Free Fade by Chad West Page A

back!”
    Angela gasped, sitting straight up in bed. She reached a numb and shaking hand out for the water bottle lying next to her and started unscrewing the top. “What in the hell was that about?” The bottle dropped back to the bed before it reached her mouth. She tried to stand, losing her balance at once, tripping sideways, tumbling out of bed at the sight of an apparition. It was empty-eyed and near translucent, like a signal from another world, standing solemn at the end of her bed. Her eyes widened to full circles and she screamed.
    She wanted to run more than she did breathe, but the mere presence of the ghost-like thing held her in place. All that she could think was that she was about to die. She heard herself scream again. Felt bile rising. Her last act on earth would be to throw up on herself before this thing from hell snuffed out her life. It seemed to smile before a bright, bluish sun entered the room, washing out everything, and Angela slipped softly into unconsciousness.
    ***
    Another beep came soon after Jonas got on the road. One more inch of hope. But it seemed like the third should have appeared by now. If she were farther away than the others it would take longer for the device to find her—he knew that. But, how far could she be? He wouldn’t stop thinking about that last dot now—that a missing green dot might represent the loss of one of his girls. No. That wasn’t what he was thinking. The absence of that dot might represent the loss of his flesh and blood.
    “They’re okay,” he said. “All of them are fine.” As he spoke, his foot eased down on the gas. He smacked the wheel with the palm of his hand and whined. It was all piling on him. The truth was breaking through. He had missed everything. He had been unable to raise the girls—prepare them. Stranger’s eyes had watched his daughter take her first step, had taught her their way to live life. Now, he was the stranger.
    The girls were something different than they were supposed to be. They weren’t told the truth. He wished he didn’t have to care; wished he could just work on being happy for them. Happy that they’d spent no time preparing for a war that might or might not come. But, now there was no choice. They were in danger. The war had indeed come.
    He tapped at the steering wheel with his thumbs, hunched forward as if it would make the car move faster. The first girl was a mere three streets over now. The houses began to grow taller a few miles back. They were packed together like eggs in a carton, and then they were two story step-children of mansions, complete with pools and the occasional flower-garbed gazebo. He was glad one of his girls had fallen into the lap of luxury. He hoped a sense of humility had survived the fall.
    The beeping grew louder and turned into a long, constant drone as he swung into the driveway of a large, grey house. Barberry, as bright and yellow as the sun, marched down the walkway to the front door—a large, mahogany beast which looked as though it might be more comfortable in front of a cathedral.
    He was about to bang on the door, but stopped himself. He had no inkling that the creature that had attacked him had even found the girls. The idea struck him that he might have led it right to one of them, but he accepted that was a chance he would take. Knocking as casual as he could muster, Jonas pushed his long, brown hair back and waited. Nothing. He raised a hand to press the orange-glowing doorbell when he froze at a scream from inside.
    Grimacing at what might be a mistake, he tried the knob. Open. He rushed inside. The house felt empty. He stopped in the living room, frustrated, unsure where to go. Another scream set him on his way down the hall to his left. A dazzling blue light began to bloom from a room to his right. His chest became heavy, his breath stopped. He was all too familiar with that wretched light, and barreled into the room, slamming against the door, falling in.
    The young