Fairest (9 page)

“Great, I’ll be right back.” He slipped out of the car and took the keys with him. Mina sat in the car and waited until Jared had entered the store and stood in front of the menu board.

Quickly and quietly, she slipped open the door of the car, grabbed her backpack, and ducked around the building toward the bus stop. She had seen the transit bus a block away and ran toward the bus pulling out her wallet. The bus had just pulled up and Mina had her bus pass ready.

The driver was a burly elderly man with a name tag stating his name as Will, and the words, “Happy to Drive You” underneath it. Mina scanned her bus card and made her way to the back of the nearly empty bus. She stopped in the second to last row, tossed her backpack to the floor and slouched down.

Two passengers got off the bus, and Mina didn’t breathe until the bus closed its doors and started to pull way. She took a quick peek out the window toward Jared’s car and the ice cream shop.  There was no sign of Jared, he was probably still in the store.

Mina smirked, and a surge of adrenaline pumped through her when she realized she’d outwitted him. It had really freaked her out to be in the car with Jared and realize that he may not really be there to help her. His vagueness and stubbornness to answer questions proved it; along with the slip of the tongue. It may not have been obvious but she had caught the slight change in his voice and his nervousness when he realized his mistake. 

She couldn’t believe how stupid she was. She knew Jared was Fae because he knew so much about her family and the Grimm curse. He had even used magic, when he tried to train her and teach her.  But his elusiveness and his refusal to tell her what she needed to know put him in the dangerous category. He wouldn’t tell her who he was working for, who he was helping and even if he was one of the good guys.

She knew that she probably shouldn’t be angry at him, but he had ignored her. He also knew more about the Story than anyone she knew, and still refused to tell her about it. That made him a traitor in her book. As long as she had the Grimoire, she didn’t need Jared. It was the Grimoire, not Jared that helped her battle Claire and LoneTree. She was the one who’d found the magical book that was supposed to help in time of great need. It was the one artifact that could help her complete the quests and banish the Fae back to their own plane. It’s what had started it all.

Maybe, that’s what he was secretly after all along? Maybe, he was trying to build her trust so that he could steal the Grimoire for the Fae?

Mina leaned forward and hit her head against the bus seat. It was too much to ponder, she was going to need years to gain ground and finish the quests if she wasn’t going to let her ancestors down.

The Brothers Grimm were the first to discover the existence of the Fae in the human world. Through research they discovered a way to cross to the Fae plane, and they confronted the ruling Fae, known as the Fates. They demanded that all Fae return to their own plane. The Fates agreed, if Jacob and Wilhelm could complete a list of quests. The Brothers agreed and traveled the world completing the innumerable quests. For every one they completed, it was logged into a magical book on the Fae plane.

When the Brothers began to struggle with their tasks, a kindhearted Fae, split the magical book into two and gave one of the copies to the Brothers Grimm, to help them. This book was the Grimoire. It became the one thing that evened the playing field on the quests. And soon, everyone wanted the Grimoire; Fae on both sides wanted the book.

To make matters worse, the book on the Fae plane, became self-aware and meddled with the Grimm’s quests, forcing them to become part of the tales, over and over again. For the more tales the Story collects, the more powerful it became and the more deadly. For the book, known as the Story wants the Grimms to continue to live them out forever.  For there was one loop hole, the Brothers didn’t cover. If they didn’t complete the stories then the next living Grimm would have the chance to complete them….all over, from the beginning.

It was a never ending cycle of quests, stories and tales to overcome. It became known as the Grimm curse; one in which Mina’s own father and uncle failed to complete and sacrificed their lives for. Now it was Mina’s turn.

***

The bus let out a loud bang, and exhaust blew into the air as it pulled away from another stop. Mina woke up. She looked up from her seat and was taken aback by how much time must have passed. She must have fallen asleep. It was starting to get dark, and the bus was now completely empty. She didn’t recognize any of the stops as being close to home and realized that she had rode the bus line too far. They weren’t even in the city but along back roads. She would have to get off and catch a different one home. Mina pulled the cord to ring for the next stop. 

“Excuse me! I’d like to get off!” Mina yelled from the back of the bus. The bus driver ignored her. His large form, which took up the whole driver’s seat, looked larger than she remembered. She hesitantly stood up and made her way to the front of the bus.

“Sir, if you could pull over at the next stop, I would like to get off now.” She gripped the pole by the seat.

The driver’s body began to shake and shift as if he was trying to control his own form. There were loud slurping sounds and guttural growls coming from the driver.  Scared the driver was having a seizure Mina reached for him and touched the back of his quivering uniform.

The driver reared up unexpectedly and turned toward her revealing his true form. What she saw underneath the black bus cap was a large green head with grey eyes, large protruding teeth, and bulbous nose. He was still wearing the striped driver’s uniform and the same name tag. He opened his mouth and roared at Mina exposing large bottom incisors.

“Behind the yellow line,” he commanded in slow forceful words, barely recognizable by the lisp he had from his protruding teeth.

Startled, she fell onto the floor of the moving bus as the Ogre turned his head toward the road and continued driving.

Holy buckets, she was on a bus being driven by an Ogre! When the Ogre made no more movement toward her, threatening or otherwise, she turned and hurried toward the rear exit door. There should be a safety feature where she could pull open the door, and if needed to- jump. Mina gripped the rubber lined door and pulled, it slowly slid opened exposing the rushing pavement beneath her. She looked toward the Ogre bus driver. He still hadn’t moved.

Could she do it? Could she really jump from a moving bus into the street? Would she die? Did it matter, if she might die anyway by being lunch for an Ogre? No she was going to have to jump for it. Sliding her backpack on, she closed her eyes and counted to three. One-two-three! She leapt into the air and felt a jolt on her back as something grabbed her from behind forcefully mid jump.

Opening her eyes, Mina looked down and saw her feet dangling mere inches from the rushing pavement. She screamed in fright as she dropped farther, and her shoes dragged on the asphalt. Turning, she met the eyes of the angry Ogre. He hauled her back onto the bus and forcefully pushed her into a bench seat, grunting at her to stay. He ambled back to the front of the bus and slid into the driver’s seat again, just as the bus began to veer into a ditch. He gripped the wheel, grunted, and maneuvered it back onto the road.

The bus pulled off the main road and headed into the Mt. Adams National forest. He took the bus down back roads and unmarked dirt paths. It was unbelievable that the bus even made it down the path. Moments later the bus rolled to a stop. The Ogre stood up and ambled toward her again, his large forearms bulging with muscles, which were overly long compared to his shorter legs.

Mina was prepared this time; she pulled out the Grimoire and held it up at the Ogre, waiting for it to be sucked into the book. Nothing happened. The book was still a book. Mina screamed in fright as the Ogre reached for her jacket and lifted her up into the air. Suspending her in the air, the Ogre growled and shook her as if trying to get her attention.  Instead, she began to fight back by clawing and kicking, and the Ogre just looked at her. In a moment of desperation, she hit the beast between the eyes with the corner of the notebook, and it flinched. He started to lower her to the ground, and she placed a well-aimed kick right between the Ogre’s legs. He grunted and dropped her to the ground, leaning over in pain.

Mina scrambled frantically away, crawling on her knees toward the front of the bus. She was halfway to freedom when she realized she had dropped the Grimoire. Turning, she reached back to grab the notebook and then ran out the door into the night.

Breathing hard, she raced blindly through the dark woods, branches snapping loudly under her feet, she didn’t waste precious time in trying to mask the noise she made. She heard a deafening roar split the forest from somewhere behind her.  It was the Ogre, and he was on the move after her. Her hands began to shake, and her chest burned from the exertion of running.

She tripped and fell forward into a ditch; the ground seemed to disappear from under her. Desperately, she grabbed at branches, rocks, anything to slow her descent as the incline became steeper. She thought it would taper out and her descent would slow, but instead, she picked up speed. There was another sound of roaring, only this time softer, more constant, like water. Water!

She knew what it was and accidentally let out a scream of fear. She flailed out, and her fingers found purchase on a large tree root.  Her body left the embankment to hang in the air, and she began to tumble over a cliff. The roaring river passed some forty feet below her. Loud crashing and snarls came from above her, and Mina knew the Ogre was closing in on her. She closed her eyes in fear.

Something brushed against her, and she looked up to see the Ogre reaching down to seize her. Mina screamed again and scrambled out of the reach of the large hands. The Ogre roared angrily and tried to swipe at her back this time. She purposefully slid down the branch farther, closer to the water and away from the Ogre. At least she knew she would rather die from falling into the river and possibly the rocks along it, instead of being eaten by an Ogre. Isn’t that what Ogres in fairy tales did --eat people?

The Ogre let out a quieter roar and became very still as if trying to remain calm. Over the rushing water, she almost missed the sound of the Ogre saying her name.

 “Mina!”

She paused and looked at the Ogre as he leaned down on his stomach reaching for her.  When he wasn’t roaring at her, he didn’t look as intimidating. Something magical began to happen as the Ogre started to shrink. His features grew smaller, thinner, and became more human. The Ogre, however, didn’t take the form of the bus driver, but of a handsome dark haired boy with grey eyes.

It was Jared. He reached for her arm, looking sick with worry. “I can’t get to you in this form, you’re too far away! Can you climb up farther?”

She should have felt relief, at seeing her attacker take the form of Jared; instead she was furious at being duped.

“You jerk! How dare you!” Mina argued while refusing to climb closer to him. “If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be in this predicament.”

“Stop arguing and get up here!” Jared was irritated at her again. “Now is not the time to berate me, there’s plenty of time to do that later. Give me your hand.”

Mina bit her lip, and tried to pull her weight up the tree root so she could get closer to him, but her muscles had reached their limit. She tried to reach for Jared’s hand, but she felt the root slip through her fingers and then, nothing but air. It was like being in a dream and falling in slow motion, except she didn’t wake up when she hit the cold water.

Coldness ripped through her, and the shock of water made her lose the breath she was holding. It was dark, and she couldn’t figure out which way was up. She tried to kick in the direction of the surface but couldn’t find it. The current started to drag her away. She fought against it and when she didn’t think she could hold her breath any longer, she broke through the surface of the water. She gasped for breath.  Her limbs felt heavy and she couldn’t get them to work. Slowly, and with great effort, she paddled for the riverbank.  Finally, she dragged her body to the edge and pulled herself up the embankment.

She looked up river and saw something large, frantically diving down and up again. It was Jared, in Ogre form. He must have jumped in after her and was looking for her in the river. It was a comical sight, the giant Ogre scrambling around in the water in an attempt at swimming. The awkwardness at which he fumbled in the water revealed to her, that in either form, Jared didn’t know how to swim. The Ogre had the better chance of surviving the fast moving river than Jared. On any other night, it might be touching to see him trying to rescue her, if she wasn’t so annoyed with him.