Day One

A Dresden Files short story

By Jim Butcher

Published in 2016

Day One is short story that occurs right after Blood Rites in the overall timeline and features Chicago PD’s ME Waldo Butters. Butters has been training with Michael and Molly Carpenter for the past few months in preparation to become a Knight of the Cross. He has been doing physical training, hand to hand combat training, and training on how to use the Sword.

As Butters and Michael are training to get in shape while running on the neighborhood streets of Chicago, they come across a homeless man. Butters sees a big yellow exclamation point over the man’s head and it looks like something from a MMORPG. In every game he’s played that usually means he has to go over to that NPC and interact with that NPC to get information vital for his quest. Michael can’t see the big yellow exclamation point and tells Butters that everyone hears the voice of the Almighty differently. He will hear a still small voice telling him what to do. It appear that Butters’ method is through video game icons.

Butter’s goes up to the man and he is unresponsive and so they call an ambulance. Before the ambulance arrives, the man awakens and Butters’ tells him that an ambulance is coming and will take him to the hospital to get checked out. The man doesn’t want to go to the hospital and freaks out on Butters’ and he has to hold the man down until the EMT’s arrive. They get the man, whose name is Stan, loaded up into the ambulance and take off for the hospital.

Afterwards Michael and Butters discuss what happened and why they think God wanted them to intervene with the man. Butters feels that there is more to come and that he should go to the hospital and follow up with Stan at the hospital.

Butters goes to the hospital and finds out that Stan has been put with a group of children on the pediatric floor and that they are all comatose. Butters finds this extremely odd and goes to find Stan to investigate. He eventually finds him and is reviewing his chart when he hears heavy footsteps and feels an evil presence approaching. He looks towards the sound which is in the hallway on the other side of the wall, but he is able to see a red square on the wall following the person who is coming similar to what you see in video games when an enemy is approaching. Butters goes and hides in the bathroom to observe from a hiding spot.

A woman enters the room and her name tag reads, Dr. Miyamune. While in the room the Dr. transforms into a monster-like humanoid and Butters sees that she is feeding off Stan and the others’ fear and she is draining them of their life force. Butters makes a small noise and is discovered. He enters the room and draws Fidelacchius and tells her to leave them alone. The good Dr. declines and they duel, Butters uses his sword, but she fast enough to dodge it and able to kick and punch Butters but they are at an impasse. She makes a deal with Butters that if he gives her his glasses (leaving him unable to see) she will spare their lives as long as Butters lives. Butters gives her his glasses and then she leaves the room to get rid of all of the other nurses and staff and have them leave the floor.

While she is gone, Butters calls Dresden and tells him what he is facing. Harry tells him that she sounds like a Baka Baku and that it has laid a fear curse on Butters. Dresden tells Butters to stand up to it and overcome his fear. Butters realizes he needs to have faith and that he can do it. Butters realizes that he can defeat it by listening to polka, cause you know Butters is into that polka music. He gets his headphones out and blasts Weird Al’s NOW That’s What I Call Polka at full volume. Butters has reasoned out that by using a fear spell the Baka Baku magic will cause a distortion in his headphones and he will know where to strike.

The Baka Baku enters the room and Butters challenges it and right before it strikes, Butters hears the distortion and strikes with his Sword in that direction mortally wounding the Baka Baku. As it is dying it asks him “Who are you?”, to which Butters replies “Ehyeh ašer ehyeh”. Butters then deals the killing blow.

Afterwards, Michael comes to pick up Butters and they talk about how the mission went. Butters didn’t like that he had to kill and Michael agrees, but states that sometimes it is necessary.

I enjoyed this short story and give it a 5 out of 5. We get to read about a side character and his training and lessons he is learning as he becomes something better than what he was, a Knight of the Cross. The character development is great and we get some one on one time with Butters and his nerdy personality. We get a cameo by Harry Dresden who gives wise words to Butters to help him overcome his fear and slay the demon.

Next up is Dead Beat!

*This story is found in the short story collection Unfettered II.