by Laura Hysell
My whole body was shaking by the time he finished. Every werewolf in the room was staring at us, having heard every word despite the fact Jared had whispered it. I felt the tears welling in my eyes, but I shut it down. I looked up at Jared, ready to lash out in anger when I caught the look in his eyes. He was scared. Had Jared had nightmares last night as well? I’d spent one day of torture with Sarah, but he’d suffered for far longer. I felt my anger melt away as I stared into his scared eyes. “I have to do this,” I said softly, reaching out a hand to pat his shoulder.
He nodded his head and stuffed his hands into the pockets of the coveralls he still wore. “Okay, I’m going too.”
“Jared, no,” I replied immediately.
“Why? What makes you so special that you get to go and I have to go run off and hide? I want payback. I want to find Justin. I want the same things, Izzy. I’m going,” he said and he turned and walked away before I could say another word.
It felt like the weight of the world was resting on my shoulders in that moment. If I chose to go with Hugo to Jed’s house, I’d keep Jared and Kirk safe. If I went with the others to find my brother, I’d risk not just myself and the werewolves, but I’d be risking Jared too. Could I do that to Jared? I didn’t know him that well, but we’d bonded during that night of torture. When Sarah burned him, his eyes held mine. And when Sarah’s whip had struck me time and time again, I had looked to Jared and found comfort in his eyes.
I ate my bagel in silence, contemplating my decision as the werewolves milled around me. No one spoke to me, but I saw the looks the werewolves gave me, judging me. Kirk stayed close beside me, following me as I wandered around the lobby. I didn’t like having someone else’s fate tied to mine. It was an unpleasant feeling.
Jed called us together and we moved outside. It was still dark out, but at least it wasn’t raining. We moved toward the two Suburbans, and I trailed behind, still struggling to make a decision. The green Suburban would go back to Jed’s place and the red Suburban would go to Idaho. Hugo moved to the green one and started it. I looked around at the wolves climbing into the red Suburban, counting their numbers. It would be a very tight fit if Jared and I went too. Jed stood back, watching me and waiting for my decision.
“I’ll go with Kirk and Jared back to Oregon,” I said before Jared could try climbing in the red truck.
Jared stopped and turned to me, smiling. I didn’t return his smile. Inside I was a wreck. I felt like I was letting my brother down, but I couldn’t live with myself if my decision got Jared killed. Mark walked up behind me and put an arm around my shoulder in an awkward hug. “I’ll go with you,” he said softly.
“No,” I said, turning toward him. I was in agony, but Mark was the one werewolf I knew I could count on. “Mark, I need you to find my brother. If I can’t go then at least I’ll have you there looking out for him. Please, I’m counting on you.”
Mark stared at me silently for a beat before nodding his head. “You’ll be safe with Hugo,” he said as he pulled me into his arms. “I’ll bring Justin back with me. I promise.”
My normal response would have been to tell him not to make promises he couldn’t keep, but I couldn’t do it. I wanted him to keep this promise. “Be safe,” I said into his chest. I turned my face up to look at his in the dim light of the hotel parking lot. We locked eyes before he leaned down and kissed me. The kiss was strong, immediate, and full of promises. It was a goodbye kiss, and I felt it settle on my heart like another weight. I didn’t want to risk Jared’s life, but this felt like I was risking Mark’s life.
Mark broke away from the kiss and grinned at me, his eyes lighting up with a yellow ring around the brown. “Don’t worry about me, Izzy. I’m a werewolf!” He chuckled and brushed one last kiss across my cheek before turning and climbing into the Suburban.
A small smile tugged at my lips at his words. The werewolves all seemed confident, smiling and joking with one another as they climbed into the Suburban. The twins were placing bets on who would kill the most vampires. I knew they were tough, but I still worried nonetheless. I shook my head and climbed into the green Suburban after Kirk. Jared had taken the passenger seat while Hugo drove.
I watched the red truck drive away with a heavy heart as we pulled out onto the road and wound our way toward Oregon. Kirk sat beside me, dressed in a pair of black sweatpants and the same shirt Hugo had given him the day before. His feet were bare, as were Jared’s, but I couldn’t do anything to remedy that situation.
The sky was still dark and the clock on the dash said 5:24am as we passed out of the city of Walla Walla. Hugo turned on the radio, flipping through stations before settling on a country station. I was surprised. While Jed seemed the epitome of country-western, Hugo didn’t seem the type. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that I couldn’t actually fit Hugo into any specific type. A Josh Turner song came on and I smiled as Hugo sang along in a deep bass voice.
I was humming along to the song when the truck suddenly lifted up and rolled end over end, bouncing as it hit the earth. My seatbelt jerked me and I tried bracing myself as we finally rolled to a stop, upside down. I looked quickly to Kirk, who was staring at me with wide eyes; his hands braced against the roof like mine were to help alleviate some of the pressure against the seatbelt. I turned to the front seat and saw Jared slumped down, with blood dripping down his head. My attention turned to Hugo, who had already unbuckled himself and was looking outside.
Hugo sniffed the air and glanced at me with yellow eyes. “Vampires,” he whispered.
I felt my heart speed up at his words. I reached up and held onto the seat while I undid my seatbelt. I fell down and righted myself immediately. I helped Kirk do the same before I climbed toward Jared. Hugo unbuckled Jared and lowered him down before kicking out the front windshield. Fur had already started growing on Hugo’s large arms, and his hands were lengthening and changing rapidly.
“Call Jed,” Hugo murmured as he handed me a phone. I didn’t have a chance to reply before Hugo crawled out of the truck on all fours, sniffing the air. He moved around the truck and was quickly out of view. A deathly silence followed his departure.
I scrolled through the phone until I found Jed’s cell phone number and quickly dialed it. I examined Jared as I listened to the phone ring. Jared was breathing, but he was unconscious and bleeding from a large gash on his head. The phone continued to ring and finally went to voice mail. I hung up and dialed again. Why wasn’t he answering?
I moved close to Kirk, my lips almost brushing his ear so I could whisper to him. “Kirk, I want you to keep calling this number, okay? When someone answers, tell them we were attacked outside of Walla Walla. Can you do that?” I handed the phone to Kirk and he nodded his head, holding the phone to his ear. I watched him as the phone went to voicemail and he hung up and redialed.
I crawled to where the front windshield had been and peered out into the night. I didn’t see anything, but I could hear faint scuffling noises to my left. I carefully crawled out of the Suburban and looked around. It was still dark out and only one headlight was still lit, illuminating nothing but grass. I turned and reached back into the Suburban for Jared. I grabbed him by the shoulders and carefully pulled him out of the truck. I waved for Kirk to follow and he crawled out beside me, the phone still pressed to his ear.
We moved around the right side of the Suburban and hunched down, listening. Everything was eerily silent and I had no idea where Hugo was. I took the phone from Kirk and scrolled through the contacts, pulling up John’s cell phone and dialing it. It rang several times before going to voicemail as well. I tried the same thing with the twins, Logan and Lucas, but neither answered. The cell phone wasn’t doing us any good, so I pocketed it and examined Jared.
The bleeding on Jared’s head had slowed considerably, but he was still unconscious. There weren’t any other wounds visible, but I needed him to wake up. I shook him slightly and whispered in his ear, trying to wake him without making too muc
h noise. I peeked around the truck, but there was still nothing visible. I hadn’t heard any more sounds since we’d crawled out of the Suburban and I was getting nervous. We had rolled quite a ways from the road, but we could probably make it back and flag a car down. I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea though. If there were a lot of vampires out, I could end up just putting a random stranger in danger.
I focused on Jared once more, leaning over him and shaking him as vigorously as I dared. His eyes fluttered open and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Izzy,” he croaked, and I shushed him, placing a hand over his mouth.
I leaned closer so I could whisper in his ear. “I don’t know where Hugo went, but he smelled vampires. Do you think you can get up?”
He nodded and sat up, clutching his head. “They have guns in the truck,” he whispered. “I saw them yesterday on the way to the hotel.”
“Where?”
“I saw a couple under the back seats.”
I nodded and crawled around the truck toward the front window again. I peeked around the edge but still didn’t see anything. Fear had my heart beating loudly in my chest. I took a deep breath before quickly climbing into the truck. I stood up the best I could so I could feel under the passenger seat. My hand wrapped around metal and I pulled a semi-automatic pistol out of a holster under the seat. I passed the gun out to Jared and quickly moved to the driver’s seat, but I didn’t feel anything. I moved to the back seat and immediately felt a longer firearm of some sort strapped under the seat. My hands moved along, unbuckling it until I could pull it free.
I crawled back to the front with a shotgun in hand. Several shells were in a sleeve on the butt of the gun. Jared took the gun from my hands as I crawled out, checking it quickly to see if it was loaded. He nodded and handed the gun back to me as a loud roar sounded somewhere to my left. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as a growl responded to the roar from somewhere much closer.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jared whispered and I nodded agreement. I was pretty sure the growl had been Hugo, but I didn’t want to stick around to find out.
Jared and I crawled along the edge of the Suburban to where Kirk was sitting hunched over and rocking back and forth. “Kirk,” I whispered, nudging him lightly. “Kirk, look at me. We have to get out of here.”
Kirk looked up at me but I wasn’t sure if he saw me. We didn’t have time for this right now! I leaned over and kissed him, hoping to remind him of who he was. He returned the kiss and snaked a hand around me. I pulled back and looked at him. His eyes focused on me until a howl broke the silence and he looked around in fear.
“Kirk?”
“What was that?” Kirk asked, his eyes wild with fear.
“Let’s go,” Jared said as he pulled on my arm. “Kirk, are you with us?”
“Jared, what’s going on?” Kirk replied. “Where’s Justin? Where’s the rest of the expedition?”
Jared smiled at me briefly before turning back to Kirk. “We’ll explain later. For now, we have to get out of here. Shoot first; ask questions later. Izzy, give him the gun.”
I didn’t argue as I handed the shotgun over to Kirk. All I knew about shotguns was what I’d seen in movies. Kirk and Jared had both been part of the security detail for Justin’s expedition, and they were both well versed in weapons. I just hoped Kirk stayed himself long enough for us to survive. Jared took the lead, with me in the middle and Kirk bringing up the rear as we walked at a crouch to the back of the Suburban. Car headlights were visible on the road, and beyond that was the faint glow of porch lights. If we could get inside a house, we would be safe from vampires.
Jared motioned with his hand and we followed him at a running crouch toward the road. The sky was starting to lighten with a pre-dawn glow, but it was still too dark to make out anything but shapes. A sound behind me made me look over my shoulder and I gasped as a strange vampire came running into view straight towards us. Blood was dripping down the man’s chin and he had his fangs bared.
I opened my mouth to scream a warning, but Kirk was in control and sent a shot at the man, hitting him square in the chest and stopping his forward momentum. The vampire’s eyes were wide as he stared at the hole in his chest. Kirk pumped the shotgun and fired again, this time knocking him off his feet. We had paused, staring at the vampire’s body as he writhed on the ground. His body began smoking as though it was on fire and he let out a blood-curdling scream.
The scream urged us on and we turned as a group and ran full speed away from the shrieking vampire. Jared stopped suddenly in front of me and I skidded into him. Kirk pumped the shotgun behind me and I peered around Jared. A tall man dressed in a flowered shirt and bell-bottom pants blocked our path. His pale skin glowed eerily, and his black eyes gave away the fact he was a vampire.
Jared raised his gun and fired at the vampire, but this vampire was ready for it, and darted to the side faster than we could see before vanishing. We backed away slowly, looking in every direction. Another vampire darted into view, this one dressed in all black, from his greasy hair to his shiny black boots. Kirk shot at him with the shotgun, but he was gone in a blink. The hippie vampire came back as the other disappeared, darting around us at lightning speeds.
We moved backward again as a group, the vampires darting in and out, preventing us from getting away. With each step, we were corralled further from the road and back toward the truck. The vampire in black swept in close and Jared fired again, hitting him in the shoulder. He yelled and lurched at Jared, weaving back and forth as Jared emptied his clip into him. My eyes were on the vamp dressed in black, and I jumped when Kirk fired the shotgun at something behind us.
The vampire in black had a smoking wound in his shoulder and another in his stomach from Jared’s shots, but he was still moving. He reached us and grabbed Jared around the throat. I was sandwiched between Kirk and Jared, frozen by fear as I watched the vampire hoist Jared into the air. The vamp tossed Jared through the air effortlessly, where he landed with a sickening crunch. I backed into Kirk, listening to him reload the shotgun behind me.
Kirk pivoted me behind him and shot at the vampire in black. Once again the vampire was too fast, jumping out of the way of the shot. Kirk pumped the shotgun again and fired, and missed again. I grabbed Kirk’s arm, pulling him behind me as we ran back toward the Suburban. We had taken three steps when the hippie vampire darted out and grabbed me by the arms. Kirk turned again and aimed at the vamp, stopping as the vampire moved me in front of him.
“Behind you!” I screamed at Kirk.
Kirk turned and fired, hitting the black-dressed vampire square in the chest, but not slowing his momentum. The vampire grabbed the end of the shotgun and yanked it from Kirk’s hands, pulling Kirk off-balance. Kirk staggered a couple steps and the vampire grabbed him with two hands, lifting him over his head. Smoke was billowing out of the vampire’s chest and his face was contorted in pain and anger. He roared loudly just before he slammed his arms down toward the ground.
There was a loud snap of breaking bones as he bent Kirk in half and dropped him to the ground. I screamed as I stared at Kirk’s lifeless body, bent backwards in a position no human could live through. Pieces of broken bone pierced through his skin at unnatural angles. The vampire dropped to the ground behind Kirk, his body smoking and turning to ash as I watched.
The hippie vampire released his hold on me and I crawled toward Kirk, my mind trying to make sense of what I was seeing. Tears poured down my face as I stared at the man I had once loved, who had been broken mind, spirit and now body by vampires. I looked around for Jared, my eyes landing on his body. He wasn’t moving and his leg was bent at an odd angle under his body. I stared at his body, watching for a movement or anything to indicate he was still alive, but there was none.
My eyes drifted back to the vampire who had killed Kirk. There was nothing left of him but a human-shaped pile of ash. He appeared to have burned up from the inside. I spotted the shotgun just behind the dead vampire. I glanced up and b
ehind me, where the hippie vampire stood silently, his eyes looking beyond me. I didn’t know why I was still alive and I doubted it would last long. I inched closer to the shotgun, cradling Kirk’s head in my lap as the vampire’s head turned toward me.
I turned my face toward Kirk, while watching the vampire out of the corner of my eyes. When the vampire turned his attention away from me, I slowly reached my hand out until my fingers brushed the butt of the shotgun. I grasped it and scooted it closer as I cried over Kirk’s body. My heart ached for Kirk and Jared, but I knew I had to do whatever I could to escape. I felt along the length of the shotgun, feeling the empty spaces where the shells had been. Kirk must have reloaded at some point, and I prayed I still had enough ammo. My left hand was fully around the stock, feeling the hard wood. I would only have a split second to act. I leaned over Kirk, lowering his body to the ground as I reached out and grasped the gun with both hands. In one movement, I swung the gun up and around, pumping the shotgun as I did. I pulled the trigger, bracing myself for the impact. Nothing happened. I fumbled with the gun, trying to slide the pump again as I had seen in the movies, but I was too slow and unfamiliar with the weapon. The hippie vampire grabbed the gun from my hand and glared down at me, as though I was an annoying bug. He hissed through his teeth just before he smashed the butt of the shotgun into the side of my head, knocking me face down in the dirt.
Chapter 21
I was still conscious, but I didn’t think the vampire needed to know that. I closed my eyes and pretended I was out, wondering what I was going to do next and marveling at the fact I was still alive. The blessed knife was still strapped to my thigh, but how could I possibly pull it out fast enough to use on a vampire? Kirk and Jared had been good, but they weren’t fast enough either. I felt the phone vibrate in my pocket and I risked opening my eyes a slit to look around.
