Chapter 25

Hostage:

Dust strained to hold the She Devil far enough away from him that her snapping jaws couldn't sink into his flesh. He jerked backwards, fading when she spread her wings and began to lift off the ground. He rolled across the packed gravel and dirt parking lot for several feet before he solidified again.

His gaze focused on the female as she rose into the air. Almost immediately, Beau and Raymond began firing at her. A low hissing scream escaped her and she twisted in midair.

Dust followed her gaze. Turning, he took off in the direction of Raymond. He faded, passing through the low concrete wall with the faint words Springfield High School on it. He tackled Raymond, knocking the older man to the side just as the She Devil struck the concrete.

The concrete exploded outward. Chunks of the flying debris rained down over the two of them. Dazed, Dust shook his head and stared down at Raymond. The other man blinked up at Dust before grunting. Dust glanced over his shoulder. The creature had turned back toward where Beau was hiding.

"Are you okay?" Dust asked in an urgent tone.

"Ye... Yes. Go... Stop her!" Raymond muttered.

Dust pushed up off the ground and turned back toward where the She Devil had been. He glanced wildly around, trying to sense her movements. His gaze swept over where Josie was standing. Her hands were glowing and she was turning in a tight circle, looking up at the sky.

"Josie, look out!" Randolph shouted.

Dust watched in horror as Josie's feet were knocked out from under her. Josie rolled to the side, a line of flames shooting out from her hands. Anger swept through Dust when the She Devil briefly appeared. She wrapped long tail around Josie's ankles and lifted off the ground with her.

"Josie!" Beau yelled, aim the rifle he was holding at the creature.

"Shoot it!" Josie screamed, twisting so she could try to hit the creature with a ball of fire.

Dust ran toward Josie, focusing as he did. Small granules of sand began swirling and joining until he felt them wrap around his upper body. Long, gray wings formed and he felt his feet lift off the ground.

The She Devil saw him coming and released Josie. The report of Beau's rifle mixed with Josie's terrified scream. Adrenaline, fueled by anger and fear, pulsed through Dust, and he shot forward, catching Josie a mere foot before she hit the ground.

"I've got this," Josie said breathlessly, clinging to Dust's shoulders. "Let me go."

Dust swept up far enough drop Josie lightly on her feet. Fury blazed in her eyes and he could see her body beginning to shimmer. Soaring upward, he twisted in time to see the She Devil turn on Beau and Raymond. Both men were firing as fast as they could at the creature. The bullets flashed through her when she faded, but he could already see that she was beginning to tire.

"She's running out of energy, Josie," Dust shouted.

"I'll show her some energy," Josie growled, her whole body shimmering with intense blue flames. "Let's see how you like to play with fire."

Dust saw Raymond and Beau fall back when Josie's hands shot outward, long whips of brilliant blue flame greedily sped toward the She Devil. The creature turned in the air just as the wall of flames hit her. Her black wings rose up to ward off the incinerating fire. Without her wings, the creature's body fell from the sky. The impact shook the ground with enough force that it knocked Raymond and Beau off their feet.

Dust slowly lowered himself back to the ground and watched as Josie stalked closer, glowing brighter than he had ever seen. He knew she was using too much energy, but was powerless to order her to stop. She was directing every ounce of her fury at the creature.

The black wings slowly turned a radiant red under the onslaught of the flames. Dust was amazed that the creature hadn't disintegrated into a pile of ash. He stood watching as Josie stopped just a few feet from the creature, her gaze and hands locked on it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Beau and Raymond stagger unsteadily to their feet. Beau glanced at Josie with an expression of awe on his face. Dust started to warn him to stay back when his attention was jerked back to the creature.

A sense of warning struck him a brief second before the She Devil exploded upward. The force of her liftoff sent a shockwave through the air and sent them all flying backwards. Dust grunted when he hit the ground, the force of it momentarily knocked the wind out of him.

He lay on the ground, his ears ringing. With a shake of his head to clear the noise, he pushed up with one hand. Horror gripped him when he saw the She Devil land a couple of feet from where Josie lay helpless, stunned and drained from her attack against the She Devil. His mouth opened in denial when the creature raised her right hand and focused. Five long claws extended outward, growing until they were several inches long.

"No!" Dust mouthed at the same time as he heard Beau's fierce cry.

As if in slow motion, he watched as the She Devil bent to drive the sharp blades of her nails through Josie's chest. The choked cry froze on his lips when he saw Beau fall over Josie at the last second. Beau's ravage face twisted in shock and disbelief. His arms trembled as he looked down between him and his daughter.

Dust's gaze followed the movement. He could see the tips of the She Devil's claws protruding through the front of Beau's shirt. It was only when the creature pulled back and rose into the air again that Beau's right arm collapsed and he fell to the side.

"NO!" Randolph's harsh cry echoed over the sound of the growing storm. "Dad!"

Dust pushed up off the ground and stumbled over to where Josie and Beau were lying. He watched as Josie rolled and sat up. Her gaze was locked on her father. Dust caught her when she almost fell over trying to get to her knees.

He supported her when she swayed again. "You saved me," Josie whispered in a dazed, confused voice that suddenly sounded very, very young.

Beau was struggling to draw in a breath. Dust could see the bubbles of blood pool up when the man tried to breathe. He knew that the nails had gone through both of Beau's lungs.

"You...," Beau gasped, his eyes growing dim. "Proud... you."

"Daddy," Josie whispered, reaching out to touch his cheek.

"Love... You... Jo...," Beau hissed, his voice fading with the last of his oxygen and strength.

"Dad!" Randolph cried out, falling to his knees on the other side of Beau. "Dad, don't. Help him! You have to help him." Dust looked down at Randolph. The other man's eyes were glazed with grief. "Please, you have to help him."

"He's gone, son," Raymond said, laying his hand on Randolph's shoulder.

Dust felt Josie's shoulders begin to shake and a low anguished sob escaped her. He helped her to her feet and turned her toward him. All he could do was hold her.

"Randolph," Dust murmured. "Where is the She Devil?"

Randolph looked up at Dust and shook his head. "I... I don't know. It was as if a wall was suddenly erected around her," he whispered, his gaze returning to his dad. "One minute she was there, then suddenly she was gone."

"Dust!" Sammy cried out, emerging from the gym.

Dust turned, his arms still supporting Josie's trembling form. Sammy was running toward him. Fear, horror, and despair was reflected in her eyes. His gaze moved to where Martha and Denise emerged from the gym. Denise was holding Martha around the waist. The older woman had blood running from her temple.

"Where's Todd?" Dust asked, turning his gaze back to Sammy. "Sammy, where's Todd?"

"She took him," Sammy sobbed, wiping her arm across her face. "The She Devil took him."

*.*.*

"You've got to connect with her again, Randolph," Dust murmured under his breath almost two hours later.

"I'm trying," Randolph muttered, tiredly rubbing his forehead. "I don't know if it is the storm or what, but all I'm getting is a blank wall."

Dust released his breath and rose to his feet. "Keep trying," he said, turning away.

"Dust," Randolph called quietly.

Dust turned and glanced down at where Randolph was sitting on the bottom bleacher. He could see the shock and grief still mirrored in Randolph's eyes. Together, they had wrapped Beau's body in an old furniture blanket.

There hadn't been much time to say goodbye. The storm had grown closer and more intense. Sammy held Josie up while Denise stood next to Beau. Raymond held Martha. Each person said a quiet goodbye before Dust knelt and touched the ground, opening it just far enough for Beau's body to disappear before resealing it again.

He watched as everyone but Sammy and Josie turned and slowly back to the shelter of the gym. Walking over to where the two girls silently stood, he stepped between them and wrapped an arm around each one of them in support. Sammy leaned her head against his shoulder while Josie stood stiff, a small part of her closed off.

"Why does the world have to be so heartbreaking?" Sammy whispered, staring down at the new grave.

"I don't know," Dust murmured, staring out at the approaching storm. "If I could shield you two from it, I would."

"Well, you can't," Josie replied bitterly, raising a hand to wipe at a tear. "You can't make the world a better place. It just keeps getting crappier."

"We can try, Josie," Dust said, sliding his arm from around her to hold her hand. "Together, we can make wherever we are a little better, brighter, than it was."

Josie pulled away from Dust, staring at him and Sammy with a twisted expression of grief and anger. She opened her mouth to say something before she closed it. Shaking her head, she turned toward the gym.

"I need food," she said.

"You're hungry?" Sammy asked in surprise.

Josie shook her head again and stared at them with hard, cold eyes. "No, but if we are going after Todd, I'm going to make sure that I'm fully charged. No one messes with my little man and gets away with it. I'm pissed, and the next time I meet that hairy-assed bitch, I'm going to drop the fire bomb down her throat."

Dust winced when pea-sized hail began to fall. He raised his hand, forming a shield around them without thinking. Together, they hurried back inside the building.

Dust thought of Josie's vow to get Todd back. Deep down, he hoped that they could. He knew one thing, he would do everything he could to bring the little boy safely home or die trying.

Pulling his thoughts back to the present, he was almost back to the locker room where the others were sitting when he felt the first thread of connection. Stopping in the short corridor, he pressed his back against the wall and closed his eyes. His heart raced before slowing as the image grew clearer.

A few miles from the gym was an old building. It looked like it was a grain processing plant or something. Dust was staring up at the roof. Rain poured through the opening where part of the metal had been torn back by the weather.

He slowly looked down at the body he was in. It was the She Devil. She had changed back to her more 'human' form. In the background, he heard a slight shuffle. Turning, he saw Todd sitting in the corner.

"Why are you doing this?" Todd asked in a trembling voice. "Why do you want to hurt us? We haven't done nothing to you."

Dust's heart ached for the frightened, but courageous little boy. He was so much like Sammy, that Dust couldn't help but wonder what he would be like when he grew up. Refocusing on the scene in front of him, Dust waited for the She Devil to respond.

"You ask why I seek power," the She Devil said, walking over to stand in front of Todd. "I was once like you, small and weak. My brothers and sisters pushed me out into the storm, uncaring of my fate."

"You've got brothers and sisters, too?" Todd whispered in awe.

The She Devil's soft chuckled filled the small area that was once an office. She reached out and lifted Todd's chin. Dust could feel Todd's reaction, but the She Devil tightened her grip until the little boy whimpered in pain.

"Had," she murmured, releasing Todd's chin. "I killed them and the bitch that had me. I was hungry, ravenous for food. I discovered the more I ate, the more powerful I became and I began to... Change."

"You mean like Dust and Josie?" Todd asked innocently.

The She Devil looked thoughtful before she turned away to stare out the door again. Dust could feel the cold metal from the frame between his palm and clenched his fists. He had to remain silent so that the beast wasn't aware of him inside her.

"Not like the female that makes fire, though she is interesting," the She Devil murmured. "No, I am more like the one called Dust. He continues to evolve like me. Together, we will make a new species." She turned to look at Todd again. "A species that will rule this new world."

"But... Why do you want to hurt Sammy? She doesn't want to hurt you," Todd insisted.

The She Devil snorted and turned away again. "She stands in my way," she whispered. "She has your heart. Do you think I do not know that you are inside me, Dust? Do you think I can not feel your presence? Come for the boy, but bring me the one called Sammy. I will spare the boy in return for her life... And your promise to stay by my side. Come to me or you will feel every slice I make into the young human's body as if you were doing it."

Dust jerked, opening his eyes and pulling away. He stared into Sammy's worried ones. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes were wide with horror. It was then that he realized that he had spoken the words of the She Devil aloud, as if they were coming from him.

"Don't let her," Sammy whispered. "Please, Dust, don't... Don't let her kill him, too."