Margie and Del ran out of the Chili’s, the afternoon sun blasting through the windows.

The restaurant was located at the far edge of the mall, and Margie hadn’t spent much time in this section. That said, she spent enough to realize something was wrong.

They ran through the door and stumbled to a stop.

They were in a long hall with a few doors on each side and some planter boxes and benches lining the middle. The tile of the first floor was replaced with an old dark blue carpet.

The hallway was a seldom used, lonely thing that looked like it had been plucked right from the eighties.

Thin wooden stands with stickers and other knickknacks were near a few benches, and not a soul could be seen in either direction.

The Chili’s was nowhere near this hallway. They were on the second floor, next to the movie theater.

“We ran through a portal,” Del muttered.

Margie nodded. “Yeah, but where? Can they be on doorways? How does that work?”

Del shrugged. “No clue. If you want some micro-analysis, ask Stephen or Michael. But the woman made a portal in front of her hand. Maybe she can put them mid-air.“

Margie ground her teeth. Not having her dogs with her was a stress she wasn’t used to. Add in being in the dark about someone’s abilities? She wasn’t a fan.

If she hadn’t thought to buff her boys when they started running, she’d really be screwed. At least now she had a portion of her Skills running through her.

“What do we do now? Should we try and double back?” Margie looked over her shoulder. It seemed perfectly normal, the theater was to the left, along with a Round Table Pizza and Dave and Buster’s a little further.

They were actually closer to the Old Navy than before.

A voice sounded from right beside them. “What are you to do? Quite the predicament you ladies have found yourselves in.“

They jumped back. And saw… no one.

What on earth?

Margie kept turning. Nothing.

“I am not that easy to spot. I’m something of a master of stealth.”

Del’s face screwed up. “Are you kidding me?“

Margie moved to press her back to the other woman. Thankfully Del understood and moved to meet her.

They scanned the hall, but still nothing.

The voice was a little high, but definitely a man’s—Youngish and without any strong accent.

It was coming from right next to them. Margie swept her arm out but didn’t hit anything.

“Warmer.”

Del snapped out a kick at nothing.

“Colder“

Wait. The voice was coming from beside them but also a little below.

She looked down.

In the fluorescent lights overhead, three shadows stared back at her.

The base of the third shadow didn’t extend from any person but from the stands nearby. Margie turned and charged the stand.

“Oh, shit, hold on!“ The voice rose an octave as Margie barreled for the stand.

Its cheap walls crumpled under her shoulder, revealing nothing on the other side. The shadow zipped past, retracting like a tape measure as it raced along the floor.

Del chased after it, vaulting a bench to keep pace.

Margie ran to the side, her new angle letting her see the line of darkness the shadow was chasing.

It led to a nearby bathroom, slipping under the door. She charged in, ready to throw herself to the side in case of a trap.

The shadow zipped into a nearby stall and vanished.

She ran for the stall, feeling a rush of strength fill her as Del followed.

She kicked, the flimsy stall door blasting off its hinges and striking the wall.

It clattered to the ground, revealing… Nothing.

“I’ll admit, that was a little scary. But you’re gonna have to be quicker than that to catch me.“

Del spun to find the shadow standing against the wall.

Its silhouette was that of a man—average height, with short hair, a long coat, and tight pants.

Del stepped away from the wall, raising her fists.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“The way you say things bothers me. You sound like you’re quoting from a bad script.“

The shadow frowned. “Shut up!“

At the same time, a boot appeared from the wall, striking Del in the shoulder.

She staggered, and the shadows zipped away.

“Get back here, you fucker!”

A staff came out of nowhere and slammed into Del’s ankle. She went down, landing with a grunt on the old carpet.

Margie caught the next strike, the staff thunking into her palm. It hurt, but she still had Del’s buff flowing through her.

She stopped it cold, then pulled.

The staff came free, and the shadow surged from around the bench. It struck Margie in the ankle. It hit hard, but with her Threshold Trait, it didn’t hurt much.

He did catch her flat-footed, though, causing her to stumble. A hand grabbed the staff from her right and yanked. Caught off guard, she let go.

She followed the staff only to see it vanish into thin air.

The shadow surged forward, slamming into her ankle again. She cursed, hopping back. Something hard crashed into the back of her head.

She stumbled, pain throbbing through her skull.

Del shoved her to the side in time to avoid a second jab from the staff. It was coming through a lavender hole in the wall roughly the size of her fist.

“Portal girl is here.“ Del snapped.

Margie‘s heart pounded as she put her back to Del. They moved away from the walls and stands, bracing themselves in an open section of hall.

Margie had no idea how many people were in the walls. It could be two or a dozen just waiting to jump them.

A bark sounded nearby. Her hope skyrocketed. Her boys!

“Well, that’s not good.“ The shadow said. “We’ll have to be quick then. Sorry, ladies!“

Del growled, but before she could do anything, the shadow surged, forcing her to dodge to the right.

A floor section glowed lavender, and the staff leaped out at Margie. She threw her hand out, knocking it to the side before it could reach her hip.

It zipped back through the portal only to reappear to Margie’s left, hurtling from the wall like a spear.

She danced back, but the staff jerked mid-air, catching her in the shoulder with a crack!

As her eyes widened in pain, she saw a thin coating of shadow around the weapon's middle. Her eyes darted to the shadow. One of its arms was missing.

“It can detach itself!”

More hits and Margie‘s world narrowed. She had to focus on her section of the hall. She couldn’t look behind her. She had to trust that Del had it covered.

Fists of shadow rained down, sometimes from the shadow itself, either oozing along the floor or standing upright like a stick man.

Other times hits came from the walls or floor, or even the ceiling. And at any moment, the staff could strike out independent of the shadow.

Margie was strong enough to take a beating, and she had inherited just a touch of Buford’s regeneration. It was enough to keep her going despite minor injuries, but if something broke her arm, she wasn’t healing it that day.

But it was enough to hold on and start thinking.

She couldn’t survive off instinct. She didn’t have the sixth sense that Stephen seemed to possess in fights, always knowing where his shields needed to be.

She needed to think.

Their opponent was one, maybe two people. Her fear of a dozen goons jumping from the shadows lessened as the fight wore on.

There was the one shadow, the staff, and the occasional human fist, but never any more. It was possible that anyone could use the portals, but she found that unlikely.

The most likely explanation was that they were fighting two people—someone with a staff and a shadow Skill and the portal woman.

If that was true, then there was some good and bad news.

The good news was that they wouldn’t be overwhelmed this second. The bad news was that they were going to be overwhelmed.

Margie and Del were taking a lot of hits, none of them that bad on their own, but they couldn’t hit back.

The shadow didn’t care if they struck it. The few times they managed to land a solid hit, it just rippled and danced away.

She even severed its arm, and while that would put it out of commission for a few seconds, the shadow had slid over to the severed limb and stuck it back on.

What could she do about that?

What did she have that could force the situation to change?

As she blocked a staff strike from the right, she was forced to take a punch from the left. It was a human fist. Thin, pale, and strong.

It slammed into her chest, sending a throbbing pain through her ribs.

That’s what she could do.

The fist only struck when their attacker was sure they couldn’t do anything about it.

It seemed to be striking Margie more than Del. Even with the red and black sheen coating her, she still looked like a fragile old woman. She could use that.

“Make me tougher when I yell.“ she spoke quietly, so quiet that she was worried Del hadn’t heard her.

It was okay if she hadn’t. This would still work. It would just hurt more.

She’s suffered a few more rounds of shadowy fists and wooden sticks before putting her plan into action.

She blocked a punch on her forearm. It hurt, and she hammed it up. She doubled over, sucking in a sharp breath before crying out.

Del did her part, a surge of sturdy strength washing into Margie.

Margie held her pose for half a heartbeat, then lurched up to the left, snapping her hand out to her blind spot.

And right at the fist racing for her.

Her hand clamped down on the man’s wrist, and she squeezed for all she was worth.

There was a gasp, and she pulled.

The arm came through the wall up to the shoulder before slamming to a stop.

The man cried out, and Margie started wailing on the arm with her other hand, swinging her closed fist down for all she was worth.

The cries rose an octave as Del joined in.

There was a flash of lavender light, and Margie was blown back one way as the man’s arm shot back into the portal. She hit the ground and rolled, coming to a stop against a plant, her vision spinning.

“Wow.“

As her vision cleared, she looked around to find a perfectly empty hall.

Del looked at her, then shrugged. “Well, they stopped attacking.”

Margie sucked on her stinging lip, then spat a bloody glob onto the floor. “Teach him to take potshots.”