I glared at him for a moment, “Don’t interrupt. Anyway…when we got there, the barricades were mostly broken down, and the survivors were fighting the zombies. Of course, a lot of the zombies were from the furry convention so they were all ripped up and bloody zombies inside wolf costumes and undead people dressed up like beavers trying to eat people.”
“Tell them about the turtle!” Grim was actually bouncing up and down in anticipation.
“Stop interrupting.” I growled.
“Or what?” Grim questioned.
“Mama spank!” I threatened.
“I’m not really seeing the downside of this for me.” Grim teased, but then quieted down to let me finish.
“So anyway, it was just this bizarre scene of people fighting teddy bears, and men in horse costumes fending off zombie janitors. That’s when I see this one zombie dressed in a turtle suit chasing a woman in a rabbit costume. Penny threw the woman a baseball bat we found on the way up, and the woman spins around and starts just bashing the crud out of the turtle. There, Grim, are you happy now?”
Grim was already rolling with laughter. Meanwhile the rest of us just stared at him like he was some maniac. Finally Jes asked, “What’s so funny?”
Grim stopped and looked at her. “You don’t get it?”
“Get what?” Jes asked.
“Come on, the tortoise always beats the hare in the story. Finally for once, the hare beats the tortoise.” Then he began laughing again.
“It was disturbing, and not nearly that funny.” I grumbled.
Grim leaned over and kissed me, “Come on, it was a little funny.”
“Very little.” Penny snorted.
“Spoilsport!” Grim laughed, and kissed me again. This time he lingered until his sisters and mine started making gagging sounds. It was so worth it.
“Well, after the chupacabra made short work of the last few zombies, we had to keep the survivors from trying to beat the chupacabra to death. That was a lot harder than expected. I think it’s because those little guys are so freaky looking.” I said.
“Well, I’m working on that.” Grim smiled.
“What have you been up to?” Penny asked.
Grim smirked, “All in good time, honey. Now stop interrupting DD; it’s just rude.”
Penny gave him a playful slap on the arm, “Smartass.”
I felt the smile grow on my face, “So after we rescued the chupacabra from the survivors, we went to my computer. Janine was still plugged into my laptop. We were talking about how we all wished that we could rescue Janine from her electronic prison. Well, the chupacabra were listening, and as soon as they realized Grim wanted Janine free, they hopped over and stole the flash drive. Then the one that stole it swallows it, and starts bouncing back down the hall. We chased that little guy all the way back to the basement. When he got there, he made a beeline for Janine’s body. He leapt into her body and started eating her . After consuming all that energy, he looked like he was swelling up from the power. The poor guy had to be really hurting near the end. I mean, he’d swollen up like a basketball. Then, he just exploded into a gooey mist. When the mist cleared, Janine was laying on the floor naked, and alive.”
“How?” Hugenia asked.
Grim shrugged, “They are responsible for repairing the universe. They keep it from just falling apart, so if they help keep everything working, then bringing Janine to life can’t possibly be that hard. I’m kind of sad that one of them had to die so that she could live, though.”
“Speaking of Janine, where is she?” Grim’s dad asked.
“Well, Enoch and Janine have kind of hit it off. So she’s been spending a lot of time in The Black. Twilight and Who have been staying with them. They like it better there.” I answered.
“Who could like that place. It’s so dark.” Niki said.
“And evil looking.” Jes added.
“I’m working on it.” Grim smiled.
“Grim, I love you, but there is no way you could ever decorate that place up that it wouldn’t look like Hannibal Lecter’s dream home. It’s just dark, evil, and sterile.” Penny said gently.
“We’ll see.” Grim said slyly.
Grim’s mom interrupted, “The only thing I don’t understand... Okay, well, there are lots of things I don’t understand, but the main thing I’m having trouble understanding, is why you all worked so hard to help Katy. After everything she did, you couldn’t possibly want to help her?”
Grim sighed, “When I caught up with her, I honestly planned on scaring the piss out of her. I wasn’t sure if I’d kill her or just turn her over to the police. I had her in my hands, and all I could think was about how much I wanted to kill her. Then I heard that stupid chicken dance song.”
“She was saved by the chicken dance, that’s just lame.” One of Grim’s sisters snorted.
“No…I didn’t save her, I saved her baby.” Grim smiled.
“What!” Our families screamed.
“Yeah, apparently she’s preggers. I don’t think she even knows it. When I was about to kill her, I heard the music coming from her, but I also heard it coming from inside her, like a separate person. I couldn’t kill her. That kid deserves a chance even if she doesn’t.” Grim smiled.
“So, is it yours?” Grim’s mother asked.
“No. I think it might be Legion’s. That’s a scary thought. Regardless, I just couldn’t do it. I mean, all I could think was that if I killed her, then I’d be killing that kid, as well. I just couldn’t go through it. When I got back I told Penny and DD. Of course ,Penny told Niki, and Niki told Danika who told Janine. After we all had a chance to talk about it, we decided to keep giving Katy her share. That way that child will never want for anything. Then the more DD and I got to thinking about all the horrible things we did, we realized that Katy wasn’t much worse than we were. We thought that if we just gave her the same chance that we were given, that maybe she could turn herself around someday.” Grim shrugged.
“We don’t all agree with that last part, though.” Penny hissed, and I caught Niki and Danika nodding out of the corner of my eye.
“Regardless, just because she’s done some truly horrible things…that doesn’t mean she can’t be a good mother.” I said.
“What makes you say that?” Jes said disapprovingly.
“Well, just look at you. You’re here with us, and when this started, you were part of the group trying to kill us. People change. We wanted to give her the chance. After all, she is family even if she doesn’t realize it.” I smiled, but I noticed that most of the expressions surrounding us weren’t happy ones. They didn’t like how we chose to handle things. That was okay. I could live with that.
Grim rose up, “Well, I guess it’s show time.” He stretched out, and suddenly The Black rose up like a gateway in front of us.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’ve been a very busy boy. It’s time you all see what I’ve been up to in my free time.
Grim led us to The Black. As we got closer, he began to hum the tune from Willy Wonka. It was the song that Willy Wonka sings when he first shows everyone the room with the chocolate river and the edible grass. I knew immediately he was up to something sneaky, but I followed him through.
“Is this even the same place?” Penny whispered in awe.
Gone were the black marble ground, and instead was a green field. The cave where we’d waited for Grim to wake was replaced by- “Holy shit! Is that Tara from Gone With the Wind?” I screamed.
Grim smiled, “Do you like it? I had to watch that stupid movie six times to make sure I got every detail right. I know how much you like the book.”
I just nodded and cried. He made this for me.
“How?” Niki sputtered.
“This whole place is mine. These chupacabra can change it to suit my tastes. So I wanted to make it something that the two women I love more than anything could call home. So DD, did I do good?” Grim smiled.
“MM-hmm!” I
squeaked.
Grim beamed with pride, “Wonderful, now as for you.” Grim turned to Penny. “Okay guys, come out!”
Suddenly, tigers, lions, wolves, dogs, cats, and even hawks and falcons came from behind…Tara. They stopped right in front of us. I think we all realized we should be terrified, but just the oddness of it all kept us standing where we were.
“Where did you get all these animals?” Penny sputtered as she reached over to pet one of the lions.
“They’re the chupacabras.” Grim said smiling.
“What? How did you do this?” I asked. Everyone else was just awestruck.
“Like I said, this place is mine. The chupacabras can change it, and themselves. It took some time, but I think I’ve got just about everything you could ever have wanted to pet since you became a vampire. I let the chupacabras pick out what they wanted to be. There are still a few that chose to stay those lizard things, but most of them wanted a change. They’re happy, and they know that they are making me happy by giving you something you’ve been wanting for a long time. So did I do good?” Grim smiled.
“Well…you did well.” Penny corrected him, but she did it almost as reaction. She wasn’t really listening anymore. She was petting a lion. The lion’s head turned, and I saw its eyes flash red. It was the only hint that the creature wasn’t really a lion. Penny fell to her knees and buried her face in its mane. Then she looked up at Grim with a face full of gratitude, “Thank you.”
“You’re happy.” Grim smiled.
“The happiest I’ve ever been.” Penny laughed and went back to hugging the lion.
“Yeah, and I haven’t even shown you the best part. Bite one of them.” Grim chuckled.
“What?” Penny frowned.
“Bite one. We consume the life essence. We eat people, but we can sustain ourselves on animals. With that being said, take a nibble on that chupacabra.” Grim said.
Penny bit down on the lion, and the lion shuddered with pleasure. When Penny pulled away she looked shocked, “Oh my God. He tastes like chocolate pudding!”
“Try another. Some taste like fruits, some like deserts, the hawks taste like strawberry milkshakes.” Grim laughed.
Penny nibbled on a couple of them, and each time she made happy little yum sounds. After the sixth nibble she spun around, “You’re right. This is the best part. They’re delicious.”
Grim shook his head. “No...no...no. That wasn’t the best part. B-team!” Grim yelled.
Suddenly it was like we were under assault by all things fluffy and cute. Squirrels, bunnies, hamsters, and anything that could pass as a fluff ball scurried our way. They came to a stop, and then formed two lines that began to form a walkway up to, gulp…Tara. It was like Gone With the Wind just had a Disney moment.
“Come on.” Grim motioned for us to follow and began walking up the path. As we followed him, more creatures joined us and extended the walkway. Finally, four unicorns stood on both sides of the doorway like security.
We followed Grim inside, and oh God, he even added the stairway. I couldn’t help myself, “I love you-u-u-u-u-u-u!” I threw myself at him. Grim caught me and kissed me.
“I love you, too. So, are you happy?” He asked, and all I could do was nod. “What about you?” Grim asked Penny, and all she could do was stand there beside me and nod.
“Great and now for the best part…I think.” Grim said nervously. “C-team go!” He barked.
We heard scurrying from the floor above us. Then suddenly down the stairs flowed a river of bunnies and squirrels. Penny squealed with delight. The bunnies and squirrels spread out and formed two lines leading from upstairs down to Penny’s feet.
We looked up, and walking down the stairs was a perfect replica of Dr. Fluffenstein. Grim had convinced one of the chupacabra to become a copy of Penny’s stuffed skunk. It hopped and bounded down the stairs. Penny’s eyes were big as saucers. I actually heard her squeak. Dr. Fluffenstein held up a tiny black box. Penny reached out nervously and took it. When she opened it, we all gasped. Inside was a ring with a giant diamond.
Grim knelt down beside Penny, “Will you marry me?”
Penny squeaked something out, but it was barely audible. She must have said yes, though, because Grim scooped her up and kissed her. “Are you sure?” He asked.
Penny squealed, “Yes…Oh God, yes. If I don’t say yes now then who knows what you might try next?”
They kissed each other, and for a moment there, it was clear that they’d forgotten about all of us in the room. I tried not to be upset by that, but it still hurt a little.
Finally, Penny pulled away, “I have a minor change to the plan, though.”
Grim froze, “Did I do something wrong?”
Penny kissed him, “Yeah, you forgot one thing. You forgot to ask DD to join us.”
Grim smiled, “Well actually, I was hoping you’d say something like that.” Then he snapped his fingers, and Dr. Fluffenstein held up a second box.
“Holy shit!” I screamed. I opened the box, and an identical diamond was glittering up at me.
“Do you want to do the honors, or should I?” Grim asked.
“I think we do this together.” Penny grinned.
They both knelt down in front of me and said, “DD, will you marry us?”
I wanted to say yes, and hop up and down in celebration. What came out instead was, “OHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT!” Yeah, I’m smooth.
Eventually, I calmed down enough to tell them yes. They kissed me, and everyone celebrated. Everyone was happy except for Niki. She glared at Penny and I, “My colors are lavender and pink. My wedding day is October twentieth. Is that going to be a problem? If it is then I’m telling you right now that I called dibs, and I’m not above giving you both a serious beat down over this. So speak up now and take your lumps.”
Penny said, “That’s fine by me.”
“No problem here.” I answered.
“Great, welcome to the family.” Niki gave us both a hug and started bouncing up and down with joy.
As soon as she walked away Penny leaned in and whispered, “We are going to have to really work together in order to make our wedding better than hers.”
I turned towards Penny in shock. She grinned, “What? I’ve been waiting over three hundred years for this. If I’m doing this, then I’m going all out. Now are you with me?”
I smiled, “Always.”
Midnight Squad: The Ties That Bind Page 61
