The Dragon's Descent (9 page)

The heart monitor spiked even higher. Mrs. Atwood rushed over to his side. She turned to Vero.

“Vero, Mr. Atwood really needs to rest right now,” she said, in a way that was clear she was trying not to hurt Vero's feelings. “Why don't you come visit Albert later when he's home.”

“Oh, okay,” Vero said. “Bye, Mr. Atwood. Feel better. I'll come visit you later.”

As Vero and Tack walked away, Mr. Atwood's blood pressure alarm went off.

Over the next hour, the boys visited several rooms and gave out candy, magazines, freshly baked cookies, and coffee to patients and their visitors.

“My feet are killing me,” Tack told Vero. “When's our shift over?”

Vero glanced at his watch. “Five more minutes.”

A short, older woman wearing a hospital gown wandered over to them. Her hair was a mess, and she looked a bit out of it.

“Can I help you?” Vero asked her.

“Um, yes, I'm lost,” she said, confused. “I can't find my room.”

“Do you know the number?” Vero asked her.

“231.”

“That's up a floor,” Tack said.

“We'll take you there,” Vero said as he took her arm and walked her over to the elevator.

Tack left the cart and followed. He pushed the elevator button, and the doors instantly slid apart.

“You must have the magic touch,” she wheezed to Tack.

“As a matter-of-fact, I do.” Tack puffed out his chest.

They stepped inside the elevator. The doors began to close. Vero reached for the second-floor button when the woman immediately snatched his wrist and squeezed hard. Her face contorted into one of complete anger. Tack's eyes shot wide.

“We know it's you, Vero,” she growled.

Her hand pressed even tighter around Vero's wrist.

“Hey, get off of him!” Tack yelled as he tried to pull Vero's arm from her grasp.

“Where is it?” she shrieked.

“We left the cart in the hallway!” Tack screamed, yanking on Vero. “But we could go back and get you some cookies or something!”

The old woman would not release her grip. Her fingers began to smolder on Vero's skin. Tack looked as if he couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. Vero gazed into the woman's eyes, and he saw red—the red flecks of a malture.

“She's burning you, dude!” Tack screamed. The woman's arm was as hot as fire. Tack instantly let go of it, and shook his hand in pain.

Vero's eyes narrowed at the woman. A determination came over him and then one by one he pried her fingers off his wrist. Tack watched in horror and disbelief as Vero bent each of her fingers back, systematically breaking them. In a total panic, Tack hit random buttons on the elevator panel.

“We gotta get out of here!”

The woman hissed at Tack, displaying a mouth full of rotted teeth. He recoiled. She was about to pounce on Tack when Vero ran straightforward. He took two big steps right up the elevator wall before him, got airborne, and back flipped, landing behind the woman. He put her in a choke-hold, while Tack gripped the handrail. The elevator finally stopped on a floor.

“Run, get out!” Vero shouted to Tack.

Tack held on to the rail, frozen with fear.

“Tack, go! Get out of here!”

“I can't leave you!”

“Do it!” Vero shouted as the woman tried to break free from his grasp.

“I'll get help!” Tack shouted as he let go of the railing and ran toward the open elevator door. A massive, slimy, one-eyed creature stood blocking his way. Tack stopped dead in his tracks and stumbled back into the elevator. He tripped and fell on the floor. The creature stood over him.

“Tack!” Vero shouted as he released the old woman and threw himself between the new malture and Tack.

The malture stepped forward. As it reached out to Vero and Tack, a black iron chain shot out of its clawed hand. The cuff at the end of the chain flew over their heads and wrapped around the woman's neck and clasped. She shrieked. Then in one forceful tug, the malture pulled her toward him. He grabbed her, and they vanished instantly before the scared boys' eyes.

Tack's eyes went back into his head. He passed out. Vero kneeled over him, desperately hoping that when he woke, Tack would think it had all been a dream.

7

WORLDS COLLIDE

V
ero stood over Tack, who lay on a gurney in the emergency room. They were alone behind a curtain that hung all the way around the bed. Vero lightly slapped his friend's face, hoping to wake him.

“Tack, Tack, wake up . . .”

Vero was nervous. Had Tack really been able to see that malture? Would he remember the attack? If he did, how would Vero explain it? He had other questions as well—like why did the second malture rescue them from the malture posing as an old lady? What was that all about? Before Vero could think about it further, Tack's eyes started blinking—he was coming to.

“Tack, you all right?” Vero asked.

Vero watched as Tack's eyes slowly began to focus.

“How do you feel? You okay?” Vero asked, leaning over the gurney. “You passed out in the elevator.”

Tack's eyes instantly shot open. Vero saw terror in them.

“Get away from me!” Tack told Vero, as he bolted up and pushed himself away.

“Tack . . . what?” Vero said, hurt.

“Who are you?” Tack yelled.

“It's me, Vero.”

“No, they knew you. Those freakin' monsters in the elevator knew who you were!” Tack shouted as he raised the bedsheet instinctively up to his neck, shielding himself.

Vero was at a loss for words. Tack had seen both maltures. Worse, he remembered it all. Could Vero reveal his true identity to him, even though Uriel had always warned him not to? The thought left Vero feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. At the same time, his heart was breaking. How could his best friend now be afraid of him?

“Tack!” a woman's soft voice cried out.

The curtain pulled open, and Tack's parents, Marty and Mary, rushed over to him. In this case, it wasn't true that opposites attract, because Marty and Mary looked more like brother and sister than husband and wife. Both had husky, robust physiques. Each had a wide forehead with a narrow chin that made their faces look heart-shaped. Their eyes were a similar lively blue. And on top of their heads, the famous Kozlowski strawberry blond hair, which they had passed down to Tack and his sisters.

“Are you okay?” Mary asked, caressing her son's cheek.

Tack nodded.

“What happened?” Marty turned to Vero.

“He fainted in the elevator,” Vero said, hoping there'd be no more questions.

Nora walked over to them while holding a blood pressure monitor.

“He's awake.” Nora smiled, relieved.

“Nora, is he okay?” Mary asked, her brow furrowed.

“Doctor said he's fine,” Nora told them as she strapped the blood pressure cuff around Tack's bicep. “I just need to take his pressure.”

“Do you know what caused you to pass out?” Marty asked Tack.

Tack looked to Vero. Vero wondered what Tack would say and nervously shifted. But then Tack shook his head, in a small sign of loyalty to Vero.

“It's good—110 over 70,” Nora said as she ripped off the Velcro cuff. “Did you get enough sleep last night?”

Tack nodded. He then locked eyes with Vero. “But I won't tonight,” he muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Marty asked.

“Nothing.”

“Did you eat today?” Nora asked automatically.

“Nora, this is Tack we're talking about.” Mary smiled.

“Oh, right,” Nora said. “They did an EKG, and his heart's fine, so I think it was just a sudden drop in his blood pressure. Standing up too quickly or standing too long on your feet can trigger it. Or sometimes you can faint from anxiety or fear.”

Tack's eyes darted back to Vero.

“Can we go home?” Mary asked Nora.

“Sure,” Nora said. “But Tack should rest.”

Mary turned to Vero. “You want to come with us while your mother finishes her shift?”

“No,” Tack said a little too quickly.

“Tack!” Marty said.

“I just mean, I really need to go home and sleep,” Tack covered.

“Well, Vero can still come and watch TV . . .” Mary said suspiciously, staring into her son's eyes.

“No thanks, Mrs. Kozlowski,” Vero interrupted. “I have a lot of homework. I'm gonna go to the cafeteria and study.”

Vero turned and walked away, and Tack made no attempt to stop him.

“I've requested to go to Sri Lanka for a few days,” Dennis said as he stuck his fork into a piece of chicken. “The trip could help me push my project through.”

Clover sat across the kitchen table from Vero and her mother. Using her fork, she surreptitiously pushed some peas from her plate into a waiting napkin she held under the table.

Vero sat with his head down, quietly eating. He was clearly deep in thought, and had been since coming home from the hospital earlier.

“When would you leave?” Nora asked Dennis as she got up from the table and walked to the stove.

“Few weeks if it all gets approved.”

“I've always wanted to see that part of the world,” Nora said, grabbing a saucepan off a burner. “You better take a lot of pictures.”

“So, Vero, how was the hospital today?” Dennis asked.

Vero looked up from his food. “Fine,” he said a little too quickly, then went back to eating. Clover eyed him suspiciously.

“Poor Tack passed out,” Nora said.

“Really?” Dennis said. “Is he feeling okay?”

“Yes, but remind me to call Mary after dinner to check on him.”

“What happened?” Clover asked.

“He fainted in an elevator,” Nora answered. She turned to Vero. “Was he acting differently just before?”

“No.”

“Did he complain of dizziness or did he look clammy?” Nora asked, holding the saucepan.

“I don't know. I'm not a medical person,” Vero said with a definite annoyance in his voice. “Everybody says he's fine, so what's the big deal?”

“You don't have to bite my head off,” Nora said.

“Sorry,” Vero said, getting up from the table. “Can I be excused? I have a ton of homework.”

“Okay.” Nora sighed.

As Vero placed his dirty dish into the sink, Nora scooped a spoonful of peas onto Clover's plate.

“Hey! I didn't ask for more!” Clover protested.

“Well, I just assumed you wanted more, because you seem to be saving those in your napkin for later,” Nora said, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

Clover rolled her eyes. She was busted. Vero chuckled as he walked out of the room.

Minutes later, Clover made her way to her brother's bedroom. The door was open, and Vero was lying on his bed playing a video game on his old PSP.

“Studying real hard, I see,” Clover said, narrowing her eyes.

“Maybe I was and now I'm taking a break.”

“Liar.” Once inside, Clover shut the door and walked over to his bed. “What went on in that elevator?” She yanked the digital game from his hands. “And don't lie to me, because I'll know!”

She placed the game on his desk. Vero looked up at her, hesitant.

“I can handle it,” Clover said as she sat on his bed.

“I was attacked by an old lady pretending to be a patient. Tack saw it all.”

“What do you mean?”

“A malture disguised like an old lady.”

“An undercover one like Blake and Duff?”

“Yeah.”

Blake and Duff were maltures who had disguised themselves as two teenage thugs, who then hung out with Danny Konrad at school. They had tried to lead Danny down the path to ruin, but Vero had fought and defeated them.

“Did Tack see her? Is that why he passed out?”

“I was hoping he'd forget or think it was all a dream, but yeah, he definitely saw them and remembered.”