Chapter 17

A mulberry sky, splotched with navy, gray, and bright yellow, stretched over the horizon. Faint sun rays beamed through the forest, casting shadows across Sara's driveway. The air smelled of crisp oak wood, rain, sweat, and marijuana lingering on Rachel and Sara's clothes. Pebbles scattered as Rachel dribbled and shot. 

Thunk

The ball clanked off the hoop.

"You're high as fuck, Rache!" Sara chuckled as she videoed Rachel shooting hoops. 

Rachel wiggled her arms as she rushed after the bouncing basketball. "My arms feel like Jello! It's throwing my rhythm off."

"No shit, Sherlock!"Sara replied as she adjusted the zoom on her camcorder. "But I guess this is why you're the captain. High as hell, and you still try to practice your shot."

Rachel smirked and shrugged. "There will be recruiters at the championship game. And coach told me she wants me taking the last shot if it comes down to it," Rachel explained as she dribbled.

"Hopefully, you will stay sober for it," Sara jested as she watched Rachel throw up another brick. "Didn't you play softball in middle school?"

"No, I played volleyball," Rachel replied, then lowered her eyes. "Wait, no, it wasn't volleyball."

She stopped dribbling as her gaze fixed on the basketball. She shook her head, trying to remove the brain fog in her mind. "Yeah, you are right, Sara. I don't know why I said volleyball," Rachel confirmed as she rubbed her head as it throbbed.

"I know why," Sara grinned as she stopped recording and replayed the video.

"Because I am high?" Rachel laughed, her eyes bloodshot red as she squinted at Sara. "Wait, you weren't recording all that?"

Sara nodded and grinned as Rachel approached her. "Fuck yeah, I did. Trust me, you will have a kick out of this video when you get to college."

Rachel rolled her eyes as she looked down at Sara's recording. Her eyes narrowed as the playback depicted Rachel in a volleyball uniform, practicing in a yard with an unamused Emily. The video shifted once she rubbed her eyes, then depicting her flailing her arms around in Sara's driveway as she ran for her basketball. 

Sara laughed. "What the hell was that Rachel?" 

Rachel frowned and then forced a laugh. "Yeah, I don't know. Can you rewind that again?" 

Sara shrugged. "No, I will not be editing it out either," she replied as she played back Rachel, waving her arms in the air. "My arms feel like Jello!" Sara said as she watched the video. 

Rachel rubbed her neck and frowned, but the nagging feeling that something was off disappeared. She glanced up at the road as she heard a car approaching. Her eyes dilated, and her heart raced as a police cruiser came into view. 

"Oh shit, the cops!"Sara yelled as the car pulled up into her driveway. "Fuck, my parents are going to kill me!" She cried as she dropped her camcorder and bolted to her backyard.

Rachel froze in fear as Elijah exited the vehicle and stared at her. His eyebrow raised as he watched Sara struggle to open her backyard gate.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" He yelled at Sara as Bruce and Ashley exited the cruiser next. 

"You will never catch me, you pig!" Sara yelled as she rattled and kicked at the gate before trying to jump the fence.

"We know this is your house!" Ashley yelled as she ran over to grab Sara. 

"The drugs were all her idea. I invited her to watch a sitcom, and she peer-pressured me," Sara lied as Ashley pulled her down. 

Rachel's mouth dropped open as she shook her head at Elijah. "That's not-look. Can you not tell our parents, please?" Rachel begged with wide eyes. Her hands began to sweat as she noticed Emily exiting the vehicle. 

"You fucking idiot!"Emily shouted, her eyes beamed at Rachel as her nostrils flared. 

"EM!?" Rachel muttered as she rubbed her arm. "Why didn't you reply back?"

"Why the hell are you high!?"

Elijah's eyes narrowed as Rachel glanced at him, staring at him. 

"It's not just weed either. She has been taking Gloom," he said flatly as Emily raised her eyebrow at him."It's my power that you've been nagging me about. I can see auras and traces of Ether."

Rachel shook her head and then looked at Sara being dragged towards the cruiser. "Powers, Ether, Emily, why are you with them?"

Emily rubbed her face and groaned. "Just get in the car, Rache. I'll explain later," she replied as she gestured to Rachel towards the cruiser.

"What are we going to do with her?" Ashley interjects as she holds a struggling Sara.

Elijah shrugged as he got back in the car. "Just let the local police handle it. I don't like or want to ride with three nagging teenagers."

"Hey fuck you!"Sara shouted.

"Especially not her."

"She might have heard or seen important things, Eli," Ashley insisted.

Elijah shook his head as he turned on the engine. "Whatever, I just will turn on some music."

"No, do not turn on any music!" Emily shouted as she sat next to Rachel. She took a deep breath and watched Sara get shoved into the backseat alongside them. "Just don't," she said.

"I didn't see or hear anything. Like, what the fuck is all this about?" Sara shouted as Bruce offered her a chicken sandwich. "I don't want that fucking pig. I want a lawyer!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Elijah yelled as he put the cruiser in reverse. "This ain't got nothing to do with you being high."

"Is this about the fire alarm? I had no idea she would do that." Rachel asked as they left Sara's driveway. 

"No, it's not about that either."

Emily sighed and bit her lip. "Look, Rachel, I wish I could tell you, but now is not the time."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Emily, why are you always hiding something? The photos, the art, the music, the fire alarm."

Elijah's eyes narrowed as he glanced back at Rachel's confused expression. He turned on an intersection that led out of Corwood. The engine roared as he drove well beyond the speed limit. Autumn leaves swirled behind as Eli flicked the headlights on.

"Where are we going?"Sara asked, her eyes widening as they drove past the welcome to Corwood sign. 

"Somewhere where you all will be safe," Ashley said as she stared out the passenger seat window. 

Rachel rubbed her face. "Safe from what? Emily! What in the hell is going on."

"Fuck watch out!" Bruce yelled as he pointed ahead. The cruiser headlights illuminated several black SUV vehicles blocking the road. 

"Goddamnit!"Elijah muttered as he slammed on the brakes. Burnt rubber filled the air as he gazed towards the unmarked SUVs. His eyes widened as he put the cruiser in reverse. SUVs blocked his path, circling the road.

Rachel screamed and ducked as gunfire echoed in her ears. The car sank, tires hissing as air whistled out. She clutched onto Emily while her heart thumped in her chest. 

"Eli, get us out of here!" Ashley yelled as she squirmed in her seat.

"I am fucking trying!"Eli yelled as he ducked his head as a barrage of gunfire riddled the front end of the car. The hum of the engine flickered out like a dying machine. 

Rachel took short breaths as she peeked her head up when the gunfire ended. Her eyes widened as she saw a tall Latina woman in a black P.I.A. jacket approach the vehicle. She then glanced down at Emily. Her eyes fixated on Elijah's panicked face in the rearview mirror as she shook her head and sighed.

"Is that...Dezerea, there no way!" Ashley muttered as she watched Dezerea approach the vehicle. "She's the undercover-"

BANG!

Rachel screamed, her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as Ashley's blood splattered over the busted window. Her head smacked against the passenger seat as her body went limp, and her eyes stared into oblivion. 

"Ash!" Elijah yelled as he ducked his head.

BANG!

Bruce's head slumped onto Emily's shoulder as Rachel and Sara squirmed and screamed while they recoiled. Eli reached for his gun as he opened the driver-side door. 

BANG!

Elijah felt a sharp, burning pain throbbing in his leg as he leaned against the car door. He dropped his Desert Eagle as the scorching pain boiled up his lower body. Blood stained his black tactical pants as he struggled to stand up.

"HQ said you were one of their top Agents. A veteran of multiple Gamma and Delta tier anomaly assignments. " Dezerea flatly said as she gazed at Rachel, Emily, and Sara in the backseat. "Then you go kill my brother."

Elijah clutched his leg and chuckled. "Bitch just shoot me. I don't wanna hear your-"

BANG!

Rachel recoiled as Elijah's body collapsed onto the road. His P.I.A. hat obscured his face as blood pooled underneath him. Sara screamed and jostled at the door as Dezerea fixated her stoic gaze upon her. 

"Don't kill me!"Sara yelled as Dezerea's eyes faded to an eggshell white when she looked into the window. She yelped and struggled to open the door as the window cracked when Dezerea's eyes returned to an amber color.

"No, you are not her," Dezerea said as she shook her head and glanced at Rachel. "It's you," she said as she pointed her gun at Rachel. 

Rachel screamed as her anxiety peaked. She felt Emily clutching her tightly as her heart tried to leap out of her chest. Her hands trembled as the hum in her mind returned. The hum grew louder as her head throbbed like an intense migraine.

The steady hum roared with bass as the warm afternoon sun hit Racheal's face. She dragged Emily by hand to her car. Her smile stretched ear to ear, and she did not notice the multiple reflections of herself and Emily opening the car door. Her car roared as it came to life. A rush of deja vu swelled inside Rachel briefly before it faded away as the vehicle got further from Emily's home.

As Rachel halted at an intersection, a black Mustang idled ominously on the other side of the road. Déjà vu washed over her again, stronger this time, as though the car was always supposed to be there. Rachel's temples throbbed, the hum of her Miata syncing with the hum in her head. 

Rachel recoiled as she felt Emily clutch her wrist while her other hand gripped the steering wheel. 

"Stay here, I think that guy is having car problems," Emily said as she stared at the Mustang.

"Since when did you know how to fix a car?" Rachel replied as she turned off her Miata.

Emily didn't respond as she exited Rachel's vehicle. She stopped as the Mustang radio turned on and the engine hummed to life. The radio played a glitchy dark pop song, twisted like it was scratched in a cassette tape. 

Glitch in the mirror, shadow's not mine,

Echoes of a past that's crossed the line.

Bass drops heavy, like a heart out of time,

In this fractured beat, I'm losing my mind.

Fractured frequency, can't tune it out,

Static in the silence, drowning out the shout.

Rewind the tape, but the end's the same,

In this cosmic game,

A glitchy female teenager's voice sang.