Chapter Ten – “Wake the Dead”

Plip, plip. The first drops of rain splattered against Jason’s forehead. His tawny brown hair absorbed the next few. The cynical young man looked to the sky, eying the ominous darkness that loomed overhead. Yet, other than the darkness, all he saw was canopy. The absence of sun patches was all the indication he needed to know that storm clouds were above. A tiny smirk crossed his lips. Rain in a rainforest, what a novel idea, he mused. Not far away, the full force of the storm was evident. The rush of the downpour ahead pitter-pattered against the foliage. Thunder, louder than any Jason could remember, reverberated through the sky. Frankly, he was relieved. Storms usually brought a drop in temperature with them, and right now that was something he desperately wanted.

“Ooh, it’s raining.” Sekkai shouted excitedly, running around in circles, trying to catch the droplets in her agape mouth. “I’m going to bounce and trounce and flounce and pounce in all the puddles!”

“Aren’t cats supposed to hate water?” Jason asked, watching the wide-eyed cat girl dance around in the slowly increasing rainfall.

“I’m not a plain old boring cat. I’m a majestic tiger. Can’t you tell the difference?” Sekkai shot back.

While the curmudgeonly one and the young feline argued, one of their companions had a look of dread in her eyes. Shota whimpered lightly as she looked up to the sky, doing her best to sidestep each and every drop of rain. She hugged her cottony-white top, guarding it carefully from her falling tormentors. When she received a nudge from Glock’s muzzle, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Doe-eyed, Glock looked at her and she knew that the horse was only showing concern.

“I’ve never met a dryad who was afraid of the rain. What’s wrong friend Shota?”

“I am not afraid of the water in and of itself. I enjoy a good dip in a spring as much as the next girl, but you see my constitution has changed. That blasted Professor, if he had not ground my tree into pulp for his books, I would not be in this predicament.” Shota lamented. “Once upon a time, I would relish the coming rain as it soaked deeply into my roots. Now, I must flee for shelter even in the tiniest of squalls.”

“Of all the redheads in all the worlds, I had to get stuck with the one that breaks out into soliloquy every chance she gets.” Jason muttered.

“Do not mock me, Jason Grey! I shall see to it that you receive just punishment for your acerbic comments before this journey has seen its end.”

“Really? What are you going to do? Give me another paper cut?” The man taunted. “You can’t even handle a little precipitation and you think yourself a match for the Great Googler? What’s so bad about a little rain anyway?”

The dryad’s cheeks flushed, matching her fiery mane. Hiding her embarrassment was of little use, however, as the whole of her traveling party was staring at her, awaiting an answer.

“Do you not know what happens to paper when it becomes wet?” Shota asked. “No, do not answer, I will tell you. It loses its cohesiveness. Every stitch of my clothing is made from paper. If I get wet, I will be forced to run around stark naked.”

“Sekkai approves of this!” The cat girl announced cheerfully, looking at her friend lewdly.

“I know you do, my kitten, but I would prefer if my nakedness was not something for all the world to see. I am not one of those stereotypical woodland nymphs that walks around the forest flashing my naughty bits. I pride myself on my strong sense of decency.” Shota responded. “Although, I do enjoy your fervent admiration for my body.”

“I get it. She’s your smizmar, but I’d really rather not hear about it,” Jason butted in with, “Now, before the rain washes away your clothes and you two start to copulate, let’s find some shelter.”

“For once, I agree with you, Grey One.”

Not far from their path, a perfectly hollowed out tree stood, as if somebody left it there for them. The cubbyhole was not large, but it was finely carved out. There was no denying that their fortune was due to some creature carefully digging out the center of the tree so that it could rest inside, but whoever the architect was, they were long gone at the moment. It was a snug fit even from the beginning. Sekkai, Shota and a very uncomfortable looking Jason ensconced themselves into their temporary domicile, leaving little room for the horse.

“There’s not a chance in hell,” Jason spat out at Glock, who was busy trying to back herself into the hole. “We don’t have room for a gigantic horse butt in here!”

“My butt is not gigantic,” Glock neighed, “and there is plenty of room. You just have to get out and let me get in first.”

“Actually, I think Jason is correct this time, Glock. Either the three of us, or the one of you will fit, but not all four of us combined. I hate to say this, but you will have to find other accommodations.” Shota said, ashamed that she had to kick a friend out into the rain.

“But Shota… Sekkai… aren’t we friends? Surely, we can come to some kind of–” Glock started, giving her friends the sad pony face.

“Sorry Glockie, not this time.” Sekkai stopped her.

“Very well, then I will not push the matter. I will walk away with my head held up high, and know that my friends are safe from the storm. Farewell friends, I will let the others know of your arrival so that you may have safe passage to the Professor’s Ark.”

Glock turned and trotted down the path, following the nubile young plants at the side of the road, whose limbs were still yellow. She only turned back once, perhaps hoping that her friends would see the light and invite her into their quarters. As the rain fell in buckets, she saw nothing from the tree where she left her friends, and she mumbled a single word to them as she trotted down the muddy path.

“Bastards.”

 

***

 

“Headlights, you’ve got to love the visual pun.” Andrea Frost spoke, her voice amplifying in the narrow tunnels.

“Huh? I don’t get it. What’s so funny?” Jenette asked, at a loss as to why the former male was giggling at her.

The demon saw nothing wrong with the fact that that she turned her most prominent features into a pair of headlamps to light the way in the grim passages. The large luminescent orbs bounced merrily along as the party traversed the Amazons’ expansive tunnel system. Jenette, being the most proficient light source around, led the way, followed by Andrea, Wolfie and their ill-humored leader, Elise taking up the rear.

The air inside the tunnels was stale, but then so was the scenery. It was difficult to tell if they were making any progress. The archway shaped tunnel’s most extravagant features were the sconces bracketed to the walls every few meters. Otherwise, it was mile after mile of dusty floors, grey stone walls and the creeping darkness that followed them. Occasionally, they saw a pile of flinders beneath an empty sconce, or a spider scurrying back to its web, but it did nothing to liven up the journey. After so much of the same, and with only the hyperactive Andrea to talk to, Jenette was already bored.

It was because of this fact that Jenette found herself daydreaming, wondering what mischief her sister was getting into, rather than paying attention to the path in front of her.

“Coffin.”

Jenette completely ignored, or just did not hear Andrea’s brief warning, because the next instant Jenette’s knees struck the edge of a stone coffin. She tumbled head first into the box and snuffed out her lights. A cloud of dirt erupted all around her, obscuring the demon from view temporarily.

“Be careful Jenette. With all this dust around, you might end up coffin up a lung.”

“Don’t start.” Elise yelled from the back of the pack.

Jenette slowly helped herself out of the grave just as beams of light pierced the sudden darkness. Wolfie, Elise and Andrea each had a flashlight in their hands. The coffin Jenette fell into was one of about half a dozen that occupied the floor of the sepulcher. The walls were lined with small recesses that housed more of the dead. With only their flashlights to illuminate the crypt, it was impossible to see how deep the recesses truly went, though by all appearances they were at the end of their trail.

“Looks like a dead end.” Andrea spoke up again.

“I told you not to do that.”

“Do what?” The blonde girl asked. “I’m just saying this is a rather grave situation we’re in here. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Stop it!” Elise yelled once more.

“Fine, fine, I guess that’s one tomb many puns today.” Andrea responded with a giggle.

“That does it! Get over here so I can strangle you!” Elise advanced on the girl, fully intent on fulfilling her promise, but Andrea was proving too quick for her as she darted amongst the coffins with ease.

“Ssh! Do you hear that?” Wolfie suddenly spoke, holding up a finger as a sign to be quiet.

The rare words from their short-statured companion silenced the fighting. Even Jenette kept quiet, but the room was not without sound. The walls around them were filled with the sounds of tiny padded feet scurrying around. Even without seeing the source of the noise, it was obvious that they were surrounded. An aggravated hiss came next, not unlike that of a cat, a very large cat. Wolfie pointed to an aperture in the wall, where a beady black eye could be seen staring back at them.

 

***

 

Jason watched a rivulet of rainwater babbling past, as he stayed dry inside the makeshift den. The storms lasted a couple hours, so now that the rain was letting up, he could feel the strain on his back from being packed into such tight quarters. If that was not bad enough, Sekkai’s tail pelted him in the face repeatedly. The girl was understandably mirthful and showed it by purring loud enough for it to echo in the small corner.

While the hideaway would have made the perfect place to sit down with the latest issue of X-Men, Jason had had enough. The ground sloshed beneath his sneakers as he stepped out into the soppy atmosphere. For the first time in the entire trip, the cynic seemed raring to go.

“I just love the smell after a rain storm.” Shota exclaimed. “Is it not lovely, Jason Grey?”

“All I smell is wet cat and I can tell you that it stinks.”

“I don’t stink!” Sekkai pouted.

“Sure you don’t, and One More Day was a good idea too.”

Jason watched in disgust as the cat girl and dryad stepped out into the mud, looking on as the stuff squished between their toes. The sight of it made him squirm as he imagined his own feet sinking into the wet ground like quicksand. Shoes truly were a great invention.

“Let us make haste; the Professor’s Ark is close. I suggest you prepare yourself human. Our journey has been easy to this point, but make no mistake that as intruders only peril awaits us once we are inside.”

“Are we talking actual peril, or Monty Python peril? Because I could stand to have a little of the latter. I think it would be my duty as a knight to sample as much peril as I can, were that the situation.”

“You are not a knight, Jason Grey, and you speak in nonsense.”

“I wouldn’t want to live in a world without nonsense. It would bore a hole right through me.”

Trudging through the sticky muck made the journey even harder than it was before. Each step he took sapped him of his strength as the mire pulled him down like a vacuum. It seemed like he was the only one having any problems with the change in footing as well. The barefooted girls walked along as if they had pavement beneath their feet. I’m back on my treadmill routine the second I get home, Jason thought.

An aroma, much like that of honeysuckle snapped Jason out of his stupor. In front of him, the forest opened wide into a field. Any remnants of the path they were on seemed to be covered by pink and purple flowers, and at the other end of the field stood their destination. Jason’s jaw dropped at the sight of it. It was something out of his wildest fantasies. A ship perhaps as long as the Triumph was tall sat on the horizon. Its stark white hull stood out brilliantly against another stretch of forest in the background. Even in his wildest dreams, he never imagined that he would see a real live spaceship up close. It was obvious why they called it an Ark too. It did have a Biblical shape about it. Unconsciously, he took a few steps towards it, readying his camera.

“Watch your step!” Sekkai shouted as Jason waded into the field of flowers.

Jason stopped, turned and looked at the two girls who were tiptoeing towards him as if he were walking through a minefield.

“What’s the big deal? Don’t tell me this is like that scene from The Lost World where Velociraptors come at me from all sides once I get out to the middle of the field, because that would completely suck.”

“No. You have to be careful not to step on the flowers.” Sekkai said in a concerned voice.

Jason’s eyebrows rose as he stared at the girl. They’re taking this whole ’save the planet’ shtick a little too far here, he thought. What harm could come from stepping on one little flower? He crouched down to look at one of the offending blossoms more closely. Its large pink and purple petals looked like fans made from tissue paper, and the center had a whorl of stamens around a center bud that reminded him of the mouth of the Sarlaac. Still, it was just a flower.

“Jason Grey! Cease and desist your action this instant.” Shota reprimanded him.

Jason ignored her and cupped the flower, getting a bit closer to give it a whiff. As soon as his fingertips touched the flower though, he received a poof of yellow pollen to his face. His eyelids drooped suddenly and he could feel his center of gravity giving out on him. Before he knew what hit him, he was face down in the middle of the field, snoring loudly.

 

***

 

The fetid stench of their unseen enemy made the thin hairs on Andrea’s arm stand up. Nervously, the girls shone their flashlights at the recesses in the wall. Black shapes, the size of a medium sized dog ran past. Andrea tried to keep a running tally in her head each time a shape would dart past her, but she soon lost count. Worriedly, she turned to her companions. Wolfie and Elise were readied for battle, and Jenette looked almost bored by the entire encounter as she wiped the dust away from her top.

“What do you think they are?” Andrea asked nervously.

“Rats.” Jenette said flatly. “Really big ones, you could almost say that they were of an unusual size.”

“Um, so now would be a bad time to mention that I’m not a trained exterminator?”

“Look on the bright side, there are no fire spurts or lightning sand.”

“Seriously, we’re about to be attacked and you’re quoting movies? You really need to pay attention–” Elise tried to order Jenette, only to see the demon girl pointing over her shoulder.

The snarling maw of a giant rodent stared her in the face. Beyond the giant bucked teeth that all rodents had, its jaw was lined with additional sets of razor sharp fangs. Its fur was wet and matted with little bits of rotted flesh. Elise raced to pull out her knife, but the beast leapt into the air, its jaws open wide, before she could unsheathe it. Her eyes winced shut as she tried to roll out of the way, expecting the teeth to clamp down on her at any moment.

Instead, she heard the creaking of rusted metal followed by a loud clang. Her eyes opened to see the creature in its death throes. Its head was clamped between a large iron bear trap, the metal jaws sunk into its hide. A long chain extended from the trap leading back to where it connected to Jenette’s arm in place of her hand.

“You get that one for free.” Jenette said with a confident smirk. “Now, let’s kick some rat tail!”

Jenette was in her element as more of the giant rats poured in through the walls. They attacked in numbers that would have overwhelmed a less experienced group, but the rescue team was holding its own. Jenette’s shape shifted rapidly. One moment she was a giant snake, coiling around a pair of the rodents and crushing their spines, the next she was extending Wolverine-like claws from her hands and slashing the rats to pieces. Her teammates, while less proficient, still managed to handle what came their way. Wolfie put one of the rodents into a headlock and snapped its neck. Elise gutted another with her serrated hunting knife. Even Andrea gave the rats fits, as she was somehow able to dodge every single one of their attacks, leaving them chomping into one another rather than the lunch of transformed male they expected.

“You know, we should have anticipated this,” Andrea said, as she stepped to the side of a rat forcing it to shatter its teeth on the stone coffin behind her. “It’s not a Dungeon Crawler without battling an endless number of rodents after all.”

“Everything’s a joke to you, isn’t it?” Elise asked, slashing in a wide arc right across the beady eyes of her attacker.

“Only the funny things.”

One of the beasts lunged at Jenette just as she altered her body once more, shrinking it down to about three inches tall. It swallowed her whole, though it would regret that decision. Its body bulged and its eyes widened, and then there were bits of rat meat splattering against the crypt’s walls and all over Jenette’s companions. Her sudden growth though meant that she bumped her head on the ceiling. At that moment, she realized the limitations of the space. She felt as if her creativity was being stifled, and the horde was not giving them any breaks.

“I’m bored,” she whined. “Can’t we fight something else for a while?”

“Oh sure, I’ll just tell them to stop.” Elise shot back.

The demon pouted, looking at her comrades handling themselves just fine even without her intervention, though quite a pile of the beasties was building up, leaving them with less room to maneuver.

“Well, I’m going to go see what Ani is doing then.” She stated firmly.

The statement caught Elise off guard, forcing her to shove her knife between a pair of jaws at the last second. The next thing she saw was Jenette crouching down, her leathery wings outstretched, then a burst towards the ceiling, which proved little resistance for the demon. Elise cursed as she realized her team was down to three.

 

***

 

“Achoo!”

Jason snapped awake with an abrupt sneeze. His eyes watered, making him struggle to see what was right in front of him. Gradually, he was able to see the smiling visage of a girl with long red hair tied back in a braid. So much for pleasant awakenings, he thought. Shota dangled a tissue in front of his face, which he snatched quickly.

“Glad to see you are awake again. I hope that you have learned a lesson from this experience.”

He heard Sekkai giggling as he blew his nose. He shot her a glare, which only made the cat girl fall over into a heap of laughter.

“What’s so damned funny?”

Sekkai pointed at him, and suddenly he became aware of the grass tickling against his bare legs. He felt fabric billowing around him in an unfamiliar way. Even before he saw the results, he had a sneaking suspicion of what they were. A white dress draped over his body, covering all between his chest and where the skirt tapered out around his knees. Pink and purple polka dots made quite the fetching pattern, though his body was not flattering to the feminine garment. Jason imagined it was quite disturbing to see a stout man with hairy legs and a goatee wearing a dress. A dark violet strap slid down his shoulder as he groaned audibly.

“Very funny. Where are my clothes?”

“I am shocked, Jason Grey, you do not like your pretty dress? It brings out the cutest pink hue in your cheeks.” Shota teased.

“Just hand them over.”

“No, I do not think I will. You will just have to suck it up until we get to the Professor’s. Maybe then I will let you have your clothing back, but only if you are good.” Shota talked down to the man. “I am sure that Ilamaral will find you quite fetching in that dress after all.”

“Yeah, you’re very pretty Sonja!” Sekkai taunted with another giggle.

Jason pushed himself up out of the damp grass and glowered at his nettlesome traveling companions. Then, as if it was the normal thing to do, he smoothed out the dress. Sekkai giggled again, holding her knapsack by her side, which was bulging with Jason’s garments. Jason seemed determined to make it through the experience without making a complete ass of himself, but then he heard a click from his digital camera and saw his treasured friend resting in Shota’s dainty fingers.

“I swear you’re both getting a taste of the bat of righteous vengeance!” He shouted, and then took off after the two giggling girls, running through the field with his skirt flowing in the breeze.

“You’ll have to catch us first!” Sekkai answered, running towards the Ark on the horizon.

 

***

 

Howler monkeys chattered nervously as the earth trembled. Their tree, on the sunny side of a small hill a few miles south of the Amazon village wavered precariously as the ground buckled near the roots. Angry calls reverberated in all directions, but their calls could not prepare them as the divot below them exploded and a winged beast burst forth. The small monkey colony scattered in every direction, all but one of them who stared curiously at the disturber of the peace.

Jenette smiled at the tiny monkey and gave it a little wave, and then with a flap of her impressive wingspan hovered over to the small creature. She cradled it into her arms and squeezed tightly, wrapping the cuddly looking monkey into a hug. As she hugged the diminutive primate, she heard a loud crack and felt her hug partner go limp. She shook the crushed Howler vehemently, before sighing and tossing it away like a piece of garbage.

“I guess this is why Uncle George would never let me have rabbits on the farm,” She muttered before flying away back in the direction of the hotel.

Rain clouds still hovered over a large portion of the forest, but her way to the hotel was nothing but clear as she soared above the canopy. Once again, the scenery was not much to look at, just the tops of trees with the occasional bird or pink bubble with a witch inside of it flying in the other direction, but Jenette figured that once she returned there would be plenty of mischief for her to get into with her sister. She wondered why she ever left the hotel in the first place. After all, the hotel had that inventor girl, the lesbian that she had fun teasing and plenty of other humans to play with. Truly, leaving the rescue team behind was the best decision she ever made.

The Triumph towered above the treetops like a monolith, its many windows reflecting brightly in the afternoon sun. Her expeditious speeds slowed as she flew closer to the tall building. Below her, she could see the front entrance, and thanks to her abnormal senses, she could see and smell that the ground below was soaked in blood.

Agog with interest, she slowly lowered herself to get a better look. From what she could make out, there was a vaguely person shaped indentation left behind with small puddles of blood pooled in the deeper divots. Various pieces of circuitry were strewn around the crash site. Next to that, she saw what appeared to be a bloody hand and knee print, and finally leading towards the hotel itself a set of sanguine marks that looked like the bottom of a pair of work boots. What else was there for a demon to do, other than follow them?