by Mark Tufo
“We shouldn’t stay here too long,” Linnick said after a while. I was alternating between keeping an eye on the horizon, a resting Tommy, and a belly-gurgling Bill. When I didn’t immediately reply, she continued. “If that was indeed a patrol, they will most likely be expected to check in with someone…”
“And when they don’t they’re going to send more to investigate. You’re right. Just a little more time; Tommy still doesn’t look all that well.”
“He’ll look worse dead.”
“I mean, I guess there’s that. But technically, he already is.”
“Is that what you truly believe? Are you not taking in everything around you? We’re dead in the worlds we knew, but we are very much alive in this one.”
“I’m not dead.”
“Oh, but you are, or you could not be here.”
I guess I knew that all along, but it didn’t stop me from trying to ignore the facts. It’s not easy believing yourself deceased. That hardly even makes sense to say, and I’m actually going through it. I didn’t argue with her, but I stood, wanting to get away from her. That in itself was futile, considering she was still in my pocket. That’s how much she had me befuddled.
“She’s right,” Tommy said. He was awake, but he had not opened his eyes.
“I know, I know. I guess I’ve always known, just don’t want to admit it. My state of animation is my own business. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been gutted.”
“Well, I mean, technically…you have been.”
He laughed. He still had large black circles under his eyes, but at least some color was coming back to his features through that pallid, washed out non-color he had been sporting.
I sat down next to him. “You able to talk?”
“Yeah, I’d prefer it. Helps to keep my mind off the pain.”
“When we were fighting the demons, I had a revelation, almost. Well, not almost, it was a total revelation to me anyway. Though, I’m sure not to you.”
“Ask the question, Mr. T.”
“This was where vampirism was created, wasn’t it.” I ended that with the upward lilt of a question, but I did not have much doubt in the statement. “Why?”
“The origin is mostly correct; I think possibly a level or two from this one. The ‘why’ has many possible answers. The most likely is that demons were creating a way to get past the guardians of this place and establish themselves into other worlds.”
“Much easier to get a virus past than a whole being,” I reasoned out. “Makes sense.”
“Fortunately, or possibly unfortunately for us, they were only able to get the virus out and into one world before they were discovered and dealt with.”
“Us? Our place was the only one infected? Out of potentially billions?”
“It had to start somewhere.”
“I suppose, but just….damn.”
“Then to top it off, it didn’t have the desired results they were looking for. The demons that had created this virus thought the infected humans would succumb to the demon inserted into them. Instead, we assimilated the virus and made it our own, kept most of our humanity intact.”
“So…wait one…I had a demon inserted in me?”
“In a manner of speaking. It was mostly inert. The first blood feeding is supposed to jump start it into existence. Instead, as the host, we killed the parasite. A side-effect they could not have known about was the incredible boost to our immune system. We no sooner are turned when our bodies begin to heal themselves of every ailment and foreign body.”
I sat back down, this time hard, my hand to my forehead as I wrestled with this new knowledge. “We’re basically just a failed experiment to break out of jail, then?”
“If that’s the way you want to see it, yes.”
“How else can I? We are born from evil with the intention to harbor evil and bring more evil to the world.”
“Yet, is that what happened, Mr. T? Are you eviler than you were? Do you wish to harm others merely for the sake of it? Our bodies destroyed the demon. Fundamentally, we are still who we have always been. Of course, our immune response cannot heal the mind; if disease is housed there, it now has a powerful vehicle to further its cause.”
“You realize we are attempting to save one that has little regard for any life, don’t you?”
“She is my sister. She has been here for nearly two hundred years. Surely she has learned the error of her ways by now.”
Chapter 12
ELIZA’S RETURN
“You forget yourself, Jazmixer,” Eliza said as she sat back on her heels, her face coated in his blood. “There were times, out of necessity, that I dined on lesser animals, cows, horses, even a dog or two. And I can unequivocally say that out of them all, you are the foulest tasting creature I have ever run across.”
“Finish me,” Jazmixer said softly, his throat burning in pain, his head hot with fever.
“You mean kill you? Heavens no. You’re going to help me get out of this place and back to where I rightfully belong.”
Jazmixer coughed out some blood as he laughed. “Out? There is no out. We have been trying since time immemorial.”
“It says a lot about a place when the inhabitants are doing everything in their power to leave. Does it not? Fear not, I can feel that my idiot brother has come to my rescue and though he is as thick as ogre hide when it comes to me, he has strong connections to other realms. We will escape this place and you will be my pet for a great many years, for I should so like to repay you for the hospitality you have bestowed upon me.” Eliza dragged the demon closer to the fire.
“I want you to remember one thing,” she said as she moved in close to his massive head and face. “I made you, and as the vampire that made you, I own you. You may believe that you have free will, but alas, that is just an illusion. You are bound to do as I say. Shall we perform a little test of my words? Hmmm?” The corners of her mouth pulled up in a smile.
“Oh, my poor dear! Are you cold? You’re shivering. That’s just the virus running its course. Here, let us get you even closer to the warming flame.”
Eliza placed Jazmixer’s foot into the flame. He screamed out in pain but she held fast, her hand and arm burning, as was his foot.
“I’m going to let go now,” she said over the searing of flesh. “But you’re not going to move.”
Jazmixer howled in pain as his foot stayed suspended over the flame, he could smell himself cooking, his skin was blackening and splitting open and there was a sizzle and pop as his grease landed in the fire.
“Your blood may taste horrible but your flesh smells heavenly! Would you mind if I take a bite? It will be small, I assure you. I wouldn’t be so famished if you had shared more of your meals. I’m not sure what that slop was you were feeding me, but you will have to give me the recipe because that is what you will be eating for all time. For as long as I decide to keep you, that is.” She paused to reflect. “I realize that I was created down here, but I’ll admit a lot of ignorance in regard to the rules. When I finally grow tired of you and rip your still beating heart from your chest, who comes to collect you? Not your body…I’ll leave that for the carrion birds and worms. And certainly not your soul.” She laughed. “That departed the moment I turned you. Oh, talk about your own special hell. Wandering aimlessly, without purpose, forever. Who came up with purgatory? The only reason for nothingness is unbearable torture. I don’t know…but if I ever find out whose idea this was I will have them pay as well. Where were we? My head is getting dizzy from the crackling of your skin.”
“My…my leg!” he managed to get out between heaving spasms as pain racked his entire body into stiff convulsions.
“Oh, go ahead and move it. I didn’t realize you were going to be such a meater.”
Jazmixer moved his leg quickly but did not touch it. A large swath of burnt skin hung down. The demon howled as Eliza ripped it free and began to chew on it.
“A little salt and I think we
could sell this at County Fairs!” she exclaimed. She gripped part of his calf muscle and tore it free. The pain he’d experienced before had done little to prepare him for what he was experiencing now. Any higher function beyond merely staying conscious was out of the question. Eliza dangled the meat in front of him and leaned in to begin eating it. When she was done she slapped the side of his face, hard. “I think you and I are going to have…well, I don’t want to say a wonderful relationship. For me, it might be…not so much for you! For you, it is going to be one of never ending pain and misery punctuated by a brutal death where you find your spirit and your ego will forever be separate. That doesn’t sound so bad in the abstract, but trust me, my pet; it’s worse than you can imagine. I’ll let you rest tonight, then tomorrow we need to figure out how to lead my brother here. Should I act surprised and relieved when he gets here or admonish him for taking so long?” Eliza stood up, placing her hand against Jazmixer’s damaged leg. “Sorry.” Then she patted the area, he could do nothing but pass out.
Chapter 13
MIKE JOURNAL ENTRY 10
I watched Tommy stand straight up; looked like he’d been stabbed in the ass, he shot up so fast. And knowing this place, that very well could have been the case. I prepared to move quickly myself just in case something popped out of the ground.
“You alright?” I asked doing a quick scan of our surroundings.
“Good news, Mr. T.” He was wearing a grin that nearly touched his ears.
“Yeah? You found a way out?”
“I found my sister!”
Not really the response I was hoping for, yet I guessed it was the one coming.
“I knew she was on another level, but it was vague, like just wisps of smoke in the distance, but something has changed. She’s shining like a beacon now.”
“What’s changed?” Instead of elation, I felt suspicion. “Why all of a sudden has she gone from dark to bright?”
“Maybe she knows I’m near–maybe she’s calling for help. We need to go!”
“Nothing about this seems…odd to you?”
“Should it?” he asked and I kid you not, he was doe-eyed. Looked like he’d just fallen off the apple cart.
“Alright. You already said there is a confluence of events happening possibly because of my presence. Doesn’t this fit in neatly with that as well?”
“Does it matter?”
“Well, that’s a change of tune.”
“It matters little why; she is the reason I am here. Now it will be easier to get to her.”
“Or more likely fall into the hands of whoever is setting up the trap.”
“I’m leaving. I have a way for us to get through the next gate, but it is not an indefinite window. Are you coming?”
“Tallboat, I need down.” Linnick urged.
“Can it wait? I’m right in the middle of something,” I told her.
“Oh, it can wait. If you don’t mind a messy pocket.”
“Fine, fine.” I put my hand out so she could climb onto it and began to lean over.
“I would like a little privacy.”
“Are you kidding me? Nobody’s going to watch.”
“I will go in your hand, then.”
“Hold on, hold on,” I told her as I took a few steps away from the others. I leaned over and was gently allowing her to get onto the ground.
“Tallboat,” she whispered, “he is not being truthful.” The sentence hit me hard, like I’d been punched with it.
“What do you mean?”
“Were my words not clear enough?”
“Sorry, yes. What is he lying about?”
“I do not know exactly. I only know that he is not being truthful. He is very guarded and adept at hiding his true intentions. You need to be extremely careful.”
“Everything alright?” Tommy asked.
“Yeah, yeah, she’s just out of toilet paper,” I told him.
“Now turn around,” Linnick demanded.
“What?”
“Now that I’m down…”
“Oh right.” I waited a solid minute then bent back down so she could get back in my pocket. I walked back over to Tommy; I could see him just itching to get going. Bill had yet to form up into an upright position. He seemed about as sure as I did about going. “This next gate, how are we getting through it?”
“I have a way,” he said.
“I assumed that. I’m asking you specifically, how?”
He paused then looked at me, his countenance changed from mirth to suspicion to something else altogether. Like, maybe menace. I got a feeling that if I didn’t willingly go, he would forcibly persuade me. When he looked downward, to my pocket, specifically, I knew then that he had put it together pretty quickly. That somehow Linnick had given me a peek into his plans. The look he gave her was laced with peril. Like, he wanted to squash her where she was. Would I be able to do anything to stop him? I didn’t think so. Bill, who I’d thought had been lounging comfortably, had picked up on the shifting moods within our camp. He was now to the side and slightly forward of me as if he perceived the threat as well. Tommy relaxed and the easy-going kid or, at least his easy-going persona, returned. Bill wasn’t buying it; he stayed close, and alert, I think.
“We should get going.” Tommy turned.
“Not going anywhere until you tell me how we’re getting through the next gate. Otherwise, go. I’ll figure out a way to get back. One gate is down already; all I have to do is get by a bunch of cats for the second one, and they fucking owe me. Then I’m home. Can be there for dinner if I’m lucky.”
“There’s a wizard. He knows a way.”
If I thought my danger radar was pegging red previously, well right now, the needle was cracking the glass on the dial.
“Gonna need a name,” I managed through gritted teeth.
“He’s a wizard; what does that matter?”
“Oh, it matters a great deal. Give me a name, Tommy, or we’re through here.”
Tommy measured me up, I could tell he was trying to figure out why I wanted to know so bad. I mean, as far as he knew, I’d never had any dealings with wizards. On that account, he was wrong. My experience had been limited to one time, but that time had been unforgettably cruel. Finally, he relented. I guess he was calling my bluff, thinking the name wouldn’t mean anything.
“The Green Man. He’s called the Green Man, alright?”
I’d known without a shadow of a doubt what he was going to say, but to hear him utter that one word of betrayal was almost too much to bear.
“Ganlin,” I said.
“You know of him?” he asked, skepticism clear on his features.
“Oh, we have a passing acquaintance. How much silver did you sell me out for Tomas?” Not sure if I had ever called him that before.
I could see the fake shock and sadness in his eyes, I felt no remorse. When he realized I already knew and that I wasn’t buying the puppy dog eyes, he told me some of the truth. I wish I could say he “came clean,” because that’s like making a confession, like he felt bad for it. He did not.
“How do you know the Green Man?” he asked.
“I was a guest of his for a brief period. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you all about it when you arranged to have me captured.”
“It’s not like that.”
“No? Well, what’s it like, then?” By this time, I had grabbed my axe; if we went to blows I was going to be ready.
“It’s my sister,” he said, as if that made everything he had done or was going to do all right.
“Yeah. And you’re my son, or have you forgotten that whole adoption proceeding.”
“Blood is thicker than water.”
“Wow, you are laying thick the justifications; did you practice them ahead of time?”
“It’s not like that. He just wanted me to bring you to him.”
“Not sure how that’s different from ‘set a trap and capture.’”
He said nothing.
“Did
you think he just wanted to say hi? A powerful wizard in hell wants to see me and, what? Offers your sister, a pretty nice prize down here, I imagine, as payment? Maybe you thought, ‘Oh, he wants to catch up on old times…maybe a handshake and a beer.’ Was that it? But, no, that can’t be it, can it. You didn’t think I even knew the bastard. The truth is you just didn’t really give a shit what happened. All those years, I thought we were family. I shared a lifetime of family with you; gave you a home, all our trust. Is that how you were able to get the message to me? By using my dearest friends…you know, Mathieu warned me about…forget it, doesn’t matter. There’s no way you can stand there and believe nothing bad was going to happen to me.”
“All those years?” Tommy said angrily. “Most of the time you were a useless lump of flesh, doing nothing, saying nothing. If not for me watching over you, bringing you food, talking to you, you would have withered away long ago. All of your family is dead. I have a chance to save mine.”
“I’ve made a terrible mistake coming here.”
“Oh, I’ll say,” Tommy said as he leaped.
He moved so fast I don’t think I could have even gotten my axe up halfway, fucking Bill must have been prescient or at least hyper-sensitive because he was on the move before Tomas. He caught the boy in mid-flight with his body.
“NO!” Tommy screamed in rage as he attempted to twist away from the gluing grip of Bill. It was that mask of rage he wore on his face, though, that will haunt me for a good long time; I’d never seen that boy so much as pissed off. Hurt, maybe. Without saying a word, that face told me that he was going to bring me to Ganlin in one piece or dozens–mattered little.
“You do know, ultimately this isn’t about me, right? It’s Azile he wants; I’m just the means to that end. Would you so willingly give her up as well?”
“If she’s stupid enough to follow you here that’s on her, not me.”
Yeah, this was stupid of me; they all said as much. But I went to bat for this traitor. Hindsight is one of those wonderful little Jiminy Crickets of humanity I could do without. Do you think a bear regrets eating an old discarded pic-a-nic basket with spoiled tuna? Nope, not at all. He enjoys it for that moment, he suffers through the torment of a disgruntled belly, and you know what he thinks will make him feel better? A discarded can of tuna. Now I’m just assuming here; I don’t know if there was ever a study done, but the bear, in between heaves, doesn’t rue his decision to have eaten that food. He does his due diligence and moves on not giving his past actions, a second thought.