-15-

“Hey, Xander? It’s Nice And Ripe, Ain’t It?”

After a day, Broadway had the van working and they were ready to leave Redmoose. Xapper and company put the cooler with Zholl'xess in the van and then gathered supplies for the trip. While the cooler stayed below zero and the piece slept, the zombies stopped attacking.

And suddenly power returned to the town.

Phone reception also returned. Xapper turned his smartphone on and tried to reaching his daughter. His wears after his conversation with Nar-Goathgeir still lingered.

“Witch-in-Red-and-Black,” muttered Xapper as he wandered around town for a stronger signal. “Sorceress of Earth. Damn it, baby girl. What did you get yourself into?”

“Something wrong, Sarge?” asked Broadway as she too searched for a decent signal. Her phone, no surprise to Xapper, was expensive and very pink. “I heard the words ‘witch’ and ‘sorceress’ in your grumbling.”

“Am I really that loud?” asked Xapper.

“Yes but I also have good hearing,” said Broadway as she eyed him suspiciously. “Come on, we’ve both seen supernatural dramas and secrets always lead to problems down the road.”

“I don’t watch that kind of crap,” said Xapper.

“Well, you’re living it now,” said Broadway. “And I don’t want us to keep secrets between us. If we’re going to survive, we need to be transparent with each other. Otherwise, our lives could be in danger and drama would only make things—”

“That goddess who is linked to Plasmee and me is scared of my daughter,” admitted Xapper. “And I’m scared of what my baby girl is doing with magic.”

He then shared with Broadway everything about his relationship with Valiant. Everything, even the harder parts to say out loud. Xapper also shared his conversation with Nar-Goathgeir. Broadway listened and kept quiet until Xapper was finished.

“Wow, that’s some serious shit,” said Broadway. “So, Valiant has become such an awesome user of magic that she has gained a reputation. A rep that has even reached cosmic monsters. Yeah . . . I’m more turned on than ever by her now.”

“Will you take this seriously?” asked Xapper in disgust.

“I am,” said Broadway. “Like I said, I am one hundred percent a fan girl for Valiant Shooter. And I’m going through some seriously nasty grief right now. Grief is one shitty aphrodisiac but also a solid motivator.”

“You shameless twit,” said Xapper as he sneered.

“Hey, I said no secrets between us,” said Broadway. “You shared and I shared my honest feelings in return.”

“Yeah, well, you’re being way too honest,” said Xapper. “And did you forget that Valiant has a girlfriend?”

“Yeah, I know she does, and if I have to share her with that frumpy Doctor Waxington, I can deal,” said Broadway. “And you don’t know if they're poly or not.”

“The hell is poly?” asked Xapper, deeply confused.

“You know, polyamory, more than one partner,” said Broadway. “And trust me, I’m not looking for anything serious. Just some fun until I’m done grieving.”

“I really want to leave you behind now,” grumbled Xapper. “I just don’t get women, especially girls your age. Hell, even back when I was young, women were nothing but trouble.”

“Hey, it’s your own fault for hooking up with the wrong sister,” said Broadway. “Like, seriously, I could tell by the way you talked about her that Poppy was the love of your life. And you threw it all away to be with her drunk, slutty sister.”

“Why in the hell did I open up to you?” asked Xapper. “Worst mistake of my—”

Xapper’s smartphone rang and it startled him so much that he almost dropped it. He fumbled to answer the call. And Broadway watched in awe at how inept he was with a smartphone. She took the phone from Xapper, answered it, and then put it on speaker.

“Hello, this is Sergeant Xander Xapper’s phone,” said Broadway. “Who is calling?”

“My name is Doctor Calypso Waxington. I wish to speak with the sergeant. Whom am I addressing?”

“People call me Broadway and O-M-G! I am a super fan of Valiant Shooter’s work. Can I just say that it is so awesome that you support her in all that she does. You two are so super cute together and so inspirational. I’m stoked to be talking with you, doctor!”

“Thank you, Miss Broadway, now may I speak with the sergeant?”

“What’s up, doc?” asked Xapper as he took the phone from Broadway.

“Hello, sergeant. Sorry for calling so suddenly. But after multiple attempts, I finally reached you and we need to get right to business.”

Xapper grew nervous and said, “Okay, what’s going on? Is Valiant okay?”

“She is safe at Miskatonic U and if not for her, many people would have been lost.”

“What the hell is going on?” asked Xapper as he tried to remain calm.

“Well, to make a very long story short, Arkham is being invaded,” said Doctor Waxington.

“Invaded? By zombies?” asked Xapper.

“Ah, yes, Val had a premonition that your area would be under undead siege,” said the doctor. “But no, we are not dealing with something so terrestrial.”

“Oh shit, extra-terrestrial?” chimed in Broadway. “Like aliens or maybe cosmic monsters?”

“Cosmic monster is close but no,” said the doctor. “For the past two weeks, here in Arkham, we have been dealing with an interdimensional parasite called Ghiold’dro.”

Xapper moved his lips then gave up. “Yeah, I’m not even going to attempt to repeat that one.”

“Ghee-old-dro, Ghiold’dro,” said Broadway as she rolled her eyes. “That’s an easy one, Sarge.”

“Sorry I’m not up on my stupid monster name pronunciation, Broadway,” scoffed Xapper.

“As I was saying,” said Doctor Waxington. “We are not certain how Ghiold’dro came to Arkham but we believe it was a summoning that went horribly wrong.”

“Okay and you said it’s a parasite, doc,” said Xapper. “Is it some kind of bug or an animal or even a virus?”

“Such terms do not apply to Ghiold’dro, like many outer-dimensional species, we barely can comprehend its nature. The human brain struggles to process what the senses endure when encountering such a being. The best I can describe it in our terms is that it resembles a fog made of broken crystal.”

“And what is it doing?” asked Xapper.

“Nothing good if Doctor Waxington is calling you personally about it,” said Broadway.

“Yes, Miss Broadway is correct,” said the doctor. “Ghiold’dro is a terrible threat to any who are in close proximity to it. And I wish to warn you all that Arkham is not safe and to stay away.”

Xapper paused and began to pace in silence. Broadway kept quiet to let Xapper think. Doctor Waxington stayed on the line to give him a moment.

Xapper then finally spoke. “My daughter is doing magic, right? And she used magic to find out that I was going to come to Arkham to see her, didn’t she?”

“How astute,” said Doctor Waxington. “Yes, sergeant, she used magic to see your future and in her vision, you came to Arkham but that only puts you and your friends in grave danger. She wanted me to call you and talk—”

“So, she’s pretty good at this magic stuff, huh?” asked Xapper. “Seeing into the future must be pretty high level stuff, right?”

“Val has a natural born talent for magic,” said the doctor. “She’s been a practitioner since her senior year of high school and—”

Xapper’s heart sank as he interrupted and shouted, “She’s been doing magical crap for that long?! She’s been doing it since she was a kid?! Is she there?! I want to talk with her, right now!”

“Perhaps she can discuss things with you later but at the moment, she is indisposed,” said the doctor.

“What the hell is my daughter doing that is so important that she can’t speak to her own father right now?” asked Xapper.

“She is currently saving lives,” said the doctor calmly. “Ghiold’dro is attacking at the moment. And her efforts are crucial while the populace evacuates Arkham.”

Xapper nodded and took a deep breath. “Right, good, that’s my baby girl. Yeah, don’t bother her right now. Fine, I’ll call her later. And I appreciate the warning, doc, but we need to get to Arkham. See, we—”

“You are cursed with a link to Nar-Goathgeir, the Goddess of Necrophages. And you currently possess a piece of Zholl'xess, Tinkerer of the Dead. And you wish for Val to solve both issues. Am I correct?”

Xapper shook his head and asked, “What? You got eyes in the sky on me or something?”

“Val cares deeply about you and has been monitoring your life for the last week,” said Doctor Waxington. “And yes, she has done so with magic. And before you ask, I can assist you in disposing of the piece of Zholl'xess over the phone. Please keep your device charged and listen to my instructions carefully.”

“And what about my curse? Can you cure that over the phone?” asked Xapper.

“I am sorry to say that Val and I are still working on—”

“Stop calling my daughter Val! Don’t act like you know her, you hussy—!”

“Sergeant. Can you please hand the device back to Miss Broadway and walk away, please,” instructed the doctor with a calmness that annoyed Xapper. “Please.”

Xapper threw his phone at Broadway. He then threw his hands in the air and walked out of town. Broadway did not follow him and listened to Doctor Waxington’s instructions.

Xapper then sat at the ruins of the town welcoming sign and stared off into the distance.

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Two hours passed as Xapper sat alone. Xeak said nothing and Xapper’s hunger did not rise. He felt empty inside and ashamed. He tried to fight back against the anger that welled inside from speaking with Doctor Waxington.

Xapper did not fully understand why he was so angry. He just was. He always gave into his anger and that was why he stayed away from Valiant and Poppy. He loved them too much to be another problem in their lives.

Little Defiant then sat next to him with Plasmee sleeping in her arms.

“Broadway tried to send the bad zombie boss away,” she said casually. “The lady on the phone tried to help but Broadway was not strong enough. Broadway is really shaky and wants you to come back.”

“Yeah, I’m coming,” said Xapper as he stared at nothing. “And the lady on the phone is still on the phone, right?”

“Yeah, she wants to talk to you,” said Little Defiant.

“Damn, okay, yeah, I need to talk to her too,” said Xapper as he stood up.

Xapper followed Little Defiant back to the watchtower. Inside the keep, it smelled of burnt plastic and a faint fog with an odd ultra-violet magenta color hovered above them. The cooler that had the pot in it was burnt to a crisp and all the water evaporated.

The pot that had the piece of Zholl'xess was singed but still intact. And it sat in a new cooler with freshly chilled ice. The can of liquid nitrogen sat by the cooler along with a bunch of empty gallon jugs of water.

“Waxington did what she could with me,” said Broadway, her voice hoarse and faint. “But I was never good at listening to teachers. Sorry.”

Xapper looked to Broadway as she cowered in a corner. She was fiddling with her pink backpack. The old book vanished into the bag. She handled the bag with disgust and zipped it up quickly.

It was clear that the very sight of the book repulsed her.

Xapper saw Broadway’s eyes for a moment before she covered her face. Her eyes shined with a neon green hue. Her face and skin were ashen white and she was trembling. Little Defiant sat next to her and gave her a hug.

“Are you going to be good, Broadway?” asked Xapper quietly as he approached the girls.

“I tried to do magic and I am so not doing it ever again,” said Broadway as she continued to hide her face. “Sorry, Sarge but I wasn’t strong enough. We’re still stuck with that stupid thing.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” said Xapper as he put his hand on her shoulder. She was cold to the touch. “You tried and no one can blame you for things not working out. It’s like bootcamp. No one at bootcamp is going to be good at everything on their first day. You fall and it's all about getting yourself back on your feet. And you will get back on your feet soon enough, Broadway.”

“Yeah, as long as I don’t look at that stupid book,” said Broadway as she slapped her backpack. “To hell with that stupid thing. We need to give it to Valiant and the doctor so they can do all the stupid magic they want. Stupid magic . . . never again.”

Xapper then said something without thinking. “The magic. What was it like?”

Broadway giggled as she turned away from him. “I wish I could tell you what it was like. But I can’t put it into words. I never experienced anything like it before. And I don’t want to ever do it again.”

“Rest, Miss Broadway,” said Doctor Waxington’s voice. Xapper’s phone was at Broadway’s feet and flickering. “Sending away something like Zholl'xess is no small feat, even for a seasoned practitioner. You did what you could and for now, rest, drink water, and . . . try to forget.”

“Can I forget?” groaned Broadway.

“You will,” said the doctor. “As long as you do not engage with magic again, your mind and body will heal over time.”

“Hey, LD? Could you hand me my phone?” asked Xapper.

Little Defiant then gave Xapper his phone and he left the watchtower to privately talk with Doctor Waxington.

“Hey, it’s me, umm,” said Xapper as he scratched his neck. “Look, I need to apologize to you. I have been a right ass to you and—”

“It is alright, sergeant, I understand,” said Doctor Waxington. “I am very protective of Valiant as well. I cherish her greatly and cannot imagine my life without her. So, I accept your apology but I also understand.”

“Right,” said Xapper as he paced around the watchtower. “And what about Broadway? Will she be okay? Her eyes are glowing green and she’s pretty shaken up.”

“She will recover in due time,” said the doctor. “The glow in her eyes will be gone soon and the nightmares will pass. Honestly, she was very brave and resilient. I was tempted to tell her that she had potential for the arts but after the trauma she endured, I kept to myself.”

“Yeah, well, she’s been through enough bullshit,” said Xapper. “We all have.”

“Yes and I would advise you and your companions to vacate Redmoose soon,” said Doctor Waxington. “Authorities will soon be arriving and if you wish to avoid any further complications, you should leave within the next day or two.”

“Yeah, we’ll be at Arkham in a couple of days then,” said Xapper frankly.

The doctor let out a long sigh before she said, “You are so thickheaded, just like my dear Val. Very well, I admit defeat. If you wish to come to Arkham, I will not argue. Val will not be pleased though.”

“She’ll get over it,” said Xapper. “And tell her I’ll have my phone off until I get close to Arkham. She can yell at me in person.”

“Very well,” said Doctor Waxington. “I look forward to meeting you and Miss Broadway and Miss Defiant soon. Good luck, Sergeant Xapper, and safe travels.”

The doctor then hung up and Xapper turned his phone off.

His stomach then growled. He smelled something sweet and mouth watering in the air. He followed his nose into the woods. He then found a rotting human corpse sprawled out on the ground by a tree.

Xapper saw the flies hovering over the body. He growled and the tiny necrophages recognized the presence of their superior. The flies scattered and fled from him.

Xapper crouched over the body. It was bloated and its leg was caught around a tree root. The leg was broken in several places and the body was all twisted. It was clear the body was undead at some point and failed to break free from the root.

It was now still and completely dead. It was also . . .

“Hey, Xander? It’s nice and ripe, ain’t it?”

“Sure is, Xeak,” said Xapper with a wide grin. “It’s a mighty fine snack before we hit the road.”

End of Season One . . .

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To Be Continued?