Everville: The City of Worms (7 page)

Chapter 11:

The Funeral

While General Varrick and the giants continued to prevent any movement by Oldrik, The Keeper sensed Elmer’s uncertainty in the decision that he had made, as well as his growing dissatisfaction with Oldrik. The Keeper decided it was time to approach Elmer, and so he entered Elmer’s mind.

“Elmer, you were once a great asset to Everville and the Fron. Why have you abandoned us?”

“Oldrik said that we were stupid to listen to you because there is something out there that is coming for us. He said we needed to shore up our power to protect ourselves from whatever it is that we might face in the future.”

“What did he say we might face in the future?” The Keeper queried.

“Well … he didn’t say exactly. He just said that there were more dangerous things that awaited us beyond the heres and nows somewhere off in the borderlands.”

“Do you really believe that, Elmer, and do you believe that whatever darkness you might face is worth betraying the truth that you have always known? Is the promise of a little safety worth the price of betraying your land, your people, your values? Let me ask you, Elmer, do you feel safer now than you did before you left?”

“I’m not so sure anymore, Keeper.”

“I’m going to give you a choice, Elmer. When the time comes, you will be presented with an opportunity to stay with Oldrik or to go with the giants. You’ll know when it’s time for you to make up your mind. It will be completely up to you which choice you make, but be warned: whatever you decide, you will have to live with the consequences.”

The Keeper left Elmer’s mind, and Elmer looked up to see if Oldrik could tell what he was thinking. If Oldrik knew something, Elmer couldn’t tell the difference. Oldrik was more concerned about the collector being depleted and the eventual loss of the shield.

Despite the setback, Oldrik’s reach had been growing. He could now sense creatures that were much darker than the Fwaylan. He could feel the evil, insidious races that had succumbed to the darkness. Them had started to sense Oldrik, and Them were looking for something in particular in Oldrik’s mind, something Oldrik wasn’t yet ready to share and was keeping to himself.

Back in the earthly realm, at Easton Falls University, the campus was starting to come back to life. The university had hired hundreds of workers to clear the debris that was strewn across the campus after the Nor’easter had slammed ashore. The workers who had been there over the past few weeks were gone; only the scaffolding on the damaged dorms and buildings remained, along with a few ‘Do Not Cross’ signs near newly-planted trees and grass.

The morning of Professor Samil’s funeral had arrived, and several people could be seen wearing black dresses and suits and getting ready to enter Town Cars that were parked along the side of the main street next to campus.

Owen was waiting downstairs by his dorm. Like most everyone else headed for the funeral, he wore traditional black, along with an unassuming blue and grey-checkered tie. He had finally gotten a haircut and was clean-shaven. Drusilla approached Owen in a long, black dress.

“Look at you, Owen, all handsome and stuff. You ready to do this thing?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Let’s get going then. The car is parked over there.”

Owen and Drusilla got into the backseat of the car and the driver took off in the direction of the Easton Falls Memorial Cemetery. They arrived in about fifteen minutes, and after getting out of the car, they scoped out their position behind the people who had come to pay their respects to Professor Samil.

Owen looked around the cemetery at all the people who had arrived; it was a much larger number than he had expected, several hundred, perhaps more. Drusilla and Owen both spotted fellow Art Club member, Jacob, who was wearing a black suit with a surprisingly showy purple tie. Jacob was with his new family, who were the only people who were not wearing black. Owen and Drusilla then spotted Zee and Anika on the other side of the cemetery. Zee and Anika looked back at them; their eyes acknowledged what they were about to do.

“Owen, when I give you the signal, we’ll turn around and head back towards the car. I think the best time will be right after Zee makes his speech.”

Owen nodded his head in agreement. A few moments later, the service had begun, and the priest approached the podium microphone and began to speak.

“It is with profound regret—”

Owen did his best not to seem too nervous, but throughout the entire eulogy his fidgeting told another story. Drusilla, Zee, and Anika took notice, and so did Jacob. It wasn’t that Owen was afraid of getting into a scuffle, it was just that he had some reservations about searching someone’s room. It was the tinge of illegality that bothered him.

A couple of Zee’s family members took to the stage to say a few words about the late Professor Samil, and by that time Owen looked as if he had put his concerns in check. He listened intently to the words they were speaking. He then thought about what Zee said he had seen when he’d tasted the liquid from the containers.

Zee took the stage and placed his hands on the edge of the podium. He pressed the palms of his hands as hard as could on the corners in an attempt to use the physical pain to keep him from breaking down and crying, which had happened to several of the other speakers who had already come before him. His face was solemn, but his expression was a perplexing mix of emotions that were difficult to read.

“Professor Samil, my dad, had a lot to be proud of. He was a respected professor, a father, and a man who inspired many. He was an artist, and in my mind, a visionary. I—I don’t think—”

Zee’s eyes were welling up with tears, and everyone could see that he was trying his hardest not to let them fall.

Zee continued. “I don’t think that anyone could say that my father did not leave a positive mark on this campus, the students who attended this great university, or the people who he interacted with on a daily basis. I have never known him to do anything other than what he believed and what he thought was best, not only for himself, but also for his students and his family.”

Owen watched as Anika began to cry. In spite of recent events, she had been moved by the emotion and the words Zee spoke.

“It has been said that the good is oft interred in the bones of the dead, but I promise you this; my father’s greatness will never be interred in his bones. I will make sure that his greatness, and all that he thought was important, will never be forgotten. I will make sure that his hopes and his dreams live on, and that the positive attributes of the life that he led will continue to be felt as long as the walls of this great university remain standing, and beyond.”

After Zee spoke his last word, there were a few respectful and quiet claps as he walked down from the podium. Owen was just as stunned by Zee’s words as Drusilla, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Drusilla tugged on Owen’s sleeve to bring his attention back to what they were about to do.

“Let’s go,” Drusilla whispered.

Owen came to his senses and started walking with Drusilla back to the Town Car that had been waiting for them near their position. Just before they shut the door, Jacob spotted them. He stood there thinking, but did nothing for the moment.

The next speaker approached the podium, and after a few moments, began to speak. Jacob listened for a minute or two before he started reflecting on why Owen and Drusilla had left early, and on the fidgeting that he had witnessed during the outset of the funeral ceremony. He waited for the speaker to finish, and then decided to leave while the speaker was exiting the stage.

By the time Jacob made it to his car, Owen and Drusilla had already arrived at his home. They weren’t sure how much time they had, so Drusilla had been quick to distract the butler, who was already talking with her outside on the patio. Owen had proceeded to rush upstairs and was in a frantic search to find anything that resembled a beetle.

He opened every drawer, lifted the contents, and then placed them back down. He looked under the bed, in the closet, in the basket, and any other place he could find, but he found nothing.

Drusilla was getting a little concerned, and with good reason. Several minutes had already passed, and Jacob was getting closer to his home. As the time whittled away, Drusilla began looking up at the stairs whenever the opportunity presented itself. Their time was almost up.

The butler heard Jacob’s car arriving in the driveway.

“Ah. Here he is now. Let me go get him,” the butler said as he walked from the patio into the main living room.

Drusilla looked up at the stairs once more, but it was too late. Jacob had just opened the door and Owen was still in Jacob’s room.

“Jacob, your friends from the university are here to see you.”

The butler turned to Drusilla and said, “Where is your other friend?”

“I’m not sure,” she said.

Jacob squinted his eyes and wrinkled his forehead in disbelief. She knew where Owen was and so did Jacob. Jacob ran upstairs to his room and kicked open the door.

“Get out of my room, Owen.”

“I wish I could do that, but you know I can’t.”

“I said get out of my room, before I have to make you.”

The butler heard the commotion in the room and turned to Drusilla.

“Why did your friend go in Jacob’s room? You didn’t come here to see Jacob at all, did you? I think you’d better leave before I call the police.”

Drusilla stood there in silence, not yet sure of what to do.

Owen wasn’t sure either, but Jacob took care of that for him. Jacob reached into his closet and pulled out the bo staff that he kept at his home. He twirled it a few times and looked at Owen. Owen knew what was coming next.

Jacob swung his bo staff in the direction of Owen’s face, but Owen deflected it before it made impact. Jacob’s dresser, though, was not so lucky. Owen did the best he could to maneuver around Jacob’s bed and stay out of his direct reach until he thought of a potential solution.

Jacob and Owen looked as if they were participating in a strange ritual as they chased each other around the bed. The chase continued for a while, until Owen heard the butler coming up the steps. The comfort of potential backup prompted Jacob to make the mistake of letting his guard down for a brief second and turning his head. Owen was quick to take advantage of the moment, and before Jacob had a chance to react, Owen had pried the staff out of his hands.

“No!” Jacob shouted.

Owen lifted the bo staff above his head with both hands and struck the side of the bed with all his might, and then he repeated the action. The bo snapped into two pieces, and Owen noticed that the top half of the bo had been hollowed out. The beetle then fell to the floor.

Jacob lunged towards Owen, but Owen was able to grab the beetle and toss it down the stairs. Drusilla took a careful look at the beetle. She then lifted her leg and crushed the beetle several times with the heel of her shoe, until she heard it crunch.

Jacob rushed towards the stairs and was nearly all the way down, but it was too late. The beetle started to shimmer, and then it vanished with a loud
POP
.

“The police are already on their way,” the butler said sternly.

Jacob’s face lit up with anger, but it didn’t matter, the beetle was destroyed. Owen and Drusilla bolted from Jacob’s home and headed towards their car. They jumped in and locked the door.

“Go. Go!” Drusilla shouted frantically.

The driver floored the gas, and in a few seconds they were headed back to the university.

Chapter 12:

Decisions

The destruction of the second object was felt across the vast expanse. The Keeper knew it had been destroyed and so did Oldrik. It wouldn’t be long before the shield completely broke down.

The Fwaylan were growing restless and so were the giants. One of the larger Fwaylan glared at Borak and could no longer wait. He jumped down at Borak and took as large of a bite as possible out of the side of Borak’s neck. It was a serious wound, but not a fatal one. General Varrick signaled to the archers to act in kind, and they immediately killed the Fwaylan who had injured Borak and started firing their bows at the others who had started to pour in.

Elmer, as well as Oldrik’s other followers, Calvin and Mallory, watched in horror. Elmer began to mentally prepare for the moment The Keeper had mentioned earlier.

Oldrik was now able to contact Them, and called upon Them for help, but the armies of Them were still in a weakened state from the actions of The First Pillar and would not be able to reach the land of the giants before Oldrik’s shield failed. Oldrik would have to fend for himself.

The archers continued to fire their shafts into the bodies of the Fwaylan, but the Fwaylan persisted, and their carcasses began to pile up beyond the sinkhole. General Varrick looked at the carcasses in disgust and began to speak:

“It’s a shame. Their meat looks quite tasty, but the evil that exists in their hearts has fouled the flesh on their bones.”

In an attempt to keep the bodies of the Fwaylan from preventing access to Oldrik’s position, the general signaled to a few of the giants to use the assembly belt to transport the carcasses to the surface of the brutal desert. Several of the giants sprang into action and began tossing the bodies onto the belt and turning the winders with remarkable swiftness.

The assembly belt followed the old trail of the underground catacombs, as well as new ones, for miles up to the surface in a series of zigs and zags. The tremendous reach of the giants’ arms and the circumference of the winders resulted in a transport time that was impressive by any measure. With the assistance of the assembly belt, the giants succeeded in removing the bodies of the Fwaylan as fast as they had piled up.

The precision of the archers rendered the teeth and claws of the Fwaylan powerless, and there were more arrows than there were Fwaylan. If there was any principle that remained of the Fwaylan, it was pragmatism, and after the loss of thousands of Fwaylan and no forthcoming advantage, they retreated.

Oldrik stood beneath the protection of his dying shield. He was alone, with the exception of his few followers, and then it happened: the shield collapsed. Elmer’s moment had arrived, and he didn’t have to think twice. Elmer grabbed Oldrik’s rod, which encased the collector, and ran towards to the protection of the giants.

Elmer was lightning fast, and by the time Oldrik realized what had happened, it was too late. Elmer was already in the protection of the giants and well beyond Oldrik’s reach. The collector was drained, but it wasn’t useless. Oldrik had had plans for it, but now he would have to find another way.

General Varrick looked down at Elmer and said, “Well, little friend, you’re just about the right size to fit on the assembly belt that reaches the surface, and I think it’s the quickest way to get you to the entrance of the portal leading to the Deep Woods.”

The general lifted Elmer up off the ground and placed him on the assembly belt. Once Elmer was onboard, the giants began turning the large winders to carry him to the surface. Elmer gasped as the acceleration of the belt caused him to trip and nearly roll over the edge, but he had one hand wrapped around the other side of the belt and was able to pull himself back up to the top just before he approached the entrance of a tunnel, which would have taken off his head.

Elmer held the belt and grasped each side with one hand while lying flat on his stomach. From time to time, bits and pieces of Fwaylan carcass rolled down towards him. As he was carried closer and closer to the surface, he was constantly dodging both the bits of flesh and the walls that extended just above the entrance to each of the tunnels.

When the opportunity presented itself, Elmer took notice of the vast expanse that had been created underneath the catacombs. The giants had built a series of underground cities that were far more extensive than anything he had ever seen in the underground realm of the giants. The closer Elmer got the surface, the greater the distance between each successive tunnel grew and the larger the empty space between them.

Elmer wondered how he had missed that section of catacombs during his descent with Oldrik, but it soon became apparent that the assembly belt had taken him out farther than he thought possible. The giants had abandoned their old realm, and in short order they had created a massive new one that was at least ten thousand times more expansive.

Elmer approached another tunnel, and when he emerged on the other side, the last expanse was ten times the size of the previous one. He couldn’t believe his eyes. It was as if the surface of a great foreign land built for giants had been taken underground, complete with natural lighting, mountains, trees, and giant villages.

Elmer looked off in the distance, and on one side he saw families of giants— fathers, mothers, and children all working and playing. On the other side, he saw vast armies of giants that numbered in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions. Numerous battlefields had been constructed, and monstrums lined the rock walls that encompassed the region as far as the eye could see.

He looked closer and saw sixteen different giant tunnels separated into groups of eight on each side. Elmer could only surmise that they led to the eight surrounding lands of Everville and the eight surrounding lands of The Other in Between. He wondered if that were the case, and if it were, how it was possible.

One last zag and Elmer nearly fell off again, which would have been fatal. The distance between the assembly belt and the surface had reached over a thousand feet. He held on as tight as he could. Up ahead was one last tunnel, so he ducked his head. The light vanished for a while, and he kept his head down for several minutes until light began to emerge from the other side and vanquished the darkness for good.

Elmer arrived on the surface and ran as fast as he could to the entrance of the portal, which he saw was very close. The unforgiving sun, though, was even more painful after Elmer’s transformation and the physical punishment that he had taken from Oldrik, which made it difficult to run. The Keeper saw Elmer’s approach and pulled him through the portal.

While being transported through the portal, all of Elmer’s skin started to fall off. His body began stretching top-to-bottom, side-to-side, and front-to-back, his body stuck in an uncontrollable spin and state of transformation. When he emerged on the other side in The Keeper’s Workshop, he had returned to his former Fron appearance. He was once again a short, thick, hairless, and happy Fron with tiny eyes, large ears, and of course, exceptional hearing. Elmer also had the renewed glow, happiness, and vigor shared by most Fron.

“Keeper, I have Oldrik’s rod.”

“Elmer, you have made the Fron proud, and I am grateful for your service. Your past transgressions have been forgiven, and Everville is in your debt.”

“I’m sorry, Keeper. I was stupid to listen to Oldrik.”

“We all make mistakes, Elmer. What sets apart those destined for greatness is the willingness to learn from the sins of the past and the desire to move forward in spite of the possibility of making new mistakes in the future. Your help will be needed sometimes now and again, somewhere between here and there, and like all living creatures in the vast expanse, you write your own destiny. Now go enjoy the fruits of your labor, but remain vigilant; there is still more work that needs to be done.”

Elmer had a look of genuine gratitude and happiness as he left The Keeper’s Workshop and returned to the land of the Fron above.

The Keeper looked at Oldrik’s rod, and then he turned his gaze to the portal. Sako and the Ubaloo had just reached the Deep Woods, and it would be another day’s journey before they made it back to Everville. The Keeper informed the Fron and the Ubaloo of the acquisition of the rod and the collector, but The Keeper still needed the dagger made from the same material as the walls of Vermogen to safely crush the collector and prevent further harm to those that it had ensnared through its use.

In the Deep Woods, the marmooks began hopping up and down and licking the faces of the Ubaloo with the announcement of the good news. Grenmar catapulted Felix high into the air, despite the concern that showed on his face at the altitude he was reaching. Several of the Fron started dancing in circles, Toe included, and then Sako spoke up.

“This is indeed cause for celebration, but we must still reach Everville and destroy the collector. We can celebrate then.”

Sako began walking through the forest of the Deep Woods, and the Ubaloo and marmooks rushed to follow. There would be no celebration just yet.

The mood was much different in the land of the giants. The Fwaylan had retreated, leaving Oldrik and his followers to fend for themselves. Without the shield, Oldrik was powerless to defend them. The injured and bleeding Borak used his humungous hand to wrap around Oldrik’s tall but skinny body and pick him up. Borak squeezed. Calvin and Mallory crouched to the ground and trembled in fear.

“Not just yet,” General Varrick cautioned Borak.

“They will answer for their crimes, and they may yet prove useful.”

Borak grunted in disappointment, then he placed Oldrik and his followers in a large square cage that was hanging from the ceiling, made from the bones of the Fwaylan and still reeking of rotting flesh.

Mallory was unable to control his urge to eat and picked off some of the meat that remained on the bones and stuffed it in his mouth. Calvin followed suit, but after chewing the rancid morsel for about half a second, he spit it out in Oldrik’s face. Oldrik struck him in the head and knocked him unconscious. At that moment, Mallory swallowed the meat, reached for another piece, and grinned. Oldrik knocked the meat out of his hand and prevented Mallory from enjoying the satisfaction.

General Varrick looked up at Oldrik in disgust.

“Those that lead others to darkness will pay for their actions. Your punishment will be especially heinous. You lead your followers down the path of evil, and then you abuse them with your hate. You are a disgusting, wretched creature.”

General Varrick opened the cage. Oldrik shrank back in fear of retribution. The general’s hand lifted Oldrik’s followers and placed them down on the ground, leaving Oldrik in the cage where he stood. The general then sent for the healer to attend to the injured one’s wounds and gave both of them some adequate food before returning them back to the cage.

“If you harm them again, Oldrik, I’ll smack you around myself and leave you in the cage to eat the rotting flesh until we decide what to do with you.”

Oldrik grumbled and turned away from the general.