The Myth and The Guardian

Austin sat speechless as he looked at Frank and Susan as if they had completely lost their minds.

“How? How can I be Christopher Cage?” Austin asked still trying to process the news. “That book is over fifty years old. So what you are telling me is impossible unless…” Austin let his sentence trail off.

He remained completely still as his mind started to piece together all of the information slowly.

“The story. The Fountain of Youth. Alexander…it was all true? It was all about…me?” Austin ranted slowly and quietly out of complete shock. “How old am I?” he finally asked.

“You are hundreds of years old, maybe more, Austin.” Susan added after finally controlling her crying.

Austin sat silently again allowing his brain to switch on like a light bulb. Everything was finally starting to make sense. His intelligence, and even why Chris was so uncomfortable around him.

“How can any of this be true?” He wanted to ask but already knew the answer.

“We are both fans of your writing, and we believed it to be true. We even named Chris after you. We were going to adopt another child because I can no longer have children due to an accident in the research lab one night. We were in Austin, Texas at the time, and there you were on the news. A unique little genius with no memory just like in the book. Christopher Alexander Cage.” Susan confessed slowly.

“The story I thought I was creating all those years ago were actually suppressed memories of mine weren‘t they?” Austin asked slowly. “What happened to my family, if they were my actual family? What happened to the other people who adopted me?” Austin asked still in shock from all of the news.

“We honestly do not know. In your book you wrote of a monster in the woods and evil that they had to be protected from on the night that they followed you to the Fountain. We do not know what it all means, but we think something horrible happened to them.” Frank said cautiously.

Austin finally understood why they did not want him to finish reading the book.

“You did not want me to remember what happened to them because I obviously did not save them.” Austin said, putting the pieces together slowly.

“You wrote that there is a guardian who saved them, and that you sacrificed yourself in order to help save them and others.” Susan said in a strangely confused voice.

“Nobody really knows exactly what happened because the ending of the story had to be changed after being published in order to be read by the public. The book that you had was the last one that had the original ending. There were only two books published with the original ending. The first one, which you owned, cannot be found, and the second one is the one Susan ripped to pieces without reading.” Frank said.

“Is the ending truly so horrible that only a few has actually read it?” Austin asked nervously.

“Yes, from what we understand it was not meant to be seen by anyone else, and the only others who know it besides you are dead.” Frank replied.

Austin could not think of all the questions that he should ask. As soon as he started to ask anything at all, he began to have visions. The visions made his brain feel as if it would explode, but he had no idea what the visions meant. They were mainly images of himself, a house, and the woods described in the story. The pain in his head was enough to make him cry out in agony and fall to the floor. Chris came into the room and quickly figured out that Austin finally knew the truth about himself. The pain in his head lasted a moment longer and then suddenly subsided. Austin stayed on the floor and just thought about everything he had just discovered. Finally the silence was broken by two questions that Austin knew would be asked by Frank and Susan.

“Did you just remember everything?” asked Susan.

“Can you remember how to get to the fountain?” asked Frank.

Austin hesitated for a while before speaking, but he soon decided that he should tell them what he had seen flashing in his mind.

Immediately after he informed them all about the vision of himself, the house, and the woods, Frank and Susan helped him to his feet and told him they had to take him somewhere. Austin agreed to go, but he did not want to believe that all of this was true no matter how much he felt it to be real. He knew what felt real and what seemed real, but he had to make sure.

“Mirrors. I need mirrors” said Austin in a somewhat frightened voice.

Susan and Frank helped him over to a large closet that had two full length mirrors on the inside of each doors. Austin took his shirt off and positioned his body so that he could see his shoulders and back in the mirrors. In the center of his back lied the proof of the truth he did not want to be real. He stared in total shock and disbelief at the center of his back, and there was a birthmark of the sun with a partial moon inside of it staring back at him. The scar from his shoulder was now inside the shape of the sun, and his shoulder was completely blank as if nothing had ever been there.

“Everything is true. It is all true.” Austin said quietly to himself.

“Austin, son, you have to come with us immediately. We can take you someplace that can help explain all of this once and for all.” Frank said in a strong and confident voice.

The cab they had been riding in for almost an hour stopped in front of an old house with a large gate in front of it. Frank wrote down the driver’s cell phone number and told him he would call when they were ready to leave. As they stood in front of the old abandoned house, Susan touched Austin on the shoulder.

“Is this the house in your vision?” she asked excitedly.

“Yes, but it was not this old in my head” Austin replied starting to feel excitement.

“This is where you used to live a very long time ago Austin, welcome home.” said Frank in a fascinated voice.

They all entered the abandoned house and began looking around the desolate building. As they went from room to room examining the house, Austin began to have more vivid visions. The house regained its youth inside of his head with each breath, and more memories and questions rushed inside of his mind. He remembered a woman with long hair watching him and a large man throwing a football around in the yard. He walked inside of the kitchen and remembered the smell of bacon, eggs and toast. The memories kept coming back to him as he walked around this home he had lived in so many years ago. As he stepped in the last bedroom of the house, he remembered a small bed shaped like a hot wheels race car, a toy piano leaning against a closed closet door, and a well preserved antique dresser with the picture of himself, the man, and the woman.

“I remember you now. Mom and dad, I remember you now.” Austin whispered to himself.

As he walked out the room he had once slept in, he noticed the backdoor of the house was open. He walked outside the door to find Susan, Frank, and Chris waiting on him. He wanted to ask them what they were doing standing outside in his former backyard, but the answer came to him as soon as he followed their eyes. They were all staring in amazement at a trail that led to the woods behind the old house, and Austin knew what each of them were thinking before they could speak.

“I do not think it would be wise to walk around out there. I am not sure if I want to remember anything else.” Austin said in a frightened voice.

“It’s out there somewhere son” Frank said trying to keep his composure.

“The Fountain of Youth is hidden inside of these very woods” Susan added.

Chris did not speak at all, but his eyes let Austin know that he was just as excited and interested as his parents.

“My book. Remember what I wrote in my book. The Fountain is not the only thing that lives in the woods.” Austin added sounding more frightened.

Frank opened up his jacket enough to reveal a gun inside of its holster.

“Austin, we are about to make the discovery that is going to change the world forever. We have no choice but to keep going.” Frank said in an overly satisfied voice.

Susan and Chris nodded in agreement to Frank’s statement, but they still looked rather nervous.

“I am not going into these woods. If you all want to go then you can, but I will not risk watching either of you die. Please do not go through with this course of action.” Austin pleaded to them sincerely.

Frank walked over to Austin and looked him in the eyes.

“Son, I know you are afraid, but this is the chance of a lifetime. We will all be famous and rich beyond our wildest dreams, and we will be doing a great service to people across the world. We need you to remember and show us where the fountain is located.” Frank said in a voice that held a slight hint of desperation.

“You are the only one who knows its location. Even if we went in alone, we would never find it. We need your help kiddo.” Susan added.

“We will all be fine, man, and we are counting on you right now. Besides, I will not let anything happen to you, mom, or dad.” Chris said in a brave voice.

Austin was shocked at how much he trusted them all, and he believed every word they said to be true. He was more frightened than he could describe, but he could not let his family down. Frank, Susan, and even Chris were his only family now, and they were depending on him. He thought of how much they cared for him, how much he cared for them, and how he would never forgive himself if something happened that he could prevent. He knew that this was important to them all, but he could not help feeling as if he should decline. However, the eyes of his loved ones staring at him with proud faces outweighed his fear.

“Okay, I will do it for you guys. I only ask that I decide when we leave. If I hear or see something or even get a worse feeling then we all leave immediately.” Austin said in a serious tone.

They all agreed and walked into the woods as a family with Austin leading the way.

Austin walked slowly as he tried to remember how to get to the fountain. He thought he would have more visions as he got closer to the fountain’s location, but nothing was happening. As time was slowly passing, Frank, Susan, and Chris were growing more excited and greedy. They continued to talk about the money they would have, the fame they would achieve, and the way the world would view their family for making this amazing discovery. The more they went on about all of the money, power, and fame, the more Austin wished he would not remember anything. Austin soon began to think that he had gotten them all lost in the woods, but he did not want to say anything. As he continued to walk, he started to think about them being lost for good, getting attacked by animals, or being found by the monster he described in his book and seen in his nightmares.

Once his fear had reached its peak, he decided he had better say something to his family before they walked too far. The moment he had gathered enough courage to disappoint them by telling them he could not remember, his legs began to move faster.

“My legs, I cannot control my legs.” Austin said as he began to panic.

“Do not fight it son, I think this is how you will lead us to the fountain. Just follow your instincts.” Frank said in a loud voice.

Austin was panicking more as his legs began to move faster and faster. He could not stop himself, and he still had no idea where he was going. The rest of the family kept up with his pace until he began to run, but his legs would not stop moving faster. He was in a full sprint before he could think of a way to regain control of his legs. He could hear his family behind him, but his legs would not stop running. His lungs were on fire, and his heart was racing faster with each stride. He could not turn around to look at his family, but he could tell that they were falling behind.

As he continued to move through the woods at full speed, he could hear Frank and Susan yelling for him. He hoped more than anything that they were trying to get him to slow down, and they were not yelling because of danger. He tried as hard as he could to slow down, but his effort was not enough to force himself to stop moving so quickly. He wanted to stop and check on his family to make sure they were still safe. Austin felt as if his body would collapse if he kept moving at this speed, but he was not in control of his movements. He kept thinking about Frank, Susan, and Chris until his concern for them made him forget about the physical pain.

“Please be okay” he thought to himself.

His stomach began to tighten as soon as he finished his thought, and the pain was unbearable. He could feel tears building in his eyes as his body kept moving through the woods. Once he could not take the pain any longer, he let out a scream that echoed through the trees. The next moment, he noticed that he was on the ground trying to catch his breath.

Austin could barely get his vision to focus and he struggled to regain control of his breathing. His legs were numb, heart was still racing, face covered in sweat, and brain felt as if it could explode. His lungs hurt as he tried to take a few deep breaths, and he could not force his legs to stand. As his eyes slowly regained their ability to identify objects, Austin began to notice that he was in the very same location that was described in his book. He recalled reading about the trees that formed a circle formation, and he suddenly had a vision of himself sitting on the large stone in the center of the trees. He was within crawling distance to the stone, but he felt that if he moved he would lose consciousness.

Austin could feel himself nodding off, but was suddenly made fully alert by a vision of his family being killed by a creature. His vision was too foggy to get a good description of the creature. All he could see from his vision of the creature were its blood red eyes. Austin could not just lie there helplessly while his family was killed by this monster. He had to make sure they were safe, and the only way to do that was to reunite with them. His body was still numb and useless, but he had an idea to guide his family to safety.

He took a deep breath and let out the loudest scream that he could, hoping they would be able to hear him. He knew that they had fallen far behind while he was running through the woods, but he had to hope that they would be able to hear his scream. He let out another loud scream a few seconds later. Scream after scream came from his mouth as he tried to keep from passing out from exhaustion. Visions of his family members being brutally murdered by the beast began to go through his mind. He screamed with all of his might for another few moments out of desperation, and finally he could hear Frank calling out to him. He took another painful breath and yelled once more, until he could hear their footsteps getting closer to him.

“He’s over here!” Frank said in a relieved voice.

Austin let out a sigh of relief as his family came running towards him. Susan hugged him tightly as Frank and Chris started to look around nervously.

“Did you hear that noise?” Chris asked his father.

“Yes, what was that?” Frank replied.

Susan was the next person to look around nervously.

“There it is again.” Susan said in a frightened voice.

Austin did not hear any noise at all, but did not want to take any chances.

Austin gathered all of the strength that his body had left and moved over to the stone. Frank, Susan, and Chris all joined him as he stood in front of the large stone that wore the image of his birthmark.

“The creature knows where we are, I can feel it.” Austin said. Susan began to cry out of fear, while Frank and Chris looked just as frightened.

“We are all going to die, we should have listened to you Austin.” Susan said crying uncontrollably.

“Austin, take us to the fountain and then we can figure out a way to get out of here alive. If this creature knows where we are then once it arrives, I can kill it.” Frank said in a hopeful tone.

Austin thought of any other possible way to get to safety.

“No, you can all run back to the house together and leave me here. I cannot run at all anymore. I will stay for the creature while you all get to safety.” Austin said weakly.

“NO! We are not leaving you out here by yourself.” Susan cried.

“I would rather I be the one to die than all of us be killed because you had to wait on me to recover or had to help me get back to the house.” Austin said bravely.

“We are not leaving you and that’s all there is to it!” Frank said with tears building up in his eyes.

Austin looked around at all of their faces, and his eyes filled with tears as each person was prepared to die instead of let him die alone. Austin took a deep breath, placed his hand on the stone, and they all began to fall downward.

Austin could hear his family screaming from the surprise of the fall as he slowly lost all consciousness. He regained consciousness as he felt his body hit cold water. He opened his eyes but could not see anything at all. He was too weak to swim, but as he began to sink in the water, Chris pulled him out. Austin took a few deep breaths and he could feel his body regaining its strength. He finally felt as if he could control his body, but was more focused on what he saw in front of him. As he sat on the formation of rocks that were surrounded by the body of water he was recently pulled from, he saw it. A gold fountain sat upon the tallest stone in this secret place that was hidden from the world. The fountain was a thing of beauty with its gold post leading up to a gigantic bowl like item which had a row of suns and moons surrounding the top of it. The suns were made of crystals that appeared to be a mixture of gold and yellow as the gold underneath it shone through brightly. The moons were made of the most beautiful blue emeralds that anyone could ever imagine. Austin could not think of any sight that was more magnificent than the fountain of youth in all of its glory.

The entire family walked towards the fountain slowly with Austin leading the way. As his family felt more excited with each step, Austin felt more frightened the closer he got to the fountain. The immense fear that Austin felt inside of him was enough to force him to stop a few steps away from the beautiful legend, but his family did not want to waste another moment. One by one they cupped their hands and drank from the fountain, not knowing exactly how it worked. As they waited for something to happen, Austin could not force himself to drink the liquid in the fountain. He merely stood and watched his family as they waited to feel the power of the liquid.

“It tastes like plain old water” said Frank in a shocked tone.

“Yes, and nothing is happening to us” Chris added in disappointment.

Austin finally walked up to the fountain and looked at the liquid inside of it. He stared for a moment at his own reflection in the liquid that rested inside of the fountain. As he continued to stare, his right hand suddenly began to act like his legs had done earlier. It was as if someone else was controlling his body again. His hand reached underneath the part of the fountain that held the liquid and grasp firmly around some type of handle. Once his hand had an extremely firm grip on the item, Austin regained control of it immediately. He pulled on the item and it came loose from its place underneath the fountain. Austin stood there in complete shock as he saw that the item was an old dagger. The dagger was just as beautiful as the fountain itself, and it even had the same markings of suns and moons on the handle and blade. Frank, Susan, and Chris were completely confused as they all stared at Austin.

“What are you doing, Austin?” Susan asked. Austin looked at her with fear in his eyes and then returned his glance back to the dagger.

“I have no idea what I am doing, but I just know what I am supposed to do.” Austin said mysteriously.

“Nací de la luna para proteger el sol del mundo!” He added in a ritualistic cry.

The crystals and emeralds began to glow as he completed the phrase.

Austin lifted his left hand over the fountain and let out a yell as he sliced it with the dagger. Before anyone could say a word, the blood from Austin’s hand fell into the liquid. Immediately the water began to glow a bright yellow with the intensity of the sun. As the rest of his family was blinded by the bright light, Austin quickly stuck his hand inside of the fountain. The water was warm on the fresh cut, and it began to bubble as his hand went numb. The next moment, Austin felt a cooling sensation flow throughout his entire body. As he pulled his hand from the water, the liquid glowed a cool blue color and finally turned gold. The gold liquid was slightly thicker than the ordinary water that was inside of the fountain previously. Austin’s family stared at Austin and the newly created gold liquid in complete amazement.

“Aust…Austin.” Frank said in awe.

“It was me the whole time. I am the key. The ordinary water that was inside of this fountain mixed with my blood is the elixir of life.” Austin said finally understanding.

“Oh my god! This is incredible.” said Chris and Susan simultaneously.

Austin looked at the cut on his hand which was completely healed by the power of the liquid.

“Austin, Austin your eyes are glowing!” Frank said in an almost frightened tone.

Austin’s eyes had begun to glow the same bright and mysterious yellow the liquid had glowed previously.

The family rushed to join Austin at the fountain, and they all drank from it again. They all felt a burning sensation followed by a cooling one which was followed by a spiritual calmness.

“What. What just happened?” asked Susan.

“The sensations and calmness that you all feel is the elixir filling your bodies with life. As of this moment, none of you will grow any older.” said Austin who seemed to be in some type of trance with his eyes still glowing.

They all began to express their joy and amazement for a few moments. Frank ended the celebration by pulling some sample containers from his pocket.

“Now, we will live forever and be remembered as the founders of the fountain of youth!” Frank said happily.

As he started to take samples of the liquid into the containers, Austin began to speak again.

“There is no need to do that, the elixir of life now lives in your very blood as it does mine. All that is needed is untainted water and blood from either of you to create the elixir.” Austin added still in his trance.

“Really!? Yes! Yes!” Frank exclaimed as he celebrated the news with the rest of the family.

They were all sharing in this moment of pure elatedness until they heard a voice.

“None of you humans are meant to possess this ability. None of you should even know it exists. You will all suffer and never see the light of day again.” said a mysterious voice.