by Cathy Gaitan
“I knew I didn’t like him! How can anyone hate Frodo,” I rage. “He’s a little hero that one.”
“Exactly,” she pulls herself into a sitting position next to me and grabs a handful of popcorn. Nibbling on it she shakes her head in consternation. “What a waste of a beautiful face.”
“No kidding,” I tell her though in my opinion Pink’s face is much better. It’s got character. And charm.
“He really did a mind crawl,” she asks in belated outrage. Finally, some sisterhood bonding.
“Yes. Even after I told him to stop. He just smirked and kept right on. It’s stupid but for a moment I forgot I had the power to zap him.”
“How did Pink know how to block him,” Carmony asks.
“I don’t know. He said it was instinct.” I picture that pink curtain coming down and grin. “It was pretty cool. I think it kind of freaked Oz out.”
“What else can Pink do?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. He didn’t want anyone else to witness him experimenting.”
I look at Carmony. “What about you?”
She looks at me sheepishly then grins. She holds out her hand and flames begin to dance along her palm. I can feel my eyes bulging because that’s so badass. “That’s amazing,” I exclaim.
“I know, right? I just need to learn how to control it. I almost set my hotel room on fire a few times. I’m pretty sure the fire is why I feel so awful.”
“You probably need to let the Witches know. I’m sure they’d have tips on how to control it.” It’s true. They can be aggravating but they do know their business.
“I will.” When I look at her skeptically she says, “I will. I promise.”
“Okay, that’s good. It’s for the best, you’ll see.”
“Where is Pinkerton,” she says changing the subject. I recognize that trick. I do it all the time. Sometimes even on purpose.
“He’s decided to build his own army so he’s out recruiting.” Was that supposed to be a secret. I can’t remember. Whatever. Carmony is family.
She laughs. “I wouldn’t have pegged Pink as the type to raise an army. He seems more suited to back alley rebellions.” I grin at the image that produces in my head.
“I’m pretty sure that’s what his army is only on a larger scale.” Pink is all about rebellion. He lives it and he preaches it.
“Well, then I guess he found his calling.” I wish I could say the same thing.
“What kind of power did Titus and Julia get?”
I shrug and shake my head. “I don’t know. Neither of them wanted to an audience while they discovered it. It’s probably driving the Witches crazy that Zombies are so secretive.”
“Probably, but it’s our way. Fake it until you can’t anymore.”
“It’s an ancient Zombie tradition,” she laughs.
We joke about it but it’s completely true. Zombies aren’t known for sharing information. We give out bits and pieces but never the whole truth. Self-preservation is always at the forefront of our minds. I think the Witches have that in common with us. ‘What they don’t know can’t hurt us’ could be our mantra.
“I bet Julia has some kickass power,” muses Carmony. “And I doubt she’ll have any trouble controlling it.”
“If it’s as kickass as yours she will,” I inform her because it’s true. Carmony needs to stop doubting herself.
“Maybe.”
“Definitely,” I correct her. “The more difficult the power the more likely you’ll need help.”
“I guess.”
“I know.” Not really but faking it is instinctual like Pink’s shielding.
“We’ll see,” she mumbles.
“You know what you need,” I ask. I don’t wait for her to answer. Mostly because I know she plans on ignoring me. “You need movie night.”
“I doubt that. I think you need a movie night. I’m just your excuse to make it happen.”
She’s right. So what! “Everybody benefits from Rocky.”
Carmony bangs her head against the headboard. “Why me,” she moans to herself. I don’t mind. A couple of hours with Sly Stallone will fix her right up. I know where of I speak. Really!
Four hours later I head back to my room. What? You can’t watch Rocky without following up with Rocky II. Everybody knows that. Except Carmony maybe. She fell asleep halfway through the first movie. It didn’t matter how much I prodded her. She’d just slap me away and roll over. And let me tell you, her slaps are not for sissies. She’s meaner than she looks.
The room’s dark when I enter and I trip over a pair of discarded running shoes. They’re my 5k shoes. You know, the oh so pretty and totally cursed ones. The ones that look like the shoes of a winner but in reality were the key to my downfall. I keep meaning to throw them out but they are just so darn cute. Maybe tomorrow.
I stumble my way to the bed and sit down on the edge while I yank off my current shoes and heave them into the darkness. They’re not so pretty but they get the job done which just means I can walk in them without falling. I’ve found that to be a skill I don’t always excel at. On the plus side, I’ve learned to fall with grace. Translation: I haven’t broken anything yet. I choose to count that as a win. You’ve got to take your victories where you can find them.
I crawl up the mattress and slide beneath the covers. It’s like sleeping on a cloud. This is the good thing about traveling with the Witches. They don’t skimp when it comes to hotel accommodations. Well, that and the food. These Witches like a good meal as much as I do.
I lay back and try to force myself to sleep which, let’s be honest, never works. I toss and turn but can’t seem to shut off my mind. When I think about Carmony and her awesome fire magic I concentrate hard and try to duplicate it. No such luck. I do score a box of Red Hots so I guess it wasn’t a total waste.
I’m chewing on the Red Hots as I think about Oz and his mind invasion. I wish I’d known that about him before we agreed to a blood bond with him. I’m pretty sure Pink feels the same way. I wonder again how Pinkerton was able to block Oz for me. In my head I picture my mind as I did before, a blank piece of space, and try to close a door, drop a curtain or hell hang a painting. Something. But nothing happens. I need to talk to Bibidee Bea and see if she has any suggestions.
We’re getting closer to the rescue attempt. The Witches plan to dangle me like a carrot in front of the Dragon Lady. I’m not sure how they’ll go about it. Hopefully it will be painless. Maybe they’ll get to her before she can get to me. Or maybe she’ll turn me into a walking torch. For some reason that thought doesn’t scare me. Do you think I’ve lost my mind? Don’t answer that! I don’t care!! As far as I’m concerned all the best people are crazy. Sane is boring.
There’s a knock at my door. I glance at the clock. It’s 3 am. Nothing good ever happens at this time. I get up and make my way to the door. Luckily I don’t stumble into anything. When I look out the peephole I see Pinkerton standing there looking a little unsteady on his feet. He leans closer to the peephole. “Can I come in,” he asks.
I open the door and he stumbles in. “Are you drunk?” I’ve never seen him like this. It’s weird.
“No, but I am wasted,” he replies with a chuckle. I don’t get it. I turn on the light so I can see him better. He looks like Pinkerton. He smells like mango which means he smells like Pinkerton.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you here? I thought you were building your army.”
“That was the plan,” he tells me as he takes a seat on the edge of my bed. “This time I chose a place called The Broken Line.” He lays back and stares at the ceiling. “There was Zombie potential as far as the eye could see. They were just waiting for me to make my selections.”
“So what happened?” I lay down next to him. He’s really making me nervous. He’s not acting like himself.
He shakes his head. “I chose my candidates. Everything was going along fine until I was 10 deep.” He looks over at me. “Number 10 was a decoy. A gr
oup of Humans jumped me.”
I look him over. “Are you okay? Did they injure you?” It’s dumb for me to get scared after the fact but they could have hurt him.
“Are you kidding me? It wasn’t even a close fight,” he laughs. His laughter sounds fake. It doesn’t sound like humor. It sounds like sadness. He looks over at me. “I discovered my power. I won’t call it magic because there was nothing magical about it.”
“What was it,” I ask him.
He shrugs. “I don’t even know what to call it. All I know is when those humans came at me with those chains and a flame torch I lost my ever loving mind.” He stares at me hard and takes a deep breath. “One minute they were walking towards me and the next the inside of their skulls were painting the walls red.”
I can’t even think what to say to that. I’m actually speechless.
“The decoy was a little guy kind of a Springsteen wannabe. You could say I eliminated him,” he chuckles. He’s starting to sound more like himself.
He looks at me with a serious expression. “Mercy, I didn’t even know I could feel hatred like that. I thought about what they did to Wendell and Devon and the rest of the recruitment team. How they torched Abel and Caine and what they had planned for me. I don’t know what happened. I just lost it.”
I reach over and take his hand in mine. “Well, it was you or them. You did what you had to do. Personally, I’m glad you’re still here.”
“I guess I need to let the others know about the nature of my power,” he sighs.
“Tomorrow is soon enough,” I say. “Just go to sleep. Everything will look better in the morning.” People always say that and it’s usually a load of garbage. Most often bad thinks look worse in the light of day when there are no shadows to hide the worst of it.
Pink snorts in derision. “Okay, Pollyanna. We’ll look at all those silver linings tomorrow.” Great. I have a few hours to come up with some.
It doesn’t take him long to fall asleep. As I said before, these mattresses are first rate. I mean who couldn’t sleep on a marshmallow mattress. Am I right?
Pink’s asleep now but I’m still tossing and turning. It makes sense that his power would be defensive in nature. With his trust issues it was inevitable. Carmony’s power of fire is something she usually lacks in her personality. I have trouble standing up for myself hence the power to strike back.
I think about Julia and Titus. What would their powers be? Julia is already strong, she has a fiery temper, she always sticks up for herself. Titus is just, well, Titus. He’s twisted and okay maybe a little funny. Don’t tell him I said that!
Whatever. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully the force will be with us. I smile to myself as I drift into sleep. Thoughts of Star Wars is a good way to end the day.
Chapter Eight
When they said ‘trouble comes in threes’
I’m pretty sure they were talking about Witches.
-from the mouth of Pinkerton Floyd
Pinkerton Floyd
From the belly of the beast
Well, Mercy said everything would look better in the morning. I’m thinking she may have been lying through her candy coated teeth. She’s got bags under her eyes and blue hair in her face. Her hotel room is a disaster because she’s a slob. And I’ve got a power that kills. Literally.
You’re probably thinking I’m behaving out of character but you’re wrong. I’m a badass and I embrace it. If someone comes at me I won’t back down. That’s a fact. I will defend myself every time but I choose when and how. This power doesn’t ask for permission. It reacts and, yeah, I have a problem with that.
Did those Humans deserve what happened to them? With chains and a flamethrower in hand I’m guessing the answer is ‘yes’ but I am not okay with how things went down. I’ll just need to find a way to reconcile myself with it. In the mean time I need to figure out how to control it. To do that I’ll need to practice but I can’t do that around the others. I won’t risk injuring them. Maybe the Witches will have a suggestion about it.
I pull out my phone and check my missed calls. One from Titus, Julia and Bibidee Bea. Three messages from Grandma Roses. Great. This is probably the worst time she could have chosen to reappear. I think about it for a moment. Maybe it’s the best time. If I can spend time with her and not blow her head off I guess the others will be fine.
I call her back making sure to keep my voice low so I don’t wake Mercy. “What’s up G. R.? You looking for someone to torture?”
“Don’t be ridiculous Pinkerton. I’m doing you a favor. You might try being grateful for once.”
I feel my stomach clench and just manage to resist hanging up. Any time she gives me ‘favors’ it doesn’t end well for me. “I don’t recall asking for any favors from you.”
She sighs. “Just quit arguing and listen. The Humans are calling for a manhunt of you and yours. You need to pack up and get the hell out. My contact says the Warlocks are leading the charge.”
I lean over and shake Mercy awake. “Thanks for the heads up.” I tell her. “I owe you,” the words are like gravel in my throat.”
“I can’t believe you managed to choke that out.” Grandma Roses laughs. “Just keep us updated if you hear of any dangers to my group. We’re in the same boat and Humans don’t recognize a difference between us.”
“Will do. Thanks again,” I say as I hang up.
Mercy’s squinting at me moodily. Mornings aren’t her friend. I know because she’s told me many, many times. “What’s going on. Why are you up so early,” she grumbles.
I grin at her despite the itch on the back of my neck telling me we need to be gone. “It’s 9 am not the crack of dawn. Rise and shine. “I slide on my shoes. “Oh, and pack your things. We need to get the hell out of dodge. The stuffs about to hit the fan.”
She’s awake now. “What stuff,” she asks. She tries to stand and ends up on the floor when the blanket gets tangled in her feet.
“Are you okay?”
She waves off my question. “What stuff,” she repeats.
“Grandma Roses says the Humans are calling for a manhunt on us. The Warlocks are heading it,” I explain. “Pack up. I’m gonna go get my things. I’ll be back for you in 5 minutes.”
“Wait, what about the others,” she asks as she drags out her bag and begins tossing in items.
“I already texted them,” I say. “Five minutes,” I reminder her before I shut the door behind me.
It doesn’t take me long to pack. The truth is I rarely unpack. You never know when you’re going to have to leave in a hurry. Living with Grandma Roses taught me that. Many times we’d pick-up stakes in the middle of the night.
I give the room a once over before leaving it. I can’t afford to leave anything behind. With the Warlocks and the Dragon Lady on Team Human items as mundane as a toothbrush can become game changers.
When I open my hotel room door Boom Hildie walks past me. “I already checked. I didn’t leave anything behind,” I inform her.
She rolls her eyes. “Just DNA she says as she lifts a strand of hair from my pillow.” She starts chanting as she lights what looks like incense but releases far more smoke. She goes into the bathroom and does the same there. When she’s satisfied she walks into the hallway with me where the others are waiting.
“This one’s room is clean,” she tells Bibidee Bea hooking her thumb in my direction.
“I cleaned Queen Z and the Twisted One’s room,” Witchy Bea replies.
“Carmony’s is good,” DaniElle announces.
“What about Mercy’s,” I ask.
They look at one another. “That’s gonna require some teamwork,” Bibidee Bea declares.
“It might be easier to just torch it,” DaniElle says.
“I second the torch idea,” declares Boom Hildie.
“Forget it. Grab your cleaning sticks and let’s get this done,” Bibidee Bea orders.
Australian Witch and Hildie groan. “Fine,” says Boom Hi
ldie. “But you go first.”
Mercy’s standing beside them glaring. “It’s not that bad,” she insists. She forgets I was in her room. It was bad. “Really!”
Carmony pats her shoulder. “So cleanliness isn’t one of your strengths. That’s okay. You have plenty of other qualities.”
“Like what,” Mercy asks and I almost laugh when Carmony looks to me for help.
“Well, you’re loyal.”
“That’s true. What else?”
“Um, you have great taste in movies and snacks.”
“Definitely,” Mercy agrees. “You could call me an expert even.” Maybe Carmony should just let Mercy make her own list.
“You snore really loudly and you suck at lying,” I add cheerfully.
“I don’t snore,” she growls.
I look at Carmony, “See? Bad liar.”
“Hey, what’s going on,” asks Oz. “Why is everyone in the hall. Did something happen to the Witches?”
I guess nobody thought to tell Oz. That was thoughtless. After all, he’s our pilot. “We need to vacate asap. We got word that Team Human is planning on making a run at us.”
Oz looks at everybody nonplussed. “Why does nobody ever tell me these things?”
Mercy snorts out a laugh. “With your weird mind tapping abilities I would have thought you wouldn’t need to be told about anything. You’d just know,” she elbows me in the ribs playfully.
Oz looks at her disdainfully. “I think you’re confusing me with a Magic 8 Ball.”
“Those things are cool,” she tells me.
“Will you just focus. Where is Bibidee Bea,” Oz interrupts her babble.
“She and the other two Witches are ‘cleaning’ Mercy’s room,” Carmony answers for us.
He smirks. “I guess that should take a while.”
“Hey, it’s not that bad,” shouts Mercy. At that moment Bibidee Bea, Boom Hildie and DaniElle walk out looking like they’d walked through a hurricane with hair out of place, streaks of soot on their faces and hands, and beads of sweat dotting their foreheads.
“It’s wasn’t easy but it’s done,” says Bibidee Bea solemnly.