by Candy Crum
The world wanted to know what was happening, and the only people that seemed to have answers were the Greeks. In order to avoid any more confusion and half-truths, Athens was holding a very large conference in order to address questions and explain what they believed to be happening.
Hundreds of people piled inside, though reporters, translators, and cameras had the front seats. Hundreds more waited outside, having gotten there too late to be allowed inside the already packed building. Everyone wanted answers. More than that, they wanted a solution. Greece believed that it was time that the world stop trying to deny the presence of a world long forgotten. It was time to remember the gods and remember the titans.
A middle-aged man stepped up to the podium. The room quieted as everyone waited for him to speak. He straightened a few papers on the wood before laying them down. After straightening his glasses, he forced a smile and a nod.
“Hello. Good afternoon,” he said. He spoke in Greek, but the footage was being streamed all over Europe with translators from different countries translating in their own languages. “I am Giorgos. I am both a historian and a theologist. My specialty has always been what the world has come to call mythology. The Greek gods have long been forgotten by many, but not by me. They have always been my favorite. In my time learning about them, studying them, and searching not only Greece, but other parts of Europe for proof they exist, I have discovered a great many things such as artifacts and relics that seemed to be nothing more than pieces from history. For twenty-five years I hoped to find the one clue, one piece of the puzzle that would make my work complete. I never in my life imagined that it would be in the form of a man rising from a volcano.”
The crowd began shouting questions. Their voices melting together in a loud roar. Giorgos raised his hands, signaling for all to quiet down once again.
“I will take questions, but this is very important. There is a lot to go over and we must stay organized. This is not a situation that only affects Italy, Greece, or even just Europe. This is something that will affect the world. Please be patient as we move through this.”
Giorgos pointed to a reporter in the front row. The man stood, pen and paper in hand.
“Do you really believe the videos that have been leaked online? Do you really think that a large man crawled out of a volcano?” the reporter asked.
Giorgos smiled, fighting back a laugh. “Sir, you must be joking. No? I have watched those videos repeatedly. My poor wife was concerned for my sanity during that time. I was obsessed. I watched them over, and over. I timed them. I wrote down every second, every minute. I tracked them. No matter where they were shot from, or who they were shot by, each frame matched the others. I was able to lay them on top of one another and there was never a single variance in any of them. All of those videos were real. Besides, have you not seen the footage and the photos of the aftermath? In the videos the entire side of the volcano breaks away as he frees himself. There is absolutely no difference between what I saw in those videos and what I have seen on the news in the reporting of the aftermath. Vesuvius looks exactly the same. I absolutely believe those videos are real. And that large man you speak of was no man. He wasn’t even a god. He was the father of the gods. His name is Cronus.”
More shouting ensued then. Giorgos stepped back for a moment, clasping his hands in front of him as he waited for everyone to catch on that he would not attempt to speak unless they were quiet.
Another man stood and stepped forward. His calm, steady demeanor caught Giorgos’ attention.
“You there,” Giorgos said. “Do you have a question?”
“Where do you think Cronus is now?” the man asked.
Giorgos sighed. “Cronus has been gone for a very long time. While I’m certain that many things we have read were embellished by our ancestors for a good story, I believe there is a lot of truth there as well. Cronus was banished thousands of years ago. He was never present while the world blossomed, while it grew. He would be lost in today’s world.” He paused for a moment, choosing his next words with care. “If I am to be completely honest with myself, and with all of you, I believe Cronus would seek comfort. He would need to be somewhere that he knew. He would need to feel safe while he gathered his strength. I believe Cronus is in Greece.”
Before the room could erupt again, the man Giorgos had just been speaking to vanished. The eyes of everyone in the room went wide as they began looking all around them for any sign of him. Giorgos stared out into the crowd, chills running through him. He wanted to move, but couldn’t. He was frozen in fear.
“Evacuate the building!” Giorgos said. “Leave! Now!”
Wicked laughter echoed off the walls as all the doors slammed shut at once. Something tightened around Giorgos’ throat, turning him and lifting him in the air. Slowly, Cronus began to materialize in front of Giorgos. Cronus’ hand wrapped around his throat the first thing to come into view, soon followed by his arm, shoulders, head and the rest of his body. Cronus stood there, suspending Giorgos over three feet in the air as though he weighed nothing.
Cronus smiled.
“Humans today are not quite as foolish as they were centuries ago, though they are certainly weaker,” Cronus said.
“Please,” Giorgos choked out.
Cronus rolled his eyes before tossing Giorgos to the side. He then stepped up to the podium, looking around the room at all of the people huddled in fear.
“For those of you who have yet to wrap your minds around all of this, I am Cronus.”
The room was torn between whimpers, gasps, and worried whispers.
Cronus pointed at the men and women holding cameras, a few of them still filming.
“I understand those things allow others that are not with us to see us. Is this truth?” he asked.
“Yes,” Giorgos said, his voice barely above a whisper. He still rubbed at his throat. “Those are cameras. They are streaming this all over Europe. Everyone in Europe that is watching can see us right now.”
Cronus smiled. “Ah. Very good. Lift them. Make certain that I may be seen. I have a message for the humans watching.”
Several holding cameras stepped forward, shaking as they lifted their lenses.
“Men and women of Europe and all over the world,” Cronus said. “I have returned. I have come for what is rightfully mine. Olympus. Zeus will pay for his crimes. Not only against me, but against every titan that he locked in Tartarus with me. Stand with me, and he will pay for his crimes against all of you as well. Did he and the other Olympians not abandon you? Did they not leave you to suffer? Have you not been through wars without Ares to help you? Lost children, husbands, or wives without Hera to help you cope? They have long forgotten you. Help me take back Olympus, and they will pay for what they’ve done.”
Giorgos stood, his entire body shaking as fear held him still. His hands made fists as he attempted to still their terrible trembling.
“Did you not speak when you came from Vesuvius? Did you not tell the Italian people that you had returned? That Cronus would be the name that they would scream as their cities fell? You fool no one here. We know who you are. We are the Greek people. We know why you were locked away,” Giorgos said.
Cronus smiled. “Perhaps I have had a moment to reflect. Perhaps I have decided that threatening lowly humans with no power gives me nothing. In fact, it only hinders me.”
“What are you after then?” Giorgos asked.
Cronus turned back to the people and to the cameras.
“The Fated,” he said. “Find them. Twelve children descended from the gods destined to overthrow me. Destined to kill me. No harm shall come to those who help me. I simply need the assistance of those children to gain entry into Olympus, so I may take the throne that Zeus and his brothers took from me so long ago.”
“You say no harm will come,” Giorgos said. “But you lifted me off the ground by my throat like I was made of feathers. You are not to be trusted. Humanity will never trust in you.”
Cronus laughed. “Mortal, you clearly do not sense the same darkness in this world that I do. The world has grown much colder in my absence. If you were to speak truth straight from your own heart, you would say that you have no idea what your fellow man is capable of. Then you would be right. However, if it is truth that you will not speak for yourself, I will speak it for you. Deep down, you fear me. Not because of what I can do to you, but because of what the world, your earth, can do to itself. Allow me to be even more truthful.”
Cronus turned to the cameras, his body slowly growing as he spoke. The sleeves and chest of his black shirt splitting.
“Assist me in finding the Fated. Each one has the power of the god they descended from. Find them and bring them to me. If you do, you will see no harm come to you, or those you love,” he said. His voice lowered as his eyes narrowed, a wicked smile spreading across his lips. “Rise against me, stand with them, and I promise you that you will scream my name as your cities fall, as this man so reminded me. Your cities will all burn to the ground, and I will build a throne in the ashes. I will be watching.”
Cronus vanished, leaving not just everyone in that room to fear for their own lives and the fate of humanity, but all of those watching in Europe. Soon, all of the world would join in their fear.
SATURDAY MORNING
(US Central Time)
Dallas, Texas
Ariyah looked herself over in the mirror, finishing her morning routine. She was feeling particularly confident and wanted the look to go along with it. She smoothed her thick black hair with a straightener, putting only half up with bobby pins and letting the rest fall. Pulling a few locks loose in the front finished the look she was going for.
The flawless mocha color of her skin was highlighted by the neutral and golden shades that she used. High cheekbones and almond shaped eyes added to her beauty. Satisfied with her work, she stepped away and made her way into the living room where Chelsea was already waiting.
Chelsea sat in silence, staring at the TV. She flipped through channels seeing nothing, but thinking of everything. She, too, had worked hard to look confident, but for her, it was because she did not feel that way. Her magic was not as strong as Ariyah’s by a wide margin. Still, she believed her friend when she said that she would grow in strength. Since being in contact with Cronus, her abilities had tripled. She only hoped they would continue to do so, or there was little to no hope of her taking down the Fated, even with Ariyah’s help.
“Are you okay?” Ariyah asked. “I know this is big, what we’re about to do, but I promise that we will be unstoppable.”
“What if I don’t want to be unstoppable?” Chelsea asked. “I’m scared. I don’t have any of the confidence that you do. More than that – what are we doing? We are the bad guys here.”
“No. We aren’t,” Ariyah said. “We have been pushed around and kicked around our whole lives. I was raised in a small town full of small minded people. The whole world is full of small minded people. People that are cold and cruel to others just because of the way they look. The color of their skin. The color of their hair. Big. Small. Tall. Short. It doesn’t matter. You were kicked around because you were the nerdy girl with glasses and braces. Look at you now. Beautiful. Stunning even. Powerful. No one can ever touch you again. Cronus gave you that. When he came back, you were able to harness the power that you had inside you all along. No one can ever hurt you again. Or me. This is our time. We aren’t the bad guys. They are. The world is. It’s time that the little guys climb to the top.”
Chelsea sighed, unsure if she shared her friend’s optimism about what they were about to do.
“Aren’t we just like all of them now?” Chelsea asked. “If we do this, if we take that boy, aren’t we just like all the people we grew up hating?”
“We are just protecting ourselves. If the Fated destroy Cronus, we have no idea what will happen to us. Magic came back with him. If he dies, then why would it stay? We will be weak again. Powerless to do anything to protect ourselves. We are helping Cronus because we need to make sure we can help ourselves. Both of us are descended from Greeks who protected him. We are chosen, too. I don’t want to fight for evil, Chelsea. I want to fight to protect myself. You should, too.”
Chelsea sat, thinking about everything Ariyah had said. It was true that she had been bullied more than her fair share, but it was something that she had dealt with. Something she still dealt with. She was only sixteen, where Ariyah was nineteen. Ariyah was out of high school, but that didn’t mean her war was over. It would never truly be over. Chelsea knew that. She knew what her friend had meant by small-minded people.
Still, Chelsea felt uneasy about the new plan: kidnapping one of the Fated to lure the others out. The plan was Ariyah’s and it had come around easier than it should have. When they’d failed for the second time, the new plan formed without effort. Alienate one of them and take him, or her. They thought they would have to work hard in order to do so, but things worked out in their favor.
Darius.
Ariyah tracked him by his use of power. He was strong, stronger than the rest, but he had no clue how to harness it. After he had run away from the school, he never went home. He kept running, hiding out in parks and other places trying to avoid people. His fear and anxiety over what was happening to him caused him to have that power always on call. Without even realizing how, or why it was happening, he had all that pent up strength just sitting in his hands, waiting for him to fire it. Ariyah had been able to sense him out. Locate him. The only thing left to do was to go get him.
“Let’s go,” Chelsea said. “You drive. I need to focus. I don’t want to mess this up.”
Ariyah smiled. “You won’t regret it.”
“Hey,” Chelsea said, stopping on an international news channel. “Is that… Is that Cronus?”
Ariyah stepped forward, staring at the TV. “I’ve never seen him. I’ve only ever heard him in my head. That’s his… Whoa!”
“Ariyah,” Chelsea said, eyes wide.
Ariyah’s eyes were wide, a bright smile across her face. “Did you see that? He just disappeared! He must be getting stronger. We have to find this. We have to see the whole thing!”
Chelsea once again began flipping through channels trying to find another one replaying it.
“He’s real,” Chelsea said to herself. Instead of the fear that she’d felt earlier, she was beginning to feel confidence. “He really can teach us how to protect ourselves.”
Ariyah walked over, brushing Chelsea’s hair out of her face.
“Now you understand,” Ariyah said. “Let’s go. You can look for that while I’m driving. If we don’t leave now, we might fail again.”
Chelsea turned the TV off before standing and grabbing her things. They made their way outside after locking up, preparing to execute their plan.
Κεφάλαιο XV
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Texas
Cass and Jess spent the entire evening the night before talking to people that knew Darius, and also looking in some of his favorite spots. Police, family, and friends had already been there, but Cass was sure he would notice something they wouldn’t. He hoped that he would get some kind of feeling, or the voice would lead him in the right direction. In the end, they were still at a loss. No leads. No clues. Nothing out of the ordinary.
His clothes from home had been gone through, and his bag was missing. It was obvious that he’d gone home to grab some things before heading out. He’d run away. No one was certain why, but Cass talked to some of the kids from the school that day, and he got a completely different side to the story. Even Jess was convinced that something strange had happened and understood why Cass felt so compelled to find him.
There were quite a few students that had witnessed the fight that day, but only a few that were willing to say much of anything. They hadn’t spoken to the police because they were worried they may not be taken seriously. One boy in particular had seen the strength that
Darius possessed. He said that Darius was a strong guy, he worked out a lot, but what he saw was something different altogether. The ease in which he threw his opponent, and the distance, was beyond impressive. He also told Cass about the lights exploding down the hallway.
“I know people probably think I’m crazy, but I believe that there are people out there with gifts. Have you ever thought about someone that you haven’t seen, or talked to in a long time, only to see them minutes, or just a few hours later? Or have you ever had a dream that came true? I believe some things in this world are possible and unexplainable. The lights only went out in that hallway. No others. The lights started whining as they got brighter, which only happened the angrier he became. When they finally blew, it started right above him, spreading out from him and moving down each side of the hall. It was freaky,” he told Cass.
Cass had reassured him that he didn’t think that he was crazy and thanked the boy for telling him the story. Jess had chills as she heard the boy describe what happened. She thought about Cass and what had happened in the pool. It didn’t take long before she was just as invested in finding Darius as Cass was and less interested about just keeping Cass company and safe.
They decided to head out again that morning, but had no luck again. They checked further out, looking in heavily wooded areas and any other places that seemed like good hiding spots. When that proved to be unsuccessful, they drove east, deciding to get some lunch before looking further. They stopped at a local sub shop, planning to sit outside and enjoy the sun.
