I woke up on the couch to find Jade kneeling by my head, shaking my shoulder in a very familiar way, reminding me of when Tobin and I broke into her apartment. Oh god, was I moaning like she had been? I quickly looked to make sure my hands were lying on top of the blanket, not underneath it, and laughed at the memory. Only, I wasn't having an amazing dream like she had apparently been, and moaning about it. I was lying on the couch in the safe house. The safe house. Jade. These thoughts rattled my disoriented sleep dazed mind.

“W-what’s wrong?” I rushed to sit up, looking around the living room and noticed the light from the windows shining in at a different angle than before. Less of the room was illuminated, a change that only time could manage. Shit! I immediately felt guilty for abandoning my post.

“How long was I out?” I asked, rubbing my eyes and adjusting the blanket to hide my erection. Damn sexy dreams making things awkward.

Jade watched and smiled mysteriously. “Oh, a couple hours.”

My embarrassment was short lived once I realized the gravity of the situation. A couple of hours! I can’t afford to lose sight of her for a couple of hours.

A quick scan of the surroundings showed that everything was still the same. Jade was in front of me, alive and in one piece. Annoyingly, she was dressed, but that was something I could only think about remedying at this point. And I seem to remember I was in the process of that in my dream. A vision of a naked Jade flitted through my mind, sending shivers down my torso to my, umm, toes. Yep, let’s just say toes.

Arching my brow, I teased, “so why are you poking a sleeping bear?” I could tell she wanted something in the way she beamed at me in a childlike manner, and the fact that she woke me up. She wouldn’t have done that, if she didn’t want something.

“Owen, all my stuff was destroyed, my clothes, everything... Can we go shopping?”

And there it was. She wanted to go shopping.

“I don’t want to live in your baggy sweats forever.” She pouted.

Well, if it was up to me, she wouldn’t live in my borrowed clothes, she would walk around naked instead. At least, at home. I resurrected the image of her flitting about naked, and revelled in the sight. My erection threatened to make another appearance. Jade just sat there smiling, unknowing of her nude escapades.

I felt my vertebrae begin to crumble, hinting that I would give in to her. I’m stronger than this. I know better.

“It’s not safe, Jade.” I tried to sound stern, but the way she wore her disappointment on her face, finally did me in. It was fucking adorable when her bottom lip stuck out. I doubted she noticed what she was doing, the difference was so slight, but I did.

“You’ll be with me, Owen. I’ll keep you safe.”

I tried to refuse her, knowing the safest place would be here at the safe house. But those eyes… Looking into those disappointed eyes, I folded faster than a card shark on a losing streak. Did she know I was putty in her hands?

“Fine, but only one store. A large chain type store. And you have to stay by my side the entire time.” Hardening my expression, I emphasized the next part, expecting her to push back. “Even when you go into the dressing room to try on clothes.” Maybe a small part of my dream will come true.

She didn’t argue like I thought she would. Instead, Jade jumped up and down, ecstatic with her win.

“I mean it, Jade.” I called after her. “No wandering off. Not even a few feet.”

“I promise Owen. Thank you.” She cheerily said as she skipped down the hall. What the hell did I just agree to? I nervously raked my hands through my hair. Tobin is going to kill me.

Walmart was the department store in the small town, having crowded out all the mom and pop shops, nickel and dimes, and Piggly Wigglies in the area. And being only a few blocks from the safe house, I reasoned it would be the perfect place for our shopping trip. We could get several things all at once, and be back at the safe house before anything could happen.

Of course, things don’t always go as planned. Where Jade is concerned, nothing has gone as planned. An in and out operation had us interrupting her in the midst of a sex dream, only to find out she missed buying the Elusinian necklace the day before, and that her evil mother had donated her father’s belongings to charity effectively spreading everything everywhere. No, I could tell this had all the hallmarks of a bad idea, but we got in the car anyway.

Jade was smiling and bouncing in her seat while I drove. “Tell me more about The Guard.”

“What do you want to know?” I was uneasy with the question and unsure of how much to tell her without talking to Tobin first. Neither one of us wanted to scare her. At least, I didn’t. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure Tobin was over trying to scare her off yet. He’s such an asshole.

“My dad. The Guard. You. Tobin.” She rattled off each word with a flip of her hand. She seemed more relaxed, content even.

I spent the remainder of the drive telling Jade what I could without going into too much detail, mostly the great memories I had with him and the hijinks we got into. I scanned the road ahead before looking at her next to me. “You’re dad was a good man. A great man. I respected the hell out of him.”

“He was the best.” She said throatily.

Jade looked wistfully out the window while I drove. I wondered what she was thinking about. Is she remembering her dad? Eventually, Jade pointed out the window.

“Is that it?” Her nose scrunched in disapproval at the sight of the store.

“Yup.” I turned into the parking lot, searching for a parking spot. “This looks good, “ I said, pulling into the parking spot. “Remember, Jade. Right next to me. No wandering off.”

“Yes, sir. Captain, sir.” Jade mock-saluted.

“Do you have a list?” A list would make things easier.

“No.”

Of course she doesn’t. “We should make a list before we go in. Don’t you think?”

“I thought I’d just walk around and see what I needed.”

“Jade. We have to get in and get out.”

“We will. I know what I need.”

“Okay, what do you need?”

“Um…”

“You forgot, didn’t you?”

“No…”

“So…” I prodded.

“Okay! Okay, fine. We’ll make a list.” She stared at me expectantly.

“Oh, you want me to make the list?” I took out my phone, and opened the notes. “Okay. Shoot.”

“Well, I need underwear, and socks, bras, shirts, pants, shoes, tooth paste—”

“We have that.” I said, taking notes.

“You have what? Bras? How do you know my size?” She asked suspiciously.

“No. Toothpaste.”

“Oh. Okay. What about lotion, make-up…” She trailed off, a mischievous glint in her eyes, “lube, butt plugs?” She added, probably to make sure I was listening.

The question threw me for half a second. “I think Tobin might have a butt plug or two, he’s always got a stick up his ass.”

“I was just joking about the butt plug, but now I’m intrigued.”

“Really? That’s all you were joking about? Not the lube?”

“Should we get Tobin a new butt plug while we’re here? Maybe a sparkly one?”

“I’m pretty sure they don’t sell those.”

Jade shrugged and grinned. “What about my favorite shampoo? Do you have that?”

“Only if it’s Head and Shoulders.”

“Eeeew. Who uses Head and Shoulders?”

“What’s wrong with Head and Shoulders?”

“It’s dandruff shampoo, Owen. Do you have dandruff?” Jade ran her hand through my hair parting it and exposing the scalp.

“No!” I jerked my head away from her. “And that’s why. These silky locks are sensitive to drying shampoos.”

“You just need a good conditioner. I bet a week of using my shampoo and conditioner and you will never use Head and—”

Splat!

“What was that?” Jade asked, startled.

Splat. Splat! Splat.

“Shit!” I recoiled flush against the seat as the windshield was impacted. Belatedly, I recognized the danger and moved to cover Jade, only to find her ducked below the dash on her side.

“What the hell is going on?” Bugs dive bombed the windshield en masse.

“I don’t know.” I turned on the windshield wipers to clean them off, but it only served to smear the guts across the glass, making a greasy mess that obscured my view.

Splat. Splat.

“There’s more!” Jade reached towards her door.

“No! Don’t.” I stopped her right before she could open it and let the bugs in.

“We need to get out of the car, Owen!”

“No. We need to stay in the car where it’s safe, Jade.” Greenish black carapaces covered the windshield.

“It must be some kind of swarm. Why don’t you try driving out of it?”

It sounded like a good idea. I started the car and tried to drive out of the swarm, blinded by the bugs on the windows. We were so busy trying to traverse the parking lot without wrecking, we didn’t notice the first beetle crawl out of the air vent, or the second, or third, or…

“Ouch!” I slapped at my neck, squishing a beetle in my hand. “Dammit!”

“Oh god! They’re coming out of the vents. Turn it off!” Jade screamed and slammed the vents closed, crushing a few wayward bugs between the blades.

But it was too late. Several beetles had already gotten inside. We swatted at the bugs while more crawled over the outside of the car looking for a way in. I’d never seen normal beetles act like that. I wonder if…

“Fuck!” That fucking hurt. “Don’t let them bite you!” I reached over to brush a beetle from the side of Jade’s seat, but it was too late.

“Oooww!” Jade slapped her thigh, crushing the bastard that bit her.

It was hard to see inside the car with the bugs blocking most of the light. I tried reaching for the overhead dome light, but my arm felt heavy, too heavy. Something’s wrong. Of course, something was wrong. We were ambushed by a swarm of killer beetles. While I worked out the mysteries of insect behavior, Jade slumped in her seat.

“Fuck… Jade!”

I could feel the effects of the beetle bites on me too. My movements slowed. My vision blurred. I was starting to shut down. Paralysis? I reached over to Jade, placing my hand on her bare arm. I needed skin to skin contact for this to work. It had to work. It was our only chance. Closing my eyes, I blocked out all thoughts, focused on my breathing, and called on my magic. I’d have to put us both in a deep meditative state before I lost consciousness.

The energy expenditure was vast, but worth it. I pushed all my calming energy into Jade and hoped for the best. It was working too. Our astral forms floated above our bodies, locked in a trance, slowing the progression of the poison.

All too soon, I felt my connection to Jade break when she was pulled out of the passenger seat. My body lay motionless and slumped in the seat while I watched helplessly from above. A pair of large hands stabbed a syringe into Jade’s thigh before tossing her into the back of a waiting van. I crashed into my body, fighting the poison to regain consciousness, to regain control. I felt like a puzzle, missing pieces, my motor control was nearly nonexistent. I tried in vain to pull myself up, to save Jade. But it was too late. She was gone.

“Do you think we should kill her boyfriend?”

“He’ll be dead as soon as the paralysis hits his lungs.” The asshole leaned in, staring into my glazed eyes. “Suffocating is a shitty way to die.”

I heard doors slam, and the screeching tires told me Jade was gone. They took her. Anger, like I had never felt before, fueled my movements. It cut through the poisonous effects, making it possible for me to push a few buttons on my phone. I had just enough left in me to send Tobin a preprogrammed SOS before passing out. My last thought was of Jade bouncing in her seat and smiling at me because we were going shopping. Fucking shopping...