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S2
What would her mother have thought of
her lying in a garden patch, destined as fodder for fungus farming
imps with voices like the highest shrieking note of a mistuned
violin? She could feel Leo squatting up on the ridge, looking down
upon her in a panic of indecision. And behind him something dark,
like a tunnel of awareness trailing off into forever.
Poor Leo. He had been possessed by far
more than the simple virus, although she doubted if it had taken
more than the virus stimulating the darkest of his thoughts to goad
him into murder. Neither Leo nor the entity that had tapped into
his soul wanted her dead. Leo wanted her warm body, and the entity
thought her safer contained within her citadel of flesh. He had
another fate in store for her, one she could not quite fathom.
One of the green humanoids stepped into
view, squatted in front of her face, and peered into her eyes. It
opened its little mouth and squeaked at her. It had a mind filled
with complex thoughts and emotions, but its thoughts moved far too
swiftly to follow, and perhaps not in the same manner as human
thoughts.
But it too did not want to see her
destruction. It had only meant to chase her away. She caught the
bizarre notion that the fungus grown of an alien being would be
toxic, and that she contaminated valuable soil with her unwieldy
body. It wanted to be rid of her, except that she outweighed their
entire society and just about everything in it. They could not
move her.
Was the fairy going to help? Even her
eyeball muscles had quit working. She was breathing. Her heart
beat. Just about everything else had stopped. Would she suffer
before she died?
One of the white birds landed on the side
of her face. She caught a flash of its razor teeth before a darting
tongue impaled and whisked it away faster than the eye could follow.
She could hear others flapping overhead, tempted by the easy meal
lying below, but smart enough to know that swift death awaited the
greedy and the unwary.
Sarah had time to think, and she wasn't
about to give up so early in the battle. She had to find a way out
before she panicked. If she failed, she'd go mad in this eerie world.
Leo wasn't going to help. The minds of
the little green fungus farmers gave her nothing to hold to. The
toads were dull spheres of awareness punctuated by the stimulus of a
white bird flapping down from the sky to roost. Their body
functions were pure instinct and beyond conscious control.
The reptilian birds, though, were
interesting. Lying in bed at night, she had often reached out into
the forest to monitor the dream-like activities of its wildlife.
She had never tried to impose her will upon another creature, and
she certainly had never considered a complete rapport such as
Rebecca had achieved with Pywacket, but perhaps she could encourage
the birds to act in her behalf. They birds were rudimentary
thinkers. The consciousness of the toads was a basic yes/no affair,
a switch that joined stimulus with response. The birds had a few
more options available to them. Only the stupidest of the newcomers
were risking their lives for an early morning snack. The smartest
of the bunch had already flown on in search of less desirable, but
far safer prey in the forest.
Sarah monitored two deaths. One occurred
on the fabric of her right jean's leg. The bird saw the tongue
coming and had a fraction of a second in which to react. It reacted
by gripping her jeans tightly, and when the tongue struck, she felt
her leg move slightly.
Sarah cleared her mind and monitored the
birds more carefully. She experienced among their recent and most
valuable memories the taste of blood. When she sensed a distant
kill in the forest, the taste was rich and immediate-- nauseating
from her own perspective, but sensual in its intensity from the
bird's point of view.
She replayed and projected her own memory
of the experience and caused a stir among the birds circling
overhead. Three or four darted down to their quick deaths in a
feeding frenzy. Sarah hardly had time to forewarn them of their
impending doom and encourage them to hang on to her pant's leg with
a veritable death grip. If their claws caught in the fabric of her
jeans just right, she could try a bit of reverse fishing to save
herself. The toads would be the fisherman, the birds the bait, and
herself the oversized whale to be dragged onto shore.
Twice the claws of the birds caught.
Both times the jerk was violent. The first time it spun her around,
and the second time it lifted her bodily into the air and slammed
her to the ground right on the ragged edge of the border between the
square of bare dirt and the grass facing the oversized toads.
Thereafter, the tug of the toad's tongue was far weaker so close to
the giant amphibians.
Her skin began to tingle. She chalked it
down to her overactive imagination until the tingle became an
outright itch. The itch became serious torment in short order,
warning her that the fungus roots sinking into her flesh would not
be a pleasant experience if allowed to run its course.
The terrible itching became distracting.
Unable to focus her attention, the birds began to fly away. And
even had she been able to lure them down to her, the lashing tongues
would not strike with the force necessary to pull her that last few
feet to safety.
Genuine torment engulfed her. The
itching, she discovered, was a temporary annoyance. The pain that
followed would resolve it in no time-- as it blossomed into outright
agony. Sarah would have writhed she been capable of movement. She
screamed on the inside, hoping to drive away the fungus itself. But
only the birds were leaving.
Sarah had resigned herself to death when
salvation arrived from an unexpected quarter. The entity lurking in
Leo's mind had observed her plight and struggles to save herself
with an odd blend of concern and anger. Sarah was certain the
entity considered her an enemy, and yet it did not want her to die
in this manner.
The white birds flew down into the face
of the nearest toad, drawn by a force of will and imagination more
powerful than her own. At the same time, a single white bird
alighted on her thigh and clung tight. One of the more distant
toad's lashed out at it. The bird held tight, its claws digging
into the skin of her leg as the withdrawn tongue dragged her the
last few feet onto the sweet smelling grass. Only then were the
claws ripped free and the bird gulped down the amphibian's gullet.
The itching spread across from continued
to strike with far less force so close. She would not be drawn
Rebecca, the fairies speaking through her
has said, The knowledge of the gateways must be known to you. The
worlds through which you pass must be mastered by you. The enemy
who will attempt to destroy you must be defeated by you.
A child is honed into a warrior. World's
End is losing the battle until she's returned.
What powers must Sarah learn and how?
Psychic powers: Ability to control
animals, or "be" an animal in the same manner as Rebecca. Block
scathing psychic attacks by force of will, which is refusing to
having oneself forced to accept unwanted probabilities. See into
the future and pick her way through probabilities in a conscious
manner; all choices are ultimately conscious. Set fires and move
objects in rudimentary fashion, which is a control only the most
evolved can use at will, otherwise too potentially self-destructive.
What allies will Sarah acquire and how?
Her most valuable ally will be Leo, who will try to seduce her with
hopelessness and the peacefulness of defeat. She needs to take on a
disgusting gnome with a distasteful sense of humor to teach her the
psychic skills and help her out of the attacks and traps Leo sets
for her.
What enemies will attack Sarah and how?
Leo's array of allies to be pitted against Sarah. These need to be
worked out in detail as the story proceeds.
What weaknesses must Sarah overcome and
how? Sarah's weaknesses are the desire for an easy, private life,
to be surrounded by the trappings of beauty (which aren't always
what they seem), to be appreciated and loved (rather than lusted
after and devoured), to have everything handed to her on a silver
platter like in World's End and school. She has to learn to get her
hands dirty.
What strengths will Sarah gain and how?
The ability to focus unwaveringly on a priority and see it through
despite obstacles and temptations. General level of maturity. Her
greatest strength will be her apparent youthfulness and immaturity.
Beneath it, she's becomes a warrior.
