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The Gift

Richard's SF Intro, Part 3

copyright comidacomida 2018

Both Jaguar and Gryphon were on me in an instant, grabbing at the black-as-midnight tentacled monstrosity that attempted to entangle me with its numerous appendages. At first it looked like a fairly even fight with the two of them taking it up but, as I watched, one of the tentacles wrapped around Jack's neck and began to squeeze. The Gryphon dropped his sword and both his talons went to the fleshy muscle choking him. He somehow still managed to wheeze "Accept me, Richard... make the Pact!"

I couldn't very well sit by and do nothing, so I grabbed the IV stand and swung it at the octopus thing. More out of reflex than anything else, I brought the broad base of the long metal bar straight down on the black-as-midnight creature... only to have the makeshift weapon go straight through it as if it weren't there and bounce resoundingly off of the floor. Despite my weak grip and unsteadiness I somehow managed to hold onto the stand and a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea threatened to knock me off my balance.

Crystal clarity struck me a moment later as I heard Balam's voice clearly in my head and in my ears as he intoned aloud in his language. "Gelenah. Gelona. Ten. Tech. Hun. Cannac."

The octopus-like creatured continued squeezing Jack, who had shifted his attention from me to it once again and was tearing viciously at the tentacle around its neck even as he raked at its bulbous body with his hind paws. Balam, however, was standing back from it, one paw extended toward the creature and one toward me. His numerous tattoo scars blazed with bluish green flame-- the same flame that burst forth from his paw and immolated the shadowy being; although it didn't burn I could tell that the fire was having an affect... albeit, a small one.

I stepped toward the octopus again and I raised the IV stand anew. Although I hardly expected any different effect there was some unknown inspiration within me that suggested this time it would be different. Balam concluded his chanting with the final syllable of the last word coming out as a shout. "Panche be uahomCHE!"

The glow of the fire was blinding and I swung at the octopus again purely on instinct and, despite being unable to see, I knew that my blow had struck true. When the searing light finally cleared from my vision I saw that Balam and Jack were unharmed with nothing more than a vaguely octopus-shaped scorch mark remaining on the floor where the hostile creature had once been. The Gryphon rubbed his neck as he looked my way. "Thou doth act with courage, Richard, but thy actions are foolish and impulsive."

Balam simply looked toward me knowingly, holding a paw out. I looked in the direction it was aimed and I watched as a small wisp of bluish green flame was swept up by an unseen current, detaching from the end of the IV stand, and disappearing into his palm. He closed his paw, looked back to me, and said simply in his native language. "Yum botic." followed by Spanish. "Gracias."

Jack, standing once again, smoothed out the feathers around his throat. "Tis but one threat, Robert... we must flee from this place. Now."

I steadied myself by holding onto the IV stand and was just about to speak when the door opened to my room and a nurse came rushing in. She came to a stop when she saw me out of bed holding onto the IV stand. I was able to ask her question before she even spoke. "What are you doing out of bed, young man?"

Pausing, I saw that all of her attention was on me; Balam had somewhat explained that nobody else could see him but me, but the fact that she was completely oblivious to the scorch mark on the floor seemed nigh unbelievable. Jack spoke before I could. "Richard... we have no time to speak with this woman. I urge thee to leave. Swiftly!"

I measured my response, having trouble coming up with a way to communicate once I'd realized that it was not going to be easy to deal with the nurse and the spirits at the same time. "I... uh... fell... out of bed."

The woman moved past me to gather up the many EKG wires off of the floor. "Well, let's get you back into bed, Mr. Ford. You still need time to heal."

To be honest, I was caught between wanting to listen to the nurse and realizing that she wasn't aware of the entire situation-- especially since I saw another dark spot beginning to bleed through the wall. I said the first thing that came to my mind. "I... uh-- I'm going to sign myself out, thanks."

The statement surprised her enough that she dropped the leads. "What?"

There wasn't really any good excuse, so I chose a bad one. "Well, I know there's all sorts of really bad, anti-biotic resistant bacteria in hospitals. Since the worst is over I think I'm better of at home. Thanks."

The black shape was forming on the wall and I saw two more splotches appearing so I didn't catch anything past her statement of "You don't--"

Before she could get anything else out I was in the hallway. Still a little woozy from what was probably a pretty long list of medicines, I looked one way then the next. Jack was beside me a moment later, one talon taking gentle hold of my hospital gown to help keep me on my feet as he extended a wing behind me to offer additional support. It was strange that he felt so solid considering he was a spirit, but, considering I was still fighting the effects of whatever they had me on I didn't have the brainpower to consider it at that exact moment. To further complicate matters, my parents were right there.

My mom was on her feet in an instant. "Richie, honey... what are you--?"

I held up a hand to stop her, speaking under my breath in what I hoped sounded like a cough. "They! in! trouble! too?"

Jack spoke to the negative. "The Nihili can't affect normal humans... just Seers such as thee, Richard."

It seemed almost impossible to me that neither my mom nor dad realized that there was a six-foot-something holding me up, but it went unaddressed. My mom continued stating her concerns. "You were in a really bad accident, honey. You really shouldn't be up and around. Why don't you go back to your--"

Jack squawked in concern. "Faster... they're coming!"

And she continued speaking, having no idea she'd been interrupted, "--can see how you feel again in a few days."

There were dozens of different arguments I could come up with, but most of them would have taken too long to explain so I fell back on my go-to complaint. "Do you have any idea how much it costs for a hospital stay, mom?"

My dad weighed in, making it even harder. "You need to get better, Richard. It'll cost a lot more if something happens to you because there isn't a doctor around at your apartment Just give it a few days and then we'll take you back to Cherry City before we head back over the pass."

Jack was forced to let go of me to turn and face the approaching shadow octopi-- Nihili, he'd called them. I somehow managed to stand on my own two feet as I tried for a final argument to end the stalemate. "I'm an adult now, and I'd appreciate it if you'd treat me like one."

Balam, rather than turning to face the red-eyed creatures coming after us instead stepped forward, eyes gleaming purple as he walked INTO my dad. I watched as my dad's eyes gained a faint inner glow the same color of Balam's and he turned to regard my mom. Although I heard Balam's voice clearly my mom apparently heard my dad. My dad spoke in bad English... REALLY bad English. "Isokay."

My mom, to her credit, maintained only a NEAR hysterical tone. "Bill, you can't be serious! He's--"

My dad looked to me, and it was obvious that Balam, speaking through him, was parroting a phrase he must have heard somewhere. "Wheel give yauhcall ina few daze. Make gud choises, kiddo."

Never in a million years would my dad have ever called me 'kiddo'. He wouldn't call me 'sport' or even 'Richie'. He always called me Richard, and only Richard. My mom, however, didn't seem to notice. "Bill, he was JUST in a car accident!"

Balam emerged from my father's body as if he were stepping out of a pool, moving to match my pace as I rushed past my folks and headed off down the hallway. I was still trying to figure out what happened but, thankfully, whatever had been done left both of my parents arguing about what was best for me and they were so caught up in one another that I was able to escape without event. Well... without event until an enormous black-furred wolf man came around the hallway corner with a large ax in his paw.

I came to a halt immediately and the Wolf let out a commanding bark. He spoke in English, but had a distinctive Scottish accent. "Move yehself outta th' way, Ket!"

Balam came to a stop and, before I was able to figure out what to make of the situation he gave me a shove, pushing me to the side of the hallway even as he threw himself against the other side. With a grunt, the burly Wolf launched the axe straight down the corridor. It missed Jack by a good foot or two, burying itself up to the wooden handle in one of the octopi. The weapon and the dark spirit both disappeared in a puff of mist; the axe returned to the Wolf's grasp but the octopus did not reappear.

I lost track of what was going on as an orderly helped me up. He obviously knew nothing of the war going on in the hallway. "Do you need some help, sir? What room are you in?"

Standing up on my own I motioned him off of me. "I'm fine, thanks. I'm on my way out... getting discharged."

It took me a moment to convince the man to leave me alone and when I looked back to the Wolf, he was staring at me with emerald eyes. "Well ah'll be skelped... ain't that a bonnie sight? Yeh got yehself a Seer, eh Jeck?"

The sound of the Gryphon's sword making a solid connection with one of the octopi was enough to get me moving again, and Jack called after me. "Richard-- the Wolf before thee, Treboada by name, means no harm. Go with him while I guard thy escape!"

The Wolf scowled, stalking first toward, then past me as an axe appeared in his second paw, a perfect twin to the first. He addressed the Gryphon as he spoke. "Yeh heid's mince, yeh berd braen... ah'm here t'deal with these'n... go git ye gone with th' Seer. Ah'll find yeh later when there be mair tiem."

Balam, who hadn't left my side, motioned for me to follow, speaking in Spanish. "Richard. Come with me. We go."

I looked back at the Gryphon, the Wolf, then the Jaguar and I--