Fritz: A Fictional Narrative

Fritz scrambled to his feet, fighting the tremors in the ground and stumbled back to Moya. "Guess that wasn’t a good idea, huh?"
"You could say that. I think you either need to kill him, or leave him alone. Anything in between gets you this."
The Grivvatte roared in pain as his body pushed up and out in every direction. His eyes bulged larger and threatened to pop from his lumpy skull, and his teeth grew to sabers. The hair that had been patchy on the Lesser version, grew wild and tangled, sticking out and dragging on the ground. By the time the change finished, the Grivvatte had quadrupled in size. He snapped and spit and raged, his whipping tail popping the heads off all the flowers in reach. A storm brewed around him that grew the
more he raged, thick, black clouds converging around him that sent bolts of lightning through the air.
Moya shoved the books back into her coat and pushed Fritz toward the woods. "Go! GO!"
The two ran, hearing the beast coming up behind them, smelling him, rank and vile. Ansuz tried to distract the Grivvatte by swooping and diving, pecking at his ears and nose, but the bird didn’t dare do much more than that. Unfortunately, the effort did little more than slow the beast down a little.
Moya and Fritz, shaking with fear, made it into the woods but didn’t know where to go. They stumbled, looking left, right, seeing nothing that could save them. The storm kicked up by the Grivvatte blew full force now, adding to the mayhem that already existed, and sending down pellets of ice that stung when it struck their skin. Fritz pulled his cape tighter around him.
They huddled near the base of a tree, which was difficult because the tree kept moving, replaced by another. The air filled with horrible screams and whimpers. They could hear the Grivvatte tearing trees out by the roots, which cried out in agony, and tossing aside stones that called for help, crunching through the woods like he was eating a salad.
The two thought of running again, but where?
The roar of the Grivvatte filled the air like thunder and the wind bent the enormous trees like blades of grass. The stench was overwhelming as he drew near and Moya pulled out the books, frantically trying to look at the map, but the wind kept tearing at the page.
All around her the forest was in full-blown panic, terrified howls deafening them.
How do you fight a rage like the Grivvatte? How do you fight a beast whose flick of a finger could demolish you?
She then struggled with the spell book, trying to shield it from the wind with her coat. She found the pages she’d already read, flipping quickly past them.
The thundering of the Grivvatte loomed near.
She felt the winds whipping around her, felt Fritz huddled close and muttering apologies, but she tried to focus on the book.
A flash of lightening lit the forest snapping a tree limb which crashed to the ground in front of them, jolting Moya back. Fritz tugged at her arm.
"We have to run, Moya! Now!’
Moya slapped the books shut and followed Fritz deeper into the forest.
As they ran, Moya struggled with the map, Ansuz flying close by her shoulder. The "X" marking their location seemed to move as they fled, but the forest also kept changing. It was maddening. Screeches filled the air, the wind tore at her hair, she tripped on her coat, she couldn’t hold the map steady, and she almost dropped the spell book twice. The hail bounced off her head, a rock suddenly appeared in her path, a bush nearly knocked her over on its way through, something cried for help, creatures flew and ran everywhere, and -- "STOP!" she screamed.
Fritz pulled up short and Moya plowed into him sending both of them tumbling to the ground.
Not far behind they heard The Grivvatte, and the storm still raged, but something was different. Scrambling to grab her staff and get to her feet, Moya looked around.
"The forest -– " She yelled to Fritz over the wind. "It isn’t moving!"
Fritz looked around as well, realizing Moya was right. The unbridled panic had stopped. "What about the map?"
The two huddled close to block the wind. Sure enough, the images on the map remained steady, and they could see, just to their left, something on the map that suggested a cave of some sort. "Ansuz!" Called Moya.
The crow landed on her shoulder and looked where she pointed on the map. Then he took to the air and the two ran after him.
The Grivvatte was near, but apparently wasn’t sure where they’d gone. Moya hoped the stillness of the forest confused him.
Finally Moya saw it. A large hole in the base of a tree. "There!" She needed just a little time to
think.
With a quick glance behind them, the two ducked into the hole followed by Ansuz.
The space was quite large -- Moya could stand upright without hitting the ceiling –- but it was dark. Closing her eyes she thought, "Light", and the crystal on her staff glowed softly.
They stood inside a large cavern, almost a room, too big for the tree it was housed in. Roots grew down along the walls, as did moss and sprouts of grass. Outside, the hail bounced off the ground, and the Grivvatte -- not far away -- stomped through the trees.
Although the turmoil of the forest had calmed, the Grivvatte storm raged on, growing stronger by the minute. Blasts of wind whipped into the tree, stirring up little swirls of dirt, and they could see the damage the storm did beyond the opening.
The roar of the beast filled the air, and the cries of the creatures it ravaged cut through to Moya's heart. She clamped her hands over her ears.
"I'm only thirteen!" she yelled to no one, her fear and frustration bringing tears. She collapsed to her knees. "I'm only thirteen," she sobbed.
Just then, a large, furry, blue caterpillar ambled through the doorway and inched along the wall. It slipped beneath a stray leaf that had blown in on the storm, the leaf trembled, the caterpillar grew, shifting, morphing, growing longer arms, larger head, until The Lady appeared -- sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, and hunched over so she'd fit inside the tree. She wore a long, blue fuzzy coat.
She looked at Moya with gentle eyes and spoke.
"Innocent and pure of heart, strength of spirit, true. The wisdom of the ages, child, runs like blood through you."
Then she smiled warmly and in an instant, shrank back down, and the caterpillar disappeared into a crack in the wall of the tree.
Fritz huddled on the ground wrapped in his cape, trying to get warm. "I’m sorry, Moya." he said quietly.
Moya was silent at first, thinking about what The Lady just said, feeling the words calm her. Soothe her. She glanced at the spell book, then at Fritz. "It's okay," She said. "I think we'll be okay."
She took a breath, wiped her tears, closed her eyes, and let the book fall open on its own.
She opened her eyes. "No up without down, no day without night. Force against force might not make right."
"Fritz?" Moya felt a warmth spreading through her body. Like a soft current of electricity.
"Yeah?" he was still feeling sorry for himself, and horrible about what he had unleashed.
"Listen and tell me what you think -- 'No up without down, no day without night, force against force might not make right.'"
Fritz raised his head. "No up without down, no day without night?"
"Force against force might not make right." She felt the energy building inside her. As though she'd swallowed a handful of candy pop rocks.
"What is it?"
"I think it’s how we beat the giant crabby monster."
"Really?"
"I think so. It’s here in the spell book. Counter-Fury, it’s called." The Grivvatte roared louder outside, the wind whipping in circles. He was closer.
"Well," Fritz got to his feet and started walking in small circles. "Might makes right is a common saying…"
"But this says ‘might not make right’."
"Exactly. Force against force might not make right. So, going head to head probably isn’t the way to go."

"Well, I think we proved that with the Lesser version."
"And the beginning…" Fritz scratched his head.
"No up without down."
"Right. What do up and down have to do with this thing? Or day and night?"
Moya and Fritz stared at each other as if the answer was written on the other’s forehead. "They’re opposites!" They both
exclaimed.
Fritz thought, going through the whole phrase in his head.
"Fritz, that’s it! No up without down, no day without night, force against force -– which are two of the same thing -– might not make right! So, don’t fight him head on, do the opposite!"
"Isn’t the opposite of that running away? We’ve been doing that."
"No, no. I think it’s the opposite of what he’s doing, what he is."
"A raging lunatic beast?" Fritz mocked
"Yes! So –- what’s the opposite of rage?"
The two thought a moment. "Peace?" Fritz said?
"Patience, maybe?" Moya offered.
Outside the Grivvatte had found them and was trying to stick his smelly arm into the hole but he was too big. He rocked the tree they were in, trying to pull it free.
"Moya, we need to do something. Now."
Moya’s mind raced. If they were right, she had to quiet herself. Quell the fear, don’t think of fighting. Just silent, easy peace. She thought again about The Lady. I can do this, she thought. I can do this.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. As if by instinct, she shut out the whirlwind around her and found a still place inside herself.
Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. She didn’t know how she knew, she just did. Perhaps that’s what being a Knower means, she thought.
"I think I know," she said to Fritz.