Midnight Ruling (20 page)

Stepping away from the black mist, I ran into Phoebe who, at the same time, twisted and fell to her knees with a painfully loud wheeze.

When I reached to help her up, she jerked away.

The tiger stalked back into view, sitting at the end of the pathway, and watched.

“It’s okay,” I said, uncertain if I was reassuring Phoebe or myself.

Phoebe stood up on her own and glanced at the cat.

“Damien left her,” I said.

“Why?” Her voice was husky and raw.

“I don’t know.”

“No, Fuller this is stupid. Why the hell did you come back? Did you know any of this? What the hell does Damien want with you? What’s a Neophuck?” She was furious, but I couldn’t tell if it was at me or at Damien.

I took another step away from her and gave her a hopeless stare. “I don’t know, at least not really. An apprentice, I think?”

“He had asked for you before? This is…” She threw up her arms and rolled her eyes. “He can’t get away with this. He can’t have any of us.”

She sounded as brave as I wanted to be when facing Damien.

“Phoebe,” I shuffled forward to catch her eye, “we have to find the others. We have to get out of here.”

Phoebe placed her delicate hands on her hips and glared at the cat. “Does she bite?”

“I don’t know that either,” I admitted.

Phoebe crouched, offering her hand and cooing with a daredevil smirk. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.”

“Phoebe!” I cried, groping to pull her away. The instant my hand touched her skin, I reeled back. Her arm was freezing! But she wasn’t shivering.

Seeing that Phoebe’s full attention was on the tiger, I rubbed my hands together, still feeling the sting of her chill on my skin. “She might be another Challenge?”

Phoebe snorted. “Or the Freeze Tag monster.”

I hadn’t thought of that. I grabbed Phoebe’s arm, warming her skin between my palms.

She stopped and straightened. “Wow.” She glanced at my hands. “I didn’t realize…”

I rubbed her arms vigorously. “If that’s the Freeze Tag Monster, then I’d rather we didn’t go near her. I don’t want to lose you this soon.” I didn’t have to add, “Like last time.”

I needed her, I realized. I needed someone to shoulder the weight.

Phoebe didn’t argue. Her forest green eyes shifted to the center of the zoo. “Who are Joel, Claire, and Cooper?”

I hesitated before clearing my throat. “They followed me here.”

“Why?”

“They thought I had more to do with your disappearance than I was letting on.”

Phoebe snorted again.

“They were given warnings, and they ignored them just like we did. Now they’re all stuck here somewhere.”

Phoebe’s eyes glazed over. “How…how is my mom?”

I licked my lips nervously. “She’ll be better when you come home.” I didn’t want to tell her that none of the families were doing well. Robin’s parents had threatened to sue my dad when Aidan and I first came back. Cody’s mom was planning a funeral while his dad and brothers just kept working, and reminded me of my dad. Read’s surviving father was too far away for me to know; I could only imagine he was worried.

Phoebe shrugged her thin shoulders, muscles taut and quivering. “Well, I say we greet that thing. If it’s a monster, it’ll show its true colors one way or the other. Might as well find a way to get by it.”

“Her,” I corrected.

She didn’t seem to be listening to me; she crept forward with her back arched and her long arm out like a treat.

I fell in step behind the golden-haired girl, giving her all the weight of the situation. It was such a relief to do so.

The tiger remained still and didn’t appear bothered.

Phoebe came up close enough to touch her.

The tiger didn’t flinch or growl. She remained stone still, except for her eyes, which switched from face to face. What if this was someone trapped in a tiger’s body? Cody had brown eyes…

With a steady hand, Phoebe stroked the tiger’s head before I could protest. I stiffened as I watched her trail fingermarks through the thick fur.

The animal remained a stationary figure, unperturbed by Phoebe and me, which was strange all in itself.

I reached out and touched her head, mimicking Phoebe’s brave attempt.

The tiger didn’t move or respond, just watched.

“She must be a pet,” Phoebe said, scratching it behind the ear.

The tiger stood up on all fours, and we both backed away instinctively.

Turning away, she padded out of our reach before sitting back down by the
Snakes & Vines
sign.

“Do you think she has a name?” Phoebe asked me.

“I don’t know,” I said, feeling like a broken record.

“We should give her one if she’s going to follow us around everywhere.” Phoebe eyed the tiger.

The two of us fell silent, neither volunteering a name. She’d probably turn on us anyway.

Pointing to the
Snakes & Vines
sign, I said, “I think she’s telling us which one to pick.”

Ignoring me, Phoebe
slapped
her bare, flat stomach. “Hot dogs.” She nodded to the stand, which was now coated in the fine dust and didn’t look nearly as inviting.

“I’m staaaarving,” Phoebe said.

“Oh, about that,” I realized I’d turned my back to the tiger and quickly peeked over my shoulder to see she hadn’t moved.

Phoebe’d already opened the first lid before I could finish. Reeling back from the overwhelming stench, she dropped it in a clatter.

I winced at the noise and motioned for her to be quiet. “Do you mind? Monster on the prowl and such.”

She waved a dismissive hand in my direction. “I’m too hungry to really care at the moment.” It was a ridiculous statement, and I had to brush it off before I could bristle.

Rummaging through a few other hotdog compartments, Phoebe miraculously unearthed an uncooked slick hotdog. She held it up to the dim light from the lantern and squinted at it.

“I still wouldn’t eat that. What if…” Before I could finish, Phoebe gobbled it down and rummaged for another.

I decided to give up. “Are you telling me that you haven’t eaten for three weeks?”

If it weren’t for her cheeks being stuffed with food, Phoebe would have smiled. She chewed for a second more then swallowed. “I’ve eaten, couldn’t tell you when though.” Then she took another big bite out of a wiener. “Besides, time don’t count down here, remember?” She plopped down on the black metal bench, crossing her long slim legs.

Yeah, I remembered.

I eased onto the bench beside her, careful not to move too fast with the tiger watching.

At least we didn’t seem to be in any danger now. Instead, I watched Phoebe gorge herself on raw hotdogs until she tapped me on the shoulder and gestured to the hotdog stand.

“Mind getting me another one?” she mumbled with her mouth full.

I should have told her to get it herself, but I wanted to move. Sitting still was making me anxious. The tiger was licking her paw, ignoring us. Distracted by her, I stumbled over the discarded rope that once held me. I kicked it out of my path and opened the compartment.

The water was murky, and I realized she must have been starving to even consider something in there edible. The dogs she crammed into her cheeks looked healthy, though the water was dark and still.

Taking a deep breath through my mouth, I lowered my hand into the cool water, swaying it to catch the floating and elusive food.

Phoebe finished her mouthful and was looking at me from the bench expectantly.

“This is disgusting,” I told her.

“Food’s food.”

My fingers caught a wiener at last, and I pulled it free, hand dripping. I was certain any buns would be too far gone by now, so I didn’t bother offering to look for any. Raising the slippery dog up for her to see, I tossed it.

Phoebe caught it expertly with one hand and grinned.

I glanced at the tiger. “Do you want one too?”

The tiger only stared at me, motionless except for her twitching tail.

I reached into the slimy water again and caught one. Without looking, I extracted it from the water and was about to throw it when I realized what I held.

The scream ripped from my throat before I could stop it. Instead of a hotdog, it was a bloodless human thumb.

I dropped it onto the ground, and the finger rolled out into the dusty circle center.

“Gross,” Phoebe muttered with a mouthful of food. She swallowed anyway then looked away with a deep breath to keep everything down.

Winding back, I kicked the severed finger away. It rolled in mid-air and landed in the dusty dirt, partially covered in the impact.

Knees wobbling within sockets, I collapsed on the bench.

No amount of rubbing my hands could assuage my disgust or the horror that swelled at having touched that thing.

Even after I swung my arm until the water dried, it still felt as if there were a thin coat of slime.

I shuddered and looked over at the tiger. “Sorry,” I grumbled. “They’re out.”

Phoebe sighed and stood up, her back to the finger. “I guess I should have checked it a little more carefully,” she admitted. “But I feel a bit better…stomach might need time to settle.”

Still dwelling in disgust, I stood up and forced myself to look at the finger.

It was a thumb. Wrinkled at the edges, it looked as though it had been in the water for a while.

Phoebe put an arm around my shoulders. “It’s okay, Fuller,” she said in a hushed tone. “Let’s just focus on what we need to do next. The last thing I’m going to do is puke this up.”

She was right, but it was unnerving to think that someone was wandering around the Demon’s Grave without a thumb.

Phoebe scrutinized each of the suspended signs. “You think this cat knows the way, Fuller?” she asked, her stomach gurgling.

“I picked the Mangy Monkeys, and I was led to you. So maybe each of these paths leads us to at least one person.” I grabbed my stick and noticed a thin, scabbed cut running up Phoebe’s side.

Phoebe looked too. “Yeah, won’t heal completely for some reason,” she said.

“Infection?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Don’t think so. It would ache, and I don’t feel it at all.”

We exchanged a glance, and neither of us seemed willing to discuss it further.

“Well.” Phoebe motioned to the tiger. “No time like the present.” Arm still around my shoulder, she led me toward the
Snakes & Vines
, dust kicking up in our wake.

This path was longer and dimly lit. Phoebe and I couldn’t walk side by side without touching one of the cages, so I took a half step behind her.

I glanced back to see the tiger following at a safe distance and gripped my stick protectively. She’d likely kill me before I got to use it, but it was a small comfort nonetheless.

Our path snaked left then right.

Phoebe halted in her tracks, and my heart tackled my throat before seeing the fork in the road. I guess I’d expected worse.

A stone tablet jutted from the ground with two carved arrows. One had an Egyptian snake symbol chiseled above it, while the other looked like a creature with a crocodile head and maybe a baboon body?

It looked as though we had another choice to make.

“Guess that way means
Snakes?
” I said, pointing to the snake symbol on the tall, flat stone. It stood as high as my shoulder.

“Why advertise snakes then give us a new option?” Phoebe’s eyes narrowed.

“Maybe it’s a trick?”

Phoebe cracked a knuckle. “Well then, let’s not go to the cats. How about the snakes?” Phoebe didn’t wait to hear if I agreed before veering right.

Scrambling to catch up, feeling the doubts triple in my head, I didn’t get time to protest.

The path slithered, much like a snake, weaving and swaying and leaving too many blind spots. Before we knew it, the pathway forked again. Another stone tablet jutted from the earth. On the right there was the snake again. Egyptian looking, the snake was wrapped around Norse letters. The one on the left indicated a Jackal-like creature with no ancient Norse influence.

“This is getting confusing,” I said.

“We better remember where we go,” Phoebe mused. “We could easily get lost.”

“Well, which way? There’s still the snakes or there’s…”

“Keep going to the snakes.” Phoebe nudged me. My insides were flipping sideways in anticipation. Something didn’t feel right.

I gripped my trusty little stick for reassurance. I tried to keep my cool like Phoebe, but I wasn’t succeeding nearly as well.

As we rounded yet another S-turn, I saw it. The black door reflected torchlight, standing eerie and tall against the steel bars. I could feel Phoebe tense beside me. I stepped forward first and gripped the knob in a sweaty palm. That was when I noticed the latch.

Something to keep whatever was inside from escaping. Pinching to slide it free, Phoebe whispered, “wait.”

I paused, listening to the quiet jungle around us.

Then she shouted, startling me away from the door. “Hey, is anyone in there?”

“Phoebe!” I scolded in a hiss and waved my hands at her frantically. “What part of freeze-tag and monster didn’t you get?”

As if on cue, a small voice in the distance called, “Phoebe, is that you?”

“Someone’s in there.” Phoebe budged in front of me.

“What if it’s a trick?” I hissed, a little miffed at being shouldered to the side.

Phoebe shrugged and lowered her voice to a mild whisper. “What if it isn’t? We can’t just walk away.”

She was right, but I still didn’t like where this was going.

I didn’t finish nodding before Phoebe slid the latch free.

Pushing the door inward, Phoebe stepped back as we stared at the jungle. Large trees were on either side of the door, thick vines weaving around them like anacondas. Overgrown fronds protruded between the bars but cleared a narrow path for us to follow.

Phoebe took the lead, but I was quick to catch up and walk beside her before she could leave me behind.

The voice in the distance cracked. “Phoebe?” It was a male’s voice but too muddled to tell whose. Something told me that it wouldn’t be Aidan, as much as I wanted it to be.