Feeding Frenzy (Watty Award Winner)

Showdowns Gone Wild: Chapter Forty-Seven

Ducky, Priya, and the car had vanished. The giant was on the roof of Town Hall, lounging against the clock tower. She felt a chill. Crud puppies! Waldock had materialized her in the centre of town, naked.

"Give me my clothes!"

"Fat chance. Beg for mercy."

Tonya's hands crossed instinctively in front of her. She hoped people would stay indoors and not just because she was in the buff. From Ducky's futile shovel attack, she knew if some vigilante shot a hole through the giant, his body would just reassemble itself. This fight had to be done by magic. Tonya racked her brains, thinking of some way to stop him without Aunt Helene's help.

She bent down and picked up a stone.

"You gotta be kidding."

"It worked for David."

The giant spread his arms wide. "Try it."

Tonya launched the stone at his forehead but it bounced off without dislodging so much as a dust bunny. It made sense an outsider like Ducky couldn't hurt him, but when Tonya's rock didn't make a dent, it meant even members of magical families couldn't harm him, at least not by natural means. In retaliation she expected to be fireballed or struck by lightning, but the giant just scratched his forehead and stared.

"Come down and face me!" Goading him might be fatal but Tonya felt so anxious, she couldn't wait another moment. "Show me whatchya got!"

"I've already seen too much of you, Fatso."

Did he think he could hurt her just by moving his lips? She had called his bluff and he was stalling. Waldock could make crowds desperate to pig out, but that was amplifying a natural need. When it came to mind control, so far she had seen him direct a handful of firemen and a couple of ambulance attendants. Was that his limit?

She remembered the few times Waldock had filled her with dark thoughts, or when he had taken control of her body in the car. If he had unlimited power, he would control her all the time, to spite Aunt Helene. If he could control a hundred people, he would have raised an army and trampled the old magic families who secretly supported her. Was this creature Waldock? He didn't act like it.

As if he heard her thoughts, the giant wrenched the short hand off the Town Hall clock and wound up, preparing to throw it like a dart.

It was coming right at Tonya's head!

She dodged a bit late. It stung where it grazed her ear. Before he could rip off the big hand, she planted her feet and drew Earth energy, trying to form a protective shell like Aunt Helene.

Sparks of life leaped to her, the current growing exponentially until it dizzied her and raised her temperature. She sweated and her head ached. When the flow grew to a torrent Tonya felt her face heat up fast. She panicked and directed the power away from herself at the giant.

Would her defensive reaction hurt him or make him stronger?

The giant's body started to expand. Tonya flinched, expecting him to deflect the power back onto her in a killing strike.

He ballooned until his patchwork skin split in all directions, sending dirt tumbling to the ground. Bone, flesh, earth and roots burst into flames, then reduced to ashes. She had won! She jumped up and down. "Take that, Dirt Man!"

Tonya was executing a victory spin when she heard the rumble of Priya's jalopy approaching from behind. Relieved to see her friends, Tonya dashed back to meet them, realizing too late she had just performed a bouncy sprint in front of their windshield. Covering her bikini parts, she dove behind the car and desperately scrabbled for the trunk latch. It was locked. How could she get her clothes? Tonya yanked at the trunk lid so hard the car rocked up and down.

"Unlock it! My clothes are in the trunk!"

Priya cranked down her window. "Your stuff is here. Look." She stuck her hand out holding Tonya's mobile. "Your Aunt keeps calling but we couldn't unlock it."

Tonya hunkered below door level as she crept up to Priya's window and snatched the phone. "Throw me my clothes!"

Ducky, who was sitting in the passenger seat, held one hand over his eyes as he used the other to pass Tonya's clothing to Priya. His cheeks were ruddy and he bit his lower lip. He went redder when she caught him, mischievously peeking between his fingers. He couldn't see her through the car door but he must have got quite an eyeful as they drove up during her 'victory dance.' Waldock hadn't killed her, but she still might die of embarrassment.

The phone vibrated in her hand. Aunt Helen's text was short and desperate and made Tonya instantly forget her nakedness.

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