What Has Become of You

“Excuse me, Miss. I know this is gonna’ sound weird, but a man on the Metrorail riding with me asked me to deliver this here. He gave me your address and said he was your husband. He looked in bad shape. Whatever it was he got into; it couldn’t have been good. He said to say he loves you. I don’t want any other part of this, but he showed me your picture on his phone so I would know it was you.” She took the envelope and watched the young boy step off her porch and walk away along the sidewalk. Her fear turned to confusion. She opened the bulky package to reveal $20,000 in mixed bills and pages scrawled in her husband’s handwriting.

* * *

I was working on the renovation project of the library; the dome at the entrance had several structural issues after the last earthquake, so the city had solicited some needed repairs. The company I worked for had been contracted for a part of the detail and design pieces adorning the dome. The inside of the dome also had a mosaic image of the night sky with constellations, bits of tile now cracked, missing. An inner stairwell that led up to the dome's ceiling was the only access to maintain the lighting system and intricate tilework so it made the task even more challenging.

We started on a Monday. I made my way up to get a closer look at the inside of the dome; that's where I came across what looked like a poorly patched section at one edge of the dome. Hardly visibly at all, it also looked recent. Poking in a finger to break off the grit, I felt something. Fishing it out, I removed a tiny piece of rolled paper.

     Above the last of golden fruit, 

     I sit atop the heaven's root

     Red is not red, nor is blue, blue, 

     Welcoming all, recognized by few

     Boneless spine that treasure holds, 

     Where Hera's guard my history's told.

Unsure why, I stuffed it in my pocket. That day ended with just about two-thirds of the inspection complete; we had used an infrared light mapping system to create a 3D image of the inner dome. It is the same process a game console uses to map a person's movements for video games. That night, as I changed for bed, my wife brought me the paper that I had forgotten about. I briefly explained, but she tossed it in the bathroom’s wastebasket.

In the darkest hour of that night, I was startled by something; I know I'd heard something in the house. I went downstairs to find out what, stopping every so often to listen for a repeat. Nothing. Turning the light on in the kitchen, I went outside, thinking only after I'd stepped out that maybe there was a prowler and maybe this wasn't the best idea. I listened again at the top of the back stairs, but only heard the dogs from four houses down, barking. Moving towards the driveway and waiting for the motion light to kick on, I was filled with dread. As I crept closer, waving my arms in the dark to engage the light sensor, something blew past and nicked me on the back of the neck. The light flashed on, giving me a glimpse as I flailed around in terror trying to fight off whatever had attacked me zipping back into the darkness. I didn't realize the thing had gotten teeth on me until I showered the next morning when I felt the sting of shampoo on the open wound. My first thought was rabies, but I ignored it.

Another hot day and by lunch time, I was glad for the merciful respite of air conditioning in the library's main hall. A dollar in my pocket for a soda came up with the tiny scroll and I remembered to question one of the librarians on the site. The woman behind the counter didn't recognize the quote; when she asked me where I'd gotten it, I lied, saying something about a child's school project. Even online searches didn't have a clear answer. The riddle seemed to be original. Returning from lunch, I felt the heat of the day begin to bear down on me more heavily than normal. Nausea soon turned to bile in my throat and I began to think about whatever had bitten me the night prior. Nearly finishing, I decided to leave early that day. On the drive home, I could tell I'd gotten a wicked sunburn and attributed the feeling to a mild heat stroke. As the sun set that night, I felt better, but when I fell asleep, I had the most terrifying dreams.

I called in sick to work the next day and as soon as I was alone, I began to explore online to see what else I could find about the riddle... I engaged a university chat room where someone mentioned that Hera was a Greek goddess which led to more specific information. In Greek mythology, Hera was given a tree that produced golden apples. She was so enamored of it that she planted it in her garden and had two of Atlas' daughters watch over it. But they were too easily tempted by the fruit and kept picking at it. So, Hera sought out a better solution. The story goes that Hera entrusted Ladon with the task of protecting the tree. Ladon was the name given to a dragon.

There is an idea that exists about color mapping for our 3D scanning systems about how to teach computers what colors go where. Rather than trying to teach the programs what 'red' is or what 'blue' looks like, an idea popped up to encode the various wavelengths and minor shade differences as 'what red is NOT'. Objects that the human eye sees as red are not really red, but rather they absorb all of the color wavelengths of light EXCEPT for red. That particular wavelength bounces back to our eyes and we 'see' red. Same for all the other colors, too. Blue isn't really blue, it's all the colors EXCEPT for blue. So, with that idea in mind, I figured out that the middle part of the riddle was referring to what? The color black. It welcomes ALL colors, so it doesn't reflect anything back to the eyes. And here you thought that white was the color of all things mixed.

The line about a 'boneless spine' had me stumped so I swung by the library just after five when I knew all the guys would be gone, but it was still open. This time a young man behind the counter approached to help me.

"I was just trying to figure out this one part," I said, explaining.

"Boneless spine that treasure holds..." he repeated. He thought for a moment, wrinkling his nose. "Oh wait, I got it! It's a book!" he chirped.

I was struck by the simplicity of the answer.

"Oh hey, that's clever! A spine without bones... Like the spine of a book." I couldn't believe it. So simple and so ironic. Here I was in the middle of a library. Of course, it was a book.

So here is where I arrived: a black book and Ladon the dragon guarding Hera's golden apple tree. I thanked the young man and hurried out to my truck just as the library was closing. I drove around for a few hours that evening, feeling the sunburn on my skin and the nausea returning. I didn't want to stray too far from the neighborhood because I knew I needed to return after dark. I knew the book had to be up there. As I drove around lost in my thoughts, I came around a right turn and didn’t even see her. She didn't even scream... I must've knocked her out or she hit her head on the pavement or something, I never meant to hurt her... I swear.

I picked her up to take to her to the hospital myself. I could smell the cupric tinge of blood in the truck and I tried to hurry more, but the smell was overwhelming. Before I realized that I wasn't driving towards any hospital, I pulled over, frantic about what might happen to me. I didn't mean to do it, but it just... It took over me.

So now to the last golden fruit in the riddle. The single golden apple that Ladon was guarding, Ladon is the name of the dragon that most people call Draco. Draco was the constellation in the sky. The solitary golden apple was the North Star... Polaris. The one that doesn't move; like 'heaven's root'. The root in the sky about which all the other stars rotate. The riddle said, I sit above the golden fruit. It was there... HE was there. There was no way for any regular person to get up there... I know the strength in my arms wasn't natural, but I was still afraid when I did it.

The highest cupola on top of the dome was almost inaccessible. We had struggled to figure out how we would get the cranes in there to inspect it, but I got up there tonight. When I tumbled over the stone railing into the cupola for safety, it was completely dark. I landed hard, breathing heavily, blood-soaked and he tossed it in front of me. It was a little black book, almost like a journal.

I was on my way to the hospital, but I had stopped somewhere and I just... did it. I smelled the warmth and life in the truck and I was overcome. I couldn't stop. The moment seemed rapturous. Intoxicating even. But even as my mind tried to pull me away, I couldn't. I just gave in to the thirst. She hadn't screamed or anything, but she was so pale. And when I got up there to the dome, he spoke to me after dropping the book in front of me.

"Here, you're going to want to read this," he said, almost laughing. "Already?" he inquired. I was breathing hard from the fear and the thirst. "Wow, most of you don't give in so easily, but you... you were quick."

"What's—What’s happening?" I managed. The fear welled up.

"You're dying."

"What?!"

"Yes, your body is dying and you have given it its first taste of blood.”

"What are you talking about?" He approached and squatted in front of my face. I was retching on the floor.

"Perhaps you already know, you just don't want to admit it to yourself. You can only guess who I am, right? But there's no need, really, is there? Of the Order of Draco? The dragon of the night sky?" He spread his arms, bowing theatrically.

"But that—that’s not possible. There's no such thing..."

"And yet, here I stand. Before you. Once a knight of the Order of the Dragon, and now, cursed as a creature of the night." My view spun from the dry heaving and crescendo in my head. I remember opening the book, momentarily, thinking it might've been some kind of cure. I believed all this to be some kind of cruel joke or delirious nightmare, but... Just before I passed out, I saw it.

* * *

I have the book here with me now as I'm sitting on this train. And this envelope for you. They have to believe it was me who ran, who took the money out. The book’s cover is blank, but the first page has a handwritten title. Before I closed my eyes tonight when I died, I saw it. It says, How to Kill.