Mac and the Little People Ch. 09

Mac tried to get up, but the stone man's hand was immovable. "When did this become a bad Saturday afternoon movie?" he muttered to nobody in particular.

"Shut it, meat bag," said one of the stone men.

Then a gem of a woman emerged from the rock face. She was a natural diamond, with milky white curves that seemed to glow from within. Her hair reflected the yellow mid-afternoon sun like strands of glass. Mac was eye level with her in his position on his knees. Her face reminded Mac of a Greek statue, but the eyes were no blank marble. Each was totally blue, with no discernible pupil. The diamond woman had no clothes, and didn't need them. She was perfectly beautiful without any further decoration. She carried herself as if she was impervious to any weather or discomfort.

The diamond approached Mac and looked straight into his eyes. He looked back with a practiced neutral expression. Though he had never been captured before, he had plenty of experience in appearing non-threatening while still maintaining his dignity. He concentrated on keeping his eyes on her face and off her perfect breasts. The woman made it easy by taking his chin in her small diamond hand. She inspected his face, then turned his head to one side to examine him in profile. She paused a moment to examine the hand print on his face. Then she stepped gracefully over to examine the elf and the gremlin.

"Obviously the human and the goblin are traveling together," said the diamond, holding Fifi's wrist and examining her red-brown stained palm.

"Am gremlin," said Fifi.

The diamond woman ignored her. Instead she addressed Mac. "Human, tell me what business you have in the gnome lands."

"The gremlin and I are searching for personal property that we suspect is near here. We met the elf while passing through," said Mac.

"Is the elf a friend or an enemy?"

"At present, a friend."

"Is this true?" the diamond asked the elf.

"Yes. They are new friends, but still friends," said the nameless elf.

"Then tell me both their names."

"The big one is Mac, and the small one is Fifi."

"Now the only name I don't have is yours," said the diamond, putting her finger on the elf's mouth. "But you will tell me," she said and stuck a diamond finger in Mac's face. There was no good answer. Mac considered the situation he was in. As a prisoner the worst thing he could do was lie and get found out.

"She does not have one."

"That is correct." said the diamond. She caressed Mac's face as gently as her diamond hands would allow. "Its pleasing to meet someone with the sense to tell the truth instead of telling ridiculous stories. As for the elf, her name is stuck on one of my pebbles, and I can't have that." She held Mac's face in both her hands. "And that nightmare O'Neil hag is making things difficult. Go get me the pebble and I will allow you and the goblin safe passage out of my realm this one time only."

Mac's neutral expression almost broke when he recognized the name. Surely no relative was on the property. If so then his cousin would have told him. He shifted to a subject nearer at hand.

"What about the elf?" asked Mac.

"You may say goodbye to her on your way out. But first she will help you find the right rock." The diamond woman grabbed the elf by the head, then pulled out a few long white hairs. "The correct rock will react with this," she said, handing them to Mac.

She then shouted "Gniff!" The fat little gray woman who must have been called Gniff attempted to stand at attention. The queen continued. "Escort the human to the edge and point him toward the pool, then return here. Execute!"

"Follow me, human," said Gniff.

"Be careful Mac! That's her pool!" said the elf.

Mac got to his feet and followed the short little gnome. They went slower than Mac would have otherwise walked. The gnome was similar to Fifi in height, but noticeably fatter. She seemed to roll along on her short legs with her large butt swaying under her dirty canvas skirt. Gniff's greasy black hair grew in tangles from under her stereotypical pointed gnome hat. The hat itself was patched and dirty. It flopped against her upper back rather than standing erect. Her top had once been a simple leather corset, but was at present a food stained thing that barely contained her nearly human sized breasts and did nothing to help her fat belly.

They descended the rest of the way into the wooded valley. There a small creek wound among rocks on its way to the New River. Oak trees grew at wide intervals in the rocky soil. An under-story of dogwoods grew in abundance up the opposite slope, taking advantage of the partial shade. Their late spring leaves caught the mid-afternoon sun and turned the whole forest green-gold.

The gnome stopped at a natural weir that spanned the creek. She pointed upstream. "Go that way until three springs feed a pool. Collect a white pebble with the elf's name attached to it," she said mechanically.

"Why does the diamond woman want it?" asked Mac.

The gnome looked uncomfortable. She massaged one hand with the other. "None of your business," she said, as if reciting for an audience. But her hands spoke differently. Gniff briefly put a finger and thumb around the other wrist just long enough to catch Mac's eye. Then she went back to nervous massaging.

"I need you to guide me the rest of the way," said Mac.

"Can't. I have my orders." said Gniff. She turned and walked up the trail, a bit more slowly than they came. She looked over he shoulder at him. "Don't keep my mistress waiting." Mac took this as Gniff stalling to give him more time, but for what?

He turned and picked his way up the creek. It was shallow with a gravel bottom, but he still didn't want to soak his boots in the icy water. Mac stayed on the bank where he could do so and stepped in the shallower places where the steep walls of the valley kept him in the water. Soon Mac's feet went numb. He moved faster to keep the blood circulating in his feet.

Within a few minutes Mac was facing into a V shaped nook in a cliff. Water seeped from cracks in the rock in three springs and dripped into a clear, still pool. The downstream side was ringed with mossy rocks. Lush ferns held on where they could.

Mac noticed a little leather bundle that lay on a flat rock just downstream of the pool like a filthy burrito. It was Fifi's apron, rolled almost as neatly as when he left it beside the radio. He picked it up and put it in a cargo pocket.

Now that he was alone he could finally think without noisy short people clamoring for his attention. The weight of the last day settled on him. He could go back to the house, break in, and have a drink. Then he could rethink whether or not he wanted this much trouble in his life. It was ridiculous that he let a little green monster screw up what should have been a stress free arrangement. He needed to get his head on straight, not have a crazy misadventure.

Fifi and the elf were not his problem. They weren't humans. They didn't matter. Having something cold to take his mind off things mattered. He would have a drink, then pack his stuff and leave. No house, no job, was worth this amount of trouble. He looked up toward the sun. It was on its way down. Soon it would be behind the ridge. It would be dark by the time he got back to the house. Time to drink. You always drink at this time of day.

"Wait a minute. So am I in third person now?" Mac asked his surroundings. Suddenly the idea of giving up seemed like a cowardly idea, a notion not native to his mind. "I don't want a drink. I don't need a drink. I have friends. I have a gremlin lover. I have a nymph slut. I have an elf stalker. I can even kinda do magic. Get out of my head!" The suggestion to abandon the gremlin and elf to whatever the diamond had in mind clung to the edges of his mind. "Coward! Fucking coward!" Mac shouted. His voice echoed in the steep ravine. Finally the weight left him, but slowly and grudgingly.

Mac returned his attention to the situation at hand. The bottom of the clear pool was strewn with pebbles. They were mostly brown, but a few white ones were sprinkled among them. Mac tested the water with one hand, It was icy cold. He reached into the pool holding the elf hairs, but could not reach the bottom. Then Mac laid on the bank and reached in. The ice cold water made his arm numb almost instantly. He could barely feel the pebble bottom. The chill water made it nearly impossible to feel anything except cold.

Mac swept the elf hairs around in the water. One white pebble seemed to make itself more noticeable. He brushed across it again. The pebble did...something. It didn't move or change color or glow, but he knew it was the right one. He closed his eyes and reached for it, immersing his head. He grabbed a hand full of pebbles to make sure he got the right one.

Then Mac got stuck. The water suddenly got thick like cold molasses. It tried worming into his nose like a snake or a particularly gross bully's finger. The pool pried open his mouth and water shot in, seeking his lungs. Mac panicked and snatched at the rocks at the edge of the pool, scattering his fist full of pebbles. The pool pulled him down until his belly touched the bottom. The weight of the water settled on his back and squeezed, wringing the heat from his torso as if he was a rag. Mac pushed away as hard as he could. His head broke the surface long enough to take a breath before whatever was attacking him pulled him under again. With a fresh supply of oxygen in his brain Mac thought more clearly. The pool was not deep. If he could stand he could breathe. He fought to get his legs under his body, then struggled some more to stand. He was mid-thigh deep but sinking. The pool was busy pulling pebbles from under his feet and trying to bury his boots.

Mac lifted a foot to keep his boot from getting stuck. The pool grabbed it and pulled him down, a little deeper than before. Mac stopped moving and reassessed his situation. He was wet, freezing to death, clothed in boots, old government issue pants, with a gremlin tool apron. He kept his footing by toughness alone but that would be gone soon. The chill water was sucking the body heat from his legs. The water got colder and deeper. If only he could make it shallower. But with what? He had no bailing bucket. Maybe the apron would do. He pulled it from his pocket and carefully unrolled it. Four of the five tools were there, each in its pocket. A screwdriver, long nose pliers, adjustable wrench, and a little hammer. Each tool looked to be constructed from scrap metal and wood, but skillfully fitted and finished. The handles were proportioned for gremlins, short for tiny hands, but the right circumference for long fingers. He dropped the tools into his pocket and buttoned it. Then he used the apron to pick up a small armload of water. It was heavy at first, but when he lifted water away from the pool it became as light as normal water.

Mac threw the water into the creek. He began bailing as fast as he was able, racing the trickle of water filling the pool and the efforts of the being in the water. Whatever it was had the intelligence to know it was being poured down the creek. It stopped trying to remove rocks from under his feet and instead focused on making bailing as difficult as it could. While it was occupied in trying to pull Mac down by the apron, he took a step toward the edge of the pool, then another. In one more step he was at the rocks that separated the pool from the creek. He collapsed onto the big flat rock. He hoped the water was as winded from the fight as he was. Maybe it was, because it didn't try to pull him back in.

Mac laid on the cold stone to get his breath back. He tried to remember where he dropped the little white stone. He didn't remember where the elf hairs went either. Everything had been stirred up by the attack. The pool was muddy brown and full of leaves. There was no way to see the bottom, no way to find the right pebble. He sat up. Maybe he could go back and get a few more hairs from the elf. Or maybe he could go back quietly and rescue both the elf and Fifi.

While he sat shivering the moon brightened in the late afternoon sky. A tiny shimmer in his hand caught his attention. Mac noticed one white hair wrapped around one of his fingers. He carefully unwrapped it and put it in his mouth to keep from losing it. Suddenly something in the murky water made it's presence obvious. He knew where the little pebble with the elf's name was, even though he couldn't see it. Mac reached into the clouded water at the edge of the pool and found it with his hand. He pulled it out. The river washed quartz gleamed milky white. Mac put the rock into his mouth with the hair and continued his struggle.

The white pebble rubbed the inside of Mac's cheek uncomfortably. It was trying to do something to his mouth. He spat it out into his hand. As the stone passed his lips it made him speak the word "Tais". That must be the little elf's name. The little white rock sat idle, now no more magical than any other. He put it in his pocket. Then he set off toward the trail to complete a half-baked plot he hoped would go right.

---

Fifi noticed that the gnome appeared to be under command of the diamond woman. If they obeyed only because they were commanded then the diamond was not really in control. Her authority over the other gnomes did not appear as absolute as she portrayed. The diamond herself appeared interested in Fifi and the elf.

"Now that he is gone, we will have girl talk," said the diamond.

"What about these guys?" asked Fifi, jerking her head toward the stone soldier who held her.

"They don't count," said the diamond. "What kind of lover is the human male you call Mac?"

"Not telling," said Fifi.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our favorite things that we would rather not share, but you may talk to me in confidence."

"I don't know either of you, and even if I did its none of your business," said Fifi.

"We will see," said the diamond. She made a little gesture as if turning something over. The stone hand holding Fifi rotated so that her head was down and her feet were up. The diamond held one of Fifi's thighs in each hand and spread them apart.

"Rude!" said Fifi, who was now eye level with the diamond woman's crotch.

"I see he has not bred you."

"More rude!" said Fifi

The stone hand rotated again, returning Fifi to an upright position.

"I am not yet satisfied with the girl activity of talking about sex with boys. Elf, do you have a lover?" said the diamond.

"Um... No," said the elf.

"This makes for a dull conversation. Only one of us has a male and she has not taken his seed. If I was less disciplined I would wait until his return and see his performance for myself. But there are more important procedures to perform." The diamond turned to face one of the rocks. "Bring me my brush!" she ordered.

Half a minute later a little gray skinned woman dressed in a poncho made from a towel emerged carrying a hairbrush made of polished stone. The diamond took it and dismissed the gnome servant, who hurried back into the rock face. "Now I will brush your hair" she said to Fifi. She started at the least wild part of Fifi's hair and tried brushing. The harsh stone brush pulled with its carved teeth. It pulled at the knots in Fifi's hair and pulled out strands of hair by the roots.

"Ow! Quit it!" Fifi complained and pulled her head away. The diamond ignored her. Instead she held onto Fifi's head and continued brushing.

After a few minutes the diamond seemed to give up, but she sounded pleased. "That will be enough for now." said the diamond, and she picked a small bird's nest of Fifi's hair out of the brush. "This is all I need to get started. Soon you will work for me, little goblin." The diamond turned and walked back into the rock face.

When she was gone, Fifi turned to the elf. "What was she talking about?"

"She is going to take away your name and give you a new one, like me," said the elf

Mac sloshed down the creek and reached the trail at the weir. He was already wet and cold, so there was no use trying to keep his boots out of the water. The setting sun made the west facing slope more orange while the ridge cast the east exposure into shadow. He stopped and traced the trail uphill with his eyes. He didn't look forward to that climb. He was cold, hungry, tired, and his body desired a drink. He considered drinking a mouthful out of the creek, but felt uneasy about drinking downstream from the unknown creature in the pool. Mac sat down on the bank opposite the trail and leaned against the trunk of a dogwood tree. A minute or two later he felt something touch his head. He brushed it away. It was just a dogwood petal. Then another fell directly on his head. He looked up to see where it came from and the third petal landed gently on his nose. Several high pitched twittering sounds followed it, as if there was a flock of sparrows. But instead of birds there was a tiny woman up in the tree, no more than eighteen inches tall. She had a slight build, with long hair the same bright green as the dogwood leaves. She was clothed in a translucent gown which left very little to the imagination, especially when silhouetted against the sky.

"You can rest there if you want. But no fighting here," she said.

"Thanks." said Mac. Little people seemed to appear everywhere, so one more was no big deal.

"Do you want some water?" asked the little person.

"Yes." He replied. He wondered what she would want in return. It seemed everybody wanted something from him today. A second little person seemed to appear out of nowhere beside him. She held out a little wooden bowl full of water. It was like a mixing bowl to her, but more like a tea cup to a human. She was similar in build to the one in the tree and clad in a simple green gown. Her hair was cut short and decorated with a cluster of red dogwood berries. Her complexion was light, with a few undulating darker lines that made her look like living wood. It reminded him of the wooden housekeeper. But what would be demanded of him for a drink of water? "What do you want me to do for you?" Mac asked. The little woman stepped back with the bowl.

"We don't do that here," she said in a sweet but authoritative voice as if instructing a small child on proper behavior.

"Don't do what?"

"We don't do deals. We give because we like seeing a need get satisfied," said the woman with the bowl.

"Outsiders are strange people, always grabby and wanty. You are the strangest," said the little woman in the tree.

"How is that?" Mac asked.

"Sometimes you take, and sometimes you hurt, and sometimes you give like you were one of us," she said.

"I'm just a regular human" said Mac.

She descended the tree like a tiny gymnast swinging from branch to branch. Her dress fluttered in a way that resembled a leaf. She landed lightly on Mac's head as gently as a dogwood petal and looked into his face upside down. "You are not. Regular humans are nasty and destructive. But you are trying to be good," she said.

"I try," said Mac. He wondered why he was talking so freely with two little people he didn't know. "Will you tell me what kind of people you are?" he asked.

"We are the dogwood people."

"What is your name?" Mac asked. The dogwood woman looked uncomfortable. Mac remembered how the little people treat names "Wait, actually, what do you want me to call you?"

"You may call me Greenwood," she said.

"And you can call me Berry," said the one with the bowl.

"I'm Mac."

"We know," said Geenwood. She laughed like a little sparrow.

Berry offered the bowl again. "I can only give you water if you take it free without making me take something away from you."

"I accept it," said Mac. The little woman handed him the bowl. He filled his mouth with the icy cold water and let it warm up before swallowing it. When the bowl was empty he returned it to Berry.