"Hey, you remember what I said last year, right? We're Zombie Boy and Ghost Boy. I'm not ever gonna leave you."
"Promise?"
"One hundred percent."
***
In which Alistair fights the monster that possessed his friend alongside his friends, while trying...
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Chapter Twenty-Nine: Reunion At Starcourt
(The Bite, Pt. 4)
***
They arrived at Starcourt Mall in record speed.
Nancy skidded in before parking and they rushed out—the fireworks had miraculously stayed on top of the roof of the car. Instead of heading to the main entrance, Alistair, Will, Cami and Lucas made a beeline to the entrance for the delivery corridor, Nancy, Jonathan, Mike, Max and El trailing behind them. Hugin cawed as they sprinted through it and up the stairs, until they rushed out of it through the cinema.
There was no sign of Dustin or Rowan.
Alistair gulped, burying his worry as they ran for the entrance out of it toward the balcony railing.
And that was when they saw the black-uniformed men, guns in hands on the ground level. Advancing on one of the stores in the food court.
Alistair's heart skipped a beat as El whispered, "Stay back."
Shrugging off Mike and Max, she hobbled to the balcony and stretched out her hand.
Immediately the prize car began blaring, alarms going berserk. The men paused, mouths moving—they were too far for Alistair to hear—before they turned, seeing El standing there, blood probably pouring from her nose, a deadly look on her face.
A second passed, and El was throwing the car, the vehicle ramming into the men before it flipped over and crashed into the counter of another food court store. Alistair winced, feeling pinpricks of being bulldozed by a car run through him before passing.
Silence stretched as from the food store the men had been advancing, Dustin and Rowan popped up—along with Steve, Cami's sister Valerie, Rowan's friend Robin, and Lucas' sister Erica, perplexed expressions on their faces.
They cleared on Rowan's, Dustin's and Steve's faces when they saw El and then the rest of them rushing forward, as a big grin spread on Dustin's face and a smile and look of relief on Rowan's at seeing Alistair. Alistair felt his own relief bloom on his face at seeing his sister, who looked okay.
They turned and rushed for the escalators, all but running down them. They ran to the group who was also running to them, Dustin crying out with a laugh, "You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!"
He and El collided in a hug as Alistair bolted to Rowan, tackling her in a tight hug as she stumbled slightly back.
"Don't you ever disappear again, Rowan!" he exclaimed, voice half-muffled. He pulled back, trying to glare but the wobbly smile of sheer relief made it hard. "Are you okay? What happened to you? I thought you were dead! I was gonna raise you up and kill you again and you're okay!"
"I'm okay, squirt," Rowan assured as she hugged him back. Alistair smiled—he missed hearing the nickname. "I'm okay. Though, that's hypocritical given what you did two years ago."
