As soon as they entered Liverpool One, Mick and Eddie groaned as they looked around. Liverpool One had 140 shops and 37 restaurants and bars. The clear evening sky looked enchanting as the lamps hanging from the metal pillars shone down on the shoppers. Joy's face showed excitement, Patricia looked overwhelmed, Mick looked a bit excited as he looked at the sports gear, and Eddie... Well, Eddie just looked plain terrified.
"My wallet will be dead after this is over," Eddie muttered, glancing at Patricia.
Patricia scoffed. "Edison Sweet, I am a liberated woman. I can pay for my own items."
"I know that," Eddie replied. "Just thought I would pick up a few things."
Patricia raised her eyebrows. Now what is he up to?
At first, the two couples just window-shopped. They held hands, cracked jokes, and pointed out any eye-catching items on display. At one point, Mick joked about buying a "luxurious" coffee machine to hide in his room.
"Patricia," Joy suddenly intoned. She was looking at a sleeveless white dress with a silver buckle belt on display in the shop, Gap. She turned to Patricia, a solemn look on her face. "I. Want. That. Dress."
Patricia looked at the dress. It was formal yet casual, cheap yet expensive-looking; it was 100% Joy. "Then go buy it."
"No!" Joy protested. "We said we would only window-shop, not blow all our money."
"Just think of it as an early birthday present," Mick encouraged. Eddie nodded in agreement.
"All right, let's go!" Joy exclaimed, changing her mind quickly. She dragged Mick inside. Patricia hesitantly pulled Eddie inside with her.
Inside, it was the home of all things cheerful. The walls were painted yellow and plastic suns were hanging from the ceiling. Joy immediately picked up one of the white dresses in her size from the neat stack on the table. As they looked around the store, Joy suddenly stopped again. "Patricia."
This time, it was a long, black racerback dress. "Joy, try this one on too, if you want."
"It's not for me!" Joy said. "It's for you!"
"Joooooooy," Patricia whined, giving her a pleading look.
"Patriciaaaa," Joy replied, equally whiny. Patricia reluctantly grabbed a dress in her size off the rack.
"Yay!" Joy cheered, grabbing Patricia's hand and dragging her over to the dressing rooms. Joy looked over her shoulder to Eddie and Mick. "You guys look for something, too! We are not leaving this mall until we all buy something, so you better get an early start!"
Inside the dressing room, Patricia changed into the dress. Joy and Patricia came out at the same time. They looked at themselves in the mirror, then looked at each other.
"It looks perfect on you," they both said simultaneously.
They changed back into their clothes and went to the cash registers. They paid for the dresses then went to the entrance of the store, where the guys were waiting; they were empty handed.
"You didn't get anything?" Joy inquired. They shook their heads in response. "Oh, it's all right. There's many other stores to choose from.
For the next hour or so, they went into store after store. Out of the four stores they went into, Joy had bought two shirts and a pair of shoes, Patricia had bought a skirt and a shirt, and Mick had bought two athletic shorts and two shirts. Eddie was still empty-handed. The whole time, Patricia and Joy had been talking about random things, as were Eddie and Mick.
"Let's go in there!" Patricia abruptly said. Joy turned to the shop Patricia was looking at and gave a tiny gasp when she saw the store's name. "Harrods?"
"Yeah, why not? I need a gown for my cousin's wedding, anyway," Patricia replied. Joy would have picked a less expensive store, but went along with her friend's suggestion none the less.
Eddie looked around at the other stores surrounding them. Apple, Flannels, USC, and...
"You guys go ahead. There's something I need to get," he said. "I'll meet you in there."
When they were out of sight, Eddie walked over to the store he had been looking for. He took a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and looked at the writing on it. He took a deep breath and glanced at the name of the store before walking in: Pandora.
Inside Harrods, it was a bit dark; there were no windows. There were only the two windows for display and the glass door. Patricia looked around at all the magnificent dresses they had. Joy looked dazzled, and even Mick looked impressed. Harrod's was one of the most expensive boutiques in the shopping center; all their items were of the finest quality.
They were inside for about five minutes when Eddie came to meet them. Patricia gave him a small smile. "Hey. Where have you been?"
"Oh, I was just in the Apple store," he replied. "I needed a new charger for my iPhone, but then I suddenly remembered where it was."
After a few more minutes, Patricia found The Dress, as Amber would call it; it was a lavender one-shoulder gown with a drop waist design, finished with a flared tulle skirt that was scattered with appliqué petals. It was beautiful, it was perfect... and it was also the most expensive dress in the store.
"Isn't it amazing?" Patricia asked Joy.
"Yeah." Joy looked at the price tag and gawked. She lowered her voice to a whisper so only Patricia, Mick, and Eddie could hear. "Patricia, this dress is 8,275 euros!"
"That's, like... 10,000 in American dollars!" Eddie added, his eyes wide. Mick could only stare at the dress in shock. He was obviously thinking, "I could buy a lifetime supply of sports gear, and Patricia, of all people, spends it on a dress?" Patricia grabbed the dress off the hanger.
"Are you trying to outshine the bride or something?" Joy inquired, following Patricia to the dressing room. Joy was wondering what had happened to Patricia. Since when did Patricia Williamson buy dresses that cost 8,000 euros? When did Patricia start carrying around Michael Kors bags?
Patricia walked into one of the cubicles and Joy waited outside, still demanding answers. "No, it's just a really fancy wedding. Compared to what everyone else will be wearing, this dress will look like some cheap knock-off."
Before Joy could say anything, Patricia opened the door. "What do you think?"
Joy was speechless, really. The dress looked had looked pretty on the hanger, but on Patricia, it looked absolutely stunning. It hugged every curve in all the right places. Eddie and Mick were waiting by the entrance to the dressing rooms, and they, too, were speechless.
"So I should buy it?" Patricia asked. The three nodded. When Patricia went back into the cubicle, they could finally concentrate. After a minute, Patricia came back out in her regular clothes.
She went to the cash register and handed the dress to the woman. "I'd like to buy this dress, please."
The woman could only stare at her in disbelief. Turning back to the dress, she scanned the price tag. "Cash or credit?"
Patricia opened her wallet and took out a credit card; she handed it to the cashier. The woman carefully placed the dress in a plastic wrap and handed it to Patricia. "Thank you, come again."
The lady left to the back of the store. Joy looked around and saw a dress she liked. "You know, this store isn't all that expensive. I'm going to go look around again."
Eddie and Mick trailed behind, talking quietly, while Patricia and Joy looked around again. Joy found a white silk shirt and red skinny jeans; Patricia found a black bikini for the summer. They went back to the changing rooms, while Eddie and Mick waited by the entrance to the changing rooms again.
Once she was finished changing, Patricia inspected the bathing suit. Before she could call out to Joy, a voice over the intercom made Patricia's blood run cold.
Attention shoppers, the mall is being evacuated. Please make your way to the nearest exits. I repeat, the mall is-
The woman didn't finish her sentence. They heard a small scream in the background, a loud thump, then silence. Suddenly, gunshots were heard from outside the store. Everyone started to scream. Above it all, Patricia could faintly hear Eddie and Mick shouting, "Patricia, Joy, get out of there!"
Patricia and Joy still had to change back into the clothes, wasting a minute. Patricia left the bathing suit in the cubicle. She grabbed her dress and rushed out. Joy exploded from the cubicle next to hers, looking scared.
"Let's go!" Mick yelled, grabbing Joy's hand and pulling her forward. Eddie grabbed Patricia's hand and they ran after Joy and Mick.
Despite all the screaming, frantic yelling, and gunshots, Patricia could only think the same thing over and over again: It's happening. It's happening and it's all my fault.
The whole store was empty; everyone else had left. Before they could reach the entrance, a red light began flashing. Steel walls appeared out of nowhere and slammed down from the ceiling, sealing off the door and windows.
"What's going on?" Joy screamed, her voice high-pitched. Mick pulled her closer to him; she burrowed into his chest like a child seeking warmth. Patricia moved closer to Eddie, trembling. He looked down at her and squeezed her hand tighter.
"We-We have to hide," Patricia stammered. "The changing rooms should do. If these people are-are trying to steal money, they will probably come here. This is one of the most expensive stores in the mall. If we hide behind the counter, they'll come for the cash register, see us, and..."
Patricia's voice got stuck in her throat. She didn't want to think of the possibilities of what will happen if those people somehow manage to see them. They ran back to the changing rooms and entered the largest cubicle, which was rather spacious; it had a couch that rose high off the floor that could fit four people. They hung Patricia's dress and their bags onto the hooks and squeezed onto the couch, tucking their feet up. Eddie took his jacket off and offered it to Joy so she could cover her legs.
Patricia opened her phone. "There isn't any signal..."
Eddie, Joy, and Mick checked their phones; no signal for them, either.
"Are we going to die?" Joy asked, her voice shaking. Her face was pale and frightened; she was on the verge of tears. Mick made shushing noises and rubbed comforting circles on her back.
Patricia patted Joy's hand softly. "No, Joy. We'll be fine, we just can't make any noise. Remember when we used to practice lockdowns in the school, and if we were really quiet, Mrs. Andrews would reward us with random things?"
Joy nodded. Patricia gently continued, "Let's just pretend this is a practice lockdown, and we're back in Mrs. Andrew's classroom, staying quiet for a reward."
Joy nodded again and rested her head in Mick's lap. Patricia leaned her head against Eddie's shoulder. He took both her hands and drew circles mindlessly on them. After a few quiet minutes, the sound of a large object striking metal was heard over and over again.
"Oh, my God," Patricia breathed, clinging to Eddie. "When will this nightmare be over?"
Suddenly, Eddie became tense. Patricia looked up at him in confusion. He mouthed two words: Nina. Danger.
Oh, right. Eddie was Nina's Osirian, so he was like her protector or big brother. She was in danger, too. Was this a coincidence, or a planned attack?
Suddenly, the groaning of metal giving way was heard, and then triumphant yells. There were murmurs of voices as they invaded the store. A male voice exclaimed, "Will you look at all this money?"
The four of them rolled their eyes. Approaching footsteps made them freeze and, if possible, stop breathing. A female American voice called out, "I know you four are in there. Get out of there. Now."
They didn't respond. They didn't move. They stayed where they were. A gunshot suddenly rang out, making all of them flinch. "That was a warning shot. Next time, I'm shooting one of you. One-"
She didn't have to say two or three. By then, they had already unlocked the door and flung it open. They tumbled out and onto each other. Patricia looked up into the cold, black eyes of a young girl. She looked, shockingly, around their age. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. Her lip was slightly curled up in disdain. "Pathetic. I would have at least thought that a-"
"Jazmine!" a voice barked. An older man around his late twenties was giving her an icy glare. "They don't need to know all the details, thank you very much."
The girl, Jazmine, snorted. She turned back to the four and growled, "Get up."
Slowly, all four of them rose to their feet. Jazmine's eyes locked accusingly onto Patricia. She turned away after a few seconds to glare at the other three. The phone on the counter began to ring. Jazmine picked it up and put it on speaker.
"This is Adrian Alement, chief of the police department. Come out with your hands up, or we're going in."
"I don't think you want to do that," Jazmine warned, her voice soaked with venom.
"Why ever not?" Mr. Alement demanded.
"Because we have hostages," Jazmine replied. "And we'll kill all of them if you even come near the building."
There was silence on the other end. "Have it your way."
Then he hung up. Jazmine smiled with satisfaction and turned to them. "No one can help you now."
As Jazmine walked away, Patricia surveyed the store. As far as she could see, there was only Jazmine, the man who had snapped at her earlier, and another man in his early twenties. There was a hole in the steel wall; a battering ram lay next to it. Three people couldn't have carried that huge thing, unless they were inhuman. There had to be more of them.
"I'm going to go see if there are more people still here, then I'll go find Paul," the man in his early twenties announced.
"Go, Eric," the other man snapped. "Quickly."
"Mick, I'm scared," Joy whimpered, tears falling down her cheeks.
"So am I," Mick whispered. Patricia looked at him in shock. Weren't guys not supposed to admit they were scared? Eddie, all high and mighty, hadn't admitted he was scared. Yet. Either way, the four huddled together.
"Aw, what's wrong?" Jazmine asked. "Are you scared, Joy? You should be."
"Ho-How do you know my name?" Joy stuttered, her eyes growing as big as softballs. Jazmine gave her a cruel smile.
"I know everything. I know that you're Joy Mercer, you're Mick Campbell, you're Edison Sweet, and you're Patricia Williamson," Jazmine finished, her voice turned to disgust on the word Williamson.
"That's just sick," Patricia sneered. "What, do you have nothing better to do with your useless life, so you stalk teens like yourself?"
Jazmine made a low hissing sound. She stepped closer to Patricia. "You better shut up, before you make me do something I regret."
"Like dyeing your hair blonde? Too late to regret that!" Patricia remarked, smiling innocently. "It's so obvious that you're not a natural blonde."
"Don't test me, Brit," Jasmine drawled angrily.
"'Don't test me, Brit,'" Patricia mocked. "How about you don't push me, American?"
"You have no idea what I'm capable of," Jazmine hissed. "You don't want to see my nasty side."
"I thought we were already looking at it," Patricia spat back.
Jazmine made a strangling noise, as i she wanted to say something but couldn't. She aimed a punch at Patricia's face. Patricia, however, had been expecting this. She stepped quickly to the side, grabbed Jazmine's wrist, and flipped her over onto a table where mannequins were posing. The mannequins came crashing down onto Jazmine. Jazmine's right hand, which had been holding the gun, went limp. The gun slid from her grasp and Patricia grabbed it.
The man in his late twenties drew his gun, aimed at Patricia, and pulled the trigger. Joy, Eddie, and Mick screamed and dove behind the counter. Patricia ducked and the bullet whizzed past her. She did a forward roll and ended up in front of the man. She did a high kick and hit him in the jaw. He stumbled backwards and dropped his gun.
Eric and another man, who she assumed was Paul, came running in. Paul, who looked just like Eric, only older, drew his gun. Patricia grabbed the gun the man had dropped, put her arm around the man's neck, and put the gun to his head. "Pull the trigger and this man loses his life!"
Paul dropped his gun, as did Eric, and they put their hands to their hands. Patricia made a quick calculation in her head. After a few seconds of a staring contest between Patricia and Paul, Patricia elbowed the man in his head. He dropped to the ground. Patricia aimed the gun at the space between Paul and Eric and fired. They threw themselves to the ground. Patricia ripped a metal pole from a rack and sprinted towards the two men, holding it in front of her.
She kicked both guns out of reach. Paul stood up and ripped off a metal pole from another rack. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eric dive for the guns. Eddie jumped up from behind the counter, grabbed both guns, and ran to the other side of the store. Paul lifted his pole up and came at her, bring it down. Patricia put her pole up and blocked it. Paul had much more strength than she did, though. She fell to the ground on her back.
Patricia rolled aside just as the sharp end of the pole stabbed into the floor. He tried to stab Patricia again, but she rolled away. Now angry, he stabbed the pole even faster and even harder. Patricia barely rolled away in time. Now, the pole was stuck in the ground. Leaving the pole, Paul lunged towards her and grabbed both her wrists, holding them in front of her.
"Let me go, you freak!" Patricia screeched. While they struggled, Patricia stumbled back and fell next to the pole stuck in the floor. Taking the oppurtunity, Patricia swung her pole like a baseball bat with much more strength ththoughts new she even had. It clanged against the other pole, creating a shrill noise. Paul, Mick, Joy, Eddie, and Eric covered their ears. Patricia did for a moment, then lunged forward with pole sideways, barreling into Paul's stomach. He went down hard, clutching his stomach. When he rolled onto his stomach, Patricia whacked her pole onto Paul's back. He cried out in pain. Patricia kicked at his head, and that knocked him unconscious.
Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped around her neck. She instantly realized they were Eric's. She clawed at his throat desperately, but she couldn't concentrate. As black spots began to swim on the sides of her vision, she only concentrated on her fingers.
When she heard Eric scream in pain, she knew she had scratched him. He dropped to the floor, withering in pain. Patricia collapsed to her knees to catch her breath. She glanced at Eric's hands; his right hand had three red claw marks with blood spilling everywhere. She looked down at her hands and, before Mick, Eddie, or Joy could see, flicked the poison needles back into her fingernails.
It was silent for a moment. Eddie was standing in shock next to a rack of dresses with the two guns in his hands, Mick and Joy were staring at her from behind the counter, and Patricia was sitting next to the slowly dying Eric. Finally, Mick said, "That was... indescribable."
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Eddie asked his girlfriend, his eyes wide.
"I... My mom was a master at Kung Fu. She taught Piper and I everything she knew, before they all..." Patricia trailed off.
"We should get out of here," Joy mumbled. Everyone nodded. Patricia took the two guns from the floor and the other two guns from Eddie and put them in her purse. Nobody questioned her motives. She ran back to the cubicle and grabbed her dress and everyone else's bags. She sprinted back to the others, they took their own bags, and then they climbed out through the hole in the steel wall.
"I know you guys are trying to keep the silence," Patricia muttered, "but we need to find a way out of here without getting caught."
As Joy handed Eddie his sweater, her eyes lit up. "I know a way, but we have to run."
The four ran as fast as they could to a corner of the shopping center. There was an alleyway next to the restaurant, Costa, with no cops at the end of it. The four ran down the alley, a few blocks, and came to a busy street. Patricia held her hand up in the air, and a cab appeared in front of them. Mick got into the front, and Patricia, Eddie, and Joy squeezed into the back. On the way to Anubis House, Eddie's phone suddenly lit up; it was a text from Nina.
Hey, something weird happened to us. We need to go to Anubis House now.
Eddie quickly replied, K something weird happened to us too.
"Eddie..." Joy began. He turned to her and she gave him a small smile. "You got away with not buying anything today, but you're not getting away with it next time."
The four chuckled a bit, but that was the closest they were going to come to laughter after tonight.
A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter, too. The link to Patricia's very expensive dress is on my profile. It's not the Harrods link, it's to a different website. If you enter the link from Harrods, it will immediately take you to the website home. The poison fingernails are from The 39 Clues, and Nina will have a little poison weapon of her own later on.
You guys will probably start to think, "Nina fought off six guys, and Patricia fought off four, so Nina's better." Let me just remind you that the attackers Patricia fought off had guns and they were in a store full of heavy metal things.
So... Yeah. Have a good day. :)