Chapter 7 Tingles Down the Spine

Lemmy looked at his siblings, nonverbally asking them for ideas. There had to be a plan that they could put into use! Surely, Iggy of all people would be able to think of something! Lemmy looked at him extra intensely as he wiped the blood off of his fingers with a moist towelette he had pulled from his hammerspace.

"I...I think we would be able to find them faster if we split up."

Lemmy blinked. Considering that Iggy was adamantly against splitting up before, this was an oddity. But then again, so was the sight of blood staining the streets.

"However…" Iggy continued, "we shouldn't go off by ourselves. It's too dangerous. We need to split up into two groups."

"Good idea," Wendy said with a nod. She looked at the group. "I'll be the leader of the second search party. Iggy, you be the leader of the first."

Iggy nodded, his lower lip trembling. "Yes." He looked at Larry and Morton. "You two go with your older sister. Morton, if push comes to shove, use your strength to protect them. And Larry...try to be on your best behavior."

Interestingly, Larry didn't respond with snark or wit. He just nodded. "Can do, Iggy."

Iggy nodded, his mouth in a serious line. He looked down at Lemmy and sighed. "I would assume that it's just you and me."

Lemmy nodded. He was about to say that wasn't exactly a good thing when Tack cleared his throat. Lemmy smiled; he had almost forgotten about the Stonebrim civilian.

"I'll join the smaller search party." He looked at Iggy and Lemmy seriously. "Neither one of you look physically strong, so I can act as the stone wall if anyone tries to attack us."

Iggy scrunched up his brow, clearly offended by that statement. "Excuse me? I may not look like much, but I can defend myself in a fight! I'm a super genius, for crying out loud!"

"Uh, Iggy," Lemmy said. "You can't exactly fight off bad guys with the answers to complex math equations."

Iggy sputtered as Larry giggled. Iggy's face turned as red as an apple as he tried to think of a comeback. However, Tack held up his hand.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. I'm in my fifties, you look like you're still teens. If anyone should die on this journey, it should be me."

Lemmy gulped. He would prefer it if no one died.

"Well, okay," Iggy relented, albeit with a defeated sigh. "Wendy, take the backway." He gestured for Lemmy and Tack to follow him. "Come with me up the path."

With that, the group split up. Lemmy had to admit, despite not knowing a thing about Tack, he felt much better with an adult by his side as he hiked through Stonebrim's darkening streets. It seemed that Iggy actually agreed, as his body seemed more relaxed and the way he carried himself seemed less tense.

Of course, the pitch black streets still put Lemmy off. He tried to imagine the town in the sunlight, which did help a little. However, it didn't detract from the sounds. The wind still sounded like a moaning ghost. The creaks of the signs and the crunch of the gravel put Lemmy's nerves into a tizzy. He decided to break the uncomfortable silence with some lively chatter. He sent a smile toward Tack.

"So, Tack, do you have any family?"

Tack chuckled. "Nope. My parents are in the home, and I'm a bachelor."

"Oh. I'm sorry about that."

"No, don't be sorry," Tack said. "It's a choice. I actively made the choice that I would live my life as a single Koopa."

Lemmy nodded. This was interesting. "Why is that?"

Tack chuckled. "I'm too much of a party animal."

Lemmy gasped. "No way! I'm a party animal too!" He got in closer to the Koopa. "Do you like the circus?"

"I've never been. I do, however, like to go to clubs."

Lemmy stared at Tack. "Clubs? Those are nothing like the circus! You really need to go sometime!"

Tack shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I read that they are a little bit messy."

Iggy perked up. "Do you like to read?"

"Occasionally. I'm currently reading through the Shellock Holmes series."

That shut Lemmy right up. It was like a punch to the gut, a stern reminder to keep himself out of trouble. "Oh. That's...great."

"Yes, it is!" Iggy exclaimed, completely oblivious to Lemmy's shift in mood. "It is a pleasure to come across a fellow bibliophile!"

With that, Iggy and Tack got into conversation from that point forward. Lemmy kept his eyes to the ground, zoning out and not even fully paying attention to their chatter. He listened to the morose wind instead, which only seemed to complement his own mood.

"Ugghhhh."

Lemmy perked up. That sound wasn't the wind.

"Guys, stop!" He signaled for Iggy and Tack to stop talking. "I heard something."

Iggy and Tack came to a halt, both with their conversation and with their walking. Their silenced allowed Lemmy to get a much clearer idea of where they sound was coming from.

"Uggghhhh!"

Iggy perked up. "I hear it too!" He took a step forward, focusing on a bush on the side of the road. "It's coming from that!"

The three of them made their way over. The first thing they discovered was that there was a boatload of trash within the bush. It seemed more like a trash can than a part of nature. Old, moldy paper, scraps of week old food, and animal bones all lay on top of something. Or rather...someone.

"Guys," Lemmy said. He turned toward Tack and Iggy. "I think we found Celia."

Tack gasped. Iggy pushed away a plastic soda can and, sure enough, found an unconscious Celia. Her grim reaper hood was pulled back, allowing him to see that her head was bleeding. A pool of the stuff lay underneath her head.

"Call Wendy. Immediately." Iggy told Lemmy.

Lemmy nodded and got out his phone. As soon as his sister picked up, he didn't hold back any information. "We found Celia. In a bush. Bleeding from her head."

There was silence on the other line before Wendy spoke. "We found Roy too. He's also bleeding."

Lemmy's heart practically stopped. "Then we need to call an ambulance. Immediately."

…

While in the hospital, Lemmy watched as the unconscious Roy and Celia lay in their beds, attached to heart monitors. Both of them were bandaged up, and both of them were breathing at a slow rate.

"At least they're alive," he told his siblings.

"Yeah," said Larry. "But Roy lost your candy."

Lemmy shook his head. "The candy is the least of my worries now." He went up to his younger brother, holding back tears. "Why? Why would anyone target them?"

Iggy, who had been examining Celia, cleared his throat. "I think I might know why."

He held up her hand, directing everyone's attention to it. It took a minute for Lemmy to fully process what was such a big deal. But when he did, he gasped.

"Her starbit ring," he said. "It's gone."