“You’ll Pay for What You’ve Done”
“Well, would you look at that,” said Danny, the barber, with a chuckle. “You look like one hell of a mess.”
Sitting in the chair before the large mirror, Stanley couldn’t agree more.
His reflection gazed back at him—shaggy-haired, with a beard to match.
Allison was right. He did look like some sort of hippie.
Back on Frost Mountain, it hadn’t mattered.
Hard to care about looking prim and proper when you were wondering whether the cold would kill you before starvation did.
Back here in Torpe, though, things were different. He stuck out like a sore thumb. Hippie didn’t quite describe it. He looked more like some kind of hermit who’d finally decided to return to civilization.
His gaze swiveled, taking in the reflection in the mirror at Danny’s Haircutz.
The barbershop was only large enough to accommodate three customers at a time.
The other barbers were at work, grooving to the gentle music from a speaker in the corner.
Danny himself stood right behind Stanley.
He was bald except for a fringe of greying hair at the sides of his head.
Brown eyes gazed back at him as the man looked him over.
“When was the last time you had a haircut?” Danny wanted to know. “Or shaved, for that matter. Doesn’t look like you’ve touched a razor since you last showed up here.”
Four years ago.
The man was right, but Stanley wasn’t about to say that.
He remembered Danny. They weren’t exactly close, but Danny had been his long-time barber before he found himself on Frost Mountain. It felt weird to be sitting in the barber’s chair again. Then again, so did many other things.
“So, you wanna tell me what happened?”
Stanley’s eyebrows rose slightly. “What?”
“You’ve been away for a long time. The whole town was looking for you, but you were just ... gone without a trace. What happened to you? Where’d you go? And don’t they have barbers there?”
Stanley could barely suppress a grin. Danny was human and as oblivious as they came.
If anyone in town would understand what he’d been through or even believe it, it certainly wasn’t this man, and he could see why.
Even he had needed time to process his new reality after he found himself on Frost Mountain.
Who in their right mind would want to believe what had happened to him was possible?
“Come on, you can tell me,” Danny urged.
Stanley sighed. “I rode my horse straight through a magical portal and found myself trapped in a magical dimension called Frost Mountain. I lived there for years, trying to survive, until I got thrown into a chasm and found myself back in Torpe.”
For a moment, both men just looked at each other in the mirror.
Then Danny burst out laughing. “Now, that’s one excuse I’ve never heard.
It’s even better than when I told my buddy Garrick I’d come down with pneumonia just to get out of game night six years ago.
” He clapped Stanley on the shoulder. “Although I’m assuming you needed to get away from someone else . ..”
He stared pointedly at Stanley in the mirror. It took Stanley a second to realize what the barber was implying. He shot him an affronted look. “I wasn’t trying to get away from my wife.”
“Sure, you were just taking a break, huh?” The man chuckled. “Four years is a hell of a long time for a break, though, if you ask me.”
Before Stanley could respond, the barber raised a pair of scissors and began snipping away. Stanley watched the hair fall to the floor, feeling somewhat like he was losing a part of himself.
He glanced momentarily outside the barber shop. Through the large window, he could make out the red-and-white barber pole. Beyond it, people were walking along the street or in their vehicles.
A thought occurred to him then. If he had more information on Johan, it could come in handy. “Hey, Danny,” he said.
“Huh?”
“Any strange sightings around town lately?”
Through the mirror, he saw Danny’s brows furrow. “How strange are we talking?”
Stanley shrugged and said, “Like anything out of the ordinary. Any strangers?”
“Oh, you mean the weirdo,” Danny said and smirked. “He’s no stranger than you if you ask me. I heard he’s been poking around town, but that’s all I know. That’s probably all anyone knows. He lifted a curious eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”
Stanley shook his head and said, “Just wondering.”
***
Once Danny’s haircut was finished, Stanley left the barber shop and headed home, admittedly feeling more confident because of his new look. He looked the town over as he walked, mainly because he wanted to sightsee but also because his driving skills were not yet up to par.
Maybe he should’ve ridden into town on a horse instead. His inner snow leopard was pleased to be able to ride across the ranch. It was so freeing, but the thought of racing through these streets on all fours as a snow leopard, exploring the town with heightened senses, was truly exciting.
On Frost Mountain, he’d shifted whenever and wherever he wished, without fear of repercussion. But he was on Earth now, where revealing his true nature around humans wouldn’t end well for him or other supernaturals.
The town seemed mostly quiet this afternoon, he noticed as he crossed the street.
There were a few pedestrians around, but no one he recognized.
A few people stared a little too long as he passed them.
On his way to the barbershop, flickering neon signs blinked at him from vacant store windows.
Aaron and Julian were right. This place was slowly turning into a ghost town.
He glanced to his left as a car rolled past a red light and into the next street. He smiled. It felt good to be back despite his present circumstances. He’d missed this town.
At first, before he realized how Frost Mountain worked, he’d struggled to get to the bottom of it and get help to return home. After months of traveling and making zero progress, he’d given that up and focused solely on his survival.
Now that he was back home, he no longer had to worry so much about surviving.
There were no harsh conditions or hunters or monsters he needed to look out for.
There was no need to look over his shoulder.
Torpe might be slowly dying, but at least there was safety in that process. Stanley appreciated that.
This was just an ordinary town with ordinary people. Well, not all were ordinary, some, like him, were supernaturals. But otherwise, it was as ordinary as a town could get.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a neon sign that made him pause in his tracks. The Blue Cicada , the sign read. He stared at it a moment and thought about walking over for a drink or two. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d tasted alcohol. But then he thought better of it.
Next time , he thought, as he rounded the bend into the next street.
He continued walking, so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the man walking next to him until he bumped into him, nearly sending him sprawling to the ground.
Stanley cursed under his breath. “I’m so sorry, sir. I wasn’t really paying attention to ...”
He trailed off, staring at the man who had quickly regained his balance and was now staring back at him with wide grey eyes.
The man’s red beard twitched. He’d changed out of his fur garments and was wearing clothes he’d probably stolen from someone’s backyard or had threatened the owner: a hoodie over black sweatpants and sneakers that looked too small for him.
It was exactly the sort of thing a Collector would do.
“ You ,” Johan said, his eyes narrowing. “I knew you had to be around here somewhere.”
“I heard you were in town,” Stanley said, bracing for an attack. “You don’t blend in well. Then again, it took me a while to do that on Frost Mountain.”
Johan’s beard twitched again, and a growl rose in his throat. “You brought me here. I would still be on Frost Mountain if you hadn’t grabbed me.”
“Yeah, well, you’re welcome, I guess.”
This comment only seemed to make Johan angrier. He took a step closer, a menacing look in his eyes. “You brought me into this world of yours, away from the Ice Melter.”
“In my defense, I thought I was going to die, and I wasn’t going to die alone,” Stanley said, certain this man was completely insane. Shouldn’t he be grateful he didn’t have to live on Frost Mountain anymore?”
Johan snarled and attacked, hurtling his fist at Stanley’s face. He dodged the punch easily, but then Johan kicked hard in the ribs and knocked him into a wall. With a grunt, Stanley slid to the ground, clutching his side. Johan stood over him, chest heaving.
“I can’t find a way back home,” he said. “And even if I did, there’s no telling I’d ever find the Ice Melter’s cave. You took me from my master, my home, everything I knew and cared for.”
Through his pain, Stanley smirked. “Isn’t that what you Collectors do?”
The man’s wolfish eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
He struck again. This time, Stanley was more prepared.
He caught Johan’s fist with one hand. When Johan attempted to kick him again, he ducked out of the way and launched a swift kick at Johan’s leg, knocking the man off balance.
Johan hit the ground with a pained grunt and winced from the impact.
Then, Stanley sprang to his feet and delivered a swift kick in the ribs for good measure.
“I don’t know what the hell your problem is,” he said. “I knew you would be trouble when I heard you were here in Torpe, but you’re insane, too. Why would you want to go back to Frost Mountain, of all places? You should be thanking me for bringing you to Earth.”
In a flash, Johan was back on his feet. He raised both hands, and Stanley saw black claws extend from his fingertips. For a second, Stanley considered shifting as well, but then it occurred to him that they were being watched. A couple of people had stopped to see what was going on.
Johan saw them, too. Stanley wasn’t sure if Johan was stupid enough to shift in public.
But Johan wasn’t stupid. He’d no doubt been observing the place and the people.
On Frost Mountain, he could have shifted in public view with no consequences.
But this wasn’t Frost Mountain. On Earth, revealing himself as a supernatural would not end well for him.
The man quickly retracted his claws and stepped back. Stanley hoped no one had noticed them.
Glowering at him, Johan said, “This isn’t over.” He cocked his head. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done. I’m going to give you the death you should’ve had in the cave.”