The Disciples of the Orb

by Marshall Cobb

  Jenny sent the idea to Eli and Peter that Orb probably preferred that none of the Disciples had a complete set of powers. Eli agreed that if he were Orb, he wouldn’t want any of his Disciples or followers to be his equal. He, like Orb, would want everyone to still need his help from time to time to further bind themselves to him.

  Eli, Peter, Jenny and Irene took turns hosting the nightly sleepovers at their respective houses. There was, from Peter’s perspective, no favorite spot as all the parents behaved strangely around them. No matter how many times they met, every conversation with the parents involved another tortuous walk across eggshells. Irene’s parents, in particular, seemed to think that one slip of the tongue would have them banished, and tried to make up for it by piling on heaps of praise for Orb and how they loved their new lives taking care of a small herd of cows that now used the elementary school’s playing fields as their pasture. There was no way to tell them that praising Orb made his Disciples uncomfortable, any more than they could tell Big Ed that they were all, in fact, miserable.

  Their gatherings at the bank still took place for a few minutes every night. Even with the work required on the other side of the planet, many time zones away, the four Disciples usually found a way to spend at least a few minutes together sharing stories and, for Peter, Eli and Jenny, having their own, separate conversation with one another about which Irene was, hopefully, unaware.

  Matt, the fifth Disciple, usually came only long enough to update the whiteboard and get his next assignment before he teleported to his new home, the Gibson house (he no longer seemed concerned about Orb potentially pushing his parents out of their house, and saw his mother and father only once or twice a week, if that).

  On this day, a Thursday—not that days of the week mattered—Peter, Eli and Jenny sat in front of the globe and tried to share as much information as possible before Irene arrived. They could very easily share thoughts no matter where they were, but they all found it very unsettling to receive a thought while they were in the middle of wielding their powers or, worse yet, in the company of Orb.

  Still nothing in Montevideo? Jenny asked.

  No, Peter replied, the entire city was transformed into farmland. I thought—I still think—that Orb’s removal of the population because of Cube activity might mean that one of the pieces of Cube is there, but there are no more landmarks and I can’t see, or feel, anything there that indicates Cube, or an Orb guardian. Orb moved another group of people there to take on the farming, but they are preoccupied with the fear of being banished. I just make them nervous.

  I haven’t found anything in my travels either, offered Eli. I still like your theory, Jenny, but I don’t know how we can find one of Cube’s pieces. I also have no idea how we’d take out the guardian if our powers don’t work on it.

  We’re running out of time.

  I know, Jenny, but what else can we do?

  At that moment, Irene teleported to the space in front of the bank and pushed open the front door to join them.

  Peter waved as she entered, and she waved back. As she drew closer Peter did a doubletake.

  Irene, with her long brown hair and her lanky, athletic build, had always been considered cute, bordering on pretty. The Irene that walked over to them was something completely different. Peter’s mouth dropped open as she sat down, flicked her hair back over her shoulder and smiled at them.

  Perfection is rare in the real world, even in the time of Orb, but Irene now embodied that term. Her face and its features were so symmetrical, so beautiful that he could not tear his eyes away. Her thick, full hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her eyes were pools so deep that Peter felt like he might drown in them. Her nose seemed different and, of course, better as it perched over her full, pouty lips. Her jawline was perfectly angled to match her prominent cheekbones, and her long, slender neck made Peter want to nuzzle his head next to it.

  He shook his head to clear it and saw that both Eli and Jenny were similarly staring at Irene, who began to blush but made that seem sexy and charming as well.

  “You guys are creeping me out,” said Irene. “Do I have something on my face?”

  “Uh…” Eli began but made it no further.

  “I…” was all Jenny could manage.

  Irene smiled, dazzling them with her perfectly white teeth. “So, you like it?” As she asked, she moved her hand down from her face, her long, tanned fingers briefly distracting them.

  “What happened?” Peter finally stammered.

  The cute blush made another brief appearance before Irene asked, “Has Matt been here already?”

  All three of them slowly shook their heads.

  “Good! I can’t wait to see what he thinks.”

  A long pause ensued as all of them stared at this woman, this vision, who had replaced their friend.

  Jenny forced herself to stare at the floor, trying hard not to peek at Irene’s no doubt perfect feet. “Can you please tell us what’s going on?”

  Irene clapped her hands together playfully, tossed her hair again, and said, “I asked Orb for help.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Eli, using his hand to block his view of Irene, “help with what?”

  “With Matt, of course. I know he’s been seeing other girls here and on his travels. I asked Orb to make me beautiful so I could win him back.”

  Peter winced, then forced himself to stare at the ceiling. “You had Orb change you just so you could make Matt jealous?”

  “Not just jealous.” She looked down at her feet. “I want him to love me again like he used to.”

  “But you were already pretty. Why would you do this for Matt? For anyone?” Jenny asked.

  Irene’s face, which no longer frowned, did its best to try but in a seductive, attractive way. “Oh, I was ok, I guess, but Matt has his new body, his new strength, and I couldn’t compete.”

  Eli brought his hand down and immediately felt himself being pulled to sit next to Irene, to do whatever she wanted no matter how crazy, just as long as he could be with her. “So, you asked Orb to make you beautiful. I mean, more beautiful?”

  Irene dazzled them with her smile once again. “It was actually Orb’s idea. I was telling him about how sad I was, how lonely life was without Matt, and he said he could fix everything.”

  Peter thought back to the Irene he knew, barely, before Orb appeared on the scene. That Irene had dated college guys—ok, community college guys—for excitement. She had wanted to be praised, loved. More than anything, she had wanted to be wanted.

  “Oh, Irene,” Jenny said, almost under her breath, “you don’t change yourself to please a guy.”

  “What?” Irene nearly screamed. “Little miss perfect doesn’t like what I’ve done? It’s so easy for you to be smug. Everyone is always telling you how smart you are. You’re pretty, without even trying, and you have Eli, who’s not out running around with other girls. Hell, you’ve even got Peter wrapped around your little finger. If you told him to jump off a cliff he’d march out and find the tallest one just so he could impress you.”

  Why does everyone keep bringing me up when they talk about Eli and Jenny? Peter focused on his shoes and did not dare look in Eli’s direction.

  “I’m sorry, Irene. I shouldn’t have said that. I just meant that you were already wonderful the way you were.”

  “Great. Thanks, I guess. How was I again? Oh, that’s right, alone, sleeping on the floor every night watching you two snuggle. It’s not like I can just go find another boyfriend. Who wants a girlfriend that’s a Disciple? Everyone I meet is scared of me.”

  Eli, also looking at his feet, risked jumping in. “You said Matt is dating other girls and he’s a Disciple. Why can’t you date other guys?”

  “It’s different for girls, you idiot! Men don’t like powerful women.”

  “She’s right about that,” Jenny muttered as she reached over to grab Eli’s hand.

  Peter, still staring down, thought about taking a quick peek at Irene
just to see how angry perfection looked, but was distracted by Jenny’s agreement. Peter thought back through all the many arguments Eli and Jenny had had, and realized that the common thread to unhappiness was whenever Eli felt threatened by Jenny. She was so smart, so composed, so generous and so pretty that it took a strong man to be with her—a man who had to understand, and accept, that he was part of a team, not its leader.

  It also made sense that they had started getting along better once they actively worked with their powers. Eli took a lot of confidence and pride in his ability to move objects. Jenny’s ability to clear animals from an area was nice, but it wasn’t the same thing as hurling huge spheres of steel and rock across the sky. Orb had done Eli a favor on that one.

  “I’m sorry, Irene,” Eli said. “I didn’t think about it that way.”

  The air was tense as everyone waited to see how Irene would respond. Peter, Eli and Jenny all did their best to look at something besides Irene.

  They were saved to some degree by the arrival of Matt, who opened the front door, took one look at Irene and said, “Oh my god, is that you?”

  Peter looked up to see Irene jump to her feet and, moving with a grace that made it appear like she floated, run to Matt and throw herself in his arms.

  “I did it for you,” Irene said as she kissed Matt’s neck. “You like?”

  Matt, staring down at her perfect face, grinned so widely that the corners of his mouth threatened to touch his ears. “Oh, heck yes I like!”

  They began kissing in a loud, aggressive way. Peter was about to teleport back to his house to escape when he heard Matt mumble something, and the happy couple disappeared as they teleported elsewhere.

  Peter stood and rubbed his eyes with his hand. “What just happened?”

  Orb is picking us off one by one. Matt fell for power. Irene was the victim of low self-esteem.

  Eli turned slightly to better see Jenny. That was low self-esteem?

  You really don’t understand women, Eli.

  I know, he groaned.

  Peter looked at the globe, which was indifferent to the raging emotions and hormones of the Disciples as it slowly spun.

  “I’ve got to go to Buenos Aires tomorrow.”

  Eli followed Peter’s gaze. “Ok, what about it?”

  How do I know how to get to Buenos Aires?

  You don’t, answered Eli. None of us knows the places we go. We just go.

  “Nothing,” Peter said aloud for anyone listening, including Orb. “I just realized that I’ve heard about it a lot, but I’ve never been there.”

  I think we’ve been thinking about this the wrong way. We can’t run around the world hoping to find a piece of Cube, but I can teleport to a place where a piece exists, can’t I? It’s no different than going to Tel Aviv, or Des Moines, or a thousand other places I’d never even heard of before I went.

  Will it work that way? Jenny asked. If so, why haven’t other groups of Disciples thought of it?

  It took us this long to think about it, Peter replied, and we’ve got a very smart lady on our team.

  Easy, Peter, Eli warned, mostly joking.

  Calm down, Eli. He just said smart, though I’m guessing that pretty was implied.

  What? Both Peter and Eli exclaimed at the same time.

  Men, well, boys really are too easy, Jenny replied with a mix of smugness and humor.

  Eli stood and looked at the globe. “I’m in Toronto. I’ve never been there either.”

  Eli continued, via thought, I have a bad feeling that the reason this might not work is what is waiting for us at each of the spots with a piece of Cube.

  Guardians.

  You’re right. When Orb sent me to get one of his pieces, I was attacked by the ancient mountain lion. I saw that the whole cave was full of bones from people, and creatures, that had fought that guardian, and others, over thousands of years. If we ’port to a spot with a piece of Cube, we’re going straight to a guardian.

  With no weapons, Jenny added, and with powers that don’t work on guardians.

  “We should probably head back to your place for some dinner before we sleep,” said Jenny. “I’m apparently headed to a suburb outside Mexico City.”

  I’ll practice my idea over the next few days, Peter offered.

  You can’t try and get one of the Cube pieces! Eli yelled inside Peter’s and Jenny’s minds. It’s too dangerous. We need a plan, or maybe a better idea.

  I’m not going to try and find a piece of Cube. I’m just going to see what happens when I try to ’port to a place that’s not on our list and has nothing to do with Orb.

  Jenny still did not look pleased. Eli tried to help.

  I think Peter’s idea is the best one we have at the moment, but, Peter, you promise not to try and go get a Cube receptacle by yourself, right?

  Right. I couldn’t even fight an old lion without getting mauled. I don’t even want to think about the kinds of guardians Orb is using now.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Practice Afar

  Several more days passed. Irene and Matt made quick, token appearances at the bank, but their reinvigorated love, with its excess of snuggling and kissing, was so distracting that all involved were grateful when they left for the Gibson house. Each time Irene left, however, there was a conflicted sense of loss as her physical appearance lit the room even as it soaked up all available light.

  At one of his Orb-required stops, Peter found himself on the outskirts of Dublin trying to settle a dispute.

  “’e’s naht mendin ’is cows, is ’e?” yelled a very scruffy man in the front row as he pointed up at a thin, clean-shaven man standing next to Peter on the small hill.

  The scruffy man continued, “All me crahps are ruined. ’ow’s me family goin to eat?”

  The clean-shaven man, the constable for the area, sighed, “If you kept oehp yooehr fence like we agreed dis wooehldn’t ’appen.”

  “Dat’s a load o’ crap, it is. De ahnly reasahn me fence isn’t oehp is because yooehr stupid cows knahcked it down.”

  Peter looked back and forth at the two men and wondered why Orb’s instant translation was not working. I guess they’re speaking English, kind of, but I really wish I knew what they were saying.

  Eventually, Peter was able to convince the constable to give the farmer the milk from two of his cows for a month. In return, the farmer agreed to put up a stronger fence, and to stop calling the constable names that Peter was pretty sure were ugly. No one was banished, or replaced, and Peter had the added bonus of feeling like an actual adult as everyone in this district was roughly the same height as him.

  That work done, and with nothing else scheduled for the day, he waved to the crowd and was preparing to teleport home when everyone around him cringed.

  “What de ’ell ’appened to yooehr arm, lad?” the constable asked as he stared.

  Peter realized that the long sleeve of his yellow tunic had slid down his arm when he waved, giving the crowd a full view of his injury.

  Peter pulled down his arm and said, “Nothing. It’s fine.”

  The previously angry farmer in the front leaned closer. “I dooehght you desciple-types cooehldn’t get ’oehrt? ’ow’d you lahse yooehr ’and?”

  “Something ate it,” Peter responded weakly.

  “Sahmethin ate it—and it dedn’t get kelled when it tooehched you?”

  Peter found himself clenching the empty space at the end of his left sleeve with his right hand, then forced himself to stop. “It was a guardian.” When that explanation did not seem to please the crowd, he went with the phrase he often heard Jenny use with Eli when she wanted to change the subject. For effect, he tried to say it using the local accent. “It’s cahmplicated.”

  The farmer seemed impressed by his accent, but disappointed in the answer. “I dooehght de desciple din was de best geg ahn de planet. If de beasts can eat yooehr ’and i guess it’s naht all dat wahnderfoehl is it?”

  Peter nodded, almost sure he
understood at least half of what had just been said, and experienced an urgent desire to leave, but he no longer wanted to go home. He wanted to go somewhere he would not see anyone else, and this was as good a time as any to try out his idea.

  With much of his spare time the past few days spent thinking about exotic destinations that were not part of a district, he tuned out the crowd, closed his eyes, and thought about standing atop Mount Everest. He focused on what he thought that would look like—a large, snowy point of rock extending into the sky—and felt the cold void that came with teleportation.

  The cold normally stopped upon arrival. This time, however, it continued and, if anything, he felt even colder. He opened his eyes and found that he was standing in the clouds, whipped by winds that caused cracking and rustling noises all around him. Peter shielded his eyes with his hand and squinted. Through the shifting clouds he saw several different flags planted in the snow around the summit. Peter didn’t recognize the countries the flags represented, and the flags themselves had been shredded from the ice and wind as they perched just above the snow on short poles.

  His eyes burned from the icy wind. He sank to his knees on the hard layer of icy snow. The air burned his throat as his lungs ached from the lack of oxygen in the air.

  Now freezing from his exposed head down to the toes of his tennis shoes, Peter put his good hand down for support and hit something as hard as the ice that shifted a little under his weight. He scraped the top layer of snow and ice aside and saw a skinny silver canister. He pushed more snow aside, immediately sticking his fingers into his mouth to warm them. The bottle was labeled “oxygen.”

  Peter looked around him and saw that the area was littered with empty oxygen bottles, the remains of old flags, and discarded trash. He remembered watching a movie about Mount Everest in class that talked about all the garbage on the mountain. The summit and much of the trail was too high up for helicopters to reach, and the hordes of climbers exhausted themselves on the climb up and had no energy left to bring their trash back down.