by Tammy Walsh
I couldn’t look at him. Not when the tears were so close to rolling down my cheeks.
“You should choose one of the other girls,” I insisted. “They already know this stuff. I bet they can perform the dance better than I ever could.”
He edged a little closer and finally placed those hands on my shoulders. At first, he was tentative, then firmer.
“It’s not the dance that’s important,” he said. “It’s the dancer performing it.”
And just like that, my fears were alleviated. I understood what he was saying.
He wanted me because I ticked his boxes. Not because I would be the best performing seal.
I still wanted to be the best. I still wanted to perform better than the others, still wanted to be what he needed me to be.
But with the lessons I was taking, that version was nothing like the real me.
“Is there anything about me you don’t want to change?” I said.
Now it was his turn to feel embarrassed and unable to look me in the eye. He took a deep breath.
“I chose you because you caught my eye,” he said. “It wasn’t just because you were the most beautiful girl there, it was because I saw that fire in your eyes, the fire that’s in your eyes right now. I would prefer for it not to be directed at me, but I love that it’s there. The other girls seemed nice enough but they don’t have that. Your fight. That was what I noticed first about you. And I never want that to go away.
“As for changing things about you, the lessons you’re taking only affect superficial things. Yes, you might need to speak a little differently, but do you speak the same way to your mom and your grandma and your professor at school? Everything you’re learning is a veneer, an overlay. I still want you to be you. If you feel like these lessons are making you too different from who you really are, then I’ll stop them.”
I fought my eyes, pressuring them to control themselves and prevent the tears from rolling down my face.
“Really?” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “It’s all superficial. It’s for appearances only. That’s all.”
Then he did something he’d never done before. He put a hand to my chin and gently raised it so I was looking at him. He ran his thumb over my cheek. His thumb was so close to my lips, I thought he would touch them too.
Please, touch them.
And then kiss me.
The moment begged for it. The mist was so thick it was like we were our own private audience.
Nobody was going to encroach on us.
He blinked, coming back from whatever thoughts or daydreams he was having.
I was certainly having my own.
“Let’s go home,” he said. “What do you think?”
I nodded.
“Okay,” I said.
He wrapped his arm around me and led me toward his apartment.
We came to an immediate stop.
Two men stood before us. Tall and broad, I thought they were two of the three silhouetted figures I saw earlier.
They just stood there, staring at us.
Dyrel placed a hand around my shoulder and guided us off the path. We wound around the figures. Although their heads turned in our direction, they hadn’t turned to follow us.
It’s dangerous in the park at night.
I guess it was a universal truth.
The pair of silhouetted figures faded into the mist as quickly as they had appeared.
I breathed a sigh of relief as we increased our pace and hurried along the path on our way out of there.
Dyrel pulled to a stop again.
This time, there was just one figure standing in the middle of the path. He was the biggest of them all. His features were once again lost to the haze.
Dyrel continued toward him, drawing me behind him as we made to slip past the mysterious figure.
I whispered under my breath.
“He’s with the others,” I said.
I forgot sound traveled better in this dense mist. The other guy must have heard me.
His arm shot out and barred our way.
“Excuse me,” Dyrel said, moving to step around the extended arm.
The figure moved with us, blocking us.
“That was quite a touching scene.”
The other two figures from earlier stepped behind us. We were trapped.
“It brought a tear to my eye.”
It was hard to identify the speakers. Their lips were shrouded with darkness and mist.
Dyrel spoke in a low voice so only I could hear.
“When I say, run,” he said.
I was too terrified to respond to him.
“Guys,” Dyrel said with a broad grin and spreading his arms out wide. “There’s no need for this. How about we all be on our way?”
“And leave us here cold and hungry in the park?” one of them said.
“I’m quite happy to give you guys some money so you can buy something to eat,” Dyrel said.
“That’s very kind of you. But the kind of hunger we have, it can’t be satisfied with food. We desire a little… female company.”
A terrible chill tore through me. I felt a violent shove from the side as Dyrel pushed me off the path and into the mist. The scene immediately disappeared from view.
“Run!” Dyrel bellowed.
“Now, why did you do a stupid thing like that?”
I heard slapping as punches rained down on bare skin.
His skin.
He was taking a beating because of me.
The sounded faded as I flew into the haze.
“Don’t just stand there, idiots! Go get her! I’ll take care of him.”
The shroud shifted as two large figures came hurtling out of it.
I turned and ran, bolting into the thick veil before me. I ran as quickly as my legs could carry me. But these guys were much bigger than me. And much stronger. Once they caught me, it would be over.
I swung left at a sharp angle. I took half a dozen strides and hung an immediate right. I came to the path Dyrel and I had been on until we were accosted. If I kept heading that way, I was sure to find the exit.
I drew to a stop.
That meant Dyrel was directly behind me. And that meant he was still fighting the big guy alone. And when the other two guys lost me, they would turn back.
Then it would be three against one.
I couldn’t let that happen to him. Maybe he could challenge one of these animals but nobody could face all three at once.
“We lost her!” one of the figures said in the dense mist.
“Well, keep looking! We’ll be in serious trouble if we don’t find her!”
With my heart in my throat, I turned toward their voices and jogged toward them. The moment I saw them, I would take off and shake them again.
“There she is!”
They tore after me.
I took another sharp turn—right this time, and then, after half a dozen strides, took a left.
I checked over my shoulder.
One of the figures was right on top of me.
I screamed.
His arm stretched and grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.
“You’re not giving us the slip this time, girlie!”
His hand was cold and harsh and strong. I struggled.
He tightened his grip. The breath wheezed from my throat.
I kicked and punched and flailed like a wild banshee.
Instead of helping Dyrel, I’d hindered him. I’d given the bad guys exactly what they wanted.
I should have kept running. I should have found a police station and told them about the situation.
Now we were trapped in this shroud with no one coming to help us.
The figure marched me back in the direction we’d come from.
My imagination leaped forward. I couldn’t help thinking about the terrible things they would do to me.
What they might do to Dyrel.
As we marched along the path, we came across a figu
re lying face down on the cracked stone.
Dyrel…
Spots of blood dotted the area. I wondered what they’d done to him.
To my darling Dyrel.
They’d given him a beating for coming out here to find me.
Because I ran away. Because of my issues.
I regretted ever leaving his apartment. I wished I could turn back the hands of time and change it.
Change everything.
But it was too late.
Now, the best I could do was try to help us stay alive.
What was I willing to do to keep Dyrel breathing?
Anything.
That realization shocked me.
Another figure swam into view. He stood on the other side of the figure on the floor. He stood with his hands behind his back.
I felt the bile rise in my throat. Pure hatred seeped from my veins at the sight of this evil creature.
As he came into view, he seemed smaller than he had when we’d run into him.
The alien Titan holding me by the neck must have noticed the same thing I had.
The guy standing before us, the guy who’d won the fight…
He was not their leader.
It was Dyrel.
I felt the hold on my neck loosen but not relent.
My heart soared. Dyrel must have fighting skills he hadn’t shared with me before.
And why the hell hadn’t he taught me those skills instead of damn dancing?
“The way I see it, you have two choices,” Dyrel said. “Either you release Vicky and we return home, and you get your friend to a hospital, or I do the same thing to you that I did to him. Then we’ll call the police and they can take you to the hospital. What do you want to happen?”
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were not used to making decisions. They shared a look and shrugged.
They let me go and raised their hands.
I ran to Dyrel and wrapped my arms around him.
He placed a hand on my back and never took his eyes from the two big Titans.
“I’m so glad you’re okay!” I said. “I thought… I thought…”
“Let’s get you home,” he said.
He took my arm and led me around the lump on the ground. His two acquaintances parted to let us pass. The scene behind us faded as if it had never taken place.
“You can fight?” I said.
“Part of Titan training from a young age,” he said. “After all, we are a warrior race.”
“Well, why didn’t you teach me some of that?” I said.
“It all begins with the dance.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Sure it does,” I said.
“It’s called the Dance of Death. Master it and you can master the traditional Titan fighting style.”
If it meant I could take down someone of the bad Titans’ size, I was willing to do pretty much anything.
“But I’ll never get the hang of that damn dance,” I said.
“Then maybe I should let you in on a little secret,” he said, leaning forward. “I couldn’t learn to dance from a teacher either.”
“What?” I said. “Then why are you teaching me this way?”
“Because it’s how most people learn. If you like, I could show you how I was taught. I have to warn you, it’s not for the faint of heart.”
My smile curled one corner of my mouth.
“I’ve never been able to do things the way most people can either,” I said. “I prefer a much more hands-on approach.”
I looked at him and he looked right back.
I couldn’t believe I just said that. The connotation brought a rush of blood to my cheeks.
I prefer a much more hands-on approach.
“Then where did you learn to dance?” I said.
His eyes sparkled.
“For that, we’ll need to take a little trip,” he said.
We returned to his apartment and Dyrel took good care of me. He insisted I take a nice hot shower or bath while he cooked a small but delicious meal. Then we had a hot drink that looked a lot like hot chocolate but tasted like…
Well, I’d never tasted anything like it before my entire life. Somehow, it tasted like “purple.” I realize that sounds like a strange description but it perfectly summed up the drink. It was hot and thick and warmed me from the inside.
I was exhausted by the time I went to bed, my eyes already closing.
I suffered a nightmare that continued the scene in the park. Only, instead of Dyrel beating the Titan to a pulp, it was him lying in a puddle of his own blood. Then the bad Titan and his buddies did terrible, unspeakable things to me.
All so I could prevent Dyrel from coming to any further harm.
It was a dream I was happy to wake up from.
It was still dark when he woke me. He wouldn’t stop prodding me until I stumbled into the shower.
He made us a quick breakfast and had a smile on his face. It was the brightest, warmest expression I’d had seen him wear. It suited him.
“So, where are we going?” I asked him.
He refused to answer me. I didn’t know why. Even if he told me, it wasn’t like I would know where it was.
“You can sleep in the back if you want,” he said.
Sleep? That sounded nice.
When I moved into the back, I found a small bed already made up on one of the long rows of chairs. The armrests had been folded up. A fluffy blanket lay on the bottom and a thick duvet rested on top. He’d even thought to bring a pair of pillows.
“When did you make this?” I said.
I hadn’t seen him disappear from view for more than a few minutes all morning.
“While you took a shower,” he said. “You still looked tired, so I made it for you.”
I was touched he was so thoughtful.
It made sleeping in it even more special.
I removed my boots and climbed inside. It was lovely and warm within a few minutes. The sickness in my stomach began to fade and the gentle hum of the engine produced gentle vibrations that helped lull me into a deep sleep.
Every so often, the shuttlecraft shuddered as we hit turbulence. I drifted right on back to sleep.
I faded in and out of consciousness, recalling the fragments of story I heard from my teachers over the previous week. It began with Me’ell, who never stopped talking. Mostly, he jabbered on about stuff of no interest to me. I doubted it would be of interest to anybody.
But then I overhead a few fragments of information he said that he only ever uttered when Dyrel had left the room.
“Poor guy,” he said, shaking his head. Later, while Dyrel made coffee, he muttered, “A true tragedy.” And, “I’ve never seen anyone so affected before.”
Desperate to get to the bottom of these cryptic messages, I waited for the next time Dyrel stepped from the room and confronted Me’ell.
“Every time Dyrel leaves the room, you say things about him,” I said.
Me’ell paused in trimming my hair. He glanced into the mirror.
“Do I?” he said.
“Yes,” I said. “What are you talking about?”
“Ahem,” he said, getting back to combing my hair but not really cutting it. “Nothing, really.”
But being an unapologetic gossip, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut for long. Soon, he was telling me about Dyrel and his father. His father, it turned out, was a very well-respected member of the Titan community. Both locally and internationally. He was a warm and giving man. When he passed away, Dyrel was very young. Suddenly, the spotlight turned on him. He was expected to grow up and take over his father’s company. And by the sound of it, it was a very large business.
Me’ell cut off when Dyrel returned to the room and jabbered on about other topics instead.
When Dyrel left to visit the restroom, he resumed the story as if no time had passed at all.
The G’kauah family were famous for their business acumen. They stimulated countless jobs in the city, and this was
during a time when there was great economic turmoil. His company took on more and more workers until they couldn’t afford anymore. They never ran at a profit. Any money they made, they poured back into creating even more jobs. More ships, more employees. When they upgraded their computer systems, they always found new jobs for their old staff.
Some years, the business almost went belly up. The board was pulling their hair out but Dyrel’s father refused to pursue profits rather than the benefit of the people. He encouraged thousands of other companies to do the same thing, telling them the economy would, eventually, pick up.
He was right. Many people said he helped cut the economic downturn short by several years. And when the profits began to come in, the public supported his company above all others.
“He was a great man,” Me’ell said. “Some shoes are just too big. Dyrel never achieved the same heights his father did. He didn’t even try.”
I never looked at Dyrel the same way after that. The idea of him losing his father so young, and when he was such a great man, must have been very hard to bear. Especially when he still had so much to learn.
I guessed that was why he turned to alcohol and partying. He’d never really got over his father’s death. All those expectations pressed on him from an early age.
That was why I felt so keenly the failure of learning those damn dance moves.
He’d been failed by so many people around him for many years.
I refused to be one of them.
That was why I had to run away last night.
The shuttlecraft shuddered as we banked and Dyrel brought the shuttlecraft in to land.
“We’re here,” he said.
I yawned, stretched, and then moved through the small space to the passenger seat.
“Wow,” I said.
The scene took my breath away. It was the countryside, only unlike any form of nature I’d seen on Earth. Purple leaves hung in thick bunches on orange branches. Birds fluttered amongst the leaves, their plumage bright yellow, blue, and rainbow-colored. Dyrel brought us down on a rolling hill of rich red grass.
I felt like I was in a painting.
“Forget it,” I said. “I’ve changed my mind. Take me back to your apartment. I’ll learn how to dance there.”
How on Earth—or whatever planet I was on—did he think learning in this environment was a good idea?