101 Ways to Skin a Hoodie

Chapter 15

...Yet at the last second a new light, brighter than any of the stars, springs into existence behind the author. I snap back to consciousness, inexplicably revitalized. The light behind the author continues to swell, getting closer and closer until even he notices his shadow being cast upon my face. He glances behind him, and I use this chance.

I grab his hands that were holding on so tightly to my neck, that is, the neck of my hoodie that has always been trustily cloaked about me, and pry them off just enough so I can slip out of the garment. He notices too late, but he chose the wrong time to shift his attention back to me, as I roll out of the way of the light, falling off of the marble pathway and into space. I manage to grab on to the edge at the last second, and it's only my katana that falls off into the void of space, still in its sheath from when I placed it there due to my injury. Which- wait, seems to have healed.

All of this takes place as the light comes into focus as a massive tree that has sprouted from Ben, countless life-lilies blooming in it's branches. These branches run through the Author, impaling his hands, feet, legs, arms, and torso. This much damage seems to shock even him, and I'm not going to waste the chance again.

I pull myself up from the ledge, and start climbing up over the branches towards the Author's body, which is being held up in the air as the tree continues to grow. As I run to him I grab my hoodie off of the ground. I climb through the branches that have surrounded the Author, and I wrap the tattered garment around his neck. I pull it down from behind him, and his veins bulge. I pull harder, my teeth grinding against each other as I strain my muscles harder than I ever have before.

"---"

"--op"

"Stop, for your own good!" He's speaking to me. He has the audacity to beg for his life.

"Do you have no honor?" I spit in his face, tightening my grip once more.

"No, you don't understand," with a raspy voice, he still talks, "if you kill me, then this universe will be destroyed."

...

"You can't have a story without a writer, damn it!"

I yank my hoodie tighter, and tie it around a branch behind his head in order to keep the pressure up. I sit down on a branch next to him and put my hands to my face. Shit! I need to think.

The logic to the claim checks out, especially based on the things that I've witnessed this man do. However at the same time it could just as easily be one last pathetic cry for his life to be saved. But-

"Yes, ok, I want to live. It's not even that. I just don't want to die. The immortality that I have in this beautiful, flawed world that I created in just as much of a curse as it is a blessing, but even so the thought of having to leave this place terrifies me. Just a little longer. Just one more story. I'm not ready yet. And you shouldn't be either. If you kill me, this world WILL cease to exist. You have to believe me."

...But there's no reason that it can't be both. Okay. I get up and face this weak, strong creature. Even with all of the training that both Ben and I put myself under, the only real bit of magic I ever got proficient in was bringing things to me.

So why don't I just shift my thinking a little? I know that souls exist, so why can't I use my magic in a metaphysical sense as opposed to a physical one. After all, I can't just let this guy go and let him have free reign over all the people of the universe again.

"Fine. You'll live, but on my terms." I split off a particularly long branch from the tree and crack the author over the head with it. He passes out, eyes wide. Good. That should make things easier.

I focus. More sharply than I ever have before. I reach into the Author's unconscious mind, searching for the very thing that makes up his being. I find it, and I seize it. I begin to pull, and slowly it emerges from his temple.

Ah, so that's how it is.

His soul takes a familiar shape. It's the black, starry sphere that Ben and I touched, the one that transported us here. I suppose it makes sense... or, wait, maybe it doesn't? But now is not the time to dwell on that. I pull the soul all the way out from his body, which immediately starts to turn to ash. It flies towards me, and I cram it into my head as quickly as I can. There's no resistance.

I let out a sigh of relief.

As soon as I do there's a rumble. The stars in the sky start trembling, and one by one they begin to wink out. The black marble path begins to crumble as well, turning to dust beneath my feet. I hop onto the tree to keep a solid surface under me, but even it's starting to retract back into Ben's body.

Despite all this destruction, I feel at ease. I feel as though I can breathe again. I feel a job completed.

The tree finishes retracting, and it returns to being a single life-lily in Ben's body. The only proof I have of it existing in the first place are the bits of bark in my hoodie and the branch I broke off from it, which I'm still clutching to my body. I'm floating beside Ben now, and I run my hand through his hair.

He lets out a weak cough.

"Hey Ben," I say softly.

"Hey, Sammy," faintly.

"I did it. I avenged you. Now, anything else you want, this last time, I'll do it. Any wish, I'll fulfill it for you. I'll even figure out a way to continue your research in my world. Just tell me what you want."

"I want you to do something for yourself for once."

...

"I- Okay. I will. I promise."

"Good. I love you, Samantha. Live for me." His voice trails off at the end, and I close his eyes with my palm.

Tears stream down my cheeks, but they're not bitter, hateful tears anymore. They're tears of sadness, and love, and loss. I weep for my friend, whom I've only known for less than a fourth of an entire year, yet a friend that I cherished more than anyone else.

I cry until my tear ducts are empty, and thus, floating in the dying cosmos of a soul, I sob myself to sleep, cradling my friend in my arms.