It's time once again for another installment of my thrilling saga. As always, Star vs the Forces of Evil is owned by Disney and Stands are the creation of the brilliant and talented Hirohiko Araki. Blah. Blah. Blah. Enjoy.
Flowers and Brimstone: Chapter 7.
(The next morning)
"Ugh… Whazzah… Whazzah Fazzah…" Jackie groaned as her eyes slowly fluttered open, before being blinded by a sudden flash of light. "GAAH! Dang it, mom! Close the blinds! I duh… Yawn. I don't wanna go to school today. You can't make me."
Drip.
Suddenly, something cold and wet landed on her forehead, causing her to jolt upward from the shock.
"Gah! Alright! I'm up. I'm up. I'll go to schoo…."
But the words died in her throat.
Without the fog of sleep dulling her senses, the young skateboarder was able to get a better look at her surroundings. And what she saw was like a photograph from one of those fancy coffee table books you find in dentist's waiting rooms.
Trees.
Trees as far as the eye could see.
Big trees.
Ancient, hardy old trees whose long, sturdy branches formed a thick canopy that allowed only a few shafts of sunlight to break through.
Long story short, she was definitely not in her bedroom.
"Ugh…" groaned a familiar voice from close by.
To her great relief, it turned out to be her new friend Kelly; who was just picking herself up out of the dirt.
"Ugh… My back! Feels like I slept on a rock!"
"You probably did. Just look where we are."
"What do you mean… Whoa…" the bush-head stared in astonishment as she too took in the full scope of her surroundings. "Where are we? Is this the park?"
"I don't think so." Jackie replied as she slowly got back onto her feet. "The trees are too close together; there's no room for a path. And the grass is all patchy and uneven. No way this could be a park."
"So, what? We're out in the forest somewhere?"
"I guess…" the blonde skateboarder mused, before she noticed something odd out of the corner of her eye. "Wait, what's that on your back?"
"Huh?"
"Your back. You've got a little note taped to your back."
"What in the heck are you…" Kelly said while absentmindedly reaching around behind her. "Gasp. Jackie, there really is a note on my back!"
"You don't say."
"Hey, don't roll your eyes at me. I thought you were kidding. Now… let me just take a look at this thing."
And with that, Kelly snatched the scrap of paper from off her back and started reading it.
But as her bespectacled eyes scanned over the crumpled parchment her face grew paler and paler.
"Well, what does it say?"
"Uh… maybe you should read it yourself."
Confused by her new friend's aghast expression, Jackie took the note from her, so she could have a look at it.
It read as follows.
Attention!
Player 1 and Player 2.
The Game is Survival.
Here are the Rules.
Kill Player 3 within 5 Days.
Win and you can go home.
Lose and you die.
Have Fun.
Sincerely, Chemical Romance.
By the time she was finished reading, the young skateboarder's heart was pounding like a kettledrum.
"Oh… this is bad."
"You don't say."
"Oh… Oh geez! Kelly, I think… I think we've been kidnaped by one of those psychos I was telling you about."
"You don't say."
"And I think whoever it was, brought us out here as part of some sick, twisted murder game."
"You don't say."
"Will you stop that!"
"Sorry."
"Now… Now, let's not panic. We just… We just gotta stay calm and… and think." Jackie paused for a moment to try and steady her nerves, and as she did so, she took notice of the tall, old oak tree they were standing beneath. "That's it! Kelly, do you know how to climb a tree?"
"Uh… yeah, of course I do."
"Good. Do you think you could climb up this one?"
"I guess. Why?"
"Well, you know, to get a look around. Maybe if we know where we are, we can figure out how to get out of this."
"Oh, okay. That makes sense." The young bush-head replied as she picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself off. "Sure, no problem. Just give me a second."
And with that said, Kelly then proceeded to do a series of quick stretching exercises, before latching onto the nearest tree and shimmying up the trunk like a giant, aquamarine koala.
Before long, she was so high up in the canopy that her entire body was obscured by foliage; a fact which caused Jackie a great deal of anxiety, even if she didn't fully understand why.
"Hey, Kelly! Are you okay up there?" she called to her unseen companion.
"Yeah, I'm fine! Just hold on a second. I'm almost at the top." Kelly replied, before letting out a loud. "Whoa!"
"What? What is it?"
"It's so beautiful up here!"
"That's…uh… great, Kelly! But… do you see any landmarks? Like a building or maybe a bridge?"
"Hold on! Let me just… Oh…"
"Oh? What Oh? Why did you just say Oh?"
"Oh… this is not good. This is very, very not good."
"What's not good?"
"Well… Jackie, I don't know how to tell you this, but…"
"What?"
"Well… you're already pretty freaked out. And I know this is gonna upset you, but…"
"Will you just spit it out already!"
"Okay, Okay… Jackie… I think we're on an island."
"WHAT!"
"I said, I think we're…"
"I heard what you said! But what do you mean we're on an island?"
"I mean, we are presently standing on a small landmass surrounded on all sides by water!"
"Seriously? You choose now of all times to be sarcastic?"
"I think you mean Sardonic!"
"Who cares? You understood what I meant!"
"Sorry, just trying to be accurate! Anyway, I don't see any buildings or anything, so it's a safe bet that this island is deserted!"
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, seriously! There's no buildings! No powerlines! Heck, I don't even see a beach!"
"Great. Just great." Said Jackie, this time in her normal voice. "Could this day get any worse?"
Rustle~ Rustle~
Rustle~ Rustle~
"Why did I ask that out loud?"
Rustle~ Rustle~
Rustle~ Rustle~
"Hey! What's going on down there?"
"Kelly, Shush!"
"But I just…"
"I said, SHUSH!"
Rustle~ Rustle~
Rustle~ Rustle~
That last bit of rustling had been much louder than the ones before. So loud that it took Jackie less than a second to figure out where the mysterious sound was coming from; specifically, from a large patch of bushes just a few feet away. Moments later, a figure emerged from said bushes and shot the young skateboarder a dirty look.
"Oy! Blondie!" called the figure in a gruff, sort of British sounding voice. "You Chemical Romance?"
Instead of answering right away, Jackie took a moment to examine this strange newcomer.
She was a tall, shapely woman, most likely in her late twenties or early thirties, with short, spikey pink hair and eyes like dark emeralds. She was dressed in an open sleeveless leather jacket with a plane white t-shirt, tattered denim jeans, and steel toed boots. Her face and ears were studded with all manner of piercings and ornaments, and upon her back she carried a cherry red Gibson guitar. In short, she looked just like one of those old punk rock British girls they sometimes show on that one music channel.
"Hey! I asked you a question!" the punk girl said sharply, shaking Jackie back to reality. "Now, are you Chemical Romance or ain't ya?"
"No! I-I-I mean, no ma'am. You see…"
"Ma'am? Ma'am! There ain't no ma'ams here, girly. Name's Danni Charles. Got that? Danni. Charles."
"Oh, uh… okay. Whatever you say, Ms. Charles. I was just…."
"Ain't no Ms. Charles' here neither! I already told you. My name is Danni! You better open up them ears, girly. Or you're gonna end up dead. Understand?"
"Yes ma…uh… Danni."
"That's better. Now what about that friend you got hiding in the tree? Is she Chemical Romance?"
"Friend? Uh… what friend?"
"Don't play dumb with me, girly! I heard you two talking just a minute ago. Lie to me again and I'll feed you your own tongue. Got it?"
"Yes ma-Danni. And I'm sorry. But I swear, we don't have anything to do with this. We were kidnapped, just like you."
"Hmmm…" the punk girl went as she stroked her chin in frustrated contemplation. "Oy! You in the tree! Get down here now!"
Clearly needing no other threats or prompting, Kelly leapt down from the tall oak and landed on her feet with the grace of a jaguar; much to the older woman's surprise.
"AHK! Sweet Christmas!" she 'swore' in astonishment. "What the bloody hell are you supposed to be?"
"Hey! Don't be rude!" the bush-girl replied indignantly. "I'll have you know I'm considered quite the beauty where I come from. In fact, according to my ex-boyfriend, I'm the most beautiful girl in at least twelve dimensions."
"Whatever, freak." Danni replied dismissively. "Anyway, since neither of you are Chemical Romance, I'm guessing that means you're Players 1 and 2. And if that's the case, then all I gotta do is kill you two bozos and I can go home."
"Wait!" cried Jackie in a panic. "You don't have to do this. If we work together, we can figure out who's behind this and…."
"I already know who's behind this, girly." The punk chick cut in sharply. "If it ain't one of you two simps, then this can only be the work of that sick freak Marco Diaz."
"W-What?"
"You know, that little Latino twerp who killed Fats Dynamite. Me and my mates cornered him in an alley. But the little bastard clocked me one when I wasn't looking. Probably killed the others and got bored. So, he set up a little game to pass the time. Makes sense, I guess. I mean, the guy's a total psycho. Hell, he tortured ol' Fats before setting him on fire."
"That's a lie!" Jackie yelled, suddenly filled with a fiery passion. "Marco would never do something like that!"
"And how would you know?"
"Because I'm his girlfriend! I know him better than anyone! He's sweet and kind and thoughtful and he'd never hurt anyone unless he had to?"
"Oh, is that right?" Danni asked smugly. "Cuz the way I heard it, Marco's main squeeze is a lot shorter than you. And she's got great big horns on the top of her head."
"But… but… no! You're lying! Marco's my boyfriend! He'd never cheat on me!"
"Heh-Heh. Sounds to me like you don't know your boy at all." The older woman said mockingly as she took the guitar off her back and held it like she was going to play it. "But listen, don't you worry one little bit about any of that. Just let me and ol' Georgia Devil take all your cares away."
From out of nowhere, she produced a small guitar pic and raised it high above her head; obviously preparing to strike a chord.
"Here's a little song I like to call, The Trumpets of Joshua!"
End Notes:
Just to be clear, Georgia Devil is the name of Danni's Stand. 'The Trumpets of Joshua' is the name of a song she's about to play. Her own composition, naturally. I'm sure anyone who was raised in a Christian household or used to be an avid fan of Warehouse 13 will get the reference.
Anyway, thanks ever so much for reading and I'll see you in the next one.
Peace.