Brady Tyson & The Two Little Liars

Chapter 16 - That Kid

I stumble out of the elevator with my arm around Mold's shoulder, immediately having to suppress the urge to vomit again. The bodies of Olympia's staff members are slumped down around the edges of the ground level entrance way, blood pooling onto the floor from the bullet holes behind their masks. The girl who greeted us is leaning heavily against the front door, a faint smile still lingering on her face.

The body falls to the ground with a thud as Mold shoves the door open, and she practically drags me out into the chilly night air. Storm clouds circle around the tallest antenna on top of Olympia, electricity occasionally flashing throughout them. The moon shines dimly behind the cloud cover.

"Hey, Brady, check this one out." I wipe my mouth and drag my eyes down from the sky. Mold is crouching against the building, and her face is bubbling. "Here's my impression of you."

Her face slowly changes, fur growing from it as her head turns into a bear's. She tries to give (what I can only guess is meant to be) a smile, but instead it comes across as a terrifying predator ready to lunge for my throat.

"Your comedic timing is terrible. Our friend is being held captive by my lying piece of shit foster father, a murderer is on the loose, and here you are pretending like you can berserkergang like I can."

"Yeah, but is it cute?"

"No, it's... why on earth would you say that? It's terrifying."

The absurdity of the situation falls on me as a drunk couple stumble up the hill across the street, and Mold has to turn her head away. We make eye contact and I lose it. I laugh, she laughs in some warped, animalistic way, and we laugh some more. I laugh until I start heaving again, but there's nothing left in my stomach.

"Whoah, whoah, that's enough, alright." Mold hops up from the building's side, rubbing my back as I try to stand back up.

"Yeah, thanks. For... y'know."

"Don't mention it. As an alien I don't really have any right to be that good at human connection, but I just want you to know that this isn't the end of the world. We'll get Jacy back. I believe in you, Brady."

"Don't sell yourself short. I don't know what I would do if you weren't here to pick me back up every time I'm down. But seriously, fix your face."

"Oh, right." She says, like she'd actually forgotten. As Mold's face morphs back to its usual smug self she keeps talking; "I wasn't just messing around though. The bear is actually the animal that has the most scent receptors in its nose. At least on this planet. The point is that I know where the Anubis kid is."

"Well? Don't leave me hanging?"

She points down the road, towards the sparkling city; "That way."

"I guess Mr. Argyros wasn't BSing. If that kid needs to kill to get stronger then I suppose there's no better place to go on a rampage than downtown."

"Right? So, what's the call, leader?" Mold drops into a lunge, stretching out her calves.

"We go stop him, of course."

"I figured you'd say that."

A gust of wind blows past us, blowing Mold's hair back from her eye. I think she turns away to hide her scar, but I'm more focused on the police cars that blaze by us.

"I think that that's our cue to get moving."

I take a deep breath, and Mold nods at me. We break into a light jog down the road, following the police cars that zip by us every few minutes. Before long we reach the main part of the downtown area, where pedestrians are moving about the streets restlessly. Mold and I push through them, catch snippets of family members telling friends that there's something dangerous going on at the mall.