#a sister or some bullshit. but jackie and i know the truth.

[night-dark-woods]

ID. screenshots of destiny dialogue.

Mara: Any further questions, my Wrath?

Petra: Just one. What did you love about her?

Mara: I could list reasons until Sol burned out, but they would be... lacking in complete truth. We do not love rationally. We just love.

Last image is a simple drawing of a figure laying facedown in a puddle of tears. End ID.

[jackandmarksavedme88]

The Magic of Love

"Anna!" Marvin called out "Kacey and Caleb are here!" Marvin walked to the door and opened it as his girlfriend Anna bounded down the steps. "Marvin!" Anna's sister Kacey exclaimed as she walked inside. She gave him a hug and then her sister. Her boyfriend Caleb shook Marvin's hand and they all sat on the couch. "Soooo are yall ready for tonight? I cant wait for the pictures im going to get out of this" Kacey said, a glint in her dark green eyes She had talked Anna, Marvin and Caleb into going to their city's cemetery after dark. She wanted to shoot some pictures, and, Marvin knew, see if she could catch something paranormal. Anna thought it was weird, but agreed to go because Marvin wanted to. Caleb tagged along because he was the jealous type...They all walked outside to Kaceys truck and climbed in, laughing and chatting as she took off. ******* "Oh come on An!" Kacey teased "You cant seriously go back to the truck already! We have been here thirty minutes tops!" "I dont care K! I am majorly creeped out and hearing creepy shit isnt helping!' Anna whined. "But i need Marvin for these shots!" Kacey said, annoyed at her sister. They were only 14 months apart and were at times best friends. Except for two years ago when Anna and Marvin began dating....... all the times she told Anna she wanted to make a move on Marvin, only for Anna to do it first..... But Marvin was happy and thats all that mattered to Kacey. She looked over at Caleb, who stood against a tree. "Babe. Do you want any pictures done?" He looked her way, brown eyes staring intently at her and then Marvin. "No. Not really.... If you want i could walk her back to the truck" "Are you sure babe? I just want to get a few more shots of him with the fire and stuff. The colors look amazing right now!" She and Caleb had been dating a year. Sometimes she got the feeling he didnt like Marvin, no matter how many times she told him there was nothing to worry about. He was just her best friend and sisters boyfriend. But hed softened in the last few months. He smiled and walked over and kissed her head "Yes darlin. Im sure. Ill take her back over there and sit with her. Maybe she will want to come back in a little bit" Kacey smiled at him. "Thank you so much!" She went to her tiotoes and kissed him again, then turned to Anna "Ill be done in just a bit. Promise" she hugged her sister 'then we will get out of here. Nothing is gonna hurt you" she teased. Marvin walked over "well duh. Id hurt it worse" he said as he kissed Anna's head. "We'll get ice cream after this babe, ok?" Anna smiled at him. "Ok hon. I love you" she kissed Marvin and then she and Caleb started for the truck. Kacey smiled at Marvin and he walked back over to the old gravestones. "So. Shall i pose like...this" he grinned cheekily and posed with his butt stuck out and a finger to his lips Kacey laughed out loud "oh yeah. That's it. This is the REAL magic" she raised her camera and snapped a picture before Marvin almost collapsed into giggles "Okay. Okay" Kacey said breathlessly "Lets actually finish this" Marvin grinned "good to see i can still make you laugh that way. I was afraid you had forgotten how' Kacey cocked an eyebrow at him "What do you mean?" Marvin looked at her, a serious expression on his face "i dont know. It just seems like since you got with Caleb and i got with Anna, we dont hang as much. We dont....i dont know" Kacey knew what he meant. She and Marvin had been attached at the hip before Anna. More often than not, youd find Kacey asleep on the Septic boys couch. Marvin had been through everything with Kacey. "Well. When youre dating my sister its a little off to just invite myself over like i used to" Kacey laughed. "We are just older" Marvin looked down "yeah. Just...dont forget me. Ok kid? Its not illegal for you to still be my best friend and at least text me" Kacey smiled "ok. Im sorry. I just didnt want Anna or Caleb getting the wrong idea..... How about in a couple of days when Anna works i will come over and we can have lunch and hang out until she gets off?" Marvin's smiled returned "Ok! Ive got a couple of new scary movies we can watch! She doesnt like them, and its no fun watching them alone" Kacey grinned "Deal...now let me get some shots of you" Marvin smiled and produced green flames in both hands "okay. Go ahead" *************** At the truck, Anna and Caleb were talking about life, and Kacey while listening to the radio "So, Marvin and her have always been close?" Cakeb asked "Oh yeah. They were attached at the hip! Shes close with the other guys too. But her and Marvin have that kind of friendship where they can have a whole conversation based of facial expressions." Anna laughed. "You dont ever....worry about how close they are?" Chase asked quietly Anna looked at him for a moment and then shook her head. "No. I mean, i trust that she wouldnt want to hurt me and he wouldnt either" "And if he was with someone else, wold you tell them to worry?" Anna thought on his question and answered slowly "Well....i dont know. I mean... Kacey and Marvin are hard to explain....." She sighed "To tell the truth. Yeah. If he was with anyone that wasnt me, id tell them to worry. Not that they would fall together out of spite.... I think it wouldve happened organically... If you and I hadnt come along" she laughed "When we were younger, like early 20s, the boys would call her their sister-in-law and our mom would call Marvin son-in-law..... The expression on their face when it was *me* that he started dating was priceless". Caleb was quiet for a long time and Anna patted his shoulder "You have nothing to worry about. Im not going anywhere and neither are you." "Yeah. I guess" Caleb grumbled.... Its just that.... He stopped suddenly. "What is that noise?" There was a crackling coming over the radio. Anna frowned and tried changing stations, but it just continued. "What the hell-" she shrieked as the headlights cut on and illuminated a man standing there. Green eyes glowing. Caleb strained his eyes to see the mans face "Who the hell is that???" The man raised his head, an evil grin plastered on his face. Anna knew who it was. She had seen him all of two times ever, and both times one of the guys ended up hurt. "Anti! What the hell-" 'Who is Anti!?" Caleb yelled "Its....hard to explain. Hes.... Well. Hes a glitch demon" He stared at her as if shed grown three heads " What the fuck do you mean by demon???' She swung her head around 'Well theres not a whole lot i could fucking mean Caleb!' She tried the door but the electric locks were stuck fast "Damnit!" She pulled her cellphone out, but there was no signal. In a last ditch effort she reached over and began honking the horn Anti glitched to the side of the car before they could blink. Kitchen knife glinting in the moonlight. He opened the drivers door. Caleb shrinking back into the back seat and Anna in the passenger "Ah. Anna... Good to see you sweet" 'Anti. What the fuck do you want?!?!" He giggled his staticy laugh "oh anna. I just want your little boyfriend to suffer" he smiled a sharp grin. "Now...come here!" A red string shot from nowhere and wrapped around Anna's wrist Caleb went to jump to the front when Antis knife sank through his stomach. Then a few more times for good measure "Ah ah ah. Now now. Look what you made me do Caleb boy.... Shame. I liked this interior" Annas eyes widened in horror and the scream that had been lodged in her throat came loose as he pulled the knife out and Calebs blood sprayed across her and the truck. As he slumped to the floorboard Anti grabbed Anna again ******* Kacey and Marvin had begun walking when they heard the horn. They were at the bottom of the hill and couldnt see anything....as soon as they heard Anna scream they sprinted the last hill They saw the truck with the doors open, Anna was nowhere in sight. Kacey dropped her camera stuff to the ground and tried to get passed Marvin but he kept blocking the backseat view. He could see Caleb slumped to the floor "Marvin move!! Get out of my way. I need to look--" "Kacey! Stop!!!" "Marvin i need to find my sister!" Marvin screamed at Kacey "Shes not there damnit!" "Then what the hell are you block--" she stopoed as all color that had been left drained from her face. She begain shaking her head. "No...no no no. " She shoved Marvin hard enough that he fell to the ground and scrambled over him to the truck. She screamed as she saw caleb and she pulled him from the back floorboard on the the ground. She head his head and cried "Caleb! Baby!! Look at me!" He weakly blinked and shakily raised a hand to her face, blood smearing her cheek "Kay--... I...love you" Kacey cried "baby. I love you too. Dont talk like that. You'll be fine. We can get you to Henrik... Caleb???" He smiled weakly and then his hand dropped and the light went out in his eyes "Caleb?! CALEB' Kacey's screams tore through Marvin. Along with the fear for Anna. He was looking around for anything...any clue....and then he saw it.... A red string tied onto Calebs wrist "Anti" Marvin spat. Kaceys head shot up "you mean....Marvin that psycho has my sister!!!!" "Yeah. And i know where hes going too..." Marvin picked up a small card that had *Warehouse* written on it. He called Chase and Henrik, they started on their way to the cemetery. "I swear he will pay K" Marvin said, his eyes practically burning. He couldn't stand seeing her so broken. And he couldn't stand that he had Anna. He turned and began walking.. "Bullshit. Im gonna be the one to make him pay for Caleb" Kayce said. She kissed Calebs head and laid him down gently and stood up. She ran to catch up to Marvin "No. Kacey, this is dangerous' "Marvin. I dont care. Thats my sister!" She shot back. The look in her eyes he knew there was no arguing with her. He sighed "Promise me when we get there, you get Anna and get the fuck out. Ill text Jackie and he can meet us there. But you will not engage that sonofabitch, do you understand me?" He said authoritatively. "Anna would never forgive me if you got hurt, and id never forgive myself" Kacey glared at him and nodded "Fine. But if he hurts you i swear.." He stiffined "if he hurts me you will run and not look back. Got it?" Kacey glared at him and didn't answer. They began to walk the couple of miles to the abandoned warehouse ********* Anna screamed as the knife cut across her stomach. "Now now. Dont blow out your vocal chords. I want Marvy to hear you cry for him when he gets here" Anti cackeled. "You sonofabitch. Hes going to kill you" Anna spat out at him. Anti threw his head back and laughed. It made Annas skin crawl "Oh anna. No. He wont. There will be death tonight. But not mine. No no.... First im going to carve you in front of him. And if your sister wants to come along, maybe ill let him watch me kill her too..... Orrrr" he said sming evilly "I could wrap him in my strings and make *him* do the dirty work" Anti giggled Annas brain raced. 'Oh God, no. Marvin would lose his mind if he hurt one of us. Even if it wasn't his doing.' She thought "Now." Anti said, placing a rope around her mouth to gag her. "You stay here and be a good little girl, Ill make your death quick" He walked away and shut off the over head light, plunging her into darkness. ****** "There!" Marvin exckaimed as they came over a ridge. "Theres the warehouse" Kacey started to run and Marvin grabbed her, gripping both her shoulders and getting into her face "Kacey...i dont know whats going on in there... I dont know if Im going to come out of this unscathed. But i promise you will. I promised Anna a long time ago, way before we started dating that id take care of you. I intend to keep that promise. You hear me?" Marvin asked, tears in his eyes Kacey nodded her head, crying "Marvin dont you dare die on me. Do you hear me?' She shot back. "I need you....i always have" with that she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "Eh hem." Thry both jumped and Jackie walked into view "So...are we gonna lovefest out here or go inside and kick that glitch bitch's ass?" Marvin nodded and began down the hill. Jackie stopped Kacey "Dont worry. Ill get him out of there. You and Anna just get to safety" she nodded and hugged the hero and they follwed Marvin down and to the door to the building Marvin slowly opened the door. The three of them stepped inside. Marvin searched the wall and found a row of switches. He flicked one and an overhead light began to burn slightly. In the dim light he could see Anna, tied to a table. He swore aloud as Kacey ran past him to her sister "Kacey! Stop!" She froze.... Suddenly aware of the static in the air. "Mar--marvin?" She whispered shakily "Just walk slowly back to us.Now!" She began stepping backwards and suddenly ran into a body. She turned and screamed as he grinned and grabbed her by the throat. Anna began thrashing on the table and Marvin and Jackie began to come towards them Anti spun and stood behind Kacey and placed the knife to her neck as he stared the magician and hero down 'Ah ah. Dont come any closer boys. I rather like Kacey. I wouldnt want to have to hurt her" Anti said "Anti. Let her and Anna go you asshole!" Marvin yelled "Cmon Anti. This isnt about them!" Jackie said, eyes wide in fear and anger. Kacey shook as tears ran down her face, the cold metal of the blade on her throat. "Now now Kacey girl" Anti purred into her ear "No need to shake and shiver. Its very simple. If Marvin agrees to give me control, you and your sister can go" Jackie's eyes widened "Anti. Let them go now! You know its not going to happen!!" Anti smiled at Marvin and Jackie "Oh? I mean. He swore to protect them. His allegiance for their lives! Thats my offer! Though. It is funny" he sneered and lowered his knife "If i didnt know any better id say the way your thoughts are racing, Kacey is the one youre in love with Kitty Cat. Isnt your girlfriend the one on the table?" Marvin glared at Anti as green flames formed in his hands "Shut up you freak" he spit "Kace! Down!" Kacey dropped to the floor as he shot his power at Anti, catching him off guard. As soon as it him him a bolt of blue exploded into his chest and threw him into the wall. Jackies eyes were blazing and he and Marvin were more than ready to fight Kacey scrambled to her sisters side as the boys began throwing their powers and punches when they got close enough. "An. Im gonna get you out of here. Ok?" Kacey pulled her pocket knife out and began to cut the rope. She got the gag out of her sisters mouth and then cut her arns and legs free. Anna sat up and Kacey hugged her "Im so sorry Anna" kacey cried "Kacey. You didnt do this..... Im so sorry about Caleb. He tried to save me" Anna said as tears rolled down her face The girls turned to watch the fight. Kacey searching for a way to get to the door. Suddenly Jackie was thrown into some barrels and was dazed. Anti started for the girls and Marvin grabbed him, electricity coursing through him as Anti tried to glitch away "Kayce. Take Anna and go!" "No! Marvin I-' "Kacey! You promised! Leave!!!" Kacey shook her head as tears fell and she pulled Anna off the table. They began to go for the door when they heard a sicking crack and laughter They turned slowly. Color draining as they saw Anti standing alone and Marvin halfway through the wall behind him, struggling to try and stand. "Now now girls." The glitch growled "Kitty boy didnt take my offer. Your turn" Kacey barely blinked and suddenly Anti was behind Anna. She tried to pull her away but Anti was stronger. "No!' Anna started to fight with Anti but he backhanded her to the floor. He began to stalk toward her when Kacey tackled him to the ground and started wailing on him, screaming like a banshee "You stupid asshole. Dont touch her! Don't touch my sister ever again. I swear ill kill you! For caleb! For Marvin! For Jackie!" Suddenly her world went black as anti shot a green bolt that hit her in the face *** She could hear her own heart beat. Everything was hazy. Like she was under water. She could see Marvin....he began running toward where Anna and Anti were...and then he went flying back. Jackie was cradling Kaceys head and shot a blue light at Anti, the glitch dodged it and sneered. Then he got a shocked look on his face and turned, a long cut on his arm. Anna had grabbed his knife and sliced him open. He glanced down at it and then growled at her "Dont you hurt Marvin anymore! Or Kacey! " Anna screamed. "You little bitch!" Anti growled. He grabbed his knife from her and backed her into a corner. Across the room Marvin was fircing himself up from a pile of rubble. A piece of rebar had pierced his shoulder. Not deep enough to go all the way through. But hed have to get out of here before losing too much blood. He stumbled up in time to see Anna cut Anti and Anti grab the knife. He saw his girlfriend being backed into a wall and knew what was coming "Anna! No!" He screamed as he ran. Knowing hed be too late. Knowing Jackie would be too late They both almost collided into each other as they raced for Anna. They reached that point a half a second too late. Anti plunged the knife deep into her stomach and twisted it as she screamed and glitched away, disappearing with a cackle. Marvin caught Anna as she fell. "Baby?! An!!?" She began to cough. Blood coming from her mouth 'Kace....Kacey ..wheres Kacey?" She whispered weakly Kacey crawled over to them. Screaming when she saw her sisters injuries and the blood coming from her mouth "Anna! No! No! You cant-!' "Marvin---you-you promised youd take care if her' Anna coughed weakly 'Dont forget that ok...ok?" "Anna. You and me both will. Dont talk like that" Marvin cried out. His heart breaking She smiled sadly. "Marvin. I love you..... Dont ever forget that.... I want you to be happy. When the time is right. Be as happy as you want. Dont be sad on my account babe..." "Anna! Stop talking like that! You are going to be fine. Youll be ok! " Kacey cried as. Jackie wrapped an arm around her She smiled at her sister as tears rolled down her cheek "and you- you take care of him for me....make sure hes happy.... I love you " she grabbed her hand She leaned her head into Marvins chest and began to shake "Im so cold baby" she whispered. Marvin clutched her and felt the life leave her "Anna?! Anna no!!!!!" He screamed, mixing in the air with Kaceys sobs ******************* It had been a year. One year that he started going to that damn grave to talk to her. One year that hed been occasionally sleeping in the graveyard. One year since he stood by Kacey as she buried her boyfriend and her sister in the same week. A year since hed buried his girlfriend. Marvin hadnt come out of that warehouse the same. He never used his magic anymore. He had begun to drink more. He rarely came outaide except at night But one thing he did do was keep an eye on Kacey. They all did After the ordeal the guys had moved her into the house. The nightmares were hell for them all at first until Henrik found the right medicine to give her. Marvin could still hear her screams sometimes. Tonight Henrik had worked late and Marvin had been laying in bed, his door opened and Kacey had walked in, shaking and crying Marvin sat up "Kace. You ok??" She shook her head "I was- i was waiting for Schneep because he had to get a refill of my meds but he got stuck at the hospital and-- i just couldn't keep myself awake and....and" she began to cry. Marvin jumped up and wrapped his arms around her and smoothed her hair "hey. Hey. Shhh. Its ok" he steered her toward his king sized bed "Cmon. Come lay down in here. You can sleep in here tonight. " She nodded and climbed into the bed. When Marvin lay down she scooted over and put her hand on his arm. Craving a human touch. All she could feel when she tried to sleep without the medicine these days was Anti.... Marvin smiled and slid and arm behind her head and pulled her into him. She lay her head on his chest and sighed. Feeling guilty for being this comfortable. Marvin ran his hand up and down her arm and talked to her about her books and movies. Anything to distract her thoughts. "Marvin?" She whispered "Yeah Kace?" "Thank you..... Youre the only one that can make me feel safe...and even though you hurt like i do..you never hesitate to make sure i know youre here' he wrapped and arm around him and hugged him and then yawned. "I love you..." Marvins heart jumped. How many times had she said that to him? Almost none since that night. "I-i love you too Kace. And im always here..ok?' She snuggled into him and was asleep in minutes. Marvins mind was racing. He had the urge to kiss her face. He knew shed freak out so he didnt. He was also freaking out. "What the hell are you doing man?' He thought to himself. "This is Kacey. Your best friend... Your girlfriends"..... He stopped his thought "No. Anna is gone....This is your best friend who has gone through hell and back with you. Don't fuck her up more" He glanced at Kaceys sleeping face. He brushed her hair back. Wondering if she was eating ok. Shed lost about 30 pounds this last year, but she didn't move around as much or go out as much, Marvin made a mental note to have Schneep do a workup on her in the morning and then drifted off holding her *********** Days passed. Kacey was sitting on the back porch. Chase cane outside and sat with her "Hey! How are you today?" He smiled at her "Im ok Chase. Actually i feel pretty good! " Chase laughed "you seem like youve been sleeping better!" Kacey blushed, not knowing that the boys knew shed been sleeping in Marvins room. They knew it was nothing. That it was just that it seemed to help more than the medicine but she was embarrassed Chase smiled teasingly "Yeah. Marv is pretty cozy to lay against. He gets really warm" Kacey smacked his arm "Shut up!" Chase laughed loudly and patted her shoulder "oh calm down. I get it. You feel safer. I know. Dont worry about it" Kacey leaned her head on Chase's shoulder "Chase....can i tell you something?" 'Kacey. You can tell me anything' he said seriously "Sometimes i think if all that hadnt happened... Id have kissed him by now...." She said quietly Chase wrapped an arm around her shoulder "Kacey..... Its been a year . No one would blame you if you admitted to him how you felt...how youve felt for these last few years. Everyone else knows it...hell even Anna-...." He trailed off "Even Anna knew if she wasnt in the picture youd be with him" he finished quietly and Kacey sighed "Yeah. But now its like...... Wrong" "Why? Because you love him. Because you want to see him happy again?" Chase asked "No...because when he looks at me, im afraid thats all he sees, is her" Kacey said "Kace....she was your half sister. She was blonde and had blue eyes and was tall. You are short with auburn hair and green eyes.....youre your own kind of person." She shook her head "Thats not what i mean. Ill say little things that she used to or make gestures that she did. And i never noticed it until Marvin would flinch when i would do it...." She said sadly. Chase turned to look her in the face "Look. All i know is. Anna asked you two to take care of one another. She loved you both and wouldn't want you two moping around. Neither would Caleb. Theyd want you two happy. Even if that meant with each other. You cant help who you love hon" Kacey swallowed hard and nodded. Chase patted her on the leg and looked at his watch 'welp. I gotta get outta here. Im meeting the kiddos at the movies. Ill see ya" and he bounded down the steps and began walking down the street. ***** That night Kacey lay in the living room. Determined to fight the urge to go to Marvin. She needed to grow up. Her phone buzzed with a text She grabbed it and seeing it was from Marvin opened it M: hey...are you mad at me? K:No....why would i be? M: Well youve avoided me all day and its two hours past your bedtime. Whats up? K: i just dont want to be a burden is all M: Cmere. Please? Kacey set her phone down and thought for a moment and decided to go talk to him. She grabbed the phone and walked up to the top floor and walked into his room "Whats up?" She said as she sat down on the bed Marvin was sitting in the chair at the desk behind the door and turned to look at her "Its just...ive gotten so used to you sleeping in here...i dont know" he said sheepishly "I just thought i was bothering you' Kacey said "No!" Marvin said quickly. "Kacey...i.... I havent slept that well until you started coming in here." He admitted. "Its nice having someone close" Kacey blushed "okay.... If youre sure" Marvin stood and walked over to her and crouched so he was eye level with her and out a hand on her leg "yeah.. Im sure. I like having you in here......" Kacey smiled at him and brushed his hair out of his face "o-okay...Ill stay Marvin" Her eyes caught his and her heart jumped. Had they always been that blue? He stared at her a long while and hesitantly leaned forward "Kacey I....." He put a hand on the side of her face Kaceys heart began to race and she leaned forward "Marvin...." When they kissed, Marvin saw fireworks. He always thought that was a cliche...but there it was. Her hand snaked behind his neck and she deepened the kiss, craving his closeness. She pulled him to her and she lay back on the bed, he laid by her and continued to kiss her, stroking her hair, planting kisses on her forehead and cheeks and then back to her lips. Finally they parted and he lay backwards. She rolled to his chest and buried her face "Marvin i...i didnt.... " Kacey stammered. Embarrassed at how she had kissed him him....at how she wanted more Marvin was breathing hard and rubbed her arm up and down before he spoke "Dont apologize. Dont you dare. We are both adults and youre not the only one that wanted that" he said. His voice husky. They lay there in each other's arms in the silence for a while. "Kacey?" "Yeah Marvin?" She looked up at him. He shifted so she was laying and he was propped on one arm 'Can...can i kiss you again?' He asked quietly Kacey swallowed hard and just nodded, then reached for him and wrapped her arm around his neck as he captured her mouth with his. Their need for each other growing more apparent and scaring the hell out of Marvin. He ran kisses down her neck and back to her lips. Craving her. He wrapped his arm under her head and lay on her gently, burying his face in the crook of her neck and kissed her as her hands gripped his hair and she whimpered, not knowing how to feel about how good the kisses felt. Her hands ran under his shirt and and he shivered at her touch. He leaned up and smiled as her and his hand crept under the hem of her shirt, Kaceys head leaning back at his touch. He kissed the hollow point at the front of her neck and then her lips as her hand found his and pushed his further upward. Ready to give all control over to the only man shed ever trusted to go this far. ************* Weeks passed. They never said anything in front of anyone, but every night Kacey was in his bed. And every night Marvin reminded her how much he needed her. It was midday and Marvin and Kacey were the only ones home. She was sitting on the counter as he cut vegatables. "Kacey...im tired of hiding this' he said suddenly She looked at him 'What do you mean?" He walked to her and stood between her knees and wrapped his arms around her waist, her arms wrapping around his shoulders "This. Us." He said seriously Kacey blinked and smiled at him "well. Youve never established an 'us'" It was true. They hadnt labeled it. He didnt call her his girlfriend "I-i mean.... If you want this to be an....us" he stammered She giggled "Marvin. Is this your way of asking me to be your girlfriend. Because you're floundering" Marvin blushed and took a breath "Im asking you to let me be yours. Let me love you the right way.. ." he said staring into her eyes. Kacey studied him for a moment "Thats the one thing ive always thought id never hear.....ive always wanted to though" she said quietly "Kacey...will you be mine?" Marvin asked. Kissing her nose She smiled at him "Marvin. Ive always been yours. I was just waiting for you to catch up" and with that she kissed him hard "Ehhh heee hemmmm" Chase cleared his throat, scaring the crap out of the both of them. Henrik and Jack stood with him and they all three burst into laughter. "God damnit you guys!!!" Marvin shouted and threw a dish towel at them. You werent supposed to be here for that! "Oh yeah. Like none if us know about yall" Jack said laughing "Please. You two couldnt be more obvious if you wrote it on your foreheads!" "Yeah. Marv. You dont hide lovesick very well" Chase said laughing "Nor de scratches that bleed through the back of your vite shirts Bruder...Kacey. Cut you nails before you give him an infection" Henrik said With that Jack and Chase collapsed on the floor, howling in laughter at Kaceys facial expression and the. She too began to giggle uncontrollably "Schneep you asshole" she sputtered through her laughter "Well-" Marvin said "At least i know they like you!" The five of them again laughed for a long time. And then Marvin walked back over and kissed Kacey on the mouth and smiled. "I love you" She smiled back,knowing she had found her place "i love you too"

[beinglibertarian]

Onward, Collectivist Soldiers

As I contemplate where I fit in my current relation to the State and its politically-correct and uptight sycophants, I realize not much has changed since Catholic school. If I benefited at all from the tutelage of nuns, it’s in being able to identify when I’m being indoctrinated or hoodwinked.

The first few years of my scholastic career were spent at a Catholic school in New Jersey. It was there that I, along with other kids with last names like O’Dowd, Vigliotti, Rispoli, and Gomez, were first introduced to the doctrine of original sin.

Sister Nazarene told us a sin was whenever a person did something wrong. God would not like it if we sinned, and if we sinned, he would damn well know all about it. You couldn’t hide from God. Apparently, a really long time ago this guy Adam and this broad Eve did something so bad that we, the first grade class of St. Francis Albert of Hoboken School, were guilty of it too.

As unreasonable as this seemed at the time, we were taught to understand that God was really pissed off. And touchy. 

You see, before the beginning of time, God spent a whole summer making this place called the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve. Eden was this groovy resort where people could just relax forever and ever, just as long as they behaved. By and by, good ol’ human imperfection had its way, and Adam and Eve goofed up. God was so hurt and insulted that he decided from that moment on that every Vigliotti, O’Dowd and Ferrara, as well as the Changs, Goldbergs and Patels, would be culpable for what those two Biblical miscreants did. Forever and fucking anon. He was God, after all. 

Do you know what the transgression was? What Adam and Eve did that was so damned bad? They ate an apple. Not just any apple, but a super apple that had magic powers. Some wiseguy who looked like a snake called Satan told them to do it. He beguiled them. Sister Nazarene said that to beguile someone was like tricking them. As I recall, many us felt at that moment that we were being beguiled too. But God help ya if you asked any questions, or wanted clarification. You’d get a smack on the knuckles with a ruler faster than you can say Galileo Galilei. 

Anyway, after they ate it — the apple, that is — Adam and Eve became smart. Turns out, God didn’t like smart people. Folks like that might want to find a meaning for things. They might find joy and fulfillment in intellectual pursuits, or in the labor of their discoveries. They might want to build stuff, make tools and what not, and shape the world according to their needs, according to their vision.  

“Bullshit,” said God. “That’s my department. Who in the Hell do you bipedal monkeys think you are, muscling in on my action? From now on, your lives will be hard and mean and your kids will have it hard too. Now get out of here and don’t come back!”

This was called the expulsion from paradise. God did not like competition. When we would grow up, we would find out that most people don’t like competition either.

As we matriculated — that is to say once we got to the second, and then third grade — some of us Catholic kids started to think that all this original sin jazz was nothing but a bunch of malarkey. We looked for a Garden of Eden on the globe in our classroom and found none. We read up on snakes. They can’t talk, let alone beguile. Apples, while having some nutritional value, can’t make you any smarter than a rap on the head with a ball peen hammer. 

Then, somewhere along the way, we were taught that this other guy, Jesus, died for all of our sins, lock, stock and fucking barrel. 

“What gives?” we wondered. “How can there be original sin and Jesus too?” 

We had a lot of trouble wrangling with this paradox. Mrs. Alverone, our third grade teacher, said a paradox was when something didn’t really make sense. And how!

Eventually, due to either boredom or mental exhaustion, all of us kids gave up our pursuit for the truth in favor of more lofty pastimes like dodge ball, smear the queer, and pouring salt on slugs. Halcyon days! 

Still, it bothered me: being guilty of, and then having to atone for, things I didn’t do, couldn’t do, wouldn’t do, and had nothing to do with. A few months later I broached the subject again with my pals.  

“Maybe original sin is just a way to remind us all that people are imperfect beings,” Crazy Dominick said while burning some ants with a magnifying glass.  

“Well, shit,” I said. “You don’t need Biblical scripture to teach you that. Just look at how Fat Arnie swings a whiffle ball bat: just like a girl. And what about Jackie Smith dropping that pass in the end zone during the Super Bowl? And just look at how corny M*A*S*H has gotten since Alan Alda took over.”

Indeed it was a world fraught with imperfection. All we kids could do was observe, contemplate, and avoid the wrath of the nuns by never getting caught doing anything fun.

More and more it began to dawn on me that teaching us that we were all born guilty was just another way for the church to keep folks in line. 

Think about it: if you’re constantly apologizing, you’ll never have time to do much of anything else, especially disobey, think critically, or pursue your life’s ambitions. I guess I was a late bloomer, but by the time I was ten years old I came to the grim realization that people like holding dominion over one another, especially with vague concepts, opaque language, and moral absurdities. And if those methods won’t work, brute force and violence will do the trick just fine. “Miracle, Mystery and Authority,” as Dostoyevsky once put it. 

It goes without saying that aside from those obligatory funerals and weddings that pop up from time to time, I haven’t willingly stepped into a church since Jimmy Carter cured cancer. The way I saw it, you should stay away from people who want you to feel bad. Little did I know, assholes abound.

Now listen: if you think that living in a world that has begun to cast aside archaic concepts from the early Mesozoic era will free you and me from the efforts of dimwits to encroach on your sovereignty through didactic chicanery, think again, tough guy. Plunderers of the spirit will always seek new and improved ways to turn their contempt for joy into a moral crusade. Why? Because people like fucking with other people, and the best way to fuck with someone is to defame them from up on high in the lofty strata reserved for those with a knack for judgment and a lack of self-awareness.

Nowadays, when I observe the world and the myriad discussions, arguments, diatribes, and commentaries that our fancy-pants, interconnected culture is heir to, I see new versions of the old skullduggery popping up all the time. And so do you.

Aren’t terms like “privilege”, “cis-gendered”, “patriarchy”, “carbon footprint”, “intolerance”, “unfairly disadvantaged”, “triggering” and the like, bandied about by people claiming a moral authority steeped in victimhood, just as sanctimonious and illegitimate as that of the church and its so-called divine morality? I’m not saying that all of those terms are inherently bad in and of themselves; a just and fair world is a thing to aspire to, just like a world free of sin and talking snakes is. If annoying, PC bromides help the cause, so be it. They won’t, but hey, don’t progressives need something to do too? 

Where the trouble starts is when an elite class of people, the heads of civic organizations, the clergy, media dolts, or politicians throw condemnatory terms about in an arbitrary and self-serving manner to stifle anyone who disagrees with or challenges them, all in the name of righteousness.  They think that by forcing dissenters into a posture of constant apology and atonement for intangible transgressions they can either alienate or eliminate them without the trouble of firing squads, cattle cars, inquisitions and re-education camps. Meet the new douchebags, same as the old douchebags. They’re just less blood-thirsty and well, kinda, wimpy.

In the world of the collectivist headcase, the collective is the Garden of Eden, and being met with the collective’s disapproval for things he may or may not have done, or advantages that he may or may not have, is akin to the expulsion from Paradise. But who told them we wanted to be part of their world anyway? 

It wasn’t okay when the church thrust upon us their ecclesiastic version of a full nelson and it’s equally offensive when modern-day demagogues do the same with their new-fangled concepts of original sin. But I don’t blame stupid people for using shortcuts to thinking; that’s what dummies do. And I don’t blame connivers for selling snake oil. What pisses me off is when people who know better allow themselves to be pushed around by these turds and their lexicon of defeatism. 

The bottom line: don’t let anybody make you feel guilty for your own life. Especially if the shame being thrust upon you is the last ditch tactic of an inferior mind that wishes to hold sway over you because their own existence is so damn uncompelling to them. That there is some bullshit.   

As writing this article has now become a tedious affair, and in order to avoid being redundant, I have provided below a post-modern to Biblical translator. Those of you with even a modicum of parochial education will find it helpful… but if your parents were jerk-offs and you went to a Montessori school, then not so much. As it is incomplete, feel free to add your own variables and expressions. I hope this helps out. Extrapolate and deduce as you will, big shots.

Privilege = Original Sin

Reduce your carbon footprint = The Ten Commandments

Cis-gendered = Lust

Patriarchy = Sloth

Intolerance = Pride

Non-Vegan = Gluttony

Trigger = Wrath

Global Warming = The Flood

Climate Change = The Rapture

Bruce Jenner = Jesus

Oprah = God

Michael Moore = John the Baptist

Jordon Peterson = Satan

Individualist/Libertarian = Heretic 

Bill Maher = Doubting Thomas

Ron Paul = Nebuchadnezzar

California = The Promised Land

Corey Booker = Moses

Taxes = Acts of Contrition 

This article represents the views of the author, and not those of Being Libertarian LLC.

The post Onward, Collectivist Soldiers appeared first on Being Libertarian.

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[huffle-dork]

Written in the Cards (Part 7)

(There’s a certain head cannon in here from @reverseblackholeofwords! See if you can figure out what ;3)

Jackie was filling his utility belt with everything he would need for a mission: bandages, pain reliever, smoke bombs, and a sam keychain for good luck. He double checked to make sure his suit was fine, his armor adjusted right and his beaten up shoes were tied. He nodded but paused. His whole body felt stiff and tired, even though it had been so long since that last fight with Phantom. Maybe he had been going too hard too fast? He shook that thought off with a small laugh. A hero never rests, too many people to save.

He moves to head out from the balcony door and has just started to climb over the gate when he hears the front door rattle before it’s swung open, revealing a breathless red faced Marvin, mask pushed up on his head.

“Jackie!” Marvin called, pushing back his sweaty hair as he stepped into their apartment hideout and Jackie’s body tensed. He looked out at the street below in longing but knew that he was caught.

“Ah, hey Marv!” Jackie smiled nervously. Marvin approached him and settled his hands on his hips.

“Get down from there Jackie, we gotta talk,” Marvin ordered, giving Jackie a withering look. The hero sighed and lowered himself from the balcony edge and timidly approached the magician.

Marvin swallowed as he noticed Jackie wouldn’t meet his eyes. “You… you keep leaving for missions without me. Without even telling me. Why…?” Marvin tries to keep the hurt out of his voice but he sees Jackie flinch slightly and knows he’s failed.

Jackie quietly picks at the bits on his suit before he answers, “It’s nothin’.”

“Bullshit,” Marvin accused, “You’re avoiding me and i wanna know why!”

Jackie winces again and grits his teeth before he snaps, “I said its nothin’!”

“Stop lying to me! Jackie we’re friends please just be honest with me!” Marvin pleaded, trying to reach out to Jackie’s shoulder. The hero stumbles backwards and finally mets Marvin’s eyes. He looks terrified.

Jackie takes a shaky breath but he spits, “Fine. You want the truth? I just wanna work alone for a while!” Marvin’s face falls.

“Why…?” He pleaded.

The hero’s shoulders fell and he looked at the floor, “Don’t make me say it Marv…”

Marvin balks and tries to think and gasps once he realizes, “Is it because of what happened with Phantom? T-That wasn’t me Jackie! You know that! And i already apologized like a thousand times!!”

“It’s not just that,” Jackie said dryly, rubbing his face. He looked so exhausted, “I just… You’ve gone through so much shit lately Marvin. I don’t want to add onto that.”

The magician blinked, confused, “But I’m doing so much better now! I feel stronger than i've ever had!” Marvin lets his hands fall to his sides, crestfallen, “I just want to help…”

Jackie smiles and lightly pats Marvin on the shoulder, “I know you do buddy. But let’s just give it some time, okay?” Jackie then springs back up to the balcony as he calls behind him, “I’ll catch you later!” Then he plunges off the edge and goes off to find crime to fight, leaving behind a downcast Marvin. Marvin headed back to his own apartment with a heavy heart.

Hours passed and Marvin flinged the cards he was working with for a new trick onto the coffee table in frustration. He got up and started pacing, trying to think about what could be making Jackie act this way. He’s never denied his help before, Marvin knew what a hard job crime fighting was. Marvin sighed and grumbled slightly to himself, “Something is wrong… or am i crazy?” He shook his head and messed up his hair, “I should ask Schneep, maybe this is a side effect of everything?” He shrugs to himself, “worth a try ain’t?”

Marvin makes his way to the hospital, knowing Schneep would either be here in his office or at home passed out. How the guy survived with a job like this, Marvin would never know. He walked inside and made his way down to the offices, quietly knocking outside the office marked Henrik Von Schneeplestein MD. But there’s no response, even though the lights seem to be on from the soft glow emanating from the frosted glass. Marvin frowns and tries again.

“Henrik? You there?”

More silence greeted him. The magician reached for the door knob to see if it was locked, only to feel a shock go up his hand. He knew this feeling. Someone had opened this door with magic. Powerful, familiar magic.

Marvin bursts through the door to find the office in shambles. Equipment has been strewn across the floor, medicine spilled and scalpels and rolls of gauze everywhere. Chairs that lined the walls are flipped and tossed around. Schneep’s desk is a mess, papers thrown all over, pens cracked and spilling ink. Marvin’s heart is hammering in his chest. His foot touches a syringe lying on the floor filled with a bright glowing liquid. Next to a trail of blood dripping from the tip. Marvin picks it up and studies it, hardly able to breathe. HIs fingers tingle with another sensation of the magic he felt earlier and he furrows his brow. Schneep most likely would have used this in self defense, why would his attacker enchant it? Marvin closes his eyes to figure out what kind of magic was used and feels the true shape of the object. He pulls the veil away and reveals that the syringe was disguise for something else.

An ace of spades.

Marvin’s blood runs cold. He knows the symbolism of cards. The ace of spades, also known as the card of death. What could this mean? Is Schneep… dead?

Why would Phantom kill Schneep? How did he escape?

While those were important questions another popped into his head and sent a shiver down his spine: Was he going to go after the others?

Marvin quickly stuffed the card into his pocket and rocketed out of the room and down the hall. He had to find Jamie and Chase!

Jamie’s building was close by, a nice brick covered building that reminded Marvin of something out of a 30’s cartoon. Afraid of being spotted Marvin closed his eyes and shifted into the form of a black and white cat. He then sped up the stairs and searched for Jamie’s room.

He found the room number and noticed the door was cracked open. He swallowed and used his head to push open the door. The front room was dark, a lamp smashed against the ground, sending glass across the floor. There looks like there was less of struggle here, just a couple objects crashed against the floor. Marvin accidently walks across a smashed frame and he yelps slightly as the glass slices through his paw. He licks the wound before he nudges the picture to see what it was. In it Jamie has his arm looped around another man that looks like Jack, but his face is covered in ink and he can see the hint of a character in the background he swears he recognizes from somewhere.

He’s distracted from his thoughts as something shines in the light in front of him, hidden under a table as if flung under there. Marvin pads over to it to see it’s Jamie’s pocket watch. He grabs it in his mouth before he gets back out and returns to his human form. The watch pulses with magic and Marvin uses his trick before to reveal its true form. An ace of hearts.

Marvin blinks as the card is different this time. The ace of hearts doesn't have the significance of the ace of spades but there were ways to interpret it. The ace represents hidden desires. The heart represents lightheartedness and childness. Jamie to a t.

Marvin didn’t understand. Was this supposed to mean Jamie was dead like Schneep? Or just a calling card that was here?

There wasn’t any time to waste however so Marvin hid away the card with the other one, once he was sure the coast was clear. Marvin then turned back into his cat form and headed out of the apartment and back towards the street, heading for Chase’s apartment.

Chase lived near the outskirts of the city, close to the suburbs. Probably so he was close to his kids after the split. Marvin knows his way to his room well, going there often for tea breaks and advice from his fatherly friend. He climbs up the stairs on auto-pilot and finds himself at his door faster than he expected. Marvin shudders as he sees the hint of bullets shattered into the door. He taps the door with his paw and the door swings open with an eerie creak.

Marvin’s hackles raise with the amount of magic spewed in here. He sees scorch marks lining the wall, some still smoking even. The tv in the living room is sideways and skipping as it sparks, the screen ringing with static. The whole room is cast in the black and white noise as Marvin crosses silently across the floor. A couple tea cups are smashed on the floor, some tea pooling under a couple. An array of nerf darts litter the floor and Marvin prays that’s from Chase playing with his son and it wasn’t something he used for defense against the con man.

Marvin’s foot knocks against another picture frame smashed against the ground. He turns it over and sees it a picture of Chase with his family, smiling wide and laughing. Marvin feels that magic again and presses a paw against the surface and watches as it reverts into another card.

The king of hearts. The suicide king.

A crash in the bedroom has Marvin’s head jerking up and he’s leaping across the floor towards the sound. He screeches across the floor and stops when he sees the source.

Two small kids had tumbled out of the room, the boy holding out a nerf gun like he’s ready to fire despite his knees shaking and his sister clinging to his leg. The boy lowers the gun in confusion and sniffles, a bright purple bruise on his cheek.

“It’s a cat?”

Marvin drops his cat form and slowly rises up to his feet, “Kids, oh my god are you alright?” Marvin didn't even realize it was the weekend.

“Uncle Marvin!” The boy cries and soon he’s wrapped around Marvin’s leg and sobbing, his little sister taking the other one. Marvin’s heart melts and he leans down and scoops the kids up into a warm hug.

“Greyson… Skylar… Can you tell me what happened?”

The little girl, Skylar, clings and hides her face in Marvin’s arms, shaking her head and shivering. Greyson slowly forces himself to talk through his tears, “M-me and daddy were h-having a nerf war while Sky watched c-cartoons. Then all of a sudden a man bursted in with scary red eyes! And a scary cane! Then Daddy was p-pulling outa gun a tried to shoot the bad guy but he turned into scary s-smoke! Then someone grabbed m-me and Sky and held us tightly and the bad guy pointed to us…” The boy’s body shook so bad as he tried to remember and he’s clinging to Marvin’s shirt like its a lifeline. “He… he said he was gunna kill us and m-mommy unless Daddy signed s-something! A w-weird paper and Daddy looked scared. H-he started to cry and asked the bad man not to hurt us, then the guy holding us threw us in the bedroom and locked us in. I h-hit my face on the floor…” He rubs his face to wipe his tears.

Marvin’s head is spinning. Why wasn’t he faster? Why couldnt he get here in time? But at least now Marvin knew Phantom wasn’t killing them. He wasn’t sure he felt much better though, knowing they were being forced to sign deals with that devil.

He quietly shushed the kids and held them tighter, stroking their hair.

“It’ll be okay little dudes… I’m gonna take you home… and your mommy will make everything better,” His mouth felt funny saying such nice things about Stacy but the kids didn’t need to hear his disdain for the bitch right now.

“W-What about Daddy?” Greyson asked, blinking up at Marvin. He tugged on Marvin’s sleeve and whispered, “Are you save him Uncle Marvin?”

The magician swallowed and nodded, petting Greyson’s hair, “Yes. I’m gonna bring him home safe.”

Marvin struggled to think of a plan as he calms the kids down. One part of Greyson’s story stuck out in Marvin’s head.

“Say kids… Did you get a chance to see who the other person with the bad guy was?”

Greyson shook his head and rubbed his bruised cheek, “No… i hit my face when he shoved us in…”

Marvin looked over to Skylar and rubbed comforting circles into the small girl’s back. “Did you see Sky?” The little girl slowly nods her head. Marvin picks her up so he can see her better and balances her on his lap, “Can you tell me sweetie? It’s going to help me find your Dad faster.”

Skylar takes a while to respond, picking at her tea stained dress. Then suddenly she whispers, “U-Uncle Jackie…”

Part 7.5: [x]

[theforgottengn]

Just Sleep, Just Dream

Characters: India, Delta, X-Ray, Uniform, Zulu, Golf and Jacqueline Forbes

Word Count: 3,685

Trigger Warning: Swearing, Violence, Blood, Death

A/N: The end. It’s pretty long too and I am sorry about that. I tried my best with this little India Company adventure and there are a few things I wish I changed but I hope whoever reads this like it.

Parts: X, X, X, X, X, X

Summary: The gang heads to New York to track down a bank CEO suspected of running an underground gambling ring. But surprises come in all shapes and sizes. And the truth is always what you least expect it to be. Click that read more if you want.

XXXXX

When she came for him he didn’t know what to expect. He hadn’t been in a situation like this one since he was young. He had spent every waking moment trying to prevent this exact thing from happening. Feeling like a helpless young boy was the last thing he wanted. The door opened slowly, letting in a small portion of light, and she walked down the stairs.

She crossed the floor in silence and stood less than a foot away.

The woman said nothing as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to a standing position. Quickly wrapping a black cloth over his eyes and ears; she blocked out his sight and muffled his hearing. She told him to be quiet and not to worry. He nodded and let her take his hand. Remaining as silent as a stone he let her guide him up the stairs and out of the basement.

Just like that Uniform was that little kid he tried so hard to stop being.

Helpless, afraid, and alone.

Memories of years before, of things he wished he could forget, flooded his brain. The situation was all too familiar. Every single detail was almost the exact same; from the blindfold to the cuffs on his wrists. He hated how he felt at that moment. He hated it back then and hated it even more now. He wasn’t supposed to be in this position.

It was supposed to be the opposite.

He heard a door open and was shoved inside a room. Hearing the door shut, and lock, behind him sent a nervous shiver down his spine. Forbes sent him falling onto the bed with a hard shove. Uniform did not like anything about this. He felt the mattress sink as she climbed on top.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

He didn’t know what to do so he just nodded silently.

He could feel the bed move as she moved closer to him. She unlocked the handcuffs and removed them from his wrists. Then she did the same to the cuffs around his ankles. He let out a small sigh. Sexual kinks were one thing but he had a line and he drew it at cuffs. She reached behind his ears and undid the blindfold. It delicately fell on to the bed without a sound. Then with no warning or ask for permission she started to kiss him. Her hands grabbed his and put them on her body.

“Let me,” he said.

Then he took control of the situation. Turning her on her back he got on top of her and started to run his hands down her arms. Grabbing the end of the shirt she wore he pulled it over her head. Uniform threw the shirt behind him and it landed on the floor silently. With her shirt off he moved to unbutton her pants.

“I’m not going to have to worry about you getting clients pregnant am I?” she asked grabbing his wrists violently.

“You won’t need to worry about that from either of us,” he said.

Forbes cocked an eyebrow; silently urging him to reveal more. Uniform was unsure of how much he could actually say. And how was he supposed to say it so that she wouldn’t catch on to the reality of things. If she found out the truth then his plan would fall flat. If that happened there was a high possibility that neither of them would survive the night. After a minute or two he sighed and summed it up for her.

“Mom and dad, they, were conservative and strict to put it lightly. When they saw that Zo and I were growing up they felt the need to put a stop to it. But that wasn’t the end of it. They took it upon themselves to make sure none of us could have children.”

“Your parents did that to you? Oh my gosh, how awful!”

Uniform said nothing.

“So… Zoe and Urban are your real names then? And you two are actual brother and sister?”

“Adoptive siblings, so to speak, yes. But we are lovers off and on as well. To be quite frank I love her more than anything in the world and I’ll do anything I can to keep her safe.”

“Sentiment,” he said with a shrug.

She started to say something else but he shut her up with a deep kiss. He knew exactly what he was doing. Forbes would not be getting the upper hand this time. Uniform just got it and was not about to give it back. Moving to kiss her neck he reached down and unbuttoned her pants; pulling them off her legs. As he ran his hands up her thigh, to remove her underwear, she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. Then he threw her panties to the floor as she tossed her bra to the side of the bed.

Only then did he take his boxers off.

When they finished Jacqueline got up and started to redress herself.

“That was good,” she said. “Not the best but good.”

“Trust me, ma’am, I can do better.”

“We’ll see about that.”

With that she left and closed the door behind her; locking it.

XXXXX

Zulu came to with a splitting headache and the feeling like she was about to hurl. Blinking the nausea away she surveyed her surroundings. The room she was in was not the basement. That much was clear. But the room was dark and she couldn’t see much.

What is it with this woman and drugging people?

She reached around and tried to get a feel for her surroundings. Her hand hit something that felt like a foot and she jerked back in shock.

“Hello, little one.”

“I get that I’m short but you have got to stop calling me that. What do you want anyway? Come to beat on me some more?”

“I know I bite but I mean well. Trust me, I really do.”

Zulu scoffed; “You expect me to believe you?”

Forbes nodded.

She laughed loudly; throwing her head back.

“Is something funny?”

“Yes. You, you thinking that you have some power over us. Newsflash, lady. You know nothing about us and we know everything about you.”

“Oh, really?”

“You really think we’d come at you half-assed? Seriously? Boy do I have news for you! I had been listening to your phone calls, and he had been tailing you, for an entire week before we met you.”

“You think you’re so smart but you had no fucking idea about us until we wanted you to.”

“And who has the power now?”

She had wanted to hit this woman before but she wanted to do it even more now. She didn’t care about what would happen after. None of that mattered. And besides this woman kidnapped people and forced them to be sex workers. There was no reason for her to stay alive.

“I promise I will bury you alive.”

Jacqueline smacked her across the face.

But Zulu was done with this bullshit. She had enough of this woman and her stupid little games. She wanted more than anything to put a bullet between this woman’s eyes. It was bad enough that she had sex with Uniform. But if she was being honest with herself Zulu wasn’t upset about that. The thing that pissed her off the most was that Forbes got the upper hand on them. That she abducted them, kept them in fucking basement, and ripped a nail off her finger just to break them down.

Unbeknownst to Forbes they had been broken down years ago and could not be broken any further.

“You are so dead for that.”

Forbes ignored her comment and turned her back; started to walk out of the small room. But she stopped short in the doorway. Then she turned back around and stepped back inside. Closing the door behind her she locked the two of them inside. She ripped a piece of cloth from the dress Zulu wore; it was already dirty and slightly tattered thanks to spending hours cuffed in the basement. Shoving the cloth into Zulu’s mouth she wrapped a section of tape around her mouth.

Zulu blocked out the rest when she blacked out from the pain.

XXXXX

With Jacqueline gone Uniform got up and began looking around. He started with the bedroom first as he was still there. It was nothing special as bedrooms went. Nothing fancy or elegant was inside the room. There had to be something that was an indication as to where they were being held. Forbes was a smart woman, that much was clear, but there was no way she was that smart.

He started with the bed; removing the blankets and mattress cover. But the mattress was not hiding anything as far as he could tell. Then he moved on to the nightstand. Opening the small drawer revealed absolutely nothing. Not even a speck of dust.

Squeaky clean, he thought. What else are you hiding, Wacky Jacky?

As he searched the rest of the bedroom he tapped his ear comm. to life and sent out a call.

“X, Del, India, Golf? Anyone listening?”

A chorus of worried replies filled his ear. He let out a relived sigh; hearing their voices. Uniform patiently waited until they calmed down a bit to say anything. Besides he didn’t have much to say in the first place. Knowing only that the building had a basement and a ground floor didn’t help matters much.

“Zee-Bee and I are fine. Well, so to speak. Forbes abducted us, which you probably already know, but we’re both fine.”

Oh, thank god, Delta said relieved.

Where are you guys? X-Ray asked.

“Not sure. I was sort of locked up in a basement for the past few hours.”

How did you get out? India asked; curious.

“Simple. Coitus.”

Do you have to be so pretentious that you can’t even say sex? Seriously? X-Ray asked with obvious annoyance.

Un. Is Zulu with you?

“No, Del. She’s still in the basement.” Uniform said with a sad sigh.

Just keep your comm. on so we can find you.

How are we going to do that without Zulu? Golf asked the others.

Silence fell over the conversation. No one realized how important Zulu was to their operations until that moment. She did everything that had to do with the comm. system. Fixing them when they broke, catching interference from power lines or cell phone calls, and preventing others from listening in on their conversations. So naturally this job would have fallen to her.

I don’t know, Golf, but we’re going to have to figure something out, Delta said.

XXXXX

The team had regrouped at the safe house. And they all sat around the living room deciding what to do. They had enough information to get Forbes and pin her. But the problem was they still had no idea where she was. And where she was keeping their teammates. Or if they were all in the same place.

They just got off the comm. after a conversation with Uniform. But it had not brought them any closer to finding him and Zulu.

“How are we supposed to find them anyway?” Golf asked.

“Same way we always have,” X-Ray said. “We do have two solutions to this problem, after all. The triple tap and the trackers. So we pick one and run with it.”

“Exactly what I was going to say,” Delta replied.

After a short deliberation the team decided to use the trackers. They were rather old and somewhat unreliable but they had more advantages than the triple tap. For instance the trackers would pinpoint the exact location. There was too much possible interference on the comm. link without Zulu there to monitor it.

Golf got his laptop out and opened up the tracking program.

Golf decided to start off big with an entire map of New York state. He hoped it would be easier that way. He typed in both Zulu and Uniform’s serial numbers. There was the possibility that Forbes was keeping them in separate locations. They did not have room for error at the moment. Which was asking quite a lot from Golf.

“You okay?” Delta asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said with a nod.

He was lying to both himself and to the others. He was not okay in any sense of the word. The pressure was too much and his heart was beating way faster than normal. He could feel it. Golf knew he wasn’t skilled enough to do his job on a normal day. But all the pressure and time strains made it so much worse.

“I’m fine. I swear.”

Staring at the screen he waited for the blips to appear on the city map.

“How long is this gonna take you think?” India asked him after a few minutes.

Golf didn’t answer.

“Let him work, Indy,” Delta said.

“I’m just asking him a question, babe.”

“Why don’t we go get something to eat?” X-Ray suggested.

“Good idea, X,” Delta said with a smile.

None of them had eaten since the others went missing. And almost an entire day had passed. There was too much going on to even think about eating. They all were getting irritable and tired. Food was needed and it was needed now.

X-Ray and Delta got up and started to leave.

India stared at Golf; waiting.

“C’mon, Indy. Let’s go.”

“Fine,” she grumbled.

“You want to come with us, Golf?”

He shook his head and focused on the screen. Delta promised to bring him back something. He didn’t pay her any attention. His mind barely registered the sound of the back door as it closed. Once again he was alone in the safe house. But this time he was far too focused to be bothered by it.

“I found them, Delta. I found them.”

“We’re on our way.”

XXXXX

Zulu got up and took a fighting stance. She was not going down this time. Not again. Forbes had gotten the better of them far too many times that night. Her hands were curled into fists and raised; ready to strike. Suddenly the door of the closet burst open with a bang. Zulu swung a harsh left hook at whoever was there.

“Ow!”

Wait a minute…

X? How in the hell?

X-Ray stepped further into the room and ripped the tape off Zulu’s mouth. She spit the fabric out with a disgusted gag.

“Holy shit, X! I didn’t think that was you! Sorry!”

“You’re fine, Zulu,” he said; holding his nose in pain.

“Did you guys find Un?”

He nodded; giving her a once over. She was hurt a lot worse than he thought she would have been. Her dress was torn and dirty, both her shoes and jewelry were missing, and holes were in her tights. Blood was caked around the pointer finger on her right hand. Scuff marks were all over her palms and knees. It looked like there was some blood on her legs.

“Del, Zulu needs first aid,” he said into his comm.

You’re right there.

“I… I think it might be better if you do it,” he said quietly.

Alright I’m coming.

“No!” Zulu yelled. “I can do it myself. Just give your aid kit, X.”

X-Ray nodded and slung his duffle off his shoulder. Kneeling down he opened the second to last zipper pocket. Reaching inside he grabbed hold of the first aid kit. He held it out to Zulu and felt her grab it harshly. He zipped the pocket back up and readjusted the bag to his shoulder.

“You hear that, Delta? She’s going to give herself first aid.”

Copy that.

“I’ll give you privacy,” he said before leaving.

Meanwhile the others were about the small house. India was in the living room with Forbes; keeping an eye on her. She was tied up and currently unconscious. Golf and Delta were searching the place for any other evidence they could use. X-Ray walked into the living room and relieved India of her post.

“Where’s Uniform?”

“In the shower,” India replied. “He needed to wash the stink of this garbage off of him.”

She nudged her head in Forbes’ direction when she said this garbage. X-Ray was just glad that Uniform was safe. That Zulu was as safe as okay as she was. But he was even gladder that India was leaving. He was going to give this disgusting excuse of a human being what she deserved. When Jacqueline Forbes came back around she was going to wish she was dead.

Luckily for him the Ketamine was almost through her system.

It was bad enough that she played them.

They weren’t the best so that happened a lot. So that wasn’t that bad actually. Everything else she did was what angered him. He hated what he did with every fiber of his being. But at the moment he was glad he had knowledge he did.

Forbes stirred and slowly came to.

He took a knife out of his side pocket. Gripping it tightly X-Ray clenched his teeth. He knew that Zulu would have wanted to kill this woman. But he did as well. He stabbed the knife into her thigh and she screamed in pain. She fully came to and started crying for him to stop. X-Ray just smiled. Reaching into the front pocket of his duffle he took out a pair of pliers.

"You took her nail. I'm going to take all of yours."

A few minutes after he took her left hand pinky finger nail everyone came back to the room. Uniform was clean and showered. Zulu was still messy but as cleaned up as she could have been. She had done a pretty good job giving herself first aid after all. India, Delta and Golf had found a couple boxes full of paper evidence. And there was still the Macbook and Forbes' email. They had enough to justify anything.

“Are we going to let her live?” Zulu asked.

The others did not know exactly what had happened to her but they could tell that Zulu really wanted Forbes to die. Or to spend the rest of her life in pain. And that she deserved the worst possible punishment. Whatever they chose the punishment would not be enough.

“Do it,” India said.

“She deserves it.”

Zulu took a gun from X-Ray and cocked it. She put the muzzle against Forbes’ head. Her finger slowly closed around the trigger. Forbes stared at her with pleading eyes. Tears ran down the woman’s face as she pleaded with them to let her go. Just as she was about to full pull the trigger Zulu stopped.

Zulu dropped her gun hand to her side.

She turned to Delta and whispered something in her ear. The others looked at her with confused expressions. She just brought a finger to her lips. She was not going to give the secret away just yet. After a few minutes Delta came back inside with a couple of shovels in her hands.

Forbes’ eyes went wide in shock; “No! Please! Don’t!”

“Just shoot me, please,” she cried.

Zulu pulled her head back by a clump of hair. Pained tears rolled down the woman’s face. Zulu just smiled down at her.

“I made a promise and I tend to keep them.”

XXXXX

A few hours later Zulu dumped the last shovel of dirt on to the makeshift grave. They had dug it in the backyard of the safe house. It had taken them a few hours to dig the grave and to refill it with the woman inside. No one would have gone looking for Ms. Jacqueline Forbes in such a bad area. No one would find her for years. Even if they cared to look.

They all sat around the yard; tired and ready to go home.

Zulu spit on the pile of dirt. Uniform got up from the rock he was sitting on and walked over to her. Pulling her into an embrace he kissed her on the top of her head. Tears pricked at her eyes once again. But this time they were tears of joy. She was just happy to finally be out of that hell of a night. Uniform reached up and wiped them away with a finger.

X-Ray had stated gathering the shovels. With a two to a hand he walked them to the car. It was a bit too much seeing Zulu and Uniform like that giving the circumstances of things. And given the things he felt.

“You two will be okay, right?” Golf asked. “I mean you can’t have sunshine without having rain. Right?”

Delta, who sat next to India on the back porch, started singing;

I don't mind, no I don't mind, I don't mind the rain The simple things and subtleties they always stay the same I don't mind, that I don't mind, no I don't mind the rain Like a widow's heart We fall apart But never fade away

They all sat around watching the sun rise and once they were finished India called Stevens for an extraction.

“Does he know what happened?” Golf asked; worried.

“No. And I intend to keep it that way.”

The gang walked around to the front of the house. Piling inside the car they were all tired and covered in dirt. Delta and India were in the front seats. X-Ray and Golf were in the middle two seats; on opposite sides of the car. Uniform and Zulu sat all the way in the back; intending on getting some much needed sleep. This mission had taken a tool on the both of them and they needed much more than a nap.

Zulu leaned her head on Uniform’s shoulder.

“Smells like someone needs a shower,” Uniform said curling up his nose.

She laughed lightly and nodded. It was true. She had to admit that she smell pretty bad; blood, urine and dirt. Not a very good combo.

“I don’t want to ever fucking do that again,” Zulu whispered quietly.

“Don’t worry. You won’t.”

[fathersonholygore]

HBO’s Sharp Objects Episode 7: “Falling” Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée Written by Scott Brown

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Cherry” – click here * For a recap & review of the finale, “Milk” – click here At her mother’s house, Camille Preaker(Amy Adams) looks at a model home, the exact replica of Adora’s (Patricia Clarkson) house. She sees inside, all the rooms. The lights are on. Then she wakes, to find Adora in her room. Mom helped her out of her clothes last night, after Camille and Amma (Eliza Scanlen) had a wild time together. Having mom care for her in bed is eerily reminiscent of childhood, like Camille can never be anything but a child in that place with Adora, who’s unwilling to let her children grow up without a struggle. Meanwhile, Amma only falls further into her mother’s clutches, playing the role her mother wants her to play. Dt. Richard Willis (Chris Messina) is off, on information from Jackie O’Neill (ElizabethPerkins), searching for more information about her new flame. He’s looking to find out about Marian, the dead sister. A nurse suggests “Munchausen’s by proxy syndrome” killed the young girl— means maybe mama made her daughter ill. She could still be doing the same thing. The way she tries caring for Amma – only hungover – is very suggestive. Simultaneously, Dt. Willis didn’t tell Camille about the fact John Keene (Taylor John Smith) is getting arrested today. Chief Bill Vickery (Matt Craven) is executing the search warrant. He’s playing to girlfriend Ashley’s (Madison Davenport) narcissism, telling her if she helps them find John she’d get her “name in the paper” and her “face on TV.” She also says her boyfriend wouldn’t have sex with her, feeding the cops and their suspicions.

“Your health is not a debt you just cancel. The body collects, Camille.”

Camille heads over to a house on the lower class end of Wind Gap. The door’s wide open, the place is full of people. Best of all, it functions as a bar, and she’s dying for a drink. It’s there she runs into John. The two share a bourbon. He isn’t doing well, contemplating either going into the woods and killing himself or just having a drink then turning himself in. The reporter know how it is for a man in Wind Gap: “Guys aren‘t allowed to have soft emotions.” She straight up asks if he’s been “killing little girls” and he gives her a bullshit story, the one everyone wants to hear. What’s most likely is, the young guy’s heart broken over his sister, nothing more. But, so goes “ugly gossip” in their town. Between Camille and John we see the wounds of Wind Gap covered up by alcoholism— anything to make the pain fade away. We see Dt. Willis won’t let go of his suspicions. He’s finding out Amma has quite the extensive history at the hospital. Things as serious as a “g–tube” for abdominal issues, so that her mother could feed her directly to the gut. Yikes. It’s obvious, as time passes, Adora has serious mental problems. Her oldest daughter refused to let her mother doctor her to death. Her youngest daughter is stuck, unable to be “as good as someone dead” for Adora. Back at the motel, Camille takes John with her to let him sleep off his drunk and, hopefully, not do anything stupid. All the while the cops are searching for him. In the room together, they get closer. John’s gotten a glimpse of her scars. She lets him remove her shirt, her pants. He’s the first person other than her mother and sister who’s seen them laid bare. He’s not horrified, he understands that level of hurt. He reads all the words on her skin like a book. Then, they get more intimate. It’s more beautiful than when she and Willis had sex in the dark. Yet she’s crossing an ethical line, given she knows he’s got an arrest warrant out on his head. While Adora concocts some weird shit for Amma to drink, husband Alan (Henry Czerny) continues ignoring the clear mental illness of his wife, choosing to drink and listen to his vinyl records rather than protect his daughter, whom his wife is essentially killing. Adora’s only happy when she has a daughter to control, which is the reason Camille upsets her so much— she denies her mother sick purpose. After sex, John mentions “the lost girls” of Wind Gap that Camille’s mother was invested in. Then Dt. Willis and Chief Vickery bust in to arrest him. An awkward moment. Richard isn’t happy to find Camille there. The two of them talk briefly, though she doesn’t owe him anything. Dt. Willis is simply another man fighting over what he believes is his territory. Not like he wasn’t going behind Camille’s back, digging into her personal history. He goes beyond too far by calling her “a drunk and a slut” and really passing over what happened to her years before as a girl as something not capable of destroying a whole life. What a scumbag. At least he leaves behind medical records for Camille to look over, from which she might dig up the truth. This sends her to see Jackie, whose name is all over requests for information in the hospital records. Ms. O’Neill was looking for something. She was close to Adora for so many years, she probably saw things. Clearly she suspected nasty things. Camille’s then told her sister was cremated, even though there was a funeral. She’s mad Jackie “let it happen.” I bet more people let it happen, too. Camille runs out, upset by all she’s learning. She calls her boss Frank Curry (Miguel Sandoval). He feels bad for sending her home, telling her to fly back immediately. She refuses, knowing her mother has a new victim. She sees visions of the fabled woman in white, now with the face of her mother, standing at the treeline, as if calling young girls away into the woods. Even Chief Vickery’s beginning to wonder about the “sick” girls at the Crellin home. A chilling, subtle ending to this episode includes a cover of “The Willow Garden” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The songs have so well fitted the themes and plot of the show— this one’s no exception. Read the lyrics.

Sharp Objects is so perfectly adapted because the editing does so much of the storytelling, by diving into the past quickly with important imagery, telling us the tale of the history/histories in Wind Gap. I can’t rave enough about the style of the show. Amazing. “Milk” is our finale, and Father Gore, for one, cannot wait. Sharp Objects – Episode 7: “Falling” HBO's Sharp Objects Episode 7: "Falling" Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée Written by Scott Brown…