Ye Feverourish Knightmare & Ye Goblyns

"I ask of my Lady

that I be allowed to serve her.

To hold her in my heart.

To her, to dedicate each victory.

And to call upon her in defeat.

And if, at last, I give my life...

I give it in her name."

from "Man of Lamancha"

Faustus wasn't at the school that day, and Athletic Director Paul Arcon took his class load. Ginny noticed this right away and asked Paul what was up.

"Faustus called in sick. Mrs. Taylor said he sounded real bad. Sometimes he gets real bad sick. Flu or something. He usually stays home until he's able to get up and around. Stuff really knocks him on his back."

Ginny did her usual school day teaching, and then decided she'd check up on Faustus on her way home. His house was on the same street as hers.

Faustus had no idea how he got here. He had never seen a bridge this big in his life, and he was up a couple hundred feet on one of the massive cable bundles that held it up. His head swam as he looked down at the water below and the automobile traffic on the span beneath him. The wind was blowing, it was cold, and he was trembling in fear. He knew something was wrong, but he knew not what. He had to get to the top of that tower!

Mocking laughter from a voice on the top of the support span came to him. As he looked an odd man-like creature on a small flying machine left the top of the tower. He pulled a flintlock pistol from his belt and fired at it. The creature sped away, laughing. He cursed it vehemently. He didn't know why, he just knew it was evil and had done something very wrong on top of that tower. Bracing himself, he got into his backpack and pulled out his folding grappling hook and the attached rope.

After a couple of tries, the hook snagged the top of the tower and he climbed up. The wind blew the Questing Scarf on his helmet forward over his eye slits and he went the last few feet blind. Once on more or less secure footing on the tower top he flipped the scarf back and gasped in utter horror.

Sprawled face up on the tower top in a huge pool of her own blood lay his beloved Ginny. Her mouth was agape and her eyes stared unseeing into the night sky. Her throat had been cut.

In two strides he was by her side, kneeling in the gore. He had her blood on his hands, his legs, his armor! She was dead. She looked so fragile, so helpless, and THERE WAS NOTHING HE COULD DO!

"No! No! It can't be!"

Faustus threw back his head and cried out his anguish to the heavens.

Ginny was walking down the sidewalk on her street and was almost to the Faustus's bungalo when she heard the scream. She broke into a run and was on the Faustus's front porch. She pounded on the locked front door.

"Faustus! Are you okay? Faustus!"

She heard footsteps and the door opened. Faustus was covered in sweat and pale.

He looked at her and said "Ginny! You're alive!"

For an instant Ginny balanced on the edge of insanity. Those were almost the same words Peter had said to her when she was sent back to her friends by Warren. That started the entire clone nightmare. She almost ran screaming from the porch, then Faustus's eyes focused again on her.

"Go away, Ginny! I'm sick!"

He tried to shut the door.

"No!" she protested and forced it open.

Faustus retreated to his couch and Ginny stood there looking at him. He was very ill; pale, sweating, and his t-shirt and basketball shorts soaked in sweat. He coughed raggedly.

"You belong in a hospital!"

"No. And I wont go either."

Ginny mulled that over for a moment. Stubborn he was, and ordinarily that was one of the things she liked about him. But this was not the time to be that way. She looked around Faustus's bungalo, for it was the first time she'd ever been in there.

He wasn't a tidy housekeeper, that was for sure. There were various pictures of people she didn't know on every wall, and over his fireplace was portrait of someone that she could only guess was "that woman". That he had it in a prominent position in his abode made her angry. He needed for forget that bi.. uh, woman. The house needed dusting and cleaning too. Faustus and his bed smelled rank from all the sweating. In his delirium he had tossed his pillow across the room. There were shoes, dirty clothes, and other assorted things scattered on the floor. He lived like, well, a bachelor!

Ginny located a fresh blanket in the closet and brought it to him. He was shivering now, and quickly rolled up in it on the couch.

"Do you have any aspirin or cold medicine, Faustus?" 

He mumbled something in a strange tongue and shook his head.

Ginny made sure he was more or less comfortable and called Paul Arcon over on Faustus's phone. When he was there she asked him to watch over Faustus until she got back.

She took her car to Pace and raided a pharmacy, getting everything from chicken soup and orange juice to every type of cold medicine she thought might work. She then drove back. Paul opened the door for her as she carried in her packages.

"How is he?" she asked as she put the stuff on the kitchen counter and sorted it out.

"Pretty bad. Hostile too. Won't let me touch him. Wants me to leave and take you with me."

"Thats not going to happen. I'm staying. You can go if you want, but I'm gonna stay here until he's well."

Paul had learned a long time ago not to argue with Ginny Stewart. She was one strong headed woman, especially when it came to helping her friends. With a friend as close to her as Faustus is, she was definitely staying here.

"I'll see if I can get Dr. Cristian to come and look at him tomorrow." Paul said, "He doesn't normally do house calls, but he is a friend, so maybe he'll come."

"Good idea, Paul. I'll be here, and oh, can you get someone to take my classes until Faustus gets better?"

"Sure. I'm certain Mrs. Taylor will understand, especially once I tell her how sick Faustus is."

Faustus was back on the bridge tower top. The wind was blowing. He threw his helmet off, for the scarf for some reason wouldn't stay down in back where it usually did. Ginny was face down on the tower and unconscious. He started to run over to her when a small jack-o-lantern hit at his feet and exploded with tremendous force. The blast threw him backwards and he was skidding toward the edge of the tower. He saw the man-like creature land his flyer next to Ginny and draw a huge knife as Faustus was skidding toward the edge. He desperately tried to stop himself, but over the edge he went. He saw the water below rushing up at him.

He awoke with a start. Ginny was shaking his shoulder.

"Faustus?"

He looked into those blue eyes and drank in the sight of her. What a relief! 

"I've got you some soup. Here, you need to eat. You've been babbling in that language you speak and thrashing around for the last hour."

Faustus sat up. His head hurt. He felt weak and very tired. He looked out a window. It was night out. He also noticed his house was neatly re-arranged and his floor swept. Even the pictures on the wall were arranged in a more pleasing manner.

"How long you been here?" he croaked out, slurping down a spoonful of the soup he could not taste.

"Ever since school let out today. You are in terrible shape, Faustus. You should see a doctor."

He just shook his head. He was unable to eat much of the soup, but Ginny convinced him to take some cold medicine. She coaxed him back to his bed and covered him up. He lay sweating and shivering in the blankets.

It was late, and she was tired. She unfolded the Captain’s couch and made the hide-away bed in there suitable for her. She glared again at that picture over the mantelpiece. Then in anger she took it down and put in the utility room. It was bad enough Faustus was sick, and she was here to help him, but this uncaring shrew wasn't about to stare at her all day while she went about it.

She made another trip to her house earlier that day and brought back a suitcase of her things. All day one or two of the kids would stop by to ask how things were. It had been a long day and a longer evening. She left Faustus's bedroom door ajar so if he needed her she could hear him, and then she slept fitfully on the couch's bed.

The tower again. Cold wind. Vehicle traffic below. A ship or two on the river. Faustus stood, his helmet on, sword out, shield forward. That green bastard on the flyer was in front of him. It had Ginny in front of his chest, by the throat. The creature laughed cruelly. Ginny was limp, but breathing.

"Release her or I swear you will not live another minute!" Faustus screamed at him.

"Go ahead, you romantic fool! Shoot your pistols! Charge me with your sword! You'll cut this little tart to shreds, if you do!"

Faustus threw a spell at him, but he shrugged it off. Instead the creature tightened his grip on Ginnys neck.

"You want her so badly, GO AND GET HER!"  

He threw Ginny off the tower. 

Faustus reacted without hesitating. He took two steps and launched himself into space, right behind her. The mocking laughter behind him filled his ears. Down they fell, down, down, down. He grabbed her leg and pulled her to him. The bridge span below with the cars and trucks on it rushed up to meet them. He rolled over on his back, clutching her to his chest. They'd die together. He braced for the impact on the pavement. 

Faustus awoke with a jolt. Ginny was there in his room, cleaning the place up. All his junk was put away and the parchments from "back home" were neatly piled on an end table. It was morning, about 10 or so.

"Ah, you're awake! How do you feel?" Ginny said, smiling at him.

"Like a truck hit me and then backed up to see what it was. When did you come in? I don't remember letting you in."

"You did yesterday. I've been here all night."

Faustus's eyes widened in horror.

"You can't.. a woman aint supposed to... All night... with a..."

"Relax, Sir Galahad. I slept on your couch. You had a rough night of it. I was in and out of here all night long. Man, when you get sick you don't fool around, mister! I wish I spoke that language you rattle on in. You were either angry, or scared or both. That must be some dreams you are having."

"You could say that." he replied softly.

Faustus saw a several bottles of prescription meds on his end table.

"Whats all this?"

"Dr. Cristian came here to look at you when Paul asked him to. He gave you a shot.."

"That explains the pain in my tail."

Ginny giggled and went on.

"..and a prescription for the stuff you see there. I went and got it for you. You do seem some better."

"You didn't have to go to all this trouble, Ginny." 

"Don't worry, I'll figure out a way you can pay me back."

She fed Faustus some more soup and O.J. and he soon lapsed back into his fevered sleep. He fought it, because he didn't want to go back to that bridge again. But he did.

That cold wind. The night air. The evil laughter. That evil creature. Faustus was ready for it. It had Ginny again, this time his arm was round her neck, and he was looking at Faustus now with less than an expression of confidence.

"Come on, you!" Faustus snarled, "Let her go! If you harm her, no matter where you go or what you do I'll hunt you down and I'll kill you. You know I'll do it! Think about it!"

He threw Ginny at him. Faustus caught her, and sat her down on the tower top. She was limp but unhurt. The creature took off on its flyer, and tossed a jack-o-lantern bomb at him. Faustus put his shield up and the thing exploded on contact. The blast made his ears ring, but Ginny was okay and he was unhurt. The creature made a pass at them and Faustus leaped at him. Faustus landed on its back. Faustus swung his sword to the front of the creature. The blue glowing blade was poised above the creature's chest. They grappled. Faustus taunted the creature.

"You know, there are many things I can forgive. But the thing I cannot forgive is the Sins Past. The destruction of the good, the corruption of the innocent. It is time, Norman, for you to die. Evil will grow ever powerful if good men do not stand up to destroy it. So now it is your turn, you @$#@#$@#$ blood sucking murderer!"

Faustus cut the creature, his blade laying him open. The creature screamed in agony and the flyer began to spiral out of control.

"Fool! Imbecile! You'll kill us both!"

"Prepare yourself, Norman, this is long overdue!"

Faustus discarded his shield. It fell leaf like to the icy water below.

Wrapping his legs around the creature's waist, he took a two handed grip on his sword. With a mighty swing he lopped the head off the creature. The flyer immediately went totally out of control. The body fell away, Faustus grabbed the flyer.

Faustus looked toward the bridge tower. There stood Ginny, hands to her mouth, watching on in horror. She was safe. He was victorious. Vengeance for all those before had come. He raised his sword to salute her one last time, then the flyer went into its death plunge.  

Faustus woke up again, this time peacefully. He felt much better. It was night again.

"Lordy, I stink!" he thought, as he eased out of bed. His headache was gone, but Nat's shot in his rump made him limp as he walked. He looked into his living room. There was Ginny asleep on his couch bed.

Faustus just stood there leaning on the door frame. He'd never seen her asleep before. It stunned him. The long golden hair, the angelic face, the gentleness of her was staggering.

Who ever married her would be a lucky man. Who ever she loved would be equally blessed. Who ever.

Faustus didn't know why he had those dreams, and why Ginny was in them. He knew no one named Norman, and had never seen a creature like the one he had fought. He had never even been on a bridge like that one. Why he kept going back there and trying save Ginny again and again and again he had no idea. The fact that he had died in all but one of them bothered him a little.

But everything was okay now. It was, after all, just a dream. He was able to get around, and he'd probably go back to his teaching duties Monday. He took in a last long look at Ginny and went back to his bed. This time he slept without any dreams, and Ginny would be there in the morning with chicken soup.