Wake Up

Chapter 7

Ziggy's hand shook as he picked the last chocolate coated coffee bean out of the box. His stomach gurgled as he crunched on it. It had taken all night to get through the box. He rubbed his eyes and tried not to yawn.

When he glanced up he startled and stared at his window. A twisted shadow slipped by, darting away. With his heart thumping Ziggy crossed his room to look outside.

"Trixie!" Ziggy opened his window to shout after her. The hot and heavy air rushed in like a wall against his face.

Trixie turned back around. She didn't seem to care about the suffocating heat even as it plastered her pigtails against her scalp and made her clothing stick to her skin. In one sweaty hand she wielded her slingshot, a fistful of marbles clenched in the other.

"What are you doing?" Ziggy gawked.

"I'm looking for that guy," Trixie said. "You can either help me or stay out of my way."

"I'll help," Ziggy quickly said. "But why are you here?"

"This is where I first saw him," Trixie said. "He's got to be somewhere."

Together they went around the side of Ziggy's house where the trash cans were kept. He watched Trixie take the lid off of the cans and peer inside each one. Roosting in a nearby tree a crow cawed and cackled. Trixie slammed the last lid down and kicked the side of the can, making Ziggy jump at the loud bang.

"What'd you do that for?" Ziggy complained, wiggling a finger in his ear. Trixie glared at him.

"Where did you first see him?" she demanded.

"The garden," Ziggy said. He made a face. "I haven't been back there since."

The air shimmered with waves of heat and humidity, distorting the buildings as they walked across town. Ziggy turned his head every which way, darting his eyes.

"I don't think this is a good idea," he said. "We should look somewhere else."

"Don't be such a baby," Trixie said. "Don't you want to find this guy and give him a piece of your mind?"

"I don't want to give him anything," Ziggy whimpered. He jerked his head towards a flash of black in his periphery. It was only the crow, flapping languidly in the muggy atmosphere.

The community garden looked withered and brown. Ziggy hung back near the gate while Trixie investigated. She nudged the limp and lifeless plants with the handle of her slingshot and checked behind the apple tree. Nothing stirred.

"There's nobody here, can we go now?" Ziggy asked. "I think my chocolate's melted in my pocket!"

"Come on, Ziggy," Trixie whirled on the boy. "If we don't do something he's just going to keep messing with us, and we'll never get a good night's sleep again!"

"I know," Ziggy mumbled. He dragged his feet as he followed Trixie out of the garden.

They met nobody else as they walked through town. The haze in the air worsened under the midday sun. Ziggy rubbed his eyes to try to make the fuzzy trees and blurry buildings come into focus. He stopped when something finally became clear.

"Ice cream!" Ziggy cried. The ice cream truck had its shutters up and the door ajar. A specter of fog crept out of the small structure from the refrigeration within. "Let's get some, Trixie, can't we?"

"I guess," Trixie said, licking her dry lips. "But make it quick."

Ziggy leaned on the counter and craned his neck around. Nobody was manning the station. He went around to the door and opened it wider. A gust of cold and creamy air made him close his eyes with a sigh. He stepped inside.

The door slammed shut behind him. Trixie's eyes widened as the shutters slammed down on the order counter next. Ziggy shouted but his words were muffled and indistinct. Trixie ran up and tried to pull the shutters back up but they wouldn't budge. She yanked on the doorknob and banged on the door but it too held shut tight.

A fluttering black shadow dove over Trixie's head with a nasty cackle. The crow swooped at Trixie and she threw up her arms before its beating wings could reach her face. The shadow grew until it loomed over her and the cackling turned into a raspy chuckle.

"Were you looking for me, Loud-Girl? Or were you looking for trouble?"

Trixie lowered her arms slowly and stared up at the man. His tall, dark shape didn't belong in broad daylight. His silhouette tainted the air around him with a miasma. Trixie fumbled with the marbles in her clammy hand and dropped most of them. She managed to secure one in the saddle of her slingshot and pulled it taut with a shaky arm, aiming it straight at his gleaming sneer.

"Let him go!" Trixie said, her voice shaking.

"Candy-Boy is going, all right," the man said. He gave the side of the ice cream truck a solid slap with the palm of his hand. The stand creaked and rocked and started to roll. Trixie jumped out of its way as it trundled down the street, quickly gaining speed. Ziggy's cries faded fast, carried out of earshot.

"No!" Trixie fought to keep her aim on the man as he turned his full attention back on her. She let fly with the slingshot, launching the marble with a hard snap of the rubber. The marble hurtled straight for him, right between the eyes.

He raised his hand in the space of a blink, too fast for Trixie to follow. The next thing she knew he had her marble pinched between thumb and forefinger.

"That's enough," the man said. He flicked the marble over his shoulder. "You found me." He moved in, his angled hands grabbing hold of her just as fast, his tight grip making her drop the slingshot. "Now give me a piece of your mind."