by Michael Todd
Katie coughed, then got ahold of herself and finished swallowing another bite of ravioli. I almost forgot about that. I was so miserable I thought I would never feel better.
And there you were. Just a young girl not even realizing your tits were growing bigger and your waist was growing smaller. It’s all in the magic, my friend, all in the magic.
The detectives stopped a few feet away, whispering to one another.
Well, apparently now all I have to do is stretch my wings.
Pandora winced, making a hissing sound. We are going to keep a tight lock on how much you go flying. I can’t keep you in this luscious figure with too much of it, you burn way too many calories. You’ll become all stringy, like that old yoga woman on TV.
I’ll file that away for later.
Travers and Schultz arrived at the table. They waited to be acknowledged. When they were not, Travers pointed to the seat next to Katie. “You mind if we take a seat?”
Katie swallowed a bite of food. “By all means.”
Travers pulled out the chair and sat down. “Sorry to bother you while you’re eating. We’ve been trying to hunt you down for a couple of days now. We know you’re busy, this won’t take long.”
Schultz waved the waitress away as she walked up. She spun on her heels and walked away. He leaned toward Katie. “How have you been?”
Katie wiped her mouth with her napkin and set it on the table. “Good. You know, the usual. I’m always on the watch for the demons. How about you guys, how have you been? How are your families?”
Travers nodded and cleared his throat. “Good. They’re seeing more of us these days.”
Schultz nodded his head in agreement. “My wife is definitely enjoying the time with me, that’s for sure.”
Katie stared at them slightly confused. “But the precinct has been so busy. Where’s all this free time coming from?”
Travers sat back and gestured for Schultz to take the lead. “We haven’t been working too hard these last few weeks. The system you have definitely works, but the calls aren’t even close to being as frequent as they once were.”
Schultz helped himself to a piece of garlic bread.
Pandora growled. Slap his hand!
“I think the demons know you’re in town, so they’re keeping their heads down. Not that I blame them. You are definitely one tough son of a bitch, excuse the language.”
Katie grabbed the last piece of garlic bread before Travers could claim it. “Please, you’ve heard my mouth. I can’t even explain to you what Pandora’s is like.”
Both the detectives grinned and shifted their eyes to their hands. “Fair enough. But I was taught not to cuss around the ladies.”
Pandora scoffed. You have them really confused and fooled.
Katie feigned confusion. “Apparently no one taught me proper etiquette.”
Travers smiled and shook his head. “But see, it’s all part of your charm. I would think something was wrong if I didn’t hear the f-bomb from you at least once in a conversation.”
“Oh good, because that’s fucking hard to hold back.” Katie sighed with relief.
Schultz took in a breath and leaned back, looking around the restaurant. “It’s hard to believe just a couple of weeks, maybe less, you could find a demon anywhere. Now? Church mice. They’re all hiding out.”
Pandora cleared the ravioli from her throat. They are probably just harder to find. Most up this way don’t think it can happen to them, you know? They can’t imagine running into a merc like you. The rest are the smart ones, hiding out until things go back to normal.
I’m hoping this is the new normal.
Pandora chuckled. Yeah, it’s a pipe dream. I can promise you Moloch is only getting started.
Great. Just great.
Schultz pursed his lips. He stole a glance at Travers. The other man shifted in his seat nervously. Travers put his hands in his lap and leaned back. “I want to ask a question.”
Uh-oh.
Katie swallowed another big bite of ravioli and assented. “Sure, go ahead.”
Travers shuffled nervously. “During a meeting about your tracking device, it was mentioned that Pandora really liked Batman. We were just wondering if she was still into superheroes?”
Katie grinned and put up her finger. “I think that is a question for Pandora.”
Go ahead, Katie told Pandora.
Pandora squealed. She gathered herself and took over Katie’s body, although she left her looks the same so as not to disturb the people around them. Pandora sat up straighter in her chair and pulled the napkin into her lap. She held her fork daintily and continuing to eat in a somewhat refined manner. If she hadn’t been eating in double-time, one would never know anything had changed.
Pandora swallowed a bite and took a sip of her wine, then retrieved her napkin with two fingers and blotted her lips. “I have to admit, the whole rumor about superheroes and me? It’s true. In my mind, superheroes are the closest things to heroes from the old days. Of course, those heroes were a bit different. They didn’t wear capes or masks. Oh, some did, but it wasn’t a whole thing. They didn’t jump from tall buildings or fly around either. They did the things that were morally right for the people in their lives, and their societies.”
The detectives looked back and forth at each other, surprised to hear this from a demon. Pandora didn’t seem to notice. She just continued talking.
“During that nasty war, the one in the forties where they killed all those Jewish people, I met the nicest man. He knew if he stood up to the Nazis and attempted to help the Jewish people, they would shoot him dead. I sat him down in Poland at this neat little deli that was eventually taken over by the Germans. We had these delightful cheese perogies. Anyway. I told him if you can’t save them all, save as many as you can. It was like a lightbulb went off for him.”
Travers narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “Wait. Are you talking about…”
Pandora swallowed and glanced at Travers. “Oskar Schindler? Yes. Anyway, from there he started to bring Jewish people into his factories. He was able to pull from the concentration camps and put them to work. Those people didn’t end up in the ovens. In the end, I heard he saved, like, over a thousand people. Compared to the millions who were killed it seems like a small number, but it wasn’t small to those people.”
Travers sputtered, “But you’re a demon.”
“One of the things demons do constantly is play both sides of the fence. They do whatever it takes to get what they want.”
Schultz’s mouth dropped open, and he shook his head. “That’s an incredible story.”
Pandora didn’t even blink. “The whole point of it was, he was a hero. He might not have been called superhero because he didn’t have any type of magical abilities, but to me, that’s what a hero is.”
When she was done with her story, the two detectives sat there for several moments in silence, just watching her eat. After a bit of time had passed, Schultz looked at Travers and nodded. Travers pulled out what seemed to be a small men’s leather wallet and slid it across the table to Pandora.
Pandora flipped the case open. A golden badge rested on the leather. Her jaw dropped, revealing half-chewed ravioli. “What’s this?”
Schultz smiled. “We don’t want you to go vigilante. Try not to kill anyone.”
Travers piped in, “Unless they’re demons.”
“Right. Demons excluded.”
Pandora closed her mouth and swallowed, then picked up the badge with both hands like it was some delicate flower. She tilted it back and forth, watching the light play across its surface. They had made her a real superhero, at least on paper. She pursed her lips and looked at the men. She blinked and quickly grabbed her napkin to wipe away a welling tear. They had really gone above and beyond to make her feel important, something people had rarely done for her in the past.
Well shit, you take back over. You know I can’t handle this mushy shit, Pandora blubbered to Katie.
I got you.
Katie came back into her body and put the napkin down on her plate. She sniffed at the two detectives. “That was really nice of you guys to do that for Pandora. I have to admit, she was so touched that she didn’t know how to handle it. She sent me back out.”
Pandora scoffed. I know how to handle good touching.
Travers and Schultz stood up, Schultz reaching into his pocket and pulling out a long gold chain. He handed it to Katie. “This is for her to attach to the case. Anyway, we’re glad you liked it. We’re going to let you get back to your meal.”
Katie took a deep breath and pushed her plate away. “I won’t be far behind you. I’ve had my fill for tonight, and I think Pandora’s done.”
The detectives smiled kindly at her and walked out of the restaurant. A moment later the waitress came to the table bearing espresso and tiramisu. “From the two gentlemen,” she explained.
Katie chuckled to herself as she ate, Pandora silent inside her. After all the things her demon had seen and done, having people be nice to her was the one true way to shock Pandora into silence. Katie was starting to think Pandora was going soft, but she would never say that to her.
Katie collected her things and headed out of the restaurant, stopping on the busy sidewalk and stretching her arms over her head. Droves of cars raced by on the New York City streets, and there were people everywhere, locals and tourists alike.
You better hail us a cab, Pandora snapped without a thought.
I can do better than that.
Pandora perked up. What are you talking about?
Katie smirked and took off running, straight toward a large truck moving slowly down the block.
Chapter Eight
Katie leaped over cars and dodged swerving bicyclists, running as fast as she could to catch up with the truck. The whole time, a mischievous smile was plastered on her face.
“This broadcast is brought to you today by Reims Insurance. Nobody can deny that the world is a different place today than it was even two years ago. Paranormal and abnormal activity is now rampant. On today’s show, we’re going to delve into the effects that activity has on society,” the radio host announced with a chuckle.
Adam shifted in his seat excitedly and turned up the radio. He loved the show. The over-the-top blowhard radio host and his rhetoric made for good listening while he drove his rig around town. He also appreciated the informational aspects of the show. He thought it was important to keep up with what was going on in current events, namely the demons and various incursions.
The radio host continued, “I’m just gonna put this out there because you know I don’t bullshit my listeners. I think a lot of this demon shit is overhyped. Like with any of the other times in our history. One minute there’s some crazy virus going around the world, the next we’ve got a radical group that they say is endangering the entire country. It’s all overhyped. The government wants everyone to believe that the outside world is detrimental to our health and that we should stay in our homes, bolt our doors, and hide like good little peons.”
The truck driver chuckled. “Maybe you should take a walk on the New York streets once in a while.”
“And don’t even get me started on these fake fucking videos about Katie from Katie’s Killers. As if that little girl has ever killed one soul. I bet she’s never even stomped on a bug.” The radio host laughed, and Adam chuckled along with him.
The host was on a roll. He had found a good subject, and like a dog with a new toy, he was going to go after it. “Besides, how is someone that freaking hot a killer? That never happens, not outside the movies. If a girl like that truly was being chased by all these damn demons, there would be a hundred guys lined up at her door to protect her. They needed to slap a face onto the war on demons, so they picked the prettiest one they could find.”
Adam snorted laughter and reached into the passenger seat to grab a hot dog wrapped in tinfoil. He kept one hand on the steering wheel as he unwrapped the hot dog and took a big bite. Ketchup and mustard shot from the other end and ran down his shirt. “Shit!”
He put the hot dog back down on the seat and went to grab a napkin. His eyes bounced from the road in front of him to the mustard on his shirt. He shook his head and wiped at the condiments, really only smearing them around. Adam grumbled, “Fuck it” and grabbed the hot dog again, taking another big bite. His eyes drifted to the road and grew wide.
Katie—the Katie from Katie’s Killers—was running straight at his slow-moving truck.
He dropped the hot dog in his lap and grabbed the steering wheel, hitting the brakes. “Holy shit!”
Katie looked straight at him as she ran forward and jumped up, planting both feet on the truck’s front bumper. She gave him one of her signature smiles and launched straight up into the air, out of sight.
Adam slammed both feet on the brake pedal and the truck came to a screeching halt. He leaned as far out the window as he could. He could see her wings opening on each side of her body, and then the woman flew into the sky.
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, Katie from Katie’s killers right in front of him. He had seen a lot of shit in New York, but he hadn’t had a Katie sighting yet. In fact, it had been on his list. He wanted to see her, and he had planned to go out next time he heard about an incursion just so he could watch her at work. Luckily for him, he didn’t have to go far. There she was, wings and all, right above his head.
Adam slid back into his seat and searched frantically for his phone. “They aren’t going to fucking believe this.”
He grabbed his phone and hit speed dial. On the radio, he could hear the host still going on about how Katie was fake and how the videos were made to look worse than what they really were. “It’s a false flag, just like everything else in this world. New York seems to be the center of it, maybe because there are so many people. Oh! Looks like our weekly caller from New York City is on the line. Let’s hear from Big Adam from the Big Apple.”
Adam fumbled with this phone and turned down the radio to reduce feedback. He started to laugh nervously, still not believing what he just saw. “I’m going to tell you right now, I think you're a dumbass for not believing the hype. I live in New York City, and I see shit every day. When’s the last time you went out to one of these incursions or walked the streets of the boroughs?”
The radio host started laughing sarcastically. “What happened? Are you a video expert now, Big Adam? Because last time I talked to you, I could’ve sworn you were a truck driver in New York. Then again, these days most people are experts on something outside of their normal range of work.”
Adam scoffed. “No, I’m not a video expert, but I do believe what I see with my own eyes.”
“Okay, so you’ve seen Katie from Katie’s Killers? And I don’t mean on one of those sexy billboards in Times Square, Big Adam. I’m talking about in the flesh, huge tits, giant guns on her hips, and flaring red eyes. I’m talking about where you could reach out and touch her if she wouldn’t bite your fucking hand off.”
Adam picked up his hot dog and took a bite, talking while he was chewing. “I have. In fact, I just saw her. I was driving along in my truck, and what do I see? I’ll tell you what. Katie, running at full speed toward my truck and then leaping off the bumper and flying into the sky with those huge angel wings. So unless there’s something in my afternoon hot dog, I seen Katie from Katie’s Killers. And I saw this with my Mark One eyeball, the best bullshit detector I have.”
Nila shut the front door of the apartment and walked down the stairs. She sat down on the bottom step and sighed wishing she could go back to school and continue studying her sixth-grade science. It had been a long time since she actually enjoyed being at home, especially with her brother and her mother fighting all the time. She was despondent, looking straight down at the ground and not even blinking.
From the outside, no one could really tell what was on her mind. Was she suicidal? No, but she had some weighty things
on her mind, especially for a girl her age. She was sad; really sad. She wished her brother would stop being such a dummy.
The sound of her mother’s voice rang out from behind the closed doors. “I just wish that you would appreciate the fact that I’m trying to raise you the best that I can. I don’t work my rear end off so that you can go run the streets at night and get yourself into this much trouble!”
Her brother snapped back. “I’m almost an adult. I can make my own decisions! It’s not my fault you’re gone all the time. I get bored.”
Her mother scoffed. “Oh, okay. If you’re such an adult, why don’t you go out and get a damn job? Why don’t you study a little bit harder and get good grades in school so you can get into college? If you want to be an adult, then you need to start acting like one instead of acting like a spoiled little child, because I didn’t raise you that way!”
Nila put her hands over her ears and stared down at the street. A lone leaf skittered past her, following by several pebbles rolling along. A sudden wind picked up, kicking dust into her eyes. Over the wind, she heard a huge thumping sound, like a big heart beating—or like mighty wings flapping. She squinted around, but didn’t see anything. She lifted her head and her mouth fell open. Carefully descending to the street in front of her was Katie, her large wings spread wide.
Nila was shocked to see Katie in real life. She had seen her on the television several times, but it never seemed real. Katie folded her wings behind her and tilted her head toward Nila.
Katie nodded at the door. “Hi. May I go in?”
Nila looked behind her at the sounds of her mother and brother fighting. “My brother. He’s not a demon, just a dumbass.”
Katie laughed and put her hands on her hips. “Most guys are at that age. Then again, moms don’t always react well to kids growing up.”
Katie touched down and walked over next to Nila. The girl reached toward her wings, but by the time her fingers got close they had disappeared.
