“That is up to her,” Franklin says.
“She won’t be a dominant for much longer,” Licorice says. “I’ll show her that females are only meant to be submissives.”
Licorice chuckles in Franklins face and turns to walk away.
Franklin drops his hand on his shoulder.
“Give me the boy,” he says.
Licorice looks back at Franklin with black marble eyes. “What?”
“I want to have the boy.”
“This is my prey,” he says. “I hunted it. It belongs to me.”
“Why is he still alive?”
“I like to eat my food while it is still screaming,” Licorice says, licking his black lips at the child.
“If you give me the boy I will leave this cave and never return,” Franklin says. “If you do not I will go back to Jujube and claim her as my mate.”
Licorice’s face becomes serious. “Sour Apple . . .” He caresses Franklin’s cheek with his raven-like claws. “I am curious why you want this child so much as to threaten me. It seems unfathomable that you could possibly dominate anyone, especially Jujube who obviously was able to dominate you. Submissive males are perhaps the most pathetic life form I can name, which makes your feeble threat nothing more than a curiosity to me. So I must ask you to explain yourself. Why do you want this child?”
“Because I am really hungry,” Franklin says. It is the best thing he can come up with, even using his big fancy brain.
“That I do not believe,” Licorice says. Then he takes the kid by the throat. “Maybe if I break its neck and watch you eat its flesh right here in front of me. Then I will have to believe you and will agree to your terms.” He digs his fingernails into the boy’s neck. “How does that sound?”
Franklin’s eyes widen and he reaches out his hand to stop Licorice from going through with it.
“Just as I thought,” Licorice says. “You don’t want me to kill it. Perhaps you feel pity for this creature? Perhaps because he is one of your kind?”
Franklin considers pulling out his sword and attacking Licorice right there. He has never been a fighter. He hasn’t won a fight in his life. But he might have an edge with his upgraded brain. He knows that several professional fighters upgraded their brains so that they could calculate their moves faster. It might not improve reflexes, but being able to think quickly can make a huge difference in a fight. Still, Franklin hesitates.
“It might have never happened in the past,” Licorice says, “but I think it is very possible to give a human a candy disguise.”
He looks carefully into Franklin’s human eyes, then he says, “What do you think?”
Franklin pulls the sword out of his cane and slices it across Licorice’s face, catching the candy man off guard. Although the blade was aiming for the throat, Licorice was able to avoid a fatal cut because, unlike Franklin, he does have good reflexes. Troy screams as Licorice rips his hair backwards, stepping away from his attacker.
“I knew it,” Licorice says. “You were human all along.” He throws Troy on the ground and points his claws at Franklin. “You were the one who killed Float.”
Franklin holds his sword up, ready to defend himself.
“Now I will kill you and feed you to the lemon hogs,” Licorice says. Then he attacks.
Troy runs and hides as Licorice charges at Franklin, slashing his claws wildly. Franklin isn’t able to move as fast as his brain wants him to, but he is able to dodge the candy man’s strikes or block them with the sheath of his cane. When Franklin slashes at Licorice, his sword does not break through the candy coating. He tries aiming for the throat, but Licorice’s reflexes are too quick for him.
Frustrated by not being able to get his claws past Franklin’s defenses, Licorice uses his armored body as a weapon. He charges at Franklin, forcing his chest against the side of the cane sword and shoving it backwards. The force of Licorice’s slamming body knocks Franklin onto the ground. But he uses the fall to his advantage. As he hits the ground, Franklin swings the sheath of his cane sword against the side of Licorice’s knee. The candy coating pops open and his kneecap crumbles like a jawbreaker broken against pavement.
Licorice folds over and shrieks with pain. With his upgraded brain working over time, Franklin calculates several strategies to defeat Licorice right there. But Franklin decides to ignore the calculations. Instead, he reacts with his emotions. All of the hate he has ever felt for the candy people fills him. His eyes burn red. His muscles tighten under his sour apple skin.
Franklin gets up and beats Licorice with the sheath of his cane. The sheath is heavy and made of metal. It feels like a thin aluminum baseball bat to Franklin, or a retractable baton. He clubs the creature in the chest repeatedly with it. Screaming in a fury. Licorice screams as his candy chest cracks open. Black powder explodes into the air with every hit. A spider web of fractures spread across his body.
Once the candy is broken apart enough, Franklin stabs his sword through the soft exposed flesh into the chocolate mud. Licorice’s eyes bug out of his head at Franklin. His fingers curling around large chunks of his broken candy shell as his blood leaks out of his wound.
“I will kill you,” Licorice hisses.
Then Franklin tears the blade up Licorice’s torso, cutting through the shattered candy. His intestines spill out of the gash and his heart stops pumping. His black licorice head gurgles at Franklin as it droops to the side, his tootsie roll hat rolls through the chocolate mud.
As Franklin approaches, Troy quivers into a ball. The kid only sees another candy person.
“I’m not one of them,” Franklin says. He puts his cane sword back together and then kneels down to the boy. “I’m human. I’m wearing a disguise.”
Troy backs away from him.
“You know me,” Franklin says. “I live in your neighborhood.”
He shows him his apple red suit jacket. “You used to always make fun of my clothes.”
Troy takes his pair of thick-rimmed glasses out of his pants pocket. They are cracked and bent. When he puts them on his face, his eyes light up as he recognizes Franklin behind the candy coating.
“You’re the fucking old faggot that killed Jimmy!” His eyes go from fearful to enraged.
Troy charges Franklin and tackles him at the knees. Franklin’s false leg twists and he tumbles to the ground. Troy punches him with tiny fists yelling “Motherfucker! Motherfucker!” with tears in his eyes.
Franklin grabs him by the wrists and tells him, “It wasn’t me. I swear. It was one of them.”
They look at Licorice’s corpse.
“I tried to save your brother but I was too late,” Franklin says. “The creature got away just as you arrived.”
The boy tries to break out of Franklin’s grip. “Liar! Motherfucking liar!”
“I avenged his death,” Franklin says. “I followed the creature down here and killed him. I plan to kill all of the candy people.”
Troy stops struggling and cries. Franklin lets him go.
“What the hell are they?” Troy says, rubbing the blood from his forehead.
“They are cannibals,” Franklin says. “They eat children. This is their home.”
“Where did they come from?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Franklin says. “We need to get out of here before any of the others show up.”
Troy nods.
“Do you know the way out of here?”
Troy shakes his head.
“You don’t even remember the direction you came from?”
Troy shakes his head.
Franklin lets out a puff of air. He looks around the landscape, and then turns back to the boy.
“Do you think you can help me carry that body?” Franklin asks, pointing at the corpse.
Troy nods.