Pitch Episode 35: Closer
#42 of Pitch
Matthew Knight was a hybrid. He was a half-man half-monkey. It was funny finding him, myself, and Wes in the same place at once. No one highlighted the coincidence, though.
Wes and I spent our entire day unpacking boxes at the monkey's cabin in the woods. All the while, Matt told us stories about his life. I couldn't believe half of what he said. He told us he was around before the creation of modern magic. The Monkey had to have been decades old for anything he said to be true, but he looked almost the same age as Wes or me. Don't get me wrong, Matt was much better than Haru, but after hours of listening to him ramble on and on about a fictional life, I was ready to go.
I was surprised to find Wesson was into it. I thought for sure he'd be ready to ram his head into a wall like me, but he was engaged in the stories. He kept Matt rolling.
"It's true, dragons and witches were the first to be hunted to extinction, Matt said from his seat in the living room by a fireplace.
It was a small cabin. With only a single bedroom and a conjoined living room and kitchen, there wasn't much to the place. We should have finished unpacking boxes hours ago. The moment we let Matt sit down and start reminiscing was when things slowed down. There were worse places to be than a cabin, but I was the only one trying to finish the work.
"Dragons aren't real," I muttered to myself as I put away what seemed to be antique swords and shields.
"Of course they aren't, not anymore, but back before the lightbulb, there were hundreds of them," Matt remarked from across the room at me.
"And witches too?" I joked sarcastically.
"Yes, though it's hard to say how many there were at a time," he answered.
Matt didn't seem like a bad guy. I could tell he genuinely believed every word that came out of his mouth, but that was the problem. There's no way anything he said was real. If he were an older man, maybe then I could have understood. If we hadn't spent our entire day in his cabin, perhaps then I would have been willing to humor his delusions. But Matt looked too young to be senile.
"Witches aren't real either. People cant use magic without spells," I argued.
"Witches were an exception to the rule," the monkey protested.
I didn't want to argue with a guy in his own home. I sat down whatever was in my hands, and with a sigh, I walked outside to take a break. It was late in the evening almost night. Wes followed me shortly after.
"You're not buying any of this, are you?" I asked as he walked up to stand beside me.
"He's telling the truth," Wes said.
"How can you tell?"
"He smells old," he said.
I glanced over, and Wes had a straight face. Such an odd statement, and yet I took it without any remark other than the initial reaction in my eyes.
"My dad is better at it, but even I can smell when someone has been around for a long time, and Matt has been around for a 'long' time," he added.
"Even if he has, do you really believe in dragons?" I questioned further and almost laughed at myself for having to ask.
I wasn't mad. I honestly couldn't say I was annoyed either. If anything, I felt a need to be skeptical, but I didn't want to disrespect someone I was supposed to be helping.
Before Wes or I could get out another word, Matt walked outside. He stood between us and held us under his arms.
"Leaving so soon?" The monkey asked.
"Just getting some air," I replied.
"You think I'm crazy, don't you," Matt questioned.
"What? No," I said.
"You do, and maybe I am. I've been on this earth twice as long as anyone before me, and then some," he continued.
"I didn't mean to disrespect you. I'm sorry," I apologized.
"I'll have none of that, now. I remember a time when 'sorry' was only spoken before a last breath. Do you mean to die?" Matt joked.
"No."
"Do you mean for me to die?"
"No, of course not!" I exclaimed.
Wes was laughing the entire time. Matt let us go, and he too laughed. With our backs to the sun, Wes and I stood watching as Matt moved.
"You want to join The Ring, correct?" Matt asked.
"Yes," I said
"Like me, you started your life as human but decided to side with something else. You will be scrutinized for it, but I fear something greater," the monkey said as he leaned against the wooden walls of his home gazing at the sunset behind my back.
He changed. In that brief moment, like the flick of a switch, something was different.
"Like what?" I asked.
"If creatures have the Ring, what do humans have?" The monkey suggested.
"I don't understand," I said.
"One secret begs another. You want a place in the world that your boyfriend lives, a place in a world where you'll be accepted, but our world is hunted. The Ring would never have lasted so long if not for an ever-present threat. As you are, you could be exempt from these threats. You could avoid them altogether. Siding with us is more than finding allies. Becoming a member of The Ring means taking on adversaries," Matt explained.
Having Wes with me didn't make the confrontation any easier. Matt wasn't addressing the both of us. Did Wes already know everything the monkey had to say? Or was he letting me take the ride by myself? Either way, it was a conversation between Matt and me.
"So... you really aren't some crazy guy with a hyperactive imagination," I joked nervously.
"No. I am M.Knight, one of the last remaining founders of The Ring," he admitted.