Chapter 12: 4.1 Cashing In

  Red groans as she wakes and finds her cloak covering her like a blanket as she leans in a corner. She blinks deliberately, each time trying to force the weariness further away. Panic starts to build as she thinks about her katana and quickly looks under her cloak to find it gripped in her formerly blistered arm. Her scarf has also been rewound around her torso.

  She finds Jack sitting nearby and staring at a small fire that he had started. They are tucked into a corner near an entrance stairwell. The stairs ascend next to them and then split into a T behind them.

  “What happened,” Red asks, confused.

  Jack nods, looking distant. “That’s what I’d like to know too, Red.”

  “Red, huh?” She pulls the cloak tighter around her as the cold of the stone seeps through her clothes. “Haven’t called me that in a while.”

  “Well, I don’t feel like I know you right now. What happened to not gambling when it came to our lives?”

  “What are you, my mom?”

  “That’s probably a better question for you to answer than me. The way I see it, I’m supposed to be helping you, but I can’t really do that when you sideline me like that. What would have happened if I hadn’t been there?”

  “Relax, ok? I’m fine.”

  “This thing with Wolf is messing with your head. You’re not thinking clearly.”

  “Well, you fucked up, Jack!”

  He nods, looking back at the fire. “I know. I get that, and I’m sorry.”

  “I’ve got enough to worry about without…” Her lip starts to quiver, and she looks away from him. “I just can’t deal with you two hurting each other, ok?” She hugs her sword tighter under her cloak. “You’re all I have left now.”

  “I understand. It won’t happen again.”

  She brushes her wrapped knuckles across the underside of her nose, then climbs to her feet, resetting her sword and donning her cloak. “What happened to my arm?”

  “That spider released some green orbs, and it seems like they healed you.”

  “Hmm. That’s odd. I didn’t think those sorts of things would affect us. I wonder if we can use the red ones then?” She turns to meet Jack’s eyes. “Come with me.”

  They jog a short distance, passing down a narrow hall illuminated by several candle lit chandeliers. A few puppets are dealt with along the way before they arrive at a room at the end of the hall. The room is elongated and something like a study. A desk sits to one side while bookshelves line the other. They walk to the other end of the room to find a golden-humanoid statue. Like Atlas holding the world on his shoulders, the statue is holding a giant hourglass.

 “What’s this?” Jack asks.

  “Give me a second,” Red says, looking over the statue. She finally lays her hand on its chest and sees options in her mind. “Nice!”

  “What is it?”

  She looks at him with a devious smile and beckons him to follow. She leads him back into the hall where another puppet is shambling towards them. She draws her sword, then swings, causing a sliver of light to sail away. A portal opens at the puppet. It falls into the opening and out of the one above it, causing it to loop continuously.

  She turns back to Jack cheesy grin.

  “You can project the portals now? How did that happen?”

  She nods. “Go give that statue a touch and see if you can see anything.”

  He doubles back to the statue, touches it, and his eyes widen. “Hey, I can see it. There’s a list of things and some numbers.”

  Red nods. “When you get enough of those red orbs, they can be used to buy upgrades. I doubt you’ll be able to buy anything though.” Jack leaves the statue and passes her as he heads back into the hall. “Where are you going?”

  The puppet is still falling as Jack squares on the hallway. “You may want to stand back for this. I’m not sure how this is going to work.” Jack rears back and hurls the axe. It tumbles end over end, and pauses ten yards away. It collides with the puppet, dribbling it against the lip of the portal. The creature is ground to pieces and then the axe returns like a boomerang.

  “Holy shit! How did you get that?”

  “Those red orbs.”

  Red’s eyebrows scrunch. “Yeah, but you shouldn’t have gotten many of those.”

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  “Sure, I did. I killed more puppets while you were resting.”

  “Geez, how long was I out?”

  “It was about forty or so.”

  “Forty minutes?”

  “Oh, no. I don’t know how to gauge time here. It was about forty of those puppets. They kept showing up.”

  “Oh, right. Thanks, I guess.” Jack nods, sheathing his axe on his back. “What do you say we get out of here and check on Wolf?”

  “Yeah, let’s do it,” Jack agrees.

  A few moments later and the two are stepping through a portal to find Wolf sitting in the bleachers of a basketball gymnasium. Wolf’s ears rise as they step out of the portal. Their steps squeak across the vinyl flooring of the court and Wolf hops up to rush over.

  Red readily removes his muzzle at his prompting.

  “You two sure took your sweet time getting here,” Wolf complains.

  “Yeah,” Red admits. “I ran into a bit of trouble, so it took longer than I expected. Where’s everyone else?”

  “They left for some big tournament. Said I couldn’t go to that.”

  “Ah,” Red says, nodding. “That might have caused an uproar if you showed up there. Those people wouldn’t have known what to think about a wolf like you. There probably would have been panic.”

  “Yeah, I kind of got that with some of the folk here too.”

  “Well, you seem to be in better spirits. That’s good news.”

  “Oh, yeah,” he says, climbing down to the gym floor. “You should’ve seen me, Red. None of them could touch me. It’s like the balls and wrenches were moving in slow motion. I’ve got the quick feet,” he says lifting his forepaws high in a trot. He then narrows his eyes at Jack. “Care to see who’s faster now?”

  “So, you’re fast then?”

  Wolf jumps and pulls away from Red as she begins talking from his opposite side. He looks over to see her grinning. “Guess not,” he says, hanging his head.

  “I have no doubt you’re much faster, Wolf. Just don’t let it go to your head. Alright?”

  Jack harrumphs, causing her to look over with a scowl. Wolf looks between them, then back to Red.

  “Ignore him,” she says. “We still need to get you some combat training, but what do you say we take a little break first?”

  Wolf’s ears rise. “I’m listening.”

  She opens a portal, gesturing for him to head through. “We’ll hang out here until you’re done. Don’t want to draw the attention of the ole hag after all.”

  Wolf starts walking towards the portal.

  “Hey, Wolf,” Jack calls. Wolf stops, his shoulders tensing as his ear twitches. “I’m sorry about before.”

  Wolf closes his eyes briefly, his ears lying flat. “It’s fine. I sort of had it coming, so—sorry. For being difficult, I mean.”

  “Yeah, don’t even worry that.” Jack nods to himself, becoming distant, then looks back at Wolf. “Alight, you better get going. Red’s got something set up for you.”

 

  Wolf heads through the portal, searches around briefly, then looks back at Red with his ears raised. Red nods, smiling, and he takes off. She jogs over and leans through the portal while holding the inside as if she were looking around a corner. Wolf is running in a zigzagging pattern as he charges through a flurry of feathers as a group of chickens begin to panic. Red giggles and enjoys the show.

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