Rainbows and Rodents: Reinforcements

The road leading home was steep and rugged. The mountain's base was surrounded by sand dunes; further up the mountainside stood large rocks, treacherously jagged and seemingly impassable. As the roadway swayed along the mountainside, I realized that danger lived hidden behind and beneath the rocks. Mammoth snakes, alligators, and all kinds of frightening rodents waited in the recesses and ravines, lusting in their thoughts of a schemed attack. I climbed into my truck to begin my journey home. My father led the way in his Jeep. We traveled up the mountain road and came to a place where the incline was severely steep. I was in the lead and so I proceeded, but my truck fell backwards and landed on a lower part of the road. My father and I stood observing the difficult path before us. As we contemplated the route home, a fleeting deer came from behind us and followed the road up the mountain. When the deer arrived at the steep incline, he swerved to the left and found a path around the place where my truck had fallen. My father and I walked back to the village on foot where we initially began our journey. I was anxious to go home, so with my compass and helmet in hand I started the journey over on my own. I did not wait for my father to finish his business in the village. I trudged through the sand and my feet sunk below the surface with each step. Struggling along the sand dunes, I fell to my knees and crawled. My helmet filled up with sand. I dumped it out but did not place the helmet on my head where it belonged. After trying to pass through the dunes with no avail, my father came to me. I could sense he was in great distress, and so I asked, "Why are you upset?" He did not answer my question but inquired of me, "Why did you not have faith enough to wait on me?" My father explained his delay in the village. He had met a man who had evil intentions to break a man's leg. The evil man also had a dog with a very long claw. The evil man let the dog's claw grow in length so the dog could not walk or run away. My father rescued the dog, bundled him in a blanket, and carried him in his arms. He planned to trim the dog's claw so it could walk and run again. He did not seem upset that the man's leg would be broken. He told me that after the man's leg healed and the dog's claw was trimmed, the two would dance together! He further explained that the setbacks in their lives would produce growth in the man and the dog. They would be better equipped to face the battles assigned to them. As my father stood beside me, I gained strength. I placed the helmet on my head and faced the road before us. My father instructed me to lead and we began our journey home. As we ascended the path before us, I saw a large serpent crawling towards me through the ravines. He slithered quietly down the mountainside, sliding his tongue in and out of his mouth like he was tasting the scent of his prey. He had razor-sharp teeth like an alligator, and he spewed disgusting, green juices upon the rock beds marking his territory as he traveled through the ravine. Attached to his back, like a fat tick on a dog's skin, were bats and rats with wings. The rodent's eyes were filled with darkness, but when they sipped blood from the serpent's body, their eyes glowed like hot, fiery coals. The serpent's blood seemed to strengthen them. Other squadrons of rodents hovered above the ragged rocks, waiting their turn, to sink their teeth into the serpent's back The serpent eyed me in the distance, salivating. He headed in my direction. I grabbed the straps of my helmet and buckled them tightly beneath my chin. My eyes gazed upon the path the deer traveled earlier and I saw the mountaintop breaking through the clouds. A storm decorated the eastern skies. For a brief moment, a rainbow protruded below the clouds and sunrays surrounded a man, who resembled Jesus. The man sat upon a white horse. I glanced behind to where my father stood, who beckoned me to continue the journey. He took my hand in his hand and my heart grew fearless. At that moment, I recognized his spirit whispering in my ear. The road home became clear, the dangers were revealed to me, and I felt the compass grow warm in my right hand. I looked at the compass as I took my next step. The floating dial directed me not to the path of least resistance, which the deer chose, but to the ravine where the serpent and rodents were gaining strength. I climbed along the slope of the ravine above the serpent's right side. There was a boulder in my path and I climbed over it, but my foot became lodged in the crevice between the boulder and the ravine. My father, standing right behind me, urged me to break free and continue the journey. I reached down to free my foot and I felt a long piece of cold steel wedged into the crevice. Pulling my body forward, I saw the reflection of the steel beneath my foot. It radiated with the colors of the rainbow I had just briefly witnessed. I remembered where I had seen this object before. It was Shamar's sword. I grabbed the handle of the weapon and when I did my foot was set loose. I picked up the sword. Much to my surprise, the weight was light, like lifting a single feather. I held the sword before me and swept it from side to side like I had seen Shamar do. The rainbow colors shot colored flares into the sky. The rodents lifted their teeth from the serpent's back and flew after the soaring flares. The serpent saw the sword and lunged his head towards me. He raised his mammoth body like a fire-breathing dragon from medieval times and growled at me with a deep, booming voice. I shrieked back in fear, and my father jumped on the boulder beside me. He instructed me to slay the serpent with the sword. I whispered to my father, my voice trembling and my body shaking so violently that I fell to my knees, "I cannot defeat this large serpent!" My father lifted me to my feet and instructed me to hold the sword upward. The serpent lunged at me while displaying his intimidating teeth. Instantly, my body rose from the boulder, and I was able to swing the weapon against his throat. Sharp, distinct rainbow-colored flames sliced the massive head from the beast and it fell against the boulder. The teeth fell from his mouth, and I heard them fall against the rocks. The sound of crashing glass echoed through the ravine. The serpent’s head hit the ground overpowering the sound of crashing glass with the resonance of devastating thunder. The ravine shook so hard that a landslide was created below us. The serpent's body fell lifeless into the ravine and dreadful looking rodents flowed forth from his body. They died instantly in my father's presence.