Picky Eater

Ch 8: I'm going to mess you up

The sound of a door clicking was a personal attack against Ben. It locked and Evie whipped around, her eyes flashing red. A nervous twinge pinched Ben's chest, finding himself behind the body of a little girl and he had to remind himself he was the weaker one. She was the vampire, but it still felt wrong. Imagining Evie getting hurt only hurt Ben worse.

"You're making a mistake," Evie said.

The witch laughed. "The only one here mistaken is you."

The rug tugged beneath Ben's feet, and he yelped as it acted like a conveyor belt, pulling them back towards the counter. With a huff, Evie pushed the middle of Ben's chest and then hooked her ankle behind his, making sure he slammed right on his backside and off the rug. Evie let the rug take her to the end and used the momentum to launch herself. Soaring over the counter, she extended a claw to slash across the witch's face. Everything was happening so fast. The witch flipped over a bloom that exploded into splinters. Whirling it up, it created a pinwheel with wind strong enough to blow Evie back. Evie landed on her feet, but Ben was pushed further against the door. He tried the door again, but it was definitely locked.

"Nice baby teeth," the witch teased.

Evie frowned, her eyes still blood red. "We really don't want any trouble," Ben insisted, reaching for Evie. The thought of her fighting an adult with magic that he knew nothing about made Ben sicker than he thought possible. "We'll just go. Sorry we wasted your time—"

Evie took off again.

Apparently, he was the only one who felt this way. "Evie, no!"

The lights in the store flickered, and the witch cursed, but Evie was already jumping over the counter and there was a huge crash. Ben jumped up and ran for the door to the back as there was so much grunting and screaming and cursing, Ben thought he was going to throw up his swollen heart. He finally gave up and ran back to the counter, leaning over it.

"Evie! Let's go—" Ben yelled just as the witch used a hand fan to push Evie away. Then, it dawned on Ben what she was doing. Evie must have realized it too. The witch was just trying to keep Evie's mouth away from her. Evie lunged, sinking her teeth into the witch's arm, who cried out and collapsed to the ground. Evie gnawed at the skin, biting, and pulling. Ben ran over, wrapping her in his arms and yanking her off and over the counter. "Evelyn Ventura! Stop that right now!"

"Ventura?" The witch echoed. The surprise faded and she launched her needle at Ben, nicking his arm. It gave him the spike of adrenaline he needed to haul Evie the rest of the way.

"We're leaving. Evie, straighten out your legs and keep them straight," Ben instructed and Evie did as she was told. He used the backend of her Mary Janes as a battering ram that ripped the door from its hinges. They exploded into the street and Ben didn't stop to admire the wreckage. He kept running, letting Evie down so she could run on her own. The moment he saw a break in the wall of stores and jumped into the darkened alleyway. It smelled like spoiled garbage and piss, but it was a sanctuary to Ben.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked, flinching at the burning stitch in his side. Out of breath, he bent down to examine Evie when he noticed her chin wobble. "Evie?" He blinked.

At first, it was a sniffle, maybe something she could hold back, but Evie's eyes welled up with dark blackened tears that looked like runny curdled blood. Streaks streamed down her cheeks as she let out a huge wail.

"Oh, Evie," Ben whispered in his sweetest voice. He fixed her stray hair so it wouldn't get in the blood. "Oh, Evie I'm sorry. It's ok."

"I-I- I wanted that shell."

"I know. I'm sorry." He used the back end of his t-shirt to wipe the blood, hers and what still crowded her lips from the witch.

"And she was so scary."