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Every inch of Iatee’s body pressed against something soft and fuzzy. He tried to wiggle but his limbs didn’t obey. That could mean only one thing, the gods had not been satisfied with the progress he’d made in his last life and he was once again inanimate. Whatever type of container his new body was stuffed into lifted off the ground, causing him to shift but not enough to enable him to see. Footsteps plodded on something hard, transporting him somewhere.
“You. What’s your name?”
There was no sound but Iatee heard the question. Another spirit was here. He’d encountered others like him several times in the years of his imprisonment but not in a long, long time. “I am Iatee. Who are you?”
“Nongulous. How long have you been a prisoner?”
“Forever.” At least, it felt like that.
“Forever? Now, that is a long time.” Nongulous laughed, the sound rich and melodious.
“It is if one is a toy. Animal is not so bad, but a toy is...excruciating.” The endless days of nothing grated on his soul but even that was better than being played with—mauled by sticky fingers and snotty faces. He would’ve shivered if he’d had any muscles.
“You were an animal? What kind? I’d love to be a monkey or a squirrel.”
“I was many.” The memories flickered through his mind—the freedom, the hunger, the hunt.
“Like what?”
“A seal. Penguin. Buffalo. A lion.” It’d gone downhill from there. The gods were disgusted with his refusal to conform and each iteration of life became a lower and lower form.
“You got to swim in the ocean? That’d be so amazing. What was it like?”
“It was good. Vast open waters. Swimming for hours and hours.” He’d loved the freedom and the hunt, chasing the fish, catching them with his teeth and tearing into them. It’d been glorious, except for the young. The mating had been grand but he hadn’t liked going back to land to care for his offspring. So, he hadn’t. The gods had not liked that.
“And a lion. Did you kill a lot?” Envy and longing filled Nongulous’ voice.
“I killed everything I found.” Including his own kind and their young—again, behavior no longer pleasing to the gods.
“I wish they would’ve let me be an animal instead of sticking me right into toy-terror.”
“Toy-terror?” Iatee chuckled. “That’s an apt description of this torture.” It was also an accurate account of his first time as a toy.
His spirit had been imprisoned inside a board game. He’d despised it—the pounding of the pieces as they moved over his body and the grubby little hands, pressing down on him—until he’d learned to control his wheel. He’d made sure the snot-faced boy who’d owned him had never won again.
No one owned Iatee. He was a Punishment Spirit. Born when the earth was fresh and the gods were hungry. He’d been created to hunt and to punish. He’d been celebrated, feared and revered. His victories were legends remembered through song, but no one would be singing about his triumph over the child. The boy had tired of losing and had quit playing with him. His life as a toy had never been better until he’d been given away like trash. He’d lingered on a shelf, being mauled and molested—pieces falling out and getting lost—losing himself bit by bit until he’d been incinerated.
“This is my third time,” said Nongulous. “What about you?”
“More than I can count.” He’d been trapped in one form or another for so long that his real life seemed only a dream.
“Oh Iatee, what did you do to deserve a punishment like that? Even one lifetime as a toy feels like eternity.”
“I did nothing except what I was created to do. I hunted. I punished. I killed.”
“That’s not good. The gods don’t like that anymore.”
“The gods cannot change. It’s not right.”
“Right or not...there’s no room for a demon in this world. The gods know that and adjusted. We either change with them or suffer.”
“I am not a demon.” He almost spat the word. “That’s a human term. I’m a Punishment Spirit. The gods created me as I am. I did their bidding. No matter what they asked. Punishment. Plague. Slaughter. I did what they told me and they...they turned me into this.” He couldn’t hide his vehemence. It was a fast, hot feeling that burned through him. He’d killed many over the years but he’d never hated until his imprisonment.
The person carrying the box stilled as if feeling Iatee’s rage.
“Shhh. You must be quiet. Humans cannot know we exist. It’s against the rules.” Nongulous’ thoughts whispered through Iatee’s head.
“They aren’t my rules. They’ve never been my rules and Iatee will not change.” But he did stop talking. If they were discovered, it’d mean another transformation. Since the gods would blame them, it meant the next form would be worse than whatever this one was.
“Everything okay?” yelled a man from a distance.
“I think there’s something in here.” The man carrying them shook the box.
“Are you sure?” The other man walked toward them. “And listen very closely before you answer.” His footsteps stopped nearby. “If there are rats or mice in these boxes we’re going to have to search them. Every stinking one of them. You know what that means? To make our quota we’ll have to stay late.”
“I can’t stay tonight. I have to pick up my kid.”
“Then, you get fired but only if there’s something in there.” The man tapped the box. “Understand?”
“Ah...yes, sir.”
“So, is there anything wrong?”
“No, sir. Nothing.” The man took a few steps and the box flew through the air, dropping onto something solid.
Iatee fell forward. Great. Now, he was almost upside down.
“Thanks, so much,” whispered Nongulous. “My face is in some stuffed animal’s ass.”
“Stuffed animal? We’re stuffed animals?”
“Yes and shut up,” Nongulous whispered. “We can’t talk now.”
That was fine with him. His dream had finally been answered. He was a stuffed animal. The gods were giving him another chance.
Find out what happens next.