When They Fade (21 page)

Parker fights. Hands drop away from his body, but more replace them. There are just too many of them now. They're not even going after me; the Remnants have made Parker their primary target. I suppose once he's claimed, they'll expect me to fall.

I have to do something. I have to stop them before Parker disappears before my very eyes. I can't lose him. Haven't I lost enough? Not here. Not in this place, by this damned red barn, with its memories that will never go away, no matter how many Remnants try and break my will.

I've been selfish, trying to sacrifice myself all along. I dragged Parker and Mary into my quest, and I'm not going to lose them both. Not when there's still one more thing I can do. I know Parker will blame himself, but that's something I'm going to have to live with. Or die with, as the case will probably be.

My hands dive for Parker's pants. No time for modesty now. Digging deep beneath the folds, I find it quickly. A small copper-colored pebble.

“No,” Parker says. Suddenly he has renewed strength. He struggles again against the energy bands, but they're not loosening. I can barely even see his face now through the blur.

“I'm sorry,” I say.

“Don't you dare, Molly! Don't let me go.”

I turn my hand around and let the stone drop to the ground.

“Goodbye, Parker,” I whisper.

He Fades away. The energy around him shimmers before dissolving into nothingness.

Parker is safe. My future is still uncertain.

She manages to get Scott to the SUV, but of course it's locked. She scans the clearing, hoping to see Levi, but there's too much commotion. She can't spot him in the crowd. But she can see Molly and Parker, and it's not looking good for either of them. When Parker disappears, Molly stays down on her knees for far too long. From the way she's being banged around, there have to be at least a dozen Remnants there.

Is Parker gone? Claimed by the invisible creatures? Or did he manage to get back to wherever Molly and he exist? Tatum can't tell, and she can't see Molly's face to be sure.

She needs to help. But how can she fight something she can't see?

“Stay here,” she says to Scott.

“I'm sorry,” Scott says. He reaches out and takes a few of her fingers in his hand. He squeezes loosely, showing Tatum just how much strength he's lost.

She looks at him in surprise. He's finally coherent enough to talk.

“It's not your fault,” she says. “It's mine.”

Tatum tries to help him lean against the SUV, but it's obvious he's still in no condition to stand. All the moving around has reopened his wound, and blood is trickling down his neck.

“Not that,” he says weakly. “You're right. It
is
your fault. Sorry. Horrible joke. But aside from that. Me. I'm useless.”

“You're not,” she says. “But I've got to go help Molly.” She helps him slide down the side of the SUV until he's sitting with his back against the passenger door. “Crawl underneath if you have to, but stay out of sight. I'll be back.”

“Be careful,” he says. “Kick that premonition's ass.”

She gets up after making sure Scott isn't going to just fall over again, and she makes her way back to the fire. Molly seems to have gotten to her feet too; she's moving toward the barn, maybe trying to lure the Remnants away. Whatever she's facing, it's clear she's not going down without a fight.

Claudette appears in front of Tatum. Her eyes are lit up in hatred. Graham and Juniper are behind her, along with a few of the other teenagers. The party has turned a whole new shade of weird. Levi, Tatum notices, is mysteriously absent. Maybe he's off puking in the bushes.

“Your freak-show friends aren't going to help you,” Claudette says. Graham and Juniper and the others spread out, circling Tatum until she's trapped. There's nowhere to run. The showdown isn't finished. Tatum glances around, looking for Molly, but the ghost is nowhere in sight. She's too busy dealing with her own demons to help. Tatum is fully on her own.

“Why are you doing this?” It's the one question that keeps going around in her head. Why? Why everything? At what point will Claudette realize she's reached the limit of horribleness?

“You're a psycho bitch.”

Tatum decides she's going about this wrong. Claudette isn't going to listen. What she needs is someone else on her side. She looks over at Juniper and notices that the red-haired girl looks uncomfortable. Guilty.

“You know,” Tatum says. “You know everything.”

Juniper steps back, shaking her head. But Tatum can tell she's lying.

“We were friends,” Tatum continues. “You and me. How can you stand there when you know I'm telling the truth? How long have you known? From the very beginning? You could have helped me. What did Claudette have to do to buy your silence? Become your friend? Look at me. How long till you end up in my shoes?”

“What's she talking about?” Graham looks between Juniper and Claudette.

“Nothing,” Claudette says. “Don't listen to her. She's a lying bitch.”

“Help me,” Tatum says to Juniper.

“Shut the fuck up!” Claudette screams. She pulls her arm back and slaps Tatum hard across the face. “You couldn't stand that I was happy, could you? No, so you blabbed to the whole world. You tried to destroy me.”

“I tried to help you. Oh God, Claudette. You weren't yourself. You were…” She pauses, looking for the right word. She can taste blood in her mouth. “Obsessed.”

“You ruined everything!”

“So you have to destroy my life? Haven't you done enough? Okay, fine. I messed up. Is that what you want to hear? I royally screwed everything. And I can't take that back. I should have just left you alone and let you fuck up your life. Just let it go. Leave me alone.”

“It's too late for that.”

She wonders if that's true. Maybe. Have they come so far that there's really no turning back? Tatum doesn't think that's true. But if anything, maybe she can get Claudette to pause enough for Tatum to get Scott to a hospital. Tomorrow, Claudette can continue her revenge rampage, but tonight they need to pause for station identification. Otherwise Scott might die.

“Scott needs help,” Tatum says.

“Oh, right. And then you'll just blab to everyone. Fool me once, bitch. Not this time.”

It's become very quiet. Two of the others mumble something to each other and break from the group, walking away. After a moment, Juniper turns and follows them. Sadly, they don't make an offer to take Tatum with them.

“I have to get Scott to a doctor. Let us go. I won't say a word to anyone this time. I promise. You owe me, Claudette. You owe me big-time. Remember all the things I ever did as your friend. Forget about Mr. Paracini and all that other shit. Do this and we're even.” Tatum tries to stand up taller, to make herself look a lot tougher than she feels. “I need the keys.”

Claudette lunges at her, and Tatum braces herself for another smack. But Graham steps between them and shoves Claudette back. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the car keys.

“Go,” he says.

Tatum swallows heavily and takes a deep breath. She grabs the keys and turns, running toward the SUV before Claudette can compose herself enough to give chase. But something makes her stop.

Molly.

She can't do it. She has to find her. Tatum is the only reason Molly is there. They have to escape together. Turning, she runs off in the direction of where she thinks her friend might be.

The barn.

She spots Molly on the ground by the dilapidated doors. Tatum doesn't know what to do. How can she save Molly from something she can't even see? Maybe she doesn't have to. Remnants only go after ghosts, right? If she can put herself between Molly and them, maybe that'll buy Molly some extra time to get away.

“Molly! Come on, I've got the keys.”

“Get away.”

“Not without you.”

She's about to grab Molly's hand when someone shoves up against her, pushing her to the ground. It's Levi; he's appeared out of nowhere. Grinning from ear to ear, he's breathing heavily and trying to grab her breast in the process.

“Get off of me,” she hisses.

“I knew you were a slut,” Levi sneers.

She manages to wrestle herself free and crawl toward Molly, who reaches for her to help her up. The only problem is that they're completely surrounded now. Molly has her invisible demons, and Tatum has Levi. They're going to have to fight their way out.

“Let's do this.”

The second the words are out of her mouth, she feels something press against her body. Something trying to get inside. It's the strangest feeling, like she's being doused in both hot and cold liquids at the same time. One part of her feels like she's jumped into a lake after a sweltering day. The other half is snuggled up under a blanket while snow falls on the mountain outside her cabin window. The feelings are contradictory, but at the same time they make perfect sense. The presence pushes its way in, and suddenly her eyes are blinking without her permission. She watches her hand reach toward Molly. Struggling, Tatum forces it back down.

“Are you going to let her just do that to you?” someone whispers, but the words are coming from inside her brain.

It would be easy; all she has to do is walk over to Claudette and slap her. Fighting back. Why hasn't she thought about that before? Claudette may be strong, but so is she. Equal. The warmth is now spreading through her system, making her muscles spasm and weaken. It's as if someone has draped an electric blanket over her skin, tucked her in nice and tight. All she has to do is close her eyes and she'll be dreaming of better places than where she is.

Hit her. Hurt her. Get revenge. Make her bleed.

No,
she thinks. The words echo in her mind. “NO!”

Mentally, she sees herself standing in front of the Remnant that's trying to invade her body. A young man, not older than twenty. Long hair spills across his shoulders. He's dressed in nineties grunge clothing: plaid shirt, steel-toed boots, dirty jeans. His chin has the beginnings of a goatee.

“You can't make me,” she says. “This isn't about Claudette anyway. It's about Molly.”

“Why do you even want to bother with that ghost?” the man says. His eyes are bright blue, almost neon. They glow inside his sockets. She half expects laser beams to come shooting out. “Give her to us and we'll go away. We don't want you or your friends. You're just playthings to us.”

“You can't have her,” Tatum says. “I won't let you.”

“Why do you care?”

“She's my friend.”

“She's a haunter. She has no friends.”

“You're wrong.”

It takes every ounce of energy in her body, more than any she's ever needed. She's never concentrated or wanted anything so badly before in her entire life. She imagines herself pushing this man, shoving him so hard that he flies back to the nineties.

Tatum's eyes open.

She's alone in her body.

And she can now see the Remnants. Dozens of them with their faceless souls watching her. The nineties Remnant is on the ground by her feet. She recognizes it only because of the stupid boots. The rest of it is slowly sinking into the ground. She turns to Molly, who is watching her with a look of utter surprise on her face.

“Did you know they can do that? Get inside us?”

Molly shakes her head.

“That's what they're doing to the others,” Tatum says. “They're getting them to fight each other. They think it's funny. Can we stop them?”

“Yes,” Molly says. “Knock them down. They have trouble getting back up.”

“Let's do it.”

They stand side by side, waiting for the Remnants to make the next move. The closest one, standing right next to Levi, steps to the side and through him. Levi stiffens and tilts his head as if he's listening. Slowly a grin forms on his face. His eyes stay on Tatum.

“That's not good,” Molly says.

“I've got the keys,” Tatum says. “Maybe it's time to split.”

“Yeah,” Molly says.

They turn together, pushing their way through the crowd, and it's almost too easy. The Remnants are backing off and not giving chase. They make it to the fire before coming to a dead stop. Molly reaches out and grabs Tatum's hand.

More Remnants are coming out of the woods. Dozens and dozens of them. But instead of coming straight for Molly, they're brushing up against the partiers instead. Tatum watches as one passes through one of the boys. He stiffens, turns, and punches the kid next to him.

“What the hell, bro?” The boy shoves back. Within seconds, they're rolling on the ground, punching each other while others cheer them on.

Tatum spots Claudette. She's screaming at Graham. Tatum can't hear the conversation, but she's pretty sure Claudette doesn't have as much support as she had a few minutes ago. Graham looks disgusted. Juniper is in tears.

Meanwhile, the frantic fighting of teenagers is getting out of control. Influenced by the Remnants, the kids are practically tearing each other apart. Tatum watches two girls team up against a boy, beating him down to the ground, where they kick at him. She spots one of the girls from her English class, bleeding from a cut above her eye and digging her hands deep into the hair of another.

These are the kids who have made Tatum's life miserable, but she can't run away and leave them. Not like this. She glances at Molly, hoping she might be able to offer a solution, but she can tell Molly doesn't have a clue what to do either. Maybe they can lure the Remnants away. Maybe if they leave, whatever spell they hold will be broken.

Juniper is suddenly beside Tatum, her eyes swollen with tears.

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”

So not the time for an apology.

“She told me if I didn't go along with her, she'd do the exact same thing to me,” Juniper says.

Tatum knows this is a lie. No, Juniper didn't need to be blackmailed into taking Claudette's side. She did it for the same reason everyone else did: Claudette is the popular girl. She's the princess. She's the one the lemmings follow.

But this isn't the time for a full-on confession.

“Take these!” Tatum tries pressing the keys into Juniper's hands. They drop on the ground and Juniper reaches down to pick them up.

“Get out of here, Juniper,” Tatum says. “Go back to town and get help.”

“But—”

“Just get Scott to safety. Get help.”

Juniper looks like she wants to argue, but she notices that a group of angry teens is steadily moving toward them. She reluctantly nods, then loads Scott into the SUV before climbing into the driver's seat. She hesitates, but Tatum screams at her again.

“Go! Get help!”

Levi reaches the SUV first. His fingers scratch along the hood as Juniper screams. She puts the machine in reverse and peels rubber. Soon she and Scott are nothing but fading red lights as they head off toward the highway.

“Just you and me now,” Tatum says as she turns to Molly. “We can't leave. You understand, right?”

“What a pair we make,” Molly says. “And no, we can't leave. We're responsible. We have to finish it.”

“Let's make them regret messing with us, okay?”