Part 17 (1/2)
Twenty-three.
”I S HE GONE S HE GONE?” TORI asked as I approached. asked as I approached.
I nodded and inhaled. The icy night air burned my lungs. I didn't feel the cold, though-I was wearing my s.h.i.+rt, one of the new sweats.h.i.+rts with the hood up, and the oversized jacket on top. Sweat dripped down my face as I struggled to catch my breath. I'd separated from the others a couple of blocks back, thinking that without a group, I might lose him easier. I'd been right.
We didn't know who'd come to investigate the noises. Maybe cops like Simon thought, maybe street people-we hadn't stuck around long enough to find out.
Now we stood in a parking lot, between a minivan and a pickup. Music boomed from a nearby club. That had surprised me-a packed parking lot and a busy bar so late at night on a weekday. Then I'd checked my watch and realized it wasn't even midnight yet.
”You shouldn't have taken off like that,” Derek said.
”I told you what I was doing. It worked, didn't it?”
”You can't-”
”Ease off,” Simon murmured. ”We need to find a new place to sleep.”
”Thanks to someone,” Tori said.
”It isn't Chloe's fault.”
”Sure it is. Even Derek said so.”
”He didn't mean-”
I held up my hands. ”I take all blame. Can we please stop bickering? I know everyone's on edge, but if we're going to get through this-”
”If you start a speech about how we all need to overcome our differences and work together, I'm going to hurl,” Tori said.
”Well, I would, but I'm afraid this genetically modified supernatural would be eaten by a genetically modified shark.”
Simon burst out laughing. ”Deep Blue Sea.” He looked at Derek. ”You didn't see it. Samuel L. Jackson is giving this group of survivors the speech about how they have to stop fighting and to work together. In the middle of it, the shark comes up behind him and eats him. Best death scene ever.”
”And a fitting one for anyone who makes that speech, which is why I'm not going to.”
”But you're right,” Simon said. ”Time to call a moratorium on the bickering.”
”Moratorium?” Tori said. ”Oooh, big word. Showing off, Simon?”
We all turned to look at her.
”What?” she said.
”No bickering means no jabs, no insults, no snark, no baiting,” Derek said. ”And it means we probably won't hear another word from you for days.”
”As for this situation,” I said, ”I take the blame, so I'll fix the problem. Stay here and I'll find us a place-”
Derek caught the back of my jacket. ”You still have a p.i.s.sed-off ghost looking for you and a huge reward on your head. Stay here with Tori. Simon and I will find a new spot.”
Before they took off, Derek turned back to me. ”I mean it, stay right here.”
”Even if the owners of these”-Tori rapped the vehicles on either side-”come out?”
Derek ignored her. ”She's your responsibility, Chloe.”
When they were gone, Tori turned to me. ”Why do you let him get away with that? He treats you like a little kid.”
I said nothing, just started walking away from the spot where Derek told me to stay.
She smiled. ”That's more like it.”
I led her to a strip of gravel between two buildings. Then I lowered myself to the ground. ”This is safer, but still close enough.”
She stared at me. ”You're kidding, right?”
I pulled my jacket sleeves over my hands to keep them warm.
”You actually listen to him?”
”Only when he has a point.”
She towered over me. ”You're going to let a guy order you around like that? Make the girls sit on their b.u.t.ts while the men go hunt up a cave to sleep in, maybe drag back some food for us to eat?”
”Yep.”
”Well, I'm not. I'm going to show those guys that a girl can do this just as well as they can.”
I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. She stomped off. I opened my eyes, watching her get farther away.
Derek said to stay. And he said to look after her. Conflicting requests at the moment. I know he'd tell me to forget Tori and take care of myself. But I couldn't do that.
”Hold up,” I said as I jogged behind her.
”If you're going to whine at me about p.i.s.sing off Frankenstein, save it.”
”I'm not here to give you c.r.a.p. I'm helping you find a spot. As long as we don't go far, Derek can track us.” As she stepped onto the sidewalk, I made sure my hood was still on, then hurried out and caught her sleeve. ”We can take quiet roads, but I need to avoid people as much as I can.”
”I don't. I'm not the one with stalker ghosts and a half-million bucks on my head.”
”Yes, but if the Edison Group wants us back badly enough, they might have gone public to flush us out. We both need to be careful.”
We reached the end of the street. As she started turning left, I stopped her again.
”This way,” I waved to the darker end of the street. ”Look for a good spot in an alley. The wind's coming from the north, so we need a northern barrier. A corner or alley end or recessed delivery door would be best, so we can see anyone coming. And the worse the lighting, the better. We want dark and we want secluded.”
”You're as bossy as Derek, you know that? The only difference is you give your orders nicely.”