Chapter 19

Norm sprinted, dodging through the misty forest. The obstacles grew denser with each step until the branches tore at his face. He finally fell out of the heavy brush, into a slanted clearing. Which way? The choice, up or down. At the top of the incline, a light glowed. At the bottom, a pit of blackness.

“Dylan.” Norm cupped his hands around his mouth.

“What are you doing here, kid?” A voice broke from the shadows. A dark-haired, uniformed man stepped from the patch of trees he’d just come from. His outfit identified him as a ranger, but his princely features didn’t exactly give him the look of one.

“Oh, thank god,” Norm said, happy to find someone. “We were camping and now I can’t find my friend, and I think something’s after -”

“Hold on!” The ranger put his hands up. “You say your friend has gone missing? What’s his name?”

“Dylan. Dylan Maximilian.”

“And what’s your name?”

“Norm, sir, Norman Wilder.”

“I’m Ben Arnold, the ranger in these parts. I’m here to-.”

The ranger’s words were cut short by the scream coming from the top of the slope.

“That sounded like a girl! Come on!” The ranger suddenly brandished a rifle and sprinted up the hill. Norm hadn’t noticed the gun before but was too confused to do anything except what he was told. Another scream ripped through the silence.

“Where are you?” The ranger ran toward the scream.

“I’m over here! Please help me!”

It can’t be. Norm recognized the voice. He ran hard, passing the ranger, when she screamed again. It was her.

Norm reached the top; a thick fog rolling across the peak and Lucy Hyden backing away from an overly long armed void. “Lucy!” Norm barely took a step toward her when the mist cleared, revealing a bottomless chasm between them. He looked for a way around but the pit, but it extended as far as he could see. “Shoot it!” Norm hollered. The ranger suddenly appeared at his side, fired two shots. Unfazed, the void stalked toward its prey.

Norm had a notion to jump, but the chasm grew wider. “Leave her alone!” Norm looked for the ranger, but found he was alone on the ridge. Lucy backed up against a rock wall, her arms stretched wide like a damsel in distress from an old movie. The demon hovered over her, shivering with bloodlust. She clutched her chest and fell to the ground. Norm threw a rock, but it fell like a cinder block in slow motion.

The creature arched, its massive frame expanding over her lifeless body, grinning wickedly at Norm. He prepped himself to jump, even if it meant a trip to the bottom of the pit. This was the girl he loved. He started to run toward the chasm when Dylan appeared, bull-rushing the void into the wall. Dylan cradled Lucy into his arms. The void sprang at them.

“Bring it.” Dylan fired a punch, his fist engulfed in flames. The demon shrieked and exploded into shards of blackness.

“Dylan!” Norm called. Dylan ignored him, oblivious to his presence, helping Lucy to her feet. Jealousy twisted in Norm’s gut. Lucy hugged her hero, pressing her tiny face into his chest. “He only likes her as a friend.” He said to himself when Dylan leaned forward and did the unthinkable. They kissed for what seemed a slow-motion eternity. Norm watched every bitter second, working himself into a volcanic rage.

“So that’s Dylan.” The ranger’s hand settled on Norm’s shoulder.

“Yup. My best friend,” Norm admitted, gazing somberly at the two most important people in his life.

“Must be tough, having such a great friend. Everyone probably loves him and makes a big deal about him. But you’re a good friend, too. Don’t let him take advantage of you. You’ve been through a lot. What makes him so special? It’s as much yours as it is his.” Norm cringed, his insides burning as he watched Dylan kiss Lucy.

“It’s not like that,” Norm explained sheepishly. “He’s not a bad guy. He wouldn’t take advantage of me.”

“Sure. Of course not.” The ranger patronized him, squeezed his shoulders reassuringly, forcing him to look at the last thing on Earth he wanted to see. “Just don’t forget, people change when they are… special. Don’t forget Norm, you’re special too. Not just some hero’s helper.”

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Dylan broke his kiss from Lucy just long enough to notice Norm on the other side of the chasm. “Hey Norm,” His tone grated Norm’s nerves. “Did you remember the backpack?”

“I lost it, somewhere.” Norm looked around, somewhat ashamed.

“Figures.” Dylan shrugged and pressed his lips to Lucy’s.

“Well, that wasn’t very nice, was it?” The ranger mocked. “I guess I was right. You should-”

“Listen!” Norm whipped around. “I’ve had enough-” Norm gasped, standing face to face with a void wearing the ranger’s uniform. It hissed, death-like breath, blood-red eyes glaring, soulless.

“Had enough, Norm?” Its voice like icicles in his spine. “Maybe you should just let- me- in!” The void drove his clawed hands into Norm’s mouth, pulling his jaw apart. “There was an old man who swallowed a fly.” The creature’s head became vapor, slipping into Norm’s mouth. He reeled backward, craning his head. The void coiled around him like an octopus. Norm staggered over the edge of the chasm and fell in slow motion, the last hints of light consumed by the void swallowing him whole.

“No!” Norm sat up with a start, confused, still inside the tent. Bad dream. He pondered the nightmare a minute before peeking outside. The camp was still dark, the fire embers barely a night-light. He saw a lump with a furry blanket lying in front of the tent. “Dylan found a blanket and didn’t want to share it, huh?” Norm thought, bitterly recalling his dream.

He slid toward the lump, kicking Dylan softly in the midsection. “Hey, I thought you were going to wake me up if you needed to sleep. I guess it's good ol’ Norm’s turn to take watch, but you gotta move.” He kicked Dylan a little harder. Still nothing. “Fine, you wanna be a pain?” Norm stomped his feet into Dylan when- The black bear snapped to attention, growling, swiping at the flimsy tent. Norm tumbled backwards. The bear took another swing, collapsing the tent around Norm. He rolled spastically, flinging the tarp, and grabbed a rock. He jumped to his feet when he saw the bear sitting calmly a few feet away. Norm cocked his arm when the giant let out a passive moan.

“Dylan?” He peered past the bear, looking for any sign of his friend. The morning mountain mist made visibility poor in every direction. The bear craned his head as if he were looking too. “Shoo! Go on…shoo!” Norm waved his arms at the bear, hoping it would leave. “You better not have eaten him.” A rustling noise to his left caught his attention. “Dylan?” he said, louder.

“Yeah?” a tired, familiar voice responded from behind him in the thickest patch of fog.

“Dylan! Thank god.” Norm sidestepped toward his voice when a coyote stepped out of the mist, yawning. “Whoa!” Norm spun and backpedaled into the bear. “Dylan! Where are you?”

“Right here, dude!” Dylan answered in a loud whisper. “Would you calm down? You’re waking everyone up.” Norm stiffened as the bear and the coyote sniffed his hands.

“Everyone?” Norm stepped through the mist to find Dylan lying in a patch of coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, and a few other wild things.

“Holy crocodile-hunter, dude! Those are wild animals!”

“Shh.” Dylan sat up, coaxing a bobcat to stay. “Not really. They all know Max.”

“And they told you this.”

“Sort of. They showed me.”

“Why didn’t you get me up?”

“I thought you needed to sleep. Besides, the deer and a few others took up a perimeter watch.” A sixteen-point gray elk strode past Norm and touched his nose to Dylan’s outstretched hand.

“Of course, the deer.” Norm shook his head and scoffed. “I mean, who else would head up perimeter security but a bunch of deer? Well, just let me know if I can help. Okay, nature boy?”

“Norm, what’s up with you?” Dylan walked over to his friend. “The animals just started popping out of the woods. They seem freaked out by something.”

“They seem freaked out?” Norm’s eyes bulged behind his glasses. “They- them- the animals! They seem freaked out?” Norm took a few steps to gather his thoughts. “Dylan, I saw you almost killed by a lightning bolt. Then I get attacked by a soul sucking shadow, chased by space pirates into some space hippie’s van. We go through a wormhole to a magic mountain halfway around the world where you can talk to animals and you think they’re freaked out? Dylan, I’m totally freaked out!”

“Dude, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to make sense of it, too. I mean we--”

“No, not we. You. I’m like Patrick Star, here. Maybe I’ll just tag along and carry the backpack.”

“Norm, I didn’t ask for this.” Dylan pulled back, shocked by Norm’s tone. “I don’t know why you’re acting this way.” One by one, the animals began to scatter into the mist.

“I didn’t ask for this,” Norm mocked Dylan, his face twisting into a sneer. “Whatever you say, man, but it’s just like with Lucy. If it weren’t for you, she’d probably never hang around me. She probably hates me.”

“Dude, what are you talking about? We’re climbing a mountain to save- maybe the world and you’re worried about Lucy.”

“Yep. But she likes you, so why even-”

“I know you like her. And I swear- I would never do anything- you’re my best friend.”

“Well, don’t do me any favors, bro! If I’ve been holding you guys back, I wouldn’t want to stand in the way.”

“Norm, seriously, I don’t like her that way. I mean, I know she kinda likes me, and yeah, it makes me uncomfortable. Mostly because you like her.”

“Love her, I love her.” Norm corrected him. “Since first grade.”

“You love her.” Dylan recounted. “At least you know, you do. Of all people, you should know, I’m too scared to even have a crush on a girl. And I didn’t ask for her to like me, or for this. Don’t hate me ‘cause I got some crazy destiny or because the girl you’re in love, with likes me. I’d be better off alone. I pretty much am anyway.”

Norm sighed heavily. “You’re not alone, Dylan. And I know you’re not after her. I just hate being the second stringer.”

“Second stringer? That space pirate would’ve whacked my head off if not for you.”

“The bees sort of helped.”

“The bees were awesome! But you broke the window. If I was chosen and part of some legacy to do something special, then so were you. You’re here, right?”

“I guess.” Norm smiled and held up a drool covered sneaker. “But could you at least tell your bear-friend to not to use my shoe as a chew toy?”