“Hugh’s in jail,” I said, feeling like I just kept breaking bad news.
“How did that happen?” Lucy asked, a tinge of desperation finding its way into her voice.
I shook my head. “I don’t know the specifics. Dr. Briggs told me. We had a crazy night last night, I still feel like this is a dream.”
That’s when Theo noticed the bandages that wrapped my wrists. “What happened?”
“Somebody attacked me. Made it look like I was trying to kill myself,” I said, self-consciously pulling my sleeves up to my hands.
“That’s insane! What is wrong with these people?” Theo said, her voice sounding like a scream. Lucy hugged her daughter and Theo started to cry. I felt helpless in the moment, an ache surrounding my heart.
“Our cats won’t get out from under the bed. It’s like there’s a storm that won’t go away,” Lucy said to no one in particular.
There was a boom from far off on the street. The four of us crouched down low, and Henry gently pushed the door shut. He turned back to the rest of us. “We need to get out of here and to the safehouse, pronto. Things are only going to get worse before this is all over.” He addressed me. “The battery on the car finally died. We should check and see if one of yours works. But first, we need to arm ourselves.”
Lucy nodded, picking up a baseball bat that was leaning against the wall. Theo held up a sharp nail file. “Good to go on that count.”
They led us through the kitchen to the garage. All of her cute country decorations, the roosters and the barns and cows, cast garish shadows all over. Those shadows seemed to move of their own accord, and I stared closer. They were definitely restless.
In the garage, Henry wrenched open the main door.
“There should be a full tank of gas,” Lucy said. “I filled up for work before I came home last night. God―work―what is going on?”
“We will get through this,” I said as evenly as I could muster. I wasn’t so sure anymore, but I wouldn’t let my doubts consume me.
“Do you want to drive?” Henry asked Theo’s mom.
She shook her head and held up her trembling hands. “I don’t trust my reflexes right now.”
Henry got in behind the wheel and the rest of us filled the car. As he turned the key, the dashboard lit up weakly. It was making the same grinding noises as the other car.
“We think that all of the electronics and batteries are affected by that Dark energy out there,” I explained.
As the car pulled onto the street, we saw another group of hooded figures gathering at the end of the street. Henry made the vehicle soar past them, dodging through the random people and around parked cars. An oil drum was on fire on the side of the road.
“So many more people are a part of this than you thought, aren’t they?” Theo asked her mom.
“It’s like they really did recruit a whole army,” Lucy said, staring with scared eyes out of her window. “All of those people in hoods…half the town must be involved. I honestly thought your father was exaggerating when he told us about their support.”
Someone ran across the street, and Henry skirted swiftly around them. His face was staunch and serious, but he seemed to have regained his calm.
“You’re a pretty good driver,” I whispered, impressed.
“All of that practice playing racing games wasn’t for nothing, right?” He grinned a little at me.
We made it to the jail and parked in the back parking lot. It looked completely undisturbed, and there was no one around. I ran up to the back entrance, expecting it to be locked. But the glass was broken and it was hanging open. A horrible feeling settled on my chest. I pushed forward with Henry and the others behind me.
Using a lighter I’d found in Vanderlip’s car, we searched the building. Hell didn’t have a very big jail, and all of the cells were empty. No one was in the office, but drawers had been pulled open and their contents spilled all over the floor. More windows were broken in the front. I didn’t see any blood, though, or any sign of someone getting hurt.
“Do you think they transferred him out of town?” I asked the others hopefully. “There’s not even any drunks sleeping off their hangovers.”
“Maybe. It would be a good reason to get him out of the way,” Lucy relented. She patted me on the shoulder. “I’m sure he’s okay. Hugh is a smart and resourceful man, just like his daughter.
“Why are those shadows so close?” Henry said suddenly. I turned and saw that shadow figures had drawn up out of the corners and were moving in on us.
“They’re just normal shadows, chill out,” Theo said.
But Henry and I stepped backward. Red glowing eyes appeared in the shadow’s heads, and they grew more into humanoid shapes.
“Or not!” Theo corrected fearfully.
The four of us swiftly turn and ran back where we came from, pushing out the broken door. Across the street, a big white propane tank seemed to change and morph into a bear. I screamed, but none of the others seemed to see it. I looked again and saw it was just a propane tank.
In the middle of the street, a hooded figure was lying in a pool of blood. We crept closer, but I didn’t recognize the person’s gray face. Three shadows crawled across the ground to the body, and began to pull glowing lights from the body with the strong suction of their mouth-holes.
“What are they doing to him?” Theo asked in horror, looking at us with her green eyes wide and frightened behind her glasses.
“They’re eating his soul,” I said, wrinkling my nose. On the opposite side of the street was a line of lilac bushes that hadn’t bloomed yet. Standing among them was the dark figure of Ambrose Slaughter. He stared at me knowingly, his head tipped down, his eyes boring into me. Then he was gone.
“Was that Ambrose?” Henry asked, frowning in shock.
“Yes. Let’s get to the safe house,” I said, the hair on my arms creeping up. We piled back into the car, knowing we didn’t have much time. I thought I saw beasts running on far off streets as we passed and closed my eyes, hoping I wasn’t go crazy like the rest of them.
###
A quarter of a mile away from our destination, the car slammed into something unseen on the road. We jerked against our seat belts. The front of the car was smashed.
“What the hell…” Henry muttered, and unbuckled his seat belt. All of us dazed from the collision, we stepped out onto the road. A blockade made out of car parts and scrap metal was stretched across the road.
“I definitely don’t remember that being there,” Lucy said.
“The battery was about to die anyway,” Henry said, nursing a small cut on his head.
A girl in a hood stepped out into the middle of the road. The members of my group froze. I squinted and saw with confusion that it was Becky Long, a girl I’d been friends with since middle school. The black hood framed her freckled face, and she wore a wicked expression.
“I’ve found them,” Becky shouted to dead air.
“Shit. We need to move,” Henry said, grabbing my arm.
Becky looked back at us, muttered something under her breath, and held her hands out. Green light shot out and hit the fire hydrant on the curb, and water sprayed like a curtain in front of us.
“Split up and go around the alleys. They all lead back to the same place,” Lucy whispered loudly.
She and Theo took off running, and with one look, Henry and I split up. It was not a good time to be alone as I raced down the alley way. My heart pounded painfully in my chest and my already overworked feet stung. I didn’t know if I was being chased, but it felt that way. I wasn’t a great runner, but I moved as fast as my legs would carry me.
The alley was empty, gray on both sides. It seemed to go on forever, but I came out to the back and could see the thrift shop in sight across the road. I saw Henry pop out of an alley on the other side, and then Theo and Lucy together came running around. We converged on the back of the thrift store by the truck delivery exit.
Henry’s side
stitched again and he double-over and clenched the area below his ribs.
“Are you okay?” I asked, rubbing his back. He nodded at me after a minute.
Lucy was looking behind us. “We need to keep moving. Just a little bit longer, Henry, and we should all be able to sit down.”
He stood back up and we continued our run to the thrift shop. We followed Lucy around the back of the building.
There were cars. Five of them, all parked at the back of the building. Just the sight of them gave me an injection of hope.
We were all out of breath. Lucy banged on the door three times, then stepped back as if a bomb might go off. We all looked over our shoulders, paranoid that they might pop out and get us. Above the birds fluttered circling like vultures intermittent caws. Sweat was dripping off my forehead. Henry grabbed me and held me close. I could feel myself being looked at in the peep hole. At the same time I saw shadows shuffling around in the shadows. They started to creep towards us, and now everyone could see them. Theo cowered against me and Lucy’s eyes widened.
“The dark force is growing stronger. Those things are coming out of their hiding places”
She banged on the door again with both fists.
“Open the goddamn door! It’s me, Lucy!”
“Where do we go if not here?” I asked.
The door finally swung open. Standing there was my father.
CHAPTER 27
I PRACTICALLY FELL into his arms. I’d never been happier to see anyone. He hugged me as if I were a little girl. I sobbed and breathed into his chest. Tears were flowing from my eyes before I even got the chance to feel relief. They pulled us inside and locked the door again.
Hugh stroked my hair. “Thank God. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”
“How did you get out of jail?” I asked, pulling back to make sure he face free of injury.
“He was never in jail,” Detective Stauner said, stepping forward. I was instantly on my guard.
“Ariel, relax,” Hugh soothed. He ushered Henry, Lucy, and Theo farther inside. “I’m so glad you found your way here; I was worried you wouldn’t know.”
“I didn’t know,” I told him, at once angry now that I knew he was okay and with so many questions spilling through my brain. “What does he mean you were never in jail? They told me at the hospital―”
“Why were you in the hospital?” Hugh asked. “I tried to call you from a payphone but you didn’t answer.”
I hesitantly showed him my bandaged wrists. “They tried to kill me. Or just set me up for my own suicide attempt. Dr. Briggs wanted to commit me.”
“Those bastards!” Hugh said, his emotions erupted as he slammed a book beside him against the wall. He smoothed his hand through his hair and took my wrists carefully. “Are you okay? I mean, of course you’re not okay, but are you physically going to be alright?”
I nodded, tears threatening to return. “I think so. So, tell me how you got out of jail.”
“They thought they had me,” Hugh said. He led the four of us down the hall and into a comfortable sitting room, where enough candles burned to give it sufficient light. The candles had been burning for a while, judging by the puddles of wax. There was a decent sized group of twenty or so people in the back room, but Thornhill so far had shown that they had at least four times that many in their ranks. “But they were wrong. Stauner is one of us. He just pretended to take me into custody. I went into seclusion. That’s when I tried to call you. I was starting to worry when I hadn’t heard anything, and then when we woke up this morning and everything had gone to shit…” He shook his head, and hugged me again. “I’m just glad you’re here.”
Stauner nodded. “I don’t know what I’d do if my family was still in town. We were lucky my wife took the kids to visit her mother this weekend.”
“Is Gwen here?” I asked, thinking about her new baby.
“No, they moved to Livonia, remember?” Hugh explained. “She’s only been back a few times She had to find a new job somewhere. She’s been helping us some with the opposition, but she told me she needed to focus on her family. Best thing she could have done.”
Everyone took a seat in the little room, which I assumed must have been an employee break room for the thrift shop workers. All of the furniture looked comfortable but very worn. My Aunt Corinne was sitting by herself, flipping through a stack of her books. Madison Taylor’s parents were sitting in the corner. Mr. Taylor had his arm around his wife, who was muttering prayers.
“What is he doing here?” he asked shortly, indicating Henry. Henry seemed to bristle, his posture stiffening. I squeezed his hand.
“He belongs here,” Hugh said, putting one hand on Henry’s shoulder and causing him to relax. “I don’t want to hear anymore about it.”
“Why did they do this so early?” Henry asked. “I thought they were planning for next weekend.”
“Maybe they found out that we crashed their meeting,” Hugh offered. “Or they were just being very careful not to let anyone know the true date until it happened. That’s the most likely. If Phillip is as sick as you say, he’s out of time and out of options.”
“There are so many of them,” I murmured.
“We knew they were gathering a figurative army, but we just didn’t realize its size or scope,” Callie said.
“Do you think they found the necklace?” I asked. Now that I was sitting still, I could feel the dark crawling against my skin. I felt more tired than I’d ever felt in my life, and strangely hopeless. All the remaining opposition members looked equally abused.
“I have no idea,” Hugh said, staring at the floor. “It would explain why this Dark energy took over town.”
The others sat in silence. I looked at Detective Stauner. He was wearing a sweater and khakis instead of his usual freshly pressed suit.
“I thought you were on their side,” I accused.
“No, I never trusted Thornhill.” Stauner said, still standing. “I only told you what I did about that evidence because I really felt like it wouldn’t be enough. I didn’t know about your father’s group. I was doing my own investigation. They padded the pockets of so many politicians and names in town, it was impossible to take them down without video taped footage of the murders. They were like a cancer that metastasized to the whole body.”
“Why didn’t we see this coming?” I asked my father.
“I don’t know. I should have realized, with all the levels of communication Thornhill has, that when they said it would be next week, so clearly stated, that they were trying to throw us off.”
“Let’s ask Harlow.”
“Harlow?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.
The girl in question stepped into the room, looking like she was leaping into a piranha tank. Her shoulders were hunched over, her face free of its usual perfect mask of makeup.
“Did you capture her as a prisoner of war?” Henry asked sarcastically from where he stood protectively behind my chair.
“Look, I know you don’t know much about me, and what you think you know is mostly awful. But hear me out,” Harlow said, darting her eyes for possible attack. It was then that I noticed a few of them were holding household objects as weapons―a baseball bat, a knife. Jenna’s father had a lead pipe laying across his lap.
I didn’t want to hear her out. I didn’t like her―she had become Lainey’s new twin, after all. Just as evil and slightly more fabulous. But I listened anyway.
Harlow took a deep breath and stared down at her boots. Even during this apocalyptic time she was effortlessly beautiful, and I felt the tiniest sweep of immature jealously.
“Just tell me one thing first,” I spoke up. She looked at me, and I didn’t sense the hardness to her I had so many times before. She actually seemed human. “Did you steal my phone as part of the plot that almost got Theo killed?”
She blinked rapidly, and I realized she was holding back tears. “I’m sorry, Ariel. Theo. I didn’t know that’s what it was for. Lainey
just told me to take the phone, so I did. I didn’t really think about the consequences, I thought she was just pranking you.”
I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek. At least it satisfied my curiosity. “Go on.”
She steadied herself again. “I watched my father kill my mother,” she said. I held my breath and Henry’s fingers tightened almost imperceptibly on my shoulders. “It was when this stupid Thornhill thing started. My father was communicating with Phillip Rhodes and his team in Hell. When the others started to get sick, and when Phillip himself got sick, of course they would try to find one of the country’s best neurologists.
“My father had been interested in the occult for a while. He stopped going to church with us. My mom, Fiona, didn’t like what he was doing. She found out the truth about him. She said she was going to the cops with information she had about him putting down terminal patients, and with planning the sacrifices in Hell.”
“I was right there. And he shot her.” She swallowed hard, and I could see her wrestling painfully with her emotions. She was staring off at a distant spot so as not to cry “I had so much anger and hatred for him. I didn’t understand how he could do that to her, and he’s never explained. I went on with his little game, all the time knowing there had to be some way to go against him. He wanted me to befriend those girls, to play the part. My heart was hard enough that it wasn’t too difficult. I didn’t care about anyone. I’m still struggling to care.”
I didn’t know what to say. It was not what I had been expecting.
She turned her attention to me, fixing her brown eyes with mine. “When I found out that you lost your mother too…because of those monsters. I knew I couldn’t stay on their side anymore. They’ll destroy anyone who stands in their way.”
“There was a secret meeting with the inner circle,” Harlow explained. “Before the big show the other night. They told us May Day was the day, not what they’d said at the meeting. We’ve been using the code word “trick-or-treat.” Like, ‘we’re going trick-or-treating’. They’ve been planning for it for months but only announced that it was happening last night. I didn’t even realize how many levels of people were involved.”
Velocity (The Gravity Series) Page 21
