24: Check Ins and Chinese Take Outs

Laura's chest heaved as the cracked television screen blipped on and off. Shallow laughter exited the speakers growing ever distant until they were replaced by a loud static hum. The curious eyes of others in the room fell upon the television's sorry state. Laura's body weakened by the terrifying encounter struggled to lift itself off the floor. She sobbed uncontrollably and hunched over as if in great pain. Jorge immediately jumped to his cousin's side, pulling her close to his chest. She clutched his shirt; tears and snot pooled on the fabric. Wang hurled himself to the blinking TV, unplugged it from the wall, and starred shockingly at the cracked screen.

"What happened?" he said running his hands aggressively through his hair. "Oh, my dad's gonna kill me."

"It...it was a monster," stuttered Laura's muffled voice. Her lips quivered after every word. "It looked at me from some other place. It wanted me. I just know it." Another round of intense sobs burst from her lips.

Dehlia sauntered over to Laura's side and rubbed her back. She glared at Wang.

"Your family should really invest in plasma TVs," snapped Dehlia. "They aren't that expensive."

"Shut up, Dehlia!" yelled Thaddeus. "Can't you see this is not the time to joke around."

"You two stop," said Brice crossing his arms. "I can't stand y'all bickering all the time."

Jorge tucked his head close to Laura's ear. "You saw something in your reflection didn't you?" he asked. Laura nodded. "Is it that same something that took Hope."

"I don't know," said Laura, sniveling. "It wasn't human."

"This is ridiculous!" cried Mercy stamping her foot. "TVs don't just crack and die for no reason. Brice doesn't just change his presentation for no reason. The Balancers don't just come to a three star chinese restaurant for no reason."

"Hey," interrupted Wang. "Five stars."

"Not after that last review. But you get my point." Mercy stomped her way towards Jorge, Laura, Marcus, and Nancy. Her beady eyes shifted back and forth unsure who to focus on. "You four have some explaining to do."

Suddenly the TV blipped back to life showing scenes of war, plague, famine, and other scenes of human suffering. Gunfire and screaming men, women, and children exited the speakers falling like dreadful embers on the silent spectators. An eerie electrical charge from an unknown source lifted the hairs on their necks and arms. Mercy stepped away, hiding behind Brice.

"What the hell?" said Wang glancing at the cord on the ground by the TV. "It's not even plugged in. How is this possible"

A raspy wicked voice echoed from the speakers.

"Mirror mirror maker. Mirror mirror bender. Mirror mirror breaker. Mirror mirror mender."

"Make it stop," whined Laura covering her ears. "Make it stop."

"It's not real," said Brice standing confidently. "This has to be some trick."

"For one who believes in the unexplained," said Nancy. "You're sure quick to dismiss it."

The wicked voice spoke again.

"You have something of mine," it whispered in a taxing tone. "And if you bring it to me, I will give back, Hope Martinez."

"And what if we don't," asked Marcus stepping towards the TV.

"Then you will get nothing but death."

"Who are you?" Marcus leaned in close. His eyes determined and unafraid. Silence answered him. "I said, 'Who are you?'"

"I am half what I was, and you will make me whole."

"And how will we do that?" asked Marcus. The room filled with a smog. The air stung his throat and caused his eyes to water. "What do you want?"

"That which was broken."

In a sudden sucking of air and a hiss of something shutting, the television turned off. The room became once again normal and quiet. Mercy squeezed Brice's arm.

"What just happened," she said looking about. "Did something just try to come into our world through the TV?"

"Seems like it," said Brice rubbing his chin. "How curious."

Mercy turned her attention once again to Laura's group.

"I still want answers."

"And you will get them," said Jorge. "But not here." He wiped Laura's tears with his shirt. "This place is compromised."

"I agree," said Thaddeus. "We need to get out of here. Does anyone have a plan to sneak past the Balancers?"

"We can make a rope out of sheets and climb out the window," said Dehlia. "It works in the movies."

"Not a chance," said Mercy.

"I have a plan," said Wang with a gleam in his eyes. "But for it to work, I will need to borrow your cupcakes, Mercy."

Her cheeks turned red and a scowl formed on her face. "I'll start collecting sheets."


...


Wang smiled and put his hands on his hips.

"So that's what we do. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"I like it," said Nancy in a derisive voice. "It's simple, effective, and will totally get us killed. No, Wang, are you nuts! Do I have to be the voice of reason here and say that these Balancers probably have guns."

"I doubt they want to kill us," said Brice stuffing an eggroll in his mouth. "They probably want to question us or take us away. Either way we don't want to meet them."

The door ripped open and Dehlia and Marcus entered.

"So what did y'all see?" asked Jorge. "Were they down there?"

"Yes," said Marcus. "Seems they are seated right near the door front door and in the perfect line of sight to see anyone exit the hallway and into the main restaurant. I can't believe you don't have a back door, Wang."

"It's in the kitchen," he said. "But we still need to get passed them to get there."

"What are they doing?" asked Mercy. "Do they have crazy gadgets? Did you see any guns? What are they saying?"

"We couldn't make out what they were saying," said Dehlia. "They just ordered water and are sitting there whispering to each other. And get this, they have glowing purple eyes behind their round purple sunglasses. It's both cool and spooky."

"That's just like how they were described in that one eyewitness account," said Thaddeus. "They're the real deal alright."

"Are there other people dining or just them?" asked Mercy.

"There are three other couples," said Dehlia. "Though this one girl looks like she is about to break up with her boyfriend. They are having a real juicy argument."

"So," said Wang dumping all the food he could into plastic bags. "Is everyone ready for Operation Cupcake?" Everyone nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

The group huddled together out of the room and down the stairs. Each mirror they passed, Laura shook with unease. She was beginning to understand Hope's fears of all things reflective. If her sister was seeing monsters like that in her reflection it was no wonder she never told anyone. Who would have believed her? The group arrived at the end of the hallway. The door to freedom was only twenty feet away through a series of tables and chairs. Wang peeked his head around the corner. The two Balancers sat in silence. Their glass of water condensing and puddling on the table. Each was wearing finely fitted suits with neatly combed and cropped hair. In the dim light their glowing eyes shone in their sunglasses like small lights breaking through a dense fog. Wang retreated his gaze and took a deep breath.

"They are more intimidating in person," he said pulling an apron over his head and placing Mercy's cupcakes on two ceramic plates. "Wish me luck everyone."

Wang entered the restaurant carrying the two plates. The Balancers immediately noticed him and straightened their backs. Before he could make his way to the table he was stopped by his mother.

"What are this," she said in a heavy Chinese accent motioning to the two plates. "We don't serve this. Take it to the back before someone orders it. What I say about party food?"

"Mom, no," he said trying to explain. "It's for a special occasion." He nudged his shoulder in the direction of the Balancer's table. "It's their birthday."

"What?" she said. "Both of them?"

"Yeah."

"I do it then," she said snatching the plates. "You have delivery. Li is busy in kitchen. It big order."

"Mom, I can't do that right now. I'm going to stay with Brice tonight at his apartment. We have some classwork to catch up on."

"Delivery then you go."

"Fine." Wang sighed as his mother brought the plates to the Balancer's table. They gave Wang a suspicious smirk as his mother hurried away to the kitchen to grab the delivery. He could hear her fussing in the kitchen. Wang glanced at the Balancers as he pretended to clean the tables nearby. Their eyes had not left him.

Wang walked nonchalantly towards the drink station and poured a pitcher of water. He stood there nervously twiddling his thumbs up and down his apron. His plan was not going exactly the way he hoped. He needed to make a distraction. That's when he noticed the unhappy couple at the table next to the Balancers. They were arguing immensely. He got an idea, one that would probably lead to the couple having a worse night than the one they were already having. Wang reached for the water pitcher and hurried over to the table.

"Water?" he asked the couple.

"No," said the girl smacking her red lips on an edamame pod. "Can't you see that they are full." Wang ignored her and began overfilling their glasses sending water all across the table and onto the floor. "Stop!" they cried. "What the hell!"

The seated man pushed back on his chair hard enough to make contact with the Balancer's chair behind him. This led to the Balancer being slammed into the edge of the table equally as alarmed. Wang quickly twisted on his heels and in one defying swing, lifted the cupcakes off the plates, and smashed them into the Balancers' stunned faces.

"Now! Now!" he screamed. While everyone in the restaurant including his recently emerged mother watched on in horror at what was happening, the group surged from the hallway through the sea of tables and chairs and towards the exit. The Balancers covered in cupcake stood to their feet. They readied to follow the group out the door but the floor slick with water caused them to tumble. Wang's mother shouting in Chinese hurried to the scene.

Outside the restaurant the group ran down the street and into a dark alley beside the restaurant. Behind them the faint glow of the Balancer's eyes could be seen bouncing in the darkness.

"Guys, we have to split up!" cried Brice. "We meet at the agreed place in two days. Alright?"

"Just don't get caught," cried Mercy. "You two come with me."

Once the group reached the end of the alley, the society members trailed off in three smaller groups. Laura's group of Marcus, Jorge, and Nancy turned left. Brice and Wang continued straight. And Mercy, Thaddeus, and Dehlia turned right. Yet, for some reason the Balancers each turned left. Nancy glanced behind her screaming.

"Oh my god! They are both chasing us."

"They want me," said Laura. "I can feel it. I'm the reason why they are chasing us."

Jorge looked back. He could see a strange device in the Balancer's hands blinking flashes of red and green light.

"They are tracking us," he cried. "Just keep running." Before long their cars came into sight.

"In the car!" shouted Nancy. "In the car!" She glided into the passenger set, slamming the dashboard anxiously with her palms. "Drive, Marcus! Drive!"

"I'm getting there," he responded shoving the key into the ignition. Suddenly the Balancers appeared at Nancy's window. Their glowing eyes pierced the car's interior. She shrieked and hurled herself to Marcus's side. Marcus locked the door just as the Balancers nabbed the handle. "Hold on, Nancy!"

The car started. The headlights blazed to life. Nancy dug her fingernails into Marcus's arm. In a quick swerve and a gravel flying twist of the wheels, the car skidded onto the road. Ignoring stop signs and red lights and narrowly missing an oncoming truck, both Marcus's vehicle and the Martinez vehicle turned on to the highway, the lights of downtown Beaumont fading behind them. 

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