Shadow Taking Over

18- Tipped

The drive was a silent one. Every so often, the driver, who was a twenty-something college student, glanced back at the two nervously. His main focus was on Eve. She continuously shifted uncomfortably due to the confinement of this small space. To him, she appeared to extremely intimidating. He decided to turn on some music from his favored radio station to split the awkward quiet. The first song was a peppy, girl singer with repetitive lyrics for 2/3 of the song.

It had been ages since Eve had been able to hear the melody of music. Never had she listened to the radio. Unless you counted the brief drives in Tanner's mother's car if Eve had the pleasure of a playdate in her younger years. Otherwise, Eve had heard music from hired musicians who played personal concerts for her father in his study. Her favorite had been the violinist. She had been a nice, young woman. Then, she had disappeared.

Clearly, Eve was far behind on the new hip trends because she didn't recognize the artist in the slightest. She remembered that before her transformation she swayed along to this style of music. But now, as she sat listening, Eve felt increasingly annoyed at the high pitch of the artist's voice.

"Could you turn the station to something less.. Pop?" Ace asked the driver. He clearly shared her opinion.

"But this is a good song," the driver briefly argued. After seeing the scorching glare of Eve from the rear view mirror, he immediately switched to the next station.

An alternative rock song blasted through the car speaker. He hurried to turn the volume down four or five notches. Eve's face suddenly lit up. This was a moment of new-self self discovery. She leaned closer to hear the song. Each strum of the bass caused small flutters in her heart. Adrenaline pulsed through out her body. There was a sudden rush that coursed her body. A surge of emotion. Eve didn't notice it, but the more excited she was, the hotter she became.

The driver suddenly screeched to a halt, which caused her to smack into the back of the passenger seat. Eve threw herself against her seat and nursed her nose gingerly. Ace suppressed laughter by forcing a cough.

"Alright, here we are," the driver annunciated in relief.

Eve flailed from the car. Another moment in that metal death trap, and she would've screamed. Ace followed, much calmer, in suit. He waited for the Uber to lower his window so he could pay. The total sum was $15.67. From Lance, he had received a crisp twenty dollar bill. He showed this to the driver. Nodding, the man dug through the glove compartment to find available change. Ace passed him the bill and tapped the top of the vehicle twice with his knuckles. He stepped away to wordlessly tell the driver that he could keep the change. Ace watched the driver's face light up. He reached out to shake Ace's hand gratefully, then drove off to find his next customer.

Ace thought, better to give Lance's money to someone who needs it than let that madman waste it on his schemes.

They had been dropped off in the dead center of the city. A central plaza was situated there for pedestrians only. Various shops and eateries enclosed the plaza to keep the people inside and spending their money. It was quite crowded due to the nature of the hour, which Eve assumed to be early afternoon. There were at least a dozen individuals lined up at an outdoor cafe for take-away sandwiches. The noise level was quite high as people of all variations bustled past. She hadn't the slightest idea why they might be at a place like this.

Eve blinked out of her thoughts and noticed that Ace wasn't beside her. She frantically searched the sea of faces for his. The faces all blurred together, and she began to feel trapped where she stood. Crowds. Oh how she hated crowds. Her heart plummeted into her stomach. All eyes simultaneously turned to her, or so she imagined. Every inch of her spine tingled- partially the fault of the shadows gathering on that exact spot. A hand approached her bicep. The shadows sensed it before it could grab onto Eve, so they forced her to flinch by attacking the nerves. It caused her to jolt a few steps back.