Trapped Inside Humanity

by Bernice Burgos

  24

  The Rocker Chicks, “Run Demon, Run!”

  Angel had to give it up to Jack. He was good at running, but he was not good at hiding. The final reports of Jack and Maggie’s whereabouts brought them to a crowded rock bar in Sydney, Australia. They had been living in Australia for quite some time, going under different aliases. This time Jack posed as the manager of an all-girl rock band, and Maggie was his teenage daughter who attended the university and was the lead singer of the band. It wasn’t much of an alias since the facts were all true. Australia was going to be Angel’s final destination; this time she was not leaving without Maggie.

  The bar was crawling with colorful men and women from all walks all life. All of them were looking to get drunk, hear good music, and possibly get laid. They were all human, not one supernatural walking among them. The price to get into the bar must have frightened them away. The cover charge at the door was $45 per person to listen to Sydney’s #1 underground, all-girl rock band called the Rocker Chicks. At least that’s what the flyer in Angel’s hand advertised. Their lead vocalist and guitarist was Mag’s Style, aka Maggie. Angel showed up at the bar wearing a stylish leather jacket, tight black jeans and a fitted black T-shirt with “Rocker Chicks” printed in pink lettering. Her high heel booties gave her one more inch in height. Her makeup was flawless and her long, wavy hair flowed down her back. She desperately wanted to make a good impression on her daughter after not seeing her for ten years, especially now that she was walking around in her true form. Keiko wore her usual black outfit and ruby-red lipstick, except she was also wearing a Rocker Chicks fitted black T-shirt. Anu had his hair in a sleek ponytail and wore blue jeans, a white fitted t-shirt, and black sneakers. Since moving to New York City with Angel, Anu could no longer wear his usual tank tops and linen pants. Truthfully, he could wear a bag over his head and still look great. Jesse wore the same ensemble as Anu, except his t-shirt was black with the words Def Leppard emblazoned on the front. Nothing fancy.

  This time around, it was just the four of them rescuing Maggie, not their usual eight or nine cavalries. However, Angel knew somewhere in this crowd, Desmond and Gia would eventually pop up. Even when she specifically told them to stay behind, Gia protested. Her last words to Angel were, “My husband and I can’t make any promises. Forgive us in advance, Queen.”

  That conversation was two days ago and she hadn’t stopped texting Jesse since they arrived. Angel already knew Gia and Desmond were around; she could feel them but couldn’t see them.

  The smell of beer and cigarettes assaulted Angel’s nose, almost making her gag. She needed to move away from the small gathering of humans who were smoking before she passed out. Their large clouds of smoke were suffocating her. Angel decided to walk closer to the bar; but that too, reeked with the smell of spilled alcohol, old wood, and greasy burgers. The place was like any other typical bar: dim, dreary, crowded, and depressing. Angel glanced to her left and noticed a young couple making out against the wall as if they were the only two around.

  She didn’t know she was staring until Jesse put his arm around her shoulder and jokingly said, “It’s called kissing, mom. All the kids do it, try not to stare.”

  “Why do humans think a smelly bar is a great place to hook-up?” she asked.

  “Because their parents aren’t here,” responded Anu, smiling.

  Angel shrugged her shoulders, trying to make sense of his answer.

  The live band was in between sets, and the music that was playing was coming from a jukebox against the wall. Angel arrived just in time; the next band to play was Maggie’s. Jesse walked casually through the crowded dance floor scanning for Jack, while Keiko, Anu, and Angel made their way towards a table with four empty chairs a few feet away from the bar.

  “I’m going to order a round of drinks so we can blend in,” said Anu. Angel nodded her head.

  “Hey make my drink a double shot of tequila,” said Keiko.

  “Sure, anything for you Angel?”

  “I’ll have the same!”

  Anu made his way to the bartender. When he was gone, Keiko smiled at Angel. “No more girly drinks for you,” she teased.

  “No, I need something hard to take the edge of.,”

  “Then you should have gone with a whiskey.”

  “I didn’t even think about that, but you’re right,” answered Angel.

  “So what’s the plan here?” asked Keiko, changing the subject.

  “What do you mean?” replied Angel.

  “Meaning, what exactly is the plan? You found out Maggie is here, but how are we going to bring her home without her father pulling the disappearing act again.”

  “I don’t have a real plan. I figured that after her set we rush on stage, just grab her, and go,” said Angel.

  Keiko snickered as Anu sat their drinks down on the table. They picked up their glasses and toasted, tapped their shot glasses, and downed their drinks faster than they landed on the table. The sensation of the alcohol burned Angel’s throat but she didn’t flinch. She was too anxious to make any sudden movements. She and Keiko silently stared at each other.

  “Am I interrupting something here?” asked Anu, pretending to sip on his beer. He held the bottle to his lips but didn’t drink anything.

  “No father, just that your wife here has lost her mind. Her plan to bring Maggie home is to kidnap her off the stage in front of all these humans, cause a commotion, and possibly expose us. I think that’s a great plan,” exclaimed Keiko sarcastically.

  Anu raised his eyebrow at Angel and then looked at Keiko. “Not a bad plan. Except we won’t cause a commotion. I’ll use my speed to grab her and go before anyone understands what’s happening,” said Anu.

  Keiko sighed, “You don’t think these humans are going to notice that the lead singer just disappeared into thin air?” questioned Keiko, shaking her head. “Alright, I’ll go along with it. I get it, no real plan, we run on impulse.”

  “That’s right, Keiko! Just go with it. A plan won’t work here, not with Jack,” said Angel. She grabbed Anu’s drink and took a sip. “It’s a good thing you can’t taste that stuff, it tastes like shit,” she said, making a face in disgust at Anu’s low-budget beer. Anu and Keiko laughed.

  As they continued chatting, the music from the jukebox began fading away, and the sound of a solo guitar began playing as the lights dimmed. They all shot up from their chairs and dashed to the front of the stage, bumping and pushing their way through the crowd. They were determined to get front and center. The crowd began going crazy, from clapping to cheering within seconds. Angel, Anu, and Keiko made it as far as the second row of people before they realized there was no way they were getting to the front without physically hurting someone. Everyone was so packed together, they were practically spilling onto the stage. The lights went off on the crowd and lit the stage to reveal a young woman with long black curly hair. The woman was wearing tight ripped jeans, a black belly top with “ROCKER CHICK” in pink lettering, and hightop black sneakers with gold studs. The shirt exposed a toned stomach with a belly ring. The woman was humming into the mic the beginning notes of her song. When the woman looked down at the crowd, it was as if Angel was staring at a carbon copy of herself. It was Maggie drawing the crowd in with her charismatic guitar playing. Seeing her perform almost brought tears to Angel’s eyes. Anu grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

  Maggie’s humming turned into loud singing, as the rest of the band chimed in. The drummer was a dark-skinned woman with a short haircut; she was beating the drums with passion, keeping the rhythm of the band. Soon after, the bass and keyboard player joined in and the girls were rocking it out and moving the crowd. The crowd was jumping, cheering, splashing water; it was intense. Three women in the crowd grabbed Anu and Angel by the arm and everyone began jumping up and down with the crowd, pulsing with the beat. One man dancing behind Keiko grabbed her and they began jumping. For a split second they all laughed and had a great time until she spotted Jesse
leaning against the wall by the steps of the stage. He was using hand gestures for them to come over. Angel stopped jumping and grabbed Anu and Keiko, pointing quickly toward Jesse. They pushed their way through the dancing, jumping crowd. When they reached Jesse, Angel took off her jacket and placed it on an empty chair.

  “You guys do know this is a kidnapping and not a party, right?” quipped Jesse.

  “It was hard to break away,” responded Angel.

  “Sure it was. Anyway, Jack is backstage. I saw him peeking his head from behind the curtain scanning the crowd. I say we move now before he does.”

  “It’s time,” Angel said to Anu.

  “What’s the plan mom?” asked Jesse.

  “There is none, we are running on impulse,” shot Keiko.

  “Great, just how I like it. I’ll meet you guys in the alley that leads right behind the stage,” stated Jesse, getting himself ready to fight.

  “Wait I’ll go with you,” said Angel.

  “I’ll freeze the crowd,” said Keiko.

  “Alright, let’s do this! Give us two minutes to get in place, then rush the stage,” said Angel to Anu.

  “Sounds like a plan,” replied Anu.

  Angel kissed Anu on the cheek and proceeded to push through the crowd. Within seconds they were outside and ran along the side of the building in the alleyway towards the backstage door. Inside, Anu counted the seconds down on his watch. He and Keiko stared at each other and nodded when the clock hit two minutes. Keiko froze the crowd in place as Anu dashed like a gust of wind towards Maggie. Maggie was hyping the crowd and singing her heart out. As she made her final jump, she disappeared into thin air dropping the microphone with a clatter. As they were running, Keiko heard Jack screaming behind her, “Stoooooop!!”

  Keiko instantly changed course and, instead, turned around and charged toward Jack. Jack saw a crazed Keiko zooming in his direction and turned on his heels to run in the opposite direction. Keiko expertly employed a snap kick and caught Jack in the back. Before he could fall, Keiko grabbed him by his collar and used all her might to throw him across the room. Jack crashed through the backstage door leading out the alleyway and landed in a heap at Jesse’s feet. The sound of Jack shattering the door took everyone by surprise. Jesse knelt down and checked his pulse to see if he was still conscious. Jack opened his eyes, stunned to see a pair of blue eyes looking down on him.

  “Well, hello, dad,” said Jesse sarcastically.

  Angel and Anu turned and stared at a purple-faced Keiko, who had obviously lost her mind again. She was standing at the doorway screaming deliriously. Her transformation into a wild demon had unfrozen the people inside. The crowd began booing and throwing water bottles, food, and anything else they could find at the stage. They grew hostile and started to push and fight among themselves. The girls in the band dropped their instruments and hid behind the stage. The bouncers and security tried their best to calm the crowd but failed miserably. The fighting became so intense that people started running out of the bar. The bandmates, afraid for their safety, grabbed whatever equipment they could and dashed out the broken door to the alleyway, running past Keiko without taking notice of her.

  Angel grew anxious for a split second until Desmond and Gia came swooping down from above.

  “Alright, baby girl, it’s time for you to relax,” said Desmond as he grabbed a deranged Keiko and soared up to the roof of the bar. Gia grabbed Jack by the neck and followed Desmond. Anu, still holding Maggie over his shoulders, looked up and flew into the night sky following Gia. Angel grabbed Jesse’s hand and released her wings.

  “Whoa... mate, I must be tripping on the white stuff because I’m seeing wings,” laughed a male voice in a heavy Australian accent.

  “Yeah, me too mate!” said another male voice.

  Two male humans gaped at Angel and Jesse from the end of the alley. She ignored them and shot off before they could make sense of the situation. On the rooftop, Maggie was screaming and cursing violently. She tried to break free from Anu by kicking and clawing, with no success.

  “Maggie, stop screaming, before you draw attention to us,” Angel said angrily.

  Seeing Jack ignited her. She calmly walked over to him and punched him in the face so hard that his lip instantly split and trickled blood.

  Jack held his mouth and could feel his tooth wiggling, “Agggg…” he muffled in pain. “I guess I deserve that.”

  Desmond walked over and held Jack in a headlock, “You have no idea how much more you deserve.”

  Anu slid Maggie off his shoulder and stood her directly in front of Angel, gripping her wrists behind her back so she couldn’t run away. Maggie stared directly into Angel’s grey eyes and froze. Her skin grew pale, as if she had seen a ghost, “MOM…” gasped Maggie. “I thought you were dead.”

  Angel placed her hands on Maggie’s face and then slid them down to her shoulder.

  “No, Magdalena, I was never dead. I’ve spent ten years covering every inch of the earth looking for you. I wasn’t going to stop until I found you.” Angel had tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. Seeing Maggie up close and actually talking to her filled her with immense happiness.

  “Dad told me you were dead. He said you died the day we were in that basement, and he said Master Anu killed you and my brother.”

  “Do I look dead to you?” said Jesse with disdain to Jack who was still being held in a headlock by Desmond.

  “Jesse…” cried Maggie. Anu released her as she turned to look at the familiar faces around her. Her heart began to pound. She felt an overwhelming joy as she looked at her loved ones standing before her. She didn’t know what to say; all she could do was dramatically drop to her knees, put her head in her delicate hands, and cry.

  Angel dropped down to Maggie and wrapped her motherly arms around her, soothing her as if she was seven years old again.

  “It’s alright, baby, momma’s got you…shhhhhh.”

  Maggie was trembling. She wrapped her arms around Angel’s waist and sobbed uncontrollably.

  “You see what you’ve done,” said Desmond angrily to Jack, tightening his headlock. “Depriving our Queen from seeing her child, I hope she carries out the order to kill you, because I will gladly do it myself.”

  Jack began swinging his arms violently trying to get Desmond to loosen his grip, but he only made it tighter. He was able to mutter a few words between breaths, “She’s my child, too.”

  Maggie rose to her feet slowly and continued to hug and kiss her mom on the cheek.

  “Don’t forget about your big brother,” said Jesse, happily.

  “Oh my God, you haven’t changed one bit. What happened to your long hair?” Maggie hugged her brother and brushed her fingers through his buzz cut.

  “It was time for something new, besides I didn’t have you to comb it anymore,” he said, rubbing his head.

  Maggie giggled, remembering how she would constantly braid and twist Jesse’s hair.

  “It looks good, big bro,” smiled Maggie, touching Jesse’s hair again between tears.

  Keiko, once again returned to her original state, called to Maggie, welcoming her with open arms. Maggie gazed at Keiko, thrilled to see her old friend again.

  “Keiko!” She ran to Keiko and they hugged tightly.

  Maggie touched Keiko’s face and hugged her again, not believing she was seeing her best friend. She released her embrace and pulled from her pocket the butterfly locket Keiko had given her when she was a child. “I never leave home without it. It’s the only reminder I have of you, my mom, and Master Anu’s house.”

  Keiko, the woman who never shed a tear, cried like a baby. “I lost my matching butterfly the night you were taken,” said Keiko in between her sobs. “It was one of the worst days of my life.”

  “Heyyyy…It’s okay...We can get you another one,” said Maggie sincerely.

  Angel breathed deeply. She was pleased that her journey to find Maggie was over. However, she still had to deal with Jack. A
ngel approached him, thinking about striking him again, but instead decided to get answers. “Hey, mush for brains,” derided Angel, knocking on the top of Jack’s head with her knuckles. “Why did you make her think we were all dead?”

  Desmond continued tightening his grip around Jack's neck; he yelped in pain.

  “Wait, what are you doing? Mom, you can’t let Desmond choke dad to death,” Maggie drew her attention to Jack who was squirming in pure agony.

  Angel hadn’t anticipated that Maggie would defend Jack. She tried to be diplomatic and replied, “Whatever your father told you over the years, I’m sure they were all lies.”

  “No, Mom I don’t believe that. Dad took care of me and made sure I had the best of everything.”

  Angel glared at Jack, giving him a nasty look, before responding to Maggie. “I don’t believe your father cared for your well-being at all. He kidnapped you, lied to you, kept you away from us, and I’m certain he’s been using your power for his personal gain.”

  “I’m sure dad didn’t kidnap me the way you think, and he hasn’t been using my power for his gain. He’s actually been teaching me how to control it. He’s never once hurt me and has always been supportive. Please, mom, I can’t let you hurt him. He’s my dad.”