The Castrator by Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (short books for teens txt) 📕

BROKE THE DAMNED RULES OF THE MORALITY OF LIFE AND ITS NATURAL CYCLE!

BIG BROTHER LOOKED CONCERNED, AND SPOKE QUITE AMIABLY OF THE MERITS OF BLUEBIRD, WHO HAD BEEN A TREMENDOUS HELP TO THE TRIBE IN THE NEARLY THIRTY-FIVE YEARS SINCE HE HAD FIRST COME TO MENOMINEE TERRITORY. BUT BIG BROTHER HAD NO REASON NOW TO SHARE THE FIVE PERCENT THAT AMOUNTED TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WITH HIS FELLOW-MORE SO AFTER ALL THAT HAD HAPPENED HERE.

BROTHERHOOD AND EQUALITY WERE RELATIVE CONCEPTS IN THIS WORLD OF LONELINESS AND HOPELESSNESS. WHO CARED ABOUT HIS FELLOW MAN?

ARLO HAD MADE A GOOD LIVING, BUT HE KNEW THAT SOONER OR LATER HIS COVER WOULD FALL.

- "HONOR IS A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION. EVERYONE HERE IS LIKE HYPNOTIZED," HE TRIED TO CONCLUDE WISELY, AND PUT THE MONEY AWAY.

PERHAPS HIS MATERIALISTIC NATURE SIMPLY PREVENTED HIM FROM SENSING THE FINER LEVELS OF EXISTENCE, OR RATHER ACCEPTING THEM.

HE HAD SOLD NEARLY THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF WEED, WHICH WAS A HUGE SUCCESS. HE WAS CERTAINLY MAKING A SERIOUS PROFIT.

SOON ZONARA TURNED AROUND AND CAME TO US - ELIZANDER BARNAIN AND ARLO - TWO COMPLETE ANTIPODES WHO HAD TO COOPERATE FOR THE SAKE OF A COMMON GOAL. I HAD HEARD ARLO'S CONFESSION, BUT WAS IN NO HURRY TO GIVE IT OUT.

- SOME ROCKERS WERE HANGING AROUND THE RESERVATION AND MAYBE EVEN PEOPLE POSING AS FEDERAL AGENTS WHO WERE PROBABLY ON THE PAYROLL OF THE DRUG CARTELS. I WASTED TOO MUCH TIME WITH THE BLUEBIRD TREATMENT. BUT HE CAN STILL REVEAL TO US EXACTLY HOW HE TRAVELS IN THE ASTRAL WORLD AND WHAT HELPS HIM FIND THE ANSWERS TO HIS QUESTIONS. JUST REMEMBER, THE DEMON IS WITH HIM ALL THE TIME - SO BE CAREFUL! HE WILL HEAR AND SEE EVERYTHING WHILE HERE WITH HIS SOUL IN THIS RESURRECTION!

BLUEBIRD BEGAN TO RECOVER QUICKLY, AND WITH HIM THE DEMON HIMSELF WAS GETTING STRONGER - SO IT WAS NO WONDER AT ALL THAT WE DIDN'T FEEL THE TIME PASS AND BEGIN TO WARM UP AGAIN.

WE HAD SPENT MORE THAN EIGHT MONTHS IN THE RESERVE, DURING WHICH TIME WE HAD LEARNED FAR TOO MUCH ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE NATIVES.

BLUEBIRD WAS NOT EXACTLY A MEMBER OF THE TRIBE, AS HE ETHNICALLY BELONGED TO THE KAYUGA TRIBE, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THE RUMOR OF THE DEMON HAD SPIRITUALLY SEPARATED HIM FROM HIS FELLOWS, AND IT COULD BE SAID THAT WE, HIS DISCIPLES, WERE CLOSER TO HIM AT THE TIME, AND WE MIGHT WELL HAVE WITNESSED HIS REPEATED DEMISE.

ACCORDING TO THE ZONAR'S EXPLANATION, IF THERE WAS ONE, THE DEMON WOULD MOST LIKELY CEASE TO EXIST AT HIS NEXT RESURRECTION.

BLUEBIRD HAD STAYED IN THE TENT TOO LONG, BUT SOMETIMES HE WOULD COME OUT AND LOOK AT THE SKY - AS IF TO SAY THAT LIFE WAS HERE ON EARTH. WE DID OUR BEST TO FEED HIM WELL, AND ARLO HIMSELF HAD EVEN SET ASIDE SOME OF THE MONEY FROM THE GOODS WE SOLD, WHICH HE USED TO BUY HIM SOME SMALL PROVISIONS.

ONCE HE WAS STRONGER, BLUEBIRD CALLED US AND BEGAN TO INITIATE US INTO THE ART OF TRAVEL BETWEEN WORLDS. HOWEVER, HE WARNED US THAT WE WOULD PAY FOR IT, MORE OR LESS, AS WE MIGHT ENCOUNTER DARK ENTITIES IN SOME OF THE WORLDS.

- "YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME, NOR WILL YOUR LIFE AFTER THIS," HE MURMURED, "AND SO WE BEGIN."

I DON'T WANT TO OVERLOOK THE WONDERFUL WORK OF GUS, WHOSE TRANSLATION SKILLS WERE SIMPLY WONDERFUL - HE WAS OBVIOUSLY FLUENT IN SEVERAL INDIAN DIALECTS AND DEALT WITH QUITE COMPLEX SOCIAL CONTRADICTIONS, KNOWING THE CULTURE OF THE NATIVES.

GUS EXPRESSED NO DESIRE FOR INITIATION INTO THE MYSTERIES OF BLUEBIRD, BUT I NEVER ASKED HIM THE REAL REASON - IT WAS HIS PERSONAL DECISION, AFTER ALL. GUS DID, HOWEVER, AGREE TO BE OF ASSISTANCE IF ANYTHING UNFORESEEN HAPPENED.

GUS EXPRESSED NO DESIRE FOR INITIATION INTO THE MYSTERIES OF BLUEBIRDING, BUT I NEVER ASKED HIM THE REAL REASON - IT WAS HIS PERSONAL DECISION, AFTER ALL. GUS DID, HOWEVER, AGREE TO BE OF ASSISTANCE IF ANYTHING UNFORESEEN HAPPENED.

DURING OUR TIME AT THE RESERVE, GUS WOULD POP OVER TO HIS FARM, WHICH WAS A HUGE DISTANCE AWAY IN COLORADO, WHERE HE HAD PICKED US UP AND HITCHHIKED. HE HAD ARRANGED FOR HIS WIFE TO HAVE THE CARE OF THE FARM PRODUCE, AND HE DROVE THE HARVEST, HIRING WORKERS TO OVERRIDE HIM FOR THIS PURPOSE, BUT THROUGH VIDEO SURVEILLANCE HE WAS GIVING THEM SOME CONTROL. THEY WERE ALOOF AND HONEST PEOPLE, AND GENERALLY DIDN'T STEAL FROM HIM TOO MUCH - THAT IS, THERE WAS A GASS TO BE HAD. SO SOMETIMES HE WAS ABSENT FROM THE RESERVE FOR ALL TOO UNDERSTANDABLE REASONS. AND WE COULDN'T BLAME HIM FOR THAT. LIFE WENT ON.

BLUEBIRD WAS IN A HURRY TO PASS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF KNOWLEDGE, AS IT WOULD HELP US GET TO OUR DESTINATION:

- ASTRAL WORLDS ARE BUILT DIFFERENTLY THAN OURS, AND SOMETIMES DANGEROUS CREATURES LURK THERE, BUT THEY CAN'T HURT YOU MUCH IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM.

BLUEBIRD SEEMED TO SAY THIS TO REMIND US OF THE DEMON BOUND TO HIS OWN SOUL.

- UNNATURAL INTERRUPTION OF LIFE CAN INDEED BE A PROBLEM, BUT IN THE ASTRAL WORLDS IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO DIE - AT LEAST NOT WHILE YOU ARE SOME IN THEM. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT NEVER TO FORGET THAT EACH MATERIAL BODY HAS ITS OWN ASTRAL ENVELOPE AND THAT THE PHYSICAL MATRIX ITSELF IS LOCATED IN THE ASTRAL[1]. THAT IS ENOUGH TO BEGIN WITH.

BLUEBIRD'S FACE, THOUGH STILL YOUNG, LOOKED SOMEWHAT STRANGELY AGED. HE PRONOUNCED THE WORDS AS DISTINCTLY AND SMOOTHLY AS IF HE WERE SINGING, BUT WE COULD ALL SEE CLEARLY WHAT AN EFFORT EACH SPOKEN WORD COST HIM. PERHAPS THE DEMON WAS DRINKING FROM HIS LIFE FORCE, AS EVERY DEMON - EVEN ARTIFICIALLY CREATED ONES NEEDED TO DO THIS TO SURVIVE.

ARLO DECIDED TO ASK ONE MORE QUESTION THOUGH, JUST TO BE ABSOLUTELY SURE BEFORE WE TRIED TO FIND OUR ANSWERS:

- MASTER, WHAT TYPE OF CREATURES EXACTLY INHABIT THIS THIN WORLD[2]? AND HOW EXACTLY SHOULD WE BEWARE OF THEM?

- "YOUR QUESTION IS NOT AT ALL WITHOUT MERIT," A BLUE BIRD CALLED SADLY, "IT'S NOT MUCH OF A SECRET - THESE DIMENSIONS ARE GENERALLY INHABITED BY ANGELS, DEMONS, SUICIDAL SOULS AND ELEMENTALS, AND SOMETIMES EVEN GODS."

ZONARA CLEARLY HAD HIS OWN OPINION ON THE MATTER, BUT DECIDED NOT TO INTERRUPT BLUEBIRD.

- "THE TRICKY PART IS REALLY FINDING THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK IN THESE UNKNOWN WORLDS," HE CONCLUDED, "WE'LL GET STARTED ON YOUR INITIATION SOON, AS I HAVE A FEELING I PROBABLY WON'T BE LONG. THIS WINTER MAY BE MY LAST."

LATELY, GUS HAD BEEN STOPPING BY THE RESERVE TO MEET BLUEBIRD, FOR WHOM HE HAD THE UTMOST RESPECT. THE TWO OF THEM HAD STILL RETAINED THAT FRIENDSHIP THAT MEANT SOMETHING TO THEM. GUS ALSO SOMETIMES BROUGHT VEGETABLES AND FRUIT TO HIS RESURRECTED FRIEND. THE FARMER KNEW THAT TRUST AND SUPPORT REVEALED THE TRUE FROM THE FALSE COMRADE.

- "DEAR GUS," THE RESURRECTED ONE ADDRESSED HIM, "THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN MORE VIRTUOUS DEVELOP A MORE SPECIAL INTUITION IN THE AFTERLIFE."

- "WOULD IT HELP THEM?," ASKED GUS, WHO, THOUGH UNINITIATED, HAD SOME IDEA OF THINGS.

- "SURELY THOSE WHO HAVE LIVED BAD LIVES HAVE A MUCH HIGHER LADDER TO CLIMB UP TO THEIR SPIRITUAL PURIFICATION," BLUEBIRD WISELY CONFIRMED.

ZONARA DIDN'T WANT TO BOTHER THE TWO FRIENDS WHEN THEY WERE HAVING SUCH IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS - ESPECIALLY SINCE GUS SAID THAT HE PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE RESERVE ANYTIME SOON, BUT HE PROMISED TO SEND SOMEONE TO CARRY BLUEBIRD'S FOOD PROVISIONS. ZONARA UNDERSTOOD THAT THE SO-CALLED FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THEM WAS MORE THAN SIMPLE INTERACTION, AND WAS BUILT ON A SORT OF SURVIVAL BALANCE.

- "YOU MIGHT GET IN TROUBLE FOR COMING HERE AND HELPING ME," THE INDIAN TURNED TO HIM SADLY, "AFTER ALL, I CAME BACK HERE ON AN IMPORTANT MISSION, AND THE GREAT SPIRIT WILL WEIGH MY DEEDS AND DECIDE WHERE TO SEND MY SOUL."

GUS HAD COME FOR THE LAST TIME - HE LONGED TO GIVE SOME COMFORT TO HIS FRIEND, BUT DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO HIM - THE SITUATION COULD NOT BE DESCRIBED SO LIGHTLY AND PLEASANTLY. GUS SEARCHED FOR SOME THREAD TO HIS FORMER MATE, BUT HIS HANDS AND FACE SHOWED THE SCARS OF THE DEMON'S PRESENCE, LURKING QUIETLY IN THE DARKNESS.

- "I WAS OF USE TO THEM AT THE TIME," BLUEBIRD ALMOST CRIED. "I LONGED TO SEE FREEDOM AND TO HAVE MY SOUL SOOTHED. SO MANY DISAPPOINTMENTS, BUT IF THERE IS A DOOMSDAY, I WILL BE OF GOOD CONSCIENCE. MAY THE FOUR DEITIES WHO FORM THE WAKAN TANKA REVEAL THEIR GREAT SECRET IN THE HEREAFTER!"

- "FRIEND, DO NOT STRAIN YOURSELF," GAS TRIED TO REASSURE HIM, "MORE OUT OF RESPECT THAN SYMPATHY OR AFFECTION. THOSE TIMES ARE PAST. PERHAPS BETTER ONES WILL COME, AND THE WHEEL OF HISTORY[3] ..."

BLUEBIRD LOOKED AT HIM CAREFULLY. AND SAID NOTHING. GUS PATTED HIS FRIEND ON THE SHOULDER AND WALKED OUT. HE DIDN'T WANT TO ADD TO HIS SUFFERING, WHICH WAS ALREADY OBVIOUS. HE DIDN'T EVEN DARE TO ASK HOW OUR PREPARATIONS WERE GOING, AND ON THE OTHER HAND BLUEBIRD HAD ALSO BECOME MORE CAUTIOUS, FOR WE WOULD BE HIS LEGACY AND HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THOSE HIDDEN WORLDS WOULD LIVE ON THROUGH US.

 

[1] The proposed explanations are according to the book Man and His Bodies by Annie Besant.

[2] According to some sources, the thin world is a name for the astral world.

[3] The wheel of history is a concept found in Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and also in some Native American tribes.

THE ROCKER GANG

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE ROCKER GANG

 

THEN SUDDENLY THERE WAS A RUMOR THAT IN THE NEARBY KESHENA, WHICH WAS CENTRAL TO THE MENOMINEE RESERVATION AND WHOSE POPULATION WAS ONLY ABOUT ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED, THERE WAS A CERTAIN ENHAR DURAITH WHO WAS ASKING TOO MANY QUESTIONS JUST FOR US-HE DIDN'T LOOK LIKE A GANGSTER, OR EXACTLY LIKE A ROCKER, BUT YES HE HAD COME ON HIS HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE AND VERY NOTICEABLY INSPIRED SOME VAGUE SENSE OF DANGER IN THE LOCALS-HE WAS ALL ALONE. SOME OF THOSE WHO WERE CLOSE TO THE RESERVE MANAGEMENT WONDERED WHETHER THEY SHOULD INFORM BIG BROTHER, OR EVEN THE BLUEBIRD HIMSELF, ALTHOUGH IN HIS PRESENT STATE THEY HAD, SO TO SPEAK, WRITTEN HIM OFF AND HAD NO HOPE OF HIM RECOVERING TO HIS FORMER POSITION. BUT THE STRANGER RATHER UNEXPECTEDLY DECLARED THAT HE WISHED TO MEET NOT THEM IN PERSON, BUT GUS BENZOUR, OUR FAITHFUL PROVIDER OF PROVISIONS, AND THE MAN WITHOUT WHOM WE SHOULD HARDLY HAVE GOT HERE.

QUITE A FEW OF THE LOCALS WERE A BIT WORRIED BECAUSE THIS WAS THE FOREIGNER'S WAY OF TRYING TO CIRCUMVENT SOME OF THE UNWRITTEN RULES FOR ENTERING THE RESERVE. AND YET SOME DARED TO PREEMPT THE GASS.

THEY MET ON NEUTRAL TERRITORY AND GUS EXPLAINED TO THE FOREIGNER THAT IT WAS NOT CUSTOMARY FOR EVERYONE TO ENTER HERE AND THERE WERE SOME RESTRICTIONS EVEN FOR SOME PEOPLE OF INDIAN DESCENT WHO DID NOT BELONG IN THIS AREA. OF COURSE, GUS WASN'T LYING TOO MUCH, BUT THE WAY HE PRESENTED HIMSELF DIDN'T SIT WELL WITH THE ENHAR:

- REMEMBER THAT SHOW? THE ONE YOU