Bloom Chapter 11

Welcome to Tighty Writie.  I hope you have been following along with the blogvel titled Bloom.  It's been great fun to write chapter 11.  Last weeks chapter can be found at Demeter Diaries and next week's chapter 12 can be found at the ever lovely Suzanne Payne's blog.  For a full list of the chapters, please check out Michelle Simkins blog.

And here we go....

Chapter 11

“What are you waiting for?” Jamie’s mom yelled at them.  “Wanda, I need you over here now!”

Jamie’s head swiveled toward Wanda, his mouth hanging open in stupefaction. “You know my mom?” he asked in a whisper, dropping his hand from hers.

“We might have met a couple of years ago before I started working at TS Labs,” Wanda muttered.  “We really don’t have time for this now.  I need to help your mom, and you need to make a decision.  Are you going to protect the plants, or protect people?  The decision you make really does determine if you are an Evil Genius, or just a Genius.”

Jamie’s mom turned back toward the shrubs that were moving closer to the Hummer.  She had the spray nozzle set and the pump was primed.  The two shrubs advanced on the vehicle and Jamie’s mom sprayed them with the chemical.  There was a hissing noise and the leaves that had been contacted by the spray began to shrivel and turned from green to a brown color.  “It’s working Jane, you’re doing great.” whooped Wanda as she jumped from the roof of the Jeep to the hood and then to the ground.  “Are there more packs in your car?”

“Yes, I think I have five with plenty of refill canisters with me.  John has more but he’s on the other side of town making sure they haven’t multiplied too quickly and surrounded the town.”  Wanda ran to the Hummers back door and grabbed a canister set.   She strapped it on her back and started priming the pump.  Jamie was still standing gawk-eyed at his mother.  “You mean dad’s here too?”

“Of course your father’s here, Jamie.” His mother yelled over the hissing of the chemical spray connecting with the shrubs.  She continued to spray the shrubs while trying to explain but it took a lot of effort. “We left to protect you, but obviously that didn’t work.  You must have already been adjusted before we left.  We didn’t realize it.  It was only later that we realized the adjustment wouldn’t show its effects until people became adults.  By then we had already left and you guys were doing so well with Gran.  We thought we had gotten away in time and that you guys weren’t affected.  We stayed away to keep you safe.”

Wanda climbed on top of the Hummer and joined Jane in the chemical spray fight.  The hedges were trying to regroup and figure out another way around the car to get toward town.  More hedges were coming out of the forest and were starting to converge on the Hummer.  Jamie glanced down at the road and saw that the back door of the Jeep was open.  Jessica is no longer in the car, Jamie thought with panic.  Had the hedges gotten to her and turned her again?  He felt panic in his heart as he glanced all over to find his sister.  He finally saw her at the back of the Hummer.  She was strapping on a canister set and was pumping the handle.  She looked weak but determined.  A surge of fondness and pride leapt in Jamie’s heart and he realized that he couldn’t have it both ways.  The plants were wonderful, scientific, and amazing, but they were killing people.  They had tried and were trying to kill people he loved.  He had to make a decision.

Jamie jumped from the jeep and ran to the Hummer to grab a pack.  He strapped it on as he was running and skirted around to the back of the hedges.  He had seen that Jessica had gone this way and it made perfect strategic sense to him.  Surround the hedges, and hit them with the chemicals from all sides.  He joined his sister and started spraying the hedges.  Jessica glanced at him and threw him a quick smile.  Maybe in time she would forgive him for hurting her.  The hissing continued for quite awhile until the hedges had been subdued and turned into shriveled brown leaves.  Jane went to the back of the Hummer and grabbed a leaf blower with a large bag attached.  “This actually vacuums up the leaves so we can haul them away and incinerate them properly,” said Jane.  She made quick work of bagging the leaves and Jamie and Wanda put the bags in the back of the Hummer. 

“Okay, this is probably the first time that I’ve ever said this, but, here it goes.  I don’t understand what’s going on Mom,” Jamie said with chagrin.

“Oh Jamie, it’s such a long story and of course you don’t understand.  All this time, you thought you were an Evil Genius and it was your destiny to experiment with the plants.  But it’s not true.  You were adjusted to believe that.  How do I explain this?  It’s like you were programmed.  Yes, that’s a good analogy.   You were programmed.  Did you ever notice your interest in plants was very sudden?”

“Well, I hadn’t thought of it that way, but yeah.  I guess so.  I just got this idea one day in high school that I should start looking at the biological properties of plants and see if I can make improvements to them.  I always thought it was because Gran wanted something to keep her garden healthy.”

“You’re a good boy Jamie,” Jane said.  Both Wanda and Jessica turned to Jamie with smirks on their faces.  “You just wanted to please Gran, but you were not really in control of these impulses.  Come on, we need to get moving and get into town to see if there’s any damage there.”

“But I need more explanation.  What was it that programmed me?  Why me?”

Jane put her arm around Jamie’s shoulder and started toward the car.  “Why don’t you ride with me in the Hummer and Wanda and Jessica will follow in the jeep.  I’ll fill you in and Wanda will fill in Jess.  Wanda, grab a couple of refill canisters in case you have to stop along the way to deal with some of our botanical friends.”

Jessica glanced with envy at Jane’s arm around Jamie, but she silently agreed that she should ride with Wanda.  If Wanda was willing to stab her repeatedly with straight forward jabs, she wouldn’t hold any punches on telling her what was going on either.  And Jessica needed to know.

“So spill it,” Jessica said as they strapped themselves into the front seat of the Jeep.  “What is the story, and don’t hold anything back.  I need to understand what’s going on.”

Wanda peered at Jessica out of the corner of her eye, nodded, and looked back at the road.  “You’ve changed.  I don’t mean into a plant or anything.  I mean, I can see that you’ve grown up in the last couple of hours.  Having nearly been turned into a plant and then fighting for your life can speed up the process to adulthood a little bit, I guess.”

“So tell me then.  I’m ready,” Jessica said heatedly.

Wanda proceeded to tell the story of how she was a bored college whiz kid in New Mexico and met Jane and John at a science museum.  They hadn’t even noticed her at first.  They were in a heated debate while standing over an exhibit of lush plants and descriptions of their genus.  They started talking about escaping just in time from the director of TS Labs.  Apparently, the director had tried to convince them to work on a secret plant project and they left before he could force them to work on it. 

But they were worried about their kids they had left behind.  One of them had apparently started to work with plants and that was just too suspicious to them.  They couldn’t decide if it was safer for the kids for them to stay away or to come back.  Wanda had jumped into their conversation and said that she could help.  They didn’t want to do it, but she was bored and threatened to expose this situation if they didn’t include her in their plans.  Jessica was impressed by the audacity a young Wanda must have displayed.

“So my parents were aware that Jamie was starting to work on the plants?” Jessica asked. 

“Yep, they kept up with you guys from a distance.” Wanda agreed.  “And they realized that the director had programmed Jamie when he had visited to convince them to work on the plants.  I guess he had given Jamie a piece of candy and that’s how they think he put the program virus in him.  They thought it would be helpful if I went to the same college and started to work at TS Labs.  I was bored and it sounded like a cool secret mission, so I agreed.  It was easy since I had such good grades.  The school and the lab were both excited to have me.  Let’s be honest, Jamie was excited to have me too,” Wanda finished with a gleam in her eye.

“So dating my brother is just part of your mission?  To stay close?” Jessica asked in anger for the brother that stabbed her a couple of hours ago.  She rolled her eyes at her own loyalty.

“Well, at first.  But then I realized how awesome he was.  He really is so smart and he’s fun.  I wasn’t bored anymore.  And he thought of me as more than a pretty face.  He actually liked my brain.  He wasn’t intimidated.  So it became even more important for me to watch him.  His plants were his side passion but I knew he was actually being influenced by the director of the lab.  He wanted Jamie to create these plants to be bio-weapons.  They could remove a ‘person of interest’ so to speak if they were getting in the way of the directors political agenda.”

“By removing a person, you do mean assassinate, correct?” asked Jessica. 

“That’s the term your parents use, yes,” Wanda responded.  “It’s really a pretty fascinating method for removing your enemies.  No one would guess a thing and everyone would have an alibi.  It would be like the person just disappeared.  But there would be no suspects. And it wouldn’t appear to be foul play.  It’s genius really.  It’s Evil Genius.”

“But why did it start here?  Why my little town?”

“Well, that was a mistake, I think.  The director didn’t realize that Jamie had moved his experiments outside of the lab.  They were still in the infancy stages and weren’t ready for a trial.  But Jamie knew he’d had success in your Gran’s garden and even in the woods when he was in high school and thought this was a great place to see how the plants thrived.  He didn’t know they were going to be a weapon.  He thought they were going to work toward reducing global warming and the effects on the environment caused by people.  He was trying to save the world.  What better place to try it than where he had people that he loved.  He just liked calling himself an Evil Genius because he was manipulating natural organisms.”

“If that’s the truth, why was he so resistant to killing them earlier.  He wanted to save them!  Even when he knew they had killed people.” Jessica quickly wiped her eyes and glanced out the front window at the Hummer in front of them.  Wanda had been telling her story but not meeting her eye.  She had been intent on evaluating the woods on the sides of the road for any possible moving plants. 

“Well, a mother loves her child even when he does something wrong, you know?  I think he was just feeling responsible for these plants and thinking he still had a way to control them and turn them for good.  I’m sure that now that he’s heard your mom’s story about the director, he’s going to feel very differently towards his babies.  They won’t be his babies anymore.”  The brakes on the Jeep screeched and the car slid sideways as Wanda crested a hill and saw that they Hummer was stopped by more hedges and a few trees in the road.

“Let’s go prune some shrubs, Jessica!” Wanda yelled as she exited the Jeep and slung her chemical pack on her back.

The Skeleton Key Chapter 14

I have really enjoyed reading everyone’s chapters in the Blogvel:

The Skeleton Key.  This blogvel was a creation of Michelle Simkins from GreenWoman.  A lot of talented writers have gotten to join in on the fun and write a chapter.  This week happens to be my turn.  I hope that this chapter is as entertaining as all the others.  Next week will be Cherie’s turn to write a chapter.  You will find her blog here.

And now…………..  Chapter 14

My body was no longer searching for the elusive breath of the living.  The meta essence had performed its task and allowed my shape shifting abilities to mimic death.  I glanced around expecting to see Ax in the corner of the room being tortured by Angelica’s psychic attacks, but instead I found my vision clouded.  I wasn’t in the embassy anymore.  I was floating on my back in a milky way of fog.

 

 “So this is what an ‘astral river of transformation’ looks like,” I mumbled to myself.

 

Ax had said I would find a guide to help me navigate through the river and find the murdered gatekeeper.  So far I hadn’t seen anyone else floating through the fog with me.  It was quiet and I was alone.  I started to worry that Ax was mistaken when I began to drift more quickly.  I rolled over onto my stomach so I could look forward and see what was coming.

 

The mist looked thicker up ahead.  My river was heading toward a large swirling pool.  If I squinted I could see other streams like mine leading toward the same location.  This must be where the dead souls collected before entering the current that transported them to their rebirths.  I laughed at the ease with which I seemed able to accept this new turn of events.  You try spending a couple of days with a hot, sexy dragon and you’ll believe the unbelievable too.

 

The current I floated in started to churn as I got closer to the pool.  I was dumped unceremoniously into the spiraling whiteness and found myself sinking deeply.  At some point in my fall the mist dissipated and I landed on my ass at the bottom of the large cavern that I’d mistaken for a pool.

 

 “Here, let me help you up,” said a jovial voice behind me.

 

I looked around and found myself looking at the hem of a multi-colored cloak.  My eyes slowly crept up the garish robe until I was looking into the eyes of tall, slightly chubby man with white hair that stuck out in all directions.  He had his hand extended to me, and I let him help me up.

 

“Are you my guide?” I asked.

 

“Guide, tracker, best buddy.  Whatever you need I can do it!” he said happily.

 

“You’re not quite what I was expecting.  I guess I thought my guide would be the grim reaper or something.”

 

The monster chuckled, “Oh, Mark never greets the newbies.  Plus, he was busy.  There was a big hullabaloo over in the 3^rd quadrant.  You know.  Some monsters just aren’t ready to die.  They make a big fuss and then Mark has to get all grim on them, ya know?”

 

 “My name is Greg, and I’m an Ankou.  Jump into my cart and I’ll explain on the way to the check-in point.”  I hadn’t noticed the cart behind Greg until he mentioned it, but I couldn’t believe I had missed it.  It was similar to a golf cart except it had a large wicker basket tied on to the back.  It was also painted bright orange and purple with a red bicycle flag flying from the top. It was hideous.  I quickly looked around and noticed that no one was looking at us.  In fact, it was obvious that those souls that were entering my quadrant of the cavern were trying very hard not to look at us.  Good thing I was already dead, or I would have died of embarrassment.  I was going to kill Ax when I got back.

 

Thinking of Ax made me remember my mission and how I needed to track down the gatekeeper.  Once I was owner of the gate I could get back to Ax and we could get my sister.  I jumped in the cart and fastened my seatbelt.  Looking at my crazy guide, I figured the seatbelt was there for a reason, even though I was dead.

 

“So, an Ankou is a little like a grim reaper, but just for the parishes in Brittany.  I had a great little gig going for awhile.  Drive around in this little cart and collect the souls of the dead.  It was sweet!  I was good at my job, but Mark said the recently dead don’t seem to like my colorful cart.  I never understood it, but they complained all the time.  I ask you; why not go out in style?” 

 

My mind immediately played the Monty Python “Bring out yer Dead!” scene.  I could just imagine how unpopular cheery Greg and his colorful cart would be when collecting souls.

 

Greg started the cart and pressed the horn, and Oingo Boingo’s It’s a dead man’s party blared from a hidden speaker. I hunched down in my seat hoping no one else could see me.

 

“Anyway, Mark gave me a job to usher monsters to the check-in point.  That’s where we’re headed now.  Once you’re checked in, you can catch the current to the rebirth center.”

“Wait,” I said as I finally managed to interrupt his monologue.  “I don’t know that I need to go to there just yet.  I really need to find a recently expired gatekeeper and talk with him for a few minutes.  Have you seen a gatekeeper?”

“Hmm.  Well, normally everyone’s at the check-in.  Most folks are ready for rebirth right away.  But, there are always a few who don’t want to go quickly; they want to rest up a bit first.  They always hang out at Starbucks.”

 

“Starbucks?  They really ARE everywhere.”

Greg tooted his horn and sped up as he turned a corner.  I hadn’t been looking around before this but the bottom of the cavern was actually a small town.  Greg turned into the coffee house parking lot.  I noticed that all the other carts in the lot were somber grey or black.

 

We went into the Starbucks and stepped in line to order our drinks.  There were three people in line before us: Two gnomes standing together chatting and one tall guy at the front of the line.  When his order was ready he grabbed the cup with only three fingers and his thumb.  That was my guy!  He walked to a corner of the store and grabbed a book from his back pocket before he sat in a comfy chair.  It looked like he planned to stay awhile.

We ordered our drinks and waited for them to arrive.  Greg was talking the whole time but I had tuned him out in favor of focusing my energy on the gatekeeper.  I needed to figure out a way to introduce myself to him without scaring him off.

 

Greg and I got our drinks and I walked toward the area the gatekeeper was sitting.  Greg followed behind me still talking.  The gatekeeper glanced up as I started to walk past and I knew it was my only chance.

 

“What are you reading?” I asked the gatekeeper.

 

“The Metamorphosis.  It’s one of my favorites,” the gatekeeper said glancing from me to Greg.  Fortunately Greg had shut up to hear the gatekeeper answer my question.

 

“Oh, I liked it too,” I said and quickly sat down before he could dismiss me.  The gatekeeper looked a little irritated but shut his book to be polite.

 

The gatekeeper placed his book on the table and sipped his coffee.  “I’m hoping my rebirth will be as exciting as the book.  I don’t want to be a gatekeeper this next go-around.  It was a dangerous job as you can tell since I’m here.  Murdered!  Angelica totally surprised me when she killed me.  That’s why I’m hanging around.  Not really in any hurry to get back into it again.”

“Don’t you care that the person who murdered you is now in charge of your gate?” I asked.  I told them all about Angelica’s schemes for revenge on her brother’s behalf.

“Well, since my essence is still on the gate, I can tell that the monster is not really in charge yet.  There’s a second monster that has gained partial control.  They can just duke it out as far as I’m concerned.”

“But there are people that are at risk, they’re dying.  They are cut off from their other dimensions and stuck inside their embassy.  Wouldn’t you want to help if you could?” I asked.

“Well, I guess so.   But what can I do?  Since there are two people controlling the gate, there is no benefit for me to move on quickly.  Neither can own the gate, so why rush?”

 

“How would one of the people become the owner of the gate?  There’s got to be a way.” I mumbled.

“Oh, there’s a way alright,” said Greg.  “But it’s pretty impossible.  One of the owners would have to come to the gatekeeper here in the Astral Lake and ask for the old gatekeepers blessing.  He would transfer his blessing to the owner and remove his essence from the gate.  I don’t think it’s ever been done though.  How could someone die and then go back to living?  I guess you could enter the current in the Astral River of Transformation and go to the rebirthing center but the likelihood of getting birthed into a gatekeeper again is extremely unlikely.”

“But what if you weren’t really dead?” I asked.

The gatekeeper and Greg looked at me like I was crazy.

 

“What do you mean?” the gatekeeper asked.

 

“Look, this is really serious.  Your gate is being controlled by someone who wants to change the monster world forever.  Between the three of us, we could stop her.”  I realized that I was laying it on a little thick, but Greg seemed to love the idea of being a hero.

 

Greg agreed, “It could be so fun!  But what could we do?  We need the good monster to meet the gatekeeper.”

 

“What if I said that I am the good gatekeeper?” I asked. 

 

The gatekeeper and Greg began to laugh.  

 

“I’m serious!  And I can prove it!” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the skeleton key.  The laughter stopped abruptly. 

 

“How are you doing this?  How are you here?” the gatekeeper asked.  “Are you dead?”

“Yes and no.  But I need your blessing and I need you to banish your essence from the gate.  I need to take over the gate so we can catch your murderer and put the dimensional embassies back to order.  Will you do it?”

The gatekeeper looked at me and then at Greg.  He looked down at his book and sighed.  He picked up his coffee cup and drank the last swallow. 

“Let’s do it.  I can always finish my book once I’m reborn.  Let’s go get this bitch.”

I thought the gatekeeper was going to change his mind when he saw Greg’s cart.  But he impressed me by quickly glancing around and climbing in.  I sat next to him and Greg started the cart and honked the horn.

“How do you give me your blessing?” I asked the gatekeeper.

“It’s pretty simple.  I just need to do a toast while we take a drink.  Greg is taking us to the local bar.”

 

Apparently the local bar was just down the street.  If I’d have known that I would have walked instead of ridden in the hideous cart, but it was too late.  We were here.

The three of us walked into the bar and it was a scene right out of Star Wars.  There were all these different types of monsters at the bar and at the card tables.  The smoke in the air was heavy and the music was blues.  I felt like saying, “these are not the droids you are looking for” but I figured no one else would think it was funny.

We approached the bar and the gatekeeper ordered three shots of some awful green sludge.  I sniffed the shot glass and it smelled like a mix between moss and mint.  I was not sure that I’d be able to keep the drink down, but the gatekeeper wasn’t worried about my sensitivities.

I sniffed it again and sneezed.

 

“Bless you,” said the gatekeeper in an automatic response to my sneeze.  Greg and I tipped back our shots and drank.  The gatekeeper’s eyes widened in surprise, he shrugged his shoulders and chugged back his shot.

 

“That was easy,” said Greg.