by Gareth Otton
“Alright,” she said. “Fair enough. It’s getting late, anyway. It’s been good talking to you. Maybe I’ll see you again soon.”
Without giving him chance to answer, she turned and walked away, moving with the pace of a ghost. If he wanted to respond he’d have to shout. Instead, he just watched her leave.
Alone on his parent’s street and confused about what happened, he decided enough was enough. It was time to head home. Looking at his parents’ house made him think about calling in to see them, but he didn’t fancy it right now.
He wasn’t frightened to do so anymore, he just found his visits with them difficult. His parents didn't understand the life he’d been living for longer than he was actually alive. It created a large gulf between them and left him feeling awkward. He’d see them soon, just not tonight.
Frustrated thoughts rushed through his mind as he picked up his pace. He was annoyed with himself for losing his temper. He could have dealt with that girl a hundred ways better than he did. It also frustrated him that even though he was heading to the place he truly considered his home, he wasn’t looking forward to that either.
Things were different since the dragon incident. He’d almost become a mad ghost that night, and it was easily the most terrifying experience of his life. For the first time, even sharing a mind with Tad didn’t give Tad the frame of reference to understand this properly. If he couldn’t understand then Tony would rather not talk about it at all. If that human lie detector Tad was sleeping with was around, then things only got awkward when they asked him what was troubling him.
So no, he wasn’t looking forward to heading home, but he arrived there soon enough, anyway.
It was relatively early and the lights were on, so of course everyone was up. For a second that surprised him. It was hard to think of their lives going on without him, like he almost expected them to go straight to bed when he wasn’t there. He used to be such a big part of everything they did that they never would have done anything without him before. Now they went on adventures all the time, even came back with crazy new things like those barking balls of fur, all without him being there to live the story rather than just hear about it.
It was his fault and he could change it any time he wanted, but it was easier said than done. Since the Merging he had more freedom, could go longer without merging with Tad. After fifteen years living in someone else’s head, it was something he yearned for. Now, it was hard to go back.
The barking started the minute he stepped through the door. He didn’t open it so he knew the puppies couldn’t have heard him, but soon enough there was the sound of scrabbling claws as they raced over the wooden floors. However, for the first time since he’d met them, their little tails were wagging and their barking had a different tone.
They were excited.
Despite himself, he laughed as the first one collided with him, jumping up his legs as though trying to climb up him. Then he was attacked by two more and his laughing only grew as he fell against the wall.
“Huh, that looks weird,” Stella said as she came to see what the fuss was about.
She stood in the doorway dressed down in a t-shirt and jean shorts. Her feet were bare, and she tied her hair back, but if she had been in that club dressed so simply, she’d still have drawn every eye and left no chance for the dancers in their high heals and near nudity to get attention. Not for the first time, Tony couldn’t put his finger on what set her apart from other women. Maybe it was her eyes that were a ridiculous, vibrant blue that contrasted so strongly with her black hair, or that even without makeup her skin was perfect and smooth. It was almost like she’d been photoshopped to look that good. The strange thing was, he wasn’t sure it had always been that way. She’d always been pretty, but was she always this distracting?
“I’m assuming that’s you, Tony. But it looks like all the pups are just stood up on their hind legs looking at nothing right now.”
Tony realised he was still invisible. It made sense the puppies could see him if they were dreamwalkers and suddenly he wondered if there were dog ghosts as well. He’d never seen one.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Tony said, letting go of his concentration that kept him invisible. “What’s got into these three?”
“Looks like they’ve finally taken a liking to you. God knows what changed their mind because I’ve known you a lot longer and I’m still not there yet,” Stella teased.
“Yet? You mean that one day I might come home and you’ll run out, barking and jumping all over me.”
Stella’s laugh was almost a bark as it looked like she was reluctant to let the sound out, but she did smile.
“In your dreams you little twerp.”
“It will be now. I’m imagining dog ears and a tail… kinky.”
Stella rolled her eyes and looked away. “You always have to take it too far. Come on, help us convince Tad he needs to play another round of golf,” she said as she stepped back into the living room.
“Another round of golf,” Tony said, pushing his way past the excited puppies so he could follow her. “With the same guy?”
“Different doctor but he wants the same thing,” Tad said from one of the sofas, and Tony instantly grinned. Tad was sulking. It was always so much fun to tease him when he was like this. “What the hell is it with these doctors and golf?”
“He said he doesn’t get much time off, so if you want to meet him you’ll have to do it on the golf course,” Stella explained.
“More likely he just wants to show off that he knows a famous guy to his golf buddies and then spend an hour laughing at my non-existent golf skills instead of talking about Jen which is why we met in the first place.”
“This guy will be different,” Stella said as she sat next to Tad on the central sofa. “He’s a friend of Kimberly’s and she said he’s good. He’ll take you seriously… so long as you don’t dress like a court jester again.”
Tony burst out laughing, remembering Tad wearing that ridiculous clothing. He’d laughed so hard it hurt afterwards, especially when Tad started throwing a tantrum about it.
“I don’t know what you’re laughing at,” Tad snapped. “You’re coming to caddy for me as punishment for last time.”
“Gladly, if it gives me chance to see you try to actually hit a golf ball. Jen told me how funny it was last time.”
Tad looked at Jen who suddenly went bright red and tried to look angry at Tony for telling Tad that, but she couldn’t hold it in and she burst out laughing.
“It took you like ten tries to hit it on the first hole. It was so hard not to laugh.”
“That’s not funny,” Tad tried, but both Stella and Tony joined Jen at laughing at him.
“He got so angry at the ball,” Jen continued like Tad didn’t even speak. “He started swearing and shouting at it like it was the ball’s fault he couldn’t hit it. With what he was wearing, it was so funny.”
Even blushing with embarrassment and trying to look angry, Tad couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s not my fault the stupid ball is so small,” he muttered which just made everyone laugh harder.
Tony fell onto a sofa and was surprised when all three puppies jumped up to attack his face with their tongues. It had been a long time since he’d felt that, and he yelped in surprise. He wasn’t sure what he sounded like, but it set the other three off laughing even harder, which only urged the puppies on more, making Tony helpless to stop them.
He was laughing too though, and as he did, he wondered why he’d even gone out tonight. This was so much more fun than spending time alone in a strip club where the strippers hadn’t even started taking their clothes off yet, or being questioned by that stupid ghost. He should have been here with his family as they argued over something they knew Tad would do anyway if only because Jen wanted it to happen.
As he squirmed and tried to get free, he decided it was time to get over his funk and get back to how things used to be.
Although, he had
to admit to himself as he finally manoeuvred out from under the lovable fur balls, that maybe one change from the way things used to be wasn’t that much of a problem. Despite himself, he was starting to like these little guys too.
9
Friday, 08th July 2016
00:03
“Stop pretending, we all know you’ll keep him,” Jacob teased from the garden chair beside Tad’s. “So you’ll need a name.”
“Who’s pretending?” Tad asked. “I’m just waiting to hear from—”
“That woman’s never calling,” Tony interrupted from the picnic bench where he sat with Jacob’s ghost, an almost perfect replica of Jacob himself.
Joseph was Jacob’s identical twin who had died in a car accident three years earlier. The two were hosting Tad and Tony at their home in Washington DC. They promised the best barbecue food Tad had ever eaten, and they delivered. The trouble was that the beers and the five-hour time difference influenced his ability to think. It was gone five in the morning at home and he’d normally be sleeping.
“Jen said they were trying to get rid of the puppies anyway,” Tony continued. “Being as they’re dreamwalking dogs, she probably thinks they’re with the best people for them.”
“Which means you need to name the little guy,” Joseph said as he kept the puppy's rapt attention with a few scraps of left over barbecue chicken. “He’s far too cute not to have a name.”
“How about Stanley?” Jacob suggested. “That’s a good British name.”
Tony burst out laughing while Tad smirked at his friend and asked, “Really? Stanley was the best British name you could think of?”
Jacob feigned being pained by Tad’s remark, but even his brother mocked him.
“How many beers have you had, Jacob? I’d have gone with Winston or Theodore.”
Tony and Tad laughed again.
“That’s the best either of you two can do?” Tad asked. “British people aren’t all tea-drinking, stiff upper lip types. Most have more everyday names, similar to those over here.”
“Says Thaddeus Holcroft,” Tony teased, which set everyone off laughing again.
“Alright, so if not those names, what will you call him?” Jacob asked as he watched the puppy lick his chops after finishing his chicken, then go sniffing around the small enclosed garden at the back of Jacob’s modest, two bed home. On a single teacher’s salary, Jacob’s house wasn’t in the nicest of neighbourhoods, but Jacob had worked hard to make it a pleasant place to live. There was plenty to interest the little puppy as it went exploring.
“I already told you, I don’t want to give any of them names or we’ll get too attached.”
“You’re too late,” Tony pointed out. “Jen’s been calling hers Hawk since the moment she saw it and Stella’s been calling the other one Freckles so long now that there’s no way that won’t be his name. Poor guy. What kind of name is Freckles for a boy?”
“So it’s Hawk, Freckles and…” Jacob began, deliberately trailing off for Tad to fill the gap.
Smiling at their persistence, Tad still didn’t want to think of the dog as his yet. Though the thought of giving them back made him shudder. Tony was probably right, that woman was never calling and if he was honest with himself, he didn’t want her to.
That meant he needed a name. He couldn’t exactly call the dog puppy for the rest of its life. He couldn’t think of anything on the spot, however, as the beer and sleep depravation was hitting him hard.
“Alright, you win. I’ll name the little guy. But not tonight, my brain’s not working properly right now.”
“Does it ever?” Tony teased, and Tad laughed. He didn’t know what had gotten into his ghost, but he was the most animated tonight he’d been in a while.
Jacob chuckled and said, “I’ve never met a ghost who gives his Proxy as much of a hard time as you, Tony.”
Tony grinned proudly. “I think of it as training. It helps keep Tad on his toes and ready for anything.”
Jacob laughed while Joseph got a sly look and said, “Hmm. That’s an interesting hypothesis. You and me will have to talk about that before you leave.”
“Hell no,” Jacob protested. “That sounds like my worst nightmare.” Again there were chuckles as the beer made anything funny if said in the right tone. However, the chuckles died down as Jacob turned the topic to something more serious. “Speaking of nightmares, how goes that fight?”
Tad sighed, then downed his beer, deciding this one was the last.
“Not great. The Pendine incident was probably the worst yet. The body count was lower than the dragon nightmare. But this is the first one we haven’t definitively stopped. It’s not playing well for us.”
“They can’t expect you to hit it out of the park every time,” Jacob protested. “You’ve already done so much to stop nightmares that they should line up to give you a medal, not criticise you for… what? Saving people’s lives?”
It surprised Tad how agitated his friend was.
“Easy over there, it’s not all bad. And it’s not all aimed at me personally, but the Borderlands as a whole. To keep nightmares under control, we need to reduce fear. The more people who are scared, the more nightmares they have. The more nightmares they have, the more nightmares we have… You get the point. There’s so many people in the Borderlands these days because everyone wants their own dream come true that new nightmares are inevitable. Now that we might not be able to stop them, things will just get worse.”
“I wish I could help,” Jacob said. “I want to come forward… but…”
His words trailed off before he could launch into familiar arguments Tad had heard multiple times. They were the same reasons holding most dreamwalkers back. In some cases they worried about how their communities would accept them, in others they worried about people’s reactions to them waiting so long to come forward while people were dying, and finally there were people like Jacob who were more worried about world governments.
Jacob maintained that he didn’t trust the Prime Minister, really didn’t trust his own government, and that every other government just got less trustworthy from there. To him, the only thing keeping the current dreamwalkers who had come forward safe was notoriety. The Prime Minister couldn’t do anything to Tad because the world would know about it instantly. The same was true for the three dreamwalkers on the Dream Team. But if more dreamwalkers came forward, it was only a matter of time before it was less obvious if one disappeared.
Tad couldn’t exactly argue. As Jacob liked pointing out, Tad had already been kidnapped once and he would be naïve if he thought it couldn’t happen again. They had spoken about it multiple times now and Tad knew they’d never see eye to eye, but he was saved from having to answer when the puppy started growling.
This wasn’t a normal puppy growl, but a low and rumbling tone that was loud enough to make the dregs of beer in their bottles shake like a puddle in an earthquake. Tad doubted even the largest predators to ever walk the earth could even come close to what he heard right now. It was at once awe-inspiring and terrifying, speaking to a primal part of him that fought for as much sobriety as it could muster so he could run away.
Every eye in the garden turned to the puppy who stood staring at the back fence, hackles raised and drawing Dream in waves to augment his growl.
“That’s terrifying,” Jacob announced, putting his near empty beer bottle down decisively and sitting up straight. “That’ll sober you up fast. What is he—”
Jacob’s question was interrupted as the wood-panelled fence exploded inward, sending the puppy scurrying for safety and showering the rest of them with splinters of wood. The explosion rocked Tad back and almost overbalanced his chair, but he somehow kept himself upright. His brain was still too sluggish to do anything but stare at the cause of the explosion even as Joseph and Tony, both sober thanks to their lack of living bodies, jumped to their feet in readiness for whatever this was.
A man stood in the newly created hole, enormous in a
way that even Tad was in awe of. Not only was he six inches taller than Tad’s six-foot-six, he was broad of the shoulder and chest, and muscled like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. The night was dark, but Jacob’s garden lights were just bright enough to show Tad the man’s menacing grin, the shaved sides of his head, and the long, slicked back hair tied into a tight tail. He was Native American and dressed only in jeans and boots with his torso bare to the summer night. He brought to mind the stereotypical image of a Native American Warrior, just minus the war paint and animal skins.
In place of war paint Tad saw a new decoration that was particularly attention grabbing; a large circle on his right pectoral muscle, with three smaller circles arranged below it, touching but never overlapping. Each circle contained an intricate array of delicate lines, formed to make a beautiful web in a very considered way. By far the most fascinating part of this design was that it glowed with its own light like they had drawn it with liquid sunlight.
Tad looked away before that image burnt onto his retina and he had to blink to clear the spots from his vision. As brief as his look was though, he caught the giant’s face when the surprise registered that Tad was there. He also saw his grin grow wider.
“You?” the giant said, his deep, booming voice a mix of shock and delight. “Tonight gets better and better.”
He charged forward, the tattoo on his chest brightening up and lighting the garden like a bolt of lightning struck between them as he grabbed the picnic table in his way and threw it aside. It was a heavy, wooden bench, movable by a man, but not nearly so light as to be tossed aside like a child’s toy. The giant’s casual sideswipe sent it flying over a fence and into a neighbouring garden with little more effort than he might swat a fly. The heavy crashing sound as the bench landed put the lie to its lack of weight, and this was yet another aspect to this strange giant that Tad’s inebriated brain just couldn’t deal with.