Gods and Monsters (3 page)

She looked down at the creature. “Two? I think one would have sufficed. Do you think Danato is made of money?”

He glared. “Really, what about your ninth dart? That’s a little reckless of you.”

“Yeah, but I used one twice, so I more than made up for that.” He shook his head and walked away. She followed closely. “What’s that smell?”

“Shut-up.”

“She must have been cooped up in that vent for a while.”

“Shut-up.”

“Ekek shit,” she hissed, “That’s a tough smell to get out. I guess you’ll be doing a buzz cut again.” Ethan abruptly turned around and hugged her, smearing the scent on her. It was a bold move for him, but she imagined he only did it because he knew she was out of darts. “Oh, son of a bitch!”

He laughed. “What’s wrong, Gpys?” She squirmed against his vice grip on her waist pressing her palm into his chin. He was being very careful not to touch her anywhere above or below her midline. He knew better.

“Don’t get that in my hair, or I will kill you in your sleep.”

He let her go and walked away. “What does it matter? You’ll just bleach your hair and change colors again.”

“Yeah, well, I like the purple,” she said shaking her purple ponytails for effect.

He glanced back and smiled. “Yeah, I like it too.”

3

Gypsy freely undressed in front of Ethan when they reached the incinerator receptacle. She slipped off her pleated skirt, double shirts, and her leggings. She probably could have kept them, but they were white and covered in blood so why bother. Ethan didn’t flinch at her bare essential undergarments. Any questions there had been about attraction between them had long since been dismissed by her. He had better offers anyway.

Ethan slipped out of his unvarying black t-shirt and cargo pants, leaving him in his dark gray boy short briefs. He was an attractive young man. She had always admired how he had bloomed from a skinny little runt, to the daunting muscular specimen he now was. If there were any chance that she could ever be with a man again, she would have wanted it to be Ethan, but for now, she was content being without a partner.

Gypsy collected her tactical belt and gun before leading the way to the infirmary. The nursing staff took one look at her and jumped to get her a robe. They directed her to an exam station just off the main nursing station. After a frantic collection of bandages, needles, and antiseptics the mood changed from urgent action, to maternal controlled panic.

Ethan came to lean against the entrance to the exam room, casually sporting his underwear like a trained model. More than one nurse at the main station took notice of him. As they should, there were few male specimens around to enjoy, fewer of Ethan’s appeal.

“Ladies, you’re doing a fine job,” he announced with a game show host’s baritone. “I want the best of care for my friend. No expense spared.” The nurses obliged him with mincing giggles.

Gypsy chuckled as well, but not because she thought Ethan was funny. He recognized her cavalier amusement and glared at her.

“Gypsy, sweetheart, I’m going to give you a local anesthetic in your leg.” The oldest nurse spoke to her as if she was infirmed. She wasn’t sure if it was her visible scars or rumored scars that caused every woman in the prison to treat her with kid gloves. Despite her obvious thick skin she never seemed to convince any of them that she wasn’t a fragile china doll.

“Why?” Gypsy asked from her supine position on the bed.

Ethan threw a hand full of tongue depressors at her from the cart he was leaning next to. “For the pain, dipshit.”

Gypsy guffawed. “I can’t feel anything. It’s too deep.”

“Well,” the nurse glanced at Ethan as if he might have some influence over her. He shrugged assuming no responsibility for her. “Okay, I’m going to clean the wound, now.” The woman began pouring alcohol into the wound, and Gypsy screeched in pain. “Oh, I’m sorry!” The nurse scrambled for the anesthetic. 

“I’m kidding.” Gypsy laughed. “I seriously can’t feel anything.”

The nurse gawked at Gypsy’s ill-mannered humor and stabbed the needle into her leg anyway. Gypsy wasn’t able to contain the yelp from that assault. “Better safe than sorry, dear.” The nurse smiled, but Gypsy got the feeling she might have finally succeeded in pissing her off once and for all.

The nurse continued to debride her wound with generous pressure. She could still feel some of it, but knew better than to ask for more anesthetic. When Gypsy caught Ethan’s eye over her shoulder, they both had to stifle laughter.

4

“What the hell are you two doing?” Danato asked as Gypsy and Ethan came into the office in a hospital gown and underwear respectively.

“Reporting,” Gypsy looked to Ethan for confirmation of the obvious. Ethan matched her mock confusion. “What does it look like we’re doing?”

Danato opened his mouth to respond, but shook away whatever he intended to say. “What’s the report?”

“Mother’s alive, but down.” Gypsy proceeded as intended. “Eight babies down, two might not have survived. I got a hunk out of my thigh, but it’s scrubbed and stitched. Oh, and Ethan smells like shit.”

“Thank you,” Danato glanced at Ethan, “but I didn’t exactly miss that.”

Ethan threw his hands up. “I’m waiting to be dismissed so I can shower.”

“Dismissed, please,” Danato waved him out.

Ethan left just as Belus walked in. Belus didn’t flinch at his nudity, but he did scrunch his nose after the lingering odor hit him. “The guards have collected the Ekeks,” he said glancing at Gypsy. “What was your damage?”

“Leg.” She whipped back her robe and peeled back the bandage for him to see.

“Nerve damage?” He asked.

“Definitely.”

“Big scar?”

Gypsy gave him two thumbs up. Belus seemed to understand the pride that came with a good scar. He wasn’t nearly as squeamish about her near death encounters as everyone else. 

“If you two masochist are finished, can I get my report Belus?” Danato grumbled.

“Three of the babies are dead, but the mother is safely ensconced in her nest. What do you want me to do with the five remaining?”

Danato tapped his finger on the desk for a moment. “Execute them.”

“Excuse me?” Gypsy asked even as Belus turned to leave. She shoved the chair behind her with her foot. It slid into the door, effectively stopping Belus’s exit. He returned to Danato’s desk and stood on the side. He all but waved the flag for the ensuing argument.

“I’m not letting them live, Gypsy. We don’t need that mother trying to get to them, and I don’t need them forming a horde.”

“Yeah, I get that, fuck ‘em, I don’t care, but why didn’t you just let me use my pistol instead of a dart gun. I could have knocked off every last one of them with one magazine and some to spare.”

“Because that’s not how it works.”

Gypsy glanced at Belus. He nodded in agreement. “So you can exterminate them, but I can’t?”

“That’s exactly right,” Danato said stiffening his back. “Is that a problem?”

It was far more dangerous Danato’s way, but Gypsy wasn’t surprised that he didn’t want her haphazardly killing an inmate’s offspring. There was a fine line between self-defense and preemptive offense in this place, and it was probably best the Danato be the one to draw it. She shrugged. “Nah, it was more fun this way.” She turned on her heel and headed to the door. She shoved the chair back in place. “I have to go,” she announced to give Danato the opportunity to dismiss her with his lazy wave. “I have a head to shave,” she said before she left.  

5

Cori hadn’t expected any less than three guards with rifles pointed at her head when she exited the semi-trailer. The prison was a high security facility and took stowaways very seriously. When there was only one armed guard sent to deal with her unexpected arrival, she was a little insulted. Ungracefully, she disentangled her leg from a strip of bubble wrap and smiled at the familiar face.

“Hi Duke,” she said with a relief at seeing anyone she knew from her pre-wish life.

Duke’s brow knit tightly before he lifted his rifle for a proper aim. His eyes fluttered over her in examination, but his hands stayed rock steady with his finger already on the trigger. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“I’m an employee of Danato’s, or at least I was. I have to speak to him directly.

It’s urgent.”

“How…he…” Duke clearly wasn’t sure how to handle this. Trespassers were generally wiped by whatever psychic was on good behavior and sent back to their place of origin. Cori already knew too much to simply be whammy-ed and sent on her way. “I need to make a call.”

“Please do,” Cori said crossing her arms and looking around with casual boredom of someone waiting for a bathroom stall. The doc manager glared at her through the fog of his cigarette at the far end of the doc. She was certain that there would never be a time or dimensional schism that he didn’t hate her and every other human being on earth.

“Miss, what’s your name?”

“Cori…Reiger or Pierce, that was never really established.”

Duke relayed the information into the walkie-talkie a few more times before the other end stopped asking him to repeat it. She wondered how hard it was going to be to convince Danato that she
was
in his employ, but that she rubbed a lamp and made everyone, except her, forget it. At least this was one catastrophe caused by honest absentmindedness and not intentional ambiguity. That should earn some points.

“Miss?” Duke said as if he might be interrupting her. “I need to take you to the office.” She smiled at him. He always sounded apologetic to her. As if he was sorry that he had to exert anything resembling authority over her. She imagined that his mother had been tremendously exacting in her rules regarding the treatment of women.

Duke was torn between letting her lead the way—as a “ladies first” gesture, and guiding her to the office. Since she already knew the way, but she didn’t exactly want to have a gun at her back she did her best to walk just one step ahead of him. “How have things been here?” she asked when the silence seemed to demand some kind of filler.

Duke nearly lost his balance going up the stairs to the office hallway, but he recovered and nodded at her. “It’s been just fine, Miss, thank you for asking.” After a short pause he added. “And with you miss.”

She sighed. “I accidentally rubbed a lamp and I completely erased my life here.”

Duke stopped midway down the hall and looked at her. She turned to face him. “I’m sorry to hear that. Those wily genies have been a pain in my buttocks as well.”

Cori smiled at his reference to buttocks over ass. No swearing in front of the ladies. “Thank you, Duke. I only hope I can convince everyone else as easily as you.”

“I’ve never been much for fibbing, Miss, so I just assume that nobody else is either. I’ve been wrong on a number of occasions, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to change my ways. If that makes me a simpleton, then so be it, but I’d hate to miss out on something wonderful, just cause I didn’t believe it to be true.”

“That’s a fine way of looking at life, Duke. I respect that, and maybe someday I can learn to be the same. Might keep me out of trouble.” She smiled and rolled her eyes.

He smiled warmly, albeit uncomfortably. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “I beg your pardon Miss, but I still have to take you to the office.”

She nodded, stifling a giggle. “I know, Duke.” She continued on down the hallway as he instructed. She was going to have to hang out with Duke more often when she got back to her reality. He seemed to be the type of man she could turn to for an honest opinion on just about anything.

Duke knocked on the glass windowed door before pushing it open and directing her inside. He stayed outside, no doubt to avoid removing his weapon. She expected to see Danato behind the desk, but it was Ethan. She smiled at him happy that he was here and still him. His hair was shorter, and he didn’t mirror her joyful relief, but it was him. He lifted out of Danato’s chair and circled around to examine her.

“She’s unarmed,” Duke offered.

“Clearly,” was all Ethan said in return, “dismissed.”

“Yes, sir,” Duke reached for the knob.

“Thank you, Duke,” Cori said since Ethan wasn’t going to give him any kind of kudos for his performance.

“You told her your name?” Ethan glowered at Duke.

“No, sir, she already knew it.” Duke closed the door before any other questions or accusations could be posed.

Ethan approached and stalked around her, critiquing her as if she were a statue being submitted for an art show. “Who are you? How do you know about this place? Who sent you?”

“Ethan…” She started to explain, but he clamped onto her face and shoved her head back so he was effectively above her.

“Don’t toy with me. Whatever your plan is, I will find out? You might as well tell me everything. Who are you?”

“I’m your wife.”

6

Telling someone you’re meeting, theoretically for the first time, you are their spouse is a bit like saying that if you multiply six times nine you get forty-two. Sure someone is bound to find it amusing, but no one will believe you.