Rabbit Blood

Chapter 28 - Making Meaning

"Vaggie and I have organized something really special for this weekend," Charlie announced to Group 1. "We're bringing together all the guests to watch a movie, and afterwards, we'll discuss its merits, and compare our interpretations of the subject matter!"

Leslie, sitting sans notebook for once, discreetly offered a marshmallow to Angel Dust, who impaled it on his gold fang before chewing. This morning, he forgave her well-meaning but hopeless plan to vanquish Valentino. Possibly the candy had something to do with it.

"The movie we've picked," Charlie continued, "is one of the best and most culturally significant movies of all time-"

"Die Hard?"

"No, not Die Hard," she chided. "It's a story of the power of the human spirit, about finding freedom and hope even in the darkest of places...!"

"Wayne's World?"

The interjections were silly enough to make Leslie laugh, but she concealed it for Charlie's sake.

"Oh, I know," Angel Dust said. "It's gotta be that fuckin' prison movie, right? Uh... whatjamacallit."

"The Shawshank Redemption, yes."

"Seen it."

"Seen it!"

As the demons sounded off, Charlie waved her hands dismissively. "Well," she said, "you're expected to attend at least the second half of the evening for a discussion of the movie's themes. No exceptions! If you need an excuse to get out of work, we will talk to your bosses. We want you all here to attend and share your thoughts, or just listen to others. Even if you have seen Shawshank, re-viewing it will certainly be helpful."

Leslie saw the movie once, as a teenager, and her mom had chased her out of the room for certain scenes. It might be good to watch it again. Hell, it had 'redemption' right there in the title; if Charlie said this movie was good for the soul, then of course it was. Still, the mandatory attendance was a new feature of the hotel's curriculum. Wasn't it simpler to show the film separately to each group?

"They prob'ly don't wanna sit through it six or seven times," Angel Dust opined as they left the session. "Don't blame 'em, ta be honest. Wanna grab a drink in the hall?"

"Er..." Leslie checked her watch. "Sure, I've got time. Why the hall, though?"

Angel explained that someone had re-erected the fallen pole, and he liked to watch people dancing around it. "Fuckin' amateurs, always fallin' on their faces," he said. "Priceless."

o - o - o - o - o

Leslie rapped on Alastor's door after her shift on Friday night. Her fear of the magnets was interfering with daily life, and she wanted to get it over with. Why couldn't she have thought of a lesser torture? Doing a thousand push-ups... Eating those insanely hot chilies... Anything but this.

No excuses, she thought. If you can subject yourself to pain and discomfort for a few kisses, you can do it to help Angel.

Alastor answered the door with that smug grin of his.

"Are they here?" she asked.

"They're here!" he confirmed. "Had them picked up this afternoon."

Her stomach shrank. "Oh, goody."

Placing his hand at the small of her back, he showed her to the desk, where the magnets were sitting. They were small enough to go down easily, without water, even, and were stuck together fast.

"Now, these are..." Alastor hesitated, fluttering the fingers of his left hand. "I don't remember the pull grade, but they can hold a few pounds of weight! Rare earth magnets, they are called. Probably they'll cause internal tearing, whereas these..." He reached across the desk, and Leslie saw two more metallic lumps, also stuck together. "Not quite as strong, but when they do meet, the larger surface area should-!"