Black Friday 5

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Last Part of Black Friday.  I liked this short story, but I'm not sure if I'm going to get around to ever doing a rewrite for it.  I tried a different technique for it, and I think that made it feel better.  Please let me know what you think in the comments and I'll try to apply it to future stories.  Thanks for reading!

Perhaps the quickest thing in her entire quest was finding Ian.  Sophia recognized the name the demon gave her, but didn't quite understand the why of it.  Ian had been a friend of Lucy's.  The two of them knew one another.

Ian stood in the electronics section of GenMart.  It felt burning hot, with flatscreens and the mad rush of Black Friday shoppers.  He stood there, like the king of his section, most of the Black Friday shoppers following his instructions perfectly.  He looked perfect too, Sophia noticed.

Completely different than how Ian's normal appearance.  Ian used to be short and probably weighed close to half a ton.  This guy stood tall and he was thin.  Muscular.  Sophia almost thought he looked olympian in stature.

"You have got to be kidding me,"  Sophia said as she approached Ian.  "Really?"

Ian blinked at her.  Then pretending he didn't hear her, he said, "how can I help you miss?"

"You know why, Ian.  Its about Lucy."

"Lucy?  I'm sorry I don't know about a Lucy-"

"Oh come on, Ian."  Sophia felt her internal magicks rising.  Tied into her emotions, she could feel them want to escape.  Spells wishing to be born, to make a quick life of themselves and burn their way into Ian's skull.  She kept a lid on them, for the moment.  "I think I can figure out what happened."

"I think I don't understand what it is you are after ma'am," Ian waved a hand at the crowd around them.  "Its kinda of busy.  I really don't know anything about a Lucy.  Are you sure you are alright?"

"You can't pretend she doesn't exist, Ian."

"And I think you can't say lies, miss.  If there even was a Lucy, why would I dare anything to besmirch someone who wouldn't give me the time of day?"

Sopha glared at him.  He doesn't get to be victim, not now, not after all the crap he's put me through tonight.

What was worse, she could feel a wave of energy from Ian wash over her.  Ian was trying to draw her out, using some sort of supernatural component of the good looks Mammon had given him.  Sophia anticipated that, closing her mind and eyes.  Her mind was a castle in a sea of attacking emotions, a horde attempting to take her over, trying to charm and force her to bend to him.

Sophia then turned the castle of her mind into a hurricane.  A raging hurricane, as she let her rage pour into it.  Every moment of this past evening, the crazy insane rush of black friday and her disgust for it.  She opened her eyes, both glowing and crackling with energy as she poured her rage and fury into every black friday shopper around them.

"Wait.  Why isn't it working?"  Ian sounded confused.

"Can't kid a kidder, Ian."  Sophia connected mind after mind, driving already emotionally charged shoppers into a frenzy.  "And you don't understand whatever it is you sold Lucy for.  But if you are trained?"

Shoppers surrounded Ian.  A computer flew at him and struck him in the back.  He screamed in pain, falling to the ground with a crunch.  More shoppers started to fling themselves on him.

"Soph- help!  Please!"

"Why?  Why should I do anything?"  Sophia started to pant heavily now, the strain of the spell growing with every instant.  "People choose- they choose to come into this shithole and turn themselves into pigs.  Pigs.  Its damned time to give and be nice and try not to be materialistic, yet here we are, wallowing like greedy boars trying eat each others children, Ian!  I'm tired!"

"Please!"  Ian dodged a pair of shopping carts that were barrelled, high speed at him.  His face was bloody, one of his arms saggy, dislocated.  "Don't do this, please, I'm sorry!"

"Who said I wanted to hear that, Ian!"  Sophia started to feel lightheaded.  This was pushing her limits, the number of people she was driving crazy with her rage.  "Guess what I want to hear, IAN!"

"I'm sorry-" Ian gagged as overweight, middle aged woman kicked him in the balls.  "Ow!  I can't- I...  I don't want this deal anymore!  I'm sorry-  please- I'll trade anything- just please stop-"

Ian's body started to bubble and change.  Expanding, bones cracked and muscles changed.  Sophia heard Ian's cries- each shift that was audible hurt him.  He started to scream as her rage-fueled shoppers kept attacking him.  She lost sight of Ian.

"Soph?"

Sophia turned around.  There was Lucy, gangly and tall and as skinny as she remembered.  Lucy's way too long black hung down over her GenMart vest.  Her glasses still had a crack in the left lens, something Sophia kept trying to get her to fix.

"Soph, what's going on?"  Lucy asked again.

In response, Sophia hugged her.  Hugged her so tight Lucy almost fell over.

"We're going, Lucy."  Sophia grabbed Lucy's arm, and before Lucy could stop her, started dragging her toward the door.

"Soph, really, what's going on-"

"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, the things I do for you," Sophia told her, "Lucy in the sky with diamonds.  Its Black Friday, and I don't want to be here.  We are leaving."

They made their way through the Black Friday crowd.  Sophia at some point started to run, Lucy followed, still not understanding.  They didn't talk, they just kept running until they were past the shattered front windows.  They kept running and they never looked back.