EYES WIDE SHUT

As a young boy, Monarch was a slave in the early 12 hundredth century. He was born Monarch Febious, but Edwin was his trade slave name given by Mazus.

''I shall call you Edwin,'' Mazus replied proudly while holding his sword up in the air and blessing him over both shoulders.

Mazus was 6'2 and 270 lbs of pure muscle, sporting a blond head with sandy hair. He wore heavy armor; he wasn't all that handsome.

''Edwin,'' he repeats, pushing him to the ground, forcing Edwin to bow before him. His mother, Sarah, and his father, Fetious, were killed in a war fighting against the Gentilians. Mazus was the leader of the Gentilians. He was a proud King and the God of war in his village.

All the great men looked up to Mazus. It was a known law that all women in the town were slaves to men. They were to be seen and not heard; silence in those times represented weakness that men overruled and dominated women. Women weren't allowed to be above any male figures, or else they would be beaten, raped, sold, and killed. Women back then weren't successful business owners. They were housewives who obeyed their husbands. They cooked, cleaned, bore children, and did chores as they were told. Anyone who didn't believe in his namesake was slain at the hands of his soldiers.

''I am your God! Call me Mazus!''' Two soldiers were holding swords at the throat of Sarah and Fetious.

''No!'' Sarah replied.

''We will do no such thing!'' Fetious replied. Blood was shed right before Monarch. The two soldiers decapitated the heads clean off Sarah and Fetious. Monarch yelled for his Mother and Father while watching them drop.

''Noooooo!'' Monarch tried to run towards his Mother and Father, but.. the two soldiers grabbed him and carried him away.

LET ME GO! LET ME GO! Monarch shouted while trying to pull away from the soldiers, his feet kicking at them.

''You won't get away with this old man!'' Monarch yelled. Tears were flowing down his face.

Mazus laughed. ''Haha!'' He roared with laughter, mocking Edwin. It was the year of 1222. Edwin was 22 years of age. Not forgetting the tragic loss of his parent's death, Edwin wanted revenge for what Mazus had done. Back in Moltalitan, Mazus and Edwin gathered their things to travel to the town of Fidelis to find a young virgin girl.

They saw an old drunken woman and a young girl in an alley surrounded by needles and empty bottles where there was trash everywhere. A lot of homeless junkies slept there because they didn't have homes to go to. Mazus took a look at her. She was wearing a white cotton dress down to her ankles that was stained.

So Mazus said,''Leave,'' to the old drunken woman, ''I want the girl.''

Edwin lifted her from the ground and carried her away. The two of them walked into the night and vanished into thin air. There was nothing and no one in sight. The small village was deserted. Monarch and Mazus appeared through a portal underground leading to a tunnel. The underground was the underworld of many diabolical creatures that lived thousands of years beyond our time. Mazus owned an old shop that looked like a raggedy shack with lots of potions and magical tools around. When Edwin and Muzus arrived, Edwin gagged from all the dust.

He was more than just a God. He once was a man of Providence and intuitive abilities. Mazus, lost his immorality by abusing his authority. He knew he was a man of great power, but he allowed his ego and pride to rule his judgement towards others. He cared more about his public reputation and fun image. His intelligence of knowing became his downfall, and he was stripped of all communication with spirits. He was unkind and rude and didn't treat others with respect.

Mazus didn't know that one day in the future, seven years later in 1968, the law against women's rights would soon change. Women would be free and make their own choices without a man. They would have the right to vote. It wouldn't be segregated. It would be integrated so both parties would have equal opportunity.

''My boy, BRING HER TO ME, Mazus grunted in a grumpy voice.

She's asleep; I don't want to wake her from her slumber, my Lord,'' Edwin murmured.

''If you don't do as I ask. you will be greatly punished,'' Mazus threatened ominously.

''Yes, my Lord,'' Edwin replied.

''Come, lay her on the table,'' Mazus said, gesturing toward the empty table. Edwin laid her body on the table.

''Get me a cold glass of water,'' Mazus ordered.

'Yes, my Lord,'' Edwin said, bringing Mazus a cold glass of water.

Mazus smacked her snuggled face lightly to see if she woke. He then opened her mouth and gave her water. She begins choking and coughing, slowly turning her head from side to side. And opened her eyes. Everything looked blurry at first. Her vision began to clear, and then she screamed.

''Ahhhh... WHERE AM I?'' said the girl, whose name was Zendaya. ''WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE? GET ME OUT OF HERE. WHERE IS MY MOTHER?''

Mazus got a syringe and began to put morphine in it. He then injected Zendaya in the neck with morphine. Zendaya then passed out like a dead horse that had been shot with a tranquilizer. Edwin caught her just in time and laid her down gently.

''STRAP HER DOWN TO THE TABLE,'' Mazus yelled angrily.

''Yes. My Lord,'' he said, doing what Mazus asked of him and strapped Zendaya to the table.

''I MUST HAVE HER PURITY FOR YOUTH AND IMMORTALITY,'' Mazus intoned.

''My Lord, may I suggest another woman?'' Edwin asked nervously.

Mazus took his sword out and thumped it on the hard floor.

''Raaa.... QUIET, BOY!'' he shouted at the top of his voice. ONE MORE WORD OUT OF YOU AND YOU GO TO THE PIT!

Mazus sat down in the next room on a stool to chop some wood to start a fire with. It was winter, and the draft was coming in through the door. In the meantime, while Mazus was chopping wood, Edwin tried to wake Zendaya.

Edwin went over to the table and began to tap her face to wake her up. Zendaya turned from side to side. Again, she thought she was dreaming. When she tried to scream, Edwin covered her mouth. ''Mmmm...'' she said.

Edwin Looked at her while shaking his head with one finger on his lips.

''I'm not here to hurt you. I will explain everything to you. If I take my hand off your mouth, can I trust that you won't scream? If you make a sound, my Lord will hear you. And you don't want him to come in here, do you? Zendaya shook her head no. And Edwin slowly took his hand off of her mouth.

''Where am I?'' she asked, quietly whispering for only the two of them to hear.

''You're in a tunnel underground. They call this the underworld. This shop is an illusion. It's not real. We are actually in a cave in Minimalist.''

''But why? Why are you here? Why am I here? Why have I been summoned from my village?''

Chapter 1 continues on the next page>