Cirque du Macabre 2: Cabaret Sauvage
Chapter 18: Gunshots in the dark (serialized urban fantasy)
Odry woke from a dreamless sleep. She couldn’t understand why was it so dark. The baby woke with her, kicking her stomach from inside.
Easy there, little one. We’re… we’ll be okay. I’m here. Mommy’s here… it was the first time she ever addressed the baby as a Mom. Even if it was only internally. Slowly she got back to her senses. The feeling was surreal - she laid in darkness unaware about where she was, or what would happen in a minute. The little kicks inside her stomach helped Odry keep the grasp on reality and not lose it completely. The baby was okay, safe and sound and with her. At least something good. Odry tried to move. Her hands were numb. She shifted her weight to lay on her other side.
Odry tried to focus. Her chances were grim. Tiberius wasn’t kidding but was he completely mad?! How did he plan to stop Odry from escaping? He couldn’t keep her tied up and blindfolded for the rest of her life! Or… could he?! And the baby? Odry didn’t even want to imagine what would Tiberius do with the little one. No doubt, he could afford to bribe a corrupted midwife when the labour day comes.
Am I stuck in a fucking Mexican telenovela?! It sure feels like it! Odry thought.
Tiberius would probably threaten Odry with something to keep her from using her powers, once untied.
Odry could not believe she begged Cassio, Linden’s murderer, to help her! The fact he showed mercy was even weirder. Why did he? Odry had always thought he was a ruthless villain, just like his father. Maybe Cassio was just a pawn in Tiberius’ game?
All he did was mirror his father’s cruel behaviour and follow his orders, but under the pressure Cassio had let his mask slip. Maybe he wasn’t a young Tiberius’ copy at all.
The key turned in the door. Somebody entered. Odry couldn’t get up on her own.
“How… how are you feeling?” Cassio approached and helped her up, “I brought you water and food. You need to use the bathroom?”
“Why are you helping me?” She asked straightforwardly.
“I… um…” He gave a nervous laughter. “I never wanted to shoot cousin Linden. He was a cocky son of a bitch, but he was family. Father says, “always respect family”,” Cassio paused. “Even if I would’ve shot Mateo, it would not be personal. Mateo is okay.”
“I would’ve shot you if it hadn’t been for Mateo. It would be personal. You came at me with a gun. I would’ve said it was self-defence,” Odry replied.
“I came to speak to you, bella. Would you listen if I hadn’t come with a gun? I never wanted Linden to die,” Cassio said apologetically.
“Is everything about guns in your world?”
“There’s not a problem a gun cannot solve, my father says,” Cassio said sternly.
“So, you always do what your Daddy tells you?”
“I have to. He…” Odry felt Cassio shake his head. “You want water?”
She nodded. Cassio helped her drink from a plastic bottle. He untied her hands, and let her eat, while he held her at gunpoint.
“I’m not taking any risks. Father will kill me if you’d escape,” Cassio spoke with a naïve gravity of a child.
A mangled little boy… trying to make his daddy proud. Just like Linden.
“Could you help me, Cassio? You’re different then I thought. Please, help me run. For Linden’s baby,” Odry whispered. She had to try her luck.
“Bella, it’s not right. But I can’t help you. You be grateful father didn’t sent Clarissa instead of me.”
One short moment Odry thought of using her telekinesis to rip the gun from Cassio’s hand, or make something hit him over the head, but… Cassio held the gun tightly. He might accidentally pull the trigger if she’d try something. Also, the room was almost completely empty. It was probably used as a resting room for the casino staff on their night shifts.
Cassio looked so much like Linden. Not just the black hair and the ghastly blue eyes, but something awkwardly miserable about him; he was a man broken by his father’s cruelty, just like Linden was.
“I… I’m sorry Linden will never get to see his kid,” Cassio said. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. Father had sent us to sniff around your theatre, but I wanted to speak to you privately…”
Before he had tied Odry up, they heard footsteps and voices nearing. Cassio focused on pointing the gun at Odry.
“I have news! Oh, don’t worry, Cassio! Don’t tie her back up. Odette belongs to me now, as well as the rest of the troupe, and if she tries anything, I might make the life of her friends very miserable.”
“Jean-Luc signed the contract?” Odry chirped terrified. Tiberius’ presence was menacing. Plus, his eyes had no glow in them, he was low on energy.
“Come, Odette! Come, greet your friends! They’ve arrived to live in the hotel and prepare for my new show!” He pulled her up by the arm rudely, despite his dark voice sounding sugar sweet. This dissonance was eerie, and Odry shivered from head to toes. Tiberius was a creepy monster hiding in a tanned, well-groomed skin-suit.
He dragged Odry through hallways and up the stairs to the casino hall where his show had been held. The dark stage stood empty with some dusty pieces of props lying around like long-forgotten corpses.
Odry saw them. The troupe huddled up in a bunch, still in their pyjamas, with Tiberius’ vampire henchmen standing all around, holding them at gun point, probably sucking their energy. Odry wished to protect them, but Tiberius’ gun at her temple reminded her, she herself needed the protection.
“Hon, you’re okay!” Daffy exclaimed. Winnie stood towering above the rest, trying to shield Danny and Rouge, who held the crying baby twins in their arms. The big guy was protecting them from those energy-sucking monsters, circling them like sharks.
“Kid…” Mateo nearly ran to her but the gun in his forehead stopped Mat in his tracks.
“You will move or speak only when I allow you to! Got it?! I expect a loud and clear “yessir!” Do you understand?!” Tiberius yelled at them.
“Yes, sir!” They replied in a chorus.
“Good! I want to see you on this stage rehearsing my choreography in thirty minutes!”
“Yes, sir!”
Odry heard some kind of a commotion coming from outside the hall. A security guy ran in and whispered something in Tiberius’ ear.
“So, Jean-Luc thinks his little band of merry henchmen will take us by storm?! What an absolute moron!”
Tiberius found a chair, and an electric cord connected to the wall. The hall was under renovation. He sat down like a king in his throne.
“Come closer, Odette! You really do remind me of the real Odette. Once you’ll get rid of that thing,” he gestured at Odry’s stomach with his gun, “you’ll be mine.”
Odry shook with disgust. She felt another panic attack coming.
She heard gunshots, people yelling. Bastille was not defeated. He would hire a small army to save his troupe! Contract or no contract, he wouldn’t care! He probably signed it just to get more time.
Tiberius hid his gun and took out his phone.
“Good morning, Jean-Luc! As you can see, they’ve arrived at their new home safely! I hope my boys didn’t cause you any trouble, when they came for the troupe?” Tiberius grinned into the phone screen, he turned it toward the troupe and Odry, so that Bastille could see them through the video call.
“Burning down my house and kidnapping my troupe wouldn’t be considered a polite invitation! You’ve never had a good sense of style, Tibbey!”
Odry darted her eyes at Mateo and Winnie. Gina was not with them. Did she escape the fire?! Winnie whispered for Odry to see “Gina okay”.
“According to the contract you signed, the troupe belongs to me!” Tiberius bellowed, his hand shook, he definitely couldn’t handle the pressure like Bastille could.
“Look at them! They’re mine! And… And your Odette! I’ll fuck her morning night or day and send you the footage! Secret files of Cirque du Macabre! What do you say to that, motherfucker?! I’ll drown your little bastard as soon as she shits him out! Look at her!” Tiberius lost all self-control yelling into the phone screen, moving it around frantically, and shoving it into Odry’s face.
“I’ll use her every way that I can! Come, love! I need a recharge! If you try anything, my boys will feast on your friends!”
Tiberius sat down again and handed Odry the electric cord.
“Clarissa, hold the phone up! I need Bastille to see this!” Tiberius shoved the phone in his daughter’s hand.
“Sure thing, daddy!” Clarissa’s malicious, sugar sweet smile was as creepy as her father’s.
“Cassio, come closer! Shoot Odette right in the belly if I say so!”
“But father!” Cassio exclaimed frightened.
“You heard me boy??! Next time you talk back at me, I’ll strangle you with my bare hands, just like your good-for-nothing mother!” He didn’t even hide it!
No wonder Cassio is so screwed up!
The racked outside got louder, Tiberius was extremely low on energy, judging by his bleak irises. Odry had to do something! Danny’s and Rouge’s babies cried. Mateo was barely bracing himself not to run toward Odry, bullets or not! She didn’t want him to take that bullet to the chest! Odry looked into Mat’s eyes. Oh, how she wished to erase all those dark months she hurt him, just because he ruined her perfect revenge!
“Go on, Odette! Charge me with energy now! Look Bastille, your little human-power-plant will serve me! And when I’m good and charged, we’ll go and have some fun upstairs in the best suite, love! Why wait?!!”
“No!” Mateo yelled enraged and desperate.
“Matty! No!” Odry’s voice stopped him from racing toward her. Odry felt the electricity sizzling in the bared wire.
Tiberius grabbed her hand in a painfully tight grip.
“Go on! I’m ready!”
Odry saw their faces, her troupe, her family. Bastille looking at her through the phone screen. Though his face remained calm, Odry saw pure despair in his eyes. Bastille’s henchmen were still shooting and fighting Tiberius’ men outside the hall. Cassio’s gun pointing to her stomach.
Suddenly Odry knew exactly what to do. Or what she should try to do.
I’m sorry, little one! We must save them, even if it kills us!
Odry knew how to regulate the amount of the energy she took; she definitely could control it. So, she took all she could. An enormous wave of electricity rolled through her body. Odry shrieked. It felt like the energy flowing through her would rip her blood vessels apart!
At first Tiberius gasped with delight, but after some seconds his eyes began to glow like two light bulbs, he tried to rip his hand away from Odry, but she wouldn’t let him.
“Let go, bitch! It’s too much!” Tiberius shook in cramps, “Cassio, shoot her!”
The gun shook in Cassio’s hand, still pointing at Odry.
“Shoot her now!”
“Shoot her, Cas!!!” Clarissa shrieked, looking at Tiberius shaking in cramps uncontrollably.
“Shoooot ‘errrrr!” Tiberius blurted, his eyeballs bulging out like two blue-shining tennis balls.
Before any of his henchmen had shot Odry, Cassio was quicker. He pointed the gun at them.
“Anybody tries to shoot her, gets a bullet in his brains from me!” He screamed at them.
Everything had happened in a space of minutes. All the lights in the hall blinked like a giant rave party, Odry shrieked.
“Aaaaaarrrrgghhh!” Tiberius gurgled, with blood coming up his throat and out his mouth. The enormous amount of energy Odry dumped into him, fried Tiberius’ system from inside. Blood vessels popped, eyeballs hung out their sockets, blood flowed out his mouth and ears, until an explosion shook the whole building, and all the lights went out. Odry had created a short circuit and left the whole casino and hotel Salvaggio in darkness.
The chaos, the noise - Tiberius’ men screaming, gunshots blazing in the dark.
“Run, bella!” Cassio yelling.
“I got her! Everybody follow me!” Mateo bellowed. He had a perfect eyesight in the dark, he led the troupe out, while Cassio shot at his father’s men.
Odry, barely conscious, felt Mateo raising her up in his arms and racing out the hall. She saw gunshots blazing in the dark, Cassio shooting back, Daffy, Danny and Rouge running behind Mat, babies crying, Winnie shielding them. Winnie taking the bullets, one, two, three, four, countless bullets, Winnie standing like a wall, Winnie falling to the ground, while they ran into the next dark hall. People screaming, running, tripping over tables and chairs, slot machines tipped over, their giant greedy corpses vomiting coins onto the floor. Gunshots, gunshots, gunshots in the dark… pain, in her stomach, somewhere below a watery liquid oozing from her.
Mateo carried her out into the burning bright daylight. Police and ambulance sirens filling the air around them.
“Odry! Kid!” Mateo carried her outside.
“It hurts, it hurts!” She grabbed her stomach.
“I think her waters just broke!” Daffy exclaimed.
“Help! Here! Help! We need an ambulance!” Mateo ran to the nearest ambulance, that just arrived. Odry’s mind was clouded, all she felt was pain. Pain in short intervals, but she didn’t feel the baby moving.
Caring hands taking her vitals, taking care of her in an ambulance stretcher, while the vehicle raced through the streets, lights flashing, sirens wheezing. Odry blinked slowly and moaned in pain. The doctors touching her, saying something she couldn’t comprehend. Mateo crouching, sitting on the ambulance floor by her stretcher. Mateo’s frightened, teary eyes. She clutched his hand and yelled in pain.
“Hold on! Hold on, kid! We’ll get through this! We’ll get through anything together!!!”
Wow! Just wow. I was wondering how they were going to get out of that one. I just hope Winnie's going to be okay.