บท 12: Chapter Twelve: Billy
Billy's mouth began to part as if to release words of explanation, but what ensued was beyond our wildest imagination. His jaw unhinged grotesquely, stretching to an unholy size as he emitted a scream so chilling, so utterly primal, it reverberated through the air like the wail of a tortured soul. It was a sound of agony, of raw anguish that seemed to echo from the depths of hell itself. The scream, starting as a haunting whisper, swiftly escalated into a crescendo of terror, each guttural cry tearing through the fabric of reality.
From every orifice of Billy's contorted face, darkness oozed forth, spreading like a malevolent tide, enveloping everything in its path. The sky above twisted and churned, clouds swirling in a frenzied dance as the atmosphere grew heavy with an ominous gloom. Rain and mist descended upon us, shrouding the landscape in a veil of obscurity.
The tempest showed no mercy, its relentless fury lashing out with savage intensity. I felt its icy fingers clawing at me, chilling me to the bone, while my hair whipped wildly in the tumultuous winds. Desperately, I sought refuge, attempting to shield myself from the onslaught with my arm, but it was futile against the ferocity of the storm.
As Billy's unearthly scream reverberated louder, the sky darkened, casting a pall of dread over the surrounding landscape. I watched in horror as animals scattered in all directions, fleeing from the encroaching darkness. It was as if the very heavens had declared war upon this realm. I, a mere mortal, stood powerless in its wake, longing to flee alongside the fleeing creatures, yearning for some semblance of understanding in the face of such incomprehensible chaos.
Billy began losing his voice and the power of the storm with it. We were all drenched and stunned, grappling with the aftermath of the cataclysmic event we had just witnessed. Billy began to stand down lower and lower until he reached a fetal position. I approached him carefully; I didn't want to wake the beast that lived within; he was out cold.
We decided to let him sleep; as we set up camp next to his body, he wasn't moving a single inch from where he lay, but I could see his chest rising and lowering, reassuring us that he had yet lived; at last, he was breathing. We hadn't seen a display of power so painful and ferocious as the one bestowed in front of us by him; this was also the first time I had brought someone to life who wasn't a candy person; the repercussions of my science experiments might come expensive later. But for now, he was harmless.
Soon, the nights began passing us by. We remained close to him, uncertain of how long we could afford to wait for his awakening. It had been at least a week and a half since his emergence back to the surface. We heard a different sound coming from the corner where he had placed himself.
"UH," Billy said in confusion.
Finn was the first to approach him; I could see he still cared deeply for him, and his forehead was filled with worrying lines. He took one step forward and then another. Until he finally had reached Billy's side. Billy's eyes opened slowly, almost like they had been glued together; he had regained some color in his skin, and His long white beard was still covered in some of the black goo. We had tried to clean it up the best we could, but we were so afraid to hurt him that we decided to wait until he was stronger and more capable of healing,
Billy began uncurling, stretching away as he had just woken up from a regular nap; he was gaining strength and height; Billy was by far the tallest in our group. Finn had grown to be quite tall, and even then, he looked like a small creature next to the tree that Billy indeed was; he stood close to fifteen feet tall. Funny to think that the man used to ride a motorcycle specially made for him; he couldn't fit on Marrow, and Marrow was aggressively big for his species.
Billy placed his hands on his hips and curved his back, every vertebra falling into place as he popped it back together. He looked almost like he was before he left, except that he was missing some skin here and there. The formula worked, but not to the extent we hoped. This meant that I could probably bring Jake back, but not to his original form. I would have to grow some extra skin for him, and who knows what else. The complications could be astronomical.
"Billy," Finn whispered as Batty, and I fell back to give the two old friends extra space for their reunion. "How are you doing, old friend?"
Billy looked at Finn, confused more than anything.
"I remember," He said as his eyes opened wide.
"Remember what, buddy?" asked Finn.
"I Remember everything." He pointed at me. "You were there too."
I remembered that night all too well; Finn had just stolen the stone from my crown to help power the enchiridion to defeat the lynch; he had foolishly thought that he was helping Billy, but he didn't know that Billy was long gone; the lynch had killed him and wore his body as a disguise to trick him into helping him gather the stones to power the book, that night one of my gumball guardians had immediately identified the threat and laser off Billy's face in half, which today still looks like it was, missing half of the man he used to be. At least the Visible part of his skull no longer contains the distinctive mark of the lynch, the horns.
"I Remember too," I said, placing my hand on his finger and lowering it carefully; next to him, my hands looked minuscule.
"How are you doing? How do you feel?" asked Finn. He had a glimpse of hope in his voice; perhaps he was also thinking about his friend Jake.
"Not well," he replied weakly. "I'm sorry, adventurer. I failed you." He looked like he could begin crying at any moment.
"You didn't fail me."
"I tricked you."
"It was the Lynch," he smiled softly. "You are here now; it's all that matters."
Billy nodded slowly, but even the blind could see that every movement was painful.
"I don't belong here; I need to return; she is waiting for me—my lady is waiting for me."
I couldn't believe what i was hearing… There was an afterlife, after all. And not only that, but he and the old lady had made it to it.
"He is there Finn, and he is with her. He is happy, he loves you, and he is proud of you."
This broke Finn. I could see the tension in his shoulders disappear as he began crying silently. Droplets of sadness, combined with relief and hope, hit the ground.
"He is well," Finn said under his breath.
"He is well," Billy repeated after him.
"We will send you back, I promise," he said as he cleaned the tears off his face.
"But first, there is something we must ask," I began approaching him. "Where is the enchiridion?"
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