hunched.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she cried. “I’m not!”
Ben turned in place, searching for the spray bottle. Hearing the panic in Dani’s voice, he held a hand out her way even as the dust devil closed in.
“Focus and control,” he said. “Don’t let it frighten you.”
“I’m not frightened!”
“Just gimme a second …”
The spray bottle had rolled under the nearest sink. Ben jammed the core into a pocket and lunged for the bottle just as the dust devil went for Dani again.
“You mother******!” she screamed. “You got me DIRTY!”
Her voice rose into a keening, and Ben braced himself.
The power burst out of her in uncontrolled shreds of Pure magic. Every light bulb and fixture exploded at once. Jagged forks of lightning shot out from the sockets and arced into metal fixtures and stall walls.
Twin strikes hit his water-encased hands, stinging the fingers. Ben yelled and shook them to release the liquid gloves. They splashed to his feet as the room flashed purple, yellow, and green.
A spear of lightning pierced the dust devil. It split the grainy body and connected with a black orb in the creature’s chest.
Two cores? No …
The body drew back together as the dust devil twitched and jerked. Ben sensed the power flowing into it, like a river refilling a cup. Some outside force maintained the creature’s form despite Dani’s overwhelming attack.
In another strobe-light flicker, the dust devil’s body expanded into a giant face. Each eye as big as Ben’s head, it looked like a generic mask with a bland collection of features. The mouth opened, a tongue of sand formed, and a moan reverberated out like constipated cow.
“Mmmmooommoo …”
Ben shielded his eyes from cutting particles. “Who are you?”
Features twisted into an agonized theatre mask.
“Ppammommoo …”
The face vanished, the remaining core shattered, and the dust devil flew apart, spattering the walls. Lightning continued streaming from outlets and sockets with increasing fury. A sharp smell of ozone filled the air and singed his nostril hairs.
“Dani, that’s enough!”
Her wail cut through the fizzing and cracking. “I can’t stop it.”
“Try!”
“******, I am!”
Ben dropped to his knees as the electrical storm rose to a peak. With a final sputter, the lightning vanished, leaving the restroom dark except for a faint wash of illumination from the hall.
After he caught his breath, he took a physical inventory. Aside from stinging hands, bruised knees and aching arms, he felt intact. Mostly. The smell of burnt hair wafted through the bathroom, and his knuckles were suspiciously bare.
“Ben?”
“Here.” He coughed and struggled to his feet. “You okay?”
A sniffle. “I’m … fine. What just happened? Why did that thing attack me? What did it want?”
He wiped over his sweaty, grit-plastered face. “I can’t rightly say.”
Her snort pinged off the walls. “You don’t know? Great. How long have you been doing this again?”
“Hush it and lemme think.”
Glassy blotches covered the walls where the dust devil’s remains had hit. Ben touched one, and then jerked his hand away.
“Hot,” he muttered.
Carl wobbled in his version of Duh.
“Did you see the face?” he asked Dani. “Did you hear the voice?”
“Um, maybe? I’m not sure. I’ve seen and heard too many weird things lately. Now I have to add walking piles of murderous dirt to the list.”
“They’re called dust devils. But it shouldn’t have existed. Not like this. It’s impossible.”
“Why?”
Her hand found his arm, but he knocked it away. He didn’t think any of the dust devil’s attacks had broken his skin, but he couldn’t see well enough to tell.
“Go get cleaned up,” he said, waving her to the sink.
She reared back. “No way. Do you know how many infectious microorganisms are in tap water? Coliforms. Clostridium. Giardiasis. That’s not even considering all the corroded pipes it runs through, or all the toxic chemicals they pump in, trying to kill the bacteria in the first place. Might as well drink sewage. I need pure water.”
“Suit yourself.” He plucked the bottle off his belt and started to unscrew the top.
She raised a fist. “Don’t you dare hit me with Carl again.” She fished a packet of wet wipes out of a pocket and started cleaning muddy streaks off her face and neck.
He walked out into the lit hallway with her a few steps behind. He hated leaving such a mess. It went against all his training and what pride he had left in his work, but something more important had come up.
As they piled the equipment back onto the cart and headed out, Ben let thoughts tumble free.
“Dust devils are Corrupt constructs. They don’t