by T. S. Hall
Tanner slowly picked up his head and looked at her. His hands were bound behind the chair, and he couldn’t speak because of the rag tied around his head and mouth. When Allora removed it, he let out a breath he’d been holding for far too long and blurted out, “I’m sorry”
Allora shuffled behind the chair to untie his hands.
“I shoulda listened to you. I just… I…”
He was still in his tuxedo, but it was cut up and dirty. Around his neck, a bowtie hung loosely. Blood trickled down his cheek, and his right eye was blue and swollen. His hair was damp and disheveled.
“Tanner, what did she do to you?” Jenny asked, finally making her way into the room.
Both girls frantically pulled at the rope, but the tight knots took a while to get loose.
“We’ve gotta get out of here before she comes back. That girl is psychotic,” Jenny said, pulling the last of the rope away.
Tanner rubbed his wrists as he got up. “Tell me about it.”
The three were about to leave the room when they heard the front door open. Fear stopped them at the doorway, and they froze, not sure what to do.
Tanner grabbed Jenny’s arm and closed the door as quietly as possible, then swung Jenny to the other side of the room. “The window,” he said. “It’s our only chance.”
He unlatched it and yanked it open, then held Jenny’s hand and helped her up onto the windowsill. She stepped onto the roof and slid down the shingles to the gutter. Allora clutched her purse, and stepped onto the roof. Tanner pulled his body up, and swung his feet around as the brass doorknob turned.
Twenty-Four
STORM
The door swung open revealing two figures. The rover from the rock quarry stood next to the girl in the red dress, whose eyes grew wide as she stepped into the room. There was a moment of pause. Time stopped. Kim’s body became tense, her eyes turned a dark red, and she shook in an unnatural spasm of anger. Allora recognized what her next move would be, but she couldn’t communicate it in time. Kim pulled her hands to the sides of her body, and a red glow grew at her waist. Allora pulled Tanner down the roof just as Kim sent the red glow shooting into the wall. An explosion of wood and glass shot out, propelling Allora, Tanner, and Jenny into the air. They hit the grass of the yard, and rolled. Jenny landed awkwardly and twisted her ankle.
Allora’s purse was thrown from her shoulder, landing somewhere in the corn field. Splinters of wood and shards of glass rained down. Kim and the rover appeared from the blown out, burning hole in the top floor. Allora focused, absorbing hadrons, and shot a burst toward the house. The purple ball of energy exploded into the roof, forcing Kim and the rover backward. That gave Allora and Tanner enough time to help Jenny up so they could run off through the cornstalks that filled the back yard. They weaved through the brown, withered corn, zigzagging away from the house, toward the forest. Jenny limped through the pain, wincing at each step. The sharp edges of the dead corn kept cutting their arms, leaving long slits of red. Once they made it to the edge of the farm, they stopped, allowing Jenny enough time to catch up.
“Do you have your phone?” Tanner asked.
“My purse,” Allora said, frantically scanning around, realizing the worst. “Oh, no! I had the Eye in my purse. We have to go back for it.”
“No way. Not safe. You’ve got to get to the school and call someone,” Tanner instructed. “It should just be up through these trees.”
Jenny was on the ground, holding her ankle and wincing in pain. “Guys, just leave me and save yourselves,” she said in a pathetic gesture that was almost comical. She was in obvious pain, and her ankle was bruised and ballooning to the size of a cantaloupe, probably broken.
“Take her,” Tanner said. “I’ll distract them.”
“Be careful,” Allora responded, grabbing his hand.
Tanner held the tips of her fingers, smiled, and then moved back into the stalks of corn.
Allora scurried into the woods ahead, listening to Tanner yell behind her. The light from the sun was dimming, but the girls pushed through the darkening forest. Their dresses were ripped and painted in mud.
In the distance, thunder filled the air, and the ground vibrated with every boom. Ahead, the trees opened up to a bright, unnatural green turf covering the ground ahead, illuminated by the surrounding field lights. Rain pelted down as they struggled up the last incline. They were almost out of the woods, quite literally, when they heard a branch crack behind them.
They broke through the edge of the forest to feel the soft turf beneath their feet. Allora turned her head in time to see the streak of red, and her movement sent Jenny flying to the right, just in time to let the red ball go between them. Allora landed on her arm, and the impact knocked the wind right out of her. Jenny rolled to a stop near the goalpost.
Allora tried to pull herself up to defend against the next attack, but it was too late. She recognized the dark figure approaching, the same nasty creature that had attacked them on Halloween. His dark, sinister, red eyes glowed as he pulled his hands to the side to fire again.
The wraith leapt out of the forest, firing another burst. Jenny jumped in front, taking the full impact of the attack. The hit knocked her back into Allora, and both of them slid along the wet turf. The wraith grabbed Allora’s dress and flung her back toward the forest. She flailed around, dropping hard into the turf. Again, Allora’s breath escaped. She managed to get up on all fours, gasping for air, and caught a glimpse of the dark black, bleeding wound on Jenny’s abdomen. Allora couldn’t tell if she was alive.
The night arrived, and storm clouds rolled in. Allora got to her feet and focused two purple hadron balls in her palms. The wraith mimicked her move, attacking in kind. The hadron missiles detonated, exploding like a burst of fireworks. The force pushed Allora back, but she braced her right foot behind her to get traction and then ran forward, readying herself to strike. The dark creature sent another shot, and Allora angled her body, twisting around like a gymnast performing a floor routine. The red streak missed by mere inches.
Launching her own attack, Allora skillfully fought the wraith, punching and kicking in short bursts. The wraith flipped around to avoid Allora’s high-swinging leg, and that gave him an opportunity to attack, which he capitalized on, punching Allora hard in the side. She pulled her feet back in order to evade the creature’s next move, but she slipped. The kick hit her hard in the head, knocking her down. A red burst exploded into her body, lifting her off the ground. The pain was so intense that she almost blacked out. A hazy figure ran from the forest, and a wave of water hit the wraith from behind. The black form of the wraith tumbled along the turf and then instantly froze. Allora blinked profusely. Water dripped down her face. Between the beads of rain, she saw Tanner get hit from behind, and he flew to a stop next to her.
Suddenly, she felt a forceful hand grasp the back of her dress. Whoever it was pulled her up and slammed her against the metal goalpost. Her vision was blurred, but images began to come into focus. A hand seized her neck and clenched, causing Allora to choke. As she struggled for breath and blinked her eyes, the figure of a short, black-haired girl in a red dress came into focus.
Kim kept a firm hold on her neck with one hand, and used the other to focus energy against her arms to keep her immobile.
The rover came around and put his reptile-like hand on Allora’s forehead. Small suction cups stuck to her skin, extracting her DNA. After a long minute, the rover’s eyes grew wide and sinister, as if he’d finally found a treasure he’d been seeking.
“Is it her?” Kim asked, glaring at her prey.
He pulled back and declared, “Yesssssssssssss.” His tongue slithered out, licking the side of Allora’s right cheek.
“Send a gateway relay to Titanis, and inform them that we found Princess Aurora.”
“My name is Allora.”
“Oh, there is so much you do not know little girl. Now, where is the Eye of the Titans?” Kim asked, squeezing the girl’s neck t
ighter.
“You’ll never find it,” Allora responded.
“What about thisssssssss one?” The rover asked, kicking the side of Tanner’s unconscious body.
“Tell us where the Eye is princess or he dies,” Kim demanded. Allora glared into the red eyes. A few seconds passed. Allora stayed quiet. “Kill him.”
An energy grew within the core of Allora’s chest. Her hands closed down into tight fists, and her neck flexed. From the forest, a bright glow illuminated the darkness, moving at great speed, distracting the rover. The glowing object flew through the air, and struck Allora in the chest. The increase of energy was instantaneous, filling Allora’s slight form with an incredibly amount of hadrons. Electricity shot from her fingertips. She swung forward, launching a purple burst into the girl with the red dress. Kim screamed as the ball of energy hit her stomach, launching her back into the canopy of the trees.
The rover sprang over Tanner’s waking body. Allora swung around, striking the rover in the chest with another burst, sending him flailing into the bleachers. A familiar voice echoed from the dark forest as Tanner got to his feet.
Katie and Dax popped up from the incline and ran over, brandishing weapons and a purple purse.
Katie hugged Allora. “You’ve looked better,” she said, noticing Allora’s bird’s-nest hair, protruding in all directions, the cuts all over her body, and the tears in her dress. “You definitely need this little accessory,” Katie said, handing her a bow.
“Thanks,” Allora said.
“What’s going on?” Katie asked. “We went to the Nelson house, and it’s destroyed.”
Dax gave Tanner his sword. “Yeah, we saw the Nelsons dead in their bed. I don’t even wanna know what happened there. Looked like a horror flick.”
“I found your purse in the back yard there,” Katie said, handing it over, “and then this round, glowing ball shot out of it and flew into the forest. We followed it, and it led us here.”
“There isn’t much time to explain,” Allora said, strapping the quiver of arrows on her back. “Kim killed the Nelsons, and we think she might be one of the assassins sent here to kill us.”
“Yeah, dude, she’s evil,” Tanner said, grabbing his sword from Dax.
“Damn. Why do all the hot ones have to be psychotic killers from other worlds?” Dax joked.
“Is that Jenny over there?” Katie asked, noticing the limp body on the field.
Allora thought back to Jenny’s unselfish act of bravery. “Yeah, she saved my life.”
“Is she…” Katie asked, unable to say the word.
Tanner ran over, knelt down, and placed two fingers on Jenny’s neck.
“She’s got a pulse,” he said, ripping part of his shirt to place on the girl’s bleeding wound. “We need to get her to a hospital.”
Just then, the ice containing the wraith shattered. An arm swung out, as the wraith broke free from the icy enclosure. He pulled a short stick from the clasp on his back, and pressed a button on the shaft. Two sharp blades extended from either end. Then, he ran at them, swinging the bladed staff in circles.
Tanner ducked, and spun around with his sword outstretched. Dax was able to block the wraith’s downward swing, which was intended to cut Tanner in two. Dax shifted his feet for a better position, pulling the staff around his body and clipped the wraith on the knee. His leg buckled, and Tanner went high. The wraith pulled his weapon up, blocking Tanner’s strong downward strike.
Allora quickly notched an arrow, looking for an opening as Katie sprang forward to join the fight. Every move the wraith made was blocked and countered. Allora couldn’t find an opening, so she tossed the bow, grabbed a sword, and joined the others.
Lightning lit the sky, and rain pelted the four as they stabbed, sliced, and blocked. The addition of the girls was too much for the wraith. They had him surrounded, and when he tried to escape to the other side of the field, Katie blocked his path. Dax saw the opportunity and swung his staff around, knocking the wraith on his upper back. Tanner came in with the final blow and thrust his sword into the creature’s stomach, which instantly caused it to go limp. Finally, the wraith was dead. It’s red, glowing eyes faded and became as black as its skin. Suddenly, the wraith turned into ash, melting into the turf with every drop of rain.
A heart-stopping screech came from the forest behind them. The sound of breaking branches echoed into the field as Kim exploded from the foliage, and landed on the turf. She was breathing hard, and immediately started to change. She expanded to twice her original size. Her red eyes became brighter, bursting into balls of flames. Her teeth grew sharper, and her bones protruded outward. She also grew two more arms that jutted out from her sides. The sight was terrifying.
“I guess that’s why they call ‘em shifters,” Dax said.
Kim didn’t waste any time and ran right at them. Allora pulled back a purple burst and sent it streaming toward the shifter, but the creature deflected it as if it were nothing. Then, swords clashed. Tanner took the blunt force of the creature’s first strike, which sent him backward. Dax swung low, and Katie swung high, but both attacks were blocked.
The shifter hit Dax with a quick hadron burst, propelling him into the four-foot wall at the base of the bleachers next to the gym. Furious that her brother had been hurt, Katie made an acrobatic turn and swung her katana. The strike sliced off one of the creature’s arms, triggering the shifter to hit Katie with a free arm. Katie flew back and hit the same wall as her brother, then slumped on the track, unconscious.
Allora initiated her own assault and sliced off another one of the creature’s arms. The infuriated shifter bellowed from the injury, then swung around to hit Allora, but she was able to roll out of the way. Tanner gained his footing and ran back into the fight, just in time to save Allora from a swinging sword. The shifter dropped the sword, crossed one arm underneath the other, and hit Tanner with a hadron burst to the chest. Tanner soared through the air and plummeted to the ground. His body didn’t move.
“You will never win,” the creature said in a low, frightening voice. “No matter what you do, you will die. We are too many.”
“You’re wrong!” Allora yelled back through the constant beads of rain that pelted the ground, even louder than the thunder that roared overhead.
“It’s only a matter of time!” the creature shouted back. “All of your friends and family will die, and this world will be ours.”
Allora couldn’t take it anymore. “No!” she screamed. A bubble of energy expanded under her feet, and launched her high into the air. Energy filled every cell in her body, and flowed down into the sword that she pulled up behind her head. Purple fire surged from the steel, creating a trail of light, like a comet shooting through space. The shifter reeled back, modifying her position for the assault, and pulled her sword up. Allora’s enflamed blade cut through the creature’s weapon like a knife through butter, and then down into the head of the shifter, slicing it in half. The blade smoldered on the ground as the creature’s severed body fell lifelessly onto the turf.
Allora keeled over in complete exhaustion. She looked up to see Katie and Dax stirring. With what was left of her strength, Allora turned her head to see Tanner’s body to her right. She picked herself up and sluggishly crawled to him, then fell weakly at his side. “No, Tanner. You can’t be dead,” Allora said, shaking him. There was no heartbeat. “I-I need you.” She bent over his body and put her head on his chest. “I love you, Tanner. I love you,” she said, her tears blending in with the drops of rain.
Dax and Katie limped across the field, and both knelt at Tanner’s feet.
Allora’s skin began to glow. The glowing light that had filled her body with power escaped her chest, and the light dropped into Tanner’s body, illuminating him from within. Then, the glow floated out, forming into a ball. The light quickly dissipated, and the orb fell to the ground. Tanner’s hand squeezed Allora’s, jolting her upward. His eyes flicked open. She jumped on him, hugging his body a
s hard as she could. Tanner winced in pain, touching the bleeding wound on his blackened chest..
Suddenly, the rover leapt out of the bleachers, heading toward the forest. The four had no chance of chasing him. Rovers were known for their speed. The creature looked back, grinning at the thought of coming back with reinforcements. He leapt into the forest and was gone.
“We have to go after him,” Allora said.
“We’ll never catch him,” Dax said.
“But if he gets away—” Allora began to argue, but her words were cut off by a sudden commotion in the woods.
Sounds of battle ensued, followed by yelling. The young warriors sluggishly limped to forest’s edge. Two blurry creatures sailed over their heads. Sas pulled the rover down, making sure the creature didn’t break apart and escape. He slammed the rover to the ground and pinned every limb down.
The creature wiggled and jerked to get loose, but he was trapped. Finally, the rover gave up fighting and stared up at them. He began laughing sinisterly. “You have no idea what lies ahead for you. You may defeat me, but they know. Oh yessssssssss, they know!”
Sas couldn’t stand to hear another word. He lifted his leg and stomped down on the rover’s head, crushing him. After a few seconds, the rover dissolved into the ground.
A crowd of people erupted out of the woods. Allora had never been happier to see her mother. Behind her were Aunt May, Tanner’s Aunt Lizi, Bell, Mr. Swan, Principal Winters, Mrs. Ferris, Sheriff Newton, Jarrod, and Maureen.
“Oh, thank Zeus,” Milly said, running over and hugging her daughter. “Are you hurt?”
Family and friends exchanged hugs with each other, and all the parents worried over the cuts and bruises they saw.
Allora was worried about Jenny, but Aunt May was already on it. She was alive but badly hurt. Mr. Swan picked her up, then vanished through a portal that Aunt May created.
Milly checked her daughter to see if she needed immediate medical attention, but Allora only had minor bleeding. Milly decided it would be best to get them out of there, before Sheriff Newton had to officially call it in. There was so much death and destruction that it couldn’t be covered up completely, but they already had contingency plans in place, so they all hurried through Aunt May’s portal.