Walking Dollar Bills

Chapter 1: Bury the ?

"Does it taste good?"

A rail thin young woman with a shaved head pours glistening white honey onto a silver spoon. The sound of rain pelting against the bedrock of a mountain echoes throughout the cave she has settled in. A second girl, around ten years old with silver hair that curls around her face, swallows the spoonful. Suddenly, she feels her eyelids increasing in weight.

"Quit asking so many questions, Zala" snaps the young woman. She stands akimbo with sharp blue eyes stuck on the girl. She knows what happens after the girl takes her dosage, so she is not surprised when the silver-haired girl collapses onto the hard rock floor of the cave. Pebbles are her pillows and the cold air is her blanket.

"The queen's nectar becomes more potent each time."

The young woman's eyes soften as she rests her gaze on the immobilized body of Zala. The young girl wears a tattered brown cloth once used for collecting potatoes after the fall harvest. Her clothes only remind the woman of how far away they are from home. Their journey has left them with only each other.

"Your sister isn't going to be happy when we meet her," says the young woman scooping the sleeping child into her arms.

She carries her deeper into the cave taking caution with each step. Visibility lessens the further they move down the mountain's throat. The dark does not frighten her, however. The true threat lives on the edge of darkness. Patiently waiting for bravery to wane.

The young woman stops and lays the child down. Brushing spiders and beetles away, she sits beside the girl. Her mind wanders just like her hand as she digs into the pockets of her acid washed jeans and pulls out a diamond bracelet.

"Why'd you have to be so reckless?" She brings the precious object closer to her face. It's diamond exterior kisses the side of her mud-stained cheek. Diamonds are poor best friends because they lack the language to comfort.

A new sound accompanies the patter of raindrops. The young woman hears fast approaching footsteps. Her eyes fly open as she motions towards Zala, but a sudden impulse paralyzes her. Aside from the raucous rain and the storming stomps, a third sound begins to resonate. The soft screech of a tail being yanked across a rocky surface.

"Earl! You're alive?!"

A bulky man in a brown overcoat darkened by rain water stands before her. Although his stature is imposing, the man possesses the kindest brown eyes. He drops his jaw and desperately gasps for air before crashing onto his knees.

Beads of sweat race each other down his forehead and form a community pool underneath his chin. Earl's tail, the length of a jump rope, rests flat on the ground. His body bows to exhaustion.

"We're trapped. Aren't we?" says the young woman as she takes a knee beside her battered friend.

Amazingly, the moments people perceive as hopeless may serve as definite signs of hopefulness. As the young woman eagerly anticipates Earl's response, he fights to contain his excitement. Indeed, the events occurring in this moment are not the bleak and despondent colors of paint used by an artist to construct an image of gloom. Instead, this entire scene operates as the first vestige of hope this world has witnessed in a long time.

Earl lifts his head into the air staring into the woman's blue eyes. His hand hides inside of his coat pocket. He knows that hope hides inside of his coat pocket.

"Not at all," replies Earl with a quick smile, "We're free, Amara."

"Earl. You... did you?" Amara clings to his shoulder.

"You didn't think I was going to let Yoko down a second time" says Earl pulling his hands out of his pocket revealing a small capsule.

The capsule contains three pills : blue, purple, and black. Earl rests the capsule inside of Amara's palm and sinks to the ground. His body cavorts with each blast of laughter that escapes from his mouth. His tail wags around in the air. For the first time in his life, the man feels powerful. Unfortunately, the price of this feeling is his life.

Earl throws his head back and rests his eyes on the cave ceiling. He roars with a laughter so vibrant and gleeful that it silences the rain. A glimmer of light peeks into the cave, and then welcomes itself entirely. Amara squeezes the capsule and shields her eyes from the penetrating sunlight that invades their domicile. The storm has passed.

"We can finally settle our payment," says Amara.

"Yup! And the interest too," adds Earl.

The young woman rolls the capsule around in her palm. The three pills are worth more than any number of dollar bills. She clasps both her hands around the capsule and bows her head.

"Do you think this is an overpayment? Meaning, should we only hand over two?" she asks, lifting her head to meet his eyes.

The question dampens Earl's mood. His smile disappears, and a glossy look forms in his eyes. He remembers what little time he has left.

"Please, don't say we."

Amara sends a puzzled look at her friend moments before understanding his request. She realizes that her excitement suppressed her senses. She realizes that the color eluded her. She realizes that the smell evaded her. Everything is completely conspicuous.

A bloody shadow smears the ground around Earl creating a trail that tracks his descent into the cave.

"You didn't think I would make it out alive did you?" says Earl lowering his head, "Because that would contradict the meaning of a suicide mission."

The young woman refuses to see her friend in such a defeated state. She grabs his shoulders and holds him up. Her fingers soak in the blood and rainwater that have dampened his coat.

"We can't make it back to our country without you! Look at us!" says Amara pointing a finger at the sleeping child, "She's a little girl, and I'm a..."

Two tears simultaneously fall from both their eyes.

"You got a lot more strength than you think. Trust me Amara, you don't need muscles to be strong" says Earl.

"Why don't you try thinking about yourself for a change? You're dying? Doesn't that scare you at all?" says Amara removing her hand from his shoulder and staring at the capsule in her grasp.

"We're probably over paying them anyway. I mean, they only expect us to bring back one. They only think there is one. They don't expect us to come back alive" she continues.

Earl claws at the ground. A burning sensation scorches his insides indicating the worsening of his injuries. Amara unscrews the capsule and shakes the blue pill into her other hand.

"Take this."

Earl pushes her hand away before falling flat onto the ground, "Don't put that poison inside of me."

"It's medicine" retorts Amara.

"Is there a difference?" says Earl turning to face her.

Amara has always characterized herself as level-headed. A master of equanimity. But does a cool demeanor equate to the absence of panic? What does it mean to be solid externally and decimated internally? Is she really a pillar of tranquility or a fake?

"What's the difference?" replies Amara.

Her hand inches towards Earl's mouth, "Let's say this pill does transform you. Well, you're going to die anyway, right? So, this pill marks the beginning of a new life for you."

She slides the pill into his mouth as he struggles to voice a single word:

"What--"

"--You sound like Zala," says Amara sweetening her words, "No more questions."

Her empty fingers retreat from his mouth just as his eyes begin to close. Using his remaining strength, the man swallows the pill. A faint gulping sound slips from his closed lips.

Amara hears it, and knows that everything will be alright.