Chapter 1
Black. That was the only thing Liz could see after her flashlight died. As far as she could tell, she was alone. Until someone came around with a light, Liz’s only option was to stand still. She sat on the wet floor of the deep, smelly, wet cave she had been traversing with Isaac and Zack for three hours now, and she has not found anything similar to the item they were sent to retrieve. Her mind drifted to earlier events; Marcus’s entrance was one thing she remembered.
Liz was sitting on the beach when Marcus swam ashore. She embraced him – If you could call it that – and started apologizing for her anger. Then she remembered him saying he had another unpleasant task for her. Liz was frightened, but his description of the job put her at ease. He said it would not be disgusting, disturbing, or dangerous in any way, shape, or form. It was a very convincing lie.
Had Liz known that the journey would take her into his stomach, Isaac would have been going in alone. Marcus tried to hack up whatever the item was, but it was lodged somewhere in the back of his labyrinth digestive system. Isaac assured her that his stomach acid was just water, but she still did not trust the man. It was only after the unpleasant memory of them walking into his maw that a light shined into her eyes.
Zack, with his massive ego Dem chose to name Tony, wanted the item for himself. Liz still had no idea what the item was. He walked up to her and said, “Quit lying around! How the hell are we supposed to find the thing in this mess if the person we’re supposed to give it to is sleeping on the job?”
Liz had no illusions that he wanted it for himself, but she made no mention of it.
“My flashlight died,” she said, “I don’t want to walk into any walls, so I stayed put.”
Zack threw her an extra pack of batteries and she continued walking. She turned round and Zack was nowhere to be found. She turned round again and Isaac was directly in front of her. Liz was frustrated with him; he always stared at her and he would always disappear on her when she wanted to talk. She finally had the chance to get some answers and said, “So Isaac, what exactly are we looking for?”
“I already told you; a silver ball with-”
“I know that already. What is it; does it have value.”
“That little ball is worth more money than there is in the world.”
“What does it do?”
“It is a Titanstone, you know the rest.”
Liz recounted back when Marcus ran off to find his Titanstone. He was a normal human being to her. He was somewhat tall, skinny, and covered in bruises, scrapes, and cuts when he left on that fateful day. When he returned…
Liz took her light and pointed it at Isaac, but he was not there anymore. Liz continued to walk through her brother’s stomach and moved the light at a steady pace. Now that she knew what she was looking for, Liz picked up her pace in hopes of finding it first. A light shined past her and reflected off the glossy pink wall of flesh. She heard Isaac yell, “I found it!”
This was followed by Zack running past her; he had been behind her the entire time. Liz broke into a run, but Isaac grabbed her shirt and pulled her to the side. He covered her mouth so she could not scream. Isaac yelled, “NOW!”
Liz felt the floor shake as the walls closed in around Zack and imprisoned him in a separated chamber. Isaac said to Liz, “I promised Marcus that I would not let Zack take the Titanstone. He already told me exactly where it is. Follow me.”
Liz walked behind him, and soon they were in a smaller tunnel with an arched entranceway and three small holes leading onward. Isaac stuck his hand into one of the holes and pulled out a slime covered silver orb around six inches in diameter. He said to Liz, “So you know; after I give you this stone, you will become invincible, immortal, strong beyond compare, and your mind will become your only true weakness. Knowing the incredible responsibility given to you by it, do you still accept it?”
Liz reached out and pressed her hand to the stone. Two silver daggers sprung out and stabbed her palms. She screamed as they ripped through the backs of her hands and the tips spread out so she could not let go. Liz had a hatred of needles, but she would rather be stabbed repeatedly by a thousand needles than go through this kind of torture. Liz started to cry as the thousands of tiny metal threads ripped through her body and slowly reproduced her to its liking. She could see a single thread go into her eye and start to replicate her retinas. Liz could do nothing to stop it, so she fell to the ground and continued to scream and cry. In what felt like an eternity, the little sphere replaced every cell in her body with the super-cells that would change her into an immortal.
As if nothing ever happened, the pain stopped. Liz opened her eyes and found that she was still breathing hard. Isaac reached out his hand and she took it. She felt somehow lighter than before. The world seemed different to her. Isaac said, “The first few minutes of being an immortal are kind of hard, but you’ll get used to it.”
Liz and Isaac started to walk back to the area where Zack was imprisoned. The barriers were lowered, but he was still sitting in a corner, toying with the mechanics of his silver hidden blade. Liz could smell a strange odor in the air. She looked to Isaac, who whispered to her, “It is the adrenaline in his bloodstream. He’s pissed.”
Liz fought the urge to smirk as Zack stood and walked beside them. Liz enjoyed this new form; she felt good, she could see in the dark, her muscles were plainly visible under her skin, and her mind worked ten times faster. She wondered what downsides there could possibly be and made a mental note to ask Marcus when they were alone next.
The trio walked through wet, slimy, fleshy passages that turned in so many strange ways, Liz wondered if Isaac actually knew where he was going. They came up to a slightly larger hallway. The ceiling was high and a passage beyond wound into the darkness. Isaac yelled, “Open up! We need fresh air and do not want to be imprisoned anymore.”
A thin line of teeth appeared at a distance. The thin line slowly grew into a wide passage lined with large teeth and a sliver of red at the center floor. They walked forward; Liz wanted to see what the world looked like through the eyes of a god.
Liz was sitting on the beach when Marcus swam ashore. She embraced him – If you could call it that – and started apologizing for her anger. Then she remembered him saying he had another unpleasant task for her. Liz was frightened, but his description of the job put her at ease. He said it would not be disgusting, disturbing, or dangerous in any way, shape, or form. It was a very convincing lie.
Had Liz known that the journey would take her into his stomach, Isaac would have been going in alone. Marcus tried to hack up whatever the item was, but it was lodged somewhere in the back of his labyrinth digestive system. Isaac assured her that his stomach acid was just water, but she still did not trust the man. It was only after the unpleasant memory of them walking into his maw that a light shined into her eyes.
Zack, with his massive ego Dem chose to name Tony, wanted the item for himself. Liz still had no idea what the item was. He walked up to her and said, “Quit lying around! How the hell are we supposed to find the thing in this mess if the person we’re supposed to give it to is sleeping on the job?”
Liz had no illusions that he wanted it for himself, but she made no mention of it.
“My flashlight died,” she said, “I don’t want to walk into any walls, so I stayed put.”
Zack threw her an extra pack of batteries and she continued walking. She turned round and Zack was nowhere to be found. She turned round again and Isaac was directly in front of her. Liz was frustrated with him; he always stared at her and he would always disappear on her when she wanted to talk. She finally had the chance to get some answers and said, “So Isaac, what exactly are we looking for?”
“I already told you; a silver ball with-”
“I know that already. What is it; does it have value.”
“That little ball is worth more money than there is in the world.”
“What does it do?”
“It is a Titanstone, you know the rest.”
Liz recounted back when Marcus ran off to find his Titanstone. He was a normal human being to her. He was somewhat tall, skinny, and covered in bruises, scrapes, and cuts when he left on that fateful day. When he returned…
Liz took her light and pointed it at Isaac, but he was not there anymore. Liz continued to walk through her brother’s stomach and moved the light at a steady pace. Now that she knew what she was looking for, Liz picked up her pace in hopes of finding it first. A light shined past her and reflected off the glossy pink wall of flesh. She heard Isaac yell, “I found it!”
This was followed by Zack running past her; he had been behind her the entire time. Liz broke into a run, but Isaac grabbed her shirt and pulled her to the side. He covered her mouth so she could not scream. Isaac yelled, “NOW!”
Liz felt the floor shake as the walls closed in around Zack and imprisoned him in a separated chamber. Isaac said to Liz, “I promised Marcus that I would not let Zack take the Titanstone. He already told me exactly where it is. Follow me.”
Liz walked behind him, and soon they were in a smaller tunnel with an arched entranceway and three small holes leading onward. Isaac stuck his hand into one of the holes and pulled out a slime covered silver orb around six inches in diameter. He said to Liz, “So you know; after I give you this stone, you will become invincible, immortal, strong beyond compare, and your mind will become your only true weakness. Knowing the incredible responsibility given to you by it, do you still accept it?”
Liz reached out and pressed her hand to the stone. Two silver daggers sprung out and stabbed her palms. She screamed as they ripped through the backs of her hands and the tips spread out so she could not let go. Liz had a hatred of needles, but she would rather be stabbed repeatedly by a thousand needles than go through this kind of torture. Liz started to cry as the thousands of tiny metal threads ripped through her body and slowly reproduced her to its liking. She could see a single thread go into her eye and start to replicate her retinas. Liz could do nothing to stop it, so she fell to the ground and continued to scream and cry. In what felt like an eternity, the little sphere replaced every cell in her body with the super-cells that would change her into an immortal.
As if nothing ever happened, the pain stopped. Liz opened her eyes and found that she was still breathing hard. Isaac reached out his hand and she took it. She felt somehow lighter than before. The world seemed different to her. Isaac said, “The first few minutes of being an immortal are kind of hard, but you’ll get used to it.”
Liz and Isaac started to walk back to the area where Zack was imprisoned. The barriers were lowered, but he was still sitting in a corner, toying with the mechanics of his silver hidden blade. Liz could smell a strange odor in the air. She looked to Isaac, who whispered to her, “It is the adrenaline in his bloodstream. He’s pissed.”
Liz fought the urge to smirk as Zack stood and walked beside them. Liz enjoyed this new form; she felt good, she could see in the dark, her muscles were plainly visible under her skin, and her mind worked ten times faster. She wondered what downsides there could possibly be and made a mental note to ask Marcus when they were alone next.
The trio walked through wet, slimy, fleshy passages that turned in so many strange ways, Liz wondered if Isaac actually knew where he was going. They came up to a slightly larger hallway. The ceiling was high and a passage beyond wound into the darkness. Isaac yelled, “Open up! We need fresh air and do not want to be imprisoned anymore.”
A thin line of teeth appeared at a distance. The thin line slowly grew into a wide passage lined with large teeth and a sliver of red at the center floor. They walked forward; Liz wanted to see what the world looked like through the eyes of a god.