Episode 6

Episode 6

JOURNEY

Written by Andy Mascola

The weight of the Cyclops falling out of his chair shook the entire cafeteria. The giant covered his eye with a pair of enormous hair covered hands, still in shackles. The Cyclops let out a horrible scream that sounded more animal than man.

John barely had time to rise completely to his feet before he felt both his arms pulled behind his back by a guard. As if instinctual, John’s tail immediately began beating on the guard’s legs.

“Put him out! Put him out!” the guard yelled as he struggled to keep John’s arms held tight and simultaneously keep away from the fleshy, snake-like appendage of his prisoner attempting to force him to let go.

“What the fuck are you do…?” were the only words John was able to say before a second guard pulled John’s head back by his hair and pressed a flashlight-sized metal rod to his neck causing the man with the tail to go limp and pass out.

John awoke on his back in an all-white room, still wearing the black jumpsuit he’d been given by Charles. He felt his neck where the guard had applied the metallic device that had knocked him out. 

There was no pain there. As John touched his face he realized his beard had been shaved completely off.

He sat up on the edge of the bed and put his hands on his knees, breathing deeply. He looked down between his legs and for a moment was surprised to see his own tail hanging there. He’d forgotten about it.

In addition to the bed, the room John now found himself in was outfitted with: a dresser and mirror, nightstand and lamp, and a small closet with no door. John stood and walked to the mirror to examine his clean shaven face. In the mirror’s reflection, he noticed that behind him, at the foot of the bed, was a familiar object. John turned around to see the backpack he had arrived with.

John picked up the pack and unzipped it. He turned it over, emptying its contents onto the bed. The cellphone and notebook fell out. The bottle of booze was nowhere to be found. John picked up the phone and tried to power it on. Nothing. He picked up the journal, but before he had a chance to open it a light on the wall the size of a doorbell flashed green and beeped. A door slid open. Charles walked into the room accompanied by two guards.

“Where’s my hooch?” John asked.

Charles didn’t say anything as he strolled across the white room and sat on the edge of the bed. The two guards stood on either side of the now closed door looking straight ahead, their arms behind their backs.

“Fortunately for you Cyrus’ eye is still functioning,” Charles said.

“Cyrus?”

“It takes a lot more than a spork to blind a Cyclops.”

“Oh,” John said chuckling lightly to himself as he remembered the incident in the cafeteria. “A 

Cyclops named Cyrus. That’s cute.”

“John, you’ve been brought to us because you’re special. In this world there are certain individuals, such as yourself and Jennifer, who have been given gifts that can only be activated by the caretakers of this establishment. It is through our practiced nurturing and tutelage of these gifts, such as your tail and Jennifer’s wings, that we will guide you in achieving what you were put on this planet to achieve. 

In return for all that we give you, we in return ask only that you assist us in achieving our goals.”

“I never asked for a fucking tail! I don’t owe you anything!” John stepped toward Charles, at which point both guards drew flashlight-sized metal bars from their waistbands and began walking quickly toward him.

“Halt!” Charles yelled, holding up one hand. The guards stopped in their tracks. “Imagine how you’d have been treated if you were born with that tail. It would have been removed and you’d never know that you were special and what your true purpose was. You’d walk through life just like everybody else. You’d work a job, maybe fall in love, maybe have a child or two, and if you were lucky you’d live to a ripe old age and die,” Charles paused. He stood and faced John. “But you wouldn’t have felt 

complete, would you?”

As John listened he knew that what the old man was saying was true. The life the rest of humanity, including his own mother and father and everyone he had ever known, were living and had prepared him for would never be enough. He’d known this his entire life and yet he could never bring himself to share this information with his family or people he looked up to.

John knew deep inside that he was different and meant for more, but he never knew what made him special, or how to activate and take advantage of it. John’s tail whipped around instinctively as he pondered this new information.

John had spent the majority of his life pushing down his desire to see the unseen truths he knew in his heart of hearts existed, just so he could conform to the ordinary world in order to merely survive. The old man was offering John the secret destiny that was rightfully his to claim. The old man was offering the destiny that would ultimately lead John to see the unseen truths. John wanted to fulfill his destiny more than anything else.

“Why wasn’t I born with this?” John asked, taking his tail in his hand. “And yet it feels like I’ve had it my entire life.”

“I can’t say,” Charles said shaking his head. “I only know that Mrs. Margot and I have been trusted with the ability to hear the call within the gifted and bring them to our facility to be activated and 

trained.”

“Trained for what?” John asked.

“To find and destroy those that would terminate a clandestine bloodline that reaches as far back as the Buddha himself. More than five hundred years before Christ. That is why you are here, John.” 

Charles walked to the door. The green light lit up and beeped as the door slid open. “Tomorrow you will begin your training. You will be part of an elite team that will include yourself, Jennifer, and Cyrus.” Charles shook his head and smiled. “You better hope the big guy can forgive you for the incident in the cafeteria.” Charles and the guards walked out of the white room and the door slid shut behind them.

John picked up the journal and opened it. Inside, each paged was filled with notations and drawings of creatures and maps. He closed the journal and lay back on the bed, holding it against his chest. John thought about the last twenty four hours of his life and all that he saw and experienced. He thought about Jennifer and Cyrus the Cyclops. As he closed his eyes and began to fall to sleep he wondered what amazing things tomorrow would bring.