by Cameron Jace
“No. He’s gone.”
“That’s great news. Time for you to go to her before another boy does again.”
“I forgot what I want to say to her.”
“You wanted to ask her about the bracelet.”
“Oh. Yes. I think it’s a silly idea. Tell me something else to say to her.”
“Tell her something funny.” I try to sound enthusiastic to encourage him.
“Like what?”
“Come on. Like all the silly jokes you and Leo keep cracking all the time.”
“Alright. Alright,” Vern tries to manage his heavy breathing. “I will tell her something funny now.” He breathes out.
“That’s ma boy.”
“But what if I tell her something funny and she finds out I am not funny?”
Shoot him, Decca! Shoot him with a water pistol! The cuckoo in my head interferes. You have to go see what Xitler wants.
“Well, I know you’re not funny, and I am still talking to you, right?” I try to be a little harsh now, remembering how Woo would have done this.
“That makes sense,” Vern declares surpassingly. “A lot of people don’t want to talk to me but they still do.”
“OK?” Well, if that’s his logic, let it be. He needs to talk to that Happy girl.
Vern hangs up, and I take it that he decided to go talk to her. I really wish that she is the one.
I prepare myself to go meet Xitler, but first I take Dave’s medication for the Clarine’s effect. It’s a tablet he had prescribed to me yesterday. It causes a slight blurriness for a while.
10
Cutie
Trying to avoid the fans, as usual, I decide to walk, disguised, on foot through an abandoned alley, a shortcut to Xitler’s Royal Tower. But somehow my vision starts to blur again. I am starting to really worry about the Clarine’s effect on my eyes, even though I started to take Dave’s medication.
“Looking for something?” An approaching man asks in an unfriendly tone.
Squinting, I see two large men approaching me with buzzers in their hands. This doesn’t look good. I can’t see well, and there is no one else in this alley. Am I going to get mugged?
“Who are you?” I act as if I see them well, and keep approaching with confident steps.
“You don’t have to know who we are, cutie.” The other man says, tapping the buzzer against his hand.
“My boyfriend is going to be here any minute,” I say. “He is a Nine, so you better take a walk.” I hate when I have to say things like that, but I am assuming that they don’t know who I am. Although it was a girl who won the Monster Show, Faya is a man’s world, believing that it is boys who men should fear. It’s always the boy who kills the bad guys, wins the girl, and comes home. Why isn’t it ever the other way around: Girl kills the bad guys, gets the boy and takes him home? It was a girl who won the Monster Show, for God’s sake.
“Why would a Ten long for the protection of a Nine?” One of them says, grinning.
“What did you just say?”
“You think we’re here just for any cutie?” One of them says. “We’re here for the Girl with Golden Eyes.”
I shrug. Why would someone want to hurt me? I am the most famous and most loved in Faya. And how did they know who I am in my disguise? They must have been following me.
“You want an autograph?” I ask.
They both laugh aloud, their silhouettes shaking in front of my blurry eyes.
“Look, I have no time for you,” I say firmly, intending to keep on walking without showing fear. “I am going to meet Prophet Xitler, so whatever is on your mind you better turn around and—”
Before I finish my sentence, I trip on something on the ground. They get it now, that I can’t see clearly and run toward me.
One of them grabs me by my neck and lifts me up against the alley wall. Choking, I try to hit him in the face, but my arm is short. The man is five times bigger than me. The other prepares to hit me with the buzzer in his hand.
“Wait,” One of then says. “Don’t just kill her now. Let’s play a little with this cutie.”
“If you say cutie one more time,” I say, chocking. “I am going to—“
“Going to what,” The man sticks his tongue out in a vulgar way. “Cutie.”
I close my eyes from the pain, trying to think fast how to get rid of them. Why is this happening? Am I going to end up dead in a forsaken alley?
“I think she told you not to call her cutie,” A third voice says.
The man lets me fall down and turns to the voice. Even though I only see in silhouettes, I see what the third guys does to the two men. He hits them abruptly and swiftly with the moves and tactics of a trained warrior. He is shorter than them but is faster and has no fear in his heart. I don’t need to see clearly to know that he just doesn’t give a damn. The two men ache and pile one over the other after the boy hits them hard.
“I am sorry,” the man pleads as the silhouette of the boy stands over him. “Please don’t kill me. I am sorry.”
The boy hits the man in the face with a barefoot. I know who this boy is now. The only strong boy who walks the world barefoot. It’s Woo.
“Woo,” I reach out, trying to focus so I can see better. “It’s ok. Just let them go.”
Woo doesn’t listen to me. He kills them both in front of my eyes, twisting one’s neck and throwing a knife into the other’s throat. Woo doesn’t need guns because he is one hell of a knife thrower. But he didn’t have to kill them. What happened to you, Woo? Where does all this aggression come from?
I let out a shriek, seeing the red color stain my blurry silhouette vision. It reminds me that I have never killed someone before. I only killed a tiger. Woo doesn’t even approach me and hold me. He stands before me, panting, calling them pigs.
“Why would you walk alone in an alley like that?” He shouts at me.
“You didn’t have to kill them, Woo,” Even though I am grateful and I would love to hug him now, I am kind of intimidated by him, leaning crouched against the wall with my hands covering my head.
“They deserved it. They wanted to kill you.” He says, and pulls me up aggressively, walking out of the alley.
“So you were following me? How did you know I was here?” I wonder, trying to sweet talk him like always. I know he cares for me, but he acts as if he is made of stone. Every time I persuade myself that I have to give up on him, he does something that makes me change my mind. This time it’s simply saving my life.
“Get over yourself, Decca. The world doesn’t revolve around you,” He says as he pushes me into his car. It’s confusing how he does it. It’s rough but somehow I know that he is not going to hurt me. “It just happened that I was walking by.”
“Since when do you walk around in Faya?” I challenge him. “What are you doing out here anyway. Monsters aren’t allowed to walk in Faya.”
“Thank you for reminding me that I am a Monster,” He slams the door on me and enters the car from the other side. “How long until you start seeing better?” He asks before starting the engine. “You need me to take you back to the doctor?”
“So you were following me?” I insist with tears in my eyes. This can’t be a coincidence. Why can’t he just confess that he cares?
“No,” He says bluntly. “But you can’t walk alone in such places. You understand me?”
“This never happened to me before. They knew my name. Why would they want to hurt me?”
“Because you are the Girl with Golden Eyes. They want to experiment with you, to know what is it in your eyes that works so well with the ClairVo, what makes you a Ten. How is it that you don’t have bodyguards?”
“Why would they want to do that?” I ask, neglecting his question. I never had bodyguards. I am this nations crème de la crème.
“You’re practically a living money-making machine,” Woo answers. “Anyone who owns your eyes could make millions. Anyone
who knows what you are made of can create other Tens. Now, we don’t have time for this. I will see that you have someone protect you later—“
“Why don’t you protect me? All the time!” I raise my voice at him.
“I don’t even know what that means. We’re not children anymore, Decca. We have to go meet Xitler now.”
“What? He asked for you too?”
“Yes. And I have a feeling I am not going to like what he is about to say.” Woo says and drives his Monster Jeep away. So that explains why he is out here in Faya. He got permission from Xitler. There is a song playing on the radio while Woo guns his Jeep through the streets of Sol. I have never heard that song before but I will never forget it either. It sings, ‘What if you have everything wanted but it wasn’t what you want?”
11
The Offer
“I want to make peace,” says Xitler, sitting on his throne, flipping that cane of his between his fingers.
“Please tell me a better joke, moron,” Woo replies instantly. Only Woo can talk to Xitler this way, as long as we are not on live TV, of course.
“Insult me again, and I’ll take my peaceful offer back, and announce the 11th Monster Show right now,” Xitler smirks as Eliza Day shows up behind him, leaning onto the throne.
“Why not?” Woo fires back. “Let’s do that. I don’t mind. It’d be better than staying trapped with that deal we made.”
“Woo!” I finally snap. “Calm down,” I pat him on the shoulder. Surprisingly, this time he complies and takes a deep breath. “What peace are you talking about?” I ask Xitler.
“I like it when my Ten talks reason,” Xitler says.
“I am not your Ten,” I say as calm as possible while Woo eyes me again as if telling me, ‘See? I told you, you’re one of them now.’
“But of course,” Xitler chuckles in his weird way again. “You’re everybody’s Ten.”
“Prophet Xitler wants to make peace between Faya and the Monsters,” Eliza interrupts.
“And how in the name of the chicken-shit are you going to do that?” Woo grunts. I don’t think I can stop him from being vulgar anymore. As bad as he sounds, it’s admirable that he is the only one in Faya who isn’t afraid of insulting Xitler and Eliza Day, his Nine-Ranked assistant.
“I have an idea,” Xitler says. “That might bring Monsters and ranked Fayans together.”
“I am listening,” I say before Woo turns this into a cussing fest. Even if Xitler is honest about this, I don’t think Woo even wants to make peace with Fayans.
“The Ranking Day is the day after tomorrow,” Eliza says. “And according to our agreement, the new Monsters will be delivered straight to Monsterland. We’re aware of the responsibilities that will follow when that happens—”
“Please, get to the point,” I say.
“It’s simple,” Eliza says. “We want to host an event tomorrow, one day before the Ranking, where we announce that last year’s Monster Show resulted in Monsters turning into ranked citizens.”
“What? Why do you want to do that?” I ask.
“It’s just a gesture of peace,” Eliza says. “We want the Fayan people to understand that the Monsters who survived last year’s show have become good citizens and part of their society. It’s a start to make Fayans and Monsters live in peace in the future.”
“What kind of joke is this?” Woo wonders.
“Let her finish, Woo,” I tell him.
“Don’t let her fool you,” Woo says to me. “Do you think it’s the Summit’s intention for us to live together? How so? That would make the whole iAm thing a big joke.”
“We didn’t say we will,” Xitler explains. “We’re only suggesting it. What do you have to lose?”
“Again, I am listening,” I say, pulling Woo behind me. He already looks like he’s going to jump barefoot and kick Xitler in the guts. “What’s stopping you from doing what you want? Why do you need us?”
“We need you and Woo to persuade Pepper and Bellona to accept complimentary ranks as a Five and Six so we have five newly ranked Monsters to present in our little TV segment tomorrow.”
“Five?” I wonder.
“Pepper as a Five,” Eliza explains. “Bellona as a Six, Vern as a Seven, and Faustina as an Eight, and Leo as a Nine.”
“Faustina was never a Monster,” Woo says.
“We couldn’t find a previous Monster who deserved a rank of Eight, and since Faustina was downgraded by working for Decca, she could fill in. It’s just a lame show if you ask me,” Eliza confesses. “But we’re trying to make peace between Fayans and Monsters step by step.”
“How so?” I ask.
“Well, if Fayans accept the idea of Monsters getting ranked, then maybe they could accept Monsters living among them in the future. It’s a rare possibility. We just want to try.”
“Are you trying to convince me that you really want to make peace? Why would you want to do that?” I fold my arms in front of me.
“What are you going to lose?” asks Xitler again. “Imagine this: Leo talks to the Nines, Faustina to the Eights, Vern to the Sevens, Bellona to the Sixes, Pepper to the Fives, and maybe Woo talks to the Monsters? It will give a sense of unity to the nation. Each one of them is going to get on stage and make a small speech, accepting his new rank. Everyone who has been ranked after surviving the Monster Show deserves to attend the ceremony, and Fayans should understand this. If the ceremony works, I’d say I could hope for a better future where Fayans would accept Monsters as citizens again.”
“Who are you trying to fool here?” I wonder. “Since when does the Summit want to make peace with the Monsters?”
“Since you became a Ten, Decca. A Ten that has the heart of a Monster,” Eliza says. “They are alive because of your deal and we’re stuck here between being proud of having found the Ten of our society and wanting to get rid of the Monsters. It’s the best we can do.”
“I am not going to do any of this—“ Woo starts but I shush him.
“It’s going to be Ranking Day, students are graduating, everyone’s happy, and we could just try,” Xitler says, sounding a bit sincere. Could it be that the Summit changed their minds about Monsters when I won the last Monster Show?
“To be honest, it’s because we don’t have a Monster Show anymore,” Xitler says. “Controlling the Monsters will be a burden to the Summit. And if I can’t kill the likes of you, then I’d better teach my people to live with you. Maybe Monsters could be working certain low-level jobs in the future. Anything that the Fayans can deal with instead of wanting to kill them.”
“I am not buying any of this. You’ve got some sneaky plan behind this,” Woo tells Xitler. “I don’t care for any of your offers.” Woo grabs my hand and pulls me to walk out. “Come on, Decca.”
I find myself following him blindly toward the door.
“As you wish,” says Xitler. “I guess we have to bring the Monster Show back then since Decca won’t be able to provide more TV episodes in the future.”
“What did you say?” I turn around, stopping Woo.
“You think I didn’t know that you’re growing numb?” Xitler chuckles. “That your body is affected by the Clarine?”
“How’d you know that?” I purse my lips.
“Dave told me, of course,” Xitler says. “It’s true he did because he cares for you, but now I know.”
“What’s he talking about?” Woo wonders.
“Decca might not be able to continue the TV series for a while,” Xitler explains. “The Clarine is damaging her senses.”
“So you’re threatening me?” I ask.
“Don’t look at it that way,” Xitler says. “I know that your treatment will take some time, so what if you and Woo do this for me and I keep my agreement and send supplies to the Monsters until you get cured?”
“That’s still pretty much a threat,” Woo says.
“What do we have to lose, Woo?” I tell him. “E
ven if he’s got some sneaky plan behind this, what could it be? I don’t see any harm if Bellona and Pepper get ranked and all of us get into show business if that will keep the agreement until I get cured.”
“Wise girl,” Xitler says. “Now you have to hurry to convince your friends. But there is one other thing.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“We’ll have to test them for Clarine because the event will be broadcasted on live TV the same way your episodes were broadcasted. If their eyes are Clarine friendly for just a little bit, the show will be awesome.”
12
Clairvoyees
At Dave’s clinic, Bellona passes the test. When she comes out of the clinic, Woo hugs her. I find myself looking away. Was that a friend’s hug or something else? Her face illuminates when he does that.
“Why does she walk everywhere with her machine gun?” Pepper whispers in my ear, munching on a sandwich. We’re waiting for Vern, taking the test in the exam room.
“Did she ever fire it?” I ask Pepper about Bellona.
“Yeah,” She wipes her mouth, stretching her hand under her dental bracings. “Sometimes she farts with it.”
“You’re horrible.” I knot my face.
“We all are,” She smiles, throwing the foil away. “Welcome to Faya.”
“Stop talking like that. I really don’t understand what happened to us in the last year. Everyone’s so different…” I stop elaborating when I see what’s written her tee shirt: I Am a Monster, baby. So why don’t you kill me?
Woo wears the same shirt. I have to talk to him about this attitude he is passing to the Monsters.
Leo enters the room.
“Leo!” Pepper runs toward him and hugs him. Of course, she has to tiptoe and he has to bend down a little. When they both hug, a lovely chill passes through the room. I can really sense their genuine friendship.
“Awesome bracings.” He touches her lightly on the cheek. Since Pepper’s bracings are permanent, whenever she buys new ones, we treat her as if she’s bought a diamond ring.