Chapter 7: The Last Love Story

Bret was mean. He looked mean with his bald head and his nasty looking scar, and as he walked down the building’s first floor corridor, his pace had a naturally mean swagger to it. Bret sized everything up as he went, and kept his wits about him, vigilant for the girl and the guy he was looking for. The main corridor ended with a choice to head either left or right and Bret decided to go right. He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly heard the sound of a door closing around the corner just ahead of him. In one hand Bret carried a knife, in the other he held the walkie talkie that Jonah had given to him. Bret was greedy and confident that he could handle these two runaways and as he ran towards the corner Bret dropped the radio to the floor where is made a loud crack and began to hiss with static. Bret wanted the extra money for bringing them in himself, not have to share it with the others and he was determined to get that cash. He rounded the corner at a trot and there just a few metres in front of him stood his startled looking prey.

Lisa froze as the thug appeared around the corner just to their right, a blade in his hand and a dangerous look in his eyes. The thug ran at them and then for only the briefest of moments there was a flicker, an image of someone standing behind the thug. Within the blink of an eye Lisa had seen him and despite what he had said, she had remembered. Stemasta was here and had shown himself to her, and at once the clouds fogging Lisa’s thoughts and covering her memories evaporated. In the wake of the amnesia, only one thought remained in Lisa’s mind; ‘I will love you forever’. The moment of clarity came as unexpectedly as the thought and left Lisa stunned with the familiarity of the words, however she was not the only one.

As soon as Tony saw the image flash behind the thug, everything changed. He was gone from the corridor, far away from any derelict build, Tony was laying on soft green grass. He was in a small garden and could see himself laying there completely relaxed, looking up into a lazy blue sky at the ambling clouds and daydreaming in his own little world. Tony recognised himself, but at the same time he knew this was not him. As he watched himself Tony realised that he was completely at peace. The Tony on the grass was dressed in light summer clothes which seemed to suit the softness in his surroundings. In an instant, he began to see things from the vantage point of the figure on the grass and although he had no control over his actions, it appeared that it was him laying so comfortably. Then someone appeared and dived on top of him. Tony’s body caught the person and in a wave of perfume and softness he saw it was Lisa. There was something a little different about her, the way she looked, her clothes and the way she wore her hair. Lisa was smiling so happily and her eyes were all but sparkling. “Yes,” she whispered excitedly in Tony’s arms and brought her left hand up so that Tony could see the diamond engagement ring on her finger. Tony felt himself smile before Lisa leaned in close and kissed him.

“The flowers and the decorations around the ring were so sweet. It was lovely!”

He looked deeply into her eyes and heard his voice say, “Will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” she repeated excitedly.

Tony’s hand came up and gently brought Lisa’s fingers to his lips. He kissed her hand and turned the ring on her finger back and forth.

Her smile widened and she laughed out loud with happiness. His fingers moved once more and began to gently stroke the side of her face and continue down to brush through her hair, before the two put their lips together again. As the kiss came, Tony realised how much love he felt for Lisa and as the realisation appeared to him, so did all the other memories surrounding this moment. What had happened to him, what would happen to Lisa and how an angel called Stemasta would try to ease his coming pain and reunite him with his true love. But most importantly of all, Tony knew that Lisa and he were meant to be together, like she had told him. They were soul mates and had found true love. The words that Tony had thought of when he had first seen Lisa last night, once more flashed into his mind; ‘I will love you forever’.

Lisa was the first to recover her wits. She so wanted to hold Tony now more than ever as with each passing moment another love-filled memory surfaced in her mind.

“Come on Tony, we have to go!” Lisa started to pull Tony away, but he was still dazed from the unexpected flood of memories he knew were not his own.

It was too late as the thug came within reach of Tony and pulled back his arm, ready to stab his knife into Tony’s side, a non-fatal way of incapacitating him. Seeing what would happen Lisa side-stepped and put herself between her love and his attacker. The knife was already on its way when Tony quietly whispered the name, “Stemasta”. Instantly following the name, as if its calling had been a signal, the thug flew away, hard into the wall. With a painful crunch he bounced off of the concrete and landed in a heap on the floor. Tony and Lisa stood unharmed and completely shocked by the sudden intervention of this supernatural force.

Tony felt something new now. Before he had liked the idea of being in love with Lisa and after spending the night with her in his arms, holding her to him, he had woken with the feeling of love. Now though, after seeing the way things had once been, Tony knew he could never be without Lisa again. He could not run, instead he pulled her back to him and held her closely. As all of his love for her returned, a single tear rolled down his cheek to be caught and absorbed in her hair. Tony looked down to her and Lisa stared up into his blue eyes, before burying her face in his chest and just holding him.

He responded and held her close to him, resting the side of his head on the top of hers. They stood together not concerned about the danger they were in, only caring about the fact they had once more found each other and their love. After a few more moments, Tony let his grip on Lisa go and turned back to face the fallen thug. The man had not yet moved and both Lisa and Tony edged closer to him. There was something they both recognised about this man. He had been homeless once. He had driven a red sports car once too. Each time he had looked a little different, but they could recognise him now as the unknowing destroyer of their love. Tony and Lisa looked at each other as this thought occurred to them both and from behind them, both sensed a movement. They turned around to see another figure they both now recognised. Stemasta stood before them, his long black leather coat hanging from him like a giant cape, masking the radiance of his overall appearance.

“At last,” he said softly to them, “you are together.”

Tony and Lisa stood with an arm around each other and upon hearing Stemasta’s voice, both tightened their hold, as if afraid that the angel’s words alone would be enough to tear the apart. As they stood together, Tony remembered the picture that Lisa had given him. He took the photo from his pocket and saw it was indeed a picture of Lisa and himself, or two people who looked exactly like them. Tony looked up from the picture, questioningly back at Stemasta.

“I don’t know how you have managed to regain your memories from previous lives, but I am afraid they will soon be taken from you. You are both out of place here and so I must return you.”

Lisa and Tony made to protest, but just as both began to voice their objections, the angel cut them off. “It’s not as bad as it seems though, trust me. You see I intend to return you both to a point when you had finally found each other naturally, without any of my help. You will once again lose you memories in the process, but you will keep those of the lives to which I return you. You will once again become Amy and Joe. But this time you,” Stemasta pointed to Tony, “must save her from her fate and in doing so, save your love.”

Tony and Lisa looked deeply into each others eyes, understanding that soon they would be together, but that everything was once more about to change, and for the final time.

“Quickly though,” called Stemasta, “it was no accident that you were torn apart by the same soul on so many occasions.”

“You mean he knew?!” asked Tony in disbelief.

“He has been an unaware plaything of the powers of darkness for many lifetimes. Now you must go and I will wait here and attempt to free him from his captor.”

The light was blinding, so bright that both Lisa and Tony were forced to shield their already closed eyes.

When the light faded, they were gone and as Stemasta looked down to Bret, he saw the man begin to stir. Then, as if he had sustained no injury at all, Bret rose to his feet. The knife still remained on the floor. Stemasta looked into Bret’s eyes and could see that he was no longer in control.

“Hello Edella, I cannot say that it is good to see you again,” Stemasta said coldly. “You have failed, you will not have them, nor will you succeed in destroying their love for one another. Now, free that trapped soul you carry there with you.”

Bret dropped once more to the ground in a limp heap. In his place stood a woman, or at least a being in the form of a woman. To the normal eye, she appeared very desirable. A shapely figure and an attractive face from which two inviting eyes stared out, but with evil intent behind them. She was dressed similarly to Stemasta in a long leather coat, but instead of black, her’s was red. Beneath her coat she wore a crimson, figure-hugging outfit. “I’ll release this soul but not because you wish it, because I grow weary of appearing in such an ugly form,” Edella answered vainly. “Tell me, Stemasta, do you not find me desirable here in this realm of mortals?” she asked in her melodious voice.

“I do not,” replied the angel sternly. “I know what you are and your true form, foul demon.”

“Oh, now come Stemasta, let us not resort to name calling. What makes you think that I’ll not feed off of destroying the love of your two most recent charges? After all, you’ve never really been able to stop me before.”

“I have and I will again!” Stemasta protested.

Edella began pacing around in a small circle, “Tut tut tut Stemasta, you know that the one time you came close you were still stopped and I didn’t have to lift a finger, ha ha hah! What enjoyable fond memories you give me.”

“Enough of your endless twittering, evil-doer, let’s go!” Stemasta challenged and with that the battle was on.

Here in this deserted old warehouse, the angel and the demon would fight once more. This time the prize was the true love found by Joe and Amy, Lisa and Tony, whatever names you gave to them, their love now hung in the balance.

Standing as still as statues, the combatants focused themselves, for when good fights evil, there is no physical contact between the two, instead a battle of wills takes place.

Joe walked slowly, comfortably with Amy on his arm, down the hill from their home. Her head leant against his shoulder as she entwined her arms around his. Their pace was relaxed and the beat of their shoes against the pavement was as steady as a heart beat. Joe released his arm from Amy’s grasp and wrapped it around her slender shoulders. As he did she looked lovingly up at him with her dark brown eyes.

The battle of wills now taking place was for control of one mortal soul in another time and another place, a man that once ruined the lives of two soul mates. The soul that Stemasta and Edella currently knew as Bret, who in the life they fought for control of had no home, looked into his small cup with disgust at the pennies Joe had so casually discarded. He stared at the back of the couple intently.

Stemasta could feel Bret’s presence and concentrated hard on the good within him. The angel reminded Bret of all the good things life had to offer. Brought to Bret’s conscious mind all the happy memories of his childhood. Life could be that good again, if he only had the courage to try, to go back to his family. But all the while Stemasta could feel the anger rising up within Bret’s soul, being stirred by Edella to boiling point. She was playing on his weaknesses, making him focus on his fury.

‘Why should one man have so much and another have so little?’ the vagrant asked himself.

Anger possessed him as he climbed to his feet. He began to shake with rage that this man who had so much could so carelessly throw away a few pennies thinking that it would make a difference. The vagrant reached into his old trousers feeling for his knife, then withdrawing the weapon, he ran at his enemy.

Stemasta was grew weaker and he could feel himself losing the battle, not because Edella was stronger than he was, or because her will was greater. No, the reason for so many defeats, so many failures was because mankind was weak. Mankind could not resist the pull of evil and so easily he gave into his evil urges. Urges to cause pain and to kill were too strong in the creation known as Man. So once again the angel’s efforts to stop one man from killing another failed.

Edella knew she had won. She felt her control over the vagrant tighten as Stemasta weakened and it felt good. She had beaten him again and soon she would be feasting on a meal of shattered love. The delicious thought of what was to come made her smile, but why was the fool angel smiling back?

At the sounds of the footsteps Amy turned around and saw the vagrant charging Joe with a knife in his hand. Amy saw the look of pure anger in the man’s eyes and she became afraid for Joe. Without thinking she simply reacted, stepping out from Joe’s arm and into the path of the knife to protect him.

“You are beaten once again Stemasta, so tell me why are you smiling?” Edella all but screamed as she laughed loudly at the angel.

Still with a sly little smile on his face, Stemasta held back his answer.

“But this time you must save her from her fate and in doing so, save your love.” The words entered Joe’s mind from nowhere, but as soon as he thought them, he recognised them and spun around to see the enraged homeless man charging them. With a protectiveness for Amy like nothing he had ever felt before, Joe pushed his wife clear of the danger and side stepped the stab of their attacker. Then with a fast and accurate uppercut, Joe floored the man and quickly kicked his knife to one side. The weapon slid away and clanked through a drainage grill below the curb.

As soon as the vagrant hit the ground he rolled and staggered slowly back to his feet. Joe stood ready to fight and kept himself between Amy and the homeless man, but to their surprise the vagrant stepped back. He now wore a terrified look on his face as he realised what he had just tried to do. He looked at Joe and Joe knew the man was afraid. Slowly Joe lowered his fists and watched as their attacker turned and ran, running as fast as he could away from his horrible mistake.

“You have lost this time Edella and you have lost your hold on this poor one,” Stemasta pointed to Bret. “The past has been changed and for the better.”

“NO!” screamed Edella, “It cannot be. I had him, controlled him, he was going to kill them.”

“Yes,” said Stemasta calmly nodding in agreement, “and they saved themselves. You will have no power to intervene in their lives ever again, the same as your hold on this one has been permanently broken.” Stemasta turned from the enraged Edella and slowly walked away. Within a few steps down the corridor he was gone.

Edella was left alone, fuming. The sounds of her screams had brought Leóni’s other thugs running to the upper floor of the warehouse, but they arrived to find an unconscious Bret and nothing more.

“Wow, are you alright?” asked a concerned Amy.

“Yeah, I think so. What about you, are you okay?” questioned Joe as he wrapped his arms around his beautiful wife.

“Fine,” she said as she squeezed him tightly, “But I can’t believe what just happened, you could have been killed!”

“To be honest, I didn’t care what happened to me, just as long as he couldn’t hurt you, that was the important thing. I love you so much.”

Amy relaxed in Joe’s arms as she heard these words and just before she kissed him, she whispered, “I will love you forever.”

The two continued on their way down the hill towards their favourite restaurant. As they strolled on, they passed a man dressed in a long black leather coat who winked at them. This seemed a little bit strange and the coat he wore was odd considering what a beautiful night it was, but what was even stranger was that as soon as he had passed and moved out of earshot, both Joe and Amy turned to each other with a puzzled look and questioned, “Do we know that guy?”

As he walked away up the hill, Stemasta smiled to himself.

The End