Chapter VI
I gasped in surprise. New, but familiar sounds flooded my ears. People talking all around me. "Everlong" playing in my ears. I felt the vibrations of motion. I was sitting on a leather seat. I looked around me. People, windows – I was on the bus. What the hell? Had I dreamed that entire thing? I usually closed my eyes and rested on the bus , and I remembered doing so – but my mind was telling me that I hadn't fallen asleep. I'd been conscious for the entire bus ride, and this memory of my dream had hit me like a truck. But I must have dozed off – because that was all a dream, after all, and one cannot dream without being asleep.
I decided on another tactic. I thought about Brett's party. That would settle whether or not the whole thing had been a dream. That's when something weird happened – I remembered what had happened in my dream. How was that even possible? If that had just been a dream, then why was my mind making it seem so real, as if it were an actual memory. Think, Jon. I put my hand against my head. What in God's name was going on? This was definitely something to talk about with… anybody. My family. My shrink. Wait… I had an idea. I pulled my cell phone out of my book bag and hastily went to the Contact List and began dialing Eli's number. This would settle it once and for all. I never got to make the call.
I awoke with a start as I opened my eyes. Kelsey had shaken me awake.
"Kelsey…" I said.
"Shh. Look," she pointed out toward the pasture. I wondered whether or not I should grab one of my weapons. I decided against it – she didn't seem alarmed. To be honest, the look on her face was one of awe. I followed her gaze. Out in the pasture was a majestic creature – one of fairy tales, but now made real by this world we were in. It stood, bathed in moonlight with shimmering white fur, a toned, strong body, black eyes, and a long, sharp horn protruding from its head. I was looking at a unicorn. Despite myself, I smiled. After a little while, I leaned back into the stall and gestured for Kelsey to listen, not wanting to be too loud as to not wake the others still asleep.
"What happened when you fell asleep?"
She looked confused, "What?"
"Just bare with me."
"I haven't gone to sleep yet. Why are you asking?"
I lowered my eyes in deep thought, "I don't know… when I fell asleep, I had a dream, or something…" I looked back up at her, "Never mind. Get some rest, and maybe you'll see for yourself."
Kelsey was obviously still confused but she nodded, and settled back down. I looked around the wall again for the unicorn. It was gone. I shrugged, and laid back.
This time, I awoke at my computer. I was on Wikipedia – researching – guess who – Loki.
I stood and said to no one in particular, "Alright, time to settle this shit."
I threw open my closet and looked at the pegs hanging on the door. My camouflage jacket was missing. My vest was gone from the floor. I rummaged through my room, looking for my weapons. No dice. Only two things left. Growing increasingly frazzled, I nearly sprinted into my parents' room. With a few quick strides, I made it to the closet and jerked the door open. As I suspected – the top of the shelf where the pistols and ammo were kept was bare.
That was a very surreal experience, and it brought the whole thing home. I began to make a theory. Everworld was real – that much was all too obvious. It seemed that every time I fell asleep in Everworld, I, or my consciousness at least, was transferred to… here. Luckily, or unfortunately (I hadn't decided yet), another "me" seemed to be continue functioning here in the real world in the meantime, evident by the fact that I had memories of school that day. How convenient – now I wouldn't have to experience Math class – I could just pawn it off on my other self, while I'm off killing Vikings and pissing off gods.
Were the others experiencing the same thing? There was only one way to find out. I began to grab a cordless phone – this time I didn't even get to start dialing this time. Back to Everworld.
"Rise and shine, Judilia!" Jayson. Had to be. I hated that nickname he'd given me and he damn well knew it. Didn't stop him from using it, though.
I opened my eyes. Sure enough, he was standing over me. He stepped on my chest as a joke – that woke me up and then walked away with another grin on his face. Libby and Brett had been standing behind him – Brett apparently though Jayson's wake-up routine was funny. They helped me to my feet and I brushed the hay off my clothes.
As all ten of us gathered around for a group discussion, it was obvious that I wasn't the only one who had had a Twilight Zone experience. In fact, everyone did.
"So… go to sleep here and wake up back there?" That was Jalil laying it all out.
David replied, "Guess so, sure looks that way."
With that new discovery now confirmed, we had little to talk about. Not that we would've had enough time to discuss anything, because Thorolf entered to collect us for the walk back to the village. It was time for our meeting with Olaf Ironfoot.
We arrived at our destination about twenty minutes later – the Great Hall. Upon entering, I realized that this was pretty much the epitome of the Viking life. At least fifty large, tough-looking, burly men were crowded into the building, drinking, feasting, laughing – having a generally good time.
We stood there in the doorway awkwardly, waiting to be addressed. That's when he took his seat at the throne. Olaf Ironfoot. The guy was huge – pushing seven feet, a muscular build – and his armor contributed to that perception. He had more extravagant apparel than the others. He was also black – the Vikings obviously had no racial discrimination. I also saw that his surname was definitely not a misnomer. One of his feet was missing, in its place was a crude iron appendage.
With a stare that indicated he was sizing us up, the King spoke, immediately quieting the room, "So these are the ten 'minstrels' who sail into my village, the minstrels wanted so badly by Loki."
My heart nearly stopped with that last part – this guy knew who we were. We were screwed. As if on cue, three trolls entered the door behind us.
Olaf glanced at them sardonically, and his voice was filled with sarcasm, "To what do I owe the honor of three fine trolls in my village?"
The ringleader of the creatures stepped forward, "Great Loki has sent us. We are to find the ten who cause trouble and kill trolls." The thing spoke slowly, as if it had trouble forming the words. The troll then turned and spotted us, and, while pointing his crude finger at us, he continued, "Them. They are the ten."
Olaf shook his head, "No, those ten are minstrels, who have come to entertain myself and all of these fine men!"
With that last part, every Viking in the hall raised his mug and cheered.
The troll seemed confused. "No, those are the ones."
Olaf seemed to be getting perturbed, "Friend troll, I, Olaf Ironfoot, the one who, at the expense of a foot, slew a dragon whom will no longer plague an innocent village, give you my word that those are not the ten you are seeking. Now, be gone before I get angry."
The Vikings nodded in agreement with their lord's speech, and the unwelcome guests, despite their stupidity, seemed to catch the underlying message of: 'I threw down with a dragon, you ain't shit.'
"Yes, you are right. Those are not the ones. They must be elsewhere." With that, the hulking beasts filed out of the hall.
I was surprised by the fact that my hand was resting on the handle of my firearm. Already, these life-and-death experiences were changing me. I was developing combat instincts. I moved my hand away from the weapon as Brett spoke to Olaf:
"Why'd you cover for us?"
Olaf sneered, "We are in the service of that devious Loki, but we have no love for him. He holds Great Odin in imprisonment, and we have been tasked with a quest from Loki that will win Odin his freedom back."
That explained why these Vikings were different from those we'd seen, and killed, topside.
"What's the quest?" Jayson asked.
"You will know in time. For now, however, I demand a song."
We looked at one another awkwardly, and then stepped to the center of the hall. Jayson removed his guitar from its case and was regarded with curious eyes. April began the song, again. It was the same one she'd done for the lookout on the lake. Eventually, we all fell in tune. I'll say this: we weren't the most harmonious chorus, but our audience was loving it. They were especially interested in Jayson's guitar, which was underlining every note we sang.
At the end of the song, Thorolf whispered for us to repeat the water-drinking joke we'd done for him. If only he knew. So, not wanting to disappoint, we sat at an empty table, and ate some bread. I was sitting across from Brett. All ten of us grabbed a mug of ale at the same time, and I clinked glasses with him as we did so. Then, as we tipped the dish to drink from it, we instead poured it out on the floor and reached for a bowl of cleaning water and took a huge gulp.
The entire hall became a riot of laughter – some Vikings were literally crying. We repeated the same joke and song a few times before we were allowed to stop an hour later.
Olaf came over to us, "Minstrels – it was an excellent show! Most excellent. Now, to answer your question. We are tasked to sail across the sea and remove the head of Huitzilopochtli – god of the blood-drinking, heart-eating, Sun-Worshippers."
April was doubtful, "But he's a god – won't it be kind of hard to just lop of his head and be done with it?"
Olaf replied, "Oh, yes! It is very difficult indeed for a mortal to kill an immortal. Only another god or the weapon of one can do so with ease. Luckily for us, though Mighty Thor may be lost to us, his faithful hammer, Mjolnir, is not." The last part brought a grin of pride.
Jalil was the next to ask the king a question, "King Olaf, these Sun-Worshippers, do they have another name?"
Olaf nodded several times, "Yes, yes, of course! They have many other names: the Mexica, the Aztecs…"
Christopher interrupted, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're telling me you and your Vikings are about to board the boats, sail over and fight some Aztecs?"
The king nodded again, "Yes, indeed! And, minstrels, you will be coming with us."
Uh-oh.
