MTU: Hard To Look At - Chapter 17 (Patreon)

“He killed me,” Jenny said. She was in my arms as I carried her to the living room.

“He could have killed you,” I said. “You are alive. If you had shattered more, well, then he would have killed you.”

“I felt it. I felt myself falling. I felt it when I hit the ground. There was a loud cracking sound reverberating through my body. And then nothing. I was dead.”

She wasn’t wrong. But, I didn’t want her to completely freak out. I was barely holding it together. My stomach was flipping and flopping. I had to leave.

“I’m guessing you’re tired,” I said as I laid her down. The strain I was under was obvious though I doubt she noticed. “Sleep a while.”

“Okay.”

She fell asleep almost immediately. As soon as she did, I ran up the stairs to my room, removing my clothes as I went. Naked with my door shut, I transformed into my snake form and grabbed a canvas bag. I was out the window in a flash. I paralyzed a few small critters as I zipped into the forest. When I had a bag of paralyzed critters I stopped and took one out of the bag. My body was screaming at me to suck the poor thing dry. I stood there holding the squirrel for several minutes before I opened my inner eyelid. It turned to stone in an instant. I put my palm on its chest and I slowly drained it. I stopped before it went completely gray and I set it aside.

I removed the next animal from the bag and repeated this controlled consumption of their life force. Eventually the bag was empty and I was surrounded by a stone menagerie. A menagerie of animals that would come back to life eventually.

It took over thirty animals to quench my hunger.

* * *

After standing the statue up, Mom said, “You can do something. I can see it in your eyes.”

“I need to look at her with my special vision.”

“I’ll leave.” She kissed me on the cheek as disappeared from the garage. The door slammed shut behind her.

When I opened my eyes, I was disheartened. There were no moving lines in the statue. Faintly, I could see where the lines would be. But they weren’t active. I looked at the head, still puckered up for a kiss. The memory of her lips on mine was all the more maddening. There were lines there. But they were quickly leaking out of the neck of the statue.

I quickly put the head on the neck of the statue. But it did not connect. There was no flow within the body for the flow within the head to connect to. I put my palm on the body near the break and for the first time pushed life force out of myself. It hurt. My body didn’t like what I was doing. I pushed some more. After a few moments, I couldn’t move. I felt my skin harden and the color drained out of my body. I had become petrified. I was holding her head in place and I could see my lifeforce flowing into her body and her head where I was touching her.

What had I done? Were we both going to die?

I was overjoyed when I could see the lifeforce flowing from her head into her body. Lines became more visible and took on the colors I was use to seeing. More of her life functions became visible to me.

“Medusa?”

I heard my mother calling me from outside the garage. I couldn’t answer. My phone rang on the table where I’d left it.

“Medusa?”

She must have called my name for a few minutes before she stopped. Then I saw her walking slowly around Jenny and I. “I hope you’re okay, honey,” she said. And then she left.

A moment later, Elliot was circling us. He was standing where I could see him. “It’s been two hours. She said she remembered to look at a clock when she left you to look at Jenny. I assume you’ll be stuck until the life forces equalize. And since it’s been over an hour, Jenny must not have had much life force. Did she?”

No, Elliot, she didn’t. I wanted to tell him.

He left shortly after that.

The sun rose. It hadn’t felt like we were standing alone together for eleven or twelve hours. I finally experienced time as a statue only feeling like five minutes.

At least another six hours passed before it happened. Suddenly we were made of flesh and bone again. Jenny collapsed into my arms and I was feeling the hunger. I picked her up and carried her into the house.

Everyone I knew was suddenly in front of me talking at once. I nearly zapped them all. “I have to leave. Stay back.” I growled at them.

Mom, Daddy, Elliot, Marie, and Ross took hold of the man and woman I didn’t recognize, whom I guessed were Jenny’s parents, and disappeared into the kitchen.

As soon as Jenny fell asleep, I ran up the stairs to my room.

* * *

I sat in the clearing for an hour or so before I heard Elliot calling out. “Is it safe?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

He was with Marie and Ross. I rushed toward Ross and he held his arms out. We hugged and kissed for a few moments before separating.

“So, I’m guessing this is the other form.”

“Good guess,” I said. “How is she?”

“Still asleep. The Wu’s had her pediatrician examine her. She seems no worse for losing her head.”

“It was never lost. It was right there on the floor,” I said.

“She’s fine,” Elliot said with a laugh. “Let’s leave her and Ross alone, Marie.”

“Are you fine?” Ross said.

“Fine enough to joke about it. Sure. Has Tommy been back?”

“Jenny was awake for a few moments and when Mrs. Wu asked if she should call Tommy. Jenny told her to let him stew about it.”

“She did say she believed he killed her.”

“She isn’t dead.”

“She was.”

The three of them were shocked.

I told them about pushing my lifeforce into her to get lifeforce to flow within her body.

“Cool. You’re also a healer.”

“Can you explain what happened from the beginning?” Marie said. “I still feel like I missed part of it.”

“Oh, yeah, Mom probably couldn’t explain how it started.” I told them the whole story, starting with the basketball game to explain why she wanted the bust.

“He just burst into the garage?”

“I’m not sure what his problem was,” I said. And then I blushed. “He may have seen us kissing.”

“You were kissing Jenny Wu?”

I blushed, or I suppose I oranged, even more. I explained why we were kissing staring into Ross’ eyes the whole time, pleading.

He didn’t say anything at first. “You don’t have to worry about me kissing John or Ryan as revenge for this.”

He said it so seriously I thought he was mad until he smiled and kissed me.

“It was all for art. I’d kiss Jenny for art’s sake too if she asked me.”

“Me, too.”

“Me, too. And if Elliot did it, I’d just ask him to tell me how it felt.”

“It felt great. Her lips are so soft.”

“I’m sure she would say the same about yours,” Ross said. And he kissed me some more.

“Should we leave?”

“No, we can all head back to the house together.”

When we got back to the house, Dr. Parker and Dr. Lewis from the Clinic were there as well as a police office. They were seated in our kitchen talking with Mom and Daddy and Mr. and Mrs. Wu.

I had to go over the story again from start to finish. And I had to do it in my snake form. The doctors and the police officer asked questions for over an hour before the officer was satisfied. She turned to Mr. and Mrs. Wu and said, “Do you think your daughter will want to press charges of assault against Tommy Radner?”

“No, they are dating.”

“And do you want to press charges against Mr. Radner?” She said to me.

Gordon would have jumped at the chance to do that. But I was no longer Gordon. Gordon didn’t exist any more. “No. I’m sure whatever he’s going through now is punishment enough.”

“Usually I’d say punishments are for the courts to decide. I’ll file your statement at the precinct and copies will be sent to you and the high school.” She looked at the Wu’s again. “Bring your daughter to the station when she’s feeling better so we can take her statement as well.”

“We will.”

Dr. Lewis said, “I don’t think we are needed here. But Medusa, I think you should schedule an appointment with Dr. Parker as soon as possible. And I’m sure Dr. Adelaide would be thrilled to hear about how you reattached a head.”

“She’d probably ask me to do if she doesn’t hold her impulsiveness at bay.”

Parker laughed, “You aren’t wrong.” He and Dr. Lewis left.

Mrs. Wu stayed the night in the guest room. Jenny was allowed to stay asleep on the sofa. Mom said she’d stay awake over night to watch her.

I said goodbye to my friends, informing them, I still needed some sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen. Mom and Jenny were eating bowls of plain pasta.

Jenny dropped her fork into the bowl and jumped up to give me a hug. “How did you save me?”

“That’s a long story. Let’s just leave it at ‘you got better’ and not talk about the details.”

“Why? I want to tell the world that you saved my life.”

“I’m flattered. And I can understand how you don’t want to downplay it. But, I don’t want too many people knowing I can see lifeforces.”

“Okay. I won’t say anything.”

“Does Tommy know you’re alright.”

“No. My phone was full of texts from his friends asking that I tell them I’m okay so he’ll stop crying. I haven’t responded to them.”

“Isn’t that a bit cruel?”

“You didn’t see his face. He wanted to kill you because we were kissing.”

“Kissing?” Mom said.

“I’ll fill you in later.”

“Sure you will.”

“You were telling me on Monday that he wasn’t the asshole I’ve always thought he was. Were you lying?”

“I said he was influenced too much by his asshole friends. I never said he wasn’t an asshole. I’ve also never know him to be this violent. I don’t know if I want to ever speak to him again.”

“As much as I believe he should be left twisting in the wind, you should let someone tell him you’re alive.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Mom said. “But I think he’s been sitting in his car since dinner time, parked across the street.”

“I don’t want to talk to him.”

“I’ll go tell him and then tell him go home.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. I’ll get dress though, first. I’m not in a hurry.”

* * *

Tommy jumped out of his car and walked toward me as soon as I stepped out the front door. It was not yet dawn. “Is she okay? No one will tell me.”

“Shut the fuck up, Tommy. She doesn’t want to talk to you. So drive your ass home and don’t come back.”

“She’s alive? That means she’s alive.” He dropped to his knees in silent prayer.

“Yes, she’s alive. And she hates you for attacking me. I’m not thrilled with you either. What were you doing?”

“I couldn’t lose her. I saw you two talking during the basketball game. She’s into you. If I lost Jenny I’d be devastated. But I’d move on. Plenty of fish in the sea. If I lost her to you – of all people – you. I’d be ostracized by my friends.”

“Your friends suck.”

“They do. But they’re all the friends I’ve got.”

“There are plenty of friends in the sea as well.” I started laughing and couldn’t stop.

“What’s so funny?”

“You are. You’re pathetic. I never knew how pathetic you are. Picking on other kids because you’re worried about losing your friends. And somehow I was the loser.”

“You were a loser.”

“And now I’m not? Am I hot? You want me? Never gonna happen, by the way.”

“Don’t delude yourself. I wouldn’t date you.”

“Like you have a choice. But you just said you wouldn’t date me because of your friends. I’m not the one who’s delusional. Now get the fuck out of here before I call the police and tell them some guy’s been sitting in his car across the street from my house for the last ten hours.”

“Tell Jenny I’m sorry.”

“Tell her yourself if she ever lets you.”