Page 96 of Fly's Path

It would be so much easier if I could just buy her a diamond necklace and be done with it. Then you’d be your father.

“Van, my man. You’re thinking way too hard for a party.” Chad walks up, trailed by eight women. No, that’s wrong. None of them look old enough to be considered a woman. They’re children. Most of them appear to be around fifteen or sixteen.

I stand up. “This party is boring me. I should have gotten on a plane.”

“Don’t worry, the party has arrived. I brought friends and party gifts.” He raises his arms in a grand gesture, then lowers them, patting his pockets with the subtlety of a toddler. “Do you like my friends? Aren’t they pretty?”

“Beautiful.” I try not to throw up in my mouth and punch his face as I say the word. There’s nothing cute about having children at an adult party and bringing drugs along.

“Take a good, long look at them. They’re the things dreams are made of.” He leans in and whispers. “They’ll do ‘anything’ you want. All you have to do is ask. Your wish is their command.”

You can’t kill him.

You can’t kill him.

You need to get to his boss.

You can’t kill him. You need to save not just these girls but all the ones his boss is controlling. The Ghost has never used prostitutes before. But he has used teenagers to sell drugs. What if this is just the next step in the progression?

Or what if I stepped into another mess? Whatever this is, I need to find out more. “Anything?”

“Absolutely. Don’t worry, I tested the goods myself. They’re all prime.”

I’m going to kill you slowly and painfully, making you regret every single person you hurt. “Perfect.” I hold out a hand, and he shakes it, slipping me a baggie of pills. “Have fun tonight.”

“You too.” His sick grin turns my stomach. Thankfully, he walks away.

I swap the pills for an aspirin in my pocket just like Fly taught me and take it in clear view of the women.

This next part is going to be the most revolting thing I have ever done in my life…I need to play along with Carves’ little game.

Fly better pull a fire alarm or something, because there’s no way I’m going to touch one of these girls. “Shall we dance?” That should be safe enough.

***

I’m not an actor. Fly was wrong. I can’t handle this.

He hasn’t come.

No one has.

How do I set off the fire alarm? Or maybe get the party raided by the police?

I’ll take an alien invasion at this point.

It doesn’t matter what. I just need something to step in between me and these children with their roaming hands and dead eyes.

What was done to them?

Who is sick enough to hurt a single child, let alone a half dozen of them like this? My only defense right now is the nonstop music thumping. I’m going to dance until my legs fall off if that’s what it takes.

Fly, do something.

Maybe I can pretend to be sick. There’s a seafood tower. I could eat a few oysters, then head into the bathroom for the rest of the night.

That would work.

That’s totally doable.