Tick caught a glimpse of something flashing toward him from the right—a wispy trail of fog that he barely saw. He imagined he could see the faint image of a head and a long body, an outreaching hand, when sharp tingles pricked the skin along his forearm, making him suck in a breath.
There was a popping sound, and then the flashlight went out.
Chapter
38
~
Smoky Embrace
The needle pricks vanished. Tick instinctively held up the flashlight to take a look, but the darkness was too complete; black engulfed everything. He flicked the switch back and forth. Nothing. Then he shook it.
Shards of loose glass tinkled together and fell to the ground. The light bulb hadn’t burned out; something had smashed it, making it useless.
“Tick, dude, what happened?” Paul whispered, though it sounded like anyone within a hundred miles could’ve heard him.
“I don’t know.” Tick looked around but couldn’t see a thing. He remembered the ghostly image of what he’d seen from of the corner of his eye. Those long, smoky fingers of fog reaching out . . .
Leaves crunched a couple of times where Sofia had been standing.
“Sofia!” Tick shouted, a boom in the silence that echoed off the tree branches.
“I’m fine,” she whispered back harshly. “Sheesh. I’m just feeling my way toward you.” Another couple of steps, more twigs breaking. “I heard glass break—how did you smash your flashlight?”
Tick could see the shadow of her figure right in front of him now. He reached out and found her shoulder. “Okay. So, I was standing there, and then I saw something to the right. Something like a trail of fog. But it was kind of shaped like a . . . like a stretched-out human with really long arms and fingers. Then it felt like a hundred needles stabbed my arm, and something popped, and the light went out. It’s broken.”
“Wait a second,” Paul said as he also took a couple of tentative steps toward Tick and Sofia. “What did you see again?”
“I guess it must’ve been a Sleek. Kind of smoky and long, looked human-like. What do you think, Master George?”
Silence answered him. Chills swept over Tick. He looked in the direction where he’d last heard George’s voice. His eyes were already adjusting to the darkness, but he saw nothing except the tall, dark shadows of trees and more trees.
“Master George!” he called out, wincing at the loudness of his voice. Again, no answer.
“Those creepy things took him,” Paul said in a fierce whisper. “And we’re next!”
Sofia shushed him then spoke in a quiet voice. “That’s we want to happen, remember? We just have to—”
A twig snapped to Tick’s right, silencing Sofia. A few leaves rustled in the same spot. The swell of chilling panic crept up Tick’s chest as he looked in that direction, straining his eyes to see.
Something stood there, a dozen or so feet away, its shadow splitting the space between two huge, towering trees. Thin but man-shaped, the thing had to be as tall as a basketball standard. The edges of the shadowy figure wavered like a reflection on water, ripples of darkness running up and down. The slightest glint of silver shone where its eyes would be, and something about the light—maybe the hue, maybe the angle—made the creature look very angry.
“Who—” Tick’s voice caught in his throat. “Who are you? Are you a Sleek?”
The thing’s silver eyes flared brighter for just a moment, but it was long enough to reveal more of its features. Streamers of dark smoke were packed tight and swirling through and across each other, compressed together to form the tall body that stood before them. Tick thought they looked almost like worms being held back by some invisible force until they could be unleashed to seek out food.
But the face was different. It didn’t seem to be made of the smoky substance. It looked . . . human. Real skin, though misshapen and scarred. Every cell in Tick’s brain screamed at him to run.
The light of the creature’s eyes dulled again, throwing the tall figure back into shadow.
“Ask it again,” Paul whispered.
Tick didn’t know if he could bring himself to speak. Sofia saved him.
“What are you waiting for?” she yelled. “We know you’re a Sleek, so get it over with! Quit standing there all spooky, you haunted-house wannabe!”
Tick looked over at her, wishing he could see her face. Sometimes her bravery completely stunned him.
A noise from the creature pulled Tick’s attention away from Sofia. A whispery, raspy sound. Harsh and guttural. It continued on for several seconds, but if the thing was trying to communicate, Tick didn’t understand a word of it. The metallic glow of those silver eyes seemed pinpointed on him.
The Sleek quit talking, leaving them all in an eerie stillness. The sounds of the forest remained silent, as if every living creature had long since run away. Then everything changed in an instant.