Riddley's Nightmare - Chapter 2

Riddley is assigned the task of serving drinks while his sister and her companions enjoy a leisurely gathering in the garden.

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A string of profanity slipped past Riddley's lips as he felt ice-cold orange juice oozing along his fingers, spilling it after pouring too much.

Once again, he'd made his eyes linger for too long on the curves of Christi's far-too-hot body while busy with a task that required his full attention.

Riddley grinned sheepishly in return as his kid sister's friend's eyes peered at him, peeking above the shades she'd perched low on her nose in response to his cusses. She was lying prone on an inflatable lounger beside an inflatable swimming pool.

His brows furrowed, and his head jerked to the side when someone snatched the flooded glass of orange juice from his hand. It was his insufferable kid sister, Lindsy.

She'd gifted him a faint smile before gulping the glass filled with a delicate concoction meant for someone else in one go.

"T-that cocktail was meant for…" Riddley began but ceased talking when it was overly explicit that Lindsy would not give a fuck about what he had to say.

She wiped her lips clean with the back of her hand. "Make a new one. The same one, and brighten Christi's day, will ya?." Lindsy walked off, ready to join her friends at the pool. A hand closed around her wrist, causing her to pause and turn in surprise. It was her brother.

Due to his kid sister now possessing superstrength, it was impossible for Riddley to pull Lindsy closer to him or to stop her from moving even. But he's got her attention.

Lindsy looked up at him, annoyance flashing across her face, "What?!" Her sparkling blue eyes burned fiercely, making Riddley doubt his course of action.

Feeling battered by all the curious gazes of Lindsy's friends, Riddley closed within whisper distance, his voice full of urgency as he spoke. "That was the last shred of sugar syrup I've used on that cocktail you've just devoured."

"Yeah, so? Just go buy a new one. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that the nearest retailer who sells this stuff is Walmart. And it is closed on Sundays."

Lindsy let out an amused chuckle. "Who came up with that brilliant idea?"

"Some prominent members of the local Catholic Church enforced it on the mayor a few months ago. Said it to be important to refrain from engaging in activities that hinder the worship owed to God."

Lindsy sighed, frustration written upon her face. "Damn Jesus freaks. So now what?"

"Simple," Riddley reached out to a bottle of coke. "I'm just going to concoct Christi a Bacardi and coke instead."

Riddley squeezed a groan of pain when his sister's hand shot out, clasping his wrist. "No, you will not! You're going to arrange that sugar syrup. Poor Christi is counting on it."

"You should thought about that before you decided to quaff it all down. Aaah!" Riddley shrieked as Lindsy's superpowered fingers tightened, pressing hard, feeling like his bones were about to snap.

His face grimaced into a display of pain as he had the biggest trouble keeping his tears at bay. "I already told you. It is not possible." He squeezed through his teeth. "Now, let go of me, please. Your fingers are on the verge of breaking something I hold dearly."

"I don't care! One way or another, you will arrange that sugar syrup." Lindsy said, releasing her brother's wrist with a shove that made him stumble against the table.

Riddley rubbed the painful imprint of her fingers on his wrist. "But the nearest grocery store that sells that stuff is eight miles away from here."

"You have a bike, don't you?" She stepped back and crossed her arms, an almost imperceptible challenge in her stance as everyone around them paused to watch the exchange.

"Its fuckin 86 degrees outside!" Riddley said.

"Then you shouldn't forget your sunscreen." Lindsy walked off, leaving the conversation at a close.

"I won't do it!"

All murmur in the garden ceased to a silence as every eye followed Lindsy in anticipation as she turned around. "I beg your pardon?"

Riddley squared his shoulders and scowled, empowering his words with a whiff of sarcasm. "You have super hearing, don't you? Or would you rather have me write it down for you?."

Riddley's face contorted in anguish, his body convulsing as every muscle contracted as a wave of agony fired through him. A guttural scream ripped from his throat, echoing around the garden, making everyone look at him with shock. Lindsy's eyes burned blazing red like a thousand suns.

"Aaaaah! Fuuuuck! Stop it!" His hands flew to his junk, as it felt like his balls were being cooked in a hot pan filled with boiling water.

"Say it!" Lindsy moved closer, her angered step sinking her sneaker effortlessly through the lawn like it was made of foam. Her intense gaze intensified as its red hue increased in brightness. Its searing power forced everyone around her to avert their eyes or risk being blinded.

Riddley sank, his knees clattering on the ground as his hands fervently massaged his junk, desperately trying to rub away the agonizing torment.

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" He screeched from the top of his lungs. "Pleeeease!"

Lindsy's expression hardened, and she shook her head slowly, refusing his plea. "That won't cut it." She declared coldly, intensifying his pain tenfold as if the very knife of the devil herself was rooting around in the core of his soul.

Riddley's scream tore through the sky, making people many blocks away swivel their heads in his direction with concerned looks. "I- ugh… I-I promise – gasp." Lindsy lowered the intensity of her heat vision slightly, allowing him some air to speak. It sounded like he was about to say something she wanted to hear.

Riddley peeled open his teary-filled eyes, looking directly at his kid sister looming in front of him with an expression upon her immaculate beautiful face that said: 'I dare you. I double dare you to say something I don't want to hear.'

Riddley wheezed, grateful for the respite of pain Lindsy was granting him. "I-I promise I will never question your wishes ever again."

"Good boy," Lindsy's eyes turned back to normal. "Of you go then. Go on. Chop chop." She clapped hands mockingly and sniggered when she saw her brother stumbling off like a puppy chasing a thrown ball, almost tripping over his feet – the laughter of Lindsy's friends in his wake.

After his trip, with his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and the skin on his arms, legs and neck sunburned red, Riddley made haste to concoct the cocktail he was meant to make for Christi before his kid sister guzzled it down.

He glanced nervously at Lindsy, who was dozing in an armchair nearby. Finally finished, Riddley trotted to Christi and handed her the drink. "Here you go, miss." He presented with an exhausted smile. "Sorry, it took so long."

Christi removed her shades. Her pretty eyes contracted as they adjusted to the glare of the sun while taking over the cocktail from Riddley. "Why, thank you! You're such a sweetheart, aren't you?"

Riddley gave her a shy grin and brushed off the compliment with a shrug. "I try."

"Well, you succeeded, hotshot. Come here, and let me give you a kiss."

A jolt of electricity crackled through Riddley's spine with the touch of Christi's arms wrapping themselves around his neck to pull him closer to allow her lips to land with a smack on his cheek. Despite the pain coursing through his body, he bravely endured as Christi gently rubbed her arms over his burned skin. Lindsy peeled one eye open, amusement written on her face as she took in the scene before drifting off to slumber again.

With renewed energy from Christi's kiss, Riddley drew back to his station behind the makeshift bar in the garden to carry out the orders of Lindsy's other friends when a hand snatched away a glass of coke clenched in his hand.

His heart sank as he was anxious that it was his kid sister again to pester him. Relief flooded through him as he saw the smiling face of Stephie instead – Lindsy's outspoken rival, who, surprisingly, was allowed to attend this backyard party. Probably because it allowed Lindsy to openly show off her powers and beauty to make her rival feel inferior.

"She's vicious, isn't she?" Stephie, the raven beauty with an ample bosom, said after siping the cold coke.

Mesmerized by Stephie's dark and deep eyes, Riddley snapped out of his trance and nervously glanced at his kid sister, not daring to confirm such a statement openly.

"Yes, she will hear your answer." Stephie placed the emptied glass on the table. "And yes, she heard my question as well. Just relax. She does not care about the opinions of the ones beneath her anymore. Nothing is a threat to her, and she knows it. As long as we comply with her whims without question."

Riddley narrowed his gaze at the girl. "You're my sister's rival, aren't you?"

"Was," Stephie responded with a long sigh as her eyes flickered towards the pool where Lindsy lay in a black bikini, basking in the sun without a care in the world. "With powers like that, nothing can be called a rival of Lindsy anymore. She can do anything."

"You accept this situation quite easily for someone rivaling her for so long," Riddley said. "It must be agonizing for you to see Lindsy drastically gain the upper hand in every aspect while you stand behind to watch."

Stephie sighed heavily, staring off into the emptiness of the sky. "It is. But what can I do? And besides, I do admire her."

Riddley chuckled, confusion contracting his brows. "Admire her? For what?"

Stephie met his gaze. "The way she uses her powers. It's admirable. I would have pretty much done the same, only on a wider scale."

Riddley cocked a brow. "On a wider scale?"

Stephie nodded, a hint of mischief blanketing her comely face. Riddley leaned in closer, curiosity sparking in his eyes as Stephie beckoned him closer. She whispered. "I would not hesitate to take over the world. Think about it: no army would be able to oppose me with powers like that. I'd force governments to worship me like a God and shape the planet to my image."

A shiver traveled along Riddley's spine as he imagined an all-powerful Lindsy, a mere high school girl wearing some bright colored mini skirt and an egocentric mindset, soaring in the sky while laughing maniacally as beneath her the remnants of a defeated army, scurried off like insignificant bugs before being roasted by the blaze of her gaze.

Riddley's thoughts were a flurry of dread as he contemplated the possibilities of his bratty sister ruling the world - a highly unpleasant outcome for humanity - until Lindsy interrupted his thoughts by thrusting her phone in front of him.

He saw her cautiously glancing at Lindsy before urging him to look at the screen.

His eyes widened as he saw words on the glowing screen that made his heart flutter.

I know the secret to your sister's powers. Meet me at 11 pm at Columbus's statue in the park.

"Delicious!" Stephie put away her phone and smiled at him while holding up a freshly made cocktail meant for someone else. "You're very good at this!" She bumped him with her hip and gave him a seductive wink before walking off. "Keep it up."

While shamelessly ogling Stephie's wiggling curvy rear, his mind wandered off while contemplating the things he'd just read on her phone. It gave him hope to know that there was apparently an opportunity to strip Lindsy of her powers or, better yet, transfer it to him.

He already saw himself soaring in the sky, basking in the thunderous applause of an elated crowd as he rushed to save a crashing plane.