Voodootown

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Twister

As Twister turned away from Ju Ju's new prison, the human's shoe slammed her in the chest and she hit the wall of the building across the street at full speed.  For a moment she felt her body flatten with the impact.  It hurt.  She groaned as she staggered back.  It didn't seem fair.  She seemed to have all the side effects of Flow's new connection charm, but none of the benefits.  She felt pain, but didn't have any energy while Janey was awake and not wearing her charm.

Nothing had seemed fair lately.  But Twister forced her head up, straightened her back and took a step toward Midnight.  She knew pins didn't work on him, and hexes didn't either anymore, but she'd find something to use against him.  She had to.

She pointed a pin back at Flow.  "Get that done, okay?"

His voice was quiet, but he answered.  "I will."  She was glad Janey had listened to her advice.  Flow's human Curtis seemed like a good match for her.  But the two teenagers wouldn't have a chance at all if Twister and Flow didn't survive this.

She faced Midnight, stayed silent.

He nodded down at her.  "You.  I have something special for you."  He turned around and Twister saw the growing crowd of thralls and Kapos.  "Bring me the fast one."

The crowd parted and one thrall walked forward.  It wore blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt, plain clothing for a doll.  The only thing that stood out at all was the streak of white in its slicked back hair.

But Twister recognized it.  It was Grease.

Twister knew that other dolls thought she was fast, but she wasn't.  She had always thought that her athletic abilities mirrored her human's, and Janey was barely passing gym class.  Twister just made herself look fast when she altered the rate time flowed.

She looked at the doll across from her.  Grease was fast, the fastest she had ever seen.  She gripped her pins as she stared at him.  The one thing that kept her from worrying too much was the fact that all the fighting thralls had been straightforward and predictable in what they did.  If Grease was going to come at her, she would let him.  She'd bury a pin in him when he got close to her.

Midnight reached into a small pocket on the front of his vest and pulled something out.  He shook his hand and Twister heard several things rattle in his palm.  The man leaned over, dropped something onto Grease's head.

The doll convulsed.  He arched his back, and when he leaned forward, Twister could see how his back had widened and grown hunched.  His whole body lengthened and grew heavier.  She saw short hair sprout from his cloth skin and his jaw lengthened and spread out, growing sharp teeth.  He dropped his hands to the ground and squatted there, looking more like the combination of a bear and a wolf than a doll.

Twister had no idea what kind of a hex that had been, but she stood her ground.  Looking at her, Midnight dropped another object onto Grease.  Metal plates spread out over the altered thrall's body.  They covered his back, chest, everything except his mouth and eyes.  Grease stepped to the side on all fours and the armor creaked, but moved smoothly with him.

The pins in her hand felt heavy.  Twister kept hold of them, but knew they'd be useless against the armor.  They would break against it and she would have no weapons at all.

"One more," Midnight said.  He dropped something else on Grease and his hands, or front paws, were instantly covered in dingy brown gloves.  Attached to the gloves' fingers were metal blades.  That charm she recognized...a Krueger.  It was popular at Halloween when dolls dressed up as things from the human world.

Grease reared up in front of her, clawed arms held out wide.  The pavement shook beneath her feet when he dropped back down.  Twister frowned and slowed down time to half its normal speed.  She felt the exhaustion that had been growing in her all week.  With the charm she wore, the lack of energy was made worse by the addition of new aches and pains.

But there was nothing else she could do.  She slowed time even more, not to the limit of what she'd done before, but almost there.  She swayed a little, knew that it would only get worse if she had to fight while keeping up this level of effort. 

When she saw Grease move, her heart fell.  He simply picked up one of his steel clawed paws and shifted it to the side, but it looked to her like he was moving at normal speed.  She knew then that there was nothing she could do.  No matter how much she slowed time, Grease would come at her with his armor, size and claws and she wouldn't be able to do anything.

Twister let time slip back to normal, pressed her stitched lips tight and raised her pins.  "Come on."