by Troy Snyder
“Maybe if I paid more attention or…”
“No, it couldn’t have been helped. You cannot keep plaguing yourself with the what-ifs. So, let’s make a deal. We both fucked up, bad. We lost people important to us. Let’s both agree to let the guilt go, they wouldn’t want to see us like this. Brittany loved you, and Nate was our brother. We need to live for them, not die for their memory.” Alexander’s words rung true, even though not a moment before he was thinking he would kill Quetzalcoatl even if it meant his own death. Antonio had always been his closest friend, and when they spoke it was as if their minds became clearer.
Antonio stared at his oldest friend for a moment. “Deal, but don’t think this will stop me from doing crazy shit.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” They both smiled.
They came together in a hug of brotherly bond when Trent entered the room. “Need me to come back later, I can give you two like 20 minutes.” He said jokingly.
“Shut up,” Antonio said.
“Glad to see you back to yourself, mostly.” He hugged his longtime friend. “Came to inform you two love birds we’re in orbit.”
Chapter 10:
In the cockpit of their stolen Broushin ship, the Demon Boys and Raixo stared out the window at the ship ahead of them. Trent, not completely understanding the controls, had flown out too far and now they were above the Craxi vessel. Two large triangles dominated the rear of the humongous ship; they connected by two angled pieces meeting into another elongated stretch of ship that went forward then up into another triangle slightly higher than the back two. It was an impressive sight to behold.
Alexander’s eyes wandered from the ship to the planet, few people had ever seen such a view. The thought of where he was and how he was no longer on the planet sent his head swimming, he was doing what no others had done before him. Meeting with an alien race in space and opening talks with them.
“Maybe we should tell them we’re coming,” James suggested, he seemed sick, even though the ship was very calm while flying.
“Trent, Raixo, find a way to send a communication to the ship. Ask them to allow us to dock.” Alexander ordered.
Alexander left the cockpit after the two men nodded. Antonio followed him. Outside the cockpit Alexander was resting against a wall with his hands on his knees. He was steadying his breathing as Antonio approached.
“You alright?” Antonio asked concerned.
“You ever felt like you’ve taken on way too much?” Alexander replied with a question.
“We’re better off if we just roll with it and take it in stride. Anxiety will just kill us in the end.”
Before Alexander could respond James poked his head out of the cockpit door. “Communication is through. We’ve been given permission to dock. Trent is bringing us in now. This is fucking awesome, like a video game.” He seemed less sick than he was before.
Back in the cockpit, Alexander was surprised to see how close the ship had gotten. Now it looked even larger making their ship seem completely insignificant. A bay door was opening in front of them to reveal a shield of some sort glowing a brilliant green. Raixo eased Trent’s mind and told him it was only a field of energy to maintain pressure within the docking area and block threats, they would pass through it easily now they had permission.
As Raixo had said the ship slid into the dock without an issue, though landing the ship became the problem. Both Raixo and Trent searched for the controls to do so but failed. The ship hit the ground with a crunch and a screeching sound sliding several feet before coming to a halt.
“Told you I could drive anything,” Trent said.
“Yeah, but your landing could use some work.” Antonio said following Alexander and the others out of the cockpit.
Due to the landing, a side hatch in the ship had to be opened. An automatic ladder extended itself stretching to the ground and one by one the passengers of the stolen ship climbed down and touched the ground. Antonio was the last, he slid down most of the ladder and his military boots made a clack as he hit the ground. Turning around he saw several enormous bearded figures with weapons and shields surrounding them. Each one ranging from six to eight feet tall and built to enormous proportions.
“I understand.” Antonio said loudly as he approached them and puffed out his chest. “I must grow a beard to be accepted into this tribe.”
“Toni, sometimes I wonder if you’re all there in the head.” Trent said.
“Agreed, I’ll need a mustache too.”
Alexander let out a light laugh. “They don’t speak our language yet,” He said then pointed to his torc. “You’ll need one of these to be able to talk to them unless they translate our speech, so leave this to me, ok?”
“Raixo, where have you been, and why have you brought these humans here?” Said one of the giants, he was almost as tall as Raixo, but not quite, and the gruesome scar that must go from his chin to forehead made him look menacing. If it had not been for his beard, he would be more deformed looking Alexander thought.
“Bjorn,” Raixo started. “I brought these humans here because this one,” he gestured to Alexander, “is the one who accidently awoke Quetzalcoatl. He wishes to speak to our leader.”
“Your orders were to kill him and his comrades. Instead you bring him here in a Dvergar ship. You are weak. Stand aside and I will kill them.”
Raixo let forth a menacing growl and took a fighting stance but was calmed when Alexander walked forward. “I am Alexander Grayson Cooper. I am the one who accidently awakened Quetzalcoatl. I wish to speak to your leader to discuss not only a ceasefire between our two peoples, but also I wish to discuss how I can help bring down Quetzalcoatl himself.” He spoke in the Craxi tongue to show he could understand the entire conversation.
Taken slightly aback at the torc around Alexander’s neck the man did not know what to say. When he realized Alexander was wearing a brace, albeit it was not a combat brace, he seemed even angrier. “Not only did you spare them you gave them our technology? Are you mad?” He yelled at Raixo.
He took several steps forward menacingly with his axe at his side. Antonio sensing the rising tension ran forward at the giant scarred man. He covered his fist in the metal from his brace and smashed it between the giant’s legs.
“Right in the berries!” Antonio screamed as he struck.
The giant doubled over and fell to the ground gasping. The others began to move in on the small group with weapons raised. Raixo took a place beside Antonio ready to fight, but as the giants were about to strike a loud clacking of metal on metal rose in the hangar. The giants stopped and turned to see a smaller man with a wispy black beard in a dark black leather jerkin slamming a metal walking stick on the ground. He was obviously not one of the Craxi.
“The master wishes to see them. He does not wish them harm, bring them to him immediately.” The smaller man said. He may have been smaller than the others, but he commanded obvious authority over them.
Several of the Craxi giants broke off from the circle surrounding them, to become their escort. Two others carried the one called Bjorn away to recover from the strike Antonio gave him while the others dispersed. One of their escorts leaned down to Antonio, he had translated the human’s tongue and spoke it now in a whisper. “Excellent shot on Bjorn.” They both smiled and carried on in silence.
Alexander and the others took a nearby elevator to the bottom floor. They walked down an extremely long hallway that had myriad doors. There seemed to be an infinite amount and James was curious as to what was behind each one.
“Raixo,” James whispered to the giant. “How many doors are there?”
“In the entire ship, who knows? In the all the barracks area like we’re in, 540 in total, and we must keep each room clean. This ship can hold 50-100 in each barrack room comfortably. The barracks are in this part of the ship.” He was explaining as the group passed by several other sects, all of which eyed them warily. “Where we just came from contained the hangars, engine ro
om, training areas, and armories. The two other triangles you saw from outside have different things. The bottom right contains the great hall, a grand kitchen, and also our master’s chambers, officer’s areas and much more. The top one is mostly flight control stuff. I’m sure I missed something, but that is the general idea.”
“I noticed in the hangar there were missiles, projectile weapons. I thought you said all fighting was done up close and honorably.” Alexander cut in.
“It is, except for battles outside of the atmosphere of a planet. Any projectile weapons or things of the like must only be used in space.”
“I see. I’ll need to read up on the rules of combat.”
“You will if you intend to fight with us.”
They continued on the rest of their walk in silence. After they reached the end of the hall they saw an elevator that seemed enormous and could fit near one hundred of the giant Craxi with room to spare. It led upwards in a diagonal direction to the triangle shaped part of the ship above it. The smaller man gestured the humans onto it and the group of giants followed them trailed by the small one. Without notice the elevator launched upward nearly knocking Alexander and his men off balance, the giants seemed amused by their lack of control.
The sudden stop at the top sent James raising into the air and falling down onto his backside. His face lit up red as the others laughed at his expense. He had been lost in thought and was unprepared for the sudden stop. At no point in his life had he ever thought he would be part of such a group of people, let alone meeting aliens. Things had happened so fast his head was reeling to keep up, he was sure he couldn’t be the only one, but the Demon Boys seemed so unfazed. As exciting as it was a moment ago, now it was becoming too real.
The lift opened out into the center of the biggest room any of the earthlings had ever seen. Rows and rows of tables and benches lined the floor. Circular shapes were set in the middle of the floor at regular intervals. Alexander could only speculate what they were for. At the end of the hall a table sitting horizontal dominated the area, for the leader of the Craxi and his officers, Raixo explained. In the middle of the table sat a grand hand carved wooden chair, it looked quite old to Alexander. The chair was covered in furs and seemed to draw the attention of the entire room. It could just be that it was the largest chair any had ever seen.
“This is the meeting hall and, on occasion, used for feasts. It looks exactly like the grand dining hall so do not be confused. This one is just for show mostly.” Raixo explained.
The group walked around the table and to a door behind and it split in half opening before them. The little man gestured for the others to follow and led the way down the hall. It was covered in taxidermy heads of slain beasts, many of which the earthlings had never seen, but some such as a lion were present. The little man stopped the group in front of a large golden door. With a quick knock, a voice from the inside called them to enter.
The giants were told to wait outside by the little man and the earthlings and Raixo were gestured to enter. Entering the room first, Alexander felt warmth surround him. In the center of the room was another of the circles similar to those in the great hall, but much smaller, and green flames danced around in the center causing great warmth to be emitted, but different than the warmth of a fire. Alexander ran his hand through the flames.
“Energy,” he said.
“Precisely,” A voice came from a corner of the room. Alexander did not realize he had spoken in Craxi.
The large man replaced the book he had been reading on one of the many shelves that lined the walls. He gestured to the chairs surrounding the green flame pit and Alexander’s group sat down. The man walked over to his desk, he was as tall as Raixo, if not taller, but as he turned Alexander noticed his skin had none of the myriad of colors that he had seen in the other giants, it was simply a light tan. Another thing caught Alexander’s attention; the giant’s right eye stared back with milky white lifelessness. A livid scar covered his eye, but his other eye was sharp and seemed to notice everything.
The small man from earlier walked over and whispered something in his ear - Alexander had no idea how he reached that height, then the small being looked to Alexander. It was only now Alexander saw the smaller one’s face directly. It was thin and fair, not a blotch or blemish to be seen, much different than the Craxi. His dark black hair was in a braid falling down his back, but again, it was the eyes that caught Alexander’s attention. The iris took up most of his eyes; they were the color of the shining silver and looked intimidating.
The large man sat in his chair nodding his head at what the smaller one had just told him. It was not long before he noticed Alexander staring at his smaller companion.
“This is Hugin, my advisor. If you had not noticed he is not the same race as us. He is an Alfar.” The large one said in the Craxi tongue. He eyed Alexander waiting for some reaction. His lifeless eye, which Alexander now noticed was some sort of stone, was staring at him making him uneasy.
Alexander felt he had to say something, “You are at war with the Alfar, are you not?”
“I see you’ve learned some about us. Wonderful,” The large man said with a smile. “Yes, we are at war with the Alfar, however, Hugin defected to our side quite some time ago. He is my most trusted advisor. The other should be arriving shortly.”
“The other?” Alexander questioned.
“You will see soon, but for now let us introduce ourselves. I am Odin, leader of the Craxi.”
“Odin… the god?”
“I am Odin,” The man laughed, “But I am no god. I am just another being.”
“If you really are Odin, then you must be… well, extremely old to put it bluntly.”
A gasp rose from Raixo, he seemed afraid for his new friend’s life for speaking to his leader in such a way, but Odin’s reaction eased the tension. A roar of laughter broke from the giant’s mouth; he seemed delighted at Alexander’s easy-going attitude.
“Ah, thank you for being honest, child. I am indeed quite old, nearly 2000. But not all of which was spent on Earth, if you were wondering.” Odin noticed Alexander’s face become a mask of deep thought, so in his curiosity, he had to inquire. “You seem troubled, do you have questions?”
“Too many.”
“Ask then.”
“Your people, why are their colors so diverse, I almost thought Raixo here was one of the snake people before I looked at him fully.”
Odin stroked his white beard and sat back in his chair. “Observant, and quite inquisitive, I like you. You seek knowledge and wisdom, you remind me of myself when I was young. So, I’ll tell you. Do you know the name Zeus, of the Olympians?”
“Another god? Yes, I have heard the name.”
“No, there were never gods on your world. Only other beings that seemed as gods to an uncivilized race nowhere near advanced in technology.” Odin leaned forward in his chair and let out a sigh. “The Olympians were a mighty race, allies. After the nine planets left Earth, a cataclysm happened. Olympus’s sun went supernova without warning. Their entire race nearly went extinct. The only survivors were on our home planet, Asgard. They assimilated with our peoples. However, the genes did not match up correctly I suppose you could say, causing a variation in skin colors, luckily the only side effect.”
Alexander ran his hands over his head letting out an exaggerated sigh. “This is a lot to take in. So many races, so much history and knowledge.” He said. He sat up and took on a serious tone. “How are you the only one to survive?”
“Survive?”
“You have outlived them all I’m guessing. I want to know how.”
Again, Odin smiled at the human’s inquisitiveness, he enjoyed the man. “I am quite old, as we’ve discussed. Not naturally, however. Every New Year during the Jul festival a willing sacrifice is made. They give their lives so that I may go on living. We celebrate for twelve days honoring the life of the one who gives such a sacrifice. Their energy transfers to me and I continue to live on.�
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“You murder someone to continue to live?”
“No, never. Perhaps sacrifice is a strong word. A man or women willingly decides to give their energy to me, if no one steps up, I simply die. I do not ask for the people to do this.”
“Why do I doubt that?”
Raixo stood up and all eyes went to him. “Lord Odin is an amazing leader. He has lead our planet since before even the oldest greybeards can remember. He stands for all things, justice, honor, and all else. I would give my life for him,” He said slamming his fist to his chest. “He is no tyrant that demands life in exchange to save himself.”
Odin made a calming gesture, “Easy young warrior. The man has a right to think what he wants.”
Raixo sat back down. Alexander wanted to know more. “What about your sons, Thor and Loki?”
Odin raised his eyebrow at this. “Thor? The human’s thought Thor as my son? No, he was, however, my most trusted general. He died long ago in battle most honorably. Loki…” Odin seemed to take on a hurt look. “Loki was my brother, but he betrayed me for the Dökkálfar.”
“Dark elves.” Alexander said in the human tongue causing his men to look up confused. He eased back into the Craxi tongue and reluctantly shifted the conversation, “We should get back on the topic I came here for.”
As if on cue a bird flew into the room through a small gap behind Odin’s chair, a raven. It flew in a circle twice before swooping toward Odin’s desk. In a blinding light the bird transformed into another of the Alfar, a twin of the one that had led them to Odin’s room. In fact, looking at them standing side by side Alexander could not tell them apart. The earthlings stood open mouthed at what they had just witnessed.
“Munin is a light elf like Hugin, twins. They have the ability to transform into many different animals for a time. Munin is the one who brings me my information. Hugin, advises me on it.”