Chapter 16c: A Grim Visit

When the Catcher comes to take my soul
He's going to have to fight me first
-- Oingo Boingo

Last chapter was pretty eventful at Cham Annya Hoh. I mean, we knew Euclid was a little off and kinda creepy and all, but who knew he had it in him to do that to poor Cirrus. What's Salina going to... oh let's just head over to the house and find out what's next.

"Mauuuerr?"

What? Oh, no Euclid hasn't stopped by Keth's house either. Bibby needed to learn how to 'play dead' to get her next job promotion.

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There's no playing dead here. The hatred at Hoh house finally reached its pinnacle when Euclid turned on Cirrus with what everyone thought were prop swords that Salina had brought back from her production of Simelot.

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Do you have anything to say for yourself Euclid?

"Wow, I've never killed anyone before."

What, no feelings of remorse? This is your house brother, and Salina's beloved, who's keeling over in front of you.

"Cool. I said no one was coming between Salina and I."

You're not quite wired right upstairs, are you?

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Well, at least he had the decency to look somewhat guilty when Grim showed up. Or else that's his "What, who me?" look. He high-tailed it out of the room not long after 'Death by Being Stabbed by an Oversized Prop Sword' appeared.

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Fortunately, Salina's seen Texas do this part before, back when Waylon had a run-in with Grimmy while carrying Orrin.

"Mr. Grimmy, please don' be-a takin' Cirrus wit ya. I know we ain't bin a gittin' along good until just recent-like, but I done luv him an' I don' wanna be losin' him agin so soon."

"Listen kid, I'm already peeved by having to make an unscheduled stop and now you want to try to talk me out of it? Are you... hey, wait. You look familiar. Your mother does that show on the Yummy Channel, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, Mama does Grill of tha Golden West there."

"I thought so. I remember you from the episode she did for your Sweet Sixteen party."

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"Does that mean you'll lemme have Cirrus back."

"Tell ya what. Since I'm a big fan, I'll make you a deal. If you can beat me in a game of 'hide the soul', I'll let you have your man back."

It could be worse Salina. He could be asking to play 'hide the salami'.

"Hey, I've already got one kid running around Strangetown. I don't want to mess up the gene pool there anymore. Dang aliens are doing a good enough job of that now."

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"So, um, I gotta figger out which hand ya done got Cirrus' soul in?"

"That's correct. I play fair. I didn't hide it or palm it or stuff it up my sleeve. It's in one of my hands. If you truly love him, it won't be hard to know which one."

"Ummm..."

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"That means I done won, don't it?"

*sigh* "Yes, it does. Just a moment and I'll reanimate him for you."

"YeeHaw!"

"This means I'm going to miss Oprah because of all the paperwork. I hope I don't get demoted because of this."

I hear 'Death by Insanely Overpowered Fireballs' is available again.

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"Wha... I... I'm alive."

I'm impressed. Not even a blood stain.

"Hey, I'm a professional."

"Thank ya Mr. Grimmy fer givin' me mah Cirrus back."

"Yeah yeah, tell that to my supervisor. Hmm, actually can I get that thanks in writing? He's a fan and it might get me off the hook for not coming back with a soul."

"A fan?"

"Your mom's show is quite popular on the other side. A few years ago 'Death by Starvation while Carrying an Alien Child' actually won Grim Reaper of the Month because he lost the Soul Game to her. Ask her to give us a shout out next time she's doing a Dia De Los Muertos show."

"I'm really Alive!"

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"You saved me Salina! You actually challenged the Grim Reaper and brought me back."

"Wella, see Mr. Grimmy's a fan an..."

"Thank you Salina..."

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"Ain't no reason ta thank me hun. I luv you Cirrus an' I always have. I ain't gonna let Grimmy waltz off wit ya wit outta fight."

"I see..."

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And indeed, he did see. As a knowledge sim, I'm surprised it took him this long to realize.

"Cirrus... ah... whatcha doin' down there?"

"I've been an idiot. Hell, we've all been idiots lately. Almost as if some higher power has been trying to drive us apart."

*whistles innocently*

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"I love you Salina and deep in my heart I always have, even when I thought I was angry at you. I just didn't realize it until now."

"Cirrus..."

"Salina Savannah Holldum, will you marry me?"

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"Ohmagawd Cirrus! Is that real!"

"Quite. It's the ring my Grandfather Bob bought for my grandmother when he proposed. My father proposed to my mother with it, and now I'm offering it to you. We messed this up before, but not this time, I swear. Will you marry me Salina?"

Wait... Cirrus' last name is White. Does that mean his grandfather was a... Bob White? I quail before the implied joke.

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"Oh yes! A'course I will Cirrus!"

"Ooof! Careful Salina. I was just recently mostly dead."

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And with that things are almost back to normal at Cham Annya Hoh. The happy love birds are back together and Euphemia has found the man of her dreams. Looks like we can finally wrap this chapter up.

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What? Sheesh, you guys weren't actually thinking I was actually going to leave Cirrus dead, were you? And while this is Strangetown, these are the Holldums, not the Sways. No zombies for us, thankyouverymuch (at least not yet)

Anyway, who knows what the next chapter will bring. I haven't decided yet. *evilgrin*

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