Part One:
When they got to the mall, they headed toward the food court. The group was easy to pick out. No one was sitting at any of the tables next to theirs.
Max Catechu, the Black Kat, was in all black. Big surprise there. She had on tight black leather pants and a soft clingy black shirt with matching soft calf-high leather boots. Her pure white hair was fluffed around her head, emphasizing the thick black choker and black lipstick. Her eyes were a washed out violet, large in her pale round face.
Jem Ganton, was the same ole, same ole, too. Plain black hair with a normal haircut, an ordinary white shirt and normal black pants emphasized by thick combat boots, a black trench coat, and dark prescription sunglasses. He had hazel eyes, and pale skin. He looked like he never saw the sun. Which was probably true.
Lore Brown looked like herself. She was wearing her brother's old running shoes, baggy guy's pants, and a t-shirt that her brother had picked up at some concert somewhere. Her blond hair was cut to her chin, and she wore a red baseball cap, backwards. Ty thought the effect was somewhat endearing. She was thin, and tough as nails. He liked the way she tucked her hair behind one ear, it was cute. Not that he'd ever tell her that.
"Hey, Ty." "Thanks so much for keeping in touch." "You know I didn't even notice you were missing?" "Have I met you somewhere before?"
"Ha ha." Ty said sarcastically. "I've been busy. Some of us have jobs." He pulled up a chair and sat down. "I've got 'Becca with me."
"We do have eyes, you know." Lore told him. "We are capable of seeing."
'Becca transferred from his lap to Lore's. 'Becca had always like Lore. "Oh I wasn't worried about you having eyes. . . I can see those. It's your brain cells which concern me."
"Funny." Max smiled. "Let's go. We've been waiting for Matt for twenty minutes."
"Oh, boo hoo." Matt sighed. "Where should we head first?"
"Mari Posa." Max said, just as Jem said, "Radio Shack."
Matt held out his hands. "Mari Posa. . . Radio Shack. . . Hmmm. . . Guys to girls. . . Lore doesn't count. I think you're outnumbered, Max, everyone to one."
Everyone picked up their stuff and headed slowly to Radio Shack. It took Ty a second to realize 'Becca was missing. "Wait a minute. 'Becca's gone. . ." Ty felt a note of panic take hold in his voice. 'Becca never took off, usually it was all you could do to pull her off of you. She was a clingy kid, running away was very out of character for her.
"I just saw her a minute ago." Lore looked around. "Wait a minute. Here she is." She pointed to 'Becca, standing about twelve meters away, staring into a kid's clothing store.
Ty sighed in relief. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up. I've got some big brothering to do."
"Gotcha." Jem said. "We'll just be in radio shack. I think I've found a way to build a homing device. I just need a few parts."
"Homing Device?" Ty mouthed. Then he shrugged, Jem was Jem, after all, but really, he needed a girlfriend. Turning, Ty headed off towards 'Becca. "I think we've talked about this, little girl."
'Becca looked down at the ground, nervously twisting her foot on the floor.
"You're not supposed to go anywhere without me? Do you want some weirdo to grab you? Or to sit up at mall security, while they page me?" Ty looked at her. Something was up. . . He looked into the store. Clothes. Yeah, 'Becca really needed new clothes. He hated to admit it but she looked a little more faded each day, and she was really supposed to be wearing summer clothes by now. The problem was she had sprouted since last summer and nothing fit.
He sighed. He was going to get himself a new soccer ball, and some new cleats. But if he worked double shift this week end, he could still pay for his uniform and squeeze into last years cleats till he got his next paycheck.
"What the heck. You want clothes, we'll get you clothes." He grabbed her hand and marched her into the store, marveling at the astonished look on her face.
A sales lady attacked almost immediately. You could sure tell when they worked on commission. It was in the gleam in her eyes. "Can I help you."
"Actually, yes." Ty gave his best sheepish smile. "My little sister needs new summer clothes and well, I'm not the foremost judge on five year old active wear."
He could practically see the lady rub her hands in greedy anticipation. "Well, let's see. She's very slender. We'll have to look for smaller sizes. Anything in particular you're looking for?"
"Probably shorts, t-shirts, a summer dress, what's in style?"
Ty was soon overloaded with material as he and 'Becca thinned the pile. Finally, they decided on three pairs of shorts, neon green, hot pink and purple, with matching shirts, embroidered with a star, a heart, and a flower. A pair of short blue-jean overalls, with little green lizards on the pockets, a tie-dyed light green shirt, two summer dresses, periwinkle for everyday wear, and sky-blue for special occasions. He even helped her pick out new shoes, cheap slip on sandals and a pair of white and blue running shoes with lightning bolts.
"So is that everything for you?" The lady was chipper and she should be, she could smell the green. "Your total is one hundred and forty-four, twenty-six. Will that be cash, visa or debit?"
Ty cringed. It even ate into his twelve dollar savings. "Debit." He passed over his card with a sense of forthcoming doom.
"Hey, Ty, you're still in here?" Jem raised his eyebrow, with a look of perplexity. "We've been looking for you all over the place."
"Sorry, guys, 'Becca needed new clothes." Ty sighed. "Lots and lots of expensive new clothes."
"Speaking of 'Becca, where is she?" Lore asked.
"What do you mean? She's right here." Ty looked down to the spot by his knee where 'Becca typically occupied. "Oh my god. She's wandered off again." Ty felt the rising panic again. That was twice, in an hour. What was wrong with her?
"Calm down, Ty, she probably just went to go see the puppies at the Pet Store next door." Max said reassuringly. "Why don't Lore and I go look, while Matt alerts the security guards?"
They moved off in different directions. "Thanks, guys." Ty called out. "Did it go through?" He asked the sales clerk.
"Yes. You've been approved." She said, with a look of concern. "Why don't I call up the other stores and see if they have your sister."
"That would be great. Thank you. Jem, could you stay here with her? I just want to see if I can figure out where she'd go." He passed the bag of clothes to him. "Hold these, would you?"
Ty walked out of the store. Where would she go? Not to the puppies. She'd never make it all the way across the aisle of the mall. No, too many people, 'Becca didn't like crowds. He looked over beside him. Pegasus Books. No, she couldn't read yet. On the other side was a florist. Not there, she was allergic to flowers. He stopped for a second. There was a service passage between the stores. Very narrow, and probably a reassuring hiding place for a five year old.
The door was just a little open, as though she had just gone through it. He opened it. There was just something about this place. . . He could almost fancy that he heard her sobbing just around the corner.
He rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks, his mind refusing to accept what he was seeing. It was a person/creature, hunched, and dark in shape. They were holding 'Becca, almost tenderly, her arms unresisting. They whirled in surprise, blood on their face, just the slightest image of teeth.
Then they were gone. Like the monster under the bed. . . Whenever you gathered the courage to look, it was gone before you could bend down. They had dropped 'Becca and she clattered to the ground like a rag doll, her body limp and unmoving. Blood oozed from her throat. Slowly, irreversibly, staining the white floor red.
Ty turned around and closed his eyes, attempting to block the image. He could not, it overwhelmed him and he screamed, outraged. It brought the security men running. "Oh my god," they whispered. "What happened here?" "Somebody call an ambulance."
Ty turned back around toward her, slowly as if it would erase the gruesome scene on the floor. Just clap your hands, children, and Tinkerbelle will live. . . But he was too old for fairy stories now. He couldn't make himself believe.
Ty found 'Becca's fingers, and held them tight. Then he broke into unsatisfying half-sobs that seemed to consume him. She was hurt, she could die. . . It was his fault. She was so frail and he was so stupid. It was the only conceivable that death had finally come to claim her.