Ill Appearances

Chapter 7: Mara

Castar gave me a quizzical look. "You want me to keep them in the dark?" he asked.

I nodded. "I don't want Carmen--or even Andy for that matter--to get caught in my mess. They don't deserve any of that."

Castar stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I know what you mean, but I'm just a tad bit skeptical. If you didn't know, I just gave them a project to research the beginnings of our...current problem."

I frowned. "That was a bad idea on your part. Carmen is quit observant and curious. She also is extremely smart. She'll know something's up."

"Andy will definitely realize too," Castar mumbled. He scratched at his neck absentmindedly. "I've really screwed up, haven't I?"

"Yeah," I huffed.

He grinned wryly. "Why don't we just tell them? You sensed it in Andy, right?"

I scowled. "He's on the verge of receiving his gift. If it reaches full maturity before we tell them then we'll--"

"Be screwed?" Castar asked.

"Exactly."

He frowned, mumbling something under his breath. "We've gotta think about this..." he said loud enough for me to hear. "I should...I should probably let you go. Come back tomorrow, okay?"

I nodded. "See you later." I was surprised to see Carmen and Andy had left by the time Castar and I had finished. I thought about calling Carmen, but thought better of it. Since Pablo was still mad at me, I couldn't ask him to take me home. With a sigh, I began the trek home. To my surprise, my feet took me to somewhere else. I stood at the entrance of the path to the abandoned mall. Despite me screaming at my body to turn around, I moved forward to walk down the path. A sudden noise from behind made me whip around. The feeling of deep dread began to stir at the pit of my stomach. "You followed me," I growled.

Jackie's grin appeared before the rest of her body.

I shuddered at the display of her Cheshire Cat-like abilities.

"Looks like your reflexes are still as sharp as ever," she sneered.

My eyes darted to the figure a few feet behind her.

Aaron's eyes seemed to glow yellow under the shade of the trees. He was crouched down, seemingly ready to pounce at any moment.

Something was wrong, undoubtedly wrong.

Jackie seemed to notice my distress because she grinned again.

"What did you do to him?" I practically yelled.

"It was a supplement," she replied simply. "He disobeyed me, so this is his punishment. He is fully awhere of what he's doing, but he can't control himself." She turned to him. "Aaron, attack Mara."

Aaron pushed past Jackie and lunged at me.

I dodged his first punch and narrowly missed the second.

Jackie laughed. "This'll be fun."

Aaron's punches were getting faster. He was wearing me down.

"Aaron," I breathed.

He flinched at the sound of his name.

I took his moment of distraction to my advantage and shoved him away from me.

Aaron's eyes narrowed, a snarl stretching across his face. He grabbed both of my arms and yanked me against his chest.

I tried to pull away, but his grip was like iron. I had forgotten that enhanced strength was also part of his gift.