Chapter 7
Two Quickenings later, Methos knew he had taken out the Immortals who were watching Gurukul, and he concentrated on finding the others. His radar trick could give him general direction and distance, but he had to walk around for quite a while before he felt sure where to go. Even then, it surprised him to find that at least five more Immortals were congregated somewhere in the nearby town. All added up, that made ten Immortals in the original hunting party, all coming after him. He wondered again, what they possibly thought ten of them could do with one of him. But that wasn't his concern.
He entered the town warily, his presence suppressed as much as he could keep it, although with the three recent Quickenings still bouncing around in him, he felt a bit unsteady and uncertain of what the others might be able to sense. If he was lucky, the others might think some of their comrades were approaching. Drawing near to what looked like an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the town, he decided that to sneak in quietly would be hard, but that he had the element of surprise on his side if he came in loud.
Discarding all effort to suppress his presence, he walked into the building. The effect that his 5000-year old presence had on the younger Immortals was gratifying, he thought, finding them staggering about in a daze, as if someone was bombarding them with sound. That was the reason why he constantly suppressed it. It would be hell for his friends and his enemies would be able to sense him miles away. But it came in very useful now, as he walked in amongst them, almost casually picking each off with the gun. Five bullets, five Immortals down.
He took out his sword and was about to swing at the first corpse when he heard a sound. He spun around to see Raj, tied up and sprawling in a corner. He was watching Methos with wide eyes, apparently shocked at the ease at which Methos had just "killed" the five Immortals.
Methos considered for a moment, and then decided that he could wait a while before starting on the Quickenings. They were not pleasant for him in any case. So he walked over and cut Raj's bonds. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Raj struggled to his feet. "I'm fine." He reached out to grip Methos' shoulder. "But you... Adam, how can you...?"
"Adam is not in right now," Methos said sardonically. "You'll have to leave a message." Shrugging off Raj's hand, Methos handed him the gun. "Take this. If any of them starts to move, shoot him. And stay clear of me, no matter what happens."
Raj started to protest, but Methos brusquely interrupted him. "If you want to get out of here alive, and if you want me to survive, you will do what I say. There is no other way." Without waiting for an answer, he walked back to the body of one of the Immortals, swung his sword and watched with some detachment as the head rolled away. Behind him he heard Raj gasp in shock, and he felt grimly amused at the thought of how Raj will hate him after all this is done.
Then the Quickening started, his fourth for the day, and he wiped all other thoughts from his mind.
It is one thing to be told someone is a killer; it is quite another to witness it, Raj thought, desperately trying to remember that he liked Adam. That he considered him a friend. That he believed Adam was a good man. But he sensed somehow that this man who killed so callously was not Adam. This was Methos; a man who had survived for thousands of years under circumstances that had decimated the majority of his race.
Standing there, next to the headless body of his victim, Methos did not look triumphant at all. He looked as if he was bracing himself for something awful; his shoulders square, his head held high, his sword gripped with both hands as if it could somehow steady him. Raj saw him smile grimly at some thought, and then all hell broke loose.
It began deceptively slowly: small tendrils of electricity leaked from the body into the floor, reappearing to creep in ever-widening circles away from the corpse. Then some of the tendrils reached the walls. They travelled up, blowing out windows as they went, and combined to form larger lightning-like bolts that struck back into the building. At the same time a howling sound started, as if a strong wind was screaming through the broken windows. Methos, at the centre of the storm, stood with his sword lifted to the sky as bolt after bolt tore into him.
Raj was so fascinated and overwhelmed by this spectacle that he did not even notice one of the other Immortals stir and get up. He only noticed when the Immortal ran at Methos from behind, brandishing a sword. Raj tried to scream a warning but there was so much noise that he could not even hear himself.
Without thinking, Raj Aryan, the pacifist, raised the gun and pulled the trigger. The Immortal staggered in his run but did not fall. Instead, he turned and started to rush towards Raj, who kept on firing until the man fell and stayed down. His sword slid along the ground to come to a halt at Raj's feet.
Raj stared down in horror at the man he had shot. It did not matter that he would revive again; all that mattered was that Raj had killed someone. He had not wanted to, but there had been no other option. Suddenly he understood Methos, but he hated himself for doing so.
Someone touched his arm, and he jumped back with the gun at the ready, only to find Methos standing in front of him, watching him with compassion.
"Oh Raj, I'm so sorry," Methos said softly. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
"You didn't?" Raj asked. "Then why did you give me the gun?"
Methos shook his head. "I didn't think, Raj. I was being selfish, as usual. I wanted you to protect me; I didn't care what that would mean to you. I am sorry."
"It doesn't matter," Raj said. "Go, do what you must." He gestured to the bodies. "Before they all wake up."
"I can't," Methos said, causing Raj to stare at him in surprise. "It's too much; I can't take another Quickening, not today."
"Why not?" Raj took a closer look at Methos, noticing for the first time that he was shaking with exhaustion and shock. His clothes were singed by the passage of the Quickening, and he looked as if a puff of wind would blow him over. "Does it hurt?"
"Yes," Methos replied. "But the physical pain is the least of it. I took four Quickenings today, Raj. Those are the memories and experiences of four people, all more than 200 years old. I need time for them to settle, or I will go mad."
Raj felt appalled, but could not help asking sarcastically, "How did you plan to cope with them all? Didn't you know you'd have a problem?"
"I didn't plan that far ahead," Methos said ruefully. "All I wanted to do was find you. I didn't care about the rest."
Suddenly Raj's anger evaporated. It shook him to realize that this ancient man had been willing to die to rescue him. He looked with new comprehension at Methos, and at the bodies around them. "Then what will you do now?" he asked.
In answer, Methos reached out and took the gun from Raj. "I'm going to make sure none of them wake up soon. I am going to get you home... and then I am going to disappear." Ignoring Raj's exclamation, he walked round the factory floor and systematically riddled each body with bullets. Raj looked away, unable to watch.
When he was done, Methos came back to Raj. "Come on, let's go. I'm sure the police will show up eventually, and I would prefer not to be here when they do."
"You're right, you know," Raj said as they walked back to Gurukul.
"About what?" Methos asked.
"Adam is much nicer than Methos," Raj replied, keeping his eyes on the horizon.
"True," Methos said. "But he's useless when it comes to fighting. He'd much rather just disappear, taking the way of least resistance."
"I thought Methos would be the ruthless one who would rather disappear than endanger himself," Raj mused.
Methos was silent for a while. "I suppose Methos and Adam have one thing in common then. When they feel responsible for someone, they will not shirk that responsibility."
"So who rescued me?" Raj wondered. "Adam or Methos?"
"You're being far too clever," Methos snorted. "Take your pick, I don't know."
"I think they're one and the same," Raj said. "You rescued me, not some paanch hazaar year old legend or some grad student. What I want to know is who are you? The man who controls these personalities..."
"If I knew, I'd tell you," Methos said. "I've told you everything else, after all. I'm just me, in the end. Just a guy, trying to survive, trying to stay sane."
"As are we all," Raj said. "You're not that different from the rest of the world, Adam."
"Perhaps not," Methos said. "But no matter who I am now, I do still have five thousand years of killing on my conscience. The rest of the world doesn't. And I still have a responsibility that I need to fulfil."
"What is that?"
"I must go away," Methos said. "Those head hunters now know without a doubt that I am the one they were hunting. They will never let up. It's time for me to disappear again. To get a new identity, a new look, new friends..."
"Friends, my friend, seem to be your greatest weakness," Raj said after a moment. "You'd have been safely gone if it wasn't for me. Perhaps you should avoid having friends."
Methos frowned. "You are telling me this? I don't understand, Raj. You should be the champion of friendship. What has changed?"
"Nothing has changed. I'm just trying to think of ways to keep my friend alive," Raj said. "It occurs to me that it's fine to look at the positive side of life when everything is going well, but it's not practical to do that when things are going wrong."
"No, no, no," Methos groaned. "You sound like me. I refuse to let you do this, Raj. You must continue to be the optimist, to see the best in everything, to look for life, love, respect and responsibility in everything you do. Be the shining sun, Raj. I walk in the shadows; I need you to guide my way."
"But still you're leaving?"
"I am." Methos confirmed.
"Then how can I possibly guide your way?" Raj asked.
"If I stay," Methos said savagely. "This will keep happening, until one day I won't be able to save you, or Shankarji, or one of the students. Do you think I could bear that? Do you think I could bear to stay, knowing that it is only a matter of time? When with every minute that passes it becomes more likely that I will cause your death?" He stopped walking. "No, I can't stay. But the sun shines so brightly, Raj, that we can see it and feel its warmth over millions of miles. I don't have to be here to know you're my friend."
He suddenly noticed that they were standing right at the gate of Gurukul. "Look Raj," he said, pointing to where Narayan Shankar along with several of the students was approaching. "For them, let's keep the sun shining here. Let no shadow hang over this place, Raj, and I will be content."
Raj could only nod, overcome with emotion, before they were surrounded and borne on a tide of happy people into Gurukul.
If I knew what to write, I would write it
A syllable for every day
If I knew what to say, I would say it
Before I leave and go my way
If I could find the time I would come back
And see how everything goes
If I was allowed to backtrack
I would halt time in the way it flows
If people could forever keep in touch
I would not have to miss you
If life did not speed so much
I would hang around to see you
Two Quickenings later, Methos knew he had taken out the Immortals who were watching Gurukul, and he concentrated on finding the others. His radar trick could give him general direction and distance, but he had to walk around for quite a while before he felt sure where to go. Even then, it surprised him to find that at least five more Immortals were congregated somewhere in the nearby town. All added up, that made ten Immortals in the original hunting party, all coming after him. He wondered again, what they possibly thought ten of them could do with one of him. But that wasn't his concern.
He entered the town warily, his presence suppressed as much as he could keep it, although with the three recent Quickenings still bouncing around in him, he felt a bit unsteady and uncertain of what the others might be able to sense. If he was lucky, the others might think some of their comrades were approaching. Drawing near to what looked like an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the town, he decided that to sneak in quietly would be hard, but that he had the element of surprise on his side if he came in loud.
Discarding all effort to suppress his presence, he walked into the building. The effect that his 5000-year old presence had on the younger Immortals was gratifying, he thought, finding them staggering about in a daze, as if someone was bombarding them with sound. That was the reason why he constantly suppressed it. It would be hell for his friends and his enemies would be able to sense him miles away. But it came in very useful now, as he walked in amongst them, almost casually picking each off with the gun. Five bullets, five Immortals down.
He took out his sword and was about to swing at the first corpse when he heard a sound. He spun around to see Raj, tied up and sprawling in a corner. He was watching Methos with wide eyes, apparently shocked at the ease at which Methos had just "killed" the five Immortals.
Methos considered for a moment, and then decided that he could wait a while before starting on the Quickenings. They were not pleasant for him in any case. So he walked over and cut Raj's bonds. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Raj struggled to his feet. "I'm fine." He reached out to grip Methos' shoulder. "But you... Adam, how can you...?"
"Adam is not in right now," Methos said sardonically. "You'll have to leave a message." Shrugging off Raj's hand, Methos handed him the gun. "Take this. If any of them starts to move, shoot him. And stay clear of me, no matter what happens."
Raj started to protest, but Methos brusquely interrupted him. "If you want to get out of here alive, and if you want me to survive, you will do what I say. There is no other way." Without waiting for an answer, he walked back to the body of one of the Immortals, swung his sword and watched with some detachment as the head rolled away. Behind him he heard Raj gasp in shock, and he felt grimly amused at the thought of how Raj will hate him after all this is done.
Then the Quickening started, his fourth for the day, and he wiped all other thoughts from his mind.
It is one thing to be told someone is a killer; it is quite another to witness it, Raj thought, desperately trying to remember that he liked Adam. That he considered him a friend. That he believed Adam was a good man. But he sensed somehow that this man who killed so callously was not Adam. This was Methos; a man who had survived for thousands of years under circumstances that had decimated the majority of his race.
Standing there, next to the headless body of his victim, Methos did not look triumphant at all. He looked as if he was bracing himself for something awful; his shoulders square, his head held high, his sword gripped with both hands as if it could somehow steady him. Raj saw him smile grimly at some thought, and then all hell broke loose.
It began deceptively slowly: small tendrils of electricity leaked from the body into the floor, reappearing to creep in ever-widening circles away from the corpse. Then some of the tendrils reached the walls. They travelled up, blowing out windows as they went, and combined to form larger lightning-like bolts that struck back into the building. At the same time a howling sound started, as if a strong wind was screaming through the broken windows. Methos, at the centre of the storm, stood with his sword lifted to the sky as bolt after bolt tore into him.
Raj was so fascinated and overwhelmed by this spectacle that he did not even notice one of the other Immortals stir and get up. He only noticed when the Immortal ran at Methos from behind, brandishing a sword. Raj tried to scream a warning but there was so much noise that he could not even hear himself.
Without thinking, Raj Aryan, the pacifist, raised the gun and pulled the trigger. The Immortal staggered in his run but did not fall. Instead, he turned and started to rush towards Raj, who kept on firing until the man fell and stayed down. His sword slid along the ground to come to a halt at Raj's feet.
Raj stared down in horror at the man he had shot. It did not matter that he would revive again; all that mattered was that Raj had killed someone. He had not wanted to, but there had been no other option. Suddenly he understood Methos, but he hated himself for doing so.
Someone touched his arm, and he jumped back with the gun at the ready, only to find Methos standing in front of him, watching him with compassion.
"Oh Raj, I'm so sorry," Methos said softly. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
"You didn't?" Raj asked. "Then why did you give me the gun?"
Methos shook his head. "I didn't think, Raj. I was being selfish, as usual. I wanted you to protect me; I didn't care what that would mean to you. I am sorry."
"It doesn't matter," Raj said. "Go, do what you must." He gestured to the bodies. "Before they all wake up."
"I can't," Methos said, causing Raj to stare at him in surprise. "It's too much; I can't take another Quickening, not today."
"Why not?" Raj took a closer look at Methos, noticing for the first time that he was shaking with exhaustion and shock. His clothes were singed by the passage of the Quickening, and he looked as if a puff of wind would blow him over. "Does it hurt?"
"Yes," Methos replied. "But the physical pain is the least of it. I took four Quickenings today, Raj. Those are the memories and experiences of four people, all more than 200 years old. I need time for them to settle, or I will go mad."
Raj felt appalled, but could not help asking sarcastically, "How did you plan to cope with them all? Didn't you know you'd have a problem?"
"I didn't plan that far ahead," Methos said ruefully. "All I wanted to do was find you. I didn't care about the rest."
Suddenly Raj's anger evaporated. It shook him to realize that this ancient man had been willing to die to rescue him. He looked with new comprehension at Methos, and at the bodies around them. "Then what will you do now?" he asked.
In answer, Methos reached out and took the gun from Raj. "I'm going to make sure none of them wake up soon. I am going to get you home... and then I am going to disappear." Ignoring Raj's exclamation, he walked round the factory floor and systematically riddled each body with bullets. Raj looked away, unable to watch.
When he was done, Methos came back to Raj. "Come on, let's go. I'm sure the police will show up eventually, and I would prefer not to be here when they do."
"You're right, you know," Raj said as they walked back to Gurukul.
"About what?" Methos asked.
"Adam is much nicer than Methos," Raj replied, keeping his eyes on the horizon.
"True," Methos said. "But he's useless when it comes to fighting. He'd much rather just disappear, taking the way of least resistance."
"I thought Methos would be the ruthless one who would rather disappear than endanger himself," Raj mused.
Methos was silent for a while. "I suppose Methos and Adam have one thing in common then. When they feel responsible for someone, they will not shirk that responsibility."
"So who rescued me?" Raj wondered. "Adam or Methos?"
"You're being far too clever," Methos snorted. "Take your pick, I don't know."
"I think they're one and the same," Raj said. "You rescued me, not some paanch hazaar year old legend or some grad student. What I want to know is who are you? The man who controls these personalities..."
"If I knew, I'd tell you," Methos said. "I've told you everything else, after all. I'm just me, in the end. Just a guy, trying to survive, trying to stay sane."
"As are we all," Raj said. "You're not that different from the rest of the world, Adam."
"Perhaps not," Methos said. "But no matter who I am now, I do still have five thousand years of killing on my conscience. The rest of the world doesn't. And I still have a responsibility that I need to fulfil."
"What is that?"
"I must go away," Methos said. "Those head hunters now know without a doubt that I am the one they were hunting. They will never let up. It's time for me to disappear again. To get a new identity, a new look, new friends..."
"Friends, my friend, seem to be your greatest weakness," Raj said after a moment. "You'd have been safely gone if it wasn't for me. Perhaps you should avoid having friends."
Methos frowned. "You are telling me this? I don't understand, Raj. You should be the champion of friendship. What has changed?"
"Nothing has changed. I'm just trying to think of ways to keep my friend alive," Raj said. "It occurs to me that it's fine to look at the positive side of life when everything is going well, but it's not practical to do that when things are going wrong."
"No, no, no," Methos groaned. "You sound like me. I refuse to let you do this, Raj. You must continue to be the optimist, to see the best in everything, to look for life, love, respect and responsibility in everything you do. Be the shining sun, Raj. I walk in the shadows; I need you to guide my way."
"But still you're leaving?"
"I am." Methos confirmed.
"Then how can I possibly guide your way?" Raj asked.
"If I stay," Methos said savagely. "This will keep happening, until one day I won't be able to save you, or Shankarji, or one of the students. Do you think I could bear that? Do you think I could bear to stay, knowing that it is only a matter of time? When with every minute that passes it becomes more likely that I will cause your death?" He stopped walking. "No, I can't stay. But the sun shines so brightly, Raj, that we can see it and feel its warmth over millions of miles. I don't have to be here to know you're my friend."
He suddenly noticed that they were standing right at the gate of Gurukul. "Look Raj," he said, pointing to where Narayan Shankar along with several of the students was approaching. "For them, let's keep the sun shining here. Let no shadow hang over this place, Raj, and I will be content."
Raj could only nod, overcome with emotion, before they were surrounded and borne on a tide of happy people into Gurukul.
If I knew what to write, I would write it
A syllable for every day
If I knew what to say, I would say it
Before I leave and go my way
If I could find the time I would come back
And see how everything goes
If I was allowed to backtrack
I would halt time in the way it flows
If people could forever keep in touch
I would not have to miss you
If life did not speed so much
I would hang around to see you