From Gods (Descendant Prophecies Book 1)(15)

"Good thing you girls are safe," Jack said. "Or else I'd personally hunt them down."

"What are you going to fight them with, your wrinkles?" Mona teased.

Jack laughed out loud. "Now that was funny, but you would do a better job scaring them with your looks."

Mona scoffed playfully. "Well, you wouldn't get much of a punch with your flabby muscles."

"Speaking of muscles, I guess all you have to do is sit on them."

Skylar and Kayla gaped back and forth, giggling from the banter going on  between them until Kayla jumped high off her stool. "Darn this phone. I  forgot I put it in my back pocket." She glanced at it, heading to the  back of the diner.





What ya doing?

"It's from Nick," Kayla said to Skylar.

Hello. Getting ready for rush hour. What're YOU doing?

Thinking of you.

What kind of thoughts?

Bad, naughty thoughts.

Giggle.

What are you doing after work?

I have a hot date.

You better be talking about me or I'll have to get rid of him.

Haha! Yes, it's you, silly. I like your jealous side. It turns me on.

I'll have to do it more often. What else turns you on?

Just you. I gotta go. Some of us work you know.

Meet me at the theater Monday after work at 8.

Monday?

I'm busy tomorrow. Bring your cousin!

Bossy, bossy. And why the exclamation mark?

Mason needs to get out more.



Kayla walked out of the storage room to see Mona frowning at her.

"Sorry." Kayla batted her eyelashes and got back to work.





"I don't think I should go," Skylar said, sitting in the passenger seat.

"See?" Kayla placed her phone in front of her. "Read the text. ‘Bring  your cousin.' I think Mason will be there. This is great. It will be a  double date."

"I do need to talk to him. What are we going to see?"

"I don't know. You're okay with any movie, right? I know you don't like to watch scary movies."

"I'm sure it will be fine. Just keep your eyes on the road," Skylar  said, nervously anticipating seeing Mason again but needing answers.  Something paranormal had happened that night, and though she tried to  pretend that it hadn't just to stay sane, she couldn't help thinking  about the beasts. "Vultures" was what Mason had called them, but to  Skylar they were monsters-hideous, freakish, stinking,  straight-from-hell creatures.

After Kayla parked, they got out of the car and headed into the theater.  The parking lot was pretty empty, but then again it was Monday night.  From what Skylar could remember, Monday was the slowest night for  moviegoers, even during the summer, and especially in this small town.

Skylar spotted the sign's flashing red and blue neon lights and it  sparked a little excitement in her. It was good to get out of the house.  Speaking of houses, Skylar remembered the question she'd wanted to ask  many times before, "I've been meaning to ask you, does the old lady  still live in that house next door?"

"Yeah, why? You miss her?" Kayla giggled, nudging her shoulder playfully.

"She does?" There had to be an explanation.

"But you can't visit her because she's on vacation," Kayla continued.

Icy chills ran down her spine. "Is anyone watching her house?"

"No. Why are you so interested?" Kayla asked, walking faster. Her skinny  jeans fit firmly down her long legs. She wore a black ruffled tank top  and held tightly to her small black purse.         

     



 

Skylar had dressed plainly-shorts and a T-shirt with tennis shoes. She  wasn't going to dress to impress, especially on a hot night. Even if he  had taken an interest in her, he'd have to like her for who she was.

"Just wondering." She didn't want to tell her cousin she'd seen someone  inside the house. She doubted herself a lot lately and thought it was  best not to mention it.

Nick waved his hand, his face bright with a grin. When they approached,  he gave Kayla a kiss on her cheek, and to Skylar's surprise he did the  same to her. "I've got the tickets." He fanned them out.

Skylar saw three. Great! I'm the third wheel.

"What are we seeing?"

"Zombie World."

"Great," Skylar hummed softly, cringing and walking through the entrance.

Nick halted abruptly and turned to Skylar. "Oh, I forgot to tell you-Mason will be coming soon."

"Oh, okay." Skylar gave a faint smile, but she was hiding the giant one she gave herself secretly.

They arrived just in time, missing all the credits. The girls followed  Nick up the stairs. They passed a couple sitting smack in the middle of  the theater. Besides them, it looked like they were the only ones there.  Nick kept on climbing until he reached the last row of seats.

"I don't like anyone kicking me in the back." He took sideways steps to the middle seat and Kayla sat between him and Skylar.

Soon after, Skylar excused herself. "I'll be right back," she whispered. "I have to use the restroom."

"Okay," Kayla whispered back. "Want me to go with you?"

"No. Stay here. I'll be fine." Skylar quickened her pace down the  stairs, rooting her eyes on the florescent lights below. Not wanting to  miss any more of the movie than she had to, she swiftly turned left. She  hated finding her seat in the dark, especially during a suspenseful  part.

Entering the restroom, she saw four stalls with dark-gray doors that  were all shut. Not knowing if they were occupied, she looked underneath  the stalls for feet.

Having not seen a single person around, even while heading to the  restroom, she had a bad case of goose bumps. She disregarded her  thoughts, deciding she was scared for no reason, but her heart thumped  faster by the second. She finished her business as fast as she could,  pumped soap into her hands, lathered it up, and placed her hands under  the sensor hand dryer.

As thoughts flowed through her mind of when Mason would meet them, she  dried her hands and pushed the door to exit. She pushed again but the  door didn't budge. What the heck! She pushed again. Nothing.

Suddenly, a pipe burst and water started gushing out. She turned,  leaning her back against the door, wondering what to do next. Her  breathing became jagged as she started banging on the door with all her  strength. "Help!"

A second pipe burst and water poured from it just like the first. Skylar  couldn't fathom what was happening. Even the water in the toilets was  overflowing. Seeing the water rising, she screamed for help again,  banging on the door in desperation. Recalling that no one had been  around outside the restroom, she was sure that her cries for help would  go unheard. Her cell phone was in her purse which she'd left with Kayla.  Surely she would be fine, she reasoned. The water would seep out  through the tiny opening at the bottom of the door. But she soon  realized, as the water level was rising, that it wasn't happening as she  had expected.

Think, think, think. Assuming she could turn it off at a valve on one of  the pipes, she trudged through the cold water, all the time thinking it  felt like the ocean. The water was now up to her knees, pricking  painfully at every nerve in her body. She was already starting to feel  numb. Wanting to survive, she touched all the knobs, buttons, and  anything else she could put her hands on that might shut the water off,  but it was useless. There was nothing she could do. The pipes seemed to  take on a life of their own.

Skylar was drenched from her waist down. Shivering, she scanned the room  and noted there was no way out. Of all the ways she could die, this was  the way it would happen-drowning in a bathroom with toilet and sink  water.

It happened so fast she didn't see it coming. A vine that looked like  seaweed slithered through one of the broken pipes, grabbed her ankles,  and dragged her under the water. She recognized it as the same slimy  something that had attacked her at the beach. She once again tugged,  yanked, and pulled for her life, but to no avail.

Running out of breath, she managed to hang on to the sink and push  herself up for air. With a loud, sharp gasp, she inhaled and sank back  under from the force. She went through the same cycle several times,  catching a few breaths, but then it became impossible when the water  level rose higher.         

     



 

Just when she thought all hope was lost, the seaweed released its grip  and the water flowed back to where it had come from, as if someone had  pushed the rewind button on a DVD remote.

"Thank God," she mumbled, collapsing to the floor from sheer exhaustion.

Unexpectedly, she felt arms cuddling her, carrying her out the door. She  immediately knew it was him. Being in Mason's arms left her breathless,  and she didn't want to move a muscle. He laid her on a wooden bench and  bent down on his knee.

Skylar held her eyes closed, but opened them slowly when he brushed the  strands of her hair away from her face. Surprisingly, when his hand slid  tenderly down to her cheek, she felt a slight tingling sensation around  the area he touched. Whatever it was, definitely came from him. It was  something between heat and a mild shock, but it wasn't painful. In fact,  it felt warm, pleasurable, and soothing, but she didn't understand how  he was doing it.