TARN & BECK

by Roger Nickleby

  But it had been a long time since Tarn had faced Carroll, a decade at least. It dredged up some childhood memories that Tarn would rather forget and made him feel small once more, like a child staring up at the man with a gun.

  Tarn had to remind himself that he had grown up and moved on from Carroll and his gang, but he couldn’t entirely forget. He could never forget what happened to him back then, what Carroll and his bandits tried to make him do. So how could he act as grown-up as he was supposed to be?

  “So that’s it? You want me to just let them go?” Carroll asked.

  Tarn nodded. “That’s it. They didn’t do anything wrong. They don’t deserve your anger like I do.”

  “Tarn--” Beck started to say, worried.

  “Quiet, it’ll be okay.” Tarn said. He hoped that was true.

  Carroll nodded at Beck. “He shot my wizard and he had the coins to begin with. Plus he’s your friend.”

  Tarn tried not to look at Beck then, act calm and stoic. “I barely know him. He saved my life last night. It’s not his fault he’s in this mess.”

  Beck glanced down, nervous. What Tarn said was true. He was a complete stranger to Tarn, just as Beck didn’t know what Tarn would do.

  There was a lot of risk involved for Tarn sticking his neck out like this and threatening this bandit. But if he stepped back and allowed—Carroll, was it?—to have his way and shoot Beck…was it possible to trust Tarn?

  Carroll laughed, glancing at Tarn and Beck. “Quite an unlikely pair. All of these years I searched for those coins, and you two found them and led me to them! What a joke.”

  Tarn laughed as well, harsh in an unnatural tone, unsettling Carroll and the others.

  “What’s so funny? My bandits are bound to kill you and the others soon.” Carroll insisted.

  Tarn grimaced. “You’re not the only one who has wanted these coins. The magical energy radiating off of them is bound to attract every monster for miles around.”

  Beck froze, remembering. “The Vampiric in the graveyard. Are you saying--”

  Carroll stared at Beck in horror. “What Vampiric?”

  There was rustling in the forest in the distance. Tarn nodded, gripping his gun tighter as he glanced around at their forest surroundings.

  “That’s right. Even when they were buried in the city graveyard, the magical energy leeching off of them was enough to attract one Vampiric, seeking them out all the way there.” Tarn said.

  Now humanoid shapes were darting about in the shadows surrounding them. Beck, Carroll, Greg, the bandits and attendants all looked up and around fearfully, the bandits clutching their weapons.

  “Imagine how much energy is leeching off of them now, out here in the open, far away from the city.” Tarn turned back to Beck, who looked right at him. “Do you remember what we said about monsters and their territories?” Tarn asked Beck.

  “And this is one of their hunting grounds.” Beck nodded.

  Tarn smiled. “Precisely.”

  Tarn turned around and shot at one of the Vampiric about to attack him. Beck ducked Carroll’s gun and ran toward the coach. Carroll turned around, but wound up firing at another Vampiric coming out of the forest just as Tarn did.

  Carroll still held on to the bag of gold coins, not wanting to let them go, even if the Vampiric were hunting them. Twenty other Vampiric started running and jumping out of the forest, attacking the bandits firing at them.

  Greg and the attendants ran away in the opposite direction into the forest with nowhere else to go. Beck clambered into the coach cab and grabbed the muskets, pistols, and swords from the dead guards and climbed out again.

  He fired a pistol at one of the Vampiric waiting for him, killing it. He couldn’t believe that he was able to do such a thing, but there was no time to think about it, either.

  Tarn had retreated for cover near the coach and Beck joined him, handing Tarn one set of the guard’s weapons as he kept the other set. Tarn was scared, Beck could see it in his eyes, but he acted as calmly as he possibly could. Beck hoped that he was doing the same.

  “Thanks. Let’s go, now.” Tarn said.

  Tarn and Beck retreated together toward the forest, firing at one of the Vampiric charging towards them and knocking it down. They were actually going to make it, they were escaping, and what would they do now?

  The melee between the bandits and Vampiric continued on the road, with the Vampiric overwhelming the bandits. A number of the Vampiric had died as well, small comfort to those dying bandits.

  Carroll remained standing, though now he had to resort to sword-fighting to ward off the Vampiric, no more bullets left. He was covered in blood, his own and theirs. He had dropped the bag of gold coins to handle his sword, but it remained at his feet. He was guarding it still, not wanting to let it go, even if he was the only one left.

  Several Vampiric circled around him and the gold coins, attracted by its magical power. But they didn’t attack him, at least not yet. Carroll warily faced the Vampiric, ready to fight.

  “Stay back! I’m warning you!” He ordered.

  A couple of the Vampiric retreated and parted ways to allow Miranda, a sardonic, seductive, but deadly female vampire, to languidly stroll into their midst. She headed straight for Carroll in the middle of the chaotic battle that was starting to fade, bit by bit with the bandits falling.

  Carroll lowered his sword, staring at Miranda in shock. “What is this? Who are you?”

  Miranda smirked and stopped a short distance away, nodding at Carroll and the bag of gold coins. “A friend. Hand over the gold coins-Carroll, I think your name was?” She asked, cloying.

  Carroll reached down and snatched up the bag of gold coins. He held it close to him, shielding it from Miranda and the Vampiric looming over him. He raised his sword to defend himself if necessary.

  “Oh no, you’re not going to get this away from me. I’ve spent my whole life trying to find such powerful objects. The source of immortality.” Carroll said.

  Miranda laughed and shook her head as the Vampiric growled at Carroll. “Pathetic, that’s what you are, mortal. You think they will grant you power and immortality? No.”

  Her words were laced with such forceful inevitability and harsh despair that it was enough to dismay Carroll, who stared at Miranda, shocked and dejected at this news. Part of him knew this was true, but she had driven it home for him, hard enough that he couldn’t fight it. Now his whole body was full of such despair and lethargy that she had instilled in him.

  Miranda approached Carroll now, pressing his sword aside and he didn’t resist her. “They belong to me.” She insisted.

  Carroll was frozen and couldn’t do anything as Miranda insinuated herself against him, staring into his eyes like a snake wrapping around her prey. Carroll stared at her, mesmerized as she lightly reached over and grabbed the bag of gold coins, tugging it out of his powerless hands.

  Carroll watched this happen, helpless to protest or grab hold of the bag again as Miranda handed it off to one of the Vampiric, who accepted the bag with a bow and retreated. Then Miranda rubbed a hand against Carroll’s face, studying him intently now.

  “Although I have to admit, you do have a forceful character, from what little I can tell. It seems such a shame that such strength is wasted on a mortal like yourself.” Miranda said.

  Carroll managed to open his mouth, though it felt like he was struggling against someone holding him down, strangling him. He spoke, yet his voice sounded strained and unnatural like someone was speaking through him. He didn’t recognize it.

  “What would you have me do to remedy that, my…queen.” Carroll said.

  Miranda laughed and squished his face between her hands, puckering his lips. Carroll might have squirmed if he could have, hating being belittled like this. But he couldn’t do anything about it, couldn’t…what was happening to him?

  “Oh, you’re so cute, I could eat you up!” Miranda said and wickedly grinned. “In fact, I might.”

&nbs
p; Miranda opened her mouth, revealing a row of vampire fangs, and bit Carroll’s neck. Carroll screamed at the piercing agony filling him and gagged as Miranda sucked the blood sputtering from his neck.

  Then, filled with revulsion and pain, yet driven by a deep, unsettling hunger and thirst that he needed to quench, Carroll turned his head round and bit Miranda in the neck in turn. He sucked her blood as she sucked his and the light faded from his eyes as he began to faint, falling away.

  Tarn and Beck were running through the forest, as if expecting the Vampiric to be chasing after them. However, after about an hour of this with no sign of pursuit, Tarn was tired of running and stopped and turned around.

  He gripped his musket tightly, prepared to fight off if necessary any Vampiric that could be after them. However, there was nothing coming after them, nothing tried to attack him. Beck slowed down and stopped, realizing Tarn was not following after him.

  “Come on, Tarn! We have to keep moving!”

  “There’s no Vampiric coming after us anymore! I think we’re safe.”

  Tarn lowered his musket, satisfied for now as he walked back over to Beck. Beck strained his head, looking around for any sign of pursuit.

  “You sure?”

  “I think they stopped chasing after us when we left those gold coins behind.” Tarn said.

  Beck shook his head, disappointed in himself. “I never should have gone to that graveyard to dig up those coins.”

  Tarn nudged Beck. “Hey, there was still a Vampiric hanging around out there, searching for the coins and eating the bodies.”

  Beck looked up at Tarn, somewhat shocked at how casual he was about the whole ordeal as Tarn shrugged. “If you hadn’t shown up, I might have wound up dead like Ralph as well without a clue as to why. That would have been disappointing.”

  Tarn looked down, a little mournful about what had happened to Ralph and disturbed as well to think that could have been his fate. Beck had saved his life in a way, even if digging up those coins and the Vampiric attack might have drawn Carroll’s attention, too.

  Beck pondered it. “I suppose you’re right. So what do we do now--walk back to Silvo, or are we closer to Dosile?”

  Tarn looked around, hesitant as he tried to figure out where they were along the route. “Not sure. I think we’re closer to Silvo. But then again, the coach did get pretty far. It will take at least a day or more to get back to Silvo. I don’t know where the Vampiric have gone, but hopefully we can avoid them on the way back.”

  Beck sighed, dejected. “Right, Silvo it is, then. Back home.”

  “Is there something wrong with that?” Tarn asked.

  Beck hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s nothing. It’s just that--I had really wanted to leave Silvo behind. That’s why I had gone into the graveyard, to get the money to leave.”

  Tarn studied Beck, pondering the situation. “Would you rather go on to Dosile then? It’s going to take longer to get there. Several days at this rate, through rough terrain. We might avoid the road in case the Vampiric are still there. But we might even have to face more monsters or creatures out there in the forest. Not just the Vampiric.”

  Frightened, Beck shook his head and retreated from Tarn. “Forget it, then. I don’t want to risk getting into any more trouble and danger than we already have.”

  Tarn shrugged and walked away. “All right then, fine. I suppose…”

  He hesitated for a minute then. Did he feel like going back to Silvo? What was back there for him? Nothing much, aside from his friend Nutmeg. Ralph was gone and he didn’t want to return to that job at the graveyard.

  He would have to look for work again, but he might not find anything in Silvo. Maybe he might lose his room in that boardinghouse, and then what would he do? Where would he go? It was such a lonely life.

  He might wind up on the road again anyway, traveling and searching for work. And if any place was as good as any other, then maybe Dosile would be good for him, and he might as well just go there now.

  Beck stood there, watching Tarn and wondering what he was thinking about. The man seemed to be an unusual person from what little Beck knew about him or had witnessed so far. Perhaps extraordinary, the way he had stood up to that bandit Carroll and the Vampiric. But there was so much Beck didn’t know about Tarn, couldn’t guess at, that it seemed impossible to figure him out.

  “But what’s waiting for you back in Silvo?” Tarn asked Beck now, changing tact, and honestly, very curious.

  It was foolish to hope that Beck might decide to go traveling with him. Beck probably had a better chance at life back in Silvo. He looked like a businessman, after all, bookish, smart, and suave. Why would he bother to risk his life on some foolhardy enterprise?

  Beck hesitated, and shook his head. “Nothing much. Just a room, some memories, and a friend. No job or prospects to speak of. No hope for the future.”

  That was just the strait that Tarn seemed to be in right now, an uncanny coincidence. Yet he couldn’t help feeling that there was more to it than that.

  Tarn walked up to Beck, pointing out into the distance. “And what’s out there? What’s waiting in Dosile or any place else for you?”

  Maybe he was pressing the matter too much. Maybe Beck would break, and decide to stay behind in Silvo, anyway.

  Beck hesitated and turned around, face-to-face with Tarn now. “The future or some hope for the future, anyway. Far away from where I’ve been and who I’ve been.”

  Why was he exposing so much of himself to Tarn, a complete stranger he barely knew? Beck wondered to himself. He never would have done such a thing before, son of a rat catcher that he was. What had changed in him these past couple of days?

  That’s exactly the way I feel, too. Tarn thought this to himself, but he didn’t dare say it to Beck, not right now. It seemed too personal in some ways.

  Beck stared up into Tarn’s eyes, perhaps sensing some similarity between them. “I want to make something of myself. I really do. Without any remorse or regret. No past or secrets haunting me. I want to be…an adventurer, I suppose.”

  Tarn smiled down at Beck, for he had felt the same way at times. “An explorer? A fighter? A seeker of wonders? A marvel to behold? A trail-blazer? With thrills and adventure galore?”

  Tarn waved his hand through the air, an exaggerated gesture like he could see it just now. And he could really see it for a moment, Tarn and Beck together, adventurers and explorers. It sounded like the perfect life for him with a friend by his side.

  Beck shook his head, thinking Tarn was not taking him seriously. “Oh, you don’t understand. You don’t know what it’s like.”

  Beck turned away, but Tarn grabbed hold of his arm, solemn. “I do know what it’s like, and it’s not as fun as you think. It can get pretty lonesome sometimes.”

  Beck turned back to Tarn, hesitant. He could see that loneliness in Tarn’s eyes, just the same as it was in his eyes, sometimes.

  “I just want to travel, that’s all. Get away from home.” Beck said, trying to be reasonable on an irrational matter. “Escape for a while. I don’t know how long I will be gone for. Maybe forever. But would you like to come with me?”

  The last part slipped out without Beck even thinking about it, without realizing that he would say such a thing. But as soon as he said it, Beck didn’t regret it. Not one bit, which surprised him all the more.

  He actually wanted to travel with this stranger, with this completely incredible, mysterious person Beck had just met. He might come to regret it later, of course, and curse and rue the day the words had slipped out of his mouth. But just now, just then, he didn’t regret it, not even a tiny bit. He was ready to go with this man.

  Tarn looked up at Beck, surprised that he was convinced. “Are you serious? You barely know me. I don’t know you at all. Well, I did see your apartment when I was trying to track you down. And there was this woman--”

  Beck stared at Tarn, somewhat shocked at what he was saying. “What? Never mind that
.” Beck shook his head. “You said so yourself. You don’t know me and I don’t know you. And it can get pretty lonesome sometimes traveling on your own. So why don’t we stick together?”

  Tarn gaped at Beck, then shook his head. “I’m confused.”

  Beck threw his hands up, excited or trying to rile himself up. “It’ll be perfect! We’ll travel together to Dosile or wherever else. We don’t know each other, so we’ll ask questions and spark up conversation.”

  “I suppose.” Tarn said.

  Beck pointed at Tarn. “You have experience traveling, right? You used to be a rogue or bandit like Carroll, right? You two knew each other.”

  Tarn sheepishly looked down. “Yeah, I used to travel a lot. And for a time, I was stuck with Carroll and his gang before I got away from that mess.”

  Beck threw his hands up. “Then that’s perfect! You have the experience and know-how with traveling. I don’t have any experience whatsoever. But I’m smart, and good with money.”

  Tarn was somewhat offended. “I’m smart and good with money, too.”

  Beck held up his hand, trying to defuse the situation. “I know. I’m just trying to bolster myself up so that I will have something to contribute to this partnership.”

  “Okay, okay.” Tarn said, somewhat mollified.

  Beck pointed at Tarn again. “As soon as we reach civilization, I’m going to find a way to earn us some money, and pay you back for your help. Maybe get a job with an accounting firm or somewhere.”

  Tarn nodded in understanding. “Oh, so that’s what you meant by being good with money. You’re an accountant?”

  Beck shrugged. “Yeah, sort of. I used to be a clerk with the Lavonya firm back in Silvo.”

  “Oh! That’s prestigious!” Tarn said.

  “Eh, sort of. See?” Beck said, excited. “We’re talking to each other, making conversation. By the time we reach Dosile or wherever else, we should know each other well enough to decide if we want to keep traveling together.”

  Tarn nodded, contemplating the situation. “I see. So it’s like a trial basis for a partnership or a traveling crew.”