by R. W. Ridley
“And we’re headed that way again if you don’t tell me where my friends are.”
He shook his head in disappointment. “Patience, boy. I ain’t in no particular hurry.” He reached down and picked up a sack of the meat. “Long as I got my supply of jubilee meat, as the Ratty-Bob’s call it.” He reached in and pulled out a hunk of meat. “Join me?”
“Ajax,” I said.
The silverback approached, eyeballing Bostic as he knuckled-walked.
“Throw every one of those sacks of meat over the deck.”
Ajax huffed and entered the kitchen.
Bostic’s cocky demeanor disappeared in an instant. “No!”
“Stop, Ajax,” I said. To Bostic, “Either tell me where the others are or we take the meat and give it all to the Ratty-Bobs.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll tell you.”
Ajax backed away.
“I’m listening,” I said.
He leaned against the counter and hung his head. “Like I said, I had no idea who you were.”
“What difference does it make who we are?”
“Not ‘we,’” Bostic said lifting his head. “You. I had no idea who you were, Oz.”
“I’m not anybody.”
“That ain’t what the Myrmidon’s think. They got a keen interest in you, boy.”
“Why?”
“Hell, I don’t know. They ain’t the best communicators. I’ve worked out the basics of their little squeaks and clicks. About all I know is that someone wants you. They ain’t exactly fond of that someone, and they want you to get one over on this other fellow.”
“What’s this have to do with the others?”
“I’ll tell you what it has to do with the others. The Myrmidons came here not long after you left last night. They ain’t the brightest bulbs in the box, but they get a scent on a body, they will find it without much effort.”
“Scent? You mean they got my scent from their camp?”
“No. They’ve had your scent for a while. They’ve been hunting you for some time.”
I sat down at the counter. “They want the Source,” I said. “They need it to defeat the Délons.”
Bostic shrugged. “None of that matters a bit to me. I’m an independent businessman just trying to eat my meat and feed my worms.”
“The bargain? What is it?”
He cut some meat from the hunk and dropped it in the skillet. “I give them you, and they’ll let the others go.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That’s the deal you made.”
“That’s the deal I made,” he said as his steak started to sizzle.
“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who would make a deal without getting something in return.”
He looked over his shoulder. “Did I forget to mention they’re giving me 36 Myrmidons?”
I looked at Ajax to see if the deal made any sense to him. He sat back on his haunches and stared dumbfounded.
“They’re giving you their own kind?”
“Yep.”
“To eat?”
“Yep. They want you bad.” He flipped his steak with a fork. “Do you know what this means?”
“No,” I said.
“I’ll have livestock. If I can find a way to breed those ugly things, I could have an endless supply of Myrmidon meat. I could expand my operations. Send the Ratty-Bobs South to drum up business. I’ll own this whole mountain range. This is huge.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” I said.
“I agree. I’ve just spent a couple of days with you and even I can tell you’re worthless. Got no idea why they want you so bad, but I don’t care.” He removed the meat from the skillet and dropped it on a plate. “Say, you’re not going to fight me on this, are you? Cause if you do, I’ll send one of my monkeys to tell the Myrmidons to cut that pretty girl’s head off.”
“She’s not that pretty,” a voice said from the deck.
I didn’t have to turn to know it was April.
“There she is,” Bostic said stuffing a piece of steak into his mouth.
“I hope you made me some,” she said sounding far too giddy.
He cut his steak in half. “Would I neglect my partner?” He slid a plate with her half of the steak to the end of the counter.
“Partner?”
He chewed his steak and said, “Yep. Partners. I wasn’t lying when I said I was lonely before. Everybody I’ve met has become worm food. Ain’t that the damndest thing.” He snorted out a laugh. “Anyway, since the meat has a hold of April, and the Myrmidons offered up their deal, I figured I could take on a partner.”
April took a bite of her steak and howled. “I cannot believe I wasted so much of this before by puking it up.”
“What are you doing, April?” I asked.
“I’m enjoying my steak, thank you very much.”
“I mean, what are you doing getting involved with Bostic?”
“What am I doing? I’m trading in running for my life from all those monster thingies to living a life of luxury.” She sniffed a piece of steak before eating it. “Bostic has got it all. A mansion in the sky. His own personal little highway in the sky. And, all the Mrymidon meat I can eat.” She giggled. “Hey, that rhymes.”
“You don’t know what this stuff is going to do to you.”
“What, make me happy and strong and healthy?”
“Look,” I said, “I don’t know how this stuff works, but I’ve seen what it does to people. The Ratty-Bobs don’t look happy, strong, or healthy. They look like the walking dead.”
Bostic cut into his steak. “The Ratty-Bobs don’t know how to manage their supply. Go too long without it and your body don’t react well. You gotta stay ahead of the hunger. You get hungry for it, you’re too late. Ratty-Bob’s ain’t never learned that. I’ll make sure April here don’t make the same mistake.”
She smiled with chewed-up steak in her cheek. “Isn’t that sweet. A knight in shining armor.”
“Anything for my partner,” Bostic said. “Now, Oz, I hate to be a stickler, but you never did answer my question. Are you going to fight me on this deal?”
I didn’t have a choice, and he knew it. “No,” I said.
Ajax huffed and flashed his teeth.
“Your gorilla friend don’t look too happy,” Bostic said pointing with his fork.
“He doesn’t trust you,” I said.
He swallowed. “That hurts, but what are you going to do?”
“I don’t trust you either.”
“Again, what are you going to do?”
I didn’t know what to say.
He held up the steak with his bare hand. “You see this. This means more to me than the hand that’s holding it. The Myrmidons have presented me with an offer that could set me up for life with this stuff. You ain’t gotta trust me. You just gotta know that there ain’t no way in hell I’m going to screw that up.”
I turned to Ajax. “He’s right.”
He huffed and lumbered away.
“Let’s go,” I said.
“Hold on to your cupcakes there, boy. Like I said before, there’s no hurry. I’d prefer to let them stew just a bit longer. Maybe I can talk them up to 50 Myrmidons.”
“We’re not going to let them stew,” I said. “We’re going now.”
April rolled her eyes. “He gets like this. Bossy, bossy, bossy.”
“Son, the sooner I hand you over to them, the sooner your life becomes a living hell.”
“I don’t care.”
Bostic shook his head. “This hero stuff really is as annoying as piss on my trousers.”
“Tell me about it,” April said. “This is the kind of hell I’ve had to go through with this idiot and that other one, what’s his name?”
“His name,” I said irritated by her lack of respect, “was Archie.”
“Right, Archie,” She said and then shrugged. “His name might as well have been loser.”
Bostic tilted his head back and moaned. “I’m so bore
d with this conversation.” He moved around the corner and headed for the cot. “I’m taking a nap. When I awake from my slumber,” he said with a fake high society accent, “I shall escort you to our freaky ant friends.” He plopped down on the cot. “My boy, your hell shall begin soon enough.” Lying down he said, “I hear them Myrmidons are just plain nasty creatures. They got these little mites, size of a pea, they stick them in the ears of their prisoners. Don’t know why exactly. Probably just to drive them bat-crap crazy. Those little mites dig their way deep into your ear and lay eggs. Those eggs hatch and little tiny larvae sit there in your ear, nibbling away on your flesh. They nibble, and nibble. All the while you can hear every tiny bite they take.” His eyelids closed and he started to snore.
April pushed her plate away, looked past me, and stared at Bostic for a couple of seconds. Satisfied he was asleep, she leaned in and whispered. “Listen, my head is spinning from the meat, so I don’t know how long I can think straight. The Myrmidons aren’t far from here. At the third platform, you can either go left or right, go left... no wait, right. Go right...”
“So wait, are you with Bostic or not?”
“No, you idiot. I’m not with him. I just told him that. Otherwise I’d be with the others surrounded by those Myrmidons going out of my mind because I couldn’t eat any of them. Plus I wouldn’t be sitting here telling you where you can find them.” She shook her head to try to get rid of the haze going through her brain. “Go left...”
“Right,” I said.
“Right? Right, that’s right. Go right until you get to the fifth platform. You’ll see two giant trees that crisscross like an ‘X’ about fifty yards away. They’re on the other side of those trees.”
“How many of them are there?”
“When we left? Eight. But more were called up to make Bostic’s trade.”
I grabbed her hand, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” she said patting my hand. “Because I don’t see any way in hell you can save them. You’re outnumbered and they’ve got weapons.”
I stood, “Story of my life.” Bostic snored.
“What are we going to do with him?” I asked.
“I figured before you leave you could help me with this.” She held up a roll of duct tape.
“Where in the world did you get that?”
“Found it in a cabinet,” she said tossing it to me.
I smiled. “I’m actually going to enjoy this.”
***
I stood on the fifth platform and scanned the woods. April didn’t give me the direction of the ‘X’ and, given that she had just eaten some Myrmidon meat, I wasn’t even sure how reliable she was. I couldn’t find anything that looked like an ‘X.’ Just when I was about to give up, Ajax pointed in an area I had looked twice before. It was an ‘X’. There was no mistaking it. Only it wasn’t fifty yards away. It was at least two hundred.
I sat down on the platform and opened my backpack. I had everything I needed for the upcoming battle: crossbow, arrows, knife, and Myrmidon meat. I rubbed the meat on the bottom of my shoes and much to Ajax’s displeasure, I rubbed it on his feet and hands.
We were on the ground in no time, headed for the ‘X’ at a brisk pace. I watched for movement, but there was nothing. A hundred yards away, I saw something move. Ajax and I ducked behind some trees.
“Whatcha’ doing?”
I nearly had a heart attack at the sound of the voice.
Max appeared from behind a tree a few feet in front of us.
“What are you doing here?”
“Business,” he said. He pointed to the ‘X’. “Myrmidons are just past them trees.”
“I know,” I said holding up the bow. “That’s what this is for.”
“You gonna give them that?”
I groaned. “No, I’m not. I’m going to shoot them with it.”
He scratched his head. “How many arrows you got?”
“A dozen or so.”
He looked at the ‘X’ and then back to us. “You must be a good shot.”
“I have my moments.”
He giggled. “Well, you better set your mind on having a lot of them moments. Cause you’re gonna have to shoot about 200 Myrmidons with your 12 arrows.”
“What?”
“I say you better set your mind on having...”
I stopped him. “I heard you. How do you know there are 200 of them?”
“Just come from there, that’s how. Done some baiting. Give a sample of Banshee meat to one of them.” He laughed and slapped his leg. “You should have seen that big fella stumbling around. Couldn’t find his footing standing still.”
I sat back and leaned against the tree. “200? I can’t take on 200 Myrmidons.”
“Give another one a sample and he fell flat out in about two seconds. I tell you what, them Myrmidons cannot handle their Banshee the first time out. They ain’t much better the second time, but the first time they might as well just find a spot to lie down before they eat some. Save them some heartache and hurt for when they pass out.”
I wasn’t listening to him, and he wasn’t listening to me. “I’m liable to get the others killed. I should go back and give myself up to Bostic. Let him make the trade. At least they’d all be safe.”
Max pulled a white and yellow ball of slime out of his pocket and sniffed it. “They go nuts for this stuff. Out of their minds. Kind of sad if you think about it.” My backpack caught his eye. The sack that contained the meat stuck out of the top of the pack. “Oh Lordy, you ain’t got more of the jubilee meat, do you? Jubilee meat. Jubilee meat...”
I yanked him down to the ground and cupped my hand over his mouth. “Be quiet. I do have some jubilee meat. Got caught in your clearing without it last night and nearly got bit in half by a Banshee...” I saw what he was holding for the first time. “That’s Banshee meat?”
“It is. Always carry a sample with me because you never know when you’re going to run into a Myrmidon.”
The worms could be my ticket into the Myrmidon camp. “Tell me how it works, Max. How do you get the Myrmidons to eat that stuff?”
“Ain’t nothing to it. Once they get a whiff of it, it’s like putting honey in front of a bear. Even if they’ve never had it before, this meat just takes them over. Lord knows I gotta have my jubilee meat, but not nearly as much as them big ugly ant men gotta have their Banshee meat. The trick is to let them know this ain’t all you got. Soon as they learn you’re sitting on an unlimited supply you can get them to do just about anything. They just ain’t got no power over it at all.”
I took the Banshee meat out of his hand. “You sure about that?”
“That stuff ain’t failed me yet. I give a sample to one or two in a group and then arrange a meeting where I’ll give them a truckload of meat.”
“You lure them out of camp.”
“Yep... well most of them. A few stay behind to guard the camp.”
“And that’s when Bostic goes on his hunts.”
He nodded. “And bad Bostic can hunt the fire out of Myrmidons, too.”
“Did Bostic send you here today?”
“No, sir. I run into a couple of them Myrmidons on the south side of the ridge. They brought me back to discuss terms with their superiors. I was just on my way to Bostic’s to let him know I set up a hunt.”
I studied the slimy meat. My eye caught my shoe. “The smell of Myrmidons keeps the Banshees away, right?”
“It does indeed. That’s why the Myrmidons need the Ratty-Bobs to bring them the Banshee meat. They can’t never get close enough to kill ‘em themselves.”
I leaned my head back and lightly thumped it against the tree. “There’s got to be way to get the Banshees in close to the Myrmidon camp.”
“Whatcha want to do that for?”
“I’ve got to get my friends out of that camp.”
Max looked to the camp and then back at us. “Banshees won’t come within a quarter mile of the Myrmidons.” He stood. “No
sir, there just ain’t no way to go about it. No sensible way, anyway.”
“No sensible way?”
He ignored what I said. “You going to hold onto all the jubilee meat? I’d be happy to take some of it off your hands.”
“Is there a way that’s not sensible?” I asked.
He was focused on the jubilee meat. “You don’t want to be caught by the Myrmidons with that stuff. I can promise you that. They will be none too happy to find you with it.”
I pulled the sack of meat out. “You want some meat?”
He started to salivate just looking at the sack. “Mister, I’ll give you my last ear for some of that meat.”
“Then tell me what you meant by ‘no sensible way.’”
“Huh?” He asked licking his lips. “Oh that. I meant the only to do what you got in mind is about as sensible as shooting yourself with one of those arrows.”
I reached in the sack and pulled out the meat. “Tell me the way.”
He nearly passed out when he saw the meat. Gathering himself he said, “You need eggs.”
“Eggs?”
“Not the climbers, neither. You need the fresh lays.”
“Climbers?” I looked at Ajax to see if he understood. His expression told me he was as confused as I was. “What climbers?”
Still in a trance-like state, Max tried to explain. “The Banshees start out as little soft eggs. Stay that way for about three days and then they sprout a skinny little body with arms and legs. They take to climbing the trees like a bunch of monkeys.”
I nearly gasped. “Monkey-worms.”
“Can I have some meat now?”
I took out my knife and quickly cut off a sliver of meat. Handing it to him I said, “I’ll give you more if you tell me where to find the fresh lays.”
He snatched the thin slice of meat out of my hands and hurriedly stuffed it in his mouth. “I’ll tell you, but it still don’t make it sensible.”
I cut off some more meat and said, “You let me worry about that.”