Once the girls had sat down, Suzanne took a bite out of the apple she got for lunch. “Just look at them!”
“At who?”
“At them. Over there!” Suzanne pointed with her already half eaten apple to another table across the cafeteria.
Emily looked over at the table that Suzanne was pointing to. “They look like seniors.”
“They are seniors.” Suzanne’s voice was full of disdain.
“So?” Emily looked back at Suzanne, confused.
“They think they’re all that just because they’re seniors. I hate it.”
“Wouldn’t Katrina be a senior?”
“Yeah, but she’s not stuck up.”
Emily raised an eyebrow.
“Take that guy over there!”
“Which one? Half the people in here are guys.”
“The one with the red hair and glasses.”
“The science geek?” Emily looked back over her shoulder.
“Yeah.”
“Well, what about him?”
“He’s surrounded by freshman girls.”
“And what’s your point?”
“My point is that they’re only fawning over him because he’s a senior – and no doubt a rich one, too!”
“Stop being so cynical,” Emily said, taking a bite out of her hamburger and washing it down with a drink of OJ.
“I’m not being cynical, I’m just stating the facts!”
“Oh, the facts. And there was I thinking you were just being catty.”
“Meow,” Suzanne purred sarcastically.
“Meow?” Emily arched her left eyebrow. “I feel honored!”
“There’s no need to be like that.”
“I’m not. It’s you that’s making the cat noises.”
Suzanne took another bite out of her apple and started to chew it, sulking.
“So, you’re telling me that apart from Katrina, there are no seniors here that are nice.”
“Yeah,” Suzanne grumbled.
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Trust me, the seniors only think about two things: graduation and themselves.”
“Suzanne, you sound so jaded. What about all the clubs and good things that seniors do like being candy stripers or the ones on the student council?”
“Oh, you mean all the good things that earn them extra credits!” Suzanne sighed and automatically reached over to retrieve Emily’s drink, taking a long gulp.
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
Suzanne nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“And you think that about all seniors? Because next year we’d technically be seniors too.”
Suzanne smiled. “Well, obviously not all seniors.”
“Any of the good ones here?” Emily quipped.
Peering about the slowly emptying cafeteria, Suzanne spotted a guy sitting alone at one of the tables beside the far windows. He was reading one of the several textbooks that were laid sprawled across the table in front of him.
“Him!”
“Huh? Him who?” Emily asked, frowning.
Sighing exasperatedly, Suzanne said, “For a you-know-what, you’re so blind. The guy that is taking notes in the corner over there. He’s wearing denim with a thin navy sweater and eating what looks like fat-free pretzels and peanut-butter cookies.”
“Yuck, fat-free pretzels, that sounds disgusting.”
“Well, he probably would think you drinking a pint of O positive is equally revolting.”
Emily wrinkled her nose. “Well, when you put it that way it doesn’t sound very pleasant, but you and I both know what will happen if I don’t have my late night snack.”
“Yeah, you get all moody.” Suzanne paused. “Have you figured out who I was pointing out yet?”
“I believe you’re referring to the guy who now appears to be surrounded by the majority of the baseball team,” Emily answered, taking back her OJ and having a sip while watching Suzanne’s reaction intently.
Suzanne looked over at him and snorted derivatively. Then she smiled at Emily, stood up, and picked up her tray. “I’m going. Not even the geeks look like outsiders at this school. There are too many people in here; it’s getting claustrophobic.”
“Do you want to head out to the bleachers on the football field?”
“There’s only about ten minutes left for lunch and I want to get to class early.”
“Suzanne, are you feeling okay?” Emily asked with mock concern, leaning across the table to feel Suzanne’s forehead.
“Stop pawing me.” Suzanne took a step back and bumped into someone.
Suzanne turned around and found herself face to face with a girl with long auburn hair, who was staring back at her with emerald green eyes. “You okay?”
“Erm, yes. I’m sorry for bumping into you,” Suzanne spluttered nervously, then, noticing the silver jewelry around the girl’s neck, added, “I like your pendant. I have one just like it at home.”
The girl subconsciously caressed it and smiled. “Thank you. My sister gave it to me.”
“Katrina!” a girl with blonde hair shouted from across the cafeteria.
The girl turned and waved at her friend before turning back toward Suzanne. “It was nice talking to you.”
Tears began to well up in Suzanne’s eyes as she watched the girl walk over to her friends and leave the cafeteria.
“Suzanne?” Emily quickly moved around the table, took the tray that Suzanne was holding and placed it down before leading her to a nearby chair. “Maybe you should sit down.”
She allowed Emily to lower her into the chair, tears sliding mutely down her face.
“Is there anything I can get you?” Emily asked, sliding down into the next seat.
Suzanne shook her head and burst into tears again.
“Shh,” Emily said softly, holding Suzanne’s hand in hers, “I think I should take you home.”
“She didn’t recognize me,” Suzanne said quietly. “Emily, she was standing right in front of me and she didn’t know who I was. I wanted to fling my arms around her and let her know how much I’ve missed her, but I just couldn’t find the words.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t! How could you?” Suzanne stood up and glared at Emily.
“Suzanne, please! You’re upset!”
Suzanne started laughing hysterically. “Upset! My sister didn’t have a clue who I am. I could be dead for all she cares!”
“You know that isn’t true! You’re in shock and not thinking clearly!”
Ignoring what Emily was saying, Suzanne remembered that Emily always carried a silver dagger in her boot. Before Emily could react, she reached down and retrieved it, holding the dagger against her bandaged wrist. She was vaguely aware of the screams and shouts coming from the surrounding students, but only dimly; her focus was instead on Emily.
“Suzanne, I know that that you’re feeling hurt, but I don’t want you to do anything foolish,” Emily pleaded, getting to her feet and stepping toward her friend.
Suzanne jumped back, knocking over nearby chairs; the dagger in her hand slipped and made a shallow cut on her wrist. Emily watched, horrified, as blood seeped through Suzanne’s bandage and dripped onto the floor, forming little red puddles.
Suzanne began to cry. “I don’t want to feel this pain anymore. Without Katrina, life is meaningless. Every moment we’re apart I lose a little more of myself. I can’t go on like this. She looked right at me and I didn’t mean anything to her. All this waiting, all this searching, all this hoping – for nothing. She doesn’t remember me, there’s no point anymore.”
Tears sprang to Emily’s eyes. “Suzanne, this isn’t the answer.”
“Em, you’re my friend, aren’t you?”
Emily nodded solemnly.
“Then let me go. Katrina is my only family and if she doesn’t want me I want to be reunited with my parents again instead.”
“But suicide isn’t the answer! It won’t be like last time! You will be
gone from this life … forever. You know from the stories that the afterlife doesn’t always let us pick and choose who we get to see again, or even if we get sent to the same place! Katrina will have had a reason for not remembering you, it won’t be as simple as you think. There is always a way around every problem and together we will figure this one out too! We are so close, you can’t give up now!”
“I am tired of looking for someone who doesn’t want me to find them. The thought of her is all that has kept me going, but you saw what happened. Without Katrina in my life …”
“Suzanne, please just put down the dagger and we can talk about this,” Emily implored, tears continuing to roll down her face.
For an instant, the fight left Suzanne and she moved the knife very slightly from her wrist. Seeing the briefest of opportunities Emily bolted for the dagger, knocking it out of Suzanne’s grasp. It hit the floor with a metallic clink and skittered under a nearby table.
Both girls stared at where it landed and silently looked at one another – then, each with a burst of renewed energy, they darted for it.
“I am not letting you do this!” Emily screamed into Suzanne’s ear.
Suzanne felt the dagger’s leather hilt and entwined her slender fingers around it, holding onto it firmly.
“No!” Emily hissed as she seized a handful of Suzanne’s hair and yanked it, pulling Suzanne’s head back.
Suzanne yelped in pain, her eyes flashing wolfen amber briefly. Anger surged up through her. She grasped Emily’s head and slammed it into the table’s leg.
“Bitch!” Emily cursed, under her breath.
“Why are you fighting me on this?” Suzanne said, bitter tears still stinging her eyes.
“Because you’re my best friend. It’s my job to stop you from doing idiotic things like this,” Emily retorted, grabbing hold of Suzanne’s bandaged arm and digging her nails into the accidental gash Suzanne had made moments before.
Suzanne winced at the fresh pain that shot up her arm, her hand loosening its hold on the dagger. Spying another chance to retrieve it, Emily dived forward and yanked it from Suzanne’s hand, now slick with blood.
Suzanne snarled in frustration and grabbed hold of Emily’s hand. Both girls started to wrestle on the floor before Emily kicked out, her foot connecting with Suzanne’s shin, giving her chance to scramble to her feet and weave past a couple of the nearby cafeteria tables. Suzanne pursued, knocking over chairs that were in her way.
“I am not going to give you my dagger!” Emily scanned the cafeteria for the nearest exit. “You need help, Suzanne. Strange things are happening that are making you behave this way. Even at your worst, I don’t believe the Suzanne I know would give up so easily.”
Fight finally seeming to give out, Suzanne dropped despondently into the nearest chair. “You’re right, Em. Something’s happening and I can’t control it.”
Cautiously, Emily took a step toward her friend, her fingers holding the dagger so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. “I’ll get Marcus to come and take you home. We’ll sort everything out.”
“I’m sorry,” Suzanne whispered.
“It’s okay,” Emily responded reassuringly.
Suzanne watched Emily inch closer, her eyes not wavering from the dagger and the thrall that the blood dripping on the floor had over her. And then, when Emily was close enough …
Suzanne sprang onto her feet and she drew Emily – whose eyes widened in surprise – into an odd embrace.
Suzanne’s eyes widened in surprise and briefly flashed wolfen amber one last time before she staggered backwards, the dagger embedded in her chest, before collapsing lifeless onto the cafeteria floor.
“Nooooo!” Emily cried, rushing to Suzanne’s side. She pushed past the few students who had begun to crowd around to get a better look.
This isn’t happening, Emily thought as the horrific events that just played out before her eyes slowly seeped in.
On her knees, Emily cradled Suzanne’s body, and rocked her back and forth gently. “Suzanne, please change.” Like an ancient chant, she recited these words over and over again.
All around her, Emily could hear the hushed voices of the students asking questions. Has anyone called 911? Does anyone know who she is? Maybe you should take the knife out? Is she dead?
Numbly, Emily realized that she had to stop the remaining students and the school’s kitchen from telling anyone what they had witnessed. Emily turned away from Suzanne and tried to focus all of her emotional energy into a powerful mind sweep.
I hope this works, Emily thought nervously. Telepathy I can do, but to erase the memories of several people … That, I am not so sure of.
One by one, a vacant expression appeared on the faces of the few that remained before they left the cafeteria. When Emily was sure that everyone was gone, she slowly crawled over to Suzanne, only stopping as she felt something wet and slick on her lips. She unconsciously moved her hand to her face to wipe whatever she felt away, but what greeted her was the sight of blood on her fingers from a nosebleed. Seeing her own blood made Emily’s stomach churn and she grasped a nearby chair, resting her head on the seat to stop the feeling of the room spinning.
After the nausea and dizziness had subsided, it was replaced by her sobs as Emily reached for Suzanne and held her tightly in her arms. Torrents of tears rolled down her face. It seemed like hours before her tears finally stopped.
“Suzanne, why didn’t you change into a wolf?” she asked, staring into her angelic face, haloed by her golden hair. “You didn’t have to do this. Marcus would have sorted things out!”
Overcome with shock and feeling nauseous, Emily backed away and threw up. Then she crawled back, taking her friend’s cold hand in hers.
“Marcus!” Emily screamed verbally and telepathically, before giving out an inhuman cry as she buried her face in Suzanne’s hair.
Nineteen
“I hate this place!” Emily directed toward Marcus as they walked through Sycamore Heights cemetery, trying to find a headstone.
“I know,” Marcus agreed.
Frustrated at tripping over broken headstones and flower vases that had been left by loved ones, Emily stopped and started to look at the names on the graves.
“Emily?”
Emily looked up from the headstone she was reading. “Come here and take a look at this.”
Marcus gave a sigh, “What?”
“This headstone here.”
“What about it?” Marcus asked, disinterested.
Emily pointed at the headstone. “Read it!”
Marcus looked down and read the headstone:
NICHOLAS MAXWELL
1941-1959
RIP
“Well?” Emily asked.
“Well, what?” Marcus replied, confused.
“Don’t you recognize the name?”
“Not really,” Marcus shook his head. “Why? Should I?”
“No, it’s probably my mistake. The name looked familiar, that’s all.” Emily started to walk away, her face contorted in confusion.
“Emily, if coming here is too hard for you then you can wait by the car,” Marcus said as he caught up with her again.
“What do you mean by that?” she said defensively.
“Nothing; I just thought you might find it difficult to be here. It’s only been a couple of days since …” Marcus trailed off and looked up at the sky; the dark gray clouds held the promise of an approaching storm.
“Go on, say it!”
“Say what?”
“Mention her name! Go on!” Emily screamed.
He gripped her by her shoulders. “What do you want me to say, Emily? What?”
“I want you to admit that it’s all your fault, Marcus. You made Suzanne do what she did! If it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have left England and we wouldn’t be in this situation now!” Emily spat, shrugging from Marcus’ grip.
“Okay, it’s my fault!” Marcus raked his fingers through his hair. �
��There, are you satisfied?”
Emily closed her eyes. She wished that everything over the past few days had been a dream, that when she opened her eyes she would awake – but when she opened them again she was still in Sycamore Heights cemetery.
“Yes, I’m satisfied,” Emily lied.
“Emily, I’m sorry for all of this.”
“All I want to do is do what we came here for and leave.”
“We should be out of here soon,” Marcus began, but stopped when he saw movement up ahead.
Noticing the same movement, Emily froze. “I hope that isn’t Starr. I’m in no mood to deal with her,” she muttered.
Marcus smiled slightly but still focused his attention on the graves ahead of him. Instinct told him that it was a wolf creeping about even though he couldn’t see it because of the headstones.
“It’s a wolf, isn’t it?” Emily whispered, as though reading his thoughts.
Marcus nodded. He and Emily sunk silently behind a headstone, waiting.
As the wolf approached Marcus and Emily, it sniffed the air and, realizing that it wasn’t alone, stopped and sat down on the damp grass.
“What’s it doing?” Emily asked, confused by the wolf’s behavior.
“It knows we’re here.”
“So what are we going to do? Just sit here all night and look like idiots?”
Before Marcus could answer, the wolf stood again and started to walk toward where they were hiding. As the wolf approached, Emily realized there was something strangely familiar about the way it was walking – or, rather, limping.
“Suzanne! What are you doing out of bed?” Emily demanded, coming out from her hiding place.
“Just catching the moonlight,” Suzanne replied guiltily.
Emily gave Suzanne a stern look. “And you’re in your wolf guise too! How are you ever going to get better if you don’t stay in bed and rest?”
“I didn’t think that it would do any harm,” Suzanne said, her head still lowered. “Besides, I felt a little better and Marcus did get a witch to heal the wound.”
“Suzanne!” Marcus stepped out as well. “What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped, his eyes burning with anger.
“I just asked her that,” Emily cut across irately.
“Emily, stay out of this.” Marcus pushed past Emily and stood over Suzanne.
Forgotten (In The Shadows, Book One) Page 14
