DARK VENGEANCE
CHAPTER 4
BY ARTHUR
AUTHORS NOTE:
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JJ looked below him as he flew towards the barren black sand beach, what he saw awaiting him sent a shiver down his spine, without any though he called his Wraiths to his side, this was going to be another long hard fight, further out to sea and casually hanging high in the sky was Loki, his large black wings holding him above and behind the lines of minions on the beach.
As the nine Wraiths joined JJ, he counted what lay in wait for them, at the front of the lines were ten Hades Hounds, these were very much like the Wraiths in their animal form but much larger and their drool bubbled the hard packed sand under their four long clawed feet, behind them were creatures of all natures, some even JJ could not put a thought too as they were so far away from what he could ever imagine, as he and the Wraiths hovered just out of reach of the ranks of creatures, Loki's voice rang out over the water.
"So, the little Perisone would come to do battle, it looks like my Father has little regard for you, little one, if he really valued your life he would have sent all his demi gods to face me, perhaps you are not so favoured after all."
JJ listened to Loki`s attempts to rile him, he may have been young but he had been given all the knowledge that Zeus could give him, to others he looked like a young teen boy but, inside his head was knowledge that covered the millennia as well as all the fighting skills of all of Zeus's favourites, JJ waited for Loki to continue, his best ally now was patience, to rush into a fight against what was arrayed on the sand below was fool hardy.
"What's this little toy boy, cat got your tongue or do my few minions scare your little heart, would you prefer me to get rid of some of them so your fear can reduce a little?"
"No Loki, I do not fear your minions, I am just wondering why you play the part of the coward and hide away from the fight, are you scared of this?"
As he spoke, JJ drew and held up high the sword of Damocles, it grew brighter as it seemed to detect the evil that was around it, as the sword glowed with ethereal fire the fire on JJ's wings grew hotter and also glowed brightly, for Loki it was a new revelation to not only see the boy had his wings and looked quite comfortable in them, but they had been touched by Vulcan himself, Loki suddenly got the feeling it was not going to be as easy as he first thought, this boy had something special and for the life of him, Loki could not see what it was and this worried him no end.
"Now why would I get my hands dirty with something as small as you boy, that's what my hordes are for, the God of Gods does not soil his hands on the likes of you, come, did you appear here to fight or just to make a lot of harmless noise, I promise you I will not take part in this small scrap, let me see what you are made of?"
"I didn't come here for your amusement Loki, I am here on my Lord Zeus's command, if you're not too much of a coward you may like to come and get some lessons, or are you afraid of something with a sharp point?"
JJ saw for the first time a hint of anger on Loki's face as he taunted him while still keeping an eye on the hordes below, when Loki did not move, JJ closed his wings slightly and dove towards the massed ranks on the sands, his nine Wraiths changed into their animal form as they circled out and around the ranks.
JJ had decided to meet the Hounds himself and let the Wraiths work on the rear of the masses, in his head came the way for him to defeat the hounds, while they were large and strong, their one weakness was the lack of intelligence, they knew only how to carry off those who came to cross the Styx but had no idea of how to work together when they were the ones being attacked.
JJ did not try to reason out his form of attack, the idea and knowledge came from those a lot older than him, all he knew was that it was better for him to go straight in and cut them down, it would be the last thing they expected as no one attacked Hades Hounds front on they would not be ready for it.
JJ watched as the Hounds did as he had been shown, as he settled onto the sand, they circled around him in a tight pack, from outside the circle, JJ could hear the screams of the other minions as the Wraiths scythed through them, as JJ touched the sand, the Hounds howled out loudly and charged the small figure, as they closed on him, JJ followed the lesson he had been given in his head and closed his fiery wings around himself, holding the sword high above his head.
Loki looked on, the boy had made a major mistake in landing so close to the Hounds, Loki thought he must have had a death wish as he watched his Hounds charge the small figure, as he watched, Loki's thoughts began to change, what was the boy up to, he watched as the boys wings encircled the small frame leaving only the glowing sword showing, of the boy there was no sign but the folded white wings.
What Loki saw next brought a touch of never before felt fear, as the hounds got within killing range, the wing covered figure began to glow even brighter until it looked like the very pit itself, from the sword came the brightest of blue glows and, as the Hounds crashed into the small figure, the red glow of the boys wings seemed to almost explode outwards, when Loki's eyes readjusted to the glare, all that was left of his Hounds were the ten burnt and smouldering mounds around the unhurt boy.
JJ opened his wings, he had been aware of the explosion but had felt nothing and now he saw the result of Vulcan's power, with a glance at his Wraiths he quickly went to help them, they were well holding their own but there was no need to extend the fight longer than needed.
It took nearly an hour to make the last of the horde head towards the newly opened veil, Loki too had seen enough but the gods were not finished with him yet, as he turned while the last of his minions went through the veil, Loki called out to JJ with a parting remark.
"Well you are full of surprises little one, next time you will not be so lucky and I have many more creatures for you too play with, I bid you farewell until next time."
As Loki turned to leave, JJ saw him begin to also glow, not with red and orange flames but with much darker forces, surrounding Loki were flames of dark purple and black, as they surged out from his very soul, JJ saw the ocean below Loki begin to bulge and quickly form into what looked at first, like a water spout.
As Loki released his dark flames, the water spout changed into a cage of pure salt water, encircling not only the black flames but Loki himself, the strange water quickly formed into a tight cage around Loki and the flames and, from the very depths of the ocean came a deep guttural laughter.
Loki remained held in the watery cage along with his black fire, suspended high above the ocean, as the keeper of the underworld tried in vane to escape, from the waters edge walked a young man, he could have been any age but too JJ's eyes he looked to be in his early twenties, his shoulder length bleach blonde hair moved in small waves over his head and his very pale blue eyes were almost silver, JJ couldn't avoid letting his eyes drop lower for a split second, the newcomer was showing some serious size down there as well, the voice that came from the young man was filled with laughter.
"I do not think you want to go there my young Lord Perisone, it may be more than you can handle."
For the first time, JJ saw the mark of Poseidon's trident on the young mans forehead, the chuckle he heard from the young man confirmed his suspicions.
"Yes, my young Lord, I am the personification of Poseidon, I like to use this form, do you find it agreeable, perhaps when you come to join us on Olympus you will be my consort?"
JJ felt the heat of a blush fill his cheeks as the humanised figure of Poseidon came closer and JJ could see every vein and hair on the handsome young man, without a though he sent his weapons and wings to his realm as Poseidon sank to the black sand and sat cross legged while looking up at JJ, for Loki he was still suspended high above the calm ocean trying to escape the cage of water.
"Come and sit with me young Lord Perisone, I've not had the chance to meet with you yet, let's get acquainted without all the usual Gods and Demi Gods around."
JJ could still feel the heat of his blush as he went to sit on the sand in front of Poseidon, he couldn't stop his eyes from flickering down to the effigies groin, Poseidon's smile at JJ did little to help his equilibrium.
"It seems I am too much temptation for you Perisone, perhaps this is better?"
With those words, JJ saw water bubble up from the sand underneath the young Figure, if continued to rise up until the young Poseidon's groin was covered, JJ heard a deep chuckle come from the young man, they were then interrupted by another softer female voice from behind JJ.
"Stop playing games with Zeus's young defender, you know how serious our Lord and Master can get with his favourites."
"My lady Hera, what would bring you to my shores?"
"Well it is not too hear your seduction of our Lord Perisone, that's for sure but, I did want to see him in the flesh, our Lord and Master seems smitten with the boy."
From another direction, JJ heard another young voice; it was deeper than the others but also held a hint of amusement in it.
"I am not, woman, he is my champion, I have to watch over him."
JJ could now see the two newcomers, while their words sounded serious, their faces showed a touch of humour, for the first time JJ got too see the Gods in mortal form, Hera looked to be a young lady of early twenty something, her naked body showed a figure that drew the eyes of every man around, her long blonde hair nestled over her shoulders in long waves of silken threads, only the circlet around her head gave any indication of something more.
Zeus had made himself also into a young man, his blonde curls were worn like a close fitting skull cap and his youthful beard was now just wisps of fine hairs around his jaw line, the bright twinkle in his eyes never dimmed as he looked at the small gathering.
"Well it looks as though the gang is nearly all here, have you all come to see my champion, he's done well so far, don't you think, it's a pity the last of us is not here, it could have been like old home week."
Once again a voice came from behind where JJ sat.
"Who says I'm not here, do you think I would miss this little gathering now that I have a new carrier of my justice?"
"Oh Vulcan, stop being so testy, come and sit with us and talk to our new defender." Hera said.
JJ saw Vulcan's form for the first time, he looked like a teen of about nineteen, his skin was pale and his shoulders and face were covered in bright freckles, as would be expected of the God of fire, his hair was the brightest fiery red that JJ could ever imagine, it also extended down to the teen groin where JJ saw a very large appendage, he almost shuddered inside at the thought of something as large as that trying to go into his butt, Vulcan saw the look on JJ's face and almost laughed at the boys confusion, it was the voice of Zeus that brought them all back to the here and now.
"So we have gathered here at last and, as you can see, I have found our defender, quite a cutie, don't you think." Zeus laughed at his own joke, the others just got a certain look on their faces and all smiled at JJ, it was Hera that answered Zeus.
"Do not listen to him Perisone, he would take an ox to bed if I would let him."
The wide smile on Hera's face belied the words and JJ smiled at the young looking woman, he had to remind himself he was sitting on a barren beach with four naked Gods, not sitting out at a picnic by the sea side.
"Well now you have everything you need Perisone, from myself I gave you life born from the Earth, from Hera you have the wings to use in the Air, from Vulcan you have Fire and from my Brother Poseidon, you have the use of Water, so now the four elements are at your disposal, from this day on you can call on them to aide you, and believe me when I say you are going to need them."
JJ looked at the four young looking Gods, even now after all he had been through he still found it difficult to adjust to his new life as a tool of the old Gods but, he now also understood what they had just given to him, now, not only did he have the skills of past defenders, but he also had the use of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, the first realisation of the power at his finger tips came as a shock, everything he had learned in school or at church had not prepared him for this.
Zeus suddenly turned to Poseidon and threw an arm over his shoulders.
"So tell me my Brother, how is that damned annoying son of mine doing, that boy has been nothing but trouble since the day he was created?"
With a glance over his shoulder at the still suspended Loki, Poseidon replied to Zeus's question.
"As you can see my Brother, he is taking his once in a century bath, that boy has the dirtiest ears I have ever seen and, his mouth is not far behind, what do you think we should do with him, I can keep him in his water cell for a few centuries if you wish or, I could send him back to the pits, of course if he goes back there he will be able to return to annoy our Defender once again?"
"As much as I would like him to take a bath for a few centuries, he is still my son so, I think you had better send him back to the pits, it will take him some time to find the energy to return here again so our Defender will have a little time to fix the other things needed here on Earth."
With a wave of his hand, Poseidon reinforced the water cage around Loki so that he was ready to be returned back to the fiery pits, he then rose to his feet and, with a last smile at the direction of JJ's eyes, strolled casually back towards the waiting ocean giving a slight wave of his hand to the others as he sank into the water.
"That damn boy will be the death of me yet."
"Who dear; Poseidon?"
"No of course not woman, my son Loki of course, that boy has been nothing but trouble ever since he was born, I should have run from that little harlot Leta, I should have turned her away when I had the chance."
"Well I did warn you my husband but, no, you had to let your small head rule your large one, now you see what we have to contend with?"
"Well it's too late to change things; we will have to let our Defender take care of the boy, with the luck of Ares he will be able to set the boy in Hades for a few millennia."
"That's just like you my husband, give the hard work too others and sit back on your laurels to gloat after the fact."
"Oh stop it woman, you have your own foibles, now is not the time to talk about it."
Turning back to JJ, Zeus said.
"Well now my young defender, it's time for us to go back to Olympus and for you to return to your work, I look forward to watching your many victories in our name, you have done well so far and we will always be watching over you."
With those last words, Zeus, Hera and Vulcan rose and walked into the very air to disappear before JJ's eyes, the event had a strange feeling of minor squabbling of family and siblings, JJ did not know quite know how to take it all, it had been so strange and yet he now had a few answers that he could think further on.
JJ watched in awe as a thick arm made of sea water rose from the waves and grasped the cage holding Loki fast, with no effort at all, the cage was dragged down below the sea and only the faint outline of black flames could be seen disappearing into the depths, JJ instantly knew it had been Poseidon who had come to take Loki, JJ also knew that one day he would have to face the God of the underworld, this was Zeus's way of letting him get a taste of what was yet too come.
JJ took to the air along with his Wraiths, once again they were carrying injuries but they seemed to have little effect on their ability to stay with him as he winged his way towards home, his stomach was growling and the first signs of fatigue began to make themselves known, he was ready for one of the twins large meals and a long sleep, he was about to find it would be a while before he got either as the clarion call peeled through the sky around him.
JJ pushed aside his hunger and tiredness as he banked westward and made for the far off lands of Mexico City, the Cartels were in a fight for territory and there were many innocents in their path, JJ had been called to protect them and deal with any Cartel members that got in his way.
As JJ flew over Mexico City, the sun sank below the horizon, the bright red edge of his wings now caused a glow in the darkening sky but, too those on the ground fighting, he was unseen, in the barrios of the poor on the edge of the city, the gunshots could be heard in an almost continuous clammer of sound that filled the coming night with terror for those unable to defend themselves.
JJ looked through the visor of his Helm and saw the gang numbers rise as other cartel members came into the vicious fight; it was quickly becoming a war in the narrow lanes and alleys of the ramshackle huts and homes of the poor.
JJ hovered over the scene of carnage below him, it was clearly apparent that the older heads were staying back and letting the younger hot heads take the lead, they were not only taking the lead but most of the injuries as well, JJ saw some of the boys fighting were no more than thirteen or fourteen years old and had little true knowledge of what they were doing, it was time to put a stop to it.
JJ looked over the scene one last time, his first priority was going to be the older ones, they were the main reason for all the damage being done even though they were wont to stand well back from any chance of being hurt, once they were out of the picture, JJ was sure he could settle the younger boys and teens down, at their young age they were still impressionable enough to be deterred by a figure with huge wings and a glowing sword, JJ smiled at the picture of himself that came into his mind, only the rumbling of his stomach took the smile off his face as he began his descent towards the mean streets.
JJ recalled his Wraiths and sent them to scour the dark alleys for the older men, he had them send the men into unconsciousness to await him to look them over, for the younger ones fighting for their very lives, he set about disarming as best he could without causing too much injury, he did not blame the young ones as they knew little else but what they had been told by the older leaders.
JJ began the long process of finding and disarming the young boys that teemed through the alleys, gunshots were everywhere and the wild scramble for positions of advantage gave JJ a hard job to track down the boys, just as he caught one small group, another would appeared and fire wildly at where he held them, it was becoming frustrating trying to stop the fighting, finally, as JJ saw a young thirteen year old boy fall to the dirty street with a hole in his chest, JJ shouted for the power of Zeus.
From all above the city came a dark rumbling, thick and heavy clouds covered the night sky, the heavy smell of ozone filled the air with static until, finally, there came a cracking sound of live lightening as bolt after bolt flashed brightly from the darkness above, every where the lightening struck, flames flared until a large part of the city slums were on fire, the once fighting boys now cowered in fear as strike after strike flashed near them, some even being burnt by the near misses.
JJ called a halt to the pyrotechnic display of power, those who had not been directly affected by the flashing lightening and the deafening thunder, were soon running for their very lives as though the devil himself was on their tail, in a way they were right but the devil was not really the one they had to worry about, their actions had now pissed JJ off and, as his stomach reminded him once again that he was starving, his temper lowered even further, it was time for a real lesson to be taught.
JJ made those boys he had been able to capture, go too sleep where they sat, next he called for his Wraiths to bring all the older ones to the same place, this was going to be a very bloody exercise and he hoped the lesson for the younger ones would sink in, while it was normally against his nature to hurt another living thing, his new duties as the Defender of the Gods had begun to change his attitude, there was a time for peace and forgiveness but now was not that time, this had to be an example of what can happen when you take the wrong road in life.
Once all of the older men had been set on the wet cold alley floor, JJ woke them all but made sure they could not move from the places they were in, using all of his power to set his wings wide open and afire, he took the sword of Damocles and began to sever the heads of every male over the age of sixteen, the fear he saw in the faces of the younger ones barely registered as he finished off the last of the older men, on the narrow dirty ally floor lay the heads of thirty men, the blood ran like a small river as it worked its way down hill towards the central city.
JJ ignored the scene and turned to the younger boys sitting on the ground, their young faces now filled with fear and tears streaming down their young cheeks, the sight of such slaughter by the biblical angel had given them little hope of surviving the night, much to their surprise, the glowing angel of death turned to them and, in perfect Spanish, said.
"This is what awaits you all if you continue to do the will of evil men, I am Perisone, Defender of the Gods, this is the one and only chance you will all have to restart your lives, my minions will mark each of you and, should you continue to follow this madness, you will suffer more than you can understand."
JJ looked at the large group of boys, before him sat about twenty boys; all of them now had tears of fear running freely down their faces as the glowing angel began to speak again.
"When you leave here you will not say one word of what you have seen here, you will not mention seeing me or my helpers, each night before bed you will send your prayers to the Goddess Athena, from this day onward you will give up your belief in your mothers church for they have taken what was good and turned it into evil for their own use, tomorrow you have the one chance to change your lives and start to do good works, it is up to you."
JJ made a gesture to his Wraiths and they quickly went to each boy and made the mark of justice on each boy, it was an open eye tattoo on their forearm, each boy would now be watched over by others to see if they kept their soon to be vows.
"You will all say after me the following oath, should you break this oath, the very Gods themselves will take toll, now say after me."
JJ listened as the boys followed the oath he gave them to say, as the boys finished there was the sound of bells ringing in the distance, the boys oath had been heard, just before he released the boys and headed for his own home and a very much needed meal, JJ gave the boys one last warning.
"Tell no one of what has happened here, your oath will hold you, if it is broken you will suffer more than these dead have."
Amid staring tearful eyes, JJ opened his large wings and took to the night sky, within seconds he had disappeared into the dark heavens, he only hoped that he could now go back to the house before he was called once again, his stomach was now rumbling more than Vulcan's mountains.
Only six boys were forced by their parents to go too mass and confession, as each entered the small cubby, they suddenly became mute, as the priest asked them to relate their sins, the boys found they could not utter a single word, while the priest ranted about boys wasting his time, they were all forced to run, in the days and nights to come they would have dreams that brought terror to their young minds, slowly they faded into mere skeletons of their former selves, even the best doctors could not find the reason for their decline, their futures were not long ones.
Of the other boys there was little their parents could do, they tried pleading and then threats but the boys refused to go to church with the adults, some where thrown out of their homes, as humble as they were and yet, each boy suddenly found a renewed interest in education and that they were helped by people they had no former knowledge of, homes were found for those who needed one and schools suddenly had space on their rolls for the new students, in time all of the boys lives grew better the longer they sent their nightly prayers to the new Goddess.
On his return flight to his new home, JJ could only think of the slaughter, while it played on his mind that he had now become a tool of ancient Gods, he was also mature enough to see the need, it was only at times like this, as he was winging his way alone high up in the night sky, that the horror of what he was doing would strike him, yes he was the Gods tool but he was also a teen boy brought up with values that made this new world hard for him to contend with.
JJ entered the open patio doors to find, as usual, a very large well cooked meal waiting for him with Tana and Poma waiting with smiles on their faces, Phin was sitting at the table with his usual glass of red wine before him, it was easy for the Messenger to see that JJ was not fully himself but, it was not his place to mention it, he was there to wait for JJ to bring up any subject that bothered him, Phin was not a callous man but he also understood that a boy as young as JJ, had to work things out for himself, becoming a servant of the Gods was not easy on any mortal, let alone one as young as JJ, but it had been the Gods themselves that had chosen him and they did nothing without a reason.
For the next hour, Phin sat and watched the young Defender eat, the boys ravenous appetite would have put grown men to shame, Phin had a good idea what JJ would have for desert as he watched the boy eye the two servants with another type of hunger in his eyes, it had been so for all of history, nothing brought the sap to a boys loins more than blood and battle, he was sure the two servants would not be moving too well in the morning.
JJ slowly opened his eyes, he had taken each boy numerous times until the sun showed its first soft rays of dawn, he had no idea how he was able to do the act so many times but he now felt satisfied, looking at the suns angle he could see it was still only mid morning, he had noticed over the last few days that he needed only a few hours sleep to be able to fully recover from any long night, he was yet to learn that in time he would need no sleep at all as his body was slowly changed at the will of the Gods, should he survive the battles ahead, JJ would find that in centuries to come he would still look as he did now.
With each passing battle and the drawing of power from the Gods, JJ was slowly changing his own internal make up, his youthful looks and body would stay as it was now but, deep inside he was becoming invincible, he was too find in the future that, even if he sustained an horrific wound, it would heal within seconds without leaving so much as a scar on his body, the Gods demanded perfection in all things, especially in their warriors and servants.
JJ stretched and went for his morning shower, the two boys were moving stiffly but had wide smiles on their black faces as they soaped and rinsed his slender body, next came a soothing massage from Poma while Tana set out a hot breakfast for JJ, JJ thought this was the best part of any day, his slender body shone with the fine coating of scented oil that Poma used while Tana fed small tid-bits to him as he lay back enjoying the soothing hands that played a tune on his skin.
JJ felt he would like to visit the Mall once again to see how the smaller kids were doing and too make sure the owner was following his orders, even though he knew that he would be told if the man did not, JJ felt he wanted the touch of normalcy around him to keep him grounded, his new life was a rough and bloody one and he did not want to loose himself in it, he felt he need the familiar sights and sounds of his former life to be able to continue with the work of defending the Gods.
While JJ could just as easily use his wings to get to town, he liked the idea of being driven in the large black limo, the time it took was another reminder that he was still really a human boy, as they neared the mall, JJ decided to pay a visit to the coin shop to see how his friend was now doing, what he saw made him smile.
Thomas looked to be very busy, unlike the last time JJ had come here, this time the small coin shop seemed to be busy, Thomas had even hired an assistant to help with the extra business, as JJ walked in the door, Thomas looked up and broke into a wide and welcoming smile, leaving the customer to his assistant, he hurried to where JJ was standing.
"JJ, what a nice surprise, I don't know how it happened, and I have a funny feeling I should not ask, but since that man gave me the Grand Coin, I have had a sudden increase in business, most want to see the coin and the offers for it would turn your hair white, but each offer I turn down, one does not sell a special gift, no matter how much is offered by those who would only hide it away from everyone's eyes, now enough of me, what can I do for you?"
"I just came to say Hi and too see if you were ok, also there is a small matter I would like your help with."
"Anything JJ, just ask and I am sure I can get it done for you."
"The money you make from the other coins I gave you, I would like you to go to the mall once a week and pay the owner ten thousand dollars, also that you look around and see that he is following my orders to make certain games free for the young kids, it's an agreement I set up but he is one of those that lets greed get in the way of common sense some times."
"Certainly, those coins were all sold within minutes of my making a call; there is plenty of cash there if you need it, would you like me to bank if for your use?"
"No thanks, I would feel better knowing it is held by an honest man, no one can trust bankers as you well know."
"Then I shall leave it in the main safe along with my personal collection of coins."
JJ suddenly felt heaviness in his pocket, reaching in he was not surprised to find a handful of small gold bars with Chinese characters stamped on them, there were seven bars.
"You might like to put these on the market, if they sell well then add the money to what you are holding."
JJ slid the small gold bars across the counter top, he watched as Thomas's eyes grew larger and larger the more he looked at the shining gold bars.
"Where do you get these things JJ, do you know that these are also very rare, they are Ming dynasty Talons, I've seen some before but they are usually lost as people melt them down for the gold value, too see some in such perfect condition is really thrilling, do you want these sold as well then?"
"Yes, you can add the cash to our reserves, keep one for yourself if you would like to, I'm starting to like this coin collecting hobby."
"It's a very good hobby to have, you can learn a lot about our history from the coins they used, it's not so much the value of the coins but what they represent to the times they were struck in, its a pity the modern world would rather use paper than get the feel of a true coin in their hands."
"Well I will leave those in your hands, I'm off to play some games at the mall, see you again Thomas, take good care of yourself."
"I will JJ, and thank you for these new ones, I will make sure that they are sold honestly and your cash is here whenever you need any."
JJ left and walked towards the mall, he knew without thinking about it, that the mall owner was dealing fairly, information like that seemed to just pop into his head and he was now becoming used to it, while he defended the Gods, they also looked after him, he was about to find out that they had many ways of looking after him.
As JJ neared the games shop, he saw that what had once been a small health food shop next door, had closed its doors but, the games shop owner had taken it over and changed it into a special room for the younger boys, the large plate glass windows at the front were left clean so you could see easily into the store but the door was locked shut, the owner had opened up the dividing wall between the shops for the boys to enter, at the opening stood a young man in his mid twenties, JJ saw instantly that the young man had lost both legs and his left arm, it was easy to see he had been a returned soldier from Afghanistan, JJ decided to ask the owner what it was all about.
The owner saw JJ walk in, instantly he broke into a huge smile of welcome.
"Well, well, my lucky charm as returned, how are you JJ?"
"What happened here, you seem to be doing well?"
"You would not believe it, not long after you left, I was giving some thought as to how to do what you asked, at that precise moment, the young man, David, walked in asking for work, he had been badly injured while on duty overseas and was having a hard time finding work, he was pretty down and out, it just came over me that I should hire him to watch over the young ones, best thing I ever did, they just adore him, he looks after them like a mother hen, next thing I know, the people next door asked if I would be interested in taking over their shop, seems folk around here are not into that health food stuff, anyhow, I no sooner decided to take the place, not really knowing what I would do with it, than I got a call from my games supplier that a games shop had gone bankrupt and they were trying to sell off all their machines, if I wanted them I could have them at a very low cost as they were used, best decision I ever made, the place has been full every day, all thanks to you."
"That sounds like quite a story but, I can tell you that I had very little to do with it, perhaps it was your time to get lucky."
"Perhaps, but without you agreeing to our deal, I would not have had the money to go so far so fast, I have even got some parents asking me too look after their kids while they go shopping and they don't mind paying a small fee for the safety of their kids so I win either way."
"That's good, now Thomas from the coin shop will be paying you each week, if you keep going like this I see no reason for you both to not have a successful business, now can I get a game, I would like to waste some time."
"Pick any game you like, here take this card, you can keep it with you so you can come and play whenever you want, it will give you free access to any game in here."
JJ smiled his thanks and moved deeper into the shop, suddenly, from out of the very air, came a music he had never heard before, it was somewhere between the high pitched notes of a violin, the deeper notes of a bass or guitar and the soft trebles of a harp, the rest of the noise in the shop seemed to dissipate into the background as the music filled JJ's ears, he looked around for the source of the soft music, finally he thought it was coming from the far corner of the shop, as he moved in that direction, his heart began to beat faster and his temperature increased until he felt he was in an oven, as he cleared the last of the players and stepped into the corner, his jaw dropped and his heart rate went up another couple of beats.
JJ stopped and stared, standing beside the last machine in the long row, was another boy looking at him as though he was caught in the headlights of a car, the boy was about his own age, his caramel skin and dark flashing eyes told of his Latin descent, all around JJ the sound disappeared, there seemed to be only the two of them in the large games room, each was caught in a moment of pure joy, it was as though they were meant to be here right at this moment so they would meet, JJ felt his knees begin too shake as he looked at the vision before him, somehow he knew they were destined to be as one, with little thought, JJ knew the boys name was Marco, suddenly they were in each others arms, the world around them had disappeared and they were the only two left.
The embrace was not only instant but the warmth of love was pouring out of both boys as their lips found each other, Zeus looked down at his defender and smiled, it was such a good feeling to see two lovers embrace and think the rest of the world no longer existed, Zeus clapped his hands in glee, over the city the loud cracking of lighting from a perfectly clear sky had many people wondering why it was happening, Hera looked at the ecstatic Zeus and scolded him for being careless, Zeus just smiled and gave one more clap, the lightening bolt cut through the roof of a bank in the central city causing the computers in the loans department to crash, thousands of loan files were destroyed and the bank never did recover the monies owed.
As the two broke from the first kiss, JJ stepped back to look at Marco again, he saw only perfection in the other boys eyes, their hands grasped tightly as an agreement was mad without words, with not even a first word, they turned and walked from the shop to the many amazed looks from the others at the game consoles, it was a very daring thing to do, boys holding hands was not very macho but, for some reason, no one tried to stop them.
As they emerged from the mall, still holding hands and still not a word said, the long black limo pulled up beside them, JJ led Marco into the back of the limo and the long car left the town behind, in the back the two boys were looking deeply into each others eyes as their hands stayed entwined, there was no need for words.
TBC.
Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz