Ch 12
Laura had both hands over her mouth in shock as she looked down on Sophie. She felt Sophie was terrified, but had no idea why her child was so afraid. JJ and Kaede were just confused. JJ looked around, he didn't see anything to be afraid of.
JJ scooped Sophia up in his arms, "Um, I'll take Sophie up to your house. Laura, did your family bring any food with you?"
Laura shook her head.
"Kaede, did you get enough for dinner ... for us plus nine?" JJ asked.
Kaede frowned briefly. "I can manage that. Laura, help me get the food inside, then we can make up a dinner for everyone, and breakfast in the morning. We'll make another food run in the morning."
Laura nodded. "Thank you. I don't know what came over Sophie."
JJ carried Sophie to up to the big house. Hearing Sophie's wailing scream, the other family members had poured out of their house.
Seeing JJ carrying her, Hanson ran up to him. "What happened?" he cried.
"Don't know," JJ said honestly. "Laura, Kaede and I were talking then, suddenly Sophie here screams bloody murder and passes out. Laura's and Kaede are getting some food for you guys tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow Kaede's going to take Laura to the store to go shopping."
Tobru said, "Sophie didn't scream for no reason, She was terrified! I think we all felt it."
"Maybe, but we don't know what it is that scared her." JJ told him.
"It was the killer woman!" Little Judy cried as she gripped her stuffed bunny to her. "Father Tobru, that killer woman you told us about in that story? She's here someplace!"
"Killer woman?" JJ asked.
"Yes! She's monster! That's why she was locked up in the big steel vault and hanging up! But she got out and killed all the people there! The pink haired woman with horns on her head!" Judy stated.
JJ stared at her briefly then said, "Oh. Tobru, how did you know about Kaede?"
Tobru gaped at him. "Her name is Kaede? She lives here?" he asked in a squeak.
JJ figured there was a big misunderstanding here someplace. "Can I take Sophie here inside and lie her down? I got the feeling we need to talk."
Hanson led everyone back in the house and showed JJ where he could lie Sophie down. Gwen got a wet cloth to put on her forehead. The girl was breathing and had a pulse.
JJ asked, "Tobru, Sophie was staring at Kaede when she screamed her lungs out. Just what did you tell these kids?"
"The story that was in the book from Japan that had scary stories in it." He said. "That story said she was being held in the very high security vault, and she broke out and killed everyone on her way out."
JJ let out a huff. "OK. Did it say why she was there to begin with?"
"No, it just told about her escape."
"Will you give Kaede a chance to tell her side of that story?" JJ asked. "Tales in those books usually pump things up for excitement. They are also one sided."
Sophie gasped loudly and sat up, panting. "What happened, where am I, where did she go!" she cried as she glanced around.
"It's OK, calm down," JJ told her.
"You're safe calm down," Gwen added.
Sophie saw Tobru and said, "Father, I SAW HER! The pink haired horned woman! she's HERE!"
JJ saw all the kids were now wide-eyed and looking nervous. He announced, "Yes, Kaede lives here with me. She's not going to hurt anyone who doesn't try to hurt her first! There is no reason to be afraid, so calm down."
One of the middle boys, JJ forgot his name, asked, "But doesn't she kill people?"
"Bad people, yes." JJ replied. "The ones who killed our entire town here. We just got back a few days ago from hunting them down and killing them all. They killed hundreds of innocents, including my wives and our family, Kaede's family too. We got rid of them so they can't do that to anyone else. Before that, we all lived here and had a good, peaceful life. Just like me, if you're decent to Kaede, she'll be decent with you."
"But, she kills people!" Judy cried.
"She does, the bad people," JJ told her firmly. "So do I. What we don't do is hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it. All you kids are safe here, OK?"
Just then Laura and Kaede came in carrying some small bags. "We got dinner, and breakfast," Laura announced. She then saw everyone looking at them, wide eyed. "What is it?" she asked.
"Kaede?" JJ asked. "I know it was a horrid time in your life in Japan, but could you tell Tobru and the rest about that facility you were held in?"
Kaede tipped her head slightly. "Why is that important?"
JJ looked at Tobru. "They got a book of scary stories, and one of the stories the kids here heard is how you escaped that place. It never mentioned why you were there to begin with."
Kaede's jaw clenched, "That is NOT a story for children," she said in a partial growl. "We need to get this food put away, I'll think about it."
All the parents wanted to see this story book too. They read it and agreed, Tobru shouldn't have told that story to the kids. They let Kaede see it. She looked down on it and ripped the book up just by looking at it. Kaede decided she'd tell them the full story, after dinner.
While Laura, Gwen and Kaede made dinner for everyone, they kids watched Kaede nervously, the girls half hiding behind the boys. Sitting down to dinner, Everyone was a bit nervous. Sophie asked meekly, "Kaede, that story, was it really true?"
"Yeah, was it true?" Ken asked.
"After dinner, Sophie, I will explain everything," Kaede told her. "Just know, it's not a happy story."
The whole time they were eating, all the kids and a few adults kept staring at Kaede, and tried not to get caught staring at Kaede. It irritated Kaede.
.
With dinner done and the dished cleaned up, Kaede sat in a chair by JJ. All the adults sat on a couch facing them, the kids on the floor in front of them. JJ gripped her hand. Kaede let out a sigh, and began in a mono tone voice.
"I was an orphan. All I knew was that orphanage. I had no idea where I came from, or who my parents had been. Some of the other kids liked to be mean to me because I had these horns. A few boys liked to bully me around. Things like tripping me up or pushing me so I'd fall, hit me when no one was looking. As time went on, they got worse. I knew hearing me cry only encouraged them, so I didn't. I refused to react to what they did. I'd find my clothes scattered around in my room, they carved things on my dresser like demon girl, and horned freak. They'd break my chair, but only enough so it stayed upright until I sat down. They giggled and laughed. They had a good time doing things to me..."
"Didn't anyone help you? Weren't there adults there?" Hanson cried.
Kaede looked at him with her blank face. "The only thing they cared about was kids behaving themselves when prospective parents came, so they could get them adopted. The boys would do something, like break a glass, then they would all claim I did it. The teachers thought I was the problem. Eventually, I'd hide in the woods to get some peace. No one bothered me out there. Out there was where I found a puppy. He was hungry, so I gave him the part of my lunch I didn't eat yet. For a short while, I would sneak out and feed the puppy who came to see me. It was nice, but it didn't last."
Kaede noted she was facing a family of sad looks. "You see, what I was feeding him wasn't enough. so I asked this girl who did try now and then to help me. She snuck out with me and we'd feed the puppy and play with him. It wasn't long after that when the boys found him. I was in the classroom when they brought him in, grinning their malicious grins at me. They wanted me to cry or they'd hurt him. The girl who befriended me told them where to find it. I tried to grab him but they pushed me away. I kicked one of the boys. Another grabbed me from behind. Angry he'd been kicked, Tomo threw the puppy against the wall to teach me a lesson."
Kaede's voice hardened. "He grabbed a vase and used it to beat that puppy to death. Something happened then. I was so angry I couldn't stand it. It felt like my brain just exploded. I wanted all those boys, and the girl who told them were the puppy was, to just die. I remember squeezing my eyes shut, screaming. I was let go. When I looked again, everyone in the room except for me was dead, pieces of them everywhere ..." She stopped and squeezed her eyes shut and took a couple breaths.
"Maybe, we don't need to hear everything," Tobru said weakly.
"YOU DO!" Kaede snapped eyeing him. "You were more than happy to tell your children what a cold, heartless killer I am, so now they will learn WHY I am that way!"
"Kaede," JJ said softly.
Kaede looked at him. "You might want to hear this too, Johnny. It's not easy, but this is the truth. If you don't want me around after, I won't blame you." She then looked back at the family and kept going.
"I ran away from the orphanage and buried the puppy at the base of a tree. I had no idea what to do or where to go. While I was staring at nothing, that's when I heard the music box for the first time."
"The one on the shelf at your house?" Sophie asked.
"That's right. Kouta had seen me and like me, he hadn't notice me until he was close. He dropped it and it began playing." she said and a slight smile came to her lips. "We stared at each other for a moment, not expecting anyone else to be there. He then got this big grin on his face and told me I looked so cool with ' those horns'. I was shocked he said that, I couldn't even respond. I thought everyone hated them. The next thing I knew he grabbed me by my shoulders and and happily told me who he was, the drawings he did out here and asked if I would be his friend. For a few days, we met by that tree, one day it was raining out. I didn't think he'd come, but he did. His legs were scratched up. He'd done it sneaking out so he could meet with me. We waited out the rain in a shrine, listening to his music box. I was hungry and homeless, but just sitting there listening to his music box and wearing the hat that he gave me so no one would pick on me about my horns, I was happy. For the first time ever, I was happy."
"Kouta became my world. He took me to a zoo and we had fun. The most fun day of my entire life at that point. At the end of the day we stood atop of the stairs overlooking the beach and hummed the music box tune together. There was a festival coming up. I wanted him to take me but he'd promised to take his cousin already before we'd even met. I was worried that this cousin might be a girlfriend so I asked him if this cousin was a boy or a girl. He told me it was a boy. After the festival he had to get on the train and go home." Kaede paused to look at the children gaping at her. She shortened the next part. "The next night, I wanted to see Kouta one last time, and tell him that I really liked him. I went to the festival to look for him. I eventually found him with ... Yuka. That was his cousin, a girl. I felt betrayed by the only person in the world I thought I could trust. Seeing her hug him, my brain exploded again. He'd lied to me. I also had a voice in my head that told me if I killed them, they wouldn't be able to make me sad."
"You ..."Gwen began. "There, at a festival, with big crowds?" she asked in a squeak.
"Yes," Kaede said flatly. "The one I couldn't kill that night was Kouta. Even though the voice told me to, I couldn't do it. I was going to kill Yuka, but Kouta stopped me. He cried so hard I ran away. As a child, that was the last time I saw him. I ran, I hid, I stole food and tried to avoid everyone. Later on, I came across a homeless starving girl. I helped her get food an find places to sleep. Looking for a way to cheer her up some, I did tricks for her. Making things move, making someone's thrown away teddy bear dance for her."
"I also found out people were looking for me. Eventually, they found us. Men shot their guns, I stopped the bullets and threw stuff back at them. Unfortunately, my friend was shot. The man in charge promised he would take her to a hospital and make sure she lived if I just surrendered. I didn't want her to die, so I agreed. They bound me up, used a shot to knock me out. When I woke up I was inside a hard suit, hanging in the air. Around me was a steel fence, that was inside a big steel vault. Once I was hung up and 'secured' as they called it, Kurama told me the girl died. I did promise him that if I ever got out, I would kill every person he cared about. I was there for a long time, being experimented on. Instead of going to school, I was hanging inside a steel fault. The only comfort was remembering my short time with Kouta and humming the music box tune."
"How long were you there?" Sophie asked weakly.
"From Kouta I got the best estimate of 8 years," Kaede told her. "It was that long before I became strong enough to reach past the fence and get the keys to escape. You already heard about my escape, so I won't tell you about it again except for something shot me in the head that was too big for me to stop completely. I fell into the water. When I woke up, I was on a bed with Kouta right there watching over me. I have no idea how or why he found me. Of course Yuka was there too. I wanted to get up and leave, but I was too weak. Kouta got me back in bed and made sure I stayed there."
"He found you and saved you!" Sophie said happily.
Kaede smiled briefly at her. "He must have. I kept blacking out to find myself in odd situations after that. A couple times I was back in bed with a worried Kouta over me. Once, I found myself in a lab, my clothes had been taken off and a man was undressing and bragged how we were going to have many children. I killed him. For a while, I was like that. The worst was waking up on a bridge behind Kouta. Soldiers were shooting at us. I stopped all the bullets. This woman came up to try and coax Kouta away from me. I killed her too. Soldiers shot their guns at us until they were empty, I rushed them and killed all of them."
Kaede wiped tear from her eye. "Kouta had convinced himself not to remember what happened when we were little. When I killed all those soldiers, he did remember. He remembered I killed his father and his little sister. Later on, at the top of those steps overlooking the sea, we met and I explained the only reason I'd wanted to live after being in that vault, was to apologize to him for killing his family. I told him how sorry I was that I'd done that. I went to leave and he put his arms around me. He didn't want me to go. He hated what I did, but didn't hate me. He wanted me to stay with him, to live and be happy again. He confessed his love for me."
"YES!" Sophie cried, fist in the air.
That made Kaede chuckle. "Well we did until just recently. The bomb didn't kill me, but did make me very sick. When I found out what happened, and Kouta, Nana, Mayu, even Yuka were all dead. I wanted to go help find the ones who did that. I went with Johnny here. We helped each other and he helped keep my nightmares away. Right now, Johnny and I do need each other. Nothing will take away the pain of having our love ones killed, but we can help each other deal with it."
"You have been through hell," Laura said weakly.
"Putting it mildly, yes," Kaede agreed. She stood up to leave. Tobru also shot to his feet.
"I am so sorry I ever found that story!" he told her. "I think the real horror story is when you were little. No one should have to live like that!"
"I agreed completely," JJ said as he stood with Kaede. "Well today had been an interesting day in meeting all of you. See you in the morning."
"Don't go yet!" Laura said and ran over to hug Kaede. "We are so sorry! Whatever you need, don't be afraid to come ask! We will do whatever we can!"
Following her, the whole gaggle came over to get their turn to hug Kaede and promise their support. When they left, it was a few happy tears Kaede cried.
Outside, JJ put an arm around her. "Kaede, I hope you know you can always count on me to support you."
She leaned into him and put an arm around him. "I know. You're my best friend."
"Right! That means you can have the bath first," he beamed.
Kaede eyed him. "So, we can't share a bath?"
JJ asked, "You would? I mean you don't mind?"
"I'd prefer it."
"Whatever M'lady wants."
"Who?" she asked with a crooked grin.
"You, I said whatever you want."
"That's not what you said."
"Yes it is."
"So I'm your 'lady' now?"
"You're certainly not a guy," JJ said with a crooked grin.
Kaede cast him a surprised look. "I'm really glad you noticed!"
"My powers of observation are immense!" JJ bragged with a grand gesture.
Kaede fell into him laughing. JJ opened the door to their small house as Kaede giggled helplessly on his arm. Coming inside, they bumped into a shelf a radio was on, knocking the radio on it's side.
"Oops," JJ said. the radio turned on, playing Bonny Tyler.
...(Turn around) every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears
(Turn around) every now and they I get little bit nervous the best of all my years have gone by
(Turn around) Every now and then I get a little bit terrified and then I see the look in your eyes
(Turn around, bright eyes) every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around, bright eyes) every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now, tonight,
and I need you more than ever,
and if you only hold me tight
we'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
cause we'll never be wrong, together we can make it to the end of the line
your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks!
I really need you tonight
forever's gonna start tonight, forever's gonna start tonight.
JJ saw Kaede looking at him and stared back into her eyes. She'd stopped laughing and was casting him a hopeful look. A single tear appeared to drip from one eye. He wiped it gently off her cheek.
Once upon a time I was falling in love,
now I'm only falling apart.
Nothing I can do, a total eclipse of the heart.
Their faces drew together. They kissed. JJ wrapped his arms around her, she flung her arms around him. Their kiss deepened.
(Turn around) every now and then I know I'll never be the girl you wanted me to be
(Turn around) every now and then I know you're the only boy who wants me the way that I am
(Turn around) Every now and then I'll dream of something wild
(Turn around) Every now and then I want to be lying like a child in your arms.
(Turn around) Every now and than I know there´s nothing any better and there´s nothing I just wouldn´t do
(Turn around Bright eyes) every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around Bright eyes) every now and then I fall apart!
And I need you now, tonight, (Yes I do!)
and I need you more than ever,
and if you only hold me tight
we'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
cause we'll never be wrong, together we can make it to the end of the line
your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks!
I really need you tonight
forever's gonna start tonight, forever's gonna start tonight.
Passion rose as they clung to each other and kissed deeply, savoring the feel and taste of each other's lips. In a stumbling walk, they wandered part way to the bedroom, then tripped and fell, finally breaking the kiss. They looked at each other, then plunged back into another kiss as they petted each other lying on the floor. It wasn't long before the sound of ripping cloth joined their lust filled moans. In removing clothes, not many survived.
Looking on, the pale, nearly invisible form of Peggy smiled and turned the radio off, then disappeared.
.
Cameron made an agreement with the sheriff. Any property that a relative could not be found, or didn't want to accept the property, she and John would buy. Although she was still organizing who stayed to help in the west and who formed up to returned to their own states, Delilah agreed. Cameron was a little surprised Sonya was going to stay on in San Jose and Jackie was spending time with Duncan in Seacouver, that was fine, at least she knew where they were.
One person that ended up missing was Josh. When Joan and company got home, Joan still bore an irritated tone as she told her parents about kicking Josh to the curb after he didn't even come to get them after they'd gone to the hospital. Anyone else would have at least driven the truck to the hospital and find out what was happening with them. Cameron had to agreed. John thought it was best Josh was gone, from that they knew and what the sheriff told him, Josh was useless and the last thing they needed right now was someone useless here.
Even on a small scale, John knew they had to get get things going again in Driftwood, at the very least get stores and businesses cleaned up and ready to go for when they were needed. It was going to be a big venture with the few people they had. Joan, Bob and Allison were going to take care of the furniture factory and gun shop for Sonya.
John and the sheriff agreed on a 'town' meeting of the survivors to figure out what to do with the many empty stores, and especially the grocery store.
They set the date and tried to get everyone there at the meeting place, the furniture factory parking lot.
.
Cameron told Joan and her group the remaining Mers had been taken to the big lake to save them, for everything left in the small lake was dead. The water and the land around is smelled, it would take years for it to recover. Going to their house to get some things, Joan and Bob winced at the smell, and the condition of everything. The outbuildings had been blown over and burned by the fire that went through, animal skeletons lay here and there, The siding of the house was burnt, the roof was missing mostly shingles.
Right now, the only vehicles they had was the Jeep Bob got from his mother and a pickup truck. Joan's plane was at the air base now. At least that was saved. Packing up what they could in the pickup, They left for town. seeing how they were probably going to have to work in the town anyway, the asked the sheriff which would be a good house to inhabit. He led them out to one of the places he knew would not be claimed by relatives.
The Meyer place was on the west side of town and had a large garden area. So did the houses nearby. In the driveway with the Tanner family, the sheriff explained, "Daisy Meyer lived here, no known relatives. She kept up her garden, as the folks did nearby. It would help everyone of you lived here and tended to the gardens of all these houses. We're going to need food, and for the moment I'm afraid this is it."
Bob asked, "Just the four of us?"
"You'll get more help as more come back from the west coast. For right now, you're it," the sheriff said with a shrug. "John Junior is up at his farm, that's mostly all vineyard, and he doesn't have much help either. I know Daisy kept a neat and clean house, so that will help you settle in. Oh, Don't forget about the meeting down in the Furniture factory lot. Joan, you said you'll take care of that too?"
"I will for Sonya, and the gun shop." Joan said.
"If we are growing this food, then who's taking care of the grocery store?" Allison asked.
Seeing the sheriff eye Allison, Bob said, "I think we will be."
"I'll help," Malinara stated.
"Anne will help out with that too," the sheriff said. "That's one of the things we'll discuss at the meeting."
"We got a ton of work to do," Joan grumbled.
"Let's go see what we got," Bob said with a tiny grin.
.
The Meyer house itself was in good condition, except the refrigerator that held green moldy stuff that smelled horrible. Bob carried it outside to hose it out. Daisy was buried in the side yard. There was only two bedrooms in the house, each only had a single bed in it. Once the pickup was unloaded, Allison and Malinara went back to their house to get some mattresses. Bob went around to the gardens and fixed some fencing and noted there was plenty of weeding to do. Joan took the jeep to go down to the furniture factory to see what was inside.
.
The Government did one good thing John wasn't expecting. The Driftwood area had been hit with a nuclear bomb, so it was now considered a 'radiation area', even though not much had been found, and for a span of 50 years it was classified as 'uninhabitable'. That meant real estate there was now worthless. It also meant no taxes for anyone who did live there. Real Estate companies previously wanting to grab some land there now lost all interest in Driftwood and the surrounding area. In reality, it was only around the small lake that homes had been damaged, so they left much land free to those who did want live there.
Most of the relatives the sheriff contacted were willing to sell, Cameron bought up over half the town. Up at the big lake, the company who owned the hotel wanted to get rid if it. Joan bought that for a mere $100K. Her plane had cost more than that. By the time she Bob and Allison were done, they owned the big lake and everything around it.
At the parking lot meeting at Sonya's furniture factory, many returning terminators showed up. Houses no one claimed they wanted to move into, and travel to the base when needed. The sheriff divided work out to the town that was mostly terminators and cyborgs, except for Kaede and the Atlantians. Having no other school teachers or admin left Mr. Nader became the new school administrator, who only had the Atlantian kids to teach. Seeing they all lived on the same farm, JJ made one of the vacant houses at the farm the 'school building'.
One family who did want their inheritance was the Lupins. Karen Lupin came back with her new husband to work their family farm. In talking to her, Joan found out Karen thought football was fun, but seeing how her family here had died, she felt responsible to come take care of the farm. Like Joan, Karen knew there was too much to do to enjoy going out to play ball.
It was a new thing for terminators to want regular jobs. Going out to work every day instead of staying on the base appealed to them. The sheriff gladly helped distribute the eager terminators to where they were needed. six agreed to go farm for the Lupins. Five others wanted to go help at JJ's farm. Another small group were taking on the grocery store, and another group knew they needed a place for vehicle repairs and decided to rebuild Joe's garage. The town of Driftwood was coming back to life with new residents. Just not human ones.
Bob spend a couple days weeding gardens, then Joan wanted to go up to the big lake to see her hotel, and see how the mers were doing. Of course, they took their tails with them. Going up to the old public boat launch area where Delilah had taken the mers, Bob, Joan, Allison and Malinara parked by the boat ramp to see a couple mers sitting in the water on the ramp. The female with a small male turned to look at them.
"OB! Ooan! Awwee" the female cried and waved. She then hand walked up out of the water to meet them. By the prosthetic on her tail, they knew it was Ellen. Kneeling, she held her arms out as they approached. Bob got on his knees on front of her and accepted her hug with his own. Joan got her turn, then Allison did. The merboy watched them.
In her language, which they mostly understood, Ellen told then about her rescue out of the cave, and the new home she had here, under the dock. The sides of the dock were closed in now. Once they all had their tails on, Ellen took them around to the open end and into their new 'cave'.
The blocked up sides were done with wood and some metal sheeting, which with the open end, did let light in under the dock. For a makeshift cave, the Mers had done a decent job under here. Up by the concrete end, the ground was flattened to make beds. There were scooped out places in the ground that resembled chairs, and the Young Merman showed that the horizontal supports just above the water level also served as sitting benches. Since he was small, he could lie down on them.
Joan told Ellen they were going to another place, far down the lake. From the boat launch, Joan pointed to the hotel that looked small from here. Ellen got the little boy on her back and came with them. It was a long swim. They went slower on the surface and stayed in a group. Bob noticed the little boy kicked and flopped his tail, but held onto Ellen's shoulders. Right, he was still learning how to swim.
They swam along at an even pace, Joan told Ellen about how they now owned all around this lake, and there would be no more power boats allowed here. Sailboats, rowboats and and paddle boats were going to be OK, but no powered boats with propellers. Instead of more houses, Joan planned on getting boat houses. Not for boats, but so Mers here were able to have their own houses and not have to live in the underside of a dock.
.