"Can we stop
now?" Serena asked frantically as she jumped the jump rope for the one
thousandth time. "I'm pooped!!"
"I guess - although
you could still stand a few more laps around the gym." Viscera said with
disapproval. Midian laughed.
"I'd like to
see you lap the gym, big guy." Serena giggled. Dennis always had a good
sense of humor. She looked down and thought about the past month. Even
though she had been running for her life, she was enjoying hanging out
with her brother again.
"Hello, Serena
- stop daydreaming!!"
"Huh?" Serena
looked up to see Viscera snapping his fingers in her face. "Oh sorry. Guess
I was deep in thought." Serena changed the subject. "So. . . how do we
go about getting this book?"
"We're gonna
try to tonight." Midian replied. "And you're gonna do it."
Serena fell
over in surprise. "ME?!?! I can't! I thought I was the one who needed protection!
You're practically asking me to hand myself over to them!"
"C'mon, Bunny,
you're the only one small enough to hide in the dressing room unnoticed.
Please try to be brave about this." Serena smiled. Dennis had always called
her Bunny.
"Well - I guess
I can give it a try." She said reluctantly. Midian and Viscera began to
converse about the plan, and Serena tuned out again. "I have a feeling
that I might not get far with that book."
Serena had been
sitting under the table for three hours when finally Bradshaw was the last
to leave the room. She slowly crawled out from under the table and painfully
stood up, her limbs aching from lack of use. She sighed and hoped that
Dennis and Viscera were watching the door like they promised.
The room was
dark except for a few lit candles, and Serena's shadow danced on the wall
as she moved closer to the back of the room. A large throne-like stone
chair stood in the midst of a dozen black candles, and next to the chair
sat a stand with a black rectangular object. She moved closer to it and
noticed it was a book. She reached her hand to it and touched the cover.
The binding was soft, plush black velvet Serena snatched her hand back
as she felt a jolt of energy rush through her arm.
"Geez, Serena,
you're such a scaredy-cat." She picked up the book, surprised by its weight.
Suddenly she felt a shadow over her. She gulped and turned to stare into
the emerald green eyes of the Undertaker. She gasped.
"Oh no. . ."
She backed up. He towered over her, smirking as he came nearer to her.
"Please. . . please don't hurt me. . ."
"Oh don't worry
my dear, I wouldn't dream of hurting you." He smiled at her, and for a
moment Serena relaxed her tense muscles. "Why would I hurt you, my future
wife?"
"What??" Serena
gave him a confused look. "Listen buddy, I don't know who you are, but
this little game of chase is over! My brother and his friend will kick
your ass faster than you can get it out to the ring!" She frowned at him
and he laughed at her.
"You're beautiful
when you're mad, Serena."
"You know my
name?" "Yes. . . I do." He looked at the book she cradled in her arms.
"Where do you think you're going with that?" Serena paused for a second,
then rushed by him and out the open door. She ran down the hall, not looking
back to see if he was following her. She thought for a second. Why did
he not attack her, or force her to stay in the room? Serena shuddered.
She stopped running.
"Those eyes. . . he seemed sad
almost. There's something else here that no one knows about.." She looked
down at the book. Hopefully the answers would be in there.
Midian gave
a frustrated sigh and pitched the Latin dictionary across the hotel room.
"This is so hard! I finished school 10 years ago!"
Viscera gave
a long sigh. "Well, I guess it's true when they say that you never stop
learning. It's so typical that Taker had this whole book in a dead language."
He looked over at a sleeply-looking Serena. "Finished that chapter yet?"
She jolted to
life again. "Yeah, I did. And I found this." She showed him the translation.
"It says here that this book was written in 1499. There's also a prophecy
here that says 500 years from the time of this book's publication that
a entity would appear to free the soul of the damned." She blinked her
eyes to keep herself awake. "Could this entity be me?"
"Sounds like
it." Midian said. "Have you seen or felt anything strange lately?"
"I had a dream
about a man calling me from a graveyard, begging me to help him be free,
but that's it." Serena looked down, trying to hold back her tears. "I ran
into Taker. . . he let me take the book. Denny. . . there was something
in his eyes. . . he looked so sad." She began to cry. "When will all this
end??"
Midian went
over to Serena and hugged her. "Don't worry Bunny. We're gonna take care
of this, I promise." He looked at her. "Now get some sleep. We're gonna
load up an hour from now, and you need the rest." Serena nodded and went
into the other room, collapsing on the bed in exhaustion. Midian closed
the door and looked at Viscera.
"This is weird.
Taker - looked sad?"
"There is more
to this Midi." Viscera slowly picked up the dictionary and opened the book.
"Let's try and find something else."
Serena sighed
and closed her eyes. Sleep washed over her and she began to drift into
sleep. She felt warm and safe, and a breeze rushed by her from the open
window. She rolled over and looked at the window. It was closed.
"What the heck.
. ." She felt a presence next to her and sat up. Taker sat on the bed next
to her and smiled. Serena fell off the bed in surprise and stood quickly.
"How did you get in here??" He got up and put his hands on her shoulders.
She looked at him strangely. "You're not here to hurt me, are you?"
"I told you
that I would never hurt you."
"Who... or what
are you?"
Taker smiled
at her and looked in her eyes. "It's a long story."
Copyright 1999 by Lady Destiny