Hilda and Zelda (4 page)

"So now we are facing an entire world in
which a witch is on the loose." William looked at the road they
were next to. As he remembered, the town where Bert lived was
closest by. "I think we should head over there, to the town you
know, sweetwitch. It is nearest, and my bet is that she went
there."

"William? Please make sure I don't go crazy
in this place. I am not taking any responsibilities now we're
here." Hilda touched his arm and looked very serious.

"We'll be fine, Hilda. We're together now.
You help me in your world. I'll help you in mine. I think the first
thing to do is to become less prominent. Get clothes people wear
here."

"Oh, yes!" Hilda grinned. "I remember those,
look!" A whoosh of the wand later she wore a white t-shirt and
faded blue-jeans again, with black loafers on her feet. She hopped
off the broom and twirled round for William, his wand still
lighting up the area. "How do I look?"

"Hilda, you should wear that at home. You
look so incredibly sexy like that." William flicked his wand and
wore something that looked like his regular clothes, but there was
no necktie this time. It did not belong to a wizard. And his shirt
was wizardly blue, with silver stitching in the collar.

"Oh, I like you like that," said Hilda. She
hugged William, who had also stepped off his broom. He did not
fight the hug.

"I suggest we fly to the town limit and
proceed on foot into town," the wizard said after the hugging and
cuddling was done. "We don't want to attract attention with the
brooms."

"Good. I'll do what you say, William. I'll be
a good little witch for once. Just once, remember?"

He grinned. "You'll try, you mean."

"Isn't that the same?" Hilda hopped on her
broom.

"I guess for you it is," the wizard grinned
as he mounted his broom again. "Now, let's go to the town and stay
out of sight. It's best if we go across the fields and stay away
from the road."

William dimmed the light on his wand and made
it just light the ground in front of them. They set off, crossed
the road and flew over the fields, towards the bright blob in the
distance that was the town.

"Holy Bejeebus."

They had touched down behind one of the first
houses; in its shadow Hilda had shrunk their brooms and now they
walked into the main street. Walking was difficult, as the former
asphalt road had apparently been turned upside down.

"I dare say that Zelda's been here," Hilda
remarked about the obvious.

In places, remains of cars showed in the
debris. Most streetlights lay on the ground, as if a giant hand had
snapped them like matches. The street was silent in a way that was
different from the normal night silence. Usually, William knew,
there would be the occasional sound of a car driving, a radio or tv
blaring. But now there was nothing but silence.

"I think you're right," William said as they
tried to make their way over the large lumps of road.

"William, this is not going to work. We need
our brooms, or we'll spend all night getting through this
street."

Now this was slightly exaggerated, but
William had to agree that their progress now was minimal. He
reached in his pocket, when somewhere a window on a higher floor of
a house opened.

"Hey," a voice said in a loud whisper, "are
you two crazy? Get the hell off the street before she comes
back."

The window, in which there was no light,
closed again quickly.

Hilda reached in William's pocket, took out
the small brooms and returned them to their original shape. Before
William could act, she hopped on hers, flew up to the window and
knocked on it.

"Oh God," William groaned.

The window opened only a slit.

"Hey. Who are you talking about?", Hilda
asked the invisible person in the house. "Dark haired woman, long
hair, black lips, overdone necklace and a wide black dress on a
broom?"

"Yes. Do you know her?" The person inside the
house did not seem to notice Hilda's mode of transport.

"Yes, I do. Thanks. Any idea where she
is?"

The person inside the house noticed Hilda's
mode of transport. "Fuck, you're one of them?" The window was
slammed shut, but Hilda already had her wand in hand and kept the
window open.

"Calm down. We're the good ones."

William had lifted up to the window also.
"Yes, really. We're the good guys, believe us."

A thud came from inside the room.

"Sounds like someone fainted," William
remarked. "I suggest we go inside and wait for whoever it is to
wake up and tell us some more. No good in flying about without a
clue."

"Sometimes you say the most sensible things,
William," Hilda grinned. She pushed the window open and they
slipped into the room. There they found a man, a bed and a few
chairs on the floor.

-=-=-

Charlie woke up. His first thoughts were of
the strange vision he'd seen just before the lights went out. Two
people on brooms, hanging outside his window. People like the
raving mad woman who had torn up the city. He reached for his head,
which still was in place. Somewhat of a reassurance. He did not
recall getting onto his bed, but he was there. Opening his eyes, a
curse escaped him. The two people he had seen were inside his
bedroom!

"Oh, he's awake," said Hilda. "That's
good."

Charlie wondered how that would be good, with
the two so closeby.

"Good morning, young man," said William.
"Nice of you to join us."

"How did you get in?", Charlie wanted to
know.

"Through the window," William pointed. "And
now, if you can answer a few simple questions, we'll leave through
that again and you'll have your peace again."

"But-" Charlie gave up. "Who are you?"

"We're the people who will try to get rid of
the witch," William explained.

"I'm a witch and he's wizard, and we want to
get a move on," Hilda explained in her own way. "So tell us where
the witch is who created all that havoc and we're off."

The man on the bed had by then found a
comfortable position in the corner where his bed touched the wall.
He held his pillow in front of him, as a defense against this
strange couple. "I know nothing. I don't know who you are talking
about, I don't know where she is, and I did not see her yesterday
either!"

"Right," said Hilda. "So you know who we are
talking about, you're scared out of your mind, and she's been here
longer than one day. You're really helpful already."

The wicked witch got to her feet and stood
close to the bed, Charlie trying to cower into his corner even
more. The concrete wall did not work with him. "Now just tell us
what you know and we'll go. It is in everyone's interest."

"She came here three days ago," Charlie
blurted out, his eyes almost glued to the wand that had somehow
appeared in the hand of the grey-haired woman. "No one knows her,
she flew through the streets on a broom. Everyone thought it was a
gimmick for a movie or so, until she screamed that she was going to
take over this town. And there was no camera-crew. Day before
yesterday she plowed over all the streets, as there were people
following her in cars and on bikes. I tell you, she's crazy. And
that is what I know. Can you go away now, please?"

"We'll go. Do you have any idea where she
usually is when she's not out?", William asked the man.

"I'm not sure, but try O'Malley's pub,"
Charlie said. As he spoke, a loud noise from far away sounded
through the still open window.

Hilda looked at William. "That's her." They
jumped on their brooms and chased out of the window, leaving
Charlie shaking on his bed.

"Why can't I just be drunk, like regular
people," the man muttered.

As Charlie lamented his situation, the witch
and the wizard were already gaining altitude and looking around.
From several places in the town large plumes of smoke billowed
upwards to the clear sky. Zelda was not taking half measures to
establish her presence.

"We need to go up some more, William," Hilda
said, "we're too low here."

As they climbed even higher, a roaring noise
caught William's attention. He looked around beneath them and saw a
lonely tank plow through the beat-up street.

"What kind of monster is that?", Hilda asked.
She already had her wand in hand.

"It is a military vehicle. They're hunting
Zelda, no doubt," William said.

"That? Against a witch? They're mad, like
everyone here," the witch snorted. "Let's go tell them that." The
sound of an explosion changed her mind. "Suck an elf! What was
that? Zelda, no doubt," she answered her own question.

"Sounds like it was over there," William
pointed. A new pillar of smoke confirmed his feelings, so they set
course for the latest place of havoc.

William recognised the area where the
explosion had been as they came closer. He knew this town fairly
well. "Shopping centre," he said, as he took the lead.

They arrived at a smoldering car-wreck. Smoke
came from the burning tires. The magical couple landed their brooms
on a piece of the road that was not completely upset and they had
their wands in hand, scanning for the presence of the witch they
were after. There was no sign of Zelda. There was, however, a sign
that others were near.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands over
your heads!", an amplified voice boomed through the street.

"Oh. Fabulous. Just what we need," William
said as he threw protection around himself and his witch. At the
end of the street was a kind of police car looking like a Land
Rover. The voice came from a big loudspeaker mounted on the
top.

Hilda looked at the car and pointed her
wand.

"No, wait, let me try to talk sense into
them," William warned her.

"Useless," Hilda decided, but lowered her
hand anyway.

William enhanced his voice. "We're not the
bad guys, we're here to capture the one who does this."

"Drop your weapons and put your hands over
your heads!", the amplified voice boomed through the street once
again.

"Hilda? You're right. There's just no respect
for magical people." A short burst of gunfire, clearly warning
shots, underlined his words.

"Crappedy crap, you stop that," Hilda said,
flicking her wand at the police vehicle. The gunfire stopped after
a few seconds. "Come on, we have to talk sense into them." She
extinguished the fire of the burning car and then flew off to the
police car, William behind her.

There were two policemen in the car. One of
them was doing all he could to open the window. He had his weapon
in his hand, William saw. The wizard cast a spell to the gun, which
became too hot to handle. The police officer dropped it, his scream
was even heard outside the car.

Hilda and William got off their brooms.
William opened the door, using magic as it was locked. "Gentlemen,"
he said, "I think we need a word."

Two pairs of eyes stared at the magical
couple. The policemen could not think of a word that could express
their need.

"There is a witch on the loose," Hilda said,
not minding the stunned expression of the two men in the car.
"We're here to try and grab her. It would be very convenient if you
mind your own business and let us do what we're better equipped
for. You'll just be in our way."

"Now wait a minute, lady," the man not behind
the wheel said. "Who do you think you are?"

"I am Grimhilda, the wicked witch. And this
is William, my wizard. Lady is okay for once, but usually people
address me as honourable witch."

"Honourable witch?" The man behind the wheel
almost fell out of the car in surprise.

"Yes, very good. Now be on your way and let
us deal with Zelda."

The driver of the police Land Rover got out
of the car and looked down at the witchy woman. "Miss Grimhilda, or
whatever your name is, my name is Constable Barker. And I think we
should take you and your friend for a drive down to the station and
ask you some questions."

"Uhm, officer, I don't think this is-",
William tried.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is necessary. There
is a group of terrorists out there and we do not want innocent
citizens like you to get hurt."

William shook his head and held up his broom.
"You probably did not see this, did you? We came flying towards
you."

"More people have reported a person flying on
a broom, sir. We are convinced that the terrorists have released
some hallucinogenic gas that makes people see things."

"Well, in that case we don't need to go
around in these clothes, Hilda." William popped up his wand and
changed his clothes to the regular blue and silver robes he had
gotten used to.

Hilda popped up her wand and changed her
clothes to the red dress and the black cape with fringes. "Yeah.
Much better, sweet man. Now let's find that witch."

"But you can't do that!", the police officer
complained, "and how did you do that?"

"We didn't," said William as they mounted
their brooms, "you just said we can't. Goodbye, officer." They flew
off, upwards, hoping they'd be able to find a trace of Zelda.

Constable Barker slowly closed his mouth and
turned to his partner. "Not a word. Not one word. I don't want to
be locked away and neither do you. Do you hear me? This was an
effect from the gas. It got to us both."

The man in the car nodded silently.

William, knowing the town, took the lead
again as they started to survey the place. Not all the roads had
been turned over, so far. Havoc seemed to spread, from the road
into town they had taken, into the centre. Some areas hadn't even
been touched by the presence of the evil witch, they noticed. At
least not physically. The absence of people in the street was a
clear sign, however, that Zelda's fame had already spread like
fire.