by R. W. Ridley
“I looked at Kavi. ‘I guess this is what you were trying to tell me.’
“She nodded with a disgusted look on her face.
“The Délon dismounted. ‘General Roy,’ he said.
“I stepped in front of Bobby.
“‘These are my soldiers,’ he said motioning to the men who were not so cleverly concealed. He sniffed the air. ‘And you are this Storytellers warrior, I presume.’
“I looked to Kavi for direction but she had nothing to offer and considering my inability to read sign langue, no way to communicate it to me.
“‘I am creyshaw,’ I said.
“General Roy smiled and the sight of it sent pin pricks up my spine. ‘I see you’ve taken to the Silencer’s word. Fair enough, creyshaw. You can handover the Storyteller now.’
“‘No,’ I said, although not very convincingly.
“He rolled his dead eyes. ‘You creyshaws are all the same. You really must do something about this obnoxious need to display useless heroism. You’re friend Anuenue went to the trouble of setting you up, you could at least be courteous enough to hand over the Storyteller and come with us back to Délon City without incident.’
“I looked at the multi-colored baboon. ‘You little rat.’
“The large mandrill roared and leapt on Bobby’s back. I grabbed the monkey by the scruff of its neck and flung it to the ground. It tumbled head over ass and then regained it’s footing.
“‘Enough!’ General Roy shouted. He signaled for one of his soldiers to step forward and said something to him that I couldn’t hear. The Délon he called forward steps back behind the tree line and re-emerges dragging a man dressed in silver armor by his arms. ‘You can stop looking for your Keeper,’ General Roy said. ‘We’ve found him for you.’
“My knees began to shake. I was in way over my head. I had no idea what to do. I turned to Bobby to try to give him some words of comfort and was struck by the huge smile on his face. I suddenly realized he had read this story before.
“‘Bobby,’ I said, ‘are we back on track. Is this the way the story is supposed to go?’
“‘Almost,’ he said.
“‘Are you telling me there’s a way out of this?’ I asked.
“He nodded.
“‘Help me out here, Bobby. What do I do?’
“A strong wind blew through the trees.
“‘It’s getting cold,’ Bobby said hugging himself.
“‘That’s the least of our worries right now, Bobby,’ I said.
“He pointed to General Roy who somehow looked less imposing. ‘They don’t like the cold.’
“‘Great, but how does that help us?’
“Thunder crashed overhead. A flash of lighting shot through the sky.
“‘It’s going to start raining,’ Bobby said.
“‘You know, Bobby, I really appreciate these little weather reports, but if you want me to be totally honest they aren’t really helping.’
“A rain drop hit my shoulder and then my nose. The water was cold... almost ice cold. I wiped the droplet from nose and rubbed it into my fingers. ‘Freezing rain,’ I said to no one in particular.
“A shriek came from General Roy’s soldiers, followed by two more. General Roy mounted his horse, took one last look at us, and vanished into the tree line just as a steady rain began to fall.
“‘Délons don’t like the cold,’ Bobby repeated.
“‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘That was great timing.’
“The man dressed in armor was still face down where the Délon had dropped him. Kavi, Bobby, and I ran to him and turned him over. He was alive but he didn’t speak. The armor helmet kept his face hidden. I struggled to remove it and when I finally did, I wanted to put it back on him as quickly as possible.
“The man in armor wasn’t a man at all. His face was mostly teeth. His eyes and nose were barely visible. His grayish-green skin was slimy and pitted.
“‘Wow,’ I said to Bobby. ‘You Storytellers are twisted.’
“‘He’s a Myrmidon,’ he said.
“‘And is that Latin for ugly?’
“‘No,’ Bobby said. ‘It’s American. Myrmidon’s are ant people. They lived a long time ago. Some kind of god made them. Dr. Bashir told me about them. I thought they were neat.’
“‘So if this is your Keeper, where are the monsters... Destroyers... whatever you call them?’
“‘They can’t come out until I’m captured. Those are the rules. Right now they’re still people.’
“‘Will they look like this?’ I asked.
“‘Yeah, ‘cept they’ll have black armor and they’ll be a bunch of them.’
“‘Do these people know they are the Myrmidons?’
“Bobby shook his head. ‘I don’t think so otherwise they would have never let me go.’
“‘Let you go?’
“‘Or tied me to the post so the lung locusts could get me.’
“Time seemed to stop as I processed Bobby’s last statement. Carl and his community were the Myrmidons. Or they will be if the Destroyers get their hands on Bobby. I leaned in and studied the Keeper. I was trying to determine how critical he was when he convulsed and hacked up a thick glob of blood that struck me in the face. I jerked back. I screamed and frantically wiped the slick substance from my cheek.
“‘He doesn’t look too good,’ Bobby said.
“With one eye closed to protect it from the Myrmidon’s bloody discharge, I said, ‘We should get him out of the rain.’
“I draped his arm over my shoulder and only then realized how large the Myrmidon actually was. I wouldn’t be able to carry him very far. I dug my feet into the slippery mountainside and headed back to the path that had brought us this far. I had forgotten about Anuenue, and only thought about him when I wished there were more of us in our group. No surprise, he had vacated the area without a trace. He was a hunted baboon. As soon as the other apes got wind of his betrayal, they wouldn’t stop until they found him, and when they found him, they wouldn’t leave much of him behind.
“‘Kavi,’ I said dragging the Keeper. ‘Find us a place to get out of the rain.’
“She extended her right index finger with her palm down and her other fingers pointing towards her. She made a large counterclockwise semi-circle around her left hand in the shape of a ‘C.’
“Frustrated, I said, ‘I don’t understand.’
“She rolled her eyes and huffed.
“‘You lead. We’ll follow,’ I said motioning with my head.
“She turned, quickly knuckle-walked to the other side of the path, and zipped through the foliage.
“‘Slower!’ I shouted as I struggled to drag the Myrmidon and keep pace with her. ‘Bobby, run up there and tell her that I can’t keep up with her.’
“‘Okay,’ Bobby said and then bolted past me. As soon as he was under the canopy of trees where Kavi had vanished, I lost sight of him.
‘Bobby!’ I said breathing heavy. ‘Wait. Stay where I can see you.’ He didn’t answer. I stood on the edge of the tree line and shouted for Bobby and Kavi. I entered the darkness and almost immediately lost my bearings. It was impossibly dark. I could barely see two feet in front of me. I heard the ferns on the forest floor rustle and snap as I ventured further in. The Myrmidon’s feet skidded and popped across the countless exposed tree roots that made it difficult to take more than one cautious step at a time. The ground dipped down and I stumbled into a churning creek. The bed was made up of loose gravel and mud. I trudged on, cursing myself for letting Bobby out of my sight. My knees began to shake and wobble. I couldn’t go on much farther. I stopped to catch my breath. I was wet, scared, and exhausted. I thought of dropping the Myrmidon and coming back for him when I found Kavi and Bobby, but a mist had moved in and I knew with such poor visibility, I would never be able to find the Keeper again. I heard the howl of a chimpanzee just ahead. As I felt a wave of relief take over my body and give me a sudden burst of energy, I realized that what I thought w
as a chimpanzee howl could have just as well have been a mandrill howl. I put the thought out of my mind and stomped forward.
“A hand grabbed me out of the darkness and pulled me forward. Through the darkness I could make out the facial features of Kavi. She guided me through the mist and gloom until I heard Bobby’s voice.
“‘I told her,’ he said. ‘She didn’t listen, but I told her.’
“Kavi helped me lay the Myrmidon gently on the side of the creek bed. ‘You did good, Bobby. You did good.’ I collapsed to the ground and sucked in as much oxygen as I could. To Kavi, ‘Next time I’ll lead and you carry the freakishly heavy ant man.’
“She flashed me a grin.
“I soaked in our surroundings. I could hear the rain pounding the treetops, but I couldn’t feel the rain hitting us or the ground. The mist rolled and slowly drifted out of my line of sight. I noticed for the first time that there was a roof over our heads and walls to the right and left of us. I stood and placed my hand on the right wall. Rock. The same with the roof and the left wall. I looked at Kavi and repeated the sign she had given me earlier. ‘Does this mean cave?’
“She pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders as if to say ‘Kind of.’
“I turned and looked into the mouth of the cave. I was about to meet the one and only Oz.
Oz
FOURTEEN
MIL STO. The letters look so big on the page they divert my attention from Scoop-face’s session. MIL STO. The ‘E’ seemingly grew larger than the other letters. I move it in front of the MIL. EMILY. Lou’s real first name is Emily. I can see her now in my mind’s eye. We were standing in the charred Taker universe. She was walking away with Wes.
“Wait a minute,” I said.
They stopped.
“Lou, what’s your real name?”
She turned to me, tears in her eyes. “Emily,” she said. “Emily Bristol.”
I frenziedly write the name in the notebook. It was her. I scramble to my feet. “Emily,” I say out loud.
Something slams against the door. I hear the sound of air exiting a human body.
“What are you doing, Bones?” Chester’s voice practically crashed through the heavy wood door.
A pained voice responds. “Nothing.”
“What’s wrong with you? Why do you keep looking at that door?” Chester demanded.
“Nothing.”
Chester slams Bones against the door again. I place my hand on the handle and close my eyes. I exhale and pull the door open. Bones falls into the closet. Chester looms in the hallway. “What are you doing in there?” He barks. He drags me out of the closet by my shirt collar.
“Let me go!” I shout.
He tosses me to the ground. “This area ain’t part of the GP pass.”
I scoot back. “Emily Bristol,” I say.
He looks at me confused. “What?”
“I know Lou’s real name.”
“Who’s Lou and why do I care?” he says stomping forward.
“Snarkel, Snapper, Momma, Jaws, Spot, Jumper, Hambone, Charlie Boy,” I hear from over my shoulder. I turn to see Bones standing in the closet doorway with his eyes rolled back in his head.
“Don’t start up, Bones,” Chester says.
“Snarkel, Snapper, Momma, Jaws, Spot, Jumper, Hambone, Charlie Boy.”
A growl comes from the closet.
“What the...?” Chester says. He looks past Bones. Another growl. He steps forward. A chorus of growls. Chester leans in the open doorway. I hear a bark and see Chester stumble back. Charlie Boy bursts through the door and knocks Chester to the floor. Snarkle, Snapper, Momma, Jaws, Spot, and Hambone follow. Chester squeals.
“Call them off,” I say to Bones.
“Back!” Bones yells.
The dogs back away from Chester, but keep snarling. “What’s going on? Where did these dogs come from?” Chester asks, almost hyperventilating.
“I got news for you, Chester,” I say. “You’re about to find out you’re a butterfly.”
“What?”
“Keep him here,” I say to Bones.
He nods with a maniacal smile on his face.
I run down the hallway to Dr. Graham’s office and burst through the door. The doctor turns and stands. He’s angry at first and quickly becomes frightened when he sees me.
“Oz... What...?”
“Emily Bristol...” I shout. “Her name is Emily Bristol!” Scoop-face sits up, a smile spreads across his eyeless and noseless face.
“What is this all about?” Dr. Graham asks.
“This is about the end of this nonsense,” Scoop-face responds. “What do we do now?” I ask Scoop-face.
“Doc here sends us back,” He says.
“See here,” Dr. Graham interrupts. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’m going to have to insist you leave, Oz. Archie and I are in the middle...” He stops a confused look on his face. “We are in the middle of...”
“You’re feeling it, aren’t you, Doc?”
He looks at Scoop-face, “What...? I’m feeling a little disoriented...”
“Say her name again, kid,” Scoop-face says to me.
“Emily Bristol.”
Dr. Graham falls to his chair. He gasps and puts his hand over his mouth. “I... I... I know that name.”
“What’s happening?” I ask.
“You spoke her name,” Scoop-face says. “You are creyshaw. The doc’s starting to see that now.”
“Because I spoke Lou’s real name?”
“The Storytellers gave you this way out, Oz, so you could get back to where you belong, but you have to realize what you are. You’re the key. That hasn’t changed since day one. The Destroyers win if you’re not in the fight. That day in the Georgia Dome when Ajax killed Pepper, you made a deal with the Délons, if they let your friends go, you would help them find the Source. They agreed and, when you couldn’t deliver on your promise, they locked you up here. Only here isn’t here. It’s here,” he pointed to his head. “The Doc, Chester, the others, none of them are real.” He blindly motions to Dr. Graham. “Ain’t that right, doc?”
Dr. Graham slowly nods.
“What about you? Are you real?” I ask.
“Me? Yeah. Who would make this face up? He stands. “The Storytellers gave you an out, a magic word to get you back. You had to speak the real name of your one true love.”
“True love?” I say indignantly. “I don’t love Lou.”
He snickers. “Sure... whatever. The important thing is you spoke her name and now Dr. Graham is forced to send us back.”
“Where’s back?” I ask.
“The cave. To the time we first met. The only way this works is if we go back without leaving here. If the Délons know we’re not here, we lose the advantage.”
I try to wrap my head around what he just said. “How do we go back and stay here?”
He extends his hand and searches for Dr. Graham. “That’s where Doc comes in.” He signals for me to come to the couch. “C’mon, let’s do this.”
I hesitate and then trot to the couch. I stop before I sit. “Wait a minute. What about Bones?”
“Bones can’t go back.”
“But he helped me.”
“There’s no place for him back there.”
I scrutinize his face. “He’s not real.”
“Not back there he’s not. Only here.”
My heart aches for Bones. I hear nails clicking on the linoleum. His dogs create a half circle around the couch. Bones enters the room with a forlorn look on his face. “We can’t just leave him here,” I say to Scoop-face.
Scoop-face reaches for me and grabs my wrist, “He belongs here.” He pulls me down. “We have to do this now.” I sit on the couch next to him. “Bones,” he says. “You’re in charge while we’re gone. Got it?”
“I can’t go?” he asks, disappointment in his voice.
“We can’t do this without you and your dogs, skinny man. You understand? Your place is
here. These are the sacrifices you have to make when you are creyshaw.”
He gulps. “I am creyshaw?”
“You are,” Scoop-face says.
Bones’s disappointment turns to incredible pride in the blink of an eye. “I am creyshaw,” he says. “I will not leave this room. We will watch over you.”
Scoop-face leans back. “Do your thing, Doc.”
“What’s happening to me?” he says examining his hands. His face twitches and he ages 20 years and then just as quickly he is a kid of thirteen and then back to his original age.
“We don’t belong here anymore,” Scoop-face says. “Everything’s gone haywire. We stay much longer this whole place is going to collapse in on itself.”
Dr. Graham looks at me. “Is this real?”
I nod. “I... I think so.”
“Doc, get to hypnotizing, will ya’?” Scoop-face says.
Dr. Graham murmurs to himself and then orders us to close our eyes. He takes us through a breathing exercise and then begins to count backwards from ten. Just as I am slipping into a deep sleep, Scoop-face grabs my hand.
“Kid,” he says, “I know this old face of mine ain’t much to look at, but promise me you won’t do anything different. No matter how much I beg you, don’t change what you do to my face.”
“Why?”
“Because,” he snickers, “I am creyshaw.”
“You’re feeling relaxed, completely at ease,” Dr. Graham’s hypnotic monotone voice drones on. “You’re getting sleepy now. As you feel your self falling into a deep sleep, you find yourself back in the cave where you belong.”
Back
FIFTEEN
I opened my eyes and struggled to breathe. My head felt as if somebody had driven a spike through it. I sat up and surveyed the doctor’s office. I felt something sliding down my chest, and howled in horror when I saw a shunter crawling down my torso. I batted it to the floor. It hit the soft clay surface. That’s when I realized I wasn’t in Dr. Graham’s office. I was in the Pure’s cave.