a book,” Simone said, adjusting the stack of magazines in her arms. “You think that’s the same one from earlier?”
The black, two-door BMW was parked in the far corner away from the lamps.
“It’s a pretty popular model,” Dane said. “Alex may know.”
“No one inside but the librarian.”
“Able to afford that car,” Dane said, “maybe I’ll consider being a librarian.”
“Let’s go.” Penny passed at a brisk pace, keys jingling in hand.
He and Simone caught up with her.
The Brussels sprouts-knot tightened his stomach. It didn’t help that Penny seemed just as freaked out.
“Another book on symbols?” Dane asked, glancing at the book Penny carried.
“Something like that.” Penny studied him. “You okay?”
“Got an uneasy feeling,” Dane said, running his hand through his hair.
“No,” Penny said, “did you hurt yourself?”
“Huh?”
“She means your limp,” Simone said, lamplight filling her glasses.
Heat radiated Dane’s face. For once, he was thankful for the darkness. He forgot he limped unless someone brought it up. Sometimes he’d catch his reflection off a storefront window and be astonished to see his awkward gait. That couldn’t be his reflection!
“He was born with it,” Simone said, breaking the silence.
Yes, born with it. He traced the face of his bracelet. He was the injured gazelle, the one the herd left behind: the easy prey for the alpha male lion. Or was it the lioness that did all the hunting?
“Sims,” Dane said and clearing his throat. “You mind if I ride shotgun on the way back?”
“Sure.”
Simone was trying to squeeze sanitizer from her small bottle.
Dane took the stack of magazines.
“Thanks,” Simone said. She rubbed her hands together. “You want some?”
“I’m good.” The top magazine was a Popular Science.
“I’ve got those subscriptions digitally.” Simone pocketed the bottle. “But with the internet flaking out I figured best to check some out.”
“Light reading or for the cause?”
“Just a hunch.” Simone took the magazines.
Dane made sure he was the first through the line of trees.
All at once, the streetlamps went out.
“The parking lot lamps are out, too,” Penny said, her quivering voice making her sound like a little kid.
Sinister sidewalk shadows crept in dragging nightmares of demonic eyes and neck piercing fangs. Alex and his mom were right. He had to stop reading the horror graphic novels.
The street, a vacuum of space, elicited not a single sound. No crickets chimed, no dogs barked, and no muffled music from the apartment complex across the street. Not a single light came from the three-story building. All dark, like those eyes. There was nothing but the elevated pounding of his heart and Simone’s quick breathing.
Penny’s keys rattled. Her hand trembled.
“It’s only like 9:30, right?” Dane asked not wanting to light up his phone.
“Yeah,” Penny said. “Library closes at 10:00.”
“It’s a holiday weekend,” Simone said. “Parties. Music. Conversations. Stuff should be going on, right?”
Dane’s stomach clinched. Stuff was going on, just not the right stuff.
“In the van, now.” Penny stepped to the driver’s side and opened the door.
Dane walked Simone around the back of the van. He stayed on the outside; shielding her from what…he didn’t know. He was grateful he hadn’t had Brussels sprouts for dinner. There would be no chance of kissing Alex tonight after blowing bits of vegetable greens.
The only other vehicle on the street was a compact car parked too far away to tell if anyone was inside it.
The van’s side door rattled open, echoing down the street and letting who or what in on their position. Dane gulped down bile.
“That was fast,” Paul said, taking the magazines from Simone so she could climb in.
Dane bit into his cheek. What did Paul mean by fast? If Collin hadn’t been with Alex and Paul, what would they’ve been caught doing? Heavy breathing, caressing fingertips, lips tasting—
Stop! Dane closed his eyes on the mental make-out movie and re-opened them on the far off car, possibly a Volkswagen Bug. Were those two silhouettes inside it?
Dane opened the front passenger door. It bellowed, assaulting the stillness. Once more, he studied that lone car. Was the passenger side window rolled down? Lightless fear shoved at him and he couldn’t climb into the van fast enough.
Penny started the engine. The Blue Beast barely chugged to life.
“At least it didn’t back fire this time.” Penny said.
Dane meant to smile back, but Penny’s grin had disappeared. Her eyes looked past him with unfiltered fear.
Someone in the back screamed. It was high pitched so it was either one of the girls or Paul.
Dane tried to shut the door, but it wouldn’t close. Slowly, like a dream, he turned to see what evil blocked his door. The shadowed figure reached for him.
23
Dane blinked at the hand on his arm and the shadow attached to it. The van’s dome light revealed not some Anne Rice or Stephen King vampire, but a human, a female. She wore a black blazer and had a dimpled chin. Her vibrant blue eyes scanned the inside of the van.
Had she come from the car down the street? How had she snuck up on him?
“I’m Agent Baker. Her British accent was heavy with urgency. “You’re all in serious danger.”
Agent! A real life spy! “I’m Dane.” It seemed a very dumb thing to say.
“I know,” the agent said. Her eyes darted down the street and then back inside the van. “All of you need to exit the vehicle and come with me.”
Her grip was a vice on Dane’s arm.
“I’m the babysitter,” Penny said, sounding unsure.
Penny’s words made Dane feel small, childish.
“Agent Baker, where’s your car?” Alex asked.
The agent pointed at the compact BMW. After a slight pause, she said, “I’ll drive.”
Penny didn’t hesitate moving out of the driver’s seat. She made her way to the back, sitting between Collin and Alex on the rear bench seat.
The agent climbed in.
Air stuck in Dane’s chest. There was a moment of eternity: the agent’s firm legs pressed into his lap. His shorts had bunched up, so the agent’s pants were on his bare thighs.
The low ceiling bent Agent Baker to him. Her hair tickled his face.
She whispered in his ear, “I know you’re enjoying this.”
Her foreign pressure was off Dane before he could reply. He shut the door and was glad the dome light turned off.
Agent Baker settled into the driver’s chair, put the van in gear, and started into a three-point turn.
A flash of red light filled the front of the van, freezing Agent Baker’s shocked face in time. She flew into Dane, knocking him into the door.
The smell of burning flesh invaded his senses. Dane’s eyes found the hole in Agent Baker’s blazer, the singed fabric glowed amber.
The black hole created in the agent’s bicep birthed a horror Dane would never forget: red neon vines wiggled out. Skin and flesh curled back. Not vines but more like worms, the tips, the heads, wrapping around her arm. They pulsated with life and purpose.
Dane pushed Agent Baker away, not to help her, but to distance himself from that alien organism burrowing from her arm.
A distant car door slammed shut.
The driver’s side window had a massive melted hole in it, curling like cellophane cooked in a microwave. In the street, the looming figure strode towards the van.
“We need to move! Now!” Dane screamed.
Agent Baker made a guttural, animal sound. She reversed the van up onto the curb. A dull thud lurched the van forward.<
br />
“We hit a branch!” Alex yelled from the back.
Dane looked past the agent. The thing coming for them was darker than all around it, like some Wild West villain. The monster raised its gun.
Dane couldn’t look away from the gun pointed at him. In his dreams, the end of the red-lit barrel was in his front yard and in daylight.
“Fl-fl-floor it!” Collin commanded.
The Blue Beast completed the turn and hit thirty-seven miles per hour faster than ever before.
Another red laser exploded into one of the back doors, crunching metal.
“Buckle up,” Agent Baker ordered, her voice weak with pain.
Seatbelts clicked.
Dane didn’t reach for his belt. Terror tethered him. In his side mirror: the Volkswagen’s lights blazed, sharpening the monster’s black figure and wide hat, like some creature from ancient times.
24
Dane grabbed the oh-crap handle above the door. The Blue Beast slid through the intersection, fishtailing into a right turn.
“A laser just skimmed the back,” Penny said, “and caught a tree on fire!”
Agent Baker gunned the van. The library blurred by.
“This fast enough for you, Alex!” Dane yelled.
“Not really,” Alex yelled back. “They’re gaining on us.”
In his side mirror, the Volkswagen’s lights approached. “Oh, Miss Bond—”
“It’s Agent Baker,” she said, slamming what appeared to be a cell phone onto the windshield.
“Holy Hellraiser,” Dane said. “How’s it sticking on?”
“Agent Baker reporting.” She winced, staring at her glowing bicep.
The phone’s screen lit a blue wave, which modulated with its male voice, “How may I be of service, Agent Baker?”
“Totally tech-rageous,” Simone said, leaning forward.
Simone’s face was almost level with Dane’s. The phone’s light gleamed in her teeth.
Dane understood her