Immortals

by Jan Kopia

  “The psychic that told me to find you, she told me the story. I think it’s the same one you heard with Patrick.”

  “And you believe it?”

  “I didn’t at first,” Victoria admitted. “But, well, I kept running into dead ends. I was forced to consider the possibility that it wasn’t just a story. If it were true, it would still fit in with my theory of quantum entanglement. The Titans came to Earth and humanity became intrinsically connected to them and vice versa. So even after they withdrew back to their world, even now, despite the distance between the two worlds… the actions of one affects the other.”

  “If it were true,” I whispered. “Your theory would still stand.”

  “Yes,” Victoria nodded, the faint glint of victory in her eyes.

  Antonia shook the notion from her head. “Victoria… I know it’s tempting to believe. An insane explanation is still better than no explanation at all. But it’s ridiculous. The whole story is: the Titans, Lucifer, the key… it’s all insane.”

  “What if it’s not?”

  Antonia looked at Victoria in shocked surprise. “You actually believe it… don’t you?”

  “You and I have both heard the same story from two completely different, non-related people,” Victoria pointed out. “What are the chances of that?”

  “Slim,” Antonia replied. “But not impossible. Coincidences have been known to happen.”

  “Maybe it’s time to look at alternate explanations, "suggested Victoria. "No matter how unrealistic they might seem.”

  Antonia wanted to scream. First Patrick, and now Victoria? Why was everyone so ready to believe in the impossible?

  “I need to get some rest,” Antonia said. “I’m tired.”

  Victoria turned to her computer and Antonia sat down on a chair that faced the window. She wondered where Patrick was right now. She wondered if he'd gone through with his insane plan. She was fairly certain no one would aid him in his assisted suicide; it was the only reason she hadn’t tried harder to find him.

  She thought back to her college days, when being with Patrick had felt like the most natural thing in the world. Now they were chasing different realities. Maybe they always had been.

  Still, she wished him luck. She didn’t know why, she had no reason to, but she wished it for him anyway.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The hospital Blythe worked in was only fifty miles from the cabin, so Diane and Patrick didn’t have to drive far to reach it. Blythe had contacted Diane that morning and told her that everything was set up and ready for them. Twenty minutes later, she and Patrick were speeding down the highway, ready to take the biggest leap of faith of their lives.

  Patrick was driving, and even though he was going over the speed limit, she said nothing. His impatience was palpable, but so was his desperation. He missed his daughter, and the last few weeks holed up in a remote cabin had been much harder on him than it had been for her. Diane was used to loneliness. Prayer was her saving grace, the one comfort she turned to over and over again. Patrick, on the other hand, was not a praying man.

  His aura, however, was powerful. Filled with rage, desperation, anger, and a determination so strong that Diane quaked every time she felt its great presence. Like now, for example.

  He was special, and so was the key. Their energies matched one another, and that comforted Diane. Patrick was meant to find it. Maybe he was right. Maybe he wasn’t meant to destroy it, at least not yet. Maybe he was meant to use it to set the world to rights, to reintroduce the world to the Titans and to restore their faith in the Gods they had forgotten.

  “Helios,” Diane whispered to herself, low enough that Patrick wouldn't hear. “He is coming. A broken man with an immortal soul. The one who can save us all.”

  A vision flashed across Diane’s eyes, leaving her breathless. She saw Patrick: his eyes were two black holes and his mouth a snarl of fury. His humanness vanished like quicksand, and all that was left was pain. Diane gripped the dashboard, trying to see more. But she lost the vision to the coldness that gripped her heart. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw her own tears first and then the hazy mist that covered the road in front of them.

  “Diane?” Patrick said. “What just happened?”

  “Nothing,” she said, unwilling to relive that particular vision.

  “You seemed—"

  “I’m fine,” she interrupted.

  Patrick dropped it as they approached the hospital. As soon as they entered the building, Diane called Blythe. They had to wait only a few minutes before she saw him approach from an elevator towards the side of the building. He was a tall, lanky man, with limbs that looked slightly disproportionate to his body. His round glasses engulfed his face and his blue eyes were keen and sharply observant.

  “Blythe,” Diane said.

  He had to bend quite a bit to hug her. Diane smelt the hot prickle of cigarette smoke on his breath. “Still smoking, Blythe?” she asked as they released one another.

  “Only when I’m stressed,” he replied. “You’ve gone gray.”

  “And you’ve lost hair,” Diane smiled. “I think it suits you though.”

  Blythe’s eyes fell on Patrick with barely contained interest. “She was always kind. And very diplomatic.”

  Patrick made an attempt to smile, but Diane could tell he wanted to do away with pleasantries and just straight down to business.

  “Thank you for helping me,” Patrick said, shaking Blythe's hand.

  “Of course,” Blythe nodded. “When Diane told me what you were attempting to do, well, how could I not help? Come with me. I’ve arranged a room downstairs. I’ve moved the necessary equipment there. It’s private, and you needn’t worry about discovery. I’ve seen to it.”

  The three of them made their way to the basement in silence. Diane could sense Patrick’s nerves; they kept hitting her every time she turned in his direction. She sensed Blythe’s nervous energy too, but his bordered more on excitement.

  Blythe led them to the room he had prepared for them. It was larger than Diane had expected, and it looked practically empty. There was a flat bed in the center of the room, surrounded by monitoring devices.

  “Excuse me for a moment,” Blythe said. “I need to let Esther know we’re about to start.”

  “Esther?” Patrick asked.

  “She’s a doctor at this hospital … and a believer,” Blythe replied. “She and I will take it in turns to monitor you when you’re under. Excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back.”

  Blythe disappeared, and Patrick turned to Diane. “That’s two more people involved now,” he said; it sounded like an accusation.

  “Patrick," said Diane, "we can’t do this alone Patrick.”

  “Can we trust them?”

  “Blythe and I were a part of the same prayer group when we were much younger,” Diane explained to him.

  “I don't see how—"

  “This isn't the kind of prayer group you’re used to. We are true believers and our faith bonds us. It's been months since I last saw Blythe, but it’s like no time has passed. We are family, and anyone that Blythe trusts, I trust too. We couldn’t have done this without him.”

  Diane watched as Patrick took a deep breath. “Fine…”

  “Are you ready?”

  Patrick didn’t answer. He seemed lost in thought as he slowly walked towards the bed; he looked poised somehow, like an animal about to pounce. His energy pulsated and Diane could feel his readiness.

  “Would you like a moment?” Diane asked.

  “For what?” Patrick asked, frowning at her.

  “Well… to speak to your mother,” she suggested. “To ask how Tess is doing.”

  “I know how Tess is doing,” Patrick said. “She’s in a coma. And the only way she’s going to come out of it is if I use the key and travel to The Hades to find her soul and bring it back.”

  “That's not your only job,” Diane said, more harshly than she had intended. “Saving Tess and
bringing her back to Earth won't matter if the Earth is dying.”

  “I know that,” Patrick nodded. “But…”

  “Yes?”

  His posture hunched, as if he'd just realised the responsibility he had taken on. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

  Diane put her hand on Patrick’s shoulder. “You have the Olympus key,” she said. “The Hades is not the only world you can pass through.”

  “You want me to go to Tartarus?”

  “It is the home of the Titans. Helios is still alive,” Diane said. “There are still many of us who pray to him: a devoted few who never stopped believing. We kept him alive this long, now it’s up to you to make sure he continues to live. For our sake and the Earth’s.”

  Patrick shook his head. “And what do I do when I find him?”

  Diane looked down. “I don’t know, Patrick. I have the gift of sight, but I can't see everything; only what I am shown. You will have to trust your instincts, remember your goal and above all, have faith.”

  “Faith,” he whispered to himself.

  The door opened and Blythe walked in with a young woman who looked about Patrick’s age. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and a slightly upturned nose. Her eyes flitted to Diane and then landed on Patrick.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Esther said.

  Diane tried to feel for the young woman's aura. She stretched out her hand to shake Esther’s, and the contact made it easier to read her. She was a believer just like Blythe, but her belief was new. She had come to it late in life, probably nudged along by Blythe’s mentorship.

  “Shall we begin?” Esther asked.

  “Yes,” Patrick nodded, turning toward the bed.

  He was staring squarely at the bed that had been prepared for him. He was looking at it with hooded eyes, dark with contemplation. Diane felt a shiver run down her spine and she grabbed his hand.

  “Diane?”

  Diane met Patrick’s eyes but she wasn’t really seeing him. She was seeing the infinite possibilities that branched out from the decision they were making. Every choice spun off into a million different realities… but which one of those realities would result in victory?

  She held his hand. “Lucifer will come after you, Patrick. I can feel it. He is out there, and he senses the key and its power. You must be strong—”

  “How can Lucifer come after me?” Patrick asked.

  “He'll find a way,” she said, uncertain where her words were coming from. Was this Helios, giving her sight without vision? “He has learned many things from his time on Earth. He has mastered the art of manipulating souls, and he is desperate to find the key. You must destroy the Olympus key before Lucifer gets his hands on it.”

  “Do you have the key?” Blythe asked.

  Patrick pulled out the key and stared down at it. Diane saw the uncertainty in his eyes. His self-doubt was so evident that it seemed to flow from him. She was so caught up in Patrick’s feelings that she almost missed how affected Blythe and Esther were by the key’s presence. They stared at it with awe, as though they were staring into Helios’s face for the very first time.

  “It’s more beautiful than I imagined,” Esther whispered.

  Patrick seemed not to notice their awestruck reactions. “I— what if I can’t destroy it?” Patrick asked, setting his eyes on Diane.

  “The key came to you for a reason,” she said simply.

  Patrick paused a moment, taking a deep breath. “Won't know until I try. Let’s begin.”

  Esther and Blythe exchanged a nod. “Lie down on the bed,” Blythe instructed Patrick. “And try to relax.”

  Diane knew that relaxing was an impossibility now. She felt helpless as she watched Patrick get up on the bed and lie down flat, his eyes trained on the ceiling above, the key clutched tightly in his hands. She moved to his side, but resisted the urge to touch him, even as Blythe and Esther checked his vitals.

  “We’re going to be using general anesthetics, Patrick,” Blythe told him. “It will put you to sleep almost immediately. I’m going to hook you up to your I.V. now.”

  Patrick nodded once, but his eyes turned to Diane. She smiled, hoping that he could feel her support of him as the tube was attached to his arm.

  “Keep my body alive,” Patrick said, his words slurring slightly. “I’ll need it when I come back with Tess.”

  “We'll look after you Patrick,” said Blythe. “Tell our Lord Helios that his true believers are still with him.”

  “Remember, Patrick,” Diane whispered. “Your immortality is coveted, but it is your humanity that makes you powerful.”

  Patrick’s eyes fluttered and then closed shut. Diane felt her own body shiver. She turned to Blythe and Esther. “Will he be alright?”

  “All we can do is keep his body alive,” said Blythe. “The rest is up to him.”

  Esther was staring down at Patrick’s face. “I prayed this morning for Helios to watch over him and guide him on this journey.”

  Diane wanted to say that Helios was God of the Sun. He could not guide Patrick because that was not within his power to do. She held her tongue and watched as Patrick’s body relaxed.

  It was beginning.

  * * *

  Patrick was falling upwards. He no longer had a physical body. He was the truest form of himself: light and energy and consciousness. He was no different from the man he had been on Earth. He still felt the same things. He still wanted the same things. He still had the same goal.

  But now he had the means to achieve it. Patrick felt the key clasped within his grasp, and he looked down. His arms were beams of light; fingers of silver mist clasped the key. Its power flowed through him, and he realized it was as simple as thinking.

  Take me to The Hades, Patrick thought.

  The world broke into bursting fragments of a thousand different colors. Then a great force pulled Patrick in and he was traveling through the bursting fragments.

  * * *

  “What’s happening?” Antonia gasped, as their energy sensors reacted to some unseen force.

  Rebecca and Caleb looked around as the lights dipped down and flickered. “Caleb?” Antonia said, turning towards him.

  “The magnetic fields are fluctuating,” Caleb replied. “But I have no idea why.”

  Antonia felt a deep resonance deep inside her. Why did she feel connected in some way to the energy she could sense in her fingertips? Why did she feel like something important was happening right now?

  “Shit!”

  Antonia turned to see that Rebecca had just stumbled into the table that held Antonia’s bag. It tumbled to the floor and some things fell out.

  “I’m so sorry,” Rebecca said, kneeling as she started gathering things up.

  “It’s ok,” said Antonia said, as she bent down and reached possessively for an old photograph of hers.

  “Is this you?” Rebecca asked, picking up the photograph and holding it up.

  The picture had been taken in college, sophomore year. Antonia was sitting under a tree just outside her college dorm. She had short-cropped hair and an open, trusting smile. Patrick sat next to her. He wore his hair longer back then, but he looked pretty much the same: handsome and confident.

  “Yeah,” Antonia nodded. “That’s me.”

  “Who’s the hottie?” Rebecca asked.

  Antonia took the picture from her hands and tucked it into her bag self-consciously. “Uh, he was an old friend from college.”

  “Kind of looks like you were more than just friends,” Rebecca teased.

  Antonia was spared from having to say anything more when Victoria walked into the room. “Did you guys feel that?” she asked, looking towards the monitors.

  “Yeah," said Caleb. "A huge energy spike. I think it happened everywhere.”

  “What are the readings like now?” Victoria asked.

  “They’ve normalized now,” Caleb replied. “That was odd…”

  Antonia nodded. She could feel a stran
ge sense of dread travel through her body, but she had no inkling why. For some reason, she couldn’t get Patrick out of her head.

  “Where are you?” Antonia whispered, under her breath.

  To her surprise, a little voice in the back of her head whispered back. “He’s gone.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Patrick became aware of his body. He thought he'd left it behind on Earth, but apparently he hadn't. His limbs were long and snake-like; he couldn't see them, but he could feel them. Then, he realized he wasn't alone.

  There were scaled creatures the size of mountains. They had colossal heads, each with a dozen mouths. Each mouth held gleaming white fangs that seemed to stretch on for miles on end.

  Patrick had no control over his movement. He didn’t even know if he was falling or floating. Time seemed inconsequential and so did he. Why was he even here? He knew he had a reason, a good one, but all he could focus on right now was avoiding the countless gaping jaws.

  They moved impossibly fast. They snapped at him in furious determination, and Patrick screamed as they snapped off his legs, then his arms. Piece by piece, his body fell away.

  Just when he thought he would cry out from the pain, there was a deafening crash. Patrick found himself lying flat on a dusty surface that smelled of familiar things. Things like nutmeg and cinnamon; paint fumes and wet grass; Tess’s baby scent after a bath, or Antonia’s sweat after they’d made love. The smells were choking him, and he felt a sudden pain from deep inside. It echoed through his mind and forced his eyes open.

  He couldn’t recognize the place. He was standing in a wasteland; acres of desert stretched out in front of him, and he squinted into the blinding brightness of the sun.

  Patrick looked down and froze. He had a body, but it wasn't the body he was used to. The solid physicality of him was gone. He was made of light and color, and when he moved his hand he realized he was clutching something.

  “Where am I?” he whispered.

  “You know where you are,” a feminine voice spoke to him from in between two rays of light. “You asked to come here.”

  Patrick focused on the voice. It was so beautiful; melodic and gentle. He could have sat there and listened to her for hours, for weeks or months. But then Patrick reminded himself that even beautiful things could be dangerous. He was tired, but he wouldn’t let his fatigue distract him.