Tales of Olsen

7

The parking lot was deserted when we arrived and so no one saw us as we dashed out of the car and hurried to our apartment.

“I need the book,” Jordan said as she entered.

The entire ride back home she had insisted that everything we needed was in the book. Supposedly she recognized a trend in what had been happening which she hadn’t recognized before.

“You still haven’t told me what you know,” I said slumping down into the sofa.

“Can’t you see,” she shouted from her room, “To Telos is happening right now.”

For a moment I wondered if she was pranking me for taking her there tonight but then I looked up to see her walking towards me holding a book with to telos inscribed in it.

“What’s that?” I asked walking over to her.

“It’s a storybook,” she replied, “or at least I thought it was.”

Setting it down on the coffee table, she went to the kitchen and got a cup of water.

“As a child, my father gave this to my mother and told her to read it to me every night.” She said walking back into the room, “when I was old enough, I would read it myself.”

“What’s the story about?” I asked,

“To Telos signifies the end of life on this made up place called Olson, or I thought it was made up,” she replied, “everyone there has lived hundreds of years until they began dying. They call it the Death curse and now they’re on the search for the key to their eternal life.”

“Eternal life” I replied, “not so bad.”

“In theory, they know how to stop the death curse, but they need a host to carry out the spell on,” she replied, “if they’re on Earth it means they’ve chosen us and they plan to use humans as hosts to get what they want.”

The thought of my body being used as a host for another being really creeped me out.

“Don’t you think this might just be some science fiction club your father was a part of?” I asked

“It could be,” she replied, “but what we saw tonight was real.”

I thought about it for a moment and realized she was telling the truth. The way Keith’s eyes lit up struck fear in me.

“What else does it say??” I asked

“There’s a princess in the story and she’s the key to all of it. Although she isn’t one of them, her powers are so vast that she can do anything.” she said “she is the key to unlocking the curse. If they get to her and perform the ritual, then all human beings would be at risk.”

The way she looked at me told me that she had studied this story in depth.

“They need the blood of a pure princess from the realm of Ethel who carries the spirit of the stars.” Jordan continued, “I think that could be you,”

I gasped dramatically to let her know that this was beyond ridiculous. I wasn’t a princess and I most certainly had nothing to do with any of this. 

“That’s impossible,” I replied, “I’m not a princess and I have nothing to do with these crazy people.”

“You’re right,” she said flashing me an unconvincing smile, “but you could be wrong.”

Her words struck me. There was no way to know whether this was true or just the ramblings of a very good storyteller. Deep down I knew that there was a possibility especially after what I had seen and felt and heard but I couldn’t believe it; that would mean admitting that I was caught in the web of something I didn’t understand.

“And what if I’m wrong?” I asked, “what can we do?”

She looked away and I could tell her mind was working overtime. Unlike me, she was a meticulous planner which was why, even though she wasn’t the most brilliant student, she had made it all the way to med school.

“I don’t know,” she replied, “the book only tells the story of what happens to us humans when the ritual is done.”

I shook my head.

“What if we ask Keith?” I asked suddenly remembering that he had taken great interest in me.

“What do you mean?” Jordan asked walking towards me, “you can’t mean to get anywhere near that man after what I told you tonight.”

“Well from what you’ve told me, he thinks I’m some sort of princess right?” I asked,

“Yes, there’s a possibility,” she replied

“And if he thinks I’m a princess then he needs me,” I replied, “if he needs me then he can’t hurt me.”

“You know, you’ve always been my crazy friend, but I never thought you were suicidal,” she replied

“Can I see the book?” I asked

She held on to it but after a long pause she handed it over. I knew it was hard for her to part with it for any reason especially since it was the only part of her father she had left. The car accident that killed him had left no trace of his of a body. The day he died, she had cried all day; it was the only time I had seen her cry since then.

“I’ll take care of it,” I said in a reassuring tone.

Taking the book and holding it with reverence for the dead, I began to leaf through. The pages were nothing like I had ever seen. Somehow the pictures seemed to come alive as I read the words.

“Does it always do this?” I asked motioning her over.

We both looked down at the page as the picture began moving.

“It’s never done that,” she replied in awe, “how are you doing this?”

“I just looked at the page,” I replied, “it came alive on its own.”

“I wonder why all this is happening now.” Jordan said suddenly looked around the room, “why did you suddenly begin walking around in your sleep again and why did you find the medallion right before we got here?”

“Maybe I was meant to come here,” I replied, “I wish there was someone who could explain what’s going on.”

We stood there for a moment watching the pictures as they moved on the page.

“What if I get the information we need from Keith,” I said, “I mean, we have no other choice and it wouldn’t be so bad. I can handle myself.”

Jordan walked away pulling a hand through her hair.

“I know you can handle yourself,” she said, “but I don’t even know what we’d be looking for,”

The thought never occurred to me before. I had a working idea of what was happening based on the mysterious book but there was no way I could know what to look for.

“What does the book say about the princess?” I asked as an idea formed in my mind

Jordan pulled the book from my hand and turned to the page in question. That page told the story of the princess meeting the prince.

“Well here it says, the prince and the princess meet and fall in love,” Jordan replied, “then she agrees to marry him, and he sacrifices her on their wedding night.”

I cringed to think of my body on a cold slab with my blood pouring out.

“That’s not very promising,” I said aloud

“It gets worse,” Jordan continued, “from the moment he meets you, he only has thirty days to marry you and perform the ceremony.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, “thirty days.”

Jordan shrugged as if the detail wasn’t prudent.

“That’s assuming you’re the one he’s going to marry.” She said

“You saw what I saw tonight, and you heard the same thing I did so what makes you think I’m not the one. I have the medallion with the star.” I whispered as if there was someone listening to our conversation.

“So, you do believe,” Jordan replied with a smirk

I shook my head and began to pace the room. My mind was in a frenzy trying to calculate how long I had left before Keith would try to marry me, so he could sacrifice me.

“The princess loved the prince,” Jordan replied, “she was a human endowed with powers and she fell for the prince.”

“I can’t even begin to understand what any of this means,” I replied,

“What it means is that you have to be careful until we figure out what to do,” Jordan replied

“Well, the only way to figure anything out is to see Keith.” I replied, “I can schedule an appointment and go see him at his office.”

“I should come.” Jordan said, “I can’t let you go alone.”

“If you come you’ll have to stay outside,” I replied, “that way if something goes wrong you’ll be there to help me.”

Jordan raised a brow and looked over at me.

“You’re kidding me.” She replied, “I can’t help you.”

I smiled,

“Then you’d have to call the cops.” I replied, “do something.”

“I doubt the cops will have any strength in this,” she replied

We both laughed but there was obvious tension in the air. If things were actually what they seemed, then Jordan and I were in clear danger. Going to see Keith put us in further danger but it was the only way to find out if what we knew was true. If it was, we would be in danger.

“What if we find out all this is true?” Jordan asked, “what will you do?”

I stood there for a moment thinking of all the choices I had. I was here to study medicine not deal with threats to my life. On the other hand, if I couldn’t study then I’d fail and lose my scholarship. There was no way I’d just pack up and leave without a fight.

“We’ll figure it out,” I replied.