by CJ Davis
“Hey Anna,” a familiar voice yelled from the galarim pool. Anna swiveled her head and spotted a dear old friend. She waved her hand and diverted from the group. Horus followed her.
“Hello Svante,” Anna said. She smiled and hugged him. “It has been too long.”
“It has been,” replied Svante. “It’s so fantastic to see you Anna. And you too Horus.” Svante smiled and nodded at Horus.
Svante wrapped his long arms around Anna, then gave a head bow to Horus. His wide smile and warm Scandinavian features always reminded Anna of the good times to be had in Asgelot.
“As always it’s exciting to have you back in the Afterlife,” Svante said. “How has your transformation been so far? It always freaks me out a little.”
“I know what you mean,” Anna remarked. “I was more than a little frightened this time in particular.”
“I know, what Cyrus did in the arena was unbelievable,” said Svante soberly. “I cannot recall something like that ever happening before.”
“Me neither, and I remember all the way back to the Pharaohs of Egypt,” Horus said.
“You’ve been around awhile!” said Anna. “I’m sure you’ve got some amazing stories to tell from back then.”
“It was a long time ago, but yes, I do have some,” Horus said.
“Like what?” Anna asked.
“Well my favorite from that time was when I saved the lives of several families from an especially evil Red, named Tuka,”said Horus. “He had been blackmailing many common class families to gain all sorts of despicable favors.”
Anna frowned. “How was he blackmailing them?”
“Well, of course, this was before the days of due process. There were no trials or juries. So back then he simply had the power to accuse innocent men for any number of made up crimes that would result in their instant execution. This would leave these men’s families in destitution. He used his power to threaten these men into submission. They had no choice but to do whatever Tuka said. He would take their daughters into his bed, kill their pets for fun, and take their food. Many undeserving and pleasant people were being victimized.”
“Damn Red,” growled Svante. “What happened next?”
“I found out about it after it had already been going on for years,” Horus replied. “I was a member of the nobility as well but had many friends and acquaintances in the working class. One of my good friends finally built up the courage and risked his life when he broke his silence, and told me about the sufferings of his family. In particular, he told me of an ancient artifact that had been passed down for generations through his family that Tuka took from him. This article was extremely important to him and his family.”
“What did you do?” Anna asked.
“Well, I could not accuse Tuka without proof so I broke into Tuka’s house under the silence of the early morning and found my friend’s artifact. I grabbed it and returned it to my friend. Tuka went on a rampage when he discovered what had happened the next day. He tortured many innocent people trying to get answers. Tuka’s vengeance was unstoppable. It was not long before he got to my friend, who eventually gave up my name.”
“That’s unbelievable,” Svante remarked. “After everything you risked for your friend, he just gave you up.”
“No, I know he held out courageously for a while,” Horus replied. “He didn’t give up my name until Tuka started to pull out his finger nails. It was awful.”
Horus paused and looked solemnly at the floor.
“He killed my friend and his whole family for breaking his silence and telling me about the blackmailing.”
Anna blinked back tears. She could be tough, but her heart went out to those who suffered.
“It took Tuka only a few hours to track me down in the city streets,” Horus says. “I tried to outrun him but he was too strong and too fast. I took a wrong turn down an alley and was stuck in a dead end. It was dark and I was very scared. Just as he was about to kill me a figure fell from the tops of one of the buildings towards Tuka and I heard a slicing sound. It was only a moment later that Tuka’s head slid off his body and fell to the floor, closely followed by his limp body. Behind him was a warrior with a hood over his head. He removed his hood and it was Cyrus.”
Both Svante and Anna gasped.
“You knew Cyrus when he was a Blue in the ancient times?” asked Svante.
“Yes and the legends are true,” Horus replied. “Next to Laskious, he was the most powerful Blue anybody had ever seen. I remember him moving faster than any man I had ever saw, even on Earth. He was already quite powerful.”
“Great,” snorted Anna. “Just the kind of guy I want to fight in my first Centennial.”
Svante gave her a bemused smile. “You know you’ve got it in you, Anna. Stop whining.”
“After Cyrus had learned of what I did he followed me to the alley that day and saved my life.” Horus continued. “We had an instant connection. He told me all about his life mission to protect people, and to stop the evil in the world. He was like an ancient Egyptian vigilante. After staying up all night and talking with Cyrus about philosophy and other life changing discussions, I started my path towards righteousness the very next day. After my death during that particular Earth life, I chose the Blue path. I’ve been helping people ever since.”
“Wow, I cannot believe you knew Cyrus when he was a Blue in the ancient times,” said Anna after considering Horus’ words.
“Well, Cyrus was a different person back then,” Horus said. “I really aspired to be like him. We all did.”
“His past doesn’t matter,” Svante retorted. “He’s a monster now, and has been for a thousand years. He deserves to be destroyed for his betrayal and I’m hoping one of you can do it during the Centennial.”
“Don’t be so quick to judge Cyrus,” stated Horus. “Believe me, I know it’s easy to do, but I was there the day he betrayed Arshan. I looked into his eyes. He was suffering and I saw it firsthand. It was not an easy decision for him.”
Anna shook her head. “That was then,” she said. “Look at what he has become.”
“There’s no excuse for the things Cyrus has done,” Horus admitted. “Once you go down the Red path it changes you. There are no moral boundaries anymore. You’ll do whatever it takes to gain more power. Cyrus is the perfect case of that, but keep in mind that he was once a very good man. He has probably saved and helped more lives than all of the Blue Centennial warriors in your group combined.”
Anna shrugged. It infuriated her when she thought of how different things could have been if Cyrus was still a Blue.
“I’d still like to see him destroyed,” Svante said. “He’s no longer that man that helped all those people.”
“Anna, Horus, get your butts over here!” Rajiv hollered in a jovial voice. “You have to check out this view and the galorim is great!”
“Well, that’s our cue to move along.” Anna turned to give Rajiv a thumbs up. “It was great seeing you, and don’t forget to cheer loud for us during the Centennial.”
“Same here, and I will,” Svante smiled, but then sobered. “I hate those Red bastards and would love to see you all win. Good luck.”
The pebbles crunched underneath their feet when they walked toward the other Blues. Their conversation about Cyrus rattled Anna. Cyrus was arguably the most committed Blue of ancient times and he changed so drastically. She thought about all her notes in the journal about how they’re going to change the world. Did Cyrus have these exact same thoughts in his journals when he was a Blue? If Cyrus could change, who is to say that she could not change either?
“Your stories of ancient Egypt and the pharaoh classes worry me,” Anna said. “I know that with the way things are, modern society is gravitating towards an environment that will likely breed more Red warriors.”
“I’ve heard that as well,” Horus said. “I’ve not been back to Earth in a long time, but I’m not sure I agree with you.”
“Technology is p
ushing people further and further into a comfortable complacency,” Anna added. “I’m afraid there will be more Lost Souls than ever as these modern generations rejoin us in the Afterlife. They all blindly follow the vanilla culture that’s spoon-fed to them, as they go to their nine to five jobs behind a desk. Many people are not challenging themselves anymore. The message of the Reds is getting increasingly appealing to the modern day ambitious people. There ranks are swelling and it’s shaping the world into a passive and destructive form.”
“We’ve been facing challenges like this for thousands of years,” replied Horus. “All you newer generation souls are the same. You have no idea how bad it was.”
“Fine, it was harder for you,” Anna said. “You win, it was harder when I wasn’t around. Are you happy?”
Horus stared at the ground. They walked in silence for a moment.
“Sorry, I’m a little high strung right now,” Anna said
“I completely understand,” Horus replied.
“Regardless, if they were more difficult a thousand years ago, if were not careful, the Red ranks are going to swell and they’re going to take over our world,” Anna said. “There will be just too many of them.”
“You’re right, but don’t give up on modern society though,” Horus said. “There will always be Blue candidates out there.”
Anna nodded her head. Maybe she was being over judgmental.
“Have a seat,” Arshan said to Anna and Horus as they arrived at the table. Reese shoved two glasses of galorim over to them and nodded at Rajiv, who had clearly had a lot to drink. He flailed his arms as he shared one of his favorite journal stories. Everybody at the table leaned in with interest, except for Menelik, who sat at the far end of the table with his head hanging down, and his arms crossed over his chest.
After sitting down Anna discreetly leaned closed to Arshan and whispered, “What’s with Captain Gloomy over there?”
Arshan slowly tilted his head to Anna, as to not draw any attention.
“Menelik is the lone Blue survivor from the last Centennial,” Arshan whispered back. “He’s having a tough time with it.”
Rajiv stopped in the middle of what he was saying.
“Did I just hear what I think I heard?” Rajiv asked.
The chair creaked when Arshan leaned forward.
“Yes,” Arshan said. He let out a sigh. It was easy to forget how powerful Rajiv’s astute hearing was.
“What was the last Centennial like?” asked Rajiv. “Help us understand.”
Everybody turned to Menelik. They all stared at him.
“What do you all want to hear?” Menelik replied. He had anger in his voice. “Do you really want to hear how good friends of mine were butchered, and that I barely escaped with my own life?” He was breathing heavily. “And that’s not even the worst part.”
Menelik slammed his open hand on the wooden table. “The worst part is that I let everyone down.” He closed his eyes and grimaced. “I would rather not talk about it,” he whispered at last. “Let’s talk about something else.”
Anna looked away. She tried to think of something else, anything else, to change the subject, but couldn’t. Not even Rajiv knew what to say.
The galorim rippled in the cups on the table. A few Greens watched from a safe distance like they were about to see a volcano erupt.
“Well, my friends, the day is almost over,” Arshan finally said. Anna was relieved. “As much fun as this has been, I’d suggest you all turn in. Tomorrow, the real work begins.”
Chapter 17
Reese walked with Arshan down a blue corridor. The early morning sun filled the hallway. A thick rope thumped against a large window to their right. Dangling from the rope thirty feet above them Menelik swung wildly in a vast room filled with an assortment of obstacles. Below him the sounds of wooden swords clashing revealed intense sparring between Rajiv and Horus.
“I can’t wait to get in there,” Reese said.
“Oh don’t worry,” Arshan replied. “You’ll be swinging from those ropes like a little monkey before long, but first I’ve got something special planned for you.”
“So, when do we begin?” asked Reese, firmly denying his overwhelming desire to simply withdraw. It was clear he was about to dive into the deep end.
“I love that spirit,” Arshan replied. “Don’t lose that, no matter how tough it gets out here.”
“Of course,” Reese replied, gulping discreetly.
“So when will I know for sure that I’ve unlocked some of my abilities?” Reese asked.
“You’ll know,” Arshan declared.
“All right, I’ve got to know,” Reese said. “What sort of powers do you possess? You must have quite the assortment.”
“I may have a few special abilities,” Arshan replied, followed by a slight grin. “The few of us ancient souls that survived the 400 Year War, no longer use the majority of our physical abilities. I still love to fly as much as possible, though.”
“Damn Arshan, do you think I could do that?”
Arshan laughed outright. “It’s extremely rare to unlock the power of flight. In fact, other than Morkel, Laskious and me nobody else has ever flown.”
Reese clinched his fist in front of him. “Well, I plan to be the fourth,” he declared.
“That’s the perfect attitude to have, especially for today’s training.”
The doors slid open revealing a rooftop garden. The wind was cold against his face. Reese walked to a railing, only to find a thick layer of clouds going off in every direction. They were high above the streets of Asgelot; he could no longer hear the hums from the hover cars below.
“I wonder if you can do it,” said Arshan from behind his shoulder. “What do you think?”
Reese shrugged.
They both stepped off the balcony and onto a smaller platform about the size of a large table. Leading away from the platform was a narrow metal bar, around six inches wide. Around a hundred feet away the bar disappeared into thick white clouds.
“This bar is the beginning of a network of bars that surrounds the Blue Tower,” Arshan said. “You’re to traverse these bars to the finish platform on the other side of the tower. Take this exercise very seriously. You’ll be destroyed if you fall. If you complete the course in less than fifteen minutes, you’ll likely earn the ability to fly.”
“Your insane!” said Reese.
“Remember, you’re only limited by what you truly believe.”
“But if we die in training, wouldn’t that give the Red’s a tremendous advantage?” Reese asked. He gazed wide-eyed at the beam.
“As we speak both the Blues and Reds have multiple alternates training,” Arshan replied. “If one of you were to die during training, you will immediately be replaced by a qualified candidate. It’s all a necessary part of the Centennial process, and unfortunately some haven’t survived the Centennial training.”
“Are you ready to get started?”
“If I want to be the fourth soul to fly, I’ve got to do this, right?” Reese asked, cursing the tremor in his voice.
Arshan lifted both arms up and extended them away from his sides.
“What are you doing?” Reese asked.
“I’m giving you a little extra motivation.”
Arshan closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Slowly, his feet rose from the platform. His eyes opened. Looking directly into Reese’s astonished face, he soared into the bright blue sky and hovered, waiting to see what Reese would do.
Reese gave Arshan a sideways grin and dangled his foot over the narrow bar.
Easy, man, Reese told himself. The first step is always the hardest. He gently placed his left foot onto the cold metal beam.
He froze in place for a moment like a statue. His heart pounded. He did his best to seem like a natural, but stalling didn’t help his case.
All right, maybe the second step is the hardest. He inhaled and swung his right foot onto the platform. He let out a sigh
and smiled.
“Nice job Reese,” Arshan said. “Now just repeat that process another thousand times or so and you’ll be done.” He dashed off into the clouds below.
Easy for him to say, Reese told himself. He walked down the beam as fast as he could, but he slid more than walked.
Just as he was about to enter the clouds, a gust of wind picked up and Reese wobbled a bit before he regained his balance. His heart almost leapt out of his chest.
His head snapped up when he heard somebody calling his name.
“Reese, don’t think of falling,” Rajiv yelled. He leaned up against the railing on the roof with Anna. “You won’t fall. Keep on telling yourself that. You have to believe in yourself.”
“Quiet Rajiv,” Anna said. “You’re breaking his concentration.”
Reese glared at Rajiv. He just put his thumb up to let Rajiv know he heard him, and then entered the clouds.
The moisture stuck to his bare skin. He struggled to see more than a few feet in any direction. He focused intently on his sliding feet. When the blue sky greeted him of the backside of the cloud he let out a sigh.
Reese had been walking for ten minutes before he recalled that looking up, not at his feet, helped him to balance. Where did I learn that? He asked himself.
Casting a cautious look off to the right, he was surprised at how beautiful everything was. With the blue sky arching above him, and white puffy clouds surrounding him, it was like something out of a dream.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the top of Arshan’s head slowly rising up from a nearby cloud.
“You’re doing well Reese,” Arshan said, hovering just outside Reese’s clear line of sight. “You must concentrate but not over-think what you’re doing. You must trust your instincts.”
“Instincts?” Reese demanded. “How in the hell could I have instincts related to tight rope walking on a narrow pole thousands of feet above the ground?”
