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The same two cops, Wilson and Gomez, cruise down a busy Miami street. Wilson glances at the dash clock.
"One hour to go rookie." says Wilson. "Welcome to the world of overtime."
Over the radio comes, "Amber Alert, Amber Alert. We have the same child kidnapped again we had earlier. The car is the same 2016 beige Toyota Camry, license number..."
"You gotta be kidding me." Wilson mumbles. "The same kid, the same car? C'mon."
"It just passed us." Gomez says. He points the opposite way. "That way."
Wilson skids a U-turn, flashes on his red lights. "Let's find out what's going on."
Slowly, they catch up with Thanos but stay back a safe distance.
Thanos nears the bay and floors it, heading toward shipping docks. He turns down a frontage road and sees a large driveway to his left. His car skids as he turns into the road which leads onto a wooden pier.
Wilson smiles at Gomez as he turns into the same road. "We got him."
"He's not slowing down." says Gomez. "Where the hell does he think he's going?"
Thanos smiles as he floors the gas pedal. "Hold on little man." Finley laughs. The car speeds up as he reaches the end of the pier. It flies through the air and smashes into the water.
"That wasn't so bad." grins Thanos. He leans into the back seat and unstraps Finley as the car fills with water.
Back on the dock, Wilson calls in the sinking. He turns to Gomez, "This guy is a nut."
Gomez peels off his holster and shoes. "We have to do something." He dives into the water as the top of the car disappears.
Thanos has turned back into a merman. As the car plops into the sandy bottom, Thanos opens the door and releases Finley and the two of them swim away.
Gomez is at the water's surface, directly above the car. He takes a deep breath and dives under. He reaches the car, inspects the inside and, seeing nothing, swims back up. He swims back to the dock and climbs up an old wooden ladder. Wilson extends his hand and helps pull Gomez onto the dock.
"There's nothing...they weren't there. The car is empty."
TWO MONTHS LATER
Brandon, Jessa, Treena and Belladine sit at a patio table at Brandon's estate. It is early morning as they sip their coffee.
"I called us together because I have important information about Finley." Jessa tells them.
"He's been gone two months Jessa, what could you possibly know that would heal our hearts." asks Treena.
Jessa pause's, stares at Treena. "I know where Thanos has taken him."
"And how is it you know this?" questions a skeptical Treena.
"My sister has communicated with me." answers Jessa. "Thanos has taken him back to Atargatis Island to continue his teachings there."
"My mother has told you this? How? How has she communicated this to you?"
"Why must I explain this to you Treena? Do you not feel your mother? Do you not feel her with your heart...with every sense the God's have blessed you with?"
Treena stares blankly at Jessa. "I do not have time for this. Thanos has banished everyone from the island except Arianna, Sean and Tina. He uses Sean for the physical labor, my sister and Tina clean and serve Thanos. All three are locked into a cage every night.
"So what are we to do?" asks Treena. "We have already been there before...we are no match for his powers."
Belladine finally breaks the awkward silence. "Brandon must journey to the island to kill Finley."
Brandon shoots an ice stare at Belladine. "I'm not killing my son."
"Then your son, if he is allowed to finish his training under Thanos, will end up being responsible for the deaths of most of the humans of this world." she focuses her stare at Brandon and Treena. "Your son will be responsible for the deaths of his mother and father, Jessa, Arianna, Tina, Sean...and me. No one will escape his wrath, no one will escape his knife."
"And how is it you know this?" asks Treena.
"It was written long ago in our ancient scrolls, what is to be, what will come to pass."
Treena turns to Brandon, rubs his shoulder, "This is horrible, what are we to do?"
"I have been left with no choice. I must travel to Atargatis Island and kill my son."
Treena screams, "Nooooooooo!" as she jumps up and runs into the house.
"My heart breaks for you Brandon." Belladine says. "You must use your great strength to finish this, then your greater strength to live with it."
"You give me too much credit." Brandon says. "I may have the strength to do this evil deed, but...I do not have the strength to live with it." He stands and trudges into the house.
Brandon and Treena sit alone in the dark at their patio table. Treena's hands cradle her distressed face.
She looks up at Brandon. "There is absolutely no reason I can't go. He's my son and I want to see him one last time."
"Sorry honey, too dangerous. Thanos could easily kill you and, and I can't let that happen."
Treena's eyes well. "Are you really going to do this? Are you really going to kill him?"
"Unless you have another answer...I have no choice."
"We can take him away Brandon, go somewhere Thanos could never find us."
"Thanos has proven there is no place we can go where he cannot find us. I don't know how he does it, but the fish-face just has a lot of energy and power we cannot fight."
"We can fight it Brandon, we can study...we both have powers we haven't even begin to tap.
"Powers we don't yet understand and now, we don't have time to practice. If he takes Finley away from the island, we'll never find him." he pauses. "I rented a boat, I leave first thing in the morning...alone."
"You're impossible!" Treena screams as she runs into the house.
The boat chugs along on auto pilot as Brandon leans over the bow, enjoying the scenery. The day is clear, bright and hot. He walks into the cabin, turns the key off, walks back to the deck. He pulls off his t-shirt, climbs up onto the bow, dives in.
The water is clear and bright, at least a hundred-foot visibility. Brandon swims around, checks out his surroundings, then swims toward the bottom. Colorful fish circle him as a large fish approaches. Brandon rubs his nose. He swims deeper and watches as a large group of eight dolphins swim toward him. He stops as they circle him. One dolphin squeaks in front of him as Brandon rubs his snout. Another dolphin moves in for a rub. The dolphins swim about for a while, then leave as Brandon returns to the boat.
It's now the fourth day as the sun peaks over the horizon. Brandon sees the two islands ahead of him. He navigates the boat to the large cave the Mystic was docked in before. Unseen, he ties the boat to the dock. Her returns to the boat, pulls a large knife in a sheath from an outer compartment. He unhooks his belt and slides it through the sheath loop. He grabs a waist pouch and unzips it. He stares at a rolled-up cloth and an old bottle filled with liquid. He zips the pouch closed and clips it around his waist, then ambles down to the dock and dives into the water.
Finley, now almost two years old, sits at the dinner table by the lagoon across from Thanos. In front of Finley are four different types of sea shells. Next to them is a live mouse in a small wood cage, three small plants with a thick root and two medium sized empty walnut type shells with open side down.
Arianna watches from her wooden cage, eight feet square, twenty-five feet from the table. It's a small cage, large enough for a small cot and nothing more. A wooden bucket sits in the corner of the cage. A chain and lock secure the closed door.
Fifteen feet from her, Tina stands in her cage. Fifteen feet from Tina is Sean's cage. All three concentrate on watching Finley.
Thanos pushes the four sea shells to Finley. "Show me which of those two you can eat and which two will make you sick."
Finley picks up a mussel shell, sniffs it, sets it to his right. He repeats the process until he has two shells to his left, two on his right. He points to the right, "Eat," then to the left, "Bad."
"Very good Kreios." Thanos says as slides the mouse cage to Finley. "Show me how the mouse sleeps."
Finley stares at the mouse as it stands up on his hind legs and grabs the wood pillar with his two front paws. The mouse sniffs as Finley closes his eyes, his mouth and eyebrows quiver as he concentrates. After a few moments, the mouse collapses and dies. Finley opens his eyes and stares at the mouse.
"Very nice Kreios, you're getting so much better while becoming so much quicker."
Finley opens the door to the cage and gently grabs the lifeless mouse. He cups it in his hand and rubs its back as his eyes flash back and forth between Thanos and the mouse. Thanos snatches the mouse from his hand and tosses it deep into thick shrubbery. "It's only a mouse Kreios...only a mouse."
Finley starts to cry as Thanos becomes irritated and slams his hand on the table. "Dammit Kreios, you're going to learn to toughen up. Many things will die before we are through and you can't cry every time something does." Finley screams and flaols his arms around.
Thanos gets frustrated. "Stop this childish nonsense!"
Finley stops, holds out his right hand, then opens it. He closes his eyes, concentrates. He closes his hand for a few moments until it jerks, then opens his eyes and laughs.
"What is so funny now?"
Slowly, Finley opens his hand and the live mouse scurries up his arm. "See," Finley says.
Thanos is in shock. He nods his head sideways, bewildered. "How in great Zeus' name did you do that?" Thanos can only stare at Finley. "Your abilities are more powerful than we thought, certainly greater than I ever imagined."
Brandon watches from the lagoon, hidden in tall, leafy plants that rise a few feet above the water. As he watches, tears roll down his cheeks as he struggles with what he has to do.
Later that evening, Tina tends to a large pot of soup over a campfire. Thanos and Finley sit at the dinner table, waiting to be served. The mouse scurries over Finley's shoulders, down his arm, jumps to his other hand and back up his arm. Finley's laughs a delighted, happy child's laugh.
Tina sets a large bowl of soup on the table, picks up Finley's bowl and ladles the soup into it.
As she serves Thanos, she says, "You know Thanos, no matter how much you try to teach him, he's still a child, he still has a child's mind. You push him too hard."
Thanos samples the soup. "You may be able to make an excellent bowl of soup but, you know nothing of these matters. You would do well to keep your opinions to yourself. You are nothing more than a servant. Well, maybe also a cook but that does not qualify you to make opinions about that which you know nothing about." Thanos takes another bite. "Mmmm, very good, now please, serve your two people and yourself then get back into your cage, you are done for the night."
"You're a pig Thanos!"
Thanos slams his fist onto the table. "Enough!" He points to Tina, circles his finger, opens his hand and mouths 'poof'.
Tina's mouth closes and a fleshy square covers the area. Tina tries to talk but only mumbles, "Mmmm mmm mmm."
"What's that young servant girl?" Thanos holds his hand to his ear. "I can't quite understand what you're saying. What's that? You're sorry? Yes, I know, I'm sorry too. Now get the hell back into your cage. All of you will pay the price for your insolence."
As Tina trudges to her cell, Thanos, without looking up, yells, "You can thank her for your lack of food tonight." he chuckles. "Besides, she couldn't get any food into her mouth so, ha, what's the difference."
Brandon watches from the thick bushes nearby which totally conceal him.
Thanos and Finley finish their dinner. Thanos stands and sniffs the air. "Something...something is, uhh, disrupting the peaceful flow of energy." He sniffs more, ambles to the edge of the lagoon. He gazes upon it as he scans the entire waters. Satisfied, he walks back to the table.
"Damn peasant girl has my senses wired the wrong way." he grabs Finley, lifts him up and sets him on the edge of the table top. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."
Brandon's heart pounds as he watches them. Sweat beads form on his face as his hands tremble. His face is darkened, painted with juice from a root.
He watches as Thanos strides down a path, away from the dining area. Brandon's heart pounds louder, sending deafening pulses to his ears. As Thanos disappears from sight, Brandon winces and covers his ears. "Now!" he mumbles to himself, "Now!"
But he cannot move, he's frozen in place. He squeezes his eyes closed, his forehead creases as his brows furrow. "Now, you coward, now!" he opens his eyes. "May God forgive me."
He rushes to the table as Finley shouts, "Daddy!"
Brandon grabs him, lays him on the table and covers his nose and mouth with one hand, places his other hand over Finley's eyes. As Finley jerks and kicks, Brandon whispers, "Forgive me my son."