His eyebrows shot up. “Is that right?”
I bit my lower lip. “Yes. And after seeing Travis’s powers, I’m having a hard time not believing him.”
“Now listen here,” said Henry with a determined look on his face. “There is no way in hell that I’m letting these people touch Adria, by golly. So, you just worry about your sister and keeping Bryce happy. Pay no mind to what that feller told you.”
“It’s kind of hard not thinking about it,” I said. “We’re talking about the devil.”
“Wild, don’t underestimate me,” he said. “Especially right now. Hell, I’ve gotten my second wind and I’m in the mood for a little Copenhagen and a little ass kicking,” he patted his shirt pocket and frowned. “And it looks like I’m all out of chew.”
I chuckled. “It appears that we never run out of the latter, though.”
“You got that right,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
Still chuckling, I walked over to the edge of the black hole and looked down. “You know, I wonder what’s really at the bottom of this?”
“I don’t know and frankly, I don’t want to ever find out,” said Henry.
“Can I look in the hole?” asked Kylie.
I turned to her. “Yeah, but not with Adria in your arms. I don’t want her getting near this thing. You know, just in case.”
“Look,” said Nora. “I can hold Adria. I really don’t care if she’s wet.”
“Okay,” said Kylie. “I just want to get a quick peek at the hole.”
“No problem.” Nora walked over to Kylie. She reached over and touched Adria’s cheek. “Hey there,” she said in a soft voice. “Remember me?”
The baby stared at Nora.
“Here,” said Kylie. “Don’t be shy, just take her.”
Nora grinned and accepted the baby. “My, you’re as light as a feather.”
“Kylie!” hollered Kristie, rushing down the escalator. “Oh, thank God you’re okay!”
Kylie squealed and then ran towards her mother who was crying.
“Kylie,” sobbed Kristie, holding her close.
“I missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too, baby. I was so worried,” said Kristie, closing her eyes.
Paige smiled at her sister over her mother’s shoulder. “Missed you too, Paige.”
“Me too, Ky,” said Paige, squeezing her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You really are okay?” asked Kristie, pulling away. She touched her forehead and studied her face.
“Mom… I’m fine,” said Kylie, reassuringly
Paige walked over to me. “Seriously, you had us all worried when that jerk took off with you in his truck. Did you teach him a lesson?”
“No,” I replied sullenly. “He took off.”
“Too bad.” Paige turned towards Nora and her face paled. “Uh, who gave her the baby?”
Kristie quickly released Kylie. “Hey, Nora, why don’t you give me Adria? She probably needs a diaper change.”
Nora shook her head. “No, that’s okay,” she replied, backing away. “I’ve got her.”
“Nora,” said Paige in a stern voice. “Give my mother the baby. You’re getting way too close to the hole. You might drop her.”
Nora looked at the baby and her forehead wrinkled. “You know, something isn’t right, here.”
“What do you mean, isn’t right?” I asked.
“Nora,” warned Henry. “Watch out for that hole.”
She didn’t say anything, just stared into Adria’s eyes.
“Nora, are you okay?” I asked, taking a step towards her. I wondered if all the stress had finally gotten to her.
She licked her lips and then looked at me. “I’m totally fine. Here,” she said holding out Adria by her armpits. “You can have her if you want.”
I reached out and grabbed the baby. “Thanks.”
Kristie walked over to me. “I’ll take her. Like I said, I’m sure she needs a diaper and formula. Tiny said he’d return with some.”
I handed her the baby and turned to Nora. “You sure you’re feeling okay?”
She smiled. “Yeah, why are you guys’ so paranoid? I’m fine. Really.”
A low hum echoed from the hole and we all turned towards it.
“Oh, hell, now what’s going on?” said Henry.
Nora and I both stepped closer and peered inside.
Small red lights. As they moved closer, they reminded me of eyes.
“Oh my God,” I gasped. “Are those what I think they are?”
“Shit,” hollered Henry. “Everyone, find cover!”
“Follow me,” ordered Kristie, running towards a woman’s clothing shop with Adria. “We’ll be in the dressing rooms until you guys kill those damn things!”
“Cassie!” yelled Bryce.
With my heart pounding wildly in my chest, I turned towards the sound of his voice and began running in that direction.
He opened up his arms, obviously expecting me to enter them, but instead, I ran past him. “Run!” I yelled, hearing the loud screeches behind me.
Henry’s shotgun went off.
“Cassie, watch out!” yelled Bryce as dark shadows loomed above us.
I covered my head with my arms and kept running.
“In here!” hollered Bryce, grabbing me by the arm. He pulled me into a shoe store and then to the back room.
He slammed the door shut and then turned to me. “Thank God you’re okay,” he said, pulling me into his arms.
I rested my cheek against his chest and closed my eyes. “I’m sorry. I know I messed up. Again.”
He pulled away and looked down into my eyes. “No, I messed up. I should have let you come with us into the police station.”
I smiled sheepishly. “It’s okay. I understand. You were just trying to protect me. But, you know… I can take care of myself.”
He smoothed the side of my hair. “I know you can, but it’s frustrating for a guy like me.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
He lowered his face until his lips were almost touching mine. “I want to be the one that keeps you safe. Me. Your fiancé.”
“You do,” I whispered, still loving the sound of that.
Fiancé.
His lips touched mine for a brief moment. “Only when you let me,” he replied, a smile tugging at his lips.
I smiled back. “True.”
A scream from somewhere in the mall separated us. “That sounded like Paige,” I said in a shaky voice.
He swore. “Figures. I want you to stay here. I’m going to take a look and see what’s happening.”
I stared at him in disbelief. Hadn’t we just talked about this? “Bryce, I can help.”
His looked down at my hands. “Do you have a weapon?”
I sighed. “No.”
He leaned forward and kissed my lips quickly. “Well, then there’s a better chance that you’ll become a liability if I let you ‘help’. Just…wait here and I’ll come back for you.”
“But…”
He raised my chin with his fingers and looked into my eyes. “Hey, no weapon and no but’s.”
I rolled my eyes.
He chuckled and ran away.
I sighed and then began looking around for something to use against the creatures. Unfortunately, there was nothing but shoe horns and shoes.
“Cassie! You back here?” A voice hollered when I was searching the back bathroom...
Nora!
I stuck my head out and smiled. “Hey. Are they gone yet?”
She smiled. “Pretty much. Bryce told me to come and get you. We’re leaving soon.”
“Thank God.”
“I know, right? I’m so sick of this place.”
“Me too. Before we leave, I need to get my sister from Nordstrom’s.”
“I’ll go with you after we find Bryce,” she replied.
“Where is he?”
“I think he’s still back by
the hole.”
“Is Paige, okay? We thought we heard her screaming.”
“I think so,” she replied, stepping over a pile of shoe boxes. “But I don’t know for sure.”
We walked out of the stock room. “God, I hope one of those bat-things didn’t get her.”
“Me too.”
We walked out of the store and through the corridor. When we made it back to the center of the mall, I noticed three dead flying creatures, two with gunshot wounds and one with its head bashed in.
“These things are so… creepy,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “I wonder how many of them came out of the ground.”
“Oh… about a dozen,” she replied, stepping over another one.
My eyes widened. “You stuck around and counted?”
She chuckled. “Not really, I hid under a bench. You should have seen it though. It was kind of funny… everyone was screaming and you all took off in different directions.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said dryly. “Really funny.”
“Well, I thought it was kind of comical. Then, a few minutes later, the flying things pretty much disappeared and Bryce came back. When he noticed that they were gone, he told me to come and find you. I bet he went to go search for the others.”
“Yeah. Uh, do you know where’s Kristie and Paige are?”
She shrugged. “Guess I’m not really sure.”
I glanced over at the hole. “Jeeze. I hope nothing else comes out of that thing. It’s already freaking the hell out of me.”
She walked over to the hole and stared down. “Oh… I suspect that something will be coming out of it. Obviously, it’s here for a reason.”
I shuddered. “Okay, then let me rephrase that – I hope that we’re out of here before anything else makes an appearance.”
She smirked. “Scared, huh?”
My eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, aren’t you?”
“Not really.”
“Well, you should be,” I answered.
Her eyes glittered. “Tell me, where does your faith lie?”
I bit back a smile. A religious conversation with Nora, who was more than likely an atheist, was bound to be interesting. “I’m a Christian. What about you?”
She shrugged.
“Hey, I’m sorry about Billie,” I said, studying her face. On the outside she appeared to be holding it together, but that was Nora. She didn’t like to show many emotions.
“Me too. I really needed him.”
“He really cared about you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
I sighed and looked around. “Well, I’m not sure what’s taking them so long, but I need to get my sister before she leaves Nordstrom’s. Could you wait here and tell Bryce where I went?”
“Wow, come here for a second,” she said, lowering to one knee.
“What?” I asked, walking towards her.
“Something is definitely happening.” She squealed in delight. “Check it out!”
I looked into the hole and saw a flash of light. A chill went down my spine. “What in the heck is happening now?”
“It’s time to get this show on the road,” she said, standing up.
I tore my eyes away from the activity in the pit. “What do you mean?”
Her hand snaked out and grabbed the back of my hair, wrapping it around her fist. “Just like I said,” she hissed, pulling out a knife. She held it up to my neck.
“What are you doing?” I gasped.
“It has to be you,” she said, her eyes beginning to glow. “You are the ‘Chosen One’.”
“Are you freaken crazy?”
“Shut up, bitch.”
I stared at her face in horror. Her eyes were glowing, just like Billie’s had. “Oh my God!”
She smirked. “Oh, you’ve finally figured it out? Took you long enough.”
“Travis?” I replied hoarsely.
“Bingo.”
“Wild. What’s going on?” hollered Henry, coming towards us. “Nora, what in the hell are you doing?”
“It’s Travis!” I choked, wondering if I should try and get her knife. We were dangerously close to the hole. Too close.
“Hey, don’t even think about it,” she growled, pulling my hair cruelly.
“What have you done to Nora?” I asked.
She grinned evilly. “Oh, she’s here and hating every minute of this. Unfortunately for you, she can’t help you at the moment.”
“Nora, fight him,” I said, staring into her eyes. “Please fight him.”
“Leave her go!” yelled Henry, now shuffling towards us.
“No!” she snarled, holding the knife to my throat. “I need her. She’s the ‘Chosen One’. She even admitted it earlier.”
Henry stopped and raised the gun. “If you don’t let her go, I’ll pull the trigger.”
“Then you’ll kill all three of us,” she replied. “Which right now, I’m actually okay with.”
Henry’s face fell. “Please,” he begged, lowering the gun. “Don’t do this.”
She glanced over her shoulder, towards the dark pit and smiled. “The light… it’s getting brighter. The bridge is opening all the way.”
“The bridge to Heaven?” asked Henry.
She burst out laughing. “Hell no, old man. Are you really that naive?”
“Stop!”
We all turned to see a small boy walking towards us.
My eyes widened in shock when I recognized who it was. “Oh my God… Bobby?!” I gasped as our eyes met.
Chapter Twenty
Cassie
“That’s enough,” said Bobby.
“Son, come on now. Don’t go near them,” warned Henry, grabbing Bobby’s arm. “You’ll get yourself hurt.”
Bobby looked up at him. “It’s okay, Henry. I’ve got this.”
Henry stared into the boy’s blue eyes, surprised at the level of understanding reflected there. “How in the world did you get here, boy?”
“Cassie’s grandparents,” he replied.
My grandparents!?
“Who’s this boy?” snarled Nora.
Ignoring her question, I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Where are they?”
“They’re in Nordstrom’s, getting Allie,” he replied and then smiled. “I’m supposed to be waiting in the car, with Belinda. She fell asleep.”
The light from the hole intensified and Nora tightened her grip on my hair. “Enough of the chit-chat. Let’s finish this.”
“Please, just let me go,” I said, my teeth clenched. “I’m not the ‘Chosen One’. Seriously, I just made that up.”
“Oh, I’m about to let you go,” she replied, smiling darkly.
“Wait,” said Bobby, raising his hand. “Cassie is not the one you want.”
Nora’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Bobby!” hollered Bryce, now running towards us. He slowed down and stared at me in horror when he noticed what was happening. “Nora! What in the hell are you doing?”
“Who is this boy?” snapped Nora, holding the knife closer to my throat. “Tell me now or I’ll slice your throat open.”
“Let her go,” demanded Bobby, in a firm voice. “She doesn’t know.”
My mind was reeling a mile a minute. Bobby was so young and had Down’s syndrome. He certainly wasn’t acting like himself.
Kristie and the girls all gasped in horror when they rounded the corner and saw what was happening.
“Tiny!” hollered Kristie, her face turning white.
Tiny walked around the corner, carrying a box of diapers and froze in place. “Oh shit, I forgot to warn them.”
“You forgot? How could you?” hissed Paige.
Tiny dropped what he was carrying and slowly walked over. “Okay,” he said, raising his hand. “Everyone needs to calm down. Nora, you’re dangerously close to that hole. You need to let Cassie go.”
“No, this is close,” she said as the tip of the knife pierced my skin.
“Let me go,” I begged, feeling t
he blood trickle down my neck. “Please don’t do this.”
“Oh dear God,” cried Kristie. “Nora, honey, let her go!”
My eyes met Bryce’s and for the first time since everything began, he looked frightened. “Wait,” he said, holding up both hands. “Don’t do this. Don’t hurt her.”
“Oh, how sweet,” said Nora. “You can join her if you’d like.”
Bobby’s eyes glittered as he took another step towards us. “It’s me that you seek, demon. Let her go.”
Nora’s eyed him curiously.
“No Bobby!” I begged. “Please, just get away from us.”
A white light began emanating from his body.
“Bobby?” I whispered in awe.
“What do you know,” said Nora, her voice getting deeper. She pointed the knife at him. “It really is you.”
“Let her go and you can have me,” said Bobby, as the light became brighter.
“Bobby, no!” hollered Bryce, moving towards his brother.
“Stay back!” ordered Nora, pressing the tip of the knife into my neck again. I gasped in horror as more blood trickled down my shirt.
“Let her go,” demanded Bobby. “And you’ll get what you want.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why would you offer yourself so easily for this… girl?”
“Because I love her,” he said. “I love all of them.”
My heart swelled. “I love you too, Bobby.”
He smiled. “I know.”
Nora snorted. “Oh how pathetic you all are.”
“It’s him!” hollered Father Brambati, from out of nowhere. He raced towards us. “Can’t you feel it?”
“Of course I do, imbecile,” snapped Nora. “Nice of you to join the party.”
The priest stepped forward and stopped, staring at Bobby in fear.
Bobby shook his head sadly. “You chose the wrong path, but you can still be forgiven. All is not lost.”
“Don’t listen to him,” said Nora. “
The priest looked uncertain.
“Would you just grab him already?” demanded Nora.
Father Brambati took a hesitant step towards Bobby.
“Touch him and I’ll kick your ass,” hollered Bryce, taking a step towards the priest.
Just then, a bright reddish orange light rose out of the hole, blinding everyone momentarily. It was quickly followed by darkness and then a smell so foul, it made me gag.
Zombie Games Book Five (End Zone) Page 13
