“If you die I’ll never get to kiss you.”
Well in that case…
“I’ll be right over here.” Stepping behind a potted fern that had not fared well in the August heat, I pointed the gun at the door and locked both elbows. I didn’t really think I would need it, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. “Ready when you are, Golden Boy.”
Raising his hand, Hunter rapped his knuckles against the door.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Mrs. Wallace
NOTHING HAPPENED.
Hunter glanced at me and I shrugged. “Try it again. Maybe they didn’t hear you.”
“Or maybe there’s no one home.”
“There is,” I said confidently. “Just knock one more time.”
“If you say so…” Hunter’s voice trailed off as he knocked again. This time when there was no reply he turned the knob and opened the door, revealing a sun washed foyer with a wooden staircase spiraling up to the left and a kitchen to the right with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
“Hello?” he called out, cupping his mouth with both hands so his voice carried into the house. “Anyone here? We’re not going to hurt you.”
I followed him inside. We left the front door open behind us and a warm breeze stirred the air as I peered up the stairs and into the kitchen. Both were empty. “That’s weird. I really thought I heard something.”
Hunter’s broad shoulders lifted and fell. “Honest mistake. Better to check it out than to – whoa,” he whispered as his gaze shot up the stairs. “Did you hear that?”
Did I hear the patter of footsteps racing down the second floor hallway?
Yeah, I heard them.
“Maybe it’s a kid,” I suggested. “They’re probably alone.”
Hunter’s entire expression softened. The guy may have been the best quarterback in the county, but underneath all that raw athleticism was a heart as soft as a teddy bear. “I bet they’re terrified. You stay at the bottom of the stairs, I’ll go up and check it out.”
“Why do I have to wait down here? I’m the one with the gun.”
“Which will only scare the kid even more. I’ll be right back.” Before I could argue any further Hunter bounded easily up the stairs, taking them two at a time until he reached the top and turned right, disappearing from my line of vision.
Huffing out a frustrated breath I leaned against the bannister to wait. After being with Dad and Travis I wasn’t use to taking a backseat. It didn’t sit well with me. I wasn’t a damsel in distress or some weak female or needed to be protected. Which was exactly what I was going to tell Hunter the second he came downstairs. If this partnership was going to work, it needed to be equal.
“Find anything?” I yelled up when the seconds began to turn into minutes.
“Hold on a sec,” came Hunter’s muffled reply. “I think they’re in – HOLY SHIT.”
My heart slammed into my ribcage as every muscle in my body instantly tensed. “Are you okay? Hunter, what is it? What happened? Hunter? Hunter! To hell with this,” I muttered under my breath when my only reply was silence. Keeping the gun level with my chest just like Maximus had trained me to do I started up the staircase. I was halfway to the top when I heard the thunder of Hunter’s footsteps.
He hit the top of the stairs in a full out sprint and banged hard off the wall. There was blood trickling down from an open cut on his neck and genuine terror flashing in his eyes.
“Lola, run!” he shouted when he saw me. “RUN NOW!”
My grip on the gun tightened. “What is going–”
“RUN!” Hunter grabbed my arm and dragged me down the stairs after him.
We were fast. So fast my heel slid off the edge of a step and I almost went flying down face first.
But the thing chasing us was faster.
It launched itself over the side of the railing and hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Tangled brown hair covered its face as it slowly stood up, hiding any distinguishable features.
Not that there was much left to distinguish.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. “What is it?”
“I don’t know, but it sure as hell isn’t human.”
No, it wasn’t human. That much was obvious. But it wasn’t a drinker either.
Blood dripped from what remained of its lips as it snapped its teeth together and hissed. Nostrils flaring it scented the air like a wild animal would, its movements jerky and erratic as it darted to the foot of the stairs and stared hungrily up at us, glassy blue eyes peering through a curtain of dingy brown.
“Lola,” Hunter said urgently.
“Yeah?”
“I think now would be a great time to use that gun.”
It was a good idea in theory. Given the fact that we were pinned on the stairs with nowhere to run it was probably the best idea we had. The only problem was that with the exception of Maximus I had never actually shot anyone before. And even though it was clear the creature staring hungrily up at us wasn’t human, my hands still trembled as I aimed the gun.
“What are you waiting for? Lola, shoot it!”
The creature’s gaze darted between us. Snarling and snapping its teeth it crouched low, preparing to spring. My finger hovered indecisively on the trigger. I knew what I had to do. But there was something about those glassy blue eyes and the stringy brown hair that was uncomfortably familiar.
“Hunter, I don’t know if I can–”
With a savage cry the creature launched itself at us, its fingers extended into vicious claws.
Hunter yanked the gun out of my grip and shoved me to the side. My head bounced off the wall so hard my vision blurred. There were three loud BOOMS as the gun discharged. The first shot missed wide to the right, but the last two connected and the creature crumpled to the ground with a bloody gurgle.
“Is it dead?” I gasped as I staggered to my feet.
Hooking an arm around my waist Hunter drew me against his side. “It isn’t getting up anytime soon.”
We stepped gingerly around the creature. It had rolled onto its back as it fell and stared sightlessly up at the ceiling. I didn’t want to look at it, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. Even in death, there was something familiar about it. Something I didn’t fully understand until I saw the glint of a gold necklace with a very specific charm around its neck.
“Oh my god,” I whispered as tears born of horror and denial flooded my eyes.
“Lola, what is it?” Alarmed by the sudden paleness in my cheeks Hunter gripped both of my arms and spun me around to face him. “What’s wrong?”
“I recognize her.”
“You recognize who?” he said blankly.
“Her.” My entire body trembled as I pointed past him at the creature that wasn’t really a creature at all. “It was Mrs. Wallace. That thing…that thing was Mrs. Wallace. My history teacher.”
CHAPTER NINE
Nightmare Fuel
WE BOLTED OUT the house like an entire horde of drinkers were nipping at our heels.
“Leave the carts,” I ordered. “We have to warn the others.”
Hunter nodded in silent agreement and we took off down the sidewalk, our sneakers slapping the pavement in tandem. Hunter’s stride was longer than mine but I had gotten pretty good at running for my life and I was able to keep up with him.
By the time we reached the school parking lot we were both winded and I threw up my hand, gesturing for Hunter to stop before I collapsed onto the grassy median. After a moment’s hesitation Hunter sat beside me, stretching his long legs out next to mine as he reclined all the way back and rested his head on a pillow of overgrown weeds.
“You okay?” he asked, sliding me a sideways glance.
“No.” My ribcage expanded as I dragged in some much needed air. “No, I’m not okay.”
“Me either. Lola, are you sure–”
“It was her,” I said flatly. “Her eyes were a different color, but she had the same necklace on. I thin
k it was a gift from one of her kids. I never saw her without it.”
Mrs. Wallace had started working at Revere High School just last year, which was probably why Hunter hadn’t recognized her. She’d always been nice to me, even when I turned in my homework late (which was 99% of the time), and her desk had been crowded with pictures of her three small children. Three boys, if I remembered correctly. Three boys with brown eyes and blond hair and big goofy grins.
My stomach clenched.
What the hell had happened to Mrs. Wallace to turn her from a loving mother and sweet, geeky history teacher into a blood-thirsty monster?
As if he could read my thoughts Hunter sat up on one elbow and said, “Maybe she was bitten. Maybe if a vampire – I mean drinker – bites you but doesn’t kill you, that’s what happens.”
“No.” I reflexively grabbed my right hand. The scars from Angelique’s fangs may have faded, but the memories were still crystal clear. The shock of the bite, the burning pain, and everything that had come after. “That’s not how it works.”
Hunter’s forehead creased. “But how would you know that, unless… Jesus,” he breathed as he scrambled away from me, moving so fast his sneakers flung up clods of dirt and grass. If I wasn’t so exhausted I would have been mildly insulted. “Lola, did one of them bite you?”
“Yes.” So much for keeping secrets. “And before you grab the pitchfork and torches, I’m perfectly fine. See?” I opened my mouth up wide and stuck out my tongue, exposing my teeth. “No silver. No fangs. I’m not turning into one of them. For that to happen there has to be an equal transfusion of blood.”
Hunter still looked doubtful. “How do you know for sure?”
“Trust me, I know.” Brushing grass off my legs I stood up and stretched, exposing a few inches of navel as I lifted my arms high above my head and arched my spine. Now that my magical healing powers were gone I felt every bump, bruise, and abrasion. My entire body was sore, from my head all the way down to my toes, and I wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower and go to sleep.
It’s funny how the simple things become so appealing when everything you know has been taken away from you. If I was given the choice a month ago between a hundred bucks and not showering for a week I would have taken the money, hands down. But now…now I would have given anything to be back in my own bed with my cheap polyester comforter and my dad’s familiar snores echoing through the paper-thin walls.
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Hunter demanded. “Don’t you think this is something we should know?”
That got my hackles up. Who the hell did Golden Boy think he was? “You don’t get to know anything about me other than what I tell you. We might be working together, but that doesn’t make us friends. The only friend I have is dead and I’m not looking for another one. Got it?”
“Lola, I didn’t mean–”
“Furthermore” – I’d always wanted to use that word in a sentence – “if I was one of those things chances are we wouldn’t be having this conversation because you’d be busy lying in a puddle of your own blood.”
Okay, that was a little harsh. Especially after Hunter had told me what happened to his friends. But I wasn’t about to stand around and let myself be accused of something I wasn’t guilty of. I’d watched enough movies and read enough books to know how dangerous rumors were during situations like these. If even one person believed I was a drinker – or turning into one – I ran the risk of waking up to a gun pressed against my head.
And that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.
“When one of them bites you it doesn’t turn you. If that was the case then I would be dead already. I would never let myself become one of them, Hunter.” I met his gaze unflinchingly, daring him to read the brutal truth in my eyes. “I would kill myself before I ever let that happen.”
He rubbed his chin. “When were you bitten?”
“The first night. I was trying to get back home. I heard the screams, same as you. I was cutting across someone’s backyard when a woman came running out covered in blood. She – she was begging.” My breath hitched. I’d never told anyone this story before. Not even Maximus. “A drinker came out after her. It was a girl, or at least it looked like a girl. No older than you or me. She picked the woman up like she was a ragdoll and threw her against the fence. I think I knew right then that she wasn’t human, but I wasn’t ready to admit it. Not until we fought and I saw her face heal right in front of my eyes.
“She bit me. On the hand. Here.” I lifted my right arm. “I didn’t know it then, but when one of them bites you they transmit their ability to heal. The next day we when we tried to leave town my dad swerved to avoid a giant hole in the middle of the road going sixty miles an hour. I went through the windshield and walked away without a scratch.”
Hunter nodded slowly. “When we tried to leave we ran into the same thing. They’ve cut off every exit coming into and going out of Revere.”
“They planned for everything,” I said bitterly.
“Not everything.” Hunter reached out and took my hand. His thumb inadvertently brushed against the spot where my scars had been before he linked his fingers with mine and squeezed tight. “They never planned for us.”
HUNTER PROMISED NOT TO TELL anyone about my sordid past, especially after I told him that the drinker who bit me was the same one I killed.
I trusted him to keep quiet. Not that I really had much of a choice.
When we go back to the gym we told everyone about Mrs. Wallace. There were a few who still didn’t want to believe us, but for the most part they took the news that our teachers were turning into crazy-eyed monsters who could attack in broad daylight surprisingly well.
That night, after stuffing my face with three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (don’t judge) I barricaded myself in the locker room with the rest of the girls.
A middle school locker room would never have been my first choice for a hideout, but aside from the overwhelming smell of cucumber melon body wash (someone had a serious addiction to Bath and Bodyworks) it was actually pretty cozy. There were even mattresses and sleeping bags and pillows spread out along the back wall, giving it a teenage sleepover vibe.
When we were all inside Hayley made a big show of locking the door and pocketing the key, effectively marking herself as the one in charge. If I wasn’t so tired I would have pointed out that a flimsy metal door wasn’t going to be enough to keep a drinker out, lock or no lock, but I didn’t feel like getting into another argument.
I took a cold shower, borrowed a clean t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts from Rose (I’d left my duffel bag behind in the shopping cart), grabbed a spare sleeping bag and settled down as far away from Hayley and her posse of mean girls as I could get. Flashlights bounced off the tile walls and hushed whispers filled the air as everyone got ready for bed. Wrapping my hair in a towel to dry I unzipped my sleeping bag and crawled inside. Within seconds of closing my eyes my breathing evened out and I was fast asleep.
THE DREAM CAME SUDDENLY, AS dreams sometimes do. One second I was surrounded by complete darkness and the next I was standing outside a dilapidated roller rink. Eighties music echoed from inside and a big billboard announced it was ‘BUY 1 GET 1 NIGHT’ in mismatched letters.
Whatever that meant.
Confused, I looked around for something familiar. I was pretty sure the last time I’d gone skating I was seven or eight, and it definitely hadn’t been at this place. I could hear the faint buzz of traffic as it flew by on a nearby interstate, but the roller rink’s parking lot was depressingly empty. Not that I was surprised. The ugly brown building with its half-dead landscaping didn’t exactly scream fun times and entertainment.
So what the hell was I doing here?
A minivan with wooden siding (you know the kind) pulled up to the curb and four teenage girls spilled out. They brushed right past me on their way inside, shoving me back against a metal railing badly in need of paint.
“Watch i
t,” one of them said.
“You watch it,” I growled.
Even in a dream I wasn’t about to take shit from anyone. Especially not a chick wearing pink and black striped leggings, an oversized t-shirt, neon green hoop earrings, and bright blue eyeshadow.
“We got a problem here?” she asked, snapping her gum as she turned around. “Lucy, Fi, go inside and get me a pair of skates. Size seven. I’ll be in in a sec.”
“Angie–”
She shot an annoyed glare back over her shoulder. “You deaf or somethin’? I said I’ll be there in a sec! And get me a cherry Airhead while you’re at it. No a grape. No! A cherry. Well? What are you still doing here? Hello. Get moving!”
Her friends left without another word, leaving us alone. Above our heads a bright fluorescent floodlight crackled to life, surrounding us in a pool of yellow light. Shadows started creeping up the side of the roller rink as the sun set behind it. Blue Eyeshadow blew a big pink bubble, popped it with her teeth, and grinned.
“You’re looking good, Lola.”
“How do you know my name?” It was a stupid question to ask, especially in a dream, but there was something about the girl that bothered me and it wasn’t just her clown makeup. I rubbed my arms as goosebumps broke out from my wrists all the way up to my shoulders.
Her lips pursed in an exaggerated pout. “You mean you don’t remember me? That hurts, pet. That really hurts.”
A chill ran down my spine, lifting the hairs on the nape of my neck. Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat I forced myself to look past the layers of bad makeup and frizzy hair and cheap jewelry to the girl that was hiding beneath. A girl whose face I had never wanted to see again, not even in my nightmares.
“Didn’t recognize me, did ya?” She snapped her gum again. And again.
Snap.
Snap.
Snap.
“What do you want, Angelique?” It’s a dream, I reminded myself. It’s only a dream. But if it was only a dream, why couldn’t I wake up?
When I pinched myself Angelique laughed in delight and clapped her hands together.
The Lola Chronicles (Book 2): A Day Without Dawn Page 6
