Fire and Brimstone

When my eyes opened, dry and stinging, I saw the man sitting in the pristine wooden chair. Wearing a ragged white three-piece suit, he looked like he had been up for days. He had deep bags under his bloodshot blue eyes, and he spoke with a tiredness in his voice that only conveyed pain.

“How are you feeling, Adam?”

When his voice reached my ears, I panicked. I scrambled backwards into a wall, and tried to stand, but my legs gave out from beneath me. As I crashed back down, the man stood from his chair and rushed over to me.

“Shh, it’ll be okay, Adam. It’s all over now. He can’t get you here.”

He reached out and tried to lay his hand on my shoulder, but I recoiled in fear before finally speaking.

“Who the hell is Adam?” I could feel my dry throat and mouth struggle to get the words out, too hoarse and broken to function.

His head turned to the side, and he gave a very subtle, almost unnoticeable twitch in his lips. It showed me rage but was gone almost as soon as it had appeared. Instead of acting on it, he smiled and placed his hand on my shoulder.

When he did, I no longer felt afraid. Instead, I felt calm, but strong. His very touch invigorated me to no end.

“Calm down, my boy, everything will be okay. My name is Michael, and I rescued you from… Well, it doesn’t really matter, now does it? What matters is that you’re okay. Now tell me, what do you remember?”

But that was just it, I didn’t remember anything. Not even what I looked like. Instead of speaking again, I just shook my head.

He gave me a soft smile before continuing, “That’s okay. Really, it is. Oh, I imagine you’re very tired, here drink this.”

Michael pulled a flask with an ornate cross on it out of his jacket and handed it to me.

Greedily, I screwed the cap off, and gulped down as much as I could. Which, I came to find out, was a mistake. The liquid, whatever it was, burned like fire on the way down, and had me sputtering and coughing it back up. Before I knew it, I was in the fetal position near-convulsing.

The man pulled another flask from his jacket and forced the liquid inside it down my throat. This time, the liquid cooled and refreshed my parched mouth and throat and brought relief from the burning all the way down.

“I apologize for that, I occasionally get them mixed up. Are you okay?” He asked me, genuine concern on his face.

I nodded and looked at him, still unsure of what to make of the situation. Michael stood to his feet and sat back in the chair. “Adam, I need you to understand something. Something that may not be easy to understand for some time. You, are not a normal young man, you’re very special. In time, you will come to see that today marks your rebirth. From a scared young boy into a warrior of the highest caliber. I want you to explore this home, as it is now yours. Don’t leave, please, as I need you to stay secluded for now. I will bring you supplies and whatever else you need. And in time, Adam…

You shall become my sword.”