The Immortal 5 The Beginning: Rena's Story

Omri's past revisited

Rena woke with a start sometime in the middle of the night. She sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. She looked around the room. She gave a small gasp of surprise when she saw Omri sitting in her over-sized chair. He was just sitting there with his elbows resting on his knees. His arms just hanging between his legs.

“My god, Omri you startled me.”

He smiled and leaned forward a little more. There was a look in his eyes that she couldn’t read.

“Rena, I think it’s time that I told you about my past. That will explain why I am a little reserved about you being home.”

That brought her into complete consciousness. She pushed her pillows up behind her so that she could lean against her headboard. She waited quietly for him to begin his story.

“When I was seventeen my family and I had to leave our home. We lived on a farm, but as we southerners call it a plantation. It was on the border of North Carolina. It was a grand place to grow up. But any way let me begin at the beginning. I would like to tell you a little about my father before I go any farther. My father was a good man, very loving person though others thought he was a fool. But back to my father, he loved every one within his homestead.

He thought of everyone there as part of his family. Our slaves weren’t slaves they were people. At least to our family. They were people not things or property.”

He looked up into her eyes. And what she saw there was something close to tears.

“We owned one of the richest plantations in the state. Some people never understood that my father treated his slaves the way that he did. When the president announced the emancipation proclamation my father was elated. When he went to tell them that they were free to go. They told him that they felt that they were free already. They stayed with us till that fateful day.

Soldiers came to the house that day to inform us that my brother and I were being drafted to fight for the southern way of living. My father refused to let us go and sent them away. They later returned that same day with orders to arrest anyone who interfered with our leaving with them. My father begged for them to let us have one last dinner with the family. They let us only on the condition that we were to be ready at dawn.

Then as they left my father showed his other side, the side that no one had seen before. He turned to us as they soldiers were out of sight and told us to pack one travel bag. And to be quick about it. Then with that he turned and went outside. He left us standing there staring after him. My mother was the first to move; she went to the stairs and looked over her shoulder. Soon we were all upstairs packing just a few things. As we came down the stairs my father had returned to the house with his right hand man with him.”

Omri paused and looked down. He took a few minutes before he began once more.

“He said we were leaving the farm. Then he walked out the door like he was heading to the cooking shed. As if he was checking on dinner. His right hand man spoke as soon as he left the room. Saying we were to head out the side entrance. That our father would meet us in a little while. My father had laid a plan out while were packing. He met us at the border of our plantation. We walked for ours that first night. We didn’t stop until just before dawn. My father had some of his workers go ahead of us that night and they met us to help set up camp.

Father said that they were all that agreed to come with us this night. He said that the others were coming later on. We slept for only a few hours. Father had us walk for days. My mother wasn’t doing so well, so we stopped more frequently. One day that was just like the days before but something was off.

We had stopped to let mother rest under a tree. While she rested my sister, Sasha was picking wild flowers. Sasha was so full of life that day. She called me over to tell me about to tell me about the dream she had the night before. It was about the man she wanted to marry. By then mother was ready to go again. We had only made it about three miles from the last place we had rested. When out of nowhere in the quiet midafternoon silence, came a loud c***k it was like thunder but there was no clouds in the sky.

Mother and Sasha screamed in horror. I looked back over my shoulder and saw that Sasha had quit smiling. She pitched forward much like the way you had. But what had her going forward was the force of the bullet slamming into her back. She reached for me as she went down. I barely caught her before she hit the ground. Her back was covered in blood. It was warm and sticky. I could feel her body getting colder as more of the blood left her body. I could hear my mother sobbing and everyone else either groaning or crying. I saw my father lay dead and my brother was dead as well.”

He stopped to get a hold over the emotions that ran through his body from that day. Rena watched him take in several deep breathes before beginning again.

“Sasha lay dieing in my arms and there was nothing that I could do to save her. The last thing that she had said to me was that she would never leave me. That she would always be in my heart. That she would love me forever. She fought for just a moment to stay with me. She died in my arms with a sigh. It was her last breath. I looked over to see everyone else was dead as well. I was the last in my entire family. I sat there with Sasha in my arms, her blood covering my body. I screamed all my pain but it didn’t help. I could hear the sound of their feet crunching on the gravel as they approached. I laid Sasha on the ground, and brushed her hair out of her face. I gazed down at her and she looked like she was sleeping she was so angelic.

I looked up to see a brigade of confederate soldiers coming in my direction. I took one last look at my sisters’ face before I stood. I wasn’t going to let them kill me the same way they killed my family. I was going to go down fighting. I began to walk towards them, someone shouted for me to stop and that made me break into a run. I wasn’t going to stop but when the first of the bullets slammed into my body I had to stop. The pain, it was so excruciating that I had to catch my breath. As I did that they fired at me again. More bullets ripped into my skin causing me to fall to my knees. The last image I saw before I died was my sister. Standing there in front of me. Then I passed out.

When I woke I didn’t hurt. I was still alive. Which I couldn’t believe. I stood up and surveyed the scene of c*****e in front of me. I could not bury my family and friends. It was done I vowed as I stood there that I would never allow anyone to get close to me again. Then I met you and you changed my life forever.”

She was stunned that he had lived and then had to deal with that tragic day. So know could see why he was the way that he is today. She shook off her surprise to crawl off her bed only to kneeling front of him; she took his cold and clammy hands in hers. She brought them to where they rested right over her heart.

“Do you feel this? It means I am alive, that I am here with you. I never wanted to leave my family at all. Sure I may die again but I have one thing, and I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to your sister, but I come back every time I do die. That is one thing you can count on.”

He smiled at her; he let his gaze drift over to her night stand to see that it was well after three in the morning. He looked down into her eyes.

‘Rena you need sleep.”

He watched as she tried to hide a yawn. As she looked into his eyes and realized he was afraid that she wasn’t going to be here if he did sleep. She saw that if he didn’t sleep she would fall over tomorrow. Just as she finished that thought she had an idea appear in her head.

“Omri, I know that you think I am just a dream but I’m not. I am here. I have an idea that will allow both of us to get some well needed sleep.”

She saw that she had his attention. So she went on.

“You can sleep here with me just so that in the morning you will see that I am indeed here with you. Plus, I don’t want to be alone after the day I have had. So what do you think you get sleep plus I will still be here in the morning, do that you will see that you’re not dreaming. Do we have a deal?”

She waited for him to answer. She started shivering as the cold was finally getting to her. It didn’t take him to long to agree to her deal. He nodded his head in agreement. She jumped up off the floor and hugged him. He returned her hug. He felt when she shivered the second time.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were cold? Get your butt back in that bed.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She hopped on to the bed and patted the side she wasn’t sleeping on. She watched as he sat down and removed his shoes. He looked over his shoulder at her and just stared for what seemed like an eternity. He shook his head and laid down next to her. Rena sighed in relief she thought for a moment that he wasn’t going to lay down at all. She lay down next to him with her head on her pillow but gasped in surprise when he pulled her to where her head rested on his shoulder. She relaxed slightly but didn’t allow sleep to come until she heard his breathing change. When it did she relaxed completely and only then did she allow sleep to claim her once more.

Dawn approached with Rena and Omri still sleeping. That is how Breanna found them. She stood in Rena’s bedroom door just watching them sleep. She didn’t hear Kali come down the hall. Kali saw that Breanna was just standing there.

“What’s wrong with Rena?” she asked in concern.

Breanna looked over at Kali and smiled. Kali breathed a sigh of relief. Rena was still here and she was ok. She made her way to where Breanna was standing, she looked the way Breanna was and saw what made her just stand there. Then she to smiled at the sight. Downstairs the phone rang several times before it was answered.

The sound of the phone woke Omri first. He looked down to see that Rena was indeed still there like she said she would be. She looked beautiful to him. But then again she was his sister how she could not be beautiful. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes. She opened them fully and smiled at him.

“Didn’t I tell you I would still be here?” she watched as the smile grew even bigger.

The sound of giggles told them they were not alone. Rena lifted her head top see her dear sisters standing in her doorway with big smiles in their faces.

"Well ladies, I think it’s time that Rena and I got up. Shall we go downstairs and get some breakfast?”