Natural Selection

  WE PICKED UP Xander at the library. Sariah had wondered off with two college boys. I didn’t even want to think about how that was going. Xander gave me a lopsided smile as we drove around town trying to find somewhere to eat. He explained about the secret writings of the Otherworlders. Apparently Peoria had a fairly large collection, which is why we really came to Peoria. He and Sariah had spent the afternoon in a hidden room in the basement pouring over everything they could find. There wasn’t much that was relevant to what we needed, but he did have a couple of gems.

  We wound up on the opposite side of town at an Applebee’s. I ordered a salad, but they put a bunch of stuff that I had to pick off to make it edible. Nate had a similar problem with his herb-baked chicken.

  “Alright, Lia,” Nate said, picking at his chicken with his fork. “I know you have something brewing. Time to spill.”

  I smiled at him. I needed to remember it wouldn’t be easy to keep anything from him. “I say we call the witch out. She has to know where we are. We’ll spend all day laying a false trail. Then we’ll draw her to the greenhouse where Nate and I are the strongest.”

  “I like it,” Xander said. “But I think we should make her think Sariah and I abandoned you, so we can be the surprise reinforcements. We have a couple of tricks up our sleeves.”

  I nodded, and so did Nate. It was the best shot we had—despite the fact that I had no idea how to make it work. I had confidence that if we worked together we could make it happen.

  We were counting on Monica tracking us throughout the day, so we deliberately stayed in public places. We met up with Sariah and walked around the mall talking about the cemetery, saying in mock hushed tones how much energy a decaying body gave off. We kept going back to the same subjects, rephrasing or asking pointless questions to make sure our message was received. We loudly discussed where to eat dinner before settling on an Irish pub our parents liked down on the river.

  We got lost on our way to dinner, and I was a little afraid our planning would be useless and Mrs. Matthews would catch us, but eventually we found the river and followed it to the pub. It was located in a nondescript brick building that looked like it had once been a warehouse of some sort. I took a chance on the shepherd’s pie, which was actually pretty good. After the horrible burgers last night and the merely passable salad, it was paradise in a bowl, honestly. I finished every last bit, mopping up the gravy with delicious brown bread. We lingered over our meal, knowing that once we left there was no going back. The atmosphere was a little heavy, and it wasn’t long before we couldn’t take it. Xander cleared his throat and grabbed my hand under the table, giving it a squeeze. I knew the time had come. For better or for worse, there would be no turning back after this. I gave him a weak smile and prayed Monica was watching and would buy what we were going to attempt to sell.

  “God, I can’t believe we’re stuck with you,” Xander bellowed. I cast my eyes down, reminding myself it was an act. Xander squeezed my hand again, reassuring me.

  “I bet if we go now, the witch will be satisfied with killing just her,” Sariah said in an indifferent voice.

  “It’s not like Mom’s around to saddle us with her pathetic whining anymore.”

  I winced, wishing there was a switch I could flip to not feel the sting of their words.

  Nate popped to his feet, his fist slamming against the table. “That’s out of line and you know it, Xander. Your mom would be appalled if she heard you talking to your sister this way.”

  Xander looked at me and his eyes made me shiver, so cold and unfeeling. “She’s not really my sister, are you Amelia?”

  I fidgeted with my napkin, and refused to meet his eyes again mumbling something inaudibly. Xander scoffed and stood. He tossed a wad of bills on the table. “You shouldn’t have to pay for your last meal. But I’m not going to die for you.” He turned and walked away.

  I felt tears in my eyes as I looked at Sariah, pleading her silently. She snorted and rolled her eyes, grabbing her purse and standing. “If by some miracle you survive this, don’t bother looking for us.” With that she strutted away.

  Mouth agape I stared after them a long moment. I didn’t need acting skills to let the fear show in my eyes or the insecurities. Even though I knew the discussion was staged, I wondered how much was based on real sentiment.

  We drove across town in silence. The cemetery was full of long winding roads, and we wandered about somewhat lost. After many wrong turns, we found the spot where we had come out of the woods earlier in the day. As the sun set and the light faded, we made a show of picking a spot in the cemetery. With the last remaining light, we tried to subtly enter the woods and climb to the top of the hill. The high ground should give us a head start, and the woods were a gaia’s playground. We stood staring into the cemetery in the darkness, our nerves on edge.

  The unnatural disturbance in the forest was subtle, so Monica was almost on us before I realized she’d seen through our plan. I grabbed Nate and pulled him deeper into the trees, hoping she wouldn’t notice us—but the leaves on the ground were far from silent. Reaching out with my abilities, I urged a bunny across her path. It wasn’t like speaking to him, more like I created the urge to move. In the same manner, I had a squirrel drop an empty nutshell he was gnawing on in hopes of a left over scrap. I don’t know if it was these tactics or just good luck, but I was able to circle us around to the tangle of branches I noticed earlier. Once we were under cover, we peered into the darkness trying to catch a glimpse of her. The wind picked up, becoming fast enough to pick up debris off the forest floor. I caught a glimpse of Monica a little downhill from us, but it didn’t seem like she knew we were there. Lightning stabbed down where she had been, but she had already moved on.

  I tried to think fast, but I had no idea what we were going to do. Somehow we had to keep her away long enough for us to retreat to the greenhouse. If we just made a run for it, Monica would catch us before we got there. Trying to come up with a way to distract her, I racked my brain but kept coming up empty.

  I felt the ground tremble as Nate called on the rocks to aid us. The ground in front of the psycho witch fell away, but she didn’t even seem to notice. That was when I noticed her feet hovering above the ground, her toes just shy of skimming the floor cover. Fear shot through me, and I held a hand to my mouth struggling to stay silent.

  Nate continued to fling things about with the wind, and occasionally rocky explosion that seemed to melt around Monica. Slowly she circled our hiding spot, and I knew she was toying with us. I was thinking of crawling free and getting things over with when she stopped in front of the tangle of branches. With a gesture of her hand, she sent trees and sticks flying, leaving Nate and I crouched on the muddy ground. Lightning danced around her, somehow constantly missing her. She laughed at us, floating menacingly closer as we backed away. Nate placed his hand on my shoulder and I fed him energy knowing he couldn’t keep this up much longer.

  Suddenly a nearby tree fell startling Monica into ducking, and we took full advantage. We tore up the hill trying to get away, but I knew she was hot on our trail. There was no way we were going to make it to the greenhouse. My slacks caught on a bur vine, one of many I could feel in the area. Glancing down, I grinned. I knew exactly what to do to give us the time we needed to escape.