Dead Boy

by Laurel Gale

  “I will,” Luke said, but he didn’t. He stared at the water, calm-looking but filled with hungry fish, then at his half-eaten hat, and he gulped. “Only I don’t want to leave you behind.”

  Melody snorted. “What do you think this test is about?” she asked Crow.

  “I’m not sure. What are spiders known for?”

  She shrugged. “Creeping me out? They build their webs, and then what? They just sit there and wait, right?”

  “Maybe that’s what we’re supposed to do.”

  “What?” Luke asked. “Build a web? I don’t know about you, freak, but I don’t have any webbing.”

  Crow ignored the insult. “Wait. I think we’re supposed to wait until the next platform comes close enough.”

  While Luke mumbled something about that being a stupid test, they all sat down. No one said anything for a while, preferring instead to watch the rectangles as they slid from side to side. They didn’t always make it all the way from one end of the room to the other before turning back. Sometimes they reversed direction after moving just halfway, or a third of the way, or a fourth of the way, irregular and unpredictable. The three of them could do nothing but wait, like a spider patiently waiting for a fly to become snared in its web.

  Their rectangle and the next rectangle slid toward each other. Crow, Melody, and Luke stood up, ready to move.

  So close. Just a foot away. Crow wondered if they should jump but forced himself to be patient. Fish ate the dead as well as the living.

  The rectangles slid back away from each other.

  “Come on!” Luke said. “We have to jump. It’s getting farther away.”

  Before he could jump, he slipped. His legs twisted beneath him in painful-looking angles, his head smacked against the edge of the rectangle, and his elbow landed in the water. Melody and Crow pulled him into the center of the platform.

  Luke glared at Melody. “Why’d you trip me?”

  Melody rolled her eyes. She’d done no such thing, and all three of them knew it. “Your arm looks okay. It’s still there, at least.”

  The fish had eaten a large hole in the coat, but the thick material had protected Luke’s arm, more or less. The two dozen or so tiny bites that dotted his skin looked painful but not serious. Assuming the fish weren’t venomous. Crow had never heard of fish with venom in their bite, but in this place, nothing would surprise him. He’d have to keep an eye on Luke’s arm. If it swelled up, they’d know. Not that they’d be able to do anything about it.

  “I think we need to wait until it’s easy to walk across,” Crow said. “A spider doesn’t go after the flies that come close. It waits for a fly to get caught in the web.”

  Luke poked his bitten flesh and winced. “Whatever. If you’re too chicken to jump, we’ll wait. So what’s wrong with you anyway? You used to go to Blaze Elementary, right? What happened?”

  “I died.”

  Luke made a face like he could smell something disgusting, which, considering his close proximity to Crow, very well might have been the case. “You’re dead? How come you’re moving and stuff?”

  “My parents wished me back to life. Unlife. Undeath. I’m not sure what the correct terminology is. But they wished for it, and the Meera made it happen.”

  “So I’ll get a wish, too?” Luke asked. His eyes widened at the possibility.

  “Only if you pass the tests.” Which seemed very unlikely, Crow thought. As far as he could tell, Luke hadn’t passed a single one so far. How many tests did a person have to pass to get a wish? All of them? Most of them? Or just the last one? How many tests could a person fail before being punished?

  And how many tests did they have left? Crow had thought his mother was obsessed with exams, but the Meera was proving even worse.

  Luke looked crushed, but only for a second. “I don’t need a wish. I’m already the most popular and most smart guy at school. I’m on the basketball team, and I do karate, too. My parents buy me whatever I want, so I don’t even know what I’d do with a wish.” He made a face at Crow, then another at Melody. “I bet you two could wish for a lot of things, huh?”

  Melody rolled her eyes. “You’re the smartest guy in the school? What was your last report card like?”

  “Well, it wasn’t great. But that’s only ’cause the teachers hate me! My dad says they’re jealous ’cause they know I’m smarter than them. I’m so smart, I don’t even have to study. I was the spelling bee champion back in elementary school.”

  “Champion for what? The county? The state?”

  “The fourth grade. I lost at the school level ’cause everyone else cheated.”

  “They did not,” Crow said under his breath, so quietly that the others couldn’t hear.

  Melody smirked. “Uh-huh. You said you do karate, too. I suppose you have a black belt, right?”

  “It’s yellow,” he mumbled. “But I just started a few months ago. Nobody can get a black belt that quick.” He glared at Melody, who was laughing. “I’m good. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you.”

  “Fine,” Melody said between chuckles. “But stay away from the edge. I don’t want to have to rescue you from the fish again.”

  Luke hesitated, but Melody’s laughter egged him on. After taking a moment to find the exact center of the rectangle, he bent his knees slightly, raised his fists, and kicked. The next second, he was on the floor, having fallen yet again.

  Melody laughed so hard the rectangle shook.

  “My legs are still sore from standing in that case! And the floor’s moving. Course I fell. Let me show you one of my punches. I’m really good at them, just like my dad, and he has a black belt!”

  He stood up. Again, he made sure he was as far from the water as possible, bent his knees, and raised his fists. He settled on a hook punch—and ended up punching himself in the mouth.

  Melody rolled over onto her side laughing. “You didn’t fall down this time. That’s impressive, right, Crow?”

  Crow frowned. He’d known Luke back in elementary school, and he’d watched Luke skateboard around the neighborhood more recently. Luke had never been clumsy. Something was wrong. “Close your eyes and touch your nose.”

  “I’m not an idiot,” Luke said. “Course I can do something that easy.”

  “I don’t think you’re an idiot. Just do it. Please. I want to check something.”

  “Whatever.” Luke closed his eyes, but instead of touching his nose, he poked himself in the eye. “It’s ’cause we’re moving. Normally I could do that easy.”

  “I’m sure you could,” Crow said. Maybe it was like Luke said, and he was just tired and sore, but maybe it was something else. Would he have difficulty with other tasks, too? Ones that weren’t physical? “One more thing. Say ‘She sells seashells by the seashore.’ Please.”

  “She shelves sheep tails—” The rest was mostly spit. After Luke had wiped the drool from his mouth, he said, “I haven’t had any water in ages. Course it’s hard to talk.”

  Crow nodded, though he didn’t think that was the problem. “You probably just need some rest.”

  They sat in silence for a while, watching the rectangles slide back and forth, back and forth, but never close enough. At some point, Melody’s eyes closed, and her breathing became slow and regular. Luke drifted off to sleep, too, leaving Crow to wait alone.

  As Crow waited, he wondered what was wrong with Luke. It was more than mere thirst and cramped legs—he was sure of that much. Luke might not have been the world’s best speller or most powerful martial artist, despite his endless stream of boasts, but he wasn’t incompetent, either. He could ride his bicycle without using his hands. He could do all sorts of fancy jumps on his skateboard. Crow had seen it many times, and not once had he seen Luke fall.

  So why all of a sudden could Luke barely even manage to stand?

  The Meera punished those who failed its tests. Perhaps the punishment had already begun for Luke.

  And perhaps Luke deserved it.

&n
bsp; No. Crow shook his head. Luke could be a jerk sometimes—pretty much every time he opened his mouth—but this was too much. Unable to do anything, what sort of a life could he have? Nobody deserved to be miserable.

  But if Luke had failed the test, he wouldn’t receive a wish. And if only two of them got wishes, how could all three of them be happy?

  The rectangles stopped moving. Lined up in the middle of the room, they formed a solid path that went straight from one door to the other.

  For a second, Crow thought his heart was thumping at the excitement, but he quickly realized it was just the sensation of maggots moving in his chest.

  “Wake up!” Crow said, shaking Melody’s shoulder, then Luke’s. “We can leave.”

  Melody rubbed her eyes. Her face creased in confusion, but only for a moment. She took a deep breath. “So it wasn’t a dream.” She smiled. “I knew it was real.”

  Luke yawned, then started coughing, apparently choking on air.

  With Luke in the middle, where Melody and Crow could make sure he didn’t fall into the water and become fish food, they rushed to the open door. Crow worried that it would close at the last second, or maybe the rectangles would start moving again, or their steps would trigger an explosion, or a horde of hungry beasts would attack them. But nothing like that happened.

  They entered the next room. Just like in the previous rooms, burning torches lined the walls, alternating with engravings. The engravings here showed bees, but Crow was too distracted to pay them much attention. There was something else in the room.

  The Meera.

  It appeared in its true form, that monstrous mix of animal parts: cloven hooves, rectangular pupils, sharp beak, sharper horn, large wings, pinching claws, and scorpion tail. The collar around its neck sparkled brilliantly even in the dim light.

  When Luke saw the Meera, his eyes bulged and he stumbled backward. He might have run back into the last room, but the door had closed. They were stuck.

  The creature spoke in the screeching voice of a parrot. “I, the Meera, contain the best of all animals, both mundane and fantastic. Most humans—including the cruel and selfish brute who made me—fail to show even one honorable trait. But you, Crow and Melody, have proven yourselves worthy of a wish. We shall see whether you remain worthy. Melody, tell me what you want.”

  “Wh-what about me?” Luke asked. “Don’t I get a wish?”

  “No.”

  Luke’s face fell. His shoulders slumped, but not for long. Anger soon took hold of him, balling his hands into fists and flaring his nostrils. “That’s not fair! Come on, Melody! Crow! It’s a monster. Let’s get it!”

  But Melody and Crow remained still. Monster or not, the Meera was offering them a wish. Besides, it wasn’t something they wanted to, or would be able to, fight. Not with any chance of winning.

  Luke went after one of the torches, perhaps planning to attack the Meera with fire. Instead, he grabbed the torch too high and burned his hand. The Meera ignored him as he curled into a ball and cried.

  “Melody, tell me what you want.”

  They’d actually done it. They’d earned their wishes.

  “I’ve always known magic is real. This just proves that I was right all along—about my old town, about the school librarian.” Her voice cracked. “About my mom. I was right about everything.” She sucked in a big breath. “But there’s still so much I don’t understand. So that’s what I want. To be able to understand magic.”

  It cackled like a hyena. “Granted. And you, Crow. What do you want?”

  Melody blinked several times. She looked at everything—the Meera, the walls, Luke, Crow—like she was seeing it for the first time. Her knees shook, threatening to give out, and she had to sit down on the ground.

  “Your collar,” she said, looking at the engraved metal that wrapped around the Meera’s neck. “Who did that? Did it hurt?”

  The Meera roared but did not answer her questions.

  “Crow!” it screeched. “What is your wish?”

  Luke was still curled in fetal position. His quiet tears had turned into loud sobs.

  Crow wanted to be alive again. He longed for it with every dead cell in his body. But if he made his wish now, the Meera might disappear, and he couldn’t let that happen. Not yet. “You cursed Luke.”

  “What makes you think that?” the Meera asked. Its large scorpion claws pinched open and closed. Anything caught within those claws would be destroyed.

  Crow stood his ground. “My dad told me you punished people who failed your tests. Plus, it’s obvious. He can’t even touch his nose or open a door. He thought he was perfect at everything, so when he failed your tests, you cursed him so that he couldn’t do anything right.”

  Melody stared at Luke and nodded. “I can see the curse now. It’s choking him.”

  “Can you undo it?” Crow asked her.

  Melody shook her head. “Only the Meera can.” She shuddered. “It’s awful.”

  “What is your wish?” the Meera repeated.

  “Undo it,” Crow said.

  “Is that your wish?” The Meera laughed. “You only get one.”

  Crow hesitated. “Yes. That’s my wish. Remove Luke’s curse.”

  The Meera’s scorpion tail moved up and down, venom glistening at the tip of its stinger. “It’s nothing he doesn’t deserve. Are you sure you want to sacrifice your wish to help him? You could have your life back. Everything you ever wanted. Why give all that up to help such a pathetic creature? Do you really think he’d do the same for you?”

  Temptation gnawed at Crow’s will. Luke wouldn’t give up a wish to help him, not in a million years. And Luke had made fun of Melody. He’d stolen candy from that little boy, and he’d set Crow’s sheet on fire. Did that mean he deserved the Meera’s curse?

  No, Crow thought, watching Luke writhe in pain and cry in frustration. “Nobody deserves that. And I already have everything I ever wanted—adventure and a friend. I don’t need anything else.”

  Besides, now that Melody had gotten her wish, who knew what kinds of spells she could do? She couldn’t reverse the Meera’s curses, and maybe she couldn’t make him live again, but with magic on her side, she’d manage something. Maybe she could make his hair grow or his stench disappear. Death wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t stink so much.

  “Do you even know how you died?” the Meera asked. “Did your parents tell you the role I played? The role Luke played?” It paused, studying the confusion on Crow’s face. “No, I didn’t think they would have. If you knew, you would not waste your wish on this one.”

  “Tell me,” Crow said.

  The Meera’s beak contorted in what may have been a smile. “Is that your wish?”

  “No.” It was probably a lie anyway. How could Luke have played a role in Crow’s death? He’d been nowhere near Crow’s house when he’d died. The Meera, Crow realized, was full of tricks. Why else would it have made Crow an animated corpse? And if it didn’t bring him back right the first time, why would it do so this time? The Meera couldn’t be trusted. “I want you to remove Luke’s curse. Reverse whatever you did to him.”

  “Very well. Your wish is granted.”

  Crow expected something dramatic to happen—sparks, maybe, or at least a magical glow—but nothing changed. Luke continued bawling on the floor. They were still stuck in the cold, dimly lit room.

  “Is that it?”

  “That’s it. You’re free to leave. She should be able to find the way out now. And know that if you choose to return for any reason—to retrieve anything you may have forgotten—the tests will be more difficult, and no one gets a second wish.”

  Other than Melody’s broken flashlight, Crow didn’t think they’d left anything behind. Before he had time to ask what the Meera meant, it turned into a fly and buzzed away.

  Melody looked at Luke, who was still crying. “Your curse has been lifted.” She walked to a section of the wall that seemed no different from any other part, but when she r
eached out a hand to touch it, her fingers disappeared. “So much of this place is illusion. Now I can see the magic. It’s incredible! Come on. This is the way out.”

  With another step, she disappeared completely.

  Crow helped Luke up, and his blubbering became a soft whimper. Together, they walked through the wall, which wasn’t solid at all, and found themselves in the old storage shed.

  They crawled out the hole in the door and into the park. The streets were empty, the windows of nearby houses dark. Crow realized that they had been gone for most of the night, and though he had survived the Meera, there was still one more fearsome creature he had to face: his angry mother.

  As they walked home, Crow considered hiding out for a few days. “Melody, do you think I could go over to your house?” Maybe she could work on finding some magical help for him. Then when he returned home, his mother would be too happy to stay angry.

  “Huh? Oh, uh, no, probably not. My dad’s going to be mad enough as it is.” Her eyes tracked something as it swirled through the air, but Crow couldn’t see anything. “There’s magic everywhere. It’s…it’s…”

  “Wonderful?” Crow suggested.

  “Uh, yeah.” Shrieking, she swatted something off her shoulder. “Kind of. I’ll see you later, okay?” She ran into her house.

  Crow and Luke lingered on the street.

  “Thanks,” Luke said, looking down at his shoes.

  Crow wasn’t sure how to respond. Normally he’d tell someone not to worry about it, that it was no problem. But this had been a pretty big deal. And what the Meera had said still bothered him. “Do you know what the Meera was talking about? You know, about how I died.”

  Luke glanced up from his shoes. “No, sorry. Do you think it would have kept me in the glass cage forever? It wasn’t that bad—it was kind of like I was frozen or something, so time didn’t really pass for me, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be stuck there forever. Do you think it would have let me go?”

  “Probably. You still would have been cursed, though.”

  “Yeah, but I can’t do anything about that. Thanks again. I’ll see you around. Or not. I don’t know.” He walked toward his house, leaving Crow alone.