by Gerald Lopez
“You okay, hero girl?”
“Yes, just a little tired. I’ll be fine,” she said. “Look at all the bodies to clean up.”
“Hey what exactly were you saying a while back it sounded like old Latin or something,” I said
“It was,” Noelle said. “Latin was a required course .”
Part of her training or religious studies, I gathered. I looked around and decided to help out, I gathered more blue light energy from beneath me and hit the stacks of bodies turning them all into black dust.
Miss Lucy pulled up into Mother Watkins’s yard and Mother Watkins walked up to meet her.
“Took you and the sisters long enough to get here, coz.”
“Thanks for the gratitude, coz,” Miss Lucy said.
“I’ll be grateful when you get that truck off my yard, and your car too Etta Hall. Messing up my nice lawn like that. And be quick about it, we’ve still got a lot to do.”
Chapter 34
Friends and More
I was listening to Mother Watkins and Miss Lucy arguing about the mess and who was going to be in charge when Noelle tapped me on the shoulder.
“I’ve got to check in and report to the higher-ups. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.
“Tomorrow?” I said.
“Well, a lot has happened, and there’s a lot to report. Why don’t you take it easy tonight, Layton?”
She gave me a hug, then went to speak to Miss Lucy before going back inside Mother Watkins’s home. I just stared at the scene in front of me. Alex was speaking to Hilary, and some others—there was debris everywhere.
“What happens now?” I said.
Miss Lucy put her arm around me. “What happens now is you go and get some rest. You’ve done an incredible job here, Layton… I knew you had it in you.”
“Of course he did,” Alex said, as he walked up behind Miss Lucy with Mother Watkins by his side.
“You two are welcome to crash here, if you want,” Mother Watkins said
“Now, why in the hell would they wanna stay here?” Miss Lucy said. “How are they gonna rest in your small house?” She handed me a motel key. “Soldier, the situation here is neutralized. Check in with me at the old Kennedy estate tomorrow at three. We can handle things here, you’ve gone above and beyond your job, and you’re due some rest.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” I said, looking down at the key.
“It’s to the Shelby Motel,” Miss Lucy said. “Oh, and bring Mr. Kennedy with you tomorrow.”
I looked at her with a question in my eyes.
“I can’t think of a safer place for him, then by your side. Still, I doubt that there will be any more action tonight. In any case, I’ll have my people patrolling the motel. They have orders not to disturb either one of you, unless they see signs of trouble.”
“Thank you,” I said, suddenly feeling exhausted and stumbling.
Alex walked up to me and put his arm around my waist to steady me.
“Sorry everyone,” I said. “I guess I am a little worn out.”
“Honey, after what you’ve been through, I’d think you’d be more than a little worn out,” Mother Watkins said. “You go take a nice hot shower, then climb in bed and have a good night’s sleep.”
“Good night, everybody,” I said, as Alex led me to the side of Mother Watkins’s house where the Jaguar was parked.
He helped me into the passenger seat before speaking. “You look exhausted, so I’ll drive.”
I just nodded and must’ve dozed off, because the next thing I remember was waking up in front of the motel and Alex giving me a hand up from my seat. He held me firmly by the waist and helped me up the stairs to our room—the same room I had before. As he opened the door, I just leaned against him with my head on his shoulder. I’d never felt so worn out in my life. Once we were inside and the door closed, I kissed Alex on the lips before my body started to slump downward toward the floor. Alex held me up and led me to the bathroom. He lowered the toilet lid, sat me on it, and then turned on the shower and began to strip. Once he was naked, he took my bathing suit off me, then got us both into the shower.
“Let’s just sit here and rest a while, okay?” Alex said, helping me to sit on the shower floor with my back leaning against the wall. He adjusted the shower head so that the water hit us both perfectly. Then he squeezed in next to me and held me tight. I had no energy and just let him hold me.
“Thank you for taking care of me and keeping me safe, Alex.”
“That’s what friends are for—and we are friends, aren’t we?”
“Of course,” I said. “I want to be your best friend. No secrets—nothing between us anymore… I promise. But we’re not just friends—we’re friends and more.”
“Yeah, we are,” Alex said. “Tomorrow, when you’re wide awake I’m gonna remind you of that.”
“You won’t need to wait until tomorrow… I’m not that tired.”
He kissed me, then helped me up. While I leaned against the wall he got both of us washed and rinsed off. Then he shut off the water and helped me out of the shower. It wasn’t an easy task to dry me off when I was so unsteady on my feet, but somehow he managed to towel us both dry and get us into bed.
“I love you, Layton,” Alex said as he kissed the top of my head.
We were naked in bed together and it felt good, warm, and secure. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, but just didn’t have the energy.
“What’s the matter?” Alex said.
“I really am too tired… just so tired, Alex. I mean, really physically tired—I’m not used to this feeling of weakness. Can I ask you something stupid?”
“Sure.”
“This is silly, but would you just hold me for a while.”
He turned and wrapped both arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. I felt enveloped in his warmth, and it felt like pure Heaven.
“I love you, Alex. Stay with me forever,” I said before giving in to my need for sleep.
When I woke the next day, he was still holding me. He was sleeping, so I looked down at his handsome face and let my fingers softly outline his lips. I couldn’t resist kissing him on his lips, neck, and chest. My actions ended up waking him up.
“Mmm… good morning, Layton.”
“Good morning,” I said, leaning on one elbow, so I could sit up and look at him. “Thank you for taking care of me last night. I’m not used to that.”
“That’s what lovers and partners do for one another, and remember you did ask me to run away with you. Last night you said you wanted me with you forever. The only thing missing is a ring on my finger.”
“I remember what I said last night… all of it. And I’ll make it a priority to get a ring on that finger of yours.” I kissed his ring finger. “I can’t have others thinking you’re a free agent.”
We kissed for a couple of minutes before I decided to address what might be a touchy subject.
“Alex, your sisters are dead. How do you feel about that?”
“I don’t know. Right now I feel mostly numb. The only thing I’m sure about is you and me. I know I love you and you love me. And more importantly, I know it’s real… that what we have is real. I’m sure there will be a time when I deal with all of what’s happened; and I’m sure I’ll mourn. I also know that you’ll be there for me.”
“You can be sure of that,” I said, holding him as tightly as I could. “God, I wanted to do that so badly last night… just hold you. But instead, you held me and it felt real damn nice.”
“I’m glad you’ve got your energy back. There’s something else I’d love for you to do right now.”
“Oh yeah?” I said.
“Yeah.”
“I’m versatile, remember, Alex. So if I get tired, feel free to have your way with me.”
“Ooh, that’s tempting,” he said. “Your eyes do look a little tired still.”
* * * *
“As nice as that was, I’m famished,” I said, getting up from bed a
nd looking around the room. I noticed my bags and walked to the closet where my clothes were hanging, then opened a drawer and found my other clothes.
“Our stuff was here when we arrived last night,” Alex said. “It was nice of them to do that for us.”
I bent over to get some underwear and shorts out of the drawers.
“Nice view,” Alex said. “How are you feeling, Layton? Are there any lasting effects from your interaction with the blue light energy?”
“None that I can tell, except for feeling drained. And that could easily be explained by everything we did. There was the trek through the swamp, the rescue, then the battle. It was a pretty busy day. Get up and I’ll treat you to a cinnamon roll.”
“You got it,” Alex said, walking to me and giving me a big hug along with a messy kiss.
I hugged him back and kissed him some more. “I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you, Alex.”
“Same here,” Alex said.
We dressed casually in shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops.
“It’s off to see the damage and what’s left of Shelby,” I said as we walked out the door.
Chapter 35
Time to Go
I was really craving a cinnamon roll, so we got in the Jaguar and headed to the German bakery. Passing Mother Watkins’s neighborhood, I noticed some of the homes were now nothing more than burned and collapsing shells.
“I hope none of those ruined homes belonged to any of our allies,” I said.
“They didn’t, I checked,” Alex said. “All but one of them was abandoned. The one that wasn’t abandoned didn’t belong to any of our allies. This may sound crazy, but I’m really hungry this morning.”
“That doesn’t sound crazy at all. Our bodies have been through hell and back, so they need re-energizing. And by that, I mean energy of the food kind, not the blue light kind.”
I laughed and turned to see if Alex was laughing too. He was, and he looked cute. Since I was once again driving with my left hand on the steering wheel, I held Alex’s hand in my right hand.
“What’s gonna happen now?” Alex said.
“Well, right now we’re gonna get breakfast, then we meet with Miss Lucy. After that, your guess is as good as mine. I know it’ll be good for us both to leave this town, but I have no real plans beyond that. Remember, my reason for being down here was to work on the inheritance case. That’s done now, so I suppose I’ll have to find another client.”
“Are you going back home?”
“No, Alex, I’m not. That place wasn’t really home for me… at least it hadn’t been for a long time. They say home is where you’re surrounded by the people you love, who love you back. So, wherever we are together will be my home.”
Alex leaned over and kissed my cheek as we drove down Main Street.
“I love you, Layton.”
“I love you too. Sorry that I don’t have four walls and a yard to offer you at present.”
Spotting an empty parking space in front of the bakery, I quickly pulled into it.
“You know, Layton, it’s okay. It seems like my whole life was planned out for me by my family, so I think maybe not having a plan could be a good change for me.”
“Well, we won’t starve—not for a while anyway.”
Hans greeted us with hugs as soon as we entered the bakery.
“How are you, my friends? You two look well rested. But I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
He smiled before giving me a wink and a hearty slap on the back.
“We both needed sleep last night, Hans,” I said. “But I woke up with plenty of energy, so all’s good.”
“Good! You have to take time to smell the roses, even if the whole world’s going to shit around you.
“Everything looks fine around here,” Alex said. “I’m glad to see there wasn’t much damage.”
“Yeah, everything stood up pretty well. But the fight last night wasn’t between buildings or stores, it was between people. You two are lucky you weren’t here earlier, especially since you’re both wearing flip-flops.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because your feet would’ve been covered in black ash,” Jerhome said from the back of the room. “It’s nice to see you both.”
He walked over and gave us each a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Was there that much ash?” I said.
“Oh yes,” Jerhome said. “But I’ll let Hans fill you in on that stuff. What can I get you two for breakfast?”
“A cinnamon roll and juice for me,” I said.
“I’ll have the same,” Alex said.
“I’ll be right back after I heat the rolls,” Jerhome said.
“Thank you,” I said, before turning my attention back to Hans.
“A lot of cult members were killed in last night’s battle,” Hans said. “More than you probably realize.”
“It’s hard to keep count in the heat of battle,” I said.
“All that black dust or ash had to settle somewhere,” Hans said. “But a cleaning crew was out here early and the streets and sidewalks were swept clean. They used one of those big vehicles that they wash the roads with. Miss Lucy’s crew took care of everything. Jerhome and I watched while we got the bakery ready for business.”
“All that ash. Those people were cremated by that blue light and we would’ve been walking on their ashes—ugh,” Alex said with a disgusted look on his face.
I put my arm around him and pulled him close. “Don’t think about it, babe, it’s not worth it. What’ll happen here next, Hans?”
“Life will go on—as it must. The surviving cult members will most likely not return. Especially, now that Miss Lucy’s higher-ups have taken over. Soon they’ll be picking a mayor, who’ll have to help give this town a new identity.”
“And what about you and Jerhome?” I said. “Will you pick up and move or stick it out here?”
“There’s no reason for us to move. There will be hoards of investigators and scientists looking over everything here and they’ll need to eat.”
“That’s exactly right,” Noelle said from the doorway. “Hello, everyone, pardon my rude interruption.”
“I don’t know,” I said with a smile. “You sure do seem to know a lot. Maybe we should tie you up and interrogate you.”
“Well, I don’t think I’ll comment on the interrogation bit,” Noelle said. “But Hans is right about what he says. A lot of things need to be investigated here, and there’ll be people coming to do exactly that—some of whom will stay for an extended period and some of whom will come and go.”
“At the risk of sounding nosy,” I said. “Who are these people and what’s this big organization handling everything?”
“And here I thought you’d be in a rush to leave town,” Hans said. “Ever the detective, huh?”
“That’s me,” I said.
“Actually, Hans,” Noelle said. “I’ve a feeling that Layton will be leaving town sooner than even he thinks. And Layton, things will soon be made clear to you.”
“More riddles?” I said.
“No. My mother wants to see you this afternoon as soon as you’re done with Miss Lucy. She’s out of town, which is how I know that you’ll be going out of town soon—no big mystery there. In fact, I think Mother’s going to enlighten you about things and maybe even offer you another job.”
“Interesting,” I said. “How soon can Miss Lucy see me?”
“As soon as you leave here… she’s at the old Kennedy estate. Oh, my mother would like to meet with you also, Alex, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Is that a request or an order?” Alex said.
“Merely a request,” Noelle said. “But it may be to your benefit. In any case, I doubt the two of you will be coming back here again any time soon. So you may want to say your good-byes.”
“You do have a way of making things sound mysterious,” Hans said.
Noelle laughed loudly. “That did so
und rather ominous, didn’t it? It’s not though, I promise. When my mother hires someone to do a job, she usually wants them to start immediately.”
“Will you be helping on the case again?” I said.
“I don’t know. I’m playing guinea pig at present. The doctors are running their tests on me and I’m being asked a million and one questions. It’s all because of having channeled the blue light.”
“Are you healthy and fine?” Alex said. “No physical repercussions from everything?”
“I’m healthy as a horse,” Noelle said. “And, Layton, you owe me. They figure having one guinea pig is enough… as long as you’re feeling fine.”
“No problems. Listen, Noelle, can I have a moment in private? Alex can you wait here for the food?”
“No, I can’t,” Alex said. “If we’re a couple now, then I don’t want any secrets.”
Noelle shot me a quizzical look.
“We’re a couple now,” I told her.
“Clearly,” Noelle said. “But there was never a doubt in my mind.”
“Exactly,” Hans said. “Only I never imagined that Alex would be the one in charge… excuse me, but I’d better go help those customers that just walked in.”
He left to help a couple that was at the counter.
“What is it you want to ask me?” Noelle said.
“During the battle we were both able to grab energy from the ground. Was that only possible here or can we do it again?
“I’m not sure. Why? Are you anxious to have that energy coursing through your body again?”
“No, but what if we need to access it again?” I said.
“I don’t think we’ll be facing the same foes again. And the energy we accessed here was probably specific to this area… the cult had been nurturing it for many years. Oh and its home base in Europe which has also been dealt with successfully. My mother will give you more details when she meets with you. Was there anything else you wanted to ask?”
