NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 33: Guess who Part 1
Sam and Luna became terribly worried when they noticed Uriel didn't make it to the same building they were in. He was right behind Medusa one second, then the next he was nowhere to be seen, not even with Sam's trait that allowed him to see as clear as day even in total darkness.
"I'll send him a message." Said Luna as she took out her phone and exchanged messages with Uriel. Her usual poker face seemed to crumble for a brief second when she learned that Uriel was with Medusa. Everything would have been fine if not for a single detail, Medusa was standing right in front of her. The only reasonable explanation was that Uriel was in the company of a copycat, a monster with a human face, but everything became clear to her when her cellphone died the minute Medusa walked close to her. The cryptid wasn't with Uriel but with them.
When the last of their cellphones died they were left without a light source and Sam was the only one who could see in the dark, making it a priority for them to find a safe spot where they could light up their old school gas lantern without drawing any attention from outside the building. A lightsource could be as much a blessing as a death sentence considering. Without a light they were prone to stumbling onto debris, trash and whatnot, they also felt very unsafe and vulnerable, but if the light leaked outside every cryptid on the street would immediately notice their presence.
Since they had already been to this commercial building, they somewhat knew the location of the different rooms, stores and stairs, but it still took them a while to find a room that still had its windows boarded up and they deemed it safe to turn on their lights. The shopping mall was ample and the smallest sound seemed to be amplified and deafened at the same time.
Despite Luna's mistrust over Medusa's real identity, her usual aloof expression remained the same, if anything, she was more curious than scared. Instead of blowing the whistles right away, she limited herself to examine Medusa's every movement.
Her appearance was exactly the same as when they were with Miss Dragonfang and she was wearing the armor provided to them by Phlox, her facial expressions, tone of voice and even her behavior was completely normal. It was so perfect she couldn't really tell if she was actually a shapeshifter or if it was just a coincidence that her cellphone died when Medusa walked by.
"I think we should take off a piece of garment." Said Luna under the reassuring light of the lantern after pondering her situation for a few minutes .
"Are you implying there's a shapeshifter among us?" Medusa said, squinting her glimmering eyes with suspicion.
"That's impossible, I would have seen it coming." Sam said confidently.
"Remember Miss Dragonfang's words." Said Atomic adjusting his glasses. "If someone asks you to prove your identity you need to wear something off. We don't want something like what happened during our first incursion to repeat itself."
Everyone stared at each other with some distrust, but they proceeded to remove a piece of armor each. The first one was Luna herself who, for some unknown reason decided to wear off her chest piece instead of something smaller, then Sam and Atomic took off their vambraces.
Luna's eyes became more lively as she watched in disbelief how the person she believed to be a cryptid, took off her vambrace too.
"We need to go to the next building, now!" Luna said as loud as their own safety allowed.
"What? Why?" Sam asked, intrigued by her odd behavior.
"You don't understand... Sage is with Medusa too!" Luna insisted.
"Is it something related to your trait Medusa?" Sam inquired.
"No." Medusa shook her head mildly. "I only have the power to inflict fear on creatures that look me in the eye."
"Then that guy must be with the shapeshifter, there's no other explanation." Atomic stated.
"I know that! we need to hurry! He's only an evolved and..." Luna was now moving erratically across the room biting her thumb nail.
"Calm down, we need to do things properly. I bet he's fine, at least by the time being... Unless he decides to make out with the shapeshifter." Medusa chuckled gazing at Sam who blushed heavily. "We can't go back by the front door, but if Uriel is really in the building next door we can still try to reach him, maybe through a wall or something."
"I don't think we should go, we would be risking our lives for just one person..." Atomic tried to argue, but he was suddenly silenced by the angry glares of his companions.
"It's not just that he's in danger, we can't really let that thing looking like Me roam free. What if it tricks other people and I end up in trouble? Do you really only care about yourself?" Medusa seemed to be deeply offended by Atomic's intention to leave Uriel behind.
"There's really no choice, Medusa is currently our leader and we should follow her orders. Besides, Miss Dragonfang said you shouldn't be in the same place with us and yet, you are here." Luna added.
"Yeah, I guess... But that doesn't answer the question, how are we supposed to reach the other building?" Atomic shrugged.
"We can't go outside now that it's dark. I've seen the things that came out and trust me, you don't want to face them." Sam gulped down a lump of saliva. Just the thought of the creatures he saw, shook the very core of his sanity and, unfortunately for him. "And I don't think that we should go breaking walls, I mean, maybe Atomic could do it, but that will draw too much attention."
"Not necessarily, we could try to find a thinner wall, maybe in the upper floors." Medusa insisted on her idea.
"Wait a second, what are we going to do if we see the other Medusa?" Sam asked.
"There's no need to ask any questions, we are absolutely certain that I'm the real one, as soon as you see the other one you should kill it." Medusa sternly said.