Holidays with the Gargoyles: A Series Oh, Chanukah A story by A Fan afan@weirdness.com Introduction Well, I've changed my email address. The old one, davids@jumbo.com will remain valid though. What follows is the second story in the Holidays with the Gargoyles series. These stories exist in the same universe as the show and my other series at this time, Reflections. In fact, some of my characters will also appear here and there. all religious material is taken directly from my brain. I assume the character can make as many mistakes as I can, in fact one or two mistakes I added are intentional. This story doesn't center specifically around Chanukah, I have left that for the next Chanukah story, which I'm planning to write soon. The next story coming up in this series is A Gargoyle's First Christmas. ********************************************************************* "Mom, are you going to get me that computer game I've been asking about for Chanukah?" Jonathan Green asked his mother. "You don't want to spoil the surprise, do you?" "I think I'll be able to live with myself somehow," Jonathan said. "If I tell you now, what will be the surprise on Chanukah? Usually we give eight small gifts, but this year we are giving you just one big gift. We at least want to watch your eyes light up when you open the box. And we want to watch you squirm." Hannah Green said. "I wouldn't want to think you were doing this just to make your son happy. I'm glad to know you are getting enjoyment out of it." The phone rang at just that moment. It was Jonathan's best friend, Simon Davies. Jonathan and Simon attended seventh grade at a local Manhattan Junior High School together. The two had known each other for years and were rarely seen outside apart. What was odd was that in all the time Jonathan had known Simon, he had never been to Simon's home or met his parents. "Jonathan, this is Simon." "Hello, Simon." "Do you want to play Doom on the modem?" "I haven't finished my homework for Torah class at the synagogue yet." "Well, whenever you're done, just call and we'll play. You know the number." "Okay." ***** Saturday, December 16, 1995 10:00 PM The sun had set at about 4:30 and after a some relaxation, the entire clan, with the exception of Hudson and Bronx, went on patrol. The gargoyles went in formation out from the clocktower on one of their usual routes. It seemed that usually when they went out, trouble found them. This night was no exception as an electric bolt hit Goliath in the side. It didn't feel like a serious shock, more like a a super case of static buildup. "That was the lowest setting." A man in a jet suit shouted. "I felt you should have some warning. You are about to face the greatest and most expensive bounty hunter in all the world, me. The name's Smasher." "I think we can guess the origin of that nickname," Brooklyn whispered to Lexington. "I've been hired to bring you in. I notice that two of you are missing. I was told that might be the case. If you tell me where I can find them then I will go mercifully on you." "You'll have to be tough then." "Good, I like a challenge." He shot another electric bolt at the clan. "Don't think I have just these electric bolts. I just use them to hone my skills. So make it easy and get hit or I start taking out the big guns." The gargoyles stubbornly refused to yield. After about an hour of this, Smasher stopped. "Well, that was mildly diverting. Well, I didn't think you were that easy and we're in residential territory." He pulled out what appeared to be a spritzer can. "Let's see if this stuff works." "What are going to do, style our hair?" Brooklyn asked. He got close enough to spray the stuff on Lexington. It seemed to have no effect. But as the battle continued, Lexington became more and more sluggish. "Brooklyn, I think I'm going to be sick." There were very few diseases that affected gargoyles and Lexington had caught one of the previously so he knew what the feeling was like. He began to glide downward. He still maintained enough equilibrium to stay fairly steady, although the dizziness in his head made it difficult. Once Lexington dropped out of the sky, Goliath realized that they would have to retreat and retrieve Lexington later. The sun, he thought, would no doubt heal the gargoyle and if he couldn't return tonight, he would the following evening. "But what about Lex?" Brooklyn protested. "If we don't get out of here now than we won't be free to find him." "Come on, guys. The party's just starting." They flew off at their highest speed. Eventually, Goliath led them to Castle Wyvern, one of the few places in the city that would be safe from the bounty hunter. That is, unless David Xanatos was the one who hired him in the first place. "Sir," Owen Burnett said in Xanatos's lavish office, "The castle defense system indicates four objects incoming. three appear to be gargoyles and the third appears to be a man in a device similar to one of our exo-suits. Is this a plan you haven't told me about?" "No. Let the gargoyles through the defense net and then keep the man out. I want answers." The gargoyles were met by an exo-suit clad Xanatos and, as usual, by his side, the ever unsmiling Owen Burnett. "Goliath, what brings you to my humble abode?" "Is this another one of your tricks, Xanatos? Hiring a man to attack us?" "I'd think you'd give me more credit than that. If I really wanted you back here, you'd be back here. Right now I'm content to just leave you where you are. As for the mean looking individual attempting to get past the automated weaponry, I assume that would be the man trying to attack you. He didn't perhaps give a name?" "Smasher." "I have heard of him. The world's most expensive bounty hunter. Owen, who might have hired Smasher for this purpose?" "Unknown, sir. But the Swiss bank official you hired to observe Mr. Smasher's account hasn't contacted us in the past six months." "No more games, Xanatos!" "Goliath, I am just as interested as you in who hired this man. Nothing should go on in my city without me knowing. I will distract your little friend and you will go slink back into whatever hole you are hiding in. Let's just say you owe me one." "I owe you nothing." "I'm withdrawing my hospitality, then. Please leave immediately." Xanatos, however, did distract Smasher and the gargoyles did get away. And the end result was that Goliath, while he wouldn't admit it until later, owed Xanatos a favor, which of course, he would collect on. "I say that was productive. I got to test out Smasher here," he patted the deactivated robot,"and now Goliath owes me a favor." ***** Lexington crashed into the side of the apartment building with a thud which knocked him into unconsciousness. He lay still on a window ledge many stories above the city. Jonathan Green was playing Doom over the modem when he heard a loud thud from outside his window. "Wait," he typed, pausing the game. He walked over to the window looked out. He saw nothing and was about to go back to the game when he suddenly had the urge to open the window and look out. What he saw there surprised him. Something green with wings was lying on the ledge just below his window. "This is bad," Jonathan thought. He ran back to the computer and typed, "Simon, I have a problem here. We'll play tomorrow." He shut down the computer and ran back the the window. With great effort and danger to himself he pulled what he thought was an alien inside and put him on his bed. Jonathan was grateful for the fact his parents were spending the evening at some friends five floors down and wouldn't be back until one. He picked up the phone and quickly dialed Simon's number. "Hello, Simon? I have a question that might sound weird or crazy to you but I'm totally serious. What do you do if you found an unconscious alien on your window ledge?" "Are you serious?" "Yes." "Cool. I'm coming over." "Simon, this is serious." "Do you think you should solve this one on your own then?" He hung up the phone. There was a moan from the thing on the bed. Jonathan thought back to all the science-fiction movies and books he'd read. "Welcome to Earth." "Wuh.." the form moaned. "We are a generally peaceful planet and we mean you no harm. Do you understand?" "Yessss..." the form whispered. Lexington struggled with consciousness like one struggles with a bar of soap you've dropped in the bathtub. At one point he thought he heard someone asking him if he understood. With a great deal of effort, he replied in the affirmative. However the attempt drained him. The doorbell rang. Jonathan went and opened the door for Simon. "Did it say anything?" "I told it we were peaceful and it said yes." Simon walked into the bedroom and stopped abruptly, a look of shock on his face. "Oh all the things that had to drop in," he mumbled. "What?" "Nothing. You know, I don't think you should leave it on your bed. What if your parents see it?" "Shouldn't we report this to an adult. Call 911 or something." "This is something they never covered in health class. I think they should have lumped alien on your bed in between fire and family injury." "Do you ever stop joking?" "Sorry." Lexington struggled again to pull off what looked to him like layers of cloth covering his head and blurring his vision. This time he succeeded in pulling through enough to hear. "What are we going to do with it? What if it has some sort of disease?" "Who's there?" Lexington mumbled. "My name is Jonathan and that's Simon. What are you doing here?" "I crashed." "Who are you?" "I'll explain later. Hide me somewhere during the day. Don't tell anyone." These words spoken, Lexington finally let unconsciousness take him, unsure of what would happen when he woke up. Jonathan picked up the phone. "Can I speak to my mother? Oh, I'm fine, there's no problem here. I just wanted to ask you, Simon came over and I wanted to know if he could spend the night. Did his parents say yes?" Simon nodded at him. "Yes, they did. It's all right then. Okay I'll see you when you get home. Bye." Simon turned on the television. "Well, while we wait we might as well watch some mindless television. Ooh, Saturday Night Live, I love this show." Jonathan tried to remain calm. "There is an alien on my bed and you want to watch television." "Don't worry, I'm sure this will work out in the end. Things like this always do." "You're too optimistic." "No, I'm a pessimist, I'm speaking from a position of experience." Many hours later, Lexington opened his eyes and looked around. He still felt extremely weak, but he thought he felt well enough to find out where he was. "Hello?" Two children came into his field of view. Lexington never quite got human aging down and was unable to determine their precise age. "Hello." "Where am I?" "Earth." "Could you be a little more specific?" "New York City." "Try again." "You're in my apartment. I think you crashed into my window ledge." "Call Elisa Maza at..." he quickly mentioned her precinct. "Tell her I'm here." "Other people know about you?" "Yes." "I just thought that if aliens came here than someone might tell." "I'm not an alien." "Then where are you from?" "Scotland. My name is Lexington." "I may be wrong, but how many people in Scotland have wings?" "It's a long story and I am too weak to tell it now... How long until sunrise?" "5 minutes. You've been unconscious for several hours." "Hide me, please. I'll explain tomorrow night." "Why tomorrow?" "You'll see. Quickly, hide me or someone might find me." They complied with his request as it appeared he still had no control over most of his body. They carried him to the other side of the bed and gently pushed him under it. A few minutes later they were surprised when he turned to stone. "You know, it's things like this that really confuse me. Lexington, or whatever it's name is, turning to stone, calling police stations..." Simon picked up the phone. "I'll take care of this," he dialed directory assistance and located the number of a certain Manhattan precinct. He then handed the phone to Jonathan. "Your turn." "Why do I have to do everything?" "Because this is your house and you found it." Jonathan sighed and dialed the number. "Could I please speak to an Elisa Maza please?" There was a pause and then a response. "Transferring you..." After ringing another voice came on the line. "Hello?" "Is this Elisa Maza?" "Yes, who's this?" "My name is Jonathan Green. We were asked to call you by someone named Lexington." "Oh, him. Where is he?" "He is at my home. He sort of crashed into my window. Do you have any explanation you'd like to give me? It would help." "Not on this phone. He should wake up around 4:20 tonight. You can get an explanation then from him." "I've never had an alien or whatever in my house before. Ms. Maza, if that doesn't happen, be sure that I'm calling back. I'm just a seventh-grader, I don't know what to do. If my mother found out..." "I'd count on it. And personally, I wouldn't mention what you found." "I doubt anyone would believe me." "Oh, I may send someone to retrieve him this evening, what is your address and phone number?" He told her the address and the phone number, wondering if that was a good idea. "Goodbye." He hung up the phone. "How did I do?" "Not bad." "Let's go to bed. Maybe when I wake up this will be over." Several hours later, "Get up, Jonathan. You've slept most of the day." "Just five more minutes..." he mumbled. "Not five more minutes. Simon has been up for two hours. How am I suppose to work with him around? I'll be honest with you, he annoys the heck out of me." "I thought only I did that." "Newsflash: Jonathan Green is not unique in that sense. Get up." Simon came in. "So Jonathan, what do you want to do today?" "Go back to bed. But I'm going to go take a shower instead." ***** As the two boys watched, the stone splintered and cracked, and with a semi-loud roar Lexington awoke. Jonathan was extremely happy at that moment that he had left his stereo playing. With luck his parents would dismiss the extremely loud noise as part of the music. "Did you have to do that?" "Sorry, it's sort of a habit." "So, before we were interrupted by your...nap, you were about to explain to us what you are. Oh, we called your friend and she said you would explain." ***** "Hi, guys. I found Lexington, he's in an apartment near where you lost him, so don't worry about it. But there is some bad news." "What?" "We can't remove him from the apartment." "Why?" "They're filming a movie." "What?" "A movie started filming a block down. It is one thing to be spotted by a few unreliable people, but a film crew? Unless we can get him out by the door, he has to stay there for a few days." "Who is he with?" "He said he was in seventh grade which means he's either 11 or 12." Brooklyn decided to say something this moment, interrupting the dialogue between Goliath and Elisa. "I'm a little confused about human age and maturity. Can you trust someone that age?" "It's a little too old to think Lexington is a toy. I believe he referred to Lex as an alien." "Alien!" "What would you think if a strange looking being that looked like nothing you'd ever seen before hit your window? For all I know, gargoyles could have originated on another planet thousands of years ago." "That is not true." "It doesn't matter now. I'm going to have to call this kid again. What do I tell him? Hide a gargoyle in his room for the next week? What happens if his parents find out?" "Say he's a friend from out of town?" "How many humans have friends that have wings and are green other than me?" "None." "That idea is out." "Will humans accept genetic engineering?" "I didn't even know that level of tampering was possible until they did it to Derek. This is going nowhere. I'm going to call this kid." ***** "Could I please speak to Jonathan Green?" "And who should I say is calling?" "Ms. Maza," Elisa decided telling the parent she was a police officer would only cause more trouble. "Jonathan, pick up the phone, it's Ms. Maza." "Hello?" he said, ad waited for the click which would signify his mother hanging up. "Is this Jonathan Green?" "Yes." "I have more information regarding your detainee. He is not to leave that building under any circumstances. As you may or may not know, two blocks down they are filming for a movie. If he should get caught on tape clearly..." "I understand. Is there anything else?" "Could you put him on?" Jonathan locked the door again, a thing he was allowed to do as long as he answered when his family knocked. "It's for you." Lexington struggled with the phone. "Hello?" "Lex, it's Elisa. Are you okay?" "Yeah." "Do you trust the people you are with?" "I think so." "Can they keep you safe?" "Yes, I think so." "Are you willing to take the risk?" "This isn't like the Pack." "Okay, I trust you, I'm just not sure what Goliath is going to say. You know how he gets. He won't calm down until you're back. I'll see if I can get there, put your new friend back on." He handed the phone back. "Is there any way I could get into your family's apartment without arousing suspicion?" Simon was listening next to Jonathan at the earpiece. "I have an idea. Have her come to the door and say she spoke to our class and was impressed by us so much that she wanted to speak to us again." "What?" "It could work." "Hold," he opened the door. "Mother, I'm on the phone with a police officer and she wants to come over and speak to me. It's not about any crime." "What?" "Would you like to pick up?" "Hello?" "Hello, Mrs. Green?" "Yes?" "This is Detective Maza of the NYPD. I'd like to visit your home several nights this week and speak the your son, Jonathan." "For what purpose?" "I spoke at your son's school an he inquired on the subject of.....computers and crime detection." "Of course, it sounds just like something he'd ask. As long as Jonathan hasn't done anything wrong." "Mother, could you please get off the phone now." Click. "I think she bought it. Now if you don't believe us, you can find out. Goodbye." He hung up. "I don't know how we got into this." "Luck?" Lexington asked. "I doubt it. Just fate making our lives more difficult. What was that about the Pack?" "I sort of trusted them and they tried to use me and my clan for target practice." "Was that a few months ago when they were sent to jail for endangering the public? Then they escaped?" "Yeah." "And how exactly do you turn to stone?" Hesitant in the face of what was quickly sounding like a Lexington fan club, he began the story which had been told to people who met his clan so many times. "I guess that ruins my dream of working for Xanatos Enterprises or one of its subsidiaries. I like being human. Oh, there's always Microsoft," Simon said. "I don't think you'd be in danger. Just don't get too high up. If you ever meet Xanatos personally, quit. "So," Jonathan said, trying to break the ice,"do you like computers?" ***** "Baruch atoh adonoy, elohaynu melech haolom, ashed kidshonu bimitzvatov, vitzivanu, lahadliknayr, shel chanukah. Amen. Baruch atoh adonoy, elohaynu melech haolom, sheasa nisim lavosaynu biyamim hahain, bahsman hazah. Amen. Maoz tsur yeshuase..." Jonathan lit the candles in the living room with his family. Then he took his own personal menorah, and, following Jewish and his own family's tradition, brought it to his room and set it by the window so it could be seen. "What is that? I thought humans no longer used candles." "It's a religious thing. We're Jewish." "Jewish?" "Well, about five thousand, seven hundred, and sixty five..no six years ago, the universe was created. These two humans named Adam and Eve..." "I've heard this story before." "Skipping ahead, the Jews dwelled in Goshen in the land of Egypt. The leader of Egypt, the Pharoah, believed that they would rise against him, so he enslaved the population. God aided the Jews in leaving Egypt and in the desert he gave them the Torah, which was the basis for the christian book known as the bible. Skipping again ahead, Israel, the homeland of the Jews was conquered. The new leaders, the Greeks, wouldn't allow practice of the Jewish religion. After a long rebellion, led by the sons of Mattathius, the Kohain Gadol, or High Priest, they regained the Holy Temple. It had been trashed. After cleaning, they found only one bottle of oil to light the candelabra. Enough for one day. but it burned for eight. That is why we light this thing, the chanukiah or the menorah. In remembrance of the victory for religious freedom over overwhelming odds and the following miracle." "Great story." "I believe it actually happened. But that was just the abridged version. So, do you know what a computer is?" Lexington's eyes lit up in delight. "I guess that's a yes," Simon said. There was a knock at the door. "Jonathan, there's a man at the door with a package for you. You need to sign." Jonathan slipped out of his room and went to the front door. "Are you Jonathan Green?" "Yes." "I have a package here for Jonathan Green. If you would please sign here..." Jonathan signed the paper. "What is it?" "Opening another person's mail is a crime punishable by fine. But now, my work here... is done." Jonathan closed the door and took the small package to his room. as soon as the door was closed, he opened the package. There was a small note inside. "Dear Jonathan, I thought this might aid you in feeding your captive guest." He pulled out a bottle of pills from under the note. "Each contains the proper nutrients for a gargoyle. He should now be able to survive without you bringing him noticeable amounts of food from your kitchen. Ingest one after sunset and one before sunrise each night." "It's signed A Friend(though you won't think so)." "I think I've heard that somewhere before. I don't remember where." "The guy who delivered it said something odd. After I signed for it, he said, my work here is done. Weird thing to say, isn't it?"" "I seen him before. He delivered a package on Thanksgiving. Could it be a coincidence? The package was also signed A Friend." "Don't worry about it. There just pills. They can't kill you. Do you trust this friend?" "I've never met him. He just sent a package." "Well, he seems to anticipate everything. Now, I was asking you if you liked computers." "Yeah, I have a laptop." "I wish I had one of those. I feel so deprived when I go away. I think the computer is addictive." ***** "I don't know." "I was just thinking it isn't going to be the same with you gone. You're a great friend. The only barrier to that is your species, I think it might upset my mother." "Then don't tell her if you feel she can't handle it. And I will visit after I leave. Maybe you can meet my clan sometime." "Sounds interesting. Exactly what do you do all the time? You obviously don't have to go to school like I do, and you stay up all night and sleep all day." "Do nothing or protect the city." "Protect?" "Well, there are a lot of humans out there who need help. We help them." "Wouldn't that get you on the news?" "If you saw me in a dark alley, would you tell anyone?" "Good point. But this has been a fun few days, and if you ever need anything from me, you know my email address and your friend Detective Maza who was here last night has my phone number." "The film crew will finished today. You can leave as soon as you want." "I'll come back." "You'd better, or I'll have to find you. And I think finding a gargoyle in New York is hard." "Bye." Over the past few days, Jonathan and Lexington had become good friends. Simon, unusually, was absent during this period, and Jonathan assumed he didn't want to get involved. For the first time in the years that Jonathan had known him, he didn't answer his phone. "Maybe he's upset I'm spending time with somebody else," Jonathan thought. Simon had a hogging quality, and sometimes Jonathan thought that he didn't want to share Jonathan with anyone. As if Simon's friendship hinged on Jonathan having no other friends. Neither of the two were good at goodbyes, Lexington had the same two friends for his entire life and Jonathan was a loner with only one friend. Both had lost enough not to want to give this up, but both felt they didn't have to. After Lexington left, Jonathan stared at the chanukiah and its candles and sighed. The Maccabees conquered a powerful army and came to the Beis Hamikdash and it was vandalized. How so much like his life: One fight after another and when he finally one it turned out what he was fighting for was gone. He stared again at the candles, the nights of Chanukah this year were fun, but eventually the wax would dissolve and the candles would disappear. Then, after the eighth night, it would all be put away and forgotten for another year as if it didn't matter. Did anything matter? He started to think back to the previous year's Hebrew school and Chanukah songs. Oh, Chanukah Oh, Chanukah, oh Chanukah, Come light the menorah, We'll have a party, we'll all dance the horah. Gather round the table we'll give you a treat, Dreidals to play with, latkes to eat. And while we, are singing... The candles are burning bright! One for each night, they shed a sweet light, to remind us of days long ago. "Remembrance," he thought," another time of year when we get to think about past disappointments." ***** "Lexington, are you sure you want to do this?" "He helped me, I think we should all go over there and thank him." "Why all of us?" "I told him about you. We don't have enough humans we can trust, I think we can trust him and his friend." "You said the same thing about the Pack." "I don't think he's going to try and shoot us. And why would he harbor me for a week just to get at all of us?" "I trust you, Lexington." A little while later, "Jonathan, this is Goliath." Jonathan looked up...and up...and up. "I didn't think you would all be so tall." "We come in small, medium, or large." Goliath's voice rumbled in his thought. "We just wanted to thank you for protecting Lexington." "You're welcome," he replied, unsure of what else to say. Jonathan looked over at the Chanukah candles, and he no longer saw the despair, instead he was reminded of hope for the future. The temple would be cleaned out and repurified. Chanukah would come again, and winter vacation... The Chanukah candles shown out in the city, a beacon to all who saw it. I wonder if I was profound enough at the end. I'm working on putting more emotions in there. Even though this series is designed for short reading, I try to do that. I want to improve my writing. Then again, maybe I should stick to comedy and action adventure stories. If you have an opinion, write to afan@weirdness.com