by Emery Skye
"Lexi, he's not your brother. He's a killer," Hunter says.
"Prove it!" I tell him forcibly.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, then he turns it to me. "Press play," he instructs.
I do.
It’s Chase. A girl, tied to a metal chair, sits before him. She's cased in dark shadows, but I recognize her from the latest Ripper article in the newspaper. "This is not Alexis!" Chase roars. I flinch at the savagery of his voice. Then, he backhands the girl. "Take this out of my sight," he orders sardonically and I watch two Hordes grab the chair with her in it and take it from the view of the camera.
Not thinking I throw the phone at Hunter and he easily catches it. "Where did you get that? That's fake! Who gave you that?" I'm shouting at him and leaning against the passenger door, as far away from him as possible.
His shoulders hunch over.
"Why would you show me that?" tears stream down my face.
Hunter pulls the middle console up and reaches forward. He grabs my hunched, weak shoulders in his large hands. I refuse to meet his eyes.
"Lexi, look at me."
I do.
"It's not fake. That's Chase and he's coming for you. You need to accept that. Chase is no longer your brother; he's a monster and a murderer and we believe he needs your life to finish his Transition. He's been sweeping the mid-west looking for you and leaving death in his wake. We've managed to distract his efforts for a while, but he's smart, Lexi, and he wants you dead."
I sit and stare at Hunter like he's losing his mind. Maybe he already has.
I can’t admit Chase is the bad guy. Never in my life would I want to admit my brother could hurt someone. I still don't accept it entirely, but I feel the truth of it deep down in the pit of my stomach.
"What do we do?" I ask simply.
He points at me and says, "You do nothing. I, on the other hand, won't stop till Chase is gone from your life and is no longer a threat to you."
"Why should I trust you? How do I know you're not the threat? You clearly know about those black things--"
"Hordes," he corrects.
"Whatever. My point is..." I don't really know my point, but I need answers. "Why does my brother--"
"Chase--" he amends.
"Whatever. Why does Chase have Hordes working for him? I thought you said only 'higher-ups' use them?
Hunter reaches around and grabs the back of his neck nervously. "You caught that, huh?"
"Yes, I caught that. What does it mean?"
"Can't you just accept he's a newly transformed bad guy who wants to kill people?"
"No! I can't. Spill it, Hunter!" I command.
He nods. "Chase is Transitioning into a vampire."
"A vampire?"
"We believe Chase is sired by a very powerful vampire."
I laugh. "My brother? A vampire? Do you hear yourself? Vampires don't exist. Well, they do, in books, where nowadays they're shiny and glitter in the sun."
His face falls, "I assure you, vampires do exist, and they do not shine or look glittery."
I'm trying to let this all sink in, but my mind is even less porous than my skin. There's so much I want to object to, but don't know where to start.
"How do you know he's a vampire? I didn’t see anything to suggest that in the video you showed me."
He raises an eyebrow at me and shifts in his seat. "I can sense Vamps."
"How?"
"I'm different."
"What are you?"
His voice is low, "I'm a type of Hybrid."
"What's a Hybrid?" I ask, no longer unaccepting of this alternate world I've never known about.
"Half-human and half-something else," he tells me. His eyes darken and the tick in his jaw is working overtime.
"What type are you?" I ask, leaning forward.
He shakes his head. "Next question."
My shoulders fall.
"What types of hybrids are there?" I try a different route to get my answers.
He inhales deeply and tenses. "There are many different types."
"Are they all good guys?" I ask quietly. I'm assuming that Hunter is a good guy. I'm praying he is.
"No, most aren't."
"Am I one?" I ask the question that's been clawing at my insides. It would make so much sense. It would explain why my eyes are different, why I'm different, why no one wants me."
He glances at the steering wheel. "No, I don't think so."
"What do you mean, you don't think so?" I question.
"You don't Transition until you’re eighteen. Until then, we wouldn't know for sure." I can tell there is something that he wants to add. I see the indecision in his eyes, in the little wrinkles at the corners of his lips, but he doesn't say anything more.
"What type of hybrid are you?" I try again.
He clenches the steering wheel. "That's a story for another time," he says gruffly and I can tell story time is about over.
I cock my head, "What the hell do you mean that's a story for another time? You told me that my brother is vampire. A V.A.M.P.I.R.E who wants to kill me and now you get all selective with the information giving. No way. Fess up!"
"You know too much already. I'm supposed to protect you."
"Well, that's good to know." I'm just a job to Hunter. "How does it work? The Transition thing?"
"The sire gives the sired an order and until the sired fulfills the order, he is under the influence of the sire or is considered sire-bound."
"So, the sire ordered Chase to kill me?"
"It appears that way. Yes."
"Why?"
"That, we don't know." Hmmm we. I wonder who the we are.
"Did Chase kill my parents?"
His eyes drop down in an escape. "We don't know for sure, but we don't think so. Enough with the questions. The only thing you have to know is that I'm going to protect you. Nothing is going to happen to you."
"How are you going to protect me? You're just an eighteen-year-old guy. Sure, you're cute and good with a knife and have some ninja moves, but what good is that? You know, against a freaking vampire with slimy Hordes in his corner!"
He raises a dubious eyebrow. "You think I'm cute?" He smirks. I smack him on the shoulder. "That's harassment you know!" he tells me.
I roll my eyes. My so-called protector is going to file harassment charges against me. Ha!
"I am more than capable of protecting you against his kind," he says with a wicked grin.
"How? I would think that vampires are all strong and fast and wicked killers."
He nods. "They are. I'm stronger, faster and more wicked," he scoffs.
"Oh yeah, you're a vampire hunter now?" I smirk.
He nods. "Something like that.”
"What? So, you're Buffy, but with pecks and a penis," I say and blush crimson. I'm thinking out loud. It's time to reign in my sarcasm, but sarcasm is my mind’s defense to what I'm hearing.
The tips of his cheeks pick up some color too. "Never thought of it that way. I think I'm a little cooler than Buffy though," he says with mock dejection.
"So, what are you then?" I try and weasel a response out of him.
"Like I said, that's a conversation for another day. Right now, I'm the guy protecting you and that's all you need to know," he says curtly.
Rover lurches forward as he brings the vehicle back onto the highway.
I want to smack the condescension of his face. I don't want to drop this conversation and leave anything where he's left it, but my mind is spinning so fast, there's not much else I can do. My brother is a vampire who wants me dead and I'm sitting next to some sort of badass Hybrid vampire slayer who wants to protect me. My life has flipped upside down in a very short span of time.
"Well, all mighty protector, there's something you need to know."
He glances at me with narrowed eyes. "What?"
"He's already found me."
I recall the times I've seen Chase at school. Hunter's knuckles blanch again
st the black steering wheel. It looks like he might break the wheel in half and hell, he might do just that.
"Hunter?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you."
TWENTY-SEVEN
I wake in my bed; my plush comforter wrapped around me. It's Friday, but there's no school today. It's teacher in-service day or some crap like that.
"Good morning, sunshine."
I roll over.
Beth’s sitting cross-legged on the neighboring bed.
"Morning," I say gruffly. "What time is it?"
"It's eight," she tells me with a smile on her face. She's already dressed in torn jeggings and a tie-dye tunic with a paisley scarf. Two pens stick out behind her head, holding her curls loosely in place.
"Whatcha reading?" I ask, eyeing the magazine sitting in her lap.
She raises it up to for me to see. 'My Style' is scrawled on the top.
"Why are you reading that crap?" I prop myself against the headboard. My voice leaks with disdain at that pop culture reading material.
"It's a magazine, duh," she mocks. I shake my head at her. "Hunter brought you in late last night. He said he didn't want to wake you," she explains, noticing the confusion on my face.
"Huh," I utter.
She tilts her head to the side. "Is this going to become a habit?" she asks with a sly smile.
I shake my head. "I hope not. Every time I'm put to bed by someone else, my neck hurts like hell." I cock my head side to side and a sharp pain ricochets inside my skull.
She laughs. "I guess things could be worse. You could always be in trouble for, oh, skipping two days of class and not telling anyone where you're going," she shoots me a pointed look with lifted eyebrows.
"Shit!" I gripe. "I'm in so much trouble." I want to fall into my pillow and never show my face again. As the reality of ditching sets in, so does the last few days' events.
I can't believe the small break I took from school. It's surreal. I found out about a supernatural world with Hordes, Vampires, Hybrids and God only knows what else. I wish I knew what Hunter really is.
I grab my phone. It's been charging and I power it up. This time the wallpaper is a picture of Pierce and I flashing silly faces. I miss Pierce, but have no missed messages from him or Caity and eight missed calls from the school.
"I finally told them you didn't have your cell phone when it wouldn't shut off," Beth explains.
"I'm in so much trouble," I repeat, as if it will mentally prep me for my impending doom.
"No, you're not. I heard Miss Lawry talking to the nurse and she said it was her fault you left and that she had honestly expected you would, considering the circumstances," she pauses. "I wish you would have told me what was going on," she frowns.
I feel like a piece of shit. Beth covered for me and I had lied to her. I decided it was time to be a friend. It'd been a long time since I tried the whole friendship thing with anyone other than Pierce and Caity. How hard could it be? Like moving mountains, a voice whispered.
"I feel a hike. You wanna' come?" I angle my head to look sideways at her.
She leaps off the bed like a kangaroo. "Hell yeah, I'm tired of being in this stupid dorm and it's so nice today!" she coos enthusiastically. I laugh under my breath.
"Cool, let me change and we can grab some breakfast." I smile and her large eyes smile back under a mess of bushy eyebrows. Mental note: Teach Beth to pluck.
On the way to the cafeteria, I run into Miss Lawry and she tells me she understood why I had to leave, but asks that next time I be sure to take my phone with me. She also advises me to get my homework as quickly as possible before my teacher's head to their meetings. Beth and I run around Main Hall and manage to get homework from a few of my teachers, but the others aren't around.
I didn't see Pierce or Caity at the table, but decide to let it go; until either makes an effort to call me, there is nothing else I can do. Beth notices my despondency and tries her hardest to draw me back, but it's like catching a fish with no line.
I know now that Beth has a lot of energy. Actually, "a lot," doesn't begin to describe it. Her actions put a whole new meaning to the term "energizer bunny." It takes her a couple minutes to eat four eggs, four links of sausage, four pieces of toast, biscuits with gravy and a huge side of hash browns. I marvel at her appetite.
"What?" she asks me between bites.
"Where does it all go?"
"Oh," she shifts in her seat. "I have a really fast metabolism."
"I guess. You eat exactly like Hunter," I explain, eyeing the empty plate.
She shrugs. "Yeah, so?" she gazes off to the side; her eyes travel to the oak doorway where Hunter a second later makes his entrance.
His hair is in perfect disarray and he's wearing a black sweatshirt with faded jeans and his token boots. My stomach muscles flutter.
I'm relieved when it dissipates enough for me to think.
"Lexi," Hunter says cautiously.
I timidly smile. "What? I don't get a 'hi'?" Beth says expectant, then guzzles down her second glass of orange juice. She's lucky she has a high metabolism, one that I'm sure Cayla would probably kill for.
"Hello, Elizabeth," he says with squinted eyes.
I jerk my head toward Beth. "Elizabeth?" I question.
She shrugs.
"It's Beth," she glares at Hunter.
I notice the strange exchange between them.
"What are you girls up to today?" Hunter asks innocently enough.
"Nothing," Beth says quickly.
I wonder why my eccentric new friend doesn't tell Hunter about our planned hike.
He looks at both of us with skepticism behind those blue pools. "Sure." He turns his gaze on me. "We should talk later, Lex," he says. "I'll pick you up from your room at noon," he tells me with no room for argument. “Please be careful. Remember what we talked about.”
I nod and watch as Hunter takes his place in line at the buffet of food. I want to warn the cooks to prepare more food or else they'll be eaten out of house and home.
"He's so annoying," Beth says suddenly and reaches across the table, grabbing my hand.
She pulls me up and proceeds to drag me out of the dining hall.
"Hiking time," she says gleefully, skipping from stone to stone on the gravel walkway, displaying the nimbleness of a rabbit.
The snow has melted and today Colorado shocks and delights me with its sunny warmth.
"I love it here," she exclaims twirling. Her movements are graceful and I envy her for it. She reminds me a lot of Caity, only Beth moves faster.
"Yeah, it is beautiful," I admit. We continue hiking and I enjoy the sweet smell of evergreens.
We walk for a long time. The sun pulses. We trek up paths and down others. Well, I walk. Beth skips and twirls like a little kid and sports a big smile the whole time. Her love for life also reminds me of Caity. But, they're different too. Beth moves like a rabbit, Caity more like a gazelle. Caity seems to have deepness in her eyes that Beth doesn't. In that sense, Beth is more child-like than Caity.
Beth leads us through a maze of shrubbery as we talk about topics ranging from swimsuit season that Beth can't wait for and I'm dreading, horses, magazines and classes. It feels good to talk like this without death, pain and despair looming over our words. Beth is easy to talk to and I find out we have more in common than I imagined.
After a few hours, I'm exhausted.
"Where are we?" I ask, trying not to pant.
Beth stops, spins on her heel and surveys the area. "Oh. I'm not sure," she admits.
"You're joking, right?"
Her lips and eyes turn downward, but quickly recover and she gives a toothy smile. "This will be a great adventure," she announces fancifully and I realize Beth is not only not joking, but I'm lost with a girl who thinks being lost in the Colorado Rocky Mountains is an adventure.
"Beth, I think we should turn around," I say, looking through the tall surrounding trees. The sky is painted with hues of red a
nd orange, indicating the approaching sunset.
"I suppose." She skips ahead in the direction we came.
I pause when Beth screams. It's a piercing scream with a sharp edge of panic that could slice through metal. I fight the urge to throw my hands up and cover my ears.
"What the hell was that?" I shout as she kneels down by a savannah scrub hidden under a mass of tree branches.
"Oh, Lexi. We have to help it!" She pleads. I cautiously step closer. She's looking at something in the bushes.
The last bit of sunlight peeks through the thick web of tree limbs from above. It's enough light that when I look over Beth's shoulder, the furry ear reveals itself.
"What is that?" I ask, jumping back.
She stands and turns on her heel to face me. She's wearing a puppy-dog look and a wet sheen covers her green eyes. What's more, is she's cradling a furry creature in her arms.
"It's a bunny," she tells me.
My brow raises before I can stop it. "That doesn’t look like a bunny,” I shake my head. “That’s goffer, I think. Is it alive?" The small animal isn’t moving.
"I think so," she steps forward and I raise my hand to stop her.
"No way. It could have the black plague!" I tell her.
She tilts her chin down with an incredulous expression. "Really, Lexi. It’s an innocent animal.”
"I don't care," I squelch. "It can be an innocent animal over there. With you.”
She shakes her head and the furry thing moves.
I jump backwards, and trip over a stick. Well, not stick, more like a broken tree trunk. The searing pain in my leg ignites instantly, followed by the warm trickle of blood.
"Mother--"
"Theresa," Beth finishes and I grimace at her.
My new, hand-me-down, pants are totally bloody and ripped at the back of the knee. I evaluate and they don't pass. Completely unsalvageable. Perfect.
She coos and caws to the furry creature as we hike for a while. I'm growing more frustrated as I see we've passed the same tree three times. I know it's the same tree because I wrapped one of my hair ties around the lowest hanging branch when I thought I recognized it, but Beth argued there was no way we were going in circles. Girl's more geographically challenged than I am.
