A Christmas Gift
And, in the Christmas spirit, we’d like to offer you a gift: ‘Charmed’ an unpublished short story by Sandra.
So, enjoy!
Charmed
Zarra kicked out at the masked figure, dived, rolled, spun and then got him in the side of the neck with the blade of her hand and he was down. Yes!
Only nine more to go. Breathing hard she scanned her surroundings, readying herself for the next one. She’d forgotten how much this took out of her.
She’d barely even had time to see who was at the controls. It seemed a long time since her game was last booted up, but then again time lost all meaning stuck in here. She caught a glimpse of a freckle-faced boy holding the joystick, his eyes narrowed in concentration. It wasn’t an entirely new face, he looked familiar, and the intensity in his green eyes reminded her of someone else.
A phaser almost got her, she dodged it just in time. She and the boy both needed a little work to get up to speed. They dispatched a couple more baddies, but they weren’t going fast enough, three hooded figures were bearing down on her. ‘Dad,’ the boy called out, panic tightening his voice. ‘What do I do now?’
‘Tricky situation Ben.’ This voice was calm and assured. ‘There are too many of them for her to take on. You’re going to have to let them surround her. Then when they’re about to fire, jump her high. If you time it right she’ll be in the clear and they’ll nuke each other.’ Oh great. Zarra was only partly aware of their conversation, most of her attention focused on the dark figures closing in on her, but she’d heard enough to know it didn’t bode well for her. What if the boy doesn’t time it right huh? It was the kid’s first time on the game. She touched a hand to the charm hanging from the necklace at her throat. Well, she’d find out soon enough. She was surrounded by the formless cloaked figures. Their phasers were trained on her. One, two, three … she jumped. ‘Aaaaarrrrggghhhh.’
The hard ground was a blessed relief. The scene around her began to dissolve. She knew she was gone from sight, but until they switched to a different game or turned the whole thing off she’d be able to hear and to see out. She studied the faces in front of her. One an older version of the boy. Now that was a face she recognised. Josh. His name was Josh. He’d spent a lot of time playing her game when he was not much older than his son. The game had been an escape for him. He used to talk to her, tell her about his parents’ bitter arguments and the confusion and hurt in his life.
Through her, he had an outlet. He’d take out his frustrations kicking, shooting, diving, and dodging as they climbed through nine levels of the game. And she tried harder for him, they worked well together. He’d been pretty good at it too. Once or twice he’d even come close
to winning the final stage, to setting her free. But close, wasn’t good enough. For the last stage it wasn’t speed, or strength, it was something quite different. And Josh had never figured it out.
She had no idea why he stopped playing or what had happened to him in the intervening years. Apart from the obvious, he had a son, and he looked pretty good. The tenseness he used to carry, along with the guarded expression in his eyes was gone. There were now creases fanning out from his eyes but there was also a sadness within their emerald depths. She couldn’t help but wonder whether the years and the changes she saw would be enough to make a difference to her. Behind the two males coloured lights blinked. It took a while for it to register that they were on a tree. It was Christmas.
The scenery around her began to rebuild and reform, voices reached through to her.’Let your old man have a go. I just might be able to show you a thing or two.’ The boy was nudged aside. ‘I used to be pretty good at this game in my day.’ He laughed. ‘I even used to think
me and Zarra there had a psychic link going. I’d talk to her, tell her all sorts of things. And I really thought she could hear me. Thought she fought harder for me than she did for anyone else I let play.’
The boy looked askance at his father. ‘Jeez Dad. Don’t tell me any more. You’re too weird.’
”Spose you don’t want to know how I got the disc in the first place then?’
‘Probably not.’ He didn’t sound sure.
His father told him anyway. ‘I got it from an old homeless guy I’d kind of made friends with. He gave it to me after I stopped some boys from beating up on him. I took it because he really wanted to give me something as a thank you. Said this was special. He disappeared after that, I never saw him again. And the other odd thing was, I never saw another game the same. None of my mates had one, none of the stores.’
‘You were right Dad. I didn’t want to know.’
They both laughed. It was an easy camaraderie and it made Zarra smile just to hear it.
She touched her necklace, a disc with a raised Z across its surface and a smaller hollow in the centre of the Z. It was a kind of charm. Touching it gave her warmth and the energy to keep on going.
‘What’s that necklace for?’ Josh took the controls. ‘I’m not sure Ben. As far as I could tell it didn’t have much purpose. She touches it sometimes during a game like maybe for luck or strength. But that’s it. It’s nothing we can control.’
They started making their way through level one. He was a little rusty and his movements were slow at first, but it didn’t take long before he found his form, and remembered their moves. His touch became sure.
Together, nothing could stop them. Bullets, phasers, rockfalls, he anticipated them all. Ben was jumping and shouting encouragement in the background. Levels five and four, not one scrape. Working their way up. Not even a close call. They were a team again.
Eight and nine were more difficult. Josh and Ben weren’t saying anything now, and Zarra was concentrating on dealing to the big hairy winged things with fangs that dripped poison. She’d come too close to those fangs on many occasions and she never got used to it, never wanted to.
Through the forest, then out into the open, further up the side of the mountain.
‘This is as far as I ever got. There’s this thing at the top of the mountain. I tried everything on it. All her weapons, all her best moves. And every time it ended up getting her. It mauls her, pulls off a leg or an arm, then throws her over the cliff, and she falls in a crumpled heap at the bottom.’ He paused, ‘I used to hate that part. I so wanted to be able to save her.’
Zarra looked at Josh with tenderness for the boy he had been and the man he had become.
He was older now. Maybe, just maybe he would figure it out. She so wanted him to be the one.
‘She’s got phasers, and lasers, and zappers, and all sorts of other things. It’s got to be one of those, or maybe a combination that will kill that thing.’
He selected her laser. Zarra let out a sigh of resignation. Oh Josh. You know that only enrages the thing.
Against her will she aimed and fired. And cringed. A direct hit.
Sure enough, old Beasty looked up, eyes blazing, well and truly enraged. Teeth bared, it lunged toward her. Zarra dodged it for a while, but there wasn’t a lot of room up here on the mountaintop. If only she could throw herself off the edge before that thing got her. She hated it when it got her. She jumped, but it jumped too, as she knew it would. It caught her in mid air and landed back down on top of her. Pain
seared through her shoulder and she blacked out.
She came round slowly. Her head spinning.
‘Can I’ve a go now Dad?’
Josh glanced at his watch. ‘In the morning Ben. I shouldn’t really even have given you this till tomorrow.’
Ben rolled his eyes. ‘Oh yeah. Then I might have thought it was from Santa huh?’
Josh punched him lightly on the arm.
‘Get up to bed.
‘Dad?’
‘Yes?’
Ben said nothing for a few seconds, when he spoke his voice was little more than a whisper. ‘I wish Mum was still here.’
Josh looked at him then pulled him into an embrace. ‘So do I Ben. So do I.’ Father and son held each other for a while, before Ben pulled away and went upstairs. Josh turned back to the table, putting his elbows on it and his head in his hands.
Zarra watched him. Feeling his pain more than her own. If only she could reach out and touch him. Comfort him somehow.
It was a long while before he looked up at the screen. A wry smile tugged at his lips. ‘Sorry about your arm. Least it’ll be back on again next time.’ He stretched his arm toward the screen. There was a click and her world shimmered briefly and broke up.
Zarra stirred. In an instant she was alert and ready, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She looked out into the darkness. Josh was there in front of her. A white towelling robe hanging open against his broad chest. The Christmas lights blinked behind him.
‘I couldn’t sleep. And I had this idea.’ She smiled. He was talking to her again. ‘Maybe I’ve been coming at it from the wrong angle the whole time. Thinking fighting harder and smarter was what would get us through.’
Zarra’s breath caught in her throat. They started working their way through the levels, relaxed and at ease. It was a cinch, a well-rehearsed dance, both of them knowing all the steps. Josh offering words of encouragement and praise. She made it to the top with hardly a bruise, barely even breathing heavy. What was this idea of his? Had he figured out what it would take?
She stood looking at the sleeping beast. Then she put down her weapons. All of them. She chanced a look at him; he could be on to something. Walking amongst the scattered bushes she collected berries. Then slowly, slowly, she approached it. Defenceless, she sat down in front of it and held the berries under its nose. It stirred but didn’t wake. She waited. It opened a large eye and looked at her. She lifted her hand a little higher. It sniffed at the berries then looked at her again. And then it put its snout in her cupped palms and began to eat. A low growl of satisfaction rumbled in its throat.
Patience and trust. In the end all it had taken was patience and trust.
The beast rolled over exposing a hairy belly for her to scratch. As she leant forward something glinted from the flattened glass. Zarra picked up what looked like a small round emerald.
Josh’s voice reached through. ‘So that was it. So simple.’ He was smiling, a look of quiet satisfaction on his face.
Zarra reached up and fit the sapphire into the inner circle of her charm then held it in both hands, she smiled back at him. He reached out with one finger and gently touched the screen. ‘It’s good to see you whole.’
He lowered his finger, she heard the click and her world faded away, but this time, for the first time she was whole, and so too was her charm.
Zarra turned her face to the sun and let its rays warm her skin. It felt good. So good. She had been walking all morning, savouring the pleasure of freedom, of life, but always she ended up here, in front of this one house with its spacious, tree-studded yard.
The front door opened and a large golden dog bounded out heading for the nearest bush. ‘That’ll teach you for eating a box of chocolates that didn’t belong to you.’
Zarra laughed at the exasperated kindness in the voice. Still smiling she looked toward the house. A tall, dark haired man stood framed by the doorway.
When he saw her standing on the path he came down the steps and walked slowly toward her. As he drew closer she looked into a pair of emerald blue eyes and smiled. Josh.
He tilted his head to one side. ‘Merry Christmas.’ There was a questioning tone to his voice.
‘It surely is.’
His eyes dropped to the necklace about her throat just as Zarra lifted her fingers to touch it. He looked back at her face and neither of them spoke.
Their silence was broken when a youthful voice called out, ‘Dad the timer’s going.’
Josh looked towards the house and then back to Zarra. ‘You must be hungry?’
‘Yes. I think I am.’
‘We have a Christmas dinner that’s way too big for just two of us.’ He held his hand out towards her and she placed her own in it.
His clasp was warm and strong as he led her inside.
Looking for another Christmas read? If you haven’t read Sandra’s RITA finaling Christmas novella ‘Under the Millionaire’s Mistletoe’ you can find it here:
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Under-Millionaires-Mistletoe-Brother-Mistletoe-Silhouette/dp/0373730691
