Devil's Plaything

Big Macs and Awful Plans

As soon as they were out of Noah's view, Mira's brave front crumbled and the horrible reality of their situation sunk in. If they didn't figure out how to prevent it, Noah was going to kill Charlie. And it would be Mira's fault for their ever having met.

"I can run," she told Sam and he let her down from his shoulder clumsily. His awkwardness made her think of how gentle Noah had been with her and then she grew impossibly angry with herself. Even while running from him, the thought of him still made her flush.

She began to run much faster, trying to use the exertion to distract herself from her thoughts and the guilt she associated with them. The fair was packed, making it difficult to squeeze past groups of slow, meandering kids. It was hard to ignore all the stares she was getting from passersby as well. She ran a few feet ahead of Sam with Noah's blood stained on her dress and, to an outsider, it seemed like she was running from him. They moved past a group of teenage boys who, after confusedly taking them in for a moment, jeered obnoxiously. They thought it was some sort of skit, Mira realized. The reality she found herself in was so absurd, she was tempted to believe it was as well.

She ran past the Ferris Wheel and made sure not to look at it. In an effort to not think about Noah, she tried to run faster, to take longer strides. She looked back to see Sam trying to keep up. She couldn't spot Noah anywhere behind him and started to wonder if his threat had been an empty one. But she couldn't afford to take chances. She tried to find Charlie in front of her but instead her eyes landed on a very familiar face.

Aiden.

He was standing frozen still by a cotton candy vendor, staring at her. No, not at her—he was staring at her dress. He looked confused, as if he couldn't decide between thinking this was some kind of a joke or being horrified. She didn't know how she would explain this to him, but she didn't even have time to think about it. She stalled for just a moment, long enough for his eyes to meet hers. The sound of the laughter and fairground music surrounding them felt distant in her ears. Then, she was off again, finding it too easy to move past him and to the main parking lot of the fair where Charlie had parked.

Charlie was already in the car with the engine running by the time Mira and Sam got in. Before they even had the chance to close the door completely, she took off. "Where do we go?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the road in concentration. Her calm confidence at the wheel make her look more like a NASCAR racer than someone who was running for her life.

"It doesn't matter," Sam said from the back seat.

It was dark outside now and the only thing illuminating the car were flashes of streetlight. They ignited the car in quick flashes which matched the tempo of Mira's heart. "Now's not the time for pessimism, Sam," Charlie commented briskly.

"It's not pessimism, it's a fact. He has Mira's soul. He can detect where she is with it." There were some long moments of silence. "It's in the book," he clarified. Charlie approached a red light too quickly and had to slam on her brakes. Mira nearly slipped out of her seat before grabbing the door handle to steady herself. She released the handle which caused the door to lurch open and hit against the car waiting at the light next to them.

"Fuck!" Charlie hit the gas, ignoring the red light and driving straight across the intersection. Mira reached out to grab the door and saw a car approaching her side of the car quickly. She didn't have time to panic, just to act. She grabbed a hold of the door handle and slammed it shut just as Charlie made it through the intersection and the other driver blared his horn furiously. Charlie slammed on the brakes, this time to roughly turn the car into a nearly-vacant McDonald's parking lot. The wheels screeched against the street until the car finally halted abruptly, jerking forward everyone in it. Charlie shut the engine off and all three of them sat still, panting harshly like they had just run miles. Mira and Sam held onto their seats as if their lives still depended on it. The only sound for minutes was of their loud breathing.