Chapter 6
Evie watched the man walk away from her, mentally running through her list of possibilities. She might stay here and pretend to enjoy herself at this party. She might leave and find somewhere to hang out until this passed. Or she might run to catch up with him and find out what he planned on doing here. In her opinion, only one option reigned supreme.
She ran towards him, hoping to catch up before he moved too far away. “Why do you want me to leave so bad?” There had to be a good reason. He understood what was going on and she wanted answers. These creatures appeared unlike anything she ever saw before. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to break out of her mundane life and spice it up with adventure. She didn’t plan on missing her chance for anything.
He turned his face to the side, noticing her walking beside him. “Didn't you listen to what I said?” From the start he believed she planned on being trouble. No one hangs around during a fight with a supernatural creature and watches. Certainly nobody worries about their clothing afterwards either, preferring to scream or run away.
“I listened perfectly.”
“And yet you're still here.”
“It's what you didn't say that intrigues me.” Her intuition told her there appeared more to the story and she wanted to learn everything. These creatures had to be dealt with and she wanted to see someone handle the problem. He seemed like the perfect candidate for their destruction.
He laughed. “I see. So when I say for you to get out of here, you took my words as meaning for you to stay around.” He turned his head and looked at her skeptically. She should understand the look he gave. She should turn around right now and head off to anywhere else.
She caught his glimpse and smiled back. He wanted to get rid of her but she didn’t plan on letting him intimidate her. “I think I deserve to know what's going on,” she said confidently.
“Oh really?”
“Yes really.”
He stopped abruptly in mid-step. She overtook him by two steps before stopping as well. They looked steadily at each other for a moment. She knew if she looked away, he’d declare himself the winner and run off. That wasn’t happening.
He took a step closer towards her, noting her refusal to budge even with his authoritative action. Not many people stood up to him. He placed his face closer to her and said in a low tone, “Over here are creatures beyond your comprehension. The sole purpose of their existence is to create mayhem and destruction, killing all those who get in their way. You have no skills to save you. Once they catch you, and they will if you stay around, they'll sink their teeth into you and shred you before you utter your last word.”
She stood in the same position as before, taking in his words. She maintained her stance. “I'm not scared.”
“You should be terrified. The best thing, the only thing you need to do, is run from here. Hide somewhere and wait for everything to pass. I'm telling you for the final time to leave. If you chose to stay for some bizarre reason, I won't protect you. You'll be on your own against them.”
His eyes stared into hers and for a moment she saw something flicker in them. Something that made her scared. The emotion lasted only for a fleeting moment and once it passed, she couldn't comprehend what she witnessed. But this confirmed one of her suspicions – he was one of them. He appeared human but existed far removed from normal. “Who are you?” He didn't seem like a Reacher but it was possible. The other man she saw didn't look like one either and he proved to be later.
“You’d do best to listen. I'm the only thing standing between them and the destruction of your world.”
Their gaze remained fixed on one another. A portion of her mind, the one she refused to listen to earlier, screamed now. Her common sense wanted her to leave and forget all of this ever happened. Her feet refused to move. She sensed conflict within herself about what she should do in this situation. This wasn’t something she planned on being in.
She leaned in closer to him. Her heart beat faster. If he was one of these creatures, he may kill her right now if he wanted to. She doubted she’d put up much of a resistance. “What makes you think I want to miss it?”
He pulled back. Without a word, he tilted his head to the side, sizing her up. He began liking her already. He'd never say this aloud. Most people, when he told them that, decided to hightail it out of his way or even to run off and let the proper authorities learn about it. Instead, this young girl, she couldn't be more than four decades old, stood up to him. Greater men failed. “Who are you?”
“I asked first.”
“I'm,” he paused for a moment, wondering the best phrase to use, “I'm really complicated. Let's start with you.”
She took a step back, her body language becoming more relaxed. He didn't seem like he planned on killing her. That registered as a positive. She should remember never to do this again. She exhaled her caught breath and said, “Let me see. I'm a twenty-one year old who’s almost gained her degree but I'm still not sure exactly what I'm doing.” That summed her up nicely. It seemed sad in her opinion.
He smiled. “Twenty one’s nothing.” He was off by a few years but nothing serious.
“You know, the counselor told me the same thing but I didn't really believe him.” And by extension, she didn't believe this strange man either. Most of her friends already had some clear idea about where their lives headed while she sat waiting for...something. She didn't know what. This seemed like the perfect adventure to shake things up a bit.
“Your name?” He realized she didn't use it yet. He couldn't keep calling her strange girl. It would be hard to differentiate her from all of the other strange girls he came across.
She laughed. “I'm so stupid.”
He gave her a curious look once more.
“I mean I'm not really stupid but I should’ve told you before. Anyway, my name's Evie. Actually Evelyn but everyone called me Evie. Evelyn Garroway,” she said rather nervously. Her hands fumbled as she extended one towards him out of habit.
He shook her hand. At least she got nervous over something. He began wondering if she was a professional, hired to track either him down or the elemental fiends and playing a game on him. “Pleasure to meet you. Now, let's hurry and track down these Reachers. I don't feel like staying here for long.” He smiled at her and turned back on course towards the direction he headed earlier. His pace seemed to quicken.
“What about you? Who are you?” She tried as best as possible to keep up with him. Walking fast in heels proved to be a complicated task. She considered taking them off but that would only give her more trouble than it was worth. For now, she would have to keep up with his stride as best she could.
He shrugged. “Why don't you pick a name for me?” He had one of course – everyone did – but he doubted she’d understand it. There was even the chance, albeit a small one, that hearing his name might make her brain explode. He heard stories about elementals revealing their titles to good people and causing their destruction. He never witnessed someone dying firsthand from this knowledge so it was all speculation at this point. He didn't feel like taking the chance.
She looked at him carefully, taking in everything about his body. His jawline seemed determined, his dark hair slightly uneven, and his eyes seemed smoldering when she looked at them. “Eric?” It seemed like a good name. She hesitated thinking of a good one on the spot.
“Wow.”
Guess he didn't like it. “What's wrong with that?”
“Nothing if you want to be ordinary.” He hoped she would’ve taken the time to come up with some creative name. Instead she picked one probably millions of people had.
She sighed. “If you told me your name we wouldn't be doing this right now.”
He cast a delighted look at her. “If I told you my name, it would take all the fun out of the adventure.” It was all part of his plan to keep her distracted.
“I'll keep thinking of another one then. Something that won't make you go wow.”
/> “Just make me go wow in the good way.”
She laughed. “That's...anyway,” she said, feeling her cheeks burning, “Where are we going?” They seemed to be walking around the frat house. The building didn't seem any different from all the others on the cul-de-sac. The music died down as they continued moving away. No one seemed to be around here and most likely they shouldn’t be here either. Something strange happened, she just knew it.
“Do you always ask questions?” He tapped along the bricks of the building. He continued this motion with his ear pressed tightly against the wall. He shook his head after another tap, moving further down.
She nodded. “All the time. Especially when I know someone has the answers.” Her eyes resorted back to the location they left. A few shadows of people moved around but no one seemed to be approaching them. She doubted any of the Reachers would be pleased to see them hitting the side of their building, searching for something.
He gave a quick glance at her, a mix between admiration and incredibility. She was something else. After tonight, it might take two days to forget her. He continued moving around the exterior of the building. His knuckles rapped the wall once more.
“Okay I give up. What are you listening for?” She leaned her head against the wall as well, hoping to hear whatever he wanted. Maybe she’d spot it before him. The wall sounded silent.
“For...,” he explained tapping twice at one location, “For this.” He pressed his hand against the wall hard. The bricks started sliding out from their mortar, an opening of sorts appearing. Instead of the interior of the house as she expected, the resulting view seemed to be some steps leading downward into a dark abyss.
Evie's eyes opened wide. She had a feeling they were headed down there. That was probably where the Reachers stayed, sitting in wait for them to show up. She felt her throat tightening.
“Guess that's our next stop. Are you coming?” He extended his hand, waiting to see if she took it. Maybe earlier she was only talking about wanting to stay with him. Now that she saw the darkness they planned on entering, she might want to leave. He certainly wouldn’t hold it against her.
Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand.