by Hoover, Gary
They walked a while more in silence. Jeff focused on the sounds of their feet on the dirt and rock path mixed with the sounds of the emerging evening insects.
“If I pass this last challenge, how soon will we start our journey toward the castle?” Jeff asked.
“Very soon. Tomorrow if possible. Now that Pheerion Rex knowzz we will be coming, we will need to move quickly before he can act first or strengthen defensezz.”
“Knows we’re coming?! How does he know we’re coming?”
Rasp looked at him as if he were surprised Jeff didn’t know. “The fire. That wazz the signal that the battle would soon begin.”
“He’ll run,” Jeff said. “He’ll take my father.”
“No,” Rasp responded with certainty. “He will stay to face you.”
“How do you know?”
“Izz in the sacred textzz. If he doesn’t face you, no pheerionzz will follow him. He will loozze everything.”
“Do these sacred texts say if I’ll win?”
Rasp didn’t speak for a long, uncomfortable period. When he did speak, he didn’t look at Jeff.
“No… the sacred textzz only say that you will battle. If you win, there will be peace and prosperity… if you loozze there will be pain, suffering, death and despair.”
Jeff looked at Rasp. He didn’t know what to say.
“I have faith,” Rasp said.
Chapter 83:
Jeff waited patiently for his turn to squeeze through the town-gate that served as a bottleneck for the traveling crowd.
Zzteezazz had found him in the crowd and approached him to discuss the final challenge. Are you ready for the final challenge? The sacred texts tell us you will know how to demonstrate your power over life and death.
Jeff nodded. “Yes, I think I’m ready.”
Would you like any time to rest, wash, eat or do anything else before we do that final task?
Jeff was tired and filthy and he very much wanted to just take a hot shower and get some sleep, but he wanted to have it done. “I’m ready now. Let’s do it.”
As they passed through the gate, Zzteezazz pointed in the direction of the meeting-room they had used when they first arrived. We can do it there if that is acceptable with you, he said.
Jeff nodded.
The town streets were crowded, but pheerions were splitting off to go in different directions. It became easier to walk than it had been when they were all traveling together.
Within a short time, they had arrived at the meeting room. Zzteezazz took a seat behind the table – as he had when Jeff first met him, and several other pheerions filled in the other seats. John, Nahima, Dave and Rasp stood near Jeff. Benji had chosen to wait outside the building to avoid the crowded, cramped interior space.
Once everybody had settled into place, Jeff approached the table. The town’s elders sat on the other side looking at him expectantly.
Jeff began having second thoughts.
Can I really do this? He had spent time in his room practicing. He felt he had it down, but it still didn’t feel right to him.
Can I change my mind? Are there any real, other options? I feel like I’m deceiving them, but at this point, it seems they want me to succeed. Would I be letting them down by not going through with it?
Rasp says he has faith in me. Why does that make me feel guilty? Every prophecy and prediction so far has seemed to go exactly as it was supposed to. Has that just been crazy luck, or is it foolish at this point to not just accept that I actually am the subject of these prophecies and go with it?
Jeff decided to stop thinking and do it. He reached into the pouch on his belt and pulled out the toy robotic spider Baldwin had given him. He placed it on the table – on its back because he found that had looked best when he had practiced.
Zzteezazz and the others looked at the spider, which appeared convincingly enough like a dead arachnid. The exoskeleton would give its limbs some stiffness even in death.
Jeff focused on the spider and made a point not to look at any of his friends. They would surely know what he was up to and could throw him off his game with the wrong expression.
Zzteezazz pulled a folding knife out of a pocket, opened the blade and poked the spider gently with the blade. He put a flat edge of the blade under it and tilted it up enough to get a good look. He glanced to his left and right as the others leaned in to look for themselves. He handed the knife to the pheerion on his right, and she poked at the spider cautiously before handing the blade to the pheerion on Zzteezazz’s left.
That pheerion also gently prodded and moved the spider around until he seemed convinced it was dead. He handed the knife back to Zzteezazz who put it away.
Zzteezazz and the other pheerions looked at one another, but none of them spoke. Zzteezazz looked back at Jeff and gestured for him to continue.
Jeff moved in toward the spider and brought both hands close to it. He began wiggling and spreading the fingers of his left hand while holding his right hand close. His plan was to distract and draw their attention to his left hand so they, hopefully, wouldn’t notice or pay much attention to the snapping fingers of his right hand.
He shook the fingers of his left hand. He spread them wide and then brought them in together. He tried to imagine life-producing energy coming from his fingertips. He furrowed his brow, tensed his fingers and focused on that feeling of energy to make it seem difficult.
He was just about to do the snaps when he thought he actually could feel energy coming from his left hand.
Then…
The spider began to quiver and move even though he hadn’t snapped his fingers.
Chapter 84:
Jeff didn’t know how that happened, but he tried not to let his surprise show as the spider wiggled and struggled and tried to flip itself over.
Those in the room spoke amongst themselves, and it grew from a low murmur to an excited, rumbling roar.
The pheerions at the table jumped back when the spider was able to twist itself around, and they watched with wonder as it tentatively explored the table. Jeff saw a pheerion boy run from the room, and shortly afterward, he heard excited shouts in the streets.
When Jeff felt they were sufficiently convinced, he quickly scooped the spider off the table and dropped it in the pouch on his belt.
With the spider removed, the pheerions at the table joined in with the celebration that seemed to be building throughout the village. They punched each other exuberantly, and then Zzteezazz addressed Jeff directly. We have waited a long time for your arrival. If you would like to wash yourself, we will have a celebration dinner tonight, and tomorrow we will march to the castle.
“I would like to get cleaned up. I’m not very hungry, he said rubbing his belly. I hope you won’t be offended if I don’t eat too much at the dinner.”
Yes, of course, Zzteezazz said and then nodded awkwardly in an attempt to mimic Jeff’s ’yes’ gesture.
Jeff excused himself and brought his friends with him so they could all prepare for dinner.
There was chaos in the streets as pheerions celebrated wildly. They waved torches, blew horns, pounded drums and punched one another.
As Jeff and his friends walked, the pheerions gave them plenty of space. Some pointed while others gestured and slapped their thighs.
Some children came close and eventually reached out to touch the visitor’s unusual clothing. Adults were emboldened by the children, and some of them approached tentatively. Then some began to punch Jeff and his friends lightly on the shoulders.
Jeff had come to infer the punching was a friendly, celebratory gesture – like a high-five. He noticed they were much gentler with him and his friends than they were with other pheerions. He had seen pheerions nearly knocking others over with their blows, though it all seemed to be in good fun.
Jeff felt a bit claustrophobic as the pheerions pressed in, shouting, waving and punching, but they arrived at their quarters before it became too much. He was relieved as he en
tered the quiet room and closed the door behind him.
He could still hear the celebration on the street, but is was much more muted than when he had been in the middle of it. He remembered something he had been thinking about and pulled a tan pheerion tunic from the storage area in his bed. His hosts had invited him earlier to wear the tunics, but he hadn’t felt comfortable. Maybe I’ll wear this tonight.
Then he carefully opened the pouch on his belt and watched the spider crawl out onto his bed. The spider walked slowly across the bed, feeling its way as it went.
Jeff snapped his fingers twice.
Nothing. Still moving.
He tried again, then again. The spider seemed a bit confused but still quite active.
Hmmmm.
Chapter 85:
Jeff hadn’t slept much. With the excitement of the celebration and the anticipation of the coming day, all he could do was close his eyes and try to get as much rest as possible without actually sleeping. He had expected his muscles to ache in the morning from the previous day’s exertion, but he found himself surprisingly fresh. Even the blisters on his hands seemed nearly completely healed.
When it was close enough to morning, he washed and put on a clean, tan tunic. He fastened his gun-belt around the tunic, which made it look markedly different from the traditional pheerion style, but he needed his gun (which had been returned) and bat.
He slung his pack over his shoulder and stepped outside to wait for the others to wake. He found a bench, sat and tried to relax. The street was nearly empty, but a few early-risers went about their morning tasks. They couldn’t help looking at Jeff as they passed, but they tried to be discreet.
Jeff saw a centipede crawling toward him. He leaned over to get a better look. He put his hand near it and tried to focus on an energy coming from his hand that would compel the centipede to turn left.
He concentrated and focused on the feeling of the energy coming from his hand.
And…
The centipede turned left.
Cool!
He tried it again, but that time he concentrated on it turning right.
And it turned right.
Roll over, roll over.
The centipede twisted and turned over onto its back.
Jeff smiled to himself and tried to think what else he wanted it to do.
How about… die.
Jeff felt a jolt of energy leap from his hand. The centipede curled up, twitched a few times and then became motionless.
Crap! Why’d I do that?!
Jeff quickly lowered his hand toward it and concentrated harder than he had before.
Live! Live!
The centipede twitched again and then quickly twisted onto its feet before scurrying away. Jeff let it go without further interference.
“You’re up early.”
Jeff jumped as he heard Nahima’s voice, and then he felt his face flush.
“You’re blushing,” she said.
Jeff felt his face flush even more as she drew attention to it.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “Have you been up to something you shouldn’t have been?”
I guess you could say that, Jeff thought.
Chapter 86:
Dave, Benji, Rasp and John had all joined Nahima and Jeff. Pheerions were gathering in the area. They were dressed in their traditional tunics and had bags and packs of various shapes and sizes. There seemed to be more males than females, but there were many females as well.
Jeff was disturbed to see that nobody seemed to be carrying weapons.
He tapped Rasp on the arm. “Hey, are they going to have any weapons?”
Rasp looked at him. “Weaponzzz are strictly prohibited by Pheerion Rex.”
Jeff felt a sudden, unpleasant churning in his stomach. How will they present enough of a threat against the castle to distract their defenses enough to allow me to sneak in if they don’t have weapons?
Before he had a chance to express his concern, Zzteezazz had arrived.
Are you ready for the journey?
Jeff nodded. “But… ”
You have a question?
“I was told that we don’t have any weapons.”
Pheerion Rex has forbidden weapons, Zzteezazz said.
Jeff looked at him but didn’t know what to say.
Come with me, Zzteezazz said as he began to walk.
Jeff followed as Zzteezazz took long strides. Before long, Jeff saw he was taking him to the room in which Jeff had slept. Zzteezazz entered the room and pushed the bed aside with one powerful arm movement. There was a mat on the floor that had been hidden by the bed. Zzteezazz pulled the mat away, and that revealed a wooden trap-door in the floor, similar to the toilet, but Jeff assumed it was something else. Zzteezazz went to a shelf and lit a lamp, then lit another and handed it to Jeff. He went back to the door and lifted it using a large metal ring attached as a handle. That revealed a dark basement of some sort. Zzteezazz carefully stepped into the opening and descended a steep stairway that was only slightly less vertical than a ladder. He gestured for Jeff to follow, and then he disappeared into the opening.
Jeff descended the steep stairs and waited for his eyes to adjust. As they did, he saw he was in a vast underground structure. There were rows and rows of neatly arranged spears, axes, bows, arrows, muskets, powder barrels, musket balls and other weapons. He made a mental note to avoid getting his lamp too close to the powder.
“I thought you said you didn’t have any weapons.” Jeff said.
No, I said that Pheerion Rex doesn’t allow them, Zzteezazz corrected.
Jeff felt he was finally beginning to recognize what a pheerion smile looked like.
Chapter 87:
Jeff watched from the street as a steady stream of pheerions passed the door to his former room and were handed various weapons. They didn’t seem comfortable with their weapons, and their demeanor didn’t have a military precision. However, Jeff felt much more comfortable than he had been when he feared they’d be making the march unarmed.
The pheerions who had already received their weapons took some time to practice. Those with swords and axes found space in the street to wield and swing them. Those who had bows, crossbows and muskets had set up a makeshift firing range outside the denser cluster of dwellings. Jeff could see and hear their practice from where he stood.
Rasp made his way around the group and doing his best to provide the benefit of his military experience with extremely limited time. Jeff saw him approach a young, thin pheerion who held a sword and moved it as if he had an invisible dead animal three feet in front of him and was cautiously prodding it.
Rasp took the sword from him and held it with strength and confidence while making a few powerful thrusts and slashes. He handed it back. The young pheerion responded by holding it more solidly, but he still didn’t have nearly the self-assuredness or power Rasp had demonstrated.
Dave was also doing his best, despite the language barrier, to share some of his military experience. John had never served in the military, but he had experience in killing. He took an axe from a pheerion and demonstrated some hacking and slicing moves.
When all the pheerions had selected weapons and taken some time to practice with them, the group began moving out.
Jeff hefted his pack onto his back and joined up with Rasp, Dave, Benji, John and Nahima. They made their way through the town to the gate, and Jeff thought about how quickly the village had gone from being a frightening, unknown thing to feeling like home. He had a sense of sadness to leave it.
This is it. The final leg. It feels right… like he’s there, but something else isn’t right. Like a barrier. I feel like… I’m going to find him, but something’s going to go wrong.
His heart raced.
I’m going to find my father, I’m going to go home. I’m going to find my father, I’m going to go home. I’m going to have cherry Pop-Tarts and Vanilla Coke.
As they passed through the gate, he remembered something
he wanted to do.
He left the group and headed toward a stand of trees. He opened the pouch on his belt, removed the spider and dropped it near a tree.
The spider quickly disappeared beneath some dried weeds.
Jeff looked back and watched as the last pheerions made their way through the gate.
A few that were still inside swung the gate closed behind them.
Chapter 88:
The first few hours of the march – more like a ‘group hike’, because there was little military precision – were almost festive. The pheerions spoke excitedly to one another about their adventure, some sang, some twirled their weapons.
However, after a few hours, the energy slowly dissipated, and it became more mundane. Both Rasp and Zzteezazz had warned them that they could run into small scouting parties and/or snipers. They both felt confident the castle forces were small, and they wouldn’t send large groups of troops outside of the castle. However, they expected some contact along the way.
Jeff was afraid some forest animals might be a bigger threat. He could tell from the view he had of the castle that it was a good distance, and Zzteezazz had confirmed it would be nearly a full day of walking. The plan was to arrive, camp a short distance from the castle and attack the next morning. While the pheerions were attacking, Jeff and Rasp planned to sneak into a secret entrance Rasp knew about.
“What are you going to do when this is all over?” Jeff asked John in an attempt to get some conversation going.
John thought for a while. “I’ve got some money put away. I want to buy a tolberry farm and make some bolvo.”
Jeff knew that bolvo was a fermented drink similar to wine and tolberry varieties were used to make it. He looked at John, not sure if he was serious or not, but before he had a chance to ask, John continued.
“I also want to have a few dairy animals that I can use to make some really interesting cheeses.”