Neverquest – Part 125

Characters: Michelle, Cara, Siarra, Kim; Mack, Jeff, Roy, Lord Dartemus, Frankie
Location: Inside the castle of Felwinter
Time: Day 5 – Dawn

“Well, they were supposed to be sleeping here…” Cara said, standing in the doorway of one of the many chambers in the guest wing of the royal castle. “At least, they were scheduled to.”

Michelle peeled away the bed sheets. “Well, they’re not here now.” She searched the room, looking for any sign of life, and her eyes fell on the bedside table, where a careless plate housed a moist lump of chocolate cake and a single leaf laying on top like a fresh grave. “Although it does look like someone was here before.”

“Maybe they woke up early.”

“No,” Siarra said. “I know Gena. There is no force on this planet that will get her up before noon.”

“You might not know her as well as you think,” Michelle said, picking up the plate and scouring through the cake with her fingernail. Then she shrugged and took a bite. “After all, if you’re telling the truth about her involvement with the virus, then she pulled the wool over your eyes at least once before.”

Siarra’s eyebrows narrowed. “I said no. I am not a fool, Michelle.”

“For your sake, I hope not.”

“We want to find Gena as much as you,” Kim butted in. “She has done a lot of evil to our people and we must see her stopped before it’s too late.”

“Then perhaps you two can shed some light on where we might find her.”

Siarra stepped forward, as far as the bindings on her wrist would allow, and locked eyes with Michelle. “I said she didn’t wake up early. She’s the kind of person who goes to bed when others are getting up. And look at her bed. Until you wrecked it, the sheets were perfectly laid, without a single crease. That’s the work of a handmaiden, not Gena. She doesn’t even know how to make a bed.”

“Fine,” Michelle said, setting down the plate and licking her fingers clean. “So we can assume she didn’t sleep here last night. That doesn’t tell us anything.”

“But the chocolate cake does. Gena has a sweet tooth for chocolate and so does my brother, who is in her possession.”

“A lot of people like chocolate.”

“I don’t,” Cara said quietly.

“But Gena’s just the kind of person who would use chocolate to win over my brother!”

“Okay, okay,” Michelle said. “But even if you are right, all we know is that Gena was here for some portion of the night and decided not to stay. Why would she leave?”

“To plant her seeds of evil in more unsuspecting lives!”

“…You…said something about her releasing a virus on this fair city,” Cara interrupted. “Is it possible she has already begun this process?”

“More than you know,” Siarra whispered.

“Perhaps we should call an evacuation of the city. Although…I am not authorized to do such a thing. But I would if I could, and—”

“It won’t help, Cara,” Michelle said with a shake of her head. “If we don’t stop the virus, there’s no hope for anybody in this world.”

“…Oh, dear.”

“That’s why we need to find Gena…now.” Michelle glared at Siarra and then at Kim. “That password is your girls’ ticket out of here. If you ever want to see your home again, you better start thinking about where we can find your friend Gena. Your lives depend on it.”

Meanwhile, Mack, Jeff, and Roy were patrolling the hallway just outside the door, discussing equally dire matters…

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s a girl.”

“Damn it, Jeff, for the last time—my frog is a boy! Who ever heard of ‘Hi-ho, Silveria!’ anyway?”

“Well, who ever heard of a cowboy on a frog?”

“It’s a boy, I tell you.”

“Where’s its sword?” Mack asked.

“Its what?”

“Its sword, its pulley chain, its vice grip, its fire hose.”

“You idiot,” Jeff said. “Why would a frog need any of those things?”

“Neither of you have any clue about frog genitalia!” Roy said. “Everybody knows that a frog without warts is a male and a frog with warts is a toad.”

Jeff scowled. “Hey, don’t call my girlfriend a toad!”

“Well, don’t be calling my frog a girl!”

“Guys!” Mack snapped. “Enough of that. We’re supposed to be watching for anything suspicious.”

“I thought his frog’s gender was something suspicious,” Jeff said.

“Not as suspicious at that.”

“Huh?”

Mack pointed down the hallway, where a bright red bucket was creeping ever so slowly across the floor.

“Whoa, weird.”

“We should investigate,” Roy said, mounting his frog. “Climb on, boys. We got a runaway bucket to catch!”

Mack and Jeff jumped on the frog’s back and together they hopped down the hallway. They quickly caught up to it and circled around, coming to a stop in front of the bucket’s path.

A few seconds later, the bucket bumped into them and stopped.

“Not again…” came a cranky old voice from within the bucket. Then he peeked out from underneath, caught sight of the frog glaring down at him, and screamed. “It’s a monster! It’s a monster this time, I swear!”

Lord Dartemus grabbed him. “Calm down, man! It’s probably just another boy.”

“It’s not! It’s not, I swear. It’s something…hideous and disgusting, like something I’ve never seen before. Only in nightmares… Only in nightmares…”

“Yeah, right. Step aside, you crazy old man.”

Lord Dartemus shook his head and then lifted up the rim of the bucket, staring up at the face of the slimy amphibian. Before he could do or say anything, the frog stuck out its long, sticky tongue and licked him, nearly ripping off the lord’s face.

“Gaaaaaaah, get it off me!” he cried, throwing his hands over his eyes. Warm saliva dripped down his cheeks. He shook it off, slobbering like a rabid dog, and found himself looking at Mack, Jeff, and Roy face-to-face. The frog stood behind them, grinning. “Who…who are you people? And why do you torture me with creatures of evil?”

“You’re…men,” Mack said, looking over Dartemus’ shoulder and into the bucket.

“We know who we are, but who are you?”

Roy stepped forward. “Greetings! I am space cowboy Roy of planet Earth and these are my faithful sidekicks, Mack and Jeff, also of planet Earth. We come in peace.”

“Get back in the bucket,” the old man whispered to Dartemus. “They’re not sane people.”

“No,” Dartemus said, raising his arm. “They’re fellow Men. We owe it to ourselves to save them from the oppression of this female-driven society.”

“I think it’s too late for them, my boy.”

“It’s never too late.”

“What’s wrong with girls?” Roy asked. “Some of the best women are them.”

“Yeah,” Mack shrugged. “I like girls, too.”

“Do you like the feeling of being dead?” Dartemus asked. “Do you like living every moment of your life in fear? Do you like going to sleep at night, praying a girl doesn’t take your family away to feed her own? Do you like the boot of female domination always pushing down on you?”

“That’s what I pay seventy bucks an hour for,” Jeff said.

The others just stared at him.

“…Really?” Roy said. “See, I usually pay about ninety-five and…”

“Forget them already!” the old man hissed. “They’re muttering complete nonsense.”

Lord Dartemus nodded. “Well… You three are welcome to join us, but that monstrous creature of yours must stay behind.”

The frog stopped grinning.

“Where are you going anyway?” Mack asked.

“Back to Penee, where we will begin a revolution in the name of Men.”

“Dude,” Roy said. “What are you going to revolt against? Haven’t you noticed the women here are just a little bit bigger than us?”

“…Yes. Yes, I did notice that, Sir Roy.”

“Then why bother?”

“Ah, because things are soon to change! She in power now won’t be in power for long.”

“Got that right. If we don’t stop that virus soon, we’re going to be bowing down to Gena as our new ruler. But we wish you luck anyway. Godspeed, friend. Godspeed.”

Dartemus’ face froze. “Wait… What did you say?”

“Oh, right, you don’t believe in God.” He drummed his finger against his chin. “Goddessspeed, then. Does that work?”

“No, no—”

“Devilspeed?”

“About Gena!”

“Genaspeed?”

“Damn it, man. What do you know about Gena?”

Roy shrugged. “Not much. Just that she’s an evil con artist bent on releasing a virus into this world that will infect every living thing and slowly twist and deform them into mere puppets of her creation in her ultimate quest for power and total domination over all other species.”

Lord Dartemus’ mouth dropped. “…How…how does she plan on doing this?”

“Dunno. Rumor has it that she’s been rubbing elbows with the Queen in order to gain favor in high places.”

“I see…”

Lord Dartemus closed his eyes. “Oh, what am I to do now? I should’ve known this was too good to be true. If I leave Isabella to die, Gena will surely take over, and Ellewyn will never be the same again. And who is to say this wave of action won’t soon wash over Penee, for better or worse, and change our course of history, all my people have worked for… But if I attempt to rescue Isabella, I would be betraying all I stand for. My crown, my brother, my people, and my kingdom…all for the life of a selfish brat…”

“You know we can hear your external monologue, right?” Roy asked.

“How long has she kept me a prisoner in her clutches? Since when did our positions change, that her life is in my hands, that I must choose whether she lives or dies…? What twisted hands of fate are these? What blood shall stain my clothing tonight?”

“Do you know where Gena is?” Mack asked.

“Forgive me, my people, for what I am about to do…”

Slowly, Dartemus opened his eyes and looked around at all the faces that were staring at him. “…My friends, go now…to the bell tower… Set your eyes to the sky. That is where you will find Gena and the rightful ruler of this bloody kingdom. Go now! Find her. Save this world, if you must, if you can, and don’t look back. Women take long strides and step hard. You must be quicker than fate if you hope to survive.”