Hellraiser (Loki & W. Wilson) **Hiatus**

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Al sits on the couch watching tv when Maze teleports into Wade's apartment. Al is Wade's roommate. Maze hasn't actually had any contact with her other than an introduction. Maze doesn't mind her. She's quiet, and from what Wade has told her Al is rather funny. Al lifts her head and turns it around a little.

"Maze?" Al asks.

"Yeah, just little old me...passing through" Maze assures her as she shrugs out of her jacket.

"I was just about to order in Thai....are you hungry?" Al asks as she reaches for the phone.

"I've got a shift but Cat will stay with you...keep you company" Cat barks in agreement and curls up on the couch beside Al who pats his head. Being blind means she can't see how fucking deliciously hideous the hound is. Cat likes that. Maze smirks a little and heads into Wade's bedroom to change. Whilst Maze hasn't been around Al much, she knows that the old blind woman actually means a lot to Wade, so she keeps the evil demonic nature held back around her. She's actually trying with Wade. Her memories of how life and her relationship with him were like before her demonisation are proving to be difficult to ignore. She actually cares about Wade. Despite the demoney part of her. She cares. And she knows how that works in her world. Caring comes back to bite people on the ass, hard. She cared about her brothers and that is what lead to her selling her soul. Her caring is what lead her to what she is and all the pain that came with it. She lets out a breath and turns to the mirror on the wall in Wade's room, up until recently it had been shattered and covered, but Maze persuaded Wade to let her fix it so she could use it. She brushes her finger the corner of her eye removing a smudge of eyeliner before leaning back. There, stuck in the corner of the mirror is a photo. Of her and him, before all of this. Before they were both changed forever. A constant reminder of the people they used to be, of what they used to have together. Maze shakes her head and takes a deep breath, holding her eyes up as her eyes turn white. She knows who she is now and she will never be going back to that girl.

..............

Wade sits in the back of a taxi cab. He takes a pamphlet for 'Haunted Segway Tours', folds it up, and puts it in his pocket. He plays with the window. He puts his finger in some gum on the ceiling, it gets stuck, he pulls on it, trying to free himself but it ends up a stringy mess. He shakes his hand and the chewing gum flies from his hand and onto the window. Wade whistles a little as he attempts to appear innocent. But he soon gets bored of that. Suddenly, Wade sticks his head up front to talk with the driver.

"Kinda lonesome back here." Wade comments and then he begins climbing up into the passenger seat, grunting. "Little help?"

"Sir, I have to keep my hands on the wheel."

"Excuse me." Wade finishes climbing into the seat and rights himself. The cabbie extends his hand.

"Dopinder." Dopinder introduces himself.

"Pool. Dead" They shake hands. Wade notices a picture of a woman on Dopinder's dashboard. "Mmm. Nice."

"Smells good, no?"

"Not the Daffodil Daydream. The girl." Wade corrects.

"Ah, yes. Gita. She is quite lovely. She would have made me a very agreeable wife, but, um... Gita's heart has been stolen by my cousin Bantu. He is as dishonourable as he is attractive."

"Dopinder, I'm starting to think there's a reason I'm in this cab today." Wade points out.

"Yes, sir, you called for it, remember?"

"No, my slender, brown friend. Love is a beautiful thing." Wade tells him. "When you find it, the whole world tastes like Daffodil Daydream."

"Mmm."

"So you gotta hold onto love. Tight!" Wade makes a fist. Dopinder copies him. "And never let go. Got it?" Dopinder nods.

"Yes"

"Or else the whole world tastes like Mama June after hot yoga." Wade points out. 

"Sir, what does Miss Mama June taste like?" Dopinder asks Wade. 

"Like two hobos fucking in a shoe filled with piss."

"Okay, stop."

"I can go all day, Dopinder. The point is, it's bad."

"It's bad. Uh, why the fancy red suit Mr. Pool?"

"Oh, that's because it's Christmas Day, Dopinder. And I'm after someone on my naughty list. I've been waiting one year, three weeks, six days, and oh..." Wade checks his Adventure Time watch. "Fourteen minutes to make him fix what he did to me."

"And what did he do to you?" Dopinder asks Wade.

"This shit." Wade lifts up his mask, revealing his horribly scarred face. "Boo!" Wade then pulls his mask down again. Wade begins patting his costume, looking for something. He looks in the backseat. "Aw, shit! I forgot my ammo bag!" Wade complains.

"Shall we turn back?" Dopinder asks.

"Nope, no time. Fuck it. I got this. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve bullets, or bust. We're here!" Dopinder slams on the breaks. They're on the middle of a bridge over a highway.

"That's uh, twenty-seven fifty."

"I, I never carry a wallet while I'm working. Ruins the lines of my suit."

"Oh" Dopinder offers dejectedly.  

"But, uh, how 'bout a crisp high-five!" Wade holds up his hand ready for a high five.

"Okay," The high-five.

"Merry Christmas."

"And a convivial Tuesday in April to you too, Mr Pool!" Wade gets out of the cab and it drives away. Wade rubs his hands together and moves to the edge of the road so he can peer down between the levels of the highway below.