Incident 27

by Scott Kinkade

  “Who are you?” Ev said.

  “Poseidon,” Arcturus replied.

  “That is correct. I am Poseidon, god of the sea. Don’t mistake me for the underlings you just dispatched in such atrocious fashion.”

  “Where is the energy crystal?” Ev said to him.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, nor do I care,” Poseidon said. “You two are going to die here in penance for your actions.”

  Arcturus leapt at him with his blades. But before he could reach him, Poseidon extended his arm. From the sleeve of his coat a tremendous torrent of water burst forth, knocking him back. Poseidon then extended his other arm, and even more water shot out.

  Arcturus got to his feet. “This guy’s on a whole other level. We can’t simply attack him head on.”

  “Well, we have to do something,” Ev said.

  Arcturus looked around tensely. “Maybe we should retreat.”

  “But we need the energy crystal,” Ev reminded him.

  “Forget it. We’re at a disadvantage here.”

  Sighing, Ev said, “Fine. Let’s go.”

  They ran to the entrance. However, the doors abruptly slammed in their faces. When it wouldn’t open for them, they tried using force. Shockingly, the doors wouldn’t budge! “This entire house is my domain,” Poseidon said. “Only I can release you, and I assure you—I won’t.”

  Water began pouring down the walls from the ceiling. Only a little at first, the torrent quickly grew in size. Soon the water was at Ev’s knees.

  OK, retreat was out of the question. That meant they had to fight. Using his god speed, Ev dashed behind Poseidon. He moved to attack his back, but the sea god turned around and blasted him with the water coming out of his sleeves. Ev was hurled backwards onto the stairs and hit his head. The last thing he remembered was Arcturus calling out his name.

  Chapter VII

  Ev opened his eyes and found himself in a dark, weightless and cold world. Strange—he couldn’t breathe. Wasn’t that a problem?

  Alarm shot through him like a thunderbolt as he realized he was underwater, and yes, that was a problem. A deadly serious one. The entire main hall of the mansion was submerged.

  Ev had come close to drowning once before, so he knew firsthand how terrifying it was. He fought to gain control of his nerves as he took in his new surroundings.

  Poseidon remained where he was, his arms folded, watching Arcturus flail about in the water. Ev began to swim over to Poseidon to hopefully launch some sort of attack, but even as a god in training, he moved awkwardly. The sea god noticed him coming long before he arrived.

  Poseidon waved an arm, and the water began to swirl about in a maelstrom. Ev was caught up in and flung around the room. He was helpless, and he knew it. Looks like my luck’s finally run out. I just had to join up with Arcturus Reich in his impossible quest. Well, maybe this is for the best. He’d felt for a long time he didn’t deserve to live, didn’t deserve happiness. Now justice would finally claim him.

  But as the moments passed, and his oxygen ran low, self-preservation triumphed over self-loathing. He desperately wanted to live. But it was impossible, wasn’t it? He was caught in Poseidon’s trap.

  Wait…

  Poseidon. He had said something. Yes, Ev remembered. Only I can release you. That suggested the sea god’s power was the key. Perhaps that power—already in action—could be harnessed. This tempest was decent, but what would happen to the house if it were to be sped up? Bad things, Ev hoped.

  He honed in on Arcturus’ psychic frequency. Arcturus! Help me increase the force of this maelstrom.

  It took Arcturus a moment to respond. Perhaps he was still in shock from these latest developments. Ev, what are you…? Wait—that’s genius! Let’s see…we can generate wind on land. We should be able to do something similar underwater.

  Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s do it!

  Ev concentrated and imagined a tornado in place of the tempest. He willed that tornado to spin faster and faster in the same direction they were already going. It didn’t take long for him to notice results. They were now careening about the room like a rocket. Faster, Arcturus! We’ve got to get this thing going at an insane speed.

  I’m on it!

  Before long, the house whirled around them in a blur. It was then that Ev noticed debris swirling with them: the stairs. The tempest was tearing the house apart.

  It wouldn’t be long now.

  * * *

  Maya finished looking about Stonecroft. Neither Ev nor Acturus were here. She felt utterly dejected, like a piece of her heart had been crushed.

  Maya to Professor Freya. Can you hear me?

  Yes, Maya. Any luck?

  I’m afraid not. I followed up all the leads I had, but I couldn’t find Ev.

  I’m sorry to hear that. What will you do now?

  I don’t know. I’m worried about him. He’s not thinking straight. Ever since he met Arcturus Reich, he just hasn’t been the same. I have no idea what that bastard could be doing to him right now, and that’s what scares me. She didn’t normally resort to vulgarity, but this occasion called for it.

  Ev can handle himself, Freya said.

  The regular Ev, yes. But this new Ev…I don’t know. I—

  Her words were cut off by the dull sound of a far-off explosion. Beyond a tall ridge something like an erupting geyser appeared several miles away. Ordinarily she wouldn’t have been interested in that. However, mixed in with the water and debris was the unmistakable energy of a god. No, wait; not just one, but several.

  Maya, is something wrong?

  Everything’s fine. I think I just got another lead. I’ll follow it up and then get back to you.

  * * *

  The explosion carried Ev about a hundred feet into the air before depositing him back on the ground with a wet thud. A ton of debris fell on top of him, but he easily withstood it. He was soaked and covered with crap, but he could breathe. He threw the layers of rubble off of him and laughed harder than he had ever laughed. Once again, death had spared him.

  But what about Arcturus? Ev called out to his partner in crime, but there was no response. Again and again he yelled, but it seemed futile. The disaster area which now surrounded him seemed to be devoid of life.

  Suddenly, though, there was movement in front of him. Someone rose from a large pile of debris. He thought it was Arcturus, but he quickly realized it was Poseidon. The sea god pointed an accusing finger at him. “You destroyed my house. You’ll pay for this affront. You and your—”

  He stopped short as a blade erupted from his chest. Ev could see it had pierced his heart. He craned his head to observe Arcturus behind him. Poseidon tried to say something, but Arcturus removed the sword and he simply fell to the ground in a heap.

  “Whew. Thought I was in trouble there,” Ev said.

  Arcturus replied, “You would have been if I hadn’t been in a position to get the jump on him. Even outside, he would have had the advantage in a fight.”

  “Well, thanks for saving me, but…” Ev looked around at the shattered remains of the house. “How will we ever find the energy crystal in this mess?”

  “Relax. They keep it in the basement along with all their other curiosities.”

  They maneuvered through piles of debris. Broken stairs; bricks; windows and other assorted glass; wood from who knew what; clothing. All this and more was piled up all over the place. The whole place felt like the mother of all disaster areas.

  Fortunately, Arcturus knew the general location of the basement. After moving a mountain of refuse out of the way, they found the stairs. They took them down to what looked like a small warehouse lit only by the light coming down from the hole in the ground. Rows and rows of shelves contained countless boxes and crates.

  “Let’s see…” Arcturus said as they browsed.

  “Which of these boxes has it?” Ev asked.

  “I’m not sure exactly. It should be filed under ‘M’ for miscellane
ous.”

  After browsing “M” for a few minutes, Arcturus settled upon a small chest inlayed with fine gems. It was locked, but the fact it was expensive didn’t bother him; he just ripped the top off anyway exposing a golden crystal rod inside.

  “Is that it?”

  “It is,” Arcturus said. “We now have one of the items we need.”

  Ev was taken aback by that. “One? You mean there are more? I thought this was the only one we needed.”

  “If it were that easy, anyone could activate the Ark and create a new world.”

  “Fine. How many more items do we need?”

  “Just one. But it’s kept in a more secure location than this. We’ll have to be extra careful for the next assault.”

  “Just great,” Ev said. “Fine. Whatever. You know, I’ve been wondering about something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Why hasn’t anyone ever used the Ark before? It can’t be just the two of us that would like to create the perfect world.”

  “Who said it hasn’t? For all we know, someone could have used it in the past to create one of the previous universes. But to answer your question, the Academy refuses to use it because of moral reasons, and Zero Grade won’t use it because of their pride.”

  “What does their pride have to do with it?”

  Arcturus explained, “Zero Grade, for all their ruthlessness, believes in the value of hard work. A perfect world, where you can realize all your dreams instantly, just isn’t real to them. They want to be worshiped by everyone, but they want it to be due to their hard work and cunning, not by a magic device. In other words, they want to prove their greatness to mortals everywhere.”

  Ev needed a moment to digest that. “Wow. Who would’ve thought an evil organization had morals?”

  “Don’t be fooled, Ev. They’ll do just about anything to get their way, as long as it’s in a ‘real’ world like this one.”

  “Point taken. All right, we should probably get going now.”

  * * *

  Maya crossed over the lake and saw the remains of a house that looked like it had been hit by a tornado. But today’s sky was clear with no signs of foul weather, leaving her with no idea what could have done that.

  It didn’t matter. Her ropes soared as she saw what she had been desperately searching for: Ev Bannen, coming out of a hole in the ground. Finally she had found him. Whatever happened next, she wouldn’t leave him again.

  Unfortunately, Arcturus Reich appeared behind him. She might have to fight him to get him away from Ev.

  * * *

  “Ev!”

  To Ev’s amazement, Maya was flying in from across the lake. “Maya? What are you doing here?”

  “What am I doing here?” she asked with amazement as she touched down in front of him. “I’m here to bring you back!”

  “Hmph. Forget it. There’s nothing left for me at the Academy. They lied to me, and you lied to me.”

  She grabbed him by the shoulders. “Ev, listen to me! I’m sorry I ratted you out, but you can’t trust this guy.”

  “Leave him alone,” Ev said. “Unlike the Academy, he trusts me enough to tell me the secret of the Ark of the Covenant.”

  She eyed him curiously. “The Ark? What about it?”

  “It can create an ideal world without any bad guys like Zero Grade. Think of it—a world without the misogyny of the Murnau Islands, or abusive fathers, or any monsters at all.”

  Shaking her head, she said, “Ev, I know you’re haunted by your past. I am, too. But we can’t just escape into fantasy. Besides, I’m sure Arcturus was lying about it.”

  “Oh, it’s no lie,” Arcturus said. “Belial told me about it. The Ark was designed as a last resort in case this world turned out to be a failure. Which it is.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Designed? Designed by whom?”

  “Beats me. Does it even matter? The point is, it’s our way out of this miserable world. Once we create the new one, we can have everything we’ve ever wanted.”

  “This is insane, Ev! You can’t just throw out the whole world.”

  “We can, and we’re going to,” was his reply.

  She gave a long, depressing sigh. “Fine. But I’m staying with you until you come to your senses.”

  “I don’t want you with us,” Arcturus said.

  “

  I said I’m staying,” she said emphatically. “If you want me gone, you’ll have to kill me.”

  Arcturus stared at her for a moment as if he was actually considering it. Finally he said, “Do whatever you want.”

  Ev said to her, “I’ll let you stay with us on one condition. You don’t tell anyone about this. You can let the Academy know you’ve found me, but tell them we won’t be coming back right away. Tell them I need more time to think, or something.”

  She nodded reluctantly. “All right. I promise.”

  “I mean it,” Ev said. “You tell them, and we’re done. I’ll never speak to you again.”

  The hurt in her eyes was almost more than he could bear. “You have my word, Ev. I won’t tell anyone about your crazy plan. Just let me stay with you.”

  To make her feel better, he smiled softly. “All right, you can stay. And Maya…?”

  “Yes?”

  “It’s good to have you back.”

  “Thanks. You didn’t give up on me. I’m not giving up on you.”

  Arcturus interjected himself into the conversation. “If you two are done making up, we really should get going. Zero Grade will be here soon looking for us. No doubt Poseidon informed them of the situation before confronting us.”

  And with that, the unlikely trio left the area.

  * * *

  The Awesome Three were hanging out in Relm’s dorm room. Relm himself sat at the PC, while Priscilia sat on the top bunk, feet dangling into space. Jorg lay on the bottom bunk.

  “Things have gotten interesting, as of late,” he said.

  “But not in a good way,” Priscilia reminded him. “I wish they hadn’t cancelled our break.”

  “We could leave anyway,” Jorg laughed.

  “What, like the traitors? We’d lose our top standing here,” she said.

  “The students who shy away from their duties, forever marred they shall be, until the darkness consumes them,” Relm said.

  “Relm’s right,” Jorg said.

  “What do you mean, ‘Relm’s right’? He only repeated what I just said, albeit in a more lyrical form.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he replied. “If we want to keep our standing here, we’ll have to follow the rules.”

  There was silence for a moment. Priscilia then said, “Don’t you sometimes wish we didn’t have to follow all these rules?”

  “They’re molding us into gods. Following rules is simply the price of admission.”

  “Yeah, but think about it. They don’t have all these rules in Zero Grade. If we worked for them, we could do whatever we wanted as long as we got results,” she said.

  “But we don’t work for Zero Grade. And even if we did try to join them, the Academy would have our asses.”

  Relm suddenly said, “A solution to problems present, though not long sought, perhaps yet has been found.”

  Jorg sat up. “What are you talking about?”

  Relm pointed at the computer screen. The web browser was currently on a message board, utilized by gods, that mortals didn’t know about. “Well, I’ll be damned,” Jorg said.

  Priscilia jumped down and joined him. “Is this for real?”

  “Sure looks like it,” Jorg said. “Zero Grade has put a bounty on one of our traitors, as well as one of their traitors. Anyone who brings them their heads gets a guaranteed position within the organization.”

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she said.

  “Out of the Academy gloom we travel, headed to days bright and new, our world now changing.”

  Jorg nodded. “That’s right. All we have to do is kill those po
oslickers and we’re in.”

  Priscilia grinned like a wolf. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go get what we deserve.”

  * * *

  Arcturus led them to a cave not far from Stonecroft. He had used his god-powers to shield it from prying eyes, much like the Academy had done with Mt. Orleia. No one was going to find it any time soon.