Psycho Candy

by Steven Hunter

  Then a thought occurred to her. “Where’s Brekin?”

  “He should have been here by now. I guess he’s running late-“

  Faith’s words were cut off by the booming voice of the giant Rastafarian. “Got here just in time by the looks of the thing. Here. This my gift to you. You been carrying that same blade since you got out. You got nothing to carry it in. Brekin got you this.” Brekin handed Candy a waist sheath, which she found after a moments inspection fit her knife perfectly. She was about to thank the Rasta when he reached outside into the hallway and produced a long thin object, covered in silk. Candy could only guess at what it was. And she was right. She took away the silk with care and beneath it was the most beautiful sword she had ever seen.

  “It comes with a cover to stop you being cut, you gotta draw it out of it, ya hear. Brekin don’t want any accidents, like you cutting that pretty ass of yours. I say dis because you wear it on your back. I also got you a back sheath to keep it in, that its cover. The silk is supposed to be its in door cover as de softness will not blunt the blade and keep dust from gathering although Brekin also think Candy will have that one covered by herself.”

  Brekin handed over a leather back sheath, which had criss-cross straps which went over both shoulders, leaving the sword easily accessible and also went well with her new clothing which would keep it hidden from view. Candy was overcome with happiness. She had been given presents from her friends. She actually had friends. Candy now felt a bond forge between herself and those around her in her heart. She knew now she would do anything to help them. She had never been so honoured in all her life

  Again, just as Candy was about to leave for the covenant, and the goodbyes and thank you all had been said, she was stopped at the door, this time by only Jan and Faith. Faith looked toward her mother who nodded, and she held up the white plated revolver.

  “This was my mothers. Where you’re going, we figured you’d need it more than us. Call it a temporary loan.”

  Candy nodded, and then turned quickly out the door without saying a word, the gun now clasped firmly in her hand. She thought if she had to say one more thank you then she would break down with gratitude. As it was she barely remembered to place the gun into the waist band of her new trousers, a loose, yet well fitting leather affair, compete with neon pink stripes up each side of each leg.

  With that she set out towards the Covenant.

  The hatch slid open and Jack looked out at who had come to think of as his one and only friend.

  “Come for what’s owed you? I hear you’ve been busy.”

  Candy handed over the severed finger of Manic the nurse which Jack accepted without complaint.

  “What about the other kills? The ones in the institution? I can’t get anything out of there.”

  “I’ll get someone for you to speak to.”

  A minute later Horus arrived. Candy found herself whistling ‘Walk like an Egyptian’

  “Hello again,” came the sing song voice of the first prophet.

  Candy found herself wanting to ask questions of a different nature. This guy was in history after all.

  "When do I get my souls?"

  “We watched. So, if so many confirm what they saw then that is the case and your soul in its parts will be given to you.”

  "Was your father black?"

  Horus laughed. “Was yours?”

  "I’m serious. What about your mother. She sounds beautiful."

  “She is. Oh dear. Bad news. Only two can remember any kills but if you should take a walk today and win, well then we could do nought but believe you.”

  "So basically they gave birth to a sneaky fucker eh?"

  However Candy was not worried, merely curious.

  "What would be the stakes?"

  “Well, apart from your life and your soul, I’ve got about 4 million souls of my own riding on you to win.”

  "Wow. I guess I should be grateful," Candy said, making it clear that gratitude was not her present feeling.

  Candy began to walk with purpose. The cave exterior shaped a terrible oncoming space, the massive square ring with no sides, a bottomless pit and also her opponent. A massive man was sizing up Candy as she entered the ring. She looked up and saw within the sea of smiling faces Horus and also more surprisingly, Jan.

  Jan pretended not to notice.

  The fat man charged; the game of walking was on. Candy easily sidestepped him, bringing her elbow into his face. He began to leak blood. However he laughed this off and some of the crowd laughed too. This bothered Candy. The man suddenly began to build up speed. Faster and faster his legs went, then his arms like pistons and he suddenly charged Candy, who ran, first left then right. The man did not relent until Candy kicked him in the face. It suddenly occurred to her that she was bored of the fight. She was swept of her feet by a lunge and suddenly a depression the size and weight of a continent was upon her. She deftly pulled out her trusty knife and stuck it into the fat man’s face and neck in quick stabbing motions. As the man went down she removed the studded leather belt Marcus had purchased for her and slug it around the Fat man's bleeding neck, and jumped, folding her legs together at waist height and letting gravity do the rest. The man caved instantly. She held on, chocking him until he bled from the eyes and ears. Finally she laughed. It had been easy.

  She suddenly became aware of a thousand screaming voices as if her hearing had been on mute and now accidentally she had hit nine on the control. She looked around for Jan, yet she was nowhere to be seen. Horus though appeared on the stone surface.

  “Well. I believe that makes a total of six kills.”

  It occurred to Candy then that she had blown up an entire building and the total number of kills was definitely higher than six. “Seems like you're still cheating me out of a few... don't you think?”

  “Technically; yes. However, I cannot be held responsible for the memory of others. Politics, you see?”

  “But my soul. I should own it now!”

  “That's politicians for you. What with percentage and inflation, I guess you could say you've been taxed.”

  “Fine, Hawk face. Just gimme what I'm owed, or rather, the percentage or whatever; I ain't got time to fuck around.”

  “As you wish.”

  Candy braced herself, as the pleasure began to gather in intensity whilst the six parts of her soul returned to their place of origin. Then it was complete. She felt a surge of renewed energy flow through her and gasped in delight at the sensation.

  With the owing parts of her soul returned, Horus motioned Candy to follow him.

  “It seems there is a Dizorian here who claims to know you. Can you fathom how this would be?”

  "I’m a popular girl in Shub’s home town."

  “Quite. Well she just made a small fortune betting on you and wants you to join her for a drink.”

  Then he was gone, leaving Candy to mingle with the winners and losers of the day’s event. A few said their hellos, and then she saw Jan, waving a pile of money and indicating a booth, and she increased her pace towards her friend with an eye on a blue monstrosity which had neither eyes nor nose who was slowly licking the outside of its cheek with a massive tongue and making its own way towards Jan.

  "What are you doing here?" hissed Candy.

  "I followed you. They have these live in Dizor you know. It’s the main sport. I figured this would be a fucked up place. They were going to refuse entry, but I remembered you could sometimes gain unconditional access to this place when you were in possession of a something related to a murder.”

  "It’s too dangerous for you here. What if someone found out?"

  "Found out what? It’s what we could find out I’m interested in. You know Shub. Get me an invite."

  "With the goat? Are you kidding? That thing is a killer."

  "So are we. I’m also higher up the food chain."

  For an instant Candy looked at Jan with a look of sheer incomprehension. "Are you..."

  "Kidding
? Yes. But it was her government that killed Faith, my Faith, and Faith Junior's mother. I want to make a link between her mind and mine to try and read what she knows of my lover's death. She took my lover's life, stole Faith's mother and the bond we all shared! I loved her for fucks sake!"

  Bitter tears of resentment spilled down her cheeks, and she sobbed taking in gulping breaths of air at intermittent intervals. Then she was quiet, and moments later she turned her tear stained eyes towards Candy who nodded softly. "Okay Jan. Okay."

  Slowly they walked together through the massive stone lair, passing freakish nightmares that spoke and drank. Out of the crowd a particular shape caught her eye. Candy was totally unsure what to make of it. It possessed the sexual anatomy of a man, that was made clear by its lack of clothing, yet it also had large breasts. However it was its head Candy found most peculiar, which closely resembled a sheep's, if its face had been shaven.

  The sheep headed monster was openly fucking a young girl. On closer inspection the girl was dead. Candy stopped walking and turned to the malformed creature, tapping it on its shoulder. "You know that girl?"

  The creature smiled then uttered something unintelligible to Candy.

  Candy paused for a second trying to think of a universal gesture which would sum up her feelings. Moments later she faced the creature directly and spat in its face.With a flash of speed the creature grabbed a near-by glass and smashed it against the side of Candy's head, sending her sprawling. She fell and a crowd of on-lookers gathered to watch. The sheep faced man approached Candy who was being helped to her feet by Jan. His smile disappeared as he saw Candy withdraw the white plated revolver from her waistband.

  She pointed to the glass. "Eat it."

  "Do you know who that is?" asked an onlooker with reverent tones.

  Candy could not see their face. "I'm guessing a necrophiliac paedophile with intimacy issues."

  The sheep faced creature roared, showing sharp incisors. Candy noticed again how muscled his arms were. She had found out the hard way when he had smashed the glass into her face how strong he was and did not want to repeat the lesson. She aimed for his forehead and pulled the trigger.

  There was the sound of a click.

  Nothing more. She sighed as the sheep man charged. Within seconds her sword was drawn from her back and she moved her whole body in a circle, the sword with it which connected with the top of the sheep-like head, removing the covering of the skull and revealing more brain matter than Candy wanted to see at that moment. She began to move on when she saw Jan remove her needle and plunge it into the blood seething mass of grey cells. The chemicals she pulled out were a different colour from the others Candy remembered seeing.

  She looked at Jan quizzically.

  Jan smiled. "Research."

  The crowd began to disperse, a few mutterings here and there, yet a pathway had been cleared and at its end sat Shub Niggurath atop a massive throne made of straw. A small baby suckled at her teat and she picked it up and took a long bite from its neck. It immediately went limp. She discarded her young and clapped her clawed hands together. “Bravo, bravo. A well fought battle. To what do I owe this pleasure, Candy?”

  "Shub Niggurath, meet someone I just met. Her name is Jan."

  Candy went so far as to bow although only as a ploy to hide the fear which lay open and apparent upon her face.

  "Well I meet the ruler of my world at last," Jan began as Shub’s eyes narrowed.

  “Candy. Please leave us.”

  "I must escort the lady to her hotel."

  The female voice of the goat was deep. “I find myself in a very strange situation. There stands before me a citizen of my land. Yet there are no passports for people from Dizor. Travel from that dimension is not allowed. I have created a perfect world, a world of JAN, as this one is named after. What she seeks here I wonder, when all in her own world should fit her desire? How did you get here woman? Answer me!”

  Jan spoke up, trying desperately to inject a modicum of confidence into her tone. "It was the territory. They have found a way for my kind to travel," spoke the Dizorian, her voice sounding forced.

  “Yet travel of pure blood is not permitted. We keep our well evolved species to ourselves. My little one, did you think to consult the government which looks after you before deciding on this silly crusade? Yet you sought out myself, made yourself known to me immediately. For that you are to be praised. But this travelling of our kind. It can only lead to no good. Do you not agree? All travellers now residing on Dizor are being wiped out as we speak. So what can we do with you, I ask myself? What do you think, young Miss?”

  Jan opened her mouth to speak and found she could not. Candy felt bile rise from her stomach as the front of Jan’s throat suddenly disappeared. Jan gave one gasp then collapsed into a pool of blood which thickened around her face and hair.

  "What did you do?" said Candy, managing to swallow the vomit that had arisen moments before.

  “I granted her painful slumber”

  "Why?"

  “I did not like her hair. Why do you think? She was disloyal to her world. As such she was disloyal to me and had to be dealt with. Why should you care?”

  "She won betting on me. She paid me to bodyguard her. I-"

  “Should what? Kill me for the gold she put in your hand? Never in this life.”

  Candy could not believe what she was saying. However she mumbled, "You did not let me finish. I would be loyal to you. I wish to fight Reckwick. I wish to be your second."

  Shub smiled then. The sight made Candy's stomach tighten as nervous fear arose in her.

  “You wish to take his place? You feel envy?”

  Can she read me? Candy thought. She was the Goddess of a telepathic world. Yet Candy realized that hardly made her its creator. This goat was nothing more than

  a dictator from a horror movie, yet was her own world with its holocausts and genocides all that less frightening or just more familiar. She decided it was the former due to the latter.

  She fought to bring her reasoning away from the fear she felt and under her wilful control. If Shub could read her she would be dead. She was obviously not the forgiving type. Yet here in this place, in this arena, she realized she had never heard her thought-voice, the perceptive part of her mind speak out and she wondered why in this time of survival it made itself scarce. She tried again to reign in the terror the sight of the animal deity made her feel, tried to isolate each separate emotion and rationalize them into a process that would explain each one.

  Then she remembered something Jan had said. She had been high at the time but it was there, close to the tip of her tongue. How emotion created conditioning, enforced its own brand of unbreakable memory; how her only chance was to fight this seemingly natural condition, this part of herself which would shut gates on her only pathways to freedom.

  Candy looked around. To her left a well to do man, apparently human, obviously wealthy. To her right was a muscle bound being, handsome if unapparent in its origin, its bleach blonde skin radiating a healthy hue. She was not sure which was the better choice in what she sought.

  She tried to send out her thought voice, yet again was overcome with feelings so intense they only brought confusion to her sense of understanding. She reached out again with exactly the same result. She noticed that all eyes were on her, a question had been put to her; yet she meant to answer it. She stood completely still and closed her eyes, turning her attention to the scattered feelings inside.

  Unless these aren't your feelings?

  Something clicked into place then. Some of these beings spoke English. Jan had, yet then Candy had never really heard her interior voice, merely read her feelings. Perhaps then just because they spoke English, did not mean they thought in it. It was suddenly clear and she felt a new and powerful order appear within her realm of reasoning. Her voice, her empathic gift, was translating as best it could. There had to be literally thousands of alien beings here, some so inhuman in their stature she won
dered how she had not realized before they would have other differences. Of course just because they looked like something from the sketch pad of a schizophrenic did not mean they were stupid. She simply could not read their minds as she did not speak their language. This of course explained the confusion and inability to identify what she felt. Without another moment’s hesitation she willed herself to discard all that she did not recognize.

  She had the sensation of a weight sliding out of her, and quickly turned her attention again to the person she thought she would most relate to. The well dressed human. And she heard with glee her voice frantically speaking to her as if it had been trying to make itself heard all this time (he's a Necromancer, very powerful magic, kill) and realized that in part her thought-voice must have supplied her with the idea. This was basically to kill the nearest person and offer him as a sacrifice.

  The Necromancer looked on with interest as Candy made the short way across the room to him, an unsure look on his face as to why the grinning psychopath with the large sword may be approaching him. As Candy drew back the sword to swing he thought he had his answer. He raised both hands and began murmuring what Candy understood to be an incantation of sorts which was probably very dangerous to her.

  She brought the sword down upon his wrists at equal measurements, severing the hands that now found themselves on the floor. Blood spurted, yet Candy was astonished to see that the Necromancer had not even given his hands a second thought and was still racing through the words of his spell. She drew back on her sword to pierce his heart and end the matter once and for all when the hands leaped from the ground and wrapped themselves around her throat.