Part 5: The Torment
Normally the sound of the ocean waves was so relaxing... it had often lulled Alex to sleep on a tropical beach or even when she put in one of her tapes of ocean waves on her stereo system. They'd always been her favorite sound in the world... but after floating aimlessly in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for fifteen hours straight in the WOOHP Micro-Raft, she was getting sick and tired of listening to it. Her compowder was lost to the ocean waves on impact, along with the Anti-Gravity cycle.
"Helloooooo!" She shouted wearily, resting her chin against the side of the raft. "Clover! Anybody!" Her voice cracked as she yelled and she sank back onto the side of the raft. She wished she still had her Turbofan Hairdryer so she could at least steer the raft, but she'd dropped it during the wild flight away from the Powerpuff Girls and Boys.
What in her life had she done to deserve this kind of karma? Looking back, she could think of lots of little things. Perhaps after sixteen years, it had really built up. "I'm sorry!" She lifted herself up and shouted at the ocean waves. "I'm sorry I broke Sam's stereo and hid the evidence when I was ten!" She stared out across the water, her eyelids drooping heavily.
"I'm sorry I returned Buns of Steel to the video store instead of Abs of Steel when I was twelve! I'm sorry I killed Clover's goldfish and tried to replace it with a goldfish cracker when I was six!" She stared out across the water, watching the sun begin to set after floating aimlessly for the entire day with no shelter from the sweltering heat. "I'm sorry I tried to get David as my boyfriend all those times, even though I knew Clover and Sam wanted him!"
Alex screamed desperately, her voice temporarily gaining strength. "I'm sorry I punched Joey McGovern when I was five for punching me! I'm sorry I let Clover take the rap for stealing that candy bar from Seven-Eleven when I was seven! I'm sorry I accidentally left the parking break off and wrecked those cars! I'm sorry I stole first base in co-ed baseball!" She sank down onto the side of the board again, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I'm sorry..." She squeaked in despair.
Alex sank back into the boat, the tears sliding freely down her face. "I'm sorry... please believe me..." she begged to the ocean winds as she buried her face in her hands. This was hopeless... her stomach had been screaming to be filled for hours now. But there was nothing in this ocean... she hadn't even heard any... fish?
She opened her eyes when she heard a splashing sound on the left side of the boat. With limbs weakened and shaking from hunger, she pulled herself up to the side of the boat, looking down in surprise. She could see a school of fish swimming just under the surface of the water.
Alex gaped in surprise, then looked up at the sky. "Thank you!" She shouted to the open seas before plunging her hand into the water after a fish. It looked like she hit it dead on, but she felt nothing and the fish darted away from her. "Hey, no don't go!" Alex shouted desperately, reaching after them. In her zeal she leaned too far and the entire raft capsized.
"Aglugh!" Alex screamed under the water, thrusting her limbs up toward the surface. She emerged and took a deep breath, staring up at her upside down raft. She tried to push it right side up again, but only succeeded in pushing herself under the water until she managed to surface again.
She was shivering violently when she finally managed to pull the raft upright and drag her sopping wet body inside. She collapsed to the bottom of the raft, curling up against the bitter night chill. It was amplified by the soaking she'd gotten in the ocean... it felt like her entire body was coated in a sheet of ice. The fish were gone... and so was the sun. There was nothing she could do now but wait until the fish came back or someone found her...
A hand gently rubbed her back, massaging her burned and aching lungs into functioning. She could finally feel herself breathing, she could finally feel anything, actually. She rolled onto her back with her eyes closed. She could hear the hum of an engine, and the couch in which she lay rocked back and forth as though in movement. The hand moved to her chest and pressed down again one more time, providing both strength and comfort.
"I... I'm fine..." Sam's words came out in a barely identifiable croak through a parched, and scorched throat. She reached up and gripped her neck painfully.
"Here, water'll help that." A familiar, but shocking voice told her. Sam opened her mouth as a stream of cooling liquid poured into her throat. She opened her eyes as the surprise of her life flooded into her vision.
"M... Mandy?" Sam croaked in shock, staring up at the dreaded purple-eyed purple-haired vicious purple people eater. "What... why... how...?"
Mandy held up a finger as she addressed each question. "What, I saved your life obviously. Why, because I'm getting sick of having only Arnold to talk to." Mandy smirked. "How, because I pay attention in Health class. You don't become the most perfect girl at Bev High by being an academic slouch ya know."
For a moment Sam wanted to scream at her, tell her that she would've been fine, despite that being an absolute lie. The simple fact was, as bad as it seemed, she owed her life to Mandy. So she settled for two words. "Thank you..."
Mandy blinked, apparently taken off guard by the civil words. "Uh... you're welcome..." She replied. Sam nodded and groaned as she tried to push herself up to a sitting position. The sun was shining from its highest point, and they were driving through an open plain, untouched by the madness that was ruining all of the man-made cities on the planet. She supposed there was a metaphor in there somewhere, but she didn't really care.
"How long was I out? Where are we?" Sam asked. Her voice was getting stronger, but it still had a grating edge to it that she hated. She reached down to look for her compowder, but it was gone... she must have dropped it in the blaze.
"Two days, and Utah." Mandy replied. Sam blinked and looked at her questioningly. "Well Utah is the most religious place in the country. If anyone can keep from rioting and killing each other... and more importantly us... it'll be them." Sam stared up at her, surprised at the kind of logical reasoning that had gone into it. She was right of course, Mormons were pacifists by nature, no matter how annoying they were to the rest of the world.
"I don't think I can drive anymore without rest Mandy..." Arnold's voice cracked as he turned his head to look back at them. His eyes were completely bloodshot, a compliment to his messed up hair and swollen cheek. He looked like he'd been in the thick of one of the riots... so how did he meet up with Mandy? Did she lead him out? Why was she playing the selfless leader here? It was so confusing...
"Hey no prob., pull it over and I'll take the wheel for a while." Arnold pulled the van to the side of the rode and put on the parking brake before climbing into the back. Mandy climbed up between the seats to take the steering wheel. It wasn't so strange the more Sam thought about it. Mandy had always been a natural born leader with boundless charisma that drew people into following her. In a way, this whole situation seemed to allow Mandy's best attribute to fully shine, without being constricted by the regulations and rivalries of school.
Sam pushed herself up and climbed up between the seats, plopping down in the passenger's seat. "You didn't find my mom in the house too did you?" Sam asked worriedly. Mandy shook her head.
"It's impossible to find anybody in this mess. Everything is totally messed up, even the phones don't work." Mandy replied with a wistful sigh. "I miss my cell-phone..." Sam chuckled and shook her head, looking toward the front of the van. They passed a sign saying 'Welcome to Salt Lake City' on the side of the rode as the city itself hove into view. It looked like Mandy's hunch was right... the city was completely intact. And it looked beautiful.
"We made it." Mandy sighed and leaned back in her seat, with a smile as genuine as Sam had never seen on her before. As they neared the city, they saw a pair of men in business suits standing by the side of the road with some awfully big weapons. They gestured for Mandy to stop while they approached the vehicle at the city's edge.
"Excuse me, but I'm afraid you're going to have to leave." One of the guards told them apologetically.
"What? We can't, everything else is either demolished or going to be demolished." Mandy replied.
"We're sorry, but we can't take the risk of letting people in here. So please, turn around and leave."
"This is complete bullshit, I demand to talk to your leader."
"God is our leader." The man cocked his rifle with one hand, glaring at her with the conviction of a man who knew he would be right to shoot if he was forced to.
"Okay... okay... fine..." Mandy growled as she put the van into reverse. "Just remember this when you meet your God, hope he's more forgiving than I am." She pulled back away from the city until she could turn it around. Her hands clutched the steering wheel tightly as her teeth ground together. "Those high-and-mighty pricks..."
"Well, can you really blame them?" Sam asked. "The rest of the world is going completely insane."
"Yes. I can blame them." Mandy replied simply. Sam rolled her eyes and sighed softly, looking up at the sky overhead. The sun was shining brightly down on them, but something looked wrong. It wasn't as blue as it normally was... in fact, it had a strange tint to it. It looked like it was turning... red...
every citizen of Townsville that remained in this Hellhole emerged under the crimson sun
It was coming true...
Two days had passed... two days, and still Alex had caught and eaten nothing. She was so weak she could barely lean against the side of the raft. Her throat was bone dry. She was tempted to drink the ocean water, but she knew that would be suicide. She simply lay on the bottom of her boat with her neck propped against the side, staring up at the shining sun high above. She could remember her first day as a WOOHP agent... her, Sam and Clover had been so outmatched.
"Get away from me you teddy-bear smuggling ape!" Alex had shouted in anger as she'd been caught around the throat by one gigantic, furry arm.
"You no take me bears!" The ape howled, hefting her up over its head with a primal yell. Wait a minute...
Alex shook her head... that never happened. Their first case was... God what was it? The toy-making Queen Tassara? No... no Tassarra was a good guy. Who made those toys? Macker the Safe-Cracker? No... Tim Scam? Now there was a villain she remembered well even in her half-delusional state. She'd almost lost Jerry to that lying little coward... Jerry...
She smiled as she remembered the only father she'd ever known. She had no clue where her biological father was, but since they'd joined WOOHP Jerry had become far more than just their superior officer. He was perhaps the only person alive she was as close to as she was to Sam and Clover. Sam... where was she now? Had she found her mom? Was she hiding out somewhere, waiting for the world to end, or the madness to stop?
And Clover... the last Alex had seen of her she was being carried away by those Chemical-X freaks. Where could they have taken her? She'd thought she'd seen a splash after she'd managed to get her raft inflated, but after paddling with her hands to that spot she found it empty. Perhaps it hadn't been Clover... that was all she could hope for really.
Hope... it seemed like such a stupid word at this point, but one she clung to. Her weak muscles refused to work anymore, and she could feel her body getting stiffer. It was like she was going into rigor mortis before her brain stopped working. Was she becoming a zombie? That thought made her laugh. What would zombie-Alex do? Walk out of the boat and fall into the ocean, to be crushed in its depths without the ability to swim?
Another laugh burst out of her throat in spite of her hopeless situation. With a smile she took a deep breath, staring up at the blue... but strangely tinted sky. Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her due to starvation... but it almost looked red.
The trip to WOOHP took longer than Alice had thought it would. The plane they hijacked from China had been able to carry them to the mainland of America, but ran out of fuel before they reached the vicinity of WOOHP headquarters. They'd had to 'jack a car and make their way to WOOHP headquarters on the busy and quite dangerous freeways of America. Almost a week after the leaders had begun being assassinated, people were still too stunned at the loss of their old lives for rational thought.
Stupid morons, Alice thought to herself. Their lives were over because they depended too much on these Government figures. The end of the world was their own doing, their own helplessness and panicky nature. The police forces and WOOHP had been protecting them for decades, keeping them safe from each other. Now without any protection or direction the majority had no idea what to do or how to act.
"We're here." Crimson finally stated as they drove up to the bank of the small river that cut WOOHP headquarters off from the surrounding countryside. It had taken them five days to make it to this point. They could probably have called Jerry for pickup with their compowders, but it seemed selfish to try to use WOOHP resources to travel while he was probably busy protecting the little sanity left in the world.
Crimson took out her compowder and pressed a few buttons on it before looking up at the massive building. The large front double doors slid open, and a steel bridge spread across the chasm separating them from their goal. They waited for it to stop moving, then set off across the bridge.
Alice was stunned when she got inside. There were no guards, no personnel to be seen anywhere. As Crimson closed the doors behind them Alice and Pam walked further into the building.
"Okay... this is creepy." Crimson said as she moved to join her partners.
"Jerry's office... he at least should be here." Alice replied. She walked to the elevator and pressed the button to call it. Pam followed silently behind both of them, examining her surroundings with mild interest.
They reached the main tactical level and stepped off the elevator, making their way up to Jerry's office on the second floor. They found Jerry sitting on a small chair, staring at the screen in front of him. A middle-aged scientist and a strange looking girl were behind him, with the girl trapped inside an energy barrier.
"Jerry..." Crimson said as they walked in.
Jerry whirled quickly in surprise. "Pam, Alice, Crimson!" He stood up quickly, a smile spreading across his features. "I haven't been contacted by any of my agents since this all began... I was beginning to think the fight was already over."
"I'm afraid it is Jerr... for us at least..." Crimson replied uncomfortably. Jerry stared at her, the elation draining from his eyes. "We wanted to tell you in person... Alice is pregnant and we're all just too old for this..."
"I understand completely." Jerry nodded solemnly.
The scientist quirked one eyebrow, sniffing the air confusedly. "That scent... it's so familiar..." He said. The three spies and Jerry looked over at him. "It's... hair... gel..."
"I'm surprise your memory works so well, old man." Pam said with a grin. Alice and Crimson whirled on her in surprise.
"Pamela? What are you saying?" Jerry asked.
"This was the one place He couldn't find... and you two led me right to it. I expected it to be harder." Pam grinned and flexed her fingers threateningly as her hair began to move on its own. Pitch black strands of hair shot through the blond, ripping it apart like a wig. "But like He said you would, you fell for it easily because I was your 'friend'."
"No... Sedusa..." The Professor jumped to his feet in surprise. Suddenly the pitch-black tendrils of hair shot forward, latching around both Alice and Crimson's waists. She lifted them into the air, her tendrils squeezing into their flesh. They both screamed in pain, trying to pull at her hair frantically.
Jerry reached for a weapon, but Sedusa threw Alice at him, knocking them both to the floor in a heap. The free tendril grabbed the weapon, pulling it to her so she could take it in her hand. "Not just WOOHP... but the last Powerpuff Girl too." She looked over at the strange-looking girl with a grin.
"That's WHOOPASS Girl!" The girl complained. She floated up from the box as if to fight, but bumped into the energy box.
"Leave her alone!" The Professor exclaimed, stepping between Sedusa and the girl. His stand didn't last long, as Sedusa brought Crimson around to slam her into him, sending them both sailing into the wall roughly. Sedusa grinned as she approached the energy box.
"WOOHP is over, and you are His." Sedusa grinned as her tendrils reached toward the box. Suddenly the box vanished, leaving the girl floating in mid-air with nothing holding her back. "Wh... what!?" She looked back to see Jerry clutching his side painfully, with a remote in his hand. Sedusa looked back down slowly, to see the Whoopass Girl staring up at her with a vicious grin.
Her hair tendrils lashed out, but before they could touch her Blossom streaked in and slammed one fist into her face, sending her sailing back into the solid steel wall. She groaned an collapsed to the floor, a massive bruise taking shape on her formerly flawless face. She groaned in pain, reaching up with one trembling hand to touch her face.
"It doesn't matter... He already has this location. Your brethren are on their way Blossom. They'll take out this small resistance movement, and make you one of them."
"I'll take them all on." Blossom growled.
"No Blossom." The Professor gripped the side of the table, pushing himself up. Suddenly they could all feel the building beginning to shudder. The others were there... at the bottom of the building. "Get out of here... you can't fight them all. If you try, you'll be taken too."
"The Whoopass Girls never run!" Blossom shouted defiantly.
"You're not a Whoopass Girl Blossom! You're my daughter!" The Professor gripped her shoulders, staring into her eyes. "Please... get out of here. Hide far, far away. Leave and don't look back for anything." Blossom looked like she was about to protest again, but the entire building shuddered violently and began to tip to the side. The Professor barely kept himself in place as Jerry and the other two spies slid across the floor. "Please go... NOW!"
Without another word Blossom whirled and burst straight through the ceiling in a flash of pink light. No sooner had she vanished than five dark shadows burst through the floor, hovering in midair.
"Blossom's getting away! After her!" Sedusa cried, pointing up toward the new hole in the roof. The dark shapes whirled and broke through the ceiling in hot pursuit of the rogue Powerpuff Girl. Sedusa pushed herself to her feet, intent on finishing her victory over the others, but she forgot two things...
Two feet that slammed into her face, knocking her back against the wall as Crimson and Alice brought their legs down again. Crimson shook her head and looked back at the two older men. "What do we do now? They know where WOOHP headquarters is... this place isn't safe anymore."
"I thought you girls were quitting." Jerry reminded her.
Crimson looked back at Sedusa scornfully. "We have to find the real Pam before we can even think of going home."
"Are there any other bases we can hide in?" The Professor asked.
"Perhaps." Jerry replied mysteriously. "We'll certainly have to find something... staying here is no longer an option."
Five days... Alex swore she'd counted five sunsets since she had wound up stranded out here... but that was impossible, wasn't it? People were supposed to die of thirst after a few days... though she might have been mistaken. Her mind felt so strange... simply staring at the sky was like looking through a dark haze. Her memories paraded in front of her eyes, reminding her of what was totally missing now... why wasn't she dead?
"It's simple, little girl." A strange voice responded. She blinked slowly, trying to figure out if it was an illusion or someone really speaking to her. "I assure you, I'm quite real." The voice said. Alex turned her head to the side, quaking with just that little effort. A strange, red-skinned figure was walking on top of the water alongside her raft, staring down at her.
Alex opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a weak squeak. Somehow though, the red figure seemed to know the question. "You're not dead... because I don't want you dead yet." He grabbed her raft, halting it in the middle of the ocean and kneeling down beside her. He gripped her chin with one crablike claw, grinning and leaning in close to her face.
"There is no escape from me, girl." His breath brushed across her cheeks. She wanted to push him back, but her limbs would barely move at all. "Even death is no refuge for you three... you who cost me Blossom." He dropped her head back onto the raft. "I want you to watch your flesh slowly waste away. Rest assured, there will be no rescue, there will be no help for you."
"Y... you..." Alex squeaked, trying to push herself up form the bottom of the raft. The demon watched her curiously. "You... won't get away... with this..." Alex pushed herself to her hands and knees, but her arms buckled and she fell back to the bottom of the raft. The demon broke into a dark laugh, clicking his claws together.
"Are you going to stop me, girl?" He demanded in a suddenly dark growl. Alex grunted as her hand shot up, gripping him around the throat suddenly. Her grip was one of a leaf clinging desperately to a tree branch. She could barely hold onto him, but still she pulled herself up, trying to pull him down and attack him.
"If... I have... to..." Alex growled, raising her other hand to grip his throat as well.
He simply reached up and gripped her wrists with his claws, cutting into her wrists until her blood started running up her arms toward the raft. Alex bit her lip in pain, but refused to let go until he finally yanked her arms back, removing them from his throat.
"Such spirit... such a petty human ideal." He dropped her arms back onto the raft, gripping her throat and hefting her up. He stood to his full height, which was rather considerable. Alex choked in pain as his claw bit into her throat, blood dripping down her chest, back and shoulders. "The flesh... when stressed... is stronger." He grinned.
"I... won't... let you... get away with this..." Alex croaked. Her voice didn't even sound human anymore, between the extreme dehydration and the claw gripping her throat.
The demon grinned and hefted her back, throwing her into the raft like he was spiking a football. She bounced off the bottom, landing against the side with her head hanging back over the water. Alex groaned and lifted her head to look at him. Her body felt strained just from that little movement, and it made her sick to watch the demon stare down at her.
"Enjoy your suffering, girl." He told her calmly. "It will last a very long time." A lighthearted, flutelike laugh echoed across the ocean as he vanished into a plume of crimson smoke. Alex tried to push herself off the side of the raft, but could barely move her arms. She collapsed back again, closing her eyes and heaving a deep sigh. Back to waiting... perhaps a worse torture than Hell could ever be.
TO BE CONTINUED