The windows shook as another roar bellowed through the air. I pulled my “Get Into Jail Free” card out, and there was a little timer above it. Still over eighteen hours to go before I can use it again. Shit. Church was still conscious, so that was good. Laura and I both walked up to the bedroom window and looked down. There was a grizzly bear standing upright on its back legs and a pale man next to it. Isak and Johan, Laura’s former travel companions. Johan raised what looked like a musket, and there was something sparking as he took aim. I took cover behind the wall, but Laura remained in place, opening the window and leaning out.

  “Fuck off!” she yelled. “I told you we were done, so go away!” She came back inside but kept her eyes fixed on the brothers outside. I began to peek from the side of the window and saw the two talking to themselves before Isak, the bear, finally spoke.

  “Give us supplies, and we will go! We kept you alive, you owe us!” roared Isak. Laura did not like this one bit and leaned back out of the window.

  “I don’t owe you shit!” A shot rang out, shattering the window. Laura yelped and hopped back. Patti let out a whimper and ran out of the room. Even Jay seemed frazzled at the sudden violence. I headed for the far end of the room, away from the window, and went to Jay.

  “What do we do?” I asked. Jay shook her head, and her tentacles wagged.

  “Fight them? I don’t know, Max,” she replied.

  Laura joined up with us. She had pulled two bottles from her coat and was swishing them around, changing colors. “Those bastards fucked with the wrong Rolo. I’m going down.”

  “The fuck is a Rolo, Laura?! No, never mind. We’re not going down there and fighting.” I said.

  “The hell we aren’t! They shot at me!” Laura began to walk away before I screamed. She stopped and looked at me with worried eyes and muttered, “Miercoles.”

  “No! We’re not fucking fighting anymore! Jay, Church, and Patti are all hurt! I don’t care what they did, but we need to take care of our own. Now, how the fuck do we get out of here?” I may have said that last bit a little bit too loudly because everyone just stared at me, but I kept my eyes fixed on Laura. As I did, a list appeared next to her that was of her available spells, or potions, or I don’t know. I scanned them and saw teleportation. “You can teleport?” Laura was taken aback by my remark, and she studied me for a moment before replying.

  “How did you… Yes, sort of. I create two potion bottles and smash them on the ground or a wall, or something, and it creates a portal. I can’t just teleport anywhere; they have to be set up,” she said. Laura kept talking, but my mind raced. It wasn’t as good an ability as I hoped for, but I could work with it. Church got up and was looking outside the bedroom door, probably for Patti, when I put my hand on his shoulder.

  “Church, gather any supplies from around here we might need. Make it quick. Also don’t lose that token again, okay?” He nodded slowly. “Go!” He nodded a few times and went out of the room. I turned to Jay. “I need you to find Patti and keep her here in this room. When Church is back, get that stupid token in his palm, okay?” She smiled and went to find Patti. I then turned to Laura. “How quickly can you make the po-” She cut me off by pulling out two neon green bottles from her coat. Where the hell did these come from? She held one out, and I reached to take it, but she didn’t let go.

  “You will come with me to Tulsa,” she said. She was short, but damn, she was fierce.

  “We will talk-” I began before being cut off again.

  “I kept you safe from monsters for almost a whole day. I need your help if you want any more of mine.” Her face softened, and I saw she was tired. I looked at her and nodded.

  “We will help you,” I said without breaking eye contact. She nodded and let go of the bottle, which felt very cold. “Okay, I need you to do something which you may not like.” Laura narrowed her eyes on me.

  “And what is that you want me to do, Mr. Bones?”

  “I want you to be nice.”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  After reviewing the plan with Laura, I instructed Jay to wait in Church’s room with Patti and brought her up to speed. I found Church downstairs. He had swapped the backpack out for a duffel bag at some point, and it was positively stuffed. He was holding a picture frame and looked on the verge of tears. I could hear Laura calling out to the Nordic brothers from the window above. I just hoped she kept her cool long enough for this to work. I approached Church, who held the picture to his chest when he saw me.

  “Hey, bud, you okay?” I asked. His eyes were red as he looked at the photo once more before handing it to me. I took it and looked to see it was of him and an older woman, who I guessed was his mom. I examined the photo and smiled before handing it back.

  “Her car is here, Max, but she’s nowhere to be found. I’m really worried, Max. I’m…” He trailed off and lowered his head. Tears fell and hit the floor. “She’s all I got, dude.” I put my hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He looked up with a halfhearted smile.

  “They brought her car here to lure us inside. She’s probably still at the hospital she works at, and she’s okay.”

  “If she’s there, then there are people there who can’t leave, and that means they’re being attacked every hour. How the fuck can she be okay?” That last bit had anger in his voice. I kept his gaze and saw strength in that. He was getting pissed off, which was good. It beats Church being sad and scared.

  “ I don’t know, Church, but we’re getting the fuck out of here, and we’re going to do something. I don’t know what or how, but Jessica gave me some sort of power that I can use. I just have to figure it out, and I don’t want to fight anymore right now.” I said.

  “Then use your stupid new powers to kill them or something!” Church said loudly. He was beginning to shake with emotion.

  “I don’t know how to do anything!”

  “You and Laura can take them! You’re being a fucking coward, Max!” That upset me, but I took a deep breath before replying.

  “You almost died, Church. Jay and Patti as well. I’ve seen my neighbor’s face sliced off. I need a break. You need a break. Please, man, we need a break. Killing monsters is one thing, but these are real people. I just can’t do that right now, ok?” I didn’t notice until I finished talking that my voice and hands were shaking. It was my turn to be emotional. Church’s face softened by the end, but it was still noticeably colder-looking than normal.

  “Will you help me find my mom?” Church asked.

  “Of course, dude. Of fucking course.” I said. Church’s face warmed up a bit, and he embraced me in a hug for a moment before pulling back.

  “Okay, I trust you, Max. What do I need to do?” he asked.

  “I need you to wait in your room. There’s a portal on the floor, but you can’t see through it because it leads nowhere. Don’t go in. I’m going to make a run for it in the opposite direction as far as I can, and Laura will give me a signal when to make the other portal. I make it, you all jump through, she closes it, and we’re gone!” I felt a little proud of the plan. Church nodded as he thought about it. He had tied his hair back in a ponytail at some point.

  “What’s the sign?” he asked. Just then, there was an explosion of blue and pink light outside with an accompanying siren noise. I just stared outside, and my jaw fell open.

  “That’s the sign,” I said. We ran upstairs to find Jay standing outside Church’s bedroom with Patti. Jay was shaking her head at me as I walked by inside the room. Laura was taking cover under the window sill as a gunshot struck the ceiling. This time, Church fell out cold. Jay reached to grab Church, but he phased right through her hands and fell hard. I could see this had done a fair bit of damage, and I got worried. I made a note to get him a helmet sooner rather than later. I turned my attention to Laura, and crouch walked over. She was swirling another potion, and her witch's hat was pointing straight up.

  “What the fuck, Laura?” I yelled. “You seriously couldn’t escalate things for one moment?” She shot me a look of anger.

  “Nobody talks about my abuelita and lives, Max.” She finished swirling the bottle, and it became opalescent. “Now get everyone in here and shut that door. I’m going to lock it with this potion. You need to get on with your plan!”

  I looked at her in disbelief. Who was abuelita? I ran over and dragged Church in, with Jay and Patti following. Laura chunked a different bottle outside that exploded, and I heard another roar. This time, the roar rattled my bones, and I was frozen in place. Was that a spell? It dissipated after a moment, and I was able to move again.

  “Okay, I’m going to start a timer and run as far into the maze as possible! After five minutes, I’ll toss this down and have the exit portal ready. Are you sure you can close it after you all use it, Laura?” I said.

  Laura shot me a glance and nodded. “Just hurry up and go!” I nodded back and turned to leave. I shut the door behind me and heard a glass bottle shatter against it. The door began to glow brightly, and I saw the word “Invulnerable” over it. I pulled out my phone to see that the battery was almost dead. It just had to last long enough for the timer. I started it and made my way quickly to the stairs. As I went to head down them, the front door exploded off the hinges as a giant bear now stood where it had been. Johan quickly came from behind his brother, raised his musket, and shot at me. A lead ball pierced my leather jacket, and I looked down to see it had miraculously passed through my bones.

  “Fuck you, dude!” I yelled and looked around quickly. The upstairs hallway ended with a window, and I ran to it, jumping through.