The Immortal Trinity: Inheritance: The Immortal Trinity, #1

By Momchil Yoskov

Ronnie Mason is an undergraduate who doesn't have a clear idea what to do with his life. As an introverted and quiet type, he is also unsurprisingly unpopular among his peers. Life at home with his parents is becoming tedious with each day and he seeks a way out of it. He craves for a change in his life, whatever it may be, so that he could rise above the misery looming over his mind and demonstrate to his parents and his peers that he can improve himself and take control over his life.

His wish is gradually granted. He meets two boys in a bar and they quickly form a bond. A few days later, when they hang out at a local football stadium, an alien container crashes into the field. The three decide to open it and inside, they find three crystals, which bond to their bodies and change them irreversibly.
The boys find themselves dragged in a universe-wide conflict, as an evil entity wants the valuable crystals for his own personal gain. The ultimate goal of this entity, known as The Overlord, is to use the crystals to achieve total dominion over the universe and enslave all life within it.

Now Ronnie has a new purpose in life. How will he cope with it? Will he remain the same? Or will he evolve and adapt?

Inspired by video games, metal and everything surrounding us in our reality. A sci-fi novel with socio-political elements, lots of violence and humour.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Momchil Yoskov
• Release date: Mar 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386887676

Book preview

Chapter I

Enter The Madness

The night was chilly and rain was pouring from the sky. However the young Ronnie Mason was walking down the soggy street with his hood on his head. He didn't ignore the rain; in fact one could say the rain helped him reach a state of harmony and balance, a state where he could control himself. Why is self-control mentioned? Ronnie has suffered from anxiety and inner struggles from an early age; he has never been very confident in himself, his abilities and his intelligence. Questions and doubt were one of his ways of interacting with certain, if not all people and his surroundings. All of these issues stem from his status in school - a loner, a silent sack of meat, a walking shadow of a human being, isolated by his peers as an outsider. What he felt from the world surrounding him was not exactly hatred; it was closer to ignorance, because it felt cold to him, distant even, whilst hatred is often, in many cases, associated with heat. A variation of hatred was present in his most recent conversation - he had a row with his parents regarding his wish to go out by himself. They wanted him to socialise, instead of isolating himself from his peers. But listening to so much yelling and the various messages it contained only caused confusion and even more hatred, so in the end he left the house without saying a word. It was his way of dealing with issues - when he cannot do anything at present, he leaves, does something completely different and shortly afterwards he comes back with a fresh mind to deal with the problem at hand.

While he was walking in the rain, occasionally skipping a puddle or two, his primary task was to calm down, which he successfully handled. After about 30 minutes of walking he heard the loud music coming from the local rock and heavy metal bar called Pedal To The Metal, a place he wasn't quite familiar with. He'd seen the metalheads coming out of it and despite the fact that he listened to the music, he wasn't very keen on talking to those people. He was aware of the potential anger that could break out, so he steered away from them as much as he could. The issue was that all the other places in the town of Frankfort, Kentucky were mainstream in terms of the music being played and the people who frequented them were more or less the same, so in the end he entered Pedal To The Metal, hoping that no trouble would arise. The scenery that his eyes were exposed to was dozens of metalheads drinking beer or whiskey, laughing out loud and having a good time. Two boys saw him entering the bar. They could easily sense Ronnie's bashfulness. Once they saw the Disturbed t-shirt that he was wearing under the cowl, their immediate decision was to invite him to their table. The two boys, named Garret and Tyler, were quite the opposite to Ronnie in their interactions with other people. In high school Tyler had to communicate with a lot of people due to his frequent participations in school projects, whilst Garret briefly worked as an assistant to a professor, who in turn introduced him to many people and broadened his horizon.

- You must be by yourself. Feel free to join us! - said Garret, as he put his hand on Ronnie's shoulder. Ronnie felt the positive note in his voice, so he followed them. Though he was stopped by Tyler, who said:

- Hold on. Hey Timmy, a beer for this chap!

- How much does it cost? - Ronnie asked.

- It costs nothing to you; I'm paying this one. - Tyler replied.

As they were heading for the table, a middle-aged man quickly turned to Ronnie and scared him by growling, to which Tyler reacted:

- Hey! Mind your fuckin' business!

- Chill, dude. Just tryin' to soften up the newcomer. - the man said.

Ronnie's peace of mind was partially ruined by the rude behaviour of that swine. 

- Calm down, buddy. Our friends don't mistreat other people like that.

- Um, forgive me, but we're not yet buddies... - said Ronnie.

- That can always change... and I firmly believe it can change to friendship. Oh, silly me - forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tyler. And this is Garret.

- I'm Ronnie.

- Nice to meet you, Ronnie.

- So, Ronnie - Garret spoke up - , are you a local?

- Yes, for good or bad reasons. - said Ronnie.

- Aw, come on now, there has to be some sort of redeeming factor, right, Tyler?

- Exactly! - Tyler agreed.

- Well, I live with my family, they all love me, but outside of it I have close to zero support. Most people are just... awful. - said Ronnie.

- Avoid being too critical of human society. I may run the risk of saying a cliché, but regardless of the fact that our society can be likened to a disease, there are always notable exceptions that exist. - said Tyler.

This topic was suddenly interrupted by Garret, who shouted:

- Hey, Freud and Socrates! We're here to drink and enjoy ourselves! Come on, raise your drinks!

- You have to excuse my friend; he says stuff like that for general benefit, even though what he says may sound like an insult. - Tyler reassured him.

- Oh no, quite the contrary - I found it amusing. Cheers! - said Ronnie.

And so Ronnie drank with the two boys and the rest of the people at the table. Several drinks and many laughs later Ronnie was convinced that those men, with whom he was drinking and sharing a table, had good souls. At one point Manowar's Die for Metal was put on and the whole table prepared to sing. Ronnie was silent for a significant amount of time... until he began singing:

- Quit my job this morning, said: Forever I will hold my head up high!

The alcohol had relaxed his vocal chords and as a result he was able to sing the song in a deeper voice; deep enough to replicate that of Eric Adams. Loud applause followed and everyone else joined Ronnie. That song strengthened their bond.

It got late and they left the bar drunk and full of joy. Most of them were swaying so much one would say that one of them would end up in hospital with a fractured skull, should he fall to the ground. Fortunately those men had years of experience with alcohol and they'd constantly tell Ronnie: T'is a'ight, because he was the one who was concerned the most about their safety. It would have been a shame to end such a good evening on a low note. As for Ronnie himself, he was escorted by Garret and Tyler to his home.

- There was no need for the escort. - he said.

- To be fair, there was. It has nothing to do with your physical stability while under the influence. We don't want you to do something stupid and irresponsible as a result of consuming alcohol while we're not looking. We don't have the full picture of you as a person. And also we really enjoyed your company. How about we see each other again later this week? On Saturday we're going to hang out at the football stadium.

Tyler's short speech and proposal struck a chord in Ronnie's consciousness. Offers like that one were far from frequent, considering the monotony of his everyday life.

- Yes, I'd love to see both of you again. At what time of the day will you go there?

- Hm, good question. Garret?

- Errr, let me see... - he pulled his phone out of his pocket to look at the calendar and the list of tasks he had to do on that day:

- Well, the afternoon is entirely at our disposal.

- So is mine. - Ronnie replied. - After I see my girlfriend, I'll head straight for the stadium.

- How does half past four sound? - Tyler asked.

- Perfect! I'll see you guys then. Good night!

- Same to you, buddy! Sleep tight! - said Garret.

As the two boys were walking away into the shadows, Garret turned to Ronnie once again:

- Oh, and Ronnie? Whatever problems you may have, they will be resolved. There's always a way out.

- I'll keep that in mind. - Ronnie said. He then walked into the house with a smirk on his face - strangely enough, it stayed there for quite some time.

His father came down the stairs to drink some water and saw his son with a smirk on his face; he considered it a rare occurrence, almost an impossible one.

- Son, what's the matter? Is everything alright?

- Yes, I'm fine; in fact, I feel great - a little buzzed, but overall great.

- That's good to hear. You'll tell me the whole story tomorrow. It's best if we don't wake your mother up.

- Agreed. Good night. - Ronnie whispered to his father and retired to his room.

***

- Are there any traces? Do you have any theories as to how some of them could have survived and consequently escaped the explosion? - said Stromak.

- 3 options definitely exist - space cruisers, fighters and escape pods. Unfortunately our search team cannot locate traces by any of the aforementioned.

- Very well. Have you found anything particularly intriguing? - Stromak asked.

- Affirmative - there is a faint trace. It is made by a sort of propulsion system that is very unusual; the readings are very strong from the centre of the source, but after a significant distance the trace leads to an end; it's as if the vessel had vanished from reality. The reading itself is weaker than that of a cruiser and stronger than those of escape pods and fighters. We also believe that whatever the propulsion system is, it has most likely used a significant amount of fuel to escape the planet's orbit and later the fuel flow rate was lowered or completely shut down in order to preserve the propulsion system and only use fuel when needed. Whatever the vessel is, I doubt it contains survivors - such propulsion is ineffective and the vessel is probably too compact to be an escape vehicle.

- Keep searching.

- Yes, sir.

Stromak was both irritated and concerned at that point. He was fully aware of the development of the situation; the Overlord has certainly found out about the destroyed home of the Immortals and the missing vessel. Hiding information from an evil entity of that calibre was next to impossible. New Hope's only chance to even the odds was the contents of the container - the three gems, about which neither side knows. Yet.

His contemplating was interrupted when a scientist from the search team jumped from his chair:

- We have a new trace!

- Tell me everything you know - location, intensity... everything. - Stromak demanded.

- The trace leads to the galaxy in the far right quadrant.

- Any signs of life? - Stromak said.

- Not at present. Should we follow it, sir?

- Is the trace with the exact same characteristics? - said Stromak.

- Affirmative.

- Follow it - we're all fully aware that whoever or whatever is in that vessel could aid us immensely against Ren'ul Furot and his armies. New Hope cannot rely on the help of the Immortals anymore, or at least in this very moment, so it's vital that we use whatever or whoever comes out of that vehicle to its full potential. That is our only option. You know exactly what to do.

With those words Stromak let the scientists do their magic. He had a lot of trust in his crew, despite the low morale caused by the tireless and fruitless search for the vessel. Most of the crew members were taken over by anxiety, fear, at times even panic and the frequent nightmares did not improve their concentration. New Hope was always prepared to take military actions, should the Overlord's armada surprise them. The container was their goal and their aim was simple - reach it before Furot does.

Chapter II

Fountain of Evil

- The sun is shining, I had lunch with my angel and I'm about to hang out with some nice people. Am I daydreaming or is this reality?

Those were the sort of thoughts that were darting left and right in Ronnie's mind. Several days after he met Garret and Tyler he felt rejuvenated; he wasn't constantly smiling, but there was a discreet smirk that refused to leave his face. To most people that might seem an unperceivable difference, but some of the residents of Frankfort noticed his uplifted state of emotion. Ronnie was nicknamed The Walking Shadow by his peers in university. That change was noticeable mostly because he had his cowl down.

- This is the first time I've seen him smile in months. I wonder what he's so happy about. - said Abigail.

- He's probably lost his virginity... in a videogame. - said Sharon.

That made them burst into laughter. Those girls were Abigail, Sharon and Zoey or, as Ronnie liked to call them, The Gossip Crew. These girls simply lived to discuss, point out and revel into the imperfections of people around them. To Ronnie's discontent his girlfriend Ashlynn was one of them. Though that fact didn't even come close to ruining his day. He attended all of the lectures in his program and after he strode home to leave his books, he went to the stadium where Garret and Tyler were waiting for him to arrive.

- He-hey, Ronnie's here! They can't stop us, let 'em try...

- For God's sake, Garret! Ugh, he's been singing that song since the night we met. Anyway, how are you doing?

- I'm delighted to say that I have not felt this good in months! I went to lectures, saw my girlfriend, had beans for lunch... and now I see you guys! Couldn't get any better than this! - said Ronnie.

- That's great to hear! - Garret responded with a similar tone of excitement.

The conversation was going fluidly and the three boys were enjoying themselves. The topics which they discussed ranged from videogames and music tastes to experiences with alcohol and women. At that point Garret and Tyler were fully aware of some of the reasons behind Ronnie's lifestyle and behaviour. Fortunately for Ronnie, his new friends understood the motives behind his choices, which proved that they were not narrow minded like the majority of people Ronnie was surrounded by.

- One could safely say that you preserved yourself from most of society's bad influence. - Garret concluded after Ronnie's long and detailed story.

- I've made my choice and this is how I live... for the time being. - said Ronnie.

- Mind if I alter the topic? Your story was intriguing, but I would prefer if we return the initial joy of this conversation. There's this question I've been meaning to ask you ever since we met...

- OK, go on. - said Ronnie and let Tyler continue.

- What does Ronnie stand for?

Ronnie was hesitant at first, but he answered:

- Well... um, it stands for Ronald.

- Fair enough. Why did you pause? - said Tyler.

- You see, when someone says the name Ronald, I associate it with Ronald McDonald and every time I hear this name, I feel like someone's going to yell in a bullying manner: Hey Ronald, make me a cheeseburger, ya fucker!

Both Tyler and Garret chuckled.

- See? This is exactly what I mean.

- I'm sorry, it's just... - Garret was interrupted by his own bursts of laughter.

- What about your name - Tyler? It's far from British in my book. - said Ronnie.

- Here's the thing; our families are very good friends. In the spring of 1993, my mom gave birth to me here, in this town, while she and my father were visiting Garret's family. My mother wanted to see them, which meant she had to disregard the doctor's advice against travelling during the pregnancy. I can only imagine how stressed dad was every time something seemed wrong with mom's condition; even something as simple as a headache had probably given him a heart attack! Shortly after my birth my parents thanked every single member of the hospital's personnel for the cooperation and wanted her child to carry a name that would remind her of the States, but retain a British sound to it.

- Hmm, interesting. - Ronnie was intrigued by Tyler's story.

- Yeah, and as a result of the friendship between our families we became close friends. So close in fact that we call ourselves brothers.

Ronnie couldn't possibly miss the brotherly bond between Tyler and Garret. The two were like a pair of gloves, Starsky and Hutch, a cigar and a glass of bourbon.

Suddenly the skyline was torn by a flame.

- Hey Tyler, look! Is that an asteroid? - said Garret.

- I doubt it. Provided they're small enough, they burn within the layers of the planet's atmosphere... if memory serves me correctly. - Tyler said.

Ronnie added:

- Plus it looks nothing even remotely close to an asteroid.

- Whatever it is, that thing is coming in our direction. We better move out of the way or it will hit us! - Garret was understandably worried.

- It's not going to hit us - everything is fine, Garret. - Tyler assured Garret.

- What if you're wrong, Mr. Scientist? - Ronnie yelled at him. - How would you act when something the size of a garage is about to fall on your head? Are you gonna make up theories or actually do something?

The object crash-landed. The noise created by the crash was like a thunderclap - sudden and almost deafening. Lots of dust and earth were kicked up as well. It was the container; apparently it had detected a possible match in the three young boys. Though they were still confused and a bit shocked.

- Well... it missed the stands. See, I told you!

- Yeah, yeah, quit showing off, Tyler. - said Ronnie.

Ronnie was slightly annoyed by Tyler's behaviour. But his annoyance was not as strong as his curiosity. In a moment of silence, when not even birds sang, nor cars were heard, he stared at the container and wondered what its purpose was. He broke the silence by saying:

- What do you say we investigate it?

- Have you gone mental? What if aliens pop out and shoot us down?

- Tyler, you aren't very consistent, are you? If your confidence persisted, you would have supported my idea wholeheartedly.

- Mm, he's got a point, buddy. - Garret supported Ronnie's statement.

- So now you're on his side? - said Tyler.

- Look, I'm just as curious as he is. I say we have a look at whatever that contraption is, along with its contents and leave it to the authorities to handle the dirty work.

Ronnie agreed with the idea and so did Tyler after some persuasion. As they approached the container, the three of them tried to figure out the purpose of the vessel.

- Do you think it's a ship, Tyler? - Garret began the discussion.

He answered:

- Usually I'd imagine ships being more streamlined than the brick we're currently looking at.

- Maybe it's a disguise. - Ronnie added to the list of theories. - Maybe someone wanted to hide something or someone important.

The brothers agreed:

- Plausible. - said Tyler.

- Yeah, sounds believable. - said Garret.

The brief disagreement turned into teamwork. Once they were within an arm's reach, Ronnie searched the hull for a switch or some other means of opening it:

- Do you see anything that could open this... container... ship... whatever it is, Garret?

- Hold on. You want to open this thing? - said Tyler.

- Of course I do. At this point this unidentified object is as interesting as a pile of bricks.

- That's an awful idea...

Tyler received a stare of confusion from Ronnie and Garret and then resumed:

-...but seeing as we've come this close to it...

Ronnie continued:

- So, does anyone see a switch or something like a lock?

- There it is! - Garret responded with the excitement of someone who's found a keychain he had in his hand no more than two minutes ago.

What Garret saw was a handle, which could be rotated within a ring - they all had seen a similar handle in all manner of sci-fi films and videogames.

- Any theories as to what it contains? - Ronnie asked once again.

Tyler then said:

- There's only one way to find out.

And so Ronnie rotated the handle to the left, but it didn't budge, so he rotated it to the right. That rotation was followed by a release of pressure and a continuous discharge of vapour. After the discharge ended, the hatch of the container began rising very slowly as if it had the weight of a tectonic plate. All three of them were full of excitement, anxiety and curiosity, all at the same time. What would they find? Would it be radioactive? Would it threaten their lives in any way?

The three gems revealed themselves through the steam. They each had a continuous, bright glow - red, blue and green for each respectively. Soon afterwards they began flashing in a set interval. The interval wasn't very short, but it possessed a sort of enigma.

Garret reached the conclusion that those were no aliens. Shortly afterwards he added:

- I don't even know where to begin... I... Wow... unbelievable. What do you suppose they do, Ronnie?

- No idea, or at least no clear idea. Whatever their purpose is, it has to be important. Also I hope they're not radioactive.

Tyler came up with another theory.

- What if these crystals are someone's treasure? They must be valuable, by the looks of it. I mean, gems are pretty much all style and no substance. Am I right, Garret?

- True that. However this box is definitely not man made, which makes me doubt the luxury status of these gems. What do you want to do now, Ronnie?

That question flummoxed Ronnie. Essentially he was given the opportunity to decide the fate of these gems with apparently no useful purpose. For years he had been waiting for such a moment: the possibility of a new adventure, a story ignited by a spontaneous event like the fall of an unidentified object from the sky. And yet, during that deciding moment, the young, visibly feeble and sometimes indecisive boy had to take action. It was his time to shine. Both Tyler and Garret saw the confused look in his eyes. The three of them couldn't just leave the container like nothing happened, like they hadn't opened it.

- Very well, let's have a closer look at these crystals.

So Ronnie picked up the red one. The gem had no distinct features to it, aside from the flashing.

- Obviously they're not dangerous. - Tyler noted. - Nor are they radioactive, seeing as we're not glowing.

That produced laughter from the three boys. At that very moment the flashing intensified and the crystals changed; markings appeared all over them, which looked like circuitry. The gems began levitating above the container and the interval of flashing decreased dramatically. No one knew what was going on.

- Oh boy... this looks bad. - Ronnie thought.

The red crystal flew towards Ronnie, struck his chest as if in a fit of rage. He felt an immense amount of pain and could barely stand on his feet. Tyler and Garret were shocked.

- Ronnie, talk to me! Say something! - said Tyler.

- It... uugh... it's agony...

- What do we do, Garret?

- I don't see a solution. - he said.

The blue and green crystals prepared to dive. Garret and Tyler couldn't do anything to revert the effects caused by the gem, let alone use it to somehow fix the mess, because the gem had imbedded itself in Ronnie's body and bonded with it. The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

- The other two! - he screamed by harnessing the remaining power of his voice, fuelled by the pain.

The remaining gems dove and stuck themselves in the chests of the two brothers. All three of them were helpless - the agony was so unbearable that they had no strength in their limbs and all they could do was roll on the ground in pain. The pain was combined with changes to their bodies - it was like someone was shoving scorching metal bars in their flesh and bones. Their body temperature was constantly fluctuating - heat waves were followed by cold waves. Their bodies were burning, freezing, dissolving and electrified; all at the same time.

The torture ended for them. Their screams and yells of suffering and pain had almost broken them completely. The experience was infernal for them, as if Satan himself had thrown them into a fountain of evil.

Chapter III

Maiden battle

The word pain has a multitude of definitions. But what the three boys felt exceeded every threshold of theirs. They were broken, shattered, helpless and no one could help them. It was strange how no one heard them scream and yell at the top of their lungs.

- Guys...? Are you here? - Garret groaned. He couldn't roll over to see if Ronnie and Tyler were still with him because of the pain in his back.

- Ugh... that was... utterly awful. - added Tyler and tried to stand up. His legs refused to cooperate:

- I can't stand up. My legs...

- I'll see if I can help you. - Ronnie rolled and lied on his belly. He pushed himself off the ground, stood on his knees and looked at his hands. He was in disbelief - the amount of heat and cold, the rapid temperature changes, the acid and electricity he felt through his skin, flesh and bones should have murdered him in an instant. Yet he was still alive, breathing and trying to find a logical explanation.

While Ronnie was thinking, Garret's pains somehow evaporated and he helped Tyler stand on his feet. At that moment he noticed something wrong with Tyler's face - it wasn't the same anymore. It was pale and his hair was a mess, as if he was a villain from a horror film.

- Uh, Tyler... - said Garret.

- What is it...? Good Lord, your face!

- Yours too! - said Garret.

The brothers were shocked. They thought their faces were affected by the heat, cold, acid and electricity, but upon closer inspection and after some sober thinking Garret had a brainwave:

- That could not have been caused by burns of any sort, otherwise we would not be alive, let alone still have skin on our bodies.

Tyler pulled his phone out of his pocket. It could hardly be called a phone anymore - what he held in his hand was a chunk of useless plastic and dead circuitry.

- This... transformation certainly didn't spare my phone. - he said.

That startled Ronnie and prompted him to check his:

- For God's sake! Ugh... well... it's not a big loss; after all, it had to be replaced, because the battery began dying on me very quickly.

- Our phones should be the least of our worries, guys. The bigger problems are related to hiding this mess from the media, the government and the military. - Garret shared his thoughts with the boys.

- I agree, but we can't just leave the stadium. What about the container? It has to be moved elsewhere. - Tyler added.

Ronnie's gaze darted between the container and the brothers and a few seconds later came to a conclusion:

- Moving that husk is impossible. We have to bring in a crane, which involves stealing it.

- We can all try and move it by hand.

- Tyler, have you lost your mind? We don't even know what it's made of. It could be made of something heavier than titanium, for example.

- Think about it, Ronnie - we have no other reasonable option. - Garret intervened and began walking towards the container. Once he reached it, he found a spot which could let him push with ease and shouted at Ronnie and Tyler:

- There's no way to know how heavy it is, unless we try. - he added.

Realising the gravity of the situation, Tyler and Ronnie strode towards the container and joined Garret. Once the trio used their collective might, the container slid across the dirt and grass as if it was on ice. Ronnie was flabbergasted:

- How did we do it? This should be impossible.

- Teamwork, Ronnie - that's the key. I believe Tyler will agree on this. - said Garret.

- That's true, but the crystals could have something to do with the effortless push. - said Tyler.

Ronnie looked at his hands with disbelief and wondered what other alterations his body had undergone. He wondered what else could happen, how they all would explain their transformation, how they would explain to the rest of the world what happened. Sadly he had no time to wonder, because the container needed a hiding spot and they had to move it before anyone saw even a glimpse of it. Dozens of thoughts invaded Ronnie's mind. 

Suddenly a ship appeared in the sky. It flew towards the stadium at a