Fangboy

TWENTY-THREE

There were many villains in the world of Fangboy, but his encounter with Mortus Ranklin was so terrifying that it would be irresponsible of any storyteller to share more than brief snippets.

“However dangerous this turns out to be, it can’t be worse than what has come before…”

“He lives in there? Nobody could live in such a place! It is not possible, or even imaginable! It looks just like a…”

“I cannot scream! I cannot scream! Until this very moment I never knew that it was possible for the human body to be so terrified that it couldn’t emit a scream sound, but that’s exactly the situation I find myself in right now…”

“So much blood…so much blood…”

“To look into his eyes is to know that because babies look so similar, hospitals give the wrong ones to parents at least fifteen percent of the time…”

“Well, it’s a relief that we lived through that, but can we live through this…?”

“Through this experience and our mutual terror, we have forged a bond that can never be broken. No matter how far apart our individual destinies take us, we shall always know that we have each other to count on…”

“Help! Help! Help! Help! Help…”

“That’s right, Mortus Ranklin, we’ve beaten you! Now tell me where Penny and Mary have gone, or we’ll do that thing again, but even worse…”

With Mortus Ranklin finally defeated, Nathan, Beverly, and Jamison walked toward the edge of town. Ranklin’s directions had been vague, but it was a start, and Nathan was determined to walk the earth until he found the sisters.

Beverly looked back at the town where she’d grown up, the town where she’d spent her entire life, the town whose borders she’d never crossed. Could she really leave? Was she truly ready to embark upon this new adventure?

As she looked at Nathan, she felt that, yes, she was ready. But she also felt that it might be wise to at least do some cursory research on the current situation with the town’s residents before she fully committed to a course of action.

It turned out that the effect of Dr. Thompson’s tainted water was intense but brief, and everybody had recovered, and the apologies were flying fast and furious.

“I always had a crush on you,” Beverly told Nathan. “And being reunited after so long stirs up those old feelings. But this is my home, and it is where I must stay.”

Nathan nodded. “I understand.”

“We cannot be together, not when I’m eighteen and you’re seven. It would be sick and wrong. But when I’m twenty-nine and you’re eighteen, the morally repugnant element will disappear. So I promise you, Nathan Pepper, if you return for me in eleven years, I will divorce whoever I have married and we shall be husband and wife.”

“And I will return for you,” said Nathan.

Beverly gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. “Best of luck. I hope you find them.”

“Thank you.”

“For what it’s worth,” said Jamison, “I’d be happy to take on the role of the placeholder husband.”

“I appreciate and decline the offer.”

“I’ll accompany Nathan, then.”

And so they walked out of town.

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” said Nathan. “I’ve spent so much of my life alone. Granted, more than half of it was spent encased in a block of ice and I wasn’t truly aware of my loneliness, but still, it’s good of you to be my friend.”

“And it’s good of you to be mine, Nathan. Don’t worry. We’ll find them. I know we will.”

As they peered ahead into the great land that stretched before them, the way seemed long. But the sky was bright, and they somehow felt that they were headed in the right direction.

The End