Beauty and Beasts

by Willow Rose

  I wondered about Jayden as I stared into the darkness. How was he doing? He hated the fact that I was going away for this weekend with my family, spending time with Duncan and his family. He didn't even try to hide that he did. I felt bad for putting him through it, but what could I do? It wasn't like my family gave me a choice.

  Jayden and I hadn't seen each other much since Jazmine's dad died a week ago. We had all pretty much stayed with our families. What happened to him was awful. Especially the way everyone pretended like it really was a heart attack like the doctor had concluded. Jazmine was a mess still, and I worried about her greatly. Her mother hadn't left the house since it happened, and she barely let Jazmine do so either. They kept mostly to themselves, dealing with their grief. I wanted to be there more for Jazmine, but my mother wasn't fond of me going over there and being with that family since she believed Mr. Aran was keeping a close eye on them. She didn't want me associated with them in any way, and she especially didn't want me to be in the house if he came back for more of them.

  I had asked again and again why Mr. Aran had done what he did, and why he got away with it, but my mother refused to answer and spoke about something else every time I did. She simply avoided answering it.

  Tomorrow was the funeral, and we were going to get back just in time to join them.

  I heard the sound of a wolf howling coming from the mountains and smiled, hoping it was Melanie and that she was having fun, finally being able to run and roam the way she was supposed to. At least my parents were too busy here, hunting other animals, to try and track her down, and she would be free to roam this night. I wondered what Jayden's family would do if they ran into her up there while going out at night. I was beginning to understand the danger they—and my family—were in because of Mr. Aran living on our street and why they were so eager to get rid of Melanie, but I still believed it was wrong. There had to be another way. More killings didn't solve anything, in my opinion.

  I was lost in my chain of thought and had actually decided to go to bed, finally calling it a night, when I heard the first scream.

  What the…?

  It sounded like it came from the forest in front of me. But it didn't sound animal-like at all. It sounded very much like a human scream and not just an ordinary scream or cry. This was the type of scream only emerging from the mouth of someone facing the terror of death.

  And it wasn't just one scream. One followed the other, and soon it was like the entire forest in front of me was screaming in horror.

  Chapter Ten

  I…can't…run anymore," Maria said, panting. She stopped and leaned against a tree while catching her breath.

  Stacy couldn't blame her. She was exhausted too. They had run for what felt like hours, and still, there was no sign of civilization, no roads, no cars, and no people to ask for help.

  "We have to continue," she said and patted Maria on the shoulder. "Who knows? Maybe the way out is right down that path."

  "You said that the last time we stopped too," Maria said, coughing. "I can't run anymore."

  Stacy sighed and nodded. "All right. Let's take a short break then."

  Maria sat down on a log, groaning in pain as she moved her leg.

  "What's with your leg?" Stacy asked. "Let me look at it."

  She approached her and saw the blood. Maria rolled up her ripped pants. Stacy made a grimace.

  "Oh, that's bad, Maria. How did this happen?"

  "I fell, earlier," she said, sweat springing from her forehead. "Stumbled over a branch before I met you."

  "Why didn't you say anything?" Stacy asked. "This must have been very painful to run with."

  "It's not like you could have done anything," she said. "I feared you'd leave me behind."

  Stacy exhaled. "I would never leave you."

  She sat on the log next to her, feeling how her entire body was aching. How far were they from the exit of this darn forest? It was like it went on forever and ever. They couldn't be far from it, could they?

  "I think we're close," she said.

  Maria chuckled. It had a sad sound to it.

  "I know I’ve said this before, but I really think we're close."

  It felt nice to take a break, though. Still, Stacy worried it was a little too comfortable. She was beginning to feel her body for the first time since she got out of that cage and that wasn't good. The aches and pains would keep her from running. As long as she had the adrenaline rushing through her veins, there was no stopping her, she felt nothing but fear fueling her forward, but as soon as she let her body rest, she wasn't sure she would be able to run again anytime soon.

  There was a rustle in a bush behind them and Stacy jumped up. She looked around her, scanning all the trees and bushes along the trail, but she didn't see anything.

  It was probably just an animal.

  She looked down at Maria, whose face was strained terribly in pain. "Maybe you can walk a little? We really should keep moving."

  Maria nodded, biting her lip. Stacy helped her get up from the log and put her arm around her shoulder as they walked back onto the trail they had been following, hoping it would lead them out soon.

  "There you go," Stacy said and looked down at Maria's leg as it moved. She felt hope rise inside of her as Maria let go of her shoulder and continued to walk on her own, swallowing the pain and moving forward.

  She didn't see the woman standing in front of them on the trail until it was too late.

  Chapter Eleven

  She was getting used to the thought that she was going to die soon. She hadn't told anyone because she didn't want them to worry or give her pity looks or mercy friendships. She wanted them to remember her the way she was, the strong happy girl who took care of everyone else.

  In reality, she was completely broken inside. Since she had found the two big lumps on her back, she had felt lonelier than ever before.

  Amy's parents had been home once since, but just for a day, and they were so busy she didn't want to disturb them with her issues and concerns. They probably couldn't do much about it anyway. Amy came close to telling them, though. When her mother had been in her bedroom and had just hung up her phone, Amy had walked in and sat on the bed with the intention of telling her everything. She was wearing a big sweater like she had been all week since she found the lumps, to make sure they were covered up properly and no one asked any questions. But the pain, she couldn't hide. Now and then, she broke down and cried because it was so painful. If it happened at school, she ran to the bathroom and stayed in there till it had passed.

  "So, how's school?" her mother had asked.

  "Good, good," Amy had answered.

  She had forced a smile, thinking maybe her mother would see through it, maybe she would realize she was trying to hide something, that she was worried sick about something and then ask her about it.

  But she didn't.

  "I made pasta," Amy said, pushing through the pain. "Chicken Alfredo, the way you like it."

  Her mother had smiled and ruffled her hair. "What would we ever do without you?"

  Maybe you'll find out soon enough.

  And that was when she was about to say it; she was about to tell her mother everything. She came so close to telling her how scared she was that it was cancer growing on her back and that she needed her mother's care and love, but as she had opened her mouth to say the words, her mom's phone rang and she had picked it up.

  "Yes?"

  Amy felt the moment pass and then left the room. Her mother stopped her, taking the phone away from her mouth.

  "Was there anything you needed to talk about?"

  Amy looked at her and was about to say yes, but she could tell her mother's mind was already elsewhere. It would have to wait.

  Maybe tomorrow, she had thought, then shook her head and left. But the next day, they had to leave again. That was what the phone call had been about. Some shoe-selling emergency. Amy would have to tell her about her death sentence some other day. If she had an
other day left. According to the Internet, she could have anything from five days to five months or maybe even five years.

  She had thought about going to the doctor. Of course, she had, and maybe she was going to, especially since it was so painful, but she just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Some might argue she was afraid to, but Amy wouldn't admit to that.

  Amy sat in the kitchen and thought about Melanie, when she felt the house shake, and suddenly she spotted a mouse squeeze itself under the door, followed by a couple hundred others just like it. Suddenly, they were everywhere in the house.

  Amy crawled up on a chair, grabbed a broom, and then continued up on the kitchen counter, while the mice threw themselves at her chicken pot pie. She stayed on the counter all night and even managed to fall asleep. When she woke the next morning, all the mice were gone. So was the food.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was moist and sticky where she was at. Melanie found it hard to breathe inside this thing, this strange wet musty cocoon of a sort that she had been wrapped in since that weird man with the skinny legs, Mr. Aran, had taken her home to his house.

  After Robyn's mom had given him the chain, he had dragged her back to his house and put her in a chair. Melanie was scared, naturally, not knowing what this strange man wanted from her. And then he had come close to her, opened his almost lipless mouth, wherefrom a web emerged, a big sticky clammy web that immediately encased her and made it impossible for her to move. Even when she changed into a wolf at night, she couldn't break out of it. The web was that strong.

  Now, as she was hanging from the ceiling, he approached her cocoon, took out a knife, and cut a hole for her face to appear in. Melanie gasped for air and blinked her eyes to cope with the light from the room. Mr. Aran gave her one of his creepy smiles, and she cringed.

  "So, how are we today?" he asked. "Ready to do some talking?"

  Melanie exhaled, then coughed. "I told you. I don't know anything."

  Mr. Aran—still smiling—tilted his head. "Are we still on that? You sure are a stubborn one. All I need is a name. You were not born into a wolf family; tell me the name of the one who turned you. "

  "How many times do I have to tell you this? I was attacked. I didn't see anything but a wolf."

  "See, that's what I have a hard time believing," he said. "You see, one usually doesn’t survive a meeting with a werewolf. At least, not if you are the human one, ha-ha."

  He had this weird accent, and often she wondered if English was his second language since it sounded so odd when he spoke. He also had a slight lisp and it annoyed Melanie like nothing else ever had. Everything about him was just so…appalling. Especially the way his big round head bopped when he walked, almost swaying along on those long thin legs. Not to mention the way his eyes were placed so close together and how black they were.

  "I don't know who he was," she said, tired of this conversation and having it over and over again. "Please, just let me go."

  He shook his head. "Oh, but no. I cannot let you walk. I need to find this wolf and take him down. And I think you know who he is. He bit you and turned you into a werewolf on purpose."

  "Why? Why would he do that?"

  "So, it is a he?" Mr. Aran said.

  "I never said that. How am I supposed to know? I don't know how to tell if a wolf is a female or male."

  Mr. Aran stared at Melanie, scrutinizing her. "Hungry, huh? I can hear your stomach growling. And one will be fed, my dear, as soon as one tells me what I want to know."

  "But I don't know anything," she said.

  "We'll see about that, won't we?" Mr. Aran said, then opened his mouth and a big web spurted out, covering Melanie's entire face once again, this time wrapping it a lot tighter, so she had to gasp to breathe.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I couldn't just stand there and listen to all those terrifying screams out there. I rushed inside and closed the doors, then wondered what to do and how I could have been such a fool. Why hadn't it occurred to me earlier? Why had I been so blind? Of course, they weren't hunting animals. Of course not. They were hunting humans, brutally killing them one after another.

  And my family was with them, sucking up every drop of blood they could get their hands—or teeth—on.

  The thought made me want to throw up, but I didn't. Instead, I decided I wasn't just going to sit there in my fancy room and let this happen. I wasn't going to sleep through this like they expected me to. There had to be something I could do, right?

  Me, little Robyn redhead from Shadow Hills, up against twenty-something bloodsucking vampires? Of course. No biggie.

  I stormed into the hallway and ran down the stairs of the old castle. I grabbed the front doorknob but found it locked, then ran to another door and found that one locked as well.

  They locked all us kids in, so we wouldn't go out there and discover what they're up to. Of course, they did.

  I found a door leading to some stables of sorts that I hadn't been in before, and that was when it got really interesting if you can use that word without feeling sick. Appalling would be more of a word I would use. Dreadful, atrocious, abysmal, disgusting beyond words.

  In there, I found what appeared to be a series of small rooms, like those stalls they keep horses in. Every one of them had a cage inside of it not much bigger than what would fit a dog. I also found a scarf and blood on the floor in one of them. It didn't take a genius to realize that this was where they had kept the humans before letting them go. So that was what he meant when he said the prey had been released. They had brought them here first, hadn't they? Then let them go so they could have their fun and hunt them down, while the poor people ran for their lives.

  The thought disgusted me beyond anything. I simply couldn't believe it. I felt so sick it almost knocked me over. A couple of deep breaths made me relax, even though I could still hear the screams in the forest and a tear escaped my eye while thinking of them.

  "Probably runaways and illegal immigrants, homeless, prostitutes. People no one would miss, right? That's how you do it so that you won't get caught. You sick bastards."

  The worst part was that Duncan was one of them. I had grown to like the guy, maybe even felt a little attracted to him, but now I felt nothing but sickened by him.

  I stared at the forest in front of me, feeling so horrified I was about to scream when my eyes fell on something parked in the grass close to the building. It looked like a small garden tractor, the ones you sit on top of, the keys still in the ignition. I grabbed a pitchfork and walked outside while the screams in the night made the hairs stand up on my neck.

  Chapter Fourteen

  At first, she thought the woman might be able to help them get out of there, and she waved.

  "Help…please…"

  Maria and Stacy rushed toward her, filled with hope until they looked into the woman's blazing eyes and spotted her fangs. Then they stopped. Something was off. The way she stared at them made Stacy's heart pound.

  "We're…lost…" she said, still hoping and praying this woman would help them find their way out.

  The woman stood so still it seemed almost impossible. Stacy felt Maria's hand in hers. Her body was trembling.

  "Can you help us find our way?" Stacy continued.

  A smile spread across the woman's lips in the moonlight. Then she let out a hiss so terrifying it scared both of them. And then something happened to her body that made Stacy at first think she was hallucinating. It could hardly be happening, could it?

  Is she turning into…into a massive bat?

  "Oh, my God," Stacy said as the woman finally moved, this time faster than Stacy could think, and she was now on top of Maria, her teeth sunken into Maria's throat.

  Oh, dear God. She's drinking her blood. She's a…she's a freakin'…I don't believe it; I don't believe it, she's a …vampire!

  Stacy screamed, but her screams were drowned out, and that was when she realized that she wasn't the only one screaming for her life; the entire forest
was trembling with terrifying cries.

  Stacy stood like she was paralyzed and stared at the woman on top of Maria, sucking her blood, the life leaving Maria's eyes. Stacy stepped backward, away from the woman, and started to run.

  Not paying any attention to her aching legs or the pain, she ran faster than she would ever have thought possible. She rushed through the trees and bushes, getting away from the trail, panting heavily, the images of Maria and that woman fueling her fear, driving her forward.

  "Please, save me, God, please save me from this…please don't let her get to me…please…"

  She heard a rustle coming from the trees above her and gasped, then looked up. And that was when she saw a giant human-sized bat above her, squealing. Another joined it, and soon there were three of them circling her. They had what seemed like human faces and skinny human-like bodies, but they were ugly as heck and those…claws…those terrifying fangs and claws and the skin seemed like it was almost broken and old and leathery like they were hundreds of years old.

  Stacy knew she was no match for them. She knew she couldn't outrun them. Still, she tried. She tried as hard as she could to get away. Until suddenly, one of them was standing in front of her, turning almost human-like.

  Stacy stopped with a gasp. The guy in front of her was grinning from ear to ear. He was very handsome, but the look in his eyes told her he only had one thing on his mind.

  Her blood.

  Stacy gasped as the boy grabbed her by the throat and bent her down, placed his fangs on her skin, and penetrated it.

  Stacy held her breath as she suddenly felt the strange connection between them. It was like nothing else she had felt in her life. She didn't feel nearly as terrified as she had expected to. As a matter of fact, she felt warm, like she was being cared for, like she had nothing to be afraid of. Then, she closed her eyes with a deep sigh.