Chapter 3
Chapter Three
EDGAR
Nova hands me a booklet, and tucked between the first two pages is a long-ass list of things to beware of.
The list goes on and on. I only reach halfway before tucking it back into the booklet and shoving it inside my backpack.
“Got everything you need?” Franky asks, resting a hand on my back.
“Yeah. I think so. Nova said there was plenty of food in his kitchen, and I can always come back if needed.”
“Yeah, but it might not always be easy once you leave the house and wander too far.”
“I know. I have the map he made me, and the book of different creatures and areas to watch out for. I have my protein drinks, snacks, first aid kit, pocket knife, matches, flashlight, lighter, and wipes.”
“Sounds like you’re all set, then. What about rope and a water bottle? What about an umbrella and gloves?”
“Got all that too.” I pat the front of my bag. “If I stand here and list every damn thing I have, it’ll be dark before I even enter Nova’s house.”
“That’s dramatic. The portal in my closet takes you directly to his living room.”
“Which is also his bedroom.”
“Yes, and his kitchen,” he adds with a smirk.
I place a hand on his arm. “I’ll be fine, Franky. I’ll be back to annoy you and intrude on your mornings before you know it.”
A laugh breaks past his lips and he huffs out a breath. “I know, and I do have to admit, the break will be nice.”
“Yeah, and who knows, maybe I’ll come back with my very own monster fiancé and won’t need to get those flowers for Tabitha anymore.”
“Tabitha’s her name, huh?”
“Yup.” Her name is Tabitha, but the one I really care to see again is Pollux. I want to touch those pretty, soft, white and gray feathers again. He had them almost everywhere. I wonder how far they went past that little loincloth he had on too.
“Well, maybe after you go on that date, you can bring her around and we can meet the woman who almost cost you your life over a silly flower request.”
“Maybe.” I can’t tell him I no longer care if I find those flowers. I did once. Then I accidentally got lost while I was searching for them the last time I was out there, driving back to base after making a delivery.
Franky pulls me into an insufferable hug, and I wrap my arms tightly around him. “I’ll be back soon.”
“You got three days max, and then I’m coming for your ass.”
“Dude, not in front of Nova. He’s not supposed to know about us yet.” I grin widely, batting my eyes, and he shoves at my shoulder, face flushing.
Nova laughs, standing between us to embrace me in his own hug. Lips to my ear, he whispers, “I happen to know for a fact that Franky is more of a dick man than an ass man, so no way will you be fooling me.”
I scrunch my nose. “I really didn’t need to know about how much my friend likes to bottom for you. I also didn’t need a reminder of how much dick you have in those pants.” My eyes narrow in on the bulge between his legs.
“Hey, watch those wandering eyes,” Franky jokingly warns.
“Hey, yourself. Y’all are the fuckers who keep trying to stall me.”
“You’re not wrong,” Franky says sheepishly. “Be safe out there, man.”
“Yes, and we wouldn’t be mad if you were to bring us back some presents too,” Nova says, eyes crinkling in the corners.
“Bye now,” I say, looking at them one more time before stepping through the closet and into the portal.
Seconds later, I’m standing between Nova’s bed and beanbag chair.
Looking around, I notice some new teapots in his kitchen area that I didn’t see the last time I was here for his birthday celebration.
His collection continues to grow, and he keeps it here instead of the house he shares with Franky.
His house here is basically like his personal man cave.
I shield my eyes as I step closer to the glass back door and bright light blasts my face.
It’s brighter first thing in the morning and can be pretty harsh when you’re not used to it.
I lather myself with sun block and bug repellent, slide my sunglasses over my eyes, and tighten my hands around the straps of my backpack and exit the house.
The back yard could use some upkeep. Vines and weeds are overgrown, and each one waves my way, some slapping at my arms and legs.
A giant slug-like creature passes me by, and I open the gate, closing it behind me as I step into the danger zone.
You wouldn’t think something so beautiful could be so scary.
Everything is so full of color here, and my senses are on overload.
The berries in the trees smell sweet, and the flowers are better than any perfume back home. They aren’t the right ones, though, and I don’t care enough to take any back after all, but I probably should or I’ll have to answer a lot more questions.
Creatures chirp and squawk around me. High-pitched noises fill the air, along with the loud snapping of branches and crunching of leaves as I go deeper into the trees.
Some talk, while others quietly move their branches in an attempt to trip me.
I glower at the sneaky fuckers, sticking my middle finger up.
Laughing, I shake my head, doubting they understand the gesture or even notice shit like that.
My feet come to a halt when I come across a pond.
Or it’s small like one. Things hop in and out of the water.
Buzzing surrounds me and I look around, never letting my guard down as I walk around the small body of water.
I’m getting closer, I think; this path looks familiar.
I pass large, glowing rocks and my feet slosh into sticky mud.
I shake it off my shoes once I’m back on grass.
Do they call it grass here? I didn’t look very long at the pictures and definitions Nova had in the book he lent me. From what Franky told me, most are made up by Nova anyway. Not everything has a name out here.
Something loops around my ankle and I shake it off. As I’m too focused on what’s on the ground, the branches of the trees shake as if being swung on. I feel so many eyes on me. I’m being followed. I move, and whatever is behind me moves with me.
When I stop, so do they. My heart thumps and I pull out my knife, but my shoulders relax when I finally lay eyes on my stalker.
It’s a cross between a man and a fuzzy spider.
His hair is white, legs stripy, and face covered in numerous big blinking eyes.
He watches me, tilting his head. He’s kind of cute.
“Hey there.”
Not so much as a sound back, but he continues to match my steps, and I keep an eye on him as I’m closing in on where I almost lost my life.
And there they are—large purple flowers with pink dripping centers.
The petals open and close. I step closer, opening my bag to shove a handful inside, and when I glance behind me, the spider man is only inches away, legs lifting the rest of his body higher off the ground.
“You look like you could be a sweets guy, how about some chocolate?”
The creature blinks at me again, all eyes moving at the same time. A chill runs through me as he opens his mouth, showing off several rows of teeth. Yeah, not so cute anymore, is he?
Unzipping a plastic baggie in my backpack, I grab three caramel clusters and toss them his way. Examining them closely, he taps at one with one of his…feet? Then he looks back up at me, growing bigger.
My body tenses up when three more like him show up. They’re bigger too, with more teeth, sharper than any knife I’ve ever owned. I gulp, stepping back as I grab onto the bark of a tree. “Nice spider friends,” I whisper.
Their mouths drip with what I can only assume is some type of venom I want nowhere near me. Although being completely numb while being eaten alive might be better than feeling all those teeth munching on my bones.
One reaches a leg out to me and I bend down, picking up some rocks to toss at it. “Back. Get back.”
Not so much as flinching from my warning, the monster opens his mouth, wanders closer, and spits at me. My arms are covered in a slimy substance, and I try to use wipes to clean it off but my hands start losing feeling.
Oh no. I really hate being right. More spit shoots out of his mouth and it soaks through my jeans, causing my legs to lock up.
Loud flapping fills the sky as my body sways.
The rest of me feels too heavy for my feet as I crash to the ground.
Completely paralyzed, I can’t so much as blink my eyes, and I wish I could at least close them so I don’t have front-row tickets to me being covered in webbing.
This is it. I guess it’s too late to say sorry to all the bugs I squashed with my shoe back home, huh? Or all the flies I laughed at as they were being rolled up to have their guts sucked through a spider straw.
My new friends jump back. They’re scared of whatever they see.
Their eyes grow big, legs tapping faster on the ground as they take more steps back.
I’m unable to follow the direction they move their eyes in, but I can hear what’s coming our way at high speed.
The monsters take off in different directions as large wings flap in the air.
A sweet chirp hits my ears and soft feathers brush over my skin as I’m slowly lifted into the air.
Pollux widens his eyes as he looks down at me, shaking his head. I can’t help but smile as I lose consciousness, no longer worried about not waking up in one piece when I open my eyes.