I’m done, the guy skims my information.
“Pretzel Pirate, huh? I can see why you’d rather work here.”
“Just so you know, Mark probably won’t have good things to say about me. But I’m a hard worker for anyone who’s not a complete asshole.” Hard to say if that’s too much honesty.
Then the guy smiles. “Understood. I’m Nick, the assistant manager, so you’ll need to meet Kim, too. She’s in the back.”
I end up having an impromptu interview with both of them, so it turns out I didn’t lie to Felix after all. When I leave Toxic, I have a fucking job. I start tomorrow. Thirty hours a week to begin with, but the pay’s a little better. I can still afford to cover my bills, at least, and I get to wear my own clothes. That was one thing Kim stressed; we need to look the part, making people want to be cool like us.
Keeping my promise, I head back to the food court. It’s close to noon, so a few people are scattered at the tables, eating an early lunch. Felix waves at me as I amble toward him. His stand has no line, so he pours me a drink, then hands it over without his coworker noticing. It’s sweet, but I hope he doesn’t get in trouble.
“I was wondering…”
Shit, here we go. I have to shut him down politely. “Yeah?”
“I have a break coming up…and there’s a car for sale in the parking lot. I was wondering if you’d look at it with me.”
Huh. That isn’t what I thought he’d ask at all. “Do I look like a vehicular expert to you?”
“No, that’s not why I want your opinion. I thought you could tell me if it’s something girls would think is—”
“Oh. You want me to gauge its chick appeal?” Poor kid. He’s so clueless.
Felix nods. “If you have time?”
“Absolutely. You can walk with me out to the bus stop. I’ll rate it for you.”
“Thanks. I don’t have a lot of friends who are girls.”
It’s been a good day. Not only did I get an awesome new job, I also avoided crushing Felix’s dreams. Maybe he’s not interested in me after all. I’m happy to be his friend, as long as he’s not secretly angling for more. That never ends well.
“Come on.” I beckon.
Once he calls that he’s taking a break, Felix comes around the counter and walks with me to the exit. “I think the car’s pretty sweet, but my sister tells me I have no idea what’s cool.”
“All sisters say that.” Or so I imagine, anyway. I have no siblings, unless my father is breeding as we speak.
“It’s this way,” he says, leading me through the parking lot.
I imagine he spotted a car with a sign in the window; the owner must work at the mall. Then he wheels and punches me square in the face. I go down because it’s so unexpected. The pain doesn’t incapacitate me, but I can’t process what’s happening. I scramble backward beneath a car and roll out the other side.
“What the hell!”
Is he a psycho, or is this something else? I get a glimpse of his face between the cars as I run, and it’s…odd, wavering. His skin shivers like his face doesn’t fit right, and his eyes are swimming in darkness. Goddamn them. This isn’t Felix. There’s a demon in him, one that whispered about the car but didn’t drive him out here. The thing knew I’d notice. So this is the perfect ambush. I’ve dropped my bag, and I scramble for my radio. I don’t want to hurt Felix like I did the old woman. This isn’t his fault; he was a target of opportunity.
He lashes out. The kick connects to my shoulder, and my backpack bounces away. I need to learn how to fight; the dead won’t always be able to defend me. My arm’s numb now, too. Feels like he dislocated my shoulder. I crawl away, beneath a car, and then I scream. With my good hand, I dig out my phone and speed dial Jesse. I wish I had some mace, pepper spray, anything.
The call goes to voice mail as the demon grabs my ankle and hauls me out from under the car. My phone bounces away. I keep yelling and aim a kick at his junk, but he’s too fast for me, even in a teenager’s body. But my shouts have drawn attention; there’s a woman getting out of her car, and when she sees