by Ho, Jo
Pushing past the wave of other students, she found her way to the nearest restroom, relieved to find Tyler waiting outside for her as agreed. Tyler looked nervous, clutching her bag close to her chest. A light sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead even though it wasn’t very warm that morning. Seeing it and Tyler’s general demeanor, Cassie felt a moment of guilt: it was her fault Tyler was so uncomfortable. But she pushed the thought away as she nodded a greeting at Tyler and opened the restroom door.
“Is anyone in here?” Cassie quietly asked only for Tyler to shake her head.
“I’ve been here for ten minutes, there’s no one but us,” she confirmed. Even so, Cassie crouched down, giving the stalls a quick sweep with her eyes to make sure they were empty before standing up again. She watched eagerly as Tyler opened her bag, taking out a small water bottle containing a liquid that had a purple-pink tone to it. Tyler barely offered it to Cassie when she felt herself reaching out for it and snatching it out of her hands.
She couldn’t help it, she was that desperate and she didn’t care if Tyler saw it. In fact, maybe it was better that she did, maybe then she would understand. Twisting open the cap, Cassie took a cautious sniff. This potion had a fruity smell mixed with something spicy.
“Look, you need to know that I haven’t tested this potion. I think it will work but there could be side effects which we won’t know about until—“
She stopped, eyes wide open in shock as Cassie raised the spout to her lips and quickly downed the whole bottle in seconds.
“I was going to say that maybe you should take it slowly, just in case…” Tyler finally managed. “I can’t believe you did that.”
Cassie ignored her comment and span to face the mirror, inspecting her face anxiously. “How long before I can expect to see some changes?” She tried but failed to keep the impatience from her voice.
Tyler shrugged her thin shoulders. “I don’t know. You’ll just have to wait and see, but since you drank the whole thing… I’d think the answer was pretty soon.” Her voice was flat, she had none of the excitement Cassie felt.
“I’m sorry you had to do this for me Tyler, but it really is necessary. It’s just too tempting for me to use my powers otherwise. I was already becoming addicted to being Marley… this is the only solution. You’ll see. Your potion will fix everything. I just don’t want to be a freak anymore.”
Tyler heard everything Cassie said, but the doubt churned in her stomach. If not being a freak was Cassie’s end goal, she wasn’t sure her potion would be the answer…
Chapter 7
Ally pushed the mop back and forth across the linoleum floor.
The black and white diamonds had been caked with grease — as a result of Heepie Jeebie’s love of deep-frying everything — and hadn’t seen a clean in at least several months, but after a solid hour of washing the floor, the dirt had finally been removed. A gleam of pride burst in Ally’s chest as she stared at the now sparkling floor.
All the foster kids had chores to do in the house, from cleaning their rooms to doing their own laundry, but this was being done voluntarily. After seemingly waiting for forever, her birthday was finally coming and Ally was making sure to score points ahead of time so nothing would get in the way of whatever it was that Tyler had planned for them.
Birthdays had always been her favorite time of year, those and Christmas of course, but Ally wasn’t sure how it would feel now that there would only be two of them to celebrate. She wouldn’t count the cheap cake and snacks Heepie Jeebie would have for the day. They were always the same, regardless of whose birthday it was — or even if they liked what she gave them. Cheryl would grab the cheapest big cake that Walmart had, plus these little sausages she liked to pair with a block of cheese that she would be the only one to eat. There would also be one of those buckets of candy that she’d have bought post-Halloween the year before on a massive discount which she would dump into a bowl. And that would be pretty much it.
None of the kids liked the cake, though the candy would be eaten quickly enough since there were a lot of sweet-tooths in the house. Ally hated both, so she usually gave them a wide berth, and her own birthday wasn’t going to be different.
Rinsing out the mop, Ally supressed a tired yawn. She was still having trouble sleeping, suffering from those monster nightmares as she was. If anything, the nightmares seemed to have ramped up. She was so confused. As soon as they had begun, she had stopped reading that book so why the monsters still came for her at night, she had no idea.
Rubbing her eyes, Ally poured the dirty water away then went to wash her hands, passing by Cheryl as she made her way to the bathroom. Cheryl caught a glimpse of the glistening kitchen floor and did a double take.
“Nice work,” she said to her begrudgingly. Cheryl didn’t like to dish out compliments at the best of times, but Ally didn’t care what she thought. She only cared about her sister and being with her again.
* * *
Sunlight filtered in through the trees above as Ally collected the trash that always seemed to blow into the backyard.
It wasn’t much of a yard — just a square of patchy grass bordered by a ring of oaks that had recently been stricken with some kind of disease that was killing off some of the branches, leaving the stems bare and naked-looking, but Ally liked it out here. She had always felt more at home outside than stuck within four walls.
Back when things had been better, when her parents had still been alive, Ally had loved nothing more than to go riding on their ponies, Tyler by her side. They’d fill their pockets with carrots and apples, surprising their ponies with the treats whenever they reached their favorite spot, a lake that overlooked rolling green hills for miles around. Standing there, Ally had been struck by how large the world was, brilliant and filled by a riot of color.
Now the only green Ally saw came from the dried-out weeds beneath her feet.
The others barely came out here, preferring to spend their time on their mobile devices or gaming. Ally didn’t mind that though; in fact, she preferred the quiet time this allowed her. The noise from the house was too much. At least out here, she could listen to the birds instead of whatever lame boyband the others were currently into.
Stooping down, Ally picked up an empty juice box, throwing it into the trash bag she had brought with her. Several chip bags followed, then a couple of candy wrappers. She pursed her lips thinking of how her mom — and by extension, her — had hated people who left their trash everywhere. They only had one world, she had often said.
As she worked her way through the yard, a strange feeling came over her. It started with the tingle that went up the back of her spine. Then came the absolute certainty that someone was watching her. She glanced back towards the house thinking that one of the foster kids was probably about to hurl a water balloon at her or something equally terrible, but the windows were all closed. She was alone.
Why then did she have this feeling? The sun chose that exact moment to dip behind the clouds, leaving the area with an eerie dim filter. She spun around quickly, unexpectedly, hoping to catch the person before they could hide…
She saw a shadow move within the trees.
Startled, the bag slipped out of her hands. She didn’t give it another thought, however, her eyes glued to the figure before her. Despite the human-like form, there was something weird about the head. It seemed almost monster-like.
It seemed like one of the monsters she had been having nightmares about!
A cold chill spread over her as Ally froze with fear. She couldn’t look away, couldn’t move an inch. She knew without hesitation that if she moved, that thing would come after her. And the horrible thing was, she couldn’t even call for anyone. They were all inside and wouldn’t hear her above the racket they were making, and, she had, of course, left her cell upstairs on her bed so calling Tyler was out of the question. There was nothing she could do but to stand there, waiting for whatever would come next.
She was still ex
pecting the thing to come for her when the sun burst suddenly out from behind the clouds, showering the area in its yellow light, causing black spots to appear in front of her eyes from its sheer brilliance.
When the spots receded, Ally saw that the human-shaped monster she had been so scared of, was just the shadow of a gnarly, dead tree. Feeling ridiculous, she picked up the bag, leaving the trash that had spilled out of it on the ground. She’d pick it up another day, but right now, she needed to hear from her sister who, had still not messaged her today. Ally tried not to bother too often — she knew Tyler had a lot on her plate now, what with college and working in that grocery store — but unable to shake that weird feeling despite seeing the cause of it, she needed to be comforted and there was only Tyler now who could do that.
She hurried inside.
Chapter 8
The girl half-ran back into the house leaving Fink bereft.
While she had been tidying up the yard, she had been giving off all kinds of mouth-watering aromas. As much as he loved eating humans, Fink had yet to try eating a child, but now it was all he could think of.
Would her flesh be tender like a lamb’s?
It was all he could do not to go after her from behind the tree he now hid behind. That had been a close call. The girl had seen him for a moment with his true face, and the sight had sent her into shock. If Michael hadn’t sent him on this research mission, if he hadn’t given strict instructions not to hurt — or eat — the girl, well, let’s just say the world would have become less populated by one.
The phone in his pant leg buzzed, interrupting his daydream. Fishing it out, he saw the caller number with annoyance. Why in all that was unholy, was he calling him again? Pressing ‘answer’, he forced his voice to sound normal so the caller wouldn’t hear his irritation.
“Hello, Pike. I’m on a bit of a stakeout right now…”
Seeming to not pick up on the fact that now was not a convenient time, Pike’s nasally voice came over the line. “Well so am I! Boss asked me to tail those girls, but they’re so boring! One of them just goes to school, then works, the other three don’t do anything else that’s different. I don’t know why we don’t just end them right now.”
“Because the last time we tried, the girl retaliated and hurt us,” Fink replied evenly.
“Yes, but that’s because we went after the strongest one! What if we went for a different one, like the ugly one, we could take them out one by one until we’ve wiped them out?”
“Michael has a plan, Pike. You know that. He has his own reasons for not explaining it to us just yet, but you must know he has carefully planned every step of this. You know how long he has waited for revenge. I propose that we stick to his instructions… unless you would like to inform him that you are not happy with your job?”
Fink left the threat hanging, knowing how Pike would react. He didn’t disappoint. Fink heard the other demon swallow loudly as he stammered back a reply. “No, that’s OK. I’m just shooting the breeze, killing time, you know?”
“Well, if it’s nothing important, I must get back to my own task at hand…” Fink said.
“Course, sure,” Pike responded, suddenly uber accommodating. “I’ll leave you to it.”
Fink hung up without saying goodbye. He sighed wearily, staring at the phone. Since he had given Pike the money that had been returned to Michael after those demons that he had hired from Supes Daily had failed their contract, Pike had made the mistake of thinking that they were friends. The fool had been calling him regularly, first just to chat, but now he had apparently moved onto complaining about Michael. While it served Fink to let him believe that, it still grated to have to deal with him on a regular basis. Fink knew it wouldn’t last though. Pike would obviously make a mistake in the near future, and when that happened, when Michael decided he had also had enough of the low-level idiot, Fink would be more than happy to lend his services and dispatch of him.
Putting his phone away, Fink turned back to face the house where he could see the girl was now in her room.
Thinking of what was to come, he smiled.
Chapter 9
The Cape-Cod style clapboard house seemed, at first glance, like every other in this nice neighborhood.
All white, picturesque flower boxes hung beneath the large windows though the flowers in them — which must have flourished at one time — were now dried to withered brown stems. A pile of sealed removal boxes sat on the porch by the front door. As Marley and Christian neared the property, the steel chains of a swing suspended from the roof of the porch creaked. A soft toy bear sat on the swing, the sight of which brought a pang of sadness into Marley’s chest though she couldn’t say why that was its effect on her.
“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, having no clue what they should do now that they were here. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more this seemed like a fruitless idea. How had they even decided on this?
“Well, you’ve got to get us inside.”
“OK. Thanks for the tip,” Marley replied, her eyes flashing sarcasm.
“What else do you want from me? Isn’t it obvious?” he replied seemingly genuinely baffled.
“I just thought, with all your experience… never mind.” She stopped herself from continuing this particular line of conversation, feeling a little stupid.
He must have picked up on her feelings, however, his voice taking on a contrite tone. “Sorry. It’s your first time at this… I should show a little more patience and understanding.”
Marley’s mouth dropped open in an exaggerated motion. “Wait one second, I have to record that so I can play it back to you the next time you become insufferable.”
“When have I ever been insufferable?” he retorted, instantly on the defensive.
“How about every time you’ve demanded that we save the world and risk our lives to go after Michael when we didn’t even know what we were or how to use our magic?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, there was some urgency behind that. Also, I hadn’t really had any time to get over Eric’s death before I was killed myself, and it’s not like I was given a heads-up that I’d be back as a ghost. That’s a lot to process, so yeah, maybe I didn’t always come across as well as I should, but it’s not like there weren’t any extenuating circumstances.”
There wasn’t any of the usual snark in his voice now, only sadness and pain that made Marley’s heart do a flip-flop. Pain and loss she understood only too well.
“I’m sorry if I haven’t given that enough consideration. It’s just… all of this? It’s a lot,” she replied.
His eyes seemed to sparkle in the light. “You don’t need to apologize, I was just trying to explain why I might sometimes come across a little… intense. I’m new at this too. Besides, after what you went through the other night… I should be the one to apologize.”
This was news to Marley. She stopped, tilting her head up at him. “Why? You didn’t attack me? And you weren’t the one who led them on while you pretended to be me. Why would you feel responsible?”
Christian’s eyes turned bright with the intenseness of feeling. “I should know better, that’s all.”
She felt surprisingly connected to him at this moment. They had been thrown into so much madness so fast, that she never really thought about how all of this must affect him. He always came across so sensible, that she often forgot that he was only a few years older.
News crews were still dotted about the area. Whatever was happening in this place was really exciting the media — that, or it was a slow news day. Either way, their presence only served as a hindrance, one Marley didn’t want to encounter. Staring at the front entrance, Marley watched as a smartly-dressed reporter — who wasn’t Cassie’s dad she was relieved to see — rapped on the front door with his knuckles. He was being filmed by a cameraman carrying a large camera on his shoulder. The door stayed firmly closed though a man’s face appeared in the window beside it. Even from her p
osition fifty or so feet away from them, the man exuded a bone-weariness that was palpable.
“I thought the house was empty. Are you telling me that someone lives inside it, and these news crews are just out here hounding the man?” Marley exclaimed. It wasn’t really a question, more a statement of her shock.
“You’d be surprised what reporters are allowed to get away with.” Something in his voice made Marley think he might have had experience of this but she was stopped from asking as the reporter and his cameraman had left the house and was nearing them.
“Good luck getting anywhere with him,” the reporter said, nodding to the house, mistaking her for one of his own.
Not sure what to say, she mumbled “thanks,” then started up the stairs to the front door. Wooden boards creaked loudly underfoot, as the same man appeared again in the window. Rather than knock on the door, Marley made her way to the window.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, I just need a moment of your time,” she said.
The man inside, shook his head at her, clearly mouthing “go away.” Marley hesitated then, not entirely sure what to do.
“I would never have gotten anywhere if I gave up at the first hurdle. You’ve got to get his interest. Right now, he just thinks you’re one of the vultures.”
Steeling herself, Marley squared her shoulders and pointed to the door. “I’m not a reporter. I just need a word with you. Please?”
The man didn’t even bother to look at her again, clearly fed up with the constant interruptions that all led to the same place.
“You’re losing him, Marley,” Christian warned. “Tell him why you’re here! Grab his attention!”
The man was moving away from the window. Marley only had a second to speak before he would be gone. “Have you been feeling cold all the time, even though it’s a warm day?” she blurted out.