Brian D'Amato - The Sacrifice Game

“I don’t know,” she said. She leaned forward and reached for the speaker button on the phone.

“No, no, that’s not necessary,” I said. I got between her and the phone.

“Look, Jed, seriously,” she said, “I think something serious is happening and we need to talk about it”

“I’m there, I’m all over it,” I said, “yes, I want to help, don’t WORRY!”

“I just want to send one text,” she said. “Just to be on the safe side.”

“No, really, don’t,” I said. “Really, I’m adamant about this.”

She moved back.

“Okay, okay,” she said. She smiled. “Atom Ant. Let’s go sit down.” She went toward the chair. I repositioned between her and the doorway.

Pause.

“Okay, fine,” she said, suddenly shifting gears. “You don’t give a wet shit about the world, or other people, or, or the Maya, or even yourself, or anything,” she said. “You just wanted to see a bunch of ugly pretentious old buildings before the paint came off. You know what you are? You’re a fucking tourist. You ought to be wearing five different cameras and, and Madras shorts.”

“The article in Time. That was a plant, right? For an audience of one.”

“Come on,” she said. “Don’t make me have to get everybody in here.”

“So is that sort of a threat?” I asked. It was getting harder and harder to talk the way Jed would.

“No,” she said.

“How about this?” I asked. I got the piece of broken bottle into striking position, where she could see it. “Is this a threat?”

“Jed, listen.”

“Answer question, is this a threat?”

“Yes, I think it’s a threat,” she said. She started moving away, in the other direction, getting the bed between us. “What do you think?”

“That’s a stupid like question,” I said. I moved to the right. If I went after her she might get around me and get out the door. She paused. I could see her gauging how long it would take to get to the door, thinking it was better to keep the bed between us, that if I jumped over it she’d be able to fake me out and get away. I moved back a bit, to a spot where I could get to her before she got out the door. It was all about pretty subtle trajectories.

Come on, give her a break, Jed thought.

Too late, I thought.

Come on, Jed thought. Anyway, I’m making you up. You got that?

No you’re not, I thought, I’m really really back. THANKS for bringing me BACK! I’m BACK, Jeddy, it’s ME! I’m HERE for YOU! It’s ME, CHACAAAAAAAAAL!!!

You can’t do anything I don’t want you to do, Jed thought.

Of course I can, I’m so much stronger than you are. Wimp. Anyway Marena outfucked you. And now she’s your enemy. She’s going to have you put away for a very long time. You got that?

I guess, Jed thought. He was obviously just feeling too weak to say anything against me. When people like Jed feel all enraged and stupid and betrayed and everything, they don’t have enough stamina to put up with it. The whole world seems so bleak and scary to them that they just gray out.

“Okay, Jed,” Marena said, “come on, you know you’re-”

“Fuck Jed,” I said. “Jed’s gone. It’s me, Chacal, SURPRISESURPRISE SURPRISE!!! ”

Marena didn’t move, but I could see her hair stirring and goose bumps spreading over her face and her nipples standing up under the linen. Her eyes were huge but I could see her already coming out of the initial Oh-my-God-I’m-dead-I’m-dead shock and thinking, What am I going to do to get out Whoa. She was on the chair-and-table side of the room, as I had maneuvered her, so the door and the call button were on my side, with the bed between us. If I went around it to grab her, she could jump over it and reach the door. I feinted as if I was about to take hold of the IV pole to hit her, and I could see from a flick of her glance that she was going to jump onto the bed. Alpinist Marena-no problem. She leaped, just one foot on the edge of the bed, pushing her over. But because I knew it was coming, I swept her feet out from under her and she fell head-down onto the floor. She didn’t move. Alert that she might be faking, I leaned down and grabbed her throat, but she didn’t respond. I put my forearm, the one with the bandaged hand, across her throat and leaned on it, while I picked up the Tabasco bottle and pointed the sharp end next to her trachea. I waited for my arm to kill her. But it didn’t. Could I use her later? Or did I love her? Or did I even care about that? After two-score beats, I pulled over the IV pole and shoved the needle in her arm vein. I wasn’t very good at it, and it took a few tries, but she didn’t react. With the needle in, I opened the flow valve. The drip had been intended to keep me docile, but I was twice as heavy as Marena, so my dose ought to put her out. But to be on the safe side, I pushed the flow valve to max, and watched as the drip rate increased.

Hmm. Well, that all looks stable.

Now all I had to do was get out of here. Well, not all. There were a few things, a few quick, easy, fun things, easy experiments with everyday household objects…

So, Jed asked from down in the bottom right side of my head, when did you know you wanted to come back to our little old twelfth b’aktun?

I knew before the sacrifice, I answered. Before you squealed out English on the mul.

I wasn’t hard to fool, was I?

No.

Are you my other?

No.

What did you see on 4 Ahau?

I’m not going to tell you.

I need to know.

Everybody always wants to know what’s going to happen, I thought back.

I just want to know, he kept saying, like a dying cricket in my head. I want to know whether this is it for everything or what.

I’m not going to tell you, I thought.

I could feel him squirm, but there was nothing he could do.

Manac zub, I thought. Come on. I need to get a grip on this time. Think. Think. And who is the steward of our captors?

Probably just Grgur.

The only reason you got back at all was that 2 Jeweled Skull let you.

When, you mean, when he told me -

When you said “Play ball s ” instead of “Play ball,” that’s when 2JS knew I was inside you, that I was going to take over. That’s a phrase that only I use.

No way.

Yes. He saw what was going to happen and that’s why he told you where the nacom was. You know how tough he was, he wouldn’t have done it for any other reason.

What about my whole life? Jed asked. Did you set up the date of my birth, and the fact that I was going to come back? Did you guys set up everything?

You’d have to ask One Ocelot’s daughter about that, I thought.

Jed just floated for a few scores of beats. I thought he’d drowned, but he came back.

I still want us to leave Marena alone, he thought. I don’t care what she did.

She’ll make a prestigious captive, I thought.

I won’t let you do it, Jed thought. Let the girl go. We have a let-the-girl-go clause.

I felt muscles tightening up and down my body, Jed trying to fire my motor nerves, but he just shivered like he was pushing hard against a wall. You’re pathetic, I thought. Give it up.

He tried to make me exhale and hold it, maybe choke and die, but I just drew in a slow stream of air until it filled my torso basin.

You’re helpless, I thought. Betrayal’s a strange thing. I’ve been there. I know.

I won’t, I’ll get back up again -

Now fall you still, I thought, now little cousin, seize:

Unique point of the lancet, penis tip,

Now starts the bleeding, now you be aspersed.

Shame wind swept over Jed. The nerves released. I felt my penis inflate.

He eats, he licks the white blood, snake-clot blood,