Love Charms (43 page)

"I
shouldn't," Desiree said.  "Just in case, you know?  Alex will freak
if something happens and he finds out both of us were in here watching
something on TV.  If I stay outside and keep an eye on her, it'll work out
better."

"I
suppose so," Tom said with a shrug.  "Well, thanks.  Can you start
the generator on your own?  I'll check out what DVDs they left laying around. 
This place is pretty fancy, huh?"

"Yeah,"
she said.  "It's a nice place.  A little cluttered, but you can tell she
really cared about it."

She,
Desiree said, not they.  Tom and the others considered it the previous owner's
house, not Sadie's.  It wouldn't matter whose house it was for long, though. 
Once she powered up the generator and kept Tom distracted, she'd have ample
time to get Sadie out of there.

And
then what?  She had no idea.

* * *

The
rain beats down on me like wet, razor sharp splinters and I wait.  It seems
like Desiree left me ages ago, in another time and place entirely.  The
agonizing pain drums through my body, shaking me side to side, forever.  I
shiver beneath it, cold.  My body feels so alive with sensation, but it isn't a
good kind.

I
struggle with the thoughts in my mind, trying to reign them in.  Some part of
me thinks I should try to wrench my way through the hole behind me.  It's no
wider than my head and half of my shoulders and I know there's no way I can get
through it without hurting myself, but the safety and security of the dry tent
behind me acts like a temptress's allure, urging me to try anyways.

I
will bleed, though, I tell myself.  I know Desiree cut the thin bars of the pen
as well as she could, but nothing is perfect.  Pieces stick out and I can feel
them on my back, pressing against me.  If I try to move through the too-small
hole, I'll snag on them and hurt myself.  It will be nothing compared to the
torment of the rain, but the rain doesn't leave any lasting mark of my
inhumanity.

I
won't feel the bleeding, nor the cuts and rakes in my flesh, but I'll see it
later.  Scars and scabs and hurt.  The rain hurts, but I've forced myself to
wash when I can and I know it doesn't last.  It hurts more than anything else,
but it will end.  As soon as the rain stops, as soon as...

The
thrumming sound of the generator outside flares to life.  I jolt, startled, and
look over at it.  There's Desiree, powering it on.  I catch a glimpse of the
man inside poking through a movie rack.

Desiree
rushes over carrying a raincoat with her.  It's wet now, but I stare at it with
longing.  I don't know why because even if I wear it I'll still be wet, but
perhaps a constant wet pain is better than the incessant strikes from the rain.

"Don't
worry," Desiree says.  "Give me a minute and I'll have this hole big
enough for you to get through."

I
nod and shiver and hurt.

Desiree
cuts away my confines.  Inside the house I spot the light from the large TV
flickering, playing some unknown movie.

The
bars are gone now.  Desiree presses gently against my back, keeping me propped
upright and leaning so I don't fall through accidentally.  With effort, at her
urging, I turn around.  On hands and knees, I crawl through the hole and into
the safety of the tent.

The
rain stops.  Not for everyone else, but for me.  Above us, splattering on the
tent, aggressively trying to attack me, it strikes, but it can't hit me.

Desiree
hugs me and holds me and I don't know why.  She wraps her arms around me,
tight, and pulls me close.  She's warm, so warm, and I close my eyes, wanting
to fall asleep and dream.

* * *

When
I opened my eyes, I felt better.  Not entirely, but anything was better than
the rain.  I'd never experienced anything like that before, and honestly I
hoped to never experience it again, either.  Desiree and I lay on the wrinkled
plastic floor of the tent, huddled tight together.

My
face was near her shoulder and I could see her exposed neck.  It attracted me
and called to me and the pulsing warmth of her body made me acutely aware of
how much heat she had.  I hated her, I thought, or at least I had reasons to
hate her.  She was the reason they trapped me, the reason why I suffered.  If I
attacked her, was it wrong?

Or
maybe it was wrong not to attack her?  Retribution, divine right, and justice
all baked into one.  She deserved punishment and I, as the person aggrieved,
should dole it out.

Except
I didn't want to.  I thought this was dumb reasoning on my part, but then I
also thought it was the best reason.  Why should I do something if I didn't
want to?  I shouldn't, really.  I had no reason to.  This wasn't some orderly
world where people needed to do everything they should.  No, it was lawless and
chaotic.  I could do what I wished, and no one could stop me, and I didn't want
to hurt Desiree.

Maybe
I should have wanted to, but I didn't.

She
held me tight in her arms, crying.  I rested my cheek against hers and laughed.

"Why
are you crying?" I asked.  "I don't understand."

"Are
you warm?" she asked me.  "Sadie, are you warmer?  You feel so cold
and I don't want to let you go until you're warm.  I won't.  I know how it
is."

She
said this and I appreciated the sentiment, but I didn't think she ever really
could know how it was.  She was human and I wasn't anymore.  She surprised me,
though.

"It's
probably different," she said softly.  "I don't know for sure. 
Whenever I looked at Evan, I always felt so cold and alone.  I just wanted him
to hold me and hug me and kiss me, but he never did.  I know it's not the same
for you, but I think I can understand a little."

I
gazed at her, unsure.  It's exactly like that, I thought.  I felt this way,
alone and confused, and I just wanted someone to hold me and tell me everything
would be alright.  With Evan, the both of us together, I felt better and alive
and happier.  Not just because it was Evan, either, but because of the emotion
behind it.

When
the men grabbed me last night and forced me into that cage, it hurt.  Their
heat burned, fierce and unpleasant, not happy like Evan.  Desiree's heat warmed
me like Evan's, but not as passionate or sensual.  More of a soft, cozy heat,
like huddling in front of a fireplace with a friend on a snowy day while
toasting thick marshmallows on a stick.

Squeezing
her tight, I basked in her constant fire.  "We need to go," I said.

"Yes,
but, are you warm?  Are you alright?" she asked.

"I
think if I wear the raincoat I'll be fine."

She
helped me dress in it, placing it with the utmost care over my delicate,
rain-torn body.  The overlarge coat hung loose on me, making me look like some
blue plastic ghost.

"I
have an idea," Desiree said.  "If we set a trap for them on the way
back, we can figure out a way to ambush them and then run away with Evan.  I
don't know if it'll work, but it's the only thing I can think of."

Kneeling
in the tent, we looked at each other for confirmation.  I had no idea if her
plan would work, or how to do it, but it sounded like as good a plan as any.

"Were
you in the military before this all happened?" I asked.  "Are you
good with plans like this?"

She
gave me a curious glance, then shrugged.  "No.  I was a home decorator. 
I've dealt with plenty of homes that started out as fashion traps, so I figure
I can do the same now, but in reverse.  What do you think?"

"We
can clutter the living room and put up drapes that don't match?" I
offered.

Desiree
smirked.  "Yeah, maybe something like that."

"Desiree,"
I said, becoming completely serious all of a sudden.  This, in my mind, was of
dire importance.  "Where's Cinna?"

She
scrunched up her brow, thinking.  "She must be hiding.  I don't know for
sure."

"We
need to get her.  She's scared and we need to get her."

"Sadie,
we don't have anything to put her in.  I know she's your cat, but we can't. 
How?  She's not going to want to go out in the rain and we need to leave.  I...
when I come back after you and Evan are gone, I'll take care of her, alright? 
I promise."

I
shook my head, no.  "We can't.  I need to get her."

We
stared at each other, neither willing to give.  I knew I shouldn't care, that I
should give up, but I couldn't.  Maybe I didn't need Cinna, but Cinna needed
me.

"Fine,"
Desiree said finally.  "Fine.  Just, um, let me go find her, alright?  I
should grab Evan's things, too.  This isn't going to work and it's a terrible
idea and... I'll do it, but..."

"Thank
you," I said, smiling.  "Thank you very much.  I really appreciate
it."

* * *

Desiree
found Cinna and we escaped.  It was easy to escape since the man inside never
bothered to get up from the couch, but everything after that was tough.  I had
my arms pulled into the raincoat and I held Cinna tight against my chest. 
Still, she mewed out her fear and clung tight to me as if I were her mother. 
She hadn't scratched me yet, but I knew it was probably just a matter of time.

But
I'd hold her and keep her safe no matter what.  If I needed to endure scratches
and forever after see the marks from Cinna's claws on my body, I would.

Desiree
suggested I put Cinna in Evan's duffel bag, but I didn't want to do that.  The
bag was stuffed as it was; Evan and Desiree's clothes and a laptop and some
plastic she'd wrapped the computer in to keep it safe.  A few more things, too,
but now wasn't the time to take inventory.  Cinna wasn't inventory, she was my
pet.  Desiree kept the bag tucked under her arm while I kept Cinna.

We
trudged through the rain.  Every now and then I felt a splash hit my cheeks
from inside the hooded raincoat, but one splash was nothing compared to the
torture from before.  Neither of us could afford to care about anything like
that, either.  Evan and Alex and James, the other man, would return soon, and
we needed to figure out a way to remove Evan from that group.

Desiree
wanted to set a trap and she kept babbling about ideas, but most of them
involved far more elaborate set ups than we had time or equipment for.  Mostly,
we had access to trees and rain and mud, plus me, her, and a cat.  If
necessary, I supposed we had a raincoat and clothes, but what good would those
do us?

"I
think here's good," Desiree said, stopping at a turn in the road and
hiding Evan's bag near the edge.  "If we set something up here, we can
surprise them when they come around the corner and..."

And
here they came, coming around the corner.

Alex
led the group, marching along with two large, red canisters of gas in his
hands.  James followed alongside him and a little behind.  Then, a few steps
behind both of them, was Evan.

Evan
saw us first and paused.  None of the men recognized me in my raincoat, but
they all knew Desiree.

"Desiree?"
Alex asked.  "What are you doing here?  Did something happen?"

She
panicked, but apparently she was good at thinking on her feet.

"Sadie
escaped," she said.  "We're trying to find her.  I don't know how she
got out.  It's almost like she was a ghost or something.  She was inside the
cage and then the next thing I knew... poof."

And
I was a ghost, somewhat.  My blue, overlarge raincoat puffed up and billowed in
the slight wind and rain.

Whatever
Desiree said, Evan understood it, thank God.

While
Alex faltered, staring at me, confused, Evan dropped his two cans of gas and
hooked his arm around James's neck.  The man sputtered, dropping his canisters
in the process, and in no time at all his face turned an angry red color.

"Who's
that with you?" Alex asked.  "That's not Tom..."  And then he
noticed Evan keeping James in a chokehold and sprang into action.

Alex
tossed his gas canisters aside and slipped a knife out of a holder on his
belt.  Wielding it expertly, he backed away from Evan, Desiree, and I, sizing
up the situation.  Caught in the middle of all this, overpowered into
submission, James grew lax in Evan's arms, unconscious.  Evan dragged the man
to the side of the road and left him laying on the wet street.

"What
do you think you're doing, Desiree?" Alex asked.  "You're the one who
told me about this in the first place.  You know how dangerous she is, don't
you?  What did she tell you?  What did Evan tell you?  You can't trust either
of them."

"Shut
up, Alex," she said.  "I overheard you last night when you were
talking to Evan.  Evan told me after, too, but I heard parts.  And I know Sadie
isn't dangerous.  I made a mistake telling you everything.  I shouldn't have
and..."

Alex
didn't let her finish.  He dashed forward while she admitted her wrongdoing and
tried to slash at me.  Clutching Cinna close to my body, finding courage from
needing to protect the huddled ball of heat and fear that was my kitten, I
managed to move aside.  Alex didn't expect that, never expected me to move so
well.  The others like me moved slower, blocky, and I usually did but not now.