by Amy Marie
He ran down the hill and stumbled once, falling head over feet. He reached for his hat as he fell and kept it secured to his head. If he lost the hat, he would lose himself—never to find the woman in white. His roll came to a stop, and he laid just underneath one of the green bushes.
He stared up at the shrub and a shriek of laughter came pushing through his lungs. He got to his feet and reached for the apple.
But something was wrong. The apple was not fresh. It was sticky. He dropped it, and when it hit the ground, it split open, exposing black flesh on the inside. A powerful odor of decay erupted, and Joseph gagged.
He took a few steps back and looked at his hand. It had the color of the apple on his palm, but it oozed and moved like sludge. Bringing his hand to his face, he sniffed, then gagged once more. It smelled strongly of iron. Blood smelled like iron. Were the apples coated in blood to appear healthy? Who would eat such a monstrosity?
He bent and wiped his hand on the dead grass, then took a good look around where he stood. It was a patchwork of trees coated in green and red. The green was nothing more than metallic cut leaves and the apples, or what was left of them, looked to be dipped, or painted.
“Who the hell would do this?” he asked aloud.
“Our queen,” answered someone behind him.
Joseph turned and found no one there. Had he just heard someone or was his mind fucking with him? He was starved and dehydrated. Soon he would break down and forget why he was there and—he didn’t want to think about what would come next.
Must find the woman in white. She’s called to me, she needs me. But why? Soon I’ll find out. Soon I’ll understand. I need a purpose, this is my purpose. My life needs a purpose again and this will give it to me.
“Who’s there?” he asked.
“I’m right here,” came the voice.
It was next to his right ear. Joseph looked in that direction, then flinched at seeing a crow on his shoulder. First a lizard, now a crow.
“Right,” he said and brought his hand up. The crow stepped to his fingers and Joseph brought him into view. “And you were once a person transformed into this crow form?”
The crow nodded. “Exactly. Name’s Tom.”
“Tom, the crow, crow, the Tom” Joseph said.
“One and the same,” Tom told him. His jet-black eyes moved about in his sockets.
“You said the queen did this?” Joseph asked. “The lady in white?”
Tom shook his crow head. “No, she’s our rightful queen. There’s a stranger in our land.”
“Yes, that would be me. Me, I’m the stranger, stranger I am.”
Tom sidestepped a few times then continued. “No, not you. Yes, you are a stranger here, but, no. There was someone before you, many years ago. She came in and put a new type of magic on our world. She took the magic into herself. Doing so killed our world. Killed everything.”
“Not everything,” Joseph said. “You’re still ticking.”
The crow shrugged. “If you call this living. She came in and killed our world. This here,” Tom turned and motioned to the fake bush, “is a lure to bring someone unsuspecting. One bite would kill them. How did you know the apple was poisonous?”
“I didn’t,” Joseph said. “As soon as I picked it off the tree, I just knew something wasn’t right.”
“Ah, very good, very good.” He squawked then flew up toward the tree.
“Tom!” Joseph took a few steps forward. “I need food and water, please. Water and food, something. And I need to know how to get back to the road to the white lady’s castle.”
Tom flew back and landed once more on his hand. “There’s no food here, it’s all poisoned.”
“How do you survive?”
“Call it part of the curse,” Tom told him. “I never eat or sleep.”
“You might as well be dead,” Joseph mumbled.
“Thanks, mate,” Tom said dryly. “It never rains, food doesn’t grow, nothing. I wish I could help you out.” The crow was silent for a moment, then started up again. “To get your way back, follow your steps backwards. Any way forward is a way back.” And with that, Tom flew away.
“A lot of help that was. Any way forward is a way back.” Anyone knew that. Didn’t they? Didn’t he?
He turned and looked back to where he’d come from. The hill was higher than he remembered, but, then again, he’d rolled down it in a rush for the apples.
Apples.
His mouth salivated once more, and his belly growled. His eyes strained with exhaustion, and he grew weaker by the minute without sustenance. He turned back to the tree and grabbed one of the branches, then broke it off. If he were expected to make this trip on nothing more than the clothes on his back, then he would need a cane to help him get back up this hill.
Or maybe he would just lay down and die.
Death would be welcomed.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
“Run, time is not on your side. Run to her, boy,” whispered a man’s voice. Not just any man, it was him, the shadow man.
Adrenaline rushed through Joseph and, in a sprint, he ran up the hillside with his cane in hand. Wherever the shadow man was, Joseph wanted to be nowhere near. He’d done this to him. He’d put the hat on his head. He’d given him life in the way of a death sentence. He could never take it off, never live a normal life.
Death sounded pleasant.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
“Run,” came the voice of the shadow man, “before I help you with this murder plan of yours.”
“I’m not going to murder anyone!” he shouted.
“Aren’t you though?” the voice whispered over and over and over.
“Stop!” he screamed and dropped the stick to cover his ears. Joseph began to spin in circles, looking for the source of the voice, but no one was there. He was alone in his own mutilating thoughts. “Leave me alone!” he yelled out as loud as his voice would allow. He screamed until the whispers finally stopped.
Panting, he pressed his hands to his thighs and closed his eyes. He fell to his knees and lifted his face toward the sky. “Help,” he whispered. “Please.”
In the distance, he heard thunder.
Thunder!
Opening his eyes, a black crowed rushed through the sky to where Joseph sat. And with it, rain.
He grinned and opened his mouth. Rain rushed down and covered him, and a manic laugh erupted from him. If it never rained in this underworld, why start now? Did he call to the rain? Did the lady in white?
Now if the heavens would only bring food by sky delivery.
Chapter 5
It wasn’t long after the rain dissipated that the sky grew darker still and the air had a crisp chill. Joseph shivered and wrapped his arms around his body, hugging himself. Odd how the weather had the ability to scorch the body in the day and chill one to the bone at night.
A wind gust blew past him, and he reached for his hat, not wanting to lose the precious item. He continued down the side of the mountain, hoping to find the road he’d left earlier in the day. It was hard to see when there was no light but for the moon. As the clouds parted, he looked up and gasped and flinched.
“Two moons?” he exclaimed. “How are there two moons?” He didn’t expect an answer, nor did he receive one, but having the voices of Richard the lizard or the crow Tom would have made for better company. Maybe. Probably not.
Had he actually heard the animals talk? Had they truly conversed with him? Joseph sighed and, as the dual moons lit the land before him, he let out a yelp and jumped in the air. He’d found the road. He ran toward the familiar path and his face hurt as his mouth stretched into a wide grin.
“Wonderful and perfect. Perfectly wonderful!” He still felt a shiver from the air, but it wasn’t so bad now. He’d found the road toward the castle, and soon, he would find her, the woman in white. But how long would he need to walk? How much further would this journey lead him? He would soon require rest, and definitel
y something to eat. He had no tools to make a fire with, nothing to cover his body if he did slumber.
“If only I had more of that hot chocolate to drink—without the wicked side effect of passing out and waking up in a weird new world.” His body trembled as the airstream managed to surround him like a whirl of icy wind and caused his teeth to chatter. “Stop,” he gasped, “please, I need to breathe and, hell, I need to find something to e-e-eat.”
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. The ticking on his hat grew louder. Or maybe it was the pounding of his own heart he heard in his ears. Regardless, the constant ticking grew into a rhythm his feet kept in time with. Tick, step. Tock, step. Tick, step. Tock, step. Tick, step. Tock, step. The sound provided something that was constant. It gave him a bit of normalcy to the insanity of his mind—this world.
He peered through the air that blew around him and cupped his hands around his eyes. Up ahead there was a dark space, an area blocked from the moon and hopefully, the wind. Maybe it was somewhere he could rest and recover. If this hopeful location provided shelter, there was a chance plants grew in the darkness. Like mushrooms, moss, or, possibly, some type of grass. Without constant rain, there was a chance the inside was like the outside, dead. However, there was the possibility of herbs or fungus.
His mouth watered as he longed for something to touch his tongue. His belly growled in earnest, and his feet, regardless of how badly they’d begun to pulse in pain, moved faster against the roughness of the road. Soon, he would be there. Soon, he could rest, and soon, maybe, he could eat.
The wind continued to blow, unnerving and unforgiving. It howled with a slight shriek.
“Joseph…”
Joseph looked to his right, then left. Had someone called to him? Maybe it was just the wind. Nevertheless, he made it to the darkened area he’d spotted a ways back. Indeed, it was a cave, and upon entering he hunched down, bending almost to ninety degrees. He lowered his wind chapped hands to the ground and dropped to his knees, crawling through the opening. Once inside, the hollow opened up wider and taller. It was too dark to see anything, he’d need to wait until his eyes completely adjusted. What mattered now was rest. The wind didn’t blow inside, and he welcomed the temporary reprieve.
He lay on his side, exhausted from his journey. If there were monsters in this cave, he would welcome death. Of course, only if death came swiftly and was not drawn out.
His belly growled when he tucked his arm under his head. The ground was hard with dirt pressed between the occasional pointed rock, or rounded stone. He inhaled a sharp breath, then let it go and closed his eyes.
“Joseph . . .”
A female voice called to him and Joseph turned to his back. He groaned from pain that erupted through his spine. “What is it, Scarlett?”
“Joseph . . .”
“Stop calling my name,” he ordered. “I’m awake.” He opened his eyes, then sat up with a start. Darkness swallowed him whole and he knew then he wasn’t home, nor was it his sister, Scarlett, who called to him. “Who are you? Where are you?”
“A friend,” called the voice, but it wasn’t female, it was a man’s voice. And it was familiar. Too familiar.
A shiver ran through him but it wasn’t from being cold. He moved onto the tips of his toes and pressed his fingers to the ground. He would pounce on whomever was before him and take down the threat.
It was a rat, a fucking rat. A stupid rat, nothing more. It’s not him, it couldn’t be him. Him it be, be it him. Oh, the man, the shadow man.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
“Where are you?” Joseph called. “Show yourself!”
Light exploded, and a scream erupted from him as he jumped backward. The darkness glowed from green infernos, and a putrid smell grew with the rising smoke. He held his hand under his nose to keep himself from gagging.
“Shadow Man,” Joseph whispered.
Before him stood the slender man wearing his stovepipe hat set with cross bones in the middle, a long, dark duster, vest, pants, and dress shoes. The voodoo man’s eyes glowed in the light and malice laced with evil intentions tugged at the edges of his mouth.
“My old friend, Joseph Rose, the hunter!” The shadow man exclaimed. “How long has it been?”
“Not long enough,” Joseph told him. He recalled when Scarlett had tried to save his life, with no help from the dark man. He’d eventually brought forth the hat that now sat upon Joseph’s head.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
The shadow man removed his own hat and reached inside it. He pulled out a plate full of meat, potatoes, gravy, and bread with butter. The smell reached Joseph and his mouth salivated. Drool slipped from his lips and as he swiped at it, his belly growled.
“For you, my old friend,” the shadow man said and laid the plate upon the ground.
Joseph didn’t hesitate; he leapt forward and tore into the food, shoving as much as he could into his mouth, followed by an entire roll.
“Oh, where are my manners?” The slender man waved his hand and a goblet appeared on his palm, filled with a steaming substance. He handed it to Joseph.
Taking the glass, he brought the contents to his nose and smelled. Hot chocolate. Joseph took a long pull on the liquid, then thought about the drink he’d had when he fell into the underworld. He didn’t care, he needed nourishment.
“Now, I’ll tell you why I’m here, Joseph Rose, and what I need you to do for me.”
“I knew there was a reason, and with reason, a cost. Nothing comes without a cost. You always have a price. A price to pay, to pay for a price.” He continued to ramble on as he shoveled handful after handful into his mouth. The more he ate, the more food appeared on his plate. Whatever this magic was, he didn’t care. He simply wanted to indulge until he felt full or sick or both.
The shadow man chuckled. “Yes, Joseph, yes. Now, let me tell you of my plan.” He clapped his palms together, and Joseph flinched.
Joseph looked up long enough to see sparks fly in the hands of the shadows. Figures began to form and shift into what looked to be two women. One in red. One in white.
Joseph sat back on his bottom and crossed his legs in front of him. He picked up the plate and, in between bites, said, “I think I know who that is.” He pointed to the one cloaked in white smoke.
“Yes,” the shadow man said with a sadistic grin. “She is the rightful queen of the underworld.”
“What’s her name?” Joseph asked with a mouthful of beef.
The man smirked. “Her name is not important, but what is important is you must free her. She has been placed as a prisoner in her own castle behind a looking glass.”
Joseph took another sip of the drink and, having the feeling of being full, he sat down the plate. The beef and potatoes disappeared, and, in their place, a piece of chocolate cake formed. He ran his finger through the fudge icing and licked it clean. “Why is she in prison? What does this have to do with me?”
“She needs you, Joseph, far more than she knows. She needs you to kill the red queen.”
The red queen. The name mentioned to him by Tom the Crow. He scratched at his arm, then reached for the cake. He took a bite and savored the flavor of cocoa. “The red queen does not belong here.”
A wicked gleam passed over the shadow man and Joseph paused for a moment, then wondered if the food he was eating could be poisoned. But why tell him all this just to kill him? No sense it made, making no sense.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
Joseph shook his head and hoped the ticking would stop.
“Will you be my champion and kill her?” the voodoo man asked.
Joseph pushed the plate of never ending cake away and stood to his feet. He swiped at his mouth and rubbed his belly. “Thank you for the food. You may have saved my life tonight, once more.”
The man smirked. “Consider yourself an investment. Now, Joseph, will you take the life of the red one so the white one may once again rule this kingdom?”
“Why must I kill her?” he asked.
The shadow man was immediately in his face. No breath came from him, no heat, no smells. “Because that is my order upon you.”
Joseph dared to reach forward, then gasped when his hand went through the figure. The shadow man then became translucent and he smirked.
“Ah, now you see,” the man said. “Yet, with your eyes, you would see all rather than nothing.”
Joseph blinked and didn’t understand what the man meant with his words. “If I kill her, what will happen to me?”
The shadow man leaned ever so much closer and whispered, “You’ll be free of that hat and can live your life as you see fit.”
Joseph’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.
“Simply sign this and the power will be in your hands, so to speak,” the man said, and a scroll of parchment appeared in the air. The shadow man reached out grasped it. Where did it come from? Joseph wasn’t sure, and then again, how had the food appeared? He grabbed the paper and unrolled it. He read over the document and it was exactly what the man had told him.
Upon the death of the red queen, the white queen shall live and his life would be his again.
There was an X where he needed to sign his name.
“I need a—” he stopped midsentence when the shadow man held out a pen.
Joseph took it and signed the paper, then both pen and parchment disappeared, along with the shadow man. Only the dark chuckle of the man remained and it too faded into the echoes of the cavern. The food also evaporated, and the fire diminished to nothing.
He took a step forward, expecting to feel warmth from the former flame, but the floor was only cold.
Had the man actually been there? Had the food? Joseph placed his hand on his stomach and his belly growled, starving.
He’d then realized he never had eaten, drank, or seen a flame.
Joseph quickly sat up in the cavern. Had the entire episode been a dream? He looked around the cave and found himself alone. He could see the morning sun rising over the horizon. Next to him, on the ground, grew a small patch of green vegetables that looked similar to zucchini. He reached for one and pulled it free from the stem. He broke it in half and grinned. It wasn’t zucchini, but it smelled heavenly of sweet pastries. He licked the pinkish texture and his mouth watered with anticipation. He took a big bite and relished in the taste of the sweetness. He picked four more and ate a full stem, followed by another. The vegetable was wet and managed to hydrate him enough to continue moving.