Voodootown

Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Eun Kyun

Eun Kyung shut the car door and leaned out the open window.  It was chilly outside and she didn't want to know how that felt for Ash and Bambi with their soaked clothing.  She looked at Danica and Hehet, who stood on the curb, with Camo by their feet.  As she watched, the doll began to blend into the background and was soon impossible to see.

Ash leaned out the driver's window.  They had all been about to visit James when Blink had gotten the phone call and they had decided to split up.  "Hetty, just don't let anybody see you or James.  As far as we know, they don't have a psychic mugshot of you guys yet.  Get the charm on him fast, okay?  Then just hide-out 'til the dolls get their thing done."

"I've got a plan," Hehet said, and she smiled.  She stepped away, stopped.  "Ash, sorry about the sand in your face.  That was bitchy."

He waved a hand at her.  "Hurt less than getting punched."

She started walking again.  Danica went with her and Eun Kyung figured Camo was keeping pace.

"And you guys can call me Hehet, okay?"

"I think psycho fits you better," Eun Kyung said.  "Stay safe."  She sat back and looked down at Root.  It had been a shock to see the voodoo doll climb out of Ash's backpack, but with so many people acting so strangely, there hadn't been any rational explanations that explained even half of what was going on.  With the rational ruled out, Eun Kyung had already turned to weird ideas to explain things.  Live voodoo dolls that looked out for you were actually a lot tamer than some of the ideas she had considered.  For a while, she had seriously considered the possibility of that movie Plan 9 From Outer Space.

She held out a hand and Root gave her a high five.  "Nice to know you're around," she said.  They laughed as Ash swerved around a corner and sent them sprawling.

In the front seat, Bambi groaned.  "Ash..." she said.

Root had given Curtis' address to Ash.  As they pulled up it didn't seem like a bad neighborhood to Eun Kyung, but it wasn't a wealthy one.  The houses were small, but from the toys in the front yards, it looked like a family neighborhood.

They parked and knocked on the side door.  It felt reassuring to Eun Kyung to have Root tagging along in the hood of her sweatshirt.  Root had assured her that no one could see her, unless they were wearing one of the charms, so she could sit out in the open like that.

Curtis opened the door, yawning, and Eun Kyung watched his eyes to make sure he wasn't looking at Root.  He barely looked at any of them.  "Hey," he said as he ushered them in.  "What's going on?" 

"Got something for you and Janey," Ash said.  He held out the two charms.

"Nice.  Subtle," Eun Kyung said.  She looked around the boys and waved at Janey, who sat at the kitchen table.  There was a pile of school books in front of her.  She held Macbeth in her hand.  They were all supposed to be reading it for English, but it didn't seem too important to Eun Kyung anymore.

Janey just stared at her, didn't wave back.

Eun Kyung shrugged, checked in on Bambi.  The girl was pale and held her arm carefully.  Eun Kyung wished she could do more to help.  "Hey," she said to Bambi.  "How about we get Shaunice to look at it.  She's good.  Set Ash's nose in no time."

Ash turned away from Curtis.  "No.  Not Shaunice."

Bambi looked between them, then let her head droop.  It looked to Eun Kyung like Bambi was about to fall over.

Curtis looked at all of them.  "What's going on?"  He asked.  Eun Kyung could hear the difference in his tone.  It wasn't casual anymore, or friendly.