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A Champion Is Chosen In the dream, Tommy Tyler could see every detail. He was in a musty room with stone walls, lit by torches. His schoolmate Alex was being held captive – suspended from the ceiling by manacles around his wrists, looking utterly exhausted. A piece of cloth from his torn T-shirt had been tied tightly across his mouth. Tommy saw a large man in a hooded cloak chanting words in a strange language. The man pressed his hand against Alex’s chest, and the skin began to glow a fiery red, like molten metal. Tommy could tell that Alex was trying to scream, but the cloth swallowed the sound. The man’s hand began to glow the same color as Alex’s skin, as if he were drawing heat out of the boy’s body. Finally the glow subsided, and Alex slumped forward, unconscious. Tommy awoke suddenly, shouting “No!” at the top of his lungs. His roommate Casey woke up and looked down from the top bunk. “Say something, Tom, you’re freaking me out,” Casey said. Tommy finally spoke. “Sorry Casey,” he said. “I just never had a nightmare like that before. It’s like I was right there in the room.” He described the dream to Casey. “You don’t exactly need Sigmund Freud to analyze that one,” Casey said. “Alex Dudley and the rest of those jerks on the soccer team have made your life miserable for years. Why shouldn’t your subconscious get a little revenge?” It was true, Alex had been tormenting Tommy for years. Tommy was attending the Fawcett Preparatory School on an athletic scholarship, and he could run rings around Alex and his friends on the soccer field. They were jealous and took it out on Tommy in a hundred petty ways. Casey, a poor kid who had managed to win an academic scholarship, got even worse treatment. Tommy was not just Casey’s best friend at the school – he was Casey’s only friend. “I guess you’re right,” Tommy said, not entirely convinced. “It’s just that this dream felt … different somehow. It looked like that man was ripping the soul right out of Alex’s body.” Casey snorted. “Stealing Alex’s soul? Talk about petty theft.” He looked up at the clock. “Don’t worry, we’ll be seeing Alex in first period in about four hours. You can tell him about your dream and make sure his soul is intact. Then he and his buddies will beat you up and leave you tied to the flagpole in your boxer shorts again.” Tommy cringed at the memory of that incident. It had happened his first week at the school, and the other boys still talked about it. “I get your point,” Tommy said. “I’ll stop worrying about it. Let’s try to get a couple more hours sleep before school.” But Alex was not in first period – or second, or third. At lunchtime Tommy went to Alex’s room to see if he was all right, but Alex wasn’t there. Worse, his wallet and watch were still sitting on the dresser. It did not look like Alex had left the room voluntarily. Tommy decided he should tell the headmaster. As he turned to leave the room, he almost collided with a white-haired man in an old-fashioned suit. Tommy had never seen the man before. “Thomas Tyler, I have urgent business with you,” the old man said in a booming baritone. “How do you know my name?” Tommy said, fearing the worst. “Did you do something to Alex?” His eyes darted toward the door, but the old man was standing in his way. “Your schoolmate is indeed in grave danger, but not from me,” the old man said. “That is why I am here. But it is not safe to talk in this place. We must go.” “I’m not going anywhere with –“ Before Tommy could finish the sentence, the old man raised his arm, and bright blue light enveloped the room. When the light faded, Tommy saw that they were standing in a forest, surrounded by impossibly tall trees. “Where are we?” Tommy said. “What did you do?” “We are beyond your reality, in the realm that is my home. We call it Elysium.” “Beyond my reality? You’re not making any sense,” Tommy said. The old man smiled. “People here find it equally difficult to believe in your world – atoms and photons and planets revolving around the sun. Quite unnatural. Still, as hard as you may find it to accept, you are here. I am Horatius, keeper of the bridge between worlds, and I have come to seek your aid.” Tommy decided to humor the old man for the time being. “What do you need from me? Unless you’re trying to start up a soccer team for centaurs over here, I’m not sure what I can do for you.” “Thomas, your world is in serious jeopardy. A creature from the outer reaches of our realm – what you would call a demon – has found his way into your world. We call him Asmodeus. You have seen him in the vision that we sent you – draining the soul of your schoolmate Alexander.” Tommy felt as if the breath had been knocked out of him. “You – you mean that really wasn’t a dream?” he asked. “It was quite real, I’m afraid,” Horatius said. “And it is my fault. It is my task to guard the bridges between Elysium and other realms. Asmodeus found a way around all of my defenses. Now that he is loose in your world, he will cause untold destruction – unless you can stop him.” “Me?” Tommy said. “You’ve got to be kidding. You’re the one with the magical powers – wouldn’t you have a better chance of fighting a demon?” “Our ability to influence your world directly is very limited,” Horatius said. “We need a human vessel – a champion -- to channel our power and knowledge. We have chosen you to be our champion, Thomas Tyler.” Tommy opened his mouth to argue again but then closed it without saying a word. He had seen what Asmodeus could do. He could not simply walk away without doing something to stop him. “Tell me what you need me to do,” he said. “I will return you to your world at once. When you speak the name of this realm, you will be transformed into our champion – endowed with all of the strength and wisdom of Elysium’s greatest magicians and warriors.” “I understand,” Tommy said. “Do not be afraid, Thomas Tyler,” Horatius said kindly. “You are stronger than you know.” “I hope you’re right,” Tommy said, as the blue light surrounded him. When he opened his eyes, he was in his room. Casey was staring at him, his mouth hanging open. “How did you do that?” he said. “It’s a long story,” Tommy said. “But before I tell it, there’s something I need to try out. Elysium!” As soon as Tommy uttered the magic word, a bright blue light enveloped the room. Casey shielded his eyes from the glare. When the light faded, Tommy was gone – replaced by a grown man with thick blond hair, several inches taller and at least 50 pounds heavier than Tommy. He wore a royal blue uniform with an insignia on the chest – two gold circles intertwined. “Who are you?” Casey demanded. “Where is Tommy?” “I am Tommy,” the tall man said. “It’s still me, only . . . more, somehow. All this power coursing through my body, and all these thoughts in my head. This must be what it’s like to be smart, Casey. Awesome!” Something about the way he said “Awesome” made Casey pretty sure that his friend Tommy was still in there somewhere. “Maybe you should tell me what this is all about.” Tommy told Casey everything – about Horatius, and Elysium, and the demon Asmodeus. “Everything the Elysians know about Asmodeus is now in my head – and none of it is good,” Tommy said. “Kidnapping Alex was just the start. He will get stronger with every soul he absorbs, until he’s turned our whole dimension into one big all-you-can-eat demon buffet. I’ve got to find him now, before he goes after someone else.” “Just be careful,” Casey said. “I don’t care if you have fancy super powers – somewhere in there is the same guy who almost electrocuted himself while toasting an English muffin. Make sure you come back in one piece.” “I will,” Tommy said. Realizing that it would look strange for a grown man in a shiny uniform to go skulking through the boy’s dormitory, he decided to practice an invisibility spell. Once outside, he took off into the air. Tommy had never even been on an airplane before – flying under his own power was intoxicating. After trying a few aerial maneuvers, he got down to business, scanning the ground beneath him for anything strange. To his newly enhanced senses, anything of mystical origin would stick out like a neon sign. At last he saw a strange red glow coming from an abandoned house on the edge of town. Just the sort of creepy place he had seen in his dream. He flew into an open window and began searching the house top to bottom. In the wine cellar, lit by torches, he saw Alex, still shackled and gagged. Asmodeus, no longer wearing the hooded robe, stood before him. He was over seven feet tall, with gnarled horns sprouting from his head. The rest of his appearance was more or less human, although his eyes burned with an unnatural red glow. “You reek of Elysia,” the demon hissed at Tommy. “But I have not seen you before. Who are you?” “You can call me the Champion,” Tommy replied. “I’m here to send you back to whatever dark corner of Elysia you crawled out of.” Tommy raised both hands and hurled bolts of blue light at Asmodeus’s face. The demon howled with pain. “Get away from that boy,” the Champion demanded, blasting his opponent again. “You may have this whelp,” Asmodeus said, gesturing at Alex. “He was not much of a meal anyway. So much insecurity and false bravado - like biting into an unripe melon. I will find better cattle on which to feed.” Laughing, Asmodeus disappeared in a burst of orange flame. Alex moaned into his gag and rattled his chains. The Champion easily snapped the manacles off of Alex’s wrists and tore off the gag. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Yes,” Alex said, in a flat voice. Poor guy must still be in shock, Tommy thought to himself. “Let me take you home,” he said. Alex shook his head. “I’d rather be alone right now, thank you. I can make it home on my own.” Without another word, he left. “I guess you can’t expect a lot of gratitude just because you save a guy from a ravenous demon,” the Champion said. He felt worn out from the fight with Asmodeus – with any luck his endurance would improve as he got more accustomed to his new powers. He decided to change back into Tommy for the walk home. “Elysium!” After Tommy had left the house, the air shimmered, and Asmodeus reappeared. He had been there the entire time, cloaked by an invisibility spell. “So they have sent a child to fight me,” he said to himself. “This will be fun.” That night, Asmodeus appeared in a dream to Alex Dudley. Having absorbed so much of the boy’s soul, the demon found it a simple matter to take mental control of him. From Alex’s sleeping mind, Asmodeus learned that the boy he had seen was named Tommy Tyler. “You will capture this boy and bring him to me,” Asmodeus commanded. Still asleep, Alex murmured, “Yes, my lord.” Alex awoke the next day with only one thought on his mind: getting Tommy and delivering him to Asmodeus. At breakfast, he decided to enlist some of his buddies – without telling them the real reason, of course. “You know, it’s been a long time since we put that Tyler kid in his place,” Alex said casually as he buttered his toast. “I think he’s due for another round of hazing.” “Something a little bigger this time,” Alex said. “After practice today, we’ll grab him, tie him up and make him spend the night stuffed in a locker.” “You are cold, man,” Eric said. “I like it.” Tommy had no idea what was in store for him. He went to soccer practice after school as usual. He planned to hit the showers, then change into the Champion to start looking for Asmodeus again. As he walked into the locker room, Eric tackled him and pinned him to the ground. Several other guys held his arms and legs. Tommy started to yell for the coach, but Alex quickly stuffed a sock into his mouth. Another sock was tied across his mouth to keep him gagged. Eric produced several long pieces of cotton rope and tossed them to the other players. Working as a team, they quickly tied Tommy’s wrists and ankles. Helpless, Tommy was dragged across the floor and stuffed him into his own locker. “Have a good night, Tommy-boy,” Eric said, laughing. He and his teammates left, congratulating themselves on a well-executed operation. Alex stayed behind. When the other players were out of earshot, Alex spoke to Tommy. “Don’t worry, you won’t be in there for long,” Alex said. “As soon as it gets dark, I’m going to come back and get you.” Tommy sighed with relief. Maybe Alex realized that they were taking things too far. But Alex wasn’t finished talking. “I’m going to take you to my master – Asmodeus,” Alex continued. “I think he'll like you. In fact, I think he'll eat you up.” Unable to say his magic word – or anything else – Tommy could do nothing but yell into his gag as Alex slipped away.
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