Once Ujin was dead, the
dolls stopped moving, and the thrones released the deities. All the magic he had put into place was
gone. The dark cloud was lifted, and
Fantasy Land was no longer the house of horrors it once was, and was not just
like any crappy amusement park that still littered small towns in America.
Even after everyone had
left, and Juktha had rejoined with Bobby, and Tabitha had rejoined with Ashtyn,
Kurt stayed behind. This was the first
time he had ever seen his deity, and that night he had almost lost him.
“So, this is what you
look like.” Kurt looked over the old
man. His white beard seemed to curl at
the tip, and his hands were bony, with long, thing fingers. His face was wrinkled and worn, but more
importantly, it was kind.
“Are you
disappointed? I may not be as visually
appealing as Tabitha or Juktha, but I promise you, I will serve you well, my
boy.” Doctore smiled, holding out his
hand.
“You already have.” Kurt reached out, taking Doctore’s hand in
his. “Thank you for helping me save my
boyfriend, my friends.”
“That was all you,
Kurt.” Doctore smiled. “I just gave you the tools. You were the one who did the hard work.”
“I have to ask, why
me?” Kurt looked down at his hands,
which were still covered in dried blood.
“Why did you decide to reside in me?”
“You have touched the
divine, you have experienced the hellish.
Your mind was ready, and the Scribes saw fit to give you a companion to
help guide you through the unnatural and supernatural world you find yourself
so constantly thrown into.” Doctore
looked down the long corridor that led out of the temple. In the distance they could both see the
golden glow of the sun starting to rise.
“You and your friends have many battles ahead, and I am here to aid you
in that fight.”
Kurt nodded. “Good to know.”
Doctore motioned towards
the corridor. “Come, your friends are
waiting for us. We can talk later.”
Kurt started down the
long corridor, and as he walked, he could feel Doctore’s essence join with him
again. While it still felt strange, it
also felt right.
***
On the boat ride back,
Clare didn’t say much. She just sat
there, Max at her side. She was
exhausted, yes, but even worse, she was heart broken. Brittany hadn’t been the first friend she had
lost, and she knew she wouldn’t be the last, but it still hurt.
It hurt even worse
because it finally seemed like Brittany was starting to adjust to being in the
human realm. She was connecting with
people. She… she was actually happy
about meeting a guy. Then, in one
moment, that life was snuffed out.
“You okay?” Max looked at her, their eyes meeting.
“No.” Clare barely croaked out the word before the
sobs threatened to start again.
“What are you going to
do?” He brushed a few strands of hair
from her face.
“I don’t know.” Clare wiped a tear from her cheek. “Keep fighting, I guess.”
“Well, if you need
anything, you know I’m there for you, right?”
He smiled, kissing her gently on the forehead.
“Max,” she glanced up at
him. “I don’t want to be alone
tonight.”
“Then you won’t be.”
He kissed her,
softly. It was a small, simple kiss, but
it was enough to calm her down. It was
enough to help her make it through the rest of the boat ride. Now she understood why Bobby needed Kurt so
badly. Having that person there, having
someone you care about, and who cares about you, made it all that much harder,
but also, that much easier. It gave you
a home, a place to look forward to.
When she glanced at Max,
part of her wondered if he could be that person. At that moment, with all the TV gloss and
Hollywood glamour stripped away, she thought that maybe he could be.
***
Rico sat on the edge of
the van, unsure of how he had even gotten there. The last thing he remembered was some crazy
lady slashing at his next, and then he was there, sleeping in the back of the
van, not a scratch on him.
He thought about possibly
getting help, but he couldn’t leave. He
needed to be there when they all got back, when Brittany got back.
He had no idea where
things were going with her, but part of him was hoping that maybe, just maybe
there was a chance for something. It
would be difficult explaining to his very Catholic mother the whole ‘dating a
demon’ thing, but they could deal with that battle when they got to it. Well, if they got to it. He was already planning his future with her,
and he had no idea how she really felt.
A thick, morning mist
hung over the park, obscuring his view of the fairway. He squinted, hoping to make out the form of
someone, anyone. He just needed to know
what was going on. The not knowing was
driving him crazy.
Finally he saw the forms
of people moving towards him through the fog.
It had to be them!
“Guys!” He was up, waving his arms over his
head. “Guys, what happened? Did you…”
The words were ripped
right out of his mouth when he saw the looks on their faces. They were all battered and bruised,
exhausted. They were… they were short
one.
“Hey, where’s
Brittany?” He glanced around the
group. She wasn’t there.
Max left Clare, and
walked towards him, walked him away from the group, and towards the van.
Once they were alone, Max
spoke. “Rico, I’m so sorry, but…”
He felt that knot form in
his throat. “Don’t. Do not tell me what I think you are going to
tell me. Please, just don’t.”
“Rico…” Max’s voice
quivered slightly, betraying his calm look.
“One of them got her. She… she
didn’t make it.”
“No. No, no, no, no.” The word just kept repeating. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. Brittany was the pro at these things. She was the one who was supposed to come
back, unharmed.
She wasn’t supposed to
die. Their story wasn’t supposed to end
like this.
***
I winced when I heard the
anguished scream come from behind the van.
It hadn’t fully hit me yet, the whole blur of the battle was still
clouding my mind.
I knew it would,
though. Maybe it would be when we got
home, or when I went back to the office, and she wasn’t there, at her desk,
complaining about how we never took her out on jobs.
I glanced at my friends,
at my boyfriend. Another battle down,
and another piece of our soul damaged.
These jobs seemed to get worse and worse, and the more we fought, the
more damaged we became.
How long would it take
for this wound to heal? Would it ever
actually heal?
I knew I had no
choice. I knew I had to fight. No one was forcing me, but if I didn’t fight…
If we didn’t fight, then who knows what would happen to the world. They had lost so much in that battle, and
looking back, I had not taken much joy in seeing Grath struggle. I thought I would have. I thought seeing him die horribly would make
all the pain he caused me go away.
It didn’t. Now that pain was worse. I couldn’t shut down, though. Not like last time. This was not just my pain. This was our pain, and I needed to be there
for everyone else, the way had been there for me. We were a team, a family, and the only
support we truly had in this world was each other.
“You ready to go
home?” Kurt put his arm around my
shoulder, pulling me close to him.
“Yeah.” I nodded, and we both climbed into the
car.
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