Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (25 page)

Sandy furrowed her eyebrows. She covered her
frustrated surprise with a drink of her cocoa.

“
Oh that’s really good,”
Sandy said. “I hope Rachel doesn’t mind the chocolate too
much.”

“
Rachel’s eating good
now,” Sissy said. “She’s four pounds.”

“
And gaining weight,”
Sandy said. “The docs think she’ll be off oxygen soon.”

“
When can she come home?”
Sissy asked.

“
She has to be eating on
her own, gaining weight and able to maintain her own body
temperature,” Sandy said. “She can do all of that but she’s still
struggling to breathe on her own.”

“
But no surgery?” Sissy
asked.

“
The holes in her heart
have mostly closed,” Sandy said. “We’ve been really
lucky.”

“
And Jill’s helped,” Sissy
said.

“
You are not supposed to
know about Jill’s secret,” Sandy said.

“
I’ve
always
known about Jill.” Sissy gave
a know-it-all-little-sister smile.

Sandy laughed and Sissy beamed.

“
How do you like living
with us?” Sandy asked.

“
I love living here,”
Sissy said. “It’s like a dream come true.”

“
I’m glad,” Sandy
said.

“
Aden’s pretty dreamy,”
Sissy said. “Charlie calls him Shi-dai. What’s that?”

“
Little father,” Sandy
said. “I bet Aden would like it if you called him that
too.”

“
He might not want to be
my father.” Sissy said. The sorrow that was never far from Sissy’s
heart shone in her eyes.

“
Don’t be dumb,” Sandy
said. “Aden and I want to adopt you and Charlie.”

“
Even if I’m not in
ballet?” Sissy asked. “You seemed mad when I said I wasn’t
dancing.”

“
Mad?” Sandy asked. “Not
at you. I’ve been paying for your ballet lessons for years. I’m…
frustrated at myself for not knowing you weren’t taking
them.”

“
And at Mom for spending
the money?” Sissy asked.

“
Seems like that’s just
what she does,” Sandy said. “Or did. Have you heard from
her?”

Sissy shook her head.

“
I haven’t either,” Sandy
said. “Why don’t we call her tomorrow night when you get home from
work? How do you like working at Lipson Construction?”

“
It’s really fun,” Sissy
said. “There’s a bunch of kids. Nash, Teddy and Charlie are there.
I see them when we clock in and we go to our teams. I’m working on
the road crew with a couple of high school girls. Did you know
Valerie used to be on the sign crew before she was a movie
star?”

“
Val and Jake worked all
the way through high school,” Sandy said. “They filled in on the
night crews and worked full-time in the summers. I think they
worked every summer when they were in college too.”

“
That’s what she said,”
Sissy said. “She said the sign girls are one of the most important
parts of the entire company. I just hold the sign, smile at the
drivers, stay sharp on the com and watch out for trouble. I think
it’s pretty easy and I really like making money.”

“
You’re the only one who
gets to keep it,” Sandy said.

“
I feel bad because I
would definitely have been there if I wasn’t locked away in
treatment,” Sissy said.

“
Nash said you buy them
ice cream and stuff,” Sandy said. “That’s nice of you but not
necessary. They really screwed up.”

“
Oh I know,” Sissy said.
“Is it bad that I’m glad they’re all gone tonight?”

“
It’s nice to spend some
alone time together,” Sandy said.

“
I got really excited when
Aden said he would stay with Rachel,” Sissy said.

Sandy gave her little sister a quick
hug.

“
I have something to talk
to you about,” Sandy said. “Promise you’ll hear me out?”

“
If it’s rules of dating,
I’m all set,” Sissy said. “Aden told us all about condoms. He
showed us how to use them on bananas. We almost died from
embarrassment. But Aden said if we didn’t know anyone our age who
was having sex, we didn’t have to talk about it. But I know lots of
girls. Noelle too. I think he wants us to be safe not sick. That’s
what he said. It’s nice but so…”

Sissy giggled. Aden had talked to Noelle and
Sissy about safe sex while Jacob had talked to Teddy, Nash and
Charlie. Sandy had bought boxes of condoms and left them in their
bathroom. She knew a lot of parents would disagree or say she was
promoting sex. She’d rather know they were safe. Sandy smiled.

“
Now that Charlie’s seeing
Addy again, I bet he’ll need all those condoms!” Sissy
giggled.

“
Do you know Addy?” Sandy
asked.

“
She’s one of Charlie’s
girlfriends,” Sissy said. “Charlie has a lot of them. Wait ‘til
school starts, the girls are all over him. He says he’s pretty
careful so they don’t get pregnant. Of course, I’d have to have a
period to get pregnant.”

“
You will,” Sandy said.
“Then we’ll talk about birth control.”

“
I’d have to have even one
boyfriend,” Sissy said.

“
You will,” Sandy said.
“Soon enough. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you
about.”

“
Okay, lay it on me,”
Sissy said.

“
I set up an interview for
you,” Sandy said.

“
For a job? I have a job!
I really like my job!”

“
For the Colorado Ballet,”
Sandy said.

“
WHAT?” Sissy looked
horrified. “What are you talking about?”

“
Aden called them while I
was in the hospital,” Sandy said. “I told him about your lessons
and he called to find out more about the program.”

“
You knew I wasn’t taking
classes then,” Sissy said.

“
I knew you weren’t going
to the Colorado Ballet,” Sandy pointed her index finger to her
temple and twirled it. “It crazy, but it never occurred to me that
you weren’t dancing ballet somewhere. And, as of tomorrow, you will
be.”

“
How?” Sissy asked. “I
haven’t danced in forever. I’ll never get in.”

“
I talked to your old
instructor, Ivan,” Sandy said. “He told me they’d interview you for
the main summer classes. He said if you didn’t make it, he would
take you as a private student until you’re ready to join the
others.”

“
I don’t make enough money
to pay for private lessons,” Sissy said.

“
Lucky for you, we do,”
Sandy said.

“
But I can’t…”

“
You love ballet,” Sandy
said. “You love to dance.”

“
What about treatment?”
Sissy asked. “I can’t stay with you if I get sick again. That was
my agreement with Aden. We shook hands on it and
everything.”

“
Aden made an appointment
for all of us to meet with your counselor on Monday,” Sandy said.
“Ivan’s going to be there too. He said he would be more than
willing to help. You remember what Ivan always said.”

“
Starving only makes you
weak,” Sissy said.

“
Great dancers are
strong,” Sandy said.

“
He seemed excited to
teach you again,” Sandy said. “But we didn’t think you should go to
the School of American Ballet again.”

“
Because of treatment?”
Sissy asked.

“
Because you’d be in New
York for four weeks,” Sandy said. “I just got you back. I don’t
want to lose you, even for just four weeks.”

“
I went when I was
twelve,” Sissy said. “Maybe I can go next year.”

Sandy nodded.

“
Do I get to keep
working?” Sissy asked.

“
If you can fit it in,”
Sandy said.

Smiling, Sissy picked up her cocoa and drank
it down.

“
So what do you want to do
with your hair?” Sandy asked.

“
Can we dye it?” Sissy
asked.

“
Sure.”

“
Purple?”

“
You want purple
hair?”

“
Just a little
underneath,” Sissy said.

“
Sure,” Sandy
said.

“
Noelle wants purple too,”
Sissy said.

Shaking her head, Sandy laughed.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday night — 9:15 P.M.

Ava opened her eyes and slammed them shut.
Feeling the wet, warm sensation of breath on her face, she had to
look. She stared into the face of a monster.

In all of her twenty-three years, she had
never seen anything so terrifying. The creature was a pitch black
serpent with black translucent wings. It had chicken leg like
skeletal arms and legs. Razor sharp teeth lined its almost canine
jaw. Its large black eyes with red pinpoint pupils filled what
would have been a forehead. The eyes locked on Ava’s.

Horrified, Ava began to hyperventilate. The
leather strap constricted her throat. Knowing she would die if she
didn’t calm her breath, she panicked even more. She fought with her
breath.

The creature lifted a skeletal claw with
blade-like talons and pointed to Ava’s face. Unable to move, Ava
watched the talon come toward her face. She shut her eyes and felt
the talon rip into her right cheek. Terrified, she began to pass
out.

She heard music.

The woman had returned. She was humming a
tune.

“
Will you hum with me?”
the woman asked.

“
I don’t know the song,”
Ava said.

“
You don’t?” the woman
asked.

The music swelled and Ava recognized the
song. She was listening to her favorite movie track. She loved that
CD. She’d listened to it so much that she’d worn it out – twice.
The music always lifted her heart and gave her hope. Feeling a
moment of elevation, Ava opened her eyes.

And saw the creature laugh at her.

The rotten stench of its breath blew hot
against her face and surrounded bald head in a cloud of darkness.
The creature opened its horrible mouth. Its terrible black tongue
dripping with clear mucus stretched out to lick the blood off her
cheek. Ava felt the wound open and pour blood into the creature’s
mouth. Ava panicked.

“
There, there,” the
woman’s voice entered her ears.

“
This… thing…” Ava
said.

“
You don’t have to look,”
the woman said.

“
It’s right in front of
me!”

“
So is the sun but you
don’t look into the sun do you?” The woman gave a sweet laugh.
“Don’t look, Amelie. You don’t have to.”

Ava shut her eyes. And the music returned.
Ava hummed.

“
They’re on their way,”
the woman said. “Your job is to be alive when they get
here.”

“
Even if I make it,” Ava
said. “I can’t fight this thing.”

“
Don’t worry. The people
who are coming are capable of dealing with his kind. They’ve done
it before,” the woman said. “Seth will be here with
them.”

The woman’s voice caressed Seth’s name. Ava
had to ask.

“
You know Seth?” Ava
asked.

“
He was my love,” the
woman said.

“
Bonita?” Ava
asked.

The woman smiled. A toddler appeared on her
lap. Another boy hung on her arm.

“
Will you tell him
something from us?” the woman asked.

“
Anything,” Ava
said.

“
Tell him the music he
sent rescued us,” the woman said. “We are at peace. Remind him to
remember what he noticed. He’s forgotten. He’ll know what that
means.”

“
If I get the chance, I’ll
tell him,” Ava said.

“
I’m with him every day,”
the woman said.

“
You pushed him into the
river at Sand Creek,” Ava said.

“
I did,” the woman said.
“You might say that I’m the pain in his ass.”

Ava smiled at Bonita’s joke. They heard a
helicopter pass overhead. The creature screeched with rage. Ava
felt a wave of horror rip through her body.

“
They’re here. And so am
I,” Bonita said. “This will be over very soon.”

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday night — 9:25 P.M.

Looking for a place to land, Zack brought
the helicopter in low over the barn.

“
What’s the ground like?”
Zack asked Jacob through the intercom.

“
Two feet of mud,” Jacob
said.

“
That’s what I
thought.”

Zack maneuvered the helicopter toward a slip
of cement left from the demolished house near the barn. When the
helicopter touched down, one of the crew opened the door.

“
You kids stay here,”
Jacob said. “We’ll be right back.”

Jacob, Jill and Delphie climbed out of the
helicopter and ran across the mud toward the barn. They were almost
to the barn when they heard: “MMMOOOOMMMMMYYYY!!” Trailing Charlie,
Nash, Noelle and Teddy, Katy ran across the mud to them. Jill
jogged back to scoop up Katy.

“
Go back!” Jacob yelled to
the children.

“
What?” Charlie yelled
over the helicopter.

The kids continued toward them until they
were standing outside the barn. Hearing a sound, they looked up to
see the creature’s horrible head peering down at them from the
rooftop. The creature screeched at Jacob.