From Gods

by Mary Ting

  “How about you, Skylar?” Mona asked.

  “Nothing from me either. I didn’t have anything worth much. Just my clothes.”

  “Good thing you girls are safe,” Jack said. “Or else I’d personally hunt them down.”

  “What are you going to fight them with, your wrinkles?” Mona teased.

  Jack laughed out loud. “Now, that was funny, but you would do a better job scaring them with your looks.”

  Mona scoffed playfully. “Well, you wouldn’t get much of a punch with your flabby muscles.”

  “Speaking of muscles, I guess all you have to do is sit on them.”

  Skylar and Kayla gaped back and forth, giggling from the humor between them, until Kayla jumped high off her stool. “Darn this phone. I forgot I put the phone in my back pocket.” She glanced at it, heading to the back of the diner.

  ***

  What ya doing?

  “It’s from Nick,” Kayla said to Skylar.

  Hello. Getting ready for rush hour. What ya doing?

  Thinking of you.

  What kind of thoughts?

  Bad, naughty thoughts.

  Giggle

  What are you doing after work?

  I have a hot date.

  You better be talking about me or I’ll have to get rid of him.

  Ha ha! Yes, it’s you silly. I like your jealous side. It turns me on.

  I’ll have to do it more often. What else turns you on?

  Just you. I gotta go. Some of us work you know.

  Meet me at the theater Monday after work at 8.

  Monday?

  I’m busy tomorrow. Bring your cousin!

  Bossy, bossy. And why the exclamation mark?

  Mason needs to get out more.

  Kayla walked out of the storage room to see Mona frowning at her.

  “Sorry.” Kayla batted her eyelashes and got back to work.

  Chapter 11

  “I don’t think I should go,” Skylar said, sitting in the passenger seat.

  “See.” Kayla placed her phone in front of her. “Read the text. ‘Bring your cousin.’ I think Mason will be there. This is great. It will be a double date.”

  “I do need to talk to him. What are we going to see?”

  “I don’t know. You’re okay with any movie, right? I know you don’t like to watch scary movies.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine. Just keep your eyes on the road,” Skylar said, feeling nervous, driven by the thought of seeing Mason again, but she needed answers. Something paranormal had happened that night, and though she tried to pretend that it didn’t just to stay sane, she couldn’t help thinking about the beasts. “Vultures” was what Mason called them, but to Skylar they were monsters—hideous, freakish, stinking, straight from hell creatures.

  After Kayla parked, they got out of the car and headed into the theater. The parking lot was pretty empty, but then again it was Monday night. From what Skylar could remember, Monday was the slowest night for moviegoers, even during the summer, especially in this small town.

  Skylar spotted the flashing sign of red and blue neon lights. It sparked a little excitement in her; it was good to get out of the house. Speaking of houses, Skylar recalled the question she’d wanted to ask many times before. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. Does the old lady still live in that house next door?”

  “Yes, why? You miss her?” Kayla giggled, nudging her shoulder playfully.

  “She does?” There had to be an explanation.

  “You can’t visit her because she’s on vacation,” Kayla continued.

  Icy chills ran down her spine. “Is anyone watching her house?”

  “No. Why are you so interested?” Kayla asked, striding faster. Her skinny jeans fit firmly down her long legs. She wore a black ruffled tank top and held tightly to her small black purse.

  Skylar had dressed plainly…shorts and a T-shirt with tennis shoes. She wasn’t going to dress up to impress, especially on a hot night. Even if he took interest in her, he’d have to like her for who she was.

  “Just wondering.” She didn’t want to tell her cousin she saw someone inside the house. She doubted herself lately, and thought it was best not to mention it.

  Nick waved his hand with a grin. When they approached, he gave Kayla a kiss on her cheek and to Skylar’s surprise, he did the same to her. “I’ve got tickets.” He fanned them out.

  Skylar saw three. Great! I’m the third wheel.

  “What are we watching?”

  “Zombie World.”

  “Great,” Skylar hummed softly, cringing, walking through the entrance.

  Nick halted abruptly and turned to Skylar. “Oh, I forgot to tell you…Mason will be coming soon.”

  “Okay.” Skylar gave a faint smile, but she was hiding behind the giant smile she gave herself inwardly.

  They arrived just in time, missing all the credits. As they climbed the stairs, the girls followed Nick. They passed a couple sitting smack in the middle of the theater. Besides them, it looked like they were the only ones. Nick kept on climbing until he reached the last row of seats.

  “I don’t like anyone kicking me in the back.” He took sideways steps to the middle seat, and Kayla sat between him and Skylar.

  Soon after, Skylar excused herself. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered. “I have to use the restroom.”

  “Okay,” Kayla whispered back. “Want me to go with you?”

  “No. Stay here. I’ll be fine.” Skylar quickened her steps down the stairs, rooting her eyes on the florescent lights below. Not wanting to miss any more of the movie than she had to, she swiftly turned left. She hated finding her seat in the dark, especially during a suspenseful part.

  Upon entering the restroom, she saw four stalls with dark gray doors that were all shut. Not knowing if they were occupied, she looked underneath the stalls for feet.

  With no one around, especially since she didn’t see anyone while heading to the restroom, she had a bad case of goose bumps. She brushed off her thoughts, thinking she was scared for no apparent reason, but her heart thumped faster by the second. She finished her business as fast as she could, pumped soap in her hands, lathered it up, and placed her hands under the sensor.

  As thoughts of when Mason would meet them circulated in her mind, she dried her hands and pushed the door to exit. She pushed again, but the door didn’t budge. What the heck! She pushed again—nothing.

  Suddenly, a pipe burst and water gushed out. She turned, leaning her back against the door, wondering what to do next. Heaving with jagged breath, she started banging on the door with all her strength. “Help!”

  A second pipe burst and water poured from it just like the first. Skylar couldn’t fathom what was happening. Even the toilet water was overflowing. Seeing water rising, she called for help again, banging on the door in desperation. Recalling that no one was around, she was sure that no one could hear her cries for help. Her cell phone was in her purse, which she’d left with Kayla. But surely she would be fine, she reasoned. The water would seep out through the tiny opening at the bottom of the door. But she soon realized as the water level was rising, it wasn’t happening as she expected.

  Think, think, think. Thinking she could turn the water off, she trudged through the cold water that felt like the ocean and was now up to her knees, pricking painfully to every nerve in her body. She was already starting to feel numb. Wanting to survive, she touched all the knobs, buttons, and anything else she could put her hands on to shut it off, but it was useless; there was nothing she could do. The pipe had a mind of its own.

  Skylar was drenched from her waist down. Shivering, she scanned the room and noted there was no way out. Of all the ways she could die, this was the way it would happen—drowning in a bathroom with toilet and sink water.

  It happened so fast she didn’t see it coming. A vine like seaweed slithered through the broken pipe, grabbed her ankles, and dunked her into the water. She recognized it as the same slimy something that ha
d attacked her at the beach. She once again tugged, yanked, and pulled for her life, but to no avail.

  Running out of breath, she managed to hang onto the sink and push herself up for air. With a loud, sharp gasp, she took a breath and sunk back in from the force. She went through the same cycle several times to catch a few breaths, but then it became impossible when the water level rose higher.

  Just when she thought all hope was lost, it released its grip. The water flowed back to where it had come from, as if someone had pushed the rewind button on a DVD remote.

  “Thank God,” she mumbled, collapsing on the ground from exhaustion.

  Unexpectedly, she felt arms cuddling her, carrying her out the door. Immediately, she knew it was him. Being in Mason’s arms made her speechless, and she didn’t want to move a muscle. He laid her down on a wooden bench and bent down on his knee.

  Skylar held her eyes closed, but opened them slowly when he brushed the strands of her hair away from her face. Afterward, surprisingly, when his hand slid down tenderly to her cheek, she felt a slight tingling sensation around the area that he touched. Whatever it was that she felt definitely came from him. It was like something between a mild shock and heat, but it wasn’t painful; in fact, it felt pleasurable and soothing, and she didn’t understand how he was doing it.

  Peering up, she caught his eyes as they held hers, through space, through time, through her soul. Sparks flew and some kind of connection Skylar didn’t understand erupted through her. Though she didn’t want this feeling, she had no other choice, for her heart longed to know him even more.

  Mason blinked his eyes, looking frazzled and concerned. “Are you okay?” His tone was softer than usual.

  Anchoring her trembling hands on the bench, she raised herself up and rested her back against the wall. “I think so. I’m drenched.” My mascara. Great! I wonder how I look. “You opened the door and saved me. How did you know I was in there?”

  “I just got here. Nick told me you were in the restroom. He asked me to check on you.”

  “Good thing you came…but…but…?” Tears pooled in her eyes. She buried her face in the palms of her hands. Looking up, her glassy eyes shone as pearl drop tears trickled down her face. She was mad at herself for being weak in front of him, but she was more afraid of how he would react.

  Though he showed a tender side of himself tonight, she couldn’t help recalling the times he was rude to her. But what puzzled her most was that the supernatural encounters, things that happened only in the books, television, and movies, happened only to her. And somehow, he was there to save her…but why wasn’t he flipping out like her?

  How was it that he didn’t find the situation that just happened to be anomalous? Either he had had extraordinary encounters of this kind before, or he was good at hiding his true emotions in front of her. Regardless, she needed answers. “Am I going crazy? I don’t know what’s happening to me. If you know something, please tell me.”

  To her surprise, he was calm—too calm. He didn’t answer her. Instead, his eyes revealed sadness, and she couldn’t comprehend the reason for it. Her stare was broken when he stood tall. “You’re wet. You should take off your clothes.”

  What a way to avoid a question! Skylar blinked her eyes in disbelief. Did she hear him correctly? “Excuse me?” Not wanting to assume he was really asking her to strip off her clothes, she didn’t move a muscle, but the way his piercing eyes laid on her, she might as well have already been naked. Then she inwardly gasped when he started to unbutton his shirt. Her eyes shot to the floor, then back to him, and then to the floor, wondering what she was supposed to do in this awkward moment.

  “Here. Go change in the restroom. You don’t want to catch a cold.” He placed his shirt in front of her.

  She looked up to see him shirtless for the very first time. With all the right curves and tightness, he looked like a statue of a god. He was beautiful and perfectly toned, with satin-like skin, which looked like it would be smooth to the touch. And there was a small tattoo shaped like a lightning bolt on his upper right arm, toward his shoulder. Way too sexy!

  As warmth flushed her face, she tried not to stare, but there was no way around it. “Umm…you won’t have a shirt,” Skylar said, thinking that was the most idiotic thing she had said so far, but she couldn’t think when he was half-naked in front of her.

  “I’m not cold, but you will be.”

  Mason was right. Skylar didn’t realize she was shivering until she placed her hand out to take his shirt. The adrenaline from the initial shock had kept her warm, and now it was wearing away. The blasting air conditioner didn’t help either. “Thanks.”

  Just as she pivoted right toward the restroom, even though she was deathly scared to go back, Mason gripped her arm. “Wait. Don’t go in there without me.”

  His sudden protectiveness surprised Skylar, but then again, he had saved her. With a nod, he gestured for her to lead. Walking back into her nightmare, her blood pressure soared faster than she could keep up. But when she entered, surprisingly, she was calm, for two reasons. First, Mason was with her, and second, the restroom was in one piece, as if it had never happened. After she’d had enough of looking at the sinks and the stalls, she turned to Mason.

  “Oh…I’ll turn my back.” He turned away from her. “I have a really nice view—white ceiling…mesmerizing; and a clear view of myself from…the mirrors…so many mirrors. Mirrors…everywhere I look.”

  Skylar giggled and lit a small smile. Underneath that stiff heart of his, he had proven he had a sense of humor.

  After slipping her arms into the sleeves of his shirt, her eyes followed her hands as she buttoned it quickly from bottom to top.

  “Okay…I’m done.” She looked up expecting to see Mason’s back, but he had already turned and faced her.

  Skylar turned red. “You…you…just turned, right?”

  He pointed to the left, to the right, and to all the mirrors in the bathroom. “Do you girls need all these mirrors? Can’t get enough of yourselves? I thought you were done.”

  “You could’ve closed your…eyes,” Skylar scoffed, feeling embarrassed.

  “What would be the fun in that?” he smirked.

  He was right. Every direction he turned, he had a clear view of…her. Whatever. She justified that seeing her in a bra was like seeing her in a bikini top. “Well, next time, make sure you do.”

  Unsure whether he was uncomfortable by her remark or he was simply ignoring her, he didn’t say a word. “Let’s get out of here,” he suggested, opening the door, looking as if his mind was deep in thought.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” she asked, folding her shirt to hold as she stood by the doorway.

  “Later.”

  “No, I need to know now,” she demanded.

  “Let’s go. It’s not safe here.”

  Cold chills pricked along her spine from his words. First, Skylar gazed around cautiously. Then she glared at him, walked out, and headed to theater number ten.

  Suddenly, Skylar jerked back when Mason grabbed her hand. She couldn’t believe he was holding her hand. Not only that, he pulled her close to his chest…so close, almost into a hug.

  Her eyes drifted to his, unable to look away as if he held a spell over her. She could see so much love, tenderness, and the possibilities behind his rude, egotistic, arrogant attitude. She blinked and retreated back a few steps when he released her abruptly, as if he finally realized he was holding her longer than he wanted to.

  “We’re not going there,” he stated, as if his words were final.

  “We’re not going there?” When did I become a part of “we”?

  “No. We need to talk.”

  You got that right. I’ve been asking you like so many times. It’s about time. “Yes. We need to talk. Where should we talk then?”

  “At my house.”

  Skylar gulped nervously. “At your house?”

  “Are you going to repeat everything I say? I s
hould just call you Echo.”

  There he goes again, back to Mr. Rude. “I’m not repeating. I’m just asking.”

  “If you don’t want answers to your questions, then fine with me.”

  “What? I’ve asked you so many times, but you won’t answer them. I’m not going to beg.”

  “Umm…that might be interesting.” He arched his brows, giving that tantalizing smirk he did so well…the kind that made butterflies dance in her stomach, the kind that made her want to just pull him in and plant her lips on his.

  “Are you kidding? Take me to your house.” She couldn’t believe she’d just said that, but enough was enough. “I need to tell my cousin and get my purse.”

  “You don’t need your purse. I’ve already told Nick.” Without her permission, he snatched her wrist to hold and tugged her out the exit door.

  After a few strides, she yanked her arm back to her chest and stood her ground. Gritting her teeth, she peered up to him angrily. “I can walk by myself. And next time, ask me first before you make a decision for me.”

  With a nod from him, not knowing if that was an answer to her request, he led the way to his car.

  Chapter 12

  Mason opened Skylar’s side of the door. When she stepped out, she was still holding onto her T-shirt. Mason placed his hand out, asking for it. After she reluctantly gave it to him, he placed it on the passenger’s seat. “You don’t need to carry that around. I’ll leave it right here in the car.”

  Skylar nodded and looked past him. She didn’t want to freak out from the grand size of his house, but her eyes deceived her. Passing the long, enormous steel gate upon entering the circular driveway, she should have known she would be setting her eyes on a mansion. She had seen big houses in magazines and newspapers, but never had she been this close to one.

  As she followed Mason’s footsteps to the front entrance, her eyes were still glued to the house, observing the elegance of it. Though it was dark, the surrounding lights were enough to reveal the beauty. Red rose bushes edged the cobblestone path leading to the front door. To the right was a huge water fountain with an ivory statue of Zeus, lounging in the middle, but she wasn’t sure if it was him. He looked majestic and proud.