10.01

Creepy crawlies everywhere, even without me summoning them. No power meant darkness, the city’s flood meant dampness, and the lack of services meant trash piled up. A paradise for bugs.

Imp and I led the group, flashlights in hand. She dragged her knife against the wall, leaving me to light our way. We stopped at an apartment door. “Here, maybe?”

Grue, carrying an unconscious Shadow Stalker, grunted, “Scout it.” Bitch sent Angelica, her largest dog, now three times her normal size but moving like an old dog, into the apartment. The other dogs strained at their chains, but Bitch’s glare kept them in line.

Bitch had been short-tempered since losing eight dogs, with only the injured Angelica surviving. Now, Angelica wasn’t recovering, leaving Bitch with one crippled dog and three untrained ones. Plus, she was mad at me.

Angelica returned, signaling the all-clear. The apartment had been ransacked, but by a family, not looters. Tattletale dropped a box, “City’s trying to restore order. This building’s uninhabitable, but people have nowhere else to go.”

“Time to do what we need,” Grue said, setting Shadow Stalker in a chair. We secured her with extension cords, while Tattletale searched her, finding weapons and a phone. “GPS off,” she reported, “They’ll look when she misses patrol.”

“Disable it?” Grue asked. “Or have a bug or dog carry it away?”

“I can turn it off,” Tattletale replied.

Regent and I handed Grue cords, which he used to bind Shadow Stalker, careful not to cut off her circulation. Imp, meanwhile, made a show of struggling with a portable generator, which Grue ignored. Once the cords were in place and secured with duct tape, Grue set up makeshift restraints using two more chairs and plugged in a refrigerator and the cords binding Sophia.

Bitch claimed the sofa, looking ugly. Her dogs had died saving me, and now she blamed me. Tattletale announced, “She’s awake.”

Shadow Stalker was pretending to be asleep. “Electrical cords,” she noted, testing her bonds.

“Avoid using your power,” Tattletale warned, “Extra cord under the chair.”

“You’ll be groggy,” Tattletale continued, “Tased you, and used one of your tranquilizer bolts.”

“You don’t hold back,” Shadow Stalker commented.

“Says the one who tried to slit my teammate’s throat,” Regent said.

Shadow Stalker looked at me, “Tough costume.”

“What’s next?” she asked. Regent prepared to use his power on her.

“No!” she shouted, “You don’t know what he does.”

“We have an idea,” Tattletale said.

Regent asked for privacy, and Tattletale gagged Shadow Stalker. “Could be fifteen minutes, could be three hours,” Regent said. We left, except for Imp, who needed a nudge. Shadow Stalker twitched, wincing.

Bitch was resting with her dogs, while Imp wanted to watch TV. Grue refused, “No drawing attention.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Imp whined.

“Sleep,” Grue suggested, “Or read.”

“Fuck reading,” Imp retorted. Tattletale suggested she explore the teenager’s room. Imp left, and Grue groaned, “Tiring, dealing with her.”

“We all irritated each other at first,” Tattletale reassured him. “Give it time.” Grue went to lie down, leaving Tattletale and me on watch.

“Okay with this?” Tattletale asked.

“All-in,” I said.

We were doing this to Sophia, my high school bully. She deserved it, right? But I wasn’t sure.

Tattletale listened to music, while I set spiders to create webs throughout the building as alarms and placed bugs on everyone inside. I found a book and started reading, interrupted by Shadow Stalker’s occasional grunts or screams. Bitch’s dog, Bentley, started snoring.

Tattletale played a game, Grue tossed and turned, and Imp explored. I focused back on my book, then heard a bang and a scream from the kitchen. Regent hadn’t called for help, so I kept reading. But after rereading the same page four times, I closed my book.

I checked on everyone, then realized Shadow Stalker was gone. “Fuck!” I shouted.

Bitch and Tattletale stood, looking at me wide-eyed, the Shadow Stalker appeared behind me, crossbow aimed at my eye. We froze. Grue and Imp appeared, stopping when they saw her.

Shadow Stalker laughed, then stood, holstering her crossbow. Regent opened the kitchen door, laughing too—exactly like Shadow Stalker. He ran his fingers through his hair, and Shadow Stalker mimicked the gesture, her movements now strangely different, with a slouch and swagger that hadn’t been there before. Her eyes met mine.

“Totally got you, Dork,” she chuckled.