ATHENA
Rey Shadrach Bossman, the love of Dora's life.
Rey Shadrach Bossman, Hade's rival.
I saw Hade's rage and anger towards him. I still felt vertiginous every time I remembered that gory moment, he imagined himself tearing his limbs and hinds off slowly and painfully. It wasn't so much of an imagination but a lurking desire waiting to be harvested. Furthermore, he wanted to torture Rey once he gained full control of Tartarus, a special dungeon for him. I rinsed the thoughts off my mind before I literally collapsed of shock.
I had the chance to quickly glance through their minds, all except Dora. John and Rey were some tight knit buddies. They'd been apart for six years but they shared the same interests.
I still didn't get why we were currently residing in Jaimie's room. I'm still mad Dora lied to me, I had a whole list I would like an apology for but it was not in Dora's wheel house.
I could tell whatever she wanted to ask me was very difficult for her. Personally, I didn't mind doing a favour for Dora. We were all in this together whether she liked it or not. And since we were the only two ladies on the team so far, I wanted us to get close.
"How bad is it?" I stood next to her.
"On a scale of 1 – 10?" She faced me
"Yeah"
"20"
My heart began to palpitate when she exceeded the limit "That bad eeeeh?" my voice was light.
"You have a choice here Ellen" Dora explained with concern. I didn't even know what I was to do but she made it sound so scary and dangerous. Maybe I should be, but the thought of her asking me meant she believed I was the only one strong and trustworthy enough to carry it out.
"I'll do it" I said confidently.
"Are you sure?" Her voice was full of uncertainty.
I nod.
"CJ and John will train Marlin but you'll have a more practical form of training. You'll need to be more alert, aggressive and most of all trust Jaimie"
Okay!
"How I'm I supposed to trust a sleeping patient?"
Dora took my hand and placed it on her forehead, you know how you suck in spaghetti into your mouth? That's how Dora sucked me into her mind.
I stood in a dark empty area, there was no sensation at all, only creeping darkness.
'Dora' I called out; her mind was complete cage.
Bulbs of lights begin to appear slowly in formation, like slides of images being presented for me to choose from. I figured each bulb is a memory of Dora, surrounded by rings of light. It's like you just walked out of a dark cinema into bright sunlight but with flashes in circles, similar to halos.
Memories flashed in those halos, I saw from the time Zeus ordered Hephaestus and Athena to create Pandora. Her naming ceremony, each of the gods blessing her with unique gifts. I was mesmerized by the old gods, they looked complete and radiant
A flash of her marriage to Hesiod, her imprisonment by Zeus, the dark years in her cage, lonely and scared. My heart sank
There was so much to choose from I didn't know where to begin. I saw her talking to my predecessor, Athena. She was beautiful, the goddess; her hair was the colour of bronze and milk which was braided at the ends in four bundles. Her eyes were deep gold, with a colour like diamond concentric pupils that seemed it could pierce into the heart, soul and mind of any human or god.
Just as I was about to touch that memory I squinted and turned away from the brighter light piercing my eyes, like a mirror intentionally used to reflect the rays of the sun into person's eye. There was something sensitive about it, more eerie than the others. I walked towards it, the closer I got , the more it shaped into an arch doorway leading into darkness. Every inch of my consciousness warned me not to enter but my curiosity got the best of me.
I stepped on soft wet ground in a cave. It wasn't completely dark to the point I couldn't see but I had to focus. I was careful as I walked down the rabid path. The echoes of water drops on the floors penetrated my mind with fear, the deep dark crust above me informed me I was in a very fragile cave, stalagmite erect from the ground, some in a 'X' form, others peering from the sides of the walls. It was not my best memory so far, but why did Dora infer to this particular memory. I ducked under a crisscross shaped stalagmite, as I continued, I reached an avenue covered in moss all the way to a more dark territory. I didn't think it got better. I heard fluttering noises in the road ahead. I hoped it was not what I thought it was. Moving forward I recognized a pitter-patter footstep, rats, my intestines literally coiled into a knot.
"AAAH"
I jumped back when a set of eyes opened on the ceilings of the cave, Bats. I hated bats and with that said, more eyes opened to gaze at me.
My heart pounded against my ribcage in terror. This was just a memory so I knew I shouldn't be seen by anything in here. This was all surreal.
I heard footsteps behind me, loud and strong enough to shake the earth. I stumbled onto the cave walls. A man of about eight feet in length walked past me, carrying an unconscious burden on his shoulder. He wore a kilt made of sheep's skin, his body was rocky, like someone shaped gravels in human form and glued it together. His hair, creamy in colour similar to a lion's mane. His legs made large footprints the size of a bear, only with three toes. I followed behind the giant, studying him carefully. He carried a girl on his shoulder. Immediately I realized that is Dora.
The giant finally came to a stop in an open space scrubbed by variegated grass, and nimbus tress in a circle. I stopped abruptly at the entrance, he set unconscious Dora on the grass and knelt next to her. I thought he was calling out to someone by chanting in ancient Greek. I decided to tip toe my way behind a nimbus tree before I was spotted. This might be a memory but it felt so real, every inch of my body shouted at me to get out of Dora's mind.
"Alcyoneus"
The ground shook me quite a bit after the Earth Mother called out to her son. Her voice equalled a nuclear explosion, treacherous and aerial. I gripped the bark of the nimbus really hard to make sure I didn't topple.
"Mother" Alcyoneus responded, an admiration lining his voice "I have her"
Gaia remained silent, the grass suddenly weaved through Dora's body as if Gaia was inspecting the good's authenticity. So much for trust.
"I'm proud of you my son" Gaia sounded happy "This will change the course of the war in our favour. Pandora is our salvation"
I wasn't sure the expression I read on Alcyoneus' face but he looked confused, doubting the Earth Mother "How?"
The earth sucked Dora in slowly like quicksand. I resisted the urge to just jump in and save her, partly because I was not convinced this was all surreal.
"Zeus didn't create Pandora as the first woman to punish mortals. My grand-son isn't a primitive thinker. Each one of those immortals poured half their essence and aura into this girl" Gaia chuckled "Your brothers might win the battle but they will lose the war, regardless our time here is up. Hephaestus approaches to claim his daughter. You must go"
I swallowed hard.
The sound of loud fire shook the cave; then intense heat began to seep into the cave. Alcyoneus bowed to the ground as Dora emerged from the earth. Gaia's presence was long gone. Alcyoneus crumbled to a pile of rocks. I sweat as the heat gets hotter, my skin turned red. I squinted as my vision began to blur out. I tried to walk out and reach Dora, every step I took felt like I was walking on hot coal. Hephaestus must've really be an intense god. I reached Dora, thankfully, so innocent and helpless, breathing like a child.
"PANDORA"
And just as the god of craftsmanship took a step into the chamber, I get sucked out of Dora's mind.
I was overwhelmed by everything that happened moments ago, my body raked in pain, especially my skin. The burning sensation still jabbed at me. Dora was almost sympathetic; she caught me before I collapsed on the floor. The touch of her hand around my waist numbs the burn sensation, "Gaia lives in you" I managed
She exhaled painfully.
Now I fully understood why she showed me the vision, her own chamber of secret. She helped me to my feet, the pain calmly dwindled. I felt my strength returning and all the powers that made me a goddess t resurged.
"Alcyoneus captured me after I escaped from my incarceration." Dora said "After my father found me. I was quarantined in Zeus' quarters on Mount Olympus as a burning flame in a pyre. No one was allowed an inch to me. I watched as the war unravelled and then the downfall of the gods" Dora sat next to Jaimie "The death of Zeus released me from the pyre. I escaped in the ruins of Mountain Olympus to my father's home, there I found the letter left on his throne. I mastered every power bestowed upon me including my own unique power. The moment I stepped on Earth, Gaia began to infest me. It took all the gods power to bind her. Gaia didn't pour half of her essence or aura in me, she put her whole being in me. Once I started bestowing the powers, I couldn't keep her at bay forever." Dora clenched her fist "Two years ago, I bestowed Jaimie his share of Zeus' power. He mastered his power faster and better than any of the chosen. He became a true god in about a year, by then, the battle for my body had begun between Gaia and me. I almost lost that battle. Then Jaimie appeared during the final takeover. He bound half his power in me lending me the strength to fight, then with his other half he bound Gaia in a lightening cage deep within my subconscious. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was the best one. Gaia was still caged but I can feel her deep within me every single time I mention her name, think her name." Her voice broke, and her she trembled like she just swam through ice. I knelt beside her and cup my hand around her trying so much to comfort her.
She smiled wearingly at me "Jaimie sacrificed everything for me in a heartbeat. He was mortal again, after we found Rey, we started discussing a way to rebuild Mountain Olympus. Jaimie was particularly interested in that project. I shared the best of my knowledge but returning to the old world wasn't as easy as it sounded. In order for anyone to return to the old world they would need to pass through, Apophis."
"As in Chaos and non-existence?"
I'm not sure how I knew that but I got a terrifying feeling just mentioning the name.
"Yes, the great enemy of the sun god Ra" Dora confirmed "Apophis could not be destroyed by the Egyptian gods alone, so with the help of the Greek gods he was bound as a bridge between worlds, but never easily so. His body was so powerful it rendered any god into a mortal once they walked on it. Hence, he became a prison to monsters and gigantes that could not be killed."
This was all too for much me to handle, with every word Dora uttered I got a vision of its truth through my predecessor's memory.
"Jaimie was so eager he wanted to pay a visit to Apophis and find a way to cross over."
Pay a visit to Chaos? was he crazy or something? I turned my gaze to the peaceful body lying on the bed.
"He believed if Chaos was a bridge between worlds then there was a way to crossover into the old world. I tried to talk him out of it, he wouldn't listen so I did the most unthinkable and sent a mere mortal to Apophis to find a way into the old world. What I know for sure is Jaimie is still alive, he'd be dead here if he was dead in Apophis. I didn't have the mental fortitude to enter Apophis and bring him, none of us do_"
"Except me"
I guess I knew why she brought me, and to be honest I didn't want to go at all.
"Ellen, you don't have to go if you don't want to" Dora squeezed my hand.
I know.
But John and CJ said we need Jaimie, the look in her eyes told me she needed Jamie. Rey also missed Jaimie; they all need Jaimie.
The thought of journeying into a monster world, probably lurking with monsters and gigantes made my flesh crawl. I was also the only person with a powerful and strong Mental fortitude to journey in there.
I remembered her saying we all had our trials and tribulation to overcome. It just vexed me thinking I have to be the first goddess of my time to travel to Apophis. The thought of dying in that realm also ate at me. Who knew, the moment I stepped there I wouldn't even last five minutes. Perhaps a giant might just scoop me from the ground and eat me like dinner. The thought of just made me want to puke. But still, I imagined what Jaimie was going through. The number of months he'd been in that place just to find a better solution for us all, to build a better world for us. It filled me with courage and confidence.
With great power comes great responsibility I remembered Dora say.
If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror' My dad once said in his uniform.
"I'll do it" I shouted, again.
This was news to Dora.
"Are you sure?"
"Please don't ask me that, I'm really trying not to change my mind" I pleaded
Dora hugged me "Thank you"
"So how do I get to Apophis?"
She cleared her throat "No need to be in a rush"
Ellen My mind called What do you say when you die in a horrifying realm?
Kill me now.