Time Spent (29 page)

"We have to do something," shouted Brandon
into the wind, "before it's too late."

Carl placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Brandon."

Brandon turned. In the center of what used
to be a room, in what used to be a military base, she stood. Far
above her, the sparks had become a solid arc around an opening in
the sky, beyond which could be seen the void.

"IT IS ALREADY, AS YOU SAY, TOO LATE." The
red woman walked around the circle of her emissaries, looking at
each of them in turn.

"THE HERO. THE UNBRIDLED FURY. THE BLIND
BARD. THE PRINCESS. THE MIRROR. THE SAVAGE. THE HOWLING GHOST. THE
MESSENGER. THE FORTUNE TELLER."

She smiled a smile that never touched her
eyes. They flared like red stars in the night.

"YOU MAY CALL ME GWENDOLYN. LET US TALK A
WHILE, ABOUT WHAT IS TO COME IN OUR NEW ORDER."

Brandon swallowed hard.

"THE TIME OF THE LOST IS AT HAND."

Gwendolyn breathed deep, the warm sweet air
filling her body and leaving a soothing tingle as she exhaled. The
scent was her favorite, a spicy aroma with soft floral undertones.
She often burned it in the fire, as she did now, and the scent
along with pops and cracks of wood on the hearth never failed to
relax her.

She lifted her glass to her lips, sipping
the bitter liquid within. It was an acquired taste, and a rarity on
her world, but she had grown to love it, partly for the slightly
sour aftertaste, partly for the decadence of owning the only
bottles known to exist.

She was the Queen, after all.

Gwendolyn placed the glass on the table next
to her and leaned back, basking in the glow of the fire and
luxuriating in the pleasurable physical sensations she was
experiencing: the heat of the fire, the softness of the cushions,
the tastes in the corners of her mouth. No matter how long it had
been since she took physical form, she never tired of the
sensations of which it was capable of bringing her. Never.

A smile lifted the corner of her mouth. She
knew just the beast she’d have prepared for her dinner tonight, one
of those plump flightless things from the icy north. Only two or
three of them remained.

She reached for the bell, ready to ring for
her attendant, when the massive wooden doors burst open and the
Captain of her private guard strode in, stopping, as etiquette
demanded, three paces past the door.

“wIj pIn,” he said, taking a knee in
respect.

“nuq ghaH ‘oH?” She delivered the question
in a sharp tone, not pleased at having her lovely evening
interrupted.

His voice trembled as he said, “pa’ ghaH
toy’wI’’a’ Daw’!”

Gwendolyn stood, her cheeks reddening with
fury. A revolt among her slaves? Impossible!

______________________

EXCERPT FROM “IDIOT SYNCRATIC” - THE BLOG OF
BRANDON HOLT

COMMENTS SECTION (MODERATOR:
BRANIMALMAGNETISM)

KHHHAAANNN
: Wait, what language did
they speak on Gwendolyn's world?

BranimalMagnetism
: Um, well, no one
knows, see it's kind of gone from history, or it existed before
history, something like that.

KHHHAAANNN
: It looks like
Klingon.

BranimalMagnetism
: It wasn't
Klingon.

KHHHAAANNN
: Yeah, no, I get that
they weren't speaking Klingon on the ancient world that existed
before history, but it looks like you USED Klingon.

BranimalMagnetism
: ...

KHHHAAANNN
: You can't use Klingon.
I'm pretty sure it's copyrighted. You're gonna get your ass sued
off.

BranimalMagnetism
: It's a language,
how can it be copyrighted?

KHHHAAANNN
: Bad enough your hero is
“Brandon", which is like, one of the main characters from Game of
Thrones.

BranimalMagnetism
: Huh. I never
thought of that, cool! Game of Thrones is AWESOME. But hey, Brandon
is my name, dude. I can totally use it.

KHHHAAANNN
: w/evs don't come crying
to me when they take everything you own.

D3@DP00LF@N
: Can I just point out
that what language they're speaking is the least of your worries?
This is supposed to be some world that existed before the universe
and yet they have fireplaces, incense, glass, comfy chair cushions,
and names like “Gwendolyn". Seems legit.

BranimalMagnetism
: We're really
getting off track here...

______________________

Gwendolyn threw both doors open. They nearly
flew off their hinges, banging against the stone arch with a BOOM
that echoed throughout the hall. She never shied from displays of
her power. The worms who served her needed constant reminders that
no matter what form she had chosen, she was superior to them in
every way.

Five slaves had been brought before her.
They were on their knees, stripped naked, heads bowed. Their
overseer stood beside them, holding a coiled whip with barbs tied
into its length. He proffered the whip to her, and she took it with
pleasure.

She paced in front of the five slaves,
clutching the whip in her right hand.

“You can almost smell it, can’t you?” She
asked.

Her Captain, who stood behind her, sniffed.
“My Queen?”

“Fear.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “As you say, my Queen.”

“As I say. Always.” She continued pacing in
front of them. “Very good. Very…obsequious. I like that about you.”
She turned sharply at the end of the row of slaves. “I ask very
little of those who serve me, and I allow so much. SO much. You are
allowed to speak your minds, within reason. You are allowed to live
your own lives, marry whom you will, fuck whom you will, kill whom
you will. So long as your duties are complete. So long as there are
no loose ends, no uncompleted tasks, no…failures.”

The slave nearest her burst into tears,
shaking. “My Queen, my Goddess, please!!”

Gwendolyn flicked out her left hand. The man
exploded, his flesh and blood covering Gwendolyn and the slaves
nearest him.

She lifted her hand, now slick and red, and
rubbed the front and back of it along her cheeks and up and down
her neck, revelation in the sensation of the hot, sticky fluid on
her skin. “I said within reason. I did not say to interrupt me when
I am speaking. Now where was I? Oh yes, how kind I am to you all.
Am I so kind because it is required of me? No, nothing is required
of me. Why then am I so good, so gracious? It can only be because
of my fondness for you. And I am fond of you, after a fashion. This
is why failure to follow instruction is so deeply disappointing to
me.”

She stopped, letting her words hang in the
air for a moment, then gestured to her guards. “Return these to the
slave pens. I grant them a second chance to live.”

“Thank you, my Queen!” One slave bowed all
the way to the floor before the guard dragged him to his feet.
“Your grace is infinite, your benevolence is-“

“Yes, yes, I know.” She noticed one person,
however, who had turned to go without being given leave. “Overseer.
Remain.”

“Yes, my Queen.” He hastily stepped back to
his former position, standing at attention.

“I believe we were discussing failure.” She
uncoiled the whip, giving it a little crack. “You did not think I
was speaking to them, did you?”

He swallowed nervously. “My Queen, I…”

“Face the wall.”

“I…yes, my Queen.” He turned.

“Here are your instructions: Do not take a
step. Do not fall. Do not cry out. Do you understand your
instructions?”

“Yes, my Queen.”

“You have already failed me once. A second
failure now would be most unwise.”

“Y-Yes, my Qu-”

The barbs tore into his back as the whip
struck. He clamped his jaw shut and held it tight. Gwendolyn swung
her arm again and again, the whip striking and spatters of blood
decorating the wall, her guards, herself. Her lips parted wide, her
eyes sparkling with the thrill.

When she was finished, she crossed in front
of the man. He was trembling, eyes closed, teeth gritted shut.
Tears streamed down his face. Gwendolyn threw the whip to the
ground and clutched his head in her hands, taking a good long lick
at the tears, getting every salty drop on her tongue.

She released him, and just stood for a
moment, savoring the taste. Then she turned and strode for the
doors. “Return to your post,” she instructed without so much as a
backward glance.

“Yes, my Qu...my Queen…”

Perhaps a long, hot bath would be just the
thing she needed. Gwendolyn threw off her dress and thrilled to the
feeling of air cooling and drying the blood on her face and hands.
The salty tears were still hot on her tongue, and she opened her
mouth, allowing the cool air to dry them so she could taste them
again when her mouth closed and the salt crystals moistened.

She never tired of the physical sensations
that came with form.

Never.

______________________

EXCERPT FROM “IDIOT SYNCRATIC”

You guys seem to think that this is some
kind of fictional story. What I keep trying to tell you is that
this is REAL. It's really what happened, no matter how crazy it
sounds. No, I wasn't there to see the world Gwendolyn ruled before
the universe and space and time locked her out, but I know about
it, okay? I know a lot about what happened there and what she did.
Who she was.

More importantly, I SAW Gwendolyn. Stood
right next to her. I nearly peed in my pants. Okay, maybe a little.
Let me tell you something, you've never seen anything like her. And
YOU DON'T WANT TO. The world around her doesn't feel right. Just
being...in her presence...made my stomach do flip-flops and my
hands shake.

Gwendolyn is not her real name. I don't know
her real name, and I thank God or the universe or whatever every
day that I don't. But she said to call her Gwendolyn, and we did.
We did.

My name is Brandon Holt. I used to be able
to fly, and it was the most badass thing ever. But that was before
Gwendolyn came. Before the end of the world, space, time and
everything. The moment she appeared and I stood there looking at
her, I knew this wasn't my story anymore.

It was hers, and it had been all along.

“
Bad as hell.”

"You're under arrest!" General Stearnes
raised a pistol. It was not immediately clear from where he had
gotten it. "This is a United States military base! You have just
committed an act of war!"

"General, stop!" General Higgins was still
on the ground, having been knocked there upon her arrival. "She's
too..."

Gwendolyn flicked out a hand and Stearnes
detonated like a bomb had gone off inside him. His body was
vaporized, the blood and fine spray of liquefied remains mixing
with the gentle rain that had begun to fall from the broken sky.
Higgins fell to the ground and cowered with his hands over his
head. Gwendolyn lifted her face into the patter of raindrops and
blood. She closed her eyes and felt the drops strike and slide down
her face.

"Mmm...it's so refreshing isn't it?"

She opened her eyes and looked around at the
others, who stood silently watching her, waiting to see what would
happen next.

"Can you smell it?" she asked Kevin.

Kevin sniffed the air. "Smells like a
storm."

"Fear," Becca said. "She means fear."

Gwendolyn beamed. "That's my little
Princess. You know how intoxicating fear can be, don't you? You
know how good it feels to be so powerful that the insignificant
ones around you soil themselves with fear and can do nothing about
it."

Becca remembered the sound of the people she
had controlled ringing in her head.
Please please help me oh god
please.
"Yeah, I guess I do."

"I see much of myself in you." Gwendolyn ran
a hand through Becca's long blonde hair. "You will be a queen one
day, as I once was. You were born to rule."

"If something doesn't happen to her first,"
Kevin said with a snicker.

"Don't be impolite, my dear," Gwendolyn
chided him. "We are among friends, now. At least, I would very much
like to be friends."

______________________

EXCERPT FROM "IDIOT SYNCRATIC"

The big bad ubergoddess from Hell just wants
to be friends. Yeah, RIGHT. About this time I had had enough of
letting Gwendolyn vamp it up. I was afraid, hell I was terrified,
but I was still a superhero, and superheroes don't back down, no
matter how big the bad is.

______________________

"You want to be friends?" Brandon stepped
forward. "Why don't you tell us who this monster is, and what you
did with the real Kevin?"

"Monster?" Kevin snorted. "You hurt my
feelings, Nerdboy." He vanished, reappearing directly in front of
Brandon, almost nose to nose. "You don't want to go doin'
that."

Gwendolyn raised a hand. "STOP."

Kevin backed down, lowering his head. "Yes,
my Queen."

She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Relax,
baby. Let me handle this."

______________________

"IDIOT SYNCRATIC"

BABY?? Ew! Just...EW...

______________________

"The Hero," Gwendolyn said, looking Brandon
up and down. "I did nothing to Kevin. This is he, I assure you. The
true Kevin stands directly before you."