Voodootown

Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Twister

The rush of energy went through Twister and it reminded her of the last time Janey had ordered a triple espresso.  The pain didn't go away, and her right arm was useless, but she tingled everywhere and for the first time in days, she felt like she had a big well of energy to draw from.

Grease rushed at her and she slowed time as far as she could.  The hex that Midnight had just thrown at Flow froze in the air.  Nothing moved anywhere, except Grease.  The creaking sound of his shifting armor slowed and lowered in tone as it reached her ears, but he kept running toward her.  It looked like he was running as fast as a normal doll could with time at regular speed.

Twister had half a pin left.  She had tried to stab Grease in the mouth, but he had spit the pin out and her second pin had broken in his armor when she had slipped it between two plates.

She jumped to the side as Grease got close.  He swiped at her, but she parried the claws with her half pin and he passed by.

When he ran at her again, she dodged and looked around for something to use against him.  The hexes she had laid out wouldn't be of much use.  What she needed was something that would stick him in place, something that would hold him so she could pick him apart.

She stepped back as Grease spun around to her and she looked at Flow.  The glow between his hands spread out slowly.  She'd never altered time so much before that she could see light moving.

On Grease's next pass, Twister faltered and the back of her left arm was cut by a claw.  She shrugged her right arm out of her jacket and wrapped the whole thing around her left arm.  It wasn't much of a shield, but it might keep her arm from being cut.

She glanced back to Flow.  Whatever he was making was more important than anything she would ask him for.  If he didn't close the portal, then nothing mattered.  All Twister had to do was be strong enough to buy him time.

But she felt time slip out of her control for a moment when Grease turned and started for her.  She stepped away, felt his claws hit her wrapped arm and she fell.  As he ran past, she tried to find the energy to slow things down again, but felt only tiredness.  The jolt from Janey putting on the charm had only given her so much to work with, and she'd never pushed herself so far.  She checked her arm.  The last cut had left three tears in the jacket, but they hadn't cut through to her cloth skin.

Down the street, Grease turned, looked at her.  He hadn't made a noise during the whole fight.  None of the thralls had.  Twister stood, regripped the broken pin and put her left side forward.

Grease didn't move and Twister thought he must be looking for her to falter.  He must still think she was operating at full power.  She stood as motionless as possible and let her power rev up, then cycle back down.  It was too much to hold time still, but she could slow it for brief periods.  She just hoped that if he charged at her, it wouldn't be during an idle moment.  He stepped to the side and Twister stayed still.  If she didn't move, he wouldn't know she wasn't ready for him.

He rushed at her when she was slowing things and she was able to see him coming.  His arm swept out as he approached and she jumped up, over it.  One of his claws caught her on the ankle and she spun in the air, landed on the back of her neck.  Pain rushed into her from every cut, every tear in her skin.

The ankle started to buckle as she stood.  He had cut deep into it, nearly half way through.  At the end of the street, Grease stood up on his hind legs, looking at her again.  She glanced at her broken pin, then back to Grease.  Putting a pin in his mouth hadn't worked, but burying one in his eye might.

As he ran at her again, she slowed time as much as she could, felt the strain, but kept up the effort.  He drew close, moving fast, and Twister stood her ground.  She held the pin high and kept her eyes on the hole in his armor.  She pushed her power as much as she could, timed her stab, and as she plunged the pin down, Grease turned his head to bite at her.

The pin hit the side of his helmet, broke again and the oversized teeth in his mouth tore a hole in her stomach.  He hit her with his shoulder as he ran and Twister tumbled under his feet.  Her power shut off as she rolled on the street and rolled to a stop.  She moved her good hand to her stomach.  The rip was jagged and gaped open, threads and stuffing sticking out at odd angles.  She tried to sit up, couldn't. 

Grease waited for her at the end of the street.  Standing closer by, Midnight stopped throwing hexes at Flow and looked down at her.  She saw a smile spread across his face.

Twister rolled to her stomach, got her knees up under her and pushed up with her left arm.  She knelt there, looked for the broken pin.  It was over a foot away.  Too far.  She glared up at Midnight and saw Grease turn into a blur.  She raised her left hand and he circled around to her back before hitting her. 

The blow made her slide halfway across the street before she felt the rips his claws made in her back.  She came to a stop, half on her side, propped up by the stuffing that jutted from her back.  With her jacket on her arm, there had been nothing to protect her back at all and the cuts felt deep and long, maybe even worse than the bite on her stomach.

Twister tried to move, found that only her left hand could do anything.  She scraped at the street, but couldn't get enough of a grip to even crawl away, much less reach her broken pin and try to fight.

Then, she looked up, saw Grease walk up on all fours and stand over her.  Midnight stepped into her field of vision too.  Grease flexed one of his gloved, clawed hands.  She turned her head, but couldn't see Flow.  All she knew was that if Midnight was taking time to lean down close to her, then he wasn't worried any more about what Flow was doing.  That meant she had failed.  This human could use the gate to go anywhere.  He'd turn all the dolls to thralls and their humans would be his slaves.

And her human wouldn't even get that much.  She'd never get to really kiss Curtis, or go on a real date.  In a moment, they'd both be dead.

Twister reached up, touched the charm that hung around her neck.  "I'm sorry, Janey.  I tried."