After Dark by James Leck, Yasemine Uçar, Marie Bartholomew, Danielle Mulhall Page A

and tried to shuffle by him, but it was too late. The girls were already walking away.
    â€œDid your uncle Hal get back?”
    â€œNo,” I said, watching the girls sit down in the corner. “Your Harley’s out in the alley, by the way.”
    â€œHer name is Shelley, not Harley,” he said. “Why don’t you buy yourself a drink and meet me outside in five minutes.”
    â€œI don’t …” I started, but he was already heading for the door.
    I ordered my drink from Vortex, who was still wearing a white lab coat. A minute or two later, he handed me a Re-Animator in one hand and a note in the other.
    â€œWhat’s this?” I asked.
    He didn’t answer, but just walked away and took another drink order.
    I took a sip of the Re-Animator and was pleasantly surprised to find it tasted even better than the one I’d had that morning. Then I opened the note. It read: Notice anything strange?
    I hadn’t noticed anything strange, and part of me didn’t want to humor the man by looking around. I was already too caught up with Miles; I didn’t need Vortex making me edgy, too. But it’s hard to get a note that says, Notice anything strange? , and not look around, so I did.
    At first I was relieved, because I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I took another sip of the Re-Animator and scanned the room for the girl with the big brown eyes. That’s when I noticed three guys standing in the far corner, all with jackets on, hoods up and still wearing their sunglasses despite the fact that the Voodoo was a pretty shadowy place to begin with. It wasn’t just the hoods and the sunglasses, though. What really got me was the way they were standing — stock-still against the wall, with a look of utter boredom on their faces. No, it wasn’t boredom; it was a wooden, completely emotionless look. The kind of look the bodyguards you see surrounding important politicians have — you know they’re watching, but they look like they couldn’t care less about anything that’s going on around them. You could almost have taken them for a bunch of mannequins, but even in the semi-darkness of the Voodoo I could tell they were real people. I didn’t like admitting it, but Dr. Vortex was right — they were strange, and not in a good way. That’s when Miles came back in.
    â€œLet’s go,” he said. “I’m going to get some proof — some video evidence — and post it online. But I need help. I need your help, Charlie.”
    â€œWhy me?” I said, thinking that, despite the creepy mannequin gang, I’d still rather go sit down with the girl with the big brown eyes.
    â€œI can’t drive and record those things at the same time.”
    â€œIt’ll have to wait,” I said, and started toward the brown-eyed girl’s table.
    â€œNo, no, no,” Miles said, scampering beside me. “This can’t wait. I have a working hypothesis that after sundown, those who have been … um … well, changed … become physically stronger somehow. I think it has something to do with UV rays. So, it’s imperative that we’re present before and after the sun sets.”
    â€œLook,” I said, turning to face Miles, a few feet from the girls’ table. “During summer vacation, I like to sleep in, relax, maybe make a few friends, like the fine individuals sitting behind me. What I don’t like to do is invade people’s privacy by secretly recording them with the town lunatic while they change into some kind of imaginary paranormal whatever.”
    â€œSo, you admit that people are changing into some-thing.”
    â€œI believe, wholeheartedly, that you believe people are changing into something. But that does not mean there is a we , Miles. You believe people are changing, and I believe I’d like to sit down and meet the girl with the lovely