*Context* This is a chapter from one of my earlier revisions. My initial story had a middle section that read like GoT and LotR. Probably because I was deep into reading those at the time. I expanded on the politics of the Defenders, which I abandoned later. Either way the next couple of post will be about this section!
“No! Get away! Max, help me! Ahhhhhh! Go away, please! Maaax!” Lee’s voice echoed from somewhere hidden in the dark. The glowing eyes of Night Fears surrounded Bo, closing in from the shadows. She shrieked again, further away. He would never get there in time. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t. He was stuck.
Lee, I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Henri…
Lee appeared suddenly next to him and screamed right in his ear, loud and metallic, erupting into a mechanical roar before settling into a low rumble.
Bo woke with a start to pitch-black nothingness, the scream still vibrating through his head. At first he couldn’t see anything and worried he was blind, but the darkness was chased away by a tiny pinprick of light illuminating brown cardboard walls all around him.
What is going on? Bo tried to think but his thoughts were disjointed. Where am-
A high-pitch metallic grating noise painfully interrupted his thoughts. A moment later the loud rambling sound of a car engine moved away and with it the light. The squealing metal wheels Bo recognized as a garage door came down and went quiet. Suffocating silence and excruciating darkness enveloped him.
Images from his nightmare came flooding back to him. It was just a dream, he kept telling himself. But the pain in his head and body told a different story. Bo tried looking around and found he couldn’t move his head, or his arms and legs for that matter. In fact he couldn’t move anything. He felt something like tape covering his mouth. Panic began cutting through the pain, clearing his thoughts.
I am restrained in a cardboard box. I have tape over my mouth. No one parks in our garage so I’m not at home…Yup. This is a bad situation to be in.
A low creaking noise from behind him caught his attention, then another creek, this one louder and coming from in front of him. Just barely, Bo started making out the soft steps of padded feet, many feet, outside his box.
Rescuers or captors? Bo wondered.
Whispering floated to him, muffled and broken. Phrases like “No right” and “Unbelievable” were scarcely distinguishable. Bo could make out several voices arguing at once, all of them whisper- yelling over each other, making it hard for him to distinguish whom they belonged to. Gradually the voices grew from the furious hissing sound of a pit of snakes to more normal tones.
“-you got there first? Huh? Expel him right there without even hearing him out?” Ruby, Bo was sure of it. Just the sound of her voice made him relax a tiny bit.
“It would’ve been no more than what he deserved.” Justice said in his patented no-nonsense, straightforward tone. It made Bo’s head hurt more.
“He deserves to be heard out.” Bo could make out Odin’s voice now. “Explain what happened and the message he sent.” If anyone could talk sense into Justice, Odin was definitely the best chance.
“His message is why we’re here,” a new voice said.
Oh good, Bo thought sarcastically. Trixy’s here as well.
“But the message doesn’t make sense!” Ruby raised her voice and was promptly shushed by the others. “None of this makes any sense!” she said quieter.
“It makes sense,” insisted Justice. “If you weren’t blinded by your feelings.”
“It doesn’t,” countered Ruby. “If you knew Bo at all!” Another round of shushing made Bo smirk, and then cringe in pain. Totally worth it.
“It makes perfectly logical sense when you hear the whole story, which you haven’t. Henri, Tell Ruby and Odin what you told me.”
“I… It… I…” Henri’s trembling voice hit Bo like a slap to the face as pieces from the night before came crashing back to him. He failed her, a Fear got to Lee. His head and heart began throbbing. It was all his fault, he did that to Lee and to Henri.
“Henri,” Ruby said warmly. “It’s ok… I understand this must be difficult for you, but could you please tell Odin and me what happened?”
Slowly, Henri started again. “I was late coming back from helping Q, a Fear showed up later than usual and almost caught her off guard. I was eager to get home and spurred Al to run as fast as he could when… I felt it… the pain.” Guilt burned through Bo’s chest.
Henri continued tentatively through the memory, “It was too much to take… I fell to the ground. When it stopped suddenly Al was gone…He must not have noticed I fell off… I had to get home so I sprinting as fast as I could. It took me five minutes to get home. When I got to the backyard the extension cord wasn’t there… I called and called for Bo as loud as I dared but it never fell. There was no response...” Henri fell silent for several moments.
A cough from Justice brought her back to her story. “Sorry…When Bo didn’t answer I made my way to the front of the house. Bo hides a spare key there.” She chuckled at the memory. “I thought he was paranoid for putting it there, and teaching me how to open the front door by myself, but it really paid off last night.”
“Continue with the story Henri,” Justice commanded harshly. Bo made a mental note to kick Justice in his tail as soon as he got out of the box.
“I made it into the house and ran upstairs,” Henri continued hurriedly. “As I climbed the stairs, the pain came back, more agonizing than before. I almost tumbled down the whole flight, but I somehow managed make it to Lee’s room, I didn’t even think to stop by Max’s room first. When I got to her room I saw… I saw it…” Henri choked on her words. A sharp stab of regret and frustration pierced Bo’s heart.
“That filthy, disgusting creature was feeding off my Lee!” She said with a growl. “It was reaching straight into her chest and shoveling her light into its mouth. I lost myself. I flew at the creature and yanked on its tendrils to pull it off her. It stumbled away from Lee so I dove to her side and called my weapons. I threw dagger after dagger at its head and chest until it fell to lifeless the floor next to a broken flashlight.”
“And Bo?” The two words, dripping with impatience, came from Justice.
“When I realized my weapons hadn’t disappear I ran to Max’s room. I found him lying in a pile of his stuffing, completely unconscious. His sword lay beside him but his helmet was scattered off to the side with a large crater in its faceplate. A Night Fear stood over Max feeding, but it was missing a hand and it’s blood made it hard to see clearly in the room. I rushed forward sending a dagger right into its head. The Fear fell instantly. When it and our weapons were gone I ran to Bo’s side…He was mumbling…” Henri hesitated.
“Tell them what was he saying,” Justice demanded.
“He… he said it was all his fault,” Henri said all at once. “He said ‘I couldn’t save Lee’ and ‘I needed help’.”
“You see,” Justice said triumphantly. “A confession. Bo admitted to Henri it was his catastrophic lapse of judgment that hurt Lee. Bo admitted to needing help and evidence in his message to Ruby corroborates fully.”
Bo was slightly confused before, waking up strapped down in a dark box, who wouldn’t be? But now he was utterly bewildered. His memory was fuzzy but he still remembered clearly typing a message to the Council asking for help, and he was mostly sure didn’t send anything to Ruby. Bo wished he could remember more clearly but the pounding headache made that difficult. Something else happened, he was sure of it… something important. But what?
“He could’ve sent that message long before he was attacked,” Odin reasoned, continuing Bo’s defense even though made-up evidence was piling against him.
“Henri,” Trixy asked. “About what time did all that end?”
“I… I’m not sure.” Henri stammered. “Maybe 1:20-ish, I think.”
“According to Q’s login you left around 1:10am. That means the whole ordeal couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes. Does that sound correct?”
“Y-Yes?” Henri’s voice was soft and frightened.
“And Ruby,” Justice’s stern voice graded on Bo’s already throbbing head. “What time did you receive your message from Bo?”
“What? I don’t know! Why would I know that?” Ruby huffed indignantly.
“I thought as much, so I took the liberty of checking your account and printing out a screen shot,” Justice said coolly, Bo could hear him smirking. “The last message from ‘GrendalSlayer42’ was received at 1:14am.”
Outraged, Bo tried to free himself, twisting and turning against his binds. But it was no use, he only managed to cause more pain all over. He never sent a message after his first one to the Council. Whatever was being read wasn’t any message of his.
“That message could’ve come from anywhere.” Odin challenged. “Someone could have signed on to his account and sent it as a prank, or something.”
“I doubt that very much, Odin. The message came from his account, and no other messages were sent by anyone else to anyone else. The Council only received one message for help last night, which Henri answered. This can all be verified, and-”
“W-Wait,” stuttered Henri, cutting off Justice. “That would mean Bo sent the message while Lee was being attacked. He wouldn’t do that... What does the message say?” she demanded.
The room fell silent, the seconds ticking away.
“Ruby? Please, what did the message say?” Henri practically begged.
“It… it wasn’t a message for help.” Ruby said so low that Bo almost didn’t hear.
“What did it say then?” Henri’s voice rose higher. “What was it?”
“Easy Henri,” Odin’s soothing tone tried reasoning with her.
“Tell me what it said if it wasn’t a message for help!” Henri practically yelled.
“Ruby,” Justice said, an unstoppable force pushing her closer to the edge of a cliff she did not want to be near. “Read it, or I will.”
After another electric silence Ruby sighed. “Fine. But remember Henri this isn’t… I don’t know what this is.” Ruby tried to sound reassuring but her voice quivered slightly as she began. “It reads, ‘Hey Rubes, just wanted to say hi. Wish you were here. I’m so bored. I’ve already fallen asleep twice, lol. Uh-oh I think I hear a Fear in the brats room. I better go check it out, lol. Laters =)’”
A pall settled over the room, heavy and sad. After a long and painful pause, Henri spoke a single word.
“No.” She breathed quietly. Bo heard something soft hit the ground.
“No…” Henri said again, slightly louder, followed by a crumpling sound. “No… no… No…. no no no… No!” She shouted the word over and over again, each ‘no’ a concussion in Bo’s ears. He tried rocking box again but he was too tightly secured.
“Henri… Henri!” Odin yelled, shouting over her cries. “Henri, you can’t possibly believe Bo wrote that?”
“Why?” Henri howled. “Look at the paper Odin! The message was sent from his account to Ruby’s! No one knows his password, even I don’t! He never gave it to the Council! It even has that stupid smiley face he always leaves!”
“But does that sound like something Bo would write?” Odin argued.
“I don’t think so, but… I just… I need to leave.” Henri said quickly.
“Henri, please,” Ruby implored.
“Don’t, Ruby” Henri snapped. “I’m sorry, I can’t be here.” Her padded paws echoed softly in Bo’s box for a moment before they stopped. She was gone.
“You see,” Justice said, a swagger in his tone. “The truth of this situation is painful, but you both are too blinded by your emotions.”
“You only see what you want,” Odin retorted quickly. “We know none of this makes sense. Bo wouldn’t send a message to Ruby during a shift, he would never call Lee a ‘brat’, and, most importantly, he would never drop his guard for a minute if it meant putting a single child at risk. Why, out of no where, would he completely stop being Defender and shirk his responsibilities?”
“Because maybe it is only a change in behavior to you.” Justice barked back. “I have only known Bo as a reckless, irresponsible Defender. And now his lazy, unpredictable behavior has caught up with him in the worst way possible. It doesn’t matter what you think you know, what matters are the facts.”
“The facts aren’t clear,” Ruby insisted. “Maybe your hatred for Bo is blinding you. We need to get his side of the story.”
“I’d like to speak with him too, to expel him immediately. Except you two have hidden him away somewhere. Which is clearly--”
“Justice,” Trixy cut in sharply. “Can I have a word with you, please?”
Justice made a noise of consent and the two of them began walking away. Oddly to Bo, the sounds of their steps grew closer to where he lay. When they began talking he heard them crystal clear. Bo didn’t dare move a muscle.
“I think we, I mean, you, should hold a trial to hear out Bo,” Trixy spoke softly.
“What?” Justice balked. “He is guilty beyond all doubt. Why waste everyone’s time with a farcical trial when I have the authority to dismiss him myself?”
“Exactly,” she said. “Of course he is guilty, but it will be the first time you exercise your full authority. It has to be done skillfully. If you were to expel him out right, the Community might fight against your decision, he still has many friends. But, give him a trial, let see you have no choice but to expel him. Once we read his confession and the message, everyone will see you were right all along. There will be no doubt, from anyone, that you are doing the right thing.”
The plan was downright diabolical. How a message could possibly be sent from his account to Ruby, while he was getting the crap kicked out of him, Bo had no idea. But this trial would make him seem like the worst kind of Defender.
Justice remained quiet while contemplating Trixy’s suggestion.
“Besides, you can always kick him out anyway if the Community is too dim to understand your logic.” Her voice grew softer, stickier, with sweet words.
“Oh, all right. We’ll have the trial. I forget not everyone thinks as logically as I do.” Justice voice was thick with self-importance.
Trixy gave a small laugh, “No one thinks like you do, Justy.”
Excuse me? What did she just call him? Bo’s eyebrows raised.
Justices let out an awkward laugh. “Where would I be without my tricky companion?” he said in a very un-Justice like manner, thick with gooey affection.
“Not saving our Community and getting everyone love you, that’s for sure,” Trixy said alluringly. Bo heard them both giggling together faintly.
I knew it! Bo thought with a mixture of vindication and nausea. I knew Justice couldn’t become so popular on his own. Trixy’s been coaching him this whole time. Are they kissing? So glad I have tape over my mouth…
“Fine then,” Justice called to Odin and Ruby as the two love birds walked away from Bo’s box. “We will hear his story, but it will be during and emergency trial I’m calling for today.”
“You’re giving him a trial?” Odin asked skeptically. “Why?”
“Innocent until proven guilty,” Trixy answered in perfect innocence. “Wouldn’t you rather have a trial for your reckless friend rather than have Justice cast him out now.”
“Which I’d rather do,” Justice clarified unnecessarily.
“He’s not unreasonable, Odin,” Trixy continued. “You wanted to hear Bo out. We’re sure everyone would.”
“A trial is fine,” Ruby said hastily. “But isn’t today too soon? We don’t even know if he’s in any condition to talk yet.”
“Then one of you should go find out.” Justice chided, making it very clear this was not his problem. “Trixy, please gather who you can while I go write an email for the Community. We will reconvene here in two hours.”
Bo heard a door opening and close as Trixy and Justice walked out of the garage, followed quickly by running paws. His prison shook violently, the grating sound of cardboard on concrete roiled around him as he was pushed across the floor. It suddenly jerked to a stop and the ceiling opened.
“Bo!” Ruby cried. “You’re awake?” A light illuminating her from behind gave her the look of a guardian angel, until she bent down and removed the tape from his mouth.
“Ow! Easy!” Bo cried. “Yeah, I’m aw
ake, and I heard everything.”