You Shine (Choni)

41- The Raid

Cheryl's POV

We had no problems occupying ourselves in the empty Worm. I danced on the poles, Toni poured us drinks, and we got lost in a drunken euphoria, giggling, kissing and dancing as if the bar was still full of people. We were boiling hot, dressed in our pants and our bras, having taken off our jackets and tops. Toni looked so hot in her leather pants and her black bra, and she taught me the dance she'd done on the poles when she first became a Serpent. I watched her, my mouth gone dry, before kissing her, pressing her against the pole.

It had probably hit around 2am when there was a crash from the entrance. Toni grabbed me, and we ducked behind the stage, watching and waiting to see who was breaking in. With a bit of luck, it would be some drunk Serpents who'd forgotten something. On the other hand, there was a good chance it was either the Ghoulies or Hiram Lodge, neither of whom seemed an attractive possibility.

We were hidden in the shadows, totally invisible to the intruder but able to see everything ourselves. I was behind Toni, my arms around her waist, my chin resting on her shoulder, watching.

It was worse than we'd expected. Hiram Lodge, with about three Ghoulies in tow, stood by the bar and surveyed the room. 

He nodded slowly. "The Serpents were here for the last time. Next time they come, it won't be the Worm they knew."

The Ghoulies cackled. "Next time, it'll be the Ghoulies' bar."

I noticed Toni starting to tremble with rage, and tried to whisper something reassuring in her ear to calm her down, but she was getting angrier.

"We might as well raid it now," Hiram suggested, a cocky smile on his face. "They won't know what's hit them."

He tossed a bar stool at the stage with surprising strength.

"Do you want to go home? I can meet you there," Toni whispered to me. "I know every secret passageway here. I'll be safe."

I shook my head. "No way. After what the Ghoulies did to you last time? I'm not leaving you alone."

"Cheryl, I know this bar. I know how to get out. I don't want to put you in danger," she hissed back.

"Toni, this is not the time to be stubborn," I hissed back. "I'm not leaving. Stop trying."

She nodded gently. Among all the noise, our conversation had remained undetected. We looked out again, to see the Ghoulies taking the drinks behind the bar. We grabbed our jackets, pulling them on quietly, but left our tops behind.

Toni found a small block of wood that had come loose from the stage, and chucked it at the Ghoulies before ducking down again, and running a few metres away, so they wouldn't know where she was. I followed her lead, going the opposite way and throwing something too.

The wood clattered into the Ghoulie with the stun gun, and he shouted out, whipping his head around. I kept my head down, and kept running to the other side of the stage. There were still a few empty glasses from the crowning, and I began to blindly throw them at Hiram Lodge, who was looking around furiously, trying to find whoever was responsible. 

I could hear Toni throwing something huge at the other end of the stage, and a reassuring thump as it found its target. Smiling, I kept pelting glasses at them, watching them splinter and shatter on the ground.

The Ghoulies were beginning to come towards me, and I began to panic, regretting my decision to leave Toni. But then I felt her hand take mine and silently lead me to a small door in the stage. She really did know all the tricks of the bar. I hadn't even noticed it, but she pulled it open, and we crawled through, wriggling our bodies to fit. It was a tight squeeze, and we had to hurry up, but it was comforting knowing that they would all be too big to fit through too. 

Under the stage, stairs led us down into the storeroom. Toni looked around, cherishing the memories she had here. 

"Cheryl, I think we're gonna have to burn down the place," she told me, her mouth set in a worried line. "There is no way we're letting the Ghoulies take it."

I smiled grimly. "I live to burn down buildings. Start pouring vodka."

She squeezed my hand, and started passing me bottles. "Okay. I'm not lighting anything until you're out of the building. I'll meet you at the front."

I grabbed as many as I could carry, and started going through the cellar, to the stairs which led me back up. I was worried for a second, until I heard something smash behind me. I reckoned the Ghoulies had just gotten under the stage too. I knew Toni would be fine, and started running, spilling the strong liquid everywhere, throwing bottles. I made it to the front quickly, and stood by a tree, ready to step out if I saw Toni, but also ready to hide if Hiram came out.

Toni didn't come in the next few minutes, and I felt myself starting to worry. I ran back to the entrance, gingerly looking inside. Toni was there, with one of the Ghoulies, fighting. Of course she was. This girl couldn't resist a good punch up.

I yelled at her. "Get out!"

She threw me her lighter. "As soon as I hit the door, light the floor!" She screamed, punching the Ghoulie. Hiram and the other Ghoulies were coming over rapidly, and she knocked the Ghoulie onto the floor, before sprinting to me. I waited until she was safe, and grabbed her hand, running to the back of the building.

"We can't kill four people," I reminded her. "Tell me when they're all out at the front."

She ran to the corner, carefully looking around it, before turning to me and nodding. 

I flipped the lighter and threw it onto the floor. The entire ground erupted in orange and red, a spectacular view. Toni grabbed me as I stared, mesmerised, into the flames. 

"Cheryl, we need to get out of here NOW," she said, and I let her take my hand and run, running with her, my hair flowing out behind me. She led us to where the motorbike was, jumping on quickly and starting the engine.

"See, it was good practice that one time you nearly fell off because you weren't fast enough," she smirked, as we sped off. 

I hit her lightly on the shoulder, and she laughed, before I felt all the adrenaline flowing through me, and couldn't resist laughing too, uncontrollably.

"It's a shame we lost our tops," she said, looking down quickly at her bare stomach. "I really liked that top."

I laughed harder, holding onto her, as we sped home, exhilarated and happy.