Chasing the Moon

by A. Lee Martinez

The lush forest surrounding the road was a strange mix of traditional greenery and odd plants she didn’t recognize. Things lurked in the shadows. Instinct told her they were nothing to fear. Just insubstantial shades caught between realities.

  Eventually she reached the big house at the center of this. Sharon sat on the front porch, waiting for Diana.

  That twinge above Diana’s eye spread to her entire scalp.

  “Sorry I’m late,” she said. “I got hung up.”

  They shook hands. It was an awkward gesture between them. There was something about this place, something that labeled Diana an outsider at best, an intruder at worst.

  Sharon led Diana into the house. They passed through the entryway, down a hall, and into a dining room, where Greg was having something to eat.

  “Ah, good to see you again, Diana.” He didn’t sound sincere.

  He offered her something. She turned it down. Since she had entered the estate her appetite had faded for the first time in a long while. It might have been a welcome feeling, if not for the weird tingles and pricks across her skin at the moment.

  “Thank you for seeing me,” she said.

  “Oh, no need to thank me. Sharon has been very important to our cause. She made quite a case for you.”

  “Diana has concerns,” said Sharon. “I was hoping you’d be able to help her with those.”

  Greg smiled as he spread some pâté on a cracker. “Concerns are only natural. You’re only human, after all, right?”

  He laughed. The women echoed the chuckle awkwardly.

  “So what’s on your mind, Diana?”

  She tried to organize her thoughts, although the way the atmosphere pressed against her made that difficult. Not to mention that she genuinely didn’t know how to voice her concerns.

  “It’s Calvin. You do realize he’s going to destroy the world, right?”

  Greg offered a patronizing grin. “Ah, there’s your problem. Do you really think that’s what’s going to happen? No wonder you’re so concerned.”

  He took a drink of wine, but he did so with agonizing slowness. He picked up the glass, swished the liquid around, sniffed it, took a very slight sip, and set the glass back into its original place with robotic precision.

  “Fenris isn’t going to destroy the world. He’s going to purify it. He’s going to strip away all the unnecessary bits and leave us with something better, more beautiful and raw.”

  He narrowed his eyes. His grin became more obviously sinister.

  “Primal.”

  “With all due respect,” said Diana angrily, “what the hell does that even mean?” She was getting sick of this vaguely philosophical nonsense.

  Greg was taken aback. “I’ve been more than accommodating to this point, but it’s clear you don’t get it. Perhaps you lack the ability to understand the subtleties—”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to snap, but it’s just so frustrating.”

  “I can imagine.” And for once, he sounded sincere. “Can we cut the bullshit?” he said. “You seem like a good person, and we’re so close to the end that I don’t see any reason not to level with you.”

  He stood, picked at something in his teeth.

  “It’s all crap. All of it. The cult. This house. All the talk about primordial beauty. It sounds good on paper, and it brings in the cultists, makes everyone feel better, like they’re part of some grand, cosmic life cycle. But it’s complete and utter bullshit. New Agey nonsense that doesn’t mean a damn thing.

  “I only come up with it because people can’t handle the truth. Or maybe they just don’t want to hear it. Regardless, I can see that you don’t need me to feed you the standard line. Do you want to know the truth, then?

  “The truth is that I have no more control over anything that’s happening than you do. I don’t control Fenris. I don’t exert the slightest influence over him. And I most certainly can’t change hi nature or stop what will happen.”

  “But aren’t Calvin and Fenris the same thing?” asked Diana. “Can’t you just talk to Calvin about it?”

  “Calvin is just a very small piece of Fenris, and he doesn’t have any more control over the moon god than I do. That’s the truth. Fenris is one entity divided into three aspects. The moon is the physical substance of the creature. Fenris itself is all of its metaphysical bulk. And Calvin, tiny little Calvin, is the creature’s intellect. Divided, each of these aspects is largely harmless. But when joined together, they become an absolute. Unstoppable. Inescapable. A united Fenris will tear this world to pieces, and there’s not a damn thing to be done about it.

  “But I have seen the future, and while our universe will be almost destroyed by Fenris’s escape, it will not be irreparably damaged. It will fix itself. The broken threads will wrap themselves into new shapes, new forms. Our world will survive. In some savage form. I’m merely attempting to save as many souls as I can in the aftermath by harnessing the mystical force unleashed to survive the storm of chaos and ensure that some of us come out the other side alive.”

  Diana’s vision grew bleary. She had trouble breathing.

  “Oh, I can’t guarantee that what people come out the other side will be recognizable as such. In fact, I can say with certainty that to survive the cataclysm we’ll have to change into something else entirely. The survivors will be monsters, but at least something of us will remain. Something deep down. It’s not much.” He shrugged. “But it’s the best we can hope for.”

  “But…” Her legs were weak. “But…” She couldn’t think straight.

  “Sorry. I guess I should’ve warned you. Only those who are linked with the moon god can tolerate this place for long. Your connection to other forces is going to have adverse side effects.”

  Diana stood halfway before falling to the floor.

  “Greg, what are you doing?” said Sharon. “This isn’t right.”

  He sighed. “Sharon, this woman means well, but she could jeopardize everything. She clearly knows just enough to be dangerous. If she’d been smarter, she wouldn’t have come in here at all. If she’d been dumber, she’d have stayed out of it.”

  Diana twitched. She crawled in a random direction, confused by her unreliable senses.

  “You said you’d help her understand,” said Sharon.

  “I know, and I’m sorry that I lied. But it’s a lie for the greater good. If she interferes, if she disrupts the delicate balance, then Fenris will destroy everything. You know that’s true. You know that this is the right thing to do, no matter how distasteful it might be.”

  Diana gurgled. Sharon stopped looking at the pathetic thing.

  “We can’t just leave her there.”

  “We’ll put her in one of he bedrooms. She’ll be fine once it’s all over.”

  They carried her upstairs to one of the nicer rooms and laid her down on the bed.

  Diana’s pale flesh was sallow and waxen. If she was trying to speak, her voice came out only as a series of unintelligible noises.

  “In a few hours,” he said, “none of this will matter.”

  “What about her monsters?” asked Sharon.

  “I wouldn’t worry about them. The interference that’s gripped her has probably destroyed their ability to focus as well. And even if they are still alert enough, they can’t come in here.”

  “It doesn’t seem right, Greg.”

  “Right and wrong won’t matter tomorrow.”

  He walked out of the room.

  Sharon watched Diana convulse for a few minutes. Her body became a twisted ball of knots as muscles bulged and flexed against her will. Her eyes had rolled back, and she could only drool.

  Sharon hated him for it, but Greg was correct.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Diana gasped and for a moment there was intelligence in her eyes. She grabbed Sharon’s leg, tried to say something, then fell twitching again. Sharon left Diana to struggle with her own broken form.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

 
; Vom was back in the closet. He didn’t remember going back to it, but he never did.

  He moved some coats aside and cleared away some shoes for a place to sit. He couldn’t see anything while the door was shut, but he didn’t need to. Vom knew the closet well. Knew every pair of shoes, every hanger in it, so he was surprised when something squishy and unexpected got in his way.

  “Ow,” said the unexpected thing.

  “Zap, is that you?” asked Vom.

  “Who else would it be? Where are we?”

  “The closet.”

  Smorgaz spoke up in the dark. “Your closet?”

  Vom pondered. This was new.

  Something poked him in the back.

  “Watch it!”

  “Sorry,” said Smorgaz.

  “How did we get in here?” asked Zap.

  “I don’t know, but it was crowded enough without the two of you.” Vom shoved Smorgaz, who shoved back. In the struggle, Vom accidentally kicked Zap.

  “Hey, watch it!”

  “You watch it!” grumbled Vom. “This is my closet.”

  “Well, if we’re going to be stuck sharing the damn thing, we’ll have to make the best of it.” Despite Zap’s supernatural vision, he couldn’t see anything in the darkness. For a being capable of glimpsing the hydrogen atoms dancing at the heart of stars, it was disconcerting. He probed the floor with his tentacles. They ran across the cheap carpeting, the old shoes. “Wow. This really is a closet.”

  “What did you think it was?” asked Vom.

  “I just assumed it was different when you were trapped in it. I didn’t think it would be so… closety.”

  “Nope. That’s all it is. Actually, I think it’s a little bit bigger now that you two are here. Maybe some space was added to accommodate all of us.”

  “Not enough,” said Smorgaz as someone jabbed him in the eye. “So what do we do now?”

  “We wait,” said Vom, “for the next person to get the apartment.”

  “How long is that going to take?”

  “Could be in five minutes,” said Vom. “Could be a thousand years.”

  “Does this mean Diana is dead?” asked Smorgaz.

  “Probably.” Vom sighed. “Too bad. I liked her.”

  “I don’t think she is,” said Zap.

  “I know it stinks,” said Vom, “but if she were alive I wouldn’t be in here. It’s only if the link between us disappears that I get shoved back in this place.”

  “But what about us?” asked Zap. “Why are Smorgaz and I here?”

  “Because… I don’t know, but there has to be some perfectly good reason for it.”

  “Yes, and that reason is that Diana isn’t dead yet. I can sense her, feel her presence. Can’t you?”

  Smorgaz shifted, stepping on Vom’s foot. “Sorry.” He moved again, knocking hangers off the rod. “Oops.”

  “Stand still while we figure this out,” said Zap.

  “Just let me move this fur coat out of the way first.”

  “Hey, watch the hands,” said Vom.

  Smorgaz chuckled. “My mistake.”

  Zap shouted, “Will you two shut up and listen to me? Feel it. Can’t you sense Diana’s influence?”

  “I am feeling a bit confused and overwhelmed,” said Vom. “And kind of pissed off at the same time.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Smorgaz. “Me too.”

  They quieted, each tuning his personal metaphysical radio to Diana’s frequency. The signal was static-filled, muffled, but it was there. That they could think clearly at all proved it.

  “Something has gone wrong,” said Zap. “They must have done something to her.”

  “Figure that out with your all-seeing eye, did you?” asked Vom.

  “Shut up.”

  “So what difference does it make?” asked Smorgaz. “Whether she’s alive or dead, we’re still trapped in here until someone lets us out, right?”

  “If she’s not dead, then maybe we don’t have to wait for that. Maybe we can get out on our own.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” said Vom. “There’s no way out of this box. I’ve tried.”

  “You’ve tried when you were mere cosmic flotsam in a cold storage room,” said Zap. “But now, I think this is just a reaction to Diana’s situation. Maybe if we put some effort into it we can open the closet together.”

  “Can’t hurt to try,” said Vom.

  They pushed, grunting and groaning and straining. They were inexhaustible, but after half an hour they did get bored.

  Vom frowned in the dark. “This is a waste of time.”

  “We can’t give up,” said Zap.

  “Why not?”

  “Because Diana wouldn’t give up.”

  “Oh, hell.” Vom threw his shoulder into the door. “Let’s do this.”

  To his surprise, the door opened. He fell out and onto the floor. Pogo squealed, lapping at Vom’s face with his jagged tongue while West stood in the room, his hand on the closet door’s handle.

  “What were you doing back in there?” asked West.

  “It’s a bit complicated.” Zap floated out. “Thanks for letting us out.”

  West rubbed his face. “Don’t thank me. Thank the dog. Came and got me.”

  “Why didn’t Pogo go into the closet?”

  “The dog doesn’t belong to this apartment. He belongs to Apartment Two.”

  Zap disintegrated the coffee table.

  “All right. Back in business. Now let’s go rescue Diana!”

  Yipping and hissing, Pogo hopped arounid get bt>

  They ran from the apartment and down the hall, pausing at the threshold to the outside universe. From inside the building the flux of the universe was visible as a strange stew of bubbles floating in the air itself. Other worlds could be glimpsed in the glittering spheres. The universe was fraying around the edges. The pressure from all the outside realities might cause the whole thing to collapse, crushing it into nothingness.

  “I wouldn’t recommend going out there,” said West. “Without Diana to anchor you and with everything falling apart, there’s no telling what reaction it could cause.”

  Fenris roared, and the world shuddered.

  “Safest place in the world is right here,” said West. “Whatever happens out there, it’s best to let it run its course.”

  “But what about Diana?” asked Vom.

  “She might survive it.” West shrugged. “Might not.”

  The monsters said nothing.

  “So what should we do?” asked Smorgaz.

  “Leave it be,” said West. “You’ll only make it worse.”

  “But what about Diana?” asked Zap this time.

  “She wouldn’t leave us behind,” said Smorgaz. “She’d try to help us.”

  “No, she wouldn’t,” said West. “She’d get rid of you the first chance she could.”

  The monsters didn’t even argue the point.

  “I still like her,” said Vom.

  They all agreed on this. They knew she was just another human, and there were billions more out there. Or, if the humans all disappeared tomorrow, something else would be there to fill her warden position.

  But they liked her.

  “Oh, heck,” said Zap. “What are we even risking? There’s nothing out there that can hurt us. Right?”

  They looked to West, who stared back at them inscrutably.

  Pogo bound past the threshold. Nothing happened to the hellhound. He turned and shrieked at the others to follow him. Reasonably assured that they were beyond the primordial madness taking place, they followed. They made it only a few steps before succumbing to the strange forces and collapsing to the ground. They burst from their skins, transforming into shapes closer to their true forms.

  Vom grew a dozen extra limbs and started shoveling concrete, automobiles, and lampposts into a hundred gullets in a blind devouring hunger. Smorgaz became a great misshapen blob of purple. Dozens of pods burst open as countless clones spawned. Zap crackled with power.
His gaze swept across the world, blasting holes in the street.

  Pogo remained unchanged because that was his true form.

  The mindless horrors turned on each other. Vom bit off one of Zap’s tentacles. Zap responded by burning Vom’s face off. The great immobile lump that was Smorgaz screeched, and his spawn tackled Vom and Zap, clamoring over them. It was only their focus on each other that kept the block from being reduced to ruins and ash.

  Pogo raised his head and shrieked. The other beasts stopped their struggle as the minuscule creature yipped in their direction. Vom, Zap, and Smorgaz turned their attention skyward. They launched themselves into the air and toward the moon god above.

  “Well, I’ll be,” said West. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

  Pogo squealed, then ran off down the street.

  Sharon had wanted to speak to Calvin one last time, but things were so hectic she didn’t get a chance to exchange more than a few words with him. The hell of it was that the robes, chants, and ceremony all amounted to so much busywork. Nothing the Chosen did had any influence over Fenris. The cult was a parasite clinging to the moon god’s belly.

  Calvin sat on his throne. For once he didn’t look bored. The Chosen swayed and sang his praises in nonsense syllables that Greg had given them. She stood beside the throne, phoning it in, fully aware that the creature above didn’t care in the slightest about her degree of enthusiasm.

  Some of the more fervent cultists stripped naked and screamed gibberish. Morons, she thought.

  Greg stood on the other side of the throne. He was silent, relaxed. No need for the show now.

  The earth rumbled as the tentacle god-beast drew closer and closer to the moon it had spent countless millennia pursuing. The hapless ordinary people who pursued their lives, blissfully ignorant of the strangeness of a much vaster universe, remained so. The coming joining was invisible, and would be until it was too late.

  Fenris brushed the moon with the tip of his tentacle.

  Calvin’s hand tingled. He peeled away the skin like a candy wrapper. It even made that crinkling noise.

  The Chosen’s chant changed, transforming from nonsense into a string of syllables not made for human mouths. They swayed in unison, whispered in a language Calvin had forgotten long ago.