Forever and Always (17 page)

He got up and I came at him returning an eight-punch combination of my own, with the last punch hitting him so hard he flew ten feet in the air.

Damn, I had gotten strong!

Goshi hurdled through the air and got control of his body before he hit the ground and was able to land on his feet.

Okay, that was a sweet recovery.

He made a motion for me to strike him. I shook my head remembering the first rule he had taught me.  If I was to attack him I had to play by his ethics. I didn’t think his ethics would be that bad, but I was considering this whole match as a test and I wanted to show that I had taken everything he said to heart.

We circled each other and got closer and closer to each other’s space. There was a difference between striking your opponent first when you’re squared up the way we were. Your opponent has an equal chance to strike you, and I knew I was well inside the honor code for attacking him first.  “Ok Goshi,” I said. “This is where I earn my stripes.”

I swept his legs with a sweep of the leg. I tripped him up and he lost his balance.  I flew up over his 3 foot body and grabbed him from behind and tackled him to the ground.

I had my hands wrapped around his neck. His body felt strong even though he was tiny. I pressed my fingers deep into his neck and he gasped for air and dropped to his knees. I had him where I wanted him, but I didn't want to kill him. I could feel him weaken and it was breaking my heart. I wasn’t sure what it would take to kill someone so small. I really didn’t want to kill him.  He was my friend. I couldn't do it and I let him go and pushed him to the ground. He slid backwards into the rocks.

“Get up!” I said.

“You need to kill me, Josiah,” he said, trying his best to breathe.

“I can’t do it, Goshi. Please don’t make me.” I said, pleading with him.

“You need to kill me, Josiah. If you don't, I promise you I will kill you first.” Then once again he flew at me and kicked me in the stomach.

Damn, that hurt!
He knocked the wind out of me. I hunched over trying to catch my breath and the little fucker grabbed me by my neck.

Holy shit, he was strong!

He was digging his hands deep into my Adam’s apple. I couldn’t allow this to happen. I flew up into the air while he was still choking me. We were now 30 feet up in the air and he still had his little hands around my neck trying to choke me out. I began to feel dizzy, and I needed to do something fast.  I started throwing punches at him and landing them all over his face. I must have thrown 30 punches in a row, and finally, he let go of my neck. We both fell to the earth and I landed on top of him and landed on his back.

“Kill me, Josiah.” he said, coughing up blood.

I looked down at this persistent little shit.
Dammit Goshi! Why does it have to be this way?
I wrapped my hands around his neck. I pressed my fingers as hard as I could. I felt his life leaving his body as I continued to tighten up my grip. “Throw me like a silver stake,” I yelled to the group.

“Here!” Rubidoux tossed me a stake. Goshi had barely any life left in him. I turned his body over because I didn’t want to see his face as I took his life from him.

I picked up the stake and started pressing it into his tiny neck. As the stake hit his skin, something started happening, something far beyond my wildest dreams.

Goshi began changing form. First his coloration left his entire body and he was as pale as a ghost. Then his body began to expand and elongate. He was getting bigger and larger.  Dark black hair protruded out of his scalp. As Goshi grew, I could feel the power grow from inside his body.
What the hell was happening!
I jumped off of him and took a step back.  He was now seven feet in length and he was still lying on the ground facing the rocks.

Then I heard laughter. “Oh Josiah, this was too easy.” He looked up at me and I saw who it was.

It was Atticai! Goshi had been Atticai all along!

Atticai was wearing the exact same outfit he was wearing the night I killed him. He was wearing a long black trench coat with black pants and boots. He stood up and scanned the crowd. Everyone, including myself looked on in disbelief. “What’s the matter, my Mani friends? Are you not happy to see me?” Atticai yelled, at the top of his lungs.

“I don't understand. I killed you,” I said.

“I didn't fully understand myself, Josiah. But after you killed me I woke up in a little blue form. It took a couple of weeks for me to figure out what my destiny was. Through visions and dreams I figured out what I was supposed to do. I was to find you and train you. I was to give you all the knowledge I had obtained over the last few hundred years. I knew if I did that for you, the Triat would give me a second chance.”

I looked at Atticai and I wasn’t sure what his intentions were now.  Did he train me just to come back and kill me? I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say. All I could say was, “Thank you.”

“I didn't do this for you, you pompous child!” Atticai said to me. “I did this to gain my life back. To be the Mani I once was.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening. I was so confused. I loved Goshi, but he had never truly existed.  It was all a lie. It was always Atticai.

I looked out into the crowd and saw Lena and she looked absolutely horrified at the sight of Atticai. If anything was about to go down, my only concern was to protect her.

“Fuck this bullshit!” Tommy yelled out from the crowd and made his way over to where Atticai and I were standing. He walked right up and got into Atticai’s face.

“Tommy! Go sit down!” I yelled. “This doesn’t concern you.”

Tommy turned to me and said, “This doesn’t concern me? Are you kidding? This guy fought me at full strength and nearly killed me! He didn’t have the balls to wait for me to be a werewolf.”

Tommy turned and faced Atticai again. Atticia wouldn’t even give Tommy the respect of looking at him in the face. “Josiah, please control your dog.”

“Tommy, you needed to go back with the others. This situation is bigger than that.”

“Bigger than my life?” Tommy yelled. “He left me for dead!”

“Actually I just made my point and your savage friends were the ones who left you for dead.” Atticai said, smugly.

“Fuck you, you piece of shit.”

“Must we associate with this uncivilized animal,” Atticai said to me.

Then I saw Tommy’s eyes go yellow. 

Shit! He was transitioning to the werewolf! This was all I need right now!

Tommy transitioned into his mighty grey werewolf form and leaped to Attticai. He looked bigger and more ferocious than I remembered. Tommy tackled Atticai onto the rocks. Atticai threw Tommy's werewolf body off of him, with a swipe of his arm. Tommy turned and leaped back on top of him pinning Atticai to the ground. Atticai kicked Tommy off his body by drilling him in the stomach.   

Then I heard Tommy's voice in my head. “Josiah, it is my right to kill him.”

“Tommy you can't!” I yelled out

“It is my right!” he repeated back to me.

“Tommy, not now. Not tonight!” I yelled out again.

“Fuck you, Josiah. This is my fight.”

Then Tommy jumped on top of Atticai and clawed him in the chest making a huge rip in Atticai’s long black shirt. Atticai backed up and didn’t seemed worried at all, he was mainly annoyed.

“Josiah, you can’t allow a Carni to kill one of our own,” Rubidoux yelled out.

“You better do something Josiah!” another Mani yelled ain agreement.

Tommy had come after Atticai and now Atticai was having a hard time fighting Tommy off. Tommy caught Atticai a couple of times in the face and he was bleeding from the right side of his cheek.

“Do something, or we will!” others were yelling out.

Dammit!

Tommy now had Atticai pinned to his back. I had to do something. I couldn’t allow Tommy to kill Atticai in front of the whole Mani nation. I ran over and tackled Tommy's werewolf body off of Atticai.

“Fuck you, Josiah!” Tommy said, in my head and swiped at me also.

“Stand down, Tommy!” I yelled.

“Fuck that,” Tommy then ran over and tried to leap on Atticai, but I was able to get to him before he made contact. I once again tackled Tommy.  We both rolled and I ended up on my back with Tommy on top of me. I was face to face with the werewolf.

“You need to choose, Josiah.” Tommy said, looking down at me.

“I already did, Tommy!” I yelled out as I reversed him to his back. I was now on top of him. I wrapped my right arm around his neck and began choking him out in a reverse head lock.

“Tommy! I don’t want to hurt you, but you’re going to have to stop!” I yelled.

“You're going to have to kill me!” he answered.

“Transition!” I yelled, as I tightened up my grip.  I had my choke hold in deep and I knew the werewolf couldn’t last much longer. Finally, Tommy gave up and turned back to his Carni form. I let him go and he rolled to the side gasping for air.

Lena broke through the crowd and ran over to him.

“What are you doing Lena?” I yelled out to her.

“You nearly killed him,” she yelled back at me.

Tommy shrugged Lena off of him and stood up in his Carni form.

I looked up and Attica, Tommy and I were in a perfect triangle with about forty feet separating us. Lena was outside the triangle looking on.

I looked over at Atticai, “I cared for you,” I said.

“You cared for that thing I became. That wasn’t who I am.” Atticai answered.

“That might be so,”I said. “But there was good in you as Goshi.”

“Good?” Atticai laughed. “Listen Josiah there is no good and evil! “Look around! We are all evil!”

“That's where you’re wrong,” I said. “I believe that we’re all inherently good, and we only choose to do evil things.”

Atticai laughed.

“This is all well and good, Josiah,” Tommy said. “You and string bean here can have a pow-wow about the good times in Europe later, but you and I now have a problem. You should have never put your hands on me.”

I looked at Tommy and he looked like he now wanted to kill me. I looked at Atticai and he was very smug and looked like he just got away with murder, in which he did.

“Relax, Tommy.  If I didn’t pull you off of him. This entire lot would have torn you to shreds.”

“Of course they would.  They would stand by this guy even though he tried to kill their Chosen Savior. They would rather kill a Carni than deal with this kind of evil.

“Evil, Shmevil. Seriously, you to need to step away from the hero manual.” Atticia was very amused with mine and Tommy conversation.

I looked over at Atticai and said, “Now what?”

“What are you asking me for? He’s your pet.”

“I’m not referring to Tommy. I’m talking about you and me.

“There isn’t  a you and me,” Atticai said, plainly.

“That’s too bad, Atticia. Because if you’re not with me, you’re against me!”

“Trust me, Josiah. I will always be against you.  I am my own Mani. I call my own shots.”

“Then you will be doing it from the sidelines,” I said.

“Oh I will. I am going to sit back and watch you and Krull kill each other and when all is said and done I will take my rightful place at the top.”

I shook my head and was sadly disappointed with Atticai’s answer. A part of me had thought there was a chance we could team up.

Atticai then looked at Tommy. “And for you, you mangy dog, you are lucky I'm feeling generous tonight, I should end your pathetic existence right now, but I’m going to let your ignorance slide and just chalk it up to your low Carni IQ.”

“I’m lucky?” Tommy laughed. “You’re lucky Josiah stopped me.”

“Oh, that is where you’re wrong,” Atticai stated. “The only life that was saved tonight was yours.”

I looked at Atticai and Tommy and if they wanted to kill each other that was on them. I was done with this whole fucked up night. I swear the Triat is just trying to mind fuck me.

“You two can do whatever the hell you want.  You want to kill each other go right ahead. I'm leaving. I’m not going to be part of a three person stand-down.” I looked over at Lena and said, “Let’s go.”

Lena walked half way towards me and stopped.  She was now directly in the middle of the three of us in the center of the triangle. She looked over at me, and didn't move.

Atticai was once again amused, this time it was over Lena’s hesitancy. “Oh look! Josiah no longer has the loyalty of his precious Lena!”

“Lena,” I said. “Let’s go. We don’t need to be a part of this.”

Lena just stared at me with zero expression on her face.

“Seriously,” I continued. “After last night, please don't do this. Let’s get out of here. We don’t need to be a part of this.”

Lena’s eyes softened as she looked at me. I didn’t know why she wasn’t moving. What could she possibly be considering?

Atticai saw an opening and decided to take it. “Lena,” he said. “You know deep down who your soul mate will always be. You and I have something that is eternal.”

What the fuck? Atticai was seriously making a play for Lena?

I looked at Lena with a look that said, ‘There is no way you’re considering leaving with that animal!’

Then the situation got even more weird.

“Lena,” Tommy now said. “You don’t want to be part of any of this.  Neither do I.  I know you care for me. In my heart I know that you love me. Let's leave all of this behind us. You and I can go somewhere far from here and share a life together.”

Lena looked over at Tommy, and I could see she was having hard time with this decision.

What the hell was going on? How could she be considering either one of these two guys?

Again, Atticai made his case, “Lena, you know deep in your heart I am your first and only true love.”

I looked at Lena and she looked at me. She was clearly confused.
You have got to be kidding me.
“Lena,” I said. “After last night…”

Lena looked at me and then completely turned around and looked at each of us.

What the hell was she doing?

She stopped and looked at Tommy, and then she turned and looked at Atticai.