The Spectre of Shadow.
The next day.
After a few hours of so-called learning the morning bell rang throughout the rotting hallways of the school, wherein each of the two hundred or so students were released and made their way in a long line towards the cafeteria.
Billy stepped through the doorway at the back of the pack, most of his peers, Mandy included, having already taken their food and found their seat. Beside him stood Junior, and beside him stood Piff, his appearance much the same as it was when they were young. Standing together they stepped through where the double doors used to be, taking their place in the line with tray in hand. Moving up quickly Billy stoped before the lunch lady. The ugly, wrinkled old woman in her fifties gave him a flat stare and dropped a slab of something resembling meatloaf onto his plate. He moved away, looking back to see the woman drop another piece onto Junior's tray, wherein she also spat in it, giving him a derisive glare.
"Bon appetite freak." The woman sneered hatefully as she moved on to Piff's.
"Bitch." Billy murmured under his breath and sat down next to Mandy, Junior depositing his lunch in the garbage where he and Piff joined them at the table. Mandy was absently poking the offending piece of food substitute with a tarnished metal fork, not trusting it enough today to risk eating it.
"Hey this afternoon can we slash her tyres?"
"Neh." Mandy mumbled in response, wrapped up in her own troubled thoughts.
'How am I supposed to leave him now that the bonds are so well attached? I know that if I don't leave him he will make me weak, but how can I forcibly push him out of my life and continue to keep him out until the attachment is gone. And how long will it take to break this god damn chain I have to him huh? A week? A year? Could it ever truly be broken, or will I just be torn by the loss forever?'
He looked at her concerned before turning to his lunch. He could see little bits of something pail yellow in it, possibly sawdust or some ground up grain of some sort. Giving it a poke the heap suddenly split down the middle, crumbling into some dry pile of artificial aggregate which even by sight they could tell was irritating to the stomach.
Mandy, Piff and he joined Junior in pushing their trays aside. Even if it hadn't been inedible they probably wouldn't have touched it, due simply to the nature of the cafeteria. Everything in sight was old and grimy, the tables and cutlery were tarnished, the trays cracked, the walls turning a greeny brown with leaking plumbing and mould. The very air carried with it an almost overpowering smell of sweatiness and garbage. It was a damp smell that left a sickly sweet taste in his mouth, like that of something fermenting.
Then there were the people.
Since his awakening to the ways of the world Billy had taken a notice to the behavioural patterns of various individuals, and had even been able to organise them into separate groups based on their thoughts and actions. Looking around behind him he faced a table full of girls, including Mindy and her arch rival Trixie Tang, who had moved here a few months back and had quickly replaced her as top of the popularity ladder. Currently one of the dozen or so other girls, the name of which he didn't know or care about, was mouthing off about something.
What he noticed most was the particular way she spoke. Her mouth was opening and closing constantly with an endless stream of unintelligible words seemingly without pause for thought or breath, her lips opening and closing in a similar way to the mouth of a fish. After a minute of listening he was able to discern that she was talking about how her parents hadn't gotten her an iMirror for her birthday, and how it was the fault of the Jews and the Mexicans for stealing their money. Of course he could only figure this out after she'd repeated it three or four times over in the same minute, neither the girl herself nor the others around her noticing she was stuck on a loop.
Trixie and Mindy did of course, but they weren't going to say anything. This was how the social structure worked here. The rich and pretty girls used their parent's wealth to set the standards of status, which everyone below immediately tried to imitate. They were the ringleaders, and though they were themselves vain, stupid and bigoted, though not as much in Trixie's case, they did possess a vague edge in intelligence above their inferiors. The girl currently talking was one of the followers, which comprised eighty percent of the student population. Their job was, simply put, to be mindless and unthinking, to follow and agree with everything their ringleaders said without so much as a glimmer of intelligent thought or scepticism.
The pattern was similar with the boys, though instead of wealth, status and beauty their social strata was determined by who was the strongest and the cruellest, with the one being able to inflict the most amount of pain and suffering on innocent people being top dog. Sperg was of course the ringleader of their group, having tortured and killed several household pets as well as setting fire to one disabled man. Most of the boys in the school tried to imitate him, thereby establishing their place as followers.
Below the followers of course were the outcasts, otherwise known as themselves. They were the ones who somehow didn't conform, either being too weak or too unattractive, belonging to a supposedly inferior race, or in their case being race traitors. Mandy and he were lucky to have been able to escape direct confrontation, their vast numbers of enemies warded off largely by the evil girl and her scythe, but that had not saved them from being targets from their scorn and hatred, not that they cared. Mandy seemed to take it almost as a compliment that they weren't like them. Most others of course weren't so lucky.
"Where's Max?" Piff asked, drawing Billy's attention back to the table. "Isn't he usually here by now?"
"Hey yeah, I saw him in class. He hasn't said a word to us or anyone." He commented in thought. Mandy however kept her face low, her jaw balanced on her fist with a look of tire and trouble on her features. "He's still friendly and nice like he always is, but… it's like he's become sorta distant, know what I mean?"
"I've noticed. He's been withdrawn all day." She answered him. "I'm pretty sure he's avoiding us."
"Max doesn't usually change that much, he's always consistent. It's not like him to suddenly become so quiet all of a sudden." Junior added.
"Why is he avoiding us? Was it Irwin and his family?" Billy continued. Mandy remained still for a moment before giving a small shake of her head.
"Last night he and I had a little talk. He proposed we enter a… business partnership. I turned him down, and told him I'd do it my way." She neglected to inform them of the other part of the deal, how she was to drop Billy like the deadweight he was. After all, she still intended to abandon him, and was planning to do so shortly. "I guess he's still sore about being refused."
Billy knotted his brow at this. "Just for that? What kind of deal was it anyway?" Mandy in turn looked to him with a clear warning in her stare.
"A business deal." She all but spelled out for him.
This time they each got the message perfectly. 'Don't ask. If anyone finds out they'll kill us all.'
It was at this time that Grim materialised next to their table in a swirl of black flame, adding a little more to the big black burn mark on the floor and the ceiling. Mandy snarled as he withdrew four bags of fast food from his cloak.
"Took your friggin time! Do you know what they serve here?" She barked angrily, causing Grim to grizzle in response
"You're welcome! Four burgers! You little brats outta be grateful I didn't go to that Bloaty's Pizza joint instead!" He dumped the bags down in front of them, then paused. "Where's dat little Goth weirdo?"
"Piff's right here." Junior answered.
"No de creepy weirdo."
"Junior's right here." Piff answered.
"Max! Where is Max?"
"Not here, which is were you should be, so beat it!" Mandy barked. All at once she remembered the fulfilling feeling of stamping someone down in their place.
"Gruh! Little…" Grim disappeared in the same manner he arrived as the four opened their bags and took out their food.
Pausing Mandy looked out to the doorway previously blocked by Grim. There stood Max, his onyx eyes gazing at her across the cafeteria. She watched and waited, seeing if he was going to join them or not. Instead of making his way towards them Max continued on down the hallway, disappearing from view. Billy, Junior and Piff halted, looking at her as she turned her focus back to them, face still blank in thought.
"Don't worry about Max. He'll be fine by tomorrow." She answered at last, setting the group at ease.
Contrary to what Mandy had predicted Max didn't come around as she said he would.
Strangely his quiet, withdrawn behaviour continued throughout the next day. He still hadn't spoken to either of them before, during or after school on Tuesday, nor did they see him during either of their breaks. On the outside he still appeared as friendly and polite as he always had, except for the fact he wasn't actively reaching out to contact them, subtly keeping his distance throughout the entire day.
This continued throughout the rest of the week, getting noticeably more withdrawn with each passing day. Throughout Wednesday not only did they not see him during their breaks but they hadn't seen him before school either, only ever setting sights on him while in class, and even then he seemed to be shrinking back out of sight somehow. Gradually they each saw his demeanour getting quieter. He no longer talked to anyone in class, not even the teacher. He kept his face down in his books at all times, preferring to simply study or take time out than participate in anything. The teacher didn't mind of course, he sat in his chair, drunk from having to take them two years in a row after Eleanor Butterbean had died in a drink driving accident. After school he had simply vanished from that part of town, presumably back to the slowly decaying hellhole of apartments and urban blight he called a neighbourhood.
On Thursday neither of the two had seen him at all during school hours. Not once did they see him arrive or getting his books ready, or at lunch, or in class, he had as far as they knew vanished. It was only that afternoon after they were dismissed when they were leaving the grounds that Mandy had caught a glimpse of him as he left the old building. He had taken one look at her and left without uttering a word. It was only from that single glimpse that they'd known he'd been there at all.
But like Mandy predicted, though his unusually quiet behaviour lasted much longer than she had expected, it didn't last forever.
It was early afternoon on Friday. Billy and Mandy were sitting at the same old table as they had for years, the cafeteria mostly empty now that most of the students were outside. They sat side by side in relative silence, both merely content to stay in each other's company while reflecting on the events of the week. A van bomb explosion in downtown Cleveland, courtesy of an Islamic Socialist group, had sparked off a subsequent wave of brutality against the already dwindling Islamic population. Following shortly after the government announced the blast was the fault of all minority groups, claiming that they had formed a pact against them, extending and multiplying the people's frenzied rage to their advantage.
From her spot leaning back in her seat Mandy glanced up as she noticed a familiar face, Billy raising his head to follow her gaze. Together they laid eyes on Max, the navy clad youth striding over towards them with the same look of quiet optimism. For a moment neither of them were quite sure if what they were seeing was real, even as he pulled out a chair and sat down in his place next to Irwin's old seat.
"Hi guys, how are we?" He greeted them with a happy air. They gazed at him surprised. He spoke like his disappearance over the past few days had never occurred.
"I'm good." Billy replied.
"Where have you been?" Mandy spoke up incredulously. "All week we've barely seen you, what's going on?
"Yeah are you gonna be all quiet and weird again today cause it's getting kinda old. I mean jeez, it's not really that big a deal. Mandy told me about your little offer and how she turned ya down and all, but what else did you expect? Come on Max, just get over it already. You're dragging us all down with ya." Max listened quietly as Billy finished, running a hand through his orange hair at having gotten a frustrating load off his chest. He smiled and turned his eyes to the tabletop.
"You don't have to worry, I'm fine now. I just needed some time on my own that's all. I had a little thinking to do, but you can relax now, that's all finished."
"Good, because seeing you become so distant and quiet was getting unsettling." Mandy replied sternly. "If you ever wanna go all emo on us again you keep us in the loop, don't just leave us hanging again, got it?"
"I understand. Either way you don't have to worry about that anymore." He leaned back in his chair as he faced them in a contented, almost care-free manner. "I've been thinking about what we talked about a few nights ago, and you were right, I can't dictate to you how to live your life. It's your project, so it's your choice how you want to go about achieving it. "
"Thanks. Appreciate it."
"And Mandy, the offer's still open if you want. If you ever need me I'm always at your disposal, and I'll always be willing to serve you in whatever manner I can to help you on your path."
"I'll keep that in mind." Mandy responded. Max though easily sensed it; she really didn't intend to take him up on any offer he gave her. She didn't trust him, not the way she did before that night at the Doolin house. He however said nothing.
They sat in silence once more. After another minute or so many of the other students began to leak back into the building, milling around waiting for the bell for class to ring any second now.
"So what are you guys doing this afternoon?" Max asked, having seemed to once again taken an interest in building their friendship.
"Billy, Grim and I are going to the mall after school. You can come with us if you want."
In the time since their late night talk Mandy had decided that this afternoon they would go to the mall so she and Billy could enjoy some last minute time together, and that she would have a little talk with him while they were there. She would tell him that things were going to chance, and that he wouldn't be seeing her as much after that, keeping it simple, short and sounding as easy as possible. Her stomach still knotted at the thought of leaving him, but at least it would be a gradual process. She would slowly but surely step further and further away from Billy over time, seeing him less and less, until finally she would be free of him. She'd decided the best way to go about it was to tell Grim to go on ahead on the way back, leaving her to tell him when they were alone.
She hoped he didn't see through her ploy, she didn't want it to be messy, just smooth and as easy for both of them as possible. Unfortunately though she still knew that the coming weeks would demand a great deal of will power to get over him. She hoped she could endure.
Max thought her offer over for a moment, before he gave a short shake of his head.
"I think I'll pass. I have work I need to do." Mandy just shrugged and accepted his reply.
"Fine, I'll see you later then." She answered right as the bell rang throughout the school, a blaring metallic noise that reverberated off the dirty glass and hammered throughout the damp walls. They each stood, Billy following his partner out.
"Bye Max." He called back as they passed into the hallway again, Max smiling and giving a wave in response.
Later.
After the end of day bell rang Billy and Mandy collected their backpacks from their lockers, disregarding the other children as they made for the exit side by side. Casting a glance into one empty classroom Mandy spotted the principal and a small group of teachers dressed in cheap suits gathered tightly around a table. As Billy stepped in to look they saw them each taking turns to have a puff on a small crack pipe, paid for no doubt by what limited funds were supposed to go to sustaining the school itself.
"No surprises there." Mandy commented and kept walking. A moment later a voice kicked in over the loudspeakers.
"Good afternoon good people of America! This is an announcement from the American Party for National Unity, helping to defend your pride!" Came a patronising voice that sounded distinctly like that of a sports commentator. Around them the other's looked up to the speakers, some displaying eagerness and delight, others appearing to be unconcerned but listening nonetheless.
"We have all been shocked and outraged by the brutal and wholly unprovoked attack on our powerful and prosperous people, and we understand and share your anger against the vile creatures responsible for this insult. We know who they are, and we know what they look like, and we know where they live, but thanks to the spiteful efforts of a few traitors in our midst we have yet to be able to stamp this scum out. These undesirables have been a parasitic presence ever since the dawn of our nation, and day by day we have stood back and watched helplessly as they rob us of our prosperity and our supremacy."
The speaker rattled on and on, sprouting one piece of nonsense after another until the two finally tired of it and continued on towards the exit, ignoring the other students and teachers as they nodded their heads in agreement to what they were being fed.
"But no more will our hands be tied. We are pleased to inform you all that not long ago our leader President Johnson has enacted a decree that will allow our protectors in State Security to have far reaching powers with which to seek out these terrorists and grind them into the dust where they belong! Henceforth State Security will now control all previous national intelligence organisations including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, as well as all branches of the National Guard."
'That can't be good.' They both thought to themselves. Then suddenly the voice on the radio changed course dramatically.
"Furthermore in the interest of promoting peace and togetherness as a people we are proud to declare that we have begun construction of a network of sanctuary communities, each comfortable settlement a safe haven for America's numerous minority groups. We expect the first to be completed by the end of this month, wherein we will begin to invite the people of the various groups to move in. By giving Latinos, Jews, Muslims, Negroes and other ethnic groups a place of their own we will be able to protect them from harm, as is the goal of the Party for National Unity."
At that both kids turned wide eyed to one another, betraying the shock they both felt at what they'd just heard. While both were used to being able to see through the various euphemisms and doublethink used by the Nationalists, neither wanted to believe what they were hearing through their translation of the plush party jargon. Mandy turned away and with a particularly forceful push marched her way through the corridor out onto the front steps, where they were greeted by Grim waiting for them below, the other children paying them all a wide berth.
"Rest assured fellow citizens this vermin will be crushed where they stand! We will not tolerate their contaminating presence anymore! Together as one people we will make these abominations pay! Remember, you are an American, be proud! In other events the Department of Economics has reported an increase… "
They ignored the dribble of lies as the two strode out to meet their old servant. He looked at them with disdain.
"So, de mall right?" He asked with a bitter taste on his tongue.
Mandy opened her mouth to answer, but paused momentarily as she noticed Max out the corner of her eye, standing atop the concrete stairs watching the three from a distance. "Just a sec."
She moved up towards her friend as he observed her quietly. "Hi Mandy. Are you heading off now?"
"Yeah." She answered, Max giving a short nod in reply. For a moment he two stood facing each other in an awkward silence, Mandy waiting for the strange polite boy's next move as he continued to stare passively upon her face. From where she stood she received the lingering impression that despite them having made up earlier it was almost like he was still slightly withdrawn from her. He was still yet to react, simply staring at her without uttering a word.
"Hey, you alright?"
Max just smiled softly to her again. "I'm fine Mandy, thank you. You don't have to worry about me anymore." Mandy continued to silently scrutinise him, until finally she relented.
"Alright. I'll see you later then." Max stepped out around her and walked away back towards his distant destination, never revealing a thing beyond his almost mask-like visage of confidence. Mandy made her way back to her friends as she watched him leave, both Grim and Billy now following her gaze.
"What's up with Max?" Grim asked. Mandy shook her head.
"Nothing."
"Well den are we going to de mall or what?"
"No, take us home first. I want to get ready."
Grim nodded, extending the scythe to form a wormhole back to their street. They stepped through and separated into their own houses. Billy rushed upstairs, dropping his bag and getting a clean change of clothes, still his usual blue and white shirt and jeans, rushing out again after bidding his parent hello and goodbye in one fast blur of sound.
Mandy took her time more, going up to her room and unpacking her bag, setting her few heavily worn textbooks aside. From her desk she picked up her wallet and moved to the bathroom to inspect herself in the mirror, quickly patting her hair into shape. Giving her reflection a hard stare she steeled herself for what lay ahead, welling up her confidence and inner strength, before she left down the stairs.
As she reached the bottom of the staircase Mandy encountered her parents as they stood in the hallway a few feet from the door, Saliva standing there with them. They turned to greet her happily.
"Hello Mandy, how was school?" Phillip asked her as she stepped into their presence. He halted and put his hand to his lips as his daughter gave him a deadpan stare, remembering she had implicitly stated that he not bring it up outside of school hours lest he spread the toxin to her home life. "Uh, sorry. Never mind."
Instead of grilling him however she just gave a shrug. "How was work?" As predicted her father's face flattened a bit, giving her a knowing smirk a second later.
"We just heard the announcement over the radio." Claire spoke with a look of despondency, shaking her head astounded. "I just can't believe that human beings actually believe these things. How can they do this to other people just because they're different?"
"Don't try to figure it out. People who think like that can't be reasoned with anyway so it doesn't have to make sense." Mandy responded, a heavy feeling of dejection hanging over the three until Phil spoke up.
"Look, no matter how much madness there is outside, we're safe from it all in here." He explained, bringing the two women back from their gloom. "As long as we live in this house, those people who think anyone not like then should die will not be able to drag us down to hell with them, thanks to you Mandy."
Though she remained stoic on the outside what he'd said touched her inside. Once more she found herself reminded of how lucky she was to have two of the only good people in Endsville as her mother and father. Despite this however she stayed her course, choosing to keep herself separated from family and friends. She didn't need their love or their affection and she didn't want it, so she remained stern.
"Where are you off to?" Claire asked in her caring motherly tone. Mandy never quite understood why she would use that tone for her. Why did they continue to shower her in love and care when they received none in return? It was however not something she should concern herself with.
"I'm going to the mall with Billy. I'll be back in a few hours." She answered flatly as she stepped past them heading for the front door. Reaching down she gave Saliva a scratch on the head and continued on.
"Okay, we love you." Her mother called out to her as she opened the door and stepped out.
At this she paused. Every time they told her this it had always left a lingering weight inside her chest, a feeling of guilt that she hadn't returned their love despite not wanting it in the first place. This time however it was different. Somehow a part of her insisted that now was the time to return their affection, not to leave until she had told them she loved or at least valued them too. Mandy remained in her place across the threshold debating wether or not to follow, all the while the reasoning behind the strange intuitive feeling remained unknown. There was no motive, no explanation of why she should tell them.
With that in mind Mandy kept her mouth closed, turned to them and gave them something between a nod and a bow, a subdued acknowledgement that she knew how they felt and respected them in return. She stepped through and shut the door behind her, returning to where Grim and Billy stood out by the road as they continued on foot towards the mall a few blocks away.
Grim and Billy walked the half hour journey calm and relaxed, not having to deal with the usual bile and crap people spewed fourth at every opportunity. Today the weather had broken and the skies were clear and blue, a far cry from the usual bleak mixture of dreary clouds and smog haze, and it seemed to make their world outlook a little bit more positive. Mandy took note of the route they were taking down the concrete path before them, past the cars and the other clusters of shops and offices. They walked past a park, wide open spaces, trees and green grass, with no one else around.
'This is where I'll tell him.' She thought to herself of the confrontation ahead. This little outing wasn't just some simple time spent with friends she reminded herself; she was doing this for the reason of finishing up her friendship with Billy, and she had every intention of doing just that.
They continued to walk down the path for another minute until they arrived over a crest overlooking the local centre of commerce. The shopping centre was a great white structure made up of several large blocks, out the front of which was a large car park full of cars, and a service station to the left beside the road leading in and out.
The three made their way down and passed into the indoor marketplace through the sliding glass doors. The inside was cooler than the early autumn air outside due to the shade of the roof and the air conditioning. Unfortunately as soon as they made their way through the sliding doors they were greeted with their all time most hated of adversaries, the pinnacle of shallow-minded vanity herself, Mindy.
"Hello Mandy. I see you've come to try and make yourself a little bit respectable, like me." She sneered at the group with all her contemptible superiority. "But what's the point? After all, deep down you know you're a worthless looser who couldn't even hope to imitate my-"
Mindy didn't get to finish the condescending sentence as Mandy summoned her scythe, levelled it at her, and clicked her fingers. The vain red haired girl gaped in terror as a small plague of biting locusts materialised and burst from the tip. They homed in on their target in an instant, covering Mindy in an itchy shell.
"You were saying?"
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Mindy screamed, flailing around in a vain attempt to get the large insects off.
Billy, in a moment of sheer evil genius, whipped out his camera and took several pictures of her as she fled the mall with the plague on her tail. He regarded each of the pictures.
"Heh heh heh, oh these are some great shots. I should be a photographer." He spoke as he carefully scrutinising each of them, Mandy and Grim looking over in interest. "Hmmm. What shall I do with these?" His tone was of mocking thought; he knew exactly what he was going to do with them from the moment he reached for the device.
"What are you doing?" Mandy asked.
"See Mandy I think these photos of Mindy in all her glorious splendour are so great it'd be a terrible shame not to share them with some of her friends. I should send these to someone who would then spread them to everyone for me, that way the entire world can see just how beautiful and awesome Mindy really is. But who?" He thought and smiled evilly. "Perhaps our good friendly friend Trixie might want to see them." He quickly sent them through to the dark haired girl. Though she was an enemy of theirs no doubt, she was also a rival of Mindy's, and any opportunity to bring down Mindy was an opportunity regardless of what it entailed.
He put his phone away and continued onwards. Mandy thought fondly about how he had probably just ruined Mindy just as well as, if not even more completely than she had four years ago. She found herself swell with pride for her little idiot. Never had she seen such an inspirational act of malice and retribution come from the little goofball. It was something she would remember fondly, having marked this occasion as an accomplishment.
'God I'm going to miss him, but I will not falter this time.'
Putting the incident behind them they made their way through the shopping centre, surveying and taking in the atmosphere of their surroundings. It had been a long time since they had been here, the last being a year or so ago, and they were intrigued by what had changed in the time since. Around them they saw many other shoppers strolling to and fro with trolleys and bags of merchandise. They spied one man with two large televisions in his trolley. Around the food court a few shops away there were perhaps twenty or thirty people milling around. It was quite a refreshing change of setting, where normally these people would be exuding arrogance and insanity from every orifice they now held a happy, laid-back state of mind. From this it appeared that all was running nicely.
But then they began to notice other things that didn't add up with what they were seeing in the people. Whereas last time they had been here all the many stores and shops had been bustling with customers and staff, every second shop they passed had its shutters closed and locked, with others lying empty and deserted. Of the remaining half that were still open another half had 'Closing Down Sale' signs displayed.
Ahead of them lay a toy store, a place they remembered well, still open for business. They entered and began combing the isles. Throughout the entire store they saw no more than three or four other customers. Leading them down one isle Mandy looked at the products displayed and shook her head. Most of the shelves were almost completely bare, not having been restocked for what appeared to be months, with what little remained being old, dusty and broken. The store was staffed by nothing more than a skeleton crew, a single old man sitting behind a desk waiting for a customer to come by. Everyone else who had worked here previously had been laid off.
She spied something at the end of the isle. Running on ahead she stopped and looked down, an awkward feeling of reminiscence mixed with sadness welling up at the sight of a dust covered pink and purple tube-like object lying forgotten on the bottom shelf. Bending down she hefted the old device up, brushing off some of the dust as she remembered the one time years ago when she'd laid hands on it. Glancing back to her friends she swung the weapon around, taking aim at a terror-struck Grim, pulling back on the pump action to load it, and pulled the trigger.
There was a clunking sound and nothing happened. Her spirits plummeted once again as she lowered the old toy. The goo cannon was broken, as was the entire mall, the city, and the society. She felt cheated, like this was something that was specifically designed for a girl like her in mind, now ruined because of those people and their pathetic habits of short sighted greed and materialism and dept. Hardening her features she dropped it to the ground and led them out again back into the corridors of the once bustling marketplace.
After combing the rest of the mall for any signs of the prosperity they had become accustomed to they went to the food court. Here the decay wasn't as bad, but still it appeared one in three fast food stands had closed up permanently. Billy ordered an enormous burger, with Mandy and Grim ordering a kebab. Billy sat down at an empty table with his friends, and was about to dig in when he got a text back from Trixie.
'I luv u' It read, and there were heart shaped emoticons. Billy laughed and dug in to his meal. Shortly after he got another text from her. '4get the last txt thank u anyway.'
They kept eating as Mandy enjoyed the last real moments of their friendship. Sitting directly beside her Billy relished in the moment, a slight smile breaking out across his face despite the bleak nature of their surroundings. Here he was, sitting beside his closest friend, with a burger in his hands and stomach, on a Friday afternoon after school. All of life's problems just seemed to wash away when he was with her, and nothing quite compared with this moment they were spending together right now. Though no conclusive thoughts entered his head he continued to relax in her company, content to just glance across to her happily.
Unaware of her friend's vacant musings Mandy likewise simply continued to enjoy the unbroken peace of Billy's companionship as minute by minute they finished their food, leaving them to sit together in a state of blissful silence. A thought occurred to her, a faint desire. She just wanted to sit next to him and hold hands under the table, just so they could feel close to each other if only for once.
As soon as she realised what she was thinking her eyes widened in shock. She ripped the thoughts away and ruthlessly stamped them out.
'What the hell, what am I thinking! I have to stop this!' If this went on any further than it already had it would destroy her. She had to start to put an end to it today before she got wound up in him more than she already had.
Billy picked up on her sudden shift in temperament intently as she quickly turned away from him, a hard set expression of frustration etched on her face. He frowned slightly in concern.
"Mandy?" She looked back to him, her eyes showing none of the authority and strength he admired, instead seeming tired and withdrawn. Grim saw their interaction too, as well as how Mandy had begun sleeping over at Billy's again, and spending even more time with him. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on in that girl's cold heart. Mandy however remained silent.
She took a deep breath and looked away again, Billy also turning his gaze elsewhere. It now occurred to her that for the past few minutes he had been gazing vacantly at her in a similar manner, but it mattered little now. With their attention returned outwards they suddenly realised that they were alone in the food court, with most of the remaining handful of shoppers and workers now leaving one by one.
"Let's go." She spoke. Together they got up and turned to leave the now deserted shopping centre. Mandy had been dreading this moment all day, when she would soon have to confront him. She sighed and tried to calm herself, reminding herself of all that she stood for, that she was a lone wolf, a spirit of darkness and strength in a world of weak-minded corrupt scum. She was strong and hard like steel, and she was not going to go soft on this, just as she would not go soft on anything or anyone. Mandy continued to remind herself of this as the lights of the mall went out around them and they left through the glass doors with Billy and Grim beside her.
Outside the temperature had dropped to be colder than the inside. The dusk sky overhead was now a deep blue colour, the last of the day's light coming in a dull orange-yellow strip across the horizon ahead of them. The car park was almost empty and the street lights had come on. Grim guessed the time at somewhere around a quarter to six, far later than they had actually planned on staying out. Mandy's face flattened slightly, she knew she'd been stalling, but now she could stall no more. The three walked out through the car park towards the path leading back to the park.
'It's time.' She decided with resolve ready to put her plan into action, turning her eyes to the black asphalt as she thought over what she was to do. She was just about to open her mouth to tell Grim to go back on his own, when something caught her eye.
The trio stopped in their tracks as they gazed warily at the sight before them. Standing in their path a few metres ahead was a figure, a stranger dressed in an all encompassing onyx cloak, its stark image projected as a heavy black silhouette against the orange twilight behind it. They could feel it staring at them, its face an empty black shadow under the hood, each remaining tensely on edge as they continued to gaze nervously at the newcomer. Despite the lack of any movement or sound, the three could feel a strange, foreboding feel welling up around the figure, something that made the blood freeze in their fingers and toes.
Mandy spoke up at last and addressed the strange paranormal spectre. "Who are you?"
The veiled phantom just stared back at her without reaction.
"What do you want? Answer me." Mandy continued as the mysterious thing still didn't react. A thought crossed her mind, 'Is this the guy who killed Irwin?'
"Speak!"
She was getting frustrated by the total silence the thing was showing them. Again the only answer they received was the ever present feeling of its cold, foreboding aura, and a blank stare from somewhere within the complete darkness of the cowl covering the head. Her answer came however when the stranger's hands began to glow with an unnatural dark blue-black corona, distorting the air around its fingers making them shimmer and ripple. It was charging up for an attack. Whoever this was, its intentions were now perfectly clear.
Mandy and Grim instantly summoned their weapons, and not a moment too soon as the spectre lunged for them. Bringing hers up Mandy parried a fast left handed strike with the side of the blade, the thing bringing its right arm around to strike, again being caught by the blood red scythe.
Mandy swung to destroy it with a chop to the left side, only for it to redirect the blade over its head with its hands before jumping back away. Grim and Mandy stood guarded ready for the next attack.
"Billy get out of here!" Grim ordered the boy, seeing as he was completely outclassed in this situation. He immediately complied and ran to hide away elsewhere, taking cover behind a parked car.
The stranger lunged at them again and attacked with a repeating flurry of charged short range blows. Mandy and Grim both found themselves too busy blocking the rapid strikes to make any counterattack of their own, having to slowly step back under the force of the relentless assault. The veiled spectre didn't show any mercy, keeping up with them as they retreated, continually probing their defences, seeking some gap with which to deal a fatal blow.
Turning its focus more on getting past Mandy's airtight guard it left a short pause in its attack on Grim, which he then used to put up a shimmering green wall to shield them momentarily from the attacks. The stranger's charged hands struck at the barrier to no effect. Seeing this Mandy took a step back, levelled the scythe at it and fired a blistering burst of red lightning and particles.
Catching the opponent off guard the blast went right through the barrier, catching it in the torso and hurling it backward, landing roughly its back several metres away. It barely had time to recover before Mandy surged in, coal black eyes ablaze with battle fury, and bought her scythe down onto it.
The dark figure rolled to the right before the blade of the scythe shattered the bitumen where it once lay. Rising to its feet it delivered a hard kick that struck Mandy in the side of her ribs, making her grit her teeth and back away in shock. Before it could close in on her Grim raced in and blocked its path with a swing to the abdomen. Jumping to avoid the deadly blade it kicked the reaper in the scull, sending him whipping around.
Mandy got to her feet in time to witness the stranger give Grim an energised shove in the body with its right hand, the spectral power delivering into him the force and momentum of a truck. Gaping in shock and pain Grim soared back, crashing into the side of an old grey Town and Country on the way. The middle aged woman behind the wheel shrieked and bailed from the vehicle, running away from the confrontation.
"Uuuhhh… That little…" Grim Struggled to his feet, having stayed conscious and intact after the attack, though his bones screamed in protest in their battered and weakened state.
The veiled spectre rounded on Mandy again as she set herself into a guarded position, feet spread, legs bent, scythe raised to block the next attack whatever form it should take.
Seeing its short range attacks were not penetrating her defences the stranger opted to change tactics. Bringing its hands together it began charging a small glowing electric blue sphere of some disturbing power between its palms, watching as it grew more and more intense with each moment. Mandy easily recognised a plasma bolt when she saw one, deciding it would be better to dodge the orb of destruction than to try and block it. Dropping to the right as it cast the blue charged ball she was thankful she did, as it rocketed past her head and detonated in a brilliant burst of blue light and superheated flame upon hitting the side of a parked sedan, searing the mid section into a burning and twisted heap. Her body tensed with panic as she saw it had been the car Billy had hidden behind. When she looked however she war relieved to see he was nowhere in sight, having crept off somewhere else beforehand. Without pause the stranger charged its hands again ready for another short ranged attack.
Before it could lunge to strike at her the figure noticed Grim out of the corner of its vision. Taking aim with his scythe Grim welled up a ball of fire into the blade. The stranger quickly forgot its attack on Mandy to raise a barely visible dark blue energy field around its form to stop the blast of flaming energy, leaping back out of the billowing ball of orange flame and black smoke. Using his mastery of the air element Grim sent another blast of flame at his foe, this time channelling it in a wide arc across the figure's front, forcing it to take one jump back after another as he followed up the blast with several more like it, pushing it in the direction he wanted it to go.
From her spot Mandy realised what his plan was as he herded the strange spectre towards the fuel station, with its great big liquid petroleum gas cylinder in clear sight.
Too late the black veiled figure saw her tense for impact, realising the trap as Grim fired a blast of flame straight past it, impacting and penetrating the tank and igniting the gas inside. Grim and Mandy both staggered back as a massive blast pulverised and incinerated the station, the heat of which prickled and seared her skin as the enormous ball of chocking fire billowed up into the sky. They steadied themselves as the burning debris from the roof and building rained down on the area. Grim had counted three or four people who'd been watching the fight from the vicinity, including the woman who'd ran from the old minivan with the dented side, all of which were now gone, the blast having set alight to the bowsers and nearby cars in the area they'd been standing.
Despite the raging inferno however the cloaked figure stepped calmly out from the flames, unconcerned with the carnage that had been wreaked as it set its chilling relentless gaze on the two standing before it. Grim and Mandy stared before they resumed their guarded state, both having half expected it to survive anyway.
Acting before it could attack again Grim charged up and fired a glowing orange stream of hot particles in an attempt to hold it back. The deadly searing mix of fire and electrical energy lashed out at its target, colliding with a transparent field as the figure raised one arm to block it effortlessly. Mandy held off from launching a similar offensive as she saw the transparent dome of dark energy wrapping around to shield from her side as well, keeping her guard up while searching for any potential opening she could exploit.
From behind their assailant Billy emerged from the tree line at the rear of the car park, a large piece of half charred wood clutched in his hands, dense and hard like an unhewn baseball bat. He squinted his eyes at the flash of Grim's attack striking the transparent barrier, shielding himself from the heat and light as the two engaged each other in a battle of cosmic strength, all the while avoiding the roaring flames of the gas station. Seeing his chance he rounded on its undefended back, charging in towards his target with a loud cry of anger.
The attacker held the shield for several seconds as Grim continued firing its deadly burning stream of energy. The screeching sound of the two energies blasting against one another was loud enough that it almost failed to hear the roar of a young boy coming up behind with a piece of wood in his hands. Almost.
"… rrraaaAAH-"
The figure turned its shrouded face upon hearing the growing sound of Billy's war cry. Raising its right hand it clamped down hard on his crude club, still holding the shield up with its left hand as Billy's eyes widened at having been caught.
This gave Mandy an opening. She charged the scythe ready to fry the creature with an attack like Grim's, but hesitated due to Billy being so close. She waited for him to move back away.
Continuing to hold Billy's crude weapon with its hand it felt the force acting on the outside of the shield slowly beginning to fade as Grim's scythe began to rapidly tire. As powerful as the ancient artefact was, it was not designed first and foremost as a weapon as Mandy's had. Billy struggled to free his club from the creatures grasp as the light and heat of Grim's attack gradually subsided.
"Uuuhh, Mandy… help!"
He continued to struggle and pull away until the hand grasping it opened, moving to attack the stick with a powerful charged chop. The club splintered in the middle where the stranger's hand blasted right through the thick wood, before bringing it down again on the upper side of Billy's arm with an audible crack, breaking it.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Billy screamed in pain, dropping the remaining chunk of wood and clutching his injured arm to his body as the stranger delivered a brutal back fist to his face, sending him careening over onto the ground.
"BILLY!"
Mandy barely recognised her own cry of fright at the sight of her friend injured and in pain. Never had she felt such sheer panic for the safety of someone else. Regardless of all her hard hearted posturing, hearing Billy's agonised scream and seeing him fall to the ground, his face still contorted in anguish, simply overwhelmed any and all control over her once guarded state of mind. It eased her fright somewhat as she saw Billy drag himself back from the fight, still holding his arm to his chest, gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain emanating from his bones. She also noticed their cloaked attacker still fixing its cold gaze on him as he crawled away from danger, with the barely visible shield of dark energy weakening as the blast from Grim's scythe ran down.
With Billy hauling himself safely clear and the enemy's shield now lessened in strength Mandy now had the clear shot she'd been waiting for. Taking advantage of her opponent's momentary lapse in attention she aimed and charged her weapon, the blade growing a deep malevolent red, and let loose a concentrated blast of power. The blinding ruby stream of plasma struck the barrier, and like a spear penetrating a wooden shield it punched straight through, scoring a glancing hit on the back of its left shoulder. The robe where it had been struck caught fire as the beam blasted and burned into its flesh.
The stranger dropped the remainder of its shield, staggering back under the force of the impact. Turning on its heels it faced Mandy as she continued to aim her scythe at it, the blade glowing ruby red as she charged for another blast. Before she or Grim could fire again the wounded figure focussed on the area directly behind itself, forming a deep black egg shaped portal. The two still standing watched as the spectre stepped back into the rippling black ball to be swallowed up and obscured beyond its unnatural shimmering surface. The dark threshold dispersed a second later to reveal the assassin had vanished without a trace, only the carnage reigned down on the car park to show it had been there.
Grim and Mandy continued to stare agape, too stunned by what had just happened to form a clear-cut thought between them.
"Uhh." A soft groan of pain bought their attention back to their wounded friend. Mandy ran to check he was alright, kneeling down beside him as he sat upright exhausted.
"Billy…"
"Where is it?" He asked her still on edge.
"It's gone for now. Come on, we have to get out of here. We have to get you to a hospital." She answered him, her voice betraying the enduring fright she felt, still in a clear state of shock and alarm from their close call, too close by the state of Billy's arm.
Gently she helped him to his feet as Grim commandeered the abandoned grey people mover, wheeling it around and pulling up in front of the two youths, stepping out to open the dented side door for them. Easing him in she laid Billy up against the far right door in the back, his broken arm laid across his waist as he gasped for breath wearily. Mandy stayed in the back sitting in the seat opposite to take care of him. Shutting the door Grim stepped back in the driver's seat and drove off out of the shopping mall car park, disregarding the immense flaming pyre from the fuel station and the burning wreckage strewn across the way out, eager to get as far away from where they were before whatever it was that had attacked them returned. The great lumbering vehicle swayed and screeched as it rounded a right hand corner leaving the mall and accelerated off down the road as fast as its laboured front wheels could take it.