Desserts

Usha found nothing about Marie. Nothing more than what the brothers told her. As far as she knew, Marie didn’t exist as a human. This meant two things; either she was an angel or demon, or she, as a human, was hiding something and had to erase anything that lead to her.

She entered a restaurant sighing. She chose the table next to the window and opened the menu. She wasn’t hungry for human food, but in order to get the attention of men sitting by the bar in rush hour, she had to play this scene.

It didn’t take long before a man, holding a glass of wine, came toward her.

“May I join you?” he asked with a smile. Usha smiled back. A part of her pitted those men who couldn’t control the attraction they felt for her. She was a temptation they couldn’t resist.

Usha was about to make a better offer when Arech suddenly appeared.

“She already has company.” He bluntly said as he seated himself in front of Usha. The man scratched his head and left without a word.

“That was my lunch.” Usha said annoyed pointing toward the back of the man.

“I know.”

Usha rolled her eyes and went back to look at her menu. Maybe I drag him inside the bathroom, she thought as she flipped the pages of the menu. The waiter came for the orders, but Usha dismissed him.

“What do you want Arech?” Usha snapped closed her menu and folded her arms. Arech gently closed his menu and looked at Usha.

“I said I would help, and here I am.”

“And I should believe that? I think you are only trying to keep me away from my meals.”

“What are you investigating on now?” Arech asked ignoring her remake. He called for the waiter and ordered two caesar salads.

“Something strange happened when I was patrolling with Josh.”

“What?”

“I blacked out and found myself in a motel in bed with Josh.” Arech tensed and raised an eyebrow as his jaw stiffed. Usha smiled as her memories perfectly decoded this posture.

“And what happened?” He asked rather listlessly.

“I don’t know, I don’t usually black out.” Usha said. The waiter came with their orders. As he placed the plate in front of Usha he smiled at her and hesitated more than usual. She smiled back as she imagined what she will take for dessert. Then he was called, and he left reluctantly.

“I didn’t mean that. I mean with you and Josh…” He didn’t change his posture; he remained tensed with his arms folded.

Usha took her fork and started picking at her salad, strangely enjoying this situation.

“You mean..”she started smiling, “if we slept together?” She eyed him but Arech didn’t reply, but his silence was clearly a yes.

Usha shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, maybe.” She left the fork in the plat and rested on the chair. “What? You’re jealous little angel?”

Aresh tensed as he looked outside the window. Usha on the other hand, took the opportunity to look around. The restaurant was empty; everyone had gone back to work and she was only left with waiters and women. The waiter that served them looked at her and smiled. She smiled back. Apparently she didn’t have a choice.

When Usha looked at Arech he was still looking outside the window. Usha took the fork again and picked a piece of chicken. She ate other two pieces before Arech looked back at her and spoke.

“What did you find?” He asked. His mood changed; now he was nervous and irritated.

“Nothing.” Usha said as she put back the fork in the plate. “But whoever did it, it’s not human.” Arech nodded.

“Why would someone do that anyway?” He asked as he took his fork. He held it for few seconds then he placed it back on the table again. Now Usha tensed. No matter how much she knew him, she didn’t trust him. Arech was one of the others, he turned her back on her once and he could easily do it again.

Usha decided not to tell him of her plan once she found Adam. No one knew about it and Arech was the last one that needed to know. He wouldn’t approve anyway.

“Well,” she said as she looked outside the window, “they are Adam’s sons. I got them into all this, if something happens to them, Adam wouldn’t forgive me.” As the words came out, Usha realized she had said more than needed and too near the truth. She thought what would happen when Adam would learn the fate Usha led them to. She only hoped it would be after he saved her.

Arech seemed to accept the reply Usha gave as he nodded then stood up.

“If it involves the safety of humans, we need to give it priority. I’ll let you know if I find something.” And before Usha could tell him that his help was not needed, we walked toward the exit. Usha knew it had nothing to do with humans, but before her thought could go any further the waiter came at her table.

“I hope you like the salad, your friend left rather quickly.” He took Arech full plate and asked if she wanted to order something else.

“I think I’ll have dessert,” she said smiling resting her chin on her hand. “But before,” she said standing up “could you show me where the restroom is.” She took Arech plate and placed it back on the table. The waiter rubbed his hands on his trousers and quickly showed Usha where the restroom were.

Usha checked if the women’s restroom was empty. Then she dragged the waiter inside by his shirt and locked the door.

“I think I’ll have the dessert here.”

Second Chance

Zooey, strangely, woke up looking at a white ceiling. She frowned thinking she hasn’t made it and eventually ended in hospital. She closed her eyes then opened them again hoping for a new vision. But all she could see was the white ceiling.

“Looks like sleeping beauty is waking up.” She looked around her and realized it wasn’t only the ceiling that was white, but everything around her was white. There were no furniture. No walls. Just endless white. And Zooey was immersed in it.

She sat and looked around her trying to find who spoke. As she turned she found a group not standing far from her all dressed in white. They were all looking at her, confused and anxious.

“Where am I?”

“Well sleeping beauty, if you’d waken up early you would have heard the introduction.” None of the people in the group she could see spoke. But someone was trying to make him way through them. A man emerged, dressed in a white suit, and walked to her. He offered his hand.

Zooey hesitated, but accepted his hand and he helped her stand.

“Now if you could gently follow me as we are late and L is waiting for you. And he doesn’t like waiting.” Zooey followed the man that stopped in front of the group. He made sign to her to stand with them and she obeyed confused.

“Wha-” The man held up with hand and Zooey stopped.

“I’d love to repeat, but we are late. Ask your group.” He adjusted his blazer. “Now go.” He smiled, snapped his fingers, and he was gone. The immense white was gone. Instead they were under a cloudy sky. Their feet on hard pavement as the wind gently blew their white clothes.

“Finally.” The whole group turned and found another man standing. Dressed more casual and with a harder, colder look.

“What’s happening?” Zooey asked the blonde woman standing next to her.

Without turning to look at Zooey, she whispered, “we are given a second chance.”

The Wain and Jess

As they drove off Northanger town, Jess held onto her injured arm while she squeezed her bag. The sight of her dead grandma was all she could think off. She shivered as she remembered her grandma’s open chest. It was supposed to be the day they have been waiting for. Finally they found a heart. This day was supposed to extend her life not end it.

“Jess, are you listening?” Jess blinked as her mind was brought back to the car.

“What?”

“Dad asked if we could drop you somewhere.” Lilly said.

“I said, if you have someone to go to.” Devon clarified as he adjusted the rear-view mirror to look at Jess.

Jess shook her head. “No I only had-” she stopped and squeezed her bag harder.

“Come on, not even a distant cousin?” Lilly demanded frustrated. Jess didn’t reply.

“We need to drop her somewhere.” Noah whispered to Devon. Jess her tighter her bag with her injured arm.

“Easy on the arm, or it will start bleeding again.” Jay touched her shoulder, and she let go a little. The thought that she was alone, terrified her more than her grandma’s death. She considered going back to Northanger. She never left Northanger in her life. Eventually someone would come and help the town and everything would go back to normal. At least she would be in her house, where she had always lived.

“Dad, Noah is right. We can’t take her with us.” Lilly said pulling her dad’s shoulder.

“Lilly, I told you to sit properly while in the car.” Lilly sighed frustrated and sat back arms crossed. Jay looked at Jess concerned as she remained silent and held on to her bag.

“I don’t think we should decide this now.” He said sharing looks with Devon.

“Well girl, I won’t drop you in the middle of no where, alone. You can stick with us.” Devon said as he adjusted his hands on the steering wheel.

“What?” Lilly and Noah shouted.

“Dad we can’t. We just can’t. We can’t!”

“She is right, we can’t! We already have to take care of ourselves, we don’t need to take care of someone else.”

“I can take care of myself.” Jess suddenly said.

“Oh really?” Noah said turning to look at Jess. “Like back on the hill?”

“Hey Noah!” Devon said stopping the car. “Listen up you too. I decide, and I decide she comes with us. Now shut up and let me drive.”

Noah sat back properly and crossed his arms. “This is a big mistake, you are putting us all at risk.”

“I need to get out.” Jess opened the car’s door and stopped on side of the highway. She considered running in the woods. But she had no where to go. She would probably try and get back home and wait until someone came to put things back to normal. Someone should have known by now what has happened.

She could hear Devon and Noah arguing in the car. She didn’t know them, but they were the only living people she knew. Someone slammed the door.

“I’m sorry, I apologize, I’m glad you will stay with us.” Noah angrily said. Jess shook her head.

“Now if you could please get back in the car,” Noah continued as he gestured toward the car. “Please?”

Jess looked at him furiously then turned and went back inside the car, followed by Noah.

“Did he apologize?” Devon asked Jess. Jess nodded as she held her bag with both arms.

“Good,” he started the car and continued driving. Jess started feeling her heart racing and looked for her pills inside her bag. She took two from the bottle and swallowed them. She closed her eyes and rested her head as the pills started slowing relaxing her nerves and calming her heart.

Soon she felt nothing again.

Shadow of the Day

Zooey opened her pill bottles. As she took the pills out she tried, as much as she could, to concentrate on the pills; on their size, color and shape.

She placed them on the counter of her modern-styled kitchen. With her fingers she divided them first by color, then by shape. She then went back and divided them by color grouping them in a descending order, with one last white pill at the end.

She took two glasses from the cabinet above the sink. She placed on the counter near the fridge and opened the fridge. She took the half empty bottle of water and the vodka she had bought couple of days ago.

She placed the bottles next to the pills as she closed the fridge with her elbow. Then she took the glasses and placed them near the bottles; each glass in front of a bottle.

Zooey took a deep breath. Then remembered she was missing something. She went to the coffee table in the living room and turned on the TV with the remote control, then switched to the radio. She let the remote control fall carelessly on the sofa and went back to the kitchen. Zooey opened the bottle of water and filled the glass. She closed the bottle, then took the vodka and filled the other glass. She closed it, and took both bottles back to the fridge.

As she went back to the counter with the pills, the TV radio started playing an old song of Linkin Park, Shadow of the Day. She smiled remembering the old days. She tightened an already tight robe and dried her sweaty hands. She took the glass filled with water in one hand and with the other hand, took the first pill.

Zooey played with the pill between her fingers, than placed it as far as she could go inside her mouth, and quickly swallowed it with some water. She did the same with the remaining 15 pills, feeling a bit dizzy as she swallowed the last one. Then she took the glass of vodka and smiled as she drank it all. She coughed a little, then placed both glasses in the sink.

From the TV Zooey could hear another song she recognized and staggered to the sofa as she higher the volume on Missing by Evanescence. She opened the window and let the cold wind inside. She shivered as tears started flowing down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly. Then she bent, holding her stomach as pain started filling her whole body.

***

“The new batch has arrived.”

“One seems purer than the others.”

“She’s mine.”

Little Dead Girl

“She’s dead, now let’s get out of here.” Noah frustrated looked toward the hallway they just came from.
“Noah we heard you the first time. Now shut up.” Devon lectured him as he went near Jess.
“Jess, I’m really sorry, we have to go now.” He put a hand on her shoulder but Jess didn’t reply, instead she kept staring at her grandma’s corpse.
“She was supposed to get a new heart. The doctors said they finally found a donor.” She almost whispered. Devon looked at the bed next to Jess’s grandma. An apparently young girl was lying, dead too, face covered and chest opened. He made sign for Jay to follow him as he went to the young girl’s corpse. Jay followed trying as much as he could to avoid the dense dark blood that covered the once white titles.
“Poor girl she was so young.” Devon remarked as he saw she was much younger than he presumed. His mind went immediately to Lilly waiting in the car.
“We need to get out of here.” Devon said as he left Jay examining the girl. Jess shook her head.
“I’m staying.”
“Fine let’s go.” Noah said inciting his brother to follow.
“Noah get her. Jay move we are leaving now.” Noah frowned but did as he was ordered; he took Jess by the waist and lifted her on his shoulder and preceded the others out as Jess protested. Jay followed and Devon gave one last look at the small girl then hurried toward the exit.

Grandma

Since yesterday, the hospital hasn’t changed; it had the same peaceful relaxing atmosphere enhanced by the vast green it surrounded. But as Jess took one step closer she could smell death and decomposition, a sign that no one had come to check on the hospital. No one has called for help.

Devon, Noah and Jay followed Jess inside the hospital. Lilly has reluctantly accepted to stay in the car, engine on. As Jess entered the reception, she remembered the day before how she had managed to escape the massacre. The blood that she had to unwillingly step on and the corpses she avoided as best as she could. The smell got stronger as they went deep inside the hospital. Jess had to cover her nose and mouth with her sleeve.

When they finally reached the waiting room, Jess tried to remember which way the nurse had taken her grandma.
“I think she went that way.” Jess pointed to a hallway where she had last seen her grandma. She went and the others followed her steps. There were different doors in the hallways each with plates with inscriptions and names Jess had never heard of. They looked in every door and hallway until Jess opened a door at the end of an adjacent hallway and found her grandma.

Her eyes were wide open staring at the ceiling, her chest open probably waiting for the heart they have been so eager to have. Both her arms were out.of the bed, palms upwards. She was covered in blood. She was dead.

Who is Marie?

“Where is Marie?” Usha asked as she lit a cigarette and sat on the armchair next to the window.

“She is out, she said she had something to do.” Matt said he reviewed a news online on his laptop. Apparently an old woman said she saw some men dragging another men into a cave. The news also said the “men” weren’t humans. Matt suspected it had to do with their father, Usha knew it wasn’t like that.

“Where did she go?” Asked Usha as she slightly moved the curtain to look out of the window. It was winter and everything had shades of grey. The trees had no leaves left and something out there told her time was running out.

“She didn’t say.” Usha turned to look at Matt still scanning the news.

“What do you mean she didn’t say?”

“She always does that, she just leaves and comes back when she is done.” Matt said rather frustrated from Usha interruptions. Usha stood suddenly. She never really paid attention to Marie’s usual errands. She never really cared about Marie. She needed the brothers and thought to dump Marie somewhere when Usha had to go.

But after what happened with Josh, and the risk of her killing him, made Usha pay more attention to her surrounding. Usha knew nothing about Marie, she didn’t care, but now she had to find out who she was.

“I have to go.” Usha didn’t wait for a reply and vanished.

“Just like that.” Mat remarked as he continued to read other related news in search for his father.

Where is she?

“She left.” Said the woman adjusting her blazer. The man leaning on the dark expensive car nodded.
“She shouldn’t be far.” He said moving to the driver’s door while wearing his aviator’s shades.
“We must find her,” the woman said as she fastened her seat belt, “if she snaps before-”
“We’ll find her.”
The car drove off the house parking lot and moved, at full speed toward the town’s outskirts.

Back To The Hospital

Jess was dreaming of her first day in high school. Her grandma had allowed her to drive there alone after a one-month begging. The feeling of independence scared Jess but at the same time filled her with adrenaline. She took a deep breath and entered the school gate, holding tightly on her bag. Then someone knocked at the door.

Jess woke up at the second series of knocks. She rubbed her eyes as she went to the door, Lilly was waiting outside.

“Dad wants to talk to you.” She scanned Jess. “Did you sleep with your clothes on?” Jess looked at herself, then shut the door annoyed saying she’ll be done in a minute. She let herself fall on the floor holding her head. For a moment she had thought, or rather wished, that this was the dream, and she just needed to wake up. But her dream of high school reminded her that those days have passed, even in reality.

She stood and went to her en-suit bathroom. She took off her clothes letting them fall on the floor and went under the cold shower. She made sure to keep her wounded arm out of water reach by keeping the water shower low. She even considered crying under the shower, where no one could hear her or see her and where tears would blend with water. But no matter how much she tried, forced herself, no tears would come out. She dropped the idea and closed the water. She took her green towel and wrapped herself as she went out of the shower. She walked into her room and opened her closet. She was going to the hospital to find her grandma.

As she put on her jeans and t-shit. Someone knocked on the door. It was Lilly again.

“Dad says its serious.” She shouted from the behind the door. Jess ignored her combed her hair quickly as she put in a cardigan and other spare clothes in her bag. If her grandma was alive they had to leave this place. She took her bag and car keys and opened the door.

“Finally. We are waiting for you outside.” Lilly said as she followed her downstairs. But Jess went into the kitchen instead and opened the counters. In her bag she only had treats from the gift shop in the hospital. She took a plastic bag and filled it with anything that could be eaten uncooked. When she was done she went into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet and took her grandma’s pill and her own spare of pills.

When she went outside she found Jay and Noah standing beside the car as Devon was coming toward her.

“We can drop you to some relatives.” He offered. Jess looked at him, then at the brothers.

“I don’t have anyone except my grandma.” She said shaking her head and going toward her car. She unlocked it and threw her bag inside.

Devon looked back and the brothers. Noah was impatient to leave while Jay seemed to understand the expression on his uncle’s face and nodded to him.

“Why don’t you come with us?”

“What?” Lilly and Noah shouted. “She can’t come with us, she will get us killed.” Noah complained.

“Dad we don’t need her!”

“I’m not going anywhere without my grandma.” Jess said.

Devon hesitate. “She is probably dead.”

“Probably, I’m not going to leave with a probably.” She said as she entered the car. Devon went near the driver’s window as she lowered it.

“What will you do after?”

Jess thought for a moment. “I don’t know. I’ll leave.”

“You have someone to go to?”

Jess shook her head. Devon nodded and stretched and took her keys.

“You are coming with us, we will go to the hospital and find your grandma. I’ll be honest with you child, she is most probably dead. In either cases you will come with us.” Then he added whispering in Jess ear. “Lilly needs a woman to look up to. She is becoming quite difficult.” He smiled and winked.

“I don’t even know you.” Jess protested looking at the brothers behind Devon.

“I know. But I’m not leaving you in a dead city with these creatures set loose.”

Jess hesitated the idea of going there with some back up tempting her. She didn’t know if she could trust them, but they saved her life. And maybe it was because they carried a kid with them, but they seemed good people. Though her grandma always warned her not to trust anyone except family. She smiled at that thought. remembering how she saw enemies in everyone that would take her little girl away.

She blinked pushing that thought away. Then nodded.

“Ok.” She said as she took her bag and closed her car. Noah raised his arms, muttering to Devon how a bad idea it was, while Lilly stared it her angry for accepting. Jay helped her inside the car smiling.

“They’ll get over it.” He whispered. Jess sat in the car bag on her laps as the car started and moved up the hill, to the hospital.

Investigating

Usha snapped the neck of the demon and stepped on him. She was getting frustrated. She had spent the last days trying to understand what happened with Josh and who let it happen. Someone had drugged her and Josh, hoping that she would kill him, as she usually does in these circumstances.

This would ruin all her plans. Plans she hadn’t told anyone, but her attachment to the brothers probably caught the attention of someone and Usha had to find out who, or else she had no hope of freeing Adam. She sat on the armchair and lit a cigarette. She closed her eyes and smelled the blood that filled the room. She smiled for a second then opened her eyes again and went to the window.

The house, where the demons were hiding, was in the middle of the woods surrounded by tall tress. The real owners were probably dead or used this house for vacation. The three-story house had nothing that would suggest humans lived there; food, medicine, water. Instead, the floor smelled of human blood and there were bodies lying in the hallway. Usha puffed her cigarette and went out to the room toward the stairs. She didn’t bother avoiding the dead demon. She went downstairs and turned left heading to the kitchen.

She opened the fridge and took out a bottle filled with red dense liquid. She took a bottle of rum from a lower counter and a clean glass from the sink. She mixed the red liquid with the rum and smiled smelling her cocktail. She sipped her cocktail as she exit the house sitting on a bench on the porch. She didn’t bother to take an ashtray but let the ash fall on the wooden floor instead.

She drank her cocktail. She knew she had to go back to the brother, but hesitated tempted by the tranquillity of the place. She took a deep breath and finished her cocktail. She stood, took a big puff  on her cigarette and inhaled the smoke. She tossed the cigarette on the floor, then vanished.