Page 79 of Vameer

Being alone feels wrong.

I don’t notice the echo of voices until a group of men round the end of the block ahead of me.

There are four of them. They’re still fifty steps away. But they’re coming this way.

And I know they’ve spotted me, because they start to grin.

One of the men opens his mouth.

Then he walks into… an invisible wall.

There is no other way to describe it.

His face scrunches. His head turns to the side. His shoulders move back as his hand presses against his chest. And the man next to him does the same thing.

I stop, staring, while the next two men don’t stop in time and crash into the first two.

It’s like a drunken mime routine.

They shove away from each other, visibly shaking themselves off.

One of the men glares at me and starts to shout. “What did you—” Then his eyes shift, and he takes a stumbling step back.

Another man lifts his hand, pointing at me. “L-lady, b-behind⁠—”

All at once, all four men fall backward, landing on their butts.

Their mouths are open, like they’re screaming, but there’s no sound.

I press my lips together as my jaw pulses with pressure.

I’ve lost my mind.

The men start sliding away. Backward. In a sitting position.

I have truly gone mad.

Their legs kick. They twist side to side, like something is wrapped around them.

But they keep moving away from me. To the end of the block.

Movement in my peripheral catches my attention.

Slowly, I turn my head to the left, and I find myself staring at a hand.

A massive hand. With black fingernails. Attached to a corded forearm. With a brightly colored heart bracelet stretched around the thick wrist.

This can’t be real.

The fingers twitch, and out of the corner of my eye, I see the four men disappear around the corner.

But I don’t look away from the hand.

The weight in my chest surges backward, forcing me to take a step.

And I collide with the large body behind me.

When we touch, something strong sparks through the air.