For a moment, I’m simply dumbfounded, not comprehending what just happened. And then, I feel a wave of excitement and hope wash over me. Now’s our chance- we can bring a quick end to this!
I quickly run up the ramp and into the tank. I hear the sound of smaller footsteps on metal that tells me that Ted is following me.
Despite its size, the tank was clearly not designed to be piloted by a large team; the staircase inside leads directly up to the cockpit. There’s nothing I can identify as a control panel or anything; it’s just an empty room with a window showing the outside.
“Um… Ted,” I ask, realizing something. “I don’t know how to drive a tank…”
“This ain’t nothing like the tanks of the Great War,” he comments, surveilling the room as well. “Well, we’re in a cognitive world; most likely, this will be piloted by cognition itself.”
“Wait… what does that mean?” I ask, confused. “Oh, you mean… I can pilot the tank… with my heart?”
“That’s a cheesy way of putting it, but I suppose so,” Ted grumbles.
I stand in the center of the room and think about the tank moving out the doors and outside… and feel a sense of total exhilaration when it begins rumbling and vibrating. I see the tank turn towards the metal doors… what remained of them opens properly, leaving the opening clear for me.
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I’m hiding behind a chimney on the roof as Palmer is slowly sweeping through the area. He’s about to step into the gap between houses… soon, he’ll be exactly where we want him to be…
He steps into the gap, and I look at Anja and give her the thumbs up. She nods, and then jumps out from behind the stove she was behind and shouts, “POCKET SAND!” She snaps her fingers, causing a bright flash of light, and Palmer grunts and shuffles backwards dizzily.
I quickly jump off the roof and leap onto his back, running up to behind his neck. I get a firm grip on his neck and then shout, “GO!”
A wind attack from Anja blows Palmer’s back legs into one of the houses. I shoot electricity at it to open up a hole in the wall, which his back legs and tail get stuck in from the momentum. Success!
Anja opens fire into his torso just as we planned, and I jump on top of his head as he grunts with displeasure. Then, when her clip is depleted, she leaps out from under him, and I bring my hammer crashing down upon his head with a huge strike. Then, as he collapses onto the ground, I jump onto the next rooftop and then quickly off to the side to rejoin with Anja.
“Wow, that actually worked!” Anja marvels. “Let’s go hide somewhere again before he recovers…”
“What do you mean ‘that actually worked?’” I question, frowning. “Were you doubting me?”
“It’s just a joke Nova. Come on, let’s… AAAHHH!”
I feel the needles on the skin that mean we were blasted by those eye beams again, and both of us are knocked over. I hear the sounds of crumbling brick as he must have kicked his legs free from the house… oh fuck.
“Very clever,” I hear Palmer say behind us. “But I’m not interested in playing these silly cat and mouse games.”
“Jeez, even you’re making the cat puns now,” I point out, groaning.
“What? Nobody was making them before! You’re… Well, regardless. Let’s end this fight like men.”
“But I’m a girl!” Anja bemoans.
Palmer pounces forwards and takes a swipe at her, which she narrowly dodges by somersaulting backwards. Damn, I really wish now that I had shut up earlier so we could get away. Now it’s back to the old grind…
…Except then, Palmer just kind of stops, and stands still for a few seconds. I don’t know why at first, but then I hear it too: A deep rumbling sound in the distance, which seems to be rapidly getting closer as the ground begins shaking.
I look into the distance to see… WHAT THE FUCK
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I roll up to the neighborhood where Palmer is now standing off with Anja and Nova; it seems as if they came out of hiding. All three of them turn towards me as I approach, looking quite terrified.
I remember what my father said earlier: “It’s an unstoppable weapon that can obliterate the hearts of the sinful.” It should work on him… but I need to act quickly before he realizes what’s going on and tries to run away again.
I think about the large cannon firing straight into him… A ray of light comes out that seems to split the very air into two right in front of me, and I’m forced to look away to protect my eyes. There is no “bang” sound, only a high-pitched sparkly sound and a faint whine that lingers in the air as visibility comes back.
Palmer was grievously injured by the cannon. While before he looked a bit battered but still healthy, after the cannon fire his fur is singed all over, and he is struggling to stay standing, his legs looking like they’re about to give out. He will be easy to finish off now.
Anja and Nova were dazed by the attack but are otherwise unharmed. Anja sees me and shouts, “Holy shit! Look Nova, that’s Zoe in that thing! You go, girl!” Celebrating, Anja waves fervently at me, which I return.
“Ow, my eyes and ears!” Nova moans loudly, holding his head in his hands.
Palmer takes a few steps backwards, and then suddenly leaps to the side and takes to the air, quickly enough to where I’m not able to aim and fire again in time.
“Oh no you don’t!” Nova yells furiously. “He’s not getting away this time! Come on Anja, let’s go after him!”
“What? How?” Anja questions.
Nova grabs Anja around the wrist, and then uses his propeller technique to take flight and fly after Palmer, Anja screaming with surprise.
“You think they’ll be able to get him?” Ted inquires. “This hunk of metal can’t move fast enough to give chase.”
“I believe they can do it,” I assure him. “He looks totally crippled by our attack.”
“What will you do then?” he questions.
“I’m going to go retrieve Ashley,” I tell him. I turn the tank around and move back towards the base, scanning the scenery for the squad of soldiers I saw earlier.
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And that’s how I got to be flying through the air, dangling helplessly by my wrist as I watch the town fly by below me.
“ANJA! I’M GONNA THROW YOU!” Nova calls over the rushing wind.
“YOU’RE GONNA WHAT???” I shout back incredulously.
“I’M THROWING YOU TO HIS BACK! TAKE OUT THE WINGS!” Nova shouts back.
Without giving me a choice in the matter, he chucks me forward. I scream like a maniac as I go flying at the speed of a bullet straight for Palmer’s back. I land on my face, the fur thankfully cushioning the impact. I desperately grab onto the fur for dear life.
“GET OFF OF ME!” Palmer yells at me.
“WHAT HAPPENED TO FIGHTING LIKE MEN, HUH?” I taunt back. I get up to a sitting position and start firing into his wings like Nova told me to.
Palmer yowls furiously and starts doing circles in the air to shake me off. I grasp his fur again, but it’s not enough to save me from falling off. However, I’m somehow able to ride the wind current created by the spinning motion and get back on top of him. Holy shit, I’m so glad I have wind powers.
While he’s still off balance from the spin, I shoot out the other wing, and it’s finally too much for him: he quickly begins plummeting down. And that means that… I am too! Aaahhhh!
I jump off his back and try to use my powers to slow myself down. However, given the huge distance to the ground and lack of any center of gravity, there’s only so much I can do, and I prepare for a painful landing…
And then, Nova wraps an arm around me from behind, catching me under my armpit. That absolute madman, I can’t believe he manipulated his momentum carefully enough to catch me like that. I quickly cling on to him, and I feel us slowly decelerate going down. Meanwhile, below us, I hear a loud crash that indicates that Palmer hit the ground.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“We finally did it, Anja!” he shouts jovially. “He’s not getting up from that!”
I start laughing, not because of anything funny but sheerly from nerves. Then, caught up in the theatrics of the moment, I lean into him and give him a kiss on the cheek. Nova blushes furiously and stammers a bit, which is super adorable, making me giggle more.
We gently touch down onto the ground, and I feel my feet touch land at last as Nova lets me down. We landed in the middle of a cattle ranch; I spot a herd of them cautiously watching us from the distance. Palmer is in the middle of a small crater, laying on his side and clearly defeated.
“Let’s go rub it in his face that we won,” I suggest to Nova. He agrees, and we walk up to Palmer’s head.
“No more, please,” Palmer requests calmly, his voice weak. “I know when I’m defeated. I will return to my human form and surrender.”
“Ah… well, it’s no fun rubbing it in when he’s already admitting defeat,” I reason. “I guess we’ll call it good then.”
“Wait, uh, don’t turn back into a human yet,” Nova urges him. “We’re, uh, kinda in the middle of nowhere now, so, we need a ride back.”
“Ha! That’s even better!” I say gleefully. “From enemy to mere stead!”
“I’m not in any kind of condition to walk right now,” Palmer admits. “We’re going to have to figure something else out.”
“Well, I could heal you just enough to make you walk again,” I offer.
“But how are we going to know he won’t just attack us again?” Nova complains, raising his hammer again threateningly.
“I won’t. You have my word,” Palmer states. “Not only did the weapon fail to open for me, it was used against me… I acknowledge that I have been rebuked.”
“Well, there you go,” I assure Nova, still grinning at the humor of the situation as I move in close to heal him.
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I am very amused to see Anja and Nova return to me quite a while later riding on Palmer’s back, still in Manticore form of course. Ted and I abandoned the tank after using it to scare away the soldiers keeping Ashley hostage. She now rests in my arms, still unconscious. I had been spending the time brushing through her hair with my fingers.
Anja and Nova jump off Palmer’s back. Anja looks rather smug, while Nova looks somewhat nervous for a reason I can not guess. Then, one last time, Palmer is engulfed in the shadows to re-emerge as his regular human self.
I am rather antsy to get home by this point, but I first need to make sure that things will happen the way that they’re supposed to. I walk up to Palmer and say, “In real life, my parents now stand outside the door of Ashley’s home, along with several others. I believe that they are trying to intimidate them. You have the power to ensure that it ends peacefully, and that this fervor they have ignited is soothed.”
Palmer sighs heavily. “Yes. I will, of course. It is my duty,” he agrees. “I regret that this has happened. I never got to tell you this, but I do believe that your parents’ initial reaction to your ‘coming out’ was disgraceful. If they had just talked to me first…”
“Distancing yourself already?” Anja interrupts. “Don’t bother. We haven’t forgotten what your solution was. And by that I of course mean sending her off to Psychological Abuse Camp.”
“Yes, there are… disputes about the effectiveness of that practice, I’m aware,” Palmer admits, mollified. “But worst case, she’d be away for a short while, letting me sooth tensions so we could return to peaceful normalcy afterwards… But, there laid the impurity of my heart. I became so focused on the collective contentment of the church, that I was willing to allow one blameless individual to suffer…”
“Okay good, he gets it now,” Nova interrupts awkwardly. “Can we go home already? We’ve been in this stupid palace for way too long.”
“If you mean what you say, get everyone at the door to go home in peace,” I tell Palmer. “We… shall be leaving. If someone with free hands may do the honors.”
“I got it,” Nova says. He grabs his phone from his robes, and at last, we leave the palace victorious…
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We re-appear just outside the portal where we entered. The church is no longer fleshy and organic but has returned to its normal form. I am… very relieved to see this.
“Do you guys… think it worked?” I ask meekly.
“It worked last time, didn’t it?” Nova affirms. “How the fuck did you guys get into that tank, anyway?”
“Yeah, it seems like you were up to quite a bit after we got knocked off the tower,” Anja says curiously. “Let’s head back, and how about you guys fill us in while we walk.”
“Um… okay. I think I’ll let Ted start,” I say, feeling tired.
“No problem at all,” Ted agrees, as the four of us begin walking home. “My hunter’s instinct told me that Palmer was about to pounce on us, so I grabbed Zoe and told her to duck…”
I quickly space out during Ted’s telling of the events, and just look down on Ashley, still laying in my arms unconsciously. Though she’s battered and bloody in many areas, she looks serene in a way, her face totally relaxed. She put herself through so much for me… she’s always been my pillar of strength. But now, I need to be stronger too, so I can help her in return. It’s clear to me now that she needs me as much as I need her.
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Ahh, she’s a thing of beauty; after toiling away for a while, my AR-15 is spotless. It’s quite a bit harder to clean than say, my musical instruments, due to the black color obscuring much of the dirt. So don’t let anyone tell you I don’t take care of my things.
Setting that down, I take a breath and think about what I need to do next. Hmm… Gregg went to go answer the door quite a while ago and still hasn’t come back. I guess I better go bail him out. I throw on a shirt and make my way to the front.
My husband is standing in the doorway, and I can hear Harold’s voice angrily arguing something, though I can’t make out what he’s saying.
I arrive at the doorway and step out in front of Gregg. “Honey, why didn’t you inform me ahead of time that we’re having a house party this evening?” I scold him jokingly.
“Where have you been this whole time?” Stephenson demands. “This conversation has been going in circles!”
“Now you know what I have to put up with every day!” I moan, but I wink at Gregg so that he knows it’s (mostly) a joke.
Getting a better glance at the group, I notice something odd; Zoe’s parents are sort of hanging towards the back, not making eye contact with anyone. That’s rather uncharacteristic of them.
I give Gregg a questioning glance about them, to which he announces, “Ah, Abram and Marie, is something troubling you? You have lost the zest you had earlier in the conversation.”
There’s an awkward pause, as everyone else looks back at them. Marie looks around guiltily and says, “Look… I don’t want to fight about this anymore. I just want to see my daughter again. I just want to talk with her, privately…”
“For the last time, Zoe clearly does not wish to be disturbed at this time,” Gregg replies sardonically, “Although if you would like, I am willing to leave a message for her…”
But then, another car pulls up to the curb and parks. I recognize it immediately; it belongs to Jared.
“Ah excellent, he’s here at last,” Abram remarks. “Well everyone, your support was highly appreciated, but I do not wish to spend any more of your afternoons; now that our pastor is here, I believe we can take it from here.”
“Are you quite sure, Abram?” Harold asks. “Well, I suppose we weren’t making much progress before, so perhaps you’re right.”
“I will see you all tomorrow then,” Stephenson says curtly. “Peace be with you, as the Catholics say.”
Mrs. White doesn’t say anything, but simply gives me an annoyed glare. The other three walk away, leaving only Gregg, Marie, and Abram standing in the doorway. Then, the brief awkward silence is broken by Jared’s arrival.
“Good afternoon to you all,” Jared greets politely. “Well, I had a feeling that a meeting such as this is inevitable, so let us talk.”
“My wife and I seek a hasty ending to this conflict,” Abram states simply.
“Ah, what made you change your minds?” Jared asks. “I was under the impression that you were willing to fight for as long as it took for it to go your way.”
“The longer we drag this on, the more pain we put everyone through,” Marie admits.
“I’m pleased that you’ve come to realize that,” Jared agrees.
“Jared, you don’t believe this absolute crock about us keeping Zoe here against her will, right?” I question him. “To think former friends of ours would spread such libel just to cover their asses.”
“Alyssa, come on now!” Abram pleads. “This was a misunderstanding. We only want what is in our daughter’s best interests.”
“Then why are you here?” I ask bluntly.
There is an awkward pause, as neither seems to have a response for that.
“Abram, may I offer some insight?” Jared asks.
“You may,” Abram replies testily.
“I have interacted with your daughter since she was a baby,” Jared begins. “I was… very surprised to hear that she departed from her home like that. Wouldn’t you agree that she is about the last child at the church you would expect this from?”
“Jared, we know that we were wrong with how we reacted at first,” Marie simpers. “But… I miss Zoe so much. I just want her to know that she’s welcome to come back.”
“Yes, but in your fiery anger, it seems as if you irreparably harmed the trust she has in you,” Jared continues. “When a child becomes a certain age, the parent will not be trusted unconditionally as before, but will need to cultivate it. Perhaps if you had acted more quickly after the initial incident, you could’ve begun rebuilding that trust…”
“But now,” Gregg interrupts, “Zoe seemed concerned yesterday during dinner that returning to your care would lead to her being sent to… ‘conversion therapy?’ Which was a prospect she intensely feared.”
“Ah, I knew that Collin was still talking to her,” Abram concedes. “Somehow he’s started believing this liberal talk about ‘human rights violations’…”
“How many times do I have to say it before it gets through to you all?” I accost him. “Some people can’t go back to being straight. Some people can, but Zoe is clearly not one of them.” I briefly feel sad, as this makes me think about… No. I can’t get distracted right now. “So if you try to make someone go back, when they can’t, what do you think’s gonna happen?”
“Hmm… well I suppose that I’m not going to change your minds at this point,” Abram admits begrudgingly. “I still think you people rely too heavily on worldly knowledge…”
“I’ve had to… accept a hard lesson recently about unity,” Jared cuts in. “Jesus wished for Christians to all be united as one church; however, even back in the early days, there were disagreements about how to interpret His teachings. Paul advised us not to quarrel over opinions, so long as the intents of our hearts are to glorify God; (1) and so, it becomes clear that ‘united as one church’ does not mean we will all be the same…”
“It is like what our children do in the marching band,” Gregg comments sagely. “They are all quite different, and yet they work together in sync as a unit.”
A pause hangs in the air. At last, I feel a sense of finality…
“Alright then,” Marie says, breaking the silence. “If that’s how it will be… tell Zoe this message for me. She is welcome to come back to us and… visit at any time. And… she will be free to collect her things. We will honor whatever decision she makes.”
“Will certainly do,” Gregg agrees, looking relieved.
Abram sighs heavily. “Well then,” he says a bit sadly. “We will be on our way back home now… but if we hear a single peep from Collin about Zoe being mistreated, we will be back for her, do you understand?”
“We understand totally,” I affirm, nodding. “I would not expect anything different from you.”
Abram and Marie are on their way at last. Jared, however, looks up at us, and has one final comment: “On the subject of parenting… ever since you all arrived in Enchantment City, I noticed that your daughter is clearly quite unhappy and troubled in her spirit. I at first believed this to be a result of her having to move, but it has stayed consistent throughout all the time you’ve lived here. You two would do well to intervene quickly, or else you may lose her.”
His words feel like a slap to the face. As Jared turns to leave, I see the same shocked feeling on Gregg’s face as well.
“Well, after you,” he tells me, holding the door open. “And… I think we should discuss that parting comment back in our bedroom.”
“Yes, let’s,” I agree, stepping back into the house.
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1. Romans 14:1-7