Word Club Part Two

Jim stared a moment longer at the computer screen, then sat back and rubbed his eyes.
‘Ben, do you want anything? I need a break.’
‘I wouldn’t say no to a couple glazed, Jim. Thanks.’
‘Alright.’
Jim made his way out of his cubicle, heading toward the coffee table and thinking.
I haven’t been able to focus on much of anything today. The smallest noise seemed to distract him lately. It had been growing all week, and today he could scarcely think straight.
Jim sighed. It was time to rectify the situation.
I’ll call Janet at lunch. She’s been wanting to go back since the moment we left.
‘Here you go, Ben. Enjoy.’
‘Oh boy. Just what I needed. Thanks, Jim.’
‘No problem.’
I hope we don’t have a disease or something. Barely a week past and it’s all either of us can think about.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The bell jingled as the door opened.
‘Is that new?’ Jim wondered idly.
‘It wasn’t here last week,’ Janet replied.
They walked toward the front desk.
Rudy smiled brightly. ‘Welcome back to the Word Club, sir, madam. Would you like anything before you begin?’
‘I think we’re ready as is, Rudy. Thanks all the same, though.’
‘In that case, I will direct your attention to the large vault door set in the right hand wall just down the hallway behind me.’
‘A vault door, Rudy?’
‘Yes sir. Do you see it there?’
‘I do see it, yes.’
‘As with all things in this world we live in, the Word Club is in a state of constant change. Thus, the method of entering the inner world of the Word Club is also one of constant change.’
Jim and Janet both nodded.
‘I understand.’
‘That makes sense, Rudy.’
‘In order for you to enter the inner Word Club on your visit today, you will require both the practical application of the intellect you possess, and the unrestrained allowance of your intuition. It is these tools that allow true creativity to flow. Are you ready?’
‘Yes,’ they said together.
‘Then I will ask you to approach that vault door.’
Jim and Janet walked up to the doorframe.
‘And now it is up to you to find your way through it.’
They looked into each others eyes for a moment, and then smiled. Janet put her ear and her hand to the vault door. Jim began to turn the dial slowly.
‘Keep going, keep going…stop! Now back the other way, slowly… stop! Now to the right again…there!’ Janet paused, as though puzzled. ‘This has to be the strangest vault system ever made. I think we need to push the dial in.’
Jim shrugged. He pushed on the dial, and it began to recede into the door. Jim kept pushing, until there was a faint click, and then a great whoosh as the door swung inward away from them, into the inner Word Club.
For a moment both Janet and Jim simply stood in the doorway, breathing in the freshness of the air, their hearts becoming light with relief.
‘That was the longest week of my life, I think,’ Jim said, almost gasping the words.
‘I told you we needed to come back,’ Janet smiled.
‘You were right. I can breathe freely again.’
‘We can breathe freely again,’
‘Yes, we.’
Jim gently took her face in his hands. ‘Yes,’ he repeated. ‘You have freed us again, dear lady. For so great a gift, I thank you.’
After a moment Janet gently ended the kiss. ‘Come, my love. Let us explore this wondrous world once more!’
And so they lost themselves in the glorious wild. Together they ran through endless fields, climbed the highest mountains, braved the thickest jungles, and swam the deepest rivers. Jim defended Janet from the wild animals that roamed the land. He learned to fight the bear, the wolf, and the mountain lion. Janet learned the lore of the plants, the grass and the trees, for at times Jim lay close to death after his battles, and Janet spent many days in nursing her fallen warrior back to health.
In their wanderings, they saw exotic creatures, strange beasts, and beautiful birds. It was a world filled with colors and tastes and smells that were new to them, and they eagerly immersed themselves in it.
They began to see other humans, far in the distance and out of earshot. Jim was certain they were seen, though they were not approached. But one day they came to a new change. Janet sensed it in the air when she awoke, and quickly she went to Jim and shook him. Jim opened his eyes.
‘What is it, my lady?’
‘My love, warriors approach. I feel their anger and desire for battle. They come for you.’
‘I will defend you, lady, as I have done before.’
‘They wish you to fight for them, not against them.’
Jim could see them now, sixty warriors cresting a near hill to the south. Within his heart, he felt the desire to fight. Jim looked in Janet’s hazel eyes. ‘I do not wish to leave you, my lady. Bid me stay and I will stay.’
Janet shook her head. ‘It is not for me to stay you, my love. I bid you go. I will be near.’
‘How can I go, lady, when my heart lies with you?’
‘I will always be near. It is in you to fight. Fight, but fight for love. Fight for love, and you will be stronger, and swifter, your energy greater, your battle-heart fiercer. Be strong, my love.’
Insistently, honey lips pressed against his own. Then Janet seemed to fade. The trees began to appear through her skin; Jim could see the faint outlines of the leaves behind her, the grass through the skin of her ankles, the long-stemmed flowers swaying gently in the breeze. First they were merely hints, and then strong outlines, and finally her body was all but gone, all but her eyes, still staring into his own. For a moment they gazed, then they, too, were gone as the war band began their ascent up the hill. They halted at the crest. Only the war chieftain walked further, who came within ten feet of where Jim stood.
He looked at Jim warily for a moment, then spoke. ‘We need your help, wild one. Our enemy will long be at our hearth-doors this season. You will be one with us. One in name, one in heart, one in anger, one in spirit, one in strength, one in power, one in war. Fight with us!’
‘I will fight with you.’