Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1) (21 page)

He pointed his cane at them. “You’ve been interfering in our affairs.”

“Interfering?” Sally’s jaw fell open. “You’re killing people, and we’re just supposed to stand by and watch?”

“It would have been preferable, yes.” He batted at a rock with the end of his cane. “Because now I have to eliminate all of you.”

“You lured us here?” Jake asked.

“A bit ingenious, don’t you think?” He stared at his fingernails as if admiring their perfection.

“Not really,” Idric said.

“Not impressed? I’m terribly disappointed.” He put his hand to his chest to emphasize his sarcasm.

“What do you want with us?” Sally asked.

He leaned against his cane. “I would have thought you’d have figured that out by now. And here I thought you were a bright girl.” He paused a moment, as if reconsidering his decision, then stood taller and tipped his hat. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to.” He turned toward the path and began to walk away.

“Now wait just a damned—” Sally started, but was interrupted by a screech from above. At the same moment, a ball of fire erupted between the group and the departing businessman.

Yasif looked up and saw the same creature that had attacked them at Sally’s mother’s apartment.

“Run!” Sally grabbed Yasif’s arm.

They took off behind the small building, hoping to locate another escape, only to find themselves knee deep in tall dry grass. It was a small field surrounded by impossibly dense trees and underbrush as though they were planted purposely to block their escape. The only viable path led back toward the building.

“There’s no way out!” Idric’s eyes were wide, glancing every which way.

“You think?” Yasif replied.

Jake said, “I can’t believe we were duped! I don’t understand how they could have known.”

The creature circled overhead, taunting them with its cries.

Yasif began to panic. After all he’d been through with the agents, now this? How much more could he take?

There was another screech from the creature as a stream of fire rained down, encircling them in a ring of heat and light. The dry grass was perfectly receptive, catching fire instantly and creating a barrier of flames. It all seemed so meticulously planned, from the planting of the memo to them coming out there to look for the company. But why? Was it just so they’d be way out where no one would find their bodies? It seemed such an elaborate ruse just to kill them. This flying creature could just as easily dragged off their lifeless bodies and dropped them into the middle of the ocean. None of it made sense, but Yasif wasn’t given time to think. They were now surrounded by flame.

Sally turned to Idric. “Please tell me you’ve got something that can help!”

The boy pulled off his backpack and unzipped it, retrieving a stone from its box. The flying creature swooped toward them again, more fire issuing from its maw.

“Idric?” Sally asked.

Sally was right. Idric was their only hope. What else could they do against this creature?

“I’m working on it!” He began chanting an incantation.

Another burst of fire the size of a small car came from the creature, hurtling toward them as the circle around them drew closer, giving them little room to dodge. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, nothing to keep from being burned alive!

Yasif ducked instinctively as if his back would somehow protect him. As he felt the heat from the approaching maelstrom, he let out an involuntary scream. Then he heard a faint crackle like someone unwrapping cellophane. He looked up in time to see the fireball dispersing through a dome of energy that had formed around them.

Idric stood bravely, a glowing red gem in his hand. Yasif coughed out a breath—the smoke was beginning to clog his lungs. “Good one, Idric!”

“I don’t know how long it will last!” he answered.

Again the creature attacked, another ball of fire colliding with Idric’s energy shield. Yasif glanced over at Sally. She stood defiantly watching the energy being taken up by the shield. She was so brave. Yasif wanted to show her he could be the same.

He stood, squaring his shoulders. “How do we fight this thing?”

“We should have brought some weapons,” Jake suggested.

“Now you think of it?” Yasif retorted.

“Well, I didn’t think we’d be facing a giant fire-breathing bat!” he answered.

Another burst of flame lit up the field.

Idric cried out. “I’m losing the barrier!”

“Guys, we need to think of something!” Jake added.

“What do you want us to do? Throw sticks at it?” Yasif asked, beginning to panic.

“Could you two stop arguing for five seconds,” Sally said.

This wasn’t how he wanted Sally to remember him, the wuss who pisses his pants. He needed to do something to show her he could be as brave as she was. If that meant throwing sticks at the creatures, then so be it. He spotted a rather large branch that looked like it might at least give the beast pause. He grabbed it and lobbed it into the air.

“Yasif, no!” Idric cried.

But it was too late. Yasif had forgotten about the shield. At the same moment he’d thrown the stick, the creature released another fireball. The stick collided with the invisible surface, sending a shimmer through it, revealing its presence. The fireball crashed into it at nearly the same exact time, resulting in an explosion of energy. The shockwave blasted the four of them, knocking them to the ground and forcing the wind from their lungs.

Yasif wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but felt pain all over his body. He gasped, trying to catch his breath, only to find himself coughing up smoke. His vision was hazy, his head spinning as he desperately tried to pick himself up. Another cough tore at his lungs as he frantically searched for the others.

Everything was engulfed in flames—the trees, the grass, even the small building they’d seen when they first arrived. Yasif had never felt such intense heat.

He spotted Sally laying a few feet away, covered in black marks. His heart leapt into his throat. Please God, don’t let her be hurt! He rushed over, spotting Jake not far away. He too had been thrown to the ground but was conscious and moving.

“Sal!” he hollered over the roar of the fire as he knelt by her side. “Are you all right?”

A terrified scream rang out from above. He glanced up and gasped. The flying creature had grabbed Idric by the shoulders. Yasif panicked, not knowing what to do. He didn’t want to leave Sally alone and unconscious. Conflicted, the only thing he could manage was to stare helplessly as the creature carried Idric away.

It continued upward, pumping its wings, trying to gain altitude, but its body moved erratically as though hurt. At about thirty feet it screeched, seemingly in pain, and then released the boy from its grasp. Idric screamed as he fell, and Yasif tensed, watching as he dropped into a patch of unburned grass.

“I’ve got him,” Jake hollered, rushing past. He went over and picked the unconscious boy up off the ground. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

Sally moaned beside him, drawing his attention back to her. He placed a hand under her head. “Sal! Are you okay?”

She nodded, then coughed. He helped her up, supporting her weight as she tried to steady herself. She coughed several more times and staggered, her weight falling into him. He supported her as they made their way back toward the path leading to the car.

The fire had blocked the entrance initially, but had died out enough for them to pass now. The trees on either side, however, were still on fire.

Jake yelled out, “We don’t have a choice. We’re going to have to run through!”

Yasif looked at him, surprised. “How are you going to do that with him?”

“Best I can, I suppose.” He turned and trotted down the path, Idric bouncing in his arms.

Yasif followed, still supporting Sally, his arms and face feeling as though they were about to catch fire. He covered himself as best he could and moved forward. As they emerged from the path, Yasif felt a burning sensation on his leg. He looked down to see his pant leg had caught on fire.

“Oh, my god!” Sally gasped. “Yaz! You’re on fire!”

“Drop!” Jake called out to him.

Yasif fell to the ground instinctively and rolled as he’d been taught in school.

Once the fire had been extinguished, Sally examined his leg. “It’s going to hurt, but it looks like there weren’t any major burns.”

“It sure felt like it!” Yasif replied.

Sally helped him to his feet. Their gazes met, and his initial instinct was to glance away, but she didn’t look as disappointed as he’d expected. In fact, she looked grateful. “Thank you for saving me,” she said.

“It was my fault it happened,” he replied.

She gave him a sympathetic smile. “None of this was your fault. We were tricked into coming here. Van der Haak wanted to kill us. Thanks to you, we’re all still alive.”

“We won’t be for long if we don’t get out of here,” Jake said, a limb falling from a tree not far from them.

Yasif limped around the other side of the Honda and helped pull Idric into the car, then joined him in the backseat.

At first, the car didn’t seem to want to cooperate. The engine whined and rolled over, but failed to start.

“It’s the heat!” Jake explained.

Finally, the motor roared to life. Jake spun the car around and raced down the tunnel of burning foliage. A branch clattered onto the roof, startling them all.

“Whew! That was close.” Jake’s eyes bugged out as he struggled to see through the gathering smoke.

Yasif couldn’t believe how fast the fire had spread. More branches fell, one onto the car and one directly in front of them. Fortunately, it was small enough for them to run over without causing damage. The car jolted, and Yasif could see the worried expression in Jake’s eyes. Their chances of making it were slim; it was only a matter of time before the burning trees gave in to the damaging effects of the fire. Yasif glanced at Sally, grateful for what she’d said to him before they’d left.

She turned and glanced at Idric. “Is he okay?”

Yasif nodded. “He has a pulse. Just knocked out, I think.”

In that moment, Idric began coughing. His face was red, veins popping up on his forehead. Then an eerie creaking sound drew Yasif’s attention.

“No!” Jake cried

Yasif watched in horror as a huge tree began to fall a few yards in front of them.

It was a race between the little Honda and the enormous tree. The car surged forward as Jake slammed on the gas. Yasif watched helplessly, knowing their lives were in the hands of fate. Yasif did something he hadn’t done in a very long time. He prayed.

LANI SAT ON THE COUCH
in her apartment, sipping a glass of wine. In helping the kids she may have put her job at risk; the fact that she had nothing to show for it hadn’t gone over well with her boss. Sure, she’d uncovered quite a bit about the mystery she faced, but she couldn’t share any of that with her boss—at least not without the risk of sounding crazy. The result instead was an unpleasant scolding. She’d have to mind herself from this point forward or she’d probably lose her job.

Taking another sip, she grabbed the remote control and flipped on the flat-screen television as she leaned back into the sofa. Before she could relax, a news report flashed on the screen.

“Breaking news! This just in. A forest fire has broken out near Mt. Holly, Arkansas, and is now threatening several homes within a five-mile radius. Strong winds and drier-than-normal conditions are fueling the fire as it moves toward more densely populated areas. We take you live to our local affiliate at the scene.” The view changed to a young man standing in front of a fire truck with its lights flashing.

Lani muted the television and called the station. “Dan, what’s going on?”

He told her about the fire and the areas it threatened. “It’s a dangerous situation, Lani. If this thing isn’t contained, it could spread to three nearby towns.”

“What caused it?” she asked, afraid of the response.

“No one seems to have an answer for that. There are only two fire trucks on the scene. Mt. Holly doesn’t have the resources to contain something like this.” The man’s voice became distant. “What?” Someone was talking to him on the other end. “Lani, I’ve gotta go. They need me to cover this.” The phone went silent.

It should’ve been her, but after her little snafu today, she’d have to get on her boss’ good side before she’d ever be given a decent assignment again.

She glanced back at the muted television, studying the map of the affected areas. Something disturbed her, but she wasn’t sure what it was. She picked up her phone and reviewed her camera roll, scrolling past the memo she’d photographed in the apartment. It was then that it hit her. Mt. Holly was where the kids were—and it was where Mr. Van der Haak’s company was supposed to be. This couldn’t be a coincidence. They’d been lured into a trap.

She dialed Jake’s number. No answer. She tried Sally’s and got her voicemail as well. An uneasy feeling crept up inside her. What had the kids gotten themselves into? Jake was right. She should have gone with them. She let a bunch of kids go investigate something dangerous. She couldn’t do anything but wait to hear from them and hope they weren’t hurt.

JAKE SLAMMED HIS FOOT
onto the accelerator, watching the tree fall toward them as though in eerie slow motion. It was huge. If they didn’t make it underneath, it wouldn’t matter if it crushed them or not. They’d be trapped in this blazing inferno. Maybe that was Van der Haak’s plan all along. How could he have known they’d search his apartment? Was it even his? How much of this had been planned from the beginning? It was mind-bogglingly frustrating. How can they best someone who seemed to be controlling all the cards?

The car lurched forward with Jake gripping the steering wheel so hard he felt as though his hands would fuse to the rubber. It was no use. His poor little Honda Civic just couldn’t win against the falling tree. He was vaguely aware of coughing behind him before he heard Idric’s hoarse voice.