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The car whipped in and out of traffic as people slammed on their breaks and desperately tried to pull out of the way. Wailing sirens and the "woomp woomp woomp" of helicopter blades split the air as the police tried to catch up with it before the driver killed someone. Esmeralda leaned out to look at the scene from her spot in the helicopter, speaking clearly and loudly into the microphone as she did so. Then, covering it with her hand, she hissed at her pilot to stop fooling around and get a better shot with the camera attached to the underside of the helicopter. "There seems to be no sign of him stopping...." Those turned out to be famous last words. Just as she spoke, much to the surprise of Es' big green eyes, a giant transparent hand reached out, gently picked up the speeding car, and turned it upside down. The driver didn't even have a chance to get out before the police were upon him. "What the (BLEEP!) was that?!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The TV went blank as Mrs. Murphey flipped it off. "I think, Caddy," she said as she wiped some drool from the corner of her daughter's slack, blank face, "that that's enough high speed car chases for one day." She just stared with her rarely blinking brown eyes. If she had understood what her mother said, no one could tell from the look on her face. One hand - twisted fingers joined together with a thick webbing - shook in it's spot near her chest. The arm itself was also knotted, the muscles bunched oddly. The left arm looked completely normal, until one noticed that the hand had seven fingers. The two extra digits were twisted so that they were usually hidden under the palm. Her legs were also twisted and had the thickness of a three year old birch tree. Gently, with a guilty look in her eyes, Caddy's mom brushed the limp brown hair out of her daughter's eyes. Then she turned the TV back on, putting on cartoons and, with a sigh, she left the room. Caddy Mary-Jane Murphey was the child of two die-hard hippies. Before, during, and even for a while after, Caddy's conception and birth, they had done lots of experimental drugs, poisoning their bodies and Caddy's too. It had taken them awhile to realize their daughter would never be like others. Now, at the age of thirty-one, Caddy was still cared for like a small child. She never spoke, never smiled. She just sat there, staring, day in and day out. They didn't know the truth, though. Caddy wasn't stupid. Her body may not work right, but Caddy's mind, unlike most children who are poisoned in the womb, was not twisted. It was just so much easier for her to stay here, inside her mind. If she let herself out then she'd hear - hear it all. For as long as she could remember, Caddy could hear the thoughts of others. She couldn't take it. She had drawn into the very center of her mind where no one could follow. No one but HIM. HE was evil. Pure malice. When HE'd come it was like an acid-slime. Burning HIS way through all her defenses. Even now she could hear HIM. >>I know your little secret. Was it fun, turning that car over? You're so smart. Knowing just when to do that so no one would get hurt. I could fix your body, you know. Would you like that? To be just like everyone else? No, more than that, a beautiful woman. A stunning woman. Just say yes to me....<< Softly, Caddy growled and slammed the protective barriers of her mind down. Shutting HIM out. Then she slowly closed her eyes, soft snores soon followed.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thorne snarled. "Little witch! That hurt!" It always did when she slammed her mind shut like that. And she knew it too. It gave him a splitting headache. Grabbing up the bottle of painkillers, he popped about five. He chewed, enjoying the bitter taste, and washed the powder down, sucking the left overs from the furrows of his teeth. If only he could get her to join him. Otherwise, she'd mess up everything. He had been working on it for too long. He'd been plaguing California with one high speed chase after another. Slowly destroying people's faith in police, in the law. Not to say that there weren't many faithless. But there were still too many that had faith. It was only once their morale was low that he could strike. Show them what he could do. How much better than them he was. They'd hand him their lives on a silver platter. But this girl, Caddy, she who couldn't even walk, was ruining everything. It was time for drastic measures. To step up the pace. The chases were getting boring, anyway.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Roberto used to be a good kid. The key words being 'used to.' Now, he didn't like falling into a stereotype, but his pop was dead and he was the man of the family now. Someone had to take care of mom, she was so sick. It was this blasted city. All the smog. If they could have a little place out in the country, where there was fresh air and sunshine mom wouldn't be sick all the time. Sometimes one had no choice but to fall into the stereotypes. After all, he needed money, but no one was going to hire a 14 year old dropout. So selling drugs was the easiest thing to do. The only thing to do. >>Such a good little boy....<< The voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. It burned into Rob's mind, causing the youngster to moan. >>I have something for you to do. If you do it I'll make sure you mother gets all better. Yes? Good. Now, here's what I want you to do....<< ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Esmeralda made sure her teeth were clean before motioning for the camera to be turned on. "I'm here before Parn's Jewelry Emporium in downtown Los Angeles where it's just been reported there's a hostage situation inside. A 14 year old boy is the suspect. Because of his age we cannot tell you his name...." Suddenly the reporter found herself pushed to the ground by some strange force as bullets began to fly. The camera man, who had also been carried to the ground by that same force, was barely able to get the camera focused on the scene. Whatever had pushed them down kept them down. Roberto came out then, screaming at the top of his boyish lungs. He dragged a crying woman, her forehead bleeding from broken glass. The boy's eyes were totally crazed. Like his mind wasn't all there. Drugs was the first thing on everyone's mind. Es stared as the boy forced the woman to her knees and put a gun to the back of her head. One could see him start to squeeze the trigger. Then, suddenly, there was that hand again. Yanking the boy up into the air by the back of his shirt. The gun fell from his hand, clattering uselessly to the ground. The woman ran to the police. Es and her cameraman found themselves able to stand once again. The boy had gone completely limp and the hand very carefully cupped him in it's palm and laid him carefully at the feet of the police. As it did so, Es could see that there was two extra digits on the hand.... "One day," Es vowed, "I'm going to find out how that keeps happening." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was a loud, deep curse from Thorne. He was not a happy camper. Again, Caddy had interfered with his plans. Her mind, her powers, they were so blasted strong! Stronger than he had thought. All those years in that twisted body, with no distractions of dating or school, her mind had evolved beyond that of others. If he could only persuade her to come over to his side. Thanks to her, though, not only were people finding renewed faith in the law, but also in God! They actually thought that was the hand of God. He knew who's hand it really was, though. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Caddy, it's time for your bath." Mr. Murphey said as he lifted his daughter out of her chair. Between him and his wife they stripped and bathed their unresponsive daughter. They spoke, though they were sure she didn't hear or understand. Afterwards, they propped her in front of the TV again, where she'd sit until she fell asleep. Neither parent would bother watching themselves. Rather, they would sleep for a few hours, trying to escape their everlasting guilt. Some days, although they knew it was a horrible thought, they wished Caddy would die. That her imprisonment inside her twisted body would end. Though it never happened. Inside her mind. Caddy was reaching out. Gently probing a mind. Thorne wouldn't be thwarted easily for long. He'd get desperate. Caddy needed to prepare for this. And there was only one way she could think of doing such a thing... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Es, you're obsessed!" Alex said. "Can't you just accept this as a miracle like everyone else?" At the mention of the word miracle Alex crossed himself. Offering a silent prayer to his patron saint. Rolling her dark green eyes, Esmeralda went back to her reading. "This is no hand of God. God doesn't have seven fingers." Books on the paranormal were all over her desk. Her cameraman got disgusted and left, slamming the door behind him. >>I know what you want.<< "What?" Es moaned, dropping her book and holding her head as something burned through it. >>I can give you what you want.<< ~~Don't listen to HIM!~~ If the male voice was like burning oil, the woman's was like a thick, cooling foam. The reporter gasped for breath, sweat beading her forehead. "Help me..." she whispered hoarsely. Suddenly something slammed in her mind. Like large steel doors. Es' eyes rolled back into her head as blackness enclosed her. ****Where am I?**** Es looked around the blank landscape. ~~This is your mind.~~ The woman said. For a moment she sat in her chair, all twisted, then slowly her limbs straightened and she stood. Around them were steel doors. ~~It was the only place where I could keep you safe.~~ ****Who are you?**** ~~Caddy Mary-Jane. Don't ask.~~ Caddy smiled and held up her hand, showing off the seven fingers. ~~Some call me the hand of God.~~ ****You? But - How?**** ~~It's a long story. But we have time before HE strikes again. Sit, let's talk...~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Es!" Alex shouted, shaking her awake. "Slap some makeup on - we've got a riot - the Bloods are going at it in Chinatown." Jumping from her chair, Esmeralda didn't even bother with make-up. Had anyone the time to look they would've seen something different about her. Her eyes were now swirled with a chocolate brown. Streaked like if someone had been mixing green and brown paint together only to be interrupted. Es' legs shook as she ran as if she had forgotten how to walk. She recovered quickly though and jumped into the car. Gang territories were lines people just never crossed in LA. Unless you had bigger and better guns, that is. The fact that the Bloods were willing to clash with the newly formed Red Dragons suggested that drugs were involved. To anyone who didn't know the truth, that was. Es knew the truth now. About how Thorne wanted to weaken morale until LA was handed to him on a silver platter. From there, he'd get America itself. The man was completely nuts - and extremely powerful. Only Caddy had been able to hold him off. ****So what do I do?**** ~~I'll take care of it. You just sit back.~~ The scene itself was a full-on riot. Police were everywhere, but they hadn't be able to hold the teens back. Already the wounded laid, moaning. A storm rumbled overhead but it was ignored amongst the flashing lights. Es and Alex jumped out of their van, using that magical power of the press to stand where others weren't allowed. At first Es acted normal, but as she opened her mouth, her eyes turned completely brown. She dropped the mic from her hand and turned, ignoring everyone who shouted at her as she walked past the police, the riot squad, and right into the middle of the fight. Things stilled. The teens, their eyes fogged over, pulled back, forming a strange circle around Es-Caddy. The leader of the Bloods stepped forward, his lips pulled back in a mocking smile, his eyes too clear. "Hello, Caddy," he said in Thorne's voice, though the teen's voice laid just underneath, barely able to be heard. "Thorne. Let the children go. Give up." Es-Caddy said. Their voices intertwined in a melodious harmony. Thorne laughed, though if one listened carefully they could hear the teen scream. This was not a mutual partnership. Thorne had taken this boy by force and even now the teen struggled for freedom. Lifting his hand, Thorne took aim with the gun and fired. Es-Caddy caught the bullet in their teeth. Puckering their lips, they fired it back, catching Thorne's hand. He cried out in pain and dropped the gun. He snarled out a curse even as his mind lashed out, sending Es-Caddy to their knees, clutching their head in pain. No one said a word, they knew there was more here than could be explained by man. Struggling to their feet, Es-Caddy struck out with their own mind. Their combined mental power sent Thorne flying backwards. Only to see him right himself in midair, laughing as he hovered there. "Stupid women. I'm stronger than you both. I'm older - and I may add, men are superior." "Pig." Es-Caddy said even as their body began to rise. "God only made men first because he needed a rough-draft." With that, they flew across to Throne, wrapping their fingers around his skull. Thorne screamed and struggled even as they invaded his stolen mind. Things started to move again. There was noise as the teens babbled. Where were they? How did this happen? Why were they here? Thorne had control over them all as long as he had been in the boy's body. Now, though, he was no longer a threat. Es-Caddy fell into the arms of a nearby police officer and was transported to the nearest hospital. No one even tried to explain what happened. This was just too weird. Even for LA. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mr. and Mrs. Murphey sat with their arms around each other as they watched the coffin slowly lowered into the ground. Caddy Mary-Jane had passed away the night of that gang war in Chinatown. Esmeralda stood off to the side. Pausing to offer her condolences to the grieving couple. Despite the fact they knew Caddy was better off now free of her fleshy prison, they still would miss their little girl. "She loved you very much." Es said softly. Mrs. Murphey looked up. "You have her eyes," the woman said in wonder, lightly touching Es' face before her husband pulled her away. ~They'll be okay.~~ ***Yeah, I know. But what about us?**** ~~We'll learn to get along. Before long we'll be just like one person.~~ Es-Caddy began to walk slowly away, as she did so, though, she stopped and stared at an old man sitting in a wheelchair. Mrs. Murphey was talking to the old man, even though one could tell he wasn't all there. His body was twisted and drool oozed from the corner of his mouth. Slowly, despite Caddy's protests, Es approached. "Who is this?" The words probably sounded harsh, but Es' curiosity demanded satisfaction. "Oh," Caddy's mom sniffled, "this is my grandfather, Michael Thorne. He was in a car accident when he was thirty-one, the other driver was drunk. He's been like this ever since, though until recently he was able to move. He had a stroke the night my Caddy died. I suppose he'll be the next to go..." Es-Caddy stared at the old man. There was no recognition there. Well, there shouldn't be. Turning, they walked away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >>Let me out!<< Thorne pounded his fists against the steel walls as he screamed. >>I want out! You can't do this to me! You can't! Caddy! Caddy! Let me OUT!<<
The End
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