The Immortals of Sumer

I was running through the candle lit hallway to a solid dark wood door in front of me. I was scared to go down there but even more so scared to stay here with those men. I threw the basement door open and plunged into the darkness, trying to not trip down the steps while also fighting a nagging sense of urgency. I was in complete darkness as I realized there were no more steps and walked forward until I felt the wall. I was kind of startled to feel the cold brick but followed along the wall until I felt a sudden end to the floor. I screamed as I fell, scrambling to grip the bricks of the wall somehow. I landed on something pokey-several somethings-and clattering echoed in the room as I rolled down an incline of some sort. I was confused as to what I had landed on. I was bleeding from several scratches and I felt my shoulder was messed up from how I landed but I wasn’t rolling in dirt or grass. I assumed it was pebbles as I finally came to a stop. I groaned, trying to find good spots to put my hands on in order to stand upright again. The stones were pointy sometimes like they were a bunch of like crushed pea gravel or something equally painful to walk barefoot on. Though, there were random spots where it felt smoother, thinner, and almost cylindrical. What the…? Finally, I reached a wall and realized there was some kind of subbasement or bunker under the basement because the walls were metal…? As I tried to find something-a light switch or a doorknob-as I felt my way along the walls, I tripped over something and cried out when I hit my head on the sharp rocks. I felt a stinging wetness running down my temple. Great, I was bleeding for sure. I tried to feel what I had tripped over but it was confusing. It was metal but different than the wall metal, definitely smoother. I tried to feel around between the presumed stone, the smooth metal, and the rough metal wall to figure out what it was. However, when I started getting a nagging feeling that that was roughly the shape of legs and a torso…No, I was just scar- I reached directly forward until I felt skin and I tried to pull away, screaming. Oh, my f*****g god! Someone was down here! They grabbed my wrist before I could pull back and I screamed harder, trying to scramble away, completely forgetting the sharpness of the rocks suddenly. Just then, there was an echoing growl and something wet went across the palm of my hand and I thrashed, creeped out at all the possibilities of what might possibly be down here in the dark right now. Suddenly, another hand grabbed me by my upper arm and I was pulled forward off balance and I felt myself pressed against the smooth metal. Another growl echoed in the room and vibrated the metal and I couldn’t keep myself from screaming again, renewing my frenzied thrashing. The hand left my wrist and, abruptly, wrapped around my throat and I stilled, crying out before losing a little air. I felt the metal shift and, suddenly, I could feel someone’s breath on my face. I started crying as a softer growl sounded right next to my ear. “Who are you?” I asked and there was another soft growl. The hand pressed down on my throat a little more as the hand from my arm moved to my wet hand and flip my palm up before raising my hand. I tried to pull back but there was a harsh growl and I stilled and let him lift my hand up. Suddenly, something wet ran across my palm again, quick but pressing. WTF? “What was that? Who are you?” I asked more questions and suddenly he shifted and there was a pain across my wrist and I screamed. I tried to thrash and hit and kick and swing but he constricted his grip on my throat and I choked again. When I realized he wasn’t going to release his grip until I stopped, I stilled again, the pain in my wrist fading to a cold numbness. Was I bleeding out? Did he cut me? Who was this guy? What was going on? Finally, when he seemed still and wasn’t moving, I threw my arm out in a right hook and felt it collide with skin. A deep growl echoed the room as I was, suddenly, lifted off the ground and was slammed into the piercing gravel so hard that I screamed, feeling something stab through my thigh! Nope! I was better off upstairs, I regretted. I took a shuddering deep breath and tried to pry my leg off of whatever had pierced through it but then he put his hand on my knee. I whimpered. “If you wish to live through our next conversation, keep your leg still. You pull your leg up and you’ll rip open the vein and bleed out. Now, I can offer you a chance to save yourself. First, tell me your name, woman,” the man said with a deep voice whose echoes sent shivers down my spine. What do I do? Think, girl. Right now, however, there didn’t seem to be much choice. He seemed right about my leg. I knew enough to know there were major arteries around there. “My name…” I hesitated and he growled. I cringed but he pressed ever so slightly on my leg and I winced, clenching my jaw before just saying, “My name is Elena! Elena Velden.” He removed the pressure from my leg but kept his hand there to keep my leg there. “Hmm, and where are we right now?” he asked and suddenly everything was confusing again…. where the hell did this guy come from? How did he not know he was in some creepy, hole-in-the-floor, creeptastic basement of a basement of Velden Manor?! “We are in the basement of my family home, I think-I hope. I don’t know how I fell down here; everything has been completely dark. How do you not know where you are?” I asked, incredulously and he growled. “What land are we on? Where are we? Answer me,” he demanded and I flinched at his tone. “Um, North America…the United States-um, we’re in my hometown Veldare in the Velden Manor,” I answered and he frowned, saying: “f****m execrantia nomen.” Wait a minute, hold up! That’s Latin, my mother forced me to learn it when I was young though hardly anyone spoke it anywhere around here. Nomen…wait, cursed name…. “Some say the Velden Manor is cursed and that my family is too…” I said and he scoffed. I finally sat up, jarring my leg just ever so slightly and I hissed in pain. I tried to push his hand away but he growled. “Be still, woman, and tell me this: what is the year?” he asked and I actually did go still. “Is that a joke?” He growled and I sighed. “It’s 2025,” I finally answered. He roared and I stilled entirely, startled by what could possibly make that sound. This had to be a nightmare. I must have fallen and hit my head and I am probably bleeding out while I have a nightmare about what’s here in the darkness with me…because that was not a humanly possible sound to make. “One last question: how and why did you find me?” he asked. “Some men broke into the Manor and I think they killed my Uncle. They were cornering me in the study but…I know secret passages there so I used them to run to the basement and locked it behind me so they couldn’t follow. But it was dark and I couldn’t risk them seeing a light and, because I couldn’t see, I fell through…some kind of hole or trapdoor or something, I rolled down a bunch of gravel, I think, until I hit a wall and I got up to follow it only to trip over….you, I think. I don’t entirely know because it’s kind of f*****g dark still, okay?!” I finished asking sarcastically and he growled, pressing on my leg the slightly touch. “Listen here, you sadistic bastard! If you’re going to kill me, do it. If you are not, then stop touching me!” Oh, my mouth was gonna get me killed. Great. “You tempt me to, woman…but I won’t kill you. It seems there are more worthier opponents upstairs. However, since you are unable to see currently and also are incapable of walking as well, I shall carry you upstairs.” He said very succinctly. I scoffed. “Firstly, what happened to ‘I’ll rip a vein?’ and secondly, you are not carrying me anywhere let alone touching me,” I began to rant as I tried to shove his hand away again. But suddenly, he chuckled and lashed out. I was flat on my back, being stabbed by the sharp odds and ends, and had jolted my leg slightly. I grunted, trying to lash out and punch him but he evaded me enough to duck under my arm and press his own arm across my throat and jaw as he roughly pinned my arm down. The back of my hand scraped something sharp and I gasped. Suddenly, something was shoved into my mouth and I felt a cold liquid fill my mouth. I was panicking, not knowing what was going on right now, and I was about to bite him or claw or fight back when he crushed down on my throat before abruptly pulling away. I was about to roll over and retch up everything when his hand grabbed my jaw to keep my mouth shut and his free hand pinched my nose closed. “Behave, woman,” he growled and that alone made me hold out even longer before my brain started throbbing and my chest felt as though a huge weight was pressing on my chest, as though I had sunk thousands of miles below water. I finally swallowed and he instantly released me and I gasped, coughing from trying to take in so much air too soon, my throat feeling oddly coated. It hit me like liquor, warmth pooling in my stomach and warming through my veins. Between that and my oxygen deprived brain throbbing, I sighed as I felt every muscle relax like that first moment you settle down in a comfy warm bed. Every instinct I had was screaming to run, to fight back even as black framed my vision… I was in and out for awhile, remembering enough to grasp that he had carried me out of the house through the fresh blood splattered front door of my family Manor… that he had carried me into the forest surrounding my house because I could hear the dead leaves crushing beneath his feet. I faintly remembered the trail in almost a near delirium until I remember being startled by opening my eyes again to see that we had neared the old forgotten cottage ruins on the back half of the property. I remember asking how he knew this was here but I think I passed out before he could answer me. Nice. I do distinctively remember that he had set me down in the cellar, sharing an intent look in my eyes, before looking at my leg and I gasped at the pain, blacking out again. Finally, with my head nearly hangover pounding at the temples, I sat up with a start before I took in what was actually unfolding before me. We were in the cottage cellar with scattered light filtering down from the cellar doors being left wide open. I kept that in the back of my mind as I realized that he had dug up the dirt floor of the cellar and unearthed a full-size coffin that had been opened and now two men stood before me, talking and embracing. I finally saw him in a decent enough light to take in the details and I was startled. It figures that the handsome guy has to be the f*****g psycho (either that, or they’re total insecure douchebags because go figure). He really was handsome though. So was the man he spoke to, if you were into blondes. He had a striking jawline with dimples and high cheekbones. His eyes-from our shared look from earlier-were a grey that was like liquid mercury. None of that could fix the fact that I was confused as to what all was happening though. The blonde man finally noticed me and smirked to the man that had brought me here. “Hmm, beautiful. Dinner, my brother? You shouldn’t have,” he practically purred out as he neared me. I got a terrible gut feeling, really contemplating running for those doors, before the dark-haired man moved incredibly fast, stepping in between the blonde’s advances as he motioned for him to stop. The dark-haired man looked down at me for a moment, and I didn’t even try to hide the confusion or shock on my face, before he finally spoke. I shuddered at the sight of his shirt though; it had been dirty before I’m sure but that much blood was not coming out! “Elena Velden is not to be touched, on my orders, brother.” My confusion grew even more so when the blonde man repeated the Latin the man had muttered earlier about some kind of cursed namesake. What did the nutcase folktale of my family name have to do with any of this? What was even happening? Was my uncle dead? Did he bother to call an ambulance for Uncle? I was positive those men that broke in were dead, though I was hardly conscious for any of it, because I noticed all the blood splatter on his shirt and hands when he looked down at me and it was still wet-fresh blood. They were dead, he killed them while I was passed out, and I didn’t feel a drip of guilt. Why did he not know when and where he was, though? How do you unbury a whole coffin on your own? I didn’t see a shovel anywhere. There was no separate dirt pile. Just the coffin and the disturbed, churned soil where it had been buried. Why was there an unmarked coffin in the abandoned cottage basement anyway? What was going on?! I’m losing my mind; this is it. My whole bloodline was nuts and this was apparently how I was subconsciously projecting my family’s genetically hand-me-down insanity. Great, just great. Suddenly, I startled a little when the dark-haired man spoke again. “It is the very least we can do for the Velden bloodline that resurrected us from putrefying.” What? Resurrect? Putrefy? “What does the Velden name have to do with all this? Um, cursed name… f****m execrantia nomen?” I asked finally and they both shared a dark look. When the dark haired man looked down at me, I scowled, getting a bad feeling at how cocky he was just now. “You elemental little nymphs have always been of use and much help to us immortals in the earlier wars. In this most previous war, you elementals betrayed us. We fell and, shortly after, your kind was betrayed and cursed…so now humans reign. After all, look at you with no knowledge of the magick unintentionally sparking from your fingertips; your ancestors must be writhing at the future they created for their legacies,” he said and I scoffed. My fingers looked completely normal. No sparks, no cool lightening…fucking psycho. “You’re insane!” I hissed at them both and they smirked down at me in a way that my stomach twisted. This was not good; nothing good would come of this. I needed to get away from them. This was my land; I could manage if I just- “Don’t bother, beautiful, there’s nowhere you can run that we won’t be able to follow,” the blonde warned as soon as I looked up at the cellar doors. I scowled back at him and then the dark haired man moved out of my sight so I stood up quickly to turn towards him. I moved off to the side of them both when I realized they were flanking me, herding me, into the cellar corner. “What the f**k do you want from me?!” I asked, taking yet another step back. They both took two steps forwards and I sighed. “You will come with us without a fight. You will help us assimilate to the modern day ways and we will personally protect you in return,” the dark haired man said and I scoffed. “It would seem that I only need protection from the likes of you,” I said and they both growled, taking another step towards me. It was too close for comfort and I gave up another step backwards. “Then why did I have to kill so many men to get you safely out of your own front door?” he asked and I flinched. Uncle… “Robberies happen everyday. My family might be crazy but owning the hospitals makes us rich too. Anyone with internet nowadays could figure out what the Velden name is worth and probably right below that would be our address. Sorry, you’re the only threat I perceive right now. Why would I ask for your protection when you don’t even know what day it is,” I asked and they both snarled. I flinched and they used it to get even closer. I stepped back but then gasped at the cold stone touching my back. I knew they had been herding me and I still let them succeed. I got frustrated with myself for a split second and then focused back to my situation. They seemed a little too confident now that I was cornered and I really didn’t see an out. The dark haired man took three steps forward before offering me his hand. “Take my hand, Miss Velden. It is your only option now,” he said and I shook my head. “Even if it were my only option, I still would not take your hand without knowing all that it entails. I have questions.” “Of course you do, little one, but I swear to you no harm will come to you,” he said and I scoffed. “And, of course, no one can ever lie, right?” I said sarcastically and the blonde snarled behind the dark haired man that stood in front of me. “You will respect the King, little nymph, or it’ll-” the blonde began but the dark haired man raised his hand to stop him. Wait, King? They really were crazy, him a King? He was buried in a basement! They both were! “She does not know what her words could cause her yet. Everyone lies, little one, even you have in your short life already. But, at the moment, what other options do you have?” he asked and I c****d my head. “Death,” I said honestly, “There is always another option. Give me a moment and I’m sure I can come up with several strategies.” He chuckled. “Are you being brutally honest or just hopeful?” “If I am hopeful but I can follow through with it then doesn’t that make it an honest fact too?” I asked, playing along with our cat and mouse game while I thought of a way out. He smirked and stepped closer again. “Have you come up with other solutions yet, Miss Velden?” he asked finally and I nodded. “In the two steps you have taken towards me, yes, I believe I may have ascertained a way out,” I said as I put my arms up to protect my face as I kicked out, lashing out at his bad knee. He fell to his knees with a grunt as the blonde rushed forward. I rammed my knee into the dark one’s face before I jumped a little to push off his chest and kicked the blonde one right across the jaw. He stumbled off to the side and I took the chance to run up the cellar stairs and didn’t bother wasting time closing the door behind me. Instead, I ran for the thickest set of woods I knew of on the property. I didn’t hear anyone behind me but I was thundering through the dead leaves and bushes like a mad man anyway so there would be little to hear unless they were right behind me. However, when I turned forward from looking behind me, the dark haired man was suddenly silently standing in front of me and I screamed as I tried to skid to a stop, to turn around, but he had his arms around me in a matter of seconds and tackled me to the ground. I cried out before trying to thrash, fighting to claw at him, scratch him-anything. But my fight was short lived as he pinned my hands down into the dirt and snarled down at me. I whimpered, c*****g my head off to the side, as he bared his teeth closer and closer. “You will listen well, little nymph,” he growled, “You will help us acclimate to this modern world and we will protect you. I promise you it is a fate much better than a death dealt by me.” My heart was racing but it seemed to stop cold when he put his mouth against my collarbone and inhaled deeply. I took in a deep shuddering breath and then shouted, “Okay! Okay, fine, please…don’t.” He inhaled deeply one last time before growling slightly and then suddenly we were moving! He held onto my hand and put an arm around my waist and we were standing again in a matter of seconds. I saw the blonde leisurely leaning against a birch tree and I glared at them both. “Okay, so what now?” I asked and they shared a dark look. “First, we will clean up your Manor and use it as safe enough shelter to start summoning the surviving Lords and Ladies together to retake back what is rightfully ours. Start by telling me the fastest way to find people nowadays?” Is this really happening? I mean…really? I gotta be going crazy like my mother; this was my break. “Um, that would be the internet,” I said and they both shared another look and the blonde shrugged. “How do we get you safely to this internet source to begin searching for old surnames?” the blonde asked and I scoffed. “I guess, I would need my cell phone, really-or my laptop. They’re both in my school bag in the Manor…my uncle-did he…?” I looked at the dark haired man and he was a mask of nothingness. My gut hollowed. “Based solely on the painting of the male over the mantle, no, my Lady, your uncle did not survive the invasion,” he said slowly and I nodded. “I really am the last Velden…the family name really is going to die out finally…” I muttered to myself and sighed. I didn’t know how I felt. This was all too much. I couldn’t even process how I felt about all of this right now. The dark haired man moved closer and it brought me back to reality…I think. “I will go retrieve this…school bag if you tell me what it looks like and where you left it. You need not go in there yet.” “My bag is just a black leather bag, a messenger bag-square with a long shoulder strap. I left it on the-um black marble island by the bar chairs in the kitchen.” “Stay with her, keep an eye out,” the dark haired man said to the blonde and, suddenly, he was gone. I gasped and the blonde cast a quick look to me. “You will get used to it-to us and our habits, little nymph,” he said and I sighed, knowing I could never accept this strangeness. “My name is Elena. Call me little or nymph one more time, I dare you,” I was saying and the blonde man snarled, turning more towards me with a menacing aura, but he snapped out of it, suddenly standing straight up. I realized the dark haired man was already back and indeed holding my shoulder bag. “I cannot leave you alone for one second without you riling someone up, no?” he asked me as he handed it to me. I dug out my phone from the front pocket of the bag, it’s usual spot, and checked the screen. Seven unread messages, three missed calls and voicemails; all of them were my best friend concerned about my odd silence. The dark haired man snarled and I suddenly looked back up at them…right…surnames… I went to my internet app and to the most basic starting point I could think of-Google. “Okay, this is basically a virtual library that will bring up close things to what you’re searching for. So, tough guys, where do we start?”