Eternity | T.J.

Back To Boston... Great?

     We landed in the middle of Fenway park, so naturally, my brother's first question was:

     " Why are we in Fenway park?"

     Blitz sighed." Don't ask me. The doors in and out of Valhalla are notoriously wonky. At least we're in Midgard."

     " What are we running from?" Magnus looked around." What kind of mutant squirrel-?"

     " Ratatosk."

     " The bane of the World Tree," Blitz continued for me." Anyone who dares climb Yggdrasil's branches sooner or later has to deal with that monster. Count yourself lucky we escaped."

     Sun. Hearth signed. Bad for Blitzen.

     " You're right," Blitz squinted at the sunrise." After that business on the bridge, I can't stand any more direct exposure."

     " Blitz? What's going on?"

     " What do you mean?" Magnus looked at our dwarf friend." Are you turning gray?"

     " Kid... either of you may have noticed I never hung around with you during the day?"

     " I..." Magnus thought about it for a moment." Yeah, it was like Hearth took the day shift, you took the night shift."

     " Exactly, dwarves are subterranean creatures." Of course, Blitz's a dwarf, I thought, dwarf and elf, Helgi had said, I shouldn't have expected any different." Sunlight is deadly to us. Mind you, not as deadly as it is to trolls. I can stand a little bit, but if I'm out for too long I start to... uhh... petrify."

     " Is there any way around it?" I asked." Like covering up your skin so that it doesn't make any contact with the sun?"

     " It helps. Thick clothing, sunscreen, et cetera. But at the moment, I'm not prepared. I dropped my supply pack somewhere in the world tree."

     After bridge. Heath signed. His legs turned to stone. No walking until night.

     Magnus and I exchanged a concerned look.

     " Let's get you someplace dark."

     'Someplace dark' was inside the Green Monster- the four-story wall along the left outfield. Magnus and I knew the entrance from a fourth-grade field trip. One of the doors was unlocked, allowing all four of us inside.

     " Blitz," My brother turned to our short friend." What's with the outfit? You look so... spiffy."

     " Thank you, Magnus. It hasn't been easy dressing like a bum the last two years. No offense, of course."

     " Of course."

     " This is how I usually dress." Blitz explained." I take my appearance very seriously. I'll admit I'm a bit of a clotheshorse."

     Hearth did his version of a snort of laughter. A bit?

     " Oh, be quiet. Who bought you that scarf, eh?" Blitz turned to Magnus and me." I told Hearth he needed a splash of color. The black clothes, the platinum blonde hair. The red-stripped scarf makes a bold statement, don't you think?"

     " Sure, definitely."

     " Uh... sure... As long as I don't have to wear it, or the paisley socks."

     Blitz frowned." Don't be silly, patterned fabric would look terrible on you... What were we talking about again?"

     " How about why you've been watching us for the last two years."