Authors Note: Ive spent four chapters trying to build a world and I know in that time I've lost many of you. I think the world is built now, the board is set. This is the best chapter so far.

Just to a quick synopsis: It's 1994, ASHTON is a 20 year old college student in a small town. His best friend, GARRETT is a geek who is interested in esoteric knowledge and magic. At a party they met MARIE, 24 and JESS, 20. MARIE was looking for people she might recruit to her circle.

After the party a local loser, RICK, holds a satantic ritual to curse a local preacher. MARIE pulls ASHTON from the ritual and he has a weird vision. It's hinted that something happened, but no one seems to remember it.

A few days later on a date MARIE reveals that she can sense things about people and she knows that ASHTON can sense things about objects. They both have "THE SHINING" to borrow from S.K. Oh and also Marie's a lesbian. She wants ASHTON to come to her house.

Finally we find that GARRETT is drawing closer to RICK, who has invited GARRETT to join his hardcore perverted D&D game. Drugs are taken.

Chapter 5 - The Babydoll
Ashton

Ashton pulled his Dodge Neon out of the driveway and down the street. It was a big step up from his first car, a 1986 Chevette his Uncle sold him for $500. Sure he got some flack from people for driving a chick car, but it was a great deal, and he didn’t need a truck, most guys didn’t either if you thought about it.

That was the kind of thing that Ashton thought about.

He drove past the practice yard where 50 high school freshmen were sweating their asses off getting ready for football. Their bodies looked so small with those giant helmets and shoulder pads. At a stop sign he saw a small boy get plastered into the grass by a much larger one. Everyone stood around laughing for a few seconds before they finally helped him off the ground.

Ashton and Garrett had been two of a handful of boys who didn’t play football their Freshman year. Since they didn’t do a sport they were put in a regular PE class instead of sports PE and the only one was mostly Juniors and Seniors. Ashton remembered taking a punch in the face when he stood up to a Senior named Able Wilson who was giving his friend Kyle a hard time about a volleyball score. Kyle and Garrett had disappeared, Ashton held his ground, took the hit and stood there, too scared to run away and too scared to punch back.

Able was always trying to recruit people to join the klan. Said his grandpa was a grand dragon or something.

Able was a county deputy now.

Ashton continued on past the field, on the far end the cheerleaders were practicing, pom poms, kicks, short skirts. “Big Dogs, Little Dogs!” Ashton heard the cheer through his window and rolled his eyes. How do they smile like that? He thought.

He rolled through town up to Main street, past the shiny murals, and through the revitalized downtown. A tour bus was in the city parking lot, and older folks milled about. He noticed several leaving the new antique and gift shops that filled the store fronts of what used to be, “Book Cellar, Main Street Fashion, Parker’s Drugs, and Broadway Records, those are just the ones he remembered from childhood.

Ashton saw the people all waiting to get back on the bus. No shopping bags, no one had bought anything. Garrett was probably right, how many people would keep coming here, and what did it matter if they were just window shopping anyway?

He parked at the Salvation Army Store, and rolled his eyes. I can’t believe she asked me to do this.

Twenty minutes later he arrived at Marie’s house. He was a few minutes late, two cars were already in the driveway. He very strongly considered driving on by, but parked and walked up.

The narrow, two-story farmhouse was white at one time, but more grey now, the paint peeling in long curls. The ruins of an old barn were out back. Piles of old black wood collapsed under its own weight. There were a couple sheds, a chicken coop, an old truck up on blocks.

Several raised beds filled the front yard, a wide range of plants that looked nothing like the flowers Ashton’s grandmother planted. Bundles of dried herbs hung from the porch, off to the side a small tree filled with hanging cobalt blue bottles. .

Jess opened the door for him, behind her he saw clean wooden floors, candles and well worn furniture. The house felt warm and inviting, but Jess looked annoyed. She was wearing a loose peasant dress, her hair was pulled up in a messy bun. Ashton smiled. “Sorry I’m late.”

Jess rolled her eyes. “Did you get it?”

Ashton lifted the plastic shopping bag and she snatched it. She pulled out an old slightly beat up baby doll, a stained prefold cloth diaper with nursery duck print, a receiving blanket and a clear plastic baby bottle. “These will work, good job.”

Ashton threw his hands up, “Work? Are we baby sitting or something? You know how stupid I felt buying that stuff?”

Jess put her finger to her mouth. “Shh, don’t be loud.”

Ashton nodded. “Okay but I have questions. What’s that for? Where’s Marie? What the hell is going on?”

“Marie’s with the clients,” Jess said as she looked him up and down and frowned. “You look like you’re going to a rock concert, not assisting a faith healing.”

“Is that what this is? I seriously have no clue what’s going on?” Ashton said.

Jess smiled. “OK, fine, come on.” She took his hand and dragged him out to her Toyota Tercel, opened up her back door and rummaged through waded up McDonalds bags, tennis equipment and clothes. She tossed him an off-white ribbed tank top.

“What?”

“Black is entirely the wrong energy for this. Take off your Pink Floyd shirt and put that on, we need to look natural, you know, not like stoners?”

Ashton lifted the garment up in front of him. “It’s a women’s tanktop?”

“Dude, fucking relax, it’s a tanktop. Just put it on.”

Ashton turned away from her, lifted the black shirt over his head, and pulled her tank over his shoulders. Ashton hadn’t worn a tank top since he was a kid, he hated the way they showed his body.

He turned around and lifted his palms. “Is that good?”

Jess started leading them back into the house. “Looks great, now listen. This wasn’t what Marie had planned for today, but you have to roll with it you know. Follow her lead, act like you know what’s going on. Just be cool.”

Once back in the front room she pointed towards an open doorway. “They’re in the kitchen, I’ll be down in a bit.” She dashed up the steps.

Ashton nervously walked into the kitchen. At the large round table Marie sat casually talking with a youngish couple.

“OK excellent, Donna, Kevin, this is Ashton. He is studying with me, and he is going to assist today,” Marie said. Ashton nodded like this all made sense. It’s just acting, I can act, he thought.

“Ashton, Kevin and Donna have been struggling with infertility for seven years of marriage. They’ve suffered and can’t afford to see fertility doctors. They reached out to me for help.”

Ashton nodded again and took a moment to study the two clients. They were typical Mud Creek people. Kevin had rough hands, a Farm Services Co-op hat, flannel shirt, worn work jeans. Donna, was slightly overweight, blond, might have been homecoming queen runner-up in 1982. They didn’t look like the kind of people who would go for a spiritual healing, but more than anything they looked desperate.

Donna spoke, “Hi Ashton, thank you for coming.” Kevin looked uncomfortable.

Ashton suddenly had a terrible idea, were they about to fleece these people?

“Please sit down Ashton,” Marie said. They all took hands and Marie began to lead a prayer.

"In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost. I ask Saint Gerard, who watched over mothers, to watch over this one. I ask Saint Anne, who waited long for her own child, to wait with Donna now. What is closed will open. What is stopped will be moved. What is owed, I'll carry it myself if I have to."

At that last line Ashton felt Marie’s hand tighten, he could feel energy stirring. Marie lit a bundle of herbs on a glass plate in the center of the table. She motioned for Ashton to stand. She handed him a wooden bucket.

“Fill this from the well out back,” Marie said pointing towards a door leading behind the house. Ashton nodded. And stepped out.

Throw the bucket down and get the hell out of here.

He spoke to himself as he approached the well. “Any sane person would. Any sane person wouldn’t be here.” But the old rusted pump intrigued him and he wanted to try it. The long handle squeaked and in a few pumps water gushed out. He filled the bucket and returned inside.

Marie took the bucket and dropped some herbs in. She took a seat next to Donna. She held two brown eggs in her hand.

“Before we go any farther, I have to tell you. There are no guarantees. The working will have true power, if you both open yourself to it. Belief is the ultimate power. I’m taking a risk helping you. Do you understand?”

Donna looked at Kevin, and he nodded. “Yes, we understand,” Kevin said.

“This is called an egg cleanse, the egg will absorb the negative energies from your body, the water will reveal them.” Marie began rubbing the egg on Donna’s body like she was scrubbing a dirty pot.

“Ashton would you begin the process with Kevin?”

Ashton nodded, tried to remain calm and took the egg she handed him. He copied her technique. Kevin closed his eyes, Ashton could feel him dying inside, but he played his part. Donna and Kevin were asked to stand and the egg rubbing continued.

Eventually Jess entered the kitchen and was asked to recite prayers during the process. Jess filled two simple glass mixing bowls with water from the bucket. Marie cracked the eggs and poured them to flow into the bowl.

“Ahh yes, Ashton, you see, you see that gap there?” He nodded enthusiastically. Jess, Ashton and Marie huddled together for several minutes while Marie discussed various shapes of egg yolk.

Kevin’s chair slid back abruptly and he stood up, “Allright, honey, can we go? This is stupid.”

“Donna, how much do you drink?” Marie asked.

“Umm, I… I just…” Donna stammered.

“What the hell did you ask that for? We have a few drinks now and again, not that often. It’s none of your business” Kevin said.

Marie walked over and sat down near Donna and took her hand. “It’s important you tell the truth, do you drink every day?”

Donna shed a tear and nodded and turned to her husband. “I drink almost everyday while you’re at work.”

Kevin sat down, “Wait what.”

“I have been for years now, not alot, just a few drinks, help the day go by,” Donna said and turned to Marie. “I’m a nurse aide, I work nights. You could tell I… from the egg.”

“Yes,” Marie said. She turned to Kevin. He was looking at his wife in disbelief. “Kevin, you have a poison affecting your body. Do you work with poisons?”

Kevin shook his head, “No, I work at the Co-op.”

“What do you do there?”

“I handle chemicals, work on the silos, and maintenance.”

“Chemicals that kill pests, weeds, bugs? Do you spray those chemicals in the silo?”

“Yeah, sometimes.”

Marie turned and looked at Jess and then Ashton. Then turned back to Donna and Kevin. “If you want to have a baby then there are two things you must do. Donna, you must stop drinking, completely. And Kevin, you can’t work with chemicals anymore.”

He shook his head, “But that’s my job.”

Marie gave him a sad smile. “You’ll have to find another. The chemicals you work with are poisons for your body. And Donna, the alcohol is poison to you.”

Donna nodded. Kevin sat in silence.

“Now there’s one other thing,” Marie said and turned to Jess. “Do you have them?”

“Yes,” Jess said and took a bundle she’d left in the living room and sat on the table. The stuff Ashton had bought wrapped in the baby blanket.

“Donna, these items are from a mother who was blessed with great fertility. She donated them to me to give to a woman like you. Jess has been praying over them and blessed them. There is a tradition found in many cultures for a woman wishing to be a mother to carry the representation of a baby and items needed to care for that baby.

Kevin and Donna’s eyes were wide as they watched Marie take the objects and lay them out in front of them. “This may sound stupid, but take this baby and these items everywhere you go, carry with you, the more open you carry it, the more power it has.”

Ashton watched in disbelief as Jess took the doll in her arms. She had roughed it up, wrote on it with a magic marker, cut it’s hair and damaged its dress. Jess held it like it was real then passed it to the woman, who took it and held it like a real baby. Ashton was certain a film crew would bust in any minute to tell them they were on candid camera.

“I can’t take it to work,” Donna said.

“Take it in your bag, check on it on your breaks, sleep with it in your bed. It should be the first thing you see when you wake up,” Marie explained.

Marie took a pair of kitchen scissors and cut the receiving blanket into three strips then knotted the strips together. “Tie this around a tree in your front yard. As it rots the poisons in your body will rot with it and leave you. In time you may be blessed with a child.

She gave Donna a packet of herbs and taught her to make tea from them. Donna and Kevin stood in the living room, Donna holding the doll like it was a real infant and Kevin standing there with the cloth diaper and baby bottle in his hands.

“What do we owe you?” he asked.

Marie smiled, “That remains to be seen doesn’t it? My assistants have traveled here today at their own cost, perhaps something for them?”

Kevin nodded and took out his wallet. He gave Ashton and Jess both twenty dollar bills. He took another one and held it out to Marie.

“I cannot take your money, it is against my tradition. But perhaps there is something you could trade?”

Kevin looked around and saw a small stack of firewood. “Do you use a fireplace in winter? I could come out with my saw, cut down some trees back there and stack up some firewood for you. Maybe clean up some of that brush back there?”

Marie smiled, “That would be very kind of you.”

The three of them saw Kevin and Donna to their car, The summer sun beat down on Ashton’s bare shoulders and he remembered he was wearing a tank top, a women’s tank top.

The moment the car pulled down the driveway he turned to the women. “What the hell is going on?”

“I’m going to go pick tomatoes,” Jess said and shot off behind the house.

Marie went back on her front porch and sat in her swing, motioning for Ashton to follow.

“How? I thought you were trying to fleece them, you know, like some kind of scam, but you didn’t even ask for anything?”

Marie smiled, “Oh but I did. Firewood doesn't cut itself, and if they have a baby I will ask for even more. That couple will be in our debt.”

Ashton threw his hands up. “But, how? How did you know? And the egg thing, that was bullshit right?”

Marie placed a hand on his shoulder, “Was it though,” she said and then looked across her yard. “I told you I know things about people. Just like you know things about objects.”

Ashton got up and paced, “Okay, can you explain what just happened though. More importantly why did you invite me?”

Marie nodded, “Back in Louisianna my grandmother was something called a traiteuse, it’s creole, from the past. She was a folk healer. She was supposed to pass the knowledge to my Dad, but he wasn’t interested in the past. So she broke the rules and taught me. That’s when I learned about my… talent. Since then I’ve travelled, studied and expanded things a bit.”

Ashton sat back down on the swing. “Allright, so you’re like a voodoo faith healer, What does that have to do with me?”

Marie shook her head, “It’s not voodoo, its rooted in Catholicism and the natives that lived there.” Marie grabbed Ashton’s arm, “Listen, when I sent you to the Salvation Army store, and you looked at all the dolls they had, why did you pick that one?”

Ashton shrugged, “I don’t know, I just picked it?”

Marie looked him in the eyes, “Tell the truth.”

Ashton felt something shift, he took a deep breath. “It – it was lonely, it had been part of a big family I guess, been passed down.”

Marie smiled, “I would imagine that diaper you picked out was the same, all of it.” She looked down at her feet and her voice was lower. “I didn’t send you for those items by chance. It would have made more sense for Jess to get them.”

Ashton didn’t respond but he pulled back from her slightly. “Was it a test? Are you trying to humiliate me, what?”

Marie looked up, Ashton was slightly taller, “When you were little a baby cousin came into your extended family. You felt jealousy at Christmas. She got dolls and you got a football.”

“Wait..” Ashton said but Marie cut him off.

“As she got older you wanted to babysit her. When no one was around you sang little songs to her, but you were embarrassed. Boys don’t babysit.”

Ashton stood up, he took a few steps back. His mouth hung open. No one, not one person in the world knows this about him.

“You’re crazy, I don’t know what you’re talking about?” the words came out too high, too sharp.

Marie stood up. “I’m sorry, I’ll never tell anyone, I promise. I wish I didn’t know this. I tried not to listen, but with you it's so loud that I can’t ignore it.”

“I sang to my baby cousin, that doesn’t make me a freak. Anyone could have done that.” Ashton dashed down the steps towards his car.

“Wait,” Marie rushed down the stairs following him.

“You’re a con artist, you don’t know a thing about me,” Ashton said as he grabbed his door handle.

Marie touched his shoulder again. “I know you’re wearing Jess’s top, and you wish you were wearing her dress.”

Ashton turned back towards her, his face melted. He furrowed his brow and spit out in anger, “I’m not a freak.”

Marie grabbed him and hugged him tight.

“You’re not a freak,” she said and squeezed him tight. “You’re not a fag, your not a boy who wants to wear a dress and play with dolls. You’re a girl. You’ve known it your whole life and it’s crushing you.”

The world grew silent and was distilled down to the embrace. Marie knew everything about her, things that Ashton wouldn’t even admit to herself. A warm feeling spread from her chest into her arms and down into her legs. She returned the hug and cried, then she sobbed like a child. Years of feeling completely and utterly alone, like a prisoner in her own life. Making deals with herself, with God, with anything to feel normal.

For the first time in her life she was feeling with her own arms, and being felt. She knew that she needed to get away, that what she was doing wasn’t safe. Her muscles were tense, knotting, fighting between pulling closer and pushing Marie away. Marie rubbed her back and whispered to her, “You're okay, you're going to be okay.”

Eventually she was. “I have to go,” she said.

Marie nodded. She dropped her arms to her side. “Call me. When you’re ready.” she said after Ashton opened her door and sat down. She wiped her eyes and drove off.

Authors Note: First chapters are hard, I often can't determine if I like a book enough to continue it until I'm a quarter of the way through. The first chapter of Yesterday, Today, wasn't exactly a hit, based on some of the feedback I received. Which I really appreciate by the way. Right now everything I'm writing comes from slightly exaggerated and dramatized memories from my real life. I know some of you didn't like the gratuitous cursing. My best friend in high school couldn't speak around us without prefacing every phrase with a fuck'n. One day my girlfriend finally called him out for it and humbled him for it. That inspired me to open Chapter 2 like this. If it hadn't been for that feedback I wouldn't have remember that story. Thanks!

So, I ask you to give it a second try. See if you start to connect to Ashton a bit, because they are going to have a wild ride.

-Love!
Sarah

Chapter 2 The Ritual
Ashton

Ashton glanced behind him. Marie and Jess in the back seat were whispering back and forth. Beside him Garrett followed the red lights stretching out in front of him on County Road 8. He had a mischievous grin. "Fucking hell, can you believe this shit. We're going to this dumbass pothead's ritual," Garrett said.

"Could you stop cursing please?" Marie said.

Garrett laughed, "What, have you got sensitive ears?"

"Stop being an ass," Jess said.

"He really can't help it, he is an ass," Ashton said.

Marie straightened her back and spoke clearly over the Jeep's engine. "I actually do have sensitive ears, but let me ask you, what's the point of that language? Who are you trying to impress?"

Garrett laughed but was nervous. Ashton could see his friend's bravado shaken. "It's just how I talk."

"Is that how you talk to your grandmother?" Marie asked.

Garrett rolled his eyes. "No, of course not. Look, sorry. Are you really religious or something?"

Marie's lips formed a slight grin. "You could say that. Apology accepted, thank you."

For a few minutes the Jeep's cab was filled with the sound of wind and tires on chipseal back roads, then Garrett turned to Ashton. "Okay dude, I've got a question. You were fu— freaking weird back there. The whole jacket pocket thing. What was up with that?"

It took Ashton a moment to settle on an answer. "I don't know," he said, which was true enough. "I just saw it. The outline of it through the fabric."

"You just saw it."

"The pocket was tight. You could see the shape if you looked."

Garrett glanced at him sideways. "Nobody else saw it."

Ashton shrugged. "Nobody else was looking."

From the back seat Marie said, quietly, almost to herself, "That's interesting."

It was interesting, and this wasn't the first time either. The first time he remembered he was like 13. He was in his backyard and he just looked over and somehow knew that the watch that had fallen off his arm was in a certain clump of grass. He walked over and there it was.

There was no rhyme or reason to it, just sometimes he'd get a feeling like he knew where something was.

Ashton turned around. Marie was appraising him. He felt the back of his neck go warm and turned back to face the road.

"So what's this guy, Rick's actual deal," Jess asked. "Like why does he think he can do magic?"

Garrett seemed relieved to have something to talk about. "Rick's a freak. He moved here in his 20s or something. Me and Ashton knew him from The Tower, the comic shop, before he got fired. He sold us Magic cards sometimes. He's this strange mix of burnout hippie and satanic occultist. He's basically been doing amateur rituals in his backyard since like 1988."

"Has anything ever worked?" Marie asked.

Garrett opened his mouth and then closed it. Ashton watched the hesitation happen in real time, his friend's face contorted in the yellow glow of the dashboard.

"The Cindy Gibbons thing you mentioned early," Ashton said.

"Yeah, that was weird," Garrett said.

"What's the Cindy Gibbons thing exactly? Jess asked.

Garrett exhaled. "Girl that came into Subway for lunch a lot. Rick had a thing for her, didn't know she already had a boyfriend. She shot him down, kinda hard."

"In her defense, he's like 8 years older than her, and a freak," Ashton said.

"Yeah, that's true," Garrett said. "He did some stupid spell at Subway on his lunch break. Two weeks later she caught her super religious boyfriend cheating on her with a prostitute."

"Mud Creek has prostitutes?" Jess asked.

Garrett laughed. "No, she was from like Evansville or something, but get this. She was a he. A chick with a dick."

Ashton grimaced. Why did his best friend have to be so damn crude.

"Wow, creepy," Jess said.

The Jeep got quiet again. Outside, the flat farmland gave way to scrubby tree line as the road started to rise slightly and snaked between farmland and hills towards the bluff.

"What happened to him?" Marie asked. "With the comic shop."

Garrett's jaw tightened slightly. "Hall found out people were buying weird porn comics from the shop. Like really freaky stuff. Hall organized a picket. Church members standing outside with signs, called the local paper, the whole thing. The owner panicked and started clearing inventory. Rick was the one who'd been ordering the adult titles, so he was the one who got let go." He shrugged. "Rick's never really had much. That job was kind of his thing."

The trees closed in on both sides of the road now. Up ahead, other sets of headlights were pulling off onto a gravel road. Garrett made the turn and the crunch of gravel could be heard under their wheels.

Garrett eyed Marie through his mirror. "Hey Marie, your accent, is that like Alabama?"

Marie smiled, "Close, Lousianna."

Ashton turned back towards her. "So how'd you end up in Southern Illinois?"

Marie smiled and tilted her head. "Well, I traveled for a while. I spent some time with the Rainbow people, and last year we camped in the Shawnee National Forest for two weeks. I decided to stay. I found a job at the video store, that's where I made friends with Jess."

Garrett laughed. "Rainbow people? Dang, now that's out there."

They crossed a small bridge and in a few moments the road dived into the woods between two hills. Summer dust from the road made the red lights in front of them glow.

"Why are we going?" Ashton asked. He wasn't sure if he was asking Garrett or the car in general.

"Free entertainment," Jess said.

"Curiosity," Garrett said, and Ashton could tell from his tone he wasn't entirely joking.

From the back, Marie said nothing. When Ashton glanced back at her she was looking out the window at the dark tree line. She didn't seem to be here for entertainment.

The gravel pull-off for the trail was already full, so Garrett parked along the road. He opened up his glovebox and got two flashlights out. The group had gathered around Rick on the edge of the trail.

"If you have a flashlight in your car, go get it. I have a few in my bag," Rick said, seemingly taking his role as ritual organizer seriously. In a few moments they were walking down the well-worn dirt trail. The air was heavy with the sound of bullfrogs and crickets. Pale yellow beams cast out, illuminating stray branches and spiderwebs. Ashton could feel the exhilaration.

"Guys, this is like something from a movie," he said quietly.

"Yeah, a movie where every one of us gets systematically murdered by a psychopath," Garrett said with a chuckle.

"You are such an asshole," Jess said.

There were about three people to every flashlight, but the moon was full so it wasn't difficult to stay on the trail. Marie walked along beside Ashton; they fell back a bit from Jess and Garrett. She glanced over at him with a warm smile.

"So, your friend Garrett? He's interesting."

Ashton smiled. "Yeah, I know he can kind of come off like a jerk, but he's a good dude."

Marie nodded. "He's trying hard to project that he's not, but I think you're right. So he's curious about the unknown, isn't he?"

Ashton pushed a branch out of their way. "Yeah, he's been kind of obsessed with it since high school, but he acts like it's a joke. He doesn't really believe it, I'm sure."

Marie drew in slightly closer. "And neither do you?"

Ashton smiled. "What, are you going to tell me you're a witch?"

Marie's eyes grew wide and her smile betrayed her.

"Wait, you are a witch? Or like a Wiccan?"

Marie giggled. "Don't be silly. Magic is make-believe." She grew quiet, and the smile slid off her face. "But that doesn't mean there aren't things out there we can't always explain."

Ashton smiled, and realized she wasn't joking. "Oh, yeah. There are… mysteries I guess."

"Yes."

They walked in silence for a moment. Ashton considered mysteries and then decided to get to the bottom of the one in front of him. "You're not from here, are you?"

Marie smiled and stepped over a root. "No, I moved here recently."

Ashton laughed. "So really, why would anyone move to Mud Creek?"

Marie looked up at the moon for a moment and continued. "There are some unique things about this area, especially this forest. There are places in it that are very old, places where you can feel the past, you know."

Ashton nodded.

"My Grandmother was really into… the past. Like she taught me about listening. I think she would have liked it here."

“I’ve been here once when the Rainbow People were here. What was it like, living with them?”

Marie smiled, “Liberating at first, you own nothing, and it seems like everyone is equal.” She shook her head. “But then some man is telling you to climb into another dumpster. And another man won’t stop looking at you. It was just a different name for the same patriarchy.”

Marie stretched her hands out in front of her."Now let me ask you something. The paper in the jacket, did you see it or feel it?"

Ashton looked over at her with his mouth ajar; his foot caught a root and he nearly tripped.

"Careful back there, chief," Garrett yelled from up ahead.

"I could see it, the shape of it, through the fabric."

"Hmm," she said, like his mom used to say when she knew he hadn't done his chores. He felt drawn to trust her, to tell her the truth about things. Things he could feel, things he knew.

He didn't, not yet at least. But why did he want to open up to this woman he barely knew?

The trail dipped down, and then the trees broke and they stepped onto the stone. Ashton had been to Hart's a few times, back with his family as a kid, and just last year, but he'd never been here in the dark. A cracked and broken stone shelf extended out hundreds of feet to the right and left of them. At the edge, a sheer drop of 75 feet could possibly be broken by trees that were only a few feet below the bluff. A few small lights could be seen out in the distance, farms way out on the county road.

The full moon was high behind them, and Ashton glanced out at the dark green treetops extending out until they met the blackness of the sky, and thought of being at the ocean. A stone circle filled with half-burned wood and beer cans was the ground in front of them.

A cluster was forming around Rick near the firepit. Twelve people, half of them drunk or stoned, had made the trip out and were waiting for Rick to take command. He dropped his green backpack on the rocks and checked his digital Casio watch. "OK folks, 23 minutes to midnight. Turn off flashlights and leave them off. Stay away from the edge. We're working with real power tonight, people."

It might have been the moon, but a current was running through the group and Rick was surfing the feelings. Ashton began to see how crackpot leaders could influence people to drink the Kool-Aid.

Rick got down to one knee and pulled a coffee can out of his backpack. From inside he took out a bundle of herbs wrapped in brown paper and spread them out. "Sage to create the ritual space," he said. Then he set five sticks of incense out like the points of a star. "Dragon's blood, to stir powers underneath."

Marie suppressed a laugh. "What?" Ashton whispered beside her.

"This is more head shop than ritual," she whispered back.

Rick then took out a stick of chalk and began drawing a diagram of lines and symbols, surrounded by a circle, on the rocks around him. He checked his notebook and muttered about cardinal directions, inverted serifs, anagrams, and gathering energy.

Ashton noticed that Marie's attention kept drifting towards the edge. Eventually she drifted away from the group towards it. Ashton watched her standing there bathed in moonlight, the way her peasant skirt draped from her hips. He caught himself running a hand down to his own hips.

Ashton wandered over and stood next to Marie. "What a view."

"This place, it feels… angry," Marie said. She looked at Ashton. "Can you feel it?"

"Angry?"

"Down there." Marie pointed below. "Close your eyes. Listen."

Ashton did. It was quiet. He felt nothing, but then he felt it. The way his mother glared when the coal company men walked into his dad's funeral. Pure, smoldering hate.

Ashton took a step back. "Umm."

"Let's get away from the edge," Marie said, and they rejoined the back of the group, watching Rick scrawl like a madman.

"Is this, like, real?" Ashton whispered. He meant it as a joke, mostly. Jess heard and drew close to listen.

Marie considered her answer a moment. "He believes. That could be enough."

Rick stood tall and brushed chalk dust off his hands. He began counting heads, counting himself last. "Twelve. I need nine. Form a circle, hold hands," he commanded.

Garrett turned back and looked at them. He was grinning like a kid in a candy store. Marie and Jess pulled back. Garrett let himself be pulled into the circle.

Rick bent down and lit the bundle of herbs in the center of the circle. He then turned around the circle, stopping at five points, and read some Latin from his notebook.

Rick turned the page of his notebook and began to read. His voice carried over the overlook.

"We are gathered here together to take revenge on one whose hate and malice has stirred in us a greater hate, a greater malice. Jacob Hall, a minister of the other order. He shirks his duties to his flock and instead spends his time bringing suffering to those whose beliefs he does not respect. We humbly ask you, oh Sal’iesh, bringer of pain, to inflict on him suffering akin to the suffering which he has brought upon us."

Ashton glanced to his right. Garrett was looking forward, enraptured. To his left it was the same with Jake. He felt cold. This was wrong. He wanted to drop the hands, and get away, but he couldn't force himself to break the circle.

Suddenly the moonlight dimmed as clouds rolled over it. The wind picked up seemingly from nowhere. A howl came up from the overlook as the wind whipped through the trees.

Rick was sweating, his body like a conduit, conducting the nervous energy the circle was feeding him into his performance. He lowered himself down and came up with the sport coat and held it high above the circle.

"You will know Jacob Hall from this, a coat bearing the man's name and personal effects," Rick said. He read some Latin phrases, then dropped the coat on the ground and began to stomp it. Then he poured a vial of vile-smelling clear liquid on it and torched it with his lighter.

Flames danced off the cloth and he began to jump on it. The wind grew stronger. There was something happening. A noise, a howling, an angry, ear-shattering noise. Ashton felt the hands he was holding squeeze harder. The sky was filled with color, green, red. There was no moon. There was something coming, something really, really, really pissed off.

"Let go!" Marie's voice rose above the chaos. The clear sound of it shook away his fear and he let go of the people around him. He felt hands on his shoulders and was tugged backward, tripped, and fell down, taking Marie with him.

Stone came up and their heads smacked together. Marie was still holding his shoulders, and in a split second the world inverted. Ashton could see them from outside his body. Illuminated by flickering flames, Ashton could see it all — the circle quickly reforming, fog creeping up from below the overlook, surrounding the circle of figures in their black robes. And in the middle of it all, a man with a long beard and goat horns, dancing on hooves in a circle. Then he saw three lithe figures with long hair and white robes that glowed in the moonshadow. He could see their faces. He could almost make them out.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ashton saw Marie's face. She looked concerned. People milled about; cigarettes were being lit. Rick was packing up his stuff. Flashlights came on.

"I'm… I'm…" Ashton didn't know who they were.

Garrett was kneeling down near him. "Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?" Garrett's middle finger came up in Ashton's face and his lips formed a grin.

"I hate you," Ashton said with a smile as the world came back into focus. The middle finger became a hand and Ashton took it. His friend pulled him back to his feet and he dusted off his jeans.

"What happened?"

Marie met his eyes. "You got dizzy. Too much smoke probably. You fell back on top of me."

He knew it was a lie, but before he could question it Marie said, "You're alright. Everyone's leaving."

Ashton nodded and followed the group back in silence.

Chapter 3 The Date
Marie

Warm golden light spilled through the green plaid curtains as Marie slowly opened her eyes. She tried to turn but was tangled up in sheets. She felt James bite her toes before jumping off the bed and scampering down the stairs. The woman next to her stirred and images from the preceding night carouseled through Marie's mind.

"Good morning, June," she whispered. The body next to her stirred and then rolled over a bit.

Marie untangled herself and slipped out of bed, gingerly walking across the room on her long legs. She picked up a yellow dress off her old wicker chair and slid it over her head, then tied her hair up in a messy loose bun, before making her way down the steep, creaking stairs of her farmhouse.

"Alright, James, I'm coming," she said when the cat started dancing around her feet. Marie made her way to the kitchen and prepared a bowl of food for James, then started a pot of coffee for herself.

Marie put her hands on her hips and looked around her kitchen, the favorite part of her old farmhouse. It was filled with old natural wood that she had spent days cleaning and refinishing. Contrasting against the orange wood grain were at least a dozen plants, some hanging, others on windowsills.

"Okay, gang, who's thirsty?" Marie said to the room. She filled up a watering can with a long spout and made her way around, watering the pothos, spider plant, snake plant, and various other species. Every one was a shining example of a healthy plant. She went out to her back door and filled a much larger can from the cistern on her back porch to water the elevated planter filled with herbs.

Still barefoot, she followed the worn path from her back steps to the chicken coop.

"Good morning, girls," Marie said with a grin. She stepped into the enclosure and collected four eggs. "Thank you, Bertha," she said with a laugh.

Marie was frying the eggs in a cast iron pan when June came down all sleepy-eyed and struggling with the steep stairs. "Coffee?" she asked.

"In the pot, you know where the mugs are," Marie said as she flipped an egg. "Sleep well?"

The older woman made a beeline for the coffee pot and poured a cup. "Yeah, I was exhausted."

Marie laughed. "Yes, I imagine you were. Before you sit down, would you mind collecting some chives from out back? There are scissors there on the kitchen table."

"Umm, chives?" June asked.

Marie smiled and looked back. "Long skinny plant, just cut a few pieces off and bring them in here, please."

June nodded and went outside. Marie chuckled — that woman is fifteen years older than me and can't identify a chive.

June was fun, but that was the extent of it. She was a middle-aged closeted lesbian whose husband often traveled for work. She said it was an open secret that he cheated on her, so she didn't feel bad about her infidelity. Marie said she didn't care, but if he ever turned up at her house looking for June, he'd be greeted with the barrel of her rifle. June made a face and laughed like it was a joke until Marie showed her said rifle. She didn't mention she hadn't shot it since high school.

They met at the video store. When June returned "Desert Hearts," Marie made the calculated bet and simply said, "Did you enjoy that?" A few hours later they were having coffee in a corner booth at John's Cafe.

June came back in with the chives. Marie chopped them up and handed her a plate of eggs and toast.

Marie took June's hand across the table, bowed her head, and said, "Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts. Thank you for this beautiful day. To my beautiful hen Bertha, thank you for the eggs. Thank you, ground, for the chives and the honey and all what's coming up. We eat what you give and we give back what we owe." She tapped the table twice with her free knuckle and picked up her fork.

When she opened her eyes June was looking at her with a grin. "What?" Marie asked with a laugh.

"What was that? I mean, I spent a lot of time in Sunday school, and I don't remember anything about praising the ground and tapping the table."

Marie took a bite. "It's just something my grandmother did. She was really into folklore."

"Back in the bayou?" June asked, taking a bite. "Oh wow, that's good!"

"Yep. Acadiana. Lafayette."

They continued eating and between bites June asked, "This place is incredible, how do you keep it going all by yourself?"

Marie smiled coyly. "Well, that's simple — my lovers all do chores. After breakfast we need to go tend to the beehives."

June glanced at the honey she was about to pour on her toast from the small crock. "Oh, ummm."

"Don't worry, it won't take long. I have to go to work soon anyway," Marie said.

"Okay," June said, fear in her eyes.

***

Marie felt it before she saw him. It was kind of like familiarity, but also like a compass needle. She glanced to her left and saw the back of Ashton browsing a wall of VHS tapes. She immediately felt the same uneasy feeling she'd felt when she first saw him, standing there apologizing after kicking over that table, and now complicated by that ritual. It was funny — Marie had probably seen this guy a dozen times in the last year, but until Friday night he was just another random customer. Now he was on her radar. But what was he?

There was only one way to find out.

"Sorry, it's always checked out."

Ashton quickly spun around in his Led Zeppelin T-shirt with the box for Clerks in his hand. "Oh… hey, Marie, right?" he said.

"Yep, we have fifty copies of Mrs. Doubtfire and one copy of Clerks. Go figure."

Ashton set the box back on the shelf. "Yeah, I've seen that one, pretty funny. The guys at The Tower keep talking about how off the rails this movie is. They were like, 'It's like we all got together and made a movie about the dumb shit we're always talking about.'"

Marie nodded. "Yeah, that's what I heard. I told the boss we should get another copy, but they never listen. So where's your friend?"

"Garrett? He's working tonight over at the One Stop."

Marie smiled. "How about you, working anywhere?"

Ashton stood up taller, his pride obvious. "Oh yeah, been working since I was thirteen actually — had a paper route, and now I stock shelves at Bub's."

Marie chuckled. "Paperboy! I can just picture you cruising around on your bike, with your bag, slinging the news."

Ashton smiled, shaking his head. "It was serious business. People relied on me for the news!"

"Okay, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to pull some strings — I'll put a hold on Clerks for you and call when it comes back in." She bit her lip. She knew she was taking a risk, but she couldn't help it.

"Maybe if you like…" Marie started walking along the wall of movies, her eyes reading the titles as they panned by. Ashton followed behind. "Interesting films, you'd like. Ah-ha." She picked up a black and white box that featured a woman with a smoking gun on the cover. "Have you seen this?"

Ashton took the box, and there it was — a flicker of stillness that spoke volumes. "The Crying Game? Umm. I don't think so. But I know the joke."

Marie smiled. "Everyone knows the joke, but hardly anybody actually watched it. It's actually a very good movie."

Ashton set the box back on the shelf. "Yeah, the guys said—" Ashton crossed his arms and took a deep breath and looked around. "I'm not into gay shit."

Marie thought for a moment she'd overplayed her hand. "Whoa, buddy, I never said you were. This is a really good movie for people with the intelligence to look past the shock value. It's got action, intrigue, romance." She pointed over to a poster of Jim Carrey's face. "The guys are why we have twenty copies of that bullshit, and one copy of Clerks."

Ashton laughed. "I can't stand that guy. Yeah, Fire Marshal Bill for three minutes is funny, but a whole movie of that crap? Okay, it's a good movie." He picked up the box and turned it around.

"If you don't like it I'll rent you something else." Ashton nodded and picked up the clear plastic VHS box. Now Marie had one more card to play. "So are you watching that today?"

Ashton shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I didn't have anything going on."

She bit her lip again. "I get off at nine. You want to meet up for supper? John's Cafe? You can give me your review?"

"I umm, umm," Ashton stuttered and took a tiny step back.

"Relax, this isn't a date or anything, just wanted to talk about the movie, and the other night actually. But if you have a girlfriend it might be a bad idea."

"I don't… I'm not seeing anyone." He took a step closer. "The other night?" Ashton asked.

"Yeah, there's some… loose threads that need knotting."

Ashton smiled. "All right, sounds good." He followed Marie up to the counter. Some kids parked their bikes and went stomping back to the video game room, screaming about Super Metroid.

Marie handed him the tape. "Okay, see you a little after nine." Ashton smiled and started to walk out. "Oh, don't forget — be kind and rewind."

***

John's had always been open late; in fact it was barely ever closed. The Sunday 9 p.m. crowd was light, and Marie had no problem spotting Ashton in a corner booth with a Coke. The fake 50s poodle-skirt vibe was gone this time of night. Fuzzy country music played through 70s speakers mounted to the walls, and cigarette smoke wafted over from the smoking section.

"Hey," Marie said as she sat down. She had changed out of her yellow Circus Video shirt and now wore a fitted tank top.

Ashton smiled. "Hey, glad you could make it."

Marie rolled her eyes and smiled. "I invited you. Anyway, what did you think?"

Ashton sat forward in the booth. "It was a fantastic movie, amazing performances, cinematography was outstanding." Ashton laughed. "Okay, I wish I could understand them better — sometimes the accents were thick, and I didn't know much about the IRA and all that, so it was very interesting."

A waitress came by and dropped a menu. "What can I get you to drink?"

"What the hell — Coke, grilled cheese, side salad, and a big plate of fries," Marie said, handing back the menu.

"I'll take a burger and fries," Ashton said. Once the waitress was gone, Ashton asked, "Are you a vegetarian?"

Marie smiled. "Oh, no. Why? Because I ordered a salad?"

"You're like a hippie chick, you know?"

Marie laughed out loud. "Hippie chick? Yeah, I guess I can see that. I promise I don't have strong feelings about the Grateful Dead. But listen — how did you feel about the movie? The big secret?"

Ashton tilted his head. "It was really dramatic — I mean, I guess. I had heard — Fergus seemed very real, like I could see his arc." Ashton paused and took a breath. "The way she said…"

Marie leaned in closer. "Said what?"

"After he hit her, she said, 'I can take it.' That was…"

"Well, what do we have here?" Ashton and Marie looked up to see Rick and Jake walking up. There was an odd moment, like it took an extra half second for his smile to appear. He pushed his thick tinted glasses down the bridge of his nose and looked at them. "So, um… sorry I was stoned the other night. Remind me of your names."

"I'm Garrett's friend, Ashton."

Rick let out a goofy laugh. "Ash, Evil Dead, right." He leaned down closer to Marie. "And the young lady?"

Marie felt physically repulsed and drew back a bit. "Marie." Rick was close enough that she could read the small print on all the threadworn patches sewn to his jean vest. Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, KISS, Metallica.

"Marie, how beautiful," Rick said in a cheesy French accent. Jake laughed.

"Dude, can you stop being so lame," Jake said.

"Ahh, oui oui, monsieur, lame? Moi? Mais non!" Rick turned back to Ashton and Marie. "So how's it been going?"

Marie wrinkled her nose. On the surface it all seemed real, but to her it felt staged, like they were playing characters of themselves. "Fine," Marie said.

Rick nodded and turned to Ashton. "So, Ash, the other night — you fell down kind of hard, didn't you? You okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, just tripped I guess," he said.

"Yeah. Tripped." Rick stood up tall and looked around. "So where's your other friend, Jess?"

Marie smiled. "You remembered her name, and forgot ours?"

Rick seemed to blank for a microsecond, then the smile returned. "Hey, THC levels, babe. Who knows what gets stuck in my gourd and what floats by."

"Our food is coming," Ashton said.

"Please excuse us. Have a good night, girls," Rick said with a big smile and started walking off.

Ashton scowled. "Girls?"

"Relax, dog, just messing with you. You're cool!" Rick said over his shoulder. They took a booth on the opposite side of the restaurant, in the smoking section.

Marie visibly relaxed after their plates were set in front of them. "Okay, that was weird."

"He called me a girl?" Ashton said, mock-wounded, but Marie could tell he was covering up with a joke he didn't feel at all.

She smiled. "Relax, dog, you're cool. But I wanted to talk to you about something. Do you remember, during his dumbass ritual — do you remember what really happened?"

Ashton bit into his burger. "I… I know I didn't just fall. You grabbed me, didn't you?"

Marie nodded. "You know how you knew the note was in the jacket pocket? I know things sometimes too. But usually about people, not objects."

Ashton's eyes opened wide. "I'm not sure I follow."

Marie shook her head. "Yeah, I know. I just want you to know." She pulled a fry off her plate and didn't eat it, just turned it over in her fingers, examining it.

Ashton crossed his arms. "Okay then. What do you know about me?"

"I knew I had to pull you out of that circle," Marie said, and finally ate the fry.

Ashton took a deep breath and shrugged. "Okay, what the hell. After you pulled me, when I fell — I saw something like a vision. Like I was seeing what a bird flying by would see. There was a devil dancing in a circle of black-robed people, and across from them, three people in white robes. But I felt it — evil, and more than anything, hate."

Marie nodded but didn't say anything. She took a few bites while Ashton watched her, and eventually he threw up his hands. "Are you going to say anything?"

"A few of us get together at my house sometimes and do things." She saw Ashton's face open with surprise.

Marie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "It's not an orgy, knucklehead. It's not weird… well, okay, it's a little weird, but I think you'd fit in." She watched him turn it over in thought, the same way she'd turned the fry over. "No pressure, but if you want to understand more about the things I think you already guess about yourself, this would be a good place to start."

Ashton didn't answer right away. Across the restaurant, Rick's laugh cracked out too loud, and Jake's laugh came a half-second behind it, like it was catching up.

"Yeah," Ashton finally said. "Maybe."

Authors Note: This chapter contains harsh language, and insensitive young people. It also has drug use, D&D, and a form of sexual abuse I suppose, though imaginary. Just be warned. I'll put more thoughts at the end.

Chapter 4 D&D
Garrett

The first thing that hit him was the smell. Jake’s basement smelled like smoke and beer. Ashton’s basement was more like an old must. Garrett stepped through the beaded curtain into a small room, painted black and decorated with glowing posters of mushrooms, and a very large Frank Frazetta poster of a barbarian warrior with a nude woman bound on her knees at his feet.

“Damn,” Garrett said, staring in awe at the 24x36 inch paper.

“Hot Damn,” Rick replied and slapped him on the back.

“Welcome to the WFG,” Jake said and cracked open a beer. Rick put a cold one in Garrett’s hand and he smiled. This was not like playing D&D with Ashton’s group.

“Thanks for the invite guys,” Garrett said and opened his beer. He sat purple Crown Royal dice bag and binder on the table. A very overweight redhead man with a baby face slid it over a few spots. “That’s Cain’s seat,” he said.

Garrett put up his hands, “Sorry man.”

Rick slapped the guy on the back of the head, “Be nice to the new guy fat ass.”

“Fuck off,” the the red head said.

“Hey fuck face, language,” Jake said. “Dale is very sensitive where his boyfriend Cain sits.”

A tall blonde guy with a goatee wearing a western style duster walked in and slid into the chair by Dale. Garrett smiled, the wolf fang game was kind of legendary. These guys had been playing D&D together since the 8th grade. On the tenth anniversary of their group Jake had bought everyone a wolf fang necklace.

Getting invited to even sit in for a game was a big deal, and becoming a regular was like being Geek royalty in Mud Creek. Rick had been a regular for a few years now.

Jake took some time to set up his area then took a long moment to study Garrett. “OK new guy, what are you thinking? Fighter?”

Garrett studied the blank character sheet in front of him for a second. “I was actually thinking of something a bit more interesting. Mage?”

“Yeah man, Kyle’s not here,” Rick said. “We need a mage for that job, you know.”

Everyone seemed to agree so Garrett started rolling up Nicodemus Arkais, 3rd level wizard.

Jake smiled, “OK hitpoints, lets roll.”

Garrett frowned, “Roll? We usually just take the full die.”

Dale laughed out loud. Cain patted him on the shoulder, “You’re not in Kansas anymore, in this game we roll.”

Garrett shook the 4 sided die in his hands. “Can I reroll 1s?”

“No,” Rick said.

Garrett rolled for the precious life points that would keep Nicodemus alive, he ended up with nine. He could be killed with one lucky hit. But that was the risk a player took when running a wizard. He’d have to be smart.

“So what classes do you guys run?” Garrett asked.

“Oh, I’m a Paladin,” Rick said.

“I’m a zero level human,” Cain said with a laugh.

“Oh, yeah,” Garrett laughed.

Jake shuffled some papers and was laying out some maps from his folder. “Look man, this isn’t that kind of game.”

“Yeah, Dale doesn’t walk around with 4th level faggot floating above his head. It took us years of work to figure that out.” Rick said.

Dale rolled his eyes, “Don’t listen to that bitch, despite his wildest dreams I’m not gay.”

“We don’t usually do this but I’m giving you the knock spell in your spell book for free,” Jake said.

Garrett nodded, “Cool.”

Jake went on to fill him in on the setting, they were in a Kingdom called Jericus. It was ruled by oppressive god-king and oversaw by his priests, The brothers of Sammus. The party was currently in the small provincial city of Blacktower on the border of the Eastern Waste. As usual the game opened in a tavern.

Nicodemus was quickly hired by the party to help them with a job. It was established that he was new in town. Rick’s character was named Pius the Brave, he wore the White garments of Chalice, the God of Sacrifice. “You must understand Nicodemus, I would not normally condone breaking and entering, but the scoundrel took my sister hostage. Besides that he is a corrupt tax collector.”

Garrett smiled. “Why don’t you report him to the magistrate if he has taken your sister?” Garrett asked in a very poor British accent.

There were laughs around the table, Cain’s character, a fighter named Red, spoke, “You sure we want this fool Brother Pius?”

Rick smiled. “He is new here, he doesn’t know that the magistrate is corrupt, as is the town guard. We would be thrown in irons. No, we must do this alone, but once we’ve rescued my sister and found evidence of his crime we will then report him to the magistrate. He will face justice.”

“Oh guys, I’ve got a surprise for us.” Rick took his army green backpack in his lap and reached in, he pulled out a clear plastic sleeve that covered a rainbow colored piece of paper. He took out the paper and tore off small squares.

“Oh, fuck year,” Cain said as he took a little square of paper and put it his mouth.

Garrett felt his stomach knot. “Is that acid?”

Rick smiled and handed him a square, Garrett looked at the tiny rainbow mushroom. “Yeah, LSD man, it really enhances the game. Just hold it under your tongue man.”

Garrett watched everyone put the paper in their mouths. Enhancing the game sounded pretty cool. People had told him they’d taken acid and nothing happened. He put the paper under his tongue.

Back in the game Nicodemus was sold, and over the next half hour they broke into Minton’s estate by way of the sewers. They fought some kobolds. Then inside Milton’s walls Nicodemus cast sleep on some guards. Cain, Dale and Rick incapacitated them, then they continued deeper into the manor.

So many things were different at this table. Notes were constantly being passed to the DM and between players. Jake took players aside a few times. Dice were being rolled all the time and Garrett had no idea for what.

Eventually they came to the magically locked door that he was hired to crack, he used his knock spell. Dale’s character slunk in, apparently he was a thief. Some notes were passed between him and the DM. Eventually he came back to the door and waved everyone in. Dale, Cain, and RIck were filling bags with gold, silver and documents. A man laid in bed, his bedding stained crimson from the blood spilling around his neck.

“Wait, where’s your sister?” Nicodemus asked, forgoing the cheesy accent.

Cain tossed him a bag. “Keep your bloody mouth shut, and fill this.”

Nicodemus threw the bag back at him, “You lied to me, we just murdered and robbed that man.”

Pius came over, “Nicodemus no, it’s not like that. Roll for an attack. I backhand him.” Rick calmly said and rolled at 17.

“Hit. Nicodemus, Pius’ blow does 4 damage, you are spun around and fall to your knees,” Jake announced.

Rick smiled, he spoke in a different voice. “Listen here you sad little measlite. I ain’t no Paladin, but I’ll tell you what you are. You’re an outlaw, like us. You just aided and abetted the murder of Pius the Brave, the brother of Clarence the Righteous, who just happens to be the Governor of Blackwater. I got half a mind to run you through and leave you here for the guard to find. Or you can make yourself useful and grab some loot.”

Garrett was stunned, this was not the way his D&D games were played. He had no spells, and no choice. “I wipe the blood out of my mouth and start filling the bag.”

They made their escape back through the sewers and stashed the loot at a safe house, then Rick took them to a place called “The Rusted Nail” to celebrate. It was an underground tavern, a place where the misfits and outlaws of the city gathered. The rushes on the floor hadn’t been changed in ages. The damp straw was filled with the refuse of this rancid place, it had soaked up a season of spilled ale, drunken laughter and tears. Nicodemus felt something crawling over his feet as they made their way to a corner table. The wenches were barely dressed, a half-elf woman in a loincloth on a leash was forced to dance on the bar. Her body moved sensually but her eyes showed nothing, like empty windows to a dead soul.

Garrett began forming a plan to rescue her and lead her to a better world, then he remembered he was in a different game. Then he noticed the beer can on the table was the wrong color, it was too white, the blue logo wasn’t blue. He looked around at everyone’s faces, they were the same, the dice spread out on the table glowing like radioactive jewels. Nothing was right. There were candles lit, all around them flames, they didn’t flicker so much as breath like little creatures made of pure energy and light. He watched them with his mouth hanging open for a minute.

“I think he’s starting to feel it,” Cain said and giggled.

Jake laughed, then said, “A barmaid approaches your table, she’s a lusty ruined wench, her cleavage spilling out of a laced bodice.” Jake’s voice rose an octave. “Ahh, bloody hell, it’s Malachi and his merry band of do-nothings. Have you coin tonight?”

“Hold your tongue wench, we have coin, and Nicodemus here has joined us.” Rick said. He turned to Garrett. “Sasha, here, she’s gonna take good care of us, her special, Moldy bowls, are known to return a weary adventurer to health and vigor.

Five minutes later all four of them were severed with tankards of ale and a bowl covered in a weird slime. Nicodemus looked around, trying to find a way to escape.

“Lick your bowl, slug,” Red said as he picked up his dirty wooden bowl and took a lick.

“It really is good for you,” Malcahi said and licked his. Dale’s thief licked his as well.

Garrett was getting confused, did he lick the bowl? Is that why everything was weird? Is that why the dice on the table glowed? Rick was turning red. He was getting scared. Nicodemus needed to get the hell out of here.

Jake made a series of rolls, “Five minutes pass, you all drink your ale and slowly the bar begins to take on new colors.”

“It already did my man,” Cain said dreamily.

The half elf woman had stopped dancing hours ago, she was sitting in Garrett’s lap. Rick had grown horns, he had a funny goatee. The rushes on the floor, no it’s thick shag carpet, and it was moving, they were in the ocean. They were on fire. They were water. They were lava. You had to stay at the table, or you’d be burned to death.

They were on a ship at sea, lower passage, lower decks. The smell, the horror. They were in chains. Everyone found it funny, they were laughing.

Jake was snapping his fingers in front of Garrett’s face. “Dude, bro, are you crying.” Jake's mouth moved but the words came from behind him, echoing off the bulkhead too low.

“OK, so Nicodemus, you failed your last saving throw, everything turns black. Close your eyes,” Jack said with a laugh. “What do you guys do?”

RIck smiled, his horns grew longer, Garrett shut his eyes hoping this nightmare would end, “I go to the bar and ask to talk to Lindsey,” Rick said.

Jake smiled. ‘OK you’re led to the backroom and Lindsey is sitting behind his desk, his great bulk straining the chair. What do you want, Malachai.”

“I’ve got a patsy, at my table, he couldn’t handle a bowl. You want to buy him?”

Jake seemed to think it over. “Lindsey closed the account book at his desk and put away his quill. What do I need with another street urchin?”

“Ahh, this one is no street urchin, an idiot yes, but a spellcaster. He could be useful.” Rick said in Malachi’s voice.

Jake rolled then spoke, “How much?”

Rick put his palms on the table and bent forward, “Nothing, just a name, a way in to the Governor. The son of a bitch has my sister.”

Lindsey stroked his chin, “Ahh, perhaps we can make a deal. I have a wench, Esmerellda. She is contracted to go to the Governor's Spring Folly. The last girl I sent came back… ruined.”

Rick’s smile couldn’t have gotten deeper. “Do you still have that cursed girdle?”

The fat man laughed, his eyes glowed, “I like the way you think Malachai.”

Garrett, or was it Nicodemus now? Listened to this. Despite his eyes being closed the words danced around his vision.

“Nicodemus, open your eyes,” Jake said.

Nicodemus slowly opened them.

“You are laying in dirty straw on the floor. You can tell your body is different. You’re smaller, your skin is different, and you got big boobs. You have a dirty loincloth on and around your waist is a thick gold belt with shimmering jewels. A slave collar is bolted around your neck and it’s chained to a hook. So basically you’re a slave wench now.”

Garrett got dizzy and put his head down while everyone laughed. “Welcome to the Wolf Fang,” Jake said between laughs.

Authors Note: So, let me tell you where this chapter come from. I played D&D with friends where we'd go on adventures, kill bandits and monsters stuff like that. Around the time I was 18 I got in a game like this one. The players seemed to be playing against each other as much as the environment. They kept as much hidden from the other players as possible, no one knew for sure what each player was, their stats, or anything like that. That game is where the Moldy bowl came from. After the adventure the two new characters were drugged and robbed of all the loot from the adventure. Of course I also remember hearing stories about the "Girdle of feminiity/masculinity" from older players. Including one who had been playing with the same group for 10 years. Everyone in the group wore a wolf's fang.

Oh yeah LSD. I've never taken it. I don't use drugs or drink, but I knew alot of people who did. One guy told me he took acid before playing because it made the game alot more interesting, he said sometimes it feels like I am my character. Didn't seem like a healthy thing to do to me.

Authors Note: I think you'll get it from the prose, but this story begins on Sunday morning around 10:30AM. Then immediately goes back to fill in events from the previous week. I really enjoyed writing this.

Chapter 6 “The Crash”
Ashton

Ashton looked out the passenger window of Marie’s 80s Volvo wagon because she couldn’t look at Marie.

“I’m sorry, Ashton, I’m not trying to push you into anything, it’s not like that. I just want you to see that you’re not alone,” Marie said.

Ashton kept her eyes out the window. “Maybe I like being alone, maybe I liked not having someone know everything about me.” The words came out harsh and defensive.

“Okay, I get it. I promise you, I wasn’t trying to, like, spy on you. It’s just you were so—What in the world?” Marie hit the brake hard, and Ashton looked forward. They were rounding a corner on the highway. Turned over off the road was a white bus laying on its side. It had scared the earth where it had slid. There were small trees twisted and broken where the bus had plowed through them. A truck was on the shoulder across the highway. A large man was waving for them to stop.

Ashton was close enough now to read the back door of the bus. “Harvest Chapel?” he said.

Marie parked. The emergency room on the side of the bus swung open and arms pushed back until it fell over against the side of the bus. A man started climbing out, his arms and face covered with blood.

***

Three days earlier, Ashton was sitting in McDonalds with a Big Mac meal and still smelling rosemary and petechial from Marie’s house. Garrett walked in and swung one of the mismatched chairs around backwards to straddle. “Sup Dawg?” he said.

“Dude, could you please realize you’re not a rapper,” Ashton replied and took a sip from her coke.

“I’ll be right back, man,” Garrett said. Ashton nodded. Sh e’d never felt annoyance when his friends called her, dawg, dude, man, bro. Why was it bothering her now? It’s not a big deal.

A few minutes later Garrett slid into the seat with an extra value meal and smiled, “What have you been up to all week, man. How’d your date with Marie go? I called, but you never answered?”

Ashton looked aside, and she took a moment to respond. It hadn’t really been a date, had it? It was close enough for her. “It was fine, I went to her house on Tuesday.”

Garrett’s eyes bugged out, “Dude, she invited you over? Fuck yeah, man. You tapped that right?”

Ashton blushed. “I… Come on, man, we just met.”

Garrett idly took a bite of his cheeseburger. “Sure, sure, but you know, older woman, prime of her life. I’m so proud of you, bro.”

Ashton looked serious. She didn’t have these kinds of conversations. Especially now. “Look, it’s… I think she might be bi, or a lesbian.” Ashton realized that maybe for the first time in her life she spoke those words.

Garrett scratched his chin. “Yeah, that checks out. I’ve heard a few rumors about Jess too. You know, she’s never had a boyfriend. But it doesn’t matter, a lot of chicks are like that. They’ll get busy with another girl if they are horny.”

Ashton frowned, sure Garrett was her best friend, but he could be an asshole. “Oh yeah, what do they say about me?” she asked.

“Huh,” Garrett grinned, “Seriously?”

Ashton nodded and idly took a bite of a fry. “Sure, we’re talking about people behind their backs, what do people say behind my back?”

“All right,” Garret said and leaned back in his chair. “People ask me, is your friend gay? Of course I tell them you’re a rock solid hetero, kind of the romantic type, waiting for the right lady to sweep you off your feet.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Ashton said.

Garrett put his chair back on the ground and leaned in closer. “It’s true, right? I mean you do want to get with Marie, or maybe Jess?”

Ashton blushed, she did right? I mean, she was so excited for what she thought was a date. “Yeah, sure.”

Garrett finished chewing, and then a big smile appeared on his face. “Oh dude, I forgot to tell you, this is crazy. I got invited to the Wolf Fang Game. I played with them Friday night.”

“Wait, what? With Rick, and Jake?”

Garrett smiled, “Yeah, it’s crazy the way they play D&D. I mean it’s nothing like what we do. These guys have been running the same characters for a couple years now. I have no idea what levels they are on. Hell, I don’t even know what class they are. Half the time when they want to take an action, they write it on a note and pass it to the DM. They’re after each other as much as they’re after the monsters and shit.”

Ashton scratched her head. “I can’t really imagine playing that way, like how do you even get anything done?”

Garrett checked his watch. “Yeah the pace is a bit slow, lots of note passing. But dude, get this, So I roll this mage. They trick me into helping them assassinate someone, then they sell my character to a guy who owns a brothel, and he turns my character into a freaking prostitute.”

Ashton shook his head in surprise, “What the hell? Was your character a girl?”

“Hell no man, the brothel guy put a girdle of masculinity/feminity on him. I’m playing a fucking tranny, can you beleive that shit.”

Ashton looked around, while they had been talking, an older woman had sat down to eat a few seats behind them. Her face was a mask of annoyance and disappointment. Ashton got to her feet.

Tranny? There it is, a word Ashton had heard dozens of times, only now it felt real. Sure, Ashton knew there were men who dressed like women, actors did it for laughs. There were lame TV shows, hell it was even in Shakespear. She was also vaguely aware that men dressed like women for sexual reasons, either to get off or get people off, and some of them did it for money. Ashton felt cold.

“I gotta go man,” Ashton announced. She walked up close to Garrett and nodded towards the old lady, “I think you’re ticking her off.”

Garrett said an exaggerated sorry, then followed Ashton out, “Hey Friday night, I’m going to be playing with the Wolf Gang?”

Ashton turned around, “Oh, thought we were on, I’ve invited the others?”

Garrett shrugged, “Sorry man, I don’t think they are going to make me a regular or anything, so I’ll be back, but it’s a Wolf Fang man. How do I turn them down?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Ashton said and walked off.

***

The Friday night crowd at Circus Video was hopping, Ashton walked in and saw Marie behind the counter and almost turned around. She glanced back and waved. Ashton waved and wandered around the store. She didn’t even look at the classic and art section and walked over to comedy.

A few minutes later she was facing Marie. She smiled and then worked the keyboard in front of her and scanned the barcode on the plastic box. “Wayne’s World,” a classic.

Ashton nodded, “Yeah, I’m not in a thinking mood right now. Party on.” she said.

Marie laughed, “Party on Garth. Hey, got a few minutes?”

Ashton checked her watch, “Ahh, well.”

Marie turned to the overweight guy manning the rewind machine behind her. “Hey Larry, watch the counter for me. I’m going to take a break.” Larry grumbled, and a moment later Ashton was following Marie out to her car, a dirty Volvo station wagon.

Ashton ran her finger over the hood, leaving a line of clean paint showing. “Wow, never really seen a Volvo before.”

“Yeah, good car, I lived in it for a while. No reason to keep it clean when you live on a dirt road.” Marie opened up her door and sat down. “Get in.” Ashton dropped in the dusty and fragrant car, a sprig of mixed herbs hung from the mirror.

“More witchcraft?” Ashton said, pointing at the herbs.

Marie smiled, “Just some nice smells, lavender, mint, some lemon balm.” She reached into the console and pulled out a little tin with a joint and lighter. She lit the joint and took a drag before offering it to Ashton. She cranked the window, but the car filled with the unmistakable odor of cannabis.

“Want a smoke?”

Ashton felt nervous and a strong need to get out of the car but held still. “Nahh, all good.”

“So…”

“So…”

Marie snuffed out the joint and stashed it back in the box. “Are you doing okay?”

“No,” Ashton said. Marie put her hand on Ashton’s shoulder.

Ashton looked into her eyes. “Do you know what’s going to happen to me? Like with your power or whatever?”

Marie shook her head. “No, it’s not like that. If it’s any consolation right now, you’re not as loud as you used to be. That’s probably a good sign.”

“What does that mean?”

“It just means that you’re not hiding as much now.”

A blonde wearing very short jean shorts and a crop top and a redhead in a pair of baggy bib overalls walked by the car. Ashton’s attention settled on the girl with overalls. That would be me, she thought.

A moment later she twisted in the car seat, suddenly regretting not taking a drag of the weed, “I don’t want to be a tranny.”

Marie scrunched her face. “A tranny?”

Ashton felt herself growing angry. “Well? What then? You told me I was a girl. I’ve got a dick Marie. Last I checked, girls don’t have those. I don’t want to end up some cracked out tranny whore.

Marie put her hands on Ashton’s shoulders and drew in close. “Listen to me, you’re not a tranny and you’re not a whore. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” She took her hands off Ashton’s shoulders and put her key in the ignition to check the clock.

Ashton glanced at her big ugly shoes. “Why did you have to tell me this?”

“I didn’t tell you anything you didn’t know. Ash… Do you mind if I call you that?”

Ashton nodded. “I… It sounds nice.”

“Ash, do you think people want to become cracked out whores?”

Ashton rolled her eyes. “No, I guess not.”

“Imagine you were born in a different place, with different parents. Like, with totally different circumstances. I don’t know what your future is going to be. You could grow your hair out, live anywhere, or stay here, get married to that redhead.”

Ashton blushed and smiled.

“I’ve got to go back to work, but listen, Sunday morning I’ve got to go to Makanda and pick up some stuff. Do you want to come with me?”

“Okay, yeah, why not.”

“Great,” Marie gave herself a quick spritz from a tinybottle, and the car took on the scent of a headshop. They got out and hugged. “Ash, your whole life you’ve been told there’s one way to live, but I promise you there are many ways to live.”

“Like being a girl who likes girls?” Ash asked with a crooked grin as Marie started back to the video store.

“Exactly.”

***

Marie laughed. “Okay, I thought I knew the basic premise of the game, but the other players turned Garrett’s character into a woman and sold her into slavery. Seriously, these guys need to get laid.”

The Volvo sped down a winding 2 lane highway that cut between old and new strip mines. The sun was creeping over the trees and Beck’s “Loser” played quietly on the radio.

“Yeah, listen to this. They played again Friday night, apparently they pimped her out to get into some castle or something. Anyway, after the game Rick, Jake, and Garrett went out to Harvest Chapel. Rick did some kind of ritual so the bus wouldn’t start. I seriously think these guys are losing their minds,” Ashton explained and then took another bite of her poptart.

Marie didn’t seem to find that funny, “Wait… what happened exactly, what did they do.”

“I dunno really, he just said a ritual, like the other night I guess out of Hart’s Bluff. Like he prayed for the bus to not start or break down or something.”

Marie frowned and turned the radio down. “Ash, we both know that there are things in the world we can’t explain. My Grandmother taught me what she knew, and it was all rooted in Christian faith.”

“I don’t think they teach that egg thing at seminary,” Ashton interrupted.

“Yeah, I expanded on her teachings, but the fundamentals are the same. This thing with Rick, I think he woke something up. Something old and evil.”

The air changed in the car, Ashton squeezed a little too hard and broke the poptart. “What are you doing, like with Jess, and me. I mean, what’s the goal?”

Marie focused on a series of tight turns in front of her before finally answering. “There are rules, Ash—like as part of the tradition. My Grandmother broke the rules when she taught me instead of my father. Then I broke the rules when I came out to them as gay. I broke them again when I dropped out of college and started wandering. The tradition states that the firstborn teaches their firstborn and only their firstborn. I’m not planning on having a firstborn, and I’ve broken so many rules already… I want to share what I have learned with others. I just don’t want to see it die.”

Ashton looked out the window and watched the long shadows cross over the barren dirt of the strip cuts, then turned to face Marie. “You want me to break the rules too?”

“I just want you to know you can be yourself.”

They continued on in silence for some time, taking a progressively smaller series of roads until they arrived at a small house. A nicely hand-painted sign declared this to be Synthias Exotics. An older woman with broad shoulders and flowing grey hair exited a greenhouse around back. She greeted Marie at the car.

“I know I’m a few months late, but happy birthday,” Marie said and handed the woman a gift bag. She grinned fiercely and pulled out a Macrame shawl. “Oh my word, it’s beautiful.” She wrapped it over her shoulders.

The woman turned her attention toward Ashton and pushed her small metal glasses up her nose. She was wearing a well worn, neutral blue tiered dress that laced up at the bodice. The shawl’s delicate knots made the perfect accompaniment to her dress. It reminded Ashton of something Stevie Nicks would wear. “You’ve brought a friend?”

“This is Ashton, they are perhaps going to learn the tradition,” Marie said.

The woman casually wiped her hands on her dress’ skirt and reached out for a handshake. “I’m Synthia, welcome.”

Over the next hour Ashton trailed behind them through the greenhouse, then the raised beds and garden rows around it. She listened to them talk about plants the way her Dad and his friends talked about mining—all jargon that went over her head.

“The bloodroot came back?” Synthia asked, pinching a stem between her fingers.

“Late I thought we lost it after the freeze.”

“Come on, girl, I told you, layer up that mulch. I’ve got comfrey if you need a starter.”

They discussed treating a woman in Cobden with a rash that wouldn’t clear. A boy in Jonesboro with night terrors. Synthia showed a new strain of valerian she’d been cultivating. “Stronger sedative, less bitter.” Marie bent down to smell the leaves and nodded.

Ashton’s attention drifted to a row of small glass jars on a shelf, each labeled in cramped handwriting. “Those are for finishing work,” Synthia said simply.

Soon Ashton was loading paper grocery stacks of plants, cuttings, and special mulch into the back of Marie’s station wagon.

Marie and Synthia said their goodbyes and hugged. Synthia then took Ashton in a deep embrace, “You’re in good hands, Ashton.”

They drove for a long time before Ashton finally broke the silence. “Synthia is very tall.”

“Yes, she is.”

Ashton lowered her face down. “She’s a man, isn’t she. Or I mean, she was born a man?”

“She's a woman, I don't know how she was born.”

“I thought you knew things about people,” Ashton grumbled.

Marie glanced over with a kind smile. “I only know things people are trying to hide, things people feel guilty about.”

It felt like an accusation. Ashton rolled the window down, “And I glow like a fucking lightbulb.”

“You did. but you’re much dimmer now. I’m sorry Ashton, I’m not trying to push you into anything, it’s not like that. I just want you to see that you’re not alone,” Marie said.

Ashton kept her eyes out the window. “Maybe I liked being alone, maybe I liked not having someone know everything about me.” The words came out harsh and defensive.

“Okay, I get it. I promise you, I wasn’t trying to like, spy on you, it’s just you were so… Marie braked hard as they came up on the stark white church bus laid on its side like a discarded toy. She quickly parked. The emergency door on the side of the bus, now facing the sky, swung up and hands pushed it back until it fell over against the side of the bus with a thump. A man started climbing out, his arms and face covered with blood.

Marie was out of the car and running towards the bus. Ashton got out and the large man in farmer’s overalls yelled for her. “We need to call 911.”

“Ash, come on, help me!” Marie yelled.

Ashton ran over and braced her hands together. Marie could use them to get up on the side of the bus. She carefully walked over to where the man was trying to pull himself out of the emergency exit. She got low and gave him a hand.

The man got on his hands and knees, and looked up at Marie with tears in his eyes. “I don’t know what happened, it wouldn’t stop.

“Can you help get people out?” Marie asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” he answered.

“Ash, back of the car, there is a first aid kit, and my bag, oh and a towel,” Married yelled down.

‘On it!” Ashton said and dashed back. Another car was pulling off the road and then a luxury sedan pulled onto the shoulder. A man in a business suit rolled the window down and brandished his car phone. I’m calling 911.”

The bus driver lowered himself back down and Marie followed him. Inside the bus was chaos: groaning, bleeding, crying, confusion. A sideways wheelchair with a crumpled body. She raised herself back up out of the emergency window.

Ashton tossed up the kit and the towels. A man lowered himself down into the bus. “Are you a nurse or something?” he asked.

“Yeah I’ve got some first aid training. Okay, let’s triage. You guys help the people who can get out, I’ll see to those who can’t,” Marie said as she opened up her first aid kit and set it on the floor which was now the opposite side of the bus. She slung her macrame bag over her shoulder. As more people gathered at the scene, Ashton and the guy in the suit climbed up to help people out of the emergency hatch.

Inside the bus the man yelled, “If you can walk I’ll help you get out.” A few people started moving towards him and with the bus driver’s help he started lifting them up. Ashton and the guy in the suit were there to pull them out. More good Samaritans were nearby to help them down from the side of the bus.

Marie made her way to the overturned wheelchair, the body underneath it wasn’t breathing, she touched the wold woman’s shoulder and said a quick word of prayer then moved on. Next an old man with a jagged bleeding wound in his leg, she gave him a compress and directions to hold steady pressure.

Next a groaning woman, ‘My neck,” she moaned.

Stay still, Can you move your fingers, feel your feet?” Good, it’s not broken. She stabilized the old woman’s neck. She heard sirens approaching.

The next seat revealed horror. A woman bent and broken like a rag doll, a child crying over her body and a baby in an overturned carrier, a little blueish foot sticking out from under it. The woman wasn’t moving. Marie picked up the 4 year old. He had been thrown around but seemed okay. She handed him to the man behind her and turned the baby carrier over.

The baby girl strapped inside wasn’t breathing right, she was turning blue. Marie tried CPR, but it wasn’t working. The baby was going to die. She carefully took her from her carrier. She reached into her bag and found an oil she was holding for something just like this. She opened it and doused the child quickly. She pulled out a small chain of knots and carefully tied it around her head. It looked like it belonged there. Marie laid her hands on the baby’s tiny chest and began to pray.

Ashton watched, looking down from the emergency hatch. Marie closed her eyes, she prayed, she pressed with her fingers around the child’s neck, her face scrunched up. Ashton saw pain in her eyes. Then something happened, the baby took a deep breath and began crying, loud. Color returned to her face.

Firefighters, police, ambulance workers were on the scene and Ashton was helped off the bus. She sat on the ground 50 feet away shaking from adrenaline as a firefighter inside the bus handed up a healthy baby, then child and finally helped Marie up out of the emergency hatch. Ashton rushed over and took her. She was pale, blood smeared, some from those she treated and some from her own nose.”

“What happened,” Ashton asked.

Marie stumbled and Ashton caught her. She struggled to catch her breath and said, “I need to sit down.” An ambulance worker rushed over and wrapped a blanket over her and guided her towards an ambulance.

“I’m with her!” Ashton yelled and followed behind.

Ed Note: The story veered off in a direction I didn't really plan. It gets dark in this chapter. There is language, and violence. Just a warning. If you haven't' been reading here's a quick catch up. It's 1994, small college town, two 20 year old's went looking in the underground for Magic and found it. ASHTON has spent her life suffering from gender dysphoria without the language to express it. Her new friend Marie has a talent for knowing things that people are trying hide, and a talent for folk magic. Garrett has fell in with the wrong crowd a satanist named Rick. Rick has a grudge against a local pastor, Jacob Hall and seemingly caused his church bus to crash, killing two. Ashton and Marie were the first on the scene and saved lives.

Here we go!

Chapter 7 - The Sandwich Artist

The EMT was insistent, and Marie was in no state to argue. She was pale, shivering, and weak. She was forced to sit down on the bumper of the ambulance while the young man took her temperature and blood pressure.

“Mam, are you a diabetic?” he asked.

“No… I just need. I need…” Marie struggled to finish a sentence.

The EMT studied her eyes and then handed her a juice box with a straw. “Can you drink that?”

Marie began sipping. The EMT handed Ashton some glucose tablets. “Are you her boyfriend?”

“Me? No, just friends,” Ashton responded.

“Do you know what happened? Did she get injured, I don’t see anything?”

Ashton shook her head. “No, I think she’s in some kind of shock, she saved a bunch of people’s lives.”

“Okay, give her those, let us know if she doesn’t get better.”

The EMT quickly got with another to transfer an old woman with a broken arm. Ashton helped Marie away from the back of the ambulance and the EMTs loaded her into the ambulance.

Marie quickly sucked down the juice and seemed a bit less disoriented. Ashton gave her some of the glucose tablets and whispered, “What happened, did you resurrect that baby?”

Marie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No of course not,” she said and downed some of the pills. “I just helped her breath, she was dying.”

“And it took this much out of you?”

She nodded. “There’s always a cost.” They glanced around the area. Another firetruck was on the scene. Police had blocked the highway from both directions. The only vehicles leaving were ambulances. She pointed to some shade. “I think we’re going to be stuck here for a while.”

Ashton nodded and they went over. “If anyone asked, all I did was CPR, got it.”

“Yeah, got it.”

Fifteen minutes later two bodies were laid on the highway under tarps. The old woman in the wheelchair, and an old man. The mother had been pulled out on a back board. She was severely injured but expected to live.

The other good samaritans were clustered around the ambulances or sitting in their cars. Officers were walking around interviewing people. A guy in a button down shirt was walking around with a tape recorder.. A news van had just pulled up and was sitting a tripod up on the shoulder. “Biggest thing to happen in Mud Creek since the accident at…” Ashton didn’t finish her thought.

They were approached by a uniformed police officer with a notepad.

“I’m officer Barton and you must be the heroic couple, been hearing a lot about you.”

“We’re just friends,” Ashton said.

The officer was young and fit with curly hair. Ashton had seen him around town a few times, he wasn’t like most of Mud Creek PD, guys with buzz cuts and permanent scowls. After getting names and contact info the officer took a second look at Ashton. “Was your Dad Greg Banks?”

Ashton nodded.

“My Dad, worked with yours in the mines. Said he was a good man.”

Ashton looked down, “Thanks.”

After a moment Barton looked them both over, “The story I’ve heard is that you saved a lot of lives today,” he said and focused on Marie,” And you brought a baby back to life.”

Marie shook her head, ‘No, just cleared an obstruction, no miracles.”

“CPR,” Ashton added.

Barton smiled, “Well regardless thank you both for stopping, and sorry you’ve been stuck here for so long. You’re free to go and if we need anything else, we’ll call. Barton waved over to an officer blocking the highway, pointed at Marie and gave a thumbs up.

The guy with the button up shirt came by as they started walking towards their car, “Hey, people keep telling me you two are the real heroes here. Mam, they say you were the first to go in the bus.

“I don’t know,” Marie said. She was starting to look weak again and leaning heavily on Ashton.

“Sorry, she’s in shock, needs to get home.” Ashton said and kept walking.

“Can I just get your names for the article, I don’t want to bother you later?”

“Yeah sure, she’s Marie… What’s your last name?”

“Mayuex, m,a,y,u,e,x,” Marie said, while her head bobbed.

“I’m… Ash, Ash Banks.”

“Now, they’re saying you both…” Ash cut off the reporter when Marie nearly lost her footing. They made their way to her car and he helped her into the passenger seat. She was asleep when they got back to her house.

Ash nearly had to carry her in. Marie pointed towards the phone. “Call Jess, her number’s there.”

Fifteen minutes later Jess arrived and Ash filled her in on the story. “We’ve got to make soup,” Jess said. She quickly grabbed a pot, and filled it with broth from the refrigerator. She directed Ash on cutting carrots then ran out to the garden. She quickly returned with several clippings of herbs and tossed them in the broth.

“Ashton, Marie has taught me a few things, and you’re seeing one of them now. Nothing comes for free, even with magic.” Jess pointed towards Marie laying on the couch. “She gave alot of her energy to the baby. We can help her recover much faster though by giving her some of our energy. So we’re going to stir. Women stir to the left, 100 times, then we switch. You stir the right, 100 times. We trade off until the soup is done. While you’re stirring, focus on stirring.”

“Okay, wait. Why right for me?”

“Because you’re a man. Marie always said women turn to the left and men turn to the right. It’s part of the tradition”

Jess took the wood spoon but before she could dip it in the broth Ash grabbed her hand. “Wait.”

She looked over on the couch. Marie was not resting peacefully, her face was pale again, beads of sweat were on her face.

Ash took a deep breath and looked down into Jess’s eyes. “We’re in this together right?”

Jess seemed to stiffen up. “Sure?”

“I can trust you?”

Jess blew out a breath in frustration. “Ashton, we’re basically in a coven together, I think we can trust each other.”

“Call me Ash.” She took a deep breath. “You know how Marie knows things about people?”

Jess nodded.

“She told me something I’ve known about myself for a long time.”

Jess shook the spoon in front of her. “Can this wait, Ash?”

Ash blink and then it spilled out. “No, it really can’t. She told me I’m a… I’m a girl.” Ash pointed at her chest, “Like on the inside. It’s true, I mean… I know that I don’t look like it, but I’ve always felt like I was. Or was supposed to be. So what do I do? Stir right or left?”

Any semblance of annoyance left Jess’s eyes. She looked at him with kind eyes. “I think it’s up to you.”

Jess turned and began to stir, silently counting rotations. She handed Ash the spoon and they traded places. Ash began to wonder, in this world what would be more important? How she looked, or how she felt. When the question was phrased that way, the answer was easy.

She stirred left.

***

Ash parked her car in the driveway and walked up to the house. The soup seemed to work. Marie got better and then drifted off into sleep. Marie’s words kept playing back in her head. “This isn’t a game, whatever Rick woke up has killed people. We have to be careful.” Ashton reached under her shirt and felt the knotted cord necklace she gave him.

As soon as she walked into the house her Mom grabbed him and hugged him. “Ashton! Where have you been? Your Grandma called, she heard your name on the scanner. There was a big crash.”

“I’m fine Mom,” Ash said.

“Reporters called. WSIL, someone from “The Record.” She took a step back from her and studied Ash for a moment. She pinched her chin and said, “Something is different.”

“Different?” Ashton dropped heavily on the couch.

“I don’t know, your face, it’s just different?”

Ash shrugged. “It was really bad, me and Marie were the first ones there.”

Ash explained the story, Marie went in the bus first, used first aid, saved a baby that couldn’t breath with CPR.

“She sounds incredible.”

Ash nodded, “Yeah, she is.”

Ash’s Mom sat down in her chair and smiled, “So… Are you two going out?”

Ashton gave a half smile and looked at the ceiling. “No Mom, we’re just friends.”

“Well that’s a relief, one can never have too many friends,” she said with a laugh. Her eye caught the cords around her neck. “Hey, what’s that around your neck?”

Ash pulled the intricate knotted cords out and studied them. “Marie made this for me.”

Ash’s Mom nodded in approval, “Those are intricate knots.”

Ash nodded and walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She stopped to study the Blue Willow china set displayed on the hutch. It made her sad. “Mom, do you know where this china set came from?”

“Of course, your Great Grandfather, Ed bought that for your Great Grandmother. It was passed down to us. I’ve told you that story before,” she replied.

Ashton nodded, “Mom, sometimes things look like one thing and can be something else.”

“Whatdya mean?” she said from across the room.

Ashton walked back in and stood near the door. “That tea set was stolen from a Japanese person’s house in California while they were being kept in an internment camp. It had been passed down in their family for years. Ed bought it cheap from the guy who stole it.”

Her Mom frowned. “Ashton, you can’t possibly know that.”

“I know Mom, but it was. Listen if I tell you something will you promise not to flip out.”

“What are you talking about Ashton, what’s going on?”

“You know how when I was a kid, I told you that objects told me stories, and you thought I had such a creative imagination? I’m not making it up. I know things about stuff. Marie’s like me Mom, but with people. She knows things about people. Things people are trying to hide.”

Her Mom shook her head. “Ash? What on God’s green Earth are you talking about?”

Ash took a deep breath? “Marie saw something in me, a secret I’ve been hiding for a long time.”

Her Mom stood up from her chair. “Ashton, are you in trouble?”

“No, not really. Sort of I guess.”

She took a step. “Are you on drugs or something? Is someone hurting you?”

“No Mom, nothing like that.”

Ash gripped the cords. “For a long time I’ve felt wrong. Like something is wrong with me.”

Her Mom came closer and placed her hands on her shoulders, “Oh honey, there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re perfect just how you are.”

Ashton took a step back and her Mom’s hands slid off her shoulders. “Then why do I wish I was a girl?

Ash was surprised, the words just came out, she hadn’t really meant to say them.

Ash’s Mom’s eyes were wide, “You wish you were a girl?”

“Forget it Mom, I’m just… It’s been.” Ash started to walk away towards her room.

“Wait, hold on. Objects tell you stories, your new friend knows secrets people are trying to hide, and you wish you were a girl? This is what you’re telling me?”

“No Mom, forget it, I was just messing with you. I’m really hungry, I need to get something to eat.”

Ash’s Mom took a few steps forward. “Ashton, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but do you need to talk to someone?”

Ash quickly side stepped her Mom and grabbed her keys off the table. “I’ve got to get something to eat.”

“Wait, Ashton. I’ll make something.” She was already out the door.

***

Ash drove across town and drove through a few restaurant parking lots without stopping. She eventually drove to the Northside shopping center and saw Garrett’s Jeep in the subway parking lot. She didn’t see Rick’s old run down car. Ashton parked beside it and went in.

Garrett looked up from his footlong meatball sub. “Hey Ashton, what's up?”

The restaurant was empty except for her friend and a young man working behind the sneezeguard. Soft country music emanated from the ceiling speakers. She quickly walked across the floor and slid in across from him.

Ash leaned forward and spoke in hushed tones, “Hey, what the fuck did you guys do to that bus?”

Garrett looked straight ahead and then smiled. “Oh, man, that bus accident. Crazy I heard you were a real hero.” It was his voice but something felt off.

“Garrett, people died. There were bodies laid out on the highway man. I almost watched a baby die. Did you see Rick tamper with the bus? Did your ritual involve the brakes or something?”

Garrett didn’t speak, Ash realized that he wasn’t really looking at her, but through her. She suddenly felt very scared. “Garrett?”

“Chill dawg. Everything is cool. If you got questions you can ask Rick yourself.”

“Ask him myself?”

The restroom door opened and Rick walked out. He was carrying his forest green Subway sandwich artist shirt and black pants. Neatly folded. He dropped them into the tie dye bag that matched the rest of his hippie outfit.

“Hey, babe! What’s shaking?” Rick said. Ash felt her stomach drop. The music glitched and then cut out. The room seemed to suddenly feel both longer and yet more confining. The overhead fluorescents flickered a few times. Garrett’s smile seemed to get impossibly larger then he took a bite from his sandwich.

“Babe?” Ash asked.

Rick spun on his heels to the young man behind the counter. “Hey man, why don’t you take a break. Go have a smoke or something. I’ll watch the store for a bit.” His words were so friendly, so calm.

The pimply sixteen year old looked up from the cold cuts he was prepping. “Umm, I don’t smoke.”

Rick took a pack of Camels from his pocket and handed him one and a lighter. The boy reached out and took it. “Now’s a great time to start amigo. Just give us ten minutes.”

The young man sped around the counter and out the front door.

“I was just leaving.” Ash stood up but Rick walked up and pushed her back down into the booth.

“Why don’t you stay a little bit longer.” Rick said.

Ash looked towards Garrett for help but he only nodded and continued his soulless grin.

Rick casually walked to the door and used his keys to lock it. He switched off the neon open sign. “So Ash, you want to know more about Hall’s church bus, right?”

Ash felt a lump in her throat, “Rick, I don’t know what is going on but people died. This isn’t a game.” He turned and smiled the creepy dead smile and pulled down the tinted window shades one by one. Ash willed her legs to stand but they wouldn’t move. She remembered this time as a kid she heard loud banging noises at night. They woke her up, but she was too scared to get out of bed and pulled the cover over her head. She wished she could do that now.

“Ash, babe. We know what you are. You and your other bitch friends. You can’t hide it from us.”

Ash’s breath caught. “What are you talking about?”

Rick looked past her to Garrett. “Stand her up.”

Suddenly Garret was out of his booth. He roughly grabbed Ash under the shoulders and hauled her up from the table. He held her in a tight bearhug.

“Hey! What the fuck!” Ash yelled and kicked.

Rick came over and slid a finger over Ash’s face. “You want to be a girl, we’ll treat you like one.”

She froze. The touch was like ice, but her skin felt smooth. Her skin was softer than it was this morning, she was sure of it.

The moment of curiosity was broken when Rick grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head back. She could see into her friend's face, the empty smile still on Garrett’s face.

“Bend her over.”

Ash was roughly spun around, her hands were pinned behind her back. Garrett forced her to hinge at the waist and her cheek was suddenly smushed against the table. She could smell the tangy mariana of her friend’s meatball sub inches from her face. Her thoughts went to the sub, her best friend's normal subway order. A disgusting bombination of fake meatballs, every possible vegetable, and mayonnaise. Why was he so gross? Why was he helping this demoically possessed asshole rape her?

She saw a sideways Rick unzip his pants and pull out his penis.

She felt Garrett fingers around the back her neck, they were fingering the knotted cords. “Hey, umm Rick. What are you doing?” Garrett asked.

Ash felt his hold lighten just a moment. She kicked backward at his shin as hard as she could.

“Oww, fuck!” he yelled and slung her across the floor. She hit the ground and felt the wind knocked out of chest. Then he looked down at her in confusion. “Ashton?”

He spun and saw Rick standing there looking pissed with his dick in his hand. Garrett immediately grabbed his sandwich and slung it in his face. It exploded, meatballs and mayonnaise went everywhere.

Before Rick would wipe his face Garret was on him, he charged into him low and slammed his shoulder into his stomach. Rick was being driven backwards. Garrett slipped on some marinara and then both fell to the ground.

Rick groaned and struggled to breath.

Garrett was up quickly and slid back across the floor. Ash was just getting her breath back.

“Come on man!” Garrett grabbed her and hauled her up.

Ash yanked back. “Don’t touch me!”

“Okay, I’m sorry. It wasn’t me, I promise. We got to get out of here now!” Garrett said.

Rick was getting to his feet. His face was a contorted mask of rage. “I’m going to kill both of you!” He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a switchblade. He smiled as the knife clicked and the steel blade slid out.

Ash looked over and saw the only chairs in the restaurant at the handicapped table. She grabbed one and charged, legs first like she was taming a lion. Rick struck out with the knife but couldn’t reach. The chair legs surrounded him and he fell backward and clunked his head hard against the floor. Ash lifted the chair, spun it around and swung the heavy back down hard smacking him on the forehead. She raised the chair for another blow and Garrett stopped her.

“You’re going to kill him.”

Ash felt hot tears running down her face. She sat the chair on the floor and dropped heavily down onto it. Blood was seeping out of a cut along Rick’s forehead. The lights flickered back on and George Jones was suddenly singing about a tear in his beer.

The pimply kid hammered his fist at the door. His eyes were wide. Garrett knelt down and fished the keys out of Rick’s pants and quickly unlocked the door. Ash just sat there.

“What happened?” The kid asked between breaths.

Garrett handed the boy the keys, yanked Ashton off the chair and pulled her out the door. “He pulled a knife on us, call 911,” Garrett yelled as they ran across the parking lot.

Garrett jumped in his Jeep but Ashton stood at the door. Garrett reached across and opened it. “Come on, get in!”

“No!”

“I’m sorry, I remember doing it, but I don’t know why I was doing it. I’m so sorry.”

Ash looked back at the building. She saw Rick open the door. Blood, mixing with lettuce and mayonnaise on his face. He was walking towards them.

“Follow me,” Ash said and then jumped in her car. They peeled out together. Ash could see Rick’s insane smile in the rear view mirror.