Chapter 11: A Dance with the Devil

In City 17, as the evening was giving way to the night, Barney, Lt. Malcolm, and Sgt. Franklin were in an alley. There was an older man wearing a blue jumpsuit lying against the wall. His face was bruised and bloody. Lt. Malcolm began kicking him in the stomach.

"So, what do you want to say to us?" Barney asked. "Are we not treating criminals with respect? Do you want us to give these assholes rights?"

Barney punched the man in the face.

"It looks like you got no other protester to back your ass up," Barney continued. "Damn liberal. Look at you, no one to hide behind, no sheep to agree with every damn word you say, no media to cry to. Do you just love the world we live in? After people like you created this mess and now you have to live in it."

"Please stop," the man pleaded.

Barney backed away. Sgt. Franklin picked the man up and dragged him back out to the street. He dropped him to the ground. The other City Enforcement members had either beaten or killed some of the liberal protesters that were in the area by the station. The man tried to crawl away.

"Come on idiot, go call the news reporters," Barney said. "This stupid cause is what you fight for, it's what you would die for. What a waste of a human life you are."

Barney shot him.

"Calhoun, what do you want to do with the rest of them?" Lt. Malcolm asked. "Kill or torture?"

"You know what Malcolm, I'm going to go home so I'll leave you in charge."

"Yes sir."

Barney got into his van and drove away. Sgt. Franklin clobbered a man in the knees who was in handcuffs. He stomped on him as Barney glanced in the rearview mirror.

When he got to his place, he had hired two strippers who were taking turns giving lap dances. They had been there for almost an hour. One woman was wearing a blue bikini and the other was wearing a pink bikini. Barney sat back and enjoyed the show. He touched her stomach and she danced around. Then, he felt the leg of the other stripper as she vied for his attention.

"Come here," he said to the blue bikini stripper.

He kissed her on the lips. The other stripper intervened and kissed Barney on the lips. Barney loved the fact that two women were thriving for him. He patted his lap and the two women sat on him.

"You girls know what I want now right?" He said.

Barney was now lying in bed. Both women had taken their clothes off. All three of them went under the covers.

Back at Ashgate, the night had completed its takeover of the evening sky. Maddie had set up her own place inside of the top floor of an abandoned apartment building. She made sure she was equipped and headed out for the night. With the full moon in the background, Maddie ran across the rooftops, observing the streets below. She stopped for a moment when she reached a tall building to gaze upon the scene of the city sized prison. There were a few street lights that were lit and some of the settlements, which were spread out had there lights on. It was a nice view, despite the vicious acts that took place below. Then, Maddie spotted a nightclub, which still had its neon lights blinking. She quickly scaled down the building, using the blown out portions of the glass windows to her advantage. As she got a closer look, she saw a small group of people outside. They looked like regular club goers. They acted as if there never was a war, and they were happy. Maddie, however, wanted a closer look. She scaled down, using the darkness as her cover. She got a closer look at the group and recognized a woman. She had long blonde hair, wore a tight black dress, heels, a queen's crown, and smoked a cigarette. She also recognized the man who had his arm around her. He had short black hair, was dressed in a purple silk shirt and black pants, a king's crown, and was bulky. The group went inside and locked the steel door behind them. Maddie smiled and quickly ran towards the nightclub. She approached the front entrance with the blinking neon lights flashing on her. The door was locked tight. Then, she went into the alley and tried side door, which was also locked. Next, she tried her favorite entrance, from the top. She saw the door of the roof entrance and found that it was also locked. Unlike the other doors, this one was made of wood. Maddie stepped back and kicked the door, which caused it to slightly budge from the lock. She stepped back again and kicked it and then kicked it again. This time the door came loose and she walked right in. She could hear the club music from below as she walked down the steps and descended to the club floor. The music got louder as she walked through the dark hallway. She peaked through the velvet curtain and saw a small group of people dancing. She also saw the woman and man she recognized earlier, sitting on a couch on the opposite side.

Instead of making her entrance through the curtain, she went around to another hallway and entered the club floor. The whole place was a mixture of blue and purple lights. The floor was shiny and the music was loud. It was unusual for her to be seen in a crowd of people, but since she was not wearing her face paint, she did not stand out which was good for this situation. She walked right through the small crowd of dancers, eyeing the woman and man ahead. As she got closer, the woman noticed her. She was startled. Then, Maddie suddenly disappeared within the crowd.

"Baby, what's wrong?" The man asked.

"I thought I saw someone I know," she said.

He looked at the dance floor.

"There's no one there honey," he said.

Then, Maddie appeared to the side of them. The woman screamed.

"It's her!" she yelled.

The crowd of dancers did not notice the scream due to the loud music.

"Yoo-hoo!" Maddie said. "Remember me?"

"Oh shit!" The man said.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in? This place is supposed to be secure from psychos like you," she said.

"Yeah, well nothing can keep me out," Maddie said.

"I should have known Creepy Maddie would be in a place like this," the woman said.

"And I should have known you two would end up in a place like this. It's been a long time hasn't it? You didn't even invite me to your little party. But no to worry, I invited myself."

"Cody, kick this psycho out!" The woman yelled.

Cody stood up but Maddie pointed the dagger at him.

"Sit back down and relax a little," Maddie said.

He sat back down as the woman started to shiver.

"You weren't invited Maddie, just like you never were invited to any of my parties," the woman said. "You're a damn psycho and you freak me out."

Maddie clapped her hands.

"Good!" she said.

Cody grabbed a bottle of vodka off the couch and began shaking a little.

"You never wanted to be my friend Jessica," Maddie said. "You were always to stuck up and full of yourself."

"It's better than being a maniac like you," Jessica said. "You're a murderer."

Maddie laughed and took a tequila shot off the table.

"So. They deserved it. All of them did."

"Yeah, and your father deserved it too," Jessica said.

Maddie dropped the shot glass and had a flashback of Jessica calling her Creepy Maddie from her school days. She also remembered when Jessica shoved her down in the hallway and laughed at her. Maddie threw the shot glass at her, breaking it on her face. She screamed in pain. Cody tried to throw the vodka bottle at her, but she caught it. She opened it and took a sip.

"Whoo! Wow! That's strong!" Maddie said.

She laughed and set the bottle on the table. Someone tried to sneak up on her from behind. He looked like a bouncer. Maddie saw him with the corner of her eye and stabbed him in the stomach. She shoved him down and laughed. Another bouncer ran at her but she pointed the knife at him. Cody escorted Jessica away from the area.

"Try me, tough guy," Maddie taunted.

She motioned for him to come closer. She swung the dagger around and he backed away. Maddie made a clucking sound. The club dancers took notice and they fled the area. The bouncer backed on to the dance floor. Maddie smiled and then laughed as she followed him. The music stopped playing. The bouncer got into a fighting stance. Maddie smiled.

"You want to fight huh?" Maddie said as she put her fists up.

She danced around like a boxer while laughing. The bouncer tried to punch her but she dodged each blow. She danced around and threw shadow punches at him. He tried to throw a hook at her, but she ducked and threw a few jabs and crosses at his stomach.

"I sting like a bee!" Maddie said.

She danced around as if she were Muhammed Ali.

"Come on chump," she said.

She was able to land a few punches to his face. She tripped him and started to hit him with a few elbows in the face. Maddie put him in a sleeper hold and began choking him while giggling. He started to fade away. Then, someone came up from behind, grabbed Maddie by the hair, and pulled her off. He was a club dancer who was there to defend the honor of Jessica and Cody. Maddie laughed as she rolled on the ground. She quickly got up and grabbed the guy by the hair and kneed him in the stomach. Then, she broke his neck. The bouncer crawled away. Maddie payed no attention to him as she headed back towards the couch and looked around for Jessica. Three more club dancers approached her. Maddie showed them her dagger while smiling and they ran off.

"Hey, Cody," she said, "Let the little tramp go and I promise I'll kill you quickly. Oh Jessica, come here Jessica. Do you want to play with me? Come on, let's be friends."

Maddie let out an insane laugh. She took another sip of vodka and laid down on the couch. Then, Cody came out with a metal baseball bat.

"Ooh, look who it is," Maddie said.

"I've always hated your damn guts," he said. "I regret nothing. I'm glad we made you so miserable."

Maddie laughed.

"Stop laughing you bitch!"

Maddie laughed louder. He tried to hit her with the bat but she quickly moved. She stood on the table. Cody swung at her but she jumped off, breaking the glass table.

"I miss those days when we used to make fun of you at school."

"Yeah, well now, I'm gonna do something about it."

Maddie swung the dagger at him and he backed away. He repeatedly swung the bat at her as Maddie easily avoided each swing. She was able to grab hold of the bat and use her boot knife to stab him in the leg. He screamed in pain as he went down. She grabbed the bat and tossed it away. Jessica came out from hiding and slowly and quietly grabbed the bat. Maddie kneeled down beside Cody and used her tanto blade to cut off the buttons on his shirt. She then cut off a small portion of his hair.

"Me and you could have been together," she said. "But you were always too mean to me. That's okay, there is someone else in my life who understands me. I guess it all worked out because I get the pleasure of killing you."

Jessica slowly approached Maddie, but she heard her heels hitting the floor. Maddie threw her dagger right at Jessica's shoulder and she immediately dropped the bat and fell down. She started shivering.

"Bullseye!" Maddie said.

Maddie took another sip of vodka. Then, she smashed the bottle over Cody's head, knocking him out. Jessica moved to the dancefloor, scared out of her mind.

"Looks like it's just me and you," Maddie said.

Jessica removed the dagger and trembled so much that she was unable to hold on to it. Maddie laughed at her.

"We got the dancefloor to ourselves," Maddie said. "I never got to go to a dance with anyone."

"Because you're a creep," Jessica said.

Maddie laughed as Jessica backed away.

"You're right, I'm too scary to be with normal people like you. I should be in a loony bin wearing a straightjacket."

Jessica fell to the ground and crawled on her side, trying to escape from the terror Maddie had been putting her through. Maddie slowly walked alongside her.

"The best part is that I love putting people through fear. I'm glad they are all afraid of me."

Maddie let out a loud laugh. Jessica had left a trail of blood across the dancefloor. Maddie picked her up by the hair and began dancing with her. Maddie laughed as Jessica trembled with fear.

"This is so nice," Maddie said, "We get our own dance. You see this time Creepy Maddie, is not at home in her straightjacket. She's at the dance. She's the life of the party. Everyone is happy."

Maddie put both hands on Jessica's face.

"Oh Jessica, calm down," she said.

Maddie took out the dagger and wiped the blood on Jessica's dress.

"I'm going to do to you what I do to everyone that is mean to me," she whispered.

Maddie stared deep into her eyes, feeding off Jessica's aura of fear. She placed the knife of Jessica's throat. Then, Jessica fell to the ground. The dagger was bloody again. Maddie did cartwheels back over to the couch and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. She took a few sips and admired her kill lying on the dancefloor. She felt better that she got rid of one of her sworn enemies. As Cody was regaining consciousness, Maddie smiled. She stood in front of him as he struggled to get up. Maddie clicked on her boot knife and sliced Cody until he fell down. Maddie laughed at yet another kill.