fiX - A ParaBnormal Fairy Tale

by Michael Golvach

  The phone rang, as he looked around the room for incongruous darkness, and he lifted the receiver and put it to his ear.

  “Junie?” Richard asked, as David began breathing like his former girlfriend. Effortlessly recreating her simple breathy mannerisms and purring a ‘yes’. “You finally given up on that junkie loser? You ready to bring us the tape? We can forgive and forget, yeah?” David moaned softly, pleasurably. Indicating with a hum of sensual delight that he was receptive to Richard’s suggestions. “Look, Junie. You give us the tape and we’ll get rid of that scumbag that fucked up your life, tried to roll on us. And then we’ll get you back to working. Like I said, baby. I’ll get you started. And I pay well. Sound good?” David breathed out slowly. “Are you going to answer me or am I going to have to remind you what you are again?”

  Then David, wearying of the charade, went back to being himself. “I know what I am, Ricky. And, no thanks. I’d rather bleed out in a ditch than suck on your nob.”

  “Davey?” Richard asked. “Well how about this? Your uncle not around again? He keeps calling me and playing games. Why don’t you put him on the phone.”

  “Isn’t there something else you should be wondering, Ricky?” David asked. “Aside from why you can’t get it up anymore without a childrens’ swimwear catalogue in your other hand.”

  “You haven’t had any visitors yet? Your neighbours still breathing? You done calling me up and pretending you’re someone else, you big-mouthed cock sucker?”

  “Oh yeah. Everything at the neighbours is fantastic. The three Guatemalans didn’t have anything nice to say about you before they went away, though. I can’t blame them. If you’re going to fuck the help you could at least treat them to a meal and movie first.”

  Richard’s breath came heavy over the earpiece. “What I thought, you miserable bitch. I don’t know how you pulled that shit with the disconnected phone, but you’re not fooling anyone, you delusional prick.”

  “Look. For the last time. If you’re getting calls from my uncle, that’s between you and him. Either that or your imagination is getting to you. Just like I’m not letting your lame stall get to me. Let me guess. After those three failed to deliver, Paulie told you he needed someone who speaks English to come out here and ask the hard questions, and he offered you the job. Am I right?”

  “Listen, Davey. That shit doesn’t even matter.”

  “I think it does, Ricky. I think, for all your talk, you’re too much of a pussy to come and get the tape yourself. You’re a real bad-ass when you’re surrounded by an army of lunatics with guns and knives, but I’ll bet you wouldn’t last seven minutes out here in the country. Just you and me. Like I offered you in the warehouse when Paulie conveniently changed the subject for you. I’d beat you to death with my bare hands. I’d make you cry like the little bitch you are while you thanked me for it. I’d fuckin’ eat you for breakfast. Like your Guatemalan thugs.”

  “What are you saying, Davey? You asking me to believe you took care of all the talent I sent your way? Planted all seven of them?”

  “You got your count wrong,” David replied. “And yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you. Now I’m asking you, you limp dicked paedophile. What are you going to do when Franky shows in court with the tape?”

  “You and that fuckin’ mouth are going to... And I’m not a... Wait. You got the tape still?” Richard laughed. “You know if you’d have left it in that shitty little safe house you call home now, you could have ducked out, let the Guatemalans find it and we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. We would have forgotten. All about you and your precious fuck toy, Junie. Why, Davey?”

  “Because I decided, the minute you started calling and harassing us, I didn’t like the terms of our arrangement. The tape is my insurance. It’s all I need to end you. So you should forget me, forget Junie, my neighbours, this town, everything. You should forget all about us. Forget your tape. Forget Franky. Let it go. Let it go before it’s too late.”

  “It’s already too late, Davey.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning Franky isn’t ever going to show in court with that tape. Franky isn’t ever going to show anywhere. You didn’t hear?”

  “Hear what, Ricky?”

  “Poor junkie bastard blew his brains out. With his own service revolver. High on dope, sitting in his car, parked in some alley when he pulled the trigger. God knows what shit he pulled he couldn’t live with, but he capped himself. You believe that?”

  “Not for a second.” David’s eyes began to burn. “Although that would explain his visit.” Richard began to question him as David continued. “I never much cared for Franky and his twisted sense of right and wrong, but I don’t like how you ended his story. He was bent, for sure. And he threw me and Junie to the dogs. But he wasn’t all bad. He was doing the right thing. He just didn’t know how to do it the right way. He didn’t use. He hated the drugs. He hated the users. And he sure as hell hated you and that fuck Paulie. I don’t like that you killed him. His death is on your head now.”

  “What are you going to do about it, Davey?” Richard asked. “Are you finally going to meet me? Or is your uncle going to take care of that for you?”

  “No,” David said. “My uncle’s going to let me have this one. I’m going to meet you. And I’m going to meet Paulie. But first, I’m going to flush the whole precinct by coming back to the city, dumping the tape, calling in its location and seeing how many cops are on your payroll. My guess is the force is going to be running a bit thin after that happens.”

  Richard laughed. “You’re fuckin’ killing me, Davey. You and your imaginary friends. You think you’re going to, what, bring I.A.D. in and take down an entire police precinct?”

  “You think they won’t do it? You think it hasn’t happened before? They live for that shit. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll kill everyone on the force who works for you. Like I did to Billy and Joey last night.”

  Richard stopped laughing. “Billy was there?”

  “Yeah, he was. Past tense. He’s fertiliser now. Like every bent cop you own is going to be soon. Like you’re going to be. Like Paulie is. You’re all fuckin’ dead and there isn’t a God damned thing you can do about it.”

  “I’m sure the police are going to love hearing that threat,” Richard said. “You know they can put you in the slam for conspiracy to commit? Just for saying that, right?”

  “Yeah, but they can’t put me in the slam because you said I said so. It’s more likely, if you open your mouth and start spouting crazy shit like that, they’ll assume it’s a veiled threat. A threat coming directly from Paulie. Then you’ll find out how many cops you really own. I think they’ll shut you down in a day. And the Family won’t fight to keep your turf. It’s a negative-cash-flow area. Then again, if I start knocking off every cop you own, one by one, and make it known why, they’ll probably do the same. What do you think?”

  “I think you’re playing a stupid and dangerous game, Davey. Even just you and me. And your uncle. On the phone. You’re starting to piss me off. You don’t want to do that.”

  “No,” David said. “That’s exactly what I want to do.”

  “Well then, bravo. You’re doing a fantastic job, Davey. A really super job.” Richard’s end of the line muffled for a moment as it sounded like he was slamming the phone onto the desk repeatedly. “All right, you little shit. I’ll tell you how this all ends. I’m sending an army out to see you, that filthy fuckin’ slut Junie, your neighbours and everyone else. They’ll be there so fast, you won’t know what to do. I’m going to throw numbers at your ass. Expect at least twenty-six guys. Twenty-six crazy Guatemalans who will be deaf to your pleas for mercy. You know what the only instruction I’m going to ask Paulie to give them is, Davey?”

  “Please teach Ricky some fuckin’ Spanish?”

  “You little mother— I swear to God, I’m going to—”

  “Okay, Ricky. Calm down. Don’t get yourself all worked up. What ins
truction would that be?”

  “Tape or no tape, they’re going to keep you and that tasty little bitch of yours alive and bring you back to me, so I can torture you both properly. And your neighbours? Fuckin’ forget about them. You signed their lives away. You insolent little fuck.”

  “Leave the neighbours out of it, Ricky. You’ll do that, at the very least, if you don’t want this to end the worst way possible for you.”

  “Hit a soft spot, did I?” Richard laughed. “You dumb mother fucker. You just guaranteed their ends. Say goodbye to your neighbours, Davey. They’re dead already.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” David said. “And when this is all over, if you and Paulie are still alive, I’ll walk that tape into court myself. That evidence is still gold, yeah, you fuckin’ half-wit?”

  “Soon you and everyone you’ve ever known are going to wish you’d never been born, Davey.”

  “You know, if you and Paulie were actual members of the mob, you might be scary. But you’re just two incompetent idiots the real wise guys let manage seven blocks in the city no one else wants to dirty their hands with. If you want to try to scare me, have your big brothers give me a call. Your cheap impersonation isn’t cutting it. If it wasn’t for all the protection you two morons have at your beck and call, the Ladies Auxiliary club would have taken you out years ago.”

  Richard’s end of the line went dead and David’s hair stood on end. He sniffed the air in the kitchen and looked in the direction of the Strange household. Richard wasn’t lying. He’d gathered forces close by, waiting to move in on him.

  The men he was sending were already en route.

  Cadence sat on the living room couch, staring at her reflection in the turned off television set, lost in thought, when she heard the patio door slam open and she leapt from her seat to hide.

  “Melody?” David’s voice called out. “I mean, Cadence? Are you still here?”

  She moved from her hiding spot and grabbed him around the waist, pulling him back into the kitchen before he could reach the door to her room.

  “Slow down, David.” She loosened her grip and let him spin around to face her. “What is it?” She sniffed the air. “More? Already?”

  “A lot more.” He took her face in his hands. “But it will all be over before Brent gets back from work. I know you’re angry with me, but I need your help to prepare me to take care of the men who are coming for us, all by myself. I need you to help me. Now... Good sweet Christ, you’re even more beautiful than I remembered.”

  Her face broke out in a smile as she rubbed vigorously at his arms to calm him. “It’s been less than an hour since you left, David. I still have to exercise to get the smell of the provision out of my system, and shower. How am I more beautiful?” She shook her head. Her face and body became liquid and began transforming themselves from David’s memory of an appropriately aged Melody to the Cadence she had become. Finding it not so simple a task. “Wait. No. David, you’re confusing me again. Please take your hands from my face.”

  “I’m sorry.” He removed his hands quickly as her shape shifting completed. “I got angry. It was stupid. But I called the man who’s responsible for all the death I’ve brought into your town. I let him know I fixed the murdering rapists he sent out here last night. He has more men nearby. Waiting for his call. I made him angry enough that he made that call. I know he’s not lying. I can smell them coming. As can you.”

  “Oh.” She rubbed her arms. “I have so much more to teach you. I mean, that isn’t to say you wouldn’t, or couldn’t, learn on your own, but... This is bad. I—”

  “It’s okay, Cadence.” He stopped her hands from floating around her arms. “Really I just need to know three things. How do I silence at least twenty-six men as fast as possible? And how do I create a glass prison they can enter into, and then close behind them without risking attack?”

  “Well...” She hid her face away. “This is... Oh, this is embarrassing. I feel like—”

  “It’s okay, whatever it is,” he said. “I need to know now. Can you teach me? Can you show me?”

  “Yes.” She turned her face downward. “Do you promise not to think badly of me?” She looked back up. “Promise? Please?”

  “Yes, I promise.”

  “You just visualise everything we did with our hands and our tongues and our breath last night.” She turned away from him, avoiding eye contact. “I needed to show you so you would understand it. The actions. Not the concepts, do you understand? But now that you know them, and you’ve performed them, you can do them without using your hands, or your breath. Or your tongue. The killing and preparation for consumption still has to be done manually but... When you said that pretty much everything was mental, I lied to you by not answering fully. It’s not that pretty much everything is mental. It’s... Well, everything. All of it is mental. I’m so sorry. I feel like—”

  “What?” he asked. “You didn’t do anything wrong. That makes perfect sense. If I didn’t have the experience of doing all those things, I wouldn’t be able to visualise them nearly as well. I get it. I do.”

  “But I could have done a whole lot less, David. I was condescending to you when you asked about all the licking. Because it’s really all about willing things into being. I’m... What I did was terribly inappropriate. I’m ashamed to say I enjoyed how you made me feel. How I still do. It’s no excuse, but it’s why I get so angry with you. It’s a conflict. I’m still having it. I feel...”

  “Human?”

  Her lips trembled as she tried to smile. “Human, yes. And like a foul, adulterous woman. Lusting after your touch. It felt. It feels... So wonderful. It made me uncomfortable, but, at the same time, I didn’t want it to stop.” She looked down as she rubbed at her wrists. “The worst parts about last night, for me, were when you started taking me seriously and stopped having fun with me. With my body. Adoring me as you do. Or you did. Licking me. Touching me. Tasting me. Kissing me. Breathing on me. It’s confusing. Because I feel lost. Now, more than ever. I have to get ready for when Brent returns home so I can prove to you you’re wrong about him. But I’m afraid for you now too. And, though this is a terrible thing to say, a part of me hopes you’re right about him. A part of me wants to make Juno disappear. Poof. Like that. Because she’s never been anything but cruel to me. The way she makes fun of me and how she talks about me like I’m some hideous beast. It’s not my place to judge, but it angers me. I deserve to be treated with respect. Don’t I?”

  “Of course you do, Cadence.” He pulled her into him and hugged her. “You are.”

  “By you, for the most part,” she said. “But when Brent and Juno see me. When they see what you made me see. How magnificent you made me feel. If they start to respect me then, how should I feel about that? It’s what I’ve always wanted, but I’ll know it’s false.”

  “Look at me.” He tipped up her chin. “You, being who you are, would have always known it was false. If I lied to you before, you would have known that too. I didn’t make you feel beautiful. If there wasn’t a beautiful... being? ...inside you no one else could see, you would have felt I was lying to you, or trying to use you. You are so connected. To things other people have no idea exist. You would have known. Nothing will change. Only... The things you didn’t want to believe about certain things and certain people. They’re going to become real now. Because you’re no longer going to be hiding yourself away to protect other people from feeling bad about hurting you. That’s good, because you never should have had to do that in the first place. Anyone who hurts you is not your concern. Their feelings aren’t your priority. Do you understand me?” She nodded. “Please keep Junie asleep three or four hours longer. I’ll be back. Exercise. Take two or three showers. Get the smell of meat off you. And think about this.”

  “Yes?” She shook with excitement and fear.

  “When we all get together tonight, I’m going to be the gamy one. Then you’ll get to see what it’s been like for me having to watch
you being belittled. Then maybe you won’t feel so sorry for everyone who treats, or ever treated, you badly.”

  “You’re precious to me, David,” she said. “On the inside, you’re very familiar. And I don’t use that word in the sense that I’ve known you before. I confessed that to Juno the first night we spoke. I felt terrible about it, but I couldn’t help it. It’s still not appropriate for me to say. But you’re... You need to go. I will ensure Juno stays asleep. And I will pray for you.” She paused. “Will you really not let me help you?”

  “No.” He began to close the patio door. “Today is about you. I’ll take care of the next wave of goons, and I’ll make every one wish they’d never threatened me, Junie, Brent and especially you, before they thank me for allowing them to die. You take care of yourself. Get the smell of the meat out of your system, and tonight we’ll have an interesting supper together. All four of us.”

  “I’d like that,” she said. “It will be interesting, won’t it? Will Juno still pretend to love you, do you think, when she smells the game?”

  “Maybe,” he said. “She’ll assume it’s you. I don’t give a shit. I don’t need her. Not like I once thought I did.”

  “I’ll listen for you, if you need help. I’ve been damping our connexion today. Because of tonight. But I’ll hear.”

  Cadence went back into her bedroom, caused Juno’s sleep to lengthen and deepen, knelt in the corner by the edge of her bed and prayed for David as she began doing push ups.

  David ran back across the street to his home. The kill house, as it was so aptly named. The house with all the utilities paid in full but no way to continue service because nothing, not even the phone, was listed under his, or Juno’s, name. He looked back at the Strange household. Hoping Cadence was feeling all right. Hoping she would still be feeling that way by the end of the day. Damning himself for making her see herself the way he did, even though he knew it was the only right thing he could do by her. Considering his uncle’s ‘easy out’. Wishing there was some way he could get rid of Brent without completely destroying any of the trust he’d managed to build with Cadence. Hoping that his actions that day were, somehow, laying the foundation for the outcome he truly desired. Then focusing on the task at hand and forcing himself to forget.