Disclaimers: This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people are coincidental. If you are under the legal age in your area to read erotic literature, please stop reading this and go somewhere age appropriate. If you are offended by homosexual material, please stop reading this and go somewhere your bigoted little mind can handle. If you're looking for pure sex, and plot/character development only get in your way, this story is definitely not for you. The rest of you, please enjoy chapter fourteen of this tale.
----------------------- Godsend Chapter 14: Sidelined
It didn't really register in my head that the officer had just placed me under arrest until we were inside of city hall. "What do you mean by crimes against humanity?" I asked, starting to become upset.
"Trust me," he said softly. The clamoring of the media to get the best shot covered the phrase so they couldn't hear. I sighed. Once again, I was being dragged around by someone who claimed to be acting on my behalf. I wondered if I would actually be able to make a decision for myself one day.
He took me out the back door and to the city officials' parking lot, where he put me in the back of a squad car. Reporters were banging on the window trying to get a comment, but the officer just got in the driver's seat and took off. Siren blaring, he turned out of the parking lot.
"The crowd was getting ugly," he told me. "I had to get you out of there, and this is what I thought of."
"And now they think I'm a terrorist or something. Thanks."
"Sorry. It was all I could think of," he said. "It was either that or let them crucify you on the spot." He made a rather sharp turn and I had to brace myself. "I can take you back to them if you want."
"No!" I said quickly. Then I calmed down. "I'm sorry. Since this whole thing started, I've had little control over where I'm going. I've just been pulled from one place to another by people with more power than me. I'm starting to wish I could come into my powers now so I can teleport like everyone else and start making my own choices."
"You really are a pawn in all this, aren't you?" he asked, looking at me in the rear view mirror. I nodded. "Would you like to rest for a while?"
I gave a small laugh, devoid of any mirth. "I wish," I said. "With O'onerut on one side, my family and heritage on the other, and now the people wanting blood coming at me from a third direction, I'm not going to have rest for a long time."
"O'onerut said he was going to leave you alone for a while," the officer pointed out. "If you told your family you wanted some peace from the other gods for a few months, would they help you out?"
"Probably," I told him. "You've taken to the whole multi-god thing well."
He laughed. "We've had two years to get used to the idea and see the gods in action. There were a lot of duels between the Norse gods and O'onerut, and they weren't kept private. Since then, those of us who wanted to know what was going on made an effort to study the mythologies. Since the gods were already uncovered, the Muses have been working like press agents for the gods, giving interviews and such to keep the public informed."
I was shocked. "Zeus allowed all that?" I asked.
"The Muses said that Zeus ordered it. Since O'onerut let slip their existence, it was the only way for them to do damage control. They needed to let the people know that the gods werent controlling them, and they didnt want to either." The car turned another sharp corner. "The Muses are cool, though. Everyone seems to like them. Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Considering you just filled me in on two years of world history," I said with a chuckle, "I guess I could."
"Who are your parents?"
"Assuming you're asking the gods' names, it's Aphrodite and Hephaestus."
He looked in the mirror at me again. "The Aphrodite part I can believe. I've seen, and experienced your powers before when I was on the high school wrestling team." My stomach dropped. I had changed him against his will. "Your power is definitely love and lust based. You're also completely gorgeous. What I don't get is the Hephaestus part. Do you have some sort of mechanical or technical powers no one has seen?"
"First, I'm sorry for doing this to you," I said.
"Not under your control," he said, "I've accepted that this is what fate had in store for me."
"Um, ok," I said. "Anyway, Hephaestus only raised me as my father, since he and Aphrodite are lovers. My biological father is Ganymede."
"Ganymede?" he asked. "That explains the homosexuality part." He laughed. "And you're straight, too?" He laughed harder. "Sorry, but this is funny. You're supposed to be, what, the god of gays or something?"
"Pretty much," I said, not really caring for the irony of the situation. "I don't really find it that funny," I told him.
"What if it was someone else, some other straight guy, who suddenly found out he had the power to make men gay and make them horny for each other?" he asked. "Think about it. His mom's all, honey, you need to go and make those two men have wild and nasty butt sex now.' And he's all, EW! Gross, Mom!'"
I chuckled. "Ok, a little funny." The conversation paused there for a few minutes and I watched the scenery go by. They had said two years had passed, but it was the middle of spring when I left and it was early autumn now. The colors were just starting to change. I sighed. "You said you could get me some down time?" I asked finally.
"Oh yeah," he said. "I can go through with the whole crimes against humanity thing and let the judge and lawyers know what's going on. Given your status and importance, they might actually give you a mock conviction and give you a quiet cell."
"You mean send me to jail so I can have some peace and quiet?" I asked with a chuckle. "Well, see what the judge has to say before you offer it, ok? I'd rather not be sent to prison and become someone's bitch."
He looked back at me in the mirror again. He had dark, puppy dog eyes that looked rather amused. "Your powers wouldn't really help you there, would they?" he laughed.
"No, I would think that making them hornier would actually hurt my cause."
"And your ass," he threw in. I was roaring as we pulled into the police station.
We walked in in good spirits, and were greeted by stares by all of the cops at their desks, along with the few civilians who were in there for questioning or crimes. "Marx! My office! Now!" bellowed a man who was extremely red in the face. The man turned and stormed into his office and we followed quickly.
"That's the police chief," he told me.
"Your name is officer Marx, then?" I asked the obvious question.
"Sorry," he said. "I should have introduced myself. I'm officer Victor Marx."
I would have replied, but we walked into the seventies. The office was all wood paneling and shag carpets. I half expected there to be a disco ball when I looked up, but it was just an ugly light fixture on a beige ceiling.
"What's he doing in here?" the chief asked. I could feel the heat from his face and I thought the veins in his forehead were going to burst.
"I couldn't leave him alone," Marx said. "He's in danger."
"Because of you!" the chief yelled, slamming his fists to the desk. Marx jumped back. Then he looked at me as if I were crazy for not reacting.
"What?" I asked. "I've just been the prisoner of a mass murderer who has no problem killing or torturing at a thought. I've seen people have their skin eaten off and their brains destroyed. I've seen the gods themselves get burned away until there was nothing left. An angry human isn't so scary after that."
"And you," the chief growled at Marx, "arrested this kid for crimes against humanity? Once the public is past the initial shock, they're not gonna blame the kid for being straight, or for escaping. They're sure as hell not gonna blame him because the enemy had a temper tantrum, no matter how much damage it does."
"I know," Marx said softly. "I already apologized to him for the words I used to get him out of there. He does know that I was only trying to protect him, though."
The chief was still red, but a lesser shade of it. He sat down and wiped his brow, now smoother and less veiny. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Rookie mistake," he said. "Is the kid gonna press charges?"
"No," I said. "The kid needs a break. We're thinking some light jail time might rest me up for a bit. A mock trial and fake conviction, perhaps?"
The chief looked at me, the rest of the color draining from his face. Then he looked to Marx, who merely nodded. He shook his head. "We can't bring this to trial. It would be dismissed in seconds. We could hold him in protective custody, though. In the back, we have the old stationhouse lobby. The cells don't work any more, but we're not exactly locking him up.
Since you have to go through the office out there to get to the old stationhouse, we could keep unwanted visitors out."
So it was settled. I was going to stay in protective custody while the anger blew over and so I could rest. Mom and Dad were a bit disappointed that I was running away from things, but since it was only for a little while, they went along. They could visit me any time they wanted, so it didn't really matter.
For the first two days, Mom visited every few hours, but she finally realized I was ok where I was and dropped off to every day or so. Kelly came by about once a week, as her schedule permitted, as did Mike. Officer Marx was assigned to be my guard, so he was with me most of the time when he was on duty. He said he had no attachments outside of work, so he didn't mind staying over and getting the overtime. Cade was either in class or with me. He studied at one of the old stationhouse's desks, and he was the one who took care of getting us real food.
I spent most of every day watching the news on the TV Marx had set up for me. Cade was comforting and gave me balance, but watching the reports of women being turned to ash destroyed most of that balance. The advance of the wave was painfully slow, but it seemed to reach deep into the earth and far out into space. True panic hit the newscasters when the wave hit Hawaii. America was being affected now, so it was somehow more real to them. Despite the fact that this wasn't truly my fault, I still felt responsible. If I had given in to O'onerut, this wouldn't have happened.
Kelly arrived, I noticed something was off about her. "What's wrong?" I asked. She was pale and looked like she had been crying.
"The wave is going to hit the west coast in a few days," she said. "Then it won't be long until I have to take refuge on Olympus and I can't see you."
"So it affects the gods, too?" Cade asked. He was sitting on the cot next to me.
Kelly took off the wrap she was wearing. Her left arm was missing up to the elbow. "Mom is studying the wave so she can find a way to dispel it. She got too close." Her voice was distant, and I was getting a chill from her tone. "When it touched her hand, it seared through everything. I felt it. I watched as my hand and arm blew away." Her eyes were wide, but she was staring through the wall above us.
I went to her, but she sat in one of the chairs before I could hold her. She was shivering as she held the stump of her left arm. "I'm scared," she said.
"We'll beat this somehow," I told her. "We have to. We have to," I repeated softly. I had to convince myself before I could make anyone else feel better.
"As the death wave approaches the shores of North America, the queen of the gods, Hera herself, is asking for all women to come together in an attempt to eradicate, or at least puncture, the wave." The news woman looked like a shadow of who she had been in the past. Her eyes were sunken and hollow, and her cheeks were gaunt. It was obvious she was too scared to eat.
The screen changed to Hera, standing on an outcropping. "If you wish to assist me in creating a barrier against the wave," she said imperially, "send me your prayers and I will hear them and transport you here. Our combined strength can be much stronger than mine alone."
The camera returned to the anchorwoman. "I, for one, am going to help. There's no guarantee, but any hope is better than none right now." She looked to the heavens. "Great Hera, I wish to aid you in your endeavor. Please bring me to you." Within moments, she began fading out.
The screen soon changed from an empty desk to the running coverage of the wave.
Cade was in class. He said that they were still going on, though they were almost all male by this point. Most of the women were converging for Hera's spell or had earlier prayed to O'onerut to become Vaneel. He had also told me that the classes were now quite dull and lifeless, as a general apathy toward everything but the wave took over the males.
Victor was with me, watching some old movie or another. I had long since stopped calling him Officer Marx, or just Marx, and we were on a first name basis. He was a good guy. His sandy blonde, brush cut hair was just long enough to be fluffy when he took his hat off. He reminded me of a puppy, especially when he smiled and showed that his canines were slightly longer than the rest of his teeth.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Mike asked, coming into the room. I smiled. I was always smiling when Mike showed up. Victor stood to take Mike's hand - a gentleman to the end. "Victor, my man. How's it going babysitting my friend here?"
Victor grinned. He and Mike had caught up and got along really well, especially when Mike learned that Victor had been in the same room when Mike was turned. About half of the wrestling team had quit after that day, Victor being one of them. The rest drove the team into the ground because they were more interested in the contact than the sport. Once off the team, Victor started looking into other things that interested him. He loved cop shows, and decided to find out more by actually visiting the station. He had made quick friends with the officers, and he went into the police academy immediately after graduation. I was glad to hear his story, since I had been afraid that I had ruined lives on that day. I had only changed their directions.
"Your friend hogs the chips," Victor replied.
"I do it for you, Vic," I told him. "Gotta keep you at top fighting condition, you know."
He laughed, but I noticed Mike was busy checking out his fighting condition.
I decided to help things out a bit. With a small finger of power, I gave Mike's hormones a nudge. It wasn't enough to break his self control, just enough to show him I knew and that I wanted it to happen as well. He shot a glare at me that quickly changed to a grin.
I delved into Victor and felt his levels of arousal when he looked at me and at Mike. He wanted me, but there was a definite spark for Mike as well.
The wave had passed into North America, but there were very few women caught in it. Most were on an open plain in Kansas, gathered to hold off the death that awaited them. I inwardly cheered for Hera. Even if this didn't work, and the lot of them were turned to ash, at least they all would have hope up until the end, and none of them would be Vaneel.
A massive walled compound had been built around them, and no men were allowed inside. The women needed all of their strength and focus for the task ahead. What information we got from the news was reported by male reporters on a rise overlooking the compound. The Muses were popping out to give information and reports.
Kelly had been spending about half of her time there, and the other half with her mother, training. She was going to help with the shield when the time came, and was currently helping keep up morale and providing for the women. She had finally learned to teleport on her own.
Over the past 24 hours, Cade, Mike, Victor and I had been watching the screen, as the women began chanting, led by Hera. We were now holding our breaths as the wave entered the plain of the compound. The mixture of reds, oranges, yellows, and purples made the glowing wall look like a sunset was about to overtake them.
As we watched, a circle of white light surrounded the perimeter of the compound, which quickly shot straight up, forming a cylinder of light. The zoom lens of the camera we were seeing this from focused on Hera. She made some gestures and her lips were moving, and suddenly the cylinder snapped into a sphere.
The wave reached the edge within moments and we all braced for the worst. The worst never came. As the wave pushed, the sphere pushed back, and soon it passed the sphere completely. We could still see the women inside chanting.
"It's holding?" I asked. I could feel the tears welling up. "It's holding!" I shouted. Suddenly we were all jumping and cheering, and I could hear cheering coming from the station as well. I was pretty sure the whole world was cheering right now.
The camera view became distorted for a second, then refocused. The crew was inside the sphere. The women inside were weeping with joy, and Hera herself approached the camera. "Today we have been successful at holding back the darkness, but there is still work to do. The world behind the wave, outside this sphere, is poison to women. One of the Muses teleported to an area already taken by the wave, and she perished. The only safe place for women at this time is inside this sphere. Please, women of the world who still remain, pray to me so I may hear you and bring you here safely. I cannot find you if you remain silent."
Women began materializing out of thin air as soon as the plea was completed.
A camera that had remained outside the compound showed the sphere getting larger as more women came to power it. I gained a sense of pride in Hera for accomplishing this, and for accepting those women who had been too afraid to help.
"I'm not afraid, honey," Mom said. She and I had been arguing about moving the women of the family to the sphere. "We will be safe at home for another couple weeks. I would like that time to say goodbye."
"You're being careless and reckless, Mom," I told her. "What if the speed changes and gets you while you're sleeping because you thought you had more time?"
"Not meaning to butt in, Ms. Kereanoi," Cade said from his seat at a nearby table where he had been studying, "but Stef's right on this. The longer you remain out here, the higher the risk you're taking. I've lost enough people I love to O'onerut. I don't want to lose you, too."
My mom walked over to Cade and put her hand on his shoulder. I was touched that he felt that way about her, and I think she was as well. "Cade," she said, "I promise you that I will do whatever it takes not to be killed by the wave. But you have to trust that I know what I'm doing. Ok?"
He nodded and leaned his head against her hand. She bent down and kissed him on the forehead and I felt a glow inside. Cade was special, and even my mom saw it in him.
We were having dinner when Kelly appeared in the room. Victor started to cough loudly and Mike slapped him on the back to make whatever he had gotten caught in his throat come out. Kelly was carrying herself tall and proud, but there was a sadness in here eyes. I knew why. This would be the last visit she could make, as the wave would be passing through the station tomorrow evening.
"I'm going to miss you guys," she said with a warm smile, looking over the entire table. Mom had cooked a feast, and the whole family was there. It was the first time for Victor to meet my grandparents and siblings, but they took to him like he was one of the family, like Mike and Cade.
"Well, you're not holed up in the sphere yet," I said, "so you're going to have a good time tonight."
"How's the sphere holding up?" Dad asked.
"Remarkably well," Kelly said. "Hestia, Hecate, Demeter and the Muses are all inside helping now, too, so we have great hope for survival. Mom`s in there testing her theories right now."
"Has Athena learned anything about the outer zone?" Mom asked. The outer zone was the area devastated by the wave, which was still uninhabitable by women.
"Only that it doesn't seem to be wearing off," Kelly replied. We were dishing out the food as Kelly told us what was going on. "Women who are sickly or dying volunteer to be teleported outside to test the air. None are surviving. But...could we talk about something less depressing?"
"Yes, please," Cade said.
Dinner passed pleasurably for all of us, even though there was a definite feeling of melancholy. This was the end of an era, it seemed, and none of us wanted to let go.
Mom slammed her fist down on the table. "We'll have to do this again in a month," she decided. "And if we can't do it here, we'll have to do it in the compound. We're family, dammit, and I'm not going to let it go away."
"All of us?" Mike asked, briefly glancing at Victor.
"Everyone here, and anyone else we pick up along the way. I only want our family to grow. Do you all understand?"
"Yes sir!" Angie quipped, and we all laughed.
I suddenly felt a chill and all the small hairs on my body stood upright. "No," I gasped. "Not here. Not now."
"What is it?" Cade asked, looking all over the room furtively as he instinctively moved closer to me.
"We have a guest," Dad said, narrowing his eyes. "Is O'onerut near, Stef?" I nodded. Cade and Kelly were both now up against me, and Mike and Victor were standing to the front and back of me.
"What a touching event," O'onerut said as he appeared off to the side of us.
He was all in black, and would have been quite attractive if he weren't a murderer. "You can all relax, now," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "I am not here to fight or take anyone. No, Stef, I am not promising that I will leave everyone alone, only that it is not my intention right now, so you can stop calling me a liar."
"Why are you here, Demon?" my dad asked.
"Call me that once more and I will reconsider what I just said," O'onerut replied. "As to your question, I have come to bring you a message: I am not defeated that easily."
He vanished again.
"That's bizarre," Victor said. "I don't even know what he was talking about."
"Turn on the TV," Angie said. She was white as a ghost.
O'onerut was standing before the cameras outside the compound. "This, humans, is what happens when my plans are tested. He raised and hand at the compound. "Obliterate." A beam shot from his hand and grazed the top of the sphere. It popped like a bubble on a sunny day. We watched in horror as the wave, which had been kept at bay, now rushed in with a terrifying speed. No one had time to react. Everyone inside was gone.
I felt a sudden puff on my right side and my right arm came to my chest. I was covered in ash. My world shattered at that moment, as the last remains of Kelly fluttered down to the earth before my eyes.
My scream of rage made the entire station shake.
I was ready for war.
So now we come down to the wire. Two maore chapters, two more weeks. Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it.
Contact me at academygm@hotmail.com