Chapter #41New Allies by: Seuzz   You watch Frank and Joe out of the corner of your eye as they go into the gym. From what Blackwell said, it seems unlikely that they had anything to do with the golems or the oddball events of the past few days. They're probably just be kids with unusual interests. But they still strike you as being unusual in and of themselves. And they can't be worse eggs than Blackwell himself.
If you're going to talk to them, though, it would be better to do it in the guise of "Will Prescott." That way you can hide out from them again without having blown your cover as "Perry Small."
You have forty minutes until practice ends, and you think some more about how to make the approach. You should change clothes, to be absolutely safe; they might recognize you even in disguise if you had on the same duds.
* * * * *
Perry has an extra shirt in his locker, and you change and pull off the mask in the bathroom. You're not paying attention as you head back over to the gym, and physically bump into Lisa. "Hi Will," she says, and you look back with a jerk of the head. "I missed you last night," she says coolly.
"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry," you mutter. "Something came up."
"It's okay. I got together with Geoff."
"That's great," you say, and resume walking. There's no solution to a small problem like acquiring a big one.
Cindy Vredenburg is the first one to leave the gym after you arrive--you'd seen her and other cheerleaders going in--and she looks utterly distraught, but you ignore her. Ten minutes later, Frank and Joe come out, and they instantly clap eyes on you. "Hey, speak of the devil," Joe says. "We were gonna come looking for you, Prescott."
"And here I am, looking for you," you reply nervously. "Convenient, huh?"
"Mighty convenient," says Frank. He puts a strong arm around your shoulder. "Let's talk." He pulls you hard, but you walk along willingly with them. No one speaks.
They take you between wings, and you find yourself being led out to the portables. Didn't take them long to figure out where privacy is to be had. Your lone ally--Maize Tsosie--passes you going the other way, and you catch him looking at you hard. You clench your teeth in a tight smile. Joe turns to look at Tsosie after he's passed, but doesn't break stride.
You round a corner to find Dane Matthias squatting behind a portable. "Company!" he laughs. "Pull up a piece of grass. Hang on, I got some--" He dips a hand in his pocket.
"Get lost," Frank growls, hauling him up and hustling him away.
"Harsh!" Dane cries, and then he's gone.
"You guys were asking me about magic and this book I found," you say when Frank has returned. "I told you I buried it in this time capsule--"
"But it's not there," Frank says. "We know. We dug it up last night."
Well, that's enough to tell you these guys are serious about this stuff. "Sure," you say. "How much do you guys know about it?"
"Enough to know that you shouldn't be fucking around with it," Frank says. He draws up close. "Where is it?"
"I wish I knew. I really, really wish I knew. And yeah, we really fucked up with it."
"We?" Joe asks.
"Me and my friends."
"Who are your 'friends'?" Frank demands.
"Me, Justin Roth, Gordon Black." You leave out Perry's and Maize's names for the moment. "Listen, it'll save time if you tell me how much you know about the book and what it can do."
"It'll save time if you just spill everything," Frank says. "I'm getting really impatient, and when I lose my patience I lose my temper, and when I lose my temper, people start losing teeth."
"Okay," you gulp. So you tell him about making masks and golems. "Thing is, we fucked up when we made the golem. It's supposed to have this stuff in it, to make it a slave, but we left it out. Bad things, like evil spirits or things, got into it, and now it's on the loose. It's got the book, and it's doing things to people."
Joe and Frank exchange a glance. "What makes you think it's evil spirits," Joe asks.
"Me and Gordon went out to see this professor yesterday," you say. "He used to own the book. He told us--"
"This guy have a name?" Frank asks.
"Blackwell." They share another glance. "We got the golem out to his house, and something attacked it and killed it. The professor examined the remains, and he freaked. And this guy, I don't think he's the type to freak out. If you saw his house-- Well, I think he's used to this kind of thing. More used to it than me and Gordon."
They share a long look. "If this golem thing is dead," Joe asks, "what's the problem?"
"The problem is that it made more things like itself. It killed some of our friends and turned them into golems, and we think they're trying to make more. Lots more."
"Hang on," Joe interrupts. "It killed some of your friends? Who?"
You take a deep breath, and say farewell to your disguises. "Justin Roth and Perry Small and Shep Tsosie."
"What about Gordon?" Frank asks. "He wasn't at practice this morning."
"Gordon's okay. Him and me came back to school, to see if we could spot any more golems, but we were in disguise."
Frank pins you to the wall with a strong hand, and he and Joe talk in some foreign language; they both look calm but grim. "Okay, here's the deal," Frank says when they're done. "You and Gordon and me and Joe are gonna ditch class, and we're gonna go out and talk to this professor. Your story stinks--"
"I'm telling you the truth!"
"Even if it's the truth, it stinks. So where's Gordon?"
"Pretending to be Maize Tsosie. We went out to his house and got the mask off the golem. We were hoping some of the other golems would think he was one of them, talk to him, reveal themselves."
"He's got guts," Joe laughs.
"More guts than brains," Frank says.
"Like someone else I know," Joe grins.
* * * * *
The first bell has long since rung, and you spend first period at the portables giving Frank and Joe more details. Some students appear, looking to skip, but Frank sends them off. By the time the bell has rung again, they sound less skeptical of your story, but they still keep a firm hold on you as you go looking for Maize. He greets you neutrally when you find him.
Joe puts a friendly arm around him. "Hey there, cap'n," he says. "Missed you at practice, but Patterson ran things in your stead." Tsosie says nothing. "Prescott's told us everything. We're all going to see this professor now."
Tsosie gives you a very hard look, then shrugs his shoulders. "It's your funeral."
"No, if what Prescott says is legit, it's the opposite of a funeral," Joe says. "And that's very bad news."
* * * * *
Joe rides with you, while Frank drives Gordon in the brothers' truck. You ask Joe about him and Frank and why they're interested in the book. "Professional reasons," he says curtly. "This kind of thing is our specialty. I'm glad you thought to confide in us. This professor is not the kind of person you want to be working with."
"He helped us out," you say.
"Sure, and any help is better than none. But this business is going to end one way or another, and you don't want to be left alone with him at the end."
You say nothing about whether you want to be left alone with Frank and Joe when it's over.
Blackwell's car is gone from out front when you arrive. The four of you slowly dismount. Frank opens the gate but doesn't step through, and restrains you and Tsosie. He and Joe stare long and hard at the house. "He's a professor," you say when you can't stand the silence any longer. "He might have classes."
"Possibly," Frank says. "Joe, check out the grounds."
And then you have to blink, and Tsosie sucks in a sharp breath, for now there are two Joe Durrases standing next to you. One of them steps over to the gate, but Frank stops him with a word, and then fixes you and your friend with a piercing stare. "You guys need to know what you're dealing with," he says. "This house? Not a good scene. But we can handle it. We can handle you, too."
Tsosie suddenly flies backward and slams hard into the wall. You gasp: He is hanging nearly two feet in the air, feet dangling, seemingly pinned against the stone by an invisible hand.
Frank jerks his chin at your friend. "It's me doing that," he says. "And Joe's just given you a little taste of what he can do. He can do worse, and so can I. We're not fellas you wanna fuck with. Your magician friend is strong enough on his own ground, but outside this gate I'm guessing he can barely keep his shoelaces tied. Me and Joe, though--" Tsosie makes a choking sound, and his face turns a bright red. "We can follow you and we can find you and we can fuck you up. And we're only in training. We got colleagues who can turn you inside out without batting an eyelash."
Tsosie drops to the ground. He crouches and breathes hard.
"Now, Joe and I are going in there," Frank continues. "And we're going to have a very long talk with Professor Blackwell. Chances are that you two won't want to see and hear anything. You'll be okay if you go back to school, so long as you just go to class and keep your eyes open and your hands to yourselves. But it's your choice."  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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