by A.E. Davis
forty two
I made it outside and ducked around the building. Jason was right behind me. I could feel him closing in. I jumped in the shadow of the building and hid.
He rounded the corner, stopping. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Jason singsonged and stepped past me.
The sound of his voice sent icy ripples of dread through me. Please don’t see me.
The motion activated light clicked on, revealing my hiding place.
He stopped, turned back toward the building and laughed. “I can see you, Amber.”
I broke and ran.
“Run while you can,” he taunted. “I’ll catch you…eventually.”
So intent on getting away, I was paying attention to Jason and not what was in front of me. I ran straight into one of the statues. My breath rushed from my chest from the impact and my vision wavered.
Jason laughed harder. “Amber. Amber. Amber.” He taunted.
I hated the way he said my name. “Leave me alone,” I begged, trying to get my vision back. I kept seeing two figures, instead of one.
“I will, soon, Amber,” he promised, moving forward.
I shoved my hand in my pocket, hoping to find a weapon. Instead, my fingers closed around the box of Red Hots. I didn’t know what to do, so I jerked out the box. “Stay back or I’ll zap you again,” I warned, brandishing the box, hoping he couldn’t see it was just candy and not my Taser.
His step faltered and he stopped.
It was working. I couldn’t believe it. I caught a movement and the second figure I thought I had been imagining materialized behind him. It was Viktor. He lifted his finger to his lips.
“Stay back!” I kept up my pretense and swung out my hand. Red Hots flew from the box and scattered across the gravel.
Jason looked down at the ground. He lifted his eyes back to mine and a slow smile crept across his face. It held a promise of what was to come and it wasn’t going to be good.
Even though everything in me was telling me to run, I stayed where I was waiting for Viktor to make his move. But Viktor wasn’t moving. He was standing completely still, staring at the ground. His lips moved silently. He was counting.
All at once, everything clicked into place.
Jason and Lucky weren’t lying.
Vampires were real and Viktor was one of them.
