Ch 4: An Unlikely Friend

A Sookie Chapter

Sookie tried to calculate in her head how long she had been traveling. It was around four hours she figured, plus the half hour she had spent back at the fae village. She may not have been good at math but she was good enough to figure out if 8 months passed for every hour that was already 36 months, or three years on Earth.

She sighed dejectedly to herself. She had barely even begun her journey and three years had passed back on Earth! Her life definitely would not be the same once she returned home with so many years having been lost with her loved ones. Loved ones… Jason. He was the only kin she had left, and she had not been getting along with him as of late. They had just reconciled in Dallas when Jason saw the error of his ways and left the Fellowship of the Sun. Then there was Bill. At this point she really could care less what he thought. He probably moved on the minute she left if his behavior in Dallas was any indication. He had cheated on her with his maker Lorena while she was trying to save Godric. It was Eric who had showed up to save both her and Godric who were being held captive in the basement of the church.

Eric… she wondered how he had handled the loss of his maker over the last three years. If he had healed, or at least healed as much as one could after loosing a loved one with a thousand years of history. She wished she could tell him about her quest to bring Godric back, it would give him hope.

The wild lands she was currently trudging through were an expanse of dense gloomy jungle with a blanket of thick fog that glided eerily over the ground. It was broad daylight, but the canopy overhead prevented the majority of sunlight from penetrating to the forest floor below, causing her surroundings to give off a vibe of spooky midnight madness. And madness it was. She felt as if her every move was being watched by creatures who lurked in the shadows around her, creatures that were curiously assessing this mere mortal among them, and other creatures who were coldly sizing her up and stalking her.

She wanted more than anything to get through this spooky forest before it was time to make camp. She needed to find safer ground because although it was morning, or at least morning on Earth when she left, she had not slept all night. She was no stranger to the outdoors, having grown up in the small rural town of Bon Temps Louisiana. She spent most of her days outdoors, and as a child she explored the swamps around her property. She learned at an early age to keep your eyes open and watch your step. You had to if you didn’t want to step on a poisonous snake or happen upon a hungry gator, and those parts were full of little critters such as hairy spiders as big as your hand. She was no scardy cat when it came to the outdoors.

She stopped and peered at a strange creature perched on a fallen tree trunk. It had to be the cutest thing she had ever seen and made her wonder about all the other undiscovered animals in the fairy realm. The creature had large brown eyes that stared up at her like a precious puppy, no; puppy eyes were not near that large. This creature’s face was half eyes! Its fur was green with purple stripes, and its body was shaped like a koala bear. Its mouth was small which told her it must be an herbivore of some sort, and it made little squeaky gurgling purrs at her. It reached up with one little arm and scratched behind its ear before shoving a leaf in its mouth with the other hand, never taking its big eyes off of her.

“Hi there little guy,” she said smiling and bending down but keeping her distance as to not scare it away.

“Rrrrrr,” it sweetly purred at her. “Hi there little guy.” It parroted.

She gasped and stood up. “What? Did you just talk?”

“What… did you just talk?” It squeaked as it shoved another leaf in its mouth.

She started laughing and it copied her.

“I will call you copy cat,” she chuckled.

“I will call you copy cat,” it chuckled back and sniffed the air with its big black nose.

Suddenly the creature stood up on two legs and snapped his head toward the dark forest. It squealed in agitation before tearing off at full speed across the fallen tree trunk and out of sight. She barely had time to assess what was happening.

Her outdoor knowledge and experience was also telling her something was terribly wrong. The insects and critters of the fae forest became frighteningly silent. She noticed it almost immediately and knew that such silence only meant one thing. The smaller animals and creatures of the forest were slinking quietly into their hiding spots because of a larger predator stalking somewhere at the edge of the shadows.

She stood with baited breath, her pack on her back, and slightly bent down as her brain tried to decide between flight or fight. She had no weapon to speak of, not even a knife. Her only possessions were a pack that contained a week of food, along with a blanket and the map provided by Queen Mab, which was tucked inside her pocket.

Before her brain decided on flight or fight, the unknown disturbance decided for her by stepping out into the opening ten feet in front of her. It was a man, albeit, a strange and odd looking man, but it was a man. His face was pale, not vampire pale, but albino pale, and his slick hair was as black as midnight. He was probably in his late thirties or early forties, and he was immaculately dressed in a suit outfit. Strange out in the middle of the forest, she thought. He actually looked like a parody of a vampire from the old classic movies.

“Hello young lady,” he said in a friendly tone as he smiled widely at her, showing rows of perfect white teeth.

“Uh, hello?” Sookie said straightening up from her crouching position.

“You are not fully fairy,” he said curiously. He was trying to act charming.

“How do you know?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

“I smelled you,” he said taking a step closer. “I’ve been traveling for several hours to reach you.”

“Why would you do that?” she asked taking a step back.

“Well,” he said dipping his chin as he tried to come closer. “If you are not fully fairy then perhaps you have no power over me. Perhaps, you have no power at all.”

“What are you?” Sookie asked incredulously.

He laughed. “No, if you do not know what I am then you are not a fairy. How fortunate for me.”

He opened his mouth as Sooke has seen vampires do to bare their fangs, but instead of two fangs clicking out, every single one of his teeth extended out into a sharp protruding tooth. His lips stretched so widely until the lower half of his face was open into a big gaping mouth, his teeth curving like daggers and dripping with saliva.

His eyes dilated so fully they were black like sharks and eerily reminiscent of their blood frenzy.

Sookie screamed in terror at the horrible sight before her, and by instinct she turned on her heel and peeled into the forest at top speed. He must not have been the same as the vampires from Earth because he was as clumsy and slow as a human unlike his Earthly counterparts who could move faster than the eye could see. Instead, he was tromping ungracefully through the forest behind her, making loud crashes against limbs as he went.

She wasn’t sure how long she ran with that thing chasing her, but she was quickly becoming tired. Her luck ran out when she tripped on a root on the ground sending her flat on her face with a heavy crash. Pushing herself up with her hands, she quickly turned as the thing came barreling through the trees towards her. She pushed her leaf covered hair out of her face and stared with wild eyes of panic, her body frozen in terror.

Finally, gaining the nerve she screamed in anger as she gathered herself to her feet ready to fight, holding her pack in one hand as she prepared to swing it at her strange attacker. That is when ‘it’ showed up to save her.

It screamed jumping out of the forest in between her and the beast. It was holding its hands up high in the air and doing some crazy Russian looking dance with its feet. Her savior was the grossest creature she’s ever seen. It seemed to have dead flesh hanging off its bones. She would almost say it was a… a zombie. Yes, the thing attempting to scare off her attacker was a zombie!

“Rawr, be gone shade vamp!” It growled in a sing song voice waving its hands in the air and spinning like it was doing a dance number.

The creature skidded to a halt in front of the zombie. It screamed before turning around and running back the way it came. Its screams could be heard becoming more distant as it ran away in horror.

The zombie turned to Sookie. “Well, what in the heck are you thinking? Why was that thing chasing you? Usually they’re harmless. Your spark not working or something?”

She stood there with her mouth open staring in shock. A zombie was talking to her and she wasn’t exactly sure if she was hallucinating. First, a weird vampire thing, now this. “I’m not sure what a spark is. I just found out about fairies today. Are you a zombie?”

“Oh, oops, forget. Sorry about that.” He spun quickly revealing a handsome looking young fairy with long flowing white hair and sharp facial features. He was about her height, and she guessed no more than a 16 or 17 years old. His skin was a golden bronze from spending most of his time in the sun, and his eyes were an emerald green. “Names Zed. I like to dress up as a zombie to scare the shade vamps. Gets boring, gotta keep myself entertained some how.”

“Whoa … Are you a fairy?” She muttered.

“Duh.” He said turning around and walking back towards the trees where he jumped out minutes ago.

“Wait!” Sookie yelled briskly walking after him. “What was that thing? It wasn’t like any vampire I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh that? It was a shade vamp. They’re about as smart as a box of rocks.” He stopped and looked at her with one raised eyebrow. “Why wasn’t he scared of you? You ain’t full fairy are ya?”

“No, I guess I’m just part fairy. Or so I was told this morning. I just found out myself.”

“Well good for you… Want a cookie?” He snorted turning back around and walking away. “Later part fairy. Have a good life.” He muttered under his breath as he leaped and skipped over forest obstacles. “As if it’ll last much longer.”

“Wait,” she said following behind Zed trying to keep up with his surprisingly fast pace. Her persistence caused him to grumble. “I’m on a quest. I’m supposed to…”

“Listen, spare me the deets.” He interrupted with a snarky tone and a wave of the hand. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I have got a very important appointment with a toad at three-thirty.”

She didn’t give up though and continued to follow him as he gracefully jumped over a rotting log. “Why are you out here in the wild lands?” She asked stumbling over a gnarled root. “Why don’t you live in the fae village? Queen Mab said fairies rarely leave the villages.”

“Oh HER! Good o’ cousin Mabily. She acts all high and mighty but did you know she is responsible for starting the cold sore virus.”

“Cold sores? Are you serious?” Sookie chuckled.

“Yep herpes… True story. You can google it.” Zed stopped mid step and looked to the sky. Putting his hand on his chest and lifting his chin he dramatically began bellowing:

“O, then, I see Queen mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
O’er ladies’ lips, who straight on kisses dream,
Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues,
Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are:
Sometime she gallops o’er a courtier’s nose,”

Then just as suddenly as he stopped he started trekking through the forest again, leaping up a rock covered hill and leaving Sookie scrambling up behind him.

“What was that?” Sookie asked unimpressed.

“Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare knew about Queen Mab and tried to out her. Look it up. You are quite ignorant aren’t you?”

“Excuse me?” Sookie said glaring at him. She tried to ignore his impolite attitude and continued speaking when she realized he wasn’t going to respond. “You didn’t answer my question. Why you are out here by yourself?”

“Most fairies don’t have my sense of adventure. They’re sissies.”

“They don’t have your rude mouth either.” Sookie scolded.

Zed stopped, momentarily freezing in his tracks and turned to her. She was expecting to see an expression of anger but instead his face was etched in merriment. “Yes my little part fairy!” He chuckled apparently more interested in her.

“My name is Sookie. Not part fairy. Sookie Stackhouse, from Earth.”

“Earth?” His eyes were wide. “I’ve always wanted to go there but there are too many vampires these days. Now that the old fanger that the hag… I mean Mab was hoping would help them bit the sunshine filled bullet so to speak, guess I’ll never get to go.”

“That’s why I’m here.” Sookie said, her eyes lighting up. “I’m on a quest to find some hermit who knows how to resurrect vampires. I’m supposed to bring Godric back.”

Zed stood silently for a moment staring at her with wide eyes. “Out here by yourself? What was Mab thinking?”

Sookie shrugged.

“Where does this hermit live?” He asked. “Because there are lots of hermits. In fact, there are so many hermits that lately they’ve been forced to double up in caves, which I guess wouldn’t make them a hermit anymore… more like a duo-mit… bi-herminal.” He looked up and put his hand on his chin in thought. “Twermit. No, doublet… yea that’s it. Doublet.”

“He lives somewhere in the Eastern Kalihari Marshlands. I have a map.” She fished it out of her pocket and handed it to Zed.

“Holy fairy dust! I’ve always wanted to go there!” he stared at the map. “This could be a real adventure. You’ll never survive this journey on your own.”

“So you’ll come with me?” She said smiling.

He put his hand on his chin and looked at her thoughtfully. “Listen part fairy…”

“My name is Sookie.”

“Sookie,” he corrected. “I usually go it alone, but in this case I’ll make an exception. You have yourself an expedition partner!”

She smiled happily at the young fairy. She knew she needed someone such as Zed to help her. She was unknowledgeable about the fae realm, and it had been a close call with the shade vamp. Hopefully with Zed’s help she could accomplish her mission quickly and get back to Earth before too much time passed. She was hopeful and determined more than ever to resurrect Godric.

She sighed knowing that everyone she knew back on Earth probably thought she was dead. It has been three years, actually closer to four after her encounter with the shade vamp and Zed, and she’s only been in the strange land for a few hours and there was still a long journey ahead.