`Spirit
Clemie watched the phone buzz, vibrating against the floor loudly.
Three minutes…Her father had told her about the old days when the world had been on a ten minuet warning for nuclear annihilation. What did you do with the last ten minuets of your life? Or in her case, three?
Clocks ticking…she gulped, jumping to her feet and heading to the bathroom with mom trailing her like some kind of wailing banshee and babbling on about some crap or other…how many seconds wasted?
She fumbled with the doorknob, wasting a few precious seconds then charging in and dropped to her knees, fumbling under the sink with desperate fingers. Gone….NO! She was dead…dead…where? She stood up, looking at the medicine cabinet and yanking it open a second later.
There! Three metal cylinders. She guessed that Mom had found them and put them in the cabinet. Taking them she headed to the kitchen, throwing the cylinders into the sink…there was a tinkle and sound of pill's scattering as one cylinder broke open, spilling its contents.
Clementine swore, looking at the precious tablets, don't stop, a voice in her head told her. How many seconds gone?
She yanked open the cutlery draw, tossing knives carelessly aside…her mom was still blathering on through tears but Clementine wasn't even hearing her anymore. There, she plugged the electric knife into the wall…she had a sudden flash of vivid memory, when she'd brought it from the store her mom had asked what she was planning to carve with it.
She switched it on, watching the blades move rapidly and for a moment she felt like puking.
Don't stop, don't think…If she stopped to think then she wouldn't do it.
She grabbed up a handful of the No Pain, shoving them into her mouth and letting them dissolve. She grabbed up a few more stray ones, wondering how many had gone down the drain, and then she twisted the top off the other cylinder and set it beside the knife.
She didn't move…do it.
She stared…do it NOW or you'll die!
That got a reaction; she turned on the knife closing her eyes as she brought it into contact with her left hand. Something warm and sticky hit her face and she retched, gulping down bile.
Not pain, she told herself, it was more like pushing, or pulling. It was not pleasant but it didn't hurt.
The knife chattered, jarring as it hit bone. She dropped it, opening her eyes and swooning at her thumb, half sliced off. She fumbled for the small knife, cutting right around the joint and twisting the thumb off.
Dropping the thumb into the sink she slid the now slippery bracelet off her wrist and closed the wound with Heal and Clean.
"I didn't kill anyone…lately." She added, swaying slightly as she turned to face Ellen, "I didn't do it! Mom…"
Ellen just stared at her, wordless now.
"Mom…?" Clementine wanted to say something to make things OK, but she didn't know what she could say and Ralph chose that moment to stagger into the room, taking unsteady aim.
Clemie rolled forwards, not even thinking about it until afterwards. Later she would be impressed with herself, but right now she was busy pushing past Ralph and heading into the hall way. Flinging open the door Clementine ran down the stairs and out into the street.
She had a bag of clothes two blocks away, wrapped in trash sacks and wedged into a hollow tree…if she could keep from passing out until then she'd do fine.
Maybe.
….
Ralph was grateful for the No Pain, without it he wouldn't be able to walk, let alone drive. Flipped his phone open, snapping "Kelly!" at it.
There was a series of DTMF tones and a moment later the familiar voice came through, "Ralph?"
"Where's your last sighting of Leo?"
"Canada…he killed…Uhh…a gas station attendant, two months ago."
"Clementine has escaped."
"That's not good."
"I know." He scowled, suppressing the urge to yell the words at her.
"I have a team about two hours from you….Specialists."
"That might be necessary."
….
Clementine let herself into the back door. It wasn't locked, of course…Souls never locked doors.
She walked softly, not daring to turn on the lights she peered at the kitchen lit by the dim light of the street lamp outside.
She walked slowly up the stairs, finding the first pool of blood when her sneakers squelched in it…a tape line was around a figure that must have been Rains Mom. Clemie looked at the walls and ran her fingers over it feeling for blood. Not very much on the wall, she wondered what they had used…not a gun she guessed.
Her eyes lingered on the outline then she shrugged, mentally as well as physically. Just another murdering Worm.
Why are you here?
She ignored the voice of sensibility. Instead she moved on, walking into Rains room and looking at the blood soaked floor. She blinked back angry tears at the sight of the stuffed animals, Rain had murdered her Host too, just like all the rest of them had.
I don't care…she was just another murdering Worm. She told herself that, but she didn't believe it.
There was blood on the floor, but not a bodies worth.
She could see the track of blood leading to the door….then a few spots on the door. No outline marked where she'd fallen…Clemie dared to use her flashlight to follow the blood splatter on the wall, back out into the hall and followed it down the hall and back down the stairs…it ended at the back door.
She didn't dare go back outside, instead turning the flashlight off and heading back upstairs feeling her way with no night vision.
Rain hadn't had a dad-either he'd not bonded to her mom or he'd died before she was born. Clemie never asked.
She went into the nursery, turning her flashlight on and shivering with an unfamiliar feeling…she shivered, feeling a little sick. Stupid really, it wasn't like death was anything new to her but somehow knowing them made it…different.
There was a sound, she wasn't sure what it was but relaxes born of a life where she and her father had latterly the whole world against them had the light out again as she flattened to the wall. There was no sound, no creak of floorboards, no rustle of cloth.
Clementine's hand reached inside her windbreaker, clenching the soft rubber handle of the pairing knife in reverse grip. No sound, nothing at all but she waited without moving for twenty minuets then walked silently into the hallway.
There was a buzzing that made her jump from the doorway and into the wall with fright, knife flashing wildly.
Her eyes franticly searched, locating the source of the sound. Gingerly she walked up to the crib, looking at the bloodstained mattress in the crib. Reaching into the little wooden cage she lifted the mattress up and picked up the phone, looking at the display.
NUMBER WITHHELD.
She pressed the screen, lifting the device to her ear.
"Hi Clementine."
"Who is this?"
"Can't you guess?" The voice was male, but had a deep, sibilant over tone that made it impossible to identify. It gave her the shivers.
"A friend."
"Yeah…." She looked around the room, moving to the window to peer into the darkness
"Hi friend….I...Uhh, guess you did this?"
"Do you like it?" The voice actually sounded hopeful, like he wanted her approval.
"Like what?"
"The blood splatter on the ceiling is my favorite….its for you."
She looked up, there was a big dark splotch near the light above her head, it looked like someone had tried to write a C and part of an L but couldn't reach high enough to do it properly and given up.
"Uhh…were you writing my name?"
"Of course!" the voice snapped, and she could tell it was hurt, or at least irritated, that she wasn't more impressed. Honestly, she'd done more gruesome things herself to get a hot meal.
"Why?" She shook herself, heading for the door and into the hallway, taking the steps two at a time and heading for the back door.
"Because you're my idol, Clementine. You're my shield…" Icky, just the way he said Clementine made her want a shower.
"That's nice." She said breathlessly as she rolled over the back fence and jogged to the car- a small black VW bug she'd taken from outside the home of a little old lady whom she knew never drove it and spent most of ever day drunk as a skunk watching whatever crap the worms liked to watch on TV.
"What are you doing?"
"Waiting for you to tell me what you want."
"What makes you think I want something?"
"You wouldn't be talking to me unless you want something." She opened the car door, sliding into the seat and on reflex tossing the phone as far as she could, regretting the move a moment later. Her father had told her phones were death in your pocket when the Seekers had your number.
"I want you." The words made her jerk forwards, but too late to avoid the hard pointy object that touched the side of her neck.
The world went white. Then it went black.
…
"Hello."
Clementine wondered if she was dead again… no, her neck hurt too much for that.
"Hello" The voice was more insistent now, irritated that she wasn't paying attention.
"Uhh…." She groaned groggily lifting her head- which she now realized hung forwards across her shoulder, "Wh…?"
This didn't look good; she was tied with her hands behind her back to a swivel chair with what felt like cable ties. She wasn't sure where she was, but it looked like an old warehouse or something.
"Good! Your awake…" the voice purred, "I want you to be awake for this…" The voice tried to sound deep and menacing, but without electronic to aid it just sounded somewhat creaky and changed tone.
"Petals!" She gawked, blinking, "You… You're the…"
"Evil master mind… yes." he sneered proudly, reddening when she burst out laughing.
"What you think is so funny?" He scowled.
"Oh… I'm sorry…" she rocked back and forth on the chair, "Its just that…well… you've got to admit your kind of dorky to be an evil master mind."
"I didn't see Rain's family laughing when I spilled their essence with the tool." He held up a pairing knife. It bore marks that told her he had absolutely no idea how to sharpen a knife but made up for the lack with enthusiasm.
Clementine howled with laughter, "Spilled their essence…" she chuckled, rolling her eyes, "Spilled YOUR essence more like it! Souls really suck at this stuff, you know that don't you?"
He went even redder, making his zits stand out in the dim light of the camping lantern on the floor beside his chair that gave them light.
"I am no longer a Soul!" he declared, waving the pairing knife under her nose, "I am a Spirit- one of the Elect! I am above the Soul" His mouth twisted into an arrogant sneer, "I spill their ess-er…I kill them like the cattle they are! Their pathetic lives are mine to do with as I please! I crush them in my hands! I bring fear into their hearts! I…"
She yawned loudly, making him stamp his foot angrily, "You don't understand, Clementine! You just don't get it, do you? When I am done… playing with you I will kill you. They will NEVER find you… and I'll mark your name every time I….strike…." he licked his lips suggestively, "Don't you realize that? They will be looking for YOU and not me…."
"YOU don't realize that my father is going to spend three days experimenting on ways to extract you from your host. Then he'll cut kill your host so slowly that maybe your'll do that thing you guys do…the mushy brain thing…. then he'll eat you…its gross but its his thing…Says you taste just like chicken." She made slurping sounds, smacking her lips.
Petals started at her, blinking with horror as she looked over his shoulder, "Hi dad!"
The insane Soul turned, jumping out of his chair and spinning to face the imagined threat, knife swinging. He gave a grunt as she rocket into the small of his back with her shoulder, staggering forwards as she swung her backside, and the base of the chair she was still fastened to, into his legs. He staggered, turning to face her as she lashed out with her legs, kicking the lantern over and putting the light out. He gave a cry of alarm as the room went dark.
A long moment later she knelt over him, wiping his own knife on his T-shirt. The wound on his thigh was not leathal- he'd pulped his hosts brain the moment that he saw she was going to win.
"You guys SUCK at violence… don't you get that yet?" She spat into his face, disgusted that she hadn't even got to kill him herself, "That's for Rain, by the way."
She rose, listening to the sounds around her and wondering how she was going to get out of wherever she was. Bending she fumbled through Petal's pockets, finding a phone, some keys, a bag of some leafy plant material and a box of matches. Keys…weird.
She struck one and looked around the would-be evil master mind's lair…. Dropping the match she listened… hearing a sound like a high pitched whine she struck another and moved towards the source.
Rain was fastened to a block in the center of the room, the keys opened her shackles but she wasn't able to say much.
"You think you can count to a hundred before you call for help?" Clementine asked her, getting nothing very coherent in return.
"You think you can find your way out of here?"
Rain's eyes rolled about in the dim light from the match, Clemie dropped it when it burnt her fingers.
"OK…." Clementine nodded, "Its… OK. I'll get help."
Taking a deep breath she let it out slowly, "Cant believe…." She touched the screen of the phone, bringing the display to life and slowly entering 911.