“I don’t know how you were able to use that club, but there’s something special about you,” Tee said as I sat on the ground, trying to catch my breath.
“What do you mean? I just picked it up and started swinging.” I asked, “Can't explain the whole summoning golf balls out of thin air thing, though.”
“You shouldn’t have been able to wield the power of a club at all; that is something only a Golfer can do. You’re not a Golfer, are you?” Tee took a defensive step back.
“God no, I am, or at least I was nothing more than a Caddy.”
“That’s not right; as a Caddy, you shouldn’t be able to lift that club without it scalding the flesh off of your hand.”
Almost as if in defiance to Tee’s last statement, I held the nine iron up to my face and inspected it. To me, it looked like a regular everyday golf club. My flesh didn’t scald or melt away to nothing. I held the club and stared at it. As I stared at the club, the dawning realization that I had just used this thing to murder three people washed over me. I dropped the club and stumbled my way back from it. The look that came over my face was half disgust, half horror. I felt sick, and I vomited.
“Eww, what is wrong with you!?” Tee asked gagging
“I’m a murderer; I killed those three women!”
“I mean, technically, yes, you did, but given the opportunity, they would have done the same to you.”
“You said they were Aqua Marine’s servants; who the hell is that?” I asked, wiping vomit from my mouth
“Aqua Marine is the Golfer that rules over this realm. As to why her servants felt the need to show up and end you, I suspect that has something to do with the fact you can use the power of the club.”
“I didn’t ask for this, though, and none of this makes any sense. I was getting that asshole his club, and then I was in the water trying to find my way out. Next thing I know, I’m in an entirely different world, killing women with golf balls.”
“Yeah, that’s a pretty accurate summary,” Tee smirked.
“What about you? You said you were a Nog. What the hell is a Nog?”
“As I was saying before, those things cut me off. A Nog can travel between the realms. Every time a Caddy is sent to the Caddyverse, a Nog is born. The Nog’s job is to find the Caddy and ensure their transition to the Caddyverse is as smooth as possible.”
I hefted the club in both hands and stepped back. “So you work for the Golfers then?!”
“No, we don’t work with them. We work with you; it’s more of what you might call a parasitic relationship. See, Nogs and Caddies exist together, so like I said, when a Caddy comes into the Caddyverse, a new Nog is created. When a Caddy dies, however, their Nog dies with them. We Nogs have no real power, so we guide our Caddies in their lives in order to make ours as long as possible.”
“This is a lot to take in.” My voice was low and defeated-sounding
“I’m sure it is, and you being able to use the club’s power makes things way more complicated. Normally, I would explain everything, then ensure you made it to your assigned job and hang back and enjoy life until you eventually ended up dead. Most likely work-related.”
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“I thought you said whenever a Caddy came, a Nog was born, so how do you know about all this stuff?”
“Maybe born isn’t the right word. When a Caddy dies, the Nog’s physical form is ripped apart and turned back into energy. We then exist in a space between the realms until the time in which a new Caddy comes into the Caddyverse and our physical form returns to us. It hurts like hell.”
“Oh,” I replied, putting my head down. “So what are we supposed to do now?”
“We certainly can’t go see Aqua Marine about your job. It’s pretty clear she wants you dead, and I’ll bet she’s not going to be happy about what you did to her servants. If they kill you, that means the ripping apart of me, and I would rather avoid that for a while if possible. We could go see Duncan.”
“Who’s Duncan?”
“It’s not just Golfers and Caddies in the Caddyverse. There are other folks here, too. Some of them work with the Golfers, hoping that with enough boot-licking, they can get the smallest amount of fame and fortune the Golfers have. Some others fight against the Golfers and their servants in a vain attempt to make a better world. Duncan is one of the latter. He leads the Guiding Star resistance.”
“So they are like rebels or freedom fighters?” It came across as more hopeful than I intended.
“They like to think so, but the Golfers created the Caddyverse, and they rule everything.”
“So why would we bother to go see them then?’
“Because, like you, he’s not from here,” Tee replied.
“Alright, let’s go see Duncan,” I grumbled. The smell of the corpses and vomit was starting to get to me anyway.
The pain in my leg had subsided at this point, and I didn’t feel anything other than a slight numbing sensation when I walked on it. I did need to find something to cover the missing flesh with, though. I was worried about infection if that was a thing that could happen here, but also, it looked unsightly. Tee flew off towards what was once a tree line but now was a dense thicket of coral formations, and I followed behind the ground, squelching beneath my feet. As we traveled, I tightened my grip on the club.
I stopped as we approached the edge of the coral formations I stopped. Beyond them, the world turned to an eerie dark blue, almost black. Tee floated past the first row of coral and motioned for me to follow. Taking a deep breath, I walked forward into the inky blue.
Walking through the coral was like walking through a forest without a trail. I was relatively well versed at this having spent much time camping in the woods of Scotland with my parents as a child. I almost felt at ease at the thought of those memories. The farther in we went, the denser the coral got. It wasn’t long before I found myself smacking outcrops of coral out of my way in order to continue my journey.
We had been walking for what I guessed to be an hour through the coral when I felt the eyes on me. I couldn’t see anyone or anything as my eyes scanned the coral, but I could feel them staring at me.
“Tee.” I hissed. “Someone or something is out there watching us. I can feel it.”
“Yeah, I know I feel it too. Just stay calm and keep walking.” Tee continued to fly forward.
Our pace slowed as we advanced through the dense coral, my eyes darting back and forth. I was clutching the club so hard my fingers were going numb. I knew they were out there; I didn’t know who or where they were. There was a loud snap, and I looked to my left as two dog-like creatures leaped forth from the darkness beyond the coral. The bigger of the two was a deep golden brown color, the second a dark black.
The two creatures growled at Tee and I but didn’t advance. They looked like Rottweilers, but if Rottweilers had dorsal fins. Their snarling faces revealed teeth with more in common with a shark than a dog. I lifted the club with my right hand and immediately summoned a ball, ready to defend myself.
“Heel!” A raspy voice yelled from in front of us.
The dog shark things stepped back and stopped growling as the owner of the voice emerged from behind an extensive coral formation. He was an older man in his late fifties, if I had to guess. He wore a tattered green apron over dirty khaki pants and a black t-shirt. The apron had what appeared to be a goddess of some sort printed on the front.
“I’m Duncan. This is Carmel.” He said, pointing to the brownish dog shark thing. “And this is Mocha.” He said as he motioned his hand towards the black dog shark thing. “You must be the new Caddy.”