Everyday Monsters by Betz Travis

Author:Betz, Travis [Betz, Travis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 36

A canopy of lush, green branches offered speckled shade from the sun on high. Pax was the first one awake in the body, but Derek stirred quickly after she started moving him to sit up. Neither said anything right away, as they were too busy scanning the dense forest and multicolored flowers. A soothing creek cut through the trees that smoothed out rocks into perfect circles—a place straight out of a childhood fairytale.

“Last thing I remember was being eaten by the Jollywog,” Derek said. “Did I miss a step?”

“Apparently a big one,” Pax said, just as confused.

An oversized dragonfly zipped by their heads, and for the first time Pax noticed all the animals. Furry creatures no bigger than cats darted between ferns, their sharp, pointed tails erect with curiosity. An array of neon insects spun around in the air like schools of fish, stopping mid-flight, then suddenly continuing their dance.

“I’m not sure how many more times I can handle dying…and then not dying,” Pax said.

There didn’t seem to be any path or road, so Derek and Pax wandered through the thick flora in hopes they might emerge somewhere helpful.

“Is this what it’s like being a vampire?” Derek asked. “One big overblown adventure after the next?”

“Fuck no. I barely leave the couch most nights.”

A cloud of confusion suddenly tornadoed inside their head. Derek stopped and leaned against a thick tree covered from root to tip in giant, moss-coated mushrooms. Pax added pressure to his grip—holding them up. The jungle around them swayed in an unnatural way. Pax realized that Derek’s brain was fighting against the second host, and she wasn’t sure how much longer it would allow them to coexist. She did her best to keep positive, if only to ease Derek’s fear just a little. The dizziness passed, and she pushed him off the tree.

They walked a bit further; each cluttered the brain with their own questions. It began to drive Pax mad. It was one thing to fill her own head with thoughts, but another thing entirely to blend it with someone else’s, like listening to several opinion radio stations at the same time—utterly pointless.

“Can we please get on the same thought wave?” she said.

Suddenly, an orb of light whizzed by and caused Derek to duck.

“The hell was that?” he said.

Another orb flittered in front of them, then took off high into the sky.

“Glowing bees!” Derek shouted.

Something shimmered to the right, reflecting heat off the side of Derek’s face. Pax turned his head, felt his eyes grow wide. In front of them, a giant throne shot high into the sky—brilliant white marble, carved to emulate trunks of trees. It sparkled with the dust of diamonds, making it almost too bright to look at.

High upon the seat, far too big for its diminutive frame, sat a slender creature in a skintight leotard, with lavender wings and a long white beard. Even though Pax had never actually seen one in person, she recognized it immediately as a fairy.

Orbs of all shapes and hues buzzed around them, high into the treetops.

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