Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1) (13 page)

Daniel smiled, his slim form neatly wrapped in an expensive-looking gray suit. “It’s okay. Everything will be all right.” His voice soothed her.

She stood and drew him into a hug. “What’s going on? Are you really here? Am I?”

“I wish I could answer your questions.” Daniel adjusted the suit as they sat together on the bench. “But that is something I can’t do.”

“Why not? You are Daniel, right?” Sally gave him a confused look.

“A fragment, perhaps.” He was making no sense. “I can only give you that which you already know.”

“Is this a dream?”

“What are dreams but windows created by our unconscious mind?”

“Okay, you’re not helping.” Sally pushed her hair behind her ear. “Are you Daniel or aren’t you?”

“I am a connection,” he replied.

“Do you know where you…he is?” she asked. “And Billy and Shayne and Mrs. Conley?”

“Billy is on his own quest,” Daniel stated.

“Damn it, Daniel! That’s not an answer!”

“In time you’ll understand how you fit into the bigger picture,” Daniel explained. “Billy must first discover the truth of his missing sister before your paths will cross again.”

“What does that mean?”

“Everyone’s existence is a path of their choices. You cannot deviate from that path any more than you can undo the choices you make. Your path is set by the choices you have and will make. You’ve experienced things—unexplainable things—but only some of them are relevant. Others will be resolved when the time is right, but focus on the wrong ones and you’ll lose your way. You have a role to play in the upcoming battles, but you are not yet ready to face those challenges.”

Sally huffed. “Is there any chance I can get you to speak English?”

Daniel took her hand, his light mocha skin contrasted against her pale complexion. “The path before you is a difficult one, cast upon you by forces beyond your control. You have it within you to make a difference as events unfold, but you must first make a choice.”

“What choice?”

He continued. “That realization is for you alone. It will be a difficult one, of that I can assure you. Just know you have been given all you need for your quest. The rest is up to you.”

“And what about Billy and the others? How do I find them?”

“When the time is right, you’ll know what to do.” He released her hand and stood.

“Wait a minute! Where are you going?” She grabbed him and spun him around to face her.

“I am sorry.” He was suddenly gone.

And then he was back, but ten feet away, walking from her. Gone again, then reappearing farther up the path, still walking with his hands in his pockets. Then he vanished altogether.

“Well, that was so not helpful!” Sally stared after him.

Voices fell on her from above as if drifting down on soft rain. She looked up to see faces in the blue haze of a sky, each of them staring down on her as though she were lying on the floor.

And then she was.

She felt carpet beneath her, hands helping her sit up. She was once again in her mother’s empty apartment.

“Are you okay?” Jake asked.

“I think so.” Her voice sounded weak, her head ached.

“You passed out.” Idric knelt to her right, his hazel-eyed gaze darting up and down her body erratically as though not able to settle on one thing at which to look.

“I had this really weird dream.” Sally pulled herself up with Jake’s help. “I was in a park—”

“Uh, guys…” Stephanie called from across the room.

“Not now, Steph!” Yasif snapped at her.

“Really! You’re gonna want to see this!”

“No one cares about your hair, okay?” Yasif threw her a nasty look, but then his expression changed from anger to fear. “Holy hell!”

Sally turned to see what had gotten them all worked up. “What is that?”

“Oh, my god! Oh, my god!” Idric said over and over, watching the thing with the wingspan of a small plane drop toward them from the sky.

Sally felt a rush of fear. This wasn’t the bear creature they’d faced at the school; it was something new. It swooped out of the clouds, cutting through the storm like a blade. Rather than the shiny metal of an aircraft, however, its wings were black and leathery like a giant bat’s, its skin stretched tightly around bulges that could only be pure muscle. It rose then dropped, releasing a high-pitched scream as it dove toward them.

“Look out!” Jake pushed Sally away from the windows. The rest scrambled as the creature came crashing through the thick glass. Sally dropped and covered her head.

The next few moments were a mixture of shattered glass, piercing shrieks, and utter confusion. When Sally was able to get a glance, she saw the creature tearing at the wall, pulling itself through the high-rise safety glass. Finally, the window gave way to the creature’s strength and the broken sections fell inward to the floor, allowing in a torrent of rain. The creature issued another screech, the sound followed by rolling thunder from the storm.

“Everyone okay?” Jake screamed over the noise.

Sally looked up to see the giant bat-like thing taking up the entire space of her mother’s living room. It looked at her with determination in its red eyes. It moved toward her with all the grace of an awkward bird, but wasn’t deterred. The only thing in its way was Stephanie, who seemed too stupid to get out of the thing’s way. She stood there screaming at it as though that would somehow ward it off.

It snapped at the blonde, and she threw up her arm in defense. She was a minor inconvenience for the creature, however. It turned on her, clamping down on her forearm with its razor sharp teeth.

Screams in movies were nothing like screams in real life. The sound that came from Sally’s roommate was like nothing Sally had ever heard. She couldn’t imagine a person’s voice making that kind of noise.

The creature picked Stephanie up by the arm and tossed her aside like an unwanted toy. Sally panicked, not knowing what to do. There was nothing for her to use to attack the creature; all the furniture was gone. She didn’t even have a mug to throw at it.

Just know you have been given all that you need for your quest.
That was what Daniel had said. Why she’d thought of his words at that moment she wasn’t sure, but another shriek from Stephanie made her realize she had to do something quick.

It was then she remembered what had happened in the van, the thing Idric had done to ward off the creature on the roof. Desperately, she turned to him. “Idric, is there anything you can do?”

“What makes you think—” he began.

Sally cut him off. “Idric, quit the act. I know you did something back there in the van! I know you’re scared, but if there’s something you can do, we need you!”

He hesitated.

The creature turned back to face them, releasing another ear-splitting shriek. “I don’t have anything with me!” He hollered, his small voice drowning in the thunder.

Sally didn’t understand what he meant. What does he need? There was nothing with him in the van.

Lighting flashed, rain pelting them from the gaping hole that was once her mother’s apartment windows. Stephanie lay on the floor, unmoving and bleeding profusely. Sally turned back to Idric and gave him a pleading look.

The boy hesitated, but then looked as though he’d remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stone about the size of a golf ball. His voice was small against the storm as he began to utter words Sally couldn’t make out. The stone glowed with a blueish light, growing brighter and brighter as he cast his incantation into the wind. Then with a quick motion, he released whatever energy he’d summoned. The creature, already moving toward them was struck by the blast, sending it crashing back through what remained of the windows. It screeched as it fell from sight toward the city below.

Sally exhaled and rushed to Stephanie’s side.

“This is getting outta hand!” Yasif said, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to catch his breath.

“Are you okay?” Sally asked her roommate.

“Do I look okay?” Stephanie screamed, her voice full of fear and rage.

“We need to get her to a hospital,” Lani suggested urgently.

Sally interjected, “We’ve got to stop the bleeding first. Idric! Into the hall, find something, a towel, anything.”

The kid was fast. He was back in moments, holding several folded towels. She had no idea where he’d found them, and in that moment, she didn’t care. Sally yanked a towel open and wrapped Stephanie’s arm. Her roommate cried out in pain, but it had to be done. She pulled the towel around as tight as she could to staunch the bleeding.

Yasif had his phone to his ear, barking instructions. She hoped an ambulance would arrive soon. Stephanie had gone pale, blood running in lines down her face.

“Stay with me, Steph! You’re going to be okay.”

The blonde coughed, more blood spurted from her mouth. “Damn it! She must have been hurt somewhere else!” Pulling at her clothes, Sally searched for another wound. Sure enough, the creature had punctured her side. There was so much blood!

“They’re not going to get here in time.” Yasif stood over them shaking his head, phone still in hand.

“Shut up and help me!” Sally barked, shoving towels into the wound. Tears streamed down her cheeks; she couldn’t control them. There was so much damned blood! Her hands were covered and halfway up her forearm. “I can’t stop it!”

Idric appeared by her side. “I might be able to do something, but it won’t be much.” He held out the stone he’d used earlier and began reciting more strange words.

Sally fell back against the wall, crying as the boy worked his magic. “Please be okay, please be okay. I don’t think I can take it if something else happens!”

Idric moved the stone in circles above Stephanie, continuing his chant. Once again, it lit up. After a few moments, light fell off the stone in a haze, raining down toward Stephanie’s body. Sally noticed immediately that the flow of blood slowed. A glimmer of hope shot through her as she grabbed a clean towel and began wiping off the wounds.

“It’s closed up,” Jake noted.

“Sorta,” Idric replied. “It’s more like a Band-aid. It will hold the wound closed, but only for a time.”

Jake’s eyes were still on the bloody girl. “Let’s hope it’s enough.”

THE EMERGENCY WAITING ROOM
was cold, the seats uncomfortable. Sally propped her elbows on her knees, supporting her with her hands. She’d never felt more exhausted in her life. The sight of Stephanie’s bloody body was forever burned into her memory.

The hospital had asked so many questions, but she couldn’t have told the truth if she had wanted to. If she’d mentioned shape-shifting creatures, or Idric’s magic, they’d have thrown her into a psychiatric ward! Guilt hung over her head like a looming cloud.

This was her fault. If she hadn’t let them all come up to her mother’s apartment, Stephanie would be okay. Sally longed to take back all the mean things she’d ever said to her roommate.

The real hero was Idric. At least he was able to do something useful. Sally felt as useful as wet toilet paper for all the good she did.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jake stand and realized the doctor who had taken Stephanie had returned with a grave look on his face. Or was that how doctors always looked?

“Stephanie is stable,” he said.

A wave of relief washed through Sally.

He continued, “She’s resting under some heavy anesthetics and is being prepped for surgery.”

“Surgery?” Sally asked, alarmed.

“I’m afraid I can’t share the details with you since you’re not family. The important thing is she’s alive and has a good chance of pulling through. Had you not stopped the bleeding as quickly as you had, she’d never have made it.” The man gave her a sympathetic look.

Stephanie had been as white as a sheet by the time they had arrived at the hospital. It was a wonder they’d made it at all.

“You kids should go home and get some rest. I can’t believe that none of the rest of you were hurt. By the look of those wounds, the dog that attacked her should be put to sleep for good.” A flash of anger crossed the man’s face. It was the only thing Sally could think of to tell him when they’d arrived. He then nodded and left them alone in the waiting area.

“Sally,” Jake said gently. “I know this is probably the last thing you want to think about right now, but if we don’t get this server back up and running, the Hi-Li is going to crash. Those school computers can’t handle the load.”

Sally couldn’t speak. Her tongue felt as if it had become stuck to the roof of her mouth. She simply nodded and followed the group as they made their way back out to the van. There wasn’t anything more they could do for Stephanie at that point, and what was worse, after everything they’d been through, she still had no clue what had happened to her mother.

THE GROUP WAS MOSTLY SILENT
as they traveled, with the exception of Jake, who navigated for Lani. Sally stared out at the passing buildings. Yasif sat in the back, brooding. Idric sat next to him, snacking on a Twizzler he must have had stashed in his pocket. His gaze darted from one person to the next, but he said nothing. It was well after midnight, and the streets were empty and glistening wet. Rain drifted down, visible in the glow of the streetlights, not as hard as earlier, but still enough to deter most of the late-night stragglers.

“Where exactly are we taking the server?” Yasif asked after a time, clearly still skeptical of their plan.

Jake explained. “It’s an old telephone switching station that my dad’s company bought out to run their servers in. Basically, it’s a central hub for all of his company’s equipment in the city. It connects with all the routers and switches I’ve worked on over the years. I can tie the Hi-Li server into my dad’s network and give it access to pretty much anything you want, short of top secret government computers.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Yasif threw at him.

Jake glanced up. “What do you mean?”

“After everything we’ve been through, you’re actually enjoying this!” There was anger in Yasif’s voice.