THREADBARE pt. 29

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Every breath from behind his mask was like an intruding footstep. His glowing eyes narrowed as he gazed upon the masked group. Many of them stood before him. But not as many as there could've been. There were obvious people missing. Some were new, but nowhere near useful in their unconscious state. Over behind him, there were four collapsed men, all wheezing and gasping for air. Soon they'll die…they don't need air where they're going.

"Crap…Sid's down; it would've been perfect to shoot the bastard right now," Mick mumbled to himself and glanced all around. "Then all three Jims, as if that made it any better…fuck."

Wednesday took a step back from the group, still clutching Joey in his arms. "…Anyone object?" he said loudly. Surprisingly, even with the mask on, his voice carried across the field. "This guy's mine, unless you take him from me."

Corey shook his head and sighed. Damn…I know where this is going…

Roman groaned. "Come on, man, we don't have all day…"

"IN A FREAKING MINUTE," Wednesday bellowed back. "How about YOU go do something instead of staring at me like you lost brain cells."

"Because there's only one thing TO do," said Roman. "Just take the guy and go. You've been whining about wanting him since we got here, so…"

"And how about the fact that Joey isn't the only one up here?" said Wednesday. "Attack THOSE guys. You know, the clown, the nose-thing, the light-up face, the sock-head, the tall dude, the…huh…"

"Huh—WHAT?" said Roman.

Wednesday shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno, man. Wasn't there the guy with the pale mask? Googly eyes? Big mouth? Green sword? C-Corey, or something?"

Roman sighed. "I thought we've all heard of him," he groaned. "I think the Umbra's making you a little stupid, man. Maybe take a break once you get back?"

"…Why are we arguing?"

"You're arguing with me," said Roman. "I dunno who started it."

"Well, I'm stopping. YOU go find Corey, and I'll just—"

"COREY."

Wednesday turned around. "Hm?"

Suddenly a deep, resonating buzz flew by his right ear. Wednesday hurled himself to his left, still clutching Joey as he fell onto his own back. Another buzz later, and Roman back-flipped away, flying further into the grass. Immediately Corey disabled the beam sword and pounced forward.

Gone.

"I'm right over here," Wednesday said from behind him. He was standing up, and Joey was just starting to open his eyes. The other began to move his arms slowly and lethargically. Moving his head to one side, Joey blinked a couple times, but was awakened with a jolt as Wednesday tightened his grip with his forearms.

"LEAVE HIM THE FUCK ALONE!" Corey yelled as he leapt to his feet.

Wednesday shrugged. "Sounds funny when you realize what he's here for," he said as he took a quick step back. Corey rushed right past him for a second and stopped himself.

"…What is he here for?" said Corey. "Just…what is it you want with him? First you harass him—I KNOW you did. Second he's hiding in the sink cabinet and scared to death. Then Racci comes in and—fuck this. Just tell me already!"

Wednesday inhaled slowly and peered down at the struggling shorter man who stood helplessly in his arms. He shrugged his shoulders. Turning to Corey, he took a deep breath…

"…Eh, no."

The pale-masked man activated the beam sword again, and the electric green energy screamed as it burst with thousands of volts.

"…WHY…NOT?" Corey seethed as he took a step forward.

Wednesday took a step back and groaned. "Roman, you're just standing there like a total moron again," he said to his left. "Get BACK there and stall them! You let Corey over here!"

Roman glanced over at Corey's direction. "And get zapped by THAT in the process?"

The other shrugged. "Well…this has gotten stupid, anyway. I just wanted to see if any of the group was fast enough to grab Joey out of my arms. Maybe that's something only ninjas can do…whatever. Bye guys, gotta get this guy set up before he gives himself muscle cramps."

"WAIT—"

Wednesday turned away and started running. Several steps in, he started to turn transparent…and vanished.

Shawn shook his head and flexed his gloved hands tirelessly. Turning to the group he shrugged and glanced back. "…Maybe it's best not to say anything," he said as he pointed in Corey's direction.

He stood like a lonely statue, staring vacantly into the ground. For a moment it felt like the entire world had dropped him in a new place, and drifted away. The more Joey's stitched-up mask entered his inner mind, the more he kept biting his lip, hoping that image would go away…

…but no, he could still see him. He could see the face behind the mask, as well. He'd just lost two human beings, lost somewhere in this giant, unknown world. Wherever they were, Paul would be there, too. He just knew it. Would they be dead? Would there be a reason for them to be? No, nothing came to mind. Nothing, not even a hint of hope. No solutions. Nowhere to go…

GASP. Corey turned his gaze to his right. He could still see the four of them piled over each other on the grass. Somehow they were alive, but they looked pale. Why…Why can't they breathe…Is this some evil trick…I know they could do it, why not now…just hang in there? I dunno! This is all so fucked up…

A fake cough angered them all even more. "Whoops, I lost concentration," Roman said as he stomped across the grass. "I sorta got lost in the whole Joey moment, but I can only handle so much sap."

"W-What about…those guys?" Chris muttered, still holding the blond kid in his arms. "They can't be dead, not yet…they're breathing…ah, man…"

Shawn shook his head. "I think we seriously need a miracle."

Two steps later, Roman tripped over a rock. Tilting his neck upward, he could see a blinding white light suddenly burst into view. Whatever the person was inside, it wore all white, including the very shoes on its feet. As it landed on the grassy floor, a shockwave of powerful air forced him to keep his head down.

The group gathered around the four lifeless men, as one familiar figure was seen standing over them.

"DAMMIT, you're so sudden!" Mick yelled. "Now you guys see why other people annoy me, huh?"

Still glowing with a white aura, the other narrowed his gaze. "You talkin' about me, Mick?" he spat.

"And you even know my name…"

"…(sic), you…you come at a really stupid time," said Shawn. "Last few times were okay, but THIS—"

The man in the white jumpsuit held up his hands in front of his face. "Oh god, I made the clown mad," he muttered hastily. "Alright, I get it. I should get fired for coming now and not when something better could've happened. But that's in the past, right? There's no time machine. So, uh…let's forget that for now?"

The group fell silent.

"…Right. Well, here's something important. We got four dying men, even though there's only really two. Sid here's holding on as best as he can, though not for long. I'd give him another ten minutes at best before he dies. The other guys…they're just figments of Jim's mind, remember? So they're just in suspended animation. Pretty cool, huh?"

He turned his gaze right at Craig's. Awkwardly, the other man just stared vacantly with his light-up eyes.

(sic) shrugged. "Well, you guys managed to do the thing you needed to do…so I can just restore them like they should've been. Okay…"

Corey groaned and looked away from the other. It's friggin' disturbing how he DOES look like me…way to go, Umbra. Can't you come up with something else?

(sic) fell to his knees and touched the three Jims with his right hand, one at a time in the face. He grabbed each of their masks and held on until it began to glow, and he reached for the next. Slowly they stirred; they lifted themselves up and stood awkwardly stiff, as if they were merely puppets awaiting an order.

Then he reached for Sid. He grabbed the younger man by his shirt collar and lifted him to his feet. From over his shoulders came a small pair of icy blue hands, which traveled to Sid's face and grabbed him by the cheeks. Wherever they pinched, a small, cloudy aura of light would cluster there. At once Sid became awake; he looked left and right, and felt the pain. He collapsed to the ground and grabbed his own face again and again, despite how the tiny hands kept pushing his own away with their claws. Once all the angry stinging and burning subsided, he let out a long sigh. He lay there, and refused to move. He didn't care what he looked like at this point. He only cared that he could breathe better. Opening his eyes just a little, he could see (sic)'s left foot kicking a metal object closer to his face.

"You might want this…"

"M-Mine," Sid mumbled as he reached out and grabbed it. The object looked like a weapon from out of a sci-fi dream. It was big enough to be a machine gun, but he knew it had to be some sort of blaster. There was even a strap attached; he could wear it and fire it with two hands. Even in his slight daze, this felt like Christmas in Heaven.

(sic) turned to the right. "Now for you guys," he muttered. "Okay…how to do this…"

"What do you mean how," Mick whispered.

"Shush."

Taking Jim 1's right shoulder, he turned him toward Jim 2, who still gazed ahead. He then pushed Jim 3's left shoulder inward, until he was looking at him as well. (sic) paused for just a moment, eyeing the three of them. After a hasty sigh and a groan, he took the two on the ends and forced the three of them to collide. He then shoved them all with his palms, and suddenly a bright white light shot forth. Everyone shut their eyes as the air around them became fiery hot, almost like wandering through a burning house.

With a low exhale of relief, he stepped back.

"Done."

Sid stretched his own arms and stared ahead. Jim stared directly back. The older, taller man bore a reddish-purple jumpsuit, complete with black bands around his elbows. It wasn't different from what others were wearing. The only real difference was that the collar area was undone, so part of it hung open, revealing the top of his chest.

Then there was his own head. His deep brown hair hung just past shoulder length on his right side, and was shorter on his left. Jim's very mask was half-black and half-white down the middle, and the lips around his zippered mouth were a very dark violet. Somehow it brought out his lagoon-green eyes a bit more than usual. It definitely was a distraction from the obvious gold pole ax that stood even taller than himself.

"J-Jimm…y…" Sid stammered as he stepped closer. "You look awesome."

"You look interesting," Jim said back.

"Wait, w-what do I look like?" Sid said nervously as he grasped the mask on his face.

"You kinda look like a cat with headphones. Trust me, it's not bad. Maybe, if we find a water source or a real mirror, you'll see."

"Huh…ah well. I get this." Sid threw the leather strap over his head, and held the shining blaster with both hands. It felt warm to the touch, almost as if it was used already. He sighed happily. "So…where's…um…hey, did anyone see Joey anywhere?"

"A certain person arrived and took off with him," said Shawn. "Once this is all over, somehow…whatever the outcome, this place gets destroyed. I'm tired of seeing defeat no matter where we tread. If this is the fate we're condemned to…"

"Hey, at least half of you are looking a bit better," said (sic) as he placed his hands on his hips. "Maybe your image change could help a little?"

"I still feel retarded," said Josh as he hunched over himself, clutching his blue rod and glancing around. "D-Don't you guys tell me that I can actually help you. Since we started, I feel like I've been dragging you all behind. I'm nowhere NEAR what Paul was…"

"DON'T BE WIMPY," (sic) shouted back. "What the hell are you guys supposed to be, huh? I'm not your drill sergeant here! I'm not a genie, and I'm not God, and I'm not your guidance counselor, or psychoanalyst…I'm just…a drifting entity. I just know that I'm supposed to keep you guys in check, give you the extra boost when needed. Tell you the truth, guys—I'm not coming up with all of this myself. I just pull out what's already inside you in a literal form, and slap it to your face. My only real…magic…whatever…is preventing you from dying by using the Umbra…"

"And why are you blubbering?" said Mick. "How about you just do us all that favor now and let us go already?"

"You don't GET another image until you've either earned it or FOUND it," said (sic) as he poked Mick's chest. "Yeah, I said that. Now—I got the Umbra to look after. There's no mending the seam that got you in here, but there are lots of tiny ones I can. Goooooooooooodbye. Good luck finding Joey. There's a path right on the other side of this hill, and it'll lead you down there."

He pointed way out beyond the hill and the mountain, and the valley before them. Off in the distance was a dark, cloudy area, which was all shrouded in dark rain clouds and fog. The tone of the place was a rather eerie shade of dark blue, in stark comparison to the vivid red sky that hung over every other area. This place seemed many miles out there, almost like it'd be a dream just to be there now.

"HEY!"

Roman trudged through the grass, holding two long swords made of dripping tar. "YOU GUYS STOP BECAUSE WEDNESDAY TOLD ME—"

"Pfft, you're still here?" said (sic). "Here, lemme help you with that."

With those words, he flicked his right wrist, and both of Roman's swords flew from his own hands. One landed on the ground, while the other hovered in midair, staring him in the face. With another movement of his arm, the sword thrust into his face, throwing him backwards. It had cooled and hardened and formed a thick layer over his mouth. Roman stumbled back a ways, and completely lost his balance. Failing to grab onto a bush, he slipped and fell…far.