Page 46 of Possessed By Shadows
When we pounded our way upstairs, Brad and Jojo were with Sky as they hauled the first boards out. The largest one went behind the glass inside the shop, which meant weaving it around racks and moving merchandise to set it in place. It would keep anything that did pierce the window from actually breaking into the shop. It also reduced water damage should the glass shatter. I’d have to climb a ladder and close the storm shades.
The day zoomed by, a busier day than most at the shop. Last minute tourists who seemed unconcerned about the coming storm. We got a large shipment in, which I ran around stocking between ringing up items and answering questions.
The breakroom was full of boxes usually left in the back storage room downstairs, and my hip screamed in pain from taking too many stairs. Brad and Jojo had followed Sky over to Lukas’s place with the ladder and pulled the storm shades there too. They weren’t as effective as plywood, but sandwiched in-between buildings as he was, he didn’t get a lot of debris breaking things.
I called Lukas a dozen times, praying for an answer, leaving a half-dozen messages about the storm. By three in the afternoon a dark wave of clouds began to form in the distance. It was like those things you see on TV. The ominous spread, with a slow growth of coming darkness even in the middle of the day. In the distance, the clear downpour of rain meant we’d be getting a lot of water.
I was vibrating with tension by the time Micah locked up the shop and sent everyone home. “Do you want to stay with us?” He offered to Sky.
She shook her head. “It’s okay. I’d rather keep an eye on Lukas’s place, and see if he comes home.” She’d been checking her phone a lot too. Worried, though I suspected trying not to freak me out. She reached out and squeezed my arm. “He’ll be fine.”
“Has he vanished in the middle of a storm before?”
“Worked a lot of them,” she shrugged. “Or at least told me he was working.” But he wasn’t a cop anymore, and had no reason to be out in the storm. Even worse, at some abandoned school looking for ghosts when a storm was about to hit.
We walked her to Lukas’s place, made sure she was locked inside, and I turned to Micah, ready for an argument. He held up a hand. “Let’s head down to Decatur and see if we can get a cab or an Uber to the school.”
I wanted to kiss him, the relief instant. “Thank you.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed it as we fast walked toward the main road. The horses were gone, carriages likely hidden away to prevent damage, and the streets had begun to empty as the boards had gone up, like magic. It was insane how fast the area could be locked down. Street artists absent, leaving the fence around Jackson Park empty beneath the looming presence of the Cathedral. Café Du Monde was still open, though there were only a handful of people around.
The flutter around the long walk of the French Market still more active than I thought it would be with the oncoming storm. But likely the locals were less worried as the storm was hours away yet. The wind had picked up and the temp had risen, all which made me sweat with added anxiety. At least finding a cab was easy. The plan was to see if the car was at the school. If not, we didn’t need to stay.
But as we snaked our way through the quiet roads of the ninth ward, and finally rounded the side of the giant structure, my heart sank. Lukas’s car sat out front, just beyond the gate. Was he here? Hurt? Why hadn’t he answered his phone? I gripped Micah’s hand hard as the cab stopped. We got out, and Micah paid the driver, while I stared at the fence. Could we even get in? The building looked worse than the pictures I’d pulled up of it. Graffiti everywhere, doors and windows boarded up for the most part, against the elements. Would there be squatters inside? Maybe even Lukas, hurt or worse, dead, somewhere in those molding walls?