Godslayer: Chapter 1

Marco Acerba

10:52pm, January 16

I

There were hundreds of ways the past year could have gone better. There were some obvious ones - for example, my father not being killed in the plane crash while on duty overseas. That would have been fantastic.

But today was a close runner up for the worst moment since then. Seven months since he died, seven months since we were greeted by two officers at the door, and seven months since I was given a letter he had wrote while on duty.

I jammed my hand in my pocket and fumbled around for the old parchment, eventually grasping it between my gloved fingers and pulling it out.

It was dirty, smudged, and a lot of the print had been bleed away by tears. But I committed the last ords to memory the first time I read them.

Marc,

''If you are reading this, I am not around anymore. Your grandfather and I have groomed you since your birth to acept life in a military family, and I hope you understand that everything I do is to bring you a better life. I know you will find a way past this. Along with this letter are afew more for my parents and your aunt, Clara, which I assume will be distributed appropriately. As my heir, your college fund will be collecting nearly all of my money, and Clara will likely be adopting you. ''

''She could use the psitive influence, maybe become more mature. I pray you find peace in each other. ''

''That being said, you need to know something. As of now, I am the only person in the world who knows who your mother is. It isn't safe to tell you in this letter, so I will give you some instructions to find out. You used to love scavenger hunts, remember?''

''First, when it is summer, ask Clara to take you to the beach. She will, trust me, and she'll leave you alone. Normally I wouldn't condone that, but this task necessitates it. When you get to the beach, look for a sharks tooth or an arrowhead, maybe. If you can't find one or for some reason can't get to the beach, you can try sharpening a rock with another rock. No guarantee it will work, though.''

I remembered going to the beach. It was a few weeks after his funeral, in mid-July, and Aunt Clara was excited to see me wanting to leave the house and droveus immediately. After six hours of skulking along the beach and feeling my back turn red and blistery, I managed to pawn a shark tooth off a five year old for two slushies and a large tray of nachos.

I had secured the arrowhead in my left chest pocket of my jacket, buttoned up and ready.

''After that, ask Grandma for the chest on my bureau. She'll give it to you, guaranteed. Inside there is a small gold ring box. Use the arrowhead to crack the seal open.''

I remembered not bothering to ask Grandma and snuck into her room. I had to crawl past my sleeping grandfather but managed to reach the chest on their dresser and find the ringbox. It took two hours to crack the seal, and inside all I found was a chunk of carved rock - one side with the profile of a curly haired guy,and the other someone sitting on a throne.

I knew my dad had been into ancient memorobilia,but this was....dumb. And weird.

''Once you get my coin out, stop for a while. Go to school - or if you've finished school, find a wife. Get married. Get a job first, actually. When New Year's Eve comes, you can do more.''

''When Aunt Clara has her New Year's Party and asks everyone to throw the bad memories in the fire - remember, with the little scraps of paper? Take the worst thing that's happened all year, write it on the paper, but wrap it around the coin. Throw it in before anyone notices it in there. It's crucial you do it during the New Year fire.''

This particular year, I remembered wrapping a slip of paper around the stone coin. Everyone's paper was basically the same, everyone could tell. They all had to do with my dad dying.

''After the party, sneak into the fireplace and look for something in the ashes. The coin's shell will have burned off, and now it will be gold and probably shiny. This is loads more important than you could ever dream, Marc. ''

I snuck down at 3am and dug through a lot of ashes to find that stupid coin. When I shone my flashlight on it, the throne was gone and instead it was a man in an old fashioned helmet. It was at this point Irealized my letter was almost over.

''Ask Aunt Clara to let you go to town. At exactly eleven o'clock, you need to go to the fountain. I know it's dangerous, and you might get sick, but it's important. Don't let anyone catch you. When you get to the fountain, throw the coin in. ''

''I have to go now, Marc. My plane is about to take off and we're going to our next base. Stay strong.''

I love you,

John Acerba 

The irony was that the plane he had to stop writing to board was the one that would carry him to his death. There was a bout of pilot error that ended in the deaths of every person aboard except the pilot.

I looked up at the clock, 10:59pm. With only a few people bustling around the town trying to get home, I huddled my coat up, pocketed the letter, and stomped to the fountain.