An unimaginable crime.
An unexpected hero.
An unbelievable reward.
Simon lived a comfortable life: a steady job; a wife that shared his interests; an active social life. Yet he knew deep down that something had gone awry; that perhaps the contentment he felt with his life was an illusion. That gnawing discomfort falls to the wayside, however, when his world is shattered after he crosses paths with a monster hell bent on committing a heinous crime; and his act of heroism attracts the attention of a divine presence who grants him literally unfathomable powers in recognition of his sacrifice.
This sets Simon on an epic adventure of discovery as he tries to evade those furious at his heroic intervention, and shadowy government figures intent on discovering the 'secret' behind his new-found abilities. His quest will lead him to parts of the world he never knew existed as he experiences passion, joy, betrayal and heartache unlike anything he could have imagined. In the end, he will grapple with the question of if his 'gift' was in fact a curse, and if a man with his abilities can ever truly deserve happiness.
Freewill is the tale of a simple man given abilities which make him a god among men, and his journey to find the one thing his powers cannot grant... but which all men desire.
Author's note:
This novel is a work of contemporary fantasy adventure. I've split it into five sections for publication here.
For fans of the Dean, this novel began as a thought experiment along the lines of, 'what if Stranger was about a regular guy being granted that powerset, instead of a man born on another planet and raised by aliens (not to mention swapping out a frankly unforgiveable amount of bigotry found in that seminal work with a whole heap of on-page sensuality and a sprinkling of ideas inspired by other works of popular fantasy)?' and grew from there.
Make no mistake, this novel delves into some weighty subject matter. Trigger warnings for significant on-page violence (including a mass shooting and multiple hate crimes), depression and suicidal ideation.
All sensuality (on page or otherwise) takes place between characters who are eighteen or older.
One
"Holy shit, dude. You got all of that one."
Simon York tried to smile good naturedly as he returned to the dugout after flying out weakly to shortstop. He sheepishly said, "Shut it, Robby. You hit into a double play in your last at bat."
"Yeah, but I went long the at bat before that. You ain't sniffed so much as a single tonight. At least your wife's got some game."
Simon sullenly took his place on the bench next to his wife, Casey. She frowned and said, "I thought you went to the batting cages this week and fixed that hitch in your swing."
"Et tu, Brutus?"
"It's not my job to lie to you. I just tell it like it is. You better get on base next time up or Robby will have you riding the bench next week."
"I swear I heard someone say this game would be fun."
"Only when you win," Casey replied sullenly.
It was only the second game of the season and already Simon was doubting the wisdom of joining the softball league again this year. He and Casey had played since the first year of their relationship and had never even discussed not playing. But, as he sat on the end of the bench, he was unable to remember the last game he had truly enjoyed. It had just become part of their schedule.
There were quite a few slots in their schedule which fell into that category: things they did because they had always done them. Their schedule was nearly indistinguishable from what it had been in the earliest days of their relationship. Consistency was good, in Simon's mind. Consistency meant he knew where he stood, knew what was expected of him. But he was increasingly discovering that consistency was not always synonymous with fun.
This point was driven home when Simon grounded weakly to first, with his team down two runs and the bases loaded, to end the game. He endured the grumbling of his team with as much grace as he could manage, but he secretly hoped Robby would tell him he would ride the bench the following week so he would have an excuse to skip the game.
Ultimately, his fate was even worse. The team merely ignored him as they made arrangements to meet up at a local watering hole. Later, as he and Casey loaded their equipment into the back of Simon's truck, he said, "I was thinking we could skip going out with the team this week."
She shrugged and said, "It's up to you."
"Cool. Maybe we could just eat at the house and watch a movie or something."
She shrugged again but said nothing as she headed to her twin-turbo charged, all-wheel-drive German luxury sedan and set off. Simon climbed into his pickup truck he had driven since his freshman year of college for the trek across the north end of the metroplex to their house. Upon arrival, he showered quickly so he would be able to get dinner started while Casey showered. It was not until dinner was nearly ready that he realized Casey was late. He experienced a moment of panic that something terrible had occurred on her drive home. He called her with great trepidation, but she picked up on the second ring.
"Hey," she said nonchalantly. "What's up?"
"Just making sure everything is ok."
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"I thought we were going to head home for dinner. I got home nearly an hour ago."
She said, "No...you said
you
were going home for dinner. I'm having dinner with the team."
"Oh...ok...well...have fun. I guess I'll see you when you get home." Silence pervaded the other end of the line for an uncomfortable amount of time. Eventually, Simon broke the silence by saying, "Love you."
Casey said, "Ok, bye," and hung up.
Simon stared at the phone for several moments before placing it back in his pocket. "Typical," he mumbled before getting back to preparing his dinner. He had made one of Casey's favorites, but a meal which he certainly would not miss if it disappeared from their menu. His personal opinion was that while there were a significant number of decent to great dishes which combined peppers, beef and spices, stuffed peppers was the worst possible combination. He covered the meal he had prepared and placed it in the fridge before extracting the makings of a sandwich.
He was on the couch watching a movie when Casey finally arrived home five hours later. She passed through their living room without a word and headed for their bedroom. When Simon's movie finished and he headed to bed, he found her already asleep. He laid down at her side. Or, more specifically, at the side of the picket line of pillows she had carefully arranged to demarcate the sides of their bed. But, three hours later, he was still very much wide awake.
***
Eventually, he abandoned his attempts to sleep and returned to the living room. He opened his laptop and logged into his preferred social media platform. Upon seeing one of his oldest friends was online, he sent him a direct message.
"Hey, brother. What are you doing still up?"
