Hellfire On The Other Side

Chapter 40

    Shane enters Tiana's Place late at night. "I bet today must've been pretty busy," he says. Charlene and Tina are laying on a table, exhausted from the long and busy workday. "You could've helped, y'know," Tina groans. Shane sets his helmet on the table. "Hey, don't blame me. Mom's the one that asked me to babysit Adrianna all day," says Shane, walking over to them. "Well, I say 'babysit', but what actually happened was me trying to entertain and feed her and failing miserably." Tina scowls at Shane. "Point is, you should be mad at my mom. Both for sending me to handle Adri and for not accepting the job," says Shane. Charlene struggles to lift herself up, then motions for Shane to help her. Shane chuckles as he lifts Charlene. "Thanks, Shane," says Charlene. Shane helps Tina up and hands them each a glass of water. "Don't worry, you two. I'll make sure that mom calls back on that job offer," he says.

   "Any news on the takeover yet?" Tina asks Shane. Shane sits on the table and sighs. "It's not getting better," he says. "Frollo and the VKs are really putting pressure on her. And on top of that, Claytin's taking care of a great number of people in an underground bunker." He removes his jacket and rests his head on Charlene's shoulder. Charlene holds Shane. "Aww, that's horrible," she says. "On the plus side, there's this Masked Savior that's saving innocent civilians from being executed," says Shane. Tina raises an eyebrow. "Masked Savior? Well, that's good! Shows that not everyone in France has succumbed to the VKs might," she says. "Yeah. Whatever might that two annoying girls, an egotistical airhead, and a cowardly second-rate villain have," Shane says sarcastically.

   Shane hops off of the table. "But enough about that," he says. "How's the money coming along, Char?" Charlene hops off of the table and kisses Shane. "Going pretty well!" she says. "I think we have enough-" "You have enough, Char," says Shane. "We have enough --this is for both of us, Shane-- to buy a house!" Tina hugs Charlene and Shane. "That's awesome! Have you two decided on a house yet?" she says. "Actually, I was thinking that we could officially buy the Voodoo Emporium and completely renovating it," says Shane. "Aww, Shane. Are you sure you wanna do that?" Charlene asks. "Yeah, as creepy as it is, it's a major part of our culture here in New Orleans," says Tina. Shane sighs. "Yeah, but that place really feels like my home. I know that it's not the best idea, but I feel like that would really be the defining moment that completely changes how voodoo is viewed here in New Orleans," he says. Charlene takes his hand and looks at him in his eyes. "You've done a lot of good for this city, Shane," she says. "Yeah. New Orleans have never been more alive!" says Tina. "Ironic, given that most of its population now consists of the souls of the dead," Shane jokes. The trio shares a laugh.

   Charlene yawns. "Well, Shane and I should get going. It's late, and I need my rest," she says. Tina looks at Charlene. "You used to call it your beauty sleep. What happened?" she asks. "Because I realized that I'm always beautiful, that's why," says Charlene. Shane clicks his tongue at Charlene, then says, "Let's get going." Charlene and Shane exit the restaurant and make their way to Charlene's house to get a good night's rest.   Shane is awoken by his phone ringing. "What the heck? Who could be calling at this hour?" He gets out of bed and grabs his phone. Charlene stirs in the bed. "Shane? What are you doing up?" Shane snaps his fingers, changing into his clothes. "Phone call," he answers. "From Claytin." Charlene giggles. "Go ahead and be a hero," she says. Shane answers his phone. "Yeah, what's up?" he yawns. "Hey, Clara might just kill me if she finds out about this. But there is about to be an execution. I know it's not your thing but I know you were curious about the masked savior. Also, you still need to help with some of the people I am protecting," Claytin said. Shane rubs his eyes and stretches. "Well, even though I'm gonna be functioning on just six hours of sleep, I'll be there," he says. "Sorry, forgot you guys are seven hours behind. Time zones can be weird, I am right outside the trap door, meet me there." "Got it."