9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Pearl
“ M eow. Pbft.”
Mavis is hungry, again, so we feed her. It’s about time to start getting ready for bed.
Things took a long time at Rosa’s, which I feel bad about considering she had to stay closed most of the day to help us.
Then we did actual chores for Delia, like groceries and laundry and stuff, because I wanted to learn how things are done these days. It tired me out pretty early.
“Meow.” Mavis rubs against my leg before heading to her bowl to eat. Ever since the egg incident she’s been incredibly friendly.
“I’m gonna clean myself up, then I’m gonna put on a movie I think. I put the super magic gum in the fridge, so it doesn’t accidentally melt or something. Also, so Mavis can’t get at it,” Delia says as she heads out of the kitchen.
“Sounds good to me.”
As soon as she leaves, I open said refrigerator, snag a piece of turkey meat, and hand it to Mavis. The cant gobbles it up greedily, butts my leg with her head, then returns to her normal food as she makes that strange wheeze-purr sound. I pat her head and exit the kitchen.
As I’m walking through the living room, about to pass the front door, there’s a knock.
It’s strange, considering the hour, and that Delia told me she rarely has visitors.
Generally, I would consider it rude to answer someone else’s door; however, I can hear that Delia is currently in the shower.
This would be one of those times it would be appropriate to answer, I would think.
As I’m debating, there’s a second knock.
Oh, heck. I’ll do it. It’s a nice town, who here could cause any trouble?
Smiling brightly, I pull open the heavy door—which is much more difficult than I’d anticipated, with my weight being so unfortunately low—and freeze. It seems there is one person who can cause trouble after all .
“You gonna invite me in, or what?” Mr. Brigley asks. He puffs his cigar, a cloud of smoke floating into the room.
“Uh, Delia doesn’t allow smoking inside,” I squeeze out. Gotta buy time somehow.
“Oh, well, if the hostess insists,” he says in a mocking tone as he drops the cigar to the hall floor and grinds it out with his shiny, brown shoe.
Brigley pushes past me, crumpling my shoulder and nearly knocking me over. He plops his massive body down onto Delia’s sofa and stares at me as I shut the door. All the shadows in the room seem to lean into him as if he were some kind of magnet for them. His mustache twitches and he sniffs.
“Sit, Pearl. Can you sit? I don’t know what you can do when you’re—what the hell are you? Cardboard? Fucking Christ. Just sit down.”
I scramble to sit in the chair across from him. Anything to keep him from making me poof before we can find a way to get him to eat the gum. If we can.
“Where are the other girls?” he asks. Right to the point, I guess .
“Are you going to kill them?” I stammer out. My turn to get to the point.
“Yes. Now, where are they?”
“At least you’re honest.” I huff out a laugh filled with no joy. “Why would I tell you if you’re going to kill them?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll kill Delia.”
“What’s to say you won’t kill her, and me, once I tell you anyway?” Come on, Delia. We gotta get this guy.
“Guess you gotta trust me. What other choice do you got?” He looks around the room.
“Don’t see anyone who can stop me from snapping my fingers and taking out whoever the fuck I want.
All you people are lucky to still be here.
Everyone in this goddamn town is only here because I haven’t wiped them from existence.
So, you’re gonna do what I say, Pearl, or your girly goes bye-bye. ”
“I’ll tell you.” Delia stands in the opposite doorway, in her pajamas, water dripping from her hair. “Just warning you that we haven’t found them yet, so I don’t know what kind of condition they’re in. We just got the magic to locate them today.”
Brigley slaps his muscular thighs and smiles at me. “See, doll? That wasn’t hard. Let’s get this over with.”
Brigley stands as Delia shoots me the briefest of glances. In that short glance, however, I see one sentiment: I’ve got this .
“It’s in here. It’s from the candy store. You’ve gotta chew it.” Delia waves Brigley toward the kitchen as she starts to head there.
“That fucking family is nothing but trouble,” Brigley mumbles as he follows Delia.
I hop up and follow them. The small kitchen feels cramped with all three of us in it. Delia stands awkwardly in front of the refrigerator, flexing and unflexing her hands and feet. Brigley stands stone still watching her.
“Get to it, Rogers,” he barks.
“Okay, okay,” she says as she opens the door and points to the lone piece of gum on the shelf. “You just chew it, and you’ll know which direction to go to find them. Easy.”
“Very easy.” Brigley turns to me. My stomach drops. He sets his massive hands on my shoulders and crumples them in the process. I wince in pain. “Now, you chew it, and I’ll follow you.”
“What? Why me?”
“They’re your teammates. Besides, I don’t trust you two for shit. This way, I know it’s safe.” He pushes my shoulders harder. There’s an awful sound as a piece of my neck tears. I can’t hold back my scream and the pain shoots through me.
“Stop hurting her! We’ll do what you want, just stop!” Delia screams, pulling at his arms.
Brigley lets me go. I slump forward and watch the wobble of the rubbery, pink strand slowly leaking from the crevice between my neck and shoulder, before standing upright again.
“ Merrrg ,” Mavis says, an angry sound I didn’t know she could make.
I look down and see her, fifth and sixth legs out, standing protectively over her food dish. It seems she doesn’t like the perceived threat to her dinner. Me either, buddy .
“What the fuck is that thing?” Brigley asks.
“It’s a cant. And she’s wonderful,” I reply. “Anyway, I’ll chew the gum. No worries.”
Delia looks at me with terror in her eyes. “I can do it, Pearl. It’s okay.”
“Nope, I’ve got it. It’ll be fun,” I say in the cheeriest tone I can work up as I open the door. I grab what I need from inside the refrigerator. “Hey, Mr. Brigley. Did you see the claws on Mavis’s extra legs? If you look closely, they, uh, look like baseball gloves.”
“They what?” Brigley crouches close to Mavis, squinting at her spider-like legs, as I wrap the piece of turkey against the side of the gum.
“Yeah, they’re so strange. Hey, what did the baseball glove say to the ball?” I wave the turkey-covered gum just to the side of Brigley’s face, but a little behind, so Mavis can see it and he can’t. Her eyes widen at the sight of it.
Brigley turns to me, mouth open, ready to snap his cap at me for making a joke. Then I do what’s just about the most cockeyed thing a dame could do. I lunge forward, and I cram the gum past his gums.
For a split second he’s too shocked at my moxie to do anything, the turkey-wrapped piece of bubblegum half in, half out of his mouth as he crouches in front of Mavis.
He doesn’t take long to react, though. As Brigley slowly stands, I hear the “ hehhppff ” sound of him beginning to spit the gum out—but not before Mavis does as I’d hoped she’d do.
The cant locks her eyes on the turkey, springs upward on her extra legs, and grabs at it. The man pulls back, reflexively sucking the gum back into his mouth in surprise. His teeth close on it, just once. That’s all it takes.
Brigley freezes in place and the change begins immediately.
His size rapidly decreases, all his strong muscles wither away, his back becoming hunched.
His hair falls out and turns grey, until it’s nothing but a few white, wispy strands.
Brown teeth clatter to the floor. His skin becomes nearly transparent where it isn’t spotted and splotched.
Joints turn twisted and swollen. His eyes become cloudy, and they no longer have the frightening look they did.
Eventually, he falls to the tile in a fetal position, wheezing but alive.
The only other sound while Delia and I hold each other for the next few minutes is Mavis licking at her paws, until I finally speak up.
“Catch ya later. Get it?” I mumble. Delia huffs. “What do we do now?”
“I think we should take him to the hospital. ”
“What if he poofs someone?”
“I don’t think he can anymore.” Delia crouches next to Brigley. Fear races through my stomach. “Mr. Brigley, can you talk?”
The old man shivers and coughs before speaking so quietly I can hardly hear him. “Could you bring me a blanket, dear?”
“You shouldn’t be on the floor, coach. Let’s get you somewhere warmer.” Delia lifts the man.
If you’d said she’d be able to carry Brigley an hour ago, I’d have laughed, but things sure have changed.
She carries the frail man to the sofa, covers him in blankets, then turns to me. “Will you call 911 on my phone, please? You remember how right? Tell them there’s an old man at this address who fell and needs an ambulance. Do you remember the address?”
I nod. It makes the torn area of my neck hurt, and Delia looks concerned when I wince. I smooth my features as best as I’m able. “Yes, and yes. I’ll call now.”
I scramble to find her phone and stylus, and when I do I make my first phone call on a modern phone. The ambulance arrives surprisingly quickly and all the things they have in their vehicle are really impressive. I have to wonder how often people think about that sort of thing.
Mr. Brigley is taken to the hospital with sirens blaring at top volume. Delia calls Rosa while I attempt to tape my neck back together. I hope it heals. I hope I can heal.
“Did you get it? I can help,” Delia says as she walks into the bathroom where I’m standing in front of the mirror, checking the finished job.
“No, thank you. I’ve got it. Just hope it works. Everything alright with Rosa?” I turn to her and set my hands on her waist.
Delia kisses the center of my forehead, then the tip of my nose. “Everything’s just fine. She’s calling to tell Angelo to bring the other stick of gum back to her. I don’t know what she’ll do with it. None of my business. Now we have to find the other girls.”
The mango-chili lollipop Rosa made is supposed to help us find my teammates.
I guess the way it'll work is when it’s sweet, it'll mean we’re far from the girls, and when it’s spicy we’re close.
Hopefully, it works. If what happened to Brigley is any indication, then her spells should work just fine.
“Well, tomorrow, we can find them.” I sigh. “I know we should find them now but it’s nighttime and I’m tired. Is it selfish to wait?”
Delia takes my hand and leads me to the bedroom. “We’ll just get up early.”
“ Pbfft ,” Mavis says.
“I’m going to make Mavis an egg in the morning before we go.”
Delia looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “Whatever you say.”