

Adventures of Jacko the Conjurer

Red Skies, Blue Skies

By Jamie Ott

Copyright   2010 Jamie Ott. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used without written permission.

Black Crowe Publishers: an imprint of Passionate Prose Industries

ISBN-13: 978-0615517124

ISBN-10: 0615517129

For all inquiries, please contact passionateprose@mail.com.

Flight
Chapter 1

Jacko lived with his father, John, whom he hated with every fiber of his being. Dad and his "friend" thought he was stupid and didn't know what was going on. But just because she managed to leave before he woke, or stay hidden until he left for school, didn't mean he didn't know she was there all night.

He lay there, listening in disgust to the giggling on the other side of the wall. Moaning loudly, he slammed the pillow on his head and rolled onto his belly.

Dad's bed, repeatedly, tapped into the wall.

It was bad enough that they were together, but did they have to rub it in? Were they trying to drive him crazy?

He jumped from his bed, and then stomped to the door, which he slammed into the wall.

Without knocking, he opened his father's door and slammed that into the wall, too. His father and his "friend" jumped to their sides of the bed while trying to cover up.

Jacko yelled, "Shut up! I can hear everything you two do through the wall! I'm sick of it!"

He rammed the door shut and went back to his room.

The floor rumbled under the force of his feet. Heavily, he plopped down onto his bed. The metal frame bounced back and forth off the wall.

Dad opened his door, entered the room, calmly, and gently closed it again.

Jacko remained with his face buried in his pillow, readying himself for his father's backlash.

The sound of the floor lightly creaking got closer and closer.

His father's hand brutally grazed his scalp as he yanked his head up by a fistful of hair. He tried to resist but his father was too strong.

Dad pushed his head back until his neck cracked, and then gave him a powerful red welt across the face. In a low voice, he said, "If you ever do that again, I'll beat the crap outta you."

Jacko almost bit through his tongue as dad slammed his head, hard, into the pillow, and then left.

The tapping against the wall resumed.

Jacko screamed into his pillow.

He tried to ignore it, but with each tap, Jacko grew angrier. For a moment, he imagined shooting Dad and his "friend" right as they lay in bed, together. Then he thought about shooting himself in the head.

Finally, he rolled over onto his back and screamed so loud that the neighbors could have heard, "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMOOOOOORE!!"

He got out of bed, grabbed his air rifle, and loaded it with BBs.

Dad stumbled angrily back into his room. His face was red with rage.

He made to rush Jacko, but this time, he wasn't going to let his father beat him. Jacko quickly pointed the rifle and shot multiple pellets at him.

His father yelped like a dog as he jumped back.

He stopped shooting, so his father would have a chance to leave the room. Instead, Dad and Jacko's eyes met for a second; then he made to rush him again.

Jacko sent another round of balls at him.

Dad jumped up and down as he jerked his body about the room like chicken in a cock fight. The pellets hit him ferociously in the chest and thighs, with one getting him square in the crotch.

Finally, he turned and left the room. Jacko shot multiple pellets at his back side as he ran out.

He wouldn't have much time for escape, so he rushed into his jeans, a sweater and a jacket. Then he packed a change of clothes into his red backpack. Next, he grabbed his laptop bag, threw in his cell phone, wallet, and keys.

He raised his rifle and, slowly, opened the door, exiting the way he'd seen it done on television.

With his rifle raised skyward, he poked his head out. He looked left and right.

Upon seeing that all was clear, he moved, quickly, into the hallway with his rifle pointed outward. Jacko scanned the area, and then made his way, carefully, to the stairwell.

Slowly, he made his way downstairs where, as he stepped off the last step, and onto the landing, he spotted his father on the phone.

Jacko assumed he was talking with the police, as they had been through similar violent scenarios before that night. Dad always ended up calling the cops, who always took his father's side of all their disputes.

They looked at each other. His eyes shifted down to the rifle and back up to Jacko's face.

Gently, Dad hung up the phone.

Innocently, he lifted his eyebrows as he walked toward him, trying to emanate a calm yet concerned look with his face. He opened his arms and held them out in a welcome, hug-like gesture, as though trying to convince Jacko, through body language, that all was fine.

His father stepped a few paces closer to him, and then charged him like a bull. He made it outside just as heard his father ram himself into the coat rack nailed to the wall behind the door.

Parked on the street was his 250cc scooter. Jacko stowed his items and got on.

"Get your ASS back here!" Jacko heard as he sped off.

Several police cars turned onto his street as he approached stop signs at the end of his block. He knew they must be headed for his home, but Jacko remained calm as he looked both ways before making a left turn.

Nothing mattered to Jacko, anymore, because he was determined never to look back on the town with the father that let him down in so many ways.

~~~

Jacko's real name was John, like his father's. His sister, Sissy, told him he'd earned the nickname around Halloween time; that when he was a toddler, learning to speak, he loved the way Jacko, from the word Jack 'o' Lantern sounded. After a week of saying the word, repeatedly, Sissy and his mother became fond of it.

He was happy to go by Jacko, instead of Junior, because he didn't want to be anything like his father.

Jacko remembered, clearly, the night his mother and sister left them, and he remembered his father being the cause of his mother's grief. It was the grief that was the reason she was dead.

Yes, he was quite young when they left, but he remembered, vividly, the pain and awkwardness that followed their absence. He got sick when his father and Anna holed up in his room on the same night Mom and Sissy left, as if nothing important had happened. They blasted music, and only came out every so often to get cold beer.

Jacko, alone, retched again and again into the toilet, in between tears.

What made him angrier was his sister's insistence that he not hate his father. He didn't understand how she could expect him to feel different. They, as a family, were happy until Anna, his "friend," came along, so how could she forgive so easily?

There was a period when Jacko was angry with his mother and Sissy, too, for leaving him behind. It hurt to think that Sissy was more loved. Why else would his mother take her and not him? But when weeks went by without word from either of them, and as his father spent, increasingly, more time with Anna, he became severely depressed.

It wasn't more than a month after they moved out that he got the news of his mother's suicide. He didn't know all the facts about what happened, except that she'd consumed a large amount of hemlock root that was boiled into a tea – "a strange method of suicide," a cop commented.

The police delivered the shocking news in their living room, one evening. His father was stone faced and stone cold as they told him how Sissy called 9-1-1, but when they got to their home, she'd gone.

Jacko didn't know, at first, what happened to Sissy, as she didn't talk to him for several years. Then, one day, she sent him an email. Immediately, he let go of all his anger toward her, for she was all he had. He was grateful she'd come back to him. Except for her disappearance, she was always a good sister; she was always kind and loving, and never picked on him. It made him sad that she was five years older than he was because, sometimes, he thought, if she were with him, then maybe he could tolerate Dad and his "friend."

~~~

It was particularly black that April night, as he rode north, along the ocean, toward San Francisco. His blood boiled angry-hot for many miles, and his cell phone rang every half hour. He knew it was his father, but he just didn't care. They had been through many struggles, and they always ended the same way: Jacko sent to his room, and his father and Anna off drinking and partying.

Despite the cold air, Jacko sweated excessively. He took off his helmet and allowed the wind to dry his soaked face.

Deeply, he inhaled the ocean air, and with each exhale, he felt his anxiety-stiffened muscles relax.

His face was still sweaty when he put the helmet back on, but he didn't want a ticket because he didn't have a license. That and he was only fourteen years old.

Jacko's phone started to vibrate in his pocket again. He grabbed it, looked at the screen, saw it was his father and threw it to the side of the road.

Three hours later, he rode into the small township of Gonzalez, off the 101 freeway. Too tired to ride anymore, he went east at the first stop sign, and then off-road into a large grassy area.

A wide berthed, barren tree with numerous leafless branches stood 100 yards away from the road. Jacko rode up, and parked his bike behind the tree.

He swung his tired, stiff leg off the scooter, yanked off his helmet, and stretched long toward the sky.

Jacko put his helmet on the rack, and pulled his tarp and sleeping bag out from the luggage compartment. After spreading the tarp and sleeping bag on the ground, he climbed into it and fell asleep, instantly.

~~~

Dawn was cracking, but that wasn't what woke Jacko. A semi-truck, lugging its way to the freeway blew its horn, scaring the heck out of him. After that, it was hard to ignore the deep penetration of the sun's rays that leaked through his sleeping bag and the lids of his eyes.

He tried to nod off again, but the chill from the ground was already forcing multiple waves of shivers through his muscles and joints. Then another truck on the road blew its lousy horn.

After a few more moments, he gave up trying to sleep. He packed his items and left.

The morning chill was harsh, so he hurried to the freeway, and then looked for a café where he could thaw out.

His fingers recoiled on the chilly bike handles; his teeth chattered against his chin strap. He should have looked through the luggage compartment and gotten his leather gloves.

Ten miles up the road, he found a nearly vacant little diner. He walked up to the counter and ordered a tall coffee and a breakfast burrito. The heat from the coffee spread, like that of hot coals, down his throat, into his stomach. It was the only thing that kept him from falling asleep while sitting up. Sleeping on the cold rocky ground all night was hardly restful.

He tried to focus on how much money he had, and where he should go. If he remembered correctly, there would be about a thousand dollars in his bank account, after his last paycheck.

It took him a whole year to save that money by working, part time, in his uncle's car repair. His uncle always asked him why he preferred spending all his time in the shop, rather than out with friends. Although he made some lame excuse, the truth is Jacko always knew, in the back of his mind, that he'd leave his father sooner, rather than later.

But a thousand dollars wasn't enough to do anything. He was a minor, so he couldn't get an apartment. His father's family was sure to send him right back home, and he knew nothing of his mother's side of the family.

As he sat, contemplating, a thought plugged itself into his mind, almost as though someone whispered it into his ear. It said, Go to your sister's; she's already expecting you.

Hmmm, he thought. How would his sister react, if he showed up? And, in fact, he did have the feeling that she would be expecting him.

Well, it doesn't matter because she was all the family he had, so she'd have to help him.

He'd go to Concord, New Hampshire, where she lived. When he got to her state, he'd call her. That way she couldn't possibly refuse him.

Hopefully, he could persuade her to help him start a life of his own. He could get another job, take the GED. Maybe take night classes at the local college.

Settling on the decision to go to Sissy made him exuberant. He finished his breakfast and went next door, to the gas station where he bought a national map and a cheap little prepaid phone, for in case of emergency, and to call Sissy when he got close to Concord.

After he traced, with his finger, the interstate freeways, he didn't waste time getting back on his bike and riding the whole morning through, only stopping to refill his tank and buy a few bottles of water.

The worst part of the trip was when Jacko had to go over the Bay Bridge. Although he grinded the bars, his little 250 would go no faster than 60 mph which, although the speed limit was 45 on the bridge, people seemed to think Jacko was a pest. People honked, and always made sure to extend their middle fingers, as they rode around him.

Cars continually slammed their breaks, and skidded behind him, making his blood pressure shoot up. Frightened by the repeated squeals coming from behind, he wondered if he was clearly visible on the poorly lit blue bridge.

He didn't feel safe, again, until he made it into San Francisco, where people seemed less hostile toward scooter riders.

The Golden Gate Bridge wasn't so bad because it was brightly lit and completely open, skyward, right under the sun. He was able to stretch his legs, a moment, in the bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Eventually, the bridge's afternoon congestion started to clear, and he made it to Marin, where he decided to pullover and have a rest.

Starved and exhausted, he took the nearest exit into the city and parked his bike near the window of a harbor restaurant.

Inside, a pretty waitress with owl shaped eyes stared him up and down in a way that made Jacko realize he was about to be asked questions. There was an older man who sat behind a register, reading a newspaper. He looked at him and tipped his hat.

Worried, Jacko, reluctantly, nodded back.

The waitress sat him at a table, and then walked off to the kitchen. She quickly came back with a complimentary New England chowder soup.

The woman appeared to be in her mid-twenties. Jacko could tell she was a very nosey person and, when she didn't stop staring at him, he said in a very short and direct manner, "Stop looking at me."

The waitress looked surprised at Jacko's assertiveness. He continued, "I'd like a cola, please."

She said nothing but continued to stare at him, as if he were an oddity of nature.

"If you can tear your eyes away from the show, perhaps you can do your job? Or should I leave?"

Jacko got up.

"Lorraine," said the man with the hat, "Get the boy a drink!"

He watched her walk to the soda machine, fill it with ice and coke, and come back.

Then he got up and went to the restroom.

Upon seeing his reflection in the mirror, he thought, No wonder the waitress was staring at me.

Jacko looked like he'd spent the morning tumbling in hay. His shirt had been soaked, several times through, with sweat. His hair was a yellow poof on his head, his red puffy eyes looked anaphylactic, and his tee shirt had a crusty yellow tinge to it, like a sock.

Ugh! he said to himself, as he bent over the sink and splashed water onto his face and hair. Then, he reached into his red backpack and pulled a clean tee shirt out.

Back at the table, the waitress asked him where he was from.

Jacko's skin burned. He wanted to be left alone. Instead of having a restful lunch, he now had to find a lie to satisfy the nosey woman.

After a moment, he said, "San Francisco. I'm going to visit a friend in Sonoma."

He looked down at his soup.

"Aren't you a little young to be riding that scooter? It looks dangerous, and especially to ride over the bridge?"

His mind raced as he stalled by taking a bite of his soup.

The lady stood there and waited for an answer.

He chewed, thoughtfully, for a moment, sighed loudly and said, "I know being small time means you've got nothing better to do, but do you have to ruin my lunch? If it's money you're worried about, well, here." He pulled out his wallet and showed her his cash. "So if that's what you're concerned about, problem solved."

"Alright, then, I'll leave you alone."

Hoping she wouldn't spit in his burger for being rude, he watched her walk back into the kitchen. Twenty minutes later, she came out with a burger and fries, which she left on the table, without saying a word.

After pulling the sandwich apart and verifying that it was safe, he wolfed it down. Periodically, the waitress would throw a glance at him, but he kept eating.

When he finished, he took the check up to the old man, behind the counter, who apologized for the nosey waitress. "My niece," he said, and gave him a ten-percent discount.

He thanked the man who, just before he walked out of the door, said "You're leaving now? Traffic's coming and you can't be on the road with that little bike," but Jacko smiled, said "thank you" and left.

The old man was right. The freeway, which was visible from where he stood, was even worse than when he rode in.

It wasn't so much that he couldn't ride around all the traffic, but what worried him was it would slow him down. He wanted to get away from the cities and into the country side, before dark. There, he could sleep, camp, or get a motel room without question.

So without stopping for gas, Jacko weaved, as fast he could, to the 80.

When he made it onto the 80 ramp, happiness welled up inside him. The realization that he was closer to leaving rotten California was exciting. He resented the west coast, the people who lived there, and everything he'd ever experienced.

Perhaps his resentment was misplaced, and had more to do with his father. Still, leaving and starting over again, seemed like exactly what he needed.

As he rode on, he fantasized about how happy he was going to be. He'd be on his own without rules, or anyone to strong arm him. He wouldn't have to look at his father, not that his father ever really looked at him. Just one more thing Jacko didn't have to deal with: guilt for being alive, guilt for being in his father's house. Once settled in Concord, he'd get a small apartment, work in the day, and take a class or two in the evenings. Maybe he'd get a girlfriend!

The increasing temperature distracted Jacko from his thoughts. He observed his surroundings, and noticed the scenery had changed from stretches of dark green grass to miles of dried yellow prairie. The air was hot, dry, and dusty, but he didn't mind because he could slow his bike down and relax.

Despite the heat, Jacko tried to press on, but he didn't last too long. The problem was the glare of the sun; it was barely noticeable through his helmet, yet continued to heat his clothes and radiate to his flesh.

When the heat became unbearable, he pulled to the side of the grassy road to take a break.

He took off his jacket and let the air cool his arms. Raising and kicking his legs, he rolled his arms and walked up and down the side of the road for a bit.

As he turned to walk back in the opposite direction, he noticed, a few yards away, a bit of dust from the brown and green grass whirl upward in circles to form a little dirt devil.

Jacko pulled a bottle of water out of his bike's luggage compartment, sat on the grass, and watched the dust whirl. He chewed on some dried fruit and jerky he had in his luggage compartment.

Despite his snack, Jacko's stomach started rumbling again. Such was the plight of a growing teen. He was constantly hungry these days. The sweet from the fruit and harshness of the jerky made him hungrier.

Jacko packed up his snacks and put them back in his luggage.

After a few more moments of rest, he mounted his bike again. However, just when he was about to turn the key, he had a strange feeling that made him stop. The feeling was of someone familiar to him, standing nearby.

Instinctively, he thought about his mother and looked around him for the source.

Jacko looked back at the dust devil and noticed how the particles seemed to be frozen in the air. He shook his head, hoping to straighten out his eye sight.

Maybe he needed more rest?

His eyes played tricks on him before, when he'd stayed awake for long periods of time, and although he slept the night before, he was still exhausted because he'd tossed and turned the entire time.

Maybe after he crossed the state line, he'd check into a motel.

Again, he went to start the ignition of his bike. Only, this time, he thought he saw a smiling face instead of his key in the circular ignition.

Quickly, Jacko drew back his hand.

Wow, he thought. I must be really tired.

Perhaps he'd done too much riding that day. Thinking it must have been the constant heat and glare of the sun, he closed his eyes and counted to ten, then, blindly, turned the key.

When the motor came on, he opened his eyes. The face was gone. He looked up and saw the dust devil had settled, but there wasn't any explanation for what Jacko saw next.

A nearly transparent head floated in the air, right above where the dust devil had been. The face looked familiar to Jacko, with dark brown shapely eyes and white blonde hair, but the features were exaggerated as the wind blew through the shape.

"Yeah, whatever," he said, as though trying to write his own self off. He looked down and behind him, and then sped along the 80, and didn't stop until he reached the state line.
Crossing Over
Chapter 2

As soon as Jacko crossed the state line, the heat intensified, making him feel even more tired. So he found a cheap motel off of a stretch of road right outside Reno, Nevada.

The desk clerk didn't ask any questions of the boy. He, simply, gave him a key without even saying hello! Jacko liked that!

When he walked back outside, he noticed a dive diner with low class people screaming, yelling, drinking, and hanging about in the parking lot, to his right. He, then, looked to his left and saw only the highway and miles of more dusty grassland. He pushed his bike up to the second floor of the motel, and parked it right outside his window.

Once inside, he peeled his clothes off, climbed into bed, and slept.

Six hours later, the bed violently trembled. He woke, looked around and realized it was not an earthquake, but it was his stomach, rumbling.

The clock said nine p.m.

He had two huge meals today!

Inwardly, he yelled at himself, Why can't I stop being hungry?

He stumbled out of the lumpy, sinking, bed. Then he showered and rinsed his shirts in the bath tub. He hung one to dry, and put the other one on. Better wet than stinky, plus the shirt lowered his body temperature, considerably.

Outside his door, the first thing that scared Jacko was the loud, rowdy voices of questionable looking people. What if they tried to start something with him?

The voices came from the parking lot behind the diner, where he saw seven raggedly dressed men hanging about semi-trucks. Not very far from the men stood several prostitutes, cackling and smoking.

Jacko drew in his breathe, brought up his chest, and tried to be brave while praying that no one talked to him.

When he opened the door to the diner, his stomach quivered at the smell of grease and meat. Despite what he'd seen, which was about two dozen scary, hairy, overweight, tough, burly truckers - half of which seemed to be missing a good deal of teeth - his stomach propelled him forward.

In the air, hung a nasty, thick, haze of cigarette smoke, through which several of the faces looked him up and down. To Jacko, they looked surly and mean. In particular, a dark haired guy in a blue and black plaid shirt tried to stare Jacko down.

He looked down at his feet and continued to the available spot at the bar that was closest to him upon entry; that way, if there was trouble, he could just run.

"What can I get ya?" asked a waitress with eyebrows that rose up into her forehead, and an incredibly wrinkled face.

"Bacon burger, fries, and a cola," he mumbled.

She went off to get his order when the guy who stared him down approached.

"Hey, kid. What are you doing here? Where are your parents?"

The man asked with a menacing curiosity that did not go unnoticed.

Instinctively, he knew the guy meant him anything but good. The way his eyes shifted down to his leather jacket, down to his shoes, and back to Jacko's eyes, made his skin tingle.

His sunken eye's looked dark and empty, yet full of crazy. The skin of his face was falling into dark, leathery folds. He was severely underweight and his breath smelled bad.

Jacko sat for a moment trying to think of what to say.

"Say something. What are you deaf? Where are your parents?"

"I'm just here to get a bite and go. Is that okay?" Jacko asked, trying to sound tough.

"So you're all alone, huh?"

The man grabbed him by the back of the neck, forced him off the chair, and pushed him to the ground.

"Well, that's just great 'cause I'm lookin' for a little action tonight, and your face has got 'awl' my attention, pretty boy, hee hee."

The man laughed almost like a donkey.

"Hey" said the waitress, who'd just set Jacko's food on the counter. "Leave him alone or get out."

The man's face lost the laugh, and his eyes became real serious and dark as he said, "Don't need to tell me, twice, wrinkle."

"Screw you."

"Yeah, no thanks," he mumbled. "I got me som'in..." he talked to himself as he walked back to his seat.

Jacko sat back down to eat at an extremely slow pace. He knew he needed to be worried, so he took the time to think how, best, to leave the diner.

Unfortunately, no good ideas came to mind. He slowly turned his head to see the man was watching him. He gave Jacko a dirty smile and winked his right eye at him.

It crossed his mind that maybe he needed a weapon.

Slowly, carefully, he slipped the butter knife into the sleeve of his jacket. When he'd finished, the lady asked if he wanted anything else. Jacko asked if someone would escort him back to his room, but the woman rolled her eyes and told him to leave if he was done ordering.

He hated the waitress for not showing even the least bit of sympathy for his situation. He looked to his left and saw the man was, now, standing at the door of the restaurant, laughing at Jacko's attempt to save himself.

The waitress saw it too but couldn't care less.

Needless to say, he wasn't going to leave the ugly, old bat a tip. In fact, he was gonna skip out on the meal. His best chance was to run out of the diner as quickly as possible. If he paid, then the guy would know he was preparing to leave, but if he just ran, it would be a surprise that would give Jacko a head start! Besides, if the waitress couldn't find it in her conscience to help a boy in trouble, then he was entitled to a free last supper, as if the crazy man caught him, Jacko was sure he'd be dead.

He sat extremely still for a moment while gathering up his courage. Next, he stood up and bolted out of the door, as fast as he could. Jacko ran around to the back of the building. This seemed like a good idea because he didn't want that psycho following him back to his room. The last thing he needed was for his bike to get trashed, or for someone to burst through the lame lock of his motel room while he slept.

He waited in the back lot of the diner for fifteen minutes, but he never heard the diner door re open or subsequent footsteps. He didn't know if he should continue to stay where he was or try to make it back to his room.

One strange thing he did notice was how quiet it'd suddenly got, as though all the truckers and hookers had gone away.

Oh boy, he thought. If they were gone, he was definitely in trouble. On the other hand, if they weren't gone, would they care if an innocent boy was being beat to death?

Slowly, he walked out from behind the building. Looking all around him, he stepped quietly to the front of the diner, which was the only way back to the motel.

Jacko felt a moment of relief, as he thought he was in the clear. He was just about to take off running, when suddenly he was grabbed from behind and thrown up against the stone wall of the diner.

The butter knife fell to the ground.

"Hey pretty boy? Where's your mama?"

He threw a fist in his gut that sent Jacko reeling for air. The excruciating pain spread all the way down to his groin and up to his neck.

Jacko was nearly in fetal position, yet still standing as he tried to catch his breath.

The man pulled him straight up by the collar of his jacket. He ran his hand through Jacko's hair and caressed his face and neck.

Jacko, still gasping for air, asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I don't take crap from nobody, especially not from a faggot like you." Then he hurled Jacko's face down onto the edge of his knee where his cheek split.

At that moment Jacko got really scared because he knew the man wasn't going to stop there. Tears sprung from his eyes as the man made mince of his rib cage.

A few more brutal connections numbed Jacko out. The heel of the man's boot slammed his head into the ground.

Funnily, he thought to himself that the ground felt soft, like a feather pillow, and then there was silence. All seemed to go black and, for a moment, he felt like he was floating in the air.

In that silence, there was a low ringing noise in Jacko's ear. Slowly, it grew louder and louder, and he wondered if he'd blacked out.

Why was he dreaming of ringing noises and feather textured tarmac? How could he be thinking of these things when a psycho was beating the crap out of him?

That was when Jacko saw the face again: white blonde hair and dark brown eyes.

"Sissy?" said Jacko.

As quickly as he saw the face was as quickly as it disappeared.

Remembering where he was, he opened his eyes and wondered why he was no longer being hit. A few feet away, the man was propped on his elbows, on the ground, and was looking at Jacko with confusion on his face.

What Jacko didn't see was, while he was contemplating his state of awareness, the man tried to kick him once more. Mysteriously, instead of giving Jacko a whopping good one, he was somehow knocked backward onto the ground.

Now, the vagrant man may have been confused, but he wasn't willing to give up on easy prey.

He stood back up and made to boot stomp poor Jacko, once more. He sent his heel right in the direction of his forehead, but for some reason, couldn't make the connection.

The man's foot just stopped mid-air at a few inches above his face.

Confused, he tried to retract his boot from the frozen point but couldn't. He cursed, growled, and scowled enraged. The man huffed with his hands around his ankle and pulled with all his strength.

Suddenly, he flew off, backward, his legs flung over his head. The man slammed still-faced and face forward, on the ground.

Despite his shaky equilibrium, Jacko pulled himself up. Wiping the blood from his eyes, he started to limp his way in the direction of the motel. He stopped when he heard a strange gurgling noise coming from the man.

He walked back over to the man and kicked him onto his back. The guy was struggling to breathe. His hands seemed pinned to his side as he struggled and tossed about, like a fish out of water.

Was the man were having a seizure?

His crazy brown eyes bugged out as he opened his mouth wider, and tried to breathe in.

For a moment, Jacko considered running off and leaving the evil man to die, but then his conscience kicked in. He couldn't just leave a man to die no matter what he'd done to him. With that thought, Jacko ran back inside the diner to tell the waitress to call for help.

The waitress was unmoved by Jacko because she was angry at him for stiffing her. Upon seeing him, she screamed nonstop that he'd better pay her or she'd whip his ass. That he was beaten, bloody, and his clothes were torn, made little difference to the wrinkled woman.

Jacko looked around for a payphone but there was none. Yes, he could call from his cheap, little, prepaid phone, but it was registered in his name.

He looked around to see if anyone looked like they would help him. Unfortunately, all he saw were the many faces of uncaring, big bellied, plaid wearing truckers. All they could hear and see was the scary waitress screaming at bloodied Jacko.

Then a man in a dirty white apron burst from the door behind the counter. He walked up to Jacko, yelling. He screamed at the man that he needed to call an ambulance, but he just kept shouting.

Ignoring him, he ran back outside, and the man followed. "You get back, boy!" he shouted, but when he saw the crazy guy turning blue on the ground, he was completely silenced.

The man had passed out while Jacko was inside arguing with the waitress. At that moment, when he kneeled down to check to the man's airway, a voice whispered inside his head; it told him to leave, quickly.

He stood up and looked around for the source, but all he saw was the cook running back inside the diner.

The voice whispered again - hurryyy.

Jacko limped-ran back to his room in which he gathered his items, and stuffed his bag. Stumbling down the steps with his bike, he looked across the lot to see two cowboys bending over the body while one spoke into a phone.

~~~

Several hours later, he was miles away from Reno. Still, Jacko worried about the man, and hoped he'd be okay.

What would happen to him, if the man died? He kept asking himself.

Thinking about what happened at the diner made his head ache, but he couldn't stop. He tried to focus his thoughts on the line of city lights in the skyline, ahead, but the ache got worse. Then two coin sized flashes of white glared at him from, some feet, ahead on the road.

Jacko grinded his breaks and the bike went skidding. He swerved off into a ditch and rode onto a ground cactus that flipped his bike over sideways.

Fortunately, his jacket was of biker leather, but it didn't stop the needles that pricked through his skin. He moaned, loudly, and lay still for a few moments. He told himself that he was fine and tried to push himself up, but instead, he passed out.

When he finally woke up, it was because something wet was slapping his face.

Slowly, he opened his eyes to find that he was in a lumpy, sagging bed. Next to him, he noticed a large impression that was heavily specked with yellow animal hairs.

Looking around, he realized he was in an old and dusty house. The walls were made with old grey slats, through which light leaked.

Slowly, he pulled his legs over the side of the bed, and rested them on the floor a moment. He had to hold his breath, so as not to put extra pressure on the inside of his stomach and ribs, which hurt bad.

After a moment, he drew in a slow, deep lungful of air and breathed out, heavily, as he stood up. The shock of the pain made him groan so hard that he scratched his throat.

He reached a hand up to feel the damage to his face and immediately cried out.

Although he couldn't see it, he felt that his face was swollen several sizes larger than normal.

His legs worked, painfully, and he barely made it to the rickety thin door of the room.

When he opened the door, bright blue sky made him squint. He limped outside and saw that he wasn't in Nevada anymore, or at least, he couldn't have been. Instead of desert, he found himself standing in a low land bald spot of a mountainous region.

There appeared to be nothing man made, aside from the house in which he stood, for many miles.

As Jacko's vision adjusted, he noticed several strange things about his location. The first was the quality of the air that he could see too clearly. He noticed how the little particles moved about in little convection like patterns.

When Jacko refocused his eyes, to examine the air more closely, he thought it looked like transparent little bubbles. The bubbles left little speed tails behind their movement, which left a million little traces all across the air and sky.

Next, Jacko noticed the thousands of conifer type trees that surrounded the area, yet they weren't typical conifers of any species he'd ever seen. They were extremely bright green with fluorescent auras that made convection patterns around them. The trees appeared to go on for many miles into the sky, which was impossible thought Jacko.

Even stranger was the grass that wasn't grass at all, but seemed to be patches of moss.

He slowly lowered to the ground and extended a bit of it for closer examination.

The moss extended from the ground in massive amounts of coil. It felt slimier than moss would and, up close, looked more like grated zest all stuck together. The color was green, like spirulina, and with a similarly funky smell. It expanded and contracted in his hand, as if it were breathing.

He was fascinated. He ripped some of the moss from the ground to see what it would do. Immediately, he regretted this because a high pitched squeal emitted from the ground. His hand started to get really hot as the moss turned a fiery red.

He dropped it and jumped back, in alarm. His eyes stayed on the squealing moss that had begun to slowly disappear, diminishing in size.

"What is going on here?" he asked aloud.

The red cells expanded and contracted even faster as it died. Jacko watched a few moments, and then it was completely gone.

It occurred to him that he should probably feel bad for what he'd done; that he might have killed the grass, but as he looked up at the trees, he forgot his guilt.

He walked a hundred feet to the edge of the bald spot, up to the closest cluster of trees.

Up close, he could see the needles had strange qualities, too. They were hard, like plastic, and extremely long. In fact, they were all exactly, approximately, ten inches in length and they matched each other exactly in girth, which was very thin.

Like the moss, they expanded and contracted, too.

Now Jacko should've learned his lesson the first time, but he didn't. He pulled a needle out. There came a loud hissing noise from the pore where the needle no longer occupied. A smoky scent, sort of like sewage exhaled.

Jacko felt really bad at that point because he didn't want to hurt living things. But the funny bark and twigs were of the strangest color he'd ever seen. They were brown but very red, too. When Jacko touched it, it turned redder.

He tried to pull a little twig off to see what it would do, but the tree drew back its branch and punched him in the head.

Jacko stumbled backward and fell, rolling on the ground and holding his throbbing face. He wasn't angry, though, because he knew he deserved it.

When the pain subsided, he pushed himself up and walked back toward the house.

As he got closer, he noticed there was a little body of water on the other side.

The pond gurgled and bubbled in the center.

At first, Jacko was scared because he didn't want to get hurt, again. Nevertheless, he got nearer, anyway.

He jumped back when the water boiled upward like a geyser and fell back to the pond. After a moment, he determined that the water was going to continue to rise, repeatedly, in the same manner.

He inched closer to the bank of the pond and was fascinated to see how the water fell back in the shape of various animals: mostly fish, but also cows, cats, and birds.

Jacko was amazed! Was the water putting on a show for him? What was this pond?

Well, come and look.

"Huuh?" he said dreamily.

The water was putting some sort of spell on him and he couldn't resist.

Sedated, he moved closer to the edge. When liquid hands grabbed him and pulled him in, he didn't even scream.

Jacko was sleepily submerged in the pond, which became bigger once under the surface. Under wasn't so bad, he thought to himself. He noticed he felt free from pain there. In fact, he felt great, giddy, and happy!

When two big, green, gold fish swam up to him with greetings, Jacko shook their fins enthusiastically.

"Let's swim!" they said.

Jacko nodded and smiled.

Under the water was a whole new world. He looked down and saw his body had shrunk, but he was unfazed by the sight!

They swam so fast! Jacko couldn't believe their speed. They went worling for miles under the water.

Jacko's head spun and he grinned because it was fun to get dizzy, there. The fish wanted to teach him tricks, and Jacko grinned and swam little figure eights.

He hadn't had as much fun in a long time, so when they invited him to a goldfish tea party, he was so happy that he did a flip out of water for joy.

It was all fun until there was a loud splash, and then knives cut into his ankle.

Jacko turned to see it was a big yellow dog. He tried to swim away, but its grip was firm.

His legs slid through the muddy, mossy bank. The green fish grabbed his hands and tried to help pull him back into the water.

Their efforts were useless because the dog was too strong for them all. The fish were clearly angry, as was Jacko. They jumped up and down through the surface, waving their fins, in the shapes of fists, at the dog.

Finally, the big yellow dog pulled Jacko completely away from the water. His front and face smeared in the mud of the bank. He turned and yelled, "Get off me, you mutt!"

"Excuse me, but I am not a mutt."

"Okay," said Jacko, realizing the dog demonstrated intelligence. "Is this a dream?"

"Yes and no, but that doesn't matter because I've come to help you."

"Help me with what?"

"Help you stay safe on your trip east."

"Sent by whom?"

"I can't tell you that."

"I was having fun! Why did you have to pull me out?" he asked angrily.

"If you stay too long, you become a fish. Look at your hands!"

Jacko looked and saw that they had a funny greenish tinge.

"They'll take you away from reality. The pond goes a lot further than just the ground."

Jacko didn't know what the dog meant, and he didn't bother to ask because he was too busy taking in its size, which was like small horse.

"Were you licking my face a moment ago? Why don't I hurt anymore?"

Jacko's wounds felt stiff but were no longer open and bloody.

"The water is healing, I suppose."

"This can't be real."

"Oh, yeah? Well, then, what's that?" said the dog looking down at his feet.

"What's what?"

He looked down and saw that his ankle bled through his jeans. Pain like knives stabbed at them again.

"What the heck?"

He felt queasy at seeing his bleeding ankles. "Oh my," he said swayed.

Feeling dizzy, Jacko closed his eyes and almost passed out.

When he reopened them, he was startled. No longer did he see a yellow dog and bright blue sky, but instead, just a night sky with stars gleaming.

Still feeling nauseous, he closed his eyes again, and when he opened them, he gasped. No longer did he see just a night sky, but he saw the dog again, and the bright blue sky.

He was extremely confused, but before he could ask the dog any questions, he screamed.

His legs wobbled.

He closed his eyes one more time.

Once again, he opened them and saw the night sky.

"AAAAHHH!"

The pain from his ankles shot up his legs. He looked down his legs and saw he was flat on the ground. Two large, slimy, grey skinned dogs were pulling Jacko away by the ankles, one in each mouth.

Suddenly, a loud, powerful bark came from above his head. He looked up and saw the yellow dog, only he was smaller than a moment ago.

To counterweight the mangy dogs, the big yellow one sunk its teeth into his shoulder, causing Jacko to scream louder.

One of the dogs dropped his leg so that it could bark at the yellow dog.

Jacko swung his free leg and kicked the mouth of the dog that held his other ankle.

Upon force of contact, the dog's eyes turned red and his bark to a loud screeching noise, like a dragon.

Jacko almost wet himself, but the yellow dog yelled, "Chupacabras! We gotta go!"

When Jacko remained still on the ground, transfixed by the sight of the mangy animals whose eyes turned red, the dog yelled, "COME ON!" and nipped him on the shoulder.

The nip brought Jacko back to awareness. Just in time, too, because one of the dogs erupted in scales along the spine of its back, and breathed out a long forked tongue.

Behind them, he saw two more dogs were coming from the rocks a mile out.

When he stood, Jacko was astounded to see that they nearly carried him off while he was passed out. He looked around for his bike, but couldn't see anything in the darkness because there was no traffic on that desolate stretch of road.

"Follow me," said the dog once more.

The yellow dog led him to his scooter, which was some 200 feet back toward the road.

When he got close enough, he stopped.

The bike was no longer his little 250cc. Instead it was a full no name bike with a side car that the yellow dog leapt into.

"This isn't my bike! I don't know how to ride it."

"Just get on, it works the same way; it's just bigger."

And then the dog pulled out a helmet and goggles with its paws. It pulled the visor down as the straps magically buckled themselves.

"Stop gawking, Jacko! We gotta go!"

He jumped onto the seat just as one of the dogs leapt at him. He turned the key and they sped off down the road as the yellow dog turned his head around and barked behind them.

He managed a look in his side mirror and gasped. They had changed from dogs into little scaly, dragon-like animals. They barked and screeched as they tried to catch up to the bike.

Jacko put on more speed and the dragon-dogs were lost.

His heart pounded in his chest for a few minutes as he tried to understand what had happened. He realized the yellow dog could have answers for him but was afraid to stop too soon.

Every few minutes, he would look at the bike and dog to remind himself that they were both real.

After another 40 miles east of Reno, Jacko began to wind down. At which point, he pulled over into a deserted gas station for a rest.

He parked behind an empty gas stand and took off his helmet, as did the dog. Reaching in the back, he pulled out a bottle of water and took a few sips.

Jacko wondered to himself if the dog would want water. It must have heard his thoughts because he looked into Jacko's eyes with comprehension, jumped out of the side car, and ran to him.

"Okay," he said and poured water out in a thin stream to the ground.

The dog stuck out its tongue and tried to lick up as much of the liquid as it could.

After another sip, he put the bottle back in his luggage and sat on the bike and said "Okay, talk." But the dog said nothing. He just sat there breathing, dully, with his tongue hanging long, down his neck.

"Where did this bike come from, huh?"

The dog just looked at him with a blank stare.

Jacko sighed and pulled out his bag of jerky, which he shared with the dog. Finally he sighed again and said "Alright, dog, don't talk."

He dug in the luggage area of the bike and pulled out his sleeping bag and tarp. He kicked all the little rocks out of the way of his intended spot.

Then he took off his shoes and climbed inside his bag. The dog walked to the bag and lay down next to him. He stared up at the stars as the dog leaned his head back for Jacko to scratch him behind the ears.
Red Skies, Blue Skies
Chapter 3

Hours later, Jacko woke to the sound of cars riding fast along the road. For a moment, he refused to open his eyes. He laid there thinking about the dream he'd had of the funny blue sky, and some green fish he'd made friends with, in a pond; how he'd nearly ran over a dog, and instead, wound up hurting himself. Eyes still closed, he felt his ribs and then his face: there was no pain.

He opened his eyes, yawned deeply and looked around. There was no yellow dog anywhere to be seen. Turning over, he looked up and his jaw dropped: there was the black motorcycle with a sidecar.

Jacko got up to inspect the bike.

Slowly, he walked around it, looking it up and down. Carefully, he reached out a hand and touched the bike with the tip of his fingers. It was a lovely, dangerous looking bike that gleamed under the sun. It had large red lights in back that looked like devil eyes.

Well, if this is a dream, it ain't bad, he thought.

"But where's the dog?" he said aloud.

He continued to think about the dog as he packed his items. He liked the idea of having a companion with him.

Then, just as he was about to turn the ignition of the bike, he heard a barking from behind. He turned and smiled happily. The dog ran from between tall yellow grass and leapt into the sidecar.

He got off his bike, reached into his luggage compartment and pulled out a bag of jerky and a bottle of water.

After the dog finished, Jacko got on his bike and the dog leapt back into the side car. He was about to turn on the bike and go when he realized the dog needed to be strapped in.

"Well, alright. Go ahead, strap yourself in," he said.

Unlike last night, when the dog was so full of life, he, now, sat there breathing, dully.

Jacko slid off his seat and strapped in the dog.

He looked into its eyes to see if there was any recognition of what happened between them the prior night. When he saw that he was not going to be satisfied, he decided to forget about it.

"Just a dog," he told himself.

They stopped in Lovelock, Nevada, for breakfast at another little no-name diner.

Outside, in the parking lot, he told the dog to wait. As Jacko spoke the simple words, he had a strong feeling that the dog was only pretending to be simple. Somehow, he knew the dog knew exactly what he was saying to him.

"Why are you pretending?" Jacko asked.

The dog said nothing.

Inside, he was seated at a table behind a family of four.

Jacko watched the Mother and father trying to get a hold of their two kids. The older girl was laughing, obnoxiously, as she did something, under the table, to the younger boy.

"Stop kicking me," the little boy cried.

When she didn't, he, then, threw a handful of scrambled eggs at her, which made her cry.

Jacko laughed as he watched them because it reminded him of when he and Sissy used to tease each other, before his father ruined their lives. He thought about his conflicted feelings: jealousy and anger yet envy that she could leave while he stayed home. At the moment, though, he was glad she left because if she hadn't, she wouldn't be able to help him, now.

After a plateful of pancakes, eggs, and sausages, he left the restaurant satisfied.

Outside the diner, upon smelling the half dozen sausages Jacko ordered for him, the dog got extremely excited.

He jumped up and down while squealing, barking, and running around him in circles. A few feet away, a couple and their children frightfully froze. Not only was the dog jumping around Jacko, but he was jumping five feet up in the air.

Jacko hurried to his bike, where he set down the foam container of sausages. To Jacko's relief, the dog immediately stopped its leaping. A few yards away, the couple and their children continued to stare at them for a few seconds before going inside.

After the dog ate the sausages, they went next door to the small grocery store, but this time, it was even worse.

"Okay, wait here, Dog."

That had become the dog's unofficial name.

Dog nodded at Jacko who was suspicious, once more, of Dog's intelligence; nevertheless, he continued inside.

He didn't dwell because his main concern was getting back on the road.

Jacko strolled up and down the aisles, looking for the section of bottled water. When he found it, he grabbed two six packs, and then walked over to the animal foods section.

A moment later, he was in line behind two cute girls who looked like they might have been twins. Both were holding sodas and some candy.

One was slightly shorter than the other but they, both, were skinny with long brown hair, all the way down to their waists. When they turned around, it was hard to ignore the way their green eyes glowed against their tan skin.

Both of the girls were trashy looking in their dirty jeans, sandals, and stained tee shirts. After observing them a moment, Jacko noticed the slightly taller one had a longer, feminine face while the shorter had a perfect jaw and full lips. They looked to be about his age. He couldn't help noticing how cute they were, together; they must have been sisters.

Meanwhile, at the electronic sliding doors exit, Dog stood, watching Jacko. He wagged his tail ferociously and sniffed at the air. Jacko saw Dog's eyes shift to the girls in front of him, and wondered if he knew that Jacko was attracted to them.

Just as long as he doesn't start showing off again.

The two kept looking behind, at him, and giggling. Their behavior made him feel especially dumb. He figured it must have been his hair that made them act as they did.

Sometimes, he got helmet head after a long ride, and he self-consciously moved his hand to run it through his hair, but he dropped the packs of water. The bottles slammed to the floor and went rolling in every direction.

In response to the loud thudding noise, everyone in line snapped their heads in his direction. Jacko's face turned deep red with embarrassment.

"Sorry," Jacko mumbled.

A few moments later, he struggled through the doors of the store with his items. Dog must have wandered off because he was no longer near the exit.

As he was about to head through the lot, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Jacko snapped his head to the right and saw the big 60lb ball of yellowish white hair doing continuous cartwheels.

Dog looked ridiculous with the way he landed on his legs, and his ears flopped about. Jacko panicked when he looked around and saw people stop and stare at Dog.

His mind raced with ideas about how to leave unnoticed; he even contemplated leaving him behind.

Jacko felt like he could have died, right there on the spot. Fortunately, Dog stopped doing cartwheels, but only to start dancing on his hind legs in circles around the girls who laughed, hysterically. They tried to go but Dog continued to block their way by, next, walking on his back legs and shaking its top in a shimmy.

Quickly, he looked left and right at both entrances of the parking lot. Beyond the girls, at the other end of the parking lot, a police car stopped to watch.

He was prompted to action when a man, behind him, said "Move it! You're blocking the exit!"

The old man rammed him in the back with his shopping cart. Jacko stumbled in the direction of Dog and the girls. He looked at the dog and said, "Stop it!"

The dog immediately sat on its rear. He looked around to see about a dozen eyes still staring at them. Some children were running over to get a closer look, which Jacko knew wasn't good. He glanced back at the other end of the parking lot, and to his relief, saw that the cop had gone.

"Cute dog," said the slightly taller girl with the green eyes, and they both walked off.

Jacko didn't say anything.

He watched them walk away, and then he saw two more kids running in his direction, "Hey! Is that your dog?"

Not waiting for an answer, they pet Dog.

"Stay!" said Jacko. "And don't do anymore tricks!"

He walked back to his bike and stowed away his items. Then he mounted and rode over to where the kids were still playing with Dog.

"Get in," he said through gritted teeth.

As he went to strap in Dog, at the far end of the little plaza, he saw the girls looking at him. He put on his helmet and rode the bike, slowly, toward the end of the lot where the girls waved him down. He really wanted to stop and talk to the cute girls, but he rode on.

Many hours later, they reached the outskirts of Salt Lake City where Jacko managed to check into another Motel 6.

Wearily, he stumbled into the room, fell on the bed, and didn't move for twelve hours.

In his dream, he visited the place he saw when he was passed out on the road. Again, he stood on the funky green moss that burned his hand, except he wasn't in the bald spot. This time, some things were very different; like the sky that was lined with a red horizon, and the way it stretched across the sky, and then turned into a crisp, blinding, blue horizon.

As his eyes traced the horizon a 100 feet to his right, he saw that the exact point, where the color changed from red to blue, served as a division between a land bathed in red, and the land, that he stood on, which was bathed in blue.

Jacko could see into the red land as though looking through a stained glass window. The red tinted land reminded him of the pictures he'd seen of Mar's atmosphere.

Curious, he walked toward the land bathed in red, and as he got closer, an ill feeling came over him.

The trees, plants, and moss-grass were all black, there.

A feeling that he should not continue to that side overwhelmed him, but he could never fight his curiosity.

Instinct told him that he could be making a big mistake, but he stuck his hand through the division, anyway. When he felt nothing, except extreme cold, he decided to walk through to the red side.

Wow, he thought to himself.

Jacko wished he could see more of the strange, red world. He wished he were bigger so he could run through it and see it faster.

Then he looked down and realized that he was bigger. No longer was he looking at a barrage of black shrubs, but instead, he saw numerous mountain peaks.

Despite an increased feeling of foreboding, as he saw nothing but blackness and red sky for miles, he walked toward the mountain direct in his path, and when he felt it was taking too long to get there, he ran.

The ground trembled, like an Earthquake, as he trampled shrubs into dust; trees snapped, like toothpicks, into halves.

When he approached the mountain, he leapt onto its peak, sending massive quakes through the ground for many miles.

Atop the peak, he was not too pleased at what he saw of the cold, dreary, red world.

At the base was a black-as-coal lake. When he jumped onto the peak, he landed just in time to see waves of black sludge move slowly across the still surface.

He turned 45 degrees to his left where he saw a small forest below him. He looked up and, in the distance, saw a huge black castle with lights on inside.

Suddenly, a question occurred to him: If everything was red, cold and black on that side, what kind of creatures could possibly live in that castle?

Jacko didn't want to meet any dark creatures from that cold, cold world. He leapt off the mountain peak and ran back to the land that was bathed in blue. Immediately, he felt better, almost as if a wet blanket had been lifted off his shoulders.

The blue skied land was much warmer, and much more beautiful.

At Jacko's height, he noticed there was one thing missing from this sky. He did a slow 360 degree turn to confirm what he didn't see: the sun.

There was no sun.

As Jacko continued to search the sky, he realized that there were, also, no clouds.

After a few moments of contemplation, he decided to forget about it, and go explore.

In the vast distance, he saw oceans that gleamed, in a strange way, under the light of the red horizon. Behind the ocean, there were mountains with trees that held enormous round, red berries. He wanted to swim in the water and pick one of the fruits.

Jacko picked up, fast, running for miles and miles, breathing in the funny molecule air that tickled his stomach while giving him energy.

With every touchdown of his foot, the ground quaked and the trees quivered. He leapt over hills and skipped over small ponds; he didn't stop until he fell into the cool ocean.

Some of the water leaked into his mouth, and Jacko tasted that it was fresh water. He swallowed a gulp, and it coated his insides, making him feel quenched in a way he'd never felt before; almost as though he'd never be thirsty again.

Jacko used his humungous arms to swim back to land, and as he crawled back onto the shore, he saw that he was normal sized again.

"What is wrong with you?" asked an angry voice.

He looked to his left and suffered a shock.

Apparently, the man, who stood there, was mad at him. That was okay, but his appearance scared him because he didn't look like any man from Earth.

What spoke to him was a face as white and glossed as carved marble. His eyes were even more disturbing to look at, with their shiny, black onyx texture to contrast. His marbled hair looked just as solid as the rest of his skin, and came down in perfect, shiny, brown waves around his body, which was adorned in a toga with a gold buckle.

Jacko stared at the man, but said nothing.

"You're not from here, so we don't have to tolerate you. Best you behave, or you'll not be allowed back!"

His marble cheeks fired a rosy red across his white artificial skin, like touching a mood ring.

"Where am I? What have I done wrong?" Jacko asked defiantly.

He sat up and noticed that his clothes were dry.

"You're in the heaven of the gods, and you're running about like a fool, disturbing those who rest."

"You're God?"

"I see you don't pay attention."

"Why are you angry? I'm just having fun."

"You'll show respect, or you'll be returned to Earth. Also, I recommend staying away from the red lands, for they're very dangerous."

"How do you know where I've been?"

"I know you're from Earth because your flesh is rotting with age, and it reeks. I can smell your filth from over here. I know you've been in the red lands because I was told."

Jacko opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it. The man scared him.

"Don't worry, I won't harm you. You can come home with me and wash up, and then you'll return to your room."

My room? How does he know?

He motioned, with his hand, that Jacko should rise and follow him.

"I'm Althenio. Once I was a god of good fortune, and I would give good fortune to men who deserved it."

Jacko hardly believed him, but he asked, anyway, "How long ago was that?"

"To me, it seems like yesterday. For you, it would be tens of thousands of years ago. Now there is no work for me, or beings like me, so we're retired, here. Man wants to do things on his own and in his own way. We've done what you wished: left Earth alone."

"But what am I doing here?"

"You're not the first to come here, accidentally. You're a gifted boy, I presume."

"What do you mean by gifted? I still hardly believe this is real."

Althenio seemed to tire of the conversation and merely said, "Just watch yourself as you come and go because there are demons out there that will get you," he said. "Demons are hunters. Once a demon gets your scent, it's for life."

"What would they do with me, demons?"

"If you're lucky, they'll torture, kill, and maybe eat your flesh; if you are unlucky, they may swallow your soul or worse, such as enslavement or possession."

"Haha. Yeah, right, haha. Ouch!" Althenio grabbed Jacko, with his marble grip, by the arm and yanked him back so that they saw each other eye-to-eye.

He let go of his arm and continued to walk; Jacko followed.

"Demons really possess humans?"

"In your body, they walk amongst the living where they can hunt and wreak terror on a massive scale. Do you want to be responsible for that, arrogant boy?" Jacko said nothing, and he continued, "The last time a possession took place, it took 100 of us to bring the demon back. Then there are other things they could do that would be equally as bad."

"Like what?"

"Do you really want to hear this?"

"Yes."

"They could keep you alive for centuries, and use you to their purpose, or recycle you into the volcano of life."

"What's that?"

But Althenio remained silent.

"Oh boy, I hope I never meet a demon."

"Yes, well, then stay out of the red lands."

Jacko flashed back to the scene on the side of the road with the scaly dogs and he shivered.

"You're nearly correct, Jacko. The dogs that attacked you were, in fact, demon hounds."

Althenio, apparently, could read minds.

"They are equally as vicious," he continued. "I'd run if I saw them, and if I were you."

Jacko felt panic and said, "But what did they want with me?"

They walked up a dirt road. Jacko looked down and noticed the gravel was moving in convection like patterns under his feet.

"I'm sorry, Jacko. I don't know why demon hounds were trying to carry you off. Have you ever dreamed of the red lands before?"

"Dreamed of the red lands? No, never, I don't think."

He was suddenly distracted by the gravel that formed a pattern of his and Althenio's, footsteps, and then made impressions ahead of them, as if a ghost walked in front of them.

"Why is the gravel doing that?"

"Heaven knows where we want to go; it's showing us the way."

"What do you mean?"

"If you should want, ask heaven and it will provide."

"Yeah, but, how does it know where we want to go?"

"Heaven knows where I want us to go, and it's leading us there, not that I need directions. It's only doing these patterns so you know how to come back."

"Are you saying the gravel is heaven? And that heaven is alive? "

"Everything, here, is heaven and, yes, it lives. The living needs something alive to live off of, in order to live. If heaven were to die, then so would we."

Completely confused, Jacko decided not to ask any more questions. Instead he watched as the gravel continued to predict his steps. He thought how great it must be to never get lost, and to never need maps.

He reached down and ran his fingers through the gravel, but instead of a rough, hard grain, he felt a soft porridge-like consistency. Jacko grabbed a handful and it jiggled its way around his palm and fingers, back down to the ground. When the gravel pulled up from the ground in the shape of a large finger and started to poke his hand, he laughed.

"You see, innocent one, heaven lives."

Frighteningly, Althenio smiled, broadly, revealing two rows of perfect white teeth, of which Jacko couldn't help but imagine that to be bitten by them would surely mean losing a hunk of flesh.

"Why do you call me innocent?"

"I always admire the young whose appeal is genuine. It's men that I can't stand, for they are, mostly, arrogant beyond logic."

"Does that mean you won't like me in a couple years?"

Althenio laughed a powerful roar that echoed to the very heart of Jacko's body. He did not answer Jacko, and he said no more.

He put his arm around his shoulders and led him up the path to his house which looked like a few sticks of wood glued, scrappily, together. Once inside, however, it was a huge, cozy, wood cabin with an enormous armchair, a tall fireplace, and a fluffy, white, hearth rug.

The fireplace stood five and a half feet tall, and when the fire suddenly shot up, Jacko jumped back. When the suddenness of the fire wore off, he became mesmerized by the color of the fluorescent orange flames.

He leaned in a bit so that he could see each particle of the blaze bounce. Then, he noticed how the fireplace didn't have a chimney, and leaned in closer to see how the flames licked at the walls without scorching them.

Just as he reached a hand to test the flame, Althenio warned him that in heaven, he could burn eternally and never die.

Althenio sat in the large arm chair and Jacko on a large pouf. He put his hands together and appeared to pray.

Right before his eyes, particles, in their convection like patterns, sped up so fast that they became hard to see. Then, they molded together and turned a steady shade of brown.

A few seconds, he realized the particles were being made into a table by Althenio, who was still in a prayer position. Jacko kept quiet and continued to watch, amazed.

As the table finished coming together, a pot of tea, a loaf of bread, and a block of cheese appeared, too. After it was all done, Althenio handed him a basket of meat.

"Venison?"

Jacko used the humungous knife and three pronged fork that, also, magically appeared, to help some venison onto his plate, with bread and cheese.

"How did you do that?"

"Here, mind rules matter. We simply will it and it comes."

"I wish I could do that."

"You can."

"How?"

"How did you get big? How did you get small?"

"Oh, haha. Can I stay here?"

"All in due time, Jacko, or when you're ready."

"Ready for what? You mean when I die?"

Althenio said no more and poured some tea into their cups.

Although plain, the food was the best he'd ever had. The venison meat was actually tender, and the wholesome bread made him smile so big.

All of the sudden, he felt so good and so happy because heaven was such a wonderful place! He was light like a feather.

He looked down and saw that he floated a few inches off his pouf.

Althenio smiled as he watched him enjoy himself.

Jacko felt urgent, like he couldn't enough food into his mouth. He shoveled bread and venison in, jam packing his mouth as tightly as he could, but the food never ran out.

It occurred to him that he was acting strange, but he couldn't stop! He reached for a goblet that appeared by the side of his plate.

Deeply, he drank and drank and drank. He couldn't drink fast enough.

Suddenly, right in the middle of a gulp, Althenio grabbed his cup and said, "I'm sorry, but you must go now."

Jacko was chewing a huge bite of the venison and gulping tea straight from the pot, and it dribbled down his clothes. He choked and sputtered "what?" as he wiped himself with a tea cozy.

"I'm so sorry, Jacko, but you were spotted. You may come and visit me again, but you must be more careful next time. I can't have them coming here."

Jacko didn't know what Althenio was talking about but he didn't want to leave. The food made him extremely happy, and Althenio's news made him very sad.

He started crying, although he didn't know why. There was something strange about the food.

Trying to break through the irrational he was experiencing, he was just able to mutter, "Who's them?"

"Take this," said Althenio. The food bundled itself. "Come later and visit."

He tossed the bundle at Jacko and with the snap of Althenio's finger...

...Jacko was running through the sky, toward the bright red horizon. He didn't know how, but he knew he needed to make it over that red line.

He heard a loud, honking wail, like the sound of an elephant, and looked behind him. He breathed in fast at the sight of the black, leathery skin, enormous horns poking out of its head, and red, leering, eyes. Looking down, at the lower half of its body made Jacko gag, for the demon had the legs and hoofed feet of a goat.

In its hand, it held a silver trident. Jacko flinched at the sight of the demon raising its black fleshy arm. He ran faster because the demon sent red bolts at him.

He was getting closer to the sky line. A few more feet, and he jumped, as high as he could, over the red horizon, and as he came down...

...He woke, and shot up in bed.

His heart pounded; sweat leaked down his face and rolled off his chin.

The sun was blazing through a crack in the curtains. He looked at the alarm clock; it was almost four p.m. Right next to him was a white bundle that Dog was sniffing, eagerly.

He opened the bundle and saw food inside: bread, cheese, and meat. Only, the food was not irresistible, but it was small, puny, and barely appetizing to the eye. The meat was shriveled and dry while the bread smelled strongly of yeast. Dog, however, was sniffing hungrily at it, so he let him eat it.

Jacko paced up and down the room.

What the heck was going on? Was he in danger? Even the dog was strange. How did he get here?

"Hey, Dog! Talk to me!"

He just stared.

Jacko decided to wash up and worry about it later. Whatever was going on, he was just going to go with it, as it seemed that he had no choice anyhow. He only needed to make it to Sissy's and everything would be fine.

Jacko made to pack his belongings, but he lagged. He was so tired; almost as though he didn't get an ounce of sleep. He stood and waivered there, next to the bed, and fell back down.

Before he did anything, Jacko needed to rest more because he couldn't ride that way. What if he had another accident? Strange, though. He'd been in that bed many hours.

Sluggishly, he pulled himself back under the covers. Concord was, still, thirty-four hours away, without stopping. He needed to be going, but he just couldn't move.

Sleep came undisturbed until there was a knock at the door. The motel manager told him he needed to pay another day, if he was going to stay.
Last Leg
Chapter 4

Even after hours and hours of riding, Jacko couldn't stop replaying the images from his dream.

How did the food wind up in his hotel room? What about the conversation he had with Althenio? Was he really sleeping?

The conversation felt so real, but how could he be in two places at once?

As he contemplated these things, he continued to struggle against his nodding head, for although he did manage to get a few more hours of rest, it was hardly sufficient. Eventually, he stopped at a gas station where he picked up some caffeine pills that were supposed to give him energy; instead, they only gave him the jitters.

Despite the caffeine pills, Jacko remained on the edge of sleep. His eyes always felt really dry when he was tired, so he continued to rub them, blinking repetitively, hoping to move moisture over them.

He knew he needed to stop, but he was determined to keep going, until he eventually closed his eyes and reopened them to find red sky.

Jacko jerked his head, looking around.

Was he sleeping again?

He looked down and saw that he was on a red gravel road, and the grass to his left and right was black moss.

But how did he end up in the red world again?

He looked to make sure that Dog was still with him, which he was but his eyes were bugged out in fright.

What scared him most was he didn't know in what direction he was headed nor how to get back to the road in his world. He looked around anxiously hoping to find the point where the horizon turned from blue to red, but it was nowhere in sight.

Jacko's heart really started to pound hard, then, Dog started to bark, hysterically.

A sound like a dinosaur wailed behind him. In surprise, he accidentally, over steered his bike and went off the road.

He screamed as he saw the size of the ditch he was about to drive into. Jacko closed his eyes tight, and Dog cried out.

Instinctively, he visualized his bike flying with him and Dog safely over the ditch. As he did so, his bike leapt wheel over head in the air, landed back on the ground, and continued forward.

"Oh my god!" Jacko yelled.

Dog cried.

Again, the screeching wail came from behind.

This time, Jacko didn't over steer, but he looked quickly behind him to see a black demon, exactly like the one from before, behind him.

He couldn't really see the contours of the demon's body because it camouflaged with the background of trees and mountains. All he could see were its red eyes gleaming in contrast to his shiny, wet leather-like skin, and its black horns against the red of the sky.

Jacko turned his head forward to check his direction and balance, and then turned back toward the demon for a second glance.

The demon rode a distractingly ugly creature that had the blackened body of a lion with humungous paws, and its head was enormously deranged with dozens of eyes. It looked almost like a cherub, as was depicted to be the eyes of God.

Along both sides of the steed, scaly dogs began to appear: chupacabras.

Pushing his bike faster, he tried to think fast. How did he get there? And how does he get back?

Then Dog started to whine so loudly that Jacko couldn't ignore him. He looked over and saw two demon dogs leapt onto the sidecar.

"NOOOO!" yelled Jacko, as one opened its huge fanged mouth and was about to close it on poor Dog's throat.

Jacko closed his eyes tight, not wanting to see Dog get bit, and then light penetrated his eyelids. He opened them again and he was riding out in the midst of cacti, Joshua trees, and toward a canyon.

He squeezed his breaks hard, just in time to prevent going over the cliff.

Jacko breathed hard, in and out, for a moment.

Dog barked at Jacko, who turned off the bike and walked over to undo Dog's straps.

They, both, walked for a stretch, drank some water, and tried to calm their beating hearts.

Blinking and sleeping, so that was it, he thought to himself.

He looked in the distance and saw where the road was. Then there was a whirl of movement. Wind swept up all around them.

Nervously, Jacko hurried to finish strapping Dog in and started the bike. He drove back toward the main road as quick as he could.

Still a day and a half away from Concord, he needed a plan that would get him to Sissy's, alive. The last time he slept well, was behind the gas station, but that wasn't really restful because he kept hearing the cars.

Bingo! he thought to himself.

He needed a distraction to keep him somewhat grounded as he slept. The first time he dreamt of the world, he was completely unconscious while, the second time, he was exhausted, and so he slept more deeply than usual.

At the gas station, he was on guard because, in the back of his mind, he was wary of sleeping outside. What if there were bums? Or someone was to sneak up on him and steal his things? Or a rattlesnake slithered into his sack?

Hypothetically, he was not fully, lights-out asleep as he was when he was passed out on the side of the road, or as he slept with exhaustion, like in the motel.

Okay, he thought. He would not check into another motel, but he would camp the rest of the way, and hope that that would keep him grounded.

After a while, a sign came up that said they were thirty miles from Cheyenne.

He pushed his bike even faster because sleep still frayed him, edgily. Sure, he could just pull over and camp on the side of the road, now, but there was too much traffic. Like the deserted gas station, he needed a place to keep him inconspicuous. Cheyenne had lots of deserted structures.

Twenty more miles and he and Dog were parked behind another gas station that was a quarter of a mile off the road. It seemed perfect, as there were a million frogs and crickets croaking and singing. Occasionally, he thought he heard scurrying in the shrubs: probably a jack rabbit, gopher or squirrel.

After giving Dog some water, Jacko crawled into his sleeping bag. Dog finished his water and lay next to him.

Fortunately, he slept but it was not restful. His subconscious flitted between images of black demons, Althenio, and the mysterious face that he'd seen at the beginning of his trip. Fear gripped and released him, repeatedly, through the night, so that, the next day, his muscles were sore. Still, he got more sleep than he had in the last two days.

He lay awake, the next morning, and stared up at the sky a few minutes. Dog lay next to him, peacefully.

Jacko questioned his sanity: Was safe for him to be going to Sissy's? Or to be on the road at all?

Jacko was too tired to think, anymore, on it. The only thing he cared about was getting to Sissy's as soon as possible. All the crazy things only happened when he got beat by the guy in Reno. The guy must have damaged his brain. If the craziness continued, he'd just have to see a doctor.

He packed up, quickly, and then he and Dog ate an early lunch at the diner up the road. After which, they drove a few hundred miles without stopping until they reached Grand Islands, Nebraska.

That leg of the trip was uneventful. This was fortunate because Jacko was feeling like he'd had more mystery than he could handle. He'd even entertained checking himself into a psychiatric hospital.

After they passed the Nebraska state line, they stopped to refresh, and then traveled another ten hours. Jacko and Dog slept in another deserted gas station, along the way.

During the evening, he concurred with his prior deduction that he got the least rest when most relaxed. When he was most comfortable, he could not restrain his subconscious.

As he contemplated his experiences from every angle, he found that he couldn't, logically, explain the dog. He reminded himself that when he was riding on his bike, in the red world, Dog was there, too. That couldn't have been imagined, for when he was back in the real world, Dog was pretty shaken up.

Yeah! Because we nearly drove off a cliff! I fell asleep while riding! I'm cracking up!

Another twelve hours of riding, and another city, Jacko felt confident that he could sleep without trouble again. There was an old abandoned barn that looked like it was barely standing.

Since the barn smelled strongly of manure, he and Dog camped in the back. It was chilly that night. Jacko managed a small fire to keep them warm.

Dog begged Jacko to scratch him behind his ears.

They cuddled in together, and the dog was soon asleep, but Jacko remained awake. He stared at the fire and thought hard about what would happen if he had an episode at his sister's house.

Would she have him committed? Perhaps he shouldn't go.

Jacko wanted to tell himself that it was all a dream, but he really had no choice but to believe that something, of what happened, was real. He had no choice but to believe that something was going on that was endangering himself. What if he brought that danger to his sister?

He would never understand what was going on unless he talked to psychiatrist, which was about the last thing he wanted to do.

After thinking about it for hours, Jacko faded into sleep. In the morning, he decided they would try to ride straight to Concord without stopping. He had had enough of the road trip and wanted to be comforted. More than anything, he wanted to feel safe and without worry.

About noon, he gave Dog some food and water while having a bite at the local gas station. After which, once again, they were off on their final hours of the trip, and only stopping for gas every so often.

Unexpectedly, they hit five 'o' clock traffic, so he and Dog stopped, once more, briefly for dinner, and then took off again; this time they didn't stop until nine p.m., when they happened upon a park in Brunswick.

Too tired to continue, as he planned, they had one more night of camp, and when light had risen again, Dog and Jacko did not stop riding until they crossed the state line of New Hampshire. Upon which, Jacko finally called his sister.

"Hey, Sissy."

"Jacko?" she said, sounding surprised. "Where are you? I called your dad because I had a feeling something was wrong."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't take it anymore. I'm right over the New Hampshire state line in some city." Then Jacko had a double take. "Did you say my dad? Isn't he your dad, too? Not that it matters. I guess I was hoping that I could stay with you for a bit. I-if not," he stuttered, "I-I totally understand, but I was hoping, maybe, for a couple of weeks?"

"What exactly are your plans?"

"Just to settle in and get a job."

"What about school?"

"I'm thinking about quitting anyway. I can get my GED easy, and then I'll take night classes at a college. Eventually, I'll transfer to a university. Look, I'm not giving up on school, but I want to be on my own."

"Well, alright, Jacko. I already talked about you, and I've been given permission to have you as a guest. Do you have the address?"

"No."

"Alright, well, I'll text you directions. You can bring the dog, too, it's okay."

How did she know about his dog?

Too tired to ask, Jacko said, "okay," and hung up. He waited for the little message with the map to appear. Her house was only a few hours away.

He made it to Concord by midnight.

As he drove through the dark neighborhood, he was very impressed. The houses were big on that block, and the one that was Sissy's was the biggest.

Who did she live with? Someone rich? It was a huge columned white house that looked sort of like the old plantation houses in the south.

Jacko parked his bike on the street and walked up to the door and pressed the button.

"Hey!" Sissy gave him a long, tight hug. "Wow, you're humungous! You've grown!"

Right behind Sissy there were a dozen children who were all laughing, smiling, and looking at Jacko. Behind them was one very tall, frightening man who looked to be almost eight feet with long blond hair and very smooth, porcelain-like skin that reminded Jacko, immediately, of Althenio.

"Well, this is..."

Sissy began a long introduction, but Jacko's mind started to lose focus after child number three. He looked up as Sissy introduced the man of the house, Manlo, but all Jacko could see was the man's funny smooth skin that shined like it was glazed.

Perhaps he knew what Jacko was thinking because Manlo was a little abrupt in the way he said, "Alright, everyone. Let's stand back and give Jacko and Dog some room. They're extremely tired. Sissy, make him feel at home. Come on, everyone."

Sissy led Jacko up the stairs to a room on the first floor of the large house. It was a small room with a bathroom.

Dog jumped up on the bed, lay down and yawned long and whiney. Jacko sat next to him. He was just grateful they didn't expect him to stay up and keep them company, or engage them in chit chat because he was exhausted.

Sissy sat on the bed next to them, "So, Jacko, are ya hungry?"

Jacko shook his head, and then stretched on the bed.

"Soooo," dragged Sissy, "What happened in California?"

"It's Dad. I just can't live with him anymore. You know all the stuff I told you about him and his girlfriend. Well, they were at it, again, and I had to get out. I hope you won't get into trouble for my showing up like this. What is this place anyway? Who're all those kids?"

"Well, this may be a little surprising, but Manlo is my father."

Jacko sat up.

"Whaaat? You're joking."

He didn't believe it for a moment, but then he remembered his own question from earlier that night. 'Isn't he your dad, too?'

"The tall guy with the shiny skin? That's your father? So, wait. You're not my sister?"

"Of course, I'm your sister. It's just that I'm your half-sister."

"Why did you never tell me? How come I never knew?"

"Mom didn't want me to know. She only told me right before she died. Apparently, she and Manlo had been together for many years before I was born, and before she and your dad got together."

"So, John's still my father, then?" he asked with disappointment. "Bummer. So, wait, who are all those kids?"

"They're my brothers and sisters."

"All of them?"

He couldn't believe it!

"Yep," she laughed. "Well, anyway, I'll talk to you more about it tomorrow. For now, get some rest. You look beat! Goodnight."

She leant over and gave him a hard hug.

"Goodnight."

Jacko leaned back on the mattress for a few moments. He wondered what other secrets their mother could've possibly had before she died. Wouldn't it be great if his father wasn't his father?
House Rules
Chapter 5

The next morning Jacko woke to the smell of pancakes aerating through the house. Downstairs, he saw several of the children were having lessons in a large drawing room at the foot of the stairs.

Curiously, he poked his head in and saw they were not typical lessons for average children. There were massive math equations which covered the chalk board. Manlo was teaching them quantum physics.

Impressed, he moved along and found Sissy in the front room watching television while studying from her own set of books.

Upon seeing Jacko and Dog, Sissy said, "Good morning. I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Mornin'."

"Come on," said Sissy with a familiar bossy air that reminded Jacko of when they were younger.

He followed her into the dining room where there was a large buffet of food.

"After you're done, wash your items and put them away. Since there are so many of us, it's most important that we clean up after ourselves."

"Okay."

"I'll take Dog out back to eat where the other dogs do. I called your dad this morning."

"You what? Why?"

"I had to. Manlo said you needed permission to stay here. Don't worry, I talked sense to him and he said you can stay here for a while."

"A while? How about forever? I don't ever want to go back."

"Well, we can work on a plan later, but for now, you need to learn the house rules."

"Okay, but can I eat first? I'm starving."

"Yeah, sure."

After a healthy sized breakfast, Jacko washed up and went to meet Sissy in the garden where she was tending tomatoes the size of large cantaloupes.

"Those are the largest, ever, tomatoes!" exclaimed Jacko.

"Yep!" she smiled. "They're my specialty."

"But how did you get them to grow so big?"

"I talked to them."

"You mean you're one of those crazy garden ladies?"

"No, punk!" she laughed. "Oh, I don't know. It's hard to explain. So, anyway, the house rules..." Sissy went over all the basics about cleaning up after himself again, and going to school.

Jacko agreed to respect the rules, but when she said he would go back to high school, he said, "Can I just go to school here? With all the other children? I don't want to go back to dealing with idiot kids my age. I can tell the others, here, are way more advanced in school than I am, so I think I could benefit."

Sissy laughed slightly, "All kids go to public school, once they look old enough to."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll find out later. For now, I need to ask you something."

She put down her pruning shears, removed her gloves, and turned to him. "Did our mother, or your father, ever tell you anything about your real heritage?"

"Heritage?" he repeated curiously.

"Yeah."

"No, they never liked talking about that stuff, you know that."

"Okay. Well, anyway, I need to change. Afterward, we can go and get you registered at school."

Sissy went to wash up while Jacko wandered around the back yard, which turned out to be much bigger than he thought. The garden was packed with herbs and vines, and various fruit trees were planted throughout the yard.

He walked over to the large kennel that housed a dozen dogs or so. Dog seemed to have made a few friends, there, and he jumped up and down at the sight of Jacko.

He walked over and pet Dog over the fence.

After spending a few minutes with Dog, he went back inside to get his wallet and check his email.

Once again, he passed by the classroom in which the kids were having their lessons.

Several of the kids looked at him with such interest, and several others waved at him. Jacko smiled, waved back, and went upstairs feeling relieved that his arrival was not disdained.

Later, after Jacko was registered for school, they went into town to hang out for a bit. They had a nice long talk. Sissy told Jacko about the kids and how she went about finding Manlo, and then Jacko told Sissy more about his father and "friend," the night he ran away.

According to Sissy, Manlo was a family man who loved kids. And she loved having lots of brothers and sisters. She talked about how Jacko might not feel so lonely anymore. It was a strange statement that might've simply been charitable, in that Manlo and the kids were to accept Jacko as one of their own. But what if some of the other children belonged to their mother, too?

When Jacko asked if he were related to any of the others through their mother, Sissy looked away and didn't speak for a moment.

Looking sour in the face, she turned back to him and explained that their mother died, but that they were all fortunate enough to spend a good many years with her. For some reason, however, she wouldn't tell him how their mother died.

It was obvious Sissy was conflicted. Jacko just couldn't tell if she was keeping information from him for the benefit of the children, or to conceal something from him.

A week went by, during which Jacko became more familiar with the house and its inhabitants. Majestic and frightening as Manlo looked, on the contrary, he was really quite warm and friendly. Whenever he came around, Jacko felt energy come from him. The energy calmed him. For so long, Jacko felt jarred and unnerved. Manlo had a healing way about him that couldn't be explained with words. The more time he spent with him, the better his soul was repaired from his damaged old life.

Jacko would often talk about his father, and all the things he'd gone through. Manlo always listened and had comforting replies.

What really stood out to Jacko was how intuitive he could be. In fact, he wondered if Manlo could read minds. He just seemed to know what he was thinking and feeling all the time, even before Jacko said anything. Yet there was a little ambiguity to his words and actions that made him unsure if he really was reading his mind or not.

Over the next few days, Jacko spent much time with the kids, several of whom warmed up to Jacko right away. They first bonded when they all sat in the living room determined to help him remember all their names. For Jacko, this was easily accomplished when remembering them in alphabetical order as well as chronological age.

From oldest to youngest, the girls were Anle, Alica, Bordra, Dienla, and Forsi. They were all smart, tall, and pretty with each varying in hair colors from blonde to brown and to red.

Anle was the oldest and the wisest, of the boys and girls, at seventeen. Alica was wise, too, but more reserved. Bordra was warm and boisterous; she and Anle played basketball just as hard as the boys whereas Alica preferred books. Dienla was an excitable busy-body type who talked really fast. Forsi was, by far, the most girlish of them all; she was always brushing her hair and filing her nails.

The boys were much easier to learn because they were all named after Manlo. The family, however, had developed nicknames for them all. Bouncy was, naturally, hyperactive; he was second oldest just under Anle. Grill was arrogant on account of his good looks. Machine had a macho attitude because of his excellent physique and strength. Icy was a laid back loner type who spent much time "just hangin'" with Alica. Bull was stubborn and methodical; Brain was nerdy-smart, spewing facts everywhere; Truth was known for his honesty and drive to subjectify all matters.

Of the girls in the house, Jacko especially liked Anle who was smart and clever. Whenever there was a dispute, Anle would call for peace while Truth would lay down the facts. The siblings gave her much respect and treated her like a second-in-command to Manlo; even Sissy respected her as authoritative. She was always calm, yet driven, and Jacko thought she'd make a great mother one day; either that, or a world conquer-ess.

Throughout the initial week, Jacko could be found surrounded by all the kids as well as Manlo. They asked him questions about his life, like why he was there, and very specific questions about his mother. The kids wanted to know much about what she was like. Did she like California? What were her favorite foods? Did they spend much time together when he was young? The younger ones were especially loaded with questions.

Normally, those kinds of questions would have angered Jacko, but there was something genuine about their inquisitiveness. They were very respectful, and Jacko liked remembering his mother in a good way. Plus, the way they looked so sad, when asking about her, made Jacko pity them. He knew what they must have been going through, seeing as they had lost their mother, too.

Just like Sissy promised, school wasn't so bad. In fact, Jacko felt he actually liked going. Every morning, he, Bouncy, Grill, and Machine would walk together. The girls had school, too, but they preferred to walk on their own.

What Jacko really loved about school is the way people looked at them with much respect. He also loved that, physically, they were an intimidating group of guys. Not that Jacko was a bully or anything, but with him as the shortest at six foot, and Machine the tallest at seven foot five, people would be crazy to mess with them.

When they walked down the street, people stared. A group of tall, gangly boys walking three times faster than an average man, due to the length of their legs, was quite a sight. For the first time in Jacko's life, he had a hard time keeping up a walking pace. Usually, it was the other way around, but after a few walks to school, he was able to keep up just fine.

At school, kids were really friendly, but the boys liked keeping to themselves. During the first few classes of the morning, Jacko felt self-conscious about being the new kid, and without friends. He didn't want to be lame and tag along with the boys from his house, but he was also embarrassed to sit alone. Luckily, he didn't have to worry so much about the stigma of being new and without friends because, at break, Bouncy and the boys found Jacko and insisted he hang with them.

Bouncy and the boys introduced Jacko to different people all over the school. Most of them seemed genuinely pleased to meet him, but Jacko got the feeling it was just a way of sucking up to his sister's siblings, for they, despite their exclusivity, were extremely popular.

The only downer part of the day was when they introduced Jacko to a girl named Bea. She was cute but annoyed Jacko because followed him around campus, and repeatedly tried to invite him over to her house to study.

Bouncy, Machine, and Grill liked to tease Jacko about her in the evenings. Grill seemed to want to take Jacko under his wing and teach him a thing or two about women. But according to Anle, he'd never hit it off with a girl in his life, despite his good looks.

In the hours after school, the boys would do homework in the dining room, and the girls would do theirs in the kitchen. Usually, toward the end of their studies, Anle, Alica, and Bordra would join the boys, and would goof off and try to distract them.

The girls were much smarter than the boys and loved to rub it in their faces that they were always finished with their work first.

When they all were done with homework, they would go out back and play basketball until dinner. Sometimes the younger siblings would join them.

Dinner was always a huge affair that Jacko looked forward to! He was used to eating dinner alone, even on holidays, so it was something else to dine with a big family. He loved how everyone talked about their day, and how everyone was supportive of each other; be it feelings, challenges with their studies, or other personal dilemmas. Jacko loved how, even in the face of problems, they were a highly positive and upbeat attitudinal family.

After dinner, they'd clean their dishes and do evening chores. If daylight was still available, they'd go back out and play another game of basketball, and if it was dark, they'd mess around in the game room.

During the days, and often the evenings, Sissy was hardly to be seen. Her absence made Jacko feel awkward, at first. He was never good at making acquaintances or friends, so he was hoping she'd help ease his transition into the house. Jacko was relieved to quickly learnthat he worried for nothing. The kids made him feel extremely welcome, and it was the best time he'd ever had.

Sissy was off at school most of the time. Manlo told Jacko that she was busy trying to catch up with her studies because she lost school time when she left home, after their mother died. Before she found Manlo, she struggled in an apartment in New York City where she could barely pay her rent, though she worked around the clock.

Manlo always kind of looked funny to Jacko whenever he'd mention his mother, and he mentioned her a lot. Maybe it was rude but he had questions. After all, he was still pretty young when she left.

Jacko wondered if Manlo was really over her after so many years. Maybe he was really angry with her, too. Perhaps he was angry the way that Jacko was for so long. To him, his mother taking her own life was as good as purposely abandoning him, and it was really hard for him to forgive her for that.

Everything was bliss for a few weeks. Sissy kept telling Jacko that they needed to sit down and have a heart-to-heart conversation. About what, Jacko didn't know, but she promised it wasn't to send him away. Yet she never had time in her tight schedule to have that heart-to-heart.

He could've remained where he was forever. Everything was going so well that Jacko never had a moment of sadness. He even convinced himself that the demon he'd had on his trail was just his depression pushing him into a schizotypal episode. Never, would he have brought danger into the house that he, now, loved. With Manlo and a dozen people who were like family, he was safe.

He lay down to rest one evening, after having another great day at school, studying, and sports with the boys.

After he drifted off to sleep, he immediately started dreaming of nonsense. Stuff like blue skies, red skies, then nine foot men and women, a loud barking that turned into an ear shattering dinosaur wail.

Only the barking part was for real and it was right outside the house. When the noise woke him, he muttered, "Oh Jeez," and rolled over.

The barking continued. Jacko said, "Please, shut up!" and slammed a pillow onto his head.

Unfortunately, the barking didn't stop. Instead, it got louder, and then there really was a screeching-wailing noise.

Sissy burst into his room and told him to get dressed and to go downstairs. Jacko did as she said, all the while barking and screeching noises emanated from somewhere below.

At the door, he stood, fearful, for a moment before turning the knob. Intuitively, he knew he was about to face something dreadful.

When he made it downstairs, it was to see everyone in the house was already gathered in the living room. They all turned and looked at him.

"Hey, genius," said Bouncy sarcastically.

"Be quiet," Anle shot.

"What's going on?" asked Jacko.

"We were hoping you could tell us," said Manlo from behind him.

Jacko moved over to allow Manlo into the room.

"Dog!" exclaimed Jacko, who was mauled by the loving yellow fur.

They hugged for a few moments before Sissy cut in and said, "Jacko, there are two wild dogs out there who seem intent on destroying the house. Now, we've got them caught in the pens and we're prepared to return them, but we need to know why they're here."

"How would I know how wild dogs get into the neighborhood?"

"We think you brought them here, is how," said Brain.

"What are you on about?"

"In this world, they're wild dogs, but in the red lands, they're demon hounds: a mythical iguana-like creature. When on Earth, they're seen as mangy, gray dogs, a modern day chupacabra that can shape shift."

For a moment, Jacko wondered if he should feign ignorance, so they didn't think him crazy.

"We won't think you're, crazy," said Manlo. "We already know about demons hounds."

Jacko remained silent, trying to think of something to say.

"Well, we don't know, exactly, what happened to you," said Sissy, "but I know that you were attacked a few times, on your way here. I tried to check in on you, a few times, but you'd gone somewhere that I couldn't see."

"Wait! Was it you that I was seeing in the wind!"

"You saw me?"

"Yeah, your big white head in the wind, on my bike, and in the sky. I thought I was losing my mind!"

"Okay, enough," said Manlo. "We don't have time for this. If we've got more hounds coming, we've got to be prepared. Now, Jacko, we don't have time to ease you into truths. I need you to trust your sister and I, and do exactly as we ask."

He paused a moment to make sure Jacko was listening, and then continued, "First, tell us everything that happened to you while on your way here. Include the dreams, and leave not a single thing out, no matter how crazy."

He did as he asked, telling him about how he fought with his father and ran off; how he was attacked near Reno; about the way the man's foot stuck in mid-air.

"That was me," said Sissy. "Right, Well, I heard you whisper to me..."

Jacko continued on, telling them how he nearly ran over Dog, who jumped up and down at the mention of his name.

Just as he mentioned waking up some ways away from the road with two dogs trying to carry him off, Manlo interrupted.

"Now, Jacko, tell us about your dream."

Jacko back tracked to when he crashed off the road and described the strange strange house, grass and trees. When he talked about the gold fish, Forsi said, "Wow!"

"You've been leaping worlds in your sleep. That's why you've been tired, because you aren't really sleeping," figured Manlo.

"Yeah, I sort of figured that I wasn't really sleeping, but how am I doing it?"

"Projection, you see. You're sending your spirit outward while you sleep."

"Like an astral projection?"

"Sort of but not quite."

"What? How can this be? He is not even as pure as we are! How come I can't go fishing in heaven!" asked Dienla jealously.

"Don't be such a brat, Dienla. We're not that pure. Besides, he's obviously of strong will. As we've studied in the past, strength of power cannot be predicted because strength is also influenced by character," said Brain.

"Stop causing drama, Dienla. Act your age or you can leave. This is a serious matter," scolded Manlo.

Surprised by Manlo's sternness toward little Dienla, he said, "It's okay; she's just a kid. I'm not offended."

"She's not a child," said Manlo. "Remember when you wondered what Sissy meant by 'everyone goes to school when they look old enough?'"

Jacko just looked at him in amazement.

How much did Manlo really know?

"What your sister meant was that we don't age the same as humans do. Our cells are resistant to the rapidity of degeneration that humans may experience. Brain has it figured out that a person born with more dominant genes of a god will age on average 1.5 to five years more slowly than a mortal."

"Back up a bit. Who's got the genes of a god?"

"Use your brain, Jacko. You're so smart at times, yet dull at others," said Anle.

"So, wait, you're saying that you all have god genes?"

"We're descendants of, and not nearly as powerful as Althenio."

"You know Althenio?"

"Yes."

"Okay, but everyone here looks to be of normal age, to me."

"Everyone, except Forsi, Brain, and Truth, has hit puberty. Dienla is going through puberty now. She's sixteen in Earth years, but has the body of a budding child. Once Forsi, Brain, and Truth hit puberty, as Dienla has, they'll grow at an astonishing rate, like the rest of my children, here."

He still had doubt, so Manlo continued, "Think about it, Jacko. You, yourself, noticed that I have similar skin to Althentio's. Look at our height. We're all over six feet tall, and some of us are still growing. How many teenage girls have you ever seen who were over six foot? Does that seem human to you? Forsi, Brain, and Truth, if they were normal humans, would be in high school by now. Do they even look like they could pass for middle school children, to you?"

Jacko considered the fact that he, himself, was already six foot when he entered the middle grades. He considered how extremely precocious little Forsi, Brain, and Truth were.

"Do you know how old you are Jacko?"

"Uh, I think so."

"Well, Sissy says you were kept home for an extra two years before going to school, yourself. Do you recall ever spending lengthy amounts of time at home? Have you not ever wondered why your childhood is vividly remembered by you? When others cannot even remember the first time they tied their shoes?"

Jacko thought hard about what he was saying and realized that Manlo was right. He did remember doing things at a young age. His mother told everyone he was two, but Jacko had never met a two year old who could tie their own shoe before. Then there was swimming and school, where he always felt a little out of place because he was clearly advanced. People thought him a genius, naturally gifted or just plain weird, but his mother would refuse any attempt to test him to see if he really was a prodigy.

Manlo watched Jacko, and then continued with, "Yes, I see you're starting to understand why we need to keep our children home a bit longer. Now it's time for me to explain to you some basics. First, Althenio is a demigod. I am a quarter god, as was your mother, and that makes our children quarter gods. You are an octigod, which is why it is amazing to see you are as gifted as you are, for although strength of power is tied to character, there are typically limitations to the lesser ends of bloodlines. As a bloodline weakens, so will the strengths; although, every so often, we'll hear of a powerful witch who is a distant descendant, but they are not the norm. And they aren't witches, for there is no such thing; they are merely the descendants of gods, angels, and demons. Somehow, after decades, and even centuries, a dormant gene will awaken, giving the host strength. With that said, perhaps it isn't so strange that you should be as capable as our children."

"You're saying I'm part god too?"

"What do you think? After all the evidence I present you and after all you've been through?"

"What do you mean by 'our children?' You mean child, Sissy, right?"

"No, I mean everyone in this room, except myself, of course."

Jacko was stunned. Was he saying what he thought he was saying? Were all these kids his half brothers and sisters? Sissy did ignore him when he asked if he was related to any of them through their mother.

"Yes, you are all related. Why do you think everyone was so excited to receive you? Why do you think I received you? Our number one concern, here, is exposure. If you were entirely human, I would've never allowed you into this house. We're family here and, although you and I are not technically related, I feel obligated to father you as I would my own. Ethically, I could never let a child, as powerful as you are, wander off, alone, in the world."

Manlo stopped for a moment and watched Jacko for a moment.

"How is it you keep answering my thoughts? I hate that."

"I'm a telepath. I can sense thoughts and images from your mind."

"So why didn't you reveal yourselves to me before?"

"Because I wasn't sure you were ready. I wanted for you, Sissy, and myself, to have a talk, but we didn't have time. I may be a telepath, but I'm not all-knowing. If you don't think something, I won't sense it; if you think too many things, it makes no sense. I didn't know, for sure, if I could or should approach you, so I waited."

Manlo must've sensed Jacko's anger about being lied to by everyone, for he said, "I hope you can forgive us for not being forthright with you, but don't be angry with Sissy. She wanted to tell you from the start; it was I who held her back. I know you're shocked, but we haven't time for it. The demons who own the hounds are strong and they'll be back. They never leave their hounds behind.

Fortunately, you, too, are powerful. I can see from Dog's mind that you're a conjurer: a most valuable and coveted gift among the gods. You can call things to you at will, and make reality as you want it. We need you to use your power to help us, and to help you."

Jacko didn't believe him.

"I had a chat with Dog this morning. Do you recognize him from anywhere?"

"I brought him back with me from heaven."

"Not exactly, Jacko. Think. Where do you know Dog from? Does he, not, look more familiar to you?"

Aaaaa WOOF! The dog barked and Jacko's mind raced. Manlo sat back and watched him.

Suddenly, he understood.

"He belongs to a family who lives down the street from my home."

"The way I see it is you must've been feeling lonely or scared, and accidentally called him to you."

"So that's what conjuring is? Calling things?"

"No, not all, though that is what the name implies. A conjurer, by literal definition, is a word for a nonspecific sorcerer. Sorcerers have power that comes from within, and need no spells to make supernatural effect. That's what you are, a conjurer."

"How is it you talked to Dog?"

"I can sometimes commune with animals. As with humans, images play in their minds, especially dogs. You'll see we all have our own talents, even Sissy."

"Why is it he could talk to me that day on the side of the road, but not now?"

"I don't know anything about that; however, in heaven, every living thing is capable because mind rules matter there. If Dog wanted to talk, he'd talk."

"Do you want me to continue with my story?"

"No. I know what Althenio meant. You have a demon on your trail, and he's followed you here."

"Yes, but I still don't understand how."

"When the gods retired millenniums ago, they were given a spot for heavenly rest. On one side of the horizon is a peaceful and calm utopia while, on the other side, there is a heaven for hunters, and it's sometimes known as hell. But hell is a slander from the gods on our side, because the fact is their hell is their resting place; to them, it is utopia. We are just different species. The hunters live by war, destruction, and rebuilding. We, on the other hand, hope and aim to live in peace."

"I don't get it."

"Somehow, when you wandered into the red lands, you attracted a demon, and once a demon gets your scent, it's for life. It's a matter of honor for them. They cannot stop hunting you until you're dead."

"Am I gonna die?"

Manlo shook his head.

"Is there a way to kill the demons?"

"Yes but only after we are granted permission by the elders."

"Who?"

"The elder Gods are the ones who protect the heavens. They're often purebloods or the sons of purebloods. We must get permission to strike down any of these creatures, or else the elders may strike us down in return.

Long ago, there was an agreement that heaven wouldn't disturb the red lands as long as they didn't disturb our side. You broke this agreement when you wandered into the red lands.

In times past, when these agreements were broken by civilians, permission was sought from the elders who, in turn, would seek permission from the demon gods.

It won't be easy to get permission from them, either, but it's our only hope. If we're lucky, the dark gods will pluck the demon who seeks you; if not, we'll have to destroy him ourselves. The hunters have a right to life and they are important to the balance of nature, so we must go about this carefully. Still, it is very peculiar that one should insist on hunt a human child. Normally, there are guidelines about hunting the young and the weak, and I'm sure this will create a ruckus up there."

"So how do we do this?"

"We can't. The gods would never suffer the sight of someone as impure as you and I. Likely, they'd kill us on the spot. We'll have to ask Althenio to ask the elders for us. We must go before it is too late, for demons are ruthless by nature and only respond to force. We'll go tonight and we'll take the hounds with us. They'll be like a peace offering."

Suddenly, there was loud, high pitched ringing noise in their ears. It was like the high pitch of a dog whistle, only magnified to unbearable levels.

The ringing became gradually louder. Everyone put their hands up to their ears, except Manlo and Jacko who stared, knowingly, at each other.

Suddenly, the window shattered inward, and everyone hit the floor. The wind whirled around in the room, and then something landed in the living room.

Although Jacko couldn't see the demon, it was easy to guess that it was he who picked him up off the floor because he felt something sharp pierce his butt cheek, and he was lifted into the air.

Jacko closed his eyes real tight as glass slid out from his hair. When he opened them again, he saw the demon clearly who was examining him on the edge of his trident. He looked the demon straight in the eyes who said something in a weird language. Its voice was deep and electronic sounding, as though it came from an out of tune radio station.

Manlo tried to rescue Jacko, but the demon threw a red bolt from his trident that hit his chest, sending him flying back toward the wall.

Dog ran at the demon's steed of many eyes and it went crazy like an elephant with a rat. The demon wailed, terribly, as its steed jumped up and down in the living room, almost bucking him right off, as it tried to stomp poor Dog.

The black cherub almost got Dog a few times, but Jacko blinked and suddenly Dog was as big as the steed. When he barked, everyone grab their ears, once more, and every single window, in the house, shattered from the treble.

The black cherub squealed, flailed its front legs high up in the air.

The pants, through which the trident pierced, ripped straight through, and Jacko fell to the ground.

Dog made to rush the cherub, which turned around and ran, cowardly, back out of the window, and into the night right as neighborhood security pulled into their driveway.
Return to Heaven
Chapter 6

Manlo gave the security men a fictitious story about chasing robbers through the house. He told them several men came upon them all as they watched television in the living room, and that he and the boys fought them off. The security guard looked like he hardly believed him, but still wanted to file a police report. Manlo convinced him, and the others, it wasn't necessary, and urged them to leave.

They all sat in the living room without saying much.

"I don't get it," said Truth, "How'd that thing get in here? Dad, you always told us those things couldn't hurt us."

"I'm sorry, Truth. I don't know how he came here tonight."

"It was me. I think I brought him over."

"Why in the world would you do that?" asked Bordra.

"No, I didn't mean that I conjured him to come here; that would be the last thing I'd want. He came on his own, but I think I made him visible. When he picked me up, I thought we needed to see him to fight him. I blinked and then he was visible. I think this means we are in serious trouble, now. He is visible in our world. What if he can't go back to the red lands? Did I bring him over to this world, completely, in some way? Althenio warned me about the dangers of a demon on Earth."

When no one answered right away, Jacko ran out of the room and up the stairs. Manlo appeared, out of air, at the top of the landing. Jacko ran straight into him, bounced off his marble-like chest, and almost tumbled back down the stairs.

Manlo reached out his arm and pulled Jacko onto the floor, saving him.

"You're not going anywhere, Jacko. You can't conquer the demon on your own. You're going to need my help, and I'm going to need yours."

"The longer I stay here, the more danger you'll all be in. I'll go to Althenio. You need to stay here and protect your house and family."

"I can see that you're a terrible listener, and my patience is running out, so I'll give you this one warning."

Manlo's face turned from white to red, like a mood ring, as he spoke.

"If you try to leave without me, I'll bind you so that you can't even move an arm." Manlo paused a second to let the thought sink in.

"I appreciate your concern, but my children can handle themselves. I assure you. However, if the demon should come back, their chance for survival lies with the gods. A demon is stronger than 50 men put together. Once one gets the scent of its prey, it won't stop coming it's dead. Telling them never to bother us again would be like saying to a lion, 'never stalk again,' and that is why the demons are nicknamed hunters.

Also, an issue you fail to realize is that the less pure of blood you are, the less welcomed you'll be, by many, in heaven. Though most of them are half breeds, themselves, they are extremely proud and prejudiced. Alone, your chances are not good, but if you're with me, for although I'm not much purer than you, I am old. I have reputation and friends, there; I have some respect amongst those in heaven.

Now Althenio cannot be with you every step of the way, so I insist you let me come and guide you. Helping you helps me and my family."

He paused to take a breath.

"I'll need you to use your power to project the both of us, in physical form, to heaven. I can project, like you, but only small distances because I only grew into that ability about 150 years ago. Here, on Earth, we don't get to practice our abilities to full extent, so our talents become latent or weak. That is why, for example, you've only just come into your powers. If you hadn't had your little accident in Reno, it's likely you never would have known your're god, and being a conjurer is a very special thing."

"What's so special about it?"

"For starters, there is an ancient tale about a conjurer who, nearly 100,000 years ago when the demons ruled the Earth in the arch eon, and the Earth's plates were crusted with fresh lava, an old conjurer born out of the chaos of the oldest gods - from another universe that no longer exists, changed the Earth from the demon reigned hell into what it is now. That is what it means to be a conjurer: you have only to focus on what you want to make it physical. You can make things appear out of thin air, or you can change the appearance of things as you will.

For example, your sleep projections were different than one who astral projects. You see, an astral projectionist is a person who can control their spirit, separately, from their body. In your case, you're not an astral projectionist, despite that that was what happened. The truth is you sent your spirit to heaven using your will, and that is what conjuring is, pure power of will."

"So what do you need me to do, again?"

"I need you to get both of us into heaven and back, using your power. Do you understand everything I've said tonight?"

"Yes, but how am I going to do it? With Dog, it was by accident."

"I'll coach you, downstairs."

"If I can use pure power of will, or whatever, why can't I just send the demon back?"

At this question, Manlo looked dead serious and dead mean.

"I want you to listen to me very carefully. You had better heed every word, or you'll suffer the wrath of gods."

His white porcelain cheeks flared blood red once more.

"You cannot change the world; you cannot interfere with the will or fate of other beings; you cannot break natural law, and if you do, the gods will strike you down. Heed my words, Jacko. Heed my words."

When they reentered the front room, all the kids stared at them as Manlo said, "Jacko and I are going on a journey,"

"Awww..., NO! Why can't we go?" they complained and whined.

"You know why, so don't ask," said Manlo.

"What about me?" shouted Anle.

"No, I need you and the boys to protect the young ones."

"We're not children! Jacko's younger than all of us! It's not fair!" yelled Forsi.

"Technically not, but those creatures are deadly strong and clever. The more of you there are, the better you'll be able to defend yourselves, if one should come back while we're gone. Look," said Manlo at disparaging glares, "I've made up mind."

"Now, Anle is in charge. Everything is to continue as normal. Time moves differently, up there, so if we are not back in two weeks, then use this," Manlo produced a fluorescent pink vial, which he handed to Anle.

"What is it?" asked Forsi.

"Transport," said Brain. "A molecular power boost in a vial."

"We will try to touch base with you every day, or rather every few hours up there. Jacko will send thoughts to you from us in a telekinetic way, as he can project that far but I cannot. Time may get the better of us, so if you don't hear from us for three or more days in a row, Machine, Bouncy, and Grill are to take that. Just a little bit will take you three to Althenio's house, but the rest of you," Manlo commanded, "you need to stay here and protect the younger ones. If the demon comes back, do whatever it takes. I'll clean up any subsequent mess, so don't worry about exposure.

Now, you remember all I taught you about emergency protection. Anle, set out all the protection crystals; Sissy, pray to Gaia, the Earth goddess for protection; Alica, pull out the protection pendants and no one leave the house, alone. Everyone, be sure to cloak yourselves when you are out, and especially when you are alone."

"Wait!" said Sissy. "What about the hounds?"

"Don't bother," said Brain who was poking his head through the curtained glass door. "They're gone; busted out."

They were all quieted for a moment as Manlo went out back to make sure they were, indeed, gone not only from the pens, but from the property.

Manlo reentered the room a moment later and continued, "Jacko, now you'll project us to the wayside of heaven."

"Wait," said Sissy. "What if the demon does come back, and we do have to fight?"

"Then fight. Don't worry about exposure," Manlo repeated himself. "Don't be afraid, for they will not kill you; at least, not right away."

"Oh that makes us feel better," said Bouncy sarcastically.

Manlo shot him a withering look and said, "We'll clean up any mess when we return."

He, then, grabbed Jacko's hand and said, "Let us go, now."

"I don't know what to do."

"You're going to project us to the heaven of the gods: the very spot where you first met Althenio is a good point to focus on."

"But I can't because I don't know how. You said I was astral projecting in my sleep, which was purely accidental."

"Yes, but I said you were able to project because you're a conjurer which is pure will magic. Trust me, Jacko, when you blinked on the road and found yourself in the red lands, you used your power to take you there, accidentally. Now you know you have the strength to do it. You have only to focus on what you want; just close your eyes and think."

He did as Manlo said and focused on an image of them standing on the constant gravel road of heaven.

After a moment, Jacko opened his eyes and saw the room with the kids, but it was hazy.

Again, he closed his eyes and stood, for what seemed like minutes, and imagined them looking down at the road, as it made footprints ahead of their steps, leading them to where they wanted to go.

When he reopened his eyes, he saw the beach where he met Althenio, but it was very hazy and fused with the front room of Manlo's house and kids, as though they were in two places at once.

Manlo must have seen it too because he said, softly, "Concentrate, you're almost there."

Jacko closed his eyes, once more, and when he opened them the third time, they were standing on the beach. He couldn't believe it; it was all real. Indeed, he was a conjurer.

"Very good, Jacko," said Manlo and he began to walk along a path that seemed to know where they wanted to go. The road formed ahead of them just the way it did for Jacko before.

"How did you get here before?"

"My father brought me back in the early 1800s. I lived in his heavenly spot for a century before returning to Earth. I wanted to raise a family, and creation doesn't happen here. That's why many of us return to Earth."

"Does it ever get dark here?"

"Depends on whose corner of heaven you go to."

"So heaven reflects what the gods want it to be?"

"Yes."

They followed the path in silence for a few moments.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Why did your mother and I split up?"

"Yes."

"I don't know. I woke up one day, and she was gone. I suppose she'd been unhappy for a while."

"So she just left? Her kids and all?"

"Yes, except Sissy. She was the youngest and still needed nursing."

They started to descend down a path and they saw, a few yards away, Althenio standing in front of his house.

"Hello, friend," said Manlo.

"Welcome, this way."

Althenio extended his arm.

Jacko smiled broadly at Althenio because he remembered the delicious food he'd served last time. It made him so happy, and more than anything, he wanted to eat again. What made him even happier was getting his wish. Upon walking in the door, Jacko's eyes bugged out at the table that was laden with loads of heavenly food.

"Please, sit."

Jacko and Manlo took seats while Althenio left the room for a moment. When he returned, he said, "Please, help your selves."

He started with the huge plate of the crispiest, juiciest, fried chicken he'd ever had, and then moved onto enormous slabs of pizza and watermelon sized burgers.

"Dear lord, Jacko," Manlo exclaimed. "You might want to slow down, there."

Jacko put down the ruler sized French fry and tried to remain calm.

Manlo was unfazed by the food, and merely helped himself to beef stew and wine. However, Jacko was starting to feel the floating sensation he'd felt before.

"So," he began after a few bites, "You know why we are here?" asked Manlo.

"Yes, I've been peeking."

"Peeking?"

"Yes. Periodically, I checked in on Jacko, here. I knew he'd attracted a demon while on his way to your home. Naturally, I was concerned about the situation. Just a few minutes ago, I tried to check in again. When I saw your children gearing up, I guessed that it must've been the hunter that was after Jacko. "

"How'd you know we'd come here?"

"Are we not friends?"

"The demon is, now, in our territory."

"What?" Althenio asked, sounding surprised.

Jacko's jaw froze up in the middle of an ice cream. He felt ashamed and looked down at his lap.

"How did it happen?"

"It was my fault."

"Don't be ashamed, Jacko, we all make mistakes; even the gods."

"What do we do now?" swallowed Jacko.

"The gods, no doubt, already have an idea of what's going on. They'll congregate in two Earth days' time. I'll go to them and explain, and then we'll wait."

"Wait for what?" asked Jacko.

"We wait for them to convene with their dark counterparts. Once they do that, they should bring the demon back from Earth, and make him stop coming after you."

"But you said that once a demon gets a scent, it's for life. Doesn't that mean he won't stop until I'm dead?"

"Yes, generally, that's exactly what it means. Still, if the dark gods will it, the demon must obey."

"Do you think we have a good chance of convincing them?" asked Manlo.

"I don't see why not."

~~~

The next few hours, or according to Manlo's time keeping, the next two days were very interesting for Jacko. Heaven was a lot of fun! Never in his life could he remember ever being totally encouraged to run wild with his imagination, and the best part was how yielding heaven was. If he wanted an army fort to play shoot 'em up with, he got it; if he wanted to be a UFC prize fighter, he could suddenly do kung fu; if he wanted to try out motorcycles or leather jackets, all he had to do was picture what they looked like.

After playing awhile, Althenio returned from his convene with the gods. Briefly, he filled in Manlo on the details, and then insisted on walking Jacko to the fountain of youth.

"There's really a fountain of youth?"

"Yes, but it's not what you, humans, have made it out to be: a source to give consumers eternal life. Rather, it's a place of many things; of hopes and dreams, and of innocence. It's a place of re birth. The fountain is the continual renewal that keeps your planet, and every other life force, alive while preserving the heavens."

"So the Fountain of Youth is a place. Why are you taking me?"

"I'm taking you because I'm curious to see something."

"See what?"

"You'll understand when we get there."

They walked on for several hours. Jacko wondered why they didn't just project themselves there.

"Because," Althenio said, "something truly great is never fully appreciated without the obstacle to get to it."

"You think walking is an obstacle?"

"Yes. Think of how relieved you'll be when we get there."

Jacko didn't know if he was joking, or what.

"You'll be delighted and appreciate the fountain if we walk there. Besides, is not heaven beautiful?"

They continued on through the winding path of trees. Jacko noticed they all had the strange convection-like auras that he'd noticed before. Some of the trees even had a sparkle and shine to them. Heaven seemed like a mock make-up of the Earth.

Kindly, Althenio reminded him that heaven was a state of mind, not a place. Jacko, then, felt he wasn't sure that he liked these telepathic people. He was getting sick of having his mind read, and at that point, Althenio fell silent for the rest of their walk.

When Jacko realized he might of have heard that thought, too, he felt sorry but didn't say anything. Instead, he continued to follow Althenio up a few steps of stone onto a path, and down into a rocky area.

The air seemed to become fuzzy, kind of like a marine layer, except silvery white. There were little droplets in the air that sparkled and gleamed.

Jacko took interest in the hand sized little fluffy clouds of mist, from which light emanated from their centers.

He reached out his hand and tried to touch one of the little clouds. Instead, it enveloped his hand like air. He heard little echoes whisper in his mind. It felt like the warm cloud was breathing on his skin.

"What are these little puffs? I can hear them whispering to me."

"The droplets are souls being sent to earthen babies, while the mists are the dead souls of those returning to the fountain for rebirth."

"What happens if a soul doesn't want to be reborn?"

"They stay in the fountain, and sometimes, special souls are allowed to find a spot in heaven."

"Where do you think my mother is? Do you think she was reborn?"

"I, honestly, don't know, Jacko. I'm sorry."

They stepped across the tops of rocks that were laid out in a perfect path. After many stone steps, he found themselves in the middle of a large, misty lake.

Silvery mist and droplets surrounded them most copiously, and it was almost scary how thick it seemed to be.

The Fountain's lake was humungous and intimidating in its hazy beauty. He couldn't help but be amazed by how fluid-looking the lake, itself, was, which indicated the billions of souls that were in it.

In the air, hundreds of thousands of souls seemed suspended neither moving toward the lake, nor away, while others seemed to be headed in the same direction. They got increasingly higher up into the sky, like they were being pulled by an invisible source.

Some of the little puffs of clouds were interlapped with other mists and droplets.

"The ones that interlap are sometimes soulmates, and sometimes, family and friends comforting each other."

"What do they see in this state? All this silvery mist?"

"They see what they want to see, for heaven is yielding, but this is a human's true form. The body is what the protogenoi - the first, the primitive and most ancient gods of this universe - gave the Titans to challenge them, and the Titans gave it to the Olympians, and they gave it to the human souls. "

They walked in silence for a while, but then Althenio said, "Come this way."

He followed Althenio through to another path of rocks, and walked up a few stone steps that led them through two enormous rock carvings. There was one on each side of them. The carving on their right side was female, and had a huge bust; the carving on their left was male, and had a huge phallus.

"What are these?" stopped Jacko. "They look familiar to me."

"I can see that they should look familiar to you. These were the true oracles at Delphi, until the Romans ordered their demise. Pylo and Pyla are, in fact, gods more ancient than the elders. I've heard it said that when they were active, there was another form of life on earth."

"What do you mean by that?'"

"I mean there was a race of people that weren't human."

"What were they? What did they look like? Aliens?"

"I don't know; it's just what I've heard. I've seen hieroglyphs that depict them as similar to humans, except taller and stronger, and with supernatural abilities.

Our legend says the gods, Pylo and Pyla, ruled on earth at that time. But the race despised their authority, and when they wouldn't return to heaven, they rose up against them. However, they were only successful in turning them to stone and binding them for eternity, not killing them as they wished. After which many humans, and even gods, used them for their own means: usually predictions.

When emperor Theodosius ordered them to be obliterated, the elder gods brought them here for protection. They've been here ever since without ever speaking as they continue to harden through the millenniums. It's what happens to gods who tire of, in a sense, living."

"Oh, yes, I remember, now. My mother used to tell me stories about the gods of Delphi."

"Your mother used to tell you a lot of stories. Many were about your own heritage, but you wouldn't listen."

"Yes, well, many kids would find this ancient stuff totally boring. Besides, if I knew it was about our cultural heritage, maybe I would've been more interested," said Jacko as he examined the oracles beautiful, shiny shale-like bodies.

After a moment, they continued through the oracles and into an area with an enormous waterfall, which Jacko assumed was the "fountain."

The waterfall was the most amazing, majestic sight he had ever seen. Tons of silvery liquid poured, crashing down from an invisible source in the sky.

"The source of the fall is the returning souls, gods as well as other beings. You saw them a moment ago, going higher and higher."

Astounded, Jacko asked, "What other kinds of beings are there?"

"A better question is why does that surprise you?" Althenio was starting to sound irritated. "Humans are not the only life forms out there; although it is, currently, the most popular."

"Why is humanity popular? I think it sucks."

"One thing that humanity has over all other worlds, and their creations, is freedom to choose. To be human is to think as well as feel which is preferable than being hardwired or predisposed, say like the demons. They are predisposed to hunt and fight."

"I don't understand."

"Oh, Jacko," he exhaled loudly.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just one big dummy."

"You're not dumb, and that is what is frustrating. Not thinking things through is a symptom of laziness. Is it really hard to imagine why predisposition isn't desirable?" he asked.

Jacko supposed it wasn't.

"You act impulsively, just like the night you ran away from home. And just like the night you wandered into the red lands."

"Whatever."

Jacko remained defiant. For some reason, this made Althenio laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"You just reminded me of what it's like to have children: so stubborn and hard to enlighten. Once upon a time, I had many children. You, also, made me remember myself when I was young. This is why I love the young: they remind me of things and feelings I haven't had for millenniums. Over the years, we gods go numb. We grow wise but lose heart."

"How many children did you have?"

"Oh, too many to count, really."

"What happened to them?"

"I'm not sure. I think most were reborn, which means they're someone else's children, now."

"Doesn't that make you sad?"

"No, it's the natural order of things."

"What did you mean when you said this is a place of hopes and dreams?"

Althenio put out his arms, stopping Jacko in his path. He turned and sat down on a jagged rock that was near the edge of the silvery lake. He motioned that Jacko should do the same.

"Remember the story of Narcissus?"

"Yes," he said thoughtfully. His mother told him a bed time story once.

"Let me refresh your memory. This was the water he gazed into, only he didn't necessarily fall in love with his reflection. The real story is a woman of the heavens fell in love with his mortal beauty.

Now, it was so long ago that no one is certain of her godly status, but we do know that she brought him to heaven, as he wished to see it."

Althenio paused briefly as a little puff floated through his head.

"During his stay, she tried to make him love her by doing what every person in Narcissus' life had done for him, which was by giving him everything he wanted and more.

When the goddess realized the error in her attempts to make him love her, she decided to teach him a lesson. She wanted him to know what it felt like to be heartbroken, like all those he'd denied love, and brought him to look into the fountain's lake. Her desire was not so much to punish him, as history sometimes implies, but to help him be compassionate. She figured there had to be a soul somewhere in time or heaven that would hold Narcissus' affection, for it was said that there is someone for everyone in the world.

The plan of the goddess backfired, for there was not a soul in the fountain that would hold Narcissus affection. What did appear was his ideal mate: himself. This depressed Narcissus because he knew he'd never know what it meant to love another."

"I thought you said this was a place of hopes and dreams?"

"It is. He discovered what he, unknowingly, hoped for: someone exactly like himself. The problem is that sometimes our truths are not as we expect. The truth was Narcissus didn't care for anyone, nor could he ever. It was easier for him to pretend to always be dissatisfied."

"What really happened to Narcissus after his discovery?"

"Narcissus was a pathetic excuse of a man. Having never known denial of pleasure, he was unable to deal with the idea of an eternity without loving someone. Narcissus, then, turned to his goddess for comfort. However, she was bitter herself, plus she knew that he was only using her for his own needs.

The goddess confronted Narcissus' by pointing out that he'd hurt her, and so many others before her, causing them the same pain he had. And why should she pity him? In consideration of his ill regard toward her, and other poor souls, she would not comfort him, she told him.

Narcissus considered the pain he had caused so many, and felt regret. The idea that he was responsible for many others feeling what he felt at the time, made him decide he didn't have a right to live."

"So he recycled his soul?"

"No. He obliterated himself by walking a million miles into the sun. Narcissus is no more, at least as far as we, gods, know."

"Who was the Goddess?"

"We don't openly name the gods and goddesses, here, out of fear and respect. I can tell you that it was said her guilt of being responsible for Narcissus' demise sent her into the sun as well. But then it's said she resurfaced a few millennium later. Perhaps she was too old to die a natural death. Now, no one is really sure what happened to her."

"I would like to look in the fountain."

"I knew you would. I, myself, am curious, too, but I thought that I should warn you first. Through the story of Narcissus, do you understand that you might go away unhappy?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Mostly, people come away satisfied, but there is always the chance that what you see could send you down the path of Narcissus. Are you sure you wish to take that chance?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I may be flawed, but I'm not cracked like that guy."

"Then, look."

Althenio extended his arm lake-ward. Jacko bent over and looked into the liquid, water-like substance.

At first, he saw little silver tadpole looking creatures floating about with tales. Althenio explained they were the souls who chose to be reborn, waiting for their chance to return to Earth.

Jacko was amazed at how small and fast they were. In the center of the tadpole looking creatures were bright white spinning lights. Althenio explained that it was their life force.

As Jacko leaned forward, he almost touched the liquid, but Althenio pulled him back. He warned him that there could be consequences to touching the liquid, like getting sucked in and being prematurely reborn himself. Jacko didn't want that, so he sat back further and stretched his neck out and looked down.

After a few moments, the souls became less visible as a large spot on the water turned white. There were various images of Jacko as well as other people in his life that he had attachments to, at one point or another. The montage of his life showed too many fast-paced images at once, making it confusing to watch.

Eventually, the montage slowed down and the images became recognizable. He saw an image of himself, his parents and sister together on holiday. Then he saw one of himself the day his mother and sister left home. Images of him at school or playing with mates appeared, and then Jacko running away from home.

For quite a few minutes, it was just like watching television. But finally, the images showed someone unrecognizable to Jacko: a tall man with medium brown hair and dark eyes. The man was thin and his eyes, expressive. Next to the man stood a woman and several children who looked up at him and smiled, then, frowned and left the image. As they left the image, the man's eyes grew shadows, and his forehead etched in lines.

The man looked worried to Jacko. But as soon as the circles darkened the eyes was as soon as the circles began to fade. His eyes became bright once more as lines etched themselves deeper into his forehead and his hair turned white. The women and children returned, but stood at a distance, and the man smiled, and then the images stopped.

"That was weird," said Jacko.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, who was that old guy? It didn't show me my hopes and dreams."

"Well, to be honest, I'm a little disappointed, too."

"But what did that mean?"

"It showed you what you desire, and even though you didn't like it, doesn't make it any less true. The fountain knows you because you've been here many times before. I think what the images showed is that you want a normal life and family. The fountain indicated struggles you will endure, but in the end, you will die old and happy."

"Oh," said Jacko a little disappointed.

"Yes, it's not at all exciting to a boy of your age. Come on."

He stood up.

Jacko followed Althenio back over the path, through the oracles, and down the steps. As they walked back into the middle of the misty lake, he turned back and saw the fountain disappear.

A few hours later, they arrived back at Althenio's house. Manlo was not there, but they figured he must have gone for a walk. Jacko was starting to feel tired, so Althenio went to his room to pray while he went to lay down for a nap.

As Jacko lay in bed, it occurred to him that Althenio wanted to see something in the fountain. He said he was curious. Jacko should've asked him what. Oh, well. He'd ask when he woke.

~~~

A few hours later, he rose and went downstairs. There was no sign of Althenio or Manlo. He sat on the chair and watched the fire burn. The color of the flames mesmerized him once more. Like everything else in heaven, he could see the particles of flame, like little fluorescent orange colored puzzle pieces. They danced, flickered and lapped at where there would've normally been a chimney flue.

Jacko was starting to feel a little dreary, as he sat there. His eyes started to droop; his head to lull. He jolted upward, not wanting to sleep anymore. Looking around, he felt that something was wrong.

His heart pounded and his gut felt jittery.

He stomped up the stairs to the landing and called Manlo and Althenio.

They didn't answer.

There were three doors. All of which he was afraid to open. Who knows what he'd find in the house of a god? Possibly horrors he'd rather forget.

He put his hands together, the way he'd seen Althenio do it before, and prayed to heaven for their return. He, then, tried to conjure Manlo and Althenio by focusing his will.

Unsure of what to do next, Jacko went back downstairs and sat back in the chair and tried to relax.

Maybe they were communing?

Boy, it was chilly! Jacko rubbed his arms and moved closer to the fire.

Another hour passed, according to his watch.

Jacko discovered that he could use his mind to make the flames dance and form the shapes of animals. He made them leap up and then disappear into the flames. Thinking of the pond he'd visited, he sent the fire upward in the shape of cats, cows, and even changed them to green goldfish.

After a while, he became impatient. He thought about Dog and wished he was with him. Jacko felt bad about taking him away from his family. He promised himself that he'd send him home as soon as he could.

A chill ran down his spine.

That was weird, he thought. He never felt cold in heaven. Something was definitely off. Why would Manlo and Althenio leave him alone for so long?

"WOOF!"

Jacko jumped. He turned in his seat and saw Dog!

Thrilled, he jumped out of his seat and made to rough house with him, but he froze.

He caught a glimpse of the sky through the crack of the curtained window. And it was dark outside.

His smiled faded. He walked up and pulled the curtain back, further. They sky was midnight blue. Though it was dark in some corners of heaven, Althenio's was always light, he thought.

Of course, Dog didn't waste any time jumping on him, knocking him violently to the ground and licking his face clean. God or no, Jacko was just plain Jacko to Dog.

Dog, on the other hand, was completely different in heaven. Once again, he was the size of a small horse with the girth of a bull, which was exactly as he remembered him that day near the pond.

"Dog, is that really you?"

"Yep, it's me!"

"Wow, you can talk again!"

"Yeah! Woof! I can talk to you here!"

"How'd you get so big? Did you make yourself this way?"

"I don't know, but I feel big. Maybe that's why I am big!"

"Did I bring you here? If so, I didn't mean to. I need to send you back. It's dangerous here."

"I don't want to go back! I don't want to go back!" he repeated. "I like it here!"

Dog was just as hyper in heaven as he was on Earth.

Jacko tried to rise but Dog's weight was too much. His long tongue slapped him about the face with each breath Dog took.

"Can you get off me? I can't breathe."

"Sorry."

"How's everyone at home?"

Jacko wiped his face on the curtain.

"They're fine! Woof! Haha! Doubt they'll notice I'm gone."

He ran around in a circle and jumped up and down. Jacko was scared at first, thinking that Dog would ruin Althenio's house, but the house expanded and then contracted, as he landed back down on the ground. The sight made Jacko dizzy for a moment.

After Dog jumped three more times, Jacko ordered to him stop.

"Listen, Dog."

"Yes?"

"I want to thank you for saving me from that demon the other day."

"Of course! I wasn't gonna let them take you! Haha!"

"What's so funny?"

"I'm just so haaaappy!"

Dog, then, made a large, face-distorting smile that made Jacko laugh, despite his worry.

"AH HA HAAAAAAA!!!!!" Dog laughed loud and excitedly.

He jumped on Jacko again, he fell off the chair, and they rolled around the floor play fighting.

They played for hours in front of the fire; then they sat back and relaxed as Jacko scratched him behind the ears.

Another few hours went by with Jacko's head rested on Dog's back. He gnawed on a foot long femur shaped bone of rawhide that Jacko conjured for him.

"I wonder where Althenio and Manlo are. They've been gone so long. And why is it dark, all of the sudden?" Jacko shivered. "And I'm cold but I don't want to leave, in case they come back."

Dog looked up at Jacko from his bone

"I'm gonna go upstairs and take a look."

"Woof!"

Jacko stood up, stretched, yawned, and then went upstairs.

All was quiet, just as before.

At the landing, Jacko gasped. Before him was a long hallway that wasn't there before. There were hundreds and hundreds of doors that went on for who knew how long of a distance.

His heart beat harder, tickling his lungs.

Thinking back to what Manlo told Jacko the other night about how the Gods feel about impurity, Jacko decided to go back downstairs. For all he knew, Althenio's house was a ruse to appease his human conscious. Besides, meeting another supreme being might not be a wise risk to take.
Back in the Red Lands
Chapter 7

Jacko had fallen asleep on the rug in front of the fire. He only woke because he heard a rustling coming from outside. He sat up slowly and whispered, "Hey Dog, how long have I been asleep?"

"Hours and hours."

Dog sounded scared.

"What's wrong?"

"I've been trying to wake you for a while." He barked lowly. "I wondered if you'd ever wake up. I just have this awful feeling inside me, hooo" poor Dog cried.

"I have a strange feeling, too. Althenio and Manlo have been gone too long. I keep thinking I should do something, but Althenio says I act hastily. I don't want to disappoint him, but it's dark and cold, which is not like his part of heaven."

He looked up at the window again. "Let's go upstairs," he said.

This time at the top of the stairwell, the endless hall of doors was no longer there. Instead, there was a short landing and three doors, just like before.

Dog continued to hooo and make gruff noises. "Be quiet," Jacko said. "If you're scared, then go back downstairs."

"I'd rather die than be left alone, right now."

"Can you sense if anyone is in these rooms?"

Dog walked up to each door and sniffed at the space between it and the floor.

"No one's in either room."

Just in case Dog couldn't smell them because of their rock-like skin, Jacko knocked on each door before opening them. Inside, they found dreary, plain rooms.

"Woof! Woof!" barked Dog.

"What's wrong, Dog?"

"Someone's out there."

"How do you know?"

"'Cause I'm a dog, arf."

Jacko pulled back the curtain. Dog stayed beside him.

He was right. There was movement out there, but he couldn't see too clearly through the dark.

Suddenly, it occurred to Jacko that the sky wasn't the only thing that'd changed, so had the landscape. In Althenio's world, there weren't any trees, yet a few hundred yards away stood some tall leafless ones.

Jacko walked to the room on the opposite side of the land; Dog followed. There were trees there too. It looked like they encircled the house. Dog peered out of the window and woofed, again.

Looking out across the dark, starless sky Jacko saw a crisp blue horizon. Immediately, goose pimples rose up in his hairline, and covered his arms.

Heaven had a red horizon. The red lands had a bluish horizon.

"Come on, Dog."

Jacko tried to sound calm for Dog's sake, but in truth, he was really scared.

Downstairs, Jacko peered through the window again, examining the trees in the distance.

How did they do it? Was Althenio a traitor?

"Do you see or smell anything out there, Dog?"

"No, not from this far, but I hear something," he whined.

"Where?"

"Beyond those trees."

Dog pointed at a spot amidst the first row of black trees, a few hundred feet away.

Jacko squinted intensely, wishing that he could see what was beyond the trees.

Suddenly, he got heady and felt dizzy. It was almost like he was there in the trees, only in spirit.

He realized he'd accidentally tapped into his power, and was projecting himself. Inwardly, he encouraged the projection, trying to focus harder.

Then Jacko was there, standing among the blackened limbs. At first he didn't see anything, so he gently stepped around.

He stopped suddenly because he heard a fuzzy noise. A weird grading electronic sound came from some shrubs to his left. Jacko knew the sound was demons speaking to each other.

Quickly, he turned and ran toward trees in the opposite direction, but he tripped over a vine that snapped. All went quiet, and then several of them emerged and headed in his direction.

He got up, ran to a large tree, and wished himself back into the house.

Jacko opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor boards, and Dog was severely licking his face. "Dog, I'm fine. Stop!"

"What happened, Jacko?"

"I accidentally astral projected. If I ever do that again, talk to me, don't lick my face. Ugh, gross!"

His face was layered in thick, glandular dog slime. He sat up and wiped his face on the hem of the curtain.

Jacko stood up and peered through window. Demons were walking toward the house.

"WOOF WOOF WOOF-WOOF."

"Shut it, dog!"

"Oh my god! What do we do?"

"I'm gonna get us out of here."

Jacko walked back to the hearth rug in front of the fireplace and tried to calm himself.

He must have been put under some sort of spell, he realized. Looking around, he saw the room was no longer the same as Althenio's house. The fire was out and the brick fireplace was ashy; the walls were no longer logs of wood, but cold, gray brick. He looked at the chair and saw that it was brown and dusty.

Dog howled, "Aaaa oooo... They're coming! They're coming!"

He walked, fast, in circles on the carpet with his tail tucked between his legs.

Through the opening in the curtain, he saw the outline of demons, their black flesh and their eyes like rubies shined. Jacko's skin puckered from head to toe.

"They know we're trying to leave, aaaaooo," cried Dog.

"Shush!" said Jacko. "You're breaking my concentration! Come here, sit!"

He focused on him and Dog being at home in New Hampshire. At first, it didn't work because Dog kept shaking violently and crooning. "Quit it! You're distracting me and I haven't quite mastered this talent."

"Mmmmm... Hurry," he whined.

He closed his eyes tight, and focused. They resonated between the dark sky world and the front room of Manlo's home.

Just as one of the demons busted through the front door, Jacko and Dog opened their eyes to Manlo's empty house in Concord.

He breathed relief as Dog barked strongly. He hugged Dog and they lay on the floor for a moment.

"Why is it so quiet, Dog?"

"WOOF."

"Oh, right. You can't talk here."

Jacko and Dog ran through the house, calling out names.

No one answered.

Strangely, it looked like no one had been there in days. There were no dishes drying on the rack, no lingering scent of food, as with that many people in a house, someone was always cooking or eating.

He wandered upstairs and found that all was still, then, back down in the garden, he noticed the plants looked a little dry.

Dog barked loud and tugged at Jacko's shirt.

Jacko followed him to the kennel.

All the dogs went wild, barking and screeching, yelping and jumping over each other. "What's wrong, Dog?"

He beckoned to the gate. Jacko opened it and followed him to the water and food troughs. They were empty and dried.

Quickly, Jacko grabbed the water hose from the garden and filled the water trough. He ran to the dog pantry, back to the kennel, and filled the other trough with food.

Dog turned and ran up to Jacko, stood up on his hind legs, and pounced him with his front paws.

"It's okay, boy. You can stay and eat with them. I've gotta find someone to watch them."

"Woof!"

"Don't worry, I won't forget you!"

He turned to head back to the house when he turned around and said, "Can you ask them how long they've been without food and water?"

Dog nodded, turned, and barked; the dogs barked back. Dog trotted to the fence and, using his paw, he drew three circles in the dirt.

"What? I don't get it."

He walked over to the fence and knelt.

Then Dog howled and howled.

"Oh no," said Jacko with comprehension. "Three moons? Three days?"

"ARF! WOOF!"

"Awful. Poor dogs."

He stood up and exited the pen, Dog followed.

"Stay and eat, if you want. I'm gonna find someone to take care of the dogs. Don't worry, I promise I won't leave without you."

"Woof!" Dog turned around and ran back to the freshly filled water trough.

"Dog!"

Dog turned around and Jacko said, "Try to find out why they left, okay?"

"Woof!"

Jacko felt extremely guilty. There had been three moons since they'd seen his siblings. Once more, Jacko was afraid because he knew there was a possibility the demons had got them, too.

Back inside the house, Jacko went to the kitchen and began making sandwiches for their trip back to heaven. He was going to find out what happened to everyone, and he didn't care what heavenly laws he broke. If they don't help him, he'd use his conjuring skill to bring them back.

After a few dozen sandwiches, a few bottles of water, and a few cans of dog food, Jacko had his bike packed and loaded up. Although he knew he could conjure certain things without getting into trouble with the elders, he still packed his tarp, sleeping bag, and water resistant matches, just in case.

Jacko went to the fridge and looked at all the emergency numbers taped to the door. Four phone calls later, Jacko found someone to make sure the dogs were fed. He walked out to the pen and called Dog who leapt over the fence and ran to Jacko, "Don't jump over the fence, Dog. You'll give the other dogs ideas!"

Dog barked his assent.

He taped a note to the door, for the friend coming to feed the dogs. They walked, with the bike, into the garage, so they could leave without being seen. Dog sat in the side car, and Jacko on the seat.

After a few moments of trying to send them back to Althenio's house, Dog barked.

"Quit it," Jacko said. "I know it's taking a while, but I'm trying to use my power without closing my eyes. In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to bring a heavier load."

With eyes opened, he tried and tried to project them, but nothing happened. His mind simply wouldn't focus because he was distracted with worry about his siblings and leaving the dogs. What if they died at the hands of the demons? What if no one came to feed the dogs, and they died?

"Ah! Crap," Jacko rested his head on the handle bars. Jacko inwardly beat himself up.

What if a moment came when they needed to escape? This was inexcusable, he needed to discipline himself!

An hour had passed. Dog was snoring in the sidecar, and Jacko stood, staring at the wall. Finally, he had a cursing fit! "Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn it!" He banged his fist on the handle bars.

The garage walls turned blue.

"I almost did it," he said. He focused hard on the blue walls, and they waivered for moments between both worlds, and finally settled right in front of Althenio's house.

Dog sat up. "Nice job," he said.

"Thanks."

He got off the bike, and Dog, out of the side car. Jacko opened the front door and entered the house. Upon seeing that it was empty, his spirits sunk low. He settled in the big chair and rested his chin in his hands.

"Well, Dog."

"Yeah."

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know."

"Do you sense anything?"

"Not a thing."

"Has anyone been here?"

"I can't sense your brothers and sisters, if that's what you mean."

"Did you ask the dogs why my brothers and sisters weren't home?"

"Yes, but they didn't have answers."

"This is all very strange. I don't know what to do now. Where do I go from here? How do I reach another god?"

"You pray."

"Yeah, you're right. But who do I pray to?"

"Woof."

Jacko sat in the chair in front of the eternal fire and closed his eyes. He tried to talk to someone, anyone, out there in the world of gods. Heaven! He called. Heaven! He asked! Nothing came to him.

What if he tried to telepathically call Sissy? For half an hour, he tried and when he couldn't project into her thoughts, he tried to reach Anle. Nothing happened, except that he was left feeling tired and anxious.

"Don't give up, Jacko," said Dog with confidence. "Remember, you've never used your power to defy someone else, or their will. They've been abducted and guarded, magically, that is gonna take strength to overcome."

"How do you know that, Dog?" asked Jacko who was, once more, surprised by Dog's intelligence.

"I don't know," he wrinkled his brow.

"You are the smartest dog ever."

"No, you've just never talked with a dog before. We're all fairly intelligent creatures; we're just different. Although there are some real stupid dogs too, don't get me wrong."

"Ha," he began to laugh but then Jacko shot up in his chair, "what was that?" he said breathlessly.

"AAAA OOOOOOO!!!" Dog jumped.

All of a sudden, Bouncy, Grill, and Machine appeared in the room. Jacko jumped out of his chair in shock. At first, he didn't believe that he was seeing them.

"Jacko?" asked Bouncy.

"Yeah! What the heck are you guys doing here?"

"We're looking for you and dad, stupid," said Grill

"Why aren't you home?"

"A round of demons came by the house the second evening after you and Dad left," said Machine.

"Why didn't you take the potion and come find us?"

"Because, genius, we weren't going to let them kidnap our family without knowing where they'd take them! We stayed and fought them off until they had us all rounded up. Too bad there wasn't enough potion in the vial, or else we'd have rescued everyone," said Machine.

"Did they hurt you guys?"

"No, they didn't hurt us; everyone is fine. They just crammed us, boys, into a dingy cell, the girls into another," replied Machine.

"Sissy?"

"They took her separate, but we're pretty sure she's okay."

"Pretty sure!?!" Jacko ran his hands through his hair, "Was Manlo or Althenio there, by any chance?"

Grill responded, "No, we..." he trailed off as they all glared at Jacko. "Did you just ask me if we saw Manlo and Althenio?"

"Yeah," said Jacko. "Last I saw Manlo was before Althenio and I went to the Fountain of Youth. We came back, I took a nap, and that was the last I saw of either of them."

"We didn't see them," said Grill. "They blindfolded us."

"OH MY GOD!" said Machine who punched Grill hard in the shoulder.

"Ah, what, jerk?"

"Remember, as we were being taken to our cells, two demons walked by with sacks on their shoulders?"

"So?"

"So remember there were feet hanging out of the bags?"

"Oh yeah, there were feet hanging out!" said Grill. "They put those sacks in the room next to us. We heard them talking from time to time, too!"

"How much you wanna bet that one of those sacks had our dad in it?" asked Bouncy

"Did you see where they put the girls?" asked Jacko.

"No, they locked us in our cells first, but I'd bet they were stashed closed to us."

"This sucks, dude! We were supposed to take that potion and find our dad so we could rescue our sisters, but now we're so screwed!" whined Bouncy.

"Do you remember where you were? Or what the place looked like from the outside?" asked Jacko.

"No, but it was probably a castle, judging by the stone walls. We studied demons with dad, and they often like to live like it's the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, we don't have much to go on because, when we used the potion, it was from inside the cell – the potion projected us right here," said Machine.

"Great! We're gonna just sit here while our family is killed off," Bouncy blurted.

"Will you shut up, Bouncy! We're not going to just sit here," Jacko said with determination.

"What should we do?" asked Machine.

"I can try and use my conjuring power to project us there. Well, maybe I can. But if you haven't seen the place, and you can't even draw me a picture, then we have no choice but to go to their side of heaven and find them on foot, maybe even take a demon hostage."

"That's a ridiculous idea! How are we to contain one of those ugly leather boots? They are, on average, 50 times stronger than the strongest men!" shouted Bouncy.

"Why don't you just try communicating with them telepathically?" asked Grill.

"I tried that and it didn't work. I've been sitting here for hours, focusing. I think the demons magically blocked them from me."

"I can find them," said Dog.

"Did your dog just say something?" asked Machine with a freaked look on his face.

"Oh, yeah, Dog can talk up here, and he's pretty smart, too. Remember? I told you that the other night."

"Oh, yeah."

"I can find them, Jacko!" said Dog excitedly.

"What do you mean?"

"I think I could sense them in the red lands. While we were in that old house, I I felt soooo cold. But somewhere in the midst of the cold, I felt warmth coming from somewhere near."

Dog breathed heavily.

Jack said nothing as he contemplated Dog's words. Then he said, "Dog's got a good point. We could follow him to the source of warmth that he felt in the red lands. Maybe the source is goodness, or someone from our side. When we get there, we can beg who or whatever it is, there, for help. It's not much to go on, but it's a start."

They thought about it a moment but looked doubtful. Jacko knew they wanted to head straight to the castle and rescue their family.

"We may need help. I've tried calling and asking heaven, but nothing comes. Maybe this is how we find someone to listen to us. I know you think we should just storm the castle, but it's possible we may not be able to fight them off. Remember, I'm knew to this, and I'm not as strong as you lot," said Jacko.

"I don't get it," said Machine.

"Dog's senses are stronger up here. I mean a lot stronger. All we have to do is give him a chance," Jacko reiterated.

"Yeah, but why can't he just sniff them out, if his senses are stronger. Look, I have Manlo's wallet, here."

Bouncy pulled out a faded, thick, brown leather wallet.

"I don't smell anything, except you."

"Manlo's skin is like porcelain," said Jacko.

"His skin is hardening, like the gods," Machine concurred.

They sat in silence, a moment.

Wanting to get going, Jacko shot up and shouted, "Great, let's go!"

"Are you sure you can take us all there at once?" asked Machine. "If you do that, you'll be exhausted. You may not be able to help us fight, if we need to."

"I can do it! I just need you to be patient. It might take a little while."

"Well, then, let's do it. What do you need?" asked Bouncy.

"Though we've decided to follow Dog, just for the sake of trying, I think I'd like to attempt projecting us as close to where they kept you as I can. For that, I need a mental picture of where they kept you. At the very least, maybe I can try to get us as close to there as possible."

"Well, it was a gray castle with a..," said Bouncy.

"No, stupid!" Machine interrupted. "Draw him a picture. Deeerrr!"

Machine made a pad of paper and pencils appear. Together, they drew bits and pieces of what they saw, from around and through their blindfolds. What they managed to piece together wasn't much, but he tried anyway.

"I need quiet to concentrate."

They sat in a circle in front of the fire. Dog laid his horse sized head in Jacko's lap. He focused for almost an hour, but he just couldn't see the place in his mind. For a moment, he thought he felt himself waiver, but then his body grounded itself back onto the floor.

Then, once again, Jacko lost his temper as he did on Earth. He stood, paced and cursed when, right in the middle of insane rage, the walls of the house turned red.

Jacko stopped mid rant and looked around him. They stood on a prairie of blackened moss that stretched for miles.

He hadn't brought them to the cell in the castle, as was planned.

"Damn it!" cried Grill.

"I'm sorry guys."

"I knew we should've drawn him a better picture," said Machine.

"Look, guys, at least we made it. For a moment, I didn't think I'd be able to bring us at all. Besides what if I put us in someone else's cell? At least, now, we can follow dog instead of planning an escape."

They nodded in assent.

"Right, well," thought Grill aloud, "I think we need to figure out a way to get to the castle. Dog's plan is great, but are you sure we can afford to waste time?"

"Perhaps we need to sit in a circle again, so you can concentrate. We could be anywhere right now. Trying to walk somewhere is to risk running into one of those burnt black creatures; that would be suicide. What if we accidentally meet one, a demon? What will we do then?" ranted Bouncy.

"Guys," said Dog. "I can feel a great deal of good and warmth coming from that direction."

Dog motioned to an enormous peak in the distance.

"You feel good? That's great, but we're not feeling so good, we're in hell-heaven," said Grill sarcastically.

"Shut up! Don't talk to my dog that way!"

"No, ARF! I feel the essence of people or gods, from our side, coming from that direction!"

"He senses goodness, dummy!"

"Ah haaa," Dog said throatily.

"Okay, so we follow Dog. There can't be much good in this place, so it must be them, or someone who can tell us what to do. I know it feels like wasting time, but what are we gonna do? Sit here for hours and hope I get us to the right place?"

When they said nothing, Jacko and Dog started walking. Bouncy, Grill, and Machine followed without another word.
Bat Babies
Chapter 8

Several uneventful hours went by. Their spirits were worsened by the cold atmosphere. The general blackness of the plant life, and the redness of the sky, emanated the energy of the heaven-hell, which, although positive to demons, was negative to humans. At first, the boys tried to defy the impact upon them by singing rock songs and telling dirty jokes, but it wasn't long before they tired of that. Slowly and increasingly, they became mean spirited.

Several times they asked Dog if he was sure of where they were going. Dog told them the closer he got to the goodness, the warmer and happier he felt; that if they could feel as he did, then the effect of heaven-hell wouldn't make them feel bad.

Eventually, they all fell silent and decided to trust Dog's instincts. They didn't mean to sound distrustful of him, but they just wanted to get out of the world that worked against their own instinctive nature.

After several more hours passed, the boys started to get really hungry. They tried to press on but when Jacko could hear the sounds of rumbling stomachs coming from all around him, he decided they should stop and try to conjure the sandwiches he'd made back in New Hampshire.

"Why not just make food, this is heaven after all," whined Bouncy.

"Because," said Jacko, "we need to keep our heads. Besides, who knows what heaven made food will do to us here. Over there, it made me really happy and really high, but over here, it could make us really sad or something." They looked rather unconvinced, but Jacko said, "Just be patient and give me a chance, okay?"

Jacko concentrated on the sandwiches for quite some time. When an hour passed without success, he let the boys conjure food themselves. He knew this was a bad idea but they wouldn't listen, so he sat back and watched.

The boys tried to command the particles to form, but they were resistant to good on that side of heaven, as Grill reminded them.

They tried harder yet, and were somewhat successful in conjuring, what Jacko hoped, would be chicken. Unfortunately, what they got was a plate of shriveled blackened claws.

Grill begged him to try and call the sandwiches again. By that time, he was so desperately hungry that he wanted to shout. Once again, jarred emotions gave Jacko the boost he needed to get an act of will done.

"Oh my god!" shouted Machine, "you did it! Well, sort of. We wanted the sandwiches."

What appeared in their midst was his motorcycle. Logically, he figured it was because the food wasn't really his strongest desire. What he wanted was his bike so he didn't have to walk anymore, and so that he could sleep in his bag. It was a great feat but he realized that he needed to pay closer attention to his desires when trying to conjure.

"The sandwiches are in the bike dumb ass," said Grill.

"It was my strongest desire," explained Jacko. "I have to make what I want into my strongest desire, but how do I do that? How do I change what I feel?"

"Practice," Bouncy said. "Dad always told us that. In the beginning, it's whims and fits that drive our abilities. But be assured that you can control them, if you can learn to focus."

"Wow, Bouncy. Thanks." Jacko was amazed that there was even an ounce of logic inside excitable, high strung Bouncy, even if it was his fathers.

"These sandwiches are huge!" exclaimed Machine. "Food changes when it's brought over here."

"I'm just glad it doesn't look like the claw of a devil chicken, yuck!" said Grill with his mouth full of peanut butter and jelly.

Jacko made sure that Dog had plenty of food and water before he joined his brothers.

He unwrapped a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When he took a bite, a feeling of happiness washed over him. He noticed the food must have affected the others too, for they were smiling and making jokes again.

He exhaled and relaxed his shoulders. "We need a fire," he said.

"Let me try."

Grill put down his sandwich and looked at a spot in the middle of their camp. Easily, the flames appeared and warmed them.

They rested for several hours, and then packed up.

Looking longingly at Jacko's bike, Machine said, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could squeeze into this?"

"I think we could do it," replied Jacko, thinking back to how the house expanded for Dog. "Two of you can squeeze in the sidecar with Dog, and one of you could sit behind me."

"Let's try," Machine smiled.

"Sidecar," called Bouncy. "Sidecar," called Grill.

"What? I want to sit in the sidecar,"

"Come on, guys! Stop bickering!" Jacko yelled.

Bouncy and Grill concentrated on the sidecar. After a few moments, they watched as the seat expanded to fit all three of them.

They rode on and on for hours. Finally, Jacko had to pull over because he could no longer stay awake.

"Dog, how much further?"

"Well, it still feels pretty far away. My guess is right over that hill over there."

"Well," exclaimed Bouncy blandly, "that's gotta be at least ten miles away."

"Yeah, I'm exhausted," Machine said breathlessly.

"Well, I think we should setup a camp right behind those trees," pointed Jacko.

"No, we have to keep going," insisted Grill.

"No, I can't go any further. We rest," Jacko said authoritatively. "If even Machine's tired, how're we gonna take on, or outwit, those vicious demons? We have to remember that time doesn't exist here. That's why the sky never changes. We are still human, and we must have our rest!"

Jacko waited for a response. When none came, he continued with, "We sleep for a few hours, eat again, and then we continue."

With that, they rode on behind the trees and set up camp. Imagining they had sleeping bags of their own, the boys were able to conjure sacks of their own.

"So your dad said you all have your own abilities?" asked Jacko.

"Yes, but our abilities aren't as ambiguous as being a conjurer is," Machine replied. "Our talents are more specific. For example, I'm what's called a molecular mason: it means I can change objects into other objects. I could change your shoe into a football, if I wanted to, but I could never make something out of nothing, like you can."

"What do you do, Grill?"

"In technical terms, Dad says I'm a velocity psycho-telekinetic; that I can speed up and slow down molecules, freezing them or exploding them. It's easier to practice on objects, but I can do it with just plain air, too. That's why I wanted to start the fire, because that's what fire is: speeding molecules. I wanted to see if they would react in the same way, here in heaven, if I used my kinesis."

"Well, I'm cold. How about you try it again?" asked Bouncy.

Grill looked at a spot in the middle of where they all sat. Instantly, flames leapt five feet into the air.

"Okay, calm it down, now," said Machine.

Grill concentrated the flames down, slowly, into a small but warm fire.

"Sorry. Was a little over enthusiastic, that time," he grinned.

"But in addition to those strengths, we have physical abilities, too," said Bouncy. "Well, not all of us. Like Machine is not just called machine because he is a better athlete, but he has super human strength. Grill, not so much physical but his power is coveted just the same. You should see him on the Fourth of July. Me, I don't have control over molecules in any way, except my own."

And to demonstrate what he meant, Bouncy reached his arm up and over the fire and tapped Jacko on the head.

"Whoa! That's freaky. You just stretched your arm over three feet. Is that as far as you can go?"

"Haha," Bouncy laughed at Jacko's surprise. "No, I can stretch pretty far. Unfortunately, I've never been somewhere that I could fully test my limits. But they don't just call me Bouncy because I'm hyperactive. I literally can bounce – jump, if I want to – ten feet or higher into the sky. I, also, seem to be impervious to injury. One time, I leapt off the roof of our house, and landed backside on the ground. I bounced three times across the concrete. My butt was a little sore, but no injuries. I went off and played basketball like nothing happened."

In a circle, they stared into the fire. Dog lay curled up next to Jacko. One by one, they drifted off to sleep.

All was pleasant until there was a noise in a bush.

Jacko and Dog heard it first, but Jacko signaled Dog to stay quiet. He, then, turned around, crawled over to Machine, and quietly nudged him. Machine nudged, Grill, who nudged Bouncy.

He and Dog walked slowly around the fire to the side from where Jacko heard the noise. They stood there and listened really quietly, and then Bouncy started screaming high pitched, like a girl.

Jacko and Dog jumped; Grill and Machine screamed, too. They all looked at Bouncy and saw a little black winged demon with the chubby blackened body of a baby, and a head like a vampire bat, only bigger and hairless. The ugly creature sunk its fangs into Bouncy's shoulder and was trying to fly off with him, but couldn't because he was too heavy.

The boys were all so shocked that they forgot to react until Bouncy screamed, "Are you gonna just stand there and watch this imp eat through my shoulder? Or are you gonna help me?"

Dog leapt over the fire and abounded the little evil bat-baby between its teeth. The demon squealed painfully. Dog released it and it flew off, wailing, into the bushes from whence more came like a swarm of bees.

"Let's go!" shouted Jacko as he ran at Bouncy and helped him up.

Quickly, they all made to pack up their things, but it was too late. Several hundred of the bat-babies blotted out the already dark red sky, and swarmed down upon them.

They shoved their items in the luggage compartment of the bike; all the while punching and kicking at babies that tried to overtake them in numbers. Two babies had Dog by each ear, and were biting and tugging while one sat on his back looking as if it were trying to chew through his tail.

He ran to his bike, reached in for his carbon rifle, but when he pulled it out, it was a little crossbow.

"AAAH," a baby had sunk into the back of Jacko's neck. Fortunately, an arrow was already loaded into the chamber. He reached behind him and pulled the trigger. It released Jacko, squealing, and flew off.

Frantically, he looked for his ammunition while another baby sunk its teeth into the back of his leg. Frustrated because he couldn't find them, he yelled, "arrows!"

Luckily, a row of arrows appeared floating down the side of the bow, waiting to load their selves. At which point, Jacko turned around and took aim.

Poor Dog! He was covered in bats. "No, get off my dog!"

He ran at them while shooting but the bats skin was really tough. Most of the arrows bounced off, or the babies caught them in hand and snapped them in two.

He bent down and used his hands to pry off the babies.

Dog, Bouncy and Grill leapt into the sidecar, and Jacko onto the bike. Machine was right behind Jacko, but he started to scream just as he started the engine. Machine was on the ground, struggling with two bats clinging to his legs as they repeatedly sank their teeth into his heels.

Jacko jumped off the bike, turned and ran at Machine. Pulling his leg back, and then flinging it forward, he punted one of the winged babies square in the side of its chest with his foot. It flew several yards into the air before catching its wherewithal and flying away.

The other bat released Machine and flew toward Jacko, who then turned a jab and right hook into its fat, black belly.

"Thanks, Bro."

Jacko helped Machine up onto the bike.

Just as he flung his leg over the seat, one more baby flew, squealing, at them. He took aim with his arrow and shot.

This time, the arrow sunk deep into the baby's chubby belly, and it fell to the ground. The rest of the babies stopped midair and looked down at their comrade. After a moment, they all turned and flew away.

"What are these disgusting things," screamed Jacko.

"Imps! Dad taught us about them. They're mostly powerless, and not very smart," replied Machine.

"Are their bites infectious?"

"No, I don't think."

"Yeah, but did you see the look on their faces? So evil!" said Grill.

Jacko felt a little guilty about shooting the one imp in the chest.

"They eat live flesh, so don't feel bad!" said Machine.

"You don't know that, it's only legend!" said Grill.

"I agree with Grill," said Bouncy. "They're reputed for being relatively defenseless creatures. We shouldn't kill them unless we have to. Let's try to make enemies only when we have to."

Jacko crouched and observed the little black imp. If not for its face, it might have been cute.

He picked it up and turned it over, examining its body. Gently, he pulled the arrow out. Its little body made sickening squishy noises, as he tightened his grip on its belly to counterweight the pull. The arrow came free from its eely skin, from which a clear fluid secreted copiously onto Jacko's hand.

"Ew," he said and wiped his hand on the moss-grass.

Jacko tossed the imp on the ground and stood up. He climbed onto his bike and just when he was about to turn the handle, Bouncy said, "Jacko, look!"

He looked behind him. The little creature stood. Clutching its belly, it limped its way in the direction of its buddies.

~~~

"SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK?" shouted Jacko over the engine.

"WE'RE ALMOST THERE, JACKO!" Dog shouted back.

They continued for a few more miles when the red sky changed to a blurry sort of brown. A few more miles and they came to a fork in the road that divided the ground and the sky.

On the left side, the sky was bright blue and cheery while on the right, it was red. Naturally, they went left.

After another few hours, Jacko began to weary of riding again. He was about to pull over so he could rest when they saw a mountain-sized Spanish style villa ahead of them. It was resort style with a humungous set of steps in pink terra cotta stone and lined with palm trees.

He pulled up and to everyone's amazement, an unnatural looking man in a black suit offered to take their bike from them. Not that he was monstrous, but his flesh had an extremely hardened look to it, even more so than Althenio's, if that was possible.

Naturally, at first, they were resistant about giving him the bike, but the man insisted it would be safe; that he'd been expecting them.

They got off and stretched a moment. Next, the man said, "Go ahead in. He's waiting for you."

"He?" asked Jacko, but the man said no more.

They walked up the few dozen steps onto the terra stoned landing. Enormous decorative clear bodies of water with white statues of men lined the walk way. The water looked like clear Jell-O and the statues watched them as they walked to the front sliding glass doors that opened automatically.

Inside, the room was the size of a large auditorium. There were many leather couches all crammed together with hundreds of flat screen televisions all over the ceiling and walls.

A white winged man, about the size of the imps, appeared in a wisp of air. This creature was made of a bluish stone that sparkled under the artificial lights. Yet its body moved fluidly.

Briefly, Jacko remembered his mother telling him stories of the Seraph, and he wondered if this was one of them. They were another angel-like being.

The winged creature snapped its eyes intelligently at Jacko. He knew the man must have read his thoughts.

"Be seated and Oganat will be out, shortly."

The man disappeared.

"Oganat? Oh my god!" said Machine.

"Who the heck is Oganat?" asked Jacko.

"He's an African warrior god," said Grill. "Machine's hero."

"Why? He's a god of war? You like war?"

"No! Be quiet!" Machine whispered "Don't insult him; he'll know. He brought peace to Africa many millenniums ago by killing all the crazy gods," he whispered.

"And none of them were even gods."

They all turned their heads to see a tall black male with the belly of a Buddha.

"Most of them were wild spirits and souls who wished to ascend to the level of god by starting wars, possession, and human sacrifice."

"Is it true you smote them all?" asked Grill

"Well, smote is a rather strong word. More like, I put them in a bottle and up on my shelf for a while."

As Oganat walked toward them, the couches parted. He raised his hand toward the sky, and a tray of colorful blended drinks appeared. He tipped over and offered them, each, one.

Jacko picked the funky looking orange color. Grill picked one that was like a color collage. Machine chose one that flashed between fluorescent colors of orange, red, and green. Bouncy was left with the sickly looking avocado green.

Then the tray disappeared. Oganat sat on the couch opposite to them. He gave them a moment to sip their drinks.

Jacko didn't know how the drinks tasted to the other boys, but his seemed to fill him with life and make him feel whole and empowered.

He looked to his left and saw Dog's tail wagging a mile a minute as he slurped contents of a silver dog bowl. Grill looked, immediately, as though he were on a roller coaster with the way he grinned and his cheeks pulled back towards his ears. Machine started tapping his foot and slamming his thigh with his hand. They invariably looked at Jacko, catching his eyes, and he wondered if he looked strange, too. Despite their interest in each other, they all stopped frozen at the sight of Bouncy. "Whuut?" he asked.

They said nothing and only stared. His skin had turned the same color as his drink.

"Now as to your issues," Oganat began. "Unfortunately, I have not so great news for you."

They put their drinks down and paid closer attention.

"Drink up, drink up. It's rude to refuse a god in his house."

They looked at each other, and then picked up their drinks again.

"We know about everything that's going on, and we've discussed it with the dark gods. I'm afraid they will not pull back the demons. I did, however, pluck that one who came to your home. He is in a castle beyond the road you came upon, before choosing my lair, but there's no telling how long it will be before he comes after you again. As a goodwill ambassador, there's nothing more that I or the other gods can do."

"So you're not gonna help us?" asked Jacko.

He didn't reply.

"I'm just supposed to sit and let the demon kill me? Is that what you're saying?"

"And we're supposed to let the demons keep our family hostage in some castle?" added Bouncy.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't do anything. I'm only saying that I cannot help you."

"Let us talk to someone else then," said Grill.

"There is no one else. The highest gods have already been consulted. I'm the ambassador between heaven and hell, and I've done what I can to preserve the peace. You must understand that the dark gods think differently than we do. Age and lack of qualities means nothing to them. Conquering is a way of life for them. Sacrifice is a sign of weakness."

"Where's our Dad?" asked Bouncy.

"Althenio and Manlo are beyond the road as well. The demons rounded them up and are going to use them as a trade. I assumed the trade would be you, but they're after something else. What? I don't know. I did manage one thing, however."

And from some invisible source a few feet to their right, out walked Icy, Bull, Brain, Truth, Anle, Alica, Bordra, Dienla, and Forsi.

"Oh my god! You're alright!" cried Bouncy.

They all jumped up and hugged.

"Where's Sissy?" asked Jacko angrily.

"They wouldn't give her up."

"They want to trade her for me?" asked Jacko.

"Yes, a trade for you."

"Well, fine. Let's go."

"You can't."

"Why not? It's my decision."

"Because they want you for a reason. You don't understand, fully, what is going on here. I can't tell you much, but let me tell you what I can.

A few millenniums ago, when prophets were a dime to the dozen, there was a prediction that the gods would lose an end of times battle to the dark side."

Jacko was getting impatient and sighed aloud. He didn't want to hear more stories. He wanted to get his sister, Manlo, and Althenio, and then go home.

"This brought the demons hope because they've been denied their turn to rule and live on Earth, time and time again. Every millennium there has been a war and a new reign, in heaven and on Earth. But two millenniums ago, as predicted, the gods lost to the dark side. Though they lost, in a strange twist, the gods got control of the volcano of life and threatened to destroy it."

"What's that?"

"The dark counterpart to the fountain of youth. It's where all demons, gods, and dark souls are reborn," Brain answered.

"There was a standoff-war between both sides for most of the middle ages, until an agreement was struck: the gods would turn over the volcano of life in exchange for the Earth. The demons countered that they'd leave the Earth, but at the end of this century, they'd be back for what was rightfully theirs."

Oganat paused for a moment and sighed.

"Now, at the time, it didn't seem such a terrible deal because, when it was made, man was different: stupid, primitive, no better than a common rat. Centuries later, man had progressed so far that the gods were impressed. No longer were they as base as vermin, or at least, not all of them. They'd evolved, becoming thoughtful, wise, creative, and intelligent; this made the gods feel they'd made a bad decision in their agreement to turn over the Earth. You see, the demons do not care about technology, philosophy, or wisdom. All they care about is war and they destroy all that is. Doesn't mean they're bad, it's just their nature."

Jacko felt like he'd swallowed a poisonous fly. He looked at his siblings; they were mostly red in the face.

"Now back to the prophecy," said Oganat thoughtfully. "The prediction says a god, son of the morning star who rises every thousand years to give seed, will be blessed by the orchard."

"Are you talking about the devil? Lucifer?"

"No! Not Lucifer, you stupid human boy! Did you not, ever, listen to a word your mother told you?"

He didn't reply.

"We don't insult the gods. Lucem Ferre is the god of enlightenment. He has nothing to do with your ridiculous Lucifer: another attempt of religions campaign to blacken the truth."

"Okay," Jacko said, a little frightened.

"Lucem was supreme over the earth for many of the early centuries. He tried to help man grow in wisdom and knowledge, but with knowledge came greed; greed led to the birth of immorality. In man's primitive state, immorality could not be contained; it spread to all humans.

Lucem tried to bring peace by setting examples, but man no longer wanted his guidance. He retired to Venus in the sky, only to return every millennium and visit his favorite heavenly orchard.

It's said that every millennium, he sends a piece of his goodness into the world. We, gods, have watched as man has changed, slowly, over the years because of it. We wish to see the progression continue, however, if the dark gods take over, your planet will become a red land."

"So you think this is going to happen soon?" Bouncy's voice cracked.

"Yes, very soon. Some of us are anxious to get it over with. War is such a dreary process. Personally, I'm thinking about early retirement just so I can avoid it."

"What have I got to do with this? You said they want me for some reason."

"It was predicted that a boy conjurer would rise to strength. Once the world has been lost to the demons, he will change it back. The boy would appear, here, in the land of hunters, sometime this century."

"Okay but what's that got to do with me?"

"Thick, thick, thick is your skull, Jacko. You're the one they think will overrule them. It was you who wandered into the red lands. No other human has appeared there in centuries."

"Okay, but how do we get our family back?" asked Machine. "What do we have to do?"

"You don't. There is nothing you can do."

"What do you mean 'nothing we can do?' We will fight and do whatever it takes to get them back! Now, maybe you can't help, but send us to someone who can!" shouted Anle.

"There is no one who will help you. We have convened, and the decision was unanimous, which was that we leave this part up to fate. It's the only way to see if the prediction comes true. We want the Earth to be saved. Still, if you're determined to interfere, there is only one person who can help you, if he chooses."

"Who?" asked Jacko.

"Lucem, of course."

"Why would he help us?"

"He has been known to interfere, from time to time, in matters of importance. If he decides to give you his blessing, you will come, fully, into the power of a god. You will have enough strength to get your family back."

"How do we reach Lucem?"

"By going to the patron fig in the heavenly fig orchard. There you will find his essence, and there you can communicate."

"What you're forgetting to ask," said Anle, "is what will a blessing like that do to you, and will you ever be the same again?"

"It doesn't matter. I really don't think we have time to go looking for this orchard, or whatever. We should go get Sissy, Manlo, and Althenio. Who knows how far, or how long, it could take to reach that orchard. What if they kill them before we got back?" asked Grill.

"You could try, but it will be a waste of time. If they catch you, they'll recycle you, perhaps into the volcano."

"They'll throw us in a volcano?" asked Jacko.

Oganat sighed, "The volcano of life, the fountain's parallel."

"Oh, but just so we know: How do we find the orchard? Will heaven's Earth-ground show us the way?" asked Jacko.

"WOOF! I could do it!"

"What, Dog?"

"I'm sure I could sense it, if I had something with its essence!" He wagged his tail.

"You are a wise Dog."

Oganat smiled and scratched his ear.

"Heaven protects its sacred groves, for they themselves were once gods. This time you'll need guidance. Now, Althenio was the last to receive Lucem's blessing. I know he brought back a stone of some sort. It's said to be a molten stone from the surface of Venus. He said when he first got the stone, it glowed, but as he moved away from the orchard, its light faded. It's my guess that you can use the stone as an indicator. You must find this stone, and from that, you'll be able to track your way to the orchard."

And then, suddenly, Oganat got serious look on his face and said, "I'm afraid you're going to have to go quickly, kids."

"What's wrong, Oganat?" asked Machine.

"It seems some of the demons know you're here. Go back to Althenio's, find the stone! Find the fig orchard."

"Yes, Woof! They're coming; we must go, Jacko!"

Dog bounded for the door; the others followed.

"But wait a minute. If I get this blessing, does that automatically mean I'm the boy from the prediction? Will I have to fight? I don't want to fight. Isn't there another way?"

"I don't know. These things are never 100%. You know that. Now, go!"

But Jacko had the distinct feeling he was lying.

"Bye, Oganat," they all said.

"Goodbye and goodluck! May our side win!"

Jacko opened the door of the villa, and walked out onto the landing, followed by his siblings. They all looked around in surprise because, although they saw the terra cotta, they didn't step onto it. When they stepped, it was onto brown gravel with green plants and blue sky. "Oganat must've sent us back to our side," said Brain.

Jacko looked around and saw his bike was there behind them.

A few hours later, they made it back to Althenio's house. The troop was hungry and were all complaining about it. Apparently, the demons didn't give them human food, but tried to feed them hunks of raw bloody meats of some sort.

"Jacko brought sandwiches," said Machine.

"Yeah, but that's not enough," Bouncy replied.

"It doesn't matter because I'm gonna take you all home."

"I'm not going hooome!" said Forsi.

"Well, you can't stay! Listen, Manlo and Althenio disappeared from this very house. I, myself, was brought over to the other side of heaven by spell, and I didn't even know it. Things, here, can change with the blink of an eye. I think only Bouncy, Machine, and Grill should go with me. Manlo would have wanted that."

"It won't do any good," said Brain. "You're not in charge. You can't make us return."

"Listen to me, it'll be quicker if fewer of us go to the orchard. If something happens to any of you, it will only slow us down."

But no one listened to Jacko.
Brain Food

Chapter 9

"All you have to do is think of what you want," he said, "and imagine it appearing."

Jacko had successfully conjured a table with chairs, just like Althenio did. The younger ones, although they were technically older than Jacko, had a harder time commanding particles to make food. "Probably," Brain hypothesized, "because we haven't come into our own abilities yet. Since gods age slower, we are less practiced at commanding powers."

"Yeah but Jacko does alright," said Truth.

After a few tries, though, the older ones managed to call forth many of their favorite dishes, which they shared with the younger, smaller siblings.

"WAIT!" shouted Jacko.

"Yeah?"

They looked at him.

"The food here is kind of strange. Eat slowly, and if you feel like you begin to float, just stop."

"What kind of nonsense are you babbling on about?" said Bordra.

"Whatever! I'm hungry," snobbed Dienla.

Jacko figured forget it. No one was gonna listen to him, especially after what they'd just been through. He figured let them pig out and enjoy themselves.

They all dug into a combination of burgers, pizza, and ice cream. He, himself, wished fondly for a basket of bread, like he'd had when he visited Althenio. Perhaps it wasn't as exciting as pizza, but the taste was simply unimaginably delicious.

He stopped just as he was to bite a bit of the slice. Thinking back to how he reacted when he ate bread, before, Jacko put it back in the basket.

Sure, the others were entitled to a good time, but someone needed to keep their wits. Quietly, he focused on the most sobering food he could think of: Brussels sprouts. He hated them to death. Each bite was like eating a slice of sewage cake. What if pure disgust balanced out giddiness?

The bowl appeared in front of him on top of white rice. Contrary to what he expected, the Brussels sprouts and rice were the most delicious he'd ever had.

The kids looked at him as if he were mad. Without further delay, he dug in.

He knew the food was working against him when his mind started to whirl with ideas and thoughts. Excitement whirled up inside him, but it was different than last time. This time, it was like the food was making him genius-like.

Briefly, he stopped and told himself to breathe and be calm.

His eyes roved about the place.

He looked to his right and left to see that the food had already begun to affect his half siblings.

Brain was talking a mile a minute about heavenly facts while Anle giggled hysterically at Dienla's unfunny jokes. Machine was shoveling food, continuously, into his mouth the way Jacko had done before.

He took another small bite of his Brussels sprouts and chewed thoughtfully for a few moments.

Suddenly, he had a major brainstorm! He would need Dog, he thought. But he was sat at the end of the table eating an entire baked turkey while everyone stared and laughed at his face, which had magically elongated to eat the shapely fowl with more ease.

After Dog finished his turkey, Jacko asked him to follow him outside.

Momentarily, they were distracted by Bouncy who was doing back flips across the carpet as Brain, Forsi, and Truth floated in the air.

"Now, Dog, remember when I first met you? Near that house with the pond?"

"Yes."

"You said someone told you to tell me this was all in my head. Who told you that?"

"I don't know. One day, I was lying on my master's bed, bummed out because no one had come home to play with me or take me for a walk. I lied and I cried, and then I fell asleep. I dreamt of a white light telling me that it needed my help. Within an instant, I was there in the house with you. I lied with you for hours while you slept. When I went to take care of business, you'd awakened and gone.

Upon my return, I saw you doing flips in the pond's geyser. The light said to help you on your journey and, when you needed to know, to tell you the pond is where it's at."

That was exactly what the Brussels sprouts helped Jacko to remember, that someone else was involved. Someone was looking out for him. Now he knew that the next step, after the orchard, was to find out who it was that really brought Dog to heaven.

Thinking of the pond, Jacko remembered that when he was under the water, he saw a bright source of light coming from somewhere at the bottom of the surface.

"We need to get back to that pond, near the house. Can you lead us there?"

Dog sat on his hind legs and thought for a moment. "I know where the pond is."

"Let's go."

The gravel formed a trail that they followed for almost thirty minutes before entering the familiar bald spot.

Upon coming within a few feet of the pond, the middle shot up like a geyser again, bringing a smile to Jacko's face. One of the green gold fish poked its head above the geyser and said, "Hey, Jacko! Come to go swimming with us again?"

"I wish I could but I'm looking for something."

"Well, that doesn't matter! Come for a swim!"

"Listen, I'm looking for a special stone. Do you know what I mean?"

"Haven't a clue! Well, okay, bye!"

And he dived back under the water.

"Wait!"

The fish had gone and Dog looked puzzled.

"Well," said Jacko, "I'm gonna have to go in."

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to watch, just in case something goes wrong. If anything strange happens, or if I'm under too long, I want you to get the others."

"But last time, the water made you strange."

"Yes, but I think this time will be different. I got the greens on my side."

Jacko pulled off his clothes and dived into the small pond. His body shrunk instantly as the water engulfed him.

Underneath, it was dark and slimy at first, but the deeper he swam into the pond, the more comforting the water became.

He continued downward for some time. All the while, he heard a low thumping sound. Erroneously, he followed the sound, which led him to a close run in with a catfish, and then a moccasin.

Once he got away from them, Jacko noticed a low buzzing noise, sort of like the hum of a running generator.

Unsure of what he'd run into next, he took another chance and followed the noise. It lead him even further below the surface of water.

After a few moments of swimming, the darkness of the pond got lighter. Finally, it got too light for him to look at. He squint his eyes and persisted, and eventually, closed his eyes as he continued in the same direction.

Moments later, Jacko slammed his head into a bright rock. "Ouch!" he screamed into the water, but kept his eyes closed because the light was still too bright.

Jacko didn't know if it was what he was looking for, but then a voice whispered in his head; it said - take iiiit.

He reached his arms around the circumference of the rock and pulled with all his strength.

The rock did not move.

Jacko sunk to his knees to think, but as he hit the ground, he felt the rim of the rock at dirt point and realized it was halfway buried under the wet ground.

Once more, the whisper plugged itself into his head – use your gift!

Jacko stood back and concentrated. He focused his mind and energy on lifting the rock effortlessly from the ground. After a few moments, he heard a bubbling noise, felt the ground rumble, and he saw in his mind's eye, the rock lifting itself while leaving behind a hole in the ground. The rock went straight up to the surface of the pond. Blindly, Jacko followed.

As his head broke the surface of the pond, he resumed his normal size. He crawled onto the bank, and saw Dog there with the stone in his mouth. Jacko reached out for it and examined it in his hand.

They strolled back to Althenio's house.

In the front yard, he found that everyone had passed out. No doubt, they were crashed from the helium effect of the food. This annoyed him because he wanted to be on his way.

He sat on the grass in frustration and fell asleep with his head on Dog's back.

A few hours later, Forsi woke Jacko.

"Hey, Forsi. Glad to see you're awake."

Everyone was slowly rising from their groggy sleep.

"Okay, everyone?" asked Jacko. But they hardly responded.

"Should have listened to me about the food."

Slowly, they moved about. No one said much of anything, not even Jacko who could barely contain his irritation.

Finally, Bouncy stood up and said, "Alright, guys, we gotta get going. We haven't time to waste. Yes, we're groggy, but that's our fault."

Then Bouncy waivered in his spot and sat back down.

Eventually, everyone claimed they were ready to go.

"Where are we gonna fit?" asked Bordra.

Jacko replied, "Uh, you're not coming with us."

"Yes, I am!" she half screamed, half cried.

Jacko ran his hands through his hair and growled, "Will you guys help me out?" He pleaded to the oldest of the group.

"Look," said Brain, "we may be small but that doesn't mean we're useless. We've been studying this place since we were born. There may be things we can help you with, along the way."

"I don't care. This is not what Manlo would have wanted. I'm not putting any more lives at risk. I don't want to be responsible, should any of you get hurt, or worse."

"Well, I'm not staying behind," said Anle. "I'm the oldest and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I'm second oldest, and I am not staying behind, either. You can't make us," Alica echoed.

"Yeah!" tripled Bordra.

"I don't believe this!" Jacko exclaimed.

"Look, don't get all pissy with us! Sissy's our sister, too. Not to mention they've got our father!" yelled little Forsi.

"There you have it," said Truth. "We're coming with you."

"Anle, please," said Jacko.

"In the old days, warriors were even younger than we are, and sometimes smaller. Every man deserves a chance to fight. We may not look it, but we are men – and so are the women," said Truth awkwardly. "Uh, well, I mean..."

"We get your point," said Dienla, rolling her eyes.

"Yes," said Bordra. "Women can be warriors, too! We have as much right as the boys. The only question, now, is how are we gonna travel?"

"I think Jacko has the right idea," said Brain.

"How are we all gonna fit into a single motorcycle?" asked Grill.

"Derr," said Brain. "We'll multiply it. It might be wise to divide up. That way, if someone attacks us, they can only catch a few of us."

"Right, but how do we find this orchard so Jacko gets his blessing?" asked Alica.

"I still think we should find Dad first," said Grill.

"There's no way we can fight the demons alone, Grill. We want them back, too, but we can't just fight as we are now. We're not strong enough. We need to find the stone so it can lead us to the orchard," Anle said.

"I've got the stone. Dog and I got it while you all were bouncing off the walls, literally," Jacko said with sarcasm.

After their discussion, they stood in front of Althenio's house and concentrated on cloning Jacko's bike by three. Fortunately, it didn't take too long. The bikes appeared and Jacko was ready to take off until they informed him they didn't even know how to ride them.

"So what did you clone my bike for? We don't have time for this!"

"Because it seemed like a good idea," said Brain. "We can get in and out of places. Now just give us a few moments."

Jacko threw his head down onto the handle bars in exasperation.

They all picked up bike riding pretty easily, except Anle who was slow to stop and go. Jacko was just grateful the bikes didn't have clutches or else they would've been there for hours.

The first part of their journey was most annoying because the girls squealed every time they went over a bump. They almost had a pile up crash when Anle gave her bike too much gas, and it rode off from under her, leaving Anle to fall butt-first onto the dirt. The girls in her car screamed as it swerved off into a tree.

A few hours later, they managed to put some distance between themselves and Althenio's house. Anle was riding along pretty well at forty miles-per-hour with Jacko in the lead. Dienla and Bordra sat in the sidecar looking pretty uncertain as to her capabilities, as she almost swerved off the road several more times.

In the front, Jacko, Dog, Machine, and Grill rode in his original bike. Behind them, Bouncy steered a clone bike with the rest of the boys followed by Anle and Alica who rode their clone bikes.

They stopped when Jacko was too hungry and weary to continue. He slowed down and pulled the bike to the side. Anle pulled up next to him.

"Are we stopping?" she yelled over the motor.

"Yes! Follow me," he motioned to his right.

Jacko lead them onto a heavy layered patch of pea-green moss. They parked their bikes and conjured a large picnic blanket.

This time they listened to Jacko as he told them it was possible to eat heavenly food without the helium effect.

"Manlo did it; I saw him," he said.

When they asked why the food made them silly, Jacko supposed it had something to do with the purity of heaven. If you need to consume something that lives, like energy, in order to live, and the food they summoned was of the living energy of heaven, maybe it was too pure for their human bodies.

As Jacko commanded, the blanket was laid out with bowls of salad, and water. Machine whined about wanting real food. Fortunately, like Jacko, he was exceedingly surprised at how the food made him calm, nourished, and logical.

"This is the best salad I've ever had! It doesn't need dressing, and better, I don't feel like grinning," said Anle.

"The greens have a bright undertow that I can't quite label," said Brain.

"The water is especially sweet and satisfying, like its coating my entire insides and making me feel whole," said Bordra.

Jacko smiled.

When they'd finished eating, they spread out in a large circle and took a nap. The girls slept on one side, and the boys slept on the other. Jacko wrapped a blanket over his head to block out the always blue sky of heaven and fell asleep, instantly.
Hamadryades

Chapter 10

Jacko didn't sleep soundly at all. He projected himself out, though he didn't mean too. He bounced out and around the edge of the atmosphere. Desperately, he tried to pull himself back, but he stopped when he saw a man whose essence resonated deep within him, as if they were, both, made of the same body.

Against the pull of space, he watched the man walk through dark matter as if it were solid. A white planet glowed behind him.

Instinctively, Jacko knew it was the morning star, as it was called centuries ago by the Romans, and was currently known as the planet, Venus.

The man was humungous with waist-length blond hair and blue eyes. His skin was as white as the glow of light behind him. He walked with purpose. Each step he took was equivalent to a million space miles, even the light that glowed behind him had to catch up.

Jacko got excited because he knew it must have been Lucem. If he was headed to Earth, then surely he'd get his blessing. This meant he'd be able to save Sissy!

But his bubble of hope was burst minutes later when, to Jacko's surprise, he walked just past the Earth and made his way to a misshapen grayish-white film close by.

Wait a minute! He recognized that nearly invisible, grayish, round film because he'd been there before! Every time he'd projected to heaven, in his sleep, he'd used that film. It was the portal to the heavens! It was a physical door-like veil through which any being could enter, if they could see or find it.

Jacko opened his eyes with the remnants of his vision still lingering in the front of his mind. That was the doorway to heaven through which he'd escaped in his own dreams. He just never remembered it.

He needed to get going! If that was who he thought it was, he wasn't wasting any more time, and especially now that he was certain Lucem would be at orchard.

But when he sat up, his eagerness was quelled. Jacko's heart nearly ruptured his chest. Had the demons tricked him again?

Not only was it dark again, but he appeared to be alone, even the bikes were all gone. No longer did he lie in a sleeping bag, but he was on the ground.

He stood up and brushed off the moss that'd clung to him.

"Oh no," he said under his breath. "Guys?" he called out. "Dog? Machine? Anle? Forsi? Anyone?"

As he did a 360 degree turn, he sighed relief when he saw, blazed right across the sky, the red horizon!

Okay, he said to himself. I'm not back in the red lands.

So someone else had to be messing with him. He hardly imagined that demons would be allowed on that side of heaven. What happened in Althenio's house was the result of a spell.

But he didn't know that for sure. After all, he and his brothers made it across the red lands just fine. Still, he argued with himself, it seemed unlikely.

He hadn't felt so down since the night he left home. Even worse, he didn't have Dog to keep him company as he figured things out! Of everyone, he was the one friend he'd come to need.

"Why do you keep messing with me?!" Jacko, rather, yelled more than queried to the sky.

He closed his eyes and tried to conjure Dog, but nothing happened. He tried telepathic communication, but got no replies. Then he walked around the trees, looking for any clues.

Finally, with the crazy idea that the ground swallowed them, he returned to their spots and started to dig at the ground. All he pulled up was pulsating moss and gravel.

Althenio mentioned that heaven could be different, depending on whose space one wandered into. Up until that moment, he'd never met another god, angel, or soul, there. When they settled, as far as he knew, they were alone. Could they have wandered into someone else's territory?

He sat and thought a moment.

One thing, even his mother told him, is that the gods don't particularly like human beings. He knew he needed to watch out. What if he'd angered one, unintentionally?

"Yeah but they'd never abduct us!" he argued with himself.

But he didn't know that for sure, either.

His pounding heart tickled his lung. He contemplated all the possibilities: each one worse than the last. One more time, he scanned the land over, looking for signs of anything irregular or peculiar.

A few more thoughts occurred to him, as he sat. On one hand, Jacko knew that if anyone could fix the situation, it would be him. After he got his blessing and the full strength of a god, he'd be strong. But what would that do to him? Oganat never answered his question. Would he ever be the same again? He didn't want to be a prophecy; he just wanted his family back.

At the same time, Jacko was urgent and didn't want to wait for a blessing. Althenio said he tended to act impulsively. Maybe that was bad, but if he'd acted on his instinct, back at the cabin, maybe the demons wouldn't have gotten him, and subsequently, his family. Maybe he would've arrived just in time to save them. If he'd followed his instincts, they could've been safe on Earth; not locked up in some old castle where the only food was raw meat.

What do I do?

He asked himself this over and over. No answers came to mind. He lay back against a tree, emptied his mind and tried to focus.

What if he went back to Oganat? Nah, he'd come too far to go all the way back to the other side.

"Heaven," he asked. "What do I do?"

To his surprise, he got an answer. There was the voice again: the same voice that he heard before, only louder than a whisper.

Ask the treeees, it said.

"Sissy?" he stood up and looked around him. "Sissy where are you?"

Ask the trees. What does that mean, he wondered? He looked at the tree, thought how stupid, and sat back down.

A little while passed with no good ideas. He felt extremely disappointed in himself. Why would Sissy tell him to ask the trees? Were they gods, too? Like the figs, supposedly?

They did turn red when pressed hard, and one did punch him in the face.

Jacko continued to try and think of what the voice meant. "Well," he said, "it's no good just sitting here any longer." He stood up and walked away from the bald spot and deeper into the midst of trees.

"What do you mean, Sissy?"

Silence.

He rubbed his scalp hard and wondered why Sissy didn't answer him.

"I can't help you, if you don't help me. I haven't studied this place, like you have."

Jacko touched a tree, and the spot turned red. He touched it harder and it turned redder. He grabbed a branch and examined its wood, which expanded and contracted just like the grass. Gently, he rubbed his finger up and down, and then pressed a spot. He could feel a pulse inside the branch.

Standing back, he looked at a particular group of trees, noting how exact each and every one was. On Earth, such exactness was impossible. They were all the same height and width, as were their needles, color of their needles, and color of their tree trunks. In heaven, the grass and trees literally lived and breathed.

Jacko touched the trunk again when something came back to him: a story his mother told him.

Like most of the stories, he just wrote it off as silly, boring mythology. But of course, lately, he continued to learn that a lot of the things she'd told him were true, or loosely based on truths of "times long ago." She told him that sometimes myths, though false, contained key information to the world and the heavens.

Once, his mother told him of a race of trees that lived on Earth. She told him the modern day conception of wood nymphs was false, but that there were similar guardians. He couldn't remember who or what she said they were, but he remembered that if one were to stab the tree, it would bleed because the guardians lived inside the tree. He pressed the trunk of the tree inward, and released. It turned red again.

When the trees were on Earth, the gods forbade that even one should be cut down. They warned that the guardians and the trees would die, and the gods would punish anyone who hurt them.

No one listened, of course, for the guardian trees were highly magical. It was rumored that, once cut down, they immediately petrified. If one were to build their house, castle, or fortress from the wood, he or she would have an indestructible home.

Now it made sense why the tree punched him when he pulled out its twig. The trees lived and breathed, and they could, most certainly, feel.

What was that word?

Hamadryades.

The guardians of a magical tree species. It was because they lived that other coniferous species lived on Earth. Legends said, if one hamadryade died, so would its offspring; that meant heaven and Earth.

Naturally, man didn't care, so the gods brought the trees to heaven, where they were protected.

Jacko remembered his mother saying other forms of hamadryades might guard the trees in heaven. She told him that at one time, they covered the Earth. He even remembered a story about a king who'd send one servant to chop down a sacred tree, and then when he died, send another to collect the wood. Man didn't care about sacrificing life.

"Hello?" said Jacko. "Uh, my name is Jacko and I need help. I know that I hurt one of your kind before by plucking a needle, and I'm sorry. But I need your help to save my family and save the Earth."

Silence.

Feeling desperate, Jacko put his hands on the tree and massaged up and down on the trunk. "I need to know how to get to the Fig Orchard to get Lucem's blessing. Can you hear me?"

Still, nothing.

Back against the tree, he slid down onto his butt. Nothing happened, except that he felt extremely ridiculous.

Talk to them.

"Sissy, I tried. It's not working."

Jacko pressed his ear to the wood. Within, he heard a low thudding noise.

Tree hugging, his mother told him, was not a crazy hippie thing. No, it was a way to get the hamadryades to trust humans. Once a human earned ones trust, a nymph might reveal themselves and offer favors.

He turned around and put his arms around the hard, unusually smooth even red wood.

Nearly twenty minutes passed, during which nothing happened. First, he tried talking some more, and then he tried to project thoughts into the trees.

After some time, he moved on to the next tree and did the same. Unsuccessful, he again moved on to another, and then another tree.

Almost three hours passed with Jacko hugging trees. All the while, his mind flitted between ideas of how retarded he felt. When he almost gave up from exhaustion, a deep voice rang every cell in his body.

Hello, Jacko.

He'd just stepped over a wedge in the Earth. He stopped, dead, in his tracks because he noticed a tree a few yards off that was different than all the others. The trunk was as wide as the state of Colorado. It outshined every other tree that surrounded Jacko.

What do you want?

If there was a king tree of all trees, the one Jacko looked upon was it. Still, he looked for the source of the voice for he imagined that a being would, literally, rise out of the trees and talk face-to-face.

I'll ask one more time, and only one. What do you want?

One deep sigh, he raised his arms and leant forward to hug the great big tree.

Stand back, boy.

"Sorry," said Jacko. "I want to find my brothers and sisters."

I cannot help you.

"Please, if you could tell me what to do."

I can't help you because I don't know. You won't get them back on your own. Seek the orchard, Jacko. Don't look back until you get your blessing.

The gravel in the path formed differently than it had when he was with Althenio and Manlo. This time, it made a long stretch of line.

"Are you still there?"

But no answer came.

Although he felt guilty for not trying to find his family, he did the only thing he knew he could, which was follow the path to the orchard. If he got this, so called blessing, and became all powerful, he would bring them back, safe.

Over the next several hours, nothing happened. He followed the path without question, but all he saw was trees and trees, and more trees.

The scene never changed, despite that he'd walked miles. What kept him going was the thought of the alternative, which was doing nothing. He had no ideas of what else to do to help his family. So he kept walking, hoping that he really was making the right decision.

Still, he was a human teenage boy who needed rest. He couldn't continue in that way. His eyes were getting heavier, but he pushed on.

Another mile and Jacko, tiredly, stumbled onto the ground. Though he smashed his face into the gravel, he did not feel it. He slept and he slept.

~~~

When he woke, his mouth had bits of gravel in it.

Pua! He spit, and then conjured water. As he drank, his fatigue ebbed away, and his muscles lost their ache.

Clumsily, he stood up on his shaky thighs. He jumped as a bunch of some things white and feathery clipped him on the side of his head.

A flock of feathered rotating balls had flown by. Jacko knew straight away that these were more angel-like creatures. They were clear with a tinge of blue, like aquamarine. Only these weren't the shape of small men as it were at Oganat's. Even stranger was the extra ball within their shapes that rotated. Their wings had a rough and bumpy texture. Then little sections of feather, all over their wings, rolled back, revealing many eyes.

He knew what they were: ophan. They paid no attention to Jacko as they flew by. Seeing them gave him a small surge of hope that maybe he was getting somewhere. Hours of unchanging scenery made him feel as though he were walking in circles. It was nice to know that that wasn't so.

He stood up and traveled a few more miles along the road. The scenery changed once more, and Jacko was relieved.

A few feet to his left was a large grassy area stuffed with statues, similar to those at Oganat's. Some were solid and white while others were see-through. And yet, again, some looked like spun glass: clear with many specks and chunks of white throughout their bodies.

Jacko began to understand that the clearer the god, the older.

Some of the statues were as tall as trees, and some were so tall that Jacko couldn't see their torsos.

Curiously, he reached out his hand. Its surface was smooth like spun glass, too.

Jacko screamed when he looked up and saw the statue he rubbed had opened its eyes, and now, looked down at him. He could see almost entirely through this aged statue, but his eyes were solid, impenetrable, and black.

Upon seeing its furious eye, Jacko knew this was a hardened god as described by Althenio, not just in form but also of heart. The kind of god his mother warned him about; the kind that hated humans.

Jacko breathed heavy and stumbled backward onto the ground. He rolled over onto his side and tried to push himself up when, what felt like cold solid, rock squeezed his buttocks painfully, forcing Jacko's body to double over in a fold. He screamed in pain and saw that he was being lifted many feet off the ground.

Then he was turned to face one of the statue's humungous eyes.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Jacko couldn't speak for the pain of the god's grip. The god must have realized this, for he released him into the palm of his other hand.

Rubbing his back, he said, "I'm Jacko and I've been given permission to cross this land. I'm going to the fig orchard to get a blessing."

"Permission by whom?"

He thought fast, and pulled the first name that came to mind.

"Oganat, heaven's hell ambassador."

"Oganat doesn't have that kind of authority here. I don't like you, people-kinds."

"Well, you see," hurried Jacko as he realized the conversation was turning bad, "I'm trying to save my family because they've been kidnapped by the demons."

"You'll be given one chance to turn around and leave. If you don't, I'll trample you. I repeat: I don't like you, people-kinds."

"Well, tough! I'm going to the orchard and you won't stop me."

The statue growled, loudly. Scared, Jacko jumped off the edge of his hand. He imagined the gravel enveloping him, softly, and smoothly.

Mid-air, the god tried to capture him, but then something swiped through the air, above his head. There was smacking sound, followed by "OW!!"

He landed softly on the gravel and looked up.

The god's face had a large, long crack from ear to mouth. He thought his face would split into two, but slowly, the crack disappeared from his hardened head. The statues eyes widened as it looked left for the cause of its damage.

"What are you doing Astraeus? Don't stop me from pulverizing this insolent child. He is but a fly. You were always a meddlesome idiot!"

He, then, leant over to snatch Jacko up, who easily ducked around his hand. He ran behind the trunk of the nearest tree.

Then there was a loud crunch noise, similar to the compacting of cars.

"AAAAAAhhhh," it screamed, and the ground trembled.

Jacko grabbed his ears because their voices were very powerful.

"I'm sorry, Pallas, but I don't know why I just did that."

Pallas?

The name sounded familiar to Jacko.

Peaking around the trunk, he saw that Pallas, then, tried to strike Astraeus who fell backward, knocking into another similar looking statue that, in turn, knocked into another statue, all with a loud WHAM WHAM WHAM! All the while, Astraeus kept apologizing, saying, "I'm sorry! I don't why I did that!"

The ground shook as tall, clear marble statues slammed heads into other statues, and then came to life as if waking from a night's sleep.

Jacko's mouth fell open as he watched the demolition scene, and because he'd just remembered where he'd heard the name, Pallas: from another one of his mother's stories.

The field of statues wasn't just a resting place, but it was Titan graveyard. Titans, as he remembered his mother telling him, were short tempered, nasty gods that ruled before their children, the Olympians, turned mutinous.

A voice inside his head said ruuuuun!

"Okay, Sissy."

He picked up, fast, along the rest of the graveyard as statue after statue sent waves that bounced Jacko feet up and further along the path like a bouncing ball. Each time he landed, he sunk into the porridge like gravel, and it bounced him out, further along the path.

At the end of the graveyard, he chanced a backward glance and saw the statue that had Jacko was now engaged in a battle with Astraeus. Both were trying to ram each other with spears that looked like long icicles.

He jumped when one of the spears shot some sort of red beam of anti-matter very close to him. It caused an enormous explosion. Jacko looked down where the bolt struck and saw there was nothing but a black hole.

He hurried away. Thankfully, the road had continued to form without him. Fast, he ran, but then, there was a thunder of an explosion, to his right, that knocked him off the path.

A hand picked him up off the ground.

Jacko continued to move his legs in running motion, until he looked down and realized he'd been caught.

Then a hand reached out and nabbed Jacko like a fly in a fist. He was confined within the blurry marble-like fingers. They pressed in close on his flesh and there was no way he could get out.

When, at last, the fist opened, Jacko found himself sky high and turned around to see Pallas' gigantic onyx eyeball looking at him.

"What are you gonna do with me?"

"If I could, I'd kill you. But my father has ordered that you be charged with disrupting heavenly peace, an action with a punishment that is worse than death, should you be found guilty, which I'm sure you will."

He roared a deep, throaty laugh.

Once more, he closed his fist, pulled back his arm and threw Jacko through the air. He landed in the clear center of one of the winged ball-like creatures. Like a hamster, he was trapped. Each way he tried to walk was useless because he'd only stumble and roll. It was worse when the ball started to rotate, as it climbed higher and higher into the atmosphere.

Jacko stumbled and rolled for a few minutes. When he started to gag, he shouted, "Stop spinning or I'll puke!" Amazingly, the angel creature understood, and stopped.

With Jacko inside, the ophan flew into a midst of clouds.

"Where are you taking me?"

Naturally, it didn't answer.

He closed his eyes because being separated by a clear, thin solid layer while in flight put his stomach in his mouth.

A few moments later, he chanced a look. They were in space. The sight frightened him, much. He screamed at the top of his lungs and passed out.

A bit later, Jacko woke to a strange high pitched noise. Against his desire, he opened his eyes and saw them fly fast through little rocks, and around large dark asteroids. He covered his eyes and kept them that way until he felt severe plane-like turbulence that bounced him, violently, inside the ball.

He screamed and screamed while praying to god to help him. When the motions were smooth again, he opened his eyes to find they were penetrating a white gas and liquid atmosphere.

All around him was thick clouds. And again, he heard a high pitched ringing noise. It was coming from the ophan, he realized. Then an even louder, deeper rumble vibrated through the angel.

The noises went back and forth for a while. Jacko got the sense the cherub was communicating with something.

Suddenly, right under them, a solid white platform appeared. The ophan stopped so abruptly that Jacko tossed, fatally, up and down, inside the ball, several times.

He lay and waited for his nausea and pain to fade. Throbbingly, he pushed himself up.

Nothing but clouds surrounded them. He looked for anything, any form, that was recognizable, but he couldn't see through the thickness of white.

There was a rumble. The clouds quickly move away from him and the ophan, leaving behind empty space. From the sky, clear giants walked, like the man in his dream, with staffs, across the dark matter of space as asteroids, rocks, and stars moved aside for them.

"Let me out!" he banged on the ball.

A voice from everywhere said, "You may not leave the cherub's belly, for it's what protects you while you are inside me."

Jacko looked around for the source, "Who are you?"

"I'm Ouranus, primordial god, father to the Titans, and seventh planet from the sun in our solar system."

There were more vibrations, like he'd heard upon entering the atmosphere. Ouranus was talking to his arrivals.

Ouranus formed more surface for them to land on.

He couldn't tell how many there were, but he became more frightened as he realized that it wasn't just Pallas' or Astraeus who'd come to testify against poor Jacko. In fact, it looked like hundreds had come.

Jacko was faint. He knew he was in trouble. His heart pounded in his chest, his breath grew heavy, and he fell to his knees, against the angle of the cherub's orb.

Just as he was about to pass out, a warmth bled in his heart, slowing its rhythm and spreading over his quivering body while solacing his mind. The warmth consumed his brain and his consciousness was clouded.

He stood up and looked about, but it wasn't him, or rather, not just. Jacko had no control over his body, and although he saw with his own eyes, it was like he was seeing tunnel vision.

Jacko's mouth opened, and although he heard his voice escape, it wasn't him who said in a majestically magnified volume, "What is the real reason you've brought me here, Ouranus?"

When the loud voice escaped Jacko, his moment of warmth turned to horror, but the presence inside him kept his mind from going insane. Somehow, it forced his body's natural instinct, which was to shut down by the fear and shock, to stay well and grounded.

Hold onnnnn, it told him.

The voice, he recognized, was the same voice that'd been talking to him ever since he left California. And the voice didn't belong to Sissy, so who was it that was inside him?

His soul shivered, despite Lucem's hold on him, and it almost left his mortal body, which wanted to die. The presence must have felt the weakening of his soul, too, because it strengthened its hold on Jacko. Like forcing opposite ends of a magnet together, it kept his soul inside his body.

"You've disturbed the peace of my sons. You started a war between them. It's only customary that you should stand trial before me and die."

The entity's comforting presence inside him turned to rage, scaring poor Jacko. Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes, yet the presence held him firm.

WHO ARE YOU??? GET OUT OF MEEEE!!! PLEEEEASE!!! GET OUT, NOOOOW!! He screamed inside his head.

But the presence ignored him.

"You know you have no right, Ouranus!" he said, only Jacko wasn't speaking English anymore. Some sort of ancient language he knew to be Latin, yet it didn't sound like Latin of today.

"The boy wandered into my territory!"

"Heaven is not just your territory!"

"It doesn't matter," interrupted Pallas. "This boy caused us to riot. We were resting peacefully until he came along."

"But I have a destiny to fulfill."

"Your destiny is not important to us," said Pallas to cheers and hand clapping. "You betrayed us when you allowed the Olympians to overrun us. We don't care about you or the humans and whatever so-called destiny. When it comes time to fight, we'll war against you all."

The Titans cheered.

"The Earth was created for these hapless life forms, or so called souls, to have solid form and evolve in the universe. To learn right and wrong, and to become benevolent. They were given bodies, and presented the Earth so they could serve us, yet they have grown and changed. We cannot stop this progression, for it's wrong. You're desire to enslave humanity is wrong and the majority of us don't agree with it! The time for monarchs is over."

"Says the god who tried to rule humanity and failed," countered Pallas.

"I never tried to rule, but only to guide and teach souls to become wise and leave their primitive states behind. I never tried to use the Earth as a place for my habitation and manipulation."

"It doesn't matter to us. This is a time of equal opportunity! We may not win, but we'll try to put our stake in the future of the heavens and the Earth," concluded Ouranus.

"Why do you do this?"

"Because we were wrongfully ousted from our thrones. We loved heaven, Earth and the humankind. If you remember correctly, we discovered them and gave them life. You had no right to take them from us."

"You have no right to take them back!"

"And, here, we part ways. If you try to stop us, then we'll destroy you."

"I'm way older than you, and way more powerful! But you just try, Ouranus, you just try! The Earth will have one less planet in its solar system, and it will not be you, for I have all the gods on my side."

"Enough! Lucem, leave us, now!"

"OURANUS! PUT A STOP TO THIS, NOW, OR YOU'LL ALL BE SORRY. YOU'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE ME OR THIS BOY!"

Jacko's body trembled with anger. More tears bled from his eyes. His body just wanted to die.

"You're my father, Lucem, and I honor thee, but I 've long since decided that we'll fight. We will take our rightful place back, in heaven and on Earth."

Jacko's body vibrated as he felt Lucem's anger consume his flesh. He thought his hands would explode, that his eyes would burst, and he didn't know how much longer his mortal body could take the possession.

Suddenly, vibration and massive quakes shook the surface of Ouranus, which sent Jacko's ophan to suspend in mid-air. The vibrations grew so strong that even the gods rumbled over the surface.

When he thought his body had reached its end \- that he would die, his mind cleared suddenly. His body felt weightless as though he'd just stepped out of a pool.

Jacko was alone again.

He looked around as his vision adjusted from the myopic tunnel. The Titans stomped, cheered, and clapped because Lucem had gone.

A new panic rose in his chest. Why did he leave him all alone? He knew the Titans were going to kill him? Lucem was supposed to save him!

The, answering his question, the voice came again.

Don't be afraid. You'll not die, just yet. Go, now!

The ophan made to take him back to Earth, but it was distracted by the sudden arrival of several additional large beings. Like Althenio and Manlo, these ones were alabaster white giants, and they looked nothing like the rogue-ish Titans, rather more like beautiful Greek statues.

They landed as more solid ground formed for them. Everyone stared as a particularly frightful looking gigantic man with a long white beard spoke.

"Ouranus," he spoke in Greek.

Lucem seemed to have left behind knowledge of languages in his head.

"You dare interfere with our prophets and destroy this boy? Well, we're here to stop you!" he said as he shook his silver three pronged trident above his head.

From the sky, a bolt of lightning struck the large man in the chest, who keeled over on the spot.

A moment of silence followed, and then a loud deafening roar rent the air as they all attacked one another. Tridents and spears sent antimatter and lightning bolts amuck, frying and obliterating to Jacko's left and right. As if that wasn't scary enough, Ouranus rained down sulfur methane as he continued to send lightning bolts from his sky.

"GOOOOO!" said a giant, who scooped up the feathered ball containing Jacko, and threw it into the atmosphere.

They flew off into the dark as, behind them, Titans rolled and fought all about them, spilling into all levels of Ouranus' atmosphere.

When they made it into space, Jacko looked back and saw two large bodies rolling into the darkness as they tried to spear each other.

More gods spread into battle, across the solar system, and some, in Jacko's direction. When they got their composure back, they chased him!

His ophan, having just missed a red flash, was frightened into action. He sped up considerably, and his ball started to rotate again. Jacko tumbled, painfully, inside.

He wanted to use his power to defend himself and the cherub, but its center wouldn't stop no matter how much he yelled at it. He felt like he was inside a power ball machine.

Several times, he nearly retched. He closed his eyes and focused on suspending himself just off the bottom of the cherub's belly.

Feeling better, he opened his eyes and was relieved to see they were about to enter Earth's atmosphere.

Just then, another red bolt from one of the spears came close to obliterating him and the angel. More of the gods threw bunches of blue bolts back at the Titans, in effort to defend him.

Scared, he closed his eyes and concentrated all of his hatred on the Titan that was closest to him and his ophan. With as much emotion as he felt at the moment, it didn't take much explode him.

This angered the rest of them, who ran faster at Jacko, all the while sending more red beams.

Then, just as he was about to hit the cloud layer of Earth, one of the bolts struck his ophan, blowing it apart, and releasing Jacko who passed out as he fell through the sky at high velocity.
Meeting Gaia
Chapter 11

He woke in a large grey stone room. Various weapons decorated the walls and stood in racks: sword, axes, battleaxes, iron balls. The bed, he lay in, was tough and itchy, and smelled moldy.

A thick ray of light blared across the dark gray and dusty room. He walked over and looked out the window.

Outside, the worst weather he'd ever seen in his life persisted.

The clouds were so heavily packed in that he couldn't see the sky. Several floors below, the ground looked like a frozen mimicry of above. It was covered in a thick icy gray, blanket of snow.

Flaming, fist sized granules of snow rained down, slamming and spattering into the ground. As they burned out in the snow, they left behind dark spatters of ash.

He observed, more fully, the walls on the outside of the building, in which he stood. It was a tall gray castle closed in with trees whose tops extended beyond the layer of cloud.

Then he remembered what happened to his ophan, upon reentering the Earth's atmosphere. Even though the ophan obeyed the Titans, he felt bad. The ophan was just a servant, it seemed.

There was a noise behind him. He turned and saw a girl stood across the room, watching. The form she took couldn't have been more than twelve, but Jacko knew immediately, by her ghostly appearance, that she was no girl.

"Jacko," it said without opening her mouth.

His heart pounded.

"It's alright, you're safe."

"Explain" was all he could get out.

"I chose this form because I thought it might be easier. It seems you've seen many things that have frightened you, lately. But if it makes you more comfortable."

The girl lost her ghostly form, suddenly becoming corporeal.

This time, she spoke with her mouth, "The world is in chaos; natural disaster. Your mother told you about this sort of affect before, don't you remember?" she asked, walking to where he stood, at the window. "The elements are tied into the emotions of the gods. When they fight, so does the world."

Jacko said nothing.

"I'm Gaia. You met my former lover, Ouranus."

"If he was your lover, then what am I doing here? Why don't you try to kill me?"

"Don't you remember? I'm the goddess that is the Earth. Ouranus thought he could rule me and my creations; thought he could trick me because he was young and handsome, and I, old and lonely."

"You're a daughter of chaos, too? Why did you bring me here and where are we?"

"We're in the Norse Mountains, a peak no one man has seen in millenniums. I keep it hidden so that I may come and think. I brought you because I knew you'd be safe for the moment. That and I wanted to give you a message."

She paused a moment.

"I'm very old, Jacko: older than all the planets in this solar system, and many outside it. During the arch-eon, I was one of the first gods of this universe, born out of the chaos of another universe, past, that no longer exists. I'm beyond, yet I resonate in this place that you call Earth. Like the hamadryades in the trees, if it dies, so shall I."

She paused again.

"I know of your troubles and of your concerns. I've brought you here to warn you that if you don't seek the orchard's blessing, you'll surely lose your battle. You'll die and so will your family. You cannot defeat the demons. What you will discover, shortly, will distract you from your mission, but you must not let it keep you from your course too long, or you'll also lose your chance to win the war. If that should happen, I'll be lost to the demons forever."

"Why do you help me? I thought the gods were agreed to leave everything up to fate."

"Because I don't want filthy demons turning my beauty into a molten lava bath. We, gods, harden over the years and lose feeling, but I still loath the demons. It's the only thing that's kept me constant, over the eons: knowing that they'd be back for me. "

There was a giant explosion. Despite the thick trees, he saw lightning struck a fire that burned bright, some miles away. Burning wood and sap wafted through the trees to where they stood.

The storm picked up. The clouds were, now, aflame, too.

"Isn't there anything you can do to stop this weather?"

"The end of times battle has nearly begun. There is nothing I can do about that. The war must happen."

"Is the rest of the world like this?"

"Mostly."

Further reading Jacko's mind, Gaia made a television appear in the air so that he could have a news report.

The whole world had, indeed, gone to hell. Raining sulfur and fire seemed to be small compared to the land slides and flooding the news reflected in various parts of the country. One report claimed the ocean was rising and showed pictures of beaching whales.

"Can you tell me where my brothers and sisters are?"

"That is for you to find out."

"Why won't anyone help me?" he asked impatiently. "I ask you for specifics, and you keep denying me. If you want me to win, why can't you help?"

But Gaia was unmoved.

"Do you know if my father is okay?"

"I do not."

"How could you not know, if you are everywhere like Ouranus?"

But she simply stared.

Exasperated, he turned back to the news cast. A woman was recorded as she was struck by lightning; a hundred people were huddled under a bridge to shield themselves from acid rain; cars were hanging off the edge of a freeway, its inhabitants, screaming.

He turned back to Gaia, but she looked strangely vacant.

"Hello, are you still with me?"

She was still as a stone statue. He wasn't done, though, because he wanted answers.

Jacko put his hand on her shoulder, meaning to shake her, and beg her to answer. Just as he touched the hem of her sleeve, he flipped into a busy street.

The town was red and yellow skied. Gray ash rained down, and a crack split the street in half.

It took a few minutes for it to register that he was back in his home town.

A bolt of lightning blasted down, blowing a building to bits, only a few hundred feet to his right. He recognized the building: it was the YMCA. He was in the center of town where he used to live.

Across the street, there was a mountainous pile of rubble. People ran about, screaming, crying and shouting. The cross street, a few feet in front of him, had gridlock traffic.

The world had turned apocalyptic. Though he couldn't control the gods, he still felt somewhat responsible for what was happening to the world.

Still, he didn't have time for contemplation, so he ran home.

A few blocks later, he stood before a beaten neighborhood. Several homes had collapsed. People slept in their yards, and in their cars.

His eyes passed each house and settled on a burned out crisp that used to be his father's house.

Inside, the wall on the opposite side of the living room laid all over the floor, and rubble covered nearly square inch of the floor.

The only thing that wasn't covered in rubble was the couch. From under a purple blanket that covered it, feet stuck out.

A ringing noise grew in his ears, as he realized that the body was extremely still.

He had to look under the blanket. What he could possibly find frightened him.

"Hello?"

But the person didn't respond.

He walked up to the couch and pulled back the blanket.

"Aah!" he yelled. He'd never seen a dead body before.

Shakily, he reached out his hand to shut her eyes; they were stiff with rigor mortis, and slimy with decomposition.

"Sissy!" he cried. "What happened to you? What are are you doing here?"

He yanked the rest of the blanket away and saw a circle charred in her chest. Something or someone had struck her, like a bolt of lightning.

The sight sickened him; he retched.

Carefully, he walked up the steps, or what remained of them. At the top, he had to crawl over the railing because the steps were missing.

"Dad?"

He skipped over a large hole in the hallway. In his room, everything was rubble, too. His father's room was right next to it.

He braced himself.

The door to his father's room was missing. There was another huge gap in the floor, but this one he couldn't jump over. He didn't need to, though, because his father lay in the corner of the room. Half of his face was bandaged and his eyes were still and glassed over.

"No!" yelled Jacko, and forgot about the hole, and almost fell through it.

He clung to the rug that dangled out from the ceiling. Then he let go, dropping to his feet upon a pile of wood. The fall would have hurt, had he not been so upset.

He laid face down on the floor and cried.

Jacko's head got really hot. Vibrations rumbled through his body.

He screamed, "LUUUUUCEEEEEEEEM!!!"

His body lifted off the ground.

Jacko was too bereaved to realize that he'd burst through the ceiling and was, now, moving upward and through the sky. His rage burned like nuclear fission.

"LUUUUCEEEEEEM!" he flew upright and threw the clouds.
No Where to Go
Chapter 12

Jacko moved through the air at a speed so fast that might have circled the Earth a few times. He was numb and angry without any ideas about where he was going. All he could do was call for Lucem, but he got no response.

At one point, he contemplated flying to Venus to see if Lucem really was the morning star.

Jacko aimed further upward to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere, but when he tried to move beyond, something held him back, like an invisible bowl that kept inside.

After failing many attempted angles to exit the Earth, Jacko began to feel dizzy and tired, so he sought out a high, snowy, deserted peak to settle on.

He needed to think about how he was going to bring back Sissy. That was all he cared about.

But how do you bring back someone from the fountain of youth without being sucked in yourself?

You can't, he told himself.

What about with the power of a God? If he had the blessing, would he be able to bring her back, then? And should he? Or was it immoral? Would he face punishment from the gods? If he did manage to pull her back out of the fountain, would she remember him?

He didn't know enough about life and death to know how to go about it. Moreover, he knew that some gods might take an ethical stance on the matter.

How dare the gods put such burdens on him, a teenager! What ruthless, cruel, uncaring, war mongering gods!

Hate seethed through Jacko, making him incapable of further logical thought. From then on, he'd do everything and anything to keep them away.

There was a huge explosion.

Red and blue streams of light flew across the atmosphere. Then the whole peak, on which he sat, quaked violently.

A star was obliterated by the red beams. Waves of heat and fiery matter flew out for miles in all directions across the sky, and at a pace that could cut a whale clean in half.

Jacko knew it was the gods, warring in space.

Oh, well! Let them. It wasn't his problem, anymore. They screwed themselves when they let his sister get killed, so they could take their prophecies and shove them.

The snow fell down fast and hard around him, but he didn't feel it. He remained still in a zombie-fied state for hours.

~~~

Morning light broke. Jacko woke from his opened eyed stupor. The snow was up to his neck. He didn't even feel it pile up so high around him.

He looked up to the sky and saw jets of red and blue still flying across the sky. Jacko closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

Sometime later, he became aware, but couldn't open his eyes. Something cold and hard kept them shut.

The ground vibrated. He remembered where he was. Someone walked around, above him, as he sat buried in the snow.

There was the sound of loud static. It was the demons, probably tracking him. The ground quaked again, and the snow broke apart, revealing his location. Two demons tumbled off the side of the peak, as the vibrations grew stronger.

Other demons and a few Titans close by held fast, to keep from going over the side, too.

Seeing Jacko, several of them and one god, clear like Pallas, sent bolts at him. Jacko didn't flinch, and he didn't think about it. Without moving a finger or blinking, he sent the bolts back at them, obliterating his opponents on the spot.

The others clearly didn't expect Jacko to demonstrate such strength and will. At once, they all sent a rain of attacks, together, all of which Jacko sent back as the ground continued to quake.

A black arm reached around his neck and yanked him out of his crevice. With uncanny strength, Jacko grabbed the demon by his neck, pulled him over his shoulder, and slammed him onto the ground. Taking his palm, in a flat manner, he threw his body onto the demon, breaking through its rib cage, and pulling out its heart.

The other demons and gods stopped as they watch Jacko savagely squeeze the still beating heart into pulp. Black blood oozed out all over his palm.

In his rage, Jacko found strength he never knew he had. Using power of mind, he obliterated a demon that ran at him, turning him into bits of black mince on the snow.

The sky rained down sulfur and lightning that struck several of the demons, dead. Red and white bolts bounced off him, but he was too psychotic, too enraged, to be stopped.

When three demons realized they were all that was left, they looked at each other, and then disappeared.

Gaia appeared in the form of a girl, again, but she only stood there and observed Jacko for a moment.

She disappeared, but he heard her voice echo in the air. "Go to the orchard and get your blessing. You're strong, but not strong enough."
Truth Comes to All
Chapter 13

No demons or Titans bothered him again, up on the mountain peak. For weeks, it rained and snowed, but Jacko kept warm by a fire he'd conjured. Sometimes, he'd take the fire outside and watch the sky.

The war raged on in space, as evidenced by the dreadful storms. He supposed there were periods of rest because, sometimes, the sun would come out and the sky would be clear of red and blue flying rays.

Although none of Jacko's enemies visited him, various other beings came to try and talk: tried to convince him to seek the orchard again. Olympians, Gaia, angel creatures with messages. They tried to reason with him, telling him they were sorry about his sister, and that they had lost people, too.

He didn't respond, though. He simply stared, motionless, into his fire. When they saw there was no getting through to him, they left.

Now and again, it occurred to him that he should look for his siblings; that by giving up, he'd given up on them, too.

Sure, it was terrible that he sat on his rear while they were god-knows-where, and perhaps enduring god-knows-what. It was just more important that he defy the gods than give into them, and especially when they wouldn't even lift a finger to protect him or his family.

Okay, but how lame was that? He asked himself. What a selfish person he was, to think in such a way. But, still, where would he go? What could he do with a blessing? It wouldn't change the fact that he hadn't a clue where or how to rescue his brothers and sisters, Manlo and Althenio.

Many days passed with him on the mountain top. The weather was dreadful, but the fire burned on. He magically kept the tent he'd conjured from caving under the weight of the snow. When he was hungry, he called food to him; when he was thirsty, he called coffee and tea to him.

Other than sleeping a few hours through the night, he stared at his fire and the sky all day, and most of the evenings and nights. As he sat, though, his mind was hardly blank. Often, he'd recall memories of times with his mother, and stories she'd told him.

On one particular occasion, he recalled a peculiar day when his mother, after watching him on the playground with kids, called him to her. Jacko was always a kind-at-heart boy, but his mother sometimes told him that he lacked virtue; that without virtue he was doomed.

On that day, several kid bullies tried to oppress Jacko who rebuffed them easily, and without temper, yet didn't care enough to help his friend from class, whom the boys bullied next. She watched him watch them torment the kid for being smaller.

After sending the kids away, his mother pulled him aside and told him of Aristotle's theory of a tragic hero. She told him he was a good kid, and kissed his cheek and hugged him tight.

"A hero is not wholly good and just," she said, though at the time he didn't know why or care. "You're fortune is good now, but it could easily go bad. That's why you need friends."

"Yes, but you think I'm selfish," he cried, wiping his face on his shirt.

"I don't. I just think you have a flaw: fear."

"I'll change, mother," he sniffled. "I promise. Next time, I'll beat those kids up."

"Violence should always be a last resort. But next time, if you want to be a good person, you'll stand up for your friends."

"I was afraid, that's why I didn't help. I knew I could protect myself, but I was still scared. So when I saw them messing with my buddy, I thought: What if I lost the second time I stood up to them? Then they'd come back and bother me again. I don't like fighting: that's what I feared."

"You're human! Don't deny or work against your weaknesses, like fear. Understand them, accept them and work with them. When you work against your flaws, you create others. When you understand and accept them, you make great habits. And only with acceptance, will you not be undone by your own fate. Fight for good, and fight for your own as well as others safety. Find people whose strengths make up for your weakness, and make an airtight family, like an impenetrable fortress that surrounds. Do you understand me, Jacko?"

He remembered she had tears in her eyes. She scared him at that moment, and he didn't want to disappoint or upset her more, so he nodded his head.

"Why are you crying, mom? I'm the one that's been bad."

"No reason, love," she said with a sniffle. "Just remember these things. They'll come in handy, later on in life. The hero always comes to a tragic end. You can change that by remembering what I've told you."

Now he understood every word she meant. Jacko had studied several Greek tragedies since then, at school. The heroes lives usually ended on a low note, leaving them sad, pitiful, and sometimes damned.

Was that his fate? Is that what Althenio was hoping to see in the fountain of youth?

In the end, he did stand alone, abandoned by everyone. Did his tragic flaw make them leave him?

One evening, he cleared pounds of snow from the front of his tent and sat outside to watch the sky. The war had picked up again. Once in a while, he'd see a rocket sized arm or leg fly through the air, and he'd wonder if another god had been obliterated or simply maimed.

Sometimes, a shower of space rock would cut his scalp and cheeks, and he'd wonder what planet, star, or rock had been destroyed at that moment.

Jacko marveled at how the war mongering gods were no better, no more advanced, than man. They were millions of years old, yet were fighting the same battle, millennium after millennium.

Of course, the demons were to blame, too, because some beings only respond to force, he thought to himself. It wasn't likely that talking to them or the Titans would have helped change their minds. As Ouranus said, they were bent on war and had sided with the demons. When beings are overruled, they often result to force, and perhaps that is just the nature of being alive and having desires: when we don't' what we want, we take it without regard.

Was it the demon's right to have a turn on Earth? Maybe. Did he want the demons to have the Earth? No. So he had no choice but to fight, and it was the same with the gods and the demons.

Contemplating these things did not make Jacko feel any better, though. Rather, thinking about them made him sick with guilt that he sat there, still. But he was mad! If the gods wanted him, then they could have at least done the one thing that would've made Jacko feel secure. They could've protected his family better.

He conjured rice and chicken which he ate as he sat and watched the lightshow in the sky. In a red parka and matching pants with boots, he sat in a green sling back chair. A fire crackled as infrequent roars cried out from the sky.

He wondered if regular humans could hear and see the commotion in the stars.

Someone was there, watching him, but he didn't turn around. He'd had enough visitors, and if it was a demon, he'd obliterate it on the spot.

"How long do you plan to stay here?"

The voice came from his right, but Jacko kept eating. He knew who it was and didn't care.

"This is a whole new you, and yet it is not," he continued. "So angry and so obstinate, yet so afraid. You sit aside while others fight and die. But where, once, you would've been motivated to find a new way, now your anger paralyzes you, making you a stubborn child."

Jacko exhaled and wished he'd go away.

"Your anger gave you a power boost, and you frightened the demons into leaving you alone, but it won't last. They were lesser demons, hardly strong. There are bigger, older, stronger ones, and they will find you. If you think the Titans are hardened, wait till you feel the indestructible flesh of evil. You have to fight, Jacko. If you want to survive, you must go to the orchard, now."

Then let me die, he thought to himself. Jacko could feel Lucem looking at him, but he continued to eat.

"So that's it, then? Let you die? I won't let you die, Jacko. Not yet, anyway. You're my prodigy and I won't let you fail this part of your destiny. If I have to drag you out of here, I will. Understand, Jacko, that you have no free will, where I'm concerned. We're not humans; we're gods and we have responsibilities."

Jacko's jaw clenched. The fork in his hand shook.

How dare Lucem talk to him that way! No free will? Who does he think he is? This is not 5,000 B.C., and he is a slave to no one, not even gods.

Whether Lucem gleaned this thought from his mind, Jacko didn't know. Instead, he said, "Just so you know, it was I who sent Dog to you – you didn't conjurer him, and yes, it was I who whispered to you. I've been with you every step of the way."

Yeah, thanks for nothing.

"Look at me, Jacko."

Lucem squatted in front of him, making it impossible for Jacko not to see his hardened glass blue eyes. "You need to come with me, now, before it's too late."

"Can you bring back Sissy and my father?"

"If they're in heaven, than you can see them whenever you want, but they probably chose to move on. Once a soul is inside the fountain, it's nearly impossible to bring it back. Even if it was easy, there's always a chance they've moved on to another life, already. Most souls, who are wise, don't stay long in the fountain."

"We can't even try."

"We could but I don't recommend it. Inside the fountain is even more confusing than heaven. There, people are reliving their lives, and their past lives, and sometimes, a fantasy life more lurid than you can imagine. Many gods cannot penetrate that kind of energy. Such a journey has its danger for even the most powerful of us."

"What happened to her? How did she die?"

"I don't know, Jacko," he said with exasperation. "You ask us questions like we know everything, but we don't – can't - know everything. Though we're well beyond a human's capability, gods have limitations, too."

When Jacko said nothing, he said, "When the demons learned you were on your way to the orchard, they realized that using Sissy for a trade wasn't going to work – that you'd come after them with the full strength of a god. They were counting on you being uninformed and foolish, and coming after them before you got your blessing. I suppose they might've given up, when they heard you were on your way to the orchard. Maybe that's why they got rid of her, if it was them, that is."

Indignant at his response, Jacko said, "It was the demons! Who else could it have been?"

Lucem didn't flinch. He looked like a lifeless statue.

"You may never find the demon that killed her. Don't forget, it could have been a Titan, too."

"What about my half-brothers and half-sisters? Manlo and Althenio?"

"The elders have them."

"What?" he sat up in his slingback.

"Manlo and Althenio broke out of their imprisonment. They were met by Oganat who turned them over to the elder gods. Later, they collected the rest as you slept."

"Take me to them."

"I can't do that. Only those who are invited may visit them at the summit of the gods."

"Where is this summit?"

"It's the infamous Mount Olympus, but it's not reachable by anyone, except a pureblood. You'll never find it, unless you're invited, for it is shrouded in mystery."

"How could they kidnap my family but not allow me entrance to meet them? Aren't they on my side?"

"Of course, but their reasons for holding them is not to protect them, but to ensure that you go to the orchard. You should be grateful. You've gotten your wish, only now you know they're protected."

"By why did they take them while we slept."

"I recommended it. I knew you'd fight me; I knew your siblings would resist. You must take this journey alone. That's the way it's always been done."

The news should have made Jacko livid, but he was too tired to argue.

"So they're safe, then?"

"They have everything they could possibly want, and are probably watching you, as we speak."

"Watching me, how?"

"Bowl of Amphitrite; an object created for special viewings."

The gods used bowls of water to spy on humans, he recalled. The idea that his family was sitting somewhere watching Jacko do nothing made his muscles contract with shame.

"How do I know that you're telling me the truth?"

"Look into the fire"

"The fire?"

"Yes."

Flames danced out of the embers, combusting pieces of wood. On the flames, images appeared. On one section of flames, Dienla and Forsi played a board game of some sort while, on another tongue of flame, Manlo looked through a window. Next to him, Althenio stood like a statue, neither blinking nor moving. Brain and Machine wrestled as the rest of them were preoccupied with reading or watching television.

Their surroundings were blurry, but he could make out walls covered in televisions, the way they were at Oganat's villa.

"How do I know this is real?"

"I don't lie, Jacko."

"But you would conceal truths from me? Which is why you set me up the way you did, isn't it? That's why you've whispered to me, but only showed yourself, now. You didn't even have the decency to approach me after you nearly killed me by possessing my body," he said bitterly.

"I didn't know if I should approach you. I didn't know if you were ready."

Lucem stood back and held out his hand to him. Jack took it and stood up. Right at the second that their skin touched, the world around him spun, and when it settled, they were in heaven.

"Let's go."

He took long, fast strides along the gravel path; Jacko followed.

"Why can you not just take us to the orchard? Why must we waste time, walking?"

"Althenio should have explained, better, that you can't just will yourself into sacred places. You must journey there. If you don't sacrifice for the sacred, then it won't favor you. Only sacrifice is rewarded in heaven, and even gods must work for what they have. How else are we to divine the truly capable and the truly deserving?"

"So walking is our sacrifice?"

"It's work, is it not? It's time to reflect and contemplate. A pilgrimage tests strength, knowledge, and character of an individual, as he will, undoubtedly, encounter difficulties along the way. When we get to the orchard, it'll know about the sacrifice we've made to get there, and especially that which we have lost. The orchard will know how we behaved and will decide if we, that is you, are worthy of favor.

Besides, no one knows exactly where the orchard is at. Certain sacred places are shrouded in mystery so as to protect them. We can only get to them by walking to them."

"Who is the god in the fig orchard? Oganat didn't get that far."

"He is a god of many names. Ancient hamadryade Sykea, but he is no nymph. He's a god born out of the chaos, like Gaia, whom you've met. He is the symbol of life, strength, and prosperity. It's fortunate to have his blessing, though he doesn't grant many, anymore. Some say he's passed on."

"On to where? Is there a death for gods?"

"No, not death but he may have gone into permanent rest. Once a god loses his or her form, he or she is free to choose what they do with their life force: their energy. Some will go out in the universe and retire as a planet; some will plant themselves and feed a cause, such as the Sykea in the sacred orchard. Others may drift between unconsciousness and consciousness.

Gaia would be an example of moving on and drifting in and out of consciousness. There have been many gods who tired of being aware and stayed unconsciousness for so long that they no longer exist. Such gods cannot be pulled back from wherever their energy went, though it's possible that this is what's happened to Sykea, it's also possible to wake from deep unconsciousness."

"How depressing."

"When you've lived as long as a god, permanent rest is very appealing. Think of it this way, you have a dream, and you keep having the same dream over and over, every five minutes forever: that is what being immortal is like."

"Eerily, I think I get your point, Lucem. It still depresses me, though. Will that happen to me? Will I harden, turn white, clear, and lose form? And then drift into unconsciousness?"

"No, Jacko. Humans are lucky because they get to start over fresh. You'll die because you have a soul. Only a few impure gods were ever born without souls and lived fully as an immortal."

"Does Althenio have a soul?"

"No, he is one of the few."

"Manlo?"

"Yes."

"But how is he still alive? I understand gods age slower, but he's been alive for centuries!"

"Millenniums ago, a person like you could live up to 1,000 years, but that rarely happens anymore. Still, be prepared, Jacko. He is less pure than you, and so you may live longer than him."

"Oh no, I'm less pure than he. My father was mortal."

They walked on for a long while in silence until Jacko asked, "Why me?"

"Why are you the one who has to fight? Because you belong to me. You're the goodness I sent into the world. Once you have your blessing, you'll be complete."

"I don't belong to anyone!"

"You're wrong, Jacko. And it's time you know that. Your father was not fully mortal. The truth is your mother already conceived you by the time she left Manlo."

"What?" he shouted.

"You heard me, Jacko. Now, guess who your father really is."

Jacko's tempered flared like a match. And though he recalled wishing his real father was someone else, he couldn't help but hate Lucem.

"Does Manlo know that I'm his son?"

"I don't think so, but you don't seem to understand, fully. Let me explain.

A millennium ago, and for many millenniums prior, it was an honor to have the child of a god. In times past, people believed in magic, the supernatural, and higher forms of life.

On the woman's wedding night, her husband would be offered up for possession, and they would lie together. The gifted child would be celebrated and given every advantage by the family and its community.

Man has changed much in the last 1,000 years. Nearly everyone has lost their faith, even the so-called Christians don't truly believe in anything.

Over a decade ago, when I returned to the Earth to conceive again, instead of offerings, it was like I didn't exist. There were no celebrations and no rites to welcome me back. Instead, I had to resort to finding an appropriate mother for my child, and I searched for months!

Now, originally, I stuck to tradition and looked for a healthy, wise mortal woman, but none would have me. When I'd speak to them, they'd recoil in horror. One beautiful lady was committed by her husband, and to this day, she hasn't recovered.

I still feel guilty about that.

Finding a mate was difficult, so when I found your mother, I was relieved. But as I've said, things have changed. Your mother didn't look at me as a blessing, but a cursed prophecy to fulfill.

At first, she resisted me because of her love of Manlo, though they weren't married. But she knew the fate of the world depended on her carrying you. Her grandmother told her she'd give birth to the conjurer who'd change the world before, and would save the world again.

Still, I didn't pressure her because a woman must offer herself and her husband to me. If the offspring is to be pure and good, it must be conceived in a pure and good manner. And if she never offered herself, you wouldn't have been born.

After contemplating me for many nights, she finally offered herself and Manlo to me. She was the most honorable woman I'd ever known. She sacrificed her happiness to save you and the world. Bless her soul, Jacko. Still, I don't know if Manlo was aware of what took place.

I took possession of Manlo. A god cannot pair with a human while in a god form, but she knew it was I, and not him. Your mother was frightened, but I held her tight.

The next morning, Manlo's good friend, Althenio went to her with a warning. He told her that if she raised you in a house of gods, that demons would never cease coming after you: that they were already preparing to strike her home. She was scared for you, and knew she needed to protect you at all costs, so she put on her shoes, bundled up Sissy - her youngest at the time, and left in her automobile.

Later, she met John, but your mother never got over leaving Manlo. That's why she was sometimes sad. I don't know why she took the hemlock root, but I'm sure it was to protect you. She was a strong woman.

Jacko stopped in his tracks and looked at him. Lucem kept walking.

"Come on, Jacko. We haven't time to waste."

John was not his father; Manlo and Lucem was, in a sick and twisted way. His mother left Manlo because she was trying to protect him. These thoughts repeated themselves, over and over in his mind.

Jacko wanted to destroy something. Briefly, he thought about destroying Lucem. He thought about fleeing again, and returning to the peak. Lucem continued up ahead without slowing.

Now he realized that he'd never escape this god business, whether he went to the fig orchard or not. He was sucked in for life.

What if he found another mountain peak somewhere on the Earth? He could shroud it in mystery, as Lucem said, and make it so no one could find him. If they did, he'd obliterate them.

Just leave, now, he told himself. But he put one foot in front of the other. He must continue on; he must get his blessing and receive his strength. It was what his mother saved him for, and his sister died for, and he wasn't going to let them down. So he stuffed down his anger, and quietly followed Lucem. He stayed behind and followed him for hours until Jacko became weary.

Without a word, he sat off to the side of the road, resting his back on the trunk of a tree. Lucem sat next to him. So he got back up and moved ten trees further along the road.

He didn't want Lucem to talk anymore.

Ten trees was not far enough because he heard, clearly, when he said, "I know you're angry. You think I'll say more things that'll upset you. And I might, but isn't the truth worth it?"

"Screw you," said Jacko. "The only reason I'm still here is to protect myself and my family."

"If the world hadn't changed so much, you would've had the life you've always wanted: a family, friends, a happier life. You never would've had to go through such a long, winding road of madness to get to this point. But everyone who is otherworldly must live in secret, now. Unfortunately, that means many people who have otherworldly destinies only find out about them when they have no choice but to be enlightened. You see, it's for their protection, and their sanity, that they truths withheld. Think about it: What would it have been like to go through life, knowing that you might die at 14 years of age?"

When Jacko didn't reply, he said, "I didn't want to manipulate you, and neither did your mother. It was just the way it had to be.

Can't you find happiness? A while ago, you were angry because you thought you were all alone, except for half blood relatives. Now you have full a blooded family."

"It's not the family that I want. This is not the life that I want. When we're done, you will leave me alone!"

"We can't choose our family, Jacko. And I can't leave you alone, or at least, not until this war is over."

"I knew there was something familiar about you when you spoke to me, when you possessed me, in Ouranus. I could feel that you were part of me, which is why I thought you were Sissy, I guess. I felt the same way when I met Manlo. He comforted me; there was something familiar about him."

"So was that you at the diner? Who stopped the man from hurting me?"

"Sort of. I spoke, often, to Sissy, too. It was I who told her to email you, after being out of touch for so many years. When you left home, weeks ago, it was I who whispered to her, which is how she knew you were in trouble. I whispered to Manlo, told him you had come into your powers and needed a home; that it was his responsibility not to let a child, like you, alone in the world. And it was I who told you to go to Concord that morning in the diner. You're my son, and I've never abandoned any of my children. I could never be there for you, like a normal father, but I was always watching you."

~~~

They walked for what seemed like, forever. During which, the heavenly scenery remained unchanged. He guessed weeks might have passed, down on Earth.

Finally, there was a drastic change, around them, that let them know they'd made it to another part of heaven. The roads became winding and the sky had a special shiny, golden tinge to it, like a marine layer. It was even more beautiful there, thought Jacko, until he saw hundreds of blackened, hacked up trees for miles.

The smell of burnt fig overwhelmed his nose.

"Did the demons beat us here?"

Lucem walked up to the closest tree, drew down a branch, and examined its leave-less bark. He allowed the branch to snap back. Layers of char burst off and fluttered to the ground.

"Demons or Titans," he replied.

"But how could the Titans do this to their own gods?"

"For the same reason man turned on their gods, like me."

Lucem motioned to Jacko, and he followed.

They walked further into the orchard, and found more charred and hacked at trees. Blackened figs covered the ground, making it hard to step around them. They smooshed and smeared under Jacko's shoes, making it hard to walk without slipping.

Shame and guilt choked Jacko. He knew his enemies destroyed the trees to stop him from getting his blessing. If he'd come sooner, like he was told, they would've never bothered.

Lucem continued on, further into the orchard.

Jacko hung back, and bent down to examine the trunk of a tree. Just like the ferns, they lived. Inside, the cork and heart wood was blood red.

There was a noise behind him. He stood and turned.

A black shadow ran around him, tree to tree, so fast that he couldn't see them, clearly.

A red jewel eye peered at him from around the trunk of a tree. Jacko tried to obliterate him but couldn't. His anger was gone, and in its place was sadness. As a result, his strength left him. Lucem was right: his power didn't last because it was linked to his emotions.

However, the demon must have felt his attempt to destroy him because it screamed like it was in pain. It sunk to its knees and wiggled on the ground.

Confused, Jacko looked on and didn't react as he should have, which was to find cover.

Something shot Jacko from behind. At first he was surprised, and looked around for the source of whatever hit him. Then he swayed on the spot as pain in his shoulder brought him to his knees.

Lucem appeared with a furious look on his face, beside Jacko, and obliterated the demons one-by-one. There were the sounds of many others fleeing. The demons must have thought Jacko would arrive at the orchard, alone.

Though Jacko knew Lucem to be a warm being, he scared him at that moment. He turned to him, and his face had a look of rage that could terrify the bravest men. He had a wild madness in his eyes. His skin had gone paler than the ghostliest ghost, and his hair was glowing white.

"Up, Jacko," he commanded.

On they continued and, though they heard footsteps and sounds all around them, the demons did not show themselves again.

They walked until Jacko fell asleep, and stumbled to the ground.

~~~

He was lying against the trunk of a tree. A hundred feet or so, in front of him, he saw an entanglement of gigantic tree trunks. They were entwined around each other, like vines. Altogether, they made a trunk the size of a palace.

The trunk was also hacked at and charred.

Lucem sat next to him.

"How did we get here? I don't remember anything."

"I carried you."

"Is that the father fig tree?"

"Yes, but he's very weak."

He moaned about his aching shoulder.

"Can't you fix this?"

"Come on," he picked Jacko up with one arm and placed him on his feet.

They walked toward the large tree.

Up close, Jacko was amazed to see the damage the demons managed. Entire trunks of trees were split in half. They'd almost managed to cut through the whole thing. It looked like they'd been at it for days, and maybe even weeks.

Jacko stood on a root, intending to get a closer look at a cut on the tree, but it crunched down to the ground, under his weight.

Noticing an exposed root that expanded and contracted on the ground, he knelt, and held it. He felt it struggle to breathe in his hand. Sadness overwhelmed him as he realized he'd missed his chance.

Although not a manly thing to do, he couldn't hold back the tears that watered up behind the film of his eyes. He'd been through too much, and his poor decisions had cost others. Now a sacred god was dying.

His arm throbbed, terribly.

He peeled his bloody shirt away from his arm. Seeing a gaping hole, there, he nearly threw up.

He ripped off the lower end of his tee shirt and pressed it against his wound. The cloth soaked through with blood. Clumsily, he managed to tie the cloth onto his shoulder.

Jacko stood up and wiped his face, accidentally smearing blood on his teary cheek. He looked at his blood stained hand.

A voice whispered to him.

"What?" he said. "I think it spoke to me. What?"

Jacko leant into the tree, touching it with his bloody, tear soaked hand. The whispering got louder and louder, but he couldn't make out what it was saying.

"Stand back, Jacko."

Lucem grabbed him by the shoulder, pulled him backward and pushed him down. "Kneel," he said, as he did this.

The ground shook and the tree rumbled.

Tremendous heat suddenly emanated from the tree. A gold ray of light emanated out from the gaps in the vine-like trunks.

Something hit Jacko in the head.

On the ground, a gleaming gold colored fig lay. He looked up and quickly back down to avoid being hit in the eyes, as the tree rained down more figs.

Lucem looked around, picked up a handful, and ripped them open.

"Eat, Jacko, eat."

~~~

They sat a long time on the ground.

"Will the orchard live, then?"

"It'll be fine, with time. You gave it strength, and he was pleased, I could tell."

"How did I give it strength? He looked pretty weak to me."

"Your blood and tears, Jacko. He was, further, pleased by this because, through your elements, he saw you really sacrificed to get here. Part of your energy resonates with the orchard now."

They sat in silence a while longer.

"Does this mean we go to war, now?"

Lucem stayed silent.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get this over with!"

"We're waiting on a sign."

"Why do you always leave me hanging like that? Are you gonna tell me what the sign is, or do I have ask again?"

"There's something that no one has told you. While you're here venturing, so is a demon who is your equal. He is your dark counterpart."

"You mean, I'm going to have to face this demon, don't you?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Will he be as powerful as I?"

"Yes, in their world. And in their world, he's made his way to the burning yard of embers to receive a blessing of fire."

"Why must we wait? Let's go there and kill him now!"

"You're very impatient, but we have ways of doing things. We agreed to let our champions get their chance to train, before meeting in battle. You won't fight until it's time."

"But they tried to kill me before I received my strength!"

"Because they're evil, conniving demons; it's who they are. We must be better than they are."

"You know, I really don't feel all that different. Are you sure the blessing worked? I don't feel that much stronger."

"Try it, now. Go ahead heal your arm."

"How?"

"Just think about it."

He looked at his arm and imagined it was whole, like before. A gold light gleamed from the whole, the same way the tree did. And then there was no longer a gaping hole.

"I suppose I always knew there was more to this than just going to war, for me. I'm not totally surprised that I have to fight some evil creature, as that's how it always goes in the old Greek tragedies. There's always one final battle, or test of some kind," he sighed. "So what do we do in the meantime?"

"I want to take you somewhere, and then we can visit your family on the mountain; there, we'll get you into training."

"Oh, so I'm invited to the mountain, now?"

"You're blessed now. You need no invitation."

"Where will you take me, first?"

"I'll show you my life, and my world. How things came to be. It's important that you understand who I am, who you are, and what we must represent. Take my hand," he said, but Jacko hesitated.

"I'll bring you back. You're my son, and I would never hurt you."

Reluctantly, he extended his arm. As the tips of his finger touched the back of Lucem's palm, they were off in a whirl, like being swept away in tornado.

END
Due to the length of the original novel, the story has been divided. The second part to Jacko's adventures is scheduled for release in 2013.

All rights belong to Jamie Ott.

To contact the author direct, please email her at ladysonoma@americamail.com, or check her author page on Facebook.

More about the author:

Jamie Ott is passionate about the fantasy genre of young adult literature. She has been sketching out this story for years. Currently, she is the published author of young adult novel, Maternal Absence and, soon to be released, Funk's the Chocolate Loving Vamp. Last year, she published her first romance novel, Misguided Trust.

Please find following, a sample of the latest in her teen vampire series, Vampin.

Black Fleet

Vampin Book Series #9

By Jamie Ott
Copyright   2012 Jamie Ott. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used without written permission.

ISBN-13: 978-1467970023

ISBN-10: 1467987023

For all inquiries, please contact ladysonoma@americamail.com
Awake or Dreaming
Chapter 1

Her bed was extremely hard and cold.

_Time for a new mattress,_ she thought.

Starr reached around for her blanket, but only felt the surface of something smooth and hard.

She opened her eyes and propped up on her elbows. Through narrowed eyes, she looked for her blanket, but, instead, saw that she wasn't even in bed; she was lying on a cold black table.

Thinking she was dreaming, she rubbed her eyes, roughly. When she reopened them, panic enveloped her.

She looked around the room, but nothing looked familiar.

Except for a single set of red velvet curtains, the room was plain; the walls were bare and white, and the wood floor was dusty.

Then she noticed that the thick ray of moonlight that beamed across the room, from between an opening in the curtains, was disrupted by something at the foot of the table.

Propping herself up higher on her elbows, she noticed it looked like an altar.

The moonlight was snuffed out, for a few seconds, leaving Starr in complete darkness.

Carefully, she got off the table and walked to the window. She pulled back the curtains, looked out, and saw that a small hive of bats had just passed, and were flying off for a night hunt.

Looking down, she saw she was on the second story of an unfamiliar stone house. There were a couple acres of mown lawn. A mile or two out was a drop off that was barely visible through a large mass of fog rising upward.

She turned back to the dark room.

Using her power of remote viewing, a form of extra sensory perception, she sensed the rest of the house to see if anyone else was there, but there was not.

Starr turned her attention to the altar.

On it, laid a few burned down candles, a bowl of salt, a dagger and a silver goblet with a rosary draped across it.

Starr noticed a charred smoke smell, about the place. Looking down, she realized the smell came from her, as her pajamas were ripped, stained, and ashy.

A painful twinge shot down her neck, making her whole body jump.

She rubbed her neck and made to get a closer look at the items.

Immediately, she took interest in a black leather book that lay in the center of them all.

On the front, etched in gold letters, were the words Necro-Grimoire.

Although the pages were written in Latin, Starr could tell that it was a very special book. The Grimoire's paper was heavier than books of today, and the edges of it were really rough, almost as if they'd been cut.

Judging by the smell that came from the book, it was old, too.

Starr didn't know, exactly, what a Necro-Grimoire was, though she'd heard similar words in movies. If she were still alive, her pulse would have quickened; not only was she somewhere she didn't remember coming to, but to find such items so close to her, upon waking, scared her.

She put the book in her pajama pants pocket and made to leave the room.

Whoever brought her there must not have realized that simple locks couldn't keep her in.

Gently, she applied more pressure to turning the doorknob, breaking the lock easily.

Even though she sensed that she was alone, there was always the possibility that someone was masking their thoughts or their scent.

Slowly, she poked her head out of the door.

The hall was large and empty of any decorations as well: no tables, chairs, pictures, or anything, just dust.

Quietly, she made her way down the dark stairwell.

The bottom floor of the house was just as empty of furniture, or any personal touches, as was the upstairs.

When she stepped onto the bottom landing, she was instantly distracted by the moon, which appeared so large and white through the living room's glass door that it looked as if it were sitting on the grass.

Momentarily entranced, she walked across the Spanish tile floors, and slid back the glass door, breaking the little metal latch, absentmindedly.

The sky was blackish, and the fog felt moist and fresh on her skin. She walked across the grass to the drop off, and then peered down into the houses on the lower incline of the hill.

She heard thoughts, like little whispers in her ears, coming from below.

In one grey stone dwelling, two people argued as they got ready for bed. On the other side of town, a couple made love as their teenage daughter climbed out of a window.

Many miles to her right, several bored teenagers horsed around, in a marsh, drinking booze they'd stolen from their parents: two of them weren't wearing shoes, for some reason.

Starr could smell their blood all the way from where she stood.

One of them went to urinate in the marshy water of the river.

She sensed the animal, lurking, even before it stirred the surface of the water; it was hungry and knew it needed to put the colorless beast down, fast, or he'd get away.

It leapt out with lizard-like reflexes, scaring the kid into a backwards stumble onto the muddy ground. The alligator waddled on top of the kid, quickly.

Hearing him scream, the others ran, from out of the trees, to help.

Suddenly, she wanted to be there; not so much to help the guy, but to see the animal whose hunger she could feel. Never had she had such a connection with an animal before.

How was she to get there? She was so far away?

But, then, almost as if her inner demon were answering her, she levitated.

From below, she could hear the teens shouting. She commanded her body to go, fast.

And she did, fast like the wind she flew down to the spot where the largest, of them, was attempting a back grip on the alligator. One of the other kids held a shotgun, pointed at the animal's head, and screamed at his buddy, telling him to try to get out from under it so he could shoot.

Her feet touched down amongst the clump of trees to their right, but they were too busy to notice.

She walked out, pushed the large kid away, and yanked the alligator off by the tail.

The alligator was angered, and it looked at Starr with complete ferocity. She could feel the animal's surprise; it felt hunger, fear and rage all at once. It wanted to rip, tear and kill her, right there on the spot.

Uncontrollably, a growl issued from her throat, as is what happens, sometimes, when in danger: a vampire's demon, within, would take over, and there was no stopping it.

She felt her fangs protrude, and they reached down to their full length, lightly touching her lower gums.

The alligator looked like it wanted to charge her, but it was entranced by her eyes.

Starr felt her power over the animal, and it excited her.

_Go back to the water,_ she commanded, into its mind.

The alligator obeyed.

Fascinated, she watched it walk backwards into the water, and sink below the surface.

As she watched, it occurred to her that something was seriously wrong, for she'd never done any of the things she'd just done, before.

Yes, she was a strong vampire, but she was young; less than two years old. For most, it took at least a century for new fledglings to grow into all their new powers.

Until her waking, a few moments ago, she'd never been able fly, talk to animals, or sense people from miles away. Combine these things with the fact that she had no recollection of how or where she was, and the situation didn't look good.

Starr needed answers right away, but she had the strangest feeling she needed to be somewhere, at the moment.

Her neck twinged again, distracting her from her thoughts.

"How in the hell did you do that?" asked one of the young men, in a terribly thick southern accent.

But when she turned, he screamed and ran off, shouting, "Demon! Courir!"

They ran as quickly as they could.

Starr just stared at the backs of them.

Judging by the man's accent, and use of the word courir, she must be in Louisiana, somewhere, but why and how?

She sat on the bank and watched the water, trying to remember anything.

The alligator poked its head out of the water. Its large yellow eyes watched her, curiously.

The last thing she remembered was saying goodbye to her parents, but that had to have been a few days ago.

Slowly, the alligator walked up the bank of the marsh, and then lay down in front of her, watching her with its mouth partly opened.

Then she heard someone rustling in the trees, and the cocking of a rifle.

Superstitious swamp folk had banded together, and were coming to kill her; another strange thing, for Starr was not, normally, a telepath.

_Go_ , she said into the alligator's mind.

It slithered back down the bank, and sank under the water.

She stood up and moved into the trees, away from the clearing.

Hearing the small mob's thoughts, she realized they thought she was one from the new vampire species; the ones that were more like rabid dogs, rather than supernatural humans.

"Stop," she yelled through the trees. "I'm not like them."

An old man shouted, in French, "Diable," and shot aimlessly in her direction.

Starr could have stopped him, but she decided to walk on down the river bank.

~~~

She didn't make it to another town until sunup. Yes, she could have flown, but she didn't know where she wanted or needed to be. Walking was just something to do, for the moment, while she tried to figure it all out.

The town was a dusty old place where the people all wore dirty overalls. Many of them appeared to have never learned about teeth brushing while others didn't care for shoes.

She must have been a sight to see, too, for they stared, hard, at her.

Still unsure of what to do, she continued until she reached the other end of town, where she sat on a dusty bench and watched the river ripples.

A dirty blue truck caught her attention as it blew up dust and rattled its way to a red wooden restaurant some hundred feet to her right.

The sun reflected off a silver metal box, next to the entrance door: it was a pay phone.

Eagerly, she went to make a phone call, but as she lifted the hand piece, she realized she didn't know any numbers; she always relied on her cell phone for that. Whenever she got new ones, she'd enter the numbers into her memory card and never think of them again.

_Damn!_ she cursed.

She looked at the phone's address which was printed beneath a piece of plastic above the numbers; it said Red River, LA.

Just then, the door to the restaurant opened, and out came a man with a cigarette in his hand.

"You gonna use the phone?" asked the man.

Starr shook her head and moved aside.

Coming from the restaurant, the whispering and thoughts of so many people was a bear. More than anything, she wished she could silence them.

When the man sparked a match, the fire caught Starr's eye, for some reason.

She stared at the little orange flame, feeling, again, like she needed to be somewhere, and then like water breaking down a dam, memories flooded her mind.

"Oh my!" she gasped, and sank to her knees.

She was talking to Bielz when the landing, they stood on, collapsed, and they were buried under the crumbling fiery cabin.

Covered in rubble, and her neck reinjured, she couldn't move. She thought she was going to die, but was rescued by Credenza, who was the leader of a world vampire police organization. Flying into the night was the last lucid thing she remembered.

She felt another twinge in her neck which she rubbed. Lucenzo beheaded her, a few weeks ago, and, up until being rescued by Credenza, she was in recovery, and had only begun to move on her own, when the fire had been set.

Credenza must have done something to heal her. But, what? And why bring her to Louisiana?

_Oh well,_ she said to herself.

It didn't matter because she needed to find the others and make sure they were okay. Anything else would just have to wait.

With that thought, she took off into the air to find them.
Next Door Over
Chapter 2

Flying long distance was something that took a little getting used to. Direction, while in the air, was hard to grasp.

Somehow, animals always knew which way they wanted to go though.

Using the idea that she was, now, more animal than human, she told herself, repeatedly, that she wanted to go northeast, back to the cabin's sight, and back to the kids. Although she landed in the wrong state, twice, it worked, for she made it onto the bank of Lake George, in New York, by the time the first stars, in the sky, began to shine.

Evidence of the fire was still present. The sky had a nasty brown tinge, and the setting sun looked bright cherry red through it.

Then she noticed, as she looked around, that the cabin wasn't the only thing affected by the fire, but so was the entire side of the bank.

For nearly ¼ of a mile, from where she stood, all the trees on the upper part of the bank were burnt up. On the lower half of the bank, the trees that hadn't been burned were black and charred, and all their leaves lay in piles of ash at their bases.

Another thing that seemed to have improved, since she woke in Louisiana, was her sight. As she looked through a barrage of charred trees, a mile down, she saw that another cabin had been burned to the ground; the only thing left was its cement foundation.

She went to the pile of blackened junk that was, once, the cabin where she and the homeless kids, from the clinic, stayed.

Starr kicked up the dirt and rubble, wondering if her beloved ruby studded sickles had survived the fire, or even the sterling silver and nickel nunchucks Antony had given her, before he vamped out, forcing her to rip off his head.

As she kicked up the rubble, she stopped over a particular spot of ash.

She could smell her there; the one who set the fire. Bielz died on that spot. A smoldered scent of flesh, burnt to a crisp, still resonated on the blackened bits of wood and debris.

Distracting her from her thoughts came whispering from further along the bank.

Listening intently, she tried to hear if it were the kids.

The trees rustled, violently, from many yards away. There were many of them coming: the new species of vampires, and they were hungry.

Quickly, she looked for something to behead them with. She dug through the rubble, and tossed random chunks of material aside, hoping to find one of the machetes they always kept by the side of the house, but there was nothing.

It was too late; they were nearing.

Her inner demon wasted no time; her fangs drew, and she felt her skin grow warm, and her night time vision became even clearer.

Quickly, she ran up to the first vampire and gave it a jumping front kick to the face, sending his head spinning, flying over the trees.

For a split second, she stood stock still, in surprise. The kick, and separation of the vamp's head, seemed too easy; almost like punting a football, there was little resistance. In that moment, she realized that, not only had she acquired new powers, but that her strength had greatly increased.

Two vamps came at her, from behind, but she didn't turn, like she normally would have, for she could hear and calculate their movements.

Together, they put their hands on her shoulders, and opened their mouths to bite her neck.

Starr reached up and, like inserting her fingers into a bowling ball, grasped them by their heads, digging her nails into their craniums, feeling the bone break inward, and the softer flesh within; she yanked their heads off their bodies.

Four more vampires came at her.

In the stance of a perfect port de bras doing a flat footed pirouette, she made a 360 degree turn, using the heads to bat off the skulls of the first two oncoming vampires.

She smirked as she looked down and saw how the skin had nearly, entirely, been ripped away from the skulls: her hand was the only thing keeping the heads together.

Before, it would have taken a lot of work for her to kill that many vampires, but now it was so easy.

There were still two more left.

She dropped the bloody skulls on the ground.

One thing she'd always wanted to try, on someone, was a flying kick. Combined with her new power, she expected it to be quite fun.

Starr readied herself in a straight stance, a second, then ran and leapt into the air with her leg at an angle, flying her foot into its head, spattering blood everywhere, and all over her pajamas.

"Yuck!" she said aloud, and told herself she'd never do that again.

Then, suddenly, the last vampire, a big fat beast of about six and a half feet came at her. His body was the shape of a whale, he was unusually strong, and his hands were huge.

When he grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her toward him, fury and rage boiled in her. She pushed up his wrists, stood back and made to strike, but she merely side kicked her foot into flame.

The vampire screamed and fell to the ground as his body combusted.

It took a moment for her to realize what she'd done.

The only people she knew who could set fire through kinesis, alone, were Credenza and a vampire who worked for her, Alin.

_What could all these new abilities mean?_ she wondered.

Did Credenza, somehow, transfer powers to her?

Did it mean she was in Credenza's debt? If so, she would have a fight on her hands, because one thing Starr had said, over and over, was that she wanted to be left alone.

Someone called her name, from the trees higher up on the bank: it was Lily.

Lily had been bitten, weeks ago, by the new species of vampire. After, she immediately turned into a mindless organ eating, blood drinker, like the others, but, with the help of Lucenzo – the one responsible for the viral outbreak that turned thousands of people into the raging monsters – she had managed to hold onto her humanity.

"What are you doing here?" Starr asked surprised.

"We never left," she replied. "How did you do that?"

"Set him on fire? I'm not exactly sure," Starr said, as she took a couple of steps towards her.

Lily stepped back with a look of fright in her eyes.

"Why are you afraid of me?" Starr asked, feeling a little surprised by her instinct to retreat.

"You're," she paused, "different."

"So are you," said Starr, taking in her appearance.

It was almost as if she'd never been bit. Not only was the sickening pheromone smell gone - a cinnamon-like scent the new vampires had - , but her eyes were no longer dilated and her skin was rosy, instead of waxy white.

"Well, I should go," she turned.

"Wait," Starr said, and walked up to stop her.

Unaware of her increase in natural speed, such as walking, she appeared in front of Lily, with her hand on her shoulder, within a second.

Lily gasped and asked, "How did you move so quickly?"

"I...," she trailed off, wondering what she should say. After a moment, she repeated, "don't know."

Starr couldn't help but be amazed at her healthy appearance. Before, she was constantly drooling with a zoned out look on her face, like a zombie from a movie.

"Are you infected, still?"

"Yes, but the virus doesn't have as strong of a hold on me anymore."

"Is Lucenzo still treating you?"

"Yeah," she drawled, and her voiced quavered.

Ignoring her discomfort, she asked, "Where is he?"

"I won't tell you. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't even be here, right now. I can't let you hurt him, because that would be hurting me."

Starr just watched her. She didn't know what to say.

"I don't want to hurt..."

"I gotta go," Lily interrupted.

Starr watched her walk into the trees.

When she'd made it, approximately, ten yards away, Starr went in after her.

When Lily turned her head backwards, at the sound of a crunching leaf, Starr levitated and continued after her.

She followed her further up the bank to a large three story cabin some miles out. Heavily surrounded by trees, it stood in the nook of a rock hill, next to a large red barn.

Starr watched Lily walk up the three wood steps, across the porch and through the front door. She was about to follow her inside, but, then, she felt an insatiable hunger for blood coming from the barn next to the cabin.

Quickly, she probed it with her mind.

What she saw filled her with fear and anger.

Inside there were a dozen or more naked vampires. Clearly, Lucenzo had experimented on them, as some were missing arms and legs – it was easy to see that they'd been neatly cut off - , and others had needle marks on their skin and faces. They lay on top of each other, like stacked books, with eyes open, thinking and dreaming of blood.

There were several rows of the vampires piled in stacks of ten.

_How did he get them to behave like that?_ she wondered.

Feeling like she could throw up, even though she weren't alive, she turned her focus to the house.

Lucenzo had cooked dinner, and Lily sat at the table and proceeded to tell him that she saw Starr.

_Well, you might as well come in,_ Lucenzo whispered telepathically into her mind.

She would have liked to have gone in... gone in and killed him for beheading her, but it was only for Lily that she didn't.

The cabin had enormous ceilings that rose up into the third floor, and the kitchen and living room were one large space. There were cozy looking couches and a large screen television in the living room section. Behind them was a counter, around which Lucenzo and Lily sat with a casserole dish in their midst, and table settings in front of them.

"I'm glad to see you are better," he said, as he stood up to give her a kiss on the cheek.

She side stepped around him, and sat at the empty chair.

"Well," he said, surprised by her speed, "You've healed fast. Normally, a beheading, if reattached immediately, can take months and months," he said happily.

To hear him speak of nearly killing her as though he'd only stepped on her foot made her livid.

"What kind of sick things are you doing to the vampires in the barn?" she asked, trying to repress her anger.

"Well, I'm using them to create vaccines," he said vibrantly, as he went to the cabinet, picked up a plate, and sat back down.

"You're making a vaccine to help those you've infected?"

He pulled the casserole over to himself, and piled some onto the plate, and then set it in front of Starr.

Lily remained silent and looked from Lucenzo to Starr, repeatedly.

"We can't possibly save everyone, Starr."

"You realize the Fleet has gone on a mass mission to exterminate all the vampires?"

"Well, they shall not succeed," he smirked, and looked straight at her with his crystal blue eyes.

Starr picked up the fork he set in front of her, and contemplated her chances of killing him with it. Feeling him watching her, she made to take a bite in an attempt to mask her thoughts, but paused and asked, "Why did you release the virus?"

"For the same reason as before: to change the world."

"Before..." said Starr thoughtfully, remembering back to her time with Chanler in the Transcarpathian Mountains. He mentioned that it was _one_ person who was responsible for all the vampire outbreaks in the last thirty years, but that they always failed to track him down.

Lucenzo pushed his long red hair back, and took a bite of his casserole.

"Lily, Sweetie, eat," he said.

Starr continued to watch him, and then he said, "I did it so we don't have to live in the shadows; so we don't have to hide anymore; so we can start a new world. Just think of all the things we, vampires, could do: eliminate the need for government, no more hungry people, even homelessness would no longer be an issue. If we could turn the brilliant minds of today, and have them always, we could have some major technological advancement, even space travel would be more attainable. I want to see man progress faster. Perhaps man could never survive the atmosphere of Mars, but just maybe a vampire could."

Starr didn't know what to say. His argument seemed fascinating to her, but she still thought his actions were wrong.

After a moment of silence, she asked, "Where are your friends? Nico, Kris, and Mick? Have they been working with you all along?"

"They're fine," he said, as he took another bite of casserole.

"And your brother, Fernand?"

"Fine," he repeated.

"Where's Amir?"

Amir was the vampire in league with Lucenzo.

He set down his fork and sighed, loudly.

"These questions are pointless. I'm not going to tell you anything," he said. "Lily's missed you, so why not eat and let's talk like we used to."

"After what you did to me, I cannot," she said angrily, as she stood up to leave. "The only reason we don't fight is for Lily's sake."

She left the cabin, and walked down the steps.

Then, as she walked into the trees, she got a familiar tickle in her ear. She rubbed it but it turned into a buzzing.

A moment later, she was down on her knees. Starr was getting a vision: Chanler was in a room, calling for her.

Next thing she knew, she was flying through the air. She didn't know where she was going, but her inner demon seemed to know that she needed to reach Chanler.
War Time
Chapter 3

She landed on a grass field, before a clean and narrow street. Across from where she stood was a row of cement buildings, with thick bullet proof glass panes that went on for a couple of miles.

Starr scanned their insides, trying to see if anyone were in them. At the furthest end to her left, she heard a discussion taking place.

Looking in, she saw a dim lit room where a dozen men in suits sat at a table discussing. Some of the Fleet members were there, listening.

The Fleet was an organization of enforcers, put together by Credenza to make vampires oblige human law, and, when they didn't, see to their extermination.

She walked the mile or so to the furthest end of the drive. When she approached the large glass door, she leaned her head against the glass and looked in.

Inside, there was an empty check-in counter and a door right behind it; to her left, a set of doors; to her right, two elevators.

She pressed the bar of the door and found that it was locked. Gently, she applied more pressure, but it didn't respond.

Annoyed, Starr looked down at the metal panel with the green flashing light, below the bar. Using her mind, she looked inside the metal and focused her kinesis on burning out the wired board inside.

After a moment, it hissed and sparked, and the light went out, but the door still wouldn't open.

She stood back and braced herself, and then, using all her strength, she kicked in the door, breaking the bullet proof glass into several parts, sending a large chunk of it flying back, and tripping an alarm.

Lights blinded her eyes with flashing red and white as a most annoying siren raided her ears, making her recoil.

Although her ears and eyes had increased in strength, it seemed they had become more sensitive, too.

Pressing her hands onto the sides of her head, she forced open her eyes and saw two military men with rifles come from a door behind the desk.

They came at her, shouting for her to get on the ground. Starr knew she should have complied, but didn't like the guys waiving guns in her face, and trying to be tough with her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm here to see the Black Fleet, from the Council."

"I'll shoot you, Miss," said the man to her right.

Quickly, Starr grabbed his gun and broke it in half, and then threw it on the ground.

The man next to him shot, but Starr's reflexes really had grown, for she saw the bullet come at her, out of the corner of her eye.

She moved her head to the side, grabbed the gun by the barrel, and pushed it back, whacking him in the face with the butt.

The man fell flat onto the ground.

Starr heard the footfalls of other soldiers, coming from behind the door.

Quickly, she went through one of the doors to her left, and found herself in a stairwell. She followed the scent of the Fleet members up to the seventh floor.

Once she exited the stairwell, another alarm went off.

Starr ignored it and continued right, down the hall, turned the corner, and found herself facing the remaining members of the Fleet: Chanler, Alin, Sari, James, Emil and, their pilot, Saul.

With them were about a dozen men in suits.

"Nice job," said Alin sarcastically. "You could have just knocked."

Men flooded the floor from the elevators and the stairwell.

"It's okay," said Chanler. "This is Starr; the one we were telling you about. She can help us."

The military men looked at the men in suits who nodded to them, indicating that they could leave.

The Fleet members looked her up and down, taking in her appearance.

They walked up to her.

"What, in the hell, happened to you?" asked Emil, with a little smile in his eyes.

"I was in a fire."

"So you just came straight here?" asked Alin.

"No, Alin, it's a long story. I don't want to get into details right now."

"What have you been doing?" he asked more accusingly.

Alin was always a sharp tongued serpent with a cut throat attitude.

"What do you mean?" she said, knowing that he was onto her.

"You seem different."

She said nothing.

"Why are you in your pajamas?" asked Chanler.

"Hello? Did I not say that I was in a fire? The cabin burned down!"

"Isn't there something we can do, Bob?" he turned and asked a man in a white shirt and tie.

"There are spare clothes, downstairs, in the military supplies room."

"I'll take you," said Alin. "They won't know you, and we need to talk."

He motioned that she follow him. They walked back to the stairwell, and he held the door open for her to enter.

"How did the cabin catch fire?"

"Uh... well, remember Bielz?" she asked as she looked down the stairwell.

"Yeah."

"Well, she kind of had it in for me. I killed a friend of hers; he had a habit of vamping out."

"His name was Antony; I heard about him."

"Yeah, well, Bielz was angry about it and set the cabin on fire to get back at me."

"Where are the kids? Are they okay?"

"I don't know," she said, looking down as they stepped. "I got them out of the house, alright, but then Bielz was still there. She refused to leave, though I tried to talk her out of it. It's almost as if she wanted to die, and I don't understand why; things weren't that bad for her. I wanted to save her, and I could have, but then the landing collapsed, reinjuring my neck and I couldn't move."

"Who did it?"

"I told you, Bielz did it."

"Not who set the fire, but who healed you? You're prancing about as though you've never had your head cut off, which is an injury that you should still be recovering from. I know someone healed you, and that is a big deal. Who was it?" he asked, turning his face toward her.

She was sure that Alin was trustworthy, but Starr couldn't help but feel that, at the moment, she should keep her mouth shut.

As they reached the last step, she said, as she looked back at him, "Look, Alin, I don't want to be rude but, for the moment, I think I'd rather not talk about what happened to me."

"Starr, there is a reason that I asked. When you're healed by another of our kind, you become bound to that person by a supernatural rope, if you will, bound by blood forever."

"What does that mean?" she asked in a small voice.

"It means that you can see into each other's minds, and when one of you hurts, or is in danger, you can sense the other's urgency; you can even sense happiness at times. The person who heals you will always be able to find you, and you, them. Like following a trail ablaze, your blood will stand out against the world to that person."

As he spoke these words, her forehead became extremely warm; suddenly, it felt like an invisible rope were around her neck, and getting tighter and tighter.

Alin walked through the door, and held it open for her.

Credenza healed her on purpose, and she knew it had nothing to do with wanting to save her. It was her way of keeping tabs on her.

He led her into a dark grey hall, to a door with a broken padlock. Next to the door was a desk, behind which sat a soldier.

Alin nodded to the man, and they walked past him, through the door. Inside was a large closet, in which there were guns and ammo, and other gear in the front.

Further to the back, there were military clothes, with the familiar U.S. Army camouflage brownish-green. Starr picked out a pair of the sturdy cotton pants, a white shirt, socks and shoes.

After, Alin led her to the showers, on the opposite end of the hall, and told her to meet him on the seventh floor when she was done.

The lady's shower and locker room was just as dreary as the rest of the building. It had plain grey walls with no decorations.

She walked over to a bench and undressed. Then she pulled the Necro-Grimoire from her pajama pocket and carefully stuffed it in the cargo pocket of the army pants.

Never, in her life, had she enjoyed the feel of hot water on her skin. Her kind didn't sweat anymore, but their skin could get clammy, as dew and other environmental factors settled into their skin. At the moment, it was the smell of char that clung to her pores.

After she was refreshed, she dropped her pajamas in the trash and took the stairs back up to the seventh floor. She made her way to the room in which the Fleet members were working with three of the men in suits. Together, they looked down at maps, and picked out the routes they'd take to each state capitol, and rid them of vampires.

Starr stood at the door, a moment, and, silently, watched them.

Listening to and watching the man Chanler called Bob, it was easy to tell that it was no pleasure for him to be in their company. The corners of his mouth were forced into a downturn, and his eyes were expressionless. His scent was something foul, a clear sign that he was beyond hating them, but loathed them.

Starr moved to the seat closest to the door; Bob flinched as she sat.

A look of surprise appeared on all their faces.

"How did you do that?" asked Chanler.

"Do what?"

"Nevermind," Alin cut in. He looked, knowingly, at Starr, and then turned back to Bob and the other men.

After a few more words, Alin said, "So, Starr," in his light Romanian accent. "There is no time to go into major details, so here's what's happening: We're gonna start our cleanup efforts in D.C. It is important to secure the capitol, before Lucenzo and Amir release a new batch of virus, or organize their vampires to attack."

When she said nothing, he continued, "Now we're just gonna go through and kill all the vamps, and then the military is gonna come through and take over. We'll move on to New York City, where the immediate concern is securing the United Nations."

Chanler added, "After we've secured the Nation's Capitol and the U.N., we're gonna split up: me, Michelle, and James will visit the governors, in their states, and lend a hand where we're needed; you, Alin, Emil, and Saul will hunt down Lucenzo and kill him, as we're pretty sure he's still on the East Coast somewhere. This way, you'll be close to home, you can find Lily, and, after he's dead, you can take her back to the clinic with you, if you should decide not to kill her, that is. After, Emil and Alin will continue on, with Saul, to Romania, where they'll hunt down Amir and his followers."

"And you're welcome to come, of course," said Emil sounding hopeful.

Starr flushed with a combination of frustration and guilt.

"Why do you need me to hunt down Lucenzo? I'd rather go home, if I may."

"Lucenzo shares the blood of an elder, so he's strong. We need our strongest people on him," Alin answered.

He must have seen the heat she felt in her face, for he asked, "Is something wrong, Starr?"

"No," she said, pursing her lips as she looked sideways and shook her head.

"I've finished, downstairs," came a familiar voice.

She turned her head and saw the unmistakable round face of the short tempered Michelle.

"It's getting late; I need to eat," Bob said, and his cohorts, whose names she didn't catch, murmured in agreement.

Alin, who seemed unable to stop watching her, asked "Starr, how about I show you where we're sleeping tonight?"

Then, without waiting for an answer, he motioned with his hand for her to follow him.

Feeling a familiar burning sensation, in her stomach and esophagus, at the sight of Michelle whispering into Chanler's ear, she stood up and followed.

"How long have you, all, been here?"

"Not long," Alin replied. "After we left Lake George, we returned to Boston."

"Why?"

"To search Lucenzo's house again, and then his office. Ever since we heard he'd been treating Lily, we've tried to track down any information on the antidote he's been giving her."

"Did you find anything?" she asked, hoping that Lily would be okay if Lucenzo died.

"No."

"Why do we always take the stairs?" she asked, as he held the door open for her.

"If power should die, then we could be trapped inside. Vampire strength or no, it could be a real hassled getting out of there. "

They made it up several flights and exited the stairwell when Starr had a sudden clouding of vision: a feeling of sudden happiness overwhelmed her, making her feel heady.

"Are you okay?"

It took a moment for her vision to clear. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said.

One thing Starr hated about many vampires, like Alin, was a good number of them grew into telepathic abilities. She had yet to meet one as intrusive as her best friend, Shane, but it was still aggravating.

Although she had fits of telepathy, here and there, it was likely that Starr would never grow into abilities like theirs, and, for that, she was thankful. She was glad to be a poor telepath, but, unfortunately, that meant she was also poor at blocking mental intrusion.

"The flashes are sometimes symptoms of the blood you share with another; you're feeling her emotion. Don't worry," he said. "You will get used to it, and learn to shut them out. The first time is always a surprise."

She did a double take and stopped.

"Yes, I know, it was Credenza," he paused too. "Given her protectiveness over you, it's not hard to figure out who would have saved you. Plus, your reluctance to speak of it also gave it away, for if you were to admit, then it would be like admitting you're indebted to her. You only want to return to a normal teenage life, not be indebted to an ancient vampire."

"How do you know about sharing blood?" she asked, wanting to change the conversation. "Were you ever healed?"

"Once, by my brother, but he is dead now."

They exited the stairwell and walked through a brightly lit hall to a room at the end.

"We're all in our own rooms," he said. "Here is how you set the lock."

He opened the door and held in the zero button, of the number panel below the door handle, until the light blinked red several times.

"Okay, punch in your code."

Inside was a basic cement room that looked like a jail cell, with a silver sink and tiny bed that was bolted to the wall.

Tired of the leather book swinging about, in her pocket, Starr pulled it out and tossed it on the bed.

"What was that?"

Alin walked up to the bed and picked it up.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, pushing his eyebrows even closer together than usual.

When she said nothing, he added, "It looks very old. I can smell age coming from the pages, though the leather binding is not quite as old as the interior: someone had it rebound."

"Can you read it?"

"I don't read Latin."

"But isn't Romanian the language that's closest to Latin?"

"Yeah, it's pretty close, but it's kind of like what old English is to Modern; completely different. Maybe you can spot a word here and there, but it's mostly gibberish."

Starr felt disappointed.

"I can tell you this, though: A grimoire is a book of spells. Necro, from the Greek word Nekros, means dead."

As he said this, Starr felt her skin grow warm.

He seemed not to notice, as he flipped through the pages once more, and then tossed it on the bed.

Dinner was a stiff necked affair. The fleet sat on one side of the room while a blend of military and suits sat on the other.

Saul and Emil sat whispering to each other while Michelle and Chanler bickered at their end of the table. Sari, James, and Alin listened, intently, to the guys across the room. Periodically, they'd look each other in the eyes, and Starr knew they were communicating telepathically.

Every so often, the Fleet members would look each other in the eyes, and grimace about the conversations they overheard.

The military men and their suited cohorts didn't seem to realize that vampires had exceptional hearing; they didn't notice that every time they'd called them monsters, abominations, and unnatural, they'd heard. When a man, named Steve, suggested they get some torches and barbeque them all, Bob agreed with such seriousness that Starr got worried.

When a guy replied to Steve, "...I'd like to get a hose, hook it up to some holy water and shove it up their asses..." James rose out of his seat, demon eyes alight, and ready to trash them all, but Chanler ordered that he sit back down.

"We all know how they feel about us. Let them act as though we're oblivious to them," he commanded.

"This is good," Starr added, "because if they're planning to double cross us, and I think they are, we'll be ready for them."

"Oh, so you're one of us, now," said Alin, raising his eyebrows comically.

Later that night on her way up to bed, she caught up with Chanler in the hall.

"How long do you think this cleanup is gonna take?"

"Years, unfortunately. Every governor is responsible for cleaning up their own state, but we're just gonna visit with them and help out with any difficult areas, or mass accumulations, so our part – the Fleet's roll – should only last a year or two at most. Most civilians are gonna be faced with the responsibility of taking vampires out, too, and especially if they want to move back into their homes and return to work, and a normal functioning society. We can only hope that innocents don't get killed, and that people handle this responsibility well."

Starr was getting impatient. She couldn't care less about their tour of duty. "Yeah, but how long to clean up D.C. and the United Nations?"

"All you want is to go home. Starr, how can you be so selfish?"

Suddenly, it felt like hot coals were in the pit of her stomach.

"I just missed my seventeenth birthday because I was in a fire; I haven't been to school in over a year; I've been burned, decapitated, shot more times than I can count. People, my age, are supposed to be worrying about college and friends, and clothes and makeup, but, instead, I'm here with you!"

Cutting their conversation short, Michelle walked toward them with a look that said 'get away from my man.'

Starr said nothing more, went inside her room and closed the door.
Messy Cleanup
Chapter 4

The next morning, Starr showered, went for an early breakfast, and went down to the front of the building, with the Fleet members. As usual, the Army men kept to themselves.

Moments later, three trucks drove up. She and the Fleet climbed into the middle one, while everyone else climbed into the others.

Seventeen hours passed before they made it to the onramp into DC; they didn't stop once, except to change drivers.

They all parked on Pennsylvania Avenue, right in front of the White House South Portico, which the Army wanted to inspect first.

Alin told them to wait.

Seeing the White House was a shock, and not just because it looked smaller, to her, than it looked on television and in history books, but because it was completely trashed.

Many windows that were visible from between the trees were broken. From one window, bloody handprints could be seen on the outer ledge, followed by heavy black smudges right below them; likely shoes from someone trying to slow their fall.

The double doors of the South Portico were busted into bits. On the East Side of the property, a pile of arms, legs, heads, and torsos had been stacked next to a charred out section of the lawn.

"Well, Starr," said Alin. "This is where you come in."

Starr's ability to see in other places, otherwise known as remote viewing, was a power that no one in the Fleet had.

She probed the ground floors, first: Next, the Red, Green, and Blue Rooms, followed by the rest of the West and East Wings.

Then she extended her view to the Executive Residence, where she said, "I see a couple in what appears to be a guest room."

Steve, from dinner, the night prior, said, "Okay, let's go."

"No, wait," she said strongly, wanting to try something she'd thought of in the night.

She concentrated, hard, on one of them, and it burst into flames.

Starr couldn't help but be pleased as she went after the others and picked them off, one by one.

"What's going on?" asked Chanler.

"Shh..." she said, trying to concentrate on the last one, but his incessant talking agitated her, making her accidentally obliterate the last one, sending chunks of meat and blood everywhere.

"Starr, answer me."

Annoyed by Chanler, yet intrigued by her new abilities, she replied "They're gone."

"Gone?" asked Emil.

"Burned the first couple; obliterated the last one, thanks to Chanler. Let me check the rest Executive Residence."

"Well?" asked Alin, after a moment.

"I hear something; it's in some sort of storage room, but I'm having a hard time penetrating the walls. I think it's some sort of panic room."

"Wait!" commanded an older military man, Sergeant Kale. "You might be viewing the Presidential Shelter; a place that's supposed to protect them in war times."

"The president isn't in there; it's just a girl."

"We need to check it out before you do anything."

He turned around and signaled to the men, who climbed over the wrought iron fence.

Starr and the others leapt over the black metal bars and landed on the grass beside them.

As they walked around to the Executive Residence, Starr observed all the dead bodies along West Executive Avenue, most of which had their cavities eaten clean out.

They forced their way into the president's residence, and found their way down to the storage rooms. From behind a tapestried wall, they sensed a presence.

"Stand back," said Alin, who concentrated on the door, but when he couldn't melt it with pyro-kinesis, he asked Starr to help.

After a few moments, they melted down the door and, from inside, a pubescent teen with pig tails came out.

"It's too late," said Starr. "She's turned."

Sergeant Kale shouted, "Wait!"

Alin paid no attention, as he pulled a large knife from his belt and hacked off her head in one swipe.

"That was the president's daughter," he said somberly.

"Not anymore," said Chanler.

Back outside, on the lawn, Starr probed buildings, looking for vampires, and it didn't take long for her to find them. Along the Constitution Avenue, nearly every building had hundreds of them, like cockroaches on a three week old corpse.

"Well," Starr sighed and walked across the lawn. "We definitely have our work cut out for us.

She leapt over the black metal bars and proceeded across the street, and then headed toward the Federal buildings, followed by the others.

Hours went by with them killing vampires, who often came at them like rabid dogs. Starr found that it was impossible for her to use her mind to obliterate all of them, for it made her extremely weary, so she shot as many as she could, and beheaded them when they got too close.

By nearly midnight, they'd cleaned out almost half of the Avenue; from the National Mall all the way down to the Gatehouse, and then Capitol Hill.

The Army men killed vampires pretty well for their selves, but on the few occasions when they got into trouble, they acted like they would have rather died then be helped by Starr and the Fleet.

"A thank you would be nice," said Michelle at one point. "We just saved your asses."

"Yeah, and it's because of you that we're in this mess to begin with," said a blond man, and then he walked off.

Exhausted, they camped on the grounds of the South Portico that night.

There were two large campfires; one in front of the West Wing, where the Army camped, and the Fleet's fire, in front of the East Wing.

The soldiers ate army meals while Starr and the others roasted a lamb that Emil picked up from a butcher. Despite offers and envious feelings, the soldiers refused to touch any of their meat.

"And look," he exclaimed to Starr, in his Swiss accent. He rested the lamb on his shoulder, and unraveled a paper bag, but Starr could already smell what was inside, and her inner demon wanted what was wrapped in that white shiny paper, and secured with white tape. "Lamb brains. Americans have good taste, after all. We ate this even when I was human!" he grinned.

Emil, helped by Sari, sliced the bloody, spongy brains and put them on a platter with crackers, sliced goat cheese and sundried tomatoes.

Every once in a while Starr would catch him watching her out of the corner of her eye.

"You know, Starr," said Emil, as he leaned over and sliced off a large chunk of lamb, placed it on a plate, and handed it to her. "Things aren't so bad at the Council. There needs to be people in the world, like us, because, otherwise, it would be absolute mayhem. Imagine the world without laws, without police, or military. Despite all the work we do, it's quite an adventurous job."

"I would love to work with you, but there are other responsibilities that I've got. Also, the kids at the clinic: Who would take care of them?"

"What if you and the kids come to stay in Romania, for a short while? I have a feeling that things are going to get worse, for everyone, before they get better."

"No, Emil. I appreciate the offer, but what would the kids do while trapped in a castle in the Carpathian Mountains?"

After hours of eating and talking, Starr and the Fleet finally settled into their sacks for a rest.

At dawn, they climbed back inside the trucks and drove through the outer neighborhoods, looking for more vampires.

Meanwhile Sergeant Kale called in a cleanup crew, to come and remove the bodies from the government buildings and burn them.

Luckily, they made it through the neighborhoods of the city fairly quickly, and found themselves headed to New York City by late afternoon.

This made Starr extremely happy, for she wanted to see what her chances were for moving back into the clinic because she missed the city life.

When they came upon a barrage of cars that blocked the entire freeway, they decided to go off road. They turned right, onto a slippery, grassy bank and down into what looked like soaked mud, but turned out to be a bog of broken pipes.

The first truck and the Fleet's managed to get across the mud, but the third truck sank as if the earth disappeared from underneath it.

The men screamed as they were nearly swallowed.

After they got them all out of the truck, they set about trying to tow it out. When nearly an hour of trying passed, they finally managed to drag it out, but not before breaking the other truck's axel.

The ground too soggy, Starr, the Fleet, and the soldiers made their way to a dry spot, a mile up, where they could camp.

Sergeant Kale and a few of his men rode on into the city, and looked for supplies and didn't make it back until after dark.

When they realized they'd be there all night, Emil grabbed Starr by the hand and said, "Let's go look for kindling."

As they went into the brush, he asked, "So what's up with you and Chanler?"

"What do you mean?"

"I see the way you two look at each other," he said as he winked at her.

Starr laughed mildly, "We had a flirtation, but he's with Michelle."

"Du bist schon," he said in German. "Don't waste your time pining when there are other men out there who would love to be with you."

She pulled some moss off of a tree and turned.

He was looking back at her, the sun gleaming off his blond head, making his blue eyes look light.

"I loved the way you came into the government building. I could not have done it better myself. The others would not say, but they were just as amused."

Starr said nothing. Sure, Emil was very good looking, but Starr had never thought of him as a love interest before. Never, had she a clue, and not ever even sensed, that he noticed her.

"Have you ever been to Switzerland?" he said, switching his 'w' for a light 'v'.

"No."

"I'm from a small town called Grindewald. Lots of tourists, there, but when they aren't, it's a lovely little town with snowy peaks. That's where I was first turned. I have a beautiful home there. You should come visit me this summer; you will love it."

Not knowing what to say, she turned back to the moss.

"See up there?"

He was pointing to something in the trees: there were ripe cumquats.

She leapt up onto a thick branch to gather as many bunches as she could. As she reached for a particular bushel of healthy untouched by bugs or animals fruits, she felt the branch waver.

Next thing she knew, she was in Emil's arms. He held onto her as cumquats from the rattled tree broke loose and fell all about them, some hitting them in the head and landing on the ground.

For a moment, their eyes met. His body gave off a highly sweet pheromone. Starr's inner demon was receptive to it, for every pore in her body suddenly felt alive, and from deep within her womb came a light growl.

Back at the camp, the soldiers had returned with parts to repair the truck, but their lift had broken. A few of the vampires went to help lift the truck while the soldiers fixed it.

Later that evening they sat around the camp fire. Starr stared into the flames, wondering about the kids until Emil came and plopped down with two dead squirrels in his hand.

He sat annoyingly close, and whispered, "You want one?"

Starr's demon lightly growled at the sight of fresh meat.

With their hands they pulled back the fur and threw it in the fire, and then ate the squirrels raw without discarding their innards.

"Do you have to do that?" asked a young soldier named Dave. His eyes were wide and his lips were peeled back, in disgust.

They hadn't thought to consider that there were humans who might be offended.

"You don't like it then leave, Boy!" said Emil with eyes that had turned iridescent.

"You should be put down with the other vampires," he said, and grabbed a lit log and walked off to find his own spot.

The other soldiers, sickened, grabbed some firewood, from the pile, and followed.

That night she lied in Emil's arms and fell asleep. She wasn't crazy about him, but it felt nice to be held. The more she thought about him, and looked at him, the more willing she was, to engage his flirtation.

A relationship was still something she'd never had a real chance to try. There was Antony, before she killed him, but she never had sincere feelings for him, and he certainly didn't have them for her, not really, anyway.

Deep feelings were something that was hard for vampires to feel, but Starr would have loved to know love, at least once.

Before she drifted off to sleep, she felt someone watching her with disgust. She opened her eyes and it was none other than Chanler who lay with Michelle; her arm on his chest and face in the nook of his shoulder.

_Hypocrite,_ she whispered into his mind.

The next day, they arrived in New York City by eight that morning.

As they made their way to Turtle Bay, Starr took glances into buildings here and there. What she saw made her very sad. She knew it would be awhile before she and the others could return to the city.

They parked right on the plaza.

Sargeant Kale said, "Let's start with the Conference and Visitor's Center."

"Okay," said Starr. "It seems clear."

Cautiously, the first of Kale's men went inside, followed by Starr and the Fleet, and the rest of the men.

"Most of the lower floors are clear, but we should look at the," Starr paused and looked at the map displayed behind plastic on a stand, "here," she pointed as she walked up to it, "the Secretariat Building, and there's a ton in the General Assembly, and of course the Hammskjold Library."

After a short discussion about who would handle what, Starr and the Fleet went to the General Assembly where the most of them were trapped.

When they stepped off the elevator, Starr heaved; like before, the vampires had taken to eating each other. Normally, rotted corpses didn't bother her, but the sight of so many together with emptied cavities disgusted her.

It didn't take long for the vampires, that hadn't been eaten, to find them. As they walked up either side of the rows, from open doors on both sides of the short podium came a few; they shot accordingly, but more came, and then more. Finally, it was a like a stampede of vampires, and not even they could shoot fast enough.

Within moments, they were completely surrounded by them, Starr, for the first time in a long time, felt panicked.

They were getting too close, and she thought, for a moment, that her end had finally come.

"Starr," called Emil, but Starr kept fighting and shooting because to let up, even for a second, would mean she would be their next meal.

The vampires closed in even more on her. She heard Michelle screaming on the other side of the room; they must have been surrounded, too.

" _Starr_ ," called Alin from somewhere on the other side of the room. " _Burn them up!"_

But her emotions were so rattled that instead of setting them aflame, she made them explode, covering them all in blood and guts.

It was still not enough, as the vampires got closer. Emil stepped in front of her, trying to protect her.

Something hot and wet ran down her face.

_Am I crying?_ she asked herself, as vampires rarely could do such things.

That was it; it was the end.

She gave up.

Starr wrapped her arms around his waist and turned her face into his neck, and prepared herself for the pain of being ripped apart while still alive.

Starr could feel their hunger; hear their thoughts. It was suffocating her, as their desires to hunt and kill swallowed her consciousness.

One reached out and touched her. She closed her eyes even tighter, and her mind shouted, _NOOOO, STOOOP!!!_

But the first bite never came.

"Starr, look," said Emil.

She opened her eyes and saw hundreds of frozen faces. Starr pulled her head away from the nook of Emil's neck, and looked around.

All the vampires around them stood stock still.

Suddenly, she had a flash back to the marsh in Louisiana.

_The alligator,_ she reminded herself.

There were shouts from the other side of the room.

Starr spoke to them all, telling them to stop.

"What happened? Why aren't they moving?" asked James.

"It's you, isn't it?" asked Emil, as she looked up into his crystal eyes.

She made a small smile, and he smiled back at her.

It was a long hard day, moving from floor to floor. They'd go into a room, Starr would tell them to freeze, and then they'd go about and kill them one by one. Starr hated to admit to herself, but she was pleased, and so was everyone else – except the soldiers who remained grumpy as usual.

But even more, she was touched by Emil's willingness to die with her, and how he stayed with her, when he could have run. After that, she looked at him with a new respect and admiration.

_After all,_ she asked of herself, _where was Chanler?_

Chanler sensed Starr's change, too. He knew he'd lost Starr to Emil, and instead of being friendly about it, and trying to make it up to Starr, he turned real cold. He was the only one who didn't congratulate Starr for her work that day. Neither did Michelle, but she had a permanent little smirk on her face.

By the time the sun started to set, everyone was ready to call it a day. They were messy, smelly, and covered in blood and body parts, but they'd managed to kill all the vampires in the entire 39 floor building.

Starr and the Fleet wanted to stay at the Marriott on 42nd, thinking they'd earned it, but the Army insisted they stay at a Ramada Inn in Queens.

Too tired to argue, they agreed.

After inspecting the neighborhood for vampires, they all took rooms on the second floor; the soldiers on the first.

After hot showers, Starr and the others met down in the Ramada's tiny restaurant and bar. Emil was already in the kitchen, cooking what he could find.

"You call this meat?" he asked James. "Just terrible! The food here is just terrible."

James rolled his eyes as he sifted through rotted fruits and veggies, and Sari set to thawing frozen bags he'd found in the freezer.

Starr hated the kitchen and, more than anything, she wanted to hang in the dining room and drink, but she wanted to see Emil.

Emil saw right through her, for he said, "Starr, go ahead and wait in the restaurant. We've got everything under control, here."

As she made her way back to the dining area, she pretended not to notice that both Chanler and Michelle's eyes were following her.

She laughed inwardly, _The wheels have turned._

Alin was behind the bar.

"Starr, aperitif?"

"Yeah, you know it, after today," she sighed. "How about an orange vodka and seven up."

"Well, just for the record, you were phenomenal. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you're cut out for this. Maybe it will take some time, but one day, we'll get you," he said with a smile.

Starr smiled back. Inwardly, Starr was starting to agree; she was cut out for the job.

Today felt really good.

"Godfather, please," Saul came up and sat next to Starr.

"Where are the soldiers?" asked Alin.

"Oh, they're outside being sour pusses as usual."

Despite the state of the kitchen, Emil managed to cook a hearty meal. As usual, Michelle kept Chanler to herself, but, not as usual, was the scowl on his face and the constant fleeting glances out of the corners of his eyes, at Starr.

When Alin, Sari, James and Saul finished, they went to the kitchens to clean and find dessert.

"So, Starr, tell me about yourself: How did you come to be a vampire?"

"It's a long story, but my friend, Michael, turned me."

"Oh, yes, Mick's kid."

After a moment of silence, he asked, "What kind of childhood did you have?"

"A nice normal one that I wish I could return to," she smiled, as she sipped her drink. "You?"

"Well, as I said, I grew up in the mountain-ski town called Grindewald. My parents had a café, before they retired, and now my brother, Egon, runs it."

"Your brother is still alive?"

"Well, ja. How old do you think I am?" he grinned. "I'm twenty –five; I was only turned a few years ago. Before that I was a Swiss Guard 'vorking' at the Vatican," he said. "I think that is partly why I like you; not just because you're hot and kickass, but you're the only person I can relate to, at least somewhat. Most of these guys can't even send simple text messages; they're worse than my grandparents, haha."

"My Grandparents aren't much better, either," she laughed lightly.

"Speaking of, what is your number?"

"I lost my phone in the fire, but I'm sure we'll see other again soon enough."

Inwardly, she hoped....

The guys came back with a couple frozen cakes and dishes. Everyone settled at the bar, even Michelle and Chanler, and had dessert.

Later that evening, Starr went to bed feeling quite satisfied: she was clean, full, and now a bed with a fluffy comforter was waiting for her.

She threw her clothes on the floor, with thoughts, like marbles, of Emil rolling around her mind, and climbed into bed.

She was only down an hour when there was an urgent knock at her door, waking her out of a heavy slumber.

"Just a sec," she called, as she clumsily put her clothes on.

"Yeah," she said as she opened the door.

No one was there.

From a few doors over, there was knocking on other doors. She stuck her head out and looked right: Alin was trying to rouse everyone from their rooms.

"Okay, everyone," said Alin. "We need to get out of here, now."

"Why?" asked Michelle, attitude boiling under her surface as usual.

"The soldiers are gone. I went around to perform security checks, and then to check on the soldiers, and they're gone."

"So, what are you saying?" asked Sari.

"I'm saying that something is not right."

"Wait," said Starr, who automatically set to sensing the other rooms. "I hear something in the stairwell; there's something there. I don't know what it is."

"I hear it, too," said James. "A beeping noise, like a digital clock."

And then Starr's eyes met James, whose eyes had widened, wildly.

"OUT, NOW! IT COULD BE A BOMB!" he shouted.

And he ran to the hallway, followed by the others.

Instead of taking the stairs or the elevator, he leapt through the window, fell to the ground and ran across the street.

Starr and the others followed.

A moment later, they stood across the street, looking at each other.

"Are you sure it was a bomb?" asked Alin.

"No," he sighed. "I guess I've seen too many movies."

But then there was an increase of heat, and a sudden brightness that glared in their faces. They looked back at the building: the first floor was massively alight.

One minute later, the sounds of blasts came from within the building, the ground rumbled heavily, and all seven stories caved inward.

"Wow, they really took the time to do us in," said Sari. "They even professionally wired it so as to implode, which means they must have set this up days ago."

"What do we do, now?" asked James.

"Well, it's just as well they should think we're dead, and that way we remain anonymous. This is a gift unrealized," said Starr.

"What about our tour?" Emil wondered.

"Consider it canceled. Now, we go after Lucenzo and Amir," Alin replied.
Almost Home
Chapter 5

They landed on the bank of Lake George half an hour later. Starr hated telling the Fleet she'd known where Lucenzo was for a while, and had not even bothered telling them or trying to take him out.

Worse, she hated betraying Lily, but what could she do? Lucenzo and Amir had to be stopped, or they would continue their attempts at a world takeover.

It may not have been a perfect world for a vampire, but she couldn't imagine a world run by Lucenzo and Amir. She wanted the world she knew, the world as it was, now.

Starr especially didn't want a world policed by the stinking scent of the new species. What would it be like to see them on every street corner, forcing people, like Starr, to do as a dictator commanded?

Over and over, she wondered what she would do with Lily, once she got there?

Turn her?

She was only thirteen.

Well, hopefully, Lucenzo would have been kind enough to entrust the antidote to her, for, even if he didn't survive, he was extremely loyal to her. And, as long as she had the recipe for the antidote, then Starr would do whatever it took to procure it for her.

Their arrival to the lake further proved that Starr was right: Lucenzo and Amir needed to be taken down, immediately.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Michelle, a look of petrified fear on her face.

Looking up the bank, into the trees, the backs of many bodies stood stiff, not turning to look at them, not flinching, or fidgeting, but standing like hundreds of statues in the trees.

"Why don't they attack us?" asked James.

"Lucenzo controls them, probably the same way that Starr did, back at the U.N.," Alin answered.

"I don't want to go in there," whimpered Michelle.

"We have to," said Alin, who walked up the bank and into the trees.

She and the others followed.

"Starr," said Alin. "Walk up front with me, please."

Standing next to every other tree they passed were the still bodies of vampires, all standing and staring in the same direction, which was toward the cabin where she met Lucenzo, last time, she soon realized.

"My god," Alin breathed. "There's got to be thousands in this forest, alone."

Their white skin gleamed under the rays of light that poked through the leaves of the tall trees.

As she passed them, she looked at their faces, wondering if it were possible to break them from Lucenzo's control; in other words, relinquish his mental hold on them, perhaps by striking them.

The answer to her question came, a moment later, when there was the sound of something large toppling onto leaves, making loud crunching noises.

They turned back and saw Michelle looking down at a vampire she'd run into. It fell over and laid there like dead weight, and didn't stir furthermore.

She tried to sense if they were hungry, like she did with the alligator, but it was as if they were pieces of cold cement.

When they approached the cabin, Starr stopped a moment.

"What's wrong? Why have you stopped?" asked Alin.

Starr's chest heaved and moisture bespeckled her face.

Alin looked at her and said, "Don't be frightened, Starr. You're stronger than they are. I can sense this about you. Even if you can't fight them all, I don't think they'd hurt you, anyway, not as long as Lily wants you alive."

She patted him on the shoulder, sighed and walked up the steps, across the porch and opened the door without knocking.

The room was dark.

Instinctively, her demon came out. She felt her fangs extend, and suddenly her night vision became even clearer.

"No one's here," said Alin, whose fangs were bared, and eyes a glowing shade of red.

"Do you smell that?" asked Chanler, with lavender and red iridescent eyes.

Starr inhaled; there was a draft of air flowing into the room.

"It's coming from the kitchen," said Emil around a mouthful of fangs, and who was giving off a hazy white aura.

Carefully, they followed the draft to the kitchen, and, carelessly, down into a cellar.

Across the room, the ground door was open.

They intended to continue outside, but then someone shut and barred it. Quickly, they turned to exit back through the kitchen door, but it was shut, too.

"God, we're so _stupid!_ " yelled Saul. "How could we fall for that?"

"Who cares?" asked Michelle. "Doors can't keep us!"

"Don't you think they _know_ that, Michelle?" asked Chanler.

But then things got worse.

"Do you smell that?" asked Sari in a slightly higher voice.

Suddenly, the walls were engulfed in bright orange flames.

A loud wailing noise, like an elephant only worse, came from Michelle.

" _Shut up!"_ yelled Alin, whose demon voice, now, sounded digitally altered, like in a movie. " _God, Michelle, I don't know why we keep you!"_

"What do we do?" asked Starr.

"Let me think."

"Okay, I got an idea. Can you burst the pipes?"

"What?"

"Explode them, the way you blew up the vamps, back at the U.N.?"

She shook her head, "I don't know."

"Just try! You're our only hope; there's no way we can break through the ceiling before we're toast," said James.

At first, she didn't know how to go about doing such a thing, but, then, they told her to concentrate, and they all got really quiet. All she heard was the flames licking. She told her inner demon to help her find water in the walls.

After a moment, she'd located the pipes. Starr saw them, clearly, in her mind, and focused on heating the metal.

Seconds went by; she saw the pipes expand under her concentrated pyrokinesis. Then, suddenly, she felt little trickles of water, but as the others took steps closer to her, Starr began to panic because she knew the fire was closing them in.

She'd felt fear a lot, in the last few weeks, and, once again fear gripped her; a feeling that was hard for vampires to come by.

Her chest tightened, and her skin got extremely warm. She couldn't do it, and she felt tears run down her face, again.

The panic became even more real, when she saw a flame ignite Chanler's pant leg, making her scream, and, with her scream, jolted her emotions, making not only the pipe burst, but the entire ceiling split down the middle.

Next thing she knew, the fire was out, but they were up to their middles in water.

Chanler sighed loud and gratefully.

James and Sari ran at the kitchen door and easily kicked it in; Starr and the others followed them out.

"They're moving!" he said, looking out the window.

Out onto the porch, and true enough, the vampires had begun to recede into the woods.

"Let's see where they're going!" shouted Alin urgently.

He leapt off the porch and ran into the trees, followed by Starr and the others.

Quickly, they ran past them, trying to find the lead, that is, the beginning of the herd.

They follow them for a quarter of a mile, at which point, the vampires had begun to assemble themselves into a line, almost like an invisible funnel forced them.

They followed the line, and it led them to a curved road where half a dozen semi trucks were parked. The vampires crawled into their beds and stood face to face in them.

As the first one got full, the line moved to the second and third truck.

"We gotta stop these trucks from leaving," said Michelle.

"Tell us something we don't know," Emil retorted.

"Well, this ought to make things easy," said Chanler as he pulled his hand gun.

The others followed suit, and they began shooting the vampires in the head, one by one, while Saul went to disable the trucks from under their hoods.

Starr and Alin combined their pyrokinesis and set to burning up the first full truck. Alin could have done it himself, but he wanted Starr to practice controlling it, since she was new at it.

They'd only managed to kill off a few hundred vampires before they were attacked by a dozen people in black outfits with masks to match.

Their attackers flew at them from the sky. Two came at Starr, pointing guns at her.

Starr looked at their weapons and heated them, making them release their grips. Then she ran at them both with a scissor kick, dropping them instantly.

She turned to help Alin, who was getting his head kicked in. Starr dragged the assailant back, with an arm around the neck, and landed an axe kick when he turned around.

They went around to help the others, and it wasn't long before the Fleet had their attackers bound.

Next, they returned to killing the vampires, but then they started to move away from the trucks.

"What is going on?" asked Emil.

"They're turning on us," said Starr.

And though they fought hard, there were simply too many of them.

It wasn't long before they were surrounded.

"Starr, stop them!" shouted Alin.

"I can't! Lucenzo's mind control is stronger than mine!"

Once more, Starr thought it was the end, but then her skin got really warm, and a tingling sensation traveled her every pore, almost as if her blood had come to life and was traveling in her veins.

A familiar sensation came over her.

"Look," said Chanler, pointing at the large white moon.

She looked up and saw the figure of a woman, highlighted by the moon, flying in their direction.

The figure stopped above them and pushed the vampires back, telekinetically, and then she proceeded to killing them all.

She was strong, probably the most powerful vampire in the world, for she could kill with just her will.

As simple as turning off a light switch, they all dropped dead, one by one.

Once done, she landed on the ground, looking majestic as always, with waist length black hair and eyes glowing like embers.

Credenza was frighteningly beautiful, but her skin was a mask of the person she was, inside, which was cold and deadly. The blood in Starr told her that and, for a moment, she felt like she was Credenza.

"Nice job, protecting my protégé," she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

The vampires in masks began to stir. Starr looked to them, but was distracted by a disturbance of the moon's ray.

From the sky, the light was partly obscured by a row of vampires flying towards them.

They were even more majestic, more god like looking creatures than Credenza. Each one was seven feet or taller with long hair and eyes with flames that danced inside them.

Starr found them hard to look at.

"Where do you think you're, all, going," Credenza asked of the vampires, who were trying to escape.

Then, like an invisible hand pulled them, they were yanked back to the ground and pinned there.

"Starr and I will go after Lucenzo and Amir, I hear them up aways," she said, looking back into the forest, and then her eyes settled on Starr's. "We need to talk."

Meeting Again
Chapter 6

Starr didn't know how to start in her approach to Credenza. For the last few months, and even the last couple days, Starr had a million questions for her, but even more, she always imagined that she'd be strong and defiant; that she'd tell Credenza to back off, and she'd be forced to respect her wishes, but seeing her in that way, with such powerful vampires at her side, she was silenced. It made her realize that she needed to better assess who this person was and how morally righteous or corrupt she was, before standing up for herself.

Vampires dropped dead as they passed them.

After it became apparent that Credenza intended to say nothing, Starr asked, "I thought we needed to talk?"

"I figured you needed a minute; you seemed surprised to see me."

"Well, yeah, it's a shock. The Fleet's been looking for you, and then all of a sudden you show up and you're fine. They thought you were dead, and who were those vampires in the sky?"

"They're the last Primordial; the first vampires."

"The first vampires? But I thought the first were like these species, here, crazed by the virus?"

"The first _humans_ , bitten by vampires, couldn't stand the infection; it was they who went crazy. Centuries went by, and humanity adapted, passing along an antibody along with the virus."

At first, she didn't' get it, but after a moment, she asked, "You speak of the Primordial as if they're not human?"

"The real vampires were an ancient race that'd begun to die out back during the Bronze Age. Later, what was left of them, were sometimes depicted in ancient Greece's tragedies, but they mistook them for gods."

"If they're so superior, then why did they die out?"

"Every species goes extinct; it's nature. Groups live and then they die, and especially if they run out of options for breeding, as nearly every primitive group, on this planet, has. Every culture, and every race and ethnicity, has, at one time, belonged to several others."

"So the Primordial are not immortal?"

"Yes, they're immortal, but some of them destroyed themselves because they were ready to die, and others ebbed away."

"What do you mean by ebbed away."

"Meaning they receded, slowly, from the physical world. As we, vampires, age, our bodies harden and our minds grow weary; eventually we slip into semiconsciousness, and finally unconsciousness."

"How long does it take?"

"It takes millenniums to get to that point, but there are ways to prevent it from happening; one needs to stay active, and to stay involved, for that, one needs to desire life."

"Why didn't they just do that? Why didn't they stay active?"

"As you've already surmised, in the past, living forever is like having the same nightmare over and over again. Life isn't easy, and living it, repeatedly, is even harder. To quote you: 'each time – each life - with the same painful punch lines.' Nothing changes, not really."

Starr remembered back to the contemplation she had of her closest friend, Marla, who was the softest vampire of them all. To live forever, you need to be hardened. With all the pain, and all the love lost, and this cycle repeated again and again, it was certain that some vampires would never make it to the point of 'ebbing away,' as Credenza said. The loss of feeling, caused by the virus, was a benefit to their survival, only it didn't affect everyone the same.

"Are you a real vampire?"

"Half," she answered.

She wanted to ask more questions, but they'd approached a large hill. Credenza signaled that they should jump, but Starr wasn't strong enough to jump so high, and had to levitate.

When she landed, she said, "Well, tell me what it was that you intended to."

She was relieved that Credenza invited her to speak, and wasted no time in saying, "I want to be left alone; I want to go to school, to see my friends, to have a normal life."

"And you should have it."

"I should?"

"I thought you'd be thrilled to join us. We are warriors. Once, a warrior was the pride and envy of nearly everyone born. Heroism meant riches, rewards, honor, respect, a grand marriage..."

Completely baffled, she asked, "What in the world would make you even think that I want to be a warrior? This is not the Middle Ages."

After another moment of silence, she said, "I appreciate everything you've done for us, and, from here on out, you will not be bothered."

She turned to walk off, and signaled Starr to follow.

"I've just one more question. What happened on the night you rescued me? Why did you leave me in that house, alone?"

She followed Credenza in the direction of a dark house that was up ahead.

"I healed you, and now you're powerful. Now you can protect your kids."

"I could always protect them. I never needed you, never," she repeated. "You know that, so why?"

When Credenza said nothing, an alarm went off, inside her brain. It was a simple question, and there was no reason for her not to answer, unless she was hiding something.

As they got closer to the house, Credenza walked faster, making it hard for Starr to keep up.

"Why won't you answer my question?"

She followed her inside the dark house. In the dusty, moldy living room, Lucenzo and Amir were pinned to the floor by invisible bonds.

"Why did you make us fight, if capturing them, yourself, would have been so easy?"

"Because I have better things to do. Besides, I'm trying to retire. I've been handling small matters, like these for centuries. I'm done, unless it is absolutely necessary that I participate."

"You call a vampire apocalypse small matters?"

"Yes, small. If this is a war, it is the pettiest I've ever seen. We suffered way more casualties when the Mongols came to our city."

"Enough chit chat! Let's get this over with," said Amir in a thick Ukranian accent.

"Oh, let's not rush things," Credenza mused. "Starr has something to ask."

"Where's Lily?"

"She's gone. Don't worry, she has enough antidote, and she knows how to remake it. As long as she follows my regimen, she'll be fine."

"But did she rejoin the kids from the clinic?"

"I don't think so, sorry. She seemed to think that no one wanted her, there, and I thought it best she not tell me anything, in case we were caught, after she departed. No doubt, some would insist on her destruction."

"The Primordials are getting impatient; they are calling me. We will go now." said Credenza.

"Do we have to do this? Do you have to kill him?"

She wasn't sure where her sudden compassion came from, but she knew that Lily would have wanted him spared. Starr was angry with Lucenzo, but she wasn't sure that she wanted him dead, either, and especially after all they'd been through.

"Amir, yes; Lucenzo, no. His father is Vidar, one of the Primordials, and he's ready to take him home."

Starr looked at Lucenzo and it all made sense. There was always something pure about him, and about his scent: it was sweet and pleasant, unlike others who barely had any scent at all, after being turned – except in extreme cases. Several times, she'd mistaken that sweet air for attraction, but it was his natural animal pheromone.

"Where's home?"

But Credenza was silent.

_She won't tell you,_ Lucenzo whispered into her mind. _It is a hidden peak, in the north, that no one has seen in millenniums, since the shifting of the Earth._

"Funny, I thought you were turned after World War II, after you came to America."

"I never said that. In the forties, I was posing as a human boy, at the academy where I met my friends; it was my first time away from home."

"Are they safe? Nico, Kris, and your brother, Fernand?"

"Yes, they're fine; they're hiding."

Finally, Credenza said, "Alright, we gotta go."

"I won't fight you, but you are not to kill Amir; he is to be spared. He only acted under my control. I forced him to do everything."

"Fine," she said. "We'll let your father decide."

And then, like an invisible hand held them, they floated through the air, behind them as they made their way back to the road.

As they walked back, Starr wondered how long it would take for them to burn up all the dead bodies and distribute their ashes?

When they got back, the ancient vampires stood on the road, with heads high, in a line with their hands behind their backs. Just like Emil, their skin gave off a hazy, glowing aura, only brighter, making her wonder if Emil was part Primordial as well.

The Black Fleet stood some feet away from them, in a semicircle, looking perplexed. On the ground, their assailants, from earlier, lay dead. Starr noticed they had no evidence of bodily harm, the Primordials, likely, told them to die, the way Credenza did just moments ago.

As they approached, Starr noticed how one particular vampire with blazing orange-red hair and the bluest eyes she'd ever seen, looked Credenza direct in the eye; they were communicating telepathically.

Briefly, his eyes averted to Starr's, and, for a moment, she felt like she was under the burning ray of a laser.

Lucenzo and Amir floated toward them. Without a word, the Primordials ascended back into the air, and, just as they took off into the sky, Lucenzo whispered into Starr's mind.

Whatever you do, don't trust Credenza, she has plans for you, and they aren't kind. I'd start with the Necro-Grimoire, if I were you. I'll see you soon, and I hope that we can be friends, again.

Next, Credenza disappeared without a goodbye. She left so fast that Starr wasn't sure if she walked away or flew.

Starr felt in her pocket to make sure the Necro-Grimoire was still there.

Good to Be Home
Chapter 7

It took a whole week to burn all the bodies. Though she scrubbed and sudded and soaked, she could still smell the sickening cinnamon, burnt flesh and bone, and char and ash.

After they'd burned their last bodies, they took the evening to feast on the opposite side of the bank, where the air was fresher.

Saying goodbye was sad, because she would have liked to have spent some time with Emil, but the last thing she wanted was to spend more time doing Fleet stuff. The best thing to do was distance herself.

A tingling sensation shot down her neck and chest when he kissed her lips and told her to call him as soon as she got another phone.

Starr knew that if she bothered with getting another phone, it would only be so that she could talk to him, as she hated talking on the phone normally.

Chanler, of course, scowled.

As she watched them levitate into the blue sky, she tried to think of what to do next. Should she try to find the kids? Or should she find a cabin and have some alone time?

She was always torn between the next thing that needed doing, and relaxing in peace and quiet.

Starr walked along the bank, thinking about everything that had happened in the last few weeks. Every once in a while, she'd pull out the Grimoire and flip its pages.

By late afternoon, she sat on a bald, sandy spot of the bank and stared at the water.

Making her jump, from up the bank, came the sound of laughing and talking.

She stood up and turned around.

Facing her was Misaki, Misty, and Lucas, from the clinic; they were both rescued and abandoned kids that Starr, and her friends, had vowed to look after. They stopped, still, and stared in silence; their eyes wide.

Starr felt a smile spread her face. An emotion she hadn't felt in a long time struck her: happiness.

"Is it really you?" asked Misaki.

"Yeah, it's me."

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile before; it's almost ghastly, like Wednesday Addams-ish," said Lucas.

"Why aren't you dead?" Misty asked.

"I was rescued."

"How? The cabin was completely caved in. There's no way you could have survived."

But before Starr could explain, the rest of the kids from the clinic showed up, including her best and closest friends Marla, Mica, and Shane who couldn't have looked more shaken by the sight of her.

"I knew you were alive!" shouted Shane. "Haha, didn't I tell you. I kept telling you, I felt her; she's alive! You were here, a while back, I felt it!"

With tears in her eyes, Marla grabbed Starr and nearly choked her to death. A second later, the arms of several others closed her in, tightly.

"If you're alive, then where the hell have you been all this time? Why did you not tell us?" she asked.

"I'm sorry; I would have if I'd known where you were."

"We were just, here, on the other side of the bank. You, being what you are, should have found us with little difficulty!"

"I got sidetracked. Listen, I can't explain it all now. Have any of you seen Lily?"

"No, isn't she with Lucenzo?" asked Mica.

Starr looked at her, and then looked at the kids, and then at the dirt.

"Well, let's talk about it as we walk back to the house," she said, and then walked back up the path; Starr, Marla, and Shane followed.

In as concise a way as she could, she proceeded to tell them everything; how she woke in Louisiana; how she found Lily in Lake George; about the CDC and how they betrayed them.

But then her speech slowed, when she got to the part about Credenza, the Primordials, and Lucenzo's warning.

Instinctively, she felt for the Grimoire in her pocket.

"So the first vampires were a completely different race?" asked Shane.

"Yep."

"And Lucenzo was one of these?"

"And so is Credenza; well, she said she's half."

They walked up the sandy bank and through a cluster of trees. Next, she followed them several miles up a steep incline and found herself atop a four square mile mesa top.

"It'd be hard for vampires to sneak up on us here," said Marla.

"Wow," said Starr, eyeing a large white three story house complete with white stucco walls, fencing it in.

They opened the wrought iron gate, and passed a pretty flower garden.

Inside, the house was cool with wood floors and a large living room. They gave her a tour through the back, which had a swimming pool, hot tub, and gas grill.

Then they led her upstairs to the last room at the top.

"This can be your room," said Marla. "Oh, and I have something for you."

She walked out and came back a moment later.

In her hands, Marla held her favorite ruby studded sliver moon-shaped sickles.

END
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