May the Gods Be Ever in Your Favour

*Alex’s POV*

As I leant down to pick up a weight, a sharp pain pounded me in the temple, knocking me over. Damn. Again, really?

My vision was skewed sideways as I lay on the ground for the next few moments. Lying next to me was the cause, a fully pumped basketball, most undoubtedly thrown by Kellin. Sure enough, as I got up, a voice called from across the basketball court.

“Faggot!”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. I swear he didn’t even know the meaning of that word, because I wasn’t even gay. “Imbecile!” I yelled back.

He squinted as he came towards me and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t even know what that means, you dickwad.”

“Exactly,” I said under my breath.

“What did you say, Gasfart?”

“Oh my God. Seriously, is that all you can come up with? ‘Gasfart?’ You’re stupider than I thought,” I said.

“You shithead,” he said, hate dripping from each syllable. At that, he charged at me.

He swung at me, but I ducked, and then hit him square in the stomach, and I could hear the wind being knocked out of him. He held his stomach as he fell to the ground, gasping for air.

“Learn some real words before you swing at me again, you prick,” I said before I walked away to the locker room.

I found my locker and grabbed my stuff, heading towards the showers. I stripped down and turned on the water, stepping under it and basking in the sudden rush of warmth against my skin.

Kellin Quinn was twenty-three, two years older than me, and he still insisted on being a jerk to everyone. We were adults now; this shit was supposed to end after high school! News flash, I guess it doesn’t.

Kellin and I had known each other for a long time, but we were never really friends. We were more rivals than anything. He was always looking to pick a fight with me, to have dominance over me, which I found really stupid because it wasn’t like I was the most popular guy in the world. I just naturally had that leader quality, whereas he was just a dictator, emphasis on the ‘dic.’

I finished up my shower and turned off the faucet, just standing there for a moment, taking a deep breath for the sake of life. I then grabbed my towel, dried off, and got dressed before Kellin could make an entrance and seek his revenge.

I packed up my stuff and went to the front counter of the gym, checking myself out. I then headed out to my car, keys in hand, only to have Kellin calling after me.

“Hey, you can’t just do something like that to me and expect to get away with it,” he yelled as he made his way towards me.

“Umm, sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s kind of what I’m about to do,” I said bitter sweetly.

Just as I was about to open the door to the driver’s side of my car, I was suddenly hit with an extreme wave of nausea. I felt lightheaded and as if I was going to pass out. I heard Kellin moan from a few yards away, and then he collapsed to the ground. Actually, he completely sunk into the ground. What the hell?

A gasp escaped my mouth as a sharp pain in my stomach became very prominent. I doubled over in pain before I also fell to the hard asphalt.

The last thing I remembered before passing out was being sucked into the earth and the world seeming to close in around me…

***

I woke up with a jolt, sitting upright in my bed and gasping for air. Good God, that dream just seemed so real. I rubbed my face, but stopped almost immediately as I took in my surroundings. The light of the moon was coming from my left, whereas it should have been from my right. I slowly looked out the window, only to have my eyes be met by clouds, and the moon seemed close enough to touch. Then I felt the sheets beneath me. Silk. I made a decent living, but I certainly didn’t make that much money. And there were so many pillows.

“Hello, Alex,” a booming voice said from my right.

I jumped about a foot in the air and clutched the sheets to my body when I noticed the man sitting next to me. “Wh-who are you?”

“I am Zeus, and so are you,” he said simply.

I scrunched my face up in confusion. “What? I’m Alex, you even said it yourself.”

He sighed and held the brink of his nose. “Are they always like this?” He muttered to himself. “Alexander William Gaskarth, born in Essex, lost your brother at a young age, moved out as soon as you were eighteen because you couldn’t stand living under your parents’ rules, and you’ve been tormented by Kellin Quinn Bostwick since you were in kindergarten, who just so happened to be chosen as Typhon. Lovely,” he told me matter-of-factly.

“Wait, what? Who?” I was so confused.

“Alex Gaskarth, I am Zeus, Greek god of the sky and all other gods,” he said as he stood up. “At least, I was. But that’s where you come in, my dear boy.”

I gave him a crazy look. “Hell no. I’m dreaming, aren’t I? Okay, I’m supposed to wake up now that I’ve realized it’s a dream.” I pinched myself, but all it did was send waves of pain through my nerves.

The self-proclaimed Zeus gave a great sigh. “Alex, you must listen. You are not dreaming. You are on Mount Olympus. The sooner you realize that, the sooner we can get to work. I know it’s hard to come to terms with, trust me, I do, but really.”

It was my turn to sigh as I fell back onto the bed. How could I know this wasn’t some old crackhead holding me ransom? Not that there was much to hold me ransom for anyway.

“Can you prove it somehow?”

“Prove what?”

“That you’re a god. I’m not just gonna take some old fart’s word that he’s an ancient god,” I scoffed.

His eyes hardened over. “You can’t take my word? I’ll give you proof, boy,” he warned.

And with a flourish of his hand, we were outside, standing at the point of a mountain. It knocked me breathless, both from the shock of the cold and the marvelous view.

It was as though we were standing on top of the world, literally.

The wind whooshed by, chilling me to the bone. I took in a sharp breath, the freshness of the air burning my nose. The scene below us was quite something. I could see mountains upon mountains, city lights, roads, and the beauty of it all. It looked like the whole world was splayed out in front of me on one big, 3D map.

“Where are we?” I asked, turning to him. His expression was one of sorrow, but I only caught it for a second before it disappeared.

“Mount Olympus. Alex, you must understand, please. The longer it takes for you to come to terms with this, the harder it will be on the others,” he said with a tired look in his eyes.

I sighed and sat down on the ground, cross legged. The self-proclaimed Zeus scrunched his eyebrows before squatting down next to me. He opened his mouth to say something, but I raised my hand to silence him. I needed a moment to breathe, to regroup. This guy was obviously something, that is if I wasn’t dreaming. “So…can you just start from the beginning?”

He nodded. “Finally, we’re getting somewhere. The story is, we gods have always been around, although we’re unfortunately a bit of a dying cause. Every five hundred years or so, humans are plucked from their normal lives on Earth to become immortal and take our places. All of our memories are passed on, along with those before us, in order for all of you to at least have a feel for what you’re supposed to do,” he explained.

“So…I’m a god now?”

He nodded and smiled wistfully. “Once we’ve done our job to inform you of your duties, we’re sent to Elysium.”

“And that’s the heaven for gods and heroes and good people, right?” I questioned. I somewhat remembered learning about Greek mythology in high school when we read the Homer’s epic tales. I also remembered the professors at the university handing out some pamphlets on videos to watch when we read the stories.

He nodded again. “That’s where you’ll go when your time is up, too. That is, unless you fulfill the prophecy,” he said.

“Wait, what prophecy?”

He sighed once again. It was a good thing he was retiring. “There is a prophecy that says it is possible to return to your old lives, but of course, there’s a quest that you must complete, but it’s near impossible.” He waved his hand, batting the entire idea away, but it really only created more in my mind.

I decided to change the subject for the moment. “Is every single god being switched out?”

“Yes. But the muses, fates, oracles, monsters, and heroes will remain,” he told me.

I ran my hands through my hair. I was a god? Zeus was definitely right; it was a lot to wrap your head around. I was just a student at the university, studying to become an English teacher. Why me?

“Why me?” I said looking over to him, voicing my thoughts.

“Trust me, Alex, there were plenty of other worthy candidates, but you my boy, you took the cake. You’re well rounded, you naturally have that leader quality, and you have a level head in difficult situations. You also know a lot about life, and you learn quickly. You can use all of that to your advantage, and never forget that.” He said it as though I was his five-year-old son and he was telling me to behave while he went on a business trip.

I shook my head. I just didn’t get it.

“And now,” he said as he stood back up, looking out and around us, “now I think it’s about time for us to say goodbye. The muses and oracles will help you. The heroes are a maybe; they take a while to warm up to you. This is farewell then, my dear boy.” He held out a hand to help me up. I took it, and it was like he was practically lifting me up.

I looked around bewilderedly. “You’re leaving me to just take care of this already?”

“Well, you’re not alone, I promise you that. Speaking of which, you have a meeting to attend to soon. It’ll be at sunset in that big golden palace,” he said, pointing behind us. I turned, finding the building he spoke of. It looked grand, much more so than I’d ever stepped foot in anyway. He stuck out his hand for me to shake. “It was a pleasure finally meeting you in person, Alex. Or should I say Zeus?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know what to do, though?” I asked incredulously.

“Ahh, all in due time, my boy.” He was still holding out his hand with a smile on his face. “I have faith in you, Alex.”

As I shook it, a glint of mischief sparked in his eyes. “See you in Elysium, my dear boy,” he said as he clapped me on the shoulder with his other hand.

The next moment, Zeus collapsed into a pile of sand and pain coursed through my body. I shrieked in pain, true and horrifying pain. My gut pulled, seeming to be turning itself inside out. My heart hurt, a deep ache that felt like it would never end. And the worst was my head; my temples felt as though someone was sticking a needle through them, and my brain as though it would implode. I fell to the ground again, hunched over the sand of Zeus’s remains. I pulled at my hair, just wanting something to distract me from it. Would these pains ever end?