Chaos Inverted

Today was already a busy day for Discord. One of his coworkers called in sick, so he had to check their financial reports before sending them off to the clients. He also promised his current client (a small food chain that sold cupcakes and coffee) he would look at their records to see if they can apply a tax break. His mind was full of numbers, plans, and expectations. Yet his mind couldn’t stop thinking about last week.

Discord was kind of glad things played out better than he expected. When he woke up at 7 AM, the fox managed to escape through an open window he swore he had closed. He was planning on leaving the garage to give the animal time alone to heal, but he must have passed out due to exhaustion while cleaning up. Luckily, the fox didn’t bite or scratch him, so he wasn’t worried about any caught diseases. The only thing nagging at him was how the window got open.

Overall, the whole night felt surreal. The almost car crash, the multi-tailed fox, the hunters, all ending with a speedy getaway. He was glad to be out of said excitement. Any more stress on his heart and he would have had a panic attack (or a heart attack, at his age).

Nearby, the usual chatter from other cubicles was starting to get louder and more excited. Discord moved away from his computer to listen in. He’s not one for gossip but doesn’t hurt to hear what the current hubbub is about. The main chatter was coming from three cubicles away, with around four or five people surrounding one of the computers. “It says he’s starting next week, that can’t be good,” one exclaimed to the others.

“New CEOs like that always cost so much money,” said someone else. “I bet there will be layoffs before the holidays. Count on it!”

A squeaky voice joined in. “Did you see the part about ‘restructuring?’ What if they cut out this branch? I can’t move to the main branch! It’s way too expensive!”

Ahh, this old routine. Any change in the office dynamics and everyone acted like the sky was falling. He had seen these cycles a few times since he started eight years ago (two owner changes, a merger, and a not well thought out rebranding that barely lasted a year) and he knew the work didn’t change that much. If he needed to, he could jump to a new accounting job for a different company. Someone always needed a bean counter.

Another person appeared suddenly by his cubicle wall which almost made Discord jump an inch out of his chair. It was Starlight Glimmer (He looked up her name through the email directory as soon as he got back from the weekend and spent a good five minutes storing the name in his memory). She wore a ruffled purple blouse and a black A-line skirt which gave off a more casual look than her usual pantsuits. She was looking over to the nervous group and asked without glancing at Discord, “Any idea what they’re so worked up about?”

Oh, boy. Starlight was handing Discord an olive branch of communication. He could make up being so awkward last week. Here was his chance; he could do it. Based on the eavesdropped statements and what he read earlier, Discord did have a rough idea. He cautiously shared his theory, “Probably about the email they sent out an hour ago. New CEO is replacing Zacherle. New one is supposed to be a big deal and do some reorganization.”

“Really? I was stuck in a meeting. Let me check.” She pulled out her cell phone from a hidden pocket to check her work email. All Discord could do was try his best to read her facial expressions as she scanned through the announcement. First, she had a half-lidded expression most people had when going through the usual corporate talk. Then her eyebrows raised suddenly as if she saw something familiar. Then she glared at her phone with a look of disdain Discord never saw on her before.

He took a risk and asked, “Is something wrong?” Starlight must have remembered where she was as she glanced back. She put on a wide (yet fake) smile and said, “Oh, it’s nothing. I think I ran into this guy as the main headquarters. Nothing to worry about.” She put her phone away and started to walk away. Then, something compelled her to grab the cubicle wall and stay behind. She said, “Just keep your distance from him when he arrives.” She gripped the wall tighter. “He’s known for his...results and will do anything to get them. Just keep your head down, that’s what I recommend. Well, have a good weekend!” Her smile turned genuine as she walked back to her desk.

Oh, boy. What can of worms did Discord open this time? He didn’t know talking about a work email would lead to a dramatic mood shift. He took a deep breath and pulled up a weather forecast website. He hoped looking forward to something later tonight will ease his anxiety.

=================

“Ben, I don’t care if you don’t eat the new food. Whether you eat it or starve, you’ll lose weight either way, so I win in the end. So there.” Discord plopped the food down and waited. The rat the color of a starless void stared back at him with resentment for a few seconds but went on to eat the new brand of pellets. Discord smirked with satisfaction and walked away. Ben (sometimes nicknamed Big Ben, due to both his girth and personality) was always the toughest to feed, so starting with his dinner seemed like the right choice. The rest should be a piece of cake.

Bags of feed, pellets, and other food for the animals laid nearby on the kitchen table. While assembling each individual meal, he thought about his current diet plan for Ben. ‘He’s actually been pretty good this week on the new food,’ he thought. ‘I’ll throw in some strawberries or something tomorrow as a treat.’

The rest of the feedings were uneventful. He checked the temperature and pH of the aquarium, left mealworms in the heated enclosure, and checked all the water bowls. The last one to be fed was Socrates, his other rat. He was the easiest to feed as he squeaked in approval and ran in tiny circles near his food bowl. Socrates was an albino rat with piercing red eyes just like Discord. There was a running joke they both had to stick together as fellow red-eye weirdos.

This was the first time Discord took in a pair of rats, and he was glad the transition went pretty well. Like most of the pets he had, he stumbled on them by accident or by fate. At his previous apartment before moving into his house, he heard his next-door neighbors arguing over the purchase of said rats (wasn’t too hard to hear them, the walls were tissue paper thin). The father got them to appease the kid in the relationship, but the mother insisted that the kid was too busy with sports and school to properly take care of them. Discord walked by their front door during one of their many arguments and just offered to take the rats off their hands if they wanted. It was awkward like most of his conversations, and it might have been the first time he ever talked to them, but they were grateful someone would take the added stress away from their lives.

Abandoned pet snakes in the woods, coworkers needing a new owner for betta fish due to changing apartments or new girlfriends, lizards and frogs that were going to be disposed of due to lack of space in the pet store. Those are the pets Discord usually takes in. The outcast looking out for the other outcasts.

He wondered if the fox would have fit in with his other pets. Sure, it was a wild animal, but the addition to his home wouldn’t have been too off compared to his usual pets. Most of all, he just hoped the poor little thing was okay. He doubted it would have made it back to the Everfree Forest, but maybe he would spot it in the neighborhood. Speaking of which, he had to make his own dinner soon if he wanted to head out later tonight.

=================

The forest air was chillier than expected. Discord was lucky he brought his beat-up jacket for the jagged fence alone. August was halfway done, and soon he would have to really bundle up for the weather. Right now, he was kept warm enough with his jacket, ripped-up jeans, and his old band t-shirt (he used to be in a short-lived band with his only friend in high school. He played the drums while his friend Smayan Blinx AKA The Smooze tried to belt bad cover songs while plonking at a guitar. It lasted five, long, embarrassing months before Schmooze moved on to his next scheme to get attention).

He pulled the jacket closer to zip it up. Other than the chill in the air, it wasn’t too bad. There were barely any clouds in the sky, and the light from a crescent moon gave him a tiny bit of light to travel by. He wasn’t too far from his usual clearing. He must have been too busy noticing the weather he didn’t notice the sound of footsteps of another person slowly approaching him.

“Excuse me, sir, sorry to bother you.”

Discord felt every muscle in his body freeze in place. Park rangers. Fuck. Time to start groveling before he got in too much trouble. He stammered out whatever came to his mind, “I’m so, so sorry, I was just trying to find something I lost on a trail and the only time I could come out was at night and I’m really sorry, I wasn’t planning on disturbing anything-”

The voice gave off a hearty laugh and interrupted, “Woah, woah, there, mate! No need for that!” He took a few steps closer to the rambling man. Discord was able to point his flashlight toward him and got a better look. No uniform or badge in sight, that’s a good start. The stranger didn’t appear to be a park ranger or any other government official. He was wearing something similar to what Discord was wearing, a semi-thick jacket with a dirty sweatshirt and straight fit jeans. While the trucker cap he wore on his head covered his eyes, his smile and relaxed posture gave off a mood of nonchalance.

The man laughed again and said, “I have a feeling I’m not supposed to be out here either. What do you say we keep our little adventures out here a secret? I won’t tell if you won’t tell.”

Discord gave off a laugh too (albeit weaker and with more of a stutter) and said, “S-sounds good to me.” He moved the flashlight away from the man as to not blind him. “Truth be told, I’m just here to watch the stars tonight. I’ll leave you to whatever you were doing. Have a good night.” He continued his way to the clearing without a second thought.

“Wait, before you go, I wanted to ask you something,” the man said while jogging to cut Discord off. “I am actually looking for someone. Perhaps you’ve seen her. A young woman, long hair, you can’t miss her, trust me.”

The man kept in pace with Discord to explain, “She was with my camping group. Look, I know you’re not supposed to camp here, but I’m sure you get it. The area is too perfect to pass up. Anyways, she was staying with us when she got in a fight and left the camp. Now she’s off who knows where and it’s super late. Any chance you saw or heard something?”

“Sorry, haven’t seen anyone. I’ll keep an eye out though,” Discord said while continuing his usual pace. He was hoping the man would take the hint and leave him be, but the man kept walking beside him as if they were long-lost buddies.

“Come on, man, you gotta know something. You can’t miss this chick. She’s very...unique. And we really need to find her.”

“I’m really sorry, but I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Oh, but I think you do know.”

Discord paused mid-stride. What did he mean by that? He turned back to the man and said in a slightly firmer tone, “No, I don’t. I’m here by myself and I haven’t run into anyone. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.” He turned toward the clearing again but started wondering if he should head back to the car. The atmosphere had shifted from friendly to semi-hostile in a blink of an eye. He wasn’t sure if he said or did anything to piss the man off. Either way, he did not like his chances if he stayed for a second longer in this man’s presence. Discord quickly turned around and made an excuse, “Actually, I think I left something behind. I just need to head on-”

“I don’t think so, mate,” the stranger slammed a hand on Discord’s shoulder to stop his advance. “I think you do know more than you’re letting on. You wouldn’t happen to have been here last week? Maybe took something or someone home?”

Crap. The hunters. He should’ve known they would be back. And he said he was alone. Double crap. Things were getting too intense. And they found out about the fox and his interference last week? Crap crap crap! No time to think, main goal is to put distance between him and the current threat.

Discord grabbed the hand on his shoulder and pulled it as hard as he could toward the ground. The man fell over with an irritated grunt. “L-leave me alone!” Discord managed to cry before dropping his supplies and running toward the parking lot. He never had the greatest stamina but hoped the head start will be enough to hide in the woods.

A bulky arm hiding between the trees appeared out of nowhere and grabbed at Discord’s throat. He felt the air press out of his lungs as he strained against the grip. This arm belonged to another man who was bigger and stronger than the first stranger. While Discord resisted as best as he could, he saw more people come out of hiding from nearby trees and bushes. It looked to be about six in total. It was a trap all along, and Discord fell for it like a chump.

The first man rubbed his sore back as he walked to the one restraining Discord. The injured man swore under his breath and said, “For a skinny guy, he’s a lot stronger than he looks. Now,” the man leaned so close to Discord he could smell his acidic breath, “I’m going to be nice and give you one last shot. How’s that sound, mate? We know you were here last week, and you left with something we need. Where is it?”

Discord wasn’t sure how they expected him to talk when his windpipe being slowly crushed, but he did his best to shake his head and mouth out whatever he could to lessen the grip. He even tried to explain how he left with the fox and its eventual breakout, but all he could manage was small pleas of mercy. The man soon caught on the futility of the current setup and motioned the bulky man to drop him.

Discord fell to the cold, damp dirt with a THUMP. He took in as many breaths as he could muster. He didn’t even have time to tell his story when one of the group members said, “I don’t think he knows anything. Let’s just get rid of him.”

“We almost had her last week. And this geezer is the last one to see her,” the first man said. “We need all the leads we can get.”

“Yeah, but I don’t sense her presence on him anymore,” said an older woman with short, curly hair. “She probably dumped him as soon as she could. He’s just some weird loner she used as a free ride.”

“Yeah, and besides,” said another man with a large scar down his cheek, “if he did know something, he would probably lie. No doubt he’d been charmed out of his mind by now.”

“I thought this one couldn’t use her charm powers,” said the woman.

“I thought the charm thing was a myth,” said another new voice.

“Well, the Element has to do something! Why wouldn’t it charm people to doing what they want?”

“It’s not like a superpower thing. There’s more to it than that!”

The group continued this confusing dialogue while Discord tried to regain his breathing and tried to assess his chances of escaping. The group surrounded him in a semi-circle, and there was a slight gap in the area toward the parking lot. If he could just distract them for a second, he could probably sneak out.

Eventually, the first man got tired of the endless chatter and shouted, “That’s enough! Let our poor guest speak. I’m sure he can tell by now it’s best to work with us, hmm?”

Discord closed his eyes, took one more deep breath, and rasped out, “You’re right. I know. I know where she is.”

The first man gave off an unflattering grin. “Now we’re talkin! Now, where was she last?”

Discord turned toward the man who he assumed was the leader and said with a straight face, “Isn’t it obvious?” The man sputtered something under his breath and replied, “No?”

Discord shrugged and pointed off to behind the leader’s left shoulder, “She’s right behind you.”

The man’s eyes widened in fear, and he spun around to his face his foe. The group joined him in this action. As expected, there was nothing behind him. Also as expected, Discord used this chance to spring off the ground and run for the hills.

Discord wasn’t expecting the standard “Look over there!” trick to work, but he’ll take it. He purposefully jumped over fallen trees and muddy puddles to hopefully slow down his chasers. He felt cuts on his face, neck, and arms as the nearby sharp branches ripped at his jacket and shirt. His lungs still burned from the chokehold, but he kept persisting. Step after step after step. He was almost there. He could feel it.

Sure enough, Discord’s old SUV was within sight past the broken fence. He gasped a tiny cry of victory to himself. Sadly, the cry was made too soon. There was a sharp tug on his left ankle, and he swiftly lost his balance. He fell again to the cold, damp dirt with a louder THUMP than before. Pain radiated from his caught ankle and his wrists which broke the fall.

Discord tried to get up but the grip on his ankle was strong. He turned around and saw a new, young face hold his ankle with both hands. So, it was a group of seven, and they left one person here to catch him in case he escaped. This group knew what they were doing.

He tried to use free leg to kick the young person’s hands off, but the person was able to dodge efficiently. Discord turned toward the parking lot and used his hands to try to drag himself away. He had to keep fighting. He had to get help. He was so close to freedom. He just had to-

A pain so sharp and excruciating removed all thoughts from his mind and all sound from his throat. Discord turned to look at what caused it. One of the captor’s hands was off his ankle and held a hunting knife. Said knife was now lodged in Discord’s left thigh. The young person twisted the knife deeper into the thigh with a nasty smirk. Discord tried to scream as lights and color left his vision.

The rest of the group soon joined the pair. The leader was panting for breath, but managed to say, “Good job. This guy is more trouble than he’s worth.” The leader leaned over the injured man. Discord could feel the wrath emanating from the leader’s aura. Discord used the last of his strength to pull himself away with his hands. His reward for this action was another deep stab in the left shoulder.

He managed an audible scream this time as he crumpled to the ground. He felt woozy and sick. His fingers were ice cold and starting to turn blue. He was having a hard time gathering his thoughts. All he could think about was who was going to feed his rats.

Discord heard the leader give the order to “Finish him off,” but the voice sounded far away and in a tunnel. Discord closed his eyes. He just wanted to rest. He would rest and try to escape later. That was a good plan. He just needed. To rest.

“HOW DARE YOU HURT SOMEONE IN MY DOMAIN?!”

The words shook the ground below Discord. He opened his eyes a crack to see the group huddle together in horror. The leader still had the bloody hunting knife in his hand, ready to attack, but his face showed doubt in his own resolve.

“YOU WANTED TO FIND ME, HERE I AM. BUT I SHOULD WARN YOU, LITTLE PEONS. YOU MESS WITH THE BULL...”

The group shivered in fear. The leader tried to shout orders, but the group wasn’t listening. People shoved and pushed each other away in order to escape. It was total chaos.

“YOU GET THE HORNS.”

The screams that followed would haunt Discord for many years to come. He tried to keep his eyes open to see who or what was causing this strange phenomenon, but his strength was dwindling by the second. He felt so cold. So tired. He just wanted to sleep. Discord closed his eyes and adjusted to the best sleeping position as the world slowly faded to black.