Let Me Come Home ■ Metalocalypse

How To Disappear

Delilah stared blankly at the now empty nursery. All that remained were lavender walls and memories that felt like a lifetime ago. Bridgette put a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"You're helping a lot of people" she assured her big sister.

"Did they load up my bags?" Delilah asked, her voice hollow.

"Yeah. They're all waiting for you downstairs" They descended the stairs into the foyer where the three men waited.

"You ready to go?" Murderface asked. She nodded. "Bridgette's gonna take good care of the place. Right, Bridgette?"

"Right"

"Call me at any time if you need anything" Delilah instructed. The three family members gave hugs, and then Delilah was out of the door.

The ride to Mordhaus was long and quiet. The muted plucks of Skwisgaar's guitar didn't do much to fill the silence. Delilah was curled close to the fireplace, watching the flames dance. She sipped an old fashioned and reminisced about bonfires and cheap alcohol she and Chris enjoyed as teenagers. She yearned for vodka kisses in the late New Jersey summer. The air would be sweet with the smell of the harvest mixed with burnt wood. She dreamed of raising her daughter in Hammonton. She would have taken her to the berry festivals and apple picking. She had looked forward to hayrides in the many farms, retiring with Chris on their own plot of land and growing tomatoes and strawberries. All of that disappeared as they crossed state lines.

"It's going to be a couple more hours. They have a bed ready if you'd, ah, like to take a nap" Charles offered.

"No thank you" Delilah said quietly.

"Would you like anything to eat?" She shook her head no. "If you need anything, I'm in my office" as he passed by Murderface he gave a shrug. "I tried"

"She hasn't eaten in days" there was concern in Murderface's voice.

"She ament's beens hungry" Skwisgaar set his guitar down. "Neithers of us ams" Murderface had noticed the weightloss in his bandmate. The already slender frame looked about ten pounds lighter.

"Maybe when we get home we can have Jean Pierre make her some of her favorite foods? Maybe she'll eat then?"

Two more hours passed before the bus pulled up to the Mordhaus entrance. It had been Delilah's first time there since before the Revengancers' attack. It hadn't changed much. She didn't care for the European gothic décor, but the sheer vastness of the viking ship never ceased to amaze her. Klokateers lead her to her room where her luggage awaited.

"If you need anything else, mistress, just press the button on your bedside table" She tried not to grimace at being called mistress. The klokateer bowed and exited. She plopped down on the queen sized bed covered with a blood red comforter and black sheets. She had her own bathroom complete with a Jacuzzi tub and shower. A gift basket filled with items from Dethklok's new The Smell of Deth bath and body line sat on the countertop. The smell of death was roses in this case, Delilah's favorite. In a second gift basket there were several bottles of her favorite New Jersey wines. The bed was new, but comfortable. Before she knew it she had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Skwisgaar walked into his room to see a nervous Toki waiting anxiously on his bed. His initial shock turned to annoyance, then resolved into guilt. "Heys" was all he could manage to say.

"Heys" the younger man returned. "How ams yous?" Skwisgaar crossed the room and slumped onto his bed. He let out a deep sigh as his head hit the mattress.

"Tireds" he answered. "Ands yous?"

"Tireds toos. I ament's sleepings much" Skwisgaar could tell. The blonde sat up and reached out to trace the dark circles under his bandmate's eyes. Toki turned his head away. The other man awkwardly place his hand on his shoulder instead. "Hows yous goirlfriends?" Toki didn't mean to sound so bitter but he couldn't help it. Skwisgaar raised an eyebrow.