Episode 3 - The Hopeless/The Ticking Timebomb

Cold men, stupid kids, goofy griffins and shameless gargoyles!

After hours of driving the sky became blue. I think this is what twilight is. I’ve seen it many times, and I quite like driving at this time of day. With no one around. The road was almost empty and the few cars’ lights were soothing and reassuring to see. It was a nice “company” feeling. Ana and Neu gave me that feeling, too. I can’t say Rylie ever did...Rylie was too curious. He always questions me and never gives me the mutual trust I give him. Like I’ve ever let him down or let anything bad happen ever! Well…

Suddenly I heard a gentle snore that distracted me from my trail of thought. It was Ana. Still in her coat, with Neu laying across her lap from the middle seat. She leaned her head on his back. Her mouth was ever so slightly open, I saw her teeth and she was making nazel-y breathing noises. Neu was making little noises too. I hate to say I think it’s cute. It’s not. It’s annoying. Ruining my atmosphere. 

Unfortunately, by this time tomorrow we’ll be at The Mountain’s Core. 

And their warm beds...I sighed. I WAS tired, but I couldn’t stop driving. If I did we can forget about those cozy beds tomorrow. I try to be sympathetic of teenagers, as at that age to sleep for 20 hours in a nice warm bed is close to heaven. Although she’s a  girl… I think it’s different. They don’t get tired do they? I’ll ask in the morning. I might not have to. Depends when she wakes up. 

I looked at my watch. Only 6pm. Well it IS September and only twilight. It’s been three hours of non-stop driving. There was a close encounter with police and, of course, the news report that comes every year had been on. 

Oh well. There is a long journey yet. At the moment we’re headed to the Crevices of Fire and Ash to get our more exciting transport and braune. And though it’s no way near as long as it could be, my everything would be deprived of needed rest, and once again i’d be put through the same torture every man has to go through. Hopefully this time it would be worth it.

***France, Notre Dame - Same date and time***

Oh, how I ENVY them! Those lucky freaks of heaven. Even Clarke! They swooped around the dark, sparkly sky!!! Supposedly they’re sending nearby demons to hell - or the “afterlife” as others like to call it. Gargoyles don’t like sounding mean as we work for the heavens - some gargoyles work directly from angels’ orders! -  and “sending something to hell” sounds kinda mean. It’s a shame that I’m forbidden from helping them, I’d quite enjoy being an Alucins like them, but unfortunately for me, I’m a Tymen and have to monitor the bells, inner decor and the clock of Notre Dame! I also have to learn all about time and how to manipulate it…

Except I’m not great at my job... I’m only on stage two of Tymen - basically, I can stop and start time...That’s it!!! I giggled nervously at the thought. Mind you I wasn’t good at being an Alucins when they gave me the chance either! To be an Alucins means you are responsible for keeping demons in check, but just as a gargoyle can kill a demon, a demon can kill a gargoyle - but gargoyles are a LOT stronger and usually there’d need to be at least 3 demons for there to be a possibility of them winning. A gargoyle hasn’t died in...Well I don’t know how many gargoyles have perished, but most cases of dead gargoyles only occur through be smashed or cracked when we are in our stone forms.  

I’m Notre Dame’s 12th son, - even though gargoyles are made by sculptures, he was the first gargoyle so we know him as the “Father” - which also means I’m the 13th gargoyle of Notre Dame. Not Notre Dame my father, Notre Dame the Cathedral...which my father is named after...You’ll get the hang of it!!

Anyway, the number 13 is often associated with...bad luck. I’m not the only, one, though! Clarke, my younger brother, is Notre Dame’s 13th son - The 14th gargoyle - , so he’s also unlucky!!! They know us as the thirteenths.

There are also three categories of  gargoyle species (not types) ; beast, man and grotesque. A Beast is a gargoyle that is an animal or many animals - These types are pure, but they’re called “beast” for a reason, you won’t find a bunny rabbit gargoyle. 

A Man gargoyle is basically a human statue but...it’s just a gargoyle. I’m not sure how that makes sense, but I think it’s because they made for the church as drain pipes - not many are Alucins so they can’t have been made to fight evil spirits like the rest of us - These types are as pure as beasts because the man gargoyles are less aggressive. They are quite smart but rarely carved as strong, which make for good Tymen - opposite to their beast counterparts. There are only a few men gargoyles (like, they’re quite rare), and then the rest are equally spread over grotesque and beast.

A grotesque gargoyle is made up of man and beast. Grotesques are the least pure but most powerful - still not that strong though, especially me and Clarke -, which helps as we’re are the oldest and because of our slightly-higher-than-average power, we can be Tymen AND Alucins. As long as you don’t screw up. Like I did. Which is why, even though I’m SLIGHTLY more powerful than those younger - and slightly less than those older than me - , I’m only allowed to be a Tymen - That and they call me the least pure gargoyle out of the 5000 of us. Strangely, our Father is actually a beast gargoyle - our first had to be a pure fighter, so it makes sense.

 

To be an Alucins gargoyle you have to be strong and courageous. It’s also cooler. Alucins are geared up and every night, just like tonight they do their job: They kill bad spirits and demons to protect Notre Dame!...The church, not Father. Clarke is an Alucin by demand, he messed up in the Tymen section and was never trusted with time manipulating abilities again. He always complains about being an Alucin, something about it being haunting, but they’re pretty cool to watch. Which I am. Even though I shouldn’t be as Tymen have to wake up early to ring the bells. Being a Tymen is OK. It’s a lot more complicated and no where near as fun. I HATE it. Which is probably why I’m not good at it. Which I’m supposed to be. I’m supposed to set a good example for the 4987 gargoyles who are younger than me. But I can’t. Clogs, Notre Dame’s eldest son - The second of Notre Dame - is in command. Father oversees, but doesn’t make decisions. He’s a bit...Yeah. Especially for letting Clogs stop me from-

“Hey Hopeless.” A nazely, but smooth, silky voice said.

Speak of the devil. It was Clogs. And a sly smile formed on my face.

“Hey ya.” I said still facing the opposite direction - looking off the side of the balcony - with a smile I couldn’t get rid of glued to me face.

“There’s a big meeting by Emmanuel in the South Tower. You better get down there while I round up this lot.” He proposed calmly. Leaning against a close wall with a faint smile.

“Why? What’s it about?” I turned to him and asked. He pulled quite a disapproving, annoyed face.

“You’ll see when you get down there, idiot!” He said in an older-brother kind of way. I nodded and began hopping up.

“Ok. See ya near Emmanuel, then!” I called calmly as I turned and began making my way to The South Tower.

“Be there in a minute!” He called back after me. I immediately sped up and began jumping and leaping from banisters and across rooftops! Bounding and sprinting along the bridge-like corridor roofs. The air was rushing through my veins!!! I loved the feeling of the wind - like most everyone - and adored how free it made me feel!!! But soon I was close to The South Tower and was surprised to see not only a few thousands of gargoyles, but almost all of them were looking anxious or worried. 

Near Emmanuel, there was a large hall - not really enough space for all 5000 gargoyles, but there were many outside the tower - on the roof, on railings, crammed in every possible area a gargoyle could perch upon! - and as I got closer I began to feel the worry, but I was sure it wasn’t too big of a deal - Gargoyles made a fuss over small things like a bell being rung a few minutes early! It looked impossible for me to get closer than I was, and I didn’t really have anyone to be or converse with...Clarke!!! I could try and find Clarke!

...Except he was probably with Clogs at the moment. I shook my head and made my way over to window with at least 60 other gargoyles surrounding it. I stood behind and leaned over a younger gargoyle. He seemed just as anxious as anyone else. I, on the other hand, was just growing more and more curious. Nothing was really happening, but the noise level was beginning to rise. A high authority Alucins was strolling by.

“If you could keep the noise down just a moment more, that would be appreciated. We’re just finishing positioning everything so it’s suitable for everyone and then we’ll be stopping time. Thank you for your patience.” He said calmly as he then strolled off to tell those nearby. Humans weren’t allowed to know we were living spirits so we couldn’t give ourselves away. And seeings as it was near the middle of the night, we had to stay quite quiet as to not wake anyone up.

I hummed uncomfortably curious for a few moments and turned to see Clogs was coming back with at least 1000 gargoyles. The Alucins looked so natural bounding along the cathedral and swooping toward us - I felt kind of jealous. I tried to see if I could spy Clarke anywhere among them. They were arriving in their 50s and I knew that if Clarke saw me first he’d probably try to avoid being seen with me - It makes him look worse than he already does. Which is kind of rude because, technically, he’s worse than me.

A few more flocks of Alucins arrived before some gargoyles announced they were now stopping time now, so Notre Dame could make his announcement. Oh yeah! Gargoyles aren’t paused when time is stopped, only everything else! 

They began ringing the Emmanuel bell to quieten everyone as I quickly jumped around looking for Clarke. The roof, near windows, up and down the tower, below the floor Emmanuel was on - HE WASN’T THERE!!! - I checked all of them and couldn’t find him! I growled annoyed.

The tenth bell struck, and suddenly, Notre Dame’s booming voice echoed throughout the cathedral.

“Goodnight, everyone!!! I’ve gathered you all up tonight because...Uh…” Notre Dame leaned over to Clogs who whispered something that sounded like “demon problem” to which Notre Dame replied “What about it?” to which Clogs responded “Would you like me to announce this”. I sniggered as Notre Dame nodded. 

“I will now pass over to Clogs!” He referenced to Clogs as everyone began muttering to one another again - wondering what was going on. Now they were obviously very worried. Clogs calmly stepped up onto the stage - his foxy red-ness almost bleeding in the moonlight. It was kinda evil looking. His wide fox ears were perfectly still and his light blue eyes sparkled. Eurgh...Only evil people are that perfect on the outside...I shuddered as Clogs tried to hush the crowd.

“EVERYONE!!!” He shouted -somehow he managed to sound as calm as ever - and everybody around  silenced slowly. “This is quite important everyone, so it may take a while...Just a little warning.” He began. A map was sprawled across the wall and because Clogs was on stage 4 of Tymen - one below the ultimate stage - so he could move about objects while time was stopped as he so pleased - something I couldn’t do. “In ???, we have detected a large presence of demons-” I shuffled closer in the crowd as he spoke. 

“Have you seen Clarke?” I was whispering to gargoyles here and there. I did it quite a few times before I heard something that sparked my interest.

“The angels are counting on us gargoyles to keep demon levels to a minimum and so we need to send a few of you down there to rid of some - if not all - of them. We’re looking for VOLUNTEERS only-”

He carried on blabbering while I gazed star-struck into i’m not sure where. Volunteers only? Does that mean I could fight them? “- consequences are costly. You do not have to be experienced to do this and if you are a Tymen we will alter your type until you return, so you will be able to fight off demons. We are doing this because we do not feel the need to send the best,” He paused and looked around - scanning others’ faces - “but the brave!” He announced to the hall as cheering filled the cathedral. Soon it hushed and Clogs gave a slight smile to the crowd and rose his hand to silence the hall. He stepped off of the stage and Notre Dame came back up with a smile.

“Now, I think the most important thing, is there anyone who would like to volunteer for this role?” Notre Dame asked looking around. To my surprise, no one raised their hands. Even the best of the best looked intimidated and unsure. Why? This was a great opportunity!

“Uh..Me! ME!!!” I called through the window. I got a little recognition and gargoyles moved aside so I could properly be seen as a volunteer. “I’d love to fight for us!!!” I cried as I  hopped over heads and around feet. Notre Dame looked worried and unsure.

“Are you sure you’ve understood -” He began.

“Uh...” Clogs interrupted, he looked almost disgusted, but then his mouth curled into a menacing smile. “Fantastic” I heard him mumble to himself. Gargoyles were looking at me uncomfortably as I got up. “You sure you want to do this, Useless? To tackle demons with all your ability?” Clogs exclaimed loudly for all to hear.

“And more!!!” I cried with an unbelievable amount of goof on my face. Clogs looked puzzled as he let go. 

“Yeah!!! I’m gonna save everyone!” I carried on.

“Clogs! You have to tell him -” Notre Dame said from the side of the stage looking quite concerned.

“And when I do, I’ll become the best Alucins...EVER!!!!” I cried loudly.

...Was I deaf? I heard no applause. I looked down at the crowd just incase. Nope. Wasn’t deaf. My smile slowly faded in disappointment as I realized everyone’s faces were in complete confusion, disgust or just disbelief. I frowned into one corner of my face and looked at them desperately. I searched for a face that believed in me…

but I couldn’t find one.

“...” I opened my mouth to say something and stopped, I then forced a friendly smile on my face and looked at the ground. “I...I’ll be… training…” I laughed nervously as I soared quickly out of the South Tower, over gargoyles’ heads. I almost felt like crying...but it’s not really in my nature to be sad or upset. It’s unnatural for me to get...hurt....  I sighed and smiled to myself. “...I WILL beat them!” I said to myself, gently punching my fist downwards in determination. I looked up at the sky. Still paused in darkness, but I looked at the stars instead of the dark. “I know I will!” 

The night soon was played and I sat and waited for the sun to rise, and as it did, my smile only brightened…

Even though I knew that inside I had no chance of succeeding on my own…

Then I shuddered realizing I was being a really big whoos.

***Same time - With Ana, the kidnapper and Neu***

So...tired...I thought. My eyes were red and my mind on the break of insanity...Like you are when you’re asleep. 

It seemed close to impossible until...A light. It rose slowly and soon it became dawn. The Earth was a light blue.

I sighed having made it. Soon Ana would wake up and want breakfast especially since it was September so probably 8 - 9 right now…

As if by magic! I heard rustling behind me and the sound of Neu’s wagging tail. I heard a yawn and the smell could’ve killed me. I opened my window to rid of the smell and help freshen those two up a bit. I took large breaths of oxygen. It was clean air, but a bit thinner, too. We were a bit higher than usual and deep in a mountainous forest. Soon the camper couldn’t keep hauling us up cliffy bits. Soon we’d have to walk. 

“I’m hungry, do you have any cocopops?” Immediately I stopped driving and parked. I got out and closed the door, smiled and chuckled as I walked past Ana who was looking confused through the window. Neu was excitedly wagging his tail with her. I opened their door, Neu hopped over Ana and out. She tumbled out, too. “Where are we?”

“Uhh...Somewhere.” I replied opening the boot, rummaging through backpacks, putting on a backpack almost as big as Ana. It was a grey blue, another was  the size of my back and like a rucksack - light brown. The last was a purple-red and probably the size of the average window. The rucksack had food in it. I dug out two cinnamon swirls, a sausage roll and some walnuts. I used to be a baker before kidnapping children - I still love baking to this day, which is why pastries, dairies and other “terrible carbohydrates” are mostly what I make. I passed a cinnamon swirl to Ana who’s face brightened.

“Ooooooh!!! I LIKE you!” I laughed at her tone. “Nom, nom, nom” She said as she gobbled it down. I threw the sausage roll to Neu who jumped and ran ahead with it. I started on MY cinnamon swirl - which I know as feminine small sweet things are, I loved - as I handed the purply - red bag to Ana to carry. She didn’t complain, just swung it onto her back and licked her lips.

“Why are we here? Is this near where The Nastiest stays?” She asked nervously. The way she walked was quick and stumbly. Kind of like hopping.

“Do you believe in myths?” I asked.

“I guess so.” She replied, hopping along behind me.

“So you know about dragons?” 

“Mm-hmm.” 

“That’s why we’re here.”I answered.

“For dragons?” She asked. I think she contemplated whether she was surprised or not seeing as there was a baby griffon just ahead of us galloping like an idiot through the trees. “Oh. A’right.”

I laughed again at her response. 

Author's Note

Are the transitions confusing?