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It's a terrible thing to be wrong, especially when you think someone could die for it. After all this time, one must believe my timing and tracking skills to be infallible. They aren't. The next morning, I go out to Serena's house, first thing, only to find my clock had died and I'm running three hours late. Serena and the rest, even Darien, are already at school. If I hadn't had my job for only three weeks, I would just go pull one of them from class, but I don't want to be fired. Besides, the cardians hardly ever attack twice in a row. I resolve to find any of them after work.
Unfortunately, my bad luck holds.
It is a long day and I have trouble concentrating. The man that I had corrected before has to stop me from making a near irreparable mistake. I have to stay even later than usual because of this. By the time I get off, I know that not even Serena could still be in detention, so I go to the arcade. None of them are there. I wander the streets till I feel someone's energy being drained. Finally, a lucky break! I run full tilt in that direction and find myself at a department store having a Sailor Moon show. Molly and Melvin, along with the other watchers, have had their energy drained. If bad luck really does exist, Molly has the worst case of it. She is just a magnet for evil psychos. The aliens actually escape with the energy and I decide to follow them instead of waiting for the scouts.
Looking through my usual place at the window, I see Ann and Alan go into a dark room in their apartment I hadn't really noticed before. They close the door behind them, so I can't see inside.
It's already dark and they aren't coming out. After a while, I am tired of floating around and figure that I'll be spotted soon anyway. I head to Serena's house, deep in thought about what should be done after the scouts find out about Ann and Alan. Obviously they can't just go on with life as usual, but then again, other than stealing energy, the two appear to have any goals. They don't seem like the world-domination types, if they were, I'm sure they wouldn't be in school. No one who has such delusions of grandeur could stand for the degradation of school life. So caught up in my thoughts am I, that I'm caught totally off guard as a hand covers my mouth just like before…
The hand is so cold it takes my breath away. I try to scream and struggle, using all the defensive moves my father ever taught me, but am held fast. With no way to break free I start to panic. Where is everyone? I can still see. Dark figures come into view. They are cloaked, with hoods pulled down to cover their faces. I manage to kick the leg of the one who is holding me. My attacker falls back. I try to run. Too many of them. I don't even get a chance to scream. Four hold me down, the one I'd kicked limps over and we are transported away instantly. It all happens in a matter of seconds. Seconds that will come to cost me an eternity…
I pull myself away from the memory, over with as quickly as it began. I am no longer that girl who couldn't defend herself. Which is good, since my current assailants aren't here to abduct me.
I let my energy rise to the surface, giving off a kind of electric shock, only with hundred times the normal voltage. The one holding me cries out in momentary pain and releases me. I keep the energy at surface level to ensure that neither of the two can touch me. I'm not surprised to see Ann and Alan. They both stand off a little ways to assess me. I do the same. They seem worn out, or unenergized. We stare at each other.
"What do you want?" I ask calmly, but with steel in my voice. They glance at each other. Ann takes charge.
"You've been spying on us!" She glares daggers. What can I say to that? After all, it's true.
"Yes." I make it more of a statement than a question.
"We can't let you interfere in our work. Either leave us alone, or die," Alan says. It would be more convincing if he didn't look like he could drop at any moment.
"You seem tired," I say sarcastically, baiting them, "Why don't you leave?" Ann has a low tolerance for any kind of comeback, no matter how unimaginative it is. She charges at me, but too sluggishly. I simply move out of the way, putting up an energy wall where I stood, which she smacks into like a moth into a bug zapper. Ann crumples to the ground. Alan, seeing her having fallen, takes action. He pulls out a card and a flute. I know better than to start making fun of the enemy when he is about to do something I haven't seen previously. He begins to play before I can react to knock the flute away. A monster, or cardian, comes out. It is about six feet tall and just plain weird looking. Then again, what's new? Alan takes action, as I am momentarily distracted. He grabs Ann and teleports away. That leaves me to fight the cardian. I suddenly wonder if I have the power to take down even one little cardian on my own, after all, the scouts can only kill them when they first reach a new energy level. The one from the museum had been somewhat worn out for me by Sailor Moon. Otherwise I doubt I could've done it.
The thing has a fairly feminine build, though well muscled. It screeches more than talks, which is fitting since it looks at least half crow. All in all, it reminds me of a Harpy. Enough time spent scrutinizing. It shoots off razor sharp feathers at me. I barely have time to put up my energy shield. I answer that attack by throwing a ball of energy at it. It bounces harmlessly off the thing's feathers. It comes at me fast, so fast I can hardly see it moving at all, and that's when I notice the smell, like something out of a compost heap. I gag and feel nauseated. It moves too swiftly for me to out run it, and my attack didn't touch it, which just leaves outsmarting the monster. At least I have that much going for me; it looks about as intelligent as a doorknob.
These creatures always have their weaknesses anyway. I decide to try the "Wizard of Oz" approach. There is a fountain in a nearby park. I pull my shield around me fully and run for it. The cardian continues to throw feathers, but now I have just as much protection has it does. It follows me to the fountain and I douse it with water by redirecting the flow through a sort of energy aqueduct. I'd forgotten just how well water carries electricity, and energy is, in a way, electricity. A bright light fills the night sky. The creature screeches loud enough that I have to cover my ears as it falls to the ground. The good news is that it's down for the count; the bad news is it's not dead yet. Now what? It's not as if I can just leave the harpy-cardian laying there for some unsuspecting victim to stumble upon. I could always drop it off at some government lab, but no one deserves that kind of torture.
I walk over and examine the thing. The feathers are long and black, more like an ostrich, only too sharp to touch. The wings remind me of those old "sky dancer" toys, more like paddles on the arms than real wings. It has the face of a young woman with too much black makeup. The human feet end in talons. I sit down next to the thing to think. On one hand, I could always take the creature over to Serena and have her dust it, or whatever. On the other hand, I could send it to some exotic zoo, only one-step up from a lab, though it would stay alive. This is the first time I've had to decide whether something deserves to live or die. Before, it has been a them - or- me situation where I chose to protect myself and those with me, without even thinking about it. I wonder if it'd be happier in Greece or somewhere in Africa. I pull the spell book that I carry with me everywhere now a days out of my satchel. Flipping through the pages, I come to the instant transportation spell. It will take a lot of energy out of me, enough that I may just pass out on the street afterward, especially since I'll have to use another spell to ensure it won't be too dangerous. That means I won't be able to warn Serena tonight. However, I've already made my mind up.
Setting the book down, I concentrate, putting my energy into the words I repeat in my mind, changing them slightly to fit the situation. The cardian glows briefly. The feathers cease to be knives, becoming soft as any bird's. The talons retract till they disappear. I can't do anything about its speed. The invisible line that connects it to whatever it is that it would gather energy for is severed, so it can't drain people anymore. With that done, I sink to my knees and begin the next spell. The creature flickers a few times, then disappears, gone to Mt. Olympos National Park, Greece. It seems the most fitting place for the crow-harpy. Good luck, I wish to the creature, and more so to anyone who should happen to find it. Which is unlikely, given how fast it is. With that, I fall forward in exhaustion and see no more…
I wake up in a cold, dank cell. I don't even recall passing out. Maybe this is just where they transported me to. Whoever "they" are, wherever "this" is. I feel silent tears fall down my cheeks. How could I go from being so happy to so lost and confused in just one moment? At least I'm not hurt, just scared. I don't yell or move; I don't want to draw anyone's attention. Maybe if I can just think, I'll be all right. I just need to be quiet…I hear footsteps outside, I can't help but glance up, through the cell bars. The men in cloaks are back. The first one lowers his hood and I can't quell the shock and fear that rises again in me…
The memory fades, but the feeling doesn't. I try to tell myself that it was all a long time ago, back before the Moon Kingdom was destroyed. What can you say about old fears? There is no rationalization, emotions will do as they please, and there is no control. I try the Jedi way of accepting them. Doesn't work. It's a relief when a voice breaks through my thoughts. I open my eyes and look around, taking reassurance in the fact that this is no cell. Though the sterol and too-white walls are almost as bad, I have to close my eyes against the sudden brightness. The voice continues none stop through all of this.
"…and then the street cleaner brought you in and here you are now. Well, actually we had you in emergency for a while, but then the doctor decided that it was just another case of energy drain. Do you know how many cases of that there've been in the last few months? It's amazing, never heard of before now. And it's not like the people are working too hard or something. After all, if that were true, I'd be the first one to go. Hey, are you awake yet?" the friendly-looking, black haired nurse finally turns to me, "Oops, I guess you might want to sleep, right? He he, I'll just go now…" Her cheeks flush in embarrassment. "I know, I talk too much, but I can't help it you see my youngest daughter just got this big award at school and…" She continues to talk. I sit up and smile, nodding to show I'm paying attention.
After about a half-hour of this, including ten apologies for talking too much, a doctor comes in and shoos her away. This doctor is tall and slim, with short hair. Amy's mother. It is a small world after all. We've never technically met before. She checks my chart and vital signs.
"You appear to be fine now. That is unusual. People with similar cases have taken weeks to heal to the point you have in a few hours." She looks at me quizzically. I think I should go before I become a guinea pig to some experiment.
"Great then I'll just be going…" I say as I get out of the bed. Luckily I'm still in my street clothes. I hate those gown things they always make patients wear.
"Just check out at the front desk." With that, she turns and goes back to her duties. Not much of a conversationalist, yet she didn't seem rude or uncompassionate to me, just busy and professional.
"Check out" is the right word for it. The price for one night in the hospital is criminal considering they didn't actually do anything for me except throw me in a room. I would have to sell another painting if I were ever in here for more than a day.
Now I just have to find Serena.
Last chapter of the Doom Tree series coming up next! Stay tuned : )
