by Alexie Aaron
“Me?”
“I thought that you were being influenced by the evil that touched you at Lucky’s, so I ignored the attacks and asked the others to give you time. You kept apologizing to me in the last few months. I was confused as I didn’t see anything to apologize for. Perhaps your bad thoughts? But it wasn’t your fault I was dropped to my death down the well. No matter how much hatred you can have for a person, it doesn’t cause anything more than giving you a sour face. I pushed down the digs, the sly looks and the intimidation. No more. Either accept that I am part of this group or move your ass down the road, because it isn’t going to be me to leave PEEPs. I owe them too much.”
Beth stood there stunned. Where was the breakdown? Where was the emotional tantrum? Had all her plans failed? No. Not all her plans. There was still her ace in the hole. “Your parents and I have been in communication. I have suggested to them that you need psychiatric help. I sent them brochures on asylums that deal with your form of hysteria. It’s only a matter of time, Mia.”
It was Mia’s turn to be shocked. It knocked her off her feet for mere moments before she started laughing. “Dear me. Did they ever write you back? I am sure that your letters only served to remind them that they have a daughter. They have no power to put me away. You would have done better to convince Ralph or Bernard, but they are too smart to be taken in by your games. How was it that I never saw you as you really are? I thought you were this wonderful accomplished woman that could do amazing things. You were at ease with people who were obviously smarter and better equipped mentally and emotionally to deal with the spirit world. Yet you kept up. Was all of this just a job to you? Didn’t you care about the Hoffmans? Didn’t you want to save the innocent?”
Beth moved uncomfortably around the room. Burt had her exit blocked off and having Ted and Mike standing just outside the hall didn’t help.
“When we met, you had a doctoral dissertation to finish. I, who never had been to more than a class or two, was impressed. Now I see that PEEPs was just a way to procrastinate. A reason for not finishing. It’s cowardly. Finish your paper. Move on to a world where mean girls succeed and flourish.” Mia turned her back to Beth and walked to the window and looked out at the darkness. “Betrayal and revenge cannot win,” she said softly. “There needs to be redemption. I forgive you for your betrayal and seek no revenge. It’s up to you to find a way to redeem yourself with the universe. Without it you’re no better than those DTDs out there. Stained with the need for vengeance, they have brought upon this land a darkness that will consume us all. Right now there are others seeking redemption. After all this time. Don’t let your story be written as a bitter woman seeking to harm others who were innocents and merely in her way. You’re better than this, I know it.”
“Fuck you,” Beth spat and pushed out of the room. She looked at Mike and Ted a moment before charging off down the hall. They heard her on the stairs. After a while they heard the den door slam shut.
Burt moved to walk to Mia but realized that wasn’t his place anymore. He stepped out of the room. “Hell of a day,” he said to Mike. “Let’s see if there are any beers left.”
Burt patted Ted on the shoulder. Mike pushed him into the room and shut the door.
Mia was still standing at the window. Ted walked over and looked over her shoulder at the activity below. An ambulance moved slowly up the drive. There was no need for speed. Life had left the man a long time ago. Ted fought for the right words but ended up silent. Mia turned around and pressed her face into his chest and started to cry. He held her and let her sob. He played the words she had spoken back in his head. It wasn’t the words about his and her attraction, it was her soft spoken words, “Betrayal and revenge cannot win. There needs to be redemption.”
“Mia, you are so wise for a fucked up freak,” Ted said and pulled her face away from his chest. “You don’t need college to be wiser than the most lauded guru.”
“Teddy Bear, you need to work on your compliments,” Mia said looking up at him. “You know our children are going to be butt ugly.”
“I can live with that. I do however worry that we will need to install a no OOB policy. I can’t have them flying all over creation.”
“Um, there’s Murphy to consider.”
“I know you two made out.”
“Who told you?”
“No one. Burt told Mike and Mike told his mother, and I just happened to be listening. I will have to talk to him about making the moves on my would-be wife.”
“Wife?” Mia asked softly. “I thought we’d just…”
Ted knelt down in front of her. “You can’t have all this,” indicating himself, “without a commitment. I have my standards. After, when the time is right, we’ll talk about this again. Right now, having your ex-lovers, Burt and Whitney, in or around the house is putting a major cock-block on things. Let’s carry on. We have a lot to do in so little time.”
“Aye aye Cap’n.” Mia saluted.
“How did it feel to have three knights in shining armor fighting to get in to defend your honor?” Ted asked reaching for her.
“I only saw two shiny knights and one dark knight,” Mia said and kissed him. “I liked the dark one the best.”
Ted said in a raspy voice, “I’m Batman,” and kissed her back.
Chapter Thirty-two
Angelo’s driver slowed as they approached the farm. The police presence negated them stopping. Angelo picked up his phone and dialed Burt.
“Keep on driving, my friend,” Burt said and hung up.
Angelo penetrated Burt’s mind and found out the whole story. He tapped the driver to stop just the other side of the electric substation. He reached out and looked for Mia.
“It’s about time you got around to me, you son of a raven. Go to County Line road and head north. At the first intersection turn west. Look for Murphy there. Tell him what happened here. Tell him I’ll be at April’s farm in the morning if I can get away.”
He tapped the window and gave his driver the directions. Mia shut down her access. Before she did, she pushed a lot of bad feelings regarding her emotional extraction his way.
He turned and looked out the window determined not to let her rejection bother him.
~
Murphy was wary of the black car as it slowed and the back window went down. He winced when he identified Angelo Michaels as the passenger. He tipped his hat.
“I have a message from Mia.”
“Go ahead,” Murphy said in perfect eighteenth-century English. There was a trace of his Irish parentage, but it only added weight to his words. “I am not sure I approve of the messenger pigeon, but I will listen.”
Angelo related the events that had transpired on the farm. He described the markings on the face of the dead man. “Have you seen these markings before?”
Murphy shook his head. “The Iroquois are up the ridge to the west. They are waiting for a sign before proceeding,” Murphy told him.
“What are their intentions?”
“Now here is the tricky part. I don’t understand Iroquois or Fox, but I do read body language. My best guess is that in order for the Iroquois to find redemption and join the Great Spirit, a reckoning has to happen. They have to travel this plane of existence until they have satisfied the spirits by either making amends or removing those who will not treat with them.”
“Are they aware that there are ATzxe working against them in their quest?”
“The hell you say? Explain ATzxe.”
Angelo did.
Murphy shrugged his shoulders. “They have problems of their own. The Fox warriors have been brought into this, for lack of better word, accord, kicking and screaming. I think that before we know it, they will turn on the Iroquois and re-slaughter the Illini, if that is possible? Can you kill something that is already dead?”
“You have more experience with that than I, farmer.”
“Well played, birdman.”
Angelo’s eyes widened.
&nb
sp; “If you can see me, then I can see you. That is how things work in these here parts. And you can’t read my mind, as it is dead tissue. This is why you need others to communicate with the dead. You cannot.”
“Mia asked me to tell you that she will try to be at April’s tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you for that.”
There was a horrific sound.
Angelo and Murphy turned in the direction of it. “The little man is taking longer to die,” Murphy said and disappeared.
Angelo shrugged off his clothes and took flight. His feathers moved over his nakedness until he became a large crow. He moved in the direction of the screams and lit upon a branch. Below him the ATzxe possessed chief was working on the man. He would not live long.
“I was just looking for your ship,” Macy cried.
The chief looked puzzled. They did not have a canoe. A shape-shifting woman moved silently behind the chief and grabbed three shadows and put them in her medicine bag. She resumed her position watching the chief torture the man. His blood ran down the hill. She remembered her blood running down the same hill. His sacrifice also stirred the others. The hatred ignited the timid, and they rose and roared. More ATzxe moved out of the shadows, and they became an army.
Angelo took flight. He needed to warn Mia and her friends. He needed to warn the Iroquois. This night there was blood on the moon. Maybe this was the omen the Iroquois had waited for.
He moved in the direction Murphy gave him of the camp. He found the tribesmen busy arming themselves.
Murphy whistled and Angelo flew to him. “The Fox scouts spotted the Illini and reported that they were coming to kill the peace party. The Iroquois are arming for war.”
“I do not know which direction the ATzxe will go first. There is too much darkness before the dawn breaks. I will warn Mia. You take care.”
Murphy touched his hat and watched as the crow flew away. He shook his head and thought, “Iroquois, Fox, Illini, and a talking crow. Death certainly has its amusements.” Murphy pulled out his soapstone and began to sharpen his axe.
~
Martha had pulled up to the house. She was escorted into the living room by a female deputy. Mia bounded down the stairs, and before she could speak to her, John Ryan walked in. “Give us a minute, Miss Cooper.”
She nodded, grabbed a coat and walked outside. She moved aimlessly between the vehicles until she found her truck. She didn’t have her keys so she climbed the back and walked up the bed to her toolbox and sat down. There was a light scent of wood smoke in the air. Her breath came out in smoky wisps, the temperature moving below freezing. The sky though was clear. She laid her head back against the window and looked at the stars. Someone in her childhood had tried to teach her the constellations, but all Mia could identify was the easy ones. Dippers and belts.
There was a distortion in the view for a moment. She heard wings flapping. An owl perhaps or a bat? She was answered as a large crow landed in the truck bed and waddled towards her.
“Do they have crows in Italy?” she asked shrewdly.
“No time. The ATzxe are frenzied and moving. You must take your people away from here. You are not safe.”
“Murphy?”
“He is fine, but the little man is dead. They will consume him and move. I don’t know which direction they will move, but it will be quick as water rushing in a stream.
“Surely the snow will impede them.”
“Snow is but water.”
“If I don’t make it through the night, I forgive you, Angelo. I forgive you for taking away my emotional connection with Whitney, Burt and Murphy. I know now why you did it. But you can’t protect me from life’s hurts. I knew that these men, although worthy in their own way, were not the one for me.”
For a brief moment Angelo morphed back into human form. He looked at her with his large brown eyes and said, “Thank you, your forgiveness is not taken lightly.” He then stood up folded his wings in and disappeared.
“Ahem,” Ted said to announce his presence. “Was that just a naked man standing there in the truck with you? Mia, Mia, we are going to have to learn boundaries.”
Ted’s joke broke the spell. “Ted, we have to move fast and convince everyone to leave the farm. The Illini are coming. They killed Macy, and I believe are dining on his organs as we speak. I fear they mean to do the same to us.” Mia got up and jumped down aided by Ted. He ran to the command truck and started it. Inside were a bevy of deterrents.
Mia ran to the house. She burst through the front door with such force that John Ryan drew his pistol.
“We have to get everyone out of here! The ATzxe are coming. What happened to Harbaugh is just a start.”
How do you know this?” John questioned her.
“Murphy warned Angelo Michaels. All I know is that we don’t have much time. We can’t fight these things. We need to leave until daylight. The majority of them are weakened by light. Ted has built some flash bombs, but I don’t know if we have enough to last until morning.”
“Hold on.” He pulled out his radio and authorized the evacuation of the farm of all Sheriff’s Department personnel. You PEEPS need to go back to the motel and be available to be interviewed at the station tomorrow,” Ryan ordered. “No excuses.”
“You heard the man,” Mia said to Beth who was standing in the doorway.
“What will they do to the farm?” Martha said as she put on her coat.
“I don’t think their problem is with this building. Just us. Take Beth along with you. She is very resourceful,” Mia said honestly.
Beth glared at her and headed outside with Martha. Mia stood back as Burt and Mike moved quickly down the hall with pieces of the command console. They went outside without their coats. Ted had the truck backed up to the porch, and they began loading the expensive equipment in.
Mia went in search of Cid who was busy tossing equipment in the black boxes to be sorted later. He worked tirelessly, intent on being part of the team. Mia walked into the dining room and found her backpack slung against the chair. She reached for it and spun around. Chenille had moved out of the drapery.
“How long do we have?” Mia asked.
“Not long, beware of the bridges.”
“Where are your babies?” Mia asked.
Chenille smiled, the curtains bunching up a moment, and Beanie and Bubba were produced. Mia opened her pack and the DTDs slithered in. “Where is Blast?”
“Blast will stay with me.” She opened her mouth wide, and Mia saw him nestled there. “He is my voice. I will need him.”
“Good luck,” Mia said and turned on her heel. She slung the pack on her shoulder and tried not to shudder as the DTDs moved snakelike in the backpack.
Mia ran through the deserted kitchen. She bumped into Whit who was coming through the door. He picked her up and held her a moment. “No tears, Mia. I heard everything. He dropped the ear com in her hand. Mike forgot that in his need to hear us we could hear him and what went on around him.”
“We have to leave, they are coming,” Mia said and brushed his hair out of his eyes.
“I’m right behind you. Tom and I are the last ones out. Go.”
Mia ran out the front door. She chose to leave her truck. One less vehicle on the road. Burt and Mike pulled the van out, and Cid motioned to Mia to hurry to the command truck. “Ted needs help inside.”
He lifted her into the back and slammed the door down. Ted had the command console up and running.
“What can I do?” Mia said as the truck lurched out of the holes where it had sunk into the lawn.
“Stow the boxes. They’ve just been tossed in. If we hit a bump…”
That was all she needed to know. She began placing the familiar black boxes in their place and tying them down. The truck lurched again as Cid gained the rise of the driveway. The back bounced, and Mia hit the side wall hard. She pushed away and continued with her job.
Ted was typing furiously and smiled as he tied into a sports sate
llite. He pulled up the mini cams they left. His sharp intake of breath told all Mia needed to know. They were coming.
The audio came up, and they were listening to John Ryan’s voice. “Turn west if you haven’t left the drive. There is a moving sheet of ice. Deputy Morris and Dean have spun off into the water of Beaver Creek.”
Ted relayed the information to Cid and Mike who were driving. “Beth, come in. Fuck, she doesn’t have her com on.”
Mia dialed her cell and tossed it to Ted as she swung up on the back shelf, pulling an equipment box behind her.
“She won’t answer. I’ll call on mine.”
“Bethy, did you make it past Beaver Creek? Good. Head for the motel or the Kowalski house. No we aren’t behind you. The road iced over. We will be taking the long route. Be safe.”
Mia sighed.
“Ted, there is a moving line of ice on the west end of the road. We’re turning around.”
“We’re being herded,” Mia said, swinging down off the shelf. “Tell them there is an electric substation on their right, our left. Open the gates and pull in.”
Ted looked at her a moment and said, “You’re a fucking genius.” He relayed the information to Cid, Mike and John Ryan.
“Once everyone is in, we need to electrify the fence,” Ted acknowledged. “Unless they can bring down a tower, then we should be safe.”