Replacement

by Wojciech Cram

  away, ignoring me in my petrified state. Calm down, MaryLynnette, I told myself, taking a deep breath and resuming my walking.

  So far I'd been good, I'd not been followed by anyone, good or otherwise. Only a few more blocks and I'd be in the clear. Once I was safe I'd have to think about transportation, as I

  didn't plan on walking all the way back to Vegas. My best bet would be to find a decent bus stop and look up the timetable. Surely I could plan out an entire route all the way to the mansion. If I did it well, I may even be able to be back there by this time tomorrow.

  Whilst these thoughts and arrangements were spinning through my head, my ears picked up the sound of a light pair of footsteps. I probably wouldn't have even noticed them if it

  weren't for the adrenaline pumping through my veins, making all of my senses stand on edge. I refused to look behind me and give away that I knew they were there, so I just kept my eyes focussed forward and ever so slightly picked up my pace.

  What did they say you should do if you're being followed? Find safety: check, I was already trying to do that. Don't panic: it was already a little too late for that. Don't run, because

  if you ran they'd chase you and that was bad. Keeping these things in mind I ignored the muscles in my legs that were screeching at me to leg it, and took a sharp turn down

  another alley. That was another thing you were supposed to: make sure the person was actually following you before you start stressing about it.

  The pair of footsteps mimicked my turn, stalking me down the next alley, gradually coming nearer and nearer. I'd been pretty sure before that I had a stalker, but now I was

  painfully certain. With my pulse thundering in my ears, I dared a glance back, unable to hold myself back any longer.

  And there was no one there. No shadowy figure, no threatening silhouette. Nothing. I stopped abruptly, shaking my head to clear my thoughts and rubbing my eyes. How could

  there be no one there? I'd been so certain of the footsteps following me. I listened carefully for any other sound apart from my own breathing, but there was none, not a footstep,

  not a whisper, not a breath.

  "What the hell?" I muttered to myself, my voice quiet even to my own ears. The stars that shone brightly above, usually so beautiful and aweinspiring seemed to be laughing at me

  and my foolishness. I shook my head again, refusing to believe that I'd imagined it. I wasn't losing my mind. The footsteps had been real. They had to have been.

  I was just about ready to fall to my knees in despair when a quiet thump sounded in the alley behind me.

  Every part of me froze.

  Closing my eyes I felt a mixture of relief and pure terror. I wasn't crazy; someone had been following me. But exactly that, someone had been following me, and now that person

  had landed right behind me. A distant part of my brain figured it all out, how the only possible explanation for their disappearance and then sudden reappearance, was that they must have been following me from above, on the rooftops perhaps.

  The logic of it all only calmed me marginally, as I readied myself to face whoever it was. A small part of me thought that maybe it could be Jez or Delos, and the worst thing that

  would happen was a good telling off before they manhandled me back in to the car. I'd be fine with that. Sure it would been mean that everything I'd done tonight would be for

  nothing, and that I'd be doomed to stay at the safe house, but it beat dying any day.

  But still, the chance it would be either of those two was very slim. I was sure that Jez wouldn't have bothered stalking me; she'd just pounce and haul me off. But then again, I'd

  never seen Jez in hunting mode, so maybe I was wrong. I prayed to god that I was wrong.

  Taking a deep breath, I spun around to face my stalker.

  The first thing my eyes took in was the large sword sheathed at the figure's waste, looking deadly as the moonlight hit its surface. The second thing I noticed was their womanly

  figure, clothed all in black, and their dark, glossy hair. The last thing I noticed was her emerald green eyes, glinting not with malice but with mischief. "Rashel," I breathed, almost

  collapsing in relief. "Hey there, tiger," she replied, stepping towards me.

  "How did you find me?" I gasped, suspicion filling my voice as I realised that there was no way that this could be a coincidence. She nodded to the coat I was wearing. "That's mine.

  I keep a tracker in the pocket just in case it goes for a walk about."

  "You keep trackers in your clothes?" I asked with a frown. "Only the nice ones that people are most likely to steal. They're very handy for moments like this."

  I nodded my head, not quite sure how to respond to a statement like that. One thing I was sure of though, was how grateful I was for Rashel's crazy schemes, as I'd never been more relieved to see anyone in my entire life. I couldn't help the smug smile that twisted up the corners of my lips as we stood facing each other in the dark alley. "Does Ash know

  you're here?" I asked, and for a second I hoped that maybe he had been the one to send her.

  "Here, here? No. But he does know that I went after you." My heart fell a little at that, but I should have known better than to think that Ash had sanctioned this rescue.

  I opened my mouth to ask who else knew about my disappearance from the mansion, but Rashel cut me off by holding up her hand, and casting a wary look around her. "Not now,"

  she said in a slightly hushed voice as if afraid of being over heard. Her cautiousness instantly put me on edge. "On the way into the town I caught sight of a shape shifter. I don't

  know if he had anyone with him, but I saw a Night World ring on his finger. He could just be local, but I think it'd be best if we make a move, just in case." I nodded my head in

  response, too nervous to actually open my mouth and speak.

  Butterflies fluttered in my stomach at the possibility of a new danger, as I fell into step with Rashel, my footsteps almost as silent as hers. She seemed to drift over the pavement

  like smoke, gracefully manoeuvring any obstacles in our path. I wondered how long it had taken her to master the skill of moving in such a way.

  "I'm parked outside the 7eleven," Rashel whispered once we'd broken out of the alley and stood illuminated by a streetlamp. It seemed to have taken mere minutes to exit the maze of backstreets, whilst it had seemed like a labyrinth earlier, inescapable.

  A quick nod of the head was the only acknowledgement I could offer before she loped across the street, lithe as a cat, and disappeared right before my eyes into the shadows. A

  second of panic consumed me, as I stood alone on the sidewalk, vulnerable in the limp yellow light of the street lamp.

  Not nearly as graceful as Rashel had demonstrated it, I hurried across the road, looking both ways before I did so, despite the street being deserted. Rashel's hand clasped onto my

  shoulder giving me a small fright, as she leant in close to me. Her warm breath tickled my ear as she whispered into it. "It's the black Honda near the trees. Watch your back and

  keep out of the dark spots. I'll meet you there in a minute." She then pressed the keys into my hand, their metal surface cool against my skin. And with that, Rashel was gone

  again, leaving me on my own.

  I had no idea where she'd gone or why she'd ditched me, but I didn't want to mess up whatever she had going by not doing my job properly. I scanned the small car park, my eyes

  easily sorting out the Honda as it was the only car parked so far away from the store. It stood all on its own, cloaked by the foliage of the trees next to it.

  I rolled my eyes and fought back a scoff. How was I meant to stay out of the dark spots when Rashel had parked under a god damn forest? Revelling in the irony of it, I tightened my hold on the keys and scurried across the parking lot, following Rashel's instructions. My heart started to pound the second I was back into the open, the fluorescent light from

  the
store leaking out of the windows. It wasn't much, but it was enough light for me to able to scan the area around me.

  Watch your back. That's what Rashel had said, so did that mean I truly was in danger? Before I could dwell on it for too long, I was at the car after what felt like a decade of

  walking. My eyes flitted to the trees around me, spying for any form of danger. I couldn't help but think that Ash would be proud of my cautiousness.

  With jittery hands, I unlocked the car door, almost dropping the keys in the process. I breathed a sigh of relief as the door opened, engulfing me in a new car smell. Darting into the

  passenger seat, I slammed the door behind me, closing out any possible danger.

  A minute passed by and nothing happened. There was no sign of Rashel anywhere; neither were their any signs of life at all. Even the 7eleven seemed to be empty. As another minute dragged on my nerves started to fray, my worry ramping up a notch. What if something had happened to Rashel? She could be injured, or dying somewhere whilst I sat here

  in this all but empty parking lot.

  I shook my head, pushing away images of Rashel bleeding out on the floor, or crying for help just out of hearing distance. Rashel was one of the best fighters I knew. She'd be fine.

  She was probably just trying to scare me like she had earlier. Everything would be fine.

  But even as I thought this, another minute rumbled by, turning into another and then another one. I barely noticed my foot tapping against the floor as my eyes darted once more

  around the surrounding area. It had been gone five minutes; surely she should have been back by now.

  The gruesome images from earlier flooded back into my head, gnawing at my brain. Along with those images came back my headache, starting off slowly in my temples before

  expanding to consume me completely. "Bugger off," I muttered to myself, pressing my forehead against the cool windowpane in an attempt to relieve some of the pain.

  It helped a little, but I couldn't appreciate it, as my concern was too prominent. In a flash decision, I opened the door and stepped back out into the cool air. I wasn't sure what I

  was hoping to achieve, but anything was better than staying cramped up in that stuffy car, not doing anything.

  The moment my foot set down onto the concrete of the parking lot, the hairs on the back of my neck began to prickle, as the sensation of being watched flowed over me. It made me want to shrink in on myself, to disappear from any staring eyes. But despite my brain screaming at me to get back in the car, to lock myself in, and to drive away without

  looking back, I was completely frozen. I couldn't have moved if it was to save my life, which very well might have been the case.

  My eyes drifted around the empty lot, attempting to catch a glimpse of whoever was watching, because I was sure that there was. I'd never been more certain about anything in my

  entire life. I was nearly tempted to call out for Rashel, to see if maybe she was the one whose eyes I could feel on my back. But no matter how desperate I was for reassurance, I

  knew that calling out, or in fact making any noise at all, would not be a good idea.

  I faint rustle sounded from the tree above my head, and instantly my neck snapped back to peer at whatever was up there. Although I could see nothing through the dense foliage, I

  automatically moved back several steps, putting more and more distance between whatever was up there and myself. Whilst moving away from the noise, I was also painfully

  aware that I was moving further from the car, my only form of safety.

  My heart hammered against my ribcage, as the rustling grew louder, and the branches of the tree began to creek. Whatever was up there was making one hell of a racket, and it

  unnerved me knowing that whatever it was could have been watching me in the car, able to pounce on me at any moment. I knew that the great weakness of human kind was that

  when looking for danger, we always failed to look up.

  I took another shaky step back, my eyes glued to the dense treetop where activity was getting bolder and bolder. I was just about ready to turn and leg it when a body fell from the

  leaves, crashing loudly onto the bonnet of the car.

  A small shriek escaped from my mouth, as my legs propelled me back about half a mile in fright. For a second all I could hear was the thundering of blood racing around my body

  as my heart worked in overtime. It only took a moment for me to realise what had happened and to think about whom the body might belong to.

  I rushed forward, a feeling of sick dread making me nauseous. I almost didn't want to look, just in case it was whom I thought it was, that the body would have a pair of deep

  emerald green eyes that would stare blankly at me, empty of life.

  Still, I forced myself to keep my eyes open, leaning over the still form to take a look at their face.

  The pretty face of a girl around my age looked up at me, void of any emotion in death. Her soft pink lips were parted ever so slightly in a silent 'oh', as if she was preparing to take

  a final breath, though the opportunity had been and gone. A dribble of ruby red blood trickled from her nose, down the milky white skin of her cheek, though the stream had ceased

  to flow the second her heart had stopped beating.

  Although the fall had been a long one, and the impact of landing on the car had been jarring, it was clear that the thing that had killed her was the wooden sword protruding from

  her chest, like some sort of ghastly growth. My fingers brushed against the hilt of the weapon in a gentle caress, as my head tilted in an admiring way at the fineness of it. It drew my focus away from the horror of the gruesome scene before me, allowing me to keep calm and not panic.

  It must have only been seconds after the first body fell, but it felt like months, when a second body fell from the tree, though this one landed gracefully upon the roof of the car,

  and it was very much alive.

  Without even batting an eyelid, Rashel moved forward to retrieve her sword from the dead girl's chest, wiping the blood carelessly onto her jeans. Jade would have been horrified at

  the act, as there would undoubtedly be a stain left on them.

  "I was wondering when you'd show up," I announced as she hopped onto the ground before me. "You certainly took your time."

  "I was busy," she replied, nodding to the dead girl sprawled across the bonnet of the car. "I can see," I said with raised eyebrows, trying to avoid looking at the body. Out of the

  corner of my eye, I could see the girl's skin becoming thin and papery, looking as if it would rip open at the slightest contact.

  I stood in place for a long moment, unsure of what to do next. I'd always been an awkward person, but standing next to a dead body outside a 7eleven kind of heightened the

  awkward tension I was used to. Luckily, Rashel had no such qualms, after having dealt with this sort of thing her whole life practically.

  She strode over to the dead girl, hooking her arms around the girl's chest and hoisting her up slightly. "Are you going to help or just stand there?" She questioned, irritation lacing

  her voice. As I turned to face her properly, some of the shock wearing off, I noticed that her eyes were still constantly darting around our surroundings looking for another danger.

  For a second I just stood there, staring dumbfounded at her, thinking that she couldn't be serious. I was only a high school senior, how could I be expected to haul off a corpse to do

  god knows what with? Surely we couldn't just leave her here in the car park. When nothing more was said, I had to take in the possibility that she was being serious. She really

  wanted me to help her move a dead body.

  I thought it was a testament of how far I'd come since learning about the Night World, when I hurried over to the car bonnet and took hold of the girl's legs without further

  hesitation. We both let out a small grunt as we lifted the girl up, as her petit
frame was surprisingly deceiving as to how much she weighed.

  "Where to?" I asked, shuffling along at a surprisingly quick pace thanks to Rashel's urgency. "The trees," Rashel replied shortly, not sounding out of breath in the slightest, despite

  the fight she'd just been in. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the location she'd said. I was no expert on murder but I think it would be plain common sense to move the body

  to somewhere where it wouldn't be found. I was pretty sure a cluster of trees wouldn't do the trick; I had been thinking more along the lines of a dumpster maybe.

  "Are we going to bury her?" I asked sceptically, fully aware that we had no shovel or any other digging device. I was met with a shake of the head from Rashel who was being

  uncharacteristically quiet. Deciding to take a leaf out of her book, I kept my mouth shut as we continued to haul the girl further into the trees.

  "This will do," Rashel said, suddenly stopping and letting the girl fall ungracefully onto the dirtcovered floor. I was more careful in releasing her legs out of some warped show of

  respect, I suppose. "Really?" I questioned in a hushed voice, my eyes flitting to the trees around us. It wasn't exactly a secluded spot; anyone could easily come across her.

  "Shouldn't we at least try and cover her up with something?" I added, beginning to feel uneasy at all of this.

  "There's no time," Rashel hissed, turning on her heel and setting of at a light jog back to the car. At first I had to sprint to catch up with her effortless lope, twigs crunching under my feet. "Hey, wait. What's going on?" I asked, running level with her, my breath becoming ragged whilst Rashel barely looked as if she was exerting any effort at all.

  "That girl was a vampire," Rashel explained as the light of the 7eleven came back into view. I nodded even though she wasn't looking at me, prompting her to continue. Sure a

  vampire was worrying but I'd learned that there were supernatural creatures everywhere, hell, my best friend had been one, and so I didn't understand why that had set off Rashel's

  alarm bells. "First a shape shifter then a vampire? This is a small town, there shouldn't be that much Night World activity," she continued. I opened my mouth to ask another