Chapter Twenty: The Terrific Nephew's Schooling Garage

Chapter Twenty

I hobbled after Alexia, Gavin, and Jade. I‘d tried to use the cane to be polite, but I was inexperienced with it, which my made my trek burdensome. On top of that, I had already learned to walk without it.

When I caught up with the troupe, I discovered how pointless rushing had been; Alexia wouldn’t let us leave until someone else arrived. It turned out we weren’t the only ones leaving. A girl by the name of Oken was also travelling afar.

In the wait for the girl, I read the plaque I’d seen earlier.

“Terrific Nephew’s Schooling Garage

“Sir Harold, like many with his charm and net value, has a large family. The family members with an actual blood relation, Erma believes are unsuitable for Sir Harold because of their inebriated appearance at festive holiday tables, but alas, one has captured Sir Harold’s spleen enough for Sir Harold to ensure his well being.

“Charles McLeod is the beloved son of Clarence McLeod. Clarence McLeod is the spoiled prodigy of Jimmy McLeod. Jimmy McLeod must be the ugliest daughter Ghengis McLeod ever had. Ghengis McLeod is the spawn of Nancy McLeod and the devil whom Sir Harold is unfortunate enough to have as an in-law. Nancy McLeod is the dorky sister of Sir Harold, making Charles McLeod the great, great, great nephew of Sir Harold.

“Charles McLeod was born and lives on Mars but Sir Harold loves him even without having met him. Sir Harold feels that any nephew that great must be terrific, and so, Sir Harold has dedicated this room and Account Number 72459001 to his med-school education.”

Around the time I finished reading, a girl a few years older than Gavin approached. She was wearing a hair-piece that looked strangely like cat-ears. “Hi, my name’s Oken. I like bloody gore, death by asphyxiation, and compulsive torture.” Cat ears weren’t all that peculiar; in fact they suddenly looked good on her! “What’s your name?”

“I forgot.” I stammered.

“I know what you mean. I’d forget my name too if it meant my identity was safe!” She laughed. “I’m on my way to a space port. I’m taking a two-week vacation to Mars; I heard the weather’s great there at this time of year.”

“I’ve…” I paused. “I’ve heard that too.”

Once we boarded the train car, Alexia pushed the button to start the train’s movement. The girl called Oken sat just in front of Gavin, Jade and I. To say the least, I worried about how we’d be dismembered before reaching the train station.

“Speaking of travelling, I’ve always wanted to go to England, you know, to see the grassy fields and what not.” She mused. “Perhaps I’ll stop by when I get back to Earth; I could call in sick or something to go.”

“Oh, yeah, everyone does that, so surely you of all people could get away with it.” I fidgeted in my seat.

“Hey, what’s a matter?” She had a look of concern pop up on her face. “You look squeamish, like you’re watching some lucky soul crank the wheel on the Rack.”

I just forgot to use the restroom before we left.” I lied.

“You should’ve gone before—oh! We’re here! Bu-bai!” She darted off the train and disappeared into the dense crowds in the train station.

“Who was that?” Gavin asked; he and Jade had been inside the train car already when Oken introduced herself to me.

“Just some girl who enjoys long walks on the beach and compulsive torture.” I muttered.

“Really?!” Jade exclaimed. “Did she tell you her name? I’d like to meet her!”

“You did.” I mumbled. “Come on, let’s go. I want to get a train to the states as quickly as possible.” I led the way into the train station, eager to put Sir Harold’s as far behind us as possible.

Getting a ticket had been easy enough, so had the beneath the churning waters of the Atlantic. Some time during the long ride, Jade got up and used the phone. Twice actually, but that wasn’t any of my business. Then again, corporate espionage could be profitable, if not fun.

I was sure one of the two calls had been to Leon Gonzago, whom I suspected hadn’t returned to McLeod Manor after running away with Jade. The identity of the recipient of the other telephone call was a mystery, unless Leon Gonzago got two for the price of one.

Around noon, the train arrived in the sky scraper city I had come to accept as a home. First, before going anywhere else, Jade and I marched to the apartment; this time it was Gavin who had to work to keep pace. Fumbling around in the bookbag on my back, I found my keys and pushed the apartment door open.

The sad little two-bedroom, two-bath apartment was as derelict as ever, only now it had a cold hollowness to it. That may have been caused by the absence of life, but the cranked-up thermostat might have contributed to the effect as well.

Jade walked through the house in search of our grandparents, but seeing Jade’s handwriting on a note on the refrigerator was more than enough proof for me. They really were gone.

Everything was exactly as we’d left it. Deep in my stomach, a glob of vomit began rolling over and over. I didn’t want to spew, but my body had other plans. A compromise was reached when my stomach agreed not to dance the hunky-chunky in exchange for my remaining nauseous.

I picked up my bag, only to grab my laptop. Sitting on one of the old sofas in the den, I busied myself putting the song Gavin and I wrote onto my hard drive. It was the only way I could avoid crying; my grandparents, the only connection I had left to the man my father had been, were done. Dead, at the very worst.

Gavin saw my distress but there was little he could do to help me. He tried stroking my hand but it did about as much as a missing spare tire.

By nightfall, the weight of the silence among the three of us still hadn’t lifted but it bad been placed on a barbell during a weight-lifting competition. It was a start.

Jade sat in one of the tall armchairs our grandparents had had. She tucked her legs beneath her in a way that seemed comfortable not only to her but to many others; every now and then, I found myself resting the ankle of my right foot below my left knee. “If it’s okay with you, I’m going to spend tomorrow hanging out with Krystal Nicholson. You two are welcome to join us.” At that point, I felt so much like my mother as I offered similar options in my early teens that I wanted to cry.

Responding took some time, and when I finally did, it was only a nod at first. Eventually, I choked out a few words, which weren’t all that brilliant anyways. “I want to go.”

The nervous line in Jade’s lips bent into a wry smile of her approval. She was tired, I could see it, but she was also relieved. When walking by, she clapped a hand on my shoulder. I guessed to say “Hang in there.” I only wished it were that easy.

Shortly after Jade’s departure for bed, I made a role model out of her. The kiss goodnight I gave Gavin was more a habit than anything really; I didn’t glean much if any affection from it, not that it was lacking in that area. After inviting Gavin to sleep wherever, I trooped to the bedroom where intended to sleep flat on my back beneath the wooden slats supporting Jade’s constant tossing and turning.

For a moment, I thought I could pull the plug on my rising emotions, so I scrounged through me bag for the knife that had done so much for me. Once I’d clicked it on, the realization came to me that I couldn’t carve another wound into my arm; Gavin wouldn’t like it. He was the only reason I wasn’t carving into myself, but was he worth it?

Instead of scarring myself, I flicked the power off and rolled over for a restless night’s sleep. Though I had wretched nightmares all night long, I woke up feeling somewhat rested; I also felt like an empty shell.

The next morning, Krystal Nicholson met us at the front door, and we were off. We didn’t know where to go and Krystal almost suggested we go to the mall, but she silenced herself just in time. Gavin had the idea that we could go to the beach. He said he thought it would be fun, but I sensed he wanted to visit his special spot to sit and think in peace. Jade and Krystal agreed to the idea, so we were off.

Before leaving, Jade and I put on our bathing suits. That left Krystal and Gavin still without bathing suits, well, Gavin without one. Jade lent one Krystal one of her two extras. We could have technically lent Gavin one also, but if he had decided to wear it, I think our relationship would have been in trouble; the mere thought of him squeezing into a bikini bottom was enough to make me shudder. I imagined him possibly getting into it, and then after bulging for a minute or two, I visualized the bathing suit bursting apart at the seams and fluttering to the ground. Needless to say, I would have been traumatized if my kissing him provoked such a humbling popping of threads.

Jade, Krystal, and I redressed and took Gavin to a department store to pick out a cheap pair of swim trunks prior to going to the beach. I wondered what kind of looks we’d when people saw three teenage girls each telling an attractive young man which bathing suit looked best on him.

The department store was on level twenty-one of a neighboring building, so after a quick elevator ride, we were there. The store had done well to convey a natural sense of being despite the floors above and below it; the front of the store had glass paneling and a decent sized courtyard. As soon as one left the elevator, aside from a color-coded map, the first thing one saw was the cheerful curb-appeal of the department store; I knew it was only an illusion created by an overpaid landscape designer.

Gavin chose a pair of swim shorts from a brightly-colored selection. While he sifted through the different colors and styles, I held those that had possibility. Curiously, I poked the soft white fiber mesh inside most of them. It seemed strange to me, but also provoked thought; it had to feel weird down there, but then again, I didn’t really know. I gathered its purpose was to act as underwear but not all the swim trunks had the liner, so I couldn’t be positive. Really it was just confusing.

After paying for the shorts, Gavin changed in a public restroom and from there the four of us took a public transportation vehicle to the beach.

Gavin and I managed to convince Krystal and Jade to walk as far out as the sewage pipe. Using the back of the concrete pipe as our little hovel, Jade, Krystal, and I all shed our outer clothing. Gavin being the gentleman he was, turned his back to us while we disrobed. I told him he didn’t have to, and Krystal even told him to turn around and face us because we didn’t like talking to the back of his head, but we had little success in our endeavor.

“We’re going to go for a walk.” Jade surprised me by not commenting on her leaving Gavin and I alone on the beach; my only explanation was that the Arlington Massacre, as it had been called by the press, had affected her.

Gavin and I relaxed on the wet sand. Listening for no other reason than just to do it, I waited for the voices of Krystal and Jade to disappear. As soon as they were gone, Gavin and I were deep in conversation.

It felt like we’d been talking for an hour when Gavin scooped up a handful of wet sand and dropped it on m belly. I assumed that he was going to try to bury me in the sand since I was already stretched out on it. Instead he only began working with his tongue clasped between his teeth. “You’re always wearing black. Even when you have the opportunity to wear something different, you choose to wear white’s polar opposite.” He’d been sitting next to me, but when he started speaking, he gave me a soft kiss and moved to sit on me. With one leg on either side of me, he straddled my thighs while his fingers tickled and touched my belly. “I’m beginning to think there’s something different about you.” He brushed the sand on my belly lightly with his pinky. Several minutes passed before I could see what he was doing but when I saw it, I wondered why he had molded the sand into an hour glass with the center of it over my belly button and the bottom of the hourglass extending to the line formed by my bikini. “You’re my little black widow.” He smiled a sweet romantic grin.

Seeing how hard he’d worked to reach this one moment of love, I smirked and motioned with two fingers for him to come closer. Gavin puled his legs back and leaned forward while he brought his hands around my back. At first, our lips barely locked, but the moment was so passionate that soon our tongues began to tango.

A scream stopped our speaking French almost as soon as it had started. Gavin lifted his head and gazed over his shoulder and I propped myself up on my elbows. Not hearing anything further, Gavin mumbled “It’s nothing, now where were we?” I began twirling his hair around my finger tips when I heard Jade shout the s-word.

“Move Krystal! It’s the Catrions!” A splash followed. That was enough for Gavin and I to leap up running. We just barely made it to the edge of the pipe where the water caressed the sides of the pipe when I had to watch a wavy black square bag the size of a compact car dropping over Krystal Nicholson. It was the same type of thing the Catrions had dropped at the mall before killing everyone. I felt sure the Catrions were following me and this time, I wouldn’t be so lucky.

Standing near the shore, perhaps even in the foamy water, Krystal Nicholson tried to remain standing, but the weight of the bag toppled her over. Jade had jumped into the water, missing the first black mass that covered Krystal, although two more Catrions were chasing after her. Between their dragonfly-shaped flying machines was another black bag. I was going to have to watch Jade die!

I tried to run to her but Gavin clamped onto my arms so tightly I would have bruises later. He yanked me back into the sanctity of the pipe even though I fought him every step of the way; I had to see what was happening.

The second bag dropped over Jade—I screamed her name, pleading with her to live a little longer.

On the boardwalk, I saw a brief shimmer and then two dozen or so armed men stood with antique XM8 assault rifles. These men had been wearing cloaked camouflage. They weren’t important to me, not with the dark mass on jade sinking lower and lower in the frothy salt water.

As I stared in horror, thunder erupted over and over again; the men fired their assault rifles. Their aim was true, for seconds later, the five Catrions that had been flying around crashed into the yellow sand, making what were either giant dents or small craters. Those craters soon became shallow pools for the thick pink liquid I’d seen when Hubert had attacked that one Catrion just before his face melted away.

I stared, dumbfounded, at both the craters and the black thing hiding Jade. It was all too terrifying to be real, but almost exactly like in my nightmares, I was witnessing another Catrion attack.

This was attack number three and was like the second in that he Catrions attacked without warning and dropped the black tarp things. Thankfully, attack number three wasn’t like attach number one in that a ball of boiling acid didn’t melt any flesh; I couldn’t have stood to watch that again. There were similarities among all three but there were differences as well, particularly between the prime numbers greater than one.

Like what had happened at the mall, the black objects vanished in less time than an eye needed to blink, but unlike the Arlington Massacre, the body under the black stuff vanished. When I saw Krystal Nicholson gone, I began to sob for Jade. I didn’t dare look her way, choosing instead to concentrate on the missing Catrions; I couldn’t bear the notion of my only living relative being gone.

When Krystal Nicholson disappeared, so had the Catrions, leaving behind puddles of their pink blood and also the wire contraptions they flew in.