Maggie and Eli walk past lamp posts wrapped with green garland and white lights. "It's 6:30 in the morning," Eli says, gesturing at the crowds of people gathering along the street. "What's all this?"
A man dressed in a Santa suit, standing next to a swinging red can, belts out a round of Ho-Ho-Hos. "Merry Christmas!" he shouts.
Storefront windows proclaim Huge Savings! Deep Discounts! and Amazing Deals!
Maggie gasps in excitement. "Black Friday! It's the official start of the holiday shopping season. Do you know what this means?"
Eli's eyebrows pull together. He shrugs and shakes his head.
Maggie stares at him, wide-eyed. "All those shi shi shops in Dr. B's building..." She waits for Eli to finish her sentence.
He tilts his head. "So what?"
"They're opened. We can get into his building. We can get in!"
They zigzag through a crowd of shoppers, heads low and eyes keen on any suspecting glances or glares. By now, Joe knows that Maggie is gone, and Maggie is certain that he has told Connie all about it. Her picture is probably flying across the cyber world. And as for Eli, he's an escaped convict from the JDC. His picture is definitely out there, posted and pasted, reposted and repasted again and again and again.
"His office is on the top floor of a highrise," Eli reminds her. "What are the chances of us getting all the way up there without getting spotted?"
Maggie shakes her head. She shrugs. "I have no idea."
They pace down Congress Street toward Faneuil Hall. A line of shoppers wraps around a storefront window boasting 50% off flat screen TVs.
A man with a scraggly beard is shouting at a guy wearing a black knit hat. "Get to the end of the line where you belong, ya jerk!" A serpent demon slithers up Scraggly Beard Man's arm and curls around his neck.
Hat Guy grits his teeth. "I'm not moving." A second serpent demon crawls up Hat Guy's leg and tugs at his arm. Hat Guy curls his fingers into fists.
A punch to the face.
A push to the ground.
A flock of soldier demons hisses and jeers. Serpent demons slither up arms and around necks, devouring honest intentions and good will.
A brick flies through the storefront window, and orderly shoppers morph into crazed looters. Dozens of people storm through the busted window.
The shoppers on the street turn into a bloodthirsty mob.
Fist fights break out.
People are bleeding on the concrete.
Looters are running away with flat screen TVs.
The high-pitched wail of a police siren sounds in the distance.
Eli and Maggie grab hands and push through the chaos.
They race to the end of the block and melt into a crowd of pedestrians crossing the street.
Eli points. "There's Dr. B's office."
They pace to the building and push the revolving glass door.
A sea of people are buzzing around like frenzied bees.
"The first three floors are stores," Maggie says, pushing the up arrow button. "The rest of the floors are private office spaces, but the roof deck has public access. We'll take the elevator up to the roof deck and then take the stairs down to Dr. B's office."
ΔΙΑΒΑΖΕΙΣ
Blue on Blue
ΜεταφυσικέςSixteen-year-old Maggie Krane is tormented by sleep terrors and debilitating panic attacks. When she discovers that the people she believes to be her parents are really her aunt and uncle, her entire world is turned upside down. The news is just eno...
