by Bryan Cohen
"I think I've got an itch you can scratch."
With its razor-sharp nails still extended, Ted forced the creature to bury the claws in its own chest.
Ted assumed he'd been shot or stabbed, because there was no other way to explain the unreal pain that went through his body. He looked down to see no blood or knives, just his hands in the same position as the Lychos claws. He watched the beast collapse forward, as he wrenched his consciousness out of the now-deceased mind. Ted's body convulsed on top of the minivan. The memory of the pain remained as he clutched at his burning chest. Allison had been by his side for at least a minute before he realized it.
"Ted?!" Allison touched his face. "Ted?"
His heart was beating so fast, he thought he might pass out again.
Allison stroked his cheek. "You're okay. You stopped it."
Ted looked up into her calm eyes. He started to breathe more slowly. The memory of the claws driving into his chest began to fade, as did the pain from his arm.
Allison smiled. "There we go."
Ted looked past Allison to see the Lychos on the ground, its claws sticking into its blood-covered chest. The creature was motionless.
"Didn't his mom tell him not to play with knives?"
Allison looked at the creature and then back at Ted. Her eyes widened. "You were in its head. You made it stab itself and you screamed because you felt it too. Did you know you could do that?"
"The control part, yes. The killing it and feeling its pain thing, no." He touched at his chest, which continued to feel wounded. "I wouldn't recommend it." He put his arm around Allison's shoulder. "Can you take me home?"
She nodded and helped him down from the roof. He stumbled by her side as they got to the creature's corpse.
"What're we gonna do if this keeps happening?" Allison asked.
"If what keeps happening?"
She swallowed. "If they keep getting bigger."
Chapter 36
Erica's head felt as heavy the previous few days as it did today. At least, she thought it'd been a few days. It just as well could've been an hour or six weeks. The drugs they were pumping her with made her thought patterns cloudy. She was in a small room with no windows that made it nearly impossible to tell what time of day it was. That seemed like it was by design. Senator Kable's design.
From what she'd seen in the last week, Erica felt like she had more than enough evidence to bring a case against the senator. That is, if she and Yoshi were ever able to escape.
Yoshi.
Erica hadn't seen the samurai since she'd left the basement. Perhaps if she hadn't been so interested in snooping around, the two of them would've escaped with what they needed.
No. He wouldn't have let us. He knew we were there.
Erica had tried to get out of the bed on multiple occasions. On what she thought was the second day, she actually succeeded, but that only resulted in a face plant on the cold, wooden floor below. When a nurse rolled her back over, Erica tried to attack the attendee. Her strength was so sapped by whatever they were pumping her with that the nurse didn't even realize Erica's malicious intent.
"It's okay. We'll get you right back into bed, Ms. Kable."
Erica figured the senator told them she was a wayward cousin whose bad behavior could ruin his chance at election. Whatever the story was, they didn't know who she really was. Her efforts to speak were typically met by confused looks, and even if she could put a whole sentence together, she wasn't sure it would do her much good.
On the third day – at least she hoped it was the third day – Sandra entered the room. After ruling out the possibility she was an apparition, Erica strained to get up. She made only a tiny bit of progress on her pillow before Sandra pushed Erica's arms down on the bed.
"It's so rewarding to see you like this. It kind of puts the entire war into context."
Sandra looked different than when Erica had last seen her. There was makeup caked on her face that made her look more mature. Erica supposed that Sandra's natural, punk appearance wouldn't fly as a newlywed to a Presidential candidate. She looked at least a decade older than she really was.
Sandra must've noticed the path of Erica's eyes and touched her own face. "Yes, it's hideous, isn't it? I'm in the makeup chair for an hour every day. I wish there were an easier way, but infiltrating the White House makes it all worthwhile."
Erica wanted to scream. She wanted to stab Sandra in the throat with a nearby needle and run. The emotion coursing through her body came out as little more than a simple cough. She could feel the saliva trickling down the side of her neck.
"Aw, you're like a baby, Erica." Sandra dabbed at the drool from the corner of Erica's mouth with a tissue. "And we'll keep you this way as long as we want."
Sandra gave Erica a playful pat on the face and headed toward the exit. Erica strained with all her might to get the words out.
"Kill me."
The sentence was so scratchy that Sandra had a difficult time making it out at first. Once she did, the former waitress smiled with glee.
"Wouldn't that be something?" She ran back over to the bed and leapt onto Erica. Erica was so drugged up, she could barely feel the weight of the dark soul on top of her.
Sandra grabbed one of the pillows from beneath Erica's head. "Wouldn't it be great if I just choked the life out of you? You would die in agony and we could drop your lifeless corpse on your boyfriend's doorstop."
Sandra pressed the pillow against Erica's face. She braced herself for the lack of oxygen, but before she could even be deprived of one breath, the dark soul took the pillow off.
"But then, you'd go back to the Realm of Souls and tell them all about me and Kit and the plan." Sandra placed the pillow back underneath Erica's head and planted a kiss right on her lips. "So we're not going to kill you. You and your friend still have some value to us."
Erica's rage dropped by half.
My friend. Yoshi's still here.
Sandra got off the bed and walked back to the door. "By the way, it's been really fun getting everybody's worried text messages. Too bad they'll all be dead before they find you."
With that, Sandra left.
Another day passed. During the middle of the night, Erica had seriously considered biting into her own tongue. If she bled enough, she could die and cross back over. Losing this body and life would be one of the worst things she'd ever had to endure. They'd likely keep her on the Realm of Souls to help coordinate the mission. Meanwhile, Ted would remain on Earth. There was a chance she'd never see him again, but she'd have the intel the light souls would need to fight against Senator Kable and Sandra.
Kable. Who is he?
Erica assumed he was a dark soul like Sandra, but there was no guarantee of that. Perhaps he was like Redican, another person who'd been harmed by the war between the dark and light souls. Someone who wanted Ted to fix all the problems in the world. If only things were that simple.
Erica let the night go by without trying to injure herself. She felt less hazy the following morning, and her arms and legs seemed to move a bit more freely. Erica hoped her body was starting to develop a tolerance to the drugs. Short of someone finding and rescuing her, building up an internal resistance was her best hope of getting out. When a bright light filled the room, Erica squinted her eyes to adjust. There was a figure in the doorway carrying a tray.
At first, she assumed the silhouetted man was Senator Kable, finally paying her a visit after he'd taken her out. But it wasn't Kable. It wasn't Sandra, either. Her lips curled into a smile when she realized it was Yoshi. As he approached her, the smell of eggs and bacon wafted over. The joy that built inside her began to recede.
He's bringing me food. He's working with them.
Erica felt her fingernails dig into the mattress. Yoshi's face was completely neutral as he took the chair beside the bed. Erica's mind filled with curses and questions. Between the rage and the medication, Erica conveyed everything with one simple word.
"
Why?"
Yoshi scooped up a forkful of scrambled eggs and moved them toward her mouth. She chewed and swallowed. There was no reason to refuse the food. Besides, maybe it would give her body what it needed to resist the drugs.
"The years since you died weren't easy." Yoshi's words were dry and practiced. "Nobody could replace Kikuchiyo, and I knew the only way I'd see him again was to be the best."
The food caused Erica to cough, and Yoshi raised a glass of orange juice to her mouth. The eggs went down hard, burning her throat as they passed.
"I became the best." He gripped the fork tighter as if it was a weapon. "And yet, I was still passed over."
Erica was torn. She'd been tricked and betrayed by someone who felt like a brother to her. Then again, she knew the unusual ways of the light souls could be downright frustrating.
"When the senator contacted me with an opportunity, I knew it wasn't about reuniting with my friend anymore." Yoshi stared deeply into her eyes.
His look was dark and twisted. The boy Erica had known in Japan was long gone.
"I knew it was about power." His smile sent a shudder down Erica's spine. "And power can be earned… or taken."
Chapter 37
Natalie and Christina's first stop was campus security. A balding man who resembled a turtle ambled over to the two of them. When Natalie blurted out the details, the man took notes for the first few seconds before raising his eyebrows.
"So you're saying there are lizard-people on campus?"
Natalie grumbled at the man's tone. "Yes, like the ones on the news a couple of weeks ago."
He nodded and pasted on a smile that Natalie immediately wanted to smack off.
"I hadn't heard about that." The man put his notepad back underneath the counter. "Was that before or after the mutant spiders took over New York?"
Natalie was about to hop over the counter when Christina held her back.
Christina looked into Natalie's eyes and took a deep breath. Unintentionally, Natalie did the same. She felt some of her rage dissipate.
"Don't worry." Christina patted her on the shoulder. "I got this."
Natalie crossed her arms and looked back at the turtle man.
Christina cleared her throat. "Sir, important question before we leave. Who gets blamed when the students die?"
That wiped the grin right off the rotund man's face.
He stammered. "Ex–excuse me?"
Christina grinned as if she were in a beauty pageant. "See, one of these monsters put a half dozen police officers in the hospital in Pennsylvania. Since the students don't have proper combat training, I imagine these 'lizard-people' will kill some students." She paused for a moment to flutter her eyelashes at Natalie. "I just wanted to know who gets the blame here after they get killed."
The turtle man didn't respond. He simply picked up the phone and made a call to someone with real power. His tone of voice went from joking to meek in a hurry. By the time he hung up the phone, he looked more like an albino turtle.
"Thanks, ladies. Please go back to your dorms. We're instituting an immediate curfew."
Natalie nodded. "Good to know someone smarter is doing the thinking for you."
Christina waved goodbye and they made the trek back to her dorm room. The mass exodus of thousands of students to their rooms or off-campus apartments was amazing to behold. When the dorm came into view, Natalie looked up at eight stories of insanity. At least three sets of speakers blared hip hop as dancing and screaming filled every balcony. She watched as one girl ran down the hallway at full speed in her flip-flops. She didn't make it to the end before slipping and landing straight on her back. The students around her cheered.
Natalie looked behind her as more teens packed themselves together. The hundreds of conversations muddled to the point she could barely hear herself talk.
"I wonder if we stand a better chance with the lizards."
Christina raised her eyebrows twice. "Oh, come on. I know you're not used to fun in Treasure, but we're gonna have some tonight."
Several players from the basketball, softball and field hockey teams started up a party in one of the study rooms. Natalie tried to focus on meeting people who could be her future teammates. Instead, all she could think about were those creatures out there. Someone handed her a plastic cup filled with a sweet-smelling liquid. Natalie smiled politely at the person before placing it down on the windowsill. She'd watched enough TV and movies to know that mystery drinks could spell trouble.
Natalie looked around at dozens of athletes and other students acting like they were having the best time of their lives. She felt her chest tighten. Plenty of people had chatted with her and told her why their school was the place for her to be. At that moment, she just wanted out of that room.
She shifted between the bodies and walked until she found a quiet outdoor stairwell and sat. A breeze mixed with the chill of the concrete beneath her thighs made her shiver, but at least she could form a cohesive thought. She considered texting Travis or Dhiraj. Maybe even Ted.
Natalie wondered if she was cut out for the social aspects of college life. After all, before Dhiraj and Ted chatted her up, she wasn't much for using words. She played and trained and played some more. When she left her friends, would she be able to find new ones, or would she always be the person in the corner?
The door at the top of the stairs opened, which made the music louder until it shut. Natalie looked back to see a boy who couldn't have been much older than a freshman walking down toward her. He held one of the plastic cups she'd turned down and sat beside Natalie.
Natalie considered using her death stare to get the guy to leave, but she didn't want to be labeled as an ice queen.
The boy's eyes were barely open he spoke. "I know who you are. You're the one they're all recruiting."
Natalie did her best to put on a normal smile. "Hi, I'm Natalie."
She extended her hand, which he grasped and shook way too high and too low. "Sam. I'm thinking you should go here."
Sam took another sip from his cup and nodded as if she'd asked him a question.
"Oh yeah?" Natalie put a little distance between them on the step. "Why's that, Sam?"
Sam left his cup on the step and ran down the stairs. The boy almost tripped on the second to last step, but he regained his balance before reaching the ground-level pavement. He seemed almost proud of himself for standing.
"I'm gonna show you." He motioned her over. "Come with me."
Natalie sighed. "Sorry, Sam. I'm really comfortable right here."
Sam looked harmless, but Natalie knew better than to sneak away with some guy she'd just met. Plus, it was starting to get dark.
"Oh come on. I'm gonna show you a part of campus that gets really pretty at ni–"
One of the creatures Natalie had seen earlier ran so fast toward Sam that she might've blinked and missed it. Natalie only needed to catch a hint of green to identify the Draconfolk before it threw the boy over its shoulder and dashed into the nearby trees. Natalie yelped and knocked over the syrupy liquid from the cup beside her. She felt her heart pounding.
"What happened?"
Natale looked back to see Christina at the top of the stairs. "One of the lizards just took Sam into the forest!"
Christina reached her side. "Really? Harmless Sam?"
Natalie wondered briefly what a nickname like that could do to a kid. "He's gonna be Bloodless Sam if we don't save him. Come on."
Natalie didn't think twice about running off into the trees, and Christina followed right behind her. It wasn't until she remembered just how much trouble one of these things had caused her and Erica that she doubted her decision. Natalie felt the endorphins build in her system. Leaves crunched beneath her feet as she tried to get a view of Sam, but it was far too dark to trust her eyes. Before she could get her bearings, she heard the beast approach from the side.
When it tried to get a grip around her waist, Natalie gave it a sharp elbow in the jaw and ran.
Her eyes darted in either direction to find a potential advantage. The creature was so close behind her that she could hear its gurgled breath. She ran for a large tree, leapt, kicked off it with her left foot and swung the right foot toward the lizard's head. It didn't expect the attack and took Natalie's shot right to its face. The beast brought one hand to its cheek and let out a gurgled yell. Natalie stomped hard on the lizard's foot, and when it bent over she socked it in the neck. The creature reached for its throat with one hand and for Natalie with the other. Its claws tore through her shirt as she tried to wrench free. The lizard tightened its grip and she could feel the sharp nails digging into her arm. The creature yanked Natalie closer.
Her face was about three inches from its face when the beast opened its mouth and screamed. The stench of the breath mixed with her fear made her stomach turn inside out, but she refused to back down. As she screamed back in the lizard's face, Natalie heard something zip through the air and nail the lizard in the face. The beast yelped in pain and released its grip. Natalie hadn't seen the first projectile coming, but the second one whizzed beside her head and struck the lizard in the chest. She backed away and looked toward the thrower. Christina Finley windmill-pitched another softball-sized stone in the lizard's direction. This one hit the beast square in the head with a crack and sent it straight to the ground.
Natalie gave it a light kick in the side to see if the beast was still conscious. When it didn't move, she smiled at Ted's sister.
"That was awesome." Natalie rubbed at her arm. The creature hadn't drawn that much blood, but the pain lingered.
"Nowhere near as cool as that kick off the tree. Did you see Sam?"
Natalie shook her head. As she did, she spied another hulking shape coming her way. And then another. "We better get back to the dorm."
Natalie and Christina were about to exit the woods when a blue portal opened up right in front of them. It whirred with electricity as the bright ring grew wider. Natalie half-expected another Draconfolk to come popping out. Instead, it was the stout, pale woman she'd come to know as the gatekeeper. Natalie's stomach flipped once again.
