Chapter 141: Born To Run

Chapter 141: Born To Run

Just because this world didnt consider dying the ultimate end, didnt mean there was nothing to fear. There are worse things than death.

My sudden promotion to leader of the Nekromel Liberation Army did not make me want to go out and buy myself a new sabre to rattle. I was in danger of being railroaded into a situation Id have no control over and which would land me in the middle of a fight I had nothing to do with.

General Dorma probably expected me to jump at the chance of being in chargepeople with a thirst for power usually assume others must crave it as much as they do.

Or, he might have expected me to be too cowed by the huge crowd to object. The many, many faces staring at me looked eager to accept me as their saviour. They would have accepted a donkey with a bag of lucky rocks as their commander-in-chief if they thought it would save them. I had no intention of saving anyone but myself.

Finding my way out of this predicament was the problem. Public speaking has never been something I enjoyed. Standing up at the front of class at school never went well. But in this case, I decided words needed to be said. And quickly.

First of all, I said, please stop hissing at me. I realise its how you express your approval, but its stupid and getting sprayed with a mist of saliva is no fun.

To be fair, they werent really spitting very much, but if I wanted to get their attention I had to snap them out of the trance Dorma had put them under with his sweet words and grand promises.

Before you all get too excited by what this man is promising you, ask yourselves why would he give control of everything hes spent years setting up to a complete stranger? Ive only just arrived here, hardly spoken to the man, have no idea what the masters are capable of, yet he wants me to lead your revolution? Doesnt that seem suspicious?

A nervous murmur spread around the cavern. I did my best not to look at the people. My voice was shaky and I clasped my hands together to stop them trembling. If I let myself see how many of them there were, I would lose my nerve.

Its a classic example of passing the buck. He makes lots of extravagant promises about defeating the masters and a happy ever after, then puts the reins in someone elses hands so when things go tits up the finger gets pointed somewhere other than at himself.

I sneaked a look over at Dorma. His eyes were wide with shock and his mouth hung open. I had expected a little more rage and was speaking quickly so I could make my point before he sent his goons to shut me up, but he hadnt made any moves in that direction, which was a little surprising.

I dont even know what makes you think his plan will work. Because he has lovely blue eyes? I understand you have been under the control of the masters for so long any alternative seems preferable, but do you really want to swap one power-mad tyrant for another?

There was a strange atmosphere in the room. The crowd was quiet. They didnt seem particularly for or against what I had said, just confused.

Dorma still hadnt given his men leave to drag me out and beat the shit out of me. My plan had been to go in hard and get a reaction out of Dorma which would show his true colours. I certainly had no intention of becoming his scapegoat. The idea I would lead this revolution was preposterous and possibly a ruse to put me in the hands of the masters.

But Dorma didnt react the way I expected.

I think theres been a misunderstanding, he said rubbing his hands together. I wasnt referring to you, I meant Commander Varg. He pointed to my left.

I looked over my shoulder. A giant of a man in full armour and carrying a sword I could have used as a surfboard was standing there. He didnt just look like he could lead an army, he looked like he was the army.

Oh, I said, mouth dry, palms moist, a faint singing in her ears, sorry. My bad.

I stepped backwards, hoping to disappear behind my party, but they also stepped back giving me nowhere to hide. Bastards.

Commander Varg, Dorma said in an attempt to introduce the real leader of the fighting force.

There was some half-hearted hissing, the crowd hesitant to go full throttle after my attack on their culture. The man-mountain Varg awkwardly pushed past me and made his way over to where Dorma waited for him.

Jenny grinned nervously and shrugged her shoulders. Sorry, she mouthed as she also moved away so no one would think she was associated with me.

There are indeed things worse than death.

You might think you know how I felt. You might have experienced the heat of embarrassment spread across your face.

You know nothing.

True mortification does not produce a healthy, rosy blush. It is the end of the world where the skies are radioactive clouds and the sea is acid. Its colour is grey and it burns deep in your core.

It is one of the traits of modern life, back on our world at least, that we try our hardest to avoid danger and difficult situations. A safe, secure life is considered the ideal.

However, that isnt how nature works. Natures method of teaching us how to survive is to try and murder us. The nearer to death you get, the better at avoiding it you become. Assuming you survive.

As human beings, we are constantly striving to not play this game. We intellectually figure out what to do in any situation so we wont actually have to work it out through trial and error; where the error could turn out to be something horrendous.

Nature doesnt give a shit. As far as shes concerned, there are a lot of us and if some fall by the wayside, no biggie. As long as most of us get through the gauntlet of near-misses that is childhood, jobs a goodun. After that, youre on your own. Adapt or die.

Humans, being the devious little shits we are, still do all we can to reduce our exposure to lifes tomfuckery. Thanks to societys safety nets and technology that allows us to overcome even the worst of what nature throws at us, we have it pretty cushy.

The problem with this, though, is that we also dont gain the advantages that come with surviving disaster. You learn from failing. You grow from defeat. You gain strength from suffering.

A parent might think theyre doing the best for their child by keeping their environment clean and bacteria-free, but if the body never learns to deal with germs, the first time the kid gets a cold, hell die.

Despite the risks involved in facing danger, life has been set up so its the best way to achieve your potential. You can get by keeping your head down and letting others protect you, but you will be weak and feeble.

The universe makes us suffer because its trying to teach us to try harder, be better. Well, fuck that.

Not all horrible experiences lead to you levelling-up. Its hard to learn the lesson when the lesson leaves you in the foetal position, unable to make coherent sounds.

Packing what? asked Claire. We dont have any luggage.

I know. He found a moth-eaten sack under the bed and started filling it with things that didnt belong to him.

I am right here, you know? And I dont need you to take care of me. Im not a child. I can look after myself, thank you very much.

I got up and stomped to the door like a child.

Where are you going? Jenny asked.

Im going to find David and ask him the best way to kill myself. You amateurs are just wasting my time. The only people worth listening to are people whove already done it. Experience, thats what counts, not the random musings of some ignorant plebs.

I love you, said Jenny.

Po-tah-to! I replied and walked off not really knowing where I was going. Id been in such a daze when they brought us up, I couldnt remember the layout. It would be embarrassing to find a dead-end and have to walk back the way I came, especially if the two girls were still standing in the doorway.

If it came to that, Id find a window and jump out. Perhaps that was the death I was looking for. Knowing my luck, Id break both my legs and lie there while people walked past going, Oh look, its the guy who thought he was going to replace Commander Varg.

Fortunately, there were some stairs around the corner which led down to the bar. The same, slightly mangled men as before (or some that looked very similar) sat around drinking. There wasnt much talk and even less as I descended.

All eyes were on me in a way that made me feel small but significant, for all the wrong reasons.

I put my head down and aimed for the door. Once I was through it, I would keep going. Nevermind going back in time, first I wanted to get as far away from everyone as possible.

Only a few more steps and Id be out in the throng flowing past the open doorway. Another anonymous body swallowed up in the faceless crowds.

Hey, Colin!

The voice came from a shadowy corner to the right of the doorway. The familiarity was disconcerting. I didnt recognise the voice at all. I paused to take a closer look.

A man was sitting at a small table on his own. He was thin and pale. His large forehead was topped by receding black hair, pulled back and flowing down to his shoulders. His face looked vaguely Chinese, but perhaps not. He was slightly goggle-eyed which made him look very intense.

You are Colin, right? His thin lips spread in a wide smile to reveal large, square teeth. You dont want to go out there. Youre more famous than you think.

The thing that most caught my attention, though, were the playing cards in his hands. He riffled them as he spoke, firing them from hand to hand and shuffling them together in expert fashion.

Cards were nothing new, I had seen them often in Flatland, although they were usually poorly made with weird designs on them. These cards were much more familiar. They looked like a regular pack from our world, with hearts and spades and the usual pictures on them.

Do I know you? I asked, edging closer to the table.

Not yet. Im Phil. He raised the eyebrows over his bulging Buscemiesque eyes. Why dont you take a seat. Im sure theres plenty we have to talk about. Im guessing youre hungry and you probably dont have any money. My treat.

He raised a hand and signalled the man behind the bar. When I turned to look, there was a boy already weaving between tables with a tray in his hands. He ducked under a knife thrown at a picture hanging on the wall, spun around a boot stuck out to try and trip him up and placed a steaming bowl of green soup on the table.

A coin flew through the air and landed on the now empty tray. The boy took off again.

Now that he mentioned it, I was quite hungry. Chunks bobbed attractively in the soup. The smell wafted up to my nose and all hesitation melted away. I sat down and... no spoon.

Yo! called out Phil. You forgot

A spoon came whizzing through the air. Phil caught it and slid it across the table to me. I grabbed it and dug in.

Phil continued to flash the cards between his hands.

Youre pretty good, I said between mouthfuls. The chunks were crusty bread, the green was some kind of vegetable, maybe. It tasted good, whatever it was.

I always fancied myself a bit of a magician when I was a kid. Used to practice for hours. He fanned out the cards and interweaved them. Not all that impressive in a world where actual magic exists.

With a flick of his thumb, he tossed a single card out of the pack, the ace of diamonds. It spun into the air where it froze. I mean, it hung there, nothing supporting it, no strings, right in front of my face.

It had suddenly become very quiet. I looked around. Everyone was completely still.

The spoon in my hand wouldnt move. I let go of it and it stayed where it was in the air. I tried to push it but it wouldnt budge.

The steam rising off the soup has also stopped moving. I poked it but my finger didnt go through, it bounced off like I was hitting an ice sculpture.

I looked back at Phil who was grinning at me.

Now, thats a good trick, right?

You can stop time?

Something like that. Nowhere near as useful as it looks, sadly. But combined with the abilities of someone like yourself, we would make quite the team. Our first goal being to get the hell out of this shit hole. What about it Colin? Fancy dumping the deadwood dragging you down and teaming up with me?