With These Eyes (36 page)

From the texts of the forgotten cultures,
Gene learned about the rise of consciousness on earth. This
knowledge prompted the most detrimental move in his upside-down
version of peace.

For tens of millions of years all plants on
earth were green. The world was abundant with ferns, trees, mosses,
and other plant life that used chlorophyll to draw energy from the
sun and convert it into new materials. During this time, animal
life was reptilianesque and acted out of reflexes to maintain its
survival. The coldblooded reptilian brain afforded the animal
simple decision-making abilities to size up an opponent’s vigor.
Then, the lizard or dinosaur could chose between fighting or
running away. Its young would grow from a single cell shielded by
an eggshell, removed from the mother’s body. Life evolved through
mutations and Darwin’s principle proved later accurately that the
animal most suited for its environment would be the prevailing
mutagenic advance. During this virtual eternity of time, evolution
came about through accidental mutations during a specie’s
replication process. Animals’ actions were triggered by stimuli for
fear, hunger and survival.

In the not so distant past, higher
consciousness entered the evolving planet. With higher
consciousness came beauty. With beauty came flowers, bees and
mammals. The mammal was something completely different. Its
offspring matured from a single cell inside the mother’s womb.
During the gestation period, the single cell would evolve into the
specialized cells of the body, as did the lizard egg. The mother’s
act of carrying her offspring as part of her body created an
opportunity for consciousness and love to transfer from the
warm-blooded mother.

A warm-blooded creature adds energy to its
environment in order to be able to survive. A coldblooded creature
draws from its environment to stay alive. This energy does more
than just manifest as heat. It also exerts energy in the form of
love or hate - positive or negative. The reptilian world failed to
attain beauty because every animal was drawing energy from it. Once
mammals were adding energy to the cycle of life, beauty had been
given its first vehicle on planet earth. The appeal of flowers and
fuzzy animals soon spawned a wave of positive energy that enveloped
the globe.

When man built the world’s first pyramids in
Bosnia over 10,000 years earlier, he was an enlightened creature.
Humanity was aware of its divine abilities and with ease overcame
the limitations of the mind. Man built megalithic structures like
the Egyptian, Meso-American or Eastern European pyramid complexes.
Living in abundance, man and woman’s actions were guided by their
mammalian brain; art, love, science, and literature were the
prevailing marks of the time. The reptilian brain that resided in
humanity’s head laid dormant, just in case there was ever danger or
the dire need for survival skills.

After ten millennia of an enlightened world
full of humor and laughs, the first outburst of sadness snapped
humanity into a state of fear. A single enlightened soul followed
down the path leading to the simple gratifications of the
snake-mind. With the sensation of lower emotions came sadness. What
followed were anger and the thrill of killing to this leader of a
once brilliant civilization. In a single moment of unbridled fury,
his spark of anger ignited an inferno of suffering. Pandora had
opened her box. Gene was determined to put darkness back in its
cage so humanity could return to paradise. He saw blunt violence as
his only means to return to a better world.

The incredible rise in cases of children with
Autism was a sign that time was running out. Gene recognized that
the brilliant souls of this new generation had come to their
lifetimes expecting an enlightened age. The wave of sadness that
was blanketing the world was so strong that it pushed the souls
behind a protective shield deep within each of these true angels.
The result was beyond the kind of suffering Gene could endure. In
his fear, Gene began to act like those from whom he wanted to
protect the world.

One of the Troopers at the console snapped
Gene out of his daydream. "Test projectile in place."

The moment he had been expecting with great
anticipation had finally come. A droplet of saliva ran from Gene’s
mouth as his order filled the control room.

"Drain the lake!"

With military distance, the Trooper confirmed
the initial stage of the deadly series of events ahead.

"Initializing hydroelectric generators.
Charging the mountain."

46 TASHA AND ISABELLE

Just a short distance away, Isabelle, Ryan
and Tonati were catching the mayhem Tasha had caused from a river
bank.

"She tried to kill us," shouted a very upset
Ryan.

Isabelle looked at him and calmly commented,
"she does that."

This was a lot for Ryan to take in. He was
used to the quiet sanctity of his office and the logic of his
computers. He dried the mist off his glasses and placed them back
on his nose. Much of what had happened did not make sense to him.
Most of all, he was perplexed that Isabelle had anticipated Tasha's
move. His eyes moved back and forth between the helicopter
wreckage, Tasha and Isabelle. "How'd you know she was gonna be
right here?"

Isabelle and Tonati exchanged a look and she
answered, a bit surprised at how clueless her genius friend was in
this situation. "Instinct, Ryan."

Dragged by the river's strong current,
Tasha's lifeless body was approaching the unusual threesome. A
locater beacon on the seat blinked red under the moonlight.
Isabelle felt empathy for the woman in the river who was drowning
before her very eyes.

"She's probably still alive," she said to
Ryan, who felt safe with Tasha where she was.

He saw no need for a rescue attempt. "The
current is way too strong to go after her. Besides, would you
really risk your life for someone who wants you dead?"

Isabelle was a bit disappointed in Ryan. Her
knight in shining armor seemed rather selective with his helpful
personality. Despite all of Tasha's aggression, she was still a
human being who would die if Isabelle did nothing but watch her
drown. The way she saw it, none of Nature's children deserved such
a fate. It struck Isabelle that this was the wisdom Fuji had taught
her. Isabelle was the light and she did not want a life in the
shadows of darkness. The only way for her to be victorious was to
rescue her hunter. Maybe, just maybe, this would convince Tasha of
the way of the light. Isabelle removed her shoes and reached to
take off her shirt when she noticed Ryan watching her with his
mouth open, as if he was hoping for a show. There was no time to
consider Ryan's true motives. After all, he had come to Isabelle's
rescue and now it was time to save Tasha. Considering the urgency
of her actions, Isabelle decided to keep on all her clothes. The
defender of Nature dove into the dark rapids before her. Ryan
nervously pushed up his glasses. A few strokes and Isabelle had
reached Tasha on her way down-river. The current was too strong to
fight, she grabbed on to the seat. The parachute was filled with
the rushing water and tugged on the two with the speed of the
rapids. A boulder stuck out of the river like an iceberg. The
current pulled the chute past the obstacle but Isabelle and Tasha
weren't so lucky. The parachute's lines swatted the two women into
the rock with great force. The chair-back absorbed most of the
force of the impact when it spun around and transferred much of the
remaining kinetic energy onto Isabelle. Her left side and much of
her back took the brunt of the force. Isabelle would have cried out
in pain, but the impact knocked the air out of her lungs, leaving
the courageous female gasping for her next breath. Unfortunately,
her left was also the side with the pocket full of her medication.
Isabelle had kept her supply of the lifesaving medicine on herself
so she wouldn't be separated from it. Without her morning and
evening injections, Isabelle's health would quickly be overcome by
the strain of the virus with which she was born.

Before Isabelle even had the slightest moment
to contemplate the repercussions of her impact with the rock, the
chair to which she was clinging and its occupant were dragged
further down river. Moments later, Isabelle found herself and Tasha
getting washed under a fallen tree that had caught the parachute.
As if Mother Nature herself was giving Isabelle a hand, the tree
laid just before one of the river's many turns. Its curved bank
caught the two women like a nest the eggs from the mother hen.

Tonati had followed them on the shore and was
already there. He grumbled nervously. The puma was a bit unsure
what to make of Tasha. He knew she was who had caused Isabelle and
him their recent problems and now he saw her laying in an embrace
with his lifelong companion. A moment later, Ryan arrived carrying
Isabelle’s shoes. He had tripped over some thick roots as he tried
to keep pace with the graceful puma. Isabelle opened her eyes. The
warm and sweet-tasting water of the jungle river had safely
delivered her and the unusual pilot to the rock that formed its
edge. The journalistic world-traveler shook the water from her
mouth and ears. The first thing she saw was her relentless and now
unconscious pursuer. Isabelle reached for the release of Tasha's
suspender-style restraints and her lap-strap. Tasha was unlikely to
have suffered any back trauma. Her contoured bucket-seat had been
designed to withstand the forces of ejection and impact. Tasha and
her had shared the only collision, in which Isabelle suffered the
brunt of the force. It was safe to say, Tasha had bigger problems
to worry about. Isabelle reached forward. It took all her strength
to catch the muscular woman and place her gently on the rock.

Tasha laid on her stomach like a dead shark.
Isabelle straddled the motionless predator and sat down on her
muscular behind. She placed her hands on Tasha's lower back and
shifted her weight forward. Isabelle pushed her hands very slowly
along Tasha's back to her shoulder blades. A gush of water gurgled
from the mouth of the otherwise inanimate hunter. Isabelle pushed
her hands along Tasha's back again. A second, smaller wave of water
expelled from her lungs. Isabelle looked up, she saw Ryan drying
off his glasses with his shirt.

"Help me turn her over!"

Ryan felt it safe and stepped in to help. The
pair stood before one of the most beautiful, yet lethal women
either of them had ever seen. Isabelle wondered what it must have
taken to guide her brilliant soul into the darkness. Tasha was
intelligent enough, considering the tricks the warrior had played
on her, contemplated Isabelle. It seemed with a different outlook
on life, Tasha might have been a good friend. Isabelle leaned over
to check her breathing when she noticed Tasha's locket open. Inside
the sterling-silver heart was the picture of Tasha's parents in
their palace in Eritrea. It was a smaller version of the photo on
Tasha’s living-room wall in Los Angeles. Isabelle moved in to take
a closer look, but Tasha coughed up more water and snapped into
consciousness. Her angry eyes opened, looking directly into
Isabelle's. Tasha's hands flung up and she was strangling her
rescuer.

"You're supposed to be dead!"

Isabelle quickly moved her hands between
Tasha's arms and pushed outwards. The dark warrior on the ground
lost her grip on Isabelle's throat. She jumped up and left the
hunter to her own devices, which unfortunately all manifested in
aggression. Sure enough, Tasha still gurgling up more of the river,
flung to her feet. Her right fist shot towards Isabelle's nose.
Isabelle pivoted out of the way on her right foot. She reached for
Tasha's fist with both hands and used her momentum to pull Tasha
clear and out of the way. Not willing to settle for defeat, the
career-commando swung around for another assault. A kick with her
right leg landed Tasha flat on her back and, once again, gasping
for air.

Isabelle was a master of Jiu-Jitsu, the
elegant art of turning an aggressor's dark energy against himself.
Ryan was shifting repeatedly on his feet. Tonati had had enough of
the assaults on his friend. It took the wildcat all but two
enormous lunges and he found himself eye to eye with the now
attentive assassin. An ear-shattering roar underlined the
seriousness of the situation. Annoyed with Tasha's relentless and
unsuccessful attempts to disrupt her quest for the truth, Isabelle
looked into her green-brown eyes.

"Will you just stop?"

With her first full breath of air, Tasha made
it clear that she was not ready to admit defeat. "I don't make
deals with terrorists!"

In disbelief, Isabelle replied, "Is that what
you think?" She turned to her knight in shining armor, who was
trying his best to hide behind his glasses and computer. "Ryan,
show her."

He carefully sized up the situation and
decided his damsel and her animal provided enough protection from
the serpent he was to slay. Ryan moved in a little closer. A few
taps of the screen and he held the computer pad like a shield
before the dragon. On the display, a schematic detailed the extend
of the Gene's hidden lair of doom. Ryan pushed a button on the side
of the device and up came a map of the target area of Gene's
missile. Tasha thought this had to be a trick; her homeland at the
epicenter of such a gruesome weapon. One that she worked to
protect.

"That's a lie!"

Only the razor-sharp claws that extended from
Tonati's paw reminded the untrusting fighter to keep her
temper.

"Your home country is the only one on the
entire continent that hasn't let Gene's products overrun their
market. You're a thorn in his eye."

She could see the struggle in the captive
hunter's eyes. Isabelle had done what was too difficult for most
relationships to endure. She had presented Tasha with a truth that
would require great sacrifice to accept. She could see anger,
empathy and remorse race across Tasha's beautiful, large eyes like
clouds in the sky of an autumn afternoon. Isabelle could see by
Tasha's pained expression, that she must have been experiencing her
first regrets from having made irreversible choices in her life,
based on her inaccurate perception of reality. This was the right
moment to draw Tasha a true picture of her actions.