Chapter 5

Gene

Gene Forester was in many ways similar to Iago. Like Iago, Gene was a loner secretly jealous of one of his only friends, Phineas (or 'Finny' as he preferred to be called). Like Iago, succeeded in destroying his best friend's life and ultimately causing his death.

The only difference between the two is that Gene is less willing to admit it. Such men are dangerous.

Gene and Finny were the best of friends at Devon, a private school the two boys attended. Gene, although he liked Finny a great deal, was also secretly jealous and suspecting of his friend. He assumed the worst, accusing Finny of having ulterior motives to something harmless as getting some recreational fun in.

One day, at part of some school ritual, the two decided to jump from a tree in the school. Finny fell and broke his leg. Finny never blamed Gene for this, however despite suspicions from other students.

Later, Finny fell down the stairs and broke his leg again. This time, during the surgery to reset the bone, some bone marrow from Finny's leg went through his blood stream and to his heart. It killed Finny.

A year after Finny's death, Gene ran away school and boarded one of the boats to the recently discovered island of Spauldingopolis.

It wasn't long before Beowulf's men sought him out. They dragged him out of his small apartment.

"What are you doing--? Hey! I have rights!" Gene screamed.

One of Beowulf's men punched him in the face. Everything went black.

When Gene came to, he found himself at the base of a throne. The throne, Gene realized, was made of skulls. A man sat on it, looking at Gene with some curiosity. In his hand he held a swirling blue orb that didn't rest in his hand but rather hovered an inch above it. A large crucifix hung around his neck. A sword lay next to him.

"Jesus!" Gene gasped.

"Ah yes, Jesus, my lord and savior." The man said. "Have you been saved, Gene?"

"What do you want?" Gene asked. "Who are you?"

"I am Beowulf, the ruler of Spauldingopolis." The man said, smiling and showing off his rotted yellow teeth. "I want you as…a lieutenant. We're in a war, Gene. Its time to pick a side."

"Why me?"

The swirling blue orb rose higher in Beowulf's hand as if it had heard Gene. "I saw you in my ball. You have a great potential, Gene. What do you say?"

Gene didn't know what to say. The man looked dangerous. But the blue ball…it was so soothing. "Yes." Gene heard himself say. "Yes, I will join you."

Beowulf grinned, once again showing his horrible yellow smile. "Shake the hand that shook the world." He held out his hand. Gene took it.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, Gene helped apprehend several people trying to go against Beowulf's rule. Some of them had to be killed. Beowulf had given Gene armor and a sword. If the rebels fought, Gene would run them through. The first couple of times Gene felt guilty and maybe a little nauseous, but then he almost began to enjoy it.

One of the rebels, a man named Iago, managed to escape. Gene didn't tell Beowulf, and Beowulf didn't ask. But Gene wondered if Beowulf saw it in his glass ball.

As his tenure continued, Gene felt himself feeling jealous of Beowulf. It was insane, really. Beowulf was a lunatic with really bad teeth. But the jealousy persisted. Beowulf ate the finest meals in the land by himself whereas Gene had to eat in the dining hall with the rest of the men. Gene did all the work, had slain all the rebels with his mighty sword, yet Beowulf took the credit.

Gene decided to kill Beowulf. The same way he had killed Finny. Only Beowulf wasn't to break his leg, he would get his neck snapped.

The next day, Gene found Beowulf once again sitting on his throne of human skulls gazing at his blue orb. He looked up and saw Gene standing there. He smiled warmly. "Ah! Gene! Just the man I was looking for!"

I was looking for you too. Gene thought.

Beowulf got out of his throne. His blue ball hovered over the arm of the throne. "There's a tree outside the castle. I need you to help me fix it to make a fort. I have many enemies and if we are ever ambushed this will be a perfect place to hide."

Gene grinned. It was too good to be true.

Outside, Beowulf's tree was large and twisted. The branches reached out like claws. Beowulf climbed up and Gene followed panting. He was never really into athletics. That was Finny's hobby.

Finny.

Gene shook the thoughts of his dead friend and climbed up to the largest branch, the one that Beowulf stood upon.

Gene watched as Beowulf took the crucifix off his neck and kissed it. If Gene had a chance, he'd have to do it now. He took a deep breath and jumped on the branch. It tottered, and Beowulf lost his balance. His mouth was a small 'o' of surprise. He fell backwards.

In midair, Beowulf split his crucifix in two to reveal two blades that were hidden underneath. He grabbed onto the tree with them. Tiny bits of wood fell out as Beowulf dug the blades into the bark. In a matter of seconds Beowulf managed to climb back up the tree.

"Fool!" Beowulf screamed. "Do not take me for that cheap hippie! I am the Messiah made flesh!" He flung the two crucifix-swords at Gene's hands, pinning him to the tree. Gene let out a scream as the blades impaled his palms.

"I knew what you were going to do all along." Beowulf said. "I saw it in my ball. This was to test your loyalty. And you failed miserably." He pulled out his sword and held it close to Gene's neck. "I'll make this quick. You won't suffer much."

"Please, master!" Gene begged. "Give me one more chance. I'll do anything!"

Beowulf pretended to think, although he had already planned out this scenario long ago. "Well…there is one thing you can do."

"What?" Gene said.

"Grendel and Iago." Beowulf said. "Kill them. No, just kill Iago. Bring Grendel to me alive. Will you do this?"

"Y-yes, master."
Beowulf wrenched the blades out of Gene's hands. Gene let out a scream, and fell forward. He managed to regain his balance.

"Do not disappoint me, boy."
Gene got up. "I won't."