“Yeah, but that is gone. I am thinking about going back to school, but I don’t know where and how yet,” I lied. Guilt filled me, but what could I tell them? They sounded so hopeful and thankful that I was here, that I would stay here. I couldn’t break their hearts. Not yet.
My father narrowed his eyes. “If you’re not in a rush, I could talk to the mayor and see if he has a job for you.”
“Work on the construction of the wall?” my mother asked. “That isn’t a place for a woman.”
“I know,” my dad said. “But I can ask him if he has anything else.”
I pressed my lips together. My leaving would be hard on them, maybe harder than I thought it would be.
“Yes, Dad,” I said. “Talk to him.”
I probably wouldn’t stick around until a job came up, but I couldn’t tell them that. Not yet.
Dad patted my hand. “Good.”
10
I rolled on the couch. Sleeping here would break my back, but there weren’t many options. My mom had insisted on giving me their bed, or having Nicole sleep with them so I could have her bed, but I declined. I was already disturbing their lives and routine as it was.
I brought the comforter to my chin and tried adjusting the pillow. As if the couch being uncomfortable wasn’t enough, the cold was bad too. The forecast was for three feet of snow tomorrow. Ugh, I wasn’t happy about that.
At one thirty in the morning, I reached for a book in my tote. I might as well read and hopefully it would make me sleepy enough that I wouldn’t feel the hardness of the couch.
I read two pages and felt my eyes droop. Hmm, this was working.
I was turning the third page when the siren of a fire truck blared outside.
What the hell?
I woke up completely, and I rushed to the window. Despite the cold, I opened it and tried to spot the fire truck, not that I could see much from the first floor or past another three-story building on the side.
I gave up on the window and marched to the kitchen, where I turned on the radio and tuned it to the local news channel.
There was nothing. Only static. I changed to another news channel. Same thing.
The building shook and a loud boom sounded from outside, and I grabbed the counter to steady myself.
When everything stopped moving, I dashed back to the living room and unlocked the patio door. As I stepped out, the raven appeared by my face. I stepped back as it cawed desperately, circling my head. Added to the noise of sirens and screams, I could feel a headache coming.
I put my arms around myself, shivering in the cold. “Rok, calm down.” He didn’t. “I can’t understand you. What is it?” He came at me again, and I jumped back. He wanted me to get inside? To run? “I’m trying to understand, okay?”
My parents appeared at the door. “Nadine, what is it?” my mother asked, her eyes sleepy, but her expression tense.
“The walls were shaking,” my father said, pulling his robe tight around him. He stilled, watching Rok. “Shoo.” He raised his arms to wave the bird away.
Mom rubbed her eyes. “What is that crazy bird doing?”
Rok soared around me once more before flying away.
Okay. Think Nadine. Based on the sounds and Rok’s reaction, the city had to be under attack.
“Let’s go inside,” I said, pushing them past the door.
“You’re scaring me,” my mother said.
I closed the door behind us and leaned against it. They watched me, waiting for a response. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Because really, how could they have found me? I had just escaped New York City. They couldn’t possibly have tracked me this fast.
More importantly, I was supposed to be far away from here when they came for me. I wasn’t supposed to attract them here. Not here.
I shook my head. “I …”
“I don’t know if anyone is hearing me,” a voice came from the radio in the kitchen. “But … our town is under attack. I think it’s similar to what happened in New York City. There are … creatures, or whatever they are, entering the town from the east, and they are destroying everything in their path. If you can, run. Now.”
Oh, God. Not again. No.
My throat felt raw, and I clutched my neck, having difficulty breathing.
My parents looked at me with wide eyes.
My nerves brought goose bumps to my arms. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. I had gone through this before; they hadn’t. They needed me and I had to be strong for them.
“Come on. Let’s go.” I rushed to my bag beside the couch, changed into jeans, and put on my boots. When I turned, my parents were still staring at me. “We need to go. Now!”
Whimpering, my mother ran to her bedroom. My father followed close behind. I grabbed my bag and slid it over my shoulder, then marched to the kids’ bedroom.
“Nikkie.” I tapped her arm. “Teddie. Tommy.” I shook their feet. “Wake up, please. Wake up now.” I found an empty duffel bag under the bunk bed and stuffed it with some of their clothes.
“What is it?” Tommy asked, rubbing his eyes.
“We gotta move.”
“Why?” Teddie asked, sitting up.
“I’ll explain later, okay? Right now, we gotta move.”
I reached up, clasped Tommy’s waist, and helped him to the floor.
“Where are Mom and Dad?” Nicole asked.
“Here, sweetie,” Mom said, appearing at the door. She had put on pants and a heavy coat.
Coats. Holy shit, it would be freezing outside. I rummaged through their drawers, grabbed socks, beanies, sweaters, and coats, then pushed them out the door. I directed Teddie to Dad, Tommy to Mom, and picked up Nicole in my arms.
With Teddie’s hand firmly in his, Dad walked to the front door.
“Dad, is there a way through the back patio?”
He frowned. “Yes, but it leads to a back road.”
“Would that be to the west?”
He thought for a second. “Yes.”
“Then that’s where we’re going.”
As we exited into the chilly air, Nicole tucked Pinky between us, wrapped her arms around my neck, and buried her face in my chest. “It’s cold,” she whispered.
I rubbed my hands on her back, trying to warm her. “I know, Nikkie. I’m sorry about that, but there’s no other way.”
Nobody spoke as Dad led us through a long, narrow corridor between buildings. In the dark and with almost no lamps on the street, it was hard to see where I was stepping. I tripped a couple of times and almost fell.
When we reached the back road, Dad peered out.
“What am I looking for?” he asked.
I sighed. “Monsters. Really big, nasty monsters.” Nicole whimpered in my arms, and my mother shot me an are-you-crazy look. “I’m serious. Sorry I skipped this part about the New York attack, but I know the same thing is happening here.”
“How do you know?” my mother asked.
I pressed my lips tight. Because they are after me. Not a good answer.
“Please, just believe me. We need to get out of town ASAP. Not only out of town, but we need to get away fast.”
“Nadine, what aren’t you telling us?” my dad asked.
Once again, I opened my mouth and words didn’t come. What could I tell them? I didn’t want to get them involved in this. Too late for that. However, we didn’t have the time to discuss this. We had to move.
I walked past my dad and out of the corridor. At the intersection, about forty yards from me, an Ornek ran by. With a gasp, I retreated into the corridor and plastered my back to the wall. My heart raced. I closed my eyes and squeezed Nicole, trying to calm myself.
“What is it?” Mom asked, going to the edge of the corridor.
I held her arm. “No. Wait.” I shook my head. “One of them just ran down Magnolia Avenue.”
Her eyes widened. “One of them?”
“One of the monsters,” I whispered, afraid the kids woul
d understand. Who was I trying to fool? They were too old not to understand.
“I want to see!” Teddie said, his voice too loud.
Dad shushed him. “Be quiet. They will hear us.”
I looked at Teddie. “This is not a game. This is real. If they see us, they will kill us.” Nikkie’s arms tightened around my neck. “We’ll be okay,” I said, more to calm their nerves than my own. Because honestly, if I stopped to consider this situation, I wasn’t sure I would believe me.
I peered down the street.
That demon walking down Magnolia Avenue was probably a patrol, sent ahead to check. Others would come via opposite streets and back roads.
What then? Wait for the demons to pass, or try to get ahead of them? Or follow the first one down Magnolia Avenue? I didn’t know what to do, and each second that passed was precious because it meant the demons were advancing and getting closer.
What I wouldn’t give to have Keisha and her weapons with me.
A loud boom shook the ground, and my ears rang. I leaned against the wall for support, my head spinning. When I recovered, my mom was pushing off the ground, and my dad was crouched behind us, his eyes wide.
I looked back and my heart beat heavy in my chest.
Fire engulfed the building we had just exited, the building where my family had made their home. The heat licked against us, and I had an urge to run.
“Oh, God,” I whispered. If the building was on fire, the demons were around it, and Omi was close. “We need to move.” I took a deep breath and went to the street. I looked left and right. Nothing. “Come on.”
I ran to the other side of the street and hid in the shadows of a store’s entrance, my parents following me.
“No short cuts through the middle of this block?” I asked.
“I think there is,” Dad said. He and Teddie rushed to the corner of the store and turned at the driveway.
Mom and I trailed behind them. The driveway ended in a parking lot behind the store. A short picket fence surrounded it, and there was another parking lot and building, its back to us.
Mom and I dropped the kids on the ground, helped them cross the fence, then crossed it ourselves and got the kids back once we were on the other side. I tried ignoring the fact that Nicole was heavy, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold her for hours. Maybe not even an hour.
I shook my head. We made our way across the driveway of the building and slowed down once we got near the sidewalk.
It started snowing. Slow, fluffy flocks fell from the sky, sticking to our hair and coats, and covering the sidewalks and street.
The weight in my chest increased. “Now they will see our footsteps.”
“Let’s try to gain some distance from them before the snow covers the streets,” Dad said.
He crossed the road and ran into the front yard of a house. Mom and I did the same. Once we were on the house’s side, I looked back. Our footsteps weren’t clear. Perhaps the dumb demons wouldn’t notice.
A shriek filled the frigid air, and I almost dropped Nicole to clamp my ears. She stifled a cry, but sobbed in my shoulder.
“What was that?” my mom asked, her tone fearful.
“Bats.”
“Bats? Here?” My dad looked at the sky. “We’ve never seen bats here.”
“They have been spreading lately,” I said, satisfied for not lying for the first time since I arrived.
Dad’s eyes returned to mine. “How do you know so much about this?”
“It’s a long story, and we should get out of here first.” I marched to the back of the house.
With the Akuma, it would be harder to get out of here. They were probably hovering around the entire town, searching and maiming. Damn, this kept getting worse.
I looked around the backyard. There were trees lining the lot down the back, and then I could see the roof of a house, probably on the other side of the block.
“Let’s keep moving,” Dad said, walking past me.
I followed him to the trees. Mom was close behind.
We had just begun to weave through the trees when a shriek echoed through the sky. We all froze. The kids whimpered. The Akuma's screams sounded too close, but not right above us.
“Go,” my dad whispered.
We moved again, but it wasn’t the same. Any noise we made—crunching of grass or snow, sweeping leaves or branches aside—the demons would hear it and find us.
We finally reached the end of the trees, only to bump into a tall iron fence. It was approximately eight feet high with no horizontal bars we could use to step up and swing over the top. The tips had a blade-like appearance.
“No, no,” I muttered. I released Nicole and shook the fence. “No!”
My father let go of Teddie, then ran a few feet to the side, checking the fence. “No openings, no weak points.”
I looked up. An orange cloud approached, swallowing everything in its path. Omi would rain down on us soon.
“We can’t go back.” I looked around. “Let’s check the sides.” I pushed Nicole and Teddie closer to Mom and Tommy. “Stay here.”
Dad darted to the left, and I went to the right. My heart raced and my head spun as I shook the fence, trying to find some broken post or a gate.
This couldn’t be happening. Oh my God, I had to stop thinking about this, or I would break down right here right now and curl up on the snow and cry out my desperation, exhaustion, and fear. That was all I wanted to do. Curl up and cry. But that wouldn’t bring my family to safety.
However, I knew what would save them.
I sprinted back to my mom and siblings just as Dad did too.
“No way of passing,” he said, out of breath. “I saw a few bats flying by, and I saw an orange cloud coming in this direction.” He shook his head. “I must be out of my mind.”
I took a deep breath. “I know a way of making it through this. We’ll hide here for a while, maybe up in the trees. When we’re sure we can run around the fence and keep going, we do that and we don’t look back.”
“How are we gonna be sure we can run around the fence and keep going?” my father asked.
“Just … trust me.”
A sequence of shrieks resonated through the air.
“They are getting close,” my mom said. Fear laced her words.
“Okay. Hide. Now.” I pushed them against the thicker trees. I stepped back and looked at them. With the dark and the shadows, I couldn’t really see them, only if I tried hard. I hoped their auras were nothing and the demons would bypass them. “Whatever happens, hide, then run, and don’t look back.” I retreated one more step. “I love you.”
I ran.
“Nadine?” my mom shouted at the same time my father asked, “What are you doing?”
I didn’t stop. I just hoped they stayed hidden.
I ran to the front of the house and went toward Magnolia Avenue. I wasn’t stupid; I wouldn’t run toward the demons. They would catch up with me too soon, and I wouldn’t have given time for my family to escape. I ran north, hoping to be able to run for a minute or two, enough to get some distance from where I hid my family.
The shriek of an Akuma reached my ears. My heart stopped, and I slipped on the snow. I regained my footing as the creature flew to me. I ducked and it rose in the sky again. The thing flew away for a few seconds, to call the others probably.
I kept running, even when my legs hurt, even when I knew I was marching to my death, even when the urge to curl up and cry ripped through me again.
Moments later, the Akuma was back with some of its friends. I didn’t bother looking up and trying to count them. I was screwed anyway.
The grunts, growls, and battle cries of the Ornek and Arak surrounded me, followed by the sound of their heavy footfalls.
Oh, God, let me keep going for one more minute. Please, one more minute.
I gritted my teeth and pushed my muscles, my blood pounding in my ears. I turned slightly right onto the street that would become a ramp and
lead to the road out of town.
Just a little more.
I could see the ramp, but I also could hear the footsteps and growls gaining on me.
Omi materialized in front of me in a mist of gray cloud. My shock made my muscles lock, and I slipped in the snow, falling on my knees at his feet.
I gasped for air, little clouds leaving my mouth as my rapid breathing froze in the frigid air, and I looked up.
He was smiling down at me, his eyes amused. “Finally, we meet.”
11
“Are you comfortable?” Omi asked.
Holding his red-topped scepter, he stood before me in the middle of what looked like an Ancient Greek room. Thick pillars in the corners supported the high ceiling, torches attached to them, illuminating the interior with dancing shadows. I could see openings on the sandy walls behind some of those pillars. A rolled up tapestry hung from two pillars. The beige floor was rough, and there were several Persian rugs of orange and reddish tones spread throughout. The chaise I sat on looked like something out of Ancient Egypt with hieroglyphs carved along its simple wood, and the green cushion felt more like barbed wire.
I glanced to the cuffs made of bright red light around my wrists. Comfortable? Who cared about comfortable when I was panicking on the inside? I was somewhere in the world with the god of war, demons were probably outside the door, and I was sure Imha was close by. The only hope I was holding on to was the fact that I was here alone, my family had escaped the demons. I didn’t know what would happen to them or how they would survive, but at least now they had a chance.
Tears stung my eyes. I didn’t want to cry in front of Omi, or anyone else, but I couldn’t help it. I honestly wasn’t afraid of dying, but I was afraid of suffering before dying. And every time I thought about my family, I wanted to cry more. I would never see them again—not for many years, until they died from old age, I hoped, and met me on the other side. I would miss them so much … At least I would have Troy in heaven with me.
Wait. Heaven? Or maybe it was the underworld.
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