Chapter Thirty-Seven
Travis floated in a white void, unaware of
even his heartbeat. Time held no meaning to him as he drifted along until a
black light filled the void, enveloping him.
"Despair not, young one."
He startled. "You're the one who guided me to
the, the . . ."
"And now I will guide you out of here."
The black light took the shape of a great
golden-brown eagle, wings spread wide.
"What's the point? I don't even know who or
what I am."
"The circumstances of your birth matter not.
You are who you choose to be."
"And what if I want this z sci-fi movie to
end?"
"I only open the door. What comes after is up
to you. You always have a choice. Stay here and cede control of your body to
the other."
"Or?"
"Follow me and retake your birthright."
Travis thought long and hard. Is any
of this real? Have these last months been all in my
head? No, that can be right because then Josh and I . . . No! I know that was
real. So then, this is real?
But what about Oblivion and the prophecy? Or
those . . . aliens?
"Your time grows short, young one."
Travis came to a decision. "It doesn't matter
who or what I am. I decide my destiny!"
"Of course." Body landed, letting him climb aboard,
and took off.
***
Time passed. How much, Travis didn't know.
"I think this is . . ."
A slit in the white void opened, and sunlight
sparkled off the clear waters that ran through the verdant forests of his inner
mindscape.
"What now?"
"Free us."
With an eardrum-shattering cry, Body
disappeared in a plume of golden light, knocking Travis on his ass. He dusted
himself off and tugged on Prometheus's psychic leash.
"Get that weak shit outta
here."
Rubbing his ass, Travis got off the ground.
Liquid ran down his nose; wiping it, he found blood. Pulling the mental leash
again, Prometheus knocked Travis on his ass that time and each time afterward,
his strength ebbing with each attempt until he gave up.
You better hope I never get out of here
because when I do, your ass is mine.
"Shut up."
A prisoner in his own body, Travis raged,
uprooting trees until he tired himself out. With nothing better to do, he
surveyed the area. More flora had grown since he'd
last been there if that was even possible. And the encroaching grayness now
bisected the land.
Once he got the lay of the land, Travis set
off in search of the blackbird, scouring the waters and forest until, at last,
he came upon the wall where the chained bird was. Only the wall was gone. In
its place was a black stone well, the cover of which was etched with a strange
X-shaped symbol.
"You found me."
"Who are you?"
"The power of your spirit."
"But you couldn't talk before."
"I always could, but you couldn't understand
me until now."
"How do I get out of here?"
"Free me, and you'll free yourself."
"How?"
"Unite me with the power of your mind and
body."
"And how do I do that?"
"You have to figure that out on your own."
"That's great."
He melted the well cover, smashed it with his
fists, even blew it up, but every time, it reformed instantly. Since he didn't
know how long he'd be there, Travis created a few creature comforts, starting
with a puffy chair, then advanced to making his Psyche Sanctorum, a castle that
would house his most private thoughts and memories, so they could never be used
against him.
Reclined in his puffy chair, Travis replayed
the happier memories of him and Josh. But try as he might, Travis couldn't help
thinking of Josh's face twisting in anguish when his wave of fire blasted him.
The image filled the monitors, Josh's screams echoing off the walls.
"I'm sorry," he repeated until the monitors
went dark. Travis was jolted from his seat when a shockwave rippled through the
Psyche Sanctorum. "Little pig, little pig, let me in."
A close-up of Oblivion appeared on a monitor
in front of Travis, and he shuddered upon seeing Oblivion.
"What do you want?"
"To talk. By the way, I like the castle.
Though, the tower is a bit gauche if you ask me."
"Well, Martha, I didn't. So, sit and spin."
"We have much to discuss."
Travis leaned in. "Such as?"
"A way out."
"Go on."
"Why don't you come out so we can talk
man-to-man?"
"I don't know if that's a good idea. Bad
things happen when I listen to you. Not to mention you lied to me."
"I mean you no harm. And I didn't lie to you. While
your powers may be from those aliens, I'm responsible for them reactivating.
So, it technically wasn't a lie."
Travis glowered at him. "Why should I believe
you?"
"Because I'm the only one who's never lied to
you."
What a load of horse sh--
"Think about it. Your family, your Jenny, your
Josh, all lied to you."
"But Grams--"
"Knew about your powers and what the
government did to you, yet never said anything about them until they
reactivated."
"Still--"
"That's lying by omission. I, on the other
hand, have always been upfront about my intentions."
"But you're evil incarnate."
"I don't deny that. There is no good without
evil, no light without dark, no creation without destruction."
Travis didn't know what to believe. On
the one hand, Oblivion did try to kill him during their first meeting, and
he had lied to him about the origins of his powers. But he'd
been nice ever since.
"I thought you wanted to help me find a way
out of here? Instead, you're spouting metaphysical
mumbo-jumbo."
"I'm getting to that, but first, we must
attend to other matters."
Travis folded his arms, reclining back in his
puffy chair, his patience wearing thin.
"Tell me, had you not been attacked and
discovered this cave, would you have killed your parents?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation.
Oblivion smiled. "That's all I needed
to know. Do you know how evil begins?"
"Is that a koan?"
"In a roundabout way. You see, evil begins not
with the act but the thought that precipitates it. But this thought isn't
enough. To be truly evil, you must consciously choose to act on said thought.
And you did both."
"I'm not evil. They deserved to suffer."
"You'll get no disagreements from me."
Travis exited the Psyche Sanctorum.
"Glad to see you decided to join me."
"I figured since we're having this heart-to-heart,
we might as well do it face-to-face."
"Good. Walk with me. As I was saying, your
parents deserved everything you dished out to them and more. In fact, the whole
world should be taken to task for how it's treated you."
Travis nodded, his lips quirking up in a
smile. "Yeah. Their crimes have gone unpunished long enough."
"And with me by your side, you could do that."
"I don't know. I want them to pay, but I want
to do it with my own power."
Oblivion clapped him on the back. "Fair
enough. Question: have you've heard the fable of The Lion and the Mouse?"
Travis shook his head.
"Well, it goes something like this: one day, a
mouse comes upon a lion, and the lion says he'll eat the mouse. The mouse begs
for its life in return for helping the lion. The lion laughs but frees the
mouse. A while later, a hunter captures the lion. And who should come upon him
but the mouse? Though small, the mouse works its way through the hunter's net,
freeing the lion. And the moral of the story is that we all need help
sometimes."
Travis shook his head. "Sounds like the lion
got lucky."
Oblivion's laughter echoed in Travis's
mind. "Good answer. Now about getting you out of here?"
Travis stumbled, catching himself. "What's
the price?"
"Free of charge."
"Why so generous?"
"You still don't trust me. Good, you shouldn't
because everyone is a potential enemy."
"Rule Five. How did you know?"
"Like I've told you, I've been watching you
from the moment you were born."
"I get the whole prophecy dealio,
but why me?"
"You're a very special boy."
"Yeah, I'd rather be normal."
"As the Bard of Avon said, `Be not afraid of
greatness.'"
"Let's get back to how you're going to get me
out of here."
"It's all business with you. Grab my hand, and
you'll have the power you need. But before you do, a bit of advice?"
"Yes?"
"The longer you deny who and what you are, the
longer your training will take."
Travis thought that over. While it was sound
advice, could he trust Oblivion? Then again, with this powerup, he could regain
control of his body and see Josh again. But what if Oblivion was lying? Only
one way to find out.
He grabbed Oblivion's hand.
Author's
Note: How much, if any, is this in Travis's head? Let me know your thoughts at phenix39@yahoo.com. Next chapter we see
what JJ has been up to since he and Travis parted ways.
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