ISSUE SEVEN
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Devi sits in her car, a nervous wreck. She'd left her apartment without even thinking, got in the car and drove out to where she is currently sitting; across the street and a few houses down from 777. She doesn't know if anybody's home, even though Johnny's car is parked out front. She remembers he didn't use it very much.
Devi figures if Vicky's there, she could just get the necklace from her and she wouldn't even have to see Johnny. Or maybe no one had even found it and it was still in the car. She's praying that the latter was true. All these questions are answered, however, as Devi sees who's walking around the corner. She slouches down in her seat, trying to not draw attention to herself.
Johnny walks around the corner, preceded by Vicky, who's skipping along in a black squiny outfit, complete with her sunglasses and sporting a new hair color. Nny pays no attention; he's fiddling with something in his hand. As he tosses it up in the air, Devi sees that it's her dagger necklace.
"Fuck!!" Devi curses under her breath. "What the hell is wrong with me?!" Devi quickly starts her car, and zooms off.
She doesn't see that Nny had indeed noticed her car and is watching her drive away.
~ ~ ~
Devi stood at the counter in the book store, bored out her mind when some dude with really puffy hair walked up to her.
"Excuse me miss, can you help me? I'm looking for a book called The Complete Guide to Getting It On." He asked. Devi turned around to gaze at the giant pyramid of books that sat behind the register with a poster that read "The Complete Guide to Getting It On" in big letters with an arrow pointing down at the pyramid. She turned back around.
"Are you sure you can't find it?"
"Oh yes, I've looked all around and can't seem to find it anywhere," he said, completely serious. Devi sighed and grabbed a book from behind her.
"OH MY GOD! YOU FOUND IT! YOU'RE A GENIUS!" The guy exclaimed, quickly flipping through the pages. "Hey, when I finish this, you want to..."
"No!" Devi shoved his change at him and rushed out from behind the counter. As she hurried away from the inept customer, she spotted a dark shadow in the corner of her eye. When she turned to see who it was though, it quickly ducked in an aisle. Devi smirked and strode over.
In the next aisle over stood Johnny, pretending to be intently reading a book even though he was holding it upside down.
"Enjoying your book, Nny?" Devi asked.
"Of course I am," He pretended to flip a page.
"Do you even know what it's called?"
"Why it's..." He paused and looked at the front cover. "'The Babysitters' Club'? ICK!" He quickly tossed it back on the shelf. Devi giggled, making Johnny grin.
"Hey, I got something for you..." Nny said kind of shyly, pulling something out of his pocket. He handed her a necklace with a really cool, decorative dagger with a silver skull and a snake dangling from it.
"Wow Johnny... it's beautiful..." Devi said, stunned by the gift.
"Yeah, I saw it and thought you might like it."
"Hey, Nny, what's that red splotch?"
Johnny panicked and quickly grabbed the necklace back, cleaned the spot off and handed it back to her. Devi smiled.
"Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow night?"
~ ~ ~
Johnny sits at a desk in his house, working on his latest installment of Happy Noodle Boy. He's going along nicely, and is almost finished with the comic when he stops and looks up.
"What's the matter?" Meat pipes up. "Run out of insanity?"
"It's quiet...TOO quiet. It's almost peaceful," Nny looks around. "Where's Vicky?"
"I believe she went out to get some shoes to match that new sequin number of hers," Meat informs him. "I still think you should've kept that shirt."
"Vicky's gone?!" Nny jumps up exclaiming. "WHOOHOOOOO!!! QUICK! Where's the padlock so she can't get back in?!" He starts rooting around in a nearby box when he hears the door slam.
"JOHNNY! LOOK WHAT I GOT!" Vicky's voice yells down at him.
"Shit, too late," Nny looks up as he hears Vicky thundering down the steps. "QUICK! HIDE ME!" Nny scurries under the desk just as Vicky bursts into the room.
"JOH… Hey, where is he?" Vicky looks around, confused.
"Under the desk," Meat informs her.
"TRAITOR!" Nny hisses from his hiding place. Vicky squats down and looks in at Nny.
"Comfortable?" She asks. But she stands up before Nny can answer. "Look what I got!" Vicky sets something on top of the desk. Nny crawls out and peers over the edge of the desk. There sits a little, kind of rusty, bell, the kind that they have at reception desks in hotels.
"What the hell is that?" Nny raises an eyebrow at it.
"Well," Vicky takes a big breath then starts talking very rapidly. "I was walking along to the shoe store when I saw this really cute yard sale so I just had to stop and look and found this bell there and I absolutely loved it! But, see, the stupid little rabid gnome who running the yard sale was trying to over charge me for the bell so I had to ram this pair of skis up her ass. It was really kinda of funny, but anyway, I figured since you hate talking to me anyway, then I'll just ignore you until you ring the little bell that way I'd know you want to talk to me and you don't have to worry about me bothering you until you ring the bell starting…" She checks her watch. "Now!"
Johnny blinks at her, amazed she could talk that long without stopping for breath.
"What the hell did you just say?" Nny raises an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, I can't respond; you didn't ring the bell," Vicky replies matter of factly.
"I'm not ringing that stupid…"
"Sorry, can't hear you," Vicky sits at the desk.
"Look, I refuse to tap that retarded little piece of shit…"
"La la lalala laaa!" Vicky ignores him. Nny tries unsuccessfully to control his quickly rising anger.
"You're insane if you think…"
"YOU HAVE TO RING THE BELL!" Vicky exclaims, then goes back to her calm state.
"I AM NOT RINGING THAT FUCKING BELL, YOU SCHIZO BITCH!" Nny yells at her. She yawns and points to the bell. Nny finally gives in and slams his hand down on the bell.
"Yes, brother dearest? How may I help you?" Vicky replies placidly.
"YOU ARE ONE PSYCHOTIC FREAK IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO HIT THAT GOD FORSAKEN BELL EVERY GOD DAMN TIME I WANT TO GIVE YOU MY TWO CENTS!!!" Nny yells.
"EVERYTIME I TRY TO TALK YOU ALWAYS YELL AT ME AND TELL ME TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! SOOOOORRRRYYYY FOR TRYING TO MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR YOU!" Vicky yells back.
"YOU FU…" Nny starts to reply.
"I'm sorry, you didn't ring the bell, I can't respond to you," Vicky informs him calmly.
"AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHH!!!" Nny makes strangling motions at her and thunders out of the room.
"So I guess you don't like my bell idea then?" Vicky calls curiously after him.
~ ~ ~
Devi paces back and forth in her drawing room, in deep, concerned thought. She pauses at one end of the room, then spins around on her heel and walks to the other side of her room before repeating the ritual. Sickness watches her from her canvas.
"FUCK! What the hell is wrong with me?!" Devi exclaims as she spins around again.
"I don't see what the big deal is, just go whack him on the head with a brick, grab the necklace and run," Sickness offers.
"Somehow, I doubt that would work," Devi paces some more. She knocks over an old photo album on her next pass though. Letting out a pissed sigh, she stoops down to pick of the pictures that had fallen out, she sometimes used them to help think of ideas for her paintings. Devi grabs a few of her and some old friends in school. She pauses and looks over the picture, but the memories that usually rise in her head when she looks at them don't come. Devi finds this a little strange but thinks nothing of it; she's having a troubled week. Sickness starts to scold her again just as the alarm clock rings.
"Damn it! I'm gonna be late for that freakin' meeting!" Devi starts shoving different sketches and papers in her portfolio, snatches her NERVE ID card and rushes out the front door.
Once Devi is driving down the road, her internal battle over the necklace starts again. Really, she hated Johnny with the fire a thousand burning suns and that necklace was just a reminder of the soulless son of a bitch. Why should she give a damn about it?
But, at the same time, Devi felt some kind of attachment to it. Like in some screwed up way it was part of her and even though she hates Nny beyond the capacity of rational thought, it still gave a vague memory of a time where for once she had a semblance of a normal social life, well more than she does now. In this tornado of a life, if we didn't have something to hold on to, we would surely go insane.
Devi parks her car, grabs her portfolio and rushes up to the door before she realizes where she is.
"Fuck."
She's standing in front of 777.
Devi smacks her hand on her forehead. She stands on the stoop for a second or two before sighing and hitting the doorbell.
"BZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"
Devi leaps back from the door, staring at the doorbell, horrified. She timidly steps back up to the door and knocks on it. Devi waits a few moments before, getting quite impatient, she leans over and peeks in the boarded up windows, meeting another pair of eyes who's owner promptly yelps and from the loud 'THUMP', Devi guesses whoever it was fell down.
"VICKY!" A pissed voice yells from inside. Devi raises an eyebrow at the door. She hears a few muffled comments and is debating if she should stay or not when the door swings open.
"Hullo?" A head sticks out of the door.
"JOHNNY! What did you do to your hair?!" Devi exclaims. "It's…long!"
"Huh?" The person gives her a confused look. "Oh, I'm not Johnny. It's me! Vicky!"
"Wha?" Devi stares at her, dumbfounded.
~ ~ ~
Johnny sits behind the television, trying to shove the cord he yanked out a few days earlier back in the set so he could watch TV. He's no handyman however and so is having no success when the doorbell rings. He gets up grumbling and grabs a weapon, hoping it's a door to door salesman; Nny has a lot of pent of tension. Johnny peers out the crack of the boarded up windows as someone knocks. He doesn't see anything and is about to go back to the TV when out of nowhere two very familiar, piercing jade eyes pop up in front of him.
"ACK!" Nny yelps, taken by surprise. He trips and falls down, dropping the weapon, before realizing whose eyes they were. Nny instantly knows whose fault this visit must be. "VICKY!"
"Wha?" Vicky trudges up the stairs drearily.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU INVITED HER OVER HERE!"
"Somebody came to visit?!" Vicky is instantly cheerier and rushes to the door.
"NO! DON'T LET HER IN! I CAN'T SEE HER! ESPECIALLY AFTER THE PUNCH INCIDENT!" Nny yells, but Vicky has already stuck her head out.
"Hullo?"
Nny frantically searches for a place to hide and ends up hiding behind the door.
"JOHNNY! What did you do to your hair?" Devi exclaims. "It's…long."
"Huh?" Vicky gives her a quizzical look. "Oh, I'm not Johnny. It's me! Vicky!"
"Wha?" Devi stares at her dumbfounded. Vicky grabs Nny and drags him out of his hiding place.
"WE'RE TWINS!" Vicky squeezes Nny. He frantically pushes her off of him.
"GET OFF OF ME! YOU ARE NOT RELATED TO ME, ALIEN SPAWN! YOU HAVE NO PROOF!" Nny glares at her then remembers Devi's standing there. "Oh, uh, hello Devi…"
Devi holds her portfolio up as a shield.
"…hi…"
"Somebody needs a nap," Vicky sneers, ignoring Nny and Devi's little 'moment'. "He's still in denial. So, how can we help you?"
"Uh… you know what? Never mind… I shouldn't be here…" Devi starts to back up.
"You can't stay?" Vicky looks crestfallen, much like a child who was just told she couldn't have the pony she wanted.
"No…I…uh…have to drop stuff off at work…NERVE…" Devi holds up her ID card as if she needs to prove she works there.
*There's that NERVE again, why is that so familiar?* Nny thinks to himself. Just then, something flashes in his mind.
-"…need a place…"-
*nerve*
-"…got kicked out…*-
*Nerve*
-"…always take care of our employees…*-
*NERVE*
The flash pierces through Johnny's mind like an arrow through a paper target. He snatches the ID card of out Devi's hand without even realizing it, inspects it for a moment, and then rushes across the room and down the stairs celerity.
"HEY!" Devi yells after him. Devi and Vicky exchange confused glances before Vicky follows in hot pursuit. Devi reluctantly tags along.
Johnny doesn't say a word as he races through the house, he's on the verge of something and he's afraid if he opens his mouth it might fall out. Nny comes to a screeching halt in front of a door that looks like it hasn't been opened in a long time. Nny tests the knob but it doesn't budge. Vicky and Devi catch up to him.
"What the hell is that creepy looking machine back there?" Devi asks, a tad creeped out.
Nny doesn't acknowledge her as he steps back and kicks the door open. Nny steps in and hits the light switch by the door. A bright fluorescent bulb flickers on casting light on the room which surprisingly looks much less run down than the rest of the house; it appears as though someone had tried to fix it up at one point. A thin layer of dust covers everything making it obvious that no one had been in there for a few years. On the wall opposite the door is a drawing desk covered with different art supplies and papers, next to the desk is an easel with paint stains all over the floor beneath it. Along the wall to the right is a different, regular writing desk, a bulletin board covered with photographs above it. A table with a stereo and CD's piled haphazardly sits next it and on the left wall is another door.
Nny pauses a moment in the doorway before rushing to the drawing desk and sifting through the papers. Vicky and Devi step in the room timidly.
"Nny, what the hell is going on?!" Vicky demands.
"The Doughboys never let me in here…where is it?... Always said…DAMN! WHERE DID IT GO?!" Nny mumbles, mostly to himself. Devi stays just inside the doorway watching Nny with a curious look.
"What the fuck does he mean by 'doughboys'?"
"Styrofoam figures that used to talk to him before he got shot," Vicky informs her mindlessly, more preoccupied with the contents of the room.
"Oh," Devi nods as if she understands, then pauses when what Vicky said registers in her head. "Wait a minute…"
But Vicky has already moved on and is inspecting the bulletin with the photos. The photos range from very old and beat up to fairly new looking. Vicky scans them with bated breath as she sees the subject of most the pictures. Some of them are Johnny, at various ages, with a small group of people whom Vicky had never seen before. A few others were of Vicky herself, also at various ages. One is of her holding her violin, probably before a concert, another is of both Vicky and Johnny, probably about 5 or 6, standing in front of an ice skating rink. The one that grabs Vicky's attention, though, is a picture that appears to have been torn in half. Vicky holds her breath as she reaches in her pocket and pulls out her own torn picture. As she matches the two pieces up, a tear trickles down her cheek. The two pictures combine to show the youthful Vicky leaning on her brother, Johnny, both of them grinning madly. The hand on Vicky's shoulder belongs to a very kind, beautiful woman whom Vicky instantly recognizes though she hasn't seen her in years.
"Mom…" Vicky whispers. She looks down on the writing desk and sees a silver frame, inside it a professional shot of her mother. Something flashes through Vicky's mind.
The silver frames sat on top of a wooden surface. A solemn occasion…why was everybody crying?
"FOUND IT!" Nny exclaims, snapping Vicky out of her thoughts. She sniffs and rushes over to him. Devi carefully steps up behind Vicky and looks over her shoulder. Nny sets down Devi's ID card and then next to it places a second one, his own.
"I think…I remember…" Nny starts, staring at the cards. He backs up and walks over to the second door. When he grabs this handle, though, it turns easier and swings open. Nny hits another switch and a large room lights up, the walls covered from top to bottom with different paintings and drawings. Vicky and Devi follow him into the gallery.
"Oh my…" Vicky says as Devi steps up to the closest painting and inspects it. She spots Johnny's initials hidden in the corner of it.
"This is stunning…" Devi breathes, her love for art winning over her contempt for Johnny.
"I…used to work for NERVE…" Nny starts up again, leaning against the door frame, staring. "I was kicked out of where I was living before and took a job there to pay for the rent… I did cover art," He pauses. "Well, I tried anyway…they…"
"Drove you insane with revisions?" Devi offers, still facing the paintings.
"Yeah," Nny says, slightly surprised. "I think…I stole the Doughboys from the wretched little café they have on the ground floor….I don't know, it's still kind of fuzzy…I put all my favorites in here…"
Vicky and Devi walk through the gallery. The age of the paintings is fairly obvious. The oldest ones contain the most details and are the most breathtaking. As the paintings get newer, they start losing detail, like the artist had started losing more and more of himself.
Vicky has stopped at one of the intermediate paintings, captured by the scene.
"Johnny…" She whispers. Johnny looks up and walks over to the painting.
~ ~ ~
The rain poured down relentlessly on the crowd, a mass of umbrellas hiding all of their heads except for one little boy's as church bells toll in the distance. An emaciated form of about 12 or 13 stood stolidly at the edge of a square hole, all by himself. He was totally drenched and reminded one very much of a drowned rat, but he didn't really care. A priest stood at the head of the hole, speaking to the black clad crowd, though none of them really listened, the rain made it hard for anyone to pay attention.
The boy was lost in his own mournful thoughts. Behind him, he vaguely heard the hard sobs of his sister crying into the cold figure of his father. The boy ignored the sobs and stared at the dripping, flower covered casket as it was lowered into the ground. The boy never shed a tear, though. He had promised his mother that he'd be strong for her and his sister. He gave a depressed sigh as his mother's body was lowered down. He wanted to cry out and stop the men from putting her down there; she'd be too lonely by herself. But he held his ground said nothing while the priest finished the last rights. As the mourning crowd started to disperse, the priest walked up to the boy and handed him the silver frame that sat on top of her casket from the wake. The priest tried to say some comforting words but the world was silent to the boy, all except the scuffing of shovels as they poured wet earth on top of the casket and the bells. The priest walked away, leaving the boy clutching the frame. His detested father's stern, harsh, emotionless voice called him.
"Jonathon! Let's go! I have a meeting to get to," His father and the still heaving sister started toward the car under the cover of the umbrella.
"My name is Johnny," The boy growled, clenching his fists.
~ ~ ~
Vicky and Johnny stand in front of the dark painting of the funeral, tears trickling down Vicky's face. They exchange looks, that bizarre twin 6th sense telling them that they had just had the memory.
Devi watches from a few feet away, she knew something was happening; there was something flickering in both Johnny and Vicky's dark eyes. Devi takes a glance at the funeral painting. There's nothing quite eye-catching about the painting, it was one of the less detailed ones, but it there was so much feeling in it. It captures the soul.
"Devi…" Johnny pipes up, not turning to face her. "How far back in your life do you remember?"
"What?!" Devi gives him a strange look. "What do you mean by that?!"
Johnny turns around.
"What's the earliest thing you remember?"
Devi's taken back by the meaningful look in his usually soulless eyes, a shadow of something Devi can't quite put her finger on. She pauses and thinks back, trying to remember her earliest memory. She expects to be able to respond with some cheesy kindergarten finger painting memory, but is shocked with her result. Just like when she looked at the pictures at home earlier.
Johnny doesn't need a response from Devi, he already knows the answer.
"You're losing your memory too…"
"This is all your fault!" Devi pipes up, starting to get angry, not wanting to accept the truth. "I never had any of these problems till I met you! You…"
"No," Vicky stops Devi's rants with her hoarse voice. "It's not Johnny's fault. This has something to do with NERVE."
"What do you mean?" Devi asks, still cranky. Vicky pulls out an old, beat up wallet from her pocket and takes out a card from it.
"I use to work at NERVE too…"