The Curse of 1977 (Book 2)

Chapter 24

Assembled Downtown that following morning was a modest gathering of city officials and Cypress residents. Though not required to do so, the onlookers stood in the baking sun awaiting words from the podium ahead of them from their city's leaders.

Through the throngs of humanity came Akoni on a wooden crutch appearing as if she were as crippled and broken down as an old woman just released from the hospital. Her tattered blue jean bell bottoms and white tank top shirt reeked of must and mildew, while her unkempt, rust brown hair sprung out from just about every direction. Her swollen facial features gave her the appearance of a person who was suffering from an illness, while the rest of her body remained perfectly thin, fit and tall.

Her nostrils kept flaring in and out as she passed by each and every person on her way towards the front of the crowd. The blaring scent of hot, sweaty flesh was always a sweet aroma to Akoni, much like blood to a mosquito. The woman just couldn't help but to sniff each individual, young and old. The overwhelming sensation was slowly causing her fangs to extend.

Unexpectedly the woman stopped short of the marker where police were standing before she caught herself and covered her mouth with her free hand in order to suppress her burgeoning desire.

Approaching the podium was Lieutenant Mayor Colleen Henderson, as well as a host of other city officials, including Leonard Fulton. Colleen stood in front of the microphone before checking to make sure the thing was on.

"Good morning, people of Cypress!" She said out loud. "I am here on behalf of Mayor Findlay, due to the deaths of his sons, to inform the citizens of this city of a very pertinent issue that is currently plaguing our very town! Over the course of the past few days, a very toxic situation has emerged! These animal attacks have not only taken this city under siege, they have also brought understandable fear and panic to our town! But I am here to inform you that our police force has everything under control!"

At once, the crowd began to murmur and holler at Henderson in an obscene manner. Colleen gathered herself and said, "Please, I realize that these attacks are frightening, but hysteria and vigilantism is not the way to go about this situation! Self-imposed, trigger happy hunters are not the answer!"

"What is the answer then?" A male voice shouted from the crowd.

"The answer is calm and allowing our police force to handle this situation the best they know how! The attacks at Topaz and the women's shelter yesterday were very tragic, but this is not New York City, this is Cypress, Ohio, and we shall overcome this, too! Anarchy and chaos are not this city's ways! Law, order and civility are what make each Cypress citizen triumphant! Please, I urge you to obey the mandatory curfew, and by all means do not, I repeat, do not take the law into your own hands! Our city's police force can and will handle this matter to the utmost degree! Thank you all!"

Still, the masses would not be silenced, they continued to rant and groan which in turn only caused Colleen to spin around and study each and every member of her cabinet in dismay.

Leaning hard on her crutch, Akoni stubbornly made her way up the podium steps until she was within earshot of Colleen.

"Captain, please tell me that your people have something on this fucking thing." Colleen stood beside Captain Brickman.

Brickman only scratched at his mustache before saying, "Mrs. Henderson, we're doing everything we can to hunt these things down."

"Things," Leonard nearly chocked. "You never mentioned that there was more than one of these animals! What are these people supposed to think now?"

Captain Brickman only gave the man a sharp glance before focusing solely upon Mrs. Henderson.

"Ma'am, we didn't inform everyone that there was more than one of these things for fear that it may cause an even bigger uproar."

"You gotta be kidding me!" Leonard loudly protested.

"That'll do, Mr. Fulton." Colleen rebuked. "Captain, I don't care if there is a whole pack of these things running around. You saw what it did last night at that shelter." She stared hard into Brickman's fidgety, blue eyes. "I don't need to stand here and tell you the price we had to pay." Her voice began to break in mid-sentence. "I think I can speak for us all when I say we could care less what the Mayor has to say. I and every citizen is saying find these things and fucking kill them. I don't care if you have to chop them up and throw them back to hell; you do what you have to do. Whatever you need from us, just ask. But find them and destroy them. Or do I have to stand here and remind you of the death toll from last night?"

Brickman swallowed heavy and replied, "No, ma'am...you do not."

As Colleen began to turn she was instantly taken off guard by Akoni who just happened to be standing right behind her the entire time.

"Oh...I beg your pardon, young lady." Colleen jolted backwards. "How can I help you?"

Akoni only leaned against her crutch while examining the woman up and down with a smirking curiosity.

"I am glad to see you in de light dis time." She uttered with a childlike expression.

Colleen just glanced over at Leonard for a brief second before looking back at Akoni and saying, "Uh...are you ill?"

Still smiling, Akoni only turned and hobbled back down the steps that led to the crowd. As she fought her way past the humans amongst her, a sudden whiff nearly took her very breath away at that moment. It was somewhat familiar, and yet so very pungent.

The woman gawked from one patch of people to another before she found herself spinning around like a top. After so much searching and sniffing, her senses eventually locked eyes with a face that was standing only ten feet ahead of her. One person after another sifted out of the way before Akoni's eyes finally met with Cloyse's.

The woman stood absolutely still. For a few moments she actually forgot she needed a crutch. Her entire body, from head to toe, became as stiff as iron the longer she stared at the young man.

As Cloyse began making his way past one person beyond another Akoni couldn't help but to grip her crutch even tighter. The way her aching body felt right then only reminded her that a combat situation would have been ill-advised.

"You are actually here." Akoni said in an awed stammer.

"It was not very hard to locate you." Cloyse responded in a quiet, stern demeanor.

Akoni kept eyeing the man from the bottom up. "I see you have cut your hair. Did de old man do dat for you?"

Cloyse only remained stalwart against the unraveling crowd amongst him. "My sister—

"Your sister was and is de least of your problems." Akoni straight out stated. "Look around you. Dese people are so ripe. It makes my heart leap for joy."

"I do not care about dese people. But I do see someting." Cloyse suddenly cocked his head. "Where is Damerae?"

"You are de one wit de second vision. Dat answer should come very easily to you, just as de answer as to what happened to your beloved sibling."

Cloyse then clutched his fists. "How long do you and Arthur tink you can keep this going?"

Akoni laughed out loud, "We have gone unchallenged for years! All but two are gone, and dere lives not even God will have a say in. Dis is not up for debate, Cloyse."

Cloyse inspected Akoni for what seemed like minutes before he asked, "How long have you been using dat stick to walk about? How long do you believe you and Arthur can remain like dis?"

With those scathing words Akoni's light-hearted character gradually began to sink. A contemptible grimace made its way upon her dark face.

Just then, Cloyse began to advance towards her. Akoni backed up, only to spot a male police officer strolling nearby, trying to help disperse the crowd.

Immediately, the woman pasted a sorrowful frown on her face before grabbing at the officer and pointing, "Constable, dat man is threatening me. I am only a weak woman as you can see." Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Instantly, Cloyse stopped moving and began eyeing the masses around him. The officer, tugging at his baton, approached Cloyse inquiring, "What's going here?"

"He is my boyfriend, constable." Akoni pitifully stammered. "He followed me all de way from Jamaica just to finish me off."

The officer looked the young man up and down. "Let me see some I.D., sir." He forcefully commanded.

Cloyse's eyes continued to scan the crowd before he turned and took off in the opposite direction with the officer chasing after him. Before long, both men were completely engulfed in the masses until they eventually vanished.

Akoni, still leaning on her crutch, paused and pondered on the blistering situation that fell upon her so abruptly as people milled about her like she weren't even there at all. Soon, the same people that she felt such a ravenous hunger for were eerily caving in on her like tall buildings coming down.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" Another male officer came up behind her.

Akoni only looked up at the man before opening her mouth and shining her fangs. Once she was through, she hobbled her way back into the gathering from which she emerged earlier that morning.