Malika grinned. She turned to her angelic self as she made her way around the front of the car to the driver’s door.
“On second thought,” Eddie shouted to her, “I could always ride along with you. You know, to keep you company. The vessels will always be here when we get back.”
“Thank you for the offer,” Malika said, “but I will be more than fine.” She hopped in the van, shut the door, and fired up the engine. Before pulling away, she lowered the window and reminded Antony to acknowledge and release one last time.
Antony shook his head as he watched the van drive off.
Eddie patted him on the back. “They’re gone. Nothing you can do now except just listening to what Malika said.”
Antony let out a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes and cycled through a handful of inhales and exhales.
Eddie continued his thought, “Of course, I wish Malika would have said she needed company. I’d be lost in those eyes right now, but that’s another story.”
Antony was just beginning an exhale and exploded with laughter. “You are completely ridiculous.” He smiled, no longer burdened by his feelings.
“No. I’m the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race.”
Antony cut to the campfire. “You’re gonna have to shed your tortoise ways if we’re gonna get through those guys,” he said as he retrieved a snake from an old steel barrel they had found behind the church and were using to house the serpents, and then tossed it to Eddie.
“Don’t worry,” Eddie said as he caught the snake. “I can turn it on and off.” He transformed the snake into a staff.
“Good.” Antony pulled two snakes from the barrel and transformed them both. “Because right now, it’s time for some action.” He twirled the staffs with his wrist before catching them under his armpits. He swept his staffs across the first row of vessels, challenging them.
“Let’s do this,” Eddie said with a grin as he and Antony stepped toward the center of the clearing and the six vessels that were on their way to meet them.
◆ ◆ ◆
A couple hours later, Antony and Eddie had battled their way through nearly fifty of the sixty vessels, including the five that they were currently engaged with, which had been whittled down from ten.
“Where is everyone?” Antony heard from an unexpected voice. The question caught him by surprise. Antony turned his head for a split second to find Charlie leaning against the railing as he struggled to make his way down the church steps. Antony was about to respond to Charlie’s question when he picked up a whooshing sound, the same sound a very large fist makes when it flies through the air. Rightfully so, the fist took priority.
Using the sound of the fist to estimate its location and trajectory, Antony flipped his head backwards to avoid contact. The vessel’s knuckles barely grazed the crest of Antony’s forehead as its fist flew by.
“Give us a minute,” Antony shouted back to Charlie as he popped his head back up. He nimbly sidestepped and swung both of his staffs, one low and the other high. The low shot was just a fake. The high shot was a bull’s-eye, or more accurately, third eye. Antony pierced the vessel’s forehead, turning his opponent to dust.
After some acrobatics and swift strikes from both Eddie and Antony, they had worked their way down to the last remaining vessel. With the two-man advantage, they closed in from opposite angles.
“Wanna do a little Karate Kid?” Eddie said to Antony.
“Sure,” Antony said. “I’ll be Johnny.”
“Then I guess I’ll be Daniel-san.” Eddie raised both of his arms and one leg as if he were about to pull off a crane kick.
The vessel’s head swung back and forth, unsure which of the two teens to focus on.
“Over here,” Antony said, getting the vessel’s attention. Antony swung high on the vessel. But this time, high was the fake. When the vessel blocked the staff with his arm, Antony dropped to his knee and spun around, swinging his other staff and sweeping the vessel’s legs.
Eddie moved quickly on the grounded vessel, planting his staff in the vessel’s head. “There’s your body bag,” he said as the vessel combusted. He withdrew his staff and twirled it expertly.
“Nice work,” Charlie said, attempting to clap and keep himself steady at the same time. He quickly discovered that his legs weren’t quite strong enough and began to sway.
Antony rushed to the church steps and grabbed ahold of Charlie’s arm, catching him just as he was about to go down.
“Thanks,” Charlie said.
“Of course,” Antony said.
Charlie examined his injured wrist. “What happened?”
“You don’t remember? Eddie said.
“I remember turning the snakes to staffs, but that’s it.”
Eddie explained to Charlie how he and JP had found the rattlesnake in the woods, how JP had accidentally tossed it to him, and how it had turned back and bitten him.
“You need to get your rest,” Antony added. “Malika said that rest and your mind-set will be the biggest determining factors in how fast you recover.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Charlie said. “My mind-set has never been stronger. You guys saw that I controlled both snakes, right?”
“Of course,” Antony said. “Everyone saw it.”
“Yeah,” Eddie chimed in, “I was freaking out partly because I knew it was a rattlesnake, but mostly because you totally owned it.”
Charlie smiled. Bite and all, his belief in himself hadn’t wavered one bit. “I knew I could do it,” he said. “I just had a split second of doubt when I saw the look on Naomi’s face. But like Malika said, that’s all it takes.”
“Yeah,” Eddie agreed. “That’s all it takes.”
“Speaking of Naomi and Malika, where are they? And JP, too? Did they go out into the woods or something?”
Antony and Eddie shared a look. Antony shrugged and then broke the news about how Naomi and JP had left to save Naomi’s parents.
Charlie nodded. “That stinks, but I understand why they would wanna do that. We all want to save our parents.”
“Yeah,” Antony agreed. “Well, we’re glad you’re feeling better, but you really need to get more rest and heal up. We need you at full strength as soon as possible.”
“Fine,” Charlie said. “Just let me see one of your staffs.”
“You might be too weak still,” Antony said. “I don’t want you to get down on yourself.”
“Don’t worry about me. Just let me see it.” Charlie extended his hand.
The glare in Charlie’s eyes made it clear that he wouldn’t be backing down. Antony reluctantly handed over his staff, which instantly turned back into a snake as soon as it settled in Charlie’s grasp.
Charlie narrowed his eyes, concentrating his focus. But it appeared to be no use. The snake continued to wrap itself around his good wrist.
“You’re still really tired,” Antony said, trying to keep Charlie from letting even more doubt enter his mind.
“Yeah,” Eddie agreed. “Your energy has to be affected or something.”
“No excuses. It is what it is,” Charlie said. “Maybe I’m not as strong as I thought I was”—a slight grin began to cross his face—“or maybe I’m just messing with you guys.”
The snake flipped back into staff form in a flash, startling Antony and Eddie. Antony shook his head as the smirking Charlie handed the staff back to him. “You’re a clown,” Antony said. “You know that, right? Now go get some rest.”
“Okay,” Charlie said, still chuckling to himself. “Just make sure to leave some of those guys for me. I don’t want you two to have all the fun.”
“Don’t worry about them. There’s plenty more where they came from.”
“In no time, you’ll be all healed up,” Eddie said. “And we’ll be back with Naomi and JP, taking on the real thin
g and saving our parents.”
“Yeah,” Charlie said with a grin. He started for the church door, got a couple feet, and then stopped. “Wait a second,” he said, the wheels in his mind still turning. “How are JP and Naomi gonna find the Beast that took her parents’ souls? They don’t even know who to look for.”
“Naomi seemed pretty confident,” Antony said. “She must have some clue.”
“When she first emailed me, she said she had no idea,” Charlie said. “The only way they could find who was responsible is if they cross-referenced her parents’ associations with the contact spreadsheet.”
“But you still have the usb drive, right?” Eddie said.
“Yeah. Of course. It’s in my pocket.” Charlie patted his pant’s pocket for confirmation. He got a confirmation, but not the one he expected. His faced dropped.
“What’s wrong?” Eddie said.
“It’s not in my pocket,” Charlie said. “It’s gone.”
Antony and Eddie shared in Charlie’s worry.
“Maybe it fell out when Malika was carrying you inside,” Antony said. “It could be by your bed.”
Charlie hobbled, as fast as he could, back into the church.
Antony and Eddie followed.
Charlie dropped to his knees by the pew where he had been sleeping. He scoured the surrounding area. “It’s not here,” he said. “It’s not freaking here!”
“Well, where could it be?” Eddie said. “When was the last time you had it?”
“I don’t know. I know for a fact that I had it right before I came back from the woods today.”
“I bet JP took it,” Antony said. “It had to have been him.”
“It couldn’t have,” Eddie said. “He never had a chance. We were with him the whole—” Eddie stopped short, a realization dawning on his face. He knew exactly where it was. “Naomi has it. Remember? She came in here by herself.”
“You’re right,” Antony agreed. “She said she was gonna leave Charlie a goodbye note.”
They searched every inch of the church for the note, hoping that the letter would contain some much needed answers. But just like the flash drive, Naomi’s note was nowhere to be found. It had merely been a lie, an excuse to be alone with Charlie so that she could take possession of the usb drive.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
JP glanced at Naomi as they sat in the backseat of the parked van. He shot her an uneasy look. Naomi responded by narrowing her eyes and aiming them in Malika’s direction.
Malika caught a glimpse of the two of them in the rearview mirror; their heads immediately darted in opposite directions. Malika kept her focus on Naomi for a couple more seconds before returning her gaze to the otherwise empty parking lot for the Truckee Train Station.
Truckee, an old frontier tourist destination that was currently in the middle of its post-summer and pre-winter lull, had been made famous by the Donner Party. The town’s log cabin look-alike train station—located just a few miles from where much of the party had tragically met their fate—ran just two trains a day: one westbound train in the early morning, and one eastbound train in the afternoon that continued all the way to Chicago.
While JP had never been there before, it wasn’t Naomi’s first time waiting at the station. She had actually passed through on her way out to San Francisco. She recalled it being the only stop where no passengers had gotten on or off of the train. The small stretch of downtown had reminded her of something out of a Western movie, the kind of place where two angry poker players might settle their debts in the street. That is, if the town even had enough people to play a game of poker.
The surrounding area had appeared just as dead from Naomi’s train window as it had when they pulled up in the van a little more than an hour before. Most of that following hour, minus the few minutes it had taken to purchase their tickets from the electronic kiosk, had been spent inside the van, in an uncomfortable silence, as they waited for their train to arrive.
After a minute or so, Naomi finally spoke up. “I, uh, need to go to the bathroom,” she said as she started to get up from her seat.
“Yeah,” JP said, following her lead. “And I should probably try to get ahold of my parents one more time.”
They both climbed out of the van.
“You know, it’s not a big deal if you wanna head back,” JP said to Malika as he stood in the van’s doorway. “The train will be here pretty soon. We should be fine.”
“It is no trouble,” Malika said. “And I would prefer to stay and make sure that everything is all right.”
“Suit yourself,” JP said with a shrug. He closed the door, and then he and Naomi headed in their respective directions.
◆ ◆ ◆
Naomi finished washing her hands in the bathroom sink. She dried them with a paper towel and then retrieved the flash drive from her pocket. She stared at the drive as she held it in her palm. She glanced at herself in the bathroom mirror, sighed, and then turned back to the drive.
Things hadn’t gone how she had expected them to go, but there was nothing she could do about it now. What was done was done, and she had no regrets. Naomi knew that she needed the drive and the information it contained if she was going to save her parents. And that was all that she was concerned with. While Malika’s lessons had taught Naomi a lot, the last seven years had taught her just as much. The most important lesson being that she needed to look out for herself above anyone else. She and JP seemed to share that same mentality, which was a big reason why they had hit it off so well, and why she had finally decided to let her guard down and let him in.
A knock at the door rattled Naomi from her thoughts. She quickly pocketed the drive before responding, “Who is it?”
“It’s me,” JP said from the other side of the bathroom door. “Is it okay to come in?”
“Yeah.”
JP entered. He scanned the facilities. “This is a lot dumpier than I’d imagined a women’s bathroom to be. Aside from the lack of urinals, it’s basically the same as the men’s room.”
“This bathroom is more of the exception than the rule. It’s usually all flowers and potpourri,” Naomi said with a smirk. “So, did you get ahold of your adoptive parents this time?”
“Yeah. They were freaking out when they answered. And just as a word of caution, they don’t really like when people call them that.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry. It doesn’t bother me. That’s what they are. But maybe don’t say it when you meet them.” He smiled to put her at ease.
“I won’t,” Naomi said and returned the smile.
JP and Naomi’s plan was to take the train to Chicago. There they would stay with his parents for a night or two before continuing on to New Jersey.
Naomi’s eyes shifted back to the bathroom door. “I wish Malika would just leave already.”
“Tell me about it,” JP said. “I told her she can go like a hundred times, but she keeps refusing.”
“I feel like she’s watching us.” Naomi lowered her voice. “Do you think she knows anything about, you know?” She pointed to her pocket, indicating the drive.
“No. She would have said something. I’m pretty sure about that.”
“You’re probably right,” Naomi sighed. “This all would have been easier if everyone would’ve just come with us.”
“I worked on Eddie as hard as I could,” JP said. “He was close. I thought I had him convinced.”
“I thought you did, too,” Naomi said. “And I did my best with Antony. He just wouldn’t budge. It seriously seemed like he was trying to keep us there for some reason. I don’t know.”
“He acted like we were safer there, but we weren’t. We were just sitting ducks.”
“Yeah,” Naomi agreed. She checked her watch. “Well, at least the train will be here in eighteen min
utes. Once we’re on it, we should be in the clear. Until then, I say we sit in the van, play it safe, and just keep quiet.”
JP nodded. “We could always hang out here a little longer, too. If that’s cool with you. I’m pretty sure we can have a lot more fun here than waiting in the van with Malika.” He grabbed Naomi by the hips and pulled her close, their eyes locking.
Naomi blinked rapidly, unable to conceal her startle. She knew exactly what he was implying. “Are you serious? You really wanna make out in this bathroom?”
“It would obviously be better if it had the potpourri smell to help set the mood, but I’ll make out anywhere I can.” He ran his tongue over his lips to wet them and then grinned.
Naomi subconsciously licked her lips and smiled back. She was starting to close her eyes when she caught what sounded like several sets of tires screeching to a stop. Her eyes shot open. “What was that?” she said as she quickly broke away from JP.
“I have no idea,” JP said, completely caught off-guard.
Naomi retrieved her snake from the pouch Malika had given her and transformed it into a staff. Before JP could get a word out, Naomi took off. JP readied his staff and then rushed out of the bathroom door after her.
JP caught up with Naomi just as they rounded the corner for the front porch of the train station. They both spotted Malika, her wings beginning to unravel from her back as she sprinted up the steps toward them.
Naomi looked to the street, where six blacked-out suvs were parked with open doors, suited and sunglassed Beasts spilling out of each of them. There were at least thirty in total, three of which Naomi recognized as the second team from Charlie’s house. The three were charging toward Malika, and gaining fast. Just as he had at Charlie’s house, the Beast with the bushy mustache led the pack, with the other two just a step behind.
Naomi’s eyes darted to their only other exit option, but it already had its own cadre of Beasts covering it. There was nowhere to run. They were effectively surrounded, with the swarm of Beasts converging from all angles.
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