Chapter Twenty-Eight

 

 

‘WOULD YOU LIKE to come in?’ asked a voice from the other side of the entrance gate. God looked down and gave a shocked yelp as he saw the face of the person on the other side. She was about five foot, wearing bib pants and a loose light blue blouse. Where things got really disturbing, especially for slightly conservative deities, was the head. It was a single, head-sized eyeball.

‘I know,’ the eyeball said (But how? God thought. Where’s its damned mouth?), ‘my appearance can be slightly startling. I do prefer it if people don’t scream when they see me though. Yes. All things considered I like it better that way.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ God replied, ‘unforgivable response on my part. Let’s start over. Preferably, as you so wisely suggested, on the other side of this gate.’

‘No problem,’ the eyeball said, ‘screaming happens sometimes, I’m not going to pretend it don’t.’ While she was talking, she was working on the padlock that held the entrance gate closed, two thin strips of metal working away inside the keyhole.

Suddenly, the padlock clicked open, she removed it, opened the gate and stepped inside to let everybody through. Just as Fabrizzi passed through, another bullet ricocheted behind them.

The relief on Fabrizzi’s face to be out of harm’s way immediately turned sour once he saw the face of his saviour. ‘Oh no,’ he said, ‘the freaks are out too.’

‘The freaks,’ said the eyeball, ‘just saved your life. All three foot of it.’

‘Yes!’ said Fabrizzi, ‘three foot! Thirty-six inches of perfection! As I’m sure you can see quite clearly!’

‘Please stop arguing,’ said Lucy, she looked at the eyeball. ‘Thank you very much Peeper.’

‘That’s your name?’ asked Grace. ‘Peeper?’

‘Yep,’ Peeper agreed. ‘Ain’t got no surname neither. I guess nobody was willing to admit to it.’

On this side of the entrance gate, there was a small ticket booth to the right, a set of steps leading down to the track straight ahead and, on the left, the first of four rows of bench seating. Peeper pointed at the shadows beneath the bench.

‘And this here’s my friend Demi-John.’

From out of the shadows appeared the top half of a handsome, dark-haired boy of about thirteen. There was no bottom half, he was resting on a wooden trolley with casters in each corner.

‘Pleased to meetcha!’ he said. ‘Hope you don’t mind if I don’t get up.’

This was clearly an old joke, designed to defuse his embarrassment; he didn’t laugh and nor did anyone else.

‘I guess you must be the two idiots who let the babies out?’ he asked.

‘Yeah,’ Grace admitted. ‘I’m Grace and this is God.’

‘The one and only.’ God gave a small bow.

‘God. Right. Of course you are,’ said Peeper, ‘big fan of your work.’

‘Thank you,’ God replied, ‘though I’m just the one who set the ball rolling, I really can’t take all the credit.’

‘I’m sorry about your friend,’ said Grace, looking through the gate towards the dead body of Horlicks.

‘He wasn’t exactly that,’ admitted Lucy, ‘but it’s awful to see him like…’ She turned away.

Fabrizzi put his arm around her. ‘At least it wasn’t us,’ he said in what he no doubt thought of as a reassuring tone. She gave him a disparaging look and pulled away.

Fabrizzi shrugged and looked at Grace. ‘Just trying to help.’

‘We need to keep moving,’ said Demi-John. ‘If the Colonel’s decided to shoot us all he’ll be on his way soon enough.’

‘Why would he want to shoot you in the first place?’ asked Grace. ‘Ok, I guess I can understand why he thinks it’s a good idea to kill me and God but you guys live here.’

‘The Colonel’s got a few problems,’ said Peeper. ‘He always was a bit flaky but since we came back… I don’t know, it’s been weird for all of us, trying to figure out who we are. It’s not like the rest of you out there, the world just changed around you, but we’re a part of that. I remember my time here but I also remember the life after, when the park burned down and we all went our separate ways. I ended up working a travelling show down south. So how come I’m back here, now, a kid again…?’

‘Don’t question it!’ said Fabrizzi. ‘We’ve been given a second chance! Young and beautiful again!’ He looked at Peeper. ‘Well, some of us at least.’

‘Seriously guys,’ said Demi-John, ‘we can talk on the way but we need to get out of here.’

‘We need to gather up the babies somehow,’ said God. ‘Once we’ve done that Grace and I can get out of here.’

‘Perhaps we should just leave,’ said Grace. ‘It’s not really fair to endanger everyone else by hanging around.’

God shrugged, picking up the sack of food. ‘Your call, but we both know what’s going to happen if we step out of here having not done what we’ve promised.’

‘What’s in the sack?’ asked Demi-John.

‘Food,’ said God. ‘Apples. Flying ones.’

‘Of course they are,’ said Fabrizzi tapping at his head in a manner that made it quite clear what he thought of God’s state of mind.

‘And the babies like them?’ asked Demi-John.

‘Love them,’ said Grace. ‘We caught one because it was desperate to eat it.’

‘Then I’ve got an idea that might help, come on!’