Connections 4

Part 1: ANYASTEMF 44
Part 2: ANYASTEMF 46
Part 3: ANYASTEMF 47

"I'm very pro dog," Jimmy replied, "why?"

"To keep junkies from stripping the place, the owner got a handful of dogs and let them loose," Sophia explained. "It wouldn't be so bad if he'd trained them, but really all he does is feed them, so there's basically a pack of wild dogs running around inside the fence."

"I'll feed em," Jimmy said, "as long as I toss in some food every now and again, they should ignore me."

Sophie nodded. "Good, because it's the best place I've found to set up shop. Plenty of space and you don't need to worry about people breaking in."

"So… where is it?" Emma asked.

"Couple of blocks from the boardwalk," Sophia said. "I already talked to the owner. For five hundred he'll ignore us as long as we don't set it on fire or anything."

"How's the utilities?" Jimmy asked.

"Still connected, I've checked," Sophie said. "Plenty of bathrooms, but kinda short on places to shower. That's the only real downside. It was never set up for people to live there."

"You've been very careful to avoid telling us what the place is," Jimmy noted.

Sophia smirked. "I wanna see your face when you see it for yourself."

Jimmy and Emma exchanged glances, neither had known Sophia for that long but she seemed unusually cheerful and smug.

"Trust me, you'll love it," Sophia said, her eyes glittering with amusement.

"Alright, let's take a look," Jimmy said, his curiosity aroused.

"Are the dogs going to be a problem?" Emma asked.

"Nah," Sophia waved it off, "I can ghost you past them, it'll just take two trips."

Jimmy nodded. "I didn't know you could take people with you when you shifted like that."

"It's a bit tiring and I can't do it for long," Sophia explained, "but it makes getting into places easy."

"It's cool as hell," Emma offered, "the world looks like an old black and white movie."

"Then let's pack up and take a look," Jimmy said. "I don't know about you, but it's getting about time for me to sleep anyway." He yawned. "Past time," he corrected himself.

The three quickly sorted everything, the girls' shares going into their backpacks while Jimmy simply stuffed his into pockets and grabbed an old seabag that held the rest of his things.

The walk from the ship graveyard to the boardwalk went quickly as the two practically had to jog to keep up with Sophia, who had pulled up her hood and put back on her mask, prompting Jimmy to do the same. Emma made do with a pink ski mask that was at odds with the dark sweats they were all wearing.

"We really need to get some decent costumes," Jimmy said as they crossed the alley behind the boardwalk.

"Sweats are cheap and blend in," Shadow Stalker said, "they also soak up blood, so you don't leave a lot lying around."

"I'd rather have armor that prevents bleeding in the first place, but you've got a point," Jimmy agreed.

"How much farther?" Emma asked before yawning. It was late enough at night to be just before early morning at this point and she was almost dead on her feet.

"We're coming up on it now," Shadow Stalker said as they exited the alley and she gestured towards the large chain link fence.

The two stared at the fenced off and closed down two story parking garage, damaged and dead vehicles scattered around the first floor from what they could see, and then turned back to Shadow Stalker, both clearly thinking she'd picked the wrong place.

Shadow Stalker laughed. "Not the parking garage, the building connected to it."

There was a growl as a Doberman Pinscher came out from under a van with four flat tires and a shattered windshield.

The girls instinctively stepped back, but Jimmy moved forward, crouched down, and placed the back of his hand against the fence.

"Careful," Shadow Stalker warned him, "they're pretty vicious."

The dog cautiously approached, teeth bared, but Jimmy held his ground and waited. Eventually the dog relaxed and sniffed at his hand through the fence before making a chuffing sound and returning to its den beneath the abandoned van.

"Pretty ballsy," Shadow Stalker said with approval.

"Nah, I get dogs," Jimmy said, "she's probably got a litter of pups under the van. She just wanted to make sure I wasn't a threat."

"I'll take Emma first," Shadow Stalker said, "be back in five."

Jimmy nodded and crossed the street to wait in the alley while Shadow Stalker grabbed Emma's hand and the two figures faded into black smoke that flowed through the wire fencing.

His stomach growled a little, so he opened his seabag and brought out a half full bag of stale donuts. A maple bar quieted his stomach and he'd just finished and put back on his mask when Shadow Stalker returned. "Thought it'd take you longer than that."

"Gates keep the dogs on the first level, so Emma said to grab you so we can all enter at once," she replied, holding out a hand.

Jimmy grabbed her hand. "You sure they can't get up there?"

Stalker nodded. "No piles of dog shit like the lower level, and I've checked it out in daylight. You ready?"

"Yeah, let's do this," he said, eager to see the shadow world Emma had described.

Shadow Stalker activated her power, pushing it to include him with a silent grunt. She gave him a firm pull as the world shifted around them, the colors fading away into sharply contrasted shades of gray.

Jimmy pushed himself to keep up as Shadow Stalker made them run, each step bounding them forward, passing through the fence as if it were a cobweb, quickly followed by a couple of wrecked vehicles and a security gate leading up to the second floor.

Shadow Stalker dropped his hand and rested with her hands on her knees, panting for a second as she regained her breath. "It's a trip, isn't it," she said proudly.

"It's cool, but it seems… familiar," Jimmy said thoughtfully.

"Really?" Shadow Stalker asked.

Jimmy nodded. "It just feels familiar for some reason."

"You two ready?" Emma called down, poking her head down the ramp.

"Just catching our breath," Sophia said, taking off her mask.

Jimmy took his off as well, the early morning air cooling his skin. "So what is the building connected to this place?"

"Right this way," Emma said, waving for them to come to the second floor.

Jimmy put his mask in his seabag and walked up the ramp. The handful of vehicles on the second level were in worse condition than the ones on the first, shattered windows having let in wind and rain, he noted as he glanced around before looking at the two story building connected to the parking garage. "Willowbrook Mall?"

"Not all that large as malls go and the riots caused some major damage, not to mention all the looting, but it'll keep the rain off and give us plenty of space to lair in," Sophia said proudly.

"What's the inside look like?" Jimmy asked as the three approached the second story entrance, the glass doors covered in cracks and dirt but still mostly intact.

"Like a riot happened," Sophia said bluntly. "It ain't the Ritz, but it beats the hell out of a dumpster. Come on, I'll pull you through."

Sophia grabbed Emma's hand and the two quickly became shadows that passed through the doors into the darkened interior.

Jimmy waited and a few seconds later Sophia stepped back through and turned to him, offering her hand.

Jimmy's form turned into black smoke and smacked into glass, turning him solid once more and dropping him on his ass.

"What the fuck?!" Sophia said, hand still extended.

"I… I didn't grab your hand," Jimmy realized.

"Yeah, new power?" she asked eagerly.

"I guess so," Jimmy said. "Okay, impatience and curiosity lets me bang myself against windows."

Sophia grabbed his shoulder and quickly pulled him through into the mall, feeling drained from extending her power so much in so short a time.

"What was that?" Emma asked.

"He tried to go shadow and pass through the door without me," Sophia explained. "You turned into black smoke."

"Another power?" Emma asked with a smile.

"It doesn't let me walk through walls, but yeah," Jimmy replied as he squinted in the little light leaking through the door and a broken skylight set in the middle of the mall, dimly illuminating the damage the place had taken years ago. "This looks like the set for a post apocalypse movie. Anyone got a torch?"

"Be better to get a flashlight," Sophia said, "a torch could set off the fire alarm, if it still works."

Jimmy chuckled. "Torch is what we call a flashlight back in England."

"Well, I remember they had a Hallmark store on the first level," Sophia said. "Pretty sure there is a candle or two left in there. You guys wait here, I'll be right back."

Emma stepped closer to Jimmy as Sophia vanished, her shadow form impossible to see in the darkness. "This place is kinda spooky," she admitted nervously.

Jimmy slipped an arm around her. "No worries, luv," he said, playing up his accent a bit, "it's just deserted, not haunted or anything."

"You believe in ghosts?" Emma asked, leaning into him and taking comfort in his presence.

"Sure," Jimmy said, "but all they can do is bitch and give people jump scares until they get bored and move on." He was pretty sure he'd seen some ghosts when he was younger, but he couldn't recall the details and didn't care enough to try to remember.

"What about poltergeists?" Emma argued, recalling a scary movie by that name that had been imported from Earth Aleph.

"Those aren't ghosts," Jimmy said, "it's just the mischievous presence of tons of kids collected in one spot. I think I read about it once. They are pests but not truly dangerous, just annoying. Besides, since the place has been empty for so long, any ghost or poltergeist would have moved on from boredom."

Emma relaxed a little, taking comfort from how certain he seemed.

"Anyone got a lighter?" Sophia asked, causing them both to jump. She chuckled at the startled squeaks and mild cussing she'd caused. "I found some candles, but I don't have a lighter on me."

"Let me dig one out," Jimmy said as he let go of Emma, who'd practically jumped into his arms, and searched his pockets. He found a Bic disposable and extended it to Sophia, accidentally poking her in the tit with it.

Sophia wasn't concerned as she quickly found his arm and followed it to his hand, taking the lighter from it and lighting the middle candle in a three-candle candelabra.

The three blinked and looked around, their eyes adjusting to the glow of the candle flame.

"I really could film a horror movie here easy," Jimmy said with a grin, "but it's a good place to set up shop. You seen a furniture store anywhere, one with beds? Cause I am going to bed down for a couple of hours. I'll help you look around when there is some proper daylight leaking in and I'm not half dead."

"Yeah, I already scouted out a place to sleep. The floors are mostly clean, but watch where you step, there's still crap scattered about," Sophia warned them, leading them farther into the mall. "The home furniture place is just a few shops in."

The three walked closer together, the lit candle providing a small circle of light as they avoided scattered trash from an overturned trash can and a pile of mannequins.

"Here it is," Sophia said, stepping into the trashed furniture store through the shattered front window as the security gate was down over the entrance.

Glass crunched underfoot as they entered, taking in the mess that had been made of the place.

Sophia righted an end table and set the candelabra down. "Let's just grab a bunch of bedding and pillows, I don't feel like trying to put together a bed by candlelight."

"That looks like a good mattress," Jimmy said as he moved some chairs out of the way and dropped his seabag, so he could lay down a box spring and mattress set from an overturned bedroom set.

"I'm not bothering with sheets," Sophia said as she collected pillows.

"Not like I'm picky," Jimmy agreed as he aligned the mattress on the box spring and moved some furniture around to block anyone that passed by from seeing them. Sure, it was a closed down mall with a group of half feral dogs guarding it, but why take chances?

Emma stripped comforters from several different beds, finding most had blankets that were little more than sheets. Collecting half a dozen she spread them on the bed with Jimmy's help.

"That should be thick enough to keep me warm," Jimmy decided as he moved a dresser to act as a headboard so the pillows wouldn't fall off the bed.

"Even warmer with all three of us," Sophia said bluntly as she took off her boots.

"Pardon?" Jimmy asked.

"You gay?" Sophia asked, sliding off her socks and stuffing them in her boots.

"No."

"Seeing someone?" she asked before taking off her hoodie, revealing a thin white T-shirt.

"No," he replied as she slid off her sweat pants, revealing her slender but muscular legs.

"Find us ugly?"

"Not remotely," Jimmy said, unable to keep his eyes from roaming up and down her in the flickering candlelight.

"Then you really have anything to complain about?" she asked as she pulled down the covers and crawled in.

Jimmy opened his mouth, paused, and shrugged. "Not really, I just don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of anyone."

Sophia laughed. "If anyone's in charge, it ain't you, it's me, and we aren't at that stage yet. Now, strip down and climb in, pulling you both through the shadows has got me wiped."

Jimmy laughed. "Yes Ma'am!" He stripped down to his boxers and slid in next to her. Sophia immediately pulled him close to her and snuggled in. He could hear from her breathing and the slight trembling in her arms that she wasn't as confident as she sounded, but as he slid an arm around her, she relaxed.

Emma was surprised by this turn of events, but the thought of sleeping next to her protectors made her smile, so she quickly blew out the candle and got undressed. As she nervously slid under the covers she wondered if she should move close or give them room, but Jimmy's arm pulled her in and for the first time in weeks… she felt safe.

Typing by: Abyssal Angel

TN: Tapping into the movies now? I never understood where the creative license for the Death Eater's smoke form even came from. The books never hinted at it at all…

AN: I like the visuals, so I decided to use it or at least something similar.