Welcome to Gaia! ::

Countdown

A scream, then silence. You heard those only two things in the hellhole in which my existence carried out. Occasionally you heard the peal of gunfire, or the whine of a siren. This place sound familiar to you? Naw, I guess not. The only part of this town you saw were the clean, freshly paved sidewalks lined with big time C.E.Os and clean shaven lawyers on their way home to the slutty whores they consider wives along with about five other rich men. Still don’t know where we are? No? Wow, you are a ********. It’s New York City.

Pretty obvious now that I say it, huh? Of course, they wouldn’t show you this part of town. Weird things go on here. Supernatural things. Things that belong more in the National Inquirer than in the Wall Street Journal.

One of those things was going on right now with me at the center of it all. Wow, that was a surprise. I’m always at the center of it. I was just walking down the pier by myself, as usual, when some dude popped out from behind a fish stand and covered my mouth with a rag drenched in chloroform. That stuff must’ve been strong to take me down as fast as it did. I woke up with a splitting headache.

It felt as though someone had set a huge subwoofer spewing out white noise next to my ear. I tried to move my hand to rub my temple, but some thick chains kept me immobilized. I noticed a hulking form ahead of me, but couldn’t distinguish it until my eyes grew used to the light. What I saw didn’t elevate my mood.

“What’s up, Barry? Working for the side of evil, now?” I said, my voice seething venom so vile the figure-Barry-cringed.

“Cut the s**t, Childen. Why have you been following me lately? Put a negative decline in my recent…dealings.” He started chuckling at an ill-attempted joke, while I sat feeling the chains around me. Based on the atomic make-up, I figured it to be titanium. Wondering how I could check its atoms? You’re about to experience one of those supernatural moments.

His laughing gave way to fit of coughing that spewed bloody mucus all in my right eye. Can you say “sick”? “My eye! Oh, gods, I’m gonna go blind! You probably have gona-herpa-syphil-aids or s**t like that!” I started rubbing my eye with both hands to try to get that toxic waste out of my eye.

“Stop bitching, you little ********. I don’t have any…” He looked at my hands (now at my sides now that the snot was as best gone as I could get it) and then back at me. His eyes grew wide and his Adam’s apple was bobbing furiously. I just sat there, picking wax out of my ear and closely examining my shoes. I looked up and couldn’t help but grin.

“What? Is there something on my face? Probably more mucusth!” I lisped the last word and shot spittle all over his face. He didn’t seem to notice. He was edging closer to his desk, probably to grab a gun out of the top drawer.

“I wouldn’t do that, Barry. Never know what might happen.” I reached behind my back to what I had there. Get ready for that supernatural thing.

He saw the movement and cried out. He lunged towards his desk, faster than fat people should. I was faster still, though, and in a blur of grey, the spear behind my back impaled his hand into the wall. I hit the artery as I’d planned, and blood was squirting all over his desk. The sudden shock had him shivering and stuttering. He looked at me wide-eyed like an abused puppy. “How-w-w-w t-t-t-t-th-he he-he-hell…?”

“Wow, Barry. You didn’t figure it out? Alright, I’ll clue you in.” I reached inside my belt and cracked open a bottle of liquid metal. The watery element coated my entire right arm, and traces of it were on the side of my face. “Does this help you any? Who do I look like?”

He was on the verge of tears. He obviously didn’t know I was slightly Sadistic. I loved his pain. He shook his head, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. “I don’t kn-n-n-ow w-w-w-w-ho you look like.”

The metal on my arm formed into a deadly blade on the end, and I shoved it into his waist. “You foolish humans know not who walks among thee. Thou shalt now know, before thou’s final moments.” I was slowly sliding the blade up his stomach, savoring the feel of his tendons sever and his intestines bleed. I had slipped back to the ancient inflection I have. My mind was positively screaming in ecstasy. Or maybe that was my Guardian. “People” like me have these conscience that speak to us. We can draw upon the powers held by these Guardians. They are like our other selves that reflect who we really are. Most can evolve, but mine was still only first stage, named Syphillerus. Right now, he was screaming at me. It took all my will not to do what he said.

Finish him. Drink his blood, and allow me to devour his immortal soul. My arm was slightly shaking, along with the blade in Barry’s stomach. This only caused him more pain, and me more pleasure. I almost creamed my jeans, that’s how much fun I was having.

“STOP, CHILDEN! I’M IN SO MUCH PAIN!”

I had to stop before I started moaning. I ran the blade up his stomach and eviscerated him. What little blood he had left sprayed all over me. “Now do you know who I am, you dopey ********?! I am a Child of Purgatory! Spawn of demons! My father is Nidhogg, master of the air, and my mother is Pandora, keeper of arms for the Legion!” I was laughing hysterically; ready to rip any human to shreds that came near me. I left Barry on the wall, and ripped out the drawer he was heading for. Lying on a velvet cushion was a gun. An enchanted Chthonian 9 millimeter. A God-Killer. My hysteria instantly died in my throat as I looked with fear at this ancient relic. I whirled around and got right in Barry’s face. I was (pardon the pun) dead serious. “Where did you get this?! Were you planning to off me?! Who gave this to you?!”

He smiled a weak smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Must be the same person who kidnapped your little girlfriend.”

He died with a smile on his face, because I slit his throat with one of the two ancient relics I keep with me. Shadowtail, an ancient black double bladed scythe previously owned by a bounty hunter named “The Reaper”. The other was called Duskrunner, an ancient ebony claymore made just for me. Both hung on a necklace that I had, looking like medallions thanks to my Guardian’s magic and ancient runes. “Thou hast pushed thy limits too far. Now thou art in the hands of the Grim Reaper, Acheron. May he have mercy on thee, unlike I.” I grabbed the ancient firearm from his drawer gave it a look over. I decided to keep it. Better to have it in the hands of a Child than those of a mortal who doesn’t know its power.

Good job, Childen. You have saved many more Children by taking that weapon. Now we must inform the Temporans…

“Syphillerus, I’m not allowing those pompous time jumpers to take credit for my kill.” I turned around and stared at the front of the building. I snapped my finger and a single spark floated above my hand. I cupped both hands together and slowly opened them. The little sphere of pure oxygen I summoned around the spark caused it to explode into a raging fireball. I threw the fireball into the open door and watched the building go up in flames. No body, no evidence.

Congratulations. You’ve just broken another code of the Children.

“You know, I can’t tell whether it’s you talking, or my conscience.” It led to some weird conversations, I’ll tell you that. I’ve had people stare at me in public when we’ve had our legendary debates. Needless to say, I’ve been labeled as a psychopath and a schizoid. Doesn’t matter to me, because all my best friends are Children, too. We can hear when each others Guardians talk, so we don’t get that confused.

“Screw that ancient tablet of guidelines. How do we know someone didn’t misinterpret it?”

Because the council that wrote it is still alive. We were on a bus now, so I had to speak really quietly.

“Stupid Children lifespan. We can live for millions of years, but we aren’t invulnerable?”

You’ve taken a 50 caliber sniper shot to the head, and you just picked it out and kept going. You’re much stronger than any mortal is, and stronger than most Children. Your 5,000,000-year lifespan proves that.

“And I still look 16 and go to high school. Do you know how boring it is to study history when you’ve been there?” The person standing next to me had a kid, and that kid was staring at me with a sucker in mid-lick. I caught his gaze, and when he looked away, I summoned cold air around his tongue, freezing it to his sucker. I hate longneckers. The kid started crying to his mom, and people started staring at me when the kid started pointing at me.

“Tha bab man did ith! Momma, helphbt me!” Okay, with all his lisping, I couldn’t help but laugh. Now people shot me the evil eye. It was too much. I was gonna pee my pants from laughing.

“What did you do to my son?!” The woman was positively furious.

“I dibn’t do abythung.” I perfectly imitated the kids lisping. This brought on another wave of the giggles, and the woman was turning completely red. She raised her hand and slapped me across the face.

“That’s what you get for hurting…my…son…” The woman made the mistake of looking into my eyes. Another supernatural event. Get used to them. I slowly sucked the air out of her lungs, refusing her right to breathe. The woman was swaying back and forth, with that porky little brat tugging on her leg. She was under my hypnotic spell, and suddenly her face turned blue. I induced asphyxiation, only this was 100% fatal. No chance of survival.

“What did you do to Momma, you bab man…” This kid looked into my eyes, too.

Leave no orphans, Childen.

“I don’t need any incentive, Syphillerus.” I didn’t stop this kid’s heart. I don’t like to repeat myself. Instead, I focused on an artery in his brain and filled it with air. The vein exploded, and the kid just keeled over right as I got off at my apartment. Someone was screaming to call an ambulance. Someone else was shouting to call the cops on me. It didn’t matter what they decided to do, because I threw an electromagnetic field over the bus, and no calls got through. The street lamps busted, too, the bus stalled, and every car on the block had an alarm that went off. As I walked towards the front door, my roommate walked out. You could tell that all the commotion had woken her up. Her red hair was a mess and her gold eyes half closed. That and the fact she was walking out in her nightgown. A revealing nightgown.

“What the hell, Childen? I just got back from my boyfriend’s house, like, five or ten minuets ago.” She was pretty irritated at me. Couldn’t say I blamed her.

“Why were you over there at this hour? What the hell do you see in that mortal, Mel?” Yup, she was a Child, too. Only she was half-human, like most of the Children. Her mother was a mortal named Marcie, and her father was keeper of the hellfire, Ifrit. She was… hotheaded, to say the least.

“He, unlike some people I know, can see who I really am on the inside.”

“Mel, that skin sack can’t see your Guardian. I can, and it reflects who you are to a tee. You’re just mad I shot you down.”

The bricks she was leaning on stated to bubble and melt, showing her real mood. “I couldn’t care less about you shooting me down. You were right; we’ve been friends for too long to really have an intimate relationship. You just can’t wake people up at this ungodly hour.”

Don’t let her get to you. She’s just mad because her boyfriend didn’t fall for this little ensemble.

“Shut up, Ignitia! That’s not what happened! He just had a rough day, that’s all!”

Don’t count on it. His thoughts weren’t very concealed. It was like listening to an audio book.

What happened to the days when Guardians followed the Code of the Children? You aren’t supposed to read peoples thoughts, Ignitia.

Mel didn’t like anyone badmouthing Ignitia. “Syph, if you got something to say, show your face when you say it.” Which he did. He was a demon nobleman with aristocratic clothes. Don’t let his looks fool you; he is vicious in a fight with incredible magic.

What about you, Ignitia? Want to strut your stuff?

That sounds good. I think I will. She was a demon harlot. A very beautiful demon harlot. Her powers of persuasion and seduction made her a valuable back row fighter. We’ve seen her work. Know who caused the Greek empire to fall to the Romans? That was this b***h right here. When I say b***h, I say it in a loving way.

“Beautiful as always, Ignitia. Good to see you.”

Handsome is as handsome does, Childen. Good to see you, too.

“Ignitia, whose side are you on, anyway?!” Mel was even madder than usual. Her boyfriend must have shot her down hard.

The side with the young man who treats me with the respect I deserve. Thank you, Childen.

“You traitorous b***h! Who is it that was your friend before any other?”

That was before Childen came along.

“Childen this, Childen that! Childen, Childen, Childen! If you like him so much, marry him!” Mel crossed her arms and started pouting.

An exciting prospect. How about it, Childen? I can pleasure you like no other woman can. She winked seductively and flashed a bit more double-D cleavage than was necessary. Luckily, I was used to this sort of hormonal battle between women.

“Sorry, Ignitia. If there is one rule of the Children that I abide by, it’s that there’s no Guardian/Child fraternizing.” My ace in the hole.

Aww, phooey. That’s no fun. How about you then, Syph? Ready for a hot night of debauchery?

No, quite frankly, I’d rather not. I’m too much of a gentleman.

“Would everyone just shut up?! I’m freezing in my nighty, over here!” At that moment a car full of teenage guys rolled by. They looked like a couple of guys we knew from school. They stopped on the opposite side of the street from us. The one in the front passenger seat rolled down his window, and I immediately recognized that mop of greasy blonde hair. It was Wally, a guy in the band I play guitar and scream-o vocals in. He played bass, and we called him Whammy Bar Wally. I threw up my rock horns, and he threw his back.

“What’s up Mel? Lookin’ good. Cold out here, though, huh? Why don’t you come sit on my lap and warm up?” There were quite a few whistles and “aww, yeah”s coming from the back. Mel took one look at him then flipped him the bird.

“Sit on this, grease monkey. I got a boyfriend, and his a** looks twice as good as you do on your best day.” Mel also hated people coming on to her.

Wally reeled back and whistled. “Damn, Childen, how do you put up with this livewire?”

I threw him a wide grin. “Lot’s of earplugs and vodka. In the apartment I’ve got a holster that dispenses Midol, too.” That got a few hearty laughs from the car.

“Dude, if this band thing don’t work out, you could so be a comedian.” He pushed the hair out of his eyes and gave me a wink.

“If this band thing don’t work out, you guys owe me about 1,000 bucks for the equipment.” I’ve had to save them from bankruptcy a lot.

“We better make sure we make it, then, huh guys?”

“Who all’s in there, anyway?”

“The whole band. And a couple of groupie’s.” He raised an eyebrow at me as if to say “Want a piece o’ this action?” A couple of woman leaned out wearing too much makeup and too little clothes. Just my type.

I smoothed my hair back and smiled mischievously. “Hello, ladies…”

Mel coughed to get my attention. “Childen, it’s late. We should get back inside.”

Sigh. “Alright, let’s go. See you, Wally!” I through up my rock horns one last time as I walked in.

“Later days, brah! See you at practice!” The car peeled out and gravel pelted the door as I closed it. Mel was already up the stairs and in our apartment.

I checked the mailbox in case Mel didn’t. She didn’t even glance at the mail unless she was expecting something.

“Huh. It’s empty… I guess Mel got it.” A lone square of paper sat on the rug in front of the mailboxes. It could have been anything. I shrugged and was about to pass it up without a second thought when a static tingle ran up the base of my spine.

Did you feel that?

“If I didn’t, I’d be nerve dead. What do you think caused it?”

Survey says it was that piece of paper. But it looks too small to have any significance.

“Maybe it was part of a bigger piece of mail we got. Mel probably did what she always…” We looked at each other suddenly and a gaze of mutual understanding passed in that brief 3 second glance. Mel always burned any mail I got just to get under my skin. If she burned a piece of paper important enough to set my sixth sense of like that… More importantly, if she even tried…

Run, Childen!!!

“Mel!!!!!” Don’t burn that paper!!!!!”

We bolted up the stairs as fast as inhumanly possible. Why did I choose to live on the 10th floor? I slammed into the door and yanked at the handle. I was expecting the door to be locked, but it flew open and flung me into the opposite wall. I shook my head and looked into the door. Mel was staring at me like I was an eight-footed lizard. A piece of paper was pinched between her right thumb and forefinger right over an open flame in her left palm. Looking at that piece of paper gave me that same tingle down my spine. A corner of the paper glowed red and then burst into flames.

Oh my gods!!!

I was sitting with my head between my knees, my hands clamped over my temples and my head shaking back and forth. “Wereallgonnadie, wereallgonnadie, wereallgonnadie!!!!!!”

Mel looked at us with growing concern. “What the ******** is wrong with you two?”

My head snapped up so fast I was surprised I didn’t get whiplash. “Do you know what that was?!”

“What? This piece of paper?”

I was screaming now. “That was a message from one of my mother’s relatives! There was an alert set on it in case anyone messed with it! Whoever wrote it just got that alarm!”

Mel smiled skeptically. “Yeah, right. And my dad is the tooth fairy. So who wrote it? Huh?”

A flash of pink light filled the room, and we stayed where we were, too blinded to move. Syph was the first to get his sight back.

I tried to open my eyes, but everything was still black. “What do you see, Syphillerus?”

Hold on, it’s starting to focus… Dear sweet Megiddo!!!

Syph’s exclamation didn’t help my mood. What Mel said next set off Def Con 4. “Aphrodite! Good to see you!”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Even though I was still kind of blind, I got up and ran right behind me. Into a plaster wall.

“Childen! Come give your sister Aphrodite a hug.” Her arms wrapped around my waist. I grabbed a wall lamp and hung on for dear life. She tugged at me and the lamp ripped out by the fixtures. She spun me around to look at me(by this time my sight had returned) and gave me a bear hug. I changed the lamp into a ball and chain and clamped it around her waist. When she let her grip slack I slipped out and rocketed for the door. Her hand closed around my ankle and I went down. I dug my fingers into the wood, but she dragged me like a rag doll. Just like that ball and chain she didn’t seem to notice. She put me in another bear hug. “How are you doing?”

“Suffocating.” My voice came out raspy and light. Aphrodite’s laugh, on the other hand, was bright and full of life.

“Oh, Childen! Always the kidder!”

He isn’t kidding. He’s really close to asphyxiating.

Let my Childen go, Appy!

“Sorry! I didn’t know. I just love my little brother soooo much.”

My face was turning blue and I could feel my eyes bulging out. Mel started getting a little miffed. “Appy! Don’t kill him!.”

“Sorry!” She finally let go and I fell to the floor. After a fit of coughing up black Child blood, I looked up at Aphrodite.

“Why are you here? I assume it’s not just a visit, is it?”

“Childen, it’s horrible! Daddy kicked me out for being a distraction to the war council.”

Mel was instantly interested when it came to war. “War?! Against who? I wanna see some blood!”

“Sorry, sweetie. I don’t know any of the specifics.”

I got up and wiped the blood off my chin. “Sorry, but you can’t stay here, either.”

Mel shot me a dirty look. “ Why not? She’s your family.”

I looked at Aphrodite for a few seconds, and my expression softened. Despite the things we’ve done over the years to each other, I really do love her. That’s why she couldn’t stay. She may be a god, but she can’t fight demons worth s**t. I looked back at Mel and sighed. Reaching into my pocket, I flung the gun spinning to the floor. Mel’s eyes widened and Aphrodite hid behind me.

Mel shot a look between me and the gun and finally found her voice. “Where the ******** did you get that?!”

I didn’t want to upset Appy anymore, so me and Mel started talking the language of the Children. “Carasha milenko gur Barry.” From the fat pig on the pier, Barry.(Roughly translated).

“Camplisa flasha ban wevcaf?!” How did he get it?!

“Carasha milenko gytsur Cecilia, lixamshi.” From Cecilia’s kidnappers, apparently. Aphrodite was looking back and forth between us, and furrowed her brow in frustration.

“Umm… Can everyone just talk normal for a while? My head hurts.”

We could translate for you, Appy.

Yeah, no problem!

“No, it’s alright. Me and Mel are tired of this Child speak, anyway. Hurts the throat. Anyway, I guess you can stay.”

“Yippee!!” Appy jumped up in the air and gave me a hug. “Thank you soooo much!”

I scooted her away and looked into her eyes. “One condition. You can’t leave here without one of us with you. There are more demons here than there were stoners in Woodstock.”

Mel reached into her pocket and flipped Appy her Helio cell phone. “ If you need us, just call. Likewise, we’ll call to check up on you. Right now, me and Childen have got to get to sleep. We have to go to school tomorrow.”

I looked at the clock and did a double take. “Actually, we have an hour to get ready. Time flies when you almost choke.”

Mel’s eyes widened. “Omigods! Childen, what’s today’s date?!”

“Umm… Awww! It’s pep rally day! We have to be at school early!”

Mel nodded and twirled her fingers impatiently, telling me to keep going.

“Meaning… We’re late. Wow. Who cares?”

“I do! I’ve never been late!”

“Well, if we hurry, we can sneak in the skylight right after the assembly ends. No one has P.E. for homeroom.” I shouldered my backpack and made sure my medallions were on my neck. “Now come on! We have to take the rooftops to avoid the crowds.”

“Alright. Bye, Appy! Food’s in the fridge!” We ran out the door and slammed it shut. Going out the fire door into an alley, we shimmied up a drainage pipe onto the rooftops. At the top, we took a running start and jumped to the next building. We hit the ground running and jumped again. Once we got across the river we were home free.

“Childen, how do you spell ubiquitous?” Mel had a paper out in front of her eyes.

“Let me guess. You didn’t do Mr. Patterson’s homework.”

She glanced up from her paper and shot me an evil look. “C’mon, I know where I’m going… Ahhhhhhhhhh!!”

Splash! People were crowding around the edge of the bridge, and I heard someone shout out that someone fell. I was crouching on the suspension rail above the crowd. “Guess we made it to the river. Syph, go check to see if you can find her or Ignitia.”

Ignitia is over there. She’s hovering above the water, shouting.

Mel? Mel! Sweetie, where are you?!

“Ignitia, calm down. She’ll be fine. I’ll save her.” I threw my hands wide out in front of me and closed my eyes. My fingers started twitching and then splayed wide. They started clenching and unclenching, pointing in random directions.

Is he okay?

He’s fine. He’s trying to find Mel in the water. Normally he can just use his mind, but all those people are keeping him from concentrating that way. Now he’s totally focused.

The water rippled and turned choppy. Then the waves grew and the police boats nearly capsized. Then a huge column of water shot out and twisted and writhed in the air. It took the shape of the Chinese lung dragon. People below were gasping and pointing. The dragon opened its giant maw and let loose with a guttural roar that shook the entire bridge. Lying on the dragon’s tongue curled up in a ball was Mel, shivering and drenched. She looked up like she just got up and spotted us. She jumped off the dragon’s tongue onto the suspension rail and hugged me tight. “Thank you, Childen! I thought I was dead!” I let the dragon drop into the water and hugged her back.

“Mel?” I whispered into her ear.

“Yeah?”

I smiled faintly. “U-B-I-Q-U-I-T-O-U-S. Ubiquitous.”












Chapter 2
Chicks And Cliques: Why High School Sucks.

After the brief incident at the river, we had finally made it to the school. Everyone was inside, so we had no problems making it onto the roof of the gym. In the very middle of the roof was the skylight. On the latch was a crappy lock that took a flick of the wrist to break off. The window lifted up on rusty hinges with a creak. I stood up straight and bowed. “Would milady like to go first?”

Mel giggled and dropped a curtsey. “My thanks, lord Childerohan.” She jumped down through the opening. I was about to jump down when I noticed something that shouldn’t have been there. The sound of kid’s voices.

“Oh, ********. This is not good.” I poked my head down the skylight and looked around. The sound had suddenly died. I sighed in relief and pulled myself up. Or, I was about to when suddenly I heard someone’s voice.

“Mel? Where’d you some from?” I poked my head down again and turned a full 180 degrees. Mel was standing in shock in front of the entire student body.

“I…uh…fell?” Nice lie, stupid. This was easily a 50-foot drop.

“But, Mel, that’s way too far to fall without hurting yourself.”

Think fast, Mel. “Come on.” I whispered under my breath. “You can do this.”

“I’m… suppressing the pain. My parents believe in mind over matter. They made me take yoga and meditate and stuff.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!” That was so ******** hysterical!

Everyone shot their looks up at where I was, but I pulled up so I could roll around laughing. Still, I heard that kid state she needed to go to a hospital. That was even funnier! Those doctors will flip when they see her bone structure…

I looked up and saw an ambulance screaming down the road to the school. I smiled secretly at myself. “I have to see this.” The blue scrubbed paramedics ran into the auditorium and grabbed Mel by the arms. She was scared and screaming.

“I’m fine! Nothing is wrong with me!”

The paramedic on her right looked at his partner and shook his head. “Post-traumatic shock.” He ran out to the ambulance. Everyone was watching the door with their breath held, which was good, because if anyone turned around they would have seen my entire upper body hanging over the auditorium floor. The medic ran back with a first-aid kit. He popped it open and pulled out a syringe filled with an amber colored liquid. He flicked the tip of the needle and grabbed Mel’s arm. “This will only hurt as much as you think it will. Mind over matter.” He tapped his head for emphasis. I would have laughed at the coincidence, except Mel was deathly afraid of needles. When we were kids about 10 years ago… Wait. You’re probably confused about how we could be kids 10 years ago when we both are millions of years old. Let me explain. We go through life like normal people, except when we get old, instead of dying we immediately revert to childhood. We can stop at certain ages if we want, but when people you haven’t seen in 5 years see you as at the same age they last saw you, the Temporans step in to erase memories. I’ve learned how to project an older image of myself onto people, but it only works with one age at a time.

“Get away from me with that needle!!” Mel’s eyes were brimming with tears. The paramedic just kept coming with the syringe. He (and every other occupant in the gym) was about to learn a painful lesson in spontaneous combustion.

Childen, are you just gonna let this happen? You could stop it very easily.

“Or, I could stand by and let the Temporans handle all of this mess.” I reached into my backpack and pulled out a packet of un-popped popcorn.

I don’t see why you hate them so much. You know they serve one of the Higher Powers, and He is quick to anger… what are you doing?

I poked a hole through the top of the packet with Duskrunner (a pretty hilarious sight if you saw it) and threaded a length of wire through it. I dropped it down through the skylight and let it dangle there like fishing bait. “I’m preparing for the fireworks.” I whipped another packet of popcorn out and held it out to Syphillerus. I shook it slightly and arched an eyebrow at him. “Want some ’corn?”

No! Childen, you should help her! Why are you acting so nonchalant about this?

I sighed and looked at him seriously. “Look. This is the way I see it. We can let Mel explode, literally, and only expose one of us. Or, I can jump down there, smash some bones, and expose us both. Worse, they would possibly search my apartment and not only discover all our magical items, they would find a god. Think of the mass panic when the idea of faith is completely rearranged. That every god with a faith exists in tandem. That demons exist, along with every nightmare and boogeyman, and a bunch of children are the only line of defense that they’ve got to rely on.”

Syphillerus was looking at me like I’d just revealed the secrets of the universe. Guess I kinda did. Wow, Childen. You’ve really thought this through. Are you saying that if you didn’t have to worry about this…

I shrugged and rubbed my arm. “I would save her. But there is no way the Temporans would be able to wipe the memories of that many people.” I sighed and put a weak smile on. “So, you want that ’corn or what?”

He shrugged and smiled. Might as well. There isn’t anything we can do. We both sat down with our respective packets and looked to see how much we’d missed. A lot, apparently. One of the paramedics was completely gone. A person-shaped scorch mark was against the far wall. All the kids were in the farthest corner from Mel. The other paramedic was in hot water. Mel had a hand around his neck, and her hand was smoking.

She was sobbing, and only barely managed to choke out her words. “I. Told. You. To. Stay. AWAY!!!!” Her hand glowed red and the smell of burning flesh choked the air. Suddenly, flames erupted from her hand and shot the man up towards…

“Projectile approaching! Projectile approaching!”

Duck and cover!! We dove out of the way just as the man shot past. Except, his body hit the window ledge at an odd angle, so his body cut in half at the waist. Blood splattered me and rained down on the floor.

That was disappointing.

“I know! I was expecting a 4th of July display, not amateur pyrokinetics… do you hear something?” An odd siren had filled the air, only instead of the constant whooping of an ambulance, this was a low-pitched vrrrrrrr. I turned to look at the road and saw two black sedans and a large armor plated transport van barrel up the road. The word S.T.A.R.T was printed on the side in big gold letters.

“Start… you have any idea what it means?” We were about to find out. The armored van bulldozed through the gym wall, making an opening for the black sedans. The doors opened simultaneously, and men in black overcoats stepped out, all carrying .9-millimeter Chthonian guns. Mel took a look at the guns and her mouth dropped open in shock.

“Mellarosa Ifrit?” I did a double take. No human knows our full names.

Mel was just as surprised. “Wha…” She swallowed.

The man in black took it as a confirmation. “Daughter of Ifrit, keeper of the Hellfires, and of Marcie Gallahad, American with a mix of Irish, Indian, and various other races. I have been ordered by the Supernatural Tactical Assault Recon Team to place you into custody.”

Mel took a step forward in anger and had a fireball in her hand. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m not going…”

Crack!

The man in black had his gun raised and smoke wisped out the barrel. Mel’s right arm lay limp against her side. Her black blood ran down her arm in rivulets, with a round hole right on the artery in her shoulder. She saw the blood hit the floor and started to scream. I was gripping the ledge so hard the metal crushed under my hands.

“I hope you won’t try anything like that again, Miss Ifrit. We have been ordered to leave you mostly intact, but we also have permission to shoot to kill. Whether you are alive or not doesn’t matter to our researchers.”

I couldn’t stand it any longer. I got up and walked to the edge of the roof. Syphillerus didn’t try to stop me. I looked down to see four men carting Mel away. I pulled the gun I had out of my coat pocket and took careful aim. I aimed at the man who shot Mel and smiled. “What goes around comes around, you ********.” I pulled the trigger and a shot erupted out. The man in black suddenly spun around and caught the bullet with his hand. He looked at me and smiled. He turned to the man next to him and whispered in his ear. The man looked at him puzzled, then turned to look at me. He gasped and produced a megaphone out of nowhere. He handed it to the lead man, who turned it on.

“Well, well. This is a pleasant surprise. Childerohan Nidhogg, I presume.”

I pulled up to my full height of 6 feet and crossed my arms. “You tell me. You obviously know all about us.”

He smiled and nodded once. “Son of Nidhogg, master of the heaven’s air, and of Pandora, keeper of arms for the Legion of Lucifer and weapons master extraordinaire. Nephew of Lucifer, the great arcane warlock and Prince of Darkness, of Gabriel, the tactile archer, of Michael, commander-in-arms for the holy Host army, and of Zeus, Hades, and Acheron. Grandson of Elohim, embodiment of light and purity. Sibling to Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, and Persephone.”

I smiled at him. “That wasn’t the whole family tree, but you got a lot of it. Yeah, I’m one of the most powerful Children due to my wide array of inherited abilities. Does that make me some kind of trophy for you guys?”

“Normally, yes. Unfortunately, we are under strict orders to only capture Miss Ifrit. It’s not open season, you know.” He smiled and turned around. Guy liked to smile.

I ripped Duskrunner of my neck and it reverted to a weapon. The obsidian blade seemed to suck the sunlight out of the air. An inscription along the blade read: Peace is born from violence. Violence is born from bloodshed. Bloodshed is born from the blade. I jumped off the roof and ran at the guy. I raised the blade up to strike and…

The guy spun around and grabbed my wrist. He spun it and snapped it up. A sharp crack sounded and blood spurted up where the bone pierced the skin. Duskrunner clanged to the ground and changed back to a medallion. The guy in black took off the black sunglasses he was wearing and revealed blood red eyes full of spite and murderous hate, despite the smile he was wearing.

“You don’t know who we are, do you?”

I smiled “A bunch of mother ********/> Pain flashed like lightning through my head as the man forced my wrist so far back I could feel my skin against my knuckles. I grunted and dropped to one knee.

He shook his head in disappointment. “Childen, I’m sorry you feel that way. But no. We are the real Children. Born by the hands of man instead of those of heathen gods.”

“Artificial Children? Is that possible?”

His smile instantly changed to a grimace. He twisted my wrist to the right and laughed as a groaned in pain. “Artificial? Ha! The only fakes here are those born with liquid darkness running through their veins. We are born of the greatest god. The almighty mortal Haranjo! A deity in the form of man! He was the one who revealed to us the existence of you inferior prototypes, and gave us the means to perfect the mistakes made by those doppelganger gods!”

s**t. This is bad. Luckily, I had an idea. “Hey,” I started.

He looked at me like an older brother would at a younger sibling. I guess it was like that in his eyes. “What?”

“Can I ask you a question? As a last request?”

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Sure. Won’t hamper anything this late in the game.”

Game? I almost wasted my question asking what he was talking about. Almost. “You said that Haranjo perfected the mistakes in the Children. Does that mean you are immortal? Unable to die?”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Unfortunately not. Only Haranjo is immortal, and not even he understands how it works.”

“Perfect.” I tapped the wellspring of magic swirling inside each living creature and concentrated. “In any light a point of darkness exist. As the light grows, so to does the darkness get blacker in contrast. The dark lurks behind the façade of all creation. Finally, the dark breaks through in a powerful ray, eradicating anything foolish enough to stand before it!” My palm turned black and heat coursed through it. The man realized to late what I was doing.

“Nooooooo!”

“Burn! Ray of the Void!” The man flew back as the ray shot out of my hand, tearing a huge chunk of his stomach out and evaporating it. Surprisingly, black blood poured out his gut and splattered on the ground. Curiosity won over caution, so I walked over to kneel over the man in black.

The man opened his eyes and struggled to raise his head. He saw the black blood dripping to the ground and chuckled. “Guess that makes me a hypocrite.”

I picked his head up and held it so he wouldn’t strain himself looking up. I wasn’t being nice. I just needed answers. “Why did you take Mel?” The black vehicles had pulled away the minute I started attacking.

He coughed and groaned. “Research. We only have samples of Child DNA. We collect specimens so that we can further our genetic miracles. Mel wasn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last.”

I shook my head. “Did Haranjo tell you to do this?”

“Yes. Everything we do is a direct order from Him. He appeared before us in an abandoned church during a riot. We hid there for fear of imprisonment.”

Weird. “Why were you rioting?”

He smiled. “We were a cult demanding freedom of religion. Nothing too serious. Nobody was sacrificed that wasn’t willing to reach a higher plane of existence. Still, we were persecuted for murder on numerous counts.”

“Let me guess. Haranjo came to you and promised you protection from that persecution.” That was a staple used by many false idols.

He surprised me by his next statement. “No. He said that, for a while, the persecution would continue. Only after we created the ultimate specimen and started the revolution… No, the rebirth of this world would we finally garner the respect we deserve. That is why we collect Children. Each captured brings us closer to that glorious day, where we will finally rule as kings!” He immediately started coughing, and more of the blood flew out of his mouth. He didn’t have much longer.

I sighed. “Look. I’m not supposed to do this. And I really don’t want to. But, since you are similar to us in so many ways, I’m willing to offer you the same funeral we are offered. Do you accept?”

He smiled and breathed in a deep breath. “Even after all we’ve done, you would go out of your way to try and make my last moments comfortable?”

I shook my head and laughed under my breath. “Like I said, I don’t want to, and I certainly don’t have to. But even I have my code of honor.”

He opened his eyes (those demonic, bloody eyes.) and smiled. “Sure. How does it work?”

I smiled in spite of the sick feeling in my gut I couldn’t identify. “First, I need to now your name and the deity you were modeled after.”

“My name is Carter, modeled after Ra, god of the Egyptian sun.”

I placed my hands gently over his eyes and the hollow part of his neck. “Carter Ra, son of the Nile, are you satisfied with the life you lived?”

With no pause, he answered. “Yes.”

“Are you a peace with your passing?”

“No question.”

“Do you believe your father is pleased with the way you have fulfilled your duties to creation?”

A pause. “Haranjo is pleased with all his children, no matter what our endeavors.”

“Rest easy, Carter Ra. May Acheron show mercy on thee, much as I have shown thou.” With that, I tilted his head back and bit into his jugular vein. Even with all the blood he lost, his warm (cold) and sweet (bitter) blood seeped into my mouth. His memories and feelings would live on in me.

ColddarkroomspainfulinstrumentsohnothepainmommaithurtsithurtsMOMMAMAKEITSTOPPAINREDBLOODREDEYESREDROOMSREDINSIDESBLACKHEARTS!!!!

Memories and images flashed in front of my eyes, faster than frames in a movie. I gripped my head and doubled over. In all truth, I had never done this before. Always was performed by Temporans or the parent of the Child. I can see why. The instant wave of memories is like getting hit by a truck.

“Childen? Childen! Is that you?” A boy with pure silver hair and childish features, looking about 17, cloaked completely in a simple white robe came running at me. He held an oak staff with a hourglass on the top. Vines completely covered most of thing. The purple sand in the gold hourglass had stopped.

“Hey, Tick.” I tried to stand, but another wave of memories hit me and I crumpled over like a rag doll.

He looked at me, then at Carver, and back at me. His eyes widened and I could see the silver flash in the brilliant noon sun. He bent down and patted my back. “It’s gonna be all right, buddy.” His voice was gentle and soothing. He turned to call back over his shoulder. “Hey! Tock! Timepiece! Get over here!” A girl and big black guy kneeled down next to him. The girl, Tock, was the spitting image of Tick. Of course, they were identical twins. The big guy, however, had the features of a rugged body builder. Big block chin. Made him look like a robot.

The black guy, Timepiece, looked at Tock sternly. “What’s wrong with him?” He asked gruffly.

Tick looked away and pointed to Carter sullenly. Both Tock and Timepiece followed his finger. Tock gasped and clutched at Tick’s sleeve, her eyes questing for some solace. Tick looked sideways at her and smiled faintly. The smile seemed to say I’m sorry, I wish it was a joke. But everything is the way it seems. He broke contact and looked away at the ground. Tock gasped and buried her face in his arm. Timepiece just kept staring at Carter’s corpse, unbridled rage pouring off him like sweat.

I rolled my head to look at him and sighed. “You know, Timepiece, he couldn’t help what he was. I should know.”

He whipped his body to glare at me. He suddenly lunged forward and grabbed my neck and held me half a foot off the ground. Tock gasped and Tick started to yell at him. “Put him down!”

Timepiece spun and yelled back. “Shove it, piss-ant!” He looked back me and grinned maliciously. “Hey, you little anarchist. Know why I’m here?”

I reared back at shot a loogie on his right cheek. “******** off, Ding-dong.”

He wiped the mucus off his cheek and looked at me. Then he smacked- no, b***h slapped- me, smearing the mucus all over my cheek.

I smiled ruefully. “Sorry, Timepiece. Old habits die hard. Shouldn’t take it personally.”

He looked at me sideways and gave me an appraising look. He smiled halfway and closed one eye. “Are you hoping I would forget what you did in Macchu-Picchu, little Swartleybalkin?”

Tock, for the first time since being here, started talking. Despite the intense atmosphere, her voice carried a light, pixie-like quality. “Who’s Smartly-whatever you said?”

Timepiece and I looked at each other and bust out laughing. Tick was laughing nervously, knowing all too well how quickly a situation between me and Timepiece could go sour.

Timepiece smiled and shook his head. “No, no. Swartleybalkin. It means Shadowblade. In a past life, Childen here was commissioned to assassinate the emperor I had to protect. Then he framed me and my fiancé, and we were thrown in the dungeon.”

I smiled and looked at him sideways. His grip had lost any hostility and only served to keep me from running. “Yeah, but who came by later and freed you from that same dungeon, smuggled you out of town, and kept you fed with money from my commissions?”

He laughed and sighed, wiping a joyful tear from his eye. “It’s all dirt under the coffin now, anyway. Still, we need to know what exactly happened here.”

So I recounted the last few minutes (it always seemed like hours to me) with as much clarity as I could possibly use. Syphillerus filled in parts I had left out and kept my facts straight. Afterwards, though, he remained quiet for the most part, not really adding his insight on anything at all.

Timepiece had set me down after his rage cooled off. Tick and Tock kept throwing glances back at Carter’s rapidly disintegrating body. Finally, after I told the story as best that I could, Timepiece stood up. Tick and Tock quickly followed suit, and I stood up as carefully as I could. The waves stopped coming, but I was afraid I could set them off again.

“Thanks for the cooperation, Childen.” Timepiece said. “We’ve got all that we need. Now we gotta head back to Clockwork Castle. Oh, and one more thing…” He reached into his robe and pulled out a square white card. He flicked it casually at me. “Chronis wants to give you another chance. You know, at being a Temporan.”

I took a look at the Examination pass and shoved it into my pocket. “I can’t. I’m already an Arcane Guardian for Acheron. Don’t worry, I’ll dispose of the card properly.” And by properly, I meant I’d throw it into the river Cheron or feed it to Cerberus.

Tock stepped forward. She was twirling her hair around her index finger nervously. “Chronis said that he could get Acheron to let you be both. You would be the first Temporan Guardian.”

The prospect struck me as interesting. “Well, if you can get him to let me, I’ll consider it. Right now, I’ve got to check on something. Can you handle the school by yourselves?”

Tick flexed his bicep and tried to sound macho. “Don’t insult us. We’ve been doing this a long time, C.”

I shrugged and turned around. “See you later, then.”

Tick instantly dropped his tough guy attitude. “Wait!” He ran up beside me and stared up at me with pleading eyes. “Can I go with you? Something weird is going on and I don’t wanna take a backseat to it again!”

My gaze drifted up slowly to look at Timepiece. “Can he go?”

He grunted and nodded his assent. “Chronis’ll probably chew me out, though.”

“Please. He knows Tick is safe as long as he’s with me. Hey, Tock?”

She looked up and blushed. “Yeah?”

“You gonna be alright without your brother?”

She twirled her hair around her finger for a minute. “Yeah, but I hope you don’t keep him too long. Our power is only half when separate.”

Tick walked over and gave her a hug. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ve worked together before, back in Medieval Europe for the Saracens.”

“Not to mention they lost, right?” Timepiece grumbled.

Tick ignored him. “Come on, Childen! Where are we going?”

“My apartment.” I said. “Then, to see my uncle, the great arcane magician.”

Chapter 7: Walk In Another’s Shoes

…When the creature roared in agony. The darkness of its body blew into craters in areas all along its sides. I was frozen in terror, my legs full of lead. It growled in anger and spun to the source of its suffering. Childen stood still, a weird feeling emanating from his body.

“Whatsa matter, Legion?” he asked, his voice distorted, demonic. “Not use to being in pain?” He opened his hands, palms facing up. Spheres of dark energy floated above his hands, black tendrils snaking up from them. Legion snarled, and swung its arm down on him. It smacked against the ground, but nothing was under it. Childen had appeared next to the pillar, grinning maniacally. He laughed, the sound sharp and insane. “Getting slow in your old age, you old mother ********. Fat as,” he paused. “As Hell!” He shrieked laughter, like nails on a chalkboard.

Legion roared and swung again. Childen reappeared next to his arm, and lobbed a dark sphere at him. It smacked its shoulder, spraying void in a large splash, and sunk into it. After flitting away from another strike, Childen landed on its body, singing an odd nursery rhyme in tune to his strikes. “Three, six, nine!” He made another large orb and slammed it into Legion. “The goose drank wine!” He slammed another orb into Legion. It tried to swat him away, but he was too fast for him. He disappeared and reappeared constantly, impossible to keep up with. “The monkey chewed tobacco on the streetcar line!” Another hit. “The line broke!” Another sunken sphere. “The monkey got choke!” He slammed a final sphere into Legion’s head, its roar deafening. He flipped off of it and next to me. “And they all died together in a little rowboat!” He snapped his fingers, and all over Legion’s body the orbs exploded with unmatched power. Dark matter sprayed everywhere, and Childen laughed again, this time the most manic and chilling. He turned and looked at the portal. “Oh, this will never do!” He exclaimed. He flicked his hand casually at it, and it opened onto his school. “My friends should be having as much fun as this!” He jumped through, dragging me with him.

We ran up the stairs and into the lobby. He turned and ran down a hall and skidded to a halt in front of the chemistry lab. He knocked on the door and motioned for me to come forward. The door swung open and a man with grey hair peppered with black. His small beard was clean and well kept. He spoke in a monotonous voice. “Mr. Childen, how nice of you to join us.”

“Hiya, teach! Sorry to keep ya waitin’. I’ll just waltz on through.” He slipped by the teacher and took his seat. I chose to remain invisible to human eyes, so I followed him. On the board was a complex looking chemical equation. Childen took a seat next to a skinny black kid of about medium height. He looked my way and scowled. “Childen, you brought a Temporan with you?!” He hissed.

“Don’t worry, Al, we need you for a big thing coming up. I’m just here to get you outta class.” He took two ingredients and poured them into a beaker, while he poured three more into another and set it on the Bunsen burner. After a few seconds, he mixed the two beakers and shook it wildly.

Alan looked on with fear. “Childen, what are you doing?” Without looking at him, Childen stood up with the beaker.

“Hey you old cocksucker!” He shouted at the teacher. “Tell me if this burns!” He threw the beaker at the teacher and it smashed into his face. It started to sizzle, and the teacher screamed. After a few seconds, he fell to the floor, his entire face dissolved to the bone. The eyes slid out of their sockets. Nobody said anything until an eye rolled towards a cute preppy girl. It bounced against her foot and she looked down slowly.

Then it began.





Chapter 8: Spinning Tales Like Webs

I don’t know why Childen threw the beaker, why he brought a Temporan, or what this big event was going to be. All I know is that he has lost his mind.

The entire class went crazy with terror. People were screaming and bawling hysterically. One girl stood up, tears streaming down her face. The entire class was silent when she walked up to Childen. She looked him right in the eye and slapped him.

“Why? What did you have to gain? Why are you ******** with us?!”

He leaned forward. Me and the Temporan kid tensed up, ready to hold him back. He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her in. Then he kissed her. Full on lip action. She pushed back against his chest, then gave up. She moved closer to him, pressing up against him. Suddenly, her eyes shot up and she jerked away. This time he let her. Blood was pouring out of her mouth, and she hit the ground screaming. Childen looked at the class with her tongue hanging out of his mouth. Then he slurped it up and swallowed it.

“Taste just like chicken!” he exclaimed, and maniacal laughter filled the space in the room where the screaming was. A teacher burst into the room.

“What’s going on?!” He shouted. Childen waggled a finger at him. Then he waved a hand and the door slammed shut, severing four finger from his left hand.

“No interruptions, we’re taking a test. A final exam!” He screeched more of the hellish laughter. He turned towards the class and motioned for a big guy to come up to the front of the room. The boy wore a scowl of distrust and rebellion.

The boy drew up to his full height. “What the ******** do you want, Nicholson?” He growled.

Childen ignored him. “Alright, class! This is chemistry and biology. Can anybody tell me what the human anatomy is?” Nobody answered him, so he resumed talking. “It looks-” His hand shot out, burrowing deep into the boy’s throat. In the next second he pulled hard, and dragged out the boy’s spinal cord. “-like this. This is the central nervous system. This boy had plenty of nerve to even think of assaulting me, didn’t he, class?”

Next to me, the Temporan kid stood up and edged closer to Childen. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? He’ll kill you just as fast as everyone else!”

He shook his head. “When Temporans are sworn in under oath, we swear to protect the secrecy between the supernatural and the mortals. The cost to ourselves is infinitesimal compared to what we are protecting.”

I looked at him with respect. “Kid…That was the s**t! Maybe you little clock cogs aren’t half bad.”

He started walking forward again. “Don’t give me your respect yet, not until I have diverted another breach between existences.” He burst into a sprint, a kukri knife flashing menacingly in his hand.

“Naughty, naughty, Tick.” Childen spun around, using the spine as whip, and struck out at Tick. Tick dropped down and kicked a desk into the air. The spine must have been reinforced by Childen’s dark energies, because it cut through the desk and a student in the same aisle. Tick flipped sideways onto another desk and shot a silver orb of energy at Childen. Childen stepped to the side and whipped at Tick again. As Tick tensed to jump away, he slipped on a paper on the desk and fell sideways. In that adrenaline fueled slow-motion, I watched the spine fly towards him, the actions I must take set in my mind. I flung my hands out towards Childen, spraying my magical webs at him. They wound around his legs, like giant anaconda’s. He fell to the ground with a thud as the webs wound farther and farther up his body.

“What are you doing?!” He shrieked, this time his voice wavering between normality, demonic lowness, and manic height. “My fun is not over! I’ve only just arrived here! This child has so much potential and he’s just wasting it with you snotty brats!”

Tick walked up to Childen and pulled out his kukri, the curve fitting snuggly around his neck. “What sort of Demon art thou to possess a Spawn such as this fine sir, if thou art truly a Demon?”

Childen snarled. “What right of you to threaten my life, Ancient One? All thou shalt ever understand of me is my methods, as clearly displayed here. I be a Demon, yes, but a Possessor, one who uses others for mine own will.”

Tick jerked the blade to the side a bit, and blood trickled down Childen’s neck, pooling in the hollow of his throat. “Thou shouldn’t presume on another’s ignorance, for it be an unwise move. I understand the inner working’s of time, wise to every spilt reality a choice shall make. But, no, thou thinks me a fool, a common jester in thine’s own court. One as unwise as me would not understand thine’s motives, no less than I know how to handle a knife.” He dug the blade deeper, sliding closer and closer to vital organs.

The Demon wailed. “Oh, thou art cruel, punishing one such as me who is forced against his will. I’ve no power of mine own, only tapping into the potential of this young lad. ‘Twas my master who did this, ‘tis him you should blame.”
Now my curiosity was aroused. “Who is your master, and why does he hate us?”

The Demon cackled. “How odd! Ancient One, why doth thou keep company with a Youngling. Is thou their teacher, or some other relation?”

Tick brought his knee up and drove it into Childen’s solar plexus, bringing with it another shriek by the Demon. “Change not the subject, lest thou wish for me to send thou back to thine’s master in many pieces.”

“I submit, Ancient One! I shall give thou the name of my master. It be-” He shrieked and convulsed, black smoke rising from Childen’s body. “My master has vexed me! Speaking his name severs my tether to this plane of existence!”

Tick still pressed further. “Who is thine’s master?!”

“Deus ex Machina. Remember that.” He convulsed a final time and then grew still. I thought that Childen was dead, but he moaned, and we knew he was alright.

“Tick, what was the Demon talking about? Deus ex Machina?”

He sat up and sighed, worn out by his sudden personality change. “Deus ex Machina means the ‘God of the Machine.’ Normally, this applies to when a writer uses what’s also known as a writer’s convenience. It’s a way for them to explain something directly or to influence the world of their characters in an unconvincing way. A cheap shot, if you will.” He thought it over. “No, not a cheap shot. A get-out-of-jail-free card, to be closer to the point. Usually, it’s when something intervenes to move the story along.”

Childen groaned, then pushed himself up onto his elbows. “What’d I miss?” He looked over and saw me. “What’s up, Alan?” Then he promptly passed out.

I sighed and started pacing back and forth. “Now what? Our own little Deus ex Machina has blown a fuse, and we have no idea-hell, I have no idea-what we’re going to do next.”

Tick stooped over and rummaged around in Childen’s pockets. After a moment of searching, he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small Katana cell phone. “Cha-c***k! This is what we need.” He held the phone for a second, then looked up at me. “You know how to use this?”

“What happened to ‘being wise to all the spilt realities a choice may make?’”

He glared. “That may be true, but why do humans make their contraptions so godsdamned impossible?”

I started grinning. “Tell me, o Ancient One; how am I supposed to operate such an intricate device if you can’t?”

He smiled. “One, you never use ‘you’ when speaking in an ancient inflection, always ‘thee’ or ‘thou’. Second, I was born millennia ago, so I have a harder time acculturating to the times.”

I started chuckling. “So how does Childen adapt so well?”

He rubbed his head, still focused on working the phone. “It’s only with electronics, really. His father is Nidhogg, which gives him the powers of air. Under that fall many sub-categories, such as electricity and water shaping. If you notice how he curses, he has a hard time using it effectively. He can use some of the word quite fluently, but others cause him a bit of problems.”

I nodded. “Okay, then. Hand it over.” I took the phone, then opened his phone book. “Number?”

“Call his uncle Dionysus. He’s our go to medical man.”

I pressed a couple more buttons, then waited for the other line to pick up.

The line clicked, and a female voice came on the phone. “Hello, office of Dionysus.”

I started a little, thrown off by the voice on the phone. “Dionysus?”

The woman got slightly agitated. “No, this is Clotho. May I ask who is calling?”

“Uhh, this is Alan Ashanti. Childerohan Nidhogg was possessed-”

“What?!” She cut me off. In the background I could hear other voices.

“What happened, Clotho?” A man’s voice said. It was slightly high, but it carried an air of power with it.

“Childen was possessed.” She replied. She came back on the phone. “Is he still possessed?”

“No, but he’s unconscious. Has been for about…”

Tick cut in, loud enough so the person on the phone could hear him. “9 minutes and 43 seconds.”

The phone changed hands on the other side, and the man came on. “This is Dionysus. Is that Tick?”

I hit the speaker phone button so we could both talk to him. “Yes, that was him. Is Childen going to be okay?”

There was a rustle on the other line. “Alright, tell me all the specifics of his possession.”

Tick started running off all the things that happened to them in the past couple of hours. I turned to look at the destruction, and met the cautious eyes of over a dozen students. They stared at us as though we were monsters. One had pulled a gun out of her purse, and had it aimed at my head. “My boyfriend got his neck ripped out by your little friend.” She said coolly.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “He wasn’t really himself-”

“I don’t need your ******** explanations! He’s dead, AND NOTHING CAN BRING HIM BACK!” She screamed.

I reached into my belt for my dagger, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me. “Let me handle this, Alan.” Childen said wearily. He walked towards her, stumbling and holding onto the desks for support. The girl took a step back, and raised the gun to him.

“One more step and I repaint the walls with your ******** brains. Now that he’s dead,” she motioned towards the corpse in the corner, “I don’t have anything to lose.”

“Why do you care so much, anyway?” Childen asked, still as weary as ever. “He was a total d**k, and wasn’t going anywhere in life. You could have done so much better.” He lurched towards her, and she stumbled away in horror. She raised the gun and fired, hitting him square between the eyes. His head whipped back, and he nearly fell back. In one quick motion, he straightened up and plucked the bullet from his head, blood spurting in a small stream. He turned the bullet over thoughtfully, musing his own private thoughts.

“You know,” he said, “you have the same type of gun that I do, a Browning 9mmx19 Hi-Power. Same increased barrel, too, for more power and accuracy.” He reached for his necklace and plucked another Browning off. “I call mine Firecracker: loud and unmistakable.” He pointed the gun at her, one arm dangling casually to the side, as opposed to hers supporting the bottom of her gun. “The only difference is,” he tensed his trigger finger, “is that I have the guts to kill without feeling.” He smiled. “Stacy, I really don’t want to kill you. Pull the trigger one more time though, and you’ll see your boyfriend in Hades.” He smiled wickedly. “I swear it.”

She hesitated, unsure if he was bluffing. She tensed up and took aim at him. “I’ll send you straight to hell, you ********.” She pulled the trigger, but he pulled a trick out of his hat. He fired down the barrel of her gun right as it went off, causing the bullet to explode near the chamber. The heat of the explosion caused the other bullets in the magazine to go off, firing helter-skelter throughout the room. Several of the children fell to the ground, either dead or seriously injured. Stacy dropped the gun and fell to the floor, where she collapsed into a mental breakdown. “Itwashislastyearhedidn’thavetodieIlovedhimsomuchhe’sg-onegoneGONE!” She babbled like that for several minutes, in the fetal position on the floor. The other kids looked at us with fear and awe, all asking the same thing. Are we going to die, too?

“Tick.” Childen called over his shoulder. “You still talking to Dino?”

“Naw! He hung up.” He called back. “Said you better get to him right away. Don’t worry about the kids, Tock and Timepiece will erase their memories. How’s everyone holding up?”

“The one’s who aren’t dead?” He grinned. “Fine, just a little shook up.” He turned back to them. “Anyone get shot that isn’t dead?”

The girl who screamed at the eye stepped forward. “Bobby’s got a bullet in his leg scraping the bone. Kevin was standing too close to the beakers when one was shot, and has several lacerations in his arm and torso. The bleeding isn’t bad, but I would guess that would be the result of glass being in most of his wounds. Can your medical man handle that?”

Childen and Tick shared a look, and started laughing. “Girl, as long as you aren’t an hour dead, you ain’t dying. He’s Dionysus, god of medicine.”

“Childen, if you’re done flirting, we gotta get you to Dino before you pass into a coma!” He reached into Childen’s pocket and pulled out a silver disk. Tick spun the outer rings counter-clockwise several times, then he pressed the middle button. He threw the disk to the ground, and a line of fire traced a circle in the air. Tick stepped through, motioning for us to come with him. Childen stooped and picked up Stacy’s gun, shoving it into his belt. He walked towards me, stumbling slightly more than he was earlier. I put my arm under his to steady him, then we stepped through the portal. It shimmered and crackled, unlike when Tick was going through, and Childen cursed.

“Astral interference.” He grunted. “Who knows where the ******** we’ll end up.”

We touched down in a lively forest, a sheet of leaves covering the ground. Birds chirped in the trees, and a wild animal howled in the distance. Several other animals called back, some sounding close. I turned to face Childen. He had slumped down against a tree in the shade. “What do we do now?”

“Now?” He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. “We hope that animal isn’t vicious.”

Chapter 11: Slasher Tricks


“Please wait!” Christopher cried hoarsely. His face glistened with sweat, and his shirt was plastered to his body. Originally dark blue, it was soaked to the point of being black. His bright blond hair shimmered in the sun, making a halo of soft light around his head.

“C’mon, guys, he’s been running after us for about half a mile.” Angel said. The black Escalade slowed enough to let him in, but took off once he got in, nearly throwing him from the side. He fell into a tan, well formed girl, slightly shorter than him. Her black hair was caught in his bracelet, and he couldn’t seem to get untangled from it.

“I’m sorry, Jasmine!” He said. She just laughed and put his hand on her breast.

“No problem, I love the contact.” She said seductively. Then she lowered his hand to her stomach, then thigh, then a little further inland…

He jerked his hand away as they all laughed. “This is why you’re still a virgin.” David said from the driver’s seat. Angel grabbed his black hair and yanked.

“Shut it, Jackie Chan.” The group laughed again. David grabbed her blond hair and pulled harder.

“I don’t need to be insulted by a dumb blond. So why don’t we get something in that mouth so you can’t talk anymore.” He pointed to the zipper of his khaki shorts, then thrust his hips upward.

“Please! The only thing you pencil-d**k is good for is as a toothpick! Not like Christopher.” She turned around and licked her lips.

He heard not a word. His headphones were in, blaring songs on high volume. In his hands he held a dog-eared copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The other ribbed him for it all the time, but something about it seemed…

Wrong, and you know it. The voice in his head whispered. The voice came on his 12th birthday, and constantly nagged different things, all of them random and completely insightful. Once at church, he was asked to state the name of his lord. Without thinking, he blurted, “Acheron!” The other church-goers gasped and kicked his family out, needless to say.

“Christopher? Christopher? Mister Nathanial!” Angel shouted. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and couldn’t help but notice how nice she looked. Golden hair framing a beautiful face with a luscious body.

“Yes, what is it, agapo?” He asked politely. The other stared at him. It wasn’t until too late he realized he must’ve said something weird again.

“What did you just call me?” Angel asked incredulously. “Was that another language, or something?”

“It was Greek for love.” He blurted. The others laughed at him. He constantly said different words and phrases in other languages, mostly Greek. The weirdest part about it was he never studied any of those languages, he just knew.

“Aww, say something sweet to me, Chris.” Jasmine pleaded. She pressed their bodies together and batted her eyes.

But try as he might, he couldn’t say anything else in Greek. “Sorry, it comes and goes. Can’t think of anything else.”

He put his headphones back in to block out the other’s laughter. He opened the Divine Comedy to the section about hell. Everything about the description felt wrong, like he knew what hell was like. History class was the same. He felt like he’d seen it all before.

Before long they pulled into José’s driveway. The little Latino guy ran out with his backpack and jumped into the very backseat. “Let’s get this party rolling!” He said. During the stop, Jasmine and Angel switched seats, so now Angel was sitting next to Chris. He was too absorbed in his book to notice anything, but when he finished Canto XXI and closed the book, she grabbed his hand and pulled him close.

“Why did you call me that?” She whispered.

“I don’t know, it just happened. I’ve never studied Greek before in my life.”

She smiled sweetly. “Well, it was touching.”

They rode in silence for hours. After nightfall, José changed to the drivers seat to let David rest. They were on a camping trip to a wood the was supposedly haunted, on behest of Chris. He was enraptured by the supernatural, studying multiple forms of demons and magic.

Of course I’d never try a spell, he thought. My life is weird enough as it is.

He was knocked out of his musing by the shift of weight on his shoulder, and turned to stare into Angel’s green eyes.

“You know, I never noticed that your eyes are gray, like slate.” She said sleepily, stretching and laying back onto his shoulder. His skin burn whenever they touched, and his entire side was on fire. “You must be a demigod.” She chuckled.

“A what?” He asked, surprised how much his spirit resonated with that word. His eyes flashed a bright blue, only for a second. Nobody noticed, but it was enough to rouse the voice in his head.

You felt that, don’t deny. That word means so much to you, you almost woke up.

He had no idea what the voice was talking about, but it was hard for him to focus with fire on his right arm. “A demigod. I just said that because you speak Greek.” She yawned. “Anything else that comes to mind, Hercules?”

As a matter of fact… “Hthes to vra'di, ki'taza pa'no ston ourano' ke gia ka'the aste'ri bri'ka ke e'na lo'go giati' na sagapa'o. Pi'gena kala' me'hri pou kse'mena apo' aste'ria.” He whispered gently.

“And what does that mean, Mister foreign language?”

He smiled softly in the moonlight. “It means ‘Last night I looked up and matched each star with a reason why I love you...I was doing great, until I ran out of stars.’”

She pecked his lips with a quick kiss. “Whoever said French was the language of love never heard you speak.” She fell back asleep, but he stayed up, questioning the voice in his head.

“How did I know that?”

I’m not allowed to divulge that.

“Well, who are you, and why are you in my head?”

Once again, my tongue is tied.

Chris got frustrated, almost to the point of shouting. “Why won’t you just stay quiet, then? You are honestly no help whatsoever to me. I don’t need people thinking I’m crazy, I’m already weird enough as it is.”

The voice in fact did stay quiet, allowing him a little peace. He drifted slowly off into sleep.

He awoke again at noon, already at Lancaster. It was a local haunting in Maine, known also as Blood Town Forest.

“What’s so special about this place again?” David said from outside the car.

Chris climbed out and popped both knees. “Apparently back in the seventies a couple of kids were decapitated here. I want to know what caused it.”

So you can stop it like you’re supposed to. The voice whispered. Chris pushed it out of his head, determined to enjoy his outing.

David shrugged. “Sounds spooky enough. You got a tent with Angel, she insisted on it.” He jerked a thumb towards the two girls, who were looking over at them and giggling. “Any idea what they’re talking about?”

He suppressed a knowing grin. “Nope. You seen José around?”

There was a grunt, and their camping gear fell off the top rack. José was buried underneath it all, only his head showing. Sighing, David and Chris started pulling him free, trying not to break anything they would need. A wild wind was starting up. “We’d better get our tents up soon, or we’re gonna be sleeping underwater.” Chris said. They grabbed the tents and set them up as fast as possible. They were basic tents, so it only took a little while.

As they finished, David felt a drop of water on his head, drawing his eyes towards the dark skies. “s**t, these little lean-to’s aren’t gonna do anything to help us now.” He looked to Chris. “Are there any buildings around here we could stay at?”

Chris rubbed the back of his neck. “The only one I can think of would be the one from the story.”

The girls ran over to them, water glistening in their hair. “What are we gonna do?” Jasmine asked tiredly. She never liked the rain much, and lightning absolutely frightened her. As if to punctuate that thought, thunder boomed as lightning carved a scar in the sky. She screamed and grabbed David’s arm, gripping it until her knuckles turned white.

Chris, on the other hand, only jumped and shouted in pleasure. “Praise Zeus! Praise Aeolus! Praise Thanatos!” He continued shouting the names of the gods as lightning seemed to dance with him and thunder boomed to the beat of the names he screamed. It was a tradition he had since the voice joined him, and it was the one thing they agreed on. The voice joined in his ecstatic cries until he reached the end. “Praise Acheron!” He screamed, and the lightning crashed and thunder boomed and rain pelted down, celebrating the end of his ritual. He eyes flashed that same icy blue for a split second, and he could have sworn that he was about to remember something of importance. His bracelet flamed black, but was quickly doused by the downpour. The rain died with his excitement, the storm passing overhead. The others watched on with mild amusement, accustomed to seeing this particular display. It rained much in Maine during the spring of that year, and the ritual happened just as often.

Once he was done, he retired to his tent to lie down, spent and exhausted. The others returned to their respective tents, Jasmine sleeping by herself. Angel opened the flap to find Chris lying on his sleeping bag, shirtless and asleep. He had slim muscles, making him both lithe and powerful at once. As she watched, his hair turned black and seven black teardrop tattoos appeared on his left arm. She watched in awe as he reverted right back to what he normally looked like. She discarded it as a trick of the dark, stripping down to what she slept in and snuggled up to him.

“Nyx…” He breathed in his sleep, and the darkness seemed to embrace his body. “Hypnos…” He sighed again, and seemed to fall into a deeper sleep. She knew the names of some of the gods, but he seemed to exude a certain power whenever he uttered them, and he knew more, if not all, of the gods.

In fact, she was feeling weary after hearing Hypnos’ name. The dark wasn’t cold, but warm and loving, perhaps even motherly. Soon, she too fell into a deep sleep.

They awoke in the middle of the night to the screams of Jasmine, and the wet sounds of…something. Chris opened the tent and jumped out, fully tensed and alert. His bracelet sparked with midnight flame as he ran to her tent and ripped it open.

And he fell backwards comically as a naked Jasmine covered herself with her sheet. David, also naked, ran out of the tent and into the woods. Scared for him, Chris ran after him. José stumbled out of his tent wearing only his boxers, joining the two girls.

Chris stumbled after David, who stopped suddenly ahead of him. “Dude, slow down.” He panted. “Why are you running?”

David turned around, eyes wide with terror, and bolted back to camp. Chris turned after him when the glint of steel caught his eye as somebody stepped out of the woods. The man wore a black jumpsuit with combat boots caked in mud. He face was covered by a ski mask, shiny with what Chris hoped was sweat. He held a rusted axe in one hand.

Three guesses as to what caused the axe to rust. The voice said cynically. The murderer lifted the axe and swung at him. Chris jumped back, but it still sliced a bit of his cheek.

Unaware of the wound, Chris turned and ran back the way he came. Guessing that David warned the others, he ran past the camp and to where the van was parked. The headlights were on, but he could hear the other cursing. He broke through the brush at a full run. José spun and threw a rock at him. He was a horrible shot, though, and it sailed high and into the trees. Once they saw who he was, Angel ran over to embrace him, frightened beyond all belief.

“Did you see him?” She asked. The other were busy trying to start the car, but Chris had seen enough horror films to know that it wouldn’t. He nodded solemnly. She gasped and buried her head in his shoulder. “We’re all gonna die out here, aren’t we?”

A sliver of a memory that never occurred shot through his head. A man with long black hair and icy blue eyes stood in front of an army of Spartans, holding a blond girl who looked eerily like Angel. They both wore the white and blue robes of Athens, and the girl was crying silently. “We’re going to die out here, aren’t we?” She sobbed.

“Cecilia…” He whispered, and stoicism stole over him. He eyes flared to that same icy blue, and his bracelet blazed like the fires of Ifrit’s realm. He pushed Angel away and turned back to face the man as he emerged from the woods. “Wait here.” He ordered everyone as he stepped up to the man.

The man swung his axe at Chris, aiming for his head again. He ducked and straight-kicked the man in the chest. He staggered back, off balance. Chris punched at him, the fires on his bracelet propelling his punch into the murderer’s face. He then grabbed the murderer’s neck, and a burst of fire blew his head off.

Chris crouched down over the smoldering body. “May Acheron have mercy on thee, unlike I.” He stood up and snapped his fingers, a ball of fire flaring to life above his hand. He burned the body as the wind carried the ashes off. Something was still wrong, there was a presence at his back that he didn’t like.

“Chris?” Jasmine said. He turned and saw the others huddled at the van. The presence was still there, though, and as he scanned the area a man in a black duster jacket and chain pants stepped out of nowhere. He hair was black with silver tips and his eyes were black as a moonless night. Chris felt no threat, he in fact wanted to embrace the man.

“Basileus!” He cried in Greek, meaning master. Instantly he balked. Why did he call him that? He didn’t even know who he was and he wanted to show him unconditional love.

The man smiled. “Adelphideos!” He said. “ I thought you were gone. But Thanatos and Hades said you weren’t in Elysium, and when you didn’t appear by my side in my temple like you were supposed to, we knew to come look for you.” He smiled as another being pulsed in behind him. “It seems I beat the huntress here.”

Artemis walked up next to Acheron looking foul, dressed for the night in nothing but a white tank top and running shorts. Her golden hair, tied back in a ponytail, was littered with leaves and twigs. “I’m going to kill Demeter for this season. Or at least make Trent keep the leaves green.” She looked at Chris. “Oh, hey. You found him.” She used the same tone as if someone told her something and she wasn’t paying attention.

“Ignore her, Paggos. She’s mad that I beat her here.” Ice. Why did he call him that?

“Umm, I don’t mean to be rude, but why am I talking to gods? I really don’t think that I’m that special.” He knew it was a lie, but how could he think himself important?

“But you are! You are destined to be the god of retribution and rebirth, Childen.”

I bolt went through his head, and another memory shot through. The same black haired boy stood before three women. The one on the left wore white robes with golden hair, miniature upside down hourglasses hung from her ears. The middle one was in grey robes with matching hair, two gold bars hung from each ear, reminiscent of a pause sign. The right wore black robes, once again with matching hair. Her earrings were skulls.

“Thou art destined to be a god of life, ending and giving. Only once thou hast earned the right to pass such judgment can thou take thine rightful place with the gods of Olympus.” The three chanted in union, giving the statement a power that seemed more powerful than anything witnessed before. “So say we Fates, so shall your destiny be, Child of the Ice.”

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Like I said, I’m not anything special, and my name is Chris, not Childen. I’m not even sure that’s a real name.”

Now Artemis shook her head. “Trust us on this. My brother is the god of prophesy, and I’d really hate to come back and try to tell him he’s wrong.” She nudged Acheron. “Maybe if we got him fighting again…” She trailed off.

Acheron pondered for a moment. “Maybe, but I doubt that Thanatos would want us knocking off any of his kids. Besides, it wouldn’t look good if the reaper pissed off death.” He inclined his head to Chris’ friends. “They have any ideas?”

The other crowded against the van, scared and shaking. Chris motioned for Angel to come forward, but she remained rooted in place. He took a step forward, and they all tried to press themselves flat against the van. “Stay away from us, you monster.” Angel whimpered.

He was crushed. How could they think him a monster? Much less her. “How can you say that, Angel? I thought…”

She barked a forced laugh. “Not in your life! It was a bet I made. One hundred bucks said I wouldn’t sleep with you. And they’re right, I won’t!”

The tone with which she said it, the way she said it, her expression. It all added up to one sever blow to his emotional well being. The sting of tears filled his eyes. Artemis and Acheron stood by him, Acheron with one hand on his shoulder, Artemis embracing him from the side. Even the voice, normally cold and insightful, tried it’s best to comfort him.

“But I’m supposed to be a god.” He whispered. He was tired of being weird, of being an outcast. “I’m a god.” He said louder. The gods stepped back, fearing a primal backlash of power. “I’m a god!” He shouted. His eyes flashed blue, then stayed that way. His hair flashed to black, but returned to blond. Only partially awake, he was determined to make the mortals know how important he was. “I. Am. A. God!” He screamed.

The wind whipped up and howled, scaring the mortals into a fit of screaming. He walked up to the others, and forced them to stay in place, unable to step back. He grabbed Angel’s head and forced her to stare at him. Tears were in her eyes, but he wasn’t swayed by emotion now. “And you would do well to remember that, mortal.” He said. “No longer am I the pathetic nerd you guys snigger about behind your backs.” He threw her back into the van, hard enough to leave a dent. “I will bring about my retribution!” He started glowing a fearsome blue, and the kids were lifted into the air. Crystal of ice formed from their tears, and they slowly started freezing.

Acheron put a hand on Chris’ shoulder. “Before you can give life, you have to learn to spare it. Trust me on this, I’ve been killing for a lot longer than you.” Grudgingly, he lowered the kids to the ground. “Now then, we better get going. We got a lot of work to do before you can wake up again and come back into the ethereal realm.” Artemis opened up a hole in space to New York City. It wasn’t far away, but he’d never been there. That he could remember.

Im pretty much speechless.. I voted..Epitaph ^.^ Nice work

lol BRAVO! i write too u shud search me in the arena