Page 18 of Incubus
Closetoteno’clock,Nathan was certain that if they ordered any more food from the kitchen, it would not reach their table unsullied. Jim didn’t seem to trust the drinks brought to them anymore either, so he sat nursing a beer while looking like he was trying to burrow inside of himself and disappear.
Nathan didn’t get what the problem was. They weren’t being rowdy or attracting attention from other patrons. Though it did seem as if all of the other waiters and waitresses had been told about the table that just wouldn’t leave. Nathan could feel annoyed eyes on them every time someone walked by.
Their waitress, Carol, was friendly by nature, but had all but lost her patience. Her tone with Nathan and Sasha had turned forcibly polite, and she seemed to only tolerate Jim because he kept whispering apologies to distance himself from the other two.
They had all tried several times to find out when Carol’s shift ended, but she consistently shied away from the question. AfterNathan attempted yet again, she finally said, “Look, I don’t think that’s any of your business,” and stormed off.
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Jim said, fidgeting anxiously with his still mostly full beer as they waited for Carol to return. “We haven’t really seen her talking to anyone. Other than us. If the killer is already here, he’s too well hidden. And if he—orshe—is waiting for Carol somewhere then we can’t afford to lose track of her.”
“It’s not going to be any easier loitering out on the street,” Nathan said. “Especially if we don’t know what exit she might go out of when she leaves. This makes it easier to keep an eye on her, Jim. Lighten up.”
“Look, she’s already coming back,” Sasha offered.
Only when they did look, and Sasha had the chance to look more closely, they realized that the waitress heading their direction was not Carol.
The new waitress, who had dark hair andbrowneyes, slammed a fresh check onto their table. “Carol may be a pushover, but I am not,” she said. “Please pay and leave. There are other customers in existence and you have worn out your welcome.”
Nathan was somewhat impressed with the woman’s bluntness, but Jim stared at the check as if it was diseased.
“Don’t tell me we scared her away,” Sasha said coolly, “because we’ll gladly apologize for taking so much time and be on our way.”
“You can keep your apologies to yourself,” said the waitress. “Carol’s off and rid of you. Lucky her for having a short shift tonight. Now move it.” And with that she left, assuming they would pay and leave as instructed.
“She’s…off?” Jim repeated.
“She’sgone,” Sasha said.
But Nathan felt he summed up the situation perfectly. “Shit.”
Within the next few minutes they had paid their bill and were outside the restaurant looking frantically down Nicollet Avenue for signs of Carol.
"We’ll never find her in this city,” Jim said. “We don’t know where she lives. It could be Minneapolis, or one of the million and one suburbs. We don’t even have a starting point.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Give me five minutes,” Sasha said, and dashed back into the restaurant.
“Wait!" Jim called. "We don’t have time! We have to find her now!" He stared after Sasha a moment more before beginning a quick and angry pace up and down the sidewalk.
Nathan frowned as he watched his brother stalk to the end of the block in a fury.
“If she dies it could be another week before we catch this thing. Damn it!” Jim called out, kicking the side of the bus stop shelter on the corner so hard that Nathan grimaced.
“Hey. Jim, it’ll be okay—”
“No!” Jim whirled around. “Don’t say that, Nathan. Don’t treat me like a child.”
As Jim started pacing back in front of the restaurant, Nathan was struck still by how his brother's eyes looked…slit. “Jim…”
“Just don’t, Nate, okay," Jim said, growing louder the longer he paced, as if something was building beneath the surface of his skin.
Somethingwasbuilding. Nathan could feel it. “Jim, just hang on—”
"No. Don't tell me not to worry, Nathan. You're going todieif Sasha can't help us. So don’t say it's going to be okay when you know that isn’t true. It’s never true.It’ll never be okay!” Jim shouted the last of his words and, like a whirlwind of power, the shockwave struck.
Chapter 8
TheairshookaroundNathan like an explosion. He doubled over from the force of it, feeling as though he had been punched in the gut. When he looked up, he saw Jim standing very still in front of him. Jim had been facing away from Nathan with his final shout, and stood staring down the street at what he had done.
Every sign and lamp post as far as they could see was bent over at a ninety degree angle. Even the little trees planted in front of the hotel next door were bent.
