Miss Quick

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Coming Apart and Coming Together

Out of the corner of my eye I see Chaste vanish. The shelf swings open, creaking on its hinges, and seven men file in one by one. They all look identical, even though it's obvious from their heights that they're not. They all dressed the same, in black hoodies, dark jeans, and black masks which only show their eyes. They are each carrying a large black gun.

"So, you all were really dumb enough to hide in here," the man in the center says loudly, stepping forward. His voice is rough and abraisive, muffled slightly by his mask.

"Lucky for us, he told us about this place. We knew about it probably even before you did," he says smugly.

Nobody says anything. Sweat drips down my back, and my heart is beating so loudly it drowns out every other noise.

"Take 'em in," commands the man, who I assume is the leader. The other men all take a step forward, prompting us to hold our hands up, but a second later the leader says, "Wait! Stop! One's hiding." He speaks louder so everyone can hear. "I know you're in here. You know why?" He answers himself. "We've got cameras. We can see everything that goes on in here."

My mind jumps to the time I came into this room with Josh and I go bright red. Apparently, my disguise can blush even though Ariah can't.

Despite the leader's demands, Chaste doesn't appear. The leader gives a hand signal and the man next to him pulls his gun on Tara, in the front. She flinches and lifts her arms up higher.

Josie steps up in front of Tara, shielding her from the gun. "No one needs to get hurt." I can see some of the graceful Jocelyn in her.

The man, undaunted, now aims his gun at Josie's forehead. "We'll see about that." He turns the safety off with a loud click and braces himself.

"No, stop!" Chaste shouts. He's suddenly there, and it's the first time he's appeared with a bang.

Reality rips apart, torn blindingly, and in line with the inevitable, deafening tear is Josie.

She convulses. There's a scream, it breaks through the black hole in my hearing, and there's red. Josie is on the ground. And she's morphing back into Jocelyn.

Then I feel it too, starting in my legs, and spreading to first my center and then my arms.

"Hey, what's she doing?" booms a man and points his gun at me. I can't speak or move.

"Don't shoot!" Smith shouts, hands up, and jumps in front of me. There's an explosion, and this time I see. The bullet gracefully leaves the barrel, flies through the air, and, staying true to its path, lodges, disappearing from my line of sight.

Smith's back knocks against my chest. He's on the ground and I'm kneeling next to him. I don't remember crying, but my face is wet. Smith's eyes are closed and his chest is leaking.

There's a pinching sensation in my thigh, and a shudder explodes out through me. I look down. A black dart is poking out of my leg. No, not a dart, a blur. I look up, and for some reason I can see the men's faces over their masks. They are horrible and grotesque, with wide, growling eyes and mouths stretched over long hooked teeth. I scream, but no sound comes out. The room spins, faster and faster, and knocks me to the ground. I feel a warm hand on my shoulder, and my body follows it, but then the hand is pulled away. Colors crawl over the walls, getting brighter and brighter, and the fire in the fireplace grows until everything is fire. Then it's dimmer, dimmer, until everything is black.

***

Black, black, and then less black. Light seeps into my vision blurrily. Then I can see a face above mine. Tara, I decide, since I can just barely make out the red frames of her glasses. Her voice comes to me next. "Ari? Ariah, can you hear me?"