Tourniquet

by Chuck Buda

  Samantha returned her attention to Aiden. He wobbled on his feet, holding his head in his hands. Aiden lurched forward, vomiting on the ground before him. Samantha started to rise to assist Aiden before he fell on his face. As she made her move to go to him, Samantha felt an uneasiness creep along her flesh. The only thing she could compare it to was the sensation of not being alone.

  But I’m not alone. Aiden is here.

  Samantha shot a look at Zoe.

  And she swore Zoe’s eyes were open, glaring up at Samantha.

  In a hungry, devilish grin.

  Chapter 36

  It had all happened so fast.

  Zoe realized too late that she had been set up. Her instincts had tried to warn her but Zoe had ignored them.

  The funniest part of being run over by a vehicle had been hearing the car before seeing it. The revved engine. The whoosh of air singing from one side of her head to the other, like a song which is purposely funneled from one headphone into the next.

  Zoe had caught the sleek glow of moonlight off the hood as it rushed at her. She had intended to jump at the last second but she had no idea if it had worked. Or if her legs had responded to her brain’s command at all.

  Once the hood caught her in the hip, Zoe sailed through the air. She tumbled head over heels and stuck a rugged landing on the pavement. The burn of skin peeling along the asphalt had been overwhelming.

  And then lights out.

  Zoe wandered the halls of the high school. A sea of students parted as she took her time passing through the center. Underclassmen gawked at her beauty, wishing she would acknowledge their lowly existence. Freshman girls whispered to each other behind manicured hands, wondering who she was and how she had become so beautiful. Zoe’s peers slinked into the shadows or hid by lockers to avoid her attention, which would only lead to derision or indifference.

  She owned Tenafly.

  Zoe made her way to the clique, Todd and Ryan watching her with drool-stained lips. Jordyn and Leah nodded in deference to her status. Zoe faked a smile and commanded them to follow her to class. As they rounded the corner toward the sciences wing, Aiden joined in lock step with the boys, toward the back. The girls led the way with Zoe at the helm.

  Classroom 204 was for Physics. Only one student had been waiting inside the classroom, patiently sitting in their desk at the very front of the room. Mr. Dawkins, the Physics teacher, wrote upon the chalkboard with his back to the desks. A long formula for calculating the speed of light had him engrossed. The man had no idea the kids had arrived in his room.

  Zoe walked right up to the lone student at the front of the classroom. She handed her books to Leah, who obediently piled them on top of her own. Zoe tapped her left foot impatiently, hands on hips. She blew a huge bubble with her gum, until it popped in a gushy echo against her soft lips. Zoe sucked the bubblegum back into her mouth.

  She stared down at the top of the student’s head. Zoe hoped her glare burned holes into the skull of the stubborn student.

  Slowly, the kid lifted his gaze to meet Zoe’s. His expression resisted any signs of hesitancy or nervousness. The face was defiant in its expressionless poise.

  Spencer.

  Fucking Spencer.

  Zoe swung her hand forward, knocking the notebook and pencil off the desk. Spencer didn’t flinch. He didn’t even blink. But Zoe would make him bend to her will. She clasped her fingers along the outer edge of the desk, her fingers turning red with force.

  “You’re in my spot.” Zoe blew another bubble. This one nearly reached the tip of Spencer’s nose. Without waiting for the bubble to pop, Zoe sucked the gum back into her mouth and clacked it for good measure along the side of her teeth.

  “I was the first one to sit here. So how is it YOUR spot?”

  Zoe flipped Spencer the bird. Then she quickly jammed her middle finger into Spencer’s eye socket. Her fingernail squished through to the retinal nerve, forcing a sprinkler-like effect of blood to squirt from his face.

  Spencer clutched his eye and rolled to the floor. He screamed in pain as Zoe picked up the desk and placed it over Spencer’s prone body. She slid into the chair and sat atop the pile of writhing waste beneath her feet.

  “You may have gotten here first, but I’m the motherfucker who runs the show.”

  Spencer cried tears of crimson. He struggled to crawl out from under the desk but failed as each leg pinned him to the floor.

  “I... taught you everything you know.” Spencer tried to fit his eyeball back into its hole.

  Zoe threw her head back in laughter. She shot her crew a look that convinced them they should follow suit before she dealt them a similar hand.

  The clique joined in the laughter.

  “You have learned a valuable lesson today.” Zoe clacked her gum once again. “Power trumps smarts, kiddo.”

  She felt the heat of the burns along her flesh.

  Zoe began to climb back into the present, straining to claw her way back from the darkness. The sound of Spencer’s cries and her friends’ laughter faded. She listened as people above her carried on like she wasn’t there. Someone puking and shuffling. The unsure movement of someone else caught between going to the shuffler’s aid or staying put.

  The eyes.

  Zoe fluttered her eyelids. The blackened night softened in the middle as the car’s headlights glimmered into focus. Leah’s mother stood in front of her. Her hand covered her mouth. Was it shock? Or fear? Zoe wished she could turn over and see who the shuffler was.

  Suddenly, Zoe knew where she was and who was with her.

  Aiden had come with Samantha. So she was the mysterious person in the car back at the school. Zoe was impressed with both Aiden and Samantha. She had never imagined such a duo would be coming after her. Zoe wondered how much of the evening Samantha knew about. Was she aware of how Zoe had killed Leah? She must know. Why else would she be running around town in the dark with the dork?

  Dark with the dork. Zoe stifled a laugh.

  She clenched her eyes shut. Zoe thought Samantha had seen her staring upward.

  Play possum.

  Zoe’s brain worked to hatch another plan to get free of these two. She needed to escape so she could battle Spencer for her ultimate triumph. But it would have to be more than an escape. Zoe needed to kill them both. To feed the demon and to dispatch the potential threat of their return. Zoe needed a clear path to Spencer.

  One without the annoying Aiden and his new sidekick, Samantha.

  Zoe got an idea. One she knew would catapult her past these two. And onto the trail toward Spencer.

  Destiny was still within her grasp. She just had to overcome a small bump in the road.

  Chapter 37

  Aiden used the back of his hand to wipe the last drops of vomit from his lips. He tried to straighten himself but wobbled on shaky feet. Aiden had never had a concussion before. He figured this must be how football players felt after a huge open-field hit. It didn’t help him to enjoy the sensation one bit.

  He rubbed his eyes to gain better focus. Samantha’s jaw hung slack while she watched him get his bearings.

  Zoe lay crumpled along the asphalt.

  Aiden hoped it was finally over. He didn’t think he could sustain much more physical abuse or mental anguish. It had been a long and difficult night. With dawn threatening to break across the horizon, Aiden could only dream about crawling into his bed and sleeping for the rest of the day. Better yet, he would sleep for the next week.

  “She...” Aiden choked on his thought, pointing at Zoe.

  Samantha shrugged. Aiden wanted to know Zoe was definitely dead before he could look forward to any respite. He aimed a shaky finger at Zoe’s shape, forgoing any attempt to verbalize his question.

  “Aiden, are you okay?” Samantha took a step in his direction. “You look like...shit.”

  Aiden grunted a laugh. His tongue felt like a dried-out sponge as he tried to wet his lips so he could speak. “I’m not...” Aiden rubbed his tem
ple. “I feel like shit.”

  Samantha glanced at Zoe. She crouched down near the body. She reached out a shaky hand like she feared putting her arm in a tank with a black widow spider. Aiden prodded her to check for a pulse, using his eyes instead of words.

  Samantha recognized Aiden’s intent. She nodded, swallowed loudly, and placed her fingers upon Zoe’s upturned wrist. Aiden waited impatiently for some kind of sign as to the fate of the girl who used to be one of his friends. Each second that ticked by was an eternity.

  “Well?”

  Samantha shrugged again. “I can’t tell. It feels like there’s a pulse but it might just be my finger. My heart is racing so bad. It could be pounding to my fingertips.”

  Aiden shuffled forward. Samantha moved her hand from Zoe’s wrist, up to the girl’s neck. She pressed two fingers to Zoe’s carotid artery.

  She glanced up at Aiden as he waited for her diagnosis.

  Zoe sprung up. She swung a splayed hand of razor sharp nails at Samantha’s face. Samantha’s surprise catapulted her body backwards out of the reach of Zoe’s new attack.

  Aiden tried to will his body to jump to Samantha’s aid. But his legs betrayed him. His bruised brain had been slow to fire the signals through his neural framework. Zoe wasted no time. She rolled to her knees and climbed to her feet. Rather than continue her assault on Samantha, Zoe launched herself at Aiden.

  His eyes grew bigger than full moons as he realized he would have to once again fight for his life. He implored his body to react or suffer the consequences, as dire as they might be. Aiden got his left arm up in time to impede Zoe’s momentum.

  It only worked slightly. Zoe bounced off Aiden’s forearm, spun in a circle like a defensive lineman rushing a quarterback, and turned into Aiden’s back. She forced herself into a ball, clinging to Aiden’s neck like a monkey. One hand worked to dig at Aiden’s face. The other hand clamped onto his left nipple. Aiden screamed as Zoe tried to tear the nipple through his tee shirt. The pain brought milky stars to the periphery of his vision.

  Aiden turned in a tight spiral, attempting to use centrifugal force to propel Zoe from his back. It had been no use. Zoe was relentless. Aiden called to Samantha to help him. As Samantha rushed to his aid, Aiden managed to loosen Zoe’s grip on his chest. Once her hand slipped down, Aiden turned to throw a punch at Zoe’s face. His wild swing missed her by a foot or so.

  Shit. Not even close.

  Before Aiden could recover to throw another punch, Zoe moved in close. Her teeth bit into Aiden’s flesh, narrowly missing his jugular. Samantha smashed into Aiden’s back. The impact forced Zoe’s head back with a whiplash motion. She sprawled to the ground. Aiden clutched at his wound. He pulled a bloody hand away to check on the severity, quickly replacing it to stop the flow.

  Samantha kicked at Zoe. Her legs missed connection each time. Zoe pin wheeled away with the agility of a panther. Samantha gasped for air. Whatever steam she had in her system at the beginning of the fight had leaked out from all the expenditure. Sensing an opening, Zoe jumped up and took several lightning fast steps back. She held out her arms like a traffic cop to halt Samantha.

  “Wait. Wait.” Zoe’s posture shocked Aiden. He had expected her to continue coming at them until the job was done. Either that or flee yet again. Stalling for negotiations? That would be a first, Aiden thought.

  “You can’t win.”

  Aiden rolled his eyes. There’s the Zoe I know and love.

  “No. YOU can’t win.” Aiden clenched the throbbing flow of blood on his neck. “You have to get through us AND Spencer.” Aiden bluffed, shooting Samantha a quick look to try to signal her to play along.

  “You’re only a stepping stone, Aiden. You always have been.” Zoe spat a bloody wad onto the pavement. Aiden wondered how much of it was his own blood.

  “Even for Leah.”

  Aiden’s rage surged up through his chest. He felt a tsunami of anger bursting through every vein. Somewhere, miles away, Aiden heard Samantha scream in pain. Aiden ignored everything in the world as he exploded in Zoe’s direction. Aiden charged with all his might. He punched Zoe’s mouth as hard as he could. It felt as if he had jarred some of her teeth loose. Zoe’s head whipped back, a stream of fresh blood spewing over her trailing hair. Aiden moved in for another jab. The second punch missed. Zoe had recovered and ducked enough to only suffer the slightest graze. She grabbed Aiden’s arm and sank her teeth in. Aiden howled. It felt like Zoe’s teeth had reached down to the bone. He shook his arm furiously to free it from Zoe’s bite. But it was too solid a grip. Each shake allowed Zoe’s mouth to tear meat from sinew, and sinew from bone.

  Samantha fired an elbow at Zoe. It connected with Zoe’s eye with a resounding crack. Zoe fell away from Aiden. He watched in horror as a mouthful of his arm hung from Zoe’s bloody lips.

  Aiden dropped to his knees. The sky swirled around him. He fluttered his eyelids in a failing attempt to remain conscious. Aiden wanted to give in, to drop to the ground and die. He had reached the end of his fight. Everything went dark.

  Zoe scrambled to her feet. She laughed as she used her hands to stuff more of Aiden’s flesh into her mouth. She chewed obnoxiously, turning Samantha’s stomach.

  Chapter 38

  Zoe ran as fast as she could. Her body had taken a beating, mostly because of getting hit by the car. She felt different, like a part of her leg wasn’t connected properly anymore. Zoe wondered if her adrenaline masked a serious injury.

  What if my fucking leg is broken? Or my hip?

  She shook off any worries to concentrate on the next phase of her plan.

  Zoe had severely underestimated Aiden. Of all the people she thought she could manipulate and conquer, Aiden’s name would have been at the top of every list. A milquetoast, shy and quiet type. Yet, he resisted her every step of the way. He had embarrassed her with his phony jug of blood. He had stood up for Leah. He had come after her, not once, but several times.

  Fucking loser.

  Zoe decided to give up on Aiden. She would run out of time if she continued to plot her way through the group, one by one. Rather than finish off Aiden, Zoe would chase down Spencer and bring the final battle to its bloody end. Aiden could live.

  Who gives a fuck? He’s worthless anyway.

  Spencer would be the real prize.

  It would have been nice to use Aiden’s blood to fill her reserve tank. But she had enough to defeat Spencer without topping off her fluids with one more kill.

  Who knows. Aiden might be dead now anyway. I bit him good. All that blood. No way he could last much longer with such mortal wounds.

  Fucking Samantha.

  Unless that old whore nurses him back to life. Zoe tended to believe Samantha would leave Aiden behind to come after Zoe for her pound of flesh. Samantha was too old to catch Zoe at her game. Besides, what kind of old house-wife could mount any real formidable challenge to a powerful mistress of the blood? Certainly not Samantha.

  Zoe slowed down a few notches. The pain searing through her legs. She looked down at her bloody feet. Zoe had essentially run a marathon tonight in bare feet. Between harsh streets and climbing tough tree bark, she would be in desperate need of much more than an ordinary pedicure.

  She paused to face in the direction she had come. No sign of Samantha or Aiden.

  Zoe made her way down the road toward the supermarket. The lights were shining bright. There would only be stock boys working the graveyard shift to fill the shelves with new cans of soup or rearranging the fruit displays. Zoe decided to work her way into the store to fix up some of her wounds. It would give her a chance to hide for a few minutes, too, while she collected her thoughts. She had planned on using Aiden to lure Spencer to their final battlefield. But that ship had sailed. Aiden was still alive. And she hadn’t wrestled his cell phone away.

  So she would need a new plan to get to Spencer.

  Zoe crept along the front window of the store, making sure to keep a low profile. She slinked across th
e glass until she had confirmed her notions.

  One stock boy with a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. The kid had the hat on so tight, his ears were bent down by the edge of the cap.

  Like taking life from a baby.

  Zoe reversed course toward the side of the building. Knowing the front of the store would be locked up, Zoe hoped to find a dock bay open or an employee entrance unlocked. She plastered her scratched up skin along the brick edifice, turning two corners. The back of the store had several loading docks. No light shone through any of them. Not even the bay with a trailer parked up against it. The place had been closed, all deliveries had been brought into the store, or had been parked outside for the morning.

  Morning is coming, bitch. Move your ass.

  Zoe saw the closed-circuit camera hanging above the loading bays. It was pointed in her general direction. Zoe flattened herself as much as she could, trailing along the exterior. She hustled to a door labeled PRIVATE. Zoe tried the knob.

  Nothing.

  The door was locked. All her hopes were flushing away. She could keep moving to look for more options. But there weren’t any other places she could get into. And morning light was coming fast. Zoe had to think. She hopped down off the ledge, sitting in the filthy gravel beneath the dock.

  Part of her felt like giving up and admitting she had gotten in over her head. She had been sucked into the glory of the chase. The blood and the mystery had been alluring. The power trip was the best thing that had ever happened to her. The force flowing from her fingertips. Controlling. Owning. Destroying. Everyone under her spell.

  Zoe slapped her own face to shake the useless defeatism from her mental state. She wouldn’t give in after all she had gone through. After what she had seen on the other side. The darkness had welcomed her, embraced her in its cold arms, shepherding Zoe through another veil of existence. A pure world where only good and evil existed. No grays, no wishy-washy horse shit. Only power and nothingness.