The Gift of Chaos

16 - Going all out

"You're crazy!" Lucas cried.

"You can't go out there alone!" Scott exclaimed, horrified.

"You're safe here, and it'll be much faster that way," I insisted.

"Riley, there are at least a dozen monsters out there, you'll never make it by yourself!" Scott said. "You know that."

"It's that or we'll all die anyway," I countered. "Besides, I'm the only one who knows where the book is or what's in it."

Scott looked at me intently, not saying a word. I held his gaze. I appreciated his efforts to keep me safe, but the barrier wasn't going to last forever, not to mention that several people would be coming back to the village soon. My parents, for example, or Scott's.

"Fine," Scott finally said. "then I'll go with you."

"Scott, you can't," I argued. "Who'll protect the others?"

"They should be okay with the shield you put up," he answered, though his eyes seemed uncertain. "And we'll only be gone a few minutes, anyway."

"Yes, b-"

"I don't like this either, Riley, but I sure as Hell am not letting you go out there all alone."

I opened my mouth to argue, but the look on his face stopped me. I had never seen him look so... fiercely protective... of course, he would put his own life on the line for his sisters, but me...

"... Okay, then."

I turned to Lucas who was sitting on a chair we'd found for him so he wouldn't have to move his leg too much.

"You guys stay here, and don't move, okay?" I told him. "If the barrier breaks, hide. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Lucy, Mary, you're the eldest when we're not here," Scott was saying to his sisters. "So I'm counting on you to protect Lucas and... uh..."

He turned sheepishly to the little black boy we'd brought with us.

"Tommy," he said in a tiny voice.

He was still hugging his knees, trembling like a leaf.

"Tommy," Scott repeated. "Okay? They'll need you."

The twins nodded. Scott got to his feet and held out his hand to me.

"There's a back door, we'll take that to get out. Hopefully we won't be spotted," he told me. "Will your barrier resist if we go through it? Or if you're no longer in the building?"

"I only wish I knew," I sighed. "We'll just have to risk it..."

Scott heaved a small sigh, but nodded.

"We'll be back very soon, okay? Hang tight," he told his sisters.

He took my hand and we hurried towards the far end of the building where the back door was located. We soon found it, and pushed it open as carefully as we could. The shield was still up, it seemed. Holding our breath, we watched as I slowly reached out to touch it. I pressed my palm against it, and it stayed still. I then pushed my hand through it. It slid to the other side easily, but the dome remained intact. With one more deep breath, I stepped through it.

It felt like a strange mix of warm water and warm air. Dry and damp at the same time. I slid through it easily, and quickly turned around to see if it was still there. To my great relief, it was. Scott came after me, following my example and looking round too.

"Seems to be holding on," he said.

I nodded in agreement, but knelt in the snow again, pressing my palms into the cold white blanket. I winced at the cold against my bare skin, but stood still.

"Shield," I said again.

This time, a darker shield shot up from the ground and surrounded the school.

"There... it should work," I said.

"Let's hope so," Scott replied. "Come on, this way."

We hurried as quietly as we could toward out street? In retrospect, I was grateful he came with me. I would most likely have gotten lost in my panic. Scott took my hand again and led me behind the buildings. We knew that not trying to be quiet was risky, but we had no time to sneak through the village, even a tiny one like Hollybridge. With no clue how long my shields would last, the others could be in danger any second.

Soon enough, though, we found my grandmother's house. Luckily, it hadn't been damaged. Not yet, anyway. I pelted for the door, thrust the key into the door and turned it, Scott right behind me. The moment it was unlocked, I raced inside, up the stairs and into my room, with Scott on my heels. The house was quiet and dark. Scott only just kept me from flicking the light on reflexively.

There was one good thing, though. I hadn't seen my parents' car outside, so that meant they were still out of town. They were probably stuck in traffic because of the snow. I couldn't help but appreciate that, today.

"Here!" I cried, yanking the book from the desk where I'd left it.

I flipped the book open to the last page I'd written on. The last words I'd written were "The monsters banded together and marched onto the city". Which was had happened.

"... If this is what caused the monsters to come alive, then I think I know why they're still here. I haven't given them a purpose. I was planning on doing it later on in the story."

"Okay, so, what was their purpose?" Scott asked, leaning against the threshold with a frown.

"Uh... well, I... haven't exactly worked that out yet."I admitted.

"But how would the book have brought them to life, anyway?"

"I don't know... but it's the only thing that makes sense. They're exactly as I described them, exactly as I imagined them when I wrote them... the Icemen, the Treefoots, the Reinbulls...Plus, all this mess started only after I wrote in the book."

"That might just be a coincidence, though, right?" Scott pointed out. "I mean, it could be something completely different that caused the monsters to appear."

"Maybe, but if it is the book, it's my fault, and I have to put a stop to to it somehow."

I looked away uneasily, my sight suddenly blurry. I hugged myself and breathed heavily.

"Hey," Scott said, coming forward and squeezing my shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. You had no way of knowing what would happen."

That was true. But I still felt responsible.

"Come on, we have to get back to the others," Scott told me.

I nodded and wiped a tear from my cheek. Clutching the book tightly, I followed Scott out to the landing. Just then, a terrible roar sent shivers down my spine.