Pulse of Heroes

by A. Jacob Sweeny

  “So, what is your real name?” she asked.

  “No, you’re not getting it. Elliot is my name. It will always be.” Elliot’s eyes appeared distant again and Michelle’s feelings were hurt. Was he still carrying a torch for his first wife too? And for that Leta? Michelle shifted in her chair and played with her straw rather than look up at him. Luckily the waiter appeared and placed their meals on the table. Michelle looked down at her burger and fries, begging for the food to entice her because she had lost her appetite. Thinking about Elliot being with other women made her stomach turn, she just couldn’t help it. Meanwhile, Elliot wondered if Michelle was strong enough to deal with him. He wasn’t going to apologize for his past, and he wasn’t about to lie about it if she asked. Come on Michelle, he urged her in his mind. You’re a big girl, isn’t this what you wanted? Michelle looked up at Elliot as if she heard him. She picked up a large fry, dipped it in ketchup and extended it to him as an offering.

  “These are really good. Try one.” Elliot looked straight into Michelle’s eyes and she knew that she had upset him. Elliot knew that Michelle knew exactly what she was doing, pulling such a classic avoidance behavior, much like that of a toddler. She didn’t want to deal with something that made her feel uncomfortable, so she changed the subject. He wanted to tell her that in real life she couldn’t pull such tricks, that avoidance does not make things go away, and if anything, the more one avoids something, the more dangerous and powerful that thing becomes. Instead of cowering down, Michelle stared right back at him, challenging him to say something about how she was being immature. She didn’t care; she had the right to act like that. After all, she was a baby compared to him, and she just wasn’t ready to deal with other women in his life. Michelle didn’t feel secure about her place at Elliot’s side, and until she did, she couldn’t handle any competition.

  As a gesture of concession, Elliot took the now-cold fry from Michelle’s outstretched hand and ate it, despite having the same fries on his own plate.

  Later, Michelle asked Elliot to drop her off in front of Samantha’s, explaining that her parents would never approve of her hanging out with him. Truth was, he really didn’t care whether they approved of him or not, but he decided to pretend for Michelle’s sake. She even revealed to him that the home security system had been installed to prevent any of the Hekademos ‘hooligans’ from gaining access into the house. Elliot burst out laughing. Not only because he had easily evaded the system, but because he found it ironic that her mother’s fears had become a reality.

  “I would probably cage up my daughters too if those guys at the school moved in next to me,” he snickered. Michelle hit Elliot lightly on his shoulder and told him to stop laughing at her parents because they were good people. But seeing Michelle angry like that made Elliot laugh even more. Michelle turned to look out the car’s window.

  “When you’re done laughing at me, let me know.”

  Elliot stopped laughing at once and picked up her hand, which made Michelle turn around and bump straight into his face. His lips were ready and waiting for her. “I’m sorry about earlier,” she told him, and he apologized back for expecting her to deal with unfathomable situations. With her heart still racing from the long kiss, Michelle got out of the vehicle and slammed the door behind her. She didn’t want to look back for fear that she might yell out to him to stop.

  The next time Michelle saw Francesca, the lady picked up on her excitement before she said a word. “You are very energized Michelle and I don’t think school alone can do that,” Francesca said. Michelle felt like she was going to burst if she didn’t tell somebody about the wonderful time she had been spending with Elliot, and she blurted it all out into Francesca’s ear. Francesca warned her to proceed with the utmost caution until she had a ring on her finger. But Michelle laughed at that idea. She had no intention of thinking about marriage at her age.

  Michelle was still curious about the old oil press on Argos Vela Way, and asked Francesca if she remembered anything about it. “Oh yes… they were a nice Portuguese family, Jewish I think. I remember that there were two families running the whole operation. I went to school with one of the girls but I don’t remember her name. We knew each other in passing. My mother loved their olive oil because it reminded her of Italy, but I remember the elder lady always said that it was good because it was holy oil. They brought the root trees from the Holy Land.” Francesca’s eyes looked somewhere beyond Michelle, back to the memories as if they lay along an invisible pathway. She smiled, “You know, if you didn’t mention the oil I don’t think I would have remembered, but now I’m sure of it. The girl came to my wedding. My mother invited her because she thought we were good friends.” Francesca motioned for Michelle to get closer and whispered to her, “She gave birth to a son out of wedlock.” Michelle’s eyes widened. “The father eventually married her and good thing for that. But they all left after the war.” Francesca walked into her bedroom to grab the wedding album again. “I hear they turned the place into a school for criminals.” Michelle marveled that even little old Francesca knew about the ‘bad’ school.

  “They’re not criminals,” Michelle said. “I’ve met some of the students because the school is close to my house, and…” Francesca’s eyes widened.

  “You don’t tell me that the boy you like is from there?” Francesca put her hand on her mouth in shock. Michelle couldn’t lie to her. Francesca asked about Elliot’s parents and Michelle assured her that they were a very proper and rich family. “Then why is their boy in there?” she asked, narrowing her eyes while flipping through pages of sepia-toned photographs. Michelle repeated the story about the school being a private continuation school of a sort, and begged Francesca not to tell anybody about it, especially not her father. Francesca eventually submitted to Michelle’s pleas, but asked Michelle not to hide anything from her because that’s how women get in trouble. “Here she is!” Francesca said, pointing at a tiny image of a woman standing in profile. Michelle stared at the beautiful tall woman with the flower pinned to her long dark hair. She looked at the woman’s flowing dress that was gathered to one side, and at her dainty fingers sticking out of her lace fingerless gloves. Her features were angular and her lips were perfectly rouged. Michelle told herself not to go there, but it was too late. She imagined Elliot kissing those lips and every muscle in her body convulsed.

  On the ride home Michelle sat quietly next to her father, wondering if Francesca had gotten her facts right. Could Elliot have fathered a son outside of marriage? Even she knew that back then such things were almost unheard of. Thinking about fathering, an image of Elliot in bed with that woman crept into Michelle’s head and made her gag. She was sure that she threw up just a tiny bit in the back of her throat. Her father looked at her worried.

  “Michelle, are you about to get sick? Do you want me to pull over?” he asked, ready to pull the car over to the side of the road. Michelle really wasn’t feeling well and if she didn’t stop thinking of all those images in her head she knew that she would hurl everywhere. Get a hold of yourself, she said to herself, and took in a deep breath.

  “I’m all right, Dad. I think these finals are finally getting to me.” She hated Elliot.

  “Talking about finals, I do hope you pass them all. Eranka called this afternoon asking about us coming out to visit.” Her father chuckled. “She said that she was worried she won’t live to see another summer. Of course she’s been saying that for years. But she is getting up there in age and your mother wants you to meet her.” Michelle felt sad because although she had never met her great aunt, she had been a fixture in her life since the day Michelle was born.

  At dinner, Michelle’s parents discussed the affordability of the trip to see Eranka, and contemplated the chances that Michelle would be forced to attend summer school. Michelle didn’t really know. It all depended on whether she passed Italian, and she wouldn’t get those results until a week into summer break.

  Michelle stood on top of h
er chair and grabbed a small wooden box from the top shelf of her closet. Inside were little pieces of her childhood. A butterfly hair clip, a rosy ribbon with ‘My First Birthday’ printed on it in gold thread, a tiny ring with what looked like a fake ruby, and other pieces of jewelry that were missing a few links here and there. She slowly overturned the box onto her bed and was glad when she found what she was looking for. It was a red string bracelet with tiny golden charms. Her great aunt Eranka had sent it as a gift when Michelle was born. Michelle hadn’t worn it in years, but with her aunt on her mind she decided to put it on, and was thankful that it was adjustable. Later that evening before falling asleep her mind drifted back to the woman she saw in the old photograph.

  The next day while Michelle struggled to shut her overflowing locker, Tim stopped by to say hello and talk about finals. He continued talking and followed her towards the front of the school. Although she had no obligations to him, Michelle worried about Tim’s feelings because if he continued following her he would undoubtedly see her meet up with Elliot. She knew she was being a total chicken, but she didn’t know how to tell him that she was seeing someone. It wasn’t like Tim had officially asked her out. Michelle had figured that maybe she would be able to drag the situation out until school ended for the summer.

  As they descended the stairs to the front lot a couple of Tim’s friends walked up and distracted him. Michelle quickly said goodbye and crossed over to the other side of the street when she heard Tim call her name. She turned around and motioned to her invisible watch, hoping he would understand that she had to go. As Michelle climbed into Elliot’s car, she looked back up at Tim who was still standing at the top of the school’s front steps. Their eyes met and Michelle couldn’t do anything except give him a sympathetic look. Elliot was well aware of what was happening as he had seen Tim hanging around Michelle a few too many times, and he knew that Michelle had mixed feelings about the boy since long before their own lives had become intertwined. He also knew that she had chosen to be with him, and that these situations were just part of life. He squeezed Michelle’s knee to remind her that he was there for her.

  When Elliot led Michelle to his room she was a bit nervous. He told her that there were some serious things that they needed to discuss, and she worried that he was going to tell her that he couldn’t see her anymore. She was grateful that she didn’t see any of the other guys when they walked past the living room because she was afraid that they would blame her for the fight between Elliot and Rion, not to mention how embarrassed she would feel if they were all there when Elliot broke up with her.

  “Here, sit down,” he said, patting the spot next to him on the bed. Michelle settled in front of Elliot, Indian-style. Elliot held out his hands and Michelle put her hands in his. His face showed worry.

  “Michelle, there are some things I need to tell you about, things that are not too easy for me to disclose to just anyone, and you probably aren’t going to understand everything all at once. So ask me questions if you need.” Good, he wasn’t breaking up with her. Michelle exhaled in relief.

  “It’s time I tell you why I left the way I did. First, I want to make sure you understand that none of this was planned. And once again, I want to apologize for not letting you know.” It was Elliot’s turn to take a big breath. He continued, “When Devin went to see our friends in China their house was empty and it was obvious that someone had kidnapped them.” Michelle’s mouth dropped. “The place was ransacked, and whoever did it was searching for something. And I fear that I may know what it is that they were after.” Elliot reminded Michelle about his trip on the Argos, and about how they had been searching for knowledge, specifically for the formula of an unusual alloy. Elliot told Michelle that many thousands of years earlier, a certain type of electrically charged metal that did not originate on earth was discovered in limited quantities. Some say that the metal ended up on earth when a giant ice ball carrying it passed near to the sun and melted. Whatever the case, this powerful metal was said to have been used in the ‘magical’ weapons used by the ancient mythical heroes in their wars against one another. Elliot had never seen any of those legendary weapons himself, but he has encountered certain weapons crafted from a combination of earth metals to form a similar electrically charged alloy. This alloy has to be forged under tremendous pressure, and is known by many different names because the formula was developed independently in different parts of the world. Elliot knew it as ‘Nizabar’. He told Michelle that the alloy is very important to his kind because it is toxic to them. If a weapon made out of Nizabar strikes them, they die.

  “I thought you told me that there’s nothing that can kill you guys, other then maybe extremely high temperatures?” Michelle became worried. Elliot got off the bed and put his hands to his head in frustration. He had thought that he would never have to discuss this subject again, but he was obviously wrong.

  “We can die. The toxicity of this metal can cause a massive electrical surge that leaves the victim paralyzed. To put it simply, it disrupts our nervous systems and once that happens the brain is no longer capable of sending out repair signals to our cells. It’s like an electrically charged poison.” Michelle couldn’t help but conjure the image of Elliot dying, and it sent a cold chill up her spine. She started to panic. “What I told you previously about us not dying was technically correct, although it seems that there is someone out there who is bent on changing that fact. They are after the formula.”

  “How do you know that whoever kidnapped your friends was looking for the formula? And besides, are you even sure they were kidnapped?” Michelle asked nervously. But Elliot explained that there was no way his friends would have missed out on the opportunity to see their old friend Devin, and that their home was completely torn apart, yet with every valuable thing still left in place.

  “There was gold there, and plenty of money and priceless antiques laying out in the open, but none were disturbed. The only people who place no value on such things are those of my own kind. There were signs of a struggle, but no blood anywhere. For as much as we know, our friends are being tortured right now.” Elliot winced at the thought and Michelle felt sick to her stomach.

  “But did they even have the formula?” she asked.

  “No, as far as I know there is only one copy of the formula still in circulation. One of the missions that Rion and I went on long ago was to find and destroy every copy we could. We thought that without that terrible alloy around we could all just live in peace, once and for all.” Michelle jumped a little at the mention of Rion’s name, but when she saw that there was no change in Elliot’s demeanor she just let it go. Still, she didn’t understand why anyone would want the formula at all. Weren’t all of his kind friends with one other? Elliot didn’t have an answer to that question, because the last time any of their kind had fought against each other was almost a thousand years ago.

  “Does Rion still have the formula from the days of the Argos? And I don’t understand why he had something so awful to begin with,” Michelle said angrily. Elliot assured her that Rion didn’t have the formula anymore and besides, he had no idea about the alloy’s destructive power when he first smelted it. The recipe had just come to him, like a daydream. Elliot explained to Michelle that his kind seems to have certain innate knowledge ingrained in their brains from birth, and it comes out in uncontrollable spurts.

  Most human advancements, including metallurgy, came from unknown sources. Many cultures have stories about knowledge passing to humans from other beings, and some of these beings are said to have similar characteristics to Elliot and his kind. The Book of Giants states that the Watchers taught their human wives about medicinal plants, and it also states that a Watcher by the name of Azazel taught men to make metal weapons. But these accounts aren’t limited to one area of the world. Elliot told Michelle about Haneul’s history as the founder of the first Korean dynasty.

  “Korean legends tell about ‘Tangun’ which is Haneul’s original name, an
d how his father was a kind of a god, and you’ll get a laugh out of this one, his mother was a bear that turned into a woman.” Michelle looked at Elliot in disbelief. “I know, I know,” Elliot laughed. “There are all kinds of stories out there about how we originated and who our parents were, but what I was getting at is that Haneul’s father, ‘Hwanung’, is said to have brought him into this world in order to teach the people about agriculture and medicine, which he did. A few generations later, when Haneul returned to power under a different name and became King Jumong, he was able to develop the process of smelting for the first time. He created many amazing metals that were much stronger than anything that had ever been seen in Korea. Eventually, he too developed the Nizabar alloy. One day the formula just popped into his head. You can ask him yourself if you want.”

  “What about you? Did you ever create it yourself?” a wide-eyed Michelle asked Elliot, her voice trailing at the end of her words. Elliot lowered his head and Michelle knew the answer.

  “I had to, for my own protection, and that of my family. I was forced to slay some of my own kind when they took up arms on the side of evil. Just because we are different than you humans doesn’t mean that we are all alike. We are born with freedom of choice just like you. Some of us chose different alliances, and different paths. Some of us became power hungry and terrorized human communities, making their lives miserable or enslaving them. When Goliath stole my original sword I had no choice but to forge more weapons, even if I had sworn I never would.”

  “Goliath? Like David and Goliath! You knew him?!!!!” Michelle yelled. She jumped off the bed and was now standing in front of Elliot with her hands on her hips demanding an explanation.