Protogenesis: Before the Beginning

by Alysia Helming

  Suddenly, Hestia sputters and coughs, sitting straight up with a start. As her eyes fully open, she struggles to lift her gaze up in our direction. “I…I’m not going to make it…”

  “No…” I stifle the pain in my voice, not wanting to show her how much I believe her.

  “No way!” Athena commands, “Don’t talk like that. Now that you have the Elixir, you’re going to be fine.” She pulls Hestia up to her feet, a mischievous smile filling her face as she says, “Let’s go!”

  As we take off through the large stone arched doorway, I see Hades run over to the wall, to where a black box is nestled into the wall. What in the hell fire could he be up to? Whatever it is, it can’t be good.

  We pause for a moment to survey the vast maze of tunnels in front of us. Which way is the exit? “This way!” I hear Athena scream in my head. Glad she knows the way. It would be so easy to get lost here and never find your way out. This prison, called Tartarus, is notorious for this.

  As we run down the middle corridor, my hope is quickly dashed when just up ahead of us comes a crackling, hissing sound. When I see what it is, my breath stops short in my chest…it’s Medusa.

  Not the old Medusa that was killed and now resides on Athena’s shield…this is the new and improved version…half machine, half genetically altered creature…a cyborg, yet more twisted and devious than before. I had heard rumors about her resurrection, but had never seen her face to face…never wanted to either.

  Cyborg Medusa’s hair consists of slithering poisonous snakes just like in the old days, but now, they are silver and metallic. Her body is a repulsive green with her expansive barbed wings folded behind her as she glides effortlessly across the narrow opening of the tunnel ahead towards us.

  Rarely do I experience real fear anymore, but right now, I am terrified…especially when I catch a glimpse of her face…it’s more hideous and repulsive than I could have imagined…and her smell is repugnant, like rotting flesh. I try desperately to avert my gaze from her eyes, which from here, appear deep burgundy, like old blood. As she approaches me, she comes so close to me that I feel her rancid breath hot on my face as she sniffs up and down my whole body. I stand still as a statue. Maybe if she thinks I’m already made of stone, she won’t bother me.

  A second later, Ceberus Jr, who must have run in behind us, now runs past us and starts yapping, working himself up into a ridiculous frenzy. Not smart. At the speed of lightning, Medusa whips around, directing her eyes onto the obnoxious barking creature. In a split second, thousands of tiny needles shoot out of her eyes at him, hitting him like darts. Instantly, his eyes gloss over and he crashes down to the ground, paralyzed…almost as if he’s been turned to stone.

  “I’ll take care of Medusa,” she yells in our minds, “You get out of here!” Athena runs over to the side of the tunnel closest to the monstrous cyborg.

  “Anapsyta!” Athena she yells. Medusa’s head snaps around and moves so fast that I barely track her as she flies over to where Athena now stands behind a large stone column. They chase each other around the column. I pick up the dagger that Athena just dropped, we turn around and run down the tunnel back towards the torture chamber we just left.

  I hear a shriek behind me…a terrible, horrible high-pitched wail, which makes me turn back and look. Somehow, Athena has stabbed Medusa in both eyes with what looks like Hay’s dagger, disabling her ability to paralyze anyone. Yes! A small victory!

  When I turn back around, though, I’m horrified to see Hay’s fanatical grin as he stands behind a panicked Hestia, holding his dagger at her neck. Where are the animals…? I can see the lioness, still bleeding from an earlier wound, stalking in behind Hades…

  Suddenly, I hear a scream which makes me turn, “Aghhhh!” It’s Athena. She’s in trouble. Cyborg Medusa cackles in a screeching cacophony of sound as she pins Athena in the shoulder with a razor-sharp talon from her wing.

  I throw Hades’ dagger to Athena, which shoots out from my hand quick as a whip, landing with a dull thud in Medusa’s wing. Athena grabs it and slashes out at Medusa’s face, drawing blood as the knife slices through her cheek.

  But Medusa is pissed as hell. Fast as lightning, her silver tongue whips out of her mouth, clipping Athena around the neck, slowly choking the life out of her. This can’t be how it ends! Athena’s eyes widen as her face turns a ghastly white. Perhaps death is our destiny after all…

  Then suddenly, I hear Hades’ cry and I turn to see Hestia standing strong and tall behind me, her eyes now a vibrant shade of purple, alive with the Elixir. There in her outstretched palm, I see a small flame. Slowly, steadily, it grows larger and more voracious, until the fire is a raging inferno.

  A mixture of defiance and strength fills her face as she aims and shoots the sparking blaze outward, slicing through Medusa’s tongue with flawless precision. She shrieks in a wild rage, snakes hissing as her head thrashes around and her tongue swiftly retreats.

  Just as Athena is freed, Hestia summons a much larger ball of flame, this time aiming into the heart of Medusa’s thrashing body. Almost as swift as the flame hit Medusa, the cyborg staggers, then crumbles to the floor, the electric circuits inside her clearly shorted out as they simmer and crackle. The rancid smell of burning flesh makes me gag. Only the jagged end of her black barbed tail twitches as an after effect.

  Athena runs to me, “Time to go!” as she summons my lioness. As the lioness releases Hay, I hear a bizarre sound…he is laughing in a fit of outlandish hysteria. But why…?

  I turn and suddenly understand. He aims the gravity fork in our direction. One blast and we’re all dust. I close my eyes, bracing myself, but feel nothing…yet. I’m still here.

  I see Hestia moving towards Hades.

  “Hestia, no!!!” I yell.

  She shakes her head as a lone tear slips down her cheek, “I’m sorry…”

  Just as Hay’s finger hits the trigger, Hestia leaps out in front of us…and just like that, her body is instantly consumed by the gravity, transformed into a fine mist of dust.

  I scream, “Noooo!!!”

  Hades gears up to hit the trigger again, when we hear a sudden noise behind us. Athena grabs my arm, pulling me down to the ground…just in time, as the serrated tip of cyborg Medusa’s tail darts out, only inches from where we lie on the ground, pinning Hades in the shoulder into the wall behind him. Medusa is back!

  The murderous smile that once consumed his face is now a mask of fury, as he screams at her, “Not me, you idiot!” Her metallic tongue lashes out at him, choking him around the neck. With his free hand, he points the gravity fork at Medusa and hits the trigger. This time, there is no return for Medusa. Zap…she evaporates into nothingness.

  With not a moment to spare, Athena shoves me up onto the back of my giant lioness and we deftly make our escape, but just barely, as we can feel repeated blasts from the gravity fork as it hits the walls around us, causing rock and stone to fall down all around us. Just when the tunnels threaten to consume us, we burst out into the vast expanse of desert nighttime. My vision is shrouded by tears as the wind whips our hair on our faces.

  There is no time to spare as we reach the decrepit remains of the old city, which back in the glory days was the crown jewel of the planet. The drifting sands of endless desert dunes and hot red sun have long overtaken this place, now giving it the vacant feeling of emptiness, nothing more than a dusty graveyard.

  Just ahead, we halt just as we reach the edge of the ruins at the old city. Athena gets down on to her hands and knees, digging into the sand with her bare hands. She emerges a moment later with the black box in her arms. A look of satisfaction comes over her, as she finds what she’s looking for inside. She grabs my arm, thrusting a thin glass vial filled with a glowing purple s
ubstance into my blistered hand.

  I raise an eyebrow as I ask, “The Elixir…?”

  “Yes…and no,” she says as fierce determination fills her eyes, “something much better…take this. You know what to do.”

  Time to go. I pull Athena in close to an emotional embrace, like I might never see her again. I love her dearly. My closest friend. “Will I see you again…?” I ask her.

  “If the Prophecy is true, then of course. It is our destiny.”

  About the Author

  Alysia Helming started writing her own short stories and plays for school in the third grade, and throughout her life has never forgotten her passion for writing. In 2000, Alysia coauthored a pilot for a TV series, “One Degree of Separation” and in 2006, she coordinated the local premiere of the feature-length movie The Great Warming starring Alanis Morissette and Keanu Reeves, assisting with the nationwide release of the film. As a former student in Screenwriting at University of California, Los Angeles, Alysia wrote a full-length feature film screenplay, “The Green Warrior,” in 2009-2010.

  “Protogenesis” is Alysia’s first novel, which is book one in a seven-novel series. She travels regularly between her home in the San Francisco Bay area, and Athens, Greece, the primary setting for her novel series.

  Protogenesis was self-published in 2016. Within the first month, it rose to best-seller on Amazon for three consecutive weeks and was featured on the Reuters feed at NY Times Square. While writing this novel, she visited Athens, Greece 13 times where she met over 500 people who helped her research and develop her novel, including the real-life inspiration for one of her characters, Greek star Kostas Martakis.

  When she isn’t writing, Helming is considered a ‘Clean Energy Guru.’ She was the former CFO and now, is a majority investor/owner in Pristine Sun, a major solar independent power producer in the United States, which she co-founded with her husband.

  Helming is the primary shareholder and President of Protogenesis Media, the Executive Producer of the short film series Footsteps in Athens, and the Creator/Executive producer of the new American reality-based TV series Meet Me in Greece.

  Find out more at www.alysiahelming.com

  Author of the Song

  Kostas Martakis is an accomplished Greek singer, TV host and actor, having released four studio albums, all of which went Platinum in Greece, and numerous singles that reached the Greek top charts. Currently, he is recording his fifth album and preparing to release the theme song Forever & Tonight for the best-selling American novel: Protogenesis.

  During his 11-year career, Martakis has collaborated with almost every famous Greek singer in live concerts and shows. He was selected as the opening act for the Jennifer Lopez concert in Athens in 2009 – the same year that E! Entertainment included him in their “25 Most Sexy Men in the World” ranking. He has also participated, twice, in the Greek national final for the Eurovision Song Contest.

  In addition to music, Martakis is an accomplished dancer and TV persona, which he demonstrated when he participated in the Greek TV shows Dancing with the Stars and Your Face Sounds Familiar, and then co-presented the second season of Dancing with the Stars and the very first Greek music-fashion show, Mad Walk. He was also the host of the Greek TV-game show Super Buzz in 2015, and co-host in the Greek prime-time morning TV show Kalimeroudia from 2015-16.

  In 2013, Martakis stunned audiences with his breakthrough role as an actor when he starred in the successful Greek adaptation of the musical Rent. He also starred the musical (Den) Se Thelw in 2015. In 2016, Martakis starred in an American short film series, Footsteps in Athens, which is promoted by the largest Greece tourism website (1 million+ followers), Discover Greece.

  Martakis is an active owner in Protogenesis Media Inc, and a driving force on the creative team as a Producer for the new American reality-based TV series Meet Me in Greece.

  Find out more at www.kostasmartakis.com

  Acknowledgements

  There are so many incredible people that helped me through the process of writing my first novel, but I want to start by thanking the Universe and God for bringing together all of the right people into my life at exactly the right moment to provide me with the research and life lessons that I needed in order to write this incredible novel. The journey has not always been easy, but the result here is so amazing that I am grateful for all experiences and people who touched my life through the creation of this novel series.

  In the beginning, this was a collaborative effort with my teenage niece, Hannah Emerson, who first inspired me to begin writing this series. Ultimately, we both wrote our own stories, fell in love with those stories and decided to part ways to write separately. I am looking forward to the day when Hannah publishes her first novel.

  To my incredible husband, Troy. Thank you for being so supportive and understanding through my writing journey and my many trips to Greece without you, for trusting me when I’m sure it felt so difficult to do so, for believing in me that I could follow and achieve my dreams.

  To my son, Xander. Thank you for creating the “secret room under the school” and other creative ideas that came from your dreams. Thanks for letting Mommy go to Greece without you on a regular basis. I am so excited that you are now inspired to create your own book series.

  This novel would not be possible without my literary agent, Johanna Maaghul at Waterside, and my publisher, Reagan Rothe at Black Rose Writing, and my core team of editors including story/structural editor: Copy/Line/Story editor: Kelly Luce (Harvard Fellow and Award Winning Young Adult Fiction Author and Editor) Story Editor: Kelly Fullerton (UCLA screenwriting lecturer and Young Adult Hollywood TV writer), Greek cultural editor: Denia Metaxa, Young Adult editor: Hannah Emerson, Content editor: Deborah Cohen, and to my test readers in the US, Greece, Australia, UK and Germany.

  Special thanks to Greek musical artist, TV host, actor and former model, Kostas Martakis, for inspiring my character, Ever Sarantos; and for transporting me regularly back to Greece with your gorgeous voice and mesmerizing music. Of course, I am most grateful to Kostas for his gift to me of the song “Forever and Tonight” which was written and produced in collaboration with Panik Entertainment Group, Ltd, George Arsenakos, Marios Psimopoulos, Vicky Gerothodorou and Jazz/Clarinet musician, Thanasis Vasilopoulos.

  Also, thanks to Kostas for being a great friend, advisor and for narrating a series of short movies for www.protogenesis.com to help Protogenesis bring the magic of Greece to the world. To renowned Director, Vassilis Antoniadis, of Filmskin and scriptwriter, Betty Saradinou, for all your amazing work on the movies and promotion efforts. Thanks to Vally Agiropoulou and George Arsenakos at Panik Entertainment Group for PR collaboration and Kostas Martakis’ management company. Also, I have been inspired by the music of Greek music star, Demy, and by her sister, a lyricist, Romy Papadea.

  I am especially grateful to my team at Protogenesis Media Inc., an entertainment and media company. Denia Metaxa is the Executive Director for our book division. Thanks to Denia’s sister, Bessie Metaxa, for being test reader #1 and her mother, Eleni Metaxa, for her advice on Greek cuisine.

  Extra special thanks to Sonia Rodiadis, who is our PR & Communications Director, and outside public relations experts Brittany Bearden and Dea Shandera. Thanks to Markos Kamfonas for his support as Kostas Martakis’ internal manager.

  Thanks to Lia Papadopoulou for allowing me to use her Shar-pei, Hampos, as inspiration for Ever’s dog, and Maldiva the Abyssinian and my mother’s cat, Sophie, for inspiring Bastet.

  Incredible thanks to my friend, renowned designer and Househunters International Reality TV host, James Charles. His company Kinari Design is an international design and architecture firm located in Athens, Los Angeles and the UK. Architect Nasia Kalokerinou designed many of the
incredible scenes depicted on my website www.alysiahelming.com and www.protogenesis.com, as well as the map of Gaea included in the book.

  Thank you to my Greek research contributors: Pantelis Panos from the American Classical School in Athens, Desi B. Desi, VIP Destination Manager Greece, Anastasia Rigatou, Greek Archaeologist and Tourist Guide, Voula Tsouna, Professor of Philosophy and specialist in Socrates and Plato from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Richard McKirahan, Professor of Philosophy and specialist in Socrates and Aristotle from Pomona College, John McK. Camp II, Director of the Agora Excavations.

  For insights into the Greek financial and refugee crisis, many thanks to Epameinondas Farmakis, Exec Director of Solidarity Now and the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands, Bert Koenders.

  For the design of the fictional mystery virus, which starts in this novel and plays a major role in the next book, I am thankful to Sha and Matt Coleman, both biomedical genetic scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

  I am grateful for the advice and guidance provided from a variety of advisors from the Entertainment Industry, including George Zakk, KO Creative, Jeffrey Rose, Kelly Fullerton, Peter Mallouk, Manos Gavras, and many others.

  Much thanks to KO Creative for website and graphic design, my main driver in Greece, Dimitris Kapetanakis, to everyone at the Margi Hotel in Vouliagmeni, including Theo Agiostratitus and Afroditi Sol, for providing me with an incredible home away from home when I stayed in Athens. I will always remember The Farm Experience and Billy the Donkey.

  I am certain that J.K. Rowling has inspired me, as I read out loud the entire Harry Potter series to my son while he was learning to read. Other writers that have influenced my writing journey are Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins, C.S. Lewis, George Lucas and Judy Blume.