Chapter 5
“That's so interesting,” Kitty said for what seemed like the umpteenth time tonight. Almost everything Harry said appeared to be interesting. Evie fixated her eyes on him. She kept waiting for him to change into one of those fish headed creatures she witnessed in the library earlier. That would be her new definition of interesting with a mixture of terror.
As far as his companion went, he remained anything but that. His entire vocabulary seemed completely devoid of anything except for drinking, hunting, and of course, football. None of them had any bearing on Evie's interests. She kept her attention on him too, worried he might be a fish person in disguise. If he changed, that would make more sense than Harry.
He abruptly stood up mid-story and yelled, “Marco! What are you doing here?” He stumbled off to meet with his new friend. She felt impressed he made the walk without falling over his own feet. She discounted him as being a fish person. There appeared something about him that seemed to be lacking. She couldn't quite put her finger on what she sensed but he gave the impression of being too gawky.
She cast a glance at Kitty. Harry robbed his hand along her arm, seeming to listen to every word she said. Kitty ignored everyone else, her attention completely into him. She doubted either one of them noticed the other man leaving. They probably wouldn't even notice if Evie left. As far as being her wing woman went, Evie believed she did her duty. Now she’d return to wondering whether or not this man was actually a fish. Or, to be more precise, a fish headed guy who composed of dark green liquid instead of blood.
It seemed possible, she convinced herself, he drank so much the liquid stayed in his mouth until he needed to use his mouth for something. That might account for the gargling sound. It triggered the recent encounter because that thought remained fresh in her mind. Her subconscious felt like playing tricks on her. She took a heavy drink from her cup, fitting as much liquid as she could and then attempted to talk. She didn't gargle. In fact, she didn’t even speak without the liquid dropping out onto the ground. She discounted the theory as she wiped herself clean.
Evie whirled her finger in the air after making eye contact with Kitty, letting her know she planned to walk off for a while. She covered her dress in beer and needed to clean the spot. Without a sign of true recognition, Kitty being completely enthralled with the new man, Evie moved off in search of finding out more about what happened around her. She hoped this place wasn't packed with fish men.
As she moved once more into the kitchen, the place where everyone seemed to gather, she kept her ears alert. Perhaps someone else would offer insight into these people. She couldn't be the only person who comprehended they were fish under their skin. Or was it under their clothes? She didn't know where the fish aspect ended and the human part began, if it began at all. They could be fish shape shifters for all she guessed.
Passing a group of women, she overheard one of them talking rather loud. “Did you see her clothes?” one girl asked talking with a pack of like dressed individuals, “I never believe a size twelve squeezed into a two was possible.” Evie continued on. She recognized those types and they weren’t going to be any help in this situation.
“I stood there when he made the pass. I was like, 'Whoa',” another guy said, mimicking the move with his hands. A few guys around him joined in, adding their own comments about whatever game they talked about. Another group not worried about fish people.
One couple seemed intent on locking lips until tomorrow, their bodies pressed against one another and knocking into the empty red plastic cups lining the counter. Neither one of them appeared to be talking in garbled tongue. No gills were present and everyone seemed normal. Perhaps she understood the man wrong. Today had been a long day.
Pouring herself another drink, she looked up through the window facing towards the pool of the house. The first thought through her mind was how large it was. The expanse seemed to encompass almost the entire backyard, only a few places left vacant but filled with people at the moment. She took a sip from her cup and scanned the people standing there before abruptly stopped. The man from the library stood out there, his clothes the same he wore earlier. He seemed to move through the crowd, not staying still for long. He appeared to be searching for something. She believed he could answer her concern about whether or not these people were the same as the creature she saw before.
She placed her cup down on the counter and maintained her gaze on him, following his moves as she made her way through the door outside. She didn't want to lose him. He was the only one who’d verify she wasn’t going crazy. She mentally prepared the questions she wanted to ask him, each being more ridiculous than the one before.
Uriz looked up, catching a glimpse of Evie making her way towards him. He stopped, staring at her for a moment. She looked familiar but he couldn't place exactly where he remembered her from. He didn’t have to wait long until she got close enough to where he became comfortable asking politely, “We met before haven't we?” He tried not forgetting faces but this became hard when dealing with so many people.
“We did,” she said rather excitedly, louder than she wanted to. A few people turned towards her, all of them seeming to look critically at them. Both Evie and Uriz looked uncomfortably around. After a few seconds, the party goers turned back and resumed their previous activities.
She said in a low whisper, “We met in the library and that man thing came after me. You know the one with the...” She hesitated, unsure if she should bring up the fish aspect. Already she felt certain at least one person over here was one. There might be more, waiting to hear her out them and then attack.
“Ah yes, the Reacher. So you were today?” He looked off to the side in thought. If he barely remember someone from earlier today, he might be losing his edge. He needed to watch himself. She certainly did look different than the last time they met.
Her eyes scanned the crowd once more. “Who are you?” She understood he had to be somebody high up there to deal with these fish people – the Reachers she assumed. He might be CIA, FBI, or some other weird para-military branch of the government. She watched the television shows – she knew they existed.
He laughed seeing how nervous she felt in this situation. This was probably her first time dealing with extraplaner creatures. “I'm someone you should forget about. Trust me. You really don't want to get involved.” He started moving away from her, attempting to blend back into the crowd. Someone tagging along would only slow him down from accomplishing his mission.
She grabbed his arm. He wasn't leaving her in this situation all alone. “Not so fast. I think you need to know something.”
Turning around, he smiled as his eyes settled on her. She certainly didn’t seem to be going away as easily as he hoped. “And what would that be?” She probably called the cops on him or told the press about a monster roaming through the library. He’d handle that. After all, he wouldn't be around for much longer when they started asking questions. Someone else would do the clean-up.
She lowered her voice in a sound barely higher than a whisper. “I think there's one over here.” If anyone understood what she talked about, it would be him. She didn’t trust revealing this to anyone else. As far as she guessed, everyone over here she didn't remember was one of these fish creatures.
His posture stiffened. This is exactly what he hoped to find out. His eyes settled on her directly. “Are you sure about this?” He followed the trail from the man he fought in the library to this location. The only problem so far he appeared to be he didn't come across any of them yet. They seemed to be hiding.
“I'm positive,” she said with a confident look on her face, “He had the same gargling talk as before; his words sounding like he tried talking underwater. I didn't see him pull off his face and become a fish but I'm fairly certain he's one. You can check for yourself. He's in there right now with my friend.”
“Your friend?” He hoped he heard her wrong. His knowledge of women tended to lean towards the
pack aspect with many of them traveling around with one another. There was still hope – maybe her friend was a guy.
She nodded. “I just saw them. She always picks the weird ones to hang out with.” Kitty behavior tended to lean towards that side quite often.
“Oh come on,” he said rolling his head in exasperation. The Reachers might at least change their behaviors every once in a while and make it challenging. It seemed every time he met them, he stopped them from sacrificing some young woman for one reason or another. Routine became boring for him as well.
“What?” She didn't know what she said wrong.
He hesitated for a few minutes. Now he definitely didn’t want her to be around him. Just talking to him might land her next on their sacrificial altar. “Look, I need you to get out of here. Just,” he explained reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few dollars, “Take this and go buy yourself something pretty.” He smiled and tapped her on the shoulder as he made his way past without another word.
The last thing he needed to worry about was some human getting involved with a Reachers. Humans were always blind to the things happening around them. If they understood right now they remained in danger of being killed, none of them would have shown up to this party. Instead, he was dealing with over forty people hanging around and ignoring the signs. At least he got one person out of here. Saving her would be his good deed for the day.
“I don't understand,” she said accepting the money as he walked away. She looked down at the bills, wondering whether this was some sort of bribe to keep her quiet or what he was trying to do. She believed she became as involved in this as him. Yet when they first spoke, he told her to leave and she didn't. Her defiance almost got her killed. He was telling her to leave again.