Desperate Run

I have to warn Duncan and Hannah!

The only thought that fills my head as I'm running aimlessly throughout Anthame. The only problem is that it's been hours since they went to Behnii's. They couldn't really still been there, so that begs the question of where do I go? If I go to Hannah's, I could warn her and have her tell Duncan. But what if she already used her computer by the time I arrive? It would already be too late.

My brain racks with places where they could be. The Saloon, Coeus Cove, maybe even the arcade. I just need something to go off of. Suddenly a memory pops into my head. Duncan and I were hanging out one day during winter break. He got a selection of ales that his teammates recommended he should try. So I tagged along as a way to treat myself after uploading the winter issue of Dreadstiary.

We huddled around a small induction stove waiting for the ale to warm up. A couple of minutes of shivering in the harsh winter air, we began to fill our mugs with the warm liquid. After Duncan had filled his thermal mug, he proceeded to describe to me a sizable white Ash tree located at the southernmost boundary of Anthame.

“You have to go to the old wight tree!”

He blows on the hot drink, trying to cool it down before taking a sip. I follow suit before taking a swig while Duncan glugs the whole thing down in one fell swoop. The heat from the ale fills my body with warmth. I feel my body unwind as I continue to down the drink.

“Wight Tree? Like it's haunted?”

Duncan shrugs while filling his mug with another helping of ale.

“Dunno, I just heard the name from my old man. The spot is incredible! Perfect amount of shade plus a beautiful view of the hills outside Anthame. It's the perfect place to get business done.”

As we both polish off the pot of ale, the memory starts to slip away.

Even though it's merely a hunch, I took it as my laboring legs move in that direction. If I'm wrong, I can take a break under the tree and call them after I recoup my strength. I feel my heart in my throat as barely any air fills my lungs. My body staggers, almost crashing into a parked sedan, but with everything I have I keep moving forward. My battered legs heave my body through close traffic calls and curious onlookers while I try to figure out the fastest way to get to the tree.

“It has to be close.”

I pass by Behnii's when I feel my legs start to give out. Pushing against a nearby tree to keep myself upright.

“Come on, Come ON!”

I hit my legs as if trying to rev them up to keep moving. Even so, I start to slow down. My heart vibrates my whole chest as I crept across the street. It begins to overwhelm me as I make it 2 more blocks before needing to spot to catch my breath.

“I can't…”

Looking back at the Behnii's causes memories to flood my mind. Duncan trying to eat his weight in burgers. Hannah throwing fires at me and Duncan on her last day working there. Mia taking a picture with the space pirate mascot and Kat buying an absurd amount of deserts from there. My eyes fill with tears as I force myself to keep moving forward. Lungs burn as I start to collapse, only making it close to the end of the block. Luckily, a stranger catches me and helps me up. He speaks, but no words register as I focus on what's ahead.

My vision, blurred from tears, is able to make out the large tree in the distance. The sight of it lets me catch a 4th wind as I push off the man and sprint directly towards it. I am starting to worry the closer I get to the tree, as there is no car parked anywhere. It's only until I got a little over halfway, I could make out the silhouette of a car. My speed picks up as I rush to get to the car. However, I am too tired to stop myself, so I end up crashing into the side of the compact. I hold myself up by the roof when I hear a muffled yell from inside.

“What the!”

The voice comes out muffled, but I could make out that it was Duncan. Relief overwhelms me from hearing it, as it means I wasn't too late. The sounds of the window rolling down covers my final whimpers of crying.

“The hell you think…. Max?”

“Max!?”

I flinch as Hannah's harsh tone sends a chill down my spine. I brace myself for the impact, but to my surprise, it never comes. Instead, I feel a gentle touch across my eyes. I open them to see an unusually soft expression on her face as she wipes the tears from my other eye.

“What's wrong?”

“Shotgun is open, if you need a seat.”

I creep towards the door, using the hood to keep me upright. Crashing in the seat, I let myself get a few seconds of air before recapping the events today. Some words might have been unintelligible through the combination of my jagged breaths and whimpering when mentioning Ben and Kat, but I figure any follow-up questions would come up after I finish spilling the details.

After concluding my recap, a long silence fills the air. Glancing out the window, I'm greeted by the sight of the vibrant green hills that surround Anthame, appearing utterly pristine and untouched. Truly, this view is a beautiful view.

“So,can you kill it?”

Duncan is the first to respond. After giving it some serious thought, I couldn't really give a clear reply.

“I would have to go through notes and stuff to see what it is first.”

“Cause of the whole invisibility thing?”

“It's a thing we came up with. The more dangerous the monster, the more likely it's not visible to others. Remember the Banshee?”

Hannah chimes in to answer Duncan's question. A loud clap rings thorough the car as Duncan begins to laugh at the response.

“Then it's Stoppable! Nothing to worry about!”

As I begin to rise from the chair seat to refute Duncan's statement, I'm suddenly taken aback by a swift smack to the side of my head. Caught off guard, I feel the impact and its stinging sensation.

“That's what you wanted, right? No sense to start crying now. We grieve after that piece of shit is dead.”

Hannah sharply states as Duncan continues to laugh.

“Vicious as Always!”

The atmosphere shifts as Duncan clears his throat and adopts a more serious tone.

“So, any precaution I should take?”

I sit there rubbing my head, trying to think of other things to say besides the obvious, but not really came to mind. So I just state the only real to do in a situation like this.

“Well, the best bet would be unplugging your pc just in case.”

“No biggie! I watched it on my shit old laptop. Easy thing to get rid of.”

Duncan boasts this as if he was 2 steps ahead of the situation.

“What about you guys?”

“I watched it on my laptop too. If I watched it on my PC…”

Digging in my pocket, I pull out my phone. I held the chunky device up while swirling my wrist around for effect.

“We would all be dead right now.”

“Right, you have that phone computer spa-some…”

The sound of Hannah kissing her teeth cuts Duncan off.

“Well, I feel like a dumbass since I watched it on my PC.”

There's something in the way she says it that prompts both Duncan and me to start snickering. The car seat jolts from a harsh impact.

“It's not funny!”

The snickering stops instantly.

“So Max, guess you'll need help with research. I'll tell my folks I'm spending the night at your place.”

Whew, Hannah is a lifesaver! I thought I was going to have a long night shuffling through notes alone. That probably wouldn't be a good idea right now. Don't think I can focus without getting distracted.

“Sure. I don't think my parents…”

Turning to face Hannah, I freeze in place. I feel my face becoming hot at the sight before me. Hannah gives me a puzzled look as she tries to figure out what's wrong with me. She looks at Duncan to see if he could guess what's wrong. Then it clicks as she looks down at the Duncan and her herself right after. Duncan also picks ups on it while he lets out a smooth chuckle.

“I mean, we are all friends here.”

In a flash, Hannah throws a fast punch sending Duncan into the car door. I have sunken into the seat fast, fearing I would be the next target. I hear the door open as Duncan quick states.

“Right, Right. Hand me my pants and sneakers.”

After a few seconds of rustling, Duncan opens the driver side door and gets ready to start the car. He looks at me, trying to emulate the smooth tone from earlier with a bright smile.

“You need a pick me up. Want something from Benhii's?”

I sit in silence for a bit, letting the sound of Hannah getting dressed fill the car. I try to think of an excuse not to go since time was of the essence, but after a bit I thought why not? A little cheering up is what's needed right now.

“A medium WAGMI?”

“That shit soda?”

The car roars to life as if agreeing with him.

“Nah, you need something better than that!”

Duncan proceeds to takeoff as we head to a pit stop before a long night of research.

We leave Behnii's food in hand as I sulk in the car seat, sipping on a pinwheel milkshake. My eyes are glued to the sight of the houses speeding by, trying to distract myself with the monotonous rectangle shapes zooming by. In the corner of my eye, I notice Duncan taking a glance in my direction. There's a worried look on his face. I turn to look at him, but he quickly flashes me a smile.

“It's amazing, right!?”

Oh, I guess he's waiting on my opinion on the shake. Taking a few more sips, letting the dull vanilla flavor coat my tongue for a bit before giving a response.

“I prefer the shakes from the saloon.”

A stifle chuckle comes from behind me. I turn to see Hannah trying to hold back her laughing. She sits cross-legged in the back, her clothes in disarray, devouring a double rift burger. She wipes purple “galactic sauce” from the corner of her mouth with her thumb before cracking a smile. Duncan notices Hannah's smirk.

“You guy's taste buds are out of wack.”

He shoves his hand in a Benhii's bag right next to him. Almost as if he's assaulting the poor astronaut mascot on the bag.

“This shake is the gold standard, especially if you dip the crinkle fires in them.”

Duncan pulls out a couple of fries and shoves them into his mouth. I try out his suggestion of taking a fry and dipping it into the shake. The saltiness of the fry did little to boost the dull flavor. In actuality, the fry made the shake taste worst.

“It just doesn't compare to the shakes at the saloon. It's an actual milk bar. They just have better quality stuff.”

Hannah burst out in laughter upon hearing my critique. The sounds of cruel glee mixed with snorts fills the car as Duncan's face goes blank. He stays like that for a while as he is aggressively tapping the steering wheel. The car comes to a slow stop as he flatly announces:

“We're here.”

I gaze through the car window, finding ourselves facing a solid, rectangular house. Its dull gray paint and three windows adorned it, blending in with the monotonous repetition of similar houses in the neighborhood. However, what makes this particular house stand out was a symbol proudly displayed next to its front door. It's a unique emblem I had created—a triangle enclosed within a cube—a powerful protective symbol that signified home sweet home.

Hannah gets out of the car first. She stops for a moment to fix her skirt and hair before heading to my house. Just as I'm about to follow her, I feel Duncan's hand rest upon my shoulder.

“Hang back for a sec. I want to ask you something.”

I freeze for a bit as Duncan has a serious look on his face. Hope he didn't take the criticism too harshly. I take my hand off the handle and rest back into the seat. Duncan stares out of the window, his attention fixed on Hannah, who stands by the front door, awaiting someone to open it. Hannah glances back at the car with a puzzled expression, likely wondering why I haven't joined her outside. However, before she can make her way back, the front door swings open, revealing my mother who warmly embraces Hannah, pulling her inside the house.

“So what's up?”

I ask as I watch Duncan repeatedly tap the steering wheel in a playful rhythm before turning to face me. The serious mask now gone and in its place is the regular carefree glee Duncan normal wears. Leaning closer to me, he states his question.

“Was that your first time seeing them?”

I look at Duncan with a puzzling look, trying to figure out what he is talking about. He rocks his head a bit like a child impatiently waiting for a treat before he playfully taps my chest.

“Come on now. Her tits.”

The scene from before flashes in my head. My hand instinctively grabs the door handle as I'm about to bolt out of the car. Once again, Duncan firmly grabs my shoulder, stopping me from making my escape.

“Relax! Relax! I was trying to lighten the mood!”

Once again, I rest back into the seat. Duncan let's go of my shoulder. He lets out a deep breath while rubbing his hands together.

“I have faith you're going to beat this monster, but seeing you just sulk there isn't really a morale booster”

He stops talking to run his hand through his hair. Letting out another short breath, he continues.

“Look, I don't mean to be dickish right now. It's just all the other times we dealt with monsters, you were unfazed. But now you're fazed, and it's getting me a bit on edge.”

It's a weird sight seeing Duncan panic like this. Well, being sober is making it uncomfortable. I kinda get where he's coming from, though. Thinking back, I guess I don't let the anxiety show that much when hunting. Mostly because I know if I mess up, either Ben or Hannah would have my back… Oh. I try to think of something to say to reassure Duncan that things are going to go smoothly, but nothing comes to mind. Then I remember the pinwheel milkshake and begin to chug it.

“Look, you don't have to chug the…”

The squeal from the empty cup cut Duncan off. I let out a deep exhale through my nose, trying to let all the cool out. I shake the empty cup before letting out a smile while straining to get my words out.

“Some alcohol would make this better.”

Duncan looks at me, bewildered at my actions. A smirk cracks on his face as he lets out a half-hearted laugh.

“You're not wrong with that.”

I finally exit the car and make my way home. I didn't make it far before the perfect response appears in my mind. Turning around, I let out a small whistle to catch Duncan's attention.

“Yeah. It was my first time seeing them.”

A shocked expression plastered Duncan's face. He stays like that for a moment before breaking out into a huge grin.

“They're amazing right!!!”

His car roars again in agreement as Duncan speeds off. I wait watching the car until it makes a right turn before I make my way into my house.

Opening the door to my room, I jump a little seeing Hannah next to the door. She rests on top of my Blu-ray shelf, head rocking side to side, as she eats a spoonful of beige ice cream.

“You're still eating?”

Digging for another spoonful of ice cream, she shoots me an annoyed glare.

“Well, I did burn a lot of energy today.”

Not wanting to challenge her response, I throw my hands up in defeat as I make my way to my couch. The couch is covered with tons of Blu-ray cases of different horror genres. Taiwanese horror, giallos, and creature features. I begin to make room for me to sit when Hannah starts talking with her mouth full of ice cream.

“So spill it. What did you omit from the recap.”