VooDoo Follies (3 page)

“Where are we going?” Adrianna looked a little
fidgety, like those kids in class that haven’t taken their medicine
and end up speaking a thousand miles a minute or are incapable of
sitting still. She had that buzz of energy about her.

“My house, to pick up my car. The cemetery’s
not an easy walk from here.”

“Why are we going to the cemetery?”

I looked over at Stephen, wanting to kick him
for even asking.

“I’m going to try to put Adrianna back in the
ground, where she belongs."

A look of complete panic washed over Adrianna
as I watched. I hoped she wasn’t planning on bolting again, because
I really wasn’t up for a chase today. I thought I would try to
reason with her. “You said your mom tried to exercise you from the
house last night, like a demon.” I know it hurt her in some
capacity because she winced and slunk down a little further into
her own shoulders. “Imagine how everyone else would react. I mean,
I can’t even believe you showed up at the school this morning like
that. What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t, I mean, I don’t know. I can’t. I
can’t even remember anything. I think I wanted to find
you.”

“Me?” I questioned it for a second before I
realized, I was the first person she saw when she came out of the
ground. She must have remembered on some level. I watched as she
shrugged in a somewhat jerky fashion. I couldn’t tell if that was
because she was a zombie, or if she was just that unsure of
everything.

“What do you mean by putting her back in the
ground?” Stephen suddenly looked worried. “Is she going to die
again?”

“She is still dead, Stephen. She’s just
reanimated.”

“But she can talk.”

Adrianna nodded along with Stephen and looked
to me for answers I didn’t really have. “I don’t know how it all
works. I just know that when I reverse the spell she will be laid
back down to rest as if I had never disturbed her.”

“But how do you know? I mean, what if you
re-bury her and she’s still in there thinking?” Stephen was about
to make my job that much harder with his incessant
questions.

“I’m sure if that’s the case then she will
just dig her way out like she did last time.” I was exasperated.
These were all good questions, but ones better posed for my Aunt
than me. I thought I knew it all. I thought I had been ready to
take the Voodoo world by storm and lead others on their path. I
knew now that I wasn’t even close to ready to take on a leadership
role. I wasn’t even able to lead myself through this stuff. I had
skipped a lot of the research I was supposed to do that probably
would have answered these questions for me. This is what I get for
staying up late at night talking to my old friends on Facebook and
texting. I get a zombie and boy who asks too many questions. My
momma would tell me it’s my karma. My Auntie would tell me it’s the
Loas and Orishas trying to get me to pay attention.

No matter what it was, I knew I had to figure
things out before Stephen, with his lovely doe brown eyes, could
talk Adrianna out of being put to rest peacefully again. I
remembered I had my cell with me and turned it back on so I could
call my aunt now, before anything else could happen. “I’m calling
my Aunt Perrine, she will know what to do.” I saw the worried
glance that Stephen tossed my way and the indifferent confusion
that I had begun to associate with Adrianna. “My house is just up
this way.” We turned down the road and cut across to the other side
of the street.

My conversation with Auntie Perrine did not go
as well as I had hoped. I didn’t actually have any more of the
special powder I had to use to raise Adrianna, and apparently I
would need those same ingredients to put her back. If I had done
everything correctly last night I would have had enough juice in
the fresh ingredients to send her back to the ground, dumping the
ashed remains of my ceremonial bowel over her grave to seal
everything back up. The problem was, I didn’t do everything right
and the magic had already grown cold. I basically had to perform
the ceremony again over Adrianna’s empty grave and then perform the
sealing ritual to put her back at rest. This was getting more and
more complicated. I had to make a trip into the city to get the
supplies I would need and I couldn’t risk taking a zombie and a
freaked out teenage boy into a magic shop. They might panic, or
worse, someone might recognize them.

“Hey, my Auntie Perrine told me what I need to
do, but I have to run into the city for some supplies. I don’t want
too many people to see Adrianna and get freaked out, so is there
somewhere quiet you trust to go for a little while?”

They both looked over at me, Stephen with his
worried eyes trying to penetrate deep into mine, as if he were
looking for my secrets and Adrianna with an almost vacant look. She
seemed to be loosing her ability to reason and think even faster
than Auntie Perrine told me she would. Soon she would be mindless
and the only person she should accept commands from was
me.

“The graveyard.”

It tumbled in a dry, cracked mumble from
Adrianna’s lips, but I heard it. I think Stephen heard it too,
because I saw him stiffen beside her. “The graveyard?” I questioned
her quietly, but she never answered me. The vacant look was back
again.

“Stephen, I’m going to drop you guys off on
the corner down by the Bohemian Cemetery. Do you think you can keep
an eye on her long enough for me to go to Grandma’s Candle Shop and
get the supplies I need?” At his wide-eyed glance I added, “it
should only take about thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, okay.” He looked down at his feet as I
opened the door to the little blue Ford Fiesta we were standing
beside. Here, you guys get in.” I waited for the two of them to get
in the car and then I shut the door and went around to get in my
side. My thoughts were racing. I was scared to death to leave the
zombie, Adrianna, alone. I also had no choice. I drove them over to
the Carrol F. Cool Rec. Center and dropped them off. I didn’t want
to just drop them off at the graveyard and have them standing
around too long with people who may ask questions. They were going
to slowly meander their way over there. Meanwhile, I had an occult
shop to go visit.

***

Falling to Pieces

“I can’t. The words are all gone.” My mind was
blazing at the speed of light, every time I tried to say something
to Stephen the words were gone before they could come out, replaced
by five more thoughts, all just as fleeting. I wanted to cry
somewhere deep inside for this horrible thing that was happening to
me, but I couldn’t. My body wouldn’t work right. Stephen made
things better. I looked at his face, he tried to smile, but worried
eyes looked back at me. Those eyes used to glint and sparkle with
laughter for me.

We were walking slowly, awkwardly, I think. I
notice the lines in the road kept moving this way and that. It
wasn’t the lines, it was me. I was beginning to stumble a little as
I shuffled my feet. They were like heavy bricks strapped to the
rest of me. I didn’t want to move them any longer. So, I sat, right
there on the side of the road.

“...you’ll get hit by a car.”

I heard the last bit of what Stephen said and
managed one semi-coherent thought back to him. “Already
dead.”

Yes, I was. Crazy math girl new best. I
shouldn’t be here.

“Seraphine.” I said it out loud, the name
rolling off my thickened tongue like a dew drop. She sounded like
an angel to me.

I smelled funny. The sun was too hot for
October. I needed a bath. “Dead. No bath for me.”

“A - what’s going on?” Stephen looked at me
with worried eyes again.

“Dead.” I managed to say again. More thoughts
traveled at light speed through my mind, only now they were just a
jumble of pretty images going by. For a moment, I had a clear
thought. Maybe, this is what it was like when I died. I saw all
these images from my life flash before my eyes.

“Come on,” Stephen was saying to me. “Let’s
get you hidden in the trees by the cemetery, while I go find some
help.” I stood awkwardly, tripped over my own brick-heavy foot and
realized I had scraped the side of my toe as I did it. I felt no
pain, but bent awkwardly to pick my little toe up off the ground.
It had come off when I scraped the concrete.

Stephen’s eyes were filled with horror as I
held up the little digit and examined it. Then, I stuffed it in my
pocket with a shrug and followed him into the tree line. He was
gone before I knew it. I was left alone, sitting on the grass that
had already begun it’s change into a wintery death. Dead, like me.
Everything. Shiny white headstones peered at me from beyond the
trees. Then the leaves began to talk. “Crunch, crunch,” I almost
giggled at their voices. Singing. I heard... no. Not singing.
Mumbling. Leaves mumbling to me about their beer. Something wasn’t
right with the leaves.

“...lost my beer, found a pretty
girl.”

Crunch, crunch, went the leaves.

“Mmmm, hello pretty girl.” Silence filled the
air for a minute and then, “Hello?”

“Hello, leaves,” I was touching the dead
things beneath my fingertips as a hand touched my shoulder.
“Stephen?” I turned in time to see a dirty bearded face dropping
quickly to mine. The man smelled worse than I did. Garbage and the
sent of fresh, hot urine found my nose, then a hungry, bearded
mouth found mine. He was trying to bite me, I thought. So, I bit
back. I bit his lip, pennies dropped in my mouth. Heavenly droplets
of velvety pennies were exploding on my thickened tongue.
Screaming. The bearded man was screaming and holding his face in
his hand.

I pounced on him, wanting more heaven. I tore
into his throat and ripped and chewed and sucked the beautiful
pennies. No more screaming. They were magic to me. They filled me
with... thoughts. I could remember now. Everything was coming in
clear where before there was only static. The accident, the car
skidding, swerving. Screaming. I remembered the screaming, looking
over into Stephen’s panicked eyes. “Oh, Stephen, you were there
too!” The words were out of my mouth before I knew I spoke them.
Then I remembered him telling Seraphine that he had been in an
accident.

I saw Stephen coming across the cemetery,
heading my way. I wiped the blood away from my mouth as best I
could. Most of it ending up on my sleeve. I was going to go hug
him. “I remember,” I said to him as we drew closer together. His
speed fell to a slow crawl as mine picked up. “I’m so glad you were
okay.” He was looking at me, it was not a kind look. He was, mad,
or maybe afraid. “Stephen?”

“What have you done?” He asked me, taking in
the blood that was soaking into my shirt. I had to fight the urge
to suck the rest of those delicious drops from my
sleeve.

“I... he... oh!” Realization truly dawned on
me in that moment. There were no heaven-sent droplets of magic
pennies that brought my thoughts rushing back. It was blood, and
flesh. I had eaten that man. “Stephen, what have I become?” Stephen
didn’t answer, nor did he come any closer to me. I sunk down to my
knees at the edge of the tree line while Stephen stood over by the
white headstones. “He was attacking me. He grabbed me from behind
and tried to kiss me. I thought he was biting me, so I bit back.”
Everything that had just taken place came babbling out of my mouth.
Stephen just stood, looking from me to the lump of the man behind
me in the trees.

“I didn’t know.” I looked up at Stephen,
hoping he would see the truth in my eyes. “I didn’t
understand.”

“Seraphine will be here soon. We’ll figure
everything out.”

“Seraphine.” With her name on my tongue I knew
I would do whatever she asked of me, but I wasn’t sure it would be
what I wanted. Now that I could think clearly again I wasn’t so
sure I wanted to be put back in the ground. I wasn’t ready to die.
At least, no more ready than I was when I died the first time. Even
with my new-found clarity I was still confused. I watched as
Seraphine walked up with a couple bags in tow. I didn’t want to be
put back in the ground. The thought of being buried in the earth
sent shivers down my spine. I watched as Stephen spoke to
Seraphine, sometimes emphatically, swinging his arms this way and
that. I wanted to laugh, because that looked more like the Stephen
I knew in life. He was always so dramatic and lately he just seemed
too serious. They were discussing what I had done. I could tell by
the look of terror that flew across Seraphine’s face before she
could get it in check. She looked at me and in that moment I knew I
would do whatever it took to make her happy. I felt terrible that I
had disappointed her. At the same time, I couldn’t understand why I
felt that way. I watched as Seraphine walked over to a newer
looking headstone and felt sure that must be mine. Part of me
wanted to see it, and the other part didn’t. To see it would make
it real. It would mean I really was this dead, dirty, vile creature
who just ate a human being. A nasty smelling bum, at
that.

***

The Dead Keep on Dying

“How did she manage to eat a person with you
right here?” I was beyond pissed. I couldn’t believe what had
happened. Worse yet, I couldn’t think about the fact that
inevitably it was my fault. I was responsible for that man being
dead. I knew I was taking my own guilt out on Stephen, and yet I
couldn’t help myself.