Hellfire On The Other Side

Chapter 38

   "Whoo! This is so exciting!" Charlene shouts. She and Shane on going on a ride through New Orleans on Shane's new motorbike. "Char, I didn't know your pops was a biker!" says Shane. Charlene holds onto Shane tightly. "I didn't either! It's so awesome! I like what you did to the bike!" Shane chuckles. "Well, you know how much I love purple!" he says. "So where are we going, Shane?" Shane's stomach grumbles. "Looks like we're making a pit stop by the restaurant," says Shane, accelerating. After a couple of minutes, Shane and Charlene arrive at Tiana's Place. Shane parks the bike in front, listening to the engine rumble. "Ah, listen to that engine. It's been unused for years, and it still sounds as good as new," he says. Shane and Charlene get off of the bike and remove their helmets. "Aren't you gonna park it somewhere safe?" asks Charlene as she puts her hair in a ponytail. "Nah, I can just do this," says Shane, putting his cap on. He snaps his fingers, and a bundle of chains surround the bike, then chain it to the ground. Charlene smiles at Shane. "Let's hope it's not too rowdy in there," Charlene jokes. Shane summons his cane and laughs. "Char, every good soul from New Orleans's Soul Realm is free. The restaurant is always too rowdy!" Shane and Charlene walk up to the entrance. Shane opens the door and bows. "After you," he says in a British accent. Charlene curtseys and smiles. "Thank you, kind sir," she responds in a British accent.

   Charlene enters the restaurant, followed by Shane. The restaurant is much busier than the usual rush hour. Every table is filled with people and souls alike. Too many people for Tiana, Naveen, and Tina to manage on their own. Shane whistles. "Good thing that a lot of these folks are just hanging out here," he says. "Yeah, I know. Do souls need to eat?" says Charlene. "Souls have no physical form, so there's really no need for them to eat," Shane explains. "Ah." Tina walks up to them after pushing her way through the clutter. "Nice to see you two again!" she says. Shane looks around. "I can't believe it," he says. "I actually freed every soul in New Orleans." Charlene kisses him. "Well, this is what all of that work was for. I don't really know why you're so surprised," she says. "I assume you're here for beignets?" Tina asks. Shane smiles. "You know me so well," he says. Tina sighs. "Sorry, but for the first time in a long time, we're out of the stuff we need to make them," she says. "Oh, that's fine," says Shane. "My mom hasn't called you about joining the restaurant staff yet?" "Not yet," says Tina. "Hey, Char, do you mind staying to help us?" "Not at all, Ti! As long as I can make a few extra bucks for me and Shane," says Charlene. "Char, you don't have to do that," says Shane. "Darling, you've still got so much to do. You just enjoy being our city's hero," says Charlene. Shane nods and smiles. "Will do," he says. He kisses Charlene and exits the restaurant.

  "Hey, Adri! Want any beignets?" Verity asks. "I made them with my special recipe! Shane loves them, so I hope you will, too!" "I'm not hungry... thanks though..." Adrianna sat playing with the amulet. She hadn't eaten in two days and hardly drank any water. Verity sits on her couch and sets the plate of beignets in the table in front of it. "Well, if you ever change your mind, they're right there for you," she says. Adrianna nodded but otherwise didn't react. Verity puts an arm around Adrianna. "What's the matter, Adri? Something's bothering you. I can tell," she says. "It's nothing..." Adrianna muttered, scooting away some. "You miss your parents, don't you?" Verity asks. "It's been six months since you were sent here, so I know that it's hard not seeing them. Don't get me wrong, I'm worried, too. I just hope everything is going well." "I turn eleven in a month..." Adrianna whispered.  "Aww, Adri," Verity says quietly. "It's gonna be so weird for you to not spend it with them. You should be living happily with them, not miles away from them." "Yeah well, I can't do anything about it..." Adrianna said getting up and leaving.

   Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Verity gets up and grabs her sword. "Who is it?" She asks. "Adri, stay back. This could be someone dangerous." Adri shrugged from the corner she went to. She sat down on the floor and hugged her knees. She had stopped caring. The person at the door knocked again. "You gonna let me in or not, Mom?" says the voice. Verity sighs and lowers her sword. "Shane, don't scare us like that," she says. "You know how on edge we are right now. Come in. Shane opens the door and enters the house. He closes the door behind him. "Sorry. Just a habit, I guess," he says. Adrianna got up and went into the next room. Still in earshot but not so that they could see her. "So what's been going on with you and Charlene?" Verity asks. Shane sits on the couch, takes a beignet, and eats it. "Oh, nothing much. She and I have kinda been thinking about buying our own house. Nothing too big," he says. Adrianna listened but still stayed out of sight. "And what about you? Any updates on your search for a new lover boy?" Shane teases. "Shane, if I found someone, you'd have known by now," says Verity. Shane laughs obnoxiously. "Yeah, once you find a guy, you'd never be able to stay quiet about him," he says. Adrianna came in quickly and grabbed her amulet she dropped, "Forgot this..." she muttered before going back into the other room. Shane sighs and takes off his cap. "Alright, I guess I should address the elephant in the room," he says. "Anything up with Adri?" "She's gonna be turning eleven in a month. She's so upset about not spending it with Clara and Claytin," says Verity. "Any updates from either of them?" "Nothing. I'm really starting to worry," says Shane. In an attempt to change the subject, Verity says, "Congratulations on freeing every New Orleans soul!" "Thanks, Mom. But I'm still no closer to figuring out how to free all the good souls in the world," says Shane. He takes out the sheets of paper. "I still need this last paragraph." Adrianna continued listening. "Anything you want to tell me about your powers?" Verity asks. "Just one," says Shane. "What can I do when my emotions get the best of me? Or rather, what should I do?" Verity sighs and starts to think. "I don't know. You're the only one in our family with that type of power. All I can do is tell you to focus on the things that you value and hope that it brings out the positive emotions rather than the bad ones," she says. "Where did you come up with that?" "Well, whenever you threw a temper tantrum like a toddler, you'd make everything float with just your screams. Then, I would whistle your favorite song to calm you down, and you made everything fly around easily." Adrianna held in a small laugh. Shane looks to the side. "Hmm. I guess that could work. But now I'm wondering if I can just access those emotional powers without having to lash out first," he says. "Possibly. Because you have so much going for you, son. Anger is the only emotion that you barely show," says Verity. "Opposite of mama..." Adrianna muttered. Even she knew that Clara had major anger issues. "Why haven't you called about the offer to work at the restaurant yet?" Shane asks Verity. "I'm just busy taking care of Adri," Verity answers. "Speaking of, why isn't she here? It's just a bit weird that I don't see her," says Shane.