Honor Thy Father: Chapter 4 - "A Guiding Light"
The Bear-tooth Mountain Archive
Welcome back, dear reader, to the fourth chapter of Honor Thy Father, a new serial short story set within the world of The Bear-tooth Mountain Archive. But don’t let that scare you, this one can stand all on its own.
Jude has seen the dark truth of the Mountain. With his own eyes, he’s watched his father battle the giant that haunts the forest. With his father engaged in mortal combat, Jude runs through the forest to return home, hoping the monster won’t follow him further…
Jude wandered through the woods for what seemed like an eternity.
Through the chilled forest, he struggled to find his way. He could no longer hear the sounds of his father in conflict with the Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain, nor had he turned back to see if there were any sign of them. Though Jude thought he had been traveling westward, he was beginning to wonder if he had wandered in the right direction at all.
The boy wasn’t as confident a navigator as his father. He had only joined him on a few hunting trips in his life, and even then, he was more of a spectator than a participant.
Jude’s lack of experience had quickly caught up with him, and before long, he realized that he was indeed lost. Defeat stirred within him, and he soon felt a wave of despair pass over like a sudden spring rain.
“I have failed,” he cried to nobody but himself. “I am sorry, Papa. I cannot find my way home.”
Jude sat on a smooth rock beneath a well-rooted sycamore tree and pounded the snowmelt with his fist. He couldn’t believe that he had been so foolish. How had he gotten so turned around? If only his father were here.
Because of the urgency, he hadn’t thought to ask his Papa which direction would take him home. He certainly hadn’t thought to pay any attention on the hike to the Mountain itself. He had been far too excited, after all. But the thrill had since past.
Instead, young Jude could only wish and hope to find his way through. Despite the cold, he was sweating profusely. His vision was blurred, and his ears were ringing. It was as if bright, white lights were closing in around him.
Then, out of the corner of his tear-stained eye, when he had thought all hope was lost, Jude saw something sparkle in the distance.
His vision returned to normal, and he looked upward just in time to catch a familiar glimmer through the thickened trees.
It was the glowing blue light from earlier, now hovering silently in front of him. At first, it looked as if it were getting closer. The longer he looked, the closer it appeared. But Jude soon realized that the light was only growing bigger. It no longer looked like an orb, and as it grew, it slowly began to take on a new shape. That of a man.
He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. As an ethereal beacon, the orb felt less personal. It was an alien object that, perhaps like an insect or a bird, had its own motivations, but posed no real threat to those around it. But as it looked more and more human, there was a very real sense of danger that came with it.
The boy could hardly move. He thought again to David, who with only a slingshot and a rock killed the giant Goliath.
“If only I had a slingshot now,” the boy whispered.
Do not be afraid.
Jude was stunned, and even more frightened when he heard the voice speak within his own mind. It had a distinctness to it that was foreign in comparison to his own thoughts. He heard it speak to him as clearly within himself as if it were standing right beside him. Of course, it was, but he saw no movement suggesting that it spoke physically on its own accord.
You are safe from that creature.
“Who are you?”
I am an angel of the Lord. A messenger. And I am here to take you home.
“Home?”
Yes, home. You are lost, are you not?
Jude nodded. He was beginning to think he had wandered into a dream.
This is not a dream, but we must move quickly. The giant may catch your scent.
“How do I stop it from doing that?”
Look to the west, just past the crooked tree to the right.
Jude looked and spotted the tree.
Behind the tree is a large patch of snowmelt. Bathe yourself in it, then I will guide you home.
“And if I do not?”
We haven’t much time, Jude.
Jude wasn’t sure if he could trust the supposed angel.
From what he remembered from family worship, the scriptures once described Satan as an “angel of light.” Considering its bright appearance, Jude felt as if maybe he were being tricked. But he had no other options.
He decided he would do what the celestial had said, but not before another passage from the Good Book that his father once read crawled back into mind. Something about testing the spirits…
“I will do as you say, but first answer this: who is Jesus Christ?”
The Son of the Living God. The King of all things. The Lord of lords who came in the flesh to save those bearing His image. Holy, holy, holy is He.
That answer was good enough for Jude. The Devil probably wouldn’t stand there praising God with such sincerity, and so he decided he could trust this immortal spirit after all. He had no more time for reservations.
Comfort soon welled inside him, replacing any temptation to despair. Without another thought, he bathed himself in the snowmelt. It was mostly wet dirt, but it would help him hide his scent from the monster.
He did as the angel had said and then walked across the other side of the creek so as not to retrace his steps. When he got out of the ice-cold water, a young man in a thick jacket like his father’s offered him a hand.
A blue light flashed like lightning in his eyes, and the boy knew instantly that this man was the angel, now appearing in human flesh.
“Let’s get you home,” the messenger said.
Jude walked with the man through the forest, and with each step began to recall the path he and his father had taken before.
It wasn’t just the trees that looked familiar though. After walking quite some distance, there was another tell that encouraged his heart. He saw smoke rising in the distance, and could tell that it was home. No doubt, his mother had started a fire to keep herself and his sisters warm, not realizing it would double as a beacon for her wayward son.
The young man stuck with Jude until he got to the edge of the forest, helping him weave his way through the trees in a broad pattern that would dissuade the giant from following any further. By the time they got to the treeline — which was only a dozen or so feet from their fence — the messenger stopped.
“I cannot go with you any further, but I wish you godspeed.”
“Wait,” Jude said, stopping the angel where he stood. “Please wait here. I still need your help.”
“You don’t need me, Jude Anthony. You are a resourceful boy, your father’s son. I am but a messenger.”
“So, what is your message then?”
The angel grinned. “That the Nephilim will fall. That you will be there to witness it. I do not know the day or the hour, but it knows it’s time is short.”
Before Jude could think of any other reason to keep the spirit in his sights, the young man began to glow with an electric blue glaze as it had before. As he grew brighter, Jude could hear the angel whisper in the back of his mind once more.
Be not afraid. Your father will return.
With that, the light zipped back into the forest and faded among the trees.
Jude watched the light for as long as he could. It seemed that the Mountain was perhaps not all bad. Even in the thickest darkness, light can still shine through. This gave him hope. Hope that they could actually win.
Jude turned back to his family’s barn. He knew what he had to do.
Read the final chapter, Chapter 5: “Providence” here.