by M. O. McLeod
“Because I have been Santino!” yelled Allie. He was a Phantom. Allie was having a hard time coping with all the extra things that came with it. His nose hurt all the time from smelling everything. He walked around with cotton balls in his ear because they picked up every little sound. His head pounded with pain from his teeth that seemed to have sprouted like weeds. “Unlike you, I don’t take enjoyment in eating other people, fighting to the death, or even being huge as hell.”
“You think I like eating people?” asked Santino. “I don’t, but this is who I am now and so are you.”
“All I know is that when we got to the storefront there were people who lived in these apartments and now they are gone,” Allie said as he flung his body on the bed. “I’m guessing that they have turned into someone’s dinner.” He turned his head to face Santino who was leaned against a metal desk. “It was really convenient turning a landlord into a Phantom. All the meat we can eat, huh, Santino...”
Santino had had enough. He thought Allie was supposed to be sad, not angry and trying to place blame. Allie had every right to be mad though; Santino just didn’t need to be there for that. It was supporting his Phantoms that he wanted to be known for. Allie would see in time that Santino only tried to protect and provide for his spawns. “Alright, well when night falls you know dinner will be on the table. I’m sure I will see you there as I see you every other night.” Santino squeezed by the bed, coming closer to Allie, and saw markings on his arm. “What the hell are those?” Santino asked as he snatched Allie’s arm to take a closer look.
Allie tried to pull away but Santino was the strongest out of the Phantoms and it was useless trying to cover his cut marks up. He had begun cutting himself. Allie didn’t like the sound of it or the look of it, but when he sliced his own arm there was something that took away the pain. A little bit of tension left his body when the silver blood ran down his arm and now it seemed that he had created a bad habit.
“You can’t keep this up,” Santino held Allie’s arm up to the light. “Your sister with her OCD and now you’re cutting yourself. This is not going to solve any problems.”
“Don’t bring Kurma in this,” Allie pulled his arm away with all his strength, still he could not get out of Santino’s grip. “You don’t even know my sister well enough to be talking about her,” Allie defended Kurma. Even though he was mad at her, Santino was not his blood, he wasn’t around when Kurma fed the boys and clothed the boys. Santino wasn’t there when Kurma was depressed but yet still came and picked the boys from daycare because their mom was busy with the divorce. Santino didn’t know the Rosales struggle, only the Rosales siblings did. “I’m fine, everything is fine Santino.”
Santino hurried to the dresser where three bottles of clear and brown alcohol twinkled with malice. “This stuff is poison, Allie! Don’t drink this shit.” Santino began hurling the bottles out the open window. Allie tried to stop him, scrambling for the last bottle of gin, but Santino threw that one too.
Allie fell to the floor, eyes heavy with pain. No tears ever fell from his eyes. It seemed that Phantoms couldn’t cry…their eyes burned and tingled and sobs came out but never tears. Now he was alone. No brother, no sister, and no friendly burn from the bottle. As soon as Santino left he was going to cut, he was ready for some kind of release.
But Santino didn’t leave. He sat on the bed and watched Allie’s every move. He was going to have to look after his Phantoms more diligently. He had given a lot and then some when trying to keep them out of harm’s way; and, here was Allie cutting his body, destroying his insides with drink. Not on Santino’s watch and not under his roof. “Life is hard Allie. Guess what? You still have to live through it. In your next life it will be just as hard.”
“I’m just so tired though, Santino,” came Allie with his head in his hands.
“Tired…sorry to tell you Allie, but your life has just begun as a Phantom,” Santino explained as he patted Allie’s back. “Let’s go downstairs and get some fresh air. You can’t be ashamed of what you are, mad that something bad happened to you. It’s happened to all of us.”
The two Phantoms went back outside and around the corner and sat down in the patio section of Seniors. The wind kicked up snow and the air temperature continued to drop as Alexandria’s winter clamped the city in an icy grip.
Chapter 11
Confrontation
There were five Phantoms who lived on top of the store front and one Phantom that lived in the in-law below. Kosner had been through a lot since becoming a Phantom. He had been jumped by Raptors, chased by cops and the RAID team, saved a girl’s life when one of his fellow Phantoms had tried to eat her, and had turned into a manager of sorts while working at Seniors. Before becoming a Phantom his life was all over the place. Now, he went to work from sun up to sun down, worked out every night, and slept well in his own place. Being a Phantom had really done a number on him.
Being in charge of the storefront gave him a sense of purpose. It was his idea to put a wall up by the register so that the people of the neighborhood wouldn’t expect Phantoms. It was his idea to use VIN as a security guard type enforcer for the store as well. Money was coming in, exchanging from hand to hand and Kosner had already made enough to send his mom out of the city to the Bluff. They weren’t out robbing people and looting stores like every other human being who took the city’s weak hour to gain. Kosner felt that doing an honest day’s work made up for what happened at night during the city. He heard the screams, they all did.
He rolled out of bed mid-day because Paxton, the real owner of Seniors, was working behind the wall. Kosner came from the bottom of the stoop and saw the familiar line wrapped around the corner. When people saw Kosner come from out of nowhere they scattered like ants. Some people screamed and others just swerved out of his way. Kosner paid it no mind, he didn’t plan to go through the front; he didn’t want to give them a heart attack. One Phantom inside the store with humans was enough. Kosner rounded the corner of Chess St. and looked to the patio section of Seniors to find Santino in an altercation. Paxton, who was supposed to be in the store, was outside with his shirt half open and flip flops on. VIN was there too, holding Santino back. Their voices were loud outside and attracted attention, as well as their height. The men looked like beast compared to the lone man standing by himself.
“What the hell is going on here!” yelled Kosner as he ran up to the patio. The fuss continued as Kosner saw Santino try again at reaching the man.
“Get him the hell out of here!” Santino screamed.
“I’m not leaving Santino. We need to talk first,” said the stranger.
“Santino, who is this guy?” asked Kosner.
“I’m his father,” the man spoke before Santino did.
Santino struggled against VIN’s arms and Paxton’s hold on him. “Now you think just by finding me you get to call yourself a dad?”
“I have been searching high and low, son. You can’t even give me that?”
“I’m not giving you a damn thing!” spit Santino.
“Can we take this inside?” Paxton asked. “I have a store to run.”
“He’s not coming inside!” Santino said, still riled up. “Let his ass stay right where he’s at.”
“So it’s like that?” asked the man. “It’s me baby, Darius, your father!” he screamed. “I was there when you were born. I heated your milk bottles at night and fed you. Now I can’t even get a minute of your time? So it’s like that now, Santino?”
“Santino, I think you should hear him out,” said Kosner. His father was dead and had been for a long time now. He would do almost anything to see him again. Still, Kosner could tell that Santino and Darius had a complicated relationship. “It won’t kill you.”
“Oh, is that right, Kosner?” asked Santino. “Everything Darius touches turns to shit.”
“Your friend here is right,” said Darius. “Your mom and I have been looking for you.”
“Now you bringing mo
m into this?” he asked. At that, Santino broke free and ran towards Darius, his own father. Santino was like a wild bull. He was twice the size of Darius, more powerful and deadly, yet he didn’t stop.
Kosner shouldered Darius out the way and took Santino’s blow full in the chest. VIN was right behind Santino and both men fell on top of Kosner. “Get your big asses off of me,” Kosner could barely get a breath in.
“Yall keep that horseplay outside!” shouted Paxton. “And you better not break my furniture!” He slammed the patio door on them.
“Get off me,” Santino got up from the ground and kept his distance.
“The news and them are calling you a Phantom. Is that really what you’re calling yourself?” asked Darius as he wiped snow off of a seat and sat down.
“Are we cool guys,” Kosner asked. He pulled a chair up by Santino’s father. Darius gave him the head nod. Kosner gave it back.
“I gave myself that name.”
“Have a seat son.”
Santino gave him a deadly stare. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
Kosner shook his head and smirked. He hoped Santino would just put his guard down and hear the man out.
“If you’re not going to sit then I am,” VIN said and plopped his huge body in a seat across from Kosner.
Kosner waited as Santino grudgingly pulled a chair up. Kosner started talking first. He didn’t like awkward silences. “Santino hasn’t really told us a lot about you.”
Darius said, “What people don’t know about my son is that even though he is so charismatic and outgoing, he is really like his mother, a reserved person.”
Santino rolled his eyes at his father. “How would you know? You were gone for most of my childhood.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t remember!” Darius shouted.
Kosner could see another fight happening. “Okay, okay, Darius is it? Why are you here?”
“Yeah, why are you here?” Santino questioned Darius as well. He sat forward in his seat and waited for a response.
Darius buttoned his puff jacket to the top and tightened his scarf around his neck. “Your mom sent me. The police are looking for you, Santino,” explained Darius. “You have been very busy these last weeks. They are saying some sick stuff about you.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“So it’s all true?” asked Darius. “You killed all those people?”
“What does it look like dad?” Santino said in a sarcastic tone.
Darius tried another angle. “So, you are a Phantom? Can you change back into a human? Do you plan on staying like this forever?”
“Yes, no, and yes,” Santino dryly said.
“But how did you become this thing?”
Santino was becoming frustrated, “I don’t know!”
“All we know is that it passes on through skin contact. Phantasm is contagious,” VIN added on.
“Your mom wants to see you. She doesn’t care about this thing that you have become. Don’t you care about her?”
Santino glowered at his father. “I care about her, more than you ever did. But I can’t see her right now and I don’t want to put her in harm’s way.”
“Well at least call her cell. Let her hear your voice.”
“Look at you being all sentimental. Never seen this side of you,” said Santino.
“We are your parents and we only want the best for you.”
Santino stood up when he heard that last remark. “I’m going to call her, see you around.” He had his own plans of calling his mom and getting his whole family out of Alexandria, everyone except his father.
Darius stood up quick, “That’s it? You are just going to leave me like that?”
“You’ve left me all my life,” said Santino as he made his way around seats and tables.
“Santino!” screamed Darius.
He stood up from the table with his hands out. Kosner thought that he looked so simple. Darius didn’t look like Santino that much. He had a broad jaw bone and a full beard with big eyes and a broad forehead. Kosner could tell that Darius wanted something from Santino, he just didn’t know what.
“What old man?” joked Santino.
“You just gonna leave your mother and I out here to be attacked and carried off into the night?”
Santino smirked and frowned his face at his father. “I’m getting my mother a ticket first thing.”
Darius stumbled forward, a shake in his voice. “And your old man, you just going to leave me out?”
“What do you think I should do?”
“Santino, you can’t just leave me out here.”
“I don’t have any money for you. I can’t help you there,” said Santino.
“My pockets aren’t hurting, baby,” Darius joked with his son, trying to ease into the real thing that he wanted. “Make me into one of you.”
“Hell no,” Santino said and opened the door to go back into the storefront.
“Come on man! You can’t leave me out here in the freezing cold, Santino!” Darius was beginning to lose his cool. “The food is dwindling, no electricity, the gas is going to go pretty soon, and it’s about to be the dead of winter in Alexandria!”
“How is being turned into a Phantom going to stop any of that from happening,” Santino knew his father’s games.
“It’s not,” Darius quickly played his next move. “I won’t be concerned with any of that if you turn me into a Phantom.”
“You hear that guys?” shouted Santino. “None of us actually wanted to be a Phantom and here my dad is begging to become one.”
“I’m not begging, get that straight.”
Santino fixed his face hard and cold and said, “Couldn’t have fooled me.”
“Just think about it,” Kosner told Santino. “I would rather have my family here than out there with all the other Phantoms running wild.”
Santino sucked his teeth. “Naw, I don’t think so.”
“Alright!” hollered Darius. “Alright, Santino, I’m asking you, do me this one solid.”
Kosner and VIN stood on the other side of Santino as the leader of the Phantoms looked at his tiny father in the snow. Kosner wanted to tell Santino what to do, but he didn’t dare. Santino was the leader, even if it was unspoken. Santino had made all of them—VIN, Paxton, Paxton’s son, and himself. Kosner wasn’t going to step on Santino’s toes, especially when it came to his father. If Santino wanted to make amends then it would be in his best interest to turn his father into a Phantom, otherwise, Kosner believed that Santino was throwing him to the wolves, well, Phantoms.
“VIN, you up for turning my dad into a Phantom? It will be another mouth to feed,” said Santino.
VIN shrugged his shoulders. “It’s up to Kosner; he’s the one who saved him in the first place.”
Santino, Darius, and VIN all looked to Kosner who stood with a goofy smile plastered on his face. Kosner was in a really good place in his life. He had changed for the better and thought that there might be a better life waiting for Darius on the Phantom side. Plus, Darius was Santino’s father. Santino was cool as hell and figured that Darius probably used to be cool when he was their age too. “I say turn him and give him a chance,” said Kosner.
“Only one chance to get it right, Darius,” clarified Santino. “VIN, Kosner already made an offspring last time. I think you are ready to make a new-born Phantom.”
“Really?” VIN gushed. He hurried towards Darius.
“Darius, welcome to the Phantom side,” Santino said. “Remember that I run things over here.”
Kosner watched as Santino walked slowly back inside; he didn’t even wait for his father to transform.
Chapter 12:
O’bellaDonna the Con
O’bellaDonna knew she was moving. She felt her body sway back and forth but it was just so hard for her to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy and she had a hard time breathing. She could see black leather seats through the slits of her eyes. She must have been in
a limousine, the spaciousness and tinted windows were a dead giveaway. There was an abrupt stop and a door opened, a soft bell chiming loudly in her ear.
“Wake up,” came a voice.
O’bellaDonna felt someone lifting her up, someone who smelled like last night. She tried to get her limbs to work, but she was so drowsy. She opened her eyes and saw Mayor Wilks. The man from last night had her in his arms and was carrying her up a grand staircase.
“Where am I?” she asked Mayor Wilks.
“Keep your voice down,” he whispered back.
She didn’t think she was that loud to begin with. “Is this your house?” O’bellaDonna looked over the railing and saw a plush living room decorated with onyx, glass, and silver. The mayor had good taste. She wouldn’t mind staying here for a bit. O’bellaDonna and the mayor entered the last bedroom on the left. The mayor dropped O’bellaDonna on the bed and told her not to move or make a sound. “Chauncey, get me a glass of water please,” she said. O’bellaDonna was met with a face of disdain. Mayor Wilks eased the door shut behind him and left her to herself. She rested on the soft bed and wondered where his wife was. O’bellaDonna remembered the ring. Last night she had sucked it off his finger and had not given it back to him. She hoped his wife would notice. O’bellaDonna knew the mayor couldn’t have been happy otherwise he wouldn’t have pressed up on her at the party. She didn’t know why she was so drowsy. She didn’t have that much to drink and she wasn’t a hard sleeper. How did she make it back to the mayor’s house without even waking up? Why had he taken her to his house? She wasn’t mad at the fact, but still. The way he was acting towards her now…O’bellaDonna was beginning to think that he didn’t like her; but that was crazy, everybody liked her when she wanted them to.
“I know I didn’t just see you walking up my stairs with a girl in your arms!”
O’bellaDonna ears perked up and she sprang from the bed.
“Who is she Chauncey?”
This woman was positively mad. I’m the future mistress…biatch, thought O’bellaDonna as she giggled to herself.
“This girl I was just trying to help,” the mayor’s voice came from downstairs.
There was a loud sound that sounded like a slap. “You better get your story straight!”