Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The grave
had not changed in the last three days, and yet, it felt different being back.
Ezra had
brought Monday to the graveyard to pack up her things and to see Alyson again.
As Monday stood before her clean and safe, Marcus’s meeting was replaying in
her head. The grief and guilt had boiled back up, but now Monday felt a new
emotion; angry. Monday hated the fact that in the last few weeks she would wake
up from the nightmare of Alyson’s last words repeating in her head; the sobs,
the drop, the sounds of her mother crying. Monday felt guilty about her part,
but Alyson had brought this on herself. Alyson just had to drag her to hell
with her.
Ezra came
up to her with Monday’s bag hung over his shoulder; Monday could smell the bag
from a few feet away. He put a hand on her shoulder, “Are you all right?”
“I guess.”
Monday said, not knowing the answer. They left the graveyard and Ezra threw her
bag in the back of the van, “Is it possible that I can have some new clothes?
Nothing fancy or anything, it’s just, I didn’t bring that much to begin with.”
“Definitely,
your bag is rancid. I’ll get Michael to take you.” Ezra said, “In fact, I’ve
been thinking that since you’re here, I could use your help. February is a busy
month and I could use the extra help.”
“But I
don’t know how to bake,” Monday said.
“You
wouldn’t have to. Your job would to keep the place clean while I work on cakes
and to help deliver them. That way, you have something to do and we’ll call it
even on the clothes.”
As the
weeks rolled by Ezra kept his word to look after Monday but, it came at a cost.
Ezra followed Marcus’s orders and Monday was supervised at all times; Ezra was
strict that she never left his site. Monday would clean the bakery as Ezra
worked on cakes. He was a messy baker, leaving her with plenty of work, in
between task she liked to watch him decorate. He had a great intensity while
working, he worked with such grace and it was mesmerizing to watch the things
he could do with icing and fondant.
As the
weeks rolled by, Monday was feeling more and more human again. After three days
of sleeping and eating in her room, she finally came out to meet Michael.
Michael was a business investor and often left early. Monday when to breakfast
that morning and found him eating with Ezra; Michael was not what she expected,
he was a more than a decade older then Ezra. He was shorter, tanner, and
thicker than Ezra, with blonde hair with streaks of gray. When Monday saw him,
she didn’t know how to react. He just looked up at her with blue eyes and thin
glasses and smiled. On one of his days off, Michael had taken her resale
shopping for new clothes. Ezra didn’t want to go, he hated shopping for
clothes, even his own. After seeing him wear black slacks and bottom down
shirts day after day, Monday could see that.
February
passed in a fury of pink cakes and March warmed the city up. Going out for
deliveries, Monday watched the snow melt and the city start to be bathed in
purple Lilacs. Seeing the city come to life after hibernating, she watched as
more and more people would walk the streets. The more people she saw, however,
filled Monday with fear, whenever Ezra had a client, he would meet with them in
the front while Monday worked in the back; all she needed was for someone to
recognizer as a runaway.
Life became
a ticking game where every day the hours became longer as Monday felt trap in a
balance of Nightling or human. Marcus had told her that the key to reverting
back was to let go, but Monday didn’t know how. She wanted Ezra’s company but
he worked too hard during the day and at night disappeared. She would sneak up
a few times to see him but never got further then the last step on the fire
escape. The more she lived with him, the closer she felt. The few times they
could talk, she enjoyed his company, and he surprisingly enjoyed hers. Even
Michael was nice to be around. She felt caught in the balance; if she stayed
with Ezra forever, then she would part of the Nightling world, even if she
never became one.
This all
came to a halt. Mid-March, Monday was sweeping the bakery when, to her surprise
and horror, she saw Edith come by. She was caring a briefcase in one hand and a
bag of wine bottles in the other. Monday rushed to open the door for her as she
struggled to open it herself, “Thank you- wow, what the hell happened to you?”
Monday
brought her a chair to sit in and Ezra came out the back, “What happened?”
“She looks
almost normal, what have you been feeding her?” Monday had changed in the last
few weeks. Her hefty meals had giver back a few pounds and her skin didn’t look
transparent anymore. Today, Monday had warn her favorite new dress, an orange
dress with cap sleeves that his her right below the knee, and her hair had its
long forgotten, orange curls back. Edith brushed it off, “that will make Marcus
happy. Last time I saw you, you looked like you might drop dead. Speaking of
being dead.”
Edith
opened her briefcase and handed Ezra a file. As Ezra looked over it, Edith
pulled out a blue bottle of wine out. When he saw the wine, he snatched it out
of her hands, “Is that what I think it is?
“Fresh from
the morgue.” Edith said handing him the bag. Ezra started to pull out the blue
bottles, what took these so long?”
“Mishap at
the morgue-”
A needle
scratched in Monday’s mind, “Is that?”
Edith
looked surprised, “Blood? All Nightlings drink blood, how else do you think
that it keeps them sane.” Monday’s eyes filled with horror. “What, blood is
what disturbs you? Killing is fine but drink one drop of blood-”
“Edith
knock it off, she’s still new to this.” Ezra defended. Monday’s stomach felt
sick as she saw the blood swish around inside, Ezra then, thankfully, changed
the subject, “How’s the baby doing?”
“Good so
far, still too early to know anything. I have a doctor’s appointment in a few
weeks to determine the sex. Wee,” she said with sarcasm.
“You don’t
seem too excited about being a mother,” Monday said.
Edith
snorted, “I cannot wait to get this thing out of me. Can I have a glass? Marcus
cut me back.” Ezra went to the back and came back with two glasses, handing one
to her. “Just one glass. What is Marcus cutting you back?”
“He thinks
that the baby will get wired genetic crap or something from me drinking it, so
I’m cut back for now. That man worries about everything.”
“Don’t you
think that he has a right to be?” Ezra asked. Monday watched as the color is
Edith’s face faded to white then to red, “What’s with everyone doubting me?
This baby and I are fine. Marcus plans one getting further blood work done then
I can have as much as I want.”
Edith drank
some while Monday tried to sit and enjoy their company; Ezra had finished his
first glass and was already on his second, “Seriously, why did this take so
long? This batch was supposed to be here days ago.”
“It’s not
my fault.” Edith said sitting on the chair next to Monday. “The morgue was
backed up and the guy weighed more than normal targets. You were lucky that he
was O- negative like you, but Lenny wanted to test for drugs first since we
didn’t have a good record. Be thankful that Pat guy had enough to give you an
extra bottle.”
“Ezra…where
does the blood come from?”
“Lenny, our
undertaker. He drains targets of their blood and bottles them to drink later. A
glass a day keeps Nightlings away,” Edith said with a smile. It must have been
an inside joke, as she and Ezra clinked glasses. Monday felt the fork fall to
her plate, as a sick realization came to her. “Oh my God, you drank Pat!”
Ezra glared
at Edith and took her glass away from her, “We can have these later. No need to
traumatize you anymore than we already have.”
“Like she
isn’t already.” Edith said motioning to Monday who was shell shocked. “Haven’t
you been explaining anything to her?”
Edith
sipped her blood. She looked like she was going to say something but instead
dropped her glass and ran to the bathroom. Ezra caught the glass before it hit
the floor but blood spilled everywhere including on Monday. Pat’s blood felt
cold and sticky, Monday felt paralyzed as his blood dripped onto the floor.
Ezra grabbed a towel and began wiping Monday up, as she sat on the bar stool on
the verge of tears, until she heard Edith vomiting.
By the time
that she was done throwing up, Ezra had cleaned up the blood from the floor and
calmed Monday down. Edith came out of the back and sat back in her chair like
nothing happened. Ezra handed her the towel and she wiped her mouth up. “Don’t
worry I made it this time. You don’t have to clean up blood again.”
Monday
realized that Edith was shacking. To her displeasure Ezra poured her a glass
and handed it to her. She thanked him and took a sip. Edith caught Monday’s
eyes and gave her a nasty smile. “He really does taste good; you want a sip?”
Ezra stood
up, “Out Edith!”
Edith stood
up and Ezra helped her with her bags, “by the way, when are you bringing her
back to Marcus?”
“Uh-”
“He’ll want
to see her again. Now that she doesn’t look like a little beaten puppy.” Edith
left and Ezra went back to work, meanwhile, Monday stood in the middle of the
bakery suddenly afraid. Marcus’s had a way of getting inside her and bringing
out a part of her that she didn’t want to see. A few minutes later, Ezra came
back in with a slice of cake .In the last few weeks, Ezra had learned her one
weakness; pumpkin.
Monday
looked at the cake, “You just called him, didn’t you?”
“Eat your
cake Monday. You have to go back sometime.” Begrudgingly she did. As Monday
tried to enjoy her bribe food, Michael popped in the front door holding a box
of take out while wearing one of his better suits.
“Isn’t it a
little early to be eating cake?” He asked. Monday shrugged, “He’s bribing me to
go see Marcus again.”
Michael
smiled, “He has a way of doing that, damn his good cooking.”
“I thought
that I heard your voice,” Ezra said coming out of the kitchen. He gave Michael
a quick kiss and took the food. “How did your meeting go?”
“Great,
should close on a new property at the end of the weeks. Just thought I’d spend
lunch with you until you leave for tonight.” Yesterday, Michael’s daughter
Vanessa called to say that she wanted to spend some time with him before she
left for a student trip to Europe. Ezra had made arrangements to spend the
night with another Nightling, “I have a few phone calls to make and then I can
go pick Vanessa up.”
“I’m sorry
I have to miss meeting your daughter.” Monday said. She had finished her cake
and Ezra handed her a bowl of take out. Monday couldn’t help it and started
gulfing down her food; homelessness had given her a tapeworm. Ezra pulled the
plate away from her. “Slow down Pumpkin. There’s plenty left.”
Michael and
Monday looked at Ezra with confusion. “Pumpkin?”
Ezra
shrugged. “Her name gets confusing at times, nothing wrong with a pet name.”
Michael
looked concerned at Ezra. “I can’t help but eat fast. I have to do something to
keep my mind off of the meeting this afternoon.”
Michael
shook his head. “I hope Jolene doesn’t mind having you the entire weekend.
Vanessa just wanted to go straight to France but her mother insisted she come
and see me first. I still can’t believe my Angel got into a study abroad
program!”
Monday
could have sworn that she saw Ezra roll his eyes.
At the end
of the day when the shop was closed up, Monday and Ezra packed away their
things and headed out after saying good bye to Michael. Before they left, Ezra
grabbed a bottle of blood out of the fridge. When they got in the van, the
blood was still on Monday’s mind. “Do Nightlings really have to drink blood?”
Ezra looked
uncomfortable, “Unfortunately. It’s one of our sad realities. Blood is what
gives them strength and without it drives them crazy. Edith has to make sure
everyone always has a bottle or else we might go into Bloodlust.”
“Bloodlust?”
“It’s the state
that we’re most separated from our humanity. Without blood, it really does turn
us into monsters.” The drove off past Martha Street and away from the
inner-city to the suburbs. The lawns were trimmed but not perfect and the trees
overcame them on some lots. Ezra drove through until he pulled into one of the
older looking houses. There were a few tiles missing and the vines had crawled
up the house, but the place looked cozy. Monday followed Ezra to the back door,
where a rusted bike leaned against the wooden fence holding the broken gate
open. After a few knocks it opened.
In the
doorway was a shorter than Monday curvy woman with dark skin and wildly curly
hair that she had pulled back in a messy brown bun. She looked to be in her
forties and dressed in dress pants and a modest blouse, and would have looked
professional except for the large coffee stain on it. Most importantly, the
woman looked tired; she had with dark shadows under her eyes and crow feet, she
sighed as she spotted the bottle in Ezra’s hands. “Please tell me that’s
alcohol?”
“Sadly no,”
Ezra said giver her a week smile, “That could be fixed if need be.”
Jolene
smiled and led them past a messy laundry room into the house. They stood in
colorful kitchen that was clean but had an organized chaos to the catch-all
counters. Jolene opened the refrigerator that was covered in children’s
pictures and put the bottle in the bottom drawer. “BO! Ezra and Monday are
here.”
“Who’s
Monday?”
“Just get
your butt in here, diner is almost ready.” Jolene called, pulling out the
butter from the fridge. “Edith brought by my bottle early today, about time
too. I don’t need anything else to go wrong today, bad day with Bo.”
Monday and
Ezra sat down in the old wooden chairs. Jolene went back to the stove and
started cooking pasta, all while starting to rant, “This morning’s lecture was
a bust since not even half the kids read the notes that I posted a few days
ago. These are college kids and they couldn’t even read three pages of notes on
Greek and Roman God’s names! Then at lunch I split my coffee on myself when
some girl from campus cut me off just so she didn’t have to wait to cars behind
at the red light. I had another class and couldn’t even go to the store to buy
something else or even change for that matter. And what was the topping of
today’s suckfest I got a call from Bo’s school. He’s suspended today! Luckily,
Jason picked him up since I had another class to teach. I called the school and
arranged an ard next week so that I can prevent him from being expelled. Ug!”
Jolene set
the timer, came over to the table, and rested her head on the table. Not
knowing what to do, Monday patted Jolene on the shoulder. Jolene looked up and
gave her a thankful smile. “What did he get suspended for?” Ezra asked.
Jolene was
about to say, but just then a boy walked in. He was a stringy boy, who school
uniform of kakis and a blue polo seemed to swallow but what he lacked in
muscle, he made up in high; he had more than a foot on his mother. His sandy
blonde hair was messy and hung down in his boyish face, covering his wide blue
eyes. When he saw Monday, he lend against the wall and gave Monday a wide-over
bite smile. “Telling Ezra about my latest adventures in Mrs. Maker’s office?”
“Not funny
Bo,” Jolene said, getting up from her chair and going over to him. She pushed
his hair out of his eyes, “Why don’t you go and keep Monday company in the
living room while I finish up dinner?”
He turned
to Monday, “Have you ever played Freeracers?”
Monday
shook her head. Bo shrugged, “Can’t be worse at it then Holly. You can have the
white controller; it doesn’t stick us much as the black.”
Monday
followed him into the living room. The living room lacked the organized look of
Ezra’s but felt homier. The walls were painted warm colors that varied from
wall to wall, lined with shelves that held knick knacks and trinkets (some
Monday noticed had various nicks and were put together with glue). Monday sat
on the black leather sofa as Bo went over to the entertainment system and
opened up a draw. While he looked for game, Monday looked at the bookshelf in
the corner with varies graphic novels and books on mythology. Bo stood up and
handed her a controller.
“So mom
said that you’re living with Ezra. Did he adopt you?”
Monday
shook her head, “I’m just staying with him for now. Besides, I’m almost 18.” Bo
seemed surprised. He loaded the game up and they started to race each other.
Monday wasn’t much of a gamer but managed to hold her own. “Ezra’s cool though.
He doesn’t ask too many questions and he’s nice to me. What about you and
Jolene?”
“Mom
adopted me when I was 5. I didn’t have a life before that or anything. “So is
Monday a nickname?”
“Nope, my
mom was just that unimaginative,” She said catching up to him in their second
game. “My mother liked the name. What about Bo, what’s it short for?”
“Nothing,”
He said quietly. Monday beat him the second time, but only because, she
noticed, he was looking in the kitchen. Over the blaring music, Monday couldn’t
understand what they were saying but could tell that it was animated. Bo
sighed, “I really disappointed her this time.”
He went
back to the game as they raced for a third and final round; they played in
silence. Just as he crossed the finish line, Jolene called them for dinner.
After venting to Ezra, Jolene seemed to be in a much friendlier mood as she and
Bo set the table.
They sat
down to eat and Bo held his hand out to Monday. She looked at Ezra, who was
already holding Jolene’s. Monday shrugged and held hands as Jolene bowed her
head.
“Lord, we
thank you for this meal that you have so loving provided us. Please continue to
look over us and bless the Daylighters for the help that they have given us.
Amen.”
“What are
Daylighters?” Monday asked as everyone started to eat.
“They’re
the name of the group that looks after everything. They’re in charge of the
targets and the needs of Nightlings. Marcus is just their liaison.” Jolene
said. “Marcus doesn’t tell us who they are. Whoever they are, they help keep
bread on this table. Daylighters make sure that Nightlings stay as underground
as possible.”
“Daylighters
even pay for your education. My friend Holly goes to school at St. Ulrics
because of them.” Bo said.
“Are there
a lot of young Nightlings?” Monday wondered. Bo shook his head.
“Not
really. Just me and Holly. Young Nightlings never seem to last,” he said.
Jolene and Ezra glared at him and he saw the look of horror on Monday’s face.
He quickly changed the subjected, “You never told me how work was today Mom.”
“Almost as
bad as yours.” Jolene said cutting up her stake. “Stupid college kids didn’t
turn in their papers on time.”
“What do
you do for a living?” Monday asked. Bo beamed. “She’s the head of the
Humanities department at Syringa University. She also teaches Mythology there.”
“That
sounds interesting.” Monday said. Jolene smiled. “You seem more excited than
most people.”
“People are
interested in your job mom. Holly thinks what you do is cool.” Bo said.
“Well you
talk to Holly all about Mythology in the fall. I was thinking about
transferring you to her school.”
Bo looked
stunned as he put his fork down. “You are?”
Jolene
didn’t look up from her plate. “With you attitude at school you’re going to
have to be in a much stricter school if you want to get into college, let alone
graduate. I can’t have you picking fights.”
“It’s not
like I try to pick fights. It’s just that there is a lot of dickh-”
“Bo
language.” Ezra said before Jolene could.
“Fine jerks
at school. I just don’t like how they talk about you when you’re not there to
even defend yourself.” Bo said crossing his arms.
Jolene
looked up and reached out for his arm. “You don’t have to stick up for me all
the time. You off all people should understand that there are just horrid
people in the world.”
Bo looked
over to Monday. “Monday what was your first impression of my mother?”
Jolene put
her fork down, “Bo, not at the table.”
Monday
looked over at Ezra surprised at the question. She turned to Jolene. “You seem
nice. I don’t know why people would mock you.”
“Okay.” Bo
said. “My mother is HIV positive. What do you think of her now? Do you still
think she’s nice?”
“Bo!”
Jolene said. “That’s not appropriate to discus at the dinner table.”
Bo stood
up. “It's not appropriate to mock you for it either but you don’t defend me
when I do it!”
“Because
the world is not fair, you of all those kids should know that!” The table grew
quiet as Bo stormed out of the room. As Jolene followed him, Monday awkwardly
glanced at Ezra.
“I swear
were not always this dysfunctional.” He said
“It’s ok I
like dysfunctional. Normalcy creeps me out” Monday smiled as Ezra let out a
quiet laugh. “I’m surprised how normal Nightlings are sometimes.”
“Humanity
slips in every now and then.” He said as Jolene came back. Jolene went to the
cabinet and pulled out a bag of pills. “I’ll go take Bo his, hopefully he won’t
refuse them this time. He’s been in a mood lately.”
“Take your
time with him,” called after her. He turned back to Monday, “Being a Nightling
does have its down, but there are a few pros.”
“Like
what?” Monday asked finishing her dinner. He leaned back in his chair, “The
powers are fun. Being a Nightling puts you on this adrenaline boost. Nightlings
also have the ability to track people, once we met someone we can find them
again; it’s like having a built in GPS. Nightlings are the ultimate killers”
“Nightlings
sound way too organized and dangerous. You sound like the mafia.”
Jolene came
back just then and grabbed her own cocktail of pills, Monday lost count how
many she took. Jolene sighed. “He really did mess up this time but I he’s got a
point, he’s not picking fights for the fun of it. I can’t blame him, everything
been stressful lately. I went to the doctor last week and it didn’t look good.”
“How low?”
Ezra asked. Jolene didn’t answer him. Instead she got up and started to close
the blinds. “How low Jolene?” Ezra said in a harsher tone.
Jolene
sighed. “234. I have another appointment in two months to monitor them and he
also increases my meds but it doesn’t look good. I can’t help that Bo’s acting
out, it has a lot on his mind.”
She walked
over to the last window and held the currant in her hand. “Good night for a
flight.” She looked back at Monday and Monday watched as she saw her eyes fade
from brown to black as the transformation started to take place. Jolene turned
back to the window and took her shirt off, reveling a black tank top
underneath, as Monday kept her eyes on her. Monday watched as the muscles on
her body seemed to become more defined and as her wings sprouted out of her
back. In was mesmerizing in an awe-inspiring and horror way as Monday watched
the smaller details of the transformation came out: Jolene manicured nail
lengthen and hers ears stretched. Jolene closed the curtain and sat down; the
outline of fangs signaled the end. Monday watched as the human side faded away
and the monster came out. It was strange seeing someone transform, Monday
wanted to reach out and touch Jolene just to reminder herself that this was all
this real. Jolene blinked a few times. “It's always they eyes that get me, they
don’t hurt they just tingle.”
Her voice
sounded like a harsh whisper. “Still waiting for that time. When mine only
tingle” Ezra said in a harsh voice. Monday almost jumped out of her seat
forgetting that he was still sitting there. “Does your voice always change?”
“One of the
weirder side effects.” Jolene said stretching her wings “I’ll pull out the
couch for you two, if you don’t mind sharing.” It was strange watching Jolene
do things that seemed human as she moved her wings around trying not to
knocking things of the shelves, the monsters look and ordinarily home clashed.
Monday went
to the bathroom to change for bed, still enjoying the comfort of cleanliness
while also examining her now black eyes. They seemed to change her face making
her appear animalistic. She no longer had the shadows under her eyes but
something seemed dark in her face. She walked to the end of the hallway and overheard
Jolene and Ezra talking, “She seems to optimistic, I haven’t had the heart to
tell her the truth.”
Monday
stopped at the end of the hall, right out of sight, she listened as Ezra went
on, “I don’t know why Marcus would tell her that, Fledglings never go back to
being human. She still seems so Anti-Nightling.”
Monday
could feel a weight on her chest, “Holly was the same way when Jason found her
and she was ten. She’ll get used to it. She doesn’t have much of a choice
anymore. Once you’re in, you’re in for life.”
“Edith said
to keep an eye on her and to make sure she didn’t kill anyone. Sometimes I
think that I’m going to wake up and she’ll be gone.”
There was a
pause, “You’ve only had her a few weeks, give her time. If she’s not aggressive
then she’ll do fine.”
“But you
know what they say! Runaways never last long; you know what happens to them. I
don’t want her to catch a bus back were ever home is.”
“You know
that Marcus would never let that happen. He would rather die than see a
Fledgling get away.”
Monday
clapped her hand to her mouth and shook her head. She head footsteps and
quickly ran back to the bathroom. Inside, she heard a knock on the door. “Are
you okay in there?”
It was
Ezra. “I’m fine.” Monday lied; I’ll be out in a minute. She heard him walk away
and she glanced back at the mirror. Monday tried to imagine her green eyes
again, but the black ones seemed burned in. The longer she looked at her
reflection, the more the Nightlings details she could see. Monday imagined the
fangs and the wings, all dripping with blood, and turned away.
That night,
while Ezra snored on the pull out, Monday grabbed her bag. She stocked up on
food in the fridge and hoped that no one was awake. As she took one last look
at Ezra, she saw him as the man who gave her food when she was hungry. She knew
that if she was caught, he would have to kill her, but Monday couldn’t take it.
“Once a
coward, always a coward” Monday said to herself, as she slipped out of the
house and into the night.
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2 comments:
Interesting twists and turns. I like the way you've handled Bo's character. Round and complex. Jolene's transformation is also interesting to watch as you've presented it.
On the other hand, I'm totally confused by the relationships. Who is Michael, and how is he related to the story? He just appears without any introduction. Ezra's lover (suggested), employee (suggested), nightling (no clue)?
And how are Ezra and Jolene related. "I swear we're not always this dysfunctional" suggests he's family, as are his interactions with Bo. But Bo doesn't seem to interact with him like family.
Glad to see you're posting again, by the way.
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