Rosa Romero buried her face into Felicia Henley’s stomach. She let out a few sniffles as Felicia stroked her head, trying to calm the girl down.
“Shh. Shh. It’s ok. The police will handle it.” Felicia said.
Rosa looked up. Her face was wet with tears and mascara ran down her cheeks. “I’m scared,” she whispered. Felicia’s heart broke for her. Nobody should have to experience this.
She wrapped the girl in a gentle hug, placing Rosa’s head on her shoulder. “It’s ok. The doors are locked. This room is very safe.”
The two of them were hunkered down in the back room of the library. They’d been in here for around 20 minutes. Felicia didn’t know much about gunfights, but surely it was over now right? She pulled out her phone and made a call.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“Hello? My name’s Felicia Henley. I work at the library. There were shots fired down the street and we’ve been hiding in here for a while. Is it safe to leave?”
There was a static buzz. The line went quiet for a moment before the dispatcher responded. “The police are aware of the situation ma’am. Do you have anyone injured with you?”
“Well no.”
“Are you in a secure location?”
“Yes but-”
“Then we recommend you stay inside for now.”
Felicia got up. She was agitated. Rosa let go of her and sat back against the wall, still sniffling a little. The librarian started to pace back and forth. It was a nervous habit of hers and she did it when she was feeling stressed on the phone.
“So we can’t go home? I’ve got a young girl with me here. Her parents have to be worried sick.”
“The police are securing the scene as best we can. We’ll be able to send a few officers to assist you in an hour or two. For now, please stay inside.”
The dispatcher hung up on her. Felicia let out an annoyed irritated sound. God what would Dale think? She should call him. He was probably worried sick. She dialed in his number.
“Felicia? Are you okay? I thought you were coming home?”
“Dale! I was but then we heard gunshots!”
“Gunshots! Are you alright?”
“We’re fine. Just scared out of our wits. The police are already responding but they told us to stay inside for now.”
“Wait, who’s we?”
“A customer. She’s so scared, Dale. The poor girl’s been crying for the last half hour.” Felicia whispered that last part.
A determined voice came over the phone, “I’m coming down there.”
“What?” Felicia said, surprised by the conviction in his voice.
“I’m coming down now. I can’t leave you there with some lunatic firing shots off.”
“Dale, don’t! What if the shooter is still out there?”
“I’ll be alright, Felicia. Just hang tight. I’ll be there soon.”
The line disconnected as Dale was purportedly rushing down to rescue her. Felicia felt her heart flutter at the thought of Dale coming to save her. A smile broke out on her face as she looked at her phone. In her happy stupor, she didn't notice the person coming up behind her.
Rosa slithered her hand up through Felicia’s armpit and covered the woman’s nose and mouth with a soaked cloth. Felicia jerked back but Rosa pushed her forward into the chloroform filled towel. They struggled a bit, but Rosa had caught her by surprise. Eventually, Felicia stopped fighting.
The librarian slumped and Rosa caught her by the shoulders. She was out like a light. Rosa huffed as she tried to keep a hold of Felicia, but eventually the girl simply let go of her and Felicia dropped like a log.
Rosa reached up and wiped the non-existent sweat on her brow. Why hadn’t Hannibal called her yet? Where were her goons? Was she supposed to kidnap someone by herself? Ugh!
She pulled out her phone, calling No Nose Robbie.
“Hello?”
“Robbie! Where are you? You were supposed to lead the cops away and then come right back. I can’t pick her up by myself!”
“We’re still trying to lose the police Miss Romero.”
“Still? How hard can it be to lose some hick cops?” She asked, exasperated by her minion’s incompetence.
“We’re doing our best. I think you should call Aaron’s team. He reported a woman fighting the target 30 minutes ago and her driving off after. I’m sure Aaron and Mr. Hannibal are hot on her trail.”
There was a whirring sound of a police siren. The Robbie spoke again, “Goddammit James. Fucking drive!”
James yelled back, “I’m trying! They keep boxing me in!”
The man on the phone said, “I’m sorry Miss. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
Rosa heard someone mutter “Kiss ass” before the call ended. She humphed and started to call Hannibal.
He usually didn’t answer his own phone. Her friend had problems with speaking so someone usually had to relay their conversations.
The phone rang. No one picked up the first time, but Rosa kept calling. Eventually the line connected.
“Hello?”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Hey! Where are you? Where’s Hannibal?” Rosa demanded.
“Hannibal went to chase that reporter. There’s no way that’s what she actually is, Miss Rosa. She…she got us really bad,” the man whimpered.
“Frankie’s got a crossbow bolt in his stomach. I think Jeff’s pretty close to dying. We tried to tie off his hand but he’s losing too much blood. She bashed my head in with a goddamn rock!”
Rosa muttered, “So bad ass.”
She felt a certain kinship with a woman who knew how to kick butt. Even if the woman was starting to be a real pain.
“What about the demon? Did you capture it?” Rosa asked.
“Uh, yeah we got it.”
Rosa pumped her fist. “Yes! Finally, some good news. I guess we don’t have to keep this one around as bait.”
Felicia didn’t even moan as Rosa kicked her over. The girl poked at Felicia’s unconscious body with her toe, getting no response. The librarian was out cold.
It had taken a while for the Robbies to sift through Daddy’s files, but eventually they found out about the bastards Buckner had.
One of the geeky minions said this demon would go after people they’d already hurt or their families. After that, they just had to see who had kids. Rosa had to whip them all into shape and get them to work all night to find what she wanted. It paid off though, she’d gotten a list of names.
Then she split up her goons to sit on each of the descendants.
Eventually the one watching Felicia spotted Amicia fighting the demon outside the library.Then Rosa ordered everyone to converge on the demon.
Yet she’d been worried they wouldn’t be able to get here in time.
She was planning on taking Felicia with her in case the demon escaped, but now the librarian was useless. Should she kill her? Yeah, why not.
Just as Rosa was about to search for a pair of scissors, the Robbie over the phone muttered something. Something was wrong. They must’ve messed something up.
She ordered him, “Spit it out!”
“Ehm, well, it’s just that. She….she killed the demon as she escaped.”
“WHAT!” Rosa kicked a nearby table and let out a barrage of profanity. All of her meticu…meticulo.. her awesome plans had been messed up! She berated the man for his incompetence.
“You dolts had one job! Just get the demon! Just you wait until we get back. You think a rock was bad? I’ll have Hannibal use you like a volleyball!”
“No! No!” The man protested. “ We had it! It was that reporter! She shot Jeff and then we had to duck when he accidentally shot us-”
“You shot at each other? I knew it! You better have not hit Hannibal or you’re done for. He’s sensitive about being betrayed.”
The man was flummoxed. His attempt to shift the blame for this disaster had backfired. Instead of being angry at Amicia, Rosa seemed even more pissed off at him.
He had to try to explain what really happened, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Eventually, Rosa got tired of his excuses and tongue twisting. She massaged her temple and asked him a question.
“How dead is it?”
“Wh-what?”
“I said. How dead is it?”
“I think-,” He looked over. The body of the demon was sprawled out on the floor, unmoving. “ It looks pretty dead to me.”
“Go over to the body and check.”
There was a pause. Rosa heard splashes as the man walked over to the body of the demon.
“It’s looking pretty dead, Miss Romero.” The man kicked it. No response. “It’s not moving.”
“Put your hand in its mouth.”
“What!?” The cultist was shocked by the strange instruction.
“Put your hand in its mouth.” Rosa demanded. She laced a hefty amount of venom in her voice.
The man sighed on the other side of the phone. “It doesn’t even have a jaw anymore. Am I supposed to be looking for someth - AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
Rosa smiled as the man on the phone started screaming in agony. Looks like the demon had a little bit of life in it after all. She breathed a sigh of relief as she walked out of the building.
The cool night breeze wafted over her skin. She started skipping as she crossed the bridge connecting the library to downtown Maryville.
She spotted a coffee shop just down the street. It was still open despite the late hour. She could get a frap while she waited for someone to come pick her up.
The sounds of gunfire and screams came over Rosa’s phone as she was thinking about what type of frap she wanted.
“Shoot it! Shoot it!”
“The gun’s not working! It’s not working! Why the hell does a crossbow work when guns don’t?”
“Stop asking questions and- AAAAHHHH!”
Rosa could barely hear them over the sounds of police sirens in the air. Looks like the pigs were still chasing her guys. She wouldn’t be getting a ride anytime soon. Ugh.
As she walked down the street, a door suddenly flew open from one of the buildings. A drunken man came stumbling out a few feet away from Rosa, having been freshly ejected from a bar.
He wore a dirty suit, splashed with someone’s drink. The scent of scotch wafted off his collar. As Rosa was passing by, he reached out towards her.
“Hey baby. You dress like that for me?”
Rosa’s face twisted in disgust. She easily avoided his lecherous grab and passed him. She put her phone next to her ear again as she walked.
“We need backup! Please! We need backup! Oh shit, Frankie!”
Rosa calmly replied, “Just keep it distracted. Hannibal should be there soon.”
As soon as she finished speaking, someone grabbed her hand. The drunken man had followed her. Rosa turned around to discover him trying to kiss her neck. Before the man could grab her in a very delicate spot, she kneed him in the balls.
The man yelped in pain and covered his crotch. Rosa looked around. Nobody else on the street. She shoved the guy into the alley to her right.
He tripped and his chin bounced on the floor. He looked back up to her.
“You stupid bitch. I’ll kill -
He was interrupted by Rosa stomping on his face. For the next full minute, she repeatedly curb stomped his head with her 4 inch heels. There was a sickening crunch that rang out in the alley.
When she finished, she walked out of the alley, leaving him lying on the floor. The broken man behind her twitched. The blood dripped from his skull, mixing with the dirty water of the alley.
Rosa walked into the coffee shop she saw. The gentle tinkling of bells precluded her arrival. She saw a man in his late 20s working at the counter.
He had bags under his eyes and the disposition of someone who’d been working way too many shifts, ready to end it all. He was practically sleeping on his feet.
Rosa stepped up to the counter, her heels leaving specks of blood on the floor. She cleared her throat. The barista’s eyes blinked open.
“Hey welcome to uhm- “ He paused, struggling to recall the name of where he was working.
Rosa didn’t care to help him out. She ordered, “1 frappuccino, black please.”
The man was confused, “But a frappuccino has milk.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “1 frappuccino, black.”
The barista scratched his head then shrugged. He took her money and went to work on the drink. It was a weird order, but it was actually one of the easier ones of the day.
Rosa went to sit down at a small table, assured that she’d ordered an adult drink. Only mature adults drank their coffee black and she was an adult. Even if she was only old enough to have a learner’s permit instead of a driver’s license.
Then she realized something. The screams and gunfire had stopped on her phone. She checked it. The call didn’t end, so what happened?
“Hello? Anybody there?”
In response, she heard 3 loud snaps come through the line. It was Hannibal’s signal! He only used it when he was alone and everyone else was dead.
“Hannibal! Are you okay? Those dolts told me they shot you. They didn’t hurt you did they?”
1 snap. A pause. Then 2 snaps. Yes. Hannibal was okay. No, the dolts hadn’t hurt him.
“Oh good. Did you get the demon?” 1 snap. “Yes! I knew you wouldn’t let me down Hanni-boo.”
Suddenly a ding came from the counter. The barista announced, “1 frappuccino, black!”
Rosa went up to take her drink while still talking to Hannibal. “Can you get back to the hallow?”
2 snaps.
“So you need a ride?” 1 snap. Rosa picked up her drink as she thought over the dilemma. On the counter was a regular frappuccino, milk and all, but the barista had used a marker to color the plastic cup black. She took a sip. Yummy!
Rosa hummed as she tried to think up a solution to their dilemma. She didn’t have a car. Hannibal’s team was dead. Her goons were still giving the cops the run around. She had more guys but they were hours away. Hmmm. Hmmm.
Rosa glanced over to the Barista. He had a set of keys hanging off of his jeans. She got it!
“Don’t worry Hannibal. I know just what to do!”
A series of nervous snaps was Hannibal’s response.
20 minutes later, a grey minivan came down the road. Hannibal had watched as the driver of the minivan drove a little, stopped, drove a little more, and then stopped again.
The car continued this awkward start/stop motion as he emerged from the bushes, holding the demon in his hand. It still struggled but had no chance of overpowering him.
The grey minivan stopped a little bit away from Hannibal. The window rolled down to reveal Rosa in the driver’s seat.
“Hannibal! I’m here!” A bright smile lit up Rosa’s face. She was super proud of driving herself all this way. All this way being perhaps 2 miles.
Hannibal threw the demon down on the floor. He stepped on it to keep it from moving. Then he crossed his arms disapprovingly at Rosa.
“What? I can drive. I have a permit.” She whipped out her permit to show Hannibal.
He tilted his head at her.
“Why yes Hannibal. I do in fact have someone with a license to supervise me. Meet… what was your name again?”
Rosa turned to the barista in the passenger’s seat. The man held a coke in his hand and answered in a monotone voice.
“It’s Alan.”
“Meet Alan!”
Alan looked over Rosa’s shoulders at Hannibal. He asked, “Hey she said she’d pay me $500 bucks if she could drive my car. You’re good for that right?”
Hannibal drooped his shoulders and head down. He dragged the demon to the back of the minivan and opened the trunk. He gave it one good punch to the face and chucked it in. Then Hannibal opened the back seat and squeezed his enormous form into the car.
He had to lay prone to fit inside, but he eventually got himself in. Rosa giggled as she watched him in the rear view mirror. His bulky form blocked her from even seeing out the back windows.
When they were all situated, she asked him, “Did you remember to put on your seat belt?”
Hannibal looked at her. Then his lantern went supernova. She yelped as he blinded her.
“Okay, okay. Jeez. I was just kidding.” Rosa said. Mumbling about cranky lantern men.
The grey minivan scooted into the night, bit by bit. Slowly but surely, the Court of Diogenes was bringing the demon back to their lair. Soon, Rosa’s ascension would begin.