Replacement

by Wojciech Cram

  question but she held up a hand to stop me.

  At this point we'd reached the tree line, the car was barely more than a metre away. Instantly my nerves kicked in, telling me to shut up. Only when Rashel moved towards the car

  did I follow, my feet moving silently against the concrete. I didn't know what I was expecting to happen, but I barely dared to breath as Rashel and I climbed into the car, shutting

  ourselves in.

  Without wasting anymore time, Rashel hit the gas and sped out of the empty parking lot, racing through the small town that I didn't even know the name of, and out onto the

  highway. Only after we'd put a good few miles between the town and us did I let myself breath, relaxing back into the soft leather seats.

  "So… what's your theory?" I asked, hoping to continue the conversation we'd just had. Rashel let out a huff, but her grip didn't loosen on the steering wheel, her knuckles remained

  white. "Well," she started, her eyes flicking to the wind mirror, no doubt checking for a tail. "I'm guessing they somehow caught wind of there being Daybreakers in the area and

  came to check it out."

  Panic surged through me at the consequences of that situation. "You don't think they knew that the wild powers were there, do you?" I asked, the worry I felt clear in my voice. By

  escaping I'd been trying to keep the wild powers safe, not trying to draw attention to them and risk getting them killed.

  "Nah," Rashel stated, shaking her head so that her long dark hair swung around her shoulders. "If they'd have known, they would have sent more man power. It's just gotten to the

  stage at this point that they're targeting all Daybreakers, whether they're important or not."

  "Why?" I asked in confusion. Was it really worth losing lives just to take out a couple of defenceless girls? Well, we weren't really that defenceless as demonstrated by the large

  sword that rested between the two front seats, but still.

  "The less people we have, the less power we have," Rashel replied with a shrug of her shoulders, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "They're trying to hunt down as many of us as they possibly can so that we won't be able to find the last wild power."

  "Taking down the front line, huh?"

  "Exactly."

  My shoulders slumped slightly at this new piece of information. As if all of this wasn't hard enough already. Not only did I have a crazy witch after me, I now also had to worry

  about the Night World trying to hunt down the people I cared about. Things were looking just peachy for me today.

  "Do you think they'll come after us?" I asked, peaking at Rashel out of the corner of my eye. The headlights of passing cars danced across her features, distorting the angles of her

  face, making them seem harsher. Her expression betrayed no emotion, and if she was worried about the possibility, she wasn't showing it. "Probably," she answered quietly. "I

  doubt they'll be very happy that we killed one of their own."

  "You killed her," I corrected her, earning myself a glare. "I was just an innocent bystander."

  "Tell me how you get on explaining that to the vengeful shape shifter and the goddess knows what else that are after us." With that, she gave me a sweet smile that was entirely

  out of place on her shadowcloaked face. I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that she was probably right. I was guilty by association.

  "So," I sighed, leaning my head against the cool window. "Where are we going? You know, assuming that we won't be dead inside of the hour." From the corner of my eye, I caught

  Rashel smirking although she tried to cover it up quickly.

  "I have a friend," she said, her eyes flicking cautiously to the side mirrors. In any other situation I would have accused her of being an overly cautious driver, but the fact that we

  were way over the speed limit kind of counteracted the accusation. "We can stay with her tonight, then head back to the mansion in the morning. It's far safer travelling by day at

  the moment. Despite everything that's happening, the Night people still can't seem to shake the instinct to avoid being found out, which I suppose is good for us. It means they wont make a public scene."

  I nodded my head, glad that we at least had one thing going for us. Without any conscious effort on my part, my eyes were drawn to the sky, the darkness providing the perfect

  backdrop to the stars I loved so much. The night wasn't completely clear, so there were sections of the sky covered by wispy clouds, but it was good enough for me. "Will we be

  safe?" I asked absently, unsure of what had spurred me to ask the question. "At your friend's house, I mean."

  "I hope so," she replied. "But judging from my last visit, I don't think World War Three could harm us where we're going. The place is a bloody fort."

  I nodded my head slightly; glad that I could spend the night in relative safety. Of course I'd still constantly be worrying about Ash, and the sisters, and Mark, more than ever now

  that I knew of all the threats we faced. The witch that was out to get me –Selene, was it? – had demonstrated how easy it was to get to those in the mansion, which meant she

  could easily kidnap any one of them. The thought made me shiver.

  "Do you think any of us are really safe?" I asked after a couple moments of silence. "Do you think anyone is ever really safe?" Rashel returned, taking her gaze off the road for a

  second to look at me.

  "Life is a risk, MaryLynnette. You're no more likely to die now than you were six months ago when you were oblivious to all of this. You're just as likely to slip in the shower and

  break your neck, or get hit by a car crossing the road. Just the same as back then you were just as likely to get killed in a vampire attack, or be sacrificed in some witchy voodoo.

  "The danger has always been there, it's just that you've only just found out about it."

  I didn't know whether to feel comforted by what she said, or more scared than ever. But she was right, I realised. Out of the seven billion people on this planet, only a handful knew

  about the apocalypse, but that didn't mean that the others wouldn't be affected by it. They just wouldn't see it coming. Just like I hadn't seen Jeremy coming.

  I was about to open my mouth to respond with something as equally wise and profound, but was cut off before I could even get a single word out. "Shit," Rashel hissed under her

  breath.

  I followed her gaze to the rearview mirror and saw a car trailing behind us. The car didn't seem particularly threatening, but obviously something had set off Rashel's alarm bells.

  "What is it?" I asked immediately, twisting around in my seat to get a better look at the car.

  "I didn't think they'd find us this quickly," Rashel muttered, swerving into a different lane and almost crashing into another car. Her manoeuvre was met by a chorus of angry horns

  that increased as the car behind pulled off the same movement. Only then did the danger become real and my breath hitched slightly in panic.

  "Is it the shape shifter?" I asked, my eyes continuously darting to the side mirror to check if we'd lost our tail. "Yeah. And also what looks like another vampire and probably a

  witch. Wow, they really went all out."

  "I feel so special," I returned, although it lacked the enthusiasm to make it a biting remark. "Do you think you can lose them?" I asked, knowing it was probably a stupid question. I

  was talking to Rashel Jordan after all. She gave me a look that told me she was deeply offended by my question before asking, "Is your seat belt on?"

  I looked down to my fastened belt, despite already knowing that it was secured in place. Even in the middle of a crisis it was never okay to forget car safety. But before I could

  even give Rashel my confirmation, I was flung into the side of the car, landing hard on my shoulder, as she through us into a Uturn.

  "What the hell are you doing?" I screamed at her, as we drove t
he wrong way down a packed highway, dodging oncoming cars as we went. "I'm losing them," she replied, far too

  calmly for the situation.

  I dared a peak at the wind mirror, catching a glimpse of the chaos we'd left behind. So far I couldn't see anyone following us, and I didn't know whether anyone, Night World or not,

  would be crazy enough to follow us. Apparently Rashel wasn't taking any risks as she effortlessly swerved further across the road to take an exit.

  I didn't even realise I'd been holding my breath until we were back on the right side of the road, and all of the air in my lungs burst out of me. "You could have gotten us killed," I

  hissed at Rashel, not able to bring myself to shout now that the immediate danger had passed.

  "Don't be absurd. I'm an excellent driver! And you're welcome by the way," she snapped back. I rolled my eyes, knowing it would do no good to argue my point. We were alive, that

  was all that mattered.

  "Do you think we lost them?" I asked, my heart beginning to slow down ever so slightly in my chest. Still, I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from the mirror, waiting for the car

  that was following us to show up. I just hoped that we could make it to this fortress Rashel had mentioned quickly, because I didn't think we'd be safe for long.

  Even so, I still felt entirely dismayed when Rashel shook her head, her emerald green eyes glistening with what looked like anticipation. I suddenly wondered how many times she'd

  done this sort of thing. Was this just an ordinary Saturday night for her? Would this just become an ordinary Saturday night for me if I stayed with circle Daybreak? The thought was

  strangely thrilling.

  "We may have lost them for now, but they won't be lost for long. We need to change cars, like now."

  "How are we going to do that?"

  "Don't worry, I have a plan," Rashel assured, giving me a wicked smile that told me that I wasn't going to like what she had in mind. Not one bit.

  Minutes passed, feeling like hours as they ticked by agonisingly slow. With the amount of adrenaline pumping through my body, I found myself unable to sit still in my seat,

  constantly fidgeting. The tapping of my fingers on the dashboard matched the hurried rhythm of my heart slamming against my chest. I was so keyed up that I barely took any

  notice of Rashel's withering glares, clearly brought on by the constant tapping.

  In contrast to myself, she seemed completely at ease, her body lounging gracefully in the drivers seat. Her black hair was swept behind her ears, allowing me to see how her

  emerald green eyes darted between the mirrors, constantly checking for our tail having returned. To my knowledge, they hadn't found us quite yet, but it was only a matter of time.

  The only thing that gave Rashel away about her nerves was her whiteknuckled grip on the steering wheel.

  "How long?" I asked, my voice quiet despite all of my pent up energy.

  "We're almost there," Rashel replied, swinging the car onto a side road that would lead us to the mall. We'd seen a sign a couple miles back advertising an all night shopping event,

  and decided that the mall would be our most likely success at surviving tonight. Lots of people would hopefully provide us with an opportunity to blend in.

  As the car glided along the road, the lights of the shopping centre coming into view, we both settled into a careful silence that seemed to shiver in the air.

  I couldn't help twisting in my seat to check if we were being followed, my eyes sorting out the sleek car that was filled with Night people. The road behind us was clear, not a single

  soul in sight. Hope blossomed in my chest, as the thought that we may be able to actually pull this off invaded my thoughts.

  The moment we entered the town borders was clear, as the clusters of trees were traded for groups of buildings, the lonely moonlight replaced by neon signs, and the chirps of

  crickets drowned out by the pounding night life. It was unsurprisingly busy due to it being a Saturday night, and I hoped Rashel was right about the Night World not wanting to make

  public scenes. If not, things could turn into a bloodbath very quickly.

  "Okay, you see that movie theatre?" Rashel asked, her gaze flitting to a building with bright lights advertising an assortment of different films, from chick flicks to horror movies.

  "Yeah, I see it," I replied, nodding my head.

  "Meet me there in half an hour from now. I'll be waiting at the entrance with the car."

  I looked at the time on the dashboard, mentally adding on half an hour and how long it would take me to get here from the mall. "What if I'm not there in half an hour?" I asked

  nervously, playing with the hem of my coat.

  "Then your dead, and needless to say I'll be leaving without you." I gulped at her harsh words but didn't argue them. Note to self: don't be late.

  "If I'm not there in half an hour, presume me dead, okay?" Rashel stormed on, unaware of the uneasy feeling growing in my core. If Rashel didn't turn up in half an hour, I'd be as

  good as dead too. "Now listen carefully, MaryLynnette because I'll only say this once."

  I nodded my head again, my tongue so heavy in my mouth that I couldn't have chocked out a sentence to save my life. "If I'm not ready and waiting in half an hour, you go without me, as soon as the minute is up. No waiting around, you hear me?"

  Her words rung through my head, bouncing off every surface but refusing to sink in: If I'm not there in half an hour. Maybe I nodded my head, maybe I didn't, but all I could hear

  were those words because they shook me to the core. I'd known this girl for less than a week, and already I couldn't truly imagine a life without her. It'd be like the stars going out.

  She'd told me to listen, but I couldn't not speak up.

  "You'll be there in half an hour," I stated, more confident than I felt. Rashel either didn't hear my remark or chose not to acknowledge it, as she kept going. "Call this number, and

  follow the instructions they give you to a T." She handed me a crumpled piece of paper with a hastily scrawled number on it. I had no idea when she'd written it down, but it was

  there in front of me none the less. I didn't recognise the number.

  "I don't have a phone," I murmured absently, stuffing the note in the pocket of the coat that belonged to Rashel. My fingers brushed against the cool surface of the dagger, and I

  was forced to wonder at which point in my life did such a weapon become a comfort to me.

  "The theatre will have one, just tell them it's an emergency. Tell them you'll sue if they don't let you use it," she teased, nudging me slightly in the arm. A small smile tugged at the

  corners of my lips.

  "This number. Do you trust the person it belongs to?" I asked, wary of the idea of involving strangers. Just because they were friends of Rashel, it didn't mean they'd be friendly

  towards me.

  "MaryLynnette," Rashel said, her eyes meeting mine from the driver's seat, emerald meeting blue. "No matter what you may think of all this, and how insane it is, I know that you

  trust me. You know that I would never put your life at risk." I didn't mention the fact that she'd drove up the highway on the wrong side of the road, very nearly getting us

  killed. "The number I just gave you belongs to someone I trust perhaps more than anyone else in the world. I wouldn't hand you over into their care unless I thought you'd be 100%

  safe with them."

  Rashel said her bit, assuming without a shadow of a doubt that I trusted her entirely, despite the little time we'd known each other, and I suppose I did. I didn't know her story, and

  she didn't know mine, but somewhere along the way that had ceased to matter. This girl in the seat beside me could have been a serial killer, a terrorist, a psychopath, but in that moment she was my friend and nothing more.

  "Okay," I whispered, leaning my head against the cool window.

  Before I knew it,
we were pulling into the mall and grinding to an abrupt stop. I flung the car door open in sync with Rashel, back to business. We both jumped out of the car, not

  even bothering to lock it, and walked to the entrance, glancing at our surroundings as we did so.

  "Okay, here's where we split," she said, approaching the set of sliding glass doors, which revealed the busy stores within. I could already tell that it wouldn't be too hard to blend in,

  what with the masses of people.

  "Move swiftly, but don't run. The last thing we want is to attract attention, so don't make a scene of any sort, even if it's only a little one. If you can, latch on to a group of girls

  around our age, you'll blend in easier, and let's be honest, a group of giggling teenage girls is enough to repel even the strongest night person.

  Move around the mall for a bit, look in shop windows before making a move to leave. Exit through any entrance but this one, and go to the movie theatre."

  Before I even had a chance to reply with any queries, she was shoving me through the doors, and hissing, "GO!" I glared at her over my shoulder but she was already gone, winding

  her way through the crowds like a shadow.

  The moment she was out of sight my nerves began to drown me. How could I do this, how could I possibly escape the Night World? I felt the urge to freeze, to just stand in the

  entrance and wait for this all to be over, but I knew that it never would be over and I had to keep moving.

  As if working of their own accord, my feet carried me over to the escalator, taking note of Rashel's advice to move swiftly but not run. My mind began to tick, humming over what

  to do now. Every cell of my body wanted to run to the movie theatre, to make sure I wouldn't be late, it was almost painful to stop myself from going their straight away.

  I spotted a group of girls gushing over a makeup stand, and meandered my way over to them, careful to not draw attention. The girls were maybe a few years younger than me,

  but I awkwardly joined the back of the pack anyway, hoping they wouldn't notice that they'd gained a straggler.

  As they tried foundation samples and smeared an array of different lipsticks over the back of their hands, my eyes latched onto a shelf lined with sample perfumes and incenses. My mind floated back to the time Mark and I had stalked the sisters through the woods in Briar Creek, and how they hadn't detected us because the smell of goat had disguised our