Then a movement caught my eye. One person, it seemed had not been turned into a mannequin. In the “Eddies” section, amid human statues, I saw my stalker blink, then look furtively around me. He rose slowly, and our eyes met. There was a strange expression in his pale blue eyes.
‘Is this some sort of sick joke?’ I called out to the only moving human in the arena. He just stared back with his dead eyes. That’s it I thought, it’s a joke. I’m on some magic TV show like the Carbonara effect, and he had just turned everybody into mannequins. I reached out to Jude and grabbed his hand. ‘Owwww!’ Touching Jude was like putting your hand in a freezing lake - only multiply that by 10.
‘Okay guys, this is getting spooky.’ No sooner had I said this than I heard a sound emanate from the corner of the ring. It was a sound like a mini tornado, starting at a bare imperceptible level then building up slowly. Suddenly, from nothing, a whirl of dirt, dried leaves, and dust particles arose at a spot a few meters from me. The particles, whipped around, faster and faster and suddenly there was a blinding flash, so intense, I shielded my eyes with my arm, and then, two figures appeared in front of me; two men as different as night and day.
One was the biggest man I had ever seen. He must have been a shade over 7 feet. He had thick blonde silvery shoulder length hair. His eyes were sea blue and cruel, and his beard was long and tapered at the tips with twine. His arms and legs were like tree trunks and his shoulders so wide they could have spanned a couple of time-zones. He was dressed strangely. Some kind of bronzed Armour with a serpent’s image embossed was strapped around his huge torso. A red cape swirled behind him, and his green jerkins was stained and streaked with dirt. On his feet, were size 18 fur boots that was caked in mud. The worst thing about him was what he wielded in his hand - a 4-foot axe with an ugly blade that glinted menacingly. Besides him was another man, and if anything he was even scarier. He was short and hunched. He had thinning silvery hair that stretched down almost touching the floor. His face was so wrinkled and lined, it looked like he should be dead and by the set of his jaw, he seemed to have no teeth. He had bright, and surprisingly youthful, black eyes and a hooked nose. He held on to a piece of gnarled wood that looked like a walking stick, only that on its head was festooned a skilfully sculptured, golden skull. He wore a dirty cloak and fur boots.
I took this all in, in a horrific few seconds. By now I was so scared I could do nothing but gape, my knees shook so much I thought I would collapse.
I heard the old man before he opened his mouth. ‘Haaaaa…what have we here?’ The voice chilled me to the bone. First of all, it echoed not from the man’s mouth, but from a faraway place, like it emanated from hidden speakers and secondly because the words did not sync with the movement of his mouth. He continued moving his mouth after the words had reached me.
He moved forward slowly, each step followed by a tinkling sound that was made by ornaments - bones and teeth, of small animals tied by a string to his skinny ankles. He stopped in front of me and spoke; again the strange voice came out before he opened his mouth.
‘If I am not mistaken, we are in the presence of royalty.’
Up close he was even freakier.
‘Okay, guys,’ I looked around, planning my escape. ‘The jokes up.’ I was still hanging on to the hope that I was an unwitting participant in a TV prank show.
‘Your majesty Jaks, the Crown prince of Westalvia,’ he giggled and bowed. ‘Alas, this is no joke. I have come a great - great distance to see you…you are truly your father’s son.’ He circled me slowly, like a cat stalking its prey, his eyes never leaving me.
‘Is it him?’ The big man boomed. Like the small one, his voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere and didn’t match the movement of his mouth. The small, wizened old man, as if he only just became aware of the bigger man’s presence jerked his face. He sighed and moved slowly towards the giant.
‘Yes,’ he said, his face suddenly crestfallen. ‘Yes berserker, that’s King Jaks.’
The man grunted, and his great chest heaved. The great voice echoed again, ‘Hear me Jaks, son of Jaks, son of Briovy, son of Mamut of the accursed house of Brigaard. It’s time you join your forefathers in the pits of hell!’ and he raised his great axe high above his head letting out a booming war-cry that made me shiver.
I remained rooted to the floor; petrified, but unable to move. It was as if my legs had turned to lead. Suddenly, I saw him; my stalker, appeared as if from nowhere, in-between myself and the huge man.
The big man stopped mid-arc, and fear beclouded his broad features.
‘Ceriuz!’ The big man and the wizened old man said in tandem.
The big man growled. ‘Stand aside Wizard. I will complete my mission,’ he said, but his voice had less boom than before. My stalker - or Ceriuz - ignored the man totally and addressed the wizened old man.
‘So Zoorv, I see you are still doing the bidding of the usurper King.’ His voice was as odd as the other two.
The little wizened man gave an evil toothless smile.
‘So Ceriuz, we meet in another realm. I am not surprised that you are here. You are like a bad rash, impossible to get rid of,’ he said. ‘Stand aside Bam,’ he addressed the big man. Bam was breathing heavily, his cruel evil eyes never leaving me.
‘Your mission is an exercise in futility,’ Ceriuz said. ‘The boy,’ he pointed back at me, ‘is under my protection.’
Zoorv giggled. ‘Haaaa my old friend. Now that you say this, we shall leave. But know that you cannot protect him forever; there are many after him, if not today, shortly he shall perish.’
Ceriuz glared at the wizened man. ‘We shall see about that,’ he said softly.
There was a moment of silence. It was a hellish scene, and I still half felt I was in a never-ending nightmare. Suddenly the big man moved with the speed of a rattlesnake; he raised his axe and came towards me.
‘No Bam! No!!’ Zoorv screamed, at the same time there was a bright flash, and acrid smoke filled the air. I coughed, and my eyes smarted as the smoke assailed my senses; it cleared quickly, and when I could see clearly, there was no sign of Bam.
Zoorv backed off and mouthed. ‘What have you done with him? Have you killed him, sorcerer?’
Ceriuz didn’t say anything. He bent down and picked a tiny object from the ground and handed it to me. It was 3 inches tall and squirmed as I held it. I nearly dropped it in fright as I realized that it was Bam, only he had been miniaturized by almost a hundredfold.
‘I should kill him,’ Ceriuz growled. ‘But that would be a waste of good sorcery. We will keep him, in this state, He is harmless.’
‘Damn you Ceriuz,’ Zorv growled backing away, his eyes never leaving Ceriuz. ‘We won’t give up. Jaks Brigaard will perish, it’s only a matter of time.’ With that, smoke billowed from his body, and he dissipated into nothingness.
Ceriuz turned to me and I licked my dry lips nervously.
‘Hmmm okay, Mr. Ceriuz,’ I said. ‘Owww!’ I felt a sting in my hand and looked down. Blood was sipping from a tiny wound. I saw mini Bam raise his small axe and it came down on my palm again; a squeaky sound coming from him.
Ceriuz sighed. He removed a small pewter box from his pocket. ‘Here,’ he said reaching out. ‘Hand him over. He has been handed coin to kill you and will not stop trying until he achieves his aim or dies - that is the nature of the berserker.’
This was getting too much for me. I handed the squirming Bam to Ceriuz who dropped him in the pewter box and shut it with a tiny clasp.
I licked my palm. ‘Mr. Ceriuz,’ I said, as we glared at each other. ‘This was a heck of a prank. What is it? The Carbonara effect? Whatever it was it sure felt real. Can we unfreeze everybody and can you tell me how you pulled this off? I’m guessing I’ve been hypnotized or something.’
Ceriuz just stared at me with his pale washed up eyes. ‘Tis not a prank my Prince.’
I felt that I would faint. ‘You mean…you mean all t
his is real, but how?’
‘Magic my Prince. Magic from another World.’
‘Haaaa…magic, that explains it,’ I said. ‘Look over there,’ I said, pointing behind Ceriuz. He fell for it, and turned around and I bolted out the ring screaming like a madman. I got halfway down the aisle, nearly knocking over the static cameraman when I screeched to a halt. Ceriuz was in front of me.
‘How…how!’
‘Like I said,’ he stated. He stretched out his hand and pointed at me. ‘Magic!’ I felt my legs wobble and slumped into a deep faint.
‘Oh, darling; thank goodness.’ Those were the first words I heard from Sally as I came back to life to see several pairs of eyes, concern etched in their features staring down at me.
‘You alright bud?’ Jay said. ‘Gaddemit, I told you he was fine,’ said Jeff Cipriano. ‘Give him room to breathe you, idiots,’ Jay chirped in. ‘Alright folks, back off!’ The last statement was from the ring doctor, a portly middle-aged man with sad eyes called Maloney.
‘What…what happened,’ I said, looking around me bewildered. I was in the locker room, surrounded by what seemed to me the whole crew of the OHW, plus a distressed looking Sally. ‘You fainted pumpkin,’ Sally said holding my hand, eyes glistening with tears.
‘Yup,’ Jude said. ‘Pretty Eddie nailed you real good with an elbow, and you passed out.’
I looked at them as if they were all mad.
‘He came down okay but must have hit you in the head,’ Jay said. ‘It took a few seconds to realize you were out cold. When we did, we stretchered you outta the ring and here we are.’
Dr. Maloney was staring at me like I was a museum exhibit. He checked my eyes, flashing a small but powerful light into them. ‘How do you feel kid?’ He asked. Physically I was okay, but my mind was in a turmoil. Sally noticed the puzzled look etched on my face.
‘Are you okay pumpkin?’ She asked clasping my hand.
‘Did you guys not see what happened? I know you were all frozen like mannequins, but surely you must have seen that weird shit that happened.’
Six pairs of eyes stared at me. ‘What weird shit?’ Jeff said his brows furrowed. ‘You were nailed with an elbow and passed out.’
Sweat dripped down my brow. ‘No…I was on the floor, and Eddie jumped then froze in the air. All of you were frozen, and then I saw smoke and Zoorv and Bam appeared from nowhere. And Bam wanted to decapitate me with his axe only Ceriuz appeared and miniaturized Bam with some magic and…’
I stopped as I realized how crazy I was sounding.
Jay looked at me with mournful eyes. Maloney’s drew a deep breath and scratched his bald head, he turned to Jeff and mouthed something underneath his breath. Jeff frowned and lit a cigar. Jude chomped on chewing gum and Sally was almost in tears.
Jeff broke the silence. ‘Look, kid,’ he said getting up. ‘You’ve been hit in the head. Take the night off. Maloney says you look alright.’
Dr. Maloney glanced at Jeff and bit his lower lip.
‘Well - in the light of his…erm…story, I’m not so sure he doesn’t need to go to a hospital at least for tonight.’
I was still on the stretcher.
‘Nothing's wrong with me. You don’t understand. You guys might not have seen because you were all frozen in time. Probably magic from Ceriuz.’
‘Call his mom,’ Jay said, his face full of worry.
I jerked. ‘No don’t call my mom. I tell you that’s what happened. Sally, you always record my matches. Play the video…you’ll see that I’m not making this up.’
‘Jake, please-’
‘Let’s see the video!’ I snapped.
So we huddled around while she played back my match on her iPhone. My heart rate spiked as we neared the point where the magic began. Pretty Eddie climbed the ropes and plunged down but, there was no freeze, not even a flicker. He dropped a sickening elbow on me, and my body convulsed. He pranced around the ring while Jay hunkered down and spoke to me. He realized something was wrong and shook me by shoulders, suddenly he signalled frantically for the doctor who, despite his bulk, slid smoothly in the ring and crouched beside Jay. The stretcher was called for, and I was strapped down and carried down the ring to cheers from the fan.
‘I…I don’t understand,’ I muttered. ‘Where’s Zoorv? The Viking dude - Bam, my stalker, Ceriuz!’ My voice had gone up.
‘Okay, that’s it,’ Dr. Maloney said. ‘Cut the video. He’s going to the hospital to get a thorough examination.’
‘I tell you I’m fine!’ I yelled my face turning red.
Jeff looked down at me a frown on his face. ‘He looks good to me. Let him go home if he doesn’t want to go to a hospital.’
An argument ensued. Sally and Maloney wanted me to go to the Hospital, Jeff, Jay, and Jude thought there was no need. My mind was in turmoil, but I didn’t want to go to a hospital. I just wanted to go home and think about what happened. I know what I saw, but obviously trying to convince them otherwise was not working.
‘Guys,’ I said, forcing a steady tone into my voice and a fake smile on my lips. ‘I’m good. I just need to go home and rest. I’ll be fine.’ Maloney wasn't for it, but finally, I was allowed to go home.
The drive home was filled with an awkward silence. I was sulky and sat in the passenger seat feeling sorry for myself. Sally drove with the concentration of a pilot handling a plane with one engine gone. She continually munched on her lower lip, a sign that she was troubled. Jude was Jude and even Jay - apart from a few sentences was silent. We dropped Jude and Jay off and solemnly entered our apartment.
‘Want something to eat?’ Sally asked, looking at me quizzically.
‘Oh stop it!’ I snapped. ‘I’m not going crazy or anything.’
‘Hmmm - sure, I know hun.’ She gave me a wry smile, her big brown eyes sad.
‘I know what I saw,’ I said softly.
She clenched and unclenched her fist and munched her lower lip.
‘Do you know how crazy you sound? You said we all became frozen - like mannequins and there was a fight between a giant Viking, an ancient wizard, and our stalker…which led to the Viking being miniaturized.’
I stared at her and ran my hand through my hair. Finally, I made an exasperated noise.
‘I know it sounds a bit crazy…’ My voice trailed off.
‘A bit?’ She closed the distance between us. ‘Look, honey,’ she looked up at me, ‘you’ve been a bit stressed. It…it isn’t unusual to imagine - weird things.’
Who was she kidding? Even to me, it sounded beyond weird. Was it possible I imagined it all, was I going crazy? The sadness in her face, made my heart melt. I loved the kid so badly, always had since the day we met in High School.
‘Okay. I guess I imagined it.’ She smiled and hugged me.
‘Yes, you did hun. Now, I believe there’s some pasta left over from last night.’
After a Pasta meal, Sally went to bed. I sat in the darkness, watching a cable show about ufos. I guess I had always been open to stuff like that: ufo’s, ghosts, and other assorted paranormal activity but I never thought it would happen to me.
I got a beer from the fridge and sipped, depressed and feeling like a complete idiot. Could I have imagined it…but it felt so real.
I could smell the acrid smoke and stench of the old man. I could see the sheer bulk of the Viking character….what was his name - Bam!
I sighed and shifted on the sofa. My eyes felt heavy as I struggled to stay awake. Finally, exhausted from all the excitement, I fell into a dream infested sleep. I was having a hell of a nightmare; Zoorv and Bam appeared to me at work and ordered a Pizza; Bam wasn’t particularly happy with his toppings and out came the axe, and threats to decapitate me and have my eyeballs as toppings.
Meanwhile, Zoorv had turned a couple of people into big fat toads and was laughing hysterically as diners, waiters and other people scrambled out of the restaurant. I tossed and turned fitfully. So
mewhere, in between the space of sleep and wakefulness, I felt something move on my upper leg. I moaned softly, sweat dripping from my pores. Then I felt a sharp prick; not very painful, but enough to bring me fully awake. My eyes bulged in astonishment at what I saw; Bam, the miniaturized version, was stabbing me with his tiny axe.
Chapter 5
I lay still as I watched Bam raise the axe high and bring it down with great force on my thigh. It was astonishing to see the hate etched on his small features. He couldn’t do much damage as the thick fabric of my jeans made sure the sharp edge couldn’t penetrate.
Slowly I stretched out my hand. I would show them all that I wasn’t crazy; I would relish the look in their eyes when I presented them with a 3-inch human. Bam was so preoccupied with stabbing me he didn’t notice my hand inching closer and closer to him; until he was within reach. Suddenly he jerked and gave a small piercing screech. I moved quickly but was too late; he hopped off my thigh to the sofa seat and jumped off landing on the rug. I hollered and dove for him, but he was fast as lightning and scooted underneath the sofa. I tumbled and picked up the couch upending it. From the corner of my eye, I saw a small shadow move quickly behind our thick curtains. I made for the curtains and drew them up; cursing underneath my breath.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
I turned from my crouched position, to see a very angry Sally shooting me daggers. ‘Why is the sofa upside down?’ She demanded.
‘Listen…listen sally. I saw him. I saw Bam! He was stabbing me with an axe…Sally…I swear!’
She just stared at me for a few seconds and with a wail turned on her heel. I winced as she slammed the bedroom door shut with a loud bang.
The next few days were awkward as hell. I slept in the living room. Not that Sally chased me out of the bedroom or anything; it’s just that I didn’t feel she’d like sharing space with a lunatic - which is what she thought I was. After a couple of days of hardly speaking to each other, I sat her down and had a heart to heart. I had decided that she was never going to believe me (who could blame her) so I told her that I was stressed with work and wrestling not working out. She made me promise to see “someone” If I ever saw Bam (or the little Viking) as she called it again; so I did.
The Legend of Brigaard Page 4
