This is elseworld, p.26
This is Elseworld, page 26
“Then maybe your partner needs to put some respect on my name and stop trying to treat me like I’m some bitch.” As Shane spoke, his accomplices had completely surrounded the Peacekeepers.
“Tell your dogs to stand down.” Crockett tried to jab the barrel of his gun into Shane’s nose, but the tall man backed away.
“You think I’m scared of you, holmes? We have those too, ya know.”
“Well, mine is bigger and it’s fixin’ to mess up your pretty little pasty white face.”
“You can't touch me, I'm connected.”
“Connected to what, that dick licker’s asshole?”
“Just let her go and we'll leave,” said a man with a knife.
“If we don't take orders from pretty boy over here, what makes you think we’re going to take orders from one of his flunkies?” Crockett said.
“Fair a ‘nuff. I won’t argue with ya over that one.” The words flowed from the newcomer’s lips like molasses from a spoon. “But I'se know who you do take orders from.”
“It’s me. It's me he takes orders from,” Shane yelled.
“You know someone at district command?” Crockett asked. “You have a direct line with the constable’s office? Well golly gee, why didn’t you say so earlier? Call ‘em up and tell ‘em to give me a raise. I know who I take orders from, and it’s none of you self-important piss-bags.”
“Dominic might have something to say about that,” the big man said.
Shane shot the man a sharp look. “I got this. Let me handle it.”
He didn't have it, not until now. Asher didn’t recognize the name that was spoken, but he could tell by how the cops stiffened up that the name meant something to them. Murphy looked like he had just seen a ghost. Crockett had the same scowl he always did, except now his cheeks sunk in and the hairs on his face stood on end.
“Am I supposed to be scared now because you mentioned the name of your boss? My point still stands. You porch lackeys can stay within your tower and do whatever the fuck you want in the courtyard, but no way are you clowns going to pull that bullshit on the streets.”
“Fuck it,” Murphy mumbled under his breath. “Let’s go. Just give them the girl.”
“Why? Because these punks dropped a name. You know what, fuck Dominic! And fuck you too, pretty boy.” Crockett cocked the hammer back on his gun.
Until now, Asher was sure that only happened in movies. No wonder the gun hadn’t looked real. Shane squirted saliva between his teeth and onto the ground beside Crockett’s feet. “I dare you to do it.” His expression turned intense, and all his angular features bent into hard, blocky corners.
Shane probably noticed the same thing Asher did. The gun was old. Almost ancient. Unless properly maintained and serviced, handguns from that era rarely worked. There was a significant chance it wouldn’t fire. But there was also a chance it would. Modern guns were more powerful, but human skulls were just as fragile as ever, so even an antiquated handgun could blow a hole into a man’s head. Assuming it fired at all.
Shane appeared to be willing to bet his life on the gun's inability to fire, just like Asher had done moments before. The sweat built on Shane’s forehead as he looked down the barrel of the gun. His cohorts had long ago stopped smirking.
“Fuck this hoe. She ain't even all that,” one of the men finally blurted out. “I like to fuck shit up, but I'm not about to start some war over a bitch.”
“It's not about her anymore,” Shane said.
“Whatever it’s about, it's not worth it.”
“It is to me.”
“You don't want to test me,” Crockett said.
“I'm not afraid of you.”
“You should be.”
Shane didn’t get a chance to find out if Crockett was bluffing because a horde of men from the church appeared at the front of the alley. The archbishop stood back, flanked by a half dozen men in dark suits. The holy man stood at a distance, but his presence loomed large. He pointed and it was like the air around him opened and out came a small army. The men in suits never left the bishop’s side while the others dispersed toward the cops.
Murphy and Crockett both lowered their weapons. “Let’s go,” Crockett said. When the Peacekeepers tried to walk off, Shane stood in their way and crossed his arms. Crockett and Shane resumed their stare down while Murphy quickly detached the cuffs from Red’s wrists.
Crockett was the first to look away.
“Yeah, fuckhead, you better walk away, holmes. I run this shit. Didn’t I tell you I ran this shit? You should have listened.”
Several of the men high-fived.
“The King is here. The King is here!” Shane bumped fists with each of his men. He stopped at the two he had words with earlier. “Didn’t I tell you I had this handled? You running with the King. I run this shit. Niggas’ gonna finally recognize my name out here in the streets.”
“Sure, ya right. I give credit where it due. You one slick jabroni.”
“You damn right.”
The alley had been almost completely cleared out during the fiasco with the Peacekeepers; of those left, the men from the church had been helping them gather their things and were bringing them inside.
Several of the churchmen were helping Asher attend to his wounds. His body was more severely burned than he had realized. He allowed them to apply ointments and bandage his stomach.
Red and her kids were among those gathering their possessions when Shane approached her. “How’s my favorite girl? See what I do for you?”
She pushed him away.
“What's wrong? Can’t I get some gratitude or something? I mean, I just saved your ass.”
“Why did you come for me? I told you I was leaving for good.”
“You know I can’t let you do that.”
“What’s wrong with you? I don’t belong to you. I’m your cousin, not your whore.”
“I got something for you.” Shane dug into his pocket and pulled out a bag. He opened it and tilted it just enough for her to peek in. Asher couldn’t see what was inside, but from the way the bag glowed it was clear what was in it.
Red’s eyes bulged and she licked her lips.
Shane smiled. “See all I do for you?”
She reached to snatch the bag from him, but before she could, one of the men with Shane grabbed her by the arm. Red looked at Shane and not the enormous man who had grabbed her. “What are you doing?”
“Just giving you a little taste so you remember all I do for you.”
The big man reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin, long tube.
“Is that…? No, I don't want it. I only want the sweets in the other bag.”
Shane smiled. “You're not a very good liar.”
He was right. Red wasn’t trying to pull away or kick the man in the balls, as she’d been known to do. She just stood there, transfixed on the object. What was inside the tube would have also glowed if anyone could see it. It was stardust, just like what was in the bag she wanted so badly, only synthesized and highly concentrated to be much stronger than in its natural state.
The big man placed the tube against her arm, and she didn’t resist. By the time he pressed the injection release button, it seemed she was already prepared, her eyes shut and her mouth agape. Within seconds, Red began swaying back and forth, her head bobbing as if caught in a waking dream.
“Where, where,” she stammered, struggling to get the words out, “where are my kids?”
“Mommy?”
“Mommy, we’re right here. Are you okay, Mommy?”
She didn’t respond to them. Instead, she repeated her question.
“The kids are fine,” Shane said. “They were born in the tower; they have a place there too.”
Asher pushed the men aside who were bandaging his burns. “Those kids have a place doing what?”
The gang members all stepped aside, allowing Asher to come through. Cloth pads hung down from his chest and arms. His eyes were just as murderous as those of the men when they came through the alley hunting for the Peacekeepers, but now it was Asher whose eyes hunted for Shane. “Don’t you dare touch those kids,” Asher said.
Shane froze. “I remember you.”
“Oh yeah,” one of Shane’s men shouted. “That’s the homey who punked Shane during the barbeque yesterday.”
“Oh shit. And he stepping to Shane again today? That kid is fire.”
Several of the men high-fived each other and laughed.
“Lucas, Kerry, come to me.” Both kids rushed over to Asher.
“You fool,” Shane said. “You got a death wish or something? We wasn’t gonna touch ‘em. We no chomo’s.”
Asher didn’t reply. He took the kids by their hands and walked away.
“That boy got heart! He just punked Shane a second time.”
“Ain’t nobody punked me. He not from around here. He don’t know about me. But I promise you he will,” Shane yelled. “Don’t let him leave. Grab him. Nigga’s gonna learn tonight.”
“Oh, is that so?” the archbishop said. “Young men, your business here is done. Please clear my yard.”
Those were the only words it took. Several of the men who approached Asher immediately stepped back and turned around.
“Where are you guys going?” Shane yelled. Then he turned to the archbishop. “We’re not interfering with church business. That ese over there disrespected us. I can’t let anyone disrespect me or my crew. We run these streets. Why do you think those Peacekeepers fled so quickly?”
“My son, I’m afraid you’re misinformed. It wasn’t you or your goons they were running away from. Those men are being dealt with as we speak,” the archbishop said. “How about you, do you need to be dealt with as well?”
The look on Shane’s face said it all. In his eyes was the frustration of a predator who had just had its prey stolen by a bigger, scarier predator.
“We’ll leave. Out of respect. But we’re taking the girl,” Shane said.
The archbishop smiled. “You're more than welcome to the girl. She is not a part of this assembly.”
Red didn’t seem concerned with being taken. She could barely walk and practically jumped into the big man’s arms as he carried her away.
“One last thing.” Shane looked at Asher. “Go back to wherever you came from. If I ever see you again, you’re dead. On my reputation, on my father's grave, on everything, I’ll kill you. You better get out of town, holmes!”
The statement was almost comical in its absurdity. Asher would have laughed if his body didn’t hurt so badly. He regretted pushing the men away who were tending to his wounds. Food and medicine: that was the final thing he would accept from the church before he left. At least that’s what he told himself while allowing members of the clergy to usher him and the children into the church.
Chapter thirty-six
Hallelujah
Asher
There may have been comfortable beds upstairs, but within this enclosure there was nothing but row after row, maybe hundreds of rows, of rectangular crate boxes that resembled coffins. There was no room set aside to sit, or for children to play, just enough space in between the crates to move from one row to the next to find a wooden box to crawl into.
Despite the enormity of the hall, the sense of claustrophobia was unavoidable. Body after body, each one filthier than the next, all crammed into every conceivable inch of available space. Lucas and Kerry picked a spot close to the people they knew and dragged Asher along with them. After they were situated, Kerry looked up at him, and with a small voice the child said, “Mother is gone.”
Kerry was right. Red was gone, and they would likely never see her again. Considering her behavior and how she had just abandoned them, Asher was sure they were better off for it too. But how could he explain this to them in a way that wouldn't seem harsh and hurt their feelings? He didn't know how, so he didn't even attempt to.
“Don't think of it like that,” Dinah said. “Your mama ain't gone. Not for real. She’ll always be wit’ you in your heart. She wants you and your brother to have a better life than the one she did. Things out there be hard for your momma. She want yours to be easier. Do you understand?”
Kerry looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. “I think so.”
Asher turned to Dinah. “Thanks for handling that.”
“Thank you for being their guardian angel,” Dinah said.
He wanted to say, No thanks to you and your husband, but he bit his tongue. Truthfully, he was glad to see Monty and Dinah there. Dinah offered the kids snacks and they ate while making faces at each other, then they snuck away when they thought no one was paying any attention. It didn’t take long for Lucas and Kerry to find other kids to play with. It also didn't take long for them to get into trouble.
Lucas came running down the hall leaping over unoccupied and occupied crates. There was a layer of fresh dirt and mud above the old layer of dirt already on his face. His sister followed behind him along with two other tag-along kids. No one was being chased, nor were they playing, yet they all seemed to be running and leaping as if their lives depended on it.
Asher rose up out of his coffin. “What's wrong? Did something happen?”
“The Boogeyman! The Boogeyman! I told you he was real!” Lucas paused so he could breathe. “My sister saw him too. So did these other kids. We all did.”
Oh no, not this again.
It was after-hours in the church. Though it was hard to say what the normal hours would have been. The nave, the large assembly area located at the center of the church, was empty of worshippers, though members of the clergy, janitors, and the kitchen staff could be seen from time to time if you knew where to look.
The kids avoided these places as they carefully directed Asher through the cathedral, navigating corridors like they knew it like the back of their hand. They ended up at a dark passageway that led to a decrepit, almost ghoulish-looking door with ceremonial emblems on it.
Asher frowned. “I don’t think we’re supposed to go in there.”
“We went in there,” Lucas said.
“You weren’t supposed to.”
Lucas grabbed the doorknob. “I thought you wanted to see proof of the Boogeyman. Let’s go so we can show you.”
Against his better judgement, Asher followed them. The sooner he could get this over with, the sooner he could go back to sleep.
The door opened smoothly, without a single creak, and the doorknob was surprisingly clean. Despite its rundown appearance, it wasn’t a decrepit door, that was just the old-style architecture look it was going for. The door led downstairs into a literal stone chamber. As he descended, the darkness enveloped him, but his search for unlit candles proved unnecessary when he found a light switch.
He clicked the switch and the place lit up like a Christmas tree. No dead bodies or coffins down there. Just decorations, paintings, and bookshelves lined with actual books. The kind made from paper. Upstairs everyone was crowded in one room, while this space, which was even more enormous, was being taken up by expensive treasures.
Asher walked between a row of statues and unusual sculptures. He could easily imagine kids seeing them in the dark and thinking they were something else. “Is one of these the boogeyman you saw?”
No one replied and none of the kids would look him in the eye.
“Were you guys snooping around here in the dark?”
“We didn’t know there were lights.”
Asher laughed. “As you can see, there is no boogeyman.”
“No, I swear, we saw something move in the dark,” Kerry said.
“Well, next time don’t enter a dark room without turning on the lights.”
Asher could hear someone coming down the steps. “Let’s go back up.” He took Lucas and Kerry by the hands and the other kids followed.
“What are you doing down here? You’re not supposed to be here.” It was one of the pastors who had been outside offering plates of food. “I understand the kids, but you should know better.”
“You’re right. My apologies, sir. We’re going back to the hall.”
As Asher walked by, the pastor put his hand on his shoulder. “You do realize you don’t have to sleep down there in those boxes with everyone else? There are beds upstairs. The offer we made earlier still stands if you want to discuss the church.”
Asher walked away from him without responding.
Later, when they were all back in their crates attempting to sleep, some of the kids kept talking.
“It's a gremlin,” Kerry blurted out.
“Say what?” Monty said.
“The boogeyman is a gremlin.”
Monty snorted. “Gremlins aren't real. Go to bed.”
“Yes, they are. Gremlins are big furry round things, with saw-like teeth. There was a man controlling the gremlin, but we couldn't see him clearly because it was so dark.”
“That’s where you be wrong, kid.” Monty lowered his voice, and his tone became serious. “Gremlins aren’t real, but the boogeyman is.”
“Huh?” Kerry looked shocked at the admission.
“Maybe the man you saw controlling the gremlins was the boogeyman,” Asher said with sarcasm in his voice.
“He can't be the boogeyman because he didn’t look evil.”
“But if he was controlling the gremlin, doesn’t that mean he had to be evil?” Asher didn’t want to play along, but it wasn’t like he could get any sleep with the kids yapping over him.
“He's not the boogeyman.” Kerry pouted, clearly unconvinced. She looked at Lucas, seeking support.
“Well, if he's a good guy, then next time you see him tell him to stop controlling the gremlins to scare you,” Asher said.
Lucas shook his head. “We can't because Mom always said not to talk to strangers.”
“I’m a stranger,” Asher said.
“No, you’re not. You’re our friend.”
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing,” Monty said. “If you don’t shut up and go to sleep, the boogeyman is gonna come and get you. He likes to get kids that stay up late when everyone else is sleeping.”
