Chapter 20: Deeper underground

New York was only just waking up as we walked through the streets of Manhattan. We had hours left until the train to Chicago left. The sun was only just rising and the train left at 1 PM that day. We were all tired and hungry, and I knew a place to go.
"Angel are you sure Jake wouldn't mind if we invade his home?" Luke asked.
"The guy is dead isn't he? What does he care?" Luke and I both looked at Max with a destructive look. Luke wasn't the best of friends with Jake. They rarely talked but he knew that it was foolish to disrespect the dead.
"Jake always said that if I ever needed a place to crash it was all right if I went to his. I still have the key and all." I just hoped that offer was still open even now that he was dead. If it wasn't I probably wouldn't hear about it until I died. Of course my death could be closer than I hoped.
"Are you sure it's still his? He's been dead for some time now." Maximus said.
"When his mom died he used her life insurance to pay the rent for the next four years. Even though he's dead the apartment is his for about two more years. And anyway in the mortal world no one actually knows that he's dead. His body was never found over here and no one in the mortal world misses him." I said. It was horrible that his death had gone unnoticed in this world but it was how it was. The mortals would never know that we travelled across country to stop an evil god from creating the ultimate minion. They didn't know about anything demigods did, well modern demigods anyway. If the mortals did they would probably destroy us though. After all they always fought what they didn't understand. It's what made them weak and divided. If the mortals all stood strong as one instead of fighting among each other the world wouldn't even need the gods.

The room was exactly the same. Nothing had changed. Of course Jake died shortly after I left and no one had been inside since. It was weird to be there again. Without Jake there the place seemed empty. "I'll take Jake's room, Luke you can take my old room and Max you can take the couch."
"Why do I have to take the couch?" Maximus asked.
"Because all the other rooms are taken." I said as I entered Jake's room. I took Jake's room because I was the only one that wasn't going to sleep. Like usually I was fine without sleep. And since I didn't want anyone in Jake's room I took it. Jake's room unlike the rest had changed. Jake knew he was going to die, all his personal belongings had been moved. I wondered where they were since they weren't in the Prometheus cabin either. The only thing that was there now was a bed, his desk and a chair. Everything else was gone. Jake never had much stuff but without anything the room had lost the title of Jake's room. I still wasn't going to sleep, it was too weird. Sitting down in the chair at the desk was rest enough for me. My feet was sore and even though the bag wasn't too heavy after carrying it around for a few hours I could feel it in my shoulders. I sat there watching the sun climb higher. I was slightly tired but I could handle it. I was an insomniac I had lived like this all my life. At about ten I left Jake's room to find Maximus laying on the couch...sorta. He was laying under thin blankets with one arm and leg laying over the edge of the couch. Given how 'comfy' he seemed to be I decided to wake Luke first.
Luke was laying in my old room, that room was exactly the same. It was always empty. Well ever since I knew it. It was Jake's mum's room before she died. He had given away everything that was in there that didn't have any emotional value to Jake. When I stayed there all there was nothing but a bed and a cupboard. Jake offered me to redecorate the room a thousand times but I refused. I was used to worse and I didn't spend any time on my room anyway.
"Luke, wake up man." I whispered. I didn't want to wake Maximus. We were three guys on the road and it was time we pulled a prank. Current target, Max.
"Ugh..." Luke moaned.
"Come on man. Do you need you're beauty sleep or something?" I said.
"I got used to my beauty sleep thanks to Maria." He joked. I had to control myself not to crack up. "So what's up." He still sounded a bit sleepy.
"It's about ten, I say we should all head into town and get some snacks and stuff. We're up for a twenty four hour train ride with dinner, breakfast and one three hour stop that's it. And no snack cart!" I said. I couldn't believe there wasn't a snack cart. How could they not have a bloody snack cart!
"Good thinking man. You go take care of that while I..." He turned around and closed his eyes. I didn't give him a chance to go back to sleep. I hit him on the back of the head which got him to wake up. "Okay okay. Damn."
"Good. By the way I want to pull a little prank with Maxi over there." I said. Now Luke seemed to be wide awake. He wasn't a child of Hermes but he could enjoy a prank just like any other.
"Why didn't you say that before? What have you got in mind?" Luke and I were as quietly as we could be. We went to the kitchen, got a big yellow sponge, cracked a joke about how the thing looked like Sponge bob and then soaked it in water. "Dude are you sure about this? I don't think he's going to appreciate this."
"I know he isn't. But that's the point. I grew up in an orphanage and trust me, we did this stuff all the time and in the end everyone laughed about it...well everyone but the person it happened to. Until he got his revenge...so watch your back." I said with a joking smile on my face.
We slowly and quietly entered the living room. The sponge was dripping water all over the place, I figured I'd clean that up later...or not at all. We stood about 10 feet away from him when I aimed right for his face. He seemed peaceful, if I hadn't grown up around these kind of pranks I probably would have doubted about this. I know Luke was but what the hell. I aimed carefully and threw the wet sponge as hard as I could. It would have landed right in his face, if he hadn't caught it. He wasn't asleep, I didn't really know when he had woken up but he was awake. He caught the wet sponge and launched it right back at me without even opening his eyes. I saw it happening in front of my eyes and was quick enough to dodge. Luke was standing behind me and hadn't seen it. The Sponge hit his square in the face. Water splashed all over the place. The sponge had been so wet it stuck to Luke's face. Luke threatened to kill me, Maximus threatened to kill me if I ever tried something like that in his sleep again, and I couldn't stop laughing my ass off.

We all went our separate ways after that. We were going to spend an awful lot of time together so a little bit of time apart didn't bother any of us. Luke and Max wanted to be away from me given the sponge incident that happened that mourning. We were meeting at central station at about 12. We couldn't take any chances with being late. Everyone had about thirty bucks to buy some snacks and drinks for on the train. I bought some stuff in a small shop. The guy behind the counter seemed nice enough. He was in his late thirties, had a thick moustache and had a bald spot on the top of his head. He slightly reminded me of Lou Seyja. Something in his face made me think of the guy that taught me everything about torture and killing people. I always believed that if he hadn't been around in my life I would have been very different. I remember one time he showed me how to skin a living being using an apple. I couldn't believe Colt hadn't used that yet.
"Have a nice day sir." I said as I left the store.
"You too kid." The cashier replied in a middle eastern accent. Other than Seyja he reminded me of the guy I shot in a store in Los Angeles. The shoot out that killed five people. Four actual deaths and the fifth was me. When Peter died part of me died with him. After that I lose everything to rage. I became the person that blew up his friends and killed without reason. Jake asked me one day when everything went wrong. At first I thought it was the day my mother killed herself but I was wrong. The day my mum died that sweet little boy died. But the person that rose from his ashes wasn't all bad. If he hadn't been there I wouldn't have been strong enough to do this, I'd just be a scared little brat. I needed to be that person in order to do the things I was destined for. Of course what I was destined for wasn't what I ended up doing.

Outside there were traffic jams, people yelling at each other and tons of people with Starbucks coffee holders in their hands. It was straight up normal New York. Everything except for the subway across the street. A hooded figure took his first few steps down, and looked at me. I recognized him immediately. I had expected to see him somewhere along the road but so soon? Samael looked worse than ever. Skinny, pale and with dark rings under his eyes. But it was him. I crossed the street without even looking at the cars. A red Volvo nearly hit me but other than that I got passed. I ran down the steps of the subway as fast as I could and once I was on the station I saw him. He had gotten off the platform and was walking into the dark tunnels of the subway. No one but me seemed to notice him, it was weird but hell this was New York. I followed him, people noticed me. They told me to come back on the platform and stuff but I couldn't Samael was somewhere in these tunnels. I'd find him.

I expected the tunnels to be darker. I could still see with ease. I couldn't see Samael anywhere. I ran through the tunnel until I came to an intersection. I had no idea which one he went into. It seemed like he was miles ahead of me even though I had been sprinting after him ever since I saw him enter the tunnel. I was tired, I hadn't slept and this much excitement was bad for me with such tiny bit of sleep. I heard something move. It was lightning quick, I never got a good look at it. Was it Samael? That seemed impossible. He was never this quick. I heard something behind me and I turned around. The next thing I know I can't see, blood is dripping over my face and I'm on the ground. Whatever this thing was it had cut my face, I couldn't see a single thing. I got Shadow-edge from of my back. I tried to get up but I could barely stand, my legs were shaking so much. Blood was flowing all over my face. I was sure this wasn't Samael, I was also sure that whatever it was it was going to kill me. I couldn't see, I could barely stand, I thought I was done for. But this thing...it wanted to toy with me. I started hearing things. Voices...at first I couldn't make them out...then I started recognizing them.
"Look at you Michael. Crawling over the floor like an animal."
"Mom?" It was my mom's voice. It couldn't be her, she had been dead for years. But it was her voice. How could it be her?
"And you ask yourself why I killed myself. With a weak son like you any mother would."
"Is this what I protected?" The voice changed, another one I recognize.
"Pete? Pete is that you!" He had died just like my mom had. But it sounded so real. I couldn't see a thing...but it sounded so real.
"I should have left you out to hang. I protected you and then you get me killed! Why didn't you do for me what I did for you!"
"Pete it wasn't like that. I tried."
"Just like you tried to protect me?"
"Eve?" I still recognized her voice, even after all these years.
"Why did you have to fight William? If you hadn't been so violent I would still be alive! You killed me Michael!"
"No...no." Tears rolled over my face. They had been my family. And they died because of me. If I had been stronger, faster, better than they would still be alive. I failed the only family I ever had.
"Michael my son Do you remember me? I was the one who took you in remember?" The voice kept changing. I knew these weren't the people I had known, they were all dead.
"Father Patrick?" He was a good man. Given I used to be atheist I never agreed with his ideas on god but he was a wise man. A very kind wise man.
"Did you enjoy watching me burn? We helped you and you burnt our home. A devil with an Angel's name."
"Stop it!" Tears were mixing with blood. Something was toying with me. They had taken the things I worst regretted and turned them against me.
"You killed me Michael."
"I'm dead because of you!"
"How could you do this to me Michael?" All the voices went together. Sometimes I could barely make out who it was.
"I can see the stars, they're so pretty." I was breaking down. I felt guilt for what I did every second of the day but this...I couldn't take this. I wasn't strong enough to face something like this.
"Michael."
"No. Jake not you. Please not you."
"Why did you leave? If you hadn't pursued your personal vendetta we could have defeated Phthonos right there and then. All of this could have been avoided if you hadn't gone."
"Shut up!" I got to my feet and started swinging my sword aimlessly.
"You can't kill me Michael. You can't even forgive yourself. How do you want to beat me with all that guilt holding you back." It was Samael's voice. For a second I wondered if it had been Samael who did this. Maybe it was some kind of trick Phthonos taught him. I still swung around my sword aimlessly. I peeled my eye lids of each other. They were glued together by dried blood and it hurt to open them. Eventually I opened them just an inch. I saw two lights, coming towards me. It had giant speed and made an awful lot of noise. I was barely on time to jump out of the way. The subway nearly hit me, I could feel it, barely an inch away from me. When it passed there was complete silence. I heard nothing but the pounding of my own heart. I crawled back to my feet listening carefully. It was still here, it had to be. It had been so careful, so quiet. But now it slipped up. I heard it move behind me, I turned around and swung my sword. I felt it connect with something. I heard a horrible scream and felt dust cover me. Whatever it was...I killed it. I collapsed again, tears still rolling over my face. I was shaking, I had never been this scared, nor hated myself this much. I still couldn't see very well and the cuts on my face hurt horribly. I got my bag of my back and reached in. The flask of nectar had to be in there somewhere. I pulled out everything that didn't feel like the flask until I found it. I uncapped it, accidentally spilled some on the floor because I was shaking so much and drank. I could feel the cuts healing. I tried to open my eyes a bit further. It wasn't much but I could see. Blood was still covered my face but the pain was gone. I packed the bag (this time I put the nectar and ambrosia on top) and put it around my shoulders. There was a pile of dust in front of me. I wondered what monster it was. It didn't matter, it was dead now.