New Title 4

by Derek Goodman

  Do we even know what we want to be looking for? Caleb asked.

  Gloria shrugged. Anything out of the ordinary, I guess.

  Around here, Caleb said, the only thing that s out of the ordinary is the ordinary itself.

  You re absolutely right, Gloria said. And you know what s ordinary for a park at night? For it to be empty. Like this one is now.

  Not necessarily, Phil said. A park at night is always good for shady deals or whatever.

  Anywhere else in the city? Maybe, Gloria said. But there s plenty of places on the Hill for shady deals. No need to go to the park. However, there should be things roaming around here right now. The other day I saw a family of ghouls here playing fetch with their zombie dog using a severed arm as the stick. It should be just as busy here as it is in any other part of the neighborhood. So why is it completely quiet?

  What do you want to bet Lucas has Fluffy and Tuffy or some other minions wandering around making sure no one unwelcome gets in? Phil said.

  Sounds like a sound bet to me, Caleb said. Do either of you wonder just how the hell Lucas seems to be managing this in the first place? I mean, I know he was probably playing the fool for our benefit but he still didn t seem like the sort of guy to do all this.

  He thinks he can make a lot of money by selling all those artifacts, I guess? Gloria said. But even as she said that she realized there was a flaw in that logic. This wasn t just diamonds or car stereos he had stolen and was trying to pawn off now. These were items that were capable of destroying the world, and he was apparently willing to put them into the hands of anyone with a little bit of money. That would be an incredibly stupid thing to do, and so far tonight he hadn t shown himself to be as stupid as he had looked the night before. Lucas had done enough research that he had known exactly where Caleb had kept all his trophies, enough even to know what kind of things Caleb had and how to use them. He d thought ahead to create a decoy to give Caleb and Gloria a wild goose chase through the entire neighborhood, and he apparently had the connections to get cyborgs working for him. None of that added up to someone just trying to make a little extra spending cash.

  If there s maybe people going around patrolling the park, Caleb said, then it might not be the best idea for us to just stay in one place.

  Probably, Gloria said. Let s move north, stick to the edge of the park, see if we can get a better view of any of the pavilions or anything. Those would probably be better places for whatever s going down. They each grabbed their weapons and duffel bags and moved in the direction of 11th Street, making sure they kept to the trees and made as little noise as possible. When they found a place where the hills wouldn t block so much of Gloria s view, yet they could still hide in the bushes, they stopped. Gloria took out the binoculars again as Phil started talking to Caleb.

  So man, explain to me how that god damned flute works, Phil said.

  I already did. Play the right song and you can control anything.

  So you really could use it to control humans? Phil asked.

  Yeah, but only one song works for that. A really tough one. To the best of my knowledge no one in recorded history has ever played enough of the song without mistakes to actually make it work.

  And what song would that be?

  Freebird.

  Seriously?

  Yep. For controlling zombies anything by Queen will work, plus Smoke on the Water. Barry Manilow songs control fairies and pixies. Supposedly American Pie is the call of Cthulhu.

  How long has the flute existed?

  For millennia.

  Then how come all the songs for it come from the seventies?

  Dunno. I guess the seventies were just a very mysterious time, Caleb said.

  So how far does this control over the person work? Phil asked. It can t be so powerful as all that if Sue was able to fight it off, right?

  No, it is that powerful. I ve seen it used, and when it s used right the person or creature it takes over is perfectly under the control of whoever played the song. They don t need to play the song again. The controlled is just the player s puppet until the controlled one is dead. Which isn t actually that long, I hear. The song scrambles something in the brains of whoever it takes over.

  Shit! Phil said. You mean it s going to kill her?

  Hey, keep it down, Gloria said. She was still scanning the park and finding nothing. She motioned for Caleb and Phil to follow her and they walked another block or so up. The trees were getting thinner here, so they couldn t go much farther.

  No, listen, Caleb said to Phil as they moved. She resisted, right? So that means Lucas didn t get the song right.

  Yeah, I did hear him make a couple mistakes. They weren t much, though.

  Not much is still enough that his control over her isn t perfect. That also means she has longer before it fries her brain, but I couldn t tell you how much.

  How do you break the player s control over a person? Phil asked.

  Only two ways that I know of, Caleb said. He twirled the death ray in his hand, and Gloria had to stop what she was doing to glare at him. She had no doubt that when the critical time came he could think of a way to use that thing in a way that would save all their asses. She also didn t doubt that he was highly likely to blow his own face off in the mean time. Caleb caught her look and stopped, grinning at her as though she had nothing to worry about. She realized having feelings for him was a bit like caring for a puppy. Sometimes he was adorable and fun to be around, but he still chewed up the furniture and took random craps on the floor.

  First way, Caleb said, is to play the song yourself on the flute. Problem with that is you re not technically freeing whoever was under its control. You re just changing who s in charge, and I don t think you really want to do that.

  Then we have to go with the second way, I guess, Phil said.

  Uh, the second way would be to kill the person in control, Caleb said. The one being controlled would come right out of it, but I don t think we really want to do that to Lucas yet. Hasn t exactly earned it.

  That we know of, Gloria said. But what would happen if you played the flute and intentionally got the song wrong? Wouldn t the control go over to you but in such a flawed way that the one being controlled would basically be free to ignore whatever you want them to do?

  I don t know, Caleb said. Maybe. Yeah, I guess that even seems likely. Problem is that first we would have to get the flute.

  And everything else, don t forget, Gloria said. She continued scanning the park to the northeast. There was still nothing. If Lucas really did have people keeping random passersby out of the park, then she should have at least been able to see something by now. The northernmost pavilion was well within her view, but it didn t look occupied at all.

  Hey wait, what was that? Phil asked.

  Where? Gloria turned her binoculars back towards the south, but she still didn t see anything.

  No, other direction, Phil said. He pointed farther north. There were two very tall apartment buildings at the northern border of the park, although a ghostly third building could sometimes just barely be seen when there was enough moonlight. That wasn t what Phil was pointing at, however. She put the binoculars down long enough to see what he might be looking at, and she could see something moving in the distance. She put the binoculars back to her eyes and focused in on it.

  Oh, well I didn t expect to see her, Gloria said.

  See who? Caleb asked.

  It s Wylma, Gloria said.

  What? Oh, please tell me she s not in on this with Lucas, Caleb said.

  Gloria watched Wylma through the bright green of the night vision. She was alone, but she didn t exactly seem to know where she was going. She kept stopping and looking around, walking a little bit in one direction and then a little bit in another.

  I don t know, Gloria said. She almost seems confused. She s too far away for me to get a good look at her face, so I can t really be sure.

  Oh, she better just be fucking lost, Caleb said. He pulled
out his cell phone and started dialing. If she goes and turns on me too then I ll skin every last Disney character off her arms.

  What the hell are you doing? Gloria asked. She lowered binoculars and reached for the cell phone, but he pulled it out of her reach. If she s with Lucas then you re going to let them know that we re here!

  Caleb didn t seem to hear that last part, however. He already had the phone to his ear, and he backed away from Gloria as she reached for it again. Stop trying to grab it! Caleb said. Just watch her, all right? Make sure she doesn t try any hocus pocus.

  Gloria grumbled, but she didn t think she was going to convince him. She put the binoculars back to her eyes but stayed close enough to Caleb that she could hear both his and Wylma s sides of the conversation. Through the night vision she could see Wylma look all around her as her phone rang, like she didn t know where the noise was coming from, then seemed to remember she was carrying a purse and started rummaging through it.

  She s answering, Gloria said, and a few seconds later she could faintly hear Wylma s voice on Caleb s phone.

  Caleb? Wylma said.

  Wylma, what the hell are you doing?

  I uh what are you talking about?

  We can see you, Wylma. Why the hell are you in Leechman Park right now?

  Wylma turned around in circles as she looked for where they might be. Gloria took it as a good sign that she couldn t see any of them. If she couldn t then maybe no one else could either.

  Caleb, I m sorry. I just figured this is what I had to do to make it up to you.

  What are you talking about?

  It was my fault that someone broke into your apartment. I need to make that right.

  I told you not to worry about it, Wylma.

  But I do. You know I m going to. I ll get everything back for you.

  How did you even know to come to Leechman Park?

  About half an hour ago I got a phone call, somebody saying they still had everything and that if I was here at the park at three a.m. I d get a chance to buy it all back. I just wanted to make up for what I did. But um whoever it was didn t actually say where in the park. I think I m a little lost.

  Wylma, Caleb said, we can do this without you going in and

  No, Gloria said. She lowered the binoculars and looked at Caleb. We can t.

  Caleb lowered his phone and glared at her. Now s not the time for negative thinking.

  What I mean, Gloria said, is I have an idea. She took the cell phone away from Caleb before he had any chance to protest and held it to her own ear. Hey Wylma, feeling nice and rested for a little magic here and there?

  I guess. Why?

  How would you like to be our spy?

  Chapter 27

  Caleb stood up when Wylma was finished and tried to walk. The first thing he did was walk right into a tree. Ow, son of a Gloria, I don t know if this is going to work.

  Why not?

  It s well, disorienting. Like trying to watch two different TVs at once. Except not.

  He blinked as though he had something in his eye, because that was exactly what it felt like. Not just any something, but a whole television monitor. Instead of seeing out of both his own eyes he was only seeing with the right. The left eye, instead of picking up what was directly in front of him, was seeing everything Wylma saw. At the moment that consisted of open expanses of grass all around where she was sitting in a lotus position. There wasn t much to see, and he supposed if that was all he was getting from her at the moment he might not be so unnerved by it. But the entire left side of his face was picking up everything she did. His left ear heard what she heard, his left nostril smelled what she smelled. Presumably she was experiencing the same thing, seeing and hearing and feeling everything on his face that he did. There was no outward sign of any of this, apparently, or at least that was what Gloria told him from looking at him. If it was the same with Wylma, then they could listen in and see everything she did without anyone she met realizing it.

  Sorry, Wylma said. He could hear her voice just as clearly as though it were his own, although neither Gloria nor Phil could. The spell apparently only worked on one pair of people. I could do a spell that was better if I had more time to prepare.

  It ll work well enough for now, Caleb said. How long will it last?

  As long as I can keep my concentration on it. But once I lose it and the spell goes down I won t be able to do it again without anybody seeing me do it.

  Caleb relayed this information to the others, and Gloria nodded. If that happens we ll try to work around it. Just whatever you do don t give away that the three of us are here. We want to keep stealthy for as long as possible.

  Caleb felt Wylma bite her lip in nervousness. He felt himself mimicking the movement without really meaning to. Out of curiosity he scratched his nose, and Wylma twitched her own nose at the sensation.

  Don t do that, Wylma said. Please. It s kind of distracting.

  Sorry. So whatever s going down, it doesn t seem to be at the northern pavilion. Why don t you start heading towards the middle one.

  Wylma started walking, and Caleb had to sit down. The sensations of moving forward while he was standing completely still made him a little dizzy. Wylma took out a cigarette from her purse and put it in her mouth, but Caleb stopped her before she could light it. Um, do you think you could hold off on that until some point where I m not sharing your taste buds?

  Oh, Wylma said, and Caleb could feel her cheek flush. Sorry.

  Gloria stooped down to look in Caleb s face. Hey, when you entered the park was there anybody guarding or patrolling the edge of it?

  I entered the park at the same time you did, Caleb said.

  Not you. I was talking to Wylma.

  I didn t actually see anyone, Wylma said. I thought I heard some shuffling at first, almost like I was being followed for a bit, but when I tried to see who it might be the noise stopped. She was walking briskly across the park, taking a route that mostly avoided the hills and went straight for the middle pavilion. She slowed down, however, as it came into clearer view. Caleb, are you seeing this?

  I think so, Caleb said.

  What did she say? Gloria asked.

  She asked if I was seeing the same thing she did.

  No, before that. What did she say anyone guarding the park?

  Oh. Okay, I can see how this is going to get confusing quick, Caleb said. He repeated back what Wylma said, then started describing just what it was he was seeing with her eyes. Whatever was going on, the middle pavilion was apparently the place for it. With only about half an hour to go before the official meeting time there were a couple of people milling about. Of course, milling about wasn t exactly the correct phrase for it as they were standing as far away from each other as possible while still being close to the pavilion. In the pavilion itself all the picnic benches had been rearranged into one long line with things set atop them. Two figures stood near the table each with their arms crossed in front of their chests. There were no lights on in the pavilion and Caleb couldn t see many details about the figures in the shadows, but there was one detail that he could easily see even though Wylma was still at a distance.

  Smiley face, Caleb said.

  Why would Wylma say anything about a smiley face? Phil asked.

  She didn t. I did. It s Fluffy. The metal skull that was underneath her skin, it looks just like a smiley face.

  Three guesses who the other one in the pavilion is, then, Gloria said.

  Tuffy, Wylma said. I have no idea what my other two guesses should be.

  She didn t mean that literally, Caleb said.

  What did she say? Gloria asked.

  Okay seriously, Caleb said to Gloria, if you wanted to know everything she was going to say word for word then you should have been the one to volunteer to be the magical walkie-talkie.

  Gloria frowned but didn t say anything.

  Caleb, Phil said. What about the other two?

  I don t know yet, Caleb said. I waiting for W
ylma to get closer.

  Wylma s voice dropped to more of a whisper as she got closer. Actually I think I recognize at least one of them. The guy standing closest to me, I think that s Moorealan.

  Caleb definitely knew the name, but he had never actually seen the man s face before. If Wylma was something of a recluse on the Hill, then Moorealan was a full on hermit. No one had ever actually seen him outside the cardboard box he called home in an alley off 14th Street, but it was a huge box. Or at least it was supposed to be on the inside. On the outside it just looked like a normal box on its side, not even big enough that a human should have been able to fit in it. The inside, however, supposedly housed something along the lines of a mansion full of ancient antiquities. Moorealan was dressed in a dirty trench coat and had incredibly long hair and a beard to match. Normal people passing him on the street might have just thought of him as a homeless kook, especially considering he was known to rant to anyone who would listen about the value of worshipping ancient Roman sock puppets. That didn t change that he was supposedly the most brilliant sorcerer on the Hill, a true genius.

  Caleb told Gloria and Phil this, and they both whistled. I wonder how they even contacted him, Phil said. Supposedly he completely shuns technology, so he wouldn t have a cell phone.

  Probably something similar to the spell we re using right now, Caleb said. Oh, wait, I think I recognize the other person now. I think that s Mary McPhisto.

  Well shit, Gloria said. That s not exactly happy news.

  Caleb had to agree. Mary McPhisto owned the Club McPhisto just down the street from the OneStop Mart at the edge of the Hill. It was one of the trendiest and hottest clubs in the city, but it tended to cater more to mundies than the regular denizens of the Hill. Most people of the Hill weren t that stupid. As Wylma got closer Caleb could see Mary standing in a trendy dress with a reinforced briefcase in hand. The thing that confused most people about her was that she only kept the same shape for about two or three weeks at a time. Tonight she had strawberry blond hair and perfectly tanned skin, and the dress did much to flatter her significant breasts. Too bad for some poor woman out there, though, because those were not Mary s breasts, nor her hair or her skin. She must have just stolen this skin recently, however, because if it had been a while Caleb would have been better able to see the slightly misshapen skeleton underneath that was the telltale sign she was a demon. The only outer sign that told Caleb who she was exactly were the glowing red eyes. No matter how many outer shells she stole from others, she couldn t hide the eyes.