Different Ends of the Spectrum

by Donna and Abs

Sister Sarah Joseph Magdelene was in the chapel of her order, spending the night on her knees in a prayer vigil. She had just finished nursing school the year before, and was now due to take her final vows. The young immortal was wrestling with the decision. Should she stay, hiding out on holy ground to avoid having to fight for her life? Could she sincerely commit her life to God, knowing she was just doing it so that she could have a place of refuge?

The night passed, and as dawn began to blush across the darkness of the night sky, she rose to her feet, still unsure as to what she should do. Walking to the door that led to the small courtyard garden she often found soothing, she stepped across the threshold.

It was like walking, literally, into the Garden of Eden. The place she entered could have come from any painting of Adam and Eve’s Paradise; and she gasped because it was not what she was expecting. When she turned to go back to the chapel she found it was no longer there! She was stranded in the Garden of Eden!

She crossed herself, then took a deep breath. "Don't panic," she said to herself. "You must have fallen asleep while praying and this is just a really strange dream." But about that time, she felt the tingle of another of her kind, and she looked frantically around for something to protect herself with. But there was nothing, not even a stick.

A tall, dark haired woman came out of the bushes. "I am Phoenix," she said. "Defend yourself." She was dressed strangely, at least to Sarah Jo; her body was totally encased in black leather.

"I don't know if I can," the young nun said honestly. "Where am I? One moment I was on holy ground, and now? I have no idea where this place is. Please, do we have to do this?"

Phoenix looked her over. Then she lowered her sword. "An Immortal nun? Whattaya tryina be, a female Darius? Didn't save him, y'know."

"Darius? Who is that? I'm not a nun yet, really. Just a novice. I was supposed to take my final vows today. But now?" She was confused and exhausted. Seeing a big rock, she sat down heavily on it, starting to tuck her hands into the folds of her long black habit. Covering her strawberry blonde hair was a short, white veil, and with a sigh, she reached up and pulled it off her head, folding it neatly into a little square. "Guess ah won't be needing this. Are you going to kill me now? I'm afraid I can't put up much of a fight. Heck, I don't even have a sword."

The tall woman shrugged. "No fun if the person doesn't fight," she said, tossing her sword aside. "You just get here? I have no idea where we are, but I got separated from a friend and I’ve been wandering around for days. Plenty to eat and drink though."

"Food and drink sounds good. Ah've been fasting for the last three days," Sarah Jo said with a shrug of her shoulders and a deep sigh. "Ah guess this answers my question about whether or not I should take my final vows. I'm Sarah Jo McCants. I've only been immortal for three years now, and have been in the convent all that time studying to be a nursing sister."

"I go by Phoenix, but my real name is Aphaia. I was an Egyptian princess, and I am about 2200 years old." She shrugged. "Guess you have to start somewhere. Come, let's eat. Then maybe we both can find some shelter for the night."

They walked a short distance until they found a fountain, where Sarah Jo quenched her thirst. Wiping her mouth, she grinned. "Egyptian princess? I'm just a poor ol' mountain girl from the Great Smokies. Made the mistake of getting in between two feuding families. The lady who had raised me was an immortal too. She hid me away in a wagon and I revived somewhere on the way to Charleston. While we were on the road, she explained to me all about who and what I was. Gave me the choice of her finding me a teacher so that ah could learn to defend myself, or her taking me to a convent where I would be safe until I could make up my mind what I wanted to do." She reached up and pulled down a peach like fruit from a tree and bit into it. "Hmmmm, heavenly."

Phoenix nodded. "Well, being the daughter of a Pharaoh got me killed. So I wouldn't put much stock in it. Priest took me and trained me, then up and left when he had to go back to his band of marauders. Sometimes I wish he'd taken me with him."

"Haven't had much experience with men. Didn't have any close neighbors, and the only ones I've been around the last three years is a priest older than Father Time himself, and a couple of equally ancient Docs at the nursing school." She giggled. "Heck, they wouldn't even let us student nurses give a male patient a bed bath unless we had a room full of witnesses."

The Egyptian shook her head. "I was a spoiled brat. Went through every hunk in the palace, except the Priest, and while he was my teacher, I had him plenty since then. Damn lousy slave I was ballin' waited till I was asleep and then stabbed me, so there could be an uprising in the wake of my death." She shook her head. "Men are useless, most of the time."

Sarah Jo sighed. "Don't rightly know about any of that. Heck, ah've never even been kissed." They had walked into a cleared out section of the garden where they found a trail with hoofprints on it leading away. "Well, well, the road to the promised land. Shall we follow it?" she asked.

"I wish I had a horse," Phoenix sighed. "But I never needed one b'fore."

"One would come in handy right about now," the freckled face girl chuckled.

"Nothing left than to hoof it," Phoenix joked, indicating the tracks. Then the pair started toward Edan. Of course, they did not know at once that they were heading there, but eventually they saw a sign, written in hieroglyphics, that proclaimed "Edan" in that direction.

"Can you read this gobbly gook?" Sarah Jo asked.

"Of course, can't you?" Then she shook her head. "Sorry. It's like English to you - my native language. Come. It's this way."

They turned down the road in the direction that Phoenix had pointed out. Before long, they started to see houses off in the distance.

"There it is," the older Immortal said. "Edan. Wonder what awaits us there?" And, with that, they continued on and into town.