An Addams Celebration, Un

Posted on Sun 27th Sep, 2020 @ 2:44am by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Renato Solis & Lieutenant Damion Ildaran
Edited on on Fri 2nd Oct, 2020 @ 5:19am

1,207 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Denouement
Location: House of Addams, Queen Anne Villas, Tivoli Gardens
Timeline: All Hallow's Eve

Twas bryllyg, and the slythy toves did gyre and gymble in the wabe: all mimsy were the borogoves; And the mome raths outgrabe.

In other words, it was the dreadful time of afternoon; the time when one wishes to leave work but may not; the time when one wishes it were a holiday, or a weekend, or some other excuse to gather without care and to celebrate. Of course, on this particular day, it was a holiday -- Halloween. Down a cobblestone lane, within a rusting iron fence and an untrimmed hedge, a house reputed to be haunted loomed. Within its yard, beneath a dead tree, a little girl in a black dress put an orange gourd from her ancestral planet upon a table and looked around.

"Ah, what's this then?" her Aunt Ischemia asked, pushing the gate open with her briefcase. "Planning a little preliminary practice with slicing and dicing?"

"Pop-pop suggested that invitees who wish to arrive early might enjoy the ritual of gourd sacrifice," Six answered, waving at the pile of pumpkins placed in proximity to the table.

"Ischemia, my darling!" exclaimed Pubert Addams, coming out of the house with his hands full of knives. "Come to my arms, my beamish girl!"

"Put down the knives first, Pops, so no one gets hurt," his daughter answered with humor, standing well back. "Sacrifice all the pumpkins we can find, but no daughters."

Jade and Reon walked up to the gate, each leading a small grav-cart loaded with covered dishes. "Only with the Addams family could I feel fairly sure this is a pleasant family scene," Jade laughed softy.

"I think I'll have to trust your word on that," her employee and friend said. "But it doesn't look like blood is about to be spilled."

"No. Pumpkin carving, I suspect," Lantz answered, noticing Thing heading her way to open the gate.

Farther down the street, Damion Ildaran and Elizabeth Anderson approached the house. "So this is a Halloween party," Damion said. "I remember this sort of thing from the Academy. Earth people are strange."

"No stranger than any other species, as near as I can tell," Elizabeth laughed. "But you have to also remember that anything an Addams does adds their own twist to the human story."

She didn't mention the closed-off section of memories she had of another time and place when SB109 had been just a little different than it was today. No need to confuse things with memories no one else shared with her now. She preferred this reality anyway. For no particular reason, she reached out and took Damion's hand.

Damion clasped his hand with Elizabeth's. Just the simple touch made him feel warm and joyous inside. "I don't know them well. I doubt I'd have been invited if Dr. Addams and her sister Ischemia hadn't met me during the Alegari investigation."

"Once they got to know you, they couldn't resist your charm," Anderson teased.

Damion gave a snort of laughter at that notion. "More likely yours!"

He walked with Elizabeth through the wrought-iron gate that was pulled open for them by--a hand. He shot a sidelong glance at Elizabeth. "Did--you see that?"

"Thing? Yes, he's famous, or maybe infamous, in SB109 medical circles. It's a life form the Addamses picked up somewhere, not sure of the whole story. Why don't you ask Chlamydia?" Elizabeth suggested, hiding a smile.

"I might just do that," Damion said.

Kya, fresh from a batch of furious cooking at the refugee center arrived shortly thereafter, Lexy was carrying a basket of flowers, Kya was holding a spiced cake. The layout was fairly intuitive but, as she had not been invited, it was best practice to speak with a host. Renato had only told her to deliver the basket in person, Human ceremonies almost always had food and flowers somewhere, so now she was looking for anyone with a last name of "Addams."

"Addams family? Excuse me, I am looking for a member of the Addams family?" Kya asked.

"You have found a member of the Addams family," a little girl answered. She wore an apron spattered with something orange, over a t-shirt and jeans. "I am Experiment Number Six Addams." She turned her head, drawing Kya's gaze to where a rotund, middle-aged man with knives in each hand was chasing a younger woman around the yard, yelling "Caloo! Calay!" Her dark eyes, returned to Kya. "The rest of my family is otherwise occupied at the moment."

Kya was a mother to two Hellions, chaos was nothing new, but the tenor of the whole affair was certainly macabre.

"Oh, Expe...Experimental Six .,.. Very nice to meet you Lady Addams. Lexy, could you. umm ...." The adorable girl was a delight, so Kya found an easy smile despite her confusion. Lexy didn't respond to her mothers prompt, staying safely tucked behind her. Kya subtly pushed Lexy's shoulder, but the stubborn girl didn't budge. Kya found an ear and squeezed, causing Lexy to wince but step forward quite awkwardly herself and thrust the basket of flowers forward.

Lexy was red in the cheeks and managed a whisper, "... would you like a flower?"

The girl's eyes lit up with a darkly gleeful fire. "You killed something beautiful in the prime of its life? For me?"

Kya's smile had gotten strained, "We are just dropping these off for the party. Is that the main table there? I love your jeans too, the buttons are adorable."

"Oh," Six answered, her disappointment coming through clearly. She glanced at her trousers. "They're part of my costume," she answered, and turned toward the house. "Bring the food this way, please? There's a sideboard for it inside."

Just the foyer of the Addams home could probably have housed a Brown Sector family or two. Inside, Purulence was setting out food on the sideboard. A variety of tamales had been set out, along with a couple of cheese balls, crackers, stuffed mushrooms, and finger sandwiches made to look as if they contained real fingers. She glanced at the door as Kya and Lexy entered.

"Hello! I remember you from the Peldor Joi festival. Welcome! I'm Purulence Addams. Come on in!"

Damion blinked at seeing the running woman--who was laughing as the man chased her, brandishing knives. "That's Ischemia," he said, startled. "Looks like she's having a good time?"

Glancing over at the daughter, as they walked through the gate, Elizabeth said, "I do believe you are correct. And that's her father chasing her. As I said, an Addams twist to human behavior; in this case, fun."

At that moment, Ischemia Addams felt only as old as Experiment Number Six. She slowed down, laughing almost too hard to catch her breath. "I give, Daddy, I give!" she yelled, putting her hands on her knees as she bent over, panting.

"I was wrong. You've still got it!" Looking up at him with impudent eyes, she added, "Whatever it is!"

"Ha-ha!" the father chortled, wrapping his arms around his middlest daughter without stabbing or even scratching her with a single one of the knives he still clutched. He kissed her on the forehead, and stage-whispered, "Don't tell your mother; she'll want to take it all!"

 

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