Chapter 57

[The following chapter contains strong language. Reader caution is advised.]

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Friday 12th November 1999

 

 

“Do you guys ever feel like you’re forgetting something…?” Bao asked us one grey, miserable November afternoon.

 

“Does it count as ironic if I say that I can’t remember?” I responded with reasonable sincerity.

 

“You should ask Alanis Morissette,” Kendal advised me.

 

“Good idea…”

I stood up from the sofa like a man on a mission.

“Dakota, I’m gonna go use the phone, sorry in advance for the bill.”

 

“I’m sure Neil won’t hurt you too much,” she purred up at me. It’d been so long that I’d forgotten he owned this house…

 

“I mean, she’s probably busy right now anyway…” I concluded, returning to my seat meekly.

 

“Really, though, it feels like my brain’s itchy…” Bao spoke up. “Like there was something I was meant to do and it’s just out of reach… or buried… or in some kind of alien language I can’t decode… and I don’t know how to scratch that itch…”

 

“You left the oven on?” Zahid offered up, followed promptly with, “a week ago?”

 

“Nah, nothing like that… it was more like a…”

 

Y’know that thing about “hanging on their every word”? Well that’s how I felt as the five of us waited for Bao to continue his sentence.

 

“Come on, you can do it…!” Kendal whispered like she was watching a football match in a library.

 

Really, though. The longer he spent trying to find the right words, the more tension manifested. It honestly could become a spectator sport.

 

“… ahff.”

Accompanied with a broad, dismayed shrug.

 

“You tried your best…” Kitty told him quietly.

 

“Maybe Harriet would remember,” Dakota considered, followed by a light stretch.

 

“Shouldn’t she be done with her practice by now?” I questioned. The handful of times Dakota had stayed back at school to do some extra work for Dance, it had only taken an hour or so…

 

Bao looked up at the ceiling, past his furrowed brow.

“Yeah, she- oh shit fuck shit balls-!”

All of a sudden, he sprang out of the armchair, almost flying over the coffee table and sprinting through to the hallway.

 

“Ooooh… he was supposed to go and walk her back here, wasn’t he?” Kendal looked to the rest of us with an amused smirk.

 

“Kendal, drive me to the school!” Bao’s desperate voice rang out.

 

“Alright, but you owe me!” she sang, bouncing to her feet. “Anybody else wanna come for a ride?”

 

“Might as well,” I mused. Bao was lucky that Kendal had started driving to school daily, not wanting to brave the recent bone-biting cold that had gripped town (I think it speaks for how cold it is that even “challenge everything” Kendal has resorted to using her car). Of course, the rest of us had to take turns joining her for a quick drive back to Dakota’s or braving the normal march. Curse there being seven of us… or Kendal’s car only having five seats…

 

“See you shortly, then!” Dakota waved Kendal and me off as we went off after Bao. Shoes and jackets were put on in a hurry under the pressure of Bao’s restless urgency, and in seemingly no time at all, we were in the Paintermobile and reversing out of the driveway.

 

“I suck so much… god, I hate my brain sometimes…” Bao groaned from the back seat as Kendal drove us off down the road at slightly-alarming speed.

 

“She’ll understand, man, it’s okay,” I assured him. If anybody I knew was likely to forgive easily, it would be Harriet. Especially when it came to her boyfriend.

 

“Understand what? I kept reminding myself at lunch… ‘gotta meet up with Harriet, gotta meet up with Harriet…’ I shouldn’t have forgotten…”

 

“These things happen, Bao,” Kendal noted. “D’you really think Harriet’s gonna be all ‘baah, you forgot about me, you did that on purpose, I hate you now, no playing with my boobs until Christmas!’?”

 

“I don’t think anybody would expect her to say that…” I said dryly after a couple of silent seconds had tip-toed by.

 

“If I had tits like that, I’d be using them as blackmail material,” she clarified like it was nothing.

 

“… with a girlfriend or with anyone…?” I asked, warily, as I felt like this new discovery had been unearthed amidst a conversational minefield.

 

“Probably anyone, if the situation allowed…”

 

“Okay…”

 

“You’re picturing it now, aren’tcha?”

 

“A little bit…”

The mental image of Kendal, with large breasts, leering over a grown woman with a triumphant expression.

 

Bao didn’t say anything else until we reached the school. It was, of course, a short journey; only a few minutes after leaving Dakota’s, we pulled up to the school gates. No sign of Harriet hanging around… not that surprising to me, considering how cold it was. Sadly, that meant the three of us having to venture out and look for her.

 

And without boring you with the details… she wasn’t in the sports hall, or the Sixth Form Centre, or anywhere else we could think to look for her.

 

“Maybe she decided to walk back herself…?” I offered up as we hurried back to Kendal’s car.

 

“Maybe, yeah…” Bao nodded gloomily.

 

“Really, Bao, you don’t have to beat yourself up over this…”

I said while fully aware I’d be doing the same…

 

“Since we didn’t see her on the way here,” Kendal reminded us as we entered the Paintermobile, “maybe she was walking down the alley and we just… missed each other?”

Most of our route to Dakota’s was along the roads, but one long alley served as a shortcut for us. It was a fair guess that Harriet had reached the alley before we could pass her by…

 

“Mhm…”

 

“Or maybe she was here but she left while we were searching around…?” she continued. “Let’s drive back, see if she’s walking now. We’ll stop and check in the alley too.”

 

“Sounds like a good idea,” I chipped in. “If she’s not back at Dakota’s, I guess we could stop by at hers as well?”

 

“Absolutely!”

Kendal started up the engine once again, and our return journey began, this time slower than the first trip as we scanned the sidewalk for Harriet. I kind of felt sorry for the people we did see, traversing the cold… the elderly folk especially, wrapped up in enough layers to work as the subject of an unorthodox game of pass-the-parcel.

 

It wasn’t long before Kendal parked up by the curb in the quiet street that led off to the long alley. Again, we unbuckled and disembarked, Kendal locking up behind Bao and me as we set off, towards the mouth of the alley, like a current was pulling us in. One of the wooden fences that served as its walls became visible first, then the footpath stretching ahead, and then a single discarded backpack maybe fifteen metres ahead of us.

 

For just a moment, Bao completely froze to the spot. I knew, from that alone, what was happening.

 

“No… no, no, no, no…!” he uttered, his feet suddenly moving again, faster now, propelling him forward, through the alley, right over to the backpack that could only be Harriet’s. I followed after him, and I could hear Kendal’s footsteps catching up behind me.

 

Bao practically stumbled the last few steps to the rucksack, collapsing next to it and clutching it close.

 

“Fuck… what the fuck have I…?” he was hissing beneath his misty breath by the time Kendal and I joined him.

 

“You didn’t do this…” Kendal soothed him even as her own concern unmistakably shone through.

 

Bao simply shook his head in response, holding the backpack like it was Harriet herself, like he couldn’t let go. I noticed a piece of paper sticking out of one of the side pockets, stuffed in in a way I could never see Harriet doing. Curious, suspicious, I reached forward and grabbed the paper, unfolding it and… my troubling hunch confirmed… found Melody’s emblem printed on it.

 

“At the playground.”

So it read.

“Come fetch when you’re ready.”

 

“Melody has her,” I told my friends. “At the playground, apparently.”

 

Without missing a beat, Bao sprang up and ran top-speed down the alley.

 

“Bao-!” Kendal called after him in surprise.

 

“Kendal, take the bag, go get the others!” I urged her, shoving the sheet in my pocket. “I’ll go with Bao!”

 

“Roger!” she barked, right before I shot off after Bao… who, in the past few seconds, had already reached the end of the alley. He disappeared from view within moments, and I pushed myself to try and catch up with him. I crossed the alley in a matter of seconds, then flung myself around the corner, while my mind raced at similar speeds with thoughts of what we were going to find at our destination. And I knew that, whatever images my imagination brought to mind, Bao was picturing far more and far worse.

 

The cold no longer bothered me. My sprinting was heating me up anyway. Besides, it would be petty to care about that now.

 

Bao was visible up ahead, still beyond the reach of my stride. If anything, he may’ve been getting faster.

 

We took maybe a minute rushing to the playground. One of the longest minutes of my life. The journey felt way too long.

 

And by the time the playground came into view, I could make out multiple figures in the mix of fading autumnal daylight and yellow streetlight glow… including Melody, in her black-and-white clothing, scythe in-hand, Harriet kneeling in front of her.

 

Bao’s Lokon blades appeared in his hands; I summoned my sword in kind.

 

Melody waved at us with her free hand. Closer now, I could make out that she was wearing her mask. Her entourage was sporting a mix of scowls and smirks.

 

The scythe’s curved blade was poised at Harriet’s throat.

 

“GIVE HER BACK!” Bao screamed primordially as he reached the playground, only to grind to a halt a second later as Melody moved her weapon a little closer to Harriet.

 

“There we go…” I heard our enemy purr as I finally caught up with Bao. I brought my sword forth and donned my Painter gear straight away; Bao either caught the flash of blue in his peripheral vision or had the same idea at the same time, as he blasted his on a moment later.

 

Harriet seemed to be trying to stay calm, despite the tears rolling down her cheeks illuminated by Melody’s scythe. She was shaking, breathing uneasily, looking at Bao and me with fearful, desperate eyes.

 

“If you hurt her… if you even hold her too tight…”

 

“You’ll what, Bao?” Melody cut him off. “I know violence begets violence, but I really don’t see you attacking me. You’re not the type to assault a girl, and I don’t think you’d manage to reach me anyway.”

 

“What are you even doing, Melody?” I growled at her. “Are you going to blackmail us into working with you or something?”

 

“Oh, I think we’re past the point of seeing eye-to-eye,” she cooed. “This is me making a simple point. Reminding you how the world works.”

She stroked Harriet’s head with her free hand, like she was nothing but a pet.

“You can’t involve normals in this. They just don’t belong in a battle between monsters.”

 

“Get your hands off of her!” Bao snapped fiercely, twitching from the barely-contained urge to lunge forward.

 

“You’re the one involving her!” I added, glaring at Melody, watching her every move.

 

“Really? Doesn’t she hang around with the six of you? Hasn’t she loitered on the outskirts of your battles? Is she the Painters’ mascot? Or some kind of public image thing?”

 

“She’s my girlfriend and you know she is, damn it!” Bao howled. “Just stop it!”

 

Melody looked down at Harriet, still stroking her hair.

“Look how much he cares for you, Harriet. Is it all worth it for that? Is he your soulmate? Do you forgive him of all his monstrous sins?”

 

“Please…” I heard Harriet whimper as she quivered.

 

Bao began walking – only walking – towards Melody and Harriet, still appearing to be holding back his need to swoop in and grab his girlfriend.

 

“Careful, Bao…” Melody warned, her scythe glowing brighter for a moment to draw his attention; he slowed to another stop, a few feet away from her now. Her left hand moved up, sliding back the mask.

“I’ll let her go when you understand exactly why I’m doing this, exactly what I’m trying to prove.”

 

“Doesn’t me and Harriet being together prove you wrong?” he countered sharply. “Normal people and… stupid scatter-brained fuck-ups like me, we can be happy together!”

 

“Not when I’m finished,” she scowled back. “Not once she understands what you really are.”

 

“She already knows! She loves me anyway! Why can’t you just let people be happy?!”

 

“You’re still living a lie, Bao!”

Melody smiled brightly now. This was her trump card, her checkmate.

“You’ll never truly be happy with a girl who treats you like you’re normal.”

 

“How would you know? What do you know about happiness?”

 

“I’ve never been happier than I am right now, watching you panic, watching you squirm to defend your sad little imitation of happiness.”

The scythe moved closer still to Harriet’s throat; her other hand, back to Harriet’s head, grasping tighter now, tilting it back roughly to leave her throat fully exposed.

“I could kill her now, and save you. Stop you feeling ashamed of forgetting, of gaining and losing interest in things so easily. You can love yourself if you stop loving normals like her. All you have to do is take the leap.”

 

“Bao… help…” Harriet begged, tearily now.

 

A couple of tense seconds passed. I glanced at Melody’s followers, all watching on, ready to act if needed.

 

“What do you want me to do…?” Bao finally asked Melody. “Whatever I need to do for you to let her go…”

 

“Accept the truth. Accept that she doesn’t belong in this war.”

 

“I never said she did! When did I say she did? She’s not fighting-”

 

“But she’s with you fighters, and this is what happens to civilians caught up in conflict, Bao,” Melody asserted.

 

I stepped forward. The entourage fidgeted, ready to act.

“You’re very good at trying to prove your point, Melody, and we get it,” I began. “We’ll keep her out of the way. Just let her go.”

 

“You clearly don’t get it,” she sneered.

 

“Can I shoot them?” one of the crowd, a man in his twenties with wild hair and a long overcoat, asked Melody abruptly.

 

“Not just yet, Dirk,” she told him with her eyes still locked on Bao.

 

“Fine… but the other ones are coming,” he informed her. I resisted the impulse to turn and check, going only on assumption that he meant Dakota, Kendal, Zahid and Kitty.

 

“If they want to start a fight, we’ll give it to them,” Melody spoke venomously, before addressing Bao and me again: “I don’t want this to end in blood, boys. I don’t mind if it does, but it’s not ideal. This is how things are about to go: you’ll take Harriet from me, you’ll escort her back home, and you’ll forget all about her. And if you don’t, the next opportunity I get, I will kill her. I’ll paint the floor with her guts.”

 

“Shut up shut up shut up-!” Bao snarled at her, raising his blades up at her.

 

“How about now, Melody?” Dirk implored. I turned to him, pointing the end of my sword in his direction.

 

“I’d be careful, the last person who shot one of us wound up in a coma,” I threatened him.

 

“Then I’ve got a benchmark to beat,” the man grinned, reaching into his coat.

 

“Steady, steady…” Melody eased him – perhaps all of us. “Let’s not escalate things.”

 

“You escalated this, you bitch,” Bao spat as the hurried footsteps of the others emerged behind us.

 

“We’re enemies. You’re trying to stop me; of course I’m going to target your unnecessary weak points.”

 

“What are you doing, Melody?!” Dakota shouted out from a rapidly-closing distance.

 

“Come on, I want to see how colourful their blood is…” Dirk said eagerly.

 

The sound of Harriet sniffling.

 

I tore my eyes from Dirk for a brief moment, and glanced back to my right to see Melody withdraw her scythe and relinquish her hold on Harriet. The blonde girl immediately scurried forward, and Bao dropped down to meet her, embracing her.

 

“Go ahead. Try and prove me wrong. I love seeing you fight the truth so incessantly,” our enemy told us with that smug superiority I’d come to despise. “I have eyes everywhere now. I’ll know what you do.”

 

That was the last thing she said to us; she turned her back and walked away, her followers joining her immediately save for Dirk, who glared at us for a moment, sizing us up before departing with his allies.

 

“We’re just watching them fuck off, then?” Zahid asked crudely.

 

“If you want to chase after them, go ahead,” Dakota replied, “but we’ve got Harriet back and that’s what counts.”

 

“I’m so, so, so sorry, Harriet…” Bao was murmuring all the while, cradling her, swaying lightly. “I completely forgot and I hate myself for it… I was so scared…”

 

“Mhm…” she squeaked.

 

“I’ll never let this… this never should’ve happened… I swear on my life, it won’t happen again…”

He was holding her so tightly.

 

“I know.”

She sniffled a little more.

“I want to go home.”

 

“Okay… okay, we’ll go back to yours-”

 

“Just… … just me… I need to be on my own…”

 

I didn’t take that as cruel or dismissive, but my stomach knotted itself all the same.

 

“Okay…” Bao said again, sounding crushed.

 

Dakota took hold of my hand at that point, and I turned away from Bao and Harriet, moving into a hug with her instead. Over her shoulder, I saw Kitty watching the reunited couple, such remorse in her eyes.

 

After a few minutes, Harriet was ready to go. Kendal drove her and Bao off while Dakota, Zahid, Kitty and I walked sullenly back to Dakota’s. It was on me, of course, to recount what had happened, and what Melody’s intentions had been.

 

“We can’t let her win…” Dakota affirmed as we finally returned to her place.

 

“Of course…” I spoke glumly.

 

“Harriet’s our friend. We’re not losing her just because of Melody’s delusions.”

 

“What do we do, handcuff Bao and Harriet together?” Zahid suggested.

 

“I don’t know… I don’t know,” Dakota sighed, “but we have to fight for her.”

 

When Bao and Kendal finally returned, Bao’s mood was understandably low, and none of us really knew what to say to help him. This whole situation had completely thrown us, and I couldn’t see any way to convince him that it wasn’t his fault. He was the first to leave that evening, palpably carrying that guilt off with him like a storm cloud hanging heavy above his head.

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