The Chosen and The Accursed - 2. The Tracker

Chapter 2: The Tracker

Monday arrived, and I dreaded the one and a half hour bus ride to work. Jose had opted to start working at a new place, luckily for him his CV contained a college degree in mechanical engineering and a list of companies that had all given him outstanding references. I on the other hand was a high school graduate who'd held down jobs in small offices. I was at a disadvantage.

"You know Kevin, my employers' offer still stands."

I was startled by the sound of his voice, perhaps because here he was wearing jeans and a fitted t-shirt rather than the tailored suit he'd worn Friday. The t-shirt prominently displayed a fit body, his arms were toned and dusted with a fine layer of golden blonde hair. I could see some of the same hair on his chest, frankly I was finding it hard not to stare.

"Are you following me?"

"Tracking. I'm tracking you. On my employers' behalf."

"I don't even know what you want me to do. I don't know you from that lady reading the book in the first row"

"Mother of two, recently divorced. Her mother is ill, and that young woman sitting next to her? That's her tracker."

I looked and noticed the young woman for the first time. Her auburn hair was tied in a ponytail and a small tattoo sat at the base of her neck. Her alabaster skin was flawless, no freckles or scars to speak of. Part of me really wanted to see her eyes, to put a face to this memory.

"Her eyes are gray."

"You keep doing that; and it's extremely creepy!! Who are you?"

"You don't need to know that. Not yet anyway."

"You're offering me a job, but now I know more about the lady with the book than I do about you!!"

He put his hand on my shoulder, clearly a gesture meant to appease and calm me, and damn it did it ever work. The sparks were dancing on my skin, I locked eyes with him for a second, and I found myself becoming increasingly curious about this man. I wanted to know him, I needed to know him.

His head tilted left, just like it had Friday morning, and it was still just as endearing. He opened his mouth and closed it, then the oddest thing I could think of happened; we were outside my apartment.

"What the hell?!?!"

"Kevin, you have to breathe. Just breathe."

His arms were suddenly around me and we were outside the docks. I was trying really hard not to scream and run around in circles in a fit of hysteria, but his arms around me were like a shield, I simply knew I was safe.

"Please...I need to know"

"You can call me Faust. Go inside and get what you came for. I'll be waiting here."

He stood by a lamppost, his arms crossed over his chest, one leg resting against it, the other firmly planted on the floor. He had clearly missed his calling as an underwear model, or a clothing model, or just a statue. The man was all angles and beauty, but that wasn't enough of a distraction to cover up the fact that I had just been outside my apartment, and on a bus.

"I'm not going in there until you tell me what is going on!!"

I took a step toward him and found myself in front of Dennis' door. I was becoming increasingly frustrated with showing up places without being notified I was going anywhere. Whoever this guy was, he was starting to freak me out. I knocked on Dennis' door

"Dennis? It's Kevin"

"Come on in kid!" I heard him shuffling stuff on his desk and when I walked through the door I was surprised to see his secretary on a chair in front him, her lipstick was smudged and her skirt was on backwards.

Dennis was red and his zipper was down, I could still see his penis, hard and wet. I shot my eyes back up and smiled. He knew what I'd seen in a heartbeat, I saw his hand trying to close the zipper, but I didn't want him to. It had been a long time since I'd seen any dick that wasn't my own and I was becoming increasingly aroused by the situation.

"Just came for my references...and I wanted to know if there was a severance?"

"How much Kevin?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a married man. I have children, I need this to never, EVER come to light. How much do you need to keep your mouth shut?"

"I--"

"Nothing above 20 grand"

"Right. Ten and a half."

He nodded and pulled his checkbook from a drawer. Reality was I would've never said anything anyway, nor would I have tried to blackmail him, but he'd offered me money, and I was in dire need of it. Eight thousand would secure my apartment and utilities for a couple of months, if I could pick up a shift or two at the market I'd be able to afford food, though sparsely.

"Here's your references, and the company's severance package, three months of health insurance, a check for $3,500, and your notice of unemployment. According to HR you should be able to collect government assistance for 7 months, and here's my contribution. If you need help, call me Kev. I can't give you more money, but I have connections in other ports, I can try and get you something."

I nodded and shook his hand. This morning I had nothing, I was broke and life was kicking my ass every which way it could, but now I had over 11 grand, and Dennis could help me land another job. I took a deep breath and began walking towards the security gate, but instead I found myself walking towards my apartment door, Faust was leaning against the frame, in the exact same position as he'd been leaning against the lamppost.

"Inside. Now. You are going to explain this all to me."

He nodded and I threw my door open, I felt him move, and suddenly I was facing him, my legs wrapped around his hips, my arms around his neck. I couldn't understand what was going on, I felt like I was going insane.

"STOP! What the hell is happening?!"

I pushed away from him and found myself seated on the couch, Faust was on the bean bag, his head tilted to the left, his eyes questioning me.

"I don't understand. Your whole body rings when we're close. Your breath slows, your heart beats faster, you lick your lips. I'm trying to give you--"

"What I want is explanations Faust!!! I have been on a bus, then in front of this apartment, then at my job, then at my boss's office, and then back home, it should be closing on 3 o'clock" my voice had gone up and I cleared my throat to regain a semblance of control "and it's barely 10am. I need answers, because I'm freaking out!!!"

I got up and went to the fridge, I always tried to keep small bottles of hard liquor squirreled away for those days where life just sucks, today I needed one just to make sure I hadn't died yet.

"Alcohol is not good for your condition Kevin"

I stared at him as he stood by the door to the kitchen. I uncorked the small tequila shot I had in my hand and threw it at the back of my throat, but instead of feeling the gratifying burn of tequila I was met with the sweetness of mango juice, completely free of alcohol.

"Kevin. Stop." He took a step towards me, his hands out, face open, he wanted to calm me down "Come sit with me, there's not much I can answer until you say yes, but I'll try."

I followed him to the sofa, something had changed in our dynamic, something that had made him different, more approachable.

"Spill it."

"Okay. My employers, they've been around for a long time, longer than I can say. Today, all of today, it's been your trial period, if you'd been on that bus the whole time, you would've never walked in on Dennis and Laura. If you'd taken the bus back...well turn the TV on."

I flipped the TV on and watched as the camera swept over the highway, traffic was at a standstill, a bridge had been opened to allow for a ship and the gears had stuck, the bridge wasn't coming down. I could see the people all sitting atop their cars, walking away from their cars, some were waving at the news chopper.

"So if I say yes...I can make my life better? Travel in the blink of an eye?"

"Yes...no"

"Well which is it?"

"This is one of those things where I can't explain it unless you accept their offer."

"What offer?!?!"

"To work for my employers"

"Doing what?"

"What you already do. Helping people live better lives."

"So it's like a self-help thing?"

"No. Your ancestors used to call it fate. We used to be called--"

"The Chosen?"

"Amongst other things."

I was completely floored. I had expected him to say a million things, I had been prepared for a lot, but not for this. This was much more insane than what I'd had in mind. Here he was, bottled perfection, and completely bonkers. He actually believed he was one of The Chosen, a Guardian Angel, a Mortal made Divine.

"And so what you're saying is that your /employers/ want me to be one of you?"

"No. I'm your tracker, I've been sent to help you. Your previous tracker lost you when you went to rehab. That wasn't in your plan, he wasn't prepared. The oddity in your case is that you made a random choice, you make random choices so often that you fall off the map. That's why I can't let you out of my sight."

"None of this makes sense!" I yelled as I got up from the sofa "If your employers aren't making me part of The Chosen then what exactly is going on?!?!"

"We're making up for the path you took. A lot of what I want to tell you can only be said once you accept their offer" he stepped up to me, his body only millimeters from mine "why are you so stubborn?"

We stared each other down, his sunset eyes boring into my own, drilling their way into the very core of me. The scent of him was a work of art, it was like smelling everything at once, and yet nothing at all. I could feel my hands itching to touch him, to feel the sparks I felt whenever our skin connected. I could feel desire inside myself, roaring like a hungry lion gone unfed for too long. Then his fingertips were traveling up my arm, his eyes had changed from sunset to a deep blue, his lips were slowly approaching mine, and I could feel my entire body reacting in perfect sync. My hands went to his back, closing the small space between us, my head tilted back as his lips made final approach, and suddenly I was a bonfire in a desert, burning bright and hot.

His lips were timid, careful, and smooth as they explored my own, his hands kept switching between my face and my neck. His touch was pure fire, burning away the facade of calm I had meant to put in between us. He made me feel alive, for the first time in a long time I felt like maybe I was worthy of something good. In his arms I could almost see my life slowly getting better, I could see myself burning brighter, and I knew what my answer was, I knew because I had known the second he'd asked the question.

"My name is Aaron."

I felt the tension between us explode outward as his hands grabbed me and pulled me upwards. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried us into the bedroom.

"I'll take it"

"Yes you will."

I felt his hand rip the leg seam on my jeans, and I gave into it. I gave into him. I gave into this one thing that made me feel something other than dread and fear. I gave in because I wanted to feel alive just a little longer.

**********

Morning came cold, but I wasn't freezing. The sun was hiding behind fluffy clouds, a gentle rain fell, soaking the windows as the sweet scent of petrichor permeated the air. Rain had become such a beautiful thing in the last couple of years, it was nice to be cuddled up with Aaron, feeling his skin against mine as the rain fell, washing away the lingering Ichor.

The night had been filled with a deep lust that neither of us could seem to control or satiate. My lips and neck felt swollen, my waist and hips were sore and bruised, and I was almost positive there was cum in my hair, but I didn't care. Last night I had been reminded what it felt like to live for the sake of living, and not just survive. I had been able to let go of all my worries and give into the more primal side of me; I had been granted a respite from pulling my own hair out, from thinking, and worrying. I had given myself freely and willingly, and I had been shown true pleasure.

"I enjoyed it too," his voice murmured next to me "want some breakfast?"

I nodded, and suddenly he was gone, I was in bed alone and the chill of the morning penetrated my circle of warmth, but it didn't feel like it had before. My skin felt different, my chest and head were free of the constant pressure I had felt ever since I'd gotten ichor poisoning. Part of me wondered if Aaron's employers had done it, or if perhaps my being relaxed for the first time since then had anything to do with the sudden disappearance of my symptoms.

I left the bed because my bladder was screaming for release. The floor was cold but it didn't seem to actually register inside me, I still felt warm and cuddly, like a giant teddy bear was hanging from my back. The lights were out all over the apartment, but I knew where everything was, I could see it all clearly. That was when my brain finally registered what was going on. I had changed overnight, I was about two inches taller, putting me at about 6 foot 3, my eyesight was impeccable. I rushed to the bathroom and looked in the mirror; my once dull and flat auburn hair had become shiny and lustrous, my eyes had shed their honey color and had become the same as Aaron's, but completely different. My freckles and scars had disappeared, my whole body had been scrubbed clean of all the tiny imperfections that had accumulated throughout the years. I stared at my face, mouth agape as I processed the information.

"Kevin?"

I turned and found Aaron staring at me. His sunset eyes intently focused on me, expecting me to react in some way to what I had clearly just discovered. I looked at him, and realized I was seeing him anew; his eyes were brilliant in the false dusk of the apartment, his skin was covered in a dusting of light, pure light. I stepped closer to him, and I could see the light glow brighter, I could feel it's warmth dripping from his body.

"Aaron...am I a Chosen One?"

"I...it looks that way to me. I don't understand, they told me you were meant to be re-tracked, given the opportunities you missed because of your last tracker, but this...I---wow"

I smiled and touched his cheek; the sudden sensation of his skin was like wildfire. His glow mingled with mine, and suddenly the room was awash in light. There was nothing anyone could ever say or do to ruin this memory for me. Even if the rest of my life was spent in a hellish loop, this single memory would suffice to keep me sane.

"Aaron...I need to know what's going on. This is great and all" I said as I looked at myself again "but what's the price of it? Why is it happening?"

He nodded, his eyes were focused, his brain was going 100 miles an hour. I could almost hear him, planning and wondering. I could hear the names he was listing, each more ancient than the previous one.

"Who's Aemon?"

His face suddenly froze, his eyes dilated and his back went straight, the bag with the breakfast was in a slow-motion free fall, I looked at it and suddenly it was in my hand. Aaron's face just kept getting whiter and whiter, I was beginning to get really scared, everything seemed to be happening so fast.

"Aaron!!" His head snapped up, his focus returned "What is going on?!"

"Your powers...well they're progressing rather quickly, it's like you're ready to track." He shook his head and moved towards the living room, I took one step and found myself next to him on the couch. He looked as startled as I felt.

"Aaron, what's the plan here?"

"Aemon. He's my mentor, he's the one that sent me here, maybe he's got some answers for us."

I nodded and got up, we'd have to get dressed and be on our way, there was no time to waste. Whatever was going on, there was a reason for it, and until I knew what that reason was there was nothing else that mattered.

My com-link blared out a violin concerto, Elena was calling. I took a deep breath and answered her call on voice-only mode.

"Hey Lena. How are you?"

"Hey little brother. I'm well and yourself?"

"Hanging in there sis. What's up?"

"Well it's Valeria's birthday, and she's been asking for you...do you think you can make it up here? I'll give you bus money, or Kyle can come and get you? The kids are dying to see you."

"I have an errand to run, then I might be able to make it up. I'll call you in a couple hours, see where things are at okay?"

"I spoke to mom Kev."

"I swear I'm okay, just busy"

"Last time you said that to me, you disappeared into a rehab facility..."

"It's not like that this time Lena, believe me. Please."

"You've got until 8pm, after that I may or may not show up in the city. Love you Kev. We ALL do"

"Love you too Sis. Give Kyle and the brats hugs for me okay?"

"I will. See you later little brother"

"See you soon big sis."

I closed the com-link and sat on the edge of my bed. I clearly couldn't see Elena today, I was a completely different person, I looked nothing like myself, I was moving from place to place with a thought, and it seemed I may have become a little telepathic as well, seeing Valeria and Philip was my slice of heaven, but under the current conditions it wasn't perhaps the smartest move. I felt like the idiot who wins the lottery then complains about the money he now has to invest. I'd been asking for a new beginning, a second chance, a new start for years, and here it was on a silver platter, but I was afraid of it, of what it meant. Perhaps the time had come to be more than just a spectator in my own life, it was time to get up and get in the game, time to push myself to be more than I had allowed myself to be thus far.

"Aaron?"

"Yes. Let's go see Aemon."

I nodded and got up from the bed, I walked towards him and we were in a train station somewhere in Chicago. A train was fast approaching on the lane, and Aaron walked into the rails, calmly. I could see the cop coming towards us, intent on saving our lives from the incoming train, Aaron looked at him, a simple look, nothing intimidating or imposing, but it worked. The cop tipped his hat at us and it was like we were invisible, no one looked at us anymore.

"Was that cop--"

"Chosen. We have to keep ourselves involved wherever we can." His eyes were downcast, their sunset scheme replaced by a gray afternoon "We've had to adapt, to keep ourselves safe so we can keep doing our job."

"Why not just be invisible? Isn't that one of the perks?"

"If you don't notice us, we are."

"What does that mean?"

"I've been tracking you for eight months; standard practice, know your mark, learn who they are, determine approach. For the last eight months I've followed you everywhere you've gone. I've been a homeless man, a guy with a dog, a guy buying groceries, a neighbor opening a door, you've seen me plenty of times, you just haven't noticed me."

I felt like a complete idiot, he was the guy who'd been in the market right after Bryan, he was the guy who'd opened the door the day I'd left my keys on the mailboxes. Aaron had been around plenty, but he was right, I hadn't taken the time to notice any of those people, I'd been too self-absorbed in my own misery and self-pity to notice the kindness around me, the people suffering beyond what I was experiencing. My life had revolved only around me, perhaps it wasn't just my parents whom I'd left forgotten in the piles of "tomorrow" I'd accumulated recently.

"Why are we walking down a train railway in Chicago?"

"How do you know we're in Chicago? Besides New York and Philadelphia, you've only ever been to San Antonio and Rio de Janeiro."

"I've watched enough movies to know where I am. Isn't this extremely dangerous? The train could come at any minute."

"Yes, it could"

"So... shouldn’t we use the street?"

"Aemon doesn't exactly live in a row house." He turned to the empty air on his right "Alçië Hark Aärohn"

A brilliant staircase materialized from thin air, it was made of the same light that enveloped Aaron's skin. I felt the hand of fear slide up my spine like a long lost lover looking to rekindle the flames of romance. What if the stairs knew this was a fluke? What if they dissipated into thin air beneath my feet to prevent me from entering?

"You can see them, that means you can use them."

I grabbed the hand he offered me, nothing could hurt me so long as I was with Aaron, there was simply no way he would let anything happen to me; this I was completely sure of, even if I didn't fully comprehend the how or why of it. With his hand in mine I felt invincible, protected, stronger, braver.

"C'mon, let's not keep him waiting"

"Who's Carceéon? Why are you so worried about that name?"

"He's our stop after Aemon. If he can't help only Carceéon and Lilith can help, if they can't...Piotr is the last stop, after him--"

"Is the Ancient. The First."

"Mikaehl."

I swallowed the large lump in my throat. The Lore of The Chosen still remained assigned reading, it had been found some time in the late 1990s, a brand new gospel completely about the Mortals made Divine. It described their story, their ascent to Divine, it delved into the first recorded accounts of their appearance, and it named the first 10: Mikaehl, Ismaehl, Aria, Kara, Frejä, Illior, Callum, Elsidier, Thakier, and Lisandra. They were said to be powerful beyond words, and they were made immortal when they were made Divine, their stories were the stories our parents told us to keep us from straying. They were ruthless, and even though they had passed from being revered to being stories, many a kid still read The Gospel of Joriah: The First Ten, as if it were an adventure book.

"Don't worry Kev, we won't need to go see The Ten. I'm sure Aemon can help us"

"And if he can't? Is there any other path I can take? What's the worst-case scenario here Aaron?"

"You can only become Chosen by being chosen, one way or another this happened for a reason...I'm sure of it"

His eyes lacked the conviction to sell his assertion, he had his own doubts about our current predicament. I could see his guilt playing behind the eternal sunset of his eyes; his mind kept flashing images from last night, images that in my mind were beautiful and filled with a mutual desire and passion, in his mind were reflected with uncertainty and guilt. He blamed himself for what was going on, as if he had somehow made me change.

"Is that how you feel?" I asked as he tried to take my hand "Are you ashamed of what happened?”

He waved his hand at the staircase and grabbed my arm, I felt the change in the climate and looked around, we were atop the Eiffel Tower. "No, I'm not. The problem is that what happened between us is not supposed to happen. Hercules, Perseus, Thalia, they weren't children of gods, they were children of Chosen and human. Mikaehl made it very clear that we were no longer allowed to take humans as consorts." He stroked my face and got closer to me, his hands firmly holding me in place "Whatever the reason for your change, the only thing I truly feel about last night is hope. However, if I'm to blame for this, you and I would become fugitives, anathema, persona-non-grata, and I couldn't bear to rip you out of the world you love, to turn your life into an eternal race, to take your happiness away."

I smiled, because I could feel the truth in his words, because I could see how much cared, because I felt alive. Whatever may come from this point on, I would face it with him. I grabbed hold of him and took us to the platform in Chicago. I nodded as he smiled and we began to make our way up the steps. The time had come for us to seek help, and Aemon was our first stop.