Peter knocks on Edmund\u2019s door. It is one in the morning.<\/p>\n
Edmund sniffles.<\/p>\n
Then he straightens. He pushes emotion away. He goes to the door. He opens it. \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard you,\u201d says Peter. \u201cThrough the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything all right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d says Edmund. \u201cNo. I wasn\u2019t doing anything through the wall. I don\u2019t even have tear ducts. My heart\u2019s in a box. I\u2019m Edmund Gulley.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter looks the room up and down. Edmund\u2019s stuff isn\u2019t even unpacked yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fine,\u201d he says. \u201cWant to get a coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s three in the morning,\u201d says Edmund, dismissively and inaccurately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Lethal,\u201d says Peter. \u201cThey\u2019ve got an all-hours bar<\/i>, for crying out loud, even though they\u2019re not allowed to serve anybody. Don\u2019t worry about getting coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund frowns. \u201cBut children aren\u2019t to have alcohol,\u201d he says. \u201cThis isn\u2019t France, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight,\u201d says Peter. \u201cGet some shoes on and come on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund frowns. Then he shrugs. Peter\u2019s confidence is efficacious. Edmund goes to his closet. He throws on a pair of shoes and a jacket. He wiggles his toes in the shoes. He thinks about taking them off, putting on a pair of socks, and then putting the shoes back on again.<\/p>\n
He decides to be wayward.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cLook at me,\u201d he says, a few minutes later, as they creep down the stairs. \u201cOne night in this place and I\u2019ve gone bad<\/i>. Shoes without socks in!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d says Peter.<\/p>\n
They reach the quad. Peter scans the place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey catch us,\u201d Peter says, \u201cand they\u2019ll give us a hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re already in hiding,\u201d mutters Edmund.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d says Peter, cunningly, \u201cthe other side of that is, we\u2019re supposed<\/i> to sneak around a little. It\u2019s all part of the training.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund squints. Tom and Cheryl are walking past in the quad.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat boy\u2019s got a hat,\u201d says Peter. \u201cHe\u2019s not like one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHuman,\u201d<\/i> says Peter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cListen,\u201d Peter says. He signals Edmund and then scurries across the quad towards the administration building. He doesn\u2019t actually say anything until they get there and are pressed against its outer wall. A searchlight sweeps past behind them. \u201cThat boy is practically scissors. Don\u2019t trust him. Just look at his hat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking,\u201d concedes Edmund. The kether-hat\u2019s so vivid he doesn\u2019t even recognize his old friend underneath.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s in the dark, at fifty meters!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see your point,\u201d Edmund says.<\/p>\n
Peter pulls a bit of wire out of his collar. He uses it to pick the lock on the building. Edmund eyes him. They go in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel conflicting imperatives,\u201d says Edmund.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the one hand,\u201d Edmund says, \u201cI want to punish my father for sending me here by becoming a bad child. On the other, I don\u2019t like all this sneaking around and breaking into buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cListen,\u201d says Peter.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re on the second floor by now. Peter turns the lights on. He heads for Principal Goethe\u2019s office. He turns on its coffee machine. He gets out a couple of cups.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wouldn\u2019t even have<\/i> a bar on campus,\u201d says Peter, \u201cif the students weren\u2019t supposed to break in and steal liquor. But I don\u2019t like being drunk. It makes my head funny. So I sneak at a higher<\/i> level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund looks around.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could sneak in and adjust somebody\u2019s grades?\u201d he proposes.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeez,\u201d says Peter disapprovingly. He makes a face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter shakes his head. \u201cYou have the manners of a wolf,\u201d he informs Edmund.<\/p>\n
He pours them each a giant cup of coffee. Peter\u2019s cup says, \u201c#1 Principal.\u201d Edmund\u2019s cup says, \u201cThieving Scum.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShouldn\u2019t we\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund looks between the cups. He wants to offer to switch.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s stand on the roof and look out over the quad and drink coffee and brood,\u201d says Peter. \u201cSince you\u2019re crying anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund had completely forgotten. He also denies it. \u201cI was not<\/i>. It was keening<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard the first day,\u201d Peter says.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d says Edmund.<\/p>\n
They sneak up the stairs. Peter stops for a moment. \u201cDang,\u201d he says. \u201cForgot to turn the coffee maker off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo we go back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNah,\u201d Peter says. \u201cI\u2019ll just . . . scrub it out tomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s very diligent,\u201d Edmund says.<\/p>\n
They stand on the roof of the administration building. They stare out over the quad. They lean against the Lethal railing. They drink coffee. They brood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good school,\u201d says Peter. \u201cThey teach us combat, you know. And I\u2019m training to be a ninja.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou?\u201d says Edmund.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t knock it!\u201d says Peter. \u201cA man\u2019s got to have an edge if he\u2019s going to take on a scissors-swarm someday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, but that\u2019s so . . .\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund looks for words. He takes a gulp of coffee.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Oriental.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t knock the Orient,\u201d says Peter. \u201cIt\u2019s all one world from space.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, yeah,\u201d says Edmund. He shrugs. \u201cIt\u2019s just, you\u2019re kind of \u2014 a solid-looking bloke.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter sighs.<\/p>\n
Edmund sighs.<\/p>\n
After a while, Edmund says, \u201cAt home there\u2019s a wolf larger than a horse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter looks sideways at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s so beautiful,\u201d says Edmund. \u201cAnd so awful hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a dog,\u201d Peter admits. \u201cBut he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Dad,\u201d says Edmund. \u201cI mean, Edmund, I mean, Edmund senior<\/i>, Mr. Gulley, he thinks I\u2019ve got to kill the wolf. Like, some kind of life lesson thing. We\u2019ve all got to grow up and kill our own wolves or whatnot. It\u2019s rubbish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a class in wolf-killing,\u201d Peter says.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a whole series<\/i>,\u201d Peter says, \u201cactually. Although I\u2019m a scissors-track man, myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRocks and rot?\u201d says Edmund.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d says Peter. \u201cNo, no. Serious scissors-killing. Like \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
He waves vaguely.<\/p>\n
\u201cCannons, or ninja moves. Scissors can\u2019t stand ninjas. They\u2019re just so lethal!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter sips at his coffee. Edmund broods.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to kill it,\u201d says Edmund. \u201cI mean, I kind of guess I\u2019ve got to, it\u2019s my burden, but I won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy\u2019d you got to?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a world-killing wolf,\u201d says Edmund.<\/p>\n
Peter squints at him. He drains his coffee. He tosses the cup down to shatter against the quad.<\/p>\n
\u201cSkaal?\u201d says Edmund, hypothetically.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaha!\u201d Peter says. \u201cSkaal.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turns on the railing. He leans against it and looks at Edmund.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that\u2019s your story,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a wolf in you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund looks away. \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d says Peter. \u201cI say, you don\u2019t have to kill it. Just give it a good punch in the nose. That\u2019ll show it who\u2019s boss!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d says Edmund. \u201cNo, it wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of them choke-collars?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s cruel!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Mum says they\u2019re perfectly OK,\u201d says Peter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, your Mum \u2014\u201d Edmund hesitates. He can\u2019t bring himself to insult somebody\u2019s Mum, no matter how wayward he ought to be. \u201cYour Mum is possessed of inaccurate notions<\/i>, that\u2019s what she is. She hasn\u2019t seen somebody really choked proper.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d concedes Peter. \u201cMy unarmed combat class was unexpectedly enlightening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund finishes up his coffee. He puts the cup down delicately on the roof for the janitorial staff or, more likely, some hapless smoker, to discover.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to let it free,\u201d says Edmund.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFreak,\u201d says Peter. He grabs Edmund and he noogies him. Edmund is too distracted by the novelty of this to properly fight back. Eventually Peter lets him go. \u201cWell, if you need any help taking it down after, or, you know, whatever, I\u2019m right next door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d says Edmund, blankly.<\/p>\n
Lights come on in one of the offices below them.<\/p>\n
\u201cErp,\u201d says Peter. \u201cLooks like it\u2019s rounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
A clock tolls two, softly, in the distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m out,\u201d says Peter, and he\u2019s over the railing, vanishing into shadows, and he is gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d says Edmund, blankly, again.<\/p>\n
He stares down after Peter.<\/p>\n
Then he yells, \u201cHey!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Edmund\u2019s gotten better at this since his days with the Doom Team. He\u2019s gotten stronger.<\/p>\n
There is a wolf within him and in him. It is woven through him like a metal thread through a handkerchief or the Gulley funds through the economies of the world. He\u2019s older and he\u2019s stronger now. When the security guard bursts out onto the roof and sees him Edmund does not bother fighting him, or surrendering to him, but simply pins him with gleaming animal-eyes in the darkness, freezes him like a rabbit before a snake, and walks past him, down, and out.<\/p>\n
When he gets back to his dorm he beats on Peter\u2019s door, he complains at him, he says, \u201cOpen up, you beast!\u201d<\/p>\n
But Peter just calls out, \u201cStudying!\u201d and finally Edmund has no choice but to go, unsuccessfully, to bed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Peter knocks on Edmund\u2019s door. It is one in the morning. Edmund sniffles. Then he straightens. He pushes emotion away. He goes to the door. He opens it. \u201cYeah?\u201d \u201cI heard you,\u201d says Peter. \u201cThrough the wall.\u201d \u201cWhat?\u201d \u201cEverything all right?\u201d \u201cWhat?\u201d says Edmund. \u201cNo. I wasn\u2019t doing anything through the wall. I don\u2019t even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"series":[47],"class_list":["post-4956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-1","series-the-storm-that-saw-itself"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Wolf_2b_Chained.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4956"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6185,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4956\/revisions\/6185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4956"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fseries&post=4956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}