Never Forget (Haunted Series Book 15)

by Alexie Aaron

  “What did you find?” Mia asked.

  “One skeleton holding this,” he said, handing a large serving spoon out to Mia.

  “Do you think it’s our guy in the food court?”

  Murphy shrugged his shoulders.

  “Anything else?” she asked.

  “Bat poop.”

  Mike cleared his voice, and Burt started the camera.

  “We found an old escape tunnel from the prison that was on this site before the mall was built. There is the body of some poor convict who never saw the light of day.”

  “Skeleton,” Mia corrected.

  “Body sounds more sinister,” Mike said.

  “I don’t want our viewers to wonder why we’re not going down there to bring up the remains,” Mia said, squatting down and looking over the edge, shining her light on the skeleton.

  “They don’t care, Mia.”

  There was a whirl of gears and a flash of light, bringing R2-D2 to life. The robot spun around wildly. Burt focused the camera on the waist-high toy. Mike walked around it to see if the batteries were still good. He gave it a little shove. It shot forward and picked up speed in the empty aisle as it headed straight for Mia, knocking her into the pit.

  Mia fell forward into the arms of Murphy.

  “What a catch. You’re first pick on my softball team,” she said. Mia shone her light below her and trained the GoPro on the toy, still lit, sinking into the deep sludge of bat guano.

  Murphy moved her over towards the ledge where he found the skeleton. Mia read off the numbers on what was left of the prison uniform. They moved deeper into the cave, but nothing unusual caught Mia’s eye.

  Murphy lifted Mia out of the pit and set her down on the counter. She ran her hands up and down her body, making sure no cave dwellers had caught a ride on her clothing. “Thanks, Dupree, you’re always on the ball,” Mia said. “That’s two stupid moves,” she said, shaking off the cobwebs.

  “Now, Mia, be kind,” Burt warned.

  “Why are you being so bitchy?” Mike asked.

  “Gee, I don’t know. It’s been a walk in the park so far,” Mia said. “I think I need some fresh air. Are we done here? Mystery over. The stench is bat shit. The tunnel collapsed, allowing the bats access to a shallow cavern that runs the length of the store. The place is showing some minor poltergeist activity. Let’s draw a line under it and get the hell out before something bad happens,” Mia suggested.

  The ground under them shook violently. Toys fell off the shelves and onto the floorboards that buckled and twisted.

  Mia ran towards the door, grabbing Mike as she went. Murphy pushed Burt along as quickly as he could. Burt had no sooner cleared the doorway when the whole store collapsed inwards. He turned the camera to see three toy clowns waving goodbye before they lost purchase and fell into the pit below.

  Chapter Thirty

  Ted asked for a location check.

  “Mike and Mia entwined in a lovers’ embrace under a forest of wasp nests, over,” Mike said.

  Mia slugged Mike hard on the arm. “What the hell, Dupree?”

  “That’s what you get for being so bitchy, Cooper,” he said, shoving her hard.

  Mia lunged for him, knocking him on his ass.

  He grabbed her leg and flipped her on her back, crawled over her and pinned her arms.

  Mia pushed him off of her and drew her sword.

  “Burt breaking up a fight between the children, over.”

  CRACK!

  “I think that’s why Burt normally doesn’t set those two up together,” Audrey commented.

  “You think?” Ted said sarcastically.

  “Location check for all PEEPs members,” Ted said again.

  There was silence.

  “Audrey sitting in the command post next to Ted, over,” she said sweetly into the microphone.

  Still silence.

  “Cid, come in, over.”

  No answer.

  “Orion, come in, over.”

  No answer.

  “Burt, we have two investigators not reporting in, over.”

  “On our way, over.”

  Mia and Murphy ran ahead of the men.

  “You go on, Murph,” Mia said, drawing her shield out as she ran. “Check the bathrooms just in case…”

  He took off down the mall.

  Mia came up to the entrance where the PEEPs truck was parked. Several tree roots and a multitude of vines had worked their way around the floor of the staging area.

  “Ted, drive that truck out of there now!” she ordered. “Don’t touch the floor. Climb over the truck to the cab!”

  Mia began to slice at the roots. Trying to buy Ted more time.

  With each root she cut, another appeared. They stopped moving towards the truck and now were moving towards her.

  “Stay here, and hold on,” Ted ordered Audrey as he reached up and caught the edge of the top of the command center.

  Audrey slid the back door down. Ted’s footsteps thundered overhead.

  Mia watched him climb down and into the cab and start up the truck.

  Ted knew that there was no time to open the large glass doors. He drove right through them and kept on driving until he had the truck and Audrey on the safe high ground of the parking lot. He heard Audrey broadcast a 911 to the security team, suggesting they get out of the mall.

  Mia looked at the floor and saw no way possible to get to the tree without becoming ensnarled in the moving roots. She ran back the way she had come, running into Burt and Mike.

  “We need to go up,” she suggested, flipping her wrist playbook until she found what she was looking for. “There are steps down there,” she said, kicking in the service hallway door.

  “What happened to the others?” Mike asked as they ran behind Mia.

  “Orion and Cid are missing. I have Murphy looking for them. Ted drove Audrey and him out of the mall. I couldn’t get to them because of the vines and roots in the way.”

  “Mia, what are we up against?”

  “I was hoping someone could tell me. It’s like the tree has come to feed,” she said as she pushed into the stairwell and started to climb. “It’s been waiting until there were enough people in the mall to satisfy her. We should have left after she got a taste of me. She needs our energy. But we have to be dead before she takes it.”

  “That means Cid and Orion…” Burt started.

  “Are either dead or will soon be. I’m headed for the tree. You guys get out of here,” Mia ordered, running up the steps.

  Mia burst out of the service hallway and stopped. She didn’t want to get turned around. She consulted the directory and started running towards the center court.

  CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

  “He’s in trouble,” Mia said, running faster. She saw the double tree up ahead. It was untwisting. Mia made it to the edge and scanned the area around the tree until she saw Orion and Cid, each bound in a circlet of vines while another set twirled and knotted until each became a hangman’s noose. “No!” she shouted.

  Murphy was chopping his way towards the hostages, but she could see that he had not much power left.

  Mia pulled out an energon cube and took aim and tossed it to Murphy. It passed through him, landing behind him. He turned and started to take on power. Mia ran forward and launched herself into the tree and began to climb down.

  Burt and Mike saw Mia jump into the tree. They were out of breath but determined to help.

  Mia jumped on the long hangman’s limb and sliced at the vines that kept trying to tie themselves to the tree. She decided that this was fruitless, so she started hacking at the tree limb with the sword. The tree untwisted further, and half of the tree came down hard on top of Mia. She deflected most of the blow with her shield. Mia jumped down and backed away, keeping her shield up and her sword moving, cutting at vines that sprung out of the branches of the tree.

  She heard Ted in her ear. “You’re a hoplite. You keep that shield high and move steadily forward.
Murphy’s coming up behind you. You take care of whatever is between him and the tree. He needs to save his energy until he can get to the trunk.

  Burt and Mike heard the whine of an electric car. Dev and Norm arrived in the security car and tossed them road flares. They circled around the courtyard until they were on the opposite side of the tree.

  Mia had moved Murphy within ten feet of the tree when Mia felt herself being lifted up. Branchlike fingers dug into her side as the tree bent the twisted limb back and shot upwards with great velocity before letting go of Mia. She went flying through the open roof and into the sky. She prayed on her upward ride that she’d land on the mall roof and forgo the life-ending, five-story death-ride to the ground, but she realized as gravity hit that the angle was wrong.

  Strong hands reached around Mia’s middle, and a familiar voice grunted as he took her weight. “You really ought to let me teach you how to fly, little bird.”

  “Thank God, Angelo. Drop me back into that tree. It’s going to hang Cid and Orion at any minute.”

  “Like hell it will,” Angelo said, swooping downwards, bringing Mia up to his chest tightly as he soared into the mall through the busted-out doors. He pulled up fast before they crashed into the tree.

  Whoosh! A flare caught, and an area of the tree started to burn. Whoosh! Another flare caught at the branches. The tree recognized that the brightly lit fire sticks were a threat. It reached out and moved its upper branches along the surface of the second floor, seeking out the fire stick throwers.

  While Burt, Mike and the security team had the tree’s attention, Murphy chopped away at the tree. The double tree was thick and strong as a redwood, but fueled by science and urged on by fear, Murphy kept chopping, his mighty arms rising and falling as he swung into the tree.

  “There they are,” Mia said, pointing out where Cid and Orion were being moved up the tree while the nooses around their necks were being wound around the large limb.

  Angelo picked Mia up, started running and took off. Mia held her sword at the ready. Angelo turned sharply and soared by the tree. Mia sliced the vines just as Cid and Orion were dropped. They fell to the floor and scrambled away.

  Angelo dropped Mia and continued to run interference with the pounding half of the witch tree so Murphy could continue to chop. Mia couldn’t get to her fading friend. There were myriad vines twisting in front of her. She jammed several energon cubes inside of her shield and sailed it Frisbee-style to Murphy who sunk his axe in it and drew in more power.

  Mia heard a steady thump, drag of feet. She turned around and knew she wasn’t going anywhere. In front of her stood the ghosts of six prisoners wearing armor of root and vine. Mia drew out her shotgun, aimed and fired at the approaching ghosts. The force of the salt destroyed one and clipped the two beside it. She fired again, hoping for maximum damage. Another one fell. Four remained. She ran at them, screaming and slicing as she did. She sliced through two more. Two of the creatures got by her and were headed towards Murphy. She tossed her sword pinning one to the tree. The other turned and moved menacingly towards Mia.

  Burt, Mike, and the security guards resumed their assault on the tree, pulling back when the tree tried to sweep them away.

  Mia squared off with the vine man. Her sword was stuck in the tree twelve feet away. Her shotgun was empty, and the shield lay at Murphy’s feet. He was now halfway through the tree. Mia pushed at the thing with her mind again and again, letting the friction of the movement make sparks. The vine man started to burn. It ran at Mia, and she dove out of the way. She regained her feet before it turned. Mia took a deep breath and used everything she had left and mentally ripped the ghost, protected by vine and root, apart.

  Mia staggered to the tree, pried her sword out and collected her shield. She activated two more cubes, slicing at the tree while Murphy recharged. When he had his fill, Mia ran out from under the dangerous canopy of the tree. She was T-boned by the ghost of a skateboarder. She slid on her stomach towards the old empty fountain, hitting her head against the stone retaining wall. Mia knew that she was still in the path of the tree. She managed to stand for a moment before a wave of dizziness overcame her.

  Ted had made his way to the center court when he saw Mia crumple to the ground, her head bleeding. He picked her up and carried her to safety.

  “Stay with me, Mia,” he pleaded. “Twice in one day. Man, I’m going to have to ground you or make you wear a bicycle helmet.”

  “Sorry, Teddy Bear, but they need me.”

  “Oh, I think you’ve done enough. Murphy and the guys have it under control.”

  “Really?” she responded pleasantly. “How nice.”

  Ted touched his earbud. “Mia’s got a head injury.”

  “How do you know?”

  “She’s talking sweet and is very cooperative,” Ted said.

  Mia reached up and started playing with Ted’s curls. “You’re very pretty,” she gushed. “Are you married?”

  “Yes, I am, and my wife’s a jealous woman.”

  Angelo grabbed at the tree. He beat the air with his mighty wings while pulling the thrashing half of the tree away from its twin. The tree fought him, but he gave it all he had until he ripped this half of the tree from the other. He tossed it through the roof. It landed several yards away from the PEEPs truck.

  Audrey decided to move the command center back further.

  “Ted, it’s raining trees, over.”

  Murphy took a final whack at the tree. It was time. “Timber!” he bellowed, pushing at the weakened tree. It wavered a moment before it broke and tumbled down, filling the court with leaves and wood.

  Angelo landed near Ted. He reached for Mia. “Trust me,” Angelo pleaded. Ted took a deep breath and placed Mia in front of the birdman. Together, they stripped her of her armor and clothes, and that’s when they found the giant tree thorn stuck in Mia’s side.

  “Take care of her,” Ted said. “Bring her back to me.”

  Angelo stared at Ted for a moment. He nodded as he wrapped his wings around Mia and disappeared.

  Orion watched the exchange of Mia from the security of the truck. He was ready to do his part to unscramble Mia’s wits, but the aerie was the best place for his granddaughter. He walked down and took Ted’s hand. “He will bring her back, and he will bring her back whole.”

  “How are you?” Ted asked, pulling a stray leaf from Orion’s hair.

  “A little scratched up. I was taken first. The vines had wrapped around my arms and back so I couldn’t transform. Cid fought valiantly, but there were too many vines. I really did think we were going to be meeting again on a higher perch, until Angelo flew by with Mia slicing through the hangman’s noose with her sword. She didn’t leave as I would have done. We small people need to realize when we are outsized. She stayed and fought, giving Stephen time to chop down the witch tree. She almost made it to the end. I couldn’t be prouder.”

  Ted looked at him. Orion raised an eyebrow. It was then Ted knew. “You’re…”

  “I’m her grandfather. That’s where Mia gets the feathers from.”

  “Does Mia know?”

  “She figured it out before the toy store investigation. She was going to break it to you gently that Brian is one eighth birdman. Something about Bewitched?”

  Ted laughed uncomfortably. “I’ll deal with it. Good to have a heads-up though. I suppose Angelo knows.”

  “That she’s my granddaughter no. That she is a quarter birdman, yes.”

  “Mia could have used your help in her early days,” Ted scolded. “She was alone and felt like a freak.”

  “I didn’t know until her grandmother died. You see, Fredericka had many lovers. I never found out what happened to her husband. Quite unusual at the time. I watched Charles for a while, and he seemed to reject the magical parts of him, but he is a fine researcher.”

  “Still.”

  “Ted, Mia had a hard road, but it’s because of that life that she can see the true worth of man. She ca
n see both sides of the fence, and she stands in judgment over no one.”

  “She has a dark side.”

  “Most beings do. When she was bitching out Mike, she reminded me of my mum.”

  Ted couldn’t help laughing. “Duty calls, I better see to Cid.”

  “I tried to fix him, but he insisted on doing things his own way,” Orion said, puzzled.

  “Ted, bring the truck back. We’ve got a lot of mess to deal with here,” Burt instructed.

  “On my way,” Ted said and turned to Orion. “Are you coming or…”

  A limousine pulled up.

  “That would be my ride. Tell Audrey I’ll call her with what I find out about the origins of this particular witch tree. Until we meet again, I wish you peace.”

  Ted watched the limo drive away for a moment, feeling very alone. He jogged to the truck, deciding he would not worry too much about Mia, and he would put his energy into cleaning up the mess the PEEPs had gotten into this time.

  Murphy examined the stump of the witch tree. He would recommend that they drill holes in it and cover it with stump remover until there was nothing left. Today, he had taken on a lot of energy and felt odd. Artificial energy was fine in a pinch, but nothing beat the natural energy he got from being on his land, seeing to his trees.

  Burt and Mike surveyed the damage to the mall from the upper story. “Ted says, Angelo took off with Mia, and Murphy confirmed that she got her bell rung. Hell, I thought she was a goner when the tree threw her out of the mall, but she survived and came back fighting,” Burt said, barely able to contain his admiration.

  “She still got out of cleanup,” Mike pointed out and added, “again.”

  Cid’s voice was hoarse, and Audrey had an ice pack wrapped around the back of his neck.

  “I think you’ve got to go and get an MRI,” Audrey said. “You might as well since the government is paying for it,” she said brightly.