by Kim Cormack
Lexy awoke what felt like only a few moments later to find Frost and Lily standing above her.
Frost slowly shook his head. He said, “You guys went a little off the plan again, didn’t you? What in the hell happened?”
Lexy scrambled to her feet and looked around for the baby but it had disappeared into thin air. She whispered, “The others are downstairs fighting a possessed toddler.”
Lexy, Frost and Lily cautiously entered the kitchen. Lexy showed them the contents of the fridge.
Lily laughed and said, “This was totally a trap. You guys were probably dinner.”
Lexy grinned as she thought about the conversation she’d had with Grey. The lights to the stairwell turned on and the three of them descended the stairs without reservation, knowing the evil that had existed in this house had been dispersed. At the bottom of the stairs their friends had been strung up with chains and mounted on the wall in medieval fashion. They’d all been beaten to a pulp and were missing long strips of skin from their legs and torsos.
Zach raised his head from where he was bound against the wall and croaked, “Well, that was an extremely unpleasant experience.”
Grey scowled as he struggled to free himself and scolded, “I warned you… didn’t I? Next time I tell you not to do something, maybe you might entertain the idea that I’ve been around for forty years and I know what I’m talking about. Lily can you please unchain me from the wall?”
Frost’s eyes were full of unhidden amusement as they took in the creatively depraved medieval torture devices in the basement. “Who in the hell was this family?” Lexy unchained Grey as Lily unchained the others.
Frost couldn’t help but tease, “Did you let a tiny toddler kick your ass Zach?”
Zach grumbled, “That was not a toddler. That… Was a tiny rabies infested superhero.”
As Lily helped unchain Zach from the wall, she said, “Getting beat up by a toddler once is a lesson learned. Grey has no excuse for being this epically stupid.”
There was no sign of either the infant or the toddler as they made their way to the front door. Kayn was missing a large strip of skin down her leg. The exposed meat burned in the slight breeze. She’d been wounded but Frost had barely looked at her.
“Are you alright?” Melody whispered.”
Kayn quietly replied, “A demonic toddler peeled the skin off my leg. I’m not fantastic.” Kayn couldn’t help but chuckle.
Melody’s delicate skin had already returned to its pristine ivory colored flawless condition. Grey disappeared for a while and then reappeared with the scent of smoke as the house began to burn. Grey set the front entrance ablaze on their way out the door. They got into the truck and parked beside it was a random motor bike that Frost and Lily had strategically borrowed from the campground.
“I guess we have to take that back... Don’t we? Lily laughed.
Frost teased, “Better not leave someone’s bike at a murder-suicide. That's just mean.”
“Want to go for a ride with me Grey?” Lily asked.
Grey’s eyes lit up a touch as he replied, “I should heal the pesky strips of missing skin before I attempt to go for a ride with you. Maybe later?” He flirtatiously smiled at her.
Peace between the two of them was right around the corner. Kayn allowed a little knowing smile to escape as she shimmied into the back seat and Lexy started to laugh.
Grey questioned, “What’s so funny?”
She tossed a bag of salt at Grey.
He rolled his eyes at his partner in crime as she removed the rest of the bags from her pockets and put them back in the glove compartment. Grey scowled at Lexy as he reprimanded, “You asshole! You had those in your pocket the whole time!”
Lexy giggled before apologizing, “I’m sorry… I forgot.”
Grey threw up his hands as he hissed, “I got beaten up and skinned alive by a rabid frigging toddler!” Grey kept muttering under his breath the whole ride back to the campground. “It’s bloody humiliating.” Lexy grinned and it caused everyone to snicker each time her Handler complained.
After a good twenty minutes of under his breath bitching with no heartfelt apology, Grey was ready to snap. He hissed, “I see…You all think that’s pretty funny? I’m going to drive this truck right off the frigging road. Then we will see how funny it is!” By the time they reached the campsite everyone had their lips pressed together, desperately trying to stop themselves from laughing. Grey got out of the truck and dramatically slammed the door and stormed past Frost and Lily.
Frost got off the bike and said, “Who pissed in his cornflakes?”
Lexy comically raised her hand and whispered, “I had bags of salt in my pocket the whole time. I forgot they were there.”
Their eyes met and they both began to giggle. Lexy sighed, “I’ll go kiss up to him.”
As the group packed up the campsite, Kayn noticed Frost leaving the group and heading off in the direction of the public bathroom. He hadn’t even acknowledged her presence. Not a damn word in her direction. She hated this…
As she stared after him, Zach leaned over and whispered in her ear, “It’s his loss.”
She appreciated the solidarity but knew she’d created the mess by stringing him along. Kayn began to help, methodically moving the blocks around the tires and placing them back into the storage. She kept glancing towards the public bathrooms awaiting his return, knowing her situation was far too complicated to blow off by merely saying she’d strung him along. A part of her longed for him but it wasn’t fair to lure him in any further…Not until she’d dealt with her unresolved past. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. For a split second she caught herself hoping it was Frost. It was Grey. He’d obviously calmed down enough to let the drama from earlier go. He was quick to anger but also quick to forgive.
Grey enquired, “You doing all right?”
She replied, “I need to go to the bathroom to wipe the Vicks out of my nose.”
Grey knowingly probed, “What’s stopping you?”
It was then that Frost reappeared and Grey remarked, “Oh… I see. Give that time. His ego is wounded. He’ll get over it.”
Frost walked past her without even glancing in her direction. It hurt; it felt like he was trying to hurt her.
Grey put his arm around her and quietly consoled, “Awe Muffin… These things always have a way of working themselves out.”
They both went inside and allowed the door to slam behind them. Grey handed her a pink flamingo wine glass and grinned as he asked, “Want me to fill it up?”
Utterly exhausted, Kayn replied, “Why not?” Today had been epically shitty. She’d seen vein-drinking demons and helped put dead children to rest. She’d been chained up and skinned alive by a rabid toddler and was being coldly ignored by someone she cared about. If ever there was a time to down the contents of a flamingo glass… It was right now.
Awkward Days and Field Vermin
The following weeks were a monotonous mind-numbing blur. Frost had been making a spectacle of himself with an endless sea of women. She understood why. She’d seen what was beneath his armor and spent time with the guy that carved initials on the backs of doors. This flamboyantly shameless behavior was how he was dealing with what she’d done to his heart. Yes…She’d stomped on it a little… But even though she fully understood the reason behind his behavior, he was beginning to piss her off. It wasn’t like she didn’t care about him at all…
The Ankh had been taking Melody with them on jobs while leaving her and Zach behind. It made sense…Mel was a Healer. Concern ate at her but she said nothing…The Testing had been brought up quite frequently in the weeks following the demonic toddler incident. The infamous Testing that nobody would go into any detail about. Neither her nor Zach had any battle worthy abilities. They were sitting at the table playing cards. Kayn studied her hand, successfully stifling the urge to bring up her concerns. She couldn’t shake the feeling that they were running out of time…The sound
of the truck’s tires signaled the end of their card game. Zach gathered their cards and put them back in the cupboard. She gave his butt a playful slap as she walked by him. He chased her out the door, attempting to slap her back. They stopped horsing around the second their eyes met Melody’s. There was a vacant look in her eyes. Whatever they’d done must have been an emotional stretch. It wasn’t the time to be joking around. They solemnly helped pack up the campsite and when Zach wasn’t asked to drive, they knew they were being left to tend to the emotions of their third. Melody climbed up onto her bunk. They joined her knowing sometimes all an injured soul requires is a moment of peace, wrapped in the arms of the people they love.
Each night, the endless span of darkened highway whirled past the windows until the sun emerged from its hiding place in the distant horizon signaling the dawn. Eventually everything began to melt together into one long endless stream of monotony.
Kayn was in a deep sleep when Grey’s melodic voice whispered in her ear, “Time to wake up Brighton.”
She ate a granola bar on the fly, rather excited that they’d parked somewhere. Everyone else must have been up for a while. They were all waiting for her outside as she emerged from the RV. She glanced at Frost, who looked right through her. Every time he dismissed her it made her both miss their friendship and feel like smacking him across the face with a household appliance. When she looked at Melody or Zach there was always a smile in return. Those two were her saving grace.
They strolled together in the golden morning hours through the thick brush and slid down a steep ravine. Kayn was always intrigued by these little side trips. They rarely discussed where they were going with the three newest Ankh. They just knew they were supposed to follow the others unless they were told not to come. Kayn was thrilled to feel the loss of control as she slid down a dusty hill in pursuit of them. Her eyes always gravitated towards Frost, who of course hadn’t even bothered to look back at her. It was difficult for her to be emotionally blackballed by him like this. They’d had a real connection. She had to get over it. He’d obviously left their little almost romance behind.
They were standing together on a small slab of dusty earth that jutted out from a steep drop above a teal green river. This meant the river was probably glacier water. It was a beautiful yet isolated feeling place. Kayn smiled at Grey. This morning’s excursion seemed like one of his ideas.
“It’s absolutely beautiful.” Kayn remarked in Grey’s general direction. The others began to chuckle. Everyone laughed except for Zack and Melody, who’d assumed the same thing. Lexy glanced back at the three with scarlet hair rippling in the wind. Lexy had never looked more hauntingly beautiful. She dove off the ledge in one graceful motion into the icy teal liquid below. Oh… Crap! Kayn glanced at the other two, knowing they were meant to follow her. Grey glanced behind him and winked. He dove in next. Lily followed suit.
Frost didn’t look back as he quipped, “Do try to keep up. The water is freezing. If you get lost in one of these underwater caverns and I’m forced to come find you… I’m going to be pissed.” He leapt from the rocky perch into the teal liquid below.
Melody laced her fingers with Kayn’s and she held out her other hand to Zach. He squeezed his eyes shut as he took her hand and the three of them leapt into the freezing water. As they hit the icy liquid death below, there was an explosion of mind scrambling intense agony. The three sputtered to the surface. One by one, they regained the ability to focus and swam obediently behind the others who disappeared under the surface of the water right before a small trickling waterfall. The thought of opening her eyes in the icy water made Kayn want to scream on the inside but she would have to. She had to maintain the illusion of strength but this was one of those moments where she just wanted to tread water and cry. She had no choice. She had to keep up with the others. They swam as a group underwater through a bubbling maze. She followed the movement of the swirling legs and feet ahead of her. By the time she came to the surface her brain felt ready to explode. She gasped in the much warmer feeling air around her, following the others as they swam to the rocky cavern’s shore. Her chest hurt. Kayn made eye contact with Frost and for a split second it looked as though he wanted to help her out of the water. He turned away and left her there. Kayn struggled to pull herself up onto the ledge. Her chest tightened again. She managed to pull herself up, lying there for a moment while uncontrollably shaking and shivering. She couldn’t stop her body from vibrating. She attempted to get up but her muscles had given up… They wouldn’t work. She attempted to move again… Nothing. Her mind began to whisper, Go to sleep. Close your eyes and go to sleep. She only closed them for a second. What would it hurt? She laid her head down and shut her eyes in exhaustion. Everything dissolved into peaceful nothing.
She heard Chloe’s laughter and cautiously opened one eye. Why was she standing in a corn maze? She opened both of her eyes and looked at her hands. They were tiny. She recognized the corn maze as Farmer Bill’s. Her family came to go on hayrides and get lost in this maze every year around Halloween. It was a labyrinth of seemingly endless choices and a rather ironic place for her mind to have travelled.
Chloe yelled, “I bet you can’t find me Kayn!”
Kayn began to run in the direction of her twin’s voice while listening for the rustling sound of her sister’s footsteps ahead of her.
A hand grabbed her from behind. Her brother’s voice yelled, “I gotcha!” Kayn turned and hugged Matty. He tried to squirm out of her grasp. “Auk… Yuck, let me go, you dirty field vermin,” Matty dramatically choked.
Kayn allowed him to struggle free from the unwanted bear hug and her bottom lip began to tremble.
He took her hand and said, “Don’t cry, I’ll help you find them.”
They raced through the maze together. Her heart leapt as she saw a familiar mass of dark wavy hair in her peripheral vision. The younger version of Kevin darted past her into the maze. Suddenly, she was all alone. Nobody was holding her hand and it was no longer the size of a child’s. No…She didn’t want them to leave her. Tears swelled in her eyes as she stared at her adult fingers. Kayn yelled, “Matty! Don’t leave me! Chloe! Come back!” She was listening for their footsteps as a clammy hand covered her eyes. She knew who it was and gasped, “Kevin, is that you?”
The scenery changed and she was sitting on a pile of stacked hay. Kevin was sitting across from her. They were being towed by a tractor. They were on the haunted hayride. She looked behind her as students dressed as ghouls came running out of the corn maze. They both squealed and laughed. Her best friend had the biggest grin on his face. She wanted to move across to where he was seated and hug the endearingly awkward preteen version of him. He had a genetically unfair amount of acne on his face. Kevin squealed as someone attempted to grab him through the spaces between the boards that served as rails. She’d become so entranced by the memory of him that she was ignoring the devastating number of fake zombies attacking the hayride. He gave her a strange look and she knew she’d better play along. She dove into the center of the wagon. Kevin was there with her. They were laughing hysterically as they swatted away their classmates that were pretending to be the undead. Everything exploded to white around her. She clung to Kevin, desperate to stay lost in the memory. She’d missed him so much.
She heard Grey’s voice in the distance and felt the sting of his hand on her butt. “Wake up Brighton!”
With a sudden deep breath, she returned to the here and now and scowled at him. She took his hand and he helped her to her feet.
With an unusual amount of patience in her tone, Lexy announced, “For future reference, having a little nap after being in water that cold is a really bad idea.”
She wasn’t cold anymore. She felt surprisingly warm and glorious but Lexy was looking a little rough. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what happened. Shit… She must have died. “Sorry Lexy,” Kayn whispered.
An exhausted Lexy replied, “Do try to stay alive long enoug
h for me to recuperate.”
Kayn smiled sheepishly as the part of the group that stayed behind to bring her back walked into the ominous darkness until the cavern narrowed to a tiny slit of a cave. It almost resembled a half smiling mouth because it was wide on one side. Kayn climbed through it following the others. She didn’t like this… She felt extremely uncomfortable with the idea of climbing into anything resembling a mouth. Her imagination was still on overdrive. The cavern was cramped for about thirty feet before it widened enough to allow a little range of motion. She crawled on her knees, maneuvering through the uncomfortably tight space. A light was flickering ahead, beckoning them towards it’s flame. The air around her had become humid and oddly muggy but the laughter in the distance caused her to pick up her pace.
Grey spoke from up ahead of her, “You’re about to get a chance to do something extremely cool. You are in for a treat.”
The two in front of her climbed out allowing her a clear view of the opening just as the claustrophobia was about to win the little tug of war inside of her. Grey held out his hand and yanked her the rest of the way out. Her feet hit the stone and for a minute they felt like Jell-O. That enclosed space had made her quite uncomfortable. She’d never known that was an issue. A torch flickered on the wall of the cavern. Ahead of her there was a pool of steaming water. It was obviously some kind of natural hot spring. The three stripped down to their undergarments and joined the others. Kayn noticed two tombs alongside the pool. Lexy took her stone out of her pocket and threw it onto the floor beside the other ones and her tomb materialized. Grey tossed his as well and another tomb appeared.
Kayn stepped into the steamy pool and gasped with pleasure as the warmth enveloped her. She shut her eyes and rested against the ledge of natural stone. She sighed as she stretched out and felt her leg softly brush up against someone else. It was Frost. She knew this without looking and kept her eyes closed while maintaining contact with his skin. She felt like pushing his boundaries a little. A natural response to how he had always pushed hers. She not so innocently slid her leg against his and snuck an eye open just in time to see him get out of the water. He was determined to avoid her. That chicken shit.
