The Ravaging in Between (The Reanimation Files Book 3) (7 page)

I was cut off by a scream somewhere in the crowd that wasn’t a cheer. When I turned, it was in time to see someone go flying through the air before slamming into several people. They all crumbled to the ground. People started shouting and trying to get away from the threat that had suddenly descended.

I soon saw what that threat was. A ghost.

The ghost looked as though in life he had ate, slept, and lived at the gym, and could have been a body double for The Hulk without any computer graphic enhancements. He was a nasty-looking motherfucker, and he barreled through the crowd like he was a wrecking ball and they were tiny bowling pins.

My heart felt like a fist had tightened around it when I saw the ghost reach Taj and Leora. Leora was agitated and trying to help Taj get through the melee, but the ghost knocked Taj down, grabbed Leora, and lifted her into the air. I watched in rising horror as a shimmering yellow glow engulfed them and Leora started screaming. The feel of ghost energy skyrocketed. It was as though tiny currents of electricity were dancing across my skin. At first I couldn’t understand what I was looking at; then, in horror, I realized what that ghost was doing to Leora.

He was absorbing her.

CHAPTER SIX

Leora screamed until she couldn’t scream anymore.

I watched as her human form dissolved into a stream of yellow energy that flowed into the ghost, whose hands had been tightly wrapped around her forearms. I tried to move forward so I could run off the stage and do something to save her, but the tremendous power unleashed by the aggressive ghost held me immobile. I threw my necromancer power at the ghost to try and return the favor of being held in place, but to my surprise, that didn’t work. The ghost had to be immensely strong if it was unaffected by my power.
Shit
.

Leora blinked out of existence, and suddenly I could move again and stumbled forward. Micah caught me before I hit the ground, and I looked at him with wide eyes and likely the same horrified expression he was giving me.

“Selene, let’s go.” Micah started pulling me away. Getting out of here was a good idea, especially since the ghost was coming this way now, but as I started to run off with Micah, I noticed that Margaret was still standing there, screaming. She was frantic about her mother and baby. Her mother was not having an easy time trying to maneuver herself and the baby safely away. They were in danger of being trampled. Her mother was clutching the baby to her chest. The stroller had already been overturned.

“Micah, help them, I will try to find Taj!” I had lost sight of Taj and couldn’t imagine that he was faring well in the agitated crowd. Micah hesitated, but I pushed him and he grabbed Margaret and jumped off the front of the stage. He took Leah from her grandmother, and started leading them away.

Now it was my turn to get off the stage. But my attempt was hampered when something slammed into me and I had a painful meeting with the stage floor. The ghost had thrown a folding chair. When I looked up, he’d jumped onto the stage and was advancing on me. I started crawling backward, but soon realized that I was almost at the edge of the stage.

I got up and dashed to the side, trying to get to the steps, but the ghost grabbed me and soon had his hand around my throat. He lifted me off the ground as he began crushing my windpipe. My lungs burned for air and my vision crossed. My only hope was to snatch away his energy rune and render him intangible, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t reach it.

Then a shot rang out and the ghost’s body jerked so hard he dropped me and I fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The ghost still loomed over me, baring its ghostly teeth as though he was a lion and I was a gazelle ready for consumption. Two more shots came and once again, the ghost’s body jerked. When I looked around, the stage was surrounded by Paranormal Task Force officers in full riot gear with their rune guns pointed at the ghost. The ghost looked considerably pissed that his attempt to crush the life out of me was interrupted.

He reached for me again, but three more shots hit him and he decided against it. But he didn’t fall. Five shots and the son of a bitch was still standing.
Damn, he was strong. Did absorbing Leora help him become so resilient?

Ghost guy jumped off the stage and more bullets rang out. They weren’t aimed at me, but you never knew when a stray bullet could find you so I stayed crouched on the stage near the upturned podium. The PTF officers chased the ghost, but he was getting further and further away from them. If their bullets didn’t stop him, then it looked like he’d be getting away. I slumped over, feeling boneless, confused, and astounded at the sudden violent turn this ceremony had taken.

“Selene!” Micah scrambled up onto the stage and came to crouch next to me, his concerned eyes sweeping my body.

“I’m fine,” I said hoarsely. “Mostly.” I rubbed my sore throat. “Did you get them to safety? Is the baby OK?”

“Yes. I put them in a cab so they could get out of the area. Are you sure you’re OK?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “That ghost came after me, tried to kill me.”

“What the hell for?” Micah looked up and around as though he expected the ghost to return.

“No clue. I’ve never seen him before.”

“Are you sure you’re all right? I should have stayed with you, damn it.” He gave me a scrutinizing look.

“No, you should have made sure those three got out of here safely, which you did. And I am fine. More so physically than mentally. That ghost just…absorbed Leora.”

“How is that even possible?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. But what it boils down to is that Leora is gone.” I looked around. “Where’s Taj?” Before Micah could answer, I spotted him struggling to his feet next to the stage. We ran over and helped him up. He was a bit bruised but wasn’t bleeding. He’d apparently taken cover under the stage, which was a smart move. He was trembling and looked scared.

“Taj, hey, it’s OK,” I said as we helped him up. “It’s Selene and Micah.”

“What…what happened? What was that? Where’s my aunt?”

I couldn’t imagine how nightmarish this must have seemed to him. It was horrific, but being able to only hear the horror had to have been even more terrifying. Micah and I exchanged a look. I did not want to attempt to explain what had happened to his aunt’s ghost.

“Selene?”

“Taj, uh…your aunt’s ghost…”

“Can I be of any assistance?”

I turned to see Jacob coming up to us. He looked a little roughed up, but it seemed as though he’d gotten himself out of harm’s way early enough. I swallowed hard and exchanged another look with Micah. Jacob’s words were friendly, but the vibe he brought with him was anything but. I felt instantly uncomfortable.

“Ms. Vanream, Mr. Stone,” Jacob said. “I have to say I did not imagine an event to honor my brother and the other victims of your uncle would have turned out this way.”

The way he’d said “your uncle” practically dripped with contempt. Jacob shook his head and laid a hand on Taj’s shoulder, who flinched at the stranger’s touch.

“I can escort this young man to receive some assistance,” Jacob offered.

“No, that’s OK, we can—”

“I insist,” Jacob said. “I’ve already helped several people to the ambulances. I want to do my part to help. This should have been a peaceful day to remember those we lost. Instead, it almost turned into a blood-bath. You have a special touch, don’t you, Selene?”

He said that last part very softly and my discomfort grew. I fought the urge to squirm under his gaze.

“My aunt,” Taj said. “Where is she?”

“I will explain everything,” Jacob said. “You look like you can use some patching up; please allow me to escort you to the paramedics.”

Taj nodded. I could have insisted we escort him instead, but I wasn’t Taj’s keeper. Taj wasn’t doing so well standing on his own, and I had the feeling he might slip into shock. Especially once he found out what happened to his aunt.

Jacob started to lead Taj away, then stopped and turned back to me.

“Ms. Vanream, I’ll admit I envisioned our first encounter going quite differently, but in any case, I wondered if you would not mind stopping by the office within the next day or so. I wish to chat with you further. And give you the opportunity to clear out your desk. Before your belongings are discarded.”

“Uh…” He wanted to chat further? I wanted anything but. But what I did want were certain things left in my desk. I knew I had at least two good pairs of shoes stashed there, along with a bag or two of my personal runes. Those things weren’t cheap and I wasn’t about to let them get trashed.

“Sure…I’ll stop by.”

Jacob nodded again, and Micah and I watched him take Taj to the paramedics. On the one hand I felt relieved that I didn’t have to explain to Taj what happened to Leora, but I also felt guilty. That ghost, for whatever reason, had been after me, and had juiced up on Leora before it tried to kill me. She did not deserve that fate. She should have faded to the Afterlife once her unfinished business had been taken care of, not sucked into some asshole ghost.

Micah pulled me into his arms and I lay my head on his chest. There were so many questions about what the hell had just gone down running through my head.

“Whoever that ghost was, he wanted me dead,” I said. “I just have no clue why.”

“Hopefully the PTF will capture him,” Micah said. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“No, I just need some painkillers and I think I’ll be good.” As we started to walk away, I glanced over at the memorial.

“This wasn’t how this was supposed to go,” I said. “Can’t a girl catch a break?”

Trouble seemed to follow me wherever I went. I just hoped this memorial wasn’t the first of more to come.

* * *

Two days later, I felt a lot better. The soreness in my throat was gone and I was back to having the loss of my reanimation power be the only negative effects I experienced. I’d watched the news only to find out that the ghost had gotten away from the PTF, which did not leave me with a good feeling, seeing as he wanted to do me harm. I could only hope they caught him before he showed up again. The news had extensively covered the horrific turn of events at what was supposed to be a time to remember Renton’s victims. At least there had been no fatalities, just numerous injuries. And no one blamed me for the ghost’s appearance and subsequent rampage, which was a relief.

Micah had checked in on Taj, and told me that he was on leave from work and being taken care of by his family. He had had a breakdown upon learning what happened to his aunt’s ghost. It was even worse because no one could tell him why it had happened. There was no explanation for how one ghost could absorb another. The image still haunted me. I couldn’t shake the feeling, nor understand why it felt familiar.

While I stayed holed up at home, I had tried to catch up on my emails and respond to friends who’d tried to get in touch with me since I woke up from the coma. But it soon became too overwhelming to respond to everyone, so I closed out of my e-mail. I’d try to catch up again some other time.

Around noon the doorbell rang, and I answered to find Micah with a bag of food in each hand. He had picked up lunch from Mallory’s. Even though it had been a couple days, I hadn’t yet mentioned what I had learned from Taj. But it was constantly in the back of my mind.

“Anything on the news about that ghost’s capture?” Micah asked as he headed to the kitchen. “Or identity? Figuring out who that ghost was could be a big help in tracking him down.” He got two plates and started to dish out food.

I came to stand in the kitchen doorway with my arms folded over my chest while Luna sped past me to the man with the ribs. She put her begging game on and Micah was too weak to resist tossing her a piece of meat.

“I hope you broke that off your portion,” I said. “And to answer your questions, no, the ghost hasn’t been caught and no, they have no idea who he is.”

Hearing my tone, Micah gave me a questioning look. “Is everything OK?”

I couldn’t keep it in any longer. “Gee, I’m not sure. Not since I learned from Taj that you are now working for the Rune Development Department within the Paranormal Control Center. And unless memory loss is a side effect of my coma, I don’t recall you mentioning that to me.”

Micah’s face grew sober. “I was going to tell you, I swear.”

“I have to admit, it gave me a horrible sense of déjà vu. Not to mention the fact that I felt foolish that a reporter knew something about my boyfriend that I didn’t. And the rest of the country since apparently your induction is a heavily debated news item.”

“You had to absorb a lot of information when you woke up. I did not want to overwhelm you. I figured I’d give you some time to adjust, and then I’d talk to you about it. I knew you were staying away from the news so it was less likely that you’d find out before I told you. I guess I didn’t account for Taj.”

“No, you did not,” I said flatly. “Micah, why the hell are you working for that department? After everything that’s happened, after you saw the dangerous things that could be done with Alchemy, why?”

“That’s exactly why,” Micah said. “Alchemy can do bad, but it can also do good. I can do good within the RDD.”

“Sounds like what I told Taj,” I muttered.

“See, so you agree.”

“To an extent. But Alchemy almost ruined our lives—damn near ended mine—and you’re going back into the lion’s den?”

“It’s my redemption, Selene.” Micah’s voice was raw and pained. “After the choices I made, the way I allowed Renton to use Alchemy to save you, I have to redeem myself. As difficult as it is for you to live with the fact that people died to save you, it is also difficult for me.”

“Sure could have fooled me.”

His eyes widened. “You really think me that heartless?”

“No, but you made it crystal clear that you had no problem with the treatment despite the consequences, and that you wouldn’t stop doing it no matter what.”

“And I meant it, and that makes me an even worse person.” He exhaled loudly. “I have this internal battle almost every moment of every day, and it feels like I am going to be driven insane over it. On the one hand, you’re right, I was OK with doing whatever it took to save your life, no matter the cost. On the other hand, I know how absolutely wrong and evil it was of me to allow other people to be a sacrifice. I feel like I am at war with myself, and it’s been hard not to just give in and absolutely loathe myself. I have tried to be strong, but I’m failing. Continuing to work with Alchemy has given me some ease. Who knows, maybe one day I can come up with a treatment to save people infected with the Rot that doesn’t involve the death of others.”