He wanted to finish it cleanly in his office, but that was always a tall order. This was a school after all, there were always people around. He’d thought today would be an easier day, since he’d given his secretaries half the day off. He wouldn’t have that luxury again anytime soon. The phones were already ringing off the hook.
The mannerable man decided to cut his losses for the day. Maybe he could just hire some sort of real assassin to finish his job. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t acquainted with any. He could use a crafte to possibly control someone into doing it, but that was a tall order too. Not only was that a tough crafte to keep control of with any sort of precision, but there was also a chance that it might fail in the boy’s presence as his other craftes seemed to be doing. He couldn’t explain why.
He decided it was time to go home and regroup. He walked to his Taurus and started it up. He drove down the street and smiled at his huge turn of luck. He saw the foolish boy’s car, and out the corner of his eye saw that Joseph was eagerly awaiting something. The mannerable man knew he was waiting for his Taurus to pass. He was filled with scholastic pride, and he definitely didn’t want to disappoint an eager student.
************
The phone rang into the mannerable man’s ear.
Patrias: “Come on … pick up … pick up!”
It shouldn’t have taken this long for him to pick up, thought the mannerable man. Patrias’ annoyance started to build, and behind that came his anger, that blinding anger which could effortlessly power the right destructive craftes or render more subtle craftes completely powerless. He knew he had to keep his anger in check, but it had become steadily more impossible with each passing day of stress.
On the last possible ring, a rough voice lazily traveled through the phone’s speaker to Patrias’ ear.
Blonsky: “I thought I told you not to call me unless you had something important to say.”
Patrias barely kept his cool. He was losing himself to the anger he felt.
Patrias: “It is important! The boy is following me and I need a place to take care of him. Your place, to be precise.”
The rough-talking man on the other line scoffed.
Blonsky: “Mine? You got some set on you, my friend. What makes you think I’ll let you take care of your dirty business in my place?”
Patrias: “What!? You selfish little… I—I brought you the experiment and got rid of the troublemaker. You owe me!”
Blonsky: “Nobody wanted you getting rid of that firecracker. We needed her in order to lure the detective.”
Patrias: “We’ll get rid of him too! No need to keep these fools around! They’re messing everything up.”
Blonsky laughed as lazily as he talked.
Blonsky: “Relax, relax. I just like to hear you squirm, Billy-boy. You see, I have no problem helping you out. Bring him on by; the more the merrier I always say. He can even meet his little friend.”
Patrias laughed out loud. It was mostly to relieve his tension.
Patrias: “You know, at the end of it all, you’re not so bad.”
Blonsky: “Well, I like makin’ friends. As a matter of fact, I’m hoping that a certain superhero stops by tonight to try to save the little boy hero again so we can all make nice.”
Patrias: “You’re smarter than you look. Be there shortly.”
Click.
Chapter 35
The Fun Zone
Patrias’ green Taurus had finally come to a stop. Joe tried to stifle another yawn, but this one was too strong. Joe’s mouth was agape for the yawns near ten second duration. It couldn’t be helped, since Patrias had taken Joe on a tour of the city, from school to his house and around the city. Liandra and Borland were still chasing leads elsewhere. Joe didn’t want to tell everyone about his lead until he was absolutely sure his principal was responsible for Melissa’s kidnapping. He didn’t want them all to lose out on precious time looking for Melissa if his hunch turned out to be wrong.
The sky had darkened to dusk. Patrias had gotten out of his car and disappeared into the doors of the Fun Zone, a once popular birthday spot for little kids. It looked to be closed for repairs, which Joe thought was more than a coincidence. He followed behind Patrias as slyly as he possibly could, and made sure to be quick about it.
He opened the doors and cringed as it creaked and whined. He looked around and saw no one, not even Patrias. He was, however, surrounded by childhood revelry. There were ghostly arcade machines all around him, creepy giant animatronic puppets on the stage to his left, and a playscape filled with colorful tubes that was so large it spanned from the front of the building to its rear. It had a ball pit big enough to fit at least four classrooms worth of kids. It was surreal and creepy to see a place normally teeming with life so still. The only lights that were on were those of the prize counter, and those casted an eerie glow over most of the Fun Zone.
Joe moved at a crawl, not entirely sure of what he should look for. He inched along to the left towards the prize counter. He ducked low to avoid the lights. He glanced up at the prizes hanging over his head, which ranged from racing cars, to action figures, to video games, to plastic jewelry, to board games, stuffed animals. He spied a huge wooden model of a British Soldier in a spiffy red jacket from the game Revolutionary Heroes. He picked it up and found it heavier than he thought it would be, which made it perfect for self-defense. He clutched it tight and continued on quietly and carefully. He heard something faintly in the distance. He ignored it until he heard it again. As he approached the stage the sound became louder and it occurred to Joe that it sounded like a little girl’s voice. He could hear it clearly now. It was calling for help.
Joe climbed onto the stage with the animatronic band that was led by a bucktooth, wide-eyed squirrel. He ducked low beneath the animal band and sent a group text to Dahlila, Borland, and Liandra detailing his current location and what he’d discovered. He got up and peeked behind the curtains. She was close, he could feel it.
He pushed through the curtains and snuck down the dim hallway towards the sounds he was hearing. At the end of the hallway, he found Melissa. She smiled when she saw him. That relieved him, but he knew that he had to move fast before Patrias came and found him.
He put down the wooden toy and reached down to untie the ropes connecting the girl to the chair. He was flabbergasted to see his hands pass right through the ropes and Melissa. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he or she was the intangible one. He heard a loud click and suddenly Melissa was gone. There was no trace of her where she had sat. Only the chair remained.
Joe: “What the…”
Loud flippant laughter came from a corner to the left, breaking up his current thoughts. Joe turned towards the noise and saw Patrias approaching him casually.
Patrias: “Joseph, Joseph, Joseph … I do feel bad for you and these situations you find yourself in.”
The man laughed again, apparently overjoyed at the situation. Joe looked around for an opening to run. His mind was still occupied on thoughts of Melissa, however.
Joe: “Where’s Melissa?”
Patrias: “Ah, so you want your friend back? Here, I’ll give her back to you.”
He lifted his left hand and pointed a stick—no a wand, at the chair. Melissa was suddenly sitting back in the chair in front of Joe and again bound by ropes. Joe tried to reach out to her again but once more she was gone in a flash. Tears welled in his eyes.
Joe: “What did you do to her?”
Joe didn’t recognize his own voice. It was deeper and lower than he had ever heard it.
Patrias laughed loudly and maliciously. His eyes were filled with condemnation and ridicule.
Patrias: “You always were a little slow on the uptake, but frankly this is pathetic. You won’t be seeing your friend anytime soon. You won’t be seeing anyone, as a matter of fact.”
With teeth gritted and eyes filled with tears, Joe charged at Patrias feeling a wrath that he had never felt before. With all the force t
hat he could muster he launched his fist at a horrified Patrias’ face. Patrias was knocked back and fell to the floor, cursing.
Patrias: “You! Stay back! Stay away from me!”
He pointed his wand at Joe’s chest but nothing happened. He yelled a curse and snapped his fingers.
Patrias: “Why isn’t anything working?”
Joe turned and ran down the hall. He ran for the stage as fast as he could. When he went for the door, he was surprised to find it guarded by two men in black suits. They stood still as statues and faced straight forward. They didn’t seem to notice Joe at all. He whispered to himself.
Joe: “Where the heck did they come from?”
He kept low, avoiding the door and quickly looked for some place to hide, eventually settling near the labyrinthine tubes of the playscape. Patrias wasn’t too far behind him. He emerged from the stage curtains, rubbing his cheek and jaw. He looked to be in no particular hurry to find Joe as he strolled around the arcade.
Patrias: “You’ve certainly made a muck of things, Joseph, but I’ve figured it out. I know how to stop you now. I guess you knocked some sense into me back there. I could kill myself over how simple the solution is, but I’d rather kill you.”
Joe watched as the man playfully sauntered to the prize counter. Joe’s watch ended when he somehow tripped over a small plastic ball, not entirely sure of where it had come from. His stomach lurched as he thought of all the noise he made crashing into the ball pit.
He clawed his way through the pit, but didn’t seem to be making any progress. For a long time he felt like he was swimming, until suddenly it felt like he was drowning. He struggled and panicked, to no avail. When nothing worked, he screamed and fell deeper into the pit until he felt his back against the cold floor. He thought he would die, until suddenly the pressure on top of him lifted. He wasted no time in pulling his way through and standing up. The balls came to just above his knee, but when he had been under it had felt like he was in the deep end of the pool.
He was surprised when he didn’t see Patrias around. He was even more surprised when he saw Dahlila crouched down near the ball pit.
Joe: “D—”
She put her hand over his mouth and shushed him. She led him to the other side of the tubes. She looked at him for a second and halted him.
Dahlila: “Where’s your necklace?”
Joe touched around his neck and his chest. Normally, he hid it under his shirt. When he felt nothing he shrugged.
Joe: “I probably lost it in the ball pit.”
She tapped his forehead.
Dahlila: “The worst place for it. I’ll have to go in there and get it. I hate to ask, but I need you to distract Patrias so I can look for the thing uninterrupted. Don’t do anything stupid. Just throw something and hide. Make sure he doesn’t see you.”
Joe: “Don’t worry. His magic can’t hurt me.”
Dahlila: “I wouldn’t count on that. Now just do it like I told you.”
Joe: “Forget the necklace. I think Melissa’s here.”
Dahlila: “Don’t worry we’ll get her. Now get moving, he’s probably looking for me by now. I need to be quick about this.”
Joe didn’t know why she was so adamant about that stupid owl necklace, but he followed her orders anyway. She walked back to the pit and carefully tossed him one of the balls. Joe went to his knees and crawled against a low wall. He peeked around to see if he could spot Patrias.
Patrias was thrashing about, tossing over tables and knocking things from other tables. Joe crawled over to another corner behind a pillar, where he was sure Patrias wouldn’t see him. It was a good choice. Patrias was soon at the wall where Joe had stood before. Joe ducked down lower so he wouldn’t be seen.
Joe realized, too late, that Patrias was walking towards the play area. He was there before Joe could react. He heard a loud rumbling, and soon after saw a shadow flying through the air. He couldn’t see where the shadow had went, but he heard it crash against something in the distance. He then heard Patrias laughing playfully like he was playing some kind of game.
Patrias: “Unfortunately for you, you don’t have any protection against me. That looked like it might have killed you.”
The shadow, it must have been Dahlila, Joe thought.
Patrias: “I can’t say that you didn’t deserve it. You should’ve just stayed quiet and kept yourself out of this. Now it’s over for you.”
Quick as he could, Joe rushed and dived at Patrias, tackling him into the ball pit. Patrias didn’t see it coming and had trouble in the struggle to free himself. Joe held him down for as long as he could, until Patrias caught him in the face with an elbow and pushed him away. Joe was dazed and could only see darkness and odd geometric shapes in his field of vision. After a while he could feel only himself moving in the ball pit. After that, he couldn’t move any part of his body. The rainbow-colored plastic balls had tightened around him, almost crushing him. He could barely hear Patrias saying something.
Patrias: “Finally! It’s been too long. Goodbye, Joseph.”
Joe felt motion all around him like he was on a roller coaster. His body wasn’t what was moving though, it was the balls. He felt them speeding up around him until suddenly—
Chapter 36
The Truth Hurts
Joe was out cold and sprawled across the floor. Dahlilia winced from the impact after seeing him crash into the wall. He fell to the floor in a heap with the tiny plastic balls falling atop and around him like rainbow rain. He hadn’t moved since, but thankfully Patrias hadn’t messed with his body.
Dahlila focused on a single goal now. She had to get to that ball pit. Patrias walked towards the back of the area, on the lookout for her ever since she’d knocked him down earlier. She rubbed the pain out of her back and crept through the shadows. She slinked around along the ground back towards the pit. She was as quick as a cat and just as agile on her two feet. She lost sight of Patrias as she crept low near to the pit.
Patrias: “You are not nearly as slick as you think, young lady, and now you’re just in my way.”
He pointed his wand at her, and after hearing a faint clicking noise she felt an invisible force slam into her chest and rocket her backwards into the now empty pit. She gasped for air as she quickly got to her feet. She didn’t have time to coddle her injuries. She needed to move fast and capitalize on the fact that the fool had put her just where she wanted to be.
She pounced and grabbed the silver chain with the large owl medallion. After that, she couldn’t contain her smile.
Patrias: “You’re tough, girl, but not even you will survive this time.”
He pointed his wand dead center of her chest, but nothing happened. She walked towards him coiling the chain around her fist, smiling the whole way.
Patrias: “Why!? Why!? Why!? First him, now you. My craftes are failing me. Tell me. WHY CAN’T I KILL YOU!?”
He pointed his wand at a nearby chair, making it levitate before rocketing it towards her. She was too fast for it. She sidestepped the chair, then ran straight at Patrias. He chucked another chair and followed that with a table for good measure. She sidestepped, bounded forwards, and crashed her fist right into his face, leaving an owl shaped bruise across his left cheek. He landed on top of a table, which flipped over and sent him tumbling to the ground.
She picked up his wand and snapped it in half. It surprised her that the wand broke so easily and with no pop. Then again, she thought, this guy was nothing but a two bit magician.
Dahlila: “A puny wand for a puny man.”
She looked down at him as he snoozed on the ground. Only novice crafters still used wands. To put it in perspective, all of the crafters she knew stopped using wands as early as two to six months into their training. This Patrias was really pathetic. She pressed the owl medallion to her lips and kissed it.
Dahlila: “To answer your question: the truth hurts.”
Chapter 37
The Right Kind of Hatred
Dahlila: “I should tie up Houdini here before I move on.”
The two men standing near the front door looked confused for a moment, as if they had just realized where in the world they were. They stared at her, Joe, and Patrias until they decided that they had better places to be. They hurried out the front doors leaving her, Joe, and Patrias to themselves. She produced two pairs of handcuffs and cuffed Patrias’ wrists and ankles.
Dahlila: “Stay put.”
She crouched down low when she saw a group of men in black suits coming from the back doors of the establishment. They followed their compatriots from earlier out the front door. Most of them walked past Joe and Patrias without even blinking. The woman had a sudden realization that she whispered to herself.
Dahlila: “That jerk was controlling them this whole time.”
She had managed to break his spell. She wasn’t sure if she had done it when she’d broken his wand or when she broke him. She thought back to the way the governor’s security had just stood idly by as he was getting shot at, as if frozen in place. It must’ve been him. The whole time, him. She walked over to Joe and put the protection pendant back around his neck. She needed to keep her promise to him.
She left Joe and Patrias behind in order to look for Melissa. With the guards gone, there was no need to sneak around. She walked past the play area and through the thick wooden double doors. Through the doors was a small kitchen filled with large pots, pans, other cookware. There were three large pizza ovens near the center. Further on, she spied a set of stairs which led upwards. She carefully navigated the stairs, not quite sure who was still here. Halfway up a man in a black suit jumped out at her, but she was ready. She disarmed him, smashed his face with the side of her palm and sent him rolling down the stairs. Behind her, another man in black tried to jump out and grab her, but she hooked his leg and sent him scrambling down the stairs, then ran after him and touched his neck, applying a low-powered sleep crafte that would leave him snoozing for several hours. She continued up the stairs and found herself in a large room that overlooked the front of the Fun Zone.
Average Joe and the Extraordinaires Page 20