Nearly Witches

Chapter Five

The night was young and Alysanne was waiting for Tribe and Captain Justice to show up; she had left a little earlier since the beginnings of a headache had been annoying her since around seven and she had a feeling that something was going to happen. Ghost and Nymeria were walking around the bakery, while she kept her bow and arrow in hand in case any hellhounds showed up.

She just wanted this to be done, he was messing with them and she knew that. He could have snapped her neck the day he threw her off the building; but he was playing at sometime and it didn’t suit well with her.

“Artemis,” he said as he appeared behind her, Alysanne would have brought a dagger, but it would have been used against her.

“Thanatos or do you prefer Mors?” Alysanne asked, her head was hurting but it wasn’t bad enough for his little army of shadow puppets. “No shadow army this time?”

“Smart wild child,” he told her.

“Your obsession with Greek Mythology gave you away,” she told him.

“I am Thanatos and Mors; we are one in the same. The God’s will return, and revenge will be ours for what humanity has done to us,” he told her, Alysanne made sure she was ready to shoot if he took one more step towards her. “Everything that has been taken from us will be returned, the old order will be returns and the failed system will be removed.”

He wants to ruin the western world, Alysanne thought to herself and she narrowed her eyes and thought about it. He didn’t make any sense and she doubted he was just going to tell her, return of the Gods? Did he mean just the Greek ones?

Maybe she could just annoy him and hope for the best.

“And what will you bring in?” Alysanne asked him, her fingers twitching on her bow string and she bend over slightly. “Communism? Because I can tell you right now; that it doesn’t work. Millions died of starvation in China and Russia, missions are dying in Venezuela; they wouldn’t be fleeing if it was the best thing for humanity.”

“Mob rule will fall, the old-world order will return,” he hissed at her.

“Anything before the 1900’s is considered the old-world order,” Alysanne told him, flinching slightly as he turned to glare at her with pitch black eyes. Her kicks were strong from her Irish dancing, but that wouldn’t do anything without any technique or control.

Papers called her Artemis, and this was the third time he had popped up while she was alone, and she didn’t believe in coincidences. Once, she wouldn’t question it, but this was the third time and he didn’t talk with Tribe and Captain Justice around.

“We’ll bring in a new world order, the Gods have been reborn,” he said while looking away from her, Alysanne looking at him as he walked backwards standing at the edge of the bakery’s roof with a giant smile on his face. “We will be remembered as more than a child’s story; more than pieces of stories put together. More than myth’s, dear Artemis, you’re more important than you now and you will remember.”

‘Ghost, I think you were half right,’ Alysanne told him

‘Classic villain,’ Ghost told her.

‘Not this one,’ Nymeria told him.

‘This one is a nutcase,’ Alysanne told them.

‘Tribe’s here,’ Nymeria told her, sitting down next to the bakery’s door, Alysanne didn’t want to think about what the cameras were seeing as all of them were back on, even when she knew it would be a common for their security team to see.

“Why didn’t you connect us?” Captain Justice asked her as she landed on the roof, Tribe following shortly behind while Alysanne stared into the spot that Mors was standing in. “We could have helped or caught him.”

“It would be as easy as catching shadows,” Alysanne told her, before putting her arrow back into her quiver. “I don’t exactly have a way to connect you two, what was I meant to use, smoke? He would have snapped my neck.”

“That’s why we need you to trust us,” Captain Justice told her.

“And risk my life in the hands of a stranger; no thank you. All he did was talk, not a hellhound in sight,” Alysanne told her. “He might have made no sense, left more questions than answers but he didn’t raise a hand towards me.”

“What about your family? Friends? Why can’t you think about those who love you?” Captain Justice hissed at her. “Stop being so damn selfish.”

“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty,” Tribe said as he walked between them, putting his hands up before water went around their feet. “What happened; happened. Artemis, if you could tell us what happened that would be great.”

“She doesn’t trust us,” Captain Justice huffed.

“As you’ve been told Cap, trust is earned,” Tribe reminded her.

“We should go down, in case Perseus and Andromeda have spotted something,” Alysanne said as she looked down at her partners.

‘Anything?’ Alysanne asked.

‘Not one shadow,’ Nymeria told her.

Tribe nodded his head before following her down, Ghost and Nymeria walking next to her as she walked to a nearby bench. Tribe sitting next to her, as Ghost and Nymeria sat down next to her ankles.

Captain Justice flew down before standing in front of them, an annoyed look on her face as she tried to stare her down. Alysanne wasn’t going to leave her partners out of this because Captain Justice wanted to act childish.

‘Can’t see or small anything,’ Ghost told her.

‘Didn’t bring anyone this time,’ Nymeria added.

‘Thank you,’ Alysanne told them.

“Did they see anything?” Tribe asked.

“Negative,” Alysanne told them.

“So, what happened?” Captain Justice asked.

“You know that he showed up again, goes by both Thanatos and Mors,” Alysanne told them as Captain Justice kept an eye on the tree line behind her. “He left his little shadow army at home this time, or their elsewhere; Susan can’t seem to pinpoint where he’s hiding.”

“Susan? Who’s Susan?” Captain Justice asked her.

“Susan is a squirrel,” Alysanne replied.

“No one would think to look for spying squirrels, or spying any animals,” Tribe said nodding his head while grinning. “Did this Thanatos or Mors tell you wanted he wanted.”

“He did and he didn’t, said the old gods would take revenge,” Alysanne told them, they just looked at her and she could understand the feeling; this man never made sense for more than five seconds at a time.

It was like he was trying to throw her off, which meant he was smarter than she had thought he was, or he didn’t really have a plan, making it up as he went along.

Either one could be extremely dangerous.

“He wants to either bring in a new world order an old one,” Alysanne finished.

“I don’t like this,” Captain Justice said.

“No one would like this,” Alysanne told them, putting her head in her hands while rubbing her eyes and she was glad she kept her nails short, or she would have small marks on her nose. “Let’s admit it, none of us are ready for this. All three of us are used to dealing with small crime, mostly petty crime; not something that’s been planned for more than a week or a month. This, this looks like Mors has been planning it for years, maybe even before any of us were born.”

“Meaning?” Captain Justice asked.

“Meaning, we might be dealing with a plan that’s been planned for years, maybe for generations and we’re not ready,” Alysanne shot back. “For all we know, it could something that’s been planned even a family or cult, Hermes’ knows how many there are.”

“And we don’t anything about his plan, we know a codename and nothing more,” Tribe said as he placed his elbows on his knees.

“We really don’t. Might want world domination or he might want to kill fifty percent of the world’s population, might want to get rid of organised religion,” Alysanne said while putting her hands on her lap, if she didn’t, she might end up biting her nails. “Might be happy just taking over America or might end up wiping countries he doesn’t like.”

“Which could be any country,” Captain Justice pointed out.

“Any,” Alysanne agreed.

“He’s planning something big,” Tribe agreed.

“We have to keep an open mind about this one,” Alysanne told them. “He’s not planning to rob a bank or a*****e, we don’t even know if he’s going to destroy a certain group, the only thing we know for true, is that he thinks the old gods have been reborn.”

“And what the means, we don’t know,” Captain Justice added.

“We don’t even know if there’s more people involved; one person can’t plan something this big or detailed,” Alysanne told them. “We don’t even know if our town is merely a steppingstone, he’s looking for something and we don’t know what it is or if he’d found it.”

“You have f*******:?” Tribe asked her, pulling out a Touch Screen Phone, it wasn’t an iPhone and that was all Alysanne knew about it. “Or a burner phone? Prepaid sim?”

“All of them can be tracked down,” Alysanne told them.

“Not if they’re under the same name, a false name,” Tribe told her. “I can get you one if you wish; the town likes talking to us through it. Put your name as Artemis Huntress.”

“You broke the law with Captain Justice near you?” Alysanne asked him, keeping an eye on Captain Justice. “And she broke the law, doing the same thing?” 

“I would do anything to protect my family,” Captain Justice told her. “Kidnappings are known to happen.”

“Villains won’t hesitate to use family or friends against you,” Alysanne said blinking as Captain Justice nodded her head. “Anything to make you drop your guard for even for a fraction of a second.”

“Like you said, not everything is black and white,” Captain Justice said; Alysanne would have said something but her head was starting to hurt, and she knew something dangerous was going to happen, two different things in two different locations.

“Two things are happening, one in the park and the other on the town’s only highway. Both are going to happen soon, at the same time,” Alysanne told them looking in the direction her bike was in, it would be easier for Captain Justice and Tribe to take the park.

She could take the highway, seeing as she was the one with a mode of transportation. She also had Ghost and Nymeria, they had allowed children to ride on their backs before and she was sure they would do it again.

‘You know we will,’ Nymeria told her.

‘Didn’t doubt that for a minute,’ Alysanne told Ghost and Nymeria. ‘You two have been silent for this conversation, something wrong?’

‘Nothing to add,’ Ghost told her.

Alysanne only looked at them, before looking back at Tribe and Captain Justice as they whispered to each other.

“You two okay to take the park? It’s not that bad, but it’ll both of you,” she told them.

“How bad?” Tribe asked her.

“Nothing any of us can’t handle, but not something any of us should take on by ourselves,” Alysanne told them.

That and she had a feeling that no one needed to die, but she couldn’t say the same thing about the highway. Alysanne had a feeling that something was going to piss her off and someone was going to have an arrow in their throat or heart; or an arrow in general.

“You’re going by yourself,” Captain Justice told her.

“That’s where your wrong,” Alysanne told her pointing at Nymeria and Ghost, no one expected them to be there. “I have two partners, while you have one. Push comes to shove we could work together, if we had to, world ending work together. Neither of these situations fall under that category, along with leaving one person to be harmed.” 

“Remember, Cap, trust takes work,” Tribe said. “Someone’s being attacked at the park.”

“Or their high as a kite,” Alysanne said. “Nymeria and Ghost might not help in that situation, they generally just stare at them. Some of them end up sobbing, it’s not a pretty picture.”

“Why are you taking the highway?” Captain Justice asked her.

“My partners can keep up with my motorcycle, I also have transportation if I have to take them to the police or hospital,” Alysanne told them. “Not because it’s more dangerous.”

And it’s more likely someone will need to die, Alysanne thought to herself. Captain Justice kill someone? Alysanne would sooner die her hair gold before Captain Justice would let go of her own morals.

“Cap let’s go before someone gets stabbed,” Tribe told Captain Justice, who nodded her head as she lifted from the ground; Alysanne was slightly annoyed that she could fly and have x-ray vision, the only thing that made feel better was that she wasn’t good at long distance battle. “Artemis, tomorrow; same time and same place.”

“Same time, same place,” Alysanne agreed.

--

When Alysanne arrived; she heard something that made her blood boil like she thought it would and she grabbed her bow before Nymeria or Ghost could her anything. Children and it had been awhile since she had felt this way; the last person she had killed for hurting a child in her presence was a father trying to beat his two-year-old to death.

The poor girl had been blamed for her mother’s death; which somehow, Alysanne had a feeling that she didn’t have anything to do with it. Maybe the f*******: thing might be a good idea, she could see how the girl was doing at her aunt’s house.

When she walked closer to the clearing, she could their whimpers. Some people shouldn’t be allowed near children and some people shouldn’t be blessed with each a gift. The same she found beating his child, she didn’t know if he was still alive; not after she had shoot him in the balls and removed it before taking the poor girl away from him.

She never once looked back at the man, same went for the one that tried to drive his children into a pond before his wife left him. Alysanne was sure that one lived, since she had shot his tire before he could go off the road and shoot his wrist before taking the children and her arrow away from him without a word.

Keeping her place hiding with the leaves she looked at the two men that were fighting with each, before looking at the three children that were tied to a tree. The children looked Latino or Hispanic; not that it mattered to her in the slightest bit.

They could be neon pink and she’d still protect them till her last breath.

Children were innocent, children shouldn’t worry about adult things. They should be worried about making new friends, what new adventure they would go on, what they would learn and what their imagination would take them. They should be excited about what they were going to learn in school, what new information would push their passions.

Not what these sick twisted men had in mind for them, things that might be scar adults and leave them feeling worthless. Not being scared in a country where they didn’t speak the language, know anyone and that would not do.

‘Nymeria, Ghost, make sure none of their bodies land on the children,’ Alysanne told them as she drew an arrow, the men were fighting with each other in Spanish. Something about them being lost and how their boss would kill them if they knew.

The three children were looking at them with wide eyes as Ghost and Nymeria jumped in front of them, growling as the man turned around and got an arrow in the throat for his trouble; now she was glad that she had taken Spanish since elementary.

Mum always told her the more languages she knew, the more people she could talk to, while she didn’t think she was fluent in Spanish; she knew enough to carry out conversations, it helped that she had books in both Spanish and Irish Gaelic.

“Los traficantes de personas no son bienvenidos aquí,” she warned him, this was a warning she had a feeling she say more times than she would like but shooting him in the heart didn’t even bother her. Walking into the field, two other grown men walked out and she shoot them before they get their guns.

How they had lived so long, she didn’t know. The idiots had thought they were safe, thus keeping their guns out of reach while she already had her weapon in her hand. So, she didn’t get shot around fifty times for her efforts, depending on the type of gun that he had.

Human traffickers didn’t deserve to live, in her eyes. Anyone who’d take another’s freedom, put them in chains deserved to put down like the animal they were, it was no longer the sixteenth century and some things belonged in the past.

Like slavery; it was worse when someone tried placing a child into such a situation, well, Alysanne knew that she wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep and if that made her a villain, then she was a villain, and no one would change her mind.

Ghost and Nymeria were still standing in front of the children, now she could talk to them after she had gotten rid of the bodies. She would have to drop them off at the police, with a small note saying that they didn’t speak any English and that they would need a translator.

‘Does anyone want to hide bodies?’ Alysanne asked the animals in a thirty-meter radius of where she was standing, she walked over to them and removed her arrows. She always did find it odd that she never had any trouble removing them from whatever she had shot, be that a barrel or a human body. ‘They tried to pups, cubs.’

‘I’ll do it,’ Susan and Peter told her, even if Alysanne was slightly surprised that bears offered to remove them, usually it was wolves that answered her requests for such things. Not that she had to request thing very often, usually most of the situations she found herself in didn’t involve children and that might have made a difference.

Might also be the reason she hadn’t been caught in three odd years.

“Hola, mi nombre es Artemis,” she told them as she walked over and kneeling in front of them, Ghost and Nymeria sitting next to her as she made sure they didn’t see Susan or Peter behind her, funny how much the human mind could miss. “Y estos son Perseus y Andromeda, estamos aquí para ayudar. ¿Me da sus nombres?”

“Soy José, este es mi hermanito; Luis y mi hermanita; Elena,” the oldest said, he looked to  be around seven years old.

“Quiero a mamá,” Elena told her, the two boys hugged her after Alysanne tied them lose and when she looked behind her, the four bodies were gone, but she could still see their car. She’ll just have to write a note, telling the police that it was there.

“Lo sé,” Alysanne told her, before rubbing her arms and smiling. “La policía te ayudará, te llevarán de vuelta con tu mamá.”

She could only hope that she was telling them the truth, no one would allow small children to make their way back to Mexico. They would be sent on a plane and returned to their parents without much fuss; at least that was her understanding of the children treaty by the United Nations.

“¿Puedes sujetar a tu hermano fuertemente?” Alysanne asked Jose.

“I can,” Jose told her.

“Bien, te dejaré en la policía con una nota. Harán que alguien traduzca,” she told them before nodding her head towards her two partners. “Puedo quedarme contigo, si lo deseas.”

Alysanne hoped they were too young to remember this, she really did. Elena and Luis might have been, but Jose would be a tricky one. The police were going to have a shock, since she didn’t really have anything to do with them.

“Por favor,” Elena told her.

Alysanne didn’t pity the police, not one bit. She just wasn’t looking forward to the questioning that she herself would get, she might have to translate for them and that meant she could control how much they knew about what happened.

“Claro,” Alysanne told them. “Conduciré despacio, pero tendrás que aferrarte fuerte. Tengo una motocicleta.”

She had to look for more people from this trafficking ring, along with keeping an ear out for Mors at the same time. She would not tell Captain Justice or Tribe about this, since it would mean admitting to murder and she wasn’t an i***t.

The traffickers weren’t going to last long once she got her hands on them.