The Conch Shell of Doom (19 page)

Bailey gave each of his friends a determined look. They wouldn’t be there long enough for anyone to die. He nodded once, twice, the third time, the four of them darted for the door.
 

With a
crack
, Mr. Lovell stood between the kids and the door, making them scream. “It’s rude to leave without saying goodbye.”

Bailey threw his hands out at each side, trying to create a buffer between his friends and Mr. Lovell, who laughed.

“Do you really think that will help?”
Crack
. He was behind Marshall, who brought up the rear. “Because it won’t.”

Another scream from the kids. They bunched together, afraid any opening might let Mr. Lovell in.

“Guys, we can’t breathe,” Alexis said.

Crack
. Mr. Lovell was in front of Bailey again. “Go back to where you were sitting. I won’t ask again.”

Bailey hated to do it, but he didn’t see another option. At least going back to their seats bought some extra time to come up with a plan better than making a break for the door. The group slouched their way back to the den, plopping down in their seats. Bailey pressed his palms into his forehead.

Wake up, brain. Time to do what you were made for.
Think!

“Excellent.” Mr. Lovell moved to the counter and opened a black suitcase. Inside was a syringe filled with black liquid. “Use this on the children. It’s more humane. Like putting a
dog
to sleep. Your conscience should feel at ease, knowing that.”

Percy closed his fingers around the syringe’s barrel and then turned to Alexis. His steps were short and slow as he inched forward. The scene felt like a horror movie come to life for Bailey, except he didn’t need any screeching violins for added tension. The terror of the situation took care of that.

Alexis gasped, grabbing Bailey’s arm. “Do something.”

“There’s nothing he can do,” Mr. Lovell said.

Wait. How had things come to point? Alexis was only sixteen. Nobody that young deserved to die, especially one who fought so hard to beat leukemia. So, she went through all of that, the sickness, the baldness, all of it, so some fried onion could kill her? No way.
 

Damn it, Bailey, why did you have to pull her into this mess?
 

Bailey looked to Marshall and Tim. Why weren’t they doing anything? Both of them just sat there, frozen in place, like a couple of onlookers gawking at a train wreck. Worse yet, Bailey caught himself doing the same thing. He stared into Alexis’s eyes. If nobody else was going to help her, then by golly, it fell to him. The anger swelled inside like an inflating balloon. He refused to let her go down without a fight. He leapt on top of her, covering as much of her body with his own as he could.

“Have a heart.” Bailey felt Alexis struggle to breath underneath him. “We’re kids.”

Mr. Lovell laughed. “You see, Percy?” Chivalry isn’t quite dead.”

“Yeah.”
 

Percy, chest bobbing up and down from nerves, didn’t take his eyes off of Alexis. Mr. Lovell grabbed Bailey and hurled him across the room, his back slamming into the console TV’s wooden corner. The piercing pain was so great all he could do was think about how much it hurt.

“Believe me, you kids have caused enough trouble eavesdropping and sneaking up here. But, to prove I at least have a semblance of a heart—” Mr. Lovell pointed back at Bailey then Marshall “—you two can live. It’s not because I pity you. It’s because I still need your parents.” He pointed at Alexis and Tim. “These two are worthless to me.”

Percy held the needlepoint up, ready to strike Alexis. Bailey got on all fours. He’d lunge for Percy, but he was too far to do any good.

“Don’t just sit there,” Bailey cried out to Marshall and Tim as a last gasp. “Do something you pussies!”
 

Marshall nodded toward the vial. “You know that will kill us, right?”
 

“So I gathered,” Bailey said.
 

Percy took hold of Alexis’s arm. She yanked it away. He grabbed it again, squeezing her wrist hard.

“You’re hurting me,” Alexis said.

“Sorry,” Percy muttered.

“Tackle him,” Bailey pleaded. “Something! You oafs better do something, or our friendship is over.”

Tim sat up straight. He was definitely working up his nerve to make a move. Good thing, too, since apparently ninjas lived by a code of honor. “Ninja attack!”

He dove for Percy, missing him completely. Tim’s chin hit the carpet, making him bite his tongue. “Damn it,” he said, which sounded more like
am it.
His eyes watered as he looked up at Alexis’s deathly white face. Percy grabbed Tim’s foot, pulling him farther back, and then kicked him in the ribs. Nothing stood between Percy and Alexis. It was Marshall’s turn to step up—and fast—or else Alexis was dead.

“I thought you had muscles.” Bailey crawled forward, wishing his back would hurry up and let him stand. “You go on and on, bragging about how strong you are. What good are those muscles if you don’t use them?”
 

Marshall didn’t move. Would he do nothing to save his friend? Bailey couldn’t believe his friend would be that selfish. Bailey leapt out of his seat, tackling Percy with ease. The needle fell out of his hand and stuck in Bailey’s arm. He yelped and smacked the needle away, a small trail of blood pouring out of the puncture wound. The needle hurt like hell coming out. Bailey wished he’d pulled it out, even if leaving the needle in an extra second possibly meant certain death. He didn’t see any black liquid on his arm, so he put it out of his mind and focused on Marshall stepping up to join the cause.

“Get off.” Percy struggled underneath Marshall.
 

“You like that, bitch?” Marshall slapped Percy upside the head. “Want some more?”

Tim helped Alexis to her feet, and they made a beeline for the door. Mr. Lovell leapt in front of them, blocking the exit. His hands flew out, hitting each of them in the chest with supernatural force. It threw them back several feet. Tim crashed on top of a table, flopping off the side in a very un-ninja-like manner. Alexis fell to the linoleum floor and slid headfirst into the wall, leaving her in a daze. Mr. Lovell picked up the needle.

Bailey ground his teeth, trying to push himself up, even though his back was still worthless.

Get up, body! The burnt baconator has the poison!

Eyes closed, Alexis held her head, trying to get the room to stop spinning. Bailey noticed the covered mirror above her.
 

Ah-ha!
 

Bailey’s brain had an idea. A good one. He remembered a covered mirror at his house with the same kind of black cloth. He didn’t know his brain remembered, but it did, and for that he was grateful. There was a connection between the two mirrors, but what was it? Could Mr. Lovell have a phobia of mirrors?

Worth a shot?

Bailey stood and wiped the blood from his arm. Marshall and Percy, still wrestling, rolled into Bailey, almost knocking him over. He stepped on Percy’s face to keep from falling.

“Not the grill!” he shouted, slapping at Bailey’s leg.

Baily wasn’t sure, but it looked like Percy had bite marks on his arm. When Marshall committed to something, he definitely went all out, even if it meant playing dirty. Bailey moved out of their way, leaving the two of them to duke it out as he went for the mirror. Mr. Lovell caught sight and tried to move in faster. Bailey dove at the mirror, and woefully mistimed the jump. The tips of his fingers barely grazed the cloth, but his downward momentum did the trick. The cloth slowly tipped over the top of the mirror and then fell to the floor, revealing Mr. Lovell’s reflection.

Mr. Lovell staggered back at the sight of himself, covering his face. “No.”

Bailey didn’t know exactly what the mirror would do, but he didn’t see that coming. Mr. Lovell dropped to his knees, keeping his eyes aimed at the floor. Smoke poured out from his eyes, seeping through the space between them and his sunglasses. It was like seeing his reflection made him burn. Mr. Lovell took deep breaths, trying to regain his composure. Bailey hoped the mirror would make the monster melt or turn into a puff of smoke, but turning him into a crying heap on the floor would do. Bailey took Alexis’s hand, ready to pull her away from Mr. Lovell, who had the needle and was within reach of Alexis’s leg.

Oh, no.

Bailey’s heart stopped. He kicked at the needle, hoping to knock it out of Mr. Lovell’s hand before it reached Alexis. Bailey’s kick was a hair too slow. The needle pierced Alexis’s skin, but not all the poison was injected before the needle flew across the room. A slight gasp escaped her lips.

She looked down to see a black circle forming around the puncture. “You don’t see that every day.”

“Shit.” Bailey stared at her leg, a wave of guilt crashing down on him. He’d been too slow to keep the poison from getting in her system. “Shit!”

Mr. Lovell tried to laugh, but a cough came out instead. “Valiant effort, boy, but did you really think you could stop me? I’ve been alive since before your great, great, great grandfather was born.”

“No.” Bailey squeezed his hand into a fist. Not out of anxiety, but anger. He picked up the cloth and tackled Mr. Lovell, draping the fabric over his head. Bailey repeatedly punched the man, rage and adrenaline removing all feeling.

The door burst open. Bailey glanced up to see some guy storm in, clutching a humongous knife. The man looked like he’d been beaten with a sledgehammer. A woman moved out from behind him, pointing a double-barreled shotgun at Percy’s face. Bailey instinctively glanced at her breasts for a second. They looked fantastic underneath her undersized Thirsty Alligator shirt. She ran over to Marshall and Percy.

“It’s okay, kid.” She motioned toward the door with her head. “Get out of here.”

Marshall helped Tim up, and they stumbled outside. The Thirsty Alligator girl rejoined her compadre, who stood over Mr. Lovell, ready to strike. But something caught his attention. Alexis’s leg.

“Damn it,” the guy with the knife said.

“Some of this black stuff got in her.” Bailey’s tongue hurt as he spoke. “She needs a hospital.”

“It ‘id?” Tim’s tongue was still messed up. “Ut ew we ew ow?”

“Grab the mirror,” the man said to his attractive partner. “Hold it in front of that crispy asshole.”

She handed him the shotgun and then pulled the mirror off the wall, holding it in Mr. Lovell’s direction. The smoke from his eyes worsened, forcing him to turn away.

“Dirty move, Franklin,” he said. “Fight like a man.”

“And give you the upper hand?”

“Is this really working?” Thirsty Alligator girl looked stunned that a mirror could have that kind of effect.

“He’s like Dorian Gray,” Franklin said. “Seeing the gnarled thing he’s become can kill him.”

Bailey didn’t care about Dorian Gray, or even that awful movie he was a character in that also starred Sean Connery. All Bailey harped on was failing Alexis. He should’ve done more to keep her safe. It was a grave mistake, letting her come with them.

“Hey.” Franklin reached down and tugged on Bailey's arm, helping him to his feet.
 

He glanced at the mirror. If only he’d been a second faster with the cloth.

Franklin waved his hand in front of Bailey, getting his attention. “I need you to help me get your friend out of here. A hospital can’t help her, but I can.”

Bailey shook his head. Did he hear that right? “How?”

Franklin sheathed his knife. “Later. If we don’t hurry, she’ll die.”

Franklin cradled Alexis in his arms, carrying her down the stairs. Bailey followed close behind and then Tim and Marshall. The Thirsty Alligator girl would be along eventually, since she stayed back and used the mirror on Mr. Lovell. Franklin and Alexis turned and went down the next flight of stairs, giving Bailey a glimpse of his friend. The poison turned the bottom half of Alexis’s leg almost completely black. Bailey checked to see if Thirsty Alligator girl was coming and missed a step. He fell face forward at the turn. Thankfully, a brick wall was there to break his momentum.

Franklin, leading the way, stopped. “You okay?”

Aside from some scuffed hands that stung, Bailey was fine. “Yeah.”

“Good. I can’t carry you too.”

They made it down the rest of the stairs without any issues and then rushed over to Franklin’s Mustang. It looked awfully familiar to Bailey, who slowed down as his brain tried to put two and two together. Franklin wore a leather jacket. Percy had on a leather jacket when he was arrested at the museum. It looked just like Franklin’s. Bailey tried to act cool, like everything was normal.

We are the biggest idiots the world has ever known.

Percy wasn’t the one they ratted out at the museum. It was Franklin.

Marshall and Tim stopped next to Bailey, the same dazed look plastered on all three of their faces. They exchanged
oh, shit
glances. Tim pointed at Franklin.

“Tell me that’s not who I think it is,” Tim said.

“It’s exactly who you think it is.” Bailey laid his hands on his sides and sighed, wondering how bad it would be. “I can’t believe we messed up this bad.”

Marshall rolled his head back. “Talk about dumb assed luck.”

Tim dropped a handful of f-bombs under his breath. “What do we do?”

“Nothing,” Bailey said. “We keep our mouths shut right now. He might not help Alexis if he finds out.”

“Finds out what?” Thirsty Alligator girl walked up to them, out of breath, still holding the mirror.

“Nothing,” Marshall said.

“Put the mirror down,” Franklin called out. “Come help me.”

Bailey and the others rushed over. Franklin tried to get her in the Mustang’s back seat, but it wasn’t going well. Her limp body made getting her in the car like packing dead weight into a tight spot.

“She didn’t get a full dose, but we’ve got to hurry.” Franklin set Alexis on her feet and motioned at Bailey. “Help me.”

“It’s nothing. Just a flesh wound.” Alexis jokingly spoke in a British accent.