Mania and the Executioner

by A. L. Bridges

  “No, go ahead and put them through. I can stop trying to putt a golf ball into a coffee cup for five minutes. Oh, and Airi?”

  (Yes Mr. Treyfair?)

  “When I’m finished with this call, come into my office and help me cheat on my wife.”

  (Yes Mr. Treyfair; I’ll bring the ping pong paddle)

  “Hey Cole, are you asleep?” Cheza thinks, her concern for me is blatant through our link.

  “No, but I’m trying to be. What’s up?” I think.

  “I don’t want you to take any chances tonight, okay? You aren’t allowed to get hurt.” Cheza thinks while sniffling out loud.

  “Everything will be fine Cheza. I’m sure things will work out. You know, I really hate to see you cry.” I reply.

  “I know, but I can’t help it. You’ve been hurt too much already…” Cheza’s thoughts trail off as I feel my chest get wet.

  “It’s going to be alright Cheza. I’ll be careful, I promise.” I think as wrap my left arm around her and drift off to sleep.

  …

  I wake up alone six hours later at 5:30pm. I put on my armored jeans, a white t-shirt, my holster, and finally my jacket that now has ten circular shapes impressed on it but still no holes; I remember to zip it up this time. I switch the rounds in my gun to JHP and I holster it before walking out into main area where the girls are already waiting.

  “Hey sleepyhead! I was just about to have Chezarei go wake you. There’s a helicopter waiting on the roof and it will take about an hour to get there so we should leave about now.” Tia says.

  We walk through the broken door and head right, towards the elevator. Something is amiss but I can’t figure out what…

  “Where are all the bodies?” I ask, figuring what is amiss.

  “The Agency’s people came by while you were sleeping and hauled them all off. They’ll fix the door and the bullet holes while we are gone.” Natasha answers.

  We go up to the heliport where there is an ‘executive’ style helicopter waiting for us. Ten minutes after settling in to the comfy leather seats, we’re on our way. When we get close, I can see lava spewing out of the Kilauea volcano and into the ocean. We start to land near the crater and I see half a dozen other helicopters that are similar to ours. I also see that there are tiki torches to guide people from the landing zone; my only question is how they stay lit with the helicopters kicking up so much dust upon landing.

  “Okay, here is the game plan,” Tia says when we land but before we have left the cabin. “Keep quiet and let me do the talking. If shit hits the fan, we leave.” We nod in response. We walk into this cave as Tia and I fall back behind the girls by about ten feet so we can talk.

  “What can I expect if things go wrong?” I whisper at a volume that I know Tia will have no issues hearing.

  “We will end up fighting our way out.” Tia answers at a similar volume. I don’t like the sounds of fighting that many gods.

  “So we will have to fight through over a dozen Illapa’s? I vaguely remember breaking a bunch of shit when I fought the singular version a few days ago.” I say sarcastically.

  “Don’t worry! Illapa was a pantheon head from a stronger pantheon than this one. Our chances still won’t be good but at least they will be existent!” Tia says.

  “What about in terms of speed and strength?” I ask.

  “Since I haven’t seen you in action since you merged with your Drive, I’m not sure about you. However, I should be able to match them in speed, except for Pele, and Pa’ka. As for strength, I should be able to match them except for Ku and Pele. However, I am hoping that two hundred years of friendship will mean something to Pele and she will at least buy us time to escape.” Tia responds.

  “Any special powers that are similar to Illapa’s lightning?” I ask.

  “Well most do. Pa’ka can summon gales when outside. The Poli’ahu can probably freeze things at close range so fire a few rounds into each of them before trying to take them close. Kamohoali’i can turn into any kind of aquatic animal, partial transformations too so watch out for shark heads and octopus tentacles and jellyfish stingers. Ku has no special powers, but he is one of the pantheon’s heads and one of the four great gods. The other three great gods are kind of prissy and don’t have any applicable combat skills so they aren’t heads.” Tia replies.

  “If Ku is a great, then why is Kamohoali’i the leader?” I wonder.

  “Ku isn’t much of an idea man, so to speak.” Tia answers.

  The cave passage is about twenty feet wide by fifteen feet high and goes on for about three hundred yards before opening up into a large cavern. The cavern appears to be made of obsidian and consists of a large, block U-shape table and a ton of chairs, arranged so that the opening of the U faces the tunnel. The center of the U is an area about fifty feet wide by seventy feet long. In the center are two smaller tables on either side; the right side has three seats and the left side has eight. We take the first four seats on the right side that are closest to the tunnel. A dozen or so of the other seats are already filled with various Hawaiian deities but I can’t figure out where the rest of the Polynesian pantheon is, until I notice that there is a camera in each corner. In the age of technology, people don’t actually need to come to meetings.

  The debaters enter the room wearing business attire. Starting with the left side: four pacific island women with long white hair and white eyes; a pacific island man (I’m thinking that they will all be pacific islanders) with a crew cut hair, that looks like he is entering a body building competition later tonight; a man with longer, shaggier, hair that looks like he is coming down from a three day crack bender and is tweaking pretty hard; and finally a man, that looks like a slightly less ripped version of the second man, with a shark’s mouth tattooed on the left side of his face. I’m guessing they’re The Poli’ahu, Ku, Pa’ka, and Kamohoali’i.

  On the right: A woman with light blue hair that seems to churn with the changes in light; A man with black skin (not like African black, more like darkness black) and red eyes; and lastly, a woman with hair that is on fire. Wait, actually her hair is just red, but embers float from it as she moves. I take it that these are Hi’iaka, Kahoali’i, and Pele.

  They all take their seats and Pele speaks.

  “Welcome. We are here today to address the issue of the coup d’état, and of which side we will take in the war. My side is for The Faction and the other side is for the Norse. Let’s begin with the first question: Why do you think we should join up with the Norse?” Pele asks.

  “Why not create the world anew? There are too many humans, especially on the islands. Also they are becoming too advanced. Soon they will discover something that makes killing us a simple task.” Kamohoali’i says as the Hawaiian deities, and no doubt the unseen Polynesian deities, listen intently and the majority nod in agreement.

  “The girl is right over there! Let’s just take her, bring her to Loki, he can carry out his plan and—” Ku says.

  “If you touch her, I will kill you.” I say at normal volume, as if stating a tested fact. Ku turns toward me.

  “Cole, don’t start unnecessary trouble!” Tia whispers to me. Tia is right of course; I shouldn’t be picking a fight with a god unnecessarily but something inside me tells me that Ku doesn’t stand a chance and another part of me is becoming very excited at the prospect of fighting him.

  “Boy, if I wanted to take her, there is nothing you could do to stop me.” Ku states confidently.

  “Let me reiterate,” I say as I pull out my switchblade and drag it across my right wrist, just below my jacket sleeve. “If you touch her, I will destroy you.”

  “Are you trying to pick a fight with me?” Ku asks incredulously.

  “If you are insisting on trying to hurt Chezarei, then yes I am.” I say with a straight face as Tia stands up, walks over to Pele.

  “Cut the video feed but keep the audio.” Tia whispers. Pele looks puzzled but snaps her fingers, causing silk cloths to appear over t
he cameras.

  “HOW ABOUT RIGHT HERE!?” Ku shouts. My nonchalance towards him must be enraging.

  “That’s fine by me.” I say calmly as I stand up and start walking towards the center of the room. I form the cylindrical handle of the Mu-cutter and giant globs of blood start raining to the floor.

  (An example must be made of him, the more gruesome the better. It may end this coup now)

  “I agree completely Airi.”

  Ku stands shirtless in the center area with a Koa short spear that is four feet in length. The spear is divided into three sections: 1’ for a wooden tip, then 1.5’ of shark’s teeth, and 1.5’ for the grip. It seems that Ku is too enraged to notice the blood splashing from my right hand; or perhaps he sees it and just doesn’t care. I can understand taking your suit jacket off, but why did he take his shirt off?

  “DRAW YOUR SWORD!” Ku yells.

  “No thanks, I won’t be needing it.” I reply.

  “Hey Tia, remember that question you asked earlier?” I shout towards Tia, who has returned to her seat, as Ku shouts some sort of battle cry and charges at me.

  I’m really glad that he isn’t faster than me; otherwise it would be a hard task for me to roll to the left as he passes by, while still keeping up the draw. I back up towards his end of the room; I want his friends to have a good view. I’m about ten feet from their table when Ku charges at me again. I turn slightly so the spear doesn’t hit the zipper as I reinforce my torso and legs, and I step into his charge. The hit splinters the tip of his spear and slides back about six feet, but I remain on my feet. Ku looks at his spear and then at me with a look on his face that tells me he is thinking ‘what the hell just happened?’

  “The answer is yes.” I shout to Tia as the kite-shape at the tip of the Mu-cutter connects and the shape solidifies with my silver aura. I slash through Ku’s short spear and right hand before spinning low to take him down at the ankles. Ku starts screaming before he even hits the ground.

  “You see, one thing I’ve noticed about you gods,” I say as I slice off his left hand.

  “Is that you are really difficult to kill. You heal too quickly, but if you cut off the bone,” I say as I shorten his left leg to his knee. “You can’t regenerate.” I shorten his right leg too before I sever both arms up to the elbows. He’s screaming his head off and it sounds like a symphony to me.

  “YOU MONSTER! SOMEONE IS GOING TO COME ALONG AND KILL THAT BITCH!” Ku yells. I flay a foot long strip of skin off his right side so he screams even louder. I watch as it regrows five seconds later.

  “Pissing me off is a bad idea Ku. Did you know that, occasionally, healing quickly isn’t such a good thing?” I say, and then I flay the same foot long piece off his right side again.

  “Occasionally, it only prolongs your suffering.” Ku starts screaming again as I get this sense of euphoria from his pain.

  “I wonder what will happen if I sliced open your ribcage and ripped your heart out...” I say as I squat down by Ku’s head.

  “Do you think it will grow back?” I softly ask.

  “LET’S FIND OUT!” I shout ecstatically. I stand and slice open his chest, only to find that it is just a gold mass.

  “Woops! I guess you guys have no hearts!” I laugh somewhat maniacally.

  “COLE!” I hear Cheza shout in my head as I snap back to my senses. I look around the room and I’m greeted with stunned, blanched, and horrified faces; Tia can’t even look at me. I take a deep breath to pacify myself.

  “I think it’s about time I ended this.” I announce calmly.

  I slice off Ku’s head and his body starts to disintegrate into that gold ash that proceeds drifts upward. Since we are inside, won’t it just stick to the ceiling?

  “I usually get along with people. However, threatening Chezarei is not something I tolerate; and since Loki is trying to kill Chezarei, joining Loki is also something I will not tolerate.” I say calmly while turning away from Ku’s body to address the entire room.

  (Cut the head off this serpent and end this debate early)

  “If anyone, AND I MEAN ANYONE, tries to hurt her or anyone else that I love and/or care about, I will collect your fucking head!” I say with a raised voice as I spin and slice through the stunned Kamohoali’i’s neck causing his head to land on the table.

  “JUST LIKE THIS FUCKER RIGHT HERE! NOW IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY, NOW IS THE FUCKING TIME!” I shout, feeling very Tarantino-ish all of a sudden…does this mean that Uma Thurman is going to slice the top of my skull off in like thirty minutes? Do I get a seventeen year old subordinate who uses that awesome chain + razor ball weapon? 4

  “That’s what I thought.” I say quietly as I walk back to my seat.

  Killing gods is a little less satisfying because there isn’t any blood, but in a way, it is more enjoyable because I get to play with them for longer without having to worry about them bleeding out…Did I seriously just think that?

  “Oh, Cole…” Cheza thinks while giving me a very concerned look.

  “How bad was it?” I ask. She sends me the image of the fight. I watch as my face gets slightly happier with each scream as I hold my silver emblazoned Mu-cutter. When I started flaying Ku, Cheza could feel my euphoria and I can tell that she got lost in it for a little while. She screamed my name after she finally recovered.

  “All those in favor of staying with The Faction and not hurting Chezarei?” Pele asks. Unanimous I’s. “Alright then that takes care of that! Now everyone clear out.”

  I stand up to leave but Tia stops me.

  “Wait Cole, I need to introduce you guys to Pele.” Tia says.

  “Do we have to?” I ask as I sit back down, disgusted with myself. “I’d like to get out of here before the villagers come back with their torches and pitchforks…”

  “Don’t worry. This matter is settled for now at least. Nobody saw you besides the Hawaiian sect and all they can say that they saw was you magically slicing Ku into pieces.” Tia reassures me.

  “What do you mean magically? The silver blade is blatantly in my hand in Cheza’s image of the fight.” I inquire.

  “Wait, so Chezarei can see it too? Cole, I couldn’t see anything. All I saw was something in your hand and then three feet away you were cutting Ku up. How are you by the way? You had me worried there…I take it Chezarei mentally bitch slapped you out of it?” Tia asks as the last gods leave the room.

  “I don’t know Tia…I just don’t know. I got way too much pleasure from his agony. I felt so much euphoria that when Cheza forced our connection open, she got lost in it. I actually found myself thinking that killing gods isn’t as satisfying because there isn’t any blood, but it is more fun because I can play with them for longer. Maybe what Illapa and Ku said about me is right…” I say as I feel myself die a little bit inside; I feel like I’m about to puke…Cheza stands up, wraps her arms around my head, and holds the left side of my face to her chest, which actually does calm me down a little.

  “Thanks Cheza.” I say while I reach up and grab her hand.

  “Awwww!” Natasha says from her seat before Pele walks up.

  “Cole Treyfair…that was quite the sight. I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Pele, head of the Hawaiian sect and the Polynesian pantheon’s representative within The Faction.” Pele says while holding out her hand for me to shake it.

  I stand and bring my hand up to shake hers, only to find that it is still attached to Cheza. I can almost feel my cheeks flush as Natasha giggles and Pele wears this kind of half smile that seems to ask, “Is this kid a killing machine, or just a love struck idiot?”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Pele. Tia has had only good things to say about you.” I say, thinking back to the post-coital killing.

  “Hahaha it’s reassuring to know that you are a bad liar Cole!” Pele says with a smile.

  “Well it’s reassuring to know that my terrible lying is reassuring. On an unrelated note, I apologize for killing your broth
er and for killing and torturing one of the heads of your sect…” I reply.

  “Oh it’s fine, he was probably planning on killing me anyway and you gave the entire Polynesian pantheon something to think about if another sect tries something like this. It is nice to meet you as well Chezarei.” Pele says.

  “Umm…it’s nice to meet you too, Pele.” Cheza shyly replies.

  “Well now that this mess is settled, Cole is trying to find his ‘sort of dead’ best friend Jason whose mom also happens to be the Norse goddess Hel. I know, long story; anyway, can you call Kahoali’i and ask him to tell Cole where the passage to the Underworld is in Hawaii?” Tia asks Pele.

  “Sure, I don’t see why not. I’ll have him text the addresses to you, Cole. What’s your phone number?” Pele asks. I give it to her and thank her.

  “Well it’s late and we are all tired so we are going to get going. I’ll call you in a few days; maybe we can go get drunk and take half of a dozen guys back here like the old days eh?” Tia says.

  “Sounds good and Cole, don’t feel guilty about it; I would have done the same thing were I in your position.” Pele says.

  I give a half smile and a nod in response. It isn’t so much the act that bothers me as much as my reaction to it. Cheza must have felt this because she grabs my hand as we walk down the tunnel and back to the helicopter.

  Chapter 6: Confusion and Alcohol

  The buffeting of the helicopter blades lulls Cheza to sleep with her head on my left shoulder. I lean my head on hers and fall asleep as well. I wake up when we land and find Cheza to still be asleep on my shoulder; I scoop her up and carry her off to the room. I’m glad that she wore comfortable clothes so I won’t have to strip her; I don’t really need that level of awkwardness right at the moment. I open the newly fixed door, carry Cheza down the hall, hang left, around the bar, and finally into our bedroom. I am about to set her on the bed when I face the same dilemma I faced three weeks ago, the previous time I carried a sleeping Cheza to bed. Once again I see her steadily heaving chest and her soft lips that are parted ever so slightly.