NEVER NEVER NEVER

Bounty Hunters

We kept walking for days toward the northwest. When we start to wonder if we would ever see the snowcapped mountains, Meretseger screams with joy.

"Kojiro, look at that!"

I squint my eyes toward where she points her finger.

"What is that structure?" I see an enormous tower extending to the sky.

She looks at me and exclaims, "I think it is the tower of Babel."

"The tower of Babel?" I repeat and stare at Princess Meretseger.

"We used to hear about the ancient folklore. It said in the land of Shinar, where the tower of Babel once stood. The tower so large, it extends all the way to the heaven."

"I didn't know it really exists." She is owed by the sheer height of the tower and continues.

"Do you remember what old Sumer told us about? He said, once you walk toward the northwest between the Tigris and the Euphrates, there stands the tower so high into the sky. You must cross the Tigris and walk directly north into the cedar forest." 

"You are right about that. I almost forgot about it."

"Look, Kojiro! At the end of the horizon, can you see a faint shadow of the mountains?"

She points straight north over the Euphrates. I squit my eyes harder. Even with my hawk eyes, it is hard to detect the shape of the mountains. But my eyes can catch a glimpse of the white mountain tops. 

It still seems so far from here, but the new hope brings unfound strength to us.

"It is still so far away, but now we can see the destination."

"We can get there somehow."

"What shall we do about the tower? Do you think it is safe to go?"

"I don't know." I close my eyes and concentrate.

When I have doubts, this is how I reconnect with my inner self. Sooner or later, the answer arrives. I receive negative vibes from the tower. Something tells me not to go.

"I think we should go north instead of going in. It is better if we don't need to take unnecessary risks."

Meretseger doesn't object, and we head toward the shore of Tigris. Once at the river, I kneel and scoop the liquid with my palms. The water soothes my dry throat, and I take another gulp. Behind me, Princess Meretseger utters some words with uncertainty.

"How the hell are we going to cross this river? It is so wide."

After observing the other shore, I look to the right and the left. 

"I don't know what we can do. The only option we have is to cross the river by swimming."

"I am sorry to tell you. I don't know how to swim, especially with these cobra arms."

I perfectly see her point. Without any solutions, we decide to spend the night by the river.

Before the sun sets over the mountains, I decide to spear some fishes for our meal. I walk into the water to my waist and look for a fish swimming nearby. Meretseger walks around the shore, looking for some twigs to burn for the night.

It isn't as easy as the last time; the fishes are nowhere to be found. I change my location and walk further down the stream away from where Meretseger prepares the fire.

  My eyes are fixed on the bottom of the river, where a large fish swims upstream. I hear a scream far in the distance. I know instantly it was Meretseger's voice, and I turn around fast toward the fire.

 Several bandits on the horse ring her. She fiercely fights back with one of them. The bandit aims the long spear at her, and she fends it off with her cobra arms.  The cobras swirl around the spear and grab it.

I try to run back as fast as possible, but the upstream river's water pressure slows me down.

Two men on the horse hold a large fishnet from both sides. They run toward Meretseger and throw the fishnet over her. She is trapped inside the net and falls to the ground. She screams her lungs out.

Two horses keep running fast, dragging Meretseger behind them.  All of them shout out loud.

"We got the Cobra Woman! It is a big pay time!"

"Yeah, the chunk of gold is ours!"

Five horses keep running toward the tower of Babel. I finally come up to the shore where Meretseger lit the fire for the night. The sun is setting on the horizon behind the tower, and the bandits disappear, dragging Meretseger with them.

They are the bounty hunters Meretseger was talking about. Her most feared worry became a reality.

I know I can't let her die like this. She saved me from Lilitu. Meretseger believes in me as the savior. There is no doubt in my mind for me to go to the tower of Babel to save her. I wait for the night to set in and move toward the tower.

The bottom of the tower is completely dark, and the faint light from the sunken sun gently illuminates its contour. The tower resembles more like a cylindrical pyramid shape than the ordinary tower. There is a slope going upward, encircling the tower several times.

So far, there is no hint of humans inhabiting the mammoth structure.  The night becomes pitch dark, and the moon is hidden behind the thick cloud.  Tonight, luck is with me, and I advance through the barren field.

Once arrive at the tower's foot, I look up the edifice, trying to find any trace of human existence. There is no sound nor smell to detect any hint. I sneak into the building by crawling a large c***k in the structure.

I find a large slope going upward—the width of the road is about ten yards wide. At the monstrous stone gate, two dried-up corpses greet me. They sit on the ground leaning on each column. I pass through the gate, walking up the inclined passage.

The passage is scattered with human skulls and bones as if someone unearthed the ancient burial sights. I wonder what happened to this place. It appears as if a horrendous plague infested the tower overnight. I walk around the dried corpses make sure not to trip over any of them.

Maybe this place was another battleground against the Gods. I pick up daggers on their waist belts along the way.

My ears and eyes search for any hint of Meretseger's survival. I know they wouldn't kill her as she is their prize possession for exchanging with a chunk of gold.  I keep looking for her trace as I climb up higher.

The higher go up fewer corpses on the ground. Something tells me to walk inward. So I step inside the corridor and walk toward the center of the tower. Then I see faint shadows dancing around on the far wall. The end of the corridor is faintly light up, probably by the burning fire.

When I approach closer, I hear different voices talking to each other. I  hide behind the wall and concentrate on their conversation.

"Do you know how much gold can we get with her?"

"She is wanted from the city of Uruk. So I imagine she could worth a lot."

"Do we have to bring her all the way back to Uruk?"

"That's pretty far from here."

"You don't need to come along, but remember, you get nothing."

"That's not fair. I hunted her down."

"If you wanna get paid, you gotta come along."

"Ok, Ok. I got you."

At least four bandits are carrying the conversation. I plan my attack to save Meretseger. I still don' know where she is; if she is with them or being confined elsewhere. I decide to keep listening to them until I get a clue of where she is. After thirty minutes, their conversation finally revolves around Meretseger.

"Did you feed the Cobra Lady?"

"Yeah, but she refuses to eat any. She only drinks once in a while."

"If she dies, there are no rewards. So make sure that she eats something."

"I got it. Then, I will go check on her now." Someone walks away from where the rest of the gangs are.

I quietly follow the footsteps as if his own shadow follows him.

The bandit walks into another room, and I see Meretseger lying on the stone floor. Her face is down, and the ten cobras move around to stare at the bandit. Her waist, her neck, and both of her legs are chained to the wall. He checks to see if she has eaten a piece of dead meat he left in front of her a few hours ago.  A chunk of meat is still untouched. Meretseger doesn't move at all as if she is already dead.

The bandit is afraid of losing her, so he pokes her with a long stick because he is scared of Meretseger's divine power. I slowly try to sneak behind the bandit who faces the wall where Meretseger is chained in. She lifts her head to see the bandit, and she sees me behind him. Her eyes open slightly wider, but I stick my pointy finger on top of my lips to make sure she won't utter a word.

After understanding my intention, her eyes go back to normal as if there is no hope for escape. The bandit keeps poking on Meretseger, and the cobras try to protect her. They keep assaulting the wooden stick. I get closer and closer from his behind.

I grab his jaw with my hand and immobilize him. I lift him from the ground, and his hands are moving frantically in the air. I take out my battle sword from my back and slowly slay his throat. The blood gushes out onto his chest, and his hands stop moving. I let go of his lifeless body, and it falls to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"You came to rescue me!" Meretseger is relieved with joy.

"Of course I would. Are you OK? Did you get hurt?"

"No, I am fine. They dragged me all the way from the river, but I didn't break any."

"Thank God, you are OK."

"I will unchain you with my sword. Can you move as far away as possible from the wall?"

"I got you!"

She moves her body away from the wall, and I swing the iron sword with all my strength. The chains snap, and Meretseger is free.

"I know there are still four men left. Do you still have some strength left in you?"

"I can still fight."

"I have an idea. I picked up these daggers. They are used for short-distance battles when the opponent is in a fist-distance. I lost the duel with the samurai who could use two swords, one on each arm. I thought your ten cobras could maneuver them easily."

Meretseger commands the cobras to hold the daggers in their mouth. Once they hold ten daggers aiming at me, Meretseger looks like Durga, one of the ancient Indian Gods with many arms. She is ready to fight back. 

"You approach them first from the main entrance, and I will strike them from behind."

"If you are in danger, you can command the cobras to throw the daggers at them as well."

The Cobra Goddess nods her head, and she looks so fierce. I walk around the corridor to reach the other side of the room, where the loud voices are still heard. The rest of the four bandits still don't notice one is missing. I quietly sneak behind them and wait for the Cobra Goddess to charge into the room.

When the Goddess walks into the room, ten cobras move their neck like the flaming fire. Their shadow moved more furiously. Four bandits were completely downright frightened without a word.

The silence permeated the air before the screams break out from their mouth. Before I storm in from their behind, the Goddess threw ten daggers at them, and all of them pierce four fleshes. Four daggers hit their third eye. Another four daggers nail their hearts—the last two s***h groins. Four bandits are instantly killed as if they received God's wrath. The fight is abruptly over.

"Wow, you were amazing! I've never seen anything like that before. How did you master that quickly?"

"When you are in danger, you come up with a solution somehow." She smiles.

"You came up with an incredible idea about me using ten daggers. This will exponentially increase the chance of my survival."

"It will be an awesome striking force for us," I exclaim.

"By the way, we shouldn't be spending the night here. We got to get out of here as soon as possible. You never know what will assault us next. This tower is haunted."

"But, how are we going to cross the Tigris in the middle of the night?"

"I have the wings. I have never done it before, but I think that will carry us to the other side. We are elevated enough to catch the wind."

"What if we fall?"

"We will be dead, but better than staying in this haunted tower. Do you want to take the chance?"

She reflects for a moment.

"Anyway, I came this far, and I already trust you as our savior. Why not!"

I grab her waist, and she holds onto my neck tight. I jump off from the middle of the tower and spread my wings wide. The fresh air lifts us high. We glide effortlessly in the air.

"We are flying. We are flying!" The Goddess screams out loud. Her voice echoes in the night.

The Tigris is sleeping quietly beneath us. I prepare for our landing and hold her tightly in my arms. We land safely on the other side of the most famous river in ancient times.