by Willow Rose
"Has that cat been bothering you again? Why…I don't know what to do with that creature…"
BamBam jumped down from my arms and ran inside with a small meowing sound. He found his food inside, and we could hear him chewing.
"Now, when it comes to getting food, he sure knows where to go, but the rest of the time? I swear it's like he wants to move in with you guys over there."
Aunt Tina sighed and wiped her forehead. "Do you want something to drink? A coffee maybe?" she asked.
I nodded. "I would love that."
"Come on inside," she said and stepped aside. She closed the door behind her, and we walked into the kitchen where BamBam was finishing up his food. I sat on a stool while Aunt Tina served me some coffee. I sensed that she enjoyed having me there and figured she had to miss Jazmine terribly. Behind her, the TV was on with the news.
"They're saying that because of the full moon, people have been having very vivid dreams lately; some are even so affected they have been hallucinating," she said and sipped her cup. "It's all over the news this morning. People claim to have seen bats attacking giant spiders all over town. Can you believe it?"
Our eyes met across the room, and we realized we both knew the truth, but we didn't need to say it out loud.
"They're going to do it Sunday," she said, pensively. "Shut her off. In the afternoon. Her mom will be there. They're letting her come."
I almost choked on my coffee and put the cup down, coughing.
"You okay?" she asked concerned.
I shook my head. "I don't think I am."
Aunt Tina tilted her head. "What's up?"
"You might not believe me, but I have to tell you this."
She swallowed and leaned toward me across the counter. "Okay. Try me."
I told her about BamBam and how he had shown me things and how I believed he kept attacking me because he needed my attention, because he knew that Jazmine was awake inside her body.
"But…but the doctors," she said. "They're very determined that she's brain dead. They've run every thinkable test, and there is no sign of activity. How can you explain that?"
I bit my lip, thinking hard. "I think I might have an idea. But I need your help with it."
Chapter Twenty-Five
Amy blinked her eyes. She couldn't believe what they were seeing. She bolted upright and realized she was in a bed, her own bed, and in front of her stood her parents, holding each other, smiling and crying at the same time.
"Mom? Dad?"
They both opened their arms and hugged her all at once. Never had Amy felt such profound relief. She began to cry.
"Oh, my God. I missed you so much," she said. "You have no idea."
"We missed you too, honey," her mother said, sobbing and wiping her eyes. "We were so scared for you."
She looked briefly at her husband, and their faces grew serious for a second.
"We had to leave the house. The spiders were crawling all over it after your disappearance. Kipp told us what happened, that they had taken you and, frankly, we…we feared you wouldn't make it."
Her dad wiped away a tear, and her mom took over.
"We stayed with some friends across town while trying to find out what happened to you, but no one would help us, especially not the police. But then this morning, we came back to the house and found you…here…in your own bed, sleeping. I couldn't believe my own eyes." Her mother touched Amy's arms and her chest and her shoulders and her face.
"Look at me. I keep touching you," she said, crying. "To make sure you're actually here. But you really are here, aren't you, Amy? You're back with us. You've come home."
"I have, Mom. I really have. And I feel like I have been sleeping forever. How come you suddenly came back?" she asked.
Her mom choked back her tears. "The spiders are gone."
Amy's eyes grew wide. "What?"
Her dad nodded. "Yes. It's true. They were attacked last night by the vampires and driven out of town. Many were killed. We would have helped, but apparently, the vampires didn't need it. They never asked for it."
Her mom caressed her face gently. "Did they hurt you?"
Amy felt her body. "A little bit," she lied. She didn't want to worry her mother. "It wasn't too bad."
"You're a terrible liar," her mom said, shaking her head while looking at a bruise on Amy's arm. "Oh, poor baby."
"Where were you?" her dad asked. "And how did you manage to get away?"
Amy exhaled and looked away. What was she supposed to tell them? That she had caved? That she had made a deal with Mr. Aran? That she had been weak and let him intimidate her? That she had been so scared for their sake that she was willing to give her own life to keep them safe? She didn't even know if it mattered anymore. If the spiders were gone, then she didn't need to worry about it, did she?
"It might be too hard for her to talk about right now," her mother said and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to tell us. The most important thing is that you're here. We're together again, and that's all that matters. Now, tell me, what would you like for breakfast? How about the works, huh? Pancakes, bacon, eggs?"
Amy looked up at her mother. "How about I cook for you, huh? I haven't been in a kitchen for a very long time, and I missed it."
Her parents looked at one another, then started to laugh, tears rolling down their cheeks.
"That's our Amy."
Chapter Twenty-Six
I walked up the stairs to my room, thinking about Amy. She had called me while I was on my way back and told me she was home. I could hardly believe it and felt tears roll down my cheek as she told me. I couldn't wait to see her again, but she told me she needed to be with her family for the time being. I couldn't blame her.
I opened the door to my room, feeling cheerful, and stepped inside, then froze. I stared at what was on my bed, paralyzed, wanting to scream.
"MO-O-O-O-OM!”
My mom came up behind me faster than I could blink. It startled me. "What's going on? Why are you screaming? You know I can't stand it when you scream like that."
I pointed at my bed. "W-what is that?"
My mom looked at it as well, then smiled. "That's a costume, my dear," she said.
"A costume? Why?"
She clasped her hands together. "We're having a Halloween block party! I have been calling each and every family in the neighborhood this morning, and we all agreed. We need a little cheering up around here. A little fun. People have been so serious lately."
I swallowed, hard. "A Halloween block party?"
"Yes. I’ve made flyers that I'll hand out to everyone's mailbox later with the details. It'll be exciting."
"But…" I said and pointed at the costume, then looked up at her.
She nodded, eagerly. "Cute, isn't it? I picked it up earlier today at the Halloween store downtown when we went grocery shopping. I thought it was adorable."
I stared at her, my eyebrows lifted. "But, Mo-om…a…a…vampire?"
She nodded. "Yes. You'll look adorable."
"I am not wearing that," I said and crossed my arms in front of my chest, feeling like an eight-year-old.
She pointed her finger at me. "Yes, you are. Do you know how hard it is to find a costume that fits your…your odd body shape?"
I shook my head. "What?"
"You're not exactly…well, model size."
Unlike you, I assume.
"I won't do it," I said. "You're not going to get me to dress up as a disgusting vampire."
As I said the words, I realized how terrible it sounded and turned to look at my mom to see if she was offended. She was. I could tell by the look in her eyes, but she pretended not to be.
"I don't care what you say," she said. "You're wearing this costume to the block party, and you're having a great time. There. End of discussion."
I detected sadness in her voice, and it was obvious she didn't want to fight over this anymore because, as soon as she had said the last word, she darted out of my r
oom so fast I couldn't even react. She was just gone.
I stared at the costume on my bed, then threw it on the floor angrily, knowing that this was exactly what Veronika had told me I would dress like at the party.
On the night when Duncan kills me.
I looked at the clothing on the carpet, then walked to the closet and pulled out my old costume from last year, the Little Red Riding Hood. I decided right then and there that I was going to change my own fate. If I simply didn't wear it, then it couldn't come true, right? If I didn't wear it, then the rest of what she had seen wouldn't become a reality either, right? That was my theory, and I was sticking to it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Amy's mom got off the phone and looked at Amy, who was cooking a chicken for lunch. She had also made baked ziti, burritos, and spaghetti and meatballs. Now, she was putting the chicken in the oven, while looking up a new recipe for buttermilk biscuits.
"I guess we're going to have a Halloween party this year," she said, smiling. "That was Camille, Robyn's mom. She says they're putting it all together. We just need to bring a side dish and a cooler of drinks. It'll be held in the cul-de-sac."
Amy looked up from the cookbook. "Really?"
Her mother nodded. "Yes. Kind of sounds fun, don't you think? It's been a while since we did something fun around here."
Amy scoffed. "I guess."
"Come on," her mom said. "Be a little enthused. Dressing up is fun. You love dressing up.”
"I do. I really do."
"I think I'll be Hillary this year. No, that's too obvious. I need to find something spectacular. What do you say?"
Amy thought it over for a few seconds. "Can I just be a dragon?"
Her mother sighed. "Amy! No, you can't. It has to be something fun, not just your old self. Besides, it's hard to make that look like a costume, don't you think?"
"I thought more of dressing up as a dragon," she mumbled, "but maybe I could go as a mermaid instead."
Her mom laughed. "Now, that would be funny. You do that. Then Kipp can dress up as a dragon, huh? Talk to him about that."
Kipp. Amy had texted him and told him she was back, and he was going to come over as soon as he returned from the trip his foster parents had taken him on for the past couple of days. He was ecstatic that she was home and couldn't wait to see her, he said.
She just hoped he wouldn't ask her how she escaped. She wouldn't know how to answer. Would she ever be able to tell him the truth? Or would she lie to him forever? Would she have to carry all this guilt inside of her for the rest of her life, never daring to tell anyone?
She would just have to, wouldn't she?
There was no way I would have risked all of them ending up like Melanie. No way.
Amy sighed, still sensing the brokenness she had felt inside of the camp. She wondered if she would ever feel like herself again. She missed Melanie so terribly.
Her mom cast her a glance. "Say, you look kind of tired. Are you sure you should be cooking now? You’ve been through a lot, baby. How about you take a nap? We have food enough in the house for a very long time."
"I’m not sure I can sleep," Amy said. "This makes me calm. You know that."
"All right," her mom said with a shrug. "As long as you take care of yourself. You're very weak still. Your energy is very low. With all the drugs you told us they gave you, you might still not even be able to change at all. Your dragon is exhausted and maybe even still drugged. You never told me how you managed to get home and into your bed."
Because I just woke up in it. They drugged me and put me there like nothing happened.
"I don't really remember," Amy said.
Her mom gave her a sad smile. "It'll come back to you sooner or later. I’m sure it will."
Her mom was about to leave the kitchen when there was a ring on the doorbell, and they both looked at one another.
"You expecting anyone?"
Amy wrinkled her eyebrows. "Kipp, but not for a few hours."
"Maybe he’s early?" her mother said.
Amy wiped her hands on a towel as there was a second ring. She hurried to the door, then pulled it open. Who she found on the other side just about blew her mind.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
"I want to get into the abandoned house."
I bit my lip after saying the words. I was with Jayden at the lake. We were sitting in the grass, me leaning on his lap. I had messaged him in Snapchat to meet me there, unsure of how my mom would react if he came to my house. I hadn't yet told them anything about what had happened between Duncan and me and that I was now back with Jayden. I had no idea how to tell them. At least not yet.
Jayden stared at me. "You're kidding me, right?"
I exhaled and threw a rock into the clear water. "No. I’ve been thinking about it for some time, and I feel like I have to get into that house. The kid, Timothy, disappeared from there, Ruelle woke up there, and I have a feeling Jazmine's mom did the same. I remember Jazmine telling me that she was sitting out on the porch on the morning when she began to show signs of amnesia. What if she too woke up in there, then walked up the street to the house before sitting on the porch?"
"That sounds really far out," he said. "Besides, don't you remember what happened last time you tried to go in there?"
"I do," I said. "But there's a way. Our parents were in there; they used to meet up in there, remember? There was no spell that time when we saw them in there. They know how to break the spell."
"Jazmine's mom knows, yes, but she's not here, remember? I think you need to leave this alone. It has gone too far already."
"What about your dad?" I asked, not listening to his protests.
"What about him?" Jayden grumbled.
"Could you ask him if he woke up in there as well, back when he started to show signs of amnesia?"
"I don't know," Jayden said. "He doesn’t really like to talk about it."
"Do it for me, please?"
I looked at him, and he sighed. "All right. If it means so much to you. But then I have to have a kiss."
I sat up, then leaned closer to him, then placed a soft kiss on his lips. He closed his eyes and let out a soft moan and, as my lips left his, he grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me back into another kiss, one that was more demanding and insistent. He put his hand under my shirt and touched my breast outside my bra.
"Jayden," I said and pulled away. His hand slid out. I looked at him.
"What?"
"It's just…you've never done that before."
He shrugged. "What's wrong?"
Realizing he had dated another girl and that he had probably gone further with her than with me, I blushed and looked away.
"It's just…I…I need to get back."
He grabbed my arm and pushed me down on the grass, sitting on top of me. He looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry. I just…really enjoy being back with you," he said and kissed me again. I kissed him back, but when I felt a hand crawl up my shirt again. I opened my eyes.
"Jayden!"
"What?" he asked with a grin.
I sat up, and he got off me.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked.
I rose to my feet and wiped grass off my clothes. He approached me and leaned his head close to mine.
"Am I not allowed?"
"It's a little fast, don't you think?" I asked. "We just got back together."
He shrugged. "If you think so."
I looked at my watch again. I had told my mom I had gone for a run and she'd be expecting me to be back soon.
"I have to go. But you're all in, right?"
"In with what?" he asked, baffled.
"Going inside the abandoned house tonight?"
His eyes grew wide. "What? How?"
"Oh, didn't I mention that? I got a way to break the spell from Jazmine's aunt earlier today. She knows how. You go home and ask your dad about what we talked about and then we'll meet up outside the old house when our parents think we're asleep, okay?
How's ten-thirty?"
"I think it's a terrible idea," he said, grumbling, as I started to walk backward. I didn't listen to him. I just yelled while rushing back toward our neighborhood:
"See you then."
Chapter Twenty-Nine
"M-Melanie?"
"Amy?"
Amy stared at the person standing in front of her, blinking her eyes so hard it almost hurt just to be sure she wasn't just hallucinating. Melanie smiled and looked just as baffled. Behind her stood a strange man wearing a tinfoil hat and a girl that Amy remembered from her time in captivity.
"And Alice? What are you…I mean, what…?"
"I can't believe you're back!" Melanie screamed, then grabbed Amy in her arms and hugged her. The hug felt very real and hurt Amy quite a bit, but she didn't mind.
"I can't believe it," Amy said, letting them all inside when Melanie had put her down again. She closed the door behind them. "H-how?"
Melanie led them into the kitchen where the food was piled up, then let out a burst of laughter.
"Ha. Food. We're starving."
Amy stared at the friend she thought had been dead, her heart thumping in her chest. Was it really her?
"They told me you were dead," she said while Melanie grabbed three plates and started piling food onto them.
"And you believed them?" Melanie asked. "They told me you were dead too, but I knew I would see you again. After Tim here liberated me, I went to look for you in the cages but couldn't find you. Alice told me you hadn't returned after being taken into one of the rooms. How did you escape, by the way? Was it during the attack?"
"During the attack?" Amy asked, then nodded. "Y-yes. That was when."
Melanie punched her shoulder while chewing. Amy felt the pressure of tears but pushed them back. She couldn't stop staring at Melanie, wondering if this could really be true, then about Mr. Aran and how he had lied to her. Why had he done that?
"They were only trying to break you," Melanie said, pointing at Amy with a chicken thigh. "That's why they told you they had killed me."
