Part 26
Part 26
Jorgen hacked through the vines and vegetation that grew in his way
with a machete. They had been trekking through the forest all day,
only taking short breaks when Jorgen felt too tired to continue on.
Following a few steps behind him was Viveka who carried a dead monkey
by its hind legs, leaving its knuckles to drag along the jungle floor.
These adventures became more common as they grew older. Viveka's
hunger for power was insatiable and she would convince him to come
along, to journey off into inhospitable territories to uncover some
strange artifact that she would promptly siphon dry and discard. No
matter his distaste he would always come along, they needed each other
after all.
Jorgen paused for a moment to rest, his breathing was heavy and his
shirt was soaked in sweat. At least the insects seemed to stay far
away from them. He glanced back at Viveka as she stood a few steps
away. She lifted the monkey up slightly, gazing down at it. Then she
looked to Jorgen. Not a single bead of sweat dripped from her brow.
"Breaks time?" Jorgen asked.
Viveka nodded and Jorgen fell backwards against a nearby tree, sliding
down the trunk into a seated position.
"Viveka, this place is suck," he said. "Its too hot, nobodys should
live in this hell!"
Viveka dropped the pack from her shoulder and unzipped it. She drew
out a large plastic bottle of water. She stepped over to Jorgen and
sat it beside him. He quickly ripper off the cap and took a mighty
series of gulps.
"Just don't waste it, Jorgen. It has to last until we leave, unless we
find more," her voice echoed.
"Ams we gonna have to eat the monkey?" He asked.
Viveka smiled and shook her head.
He sighed in relief, "Good. I hates monkey. Maybes we can catch a wilds pig?"
"Maybe, if you're fast enough," Viveka's voice said.
"I coulds do it," he said with a sly smirk.
"No cheating!" She said with a grin.
"Oh, gotsta does it the hard way," he said softly, stroking his chin.
Viveka nodded as she sat down cross-legged on the jungle floor.
"Maybe a fat pig?" He said.
"Can you eat a whole fat pig?" Her voice asked.
"No . . ." he said quietly.
Viveka searched through the backpack that was stuffed with supplies
for the journey. She seized one of the two large bags of beef jerky
and tossed it to Jorgen.
He smiled and opened the package, hungrily shoving a large piece of
jerky into his mouth.
"I have two bags, it should last us," she said.
Jorgen zipped the bag closed and tossed it back to Viveka who returned
it to the pack. He climbed to his feet and slowly pulled off his wet
shirt that clung to his skin as he removed it.
"Takings it off here, boss," he giggled.
Viveka silently giggled back, "Taking it off there, Jorgen."
Again he took up his machete and began cutting his way through the
brush. Viveka removed a few small jars from inside and zipped up the
pack and swung it onto her shoulder, clasping the monkey's feet and
dragging it along as she followed him.
"Does you think we're gonna see any tigers?" Jorgen asked as he
marched through the brush.
"Maybe when night comes," she said.
"They wouldn'ts eat us right?" He asked, perhaps a tiny bit nervous.
"Maybe you. I'd be safe," she teased him.
"No! I'd give him jerky," he argued.
"That's just a snack for a tiger, you're THE MAIN COURSE!" She grinned.
"If we finds a small one can we bring it back home?" He asked curiously.
"I don't think they will let us onboard the ship with a tiger,
Jorgen," her voice retorted.
"Maybe if you hides it?" He asked.
"They get a little big, and what if it sneaks out of the house and
eats some babies?" She said.
"Oh ja," he said, somewhat dejected.
"Perhaps a snake?" She suggested.
"Ew no, gross, Viveka," he whined with a disgusted look on this face.
"Hmm, what about . . . tarsir?" She asked.
Jorgen shrieked at the thought, "No! I hates those guys!"
"They are quite horrid aren't they?" Viveka remarked.
Together they travelled deeper through the jungles. High above in the
canopy the monkeys and birds seemed to watch them as they steadily
progressed through the trees and the brush. Viveka would stop
occasionally to pick flowers and interesting plants, placing the
specimens in jars.
As evening came they began to make camp in a small clearing in the
forest, gathering whatever dry brush they could to build a fire. They
built a small hut from branches and vines and the leaves of trees for
Jorgen to sleep in. Viveka would remain awake to keep watch over their
little camp.
Jorgen sat at the door of his hut beside the fire and Viveka sat
beside him. With her dagger in hand she began to expertly skin the
gibbon she had been carrying. She tossed the unwanted pieces she
carved from its body into the fire and they'd crackle and pop in the
dancing flames.
By the time Viveka was finished scraping the last of the meat from the
skull of the monkey, Jorgen had crawled into his hut and fallen
asleep. Glimmering in the darkness she could see the eyes of different
beasts reflecting the light of the fire. Some shuffled about through
the darkened jungle, their feet crunching the leaves that covered the
forest floor. Others moved silently, stalking their prey.
She took the skull and placed it upside down on the ground and began
stuffing it with the contents of the pouches on her belt. Once the
skull was packed full she held it out to the fire, letting the herbs
on the top catch alight before setting it back down on the ground.
With dagger in hand she cut motions through the air, soundlessly
mouthing words. The smoldering stuffing of the skull began to glow a
vibrant purple. It started to burn brighter, forming into a roaring
flame that soon burnt itself to ash.
Her holiday sacrifice was complete and the gods were pleased. She
sheathed her knife and tossed the skull into the fire.
Centuries ago she had lost count of how many times she had made her
offerings to her god. She did recall that her birthday coincided with
it which was quite the curiosity in her time. It was destiny that
cursed her with this hunger.
Jorgen too had long forgotten his age, recalling only that he was born
first. Even he felt the heavy judgement of the other villagers. They
did not fear him as they feared Viveka. They were still wary of his
presence until during a prolonged famine in the area, he caused the
crops to grow up through the heavily snowed fields.
Afterwards he was blessed by the by the villagers and held in high
esteem. As long as he lived in the village the crops would grow hearty
and strong in the fields and never again did they hunger.
He did not feel Viveka's desire, while he grew into a young man his
abilities grew as well. He always was happy with what he had. He felt
fortunate that he had been given the strength of the gods and was
satisfied.
Jorgen would heal their sick and their wounded. He would even cure the
ailments of the livestock. When harvest time would come he would help
with the crops.
Viveka though had her own followers. They visited at night under the
cover of darkness with gifts for her. Viveka would call upon her god
and curse their foe, who would die before dawn.
Still she was shunned throughout the village.
Christianity was the religion of the people. The both of them had been
to the village church and feigned worship of this new fairy tale
religion. Jorgen and Viveka however knew that it was clearly not true.
This Jesus made promises he had yet to keep. The old gods made good on
their promises.
Sometime in what she believed was her twenties she secreted herself
away in a cave she discovered long ago as a child. Jorgen was also
aware of it but dared never to enter. He felt a terrible presence
inside. Over the years it became the spot where she would practice her
rituals and study and ponder.
Not until three days later did she return to the village, all the hair
that grew upon her body had been turned a ghostly white.
When the witch hunts spread to their village they made their escape,
travelling throughout Europe to escape the noose and stake. During the
plague they continued to travel from city to city, neither of them
seemed to susceptible to it.
For years they travelled, eventually leaving Europe behind for lives
in the New World. Until modern ages they masqueraded as a young
married couple to escape the curiosity of those in their social
circles however both remained chaste.
Soon after beginning work with Eleven, they returned to their
childhood village. After checking the maps several times, they found
the snowy clearing that was once home. Viveka climbed into the
mountains, returning to her cave.
Inside it was just as she left it. Even the melted puddles of candles
that had burnt out remained stuck to the stone. Hidden in the back of
the cave beneath a pile of rocks was a small stone statue. For
hundreds of years it had been kept a secret, but there were far better
places to hide such a precious object.
As morning came around Jorgen woke and crawled out of his hut. He
crawled over to the backpack as it sat on the jungle floor beside
Viveka. He unzipped it and retrieved a bag of jerky and began eating
the strips contained inside.
"Sleep well?" Viveka's voice asked, ringing inside of his head.
"It was okay. Leaves was soft," he said while he chewed the jerky.
She played with the links of one of her necklaces as she sat on a
large rock in the clearing. The ashes of last night's fire still
gently smoldering.
Jorgen reached into the bag and handed her his phone. She checked the
map and they would reach the temple before the end of the day.
"Almost there," she said.
"What's you gonna do when you runs out of stuff to find?" He asked curiously.
"That will be a long while from now," she assured him. "We haven't
stormed the Vatican yet, have we?"
"Ja, but it's more now than it used to. Like it's getting worse," he
said softly.
"I'll be fine," she said, petting his hand. "I'll just have to find
better sources, that's all. This is one of the better ones. It might
be undisturbed."
Viveka's words did not soothe his concern nor his annoyance at the
situation. Jorgen hated jungles and she was aware of the fact, yet she
ignored it and forced him to travel into one. He convinced himself it
was for her protection. How would she even buy a machete from the
villagers to cut through the brush?
Casually they continued onward through the jungle with Viveka carrying
the supplies in the back and Jorgen returning to slashing through
plant life. It would be easier for Viveka to lead the way, surrounding
herself with a death field that would wither anything within a few
feet. However the idea bothered Jorgen at the loss of life. At least
with a machete the plants would only be injured slightly.
"Viveka, how comes we never fought monsters?" He asked.
"We never had the chance," she answered plainly. "All of the heroes
before us killed them all. Like the ice giants."
"Oh," he said, fascinated with the new thought. "They should makes
more monsters."
"There's still the kraken," she reminded him.
"No!" He cried out. "Something on land. A huge . . . truckmonster."
"Truck monster?" She asked.
"Ja, the big truck monster. He's made of metal and eats cars," he explained.
"I think someone controls it. So it's not a monster. Yet," she said.
"Oh, what about bigfoots?" He asked, glancing back at her.
"Not real," she said.
After journeying for a few hours they could make out the temple
through the brush and trees. Though it was overgrown with plant life,
stone statues made of the same stone the temple itself was built from
were carved into the outside walls.
As they gradually approached, Viveka grew more anxious, though she had
no idea what form the object of her desire would take. She'd neglected
to mention that Jorgen would be forced to go inside alone. There was
some sort of invisible force protecting the temple, something that
obescured her view of what is inside.
She could feel it in the air, the power emanating from this hidden
source somewhere inside the temple. She followed Jorgen as he stepped
towards the entrance. The moment her foot stepped past the threshold
of the temple it felt as if she had been set aflame.
She silently shrieked and flailed, falling back away from the temple,
landing on her butt. The pain was searing and terrible. She trembled
slightly, breathing heavily, still feeling a faint burning sensation
over every inch of her body.
Jorgen looked back from the entrance, standing a few steps down the staircase.
"You okay, Viveka?" He asked as she sat on the ground.
She violently shook her head.
"You'll have to go in alone," said her voice in his head. "It burns if
I come close."
"What if there is monsters?" He asked, sounding worried.
She slowly rose to her feet, a pained look on her face.
"Lure them outside," the voice replied.
Jorgen nodded and turned back down the stone staircase and sank out of
Viveka's view. He descended the staircase, then turned left and down
another series of short steps. He held his machete ready to hack at
any monsters that leapt out at him. His eyes gradually adjusted to the
darkness as he entered the circular room at the bottom of the stairs.
Carved into the far wall was the shape of a serpentine dragon and in
its front claw was a shimmering white pearl roughly the size of a
baseball. Jorgen cautiously approached and gripped the pearl, pulling
it out of the recess in the wall. He looked at it closely, lighting it
up through a beam of light that shot into the temple from outside.
"I thinks I found it!" He shouted loudly.
"What is it?" She asked as she stood outside.
"A pearls I think? Maybe some kinda rock. It's hard and heavy," he yelled back.
Viveka walked away from the temple, following their trail through the
jungle and Jorgen rose up the staircase and out of the temple with the
treasure in his hand. As soon as she spotted the pearl, a black bolt
arced from her fingertip and struck it, causing Jorgen to drop it in
fright.
"Don't get my hand!" He said loudly as she stood several yards away.
She didn't respond as more black arcs flowed from her fingertips,
striking the pearl to no apparent effect. The separate beams joined
together at her target, forming an intensely powerful beam of
necromantic energy. She waited for a moment, then inched closer. She
could feel the power resonating from it, the fine white hairs on her
arms would stand on end the closer she stepped towards the pearl.
Jorgen pushed the pearl slightly with the toe of his boot.
He looked back to Viveka and shouted, "I don't think it does anything!"
Viveka drew her dagger and sliced into her left palm, wincing slightly
at the pain. She carefully let the blood drip down her hand, forming a
circle on the jungle floor. With her bloody hand clutching charms that
hung from her necklaces she sliced through the air with her jagged
knife.
She began mouthing words, prayers, chants, and hymns for the gods.
With pinches from the pouches on her belt she made offerings and then
burnt them. Gradually her feet lifted from the ground and the earth
within the circle cracked and erupted. A purple glow poured from the
hole, casting her in a beam of light. She turned her attention to the
pearl and thrust her dagger out toward it.
A black streak ripped through the air and struck the pearl and the
earth around it. The vegetation that grew in the way was instantly
disintegrated and blown away by the wind. The pearl itself remained
completely unblemished, shimmering in a beam of light that peered down
through the canopy.
Viveka dropped to the ground. Her eyebrows narrowed in frustration and
she sheathed her dagger. With a ferocious look on her face she charged
forward. Jorgen stood watching as she grasped the pearl. Before his
eyes her skin began to turn red, then blister as if she were burning
but he saw no flame. It was as if he were trying to heal her wounds
himself. Silently she screamed in agony, clasping onto the pearl while
its power ravaged her body.
She began to flail about on the jungle floor. Jorgen rushed to her
side, attempting to lift her into his arms but she tore away. The
power seared away her flesh, burning into the muscle and organs. Still
she gripped the pearl tight. Jorgen latched onto the pearl, trying to
pull it from her grasp to end her suffering but she held tight as she
burned away.
Within moments all that was left was a scorched skeleton wrapped in
her clothing, clutching the blackened pearl in its right hand. Jorgen
bit his lip in worry as the skeleton rattled, moving sightly despite
all the tissues being scorched away. The skeleton's grip on the pearl
tightened and it began to glow with violet light. First flowing into
the bones of the fingers, then down the arm until the entirety was
engulfed in the glow.
The skeleton animated, picking itself up off the ground, the clothes
slipping off into a heap at its feet. It looked down at the pearl and
the glow faded away.
"Is you satisfied now?" Jorgen asked, upset by it all.
Once again he heard her voice, while her skeleton looked down at itself.
"Somewhat," the voice said. "The cost was quite severe."
"You thinks so?!" He shrieked. "What ams we going to do now?! You
can'ts walk around like that! They'll think we is monsters and try to
hurt us again! Alls for your power trip?!"
"I can easily fit inside the backpack. Once we're home I'll
regenerate, just like always," her voice tried to reassure him.
"Oh ja? And what's you gonna do if we has a job? Eh? Is you gonna do
it instantly now? Last time took weeks and it was just a foot!" He
argued.
"You thought it would be free?" She asked. "You should know by now
that there is a price to pay for these things. I am not like you,
Jorgen. I wouldn't suffer if there was another way."
Jorgen sighed and sulked. Normally her sacrifices weren't so great. A
bit of blood, perhaps a slain animal. Never anything of such magnitude
that it nearly destroyed her body. Over time she would regenerate,
just as she had said but he knew it would take time and would put a
strain on him to do the things she could no longer do herself.
Her skeleton shuffled over to him and rested her hand on his shoulder.
He pulled away but she only stepped closer, wrapping her still-warm
skeletal arms around his waist.
"It was worth it," her voice said softly.