The Legend of the Firewalker (30 page)

The elevator doors opened and he pushed the button for the eighth floor. He was surprised that he finally had a si
gnal, considering he was riding in an elevator. His cell phone vibrated, reporting he had six missed calls and four unheard messages. “My goodness, Lafonda,” he mumbled as he dialed 911.

Nathan felt a little strange dialing that number because he had never had a reason to do so before. He waited as the phone rang on the other end while the elevator bell rang b
etween floors. He watched patiently as each elevator number lit up, but the elevator slowed as it approached the seventh floor. 

He was a little surprised because the seventh floor was Lafonda’s, and everyone would normally be in their rooms for the night.

Nathan jumped: a high-pitched scream had pierced the elevator. The doors to the elevator opened and in ran Samantha Darding, her nightgown tattered and her hands stained with blood.

“Nathan!” she screamed. “They took her! They took Eva Marie, and I can’t find Christina!” Her hands trembled as she clung to Nathan’s shirt, her eyes filled with horror. “They were like shadows,” she continued frantically. “And Angela! Oh, my God! They took Angela!”

20

911

“911 dispatch,” said the voice over the phone. “Please state your emergency.”

A cold shiver shot down Nathan’s back, and his mind was suddenly flooded with images of Leah as she tried to defend herself from an unseen attacker. He quickly closed his cell phone and placed it into his pocket. “What happened?” he asked. “Who took them?”

He attempted to exit the elevator, but Samantha pushed him back. “We can’t,” she said anxiously. “We have to get out of here. They move so quickly! They’re everywhere!”

“Who’s everywhere?” Nathan asked, peering out of the elevator.

The common area was in disarray; the round tables once set upright were now toppled over. From what he could tell, there were several scratch marks on the walls. 

“I don’t see anyone,” he said.

He turned to look at Samantha. She was clutching her arm and her entire body was shaking. Nathan noticed the rips in her nightgown and her blood-soaked hands. I
nstantly, he was reminded of Leah again.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

Samantha leaned against the elevator wall and raised her sleeve, revealing a deep cut on her shoulder. She placed her hand on the wound and winced in pain. “I don’t think it’s that bad,” she said. “It probably would have been worse if it weren’t for Angela.”

“Angela?” he asked, while inspecting the wound.

A loose strand of hair dangled in her face. With the back of her hand she attempted to move it out of the way, but ended up smearing blood on her forehead and face.

“They were all around me,” she said. “I didn’t know where to run.” She paused to wipe the tears that swelled in her eyes. “One second they were in front of me, but then they were gone. After they cut me, I fell to the ground; that’s when Ang
ela showed up. She saved me, but then they took her.”

He took a moment to look at the slashes on the walls again. “Where did the creatures come from?” he asked. “Did they come out of the stairway? The bathrooms?”

“Creatures?” she muttered.

“Yeah,” he responded, after peering out of the elevator again. “How many creatures were there?”

Samantha shook her head. She looked confused.

“You know,” he said, pointing to her injured shoulder. “The black-and-gray furry things with long claws and sharp teeth.”

Her body shook again, but this time her eyes trembled.

“No, no, no!” she shouted. “There were no claws or furry creatures; just black empty faces and shiny silver swords!” 

Nathan’s heart instantly kicked into overdrive as if it was trying to leap out of his chest. “Shadow Guards,” he muttered. “Jonas!”

Defensively, he stepped out of the elevator with his hand poised to fire.

“Stay here,” he said.

Samantha nodded.

Slowly, he proceeded down the hall with his hand stretched out in front of him. Up close he could see the marks on the walls weren’t scratches, but deep slashes made by either a big knife or a sword.

He turned around and faced the elevator. Sadness began to wash over him. He realized those same marks were on Sama
ntha.

“Sam,” he said, sliding his cell phone over to her. “Call the police. Tell them you need immediate medical atte
ntion.” He then remembered Jonathan and Dr. Helmsley. “Also, tell them there has been an accident at the caves behind the cliffs overlooking Lake Charleston,” he said. “It’s the cave closest to the archeological dig site.”

Samantha stood in between the elevator doors so they wouldn’t close and picked up the cell phone. He wasn’t sure if she had got it all because her face was still in shock.

He recalled what had happened the previous time with the Necrocritters and carefully peered into the bathroom. It appeared empty, so he slowly crept forward. He quickly froze after he heard crunching noises beneath his feet. He looked down and inspected the shattered pieces of glass. “At least now I know what happened to the lights,” he said to himself.

It was night, so the hallway was extremely dark. His heart continued to pound; he expected someone to jump out or a
mbush him at any second. A faint creaking noise came from somewhere in front of him, followed by low shuffling noises. He was practically tiptoeing now as he eased forward. Muffled voices emanated from one of the dorm rooms on his right. With his palm open and his arm stretched down to his side he was prepared to throw an energy ball. The energy pulsated in his arm as he slowly turned the door knob.  

The door opened and he heard a gasp. Standing in front of him with a wooden desk chair over his head that looked rather small compared to his size, was Hugo. Crouched b
ehind him were Christina Williams and several other campers.

“Nathan,” he yelled. “Thank God it’s you!”

Nathan put down his hand and placed it behind him. “Hugo,” he said, his heart still racing. “What are you doing down here and on the girls’ floor?”

“Oh, my God, Nathan,” he responded. “There were these guys, these hoodlums! I thought it was a prank or a joke at first, but then they grabbed Jonas.”

“Jonas,” Nathan interrupted. “Where is he? Where did they take him?”

Nathan turned around as other doors opened. Other campers started to appear out of their rooms.

“Christina?” asked a familiar voice.

He turned to find Samantha standing next to him.

Christina hurriedly embraced Samantha. “I thought they had taken you,” she said.

Samantha recoiled, quickly placing her hand on her shoulder.

“You’re hurt!” Christina shouted. “Sam, you’re bleeding!”

“I don’t know,” said Hugo, his voice sounding huskier than usual. “It was dark and I couldn’t see their faces. They moved so fast and they had weapons
— swords! We followed them down the stairway, but we just couldn’t keep up with them, and that’s when we heard the screaming.” He paused to eye the scratches on his hands. “In the midst of it all, I lost track of Andy,” he continued. “They were everywhere and they just kept coming!” 

“They took him,” said Christina while attending to S
amantha. “I saw them carry Andy down the stairwell.”

“Hugo,” Nathan said, “watch after Sam and move ever
yone that is injured to the lobby downstairs; stay off the stairwell and use the elevator. I’m going to check the stairs.” Nathan’s eyes softened as he turned his attention to Samantha. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded and tried to muster a smile. “The 911 di
spatcher said the police are on their way, and they are sending an ambulance,” she said, while handing him his phone. “I tried not to get any blood on it. Oh, and I told them there had been an accident at the caves.”

He smiled reassuringly. “Thanks,” he said.

Nathan headed down the stairwell fast, but based on what Hugo had told him, he figured he was probably too late. He thought Jonas might have gotten away or could be on the stairs, injured.

The stairwell echoed as each swift footstep caused the metal stairs to rattle and shake. When Nathan approached the next landing, he saw something purple with gold stars on it on the floor. “Angela’s cell phone,” he said. His stomach, already sp
iraling, began to twist. 

He heard footsteps fast approaching from the landing down below, peered over the railing, and caught a glimpse of Alan coming up the stairs. He immediately picked up Ang
ela’s cell phone and placed it into his back pocket.

Alan frowned when he saw Nathan and removed his own cell phone from his ear. “What the heck is going on up there?” he asked. “What’s the reason for all the noise? My guys said they heard screaming.”

Nathan tried not to look upset.

“What?” asked Alan, speaking into his phone. He a
ttempted to pass Nathan on the stairwell.

“And where is Angela?” he asked Nathan.

Nathan caught Alan by the arm. He had a sad look on his face. “She’s not up there,” he said, almost in a whisper. He cleared his throat. “Just come with me.”

“What do you mean?” Alan protested. “I just left from up there like fifteen minutes ago.”

Nathan held on to Alan’s arm and continued down the stairs.

“Hey,” Alan groaned. “What the heck are you doing? And where is Angela?”

He was now speaking into his cell phone. “I don’t know what he’s doing,” he said. “He won’t let go of my arm.” He reluctantly continued down the stairs. “Again,” he said, while speaking into the phone, “I said I don’t know.”

Nathan just shook his head and kept walking.

“Okay, fine!” Alan snapped, after yanking his arm from Nathan’s grip. “Here!”

Nathan raised his eyebrows and frowned. “I don’t want your cell phone,” he said. “I am dragging you along just in case I may need backup.”

“Backup?” he asked. “For what?” Alan rolled his eyes and shoved the phone into Nathan’s hand. “You better answer it,” he said. “It’s Lafonda.”

Nathan paused to take a deep breath and sighed. He could only imagine how upset she was that he hadn’t r
eturned any of her phone calls. He placed Alan’s cell phone to his ear and winced.

“Hello?” he said slowly.

“Nathan Urye!” she responded angrily. “I have called you several times and left several messages. Why haven’t you called me back?”

“Um,” he uttered, while mentally recalling the events of the day. “I would say I have been very busy.”

“Whatever, Nathan. You could have at least texted me. And what’s going on there? Alan said the guys heard screaming on my floor. I tried calling Angela, but it just goes to voicemail.”

He heard a door open and close on the stairwell and pr
oceeded down the stairs, trying to remain calm. “Lafonda, I couldn’t call anybody. There was a storm tonight and I had no signal.”

“Hey,” protested Alan, while following close behind him. “Where are you going with my cell phone?”

Nathan just ignored him and kept walking. “Plus,” he continued, “you can’t imagine the night I’ve had. Jonathan and Dr. Helmsley were —”

“Leah’s missing,” she said.

He froze and Alan almost ran into him. “What?” he asked. “What do you mean? What happened?”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. “We had just returned back to Leah’s parents’ house after shoe shopping,” she said. “Leah wanted to change clothes before we went out for dinner.”

“Shoe shopping?” he asked.

Alan’s eyes lit up. “Shoe shopping?”

“Yes,” she continued. “I waited for her downstairs with her mom in the kitchen. She wasn’t gone that long. Her mom had just taken the peach cobbler out of the oven, and that’s when we heard this loud screeching noise.” 

A cold shiver ran down his back. “Did you say screec
hing noise?”

“Yes,” she said. “It almost sounded like grinding me
tal.”

Nathan remembered the sound the Necrocritters made while on the pseudo staircase with Jonas. He also recalled the scratches on Bobby’s arm, and the comment Jonas had made about the train behind his house. “Like the sound of a train?” he asked, proceeding down the stairs again.  

“Yeah,” she replied. “How did you know?” Lafonda waited for a response, but after a moment of silence continued. “We followed the sound back to Leah’s room, and when she didn’t respond, her mom opened the door. The room was a mess, Nathan — feathers everywhere and her bedspread ripped to shreds. It reminded me of her dorm room the night she was taken to the hospital.”

There was silence on the phone again.

“What kind of shoes did you buy?” Nathan finally asked.

Alan nodded, eager to hear the response.

“Shoes?” Lafonda asked, sounding a bit confused. “I bought a pair of sneakers.”

“Are you wearing them now?” Nathan continued. “What color are they?”

“Yes. They’re pink and gray,” she replied, annoyed. “And why on Earth are you asking me about my shoes when Leah is missing?” 

“Where are you now?” he asked.

Lafonda huffed. “In my car,” she said. “Driving back to campus.”

“No!” Nathan exclaimed. “I mean
— you should stay there!”

“I need a break,” she said. “We just spent hours looking for her and talking to the police. I’m tired and just want to go home. I told her mom to call if there were any news.”

“That’s the reason why you should stay there,” he said. “You shouldn’t be driving; you’re tired. And what if Leah comes home?”

She sighed. “I’m already on the road, Nathan. And b
esides, I am almost there. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

He was nearing the bottom of the stairwell when he caught a glimpse of Erin standing there with a basketball in her hand. “Everything is fine,” he said.

“I want to talk to Angela,” she demanded.

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Everything is fine,” he said. “And we’ll see you when you get here.”

“Ugh,” she groaned.

Nathan looked distressed. “Bye,” he said, before hanging up the phone.