Fate's Demand (Twisted Fate, Book 3)

Chapter Nine

"Aly!"

Suzie ran to my side the moment I stepped through the door into the over-crowded gymnasium like she'd been watching, waiting for me to arrive. She was already dressed in her graduation gown with her cap in her hands—no way was that ruining her hair until it absolutely had to. Forever vain, she still had to look good in front of the seniors gathered without their parents, who were busy vying for seats for the ceremony outside. After all, what was graduation for but gaining an audience?

For a moment, while she received her diploma, it would all be for Suzie.

She stopped in front of me and her smile faded. Furrowing her brow, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"What isn't?" I pasted a fake smile to my face to look like everyone else gathered and darted my eyes around the room. "My mom isn't coming."

"Oh, sweetie—"

"Don't. Hug me." Taking a quick step back, I raised my hand out to stop her. If she hugged me, I'd be a slobbering fool like all the parents who had come.

"You can have mine for the day?" She paused with her arms outstretched and began to smile, and then dropped them, shrugging. "Hey, your parents might not be here, but I'd rather have yours than mine any day."

Switch absent parents for fake ones? I didn't think so.

At least, if my mom were sane, she'd be here by choice. How would it feel to know it was all an act? That the minute nobody was watching, they no longer cared for you like they wanted the world to believe? Yeah, my best friend, Suzie Whithall, was granted beauty. She was popular and smart and apparently, she had visions. I envied her for those things, but would I want to be her? Not if I lost my parents.

I lifted my gaze and looked around the gym again. Either more seniors than we had were graduating, or everyone had brought a plus one their own age. "How about you show me where I get my costume for this circus instead?" I asked, refocusing on Suzie.

She turned, walking towards the bright red double-doors on the right that led to the smaller gym, and I hurried to follow. "I thought you wanted to come to graduation?"

"I did," I said, "but it's like when you wanted to lose your virginity—doesn't really live up to its hype."

She slapped me in the arm with the back of her hand, which I chose to ignore since it wouldn't be fair to bruise her on her big day. Besides, I deserved it for bringing up her relationship with the evil spawn we had called Deryk. At least she hadn't slept with him, a travesty that morphed into a blessing. Who knew Aunt Rose's monthly visits would benefit a relationship?

"Here you go." Suzie stopped at the door to the smaller gym. "Watch out for cords, though. They're repairing stuff. The gowns are all set up by the stage away from the dust and drywall and crap."

"Aren't you coming?"

"Sure, I just..." Suzie opened the door and stepped aside to let me past, and her voice faded as she turned to wave at someone calling her name.

My mouth dropped as I stepped through the doorway. The repairs she'd mentioned turned out to be a full-blown construction site. Tools and sawhorses were everywhere, overloaded with sharp supplies that in no way looked safe enough for anyone to be traipsing through. Half the gym was gutted!

I turned back to Suzie just as the door shut behind me, slamming in my face.

My breath caught and I blinked. Exhaling slowly, I twisted back to take in the surroundings that Suzie had thrust me into. Alone and in the dark, the gym looked anything but friendly. The gym, which was small compared to the larger version, was still enormous. Today, with nobody present and the lights nearly non-existent, it felt tinier than my bedroom as though the walls were moving in on me.

Shadows were cast everywhere. They were under tables, outlining the tools, and hiding within the structures of the walls like muscle layered upon bone. Unlike the human body, the darkness here had no trouble straining beyond its physical limits to disconnect from the structure. I took two steps, feeling as though at any moment they would reach out to welcome me into a wall to call my own.

The floor creaked and I paused to hold my breath, darting my eyes around.

It would be easier to show up naked to receive my diploma.

I turned back to flee but the door was locked from the outside. Placing my hand on the wall and bracing my foot at an angle against the bottom of the door, I pulled. I strained, wiggling the handle as I tried to defy the reality of being locked inside the small gym, but it didn't move. Not ready to give up, I wiped my palms against my thighs and then resumed position.

Start, stop. Pull, release... pause, and again.

The fourth pull finally gave, and I stumbled back.

Oh, you've got to be kidding me!

Looking down, I held the handle up to eye level. Dammit! I should have tried using my so-called abilities. I mean, if I could unlock a door without a key, I should be able to open an unlocked exit.

Now, I had no choice but to make my way through the construction, which was less deadly than the lack of light, to the opposite side of the room. Not only was it the only way to reach the stage, but it's also where the only other exit was located. I doubted even my newfound powers could replace a door handle.

Just breathe. You're strong. You kill shadows, remember? Count the steps.

One, two... eight... fifteen.

It was useless. All that counting helped me with was to promote my psyche towards developing a serious case of OCD. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then started again, focusing on the light by the stage like the finish line you can see during the last stretch of a marathon.

My paranoia simmered to tolerable as the light grew larger, brighter. Every time it ebbed, I tripped over cords and materials. My concentration snapped over and over, forcing me to restart each time. My focus whipped in and out so fast, I should've been a tennis pro, though there would need to be lots of lights to hit a ball.

Maybe in the next life.

Halfway through the gym, my phone sang with Suzie's song, and I jumped.

Rolling my eyes, I exhaled the breath I subconsciously held and stopped to fumble for my phone in my front pocket. Bypassing pleasantries, I said, "I'm so not impressed with you right now, Suzie."

"What?" she asked. "Why?"

"Uh, because you locked me in the gym? It is dark? Not cool." I hoped for her sake she didn't need me to explain why that was a problem. "Why didn't we go through the door by the stage? Where did you go? You left me here!"

"Because that door was the closest. There are a million people coming in and out of there to get their robes, and I was asked to sign a yearbook."

"There are not a million people in here, Suzie," I said, raising my eyes to glance around. Lowering my voice to a whisper, I said, "I'm alone. It's dark and no one is checking out gowns."

"I—what...?"

"Suzie?"

The line went quiet with a faint buzzing sound. I brought it down and tapped it against my hand. The screen indicated that the call was still connected. The hum sounded for another moment when I brought it back to my ear, then the telltale silence of the going dead. Not disconnected but as though the battery had died. Impossible. It had charged all night, and this was the first time I'd used it since it was unplugged.

Okay, superpowers, you better be on call today or I'm switching providers.

I slipped my phone into my front pocket and straightened, ready to run. After just one step forward, my foot tangled in a cord. Instead of landing face-first on the cement base of the floor stripped of wood, my forehead hit someone's stomach. They grabbed my arms to keep me steady.

"Oomph."

"I'm sorr—" Looking up, my apology died before it finished, and I jerked my arms free.

A/N: Two-for-one updates today! I felt bad for not having posted in a while :)