by Randy Henson
“Or ninjas,” Jack offered.
“I’ll ask Moira about it,” I said as I broke off a piece of bacon and popped it into my mouth. It tasted greasy, salty, and great.
Orin leaned closer to me and in a lowered voice he said, “Ask her anything you want, but tell her little. Not until you’re absolutely sure you can trust her. And even if and when you do trust her, don’t tell her about my medicine.”
I chewed the bacon as I shook my head.
“I wouldn’t do that. It’s your medicine, your secret. Not my place,” I said.
Orin smiled and nodded as he leaned back in his chair.
CHAPTER THREE
Colonel Lundy awoke to the sound of someone knocking on his motel room’s door. He rolled over, looked at the electronic clock on the nightstand, and groaned. Oh well, three hours was better than no hours, he thought as he swung his legs off the bed. He had slept fully dressed except for his sidearm and boots. He walked over to the door and opened it.
“Sorry to disturb you, Colonel,” Lieutenant Hale apologized.
Colonel Lundy yawned and waved Hale inside.
“Tell me something good, Lieutenant,” Lundy said.
Hale frowned, shook his head, and said, “Sorry, sir. Wish I could. It looks like those hundred men are heading this way after all. They started moving again at dawn. They’re now twenty miles out.”
“What about our support, the choppers and caravans? They were supposed to be here at dawn.”
“I know, sir. They’re forty miles out.”
“Damn.”
“The choppers might beat the hostiles here if we order them to leave the caravans, sir.”
Lundy nodded and thought for a moment. Then he said, “We still have four choppers, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Order two of them to stay with the caravans and have the other two come here immediately.”
“Yes, sir,” Lieutenant Hale said. Then he turned and left.
Lundy sat down on the edge of his bed and pulled on his boots.
Too many hostiles, too many unknowns, Lundy thought as he laced up his boots. Well, what did he expect? Nothing came easy, not anymore.
He stood and grabbed his holstered Colt .45 off the nightstand and clipped it onto the waistband of his fatigues.
He left the motel room and descended the concrete stairs that led to the motel’s pool area. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned away from the pool and headed toward the motel’s front parking lot, passing soda and snack machines along the way.
He stopped when he reached the parking lot and surveyed his convoy of jeeps and SUVs. Soldiers milled around the parking lot next to the vehicles, talking to one another as they smoked cigarettes and sipped from Styrofoam cups.
Coffee. That’s what he needed.
Lundy turned and made his way to the motel’s office lobby.
As he reached for the handle to the lobby’s door, Lundy jerked as he heard an explosion come from the direction of the galleria.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I fear I am not long for this world, Joseph,” Moira said.
Joe knelt beside her bed and took her right hand into both of his.
“Don’t say that,” Joe said.
“And why not? It is the truth, Joseph. Don’t look so sad. I’ve lived a long full life. And I still have a little time left. It should be enough to save you and the others.”
“It’s the Deville boy, isn’t it?”
“Jack.”
“Jack, then. Relieving his symptoms has weakened you.”
Moira gave Joe a weak smile and said, “Eighty-two years have weakened me, my boy. Helping Jack was necessary.”
“To keep her here.”
“No, that’s not the only reason. Although, I don’t see her leaving now that she has her brother back, really has him back.”
“Are you sure she’s worth it?”
Moira frowned and said, “Of course she’s worth it, just as you and the others are worth it. I’m not going to stop helping others, not just because the years are catching up with me.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m just wondering if it’s all worth it, that’s all,” Joe said as he looked down at their hands.
Moira reached over, tucked a bony, gnarled finger under Joe’s chin and tilted his head back up so she could look into his eyes again.
“Listen to me, my boy. This is all worth it. It is worth everything. It is worth the world. You must believe in me, Joseph. You must.”
“Of course I do. Always.”
Moira smiled and patted Joe’s arm.
“Then promise me, Joseph. Give me your solemn oath.”
“Anything. You know that. Anything you ask.”
“Promise me you will protect her. Promise me you will protect her and her brother as if they were your own blood. Your survival depends on it. Everyone’s survival depends on it.”
Joe looked into Moira’s one good eye, her golden eye, and he watched as a tear seeped from its corner and rolled along the side of her crooked nose. He felt his own eyes begin to mist.
“I swear, Moira. I will. I’ll protect her with my life.”
“And her brother, too. He will become just as important as her, or so my dreams tell me.”
“And her brother as well. As if they were my own children.”
Moira smiled and patted Joe’s arm again.
Then she said, “Good. Thank you, Joseph. Now bring her to me. We don’t have a lot of time.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
Then he released her hand, stood, and left her bedroom.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Was that thunder?” Orin asked as he looked up at the ceiling.
I looked up at the ceiling as well and said, “Must have been.”
I looked from the ceiling and looked around to see that everyone in the food court had stopped what they were doing and were looking up at the ceiling as well.
“What’s that beeping noise?” Jack asked.
I tilted my head and concentrated. Then I heard it too.
“Those are car alarms. The thunder must have set off the cars in the parking lot,” I said.
Then four armed guards ran into the food court, passed our table, and charged through a door that led to a stairwell.
“Are you a good witch?” a soft, high voice said from behind me.
I turned in my seat to see the small blonde girl that had talked to me the night before while I was looking for clean clothes in Macy’s women’s department. Then I realized she was the same girl that had been talking to Jack earlier.
“No, sweetie, I’m not,” I assured her.
“But Jack said you were a good witch. You can’t be a bad witch. Bad witches aren’t beautiful. Right?”
“What I mean is that I’m not a witch at all,” I said as I looked from the girl to a grinning Jack, “Did you tell her I was a witch?”
Jack shook his head and said, “She’s the one who told me you were a witch. This is Molly. Molly, this is Bernie.”
“Bernie?” Orin said.
I looked at Orin and said, “Bernice. I mean B.”
Then I looked back at Molly.
“But your eyes are gold like Moira’s,” Molly said.
“Who told you I was a witch?” I asked.
“Witches have gold eyes,” she insisted.
“And you think Moira is a witch?” I asked.
Molly nodded and said, “She’s a good witch. Granny says all witches are bad, but she’s wrong. I know Moira is good.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“I can feel it,” she said.
I nodded. I knew what she meant. I somehow felt it, too, that Moira was good, that she could be trusted.
But could I trust myself?
Could I trust my own feelings? They had betrayed me before.
I reached out and put my left hand on Molly’s shoulder and asked, “You said last night that it wasn’t safe for me her
e, that I should leave. Why did you say that?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t notice your eyes. I thought you were a wanderer.”
“Wanderer?” Jack asked for me.
“You know, stranger. They wander around. They have no home. Sometimes they come here.”
“And this is your home?” I asked.
Molly giggled, nodded, and said, “Of course it is, silly.”
“Do you still want me to leave?” I asked.
Molly’s face grew serious as she shook her head.
“Because you think I’m a witch?”
“Because you’re good,” she said.
I gave her shoulder a quick squeeze and then pulled my hand back and placed it in my lap.
“I think you’re good too, Molly. Thanks for welcoming us into your home,” I said.
Molly gave me a big smile.
Then she looked over both her shoulders, then back into my eyes and whispered, “Can you keep a secret?”
“Cross my heart,” I said.
Then she looked over at Orin, frowned a little, and said, “What about him?”
I looked at Orin and grinned, “That’s Orin. He’s a friend.”
“He’s pretty like Jack,” Molly said.
Both Orin and Jack laughed at that.
“I think you’re pretty too, Molly,” Orin said.
“So what’s this secret?” Jack asked.
Molly looked over both her shoulders again. Then she looked back at Jack, Orin, and me and asked, “Do you guys want to see where they keep the bad witches?”
CHAPTER SIX
Colonel Lundy ran across the parking lot to where Sergeant Rogers stood next to an SUV talking into a walkie-talkie. Rogers turned as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and he saluted Lundy as he approached.
Lundy stopped in front of Rogers and asked, “What the hell was that?”
“Explosion, sir. We’re trying to locate the source. I sent two spotters to investigate,” Rogers said.
“Make sure eyes stay on the galleria. The explosion could be a planned distraction.”
“Distraction for what, sir?”
“So they can move the Deville girl.”
“You think so, sir?”
“I’m not sure. That’s the point, Sergeant. I want to be sure.”
“Of course, sir.”
Lundy turned and headed back to the motel’s lobby as Rogers began barking orders into his walkie-talkie.
As Lundy approached the lobby, Lieutenant Hale exited and froze when he saw the colonel.
“Was that an explosion, Colonel?” Hale asked.
Lundy brushed passed Hale, who was still holding the door open, and entered the lobby as he said, “Yes, Lieutenant, it was. Rogers has sent a couple of men to investigate. Make sure we keep eyes on the galleria. I don’t want the Deville girl slipping out.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lieutenant Hale was turning to leave when Lundy said, “Oh, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, sir?”
“After you’ve made sure the galleria is visually secured, wake up Dr. Nichols and the two of you meet me at the jeep.”
“Yes, sir,” Hale said. Then he left as the door closed behind him.
Lundy walked over to the two coffee machines resting on a table next to the reception desk. He grabbed a large Styrofoam cup from a stack next to the machines. He then poured himself a full cup from the pot of coffee that looked the darkest.
Had it been a distraction? Are they moving the Deville girl? That would mean they know we’re here. Not inconceivable. The hostiles at the galleria must know someone is out here after the gun battle last night. Surely they didn’t think they had chased off the invaders all by themselves.
Lundy sipped coffee as he made his way out of the motel’s lobby. He walked across the parking lot and over to his jeep. He opened the front passenger’s door and got in, leaving the door open so he would be able to hear better in case someone needed him.
The choppers should be here soon, he thought. He’d be able to survey the area better then, get a better handle on the situation.
Then his mind turned to the hostiles they had captured the night before, and he shuddered. What had caused them to shake and foam at the mouth? They had also bled from their ears and eyes. What caused that? He had seen people have seizures before, but Lundy had never seen anyone shake until they bled from their ears and eyes. The only thing he could think of that did that was radiation.
Lundy closed the jeeps door when he saw Hale and Dr. Nichols walk down the concrete steps. As they opened doors and climbed into the jeep, Dr. Nichols asked, “What’s going on?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out, Doctor. Buckle up,” Lundy said.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Orin, Jack, and I got up and cleared and cleaned our table. We were about to follow Molly to where the bad witches are kept, whatever that meant, when I heard someone yell my last name. Jack and I both turned and I saw Joe walking briskly toward us.
Joe stopped in front of me and said, “Moira is asking for you.”
“Okay,” I said. I then turned to the others and said, “You guys go on without me. I’ll catch up with you later.”
I noticed Molly was giving Joe a strange look. I couldn’t quite read it.
I turned back to Joe and said, “Shall we?”
“What?” Joe said as he stared after Molly, Orin, and Jack who had all turned and started walking the other way.
“Moira? “ I said.
Joe shook his head and said, “Right, sorry.” Then he led me toward Macy’s.
“What does Moira want?” I asked as we walked.
“Oh, to talk. Where were you about to go?”
“Excuse me?”
“You told the others to go ahead without you. You said you’d catch up with them later.”
“Oh, we just wanted to hunt down a few odds and ends, flashlights, batteries, flares if we could find any, that sort of stuff.”
“So you’re still planning to leave us?” Joe asked.
“Not today, I don’t think. Not with the change in Jack. But it’s always good to be prepared.”
“I see you found a little helper.”
“Helper?”
“Molly.”
“Oh, right. More like she found us, or Jack rather. She was eating breakfast with him when Orin and I got there.”
“Has she been telling you anything interesting?”
I looked over at Joe to find him studying my face. I knew he was trying to gauge my reaction to his question. Poor Joe didn’t realize he wasn’t dealing with an amateur.
“Everything out of that child’s mouth is interesting,” I said as I gave Joe what I hoped was a mysterious smile.
Joe’s face grew more worried.
“How so?” he asked.
“Well, for one thing, she said that Moira and I are witches because our eyes are gold,” I said.
Joe smiled and his face relaxed somewhat.
“She did, did she?”
“But she thinks we’re good witches, so I wasn’t too offended.”
Joe chuckled and nodded.
“She say anything else?”
I didn’t want to mention anything about her taking us to see the bad witches.
“Tons. All sorts of crazy kid crap. Why don’t we cut to the chase, Joe?” I said as we stepped onto the escalator.
“Cut to the chase?”
“Yeah, since Molly wouldn’t shut up and told us all sorts of disturbing things, why don’t you just tell me what you’re afraid she told us and I’ll tell you whether she did or not.”
Joe looked at me for a moment and then threw his had back and laughed.
“And what would I be afraid she told you?” Joe asked when his laughter had played out.
“I’m sure I don’t know, but I hope it’s not the part about her mother being a witch and being kidnapped by ninjas. I would hate for that to actually be true.”
Joe shoo
k his head as he stepped off the escalator and said, “Ninjas, huh?”
“Vampire ninjas. They had teeth made out of diamonds.”
I’m not sure where that last part came from. I just wanted it to sound like I found Molly’s tales absurd.
“Moira is through here,” Joe said as he we approached a pair of glass doors.
Joe pushed the left door and held it open for me. I passed through and into what were once management offices. There was a front desk where I’m sure a receptionist once sat.
“This way,” Joe said as he turned left at the receptionist’s desk.
We walked down a carpeted hallway with framed prints of Mondrian and Gustav Klimt hanging on the walls. Joe led me to the end of the hallway and turned right. We passed a few doors and he finally stopped and knocked on a door on our left.
“Come in,” I heard Moira say.
Joe opened the door and we entered.
It was a large room, most likely an executive’s office at one time, and it had been converted into a comfortable bedroom. Bookshelves filled with books lined three of the four walls. In front of the fourth wall there was a vanity, a nightstand, and pushed against the wall between the two was the head of a large canopy bed where Moira half lay and sat propped up on a mountain of pillows.
“Hello, my dear. Leave us, please, Joe,” Moira said.
Joe turned and left, closing the door behind him.
“Come, child, sit down,” Moira said as she motioned towards a Victorian style chair that sat next to her bed.
I walked over and sat and said, “Are you not feeling well?”
“Well enough for my age. I’m afraid I don’t sleep well anymore and it tends to sap my energy. I trust you slept well?”
I thought about it and nodded. I didn’t remember the last time I’d slept so soundly.
“You found your accommodations adequate?”
I nodded and said, “Perfect. As a matter of fact, I don’t remember having slept so well before. I don’t even think I dreamed last night.”
“I believe you’ll find you dream very little from here on out. I hardly dream at all anymore. I’ve had only a handful of dreams since my eye turned color. At least I don’t remember them, at any rate.”
