by Rue Volley
“Listen baby… we need to get you in really cold water… you are burning up… Can you hear me?” he said to me.
I laughed out loud and muttered something about wanting him to bite me.
Kai leaned over and looked at Josh. “I swear to god if you…”
Josh interrupted him.
“I didn’t do anything… back the hell up!” he yelled at him. Theodore stepped up.
“I fear that this is my doing,” he said.
Josh looked at him. “What?”
“I gave her chromium… she isn’t getting enough food, Josh.”
“Oh god damn it Theodore… We don’t know what that will do to her… she isn’t twenty-one yet!”
I tried to stay focused on the voices but blackness was creeping in all around and then…
***
Josh looked down and Rue started to convulse. Her eyes rolled in her head.
He flashed down and pushed her into the ice and cold water. Still she convulsed, throwing water everywhere.
“Get my blade!” Josh yelled out.
Kai flashed out to the living room and picked up Josh’s blade. He flashed back to the bathroom and handed it to Josh. He gripped it as Josh tried to pull it from his hand. Rue thrashed in the tub violently and started to turn blue then white.
“I will save her, let go!” he screamed at Kai.
Kai let him have it and he cut his hand and tried to get her to feed. She continued to jerk around as he held his hand to her mouth. Josh turned to Theodore and screamed at him.
“Theodore?” he yelled with desperation in his voice.
Theodore stepped up to him.
“Stab yourself Josh,” he said.
Josh looked at him and at the blade. Rue’s head flew back and hit the porcelain on the tub. Blood ran down from the back of her head from the violent hit. Josh looked at Sam and stood up. He took his blade and stabbed himself in the side. He hissed and pulled it out as quickly as he could. Theodore took the blade and stabbed Rue in the chest. She cried out, sat straight up in the tub looking at her chest with a blade sticking out of it and held her hands up.
***
“What the fudgesicle!?” I screamed out.
Theodore leaned down to me and grabbed the handle of the blade. His hand started to glow and he pressed it against the part of the blade buried in my chest. I “eww’d”, which probably was the last good response to a blade sticking out of your chest. He pulled it out and placed his fingers over the hole. It closed up and he stood up and grinned at me. I sat there shaking in the tub, looking at everyone in the room.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked them.
Everyone started to laugh and Josh lifted me out of the tub. Sam wrapped me in a towel and Josh carried me to the couch.
“That was intense!” Kai said as he followed us in.
I sat there as Josh rubbed the towel on me and I looked up at Theodore. He leaned down and touched my face. I felt like a train wreck… I’m sure that I looked like one too. Josh touched my face and smiled. He winced and grabbed his side. I looked down and saw a lot of blood coming from a hole there. He leaned back and Theodore placed his cover the gash with his hand. A flash strobed the room and Josh sighed.
“Thanks,” he muttered to Theodore, as he placed the backside of his hand on his forehead.
“Could anyone tell me anything?” I said. Josh looked over at me.
“Oh you know… same old, same old,” he said as he grinned.
Theodore leaned down to me.
“I fear that I am the culprit here my love. I gave you chromium, and your body rejected it.”
I looked at him.
“The swirly vitamin?” I asked him. He nodded.
“Sometimes my guesses fail. Unfortunately that was the case in this particular situation.”
I sighed and leaned back next to Josh.
“That’s awesome,” I muttered. “I almost died on a vitamin… that’s a first.”
He touched my wet hair. “Yea… it rocked,” he said to me, as I stared at the ceiling.
***
Sara placed a piece of long licorice in her mouth and pulled it out slowly. The boy in the car with her watched her. He bit his lip and grinned.
“So,” he said to her.
“So,” she said as she turned to him and licked the end of the licorice.
“I swear to god Sara… you look so awesome,” he said to her.
“I know,” she said as she looked in her mirror.
“I never noticed you in school really but now… god, look at you.”
Sara opened her door up and stepped out the car, looked over at the carnival lights and back to the boy. He stepped out of the car and walked up to her.
“So… do you wanna make out?” he asked her. Sara laughed.
“You don’t deserve me,” she said to him as she started to walk.
She pulled off her top and let it drop to the ground. The boy looked at it and then at her bare back as she walked away from him.
“Wait,” he yelled to her.
He followed her into the field and she kept moving away from him.
“Are you teasing me?” he yelled at her. She laughed.
“You could call it that, I guess,” she said over her shoulder.
He stumbled as he followed her. She stopped and Lily walked up to her and smiled. Sara looked at her and she kissed Sara on the mouth. Sara turned around to the boy, who was in shock at the sight of two hot girls kissing.
“Oh… okay, yea… two is fine,” he said.
Lily grinned at him and lunged forward with her filed teeth showing. She knocked him to the ground and he cried out, as she bit him on the neck. Lily slashed at him until he stopped kicking. She rose up and looked at Sara. Sara laughed and picked up her shirt and pulled it over her head. Lily tore off his arm and bit into it as Sara walked towards the carnival lights.
Sara walked past the ticket booth, with a new boy manning the helm, and walked towards the last tent on the right. She pulled the side open and stepped in. Caine sat there petting a young girl who lay on the floor. Sara looked at her and then at him.
“Did you have fun?” he asked her.
Sara grinned and dropped the class ring on the ground near him. He stood up and stared at it.
“Did you see Rue?” he asked her. She sat down on the bed and rolled on her side.
“I did,” she said. Caine walked up behind her and touched her leg.
Sara rolled over and stared up at him on her back.
“She said that I looked different,” Sara said as she lay there, raising her hands over her head.
Caine looked down at her and smiled.
“So, she didn’t feel anything strange with you?” he asked her.
“Other than jealousy...? No,” Sara said as she rubbed her stomach. Caine smiled.
“Go play with Jonah,” he said to her. She sat up and looked at him.
The girl on the floor groaned a little.
“Oh,” Sara said as she stood up and stepped over her.
She stopped at the tent opening and looked back at him.
“I don’t like to share,” she said to him. Caine grinned at her.
“I don’t either,” he said as he looked down at the girl on the floor.
Sara opened the slit and walked out. She looked up at the sky and then towards the stage.
She smiled and started to run towards it.
Caine walked to his chest and opened it. He pulled a black leather book out with an embossed silver tree on the front. The girl started to crawl towards the tents exit and he opened the book up and started to read it as he walked to her. He pulled out his blade and stabbed it through her shoulder, pinning her to the ground. She cried out and he whispered, “Sleep”. Her head dropped and he stood back up and walked to the bed. He sat down and flipped the pages. It was only readable to him for so many pages. He slammed it shut and dropped it on the bed.
“I am not very patient,” he muttered to himself.
He picked the book back up and traced the tree on the front of it. Jonah stepped into his tent and stared at the girl pinned to the ground. He looked up at Caine.
“What is it Jonah?” he asked him
“We have two rogues… that have been destroyed,” He said as he tipped his hat.
“Skip the formality Jonah… it’s getting old to me,” Caine said as he looked at the blood pooling under the girl.
“Seems I’ve wasted a meal… pity,” Caine said. He looked at Jonah.
“Did you retrieve the bodies?” he asked him.
“Not both my Lord… we seem to have a barrier, stopping us from retrieving the other,” Jonah said as his stomach growled. He kept glancing at the girl on the ground. Caine looked at him.
“Eat it,” he said as he waved a hand at Jonah.
Jonah lunged forward and bit into the girl. He came up with blood on his face.
He looked at Caine and grinned.
“To each his own,” Caine said as Jonah leaned back down and continued to eat.
“When you have finished... take me to the other one,” Caine said as he sat back down.
Jonah sat up and his eyes swirled with color.
Caine leaned forward and looked at what was left of the girl.
“You are a beast,” he said to Jonah.
Jonah smiled and pushed himself up. He held his stomach for a moment.
“Sorry… she was near death, tends to upset my stomach,” he said.
Caine stood up and shook his head as he looked at the mess.
“You will have someone get this mess cleaned up before we return.”
Jonah bowed to him and picked up his top hat. He sighed and looked down at her.
“I shouldn’t have done that.” He pressed on his stomach and waited for Caine to step out.
He followed him as Lily walked up to them and grinned. She had blood all over her dress.
“Look at you,” Caine said as he held his hand out to her.
Lily glanced at Jonah and walked to Caine. Caine licked her face and looked at Jonah.
“Your sister is very special,” he said. Jonah started to tip his hat and stopped.
Lily smiled at him and held her hand out to him. He took it and kissed it.
“Did you enjoy yourself love?” he asked her. She nodded and put her hand around his waist.
They followed Caine until they reached the side of the tent.
***
You know what really sucks? Well… almost dying… over and freakin over. I rested my head on the back of the couch and stared at the multiple slashes in the ceiling. I noticed Josh flipping his blade in his hand and I didn’t even look at him when I said, “No.” He sighed and laid his blade across his lap. Theodore walked in from the kitchen at a crazy speed. He knelt down in front of me and handed a glass to me. Josh took it from him and sniffed it.
“What is it?” he asked him. Theodore tilted his head and grinned.
“It will work this time… I just know it,” he said to Josh. Josh drank it down and looked at him.
“Joshua Barrington,” Theodore said as he stood up and loomed over him.
Josh set the glass down on the table and grinned up at him.
“Well… if it’s gonna kill someone, let it be me,” he said as he glanced at me. I sat up and placed my head on my knees. Josh rubbed my back and I took a breath.
“Well… that is just fantastic,” Theodore said as he headed back to kitchen and started to reinvent another concoction for me to test out.
I sat up and looked at the front door. Josh leaned up and stared at it too.
“What are you thinking?” he asked me. I laughed and looked at him.
Josh… the great memory sucker, is giving me the opportunity to just talk instead of my head being groped. He leaned back and sighed.
“I am thinking that I need to eat,” I said to him.
“Okay… what do you want?” he asked me.
I looked at his hand and then snuggled in my blanket.
“Oh,” he said. He pulled his blade and went to cut himself. I reached over and stopped him.
“Don’t do that,” I said to him.
“Why Rue...? I’ve fed you before,” he said as I laid my head back again and stared at the ceiling.
“I don’t know what I want,” I said to him.
Josh stared at me, I could feel it. I hoped he understood that I was hell bent on avoiding the blood… I really was. I just waned to eat food. I didn’t want to be dependent on feeding from anyone. Theodore ran back in and held the glass to his chest. He looked at Josh and glared at him, like he was protecting a treasure. I sat up and held out my hand. Theodore handed it to me and I looked at Josh.
“You feelin' okay?” I asked him.
He stood up and started to stumble around the living room holding his head. He stopped and laughed. I rolled my eyes at him. I put the glass to my mouth and stared up at Theodore. He winked at me and I tilted it back and gulped it down. It tasted like cupcakes with chocolate icing. I smiled as I took the glass from my mouth. I closed my eyes and felt a nice warm feeling in my stomach. I opened my eyes up and Theodore and Josh were in my face. I backed up from them.
“I am fine,” I said as I gripped the glass.
They rose up slowly and Theodore crossed his arms on his chest. He looked at Josh.
“Well, we may have a winner,” he said.
I leaned back and watched as color started to swirl in the air over me. I reached up to it and broke a line of it with my finger. Josh sat down next to me and looked at me.
“What are you doing?” he asked me. I looked at him and grinned.
“There are colors floating in the room.”
Josh looked at Theodore and raised his hand.
“What’s the deal?” he asked him.
“I do not know,” he muttered.
I raised my hands in front of me and little blue sparks were coming from my fingertips, it looked like static. I rubbed my fingers together and listened as it crackled. I looked at Josh and grinned. I reached over and touched his ear. It snapped with a little tiny flash and he shot up rubbing it.
“Nice!” he yelled at me. I laughed, so did Theodore.
“Oh crap Josh… sorry,” I said, as I still giggled.
Josh looked at Theodore and pointed at him.
“Maybe you should recalculate your concoction for her.”
Theodore looked at me. “Oh, I don’t know Josh, she seems to like her new found power.”
Josh turned and I was standing right behind him wiggling my fingers at him.
“No!” he said as he backed away from me. I stepped forward.
“Come on,” I said to him.
I shuffled my feet on the floor and watched as the blue sparks got brighter on my fingers.
He jumped behind the chair and I laughed at him
“You are scared of a little shock?” I said to him. He looked at me and shook his head. “Theodore… fix it,” he said as he stared at me. Theodore called from the kitchen.
“Momentarily,” he called out.
I rubbed my hands together and the sparks got bigger. I watched as the small sparks went to about three inches. I looked at him and grinned like a kitty. He walked slowly, with his hands out in front of him. I stood there watching him.
“I cannot believe that you are acting like a chicken,” I said. I lunged at him and knocked him down. I sat on top of him and touched his nose. It flashed with a loud pop.
“Ahhh God, Rue… stop it,” he yelled at me. Sam walked in and looked down at us.
“Shock the hell out of him,” she said as she walked to the kitchen.
“Thank you, Sam!” Josh yelled at her.
“Yes… thank you, Sam,” I yelled to her.
I reached down and shocked his neck. He cringed and started to kick his legs.
He knocked me off of him and shot up rubbing his neck.
“Theodore?” he yelled towards the kitchen.
&
nbsp; “Oh, I am almost there, Joshua,” Theo called back to us.
Sam walked back in and smiled at me.
“We used to play the shock game when we were little. Josh hated it, so we shocked him the most,” she said as Josh ran behind her and grabbed her arms. I looked at him.
“You did not just use your sister as a shield?” I asked him.
He nodded as Sam struggled to get away from him. She flashed around behind him and knocked him towards me. I grabbed his sides and shocked him silly. He stood there and yelled a few choice words and then it went into Latin. I stopped and backed away from him then smiled and sat down. Theodore ran into the living room and handed a glass to me. I winked at him as he rubbed his sides. I drank it down and watched the blue sparks start to sink back into my skin. I smiled at Theodore.
“Keep the other recipe handy,” I said as I sat the glass down on the table and started to laugh. Josh walked up to me and flicked my ear. I grabbed it and frowned at him.
“Not nice,” I said as I rubbed it.
He grinned and sat down next to me. He looked at me and shook his head.
“Not cool,” he muttered. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I thought so,” I said. He leaned back and flicked his blade into the ceiling and I didn’t say anything this time. I guess he can do his thing, since I just tortured him.
Johnathan stepped into the house and looked at all of us. Josh wrapped the blanket back around me. Johnathan glanced at me looking all wet and haggard. He flashed to me and went to one knee. He reached towards my face and touched it. He looked at Josh.
“What happened?” he asked him. Josh sighed.
“Oh you know, the usual… she tried to die… again,” he said as he flipped his blade in his hand.
“What?” Johnathan said, as he shot a look at me.
I grinned. I didn’t know what other reaction was appropriate.
Johnathan stood up and Theodore came in with another glass of magic for me to drink.
He looked at him.
“What happened?” he asked him.
“Well… no worries, we just had to stab her in the heart... kind of give it a little jump start,” he said as he leaned down and handed me the glass.
I looked up at Johnathan and sipped on the glass.