Untitled

“I suggest we retreat,” Marla said. “Because to beat Mutex, aka Mr. Toad, Ch’ang Hao
will have to get plenty big. Let’s go.” She began running for the gate, and the others
followed after her.
Marla had just dealt Mutex his death blow. It was all over now but the drama. She’d
fired the gun; Ch’ang Hao was nothing but the bullet. Normally, this moment would
have filled Marla with the exhilaration of watching a victory unfold, but her joy was
tempered by the fact that, in a day or two at most, Susan was going to edit her right out
of existence.
Still. As she’d said to Ch’ang Hao—fuck it. Even if she was going to disappear in a few
hours, it felt good to run now.
Marla, B, Cole, and Rondeau sat beneath a tree and watched Ch’ang Hao battle Mutex
in the light of the afternoon sun. Rondeau had acquired an apple from somewhere, and
he sliced off pieces with his butterfly knife. “It’s like the best Godzilla movie ever,”
Rondeau said. “Hey, B, you must still know people in Hollywood, you’ve got to get this
turned into a movie.”
Ch’ang Hao, who stood quite a bit taller than the trees around him, pummeled Mutex,
who was still not fully formed. His halo of hummingbirds tried to strike Ch’ang Hao,
but the snake god threw mystical asps at them. Ch’ang Hao ripped off one of Mutex’s
arms and flung it onto the ground, where it transformed into a pile of mud and moss.
“I wonder how the civic authorities are going to explain this?” B said. “It looks like
most of the people in the park have taken off, but I’m sure there are still dozens of
people watching this.”
“Beings such as these cannot be photographed,” Cole said. “And most of the ordinaries
won’t remember this very well. Those that do won’t be able to report it accurately, and
all their stories will conflict with one another. The dead in the Tea Garden will be put
down to mass murder. Some of the watchers will go mad.” He shrugged. “It is a steep
price, but better than the alternative.”
Ch’ang Hao flung the one-armed Mutex to the ground, and the Earth shook.
“Earthquake,” B said. “Only a little one, though.”
“Ch’ang is fighting a primordial earth-monster,” Marla said. “Even if it’s only a baby
one.”
“Mr. Toad is kind of a shitty fighter,” Rondeau said.
“That’s the problem with taking over someone else’s body,” Marla said. “People are
used to their own bodies. It’s tough adjusting to a new one, I bet. Especially when your