The First Book of the Pure (18 page)

“How old are you, Mr. McStieve?”

“Huh! Why do you care? We’ve never met.”

“But I suspect you’re as old as I am, or
older. And I suspect this isn’t your first identity. It certainly
isn’t mine. How old?”

The guards were coming around, and as they
recovered and got up, their first sight was their boss, kneeling
over them to check their vitals and make sure they were okay. One
seemed too dazed, and Gheret told the others to take him to be
checked out. He sent them on their way, and assured them he would
be fine with this wounded stranger. They still gathered out of
earshot but close enough to be of help if needed, not that they had
been much help yet. Gheret waved them off and said to them, “Go on,
take Riley to Teddy and have him checked out. If he thinks it’s
something he can’t handle, take him to the hospital. I’m fine.
Go!”

Their boss looked An’Kahar over and sized him
up. “Do you need a hospital too, or should we try to take care of
that leg wound here, before you lose any more blood.”

“It won’t matter; I’ll be fine in a little
while. It doesn’t hurt much now.”

***

“Well, very well then. Let’s take this
inside, just you and me, shall we?”

After being seated in the house Gheret called
for coffee. They sat there waiting quietly, and after it had been
served by a young maid, An’Kahar returned to his topic. Like a
tenacious bulldog, he asked his question again. “How old are you?
Or do you even know?”

“Well, I don’t know exactly, but as you
suspect, I’m much older than I look. Do you represent someone, or
is it just you? Where are you from, and if I may ask, how old are
you?”

“Fair enough,” An’Kahar responded. “I’m
originally from the northern wilds of Alaska, and am, by birth,
Inuit.”

Gheret stared open-mouthed.

“What is it?” An’Kahar asked.

“Are you Achar, or An’Kahar?”

“How do you know me? And my brother. Achar
died a long time ago. I’m An’Kahar. Who the hell are you?” He was
quite unsettled. He had gone from being the investigator to the one
whose history was apparently known by the one he was investigating.
It wasn’t possible!

Gheret stood, as did An’Kahar. “Sorry to hear
about Achar, and now I’m truly sorry you killed your other brother,
Luntar. But, he challenged you, and you met his challenge there on
our fateful caribou hunt. I told you then that we wouldn’t speak of
it again. You seem to have grown into a fine young man. Well, not
so young, but you understand what I mean. I
am
Gheret, your
father
. I’ve been alive much longer than you, of course. You
may count your life in centuries, but I’m afraid I count mine in
millennia. You and your brothers came from my second stable life,
my second family, as it were.”

Now An’Kahar dropped his jaw and stared.
“That’s impossible. My father was killed in a…”

“Wolf hunt” interrupted Gheret, finishing the
sentence as he brushed a lock of hair from his face. “I went every
couple of years. Yes, I know; I was there, remember? I didn’t die,
and you never saw a body. I was lost in an avalanche, found shelter
in a crevasse, and then, a long time later, revived and started my
next life. There was no way to find you.”

They stood staring at each other. “My son.”
Gheret raised arms.

“Father.”They embraced awkwardly.

At that tender moment a short man named Teddy
rushed up. “I’m so sorry sir, but I just heard your guest was
injured. Let me look at that wound sir.” He was quite
insistent.

“I’m fine. Really.”

“That’s nice. Slide your trousers down
please. You can’t push your pant leg up that far, and I need to see
the wound. Please!”

“Go ahead and do it,” Gheret said with a
sigh. “Teddy won’t be denied. He’s been taking care of me and most
of the injuries that happen around here for a long time. How is
James, Teddy?”

“On his way to the hospital, I’m afraid. Not
everyone is as easy a patient as you, sir.” Teddy looked at his
boss and said, “James accidently stumbled down a whole flight of
stairs. Very clumsy man, at least that’s what they’ll hear at the
Emergency Room. He has some broken bones.” He turned back to
An’Kahar. “Did you have to be that rough with him, young man?”

An’Kahar stared at this odd little man for a
minute, then defended himself to him. “He was shooting at me!”

“I’m sure he had a good reason. Sit still and
let me see the wound!” Finally satisfied after bandaging the wound
on both sides, Teddy said, “The bullet went straight through
obviously, and the bleeding is almost stopped.” He looked at
An’Kahar slyly. “Just like Mr. McStieve.”

“Thank you Teddy, I’ll take it from here,
please. We wouldn’t mind some food and beverages, though.”

“Absolutely sir, coming up.” The diminutive
houseman rushed out.

“Teddy is an acquired taste, but he’s a
wonderful person, loyal, trustworthy and maybe even a little bit
clairvoyant,” laughed Gheret. “He anticipates me far too much.”

***

They shared their stories that night, each
telling where and when they had lived. An’Kahar told his father
about Ruby, and Gheret was both pleased and amazed. “Ah, so there
are more of us still alive.”

“Pures, I call us. We must have the purest
blood, or genes, in the world.”

“Hmm, well said, son. So, any children? With
Ruby, I mean.”

“No, I’m afraid not. We started out not
wanting children, but now we really do. She never got to really
mother her own in the past, and in those days the man was
everything. She’d be a great mom. We’ve tried, but nothing seems to
help. Every time we decide to try again she either doesn’t get
pregnant or she miscarries. She’s understandably reluctant now; too
many heartaches over it.”

“I’ve wondered if such a thing is possible. I
had children twice, with Normals, but with another Pure there would
be two incredible hardy, well, systems, trying to dominate. Think
about it; you have boys, and I presume she’s always has girls?” At
an affirmative nod from An’Kahar, he went on. What will the mix
give the two of you, if anything? Obviously I don’t know enough
about it to have a credible opinion yet, although I do hope you
keep trying.

“By the way, do you know how long it’s been
since my fateful wolf hunt? I’ve not been able to date how long I
skipped in that crevasse.”

“Well, I’ve had several identities since
then,” said An’Kahar. “I was just a boy, as you know, but it’s been
over six hundred years.”

Gheret sat quietly for a long moment before
he responded: “I skipped many periods of time prior to that, so I
still don’t really know my age. But I don’t feel a day over 800!”
They laughed an easy laugh together.

“Forgive me for asking, An’Kahar, but I
suspect you weren’t looking for your father. You seemed quite
stunned to find out who I really am. Why were you here looking into
me?”

“I read about your racing accident, and
wanted to know if there were others of us. Ruby’s curious, but I
really wanted to know. I’ve investigated many, and found them all
to be Normals, lucky ones to be sure, but just Normals.”

“And now what? You’ll continue looking? What
do you expect from me? I mean, I’m truly glad you’ve survived and
inherited my longevity, but still…what is it you want?”

“I don’t expect us to be a family after so
long. I have a life, Ruby has a life, and you obviously do. But
perhaps I can keep you informed of my searches, and visit from time
to time. Family means a lot to me now.”

“My last family.” Gheret choked back
unexpected tears as he paused. “I had a wonderful wife and sons, as
I did with you. Can you believe I was a lumberjack? Emma, my wife,
finally died, and my boys married and had children of their own.
When my sons passed away, I kept seeing their children as a
grandfather might. However, it was finally strange and a bit
unsettling that I was still around at all. Now I track some of my
offspring, but I make no contact. Frankly, knowing I’ll likely
outlive them makes it painful to want another family. It would take
just the right woman to spark that fire again and make me start
another family.” Gheret stared at his son for a long moment and
finally said, with a warm smile, “It’s a miracle that
you’re
here. I’ll settle for that right now.”

An’Kahar sat quietly, looking at his father.
“Sometimes I think it would be enough to be able to talk about
things that concern Pures with another Pure. Ruby is wonderful, of
course, but still…another man, my own father. That would be a
plus.” He grinned a boyish grin at Gheret, as he pushed his own
straying lock of hair off his face.

“Perfect,” said Gheret. “I may be able to
point you to some very interesting people to investigate, as you
say you’ve been doing. They’re unusual to say the least, and may be
Pure as well. You understand though, that being a Pure doesn’t mean
someone will be good or moral. You may find Pure idiots, or Pure
demons. I’ve never looked for them, although I
have
known
some through the centuries.

“I’ve had dealings with people who seem …
different. Perhaps they’re Pures, and you should investigate them.
One is a woman named Rose, who is quite interesting. More different
she couldn’t be.” He laughed. “But I like her. Another is a
ruthless businessman named Karl Schmidt. He’s acquired far too much
for one so young. He seemed to come out of nowhere. My company had
to deal with him on a couple of occasions and he was a serious
pain. Be very careful with him. I know from long ago that he
actually
is
a Pure, and as ruthless a person as I’ve ever
known. He’s done some horrific things in his long life.

“I must ask; do you know much about us? About
our, condition, as it were?”

“You mean, do I know why we’re like we
are?”

“Yes,” Gheret answered with that warm smile
again. “That.”

“Well, Ruby’s quite a scientist, and ahead of
most science today. She’s found that we’re stronger than Normals
due to higher levels of type 1 muscle fibers. We have roughly four
times the amount than an athlete would have. And as far as our
healing abilities, she talks about our platelets having a serious
flash mob effect, and wounds contracting or some such thing. They
‘granulate’ more quickly than in a Normal. Then there was something
about epithelialization, whatever that is. I have to admit, I don’t
pay much attention to scientific jargon. I’m afraid I’m a bit more
of a doer than a thinker.”

“Hmm, I’ve done my share of research, but all
I had to go on was me and my body, my experiences. She has the two
of you, so I’m thinking she may know more about it. I’ve looked
into it and found that our bone density is greater than that of a
Normal, and our rate of protein absorption is much higher too. I’ve
checked my own sleep patterns, and I seem to get many times the
delta sleep of anyone else. I’ll look forward to meeting your Ruby,
son, and perhaps collaborating on our studies.”

“Thank you father. I’ll look into the people
you’ve mentioned, and I’ll let you know what we find out. I have no
doubt that all of us are pretty good about concealing our
identities and longevity, or we would be targets. I did it, you did
it, and Ruby did it. Others must too.”

With renewed warmth and a much more sincere
embrace, they parted, An’Kahar heading back to meet with Ruby, and
his father, Gheret, to do whatever it was he did in the normal
course of his incredible life.

Session 12

Kenneth’s host met him promptly the next
morning. “I have many business affairs to keep up with, so I’ve had
to carve out this time for you each day. My enterprises go on, you
understand.”

He walked about, nibbling a fried croissant
stuffed with a delectable cream cheese. “Today you have to really
try to put time in perspective. Goyahkla was living in Chicago. Do
you know Chicago at all, Kenneth?”

“Not well, I guess, but I’ve made several
trips there. It’s a big place, and I haven’t seen nearly all of it,
let alone know the place. Do
you
know Chicago well?”

“I’ve probably known any place you can
mention better than you, by the very virtue of my long life and
ability to do what I wish. I’ve traveled extensively, and have
lived lives where you just took a vacation.

“Yes, I know Chicago, and I knew it back when
it was becoming what it is today. Well, it hasn’t always been the
vast city it is today. But it has always been interesting. This was
in the days of the crime families, and after a lifetime in the
west, and then in the south, Goyahkla made it his home.”

History Repeats Itself

Keep in mind that this happened in the
mid-1940s, and people were feeling pretty desperate, especially in
cities like Chicago. Crime was a real threat, and nobody was truly
insulated from it. Powerful crime families each claimed portions of
the city, and turf wars were common.

Later that same night in which Goyahkla’s
family had argued and laughed together, with all of them in bed,
Goyahkla got up and went about his nightly routine. He wandered
about the house, checking doors and such. As he walked through the
living room, gunshots rang out very close, splintering wood
explosively, throwing shards of wood through the living room. An
explosion upstairs shook the house, and Goyahkla rushed back up the
narrow stairs to their bedroom. The smoke and scent of cooked flesh
was overpowering to one such as he had been. He knew the smell all
too well, and knew what he would find as he ran into the room. His
beloved wife had still been in bed when the homemade bomb had been
thrown through the window. The blast had killed her instantly, and
had charred her and much of the room. He rushed back down to his
son’s room, a small add-on at the back of the living room. As he
rushed in, Elihas was bleeding and unconscious. Shock had already
set in. Goyahkla immediately set about staunching the flow of blood
and checking his son for other wounds. One bullet went in and then
back out, leaving a sizable hole in his back. His heart had been
missed, but the wound would likely kill him, unless…