The Ballad of a Buried Beast

Chapter 29.

The lights turned on; boots ran in. Guns--real guns, cocked guns--aimed at us from every direction. We were decorated in red dots before I could blink, pinned down like a sower's cushion before either of us could leave the other's embrace.

Only, it wasn't us who were pinned; it was me. Every gun, every barrel. Safety clicked off. I began to sweat.

"Mr. Jack Abello!"

My head turned as a heavy foot shook the metal stairs, then Mal's as another did just the same. Hidden behind the tide of soldiers, a new voice made itself known. I forced myself in front of Mal.

"I must say, young man, I'm impressed!"

One stomp, then another, then it stopped. The formation of soldiers broke in two, and a heavy, well-suited man made his way between them. I recognized him as the man from the window.

"Your attachment to this-ehh... 'Mal,' was it? Yeah? It's impressive. Men!" he looked over at them in an almost disappointed way, "C'mon, give the kid some room to breathe, huh? Let' em breathe."

The soldiers were hesitant, but they obeyed. One by one, the red dots disappeared.

"Better," he turned back to me, and reaching into his pocket, "Now, I'd like to-"

The speakers crackled with a sudden snarl; Mal's fur stood on edge. The man stilled his reaching hand.

"Y'see what I mean?" he looked at me and pointed a finger at Mal, a toothy grin taking form, "Can't even reach for a cigar around you. Mm-mm," he shook his head as he withdrew an empty hand from his coat pocket, "Beautiful thing, that is. Alright, come with me, kid. Let's talk private talk."

He turned from us and took a few steps away, but we didn't follow. Mal's hairs were standing on edge, and her ears were fixed towards the ceiling. She seemed frozen, as still as a statue; her eyes hadn't moved off the man.

And, somehow, he knew. As if expected, the man stopped, and he turned. "Either we talk private with ya friends outside, or we talk public here, with the friends you've made inside. Either way, we're talkin'. I'm just givin' you the luxary'a choice. Luxuries don't come often down here."

I looked at him, then the door. As Mal remained frozen, a tinge of remorse stirred within me.

"Are they okay?" I asked.

"What? Y'friends?" He followed my gaze to the door, then he furrowed his brow. He seemed unnamused, "Peachy."

"And... What about Mal?"

He looked at her, and so did I. The lights flickered as she kept her stare.

"What about it?"

"She's coming too, right?"

I blinked, and the lights flickered again. The man stared at her, and her chest heaved.

"'Her,' huh?" he drew his hands up in front of him and clasped them together, pondering the request, "Interesting word, that. 'Her,'" he measured the weight of it, rolling it around between tongue and cheek. "Her... Alright," he nodded, "Alright. Tell y'what: you keep 'her' in line, and you've got yourself a deal. How's that sound? Fair?"

I aimed for Mal's input by looking up at her, but she still had nothing to say. Entranced within the same eerie silence, nothing in the room was worth looking away from the man before us.

"Okay, yeah. Yeah," I looked the man over and nodded a few times, "So long as she comes I'll... Do that. I guess. Deal--y-yeah. Mal?"

I looked at her, then the man. There was no reaction; not even a change of breath.

"Great. Glad we got that settled," the large man turned from us and signaled his men with a wave of his hand. In unison, the soldiers turned. "Come along, now," he gestured for us to follow with the same hand, "Lots to talk about, little time to do it. Let's go."

He passed the soldiers, and he grabbed onto the railing. With heavy thuds he ascended the stairs, and with a hesitant breath I made the first step to-

I tried to step forward, but I was stopped. I looked behind me, and I found it was Mal,

Shaking.

'What's wrong?' I mouthed the question, but she didn't answer. I tried to ask again, but her eyes left me. They had returned to their vigilance over the man, wide and newly afraid.

And thus, I got my answer. As the door opened, and as the man stared at us before walking through alongside his emptying soldiers, I understood.

This was the boss.

And the two of them had history.

"Well-uh... Hey," with the boss out of the room and his guards following, her eyes were back on me, "We-" I struggled to find the right words, "You don't have to-uh-... -If you don't want to, you don't have to come with me. I-I just said all that stuff because it felt right in the moment. Y'know? I'll be fine, Mal. I think. I'll just... Deal with this guy, hear what he wants to say, and then we can-"

My lips moved to finish, but my voice didn't follow. I was silenced as her grip tightened on me, quiet as her claws still shook. The breathing in the speakers grew heavier. Now wasn't the time for a pep talk.

"Okay, alright," I looked at her, and my mind wandered for a solution. "How-uh... How about this," I raised a hand, and I placed it on hers. The breathing on the speakers flustered for a moment. "We... We stick together, then. Yeah? You and me, hand in hand."

She looked at me, and she looked at my hand. There was a fritz in the speakers.

"That sounds good, right?" I forced out a smile as I brought my other hand up, sliding it underneath her claws as my first remained on top. Her grip loosened. "Just like-uh, just like Honey and--what's her name? Extra-pretty... Bella!" I smiled with my exclamation, "Yeah, just like Honey and Bella. Right? You'n me, just like them."

I slid my hand further, slipping my fingers between her claws. Without a word, they loosened; without objection, she let go.

"I-" I meant to speak, but my mind drew blanks. Her hand rested between mine, and... Had it always been this warm? Have mine... I scoffed for a moment, then I shook my head. Have my hands always been so cold?

"Just," my hands shivered, then the rest of me, "Just breathe, yeah?" My smile cracked; my lips flinched. I felt like I was submerged in snow. "Just... Breathe for me. Breathe, and we'll be okay. Right? Together. We'll-"

"Bre-eathe?"

I looked up at the speakers, then at her. Her eyes were wide, but not with fear.

"Yeah," I nodded, and I took a step back. She grabbed my other hand, and she took a step forward. "We'll breathe."

"To-gether?"

"Together, yeah."

We took another step. Then another. Eventually, we found ourselves at the stairs. She let go of my right hand, and I took a step up. She grabbed onto my left with both.

"Ja-ack?"

"Yeah, Mal?"

There was a moment of silence as we escalated the stairs, then another as we neared the top. I glanced back at her, and I saw she was looking down. Her tail was brushing the stairs in silent waves.

"Ne-ver mind," she whispered.

For some reason, I smiled.