Incident 27 (18 page)

What? Can’t you see I’m busy here?

I can’t see you at all. Look, I need your help.

You and everyone else here. If I abandon these students, you can
kiss them good-bye.

That
wouldn’t do. Fortunately, Brandon had an idea.
Where are you?

Northern side of Zero Grade’s broken-down piece of junk.

Brandon
hurried over there
and found Atlas fighting alongside a group of students. Knowing Atlas, he
probably wanted all the Nephilim for himself, if for no other reason than to
protect those under his care. Brandon surrounded the group with fire to
temporarily ward off the giants before landing in the middle of it. “There you
are.”

Atlas
looked impatient. “Well? What do you want?”

“I
need you to drop your boulder on top of the
Praesidium
to choke the Ark with it. Only you can pull this off.”

“Hmmm.
Well, I guess it’s as good an idea as any. All right, I’ll do it, but you have
to look after these kids for me.”

“You
can count on me to keep them safe.” He took off into the air.

The
wall of fire Brandon had put up suddenly went out as an ice-breathing Nephilim
came forward. She spewed force a subzero barrage, forcing him to respond with
all the flames he could muster. The result was a stand-off of temperature
extremes and an explosion of steam.

“More
Nephilim are approaching from behind!” one of the students announced.

Brandon
had been using two
hands, dishing out twin streams of flames, to fend off the glacial assault, but
now he was forced to divert one to deal with the giants trying to outflank
them. Now he wasn’t certain he could adequately protect against the ice breath,
and Nephilim were advancing from all directions.

Come on, Atlas. You’ve got to hurry!

* * *

Atlas
wasted no time getting above the
Sancta Praesidium
. Holding his arms
above his head, he conjured a small, round rock—a souvenir from the old days.
It didn’t stay small, however. He could make it as large as he wanted, and
today he wanted it
large
. So, with that in mind, he mentally commanded
it to grow massive, and it expanded in size until it was about as large as the
flying fortress’ roof. Any more, and he risked crushing his allies fighting
below.

When
it was ready, he grunted loudly and slammed it down upon the
Sancta
Praesidium
. The whole thing groaned and shrieked as a result of all the
metal and glass being crushed.

But
despite the loud protest, the structure gave in and collapsed down into the
crater. Atlas watched in wonder as the whole thing—including the boulder—was
warped and stretched by the mysterious forces of the violent beam. This had to
be the craziest thing he had seen in a long time.

After
about a minute, the insane package he had just helped to deliver disappeared
into the crater. The light abruptly vanished, and all was silent.

* * *

Even
the Nephilim were mesmerized by the surreal display. Or perhaps Arcturus had
commanded them to stop fighting. Either way, the battlefield became peaceful in
an instant.

“Did
we do it?” Brandon asked to no one in particular. The students stood
dumbfounded, too stunned to answer.

At
that moment, numerous rifts opened in the sky, sucking the Nephilim back in.
Freya then landed beside him. “Is this Arcturus’ way of saying he admits
defeat?”

They
both so badly hoped that was the case, but no one ventured to voice that hope.

Without
warning, a booming sound began reverberating throughout the area. It was so
intense they had to cover their ears. This only lasted for a moment, though. It
quickly died down to manageable levels.

A
luminescent object floated out of the crater. It was the Ark, only now it
pulsated and shook as if it was about to explode. They tried to get close to
it, but fierce arcs of electricity were erupting from it. “We’ve got to stop
it!” Freya yelled.

“I’m
open to suggestions!” Brandon replied.

At
that moment, Arcturus made his return, touching down beside the Ark. The electricity skewered him—proving it was much more than mere lightning—but he grit
his teeth and took hold of the object. Although he cried out in pain, he kept
his grip on it.

Freya
reached out as if to grab him, but he was hopelessly out of reach. “Arcturus!
Stop this!”

He
suddenly smiled gleefully. “After I’ve come this far? I don’t think so. A
better world begins now!” He ripped the lid off the Ark, exposing an
illuminated interior.

A
deathly silence enveloped the area. Not a single sound could be heard. Then, a
blinding light exploded from the Ark, consuming all in its path.

The
world came to an end.

Chapter
XIII

Reh! Reh! Reh! Reh! Reh! Reh! Reh! Reh!

In
the distant corner of his mind, he knew that damned alarm was ringing. Why
didn’t he set it to music instead of this aggravating wail?

He
forced his eyes open and rolled out of bed. After hitting the “OFF” button, he
ensured the room’s return to tranquility. He rubbed his eyes and looked around.
Captivating rays of sunlight flowed in through the window of his dorm room, and
posters of bands and movies he didn’t recognize adorned the walls. Wait—why
didn’t he recognize them? Oh, well. Aside from that, everything else seemed to
be normal here at Seraphim City University.

A
primal sense of panic shot through his body. Seraphim City University? Why wasn’t he at Divine Protector Academy?

The
memories came flooding back to him. He had been fighting with everyone at
Stonecroft, but then the Ark came out of the ground. Arcturus grabbed it, and
then…nothing. Ev had woken up here in this place that seemed familiar but
wasn’t. What the hell was going on?

Someone
knocked at the door. He hopped off the bed and opened it.

His
blood ran cold when he saw who was standing before him. Indescribable terror
paralyzed him. This was impossible, it couldn’t be happening!

“Hey
there, son!” Dom Bannen grinned like this was a normal social call. He may have
gone gray, but this was without a doubt him.

Ev
staggered backwards until he hit the desk on the far wall, and even then, he
desperately tried backing up further. “No, no, no, no, no! You can’t be here!
You’re dead! I
killed
you!”

His
parents entered the room with looks of confusion on their faces. “Ev,
sweety—are you all right?”

“You
look pale as a ghost, son. What’s wrong?” He tried getting closer to Ev who
hysterically waved him off.

“You
stay away from me!” He felt ashamed of himself in that moment. He had powers
far greater than any human, yet he was still terrified of his father. He needed
to get it together.

His
mother’s pleading eyes stayed lock onto him. “Ev, please, talk to us. What’s
going on?”

It
was then that his brained started putting the pieces together. Arcturus had
opened the Ark. Ev was living a normal life at a normal college. His father was
still alive and being
nice
to him. Son of a bitch—they had succeeded!
They had created a new world.

Ev
decided to confirm this for himself. “Last year in Stiftung—was it attacked?”

They
exchanged worried glances. “What are you talking about?” Anni said.

“Was
Stiftung attacked by giants last year?”

“Oh!”
Dom said, relief washing over him. “He must have had a dream. We did show up
pretty early. Look, he hasn’t gotten dressed yet.” In fact, Ev was wearing a
wrinkled t-shirt and boxers.

Anni
laughed. “That must be it. Stiftung, attacked by giants!” She had a good laugh
at her son’s nonsense.

Dom
stretched out his arms and pretended to thrash about. “Better watch out, son!
There are giants roaming around. Arrg!”

Ev
knew it was best he tell them what they wanted to believe. “Yeah. Of course. It
was a dream. I just woke up, you see.” He made an exaggerated display of
shaking his head to get the last bits of sleep out of there.

“I
was so worried there. I thought something was seriously wrong with you,” Anni
said.

“No,
no; I’m fine, really. I just, uh...need to get to class. I’m going to be late.”

“Right,”
Dom said. “We’ll take the tour later when you get back.”

“Tour?”

“You
promised to take us on a tour of the campus today,” his mother said.

“Oh.
Yeah—of course. We’ll do it when I get back. Right now, I really have to be
going.”

*
* *

After
enduring what was without question the single most awkward experience of his life,
Ev exited the Riordan Men’s Dorm and entered the sprawling campus of Seraphim City University. As the highest-ranked college in Morovia, it did not disappoint.
The landscaping was immaculately done, with not a single shrub or leaf out of
place. Beautiful fur trees lined the many walkways that traversed the college
grounds, and countless expensive benches ensured everyone had a place to sit
down at all times.

He
recalled the last time he had visited here. That was the day after his first
encounter with refghasts and the day of his introduction to the world of gods.
So much had changed since then; he had met so many interesting people, and
fought in multiple deadly battles.

When
he reached Rowling Quad—a brick-laden area with miniature waterfalls on each of
the four corners—someone yelled, “Ev!” He turned around. To his utter
amazement, Maya ran up and gave him a fierce kiss on the lips. “I thought you
were going to meet me outside the women’s dorm.”

“I...uh...I
mean...” Her shocking display of affection had blown him away. This was just
too sudden.

“Oh,
well, I managed to find you, so it’s fine.”

“Yeah.
Uh, sorry about that. My parents showed up this morning, so it skipped my
mind.”

“Oh!
Right; of course. That’s understandable. Well, anyway, let’s get to class.”

“Just
a second,” he said. “Have you seen Arcturus around here?”

Like
his parents, she looked confused. “Do you mean Professor Reich? He’s probably
in his office right now.”

“Uh,
yes. Professor Reich. And...where would his office be again?”

Rolling
her eyes, she replied, “The Liberal Arts building, duh.”

Ev
put up his hands in an appeasing gesture. “I’m sorry, but I have to go see him
real quick. I’ll talk to you later.” He ran off, saying, “Bye!”

“Ev!
Wait! What are you doing?”

*
* *

Ev
vaguely recalled where the Liberal Arts building was from his previous trip
here. He took the main walkway around the massive Cherub Stadium and, after
asking strangers for further directions, he ended up at his destination. The
large, four-story building, like everything at Seraphim City University, hadn’t come cheap. Millions of yaros (Morovian currency) had gone into building it
and furnishing it with modern amenities. There were computers and a big-screen
flatscreen in every room to ensure students received the best education
possible.

After
looking up Arcturus’ office on the directory in the lobby, he proceeded up the
nearest flight of stairs and found the room he was looking for.

The
door was open. “Ev! Come in!” Arcturus was cuddling with a stunningly beautiful
woman Ev had never seen before.

“Uh…Hey,”
he said.

Arcturus
motioned to his companion. “Ev, I’d like you to meet Quandisa, a tenured
professor like myself. Quandisa, this is Ev Bannen.”

She
took his hand. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.
I guess.”

“Baby,
would you mind giving us a minute?”

“Sure.
But don’t take too long. You know I can’t stand to be away from you.” She
exited the room.

Arcturus
took a seat behind his desk. Ev suddenly noticed the suit he wore. He looked
nothing like the Arcturus he knew. “I bet this is all very strange to you.”

“You
can say that again.”

The
suddenly tenured professor beamed like the sun. “We did it, Ev! We created a
new world. A
perfect world
.”

“Yeah,
I figured that much. But why is my dad alive, and...nice?” He had trouble
getting that last word out. It was just so weird, and maybe a little creepy.

Arcturus’
smile dimmed for a moment. “I’m sorry. I should have asked you first. Do you
want me to make him dead again? I can do that. I make the rules here.” He
seemed especially proud of that last part.

“No,
no—I mean…I don’t know. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad having a loving father
around. I never got to experience that.”

“Me,
neither. But you should definitely give it a try. I brought both
my
parents back.”

“OK.
Maybe you’re right. I’ll give my new-and-vastly-improved dad a chance. But if I
could change the subject here—what happened to Maya? She doesn’t seem to be
aware that anything’s changed.”

“Ah,”
Arcturus said. “It takes some adjustment. When you woke up this morning, did
you believe this had always been your reality?”

“Well,
now that you mention it, I did. Just for a moment, though.”

“It
was the same with me. Your memories of the previous world are at odds with the
new one. Don’t worry; Maya will return to normal pretty soon. In the meantime,
why not enjoy the more affectionate version of her.”

OK,
that sounded suspicious. “Wait a minute. Did you change her personality on
purpose?”

He
shrugged. “Not directly. I simply altered her background. You and she grew up
together. Due to the familiarity, you’re madly in love with one another. But
like I said, she’ll grow out of it soon enough.”

“Oh.
OK, I guess that’s fine. Just as long as she doesn’t stay that way. That’s not
the Maya I know.”

“Don’t
worry about it. Enjoy campus life they way it was meant to be.” He then added,
“By me.” His smile remained intact, but despite his assurances, Ev thought he
detected something in his expression, something dark, when they spoke of the
new Maya. Maybe it was just his imagination.

“One
other thing,” Ev said.

“Yes?”

“Can
you send my parents home? I need some time to get used to the idea of having my
dad around and not trying to kill me?” He tried to say it as a joke, but he was
dead serious.

“Sure.”
He clapped his hands. “Now they’re back home with no memory of coming to visit
you. Just call them when you’re ready to see them.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

After
leaving Arcturus’ office, he thought about going to class, but realized he had
no idea which classes he was taking. Hell, he didn’t even know what his major
was. At the Academy, he hadn’t decided on one yet, so he couldn’t even begin to
guess what it might be here.

He
returned to his dorm room to look for his class schedule or something to tell
him what he was supposed to be doing. As Arcturus had promised, his parents
were gone, to his great relief.

In
his desk he found a folder containing all his info. Turns out he was an
engineering student with a sixteen hour week schedule (a respectable number).
Of course, it soon occurred to him that he didn’t have to be an engineer. This
was
their
world; he could do whatever he wanted. He could have anything
he wanted. Wasn’t that something? Wasn’t it...?

Contrary
to his expectations, the thought depressed him. If he could get anything he
wanted with just a clap of Arcturus’ hands, then, he realized, life had no
meaning.
Struggling to get what we want is what defines us. Without that,
I’m nothing. I have no reason to exist
.

He
lie on his bed for a while, contemplating what this all meant going forward.
What could he possibly have to look forward to? Well, there was Maya. He could
be happy with her, right? No; as soon as she returned to normal, she would be
just as unhappy as he was. His heart sank as he imagined the two of them alone
in this happy yet miserable world. Had he made a terrible mistake? Surely not.
He needed to think of the greater good. This world was full of happiness and no
one ever had to suffer again. Wasn’t their
un
happiness a small price to
pay for that?