At the close of a quiet summer, I started dreaming of Geedis again.
There had been no news of Lou D’Amaro, the missing student at the University, since April, when he had apparently been sucked into a VHS tape containing Season 1, Episode 18 of “The Land of Ta,” a mysterious animated TV series from the early ’80s. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that there had been no news of Lou D’Amaro ever, since searching for him in the University’s directory turned up nothing and my email correspondence with him had mysteriously disappeared from my inbox. No one seemed to remember that he had ever existed.
But I remembered. I remembered how I, too, had been transported to the Land of Ta, where I had encountered Geedis, a yellow-eyed, bearish creature with the power to exert his influence upon our world from afar. I had suffered a terrible fate there, but it seemed that I could not die in Ta, or maybe it was simply that Geedis preferred to let me live so he could torment me another day. I wondered if Lou D’Amaro had met a similar fate. More likely, he was still trapped in Ta, alive — and I clung to this notion — alive, but afraid.
Or maybe — I thought back to the disappearing emails — Geedis had simply erased him from existence entirely.
Geedis. When last I had seen him, he had left me with the words: “Geedis never forgets.” And I had believed him. But the school year marched on, and summer came, and for a precious sliver of time I thought I could put Geedis behind me forever. Then the dreams started.
It was the last week before I was to return to Rochester for my junior year. Unlike the last time I had met Geedis in my sleep, I did not find myself in the Land of Ta. Instead, I would be in my bed, at home, when I would hear a snuffling noise from outside. The first night there was just the dread. The second, a flicker of a shadow visible through the window. And so it went on for a week.
The night before my departure, I heard the snuffling. I saw the shadow flicker on the window. I heard the gentle sound of the door as it was nudged open. I heard the pat-pat of Geedis’ footfalls as he entered the room. I saw his shadow fall upon the far wall. I was paralyzed. Then, Geedis moved into view, his massive frame looming over me. He spoke three words: “I am waiting.” And then I woke up.
In the morning, I knew exactly what to do. Frankly, I was in too deep. I couldn’t handle Geedis on my own. I needed help. I needed a savior.
I sat at my computer and typed an email to University President Sarah Mangelsdorf.
“Dear President Mangelsdorf,” I wrote, “I have reason to believe our beloved University is entangled in some kind of mystical plot involving a murderous cartoon character from another dimension called Geedis. Awaiting your response please and thank you, Caden.” I hit send, safe in the knowledge that Sarah Mangelsdorf would understand.
Almost immediately after, I received a ping in my inbox. It was from Sarah Mangelsdorf, and it read: “Hello Caden, thank you for your email. Please meet me in my office as soon as you arrive on campus. THERE CAN BE NO DELAY. Sincerely, Sarah Mangelsdorf.”
I smiled. Even if I was under threat from a godlike being who haunted my dreams, at least Sarah Mangelsdorf would have my back.
That same day, I arrived on campus with a spring in my step. Remembering Sarah’s words, I skipped over to Wallis Hall without delay, leaving the unpacking for later. I made my way up to her office and knocked on the door. “Come in,” said a voice from within. I rushed inside.
Happily, I took in my surroundings — and was met with sudden horror. There, before me, was University President Sarah Mangelsdorf. And behind her, the hideous shape of Geedis.
The door clicked behind me.
I stifled a scream.
“It’s okay, you can scream,” said Sarah Mangelsdorf. “I had this office specially soundproofed.”
I screamed.
For the next few minutes I sat there, barely able to process what was happening, as Sarah Mangelsdorf explained her diabolical plot and partnership with Geedis. “Since its very founding, the University and Ta have been unshakably intertwined,” I heard her say. After that, I processed only snippets. “Geedis is a mind-feeder. Where better than a university to claim his harvest?” “As long as the yearly sacrifice is made …” “The walls between worlds are thinning.”
Suddenly I noticed that they had stopped talking. “So Geedis will be taking you on a little field trip,” Sarah Mangelsdorf concluded.
“What?” I said.
“The more intense your state of mind, the more nourishment Geedis can derive from it at the moment of consumption. Any heightened emotion or brain activity will do, but Geedis usually finds that torment produces the best results.” She smiled. “Go on,” she said. “Go and join him.”
I did. Geedis reached out, gripping my arm with force.
All at once, my surroundings transformed and shifted into a completely different place: a dark room with marble floors and torchlight illuminating a row of paintings. Each depicted a hideous winged creature of yellow and black alongside servants and expensive-looking relics. “This is the Hall of Kings in Ta’s great palace,” said Geedis. “Each of them richer than the gods.”
“Why are you bringing me here?” I asked him.
“Because, my child,” said Geedis, “I want you to remember what you have lost. That you chose to be a sacrifice, instead of a king. Despair is such a succulent thing. But,” he continued, “let us not linger. This is not the only world we have to visit.”
Again, our surroundings shifted. From then on, I cannot describe to you the things Geedis showed me: imagine the most horrible, terror-inducing visions you can think of, and multiply them by a thousand. You may then be able to picture a fraction of what I saw. When at last the horrors died down and I opened my eyes, I saw a world that looked strangely familiar. “Where are we?” I asked Geedis, through ragged breaths and the pounding of a panicked heart.
“The place where you once stored your deepest grief,” Geedis replied.
We were in another hall, lit by dim torchlight and built with black stone. An evil-looking statue of a man in sweeping robes towered over us. He was holding a wand. There was broken glass on the floor, and a cold wind blew through the shattered window above.
“Do you recognize this place?” said Geedis.
I couldn’t believe it, but I did. For a moment I felt a sensation of comfort, but it was quickly supplanted by the dread of what might come next. “Geedis …” I said, “this looks like the edgy Harry Potter fanfic I wrote after my parents divorced.”
“And a piece of yourself still lives here,” said Geedis.
“I— ” I tried to object, but I couldn’t find the words. Geedis was right. I didn’t want him here, and the thought of him desecrating this place put a pit in my stomach. This was MY edgy fanfiction sanctuary, not his. It was sacred ground.
Footsteps echoed in the distance. Someone was coming.
Quickly, I made for a statue at the end of the hall and hid. Rather than moving to stop me, Geedis stood his ground.
And waited.
The footsteps drew closer, and at last, I witnessed from behind my perch a young wizard entering the hall. He was tall and thin, his long dark hair accentuated with streaks of red and purple, and his eyes an icy blue. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was Ca’dynn Dillione, the tortured wizard with a self-righteous attitude, a violent temper, and for some reason, ties to the Italian mob. His robes were hidden from view by a long black cape, but I knew that within, there would be his silver wand with a core sourced directly from the Devil’s Snare.
He stopped. “Who art thou, foul creature?”
I cringed a little. I’d forgotten he spoke in “thou”s.
Geedis stepped forward. Dillione drew his wand. “Did my father send thee?” (This was probably his legendary daddy issues rearing their head.)
In a flash, Geedis leaped for his throat. Blood spattered everywhere. I watched as Geedis tore the flesh from Dillione’s neck, and shuddered. We shared the same face. One moment later, it was ripped to shreds.
Behind the statue, I panicked. I could see my future before my eyes, and it was very short.
I knew from experience that I couldn’t outrun Geedis. I would have to find another way. I took another peek at Dillione, and instantly regretted it. The body hardly looked like a body anymore.
Then I spotted it. Lying on the stone floor, blood-spattered, about halfway between me and Geedis, was Dillione’s wand.
If only I could reach it without Geedis seeing.
Geedis perked up, sniffing the air around him. “Do I smell hope, little one?” said Geedis. “What cause could you ever have to hope?”
I knew I only had one chance. I dove for the wand. In an instant, Geedis pounced. “Insolent child!” he screamed. I felt the full force of his body collide with mine, and suddenly we were tumbling over soft grass. It was quiet. I felt the sun on my face.
It was quickly replaced by a shadow. Geedis stood over me, snuffling. “And to think you might have ruled over all of Ta,” he said. The palace loomed over us in the distance.
He took a step further, bringing his jaws closer to my neck. I scrambled back in terror — and my hand alighted on something cold.
The wand. A surge of hope spread through my body.
All of a sudden, Geedis lifted his head higher and spoke. “You are so far away from home… Don’t you yearn for an end to your suffering, child?”
“Why don’t you give it to me, then?” I said. I gripped the wand harder.
And then it dawned on me. He was stalling.
Geedis fed on despair, on suffering. As long as I held this small hope in my hands, he didn’t want me. It was like someone had spit in his salad.
I stood up. “Take me back home, Geedis.”
Geedis practically exploded. “You think you can bargain with me? I have lived a thousand of your lifetimes!”
“Take me back home, Geedis.”
“Why aren’t you despairing, you stupid creature?!”
I tackled Geedis, or at least tried to. His bulk mostly prevented any actual tackling from taking place, but it was enough.
I rolled onto the floor of Sarah Mangelsdorf’s office and sprung to my feet. “Geedis deletus!” I shouted, pointing the wand directly at Geedis.
And then, just like that, he was gone. No final words, no menacing promise of return. Just an office, with a big empty space where Geedis had been. It was like he had never been there at all.
“You fool!” said Sarah Mangelsdorf. “Do you realize what Geedis was going to give to me? I was going to be the ruler of Ta! The University would have been the first academic institution to spread its influence between worlds! You’ve spoiled everything!”
That explained a lot. She had been duped by Geedis, and maybe many had before her. But it was all over now. I didn’t pretend to understand everything about Geedis and the Land of Ta, but I understood the power of Ca’dynn Dillione’s silver wand, whose invented spells had mostly been used as a deus ex machina in the fanfiction of days gone by. With that, there was no coming back for Geedis.
I’m not sure whether Sarah Mangelsdorf ever truly repented for what she had done, but a few threatening waves of the wand sufficed to ensure that there would be no further efforts to contact interdimensional horrors from the Land of Ta or elsewhere. And that was that.
After all that was sorted out, there was only one thing left to do. I unpacked my bags, moved into my dorm, and basked in the knowledge of a Geedis-free year ahead. I never heard anything of Lou D’Amaro again.
And there you have it, reader. Geedis has geeded his last geed, and you may rest assured that no one will ever whisk away unsuspecting university students to faraway lands for no reason at all other than a desperate need to feed off negative emotions to fuel one’s own power ever again. That could never happen in America. Cheerio!
