Second String Savior

by Rick Gualtieri

  I shrugged, not sure how much I should say. “I don’t get the impression Sayuri’s the type to take no for an answer.”

  “She ain’t, but Ash is very persuasive, and Olivia was there to remind Sayuri that the blessing of our father can only be offered. She can’t hold you down and pour it down your throat, no matter how much she might want to. Oh, the drama and tongue wagglin’ that ensued. And here I thought this joke of a peace conference would be boring.”

  “I’m not sure I’d call it a joke.”

  “I would. All the battles and ridiculousness going on, it’s like the folks runnin’ this thing are looking to put on a show. I swear, I’ve seen less drama in a—”

  “HAIRLESS HOLY ONE! BURP DEMAND YOU!”

  “Oh, what now?” I muttered. “Excuse me for a—”

  Gary stepped in before I could turn away and grabbed hold of my wrist. Before I could ask him what he thought he was doing, though, I looked up and saw his eyes flash bright yellow.

  Uh oh. That can’t be good.

  “Don’t fight him, Jess,” Gary cried, his eyes reverting to normal but with a crazed look still in them. “Whatever happens, don’t. The ripples . . . something bad will happen.”

  “Why would I fight Burp?”

  “No, not—”

  “HAIRLESS HOLY ONE!!!”

  Dionaea stood up straight and cocked her head to the side, as if hearing a conversation only she was privy to. “Too late, darlin’. Something bad already happened.” She turned to me. “I just got word from Ash. That Freewill guy just tried to kill Turd and now everyone is asking for blood.”

  “He did what?” There came a crash from outside the cave, as if someone was beating up a tree trunk. Grrr! “Okay, let me go take care of this, whatever this is. Dionaea, Gary, try to find out what’s going on at the conference area. I’ll meet you there in a bit. Apparently, I have a Burp to deal with.”

  I headed to the cave entrance. Gary and Dionaea, meanwhile, stepped over to Phil and were hopefully figuring out what was happening in this madhouse.

  “HAIRLESS—”

  “I heard you the first time!”

  Burp had a heavy tree branch in one hand and a dead skunk in the other. As bad as he normally smelled, his new pet was not helping his cause.

  “But you no come.”

  “Yeah, it takes me a minute. I can’t just go poof!”

  Burp seemed to consider my words. After a moment, he tossed both his club and the dead skunk at my feet. Um, okay. Now what?

  I stood there awkwardly for several seconds as he glanced between me and the items, not knowing what to do, but then I remembered what Fluff had told me my first day here. Hopefully she was right.

  I picked up the skunk, holding my breath. “Um, thank you?” So far, so good with heeding Gary’s advice.

  “Hairless Holy One accept peace. Good.”

  “Yes, I—”

  “Because Burp have more important enemies to crush.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “T’lunta take everything from Burp. Freewill T’lunta kill mother, take father’s honor—”

  “You don’t know that!”

  “Freewill T’lunta is monster. Kill mother, then defeat mighty father. Burp must redeem honor.”

  “I’m sure there will be a chance to redeem everything, but I think that now might not be the best time—”

  “No! Now time!” He let out a roar and pounded his chest. Didn’t a dead skunk mean anything anymore?

  “Listen, I just heard there’s some bad stuff going on and that your dad might be in danger, so maybe we should focus on that instead?”

  In response, he beat his chest again. Screw it. I dropped the skunk, then pounded on my chest right back at him. Two could play this game. I must have been more intimidating than I thought, because he looked confused and cocked his head.

  “Really?”

  “Um, yes, really!” That must’ve been the Bigfoot equivalent of chill the frig out.

  “You accept Burp’s family?” he asked, his voice a little higher pitched than usual.

  “Of course. I cared about Bush. I just wish I could have saved her.”

  After a moment he nodded. “Hairless Holy One strong. Stronger than Burp, stronger even than Huge Yakman. Maybe strong enough to defeat freewill T’lunta.”

  “Maybe one day, but not—”

  “Yes! One day. Fight with Burp to restore honor.”

  “Definitely. Now let’s get going.” I started toward where I thought the arena was. Burp finally took the hint and started after me. But then, without warning, he scooped me up over his shoulder. “Hey!”

  “This way faster!” He took off and it was almost as if the trees moved aside for him. “We save Turd together!”

  His heart was in the right place, even if his phrasing needed work.

  After a few minutes of playing Tarzan and Jane through the frozen woods of Canada, we emerged in the arena just in time to hear the words, “You betray the spirits! You betray our honor!” being roared.

  “Why Grulg shouting?” Burp asked as he skidded to a halt and put me down. “Why they surrounding mighty Turd?”

  We pushed our way through the crowd to get a better look just as the great green moderator pulsed over what looked like a bit of broken plastic in the middle of the arena.

  Was that . . . an MP3 player?

  Chapter Forty-Four: Alea Iacta Est

  I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the chaos. In the space of a few seconds the assembled vampires and Sasquatches had both seemingly turned on themselves, with the Freewill dude getting his butt kicked on one side while Turd was being manhandled on the other.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Burp confused.”

  “You’re not the only one.” My confusion only increased as I watched one of the vamp’s, the sleazy one who’d I’d seen wheeling and dealing with Turd, start pummeling the snot out of the ubervamp. The fire inside me started to burn and I could feel my head heating up.

  I remembered what Gary said. Maybe he hadn’t been warning me about Burp after all.

  “Father!” Burp tried to rush into the wall of Sasquatches but just ended up being backhanded away.

  It would be so easy. All I needed to do was wade into the sea of vampires and let my hair do the rest.

  The ripples . . . something bad will happen.

  No! I turned tail and ran as fast as I could back to the cover of the forest. Behind me I could hear the war cries, the roar of the crowd, and it took all my willpower not to run right back there and kick every last vampire into dust, assuming one could kick them into dust.

  I refused to give in, even as the crowd grew ever louder despite me moving away from it. It was like their cries echoed in my ears, almost as if they were surrounding me, yet. . .

  I skidded to a halt, suddenly dizzy, grabbing my temples as the world whirled around me. I couldn’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe? “Why?” I gasped as the shadows of the forest seemed to take on a life of their own, gathering around me.

  Chattering noises came from the recesses of the underbrush. It combined with the unending roar of the crowd until it was too much. Everything became hazy, but I started running again regardless, moving aimlessly until, somehow, I came to a riverbank. Before me, the water churned and frothed, spilling over the shore. I had a bad feeling about this. The chattering grew even louder, and the shadows converged around me, blocking out all the light.

  “Dís-One thanks you,” a voice whispered in my ear. “You bring so much fear and indecision back with you.”

  I screamed as a thousand needle-sharp teeth sank into my shoulder. Everything faded to black.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “So, are your parents aware of your bullying problem, Jessie?” That voice—that nasal, cloying voice—echoed in my ears. I snapped open my eyes and found Counselor Flake peering over her glasses at me.

  Why did it have to be this day? “You can call my dad. He’s a cop�
�”

  “What about your mother, Jessie?”

  Not this question again. I pounded my fists against the side of my seat. “My mother left when I was a baby.”

  “So . . . she abandoned you?”

  I wanted to scream at the helpful woman with her bland smile and pitying look in her eyes. She was about to ask if I was angry. Of course, I was angry. What a stupid question!

  “Now, Jessie, you know it’s not okay to use violence against a fellow student.”

  Of course, I know, I didn’t even hit them. I just took the fall for it.

  “You could have really hurt someone.”

  “I didn’t even touch him!” At least in my dream I could snap back at that obnoxious woman and her condescension. “But I wish I had!”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  My eyes snapped open again, and I was sitting at my own table, my dad shaking his head at me. “Why, Jessie, why would you do that?”

  I didn’t want to go through this again, not now, not ever.

  “Hey, look. It’s Backdoor Jess.”

  I blinked again, and this time I was in a hallway, hearing the whispers of the other kids and seeing their dirty looks.

  “Stop it! These are just a bunch of stupid memories. It doesn’t matter. None of this matters!” If the other students heard me, they gave me no heed, continuing to point and whisper.

  Your own mother didn’t want you. That sounded like my own voice, the one I kept hidden deep inside.

  Shut up, Jessie, just shut up!

  I blinked again, and this time I was in my room, reading what people had posted about me on social media. A picture of my former friend lay shattered on my desk.

  “This is why you don’t have any friends.”

  “Shut up!” I yelled. For a moment it became deathly quiet. All I could hear was my heart pounding and the blood rushing to my head.

  Then I blinked again, and this time I was stuck in an anti-montage, one in which I got to relive every hit I ever took, every tumble, and every beat down I’d experienced in class. In the space of seconds, I was tripped, flipped, punched, and kicked more times than I could count.

  I looked up and saw Sensei towering over where I lay.

  “You should pay attention a little more, Jessie. You might fucking learn something.” She pulled me up and promptly turned it into a judo throw. “Did you see that coming?”

  I landed hard, feeling the mat turn to rough tar paper beneath me. I rolled to my feet and found myself back on the windy rooftop in Worcester. “Who chose me?” I cried to the empty sky. “Who chose me?”

  “You already know the answer, don’t you?”

  Dís-One’s voice again tickled my ear as the world went dark, leaving me surrounded by shadows . . . some darker than others.

  “What do you want from me? A greatest-hits of my suffering? Take it! Enjoy all the stupidity and the humiliation. Go on, choke on it for all I care.”

  “Not yet,” Dís-One hissed in my ear. “You’ve become numb, not as delicious, but I think there is more to see, something you still do not wish to face.”

  “What?”

  “Think very carefully. Let what you’ve buried be set free. It should be . . . scrumptious.”

  “Didn’t your parents ever tell you it’s rude to play with your food?” Everything felt swirly and weird like I’d been spinning for too long.

  Dís-One laughed. “Open your eyes and let us taste these final morsels together.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  I opened my eyes and found myself in Phil’s kitchen.

  “You did this?! What was in that damn dye?”

  “Whatever the package said was in it. I got it from some Indian market over in Shrewsbury.”

  Time seemed to speed up, and now I was sitting with Phil. We were waiting for Gary to clean up following our training and she’d just handed me a glass of tea. I looked down at it—bright red, so bright red.

  No. Please don’t make me hear his words.

  “Ananke’s Tears will stain anything it touches a bright red. It’s . . . hard to miss.”

  It was impossible. It was—

  “Don’t make me say it,” I begged as I slumped to my knees. I could hear Dís-One breathing in my ear, tickling my earlobe with every exhale. “Please don’t make me say it.”

  “It might make you feel better, Jessie. Haven’t you been holding onto this tasty doubt for far too long?”

  He was right. There’d been clues, breadcrumbs, but I’d mostly ignored them, trying to live in my happy little world where the superheroes were the good guys. “Please don’t make me say it.”

  Not possible.

  Mr. Keyne appeared in front of me and I listened as he again told me that he’d never given the flower to any human or Magi. But then my memories betrayed me again and I saw Yush striding through Phil’s apartment as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  Furry paws hugged me from behind. “You’ll feel better soon, yes? Just say it.”

  “Mr. Keyne gave Yush the flower and she gave it to Phil,” I said. “It was in the tea . . . in the hair color. They hid it from me, and they lied. They all—”

  Dís pressed a digit over my lips—eww, fishy. “No, say what has been bothering you. Let that truth out.”

  I felt myself falling again, and once more I saw myself being pulled away from the bright light of a star. This time I could feel the darkness enveloping me, even taste it. I knew the bitter taste all too well. It was like blood—my blood.

  “Confess, Jessie. Let that dark part out of hiding and give it its due.”

  I blinked and saw a shadowy version of myself towering over me.

  “You were never chosen . . . never wanted,” Shadow-Me explained. “You could be replaced by literally anyone. You are unnecessary, useless, nothing special at all.”

  In that moment I understood everything, finally breaking the spell. My eyes fluttered open and I could feel blood still oozing from my shoulder. I looked up and saw three figures standing over me.

  “Thank you, noble kushtaka,” Ash said, her alien eyes unreadable behind her mask. “You have prevented a grave disservice to fate. One can only speculate what sort of damage a false Icon could do in these dangerous times.” She spun her spear around and slammed the shaft into the wound on my shoulder. I should have screamed, knew it should have hurt, but instead all I felt was numb pressure.

  Dís-One cackled and clapped. “Then my debt is repaid, yes? Dís-One is free?”

  “Yes.” She glanced at the third member of this party, wearing his familiar flannel shirt again. Not you, too. “Both of you have paid your debts, but I’m afraid you have more to atone for, Mr. Keyne.”

  Ash twisted the spear, and I turned my head to see a strange black ichor oozing from the wound on my shoulder. What the? Before I could summon the strength to ask, she twirled her spear around and slashed through my sleeve with the razor-sharp head. “Psevdí eikóna—let it be marked upon you so no one else may be fooled.”

  Okay, this time it really hurt. I screamed as the spearhead sliced into my forearm. In my periphery I could see my hair spark once and then fade to its natural color. Ash continued to slice my arm, and my agony increased as I could feel additional wounds opening up on my torso, chest, and legs. Everything my hair had healed. It was being undone!

  “Lady Ash, please stop!” Mr. Keyne pleaded. “Without Ananke’s Tears in her blood she’ll—”

  “Silence! This farce ends now!”

  Mr. Keyne moved to stop her, and she whirled her spear to menace him. I knew the truth now. I was nothing as far as destiny was concerned.

  But that didn’t mean I couldn’t still do the right thing.

  I reached up and grabbed the hem of Ash’s robe to stop her from hurting him. My efforts drew the business end of her spear instead. I let out one last gasp as it pierced my flesh, and then I was sent tumbling into blissful darkness.

  Chapter Forty-Five: Falling Forever

  Cold . . . s
o very cold . . . then I felt a bit of warmth. I slowly opened my eyes, but it was bright, too bright.

  “You can rest if you want to, Jessie. You have earned it.”

  That voice . . . so deep and crackly, but warm and soft. I opened my eyes again and saw a shadow looming over me. It reached down and cradled me in powerful, hairy arms.

  “Bush? Is that you?” I choked out. “Where am I?”

  “These are the woods where our ancestors lay,” she replied, her English suddenly much improved. “The Woods of Mourning, our sacred place. Here those who have passed watch and guide those who still walk in the light. We also guide those from our family at the time of crossing.”

  I coughed. Something warm and sticky filled my mouth. I leaned against the mountain of fur. She didn’t even smell bad in this place. I couldn’t hear her heartbeat, but I could feel her steady breathing, and she was so warm . . . so very warm. “Does this mean. . .?”

  She brushed the hair out of my eyes. “Not yet, but soon, if you wish. Here, let me help you.”

  Somehow, I found myself standing again. We were back in the clearing with the red leaves. I looked down and saw I was wearing a nice clean Spidey shirt and some jeans. Tears welled in my eyes as I saw Bush the way I first saw her, tall and proud. She took my hand, so tiny in hers. “How am I here?”

  “You joined my family when you agreed to be my cub’s mate,”

  “What?! Hang on a minute, I d-didn’t, I mean, when did I. . . ?”

  “I was surprised as well when you accepted his family and returned the mating cry, but I suppose true love knows no boundaries—”

  “No, no, no. That was a mistake. I mean, I wouldn’t want to get into Sasquatch heaven under false pretenses.”

  Bush burst into howls of laughter. “Oh, Jessie, it only matters that you said you would accept us, and I accepted you in return.” She picked up my hand and pressed it over her heart. “As I said, true love knows no boundaries. Although, if you should choose not to come with me, I think you may have a great deal of explaining to do to my son.”