by R. W. Ridley
“This is where you get off,” I said to Archie.
“What?” he asked, shocked and confused. “No! No way! I’ve got some unfinished business in there.”
“You’ve got unfinished business here,” I said. I motioned to Bobby.
“I did my part,” he barked, stepping toward me with bad intentions. “I got him to his Keeper. I can’t help it if the Keeper is half-dead.”
“We’ve still got a chance as long as Bobby’s alive and he’s under our care,” I said. “I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but even I can figure out walking him into a war zone is no way to secure his safety. You, Kavi, Bobby, and the Myrmidon need to get as far away from this place as possible. I suggest you loop around the fight and look for higher elevation. The colder it is the better. The Délons won’t be able to get to you.”
“Hey, boss,” Gordy said. “Any chance I can get out of this fight?”
“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me,” I said.
“Hold on!” Archie shouted. “This isn’t settled. I know you’re supposed to be this super warrior, Oz, but all I see is some scrawny kid who likes to order people around.”
Gordy said. “You can get pretty bossy, Oz-man.”
“You’re not helping,” I said to Gordy. I pulled Archie aside. “I know you want to make Carl pay for what he did to Tank. I don’t blame you, but there are more important things to consider here...”
“Wait a minute,” he said. “How do you know about Tank?”
“We don’t have time to go into that right now. Let’s just say I know a lot of things. I know about Tank. I know you hate the song “Friends in Low Places,” because it’s the only song Bobby knows and he won’t stop singing it. I know you saved April from the halfer. I know a lot of things. And you have to trust me that I know that taking Bobby any closer to the fight in front of us is the worst move you can make.”
He looked at me dumbfounded. He wrung his hands together, and grunted as he began to speak, only to stop abruptly because he had no idea what to say. Finally, he groaned, “Damn it!”
I smiled and nodded.
A pained squeal soared through the night air. Kavi hooted. She knew the ape the squeal came from. She leaned forward and then forced herself to back away. She wanted to join the fight, too.
“The Storytellers are all that matter in this world,” I said. “We do whatever it takes to keep them safe. Understood?”
Archie stared at me for a long time. He sighed heavily and then turned to Bobby. “Let’s go, Little B.” They turned to the right and took a parallel path back up the slope. Gordy and I helped Kavi hoist the Myrmidon on her back and watched her lumber after her human companions. Just as the small band of travelers was about to disappear into a thick row of hemlock trees, Archie stopped and shouted. “I am creyshaw!”
Gordy shook his head. “Nice. He should yell a little louder so every creepy crawly on the mountain knows where to find him.” I smiled. “He is creyshaw, Gordy.”
He shrugged. “So. What does that mean?”
“That means I feel sorry for any creepy crawly that does find him.”
SIXTEEN
We found a dead gorilla with an arrow through his neck shortly after Gordy and I split from the others. It was a young male. Ten feet from the gorilla we found the twisted body of some teenage boy. The kid was dressed in black from head to toe. A member of Carl’s crew, no doubt. A orangutan was huddled next to the dead boy. It was trembling. It didn’t take notice of us until we were mere feet away. The orange ape turned, flashed a toothy grimace, but didn’t advance.
I slowly put my hands up in front of me. “It’s okay.” The orangutan pounded a fist on the ground and barked. “We are on you side, red,” Gordy said.
The ape grabbed the twisted body of the boy and cradled it. “What do you make of that?” Gordy asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I think he’s confused. He’s been taught to protect humans, and now he’s forced to fight them.”
We carefully made our away around the orangutan and the boy and moved closer to the battle that was raging on in front of us. The groans, growls, hoots, and screams grew more and more intense as we inched forward. The instinct to flee was growing nearly impossible to fight. One look into Gordy’s eyes and I could see he was struggling with the same impulses.
“Tell me this is a good idea,” he whispered.
“This is a good idea,” I said with no feeling at all. He snickered. “You’re a terrible liar.”
As I was about to comment, I was interrupted by a hriek of unbelievable power and volume. A brown blur leapt from a nearby tree and knocked Gordy to the ground. I sprang forward only to have my left ankle whacked by a heavy tree limb. I crumpled in pain and flailed on the forest floor trying to rub the burning sensation out of my leg. A chimp’s face emerged in my line of sight. I quickly adjusted to the shock of seeing the ape suddenly appear, and determined that it was holding a rock above its head. It was about to bash my brains in.
“Hey!” a voice boomed. “Get your furry ass away from there!” The chimp looked up, huffed, and then backed away.
I peered up and nearly burst into tears when I saw Wes’s fat frame plodding toward me. I immediately forgot about the pain in my ankle and stood up. “Wes!”
“I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” he said as he approached. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked at me carefully. “Is it really you, Oz?”
“I think it is,” I said.
He guffawed. “Lordy! Lordy! Lordy!” he said hugging me so tight I could barely breathe.
We heard a screech and wail, followed by Gordy screaming, “Get this thing off me!”
Wes and I couldn’t help but laugh as we watched Gordy trying to fight off a small spider monkey.
“Did you have to bring him?” Wes asked.
Gordy successfully knocked the tiny primate from his shoulder and struggled to catch his breath. “Nice to see you too, Wes!”
“Come here,” Wes said putting his burly arm around Gordy and pulling him in for a bear hug.
The wisp of an arrow flying through the forest and the whack of the arrow hitting a nearby tree put a sudden end to our happy reunion. We all dropped to the ground and took cover.
“Man,” Wes grunted. “Those little punks brought the firepower with them.”
“How many are there?” I asked.
“Hard to tell,” Wes said. “I’m guessing three dozen or so. But as well trained as they are, there might as well be a couple of hundred of them.”
“What weapons do we have?”
“Four crossbows, some knives... nothing compared to what they’ve got.”
“I’m for turning around,” Gordy said.
“Where’s...” I hesitated before I said her name. I was almost afraid of Wes’s answer. “Lou?”
“We split up when this whole thing started. She spotted some poor sucker with J.J. and took off. She ain’t the most rational person.”
“That’s what makes her a great warrior,” I said smiling.
I looked through the thicket of trees to try to get a handle of the state of the battle. I spotted a silverback squared off against six of Carl’s crew, half armed with bows and arrows, the other half armed with large hunting knives. I caught a glimpse of the silverback’s scarred face and recognized Ajax’s snarl. I bolted ahead without a word to Wes and Gordy.
“Hey,” Wes growled. “What in tarnation do you think you’re doing?”
I felt a few arrows fly by my head as I raced through the woods. The searing heat of anger was coursing through my blood. I felt a surge of strength rise up inside of me. Previous experience with this phenomenon suggested the feeling was fleeting and wouldn’t last long. I had to take advantage of it quickly. I leapt through the air and tackled one of Ajax’s attackers to the ground. The arrow he had cocked flew harmlessly into the treetops. One of his friends tried to react quickly to my attack with a swift kick aimed at my head. I ducked, and the booted
foot landed squarely on the jaw of the kid I had just tackled. I jumped to my feet and pushed the first body I could find into the next body. It was total chaos. Ajax grunted, and I heard the glorious pock, pock, pock of him pounding his chest. I was back with my warriors. I was where I belonged.
Ajax had taken out four of the Carl’s crew before the other two bolted through the woods and out of sight. I turned to my old gorilla friend and shrugged, “You’re slipping, old friend. You used to be the one who came to my rescue.”
Ajax hooted. He teetered forward on two legs. His brown eyes nearly sucked the life out of me he was peering at me so intensely.
“It’s me,” I said. “It’s really me.”
He grabbed me and put me in a bear hug that dwarfed Wes’s. I patted his massive back. “Easy, big guy,” I wheezed. “Easy.”
“Let him go, you big ape,” Wes barked. “You’re going to smother him to death.”
Ajax released me. He bobbed his head while letting out a rapid-fire series of yowls.
“Lord goodness almighty Aphrodite, I ain’t never seen him carry on like that,” Wes said
“Hey, fellas,” Gordy said. “I hate to rain on this love fest, but you do know that there are a bunch of guys dressed in black running around here carrying lots of pointy things, right?”
The words had just settled on our eardrums when Gordy yelped and grabbed his shoulder. The arrow that struck him had splintered upon striking him. I turned to see a redheaded girl slowly approach with a bow loaded and cocked.
“Wait a minute, little miss,” Wes said. “Wait a minute.” Ajax panted.
“Madison,” I said.
She stopped and lowered the arrow. “Do I know you?” “No,” I said. “But I know you. You helped Archie and the others.”
She cocked her head as she studied me. “Where is he?”
I thought about the question. “Making up for some mistakes,” I said. I stepped forward. She raised the arrow again. I saw a bruise under her right eye.
“Carl do that?” I ask.
She looked away for a split second and then turned her focus back on me. “Rules are rules,” she said. “And consequences are consequences.”
“And fathers are fathers.”
She clenched her teeth. “How do you know so much about me?”
“Let’s just say I heard some things.”
“Look, miss,” Wes said. “I’d really appreciate it if you’d just put that bow and arrow down. Ain’t no harm happened here yet...”
“Excuse me,” Gordy said holding his shoulder. “What about me?”
Wes frowned. “Okay, almost then. Ain’t no real harm been done. You’ll live.”
Distracted by the exchange between Wes and Gordy, Madison didn’t notice the baboon that had snuck up behind her. In the blink of an eye, it dashed forward and ripped the bow and arrow from Madison’s grip. Gordy stumbled forward and tackled her to the ground. He raised a fist, and Wes immediately stepped in.
“Oh, no,” Wes said grabbing Gordy by the forearm. “Can’t let you do that, my friend.”
“She tried to kill me,” Gordy screamed.
“No she didn’t,” I said. “You’d be dead if she was trying to kill you.”
Gordy huffed. “I suppose you want me to thank her for shooting me in the shoulder.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” Madison said. “Just get off me, and we’ll call it even.”
“Listen here,” Gordy growled. “Don’t get smart...” Madison grabbed Gordy’s hair, and he let out a high-pitched shriek.
Wes and I pulled them apart chuckling madly as we did. We didn’t hear Carl and his crew approach. It was the arrow that struck Wes in the leg that finally got our attention. I spun on my heels desperately trying to muster the anger that gave me superhuman strength. It never came. We were severely outnumbered, and they had a trump card that kept me in check. One of Carl’s crew held my old sword J.J. to Lou’s neck.
I felt a heavy pounding in my chest. I heard the thumping of my own heart. Every breath I took was amplified. My mouth went dry. She had changed since the last time I saw her, but I could still see that scared, dirt covered little girl I first saw in the Kroger’s store in Manchester. Her eyes opened wide when she saw me. She wanted to run and wrap her arms around me, but she couldn’t. She swallowed, and I could see tears forming in her eyes.
Carl saw it, too. “My, my, someone’s happy to see you,” he said to me.
“Let her go,” I said.
“Hmm,” he said. “Let me think about it... Ahhh, no. You’re all coming with us.”
Ajax roared, charged forward, and wrapped his huge leathery hand around Madison’s neck. She fruitlessly slapped at his arm.
It was clear he had reduced her ability to breathe. She had to gasp to catch a breath.
Carl motioned for two of his crew to move in. Ajax responded by increasing pressure on Madison’s neck.
“Ajax,” I said. “Don’t...”
“Break her neck,” Wes said wincing in pain.
“What? No!” I snapped.
Lou yelped in pain as the kid holding the sword to her pressed harder and pierced the skin on her neck. Blood trickled down the blade.
“Stop!” I demanded.
“Kill her,” Carl said to Ajax. “Snap her neck like a twig. She’s been a terrible disappointment anyway. I’ll of course order Jerry to slice this one’s neck open.” He circled Lou as he talked. “It’s a shame, too. She’s a real fighter. If I had known, I wouldn’t have tried to sacrifice her to the lung locusts.”
“Mister,” Wes wheezed. “You kill that little one, and I promise you I will tear you limb from limb, put you back together, and do it all over again.”
“Nobody is going to kill anybody,” I said. “We’ll turn Madison over to you and you’re going to turn Lou back over to us.”
“Forgive me,” Carl sneered. “but this isn’t a negotiation. Either you’re all coming with us, or you’re all going to die.”
I scowled and stepped forward. “Carl, I don’t really like you.” He wrinkled his brow. “Do I know you?”
I shook my head. “No, but I know you. I know where your complex is. I know Madison is your daughter. I know you like to bully kids into believing that you’re this great leader when the truth is you couldn’t lead a Boy Scout troop in a sing-along. You’re as phony as a silk flower.”
He cleared his throat and stuck his chin out in an effort to look more authoritative. “Kill them,” he said to Jerry.
“Whoa,” Gordy said holding his wounded shoulder. “Let’s not do anything rash. Oz has been out of the loop for a while. He’s not really feeling like himself. So let’s just relax. Maybe we should just sit down and get to know each other. I’m a Libra...”
“Shut up, boy,” Wes said.
Ajax narrowed his glaring eyes and dragged Madison forward. Jerry raised his arrow. “The ape...”
“What about him?” Carl barked.
“He’ll kill Maddy as soon as I fire.”
“Did I ask you to access the situation, soldier?”
“No, sir,” Jerry responded.
“What I did I order you to do?”
“Kill them, sir.”
“Then what is the problem?”
Sweat formed on Jerry’s face. “She’s your daughter...”
Carl raised his crossbow and fired. The arrow struck Madison in the chest with a sickening thud. Startled, Ajax released his death grip on her neck and gently cradled her head in the crook of his arm.
A deafening silence shattered the anger and tension that had been building. Carl’s crew stood in stunned disbelief. In an instant, Carl had changed from leader to monster.
“Kill them!” he screamed.
Wes fumed. “Two minutes, pal! That’s all I want. Two minutes alone with you!”
I knelt next to Ajax. Madison was alive, but barely. Blood was coming out of her mouth. She struggled to breathe. She looked at me with a blank stare. “I miss my mom
.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
She swallowed. “It doesn’t hurt that much.”
“Shut her up!” Carl screamed.
She laughed and then winced in pain. “He destroyed himself.” With that, she took one last breath.
“What did she mean by that?” Carl asked. “I didn’t destroy myself. I’m right here. I’m a god! Nothing can destroy me!”
I stood and approached Carl. His eyes were as blank as his daughter’s. She was right. He did destroy himself. I yanked the crossbow from his hand. I addressed his crew. “This is over.”
A quick scan of the perimeter revealed dozens of ape eyes staring back at us.
Jerry pointed his arrow at me. “He did what he had to. She was weak.”
I pushed the arrow down. “It’s over. You can come with us, or you can go back to your complex. It’s up to you.”
Carl dropped to his knees. He began to wail. “I am a god!”
The ground suddenly shook beneath our feet. A belch of stale air rolled through the forest. I stuck my hands out to balance myself. Most of Carl’s crew tumbled to the ground. The apes screeched as the earth trembled.
Carl screamed, “I’m on fire!” His skin began to drop off in chunks. His bones cracked and snapped as his body grew in every direction. One-by-one, the same thing happened to everyone in his crew.
Gordy yelped in astonished horror. Wes groaned, and Ajax yowled in disbelief. Lou was so shocked she couldn’t move. She stood among the crippled crew and watched them morph into Myrmidons.
“Lou!” I shouted in order to be heard over the sounds of Carl’s crew screaming. She couldn’t hear me. I ran to her. “Lou.”
She looked up. It took a second or two for her to register what was going on, who I was, and what she was doing standing in the middle of human bodies literally being split apart.