"How did y'all get a four year old mermaid?" asks Simisola. "The Miaibu live in the grove. The mermaids live in Saint Yako."
"I've never heard of that…" I say. "We got her from Saint Yako, where the main Seer live."
"The Seer?" Simisola contorts her face. "I didn't know that."
"I thought you went to school?" she snaps at me. "New year for me… I didn't know last year."
"The Seer is the mother of the mami wata. She doesn't like land…"
"You stole a child from a mother!" What in God's graces is wrong with people. "What was that?" my eyes expand. "This is Gracia. Bamgboshe where are you? We just found a loose werewolf." a man annouces over the radio. "Tell them a lie!" urges Simisola. "I can't." he says. "I took an oath to Darlene, they'll kill me if they catch me lying--"
"I AM A WEREWOLF!" Simisola spits through her teeth.
"And! They have the magic to kill people completely. I wanna come back."
"Calm down--" my head twist to the door. I race to it hearing chatter. "He said there was noise in the hallway. Where is he?"
"Listen." he hisses. "I literally can't say the secret. If I snitch, I will die. Forever."
"Why?" threatens Simisola. "It's a spell, if I say the key word. I'll fade out."
"Ok…" I shrug. "so what's the key?"
"Who hurt you!" his face crinkles. "You can't say the key but you tell the rest?"
"Growden did something!"
"Like what?" I pinch his neck. "OUCH! Leave me alone!"
"Who is that--Bamgboshe!"
"What did he make white man!" Simisola grabs his collar. "What if I'm South African?"
"Sadness…" I mutter.
"No, no! You just snitched on yo yourself!"
"I'm still alive--"
"I WILL EAT YOU!" she shakes him. The door bangs, I step away slowly. "We can shoot through the door and collect the bodies. Just give up!"
"Oh shit…" I whisper.
"I'M IN HERE!" he yells. "IT"S A DOG A WOMAN. A NIGGA FEMALE." It's the muscle isn't it? "Bitch!"
"I'm not snitchin'!"
"Are you fuckin--"
"BOMBA!" his eyes glow, a flame pours out of them. I grab my sister as he begins to scream. He stands up and walks towards us. "OPEN THE DOOR!" the guards outside hit the door. Bamgboshe inhales, his body engulfed in flames.
My heart is racing. What will I do if I die?
I put my free hand on the knob with my other arm around Simisola's neck. I twist it, clumsily get the door open and thrust my back at the guard. I push Simisola to the side and shoe the man in the room with him.
"Get up! Haul ass!"
Simisola skips getting on her toes. "Come on!"
They got mama and-- "No wait--"
"We have no time--" I hear a scream and I fall against the wall. "Mokiri!" The door is on fire and a gruesome black spirit lurks through the flames.
Simisola grabs my hand. "Come on!" We're running. My back is hot. Make a left turn, the lights go out, my back is hot.
It's a straight hallway. "MY BODY!"
Simisola takes her wolf form. I can't do that! My back is hot. She's faster than me, Simisola hit a door on the left, she jumps through, her head poking out--she snathes me and quickly shuts the door.
She's on two legs again, no fur.
"My back is burning…" It itches. I damn near break my arm to rack my skin. "Stop it! Stop it!" she swishes me around and gasps. "The fabric is gone. Mokiri take it off."
I start rushing to drop my coat. My back is on fucking fire like hot water in a shower. "I can't read it--"
The door bangs.
"What the fuck--"
"MY BODY! GIVE ME!"
"Window, window, window--" she searches the room. "Oh! My eyes are playin--BREAK!" she shouts and the window close to our far middle breaks. This is easy…
I'm so stressed…
"Go through!" Simisola pushes my back, I turn just enough to see hands come through under the door. Why am I thinking about a bathroom? My body starts to wobble.
"Mo!" my sister pulls me. She's already through, move! "Mokiri come on!"
I hear the crackling of the door breaking. "GIVE ME!" the spirit snarles.
I can't breathe…
"Mokiri what is wrong with you!" she reaches and grabs my collar. July…
Simisola struggles to pull me through the window. I wanna throw up. Come on, blink. My legs won't lift.
The door burst open, something is crawling up my leg.
'GET OFF ME!'
'I Just wanna cuddle…'
I hit her. I'm fine. I just… put my hand on Simisola's shoulder so casually. I don't mind. She's pulling my arm, grabbing the back of my pants. I can't hear anything. I saw her mouth move though.
.
.
.
I hate niggas.
All kinds of niggas. Even niggas just born. I just hate niggas. I hate the word itself.
"OW!" I hustle to get up. "What the fuck, nigga!"
"Are you Toy?" he steps back. "You look like Toy."
"Bitch! I AM… ALEXIS! Who the fuck is Toy!" I got fucked by a vampire, tortured by the same vampire, a mummy stole my organs. This bitch ass man just smacked the memories of my birthday away. I AM UPSET!
"This her body?"
"WHO! NIGGA! Between the two of us, I don't fucking know you! In fact, I've running up and down this bitch trying to get out!"
"You can't." Should I smack him? This bitch is emotionless. "It's a vampire apartment. Aleigha gave it to me for a while." he raises a brow. "Hey…"
His hand reaches out to me, I step back, he bring me forward by my shirt. "You eat dick don't you?"
"You really crawling my nerve right now!"
"But you eat dick, you one of them?"
"WHO IS THEM--"
"Stop fucking moving, I already ate."
I actually keep still. "Sweet! She's a child then."
"So…" he looks at Delbert. "My mama whoop my ass for shit." he aims at me. "I could do the same."
"You ain't my daddy!" I holler. "And I got ten other hoes that say that." I try to move from him. "Quick moving!" he growls. He looks me over, "You black?"
"What the fuck is wrong with you!"
"Alexis meet Gata's kid. Supposed to be the heir to the Deep Jury Apartments in the bayou." explains Delbert. "What happened to that--LET ME THE FUCK GO!"
"Chere buried it." he says.
"Best thing ever…" he looks at me. I grimace, why does he move so weird? "Oh… Sweet is dead." adds Delbert. "Why you moving all slow and shit?"
"I'm dead…" his eyes spread. "I got my body." his head goes to the side and kind of drops forward. He lifts his chin, it drops to the left. "Alexis?"
"Yes…"
"He's kind of a zombie. Conscious but dead." Delbert squints. "What does that mean--LET ME GO!" I toss in his hold. He throws me down. "HE IS NOT A ZOMBIE!"
"He is a zombie. Sweet has no soul; which means a lot to Louisiana."
"What does that mean!"
"Jazz. Mardi Gras. King Chere is Creole, married a cajun--This is Chere's grandson from his eldest kid. Sweettooth Rossette Lyons."
"Fuck you!"
"Amen." he looks so absent. Standing there with a straight face, no expression. "Aleigha didn't kill me. I think my dad is crazy."
"Something or other." Delbert wipes the counter. "Want a drink Sweet?"
"Something to put the spirit back in me." he paces to the counter. "YOU HIT ME!"
"Sorry…" he sits down. Delbert fixes him a drink and I matter to no one. "Why is she here?"
"Because I got kidnapped!" I jump up and down. "By who?" he bores over his shoulder. "CALVERT!"
"I don't know a Calvert… maybe you got the wrong house."
"I SAID I WAS KIDNAPPED!"
"She taken by Coochie." states Delbert. "Oh, pussy eater. Well, we all do." he chuckles. Sweet drinks from his glass. "What are you?"
"Bitch is you lame in the ears? I ain't got no soul!" he snaps. "I got a body and I hope I fucking keep it. But the king gone so now all my hopes and dreams is imaginary."
"Maybe you don't deserve it…"
"Maybe you don't deserve it. Maybe everything is a waste of time to you. Maybe… you ignant as shit; ya mama didn't smack you in the mouth enough or else you would be so fucking full of pride."
"I'm not! You hit me!"
He turns to Delbert, "What is her name?"
"Alexis, Sweet. That's not Toy."
"She look like a hoe." says Sweet. "I'm not her!" my throat hurts. "I am Alexis Kelly!"
"Cedrica," corrects Delbert unasked. "She's Shiloh's…"
"Can't be, the baby died. Dareion killed his own child."
"That's her…" he gestures towards me. "Damn." Sweet smiles. "Cedrica came back from the trap."
"What of it?"
"You act like yo damn daddy. Skinny just like him when he got cancer. Maybe you happy."
"Stop talking to me!" How the fuck do I get out? "Where's Coochie?"
"The hell if I--"
"Alexis, Coochie just dropped." says Delbert. "It's just you zombie-man."
"What the fuck you mean, he dropped?"
"Coochie fell in the Hood."
"You can't fall down there unless you go through the basement. And that's sealed."
"We got roaches…" Delbert shrugs. "Now if you want to…"
"I have no soul…"
"I'm sayin' it's an option."
"Call me retarded like you mean it."
"Huh?"
"Coochie fell?" I get close to the bar. "Coochie fell down to the Hood. I know Lo won't go down there."
"Lo?" Like Sweet n' Low?
"His nickname." he rolls his eyes. "Deelo."
I look at him from the corner of my eye. "Why?"
"Fairies. You see a fairy is from a vampire's shadow; while a drunk is because of intoxication. You lose yourself but your shadow has a conscious… partly."
"Please don't put that on me. I don't wanna be a fuckin fairy."
"You right. Ya body wouldn't hold."
"Corrie?"
"That's right." Delbert looks behind him. He opens a drawer and lays down five photos. "You see that girl." he points."
"The one with the big fro?"
"That's my daughter." he says.
"Didn't you say that Montgomery is your son?"
"Yeah…" he looks at me. "So, I'm a granddad. That's Tori's aunt."
"She was a fairy?"
"Yep, because her brother forced her." he laments. "That's Nama, sometimes we called her Naomi. I hate my son."
"It's ok old man." reassures Sweet. "Did you find your mother's bones?"
"No…" Sweet lowers his head. "Don't tell me."
"What if I tried to fin them for you?" I'm stupid.
"You wanna go to the Grove?" sweet snorts beside me. "Go find a fucking mermaid, if you so tough."
"You know how to kiss ass?"
"nah," he looks at my backside. "You gon' have to give me instructions."