Go, Child

Shimmers of light from the camera played with the just appearing evening stars. The aura around Stefonia Fadden propelled Tyrisk Gloucester to study digital prints. He was seventeen and the color of amber. Deep purple and blue with above orange haze surrounded the image of Stefonia. She was the color of cocoa butter and showed tiny brown freckles on the bridge of her nose and forehead.

“I told you,” Stefonia said. She was seventeen, too.

“You’re inquisitive and cooperative and cool in heated arguments.”

The photograph appeared on a digital screen and became broadcast to thousands of followers on a social media app.

“Let me see!” Stefonia asked with excitement.

She looked at the bands of color seeming like a rainbow but without the full spectrum.

“I look hot,” she said.

“You look like you need to reboot the system. The camera uses a lot of juice and has a limited battery. I’m glad we can charge with that baby,” Gloucester pointed at the van.

Then, a car rumbled to the New Castle Battery Park in New Castle, Delaware. It found the parking lot.

A dark man the color of charcoal exited the vehicle. His gaunt figure looked like a specter in the night. He strolled with contained vigor.

Just as he was about to roll up on the duo, another figure jumped up.

“I just saw the picture…Great!” Relda Coffington’s broad smile enchanted Gloucester and Stefonia. She gathered by the light of the dying sunlight. Aged sixteen, she was the first one to notice the figure approaching them. “Who’s the walker?”

Stefonia and Gloucester shrugged.

He ambled some more towards the trio.

Finally, they could make out his face in the twilight.

It was their archenemy, Dodley Shaker. He was twenty-three. He was not a journalist or anything, but the way he conducted his business, you would think he was either that or a cop. He was neither. He was a census taker. He finally made his way towards them as they began packing their equipment. It consisted of a camera, laptop, and three sets of earbuds.

“Good evening, fine people,” Shaker said.

“Eeeeggh,” they replied collectively.

“It’s alright. I’ve heard worse. You see you have a mobile residence which is connected to the Driving Agency. I’m sure you have a P.O. Box somewhere in Wilmington like so many companies. I don’t know. But I do know this, you’re going to have to take this census. It’s almost at the end of the second quarter and I have information to gather.”

“Why don’t you just look into your heart and find the answer,” Gloucester mentioned dryly.

“That sounds really cute.”

“It’s not cute, it’s a note of saying, ‘get out of here, you pest.’”

Then, dark clothed, hooded thieves descended on the two females as Shaker and Gloucester spoke.

“They took the camera!”

“Goddamnit! Where’s the laptop?”

“It’s still here. But they took the precious camera!” Stefonia exclaimed.

Relda came running towards Gloucester. She hugged him, weeping.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Shaker whipped out his smartphone. “I’d like to report a––”

Gloucester snatched the phone from Shaker.

“Now, I have to report two thefts! Give that back.”

“I will, but you must promise not to alert any of the authorities. We handle things ourselves.”

Shaker looked strangely surprised and with a bit of admiration for the young warrior. Gloucester handed the phone back to Shaker. The census taker tapped off his phone.

“We’ve got to get them. We must strategize and find a way to track that camera,” Relda asserted.

“Yes!” Stefonia said with triumph. “It has a device that is synched with our phones and the laptop and the navigation system in the van. They picked the right ones to steal stuff from.”

The two women piled into a state of the art, brand new Goulding luxury van. It had a suite of controls and even featured self-driving mode and the ability to change colors with temperature like a mood ring.

“You just witnessed a crime. You may follow us to see how we handle situations like this. We just ask that you not participate in any activity that you might see.”

Shaker nodded his head and sprinted to his car. When Stefonia started the nuclear engine, she sensed she was about to embark on a mission. As the van just emitted water, it provided them the power to travel to any destination. The computer showed the location of the camera as it weaved through the streets.

Shaker trailed the van. He looked over at his work in the passenger seat. Piles of paper moved like blobs of white foam. His car lacked the features of the van, but he still stuck in there with them. On the way to the place where the robbers held the camera, The van stayed back so as not to follow too closely. The element of surprise still remained for them. Shaker felt obligated to remain with them. He understood the assignment.

The robbers had traveled all the way into Downtown Newark to their lair. The three of them waited for them to park.

“I bet they don’t even know how to use it,” Relda pointed out.

“Yes, but they want it for the parts,” Stefonia added. She parked on the street adjacent to the house. They had no weapons. Only their bodies and most importantly, their minds. Shaker crept up to another spot that was around the block from the location at which the three of them removed themselves from the van with stealth. They had changed in all black with ski masks and looked like ninjas.

Shaker edged closer to the van and looked around. He saw the robbers go into the house holding the camera. The three inky figures mirrored the three residents of the high-tech van. With just a few steps, they exited and exposed their bleak gear to Shaker. A smile jumped on his face and then quickly descended during this tense moment. He remembered that he had switched off his phone. He walked past the van, then to the rear entrance where Stefonia, Relda, and Gloucester performed a combat glide. They moved like silhouettes streaking past in the night. When Shaker had finally reached the place where the robbers had entered, he witnessed the group of three rush the room. A metal table toppled and crashed to the ground. Quick fists and kicks combined to take care of the bandits. Shaker ducked his head at the sound of flesh meeting flesh.

No gunplay, but a knife came into Shaker’s view. He saw Gloucester take the knife with a move that broke the robber’s arm; he then threw the knife to the side. The women worked on two burly robbers. They teamed up and used their wits and their fists to more than conquer the two of them. All three then wrapped themselves around the thieves like boa constrictors and squeezed until there was no life left in any of them. Shaker’s eyes widened. He had a thought to just leave the scene but he looked on half in terror half in amazement. The taste of copper struck his tongue as he watched all of this. He slowly backed away and headed towards his vehicle.

“Hey!”

In an instant, Shaker turned to see Stefonia. “You can tell anyone you wish about this. Even the cops. Do whatever you please. The threat has been thoroughly neutralized. A smile plastered on her face, Relda held up the camera. Gloucester removed the ski mask from his face.

“We don’t do censuses normally but if you must know: One male, two females, color neutral. You can put that in your report.”

A tiny smirk curled around Shaker’s mouth. “I must say, you have some impressive––” Next, one of the bandits lunged at Stefonia. She wrapped her arm around his neck and snapped it. All three of them faced Shaker.

“We’ll be in Dover in a few minutes,” Stefonia said, shaking her arm and regaining her equilibrium. She waved at Shaker.

Then, the young woman grabbed hold of the camera and pointed it at Shaker. She snapped a photo which automatically appeared on their phones. It showed a bright reddish orange around Shaker, but no deep blues or purples.

“You’re not like us, but that’s okay,” Relda sighed. “You have enough capacity to think and feel just not on our level.”

“Understood,” Shaker said. They all waved and re-entered the van. The nuclear automobile started with no sound and sped off into the night.

Shaker shook his head and returned to his car wondering what he would tell his wife later.

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