Chapter 4

  Iskander and Yuki trudged through the forest slowly; every step was taken with caution as the very environment sought to devour them. After about an hour Iskander decided that despite the noise and potentially lethal response from the greenery, he pulled out the knife that was still in Manahan’s webbing. Affixing it to the end of the Garand he used it as a makeshift machete and started hacking a path through the trees and bushes. At first, the trees and bushes seemed to attempt to retaliate by leaning in and occasionally hitting them with branches, but as Iskander grew more and more proficient with his makeshift trimmer the trees began to pull away, and once even moved through the dirt out of the way.

  “ This is crazy,” said Yuki watching a small songbird growing in the tree above.

  The harmless animal grew claws on the tip of its wings and the feathers on its wings seemed to sharpen and lengthen. As Yuki watched the creature mutate the bird seemed to notice her glaze and glared down at her with red demon-like eyes. Letting out an ear-bursting cry the bird took off with several heavy flaps of its wings discarding the soft feathers of its former form.

  “More like unlikely,” replied Iskander slowly walking into the separating forest.

  “Keep up before the forest decides to try and split us.”

  If it was possible for a tree to perk up the ones around them seem to. Leaning in the nearest tree tried to separate them. With a hard thrust, Iskander stabbed the bayonet into the tree and pulled it out. The tree stopped and reconsidered its decision before it pulled back to its original position bleeding thick red sap. Yuki watching this rushed forward until she was just behind Iskander. Satisfied with her proximity Iskander continued forward into the forest.

Iskander seemed to ignore the changes around them singlemindedly making his way forward through the trees. In contrast, Yuki noted every change to the environment around them, unable to wrap her mind around the logic-defying event happening before their eyes.

  “How are you so calm about this?” asked Yuki after about another hour into the forest.

  “What do you mean?” asked Iskander stabbing a particularly bold flower.

  “The world as we know it just ended and the forest is trying to kill us and you’re just casually walking through it.”

  “I don’t usually stab the surroundings when I walk Yuki,” he said glancing back at her.

  “ You’re avoiding the point,” she said annoyance obvious in her tone.

  “ Darwinism,” he said continuing on.

  “How does the survival of the fittest play into this scenario at all?” she asked.

  “The gods in almost every society are absolutely monstrous beings who destroy and end lives in an instant for the most trivial of slights,” he said looking to the right.

  “They’ve been gone for centuries maybe millennium. No one worshiped them in that time… well except Native Americans and Indians. Perhaps a few more that I’m unaware of,” he said his head darting to the left.

  “If I was an all-powerful being and I came back to find that I was no longer being worshiped as I demanded and I didn’t want to end all of the creations at once I’d only want to keep the best of those alive,” he said reaching out with a left straight and punching the air or what appeared to be the air.

  To Yuki’s surprise, a woman appeared on her cheek holding Iskander's fist.

  “What the fuck?!” yelped Yuki hopping backward her back hitting a tree.

  Scrambling away from the tree before it could do she glanced behind herself to see if a branch was coming to brain her. To her surprise she saw the trees and vegetation doing what she’d assume was their equivalent of a dash away from them, or perhaps the woman Iskander had struck. In a matter of seconds, they were in a clearing at least 100 feet in diameter. Turning back to the woman Iskander had struck Yuki took her in for the first time. What caught her eye immediately was that she has a head of green hair that seemed to be made up of a combination of human hair and vines made up her hair styled in a waist-length braid of green. Her head was crowned beautifully by a crown of lovely red and purple roses. Her build was stout and fit with curves that put Yuki’s own to shame, but clearly, she had natural work muscles. She’d best be described as a farmer's daughter that worked the field in her physical appearance. Her clothes, if it could be called that, consisted of a skirt made up of vines wrapped up by a wolf's pelt and a tube top made from a combination of animal hides and plants.

  “Are ya going to keep fisting my face?” asked the woman a combination of bemusement and annoyance in her voice.

  “Are you going to keep following us?” replied Iskander.

  “Oh most definitely,” said the woman as vines shot from the ground and grabbed Iskander and Yuki and bound them in place.

  Stepping back from Iskanders still extended fist the woman put her fists on her hips with a mischievous smile.

  “Welcome mortals to your new world or should I say welcome back to a world run by the gods! As we speak all the humans of the modern world are undergoing an acclimation ceremony of sorts to introduce them to the new world and their new abilities, however, you seven are and about 993 others didn’t get teleported to the school,” she said beginning to walk side by side to in front of them like a teacher lecturing.

  “What do you mean us seven,” asked Iskander interjecting into her speech.

  “Oh right,” she said hitting her hand to her forehead.

  Rising up from the ground the 5 people they had been looking for appeared bound up. One was unconscious while the others struggled against the vines furiously. In contrast to his and Yuki, vines gagged the other and actively kept them from speaking.

  “Anyways as I was saying maybe because you’re weird, strange, or perhaps too stupid to have been teleported to the introduction the gods got curious. We don’t really know why. But because you're freaking the gods have taken a bit of an interest,” striking a strange pose where she had one hand on her hip and the other pointed towards them she rose above them on a tree that grew from the ground.

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  “I, the newest god to have been born. The only god to have been birthed into all the pantheons known to exist has been assigned to watch over you lost lambs! Rejoice for Dokimotklesh is here!” she said leaning her head back and laughing.

  Everyone stopped struggling against the vines holding them to watch as Dokimotklesh leaned back a bit too far and fell off the tree and hit her head on the forest floor. The blow to the head knocked her out. The vines holding everyone released them onto the ground then retracted into the ground. Catching his breathe for a moment Iskander rubbed his throat. Then dashed forward toward the unconscious god. One of the others right on his heels. Sliding toward the god and getting into a kneel he turned her onto her front. Throwing his backpack toward the person beside him he put the gods wrists together.

  “Very front small pocket are zip ties,” he said.

  An instant later mechanic gloved hands reached forward and tightly bound the woman's wrists. Looking over at the person assisting him he laughed, reaching over he held out his hand for a fist bump. A grin similar to the one now covering his face met his own as his best friend Rand bumped his fist.

  “Look at you,” said Iskander getting up and taking in his friend.

  “I never thought you’d join the army,” he said

  “Neither did I, but that's how it turned out,” said Rand shrugging.

  “Lucky you got transported while you were fully geared up,” said Iskander taking in Rands's full equipment load.

  His mixed Asian and Hispanic features had hardened into a chiseled jaw line and cheekes sharp enough you could cut yourself on. The boy who had once been scared and small now towered over Iskander.

  “You’re one to talk, where the heck did you get that ancient shit,” said Rand taking in Iskander's archaic webbing and the Garand slung over his shoulders.

  “Dr. Manahanns basement, I remembered he had his old WW2 equipment stored in the basement,” he said as he gestured for Rand to move towards the goddess's feet and help him pick her up.

  “He kept that stuff pristine then,” he said with a grunt as they picked up the surprisingly heavy woman. Putting her over their shoulders they walked towards the others who were collecting themselves still.

  “He also had Ryan’s old service rifle in the basement.. Seems he died,” said Iskander pausing.

  Rand stopped a second after causing the unconscious goddess’s shoulder to hit the back of Iskander’s head.

  “No way,” said Rand.”You know how?”

  “No idea,” said Iskander resuming their walk towards the others.

After a few seconds of silence, Iskander spoke again.

  “How’d all of you get captured?”

  “We all teleported around a little white concrete shed, we got attacked almost immediately, by feral wolves. Me and the other fought them off. But as we regrouped and tried to figure shit out this dumb ass appeared and grabbed us with vines. We were brought underground where she tried to interrogate us by threatening to put us in a vat of bugs.”

Iskander shuttered.

  “Disgusting,” was all Iskander said before Rand continued.

  “Then a weird light came down from above. Kinda looked like a pixie or some shit and she left. Then we were here,” he said.

  “What did she ask about?” asked Iskander getting over his initial disgust of bugs.

  “Mostly about where we're born, if we were demigods or not human. Crazy shit like that,” said Rand.

  “It’s not crazy, but maybe an answer,” replied Iskander as they reached the others. “Let me digest the info and I think I’ll have figured this out.”

Iskander couldn’t help but smile as the others turned to look at them. They too smiled even Yuki.

  “Looks like we’re all back together,” said Zahrah crossing her arms over her chest, her hijab wrapped around her neck and her long black hair in a ponytail.

Zahrah’s soft features arranged in a smile of joy at the reunion of her childhood family.

  “Fuck yeah we are,” said Roxxie punching one hand into another.

  Her gymnast physique was on full display with gym clothes even more revealing than Yuki’s had been. Around her waist, a hoodie was tied long since forgotten as her excessive body heat made the air around her quite literally mist in a cloud of heat. Her red hair was cut into a pixie cut that framed her sharp features and freckles in an appealing way even Iskander couldn’t ignore.

  A man just as tall as Rand but twice as wide came over to help them. His long beard and long blonde hair covered his features in a messy veil. As he reached them he smiled showing all his teeth and the hair fell away revealing his eyes for the first time. All it took was for Iskander to see those shocking blue eyes for him to recognize Bjorn. Taking the woman's head from his shoulder Bjorn took the load with a grunt of effort.

“

  She’s a heavy bitch ain’t she?” he said in a voice low and deep like a canyon.

  “I’m guessing she’s not made of what we’re made of. Since gods are real, that means those mythical metals are too,” replied Iskander stretching his shoulder.

  “Well that 4-year chemistry degree I got doesn’t seem like it was worth it now,” he said laughing.

  His very laugh sent vibrations through Iskander’s feet and into his naval.

  “We’ll see,” replied Iskander.

  If his hunch was correct then Bjorn might be the most important member of their group now.

  “Where’s Tanya?” he asked looking around.

  “Here,” said a soft voice from behind Rand.

  Peaking her head out the Tiny Tanya looked at the group shyly. If Iskander didn’t know better he’d have assumed the barely 5-foot-tall woman was barely out of middle school, but she was technically the eldest of them by a few hours. Her platinum blonde hair was cut into a bowl cut that covered her eyes and ears but showed her button nose and thin lips.

  “How’d you get behind Rand?” asked Iskander curious. She’s have had to get past him too and judging by the fact he’d seen the invisible goddess he had some sort of innate resistance to stealth abilities.

  “I just walked over, no one noticed when I tried to talk to them until you said my name,” she said shyly.

  Iskander cupped his chin in thought.

  “Stealth or some sort of presence erasure until someone says your name?” he said aloud.

  Shaking his head he looked at Rand.

  “Judging by that Ranger tab on your chest you can lead us to the place where you teleported right?” asked Iskander.

  “I got the landmarks around it down and the direction they were so I can attempt, but no guarantee that I’d find it in a timely manner.

  “Well, Ranger lead the way. We need to get to that concrete shed. If my hunch is right, then we need to explore that shed.

Rand looked at him skeptically.

  “Dude it's a shed, probably an old bomb shelter or something,” he said.

  “ Maybe, but either way it's worth a look. Because me and Yuki teleported around the house where we were born, but for you 5 to be teleported around that place I can only assume that’s where you were born,” said Iskander finally vocalizing his thoughts.

Rand raised an eyebrow.

  “Along with the fact when we came in here me and Yuki got a prompt that called this forest is called USSB108 forest of the Gene witch and the video game logic the gods seem to be forcing onto the world…,” he said letting the words hang in the air.

  There was a heaviness in the air as he finished speaking. All Except Zahrah looked perturbed by how much sense Iskander's words were making.

  “Okay my father never let me game, so I need some clarification,” she said interrupting the heavy silence.

  “Video games leave easter eggs, and other hints about what’s happened in an area, or what resides in an area,” Said Rand paling.

  “USSB is short for United States Secret Base I’m guessing, and gene witch implies some sort of genetic modification has or is happening in the area,” he laid out.

  “So you’re saying we were fucked with as baby’s by doctor Manahan?” asked Zahrah.

  “Perhaps, or it's a red hearing,” said Iskander. “It's not all that uncommon for the name to be a trap in and of itself. But I want to know and I think that the answers are at that shelter,” he said then gestured towards the unconscious god.

  “Also it seems her powers are plant-related. Surrounding her with concrete and steel seems like a good way to keep her powerless while we get her to answer some questions.”