Shelter

by Tara Shuler

I took a deep breath and tried to reach into my purse for my phone, but I realized I hadn’t brought my purse with me. How could I call my mother and Will to warn them?

  As I stood by the gate, Jamie walked up to me. She was holding a cell phone in her hand, and she met me outside the gate. She shoved the phone toward me.

  “I thought you might need this,” she said.

  “Jamie, I…” I tried to explain.

  “Call your family,” she insisted.

  “But, Jamie…” I objected.

  I didn’t want to discuss anything in front of her.

  “I already know about you,” she said. “I’m not going to say anything.”

  I looked into her eyes, and she seemed truly sincere. Not wanting to waste a moment, I dialed my house. Will answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Will?” I said. “Oh, my God, Will, we’re in trouble.”

  “What?” he asked. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

  “Long story,” I moaned. “Get some stuff packed and get Mother out of the house… now.”

  “Why?” he demanded. “What is going on?”

  “Max is a hunter,” I said.

  For a moment, it was dead silent.

  Then Will asked, “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Will, I’m sure,” I answered. “Get Mother out of there!”

  “What about you?” he asked, his voice brimming with worry.

  “I’ll be fine,” I insisted. “Just get Mother somewhere safe.”

  “Is he alone?” Will asked, referring to Max.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I think so.”

  “Be safe,” Will said, hanging up the phone.

  I sighed and looked at Jamie, who was wide-eyed with worry.

  “I’m sorry to involve you in this,” I told her.

  “What can I do to help?” she asked.

  “What?” I gasped. “Why would you want to help me?”

  “You’re my only friend,” she admitted.

  “Jamie, this is too dangerous,” I told her. “You could get hurt.”

  “I don’t care,” Jamie insisted. “You… well you and Max… you’re the only people who have ever been nice to me. And Kai, of course.”

  “I can’t risk anything happening to you,” I said.

  “Please, Alice, let me help,” she begged sincerely.

  “We have to find Kai,” I agreed reluctantly.

  “I have a car parked down the street,” she said. “I… didn’t want anyone to see it.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “It’s kind of crappy,” she said, hanging her head. “I don’t drive if often, because it’s embarrassing.”

  “Oh,” I said, understanding. “It’s okay.”

  Jamie led me to her car. It was a rusty old VW bug. Now I truly understood why she hadn’t wanted anyone to see it. I knew humans were especially ruthless when making fun of people with less money.

  “Where do you think Kai would go?” Jamie asked, turning the key and bringing the roaring, putting monster to life.

  “There are only two places I know of,” I said.

  First, we drove to the little church he’d taken me to, but I could see from the street it was still padlocked. That meant there was only one place he could be. Tybee.

  “Do you know how to get to Tybee Island?” I asked.

  “Oh, sure,” Jamie replied. “My parents take us there sometimes.”

  We headed for Tybee, and I was desperately wishing Jamie’s car would go a little faster. It felt like we were crawling at a sluggish forty-five miles per hour, but Jamie said that was the fastest her car could go.

  We pulled into the restaurant where Kai had parked the time he took me there, and Jamie turned off the engine.

  “So, where to?” she asked.

  I got out of the car and yanked my shoes off, throwing them into the floorboard of the car. Without saying a word to Jamie, I broke into a run. I felt my feet squish into the sand as I passed between the two hotels, and in the moonlight, I could see him further down the beach, his long red hair whipping around in the salty night air.

  I rushed to him, and I threw my arms around him.

  “Oh, thank God you’re safe!” I gasped.

  “I knew you would find me here,” he said, smiling.

  He wrapped his arms around me and planted a kiss on the top of my head.

  “What’s she doing here?” he asked, noticing Jamie coming toward us.

  “She drove me here,” I answered. “It’s okay, she knows and she’s cool with it. She won’t say anything.”

  He lifted one eyebrow at me, but said nothing.

  “I need to get home and get some stuff,” I told Kai.

  “No!” he hissed. “You can’t go back there!”

  “I have to,” I told him. “My phone is there. I need a way for Will and my mother to contact me.”

  “I have my phone,” Kai said. “And Will has my number in his.”

  “What are we going to do?” I asked.

  “We have to get away from here,” he said. “It’s not safe to stay here.”

  “You guys can stay at my place,” Jamie offered. “My parents won’t mind.”

  “Thank you, Jamie,” Kai said. “But we can’t stay in this state.”

  “You don’t really think Max would… kill you, do you?” Jamie asked quietly.

  “Yes, of course he would,” Kai said.

  “But he’s so nice,” Jamie objected.

  “Hunters are never nice,” Kai hissed.

  “He seems nice, anyway,” Jamie mumbled.

  “I can’t believe you kissed a hunter,” Kai spat, his face contorting in disgust.

  “Neither can I,” I admitted.

  “You kissed Max…?” Jamie asked quietly.

  Kai’s phone rang, and he looked at the caller ID. His face fell.

  “What?” I asked, trying to see the number.

  He turned the phone toward me and it was my own cell phone. I felt all of the blood drain from my face.

  “It could be Will,” he said. “Maybe he has your phone.”

  “No,” I objected. “He’d call from his phone.”

  “Don’t answer it,” Jamie said nervously.

  “Give it to me,” I said, reaching my hand out.

  “But…” Kai began to object.

  I snatched the phone from his hand and opened it.

  “Max?” I asked.

  “It’s a shame you left your phone at home,” Max answered. I could hear him sneering.

  “What do you want, Max?” I demanded.

  “I want your boyfriend’s head,” he growled.

  “Forget it,” I snapped. “You won’t get anywhere near him!”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure,” Max snarled. “My father’s one of the best hunters there ever was. He’s a Viewer. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?”

  I gasped, and I suddenly felt my legs wobble. I dropped the phone and my knees buckled. I fell onto my knees in the sand, trembling.

  “Alice!” gasped Kai, sinking into the sand beside me. “What is it?”

  “Ohhhhh, Aliiiiiceeee!” came a mocking voice from the phone.

  I snatched up the phone and shouted into it, “I’ll kill you myself!”

  “Now, now,” Max said. “There’s no reason to be so hasty.”

  “What do you want from me?” I screamed at Max.

  “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “You hand over your little boyfriend and I’ll make sure no one ever knows about you and your family. You and your mother and brother will be safe.”

  “What?” I gasped. “You pig!”

  “Is that any way to talk to a Viewer?” Max chuckled. “You know what we can do.”

  “If you come within ten miles of Kai I will kill you,” I growled.

  “Then I guess you’re going to have to kill me,” he said. “Because your little boyfriend is as good as dead.”

  The phone went dead. I dropped it into the sand and bur
ied my face in my hands, sobbing loudly.

  “Alice, honey,” Kai whispered, holding me close. “What happened?”

  “He’s a Viewer,” I breathed, staring into Kai’s eyes.

  His face turned even paler than normal.

  “What’s a Viewer?” Jamie asked.

  “It’s a type of vampire hunter with special abilities,” I explained. “They can see through the eyes of any target. That means he can look through my eyes right now and he’ll know exactly where we are.”

  “You mean you can’t run from him?” Jamie asked, her eyes wide with fear.

  “No, we can’t run from him,” I said, shaking my head.

  “What can you do?” Jamie wanted to know.

  “We can fight,” I replied.

  “Or I can give him what he wants,” Kai suggested.

  Obviously, with the heightened hearing of a vampire, he had heard at least part of the conversation.

  “No!” I stated. “Absolutely not!”

  “What?” Jamie asked. “What does he want?”

  “He wants me,” Kai told her.

  “Kai, forget it,” I snapped. “Not for anything!”

  “Alice, he said you and your family would be safe,” Kai said gently.

  “And you would trust a hunter?” I shouted. “And even if we could trust him, I would never, ever just hand you over!”

  “But I can save you and your family,” he said. “Please, all I want is to make sure you are safe.”

  “Kai, listen to me,” I said seriously, looking straight into his piercing blue eyes. “We will stay together… no matter what.”

  “But, I…” he started to say.

  “Wait!” I gasped. “I just realized something.”

  “What?” Kai asked.

  “He’s not a hunter,” I explained.

  “Yes, he is,” Kai said. “He has a hunter’s dagger. He said…”

  “No, no,” I interrupted. “He’s not a hunter, yet!”

  “Oh!” Kai understood right away. “He’s not eighteen, yet!”

  “Right!” I said. “I don’t think his birthday is until next month.”

  “February 11,” Jamie said.

  “How did you know that?” I asked her curiously.

  Her face flushed.

  “I snuck a look at his license at lunch one day.”

  “Oh,” I nodded. “So we have over a month before he can really track us effectively.”

  “That’s plenty of time to find a safe place,” Kai said.

  “But can’t he track you there after…” Jamie began.

  “Not if we’re careful,” I interrupted. “We would have to rent a completely non-descript home and never go outside.”

  “Yeah, and never turn on a television or read a newspaper,” Kai added.

  “Or even get mail, for that matter,” I moaned.

  “Why not?” Jamie wanted to know.

  “Because he’d see our address on the mail,” I explained.

  “Oh, yeah,” she said dejectedly.

  “I heard they can’t see through human eyes,” Kai mentioned. “Too bad one of us isn’t human.”

  “I am,” Jamie reminded him.

  “Well, yes,” he admitted. “But you won’t be with us.”

  “Yes, I will,” Jamie said quickly.

  “No! Absolutely not!” I said flatly.

  “You are my only friends,” Jamie pleaded. “I want to go!”

  “I won’t put you in that kind of danger,” I objected.

  “Please let me help you,” Jamie begged. “I don’t have anyone here. I have no reason to stay.”

  “What about your family?” I asked. “You’re always talking about them taking you bowling and to the beach and stuff. Aren’t you close?”

  “Not really,” she said, her head hanging. “They just bring me along because they have to. They really only care about my brother and sister.”

  “What? Why?” I demanded.

  “Because they’re thin and I’m not,” she said. “My parents are always calling me names like ‘wide load’ and ‘fat ass’, and they clearly don’t care about me as much as they do them.”

  “Your parents say things like that to you?” I gasped.

  “Yes,” she said meekly.

  “Alice, she could help,” Kai suggested.

  “But it’s too dangerous,” I objected.

  “Max wouldn’t hurt her,” Kai reminded me. “Hunters feel it’s their duty to protect humans. She wouldn’t be in any real danger.”

  “That’s true,” I admitted.

  “Please let me come with you,” Jamie begged.

  I searched her eyes for some sign of fear or reluctance, but I found nothing. She truly wanted to go with us.

  “Alright,” I caved. “You win.”

  “We have to be really careful about this,” Kai said. “If his father is a hunter, he could be tracking us right now. Was he at the party? Did he see us?”

  “Oh, God, that’s right,” I agreed. “I didn’t see him there. But if he saw us, he might be able to. I think Kai said he was out of town, though.”

  “I have an idea,” Jamie said.

  Kai and I both looked up at her.

  “What if I make all of the plans? If you give me the money, I will rent a big van or something. I’ll drive, I’ll rent the house when we get wherever we’re going, and I’ll take care of everything else,” Jamie told us.

  “That could work,” Kai said reluctantly.

  “But we’ll still see things,” I said.

  “Not if I blindfold you,” Jamie suggested.

  “What if we get pulled over or something?” I mused. “How would you explain having blindfolded people in a van?”

  Jamie laughed. “I’ll just tell them I’m taking you to a surprise party. As long as you agree, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Alice, this won’t be much of a life,” Kai said suddenly. “Even if it works, we’ll be stuck in that house twenty-four hours a day for the rest of eternity.”

  “Eternity…” Jamie mumbled. “How long will…”

  “We live for thousands of years,” I interjected. “Hunters can live for hundreds. And their kids carry on when they are gone. As long as his family continues, we’ll never truly be safe.”

  Jamie mulled that over in her head.

  “Who will protect you when I… when I can’t anymore?”

  “Jamie, I’m really thinking I can’t do this to you,” I muttered. “How can I ask you to give up your entire life for us?”

  “You’re like family to me,” Jamie said truthfully. “I want to.”

  Kai’s phone rang again, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I looked at the caller ID. It was Will.

  “Will?” I answered immediately. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he answered. “Mother’s fine. Where are you?”

  “I can’t tell you,” I said. “Not right now. It might not be safe.”

  “Why wouldn’t it be safe?” Will asked.

  “Max is a Viewer,” I told him.

  “What?” Will said in a low voice.

  “He called from my phone,” I told Will. “He was at our house, Will. He said his father is a Viewer, which means odds are, he will be, too.”

  “Will be,” Will noted. “So he isn’t a hunter, yet?”

  “Not until February… something,” I said, forgetting the date.

  “The eleventh,” Jamie reminded me.

  “Yes,” I agreed. “February 11.”

  “If he’s a Viewer, there’s nowhere we can go,” Will said.

  “We have a plan, but I need you and Mother to drive around as long as possible,” I told Will. “Try not to go anywhere with any major landmarks that would make it easy to find you, just in case. I’ll call you as soon as things are ready.”

  “Okay,” Will replied. “Be safe, please.”

  “We will,” I agreed. “I love you. Tell Mother I love her, too.”

  “I love yo
u, Alice,” Will answered. “Talk to you soon.”

  When we hung up, I told Jamie we needed to get to an ATM. I couldn’t withdraw more than four hundred dollars, because my ATM card had a limit, but I hoped it would be enough to rent a van.

  The only car rental place we could find open in the middle of the night was at the airport in Atlanta. It was a long drive, and Jamie drove Kai’s car because it was faster than hers. Kai and I kept our eyes closed on the trip, but we certainly couldn’t sleep.

  When we got there, the woman at the counter told us we’d have to secure the vehicle with a credit card or pay a six hundred dollar deposit. We only had four hundred, but Kai had his mother’s credit card with him.

  “She’ll be pissed, but what choice do we have?” Kai said. He took his wallet out of his back pocket and handed it to Jamie without opening his eyes. “It’s the gold card. I just hope she hasn’t canceled it.”

  She hadn’t, and the card went through. Jamie secured a large white van, and she helped Kai and me into the van with our eyes still closed. Then she used Kai’s cell phone to call my brother back.

  “Will?” Jamie asked when he answered.

  “Yes, who is this?” he wanted to know.

  “I’m Jamie,” she said. “Alice’s friend.”

  “Oh,” he said. “Well she isn’t here.”

  “I’m with her and Kai,” Jamie explained. “She and Kai have their eyes closed, so I’m calling you. I need to meet you somewhere.”

  “Okay, where do you want to meet?” Will asked.

  “Tell him to find somewhere very non-descript, no landmarks,” I told Jamie.

  “I heard,” Will said. “How about that dirt road near Oak Creek Park?”

  “The dirt road near Oak Creek Park?” Jamie looked at me.

  “That’s perfect,” I said. “Just tell him not to pass the park sign.”

  “Don’t pass the park sign,” Jamie parroted.

  “Okay,” Will agreed. “I’ll be there in around an hour.”

  “We might be longer,” Jamie explained. “We’re in Atlanta. It was the only place open this late.”

  “Did you rent a car?” he asked.

  “Yeah, a big van so you can all fit in with your stuff,” Jamie answered.

  “Cool,” Will said. “See you when you get there.”

  It was daylight by the time we got to the dirt road. Will had chosen it because of its location. It was near a park where Mother used to take us to play when we were kids. We used to sneak off and run down that dirt road because it was creepy. There were no houses on the road, just a boat dock and another small park with some picnic tables and some areas on the lake for fishing. When we got there, we loaded Will’s and Mother’s bags into the van, and we all got comfortable and closed our eyes.