Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) by Kevin Weinberg Page B

striking women Jack had ever
seen. She almost ranked up to Melissa, but her face was what
disturbed Jack. Her smile was wicked, and her expression was one of
pure, unfiltered madness.
    Jack felt a weight lift as Melissa got off
Jack’s back. “Who the hell are you two? What’s happening here is
none of your concern, and I seriously advise you to turn around and
leave.”
    “ Do you hear that, Darling? This
creature is making demands of us. Shall I kill it?”
    Melissa’s face darkened. “What did you just say
to me?”
    The woman called Requiem ignored her. Instead,
she shifted her gaze directly towards Jack. Her face lit up with
delight, and she clapped her hands.
    “ That’s him, brother, that’s him!
He’s the one I want, the one the other boy told us about. Why is he
tied up? Did the pig do this to our new brother?”
    Jack wasn’t sure, but assuming no dogs were
around, he heard Melissa literally growl in response.
    “ Your new brother? What does that
mean? Who are you two?”
    Requiem laughed. “Hah! Oh, look at this, Ruin,
look! It’s still trying to converse with me. I’ll deal with it
later.”
    Jack felt a foreign sensation on his wrists,
and then, as if by magic, his bonds were cut, freeing his hands.
With a trembling palm, he pushed himself off the ground and slowly
stood to his feet. Melissa looked over, panic now on her face as
Jack stood freed before her.
    “ Okay, everyone. I’m not even gonna
try, pretend, or better yet even ask to know who you guys are.”
Jack dusted off his pants and shirt with a shaking hand. “But I
think I finally understand what’s going on here. Actually, I’m sure
of it.” Jack felt his confusion fade a little as the pieces finally
came together.
    “ I have somehow activated a portal
to a parallel dimension, where Melissa is as strong as a troll, and
everyone has names that start with
R.”
    Requiem put a gloved palm to her face and
laughed with delight. “Oh, look at him, Ruin, look at him! He’s a
funny boy. Our new brother is a very funny one. Oh, this is so
lovely!”
    Melissa turned to Jack. Her face had gone cold,
but raw anger seeped through her expression. “What do you mean by
that, Jack?”
    “ Well, Melissa, if you’d been paying
attention—see what I did there? You’re always saying I don’t pay
attention but now you’re the one who isn’t—you’d have heard that
both their names start with the letter
R
.”
    “ Not about that!
” she
screamed back at him. “About you having no clue who these two
people are.”
    Jack scratched his head. “Nope, not ringing a
bell. I haven’t seen these guys anywhere.”
    Requiem clapped her hands yet again with
delight. “Oh, Jack, you’ll come to know us as family soon enough.
We’re your liberators, the ones who will allow you to step forward
and take your birth right and yes, even shake the very
heavens!”
    Jack, still trembling from Melissa’s
roughhousing, limped forward past Melissa to stare directly at the
two weirdoes.
    “ I,” he began, “have absolutely no
idea what any of what you just said means!”
    Now, even Ruin joined in the
laughter.
    “ Oh, Ruin,” Requiem said, “I love
this one already. I can’t wait to have him.” Her face changed, the
madness growing but now a perverse lust seeped through her haunting
eyes. “I’ll wait no longer.”
    Melissa took two steps forward to stand beside
Jack. It was apparent from her expression that she was trying to
piece together the situation. The park wasn’t very large compared
to others, but it did have the basics. They were in the front, near
the swings and jungle gym, and a few feet behind them sat a large
fountain, and just beyond that a grassy playing field.
    “ I don’t know what’s going on here
any better than Jack here seems to, but may I please ask you two a
question? For some reason, I have a feeling you’re crazy enough to
actually answer it. First of all, are you two the ones who have
been killing the children