Josephine Marlin and The Alternatives_Book One_A Friend in Need_Feilds of Elysian 1

by Karen Eastland

  Eric shone his torches over the girls, then the trailer before looking back to me.

  ‘That be Bob’s old barra, where’d ya get that then?’

  Ann made a whimpering sound and Eric looked to see she was being restrained.

  ‘What’s wrong with that young missy there?’ Eric said while either twitching or winking at me. ‘Why you gots ta holds her then?’

  ‘Did he just wink at me Brain? Or was it a twitch?’

  ‘It looked like a twitch Josephine, and he only does it when he says the word “missy”.’

  ‘She’s had a bit too much to drink,’ I said attempting to draw his attention back to me, ‘and we’re trying to sober her up before taking her home.’

  ‘As for the trailer,’ I continued, ‘we’ve come a long way. We went to a… party… Yes, a party. And… the guys that took us to the party… they left us there. We were walking along Elis Road before it turned into Highway-4 and stopped to rest at the old funeral home. We bumped into a man there. He looked a lot like you, are you his twin?’

  ‘Aye, that’d be me twin Bob.’

  ‘Anyway,’ I said, ‘he said we could use the trailer, or barrow after he told us he was hunting ghosts an ghouls. He wanted us to, “Get out of there quick smart”, is what he said.’

  ‘So ya seen Bob ‘ave ya? I been trying ta get him on tha walky all night, bin gettin’ no answer,’ he said while pulling at a two-way radio attached to his ghoul hide belt, to show me what he was talking about.

  ‘Oh,’ I said, thinking on my feet. ‘Well, that’d be because Bob’s batteries are flat. He told us we might bump into you and if we did, we should tell you his batteries were flat. Right girls?’

  ‘Right,’ said Deb, who hadn’t even met Bob.

  ‘Alright then, ya best be going home young lassies. Thar be monsters out an about tonight, it bein’ a full moon an all that.’

  ‘Okay,’ I said, looking to the moons rays begin to peak above the ranges. ‘But we’re gonna sit here for a moment or two and rest. You go about your business. We’ll try to stay quiet, so we don’t bother you or the sleepers.’

  ‘Aye right,’ was Eric’s gravelly reply as he jangled back into the darkness.

  Vila appeared on the handlebars, still naked, with a wicked smile on her face.

  ‘What are you smiling at?’ I said feeling annoyed at the 12-inch witch sitting cross-legged on my handlebars.

  Her long strands of hair draped over its edges, autonomously wrapping itself around the tubing of the front frame. I was getting a good look at her sitting in the partial moonlight. Her pointy little ears and blood-red lips highlighted the sharp white of her teeth. She was beautiful in a scary kind of way… she looked like a terrifying Barbie doll.

  ‘I know a secret,’ she said. ‘Your ghoul oozed it out with her breath.’

  ‘A secret?’ I asked feeling a mite concerned. ‘We’ve got lots of secrets, which one are you talking about?’

  ‘This secret is one you would not want Eric to know,’ she said smiling. ‘I could go and whisper it in his ear, make him come back. He could ask some very… uncomfortable questions.’

  Vila was taking a sick pleasure in my discomfort.

  ‘He might even kill you,’ she hissed, flitting from one place to another, to finally sit on Ann’s shoulder.

  I heard the girl’s sharp intake of breath as Vila spoke very close to her ear.

  ‘What do you want from us?’ I asked in a low whisper, not wanting Eric to hear me.

  ‘Your ghoul!’ she screeched in a high-pitched nasally static ridden otherworldly voice.

  ‘What! No!’ We all said at once as the tarp on the trailer began to shake.

  ‘Cover Pony girls,’ I said. ‘And please keep her safe this time while the witch and I have a little talk.’

  ‘Okay,’ Deb whispered.

  Walking back to the picnic table, I sat on the old wooden bench attached to its frame. Vila darted from one place to the other, never staying anywhere for very long. Now and then moonlight would shine through the trees, and I noticed something had been etched in the table-top. It was an old scratching. Obviously carved into the green wood with a pocket knife not long after it’d been sawn.

  A slight wind caught the leaves in the tree next to me, so I moved my head closer to the table top and was able to make out the writing.

  “Bob n Eric wuz ere 1974”.

  ‘Why are you so reluctant to give me your ghoul?’ Vila asked. She scared the shit out of me.

  I’d been so caught up in the scratchings in the table, I’d forgotten about her. Looking up, I saw she was sitting directly in front of me.

  ‘What is so special about your ghoul?’ Vila asked.

  ‘Why do you want her so badly? And what did you mean when you said, “she’s not a ghoul yet”?’ I asked seeing as we were having a caring sharing type of moment. ‘And just so you’re aware, I say again; you cannot have our ghoul because she’s our friend.’

  ‘Pony? Is that your ghoul’s name?’ Vila whispered then disappeared.

  ‘Yes. Pony,’ I said while looking for Vila.

  ‘Pony is not yet a ghoul. She is more on the cusp of ghoul, and ghost,’ Vila said reappearing on the branch. ‘Do not misunderstand; she will become a ghoul. It takes a week… or more, for the change to complete. It also depends on how traumatic her making was. The amount of time it takes for the transformation, depends on how she was made, and how calm she remains.’

  ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘What if she was made while having sex with a ghoul?’

  ‘Did the ghoul who made her, happen to die while they were having sex?’ she asked in a pretty creepy way, but she was caught up in some deep thoughts, and I was curious. I wanted to know more about Pony’s condition.

  ‘She did imply that’s what’d happened, and Bob kinda confirmed it before…’ I stopped and asked. ‘Just so we’re clear, what secret are you talking about?’

  ‘A little story about Bob, a despatulator, and a very unpredictable friend of yours. That friend,’ she said pointing to Ann, with her lips curled in a menacing smile, ‘who, if I am not mistaken, has a very good throwing arm. Getting a fair idea are you?’

  ‘Okay,’ I said, and I felt more than a little concerned about what she intended to do with that information. ‘So what’ll it take for you to keep our secret? What do you want from us, apart from our ghoul that is? And if Pony is not yet a ghoul, what is she?’

  ‘Your ghoul is experiencing a period of bliss if you would like to put a name to it, and you humans do so like naming things. I have never understood it,’ she said becoming deep in thought again.

  ‘It means for the next few days, weeks, maybe even months, she will remain in that state until the transformation is complete,’ Vila said with a strange look on her face. ‘It all depends on how much trauma is ahead for your ghoul, and after tasting her breath, if today is anything to go by, I’d say Pony has a lot of trauma ahead. The plus side to this is she will be able to do things other ghouls cannot, and birthed ghouls could never do.’

  ‘As for what it will take for me to keep your secret, I have a small problem of my own, that her skill set can remedy for me.’ she said pointing to Ann.

  ‘Why do you want Ann’s help? I asked, though secretly agreeing with her trauma analysis for Pony. ‘You’re obviously magical. What can Ann do for you that you can’t do for yourself?’

  ‘And your ghoul,’ she added.

  ‘Pony? No way witch,’ I said a little louder than I intended. Changing my tone to a low whisper, I said, ‘Pony might be a ghoul, but she’s very fragile at the moment. It’s been a distressing week for her, and I don’t think it’s fair to make her do something traumatic. Is it something traumatic?’

  I couldn’t see Vila anywhere. Her disappearing act had started to get on my last nerve, so I decided to carry on as if she was still there because it made sense she probably was.

  ‘Traumatic?’ Vila said reappearing on the table once more. ‘It i
s traumatic for me, so it will either be traumatic or not, for your ghoul.’

  ‘I won’t allow you to make her do anything she doesn’t want to do,’ I said leaning down to the table in an attempt to look her in the eye. ‘You just finished telling me Pony would stay that way if she’s kept traumatised.’

  ‘Yes, that is true,’ said Vila disappearing, then reappearing on the branch above the table. ‘But I am out of options and unable to take care of this problem by myself.’

  ‘What do you want from Ann and Pony?’ I asked. Ann was screwed up enough after Bob, and I have to say I hadn’t completely recovered from watching his demise, nor the eating of him.

  ‘There is a type of dragon who frequents my Garden, called a sugaar,’ Vila said, making me jump a little as she shimmered to my shoulder and whispered in my ear.

  ‘He tries to seduce me, and if I do not fall for his dragon charms,’ she continued, ‘he creates a storm and scatters my Men to other gardens tended by other… witches. I have spurned his advances for far too long. If your friend does not help me, I think I will go and whisper in Eric’s ear.’

  I didn’t want to fight a dragon, but sizing Vila up; I did wonder how big it could be. I certainly didn’t want Ann to have to kill again, and sure as hell didn’t want to watch Pony devour its lifeless body.

  Whispering in my other ear, Vila continued to tell me what she wanted them to do.

  ‘I want her, to eradicate the sugaar,’ she said and began flitting in and out of view while pointing to Ann.

  I looked at the girls, who were all standing at the end of the trailer watching us talk. I was sure they could see the whites of my eyes through the darkness. Occasionally I’d see a slither of green light shine across Vila’s face, and I knew Pony was also keeping an eye on what she was doing.

  ‘I can’t make Ann do that.’ I whispered. ‘She’s already traumatised by what happened earlier. If she has to do it again, it might break her, and I like my friends just the way they are. We’re family, and we stick together. So no, Ann will not kill your sugaar for you. Why don’t you have Eric kill it?’

  ‘The sugaar would create a severe storm,’ Vila said. ‘One that would likely kill Eric before he even knew what was happening. But you and your friends… I know you can overcome what many cannot.’

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘I’m sorry about your trouble with this sugaar, but we can’t help you.’

  ‘Are you sure? she hissed, disappearing again. ‘Then what about her?’

  Turning to follow her voice, I found her seated on Deb. I stood up and moved towards the end of the bike.

  ‘What about her?’ I asked Vila who was on her shoulder.

  ‘What?’ asked Deb.

  ‘Not you Deb, Vila.’

  ‘Oh, okay… what? Get off me,’ Deb yelled, then started shaking her shoulder trying to get Vila off.

  ‘Calm down Deb,’ I said placing my hand on her shoulder. ‘She’ll disappear in a minute.’

  ‘Look behind her,’ Vila said. ‘Will your friend kill the sugaar if this friend falls for its charms?’

  I watched as the last of Vila dissipated into the warm night air, then saw a hideous creature rise behind the girls. It already towered above us and appeared to be growing larger by the second.

  ‘Ah yes,’ I muttered. ‘That would be a sugaar I suppose.’

  Sugaar

  Looking at the sugaar rising above the girls, I saw it was an odd-looking creature, and not exactly how I’d pictured it at all. I thought if something was called a dragon, then it would at least look a bit like a dragon. This one looked more like a huge cobra and appeared to have brought his flute with him.

  The lower part of his body resembled the snake, with white and pink scales down its front, and darker scales edged along either side of its body. That’s where the resemblance to the cobra ended.

  It had the head of a man, but like the horned viper, had two small horns protruding from his brow, and I supposed his head could be lopped off at the neck if it did come to it. He had black spiked ridges across the bridge of his nose, and his eyes were yellow slits with an iris of red. His chest also looked like a man’s. It was scaly, with a hairy strip of flesh running down the centre, where he had a surprising abdomen with a tight six-pack.

  In his hands, yes he had two of them, he held what looked like a flute carved out of a river reed, or a piece of bamboo.

  I was evaluating our options when I remembered the girls. I’d already taken several steps back when I first saw the sugaar, but the girls weren’t aware of his presence at all.

  ‘Come to me,’ I whispered while motioning with my hands for the girls to walk slow and quiet. ‘Deb? Do not look behind you, just keep walking.’

  Moving towards me, Deb had just got a bit of a trot up when the dragon’s tail came out from the bushes. It was a lot larger than the sugaar had first presented. It was how I’d expected a dragon’s tail to look.

  As it swung around, it cut a bush in half, and we ducked as it passed us to remove Eric’s old wood table-top. It lay up against the tree where Vila had been sitting. Kaz started screaming and ran and hid behind the tree.

  Deb wasn’t quick enough. The dragon’s tail slammed into her legs and wrapped around her feet. She fell hard, face-first into the grass. We watched as the sugaar pulled his tail back, and heard Deb’s screams as he dragged her face along the ground. He picked her up by the legs, then swung her around, so her face was inches from his own.

  ‘Where are you Vila?’ the dragon called, but Vila remained hidden.

  ‘I know you are here, I can smell you,’ he said sniffing the air, while occasionally releasing a plume of smoke from each nostril.

  ‘Why do you fight for someone who hides from you, and me?’ he asked Deb.

  Ann ran at the sugaar trying to rescue her but he opened his mouth, and I saw what looked to be a small-ball of fire building in it. She wasn’t far from Deb’s hands when I saw the dragon lift her away from his mouth moments before he spat a fire-ball at Ann. I tried to warn her but was too late.

  It landed inches from her feet. It caused a small explosion that knocked Ann over.

  Then I heard a sweet song wafting through the air, and looking up, saw the sugaar playing his flute. He looked surprised. I think we were supposed to get drawn into its song, or something. He played it again while looking at us. There was an audible “Harrumph” as he lifted a large scale to the left of his torso, and tucked his flute away.

  ‘Why do you fight me?’ he asked, bringing Deb back to hang in front of his mouth. ‘I do not quarrel with you, and yet Vila has assembled an army to fight me. Why?’

  ‘You attacked us,’ I called, trying to draw the dragon’s attention away from Deb. ‘That’s right you heard me. You’re holding my friend with your tail. You knocked her to the ground and dragged her to you.’

  ‘We haven’t begun to fight yet,’ said Ann. ‘You threw fireballs at us, and you’re holding my sister. What did you think I would do? Vila didn’t assemble an army to fight you. You chose to attack us.’

  ‘Big mistake mister,’ I called.

  The sugaar growled and opened his mouth. Lifting Deb high above him, he spat a hot stream of blue and yellow fire at us. We threw ourselves to the ground as the flames licked above our heads.

  ‘What tha fuck man. Put that fire out. We’ll get kicked outta tha park,’ called someone woken by the fight.

  ‘God damn it! Can’t a man get any sleep?’ complained another.

  ‘Who’s havin’ a barbecue?’ ask someone else.

  I tried to ignore the rough sleepers, even though I felt sorry for them. I walked to Ann, thinking Kaz had my back, but she was still hiding behind the tree. The sugaar took a deep breath, and plumes of smoke flew out of his nostrils, just as he spat another stream of fire.

  The flames engulfed Ann, and me.

  I was thinking I could hear screaming as the flame hit, only to find it was me, but the flames hadn’t touched Ann or myself. I looked ar
ound and saw we were in an invisible bubble. I could see the flame, but couldn’t feel the heat. It was like some invisible type shield, or barrier was holding them back.

  Ann looked at me when she realised the flames were moving around us, with a what the hell look in her eyes. I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t know what was going on. As the flames died down, the sugaar’s eyes opened wide, and while holding Deb screaming above his head, he slithered towards us for a closer look. He was as surprised as we were, that we weren’t burnt to a crisp.

  Slithering back to where he’d been, he shot another stream of fire. Again we were shielded from both flame and heat. I looked around to see if the others were okay. Kaz was watching on in astonishment as the flames subsided, and I could still hear Deb’s screams, but as the flames died down, again she saw we were okay.

  ‘I’m going to try something,’ Ann said, pushing me away. Then I heard her say, ‘I hope you’re there Ya-Ya.’

  She stood tall, put her arms out to her side, clenched her hands into fists, then brought them together. Slightly bending her knees, she extended her legs as if she was about to perform a star jump. Instead, she bent over, placed her fists on the grass, and began speaking in an odd language.

  While Ann was preparing herself to try… well I didn’t know what, I noticed the dragon had begun building another ball of fire. It must’ve been adrenalin because instead of taking cover, I found myself running back towards Ann. Standing between her and the sugaar, I tried to give Ann time to do whatever she was doing.

  ‘Get out of the way,’ Ann yelled as she broke from her chant.

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘Just do what you’re going to do and hurry. I’ll try to hold the dragon off.’

  ‘Hold the dragon off?’ I heard Kaz ask from the safety of the tree.

  The sugaar spat the fireball, and I realised I might’ve been about to die. Hoping I was close enough to Ann’s shield I watched the flame hurtle towards me. Putting my arms in front of my face, I waited for it to hit, amidst the screams of terror from my friends. Relieved beyond belief, it curved around me again.