Rotting Souls

by Sara Clancy

  Dorothy’s dark eyes darted to the rearview mirror. “The only way you could do that is to commit at least three misdemeanors.”

  Nicole cringed. “Well, hypothetically of course, I would say that it was possible to do it more in the felonies kind of area.”

  “Nicole,” Dorothy said slowly. “Where were you last night?”

  “I honestly don’t remember.” The utter relief in Nicole’s voice betrayed her, making it clear that even she didn’t think she was completely innocent.

  “Nicole Ipiso-Waahsa Rider.”

  “I’m sorry,” Benton cut in. “What was that?”

  “Ipiso-Waahsa.” Nicole waved a hand at him. “It’s my middle name.”

  “And you teased me for Bartholomew?”

  That got her to whip around. “I never teased you. I only pointed out that there is a lot of alliteration surrounding your name.”

  “Alliteration?” Dorothy asked, obviously happy to switch the conversation.

  “Benton Bartholomew Bertrand,” Benton mumbled.

  “The banshee,” she added. “You have to admit, that’s a lot of B’s.”

  “I want to get back to what your middle name is and why I’m only hearing about this now.”

  “Well, I want to get back to my mother agreeing to let me stay home today,” Nicole said.

  “And yet, all either of you are going to get is a meal at the diner,” Dorothy noted.

  Her tone made it clear, even to an overzealous Nicole, that she wasn’t going to budge. With a dramatic huff, Nicole slumped down against the seat, crossing her arms and pouting. Benton wasn’t sure what she thought this behavior would get her. Whatever it was, she was very bitter not to get it. Without warning, she hit Benton’s arms a few times, like a cat trying to tenderize a sleeping spot. She still didn’t say anything as she slumped down against him, tugging his arm into a tight hug, and allowed herself to doze.

  Chapter 6

  “Ipiso-Waahsa,” Nicole said slowly, stressing the syllables.

  Benton parroted it back, his hands spreading out, as if he could only get his tongue to get it right if he was in motion. It actually worked.

  “Hey, you got it,” Nicole beamed. She nudged her shoulder into his. “And it only took you two periods.”

  “We didn’t have either of them together. So it only counts as three minutes at the most.”

  That was one of the unexpected benefits of Fort Wayward High. Even when they had classes on opposite sides of the campus, they were never too far apart to not be able to have rapid fire catch-up sessions.

  “It means ‘morning star’,” she said.

  “It’s nice.”

  “Thanks. And now that you’ve mastered it, you can stop using it as a distraction to keep from telling me what’s going on.”

  “You know that there’s a difference between avoidance and ignorance, right?”

  Nicole jumped in front of him, pushing one finger into the center of his chest. After a moment, she pushed up onto her toes and scrubbed a hand through his hair, cooing about how fluffy it was. He had been lucky enough to wear sweatpants to sleep, giving him something somewhat presentable to wear to school. Everything needed to bring his hair into artfully arranged spikes, however, was at home. It was the first time she had really seen him without them, and she seemed endlessly fascinated.

  “Was that arrow dipped with catnip or something?” he asked as he swatted her hand away.

  She opened her mouth, frowned, and tipped her head to the side. “Sorry?”

  “You’re very energetic.”

  “I know, right? I feel fantastic. Remind me to keep that arrow around for finals week.”

  “Or, I could hide it away along with all the pixie-stixs.”

  “I knew you stole them!”

  “There should be a law that prohibits you from sugar rushes.”

  “Why?” she whined, honestly offended.

  “Do you remember what you did to our science project?” It was the last time she had decided that a sugar rush would help her get everything done.

  “It wasn’t so bad.”

  “I got attacked by beavers while trying to save a replica of the solar system from seven feet of water.”

  “Don’t be dramatic,” she said. “It was only six feet. And beavers are cute.”

  “They’re huge up close.”

  Neither of them could keep a straight face. Nicole shook her head, trying to organize her racing thoughts. Ever since she had fully woken up, she had been unable to sit still, shifting from one conversation to the next midsentence. Wonder if Amy’s having the same side effects. Nicole bounced on her toes before poking him in the chest.

  “Don’t think you can distract me,” she said, trying to look intimidating but far too hyper to hold onto the expression for long. “I know that you’re keeping secrets from me. You and mom. What? You think that I haven’t noticed you two are becoming real buddies these days.”

  “Dr. Aspin says I should make friends,” he commented, slipping around her to continue down the hallway, rejoining the stream of students rambling towards their next class.

  Nicole spun on her heel, following him with a very bunny-like bounce in her step.

  “You two are keeping something from me,” she insisted.

  Benton schooled his features, trying to keep his expression blank. His mind whirled as he tried to pinpoint when she had first become suspicious. Thinking on it now, it was naive to believe that she wouldn’t pick up on it. He always forgot that, while she acted like a beauty queen, she could root out information like a Soviet spy.

  “What?” Nicole asked.

  “What, what?”

  “You were contemplating something. Tell me. Tell-me-tell-me-tell-me.”

  They reached the large double doors that lead to the gym. He held one side open and she slipped in before him, spinning through the threshold and walking backward so she didn’t have to take her eyes off of him.

  “Would you watch a movie about a spy that enters the Miss Universe pageant?” he asked.

  Her hand absently lifted to touch his hair again. He pushed it aside.

  “Are we talking action or comedy?”

  “Action,” he said.

  “Glittery dresses and explosions? Yeah, I’d watch that.”

  Thinking that he had avoided the awkward conversation was another mistake. The moment he relaxed, she gave a shout to the ceiling and bounced around to face him again.

  “You distracted me.”

  “It’s not my fault you can’t focus,” he defended.

  Her hands dropped heavily onto his shoulders. Locking her elbows, she kept him in place as she stared at him. Even now, she couldn’t keep completely still and she ended up swaying a bit. Like she was about to break into a dance number.

  “You shouldn’t hide things from me. Buddies don’t do that to each other.”

  The combination of eye contact and touch made it hard to lie to her. He heaved a sigh and grabbed her shoulders in return.

  “Two days,” he decided. “Give me two more days. If your mom doesn’t fess up, I’ll tell you everything.”

  “I’m not good with delayed gratification.”

  “No, but you are really good at doing favors for friends.” He turned his gaze beseeching. “Please.”

  “I know what you’re trying to do. You’re manipulating me. You ... Manipulator.”

  “Wow, that’s some very creative name calling,” he said. “Come on, Nic. For me. Just two more days with no questions.”

  Her mouth scrunched up. Her eyes narrowed. She stomped her feet as if she were on the verge of a full tantrum. It all ended with a high-pitched whine and a begrudging nod of her head.

  “Fine. Wednesday morning. You better be chatty.”

  Not wanting to risk another turnaround, he quickly replied, “Wednesday morning? You’re cheating me out a few hours.”

  “You want forty-eight hours from now? This very second?”

  “Tha
t’s what you agreed to.”

  She checked her watch then snatched up his wrist, fiddling around with his own.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Syncing our watches.”

  He pulled his wrist back but she clung on tightly.

  “You’re going to break it,” he protested.

  “I’m good with technology.”

  “No, you’re not. And watches aren’t what people mean when they say ‘technology’.”

  Just for his own amusement, he tried to pull away again. Nicole responded as he had thought she would. The extent was a bit of a shock. Instead of complaining and pulling his arm back towards her, she latched onto his arm and tried to run off with it, all the while fiddling with the few buttons on his cheap watch. Digging in his heels only slowed them down. The soles of his shoes squeaked loudly, drawing the attention of the few other students that had made their way in before them. If it wasn’t for Nicole’s utter, completely insane, level of dedication to the task, he would have been embarrassed.

  He yanked his arm back. “What level of crazy are you on right now?”

  Again, her response proved to be way more than he had anticipated. Like splashing a feral cat. She twisted around sharply, clutching his arm tightly as they bumped and tangled. Any attempt to calm her down did the exact opposite. Her motions took them both off their feet and they toppled painfully onto the gym floor, still fighting for dominance over his watch. Her knee drove into his ribs, pushing the air from his lungs and making him incredibly grateful that Zack chose that moment to arrive.

  The towering teen looped his arms under Nicole’s and wrenched her to her feet. “What are you doing?”

  The second her feet left the ground, all good nature left her. A feral scream, one of pure, feral frustration left her. She whipped around, trying to free herself from his grip. Zack held on, now desperate to keep his grip on the girl that looked ready to kill him. Stunned, Benton could only watch was Zack helplessly pleaded with Nicole. None of it helped. Nicole’s fury worked her into a fury pitch, until her wild screams crackled as they came out of her throat.

  Meg sprinted over, her sister a step behind. Their introduction only made things worse. Zack was losing his grip. Benton regained his senses just as Nicole burst free. He lurched to his feet, managing to catch her around her waist as she turned to attack Zack. Unfortunately, he didn’t have Zack’s height to help him. They swung around, lost their footing, and dropped back down onto the floor.

  “Nic, it’s me,” Benton pleaded as she bucked and screamed. “Stop it. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

  Only once she was exhausted and completely trapped by Benton’s limbs did she stop. Like she was waking up. Coming out of a daze to blink at him in confusion. Mortified and shaking, she looked amongst her friends.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I – I didn’t. I’m so sorry.”

  “What the hell?” Zack snapped.

  Benton’s anger at the outburst dwindled when he saw the fear in Zack’s eyes. The twins kept their distance. Nicole noticed and trembled harder, mumbling constantly about how sorry she was.

  “What happened to her?” Zack whispered.

  “She needs some fresh air,” Benton said. He held Zack’s gaze, willing him to understand what he was trying to convey. “Help me get her outside.”

  Zack opened his mouth to argue. In a small act of mercy, the twins were a lot better at picking up on vibes. They were quick to rush around them and cut off the number of people that were charging forth to intervene. That was the downside of Nicole’s lifelong mission of making friends with every soul in Fort Wayward. No one wanted to stay out of it.

  While the girls worked on crowd control, Benton hurried Nicole outside. The whole thing would have gone a lot faster if Nicole had let Zack lift her up. Every time he tried, her inner switch would flip again. It took Benton grabbing at her wrists to calm her down somewhat. They barely got a few feet out onto the grass before she decided that Zack was too close. She spun on her heel and launched herself at him. Benton crash-tackled her to the ground, holding her there as she thrashed and snarled, steadily working herself into exhaustion.

  “What the hell did you do to her?” Zack demanded.

  “Nothing,” Benton said. “I think she’s having a bad reaction.”

  “Reaction to what?”

  Just had to open that door.

  By the time he had explained it all to Zack, the twins had come outside, and Nicole’s growls of protest had turned into weak little whimpers. So he left Zack to catch them up and devoted his time to Nicole. She was sitting under her own power now, head against her knees, hands clutching the sides of her head like she was sure her skull was about to explode.

  “What happened?” she groaned.

  “You apparently like Benton more than me,” Zack snipped. “Not that I’m taking that personally.”

  “Obviously not,” Benton cut in.

  Nicole made a sound of confusion. She went to lift her head, but a spike of pain had her quickly returning to her original position.

  “I don’t think it’s anything personal,” Benton said for her.

  Zack scoffed. “She wasn’t trying to kill you.”

  “I’m not human,” he remarked without thought.

  The truth of his comment brought the group to silence. No one really knew how to respond to it. Benton himself tried very hard not to linger too long on the thought.

  I’m not human.

  If anyone had asked him years ago, he would have thought it would be easy to accept that idea. He had always known he was different. Finally acknowledging that should have been liberating. But there was a ripple effect. A silent undercurrent of doubt that seeped into every aspect of his life. What will I grow into? How long will it take? Do male banshees have shorter lifespans than humans? Do banshees die at all?

  A spike of panic curled in the pit of his stomach as the thought lingered in his mind. He had developed a deep respect for Nicole’s intuition. And the thought that her instincts were now telling her that he didn’t count as human enough to bother with shook him to his core. Do I even count as alive?

  The whole conversation became a buzz in his ears. There but meaningless. Nothing of value until Nicole’s voice broke through the haze. He snapped his head down to look at her, unsure how many times she had repeated his name to try and gain his attention. She had barely lifted her head. Just enough to look up at him with wide, beseeching eyes. There was true fear lingering in the deep brown depths, and it made his stomach twist sharply.

  “Sorry,” he said softly, not wanting to interrupt the conversation happening a few feet away. “What was that?”

  “Did I hurt anyone?”

  “No,” he reassured with a light laugh. “You might have a lot to explain a little later on, though. And I think Zack’s going to need an apology.”

  “I couldn’t stop.”

  Her voice was just a whisper but it suddenly drew the attention of the others. Zack knelt down, careful to keep some distance between them, and hesitantly reached out towards her. Almost as if he was trying to pet a dog he wasn’t certain would accept the touch.

  “Hey, there, buddy,” Zack said, voice as sweet as sugar. “How ya doing?”

  “Why are you talking so weird?” Benton asked.

  Zack glared at him, “Hey, you weren’t the one that just got attacked.”

  “Yeah, and talking down to her is really going to mellow her out,” Benton replied.

  “I’m not doing that.”

  The sudden increase in volume made Nicole whimper. She clutched her hands over her ears, curling in on herself like she could physically block out the sound. Zack quickly dropped his voice down to a whisper again. Meg came forward, putting herself between Benton and Nicole so she could wrap her arm around Nicole’s shoulders.

  “It’s okay,” she cooed. “Just breathe. Danny, do you have your water bottle with you?”

  Danny nodded and started to rummage
through her bag. Just as she pulled the bottle out and handed it over, a few people wandered out of the gym doors, calling out across the distance to check on Nicole.

  Rallying her senses, Nicole managed to raise her head and force a smile. “I’m okay. I’m so sorry for the fuss.”

  Of course, the questions of what happened followed. No one in their group really knew what to say. Benton and Zack both tried to subtly tell Nicole that her adding to this conversation was a bad idea, but she didn’t listen.

  “I haven’t slept a lot lately,” she called out. “I was given a sleeping tablet and I think that I’m having a bad reaction to it. I’m really sorry, guys.”

  And just like that, Nicole had found a loophole for her inability to lie. Technically, everything she said was true. Benton was oddly impressed. He hid his smile as the others reassured Nicole that she wasn’t a bother. That everything will be okay. Then, of course, the conversation turned to offers to get a teacher.

  “I’m just going to go over to the doctor’s now,” Nicole said.

  “We’ll help,” Danny said swiftly. “Can you let the coach know that we’ll be a bit late for class?”

  It took a bit more reassurance to get them back into the gym. Everyone appeared honestly concerned about Nicole, and Benton found himself both amazed and perplexed by the display. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. She worked hard to develop and keep her relationships. He was happy that at least some of her efforts would be reciprocated.

  Eventually, there came a small window of opportunity for them to slip away. They didn’t hesitate to take it, with Meg and Danny helping Nicole to her feet. They started across the grass, reassuring them that they would take care of her. Zack and Benton exchanged a look. Neither knew what else to do, so they followed behind the girls, just waiting to be of use. They all bundled into Zack’s car, the twins careful to keep Nicole comfortable between the two of them in the backseat. Benton twisted around in the front passenger seat, having to jerk back at the last moment to make room for Zack completing the same maneuver.

  “Okay, recap,” Zack said. “Invisible hunter shoots an arrow at you. The tip is poisoned and knocks you out. You come to school.”

  “Yes,” Nicole said, still rubbing her temples.