The Elect 22, part 2 of 4: Looking for a Word

April 12, 2016April 1, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Emily had no word from Pierce, and Amina could not locate him. Latasha was home and healing rapidly. Lisa was all but healed, and it looked like she would be scar free. It also looked like Maria’s hair was going to grow back after all. It had only been shaved. And Jessica was down to a simple cast on her arm while Mindy was able to take a long, hot, soak in the tub. She still felt the sting in a few places from the soap, but she was determined.

Melissa was back home in Vermont. They told her parents that the cult kidnapped her, but the police shut them down so they would no longer be a threat. They said Melissa would be perfectly safe at the school for summer classes. Detective Lisa gave her personal guarantee. And still there was no word from Pierce.

It was Thursday late afternoon when Jessica sat on the library steps and looked out on the world. Emily sat on the same library steps but she pouted in her own mind and had no room in her thoughts for the world. She could not concentrate on her school work, either. What started out as a straight A semester was rapidly becoming Bs and Cs. She might even end up having to take a summer class herself if that Earth Science whacko messed with her grade.

“At least I’m doing well in Modern European History, thanks to Amina,” Emily said.

“I’m getting Bs,” Jessica said. “My father is happy.”

“Business major,” Emily said grumpily.

“Yeah.” Jessica did not sound much happier about it. “Amina is studying history and philosophy. Maria is going to be a doctor. Mindy is into antiquities, all those folktales, myths and legends, and languages. Melissa is the real geek. She wants to study physics.”

“I want to be a nurse,” Emily said a bit defensively.

Jessica frowned. “I’m studying business because my father wants me to study business.”

Emily nodded, but had to ask. “What would you study if you could pick whatever you wanted?”

Jessica sat in silence for a long time before she answered softly. “Business,” she said. “But I think at this point I might join you in ROTC. Is that weird or what?”

Emily never thought of Jessica that way. It was weird, but she did not say it.

Jessica continued. “It was never like this before. I had dreams of modeling and marrying some rich guy and doing lots of rich things. You have ruined me. Holly, my new roommate and I have sworn off boys for a while. I never did that before.”

“No more Larry?”

“Please. That was three boyfriends ago. No, I mean with all that happened last semester, and now with the gang, the tribe as Amina insists, and with all that working out and learning self-defense.” Jessica stopped in mid sentence.

“What?” Emily had to prompt her.

“I honestly never felt better in my whole life. I never felt better about myself, either. I think I had a low opinion of myself and low expectations without realizing it. Now I feel like I can conquer the world. I don’t need to marry a rich guy. I can get rich all by myself, thank you very much.”

“I’m happy for you, I think.”

“Maybe I should change to a psychology major. I should fit right in with all those crazy people at this point, don’t you think?”

Emily was thinking. She was wondering what happened to the girl with the French nails who never opened a book and wanted to date the football team. This was a different woman. “But ROTC?”

“I think I would be good at it. What do you think?”

“I think you would too,” Emily admitted. “Of course, I wouldn’t be able to go easy on you.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Jessica said.

Emily was ready to try to talk Jessica out of it when her phone buzzed. She had a text message. It was from Pierce. It said she should meet him on the roof of the science building. He had something important to tell her, but she had to come alone or she would never find him.

“I have to go,” Emily said. Her hand touched her knife without any conscious thought about it, and she took off running across the green at top speed. At the same time, Amina ran up, yelling.

“Emily! Emily!” Emily did not hear or she did not answer, and Amina had to drop her hands to her knees at that point to breathe.

“What is it?” Jessica stood, a worried look on her face.

“He is going to kill her,” Amina gasped for air. “He is going to try, and if he does we are all dead.”

Jessica wanted to run after Emily, but she knew that even she could not catch her and she was not sure where Emily had gone.

“Explain,” Jessica said as she spied Maria and Mindy catching up.

Amina waved off Jessica’s questions and concerns. She had her phone out and was dialing furiously.

The Elect 22, Through the Heart: part 1 of 4

April 11, 2016April 1, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Maria and Mindy went to visit Amina and Emily, but Emily was not home. Amina was puttering around the room. “I kind of spread my things out with a single room,” she said. “I’ve been trying to make space for Emily’s things.”

“It’s a nice room,” Mindy said. “Connie has me squeezed into the corner, but I keep thinking a couple more weeks and I’ll be free.”

“Sorry we lost our rooms,” Maria said. “You could have stayed until the end of the semester with me.”

“Thanks.” Mindy appreciated the thought. She looked at Emily’s desk and picked up the prominent item, a picture of Pierce. “Emily is lucky. I wish I could find someone as nice.”

“We all do,” Maria said. “Pierce is like her, one in a million.”

“What?” Amina looked at them. “The hair on my neck.” She grabbed the picture of Pierce. “No, no, no,” she shouted, tossed the picture down on Emily’s desk and took off running for the stairs. Maria and Mindy had no time to ask. They ran after her.

************************

The Elect, Freshman Year is entering the final chapter/episode. With the zombie lab shut down, you would think… but what is that expression, Just when you think it is safe to go back in the water…

The entire serialized novel began in November 2015. You are welcome to click on the archives and read it from the beginning. This chapter, as all of the previous chapters, will post today, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Enjoy. And…

The Elect 21, part 4 of 4: A Person of Magic

April 7, 2016April 1, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

When they were ready, they crashed into the back room. There was an assembly line of sorts run by three people. A girl sat in a chair nearby. She looked totally drained, like she had worked a triple shift without a break. Two men in white lab coats stood by a whiteboard, reviewing something on a clipboard. Two soldiers with rifles paced. They were the ones who turned and fired.

Emily ducked under the nearest table and slowly worked her way over to the girl who was not moving. She feared that surely the girl would be shot in the hail of bullets before it was over. Two more soldiers came out of an office at the back, and it was going to take some work to put them down.

The police, though, were up to the task, having dealt with drug lords and kingpins of various stripes and their private armies. Emily reached the girl before it was over and dragged her to the floor. She gasped. She recognized this girl.

“Melissa?” They had not heard from her in three weeks. Maria was worried and talked about calling the girl’s parents in Vermont just before the attack.

The girl opened her eyes, though they were barely a slit open. It was enough for her to recognize the face in front of her. “Emily?” She began to cry and reached out to hug Emily and cry on her shoulder.

Someone let the zombies out of their cage, and someone else shouted, “No, not that one.” There was a response, but Emily could not make it out over the gunfire. Then the gunfire stopped as police, soldiers and workers had their hands full. Three zombies came straight for the chair and the girls.

“Stay here,” Emily said and she was up and had the first beheaded and stabbed in no time. She had learned a lot since they attacked her at the shooting range. The second took only a moment longer, and the third was steps away, but Emily stopped when Melissa shouted.

“Not that one!” Emily looked. Melissa had dragged herself up by holding on to the chair so she could watch. “Wired,” Melissa said. Emily understood. It meant if she struck at the head or the heart it would simply set off the explosive. Some of the other combatants heard and backed away as well. But Melissa was not finished. She stared at the oncoming zombie, her cheeks flushed with blood, her limbs shivered from some strain. She raised one hand ever so slowly before she said one more word. “Enough.” The zombie stopped dead still. All of the zombies in the room stopped. Then the one that was wired opened its mouth and made a sound like a whale cry. It only lasted a second before it and all the others collapsed. It was the only sound Emily had ever heard a zombie make.

Melissa also collapsed, and Emily shouted. “Melissa!” She dropped her sword and rushed to the girl. She caught her just before Melissa cracked her head on the concrete floor. The poor girl’s eyes rolled up, like she was dead herself, but she was still breathing, if barely.

“Call an ambulance!” Emily shouted to the room, heedless of what was going on. In fact, the soldiers and workers surrendered at that point and Lisa came over with Emily’s sword.

Lisa took the girl from Emily’s arms and held her and mothered her while they waited for the ambulance. She had some words for Emily at the same time. “You must clean your weapon first. Hasn’t Heinrich taught you anything?” She grinned and added for Melissa, “There, there. Rest and sleep.”

Melissa slept until mid-morning. Emily and Maria called her frantic parents, and it helped when Detective Lisa got on the line. It seemed Melissa came down to the school for a week to re-acclimate herself. That was three weeks ago. She sent a few quick messages home that said she was enjoying herself and had to register and get her schedule and other things ready for the following fall. She asked about summer classes, and her parents thought everything was fine; but the communication ended five days ago, and they were getting worried, given what happened last time. The truth was, she never made it to the campus at all.

By mid morning, everyone was there to hear the story. All but Emily and Amina looked like casualties of war. Jessica had her arm in a sling and Lisa had fresh bandages on hers since she reopened the wound during the battle and this time she needed some stitches to keep it closed. Maria still had a bandage on the back of her head and was afraid her hair might never grow back. Mindy had little bandages everywhere and was only awaiting the time when she could once again soak in the tub.

Melissa sat up in bed but it was clear she was a long way from recovered. The doctor said he wanted to keep her at least another day under observation. He said he never saw a person so depleted of everything the way she was.

“I told them I did not have that kind of power,” Melissa said, “but they insisted. They threatened me and my family if I didn’t cooperate. It was a good thing Professor Swenson’s formula did most of the work. All they needed me for was the initial spark. Even that nearly killed me.”

“I didn’t know you had any power at all,” Maria said.

Amina interjected. “The witch arranged to have another witch for a roommate.”

“Person of magic, if you don’t mind,” Melissa said. “She liked the idea that when my family first came to America so long ago we lived in Salem. But when she found out how little magic I actually had, she threw me out. I understand that now.”

Emily was reserved. Her only experience with a person of magic was not a good one.

“So now you are one of us,” Amina said, but she looked at Emily, aware of the reservation there.

Emily looked back at them all but said nothing.

“Come on,” Maria said. “It’s not like she has AIDS or something.”

Emily thought AIDS might be easier for her to deal with, but at last she said, “Alright. Welcome to the club.”

Melissa, who had been waiting in uncertainty got the happiest smile, and Mindy and Maria joined her. Amina offered a correction. “Welcome to the Amazon tribe.”

Jessica offered another thought. “Yet one more thing I am not best at.”

“You’re best at boys,” Mindy said. “That is what I want to get good at.” Lisa, Emily, and Maria all smiled. Melissa did not know what to say. Amina turned red, like she was thinking the same thing but did not want to say it aloud.

“I don’t know,” Jessica countered with a look at Emily. “You really only have to be good with one, if it is the right one.” They all looked at Emily, but she closed her eyes. After a moment, she stepped out into the hall because she could not stop crying.

The Elect 21, part 3 of 4: Zombie Lab

April 6, 2016April 1, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Latasha’s neighbor took her and her mama home, though Latasha argued. Lisa convinced her, and it was not hard, that she still needed some serious healing time. Josh and the kids dropped Maria at the university and even helped her find her new room. Josh argued that Lisa needed healing time herself, but she put him off with a kiss.

“After the fight at the library before Christmas, the whole police force will be there to close this shop. I won’t have to do anything, but I need to be there, even if I just observe.”

Josh could not really argue, and he knew it was as close as he was going to get to a promise that she would not do anything. He simply took a deep breath and corralled the kids to help Maria.

Emily got in the back seat. They had to go to the Hive for her to get her bearings. They drove part way into the alley, but she made them stop with a bit of a walk left. She told them about the guards with rifles stationed by the warehouse doors.

As they snuck up, they saw a red pick-up drive out the back of the alley on to the residential street. They also saw one guard, and he was indeed armed with a military rifle. Back at the car, Lisa got on the radio. This was going to have to be organized on the fly, but mostly it was going to require silence on the part of those participating. When she was satisfied, she led them back to the observation spot behind the dumpster.

“I should go,” Emily insisted. “You are still injured whether you admit it or not. We don’t want you to start bleeding again.”

“No, the fact that I am injured is precisely the reason I should go,” Lisa said and stepped out before anyone could stop her. Lisa limped, though she did not have to. She had opened the top button on the soft dress Josh had brought her to wear home. She looked carefully as the man on the warehouse dock stood and came to the edge of the dock, gun cradled in his arms, but ready.

“Hi,” she said. “Haven’t I seen you at the Hive?”

“No,” the man shook his head.

Lisa used her presumably good hand to open her dress and expose a little more of herself before she waved her hand in front of her face. “I’m hot for April,” she said. She was a very fine looking woman. The man smiled.

“Going home?” he asked. “Wandering through these alleys is not advised.”

“I just live over there,” she lied and moved up to where she could rest her arms on the dock at his feet. “Over there,” she pointed, but he did not look. “Ouch.” Lisa lifted her bandaged hand to the dock, and the man had the decency to ask.

“What happened?”

“A Doberman got frisky. I’m afraid of big dogs.” That was true enough. “You?”

The man shook his head. “I have a shepherd. My family has always had big dogs.”

Lisa shivered. “Maybe I should go back to the Hive.”

“Maybe you should go home,” the man suggested, and this time he looked as he pointed to the alley exit. That look was all Lisa needed. She grabbed both of the man’s legs and yanked him off the dock. She struck him with her good fist and as he fell, she managed to hold on to the man’s rifle.

Emily and Ashish came right up, and before the man could get his jaw to work in order to yell the alarm, Ashish had his gun to the man’s head. The man did make one attempt to grab Ashish’s gun, but Emily stomped on the man’s shoulder which took him to the pavement where he hit his head. Emily immediately thought of Maria and felt bad, but this man did not go unconscious and he did not start bleeding. He was dizzy, though, when two police cars came up as quietly as they could.

Lisa grabbed the radio microphone from the first car and said simply, “Go.” Then she hopped up on the platform and headed for the door. Emily, Ashish and three of the police officers followed. The fourth kept their prisoner on ice. He duct-taped the man’s mouth and handcuffed him. It was unorthodox, true, but then so were the walking dead.

They got inside easily enough. The door let them into an unused section of the warehouse, no doubt designed to throw off any investigation. But there was a big back room and Emily could smell the green gloop from the door. She was glad they went by the university first so she could pick-up her sword. She drew it as several more police officers came in quietly from the other side of that big unused room.

Lisa nodded to the others and pointed to the back. She risked a whisper for Emily. “You were not elected to kill people. You are welcome to take out any zombies you want.” Emily understood.

The Elect 21, part 2 of 4: Walking Wounded

April 5, 2016April 1, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The morning Jessica and Mindy were released from the hospital, the university had temporary housing for Jessica in a room in the towers. Mindy still technically had a bed in Connie’s room. She handled it well. She told Connie to keep her hands and things to herself and leave her alone and Connie did not argue.

Jessica’s new, temporary roommate griped at being gypped out of a single room. In fact, when Jessica arrived she found the door had a dresser pushed up to it to prevent her from getting in. Jessica certainly could not do anything about it with only one arm, but Emily was glad to help out. She easily opened the door, even if the dresser crashed to the floor. She grabbed the girl’s boyfriend by the collar and tossed him down the hall. Then she prevented the girl from following her boyfriend with a strong hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“You will accommodate Jessica and see she gets her rest so she can heal. Am I clear?” The girl said nothing. She simply nodded, but her eyes were looking around Emily’s shoulder. It was not necessary. Emily felt the presence and kicked out behind. She caught the boyfriend right in the gut and he moaned and doubled over before he fell to his knees. “No more boyfriend in the room. I mean it,” she said and let the girl go. The girl went straight to the boy and Emily leaned down to whisper in the boy’s ear. “Meet her in the student center. This room is now off limits.”

After that, Emily picked up the dresser and set it against the wall where it belonged. She helped Jessica unpack what she had left that was not blown up and destroyed. Then she went in search of Pierce, but she could not find him. She was frustrated when she got back to Amina’s room.

The next morning, Maria, Latasha and Lisa were released together. Emily met them at the hospital where Ashish offered to drive her and Maria home. Ms Barton came with a neighbor to pick up Latasha, and of course Josh and all three kids were there for Lisa.

They talked while they waited for the required wheelchairs. At one point Maria asked Lisa if Julie Tam found out anything more after the genetic testing information.

“What genetic testing?” Emily asked. She stayed near Maria and was very glad to see her recovering. Besides the concussion, she had serious bleeding in the back of her head, always a bad and dangerous sign.

“I told you, didn’t I?’ Maria was not sure. Emily shook her head, and Maria remembered. “That’s right. I just found out and told the others, but you weren’t there. Julie determined that the samples the person was taking from the old people who died could only have been for genetic testing.”

Emily felt something fall in the pit of her stomach. She stepped away without a word, but not without a few stares from some of those around her. She got out her phone and dialed. Pierce had only answered his phone occasionally in the last few days, and she only saw him once, briefly. He seemed to be very busy, but this time he picked up.

“Hello? Emily?” She did not know what to say. “Emily, are you there?”

Emily took a deep breath. “Doctor Zimmer is responsible in some way for the deaths of all those old people, isn’t he?” There was a long pause before Emily heard the answer.

“Yes.”

“That was why you were able to find the body by the engineering building, and why you found the first one in the construction site, isn’t it?” The pause was not so long this time.

“Yes.”

“And this is all connected to the contest in some way, isn’t it?” Emily’s intuition was driving on full steam.

“Yes.” This time Emily was the one who paused. Pierce had to react. “Emily?”

“You know where the zombie lab is, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I was ordered not to tell you, though I wanted to. I was not ordered to keep you away or admit it if you asked. Please believe me. I wanted to tell you.”

“Pierce,” Emily cut him off. “Don’t be there when we arrive.”

“Emily?”

“Just don’t be there.”

“I love you,” Pierce said, but Emily hung up and now had everyone’s attention.

“I know where the zombie lab is.”

The Elect 21, Matters of Death: part 1 of 4

April 4, 2016April 1, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Emily slept in Amina’s room since Amina’s roommate had disappeared. Both imagined she was among the unaccounted dead from first semester. Even so, Emily was surprised Amina could work it out with housing. Emily was grateful, but she had to ask how Amina managed it.

“Simple,” Amina explained. “I offered to find them the body and they declined.”

……….

************************

The Elect, Freshman Year chapter/episode 21 begins with a reminder of where this story began. Emily and her friends started finding dead bodies all over the campus. Even Latasha in the local high school was not spared from adding to the body count. Detective Lisa asked for their help to track down the reason. They discovered someone was trying to build super soldiers.

They stopped one professor in his Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde experiments. They ended the experiments of a second professor who was bringing the dead back to life like so may Frankenstein monsters. They confronted the witch who initially supplied the spark of life that made the zombies possible… but the lab remains out there, the zombies are still walking, and most of the group have ended up in the hospital for one reason or another.

Maybe the focus of their attention and the sharing of information from their hospital stays can help. Maybe there is an additional complication that provides the key. Maybe… but see for yourself.

If you want to read the story from the beginning, you are welcome to click on the archives button on the blog and begin in November of 2015. This chapter will post today, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and I do urge you to at least read the whole chapter… In any case, Happy Reading

The Elect 20, part 4 of 4: Carlos

March 31, 2016March 30, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Latasha sat at the kitchen table until late. The moon and stars were out in a cloudless sky, but Latasha saw none of it. She was playing with her phone and still trying to make sense of life. All of the lights in the house were out but the kitchen light, and she was tired but not sleepy. She chalked it up to having gotten so much rest in the hospital, but the truth was she always had a kind of nervous energy which did not suit well when it came time for bed.

Latasha was about to get up and give it a try when there was a loud crack at the door. She stood and the crack came again. She grabbed the big kitchen knife and put it on the table. It was too late to hold the door against whatever was coming. On the third crack, the door swung open and Carlos and one of his thugs, or one just like the others came in. No one was there but her, Mama and the little ones, but she figured Carlos knew that already.

Latasha hit the key on her phone to dial Detective Lisa and then set the phone on the table. “Carlos,” she said. The man had a gun in his hand.

“Latasha baby, is everything alright?” Mama called down the stairs.

“Yes Mama,” Latasha called back. “Go back to bed. Everything’s fine.”

“You should be dead,” Carlos said.

“Your bus driver was an idiot,” Latasha spoke calmly. Carlos shrugged, like he already figured that out. “And your bomb? You missed.”

“And that was a professional job,” Carlos said, but shrugged again. “Sit.” He ordered, waved his gun and Latasha turned the kitchen chair and sat facing the man. “If you cooperate, maybe I will leave you broken, but not dead.”

“Why should I cooperate?”

“Because you have a mother and little brother and sister upstairs.” Carlos raised his voice. “And even if your mother is listening, I know there is no phone upstairs.” That was not true. James left his phone home when he shipped off for basic training and Mama had already gotten it. “Remmy,” Carlos finished speaking and used his gun to wave the thug in Latasha’s direction.

“Why are you doing this?” Latasha asked.

Carlos got hot and angry. “Because you have ruined my reputation. No one respects me because you are just a fucking high school bitch.”

The big man stepped over with a grin. He was the kind that enjoyed causing pain and he started by taking Latasha’s hand. “What are you doing?” She asked, but did not resist.

“First the fingers,” he said and grabbed her little finger and bent it back, but then she resisted and he was stymied. He could not bend it to the breaking point, and when the little finger stopped moving, Latasha grabbed his hand in return and squeezed. “Ow,” he said as he yanked his hand free, but he got angry and the back of his hand flew to her cheek. He held nothing back and her head turned, her eyes watered and her lip dripped blood from the blow. Worse, her whole back felt enflamed and filled with pain because of her wounds.

Latasha’s phone started to speak. “If you wish to make a call…”

The man, Remmy looked at the phone on the table. Carlos reacted, but was distracted by a noise on the stairs. Latasha’s mama called again, “Latasha,” and came part way down. There were sirens and flashing lights outside. Latasha could not wait.

She hit the man beside her square in the face before she pounded on the man’s chest. That sent him flying back into the living room, even as Carlos fired at Latasha’s mother. Carlos missed because of the distraction and Latasha’s mother raced back up the stairs. That gave Latasha enough time to grab the big kitchen knife off the table and throw it, even as Carlos turned again in her direction. The knife was not made to be thrown. It could have hit the man with the handle as easily as the blade, but it was a distraction while she covered the three steps to face him. Otherwise, he would have shot her.

The knife struck true and sank into Carlo’s middle. Carlos paused long enough for Latasha to arrive and grab his gun hand to wrestle the gun free. She pointed it away, but Carlos pulled the trigger several times and Remmy, who had gotten up mad, staggered back to fall on the couch and bled from several places.

Carlos let go of the gun and went to the floor, Latasha right with him. As the police came running up the walk, Latasha got a word in Carlos’ ear. “Baseball. Three strikes, you’re out. If you survive, next time I will kill you for sure.”

Rob Parker burst in and Latasha’s mama came racing down the stairs. They got Latasha to a chair and Mama stayed right with her while the police made frantic calls. Latasha’s robe was full of blood, mostly blood from her own back where every wound opened. Remmy was conscious, his eyes open while he bled all over the couch. Carlos had his eyes closed, but his hand was on the handle of the knife in his belly and he moaned in terrible pain.

Latasha’s mama had some words. “Honey, that club you are in is too dangerous. You need to quit that club.”

Latasha smiled at her mama despite her pain because Mama did not know she was a lifetime member, and she smiled because for the first time she felt like she really belonged. Then she explained because Mama needed to know. “These are Darren’s enemies. Thank Darren for this mess.”

She said no more because Rob Parker came over to help her walk out to the waiting ambulance. The medical techs were working on Remmy and Carlos and they probably should have been the first transported, but they were overruled. Latasha’s safety was the priority. All Latasha could think was she hoped these trips to the hospital would not become a regular thing.

The Elect 20, part 3 of 4: Latasha Released

March 30, 2016March 28, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Latasha got home and heard all about John and Leah’s adventure. Her mama could not stop hugging them all, and even Leon said he was glad everyone was safe and sound. James, of course was in basic training in another state. Darren was missing.

After the incident in the parking garage, Darren spent twenty-four hours in jail before he was bonded out. He disappeared immediately, and no one knew if he was alive or dead. There were rumors in the family that he went to New Orleans and was hiding with relatives there, but there was no confirmation of that.

This was the first time Latasha thought about Darren in a while, and that brought the whole incident back, and she wondered. Whatever happened to Carlos and his two thugs? It occurred to her that Carlos was one, and maybe the only one in her life who had a grudge against her. Lisa had said plainly that Principal Wearing was not the intended victim of the bomb, despite what he thought. That bomb was not the work of some disgruntled high school student. It was a professional work, and if it had been a little stronger, that whole end of the school would have collapsed.

Latasha called Detective Lisa the first chance she got and mouthed her suspicions. Lisa said she would check into it, and that was all she could expect for the moment.

Latasha came downstairs in her robe and slippers when Keisha and Janet came by after school. Walking was hard, but not as painful as it had been. Lisa said she should heal quickly and as deep as some of those splinters went, she should start to feel like herself after only a day or two. She could not wait. For the first time in her life, she was concerned about missing school. She really wanted to keep up in her classes. She really wanted to do something with her life, something more than just having a bunch of kids.

Latasha looked at her mama while the woman puttered around in the kitchen and she wondered what her mama might have done with her life if she did not have Leon at such a young age. She asked, and Mama stopped to eye Latasha and her friends.

“I honestly don’t know, sweetheart. My only dream when I was sixteen was to have a baby and be a mama. I am glad I had that dream.”

“But didn’t you have any goals for your life?” Latasha had to ask.

Mama shook her head. “Honey, I was always told there was no point in having those kind of dreams because a black person could never make it in a white world. I don’t know. Maybe it was true back then, but you and James have shown me that it might not be true now. Have I ever told you how proud I am of you?” She hugged Latasha and went upstairs to check on the little ones before Latasha could ask any more questions. Latasha turned to her friends.

“Me?” Keisha was on the spot. “Maybe a nurse. Nursing would be a good thing.”

“I thought you couldn’t stand the sight of blood,” Janet interjected.

“My blood,” Keisha explained. “I don’t mind other people’s blood.” And they looked at Janet.

“Well, when I grow up, I want to be grown up.” That was all they could get out of her.

The Elect 20, part 2 of 4: Eating the Fruit

March 29, 2016March 28, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

It was dark by the time Lisa and Ashish arrived at the house. There were others working on a search warrant, but nothing was forthcoming, yet. Lisa paced in front of the gate and tried her best to be patient, but her instincts had her insides churning.

“Women who are going bald get wigs,” she said. “And women who wear glasses can get colored contacts.” She was about to say something more when she heard a faint cry for help. It came from the other side of the house, from the back yard.

Ashish heard something but thought Lisa mumbled something. He began to speak in response, but she shushed him. The cry came again, and Lisa leapt the fence. For all her teasing with Emily, Lisa was in fact a mother who knew the cry of a child when she heard it. Ashish would follow, but even if he had been young and in perfect shape he would not have been able to keep up.

Lisa rounded the house and found there were several poles set back among the trees where they would be invisible from the street as well as invisible to neighbors with prying eyes. Two of the poles had figures in the dark tied to them. They were small figures, like children, and tied above a platform that kept them from being dog meat.

Lisa spun around at the sound of a growl. How could she have forgotten? She whipped out her gun, but one of the dogs leapt and clamped down on her arm. It bit right to the bone and the gun fell to the ground. Lisa screamed, but kept her head. As the second dog leapt at her throat, she knocked it away with a strong punch to the head. Then she pulled out a knife and rammed it deep into the neck of the one who had her arm pinned. The jaw loosened as the dog howled and whimpered, but it did not let go.

The second dog was on her again, but Lisa pulled out her knife and slashed at the dog and it backed up to look for a better position. Lisa stabbed the first one again, but this time it clamped down harder. She was in tears from the pain, but managed to lift her arm which raised the dog on its hind legs. Then she gutted it, and at last it let go as the second dog bit her thigh.

A gun went off, and the dog, which only cut her thigh, let go to snap at its own rear. Lisa took advantage by stabbing the beast in the ear. She drove her knife right through the skull, where it snapped off in the dog’s head, and the dog collapsed.

Ashish came running up and had his handkerchief out to wrap her arm. Lisa limped, but could walk. She handed Ashish her second knife so he could set the children free while she picked up her gun and limped to the house. The lights had all come on, and the woman Dot Guinness, alias Elena Montrose came out the back door dressed only in a nightgown and robe.

“You there,” she yelled and pointed at Ashish. “You leave my fertilizer alone.”
“Back inside,” Lisa pointed her gun at the woman, though the woman was weaponless. “You need to answer some questions.” Lisa pulled Ashish’s wrap around her arm tight to stop the bleeding from several holes. To be honest, she wanted to faint from the pain, but her determination overruled that consideration.

The woman did not resist, and on recognizing the detective, she gladly invited her in. She wanted to show off her things. She was very proud of all she had accomplished. The only thing Lisa could think was how unsterile Ashish’s handkerchief was. Then she almost could not go inside because of the smell.

Dot Guinness had a living room full of machinery including a meat grinder and a wood chipper which she said was wonderful on bones. “Of course, the best bones go to my boys. Speaking of which, where are my boys?”

“Outside,” Lisa said in a very flat voice.

“Oh, that’s good. They will guard the fertilizer.”

“So tell me, do they die of exposure or starvation?”

“What? Oh now don’t be silly. Fertilizer doesn’t die.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You know, the last thing my husband said was the Lord will provide. And you know, Ed was right.”

Lisa felt the red flag. It was palpable “So what happened to your husband?”

“Oh, I killed him and ate him. I mean, who wouldn’t? He was delicious. But it turns out he was right about a lot of things. Who knew? When he bought that big freezer in the garage, I said he was crazy. He said he was going to fill it with venison, but I knew he wasn’t a hunter. But you know, it has come in real handy over the years, yes it has.”

Millsaps came in the front door at that point with the search warrant. She directed two officers to the freezer in the garage, and Dot yelled after the men. “You’ll find everything in order there.” She turned again to Lisa. “I have everything dated and marked M and F.”

“M and F?” Millsaps asked.

“Male and female,” Lisa guessed.

“That’s right. The females make good steaks. Goodness, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. But the males are sometimes tough. They need to be baked and sauced like a good barbeque. I have found some excellent recipes over the years. I would be happy to share them with you.”

“No thank you,” Lisa said as she limped to the door and went back outside. The loss of blood was beginning to have its way, but the ambulance pulled up and she was sure she could limp that far, at least. Ashish met her by the door, having had the good sense not to bring the children through the house. She leaned on his shoulder.

“I think I’ll be sick for a month.”

“You are hurt pretty bad,” Ashish nodded.

“This?” Lisa held up her arm. “This will heal in a few days and probably not even scar.” Ashish nodded and helped her to the ambulance. “Won’t the girls be surprised to see me?” She said, before the ambulance drove her off.

The Elect 20, Matters of Life: part 1 of 4

March 28, 2016March 27, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The nice doctor came in, Doctor John Smith. He was young, just an intern, but he kept a close eye on Latasha, Jessica, Maria, and Mindy. He tended their trauma, physical, psychological, and emotional. They smiled for him. They could not help it. It was an instinct, an automatic reflex. He was good looking, and he smiled back.

************************

Poor Emily. Her troops are all in the hospital and she still has to find a zombie lab… and who knows what else? You would think having three elect in the small city of Trenton, New Jersey, would be enough to handle any contingency.

But Latasha, the high school freshman is herself in the hospital, the result of an assassination attempt where she ended up with a back full of door splinters.

And Detective Lisa, the adult in the group, is totally frustrated by the enormous numbers of missing persons in town, many of whom eventually turn up dead. As she says, the numbers would be off the charts if they weren’t so close to Philadelphia.

That leaves Emily, a freshman at New Jersey State University, somewhat isolated in her search for the bad guys. She doesn’t even know who the bad guys are. But someone is sending dead people out, wired to explode on contact…

The Elect, Freshman Year (or season one) is racing now toward the season finale. Three chapters (or episodes) remain: 20, Matters of Life, 21, Matters of Death, and 22, Through the Heart. As always, they will be posted in 4 posts each: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Don’t miss them…

If you want to read the story from the start, you are welcome to visit the website and click on the archives button. this all began in November of 2015, and you can help yourself. It is free. My feeling is wherever your imagination takes you… whatever you read: Happy Reading…