This romantic fantasy is the story of a young man living in today's world, who discovers he is a descendant of the Greek gods. To save himself from a terminal ancient prophecy, he must find the legendary Medusa for a cure. He soon discovers that the mythological epic tales were changed and finds love, discovery and conspiracy on his journey.
Excerpt:
The story begins on a small island in a tropical setting. A visitor to this place would see plenty of lush vegetation, a variety of animal life, majestic waterfalls, and perhaps, a single creature no one dares to gaze upon.
It was another warm day in this tropical land. The winds were brisk and anything on this island would feel the warmth of the tropical sun.
Many years ago, three men arrived on a small boat and ventured onto the white sandy beach. They came with with swords and metal plates cover their chests as if they were going to war. As the three burly men stepped on to the tropical island, they stop. The largest and most muscular man looks at the other two.
“My brothers, we’ve arrived. We’ll start into the forest and then split up,” he says.
The leader points to a slender and younger person. He has a rough beard and seems anxious to begin the hunt. The third man is the youngest brother, a smaller individual than the other two, who also appears to be timid when compared to the others.
“When we get into the forest, you need to go to the east and you need to move around to the west,” the leader orders to the brothers.
The three men slowly begin their walk away from the beach and toward the lush landscape of the island. They stop in their tracks and find themselves staring at the many stoned statues of warriors near the beach. They can’t help but notice the expressions of intense fear, forever locked in time, on each statue. The two younger followers now look at one another with great concern and begin to wonder if they should journey on, or head back to the safety of their ship and leave the tropical island.
The leader and oldest brother speaks to motivate his brothers, “Both of you, be alert. Keep your sword in your hand and whatever you do, don’t look at the beast. Go find her and bring back her head. When we succeed, there will be great wealth beyond our dreams.”
Now with determined looks, the three men go with their original plan and separate. Each move into the forest and carefully peer around the trees and other objects to hide or to prepare for an unexpected ambush. The bearded slender man, who is named Marcus, slowly rustles through the bushes. He tries to stay low, moving slowly and quietly, often turning his head, listening to crackles of the trees in hopes of ambushing the legendary monster.
Venturing deeper into the tropical forest, Marcus continues to cautiously push through the bushes and trees, trying to be as quiet as possible. He searches the ground for any signs of the great beast. He can feel his heart beating faster and faster. He stops as a small rustle in a bush nearby startles the young warrior. With no other sounds of movement for the next few seconds, he then ventures on as thoughts of wealth and fame drive him through the shrubs. Marcus remembers the life in a small village with limited food, his reason why he agreed to this quest in hopes of a better life.
While maneuvering, the cloth of his pant leg gets caught in thorns of one of the native plants. Marcus is startled, looks down, then pulls away the thorns to free himself, ripping another small hole on his right pant leg.
He slowly looks up to continue his quest as sweat drips down his face. Suddenly, a new noise to his left startles the determined warrior. Marcus turns, then stops, then looks toward the noise hidden by the thick brush. Marcus looks away, and he tells himself to not look every time there is a noise.
Then, a sharp bang, as if someone hits a tree with a long stick. Marcus’s fear instinctively draws him to the sudden bang as his eyes now grow large. The creature is looking directly at him.
Expressions of surprise and fear overcome Marcus he feels the panic the intense pain of his body changing to stone. In what seems like an eternity to Marcus, is only a few seconds as the metamorphosis from flesh to stone soon overwhelms the young man.
Not realizing what has just happened, the leader named John, is looking to attack the monster from another direction. He carefully walks near the trees with his sword in his sweaty and burly hand, ready to strike at the first sign of the mythical monster.
John thinks of the wealth and respect he will receive when he brings back the creature’s head. He will never be forgotten in the eyes of his country by doing what so many have failed.
An expert tracker, John listens for any movement as it is now quiet, eerily quiet. John can hear his heart beating, but his determination for new wealth keeps pushing him to get the mythical creature.
The third member goes by the name of Paul. He is the much younger brother of the two men, who has wanted to prove his bravery to his brothers and a young girl from his native land. After venturing through the thick forest, Paul comes to a clearing and soon finds a small hill. With a brief sign of relief, he feels it’s a good strategic position as he can peer over the mounds and see a large section of the island.
The fear of turning to stone grows within the young man and Paul decides to hold his position. Fear rushes through the young man’s body, but every few minutes, he looks over the terrain within his view.
From a short distance, Paul sees his brother John moving in and out of the trees. The younger brother now notices another figure moving toward John. He quickly realizes that it’s not his other brother.
“Look out John!” he instinctively shouts out.
John stops in his tracks and can hear and feel something closing in on his position. Soon realizing it’s the creature, John shuts his eyes and waves his sword. He feels that no target has been hit. He slowly opens his eyes, but only to a squint, and feels the beast closing. He shuts his eyes again and swings toward his perceived target. He feels the sword hit an object, but not the one he’s tracking. John tries to pull his sword back toward him. He is unable to do so as his line of defense has been imbedded deep into a nearby tree.
John is pulling frantically to release the sword from the tree. After several attempts, a hard tug pulls the weapon away as John loses his balance. He goes to the ground sensing the creature directly behind him.
“I’m here,” the creature says.
John quickly jumps to his feet, turns around and takes a mighty swing, but failing to hit his target, the momentum once again carries him to the ground. He lands awkwardly and can no longer resist keep his eyes closed. They open briefly, long enough to see the red eyes and the head of snakes of the monster staring directly over him. The second member of the group of brothers has turned to stone.
Paul sees the events, but manages to only look at his brother and not directly at the creature, but does see the monster’s shadow. He turns around leaving his back against the hill breathing heavily. Sweat is pouring down Paul’s face. He can’t help but to think of the beautiful girl he left behind to pursue this adventure for wealth and fame.
Fear is taking over Paul’s body. Each breath is now becoming more difficult than the last. Paul tells himself that he needs to make his body work to run to the boat and escape the island.
After a few seconds to regain his composure, Paul starts to run, his eyes focused through the thick forest and toward the beach to reach the safety of his boat. The sword is still in his hand while he moves as fast as his body will take him.
