Ridiculust Ch. 10

The park had a lot of people in it. Given what a lovely evening it was, it was no surprise, Roger mused as they ambled on the paved path that followed the river bank. The breeze from the west was just strong enough to keep the mosquitoes from finding them, but not strong enough to chill them. Sounds of music and applause indicated that the stage was in use again. They couldn't see who was performing because they were behind it, but felt no urge to find out. Maybe later. Their unspoken destination was the grove of large trees that Roger had spotted as he and Sarah were walking to her place that morning, and the path led right to it. They could see three people in hard hats and reflective vests in the grove, along with several others, and the three seemed to be paying attention to one of the trees, one large branch of which was hanging over the water, typical of a willow.

"I hear pain, and ... fear," said Debbie suddenly, looking concerned. "Something is wrong with one of the trees." She picked up the pace and the others hurried to keep up. The people in the safety vests got agitated and they could hear them yelling at the others in the grove to move out. "No. No!" shouted Debbie, now at a run, just as there was a long, loud crack, the trunk split at a Y about six feet up and half of it, including one big heavy branch fell into the water with a huge splash. There were a few screams and shouts and a lot of people began to drift towards the source of the excitement. The three of them arrived in the grove huffing and puffing and saw that Ted, the town's arborist that Debbie and Sarah had met earlier at the store, was one of the people in the vests and hard hats and was busy trying to shoo away the curious onlookers.

"Please stay back!" he ordered. "The rest of the tree could fall at any moment, and you do not want to be near it when this happens!" Several of the onlookers turned around and began to help the arborists move people back. Roger, Sarah, and Debbie obligingly moved aside close to the river and the fallen half trunk, which had been pushed by the river's current so that its broken end was pointing in the direction from which they'd come.

"Look," said Sarah, pointing at it and the part that was still upright. "It's rotten at the core. The other branches are probably just as bad as the trunk."

"Is there anything we can do?" Roger asked, scratching his head. "Maybe you two could save what's left of the tree?" There were menacing creaks and groans as the breeze moved the branches, and Ted scurried over to them.

"It's heart rot," he explained, puffing. "It's a fungus disease that gets into the trees and rots them away from the inside out. You often never know until the tree breaks apart on you. Now we'll have to cut this one down quickly before someone gets hurt or killed by it." He stopped, blinked, and stepped away from them when he saw that all three were glowing and that the glow was rapidly ramping up.

"We can save this tree," whispered Debbie, tears running down her face. "I love this tree!"

"We WILL save this tree," said Sarah angrily, clenching her fists. "I love this tree too! Roger, can you cure the fungus if I burn out the rot?" The onlookers had also noticed the glowing trio and were starting to move around the danger zone to the side where they could see. Most had their phones out, recording. Roger briefly considered, remembering what he'd said earlier about love being the most powerful magic of all. He had never seen this tree before, of course, but he'd always liked trees for their shade and the peaceful sounds of the wind through their leaves. He couldn't let this graceful tree die from some goddamned fungus if he had the power to save it. Yes, he could love this tree. As he opened himself to what he thought was its spirit, he felt power suddenly surge and he staggered.

"Yes, I can," he responded as he recovered his balance. "Debbie, can you somehow take the good wood from the broken trunk and pack it into the parts that we will clean out?"

"I have some ideas," she replied. "But we have to do it now! There's no time left!" The colours from all three of them merged and swirled together, seeming to amplify their power even more. Roger was feeling the strain of trying to keep the power from shooting out at random.

"On the count of three, say your puns!"

"Must I?" implored Sarah, but she already had one in mind and knew it had to be done. Roger nodded, and did the quick countdown. "You fucking fungus! I'll live my name: Sarah Burns!"

"This tree's favourite spirit is a willow the wisp!" shouted Debbie.

"And you know when a tree is ready to move on when it packs up its trunk and leaves!" said Roger, releasing the final component of the spell. A great bar of red, blue, and yellow fire from Sarah's hands, wrapped in green, yellow, and a lot of turquoise from Roger, shot into the core of the standing portion of the tree, while another blasted the broken part on the ground. The tips of all of the branches exploded as the fire roared through them, scouring the rotted wood out and destroying the remaining fungus and its spores. With a look of intense concentration and movements of her arms, hands, and fingers, Debbie sent a wave of yellow, red, and reddish orange into the downed tree branches, somehow making the wood melt and flow across the ground to the standing trunk, where it then moved up into the scoured passageways, filling them up and solidifying

A long branch from the remaining thick trunk of the Y bent downwards to the ground, pushed its way in and thickened to a diameter of about six inches, acting as a much-needed support. There were some screams and some oohs and aahhs from the onlookers that were mostly drowned out by the noise, which sounded like a powerful wind roaring around a house. It only lasted a minute, but seemed like forever as Debbie, Roger, and Sarah felt huge amounts of power flowing through them like water through a fire hose.

Suddenly, it was over. The onlookers approached carefully, with many seeing the little arcs of turquoise and orange that skittered up and down the branches knitting the bark together over the seams of new wood. Then the applause and cheering began as the people realized that the tree had been saved. Ted and his assistants, a black man and an Asian woman, carefully examined the tree as the ecstatic crowd mobbed the three wizards in a din of back slapping, hand shaking, and loads of selfies. They slowly pulled out of their daze as the crowd spread out, with most heading towards the stage where the music had started up again.

"That tree is stronger than ever," said Ted as he and his assistants came up to them. Debbie had her hands on it and was whispering something they couldn't hear clearly. "These are my assistants, Pat Marshak and Anna Lam. I'm Ted Armstrong."

"Of the Purple Chimps," said Sarah. "We met them last night. I envy you your day jobs!"

"I'm Roger Matheson," Roger introduced himself to Ted, who was a bit shorter than him, well muscled from his work, and had sandy brown hair and light brown eyes. "Sorry about the mess," he said, indicating the torn-up grass and leaves everywhere the half tree had fallen. "It looks like you'll need the services of the Lawn Ranger," he joked. A multi-coloured bolt of energy shot from his right hand into the ground, and they all jumped in surprise. It ripped along the torn up area, and they watched as the turf knitted itself together so that after a couple of minutes it looked like nothing had happened. "Dammit! I really have to watch what I say!" he said ruefully, looking pale and shaken.

"Loose lips can sink ships," said Anna, shaking her head. She was a light-complexioned, petite five-foot-five Chinese woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail, slender but well-muscled, especially in the arms and shoulders from all her drumming. Debbie noticed her giving them the once-over with her dark brown, intelligent eyes and idly wondered if she was one of those stereotypical harmless-looking Asian women who secretly had black belts in three martial arts and could kill with one finger. In fact, she only had one black belt, in karate, and Sarah had watched her progress through the levels in the club that they both attended and been one of many cheering her on for her final exam.

"Remind me to stay on your good sides," added Pat with a grin. He was a bit shorter than Sarah with a dark brown complexion and eyes, a short afro, an average body build, and a clear, resonant voice that always attracted attention. He and Debbie had been in the same choir for the past several years and had gotten good reviews for a duet they'd performed last Spring of "Bridge Over Troubled Waters."

"You can if you do all your Math homework," said Sarah dryly, getting a laugh from them.

"You won't have had a chance to notice," said Ted, moving away from the tree and into the centre of the large clearing, "but we think that some of the other trees are also sick with the rot and will suffer the same fate as the willow if we don't act soon."

"You're right," said Debbie, joining them. "The willow first of all says thank you," she said to Ted, Pat, and Anna, "for all your care that you've given them over the years."

"You're welcome," he replied, speaking directly to the tree. "This isn't a job, it's a passion! I'd do it for free if I didn't need things like food, shelter, and a happy family!"

"You should have seen him this past winter when we had the ice storm," said Anna. "Fortunately for everyone, there wasn't much damage."

"The next thing," Debbie continued, "is that the trees want us to take off our shoes and socks." They all looked confused, but followed her lead and soon stood barefoot in the grass. "They say that the magic is indeed returning, and that this clearing is a place of power. The guardians," she indicated the ring of twelve huge trees around them, "need to be healed and strengthened."

"I can feel it," said Sarah suddenly. "I think that all of us in the town have had some sort of subliminal feeling about this place. It's why we've always been drawn to it."

"Look at your feet," said Roger after he'd looked down to see why his were feeling cool and tingly. "I'm really feeling the power in here. It feels like the fresh water from a forest brook, and a cool breeze that blows away the summer's heat and smog." He closed his leaking eyes, raised his arms up, and allowed the green and blue energy coming into his feet from the ground to wash over him. "I don't feel like I've been through the wringer now." He looked around him with wide eyes. "This is good. Close your eyes and relax." Looking a little apprehensive, the others spread out, closed their eyes and raised their arms as he had. He watched the colours rise from their feet to spread through their bodies and pass out of their fingertips.

"That," said Ted softly, "was a gift. Nothing less than that." They all, rather reluctantly, put their shoes and socks back on.

"It's no accident that there are twelve trees, evenly spaced in a circle, like on a clock," said Debbie. "And is the diameter of this circle about 140 feet." When they looked at her, she said "What? I'm an architect. It's what I do."

"You are correct," said Pat. "The owner of the land who eventually sold it to the town for the park planted the trees about 80 years ago. People thought he was a bit of a crank, but maybe he could feel it too," he added for Roger's benefit.

"There's a First Nations reserve about ten minutes outside of town," Sarah told Roger. "Every year at midsummer, midwinter, and the equinoxes many of them come down here to perform ceremonies. They would stop by the school and do them there as well. It never failed to amaze me that the kids, even the bad apples, would respect them."

"There's no way we can do that by ourselves," said Roger. "As strong as we seem to be, and even if we could figure out how to tap into the power that is here, we couldn't cure all of the trees, at least not all at once. We might be able to do one a day at most."

"Do it by crowd sourcing," said Pat.

"Like last night at the concert," continued Anna, immediately clicking with his thoughts. "All those people dancing, with all that love in the air, glowing like stars in the night. Then boom, it all roared out through the town. I'll bet the trees felt it." Debbie listened for a moment.

"They did," she said with a smile. "It helped the willow last just a little longer, dealt the fungus a setback in the others, and all the creatures in the park were humping each other like mad. So were a lot of the humans in the town." They looked at her with some consternation and embarrassment. "What? Trees are terrible gossips! They see and hear all sorts of things and love to share with each other."

"It was love. So much that it couldn't be contained," Sarah said, looking at Roger, reaching over to hold his hand. "Like what happened here a few minutes ago. Roger freed me from the demon with a rather unusual act of love, even if he didn't realize it at the time." Roger reddened. "We love bombed our neighbours twice this afternoon, and I think they were kept busy." They all snickered. "I wonder if the people who saw us save the tree will have experienced any side effects?" Ted, Pat, and Anna were looking a little uncomfortable.

"For the crowd sourcing, you're saying that we get as many people as we can into the clearing here, get them all wound up with that loving feeling, and blast it into the trees," said Roger, who was noticing that the three arborists were starting to glow a bit in their erogenous zones, and that Pat's and Ted's pants had tell-tale bulges in them. "Can you spread the news through your contacts and social media groups that we will need a lot of love tomorrow night to help save the trees?"

"Why not? It's the night of the full moon, and if the weather holds we might be up for a romantic night in the park," Anna replied.

"We can get the band together and do a few love songs to get people in the mood," added Pat, trying to surreptitiously shift his boner with hands in his pockets. "Oh look at the time," he said, checking his watch. "I'm really late for dinner!"

"I think my wife wants me home," said Ted, pretending to check his phone. "We'll see you later. And thanks again for what you did tonight."

"I think his wife will be thanking us tomorrow," muttered Debbie in a stage whisper as the other three hurried off, and Roger and Sarah snickered.

"Anna was looking pretty hot," giggled Sarah. "And Pat had a nice boner going on. I don't think she wants to wait. Look!" As Pat and Anna had been hurrying by a large clump of bushes, she had suddenly grabbed him and dragged him inside. They were too far away to see or hear what was happening, but little imagination was required to figure it out. "I just hope they can keep quiet." The trees around the large clearing were casting long shadows as the three moved clockwise along the perimeter. The breeze was starting to die down, and the mosquitoes were starting to take advantage.

"Little fuckers," muttered Roger, slapping at his neck and getting one. "Ruining a perfectly good evening! Sarah, would you like to repeat your clearing operation?"

"You're the punster. You think of something and I'll help." Roger was already glowing. "Of course, you already have one in mind." She rolled her eyes and Debbie giggled. Roger whispered to Sarah and she groaned and started glowing as well.

"What are those things on the end of the bug's legs? Mosquitoes!" they said together. A seven-foot high wall of multicoloured light raced outward, filling the park with momentary firefly lights as thousands of bugs were annihilated. It continued out beyond where they could see. The remaining people in the park were startled by the light, but soon noticed the absence of bugs and relaxed and continued about their business, which mostly seemed to consist of walking, cuddling, and smooching.

"Lots of love in the air tonight," said Debbie with a lazy smile. To counter the growing chill of the evening, they had come together, holding each other at the waist, with Roger once again in the middle with Debbie on his left and Sarah on his right. He noticed the hands that strayed down to squeeze his ass, and he returned the favours. They continued to walk around the perimeter of the clearing. The trees were so large that they created a wall of whispering green around them.

"I think there will be lots of love in the air when we get home," purred Sarah. "And this time, dear Roger, we will go nice and slow. That wonderful cock of yours will go into both of us. We will find out how good you are at eating pussy, and you will find out how good we are with blow jobs."

"I think I already know that," he replied hastily as he could feel Little Lazarus starting to stir. "I hope you didn't just jinx yourself. Your intention to have me all for yourself this morning got thwarted when Debbie showed up."

"What happened afterwards was way better, though!" she responded. "Maybe I was being a wee bit selfish..." Debbie rolled her eyes and dodged an elbow. "But all of what happened today would not have happened had she been patient enough to wait."

"Or if you hadn't farted in the kitchen and given yourself away," Debbie chimed in. "I think that we were very close to ruining each other, and you might have sneaked out over what was left of us. No doubt after having gotten an eyeful from watching us." Roger was unable to fully dodge her elbow.

"So Debbie, what were you doing last night? Did the love bomb get you?" he wheezed, hoping to divert their salacious attention. Sarah snickered and said,

"Do tell. Inquiring minds want to know." Debbie blushed a bit.

"You weren't home, and I got so horny that my only choice was a bubble-bath date with the Double Dragon. After four screaming orgasms I was barely able to make it to bed, and I had the best sleep I've had in a long time." By this time they had made it back to the willow tree.

"Do I even want to know what the Double Dragon is?" Roger asked. "Can I compete against it?"

"The Double Dragon is a two-headed vibrating dildo, with cocks available in a variety of sizes and colours, at Trina's of course," said Sarah. "It can be straightened out for pleasuring yourself and a partner, or bent in an adjustable U shape to fit in both of a lady's holes at the same time." Roger noticed that both of them were blushing.

"When you get it just right, it's devastating. Trina makes a mint selling them. But we prefer the real deal. It's the man who's attached to the cock that makes all the difference." Debbie grabbed him and all but devoured his mouth with a kiss that could have set fire to concrete, as Sarah watched with her Cheshire Cat smile. When she finally slowly pulled away, they were both dizzy and seeing stars. "That's a preview of what's to come."

"I could never resist those kisses of yours," Roger said hoarsely as they resumed their walk, this time holding hands and heading back along the riverside path out towards the street. Once again he had a glowing tent in his shorts. "Do you think that it will be difficult to get enough people to come out tomorrow night? There are eleven other huge trees, all different species, which is interesting, and we're going to need all the power that we can get to cure them all in one go, and somehow do it without totally frying our brains." He, and the gals, noticed that his boner had subsided as he was talking, which was his intention. The almost full moon was already glowing in the southeastern sky as the sun was sinking below the horizon. There was a long period of companionable silence as they walked back to Sarah's home.

"The full moon could help. It's supposed to be associated with magic of some sort," said Debbie as they turned the final corner.