Jack looked down at his mangled hand as he walked through the woods. The midmorning sun beat down on him and his black hoodie was starting to become drenched with sweat. He recalled the voice saying something about his body regenerating, but judging by the mangled stump of flesh and bone that was currently his left hand, and it wasn’t a fast process. It didn’t hurt, though; to be fair, nothing had hurt him since he had become immortal. Not feeling pain was not a side effect of the spell he had anticipated, but it was one he was more than willing to accept. A thought came to Jack as he trudged through the forest’s underbrush. He had increased his Vita and gained the martial arts skill when the woman chasing him died, but he was never informed that he had completed his quest, which meant someone was out there still following him.

A hawk screeched as it flew high above, causing Jack to jump in fright. He was lost deep in his thoughts and more than a little scared. The idea of at least one other person still tracking him down like prey made him more than a little uncomfortable. Considering the woman in the car had been a god, it was safe to assume anyone else following him would also be a god. Here, he was lost in the woods with an unknown number of gods following him, presumably to kill him, and the only real destination he had was Salt Lake City, Utah. The overwhelming gravity of the situation Jack had found himself in hit him like a ton of bricks. He dropped to his knees, holding his face as he wept.

“Fuck all I wanted was to be able to stand up to people. All that time studying, I didn’t think immortality was a real thing anyway. It was just some stupid fantasy to get me through the day. Yet here I am. I got what I wanted. I can’t die now.” Jack said to himself in between sobs.

“Would you stop the pity party? You wanted this, and don’t act like you didn’t. You spent hundreds of hours pouring through those books in the library. You knew exactly what you were looking for, and actions have consequences, buddy.” Asshole Voice said.

“No, that’s not fair. I didn’t know I would have to act as some sort of god serial killer for this to happen. I had no idea gods would be hunting me down. None of that was in the text of the spell. I had no way of knowing any of this!”

“You didn’t ask. You found the book and recited the spell and never considered the downside. There’s always a downside, kid.” The slightest hint of compassion showed through as Asshole Voice spoke. It wasn’t enough to make Jack think who or whatever was talking inside his head cared about him, but it was there nonetheless.

Jack didn’t bother to reply; the stress and madness of the last couple of days had caught up to him, and he didn’t have the energy to talk to anyone. Even if that person was some voice inside his head, he wasn’t sure how long he had sat in the dirt, but the sun was high in the sky when Jack pulled himself together enough to continue his journey. Pulling himself up off the ground, Jack took a breath and set off.

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“I still have no idea where I’m going,” Jack said.

“I told you, Salt Lake City.” Asshole Voice said.

“That’s a six-hour drive in a car, and I’m not in a car. I’m wandering aimlessly through the forest, hoping I don’t get found by either the cops or some immortal being. Both of which will probably kill me on sight!”

“Well, it sounds like we need a car then. Get yourself out of these woods and find a car. Once you have that, it's an easy trip to Salt Lake, and you can get back to what you're supposed to be doing. Killing gods.”

“Just get a car, huh? It’s not that simple. I have no money to buy one. If I find a bus stop, I might have enough money to get a few hours down the road, but then it’s back to walking. Not to mention the growing list of people that want me dead.”

“You could always just take one.”

“Yeah, sure, let’s add grand theft auto to my rap sheet, right next to double homicide.”

“It could be a triple homicide, depending on how you go about taking that car you need.”

“Would you please shut the fuck up! I’m not killing anyone else; I’m not even sure I’m killing any more gods.”

“Well, bad news, bud. You know if that Vita runs out, you’re dead, and I don’t think you wanna be dead.”

As if on cue, the brand on Jack’s arm glowed faintly. Jack had been so worried about escaping capture that he hadn’t been paying attention to his Vita. Looking down at the brand, he realized it had decreased significantly since he last looked. By his best guess, he had approximately seventy percent of his Vita left. It was painfully apparent that the Vita decreased much more rapidly than it increased.

“Huh, kinda looks like you might need to find yourself some Vita.” Asshole Voice said.

“Yeah,” Jack said.

The sun was dipping low in the sky when Jack saw the road in the distance. Unlike the highway he had escaped from, the road before him was a small back road cutting through the forest. Jack paused for a minute to consider his options. A road meant people, and people might not be exactly what he wanted to see right now. Jack had no idea how far the news of the accident had spread, but he assumed something that big must have spread like wildfire on social media. He was pretty sure nobody had seen him, but he didn’t want to take that chance.

After weighing his options, Jack decided his best bet was to spend the night camping in the forest. It had been a long day, and he wanted to rest. He also hoped that sleeping would fix his hand, which hadn’t changed from its grotesque appearance. Jack had only been camping a few times in his life, but none of that experience mattered right now. He didn’t have any of the supplies or tools someone would bring on a camping trip. He had himself, his clothes, and a strange otherworldly knife.

Jack found a place far enough away that people passing on the road wouldn’t notice him and lay down on the ground. Staring into the sky, Jack watched as the sun retreated beyond the horizon and the stars began to come out. Despite all the events over the last few days, Jack felt a sense of calm in this moment. The songs of crickets filled the air as Jack closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

It was midnight when the lights started flashing in Jack’s eyes. He was still asleep, but yet bright white flashes of light pierced his vision. Jack tried to wake himself up and begged his body to return to consciousness so he could escape whatever dream he was having. It was no use; no matter how much he tried, Jack couldn't force himself awake, and the lights continued to flash. That’s when the voices started.