Frightened Boy

Chapter Sixteen - Blowball

16. Blowball

I tried to relax, but the sensation of being watched kept me from getting any real rest.

Erika slept soundly, snoring softly.

I untangled myself from her, searched my surroundings. Magical meadow. Hard time believing I was really there. Trees towered tall as bank buildings.

I caught a flash of color amongst the thickest portion of the trees in front of me. Fear rose in my stomach as I realized it as Escher himself, dressed like a rock star in charcoal gray jeans, a purple shirt, and the very same crimson jacket he wore the first day I met him. Any hope he somehow forgot about me was dashed.

I thought he might be coming for Erika, and I had to do something about that. I stepped out away from our little hovel and met Escher as he moved swiftly through a thick concentration of trees. “Hello, Escher,” I said, as though we were friends; as though he didn’t scare the shit out of me; as though being near him wasn’t my least favorite thing in the world.

“Frightened Boy,” Escher said, “you’re coming with me today. There’s something important I have to take care of, and I want you to be there.”

Fuck.

This was worse than him coming for Erika—I was the one who should have been hiding. Nevertheless, I tried to sound calm and collected. “What have you got in mind?”

“A few things. I think it’s time you and I really got to know each other.”

“Okay,” I mumbled. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Let’s walk. Come with me.”

Escher seemed to know the best ways to navigate the trees, and soon we were far out of sight of the space Erika and I shared. I realized I wouldn’t be able to find her again if I tried.

A lump of dread stuck in my throat, but I soldiered on. If I was going to save her, I was going to have to do it with Escher’s help. I wasn’t going to go head to head with him and come out of it alive, I knew. There was simply no competition.

Escher led me to a camouflaged jeep. The rear of the vehicle was filled with toolboxes, automatic rifles, hand grenades, and pistols.

“What—umm…” I started. “What are you going to do with those?”

“I’m going to assault a heavily guarded compound today. Frightened Boy, I have to admit, I’m growing to like you. Today is something of a test. Today, we will get to know each other. I’ve got some suspicions about you.” He turned to me and tapped his head.

“What kind of suspicions, sir?” My panic rose a notch.

Escher laughed. “I don’t think you’re the spy,” Escher said. He clapped me on the back. “I think you’re up here,” he said, tapping his forehead with his other hand. “I think you might be a piece of me. Today we are going to find out. All you have to do is stay alive.”

My throat muscles refused to swallow. I was going to drown in my own saliva, and I was almost certain this might be worse than being the spy.

Escher turned the keys in the jeep and it roared to life. He drove expertly through a winding clearing of trees amidst the all-encompassing flora of the forest. “I made this path, you know,” Escher said proudly, looking around.

“You cut through the clearing?” I asked. It would have been an impressive feat, and I didn’t see any hacked-away branches. In fact, the path we were on seemed naturally formed.

“You still don’t understand,” Escher said. “You will though. Or, I will understand, and when I do, you will - because you're me. Or, my anxiety, anyway. And once you're fixed, I will be stronger.”