Max Kleon knelt down beside me, “Kasey, take slow steady breaths.” He grabbed my wrist to take my pulse. “You are ice cold. Please, calm yourself,” he said.
The way he said it and the way all the Kleons looked at me, they knew. They knew what I had seen. I couldn’t be here. I pulled my hand away, forced myself up and ran out. I had to get away from them. They were mad! Or was it me? My ribs protested, and my legs barely worked. I headed down the sidewalk with a determined, but wobbly, stride.
“Kasey, wait…” It was Dion. I wanted to stop. I wanted him to hold me. But I couldn't, and I sped up. I didn’t look back. Then out of nowhere, I felt his grip on my forearm. He jerked me to a stop.
“Please. Let me help, or you will make yourself ill.”
I wouldn’t look at him. I began to cry. He pulled me close, and I collapsed burying my face in his chest.
“Everything will be alright,” he said as he stroked my hair. I believed him. I believed his words.
After I stopped trembling he whispered, “Come, let us go somewhere and talk.”
I let him take my hand and lead the way. My body didn’t protest. I followed him willingly. We walked in silence until we came to a road that followed the cliff’s edge. Between the road and the cliff, a three foot stonewall went for miles. We walked the road for a while and then sat on the wall. The crashing waves below us were loud, but calming. Inhaling and exhaling the air felt pure. I sat next to him. We both stared out across the water.
“Tell me what happened, Kasey,” he said serious.
I recalled his brother lying dead on the forest floor. I didn’t want to cry, “I must be crazy.” My voice sounded distant even to me. Had I lost my voice?
He looked at me and smiled, “You are not crazy. I promise.”
“You know what I saw, don’t you?” I challenged.
“Why not tell me what you saw, and we will go from there.”
Still uncertain, but wanting to trust him, I took a deep breath and explained what I had seen.
He interrupted before I finished, “Did you see any blood?”
“What?” I snapped.
“Did you see any blood?” he asked again in the same monotone voice.
I summoned up the memories of the gladiator fight. I tried to remember and realized he was right. It was a very clean scene, no blood.
“I don’t understand how…” I whispered.
“Kasey, the world as you know it, is not what it seems.” He stared across the ocean.
“What do you mean? What’s going on Dion?” I demanded.
“Kasey, before I explain what you saw, there are a few things you need to know.”
Where is he going with this?
He continued, “God does exist and oversees the heavens currently, but that was not always the case. Thousands of years ago, many gods once governed the heavens and Earth…”
“Dion are you going to tell me this is some kind of freakish religious thing!”
He rolled his eyes, “Simply hear me out. History as humans presumed happened is not entirely factual. Everything you think is a myth or legend, most likely happened.”
“What are you talking about?” Was he trying to get out of explaining why his dead brother isn’t dead?
“God created the Earth and all its inhabitants. However, after He created Earth and man spread throughout Earth’s lands, God decided to leave for a while. In his place, He left his sons and daughters to reign above humans as Gods. Humans gave them various names; some refer to them as the Greek Gods.”
I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest then let out a huff.
He ignored me and continued, “As you know, there were numerous gods. They had the power to reproduce with each other and with mortals. They created many more gods and demigods. After time the heavens overcrowded with gods and goddess, so some left. In the end the only ones that truly remained to govern humans were the Olympians with their leaders Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. I am sure you are somewhat studied in the area of Greek mythology?”
“Yea, somewhat, I read the Odyssey last year, what are you getting at?” I asked.
He chuckled, “Unfortunately, humans did not get all those facts right either. As Paganism was a popular belief system at the time, the gods were less than kind to humans who believed in the one God. So one day, as the Greeks refer to it, Chaos, or the one true God of us all, returned to Earth. He was appalled to see how his children’s children were mistreating humans. He decided that He wanted full control over Earth again and demanded that all the gods step down and banished them from the heavens. The gods and goddess; were self-righteous and got extremely angry. They refused and declared war on the one true God. This is why God created his army of angels to battle the Greek gods. They battled in the heavens for thousands of years.”
“Wait, are you telling me all those tales and stories are real, angels and gods do exist?” I couldn’t believe he was feeding me some child’s tale.
“Yes, they most certainly do exist. Finally, the one true God had enough. He knew the only way to win the battle was to have humans believe in Him and only Him. Therefore, He created his half-mortal son, the Christ child. He was the key, and even though the gods tried to stop his martyrdom; they failed. Jesus died, resurrected, and Christianity began. The war that started in the heavens now spread to Earth. Humans took sides; Paganism was destined to become extinct. As Christianity prevailed on Earth, the battle in the heavens was ending. The Greek gods and goddess surrendered to the one true God. God’s archangels, led by Michael, gathered the Pagan gods for sentencing. The three leaders, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, vanished from Earth. The other gods had two choices, to leave Earth forever, or to live as an immortal with limited powers among humans. Most decided to stay. Any demigod or mortal who had direct interactions with the gods received the same fate. Most of them stayed on Earth.”
“Are you telling me that your brother is an immortal Greek god?” I asked.
He smiled and half laughed, “No, we are immortal but we are not, nor ever were Greek gods.”
“Excuse me…WE!”
“Yes, we, my brothers and I, we were born around two hundred years after Christ’s resurrection. At this time, Christianity was still struggling against the Pagans on Earth. In the year 250 AD, my brothers and I were Ephesians, and at that time Artemis was the city’s pagan goddess. The Roman Emperor Decius prosecuted Christians. When he came to Ephesus, he told us to pray to Artemis or die. Because we were the sons of a nobleman, he gave us a chance to ponder our decision. We were to tell him our choice upon his return. While he was away, my brothers and I climbed up a mountain and hid in a cave. We are not sure why or how exactly it happened, but we fell into a deep sleep.”
“When the Emperor returned, he heard that we escaped to the mountain and were hiding in a cave. He had the mouth of the cave-sealed shut. My brothers and I lie sleeping in that cave for about one hundred and fifty years. Then one day the man who owned the land opened the mouth of the cave and we awoke. We had no idea what happened. Max went into the city to find out if the Emperor still wanted to persecute us. He was shocked to discover that there was a new Emperor, Christianity was the main religion, and it was one hundred and fifty years later.”
I rubbed my eyes and shook my head. This couldn’t be true. He’s making up stories, isn’t he?
He sighed but continued, “Rumors and tales about us began to circulate the city. The Emperor summoned us to appear in front of him, and declared that our story was truth after investigating us. We were very popular and for what we did, were heroes of Christianity. We did not notice that we were not aging. About five years after our awakening, we realized we were not aging at all. We had to leave before people became suspicious. We faked our deaths and left the city. They canonized us as Saints. They call us the Seven Sleepers, even though we have never physically died. I know that the men we were, and the spirits we had been, before all this happened; are still buried in that city,” he swallowed remembering something very painful.
“Seven Sleepers? There are only five of you.” He has to be making this up.
“I have two other brothers. We parted ways a long time ago. We do not agree on how we should live our eternal lives,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“We five try to uphold good values. I can only say they walk a different path. As I said, we all buried the men we were. They often choose to misuse their powers.”
“Whoa,” I chuckled, “Powers?” He’s just making it up as he goes.
“Ah, yes, I forgot to mention. Along with immortality we were given special abilities.”
“Like what?”
“Max- Maximian can heal with his touch. Antony- Antoninos, can speak with animals. John- Joannes sees the future and Martin- Martinianus sees the past or present, but they can only do it when they focus together on an area or a person. Sam-Sambatus my older brother can leave his body in spirit form and move around in a ghost like way. James-Jamblichos my younger brother can move objects with his mind. Me- Dionysius, I am fast,” he smiled.
My head started to throb. I closed my eyes.
“Are you all right Kasey?” he asked.
“I don’t know Dion. Your story is the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard. How can you possibly think I’d believe you?”
“Here I shall show you. I am so fast I can run on water.”
He jumped into the ocean below us. I screamed after him, “Don’t…” his body glided down like a kite and fell with a splash into the water. He swam slowly accelerating until he emerged, like a speedboat. As if running on dry land, he ran away from the rocks on top of the water. My heart pounded so hard I thought it would burst through my chest. I gripped the edge of the wall I was sitting on with all my might. He stopped for a second, turn, and headed back in my direction. Dion approached the rocks and like Spider Man climbed up the cliff in seconds. He sat beside me barely damp.
“What do you think?” he asked.
I looked at him. What is he? Can I trust my eyes? Or him?
“Kasey, you are looking at me as if I am some kind of a demon.”
I didn’t know what to think. The pressure in my head traveled down my body and through my arms. My view of Dion turned black and white, like an old movie. Sounds were distant and blurred. Then blackness.
7. Dion A Monster or A Knight
Thank goodness she fainted backwards so I could catch her in my arms, or that could have gotten tricky. Her body drained of color resembled a corpse. My stomach knotted. Lifting her close, I ran. The surrounding scenery sped by me as I passed at an accelerated speed. In a few seconds, I opened the red wooden door to our home.
“Maax…,” I screamed, hoping my brothers were back at the house. Antony and John came out from the kitchen. Max and Martin raced down the stairs.
“Set her down,” Max ordered.
I placed Kasey on the black leather sofa. Max’s medical bag sat on the glass coffee table waiting for us. Martin and John had probably envisioned her here. I stepped back allowing Max the room he needed, but stayed close to her legs. His hand rose inches above her body, it illuminated with a bright yellow glow. Then he scanned her body like an x-ray machine.
“She will wake in a minute or so. Her blood sugar is low and her body went into shock. She needs to eat and drink something when she wakes,” he stood.
“I shall bring her a plate of fruit,” Antony headed for the kitchen.
“Thank you,” I called out.
“What did you tell her?” Max asked serious.
“She knows,” I answered.
“I cannot believe we were this careless.” He looked at John and Martin. “Next time we need to make sure the grounds are secure,” he ordered.
“We are sorry Max,” Martin said.
“It is done. Dion can handle this.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Call me when she wakes.” He left toward the kitchen.
“He is really upset,” John said.
“I wonder if it were someone other than Kasey, if he would have reacted the same way,” I sighed.
“He will come around.” John winked.
I smiled back at him, relieved. The twins headed for the game room. I threw myself onto the other sofa. Her fleshy color returned. She looked peaceful. I knew it was silly for me to worry, but what did she think of me, now? Every time I look at Kasey, I question whether I made the right choice to stay in Deia when John and Martin saw her in my future. Max suggested that I leave, running from my fate. How could I flee from the person God has intended for me? This unexplainable power and pull between us. I will never leave her now. The unbearable image of her haunted face before she fainted, tortured my thoughts. I was a monster to her, an unnatural being.
Kasey groaned and turned. Her eyes fluttered open. I stayed silent. A flicker of panic crossed her face when she realized her surroundings. She rose with a sudden pop. I went to her side and gently pushed her body back down, “You should not sit up quickly or you could faint again.”
With an expression of concern, she did my bidding.
I smiled attempting to calm her. “How do you feel?”
She pondered the question.
“Where am I?” she asked in a hoarse voice.
“In my house, on my sofa.” I sat on the coffee table across from her.
“I had the strangest dream. I think... you could walk on water.”
I chuckled. “I did not walk on water.”
She exhaled a sigh of relief.
“I ran.”
Her eyes widened. Was she frightened of me? She shook her head and rubbed her temples.
“You need to eat something.”
As if on cue, Antony and Max entered the room. Antony brought over a plate with assorted fruits and a glass of water.
“How long was I out?”
I held the plate in front of her. She ignored it.
“A few minutes, how are you feeling?” Max reached down, and lifted her wrist to monitor her pulse.
Her body stiffened. She tightened her arm to her side giving Max resistance. He ignored her. The wrinkles between her eyebrows pronounced, she looked uncomfortable. She didn’t answer.
Max placed her wrist back down. “I would advise against getting up too soon. You need some water and food in your system. If you stand up you might collapse again. Rest here a few more minutes and eat something.”