Voodootown

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Squat

"Run faster," Squat said, his voice tense.  Sticks didn't take time to answer.  Instead, she checked the pincushion charms on her hips, made sure they were both still there.  The pompon tipped pins that she usually held there had been an attempt to make Bambi feel better about having to try out for cheerleading several years ago.  But, secretly, Sticks missed them, now that they had been replaced by the charms that would give her an unlimited supply of pins.  She had thought the pompons were pretty.

It wasn't too hard keeping pace with Squat.  His ability made him strong, but didn't seem to make him any faster.  Together, they turned the next corner and a thrall covered in spikes stood before them.  She whipped her hands up, threw two pins without breaking her stride.  Both hit the thrall in the center of its body and it crumpled to the pavement.

They hadn't seen any thralls lurking in Voodootown on the way in, but the things were popping up on their way out, obviously trying to slow her and Squat down.  She risked a look behind.  More of them were catching up.  And behind them, the human was gaining ground too.  His giant steps covered ten times the ground that she did, and he flattened his own thralls with nearly every step.  Sticks ran as fast as she could.  She didn't want to end up under one of those giant feet.

As they ran around the next corner, another thrall jumped at them from the side.  It collided with Squat and the two of them rolled on the ground.  When it ended up on top, Sticks saw that the thing had one arm missing.  The other three limbs ended in long claws that were embedded in Squat's clothes and skin.  She growled as she recognized it and pulled two pins.  With a grunt, she hurled them toward its side.

Squat rolled the thrall over and Sticks had to jump in the air to keep her eyes on her target.  She arced over the top and the pins she had just thrown curved as well.  They followed the moving thrall, locked on as long as Sticks could see what she had aimed at.

As Squat ended up on top, the two pins sank into the thrall and its claws released.  Sticks saw Squat grab the thrall and hurl it up at Doctor Midnight's face.  Without waiting to see if the throw hit or not, Sticks grabbed Squat by the shoulder and pulled him along.  The giant stairway was only a few blocks away, straight ahead.

"Come on," Squat said.  "Didn't we fight that guy like two days ago?"

"That's the first one that jumped Bloodhound.  Twister pinned him," Sticks said.  She threw pins at a group that was running toward them from the stairs.  She and Squat jumped over the bodies as they got close to the entrance.

"Just hope they didn't pull the pin out of that lightning guy," Squat said.

Two more pins went into a thrall who had circular saws for hands.  "Um, he got turned into..."  A bolt of red lightning crackled down toward them from Midnight's hand.  They jumped for the stairs, felt their hair stand on end as the lightning struck right below them.

"Oh, yeah.  Turned into a glove," Squat said.  He was slow getting up, so Sticks hauled him up again and threw another pin at the nearest thrall, one she recognized as a regular from Petro, where she and Squat had liked to hang out before all this started.  As she pushed Squat up the stairs, she wondered if they would ever sit there and drink potions again.

"Move your cloth butt," she said as she shoved.

Squat planted his hands on a step and launched himself up five steps.  As she caught up, he was on his feet and jumping up with her.  "Sorry," he said.  "Really tired."

Sticks felt her cloth mouth gape open.  "Did you just apologize?"  He grinned back at her.  "Great, now I know the world really is going to end."

They hit the top of the stairs, ran past the open metal door of the utilities maintenance shed and into the street.  The sun was going down, and the street lights were beginning to glow.

"Maybe they won't come out during the day time," Squat said.

Sticks just glared at him.  The first of the dolls chasing them ran out into the fading light.  Sticks looked around for a good place to run, but nothing stood out.  "You up for this?" she asked Squat.

He nodded as he looked around.  "As long as we don't have to keep fighting the same dolls over and over," he said.

"The pins come out, they get up," Sticks said.

Squat waved her to the curb and they stopped by a street sign.  It was a square metal post, the kind with the holes on each side.  "Buy me one second, will ya?" Squat asked.  He grabbed two of the holes near the base, pulled at them and broke the metal in between.  He circled around, pulled apart the other holes until the sign topped over, then he ran to the middle of the post and began the process again.

Sticks alternated hands, throwing one pin after another at the advancing thralls.  They dropped when struck, but the ones behind just marched over them and kept coming closer.  Soon she and her friend would be surrounded.

Squat stepped up next to her.  The section of metal post in his hands was nearly three times his height.  "Get behind me.  We keep backing up together.  You handle long range and I'll take care of any that get close.  Sound fun?"

"A blast," she said.  "And it still freaks me out when you're smart."

"And it freaks me out when you listen."  Squat swung his improvised bat and sent two thralls crashing into a nearby car.  Its alarm went off, but no one came out to stop it.

They walked backward.  Sticks threw pins, and sometimes they would alter their course to avoid Squat's bat before hitting their target and taking down one of the distant thralls.

From the stairway, she saw more movement.  Doctor Midnight stepped out, stared at them a moment, then picked up a thrall from the ground.  He held it a moment, seemed to bounce it in his open palm.  Then, without a word, he cranked his arm back and threw the thrall at them.  "I hope this is worth it," Sticks said.