by Rue Volley
“Ruebear… come on; the perfect dress is waiting in there,” she said.
I looked up and saw a shop with a top hat on it. A single top hat.
I blinked and wanted to walk, but something in me held me where I stood.
“I ah… I wanna go home. I think that this whole party thingy is just not going to happen,” I said.
Sara walked to me, but it looked stuttered… like I had filmed it, and then slowed it down and made it faster all at the same time. She stopped right in my face and reached down, grabbing my wrist. Her hold on me was a little too rough, and I pulled my hand from hers. She looked down at our hands and grinned.
“Rue… you promised that you would go, promised,” she said.
I looked at her and bit my lip.
“I never promised anything; I just went along with it,” I said.
“No… you said ‘Okay, I will go’,” Sara said, but it sounded like my voice and not hers.
I stepped back from her and stared her down.
“What?” Sara said, looking all confused.
“Your voice… it changed,” I said.
“Oh!” Sara said, as she covered her mouth and started to laugh.
“You think that’s funny?” I asked her.
Sara stopped laughing and placed her hands on her hips.
“You really are no fun, you know it?” she asked me.
I stood there, looking around at Calvary’s main street, and took a breath.
“I am leaving,” I said, as I turned and she stood right there, blocking my way.
“Listen, I went through some serious trouble to entertain you, and all I get is all this ‘Josh’s lips and I miss my Mom’ crap,” Sara said.
I looked at her, and my hands started to feel like I was holding onto a train track, as the train barreled towards me.
“What the hell?” I asked her.
“Maybe this will shut you up,” Sara said, as the street started to spin.
When it came to a stop, I was in the forest… Josh stood there with his shirt off, grinning at me.
I looked at him and sucked in my breath.
“Josh?” I said.
He didn’t answer me, but he did take a step towards me. I stepped back… not a normal reaction, considering that all I had done since I woke up is fight off the urge to run screaming and try to find him.
“Where…?” I started to say, as I looked around the forest and then back at him…as he started to pull his pants off.
I stood there and played with my hair.
“Ummm, you can just ah… put those back on,” I said.
He straightened up, only wearing his birthday suit.
I swallowed hard, trying to not look down. I mean… he was ah… well…
He started to laugh, and I cleared my throat.
“I don’t even know if you are real.”
He flashed up behind me, and I flinched, as he placed his hands on my sides and leaned in, grazing the back of my neck with his teeth. I looked down at my hands, and a Blue light started to build. It pulsated and, then the earth moved under my feet. I swayed a little, as he moved his mouth to the side of my neck and the pressure became greater, like I was in a submarine… Or so I had read about, without any equalization of the pressure building up as we descended.
“I ahhh,” I said, as his hands moved to the front of me.
He slipped his hand under my shirt.
My eyes blinked, as I felt his fingers move on my skin.
“Okay!” I said, as I lunged forward and almost fell on the ground.
Josh stood there, looking all pretty and naked.
I looked away from him, so that I wouldn’t just jump on him and make a mess.
“I… I can’t do this,” I muttered, as I looked down at my hands and watched the light glow in my palms.
Either I am broken or heading there at supersonic speed.
Then I heard clapping, and I looked up to see Lizzy, standing there in her pretty dress with a grin on her face. I stared at her and narrowed my eyes. She squatted down and tilted her head, looking at me for a moment, and then she looked at the ground.
“I swear that I tried to stay in character, but all your whining and self-doubt was cracking me up!” she said, as she looked back up at me.
“WTF?” I muttered as I looked at her.
“Oh… really...? Well the deal is, I needed to see what you were made of, but it seems that you are just another monkey with flashy Christmas lights,” she said.
I pushed myself up and clinched my fists at my sides.
“So this is all…” I started to say.
“Mine,” she said, as she rose up and looked me up and down.
“Freakin’ awesome, Lizzy; I really appreciate it,” I said, as I scanned the forest and heard nothing.
“I just had to know if the legends were true… but it seems that you are just a protector with a different color… like a rare flower in a shit pile,” she said.
“Put me back,” I said, as I felt the bile rising in my throat.
“Oh… with your Mommy?” she asked.
“My Mom is dead, Lizzy,” I said.
“Oh no… your parents are dawdling around in purgatory, seems that they are waiting on you,” she said.
“No, they are in memory where I left them,” I said.
Lizzy crinkled her eyebrows.
“You know what irritates me the most...? It is the fact that we are always called liars, and yet I speak the truth, most of the time. You see when your parents tried to move on something happened; they just dug their filthy nails in and stuck. I will tell you it has been fun,” she said.
I titled my head at her and gritted my teeth.
“You stopped them from moving on didn’t you?” I asked.
Lizzy shook her head ‘no’.
“I wish...! That would be awesome if I was able to do that, but no… they did it themselves.”
She tapped her chin with her fingers and then looked at me.
“That was when I said to myself that they must be waiting on something, and I narrowed it down to you,” she said.
“Good assumption, but I think that you are a liar and I am out of here,” I said, as I started to walk.
Lizzy flashed in front of me, and I stopped as she sniffed me.
I took a step back from her.
“Smelling me is just kinda creepy,” I said.
She laughed and opened up her eyes.
“You smell like honey,” she said.
I looked down at myself and grinned.
“Thanks… now get out of my way,” I said.
“Ahh… ah, ah,” Lizzy said, as a blade appeared in her hand and also in mine.
I looked down at it and gripped it tightly.
“Lizzy, I am not going to fight you.”
Lizzy tilted her head and suddenly swung the blade at me.
I dropped down to one knee and brought my blade up, stopping it from hitting me in the face.
“Huh,” Lizzy said, as she stared at me.
I looked up at her and gritted my teeth.
“If you don’t settle down, I will stab you,” I said.
She laughed and stepped back from me, waiting.
“Well… what do you know, the heart of a lion, and the weakness of a monkey,” she said.
I stood up and brushed off my knee.
“I get the whole ‘monkey’ reference,” I said.
“I bet that you do, with all the endless reading that you have done,” she said.
“Listen, I don’t want to fight you… In fact, I just want to leave,” I said.
I dropped the blade, hoping that the lack of confrontation would confuse her enough to release me from whatever spell she had woven to trap me There in LaLa land. I started to walk, leaving my back exposed to her. She cried out, and I blinked, as I walked away from her. She lunged at me. I heard the blade hit, but felt nothing. I turned, and she floated in the air, her blade stuck in a glowing mass that surro
unded me. I reached up and ran my fingers along the white gel looking-like substance, which had stopped her from killing me, and closed my eyes, as it sang to me. Violins welled up in my ears, and the white shield pulsated with my touch. I looked up, and it reached up towards the sky, like branches. It was the tree.
I sucked in my breath and stumbled backward, almost falling down. Lizzy stayed in the animated state, slowly moving… inch by inch, as she swung the blade through the air. She looked different, an angry expression on her face; her yellow teeth exposed. I turned and ran. I had no choice. I didn’t whip up a floating tree to protect myself, or so I think. I don’t know how much time it bought me to find a way out.
I stumbled through the forest, tripping over everything, and then I heard her scream out. I guess that the magic had faded, and now she was on the hunt. Crap. I pushed through tangled brush and sharp thorns, as they ripped at my shirt and jeans. I really didn’t feel it at all. I had one thing in mind and that was to escape and get back to reality… not this crap she conjured up to confuse me into insanity.
I stopped and ‘oh’d’, as I tried to balance on the edge of the cliff. I looked down, and rocks fell far below. I gained my balance and stepped back, feeling a poke at my back. I turned to see her standing there, all white skinned and black eyed, looking like death itself.
“You annoy me,” she said.
I laughed.
“You are kidding me, right?” I asked her.
“I told you that I don’t lie,” she hissed.
I tilted my head.
“Maybe not, but you are a crazy bitch,” I said, as I stepped back and felt the edge under my foot.
Lizzy looked past me and grinned.
“Time to die,” she whispered.
She swiped the blade at me, and I jumped back, twisting in the air. She dove over the edge, with the blade in her hand, and then I felt it… a huge vibration in my hands. I looked at them and held them in front of me… A bright flash came from my palms and slammed into her body… throwing it back up and over the edge away from me. I grinned, but then rolled over, as I saw that the churning water was coming up on me fast. I sucked in my breath, hell-bent on not drowning as I was so good at doing, and the light flashed from me again.
I closed my eyes, preparing for impact…
I landed on my bed and bounced off of it and onto the floor, hitting my head. I rolled on my side and let my air out slowly, as I realized that I wasn’t in the water… In fact, I am in my room… looking at the ceiling, with my cheap constellations stuck to it.
I pushed myself up and stumbled a little, as I ran to the door and jerked it open. I could hear talking downstairs and ran to the top of the stairs, then down to them at mock speed. I skidded to a stop, as everyone stood up and stared at me. Josh kicked the door open with some small girl in his arms and grinned at me.
“About time you showed up,” he said.
I opened my mouth and then sank to the floor, as I looked at my hands.
“Am I really here?” I asked out loud.
Josh laid the girl on the couch and flashed to me, grabbing my arms and pulling me up to him. He stared into my eyes, and I stood there frozen, waiting to know if I was really home or if this was yet another trick.
“Wanna go to the bedroom?” he whispered.
I rolled my eyes.
“Oh yea… this is home,” I said, as the room burst into laughter.
Josh pulled me to him and held me so tight I could not breath… but I didn’t care… he could hold me forever.
I didn’t need air, with him by my side.
***
Johnathan moaned and rolled over, holding his aching shoulder. He rubbed it and then sat up… His head feeling dizzy from an obvious beat down. He looked around the room and then spotted Jonah, lying on his side. He pushed himself up and then ran. He fell half way to him, as he felt a hard jerk on his ankle. It knocked him on his face, and he rolled over looking down at his foot. His shoes had been removed, and a black light wrapped his left ankle. He reached towards it, and then his fingertips became hot, like he was reaching towards the sun. He pulled them back and rubbed them together, watching some of his skin peel on the tips of them and float to the floor.
He heard a door and looked up to see Lizzy stroll in, looking a bit irritated. She walked across the room, just out of his reach, and then full on kicked Jonah in the side, slamming his motionless body against the wall. Johnathan stood up quickly and hissed, as he looked down at the black binding. Lizzy stood there and stared at Jonah. She turned to Johnathan, and her face softened and she grinned.
“Hello,” she said.
Johnathan tilted his head and stared her down, crossing his arms on his chest.
“What...? Don’t be angry; it will cause wrinkles,” she said.
Johnathan huffed, sounding more like an ‘I hate you’ half laugh, and Lizzy glanced at Jonah.
“You know, he is a beast really. I don’t care about all the crap with Lizzy and her heart… but she tends to cause me to have terrible heartburn if I don’t at least try to appease her somewhat.”
Johnathan looked at Jonah and then back at Lizzy.
“You possess her,” he said, as he lowered his arms.
Lizzy clapped her hands together and nodded.
“Oh my god! You are quick!” she said.
Lizzy looked up and then back at Johnathan.
“Gotta be careful when I say the big ‘G’ word, ya know?” she said, as she bit her lip.
“You are a demon… What the hell do you want?” Johnathan asked.
“Oh… so now you ask...? Well, let’s see. I want a new body; ya know…a better one. Lizzy has been fun and all, but I have my eye on a boy who is already equipped to win… and I am all about winning,” Lizzy said, as she stared at him.
“Who?” Johnathan asked her.
Lizzy laughed and sat down.
She leaned back on her hands and crossed her legs, stretched out in front of her.
“Just when I thought that you were all ‘smart’…you disappoint me, Johnathan. I expected more,” she said.
“I take that as a compliment coming from you.”
Lizzy rose up from the floor, slowly… until she stood on her feet again.
Johnathan watched her and stood his ground.
“I explained some of this to you already, but then I decided to strip the memory… So, I guess that I will tell you again.”
“What do you think you are, Johnathan?” she asked, as she stood there and fiddled with her dress.
She pulled a leaf off of it, placed it in her mouth, and started to chew.
“I am a protector,” Johnathan said.
“Oh, that sounds simple enough,” Lizzy said.
Johnathan looked down at his ankle, and Lizzy looked at it too.
“Sorry about that, demon binding, couldn’t have you running around all irritated,” she said.
Johnathan looked up at her and grinned.
“I am a protector, and if you had any honor, you would hand me a blade and take your chances.”
“Oh...! No, no, no. You don’t need to battle me; you have a much more important service to attend to.”
“I don’t know what else would be more important than killing you,” Johnathan said.
Lizzy tilted her head and smiled.
“You are an instrument of death, Johnathan, created to kill, to strike the creator down himself… or herself… or whatever. I mean, you are something special; you really are.”
“I am not going to kill the creator,” he said.
Lizzy flashed to him, but just out of reach.
“You are a dog, chained for now… but when the time comes, you will do what it is you were created to do. You will…you cannot change that,” Lizzy hissed at him.
Johnathan crinkled his eyebrows at her.
“I won’t kill anyone,” he said.
Jonah moved a little.
Johnathan looked past Lizzy and watched him roll ove
r and take a breath.
“Ahhh… Jonah!” Lizzy said, as she turned around and started to walk towards him.
Jonah blinked a couple of times and then looked at her. He backed up against the wall and sat there, rubbing his hands together. Lizzy squatted down in front of him and smiled, as she tilted her head.
“Hello, love,” he said.
Jonah gritted his teeth and stared into her lifeless eyes.
“You are not Lizzy,” he said.
Lizzy stood up and turned to Johnathan.
“Seems that I have trapped all the geniuses today,” she said, as she laughed and touched her stomach.
She muttered something and looked back at Jonah.
“Lizzy is very upset with you, Jonah,” she whispered.
“I doubt that it is me that causes her strife; it is the fact that a weak wannabe has stolen her body to do his will,” Jonah said.
Lizzy laughed and leaned down to him. Her face turned to white, and her teeth yellowed. She placed her hands on her knees. Small black cracks appeared on her skin, and her eyes rolled to black. She opened her mouth, and a screaming flowed out of it, high pitched and glass breaking. Jonah covered his ears and so did Johnathan, as the sheer volume of it caused their eardrums to vibrate with pain. Lizzy closed her mouth quickly and stood up grinning at him.
“Like her screaming, Jonah...? I would assume that you do,” he said.
Jonah lowered his hands from his ears, and a tear ran down his cheek. Lizzy quickly wiped it from his cheek with her finger and stood up, looking at it. She placed it in her mouth, and her teeth chattered together. Jonah adjusted himself on the floor and looked at the black binding, causing blistering on his ankle. Lizzy opened her eyes up quickly and looked at him.
“You shed,” she said.
Jonah cleared his throat and looked at Johnathan.
“Oh! That is just, I mean really...? Why would you trade your rogue status in, Jonah? I mean, now you have the weakness of a monkey!” Lizzy said.
“To feel is not weakness, it is liberating,” he said.
Lizzy grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground, as he struggled to pull her hand away. Johnathan stepped forward, and the binding on his ankle pressed against his skin. He hissed and looked down, as a small trail of smoke rose up. He looked back at Lizzy and took a breath.
