The Caterpillar King (16 page)

“If you don’t mind,” she says. “I’d like to
have a go.”

Double-check her pupils for dilation. No
obvious signs of drug use. Only other explanation is that she’s
serious.

“Well, I suppose it’s no trouble at all,” I
say. Wait for her to burst into laughter, but she never does. On
goes the shower, on goes the kettles. I take a seat at the edge of
tub by Tate. Water splashes up a bit, but it’s nice. Galla stands,
goes to the mirror. The glass gets covered by fog in an
instant.

“So you just…?” She swipes a wild hand
across the surface. Attacks the canvas like it’s prey.

“No, no,” I say. “Softer. Don’t try to
control it.”

She tries a second, hesitant brush.

“Confidence,” I say. “Have confidence.”

Can’t sit back any longer. Hop to my feet,
ready to give a quick introductory lesson.

“Like this,” I say. Start with a thin line
using the fingernail. “You don’t even need to know where it’s
going. Probably won’t be apparent till midway through. But whatever
you do, do it with purpose.”

“Guhhh,” says Tate, clapping. “Guhhh.”

Decide to take the positive interpretation
of his babbling. “Yes, Tate, it is good, isn’t it?”

Galla makes another subtle line, shows
slight improvement.

“Better, but here. Elbows straight, loosen
the wrist.”

Wrap my arm around hers, guide her into
another line.

“That’s nice,” she says.

“It is,” I say.

Hand over hand, we paint. The lines are
erased one at a time. Make a wide stroke, can see Galla’s
reflection in the mirror. Her eyes are focused; they don’t give her
away. But her lips are curled into a faint smile. Intrigued was
never the right word for it. I knew that from the start.

Falling in love with one’s wife is strange
business. Don’t recommend it at all.

19.

Kings should be fat. This one wasn’t. He was
thin and gold. He would’ve made a nice bracelet on the right woman.
He sat in the center of a bed of leaves. They were arranged around
him like petals. I don’t know how they got leaves to look that good
down here. They must’ve been fake.

“Please,” said the king. “Take a seat.”

“You’re floor’s dirty,” I said.

The king eyed me, and I could’ve sworn he
smiled. It wasn’t a kind smile.

“It’s not often we get such a distinguished
visitor. You’ve traveled a very long way.”

“I’m not much for small talk. You know why
I’m here. No need to pretend.”

The king seemed to relax.

“You’re the girl’s father?”

“Something like that,” I said.

“How do you know her?” he asked.

“I gave you easy targets, wrapped up nice
and neat in my basement,” I said. “I didn’t have to do that. I
could’ve let you die off. You owe me.”

“All true,” he said. “But no need to act as
if there was nothing in it for you. You played out your dark
fantasies, we consumed their memories. It was mutually
beneficial.”

“I liked that,” I said. “That was just fine.
Let’s keep that going.”

The king gave me a hard look and I gave it
right back to him. We weren’t getting anywhere fast. He got up from
his bed of leaves and crawled to the back of the room. I followed
him. I didn’t have anything better to do. We stopped in front of
two large stone pillars.

“Have you heard the prophecy?” he asked.

“I heard you didn’t like it,” I said.

He grinned. “Look behind me,” he said. “What
do you see?”

There wasn’t much decoration to speak of.
Behind him were the two stone pillars. At the base of the pillars,
there was a gap. The gap was right in the middle. That’s what I
saw.

“What do you think?” asked the king.

“I think you’ve done some lousy construction
in here.”

“Not ‘lousy’,” he said. He smiled. “Just
unfinished.”

“That why you brought me down here? To shove
the last few bricks into place?”

“How did you put it?…
Something like
that
,” said the king.

I gave some thought to killing the king. It
seemed like a good thought. But I needed to get out of here, and I
needed the caterpillars’ help. They weren’t going to help a
killer.

“Let me tell you a story,” he said.

“I don’t like stories,” I said.

“Good,’ he said. “Here is how we came to
this. We were not always special. We were a low life form, reliant
on leaves, water, and so on for sustenance. But one year, there was
a drought. It began in the wet season and lasted until winter. We
were hardly able to survive the first half of it. Without food in
store for winter, we would all die. That is when I met her.”

“Who?” I said.

“An opportunist. She offered me a deal.
‘Never again will you worry about trees,’ she said. ‘Never again
will a drought harm your kind. I will make you in my image, but
stronger, more intelligent.’ I could not pass up that offer.”

“Sounds too good to be true.”

The king nodded. “She made us dependent on
memories instead of vegetation. We were at the mercy of Mother
Nature before, but now we are vulnerable in other ways. The
prophecy says, “A deal in the dark will be your demise,” and I am
afraid that is exactly what I’ve done.”

“That’s not all you’re afraid of,” I
said.

“Oh?’ he said.

“That whole bit about the “true king” would
worry me, if I were in your position.”

Suddenly, the king didn’t look so sure of
himself. “How did…”

“I hear things,” I said. “What does this
have to do with the girl?” I asked.

“First, let’s talk about what this has to do
with
you
,” he said. “You made your own deal. You feed us, we
cure you.”

“Yeah. See, that deal’s not working out so
well,” I said.

“I remember when we found you in your tiny
cave, with your ropes and your weakness,” he said. “A thin metal
bar holding the door in place. You stood on the chair, the rope
around your neck, ready to die. And then we came out of the
darkness and offered you a trade. We ended your suffering. All we
require is an occasional payment.” The king laughed an ugly laugh.
“Do you remember what happened to you?”

“No,” I said. “That’s the point.”

“Tell me: what do you think drove you to the
edge? A lost love? Overwhelming grief?”

I shook my head. “Probably nothing big. The
grind of life. The boredom. The repetition. Eating alone, sleeping
alone, dying alone.” I paused. “You’re not going to tell me, are
you?”

The king didn’t respond to my question. He
was making a habit of that.

“You don’t know what you were like before,”
said the king. “You just don’t know. And that’s a good thing.”

I knew I’d heard about enough from him.
“Maybe I should take a step in the wrong direction. Maybe there’ll
be an accident. Or you could just tell me where she is.”

“She means that much to you?” The king
smiled. “Fine. It’s simple: Self-reliance is the goal, or at least
self-sustenance. The girl’s memories are more powerful than normal
ones. She has a presence which anyone can feel. If she is kept
here, her memories would sustain us indefinitely. At the very
least, they would sustain us until she is drained.

“You see this?” said the king. He nodded to
the pillars. “This is where we will keep her. She will be entombed
here. We will worship her. We will pray to her. She will be the
light that guides our civilization.”

I started to get a sick feeling in the pit
of my stomach. “I was bait. You were waiting for me to reel in a
big fish,” I said.

“You see, we can’t give her to you. She is
the key to our society. She is power incarnate. She’ll keep me on
the throne.” He paused. “She is the savior.”

The king believed every word he was saying.
It was a sad to see someone so delusional.

“I’m going to make you an offer,” he
said.

“I’m on pins and needles,” I said.

“First, you are relieved from your duties.
You’ve paid your debt. You held up your end of the bargain. Now
that we have the girl, we have a future. So we do not need your
help anymore.”

“Fine,” I said. “But that doesn’t sound like
much of a deal.”

“Patience,” he said. “Have patience, and I
can give you a life worth living.”

“I doubt it,” I said.

“Listen. It’s very simple. In the above
world, you are nothing. You are a hideous, detestable
creature.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“People don’t understand you, so they fear
you. You stay hidden in the day time. Night gives you cover. Up
there, you are not accepted. To them, you are just like a bug.” The
king paused. “It is the way things are,” he said. “The world is not
suited to you, and you are not suited to it.”

“Spit it out.”

“This is my offer: your old life up there
for a new life down here. You will be one of my top officials.
Here, you will have power and respect. You will be well provided
for. Occasionally, you will be sent above ground on…diplomatic
missions. Otherwise, you stay here and serve me as king.”

“That’s it?” I said.

“Yes,” he said.

I gave it a solid two seconds of thought.
“No thanks.”

The king looked like I’d spit on his crown.
“What were you expecting? Riches? Love? Everything will be yours in
time. Our power is growing. Humans do not accept you. To them, you
are-”

“A hideous, detestable creature. Yeah, I
heard you the first time.”

The king shook his head. “It’s funny,” he
said.

“I’m not laughing,” I said.

“We think we are different but it isn’t so.
There is one common goal between us: freedom. Freedom from humans.
Freedom from memories. Freedom from food or life or ourselves. My
dream…is to be beholden to nothing and no one.”

“Good luck with that,” I said.

“Exactly,” said the king. “It is the
greatest modern illusion. This idea of...choice.”

“I’m free,” I said.

“Are you?” said the king. “Let’s test that.
Come in, you two.”

High-pitched and low and gruff waddled in.
Great. Tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. Just who I wanted to see.

“Get rid of him,” said the king.

“How do you mean?” asked high-pitched. “Take
him upstairs, or bury him?”

“Whichever you prefer,” said the king. “But
I never want to see Castor Blue’s face again.”

20.

I could’ve splattered both bugs in one step.
Their guts would’ve lined the cracks of my shoes, their blood
would’ve sunk into the Earth. But that wouldn’t have helped me.
Without them, there was nowhere to go. The way I’d come in looked
like a solid wall. I could’ve crushed their whole society, but I
would’ve been trapped. These bugs might’ve been the end of me, but
they were my only chance at getting out alive.

We walked out of the king’s room and back
into the lobby. I saw the green secretary. She looked smug.

“Pleasant meeting, Mr. Blue?” she asked.

“I’ve never had a pleasant meeting in my
life,” I said.

“I hope you find the preparation room more
to your liking,” she said.

“Depends,” I said. “Will you be there?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Then I’ll like it just fine,” I said.

Low and gruff and high-pitched led me to the
door on the left.

“This isn’t the way out, is it?” I said.

“If you want to live, you’ll follow us,”
said high-pitched.

“And if I don’t?” I said.

“We can take care of that here, too,” he
said.

“Win-win,” I said.

The door was solid oak, and they crawled
right through it. I tried to do the same thing, but with less
success. I slammed into the door like a blind bird. Then I gathered
myself and opened it like a normal door. In the background, I heard
Green Goddess laughing at me. I went inside and then I didn’t have
to listen to her anymore.

***

The room was lovely, dark, and deep. In the
center, there was a raised platform. The Little Duck sat on it. She
looked bored. Then she saw me.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” she said.
“
You?”

“Yeah,” I said. “You’re a real
sweetheart.”

“Can you get him out of here?” she said to
the caterpillars. “He’s disturbing me.”

The two animals pushed at my feet. They were
trying to lead me off. I didn’t move. Surprise.

“You need to come with me,” I told her.

“Hmmm…that’s probably not gonna happen,” she
said.

I got up close to her. I stood above her.
She looked up at me. “Just like old times,” I said. “You sit in the
dirt and act stubborn. In the meantime, I do the work.”

“You don’t understand,” she said. “I don’t
want
your help. Or need it. I came down here by my own free
will. They’ve treated me with kindness. They care about me. I’m
choosing not to leave.”

They’d gotten to her. They’d really done
well. I’m sure it hadn’t been hard, but I was impressed just the
same. “These are not your friends. Do you have any idea who these
creatures are? Or what they will do to you?”

“Let me guess: they’ll put me in a cocoon
and entomb me in a giant statue and never let me go?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Pretty much.”

“So what?” she said. “I’m a goddess to them.
They’re going to pray to me. Can you imagine that? I
mean
something to them.”

“You don’t think you’re important to your
Mother? To Ned? To Amanti?”

She frowned. “Ned blackmailed me,” she
said.

“Some people have a funny way of showing
they care,” I said.

Madeline wasn’t having it, though. But I had
other problems. I needed to find a way out. I circled around her,
looking for an exit. There wasn’t one. I turned my attention to the
two bugs.

“Who’s wrapping her up? And when?” I
asked.

“Who do you think?” said high-pitched.
“We’ll start in a matter of minutes.”