Velvet Stars.

You know in those films when some ones in an accident and then it goes black. And then you watch it from their point of view, when they open there eyes and everything blurry until the colours melt into them selves and everything is a stunning white, crisp light, doctors and nurses leaning over them saying, “hello sleepy head,” in a really patronizing voice?
I've seen it in the Simpson before. Well that's not how it happens.
I opened my eyes, and everything was faded, not blurred, faded. Nothing was white, but a calming brown of a potato sack.
Everything was in the distance, like looking down a long tunnel with a little light at the end. The colours became more and more vibrant. No one was leaning over me.
I finally came about and put my hands either side of my head, a bazaar pain shot up inside my arm making me shudder. I sat up.
There was no way I was in a hospital. Soon my eyes adjusted to the light. I was lying in a room full of six other beds. Various items lined the place. I couldn't be bothered to focus on them now. There was one person in the room with her back to me. She was curled over a clip board, cross legged on a bed with orange covers and little pictures pinned on the wall above the neat bed side table. Looking round it seemed like her personal space was the only tidy one in the room.
I hoisted myself up a bit more, trying not to make a sound, but the movement distracted her from what ever she was doing.
“Hey,” she looked over at me from over her shoulder. When I didn't say anything she just said, “ my names Lizzie and I used to be a qualified doctor, so don't worry, I know what I'm doing. You needed serious stitching there, but I managed to ease the bleeding. You have had pain killers but I suggest you keep the ice pack on.” She smiled warmly and I looked over at the ice pack lying on the little table next to me – my arm did feel like it was blazing with flames now I thought about it .
She was probably in her late 20's with light silk chestnut hair pulled back into a bun, deep blue eyes, and matching blue glasses. Her skin was very clear. She was a slim pear shaped lady.
She didn't look like a doctor. She was wearing some baggy blue jeans with a simple tight, white strap top.
“Take your time, but Jimmy wants too see you ASAP.” she laughed as I swung my legs down.
“I thought so.” she muttered and removed her glasses, then turned back to what ever she was doing.
I was wearing something unfamiliar and the mud and blood was all gone. They had cleaned and dressed me? How long had I been unconscious?
I was wearing some cropped white jeans and a green vest top to match my eyes. My long auburn hair was back in a low bunch.
I slowly stood up and I could almost see my joints and muscles smiling and screaming in relief.
I trod my way across the room without looking at any ones stuff, in case Lizzie was looking, I didn't to come across to her as a nosy person.
I opened the door to a room which was obviously this lots living area.
In the middle was a black, muscular dude rapping away to another boy with blond, spiky hair who was laughing uncontrollably at the lyrics.
In the corner was a girl curled up on some pillows with long naturally black hair trying to read her book. She had some pink and brown army trousers on and a brown hoody.
“Yo, man!” the dude had stopped rapping, to look at me. The blond guy was looking at me, still with a slightly hysterical look on his face.
“Looking for Jim?” he asked.
“Yeah I am.” I told him. The dude was in a black top that clung too his muscles. He had a couple of random tattoos up his arm, including a snake which I guess “wriggled” when he flexed them. But he had a very kind, sweet face and wasn't overly tall and not threatening at all.
“Two doors through there.” he pointed. I made my way over and opened the door too a steamy kitchen, the smells were to dang good.
The door swung shut behind me. A guy with messy, mousy brown/blondish hair was stirring at something bubbling away in a pan. He turned and tucked some of his hair behind his ear. His hair a little long compared to boys normal short cut but not that long. Just a bit shorter than surfer dudes hair. It was cut in choppy layers.
“Hey there.” his voice was kind and his light golden eyes made my insides tingle warm. I just smiled stupidly.
“Jim's through there, I hope your hungry!” he grinned flashing his teeth at me.
“Smells good!” I grinned back. I opened that door to a huge room full of nothing but files and files, books and books. I stretched up on my tiptoes to see if I could see the end of the towering old fashion shelves of heavy leather books.
There was a huge oak table in the middle of the high magnificent room. Jimmy was sitting there frowning, not aware of my presence. Writing on one peace of paper, leafing through files and books and scribbling some more. Then he thumped the table in frustration.
Should I clear my throat? Ask where the hell I was? What was going on? What were those things? So many questions hung on a thread at the end of my tongue.
He looked up and jumped at my appearance.
I guessed he was forty-five. I noticed the gin in one hand then he become me forward.
“Drink?” he asked.
“I'm 14.” I replied, pulling a huge heavy chair out and collapsing on it, relived I could finally get some answers. He chuckled.
“Not alcohol. Tea, or coffee perhaps?” he nodded towards the instant coffee maker to his left and I smiled.
“I'm quite okay thank you.” he pushed me a glass of water anyway - I was a little thirsty.
“You probably have so many questions.” he sighed and pushed his files away leaning back into his chair to look at me.
“Yeah!” I laughed and sipped the glass of water he had given me, spluttering on it slightly.
He didn't seem to notice. He looked at me with his head bent slightly forward, out of soft black eyes. Just black. I could just distinguish the iris to the pupil but it made me know something was different. He wasn't normal, something was... wrong.
That person I saw before, in the park, and the one who cam to our school, their eyes were just black. There was no white, just an icy cold, flat black. Jimmy's was more of a smoky black compared to the flat blacks of their eyes.
“I've already know a bit about you.” he said mysteriously and I looked into those wise eyes and felt a little punch. Familiarity. But long, long ago.
“I've seen you before haven't I?” I cried in realisation.
“I don't know.” he lied quietly but I decided not to press. “Do you like your mother? Your only family left, do you look after he after what happened?”
“No I hate her.” I replied blankly. “When you found me, I was running away.”
“So you have no life to go back too.”
“Life? No way. This,” I said looking round at the room full of books and various objects. “is life.”
“NO.” he slammed his fist on the table, but I didn't flinch.
“No?”
“people have died doing this before. It kills life and we catch things that were once life.” it made no sense to me.
“I'm sure they have,” I said simply, leaning back.
“But if I haven't got anything, what have I got too loose?” he blinked and relaxed his muscles slightly.
“Its just, I was very impressed by your courage and ideas.” at the word courage warmth spread through me like hot water, making me feel sleepy and happy and very calm, I hadn't realised how cold I was.
“Would, but it is completely optional, you be interested of being part of all of this?”
I was stunned, could not speak. Did I say I was relaxed? Not any more.
“I'm just worried you see, your so young, at the moment the youngest person here is 16.” I shrugged feeling slightly annoyed.
“So? Age don't matter.” he bit his finger nails. I could see how he could have been very good looking once. But now he was on the larger side, not fat, just slightly bigger, and his hair seemed to have faded from its mahogany colour. His eyes were quite small. But they were eyes full of so many secrets!
“I don't have any where to go back too.” I whispered painfully. He saw the dread in my eyes then threw his head back in resignation and defeat.
“OK, I'll do with you something I have not done with any other person before, to see if you are the right age or whether or not this is your thing, if you can pass several tests over the next couple off weeks you can join, for now you are only semi permanently joined.” I could of kissed him. Yeah, I'll pass easy.
“I'll tell you what we do, and who we are for that matter, tonight with a couple of good old stories.” he looked off into the distance for a moment, like he was picturing it in his mind.
“But first I'll show you round and then I believe Matty is serving us dinner.” he gave a crooked smile.
“This,” he started jumping up and throwing his arms into the air proudly, “is the study room. Every book to do with every thing is in here, and all the files are research we have collected from our own notes and experiences oh and experiments, that we have conducted in the past. I'm trying to spot a pattern at the moment.”
“Just one thing.” I asked as we went to leave the room to a little black door off to the side.
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“Well, you went at around midnight, and its seven pm the next day now, so about 31 hours I think. But we purposely kept you unconscious too prepare the archery and stitch up your arm.”
I nodded thoughtfully, and looked behind me at the beautiful study hall, with shelves and shelves of old, thick leather books that probably shook with dust as you probe through their fragile pages.
The little black door had gloves and ant-bacterial hand gel for hands and arms, out side.
“When we go in, please don't touch anything.” he warned, and pushed opened the door lightly to a room with blue metal walls that were in fact coffin sized draws, in the middle was a bed with a white sheet thrown on top.
“The dissection room. Half the files in the library are full of what we discovered when we dissect the monsters we find. I believe Lizzie will be doing the latest monsters after tea, before the stories. You can join her if you want.” when I didn't answer he carried on. “But before we leave, I got something to show you, it will explain the walls of this room.” he walked over to the to the other side of the room too one of the ocean blue draws.
“We get people, we call them The Creators, who create monsters for all sorts of reasons. Most of the time they're corpses that have been tampered with to meet there objective, that are filled with spirits of people who have died. They get hold of the spirits more easily than you would imagine, you just need to know how. But The Creators must take the spirits in captivity before they can use bodies to create their monsters, and by doing this they are ripping their soul beyond pure evil and committing a sin that people can't even dream of. The consequence? They are filled with the depths of hell that blackens there soul so they can never feel happiness again, imagine a world of fire, terror and fear. That's why there eyes are black. That liquid, gas blackness that escaped the monsters mouth at the park, was the spirit. Once all of that has happened to a spirit it turns evil and forever black and once it is captured it will always be mentally captured even if it is free if that makes sense. So by us recapturing them, we are not sinning but taking them out of harms way. The spirits that wonder this earth are often bad because they have done things that don't allow them into the after life, and The Creators give them a chance to terrorize the earth they hate so much. But we get a few, we call them The Fallen, which are beautiful spirits that have done good in life, but have fallen from the after life. We save them and protect them by bringing them into our care, but this is very rare to find one. They often gift us as well.
One creator tried to recreate Dracula in order to bring terror to his step dad and mum's family after they betray him, bounding him homeless.”
He pulled out the draw which made a faint clicking noise as it went and reminded me of Mr Threadem's file draws, that seemed a world away now.
It were like huge freezers to preserve the bodies, and as he pulled it out, what looked like white smoke pillowed out around us, brushing my skin so my hairs stood up. He pulled back the crisp white sheet that was covering the monsters face. I gasped.
“And he succeeded, he created a monster that thirsted for nothing but human blood, unfortunately it back-fired on him and he was attacked by his own monster before we had a chance to kill it and catch the spirit which had taken over the body and controlled it to do things as revenge for things that had happened when that spirit had a beating heart. That was a very clever, but very stupid jar.”
“Jar?”
“Oh your see later. So this is a type two monster. The spirit filled bodies are the basics. This monster started to gain a mind of its own, feelings and emotions. In fact it became clever. There is such thing as a type 3 which isn't as rare as we would like. When a type two changes a normal human into them. The human remains them selves a little if he or she fights to remain her human side, but gains the characteristics of what ever monster has exchanged blood with them and pressed their DNA into theirs.” Wow. The information was a whirlwind in my head, a colour splash of leaves from different seasons, it brushed my soul with confusion and quivered my heart so it started to thump slightly uneven, I could feel my pulse throbbing in my head and finger tips, I could hear it as I gazed down upon the creature.
He was an angle. His face was like petals in a snowstorm, the back of his eye lids a faint lilac, like a babies. Everything about him was perfect, his black liquorice hair did a little super man curl at the front and his heavy lashes made me want to lean down and run my finger lightly along them. I felt my heart spin out of control as the beautiful, peaceful boy – who looked so young – lay dead before me. Jimmy looked at me in disbelief. “Don't ever judge a book by its cover.”
I looked up at him and he pulled on a glove.
“Let me show you what I mean.” he bent forward and put one finger on the top of the boys soft rose red lips, and one on the bottom, then he pulled them apart and I felt a fast wave of ice sweep through me and blanking my brain. It was horrible.
Where his canines should of been were two pristine white, curved fangs that looked like they would cut into my flesh if I just tapped them lightly. He nodded.
“Oh yes, he is nothing but a killing machine.” he let go of the mouth and placed his finger tips on his eye lid, and slid it up. Again, the ice smacked me in the face, making me feel sick. They were a blazing blood red.
“But we don't deal with vampires very much now a days. In fact they''re quite rare. But it is our duty to only kill type one and two. Because type three are still people, and changing can be one of the worse things that could ever happen to you. It shatters your life. But if you really try, you can remain that little bit human.” I pulled the sheet over his fearful face, knocking his hand out the way, and slammed the draw in a lot harder than I had insisted. My breathing was getting out of control.
“Any way, moving on.” he chuckled as he straightened up.
He lead me back into the library and straight to the kitchen door.
I smiled as we entered the kitchen, I've never had my soul brushed with such pleasurable, delicious scents.
“Nearly ready Jimmy.” Matt nodded at him, “be about twenty minutes.” he gave me a quick wink.
“Cheers Matt”, he said without glancing at him, obviously distracted. Matt rolled his bright eyes and went back to his cooking.
“This is the Kitchen.” he smiled at me, “It always smells good – and Matt is our chef along side the usual work. As Lizzie is our doctor along side the usual.”
“Cool.” I said impressed, looking round at the kitchen that was most unlike any kitchen I had ever seen. There was wine glasses with aqua blue stems with little diamond engravings round the brim hanging from the ceiling, the walls were stacked from the very bottom to the very top, of different shape jars full of many wonderful spices, spreads, teas and everything you could think of! Then there was a huge classic cooker and old fashioned honey oak cupboards. Pans and pots hung from the wall and there was not one, but two huge American style fridges (which I guessed were also freezers). The floor was sapphire blue and sparkling silver checked. And there was a little white rag rug under the dishwasher. There were bunches off bananas and chillies and peppers of so many vibrant colours... I could go on. I loved it!
“See you guys at dinner.” he waved us off.
“yeah, see ya” I said.
“Matt, 18.” Jimmy commented for me.
We walked though to what looked like the living area. It was quite a large cosy room with three mismatched sofas and a couple of large squidgy arm chairs and one awesome looking pod chair. In front of the arrangement of seating was a large flat screen TV and an Xbox 360. There was a book case of fictional (the library was all factual), and in the corner next to it a bomb of cushions that the girl was curled up on, along with rolls of blankets and scattered book marks. In the other corner was a rounded table with a moss green table cloth and bronze cutlery. It had eight dainty little chairs huddled round it and a large flickering candle. There was a MASSIVE rug under all the sofas with an amazing delicate flowers entwining into each other, and vines curling into patterns.
Two boys were on the closest sofa to the blaring TV, one roaring in pleasure, the other cursing with dismay, competing on the Xbox console.
“Boys, can we pause that please?” Jimmy sighed wearily.
I looked round to the corner where the brownish-black haired girl (who reminded me of a cat, how she moved and how she gazed out of huge yellow eyes), who had closed her book and sat up to listen, stroking her silk hair with slender fingers.
“This is the living area, to chill out in the evenings when were aren't working of out on missions. This is Zen, 25,” the black guy waved at me, “and Adam, just turned 20 yesterday.”
“Happy birthday.” I trilled and he smiled back with little dimples, making his rectangle, black framed glasses move halfway up his forehead.
“Over here is the wonderful Vanessa, but every one just calls her Nessa because she hates her name. She is 16 very nearly 17, only 3 months isn't Nes?”
She smiled slyly with pale pink lips at me, then went back to her book. There was something different about her to.
There were four doors on each wall of the room, one to the kitchen, one to the bed room. He walked over to the one on the left, I had no idea where it lead.
“Lets not go in,” he warned cautiously and opened the door to a room so long I could only just see the end. It was yet again shelved, but more like the test tube racks you get in science labs. There were rows and rows of jars that were thick at the top but curved round into a spike at the bottom like a stalactite, that were either placed through a small hole in the wood of the high leaning shelf, or clipped at the top and the bottom. They were also hanging from the ceiling and some in cupboards placed towards in front of the shelves. They all had labels on and that same liquidly – gas black smoke swirly around inside, lots were empty as if waiting to be filled. It was like they each had different moods, some swirled vigorously, others were more calmed and relaxed.
“They are the spirits we have retrieved from being forced to fill bodies as I explained earlier.” he told me and I was glad he didn't launch into an explanation again – I wasn't sure how much more I could take.
I opened my mouth but he put his fingers too his lips.
“Later.” I swear I could feel thousands of tiny voices of the spirits scratching at my ear, clinging into my mind and wailing out at me. It sounded like a load of choir singers being drowned in the distance. It was disturbing and eerie.
But I didn't have time to listen as he closed the door and shut out the whispers of the dead.
“You stay in there too long and you'll go mad.” Nessa explained out the blue from her little patch.
“Thanks for that Nessa. Welcome to the T.H would have been nicer.” he jeered playfully and she just went back to her book.
“T.H?” I asked as we picked our way though the room to the other side, where the other door stood.
A danger sign was on the out side in a blinding yellow.
“Ha, that sign should be on that door.” Zen nodded his head to the door full of the jars, “that's more dangerous.”
“Zen...” started Jimmy,
“no seriously kid, knock one of those jars over, your dead, the spirit will take your body, kill it, and use it as it's own.”
“ZEN, later please.” his voice was quiet but full of warning. “Jeez, what is wrong with welcome to the T.H, do you guys try to put her off?” I swallowed the fear that felt like cotton wall stuffed down my throat, and gave a fake chuckle.
He opened the danger door, and I peered in eagerly. It was a huge disappointment and a shock at the same time. It was just a big square room with stunning white plastic walls. He saw my expression and grinned.
“Go into the middle please.” he told me, and I did so, he closed the white door and threw me some black glasses.
“So it doesn't hurt your eyes in the long term.” he answered my questioning frown.
I slid them on and he pressed his finger onto a little blue pad, then he typed in a code. As he did so he explained.
“It takes my finger print to make sure I'm not an intruder and then there's the code, neither you will get until you become a proper member.” it really excited me – it was like a stupid Sci Fi film when the government are accessing some alien weaponry. But they have a hand, not a finger.
He tapped in he last key and the room lit up electric blue before the walks flipped round slowly to revile that they were lined with thousands of different weapons. Something started to rise under my foot and I moved off it, it was a long blue glass cylinder with half a sphere on top. It rose till it was just under my chest.
Jimmy came forward and flipped the cylinder lid open to revile a big red button.
Ohmygosh a big red button! Classic.
“There will one day be a creation out there, that no weapon can kill, apart from its self. This is a button that will release the ultimate weapon that will double back all the creatures powers on itself, but its highly dangerous for the holder because of the build up of energy.”
“But.” I trembled.
“BUT, that won't happen. It hasn't happened in history before, it was just scientists proved that it could potentially happen, and we want to be prepared if it does. It probably won't though. Welcome.. to the Weapon room.”
I looked round in amazement at every different sort of weapon - loads I had never seen before.
“Let me show you our two most-used weapons. You should always have these on you at least, but we normally carry more depending on the mission. You have to carry these for even going to the shops, lots of people target out organisation so after we're gone its easier to create bigger monsters that can do more damage.” he held up a little black hand gun he had picked off the wall and handed it too me, it was quite light and smooth, no bigger than my hand, from the wrist, to the tips of my fingers. It felt...good.
“Just a normal gun to slow down attacking enemies. It won't kill monsters, unless its crap-made, but it will kill creators, they may be filled with The Smoke but they're still part human.”
He took it lightly from my hand and slid it back into place, then he picked a larger gun off the wall. He handed it too me, it was incredibly light weight, lighter than the normal gun.
“We designed this gun, instead of bullets we have these....” he said, holding out an identical glass jar to the ones in the spirit room.
“Put the jar in so the open bit points forward, then the lid goes in the separate bit you can click out then push back in. For this gun to work you need bait, and the bait is who ever is holding the gun. The spirit craves nothing more than a living breathing human too control, its strives for the warmth, sucks everything out as it is sick of the cold dead corpse it controls. It will come towards us, ready to take over the body, then you simply throw the gun in front of you and zap it up into a jar by pulling the trigger. Once the spirit is dragged from the body the gun then clicks on the lid, it has a timer from the moment you pull the trigger tot he moment it puts the lid on.” he turned to leave the room, and I put the gun back on its stand next to a couple of items that looked similar to grenades. I shivered, surely it doesn't get that far?
Out side the stunning room I took my glasses off and chucked them into the plastic bin outside.
We went back into the main room and through to the bed room where Lizzie was labelling a Jar full of the latest spirit.
“This is where you will sleep, at the end, in the corner. Next to Nessa's bed even though she doesn't sleep, she just likes to have one for a quite spot sometimes.” he said loudly, not letting me question about Nessa not sleeping “I hope you enjoyed your tour, oh and this is Elizabeth, 27, our little doctor.” With that he turned on his heels, and left.
“Ignore his mood swings.” Lizzie laughed throwing me a dazzling smile, breaking the silence. She looked about 23, not 27.
“Why doesn't Nessa sleep?” I asked shyly. She gave the same dazzling laugh.
“Later! Just wait! I herd I'm to help you dissect that body later.” I sighed. “ooh yes!” she squealed. “That's the fun part.” she was a little pretty but just a kind face I guess.
It is? I didn't have to speak the words, she knew they were there by the look on my face.
I left the room back to the living area and through to the kitchen.
“You want any help?” I offered. Mat spun round at my presence and glanced toward the huge washing up pile hastily.
“No, no, don't you worry.” he had a glint of hope in his eye but also it seemed he wanted me to enjoy my first day back in the world, after fighting a stupid monster. I made my way over to the sink and started running the water.
“No honestly...” he started weakly.
“I insist, and I am very stubborn so don't bother.” I laughed and he smiled back meekly.
“Cheers.”
“No problem.” there was no sound between us for a while apart from the running water and the sizzling of the wonderful smelling substance in his pan, but it wasn't awkward. Just peaceful and nice to feel the steam on my face.
“You know,” he started, “you don't' have to become part of all of this you know. You don't have to stay, your still able to make the choice. You don't have to do it like us. I can understand how you feel obliged, you are a Marble are you not? What with your dad...”
“Enough Matt!” Jimmy entered the room with a stern glint in his smoky eyes.
“What?” we both spun round, froth splattered over my face as I bought the spoon I had been washing, up out the water. I wiped it off steadily with the back of my hand.
“Why, what do you mean Matt? TELL ME” he shook his head sadly.
“Your find out in good time.”
“But I want to know – I deserve to know - now!” I insisted. He laughed, but the humour didn't touch his tight eyes.
“Your not ready.” he said firmly and I knew the conversation would end there. I couldn't stand these riddles, couldn't click them in my head.
“Wouldn't you want to know? I mean it is her Farther.” Matt challenged him, putting a hell of a lot of emphasis in the sentence .
“Shut up and get on with what you do best.” he nodded towards the cooking. I turned my head back down to the washing up.
“Emma, come with me please, don't do Mats dirty work.”
“Don't worry, I offered and did it any way after he rejected,” I replied lightly trying not to get on his wrong side so early on.
“Yes but all the same I would like you to come with me me please.”
He opened the door for me like a gentlemen, making me blush a little, so I could come through first. I walked into the huge study hall, it smelled of damp moss and oak - have you every walked through a forest on an autumn morning just as the dew is evaporating and the sun is complimenting all those gorgeous smells? That's what it smelt like.
There were shelves splitting off into all opposite directions, some had different heavy cloths over the top but ending pretty quickly just for decoration. There was a huge candle chandelier with several missing jewels and the huge polished table was surrounded by many mismatched (again), heavy, expensive, gold framed, chairs. At the front of the hall, in each corner, there were piles of files that spread out along the walls, slowly getting lower and lower. There was an unused fire and a bear rug in front of it that made the place cosy. There were also some odd items scattered over the place and a grandfathers clock.
“Your first mission is to find out about your farther.” he said unexpectedly.
“What? Why? What was so special about my farther?”
“That's what your going to find out. This will prove if you are able to look up research and use evidence to work out the whole history of one person or one thing. And yes, a thing will have to be involved in your researches after you got your basic information.” I shivered. I was eager to start, but also tired and knew I wouldn't function properly.
“What happened to my dad?!” I insisted, making sure I got all my annoyance across to him.
“You don't have to start today, and I don't think I'll give you a dead line, but if you are seemly slow I will have no choice but to give you one, I cant see you not wanting to research on some one you thought you knew.”
He ignored my question completely.
“Fine.” I said raising my eye brows at him. “Fine.” I wasn't in the mood to get all pissed and throw a silly teenager tantrum. I had grown up young from having to look after my mum, and I could see how yelling at him would not change anything.
“Good.” he nodded. The door from the kitchen peeped open and Matt's head popped round the door.
“Err I'm hoping I'm not interrupting anything.”
“No, your not.” Jimmy said but kept his eyes on me. I turned my head slowly and gave hysterical smile, I loved seeing him, gazing into his beautiful eyes. It made me feel warm. My stomach clenched making me feel slightly sick. You've shared a couple of words, I thought desperately to myself, you don't even know him! You can't have a crush on him already. And any way, he could be a two faced basted for all you know. But I seriously doubted it.
“No your not.” I replied calmly, stepping back.
“But if you would like to sit up, dinner will be like 5 minutes.”
I gave Jimmy a little glare I knew I would regret later. I didn't dislike Jimmy, but he just seemed to have a slight arrogance about him.
We made our way through the little kitchen, and through too the living area and over to the circler table in the corner, it was just big enough to fit us all.
I sat in-between Lizzie and where Matt was going to sit.
“I hope you like Indian curry Em.” matt smiled at me. I frowned.
“I've never really tried it before, sorry.”
“Ahhhh, don't worry, I'll give you a little bit to start, and if ya like it, you can have more.”
“That's if there's any left after Jimmy's pounced on it.” Vanessa commented as she slid an alice band in her hair to keep it from her face.
“Oi you, watch it.” Jimmy snapped but gave her a cheeky grin all the same.
Lizzie leaned over too me, “I'd put cotton wall up your nose tomorrow, this one gases like mad after a good curry.” she said nodding towards Zen. He looked over innocently and waggled his eye brows.
I got my fork as every one else tucked in, and dipped it into the brown stodge that had various bright colours floating round in it, lifted it to my nose and sniffed. Whoa, that's strong but beautiful.
The minute my tip of my tongue touched it a rainbow of flavourers burst into my mouth, zapping my nerves and tickling my soul. Absolutely bloody amazing. And a nice change from pot noodle.
“Wow.” I said through mouthfuls as I spooned it into my mouth, I had no idea I how hungry I was, I don't think I had eaten since that pot noodle in the park, it seemed a world away now.
“What do you normally eat?” he asked in exultation as he cheerily spooned a generous amount on my plate.
“Pot noodle.” I grinned. “Cold.”
“Ahhh.” I sighed, that was so cute when he did that with his voice.
“Yeah, this is real food! Where did you learn to cook like this.”
“Well, you know, just learnt by myself. Some good old cook books passed down through the family.”
“Wowee.” but I couldn't say any more, I was was eating it like I've never seen food before (maybe I haven't, well not REAL food anyway), with such glee. He just chuckled.
“Err, Em.” I looked up and swallowed.
“Yes?”
“Do you mind if I give you a new appearance?” Vanessa asked eagerly.
“I don't often get to do girly things in this life you know.”
I wrapped my fingers round my Auburn hair, and softly traced my pink petal skin with the soft tips of my fingers. Then shrugged. “I guess.” she clapped her hands.
“After tea?” she had only had about three mouthfuls of curry and a little rice, it suddenly made me feel very piggy. But I didn't care, she was very petite. I was just... just below average I guess.
“Err, well I thought I was dissecting, or examining the body.”
“Oh I'd let your food digest first, we don't want it coming back up.” Lizzie smiled with bright mischievous eyes. “you should have time.”
“um, OK!” I said uncertainly.
“Don't worry!” she ensured me, “i was going to train for a hair stylist until I got caught up in all of this. Hair stylist or Zoo Keeper,”
I grabbed my hair.
“Hair?” she flicked hers behind her ear and nodded solemnly.
After a third helping of dinner – I was very hungry – I went and sat on the velvet turquoise stool that had a little gold drape dangling round the edges, that Vanessa showed me to. It was tucked away where I hadn't seen it before, in front of a very stereotypical dressing table, the type you would find back stage at Chicago in the 1920's Then I simply, just closed my eyes.
I felt her taking the top layer and clipping it to my head before she started cutting off chunks of hair... at my shoulders?
“Christ almighty! How short are you doing it!? And it doesn't feel like your doing it very evenly?” was this a sick joke?
“The reason i'm not doing it evenly is because I just need to get lots of hair off before I style it.” she laughed reassuringly.
Wait, so its going shorter? I swallowed loudly and leaned back. The constant sound of snipping irritated me after a while.
“I'm going to keep your hair colour, but I will shape it round your face so it brings out your eyes more.” she explained.
“Right.” I said.
After I while she said,
“do you mind if I out a couple of darker red streaks in.” I sighed.
“I guess you can, you seem to know what your doing.”
After the rustling of foil and a strong smelling dye ,that made me want to gag and gave my nose a numbing sensation, she dragged a straightening irons through my hair.
“I'm just doing this to smooth it and give it that slight shine effect.”she said as she pinch some soft hair glue between her fingers and pulled down the ends of my hair. Then she ruffled it a bit to give it some volume and sprayed on some shine spray that had a strong apple smell that made me choke.
“Give it a bit of volume,” she muttered to her self as she fiddled around. Then she applied some mascara. She spun my chair around to face the mirror. I wasn't shocked like I had expected to, be, I just felt some warm bubbles of happiness spring round like balls in my stomach. The low lights looked brilliant. It was a cute bob that was longer at the front and shorter and layered at the back, a bit like pixie style. It made me prettier than normal, but I've never been that pretty. Just cute I guess. She had put a thin sapphire blue Alice band in it.
“Thanks,” I whispered in astonishment.
“Your welcome.” she said smugly and gave a little spin just to prove her satisfaction .
We stared at each other for a moment with sparkling eyes.
“Yes, that's quite enough of fantasizing about hair,” Lizzie sat up from the sofa, she had let her hair down, it was shimmering in small but gorgeous waves to her shoulders. Vanessa, with her dead straight, silk black hair, set about tidying the dressing table, straightening a little picture that was blue tacked on to it and adjusting one of the light bulbs that framed the mirror.
Lizzie indicated for me to walk with her as she tied her hair in a bunch and slipped her funky glasses on. We walked through to the door and she unhooked two glaring white lab coats for us,
“slip these on,” she handed me two white gloves and one of those plastic caps cooks wear to stop hairs falling in food.
“We have these,” she explained, holding up two white face masks to cover out nose and mouth, “because we don't know what vapours the spirit may have left behind as a little souvenir for us - turn around please,” she said twiddling her finger in the air in a turning motion. I span on my heels and she tied it on for me. I felt very, very stupid indeed. But she was gearing her self up now so it was all cool.
“Thanks.” I muffled.
“That's aright. I would of done this body earlier but I kept it for you incase you decided to join. ” she replied kindly. Jeez, thanks.
“Shall we?” she opened the door to the blue room and I felt like I was going into theatre. I was so glad I wasn't squeamish.
We walked in and she pulled the white sheet off the body.
“If I do most of the cutting today,” she said pulling a scalpel out of a little tool box.
“See that file in the corner,”i looked over my shoulder at a little table she was nodding to, “would you get that for me and turn to page 2, I did some research but its probably better to double check what i'm doing.” I walked over an picked up the olive green folder, flicking to page 2 of the file completely devoted to the grotesque monster that was lying on the table ,as if it would jump up any second, even though I knew it was dead. I shivered a little as the scene spun itself in my head and read the title of page 2, Skin.
There were things cut from nature books and magazines about crocodile skin, plus her own curly hand writing.
“Cut the skin diagonally, like scraping meat of the bones of fish, to avoid cutting into scales. The scales act like armour, try slicing the scalpel so it cuts UNDER the scale to the soft flesh.”
I read out from her hand writing notes.
“Thought so.” she chirped happily. She did it all so casually. I watched in fascination as she angled the knife so it was at the very edge of the tiny gap between the scales, then slid it under the scales perfectly, then she dug her hands into the crack she had made and pulled it back to make a disgusting ripping sound ripple through the air.
“Whoa,” she breathed as the skin fell back to show an empty rib cage. I didn't say anything as she explained each step whilst working her way to cutting all the outer shell off the skeleton,
“if you flick to the front page it will say what category it goes in.” she told me, I flicked to the front. “Type one. It says type of is just a cage,”
“that's right, your soon learn the definitions of Type one, two and three,” she said nodding at the book as she cut the skin more and more so she could pull it off completely, “ they're called cages because the spirit fills them, but doesn't have as much control over the body than if it had working organs and so on. Some monsters we come across have just been taking over living humans, and eat them from the inside outwards with there spirit, then they can control the body after a while whilst the person has no idea hats happening to them until there eyes slowly turn black. When their eyes have coloured completely black they are now dead and become a host for the spirit. But we have only come across this twice before and both crated by the same Man who we accidentally let get away the first time, the second? Not so lucky. This isn't a that well designed monster, apart from the idea of using reptile skin as amour, they would be quite uncontrollably and easily get out of hand.” she put her elbow on the table and leaned in so she could get a better angle for cutting.
I nodded thoughtfully like a understood what she was saying, she stared at me for a bit whilst I bit my lip, frozen. For a second I thought she was about to bite me or yell at me – and then she burst out laughing, little bubbles of giggles escaped her mouth making her sound like a child rather than a mature adult.
“Its going to take you a while to get used to all of this isn't it.” she shook her head and bent her head back down to the body. I stared at it too. I've been awake for one day here and so much has happened already. Katie bullying what's-her-name seemed like years ago, in the distance, like trying to see through a veil. I forgotten names already. In fact thinking about it, I couldn't remember my mums face?
“What effects does the spirit take on people that haven't been possessed but they are just trying to disable so they can kill.” her eyes met mine.
“Dreadful things,” she whispered, “we carry these,” she slipped a little round white cylinder out her pocket, it was an 3D oval. In the centre was an orange bulb thing. Rather like those children lights you plug in and press the centre to get it to light up. In the centre was something that looked the same as the black swirling stuff (or spirits I should say now), but it was ice blue.
“A good spirit. Most good spirits go to the after life. This includes people who steal things and may have not been very good in life, they count as good spirits but may be a darker blue. Only people who have murdered are black. Any way, some, only very few, get lost and they are the strongest protection spirits of all. They can protect us from after effects of the Black Spirits. The only way they can stop spirits attacking us at all is if we have 7 all together in the same area, very rare. We only need one more for invincibility you could say. It won't stop them being able to kill us. We found that out before...”
Her voice was so sad it broke my heart and brushed my soul with tears that I knew would slowly soak in.
“My best friend, every body in the T.H best friend-” she stared at me “is it true...?” her eyes boggled.
“You look the same... you have his eyes” she had snapped into a major personality change.
“WHAT!” I yelled! “what?”
She slipped the skin off the skeleton ignoring me.
“People go mad, memory lost of child hood can disappear, people can forget who they are, the sheer shock can result in these things as well, especially if you have got in and pulled out just before it took you over, fighting it can be the worse thing to do. Those are the most known two, madness more than memory loss, but often they fade and stop after a couple of days, less. Some people just dye, like a fly being electrocuted. Others have fits for months after. Lots of horrid things happen.” She shuddered as the anger inside me went down to a simmer.
“I saw one of those people before I joined you lot ya know,”
her head came up but her eyes were back on her work, “at school, when I was thirteen, a girl with pitch black eyes. I herd things in the wall moaning and moving, I knew they were something different. I used to see her sneaking away at lessons est. In the end I knocked a wall down to find them, but I was expelled before I had chance to explore further.” she laughed. “you belong here.” she smiled.
“Hey y'all.” Nessa entered the room her voice filled with a delicious cowgirl twang she didn't normally carry. She grinned. “I'm reading a good old cowboy book at the moment.”
“When we gonna tell the kiddo?” she asked Lizzie, kiddo? She was only like, how much older than me? Meh. Maybe it was an everyday word to her.
“What...oh.” she puzzled for a moment, her eyes flickering up wards. “story time, this one seems tough enough to stomach it.” she smiled warmly at me. Nessa swept her long hair over her shoulder and clapped her hands. “So soon, ya pretty dam sure 'bout that?”
“She's staying, I know so. The whispers are telling me,” I saw understanding spread over Nessy's face, who was looking a bit more lively than she was earlier.
“See ya' all later!” Nessa waved with enthusiasm and practically danced out the room.
“Tell me what?” I asked slowly and suspiciously.
“Well your find that out later, will you not?” she said kindly, with a pinch of fear. Fear? Lizzie had a very, VERY English accent. But not the stereo typical, high pitch accent, she flowing and calming. Charming.
“Well, I think I'll continue writing notes on his body later, but now I'm so tired.” she yawned as if to prove a point.
We walked out the room later, but as we did so she paused by one of the draws that preserved the dead bodies, she slowed in her steps and looked as if she would cry. I wanted to be nosy ask what was in there that made her sad, but instead I did the right thing. “Lizzie, are you OK?” I asked, she walked out the room, and closed the door behind us gently.
“Fine.” she looked at me enduringly. “Lets go see what the boys are up to.” we put our protection gear in the pristine bin out side the rooms door.
“And then we shall tell you what you seek.” she cringed. “That's if you don't run screaming before we finished.” she grinned. “Actually, I think we will tell you it all with the stories, I think Jimmy and matt are starting a bonfire.” she grinned wickedly. “It going to be bitter, get some warm clothes on.”