Chapter 21 The Slumbering Behemoth #2
The Firefly isn’t a passenger aircraft, but a home, and there’s nowhere to sit, so the four of us stand awkwardly behind the cockpit.
There’s a large bed, a small kitchen, and what appears to be a bathroom.
It must have been fancy and impersonal before Jude and Oliver made it their home, but now they have decorated it with fairy lights, garlands, and collections of tree branches, potted plants, and seashells.
Alastair holds Perri as we all turn our attention to the cockpit window. My gut bottoms out when I realize how high we’ve gotten. It hits me suddenly that it’s the first time we’ve ever flown. It boggles my mind that it used to be common practice before the Rise.
Oliver has turned the Firefly towards the ocean, and we have an unobstructed view of the island and the Kraken.
He’s getting agitated and two of his giant tentacles are destroying the temple and the lighthouse.
I wonder if it’s the smell of Alastair or the other mutant’s blood that seems to have sent him into a rampage.
The cultists will probably spin this to fit their narrative.
The old god is displeased about the death of his prophet, or some other bullshit.
Jude whistles. “To think this fucker was just taking a nap over there all this time.”
“I hope the prisoners had time to escape,” Perri says.
Smoke rises from the village on the coast, revealing the outline of the Beetle even with her cloaking technology on. The cultists run away from her like ants on a burning anthill.
Helios’ voice echoes through the radio. “The Beetle calls the Firefly. Beet tells us you’ve got them? She’s in touch with Vex.”
Jude grabs the transmitter. “Sure do, all four of them. You can scrap.”
“Good. The idiots are shooting us with arrows, scratching our panels. Griffin will cause a massacre soon if they keep at it.”
Jude snorts. “Nevermind that. Did you notice the giant monster in their backyard?”
“The Kraken? Oh yeah. I’m so freaking happy. I never thought I’d set eyes on him. His last known location was the Bering Sea. To think he was so close to home all that time…”
“I won’t mind never setting eyes on him again, thank you very much. We’re dropping off the kids at their camp and we’re leaving. Tell Griffin I said hi.”
“Okay. We’ll join them soon. I can’t wait to meet the AI who got Beet all flustered.”
“I’m in love,” Beet says before the line goes quiet.
We watch the Kraken for a moment longer in tense silence, until Oliver turns the Firefly and takes us away.
I share a glance with Alastair. How strange must it be for him to meet the old god whom he gets his mutations from?
He smiles tiredly at me and nods. His monstrous side is leashed once again.
I reach for him and caress his face. He closes his eyes and leans into the touch, and my heart gives a painful squeeze. To think we almost lost him…
By the time we land at our camp a few minutes later, Perri, Alastair, and I are sagging with exhaustion. But we can’t rest yet, we need to put some distance between us and the zealots in case they decide to comb the area after the attack.
Perri hugs Jude, and to everyone’s surprise, Alastair offers a handshake to Oliver, who takes it after a pause, looking wary of the tentacles writhing on the King’s other side.
I offer my thanks grudgingly—I’m forced to admit they were a great help.
“Now it’s your turn to owe us a favor,” Jude says to me with a shit-eating grin.
I glare. “No. We’re just even, dickhead. ”
He ignores me. “We’ll get in touch if we need anything.”
“No, really. Don’t—” but it’s too late, he has slammed the door on my face.
As soon as the Firefly leaves, we are ready to head out, too. The windshield of Alastair’s truck is covered by a thin layer of snow and I swipe it with the sleeve of my coat.
Perri gets behind the wheel. “Let me do this,” he says when I ask him to switch. “You two have crossed half the country for me. Just rest, you deserve it.”
Alastair is too busy regrowing his arm to argue, eyes closed and head resting on the window of the passenger side.
I concede and take the middle seat after settling Vex in the camper at the back.
She sat on the bed with a smile, looking entirely too relaxed.
She doesn’t get exhausted like us humans, and I make a mental note to teach her how to drive.
She might even keep watch at night while we sleep, just like Beet does.
The snow gets heavier as we drive through the forest. Thankfully, the truck’s enormous wheels have no trouble on frozen roads.
Half an hour later, Helios calls again to give us the location of a meeting point. They know a spot by a lake where we’ll be able to rest for a few days, far enough away from the cultists to be safe.
Alastair slumbers and I hold his good hand tight. The tentacles on his left side are taking shape, regrowing his arm at an incredible speed. At this rate, he might be whole again tomorrow morning. I close my eyes and rest.
Perri drives for three hours until he agrees to let me take the wheel. Two hours later, we finally reach our destination. And not a moment too soon, the snow is accumulating on the roads, and soon it’ll be too difficult to drive, even with the King’s impressive truck.
We’re far from the sea now.
Night is falling over the quiet lake, and the pine trees are white with snow. It’s the kind of view I never expected to see in person. My breath is fogging in the air, and the chill is already seeping into my clothes as I jump out of the truck.
Perri and I go through the camper and find the tarp and a small shovel.
I pull the tarp between the trees to create a sheltered area over the back of the truck as Perri shovels the snow, revealing the still–green grass underneath.
Vex is eager to help, so we send her with a hatchet to gather wood in the surrounding forest.
The Beetle makes an appearance just as we finish digging a pit for a fire.
Helios jumps out as soon as the hatch is open, feet sinking in the fresh snow, and he comes running. “Are you guys okay?” He’s wearing a dark green puffer jacket and a purple scarf.
Griffin, as usual, is right on his heels.
To my dismay, he’s only wearing a black tank top, revealing the red scales along his shoulders.
His skin is smoking in the cold. How strange.
His black horns don’t give me pause anymore, not when the man I love is one-third made of writhing tentacles as we speak.
Perri hugs Helios. “Yes. But man, it was crazy. We were doing pretty well until one of your mutant brothers,” he looks at Griffin, “rose from the dead and cut Alastair in two.”
Helios’ eyes widen. “Damn, what—”
“He’s okay. Regrowing his arm as we speak.”
“Huh—”
“But then we fought Marcus off, and Alastair rose from the dead, too. And he kicked his ass.”
“Wait,” Helios says. “Slow down and start from the beginning.”
Griffin looks at me, a question in his eyes, and I gesture towards the truck.
He nods and quickly makes his way to check on Alastair.
He opens the driver’s door and they exchange a few words.
Seconds later, Griffin walks to the Beetle hurriedly.
Perri is recounting our adventure excitedly to Helios and Beet when he reappears, arms loaded with a tray of food.
“He needs energy,” he tells me when I follow him to the truck. “I brought food that is easy to consume.”
Alastair opens his eyes lazily when Griffin drops the food on the seat by his side.
“I’ll help him eat,” I say. “Thank you.”
Griffin nods. “I’ll finish setting up camp.”
“Thank you,” I repeat, my throat tight.
I don’t know how we can ever repay them for their help. They didn’t know us, but they saved Perri and helped us rescue Vex. They fed us, clothed us, and fought for us. The Devil of the Wastes truly lives up to his legend.
I get in the truck and close the door as soon as Griffin has walked away. I survey the food and cut a thin slice of bread. “Strawberry jam or peanut butter?”
That’s when I notice the purple octopus Perri gave Alastair is on his lap. He must have grabbed it from the dashboard at some point. He’s cradling it in his good hand.
Alastair smiles faintly. “Both? I’m too tired to taste anything… but I reckon doubling on the calories can’t hurt…”
“Both it is.” I begin to spread the jam generously on the bread. It’s bright pink and sweet. I wonder what they use to sweeten it.
I handfeed it to Alastair after adding a spoon of peanut butter, and he chews slowly. It takes him a while to finish the first slice, and he sighs tiredly. “Sorry you have to do that.”
“I’m not sorry,” I say, holding his gaze. “I would do anything for you.”
His eyes widen slightly, as shocked as I am by my frankness. But I said what I said. I’m not resisting this—what’s between us—anymore.
I hold his gaze, daring him to say something—anything. I can take it, good or bad. But Alastair just reaches for me with his good hand and touches my face. He trails his thumb over my lips. I follow his gentle tugging and lean in to kiss him.
“Good,” he whispers against my mouth. “Because I would kill and die for you, Stellan.”
Joy zaps through my body. This is how men like us say I love you.
I smile. “Pretty sure you already did both.”
He chuckles. “I came really close to the second one, yeah.”
I pull away and he sags back on the seat.
I cut another slice of bread to feed him some more.
Through the windshield, I notice Vex walking back from the forest, arms heavy with wood for the fire.
Seconds later I hear Perri introduce her to Helios and Griffin.
The snow keeps falling, burying the world under a white blanket.
Griffin went all out for the camp. He set up strings of Christmas lights between the trees, fighting off the darkness with colorful LEDs, and brought out folding lounge chairs and blankets. Helios gave us more warm clothes, like wool socks, gloves, and beanies.
Perri is starting a fire in the pit, under Vex’s curious eyes.
I help Alastair out of the truck—he’s so exhausted he can barely keep his eyes open—and he falls on a lounge chair close to the fire.
As soon as Perri has buried him under a pile of blankets, he is lost to the world.
I tried to convince him to get to bed but he refused.
He wanted to stay with us by the fire. I place the octopus plushie on top of the blankets, near his face, and Perri grins at me.
Exhaustion is pulling me at the seams, and at last, I allow myself to sit on one of the chairs.
My muscles are sore from the fight earlier today, and I’m not used to the cold.
Thankfully, they built a great fire and its warmth is a welcome respite.
The smoke follows the path along the slanted tarp before disappearing in the trees above.
Tonight, the Beetle watches over us, and we can relax.
Helios is preparing some sort of stew over the camping stove, and it already smells amazing.
Griffin stands over his shoulder, bringing him supplies from the Beetle’s galley from time to time.
Perri, wrapped in a blanket, is checking Vex’s wires at the back of her head with Beet chattering from a wristband Helios must have lent him.
The King slumbers, the orange glow from the fire dancing on his face.
This scene feels so beautifully domestic, I feel a pressure at the back of my eyes, emotion grabbing me by the throat.
This is what life can be when survivors help and care for each other.
This is the life I might have missed if it wasn’t for Perri and his big heart.
The day I rescued him from the sinkhole, he changed the rules and taught me how to truly be alive in this world that is hellbent on making us suffer.
As always, we’re connected, and Perri senses me. He looks up and our eyes meet.
“I love you,” he mouths.
His smile is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“I love you,” I whisper back. He can’t hear me, but he saw my lips move.
He nods and wiggles his eyebrows, unserious as ever. I chuckle and pull my chair closer to Alastair to drop my head on his shoulder and watch the beautiful evening unfold.
Come morning the three of us wake up in bed.
Perri buried us alive under a pile of blankets to hold out against the cold, and I have to extricate myself without suffocating.
Alastair slumbers on my right, naked. He has healed nicely, his arm now back to its full glory, its skin a different shade of deep brown.
I trail my fingers over his new limb, in awe.
His eyes flutter open, and he smiles at me. “Good morning, Sunshine.”
It really hits me then. I want to wake up with him by our side every morning like this. When we return to the Traveling Market, I don’t want him to go back to being our king, and us his subjects.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, throat tight.
He hums and grabs my hand. “Ravenous. I could eat you,” he says, kissing my fingers.
I don’t pull away. “Later, perhaps. You need real food first. I’ll make breakfast.”
“I can help.”
“No. You still look wrecked. Perri will help me.”
There is a grumble behind me, and Perri’s arms encircle my waist. He drags himself out of the nest of blankets. “Someone said breakfast?”
I chuckle and embrace him.
Fuck, I’m so happy right now it’s almost painful.
We’ll have to talk about this—about us—soon. I just need time to find the words.
And we’ll have time, I realize as I come out of the camper. We got snowed in during the night and we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.
Vex, who insisted on staying outside all night, kept the fire burning. “Good morning,” she says brightly.
The Beetle stands by the lake, covered in white. As if on cue, she opens her wings to free her solar panels from the snow.
I smile and breathe in the cold morning air.
“Beautiful,” Perri says, coming out of the camper with a blanket around his shoulders.
I have to agree. Life is fucking beautiful.