by Alexie Aaron
“I almost lost you again,” Ted said. “We could just leave. I have enough saved that we could find a place away from PEEPs. Murphy could teach us to farm…”
Mia started laughing. “I can’t row a boat properly. Can you imagine me operating a tractor?”
“No, you would be home with our six kids, baking and…”
“Hold on, I’m starting to see what you’re talking about. I’d like more children, but not until we get to know each other better, Teddy Bear.”
“What I’m trying to say is, if this gets to be too much, we have options. We aren’t trapped in this job. We do it because we want to save the innocents and explore a world so close, yet foreign to us. Our friends are human, and if Mike says one more thing about your boobs, I swear…”
“Don’t worry, it really doesn’t bother me. He does it to rile you up.”
“Why does everyone want to poke the bear, Mia?”
“Cuz it’s fun. Okay, I’m coming out. Be prepared because I’m fully loaded, and I’m going to get me a piece of that fucking tree.”
“Mia,” Ted warned. “It’s a mother fucking tree.”
Mia laughed. “Talk to you soon. Private chat over,” Mia said and tapped her earcom.
Chapter Twenty-nine
“I’d like to finish the walkthrough,” Burt said, tapping his earcom. “Ted, how’s Mia?”
“She’s wounded and mad. Bruce Lee mad, Burt, so watch yourself.”
“What does he mean ‘Bruce Lee mad?’” Audrey asked. “I don’t understand the reference.”
“May I?” Cid asked.
“Be my guest,” Burt said.
“Audrey, when Bruce Lee would battle his foes, he was usually outnumbered, and he could hold his own. But it wasn’t until he tasted his own blood did he become awesome.”
“I met him once,” Orion said. “Nice chap, carried a lot of baggage though.”
Burt, Mike and Cid stared at him open-mouthed.
“Just because I do research, it doesn’t mean I don’t get around,” Orion stated.
“You are a very interesting person, Orion,” Audrey said. “It’s a pleasure to work with you.”
“Thank you. Ah, here comes Mia. I suggest you two get your A game on because Mia’s not going to be satisfied with anything less.”
The group looked at the woman walking down the hall. Ted leaned out the back of the command truck and watched his wife proudly.
Mia was fully armed and looked like the warrior she was. Murphy smiled, seeing that she had regained her confidence.
“My god, how am I going to work with that without getting hard,” Mike groaned. “You better film me from the neck up.”
“She wears the sword and shield of the archangel Sariel,” Orion said. “Cid, you better make sure Stephen is fully charged because Mia’s going hunting.”
Audrey saw a pretty woman wearing armor. She thought Mia resembled Laura Croft, except she wasn’t as tall. It was her eyes that were different. Audrey noted that the gold was prominent. Mia may be wearing weapons, but her mind was already armed.
“Stop staring. We have a walkthrough to finish before I take that tree down. Sorry, Audrey, there is no way that tree is going to live another day.”
Audrey didn’t argue. She’d seen the film and saw what it did to Mia.
“The tree took the children and the skateboarder. What she did to them was horrific. We aren’t going to find any remains to bury because they are all contained inside that tree. We can’t even cross them, they are too ingrained in the tree. Find out who designed this hellhole. Because that’s who’s responsible for their deaths.”
“What about the prisoners?” Audrey asked. “Why plant the tree over their graves?”
“That is a question only you or Orion can answer,” Mia said. She turned to Burt. “I believe we have a haunted toy store to investigate.”
“Yes.”
“You’re not coming along until you suit up. Iron vests, gentlemen.”
While Mia waited, Orion walked over. Mia pulled her glove down and showed him her wrist. “This yours?”
He looked surprised. “I don’t think so. Perhaps. How unusual,” he said. “Tap it.”
Mia did, and the feather multiplied into two. “This isn’t good.”
Orion tapped it with his finger, and it became one again. “I’m sorry, Mia, I may have transferred a little of me into thee.”
Mia nodded. “After, let’s work on getting it out. Judy had a full set on my back, and I was spitting feathers. I am a human. I wish to stay one.”
Orion nodded.
Ted, who was listening, chimed in, “I’ll take you feathers and all, Mighty Mouse.”
Mia smiled. “Have the boys found their vests yet?”
“Once I pointed out that I filed them under A for armor, they had no trouble finding them. Be safe, Mia, that outfit is giving me ideas…”
Mia laughed. “I don’t think that’s what Ralph had in mind.”
“Mia, what does Ralph want most in life after a perfect wedding to Bernard?”
“Grandchildren.”
“He knew what he was doing. He’s created my dream woman. Half videogame warrior, half ice queen. Unfortunately, we work with three other nerdy males. I’m going to have to fight them if they touch you.”
“They wouldn’t dare.”
“What does Murphy think?”
“He’s worried that I’m going to take his head off with the sword.”
“The guys are heading back. Good luck, pumpkin.”
Mia smiled and flipped open her cheat sheet. “Audrey, where is this toy store?”
Audrey pointed it out. Fortunately, Mia didn’t have to go through the center court to get there.
Before she left, she spoke privately to Orion. “I’m worried that, while Murph and I are away, the tree is going to attack here. Call Angelo.”
“Are you sure?”
“Tell him that all is forgiven, and I’ll owe him a big favor.”
“Mia, you’re doing the right thing,” he said. “I couldn’t be prouder.”
“So when were you going to tell me?”
“That your Grandmother Fredericka and I were lovers? Never.”
“I figured it out when I was in your head. I saw a poor scribe give a beautiful woman a set of mismatched pearls. It’s where the birdman gene came from.”
“I wasn’t sure your father was my son. Your grandmother had many lovers. It was her way, Mia. Don’t think less of her. The gene didn’t attach to Charles. A shame really as he had so much potential. I think he inherited the academic part of me while you got the diminutive stature.”
“We may be small, Grandpa, but we are mighty,” Mia said.
“Grandpa, I like that,” he said. “You may want to break it to Ted gently.”
“I think he likes you.”
“Mia, you’re a quarter birdman, which makes Brian an eighth birdman.”
“Yikes, his nightmare that he would have the same problems that Darrin Stephens did in Bewitched may actually come true.”
“Care to explain?”
Mia quickly explained the premise of the sitcom.
“Oh, I see now. He’s afraid he will have to chase his child as he is flying around the living room.”
“I think it’s fair, considering I have to deal with two geniuses that talk all the time.”
Orion took his hand and caressed the tattoo. He looked at Mia sadly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when I saw you the first time. I sensed you weren’t ready.”
“You were right. It took Roumain spilling the beans for me to understand that there is so much I don’t know about my heritage.”
“Mia, I think the demon comes from my side too,” he confessed. “My grandmother was a wild mountain woman.”
“Ah, how do you handle it?” she asked.
“Carefully.”
~
“And so our heroes head for a toy store. Why? Because it’s there,” Mike quipped.
Burt walked alongside Mia. She was silent. He tried a few times to initiate some conversation, but she shushed him, telling him that she was listening. He knew she just was mad at him and didn’t want him to know it. He wasn’t perfect. She wasn’t either. He would not have been able to handle the changes Mia had gone through as well as Ted did, but Mia’s marriage was still very fragile. He hoped that the two would be able to be strong enough to save it. He would do his best to smooth the waters if he could.
“I had Orion call Angelo,” Mia said.
“That must have been hard for you, Mia,” he said.
“You have no idea. But Orion is not a warrior, and Ted, Audrey, and Cid, although capable, are helpless if that tree comes for them. I couldn’t convince Murphy to stay with them.”
“No, Murphy needs to be with you. You’re a team.”
“That we are. We have each other’s backs.”
“And hearts. Murphy had yours twice.”
“What a showoff,” Mia said and laughed. “One day, Burt, when you get tired of hunting ghosties, I’ll tell you everything. Until then, stay out of my business,” she warned.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“God in heaven, what is that stench?” Mike said, pulling his shirt collar over his nose.
“It’s bat shit,” Mia said. “I haven’t smelled that since I was a child. The parents took me along on a cave dig. That stuff is caustic. The bats must be using the toy store.”
“Why this store and not the big retail giant on the end? It has two lower levels,” Mike pointed out.
“There must be a break in the foundation. Probably a cave below us. Remember, gentlemen, when bats leave their cave, they will always turn left.”
“Mia, the creepy Jack Hanna, ladies and gentlemen,” Mike announced.
“Turn it off, Dupree. I haven’t started rolling film yet,” Burt said.
“Speaking of, I wonder how our numbers were after the broadcast.”
“Jake is keeping tabs. It’s going to make an excellent promo for the new season,” Burt said. “Sorry to spring it on you folks, but, Mike, you would have gone out and got Botox, and Mia you would have gone home.”
“He knows us so well,” Mia said.
CRACK!
Mia stopped. She put her hand up and pointed. “What the hell are those?”
Mike looked up and shuddered. “Wasp nests. We got them every year on the porch at the farm. Normally, you wouldn’t see so many together. They’re territorial.”
“This must be a large colony,” Burt said, filming the ceiling.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Murphy,” Mike said.
“Anyone allergic?” Mia asked.
“No one in our group, but if that many come at you, you really aren’t going to survive it, are you?” Burt said. “Let’s get this investigation in the can as fast as we can.”
“I don’t have good hopes for this place,” Mia said. “I’m going to suggest that they blow it up and start again.”
“How many places have you wanted to blow up?” Mike asked as they started walking again.
“Quite a few. You?” Mia answered.
“I’m not a fan. I’d like to save the houses and old buildings if I can,” Mike admitted. “It’s part of our heritage.”
“Tell me, how historical is this place?” Mia asked.
“Not very. The tree was something to see until it attacked you,” Mike observed.
“That tree digested those kids in a horrible way.”
“How did the boys end up with ropes around their necks?” Burt asked.
“There could have been a human working with the tree at that time, but that’s just a guess. The prisoner talked about this Maxie Three Thumbs. Maybe he has something to do with it?” Mia guessed.
“I think Audrey was hoping you could touch the tree and find out,” Burt mentioned.
“That’s not going to happen. It touched me and… that’s no longer an option,” Mia said.
“Yee gads, is that the place?” Mike asked, staring at the dark storefront. “No wonder the security guys won’t go in there.”
Burt looked and saw the multitude of creepy dolls and clowns displayed next to the seventies-era robots and trembled. “Mia, how long would it take to get a wood chipper here?” He had visions of those hollow-eyed toys attacking him.
“Twenty minutes,” she said. “I know a guy.”
“Sorry, folks, but the contract PEEPs signed negates willful destruction,” Mike warned.
“Damn,” Burt said. “Okay, Mia, I’m going to ask you or Murphy to go first. I’ll film Mike in the middle, and I’d like one of you watching behind me.”
Mia walked over to Murphy. “I’d flip you for it, but I think I better go first. You have more control over your axe. I may decapitate Burt in the excitement.”
Burt flipped the collar of the vest up, just in case. “Ted, we’re going in,” Burt reported.
“Please have Mike and Mia activate their GoPros,” he requested.
Mia touched the tiny camera Cid had pinned to her shoulder. “Camera one on,” she said.
“Camera Two on,” Mike said. “Get ready for the opening.”
“Reading both cameras, ready for opening, over,” Ted said.
“We are here at the Tuddle Toy Emporium. This shop has not been in use for forty years. Why all the toys were left in situ is a mystery. A foul stench is emanating from the store. I have it on good authority, it’s the smell of bat guano. The open ceiling of the center court may have been the entry point for the bats. Why they are making the toy store a home is yet to be discovered.”
Burt gave Mike a thumbs up. Mia walked through the open doorway.
“I’m getting an abnormal EMF reading,” Mia reported.
“The place is lined with china-faced dolls. A few clowns, like you may have seen in the Poltergeist franchise.” Mike picked up C3PO doll. “There are a couple of collectables here. Again, the previous owner leaving without his toys is hard to believe. We are seeing high-end merchandise here. The floors are thick with dust and bat droppings. It smells like a gas station toilet in here.”
Mia raised her hand for them to stop. She withdrew her sword and moved towards a dark, tall figure. She stopped and moved her camera up and down. “Is this what I think it is?”
“Yes, pumpkin, that’s a life-sized Darth Vader,” Ted confirmed. “Be careful.”
Mia put a gloved hand out and gently pushed the toy backwards. It came back at her fast. She was knocked into Mike. She responded by kicking forward which caused the toy come back harder.
“Whoa! Mia, it’s a punching bag of some sort,” Mike said, moving past her and pulling the costume off the clown punching bag.
Mia laughed. “Okay, one stupid move for me. Next.”
They moved it out of their way and proceeded to the back of the store.
Mia stopped. She felt a tingle on the back of her neck. She turned and flashed her light on the shelves of dolls. All of them were looking her way. “We have activity in the store, over.”
Burt zoomed in. “Ted, which way were the doll’s eyes facing when we passed them, over?”
Ted ran the feed backwards and answered, “They were looking towards the front of the store, over.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Burt said. “Mia, let’s continue.”
“You’re the boss,” she said, rehousing her sword.
“For those of you unfamiliar with my fellow investigator,” Mike started an aside. “This is Mia Martin. She not only is a superior investigator and sensitive, but she recently won the Bodacious Beach Body award. Some of you may know her as the ice queen. Mia is also staring in the Dark World video game by Burt Hicks.”
“Thanks for the plug,” Burt said.
Mia just shook her head and concentrated on training a light behind the counter. “Stop. There’s no floor here. It’s a pit.”
“How deep is it?” Burt asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not findin
g anything to reflect off of.”
Mike picked out a large marble from the jar on the counter, and before Mia could stop him, he dropped it down.
“You’re going to wake the bats!” she said. They heard the glass orb bouncing down what seemed to be a rock-lined pit.
The marble was still bouncing when Mia heard the sound of wings. “Guys, we have to get out of here now,” she said, moving down the other aisle towards the front.
Burt spun around and ran straight for the door. Mike followed Mia.
Burt remembered to turn right upon exiting, and he had the camera trained on the correct spot as hundreds of bats exited the building and headed out into the mall. “Heads up, bats are on the loose.”
After the bats left, Burt entered the toy store, calling, “Mia, Mike, Murphy, are you alright?”
CRACK!
“That’s one,” Burt said. He turned on the camera’s light and searched the building. He found Mike and Mia inside a pit of stuffed animals, cowering under Mia’s shield. He knocked on the shield, and Mia stood up. She shook out her hair, worried more about spiders than bat guano, and started to braid it.
“I swear, I didn’t think about the bats,” Mike said. “Okay, second stupid move courtesy of Mike Dupree.”
“Murphy, could you look down in the pit and see if there is anything we should be concerned about in there?” Mia asked nicely.
Murphy nodded and moved over to and then sunk into the pit. Mia watched him at the edge. She looked at the carved out areas below and took off her camera, attached it to the end of a jump rope and lowered it. “Ted, this looks familiar to me. Does anyone have a theory?”
“Escape tunnel,” Ted chimed in.
“Yes, that’s it. I think that there was an old escape tunnel. It collapsed at one point, taking the floor here with it.”
“Why would anyone want to escape from a toy store?” Mike asked as he checked out his looks in a fun house mirror.
“There used to be a prison here before the mall was built,” Mia informed Mike. “Maybe it was never discovered, and that’s why this happened.”
Murphy rose.