Messenger Boy

I’m sitting in one of two wicker chairs outside the mausoleum, my feet propped up in the other. They’re meant for customers, but since there aren’t any, both belong to me. I stare at the stone door, wishing I could join the Boss on the Styx.

He uses the boat to run a ferry service between the living world and the dead. I guess humans view the Ether as the “dead world.” But then ask any Chimera and they would hardly consider humans to be “living.” I guess it depends on where you were born. I’d love to belong to either one.

Six months. If I judge my age based on what I remember that’s how old I am. I close my eyes, feeling the beat of my human heart, again letting it pull me into myself, hoping to find a hint of a memory from before.

I gently touch the hole in my chest, a flash instantly erupts in my mind. Cruel laughter and a woman’s sharp scream ring in my ears. A dark radiating pain starts to spread from from the edges of the hole into my chest. Deep within I can feel the red plasma, the energy of Chimera, starting to move, hungrily trying to break free. A cold overpowering fear washes over me, forcing me to open my eyes.

Your time is not borrowed. It is taken. The Boss’s words echo in my mind. The answers are there, deep inside, but so is something else. I shudder and try to push the thoughts away. I’m not ready.

I glance at my watch. It reads 2:30. I can feel a lightness take hold in my chest and my fear is slowly replaced with a welcome sense of relief. Almost time. I sigh as a nervous smile forms on my face. She’s coming soon. The glowing girl.As far as I can tell she’s a normal human, but her body is surrounded by a brilliant red and blue aura. It’s just like mine. There is no way that’s a coincidence.

Say “hi”? Challenge accepted! I’m sure the Boss meant it as a joke but I’m serious. Today is the day I make contact. Actually, yesterday was the day. And so was the day before that, going back over a month. But today, thanks to the Boss, I finally know what to do.

On cue a hawk swoops over the north wall, perching on one of Willow’s branches. It’s exactly what I need to impress her.

I grab one of the flyers the Boss made me scatter around town last week, digging in my pocket for a pen. I can’t help but laugh at the ad printed in large rainbow letters.

Boss Bartleby Cruises Summer Special! Life got you down? Why wait!? Take a trip to another world! One way trips starting at just 7 soul years! Cruises leaving from Blowing Rock. Appointments at Blowing Rock cemetery (Ichor) and the Firefox (Ether).

I smile. The ad is clearly favoring Chimera. Humans have a set amount of life energy, and according to the Boss, Chimera can live for a really long time, possibly forever. It’s no wonder that all our business is from them.

And they keep coming. In my time with the Boss he has made 27 crossings.

I turn the flyer over and write, be right back. I’m just about to sneak away when a young couple walks into the cemetery. They are both dressed in black, the woman wearing a necklace with a pentagram, the man sporting an impressive nose ring. In their hands are the flyers.

Go away. I grit my teeth and stand by the stone door on the off chance they are serious.

First they search the graves, then Willow. Finally, they walk up the steps of the Mausoleum. I’ve seen this before.

“Welcome,” I say, “One way tickets start at seven years. We have a round trip discount for 10.”

They press their hands against the stone door, ignoring me completely. It doesn’t budge.

“Let’s go, Maria,” says the guy. “It’s just a stupid joke.”

She looks at me, or rather, through me, her eyes bored and uninterested. Her face turns into an ugly sneer as she gives the door a weak kick.

“Please come again,” I say.

As they walk away, I shake my head. Completely oblivious.

I wonder about the humans sometimes. It must be hard to live without being able sense a single particle of energy. They have the ability. Every living thing does. They simply don’t use it. I think it’s their auras. Most humans give off a bland, pale blue energy that tends to block out anything too different. I guess, deep down they don’t want to see the unknown, and that means me too.

But the glowing girl might.

I place the sign in my chair and dash off before some other blind human wanders by.

“I’m back,” I say to Willow. “Did you miss me?”

I take a seat under her branches, trying to get a clear view. The hawk is bigger than I thought with light brown, almost golden feathers and intense predatory eyes. I carefully take in every feature. I need to be exact if the copy is going to be any good.

I close my eyes and push inward. It’s only seconds before it comes again; the laughter, the familiar scream. Without the pressure of a fight it always seems to rise to the surface. I spend several minutes pushing it away, continuously bringing my focus to the hawk instead. Eventually the feeling passes.

Finally, I start diving inward, drawing up my life energy. I’m ready to breathe life into my creation when a cold wind cuts into me with the bitter chill of winter even though it’s 80 degrees. My concentration wavers and the hawk vanishes.

Damnit!

The hair on my arms starts to stand on end. I’m aware of a small but growing pressure in the air around me.

From above, I hear the sound of branches cracking and twisting. I open one eye just in time to see a large, gnarled knot on the base of the tree transform into a long slender face with large green eyes.
 
 “Master Tao,” says the tree.

“How’s it shakin, Willow?”

“There is an large unknown energy moving in this direction,” she says.

“Human or Chimera?”

“Chimera. It doesn’t have a contract to stay in this world.”

“So how did it get here?” I ask.

Willows face twists into a solemn frown. “There is only one gate. Perhaps it wandered in by accident?”

It’s never happened before. And with no contract it wouldn’t last long.

She starts to stretch her branches around me, making a shield. She’s always too protective.

“There’s no need for that,” I say. “Go back to sleep. It’ll probably disappear before it gets here.”
 
 “Master Tao, I don’t think…”
 
 “Hey, if it comes, I’ll take care of it.”
 
 Willow glares at me, her branches shaking for good measure.
 
 “Very well.” She lets out a tired sigh. “But no Chimera is to be taken lightly. Call me if you need help.”
 
 I give her a deep bow of thanks. She rolls his eyes at me, face sinking into the knot. I smile. At least she trusts me.
 
 The air of the living world is poison to creatures from the other side. The Contract isn’t just some piece of paper. It’s a container of life energy that gives the user a personal shield. Without one even a powerful Chimera would only last a few minutes.
 
 I need to find it quickly. Luckily, if this one is as powerful as Willow suggests, that should be easy.

I focus on my breathing, matching it with the rhythm of my heart. With each beat I push my will into the area around me, waiting for something to push back.

Something does.
 
 It’s close and fading quickly. I can feel it moving through the back gate of the cemetery. This Chimera doesn’t feel like the families the Boss brings back. It’s far more basic. All I can sense is hunger, and not a simple need to feed either, but a vast, ever growing empty void.

The sound of a body being dragged through grass filters into my ears. I walk around Willow’s trunk and see a young man in a navy, three piece suit, sprawled on his stomach among the graves. He painstakingly drags his body along by driving his elbows into the soft dirt.
 
 He looks up at me with a youthful, square jawed face, his long blonde hair wet with sweat. But it’s his eyes that cause a cold fear to flood my stomach. They are simply two slits from which pour a rich red light. 
 
 “I’m hungry, ” he whispers. “Could you help me?” The red glow in his eyes grows brighter. At the base of his chin a small slit starts to form. It’s already begun, the transformation, a Chimera’s true form. It only happens when feeding or near death.

I know I should ask for help, but if I call Willow, she would definitely kill it. Human, Chimera, whatever the name, they’re all people. If I can, I want to save him.

“Don’t use your energy,” I say. “Try not to move.”

“The Grim! They forced me to jump!” He laughs, his head falling to the side. “They thought it would destroy me, but it brought me here instead.”

I don’t understand any of the nonsense he’s talking, but the “Grim,” whoever they are, weren’t exactly wrong.

“Don’t worry,” I say, “I’ll get you back through the gate.” I kneel down beside him and tap into my power. If I give him some of my energy he might last long enough to get back through the gate.

“Who are you?” He asks, propping himself up against a headstone. “I was following a girl earlier but you smelled even sweeter.”

An image of the glowing girl flashes through my mind. The boy falls forward into my arms. The moment he touches me, black bands of energy lash out. They latch onto my arms and I’m hit by a wave of dizziness as they start draining my life force.

“Mmmm, that’s good.” The boy smiles and grabs me. His arms work fine now. The slit spreads from his chin, all the way to the forehead. I give him a hard shove, breaking his grip.

I start backing toward Willow as he struggles to his feet. The skin of his face and neck starts to turn dark, taking on the texture of smooth black cloth. All the features disappear. No mouth. No nose. The only thing remaining are the two glowing slits. His raises his hands, gripping both sides of his face and pulling. It peels away, resting like a hood on his shoulders.

From the black void where a face once was, emerges a large grotesque beak. It’s quickly followed by a new face of emaciated black feathers and two round eyes, each burning pinpricks of red; a monstrous crow.
 
 “Stop it! I can take you back!” I scream.

The creature gives a loud cry and violently rolls forward, springing into the air, pushing off the ground with so much force I hear one of its legs crack. It barrels toward me in a blur. I’m just able to follow the beak as it searches for my neck.

The image of the hawk is the first thing to cross my mind. Instinctively, I tap into my life force, pushing my energy out with such speed I can’t help but be surprised. The hawk appears in a burst of gold, its talons grabbing the monster by the beak, pulling it off balance, sending it tumbling into a row of headstones.

It’s body smacks against a marble headstone, splitting it in half. But the creature isn’t even stunned, quickly staggering to its feet. “You smell so good,” it mummers.

My hawk dives at its face striking it between the eyes. The Chimera shrieks and swats wildly, grabbing nothing but air. Black bands of energy shoot off its arms and back. They don’t touch the bird, but somehow I can feel them drawing away bits of my life force.

It turns its head to me and leaps nearly ten feet into the air. I roll underneath it, the hawk, seeing an opening, sinks its talons into the back of the monster’s neck.

It lets out another shriek, and I’m hit by a wave of dizziness as more energy drains out of me. I can’t keep this up.

“Willow!”

Her knot spins, familiar face springing to life, eyes immediately locked on the Chimera. It only takes a second for her branches to come crashing down on the creature. She pins it to the ground where it squirms to break free.

“I can’t hold him for long, master!”

I slow my breathing and prepare to do something crazy.

Chimera attack with life energy bound to a thought, emotion, or, in desperate times, memory. Thoughts are the easiest, and the energy takes on whatever shape you imagine. Emotions are more dangerous. They’re stronger, but it’s difficult to know what the they’ll create. Memories are often the strongest, but completely unpredictable. With so many images and emotions, it’s nearly impossible to predict what will form.

I’m desperate. My mind instinctively grabs for my most powerful memory, my first memory in the living world.

I’m standing in the rain on the edge of a huge cliff, the Blowing Rock. A strong cold wind is blowing from below and I can see the glowing red ring of the gate.There is nothing from before, no understanding of how I got there.

I look down at my hands. The skin is starting to crack and split, a strange red light emerging from inside. I can feel a slit forming on my face. And then it hits me; the hunger.

The energy I need is through the gate. I can feel it, calling me to jump, to feed. Just as I start to run forward, a strong pair of hands grabs me from behind. I’m pinned to the rock, the hunger surging through me. All I know is the desperate need to feed and the fear of not understanding why.
 
 I hold this memory in my mind, letting it become sharper, feeling the pulse of emotions from that night.

A taste of my energy won’t be enough to control this.

I sink down, finding my life energy. With reckless abandon I plunge into the plasma, diving as deeply as I can. The hunger immediately surges through me, nearly overwhelming the soft energy of my human half. Just before I lose control, I pull back, stealing a large chunk of energy, driving it to the surface.

I open my eyes. The hole in my chest is pulsing with a new, raw energy.

Never use a memory. The Boss’s voice leaps into my brain. It’s good advice. There’s no telling what I’m about to create.

The Chimera forces one of Willow’s branches to the side. It slides out and charges at me. The hawk makes a final dive, but a band of the Chimera’s black energy strikes it, absorbing it instantly. There is no choice.

I throw my right arm out in front of me, opening the palm. The energy expands outward, pulling every cell in my body, a white hot intensity threatening to rip me apart. I grit my teeth and manage to pull it back in, the shock-wave collapsing in my hand. When I look down I see a gleaming katana with a blue blade.

The Chimera dives forward its beak aimed at my chest. At the same time I step back and slash down, hoping my strike gets there first.

I feel the wind from my blade. The creature stands motionless, its beak inches from my chest. A cut forms across its body, red light pouring out, the glow in its eyes slowly vanishes.

It collapses on the ground, the beak shattering into tiny pieces. The two flaps of the hood roll back into place, sealing quickly, taking on the color of human skin.

The crow is gone.

What lays in front of me is no longer a monster. The boy has returned, his eyes are pale blue now, almost like a human.
 
 “Are you Chimera?” He asks.

“I’m Tao Grey,” I say.
 
 His eyes grow wide, clearly surprised. “Malcolm Grimwald, from the house of Cain.”

“House of Cain?” I say.

He laughs, and as he does his body starts to become rigid. Cracks form in his skin, even his clothes.

“No, I guess you wouldn’t know,” he says. “I’m sorry I attacked you, Master Tao. The hunger got the best of me.” His body starts to fall apart, the pieces turning into ash quickly dissolving into the ground. “He’s coming for us all.” The last words seem to come out of the air. All that’s left is a mound of ash with a tiny red bead, glowing on top. It’s the Chimera’s heart, his essence.

“Be careful master Tao,” says Willow. “It maybe small but it has lot of energy.”

I pick it up. The instant it touches my skin a reaction starts. A large hole opens on my palm, revealing a strange network of what looks like red, stain glass crystals underneath. I can feel the power inside, the call of the hunger, asking me to feed, to claim the heart as my own.

I clench my jaw, bending the sensation to my will. I focus on my human heartbeat. Slowly, the hole closes. I let out a weary sigh and put the jewel in my pocket.

“Thanks Willow. You saved me.” A wave of dizziness hits me and I lean against her bark.

She gives me a smile, lifting one of her roots for me to sit on. “I’d say you were the one that saved us.”

“That Chimera came by itself,” I say.

“Yes. The situation must be desperate on the other side.”

Master Tao. A pang of guilt shoots through me and a small lump starts to form in my throat. That Chimera knew me, called me “master” even.

I hold up the blue blade I created. Would this be enough? Am I ready? I try to stand but an intense weariness hits me. The blade shatters, the strands of its energy entering my arm. My body slumps against Willows bark, eyes closing on their own. An image of the glowing girl, her long black hair flowing in the wind, enters my mind as sleep takes me.

Author's Note

First draft. Any and all thoughts/suggestions welcome! Say something, anything...please! (Ahhhhh!)

Reviews

[Nod]

Yo, you reviewed my work, here's mine! I read the first two chapters that are out so I'll post my thoughts here on chapter 2. This is my second review on a story/book so don't take my every word too seriously.

You have a talent for action scenes. The fighting with his mentor was vivid, fast paced (as every fight should be!) and even showed me the surrounding scenery, as opposed to info dumping me at the start. Willow turned out to be an actual character, not just a tree you decided to name, and I was pleasantly surprised. The hook for me was when the mentor mentioned a girl. There's always gotta be romance!

The grammar was good, I found only one or two mistakes. A proofread'll get rid of 'em.

Now, please bear with me while I recite some weak points of the chapters. I still need you for my chapter 1 so don't hate me please.

The action scenes were glorious, but the main character ruined it for me. His constant "I'm not done yet" "I'm just warming up!" "Mada mada!(that one was a joke)" and similar excuses were done countless other times(especially in anime), and didn't portray his personality. I couldn't find myself sympathising with him even after I found out about his backstory, and, in fact, his past made him seem less like an actual person and more like a chosen one. The thing with characters without memories is that they can't help but feel plain, and if they don't act like the shallow people that they are, you can only justify their actions by saying "they lost their memories, but not their personality". Either way it's cliche and alienating for me at least.

Next is his mentor. Though the old wise old man can be seen in most other fantasy books, he was your most likable character. He had the most diversity, but you didn't give him enough attention and foreshadowed that he will die. I know it's only the second chapter, but you described the first villain better than him.

The second chapter was better, we got a glimpse of the mc's motives, that he wants to live on one of the two worlds and possibly interact with people. His childlike deamanor when thinking about the girl showed just how starved he is for social connections.

But then, why isn't he perturbed when he kills (for the first time?) one of the few people who can see him? Honestly, I thought the second action scene was boring. I knew the protagonist wouldn't die, and didn't know much about the other guy to care for him. What I mean is, the stakes weren't high, there was nothing to make the heart pound. And then there was the classic exhausted after battle scene change.

If you're reading this and already want to kill me I'm really sorry, especially after you reviewed my prologue and gave me motivation to keep writing. Note that you don't have to change anything that I listed off. Your style is good and I can tell you've got something planned the future chapters. I will keep reading your work and try to give my honest review so please keep going.

Cheers.

[JE_Platypus]

Thanks for the review. It's so hard to judge my work in a vacuum and it's great to get a little third person perspective. I'll definitely keep your comments in mind. I think you were right, Tao didn't have enough personality and I've already started reworking the first chapter (But that's a first draft I guess. Getting to know my characters). I'm very happy for the honest feedback and I will certainly put it to good use!