The Lost Gods (27 page)

As they ran, the army of the dead started to move. The long line staggered forward. The creatures bumped into each other as they pursued the living. The edges of the line began to close in on the small army of humans.

“They're going to surround us!” Blake yelled.

“Carve me a path through the line!” Jesse yelled back. “Break through it!”

As they got nearer, Jesse saw how far away from the gate the line was. The gate was another mile or two away. A few seconds before the two groups collided, Jesse yelled, “Shields!”

...

Danielle braced her shield and smashed into one of the creatures. Her impact rippled out and the creatures went tumbling into each other. She tripped and swung her sword in a wild arc as she fell. The sword caught a reanimate in the throat and severed its head. Danielle regained her footing and pushed and stabbed at the mass of bodies

...

The others smashed into the line in quick succession. Inanna's crew had a different strategy. They stopped running a few feet before they reached the line and began to hack their way through. Inanna shouted to them and she moved over to Jesse. Jesse was slow to reach the melee. The others had opened up a sliver of space through the first few yards of the dead.

...

Blake and Tim were next to each other pushing their shields into the churning mass of reanimates. They each slammed their shield against the line of dead and stabbed at the heads of the creatures. Their blades slid along the top of the shield and into the thing's skulls. Once destroyed, the reanimates would go limp, but the mass of bodies kept them upright.

“Push!” Blake yelled. “Push as hard as you can!”

Tim shoved into the line with all his might. They stumbled forward with the line a few yards until the pushback came and staggered them backwards a few feet. The horizontal seesaw motion continued as they struggled with the creatures.

...

Nathan was off to the left of everyone else. He stabbed, pushed, and kicked his way into the line. He fought like a cornered animal: wild and fierce. There was no space for the accurate swings and slashes that he was accustomed to. It was butcher's work in close quarters. A creature grabbed at the shoulder pad of his shield arm, and Nathan stabbed it in the head. As he did, another two creatures latched onto his sword arm. He elbowed one and head-butted the other. They released his arm and he slashed them across their throats. He pushed further into the crowd and felt them lunge and grab his legs. Holding back half a dozen creatures with his shield, he stabbed at their heads and tried to free his legs.

...

Jesse swung with all his supernatural power. Each swing split the bodies of the undead like a machete cutting through dry twigs. His bronze axe tore the creatures apart, but he was making little headway through the thick line. He looked for Inanna. A bronze flicker came into his peripheral vision. She was far to his right driving a sword through the chin of a reanimate.

“Tell your people to push the line apart, so that we can get through,” said Jesse.

He pointed to Danielle and the others. Inanna nodded and shouted at her servants. They all tried to break away, but a few were overwhelmed and dozens of reanimates fell on them. Within seconds, those that fell were torn apart.

The remaining crew moved into the narrow wedge that Jesse's companions had created. Jesse pushed his way in. He held his axe horizontally and pushed into the unbroken line of dead. He shoved them back to create enough space. He swung his axe at the line. Carnage erupted across his vision. Limbs were severed and torsos were split. A space was created and time stood still for a moment. Jesse listened. The battle was quiet except for the grunts of the living, the shifting of the dead, and the sickening sounds of bodies being pierced and broken. There were no screams, drums, or rallying cries.

“The line is almost broken!” Inanna yelled. “We must go now!”

Jesse saw the break in the line off to his left. Only a few reanimates stood between them and empty ground leading to the ancient gate.

“Finish it!” Nathan yelled. Jesse turned to look back, but Inanna grabbed his arm and yanked him along. They cut through the last of the creatures standing between them and the gate, and they ran. Jesse heard shouting in the background and he turned around. The opening they had made had closed. The thin long line had become shorter and thicker, much thicker. He could not see any of the living anymore. He took a step backward, wanting to rejoin the battle.

“No, we must finish this,” said Inanna.

He took in a hard breath and pulled away, but she held him.

“Do not waste their sacrifice,” she said. He looked down and ran with her.

They ran the final mile to the gate together. Behind them the mass of undead were distracted by the handful of brave men and women that Jesse and Inanna had left to fight and die.

Fifteen

Where It All Began

Jesse and Inanna stood outside the prehistoric stone gate that led to the underworld: to Ereshkigal and the end of the slow death that had swept over Earth. Jesse wondered how no person had discovered this place before. He decided it must have been a trick of the gods to keep it concealed. Time slowed to a crawl as he walked toward the massive, stone doors.
What was waiting for him besides his own death?
He was not a god like Inanna, and once he passed through those prehistoric gates, his life and future were forfeit. Trips to the underworld were one way.

Since the zenith of this ongoing tragedy, the quick demise of man, he had contemplated his own death on a daily basis. Jesse thought he had come to terms with it, as best he could, but now that death had
arrived, it shook him to his core. He did not want to die. He had to die for the sake of revenge, for justice. Jesse would go into the depths of the underworld, and he would slam the bronze axe that Inanna had given him into the body of Ereshkigal.

Jesse would stand over Ereshkigal’s broken body and rip her head from her neck and throw it to the side like an uprooted weed. He would do that and accept his fate. He would do that for his family. He would do that for Adam. He would do that for the warriors of Eureka that were unlucky enough to be caught up in his quest. He would do that for all the humans that had died, and for all those that were left. He would do that to quell the rage in his heart, and to sink into death with a feeling of accomplishment. He would die for all those reasons.

Inanna pressed the back of her hand on his chest, as a mother would that was trying to halt a child about to take a false step. Jesse felt her hand trembling against his armor. She glanced over at him with swollen eyes. Her lip quivered and her body shook in pulses.

“No,” she said and paused. Her words caught in her throat, “This is not where your journey ends.”

Jesse clutched her hand. She had no right to stop him. His rage boiled over.

“What do you mean? She's killed everyone. I've got nothing left. Nothing. They're all dead, and she's going to die too. That much I will make sure of.”

“Have you learned so little? I was supposed to die down there a long time ago. Instead, I sacrificed my husband to save myself. For thousands of years I have manipulated those below me to keep what little power I had left. The only one to stop me was my sister. She saw my plan for what it was and her judges condemned me to die. Only through the love and devotion of my servants was I saved. I have been living on that borrowed time since then. Now I finally have a chance to correct that and so much more.”

“There's nothing to correct, Inanna. It's over. Ever
yone is dead. Ereshkigal won. The human race is gone, and all I want to do is kill her. Stand aside and let me do it.”

“There are others. You survived, and so did Adam and the others for quite some time.”

“I survived because you watched over me. You saw what happened to the others.”

“It was not I that saved you, Jesse. It was your actions. I directed you toward a path, a path you chose. You must show the remaining survivors the way forward. They need a leader: a better leader than me.”

“Are you insane? A leader? Look at what happened. I'm no leader. Everyone I led is being eaten as we speak, or long dead. I'm the only one left alive and even I'm about to die. Just let me finish this. Get the fuck out of my way.”

Inanna stepped in front of Jesse and clutched his face. He tried to shake her off, but her grip only tightened. Jesse grabbed her hands and tried to rip them away, but she held on with a strength he could never match. She was a goddess after all.

“You convinced a handful of people to come on a suicide mission, and they did. They did it for you and for a future. They sacrificed themselves so that others could live, and you are about to throw their noble deaths away for revenge. That gesture would be pointless. If Ereshkigal is still alive, she will end you with a flick of her wrist. She's as powerful as me, and if I willed it I could tear you apart, Jesse.”

“I'm willing to test that theory,” said Jesse, and slid his hands down to her arms. “Now move!”

He pushed hard against her arms, trying to throw her to the side, but she was at once as heavy and as solid as a building. Jesse could not move her one inch.

“Listen to me, Jesse,” said Inanna and she released his face. “I know that there are others out there. I have seen them like I saw you in my visions. You need to find them. There is still a future for humans, but not without you. Your species will die out, if not for a strong leader. You do not see it in yourself, but you have charisma and an iron will that shows the way forward in dire times. People need that will and power in times of war, but they need more in times of rebuilding. The war will soon be over, and the path ahead is uncertain. Ereshkigal and I are all that remain of the gods. Our time is over, Jesse. It has been for some time. Earth does not need us anymore. This much I know. So find the others. Do not waste your life by going through those doors.”

Jesse stopped struggling. His tears welled and spilled out. His rage had dissipated, and a maelstrom of emotion swirled inside of him. He shut his eyes. She kissed him, and it was unlike the other ones. The moments they shared before were filled with passion and lust, but this embrace was driven by desperation and loss. Her lips and body shivered. He knew she was terrified to die. She did not want to leave him. Their lips parted and he opened his eyes. He saw in those disarming eyes a fear of death and her love of him. He pressed the top of his head against her forehead and he gripped the back of her neck.

“Jesse, I was going to betray you, as I did my hu
sband. I wanted to get you here and send you down to her. You are the last demi-god, the final son of the line of Gilgamesh. If she takes you into the underworld, she wins and all is lost for the humans. I was willing to sacrifice you for a small life: a solitary existence in my domain. A prolonging of my eventual fate. But you showed me that such a small life is not worth living. I am not right for this world, Jesse, not any longer. I belong down there in the dark with my sister.”

“I don't care what you were going to do,” Jesse said. He kissed her again and pulled her in close. He hugged her hard enough to snap the ribcage of a grown man.

“I forgive you, but let me go down there with you, and we can both end this together.”

Inanna leaned back and shook her head. Streams of tears ran through the ancient make-up below her eyes and left a streak of purple that snaked down her amber cheeks.

“That is why you must stay. You have the capacity to forgive where I do not. I can lead, I can destroy, and I can love, but I cannot forgive. The last remaining people need that forgiveness for their failures. They could not save their world and their families, and it shames them with each breath. I will end this catastrophe, but you must create a new world. Your kind were plagued by foul rulers and harsh gods for too long. You will change that with your wisdom and power.”

“I can't leave you. I won't.”

“You must or life itself was a mistake,” Inanna said in a wavering voice. She drew in a deep breath. The wind changed direction and whipped at Jesse's clothes and hair. The breeze grew into a powerful gust.

“Jesse,” Inanna said and Jesse heard each word inside his mind. They echoed within him and his body vibra
ted. The earth shook in violent pulses.

“Strike west and follow the river to the nearest town. Call out to your new people. Your voice will be heard. Lead them out of uncertainty and into a bright, new f
uture. Love them and protect them. This the last decree of Inanna, the queen of heaven and earth: the goddess of love and war.”

The wind and the powerful tremors ceased. Inanna took off her necklace.

“Take off your helmet and lean forward,” she said. Her voice had calmed. Jesse took off his helmet and threw it to the side. He leaned his head forward and she slid the ancient chords over his head. He lifted the pendant. The pendant shifted before his eyes. The snake transformed into a bull, and the lapis lazuli stone changed into two, small jade eyes. He tucked the pendant into his shirt. A cool, humming force radiated out of the necklace.

“How will I know if,” Jesse said, and he choked on the words, “if you — kill her.”

“You will know because the dead will not bother you anymore, except in your nightmares.”

“Will I see you again?” he asked. He regretted the question before it left his lips.

“Yes, when your great life ends we will spend eternity together in the underworld.”

With
that, she turned and faced the pre-historic gate. Over Inanna's shoulder, Jesse saw seven giant things exit the stone gate. Inanna froze in place. They all wore white robes and had long, braided beards. Their hair was bright white and their eyes matched those of the
galla
: white circles within a sea of black. Atop their heads were conical copper helmets. In each right hand was a large bronze staff.

“Inanna,” one said. The words stopped the wind. All ambient noise ended. The whole earth fell silent.

She said nothing in return.

“We seven judges have no quarrel with you. You are free to leave.”

“I will not leave,” she said. She shivered. Their gaze shifted to Jesse. His heart stopped beating. All the air rushed out of his lungs. His body was wrapped in an invisible icy shroud. He felt the pain of death, like he was drowning on land.

The judges spoke in unison. The words echoed inside Jesse's head with the same power that Inanna's had a few moments prior.

“All humans were slated to die a full solar cycle ago. Constant blasphemy, worship of false gods, and failure to pay tribute to the true gods for nearly four millennia are the charges. The punishment for such crimes is death. The verdict we rendered was guilty.
Galla
were dispatched to find and capture those deemed most formidable by Ereshkigal. Mortals are forbidden to resist the
galla
, as says the ancient code of the underworld. You, Jesse of the line of Gilgamesh, resisted, and even destroyed, the
galla
, which were sent to kill you. They are sacred servants of the underworld and mete out our immutable judgments. The sentence for your crimes is death. The code of the underworld is perfect and our sentence is final. You are to surrender to us.”

A thousand tiny accusations in Jesse's own voice fo
llowed the judge's loud proclamation. All Jesse's wrongs, big and small, filled his head:

You used women for sexual gratification.

You never reached your full potential in school.

You never appreciated your parents.

You let your family and friends die.

You failed your country and your world.

You failed Adam.

Jesse dropped to his knees, and fell over onto his side. He convulsed. No air would come into his lungs. No warm blood would pump from his heart. The voices dug into his soul.

“Surrender, Jesse. The once-dead, after they cleanse the earth of human life, will leave this realm and return to the underworld. All will be set right after you take your place amongst the innumerable dead. Cease your futile resistance to the inevitable fate of man.”

Jesse's mind flashed back to his first fight. He was in third grade and a sixth grader had been bullying him. The kid's name was Daniel and he had Jesse by a foot and thirty pounds. He used to trap Jesse in a secluded corner behind the boys bathroom. For the first semester, Jesse had taken whatever Daniel had to offer: all his taunts, headlocks, and punches. Jesse told his father, and his father told him to take the high ground. Fighting was for bad boys, according to his father. He told his mother and his mother told him to tell the teacher. They will protect you, she said. Last, he told his brother. Jesse's brother had taught him a bad word, the worst word there was, and told him stand his ground. The next day Daniel started his typical recess routine by calling out Jesse in front of everyone. Jesse curled his small hands into fists and marched up to Daniel. Daniel taunted him and Jesse interrupted him. He told Daniel to lean in close, and that he had a secret to tell him. Jesse told him the secret and punched Daniel so hard that the bottom half of Daniel's nose pointed in the wrong direction u
ntil it was bitten off by a reanimate in a hospital in Bremerton. In that moment, the Judges reminded Jesse of Daniel. Inanna's necklace radiated heat. Jesse's heart beat a fast staccato rhythm, and he took in a deep breath. Color and warmth returned to his body. Jesse stood up and shared a secret with the judges.