Voodootown

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Camo

They looked up at the attic window.  It was dark inside, and Camo couldn't hear anything from inside the house.

"I don't want to go in there," Blink said.  "I don't know her.  I mean, a little, but not really."

"Just tell her we're out here, okay?" Twister asked as she sat in the grass.  She had made the trip up without any assistance, but Camo could see how tired the doll was.  After watching her fight, Camo knew Twister's power wasn't just about moving fast.  She actually did something to make everything else slower, and maybe even more than that.  Camo felt like her ability was very small in comparison.

"We can't stay out here, Blink," Root said.  "They're still out there and it's almost dawn.  Our humans are going to wake up."

Blink nodded slowly, looked up once more and disappeared.

Camo waited, and only a second later, a loud thump came from the attic.  Another thump and they saw Blink stuck against the small window.  He waved a hand, seemed to be trying to point down, but was obviously unable to move any other part of his body.

After a moment, Ju Ju's face appeared at the window.  She looked down at them, then at Blink.  He nodded slightly, then fell to the floor.  Ju Ju opened the window.  "Hey."

"Hey," Twister said.  She fell back onto the grass, but waved.

"What's going on?" Ju Ju asked.

"We need a place to hide," Camo said.

"And we found out what's going on," Root said.

Ju Ju stared down at them, then nodded and waved them up.  Root, with two good feet, helped Camo make the climb up the gutter drain pipe and Twister followed behind.  She climbed in the window and found herself surrounded by rainbows and paintings of ponies.  Posters of kittens and puppies covered any wall that didn't have a mural on it. 

Camo gaped.  The room was dark, but she could still tell that it would be painfully cheerful when lit.  She looked from the chipper surroundings to Ju Ju, who wore black on black.  The doll had dark makeup on her pale fabric skin and somber clothing, made all the more menacing by the tiny voodoo doll around her neck.  Ju Ju stared back at her and waved a hand at Camo's own clothing.

She looked down.  Her short-sleeved shirt was stained as usual, but was now torn almost into lace.  Her pants were ripped and covered with oil.  Hehet spent over an hour each morning dressing and prepping for school.  She was about as different from her human as Ju Ju was from hers.  Camo shrugged and Ju Ju returned the gesture.  Then Camo saw something that did fit with Ju Ju.  The door to the rest of the house had a deadbolt, a padlock and a bar that was propped at an angle against it.  She checked the windows and saw that there were locks on those as well.  There was something Danica didn't feel safe from.

"What's going on out there?" Ju Ju asked.

They took turns telling the story, with Camo taking the most time.  Ju Ju stopped them when they told her about how Blink had sealed the tunnel.  "Is this what I think it is?" Ju Ju asked.

Twister, Blink and Root nodded, but Camo was the one to answer.  "That human's taking over."

"But how?"

Camo started to feel tired.  She looked at Danica's clock.  It was a teddy bear with the clock face buried in its stomach.  It was nearly six in the morning.  Hehet would be up soon, might even be waking now.  "He's taking our eyes, our skin and using them to do what we can do.  He got into Voodootown.  No human should be able to do that," Camo said.

Everyone was silent a moment.  Camo watched as Ju Ju's eyes moved around the room, checked every lock and entrance.  The doll's hands went to the figure around her neck.  Blink flinched at the motion and Twister chuckled at him.

"Hey.  It hurt when she used that thing on me," he said.  "And I couldn't even teleport."  Twister glanced quickly at Ju Ju and Camo could tell she was sizing the other doll up. 

Then, Twister put a smile back on.  "Nice move with the carpet, though.  Smooth."

Blink smiled and shrugged.  "I just tried to think of what Flow would do.  He's cool like that."

No one answered and they were all quiet a moment.  Finally, Ju Ju looked at Camo, then Twister.  "Why?  What good does it do a human to capture dolls and take their powers?  It doesn't make sense."

Camo didn't know what the answer was.  She started to shrug, but found herself unable to move.  Her vision went blurry and started to dim.  She saw Blink lean in close to her.  "Hehet's waking up," he said.  His voice got quieter.  "See ya."

And then she was out.