Deadass & Jackass

I I I / I V | Deathly Shadows

Winded and out of shape, me and Tobi sit in the branches of a thick tree. With the sun sinking farther out of view, it's getting dark. The dogs are circling the tree like sharks. To my right, there's a strange wet sound.

Tobi has his dirty fingers in the newly exposed flesh on the side of his head. I tear my gaze away to hide my gag but he catches it anyway. "Oh, oh. OK. I see how it is. I try to save your life and you can't fucking look me in the eyes. Fuck you, man."

"W—Stop fingering it, Deadass!"

"You'd think a necromancer would be more comfortable with a little blood."

A little? I shake my head and turn my attention back down to the dogs barking and snarling up the tree at us. We sit in silence for a few more moments, watching the dogs tire themselves out before they settle down on the leaves, staring up at us with their tongues lolling out of their mouths. I try to think, but something picks at the back of my mind. Something feels familiar. Similar to the tug I experience with Tobi's body, but at a different intensity, almost like a different frequency altogether, and all around me. What if—? I clench my jaw and refuse to let the thought morph. No. There's gotta be another way.

"Tobi." He hums quietly in response. "Do you think my parents are dead?"

"What kinda shit question is that?" I shrug, and he lets out a long breath, hesitating. "If they weren't, I'm sure they would've raised an army of the dead to find you. But what do I know? I just learned Hell is actually real."

"Do you think they're in Hell too?"

"Enough." He looks down at the dogs. "I ain't contributing to your existential crisis." The tone shift must give the dogs a burst of energy because they shoot back up and start circling the tree again. "We need to figure out how the hell we're gonna get the fuck out of here in one piece."

A new idea pops into my head. It's a stupid idea—stupider than the one before—and I know he will be outraged by it.

"What is it?" he asks before I even open my mouth. Startled, I gape at him. "You're bouncing your leg. If you don't stop thinking, you're gonna kill yourself."

I grimace. "You're not gonna like it."

"I can tell." He waves his hand at me as if to say "Out with it."

"Your arm." His eyes follow where I'm pointing at his arm; he examines it with a furrowed brow before I continue. "You'll still need your legs to run, but your arm...."

Realization dawns on his face, quickly twisting it into a glare. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"They want us—"

"And you want me to literally give them a piece of me?" He laughs dryly. "Fuck you, Jackass."

"Got any better ideas?"

He scoffs. "'Course I do." He mutters to himself, rapid-fire, and I'm sure he's cussing me out but I can't make out a thing he's saying. He rubs his eyes before he focuses on me again.

Avoiding eye contact, I wonder if I should tell him his eyes are looking in different directions. I open my mouth to do that but notice the eye focused on me is full of impatience, waiting on me. "Sorry, w—?"

He rolls his eyes, which only makes matters worse. "Can you tell the difference between human and animal bodies? How did you bring me back and not some random dead deer or somethin'?"

"I don't... I only sense humans that strongly, and the longer they've been dead, the weaker the connection is."

"But you can still bring other things back." He's probably also recalling the dozen bunnies Zaphara killed for me to bring back all at once. The Bloody Easter Special. "You gotta concentrate. Let your little brain—or however that shit works—find all the dead things."