Chapter 8 Tailed

Iris was too hungry to move any further. She had snacked on some berries in the morning. It was hard to aim at the branches when her head was spinning but she'd managed to cut off two fresh bunches of berries using her power. Of course, she had known that wouldn't keep her alive all day. She needed to eat and by eat she meant real food with meat in it. She desperately needed to eat meat.

Iris forced her legs to move a little bit further. The sun had almost set and her legs were full of scrapes and bruises that she'd gotten all day. Her clothes were dirty, mud stains were visible at places and her injured arm had started to bleed once again. The crystal shards were no longer glowing and she had to relive the pain that had vanished the day before.

Pushing the leaves out of the way with her scratched hands she marched towards a dirt road. This was where she'd sensed that last crystal shard. Her throat itched as her gaze lingered towards the small house with the sign Food Point engraved on the wood. The shard was no longer here. In fact, she could barely sense it, it was too far away. For a second there, she thought of giving up. She hadn't had anything to drink all day. The rain had been the only source of water for her in the afternoon.

'My light is going to cut me off completely if I don't find that shard quick.'

Iris sniffed the air and caught the scent of deliciously cooked meat coming from the house. Her aching body somehow began to move towards it, crossing the dirt road. However, instead of entering through the front door, Iris's nose led her to the back of the house next to an open window. It was the source of the smell.

She saw chefs working on the stove, on the cutting board. One bent down to taste something from a pot. Saliva welled up in her mouth as she watched while remaining hidden in the shadows. The sun was going down fast and her stomach churned like never before. She steadied her gaze on a plate filled with food, aiming her vibes directly at it. At that moment, her vision blurred and the vibes took a turn towards the nearest object. The man tasting the soup stumbled forward with a jerk.

Iris quickly ducked down, head throbbing all of a sudden. There was a crash from inside the kitchen. Very carefully, she slightly raised her head just above eye level, enough for her to see people rushing in from outside. There was an empty pot on the floor, soup spilling out all over alongside a fallen chef. People rushed to help him up. No one took notice of the plate of chicken nuggets casually floating across the room. Nobody was guarding the food. Iris held out her hands to grab it and duck back down before anyone could see.

Within seconds she started gulping everything down. The chicken melted in her mouth with a rich, salty texture. There were a couple of fries along with it which she stuffed in her mouth all at once, almost choking at it. After she was done, she peered from behind the window, carefully sliding the empty plate back inside. There was a faint screech as it grazed against the white marble.

"Hey!" A man called out.

It took a second for her to realize he was talking to her. She glanced up at him and ducked down, crawling away as fast as she could. She could hear commotion behind her.

"Find that kid! There will be no one snoopin' around here."

Iris's heart hammered inside of her as she snuck out the back side and into a small car parking. There were few cars parked, most of them at a distance. A black one stood closest to her. She looked around once before reaching for the back door. It sprung open, to her relief. She climbed in underneath the back seat, closing the door behind her. She stayed there for what seemed like a long while, feeling her heart beat against the floor. She lifted her head just a little to see if anyone was following her.

Once the coast was clear she reached for the door, fingers curling around the handle. She heard a click. Her body flinched as someone entered in through the driver's door. She quickly ducked back down again, clapping a hand to her mouth. Her breathing accelerated once again. She heard another click before the engine roared to life.

Within seconds, the car started moving, slowly at first and then accelerated as it got onto the road. For a while Iris just lay there with her hands glued to her mouth in fear of being heard. All of a sudden, a radio clicked on. There was soothing music being played without any vocals. Iris resisted for a couple of minutes, cupping her hands over her ears to block it out. However, with the slow rumbling of the car, she felt at ease and the music won in the end. Sleep slowly took over.

.

We were on the road again, driving through the woods. The weather was clear this time so I let my body relax a bit. Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine that dark corridor that I'd seen in my dream earlier.

This time I walked towards the end of the path. It was a dark hallway blanketed by a red carpet all over, even the ceiling. Shadows crawled about the walls, whispering things to one another as I passed. The place was without light, I noticed, despite there being windows with nothing but darkness outside. None of it would be visible to a regular person. Since I was able to see in the dark, the world just seemed a lot dimmer. Frankly, I had never actually seen darkness through the eyes of a regular person.

I strode along the hallway, only to find another turning at the end. Beings of black smoke levitated around, quickly rushing to one side as they noticed me coming, clearing the way for me. I eyed them and they backed away further, whispering words I had never heard yet I could understand.

"It's him," I heard the words stand out from among the whispers.

There was a lot of repetition in the sentence along the hallway. It was a motion of recognition. Unafraid, I marched on forward until I finally reached the end of the path. It led me to a round, dome-like cave that continued upwards into an endless abyss. A gradient of dark grey clouds hovered several thousand feet above. Many paths branched off higher into the darkness. The air felt dry, making me feel the need to constantly swallow.

"Go back… It's not time yet," it was that familiar, thick, low, husky voice that I'd heard before. It echoed throughout the place, making it rumble slightly. I turned around to face the person but my view turned foggy all of a sudden.

"Is this a dream?" I wondered out loud, looking up into the endless darkness beyond the clouds.

"It is not."

A loud bang burst through the silence, kicking me out of my dream. My heart raced and my head slightly pounded. I glanced at Cheryl and then at Ricky's surprised eyes in the rearview mirror. He was looking at something behind us. I quickly turned in my seat, the seat belt twisting around me. Two headlights followed close behind in the dark.

"We're under attack!" I shouted.

"I know," Ricky replied just as loudly.

"How did they catch up to us so fast?"

"They're the nightforce. What do you take them for?" Ricky answered a bit sarcastically as if he had predicted this would happen eventually.

"This guy's been tailing us for a while now. Ricky has been trying to lose him for the past half hour." Cheryl informed, glancing back every few seconds.

"And you guys just let me sleep through that?" I asked unbelievably.

"You weren't sleeping. You had your eyes open but it was like you were somewhere else," she said.

"How is that possible…" I trailed off, still feeling a bit shaken.

Another shot fired, followed by a thud on the back window of the car. My vision was obscured by the cracks that followed as the bullet dug itself into the glass.

"It's bulletproof," Ricky briefed, "For now."

Another bang and the shot hit the previous bullet, sending both crashing into the car.

"Duck!" Cheryl yelled.

In the heat of the moment, she jumped onto me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulled me down. We ducked just in time to avoid getting stabbed by the shards of the broken window. Glass scattered all over the seats within seconds.

I stared at her. With her face so close I could feel her breath on my face. Almost immediately she let go.

"Y-You'll die if you're that slow," she fumbled nervously. I placed a hand over her head, pressing it down a millisecond before another bullet zoomed past her.

"Stay down," I told her, and then to Ricky, "We have to lose him somehow!" I yelled.

"We can't. There won't be a turning for miles," Ricky answered.

"Dixon," Cheryl suddenly spoke, looking down.

I followed her gaze to my pocket. A piece of the shard was sticking out, having burnt through this one as well. It glowed a bright orange, hot as a flame. I stared at it for a few seconds, having completely forgotten about its existence for the past few hours.

I tried to tuck it back inside the pocket, nudging it a little with my fingertip. It sizzled at my touch.

"Ah!" I let out a sound from the burn.

"Don't…"

Very carefully, Cheryl reached for the shard. There was a faint spark at her fingertip as she took it, placing it on her palm. Thin lines of electricity traveled along its surface.

I watched in awe, not sure how she was doing that. She held out her hand towards me.

"Here," she said, gesturing to me with her eyes towards the shard.

Very cautiously, I picked it back up again. The electric field around it prevented the heat from escaping into my hand. I stuffed it back inside whatever pocket I had left.

More shots were heard, followed by the silence in the back seat where we sat.

"What's going on back there? What's wrong?" Ricky asked all of a sudden. Cheryl glanced at me worriedly.

"Nothing. I got it," I told him. My stomach rumbled with power. A cold sensation drove through my body. My shadow stretched out onto the seat and towards the broken screen. With a quick lunge, it covered the entire area, protecting it from incoming bullets.