Slash (Novella I) (6 page)

MT wasn’t halfway finished with her mom’s hair until the woman finished her cookies and started to fidget around and mumble to herself. The mumbling eventually turned into the screams and MT turned up the television to try to drown them out.

“
Momma, you promised you would behave.”

Fran looked up at her. “You’re empty inside.”

“
And you’re breaking your promise.”

“
The madness, I can feel the madness. It’s strong tonight.”

MT’s mother was one of the people in the world that could sense and attempt to manipulate the madness. Her mother’s madness frequency was at an all-time high, the main reason for her unstable mind. Her momma broke from in-between MT’s legs and stood.

“
Momma, sit down.”

“
The madness is here.” Fran rushed to the front door and started to fidget with the locks. “It’s strong.”

MT stood and grabbed her mother by the hand. “I know, but just relax and let me finish your hair.”

Fran jerked her hand away and smacked MT. “Don’t touch me!”

“
I told you before, no hitting.”

Fran ran through the living room and barged into MT’s bedroom.

“
Momma no more cookies ever if you mess up my room,” MT said as she followed after the woman.

MT entered her bedroom to discover her mother escaped through the window. She foolishly thought back to her morning ritual and remembered she left her bedroom window opened.

“
Shit, shit, shit, how could I not shut the window?”

Empty slipped on her sneakers and rushed out into the night after her mother.

She spotted her mother running towards the woods that were a few blocks down from their neighborhood. The red mumu Fran wore made it easy for MT to keep track of her. Fran headed into the woods and MT followed after her, stepping on branches and crawling over logs. She caught up with her mother when the woman came to a stop near a downed tree. Her mother mumbled as she stared out at a group of people dancing nude around a barn fire.

MT pulled her mother downward by the arm and they continued to watch the strange scene from behind the downed tree. All the dancer’s clothes were laid out on their cars, drums were being played and they were chanting words in a language MT couldn’t identify.

Four nude young men dragged a screaming man dressed in construction gear from the darkness of the woods. The others started to dance around the cowering man as the four nude young men who carried him started to tie him to a tree.

MT decided it was time for her and her mother to leave before anybody noticed them. She tugged at her mother but Fran didn’t budge. Her mother kept looking on and mumbling to herself.

The chanting got even louder as one of the nude dancers revealed a blade from a black silk bag. The dancer cut himself on the arm and passed the knife to the others who mirrored his action. They took turns wiping blood from their wounds onto the construction worker.

“
What are they doing,” MT whispered.

Once all the dancers doused the man with blood, the dancer last with knife drove the blade into the construction worker’s heart. MT’s jaw dropped and her momma let out a deafening scream. She tried to calm the woman and cover her mouth, but Fran’s screams were too loud for the dancers to not notice.

A few of the dancers started to make their way toward MT and her mother.

Chapter 6 – Mother

Fran caressed her daughter’s cheeks. “Sweetie you’re so cold. Something’s missing. I can sense a change in you.”

“
I miss daddy,” MT said as she colored in her arts and craft book only using the black crayon.

“
Don’t lie to me, MT. What happened to you? You don’t even play with your toys anymore.”

MT shrugged. “I don’t like them.”

Fran kissed her daughter on the forehead. “I’ll fix you. I promise.”

“
I hate preschool, momma. If I’m broken can I stay home?”

Fran looked deep into her daughter’s eyes. “I think you need to be around other children, you’re going.”

Fran focused all she did on fixing her little girl. She knew her late husband wouldn’t sit back and ignore the change in their daughter’s behavior and neither would she. Fran was starting to forget what it was like to hear her daughter laugh or smile. No medical diagnosis was given; Fran could only suspect madness.

Fran had to balance researching her daughter’s condition and making sure MT led a normal life.

“
Alright, Kenneth, I want you to kiss her on the cheek,” Fran said as she aimed the camera.

“
Mom, this is stupid.” MT tugged at her prom gown. “I’m ready to get this night over with.”

Kenneth hugged his arms around MT. “Hey, it’s going to be a great night. Don’t say that.”

“
Smile,” Fran begged. “Please MT, for me.”

MT forced a quick smile and Fran snapped the photo.

Her daughter headed off to prom and Fran went back to her now years’ worth of research. Fran would try to question MT but she barely could get MT to sit down with her and have a conversation anymore. Fran refused to give up. She felt she was close to uncovering what happened to her daughter. Day and night, Fran worked to fix MT.

“
Mom, wake up,” MT yelled.

Fran eyes snapped opened to find her daughter standing over her in a black cap and gown. “What is it?”

“
I had to walk from graduation. You were my ride, remember?”

“
You don’t graduate until next week, MT.”

MT wagged her diploma before her mom’s face. “No, you’re just losing your mind.”

Fran tried to line up the days in her mind, but would get sidetrack by pieces of information from all her research. She didn’t have time to keep track of the hours; she needed to fix her daughter. Fran didn’t want to send her daughter out in the world in her current condition.

“
Momma, I’m not going to college. You have gotten worst since my graduation,” MT said.

Her mother didn’t respond. Her mother kept on mumbling to herself and writing mad things from her mind on the living room walls. MT knew she was different. To others the sun was warm, jokes were funny and food was to be craved, but not to MT. She just existed. Her mother was one of the few who treated her normal and now Fran was unresponsive.

MT could not leave her mother. “Momma, what did you do to yourself?”

Every doctor MT had visited ended up asking the same question.

MT stuck with her mother, taking care of her while people her age were heading off to college. The state offered to commit her mother, but just because Fran was different didn’t mean MT was going to give up on her.

Tonight, MT was struggling to get her mother to stick with her as the nude dancers approached them. Fran wrestled her arm away and darted forward toward the nude dancers. MT couldn’t turn away and leave her mother. She stood up and climbed over the downed tree.

A dancer grabbed Fran. “Who are you?”

Fran screamed and fought.

“
She’s my momma,” MT said as she approached. “She’s harmless.”

“
Stop moving,” One of the dancers said as he pointed a bloodied knife at MT.

MT stopped. “We’ll leave and we won’t say anything. My momma won’t even remember any of this.”

“
She’s right,” A familiar voice said.

MT glanced toward the source of the voice to find Kenneth slipping on his jeans. “What are you doing out here?”

Kenneth grabbed Fran away from her capture. “They won’t say anything. If they do I’ll take all the blame.”

The nude dancers whispered amongst each other and retreated.

MT rushed forward and grabbed her mom. “Kenneth, they just killed a man.”

“
He’s a man that was destroying this forest. Apparently, they want to build a mall in Mt. Springer on this spot.”

“
You just got back in town, how are you even involved in this madness?”

Kenneth laughed. “This isn’t madness. This is for Mother Nature. She brought us all here to defend her.”

“
Start a petition or something, but don’t kill.”

“
He wasn’t killed; he was sacrificed and returned to the earth from which he came.” Kenneth motioned at Fran. “And plus instead of telling me how to live my life maybe you should get some control over yours’. Maybe you should try to get the woman some real help.”

“
I did, she’s on meds.”

“
Meds are for sick people, MT. Maybe your mom isn’t sick at all. A woman named Tatu could offer a lot of help. I ignored Mother Nature and Tatu reached into my mind and told me I was being called. I was freed from restless nights and depression. Let Tatu reach into your mother’s mind and find out how she can be freed from this state.”

“
I’m not letting anybody associated with you touch my momma.”

“
You better try something because if I wasn’t here tonight, you and your mom would be returned to the earth.”

MT scoffed. “Fuck you and goodbye.”

MT took her mom back home and put her to bed. As MT lay in bed, she thought over Kenneth’s words, if medicine and the doctors’ opinions weren’t fixing her mother, maybe the advice of a mad person would. MT grabbed her laptop and did a web search for the keywords ‘Madness’ and ‘Tatu’.

Chapter 7 – Two Down

Ford had been accustomed to Valarie disappearing from his life during her drug binges, but never for a period this long. He still sought her out to apologize, but wondered if she was even still alive now. Though their last conversation with each other was harsh, he did not mean anything he said and he hoped his mother didn’t either.

He narrowed his search for her down to the inner city. The area mainly consisted of abandoned buildings occupied by the homeless and government housing apartment complexes. Ford started his search early in the day, hoping the daylight would make it easier to spot her on the streets. He parked and made a stop at the soup kitchen.

The one-storey building was crammed with long lunch tables, a buffet area, and a small kitchen. A few homeless dined on hot soup, bread rolls, and fruit cups. He approached the buffet and used his wrapped right hand to gently knock against the stainless steel top. A young brunette server with various face piercings exited the back kitchen.

“
Hey Ford.” She slipped on a white apron. “Are you coming in today?”

Ford shook his head as he explained, “Not today Tara, but instead I’m trying to find my mom. She’s gone missing.”

Tara pouted. “Aw, I’ll do my best to help. What’s her name again?”

“
Valarie.”

Tara tugged at a strand of her hair. “Valarie…sharp tongue, dark hair like mine?”

“
Yeah, have you seen her around lately?”

“
No, I’m sorry.”

Ford rested his head against the buffet top and sighed heavily.

“
Maybe…”

He quickly raised his head. “Maybe what,” He eagerly responded.

“
She usually hangs around that chicken place up the block.”

Ford snapped his fingers. “Thanks for the info. I promise next time we work together that I’ll mop.”

Tara laughed as stirred some soup in a warming tray. “No you won’t and good luck finding your mom.”

Ford left the building and walked down the block toward the chicken restaurant. The majority of the buildings in the area were defaced with graffiti and the parking meters and streetlights had signs attached that revealed they were out of order.

He spotted Lu jogging down the cracked sidewalk toward him. “You jog,” He said.

She approached him, jogging in place. “I have a black dress to squeeze in. It’s a date night.”

She wore skimpy red shorts and a sweat drenched, white tank top.

“
I think you’re too skinny to have to squeeze into anything.”

“
Thanks, I think. So, what are you doing in my part of town? Are you buying crack Ford?”

“
No,” He quickly responded. “I’m looking for my mom.”

Lu checked her watch. “I would help, but I have to go. I’ll see you tonight, right?”

“
Tonight?” He motioned at himself. “Have you booked me on some weird double date?”

“
No,” She laughed. “I’m stopping by the group meeting first, are you going to be there?

“
It depends on how I feel.”

“
You have to; it’s sort of a memorial for Miriam. If the roles were reversed Mariam would be front and center.”

“
In that case, see you there.”

Lu kissed him the cheek and jogged away.