Questions and Answers

Chapter 26

Edited by Higashi

TRAVELLING WITH A SOON TO be toddler was a nightmare. Julián had waited for news from his brother for another two weeks, but none had come. And in the end, he had had to give up on the idea that he would return and take Esperanza back.

News about the strange new disease began to appear more and more frequently on TV and other media. Many people began to turn to the saving faith of vegetarianism. But, although the number of sick people kept increasing steadily, social alarm was almost non existent.

People had no problems with a prion because, after all, the thing was not even a virus, and if one or two idiots had had too much red meat in their diets, it was entirely their fault.

Julián was appalled by the reactions of the ordinary people he would drag into conversation. The subject was none of their concern, as if their minds were fogged or clouded.

Well, in fact they are. The sisters with the opulent arses are back at 9 p.m.

Nobody cared about something in the news, and no talk-show dedicated even a single program to the growing number of patients who were turning into drooling slugs.

Understandable. I would be doing the same if I was in their place. I should be glad everybody is willing to look the other way.

The many history books he had read had made him reach the conclusion that masses, no matter how supple they looked, had a turbulent and mean core, well-hidden under the surface of civility, and Julián feared the day they guessed that there was no salvation for them.

The growing fears about their own safety pushed Julián to the road. He had no idea how to drive a car, and travelling by train or bus with the baby drove him very nervous. What if someone asked him about Esperanza? True, he had a written authorization from his brother to take her around, but he didn't want to push his luck too far.

Swallowing his pride, and getting himself ready to flash the money to the twerp, Julián spoke with one of his brother's former friends—one who had quit the glorious nationalist movement to dedicate himself to the world of lorries.

“You wanna go where?” Pepe asked very shocked.

“It's in France. You go there too.”

“I've to go to Lyon in two weeks. Nothing else before that. Economy is a bitch.”

“No, no. Not with the truck. You could get in trouble with the police. You can't carry people in there when you're loaded, you know.”

Pepe scratched his head while he processed the information. The queer had a daughter and wanted to go to France? That was weird, and the fact that he had money was even weirder.

“I'll give you a thousand euros, half upfront, and pay for the gas and tolls if you drive me where I want to go.”

Lord, the other guy could be a fan of paleo diets but the high-cholesterol levels included in such kind of diets were starting to block his brain vessels. Water was not getting up to the reservoir, in Julián's view.

“You want to go to La Dordogne? Where is that?” Pepe asked.

“Where the Cro-Magnon guys used to live. Lascaux.” Julián played his ace. The man loved that. All of Carlos' Nazi friends loved the notion of a pure breed of super mega-European machos conquering the ice… The only problem being that glaciers had never extended so far below as to reach that part of France.

“Would you pay me five days of hotel if we go there? Alone, of course. Want to see it before I die.”

Not gonna happen anytime soon, Julián realised suddenly and shuddered. “Yes, the place is amazing. I'm staying at a friend’s, but there are nice hotels in Sarlat. Not too expensive at this time of the year.”

“Do you know if they teach how to make flints?”

Julián gaped and gulped nervously. I know someone who can.

“I remember there were some workshops, yes.” For children.

“Deal. We drive tomorrow at six. Get a baby-seat—and I'm not letting you seat behind so people think I'm your fucking taxi driver.”

“No problem,” Julián shrugged.



Five hours into the trip, Julián wanted to jump out of the car. Pepe had discovered due to a stupid slip of Julián, so there was nobody else to blame, that he was a history graduate and was ‘officially’ studying archaeology, so he had decided to bomb him with thousands of questions about Prehistory.

Elusive answers were of no use, and the small Seat turned out to be much smaller than he had ever thought it could be. In fact, Julián envied Esperanza, happily dozing off every now and then in the back seat. The landscape was not enough incentive to escape his travelling companion's excitement at the idea that he would finally see all what he had dreamed of.

In the afternoon, the car crossed the border at Irún, and Pepe loudly complained that there was nobody to check their papers or defend their borders.

Julián tried to explain him that they were still inside the European Union and that passports were only asked in airports or perhaps train stations. Anyway, Julián was pretty sure that the French were not in the mood of invading the Basques and vice versa.

They slept at a small hotel in Bayonne that Pepe knew, and Julián was grateful he had picked up some words in French from Orion. That made his dealings with the hotel owners much easier.

Pepe was more than intrigued about the ‘friend’ Julián would be staying with in France. “Is he you boyfriend?” he asked bluntly over breakfast.

“None of your business,” Julián answered back and stuffed some more freshly-made fruit purée into Esperanza’s waiting mouth.

“You were always bragging about it. Or was it because of Carlos?”

“We are friends, all right?”

“I mean, if he's your boyfriend, he ain't gonna be happy about the baby. It's as if your girlfriend comes back pregnant.”

Julián closed his eyes and sighed.

“It's not like that, and he won’t mind,” he said out loud. Orion will think that Esperanza will be dead in seventy or eighty years from now and forget all about her.

“If you're nothing more than friends, can I stay with you?”

“No. You're not invited. Go to a hotel.”

“Could save money.”

“You don't want to meet him,” Julián said earnestly. “You really don't. Besides, he's the guy I work for. You wouldn't want to spend your holidays with your boss, right?”

“Never!”

“I only have the keys. He might come, or not. If he does, and finds you there, he'll sack me. Instantly. I have a baby to feed.”

“Right. Forget about it.”

Though Pepe forgot their breakfast’s conversation not even ten minutes after it, Julián became more and more apprehensive. What would Orion really think of the baby? Would he like her?

Julián had never seen him cast even a glance at a child. In fact, he ignored them. Or perhaps he considered them human miniatures with nothing to tell him. Lýkos was nicer than him regarding children; sometimes he would let a brave child caress his fur.

Eighty years should mean nothing to Orion, but maybe Julián should be extra-nice to him for the next century. Protective—better say territorial—as the other man was, a demanding child ‘fallen from the sky’ might not be the best thing to have around.



“They look ugly, don't you think?” Pepe asked as he stood in front of the wax figure at the Prehistory Museum, next to a brooding Julián and a giggling toddler sitting in her pushchair.

Coming here was not included in the deal. Julián pretended to be busy looking at two antler arrow points.

“No fans of showers back then,” Pepe commented.

“Oh, I think they showered, or rather, soak in the rivers,” Julián answered and remembered how upset Orion had been when he had mentioned that figure. “Not found doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There are many gaps in our knowledge about the Musterian period.”

Like for example, how on earth a bunch of hunter-gatherers found the key to eternal life and decided to screw up the rest of mankind because they don’t like our eating habits.

… No, that last part we did it all by ourselves.

“I mean, you had to be smart to survive an encounter with an auroch or to design weapons like those out of nothing,” Julián said with a neutral voice that didn't betray his inner turmoil.

“You talk like a teacher. Well, sort of, but you make sense.”

“I have to take the child back to the house,” Julián said in answer. “It's about lunchtime for her.”

“Don't you feel alone there? I mean, it's a big house and there's nobody around. Not even a caretaker.”

“I'll survive,” Julián answered sharply. “Well, it's been great to see you.” He extended his hand.

“Ah, yes. Greetings to Carlos,” Pepe answered happily and offered his large hand. “I'll see you around sometime in Madrid.”

No, you'll be stranded here because of the riots and survive the great pest, Julián realised and bit his tongue. “Sure thing!” he lied merrily.

“Take good care of the princess. She's great.”

“Of course, I will.”

The young man walked towards the exit, and Julián sighed slowly.

His hatred for these ‘flashforwards’—he had no better word for these lapses that would tell him the future—grew with each passing day as they became more and more frequent and destroyed the fun of surprise. No wonder Orion was a full-time pessimist and hated mankind with passion.

Julián still didn't understand why his lover had left strict orders to the house's caretakers to give Julián the keys and go away. The young man had had a very bad feeling the minute he was left alone in the house and saw that the large pantry had been filled up to the roof with home-made preserves and an assortment of different kinds of smoked and salted meats.

Will he return soon? Or is this his way of sending me to hell? Food but no letter? He's crazier than I ever thought. The idea tortured Julián mercilessly, but each time he touched his antler pendant, he felt warmly reassured.

Convincing Esperanza of sitting down in her pushchair to wait for the bus was harder than getting Lýkos out of Julián's bed. She was totally determined to walk all the way back to Orion's house, regardless of the need for a bus ride. Finally, after many blandishments, the small girl gave up and sat frowning until the bus arrived and her uncle juggled her, the pushchair and the baby-bag into the vehicle.



Julián’s heart nearly stopped when he heard the noise of a glass breaking downstairs. It could only mean that an intruder was inside the house, and he had no idea of how to defend himself. Esperanza was deeply asleep in the portable cot next to his bed.

Should he take the baby and escape? If they were robbers, they could take the artworks for all he cared. He only cared about getting his niece out unharmed.

The old wooden stairwell creaked, and Julián held his breath and jumped out of bed, quickly putting on his shoes in case he had to run into the cold of the night. The lights remained off as his eyes grew used to the darkness.

The heavy footsteps that could be heard in the corridor increased his terror, and he picked up the baby, wrapping her in a bundle of pink covers. Esperanza didn't wake up, and Julián was grateful.

The door of the adjacent bedroom was opened, and Julián hoped that the robbers would be interested enough in Orion's lavishly decorated room giving him time to escape while they were busy looking for the safe or the money.

Each one of his footsteps resounded in his ears like a volcano explosion. Julián carefully opened his door and peered down the hall, but nobody was there; only Orion's bedroom's door stood open.

As he had thought, the intruder or intruders had gone for the master suite. The safe was embedded in the opposite wall from the door, so he stood a good chance of escaping unheard.

Silently praying that the baby would continue to sleep, Julián tiptoed along the corridor.

The flushing of a toilet made him stop dead at the top of the stairs and he turned his head around. Someone was very interested in the porcelain bowl, flushing it twice… and again.

“Lýkos?” Julián spoke out loud. Only he would do such a thing.

Julián heard the scrambling noise of claws dancing over the bathroom’s marble floor and then the sound of heavy paws walking over the wood floors, and his heartbeat returned to normal.

There, standing at the threshold of Orion's bedroom, was the large wolf, his head hunched between his shoulders.

‘You really know how to defend a fortress, Guardian.’ The voice resounding inside Julián's head was laced with irony.

“You could have rung the bell!” Julián whispered furiously, not wanting to wake up the baby.

‘How? It’s too high for me.’

“You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

‘You won't die because of it. Are you always so brave?’

“Lýkos!”

‘The Seer told you to be here and wait for him. I arrived first. I travel faster than humans.’

Julián let out a long sigh and crouched down, still holding the sleeping little girl, and wondered if Lýkos could exert some kind of magical influence over the child.

‘What's with the cub?’

“She's my niece. Carlos' daughter.” Julián moved the covers away from the baby's face, and she groggily opened her eyes.

Lýkos sniffed her loudly, and this time Esperanza opened her eyes wide, unafraid of the large, black beast standing in front of her. She let Lýkos inspect her, and when he was done, she tried to grab a strand of his hair, but the wolf took two steps backwards.

‘Yes, indeed she is.’

“What are you doing here?”

‘Protecting you, Guardian. The Seer doesn't need me, and if humans turn ugly, I can improve my diet.’

Julián paled at the wolf's words and clutched his niece close to his body.

‘That's not even a morsel for me,’ Lýkos said. ‘But fat and big is not good either. I ate a truly fat man a while ago, and so much grease was bad for me. I had to rest for two days.’

“Lýkos, please, just don't eat people in front of her.”

‘Or you.’ Lýkos passed by Julián's legs and sniffed the air. ‘Is that where you sleep?’ he asked but didn't wait for an answer as he entered Julián's bedroom.

Though Julián hurried to his room, it was no use. Lýkos had already comfortably installed himself atop of his bed.

“Get down!” Julián protested for the sake of his pride.

‘Put the cub in her cot and you can share the bed with me. I'm dog-tired.’ The wolf moved just an inch to free up some space for Julián.

“Will I have to endure your sense of humour for the next two or three millennia?” huffed Julián. “How does Orion do it?”

‘He can't understand me all the time like you do. Normally, I make things happen and he guesses what I want. It's good to have you around. I always told him to get over Árgynnos' death and look for someone else, but nothing came out of that. He's like a stone with legs. I had to get you here, and it was not easy.’

Julián sat on the bed. “Did you...?”

‘The Portuguese man. He was easy to influence and liked the same things that the Seer likes. He came by the house several times, and I showed him what I was looking for. I was glad to see you, but your initial offer was disgusting. Did you really expect me to eat that? Before you, I only got the German librarian, and he was a pest.’

“A pest?” Julián repeated slowly.

‘Always questioning things, “researching”, but not believing what was in front of his eyes. The Moon God himself could have shown up in front of his eyes, and he would have not believed it. Good riddance.’

“Did you… push him?”

‘I pushed nobody. He fell… when he tried to escape from me.’

Julián remained silent for a long time until he heard Lýkos snore lightly. “Do wolves snore?” he whispered and Lýkos raised his head, alert as always.

‘When they're allowed to sleep. Ask what you want to ask. You're dying to do it.’

“Am I, you know, a Moon-child? I mean, is my father from the moon?”

‘No, you don't smell non-human.’

“Really?”

‘I would know.’

“But I was born on an eclipse day…”

‘Maybe you are, then.’ Lýkos buried his nose between the sheets. ‘I have never seen one.’

“I thought Orion saw the Moon-warriors, and you did too.”

‘Yes, I remember them, but you don't smell like them.’

“What about Árgynnos? Orion said he was special.”

‘The Seer idolizes people, Julián. He was funny looking, but nothing out of the ordinary. If I see correctly, the moon-dust works for some people and for others it simply doesn't. Most die.’

“Are we not different from humans?”

‘Did the doctor ever find something funny inside you?’

“No, never.”

‘Then you are a common human. Let me sleep now.’

“I can't be normal if I'm talking with a ten-thousand-year-old wolf!”

‘Maybe you're a mental case, and all this is a product of your imagination. You read too many of those Japanese stories. Is it true that in one of them a boy becomes a dog?’

“Now you start, as if I had nothing in my hands.”

‘You ask stupid questions, Guardian. If you were fathered by a Moon-warrior, then don't expect him to come for you. The Moon God doesn't let his children come here too often. Perhaps he will let them do it once all humans are killed, but the Earth Goddess will be furious with him and will seek revenge, or maybe she won't give a damn. It's impossible to know what gods think.’

“Gods do not exist,” Julián stated. “You're pulling my legs.”

‘Wait and see.’ Lýkos closed his eyes and his breathing became more and more slow.

“Did it really happen?” Julián pressed Lýkos. “Did the war happen?”

‘Of course it did. Maybe it wasn't as mystical as the Seer tells it, but humans did attack the Moon-warriors and killed most of them. I remember them just as I remember the other races that were killed. Moon-warriors came from the sunset and their weapons were different from ours. The Seer welcomed them and learned from them. Their secrets were passed unto us. I don't know if they were half-gods or something else. They smelled quite human.’

The wolf closed his eyes, and Julián sighed.

Knowing that he would get no more answers from Lýkos, but relieved that he was there, Julián did his best to find a comfortable position in the little space left by the wolf.

He felt tired beyond his years and closed his eyes to sleep. Orion was coming back, and he wasn't upset or tired of him. If Lýkos had accepted Esperanza, then Orion would do the same. At least he wasn't born from the mating of an alien and his mother, or maybe, Moon Warriors were not exactly as Orion portrayed them and were mere humans.

‘Yes, you are,’ the voice once more drilled his brain.



‘This has to be the most humiliating moment of my long life,’ Lýkos complained.

“I thought you were the big Lýkos, the Worlds Destroyer,” Julián mocked the wolf, now turned into a horse for a toddler, as they walked under the large trees. “Careful, don't drop her.”

‘I am. That is why this is so humiliating.’

“I know, my brother said you were like this Viking mega wolf, Fenrir,” Julián said conciliatory. The wolf walked slowly, as if he were an old, tired dog or just truly ashamed of being turned into a baby sitter for a human child.

‘At least the father of this cub knew me for what I was.’ Lýkos slowed down his pace, and the little girl giggled in delight. ‘Just take her away when the other Warriors are around.’

“Are you a god?”

‘People used to regard me as one,’ Lýkos answered proudly. ‘Humans were not as stupid as they are nowadays.’

“But you are not. Right?” Julián asked nervously.

‘No, I am not,’ the wolf punctuated his words. ‘I'm better than that.’

“Modesty was not invented when you were born, right?” Julián chortled.

‘I have no need for that,’ Lýkos answered, and Julián laughed loudly.

All of a sudden, Lýkos stopped in the middle of the road, sniffing the air. ‘Take the cub. Now.’

“Trouble?” Julián immediately took Esperanza in his arms, and she loudly complained at her fun being terminated so harshly.

Lýkos hair stood on end and he bared his teeth.

“What is it?” Julián asked nervously as he fought to keep the girl still in his arms. Strangely, he had not seen any people walking the small paths around the house since the wolf’s arrival two weeks ago, and the little news about the disease that reached them were frightening.

Julián took two steps backwards and wondered if he would be able to reach the house alone if they came under attack.

Lýkos turned around and watched him. ‘Bravery is not your thing, Guardian,’ he laughed inside the boy's mind.

“Your sense of humour is lousy,” Julián scolded the wolf. “You must have been the joy of the pack.”

‘Tell it to the Seer,’ the wolf yawned and wagged his tail.

“What?”

‘He's here. Keep the cub away from me. I have a reputation to uphold.’

Dumbfounded, Julián turned around and saw Orion standing there, watching them.

Lýkos gave Julian’s leg a strong push with his head, and the youth mechanically placed the toddler on the beast's back. She shrieked a bit, excited at the new ride that was to come and grabbed the wolf's neck. Slowly, Lýkos began to walk home.

Orion only had eyes for Julián, not even glancing at the wolf loaded with a child.

“You're back,” whispered Julián but didn't close the distance between them, as Orion had supposed he would do.

Orion stood there motionless, quiet.

“Where were you all this time?” Julián asked without really expecting an answer. He had never got one in the past, and why should he now?

“Lapland.” Orion finally walked towards Julián but didn't show any kind of emotion.

Sartanos' reply flashed through Julián’s mind. “All of you love to joke about that place. Any particular reason why?”

“We live there now,” Orion shrugged, and Julián gaped at him.

“With the reindeer?” he asked incredulously.

“No, they stay outside.”

“Do you keep a flock nowadays?” Julián could swear his brain had suffered one or two short-circuits after their brief exchange of words.

“Reindeer do not form flocks but herds,” Orion replied softly and closed the final distance between them. The hot air coming out of his mouth formed spirals in the freezing weather, and Julián's eyes clouded over the many happy memories coming to him.

“A moose herd would have suited you better. They look like something left behind from the Ice Age,” mumbled Julián and cast his eyes down. His Orion was there, and he didn't know what to do. Embrace him? Kiss him? Hit him? He felt at a loss.

Orion took his face between his big hands and smiled sadly, encouraging Julián to come closer and drop all the defences the boy had been building since his transformation.

“I missed you all this time, but there were things to be done. Now it's time to go back home,” the man said instead.

“Did you, now? You left without a word,” Julián retorted hotly. Orion's words were a disappointment. The least the man could do was to cry his love for him after he had stood him up for almost two years. “I waited for you,” he whined.

“I am not here to argue.” Orion took two steps back. “You had enough time as to come to terms with everything. You searched for me. You sought my help.”

Julián glared, but Orion didn't flinch or showed any emotion. The first snowflakes began to swirl around them, but neither man cared, engaged in their silent battle of looks.

“I did,” Julián admitted and took a step forward as his hand pulled the yellowish cave lion figurine from under his shirt. “I kept it all the time with me,” he confessed, ashamed of showing his weakness in front of his lover.

Orion just embraced him and buried his nose in Julián's blond hair, scenting him softly but thoroughly. “I know,” he whispered easing the boy's fears, and he was rewarded with a soft if brief kiss.

The snow became more insistent, and Julián broke their embrace. “We should go home. The fire is on.”

Orion broke a shy smile. He was not made for showing his emotions. Julián must know how he had felt all the time they were apart.

“Lýkos must be there with the young human,” Orion commented.

“At least you don't call her ‘cub’,” sighed Julián, and took Orion's hand, pressing it against his heart.

“No, she's definitively human,” Orion smiled, utterly relieved that Julián held no grudge against him. Everything had been forgiven, and the young one was once again his generous self, just like when they had met. Back then, the boy had been happy working and studying, and he would sometimes behave bordering on silly in his haste to please Orion.

“Is she your…?” asked Orion.

“My niece,” Julián clarified hurriedly. “I'm not leaving her behind.”

“We can take her with us.”

“I've done my best to keep her safe, but I don't know if she's sick. Can you help her?”

“I can tell you what to do and take her to a safe environment, but if dying to this curse is her fate, there will be nothing I can do,” Orion explained him softly. “I have no power over life and death. Only the gods do.”

“The moon-dust? If I could survive it, maybe she can too.”

“Would you risk it?”

“No,” sighed Julián dejectedly. “But you said I was cured by following your diet. I did the same for her.”

“Maybe. I don't know. Maybe it was the Moon God’s gift. She will be not left behind, if that is what concerns you.”

“Where is my brother?”

Orion took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, as if he were listening to the wind.

Julián watched at him expectantly, holding his breath, sure that his brother had been caught by the police.

“Dead,” Orion answered and began to briskly walk along the path leading to the house.

Julián bit his hand to prevent a cry from escaping his lips. His throat ached and felt raw, but there were no tears in his eyes. He felt the pain like a hot wave going through his entire body, but he held his ground.

Seeing Orion's frame in the distance forced him to react. He ran the hundred metres that separated them and caught him by the sleeve.

“How?”

“It was painless. The prions first attack all the nervous terminals. It’s like falling into a deep sleep. He didn't suffer.”

“What about my mother?”

“She's not aware of anything.” Orion preferred to keep the truth to himself, and Julián didn't realise the lie.

“We… fixed our problems in the end,” Julián said.

“I was expecting so.”

“I'm not my niece’s legal tutor. What if Social Services take her away from me?”

“Human authorities don't care any longer. The larger cities are in turmoil. I doubt very much that their main concern right now is the whereabouts of a young child staying with her uncle.”

“What?” Julián asked in shock.

“Don't you watch television?” Orion asked with a chuckle. “Riots and violence in most main cities all over the world. I knew you would be safe here.”

“When?” Julián felt disoriented.

“Since two or three days ago,” shrugged Orion. “We have to leave now, before the roads are blocked too. I wouldn't like to be the cause of a massacre if we are stopped.”

“No, of course you wouldn't,” Julián mumbled but came closer to Orion again. “Lýkos dislikes mobs or people coming unto me,” he said louder as he knew that peculiar shine in Orion's eyes.

The Seer let the sarcastic comment go and put his arms around Julián, letting him feel safe again as he snuggled against Orion’s powerful chest.



“Where the hell did you get that from?” Julián nearly shouted at Lýkos.

He was busy packing his and Esperanza’s belongings, and here was the wolf, more than ready to occupy all the back space with his things.

‘You have got one backpack, and the cub has got even more things than you.’

The wolf had every intention of storing a large smoked ham inside the monstrous Land Rover Orion had arrived in, and he was already doing his best to get it in, pushing Julián’s bags to the side with the greasy, smelly thing.

“This thing will reek and smell! You don't need it!”

‘This human cub does the same, and I don't cry over it. My nose is a thousand times more delicate than yours. Who knows when I will get another one like this again.’

“Wait till Orion sees it,” Julián threatened the wolf but moved his belongings aside before they were ruined beyond repair, leaving ample space for the ham.

“It's all right, Julián. Food is always useful. We can't stop so Lýkos can hunt,” Orion said laconically and frowned at the sight of Esperanza.

During the two hours he had spent at the house, the Seer had ignored her presence despite Julián's initial efforts to show the baby to him. He had been more in a hurry to look for some old papers hidden inside a large book than interested in doing anything else. Julián had sighed and preferred to pack for the journey.

Despite the fact that Orion had travelled all the way from who knew where to see him safe, his romanticism had been limited to an embrace under the snow and a walk home at a very fast pace, where he had ordered Julián to pack all he needed for a two-day trip.

Julián was very sceptical about there being world-wide city riots as Orion claimed. True, he hadn’t watched the news—mainly because Orion’s house didn’t have a TV—but he would have known. The old gardener who had passed by the house some ten days ago to leave him two sacks of onions had mentioned nothing—mostly because Julián’s French was much less developed than Esperanza's. Lýkos had been to Sarlat twice, but he had said nothing either—mostly because he loved to complain about the cold and the small pebbles that got stuck in his delicate paws so Julián didn't pay attention to him.

“Are you not overdoing it?” Julián broke the silence while the other man carelessly placed a cardboard box filled with preserves in the back compartment, pushing Julián’s things even further aside.

“I mean, when I left Madrid, the news were only speaking about one or two cases.”

“It's like a domino effect, Julián. Once it starts, there’s no stopping it. We must leave now.”

“What happened?”

“After the first cases, people, well, the few who were paying attention, thought there would be a cure. But when you face something with a hundred percent mortality ratio, then people start to behave hysterically. Some are blaming the governments, others think it's a divine punishment, while some others don't believe it is true. In the end, they all want to live or punish someone just for the pleasure of it.

“It's for the best that we avoid all cities and drive north as fast as we can.”

“Where are we going?” Julián asked again as he still didn't believe where their final destination was located.

“To the Finnish Lapland. It's a good place, and all of us have gathered there. We have been planning for this for years.”

“Isn't that place just an iceberg? Do you really want to move to an ice rock? There's nothing up there!”

“There is the six-month darkness period. We are the people of the moon. We don't need the sun. The cold makes us stronger, and we know how to live there. Not many humans will come to us,” Orion replied and frowned, mentally calculating if twenty glasses of assorted preserves would be sufficient for the trip.

“Obviously, none of you ever considered to book a holiday in Mallorca,” mumbled Julián.

“You also like the night. Does she eat, or is she still drinking milk?”

“The child can't travel there!”

“Of course she can. Wrap her well in a pelt, and she will be warm. Many have been born there, and I was born in the snow.” He turned around and went back into the house to fetch another box with provisions.

“You were a different species from us!” shouted Julián, and Orion turned his head towards him as if waiting for him to elaborate some more.

“I don't know, some super mega Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon. Your bones look heavier than ours. Like that head of yours! You probable think that the Arctic has got a fresh climate!” Julián shouted even louder, and Lýkos went inside the house.

Orion watched the boy becoming more and more hysterical as he spoke. He left the new box on the floor and approached Julián.

“Do not fear,” he put his arms around him. “There is nothing that can touch you, and we all want that you are with us. There are four or five more of us, waiting for you.”

“Let me go,” Julián tried to disentangle himself from the bear hug, but moving Orion was harder than trying to get Lýkos out of his bed.

“No, I will not. You're afraid, and that is understandable, but we are with you. If you stay with the humans, you will only witness their misery and see the ugliest face of mankind. Come with me and keep a good memory of the world you knew.”

“I don't want this to happen,” Julián burst into sobs.

“I've seen this before. It will be over sooner than you expect, and who knows what may come.”

“Nothing good can come out of this! Everybody will be dead! The world destroyed! You're letting everything fall apart!”

“I have seen cities and villages being obliterated from the face of the earth before. Many more times than I can remember,” Orion spoke calmly. “Somehow, life always finds a way to return.”

“At what cost? All what we know will be forgotten. They will be forgotten. Our societies will be forgotten. Nothing will remain.”

“Like us. Yet here we are,” Orion replied and went inside the house to take the baby in his arms, leaving Julián alone with his thoughts.

The wind blew stronger, and Julián shuddered. There were so many things he didn't want to think about, but they were mercilessly demanding his attention. The trees around the house sung a song he didn't want to understand, but they also told him to go away.

Dazed, Julián watched his lover sit Esperanza inside the car and carefully strap her into her car seat, pulling the belts around her shoulders. The girl giggled, and Orion smiled back at her.

The young man only stood there, watching Orion place some more things inside the car, like water bottles and canned milk.

The temperature was dropping at a very fast pace, and Julián put his hands under his armpits to keep them warm. Orion slammed closed the rear door, and Julián closed his eyes as the noise felt like a thunder going through his head.

Lýkos jumped to the seat next to Esperanza and placed his massive, black head over her lap, making her brim with delight as the “puppy” finally allowed her to touch him like her uncle did.

Orion closed both back doors and walked towards the driver's seat. He stood there, uncertain of the future for the first time in many centuries.

“Do you want to come?” he asked fearfully. Julián had a way to shut him out of his mind like nobody he had ever met before could do. Not even Árgynnos, with all his trained sorcery, had been able to do that.

Julián dragged his feet towards the passenger's door and opened it slowly. His body fell heavily on the seat, and he mechanically fastened his seat belt. Orion cast a brief glance at him and started the Land Rover.

“All this time, I thought we were the forgotten ones, but it was them all along,” Julián mused very quietly and turned his head to look at the house one last time. “Death never forgot us, but made us forget all the people we once knew. You ceased to remember all the kings you have met and they just vanished, just like their civilizations. Everything will be forgotten once more. Nothing will be remembered. Nothing will be any more.”

“Everything will be rebuilt again,” Orion said softly as he drove away.