Page 14 of Neon Pestilence
The wook looks at me, exhaustion framing his face. “Tini is convinced she saw him last night. Says she was at the rail when she looked behind her and spotted him. But, he wasn’t alone.” He takes a deep breath, jaw ticking as he thinks of how to explain it.
“She said there was a guy in a bird mask standing behind him. Before she could catch his attention, the guy moved abruptly, and Tommy fell to the floor. She was too far away to see clearly, but she thinks he killed him. She’s completely convinced.”
“What the fuck,” I practically seethe. He was with me last night. And now he’s supposedly killed someone. What in the fucking insane ass bullshit is going on here?
I rush back to Tini’s side, trying my best to comfort her. Her body shakes, constant quakes of anxiety rumbling through her. The poor girl is broken without him.
We spend over an hour convincing each other that we’re better off figuring it out ourselves versus trying to involve the law.
Disappearances happen all the time at Hallow Lands. People go missing, and no one ever seems to care. Not the staff, and especially not the town, or its police.
There’s always been conspiracy theorists throwing around the idea that it’s all a ruse, that it was never even created as a music festival in the first place. That it was always meant to be something deeper, it just took on the face of something easily digestible to the population.
Money laundering, sex trafficking by high-ranked politicians and CEOs, or even that it’s possibly used as a ploy for aliens to abduct people. The list goes on and on.
Some theories are plausible, some outright ridiculous, but there’s always been something.
Hallow Lands’ secrets run deeper than any of us know, and we’re going to do everything we can to bring Tommy back home.
Chapter 13
Indy
It’s been a few hours, and there’s still no sign of Tommy. We managed to get split up within the first hour. I gave up trying to find them after forty minutes of searching. It’s nearly impossible with our crappy cell service and the forty thousand and something attendees.
I move through people effortlessly, dancing through the crowds. The ethereal lights cascade around me, lasers of all colors and patterns creating enough light to catch glimpses of the bodies. Fansclack, some on beat, some not. I almost forget the whole reason I’m there, like the festival itself is putting me into some kind of trance.
There you are, angel.
Between the lights, I seehim. The Doctor. He’s standing on the outskirts of the event, bodies sway around him as he holds abarely clothed man close. His arm is thrown around the stranger in a chokehold, his biceps flexing around the guy’s throat.
I move closer, his dark suit becoming clearer as I crane my head to see him better. Bodies press into me, turning the scene into a desperate plea to get closer to the masked man.
I’m feet away when the body in front of him collapses to the floor. The man is choking, gurgling like there’s something stuck in his throat. The Doctor watches as I drop down to my knees in front of him, frantically trying to do anything to help the man bleeding out below us.
The man grasps at his throat, a crimson river flowing from him. A gash runs along his trachea, deep enough for me to see the pieces of ligament torn by the intrusion.
“What the fuck,” I screech up at the masked man above me, holding my palms to the man's wound. I pull his pashmina off and press it to the cut. Within seconds, my hands are covered in the sticky substance.
I start to cry, the emotions of everything finally catching up to my sober ass.
He was infected.The Doctor’s heavy voice fills my head.
“Infected with what, having a good time?” I practically screech. The people around us are oblivious. I search around me, hoping someone, anyone, will notice. But they just continue to dance, the music around us blaring.
Tears fill my eyes, and my body starts to shake. It’s all becoming too much. This festival. My anxiety. The bodies. Him.
I just want to go home.
You're not going anywhere,I hear in my head.You're staying with me.The last word hits my brain heavily, like it holds more weight than even The Doctor can process.
Before I know what’s happening, strong arms wrap around my torso, pulling me away from the dead man. My hands fly around, trying to prevent him from taking me. But he’s relentless, and my body is so tired.
Throwing me over his shoulder, he walks me away from the stage. My assault on his back continues as I slam my fists into him repeatedly, trying anything to get away.
“Let me fucking go.” I hit his back again, but this man is unbreakable. Nothing I do will get him to release his hold on me.
No.
