother of…”

“Yes. Three beautiful children.”

She beamed and cupped her cheek.

“You must have met them. Oh, they’re wonderful. It makes me so proud that they want to follow in their father’s footsteps. Surely you know their names already.”

“I only know one, but I’m sure of it!” Dave’s paternal side warmed up as he remembered the little angel girl. She must be the prankster of the bunch, no matter how horrifying and destructive to his psyche these “jests” were, Dave whitewashed his own memory. “You have three, so that means it’s…”

He began.

“Io—“

“Ganymede, Castio, and Eura.” She spoke over him, almost bursting at the seams with pride. “Ganymede’s a little troublemaker, and Eura doesn’t speak much, but surely—“

“Wait, wait, wait—ah! Forgive me, Madam Junelle.”

“It is forgiven.”

“What about Io?”

As the words came out of his lips, he expected a reaction of embarrassment or seething resentment, but what she reciprocated terrified him far more. Her eyes assumed a blank haze, and her mind seemed almost vacant, as if something had plucked the thoughts from her head.

“Who is Io?”

Bewilderment and unfamiliarity.

Who then was Io? Dave wondered. After all, if this wasn’t her maman—he had no real reason to doubt her other than a hunch—then who was it? Who could she be longing for so that it drove her to tears? Who could she be lamenting so that she begged this lowly lieutenant to remember? Why did she fear being forgotten? Such thoughts were brief because the truth was obvious. What a cruel fate befalls such a lonely soldier.

In that moment, the private slumbering next to him stirred. He rubbed his eyes, yawing before stretching his arms. Watermann turned to greet his superior when the blinding radiance of the woman entered his retinas.

“Watermann! You’re alright!” Dave crawled over to the boy, raising him from the ground and looking him in the eye. “You have no idea…”

“Sir, what happened?” The private’s grogginess wiped away as he fully adjusted to the light.

“Lieutenant Parker, sir, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“I believe so.”

“It’s… it’s…” Watermann tried to find the words.

“A very pretty lady.” He found them.

Of course, Dave sighed, a simple farmer boy would say that.

Junelle turned to the right, bashful. She humbled herself in good humor.

“An old maid like me? Oh, stop it.”

The two men sat next to each other. Dave caught Watermann up to speed, and a horrified expression crossed the orderly’s face as he heard every detail. Junelle leaned in, hearing what the men discussed.

“Lieutenant, are—are you OK?”

“My, how tragic.”

Junelle had inferred much from the man’s feelings, but only He knows what transpires in Gehenna. And whenever she heard the name Io… it made her stop. Not to think, but a total cessation. She wondered why. She wasn’t omniscient, but she knew a great deal. It wasn’t like her to forget someone, let alone her child. Something was amiss, but so long as she was bound here by duty, Junelle was restricted.

A tinge of sadness colored her cheeks. That realm forever lost in time had taken some poor girl and separated her from her own “maman.” Of course, considering that without an observer, that singularity of evil would collapse and envelop throughout creation, it was no wonder she couldn’t leave. A lonesome and brave existence. A duty only fit for an angel.

“Ah, I’m fine Watermann. At least I know you’re safe.”

“Thank you, sir. Glad to see you’re alright too. When I turned back and saw that you’d disappeared, I thought that was the end of me. I ran, but ended up crashing face-first into some damned oak.”

“Bonehead.”

“Shut up.”

Dave chuckled slightly. “Always like you to do something like that, be it oak or latrine pit.”

“Damn you…” Watermann’s face flushed and pinked.

The tension lifted from their shoulders somewhat, but the lieutenant still had more questions than answers. He faced the archangel.

“Madam, I can only assume that we’ve entered a world distinct from ours. Am I correct?”

“Correct,” she said as she studied the two. “I’ve never seen uniforms or implements such as those you carry on your back and hip. What are they?”

“Weapons from another time. Things of our world invented by modern philosophy.”

She hummed with curiosity. “Interesting.”

“They’re guns!” Watermann interjected. “They’re kinda like slings, but instead of using your arms, you just press a trigger and the lead comes flying out.”

“Yeah, it works something like that. Close enough.” Dave’s inner gun nut seethed.

Junelle raised her eyebrow.

“It seems like your people have some very interesting things in their world.”

“We do. Sometimes, they don’t make sense to us neither.” Watermann looked downcast as his face dropped. “Lieutenant Parker’s more familiar with the high-technical. He’s from the city. I didn’t move to one until my folks passed some odd-three years ago. You know, I feel where you’re coming from, miss.”

“I’m an educated man, but not that up-to-date you know…” Dave metaphorically rubbed his neck, embarrassed by the compliment. “Another question: Is there a way to go back?”

“Hmm…” Junelle mused. “There possibly is, but inter-universal travel is not under my purview. Such things as dimensional anomalies, realms, and slips in space exist, but I’m not too familiar with anybody traveling from one world to the next. Of course, barring the obvious.”

“Can I…”

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask you one last question?” Dave hesitated as he asked. It was a funny feeling, such a small thing, but it all lined up. The lieutenant had retained this suspicion in the back of his mind, tucked away since he’d woken up on that field of grass, but he hesitated to ask. If it were true, then that meant there was no way to go back. There would be no return. There could be no return. Grief would be all that remained of him in that other modern world—home.

“Of course. Anything you wish.”

He asked, and flickers of scarlet and earth flashed before his eyes. Distinct mauling and an iron rib poked out his abdomen as each word came out. Glass eyes and the sickening smell of intestinal rot.

“Are we… you know?”

The world silenced itself for the two. The archangel raised her sword, and the clouds retreated, light streaming through as she vanquished the darkness. Brilliant radiance enveloped the mount. The words that came from her mouth made Watermann misty, and Dave laughed. The mirth of a man given new life.

“Rejoice, men, for you are alive!”