Emilia seemed to be in her mid-twenties. She was pretty, with short, curly hair, olive skin, big eyes, and a curvy body. She wore a torn, dirty black dress and carried her pumps in her hand as she gingerly picked her steps through the forest. Her pantyhose were a mess, with sticks and leaves stuck in them.
She stared at the ground, her eyes wild, sobbing and holding herself tightly like she would otherwise fly apart. Every time she glanced up and saw a magicycle, she’d shudder and wail, her sobbing getting harder.
Henry felt bad for her, but there were very few sounds he hated more than a crying woman. The noise was cutting right through his spine and making his nerves raw.
When they got back to the Battlewagon, Jason and Keeja hadn’t returned yet, but the rest of the group was standing in the distance. Bezzi-ibbi was the first to notice their arrival and ran out to greet them. Henry thought the kid looked relieved, which was strange. As soon as Emilia saw the Mo’hali boy, she completely lost her composure again. She went into hysterics, screaming bloody murder. Gonzo tried to calm her down, but wasn’t having much success.
Henry didn’t speak much Spanish, but he heard “Diablo” and several other interesting words. Great. This should be wonderful.
Gonzo led the traumatized woman away, speaking quickly and quietly. Henry gestured the very confused-looking Bezzi-ibbi closer and said softly, “Hey, kid, do me a favor. Go with Vitaliya and pick up the magicycle we left behind.”
Bezzi-ibbi nodded and got behind Vitaliya on the back of her magicycle. The red-haired woman seemed to be dividing her attention between Gonzo, and trying to see on the other side of the Battlewagon. Henry assumed she was probably looking for Tony. A flash of annoyance crossed her face, but as soon as Bezzi-ibbi was settled, she gunned the throttle and headed back so Bezzi-ibbi could fetch Gonzo’s vehicle.
Henry rounded the Battlewagon and saw most of the group standing off to one side, staring at a tall, black woman in a dark, sequined dress. She wore a little black backpack. Henry noticed that she was really tall, maybe even a little taller than Jason. She had fantastic legs.
Then she turned around, smiling. Henry smiled back and thought, That is definitely a drag queen. He remembered how he had been looking at her legs and shrugged. Shit happens.
The tall queen was wearing purple lipstick and eyeshadow with white highlights. Her hair, probably a wig, was straightened and fanned out around her, an artistic fake flower woven into one strand. She said, “Oh, another one. Are you gonna give me the cold shoulder too? All these other people keep staring at me. It’s like they’d never seen such a fierce bitch before.
“I mean, I realize I’m on another world. You’d think that with animal people and shit walking around, people would have more interesting things to look at than li’l ol’ me.”
Henry quickly adapted to the situation. “It’s okay, girl, it must be hard to be so fabulous.”
“Oh, it most definitely is. It figures that I’d get zapped to a place like this on my way home from the club. And now here I am, stuck on some busta ass planet, but the Scooby Gang that saved me is acting all goofy.”
“What did they save you from?”
“I was feeling hungry. I was thinking about eating some berries. It turns out they’re poisonous. Silly me!” The tall queen giggled. “My name is Thirsty. Thirsty Zha Zha.”
“Henry.”
“Nice to meet you! Someone will finally talk to me!”
“Yeah, no problem.”
“So can you tell me what the hell happens now?” Thirsty adjusted her backpack’s straps.
Henry really did have to admit that in his opinion, she was a pretty good drag queen. He found it humorous that he actually knew something about drag queens and had reason to call on that knowledge on an alien planet.
He’d gotten bored in the past after his divorce and watched some Drag Race on TV. When he was younger, there would have been no way he would have watched a show about drag on TV. But some of the friendships he’d made over the course of his life had opened his eyes.
Ever since he was close friends with his gay battle buddy Benjamin in the Army, he’d felt comfortable around gay people and with gay TV programming in the US. After discovering drag culture, Henry was actually surprised to realize it interested him. He himself would never be an artist, but he could recognize real art in others.
Being able to actually act on creativity was one of the things that Henry most envied about Jason, in fact. From coding, to drawing, to singing, it seemed like Jason could express himself any way he wanted. Henry knew he sang like a stepped-on frog. It was awful. He hated even hearing recordings of his regular speaking voice.
He said, “Calm down, girl. Let me go talk to my people.”
“Okay, honey, I’ll be right here. It’s not like I’m going anywhere else.”
Henry walked over to the rest of the conspicuous group, who mostly looked freaked out and uncomfortable. He nudged Mareen and whispered, “Babe, why are you all just standing around and staring at Thirsty?”
Mareen put her mouth right in Henry’s ear and whispered, “Henry, I don’t think that woman is really a woman.”
“No shit. That’s a guy in drag.”
“You mean a…a homosexual?” Mareen sounded like she couldn’t believe it.
Uluula drifted over and must have heard Mareen. “That is a man? Why is he wearing women’s clothing? Why did you call him ‘girl’ in English?”
That’s right, most everyone can speak English now. “He is what’s called a drag queen. While he’s in drag, calling him female pronouns is appropriate. Most drag queens are gay, but Thirsty definitely is.”
“But why?” Uluula asked, frowning and staring at Thirsty.
“It’s a type of performance, a type of art. And stop staring. It’s rude.”
“Henry Sato, I am not staring.” Uluula’s voice was curt.
Henry sighed and gave his attention back to Mareen. “So you saved her from some berries or something?”
“Yes,” Mareen said, trying to watch Thirsty without staring. “He had a whole pile of poisonous berries and he was going to eat them. If we had gotten there a few minutes later, he would have been dead.”
“Well, good thing you got there in time, but while he’s in drag, you should probably call him, ‘she.’”
Mareen ignored Henry’s correction. “Dying might have been for the best.” She didn’t meet his eyes.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Henry was aghast. He knew Uluula was homophobic, but that was apparently a normal Areva thing. Mareen was a big-hearted human girl. What the hell?
“Henry, this planet is not the planet you come from. People don’t like…gay…men here. Women outnumber men three to one. If a homosexual man…partners…he will leave six more women to be absorbed into other families or left adrift.”
Henry got the math, but he shook his head and asked, “What does that matter? There are still gay people, right? What about women?”
Mareen looked uncomfortable. “Women who…prefer the company of women are usually absorbed into families, often with a sister or some other family member. But even if they aren’t, they live and let live. It isn’t uncommon for them to have a long-term partner.”
“So only gay men are discriminated against?”
Uluula spoke up, her voice a deadpan. “In most Areva-controlled territories, they are sent away to colonize new worlds or work in space stations.”
“So they’re segregated.” Henry blinked rapidly. He glanced around at the others. Even Yanno-ibbi seemed extremely uncomfortable and wouldn’t look at Thirsty.
I can’t fucking believe this. I’m the most tolerant person here? Seriously? Me? Henry walked back to Thirsty Zha Zha. He had a feeling the situation was going to get progressively more awkward.
* * *
Jason was almost finished being towed back to camp by Keeja. Running through a dungeon with the High Priestess was one of the strangest things he’d done on Ludus so far.
He had felt like he was walking following around a high-level player in a game using a God mode cheat. It was utterly ridiculous how easily Keeja had wrecked the whole dungeon, demolishing every challenge. Jason even got a very impressive amount of loot to bring back. Keeja had only taken the music player from the treasure room.
Jason had also been able to witness a number of abilities he might be able to replicate with his magic. He was happy that he had so much research to do, but he thought the whole experience of being powerleveled in real life on an alien planet was so bizarre, his dreams might be confused for week.
However, then he got back to the Battlewagon and noticed Henry chatting with a tall drag queen while Gonzo had a strange, sniffling woman off to one side, talking softly. The rest of the group was standing some distance away, staring at Henry and the drag queen while trying to hide it with various degrees of success.
What in the hell is this? As Keeja flew in for a landing, she finally released control of Jason and he teleported down to the ground. As soon as the woman Gonzo was comforting saw them, she started screaming at the top of her lungs, tearing at her hair.
What the eff…Jason was stunned to immobility.
In the next few minutes, Jason met with Henry and stepped away from the others to discuss all the new developments. The entire time they had their quick conversation, Emilia continued to wail and the majority of the group maintained their strange standoff with Thirsty Zha Zha. Thirsty took a mirror out of her backpack and played with her hair.
Jason felt a headache developing, especially when Henry relayed the depths of the bigotry against gay men on Ludus and apparently the rest of the universe. What the hell are we going to do about this? Jason was absently disappointed with people in general and Uluula in particular.
One thing he knew for sure: They were going to help other people from Earth, period. If he was honest with himself, Thirsty made him a little nervous, a little uncomfortable too. He didn’t hate gay people or anything, but he wasn’t like Henry. He couldn’t just meet random new people everywhere he went and make friends at the drop of a hat. Jason could be socially awkward even around people he actually related to.
But Thirsty was from Canada and said he used to visit NYC a lot. Not only was he, she, whatever from Earth, he was even from the same continent as Jason. They were going to help him. Jason just wished that for once on Ludus there would be a problem that wasn’t complicated by culture clashes.
Jason walked towards to Gonzo and gestured him over. Emilia tried to grab at the spy, attempting to make him stay, but he gently removed her hands. As soon as he disentangled himself, the woman just seemed to deflate, sitting on the ground.
“How is it going?” Jason asked.
Gonzo frowned. “I’ve tried to tell her that she isn’t dreaming, that this is real and it isn’t Hell, but she’s hysterical. She didn’t meet Dolos or get an orb. She just appeared in the middle of the forest with a note in Spanish about settling Ludus and warning her to beware of monsters. Then she stumbled around for a long time until the demon wolves almost got her. She’s been in a tree for half a day. Best I can tell, she hadn’t eaten or drank anything for 36 hours or so.”
“Wow. That…really sucks. You gave her food and water, right?”
“Of course,” Gonzo replied. “She’s just really badly shaken. If anything, I think she’s just a normal person and reacting to this world like a normal person would.”
Keeja walked over, joining them. “What about the homosexual. Is he hurt?”
Jason frowned. “That’s kind of rude, and Henry didn’t tell me…”
Keeja shouted towards the tall drag queen, “Hey, homosexual!”
Thirsty Zha Zha slowly lowered her mirror and said, “I know you are not talking to me with that rude-ass tone of voice, little sister. You best come correct before we have issues.”
“Shut up and answer a question. Are you hurt?”
“No, but if you think—”
“Did you swallow an orb?”
“I’ve swallowed a lot of things, but do you mean that silver pill thing in the box? Hell yeah, it sounded cool. Nothing happened, though.”
“Didn’t the directions say to take the orb before bed?”
“Yes, but why does a—”
Thirsty didn’t get a chance to utter another word. Keeja dashed forward, jumping up to touch the queen’s forehead. Thirsty immediately collapsed in a boneless heap.
Keeja dusted her hands. “I hope I got here fast enough. The fool was courting death or worse. Always follow directions when dealing with magical weapons.”
Jason internally groaned. Things had been difficult enough, but the group had begun to settle into a routine. However, he could tell everything was just going to get vastly more complicated. At the very least, the group dynamics were going to change.
The rest of the day was a blur. The group didn’t start to travel again, they all just made camp in place. Jason tried to make sure everyone had a place to sleep as well as necessary basic gear. Finally, night fell and nobody stayed up late. The whole group awkwardly went to sleep, minus the first Mo’hali on watch.
The next morning, Gonzo woke to find Emilia dead in her blankets. She’d found a knife and slashed her wrists. She looked peaceful, but Jason felt his heart grow cold. Ludus had claimed yet another victim. They would never even know her story.
He wondered if her family would ever know what had happened to her. Probably not. The thought made him feel desperately lonely. He went to find Uluula and buried his face in her hair, hugging her tightly.
Thank God he had his fierce little anchor in the world, an anchor on reality. Uluula patted his arm and whispered, “What?”
Jason just hugged her tighter.
Culture Club
As the group prepared for the day, the atmosphere was somber and quiet. News of Emilia’s death had spread instantly after Gonzo’s shout. Practical as always, Henry had gone off into the woods to give the dead girl’s body a proper burial. Nobody else had felt led to go with him; death on Ludus wasn’t exactly a shock to anyone. Gonzo did say a prayer over the body before Henry left, though.
Bezzi-ibbi felt guilty. His whiskers drooped and his tail dragged. He knew Yanno-ibbi and Rark-han both felt the same way. They’d all been on guard shifts, and none of them had noticed the smell of blood until Emilia was found dead.
If they’d been paying attention, she might still have been alive.
Bezzi-ibbi knew he could make excuses for himself. He had been focused on scanning for monsters, exterior dangers. He had been patrolling the perimeter. He’d been tired. But he also knew that he could have noticed something was wrong, too. His sense of smell wasn’t at the same level as an animal’s, or even other races of Mo’hali, but it was better than a Terran’s. He should have caught the smell of blood.
Bezzi-ibbi’s tutors hadn’t always had an easy time with him in the past. He had preferred running through the alleys of Mirana, learning to play musical instruments and singing; studying was not his favorite activity. However, when he did sit down to study, he’d tried to take it seriously. One lesson that had stuck with him was how to objectively frame a situation, how to see the truth of a matter, even if was unpleasant.
Bezzi-ibbi had failed the group. Nobody knew when Emilia had committed suicide, and Henry wouldn’t tell them how long she’d been dead for, a fact he could determine from his EMT experience. However, the fact was Bezzi-ibbi had had the last watch. Even if she’d already taken her own life, he should have at least noticed.
He felt ashamed. He hadn’t liked Emilia. She had acted hysterical and hadn’t been adapting to the reality of her situation. She had been weak. Bezzi-ibbi knew and respected Terrans like Jason, and Henry, and Mareen. They were tough and smart. They didn’t show the back of their neck to any situation. In comparison, Emilia had been so scared she couldn’t talk, couldn’t function.
Bezzi-ibbi’s first reaction when he’d heard Emilia was dead had been one of re
lief. He’d tried to convince himself he was happy that she had found peace, but the reality was he was just glad he wouldn’t have to hear her wailing anymore.
This attitude was unacceptable; logical, but unacceptable. For Bezzi-ibbi to be a good Clan chief, much less a proper Jaguar Troubadour, he needed to understand and empathize with others. He could still be firm; he didn’t have to agree with everyone else. He could even disagree with a blade. But to feel so little about the death of an innocent person bothered him.
Was he truly really becoming so callous, before even reaching adulthood? He knew he was a little unbalanced from Thirsty Zha Zha being around too, but that was even less of an excuse for so deeply failing at his duty.
Bezzi-ibbi felt the Great Creator had a plan for him. He even thought he had a good idea what his destiny was, and letting his heart harden would be spitting on the gift he’d been given. It made him want to hide his eyes from the light of the day. No more, though. He was going to correct the situation. What better way to soften his heart than to sincerely get to know someone who made him uncomfortable? Just like Henna-ibbi always said, the best way to grow stronger was to face the whip directly and cover your fangs.
Bezzi-ibbi walked through the camp as everyone else prepared to leave for the day. With Henry gone, Mareen was doing the majority of the heavy lifting. She could carry their thick tents with little effort. Aodh helped her break down the equipment.
Rark-han and Yanno-ibbi worked to hide any trace that the camp had existed. Towards that end, before they left, Henry would cover the camp’s male and female slit trenches, too. It only took him a minute to do so using magic.
Gonzo and Vitaliya had accompanied Uluula to the nearby river to fill their purifying, chilling water containers. Henry called them “water zappers.” Bezzi-ibbi didn’t know how the containers worked, just what they did. After being filled with water, if a magic stone was pressed to the power-point for a few seconds, they’d create clean, cool water for the day.
Bezzi-ibbi had no idea where Keeja was. She still hadn’t shown up yet for the day. However, Thirsty Zha Zha had headed down to the river earlier. Bezzi-ibbi’s sharp ears had caught her saying something about “taking her face off.” He had no idea what it meant. He began heading to the river and noticed Jason ahead of him.
Delvers LLC: Obligations Incurred Page 13
