Decay (9 page)

“Why not? It's sweet.”

“Me and sweet don't go together.”

“Sure you do. You're like a sour gummy. Once you get past the outer layers, you're soft and squishy.” She nudged him in the side.

Orlando gave her a sideways glance. “Are you saying you want to lick me?”

“No!” She could feel her cheeks growing warm, however. “How do you get licking from that anyway?”

“These are nice dream catchers,” Orlando said and moved to a new table.

He was impossible to read. She followed him and admired the intricately woven dream catchers. Many had beads, charms, and feathers attached, and all of them were at least a foot in diameter.

“Nightmares?” she asked, but his attention seemed to be elsewhere. His gaze was on something further down the hall, and his brow furrowed deeply.

“Dallas...?” he whispered.

She frowned in confusion. “Huh?”

“Nothing,” he said and shook his head quickly. “Thought I saw someone I knew.” He paused and stepped away from the dream catcher table. “Anyway, I don't have nightmares. I don't tend to dream often.”

Angela sensed he was lying, but didn't dare challenge him. Clearly, it wasn't her business, otherwise he would have elaborated. As she watched him move to the next artist's table, she couldn't help but be concerned for him. His skin was more pale than usual, and he held his coat around him tightly, walking quickly instead of his usual relaxed, casual, swagger. Whatever it was he thought he saw must have been upsetting.

 

 

Nia walked with Dallas to her car. Their night out was coming to a close, and she kind of didn't want it to end because she enjoyed his company, but also because she didn't want to go back home. Friday night meant bingo night for her mother, which in turn meant a lot of drinking, and a lot of drinking resulted in Nia having a long night. Even if it was freezing, she'd rather spend the night in Dallas's mausoleum then go back home. She doubted either of her parents would notice her absence.

“How was your first night back on the town?” she asked as they walked, trying to fill the silence as they made their way through uptown.

Dallas gave her a smile. “Glad to know I pass off as normal. The hat helps of course, and so did the air freshening spray.”

She shrugged innocently. “What can I say? I think of everything. Not like we were inside all that much, but not the point. Feeling strong still? No weak ankles or anything?”

“They're holding up okay as far as I can tell. Hard to say since I still can't feel much of anything, let alone pain. Whatever you've been doing to me has been working. I feel a little stronger every day.”

“Excellent,” she said and admired her work.

He was indeed beginning to look more like a normal human being every day. Muscles that were once small from atrophy and decay were now visible. Yes, he still appeared to be skinnier than a normal guy his age, but he no longer looked as if he was starving either. His skin was still a little off color, but make-up easily fixed that, along with gloves, a scarf, and a hat to hide his still patchy hair-do. No matter how many times she cut it, Nia couldn't get it to cooperate with her. It would probably continue to fall out until his transformation from dead to living was complete.

Over all, he passed the test. She even saw some younger teenaged girls checking him out while they were inside the mall.

While Dallas may have been her age, technically, he had died at fifteen, and had yet to go through puberty. Nia couldn't wait to see how he would change once his body started to grow again. No doubt he'd be delicious. She'd always had a thing for brunettes with gentle, soulful, dark eyes. His legs were slightly longer than the rest of his torso, so that meant he was going to be tall too. She loved tall guys.

They got into her car, and Nia was grateful to be out of the cold. The middle of January was always freezing. He may not have noticed, but she could barely feel her toes. Nia was about to start the car so she could get some heat running, when she noticed a small group of individuals in the back corner of the parking ramp. Normally, she didn't care too much about what other people did. She preferred her business to stay private, so she gave other people the same respect. But this particular group of people all wore black masks, and that immediately got her attention.

“What are they doing?” she asked and leaned forward to see if she could get a better view. The parking ramp wasn't well lit in that corner unfortunately, so she couldn't get a good picture. She thought she saw someone sitting on the floor. “Are they surrounding that guy?”

Dallas's eyes narrowed. “I think so. Pretty sure that's a girl though, not a guy. And she looks hurt, scared even.”

“Are they robbing her?” Nia was disgusted. The group of people could have been some kind of obscure gang, completely unrelated to the war being waged on Earth in Altura's name. The way their masks obscured their identities, made her think otherwise. If they had masks, that also meant they had powers, and it was a gift they were abusing.

A small growl escaped her lips, and she was about to grab her own mask and give them a piece of her mind, when Dallas grabbed her hand firmly. He shook his head. She wanted to protest, but she knew he was right.
Watch for the time being, and live to fight another day.
She cracked her window, so she could better hear what the group was saying.

“I gave you all of my money,” the young woman from the ground said with a sniffle. “What more do you want from me?” She was dressed in the classic little black dress, her once styled hair now disheveled. She'd most likely come to uptown for a fun night with the girls.

One member of the group grabbed her by the arm and forced her to stand. This one was clearly a guy; that much Nia could make out. A tall, lean guy, at that.

“You're going to be our first example,” the guy said. “Don't worry, it's not like we're going to kill you or anything. We're just going to have a little fun and then send you on your way, so you can tell the police what happened. And when you do, you make sure to tell them everything so they know who's in charge from now on. Do you understand?”

She nodded and whimpered. “Please don't hurt me. I'll do whatever you want.”

“Unfortunately, you might have to get hurt a little bit,” the guy said. Another member of the group, a teenage girl, produced a glowing knife about five inches long in her hand. It appeared to be made of light, and under other circumstances, Nia might have thought it was beautiful.

The girl with the light moved closer to her victim and used the knife to cut away part of the young woman's dress. Was the monster of a girl trying to humiliate the poor woman? Nia's hands clenched around the steering wheel. Quickly she threw on her mask.

“Don't,” Dallas warned.

“Trust me,” she said through gritted teeth then started up her car and turned her headlights on to bright. Just to make sure she had their attention, she revved up the engine.

The group surrounding the girl looked her way before scattering out of sight, except the young man who was holding the frightened woman. He made sure to look at Nia as he twisted the young woman's arm around her back at an unnatural angle. Even Dallas winced as he watched, and it didn't take rocket science to know the woman's arm was probably broken. What was even more disturbing, however, was that the guy did it with such ease. Then he left. The young woman sank to her knees, sobbing and holding her arm.

Nia pulled out of her parking spot and made for the exit. When she was out on the street, she sped more than she probably should have, but she desperately wanted to get away from the parking ramp.

“Are you going to call the police?” Dallas asked.

“You're talking to the one seventeen-year-old on the planet who doesn't have a cellphone,” she said and pulled off her mask. “I'm sure she'll be okay. The jerk made his point, whatever that was. Whoever he is...”

“What tribe do you think they work for?”

“One of the bad ones, obviously. They robbed her and intimidated her. How could they be aligned with my group?” Nia asked. “Besides, I know all of the members of the yellow tribe. Not like there are many of us. And I know a few from the purple one too. Our leaders have a more peaceful philosophy. The only aggressive missions I've been on have focused on trying to keep everything normal here on Earth.”

Dallas gazed out the window, his fingers tapping his mouth. “I wish I knew how to aura read better, because something about them was familiar to me.”

She gave him a weak smile. “I bet the closer you get to being one-hundred-percent alive, the stronger your powers will be. It's so cool you have them naturally!”

“You do too, you know. The things you do are part of an ability you were born with. The Alturans simply unlocked it sooner than it would have manifested on its own.”

“Assuming it ever did. Remember, everybody has them, but not everyone will be able to use them,” she pointed out.

He nodded. “I remember, and you need to remember I didn't know I had any super powers until after I died. The great beyond teaches you a lot of things, let me tell you.”

“So you've said.” She glanced over at him.

Dallas already understood everything about the Alturans and why they were on Earth. That was all stuff he'd learned while in the grave.
I sure wouldn't mind being a floating spirit some days. Learning all of the universe's secrets has to be pretty cool.
It sure makes death a lot less scary.
Some days, she wanted to join him, but her promise to bring him back to life kept her going. It was nice to have someone she could tell everything to.

He sighed and frowned, his dark eyes softening as if he were sad. “I'm pretty sure I saw
him
here.”

“Orlando?” Nia asked. He nodded.

“He was with some girl.”

“Blonde and obnoxious?” Nia couldn't stand Tait. The guy could definitely do better, but clearly he held onto some of his shallow nature. All Tait was good at was being pretty. The girl had her sweet moments, but intelligence and wit were lacking, unless she had a secret side to her outside of school. Nia did, so Tait could have one as well, but it was doubtful, based on the company she liked to keep.

Dallas scoffed. “No, he wasn't with her. This girl had dark hair. I've seen her before too. She's better for him. Hopefully he'll see that and make a move.”

Nia scowled. “Whatever.”

“Jealous?” he asked.

“Why would I be jealous?”

“I know you two are getting closer.”

“I'm doing it for you,” she said firmly. “It doesn't mean anything more than that.”

He shrugged. “If you say so, because you two would make an interesting couple as well.”

“We would,” she said.

But what he had said was true. They'd make a rather gorgeous couple in fact, walking through the halls of Lunar Falls together. Both of them would wear their usual all black ensemble, and they'd dazzle the school with their sarcastic charms. Orlando still needed some rehabilitation from his former jock days, but he was almost to the point of being tolerable. Once he stopped clinging to the past, he could be worth her attraction. Something about him would always drive her up a wall, however, and she was pretty sure they'd never last. One of them would be dead within a week.

Dallas laughed and shook his head. “You're a riot, Nia.”

“I didn't realize I did something funny,” she said and turned into the drive for the cemetery. She parked in front of his mausoleum. “Gonna let me in on the joke?”

“There's no joke. You just have an interesting way of viewing the world, and that's what I like about you,” he said and unbuckled his seatbelt.

They both got out of the car, and she walked him up to the door. “You better like me after everything I've done for you.”

“I liked you even before,” he said with a smile. “Thanks for indulging me and taking me out. A change of scenery is nice. And thanks for the new books. I'm guessing I'm not going to see you until Sunday?”

“Probably not. Maybe late Saturday night, depending on how everything goes on my play date with Orly. Either way you'll have company, even if it's not me, don't worry.”

“You going to tell him everything?”

“That remains to be seen. Ideally, yes, I'll be spilling it all so he's not blindsided. I'd like to present it like an option, and we can see just how much he's really changed,” she said and tried to hide the bitterness in her heart. Orlando had betrayed Dallas, and the two were supposed to be best friends. She didn't understand how Dallas could so easily forgive it. It broke her heart, and she wasn't even involved.

He grabbed her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Don't be so hard on him when you two hang out, okay? He
is
a good guy.”

“When he wants to be.”

“Always. We all make stupid mistakes. You should know that better than anyone else. All I'm saying, is save the judgment for after you've gained your own experiences to do it with. Okay?”

She snorted. “Okay. I promise to try and cool it. I am nice to him when we're together, just so you know.”

“Fake nice. He'll see through it eventually, probably why he hasn't agreed to hang out with you for the past two months.”

“He's the one who's missing out,” she said confidently. “I need to get going. Curfew is coming up, and while I don't want to go just yet, I should. It might be one of those nights, if you catch my drift.”

“I do, and I'm here if you need me.”

Gently, she held onto his wrist, shivering as her skin made contact with his. He was still so cold to the touch. She closed her eyes, and focused on giving him more life. Every little bit helped. Even if it took her a million years to bring him back to life, she was going to make sure it happened.

“Be safe,” he whispered. Nia pulled away from him and gazed up into his eyes.