The World Below (ON BREAK)

Chapter 23

Central Park, NY

Tanner shook Ray again, and he groaned. His eyes fluttered open, his pupils wider than usual. He turned to his friends.

"Cynthia, do you know where he lives? We need to get him to his house."

"I do, actually. When we aren't able to access the warehouse, we usually chill at his place. It's on 5th street. I'll know it when I see it."

Tanner pinched his brow.

"I don't know how to get there! Just a reminder that I've only been out of Sanctuary for a day or so. I have no clue where we even are."

"I'll take you there. It's not far."

Cynthia scooped Ray into her arms. He was shivering from either pain or fear, Tanner couldn't tell. She ran as fast as possible, dragging Tanner behind so that he could keep up, with Caspian and Stacy running behind.

After maybe five minutes of running, Cynthia skidded to a stop outside a house with pale yellow paint. Tanner sprinted, actually ran up the stairs and rang the doorbell. A couple loud barks from inside, some footsteps. The lock rattled as it unlocked. It opened ever so slightly, and a golden snout shoved its way through the doorway. A woman's voice shouted from inside, saying,

"Bell! Get out of the way!"

The clattering of nails against wood followed, and the dog, Bell, ran farther into the house. The door opened to a asian woman holding a magazine.

"Hello?"

Tanner rubbed the back of his neck, trying to stay calm.

"We're friend's of Ray. He, uh, collapsed, said that his curse was going farther." He lowered his voice.

"And yes, my friends and I know about everything."

She narrowed her eyes, then caught sight of Ray in Cynthia's arms.

"Bring him inside, I know what to do."

Cynthia shoved ahead of Tanner and carried Ray up a flight of stairs. Tanner heard stomping sounds from the ceiling and Cynthia made her way to Ray's bedroom. Ray's mom opened the door wider, allowing the teens to step inside.

Tanner took immediate notice of a large, fluffy dog. She was curled up on the couch, tongue lolling out of her open mouth. She didn't seem to notice the distress Ray was in. Ray's mom came into the living room and set a tray of mugs on the table. Tanner sat down next to Bell, petting her head. Caspian sat next to him, with Stacy on the easy chair.

Ray's mom sat on an ottoman across the table from them, her back to the television.

"So," she began, "how exactly do you know about Ray's curse?"

Just as she finished saying it Cynthia stomped down the stairs, using her socks to slide across the hardwood floor.

"He's all good. The second he hit his bed, he just curled in on himself. Kinda pathetic."

Ray's mom turned her head to look at her.

"Hello, Cynthia. Did you tell them about Ray's curse?"

"Nope, sorry, Ms. Lin. He did."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"He told them himself. Ray trusts these idiots."

Tanner shot her a glare, but she just smiled.

Ray's mom sighed, then returned her attention to the teens in front of her.

"Why did Ray trust you enough to tell you about his curse? It's not easy for him, you know."

Before Tanner could say anything, Caspian removed his hood, revealing his ears. Ray's mom didn't say anything, but just looked confused.

"Are you cursed too?"

"Ha! No, I'm a cervitaur. This is my human form. Only issue is my ears. And," he said in a dramatic fashion, "none of us are normal, besides you."

"Are you all cervitaurs?"

"Nope. Tanner here is a Naga, Cynthia is a Demon. There's a couple other monsters who know about Ray's face, but they can be trusted. Simon's a vampire, Connor's a werewolf."

Before he could say anything about Switches, Sanctuary, or powers, Tanner clapped a hand across Caspian's mouth.

Nervously, he said, "So sorry, Ms. Lin. Caspian doesn't know how to control himself."

Ms. Lin didn't seem to be listening.

"I'm sorry, this is a lot to take in. So there are others like my Ray?"

"None of us are cursed, but yeah, we know how he feels. We have to hide too."

Suddenly, a loud shriek echoed down the staircase. Ms. Lin looked at her watch, eyes wide.

"Wow. That was fast. Most of the time it takes him at least two hours."

Another shout from upstairs, clearly Ray's voice.

"Mom! Help!"

She sat up quickly and sprinted up the stairs. Silence followed, which was then interrupted by a doorbell ring. A loud groan emanated from upstairs, then some muffled voices. Ms. Lin ran back down the stairs and opened the door. Tanner could just barely make out the conversation happening at the doorway, but he heard enough to understand this was another one of Ray's friends.

"Oh! Terence! I'm a bit busy at the moment, Ray's curse is acting up again, and I have to help him. Feel free to come in, some of Ray's other friends are in the living room."

"Thanks, Ms. Lin."

A redheaded boy maybe a year or so older than Ray rounded the corner into the living room. He was wearing a T-shirt that had a logo of some kind splayed across it, and jeans ripped at the knees. He looked at the group of strange looking teens, the said a single sentence.

"Who are you guys?"

Caspian, who thankfully had his hood back on, responded.

"We're Ray's friends, and we're just as weird as him. I-"

Tanner slapped his hand over Caspian's mouth a second time, keeping him from saying anything more.

"Caspian, you need to learn when to talk and when to not talk."

Terence was watching the scene play out before him with an emotionless face. He lifted his hand and pointed at Cynthia.

"I think I've seen you before. Cynthia, was it?"

She smiled wide.

"That's me! And you're Terence."

"Yeah. Is Ray doing okay?"

"Nope."

Terence looked concerned.

"Ms. Lin told me it's his curse. Did you see anything happen?"

They all shook their heads.

"He just collapsed outside," said Tanner. "Nothing visibly changed, but it looked like he was in pain."

More muffled shouting from upstairs. Terence glanced briefly in the direction of the stairs, then back to the group.

"We should go up there and help. I have a feeling that his mask won't help him this time."