Jacob Hodge

The Timeless Hero

The Timeless Hero Since I was a small child I felt like people needed me. I didn't know who and I didn't know where, but I knew people were in danger and only I could help them. I never knew my family. For most of my childhood I traveled around the country trying to help where I could. As time went on I acquired many useful skills and talents. It was a simpler time then, a time when you could hop on the railroad and find work in the next city. I have seen a lot of different times and whens since then. I always thought I was destined for greatness, but little did I know how much things would change for me when I turned 21. At the time I was living in Alaska and had been living with a self described monk in the mountains. He had been teaching me survival skills and martial arts. He taught me how to live off the land, and during a routine winter outing alone in the heartland, I heard the first of the screams. Suddenly it seemed as if I was surrounded by people in the most terrible of agony. I covered my ears but to no avail, still the screaming persisted. Where are they? How do I help them? I ran towards what I thought was the source, a small cave up the mountain. As I grew near, it felt like the screams were physical, as if I was running into the very soundwaves that the voices travelled through. I began to feel a pulsing in my chest. I could no longer block out the screams, and I reached up to find blood leaking from my ears. Regardless, I pressed on, only wanting to help end these people’s suffering. As I neared the cave, I started to see a golden light radiate outwards, and it felt like it was encapsulating me. My eyes fixed upon the most beautiful Locket. A heart of pure gold with Lapis Lazuli engravings. In Latin it read “Invictus” across the front. Overwhelmed by the lights and sounds around me, I fall to the ground in front of me. I reach for the Locket to feel some comfort and lose myself in the screaming.