Don't tell me it's nothing!

'Don't panic, Darci! Don't panic! We're almost out of the danger zone! Don't panic,' Darci prayed mantra-like, while she hastily followed her teacher and the young man who had taken Claire from her without further ado and was now carrying her bridal-style.

A block away from downtown, there was no trace of the ugly little gremlins anymore, but they had passed several people who had huddled in the entrances of stores and houses, probably hoping to be overlooked by the attackers. The young man had shouted to each and everyone without stopping that they weren't safe there and urged them to go to the hospital. Almost all had followed his advice and run in the same direction as her small group.

"Stop," Mr. Strickler suddenly called out, and a bit out of breath, Darci came to a halt. "My car..." he spoke, and when she looked in the direction he pointed, she actually saw the car she had often seen her teacher coming to work with. With a slightly panicked look on his face, he patted down his pants and jacket pockets, but then he seemed to have found what he was looking for and as he held up his car keys, Darci laughed, relieved.

Quickly but carefully, Claire was buckled into the back seat. Darci was about to join her when she noticed that their teacher made no effort to get in himself.

"Young man, I assume you know how to drive a car?"

"It's been a while, but yes. Are your injuries too bad?" the latter asked, looking at the wounds on Mr. Strickler's legs with narrowed eyebrows and an intense gaze.

"You're going to drive the girls to the clinic. I'll run back and see if anyone else needs help. You-"

"NO!" snapped Darci, and two pairs of eyes turned to her. "Mr. Strickler, you can't seriously be planning on running back to where that- that- monster was! Didn't you see it? And there were no more people in and around the park either!"

"Miss Scott, I understand your concerns. Nevertheless-"

But Darci shook her head. "With all due respect, Mr. Strickler, forget it. Do you want me to call my dad and tell him that you let Claire and me leave with a complete stranger whom we don't know and who also has questionable driving skills? No offense," she threw at said man, earning a grimace. "Besides, you're the most seriously injured of us, and I'd never forgive myself if you didn't get into medical hands quickly!" Showing her most serious police daughter mien, she braced her fists on her hips and looked at him with a stare that brooked no argument.

"Listen to her," the young man agreed with her while stepping away from them. "I'm going back. I have a weapon, at least. My broom is still there, should I need to defend myself." Grinning, he bowed curtly in Darci's direction and then was already sprinting away.

With her mouth open, the teenager stared after him. Had everyone gone crazy today? How could anyone run toward such danger? And he wanted to defend himself with a broom? Was this supposed to be a joke? Yes well, it might have been useful against the gremlins. But this huge dark something? Darci wasn't really supernaturally inclined, but that had looked like a textbook demon come alive to her. What else could it be?

"Very well." Her teacher sighed and slumped his shoulders before picking himself up two seconds later and walking to the driver's side with a determined expression. "Hop in, Miss Scott. Let's drive."

"What? You want to leave him here?" she asked incredulously, then got in anyway as her teacher sat down behind the wheel with a low groan.

"There's no question of wanting to. But he is younger and more agile, I must admit. And how he swung that broom looked professionally and impressive to me. Besides, all the emergency services available in the area should have arrived by now..."

Sighing again, her teacher started the car. Quickly buckling up, Darci really did hear several sirens now. In the rearview mirror, however, she saw that he looked very contrite as he turned the car around and headed out of downtown. Did he feel guilty that the stranger had gone back in his place? Or anger because he had wanted to play the hero? No, Darci couldn't imagine that. Because he had already been beaten up by the little beasts, he must have known that he had no chance against such a big monster. But before she could ask him what was going on in his head, Claire groaned next to her and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey, hey, Claire. Everything's fine," she quickly assured her friend, placing her hand on her shoulder for support as she threatened to tip to the side and slip out of her seatbelt.

"What happened? Why are we driving?" she asked, looking around with languid movements.

"Mr. Strickler is driving us to the hospital. Do you remember what happened?"

Eyes wide, Claire stared at Darci before curling up as much as she could and slapping her hands in front of her face like she could hide from reality. Apparently, the memories had hit with full force.

"By the gods..." she mumbled with a shaky voice.

"Yeah..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Darci saw the nighttime silhouettes of the city rush by and slid down in the seat a bit, exhausted. Adrenaline was a fine thing, but now it was rapidly wearing off, leaving a leaden feeling behind. But before the onset of fatigue could paralyze her completely, she startled again when Claire suddenly cried out next to her.

"Where's Douxie?"

"Who's Douxie?"

"I suppose that would be the young man with the broom?" Mr. Strickler stated his assumption without taking his eyes off the road.

"Yes!" confirmed Claire with a nod.

"He went back to-"

"He what?"

"I know! Absolutely heroic and likewise stupid! I mean, what does he think he can do with a broom against that creature?"

"I myself wonder who that stranger in the armor was," their teacher interjected, flicking on the blinker. "Did you perhaps recognize the voice? It definitely sounded human to me."

Astounded, Darci saw that they were already turning into the large parking lot of the hospital. And while shaking her head in negation, Claire leaned her head against the headrest of the passenger seat. "How was I supposed to recognize it? I fainted like a weak damsel in distress!"

"Hey," Darci said softly, once more putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "This has been an exceptional situation, Claire. Force majeure, so to speak! Don't blame yourself for getting knocked out. I was honestly on the verge of it myself," she admitted grudgingly, earning a surprised look. "And it's no big deal either. How long have we known each other? Thirteen years? Who's always protected me from the mean boys in the neighborhood and school? You, Claire. You're totally badass, Claire-bear! Don't tell yourself otherwise."

Smiling, she rubbed Claire's upper back, and the next moment, her best friend was in her arms.

"Thanks, sis..."

Sobering a bit, she looked out the window again when she heard Mr. Strickler swear quietly. And she couldn't blame him when she saw what was going on out there. Cars were piling up in front of them because apparently all the parking spaces were taken. Not even five years ago, when the new hospital wing was ceremoniously opened with great fanfare, had there been so many people!

"Mr. Strickler? I think we're going to have to walk," she relayed her father's advice from his lectures on how best to handle such situations.

A sigh reached her. "I'm afraid you're right, Miss Scott." With movements that seemed a little shaky to Darci, he steered his car closer to the sidewalk and then turned off the engine. "How are you, Miss Nuñez?" he asked, after unbuckling his seat belt and turning to face them.

"I'll make the walk all right, Mr. Strickler. But how are you? You don't look so good."

And that was putting it mildly. Their teacher was downright gray in the face. But with a half-hearted smile, he seemed to want to reassure them both.

"I'll make it all the way too, don't worry. Come on, you two."

But it seemed to take forever for the three of them to even get into the entryway. People upon people were gathered outside the hospital - many just standing around, blocking the way by the sheer size of their presence. But when they saw that not only two teenagers, but also the Arcadia Oaks High history teacher known by many were limping toward the entrance, they readily made way and even called to each other to form an alley. And Darci was very grateful to them for doing so. Because even though she wasn't really hurt and was happy to take most of Claire's weight off to her right and Mr. Strickler's to her left, they were getting heavier with each step, and he in particular looked like he was going to topple over at any moment.

But she gritted her teeth and heaved them both on and on. In the crowd, she saw and heard a few nurses walking around here and there. These must have been sent out to take care of the lightly injured, while they sent the more seriously injured to the entrance with a practiced look. Unfortunately for their small group, these were no help at that moment. And Darci even understood. In such a situation, thinking didn't help, just acting to handle the crowds. And if it already looked like this out here, she didn't really want to know what it was like inside with the doctors and the rest of the nursing staff.

"Claire!" came a sudden loud call from behind them that made Darci flinch. Then her friend was literally snatched away from her, and she had to make a quick sidestep to keep herself and her teacher from just toppling to the left as Claire's weight was suddenly missing in their balance act. Furious, she looked up to see Mr. Nuñez holding his daughter in his arms and muttering nonstop at her.

"Sí, papa, I'm fine. Put me down please, I can walk by myself. Mr. Strickler needs our help, though!"

"Are you sure, Claire?"

"Mr. Nuñez, please," Darci now joined in, and her voice pitch must have sounded really pitiful, because immediately her friend's father set her down and, with a guilty expression, put Mr. Strickler's arm around his shoulders, freeing the girl from his weight.

For three seconds, Darci allowed herself to take a short breath before she supported Claire again and the four of them marched on toward the hospital entrance.

When they finally stepped into the air-conditioned atmosphere, Darci's stomach unexpectedly dropped somewhere else and she quickly settled into a just vacant chair with a long drawn-out groan, letting her head hang between her legs. While breathing too fast she wiped her forehead, wet from a sudden sweat and tried to guide her breathing back into slower realms. The last thing she needed right now was to start hyperventilating!

How long she sat there like that, she didn't know; she just let the hectic background and human noises wash over her, while her head gradually no longer felt like everything inside it was hazy. Sometime - minutes or hours - later, she felt a hand on her shoulder and Claire's voice brought her back to reality.

"Darci, it's our turn now. Are you able to sit up?" her friend asked in a soft voice, as if she were the one who had sustained the most injuries.

Immediately her guilty conscience spoke up, and with an apologetic expression she looked up. "I'm sorry, Mr. Strickler. You should have sat down. I-"

"That's nonsense, Miss Scott," he contradicted her, still looking ashen. "I'm just glad you didn't completely collapse from the exertion. We have all been through a lot today..."

"Okay," interjected the doctor standing in front of them, obviously in charge of their group. "I'm Dr. Barbara Lake and I'm going to take care of you one at a time. What injuries do you have?"

"You need to treat Mr. Strickler first. He-"

"Claire!"

"No, papa! I mean it! Our teacher has multiple nasty bite wounds on his arms and legs, and he still got us to safety! I only got my knees and palms scraped up and maybe a bruise or two on my back, but that's nothing to his injuries!"

"Claire is right, Dr. Lake," Darci agreed with her friend. "In fact, I'm uninjured. That my circulation just dropped a bit is more of an embarrassing issue than one that needs to be medically treated."

That earned her a frown from the doctor. But before she could say anything, her teacher found clear words for her.

"Don't take this lightly, Miss Scott. You said yourself that you almost fainted earlier, too." Then he looked at Dr. Lake. "You should definitely treat the girls first, doctor. My injuries aren't that important."

"Don't tell me it's nothing!" Staring at all three of them appraisingly, she finally shook her head. "Everyone who has come in here so far wanted to be treated right away. I give you credit, Miss Nuñez and Miss Scott, for wanting to put your teacher first. And I think your assessment is realistic and that's why I will treat you, Mr. Strickler, first," she addressed him directly. "However, you should not downplay your physical ailments either, girls. Mr. Nuñez, please take good care of your daughter and Miss Scott for me. If their condition worsens, let Melanie, our receptionist, know at once. She will then arrange for immediate assistance should I not be back yet."

After they both nodded and Claire sat down in the seat that had become available next to Darci's chair, the doctor nodded contentedly and indicated to Mr. Strickler to follow her.

Leaning back, Darci took a deep breath. "What a day..."

"You say it..."

"You stay seated here, girls, understand? I'm going to call your mom, Claire, that I found you."

"Okay, papa," her friend replied, but her father had already taken a few steps away, although without taking his eyes off the two of them.

"What do you think that was, Claire? What on earth was going on and where did those... creatures just come from?"

"I have no idea. But I have a hunch that things are about to change in our peaceful town..."