Namesakes

               
"Okay, listen up, everybody. What I’m about to tell you is a bombshell!"
Garick was literally drooling with excitement. The group of young people, who had gathered to celebrate their recent college graduation, instantly went quiet. All eyes turned to Garick — the usually quiet one, who could normally talk only about soccer.
  "Yesterday my uncle and I went to the quarry to order some stone. So we're walking around, checking out the slabs, and then suddenly we see this huge one, perfectly oval-shaped. My uncle goes, 'What a weird rock. Looks like someone has worked on it.' We stepped back a bit, and froze up! And it hit upon us. From a distance, you could clearly see a face. What we thought were random dents, was absolutely doubtlessly manmade. There were apparently eyes, a nose, and a mouth."
The girls gasped in unison.
  "So, we went to the quarry manager and asked where the stone came from. He said it was dug up right here. He took a look himself, got totally freaked out, and promised he won’t let anyone touch it until some experts come and take a look."
Garick gulped down a glass of Fanta. He hadn’t even expected such a reaction. Fifteen pairs of eyes were locked on him in total silence. They were waiting for a miracle — and it seemed they got it.
"Now, my uncle’s a real patriot, you know. The next day we went straight to the Academy of Sciences. There we got bounced around from one office to another, but my uncle wasn’t going to give up. 'I’ll break through this wall of bureaucrats for the sake of our history!' he said. Eventually, we found this archaeologist. Uncle shoved him into the car, and we took off to the quarry. And guess what? That rock turned out to be a sacrificial altar — from the pre-Urartian period! Can you believe it? Pre-Urartian! 5,000 years before Christ! Before Urartu!"
"Let's go tomorrow to this quarry!" everyone shouted at once. "We have to see that altar before someone hauls it away!"
   Strangely, Astghik had no wish at all to go there. But the next day, Vahagn and Garick showed up at her place, planted themselves in armchairs, and declared they weren’t leaving without her. Vahagn was her childhood friend, next-door neighbour, classmate, and now fellow graduate. They’d been inseparable for as long as anyone could remember — and just as long, they'd been teased about their legendary namesakes: the goddess of love and beauty, Astghik, and the god of war, Vahagn. In the ancient tales, Astghik and Vahagn were lovers, and Astghik’s nymphs would pour water from their jugs to hide her from curious eyes during her secret meetings with Vahagn. And since then every year for millenniums, on the last Sunday of July, people still celebrate this happening by pouring water over each other. Astghik had always dreaded that day, never getting used to the jokes: "So what do you and Vahagn do while we’re covering you with water?"
They had firmly rejected both their families' parental attempts to set them up. Everyone, even Vahagn’s female admirers and Astghik’s suitors, had gotten used to their friendship. But the truth was, that these two were successfully deceiving everybody, because they had always been more than just friends. Maybe it was their way of rebelling against predestination.
...
The scenery of the quarry, with its upturned stones and eerie emptiness, and that strange monolith — like a message from ancient ancestors through millenniums — was inducing a strange numbness. At the spur of the moment they all started talking in hushed tones, cowed a bit by the cosmic vastness of the Time and Unknown.
Astghik stepped up to the stone with the others and placed her palm on it. She felt a faint pulsing under her hand. It was hard to pull her hand away from the stone, as if her skin had fused to the rock. Then she watched for a while the others. Everyone else also touched the stone with solemn silence. Garick even tapped it a few times. Elia was running her palm along the dents. Nothing unusual happened with them.
"Okay, that's enough! Let’s get out of here," said Elia, the impatient one. "This place is draining and drowning me. Take me back to civilization — the night is young, there is still time to dance. Let's go straight to Aqua club. Plastic everywhere is what I long for and not a single damn rock."
Everyone immediately turned to leave — except Astghik. Her feet wouldn’t move. She slowly was backing away with little steps, as if each step was a struggle against some invisible force pulling her to the stone. And when she finally got far enough of the rock to overcome its pulling force, a deafening roar exploded in her ears. At that moment, she realized that she was seeing the revived eyes of the stone, its gaping mouth with a black, sucking void.
She screamed of horror and collapsed to her knees, clutching at the earth as if seeking its protection. The roar in her eyes stopped as suddenly as it had started. In deafening silence, she felt how Vahagn was helping her up.
"God, that must’ve hurt," one of the girls said sympathetically.
Astghik was relieved that no one made a big deal about her collapse — and soon they forgot all about her fall.
...
The next morning, when she was home alone, Vahagn came over.
"So, how are my favourite knees?" he asked, hugging her tenderly.
"They hurt," she pouted playfully.
"Oh, my poor girl," he murmured, bending down and kissing her knees, then slowly moving higher. Astghik burst into delighted laughter. Vahagn didn’t often indulge her like this — and she would never let anyone else even try to get close to her.
"So why did you fall yesterday near the stone?" he whispered into her ear.
"I just tripped."
"And why are you so tense now?"
"I’m not."
"You saw something — and it scared the hell out of you."
"No!"
"You can lie to your mom, but not to me. I’m your twin soul, remember?  I knew immediately that you were scared to death."
"Then you should’ve seen what I saw."
"We’re not Siamese twins. And you’re way more sensitive than I. Some people even think you have psychic abilities."
"I didn’t see anything," Astghik insisted, resisting as strong as she could.
"You’ve got dark circles under your eyes. You’re kissing like you’re trying to escape reality. But you can’t fool me. Just tell me what happened."
Astghik broke down in tears.
"I wouldn’t insist if I hadn’t felt it myself," Vahagn said, holding her closer, and kissing her tear covered face. "It was like something didn’t want to let me go away from the stone. That’s what scared you, didn't it?"
Astghik couldn’t resist any longer. Despite her dread and bad feeling, she told him everything.
Vahagn headed for the door.
"No, Vahagn, I beg you! Don’t even think of going back there!" she cried desperately.
"Who said I am going there?"
"Aren’t you?"
He turned back and looked at her.
"Astghik, this might be my one chance to touch something truly unknown. Even if it’s dangerous — even if it brings destruction or death. Think of it. Humanity never would’ve discovered mummies or learned about radiation if people were cautious. True, all of it came with a price and the price was lives. But no one else felt anything there, just you and me. Maybe..."
"Maybe it was just the heat."
"Then what’s the harm in checking it out again? Just let's have a little outing to sightsee the stone. If it’s not meant to be — nothing and nobody is waiting for us there."
She knew she couldn’t stop him, so she had no choice but to go with him.
...
The quarry was deserted as just it was. When the stone came into view, Vahagn stopped and looked Astghik in the eyes.
"We’ll go toward it separately. Let's see what will each of us feel while approaching it. If nothing happens, then it was a nerve glitch the first time. If something did actually happen — then you act as your intuition tells you and I will follow mine."
He kissed her lips and said:
"I shouldn’t have brought you here."
"You’d be lost without me," she said seriously.
She felt the pulling force first and stopped, stepping back abruptly.
"I’m still not feeling anything," said Vahagn and stepped forward.
Astghik stayed on the edge of the safe zone, eyes fixed on him.
He reached the stone and touched it — nothing unusual. He turned to her with a smile and waved at her. Suddenly the stone quivered.
Vahagn fell down. The rock vibrated harder, faster. Suddenly, it turned into a black hole. Dust exploded around it. Then Vahagn was no longer visible in the cloud of dust around the dark hole, and then there was no longer neither the cloud of dust nor Vahagn in it — everything was sucked in by the black hole.
Astghik stood frozen and watched the happening with a mixed feeling of horror and daring to resist. She concentrated every ounce of her will and spark of energy, as if summoning a supporting power from the earth beneath her strongly planted feet. She reached out for Vahagn through the dark chaos. They had always found each other before, even when apart for a long distance. She began to fight.
"You shall not take him!" she screamed out suddenly, feeling that all her strength is drained.
And just like an exhausted wrestler doomed to be defeated finds the strength and thrusts a final desperate move, throwing a mighty opponent onto his shoulder blades, she hurled every last bit of her strength to Vahagn, all that she had.
A muffled explosion rocked the quarry. When the smoke cleared down, she saw Vahagn walking toward her. She fainted.
She woke to the drops of rain. Vahagn was sitting on the rocks beside her, cradling her head in his lap. His body warmth seeped into hers, soothing her tense muscles, cooling down the overheated blood and tired mind. He was here. It means everything was okay. The water pouring down the sky was prickling her skin, drumming on her neck and shoulders, penetrating into her body cells through the skin, replenishing the resources of vital liquid. Thunder rolled and the rain started to pour stronger.
"Looks like the sky’s trying to wash away all the evil," she murmured.
Vahagn startled at her voice, turned onto his knees and held her tight.
"Astghik... my Astghik," he whispered, with cracking voice.
The rain drops hid his tears, but did not muffle the raspy sobs bursting out of his throat.
"Let’s go home," she said, and raised herself leaning on him.
They didn’t speak on the drive back.
For two days, Astghik didn’t get out of bed. She just slept. Through slumber she could hear her mother’s sobbing, her father’s anxious coughs, but had no strength to open her eyes to reassure them that she was all right.
Then she heard her mother screaming:
"You bastard! I welcomed you in our home like a son!  Where did you take her? What did you do to her?!"
"Nothing! I did nothing. We were just driving!"
"Then why won’t she get out of bed for two days?! I never want to see you in this house again! No more friendship! Do you hear me?! When she recovers, I’m sending her far away from you!"
"We’re not just friends. We love each other. We’re going to get married. She’s just tired from finals. Maybe she’s awake now and is listening us."
Astghik threw on clothes and walked out of her room.
"Astghik, my dear, are you okay?"
"I’m fine. Why were you yelling, Mom?"
Her mother let out a shaky breath.
"Why!? Well, because my daughter disappears for hours, to God knows where and with God knows who, then sleeps for days without waking up of ill fatigue, becoming the gossip object of the whole town! Did you even think for a second about us with your father?!"
"I was with Vahagn... we just lost track of time."
"Lost track of time?!" Her mother's eyes got the ominous steel shine.  "We have given you too much freedom, my dear. And this is what comes out of it.  But that ends now."
"You don’t need to worry. We were late because we were planning our future and did not feel the time. I’ve been offered a great job in Tibet. I asked Astghik to marry me and come with me."
"Get married and do whatever you want... Go to Tibet or even to the North Pole!"
Her mother stormed out of the room, entered her bedroom and slammed the door.
“Astghik, we need to talk,” Vahagn said quietly. “Let’s go to my place — no one’s home.”
Astghik’s heart skipped a beat. This wasn’t going to be about wedding plans.
...
“I saw Him there,” he said once they were alone. “Him and all the Others... the ones who were taken in sacrifice, ripped from the world of humans... Even those who will follow. They're already making space for the next victims. That stone — it was a trap... For both of us. He wants me as a Warrior. You — as a Priestess. His agents are gathering warriors and priestesses from around the globe. But you escaped. And you pulled me out. He’ll never forgive us.”
“Who is He?”
“Molokh. Five thousand years ago, people burned their own children for Him. Now, He needs to arrange modern rituals... The whipped-up tantrums of the 'fathers of civilization', Assembly Resolutions, air raids of 'actions of retribution'... But the result’s the same. Again people burn children. He doesn't care whether it's done with ritualistic sacrificial drums, in mass crematoriums, or under the howl of bombers sent by the 'fathers of civilization'...”
“What can we do against such evil, when even the world leaders serve Him.”
“Every force eventually meets resistance. They call themselves the Stand. They found me and offered protection. If we want, we can join them — be a part of the Stand, but first, we’ll need training.”
“So, I see you’ve already chosen for both of us? Who you stand with, and against whom... Well, I don’t want anyone’s protection. I don’t want to be trained in anything I didn’t choose.”
Vahagn turned pale. The dark circles under his eyes made his blue gaze burn even brighter.
“You don’t want to stay with me?”
Astghik threw her arms around his neck.
“I do. I want children. I want a normal life.”
He quivered. 
“And what if your normal life is declared a 'threat to civilization'? What if your children are targeted by missiles, burned alive even in shelters? You have seen how it's done.”
“Why us?”
“Because it was predetermined even before we were born. I’m the Dragon Slayer. You’re the Star, a carrier of immense energy. And we’re always together.”
“Our names are just names. We’re not gods. We’re merely humans.”
Vahagn covered his face with his palms.
“Tell her, Vahagn,” a deep voice sounded suddenly.
Astghik spun around. A tall black man stood behind them.
“Astghik, this is the Representative,” Vahagn said. “He’s here to protect us.”
“What is it you’re supposed to tell me?” she whispered, eyes fixed on the stranger.
Vahagn remained silent.
“Life on Earth depends on the Sun,” the Representative said in a flawless speech, perfectly translated through a device. “But there exists an Ecosystem that is independent of sunlight, the Ecosystem of Darkness. It evolved in parallel with the Solar system. It is intelligent. Thousands of years ago, it made contact with humanity. That contact remains one-sided and parasitic till today. They need our burned children. They need warriors and priestesses to carry out His will in the human world. Many peoples once worshipped Him as a deity, offering their children willingly. But times have changed, and so have His methods and scale of action. If He’s not stopped, our civilization is doomed to end.”
“How do I know you’re not one of Molokh’s agents? How do I know this isn’t another trap to get to us?”
“First, if I were, you would have sensed it the moment I arrived, like you did at the stone. Second, there’s tangible proof.” He pulled an envelope from his coat and handed it to her.
“But most importantly, you must accept the truth about who you are and your destiny.”
“I’m just a regular person. I decide my own fate.”
“That might happen, occasionally, in the world of humans but in small slivers of time and space. But humans are not asked if they want to be born. And the gifted humans are prisoners of their talents, their exceptional abilities. And those rare few who’ve touched the Ecosystem of Darkness, even briefly, they have no choice but to join the Stand. They become... mutants.”
“Vahagn and I are mutants?”
“You, Astghik, are not. You are human — with rare and extraordinary abilities. But still human. Vahagn... is no longer entirely so.”
Astghik let out a stifled cry.
“We know of your love,” the Representative said gently. “We were moved by its strength. When we intercepted Molokh’s attempt to take Vahagn, we witnessed how a fragile girl defied Him and saved her beloved. You may stay with him, become a mutant like him, by choice. But you, Astghik, still have a choice. You can choose to remain in the human world. There will be other powerful feelings there for you. We will protect you. We can even erase your memory of all this — if that’s your wish.”
He paused for a while and went on.
“That was our plan, actually. We’re forbidden from turning humans into mutants artificially. But Vahagn wanted you to know everything. He wanted you to choose. If you say yes, we’ll make an exception for you — although we’d prefer not to.”
Astghik looked at Vahagn.
“Think carefully, my love,” he said. “There’s no going back — not after coming with me, nor after staying away from me.”
“There’s nothing to think about,” she replied. “My parents have two other children —my elder brother and my kid sister. They’ll be fine, knowing I have married and moved far away. I have no children with you — and I won’t have any with anyone else. You are my destiny.”
Vahagn laughed with relief, swept her into his arms, and spun her around.
“You got me to marry you after all!”
She laughed too with a bittersweet laughter. They twirled, locked in a kiss, completely forgetting about the presence of the Representative, nearly knocking him over.
He cleared his throat.
“Sometimes,” he said, “predestination is kind of adorable.”

The End
(Note: “Astghik” means “little star” in Armenian and is the name of the ancient Armenian goddess of love. “Vahagn” is the name of the Armenian god of war, also known as the Dragon Slayer. Both are popular Armenian names today.)