Rising (26 page)

         
“I
can’t believe you’ve never heard of Iggy Pop,” Jessie was saying in disbelief.

         
“And
I can’t believe you haven’t heard of Zebra,” said Jeremy just as arrogantly.

         
It
seemed they were having a good time testing each other’s knowledge of music
history, or lack thereof.
 
Across the
field, blue and gold dappled the bleachers of the Trojan fans.
 
It seemed surreal to see their pom-poms
waving while something sinister lurked in our midst.

         
Clara
suddenly jerked on my hand.
 
I stopped
and turned to face her, leaning down.

         
“Look
at those women right there,” she said urgently, “One of the shadow men is
standing right behind the blonde lady.”

         
There
were three women—a blonde and two brunettes.
 
They were decked out in red shirts and too tight jeans.
 
The blonde had a layer of make-up on that
shined under the stadium lights.
 
Clara
nudged me a little closer within earshot.

         
“It
doesn’t look like it’s coming here, anyway,” said one brunette.

         
“I
don’t know,” said the blonde.
 
“It’s hard
to predict these things.
 
We booked a
hotel in Shreveport the minute we saw it in the Gulf, but we keep having to
rebook since it’s still just
sittin
’ out there.”

         
“Well,
John said we’re not
goin
’ one way or another,” said
the other brunette.
 
“Last time, we spent
six hours in traffic before we crossed into Mississippi.
 
That was sheer torture with a toddler in the
car.”

         
Clara
flinched back and pulled me down to her.

         
“It
just touched her, the blonde,” she whispered in a panic.

         
I
watched as the blonde woman’s face bunched up into a frown, creasing her
caked-on make-up job.
 
I could feel a
wave of frightened hysteria wash over me from her direction. She started
talking in a frenzy.

         
“What
if it does come here?” said the woman, her eyes widening abnormally.
 
“What if it heads straight for us and we
can’t get out?
 
Remember when that one
came straight into the port, flooding the whole town.
 
That could happen again.
 
We could be stuck here.”

         
“It
touched the lady next to her,” said Clara.

         
I
felt Clara’s own fear growing next to me.
 
The brunette chimed in with the blonde.

         
“You’re
right.
 
They say we don’t have to worry
on the news, but what if they’re wrong?
 
They’ve been wrong before.
 
It
could be a lot worse than losing power and a few fallen trees.
 
We could be trapped by water like. . . .”

         
The
banter continued.
 
The three women fed
off one another’s fears.
 
Clara was
following something through the crowd, pulling me along.
 
Every person I passed seemed to be in some
frantic conversation; either about the hurricane or the latest terrorist attack
in Europe or the crappy economy.
 
Where I
first saw happy faces, I now saw fear welling up like an incoming tide.

         
“They’re
just grazing people with their fingers as they pass them,” said Clara.
 
“I don’t understand it.”

         
“The
crowd is changing, Clara.
 
Listen to what
they’re all saying.”

         
“Wait,”
she said in an icy tone, “they’re on the sidelines and the field, tapping
players, all of them.
 
What are they
doing?”

         
As
if to answer her question, a yellow flag flew onto the field.
 
The referee made a holding call against our
defense.
 
Coach Jackson stormed toward
him, yelling into the ref’s face, chest to chest.
 
Players slowly inched onto the green,
shouting protests.
 
A huge Trojan lineman
pushed one of our fullbacks, Trey Hawkes.
 
A fuming, brawny man stomped out of the bleachers, leapt the chain-link
fence, then barreled into the frenzied crowd on the field.
 
I recognized him as Trey’s father.
 
Hysteria followed.
 
Players from both sides rushed out, swinging
and cursing.
 
Before I could stop him,
Zack was over the fence and running headlong to help Mark, who was in the
middle of the fight. Ben started to do the same, but I grabbed him by the
collar.

         
“No,
Ben!
 
Look around you.”

         
We
turned to see frightened, angry faces pushing toward us, pinning Mel and Clara
against the fence.
 
Mel’s dark eyes
widened.
 
She was petite and would be
crushed if the crowd continued to press us forward.
 

         
“We’ve
got to get them out of here,” I said.

         
Ben
pulled Mel behind him and started pushing through the mass of people.
 
I followed with Clara’s hand in mine.
 
There was no need to warn her to stay close.
 
Her other hand had a fistful of the back of
my t-shirt.

         
“So
much for a fun Friday night football game, eh,” said Jeremy at my shoulder.

         
Jessie
was close behind him.
 
I lowered my voice
so only he could hear me.

         
“They’re
here, the shadow people.”

         
“I
thought something was weird,” he said, glancing warily around us.
 
“Clara sees them?”

         
I
nodded, shoving a middle-aged man aside who tried to break my hold on Clara to
get through to the field.
 
I wasn’t about
to let any of these deranged idiots pull her away from me.
 
As soon as we were out of the gates, we could
hear police sirens in the distance.

         
“What
about Zack?” asked Ben.

         
“He’s
a big boy.
 
I’m sure he’ll find a ride
with Mark,” I said, leading the group in long strides to the parking lot.

         
“If
he doesn’t get arrested,” said Jeremy, loping up beside me.

         
“What
in the world was that all about?” asked Ben.

         
Clara
was at my side, panting a little, and not from our brisk exit.

         
“Do
you see them?” I asked her.
 

“No,” she replied quickly, glancing back over
her shoulder.

“I don’t get it,” said Ben.
 
“One minute, everyone was fine then all of a
sudden people went nuts.”

“Remember what we talked about earlier?” I
asked him.

“Yeah.”

“Well, those ‘shadowy, creepy guys’ as you call
them are here.”

“What?
 
You mean from my dreams?
 
That’s
crazy.
 
I didn’t see anything.”

“I did,” said Clara.

“Can someone please tell me what you’re talking
about?”

Mel had been listening closely, as she always
did, and had overheard a little too much.
 
We passed underneath the last streetlight, throwing our shadows long in
front of us, stopping at my Jeep.
 
All
eyes and somber faces had turned on me.
 
I realized that there was no sense hiding what I knew to be true
anymore.
 
If I continued to keep this
façade up, then others would be hurt because of it.
 
I had to tell them the truth.

“Okay, I’m going to be completely honest,
because it’s obvious that it’s only going to get worse from here.”

“What’s going to get worse?” asked Jessie.

“Clara, Jeremy, and I know that the hurricane
is going to come here.”

As if to offer me encouragement, Clara and
Jeremy nodded on either side of me before I continued.

“Also, it’s not a regular hurricane.”

“What do you mean?” asked Mel.

A whirring blast of sirens made us all jump and
turn.
 
Three police cars, blue lights
flashing, squealed through the parking lot straight to the stadium.
 
The din of screaming voices and mayhem from
that direction echoed around us.
 
We
still seemed to be the only ones with the bright idea of getting the hell out
of there.

“Look, let’s go somewhere safer and then
talk.
 
How about Mirabelle’s?” I
asked.
 
They all nodded in
agreement.
 
“You want to ride with me,
Clara?”

“Yeah, let me get my bag.”

“I’ll ride with the girls then,” said Jeremy
quickly, following Jessie.
 
Yeah, of
course he would.

Ben had already jumped in the Jeep.
 
I was standing near the streetlight with my
hands tucked in my jeans pockets.
 
There
was an edge in the air.
 
I glanced up to
the night sky where wispy gray clouds spun swiftly in front of the
half-moon.
 
Then it happened.

I felt a crackling sensation filter around me
before a slap of mortal terror flooded my veins like ice.
 
My muscles became rigid.
 
I couldn’t move.
 
I saw Jeremy, Jessie, and Mel turn and face
me with looks of confusion a few yards away.
 
It felt as if I was being held to the spot, not by hands, but by sinking
despair.
 
I knew these weren’t my own
feelings, but someone, or something else’s.
 
Then I heard it, so close to my ear that an electrical current passed
between the thing and me.

“
Setti
,” it whispered
in a gravelly voice, “our masters are coming.
 
There is no hope in fighting.
 
They will kill you all.
 
There is
only slavery, or death.”

In a flash of fury, my power awakened, rising
up against the tide of fear that threatened to freeze me forever.
 
I stopped it, suppressed it.
 
Standing before me were my friends, and I had
no idea how to control whatever it is that I could do.
 
Then, Clara stepped from behind them; her
face pale and mouth open in shock and horror.
 
I couldn’t imagine what she could see.
 
A surge of true fear, my own, passed over my heart.
 
My terror had found a focal point.
 
I couldn’t hurt her, not again.
 
That invisible wall I had built to block out
my other sense all my life came up to hold my own power in.
 
I wouldn’t let it destroy those I cared
about, those I loved, to save myself.
 
That thing snickered in my ear, like the serpent in the garden, gloating
over its victim.
 
I restrained my anger
still.

Clara.
 
It was like slow motion in a movie.
 
I saw her running toward me, screaming as she came.

“Get away from him!”

Her auburn hair streaked like fire under the
lamplight then she outstretched her arms as she drew closer, moving as if
slowed by water.
 
My own will was
faltering.
 
That internal wall of mine
threatened to crumble and free my power uncontrollably on whoever was
near.
 
I held that burning power inside
myself, knowing that I would certainly suffer for what I was doing.
 
It was against nature, but I wouldn’t unleash
it on these creatures, not knowing whether I would hurt my friends in the
process.

Like a flaming angel, I saw light burst from
Clara.
 
Out of her fingertips, the ends
of her hair, and blasting from her body, waves of undulating gold reached out
to me.
 
The invisible creature hissed in
my ear, then another.
 
There was more
than one.
 
My power surged up; I resisted
again, only to feel a crippling pain shatter through my body then all was dark.

***

CLARA