Chapter 21 - Who Wants To Live Forever?

Art by NeverCatchMe

When I arrived at work the next day, Vanessa ran up to me and said excitedly, "I think I finally know where the Elixir of Immortality is!"

"Where is it?" I asked.

"I can't tell you here - someone might overhear us," Vanessa said.

"I think the whole building knows that you know where the Elixir of Immortality is by now," I said.

"I'm sorry," Vanessa said. "I got kind of excited. I've been searching for the Elixir for a long time. I made a map to the Elixir though, and I'll show it to you after work."

"What are you two talking about?" Declan interrupted.

"We were just talking about a book that Jay and I read," Vanessa said. "It's not that important."

"Which book were you reading?" Declan asked. "Normally, I'm more of a comic book guy, but I'd love to see what you're so excited about."

"Uhh...it's called...Twilight!" Vanessa said. "Yes, Jay and I were talking about Twilight."

"Is that the best that you could come up with?" I whispered to Vanessa, but thankfully, Declan didn't overhear us.

"I've heard a lot about Twilight, but I've never actually read it," Declan said. "Maybe I'll check it out someday."

"Don't bother," I said. "It's not as great as Vanessa thinks that it is."

Declan shrugged and then said, "I should get back to work. I'll talk to you two later."

"It's kind of funny," Vanessa said. "That was the longest conversation that I've had with Declan all week."

"Really?" I said.

Vanessa nodded and then said, "He's been acting kind of distant lately. I can't figure out why. Anyways, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Do you think that you'd be able to help me get the Elixir of Immortality?" Vanessa asked. "It might be easier to retrieve the Elixir if there's someone helping me, and I heard that there are hundreds of vials of the Elixir in Roosevelt's Cave. There will be more than enough for you to become immortal if you so wish."

I thought about it for a few minutes and then said, "Of course I'll help you." I desperately wanted to help one of my closest friends, even if it might be dangerous.

"Are you sure?" Vanessa said.

"I'm sure," I said.

"Great," Vanessa said. "I'm leaving for Yosemite this afternoon. Meet me after work, and I'll drive you there."

Both Vanessa and I went back to work, but I couldn't stop thinking about the Elixir of Immortality. If Vanessa was right, then she had found Roosevelt's Cave, our first superhuman president's fabled stash of superheroic artifacts. It was an impressive feat, but I couldn't help but worry that something would go wrong. There had to be some sort of barrier to keep normal people and unqualified superhumans from stumbling upon the Elixir of Immortality. What if there was something terrible guarding the Elixir? What if Vanessa and I didn't return from our quest?

Despite my worries, I met Vanessa outside of the San Urbano Times building after work. With a huge smile on her face, she hopped into her car, and I climbed into the passenger seat. I texted my dad and told him that I had to work late again that night while Vanessa passed me the map to Roosevelt's Cave. "It's a surprisingly simple route," Vanessa said. "I don't think we'll have any problems getting there."

I didn't want to argue with her. Instead, I spent the drive looking at the map and helping Vanessa navigate. At first, she was right. Even as we drove into the national park, it was an easy drive. Much to Vanessa's annoyance, I often ignored the map in favor of the breathtaking scenery. "Jay, are you kidding me right now?" Vanessa asked as we approached the end of the route. "Where am I supposed to turn?"

"You're supposed to make a left turn at the stop sign," I said as I glanced at the map.

We approached the stop sign and Vanessa said, "Check again. You can't turn left at the next stop sign. There's no road there."

I checked the map again and said, "The map still says that we need to turn left."

Vanessa sighed and turned left onto the grass. Despite the fact that there was no real road, the path was surprisingly clear. I looked out the window and admired the trees as Vanessa drove.

All of a sudden, Vanessa said, "Jay, we must have gone the wrong way. This can't be right."

I looked ahead of us and saw that Vanessa's car was sitting at the edge of a cliff. If we drove any further, we would both fall to our deaths. "You're probably right, but let me check the map," I said. I looked at the map, but it told us to continue going straight. "That makes no sense," I said as I passed the map to Vanessa.

She stared at the map for a few minutes and then looked down to the ground below the cliff. "We're going to have to fly," she said.

Both of us climbed out of the car, and I transformed into a demon. I held Vanessa close to me as I soared off of the cliff, afraid that my powers would fail me somehow and we would tumble to our doom. I looked down for a moment and spotted an expansive forest below us. It would be impossible to know where to land.

As I swooped downwards, I asked Vanessa where I was supposed to land. "I don't know," she admitted. I was just about to land when Vanessa said, "Wait a second. We'll be able to get to Roosevelt's Cave faster if we land next to the waterfall."

I flew back into the clouds and looked around until I found the waterfall that Vanessa was referring to. I then landed next to the waterfall and gently placed Vanessa on the ground. "I can't believe that worked," Vanessa said as she consulted the map once again. "Follow me. I think I know where we're going now."

I followed Vanessa through the forest, thinking that the worst part of our journey was over. Although there were a handful of fallen trees in our way, they weren't hard to climb over, and neither of us needed to use our powers. We were so close to Roosevelt's Cave that there seemed to be no way that there could be another obstacle.

I knew that I was wrong when I heard something roaring.

Ahead of us, a bear loomed in front of our path. It growled and looked towards Vanessa and I, while I ran in the other direction. The bear was huge - there was no way that this bear was here by coincidence. Only a superhuman's intervention could explain the bear's size and aggression.

Vanessa, however, was unafraid. "It's just an animal, Jay," she said. "If we're quiet and don't disturb it, we'll be okay."

"Are you seeing this thing?" I asked. "It's enormous." All of a sudden, the bear roared against and reared up on its hind legs. "That has to be at least twenty feet tall."

"I can handle it," Vanessa said, but I wasn't so sure. She carefully stepped away from the bear in an attempt to go around it, even though I already knew that it wouldn't work. We were already doomed.

More bears emerged from the forest around us, and they created a ferocious blockade. They would tear us apart if we moved. We had to turn around, or the bears would eat us alive. There was no other choice.

"Okay, maybe I should have brought my crossbow," Vanessa said. "I think that I have an idea though."

Vanessa didn't move a muscle. Instead, she stepped closer to the bears. "What are you doing?!" I shouted, but she didn't respond. She remained perfectly still, and strangely enough, so did the bears. After a few minutes, all of the bears calmly wandered away, leaving the path clear for us.

"What did you do?" I asked her as we approached Roosevelt's Cave.

Vanessa shrugged and said, "I created an illusion. I made all the bears see a potential feeding area in the distance, and they left to eat instead of staying here and attacking us."

"That's awesome," I said. "Thanks Vanessa."

"It's not that big of a deal," Vanessa said, and we kept walking down the path.

About twenty minutes later, we reached a large, rocky cave. "This must be it," I said as I followed Vanessa into the cave.

Inside the cave, I had a hard time keeping up with Vanessa as she headed straight for the golden light that had to be the Elixir of Immortality. At one point, I nearly lost her. I tripped over something, and when I looked up again, I couldn't find Vanessa. "Vanessa, where are you?" I shouted.

"I'm coming," she said, and I got back up and looked back at what had caused me to trip. It was a fancy-looking fountain pen, with the words "The Reality Pen" inscribed on the side. I wasn't sure what I would do with the pen, but I stuffed it into my pocket anyways. If nothing else, I could give it to someone as a gift or sell it online.

"Are you okay?" Vanessa asked when she found me again. I nodded, and we headed towards the golden light again.

A few minutes later, the two of us finally found the Elixir of Immortality. There were shelves stacked on top of each other, and they were filled with vials of a golden liquid that had to be the Elixir of Immortality. A few of the shelves weren't quite fully stocked, indicating that we weren't the first people to find the Elixir, but they was still more than enough for the two of us.

Vanessa immediately took a vial off of the bottom shelf and drank it. "This is crazy," she said. "Disease and old age won't affect me anymore. I have an eternity to take down the Academy." She then turned to me and said, "Jay? Do you want some?"

I thought about it for a few minutes. There were some advantages to living forever, but to me, it just sounded lonely. My family and friends would all die one day, and I would be left alone, suffering. "No thanks," I said.

Vanessa shrugged and said, "Let's get out of here then." The two of us headed out of the cave, and I kept my eye out for any more expensive pens lying on the ground.

"Where should we go now?" I asked Vanessa as we left the cave.

"We should probably go get the car before we do anything else," Vanessa said. I looked up, and I spotted Vanessa's car teetering at the edge of a cliff. I transformed into a demon and flew into the sky, carrying Vanessa with me. I soared towards the cliff and landed right next to Vanessa's car. Vanessa then climbed into the driver's seat, while I sat next to her.

"That was crazy, wasn't it?" I said as Vanessa turned on her music and passed me the map.

"Yeah, but now I have to start the next step in taking down the Academy," Vanessa said. "I suppose I can wait until I get home to figure it out though. I have all the time in the world now."

I directed Vanessa out of Yosemite National Park, and by the time the sun set, Vanessa and I had returned to Ellen's castle. "So are you immortal yet, Vanessa?" Percy asked as he opened the door. Vanessa nodded, and Percy asked, "How does it feel?"

"So far, it's not any different from being mortal," Vanessa said.

"Does this mean that you two can still play Super Smash Bros. with me?" Percy asked.

"Sure, why not?" Vanessa said.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stay for long. After about an hour, I had to return home, but something did feel different. For once, I had used my powers for something good. It didn't quite make up for my many sins, but it did prove that I did have a few virtues within me.