Gary Saves The Multiverse- The Complete Novel

by C. F. Cooper

  Chapter 14

  "Can you hear me?"

  Gary heard the voice as if in a dream.

  "Can you hear me Gary?"

  He felt someone pushing down on him, crushing him. He tried to lift his arms to protect himself, but they would not obey him.

  "Speak to me Gary of Uffern."

  Gary felt a wave of nausea sweep over him. He turned away from the pressure and opened his eyes. Water flowed from his mouth and nose and he coughed.

  "You're going to be alright."

  Gary coughed again and brought up more water. His head was pounding, and his chest burned with pain, but he was coming back to life. He scrunched his eyes to focus and saw that he was lying on pebbles at the side of the river. He blinked and spat out the remainder of the water. Pulling himself up into a sitting position, he found his bearings. Octavia was at his side, but she was accompanied by three cat people. He scrambled to get to his feet.

  "They are friends Gary," said Octavia. "Those that have not been turned have escaped to the woods. That's why the doomwalkers are patrolling it."

  "You have nothing to fear from us," said one of the cat people. "I am Leo. I knew Oscar, may his soul rest easy."

  "Daisy, have you found Daisy?"

  "We have sent out word to our people. We know these woods better than the doomwalkers. We will find her. Now come, let's get you to the warmth of our fire."

  Leo and Octavia lifted Gary and supported him as they walked the short distance to the camp. It was in a small, well-hidden ravine. Many cat people sat around the fire, talking, sharpening blades and laughing.

  "How did you escape?" asked Gary.

  "Not everyone was affected by the fog," said Leo. "It is clear that some of us are immune. When we saw our villages changing, we fled. We knew we had to find other like ourselves and forge an army that will not be entranced."

  "Did anyone escape from Clowder Hollow?"

  "Not that we know of. It was the first village to be besieged today, but not the last. It has been a dark day in Springrise. Now come. Sit by the fire and rest easy."

  They placed Gary next to the fire. The others smiled and nodded their acknowledgement of his arrival.

  "How far did we travel Octavia?"

  "Far enough to be in no immediate danger. The doomwalker patrols have not come this far into the forest yet."

  Gary looked up through the roof of the forest towards the sky. It was dark and becoming darker by the minute. "It can't be night-time already." he said.

  "The days have been getting shorter the more of Springrise that the doomwalkers control," said Octavia. "Snow and darkness follow the Ice King and his followers wherever they travel."

  Gary shivered, aware of the cold and his wet clothes for the first time. "Were we stupid to begin this quest Octavia? Can anyone beat him?"

  "What choice do we have? We either fight or surrender."

  Gary nodded. "You're right. Don't worry, I haven't turned." With those words Gary suddenly remembered. "Smallgrass and Smallgrass. Where are they? Did they make it over the waterfall?"

  Octavia nodded. "They did. They are here, but Smallgrass is in a bad way."

  "Take me to him," said Gary.

  "Later, you are weak."

  "Now Octavia."

  Octavia nodded and helped Gary to his feet. They made their way past the fire and followed a narrow path that led to a cave. Inside a small fire burned and illuminated the space. Smallgrass lay on a bed, his head fallen to one side, his eyes heavy and blinking. The other Smallgrass sat by his side, stroking his brow.

  "You have been a good friend and a loyal partner," he said.

  "The Ice King will prevail," mumbled the prone badger.

  "He was hit by an arrow as we fled," said Octavia. "They patched him up as best they could, but he is very weak and still pledges allegiance to the Ice King."

  Gary kneeled down next to the injured badger. "Smallgrass, I know the real you is still with us, somewhere deep inside."

  "Demon," he replied.

  "I'll never give up on you, no matter what you say."

  Octavia nodded.

  "He's fading fast," said the other Smallgrass. "His breathing is getting shallower by the minute." He turned to his partner, "It won't be long now old friend. Soon you will re-join the river of life and be at peace."

  "Traitor," whispered the dying badger.

  The three friends sat together by his side and continued to talk to him. Smallgrass mumbled insults and praised the Ice King. They ignored the words and kept their vigil until he could speak no more. The breathing becoming so faint is was almost imperceptible.

  Gary closed his eyes and thought back to Devin's memorial at the river of life, deep below Warrensgate. He found some comfort in the knowledge that this was both an end and a beginning. Was that only two days ago? Every day in the garden felt like a year in his old life. So much joy and pain crammed into every waking moment.

  "He has passed," whispered Smallgrass through gentle sobs.

  Gary opened his eyes and saw the still body that lay before them. He looked at Smallgrass and a tear formed in his eye. Octavia placed her hand on his shoulder. "He will not be forgotten."

  Gary felt the warmth of her hand. He could feel the pulse of the blood running through her veins. A feeling of peace and contentment passed over him. He turned to Octavia. "Do you trust me?"

  "With my life," Octavia replied.

  Gary pulled his knife from his belt. "Really trust me, with your life's blood?"

  "I do," she replied, looking deep into Gary's eyes.

  Gary held Octavia's hand and pulled the knife across it, scoring her palm and cutting several of the smaller veins. Gary took her bloody hand and placed it on the shoulder of the dead Smallgrass. "Let the river of life pass through Octavia to Smallgrass," he said, holding her hand firmly in place.

  The living Smallgrass stared at him through his tears. "It's too late Gary. He has passed."

  "Devin, if you are here as I believe you to be, now is the time we need your help. Now is the time to use the gift you gave us, the gift you gave Octavia."

  Octavia stared at Gary, her brow furrowed. Gary looked towards Smallgrass. "Trust me."

  Octavia and Smallgrass observed the dead Smallgrass in silence. Gary nodded, willing him back to life. "Come on Smallgrass, come back to us."

  The next few seconds passed like an eternity. Then it happened. The chest rose and fell. The living Smallgrass looked at Gary as if to ask, did you see it? The chest rose again, and the distinct sound of a rasping breathe came from the prone Smallgrass. He opened his eyes and looked around.

  "Why the sad faces," he whispered. "You didn't think I could be finished off by a mere arrow, did you?"

  "You're alive," said Smallgrass.

  "Until the day I die," replied Smallgrass.

  "How?" said Octavia, shaking her head.

  "When we visited the river of life Devin appeared to me as the ashes entered the water. Part of his lifeforce entered you Octavia. I didn't understand it at the time, but it was a gift for our quest. A gift to be used in a time of need."

  "You saw Devin?"

  "He spoke to me," said Gary.

  The injured Smallgrass sat up and coughed. "Trust a deer. Always needs to get the last word in."

  "No," said Gary. "I think you're mistaking him with a badger."

  ***

  The four friends sat around the fire with the cat people. Smallgrass had rallied within minutes of his rebirth and was back to his old self. Gary passed him a pitcher of ale, which he downed in one swift movement.

  "I don't think ale has ever tasted so good," said Smallgrass. "It's almost worth dying for."

  "Fool," grumbled the other Smallgrass.

  "Did you see the river in your last moments?" Leo asked. "Did it speak to you?"

  "This one wouldn't let me," he nodded towards Gary. "Ruined the whole experience he did." Smallgrass winked. Gary smiled and took a drink of his own ale.


  "Do you remember the poison that made you pledge to the Ice King?" asked Octavia. "Can you remember how it came to be in you?"

  Smallgrass fell silent and reflected. "I don't think it was so much something entering me, as it was something leaving me. I could feel the hope drain, my energy dropped, and I knew I couldn't fight back so I didn't. I gave in to it."

  "When hope is gone, there is nothing to fight for," said Leo.

  "That was it," said Smallgrass. "I had no hope so wanted to believe the doomwalkers were in the right. Without hope there was no point resisting. I persuaded myself to pledge allegiance to the Ice King."

  "Enough of this talk for tonight," said Leo. "We must feel the joy of your miraculous return. Drink and be merry."

  "Yes sir," said Smallgrass, passing his pitcher along to be refilled.

  Gary stood up and walked to the edge of the camp, far from the fire. He looked out into the darkness of night and thought about Daisy. Where was she? Would he ever see her again?

  "She will be safe," said Octavia.

  Gary turned to face her. "How did you know I was thinking of Daisy?"

  "It is clear that she is special to you. Remember one thing. She is a rabbit. She can outrun any doomwalker, especially in the forest. We were holding her back. You probably didn't realise that, but it's true. Without us to keep pace with, Daisy can travel like the wind. She is safe. Mark my words."

  "You are a true friend Octavia. You trusted me when you had no reason to."

  "I know one thing Gary of Uffern. Your arrival in the garden is no coincidence. You are here for a reason and you are a force of good, even if you don't understand why or how. I will always trust you."

  "It was Devin that saved me in the battle of Warrensgate and it was Devin that saved Smallgrass today. My victories have been his. When you praise me I feel like an imposter."

  "You are a shaman. You act as a bridge between our world and yours. You are a bridge between life and death. There are stories of the river talking to people as death takes hold, but no-one talks to the river in life as you have. You are here for a purpose. This quest will not be in vain, no matter what the outcome is for me or Smallgrass or Daisy. I speak only for myself but if I return to the river, so be it. I feel the truth in your presence."

  "I hope you are right."

  Octavia coughed and seemed to stumble slightly before righting herself. Gary could tell that she was exhausted. She had run herself flat looking after others, and then he had taken a knife to her and bled her. He looked into her eyes and truly saw her for the first time. He saw a mother protector, the one that would always sacrifice herself, the one that would always carry the heaviest load. He felt shame sweep over him for his previous thoughts. When he had first met her, he could see her as no more than a doomwalker, then no more than a lizard. Why it was even an insult to think of her as a lizard he could no longer imagine.

  "Octavia, let's find somewhere quiet. You need to rest."

  "Rest?" she laughed. "Gary, have you not yet learned our ways?"

  "I understand your ways perfectly," said Gary. "You have to replenish your energy and I will help you do that."

  "Oh, I see."

  "Let's just call it replenishing energy though, can we?"

  "If that's how it needs to be, so be it."

  They made their way back to the fire and then retraced their steps to the cave where Smallgrass had so recently lain at death's door.

  Gary stepped into the cave first and turned to face Octavia. The dying embers of the fire illuminated her large lizard face. He reached up and held her head in his hands, pressed his head against hers and stared into her deep blood red eyes.

  "I don't even understand how this can work, but however it does, it is my honour to make love to you."

  "In the garden we make love with each other, not to each other," she replied.

  She blinked and her eyes turned from red to yellow. Gary felt her skull begin to shrink beneath his hands. Instead of leaning down, she was now standing up straight facing him at eye level. Gary pulled back and looked at her in wonder.

  He was no longer looking at a lizard. What stood before him was a beautiful naked woman with the deepest of blue skin, yellow eyes and long flowing red hair.

  "You...you are a woman."

  "I am a lizard woman. Did you not think it strange that all other lycanthropes partially transform but not me?"

  "I...uh. Wait. You stayed with Joe after the battle, didn't you?"

  Octavia, the beautiful blue creature that stood before him, nodded. "I did. Joe and I are well known to each other."

  "I saw the blue legs. I didn't make the connection."

  Octavia smiled. "Well, are we going to replenish our energy or just talk about it all night? Only one of us is naked."

  "Right, of course," Gary whispered. He pulled his clothes off and discarded them on the ground.

  Octavia stepped towards him and took his hands in hers. "I am still part lizard even in this form," she said. She guided his hands over her body, and he felt the softer but still distinct scales across her stomach. She moved his hands up. The scales circled her breasts like a protective breastplate fading out as his hands reached the soft and gentle centre where her nipples stood erect and firm.

  Gary leaned in and kissed her, staring into her eyes. The yellow began to swirl like some hypnotic kaleidoscope. Gary pulled Octavia down into a kneeling position where they faced each other. Pushing Gary back onto the ground she leaned forward and thrust her breast into his waiting mouth. He kissed her eagerly and she moaned her approval. She pulled herself back up into a sitting position and squeezed her thighs together and then moved them apart, tightening and loosening her hold on him.

  Gary placed his hands on her waist. It was patterned with scales which allowed him to grip her tightly. He pulled her back and forward gently. Octavia groaned in pleasure. "I am close," she said.

  Gary reached up and held her breasts, pulling her down onto him. He kissed her deeply and stared into her eyes. He felt the climax coming and knew he couldn't hold back any longer. Octavia's pupils pulsed, growing larger with each beat, the black obscuring the yellow until there was no colour left, until there was nothing but darkness. Inside the darkness Gary saw the river, saw Devin the majestic deer nodding in recognition. Gary let out a loud moan of pleasure and Octavia slid off him and fell to the side, one hand remaining on his chest.

  "Replenished?" she asked.

  "Replenished," he said. "Although it's probably going to be another big day tomorrow. Perhaps we should do some more replenishing?"

  "I concur," she replied.

  Part Three – Autumnfall

  Chapter 1 5

  Gary was facing Octavia and Daisy. Not Octavia the Lizard Woman but Octavia the Woman Lizard that he had made love to. The two beautiful women stood in front of him in their naked beauty. They were inside a cave, lit by the glow of a raging fire.

  “How could you?” asked Daisy.

  Gary looked down, unable to face her.

  “We had something so special and you threw it all away.”

  “Let me explain,” Gary pleaded. “I felt I had to help Octavia.”

  “Pah,” Octavia exhaled the word, more than said it. “I don’t need the HELP of a puny son of Adam. Are you saying you didn’t enjoy it?”

  “Well…”

  Octavia stared at him, raising an eyebrow. “Speak carefully son of Adam. My lovemaking skills will not be slandered likely.”

  “I did enjoy it but…”

  “More than any lovemaking you have ever experienced,” said Octavia. “Or were you lying?”

  Daisy stared at Gary with her large blue eyes, tears forming.

  “Well…I…”

  Daisy’s rabbit ears folded, disappearing into her blonde hair. Octavia began to grow, transforming from the lithe blue-black scaled beauty into a giant fearsome lizard.

  He was losing them both.

  “Wake up,” said Octavia.

 
“I don’t want to choose.”

  “Wake up,” she repeated. Gary felt himself being pushed from behind. He turned and found himself between fantasy and reality. Realising he was in a dream but also emerging from it.

  Octavia lay next to him on the bed as beautiful as she’d been in the dream. Her luminous skin shimmering where her scales mapped the contours of her body. She smiled and kissed him. Gary reached over and let his hand drift across her body.

  “Amazing,” he said. “Can’t you choose to keep this form?”

  “Why would I?”

  “Because you are beautiful as a woman.”

  “To your eyes perhaps. You only see the beauty in those that look somewhat like you. To my husband’s eyes I am beautiful as a both Lizard and a woman. To my eyes he is handsome as a Lizard and a man.”

  “Wait, you’re married?”

  “I have a partner, yes. Haven’t I mentioned him?” Octavia sat up on the bed. She swung her legs round onto the ground and stood. As she stepped away from the bed she transformed, just as she had in the dream. She grew rapidly in size, her beautiful orange hair pulling back into her skull which expanded rapidly to twice the size of its human form. Octavia had her back to Gary but the eyes in the back of her skull appeared from slits, blinking then opening to stare down at Gary. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because of this,” said Gary waving his hand over the bed.

  “What?” Octavia asked.

  Gary blushed. “Because we’ve just made love. What will he say?”

  Octavia shrugged. “Why would he be interested in who I made love with? Even if it was any of his business why would I make a ceremony of telling him? This is not your world Gary. Things are different here.”

  “I understand that, but when you have a partner surely it’s different? What about Smallgrass and Smallgrass? I don’t see them sleeping around.”

  Octavia’s shoulders began to shake. Her eyes blinked, and she let out a roar of laughter. “Is that a thing? What is it called, ‘sleeping around’?”

  “Forget it.” Gary stood and quickly got dressed as he watched Octavia leaving the cave. Thinking about the previous night he had to admit the lovemaking had been spectacular. Ok, he didn’t have much to compare it with and perhaps that was the problem. He felt something for Daisy that went beyond the experience of that first night they spent alone. That made him feel guilty about enjoying the night with Octavia so much. Making love to her had felt like having the whole of his lifeforce sucked out of him and then poured back in like the crashing waves of a tide flowing out and in.