Reaper Page 3

  “Stand by silently, as a shadow.” Theseus said. “Only making yourself known should negotiations fail.”

  Once they had arrived Theseus sought an audience with the king. While failing to see the king he had caught the eyes of the king’s daughter. Two days Reaper waited in the streets for any sign of Theseus. Then he woke to a crowd passing him. He looked up from the crowd as the palace doors opened.

  From the steps of the king’s palace through the city, Theseus was bound and being dragged by two armed soldiers, a third guard lead them. Following behind him was a young woman, who was being dragged by her hair. Descending from the steps, the first guard called out the crimes committed. As it turned out, Theseus had been with the king’s daughter. His daughter had been taken to have her head cut off. The fate for Theseus was much worse. For the defiling of the king’s daughter and the need for her death, Theseus would be fed to the great beast Asterion. At the door of the monster’s dwelling place, Theseus was cut free but held still.

  “You will pay in blood for the things you have done,” the king said. “Inside is the unbeatable labyrinth you will run, and in time you will die.”

  “Wait,” Reaper pushed through the crowd. He was stopped by several guards. “Please wait.”

  “Who are you to ask that this man lives?” the king asked.

  “I am a simple traveler, but that man is a hero,” Reaper said.

  “That man will die,” Death whispered in the Reaper’s head.

  “What will it take to free him?” Reaper asked.

  “No simple traveler has that amount of gold or jewels,” the king said.

  “What action would set him free?” Reaper asked. The king pondered a moment. Theseus continued to struggle, and Reaper held out his left hand, motioning him to stay calm.

  “He must best Asterion and beat the labyrinth,” the king said. “If he should go to the center of the labyrinth and live to get out, he may have his life.”

  “You said that it is unbeatable,” Reaper said. “It would not be fair for him to be forced to do that alone.”

  “I suppose not. Seize the hooded man,” the king said. The guards that were holding the Reaper back grabbed him and took him up next to Theseus.

  “You may have made a mistake, friend,” Theseus whispered to the Reaper.

  “The two of you will go to the center of the labyrinth and return here. At that time, I will set you free,” the king said, and the crowd seemed to approve.

  “We are going to die in there. You know that do you not?” Theseus said pessimistically.

  “I know,” the Reaper said, and they were pushed inside.

  Chapter Two:

  The Gift

  Far into the future, sixteen-year-old Blink was just arriving home from school. This Blink was not scarred or burned. He had both eyes and not very much experience in fighting. He was still well-learned. At this time in his life, he had mastered two languages other than English—Greek and Spanish.

  To those around him Blink was always dressed in all black, a turtleneck and usually a jacket. His serious demeanor seemed to keep people at arm’s length. The dark clothes he wore made him look pale though he tanned regularly in his backyard.

  Blink stumbled inside and kicked the door shut, struggling to keep his heavy backpack from sliding off his shoulder and a hot dog loaded with ketchup and mustard from falling out of his hand. A small, fluffy white Chihuahua came running to him. It bit down on his pant leg and started thrashing around as it growled. Blink nearly choked on a bite of his hot dog trying to shoo it away.

  “Isaiah. Isaiah, get off,” Blink said after swallowing. Isaiah barked up at him. “Shut up. Is anyone else home?” Isaiah continued barking. Blink swung his bag off his shoulder onto a nearby chair. He quickly finished his hot dog, then bent down and picked up Isaiah. “Hey, buddy, what’s the deal? What’s wrong? You’re normally so quiet.”

  Then Blink heard a noise coming from the second floor. The only rooms upstairs were Blink’s room and a full bathroom. Even if there were someone else in the house, there would be no reason for anyone but Blink to be up there. He put Isaiah down and pressed a finger to his lips, then motioned for the dog to stay at the base of the steps. He crept up the stairs and took an antique katana down from the wall. He cleared the bathroom first, as it was the room closest to him, then peeked around the corner at his room door. The door was typically wide open, but it was hardly even cracked. He kicked open the door, shouting, but there was nobody in the room. There was, however, one strange difference in his room from how he had left it that morning: the chair at his desk was facing him, and there was a package on it.

  “Isaiah, you can come up now.” The sound of tiny claws running up the wooden steps echoed until Isaiah stood at the door to the room, growling.

  “It’s safe, there’s nobody in here.” Blink picked up the box and saw that there was a note on the top instructing him by name to open it. He lifted the lid, then stared down at the object inside in bewilderment. It was some kind of futuristic headset, complete with a sleek earpiece and a circular orange lens that he assumed was meant to go over one eye. Who had sent it to him? What was it for? Was it part of some kind of new video game system? There was also another note, this one instructing Blink to put the device on and speak the word lighthouse.

  Blink stood, inspecting the device. “What is this?” He looked down at Isaiah. “Maybe it was delivered to the wrong Blink?” Isaiah yipped. “You know what buddy, you’re right. I need to know.” He pressed the device to his left ear. Blink gasped as something black and tar-like wrapped around his ear as soon as the headset was on, sending sticky tendrils inside his ear canal. He could practically feel it gripping his brain. “Ah… ah, no, that’s not okay.” He shivered and twitched. Isaiah jumped up onto Blink’s bed and lay down. Blink took a couple of breaths. “Lighthouse.”

  The lens lit up, and files flew across the screen. Blink’s mouth hung open. Not even his confusion could dull his deep hunger for knowledge, and as the files flew past, Blink knew greedily that each one represented new information he could learn. The files stopped as they came to one titled Renaissance.

  “Rebirth?”

  The file opened to show a black image with a green line going through the middle.

  “Hello Blink,” the voice of the older, future Blink said on the recording, and the green line moved with his words. Blink fell back onto his bed in surprise, almost landing on Isaiah. “I know who you are and what you can do. It may be hard to take in now, but I am you. I am sending this message back to you from the future. By now, you might only know the scratch on the surface, the tip of the iceberg of your power. You need to discover your true power sooner so that you can finish my mission where I failed. Search for the file Blink for a wealth of knowledge on how to boost your abilities. Teleportation and slight time jumps are nothing. Energy of the multiverse flows freely through you. You need only learn to harness it. I understand that even with my help you will not have everything that you will need to do this. You’ll just need to be careful. Time needs you. This is your mission. Change the past, protect the future. There’s a lot to this task, and nearly everything you need is right in here. There is one thing more important than anything else in here. There is a man I recently visited in the year 335 B.C. He will need your help throughout time. Nothing else matters right now. There will be time for everyone else, but he is going to be your focus. I know you will look into the many vast files, but before you do, please look up the file titled TT. This file will help you go back in time to the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis in the year 334 B.C. When you get there, you’re going to look for the Reaper. You’ll know him when you see him—he’ll have a scythe with a metal skull at the top. The file titled Reaper will tell you what to do step by step. I know you’re not a killer, but he is, and people will die. You can’t question what you are doing. Sometimes, the bad must happen so that good can rise from it, stronger. After the trial task I’ve set up for you to take
him on, you may start looking into the other files. Always be at the Reaper’s side when he needs you, though. Sometimes, he’ll have to act for himself, but I want you to keep him in check. As far as the device goes, I have total faith that you’ll figure out how to use it. After all, we invented it. Good luck, Blink; the fate of the world is in your hands. Also, give my love to Isaiah.” The audio clip ended, and Blink leaned back against the wall that his bed was against.

  He picked up Isaiah and held him tight. His eyes were stuck open. “What did I get myself into? Who is the Reaper? File TT,” Blink said softly. The files flew across the screen again until they stopped on the correct file. “Open.”

  The file opened, and there was a long text describing his powers of teleportation and even time-travel. His heart began to race. “Incredible.” Blink sat up, still leaning on the wall, and crossed his legs. “Isaiah, you can’t tell anyone about this.” Blueprints for amazing weapons, such as the forearm cannon appeared. He looked at his hands. “Not a soul.” A mischievous smile came to Blink. Isaiah whined and pawed at Blink’s leg. Blink looked down at his friend. “I can do this.” Unsure of himself. He cleared his throat and walked to his mirror. “I can do this.” He began reciting this to himself. Hoping to build his confidence. “I have to do this.” He turned to Isaiah. “This is it buddy. My chance to be like the heroes we see on tv. What if I’m already one of the greats from a different time? What do I always say?” Isaiah barked. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  Chapter Three:

  Trial Run

  335 B.C.

  Reaper and Theseus walked slowly through the twisting halls of the labyrinth. To find their way back, they had taken the rope that Reaper had tied the scythe to his back with and pulled out individual threads, then knotted them together to form an even longer rope. The cold, dark maze became ever more terrifying with each dead end. They didn’t know how long they had been inside before they heard the sounds of a hungry beast. Soon, the fearsome growls seemed to be corralling them.

  “The children you came for—what happened?” Reaper asked Theseus.

  “They were dead when I arrived, no doubt fed to the creature that we face now. When I learned of their deaths, I meant to return to Athens and face my shame. Then I met the king’s daughter,” Theseus said.

  “You are risking your life for this man? Kill him and leave,” Death said.

  “I can’t now, I need to get to the center before they’ll let me out,” Reaper said to Death. Theseus shot Reaper an odd look, starting to become concerned with how often his companion spoke out loud to absolutely no one.

  “What are you talking about?” Theseus asked.

  “Excuse me. I had something else on my mind, I suppose,” Reaper said. “What do you know about this beast, Asterion?”

  “Only rumors,” Theseus said. “The god Poseidon granted the king a bull to be sacrificed in his honor. The king kept the bull, though. It should be enough to say that this thing is said to be the child of the king’s dead wife and…”

  “The bull?” Reaper asked.

  “Interesting,” Death said. “Although I do not feel this is accurate.”

  “So this bull-man feeds on human flesh?” Reaper asked.

  “I did say these are just the rumors I’ve heard,” Theseus said.

  “Wait,” Death interrupted. “The noises stopped.”

  “Theseus, stop,” Reaper said as they came to a junction.

  Theseus stopped too late, and Asterion leaped out at him from the shadows. He caught Theseus between his horns and pinned him to the opposite wall. In the dimly lit maze, Reaper saw the beast in all its hideous glory, and he dropped the scythe in fear. The creature had a long body with four legs, each with sharp hooves at the base. At the forequarters and shoulders, where the neck ought to have been, was the torso of a chiseled, buff man from the waist up. Asterion had a full head of long black hair that matched the bull half of his body. Extending off of his head from his temples through the hair and sticking out high above his head were his horns. The mere sight of this beast was enough to strike fear in the Reaper’s heart. He backed into a wall with his hands raised in surrender.

  “That’s your friend!” Death shouted to the Reaper, pointing at the fight. “Will you let him die like this?”

  “What do I do?” Reaper asked, begging for guidance. “What can I do against that monster?”

  “Take the scythe; give in to its power,” Death said. Reaper picked up the scythe and ran at the beast, then swept its back legs out from under it.

  “Theseus!” Reaper called, and reached out his hand. Theseus grabbed hold, and Reaper pulled him up as the beast struggled to get it’s horns free. They continued to run away, but it was not until they stopped for Theseus to take a breath that they realized that Reaper had dropped the rope. Theseus almost yelled at him for this, but there was no time—they heard the sound of crumbling rock. Asterion was finally free, and they kept running. They found themselves at another dark dead end.

  “What if we wait here for it to go somewhere else?” Theseus suggested.

  “No, that will not work. It’s an animal that hunts prey; you need to get ahead of it and trap it,” Death said.

  “Good idea,” Reaper said.

  “What?” Theseus said. “Are you ill? Speak to me, not the voice in your head.”

  “That creature is well-versed in this maze and hunting people. We cannot wait; we must get to its resting place,” Reaper said.

  “We could hide ourselves in its scent,” Theseus said.

  “Then when it gets tired and goes to rest, we’ll kill it,” the Reaper said. “That is, if we make it there.” They continued at a walk instead of a run, to save their strength. The paranoia started to set in as the stalking noises came back. They echoed down the passageways, almost as if they were coming from every direction at once.

  “I don’t believe that we will both make it there and back,” Theseus said. “I’ll give you time to find its hiding place and make a trap.”

  “No, we are both leaving this place,” Reaper said.

  “How?” Theseus asked defensively.

  “Search your memories,” Death said.

  “What?” Reaper asked aloud.

  “What?” Theseus replied.

  “If the builder or anyone who has seen the center of the labyrinth is dead, you can find it in your own memories. Look for them; it would be best if you knew a name,” Death said. An angry roar from the beast echoed out through the entire labyrinth.

  “Do you know who built this place?” Reaper asked urgently.

  “The greatest builder known to the men, Daedalus,” Theseus said. “Father of Icarus.”

  “That’s good,” Death said. “Focus on him. If he is dead, you can find him.”

  Reaper tried to focus on the name, but the memories of the dead were not pleasant ones. Last thoughts can often be dark.

  “Stop!” Death shouted. “There he is.” The memories of the life of Daedalus came to Reaper. It was as if Reaper himself had built the labyrinth. While searching the memories of the dead Reaper had seem much. Once having hold over the memories that he wanted it was a fight to hold on and push the other memories.

  “I can’t do this. I can’t hold on,” Reaper said, clutching his head.

  “Can’t do what?” Theseus asked. Reaper fell to the ground, grunting in pain. “What is wrong?”

  “Too. Much,” Reaper struggled out.

  “Too much what? I don’t understand,” Theseus said. Reaper’s eyes opened wide, and he took in a deep breath.

  “I know the way to the center,” Reaper said as Theseus pulled him to his feet.

  “How could you know that? What just happened to you?” Theseus asked.

  “If I can, I’ll explain after we escape,” Reaper said.

  “You now know the labyrinth as well, if not better than the beast which stalks you,” Death said.

  “We need to go back three meeting points, then we will go
left,” Reaper said.

  The two of them went far along the way that the memories of Daedalus sent them. Reaper carried the scythe over his shoulder, one hand on his head as he tapped into the memories. For a short time, the sounds of Asterion made it seem like he was gaining on them. Then, they stopped entirely. Theseus was sweating with fear of the creature, but the Reaper was too focused on the memories. Finally, he put his hand out in front of Theseus to stop him.

  “What are you doing? That monster could be behind us,” Theseus said.

  “It could, but we need to get up there,” Reaper said, pointing to a rectangular-shaped hole at the top of the wall. “It’s a secret passage that Asterion might not know. It will lead us directly to the center. There will be another passage like this one that can take us back close to the exit.”

  “How can you know that?” Theseus demanded.

  “I can’t explain it right now,” Reaper said. He put down the scythe and clasped his hands together to create a makeshift step. Theseus put his foot on Reaper’s cupped hands and was thrust up into the hole.

  “There’s not enough room for me to turn around,” Theseus said once he was inside.

  “Go ahead. I can find my own way there,” Reaper said. Theseus went without arguing, as it was now clear to him that there would be only questions without answers when talking to the Reaper.

  “You know that beast is near, do you not?” Death asked.

  “I know,” Reaper said.

  “You want to fight Asterion alone? I am proud,” Death said.

  “Silence,” Reaper said. “You may have shown yourself to aid me, but I know that is not your cause. You are with that monster that put you in my head. You are vile, and I will rid myself of you.”

  “Because of how close we are, I will let that go for now,” Death said. Then came the sound of deep, heavy breaths, and puffs of air appeared in the cold. The monster Asterion stepped slowly out of the shadows.

  “What will you do?”