“Wait, what?” I asked. Was I hallucinating? What the hell was this?
“Hey!” I shouted. “Stop!” But she didn’t stop, and the three of them stepped into the portal.
Carl: What the hell was that? Did anybody see that! Lucia had another person with her!
Imani: I didn’t see it. Maybe it was a summon spell. She was on her hands and knees vomiting earlier, and I was going to go to her, but I got distracted by Tipid’s injuries.
Elle: I didn’t see, either. But did I see Samantha go away with that electric guy?
Carl: She did.
I shot a message to Florin. He wouldn’t answer until I landed on the next floor.
The Big Shot Chicken truck still spun in circles, but as I watched, it slowed, turned, and pulled up next to us. The thing was so smashed up, I was surprised it was still running. There were about ten sluggalos still inside. That was all that was left. The whole thing stank like fire. Bigs leaned out the window. “We done killing?”
“For right now. We have about thirty minutes before floor collapse. Gather all the survivors and get back to the safe room. Just go back the way we came. Don’t stop for anything.”
“Sure thing, Daddy-o, but what about the trucks and mounts?”
I sighed. “The big animal mounts should fit in the pet stables. I don’t know about the garage, but I think we’ll lose them. Make sure Hedy and the other gremlins are in the safe rooms. We should be able to keep them. Same with any engineers if there are any in the garages. Tell them to pull the GPS units and bring them into the safe rooms.”
Bigs lowered her head.
“We lost Hedy.”
“Ahh, hell,” I said. “What happened?”
Bigs indicated with her head hatchet. I turned to see the smoking remains of the ice-cream truck broken against the wall. Next to it was the crumpled Tundra. Jamal was flopping about, trying to pick up his smashed leg pieces with his mouth.
I sighed. “Gather everyone you can and get out of here. If the trucks can’t drive, leave them.”
Across the way, Jurgen was sitting up, rubbing his head while Imani tended to him. Elle and Bodi were sitting on the ground next to them, also looking dazed.
I took stock of the death and destruction. I had missed much of what had happened in the last minute. The Abrams tank was a smoking wreck, and Sarah the hexcrafter was spread like jelly over the playing field. The three guys within were equally smooshed. It appeared the tank had been hit with a Krakaren tentacle. That left only Makana from the Destruction float alive.
We had nineteen crawlers left. Twenty if you counted Penny, which I did not. We would, supposedly, get to talk to our lawyers again in a minute. It would be the last time deals were offered.
I laughed. What a joke. Even if they offered us straight freedom, then what? We couldn’t leave.
The tattoos on the back of my hands no longer glowed. The sun shapes remained, but they now were raised, angry scars. When I examined them, they both had the same description with no further explanation.
Mark of the Damned.
So much had happened. But it seemed as if I had more questions than ever.
I turned to examine the large, quivering pile of goo that would soon be another pet. Luckily, I’d kept an extra pet carrier for just this reason. I went into my inventory and sighed. I’d spent hours and hours setting up my organization system, but it was all a mess. It would take hours to sort it, even using the auto filters.
As I shifted, I stepped on something in the dirt. Just sitting there half buried was an amber-hued glowing crystal. I reached down to pick it up.
Memorial Crystal. Emberus.
I took it into my inventory. But then I noticed something odd.
“Huh?” I asked.
I had a dart sticking out of my leg. I hadn’t felt it, and I couldn’t feel it now. I didn’t know when I’d received it or how. I gently pulled it out.
Tracking Tag.