Time Flies

by Larry Buenafe

  I faded back into the living room and looked around. Much of the furniture and other items were either smashed, burned, or both, and there was Denise, still in an intensely hot state. “Denise, are you ok?” I yelled.

  “Yeah, I think my arm is broken, but otherwise I’m ok. How cool was that? Doing battle with a demon was awesome, and Plan A worked perfectly!”

  “Yeah, I don’t think awesome means the same thing to you as it does to me, but at least we survived. You need to cool down before the whole house goes up in flames with Aunt Martha and me in it.”

  Denise’s eyes bulged, as obviously she didn’t realize how hot she still was, and she turned and ran out the front door. Man, burned again… that stings… ok, this is going to be hard to explain… there’s an unconscious, maybe dead, pizza guy on the porch, a glowing girl on the front lawn, Aunt Martha is unconscious on the couch, and this place is totally trashed… ok, think, Ferdie… first, pull the pizza guy inside… then have Denise go into the backyard…

  I went out to the doorway and grabbed the pizza guy by his feet, dragging him as quickly as I could into the foyer, and yelled to Denise, “Go over to the side of the house and through the gate into the backyard!” She sprinted in that direction, and I ran through the house and out the elaborate French doors at the far side of the huge family room, onto the fancy brick patio. I searched frantically, found a hose, turned it on full blast, and sprayed Denise down, creating a huge cloud of steam.

  “Oh, that feels good,” Denise cried.

  “Ok, I’ve got to go check on Aunt Martha. You wait here until you’re cool enough, then go check on the pizza guy.”

  I ran into the family room and through it into the living room. Denise sped by me and without even slowing, grabbed the Pizza Guy and flew out the door. I turned my attention to Aunt Martha; she was sprawled out on the couch face down, and there was blood around her nose and mouth. I grabbed her and flipped her over. Ok, Ferdie, deep breaths, think, don’t get overwhelmed… I was totally relieved to see that, as far as I could tell, she only had a bloody nose. It was steadily pouring out and covering her chin and the front of her blouse, but she didn’t have any other obvious injuries.

  As I was checking Aunt Martha, Denise bolted back into the room. “Denise, go grab a couple of towels,” I shouted, while gently shaking Aunt Martha by the shoulders. Denise returned with the towels, and I wiped Aunt Martha’s face. Some of the blood had already dried and I wasn’t able to get all of it off her mouth and chin, but I got most of it. I tapped her cheeks lightly, saying, “Come on, Aunt Martha, come on…”

  After a minute or so, she began coughing and choking, spitting flecks of blood out as she did so. Finally, she opened her eyes. They rolled around for a moment, unfocused, and then she recognized me. Her eyes seemed big as globes, and she said, “Ferdie, what in the hell is going on? This was just like when Steve… when Steve attacked me, and Ariel ran off, but even worse… how is this possible? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?”

  Denise and I made eye contact, and she shrugged as if to say, ‘I don’t know.’ She said aloud, “I think we just have to tell her everything. It’s too late for anything else.”

  “Ok, but first, Aunt Martha, let’s get you cleaned up, there’s blood all over you.”

  She looked down, not realizing that her nose had been bleeding, and cried, “Not again! Did I get stabbed?”

  “No, no, no, you just had a bloody nose. I don’t know if you got hit in the scuffle or what, but it was bleeding pretty good. Here, let’s get you in the bathroom to wash up. Do you feel ok to walk? You were out for a bit there, so you might be woozy.”

  “No, I’m ok, I’ll go clean myself off.” She stood, and then sat down immediately. “Whoa, I guess I’m a little light-headed after all.”

  “Just hold still, I’ll go get some stuff to get you cleaned up. Maybe then I can help you go get something else to wear,” Denise offered.

  Over the next couple of minutes, we got Aunt Martha put back together. When she was in the bathroom, I pulled Denise aside and hissed, “What happened with Pizza Guy?”

  She came near and whispered, “I put him in his car and drove it to the next street over. He’s going to have a major headache and maybe get fired from his pizza job. Otherwise, he’ll be ok.”

  I took in a deep breath and blew it out. “Dude, that’s a relief. I thought maybe I killed him.” Then I felt a little overwhelmed for a moment, and forced myself not to tap my head. Denise smiled sympathetically and patted me on the back until I got myself together.

  A little more time to kill while waiting for Aunt Martha allowed for a moment to commiserate.

  “Hey Denise, how do you keep your clothes from burning up when you get so hot like that?”

  She roared with laughter, and said, “That sounds like the worst pick up line of all time! I know you didn’t mean it that way, but that was funny.”

  “Wait, I… oh, I get it. Man, I didn’t know if we were going to make it when we were in the middle of that fight.”

  “Nah, they had us going for a little bit, but I never doubted it. You were a real warrior, by the way. I was quite impressed. No one else could have done what you did in here.”

  “Ah, it was nothing compared to you, hot stuff.” I had to admit, though, it did feel nice to have been able to keep myself calm and in the moment instead of getting overwhelmed and freaked out as usual.

  “You know what, something just occurred to me. I think those dudes might have just been testing us to see how we would do against a demon. I don’t think they expected to kill us. It just would have been a nice bonus for them if they had. I think it was a, what do you call it… oh yeah, a fact finding mission.”

  Denise paused, deep in thought, hair dripping wet and a scowl darkening her face. “I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right. If they were trying to kill us, they would have sent more, wouldn’t they? Or, maybe there aren’t as many of them as we think. Maybe they couldn’t afford to send more and risk the losses. Or, they’re just playing with us. Either way, they got one totally jacked-up demon out of the deal. I think he might be a goner, to tell you the truth. You look a little crispy again, by the way, and my arm kind of hurts.”

  I hadn’t even noticed until she said it, but her wrist was bending out at an odd angle. “Oh, crap! We need to get you to a hospital.”

  Denise grinned and grimaced simultaneously. “Nah, it’s ok. Just come over here and pull on my hand, let’s get my arm straightened out.”

  Her bent wrist was making me feel a little queasy. I said, “Are you sure? That doesn’t look too good.”

  “Yeah, come on, don’t worry about it.” So I went over and… pulled on her hand until it cracked and creaked, and straightened out.

  “Dude, no offense, but that was gross. It kind of made me want to throw up.”

  Denise gasped and said, “Yeah, it didn’t do me wonders either.”

  When Aunt Martha was finished in the bathroom, we sat at the now somewhat singed floral couch, and it was time to spill the beans. I explained almost everything that had happened over the last two years, leaving out only the information about the Time Flies. Denise interjected occasionally, but for the most part it was my soliloquy.

  Aunt Martha listened quietly, asking a question here or there. When I was finally done a good hour later she seemed tired, which was understandable based on what had happened, and also from having to listen to me tell a totally unbelievable story for all that time. We sat quietly, and eventually Aunt Martha said, “Ferdie, I can’t quite understand what happened here. I am a person of science, but I also believe my eyes, and now my eyes and my beliefs are in conflict. I’m not hallucinating because of a head injury or something, am I?”

  “No, you’re not hallucinating, although you will probably wish you were. I can tell you I wish this was all in my head… when I was younger, that’s what I thought. It’s real, though, no matter how hard I try to wish it away.”

  Despite holding her
wrist and scowling, Denise added brightly, “I know, it sounds totally crazy, right? If I were you I’d think so too. It’s totally, completely insane, but also totally and completely true. You’ve seen some of the stuff we can do first hand, but how about us giving you a little private display? It might help to make it more real for you.”

  Through a half smile, Aunt Martha responded, “You know what? I would really like that. Let’s see what you’ve got, Mr. and Ms. Wizard.”

  Yes! I think we’ve got her… “One private display, coming up. Denise, do you want to go, or me, or should we go together?”

  “Well, you always go. Why don’t I do the honors this time?”

  “Be my guest, Ms. Wizard.”

  Denise smiled, stood up, and said, “It would be my pleasure. How about a couple of displays?”

  She started glowing, and Aunt Martha and I could feel the heat radiating off of her. Aunt Martha’s eyes went wide, and she shrunk back into the couch cushions. “Ok, how about a little in-between action?” I offered.

  Denise beamed again, and she gradually faded, waving as she went, and after a few seconds she was gone.

  Aunt Martha’s eyes were now bugging out, her mouth gaping open. “Ferdie, that is the wildest thing I’ve ever seen. Can you teach me how to do that?”

  I just couldn’t help it, I giggled, and after a moment Aunt Martha did too, and we heard Denise cackling as she faded in from the in-between.

  The mood quickly turned somber, as I said, “I’m sorry, Aunt Martha. I know all this is crazy. I didn’t want to bring any of this stuff down on you. If I had known that they could track my call, I never would have made it. I would have just stayed away, no matter how painful it got.” I almost lost control, and I tapped my head. Come on, dummy, get it together… I recovered after a few seconds, and Aunt Martha was looking at me intently, deep in thought.

  “Ok, Ferdie, what is the plan? Do you know what you are going to do? I mean, it sounds like you have a really powerful enemy who has gotten the drop on you every time. How do you plan or hope to succeed?”

  I took a deep breath. This part’s going to be hard… “Well, the first part of the plan, or I guess the most immediate part of the plan, has to do with you.”

  Totally deadpan, Aunt Martha said, “Really. And exactly what supernatural power will I use to help you?”

  It’s been so long since I’ve seen her I forgot how much fun she is to be around… “No, no, it’s really kind of the opposite of that. I, we, think you need to go with us back to Bakersfield. We can’t protect you here. They’ve already come after you twice, and that means they missed you twice, which will not make them happy. We need you to go with us so that we can keep you safe.”

  Aunt Martha’s face went through a litany of expressions. She was obviously trying to work all of that out in her mind, and she opened her mouth and pointed, but stopped as a different thought occurred to her. This went on for ten seconds or so. “What you are asking is very difficult. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem that there’s much else for me to do, so ok, I’m in. Look, if the world’s ending like you say, what’s the point of staying here, anyway? Why not go down fighting, right?” and she slapped me on the back so hard I started coughing.

  Yes! This went better than I had hoped… well, except for the part about almost getting killed by a demon and The Coward…

  “Besides, I can probably help some. I am quite good at organizing, strategizing, that kind of thing. That’s what I get paid the big bucks for. I know you all have some plans, but Ferdie, how do you really think you’ll be able to stop these other… oh, I’m going to have trouble saying the word ‘supernatural’ without sounding sarcastic… these other supernatural people?”

  “Well, we do have some plans, but I don’t know yet how it’s all going to work. I know there’s a way, though… It’s like one of those times when there’s a word right on the tip of your tongue, but you just can’t quite get there… I have had some hints about certain things, though, creative things, and somewhere in there is the key. I have to find it, there’s no other choice. It’s that or die, and I’m not crazy about that idea to tell you the truth.”

  I checked over to Denise, and she was rubbing her wrist and grimacing, but added, “Ok, so I think we should head back right away. There’s still a lot to do before we do Operation Divide and Conquer, and I bet you’ll have some ideas that will help us refine our plan. The only problem is, the ride back will be a little uncomfortable. All we have is a little car, and the air conditioning gets kind of overwhelmed when it’s really hot out, which it will definitely be when we go through the desert.”

  The widest, brightest smile I have ever seen lit Aunt Martha’s face. “Oh, I think I may have something that will help with that. Let me go pack some things, and then we’ll jump in your little car and take a short ride. I have to pick something up. You don’t mind, do you?”

  I glanced over at Denise, and we were both wearing the ‘I don’t know what’s going on’ expression. “Uh, ok, sure. Do you need any help packing or anything?”

  “Oh, no, honey, it won’t take long. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Twenty minutes later, Aunt Martha returned to the living room pulling two immense and swanky-looking suitcases, and carrying several equally impressive bags over her arms. “Good thing I like traveling light!” she chortled.

  “Yeah, good thing. We might have a little trouble fitting all that in, but we’ll do the best we can.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, dear, we won’t have to go very far. Before we go, though, we need to talk about one more thing. What are we going to do about Ariel?”

  At the mention of her name, my eyes teared up and I tapped my head, but only twice. “We looked for her everywhere. There’s one thing I left out, though. You remember the FBI agents that came here? Those were Rafael, Ling, and Gabriella. They were posing as FBI agents, because we thought that would give us the best chance of finding Ariel. We reckoned someone would know something, but it’s like she just fell off the face of the earth. Somehow, though, I feel like she’s still out there… I just know it, and we’ll find her one way or another.” Then I did a few more taps, but I kept it discreet.

  Aunt Martha smiled, but her eyes looked painfully melancholy. “I think you’re right, Ferdie. She is out there. Whoa, has this been a crazy day or what? Ok, we better get going.”

  Chapter 22

  After cramming Aunt Martha’s luggage into the little car, and we mashed ourselves in. “Don’t worry, we won’t have to go far!” Aunt Martha repeated. She directed us to a storage facility a few blocks away, and after punching in the entry code she guided us around a huge warehouse. Behind the warehouse, we pulled up to… an RV that was almost as big as the building. “Ok, kids, how about if we hitch up the little car to the back, and take this big beauty back to California?”

  Dude, this could not have worked out better! This thing is gigantic… I bet ten people could sleep comfortably in this…

  “Pretty nice, huh? Sleeps ten comfortably!”

  Couldn’t have said it better myself… “Aunt Martha, this is fantastic! Can we really take it?”

  “Well, it’s not doing any good sitting here. Let’s get this thing ready to go.”

  As fast as we could, we got the RV loaded and set up, Denise and I grinning at each other all the while as if we had just won the lottery. Aunt Martha was carrying on a running monologue as we packed items in, telling us about all the amenities, how the sides slid out when the RV was at rest, the two separate bedrooms and bathrooms, numerous sleeping bunks, everything. “I got this when your uncle Cary passed away… eight years ago now, and I haven’t hardly even used it. Seems like a long time and no time at all… isn’t that weird? Anyway, I had to get a special license to drive it. I don’t suppose either of you has a commercial license, do you? Oh, who cares, as long as we’re careful we’ll be fine. Ferdie, I bet you’d like to get a chance to drive this beast.”

  Hmm, I don’t kn
ow… seems kind of intimidating… Aunt Martha could see my hesitation, and she slapped me on the back again, saying, “Don’t worry about it, Ferdie. Denise and I will get us there. Let’s roll!”

  And roll we did. On the way back, we took the shorter route, figuring rightly that any attack that might be carried out had already happened. We had a great time joking around, telling stories, going into more detail about all the things that had happened over the past few years, playing cards, and just generally enjoying ourselves. Denise and Aunt Martha took turns sleeping, and I concentrated on keeping whoever was driving occupied.

  Finally, after three long days of constant travel, we arrived at the apartment building in Bakersfield on day 743 and counting. The RV wouldn’t fit in the parking lot, so we had to park it on the street. “Later on, if we aren’t going to use the RV, we’ll need to find a storage unit for it. I’d hate for someone to break in and steal things,” Aunt Martha declared as we unloaded her items. We tromped up the stairs and threw the door open, and Gabriella, Ling, Rafael, and Pasquale all turned in unison from the little kitchen table with ear-to-ear grins, running to help us in with the luggage and other items.

  Everyone said their greetings enthusiastically, happily shaking hands and slapping high-fives. “Aunt Martha, this is Gabriella. She’s my… my angel. Whoa, I never said it that way before; that sounds weird.”

  “Oh, that’s quite alright, Ferdie. That is literally what I am. Very pleased to meet you, Aunt Martha, we have all heard so much about you.”

  “And I you. Say, can I see your wings? No, just kidding, I know you don’t have wings. Please, call me Martha, only Ferdie has to call me that.”

  As we socialized, Pasquale walked away from the table and sat in a chair on the far side of the room, near the front door of the apartment. He is usually right in the mix, and at times he’s even the life of the party, so I decided to keep an eye on him. Soon, he appeared to be struggling as if suffering from a bad headache. “Hey, Pasquale, are you ok?” I called.