The panel van opened. A man was crouched down in the back. His gray hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and his faded Hawaiian shirt hung open, revealing an expanse of skin and two pert, pink nipples. Behind him, I spied a sheetless twin mattress on the bare metal floor.
"Would youyoungboys like to come in here and play with my dog?" He had a golden retriever puppy in his arms and a smile on his face. It was, surprisingly, a charming smile. However, the moment he saw a man in a gimp suit and a seven foot serial killer instead of two young boys, it disappeared.
"If you really want me to pet it, I can," Baz said, "but the moment I touch the puppy I'll kill it." The man's face lost all color.
"I'll pet it," Nemo sighed in annoyance, plucking the puppy from the man's hands. "It's soft," he said with a smile. Baz hovered close, listening as Nemo described in detail how it felt. Then Nemo smelled the dog and began to guess how it might taste. Baz slid his masked face towards the man. Candy van man’s mouth was still hanging open.
"Where is it?" Baz asked suspiciously.
"What!" The man gasped.
"You know what," Baz hissed, sliding closer.
"I don't, I swear! Oh god, did Tommy send you?"
"Yeah, Timmy sent me," Baz said.
"Tommy?"
"Sure, that one." The man's face went white, and sweat stains bloomed under his arms.
"I'm taking your dog," Nemo stated, smiling as it bit his finger.
"What?" The man asked in confusion and shock.
"We are not taking that animal," Orson snapped, stomping towards them. Nemo shot him a scathing look. For a brief moment, we could see the beast move under Nemo’s skin. It was a rippled ridge of fur, like a shark's fin breaking water before dipping away again. It was Nemo’s threat, warning Orson to not tell him what to do.
In response to the supernatural show, the puppy began growling, and the candy man became incensed. He reached out and grabbed hold of Baz, tugging him closer. Why did people keep doing that?
"He's a monster," the candy man gasped. Black and green broke out across his fingers. He screamed, jerking himself away and scrambling in the van. I heard a car turn into the gas station.Shit, we did not need to make another show like at the grocery store.
Baz leapt up in the van, then popped his head back out.
"Screaming is bad, right?" He asked as the man continued to wail.
"Yes, we don't want attention," I offered quickly.
"Just a sec." He slammed the door shut. The van lurched, and screams of pure panic became muffled until finally, there was silence. A beat passed.
"There's no fucking candy in here!" Baz wailed from inside. I took a relieved breath and turned around. A black SUV had parked beside our stolen car during the brief excitement. Suddenly, all the doors opened at once. My heart dropped.
Baz reopened the van doors.
"Don't!" I yelled as men in gas masks popped out of the SUV.Supra. They’d already found us. Had we ever really lost them?
While Baz had been passed out, we had come to the conclusion that Supra was actively trying to increase his potency. What other reason did they have for using the serum? They wanted Baz to be stronger because then he could kill us, whether he wanted to or not.
We were virtually unkillable. We were the worst of the worst bound together, and a couple of us were super-powered with the blood of an immortal monster.
The Supra shooter moved preternaturally fast. He jerked a loaded gun up and pulled the trigger the same moment Baz stuck his head out of the van. The dart sliced through the air. I watched it in horror, throwing myself towards the line of fire.
I wasn't fast enough.
My outstretched fingers felt the dart rush by and keep going. I’d feared the day I couldn’t protect Baz. I’d always thought it would be death coming for him. But this?
The dart sank into Baz’s neck. It was bigger—more than a double dose. The black liquid sloshed inside the container as it rapidly disappeared into his body.
Baz wrapped his gloved fingers around the dart and pulled it out. He stared at it in his palm.
