No More Running / The Sacrifice

Jill stinks. Gary can attest to that. 

Jill aged poorly, and so did her cooch; it stinks, and so does she. She smells, according to Gary’s olfactory senses, like a dead varmint that’s puked on itself and then shat in its mouth for all the world to smell.

The stench from every orifice of her body wafts into his nostrils, but rather than burning as it had in ancient days, it collapsed his olfactory nerve and caused Gary to keep a wide berth whenever Jill came around. That and her bubbly, overdone personality made him feel a strong urge to throat-punch her every time he saw her. 

"Gary? Come on, love, wouldn’t you like to spend quality time with me?”

“What? Oh, honey. Sorry. I didn’t see you there. My thoughts were on our next outdoor adventure together. It’s like the good old days before life got in our way. And we were fresh as hung laundry in the breeze.” 

“I never thought of that. I do have something I want to propose, though."

“Name it.”

“Gary, I want to take you camping. You need to get out of the city.” 

“Hold on a minute, Jill. Indeed, I am a huge fan of the great outdoors, but where exactly were you thinking? A particular spot? I’ll look at the map.”

“Nah, I don’t think so, Gary. Everything is packed; we leave in ten minutes.”

“That’s enough time for me to get my things together.”  

“Don’t you want to know where we’re going?”

“It doesn’t matter to me. My comfort level is good as long as we’re in the fresh outdoors and in clean air without the stench of the city.”

“Now, Gary, it’s not that bad. But I better go and close the trunk. It’s been open for a while. I hope nothing got into our stuff. Meaning our food.” She smiled, and Gary shook his head. 

“Alright, I’m coming. I mean it, Jill. Here I come. See.” Gary trodded along with his puffy vest and shorts on. He had a camper’s hat on his head and a Swiss army knife attached to his shorts. He could barely wait to get outdoors and maintain a healthy distance from Jill. Her stench was enough to gag a maggot, and he had had all he could take of her today, he thought.

As he walked through the garage, he stopped to look at the only fishing rod in the garage. Jill’s father gave it to her on their first anniversary. Gary thought it would be one more reason to keep their distance from one another since there would be only one rod. 

“Okay, hold onto your hat; we’re going on an adventure. It’s going to be a life changer.” Jill kissed Gary on the cheek and then started the car. She headed out from Winnipeg and arrived at Icelandic State Park in two hours and twenty minutes. The park was secluded, and that’s what Jill wanted. 

“Shit, Jill. This place gives me the creeps. It’s in the middle of nowhere. What if something happens? The ranger told us all they have is a grocery store where people get their mail, and the woman also sells crystals and reads people. What the hell kind of park is this anyway? All of this makes me nervous.” 

“Oh, Gary. Nothing is going to happen. Can you relax for just a second and allow yourself to experience nature? We haven’t even gotten out of the car yet.”

When they paid their fee and took their pass for the park, the ranger told them the bison were running in the area. 

He pointed to a shed and said, “There’s enough firewood there if you feel like making a fire.” Then he said, “Since you two are the last to show, I can go home now. The park remains open but unmanned. If you need assistance, you’ll have to go to the only lady in town who can help you. But I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He smiled and tipped his hat. He locked the station door, jumped into his truck, and drove from where they had just come. 

The campsite was the largest one at the back of the campground. A brook and a huge forest were abutting it. “I don’t care. I don’t like it. Not one bit.” As soon as the car stopped, Gary jumped out of the car and carried a few supplies to where they were going to pitch their tent.

“Okay. I’ll begin pitching the tent if you don’t mind lighting the barbecue. I have matches in the box and lighter fluid in my bag. It’s practically fool-proof.” She smiled at Gary, and they both got busy doing their jobs. He gave her a goofy grin as she already annoyed him and he could smell her unpleasantness already moving like a blanket of stench reaching out to wrap around him.

“Are all the bags of food unloaded? I can't find the lighter fluid anywhere,” Gary sighed. 

“Well, I guess it must have fallen out along the way. Check in the car. We still have to get the sleeping bags and the rest of the goodies for tonight.” Jill wasn’t phased in the slightest. She kept on working, barely looking at Gary. He was pissed off. 

When he got to the car, he was mumbling under his breath. “Damn camping trip. Who wants to camp anyway? Sleeping outside isn’t for me. Especially if Jill’s going to be there too." He started rummaging through the car like a madman. He didn’t notice something inside one of the sleeping bags, where it was resting nicely. Gary disturbed its resting state. 

The realization was swift as Gary felt the biting sting on his open ankle, where his sock had fallen. The snake rattlers were less than what Gary had time to react to. Before he knew it, he was on the ground and face-to-face with a rattlesnake. Gary’s mind went to what he does best: he knew a Mississauga Rattler had bitten him before he blacked out. 

Jill completed her tasks and looked around for Gary. 

“Gary? What’s going on? Are you okay up there?” 

She moved like she was on fire up to the car, where she could see Gary lying on the forest floor, partially underneath the car. 

She squealed, “Gary! What happened?” 

Her eyes went as large as a full moon as she heard the snake's rattle. She took the sleeping bag and covered the snake to capture it. She zipped the snake into the bag and tied off the end so the reptile could not escape. Then she removed the bandana around her neck and tied it around Gary’s leg above the ankle. 

After that, she sucked on the area where the snake bit him. She spit out the poison, sucked out some more and spit out more again until she was sure there was no more poison left for her to suck out of the bite area.  

Frazzled, she said, “I’ll get you some help; don’t worry, Gary. Honestly, it’ll be okay. This is all my fault.”

She managed to get him into the car on pure adrenaline and drove like a maniac into the tiny hamlet. 

She rushed into the only open place in town and yelled out her dilemma: “Hi, my husband, he’s been bitten by a snake. I captured the snake; the poison within prompted my visit to you. Can you help my husband?” 

“You’ll need a poison-sucking pixie to keep Gary alive. Those poison-sucking pixies are the only beings I know of who can remove the poison. They are the most radiant colour,” the woman said.

“Where can we find one, please?” Jill said.

“Where did you camp, dearie?” 

“In Icelandic State Park. We’re on the edge of the forest by a brook.” Jill studied the woman. 

“Oh, that’s good. You should be in luck. You’ll find one for sure, in that area. The younger ones hang out there around this time. You can leave your husband and the snake with me and go fetch one.” She smiled at Jill. Jill noticed she had teeth missing in the front uppers, and her bottom row was crooked as all hell. 

“Do I speak to them like I’m speaking with you now? Will they understand me, and will I understand then?” 

“Of course, but you need to hurry. Poison knows no time, and Gary’s colour looks bad.” The old woman shook her head and looked at the ground, her tongue resting in the middle of her bottom lip.

“Oh, yeah, okay. See you then! Thank you. Thanks. Bye.”

"I told you before, human, I’m not your pixie." Pepper shrugged at Jill. 

"Please, pixie, I don’t know if you know what will happen if I fail to bring one of you with me in time for Gary,” Jill said as she wiped her eyes. 

Pepper repeated, "No one claimed I was your pixie simply because I can expel poison."

Jill gasped as she watched the pixie fly off into the woods. 

“No, please come back. This is all my fault. Please, Pixie, come back,” Jill pleaded. But the pixie had vanished. Jill sat on the forest floor, exasperated and sobbed.

Pepper flew to where she thought Daisy and Rose—her two best friends—might be in the thick of a raspberry bush.

“What should I do, you pixies? She'll be back.” Pepper said. "I'll have to do it because it's what we're meant to do; sucking out poisons is our lot in life. I’ll need both of your help afterwards. I don’t look forward to sucking out that poison,” she gulped.

“Desperation brought her here,” Daisy said. “Time—human time—is drawing to an end for Gary, and she is scared for his life.” 

“That’s simple enough to fix," Rose said. “Just go with her to where Gary is and do your job.”

"What other job would we do if we didn’t suck poison from other beings?" Daisy said.

"Do your job," both pixies said as they cut their eyes at Pepper and folded their arms. 

“We’ll see you when everything's over," Rose said, smiling. “We’ll never let you go through something like that alone. You know that, right?” Daisy nodded as Rose finished speaking.

"Fine!" Pepper waved and flew directly to where the human sat. 

There, she saw Jill moaning and in the depths of despair.

“She could’ve saved Gary’s life, and I let her slip through my fingers." Jill buried her head in her hands. 

Pepper flew lower, making sure Jill could see her.

“I got you! You’re in the jar," Jill exclaimed. "Quick, Jill. Put the lid on it!” she yelled to herself. “Oh my gosh, if I hurry, we’ll save Gary. Pixie, " Jill said.

“Let’s go.”

Imagine losing my freedom, Pepper thought, for a job like this. She flew around the jar, up the walls, and back and forth.

Jill started the car.

"Oh no, you’ve got to survive. What happens, poison pixie sucker, if you become terrified and turn colourless? It can’t be good," Jill said. 

“Nerves sometimes take over. I can discombobulate till everything goes wrong inside."

“How can I make you more comfortable, Pixie? Name it,” Jill said.

“The task is reasonable and something I can do easily, human,” Pepper replied. 

“Oh, thank you. I can’t imagine life without Gary. I know how you feel about time; I need you to trust me that our time is necessary for you to follow and act accordingly. Can you do that, Pixie? Please tell me that you've felt the same for another Pixie,” Jill said.

“Yes, I have, but pixies know that neither running from death nor believing in magic or interventions to save someone can stop death. We make the best of what we have now; you should spend more time with Gary than chasing me. When it is my time to die, I will die without trying to run from it. I do know that the universe gives one to take one. Should Gary live, another shall die."

“We don’t run from death and don’t believe in miracles either; humans seek joy and believe in hope. Both stem from preserving life at all costs and have nothing to do with running. It supports us in dark times. Your ability makes me believe Gary will live longer."

"Ah, but I wonder if you know what happens when we suck the poison."

"No, I don't."

“We became quite ill. Our system can't remove some poisons. Other pixies must sometimes help drain each other's poison to fix things. But each time we suck out the poison, little remains, eventually building in our systems until we become toxic and die."

“I'm sorry, Pixie. I never stopped to think about its effects on you. I was only thinking of Gary and me. I would never have caught you if I had known what happened to you."

“It's not too late. Let me go. Please. I have a bad feeling about this job. It's almost like doom is in our future."

Jill considered the jarred pixie’s words. She thought about what Pepper had said to her. She thought about Gary. She contemplated that maybe he should die. Perhaps that’s what was supposed to happen. After getting out of the car, she rushed to the door of the old woman’s place. She tripped on uneven pavement, and the jar flew from her hands and broke. 

Jill mumbled, "Freedom. Go!"

Pepper nodded to Jill and flew away without hesitation. She flew high up and away. 

Jill took her time getting to Gary, expecting the worst. The window was open; as Jill entered the room, shock struck her as Gary sat up; the poison was gone from his system, and he was recovering. He asked her, “Please leave the window open.” 

Walking to the window, Jill saw movement on the sill. There, she focused on the pixie, who was flaking out on the sill with two other pixies around her. Jill shut her eyes and prayed the pixie would recover.

She watched the pixies fly away and thought, They know what it is to sacrifice. 

The following day, Jill pulled in to pick up Gary. A snakeskin hung from the pole outside the old woman’s place. A stew smelled sweet from somewhere inside—most likely the kitchen. The old woman okayed Gary for travel, and they got him into the car for the drive home. 

Jill pulled out of the parking lot and left the hamlet behind. As they approached the highway, they saw the pixie and braced for the hit: SPLAT! She ran head-first into the windshield. Jill turned pale as a ghost. She pulled over. She vomited and took some water to wash out her mouth. 

“Oh my gosh. This makes me sick. Is our saviour Pixie dead? It’s all my fault. How did she know it would end this way?”

Gary, who struggled to find a good time to tell Jill what he had wanted to tell her for the past two years, finally found the courage.

"Jill, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. Now that things have worsened with the death of our pixie, it's about you and me and our marriage. I want a divorce. I'll move out as soon as we get back to the city. No hard feelings."

Jill frowned. "After I saved your life? This is how you repay me. She turned the wheel off the road, and the car hit a huge tree. She was killed on impact. Gary walked away without a scratch.

After he called the authorities and hung up, he said aloud, "Finally, no more running. It's over."