Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 by S.Y. Lee
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Ebook ISBN 978-0-9994900-0-6
Paperback ISBN 978-0-9994900-1-3
To my parents
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Epilogue
Map
About the Author
Chapter 1
Houston, Texas
“For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and free from ills and hard toil and heavy sickness which bring the baleful spirits upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly. That is the curse that Pandora unleashed upon all mankind,” the professor said in her loud and crisp voice, pointing at a painted jar on a pedestal.
The museum tour was a horrible idea. Leo Cowan couldn’t help but wonder if he would have been better off had he chosen his minor in Native American art. Instead, he was stuck here, on the last day before summer break, on a Greek mythology field trip. In Texas.
Yet, Greek mythology had it easy. The entire semester was more like a long storytelling session and now they were heading into summer break with a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science to view the visiting Greek mythology exhibits. Truth be told, all the exhibits were either replicas or created from descriptions. Leo wondered where the actual relics of time were, and how many of the thousands of visitors to the museum each year knew that they weren’t looking at historical artifacts.
Still, Leo couldn’t complain. His friend, Dillon, was right now in the middle of a three-hour math examination. In addition to Greek mythology, Leo had no written tests for his journalism course, so it had been a fairly stress-free semester. The only downside was that he knew virtually nobody in this class. The requirements were extremely easy and most students didn’t need to attend all the classes to be able to complete their assignments and obtain a satisfactory grade. There was always a class that students enrolled in to get by easily. This was that class.
The other reason why students, or rather the male students, chose Greek mythology was the professor: Caroline Baker. At thirty-five, not only did she turn the heads of students and faculty alike on campus, she was an accomplished expert in her field and had already published several books on the subject. Furthermore, she was a celebrity of sorts within academic circles because her husband, Richard Baker, was a world-renowned archaeologist and frequent guest lecturer at her classes. He specialized in searching for relics, artifacts, and historical sites which were thought not to exist.
Richard Baker was a real-life Indiana Jones who was often featured in documentaries. Five years ago, he had led the team which uncovered part of Noah’s ark, buried at the mid-section of Mount Ararat in Turkey. There were many other famous archaeological finds that were attributed to him over the years which included ancient tombs in Egypt, relics of the crusades, and artifacts that were thought only to be the stuff of legends and folklore. In an age where online escapism ruled over books and adventure, he was one of the stars of modern archaeology.
But that wasn’t the reason why male students joined her class. Caroline’
s flowing blonde locks were never out of place, she was in great shape because she worked out five times a week at the college gym, and she always wore those tight blouses that emphasized her womanly figure. That wasn’t the reason why Leo had signed up for the course, but it had certainly become a great perk and he never could get tired of her cheery voice which always brightened his day.
“…the actual words used are Pandora’s pithos, and “pithos” is directly translated to “jar.” So, we’re really talking about Pandora’s jar, not box. But we’ve become so used to referring to it as Pandora’s Box that we might not even recognize it if it was right before our very eyes," Caroline said with a mysterious smile, as though she was hiding something from the class. Some of the students muttered words of agreement, not contesting what she said or questioning the basis of such a statement. It was one thing that Leo had noticed over the semester. Nobody ever disagreed with Caroline. They didn’t want to get on her bad side. Not that anyone had seen one.
The next exhibits featured the battle of the Olympians and the Titans, followed by the twelve labors of Hercules. Nothing that Leo hadn’t learnt in class or read in a book. In fact, much of what he could remember about Hercules came from a cartoon. He still couldn’t grasp the reason why they were here, seeing exhibits that bore no real historical value. Perhaps it was to cater to those who had little sense of imagination or didn’t watch television. Being an only child, he had a bountiful imagination and often pictured himself among the Olympians during class, fighting monsters and achieving great deeds that peasants sang about for ages to come. He found it strange that the power of imagination came so difficult for some.
After they had finished the tour of the Greek mythology exhibits, the students were allowed to explore the other features of the museum for two hours on their own, before they were to meet back at the entrance. While most of the female students went off in separate directions in their own little clusters, a large majority of the male population of the class chose to stick with Caroline, following her as she walked through the museum and served as an informal tour guide, seemingly unaware of the amount of attention she was garnering.
Leo had been moving in a herd for longer than he was comfortable with and he decided to split from the group. He sometimes thought about the pros and cons of wolf packs versus lone wolves. He found it easier being alone and he liked the freedom of not having to adhere to how a group moves or behaves. Solitude was his comfort.
Walking down the corridor as the sound of Caroline’s voice faded behind him, Leo turned into the Hall of Paleontology. Immediately, Leo laid his eyes upon the eighty-five-foot Diplodocus skeleton display that was the centerpiece of the great hall. There was no way to miss it. Dinosaurs, now those were real. But also, much less fun to fantasize about. Still, Leo thought that it was interesting that dinosaurs which existed millions of years ago could be found, whereas there were no remnants of the ancient Greek mythology era that they were studying. He smiled to himself, reminded of the irony of studying a subject that wasn’t based on facts and actual events, while he was majoring in journalism, the pursuit of truth.
Leo wandered around the museum aimlessly until it was almost time to gather back at the entrance for a final debrief by the professor. As he made his way back to the entrance, he saw Jim Handers, one of the classmates whom he spoke to occasionally, pounding his fist on a vending machine.
“Hey, Jim. What’s wrong?”
“Stupid machine ate my dollar. You by yourself too?”
“Yeah. I thought you were with the professor? Where’s everybody else?”
“I was, but it got boring and all the other guys were peppering her with questions so that she would talk to them. It was annoying, so I decided to break off from the group.”
“Well, it’s almost time to head back. Come on, let’s go.” Leo motioned with his head, his hands tucked into his pockets.
Jim grunted, giving the machine one last bang with his fist before turning away defeated. He was on the college basketball team, although most people would never have guessed from his appearance. For one thing, he was short and stout, built like a kettle. And although he possessed burly arms and a very muscular upper body, he wore a pair of large, framed plastic glasses which made him look more at home at the library than on the court. Leo had never seen Jim play basketball, but his reputation served him well. According to what Leo had heard, Jim could dribble the hand like an extension of his body, and was such an excellent shooter of the ball that his height and awkward looks didn’t matter. He was the team’s secret weapon.
Together, as they passed the Greek mythology exhibits again on their way towards the entrance, Leo took one last glance at the faded pictures and clay figurines, his gaze resting on the jar that the professor had referred to as ‘Pandora’s box.’ He had to admit that the idea of Pandora’s box was fascinating, but he still considered it to be ludicrous that people would believe it was real and sought to find it. He reckoned Caroline’s husband must one of them. What good would it do anyway? It wasn't the Fountain of Youth or the Holy Grail. There were no rewards to be reaped, except to prove that all that is bad in life can be blamed on one woman whose curiosity had gotten the best of her.
Leo’s thoughts soon shifted as they reconvened with the rest of the class. Looking out the tall glass doors of the museum, he could see the trees basking in the sun. Summer was here. It was time to cast Greek mythology to the back of his mind.
As Caroline started talking to the group about reading assignments and the exhibits that they had seen, Leo drifted off and pondered his upcoming holiday plans.
Tomorrow, he was flying to Chicago with his parents to visit their family lawyer and best friend, David Lynch, for two weeks. Leo had only met the man once, three years ago, when Lynch was in Houston to help his father settle a legal case against a former employer who had wrongfully discharged him. Lynch was a good lawyer. Exceptional, actually. Leo’s parents referred to him as a rainmaker. He brought major corporations to court and often won or forced them to settle for millions. Leo’s father had received a hefty two-million-dollar settlement because of his intervention. It was an obscene amount of money, and no other lawyer would have gotten as much.
Leo had always been puzzled how his parents came to become such good friends with Lynch, but he wasn’t one to question them. He hadn’t been brought up that way. In their household, he was taught to accept things as they were without reservation.
He didn’t really want to go to Chicago, but his parents had insisted. From what they had told him, the Lynches lived in an enormous mansion just outside of Chicago. They had a daughter who was his age, also in college, with aspirations of becoming a lawyer like her father. Apparently, she would be there for the summer too, so at least he might have someone to hang out with for the fortnight, while his parents mingled with their friends. He was certain that he would see little of them once they got there.
Caroline finished her brief speech and the students cheered for joy. Break had begun. A small smile crept onto Leo’s face, as he stepped out of the museum and took in his first breath of summer air.
Chapter 2
London, England
“David! David! Wake up! You have to go to work soon!”
David McCallister groaned as he opened his eyes to see his sister, Sarah, sticking a plate of toast in his face. She was already dressed in her usual grey, pinstripe pantsuit and about to leave for work. She wore her long blonde hair in a neat ponytail which came down to her shoulders and her makeup was lightly applied, just enough to exude a sense of sophistication. She looked like one of those powerful executives that one would normally see on the cover of a financial magazine, talking about their ambitions and how successful they were.
In reality, Sarah McCallister was just an office assistant. Like many other nineteen-year-old girls, she aspired to become a singer, which was why she had gotten a job at a prestigious recording company, hoping for her talent to be spotted one fateful day.
She certainly fit the profile of an attractive young woman who had the ability to sing, but when it came down to auditions, she was always too nervous to perform. And when Sarah gets nervous, her voice quivers. Nevertheless, she endeavored to persevere and kept on practicing and going for auditions, refusing to let go of her dream, even if it meant putting everything else aside.
David didn’t want to get out of bed. He still hadn’t told his sister that he had quit his job serving tables at the Mediterranean restaurant two blocks down the street. Not wanting to be subjected to another lengthy lecture about his future, David took the plate, stumbled out of bed, and kissed his sister on the cheek as she left for work.
David sat down on the old red couch in the living room. He took a bite out of the toast and turned on the television. The Discovery Channel was on. Some archaeologist named Lex Huffington was showing the camera a gigantic golden head of a statue that he had uncovered. It looked like it had been decapitated from its body. David was slightly amused, but he soon lost interest as the archaeologist started going into excruciating detail about the excavation process.
Switching over to the news, David was just in time to catch the highlights of last night’s soccer game. As usual, his idol had proven to be his team’s trump card, having scored two goals that spurred them to a victory. They were now at the top of the league.
Much like Sarah, David had his own dreams. He imagined himself on the soccer field, captaining his team to victory and becoming the best player in history. But like Sarah, David had his setbacks. Three years ago, he was a member of the local youth academy of a championship winning soccer club, but he had been expelled because of violent conduct.
It happened one day after losing a practice match. Deeply frustrated, he had lashed out at several teammates and gotten into a brawl in the locker room. He probably would still be at the academy, had he not broken a teammate’s leg against a bench. Later, David learned he had ended the young man’s soccer career. Since that incident, his notoriety had spread and no other teams would take him. His dreams had been put on hold indefinitely. When he was younger, soccer had provided direction in his life. Without it, David had lost his sense of being or direction, like a stray buoy floating aimlessly in the vast ocean.
His parents were so disappointed that they seldom spoke to him, or about him for that matter. So, he moved out with his twin sister once they were eighteen to get away from them.