Forced Magic (5 page)

I headed toward the dragon, but the light didn’t seem right.
It was blue. As I got closer, the blue light washed over me.  It wasn’t the
dragon. The light was about the size of a baseball and pulsed brighter as I
walked closer. I stopped dead in my tracks. Could this be from the fairy? I
took another step toward the ball and it grew a little bigger. I stopped again,
trying to figure out what I was looking at. It began to pulse and seemed to be
getting bigger. I took a step back and the ball seemed to move toward me. I
tried to walk around it and it followed me. It was not going to let me pass.

“Maybe I’ll go back to the store.”

I turned around and saw just how many people were there. A
growing group of shoppers and the store manager were standing there staring at
the blue orb. Some of them had camera phones and were taking videos of what was
going on. It was probably already on "YouTube" and going viral. Every
eye was fixed on the floating ball of light. I took a step toward the crowd and
the blue orb shot through the air and stopped at eye level directly in front of
me. The crowd gasped and someone actually screamed.

I didn’t know what to do. This ball of light seemed to be
interested in me. It hadn’t tried to hurt me. But that didn’t mean that it
wouldn’t. The wizard’s words came back to me.
“Man I wish I hadn’t made that
dragon mad. We should have flown straight to the wizard."
I wondered
if the dragon was strong enough to carry me and the duffle bag all the way to
Reid Park. I guessed that I would never know now.

The blue ball stayed in front of me. I had no idea what it
was.  I moved to the left and there it was. I moved to the right and it was
still there. I started to sink to my knees hoping I could crawl underneath it.
It slowly sank down to the ground always staying in front of me. The fairy must
have sent it to finish me off. Johnathen had left me the image that fey were
not good.

“What if it was some sort of bomb?
All these
people could get hurt
.”

I looked back to the crowd and saw phones pointed in my
direction. I needed to lead the orb out of the parking lot and away from
people. If it was a bomb, it could hurt not just me, but all these people. All
of a sudden the ball started to hum. At first it was a low thrumming that I
could feel in my chest. It quickly got higher in pitch and started to intensify
in brightness. I took a step back away from it. I looked back at the gathering
of people.

 “RUN!” I yelled.

The ball started to grow to about the size of a small car. I
could hear more gasps from my audience. I couldn’t tell if anyone had run. The
humming stopped abruptly and before I could move, a big, hairy, green arm shot
out of it and grabbed me by the throat. I grabbed at it trying to pull it off
me as I gasped for air. It had a slimy feel to it and was very strong.  I
raised my hands, and with all the strength I could muster, sent my hands
crashing down on this monstrous arm. My blocking, smashing hit was enough to
break the hold the arm had on me. But before I could get away, another arm shot
out of the ball and hit me in the face. I could feel the crunch as the pain
shot through my broken nose. The wind was knocked out of me as the thing shot
out of the orb, tackling me to the ground. It pounded on me, stomping me into
the asphalt. I could hear a strange growling voice chanting over and over again.

“Smash!  Smash!  Smash! Smash!”

As I was being pummeled, I could hear the crowd screaming
and the sound of running feet. Finally they started to take my advice. Squeaks
and grunts were coming from the smelly green monster as it hit me. I continued to
try and fight this strange, green, hairy, slimy thing. It was now on top of me,
jumping up and down on my chest, laughing as it clobbered me. I was afraid I
would lose consciousness and then I would be dead.  A burning sensation started
in my chest as blood poured out of my nose. A strange pressure was building up
in my stomach. I waved my arms wildly trying to hit this thing and knock it off
of me. I got lucky with a hit and with a squeal this thing jumped from my
chest.

I scrambled to a sitting position getting my first good look
at my attacker. It was green and hairy all over its body. Its short squatty
body couldn’t be more than a foot long, but its massively muscled arms were at
least twice as long as its body. It stood on them like they were legs. The
creature's hand dug into the asphalt of the parking lot, tearing it up. Its
whole body had a slimy glow to it. This thing was lethal. His head was almost a
perfect round ball with black beady eyes, a smashed nose and twisted mouth. I
couldn’t help but think of this thing as a demon from a nightmare come to life.
There was a scurrying commotion behind him and I realized there was more than
one of these things.

My attacker smiled at me, showing rows and rows of sharp,
crooked teeth. He reached behind his back and pulled out a cigar. Lighting it
with a match struck off of its forehead, it took in a deep drag of smoke,
smiled another twisted hideous smile and spoke.

“Hey ya freak. We’re here to destroy you.  You should have
died today. We’re here to make sure you do,” he said with a twisted grin.

He took another drag from his cigar then tossed the rest to
the side. He charged me, knocking me to the ground again. The pressure in my
stomach was growing as I lashed out, trying to knock this thing off of me. It laughed
at my week attempt to hit it again. The pressure in my stomach popped and my
body was filled with power. Reaching up I grabbed this creature by the throat. 
A squeak and wheeze came from his mouth. Its beady black eyes grew wide with
surprise at my speed and strength. I stood up holding this thing by the throat.

“I’m not going to die at the hands of a giant booger like
you,” I yelled as I shook it.

The creature hit me with a right hook causing me to let it
go. He jumped up to its hands and looked at me, his face twisting in rage.

“No one calls me Booger!” it screamed,  “You stupid flap!
I’m gonna kill you!”

Throughout the parking lot you could hear the other green
things running around. They all started chanting “Booger! Booger! Booger!” Over
and over again.  My attacker looked around the parking lot and shouted for them
to shut up. He turned back to me, screaming in rage and charged again. This
time I was ready for him. With a speed that surprised me, I grabbed Booger’s
arm. I swung him around my head as he squealed like a pig. Another one came
after me. It charged and I swung Booger like a club, knocking the new one over
a car. It landed crashing through the windshield of a nice looking convertible.
The alarm started blaring around the parking lot.

To my amazement I could still see a crowd of people gathered
around with camera phones clicking. They were watching this battle like it was
a movie or something. Only a few had run away. The others had either stood
there in shock and disbelief, or run around trying to get a better angle with
their camera phones. I wanted to yell at them to run, but another attacker
charged from behind and almost grabbed me. I swung Booger around just in time,
smacking it upside of the head and sending it into the back of a truck. Booger
hung limply in my hand.

“Stop it freak," he said, “I’m gonna to be sick."

A retching sound came from his throat.  This made me want to
puke too. I threw him as far as I could. He skidded and smashed into a light
pole about ten feet away from me. Standing up slowly, he shook his head. He
looked at me and to my surprise looked unharmed. It was as if I hadn’t touched
him at all. He reached behind his back again pulling out another cigar.
Chomping down on this one he made a strange grunting sound. All of the other
creatures began to come out of their hiding places. There were dozens of them.
Behind them the crowd finally started to back up.  Booger looked over his
shoulder at the store and the crowd of people. With a wicked smile on his face
he said to his companions.

“Half of you stay with me, the rest start raiding the
store.”

They all smiled crooked twisted smiles. Now the crowd was
really in danger. All of them moved as one, taking off toward the store and the
rapidly retreating crowd. Booger forgot to tell which half was supposed to stay
with him. He turned and yelled at them.

“Not all of you, you stupid flaps! Come back!”

That was the distraction I needed. I knew I had to get to
those people. Someone was going to get hurt. Booger turned around just in time
to get my foot planted right in his ugly face. He grunted and fell to the
ground and I ran past him. I headed for the hooting, squealing mass of the snot
brigade that was heading for the front of the store and the people who were
scrambling to get out of there. I was half way there when Booger recovered from
my kick and grabbed me by the foot, tripping me. I landed hard on my newly
broken nose and pain exploded in a fresh wave.

Booger started climbing up my back as I kicked and tried to
fight him off. That strange pulling sensation started in my stomach again, as I
reached out toward the running creatures. I realized that, even if I could get
Booger off my back, I wouldn’t reach the others in time.

I yelled out at the top of my lungs, “Run you idiots,
run!"

Booger was now whispering in my ear “I’m gonna spit right in
your face freak," he said.

I had begun to lose hope that I would get out of this. That
was when the dragon returned.

It came crashing out of the sky with a roar. No longer
camouflaged, it wanted these creatures to see it. Booger stopped clawing his
way to my face and sat on my back in stunned silence. I took this opportunity
to roll over, knocking him off, but he jumped on top of me again. The other
creatures ran squealing and screaming as the dragon dived after them. It
grabbed three of them with its back claws, as it swooped down and knocked two
more tumbling with its tail. Booger had begun beating on me again. I lay there
trying to figure out how to get this thing off of me. I saw a strange red
glowing thing next to my head. I realized it was one of Booger's cigars. I
grabbed it and twisted around to face him as I plunged the lit cigar into the
side of his face. A bloodcurdling howl came from Booger's mouth. He fell off of
me, writhing in pain, and holding the quarter shaped burn he now had on his
face. I took off towards the front of the store, dodging people right and left.
There was blind panic. Some of the creatures must have made it into the store.
One was running on its stubby little feet, holding a case of beer over its
head. Another had a bottle of soda in its mouth. It had bitten through the
bottle and was sucking it dry. Then it began to eat the plastic bottle.

A lot more of these green nightmares had come through the
ball portal. Running back and forth, going in and out of the store, running
with everything from 'Top Ramen' to toilet paper. It was total chaos. It amazed
me that no one had been hurt. There was still one dummy standing by the front
of the store, filming on his camera phone. A green guy stopped in front of him
and spat at him. The guy jumped back just in time. The spit hit the sidewalk
and started sizzling.  At the sight of this, the guy took off. Seeing the smoke
coming from the sidewalk, I realized why Booger wanted to spit in my face.
These creatures' spit must have some kind acid in it.

I was being kept away from the front of the store as green
guy after green guy jumped on me and tried to beat me down.  I had no idea
where the strength was coming from, but I continued to fight them off.  After
knocking one over a car trying to leave the parking lot, I had a moment to
rest. I jumped into the back of a truck and watched the whole scene.

The dragon was fantastic. Swooping down it bowled them over.
It seemed to be everywhere at once. Any time one of the nightmares got close to
a panicky person trying to get away, the dragon was there, protecting them,
sending the little beasts one way or another. But more and more kept appearing
and it was becoming clear that we were fighting a losing battle. I heard a baby
cry and a scream and I saw a woman with a stroller backed up against the side
of the building. Two creatures had them trapped. I jumped up to help them when
Booger came out of nowhere, grabbed my head, and pulled me back down into the
truck. We rolled around with neither of us getting the upper hand. I heard the
baby crying as the mother screamed for help. The strange pulling sensation from
my stomach had returned. I kicked at Booger and must have hit a tender spot. He
rolled off of me groaning in pain.  I stood up in the back of the truck ready
to help as the two beasts moved closer to the young mother
and baby.

Booger jumped on my back tearing his claws into my flesh. As
Booger continued to scratch at my back, I saw the dragon flying straight toward
me. It didn’t see the cornered mother. The pain was intense and the pressure
grew inside of me. It was some sort of strange buzzing energy. My breath came
out in short gasps. As the buzzing grew inside of me, I reached behind me and
pulled Booger off my back and flipped him over my head, smashing him into the
ground. I looked at the dragon and pointed toward the mother and baby.

“FETCH!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

The dragon turned its head and saw the problem. With a roar,
it dove down toward the creatures. Picking them both up by its tail, the dragon
flung them into the air. They landed at least twenty feet away. The dragon was
between the mother and baby, and the two green things. The creatures screeched
and made a strange gargling sound in their throats. More and more green beasts
ran to join the two who were now beginning to charge the dragon. It looked like
there were at least twenty running at it. I jumped out of the truck and started
running through the parking lot to help.  I didn’t know how I could help, but I
had to try. But, before I could take two steps, a hand shot out and grabbed my
ankle sending me sprawling on the pavement. It was my old friend Booger.

A fresh pain hit my chest as I slid across the asphalt. I
could hear Booger running at me from behind as I skidded down the parking lot.
My chest was now a raw mess and the wind had been knocked out of me. I lay
there waiting for the next attack from Booger, when the dragon roared. I looked
up to see the most amazing thing.

The dragon had raised its head back as a jet of red flame
left its mouth. It sprayed the flame at the charging green things like a stream
of water shooting out of a fireman’s hose. The entire hoard of beasts that had
charged the dragon caught fire. They squealed and screamed running into each
other. At first they ran around trying to beat the flames out, running in all
different directions. But then something pulsed from the portal and, as one,
they ran for it, jumping into it and disappearing. There was a strange high
pitched humming sound as they disappeared. When all of the ones the dragon had
caught on fire had gone in, the humming stopped. I lay there in stunned silence.
Spots were in front of my eyes from the fire the dragon had created. To my
right I heard a voice.

“Whoa,” said Booger.

He was standing next to me amazed too. I looked over at him,
he looked up at me, and with a growl, he jumped on top of me, his feet twisted
into freakish claws. I kicked at Booger knocking him off of me. I managed to
get a good punch at his face and my hand went into his mouth. I felt a few
sharp teeth break and when I pulled my fist back. I could see smoke coming off
of my hand. The skin on my knuckles started to burn as I watched the flesh of
my hand bubble and melt away. Booger knocked me down and barked a command at
the remaining beasts left in the parking lot. Through the haze of pain I could
see them all charging in my direction. I kicked at Booger, hitting him in the
face where the cigar burn was. He let go of me and leaped back, holding his
face and glaring at me.

I scrambled to my feet and faced my attackers. Behind them,
flying low, was the dragon coming at them, hopefully coming to my rescue. Its
flight looked a little wobbly. That burst of fire must have taken a lot out of
it. It reared its head back ready to let out another fire burst. The red flame
shot out of the dragon's mouth. It shot over the heads of the creatures, heading
straight for my face. I threw up my hands to cover my face. I knew this wasn’t
the healing fire of before. This was an angry fire of battle. This was going to
hurt.

I had closed my eyes waiting for the worst. I could hear the
roar of the fire as it hit me.  But there was no feeling of burning. Maybe he
missed me. Opening my eyes, I was taken by surprise by what I saw. The fire had
engulfed my hands. I felt the heat from the fire, but I could see that my hands
were unburned.  My hands were protected from the fire. The flame was red and
had a weight to it. I was dumbfounded by the flame burning on my hands without
damaging them. Just like the fire in the tunnel, this had healing qualities as
well. I could see my hands healing from the damage of Booger's acid spit. It
was like watching a burning candle in reverse. Within seconds my hand was
healed, the damage from Booger's spit was gone. I opened and shut my hands,
totally marveling at this incredible miracle. I looked up to see the dragon
hovering in the air with an astonished look on its face. I looked at the
remaining creatures. They were all staring at me with looks of shock and
disbelief on their faces.

The flames began to burn brighter. I yelled and started to
wave my hands around wildly, frantically trying to put the fire out. Small
balls of flame began to fly off of my hands in all directions hitting the now
panicky little green monsters. They scattered and ran away. They all ran toward
the blue orb as it pulsed.

I finally got control of myself and stopped shaking my
hands. The dragon had flown toward the creatures roaring in rage. It was trying
to herd them all toward the blue light. There was a scattered fire throughout
the parking lot. I watched the dragon swooping down at the snot brigade as they
ran for the ball of light. It was busy keeping all of the things running. So
busy that it didn’t see the one creature with the wicked looking spear. It was
Booger. I’m not sure where he had gotten the weapon. He had a twisted smile on
his face as he pulled his powerful arm back aiming the spear at the dragon. I
yelled out trying to warn it, but there was no way I could be heard over the
screams and roars.  The spear was going to hit the dragon and there was no way
to stop it.

In a moment of mad inspiration, I raised my still burning
hands over my head and flung them like I was throwing a heavy object. The fire
shot away from my hands like a rock from a sling shot. It flew like a ball
through the air and hit the spear, knocking it away from the dragon. It landed
through the roof of a car and hit the horn. I didn’t have a chance to be
surprised at what I had just done. The dragon had looked back at me with a
confused look on its face. 

Not missing a beat, Booger began to bark a ruff growling
shout.  He was standing next to the blue ball of light. How did he get there so
fast?  All of the remaining creatures ran toward him, then they turned in a
line to face me. The dragon had landed by my side. I was surprised that it
would do this. I guess we had a common enemy. Whatever it felt about me, it
wanted to stop these monsters from causing more destruction.

With a whooping sound, they charged us. The dragon crouched,
ready to attack. The fire had finally burned itself out on my hands, so I had
no idea how to fight off so many of them. I didn’t want another fire burst from
the dragon.  Too many people still running through the parking lot could get
hurt. Another burst of flame and our luck of no one seriously getting hurt
would end. They were getting closer. I was at a loss as to what to do. I was
too tired to attack like I did before, and I was sure I had lost the element of
surprise, so I doubted that I would be able to do what I did before. They all
stopped short of us, sneering and growling, waiting for us to make the first
move.  I could smell them. They really smelled bad.

The buzzing feeling I had this whole time intensified. It
seemed to be feeding off my frustration and anger.  It was the most
uncomfortable feeling I had ever had. I started twitching and shaking my head
trying to get the feeling away. The green things were about twenty feet from us
now.

“Uh oh,” I said, as a man, who was trying to escape from
this nightmare, ran in between us and the creatures. He tripped over his own
feet and fell flat on his face. As he struggled to get up, I could see the
wicked smiles across the snot brigade's ugly faces. I could hear the dragon
gather its breath, readying itself for another blast of fire. I had to get that
guy out of the way before he got fried. If it let it loose, there was a good
chance this guy would get hurt. The green things moved in closer as he covered
his head and started yelling for help. The buzz took over my whole body. I
couldn’t see straight. All I could hear was the hum of this force, which had
built up inside me, get louder. I had to get rid of this feeling. I closed my
eyes, not even caring if this made me an easy target or not.

“Get out!” I shouted. I had to get this buzzing feeling out
of my body. It was going to drive me crazy. For all I knew it would kill me. I
focused on pushing it away,
just relieving it, and somehow, without truly understanding what I did, I felt
this buzzing force push itself away from my body. I felt like I was a piece of
paper being torn in two. As the buzzing feeling escaped my body, it shimmered.
I opened my eyes and yelled. It was an arch that passed over the head of the
man on the ground and then it hit the green things. They all flew backwards,
smashing into cars and crashing into each other.  The arch, still flowing out
of my chest, picked them all up, and pushed them toward the blue ball. I could
see Booger trying to run away from it. He was knocked down by the wave then
picked up, spinning around and around.  He was the last one to be pushed
through the blue ball. As he disappeared inside, the orb grew a little bigger,
glowing brighter. With a loud pop, it collapsed in on itself and winked out of
existence. I could have sworn I saw Booger pointing at me, giving me a rude
gesture as he fell through.

The parking lot was full of panicked people running out of
it or toward their cars. I heard sirens blaring down the street. I realized
that the fight must not have been very long. I felt a rush of excitement as I
realized that I had performed some kind of magic. Whatever had happened to me
today had changed me. I could do magic! My legs gave out on me as all the
energy in my body drained away. The dragon moved under me as I began to fall. I
looked at it, allowing myself to see it as the magnificent creature it was, and
not as the parasite that almost killed me. It turned its head and looked at me
with concern.

“Dude," I said groggily, “You were incredible."

It looked at me and rolled its eyes. Unfolding its wings it
knocked me off of its back. I hit the parking lot with a grunt and a dizzy
giggle. I felt like I was drunk. I could hear the dragon sigh with frustration
as it grabbed the remains of my shirt with its mouth and took off into the air
with me dangling from its mouth. I could hear the remaining people in the parking
lot gasp as we circled the lot. My feet dragged the ground, tearing off one of
the mismatched flip flops, as the dragon hauled me toward my duffel bag. It
grabbed it by its back claws and swooped clumsily up into the air. In my giddy
exhausted state, I marveled at the strength of this beast as we took off in the
air. I made a silent prayer of thanks for the strength of the now torn T-shirt
I was wearing. Looking down, I could see the lights of the police and
ambulances as they pulled into the parking lot.