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Five Degrees of Separation
This was possibly the worst day of his life! How could so many things have gone wrong in just one day?
The freezing, dry wind whistled past him, whipping the cape forward. The gusts made it difficult to keep his footing, but Eric pushed on up the mountainside towards the Cave, anger helping to keep him going even though he was exhausted.
He was furious at himself more than everyone else. It was just that the others all seemed to get it right while he floundered around making a mess, or making a fool of himself. Today had been no exception. It had started well enough, and he’d been pretty pleased with himself. But that hadn’t lasted. It had barely lasted beyond breakfast!
It was obvious that he shouldn’t have tried to show off, and challenge Hank again. Every time he tried to get his point of view heard, it always went wrong. It wasn’t fair!
He hated the way Hank had looked at him afterwards.
And he was jealous of Hank. It was easy to be jealous of Hank, what was there not to like about the guy? Handsome, clever, a natural leader, someone they all looked up to and someone the girls adored!
He was always right, he always knew what to do. He didn’t have doubts and if he was afraid, it didn’t stop him from doing whatever was necessary. Hank didn’t need a pep talk from Dungeonmaster! And Hank didn’t want Eric butting in at every opportunity; he’d made that perfectly clear earlier.
Naturally, it got worse.
Ok, so maybe ridiculing Presto’s suggestion really had just been sour grapes! But was the Magician’s suggestion much different from the one he had offered minutes before? Wasn’t he within his rights to be a bit pissed off when Hank listened to Presto, but not to him. It just wasn’t fair!
He hated the way Presto looked up to Hank with such admiration.
And he was jealous of Presto. Though Presto was a grade one nerd, everybody liked him, people trusted him, and he had the Hat. Ok, so maybe it didn’t work that well that often, but it worked and he had saved their collective necks over and over again. He, Eric, might rush out with the Shield, but if the chips were ever really, really down, Presto and the Hat could be relied on to get them out of trouble, somehow.
But he hadn’t learned. He didn’t keep him mouth shut, and Bobby had stepped in.
Bobby was always on Hank’s side. Bobby was effectively the little brother Hank had never had. He had such a big mouth too, and when he started arguing not one could get a word in edgeways! It wasn’t fair!
He hated the way Bobby looked down on him!
And he was jealous of Bobby, even though it was stupid to be jealous of a little boy! So the Club was a baby’s weapon, it had no style and the Barbarian outfit was a joke. But Bobby didn’t care. Bobby was brave. At the times when Eric himself could hardly run fast enough, Bobby stood his ground. If they needed help, if they ever needed a rear-guard, Bobby was always there.
Sensing a chance to put him down, Diana had joined in.
Of course she would have. She just loved to make him look bad.
Whatever put down he came up with she always managed to go one better. She never let him get the last word. She never gave him a chance! It just wasn’t fair!
He hated the way she never took him seriously.
And he was jealous of Diana. Not only good looks, and brains, she was slim and beautiful and an accomplished athlete. Back at school she was admired by everyone (even those who were jealous of her success). Here in the Realm all of her friends loved her; Hank relied on her for her support as de-facto second in command, Presto, frankly, adored her in secret; Bobby looked up to her and Sheila was her best friend! She had everything.
The battle of the quips had not been Eric’s finest hour, and it had been his own fault for dragging Sheila into the argument. But what else had he to loose?
He had thought (wrongly of course) that she would support the underdog; or at least give him the benefit of the doubt. But then, he should have known better that to suggest she take his side against Hank and Bobby; but she hadn’t even listened to him.
He hated the way Sheila never trusted him. She trusted everyone else, it just wasn’t fair!
And he was jealous of Sheila. Dear, sweet, kind-hearted Sheila that everyone loved and adored, and would have bent over backwards for. No one ever treated him like that! Hank worshipped her, as did her brother, and Presto as well in a shy, embarrassed kind of way. If anything happened to her, the troops were out IN FORCE! Woe betide anyone who went anywhere near her!
What room was there for him with them?
He didn’t get things right, he was loud, rude, outspoken, attention-seeking, but even in the moments when his real nature (the one that had been almost obliterated by the life of luxury he’d had) shone out, it just wasn’t enough.
It wasn’t fair.
And he was jealous because it wasn’t fair.
It was obvious that they didn’t need him. Even the grubby, little Unicorn was better than him! Yesterday proved that beyond all doubt; it had been a fiasco!
So, maybe he’d deserved all those harsh comments, especially after being so mean earlier on. It hurt so much because they were right. Yet again they were right and he was wrong.
They didn’t need him.
He was the liability, not Presto or Uni or Bobby. He was always the one to cause trouble.
So he had to try and prove them wrong. He had to find out if he was right this time.
He was sure Diana saw him leave. Worse, she made no move at all to stop him even though she must have known what he was trying to do. He could just imaging the sniggering behind his back, and the long bored looks as they waited for him to come back to camp with his tail between his legs. But he wasn’t going to give up.
He looked into the cave, but it was pitch black. If he’d been with the othe… NO! He didn’t need them all the time!
He held the Shield up, and it glowed faintly, giving off enough light to see a few steps into the grotto.
Oh, shit! What have I done? Maybe…?
But he blocked the fear away. This time he wasn’t going to give up. He took a step forward.
It came as no satisfaction to see that he was indeed wrong. To late, he figured out the riddle.
A few moments before the axe swung down, he realised the bitterest truth of all: They didn’t need him, but he definitely needed them.