To Live Again In Paradise - Segment 10

Chapter 46

Luzon, Home of the Old Ones

“What the hell’s going on here?” yelled Jupiter. He and a handful of the others gods had just arrived in Luzon Prime and found decomposing bodies scattered around the courtyard. Stunned, they heard women screaming down to them from the seraglio’s second-floor balcony, “Help us. Please help us.”

Vulcan was the first to grasp the danger they were in. “Get inside, everyone. We can sort out what’s happening once we’re safe.” He grabbed Melody’s hand and raced for the seraglio’s stone stairway. He only let go after arriving on the second floor’s large common room. It once contained many beautiful concubines, but now looked like a hospital’s emergency room.

A stunning, young woman with long red hair hurried over to them. Vulcan stopped looking around at the horrific scene in front of him when he heard Melody’s shocked gasp. “What’s wrong?”

Melody took several shaky steps toward the redhead who had stopped several feet away from them. “Sabrina? Is that really you?” The last time the two women saw each other, her lover, Ares, had cruelly rejected Sabrina and ordered no other god to claim her. By the time the gods and their concubines left Luzon, Sabrina had turned into one of the old ones. Now that gray hair had returned to a shinning crown of red. Her young body was lithesome, just like it was when Jupiter first abducted her from Earth.

“Melody?” Sabrina finally hurried to her friend, and the two hugged while ignoring everyone around them.

Once the women broke apart, with tears of joy flowing down their faces, Vulcan managed to gain Sabrina’s attention. “What happened in the city?” He glanced around the crowded room again. “What are all the centaurs and other villagers doing here in your home?”

Sabrina waited until Jupiter joined them. “This all started when Polyphemus ate Janine.”

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Jupiter tried to speak softly, but Sabrina still jumped back in fright. “Please, when did a Cyclops come to Luzon, and what do you mean he ate Janine?”

Sabrina tried not to look at the god who had once ruled over Luzon. “It’s not just him, sir. Every beast that once threatened you now roams this world. Do you remember Typhon?”

Jupiter nodded. “I could never forget what that monster did to me. I mean, I almost died.”

“Well, many of the offspring he had with Echidna now live on Luzon. Cerberus managed to escape from Hades and come here. That three-headed hound constantly prowls around our city at night, catching any fool who dares to leave this building.”

Interrupting them, Vulcan asked, “What are all those bodies out in the courtyard?”

Sabrina looked like she was about to cry. “Up until yesterday, we were able to keep these monsters at bay. The many villagers had moved into Luzon Prime, and we felt safe going outside during the day.” She choked back a sob. “Suddenly, out of the sky hundreds of vicious Stymphalian birds swooped down and attacked us.”

Hearing this, Ares came closer to hear what happened. Long ago, these man-eating birds had been his favorite pets. He knew how deadly their sharp metallic feathers and toxic dung were to other living beings. “How did you all defend yourself against them?”

“It turned out the satyrs and centaurs saved us, but at a heavy cost to them.” Sabrina watched one of the centaurs coming their way. “Maybe Chiron can answer your questions better.” She smiled at the gentle centaur and the woman who had become Chiron’s mate after he save her from Polyphemus up on the mountain. Birgit no longer was an old one, hunched over with age. Like the rest of the elderly females, she had reverted to her youthful body.

For the next hour or so, Jupiter questioned Chiron and others who eventually joined him. Vulcan decided it was a good time to check on the hidden item in his forge. With Melody left behind in the safety of the seraglio, he hurried across the courtyard to his previous home. He then reached up onto the shelf where he had left the mold, but it was gone.

Chapter 47

Auspasia, Home of the Goddesses

Meanwhile, Hera had arrived on Auspasia and found the village totally empty. “Thor, we should find your sister immediately. She should be able to tell us where all the people are.” They headed toward Freya’s bungalow, still not meeting any of the females Hera hoped still lived close to the village.

After knocking on the door, Thor growled low in his throat when his sister opened it. Her appearance even shocked Hera. Instead of the beautiful and vibrant Norse goddess, a defeated appearing woman stood in front of them. Covering her face were many bruises, some old and others more current. Her left arm hung limply at her side, and Hera knew from the way Freya held it that her arm was seriously injured.

“Tell me who did this,” ordered Thor, his voice hoarse with anger. “I kill. Tell me and I kill for you.”

“Please, come in before he returns and sees you.” Frightened for her brother and friend, Freya hurried them inside and shut the front door. Once they were all in her kitchen, she stopped trembling. “Hera, it’s good to see you again. We were all afraid when we saw you all disappear so long ago.”

She turned to her infuriated brother and quietly motioned for him to take a seat at the table. “There is nothing you can do, Thor. He’s too powerful and will just overpower your mind as he has all the other men here.”

Hearing Freya mention other men, Hera asked, “So you approved bringing old Earth’s men to Auspasia? Did that work out all right?”

“It did at first, but then Ra took over.”

“Ra? That old Egyptian god who lost his worshippers ages ago? What’s he doing here?” Hera remembered a slight disagreement between Ra and Jupiter eons ago when they were friends. They had quarreled over who had the most humans attending their respective shrines. Because a gleeful Jupiter rubbed it in that he had more, their friendship ended on that day.

Freya unconsciously touched her bruised cheek. “Ra no longer is old. He came to Auspasia when we all did in the form of one of my cats. Soon after you left, Hera, he returned to his normal appearance. Since then, he insists on living with me while ruling over all the other women and their men.” She quickly recounted all the terror Ra had created among the village residents.

“Sadly, a couple of the men openly defied him, and Ra put them to death in a most atrocious and unspeakable ways. He enjoys inflicting pain.” Once again, Freya touched her bruised face. “None of us are able to defeat him.”

Thor slowly puzzled his way through her statements. He finally shouted, “He hurt you? I kill Ra.” The large Norse god jumped to his feet, ready to slay the person who had brutalized his sister.

Instead, they heard the front door open. Ra came into the bungalow and arrogantly swaggered into the kitchen. Thor launched himself at the huge, black male, but found himself slammed against a wall. Freya and Hera hurried out of the kitchen to get away from the violence. It only took Ra a couple minutes to render Thor unconscious on the kitchen floor.

“Freya,” whispered Hera, pulling her outside the bungalow. “We have to get Jupiter here. He’s the only one I know who’s more powerful than Ra.” She took hold of Freya’s hand. “Hurry, we must go find him on Luzon before Ra kills Thor.” Afraid Ra could come outside to get them, Hera and Freya immediately disappeared.

Chapter 48

Luzon, Home of the Old Ones

Within a split second, the two women arrived on Luzon, still tightly holding hands. Shocked, they looked around the corpse-filled courtyard. They looked up when they heard a woman’s voice screaming down to them. “Ladies, get out of there. You’re in danger. Hurry up those stairs in front of you.”

Hera and Freya ran into the large building and hurried up the stairs. When they reached the large common room, Hera immediately spotted her husband. “Jupiter,” she called out to gain his attention. “We need your help on Auspasia.” Leaving Freya surrounded by a dozen curious young women, Hera headed toward Jupiter.

He met her halfway across the room. “What’s wrong? Why does Freya look so horrible?” Being she could answer, Jupiter looked around the room. At that moment, a worried Vulcan came into the room, after his visit to the forge. Jupiter waved to get the younger god’s attention. Nodding that he had seen him, Vulcan first found Melody, and the two of them joined his parents.

“My son, what’s wrong?” asked Hera. She, unlike her husband, noticed Vulcan’s worried expression.

“It’s gone.”

Melody knew immediately what Vulcan meant. “That item you hid is gone? Who could have taken it?”

“I don’t know, but I think it might be the reason all those monsters arrived on Luzon.”

Vulcan turned to Jupiter. “Remember that original chain of submission I made for you? You gave it to me just before Melody and I left for New Earth. Well, I couldn’t mix such an evil, wicked item in with the other melted chains and melted it separately and hid the gold in an old mold I had in the forge.”

Jupiter did remember and now asked, “Why separately?”

“Because it not only contained your immortal essence but that of that vile human, Acteon Baptiste. You forced me to create the first chain of submission a long time ago. After you gave it to him, he used its power to keep a defenseless young girl in his bed and unable to escape. The bastard raped the 16-year-old maiden and finally drove her to her death. I couldn’t have the golden ones polluted by him. You understand, don’t you?”

Melody had heard this story when Vulcan removed her own chain and replaced it with his ring. It still horrified her that any man could be so cruel to a child. “Of course he understands.”

Jupiter ignored Melody’s interruption to ask, “What type of mold was it?”

“I designed the mold for the original item requested by Eris, completely forgetting she was the goddess of discord. Anyway, she asked me for a golden apple to use in settling a disagreement among several of the other goddesses.”

Hera groaned. “You mean the one you foolishly inscribed, “For the fairest one” that caused that ridiculous Trojan War?”

“Yes, that’s the one.” Vulcan suddenly remembered something. “You were one of those goddesses, weren’t you?” When Hera nodded, he quickly decided to change the subject. “This new golden apple could cause more trouble than a hundred Trojan Wars. We have to find and destroy it before the evil spreads to Auspasia and New Earth.”

Sabrina, who had been standing nearby listening, shyly said, “I think I know where it is. If you’ll come with me, I can take you to the person who has it.”

Leaving the others behind in the common room, Jupiter and Vulcan followed Sabrina down into the lower level where the old ones used to live. She led them down a long corridor until they came to an open door. “It’s in there, but I don’t think she’ll give it back.” Sabrina reluctantly followed them when the two males entered the dark chamber.

“Who’s there?” a quavering voice asked. It came from within the shadows that surrounded a narrow bed.

“It’s just me, Izzy. You have a couple visitors.” Sabrina tried to hold her breath against the foul smell filling the room. When Vulcan went to a small window and pulled back the thick curtains, this revealed the figure lying on the bed. Sabrina raced out of the room, and the men could hear her vomiting out in the hallway. Both felt close to doing the same and repeatedly had to swallow the nasty tasting bile in their throats.

Izzy, unlike the other servants, never returned to her younger self. Instead, seeping open wounds covered her body with yellow-green pus leaking onto the filthy sheet. She moved to lie on her side in an attempt to hide something from the two horror-stricken men.

“You can’t have my treasure. I found it, and it’s mine.”

Vulcan was able to catch a quick glimpse of something shiny underneath her diseased belly when she moved. He knew he had found the missing golden apple and backed out of Izzy’s bedroom. Jupiter quickly followed him, relieved to escape the sight and smell within the room.

“It’s too late to save her,” said Vulcan, sadness filling his voice. “We have to get the rest of these people off Luzon before the evil irreparable spreads to them.” He waited until a pale Sabrina came to meet them, and all three hurried back up the stairs to the common room.

Jupiter quickly explained why they all needed to leave Luzon. When he announced they would be going to the Auspasia where they would be safe, Hera and Freya shared a panicky look. In all the excitement, they had forgotten to tell Jupiter about Ra’s cruel domination of Auspasia.

It was too late, though for Jupiter was busy sending everyone to safety. The young servant women disappeared first. Centaurs, satyrs, selini, and other assorted creatures followed them. Without giving the three women a chance to object, Jupiter sent Hera, Freya, and Melody to Auspasia, a world he considered a safe haven.

After looking around the room to make sure he had left nobody behind, Jupiter turned to Vulcan. “Once we get to Auspasia, I will make Luzon a forbidden zone. This will keep the evil trapped here.” Vulcan nodded his agreement to this plan, and both men thankfully departed Luzon.

Left behind were the hundreds of monsters, an insane elderly woman, and one beautiful but deadly golden apple.

Chapter 49

Auspasia, Home of the Goddesses

Jupiter arrived with Vulcan in front of Freya’s home and immediately found himself knocked flat down onto the ground. Towering above him was Ra, furious and with balled fists. The infuriated sun god shouted, “You will not interfere in this world. It is mine to do with as I want. Unless you leave Auspasia immediately, your wife will die.”

He turned to smirk at Vulcan who stood shocked and speechless beside the fallen Jupiter. “As for your beautiful wife, I plan to keep her for my own use. There always is room in my bed and under me for one more woman.” When Vulcan made an abrupt move toward him, Ra held up his hand in warning. “I wouldn’t if you want to live.”

“Please, Vulcan, he will kill you.” A frightened Melody stood with Hera and Freya in front of the bungalow’s front door. When the three women arrived on Auspasia, Ra attempted to drag a screaming Melody into the house. From there, he would have trapped her in his bed. Only seeing his longtime enemy, Jupiter, arrive stopped his attack.

Her usually neat, long hair appeared a mess. Intrigued by the sudden appearance of the blond beauty, Ra had roughly pulled her against his own eager body. The ripped neckline of her dress revealed material hanging down in shreds. Knowing Vulcan was close to losing control of his temper, Melody frantically tried to hold the dress bodice together to avoid exposing her breasts.

“Yes, Vulcan, I will kill you easier than swatting a fly.” Ra from then on ignored Vulcan and the three women. All his attention became focused on Jupiter. He watched the other god slowly get to his feet and eagerly began to circle him. His fists clenched and unclenched, waiting for Jupiter’s first angry and ineffectual strike.

Suddenly, Hera stepped forward and yelled, “Zeus! Zeus!”

Jupiter swung around to face her, his face contorted into a snarl. “What did you call me, wife?”

Unafraid, Hera again yelled, “I called you Zeus, and Zeus you must become if you want to defeat this effeminate interloper.”

“What are you doing, mother?” Vulcan knew Jupiter hated the name the Greeks gave him, just as Hera disliked her Roman one of Juno.

Jupiter continued to glare at Hera even while telling her son, “Vulcan, take these women back to the village. This might get messy. Hurry!”

Once again, Vulcan grabbed Melody’s hand and herded the other two women in front of him away from Freya’s bungalow. The four of them raced as fast as they could from the impending battle between the Egyptian sun god and the powerful god worshiped by both ancient Romans and Greeks.

* * *

By the time he reached the center of the village, Vulcan was out of breath and felt like a coward for deserting Jupiter. He knew, though, his first duty was to protect these three women. He looked around and noticed the previous residents of Luzon had made their way to the village. They anxiously waited with the women of Auspasia and their men from old Earth to find out which god would be victorious, Ra or Jupiter.

“Find a place of safety, all of you.” After yelling this loud enough so all could hear, Vulcan looked around and then headed for a nearby shop. He, the three women in his charge, and a few others had just hurried inside when they heard the first crash of thunder off in the distance. The ground under the store and throughout the whole village shook as if from a minor 3.0 earthquake.

Melody looked around her and shook her head in dismay. “My husband, you know we’re in a crockery shop, don’t you?” As if to emphasize her point, she heard the sound of pottery falling to the floor.

The afternoon sky lit up when Ra returned fire with a brilliant solar flare. “Don’t look directly out the window at the sun,” cautioned Hera. Nobody heard her warning when flashes of lightning filled the sky forcing the sun to hide behind dark clouds. The following roar of thunder again shook the ground causing an even stronger 4.5 quake.

“We’re all going to die,” screamed a woman from the back of the group. The loud racket of the shop’s contents shattering onto the floor into shards of broken ceramic and glass nearly drowned out her voice.

To protect his wife from the flying debris, Vulcan made her sit on the floor next to a sturdy wall. He sank down beside her and pulled her head against his chest, covering her with his outstretched arms. For an hour, the two of them huddled together, each whispering words of love to the other.

Outside, lightning and thunder fought against the heat of the sun’s deadly rays. During that battle, the ground shaking gradually increased. If this had been Earth, the earthquake would equal a 9.5, the largest ever recorded on the old Richter scale. The pottery shop shook itself apart with the wood and plaster falling down onto the crowed mass on its floor. The noise drowned out the shrieks and cries for this insanity to end, but the battle for supremacy between Ra and Jupiter continued on.

“Do you hear that?” whispered Melody. All around her, heads belonging to immortals and creatures rose out of the shop’s debris to listen. The absolute quiet was more terrifying than the horrific sounds of battle that had come before.

Melodies looked at Vulcan and asked what the all of them were thinking, “Who won?”

Chapter 50

Auspasia, Home of the Goddesses

After extricating themselves from the demolished pottery shop, Vulcan and the three women raced toward Freya’s bungalow to find out who won the battle. Hera saw Jupiter standing over a groveling Ra, and she broke out in tears of relief.

Freya could only gasp when she arrived and saw the remains of her bungalow scattered about. “My poor cats,” she moaned. Then, to her horror, she remembered leaving her brother Thor spread out unconscious on her kitchen floor. She whirled around when she heard his familiar voice coming from the nearby forest.

Thor slowly came toward them, a wide smile on his face. “Just like you, sister, to fret about cats. Don’t worry. I saw them heading for the trees when Jupiter released his first bolt of lightning.” When he reached her, Thor grabbed Freya in a bear hug. For once, Freya did not mind the pain his embrace always caused

As for Vulcan, he was glad to know his task of keeping the women safe was over. He went to stand by Jupiter and pointed at Ra. “What do you plan on doing with him?”

“Yes, what’s your plan?” said Hera, “I do not want him on Auspasia.”

Melody joined in. “And we definitely can’t let him live on New Earth.”

Jupiter already had made a decision before the two women made their opinions known. “Well, I was thinking of sending him to Luzon.” He looked down at Ra, and the look on his face unsettled the defeated sun god. Ra knew he might not like Luzon as much as he had living on Auspasia.

Vulcan began laughing at what they had left behind on Luzon. After enjoying Ra’s worried expression for a minute or two, he finally got out, “There is even a woman waiting there for you, so you won’t be alone.”

Jupiter could not help savoring his victory. “There are also enough creatures living there to keep you company throughout eternity. Oh yes, I hope you like apples.”

* * *

Once Jupiter banished Ra to Luzon, he called an assembly of the hundreds of gods and goddesses now living on this world. “I’ve declared the diseased world of Luzon off limits to all of us. With Vulcan’s help, I have placed a barrier around it with warnings posted not to enter.” He looked around at those he had brought from Luzon and the original people of Auspasia. “My wife and I have decided to make our home here. Think of us as just like you and no longer in charge of your destinies.”

Hera appeared pleased at hearing this news and turned to face Vulcan and Melody. “Where will you live? It would please me if you stayed here.”

“No, Hera,” said Vulcan, shaking his head. “I think Melody wants to go home, back to New Earth.” He looked at his delighted wife. “The time space continuum of the universe has returned to what is was before Ra’s interference. There is nothing to keep any of us from visiting each other whenever we want. We can even travel to Earth at any time before our war with the Titans.” Vulcan put his arm tightly around Melody’s waist.

His last words before the two of them disappeared for New Earth were, “Just think of what adventures we all have ahead of us.”

<The End>