Jack sat bolt up in the bed and took a deep breath. He was lying in his own bed back in his own dorm room in college. Jack looked around; everything was exactly as he remembered it. His dirty clothes were still in a messy pile on the floor, the posters of indie metal bands still covered the walls, and his laptop was sitting on his desk with the web browser still open to the occult page he had been studying. There was no way everything that had happened had been a dream. Jack thought to himself as he got out of bed. That would not only have been a massive disappointment but also incredibly cliché. However, given the fact that Jack had murdered a homeless man in the middle of the day on one of the busiest streets in town, it might not be a bad thing if it was a dream.

Jack stood in the middle of the dorm room as he contemplated all these things. It took him more than a few seconds to realize that not only was he fully dressed, but he was wearing the same clothing he had on when he fought Profugo, blood stains and all. So, if it wasn’t a dream, then what was it? He was supposed to be immortal, but the last he remembered was getting shot by the police, and now he was back in his dorm.

“Oh, I see you finally decided to wake up.” The voice in his head said.

“I’m confused,” Jack said to no one.

“Well, you got shot, like a lot. See, while you are, in fact, immortal, your body still has a pain limit. You can die, but if you suffer too much pain, say, like getting shot in the back by a bunch of angry cops. That will cause your body to shut down, and you’ll black out for a time while it heals itself.”

“You know there are a lot more rules and stipulations to this whole thing than I thought there would be.”

“You mean to tell me you really thought you could read some basic Latin words from an old book in the back of a library, and you would suddenly be Superman?”

“I mean, that’s what happens in the movies and comics, so, I mean, yeah, that’s kind of what I expected.”

“Right, but those are comic books and movies. This isn’t fiction, kid. This is real life, and real life has rules.”

“So I see. How did I end up back here? I would have thought when I passed out, the cops would have taken me in. I did murder a man, after all.”

“Don’t worry about it; I took care of the cops, but don’t expect charity from me. This was a one-time deal. I’m not gonna be your babysitter, but I’d rather you not be sitting your ass in jail on some murder charges, no matter how justified they are.”

“You know you could have mentioned that mortal vision is veiled when it comes to the actions of immortals and gods.”

“I didn’t think your dumb ass would just go all murder hobo in the middle of the street.”

“You’re the one that told me to kill him!”

“Ok, fair, but still, you didn’t have to do it right then and there.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“It doesn’t matter. It happened, and now here I am, standing in my dorm, having an argument with one of the two voices in my head while I’m sure a whole bunch of cops are combing the city looking for me!”

“Oh yeah, you’re right about that. Every cop in the state wants your ass. Especially after what happened to the ones that shot you.”

“What the fuck do you mean after what happened to the ones that shot me!?”

“Look, I told you not to worry about it. I took care of it, and here you are in the comfort of your own room instead of some moldy jail cell. I would recommend you not stick around for long, though.”

“Yeah, and just where do you expect me to go?!”

“I know a place where you’ll be ok, but you gotta trust me and do as I say.”

“Sure, because that’s worked out in my favor so far.”

Jack didn’t trust the voice, but he also didn’t have much of a choice at this point. He shoved some of his clothes into his backpack and did a pocket check to make sure he had his keys, phone, and wallet. Finding that all his essentials were where they should be, he took one last look around his dorm before walking out the door. As he exited, he could hear a student talking to someone at the opposite end of the hallway. He couldn’t see who the student was, or the person they were speaking to, but the conversation was clear: the cops were here looking for him.

Jack pulled his hood up and walked briskly away from the source of conversation. Jack's dorm was on the third floor of the building, and the elevator to the main lobby was just past where he knew the police were questioning the student. The far end of the hallway did have a stairway for emergency exits in case of fire. Opening that door, however, would set the alarm off in the entire building. Considering his current situation, the fire alarm would be a blessing in disguise, so Jack headed towards the stairs.

With more force than necessary, Jack pushed the large metal door to the fire exit open. The instant the door moved, lights began flashing throughout the hallway, and shrill alarms sounded throughout the building. Jack knew that the alarms were tied directly to the fire department, and he was hoping the mass hysteria that was occurring amongst the student body would allow him to escape unnoticed. As the door opened, Jack realized it was night.

Between the confusion of waking up in his bed and the argument that had occurred with himself, Jack had never bothered to pull back the blinds or wonder why the lights in his room were on. Jack glanced at his cell phone to check the time as he made his way down the stairs. Not only was it night, it was, in fact, one in the morning the day after he had had his fight. Jack took a moment to appreciate how fast his body had recovered from being beaten by a god and shot by the police as he made his way towards his car.

Jack hit the unlock button on the key fob a few times until he spotted the headlights of his car flashing in the distance. The car had been a graduation gift from his grandmother. It was nothing fancy, but it did the job and had gotten him home and back to school countless times. Jack pulled the door open and sat down in the driver's seat, taking a few panicked breaths. He was a nervous wreck; the police were after him for murder, he had two voices in his head, he was charged with killing gods with a floating scroll, and all of this had occurred in less than forty-eight hours of his being immortal. Pressing the start button the car came to life, the dashboard lighting up his gauges as the automatic headlights came on. Jack could hear the sirens in the distance, fire trucks, and police closing in on the campus.

“Ok, where to now?” Jack asked himself.

“Salt Lake City.” The voice said.

“Utah?”

“No, South Carolina, yes, Utah, you fuck wad!” The voice shouted.

Jack sighed and put the car in drive. A parade of emergency responders flooded the parking lot as Jack exited the college. As Jack pulled onto the highway on the ramp, a flash of light and fire appeared in front of his eyes for an instant and was quickly replaced with a flaming scroll.

Quest:

Evade your pursuers.

Do you accept?

Yes or No.