by Casey White
“Wait,” he hissed, pulling them up short. “Wait, wait. We can’t go out that way.”
“What?” Leon yelped, biting off the word just before it could become a full-on yell.
“S-Stop pullin’,” James mumbled. He didn’t even shift in their grasp.
He was hurt, Daniel knew. Probably badly.
It was his fault. If James hadn’t met him…if Alexandria hadn’t whisked him from his bed and into the world of dreams, he wouldn’t even be here.
“We’ll find another way,” Daniel whispered. His pulse beat faster and faster. He turned back to the living room, scanning for-
The door to the front room burst open with a crash. A man hurried through—a man who seemed entirely average, but for the rifle casually slung over his shoulder by a well-worn strap.
No. Daniel’s vision centered on the weapon, all the whispers and warnings fading out to a meaningless, irrelevant hum. He couldn’t afford to die here—and he wouldn’t let his friends be hurt.
His hands came up, carried on the memory of a hundred years’ practice inside the walls where time meant nothing. He’d never had to study in the outside world, which left him as much of that precious time as he liked for physical activity.
He was very glad of that, now.
The man was only a few steps away, his eyes still widening as he caught sight of the two intruders. He stumbled back a half-step, his mouth falling open.
Daniel shrugged free of James’ arm in an instant, launching himself toward the gunman like a bat out of hell. His hands balled up, his limbs tensing.
Before the gunman could stagger away, Daniel’s fist plowed into the side of his face.
Not enough. The gunman rocked backward, yelping in pain, but didn’t fall. Keep going.
Training manuals flashed before his eyes, alongside video after video. Drill after drill that he’d put himself through. His hand closed around the gunman’s wrist, pulling him forward. Tugging him off-balance. He could feel the man pull back, trying to avert the inevitable, but he’d been caught off guard from the start.
How ironic it was that he’d honed these skills for so many years inside Alexandria’s walls, intending to use them to keep his guests safe—and it was only now, in the outside world, that he had any call to actually use them.
The gunman went flying, sliding over Daniel’s shoulder. It was easy, he thought with a grin. It was so damn easy.
The man slammed into the ground with a groan and a clatter. Daniel almost winced. Almost. Landing on his rifle couldn’t have felt good. Then again, he’d been beating James, so he couldn’t feel too bad for the bastard.
The voices from the front room continued, though, growing closer by the second. “The hell’s going on out there?” he heard someone say. “Cyril, would you-”
“Ian was looking,” someone said, their voice soft and distant.
“Just give him a hand, would you?”
“Fucking hell,” Daniel mumbled, fighting for breath that’d escaped him at some point. “Where- Where should we-”
“Help, dammit,” Leon gasped. Daniel’s eyes snapped back to him, in time to see his friend stagger under James’ substantially-greater weight. “Would you walk, you ass?”
James’ lips moved, and he shook his head slowly, but whatever he was saying, Daniel couldn’t hear. The pit in his stomach yawned wider.
“Okay,” Daniel said, darting forward. “Come on. We’ll- We’ll go out the back, and-”
Something hit his back—and stayed there, clinging to his jacket. Daniel bucked, twisting wildly. “W-What the-”
“Shut up!” something hissed. Someone. Daniel froze, glancing back over his shoulder.
Even in the darkness of the living room, Olivia’s skin was white as a ghost. She didn’t smile, or grin, or offer any sort of reassurances. All she did was stare at him with eyes filled with terror, enough to shine clearly through the murk. “Hurry,” she whispered.
Hurry? Daniel stared at her from under the hem of his hood, eyes round. If she wanted him to hurry, then something else must have gone wrong.
She turned away, striding for the corner of the room. Her grip on him didn’t loosen. Daniel stumbled backwards, caught between her and James. “H-Hey, let me-”
“Do you want to die?” she hissed, whirling to glare at him.
Daniel stopped, his eyes widening further.
She stared right back, unflinching—but he could feel her hand shaking, ever so slightly. “You trusted me this far,” she murmured, spitting each word out somehow despite the hushed tone. “Don’t stop now.”
He...couldn’t argue with that. He didn’t have to like it, but...they were in this fight a bit too deep for him to protest now. Not if she had a way out.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Leon’s head swiveling back and forth between Olivia and him. Tight-lipped, Daniel nodded.
Olivia’s expression softened, just a little. With the arguments rising from the front room, she turned on her heel, dashing toward the far side of the living room—and a door that waited there.
“Come on,” Daniel murmured to Leon, taking a tighter hold on James, and followed after her. She yanked the door open, exposing a bathroom beyond.
Again, Daniel’s steps slowed. A bathroom? Was she trying to get them trapped? His brow furrowed, a complaint rising on his lips.
Just as quickly, though, she hurled herself inside and pulled open a second door hidden just out of view.
Oh. She glanced back over her shoulder, a hint of something almost smug in her eyes, and gestured for him to follow.
The voices behind them rose to new heights. “Hey—Ian! Shit. Rudy, get over here, Ian’s-”
Daniel lunged forward, dragging James and Leon into the grime-stained bathroom. James didn’t clean, it seemed, and neither did any of his roommates.
It was all just a whisper, a fragment of a thought in the back of his mind to be stuffed away behind all the more pressing matters—like the people currently chasing after them with guns. Almost tripping over the bathmat, Daniel plunged onward, pulling his friends along with him.
The growing darkness pressed in around him. What few lights had been turned on in the rest of the house were gone. He could still make out the furniture around them, a dresser tucked in alongside a bed. And then-
Sunlight. He winced, throwing up a hand to shield his eyes. Not much of it—it was too early still for there to be much light—but even the grey haze of morning was like a flashlight-blast to his face.
Olivia stood before a half-open doorway, her face ashen. The master bedroom had an exit of its own, out into a tiny alcove that’d been half-heartedly gardened off the side of the patio.
Right then, it could have been bare, unkempt dirt for all Daniel cared. It was a way out. Sure, there might be enemies out there—but there were for sure enemies in here.
His lungs burning with every labored breath, he lurched for the door.
Olivia hung back as the three of them passed. “Come on,” she said. “Hurry up.”
Daniel saw Leon shoot her an irritated look. “If- If you’re going to complain, help.”
“There’s no room,” Olivia said, as though that explained everything. Leon opened his mouth, then shut it again.
Daniel’s gaze already drifted outward, searching the horizon line. The yells from inside the house were rising louder and louder, coming alive. Olivia threw the door shut, dragging a lawn chair over to jam against it, and cast a terse look his way. She knew, then. It would help, but it wouldn’t be enough.
He could see it, though. The path they’d taken to get here—and his car, sitting at the corner a block down the road.
Close enough. They’d make it.
“There it is,” he said, forcing himself to a jog. “Right at the end. Faster.”
“I got it,” Olivia mumbled. She kept up, somehow, even if her face was starting to go red with exertion.
James was doing his best to stumble along with them,
but Daniel wasn’t about to let go of him. “Hang in here,” he gasped, his eyes glued to the car.
“Uh,” Olivia said.
Daniel shook his head furiously. “No. No uhs, Olivia.”
“Uh, but-”
“That’s them!” he heard someone bellow from farther back. “Cyril!”
“Owl,” Olivia said.
“Shut up.”
“Owl, we need to hurry.”
As though they weren’t already hurrying. Daniel bit back a snarl, dragging James down the road.
The air was starting to crackle, tingling with an energy he couldn’t place. Olivia’s steps quickened, until she pulled out in front of them. She glanced back, though, wide-eyed. “Owl, just-”
“Olivia, don’t you fucking-”
“Run,” she gasped. “Right now.”
Shit. He couldn’t argue with the fear in her voice, any more than he could the odd sensation running across his skin. Like static electricity, but...wrong. Too widespread. Too strong.
Well aware that he was probably wasting time, he glanced back.
A group of figures was chasing after them—one towards the back, he recognized as the gunman from inside. Blood coated his face, but that only seemed to amplify the furious scowl he wore. Someone else jogged along at his side, a pair of dark eyes peering out from under a mop of unruly hair.
Two ran out front, though. Carrying pistols. Daniel took another step, almost tripping over his own feet. “Olivia!” one of them called. “Damn it, Olivia, would you just-”
“Run!” was all she cried, grabbing hold of Leon’s other hand and pulling. The look Leon shot her would have stripped paint from the walls.
Daniel picked up the pace, though, grabbing hold of James’ waist and all but lifting him from the ground. Because he’d seen it too—the man standing all the way in the back of the group, one hand upraised. Unlike the others, he wasn’t moving at all—but the clothing around him whipped in the throes of a wind that didn’t exist.
A mage. Hell, they might all be mages. But whatever he was doing, it promised trouble.
Daniel ran. His shoulders ached. His legs ached. Every breath he took burned in his chest. Olivia didn’t say anything else, and Leon didn’t argue.
Step after shuddering step, they raced down the street as the air thickened around them. Lightning crackled across his skin, and he saw James’ scraggly hair start to stand on end.
He could hear it, then—the energy, coalescing higher and higher, until-
For a moment, his vision went white. Thunder struck across the neighborhood, with an odd undercurrent that carried on long after it should have. The air hummed with the force of it. With a final crackle, the tingling across his skin vanished.
Daniel stumbled, then, smothering a cry. He pressed a hand to his face, wiping at his eyes.
“Shit,” he heard Leon mutter, echoed by a groan from James.
“Would you- We need to hurry,” Olivia said.
“I get it,” Daniel moaned, cracking an eye open. He took another step forward, but couldn’t keep himself from glancing back.
What he saw...didn’t make sense. It wasn’t real. There was no way that a wall of light itself could be springing from the ground behind him, slicing a piece out of the neighborhood as forbidden. Part of him longed to reach out and brush his fingers against it, but the ominous humming warned him otherwise.
“They missed,” Olivia panted. Beyond the exhaustion, though, the pride in her voice was unmistakable. The satisfaction. “But it won’t last. So come on.”
Sure enough,the figures chasing them slowed, their faces masks of fury. “Cyril!” one of the men out front roared. “God damn it, would you drop the barrier already?”
“I’m working on it.” Daniel heard the man’s reply despite the distance.
They were trapped, he realized. Whoever this Cyril was, he’d almost certainly wanted to drop that wall in front of them. And if they let him have a second attempt-
“Hurry,” Daniel said, Olivia’s urgency flooding through his veins. “It’s- It’s not far. Pick James up and-”
“I’m trying,” Leon mumbled. They lurched back into motion.
Just a little farther, Daniel told himself. Just a bit more, and he could rest his arms.
The men behind him were still screaming. Threats against this Cyril, mostly. Now and again, Daniel heard a click of something that sounded very much like metal on metal, and the image of their guns flashed through his mind again.
But it was okay. Their car waited ahead, right where they’d left it on the curb. Cyril there seemed like he couldn’t drop the barrier as fast as his friends wanted. They’d get in and they’d drive. No one would be able to stop them once they were in-
Once they were in the car.
The car that now seemed to be...shimmering.
Daniel slowed, staring at the vehicle in utter confusion. “What...What is it-”
“Damn it,” Olivia said. This time, her voice was filled with defeat. “God damn it. Owl. We have to go. Now.”
The car wasn’t shimmering, Daniel realized in horror. But the air around it was—like a mirage. Like heat waves. A trickle of smoke curled from the tailpipe. From the tires.
That….didn’t seem good. At all. “Hey,” he said. “Hey, what are they-”
Lights flickered inside the car. The seats. Flames danced up them, spreading from metal that suddenly seemed to be glowing red-hot.
He had long enough to ponder exactly how not-good fire was inside a car that ran on gasoline before a wall of light and heat erupted, racing toward them.
Well, his thoughts echoed, as the heat of the explosion washed over his face.
I guess we won’t be taking the car.
- Chapter Fourteen -
Gusts of hot air billowed off the smouldering wreckage.
Daniel stared. That...That had been his car. His thoughts slowed to a crawl. He loss of the car didn’t bother him—he could afford to buy another—but he had to survive long enough to do that.
And without the car, his odds were suddenly looking a lot worse.
A shape darted out before him. “Come on,” Olivia gasped, grabbing for his shoulder. “No time. Run. Please.”
Daniel blinked, taking a ragged breath. Leon was frozen, he realized. Caught perfectly in place, with James still hanging between them. They stared at the fiery wreck, glassy-eyed.
“Hey,” Daniel said, shouldering James for long enough to elbow his friend. “Leon. Snap out of it. We have to-”
On the third good whap, Leon’s eyes cleared. His chin snapped up—and he glanced over. Terror shone in his eyes more clearly than Daniel had ever seen. The sight was like a punch to his gut.
“We’ll be okay,” Daniel said. He started to walk, dragging both James and Leon along with him. “We’ll make it.”
Behind him, he could still hear the roar of voices. That barrier had popped up between them and their pursuers, but there was no way it’d last forever. They needed to be gone before it vanished.
His legs ached with every movement, but he forced them into motion. Leon was slower to react, but when Daniel pulled, he moved.
“Y-You could help,” Leon muttered, shooting a look at James.
James shook his head, blinking. Out in the early morning light, the bruises coating his skin were more visible than ever. Somehow, though, he managed to lift himself, drawing upright.
“I’m...I’m good,” he mumbled, the words slurred together. “Le’go.”
Was he, though? Daniel cast a worried look his way, but the man’s stubbornness seemed to be rising. He shrugged away from Daniel and Leon, staggering once, but didn’t fall.
“Would you hurry up?” Olivia hissed from ahead. “Do what you like, just come on.”
Daniel hesitated a moment longer, watching James until with one final, shuddering step, James broke into an unsteady jog.
That would have to do. Daniel hung back all the same, putting himself at the rear of
their group as they started to pick up speed. There was no consultation of where they were going. It wouldn’t have helped. The people attacking them were behind, and the neighborhood pressing in around them wouldn’t be any help. Forward was all that was left.
They ran. The smoke from the still-burning car faded out, leaving crisp air to burn at Daniel’s lungs. Ahead, the street ended, the houses melding out into a mishmash of businesses and the forlorn minigolf park.
To his exhausted eyes, it looked like heaven. They could vanish into the maze of rocky displays and chintzy windmills, out of sight and out of-
The crack of a gunshot from behind him was enough to send ice through his veins. Daniel lurched to the side, flinching away from the noise. Something clattered across the asphalt behind him.
Suddenly, James seemed to be running a lot more smoothly—and a lot faster.
As they sprinted, Daniel risked a glance back. The golden barrier was gone, finally, and he could see a man bent over between them and James’ house. Panting for breath, it looked like.
His eyes snapped to a cluster of figures farther ahead, though—and the man at its center. The gunman from the house. That rifle was off his shoulder now, pointing in their direction. He’d shot at them. Daniel’s hands started to quiver.
A pair of men clung to the rifleman’s shoulders, though, bellowing something incoherent. They hadn’t liked the man shooting at him, then. That was something.
If this goes on long enough, the others will arrive, his thoughts whispered. The people from Leon’s house. More people with guns, and the mage who made the ground quake, and-
“Run!” Daniel cried, bolting onward behind the others. “Keep going!” Not that they needed the encouragement, but he had to say something. Their candle of a chance was burning lower, little by little, and he wouldn’t let it go out. “You’re almost there!”
His eyes were on James. The man’s injuries were telegraphed in every shuddering, stumbling step, but he didn’t complain or even make a noise. Olivia ran at the forefront, hardly even glancing back.
Her terror seemed genuine enough, but...he couldn’t bring himself to trust her. Not fully, not yet. Maybe this was some sort of long con, a trick to get close to them. Daniel set his jaw, his heart pounding, and forced himself to focus on running.