“The end times are hard, but it’s how God finally calls us all forward to judgment. You know that. I’m not saying that it’s an easy job. I know I couldn’t do it, but God is trusting you to carry out his will.” Niki said sadly.
“And what if it was tomorrow? What if God sends me out next week? We have a big family, Sis. Do you think they all get a free pass? Odds say I’ll have to take two or three from our family. What about our friends? What if God asks me to take Danika?”
“Don’t even joke about that!” Niki growled.
“No, seriously! What if she’s on my list when the time comes? Will you still be able to call me a good guy? Will you even want to look at me afterward? What if instead of Danika, he asks me to take you!” Tears were running down Grim’s face. “You think I want to be the guy that slaughters people? I just wanted to marry a good woman, settle down and raise a few kids.”
“So, you can still marry Penny, and you two could adopt. Now stop talking crazy.” Niki screamed.
“Sorry to break it to you little sister, but I’ve already been turned down on that front. Penny’s said no more than once. I’ll never be able to raise a family, or have a wife. It’s probably for the best, though. If I had a kid, I might be asked to kill him.” Grim was sobbing, and I couldn’t blame him. It was just too much to ask anyone to do.
“Do you really think God would ask that of you?” Niki questioned.
“Well, he did ask Abraham.” Grim grumbled.
“I’ve got news for you Bro. You’re not Abraham. I’m not saying that there aren’t some aspects to your situation that don’t suck, but our Lord never gives us more than we can handle. If he put you there, then he had to know what he’s doing.”
“It’s a fourth of the planet!” Grim wailed.
“Yeah, but maybe you should start asking what fourth? It’s probably not just some random slaughtering. Haven’t you talked to God about it?” Niki was trying to reach her brother, and maybe she had a point. All I could think of was that the were was just barely moving.
“Grim! You’re killing him.” I yelled. The big man looked down at the were with almost no interest at all.
“Nah, he’s still got some air in those lungs. He’s not dead yet. He’s just playing dead.” Grim snorted.
“How can you tell?” I asked.
“Chicken dance. It’s just barely playing in my head. If he was nearly dead it would sound a lot louder to me.” Then Grim started giggling.
Niki said, “Well it’s good to see you coming out of your funk, but what’s so funny?”
“He’s absolutely right.” Grim laughed.
“Who is?” I asked.
“Jesus. He made me hear the chicken dance to help ease the stress of all that death. It actually works. I mean, as annoying as that song is, it’s just hard to be depressed when you hear it.” Grim was laughing.
Penny put her arm around the big guy and whispered something in his ear. Grim smiled and looked up at her, “I love you, too. I love all of you. I’m sorry that I let this all get the better of me. It’s just hard sometimes. This is nothing like where I always hoped I’d be at this stage of my life. Maybe it’s time I quit complaining about what I don’t have, and start celebrating what I do have. I might not have kids, but I have a great family, and wonderful friends that love me. I may never have a wife, but Penny loves me, and I love her. That’s what should be important, right?”
Penny kissed him on the forehead, “Not just in love with you, madly in love with you.”
“And yes Niki, I have talked with God about it. I just don’t understand his answer. I get that he can’t tell me when, or where, but he won’t even tell me who. He just keeps saying that if he did it would cheat some people out of the opportunity to use their freewill.” Grim sighed in frustration.
“That’s just it. Freewill. He’s trying to give everyone a chance to be saved. He’s waiting until the last possible moment before sending you out. He wants to let everyone have a chance. Grim, it’s extremely plausible that when the time comes, you’ll only be asked to destroy those that rejected God. You’ll be killing the enemies of God.” Niki’s words brought a smile to Grim’s face. It was a weak smile, but it was a start.
“That sounds a lot better than just wholesale slaughter, but I’m still not real happy about having a body-count that high.”
“Grimmy, that’s probably why Jesus picked you. If you enjoyed it, then you’d be the wrong man for the job. Maybe Jesus wanted someone that still knows when to offer mercy to those that need it.” I was surprised by the words leaving my mouth. I’m no bible thumper. I believe in God…mostly. It’s hard not to believe when your best friend is part of Revelations, but I still tend to lean on science to get me through the day. I like that X plus Y always equals Z. With prayer it could be yes, no, or later. It’s like talking to a magic 8-ball. From what Grim’s told me, God listens to prayers. He even answers them, but since I can’t guarantee what his answer will be, I think I’ll stick with science. Give me string theory any day. Someday we’ll figure out string theory, but who can figure out God? All this mercy, and freewill talk isn’t exactly in my comfort zone. I want constants. Maybe if prayer was more reliable I might trust it more. The important thing isn’t whether I believe in God. The important thing is that Grim does.
Grim smiled, and ground his leg down on the were’s throat. “Mercy huh? Yeah, he has asked me to be merciful wherever I can.” His face turned up thoughtfully. He was really considering my words, “Yeah, but the problem for this guy is that my little sister looks like she forgot the safety word at an S&M club, and then the vampire bitch comment…So-o-o-o-o.” Grim started humming the Chicken Dance. He even bounced back and forward a little to the beat, and when he reached the end he gave a quick twist of his leg. There was a loud pop, and the were went completely limp. “Wow…I have to say. That song just makes everything more cheery. It’s still really annoying, but it’s really hard to feel bad about things when you hear it.”
Chapter 14
“So, what now?” Penny asked with mild disinterest. I felt like I should say something, but all I could do was stare at the body of the were Grim had killed. He was so nonchalant about killing the man. I’ve always had trouble really seeing this side of Grim. I’ve read his record, and I’ve seen him killing clones in training exercises. In his personnel files there was a body count large enough that most would consider him a walking plague. Even knowing all of that, I never thought he could kill so easily. Maybe it’s because people he cared about were in danger, or maybe he just hides it well. Maybe I’m just naïve.
“We have to hide the bodies.” Danika yawned. “Then I need some food, and a nap to finish healing.”
Niki chimed in, “Yeah, and we should start heading home tomorrow. Waiting around is just asking for us to get picked off. There’ve already been two attempts. We’ve been luckier than we ever had any right to be. Let’s not push it. They can call us with their decision.”
That sounded like the smartest idea I’ve heard the entire trip. “Okay, I’ll call Katy and tell her to pack up so we can get out of here in the morning.” I looked over to Sam. “Sorry, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Sam shrugged, “Hey, it happens. Besides, I’m just glad to have met you. Maybe you can give me your phone number and we can talk sometime?” I nodded, and butterflies started fluttering around in my stomach.
Penny stomped over, “Thank you.” Sam started to respond, but Penny continued, “Without your help Danika might have been killed. For that I’m thankful.” Sam tried to talk, but Penny interrupted, “Thank you for helping DD and Niki.” Sam opened his mouth, but Penny never let him speak, “That being said. I…don’t…like…you!” Her fangs snapped open, and her eyes turned into two bloody pools.
Nobody said anything, we were just in shock. Sam finally sputtered, “I’m…sorry?”
“But…DD likes you, and that’s all that matters…I guess. I can’t put my finger on why I don’
t like you, but I know enough to listen to my instincts. So I’ll be watching.” Penny’s fangs closed back into her mouth, and her eyes returned to their normal emerald green.
“Watching what? We’re leaving tomorrow.” I grumbled.
“Well, I assumed that you’d be wanting to…” Penny stumbled to find an accurate way to describe what she thought we’d be doing without saying something to offend me. Strangely, that got me angrier than if she’d just said “slut it up with your new boy toy”. I think she could tell that she was already on thin ice with me, and she began stuttering and sputtering for words that would smooth things over.
Finally I raised a hand, “Penny, stop. We’re cool. We are always around one another, twenty four hours a day. We’re bound to get on each others nerves once in a while. I’m going to do things that make you angry, and you’ll do things that make me angry. The important thing is that we’re still friends, and care enough about one another that despite our problems, we still love each other enough to forgive. I’m pretty irritated, but you’re still my friend.”
Grim chuckled, “Great, now how about you all help me gather the bodies, or would you two prefer to braid each others hair?”
“Piehole! You! Shut!” Penny’s tone was playfully threatening.
I dialed the phone as we all began gathering the bodies. Even Sam was helping.
Katy answered, “What now?” She sounded a little irritated.
I explained everything, and told her to pack up. She was surprised, but agreed. After explaining everything, I told her we’d be bringing home some food.
“Bring me a veggie burger, no! A hamburger. No! I want a cheeseburger with bacon, everything on it, curly fries if they have them, and regular if they don’t. Then get me a diet Coke.” She sounded like she was already licking her lips in anticipation.
“What if we go somewhere that doesn’t have cheeseburgers?”
“Then you have made a horrible mistake. Now hurry up because my tummy is rumbling.”
I laughed, “Okay, I’ll pass it on. We’ll be back in thirty minutes to an hour depending on how long it takes to hide the bodies.” Wow! I never thought I’d get to use that sentence.
“Thirty minutes. Okay, I might be able to wait that long. Hurry.” Katy hung up, and five seconds later she sent me a text asking for jalapeños on the bacon cheeseburger if they had them.
It wasn’t long before we gathered all the bodies, and put them into a pile. Grim was carrying the Alpha’s head. The Frisbee had cut it clean off. “Man, I really have to take a piss.” Grim was doing a shuffling walk that made it really obvious he was in desperate need of relief.
“Wow, Grim, always so classy. Was 'drain the lizard' just too gauche?” Danika teased.
Grim laughed, “You want classy? How about this?” Grim said with a terribly bad fake English accent, “To pee, or not to pee, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler for the bladder to suffer the pressure and pain of a giant fountain drink, or to whizz behind a tree amongst the bushes and brambles, and by pissing find relief?” Grim shuffled behind the tree. A low hanging branch was broken off, and Grim stuck the head on the point.
“Seriously? Did Grim just bastardize Shakespeare?” I laughed.
“Why are you so surprised?” Niki asked.
“Well it’s just...it’s Grim. He doesn’t really seem like he would know Shakespeare.”
“You really don’t know my brother that well, then. He’s a lot smarter than people ever give him credit for. He just acts stupid and goofy. It’s how he deals with his stress. The worse things are, the more likely he is to start joking about things.”
“I didn’t mean to make it sound like I didn’t think he was smart. It’s just that I’m used to him rattling off spoofs on songs. I always assumed he did that because he really didn’t know the lyrics. You’ve been around him. Can you blame me for being surprised that he would know classical literature?”
Niki smiled, “Grim isn’t well educated, but he’s not stupid. In fact, he used to spend a lot of his free time when he was home with us tutoring me through my honors classes. He may not have made the best grades growing up, but don’t let that fool you. He’s as smart as anyone I’ve ever met. You might be the most educated of our little group, but Grim is easily the sharpest. You just have to get past a lot of stupid songs, bad puns, and general goofiness to see it.”
I thought about everything we’d done since he joined us, and I had to admit that she’s right. Before I could say anything, Grim stepped back from behind the tree, and snatched the head off the improvised spike, creating a wet sucking sound as it was pulled off. I felt my stomach roll a bit. “Boogah! Boogah! Boogah!” He shook the head at me, and I screamed. It sent everyone into fits of laughter.
Grim looked down into the dead eyes of the Alpha, and with another example of a really bad British accent, “Alas, you schmuck! I never knew this asshole!”
“Your fake accents are worse than Mom’s.” Niki laughed.
“Maybe I should have done it in cockney? Lor' luv a duck! Alas, yew schmuck! I never knew dis asshole! Know what I mean?” Grim sounded like a cross between a very drunk Tiny Tim, and an Australian that just had a stroke. It was terrible, and yet it was something we all really needed. The stress of the whole situation had us all fraying at the ends a bit, but Grim’s joking helped pull us all out. Then it struck me how often he does this kind of thing on a daily basis. He’s always willing to make himself the butt of a joke to pull us together.
We had them all piled together when Sam asked, “What now?”
“Well, we could load them into the vehicles and drive them off somewhere.” Niki stated.
Sam turned a little green, “Not in my car. I’m pretty sure dead is one of those things that doesn’t come out of the upholstery.”
“Maybe we could drop them in The Black, and then dump them off somewhere later?” I said.
“Could we do that?” Penny questioned.
“Only one way to find out.” Grim’s brows furrowed, and The Black billowed out from under the bodies. They slowly sank into The Black. Then, almost absentmindedly Grim tossed the head into the smoke. It disappeared immediately.
The smoke dissipated, and we were all now just standing around where the bodies used to be. “What now? Do we just head back to the hotel?” I asked.
“You probably should check to make sure that they are all okay in there. I mean, who knows what your powers might do to them.” Niki said.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll be right back.” Smoke curled around Grim and he just…evaporated in front of us. Seconds later the smoke thickened again, and Grim practically leapt out of The Black. “Holy shit!” He screamed.
“What?” We all said in unison.
“There’s something, or things, down there.” He was a little pale. I can’t speak for the others, but seeing our fearless leader looking pretty fearful…it didn’t exactly calm my frazzled nerves.
“What do you mean, there’s something down there?” I asked.
“I got into The Black just in time to see one of the arms getting pulled away. It was the only thing left. All the bodies are gone.”
“Did you see what was pulling it?” Penny sounded nervous. Grim is spooked, and Penny’s nervous. That’s an epically bad combination.
Grim shook his head no, “I just saw the arm. DD, do you remember how The Black kind of forms the walls, ceiling, and floors?” I nodded. “Well, whatever was dragging the arm away was on the other side of the Black. It must have realized I was there because it yanked the arm in, and there wasn’t even a hole left when it went through. The worst part was that I could hear them on the other side.”
“Them?” Sam sounded really confused, and in fairness I suppose I should just be impressed that with all the weirdness going on, he hadn’t run away screaming. All things considered, not running away from the insanity of my life…kind of sexy.
“Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I’m sure that t
here were multiple…things there. I didn’t see them, but I heard sounds, like chewing. I think whatever grabbed the bodies was eating them.”
“So let me get this straight. When you kill people you hear the chicken dance, and when you go into that other place you call the Black, there may be things that could eat us hiding behind whatever that smoke stuff is. Honey, I love you, but you may have the worst powers ever.” Penny said while wrapping an arm around her man.
“Well, let’s get out of here before someone else decides to attack us. First the military, then werewolves, what next, are we going to be attacked by highly militant unicorns? Maybe garden gnome ninjas will try and attack us using only pointy sticks and bad singing.” Grim said as he started walking back to wherever they’d parked.
“Well, if bad singing is a weapon, then I think your sister has them beat.” Danika laughed as she began following the big lug.
“Seriously? You’re complaining about my singing? Do I even need to bring up our failed attempt at karaoke?” Niki yelled.
“What? I rocked that Journey song.”
Niki laughed, “Please, the song was Don’t Stop Believin’, and somehow you made the entire room give up. The owner actually unplugged the machine to get you to stop.”
“He did not! We had a power outage.”
Niki wrapped an arm around her, “I’m sorry to break this to you honey, but he yanked that cord out with extreme prejudice. Didn’t you notice that the lights were still on?”
“I thought it was just on a separate breaker.” Danika pouted, “You all let me think it was just a power outage? You’re all asses.”
Midnight Squad: The Ties That Bind Page 23