Pitch Episode 44: Two Steps
#57 of Pitch
I had a tiny ray gun with a kickback too strong to use more than once, and at least three small mirrors. My magic resistant gloves were already on, but they were purely defensive. While Danger spoke, I concentrated on escaping.
He had my parents, Beth, and people from school under some sort of spell. Magic capable of long term mind control was not only rare, but it was also illegal. Most battle magic was only legal with a permit or a license. Anything that altered a person's body or mind against their will, like hypnosis, was banned from use entirely. There's no way Danger bought a spell like that from a magic shop, he likely wrote it himself. Thinking it over, if he was capable of creating something that powerful, then in a way, I had to have the same potential. My question was if he had a spell like that at his disposal, why didn't he use it on me?
"You're looking for a way out," Danger said.
He wasn't wrong. Had I not been surrounded, I would have pulled something out of my backpack already.
"Let me start by saying, you're not in danger," he added.
"Right?" I said sarcastically.
"You weren't supposed to find me so quickly. I had a plan," he said.
"A plan? To brainwash the town," I probed as he paced back and forth in front of me.
"No! This looks worse than what it is," he laughed, but it was fake.
He tried to make light of the situation, but I wasn't buying it. We couldn't lie to one another, not when all the cards were so clearly on the table.
"So you don't have my parents hypnotized? You didn't kidnap Riz and the other kids from school?" I asked.
He stopped pacing.
"Ok, yes, I did those things, but for a reason, a good reason, " he said.
"Because you're insane?"
He gave a hand gesture, and I was let go. Vista and Harmon backed away from me, but everyone was still too close for me to get into my bag.
"You told me what you needed to convince you magic was the answer. All I've been doing is looking for a solution," Danger revealed.
"You did all of this to make me use magic?"
"Yes," he answered quickly.
"I found you without it," I said
"Just listen to me," he tried to speak soft and calmly, but there was a twinge of unrest bubbling up.
He collected himself, but that thing behind his voice didn't disappear.
"I know you're the original," he admitted with defeat.
"What?"
"Scribe made more than one copy of you. He had to. We didn't last very long. He didn't want us to last very long. I must have been the hundredth copy," he added.
"That's terrible, it is, but how does kidnapping people fit in or make sense," I suggested.
"I knew even if I escaped, I wouldn't have long to live, that's why you disappoint me," he said as he came closer.
"I'm not trying to kill you," I said.
"But you will," he said.
He was sure. The way he looked into my eyes, it broke me in ways I couldn't describe. I couldn't help but be sympathetic. Still, he brainwashed a bunch of people and currently held me captive.
"You're not making any sense," I said.
"The only way to save myself is to merge with you before I run out of time, but it won't do us any good if you're not willing to use magic. That's what I meant when I said we changed too much. That's what I meant when I said I couldn't be you. When Scribe comes for us, spells will be the only way to protect ourselves, but you aren't even willing to try," he said.
"If Scribe hasn't shown up yet, what makes you think he's still coming?" I asked as I backed away slowly.
"I burnt his pages when I escaped. I imagine he's been putting himself back together all this time, but he will come for us," Danger said as he followed me and kept us within arm's length of one another.
He knew I was trying to escape.
"I'm not merging with you, and I'm not using magic," I said.
He finally stopped moving.
"Not even if I make us human again?"
I froze. I'd given up on being human a long time ago, but the prospect of it was still enough to grip me. Beth didn't have a cure, and I never wrote one, but Danger was something else. He had magic that I could only have imagined when I still practiced it. Hypnosis, teleportation, he probably had something to do with my hearing being dampened too. Who's to say, making us human again was outside his wheelhouse?
"We both know you can't do that?" I said.
"Not yet, not alone, but with the Mimic's help, I can," he confessed.
"Riz isn't a magician," I argued.
There were people still behind my back, but they were a distance away. I could have pulled something from my bag, but I let Danger distract me.
"She's better. She's a creature with the natural ability to shapeshift. I already have a spell that increases the duration of magical effects. All I need, all we need is a potion made from the Mimic's blood to let us turn into our old selves. Then I can make it permanent," he said.
I believed him. At that moment, I had no doubt in my mind Danger had a cure, but its price was another person's life.
"It's not worth it," I said.
"She's not innocent. I'm sure shes tortured and humiliated plenty of people. That's what Mimics do. That's what creatures do. They're all monsters," he argued.
"It's not too late to let everyone go," I said in an attempt at reasoning with my double.
"If this isn't enough, then I don't know what is," he said.
I don't think he was talking to me when he said those words. He spoke to himself.
"You can't change my mind," I said.
"I made every effort to show you a better life. How are you so sure?" he continued to speak to himself.
"I'm not, but when I make a decision, when I make a promise, I have to stick with it. I'm nothing without my convictions. I'm nothing if I make excuses and exceptions for myself. My decisions are all I have," I admitted more to myself than Danger.
He sighed.
I wasn't sure if I got through to him or not. I'm not sure I believed myself. Were my thoughts even worth listening to? Who was I, if not my decisions? Was it worth being someone who only had control over things so small?
It was wrong to use magic. It was wrong to ignore the history behind it for the sake of easy ways out. Had I been born a creature like Nerf or Wes, magic would never have been an option because of everything still going on. It's only because of who I was and where I lived that it felt so easy and harmless to use spells.
People were hunted and killed every day because of bad morals born from magic. I just never saw it in person. Death, something earth-shattering, and fear weren't things of the past. People were afraid to live amongst humans and for a good reason. If I meant to live in their world and be accepted as one of them, then I had to take that lesson. I couldn't be hypocritical. It's the least that I could do. If I were one of the creatures still being hunted, it would be a disrespect like no other to use a resource born out of that pain. I didn't deserve to ignore it.
Danger stood there staring me down, but perhaps he felt my thoughts even if he couldn't understand them.
"I know I can't change you, but I had to try," he said.
He reached into his pocket, and instinctively, I reached into my bag.
"What are you doing!" I exclaimed.
"Why should you get to go on living when so many of us have died for nothing," he debated.
"Danger!" I yelled, but it was too late.
With written spells in his hand, Danger spoke a language I couldn't understand. It might have been a mix of languages. He completely disregarded the people he still had sway over. They stood without a hint of worry while a flash of light enveloped the room. It blinded me for a moment, but when I could finally see again, Danger was gone.
"Fuck!" I exclaimed.
Everyone was still frozen. They didn't flinch while I looked around the theater. I was sure Danger meant to kill me, but he left me. Then it hit me. He wasn't the only person missing. I turned everything upside down, and I was positive he took Riz with him.
I wanted to ask my parents for help, but they were zombies. How long were they under my double's control? How long were they living without free will? I should have known when Dad let Danger work for Beth something was up. Were my parents getting back together something Danger arranged? What did he have them doing? I had no other choice but to leave them. Danger had the spell to free everyone, and he had Riz. Wasting time wasn't going to save anyone.
He wasn't thinking straight. He wasn't thinking clever. Danger was upset and defeated. Where would I go when I felt upset and defeated? I ran while I thought up an answer. There was no telling what he would do, so I couldn't spare time to call for help.
I knew where to go. Danger went home.