19) An Agreement

Artemis makes an agreement. The end begins.

19) An Agreement

Dawn says it like it’s an easy thing to do. ‘I’m going to start a war.’ Makes it sound as easy as baking a cake. Dante doesn’t say anything. He just stares at the small mound of dirt. I wonder if he’s offering a silent prayer. The tree behind me. Is it the same tree? The one from The Palace of The Gods, Dawn had said it connected Heaven, Hell, Earth and everything in-between. The Goddess Tree. I realise the little girl hiding in the tree, all those days ago was Blue.
“Yes. I’m coming.” I say, “Just give me a minute.” I turn back to the tree. Its pink petals glint at me; something sits in the tree watching me, I can feel its eyes boring into me.
“The Goddess Tree.” A voice says… The voice says… the one from Missouri. From Parlor. From the bus. The one that has always been in my head. “Connects everything. She had to die. Some things are inevitable. You of all people must realise this. This is destiny. And you cannot run from It.”
“Blue.” I start. I stop. What do I have left to say? “I’ll make it right.” I whisper. Dante places a hand on my shoulder,
“Dawn’s waiting for us.” He says softly. A crack of lightning tears across the sky.
“The Gods aren’t happy, Artemis.” The voice says, “You want to go start a war. Unaware that the war has already started. It started three years ago. Quietly, unnoticeable.”
“Let’s go.” I croak.

My backpack sits on the dining table. The gifts nestled safely inside.
A knife.
A coin.
A small ball of water.
A marble. What had I been told? Something about just adding water.
“What’s in the bag, Artemis?” Dawn asks,
“Look.”
“I have. It’s empty.” She frowns, ‘The best hiding spot is in plain sight.’ I laugh.

Outside, a flash of lightning shakes the window. The rain pours out of the sky; smashing into everything. The few people that are outside scramble to get under shelter. The rain pelts into cars. It crashes into the window. Desk-Head looks at me. I look at Desk-Head. The Shadow People look at Desk-Head.

The world is tearing itself apart. The voice was right. The war started years ago. No one cared, until today. Today, the Gods care. Too bad, they didn’t care when Chloe died. When Blue died. When I died. When Dante Died. When my Dad died. When Ben died.

“Shouldn’t we bring the guns?” I ask.
“No need.” She replies simply.

Currently, David Kaliaski is in Santa Monica, outside Shellie Smith’s house. Or what used to be a house. Today, it’s just a smouldering pile of rubble. Artemis and Dante had been seen here. With two girls. Artemis, Dante, and one of the girls are all over the news. It claims they’re terrorists. There’s murmurs of a cult. The Children of Eden. David had heard about them before. Years ago. Then again when Paris was destroyed. Then The Vanishing in Parlor, talk of the cult resurfaced. Until today, David was sceptical of the existence of The Children of Eden. Every time something happened, people mentioned the group. But there’s never any proof. How could a group, operate in so many countries, over so many years, and never leave a trace? It was all just a conspiracy. Crazy talk. Or that’s what David used to believe. Today, his belief changed. The Children of Eden are real. And somehow Artemis is involved.

One wall of house remains. A singular beige brick wall. Painted on it, is four lines, each with a curved end, forming two triangle, one above another. And below it. The words, “Today the world shall know.”

To Dante, the events of the past few days have left him empty. He stares at Artemis, their blonde hair flapping in the wind. Their blue eyes, empty. Dawn sits at the dining table talking to Artemis. They chat like old friends. It would be a chat if they weren’t planning on starting a war.

“Where to?” I ask,
“New York.” Dawn replies. The Shadow People, all seven, stand next to me.
“What’s there?”
“Hopefully, The Children of Eden.”

I rummage around inside my bag, looking for the marble; I find it, it’s smooth surface feels tarnished and dirty. I take it.
“Destiny, Artemis. Destiny.” The voice whispers in my head. I look at the marble, pink fluid flows around inside of it. Two thirds full. Just add water? I have no clue what it does. Does it do anything?

To Dawn, the past few days, have played exactly like she’d been told. Like Blue had been told. The only part that through a spanner in the work was The Shadow that killed Blue. That wasn’t meant to happen. And without Blue, Dawn can’t get back. That’s the true horror. Without Blue, Dawn is stuck here. The next part of the plan isn’t planned. Dawn knows that if she survives this, they will know that she attacks, and will be prepared, so she won’t survive. So they won’t be prepared. Dawn shakes her head, she’d found that thinking about her job makes her head spin.

I watch as Dawn climbs into the car and starts it. I look at Dante.
“Last time to back out.” I say,
“No. To the end.” He says stepping into the car. I look at the sky. There are no clouds. A clear blue sky stares back at me. A bolt of lightning rips across the sky. No thunder follows. A silent lightning bolt. The lone lightning bolt is joined by hundreds more. They ripple across the sky, making no noise.
“Is this your plan?” I say to the sky. As if to answer me, a bolt of lightning, bigger than the rest, crackles along the sky. It stays. It floats there, in the sky, crackling. A gash in the sky.
“Come on, Artemis.” Dawn shouts honking the horn. I climb into the car, and with one last look at the sky, I say a silent pray.

After what had happened to Shellie Smith’s house, the scene is ablaze with media. And David knows, that it’s only a matter of time before the graffiti on the wall is photographed, and spreads across the internet. Until eventually, the entire world knows. What they would know, David isn’t sure. Is the graffiti really work of a cult? A cult that until today had remained secret? Had never left any evidence? Until today. Could it really be? Why now? Why not after Paris? Were they responsible for Parlor?

He’d gotten the call in the early hours of the morning. Mrs Milne. Siobhan’s mum. Followed by another call from Connor and Callum’s fathers. The children were back. Appeared in their beds. None of them knowing where they’d been. Then he got a call from the Ritargo’s, Maxine and James still weren’t back. Only a handful of children hadn’t returned. Max and James were two of them. Soon the news of the children returning reached the media. And the news was ablaze with the story. And now, a new story might blow it out of the water. A story of a cult. David looks to the sky. And what he sees confuses him. A bolt of lightning tears across the sky, but it doesn’t disappear, it floats there. Like a rip in the sky. He notices more lightning, hundreds of bolts flying across the sky. But no noise. Is this what the writing means?

The trip to New York from the house, takes about an hour. We turn into a road. Central Park to our left. The trees shimmer in the cold March morning. Dawn pulls into a car park,
“Right, this is our stop. The rest we do on foot.”
“What are we looking for?” I ask; Dawn pulls down her sleeve, revealing a tattoo. The same one Blue had, two triangles, above a bunch of dots,
“It might be marked with this. But I’m not sure. You’ll probably know it when you see it. Look for something that looks…” She pauses, “Out of time.”

Dawn had said to look for the symbol. And so Dante keeps his eyes peeled. They walk down the pavement, the cold March wind blowing at them, sending shivers up his spine. Something that looks out of time. What does that even mean? That’s when he sees it.

Dawn sees it. How could she miss it? Hundreds of people are looking at it.

Painted onto a window of an H&M, is a symbol. A triangle, above another triangle. Below it, the words, “The Four have risen.”

Dawn isn’t sure what the words mean. But if The Four is referring to The Four she thinks it is. Then, it’s over.

David feels his phone buzz. He checks the display. A text from an unknown number, “The World Knows.” He feels his heart sink. The news is out.
“Boss, you seen this?” He hears a voice shout, Frank runs up to him, he holds his phone up so David can see it. On the screen is a news article. The New York Times, an article published ten minutes ago. The leading picture is of a two triangles. One above another. And the words, “The Four have risen.”

Chloe is by all means, quite dead. She knew it. The moment she woke up in a strange office facing a strange person, you'd have to be an idiot not to understand. She knew she was dead; she'd been dead for quite a while.

When she first arrived in The Office, she was surprised; it was nothing like she had imagined. A glass table sits in front of the couch, a bowl of sweets on top. An armchair on the other side. A desk behind that, and behind that, a bookshelf full of books that look like they've never been read. The Office doesn’t seem like a place where God would reside, but it has to be God, doesn’t it?
"Are you God?" She asks, the person smiles,
"You humans always ask the same question." Their smile seems false, "Do you know where you are?"
"Yeah. I'm dead."
"Yes."
"How?"
"Do you want to remember?"
"No."
"Okay."
"What's next?"
"A choice. Heaven or The Afterlife."
"What's The Afterlife?"
"You choose a place to be born, and an age, and then you are dropped into a world full of other people who have chosen The Afterlife. You get to live another life, a life after life."
"Do you only get one?"
"No, as many as you want. And after each, you will be asked to choose between Heaven and The Afterlife, but be wary, if you choose Heaven you cannot unchoose." They gesture towards a door, “Through there is your choice; Heaven on the left, The Afterlife on the right. Take all the time you need."

Chloe stares at the doors, she stands alone in a corridor now, almost alone. A small hand taps her on the shoulder. She turns and faces the person.
"First time?" The person asks
"Yeah."
"Don't worry. You'll be fine."
"You?"
"Third." The girl replies, from under a beanie pokes black hair with blue tips, "Names Blue."

Every time Chloe died, she faced the same choice, Heaven or The Afterlife. The first time, she walked straight back in, the second she did the same, and the third. But as she died for the fourth time, a small hand taps her shoulder. A girl with black and blue hair looks at her.
"What are the chances?" The girl beams, it takes a while for Chloe to remember,
"Blue, right?" Chloe laughs,
"Yeah. What life you on now?"
"Fifth. You?"
"Sixth." Blue looks at the girl before her. She knows exactly who she was, she knew from the first moment. Blue knew almost instantly that it was Chloe Maxwell. Of course, Blue recognised her; she'd met Chloe back on Earth several years prior. Chloe didn't remember that fateful night that she met Blue. The two girls shared anecdotes of The Afterlife, it turns out they had both been in the same world their last life, the chances of that are almost zero.

When Chloe's sixth life rolled around, she’s amazed to see the girl again.
"Blue? What the chances." She said. The two girls chat like they old friends, jokes about their previous life. Before Blue steps into the door, she says something, and that something stuck with Chloe through her next life.
"Artemis says thank you." The little girl vanishes into nothingness. Chloe’s taken aback.

As her sixth life grows to a close, Chloe prays she would see Blue again; she looks at the ground hundreds of meters below her quickly rushing to greet her.

I stare at the window. So does everybody else. Dawn seems to be in shock. Dante’s just confused.
“What does it mean?” I ask quietly.
“That I failed.” Dawn says simply, “The worlds still going to end.” As she says this, Dante gets our attention, he points across the street, to a storefront. Inside the store windows, are TV’s, each one playing the same thing.

We step across the street. The TV’s are easy to hear. Not that they’re extremely loud. Rather, everything has stopped. The crowds are silent. The cars have come to a stop. Everyone watches. Silently. Listening. Watching.
“We’re getting the same report from all over the world.” The reporter says, the camera cuts to a picture, “London… Tokyo… Berlin… Washington… Amsterdam… Mexico City… Sydney…” The camera changes back to the reporter, “They all say the same thing, ‘The Four Have Arisen.’ What it might mean, we don’t know.” The reporter stops, and the camera changes once more, showing the sky �" more importantly the lightning that crackles across the sky. “An unexplained weather phenomenon is currently occurring. The entire world can see it.” The reporter looks scared, “We’re being told to tell you, that this is not an alien invasion. There’s nothing to worry about.”

David stares at his phone. Countries all over the world are reporting the same thing. The same symbol, with the same words, ‘The Four Have Arisen.’

Chloe wakes with a start. As it always is. She sits across from the person. The same person as it always is. The only difference is that they look worried. As if, something’s wrong.
“Everything okay?” She asks,
“Yes.” The person replies, “Another day, another choice, and what is it this time Chloe?”
“Afterlife.”

Everyone looks up. Who can blame them? I look up, at the lightning. Dante looks up. Dawn just stares at the floor. ‘The world still ends.’ How fun.

I’m pulled from my thoughts as a hand grabs my shoulder, I notice Dawn tense up next to me, a hand on her shoulder. Dante too. Dawn doesn’t try to fight back.
“We need to talk.” A man says behind me. The world spins, like being inside a washing machine. Then it goes black.

I open my eyes. The world hadn’t gone black. I’d closed my eyes. Dawn blinks tears from her eyes. I look around. Yes, I look. The ball of light is nowhere to be seen.
“Artemis. Dawn. Dante. Good to finally meet you.” A woman says. Coatlicue, “Please, sit.” She says. Suddenly there’s a chair below me, and my knees are bending. A table appears in front of us, Coatlicue sat opposite, along with the others, Ra, Danu, and Zeus.
“Good to see you again, Dawn.” Zeus says,
“Zeus.” Dawn spits, she looks to Danu and smiles, “Danu.” Then at Coatlicue and Ra, “And I can only assume, Coatlicue? And perhaps Ra?”
“Quite correct, Dawn. But you’re not the reason we’re here.” Coatlicue says, and then she looks at me, “We’re here for you.”
A voice speaks inside my head, “Don’t listen to them.”
“As you know. There is a prophecy.” She starts, “That says that four people will save or end the universe. We all had our own opinions on this. I personally didn’t believe it. Just like I choose not to believe the myth of God. But, now, I know that this prophecy is true.” She looks at me, there’s pain in her eyes, “There are four people.” She looks at Ra, who takes over,
“You wouldn’t have survived, if it weren’t for us.”
“Don’t believe their lies.” The voice says, “You know who saved you. Their blessing. My sister. She saved you. Not these fools.”
“We protected you. We made sure you survived. Now you owe us.” Ra continues.
“I owe you?” I stammer,
“We saved your life.”
“Didn’t save Chloe though. Or Max and James.”
“Chloe wasn’t our choice.” Ra pauses, “She’s part of something bigger. So are you. This is your destiny, Artemis. You can’t run from it.”
Zeus interjects, “We can, and we will save Max and James. If you promise to do one thing for us.”
“Too late. They’re dead.” I snarl.
“No. They’re in Shanghai.” Zeus says, clearly my face doesn’t show belief, “We can show you.” He says, he look to Coatlicue, who clicks her fingers.

I find myself in a room. A bleak room, no windows. A mirror sits in the centre of one wall. A chair in the middle of the room. Strapped to that chair, is a girl. She looks tiny and fragile.
“Max?” I gasp.

Then I’m back with Dante and Dawn.
“See.” Zeus says, “They’re still alive. And we’ll keep them that way, if you promise us something.”
“What?” I rasp. 
“That if the time comes. You’ll stay and fight. And save the universe.”
“No pressure.” Danu says, almost laughing.
“Save the universe? That’s your demand? And Max and James’ll survive?”
“Yes.” Coatlicue says, “You have our word.”
“I want a promise. A deal. A dead. A contract.” I say,
Zeus, Coatlicue, Danu, and Ra, look at each other. Coatlicue nods, Zeus clicks his fingers, a loud crack shatters through the air. He looks up, and the roof dissolves. “As long as that lightning is in the sky. You have my word that no harm will come to Max, James, or Ellie.” He says. I look up. In the sky is lightning. No more than last time. But the one bolt that had hung there in the sky, now glows. A bright vibrant blue. A rumble of thunder shatters across the sky, “Odin is in agreement.” He says.

David flinches as the ground shakes, and a bang rips through the sky. He looks up.
“The Gods are angry.” The officer next to him mumbles. David looks at her,
“I think the worlds about to change.” He mutters.

 “One last thing.” I say. I slip the marble out of my pocket, and place it on the table.
“What’s this?” Coatlicue says confused,
“I was told, ‘Three souls for one. Just add water.’ There are two souls in there.” I don’t need to finish,
“And you want a third?” Coatlicue finishes,
“Yes.”
“We can’t help you there.” She clicks her fingers.

The chaos of New York City attacks me. Everyone around us is in a dazed panic. A water pipe has burst in the road, spraying water into the sky, and creating a sinkhole. People rush around, helping people out of the hole. People stare confused into the sky. A man stands on a street corner, looking at the sky. He leans backwards, falling into the road, just as a bus passes. It screeches to a halt, its hydraulics mixing in with the screams of witnesses. All of this, I see with the ball of light. My sight’s gone again. I look at Dawn, she lets out a sigh; “We need to get off the streets.” She orders. Dante and I don’t need to be told twice.

We hurry through the maddening crowd, Dawn leading the way. I look where we are; I’m not sure how far we’ve come. The Empire State leans over me. Dawn swings the doors open. And we step inside. The idealistic lobby stares at me. Dawn approaches the front desk, “80^th floor.” She barks at the man. He puts a hand over a phone,
“The buildings closed today ma’am.” He says,
“I don’t care if World War Three is happening outside. 80^th floor please.”
“Ma’am. The building is closed.”
“And I don’t care.” She hisses,
“Ma’am �"“ The man starts, but he doesn’t get to finish, Dawn presses a knife into his throat. I grab the marble in my pocket. Is this the third soul?
“80^th floor. Now.” She says. The man presses something. Which I assume, isn’t the button for a lift. Four burly men appear in the lobby,
“Ma’am.” One says, “Put the knife down.”
Dawn spins around, “Do you know who I am?” She shouts, “No, I don’t suppose you do.” The four men stare at each other. “Great. The old fashioned way it is then.” She says. She rams the handle of the knife into the receptionists head; he slumps forwards. The four men charge forwards. Dawn throws the knife at one; the handle connects with the man’s skull, he collapses. The other three continue forward. Dawn runs towards one, which surprises the man; she pirouettes and rams an elbow into the man sternum, then follows it up with another elbow to the back of his neck. He drops. The last two continue their assault on Dawn. She effortlessly dispatches them.

“What’s on the 80^th floor?” I ask as the lift doors close,
“Hopefully, someone who can pay.”