Final Confrontation - Part 1 cont.

By Mel

     Wayne opened his eyes, knowing it was hopeless trying to sleep. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he found Wax and made sure the Brady Bunch was all right. He opened up the telegram again, reading it for the tenth time.

     Wayne leaned back in his seat, ignoring the strange looks his seat partner was giving him. Glancing at his watch, he figured the plane would be landing soon. Or at least he hoped it would be...

     Babs turned around another corner and found herself in front of a door that read, "You've made it!". She pushed it open and was greeted by the friendly sky which was beginning to become covered with clouds. She had gone through the whole fun house and found no sign of her sister or the rest of the Brady Bunch. Babs walked over to a bench nearby and sat down.
     "What the hell is going on?" she asked aloud, to no one but herself.

     Wax stared into the mirror, not looking at himself, but thinking. The sound of kids behind him startled him and he snuck behind one of the mirrors as the children ran happily past him, unaware of what was going on and unharmed by their innocence. Once the coast was clear, he pushed on one of the mirrors and his secret door opened up. Slipping behind it he headed up to see the Brady Bunch and to make sure they were all having a good time.

     Mel and Nikki Lynn had been talking for nearly half an hour now, not knowing what else to do. Holly was still dead to the world, but Linz had groaned a couple of times and was starting to wake up. Nikki Lynn and Mel got up off the floor and went over to Linz.
     "Hey Linz?" Mel called softly, shaking her gently. Linz rolled over and groggily opened her eyes.
     "I feel like crap," she muttered, voice barely above a whisper. Nikki Lynn helped her sit up and the two girls knelt across from Linz as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
     "Where?..." Linz started, glancing around the room they were in.
     "We'll explain soon," Mel told her, holding up her hand. "But right now, just concentrate on getting your head together."
     Suddenly Holly made a sound from the other side of the room and looking up, they saw her sit up.
     "Hey," she mumbled groggily. "Where are we?"
     Nikki Lynn stood up, about to explain everything to them when suddenly a noise came from the door. Everyone looked towards the source of the sound as Wax entered the room, smiling cordially.

     Wayne grabbed his small, black suitcase and hurried outside. The wind blew wickedly and it gave him chills. The once bright sun had been replaced by stormy clouds. Wayne took a deep breath and ran to the nearest taxi cab. Hopping in, he told the driver that he wanted to go to the local fair immediately.
     "Don't you want me to put your suitcase in the...?" he started but was interrupted by Wayne.
     "No! It's okay. Just take me to the fair as quickly as you can," he told him.
     The taxi driver shrugged and got in the front. Pulling out of the airport, he glanced back at the man sitting in his cab. The man didn't know who he was, or why he was in such a hurry... but he could tell he was troubled and said a silent prayer to God to protect him in whatever it was he may be about to face.

     "What is going *on*?" Linz demanded upon seeing Wax enter the small room. She glanced at Mel, at Nikki Lynn, at Holly and back at Wax. Holly looked as confused as she was.
     "Well...I see your friends have woken up. Welcome to the land of the living girls," he said sweetly.
     "I don't understand. Why are we here?" Holly asked, rubbing her forehead in confusion.
     Smiling Wax started to pace around the room. "Very simple. You and your friends fell into my trap...again. Although this one was really the easiest time I've ever had," he paused to laugh softly. Nikki Lynn narrowed her eyes and Linz felt like gagging. But neither said anything.
     "You see, yet again you Brady Bunchers have ended up part of my new plan. This one is better than the rest. And so far everything is working out perfectly. We've just got to wait for my dear brother."
     "Wayne?" Mel gasped. "What does he have to do with this?"
     "Everything and nothing," Wax responded mysteriously.
     Mel shook her head, frustrated. "You have nothing better to do than sit around and make elaborate schemes to hurt your brother and his fans? You must have no life," she stated simply. Holly, Linz and Nikki Lynn laughed quietly at her comment but Wax didn't seem phased by the comment at all.
     "Actually, you're wrong," he oozed. "All I had to do was find out you were meeting up here. The rest fell in place nicely." Wax continued to pace back and forth slowly, tauntingly.
     "What's that supposed to mean?" Holly inquired.
     "All in due time," Wax responded, grinning. "All in due time."

     Babs looked at her watch again and finally decided that she'd had enough of this waiting. Getting up she marched over to the guy who was in charge of the tickets for the fun house.
     "Excuse me," Babs said forcefully. The guy turned to her and glanced questioningly at her.
     "Yes, what is it?" he asked.
     "I need your help."
     "With what?"
     "My sister and our friend went into that house over an hour ago. And before that, two of our other friends went in. Neither has come out," Babs told him matter of factly.
     "Are you sure?" the boy responded.
     "Would I be talking to you if I didn't need to?" she threw back and watched as he shrugged defensively.
     "Well, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe they got lost or something."
     "I went through there already mister. And I didn't see any of them."
     "Maybe they came out after you went in and are somewhere else in the fair," he offered. But Babs shook her head.
     "Nope. They would have waited for me. I know they haven't come out."
     "You don't know that for sure. Have you tried looking for them somewhere else?"
     "Yes," Babs lied. She knew they hadn't come out and she knew that she'd get no more help from the carnie if she didn't pretend that she'd looked everywhere.
     "Then maybe you should look again," the guy told her, starting to get a little frustrated with her.
     "They went into that fun house and never came out. I don't need to look anywhere *else*," Babs said, her voice rising slightly.
     "People don't just get lost in a fun house for an hour."
     "Well maybe they did this time!"
     The boy turned to her, now thoroughly annoyed, "Look...if your friends aren't here, I'm sorry. But there's not a damn thing I can do about it. Go check the rides again. They're probably there. In the meantime, please get out of here. Customers are waiting to get into the fun house."
     Babs stared angrily at the ticket guy but finally turned away from him.
     As she was about to sit down, Babs heard a familiar voice amidst the crowd. It sounded like the person was calling for someone... Linz. And Holly. And Mel. Babs craned her neck to see where the voice was coming from. Suddenly Wayne burst through the crowd and ran up to her, panting.
     "Wayne!" Babs cried out, stunned to see him.
     "Where is everyone?" he managed to croak out.
     "I don't know..."
     "Then they're in trouble. It's Wax," Wayne told her. And glancing up at the fun house behind him, he felt a shiver ripple through his body.

     Linz watched Wax angrily as he paced around the room. She glanced over at Mel, Holly and Nikki Lynn, receiving the same message from their expressions.
     "Can you just cut this out already?" Linz finally asked, annoyed.
     Stopping, he turned to look at her. "Halt what?"
     "Pretending you don't want to blab. Because we all know you do. Now either tell us what the hell you're up to or go away or something."
     Wax's face remained blank for a moment before he burst out laughing.
     "That would be too easy. How about *you* tell *me*," he suggested wickedly.
     The girls looked questioningly at each other, not sure what to say. Finally Mel spoke up. "All right. I think that you somehow have been intercepting our calls or e-mails in order to find out our plans. Once you found out we were coming here and to this fair, you decided to come here and put up various traps. From that point on you were just goddamned lucky that we all ended up here. And by somehow trapping us, you plan to try and hurt Wayne. As usual."
     Upon hearing this, Wax started to grin maliciously.
     "Maybe there's another explanation. A simpler one," Wax crooned, walking slowly, tauntingly back and forth. "Perhaps I knew you'd chose to come to this fair. Maybe I knew that you," he pointed at Mel, "would want to skip the rides." He walked over to Nikki Lynn. "Maybe I knew that *you* would join her." Wax stood back, an evil grin plastered on his face. "Maybe I knew Mel and Nikki Lynn would come to the fun house. Maybe I knew Linz, Holly and Babs would come to look for you two. Maybe I knew that Holly and Linz would come through the fun house to search for you. And maybe..." he paused dramatically, "...I knew that Babs would volunteer to wait outside."
     "What the hell is your point?" Linz demanded, anger rising within her.
     "Perhaps I know you all better than *you* know *yourselves*."
     And before anyone had the chance to respond, the door flew open, revealing Wayne standing in the doorway.

     "So you finally made it?" Wax asked, glaring at the identical image of him in the doorway.
     "What do you want Wax?" Wayne demanded, looking over carefully at the Brady Bunch, making sure that they were all right.
     "Come in," Wax offered, snapping his fingers. It was then that two burly men appeared behind Wayne and pushed him inside, closing the door as they abruptly left.
     "So nice to see you again brother," Wax muttered, advancing towards Wayne. The Brady Bunch silently watched them, afraid to speak or move. Afraid of what could happen.
     "Tell me what you want Wax. Why you called me here and why you needed to bring my friends into this," Wayne said, walking forward. Courage glowed on his face.
     "You'll find out soon enough," Wax crooned. "But right now it's time we get down to business." He turned away from Wayne then and his cold eyes rested on Nikki Lynn, Holly, Linz and Mel.
     "Get over to that corner," he told them. "Wayne and I are going to need the room." For once there were no protests. The four girls crawled quickly and quietly to the far corner of the room away from the main door.
     "What do we need the room for Wax?" Wayne questioned with narrowed eyes.
     "Some magic... some action... and a little brotherly fight," he responded. Wax reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handful of dust. Raising his arms above himself, he let the golden dust fall onto his head. A burst of smoke erupted, accompanied by a loud pop and a peculiar smell. When the haze cleared, the group was shocked to see a sleek black panther in place of Wax... advancing slowly towards Wayne.

     Wax watched his brother closely as he backed up cautiously. Wax licked his lips, feeling the power grow within him. He had to fight to keep his mind focused on the task at hand, to keep the panther instinct to kill from taking control and tearing his brother to shreds. There would be time for that later.
     Wayne moved backwards slowly, knowing that he was already nearly up against a wall. His eyes were glued on the eyes of his brother... on the panther... advancing ever so tediously on him. As he gazed into the eyes of an animal, he saw there was still a human somewhere deep within. And Wayne could see into Wax then. He could see that there was only hate in his heart. Hate for his twin brother. And suddenly Wayne became afraid.
     "This isn't fair Wax," Wayne said, barely above a whisper. Wax laughed. But the sound didn't come from the panther. It seemed to float in the air, all around them.
     "No one said anything about being fair."
     And to the horror of the Brady Bunch, Wax pounced on Wayne, knocking him to the ground.

     "Wayne!"
     He heard the scream, echoing through the room. But he couldn't respond to the cry as Wax's body landed on top of him. The panther swiped a paw at him, narrowly missing his head. Lying on his back, Wayne shielded his face from the paws that bat at him. He could feel the pain, but was helpless to defend himself. Wayne yanked his right let out from under Wax and kicked the panther in the ribs as hard as he could. Wax jumped back, bumped off Wayne for a moment, recovering from the blow.
     In the few spare moments he had, Wayne stood up and ran towards Wax, ready to kick him. But Wax lashed out, slicing a deep gash into his leg. Wayne could hear the screams of the girls as he fell on the cold ground, landing hard on his side.
     "Why the hell are you doing this?" Nikki Lynn screamed, standing up. The dark, majestic creature turned his attention away from Wayne and over to Nikki Lynn.
     "Because I've been waiting too long for this," Wax's voice rasped around the small room. Wax snorted and took a step closer to Nikki Lynn.
     "I wasn't going to hurt you," he said. "But I don't know anymore."
     The panther then took another couple steps towards Nikki Lynn. She held her ground but felt fear grow inside her.
     Suddenly Wayne reached out and grabbed onto Wax's long black tail, yanking it as hard as he could. The panther let out a yelp and turned back towards his main target, hate burning in his eyes.

     Wax growled as he felt the power of the panther overwhelm him. He jumped at Wayne, backing him into a corner. Wayne tried to keep his balance, but his leg was starting to go numb. He pushed forward in an attempt to get Wax away from him. But instead Wax pushed his head deep into Wayne's stomach, knocking him to the ground in pain. Wayne lay on the ground gasping for air as Wax started to swipe his paws at him again.
     "You're..." Wayne gasped, trying to speak, "...gonna kill me," he spat out as he elbowed Wax in the face.
     "That's the point," Wax told him, laughing as Wayne tried to roll away from him.
     The Brady Bunch watched in terror as Wax pounced on Wayne again, this time biting into his left hand as he tried to fight off the panther. Linz stood up, shaking. She knew she had to do something to try and help Wayne. Focusing her mind she quietly spoke the words to a reversal spell. When nothing happened, she felt tears well up in her eyes. Reaching up to gingerly touch her panther pendant she tried again, knowing Wax couldn't win. Concentrating even harder she cast the spell. A blue gas erupted from where Wayne and Wax were. Suddenly Wax stood up, but not as a panther. He was himself again.

     Babs fished through her purse for a piece of gum but came up empty handed. She felt so frustrated and useless. She wanted more than anything to help. But Wayne had told her to wait. So she was waiting. It had already been over 20 minutes. Babs had to wait another 20 until she could do anything.
     "Call 911 if I'm not back in 40 minutes. It's important to do this. You *are* helping by waiting here."
     Remembering what he'd told her, Babs wondered what was going on and she hoped everyone was doing all right.

     "What the hell did you do?" Wax cried, glaring angrily at Linz, "You guys always get in the way."
     "It's called a reversal spell," Linz told him confidently. Holly, Mel and Nikki Lynn watched in frightened silence as Wax took a step forward, coming within a couple feet of Linz, fury roaring through his body.
     "I'll take care of you," he whispered hoarsely. Wax closed his eyes and started to cast another spell. Chanting ever so slowly he called upon higher forces as his mind entered a spiritual world, feeling energy surge through him. Deep within the recess of his mind he began to bring forth a force... stronger than anything he'd ever summoned before. Something that would get rid of them all.
     Wayne felt dizzy and lightheaded as he tried to sit up. Opening his eyes he saw Wax in front of him, smoke starting to fill the room. Wayne knew he was casting some sort of spell. He got up slowly... carefully; so he wouldn't be noticed by his brother. The Brady Bunch seemed to be frozen in place, unmoving with eyes glued to Wax. Wayne edged along the side of the wall, unbeknownst to the others. Just as it seemed as though Wax was nearly finished casting his spell, Wayne lunged at him, knocking them both to the ground.

     Wax let out a startled cry as he hit the ground. Wayne pinned him down to the floor, holding him there as he struggled to find his way back to the physical world. Wax flailed his arms, trying to loosen Wayne's grip on him. But Wayne had found an incredible strength within himself and Wax wouldn't seem to over-power his brother.
     "You've lost this time Wax," Wayne told him panting, "Give it up." And Wayne punched Wax's stomach harder than he'd ever hit anyone before.
     Wayne got up then as the Brady Bunch stood up and ran over to him.
     "You look horrible," Holly told him, concerned, as he put one arm around her shoulder for support. "We've got to get you to a hospital." Wayne rested his other arm around Mel's shoulders and the five of them started to leave the hidden fun house room.
     Suddenly there was a groan from Wax. The group turned to find him reaching into his jacket, body still sprawled on the floor.
     "You haven't won yet," he cried out, barely audible but loud enough for them to hear. "There still one final confrontation we haven't had."
     Wax pulled his hand out of his jacket, the cold metal object pulsating in his hand. Grasping the gun firmly he pointed it directly at Wayne and pulled the trigger...

     Time froze.
     An explosion of sound filled the room, followed by a haunting silence. No one moved, no one spoke, no one took a breath.
     The cry echoed through the air. A single piece of lead dove through the air, seeing only one destination... one target.
     Flesh met bullet, the bullet winning the microsecond battle. Wedging itself into it's victim, it ripped through his body, destroying everything in it's path.
     The body flew back, landing in a clump against the wall, a sickening thud ringing throughout the room. Whirling, spinning they turned, one by one... watching him crumple to the ground. His face a mask of shock, his lips pursed in an "O" of absolute horror.
     A thick pasty red line followed him as he sunk to the floor. And suddenly time flooded back to them.

     "Oh my God! Oh my God!" Linz cried out in utter panic as she saw Wayne fall to the floor.
     Holly rushed to Wayne, feeling immediately for a pulse. She searched and managed to find a very faint one, her medical instincts kicking in.
     "What the hell do we do?" Nikki Lynn screamed out as Holly quickly but carefully moved Wayne on his back. There was blood everywhere... so much blood.
     "Go and get help. Call an ambulance," she instructed Linz and Nikki Lynn. But far in the distance an ambulance siren already rang. They grabbed onto each other and ran out of the room, incoherent screams echoing behind them.
     Holly tore off her sweatshirt and balled it up, pressing it to the wound against Wayne's heart. She straddled him, putting as much pressure on his chest as she could. But the blood quickly oozed between her fingers.
     "Mel?!" Holly called out. But she got no response, "MEL?!" Holly glanced up to see Mel staring at them, shaking violently.
     "Please come here," Holly begged. Mel unsteadily walked towards them, unable to speak.
     "Give me your sweatshirt," she demanded, slowly being covered with Wayne's blood. Mel took off the heavy sweatshirt she was wearing and tossed it to Holly, afraid to get too close.
     "Is he going to die?" Mel squeaked out through her tears.
     "No!" Holly said forcefully, putting Mel's sweater on top of her own bloody one. She reached out and felt for Wayne's pulse but found none.
     "Oh fuck," she muttered. Mel suddenly snapped out of her trance.
     "What? What is it?" she demanded, voice rising fearfully.
     "He's not breathing," Holly cried frantically. "I need to do CPR."
     Mel then took the place of Holly, kneeling on Wayne's chest. Holly started to breath into him, praying she could give him life again.
     The seconds felt like minutes. The minutes felt like hours. The ambulance sirens now blared, almost as if they were right outside. But Holly continued to provide Wayne with air as Mel continued to put pressure on his bullet wound.
     "It's gonna be okay. You're going to be fine," Mel chanted quietly over and over to Wayne, gently stroking his cheek as the steady stream of tears continued to roll down her face.
     And just before Holly was about to collapse from oxygen deprivation... the paramedics finally burst into the room. Wax was no where to be found.

     Thunder rolled across the horizon. Angry clouds spit at the people below them. The late afternoon looked like the dead of night, as though something horribly wrong had occurred far too early. Curious minds had gathered at the scene, wondering what the excitement was about. Only few were oblivious. The few who couldn't believe what was going on and couldn't understand.
     The stretcher wheeled out the exit of the fun house, a black bag lying peacefully atop it. Holly and Mel walked out mechanically; dazed. Holly continued to move forward, each step requiring so much effort and thought. But Mel stopped, frozen. Sinking to the ground, she began to sob. People rushed towards her, moving in slow motion. But she couldn't see them or hear them. The only thing she heard were the faint words of the coroner.
     "Time of death: 3:08 pm."