4. Confrontation
For the past two days, Cornell had viewed the world through blurred and tired eyes. He ceased to be moving in a given direction and now relied on already tired instincts. Cornell was starving. Many times during the course of his journey he had trapped unsuspecting animals. He had held rabbits, raccoons, and others in his hands. His eyes would stare into theirs as he contemplated whether or not to eat them.
"Big animals prey upon smaller animals." The thought crossed over his mind many times. Always the results of his contemplations were the same. He could not rip the tiny animal's head off and tear the meat from its interior. Cornell found the thought of blood spilling into his mouth repulsive. Nevertheless, he still did not know for sure.
"Man or beast?" he mumbled as he staggered forward through the forest. Suddenly Cornell felt his feet trip over something. He was on the ground in less than a second. So exhausted did he feel that he was in no hurry to get up again. It was not until his senses became aware of that familiar feeling of being watched over that he struggled to get up. Even after getting on his feet Cornell lurched side-to-side and walking backwards. His head jerked left and right trying to find the source of the disturbance he sensed. Then he felt it come at him. From the shadows of a nearby bush a large figure leapt at him. With his blurred vision he could make out a humanoid shape with a large head. The figure pushed him to the ground and held him there with its weight. Cornell weakly tried to fight the figure off of him but it only seemed to anger him. Then he heard it. The sound of the gunshot pierced through air and brought about an incredible silence in the forest. The figure retreated and left Cornell lying on the ground. He remained still for what seemed like a long time but then a hand lifted his head up. Cornell felt the mouthpiece of a water canteen placed to his lips. Another figure appeared in his blurry vision. It was also humanoid and with a large head, but it was different. Cornell's dry lips were gently and slowly bathed and moistened by the water that the silhouette poured into his mouth.
"Leave it to a man-wolf to piss off a bear."
Cornell's vision suddenly came into focus as he stared up at the lone figure. He wore a large sun dried hat, his skin was gray like stone, and he seemed to be wearing what looked like bandages over his head. Despite the differences in his appearance, it was definitely the man Cornell once knew as Coller.
"Coller, is it really you?" Cornell struggled to speak.
"That it is, old friend." A smile crept across Coller's morbid features. Cornell wondered what had happened to the man he had known before. What could possibly have caused him to look the way he does now? How did he survive? All of these question plagued Cornell's mind, but for now he merely drifted into unconsciousness.
When Cornell opened his eyes once more, he was lying inside a makeshift tent. Laid over him was thin cloth bed sheet. Outside he could hear and smell a campfire. Cornell slid out of the makeshift bed and walked out of the tent. From the look of the sun it was probably midday. Coller was hunched over a small cauldron cooking some sort of stew over the fire. He had removed both his hat and his coat. His front and back were bare except for some unusual straps that he wore all across his chest. In the light Cornell could see Coller as what he really appeared to be a walking corpse. His skin, his hair, and even the eyes stared up at him looked dead.
"Coller. What happened to you? What are you doing here?"
Coller poured some of his concoction into a bowl and handed it to Cornell. His morbid features produced a very slight grin.
"Let answer those questions in reverse. What am I doing here? Well let me see. I think I am cooking you a late lunch. Cooking was never one of my strong points."
Cornell sampled some of Coller's broth with his fingertip. He then looked to Coller and nodded in agreement.
"As for what happened to your old friend Coller? Well, he died. So here I am."
Cornell looked at Coller with a perplexed gaze that indicated his immediate lack of understanding. Coller therefore elaborated.
"Okay, let me give the short version. All those years ago, when we were separated in the castle I awoke from my fight with that damn harpy to find myself Dracula's captive. He offered me a choice, join him or be eternally damned. Guess which I picked." Coller paused and took a deep breath. "This is the part of my story I really hate. I never really know how to say it."
Cornell continued to stare at Coller and never allowed his gaze to breakaway.
"He turned me into a lizard." Coller returned Cornell gaze and remained silent for several moments. "I mean a big lizard.not a small one."
"Oh, of course," Cornell replied nodding his head. "A lizard man. Yeah I fought those a couple of times."
"Hmmm, so I heard." Coller nodded.
"Really?"
He continued nodding until he finally continued his story. "I won't bore you with the details but I suffice to say I was stuck in the castle for many years. It was not until Henry and a couple of other people came to battle Dracula that I regained my human form. The witch Actrise gave it back to me. Of course it was for no good reason. She did out of spite. You see I had just lost my hand and a good chunk of my arm. As a lizard I would have grown it back but." Coller gestured indicating his human form. "I was back to normal again. So there I am, making my way out while taking care of some unfinished business at the same time, when Actrise appears again. She spite's me some more by literally ripping my soul out of me. So to sum it up, she left me as the one handed, walking undead, mixture of science and sorcery you have before you."
Cornell nodded his head. "That makes things clearer."
"It does, doesn't it?" Coller said grinning.
"Why are you here?"
Coller stood up from the rock he had sat on and walked over to where his coat lay. His hand reached into one of its many pocket and pulled out an object. Coller cradled it first in the palm of his hand but then turned and faced Cornell. Coller held onto the object's chain and let the small blue pendant fall from his hand. Coller approached Cornell and let the pendant land in Cornell's open palm.
"A friend asked me to give this to you."
Cornell closed his fist around the pendant and pressed it against his lowered forehead.
"You and I have a lot in common Cornell. One of those things is Henry. You can't expect to walk into a young boys life after just losing his parents and then let go so easily. Believe me, I know. When his parents died you and I were all he had. Then the boy lost me first, and then you later. I am no specialist but I think that can play hell with a child's mind. You see believe it or not, we all make up some kind of weird family."
Cornell stood up from where he sat and walked away from the camp. Coller followed him.
"For God's sake man! Stop blaming yourself. Stop carrying around that guilt of yours like it means anything anyway."
"Am I?"
"What?" It was Coller's turn to look puzzled.
"Am I man? I am not sure. I haven't been for some time."
"Your problem Cornell is that you don't believe in yourself. As brave a man that you are, after all the hell you have been through you are just a man filled with doubt. That is something that I can't fix. That is something that Henry can't fix. Only you can fix that."
Cornell nodded in silence.
"I know where you are going. Henry knew that you would need that pendant to find the place your looking for."
"Yes."
"Now the question is, are you ready to face your demons?"
A blue light suddenly poured out of the pendant in Cornell's hand. The light enveloped everything in sight. When it dissipated, they were both gone.
For the past two days, Cornell had viewed the world through blurred and tired eyes. He ceased to be moving in a given direction and now relied on already tired instincts. Cornell was starving. Many times during the course of his journey he had trapped unsuspecting animals. He had held rabbits, raccoons, and others in his hands. His eyes would stare into theirs as he contemplated whether or not to eat them.
"Big animals prey upon smaller animals." The thought crossed over his mind many times. Always the results of his contemplations were the same. He could not rip the tiny animal's head off and tear the meat from its interior. Cornell found the thought of blood spilling into his mouth repulsive. Nevertheless, he still did not know for sure.
"Man or beast?" he mumbled as he staggered forward through the forest. Suddenly Cornell felt his feet trip over something. He was on the ground in less than a second. So exhausted did he feel that he was in no hurry to get up again. It was not until his senses became aware of that familiar feeling of being watched over that he struggled to get up. Even after getting on his feet Cornell lurched side-to-side and walking backwards. His head jerked left and right trying to find the source of the disturbance he sensed. Then he felt it come at him. From the shadows of a nearby bush a large figure leapt at him. With his blurred vision he could make out a humanoid shape with a large head. The figure pushed him to the ground and held him there with its weight. Cornell weakly tried to fight the figure off of him but it only seemed to anger him. Then he heard it. The sound of the gunshot pierced through air and brought about an incredible silence in the forest. The figure retreated and left Cornell lying on the ground. He remained still for what seemed like a long time but then a hand lifted his head up. Cornell felt the mouthpiece of a water canteen placed to his lips. Another figure appeared in his blurry vision. It was also humanoid and with a large head, but it was different. Cornell's dry lips were gently and slowly bathed and moistened by the water that the silhouette poured into his mouth.
"Leave it to a man-wolf to piss off a bear."
Cornell's vision suddenly came into focus as he stared up at the lone figure. He wore a large sun dried hat, his skin was gray like stone, and he seemed to be wearing what looked like bandages over his head. Despite the differences in his appearance, it was definitely the man Cornell once knew as Coller.
"Coller, is it really you?" Cornell struggled to speak.
"That it is, old friend." A smile crept across Coller's morbid features. Cornell wondered what had happened to the man he had known before. What could possibly have caused him to look the way he does now? How did he survive? All of these question plagued Cornell's mind, but for now he merely drifted into unconsciousness.
When Cornell opened his eyes once more, he was lying inside a makeshift tent. Laid over him was thin cloth bed sheet. Outside he could hear and smell a campfire. Cornell slid out of the makeshift bed and walked out of the tent. From the look of the sun it was probably midday. Coller was hunched over a small cauldron cooking some sort of stew over the fire. He had removed both his hat and his coat. His front and back were bare except for some unusual straps that he wore all across his chest. In the light Cornell could see Coller as what he really appeared to be a walking corpse. His skin, his hair, and even the eyes stared up at him looked dead.
"Coller. What happened to you? What are you doing here?"
Coller poured some of his concoction into a bowl and handed it to Cornell. His morbid features produced a very slight grin.
"Let answer those questions in reverse. What am I doing here? Well let me see. I think I am cooking you a late lunch. Cooking was never one of my strong points."
Cornell sampled some of Coller's broth with his fingertip. He then looked to Coller and nodded in agreement.
"As for what happened to your old friend Coller? Well, he died. So here I am."
Cornell looked at Coller with a perplexed gaze that indicated his immediate lack of understanding. Coller therefore elaborated.
"Okay, let me give the short version. All those years ago, when we were separated in the castle I awoke from my fight with that damn harpy to find myself Dracula's captive. He offered me a choice, join him or be eternally damned. Guess which I picked." Coller paused and took a deep breath. "This is the part of my story I really hate. I never really know how to say it."
Cornell continued to stare at Coller and never allowed his gaze to breakaway.
"He turned me into a lizard." Coller returned Cornell gaze and remained silent for several moments. "I mean a big lizard.not a small one."
"Oh, of course," Cornell replied nodding his head. "A lizard man. Yeah I fought those a couple of times."
"Hmmm, so I heard." Coller nodded.
"Really?"
He continued nodding until he finally continued his story. "I won't bore you with the details but I suffice to say I was stuck in the castle for many years. It was not until Henry and a couple of other people came to battle Dracula that I regained my human form. The witch Actrise gave it back to me. Of course it was for no good reason. She did out of spite. You see I had just lost my hand and a good chunk of my arm. As a lizard I would have grown it back but." Coller gestured indicating his human form. "I was back to normal again. So there I am, making my way out while taking care of some unfinished business at the same time, when Actrise appears again. She spite's me some more by literally ripping my soul out of me. So to sum it up, she left me as the one handed, walking undead, mixture of science and sorcery you have before you."
Cornell nodded his head. "That makes things clearer."
"It does, doesn't it?" Coller said grinning.
"Why are you here?"
Coller stood up from the rock he had sat on and walked over to where his coat lay. His hand reached into one of its many pocket and pulled out an object. Coller cradled it first in the palm of his hand but then turned and faced Cornell. Coller held onto the object's chain and let the small blue pendant fall from his hand. Coller approached Cornell and let the pendant land in Cornell's open palm.
"A friend asked me to give this to you."
Cornell closed his fist around the pendant and pressed it against his lowered forehead.
"You and I have a lot in common Cornell. One of those things is Henry. You can't expect to walk into a young boys life after just losing his parents and then let go so easily. Believe me, I know. When his parents died you and I were all he had. Then the boy lost me first, and then you later. I am no specialist but I think that can play hell with a child's mind. You see believe it or not, we all make up some kind of weird family."
Cornell stood up from where he sat and walked away from the camp. Coller followed him.
"For God's sake man! Stop blaming yourself. Stop carrying around that guilt of yours like it means anything anyway."
"Am I?"
"What?" It was Coller's turn to look puzzled.
"Am I man? I am not sure. I haven't been for some time."
"Your problem Cornell is that you don't believe in yourself. As brave a man that you are, after all the hell you have been through you are just a man filled with doubt. That is something that I can't fix. That is something that Henry can't fix. Only you can fix that."
Cornell nodded in silence.
"I know where you are going. Henry knew that you would need that pendant to find the place your looking for."
"Yes."
"Now the question is, are you ready to face your demons?"
A blue light suddenly poured out of the pendant in Cornell's hand. The light enveloped everything in sight. When it dissipated, they were both gone.