Alive
A fan fiction in progress by
Bryan Harrison
Pt 5
1.
Night fell slowly, shrouding the forest in its black cloak. A chill grew with the darkness and David soon realized how inadequately he was dressed for this escape. He trudged with great difficulty along a thin path that had been worn into the overgrown tangle of brush and prickly weed. His shoes became wet and clogged with mud and his flesh stung from the frosty caresses of the night and the quick bite of buzzing insects that fed on him. They had never had a taste for him before. More than once did he cry out; more than once did he have doubts about making his fateful request to the Blue Fairy. And more than once did a have a new feeling, a bitter, green emotion that fell on his heart as he watched Teddy waddling casually along, ignorant of the cold and biting things.
In time the travelers came to a clearing that led up the slope of a small hill. When they'd climbed to its crest David took a moment to rest against the lone tree that stood there. It wasn't until he sat that he felt the full impact of the bites and scratches he'd acquired and realized just how tired he had grown. The slip of a crescent moon was making a slow ascent in the eastern sky. David watched wearily, remembering regretfully the warmth of his hospital bed as his body began to shiver without the exertion of walking to warm him. The biting things had finally relented. But the cold had not, and his hunger was just beginning.
"Where are we going?" Teddy asked, plopping down next to its new owner. David did not respond. He had no response. All he had dreamed of was being free and it wasn't until that wish had been fulfilled that he realized his plan would require more thought. Teddy waited for an appropriate period and then considered the possibility that David had not heard. So, it asked again. "Where are we going, David?"
It took a moment for David to remember that this Teddy knew nothing of his plight. "M-m-ma…" he started, but could not get the words out. He did not understand the bodily process that kept him from speaking. Instinctively, he hugged himself against the cold until some of his body heat returned. "Mommy's house," he explained finally, scratching at the irritating little bumps the bugs had left on his arms
Teddy considered David words. "Where is Mommy's house?" it inquired.
"I d-d-don't know, but I am sure we-we can ff-f-find it," David replied, hoping the bear didn't have any more questions. He didn't really feel like talking.
Teddy nodded, as if it understood everything. "You look cold, David," it pointed out. "Are you cold?"
"Ye-ye-yes, Teddy. I am co-cold." David managed. "Now w-would you pl-pl-please shut up?"
The bear did not seem daunted by this display of anger. It stood and leaned its furry body against David's leg. "What do you want now?" David snapped in annoyance. But then he felt the sudden warmth against his leg and quickly pulled the bear into his lap. David did not understand the purring sound Teddy made then, or the childish melody that it had began to hum. But the warmth the toy now emanated was all he was really after. He hugged Teddy close and in time fell into a sleep so sound that he was not disturbed when the rain began to fall.
Nor was he stirred by the odd strangers that passed quietly by on the dirty trail he and Teddy had followed.
2.
It was a beautiful morning. The rain had cleansed the air and the sun was just poking its golden eye through the fluffy cloudbanks that lay on the eastern skyline. Birds were greeting the day with their song. A squirrel hopped up the side of the hill, sniffing out a morning meal. But David didn't notice these things. From the moment he awoke he was preoccupied with the hollow pain in his stomach and the queasy feeling in his head. He was also drenched head to toe.
"You're wet, David," Teddy observed. "You need some dry clothes." David considered a sarcastic response but decided not to waste his energy on anger. He rose slowly, feeling his head spin and his knees quiver. He finally managed to stand and scan his surroundings.
"Where am I?" he asked in despair. His voice fell flat in the dense forest. He was surrounded by thick trees, laden with low hanging branches. Below, at the foot of the hill, he could see the path they'd followed to get here. But shadows clung to the forest floor, making it impossible to see where the path led. "Angelo!" he screamed angrily and felt his head swim with the effort. "Where did you leave me?" he cried. Why hadn't Angelo planned better, he thought. Then his Mecha friends lifeless face came back to him and he felt a moment of guilt. Angelo had sacrificed everything for him… just like Joe had once done. He had to go on. Wordlessly, he started making his way down the hill.
"Where are we going now, David?" Teddy inquired.
"This way!" David snapped as he stepped onto the muddy trail. Teddy thought this was an insufficient reply but decided it was better not to ask any more questions. Neither of them noticed the fresh tracks that had been recently laid on the muddy trail.
It might have been a kilometer, it might have been five, David wasn't sure, but the sun was almost mid-sky when he finally came to a place where the forest cleared. He could simply not go any farther. His hunger was unbearable. He'd even tried eating the little red berries that he'd seen clustered in the bushes along the path. But he had quickly spit them out and been left with a sharp nasty taste that had stayed with him all morning. David fell heavily against a log and then jumped up with a shriek as something shot out from the muck beneath the log and slithered away into the brush.
"You jus gonna let dat git away?" a strange voice asked.
David turned quickly to see a horrible sight sticking out from the trees: a battered white face, torn and broken, its oversized bulging eyes roaming in all directions. The remnants of curly red hair were plastered against the cracked dome of its head. Wires wound through the metal wound like worms. David uttered a scream that got caught in his throat and stepped back, shielding himself from the sight.
"Well, ah'll git it den!" the bizarre thing said and jumped from the brush, running in a quick bouncing gate after the snake. David moved into the safety of shadows as the man-thing, dressed in a dirty baggy suit with torn frills at the neck and goofy oversized shoes, bounded into the brush and out of sight. The tall reeds of grass began to tremble and shake, and a din of warbling laughter broken by intermittent swearing came from the scuffle. But the commotion stopped as suddenly as it had begun. All was quiet.
David realized he'd been holding his breath and let it out with a sigh. Slowly he stepped out from the shadows and towards the path. As tired and hungry as he was, this was obviously the wrong place to rest. "Teddy," he whispered, gesturing for the little bear to follow as he tiptoed away, hoping to avoid another encounter with… the thing.
"Jeggs!" came the voice from the grass. The face popped up over the tall shoots, just as horrible as before, but now sporting a large toothy smile. A few of those teeth were missing however.
"Huh?" David asked hesitantly.
"Name's Jeggs!" the face said. "Like a J with eggs! Not Teddy. Who in the heck is Teddy?"
David started to sputter an answer when the thing jumped from the brush and uttered a loud, victorious bark. One of its big floppy gloved hands was on a hip and the other held high, clasping something proudly. It was the snake, now dead and dripping from where the head had once been. David shuddered at the sight.
"Our Lord will be happy!" he thing called Jeggs cried. "And when Our Lord is happy, we all get happy. Happy as pigs in poop!" Jeggs laughed, a bit manically for David's tastes, and then suddenly turned serious. Its deteriorating brow creased in concern. "What da hell does that mean anyway?" Jeggs asked, one of its eyes on David and the other looking to and fro
David shrugged and stepped back a little further. "I uh… can't really say. Never heard that before… I think."
Jeggs shrugged too. "Oh well. I guess pigs like poop and people is jus like pigs when pigs is being happy in poop! And dat's 'nuff 'xplainin; for me! Lunch is on da way!"
"Yeah," David said, backing away. "That's really great," he added, beckoning dramatically to Teddy who now seemed to be fascinated with Jeggs. One of Jeggs' roaming eyes noticed the little bear and then the other one followed so they were finally pointing in the same direction at the same time.
"Hey little toy!" Jeggs screamed and one of its eyes quickly locked on David. "Dat yours?" Jeggs asked.
"Yes," David said. "But, umm… we have to go now, sooooo…"
"Oh, Our Lord jus luv dose little toys," Jeggs chortled. "All the little toys of the world!" Then both of Jeggs eyes were suddenly on David. "You a toy too?" it asked excitedly. "A'cause you look like a toy and you know Our Lord jus luvs his toys!"
"No! No!" David replied quickly. "Actually, I'm a …a b-b-.." but he couldn't finish the word. Hunger and sickness had finally caught up with him. His head swam and vision blurred. He moaned as he felt his knees give out and the world went dark as he fell to the muddy forest floor.
"David!" Teddy called. But to David the sound seemed far away. He tried to resist the darkness but he couldn't fight anymore. He let it seize him and take him into a distant place where the pain and hunger faded into the clutter of meaningless information on the periphery.
As he faded, David felt himself being picked up by large strong hands, and carried off like the infant he had never been.
"Oh, Our Lord is gonna jus luv you!" David heard someone cry and then utter a strange warbling laugh as he slipped finally into unconsciousness.
(cont...)