In the dark and damp streets of Boston a lonely light burned bright in the small hours of the morning.  The light illuminated a once small office window in a two story building.  The occupant was  a middle aged man, with already graying hair, and an astonishingly eccentric nature.  He was an outcast to most of the remaining adult survivors of Boston, however to the children that populated the bleak roads and alleyways, he was an inspiration of imagination itself.  To best explain the how and why of his story , we should start at the beginning, and the start of his initial fall into madness as some would call it, and the finality of his rise to power.

            Archibald was his name, a world famous physicist, and celebrity.  You could often find Archibald on any documentary channel.  His most favorite part of his job was speaking with his fans.  He would often frequent science expos in L.A., Washington D.C., and many other cities around the united states.  People would come up to him with a fantastical idea from a movie and he would explain to him how he would accomplish it. One of his favorite phrases he would tell people was "If it was invented a physicist was involved."  Even though Archibald had no family to speak of, his fans were his life, and he was happy with it that way.  As with most things, nothing lasts forever, Archibald's happiness was about to plunge into madness and misunderstanding.

            One day as Archibald was speaking at a local high school, he was performing the most simplest of experiments.  The experiment was not at all challenging at even the highs school level, but he was using it to demonstrate the importance of using the proper use of the scientific method.  He took to graduated cylinders and filled them equally with water, next he took a two small rubber balls one slightly larger than the other.  He was attempting to show the volume of the two rubber balls, but something odd happened, when the ball were dropped into the tubes the water level remained unaffected.  Strange, That makes no sense. He thought.

            In aggravation he pulled his grey hair back with his hands and let out a long sigh.  A student in the crowd began to taunt Archibald when the experiment failed. The failure of this experiment and being heckled by a high school student disturbed him greatly.  "Well students, when at first you don't succeed try try again." He chuckled nervously. Ok, that was a fluke, you have worked on much more advanced things than this.

            He repeated the experiment again with same the same result.  For the firs time in a very long time, Archibald was unable to explain the most basic of scientific experiments.  Paranoia set in as the students began to laugh at him.  Archibald's chest began to throb in pain and his breath became shallow.  The more he tried to breathe the harder it became until finally the noise began to all mix together and his vision darken.  In a matter of moments Archibald was unconscious.

            In his unconsciousness, Archibald dreamed of horrible things, abominations of nature and worst of all, humans. A crowd of roughly two feet tall pygmies with spears made of dilapidated car parts, pieces of wood, and other unimaginable  menageries plagued his mind.  Even in his sleep he could feel the world and his sanity slipping away onto a dark cruel world devoid of society.

 

********

            A man in a white doctors coat stood next to Archibald as he laid in the hospital bed.  He had Archibald's arm in one hand feeling out his pulse and his other arm pulled close to his face watching the gold watch as he counted Archibald's heart beats. Archibald still had not woken up yet and the Doctors feared he would not.  The medication meant to keep him alive was working, however the side effect was causing him horrible nightmares.

            Archibald would start to shake frantically in his sleep, his pulse would quicken, and the Doctor would be forced to give him a sedative to keep him from having a heart attack.  Nothing was making sense to the medical staff anymore and worst of all, the lights in the building would turn off and on randomly.

            To many people in Boston, their world as they knew it was changing.  Archibald's Doctor was a very new doctor with only a year out of medical school. He had yet to have the experience needed to make decisions at a moments notice.  His office was full of textbooks and binders full of notes from school.  The doctor was only in his late twenties and the stress of the job was already starting to wear him down.  He had bags under his eyes and the skin color around them darkened.  His hair always seemed to be disheveled as he most of the time was sleeping at the hospital.  He was a tall man yet he always seemed to be overshadowed by his co workers and his confidence waned with each passing incident.  His own personal Doctors coat had were still on the way by mail.  For the time being he simply wore a sticker that said "Hello, My name is Doctor Martin."

            Doctor Martin had looked through every text book he had to figure out what could be wrong with Archibald, he had become Martins new hobby. Days and nights were spent looking up various viruses, bacteria, diseases, and funguses, but none matched his symptoms.

            The odd thing to Martin was nobody matched any symptoms he learned from medical school.  People were coming in with all sorts of problems, one man came in with chicken pocks, another measles, and oddly enough , one man came in with shrinking spine.  The culmination of all of these seemingly random events were sending Martin to the "Nut House" as he liked to put it.  The only thing that seemed to keep him sane was Archibald's odd condition.

            Along with the quicken pulse and nightmares Archibald's body would heat up to maddening temperatures.  One hundred and eighteen was the highest Martin had seen the temperature rise to, but strangely enough it would drop as well.  At one point Archibald's body temperature dropped to twenty three degrees and his body became icy.  Martin was sure Archibald would suffer some sort of mental deficiency if he ever came too.

***********

            The first floor of the hospital was Martin's responsibility and his office was at the end of the main hallway.  The hallway was lined with patient rooms on both sides and one the first floor their were two hundred and thirty rooms.  Martin tended them all as best he could on his own, he had nurses and nurses aid to help, but with all the strange occurrences he felt alone as everyone of the nurses would come running to him for some sort of explanation.

            The most recent plea for help came from a nurse running in a panicked state and she was yelling something horrific.

"The man, the man with the shrinking spine, he is changing Doctor Martin.  He rambles like some old homeless man no one can seem to understand what he is saying."

            A shriek of pain came from the room down the hall where the man was.  As Doctor Martin ran in to look at him the mans started to shrink at an alarming rate.  When the man was first admitted he was five foot eleven inches and now he was a mere four foot three inches.

            Nothing Martin could think of could help the poor man and he decided to simply ease the mans pain with drugs.

This will dull the pain at least, I cannot save this man. He thought to himself.

                Martin walked back to his office with his confidence weakened even more than before.  As he past Archibald's room he heard a strange sound.  He stepped into the room and Archibald was sitting straight up in his bed with a puzzled look in his eyes.  Archibald turned his head to Doctor Martin and as he did his eyes began to glow a light blue color.  Archibald opened his mouth to talk and the voice that came out was not his own, it was an overtone voice of many voices.

"You are a great man Doctor Martin, A great change is coming to you and your people and you have done your best to help them.  In a short time you will die, the man down the hall will kill you.  You cannot help him, he is changing as most of the humans will change.  Even as I try to tell you this I know you will still try and help the man.  Just know this, when you die, your deeds will not go un noticed.  You have been a great man even if it was only for a short time.  The voice you hear is not the voice of the man before you, but of your god, and he will not remember this when he wakes.  I have changed him, and it will take time for the change to allow him to wake up, protect this man, he is meant to do great things.  Thank you Doctor Martin, be mindful of what you do with the rest of your time here." A loud thunder shook the building and Archibald's light blue eyes returned to their natural dull color as he slumped back down into the bed.  His breathing became quick again and with every breath the room seemed to bow back and forth.

            I must be tired.  He thought.  Martin spent the rest of the night apprehensive about going to see the man with the strange spine condition.  More screams of pain came from the mans room, nurses and nurses aids came to him continuously asking him to give him more pain killers.  He contemplated sending a nurse to do it for him as normal but Archibald's warning was fresh in his mind. I am a Doctor ! I will be dammed if I let this man suffer because of some deranged mans warning. 

            Martin approached the man screaming in the room and with just his entrance he stopped and began to mutter something. The man was laying on his side to where Martin could not see his face.

"Good...........Bad............Untested."

            Martin pulled the man over and once he saw the mans face he jumped back in a freight falling into the corner.  Martin was frozen by fear as he sat and watched the strange man.  The man's face had changed, the skin seemed leathery , the eyes shrunken in, and the horrific , his teeth were now long fangs.  The man looked up at Martin and grinned a truly menacing grin.

"The good shall rise, the evil will be changed, and the untested will be tested.........."

            A low grumbling laugh came from the man as he jumped out of the bed and stood to his shrunken height of about three feet.  The man was different now, perhaps less than human and animalistic at best.  The arms were now muscle bound as well as the legs.  The lesser man was now like a three foot body builder.

            The lesser man jumped at Martin as he sat backed into a corner and Martin still remained sitting, frozen.  The lesser man struck Martin twice with his massive clawed hands, and to make sure Martin would expire the lesser grabbed Martins heads wrapping his fingers around the crown of his skull gripping him as tight as he could, pushed his head to the side and sank his newly fanged teeth into his neck.  Martin fell to the side bleeding, his head lying against the ground with everything fading into darkness he heard the lesser say one more phrase, "Lights out.".  Martin blacked out never to wake again thinking, You were right, I would die helping something I was warned about, You were right.

 

********

            Archibald stirred in his sleep as screams filled the air in the hospital.  Shrieks of pain filled the air and were silenced in an instant as people sounded as if they were dying. No lights lit the hallway and everything was dark. The only light was from the windows where moonlight beamed in.   Heavy footsteps plopped up and down as each room seemed to be searched by heavy feet.

            A great force pushed against his door and Archibald's eyes shot open in a panic.  He could not remember whom he was or what he did before. He only knew something was trying to get into his room, something monstrous.

BANG......BANG.......BANG.  Archibald quivered with anxiety as he wondered what could be on the other side of the door .  He could hear labored breathing , low toned grunts, and growls.  Finally the door gave way and in burst a short altered human, with sharp teeth, muscle bound, and seemingly agile as an animal.  It stood still watching as Archibald as he laid in the bed peeking from behind the blankets he had grabbed to hide his face.

            A drooling grin began to spread across the strange things face, it seemed to salivate at the sight of such easy prey before lunging at Archibald.   It lunged at Archibald, and in a panic he threw up his hand in an attempt to block the creature.  He closed his eyes fearing the worst and was surprised to hear a large metal bang and then heard nothing at all.

            The machine that was connected to Archibald's arm giving him precious vital nutrients through an iv was no longer there and instead had impaled the creature through the chest pinning him to the wall.

Strange. He thought.  Archibald decided to leave his room and seek other for help.  As he walked the hallways of the hospital everyone on his floor seemed to be dead and darkness enveloped him.  Archibald felt along the walls avoiding any stairs and eventually made his way to large double doors.  He searched for the handles of the door and once he found them thrust them open.

            He was outside now but he was alone, no light, no people, just nothingness. The moon his only light he searched around for anything he could use to help him.  He tried many cars and none of them would start.  He tried anything that his falling memory could remember, but nothing worked.

            With much frustration he opened a car door, slipped into the back seat to lay down, and just tried to remember. Looking around the car he found a binder, box cutter,  lighter, a bottle of hair spray, and a garden hose.  He put them all into bag he found in the car and thought what his next move would be.

            Archibald thought for hours before he fell asleep. In his dreamed he watched himself from a distance.    He dreamed of the creature and the freighting encounter with it.  In his dream he wondered what threw the iv stand at the creature and what force would be needed to carry it up into the wall.  Even in his dreams nothing made sense.  Did he do it some how, did he throw it, it all just seemed impossible.

            As his dream progressed he encountered a glowing apparition. A bright blue ball was leading him around in the darkness.  He watched the whole progression of the events before him being in the car, and then he saw the blue ball standing next to the car.

            Archibald's eyes opened to the bright blue haze around the car. He got out of the car avoiding any touch to the bright blue ball.

"What are you? What do you want?

            Archibald cowered in front of the apparition and kneeled down trying not to stair directly into it.

" What are you?!" He screamed.

            In an child like voice the apparition began to speak.

"Archibald, you have missed much.  Things have changed and the way it was is no longer the way it is. " Cryptic. Archibald thought.

"I will tell you everything now Archibald but I need to you to do something for me."

"What?" Archibald said in a terrified voice.

"Rise."  

**********

            The blue apparition slowly floated closer to Archibald as he rose to his feet.  The apparition now closer formed into the shape of a young girl.  The apparition's eyes were so bright the shape of her eyes could not be seen. As Archibald stood still in amazement the apparition's blue translucent arm reached forward and extended her index finger to his forehead. Archibald flinched from fear of what was to come.  A few seconds went by until he opened his eyes and saw the apparition smiling at him.

"Do not fear Archibald, I will do you no harm. Look into my eyes."

            As Archibald looked into her eyes darkness came to him alongside a great feeling of tranquility.  Stars were the next thing to blink into existence, then the planets, and then finally a bright blue swirl of billions of stars and planets.

"Is this........Is this the Milky Way?"

"Yes it is Archibald.  As amazing as it is more is yet to come.  Keep watching Archibald."

            Archibald watched on as he drifted further and further away until even the milky way was nothing more than bright blue spec in the distance.

"If we are moving this fast, is time moving this fast as well?"

"I see you remember a little of former self Archibald."

" I remember pieces, I think I a scientist of some sort."

"Archibald you, are the scientist of your time, few compare to you, but the world as you know does not exactly follow the same rules, some are the same and some are different.  You will be the one to rebalance the world."

"Why is the world out of balance."

"The gods of all your religions are at war with each other and as some die so does their influence of their plane of existence."  Archibald stared back at the apparition with disbelief.

"Gods?  I do not believe in Gods!"

"Do you believe in apparitions? That is what you have been calling me for the entirety of our conversation."

"What I have shown you is the way you believe life to be, better yet what you expect the universe to be. Now look back at your Milky Way, at what it really look like."

            Archibald looked back to the Milky Way or what his thought was the Milky Way.  Where the beautiful blue spiral once shined on was now a group of stars formed into the shape of a tree with an old man with a white beard and a raven  sitting on his shoulders holding it with his arms.  The man seemed sickly, weak, dying.

"What is wrong with him? Who is he?"

"That man as you call him is the great god Odin, and he is dying, worn down by the constant battle that has raged for all time."

            Behind Odin was a dark red pair of eyes beaming from an ancient great helm.  In this beings hands was a great axe.

" I thought Odin had two ravens, What happened?"

"The god you see behind him killed him, the great raven Munin, or memory.  This is why the world has changed.  Munnin held Odin's memory intact for all time and with it, he is unaware of himself and now to weak to defend midgard, or your earth as you call it.

            Archibald watched in awe, the bright white stars and planets all seemed so beautiful, so graceful in their cosmic dance. Are they really there, are they each gods. He thought.

"This war how, did it effect my world?"

"I am sure you have already noticed them now. No lights, no cars working, the very physics of your world have changed. As the gods once thought up your worlds existence, so does another god.  Odin is near death and not savable.  A new world starts for you and your people. Be warned, the stories of your gods, the magic, the barbarism, the ruthlessness will hold no comparison to what awaits you now."

            The last warning brought a rush of light, stars, planets, and worst of all the image of the failing Odin. Archibald felt as a great force was hurling him back through the universe until finally he saw his own body, and then it all went black.

***********

            Archibald slowly woke to the sounds of howling wind and the chill of the cold.  He stood up from the ground, pushed his hair back from his face, and looked around.  The cold wind made him blatantly aware that he was still wearing a hospital gown. He checked the car one last time for clothes and was disappointed to find there was none. He grabbed the backpack swung it over his shoulder and began to walk away from the car.

            Unsure about which direction to go he decided to walk until he saw a street sign and then decided to go south west.  To the west was the coast and to the south was warmer weather, both of which held promise of more people.  One phrase the apparition said left him scared and wondering. "You will be the one to rebalance the world."  What does that even mean? He thought to himself.  Cold and confused Archibald turned toward more immanent problems, freezing to death in a hospital bed.

"Clothes, warm clothes, that is my current objective.  I can't rebalance the world if I die of hypothermia now can I.  Being lonely left Archibald somewhat on edge, he did not see anyone anywhere, and the last two things he had seen for all he knew was a blue child ghost and a mutated rat man.  Maybe I am still asleep in the Hospital.  He thought.

            Archibald walked for miles until he was too tired to walk anymore.  There were no houses in sight and with no light even the roads seemed strange and foreign.  He sat down on top of a guard rail along the road.  As he sat he began to tinker with all the objects he found in the car.  First he took apart the binder removing the rings and the small lever which opened the binder.  Next he fastened two of the rings from the binder to the bottle of hair spray and tied it together with the string which wrapped his hospital gown around him.  Then he took the other lever from the binder and made to switches one for his palm and the other to depress the hairspray nozzle.  For the final piece he used the box cutter to fashion a section of  the water hose for a belt that would tighten the whole thing around his arm and a belt to hold the reaming piece of the hospital gown snugly around his waist.

            Intrigued to how effective the contraption would be, Archibald aimed his arm up at the sky and pressed the pressure switch on the ground.  Much to his delight the flames from the contraption were as menacing to eye as he would hope any attacker would think they really were.   A small fire began to glow in the area he fired the makeshift flame thrower.  It was a street sign, Interstate 95 headed toward New York.  Great! I will follow this road and maybe find clothes and most of all people.

            Reassured Archibald began to walk toward New York searching every car for any clothes he could find.  He was confident with his new direction and whistling the tune "Follow the Yellow Brick Road."   

 

 

 

2: Enlightenment

Archibald's walk down interstate 95 was going to be a long one in the cold.  He started to take frequent breaks inside old abandoned cars as they could block out the wind.  Each break he took made him feel that he would never find any clothes to keep him warm and the aerosol can that he used to light fires was quickly running low. 

            He started to pass time by trying to remember any thing he could about his past.  He knew he was a scientist and knowledge seemed to flow from his mind without any reference.  The biggest problem he was trying to piece together in his mind was finding an alternate energy source.  The absence of the modern use of electricity was a burden he was feeling all to often.  Just five minutes inside a working car with a heater would do wonders for me. He thought.

"How could I make this work without electricity?" he asked himself

            A thought poked through his mind, The most powerful energy comes from atoms that are a vibrating together in unison.  That is why they are super cooled to slow down their movement and bring them into a state constant harmonic vibration "Why does this thought come to mind so much?" He asked himself.  Too Archibald the thought seemed to have been gifted to him.  He knew it was his original thought, but where did it come from.

            As Archibald searched his mind for the answers to his question he heard a strange noise off in the distance.  Metal was being peeled back like some tuna can.  He scanned the interstate where he stood and could see nothing.  Again he heard the noise.  Startled he kneeled down beside a car to avoid being seen.  Again and again he heard the same noise until he finally a car close enough for him to see began to move.

            The roof of the car began to slowly peel back with metal crinkling noise that to Archibald sounded like nails on a chalk board. The roof peeled back until it was ripped off and thrown to the side off to the side.  Then began to rock back and forth as countless items were shredded and thrown out of the gapping hole in the car. Archibald was still kneeling down next to the other  car and began to lean further from behind the car to try and see what the was in the car. Archibald  leaned on one leg so long trying to see the thing that the leg he was leaning on gave out and he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

            Archibald froze in place trying not to breathe at all as a small black figure peaked its head from the car.  Too Archibald the figure appeared to have dog like features as its ears perked up and pointed in Archibald's direction.  Neither Archibald nor the figure moved for several seconds until Archibald, out of necessity let out a deep breath.  The figure stood up straight, extended his arm along with a set of clawed wings, and flew straight to Archibald.

            Once close enough the figure appeared to be a giant bat with black fur and leathery wings.  It's  eyes were bright blue and its head was covered with black and white fur. How odd, the body of a bat with canine features in the face. Archibald thought. The animal leaned forward to smell Archibald with his teeth bared and produced a low menacing growl.  A deep inhale from the creatures nose took in the smell of Archibald and as it did it came closer and closer to Archibald's face.

            Archibald sat fidgeting allowing the animal to do whatever it wanted in the hopes it would leave.   Sweat poured down his forehead as anxiety began to take its toll.  Archibald turned his face away from the creature bracing himself for death to come on fanged teeth and clawed wings.

            Archibald opened his eyes after minutes of suffering the anxiety of his own impending doom as the creature leapt from in front of him and chased after a tiny blue light.  Shocked as he was, a smile began to crawl across his face.  The tiny blue lights were vanishing every time the creature came close to them.  The animal disappeared in the distance as Archibald watched it chase after the lights one after another.     

            Archibald began to wonder if all of the creatures he had seen had once been human.  The lesser, this wolf bat thing, and what ever else might come his way seemed to only keep his anxiety high.

            Tired , scared , and confused Archibald climbs into a car shuts the doors, locks them, and curls up in a little ball.  As tired as he was he could not fall asleep and tried to take his mind off of everything that had happened.  He began to imagine the windshield wipers on the car working.  Left right , left right, left right, left right.  The began to imagine the sound they made , the water spraying to clean the windshield. It all made him drift into a day dream.  He dreamed of driving around Boston, the drivers, the sights of town that now were nothing more than memories of the past.

            Archibald climbed from the backseat and got into the drivers seat and placed his hands around the steering wheel.  The feel of the leather, the fluid movement, and the controls all felt like a long lost friend.  He thought of each individual part of the engine moving with all the other components working in tandem.

            As his daydream continued, Archibald was stirred from to full attention by a sliding noise.  The wind shield wipers were on and scraping against the dry wind shield.  Archibald was astonished. How? Why?  Next the car started. The rumble of the engine, the ac blasting, lights turned on,  WHAT IS GOING ON? Then the radio turned on and a steady hum of white noise blared over the speakers. My day dream? He questioned to himself.

            With his hands still on the steering wheel he thought Gas pedal and with his foot placed on the gas pedal it moved forward. He drove the car on what seemed to be nothing more than will power for hundreds of feet until he came across a car that was crashed blocking his way. DAMN! he said out loud.  I wish that car was out of the way.

            Archibald decided he would try the same thing he did with the other car. He imagined the engine moving with all its parts, the wheels turning, and the lights turning on.  Nothing happened.  I don't understand. Why?.  A light began to flicker in the crashed cars headlights and a loud metal cracking sound began to come from under the hood of the other car.  It must be broke, no car should sound like that under the hood.

            Low chattering noises began to sound off in the darkness as small black silhouettes moved around the broke down car. Damn, the lights, turn off!. He began to panic as he saw an entire heard of the lesser stepping toward the car. In a panic he tried to envision the car turning off.  The wipers stopped but the lights stayed on.  Oh no! He thought.  They will see..  

            The growls, the sniffing , scratching, and worst of all the eyes, the eyes were illuminated by the headlights and burned a bright red color making the lesser even more menacing than before.  Will they notice me? As the lesser began to examine the car Archibald noticed a larger creature standing behind all the others.  Even as it was standing in the lights from the headlights it was still surrounded in darkness.  

            This creature appeared to be commanding the lesser.  It would issue commands in a language that Archibald could not recognize.  It stood over seven feet tall as Archibald watched it point with it's long clawed finger to other parts of the car.    It knows, it knows it is not supposed the be working!. 

            A loud voice called to the lesser and they all turned toward Archibald in the car.  Fear took over as all the illuminated red eyes faced him with one simultaneous head turn.  The lesser began to run toward the car some on all fours and some on both legs. Their high pitch screams coming from them was enough freeze Archibald in his tracks. He simply watched as the lesser began to crawl over the car banging on the windows, slamming on the sides, and biting pieces of the car off.

            Again Archibald closed his eyes in acceptance of his coming death.  He curled into the fetal position and sobbed.  They will have me in minutes. I am done.

"Don't give up Archibald, you have much to do."

"Who are you."

"Fight Archibald, survive!."

"No, I can't their are to many. I am done."

"Fine then!"

            A bright blue haze started to fill the car, the blue haze was so bright Archibald could see it through his eyelids.

"You cannot die today, I will help you now but I cannot help you every time."

            The roof of the car began to peel back as the bat canine creature pulled and ripped until the roof was thrown from the top. It wrapped its feet around Archibald and pulled him into the sky as the lesser tore the car to pieces.

"You will not give up like that again! I will kill you myself if you do. We are not to interfere in this way all the time.  You are going to have to toughen up, you are important to everyone alive.  There are to few of you around that can do what you can."

"There are more?"

"Yes."

            Archibald looked up at the creatures face and noticed this time it's eyes were glowing blue.

"Are you the creature or using the creature?"

"Using the creature, this one is worse than the lesser.  They are easy to manipulate.  I have even seen one controlled by a mere human."

            They flew high above the bridge and flew until they came to a forest area with a heavy tree canopy.

"Can we keep this one?"

"You can do what ever you want to do with it."

"Be warned I will not help you control it for yourself, but I will help you with a small piece of information.  This beast was once human, and its name was Jokul. A name is all you will get from me."

            With all of that said they dropped to the forest floor.

"Alright Archibald first things first, I am going to teach you what you can do.  I saw you use that car, kill the lesser with that IV stand and turn the broken car on.  All this you did with your mind.  In the begging you will need more concentration to use it and then when it becomes second nature you will be able to use it like you use your arms and legs. Are you ready to learn?"

"Yes."

***********

"Firstly Archibald, you can call me whatever you need to.  We do not have names like you humans do.  Now, Your first lesson from me will be to defend your self. You are what we now call a pusher."

"A pusher?'

"Yes, a pusher.  You move things with your mind by concentrating. There are many levels of skill for what you are capable of doing. You obviously are not yet skilled and until you prove yourself you will be called a test."

"A test. Seems kind of  basic for naming."

"For your first test you will defend yourself against Jokul.  I will not let him kill you, but I will allow him to beat you around a bit if you give him the chance."

"WHAT? I have to fight Jokul."

            The blue haze left Jokul's eyes. At first he was slow almost like he was tired or drugged.  As he came out of his altered state of mind he regained much of himself. When the realization hit that Archibald was in standing in front of him Jokul's teeth bared and his wings flared out.  In a second he was in the air growling and biting at Archibald. Archibald threw up his hands shielding his face and as he did Jokul was pushed into a nearby tree. Archibald looked at his hands wondering if the force actually came from him or not.  Jokul laid at the base of the tree dazed from the blow.

"Good Archibald, can you do it again?

" I hope so, I do not want to hurt Jokul."

"Don't hurt him then.  Don't expect the same treatment from him. Defend your self."

            Jokul began to fly up into the air preparing to attack once again but this time Archibald was prepared and had a purpose.  Do not hurt Jokul.

            Jokul dashed toward Archibald and was met with another invisible force that held him in place.  He was suspended in the air and Archibald approached him cautiously.

"Jokul, I do not want to hurt you. I know you are in there somewhere. I will let you go when you show me some part of your former self."

            Jokul stayed suspended in the air with a look of frustration.  Archibald circled Jokul examining his body.  Jokul had a set of wings but under them was a set of arms, strong furry brown arms.  Archibald looked for signs of what Jokuls past as well. Close up he saw Jokul still had whatever pants he was wearing when the change took him..  He saw parts of the shirt he  still wore, and he had a necklace."

            In Archibald's mind he kept part of himself holding Jokul in the air and with the other part he pulled the necklace off of his neck.  Jokul barked and growled in frustration as Archibald did this. This necklace must mean something to whomever Jokul was.

            As the necklace descended to Archibald, he held out his hand to receive it.  The necklace was actually a locket.  Archibald opened the locket and inside was a picture of young women and a small girl.  A whine came from Jokul as Archibald looked at the locket.  the whine was the saddest sound Archibald had heard in a long time.  Tears began to fall from Jokul's eyes and into the fur around them.  In that instant Archibald felt what must have happened.

"You had a wife and daughter didn't you?" Another whine was the only sound Jokul made.

"I am sorry Jokul, here I will not ever take this locket from you again."

            Archibald released Jokul from the invisible grip that help him in the air.  Jokul walked over to Archibald and took the locket.  He tried to place the locket around his own neck, but like his wings, his hands were long and clawed which made it near to impossible for him to place it back on himself.

"If you will give it to me Jokul I will put it on you."

            Jokul stepped forward and placed the locket back in Archibald's hand. Archibald took the locket and put it back on Jokul.

"Th......than.......thank yo........thank you."

"You are welcome Jokul, come to me whenever you want."

            With a nod Jokul leapt into the air and was gone.

"That was amazing Archibald.  You did not fight  him?"

" I don't need to fight him.  He is his a person and has lost just as much as everyone else.  I saw a sadness in his eyes I don't ever want to feel myself, Why fight him?  When he changed he lost control and I think seeing me as a friends instead of a threat could do him good.  I will consider him a friend for now."

" I came up with a name for you apparition."

"Really? Well out with it then."

"Aura."
"Aura, how did you come up with that?  I watched a TV show awhile back about a witch whose name was Aura and an aura is a light around someone that shows their essence by the color."

"And what essence am I?"

" I don't know, I just know the name." Archibald said with a chuckle.

"Archibald you did very well with your training.  You learn very fast and you proved you are able to see into peoples circumstances no matter their outward appearance."

"Thank you Aura."

"I have to go Archibald, practice your gift.”

            A blue ball rose into the sky and once again Archibald was alone.  He decided to walk back toward the road he saw from the sky when Aura flew to the forest.  It was a few miles away.  Archibald began to make a habit of practicing his pushing things everyday while he was walking, resting, and eating. As a habit he always carried a rock to push.  He would walk while he floated the rock along side himself.

            Days past before he encountered anything else.  The days he walked from the forest were some of the most peaceful days he had had but as he neared another city the road became dark and destitute.  More abandoned cars and several corpses began to line the roads.  Some of the corpses were in their cars still in seatbelts and others lay on the ground with teeth and claw marks around their necks.  What city is this?

            Archibald searched the cars for clothes and food and as luck finally prevailed he found an old brown robe and some house slippers.  How funny I can move things with my mind, my hair is grey, I have lost some of my memory, and now I have a brown robe. 

”I look like an old wizard."

            In the distance he could see something walking toward him.  Still to far away to see what or who it was Archibald walked toward it hoping for the best. As it neared he could see it was a man.  The man did not say anything to Archibald as he passed but the man gave Archibald a feeling of dread as he passed.

             The man was a shamble of what he once was, pieces of his skin hung off of his face, and the lips and eyelids were removed.  His blue eyes were the last part that made him seem human.  Archibald stood in a quiet stance watching the man walk off into the distance.  He felt sad for this man, sad for his new existence and sad for the loss of his old life. He must have been important. He thought. As the man walked away he saw a huge hole in the mans back, a wound that would have been more than a mortal wound. He cannot die. He thought.  Archibald thought up a name for this man, he decided he would call him the  shamble man.

            Archibald watched the shamble man walk away and as he did he noticed a small object fall from the mans arm.  It was a shiny and small enough from the distance Archibald was standing that he was unable to make out what it was. He waited for the shamble man to sulk his way down the road until he retrieved the item he dropped.

            The shiny thing he dropped turned out to be an old beat up Rolex.  The watch was still closed but on the inside you could hear all the pieces freely moving around as he turned the watch this way and that. Upon inspection Archibald also noticed the watch was a wind up watch.

            He wanted to fix the watch but he had no screw drivers or any other tools for that matter.  He imagined how the screws would look as he turned each screw in turn with a screw driver.  Next he imagined the watch floating in front of him opened up with all the loose pieces moving in and out of their respective places. Nothing happened and he began to remember how Aura said over time it would become easier to use his gifts.  Why isn't it working then? What am I doing wrong? 

            The old scientific method he was so used to came into his mind.  Find the problem, hypothesize the solution, experiment with ideas.  I will try a different method. 

            Instead of Archibald imagining the results of his intentions he simply motioned with his hands.  With his right hand the reached out into the air grasping it with the watch in his mind.  The watch lifted off the ground but only a little.  Next he raised his right arm into the air further and the watch followed suit with the motion.

            The screws were the next part.  He pointed to the screws with the index finger of his left hand and turned and tried to turn the screw to the left.  The watch only shifted in the air. Damn!. He tried again with the same routine with the same result.  He tried a third time and the watch crushed into a smaller hunk of metal.

            Damn! Damn! Damn!  Archibald picked the once watch now metal clump that resembled a ball of foil and threw it as hard as he could. The ball of metal flew a few yards away hit the ground.  Archibald turned and walked away defeated.

**************

            Archibald walked for hours. Night gave way to day and time itself drifted into nothingness.  He no longer paid attention to cars, dead things on the road , or even screams off in the distance, it all became to familiar to be out of the ordinary.

            He passed a small grey car as he walked and a thumping noise from the trunk drew his attention.  As he neared the car he could hear the thumping noise coming from the trunk.

"hello, anyone there? he asked.

            The thumping stopped immediately when Archibald spoke.  He tried to open the trunk but it was locked. He pushed on the trunk slightly moving the car with his hands trying to see if his mind was not playing tricks on him.

"Go away!" A voice shouted from the trunk.

"Are you ok?"

"Go away, go away." the voice shouted back.

            The voice to Archibald sounded distinctly child like.  He walked to the front of the car to see if anyone else was in the front.  The front seat had two corpses in it both having bite marks in their neck.  They must have told him to go to the trunk, they must have been his parents. 

"My parents are coming back. You had better go away before my dad sees you!"

            Archibald heart sank.  He thinks his parents are still alive. I have to tell him.  Archibald looked into the front seat for the trunk release button. The button was in the drivers side under the one of the ac vents.

            Archibald lifted his hand and willed the button to be pushed.  The trunk opened and a small boy about ten years old jumped put of the trunk.  The boy had brown hair and eyes, his clothes were tattered, and his shoes only had a few pieces of canvass holding them together. The boy began to walk to the front of the car and Archibald held out his hand in a stopping motion.

"Boy step back, please, you do not want to see."

"Let me see my parents!" He yelled.

"Boy, your parents are gone."

"LIAR!" cried the boy.

            the boy pushed past Archibald and saw his parents in the front seat.  Tears fell down his face as he looked in a state of shock.  He opened his mouth to cry out but nothing came out.  He fell to his knees crying.

"NO! NO! WAKE UP."

            Archibald did not know what to do for the boy so he walked up and put his hand on the boys shoulder.

"What is your name?"

"Brandon." The boy sobbed.

            Brandon wrapped his arms around Archibald's leg and cried. Archibald stood for minutes as the boy cried. Finally Archibald scooped up the boy and carried him down the road.  The boy cried for hours and Archibald said nothing.  What am I going to do? I know nothing about children. The two walked for hours until the sun began to set in the distance.  Archibald found an empty car on the side of the road with its windows and doors still intact.  He laid the boy in the back seat locked both doors and then settled into the front seat.

            Archibald said nothing as the boy continued to cry.  He cried for hours and hours until his cries became nothing more than a dull wine and then nothing at all.  Archibald stayed in the front seat thinking for hours until he finally fell asleep. The night had already been long for Archibald and when sleep finally took him, he began to dream.

************

            In Archibald's dream his surroundings were strange and unfamiliar.  The sky was afire and the world below was full of water.  To the west of the sky he observed a chariot on fire with a man screaming and throwing spears of lighting toward the east.  To the east was a large man riding a strange eight legged horse also hurling lighting bolts toward the west.  In the center of the sky man stood in the center with both hands held toward both men with palms up signaling a halt to the coming fight. The man in the center stared Archibald down with a penetrating gaze.

            The man said nothing to Archibald but the message was clear, Archibald was to come between these two men and prevent their quickly approaching demise.  Once the message was understood the man in the center smiled and dropped his hands.  Once his hands dropped the two men clashed together with the man in the center and became one.  The new man stood in front of Archibald and thanked him with a nod and then the dream was over.

            Archibald awakened with a feeling of fulfillment and purposed.  A dream to Archibald could be anything that was going on in someone's mind but he knew this was vastly different.   This dream contained images and ideas Archibald was not familiar with.  He knew the two men on the sides represented the gods Odin and Zeus, but the man in the center was all together different.

            Archibald was not a religious person at heart so many of the ideas and images were only known to him by television.  He was always a fan of Odin and Norse mythology.  Thor was always one of his favorite characters.  To Archibald all religions were all the same, One god was the same as all others, or maybe all misinterpretations of one god perceived by many people.

            The dreams and other strange events he had gone through made him rethink his beliefs.  Archibald stayed awake in the front seat until Brandon woke up for the day.  He knew the next thing he would have to find would be food for the kid.