“Be careful, Holland. Call me as soon as you get the information.”
In her bedroom with the door locked, Holland turned the delicate pages of The Book of Spells. The book itself seemed to possess so much energy, she could feel electrical currents coursing through her fingertips. A cursory glance indicated that most of the spells were rituals that didn’t require gathering a bunch of weird ingredients and nothing needed to be stirred in a cauldron. Experimenting with one of the spells, she lit a white candle, envisioned Jonas’s face, and quietly recited a Latin incantation. She had no idea what the Latin words meant and hoped she was pronouncing them right.
After a few minutes, Holland got into a rhythm, and the sound of her voice was hypnotic, relaxing her until her body became so light, she was barely aware of it. It was a peaceful state, and Jonas’s face was emblazoned on her mind, as clearly as if he were physically standing before her. She stared into his eyes, and as if they were actually face to face, she saw her own image reflected in his eyes.
Her ringing cell phone jolted her back to reality. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Jonas. How are you?”
“I’m good. Surprised to hear from you.”
“I told you I would make an effort to be a better boyfriend,” he said with a little laugh. “What were you doing; did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Uh, I’m in my room, and I was actually working on a spell, you know, a hex-removing spell.” She chuckled nervously. “I don’t expect to be successful right away, but um . . . I’m curious . . . has anything changed? Do you feel different at all?”
“No, everything’s pretty much the same. My senses are still heightened. And even though I’ve taught myself to control the hunger, it’s still there. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Holland . . . I really do, but I’m not getting my hopes up.”
“I’m going to keep trying,” she said stubbornly.
“And I’m going to enjoy living in the moment. I called because I was wondering if you had plans for tomorrow night.”
“No . . . why?”
“I’d like to take you out.”
“Like on a date?”
“Yes.”
“Wow! Sure. Where are we going?”
“Maybe we could check out a movie—is that okay?”
“Yeah, I’d love to.”
“Okay, then. Do you want to meet at the mall tomorrow—around seven?”
“Perfect.”
CHAPTER 13
The clock on the dashboard read: 10:23. “If we were in school, I’d be in chemistry class,” Jarrett observed.
Sitting in the passenger’s seat of his Durango, Sophia Stoddard scowled. “I’d be in boring English Lit. School sucks; I hate it.”
You suck! He didn’t like Sophia at all, but his vampire girlfriend, Ismene had paired them together to canvass Frombleton neighborhoods during daytime hours, and so he had no choice but to put up with her. “Why’re you complaining? You don’t have to go back to school if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t think the truancy officers would agree with that.”
“Screw the truancy officers. What are they gonna do—lock you up? I don’t think so.”
“You have a point, Sloan. With my parents having to obey the vamps and having the cops on my side, I’m like . . . untouchable,” Sophia said with cocky smile.
Jarrett slowed the SUV when he reached Greenland Meadows, a fairly new community with a collection of one- and two-story homes that featured sleek modern designs with stucco, stone, and brick exteriors. The professionally maintained lawns and outdoor spaces gave the area an eye-appealing quality. “Ready to visit some neighbors?”
Sophia shrugged indifferently. “It doesn’t matter to me. As long as we reach our quota, I’m good.”
After they cruised along the driveway that led into the complex, and then parked, Jarrett reached behind the seat and grabbed his backpack that was inscribed with the Frombleton Community College logo.
“Let’s go get ’em, college boy,” Sophia said with an obnoxious giggle.
The first house they approached was a white stucco one-story with cutesy window boxes filled with autumn flowers. A cheery blue and white welcome mat adorned the front porch, and Jarrett had the feeling that getting the signature of the cornballs that lived in this house would be easy, breezy.
Sophia pressed the doorbell and frowned excessively when instead of hearing a traditional ding-dong, there were strains of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. “That’s so lame.”
“Yeah, a musical doorbell should be blasting something by Linkin Park or Green Day.”
Sophia pressed the bell again. “I’d prefer Nicki Minaj or Katy Perry.”
“Ugh, chick music . . . your taste sucks.”
“What’s Ismene like to listen to?” Sophia asked, an eyebrow arched.
Jarrett pondered the question, but realized he didn’t know the answer. He supposed Ismene enjoyed music from her era—whenever that was. She was very secretive about her background.
The door swung open. A woman, who seemed around Jarrett’s mom’s age, only less stylish, leaned against the doorjamb. With thick-rimmed glasses, a bad bob haircut, and elastic-waist, Mom jeans, her appearance was a disaster. “Can I help you?” she asked with a look of surprise.
Jarrett offered a friendly smile. “Hi, there. Um, we’re students at Community College and we’re gathering names and addresses of Frombleton residents that think it’s about time we had a children’s hospital in our town.”
“Oh,” the woman muttered. “A children’s hospital would be a good idea, I suppose.”
“It sure would,” Sophia piped in. “When our kids get hurt or if they’re really sick, they have to be flown over two hundred miles to receive adequate pediatric care.”
Jarrett dug into his backpack and pulled out a form. “If you’d sign this petition, and include your address and phone number, we’d really appreciate it.”
The woman studied the petition. “You two have been very busy; you have quite a few signatures, I see.”
“Yes, ma’am. Our citizens want improved health care for the kids.”
“Where would the hospital be located?”
“Huh?” Jarrett’s facial muscles quivered as his smile began to morph into a frown. Just sign the damn paper, lady! You’re wasting valuable time.
Sophia quickly plastered a warm smile on her face. “The location hasn’t been decided yet. Our goal is to let city officials know that we believe that children are the future.”
Children are the future? Geez! So lame! Jarrett shot Sophia a hostile glance. She shrugged in response.
The woman studied the petition again. “I’m making sure there’s no fine print,” she said and then finally poised the pen Jarrett had given her. With her signature affixed next to her address and phone number, Jarrett and Sophia were ready to move on.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention . . . uh, there’s a meeting tonight at seven sharp.”
“What sort of meeting?” The woman’s mouth turned down in disapproval.
“A planning meeting and a blood drive,” Jarrett said.
“I signed your petition, but I’m not interested in anything else.”
“You don’t have a choice.” Wearing a solemn expression, Jarrett shook his head.
“Is this some sort of prank?”
“No, we’re dead serious,” Sophia informed. “You’re expected to be at the old Lilac Hotel tonight at seven.”
“The Lilac? It’s been shut down for years.”
“It reopened a few months ago. Look, lady, if you don’t show up, you’re gonna regret it.”
Eyes flaming, the woman snatched open the door. “You kids are sick, and I want you to leave! I will not be threatened in my own home.”
“How many people are in this household?” Sophia inquired.
“That is absolutely none of your business.”
“It’s best if you come clean . . .” Jarrett’s voice trailed off
as he perused her signature. “Listen, Judy Carmichael; I’m gonna give it to you straight. Have you been hearing the rumors about people being attacked by vampires?”
Judy nodded, her eyes growing wide with incredulity.
“It’s not a rumor; it’s true. Vamps are taking over the town. Now, what you’ve actually done is given your consent to donate blood.”
“Are you nuts? I didn’t sign any such thing,” Judy bellowed.
“Yeah, you did. Now, you can do it the easy way, which means you show up at the hotel and have your blood drawn in a civilized manner. But if you decide to shirk your responsibility, your home is going to be swarming with vampires by nightfall.”
Sophia wagged her finger at Judy. “And the things those vamps will do to you and your family will probably land you in the loony bin.”
“Or the cemetery . . . without an ounce of blood left in your body. You know, like that McFadden dude,” Jarrett added.
“Oh, God! You can’t be serious,” Judy uttered, backing away, her eyes widening into fearful circles.
“I’m very serious. Now, list the members of your household.” Jarrett gave Judy a separate sheet of paper.
Judy picked up the pen with a shaky hand. She started to write, but suddenly dropped the pen. “I can’t write down my children’s names. I just can’t.” She gripped her chest.
“Okay, then. You’ve been warned,” Jarrett said in a foreboding tone, and then he and Sophia turned to leave.
“Wait!” Judy shouted. “How about I give you my estranged husband’s name? Will you take him instead of my children and me?”
“Does he reside here in Frombleton?”
Judy pressed her lips together and shook her head grimly. “No, he lives in Florida.”
“Sorry, Judy. The vamps haven’t branched out that far, yet.”
In an act of desperation, Judy picked up the pen and tried to scratch her name off the list, but Sophia grabbed her wrist and Jarrett salvaged the paper.
“Write down the members of this household and their ages before we get rough with you,” Sophia hissed.
“Okay, okay,” Judy whined. She wrote down two additional names: Megan Carmichael, age 12, and Ryan Carmichael, age 11.
“See you and the kids tonight, Judy,” Sophia taunted. “Don’t be late.”
CHAPTER 14
On the lookout for biters, Eden, Gabe, and Leroy had taken shifts throughout the night, guarding the store while Charlotte took care of Jane. Occasional biters had been spotted shuffling along the street, but it had been a relatively peaceful night, without any uprisings or attacks. Now, Leroy rested upstairs and Charlotte was asleep on a cot in the storage room.
Eden and Jane slept together on a pallet on the floor, while Gabe kept watch, drifting back and forth from the window to the chair behind the counter. With the rising sun, there was a sudden and calamitous pounding on the door. Startled, Eden bolted upright, and Jane cried out in alarm. Gabe picked up his rifle and moved to the window, motioning for Eden to take Jane to the area in the back.
“Help! Is anyone in there? Open the door!” a male voice shouted.
At the sound of the commotion, Leroy scrambled down the stairs, his gun in hand. “What’s going on; are those things trying to get in here?”
“Let me in!” the voice demanded.
Charlotte came out of the storage room, rubbing her eyes sleepily. “That sounds like a live person.”
“Probably a dang looter!” Leroy said bitterly.
“Are you in there, Leroy? Open the door; it’s me . . . Tony!” called the voice outside.
Leroy gave an audible sigh of relief. “It’s Tony—my bread delivery guy,” he explained and walked toward the door.
Gabe blocked Leroy’s path. “No one’s making any deliveries with those biters swarming. You can’t risk letting that guy in here; suppose he got bitten?”
Leroy pushed Gabe out of his way. “Tony’s the nephew of Vince Cavallo, the owner of Cavallo Breads. I’m not going to leave that kid out there to get killed by those hellish creatures.”
Eden handed Jane to Charlotte. “Take her in the back, please.”
Charlotte nodded. Cradling Jane, she hurried past the set of double doors that led to the storage area.
Leroy squinted through the peephole of the steel door, and Gabe aimed his rifle. Eden picked up the ax that was lying next to her pallet and then eased to the front of the store. She moved in front of a boarded window and peered between the slats.
Leroy pulled away from the peephole and gazed at Gabe and Eden with anger flaring in his eyes. “Put those weapons down. I have twenty-twenty vision, and I don’t see any bite marks on Tony. He looks fine.”
Eden scrutinized Tony through the window. “Yeah, he looks okay.” Narrowing her eyes, she scanned to see if there was blood on his clothing. His shirt was stained with something—mud, oil—some kind of grime that she couldn’t identify. “I think you should find out if he’s been bitten before you let him in.”
Leroy thought for a moment and then took Eden’s advice. “Are you okay, Tony? Those things didn’t bite you, did they?” he asked cautiously.
“No, I’m not bitten! Open up before these dead people scattered around the lawn start to wake up!” Tony shouted.
Leroy unlocked the door and Tony burst inside, panting and perspiring. He was a slim guy, early twenties with a trendy haircut that was packed with such an enormous amount of gel, not a hair was out of place. He wore diamond-stud earrings, a glimmering gold chain, and instead of a delivery person’s uniform, he wore high-end jeans and a button-down shirt.
Upon closer inspection, Eden determined that on the front of Tony’s richly-textured shirt was a crusted substance that appeared to be congealed, food stains. Although his sneakers were also splattered with unidentifiable, sticky blotches, Eden could tell from the untarnished parts that the sneakers were fairly new and expensive. Under normal circumstances, Tony was probably the type of guy that took great pride in his appearance.
Breathing hard and looking shell-shocked, Tony fell against the wall. “Ohmigod, I can’t believe what’s happening out there. I was making a delivery at Gordon’s Restaurant—”
“This morning?” Leroy inquired with a hopeful look that perhaps some parts of town were functioning normally.
“No, everything’s shut down. People are either hiding in their homes or they’re trying to get out of town. I’ve been on the run from those crazies since yesterday afternoon. I was out making my deliveries, when suddenly all hell broke loose. I couldn’t make it back to my truck, so I had to hide.” He shook his head, bitterly recalling his ordeal. “I had to hide behind cars and inside abandoned houses like a sniveling punk! But, I didn’t have a choice. This whole area is overrun with those crazies, and I’ve been out in the streets ducking and dodging them for almost twenty-four hours.” He cut an eye at the boards that covered the windows, and then glanced downward at the weapons lined against the wall. “I guess you folks have been battling those crazies, too. What do you think is causing people to go wild?”
“We don’t know,” Gabe said. “All we can do is work together to keep them from sinking their teeth into any us. Once you’re bitten, you turn into one of them.”
Tony wiped perspiration from his face, and then nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’ve seen it happen. I wonder if there’s something poisonous in the water. I mean, what else could affect an entire town? Men, women . . . even kids, they’ve all gone bananas . . . acting liked crazed cannibals. People I do business with . . . decent people . . . they’ve all changed. And it’s nasty, man. Their faces and bodies are gouged and bloody. They’ve got drool running out of their mouths. And they’re tearing into anybody within reach, biting and viciously ripping people to shreds. I can’t get the images or the sounds out of my head.” Tony shuddered visibly, his lips drawn into a grim, straight line.
“What about your uncle?” Leroy asked hopefully. “Mr. Cavallo knows powerful people. I bet he can tel
l us what’s going on.”
“I tried to call Uncle Vince, you know, to warn him . . . but my phone’s been acting screwy. I can’t get a signal.”
Leroy grunted in displeasure. “Did you notice any police cruisers while you were out there? I couldn’t get them on the phone, and I’ve been trying to figure out what the heck the police are doing while the citizens are running around, mauling each other to death.”
Tony made a scoffing sound. “Yeah, the cops are out there, but they’ve joined in the madness, gnawing on the citizens they’re supposed to serve and protect.”
“The police are in on it, too!” Leroy slapped his thigh in disbelief and aggravation. “I guess we’re lucky the TV’s still working, but a lot of good the blasted thing is doing. I can’t get anything except a dark screen when I click to local stations. National news channels are reporting the Dow Jones Industrial Average, foreign affairs, and talking politics as usual. They haven’t mentioned a word about the catastrophe in our little town.”
“Is it okay to come out now?” Charlotte called from the storage room.
“Yeah, come on out, Charlotte,” Gabe answered.
Eyeing Tony suspiciously, Charlotte emerged from the back. She patted Jane comfortingly as she stood next to Eden.
“Charlotte, this is Tony; he’s a friend of Leroy’s,” Eden introduced.
“Where are my manners?” Leroy said. “Tony, meet Eden, Gabe, and Charlotte. Charlotte’s been babysitting for their little daughter,” Leroy added and Eden didn’t bother to correct him. She was busy sizing up Tony, trying to figure out if he would be an asset or a liability to their group. It was hard to tell. The way he was shaking and seemingly close to falling apart, she suspected he might be as useless as Charlotte when it came to warfare with the biters.
“How close are the biters?” Gabe asked Tony.
“Too close, man,” Tony said in a quavering voice. “They’re moving around in packs, breaking into businesses along Pelham Avenue and other main streets.”
Gabe shared a look with Eden. “Pelham Avenue? Isn’t that where the nearest gas station is?”
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