Trapped by Shadows Page 8
Elijah
Willard, Piper’s geeky inventor friend, shoved up his glasses with his chubby sausage-like fingers. (Willard liked to eat more than your typical guy — actually, more than your typical two guys). “Run it past me again. Who exactly is this Shadow guy?”
“WHO isn’t the right word,” Piper said.
“More like WHAT,” Zach, her sixteen-year-old brother, exclaimed. “We heard him speak back at Ashley’s.”
“Heard?” Willard asked, shoving up his glasses again.
“It’s a long story, but believe me, the dude is not something you want to mess with.”
“Everything all right back there?” Dad called from the driver’s seat of the RV.
He and Mom sat up front as they drove through the twisting mountain road. The past few days had been rough on them. First, they’d had to leave the kids behind while they acted as decoys for the bad guys. Then they’d been kidnapped. Then they’d lost little Elijah. Then they’d wandered deep into mysterious caves and a cavern filled with strange supernatural beings. Definitely not good times. In fact, on the fun scale of 1 – 10 they were somewhere below 0.
But at least they had Piper and Zach, and their two friends, Willard and Cody. Together, the four kids sat at the back table.
“Don’t worry about us,” Zach called up to his parents, “everything’s cool.” He shot a look to Piper, telling her to keep quiet about the message on the computer screen. She couldn’t have agreed more. After all that Mom and Dad had been through, they didn’t need to worry about strange new weapons.
Suddenly, Dad hit the brakes and everyone flew forward.
Piper screamed and nearly hit her head on a cupboard, but Cody reached out and caught her in his arms. As the RV shuddered to a stop, he looked down at her and asked, “Are you okay?” His eyes were worried.
Piper gazed into his incredible blue eyes and half-croaked, “Yeah.” She always half-croaked when she looked into his eyes. But it wasn’t just his eyes. Everything about him made her a little unsteady on her feet (and a little fluttery in her heart).
Zach called up to Dad. “What’s going on?”
“Looks like a detour,” Dad said.
A sheriff approached the side door of the RV. Zach rose and opened it for him.
The man stuck his head inside. “Afternoon, folks.”
Piper caught her breath. He looked exactly like the homeless person who had helped them in the streets of L.A… . and the customer who had helped them in the mountain restaurant … and the angel who had fought for them in the cavern.
Piper stole a look to Zach. The way his mouth hung open, she knew he’d noticed it too.
“Is there a problem, Officer?” Dad asked.
The man nodded. “Highway is out. You’ll have to turn around.”
“But — ”
“There’s a dirt road about a mile back. It’ll take you to where you’re going.”
Mom frowned. “How do you know where we’re — ”
“And be careful,” he interrupted. “You folks still have plenty of dangers ahead. But you’ll be okay. You’ve got plenty of folks looking out for you.”
It was Dad’s turn to frown. “I don’t understand. ‘Plenty of folks?’ ”
“That’s our job,” the officer smiled. “To look after the good guys.” With that, he stepped back outside … but not before catching Piper’s eye and giving her a quick wink.
Piper could only stare. Who was this man? She moved to the window for a better view. But by the time she arrived, he was gone.
“They are coming thisss way.”
Monica Specter stared across the picnic table to Shadow Man. Looking at the massive bulk of darkness always gave her the creeps. Actually, looking at him didn’t give her the creeps, not being able to see him did. Well, at least not all of him. There was something strange about the way the man always sucked up light — even in the brightest day.
“Want I should hurt them?” Bruno, her brainless assistant, asked. He sat on the bench beside her. To make his point, he reached into his coat for his gun. A thoughtful gesture, if it hadn’t been for the soda can sitting on the table beside him.
The soda can that he knocked over with his elbow.
The soda can that dumped its fizzy contents all over Monica’s lap.
She leapt to her feet, wiping the soda away. “You idiot!”
“I’m sorry,” he said. For a moment he looked puzzled, wondering if he should help her or use his gun to shoot the offending can.
Shadow Man saved him the trouble. With a wave of his arm, he sent Bruno’s gun flying out of his hand and into the side of Monica’s parked van. It gave an ominous THUD then fell to the ground.
“Your weaponsss are of no ussse,” he hissed. “Not in thisss battle.”
Monica glanced nervously at her two assistants:
Bruno, who was as big as he was stupid, and Silas, who was as skinny as, well, as Bruno was stupid. The three of them had spent many days tracking down Elijah. And now, with the help of Shadow Man, they had finally captured him.
But instead of looking scared, the six-year-old sat on a nearby rock, humming happily to himself. Talk about strange.
Stranger still, Monica had never heard Elijah speak. In fact, she was beginning to wonder if he even knew how.
A low rumble filled the air. A vehicle was coming up the dirt road that they’d parked alongside.
“Is that them?” Silas asked.
Shadow Man grinned. “Yesss. They’ve come for the boy.”
“Shouldn’t we do something?” Monica screeched. (She didn’t mean to screech; it was just her normal voice). “At least get the brat out of sight.”
Shadow Man turned to look at her. At least she thought he was looking at her. It was hard to tell with his eyes always in shadows.
“After the accccident, I ssshall take care of the child. You three will ssstay behind and sssearch for sssurvivorsss.”
“Accident?” Bruno said. “I don’t see no accident.”
“You will.” Shadow Man smiled and for the briefest moment Monica thought she saw teeth … or was it fangs?
“You will.”
The rumbling grew louder.
Shadow Man turned to Elijah. “Boy. To the vehicle.”
Monica watched as Elijah rose and turned toward Shadow Man’s enormous Hummer. The child’s legs began walking, but they seemed to move against his will. He tried to stop, but one stiff step followed another until he arrived at the truck.
The driver, a huge bald man who stood guard, opened the back door.
Monica cleared her throat nervously. “Shouldn’t we hide too? We’re right next to the road, so they’re bound to see us.”
“There isss no need. The crasssh ssshall prevent it.”
“But I don’t see no crash,” Bruno insisted.
“Watch and be amazzzed …”
Chapter Two
The Crash
“Dad,” Zach called from the back of the RV. “If this is a detour, how come we don’t see any other cars? Or detour signs?”
“He’s right,” Mom agreed. “I’ve got a weird feeling about this.”
Willard motioned to the computer monitor. “Check it out.”
Zach looked down and saw the letters to another message appearing on the screen:
Deer coming from right.
Tell Dad to look out his window!
“Dad,” Zach called. “Look to your right.”
“What?”
“To your right! Look to your right. Now!”
Dad turned just in time to see four deer appear at the side of the road and dart in front of the RV. He cranked the wheel hard, veering to the left, barely missing them but sending the RV into a squealing skid.
Shadow Man watched with displeasure as the RV slid across the road, just missing the deer.
He turned to the Hummer and shouted at Elijah, “And you think that will ssstop me?!”
He raised his arm toward the cliff
looming to the right over the roadway. Several giant boulders came loose and began to fall, bouncing toward the RV.
Zach was too busy fighting to keep his balance in the swerving RV to notice another message forming on the computer screen:
Rocks! Look out!
The first boulder slammed into the vehicle’s side. The force was so powerful that it ripped the steering wheel out of Dad’s hands. He grabbed it and fought to regain control of the vehicle. For a moment it looked like he had it, but then the second boulder hit. And then the third. And the fourth. The RV was batted around like a ping-pong ball as rocks continued to hit it.
“Hang on!” Dad shouted.
Dishes fell from the cupboard, crashing to the floor. Everyone was yelling. Zach stumbled, tried to catch himself, and was thrown down.
But only for a second.
Before he realized what was happening, he was thrown into the left wall of the RV — then the roof.
They were rolling!
Bodies flew past him, legs kicking, people screaming. Glass exploded around him. There was more yelling as he hit the opposite wall, then finally the floor again.
Well, not actually the floor. More like Willard.
“Oaff!”
Zach landed on top of him, grateful for all the junk food and extra doughnuts the chubby kid had eaten, cushioning his fall.
“Sorry, Willard.”
“That’s … okay …” the kid groaned.
Zach scrambled back to his feet. He looked around to see if anyone was hurt. And then he saw Dad slumped over the wheel, blood trickling down the back of his head.
That’s when he panicked. “Dad!””
Monica watched with amazement as the big RV finished rolling and landed back on its wheels, filling the air with dust and smoke.
“Well, don’t jussst ssstand there,” Shadow Man hissed.
She turned to see the massive bulk of a man stepping into his Hummer.
“Go! Take care of the othersss!”
Monica wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by “take care of,” but she could make a good guess. She motioned to Silas and Bruno to follow her toward the RV.
“Grab your gun!” She pointed to Bruno’s weapon lying next to her van where Shadow Man had flung it. “Don’t forget your gun!”
As Piper staggered to her feet, she could hear Zach coughing and shouting, “Dad, are you all right?!”
She called out to her mother. “Mom, you okay?”
“Yes. It’s just my leg. It’s pinned against the dash, but I’m all right. How’s everybody back there?”
Zach was crawling toward the front as Piper glanced to Cody and Willard. They were also rising to their feet. Cody was wincing, holding his right arm, but everyone else seemed okay.
“We’re fine!” Piper shouted back.
She glanced around the RV. The kids may have been fine, but the place was a mess — dishes thrown out of the cupboard, everything tossed around and dumped on the floor. It was as bad as Zach’s room.
Well, not quite, but close enough.
“How’s Dad?” she called?”
“He’s unconscious!” Zach shouted.
Piper sucked in her breath.
“It’s the TV,” Mom cried. “It fell off the shelf and hit the back of his head! Mike? Michael?”
Zach was kneeling beside him. “Dad, can you hear me?”
Piper’s heart pounded as she moved forward to join them.
“Dad?”
She heard a groan and saw him move his head.
“He’s coming around,” Mom said. “Mike, can you hear me? Michael can — ”
She was interrupted by the voice of a woman approaching from outside. “Anybody alive in there?”
Piper frowned. She’d heard that voice somewhere.
More than once. But where? A second voice joined it.
“Want me to blow off the door?”
“Not yet, you idiot!” the woman screeched. “Try opening it first!”
“Oh, yeah.” The man gave a nervous laugh. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Piper had her answer. There was no mistaking the rudeness of the woman — or the lack of intelligence of her assistant. And because of their missing manners (and brain cells) these were not people Piper wanted to meet again.
Zach must have recognized the voices too. “Dad,” he said, “Dad, can you turn on the engine? Dad, can you get us out of here?”
But of course Dad couldn’t. He was too busy just trying to open his eyes.
“Anybody in there?!” The woman’s voice was much closer. Any second she’d open the door.
“Here,” Zach said to his father, “let me scoot you over.”
“What are you doing?” Mom asked.
He shifted Dad far enough to ease behind the wheel. He turned on the ignition. The motor ground away, but nothing happened. He tried again.
“Zach …”
He tried a third time, and the engine finally turned over. It wasn’t happy about it, but at least it was running. And just in time.
Suddenly, the side door was yanked open, revealing a woman with flaming red hair. Beside her stood the biggest of her assistants. But they only stood there a second before Zach dropped the RV into gear, punched the accelerator, and took off.
“ZACH!” everyone shouted.
Well, everyone but the red-haired woman and her goon. It’s hard to shout when you’re busy leaping out of an RV doorway so your head doesn’t get ripped off.
Shadow Man stared out his Hummer’s window watching Monica and her bungling assistant start chasing after the RV. Despite dozens of dents, scratches, and broken windows, it still ran. This surprised Shadow Man and for a moment he didn’t understand how it was possible.
Unless …
He stole a look at Elijah, who was seated at the back. Was this more of the boy’s trickery? He knew the child had powers, but this?
Shadow Man couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that the little brat was humming again. He hated it when the boy did that. He could make him stop, of course. But then the child would simply find some other way of trusting and thanking — of praising — the Enemy.
The Enemy. That was the whole reason Shadow Man was in this mess in the first place. The Enemy had finally started his preparation to bring about the end of days. And for some unknown reason he had chosen little Elijah as one of his most important tools in bringing about that end.
Shadow Man’s lips curled into a tiny smile. Well, let the Enemy choose whom he would. And let the boy hum away, because very soon the child would turn his back on the Enemy. Very soon Shadow Man would bring Elijah over to his side of the battle, to where the real power lay.
All it would take was a little time in The Chamber. A little time to show the child the wonders and glories that would be his if he would deny the Enemy and follow Shadow Man’s master.
Chapter Three
Decoy
“Where are they?” Zach shouted over the sputtering RV. He checked the cracked side mirrors for any sign of Monica or her assistant. “I don’t see them!”
Cody called from the back window. “They’ve turned around. They’re running back to their van!”
“Zach, slow down!” Mom cried.
“I will in just a second.”
“We’ll never get away!” Piper shouted. “Not in this thing. What do we do?”
“Hang on, I’ve got a plan.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she groaned. Piper always groaned when her big brother had a plan. Mostly because it was impossible to forget some of his more famous plans …
Chamber of Lies
Softcover • ISBN 9780310711964
Zach, Piper, and Elijah are reunited with their parents. But when Elijah is lured into the Chamber, he must face the Shadow Man in a bale for his soul. Only heaven can help him now.
Available now at your local bookstore!
The Star-Fighters of Murphy Street Series
By Robert West