Planet Purgatory (10 page)

“Oh, I can feel it. I just wish there was a little bit more.”

Much to my surprise, the imp went and retrieved another bottle, this time removing the cork before handing it to me.

“So how did a human develop a taste for chikka? And why doesn’t it kill you?”

I took a sip, trying unsuccessfully to remember the first time I actually tried the stuff. “It’s probably because I make it,” I said.

The imp jerked with surprise. “You?” she asked. “You’re a Brew-Master? I don’t believe it.”

“No, it’s true. Look, my initials are stamped on the base of the bottle. D.E. They stand for David Eno.”

The imp studied the base of the bottle. “That would explain the gun,” she said, dropping the bottle to the ground.

“Wait. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“No. You know something. What does my gun have to do with making chikka?”

“Enough with the questions. It’s time to play a game.”

There was a hint of menace in her voice, and I picked up my gun.

“What kind of game?”

“A riddle game.”

“Oh, you gotta be kidding!”

I think my dismissive tone surprised her, and she leaned forward, glaring at me with those fiendish eyes. “We’re playing the riddle game. And if you lose, I eat you.”

“Forget it.”

“You have to!”

“No. I hate that kind of stuff. I always have. It’s pretentious garbage.”

“But I’ll eat you if you don’t!”

“Not if I shoot you first.”

Silence ensued. Then the imp spoke, staring into my eyes: “A box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid.”

“Oh, for goodness sake, it’s an egg. Can’t you even come up something original?”

The imp dropped her gaze to the ground, and for a moment, just for a moment, I wondered if I’d overstepped my bounds.

“Now it’s your turn,” she said, bringing her devilish gaze up to my own.

“I told you. I’m not playing.”

“Then I’m going to have to eat you.” In a flash she was on me, but not before I had the muzzle of my gun in her face.

“You’re quick,” she said, backing away. “But not quick enough!” She rushed me again, and once again I stopped her. I didn’t know how I was doing it; she was lightning fast, yet somehow my reflexes were keeping her at bay.

“Impressive,” said Flea. “Especially with that much chikka in your veins. You should be dead. Or at the very least unconscious. Tell me, what are you really doing out here? Shouldn’t you be back at home, making more of your poison?”

I assumed she was trying to distract me, but as the moments passed and she didn’t attack, my thoughts drifted back to her comment about my gun.

“What do you know about
SYS
?”

The imp’s eyes glowed. “Oh, I know all about
SYS
.”

“Do you know where I can find them?”

“Maybe.”

Flea enjoyed playing the role of the coy imp; that much was clear. Meanwhile, my insides were exploding with butterflies.

“I have to find the
SYS
building. Our settlement is under attack. At first it was the aliens, but now an old man named Bill has parked on the outskirts of town, and he’s demanded we give him two of our own in return for protection. But the thing is, he’s going to keep asking for more and more. I just know it.”

At the mention of Bill’s name, Flea’s demeanor changed from mischievous to grave. “Does this Bill have a wagon?”

“He does. And he’s got some kind of devil inside.”

“Yes, I know all about Bill and his ‘friend.’ It’s good you left that place. Any place Bill makes his home is a place you don’t want to be.”

“No. You don’t understand. I’m going to make him leave. That’s why I have to find the
SYS
building.”

Flea burst out laughing, rolling around the floor in impish delight. “You?” she asked, struggling to catch her breath. “Make Bill leave?” Just saying the words sent her into another round of hysterics.

“It’s not funny! My parents are there. I promised them I’d save them. And when I promise something, I do it.”

Laughter subsiding, Flea popped off the floor to sit on her haunches. “Look at you, propped up against the wall like a doll in need of a bath. You can’t even walk. How are
you
going to make Bill leave?”

“I don’t know yet. That’s why I need to find the
SYS
building. Please, just tell, do you know where I can find it?”

“Maybe. And even if I did, why should I tell you? You wouldn’t play the riddle game with me.”

I could feel the energy being sucked out of me, from my toes right up through my shoulders. “All right, all right. I’ll play your stupid riddle game.”

The imp rubbed her hands together. “Oh, goody. Now picture yourself in a tree —”

Suddenly the room shook as something large traveled across the ground above us.
Thump, thump, thump
. It was unsettling, and Flea and I spent the following moments staring wide-eyed at the ceiling as the exposed roots vibrated in concert with the footsteps. And just as suddenly as it appeared it was gone, the thumping replaced by the sound of my beating heart.

“What was that?” I whispered.

“I don’t know,” replied Flea. She looked genuinely frightened. Even so, she leapt up onto the ledge, peering through the little passage like she meant to climb inside. “What do you think? Should I go and see?”

I shook my head. Vigorously.

I thought she was going to leave, but then, quick as a blink, she was in front of me again, sitting on her haunches.

“You have no idea what a dangerous world this is, David. A man on his own has no hope of survival. Even if I told you where the
SYS
building was, you wouldn’t make it.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

I must have replied with the right amount of certainty, because she leaned in, staring at me with those alien eyes. “How?”

“I was given a vision. By an angel, no less. He told me to find the
SYS
building, and there I would be given the means to free our settlement from Bill and his demon.”

Flea leaned in even closer. “An angel?”

“Yes. An angel.”

“What did he look like?”

Now, there was a quandary. Did I tell her he was a three hundred foot whale? Sipping some chikka, I adjusted my seat, grimacing at the ache in my leg. “He’s made of light,” I grunted. “Golden light. And he told me to find the
SYS
building.”

“And you listened to him?”

“Of course I listened to him. He’s an angel.”

I watched as Flea sifted through the information, the bits and pieces tumbling around inside her head.

“But why choose you? You’re just one man? Why not send seven men? Or seventy?”

“I don’t know. But he did, and I’m not backing out now. Not if it means getting my family out of this hellhole.”

Flea rocked back on her heels, smiling. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know what this place is. It’s Purgatory.”

Flea stared at me, and for the briefest moment, I saw something in her expression that told me what I said was true. But then she smiled. “Wow. That chikka’s really done something to your brain. Purgatory? This place? That’s just crazy.”

“But it’s not. For the longest time I suspected it, but now I know. Me, my mom, my dad: we’re in Purgatory because of what happened to my brother.”

“And what happened to your brother?” asked Flea, rocking slowly forward.

“He died when my mother threw him down the stairs.”

“Why’d she do that?”

“Because I tattled on him drinking beer.”

“And for that they sent you to Purgatory?” The imp slapped her knee and fell to her side, laughing hysterically.

“Go ahead. Laugh. Truth is, I should have kept my mouth shut. He was only fourteen.”

The laughing stopped. “Really?”

“My mother told everyone he slipped. Can you believe that?”

“She was probably scared.”

“Still, you don’t lie about something like that. Not when your other son was watching.”

“So you saw her do it?”

I nodded, memories from that afternoon swirling in my brain. “I should have told the police. Then maybe Mummy could have gotten the help she needed. Instead I kept it locked inside. We all did. It ruined us. It ruined me. Overnight I became … detached. I stopped caring. Oh, I could fake it, but ultimately I became trapped in my own little bubble. And it only got worse as I got older. Looking back at my life, I can honestly say I wasn’t a very good person.”

“And so now you’re in Purgatory …”

“That’s right. It was my self-absorption and lack of caring that got me here, and it will be my selflessness in the face of overwhelming odds that will bring me out.”

Flea shook her head, rocking on her feet while she gazed absently around the room.

She was strangely pretty. It bothered me to even think that, but it was true, and I traced her profile with my eyes, wondering what kind of creature she was.

“Are you a demon?” I asked.

“Pardon?”

“Are you a demon? Answer, yes or no.”

“What a funny creature you are, telling me this is Purgatory and then asking me if I’m a demon. Why, it’s almost as though you’re asking me to eat you.” And she jumped on me only to find my gun pointed in her face.

“There’s something definitely odd about you,” she said, slinking away. “Maybe you can reach the
SYS
building …”

I nearly choked on my own saliva. “So you’ll tell me where it is?”

“Maybe. But first I want to know the truth: why would a man seek out
SYS
on his own?”

“I already explained that. An angel gave me instructions. And besides, I wasn’t alone when I left.”

This was the nugget the imp was so doggedly searching for, and she scrambled up to me, peering into my face. “Who was it? And where did they go?”

“It was my dog, Rosie.”

I could feel the disappointment oozing out of her very being. “A dog? Really? And here I thought it would be something worth mentioning.”

“Don’t you talk about her like that! She was my protector. My friend. And I let her die!”

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, angry with myself not only for having lost control, but for giving Flea ammunition to needle me further.

Instead she watched. “What happened?”

“A witch put a spell on me. Turned me into a little boy, right in her living room. I didn’t even notice Rosie was gone. By the time I figured out what was going on, it was too late. I found Rosie in the basement with her throat slit, hanging from a meat hook like a side of beef.” The memory of the ogre in his denim overalls flashed in my mind. “Stupid Eggman.”

Flea’s eyebrow raised. “What’s an Egg-Man?”

“He’s the monster that killed her; a bald ogre with the whitest skin I’ve ever seen. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was a demon. He’d have to be, to kill Rosie like that. She was a beast, more a lion than dog. She should have at least put up a struggle.”

I kept replaying those final few steps into the basement, the image of my friend, dead, hanging from the ceiling.

“You hate him, don’t you?” she asked, crawling up beside me.

“I do.”

“So why don’t you kill him?”

“He’s too powerful.”

“But you have your gun.”

I pictured the albino goliath and shuddered. “You don’t understand. The Eggman’s a giant. A demon. There’s no way I could kill him.”

“David, David, David,” lamented Flea, returning to her more familiar spot in front of me. “How can you expect to defeat Bill if you can’t take care of one little Egg-Man?”

“That’s why I need to find the
SYS
building!”

The imp stuck out her bottom lip in mock sympathy. “Aw, David. I didn’t mean to upset you. Here, let me see if I can cheer you up.”

She made a fist, palm pointed to the ceiling.

“What are you doing?”

“Just watch.”

The imp opened her fingers to reveal a small stone that slowly rose in the air to float in front of my face.

I was awestruck. “How are you doing that?”

“Grab it,” she said.

So I did. And what a strange little stone it was. It looked like fossilized origami, the edges folded in on itself to form a flattened stony box. “What does it do?”

“Let go of it.”

I watched in fascination as it hovered in front of my face once more.

“Keep watching,” she said.

Without warning, the stone exploded. And not just a little pop, but an explosion that left me temporarily blinded with whistling in my ears. I was livid. The imp, meanwhile, was rolling around the floor, laughing.