Path of the Chosen Pt. 01

Of all the horrors, torments, and plagues visited upon man, none can be greater than love. For the sake of love, man will betray his gods, his nations, his friends. For the sake of love, man will betray himself even unto the hands of death. -- Oracle of Thrace

A cheer went up as she grabbed the girls head and kissed her. It was a long kiss and I was sure there was some tongue in there. She looked over at me and smiled. As I looked into her brown eyes from across the room, I raised my glass in salute. She laughed as someone poured another shot of tequila into the girl's navel. I took a sip of my whiskey. Yeah, life was good. Weird but good. For now anyway. It wasn't always. I had gone through a lot of complications to get here. Nick tapped my shoulder and pointed towards the door. The man coming through had a badge from the local PD clipped to his belt. Nick looked at me and I gave him a nod. For the first time that night, he left my side to escort the man back to the VIP section.

Lieutenant James McCoy. The Old Dog they called him. Once he got his teeth into something, he never let it go. And I was proof of that. He had been keeping track of me for years now, more than a decade. All the way from patrolman to Lieutenant, he had kept his eyes out there, looking, watching. He had retired two months ago and had reached out. He wanted to understand, even if he couldn't slap the cuffs on me, he wanted to know that he hadn't been wrong. At least, that's the reason he gave. In truth, I didn't know if anything I did was wrong or not. I no longer cared.

I had long since moved beyond such things.

"Aaron," he said by way of greeting.

Nick walked to stand behind me, but a wave of my hand dismissed him. Instead, he went and took a seat at one of the couches.

"Lieu," I answered as a waitress poured him a glass.

He took a sip. "Good stuff. Tastes expensive."

"The bottle costs about 3 months of your old salary," I stated as I raised my own glass.

"So, how you been kid?"

I smiled, so I was still kid, huh? "Good, really good. You? How's retirement treating you? Turning the game over to the new kids."

"Eh, I got to raise a few pups that know how to keep the place running."

I smiled. We sat and chatted for a while, almost an hour, until Diana came back to the VIP section.

"Ready to go," I asked her. We only met here because of her. I gave her as much time as I could, and this is what she chose for tonight. Personally, I hated clubs. Loud music, too many people, and most of them drunk. It was a cacophony of noise and stupidity and hormones. Although, strangely enough, I was very proud to be the owner, even if I hated coming here.

Diane smiled at me. "I'm tired now. And drunk." She looked at the women sitting at my side. I waved my hand and dismissed them.

I looked at the Lieutenant. "We agreed to some truth right?" He nodded at me. "Come with me then, and we can really talk." He stood up. Goddess that man had a presence. Nick led the way out. The security team at the club helped him, like they were trained to. We walked out, not slowing our pace at all. Anyone that had the misfortune to be in our way was shoved aside. A few made protestations. They were quickly dragged away by members of the security team. They would be taken to the back door and beaten. Its what they deserved for standing in my way.

We made it back to my place, a penthouse suite in downtown. As we walked in, Kim was kneeling inside just past the doorway. "Prepare us some drinks and bring them to the living room." Nick was inoculated. Working for me, he had become accustomed to such a sight, but McCoy... I smiled as he stood stock still, watching Kim's naked, beautifully formed rear-end walk away from us. I was quite proud of Kim. She was my original work. I had fine-tuned my talents by working on her.

As she turned the corner, McCoy realized he had been staring. I spared him a quick smirk over my shoulder before leading the way to the living room. Nick sat down in his usual recliner, placing his gun in the cushion. I sat on one of the couches, wrapping my arm around Diana as she sat beside me. She leaned against me, her head on my shoulder, as I snaked my hand under her shirt to play with her breasts. I waved my hand towards the other couch, "James, please have a seat."

I couldn't help but smile as he did. "As much as this furniture cost, I know you can't be that uncomfortable. Relax, James." Kim chose that moment to come in with a tray of drinks. She passed them out, slowly revealing more of her perfect tits as she did, and then knelt on the floor beside me. I slowly ran my fingers through her hair, taking pleasure in feeling those silken threads flow through my fingers.

James took a sip from the glass, looking at the picture in front of him in wonderment. "How," he asked. "Why? Why is she doing that? Why is she naked? Why aren't any of you bothered by this? How the fuck can you afford any of this? How have I never caught you?"

"That's a lot of questions, James. I promised I'd explain it, but you'll have to suspend a lot of your disbelief if you want to understand it. You sure you want the answers?"

"You know, you've gone from calling me Officer, to Sergeant, to Lieutenant, and now its just James. I've always known you had things too good, too easy. There are still nights when I wake up and can't get back to sleep, all because of you. I may not be able to put the cuffs on you, but I need to know."

So, we're going to actually play this thing out huh? Okay then. "Well, relax. Sit back, James. It's a long story."

In all honesty, people should have to get a license to be a parent. I mean, you need a license for all kinds of things, right? To get a gun, to drive a car, even some jobs require them. Parenthood should be one of them. I'm not sure what the test would look like, but I really think they need to come up with it. It couldn't be any worse than the standardized state tests we give to kids. It would lower the stupid decisions of self-certified parents. Idiot, hormone-driven breeders. The current state of parenting, where no one gets licensed and anyone can put their hand into the cookie pot of the future, led to one night of foolish stupidity. And on that one night, in the back seat of a worn out Cadillac, I was conceived. Mom lifted up her skirt and spread her legs, and my father dove right in.

Mom was an nineteen year old about to graduate high school. Dad was a twenty year old high school drop out turned drug dealer. He and Mom had been dating for a while, so it wasn't like she just gave it up to anyone. And he had some grandiose ideas about taking care of his girl and his first born son, yet no intentions of being married. Sadly, it didn't work out that way. Two months into her pregnancy, Matthew Course was arrested. Charged with Possession with Intent and facing 20 years, he pled guilty to Possession and 10 years. He didn't even serve two.

I was barely a year old when Sally Henderson was asked to step outside to take a break from her part-time job by a local Sheriff's Deputy. Matt Course was killed by another inmate. The DA had decided not to accept charges. The inmate was already serving a life sentence without parole. There was nothing more they could do to the man.

As such, I was initiated to life as a fatherless child, born to a mother that still wanted to be a single woman. I was often abandoned to my aunt as my mother made her way to the latest club in hopes of attracting another man willing to step into my father's shoes. She never did. The only men she attracted were the ones looking for a hot roll and way out. Still, becoming a mother changes a woman, whether she's ready for it or not. I was three when my aunt finally had it out with her.

Once again, my mother tried to pawn me off on her, but, only being two years older and not having any kids, she had her own plans for the night. Auntie refused to cancel those plans again for the gazillionth time. It started a huge shouting match, which started me to crying, which made them shout all the louder. My aunt grabbed my bassinet, with me in it, shoved it into my mother's arms, and shoved her out the door. Mom was pissed. She didn't talk to my aunt for a whole three months.

Mom spent the first years of my life bouncing from job to job. She usually got fired for cursing at customers, sometimes at her bosses, or just not showing up. Only once did she get fired for showing up drunk. Not that it really mattered. There were a million of the low-level jobs she qualified for, and another minimum wage job was always just around the corner. I'll say that for my mother. She was a hustler, and never unemployed for long.

When I was seven, Mom got a new job as a receptionist at a dentist office and moved us out of the hood to an apartment in the suburbs. It was different. Too different. I had grown use to crackheads in the alleys and drug dealers on the corners. I couldn't even sleep the first few nights because it was too quiet. The hood is never quiet. There's loud music and sirens and gunshots. Out here, it was just too quiet. It unnerved me. Quiet in the hood meant something was about to happen. So, in the silence of the suburbs, I was constantly waiting for the car to peel around the corner, AK-47's hanging out the window. It never happened. Eventually, slowly, I relaxed, and I got use to peace.

The move was probably for the best, but I still found ways to get in trouble. The dumbest thing me and a few friends came up with was Snake Chicken. There was a small creek that ran behind our complex. During the summer, it wasn't too hard to find yourself a snake or two down by the water. We decided to prove our boyish manhood by playing Snake Chicken.

It's a simple game. We would surround the snake and poke at it until it would stop trying to run away and coil up. That's when the game began. One step at a time, we would approach,. The snake would hiss and snap and strike out with each step. The point of the game was to get as close as you dared. There was always an argument about who won.

When I was twelve, hormones began amongst me and my friends. Girls were still a foreign concept, but manliness was a consistent challenge amongst us. It proved to be my downfall. It came down to Billy and myself as the last two man-boys walking. Someone called out "Step" and I did. Billy didn't. The snake struck out. I barely felt it, but I knew it had happened. I fell back, screaming, and started scooting away. Raising up my pants leg, blood flowed from two small wounds.

It burned. I felt it burning its way up and down my leg. Spreading. Spreading. Deep. Through me. My heart raced, my blood surged. Adrenaline carried the poison faster and harder.

It was then that I realized the quality of my friends and my would-be girlfriend. They all ran. Everyone one of them. They didn't even think to call for help, or try to get me out of there. They just ran. I was scared.

Children are immortal in their own minds. But I had just felt the cold hands of fate take ahold of the threads of my life. I knew I was going to die. I didn't know what that meant, but I was sure it was bad. It was an adult thing. And all adult things were bad. Like spinach. I thought about all the burned ants and crushed beetles that had crossed my path and felt surprisingly regretful. I felt myself becoming lightheaded, dizzy. I started seeing spots in front of my eyes. And then... laughter.

Everything was dark and light and bright and foggy. I was too hot and too cold at the same time. I felt everything, but I couldn't feel anything. And then... laughter. It was strange and light and beautiful and hurtful. Why was she laughing at me? I was hurt. I was dying. Why would she be laughing at me?

Suddenly I was falling, the ground rushing up at me. I wasn't laying on grass though, it was sand, soft beneath me. As the fog started to clear away, I realized something was standing over me. It snorted it at me.

"Stand up, boy," it said. I rubbed my eyes, trying to blink away the fog and mist. It took a few seconds before I recognized it was a man sitting on a horse. The horse was magnificent. A glossy midnight coat sprinkled with stars. As I came to my senses, I realized the man riding it wasn't just a man, it was a knight. He was clad in black and silver shining armor, a sword hung at his side. "I said get up." His voice was deep, hard.

"Um, I-I can't. I got bit."

"You look fine to me. Now get up. I won't say it again. You need to get going." I looked down at my leg where I had pulled my pants up where I had seen the result of the serpents fangs. It was fine. No gaping holes, no bleeding. It didn't even hurt. I stood up slowly, scared that any pressure would suddenly remind death that he my name had come up on his list.

Death.

Maybe he didn't forget me. Maybe I was dead. I looked around me for the beetles and ants, but I didn't see any.

"Get going boy. You don't want to keep her waiting," the knight said.

"Keep who waiting," I asked as I looked up at him. I couldn't see his face beyond his horned helm. That's not what knights are supposed to look like. The armor should be silver and steel, not black. And knights didn't wear horns, that was vikings. And where was his lance and shield? All he had was the sword at his side.

His gauntlet ed hand pointed off in the distance. I followed his hand to see a large castle sitting on the horizon. I turned around as I heard the horse snort. Its hooves sounded strong and hard as the knight turned it around. "Get going boy," he said as he started to trot off.

I looked back towards the castle. It was a long way off. I looked around me. I could see nothing but sand and trees. It was a desert. With a forest. Deserts weren't supposed to have forests in them but this one did. There was nothing but sand and trees as far as I could see. All the way to the castle. I jumped as I heard something howl in the distance and started running. It quickly became apparent that I wasn't going anywhere. I was moving. I was running pretty fast. I was one of the fastest boys in school. But nothing around me was moving. I came to a stop, bewildered. What was going on?

I started walking, but this time I did move. And quickly. Walking was like running. Running was standing still. And standing still was, well, standing still. So I walked. And walked. And walked. And walked some more. Kept on walking.

For some reason I was never tired. And I liked it here. It was very pretty. There were all kinds of strange plants and flowers. Weird looking fruit hung from some of the trees. Sweet scents floated through the air. The sky was weird too. The sun was high, so it was at least midday, but I could still see the stars past the clouds. It was interesting, and pretty, and strangely calming. There were interesting animals too. Like none I had ever seen. Birds that looked like hooded priests. White fox-like creatures with several tails and horns. All of them would stop as I came upon them. They would stop whatever it was they were doing and look at me.

I chalked it up to being dead.

So I walked.

The forest along the path had suddenly given way to a meadow. Sand changed to dirt. Dirt gave way to grass. I came upon them suddenly. Two angels were sitting in the meadow, talking to each other. Except they didn't have any wings, or halos, or the fancy, white togas. One of them was a properly blonde angel with a lyrical laughter. She was dressed simply in a green and orange blouse with a light, yellow dress that flowed down to her shoes. She was perfect there, sitting among the sunflowers, smiling and laughing. I imagine that the birds had just flown off from talking to her.

The other one, less so.

She was still beautiful. But, dressed in a full length, golden white gown that literally glowed in the sunlight, she was so out of place. In a ballroom, dancing with Prince Charming, she would have been magnificent. But here in the meadow, that woman, in that dress... The dress itself was a dream made imperfect simply by being tangible. The woman, her raven black hair, her porcelain skin... The sun itself didn't deserve to lay hands on her.

As I saw them, they saw me. I froze. Halfway into my next step. Foot still in the air. As did they. Their laughter stopped as they caught sight of me. "Is that," the blonde asked.

"It can't be," the raven said.

"It-it has to be."

"By the golden-"

"It is!"

"But it's so little!"

"Shush. She chose it. It's fine."

Annoyed. I sat my foot down. I was growing tired of being referred to as an "it".

"It can't be real," raven stated.

"Boy," blonde called out to me.

"Yes, ma'am." My mother had taught me manners, after all. Being dead was no excuse for being disrespectful.

"See," blonde said to raven, "it is real."

"But look at it!"

"Exactly. Look at it. She chose it. It's perfect." Blonde turned her attention towards me. "You should get going boy. She hates to be kept waiting."

"Um, yes, ma'am."

I immediately regretted my decision to start walking. I could have sat with them, asked them questions, gotten some advise. Hindsight and all that. Of course, hindsight means having the knowledge I have now. They'd have laughed and sent me on my way.

The meadow quickly disappeared behind me as I dove back into the forest. To imagine that angels were only steps behind me, and I died for the chance to beat Billy. Fuck Billy. But, far too quickly, the sound of their hushed chatter was left behind me. Still, the castle was much much closer now.

I walked for a long time. The sun never moved. It seemed like an eternity before I finally came to the gates. I stood in front of them frozen. There was something horrible beyond those gates. Amazingly, terrifyingly horrible. They opened for me. No one opened them, they just moved. Not slow, not sudden. Just. And they were open.

The path forward was straight. My heart pounded with every step. Strange. I was dead but I still had a heart beat. That wasn't in any of the movies. None of this was. I came to the doors of the castle. They were so tall. Just short of the sky. I didn't even know how I knew it. But, somewhere deep inside, something about those large wooden doors begged me to turn back. But when I looked behind me, I had nowhere to go back to. The gate was closed, but the path was still there. If I walked back, those gates would open for me, one last time. But I didn't know where else that path might lead. It didn't lead to anywhere. And I was here. I was lost, somewhere in Oz, and a long way from home. So, with Snake Chicken on my mind, I gathered up my courage and stepped forward.

The doors swung open for me. There was no one there behind them, just a long, open, grand hallway. The ceilings were impossibly high. The white stones I had seen from the outside were replaced with black marble, solid and streaked with white marble lightning. The floors were pink marble streaked with gold. And every inch of it was pristine. There was no grout. These weren't tiles. This palace had been grown through eternity, and I had no right to take a single step. Something in me made me take off my shoes. I was on sacred ground. Both blessed and cursed. The floor was warm beneath my feet.

The doors at the end of the hall opened as the wooden one's behind me closed. I took another deep breath and walked into the gaping maw of blessed damnation.

And into a grand throne room. It was a stark contrast. The walls were pure white marble with not a crack to be found. The floors as well. If it wasn't for that irresistible force drawing me forward, the room would have been to pure for me to enter.

She sat there on a gray marble throne. The slightest smile on her face. She was dressed in a deep red toga, almost like what the other angels should have been wearing, except for the color. She leaned on her hand, golden eyes glittered as she watched me approach. She was made of smoke, ethereal, swirling in and out of reality.