The Escapist (25 page)

Nothing happened.  Though the Maere still held him pinned in place, the bite did not come.  The beast shifted slightly, and Oscar could sense a commotion taking place.  His eyes snapped open once again and he gazed past the beast in wonder at the approaching throng.  With impeccable timing, a swarm of broken toys descended upon the beast, the toy soldier leading the charge.  Unified, finally, the Itse clamoured all over the monstrous blackened wolf, dragging it backwards and liberating Oscar.  Finally free from restraint Oscar scrambled backwards, marvelling at the sight of the once downtrodden children rising up together against Edmund.  They had actually found it within themselves to fight back.  It wasn’t too late.  For a moment he stood just watching, drinking in the newly acquired faith from his fellow orphans.  The sense of renewed hope was contagious, and Oscar felt invigorated.  But it was more than that; a familiar warmth spread through him from fingers to toes.  The key, his Itse!  There it was, in his pocket all along. 

Even as he watched, the toys began to struggle in their battle.  With a defiant roar the Maere – Edmund - rose up once again, throwing its assailants off as easily as if tearing away a cobweb he had been caught up in.  Though as group the children stood strong, in a moment his rage would turn on one of them and alone they stood no chance.  He would pick them off one by one.  Gripping the key for courage, Oscar gave a bellowing cry and charged.  The distraction of the toys and the change of tack had caught the beast unaware.  Before it could respond the boy was upon him.  The Maere staggered backward with the unexpected force of the blow, sinking heavily to its knees. 

Still entangled in the charge, Oscar looked to his fists, knowing he must capitalise on his advantage.   But in his hand the boy no longer held a key, it was a dagger…and the blade was plunged directly into Edmund’s chest.

“OSSSSCAR!  I'll get you.  I’ll kill you this time.  I…”

“ENOUGH!  Enough Edmund.  We have won.  You cannot spread your venom here anymore.”
Oscar said plainly.  The toys all around were slowly finding their feet, hooting and clapping at the success.

“I sssswear I'm going to tear you limb from limb... I'll...I''ll.”
The beast howled.

“Do not push us Edmund.”
Oscar said, with sharp a twist of the knife.
“Continue if you dare and I will reap a thousand times over on you, the misery you have caused to all of us.  I will chase you across all worlds, until you give up and leave us alone.”

His piece said, Oscar drew back, pulling out the dagger as he did so.  Exhausted, he slumped to ground and watched, dazed as the toys overwhelmed the beast like termites swarming over a mound.  The dagger slipped from his hand as his head dropped to the razed ground and he watched as it slowly transformed back into the metallic boy with electro-bulb eyes.  His soul slumped over him, tired. 

“We have done well.  And the others.  Yes, we could not do it alone.  There are good souls out there.”
He tilted his head across, to see the horde of toys now parting around the vanquished Maere.  There, in their midst was a small, hairless dog.  Pink and wrinkled, it shivered despite the warm sunlight that now enveloped the scene.  But Oscar could not even begin to make sense of what was happening around him.  His head swam, his vision begun to blur and darkness enveloped him. 

“It is time to part”

“No,please don't go”

“It's okay, we must part.”

“When will we meet again?”

“You already know.”

“I don't want to go.  We are happier together.”

“We have always been together.”

Chapter 23

Oscar awoke to the stale smell of the Valerian concoction.  The fragrance lingered around the makeshift campsite though it had lost much of its potency.  Embers still smouldered under logs nearby and the tarp covering fluttered in the wind.  His head felt sore and a high pitched ringing pierced his ears.  Tapie was nowhere to be seen and the camp site looked as though it had not been disturbed in a while; morning dew coated everything with a fine silvery spray.  The sun was tracing its usual ascent through the sky and Oscar guessed it must be approaching mid-morning.

He got to his feet tentatively, taking deep breaths to stop the sickening feeling which washed over him from becoming a reality. 

“Tapie, Tapie. I'm awake.” he shouted, but no response came.  Presumably the crazed young woman had rambled off by accident, nothing more than a fleeting resident in the world she inhabited.

As Oscar stared over the forest he reflected upon what had happened: the cottage, the Maere, the defeat of Edmund.  Yet somehow it was an empty feeling of triumph now he stood so far removed from whence it happened.   And he did not even know the full story.  Pangs of anguish struck his heart at the thought of what might have happened to the knight or the cat.  More so, when he thought wistfully of his friend Vergil who had been left to face down the innumerable host of Kurjus 

He could not allow himself to be caught up in fearful imaginings.  Oscar shook his head to dislodge the concerns and focused on where he was.  What was he going to do now?  Tapie and her basket of herbs were clearly not anywhere nearby and it might be days before she passed this way.  Reluctantly Oscar found himself walking back through the forest and toward the Institute, though it was not without a tentative sense of anticipation.  As with all his prior experiences, returning to his reality had made him question everything he believed.  Was everything that had occurred in fact true or must he face up to the devastating possibility that Etiainheim was no more than a sophisticated delusion?  He might have his answer soon enough, he supposed, but he could feel in his heart that it was real and for now that was enough to keep him placing one foot in front of the other.

Working his way back through the forest, Oscar took a more direct route than the one he had traversed with Tapie.  Guided by the distant view of the Institute intermittently protruding over the tree line, he hiked with am increasing spring to his step.  He felt curious, almost positive to go back.  Yet with every step his thoughts swung back the other way as he reflected on the last confrontation he had had with Edmund.  What if the efforts he had made in Etiainheim amounted to nothing, and Edmund was just as keen as before to ensure his life was not worth living?  Oscar found his pace slowing as he doubted not only whether his actions in Etiainheim could truly affect those in Singeard, but whether it had even been real to begin with.

Plagued with anxiety as to what he might discover, Oscar had slowed to a begrudging stroll.  Now he could see the looming gates of the Institute and the gothic building in the distance.  One way or another he would have an answer.  If Vergil was right, then he would have no worries - Edmund would be sorted, and hopefully the Master, well, maybe he would be better.  But if Vergil was wrong, or not even real, then he was in for a hard time – with everything taken into account his punishment would be too much to bear.

By the time Oscar reached the gate his mind was a sea of confusion, the conflicting opinions flowing to and fro.  He rested his hands on the gate and looked through, steadily.  No one was in the grounds and although Oscar wasn’t sure what day it was he knew it couldn’t be Sunday.  He drummed his fingers on the iron railings, considering.  Was it worth the risk of discovering it all had been for naught?    He could make good his escape once and for all, run away from this mess be rid of all the hassle.  Just like he had intended in the beginning.  He could get along fine on his own. 

An old man and a small red headed girl passed by the window.  Though they did not see him, his heart panged.

“Okay, I hear you.”
he said to himself.  In one swift manoeuvre, Oscar unlocked the gate and stepped through.

A note from the author

Thank you for reading The Escapist.  I hope you enjoyed
experiencing this story as much as I enjoyed creating it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Oscar, Vergil and the world of Etiainheim.  I’m not sure I’m quite done with it yet…

If you would like to contribute your reflections on The Escapist in an Amazon review, that would be great, as I’d like to bring other people to Etiainheim.  Better still, get in touch: do please email me with your opinions or questions at [email protected] (and watch this space for a website/Twitter account).  I make sure to reply to any messages, so look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time…

Madoc Fox.