A Pinstriped Finger's My Only Friend (27 page)

The fangs and teeth of the monsters close in on Judd's flesh, about to bite down. The creatures' first taste of him is a fraction of a fraction of a second away.

I hold my breath...

(...though I have no breath to hold...)

...and wait for that inevitable contact, that sure and sudden pressure and puncture from which there can be no return.

(Oh my God, this is it this is it this is...)

Then, suddenly, something shrieks at the top of its lungs, shrieks as if in a death cry for the ages. Something else cries out, too, its deeper voice distorted into an agonized howl.

All at once, the fangs and teeth halt their approach. Puzzled frowns appear on monstrous faces. Inhuman heads turn to listen.

Then there's another cry, a ululating wail. It's coming from somewhere nearby--somewhere in the crowd, I'm sure of it.

What is going on here??

Fresh shrieks erupt, even louder, even closer. One, then two, then three of them, yowling in bestial agony.

The creatures who'd been about to bite into Judd stand straight, watching and listening as one. Most of them let go and move toward the noise. Only Glossolalia and the she-devil keep their grips on him.

There are more cries from closer still. This time, as the commotion approaches, I hear more than just shrieks and howls. I hear strikes and blows and jarring impacts, one after another. I hear the tearing of tissue, the breaking of bone, the crashing of bodies into each other and the ground.

It sounds to me like there's a hell of a battle going on, and the monsters are getting the worst of it.

"What's happening?" says Judd.

"Someone's coming," I tell him. "They're putting a major
hurt
on these guys."

Judd nods and stares in the direction of the ruckus. "That's good news, right?"

Like him, I strain for a better view. "Not necessarily."

Just then, the body of a Frankenstein's monster hurtles up and over us, barely missing Glossolalia. Other monsters screech as the bulky creature comes down in the midst of them.

That's when Glossolalia calls out to the crowd in his most commanding voice so far. "Attack! Dessstroy the intrudersss! Kill or be killed, my children!"

The army of earthbound creatures casts up a deafening battle cry, then surges forward into the fray. The flying creatures do the same, soaring forth with weapons at the ready. Only Glossolalia remains behind, his body still wrapped around us like a boa constrictor, the wind from his wings beating down on us.

At first, the force of numbers seems to win out. The mob compresses around its enemies and holds fast, presumably locking them in its embrace. There are no new shrieks, no bodies hurtling past. The blows and impacts I hear are fewer and farther between.

"I wonder who they are," says Judd.

"Dead meat at this point," I tell him.

"Too bad." Judd grins. "I like their style."

Just as he says it, a piercing shriek splits the night. Then another.

Then, the top half of a werewolf flies out of the crowd. It lands on the pavement a few yards away and bounces, trailing blood and viscera.

The bottom half of the beast follows a few seconds later and lands just a few feet from the top. Unlike the top, it lands flat with a loud
splat
and goes no further.

"On the other hand," I tell Judd, "maybe
someone
else
is the dead meat at this point."

"
Attack
!" howls Glossolalia, shaking the rattle on the tip of its tail. "
Keep fighting
!"

His ground forces roar and press forward. The airborne contingent pushes downward at the same time. It's an all-out blitz from above and below.

But whoever they're fighting refuses to be crushed.

Bodies and body parts are tossed right and left, all of them belonging to monsters. Flying creatures are dragged down and torn to bits, their severed wings pitched away into the mob like garbage into a dump. The air is filled with shrieking and screaming and yowling and weeping, a symphony of suffering.

Then, suddenly, the monster forces break away. The battle is lost.

The survivors scatter in all directions, fleeing in chaos, revealing at last the terrible foes who have withstood their onslaught.

Make that
foe
.

A single figure strides across the battlefield, storming through the quivering remains of his enemies. A single figure who looks much like a monster himself--a hulking red colossus wrapped in muscle with no visible skin. And no face, either. His massive frame glistens in the moonlight, a vision of mystery and the promise of certain death.

And he is heading straight for us.

*****

"What
is
that thing?"

At this point, I'm torn. Should I worry more about the flying serpent with its coils wrapped around us or the monstrous creature stomping our way?

Judd just stares wordlessly at the red behemoth. He's mesmerized.

As the creature comes closer, it comes more clearly into focus. It's seven feet tall, and it is seriously
cut
. Its body looks like one solid mass of muscle, rippling with pure strength--like somebody skinned a body builder and turned him loose on the world. There's no skin to block the view of its striated fibers or the pulsing veins crawling over its cords. There's no face to distract from the sight of all those muscles, just a red surface marked by the same striations and veins.

"
Get back
, abomination!" Glossolalia howls the words, but they have no effect. The muscle monster sweeps toward us without slowing, flexing its fists along the way.

"This could get ugly, dude." Pretty sure that's a major understatement, but I say it anyway.
Someone's
gotta cut the tension around here.

"I sssaid
get back
!" Glossolalia rears his upper body back, bares his fangs, and hisses, trying to intimidate the newcomer. "Leave or
die
!"

The walking muscle keeps just keeps coming...and so does my feeling of dread. The dude and I are about to be caught in the middle of an all-out monster throw-down.

"Have it
your
way then!" Suddenly, Glossolalia lunges at the creature, his head snapping down like a striking cobra, his giant fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

The muscle creature looks up, as if he had eyes to see the impending attack. Then, in the space of a heartbeat...

He catches the head of the snake and stops it cold.

His arms and back flex as he holds Glossolalia fast, one hand clamped on his upper jaw, one on his lower. Then, with one quick movement, he cranks the jaws apart.

Glossolalia thrashes in the creature's grip, trying to break free. Judd and I, still wrapped in his coils, get jolted around pretty good in the process.

Glossolalia's jaws stretch easily, they're built that way...but then the muscle monster wrenches them sideways--each half in a different direction. The top jaw shunts left, the bottom slides right, and the flying serpent wails in pain. There's a loud cracking sound, like a tree snapping and collapsing in the woods.

"Holy crap." I watch in stunned amazement. "This guy is
good
."

Judd nods. "You can say that again."

Neither of us says what's got to be on both of our minds at that moment. Namely, if he can do that to Glossolalia, what's he gonna do to
us
?

Glossolalia cries out in pain and tries to whip his head free, but the muscle monster won't let go. He's not done with him.

Seemingly without effort, the creature yanks Glossolalia's jaws back together, then clamps them shut so hard, the fangs drive through the top and bottom of his head like staples. Just like that, Glossolalia's biting days are done.

The muscle monster drops the head and marches toward us along the length of the serpent. Glossolalia's upper body is still thrashing and bobbing four feet off the ground, held aloft by his fluttering wings.

The muscle monster stops, tears off one wing, and casts it aside. Then, he grabs hold of the snake with both hands and swings it upward.

Glossolalia's upper body lashes overhead like a whip, then snaps and changes direction as the muscle monster wrenches it forward. The rainbow-scaled head crashes down so hard, the ground shakes.

At which point, the rest of the snake goes limp. Its coils relax around us, flopping down around Judd's ankles.

Finally, we have a chance to get away. "Dude,
go
! Get
out
of here!
Now
!"

But Judd hesitates. His eyes are fixed on the muscle beast as it turns to face us.

(In a matter of speaking, since it doesn't have a face.)

"Please, dude!" I jab his palm hard, trying to get him to move. "Get your butt in gear!
Run
!"

Still, he refuses to budge.

Then I catch myself and stop trying. This is the new and improved Judd, after all. He wasn't afraid to face the army of monsters when they had him at their mercy. Why should he fear this one monster any more than all the rest? Why should he start running again? Maybe he's just done running.

Or maybe it's something else.

The muscle monster stomps toward us, its body rippling with each firm step. It moves with a power and grace unlike any other monster, unlike any strange creature or warped version of a friend or relation we've encountered along our journey. It is like a force of nature.

It stops in front of Judd and stands there a moment, gazing eyelessly down at him. If Judd experiences the slightest flicker of fear, I don't feel it.

(You've come a long way, dude.)

Suddenly, the creature's left hand shoots out and grabs Judd's right...me included.

(What now what now what now???)

I fight to stay calm as he pulls our hand toward him. His grip is surprisingly light, his manner strangely gentle.

(Oh my God I'm gonna lose it I'm gonna
lose
it!!)

The creature presses Judd's right hand against the left side of his chest and holds it there. I'm shivering with fear, struggling to keep it together, wondering what's next...

And then I hear it. Hear it and feel it against my body, thrumming away.

The strongest heartbeat I've ever felt.

It hammers under my touch, pounding like machinery in a factory.
Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump.
It thunders within him,
ba-dump ba-dump
, crashing in his rib cage with nuclear force, hitting hard enough to make me dizzy.

Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump
.

And yet, there's something about it that draws me in. Something I barely notice at first, yet it quickly locks my full attention. There's something about that beat.

Something familiar.

The creature moves Judd's hand to the other side of his chest, and the beat's just as strong there. He moves it to his belly, and then up to his face.

No matter where he places the hand, I hear and feel that same thundering rhythm in all its glory. It's as if his pulse is everywhere at once, equally strong and resonant all over its body. It's as if he's all one great, big...

Suddenly, I get it.

So does Judd. "This is it, isn't it?" He gazes up at the creature in undisguised wonder, a look of pure awestruck amazement flowing over his features. "The one part that didn't come back to me."

The creature lets go of Judd's hand, but Judd doesn't move it. He just keeps it in place, keeps his fingers...

(...me included...)

...stretched over that featureless face. And now that I realize what this is, what it has to be, the pulsating rhythm sounds more familiar than ever.
Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump.
This isn't some monster out to kill us. It isn't some implacable force of nature bent on sweeping us aside. It's simply glad to see us, because of its nature, because we
belong
together.

"You're my
heart
," says Judd. "You finally came back."

"All grown up, by the looks of it," I say.

The creature nods its head.

I wonder where it's been all this time. What happened to make it change into this form?

Was it traveling through realities, like Judd and I have been? Did it visit a world where an organ can become like a man and have a life of its own? No wonder it didn't come back to us.

But that raises one question. "Why now?" I pat the faceless face with my tip. "Why come back now?"

Judd's heart does not answer at first. Then, it reaches out and points an index finger at the left side of Judd's chest.

"You want to come home?" Judd nods. "I can identify with that."

The heart taps Judd's chest three times, then lowers his hand.

"I hate to be a buzz-kill," I tell him, "but I don't think you're gonna fit back in there the way you are now, dude."

The heart creature reaches up and gently removes me and Judd's whole hand from his face. Then, he takes Judd in his arms and pulls him close.

As their bodies touch, I feel new strength rush into Judd.

(I get a good-sized zap of it myself!)

The heart tightens his embrace. A bright white glow builds around us, throbbing in time with the heart's mighty pulse. As it builds, heat washes over us, seeping into every organ, every bone, every thought.

Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump.

Judd feels it before I do. "Welcome home," he says, and I wonder why...

...but then I realize the two forms are beyond pressing together, they're
merging
. The light's growing brighter, the heat's intensifying, and Judd and his heart are physically connecting.

The heart's chest is pushing into Judd's chest, becoming part of it. The heart's arms are flowing into Judd's arms and back and sides, melting into him.

Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump.

I'm tingling all over, feeling better than I have in a long time. I feel it starting to come back--the long-lost heartbeat, getting stronger with each passing second. I'd forgotten how much I'd missed it.

Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump.

Judd's heart gazes down at him without eyes and nods slowly as if to say, "It's all right. It's going to be all right." Then, he leans down, lowering his face toward Judd's.

Judd smiles and closes his eyes. His heart's faceless face presses up against his as if in a kiss, the kiss of a loving heart and the boy he came back to.

Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump.

Then the two faces melt together. The light flares, blotting out everything around them. They might as well be worlds colliding in their own distant corner of space, galaxies slowly pinwheeling into each other.

Look there! A spark leaps free of their merger and soars off in a perfect arc across the brilliant expanse.

(It's a shooting star!)

And then, as the light blazes brightest and the heat burns hottest, only one form remains where once there were two.

Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump.

That single body pulsates and shines with the fire of its restored core. It's ready, ready for what's next, whatever it might be.
He's
ready,
I'm
ready.

We're
ready.

Then, suddenly, the light surges one last time, and we are gone.

*****