by W. J. May
“Attention shoppers: Beware of the loose wolverine in the produce department.”
“So, what is it exactly that you ladies are making?” Gabriel eyed the odd assortment of items in the cart with an amused smile. “So far it looks like beef broth and…toys.”
Unfortunately, the grocery store had actually turned out to be one of those super-stores that had a little bit of everything. With so many options, the girls had found themselves ironically stuck.
“And an apple,” Rae added indignantly.
“Yeah,” Molly pointed defensively behind her back, “you missed the apple!”
“Rabies vaccines are available at customer service.”
“You’re right, how could I have possible missed the apple?”
“You know what, Alden?” Rae folded her arms across her chest. “I’m getting pretty freakin’ tired of you lashing out with these random criticisms, based on nothing but—”
“—but fact?” Gabriel finished with a raised eyebrow.
Molly bristled defensively, stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets as the tips of them began to glow. “No one asked for your opinion, you know. You should take a page from the rest of the guys, and go busy yourself doing something useful.”
“First one to find the lucky carrot wins a prize.”
The four of them blinked, then stared purposely in opposite directions.
“You know what, you’re right.” Gabriel pursed his lips as he backed out of the aisle, making a bee-line for the liquor. “I think I will go do something useful.”
“Fine.”
“Go.”
“No one cares.”
The three girls waved him off, then turned back to their cart in wilted defeat.
“I guess we didn’t really decide what we were going to be making,” Rae muttered.
Angel’s sapphire eyes narrowed as they scanned the collection. “What about cereal?”
“For dinner?” Molly crossed her arms over her chest. “You want to have cereal for dinner?”
Rae bit her lip, caught between the two of them. “It might be the only thing we can successfully cook, Molls.”
“No, no. Not a chance.” Molly straightened up to her full height, brimming with fresh determination as she took off down the next aisle. “I’m growing a tiny person over here. I need balanced meals, otherwise the thing will be born with gills or something. Nutritious dinners.”
Angel considered this for a moment before her face brightened helpfully. “What about cereal and vitamins?”
Ten minutes later, they had yet to make much progress. The boys were still missing, and while the girls had seized upon the idea of making stew they had very little idea as to how to go about accomplishing such a feat.
What was worse, their antics hadn’t gone unnoticed. They were attracting a bit of a crowd.
“There goes another one!” Molly hissed, pulling up her collar as she hurried the cart down the next aisle and out of sight. “I swear, this is not in my head. Everyone is staring.”
“People always stare,” Angel replied, flipping back her hair with a shrug. “They’re like lemmings. It’s just what they do.”
Rae rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but think that Molly had a point. It was like they couldn’t go more than five steps without looking up to see someone else watching them from around the corner. From behind boxes. From the far end of the store.
It was getting kind of creepy.
“Oh, excuse me!” Molly apologized quickly, gazing up at a tall man she’d accidently backed into while trying to navigate the cart. “I didn’t see you there!”
It was like running into a statue.
The guy said nothing. Not a single word. He just stood there, staring down at her, until she and the rest of the girls hurried on their way. His eyes followed their every move.
Yeah, definitely creepy.
“Hey, there you are.” Devon rounded the corner suddenly, followed closely by Julian. “Are you guys about finished? We should probably start heading back.”
It was said casually enough, but the way he kept glancing over his shoulder made the hairs on the back of Rae’s neck stand on end. She abandoned the cart, and came to stand beside him.
“Are you starting to get the feeling that—”
“Hey!”
The four of them whirled around to see Julian staring in astonishment at a middle-aged woman who’d just grabbed his arm. She was one of those upper-class, velvet track suit women. The kind who usually didn’t do her own shopping. The lipstick was perfect, every hair was sprayed into place, and her manicured fingers were closed in a taloned fist over Julian’s jacket.
“Can I…can I help you?” Nothing happened. She didn’t even blink. Casting a nervous glance over his shoulder, Julian gave his arm a tentative tug. Then another. Then he began to quietly panic. “Let go of me.”
She didn’t move an inch. She hardly even registered that he’d spoken.
“What the hell are you—”
“Let him go,” Devon commanded, swooping in between them. “Seriously, lady, it’s not funny anymore. Back off.”
There was a soft rustling behind them, and Rae cast a secret glance over her shoulder to see that at least five other people had gathered to watch. They were all staring with that same blank, hungry expression. An expression that twisted her stomach with each passing second.
“Devon?” she whispered.
He cast a quick glance behind him before turning back to the woman. It was clear she wasn’t moving. If anything, she seemed to be waiting for something. Just like the rest of them.
Instead of pushing her away he grabbed his friend, pulling Julian back with a burst of supernatural strength. What followed was the sound of ripping leather, followed by a sharp cry.
“What the hell?!” Julian gasped, staring down at his arm. The sleeve of his leather jacket hung in tattered shreds, ribboning to the floor, and a sudden rush of blood streamed down from the five large claw marks torn into his skin.
Rae and the others stared at it in shock. They lifted their eyes to where the woman was still standing exactly where they’d left her. Holding a piece of jacket in her hands. Her fingernails painted crimson with blood.
A single thought floated into her head, one that chilled her to the bone.
“When was the last time you heard Luke or Kraigan over the intercom?”
And just like that…the store of statues came to life.
Molly’s head whipped around with a piercing cry as Angel flipped over the crowd and bolted off in the other direction, trying to find Gabriel.
“LUKE!” Molly screamed again. “LUKE!”
Devon pulled Julian back just as the woman lunged again. This time wielding a knife she’d snatched up from a cheese display. The blade sliced the air just an inch from where he’d been standing, and without another thought the four friends ran.
“What the freakin’ A is going on?!” Rae shrieked as they ran, dodging shoppers left and right. A security guard with a night stick leapt out in front of her, and she knocked him to the ground before leaping over the body. “Devon, aren’t these just—”
“People,” he panted beside her, his eyes alight with panic, “these are just people.”
On the far side of the store, the manager locked and bolted the door with an unnaturally solemn look on his face. The second he had, five or six other people started building a barricade of picnic tables and camping supplies.
“LUKE!” Molly couldn’t stop screaming. No matter how fast she was running. No matter how many people were trying to get in her way. “LUKE! WHERE ARE YOU?!”
A burly man jumped right in her way but Devon punched him in the face and scooped her up in his arms, never breaking his stride. Her tiny arms wound around his neck as she stared in terror over his shoulder at the mob of people closing in.
It was endless!
One by one they came out of the aisles, took a second to get their bearings, then turned their he
ads and began shuffling forward. Moving in unnatural unison. Their blank faces and unblinking eyes unifying them like some sort of zombie horde.
Samantha.
Freakin’ Samantha did this.
Even as she thought the name, Rae could have sworn a burst of wicked laughter echoed in her head. A high-pitched giggling that was gone before she could locate its source.
“Devon!” Julian shouted, pointing at a set of double doors. A grizzled-looking pharmacist caught him by the shoulder, but he yanked himself free. “The intercom should be in there, but I have to go back! I have to get Angel!”
Devon whipped around, almost doubling back himself. “Jules, no—”
But it was too late.
Julian dug in his feet and changed direction, sprinting straight back towards the ravenous crowd. The last thing Rae saw was his dark hair whipping behind him as he leapt a countertop and disappeared from view—vanishing without a sound in the center of the horde. “JULIAN!” she screamed.
It was like every one of her nightmares had come to life. Trapped in a building with no way out. Everyone she loved trapped inside with her, each of them in mortal peril.
Only this time there was an unexpected twist.
They couldn’t fight back.
These people were inkless. Innocent. Local townsfolk of Kent. They had no idea that things like magical powers even existed in the world, let alone the fact that they were under a spell.
How could they raise a hand against people like that? How could they even defend themselves when every time they tried they were spilling innocent blood?
And as if that wasn’t enough…what if the people were all programmed to remember?
Devon had remembered every single thing Samantha made him do over at Guilder. So did Luke. So did Angel. So did Keene.
Why would these people be any different?
No powers. No feats of strength or speed. No daring acrobatic escapes.
What did that leave them with?
“Devon,” Rae gasped, taking great care to sprint at a human pace, “maybe we should—” She cut off suddenly as a man in a postal uniform stepped out from behind an arrangement of holiday cards, swinging a giant fist. With a startled cry she ducked beneath it, then pushed him with carefully measured strength back into the stationery.
A second later, he got right back up to his feet and started advancing again.
“Maybe we should call the police!”
“The police?” Devon panted, setting Molly down as he started working on the door. “You mean the common world police or the Council?”
“Either!” Rae looked in fright at the ever-approaching crowd. “Both!”
“I can’t get this damn lock,” Devon growled, battling impatiently against the door.
Molly whirled around, panicked beyond reason.
“Just kick it down!” she shrieked. “Luke’s in there!”
Devon glanced warily at the mob before lowering his voice. “I shouldn’t be able to—”
“DEVON!” A spray of erratic sparks shot out of her fingers as she banged her hand against the door. “I said LUKE’s in there!”
The silent dilemma shadowed across his face for only a second before he nodded hastily and took a step back. A second later, the door fell away in shower of splintered planks. They barely had time to fall before Molly went clambering on through.
“Molls!” Rae cried, tearing after her. “Let me go in first, you’re pregnant—”
A second later, a swinging baseball bat caught her right in the chest.
She flew backwards, tripping Devon behind her, gasping for breath as she collapsed to all fours on the cheap industrial carpet. She couldn’t see Molly anymore. She was having trouble keeping track of anything going on around her. All she could make out was a quick rush of air as Devon leapt over her, followed by the sharp crack of his boots as he landed on the other side.
A second later, the bat was in his hand. The man who had swung it was out cold. And a granite countertop went flying over her head as he quickly barricaded the door.
“Are you okay?” he asked, helping her to her feet.
She tried to speak, but couldn’t. It was hard enough to pull in a breath. “Molly,” she choked. “We have to find—”
There was a crash in the other room, and the two of them took off running.
It was only then that Rae realized that it wasn’t just her; Devon was having a hard time breathing as well. It wasn’t something he seemed to notice, but there was a harsh, ragged edge to the way he was panting. This coming from a man who was never even out of breath.
Is the air thicker in here?! What the hell is going on?!
The second they rounded the last corner, they found the three missing members of their gang. And it was exactly as terrible as Rae could have possibly imagined.
Nightmare didn’t even begin to cover it…
Chapter 16
Luke lay slumped unconscious over the table. Kraigan was bleeding from the head and tied to a chair. Molly was nowhere to be found. And the room?
The room was on fire.
“No! No, no, no!” Rae cried, leaping forward to drag her brother back as the roaring flames got closer and closer to his legs. The knots of rope binding him held firm, and after a minute of struggling she ended up dragging the entire chair. “Kraigan, you okay?! Wake up!”
On her other side, Devon was working on Luke.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” His voice shook with panic. “He’s not bleeding, there are no visible wounds. I don’t…” Then he spotted the empty syringe lying on the floor at the same time Rae saw it. He bent down and picked it up with a look of utter horror, turning it over with trembling hands. “…Rae.”
She looked down at Kraigan long enough to make the connection, then at Luke. Sure enough, there was a tiny puncture in Luke’s neck. An almost imperceptible cut around which a bruise was already forming. All the color drained from her face as she slowly got to her feet. “Does he have a pulse?”
Looking almost too afraid to check, Devon reached out two fingers and pressed them as gently as he could onto Luke’s neck.
Rae’s breath caught in her chest and she stood there, not moving, not breathing, as the rest of time seemed to stand still.
Then Devon gasped in relief and the world started up again. “It’s faint,” he breathed, “scary faint. But it’s there.”
Rae put her hands on her knees, taking deep, steadying breaths. “Thank freakin’ goodness.”
“Luke.” Devon started shaking him gently, untying the knots that bound him with his other hand. “You’ve gotta wake up, man. We’ve gotta go.”
Rae left him to it, and glanced around for something she could use to free Kraigan. It was only then that she heard the tiny sob from inside the closet. Quickly wheeling her brother away from the flames, she darted across the room and threw open the door. “Molly!” She sank to her knees at once, gathering up the sobbing girl in her arms. From the looks of things she was severely shaken, but unhurt. And by the angle at which she was slumped against the floor, there was a good chance she had taken one look at Luke, and fainted dead away.
“Is he…? Is he…?” Her blue eyes roved wildly over Rae’s shoulder, seeing but not seeing all at the same time. “I couldn’t even check. I couldn’t—I couldn’t breathe. I can’t—”
“He’s okay, I promise.” Rae pushed the crimson hair out of her face, streaking the smudges of soot that clouded her friend’s fair skin. “Devon’s with him now. He’s got a pulse.”
To be honest, she was almost more worried about Molly at this point. Her eyes were dilated almost completely black, and there was a manic detachment to the way she was staring around. No matter how many times Rae tried to steady her waves of full-body trembles were chattering her teeth, and though she didn’t seem to realize it herself one hand kept clutching at her stomach. “Molly…” She lowered her voice soothingly, trying to ignore the scorched beams that were crumbling i
n the breakroom beside them. “Luke is going to get up and leave now. Are you ready to come with him?”
Perhaps it was the odd phrasing that finally got Molly’s attention. Her head jerked back to center as she focused on Rae for the first time. “Yeah…I’m ready to go.”
“Good.” Rae flashed her a quick smile and helped her to her feet. As she took a silent moment to steady herself, Rae glanced over her shoulder at Devon. “Please tell me you got him up.”
“Working on it…” Devon was still kneeling on the floor, trying to tune out the flames as Luke’s head stirred weakly against his chest. Every breath was labored, and every movement was painfully slow. “That’s it, buddy. You got it. Open your eyes for me, okay?”
Luke was trying, but whatever drugs he’d been given were still fresh in his system. The room with the intercom was unfortunately right next door to the pharmacy, so there really was no limit as to what potential combination might be racing through his veins. “…Smoke,” he mumbled, trying and failing to open his eyes. “I smell smoke.”
Devon glanced around in a mild panic, trying not to let it seep into his voice. “Yeah, the room is kind of…the room is on fire. That’s why we’ve got to get going, okay?”
If he were to simply pick Luke up and carry him out, they would be overtaken in seconds by the crowd. The guy had to come out of it on his own. And he had to come out of it fast.
For that matter, so did Kraigan.
Now that Molly was standing on her own, Rae turned her attention back to her brother. He was still passed out cold in the chair, but unlike Luke she didn’t think he’d been given any drugs to make it happen. If the wide gash dripping blood down the side of this face was any indicator, it looked like he’d been hit with something instead. Judging by recent experience, Rae was going to guess it was a baseball bat. “Hey,” she shook him roughly, kicking his shoes at the same time, “wake up! Come on, Kraigan! Wake up!”
Nothing happened. He didn’t even stir.
In desperation, she ripped off a piece of her sweater and dipped it in the fire. The flames curled around the fabric before she stomped it out, holding the charred piece beneath his nose. “Come on, Kraigan! You can do this. I know you can.”