Abe Sapien and the Witch

Chapter 6

Chapter six

That evening they parted ways, Abe sensing unhappiness from his friend and she knowing that's where Abe needed to be. Laying on her bed later that evening, she was reading a book and was surprised as loud music unexpectedly reverberated through the walls, normally Abe's music was not so loud on the speakers. I can't smile without you were some of the lyrics that hummed through the walls and she smiled to herself, hugging the book to her chest.

Did that really happen? She asked herself, staring up at the ceiling as the song played, other muted voices joining it from time to time. Is that Abe and Red joining in? She wondered, trying hard to picture the two of them singing along to something so romantic. It seemed as if the big guy was pretty upset about something, after all. She placed the book on her nightstand and pulling the chain to cut off the light, she curled up as the music lulled her to sleep. You came along just like a song and brightened my day...

At breakfast the next morning, she hoped to bump in to someone she knew and luckily, Krauss was there. He always seems to be in the cafeteria, strange as he never eats, she thought to herself, sitting down next to him with her tray.

"Ah, Hallo zere! Und how are ve today?"

She smiled back at him and nodded a positive response, reaching into her purse for a note she had written especially. There was a question she had for him and she hoped he would help her. Passing him the note, she waited, and he laughed as he read it "Why, ov course I can help vit zis, zis is a very small thing to ask! Leave it viss me, und I vil have it ready by ze evening!"

Her smile was more thanks than he needed, and he felt quite pleased to be asked to help with something quite personal as she slid a small brown envelope across the table towards him, turning back to eat her scrambled eggs with reddening cheeks.

Unsure what to do next with her day, she found herself wandering past the practice range, hearing gun shots booming from within. She was curious, and as he had asked her to come along, she popped her head around the door to see if Red was in.

"Hey, kid!" a voice greeted her, warm in tone and she was glad to see the red man in much higher spirits today, shooting a large gun at a stuffed dummy by the far wall. "C'mon in" he said, waving the gun in circles as a motion to enter and she complied, eager to see what he was doing. One side of the practice area was filled with different herbs, powders and random bottles of liquid and she surmised that this was where he made the concoctions for his special bullets and reliquaries- Krauss had told her a little bit about it over dinner one evening.

"This particular one, I use for killing Kanbas with. You ever hear of one of those?" She nodded, familiar with the soul sucking creature. "Watch this!" he said, aiming his last bullet, and firing. His arm jerked a bit with the impact, and a golf ball sized hole was blown from the dummy. "Not bad right?"

She clapped, applauding him and then thought for a moment, spotting a notebook to the side of his workspace. Looking it over, she pointed towards the shelf of ingredients as Abe poked his head around the door, unaware of her presence "Oh boy does my head hurt to- oh, well hello there!"

Red started to laugh as Abe stepped inside, sheepish and eager to come closer to her. "What are we doing?" "Well I just took a nice chunk out of old Betsie here with these new Kanba killin' bullets I've been tinkerin' with, but it looks like tiny has an idea!"

She was blushing now, eyes darting from Abe to the table in a fluster as she tried to remember what she was just about to do. Oh, yes, she had it. Taking an empty cylinder, she mixed some different powders from the shelf, carefully dropping in a specific amount of a certain green liquid and spinning it in her hand to mix it. She pointed at one of the empty bullet cartridges that Red made himself and he stood behind her, holding one in place with his stone hand as she dripped enough of the mixture in to fill it, before he sealed it.

"We're trying this, right?" he asked, a wide grin on his face as he loaded the bullet and headed towards the shooting area and Betsie. "Hey..." Abe said, walking around the workbench to stand beside her. She stood closer to him, her arm touching against his as she smiled her greeting back, heart jumping into her throat at the way his eyes sparkled down at her. Like the entire universe was focusing on her, she could feel her throat tighten as her hand reached close to his.

"Ready!" Red roared and the two were startled apart as he fired, a mighty roar booming through the room. Betsie was a mere stump, with Red thrown across the floor from the power of the shot. "DAMN!" he said, jumping up and laughing "You don't play around! Hell yeah, Kanbas are gonna die in one shot with these puppies! Needs work but...damn!" he ran over, clapping her hard on the back and she winced, ribs still a bit tender to the touch.

"You gotta write this down for me, hell we gotta go through ALL my recipes and make 'em better!" This is-ah, nuts!" he said, throwing his empty gun across the worktop as his beeper started flashing, indicating an emergency.

"Bad timing. C'mon Abe! See ya later, tiny" he said, swooping his jacket on over his shoulder as he dashed out the door.

"I wish I could stay..." Abe whispered, a brief pause before he began to walk away. She grabbed the notebook and scribbled something in it, running after him and stopping him in the doorway to hold it up in front of his face.

"The library, tonight? I'll be there" he said, a shy smile softening the corners of his lips.