by J. N. Colon
Oh shit.
This looked bad. This looked so bad. We were both asleep on the couch with a nearly drained bottle of liquor on the floor by my feet.
Panic exploded through my heart. “Mac, it’s not what you think.”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking,” he growled, the control in his voice barely hanging on. “We’ve been looking for you all night. I thought…” He clutched his chest. “I thought the hunters had taken you!” Silver encompassed all the jade in his eyes. “You left your phone in your room and I had no way to find you.”
My own eyes shimmered with tears imagining the agony he’s been going through. “I’m sorry. I fell asleep.”
“I can see that.” His voice was clipped.
Demy finally stirred, his gaze landing directly on Mac. His brow puckered in confusion until his head swiveled up to see me. “Shit.” He rolled into a sitting position and ruffled his messy black hair. “Mac, I…”
A low, skin crawling growl snaked between Mac’s teeth while his lips curled back, showing fang.
Demy instantly straightened up.
Mac’s silver eyes returned to me and I wanted to hide inside my hoodie. “I’ll go alert everyone you’re fine. It was a big misunderstanding.” Anger heavily laced his words.
I shot up. “Mac wait. Let me explain.”
“I’ll see you later.” Without sparing me another glance he was gone at inhuman speeds I couldn’t follow.
“NO! Wait.” My voice cracked and I felt tears wash down my cheeks. My chest ached with an unwavering pain that knocked the air from my lungs. It was so terrible I wanted to collapse on the ground and curl into a ball. I hurt the one person I loved the most in the world. Nothing happened between Demy and me—and never would—but Mac must be thinking the worst. He let the trick Demy pulled where he ended up sleeping in my bed slide because of Travis’s death, but this was different. He saw us together and I had known it was Demy.
I hid my face in my hands as the room echoed with my sobs.
“Hey, hey. Rubi, stop.” Demy pried my fingers away. “I’ll talk to him. I’ll explain everything.”
I shook my head. “You won’t do much talking while he’s punching your face.”
He pulled me against his chest while I trembled. “I’ll heal and eventually I’ll get a word in.” He meant it as a joke, but I only cried harder. “Rubi, I promise I’ll fix this. It’s my fault. And I owe you for being such a bastard last night in my room.”
“What if he wants to break up with me?” I mumbled against his shirt. I was so out of Mac’s league it was embarrassing. What if he decides I’m not worth it and dumps me? It’s not like I’m turned yet. He still has a choice.
Demy pulled away. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard and you know it.” He brushed the hair from my face and wiped my tears. “Mac loves you unconditionally. Trust me. He’s just scared. And sometimes—like me—he turns fear into anger.” He gave me a little shake. “I’ll talk to him. He’ll be crawling back to you before tomorrow. I promise.”
I nodded, hoping he was right. This whole time I was terrified over the responsibilities my future holds and now that they’re slipping through my fingers I felt completely lost. I missed their weight. And I missed Mac.
“Rubi, it’ll be fine. Stop crying.” Aspen sat on the edge of my bed, stroking my hair. Once I got back to my room the waterworks were free flowing.
Another pressure weighted the end of the bed. “Rubi, darling, Mac’s just being stubborn and prideful. He’ll come around,” Emmaline said, squeezing my foot through the covers.
“He hates me,” I blubbered.
Aspen sucked her teeth. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
“I second that.” Emmaline’s azure eyes shone with worry. “Is there anything we can get you?”
I shook my head.
“Want some food? I’ll get one of the guys to sneak off campus and get you one of those steak sandwich cheeseburger things,” she said in a sing song voice.
My stomach churned at the thought of food. “I’m not hungry.”
Both girls gasped in horror.
“I take it that’s bad?” The other shy, quiet voice belonged to Adalynn.
“Very.” Aspen got up and rummaged through the mini fridge, returning with a soda. “At least drink this.”
I shook my head.
“I’m going to kill him.” Emmaline stood and paced the length of my room, her flat boots making muted sounds on the wood. “I’m going to wring his neck for drawing this out.”
“Me too.” Aspen crossed her arms against her chest with a huff. “He can choke on his pride for all I care.”
Emmaline nodded in agreement, flicking her wheat colored locks.
“You guys.” Adalynn perched on a desk, crossing her ankles and smoothing her skirt with delicate hands. “If Demy said he’ll explain what happened to Mac I’m sure he’s probably talking to him right now.”
“Or getting his face rearranged,” I mumbled.
A knock resonated on the door. My heart jumped in my throat, hoping it was Mac. As soon Aspen opened it my heart dropped again and I sank lower into the bed. It wasn’t him.
“It’s not the best time right now,” Aspen whispered to the intruder.
“I brought ice cream.” Paisley’s voice seeped from the other side of the door.
I stifled a groan in my pillow, desperate to bury myself so deep in the covers I disappeared. Of all the people to show up when I was drowning in misery it had to be Paisley Collins. I could imagine the gloat on her harsh face and the glimmer of delight in her cobalt eyes. Ice cream was her ticket inside to gawk and point at the pathetic thing on display. Me.
I should shove the whole tub down her throat. You know what they say. Don’t feed the animals at the zoo. We tend to get violent.
“Mmm, ice cream,” Adalynn whispered.
Aspen sighed and I heard the door creak open. “Fine, but don’t upset her more.” Aspen’s perfume wafted closer to my bed. “Rubi, you want some…”
“Give it to Adalynn,” I said.
“But you have to eat something.” She ripped the covers off my face, even the dim light stinging my red, bleary eyes. “You’ll go into shock or something.”
“Not hungry,” I growled.
She huffed. “Fine, but the keep the covers off your face so I can make sure you aren’t dead.”
“Whatever.” My gaze accidently fell on Paisley as she awkwardly sat on the edge of Aspen’s bed. Her hair was in a severe ponytail with her bangs pinned back again as if she couldn’t stand it touching her face anymore. She tapped her unusually unkempt nails on her knee while jiggling it nervously. Her now haunted eyes widened as she caught me staring. “What?” I hissed. “Don’t you have something to say Paisley?”
Her cheeks reddened and she picked at nonexistent lint on the coverlet to avoid my gaze. “I didn’t come here to… I mean I don’t believe the rumors... I know you and Demy Dragoniv are just friends.”
Oh man, there are rumors? I’ve never been at the center of love triangle gossip.
“She did shut Natalie up when she was telling Trevor you cheated with Demy,” Aspen said, leaning against the dresser with her arms crossed. “If I had overheard that tramp I would have yanked those cheap extensions out her head.”
Paisley shrugged. “I’m supposed to stay away from that kind of thing…” she trailed off.
My brow rose, wondering if she was referring to advice from maybe doctors at the nut house? “Thanks,” I mumbled wryly, annoyed she had the nerve to stick up for me. Even if it was dripping with sarcasm, never in a million years did I expect to be thanking Paisley Collins for anything.
She nodded silently and fidgeted with the end of her ponytail. A beep echoed in the room and she slipped her phone out her pocket. A grimace twisted her expression. “Gross.”
“What is it?” Adalynn asked, tucking her pale blonde hair behind her ear to peer over Paisley�
�s shoulder.
“A news story about a shark attack victim.”
A chill rolled down my spine and I popped up. “Let me see that.”
I skimmed the article. A body washed up on shore in Nantucket—well part of a one anyways. It was missing one arm, part of a leg, and half the face was gone. The remaining corpse was shredded in places. Authorities assumed it was a shark attack, but the results were inconclusive.
My face paled as I handed Paisley her phone and slumped back on my bed. All these alleged animal attacks seem too coincidental and only speculation. No one witnessed any of these attacks and there’s no physical evidence to support the theory other than the victims—human and animal—were ripped apart by claws or teeth. Who’s to say it really was an animal doing the damage?
What if it was something supernaturally strong, something that could take out a shifter… or even a vampire?
Travis’s death still remained a mystery as did the missing vampires.
It was then that I suddenly remembered the trail of dead birds scattered across campus.
***
I moped to Professor Forsyth’s classroom for Saturday night detention. Again. He caught me in class Friday doodling instead of paying attention to his stupid, boring lecture.
Come on! I get detention for that?
A perfect end to a perfect day. There was no word from Mac either. He’s probably lining up his next girlfriend.
A defeated sigh spilled out my mouth as I pulled open the door, the dim room smelling faintly of mothballs. If I knew how I compelled my English teacher I would use it on Professor Forsyth in a nanosecond.
The room was empty, but lights shined from the minuscule cracks in the blinds obscuring his office windows. I hoped he didn’t expect me to sit in close quarters with him for the next few hours.
I shivered at the thought
The door was ajar so I shuffled in. “Professor Forsyth?” His chair was facing the wall, his arm hanging out the side.
What kind of crap punishment was this? Was it a test or a stunt to dig my way further into trouble?
A weird, moldy smell mixed with something familiar wafted up my nose, wrinkling it. My gaze landed on the crushed half smoked cigar in an ashtray on his desk, assuming that was the cause behind the nasty smell.
“Professor Forsyth?” Annoyance filtered through my voice. Is he asleep?
When no answer came I tiptoed around his desk to check…
Ice trickled through my veins, sharp and glacier cold. It was déjà vu, right down to the scream sticking in my throat.
His face was frozen in an expression of fright, beady eyes open and mouth twisted in a howl of terror. His skin was pale and ashen, resembling a corpse. A jagged wound—much like Travis’s—ripped his throat open, staining crimson down his neck and boring brown suit.
My eyes reluctantly traveled lower to find a gaping hole in his chest where his heart should have been.
A strangled gasp escaped my mouth and violent shivers racked my body. Sickness threatened to overcome me as my vision blurred. The smell I now recognized as decay, death, and blood had my throat closing involuntarily against gags.
Something tore out his heart!
My pulse exploded and cold sweat dowsed my skin. I was hyperventilating, choking on fear. I needed to find someone. I needed Mac!
My feet slipped on something, feeling it crack beneath my soles, and I stumbled backwards, knocking into the door. I saw a familiar pair of wire-rimmed glasses now broken and splattered with red.
A sinking, sick feeling slithered through my insides. I didn’t want to believe what I knew was true.
The door I had hit creaked closed, allowing something heavy to slump from behind it. A broken shriek spilled from me when another body sprawled on the floor.
Professor Allan!
“NO!” I cried. I had suspected those were her glasses, but my mind wanted to shy away from this horrifying possibility.
Her long dishwater hair was free of the strict bun, but any beauty was ruined by the unnatural streaks of wet red running through. Jagged claw marks slashed the left side of her face, forcing flesh back to reveal bone. Her neck was barely intact, arteries and muscles visible, spilling crimson onto her ashen skin. So much blood and gore matted her blue bohemian peasant top I wasn’t sure if her heart was missing too.
I slipped my phone out my pocket with trembling fingers to call Mac. I carefully walked backwards out the office, trying to avoid slipping on the carnage. Blood and death now choked the air as if my presence stirred it. It was so overwhelming I breathed shallowly to avoid gagging. I wasn’t that successful.
The stench of rotten flesh suddenly deepened. An icy chill trickled down my back and I froze, fear palpable in the air. I was trapped in a scary movie while the audience was screaming, ‘look behind you!’
Shaking uncontrollably, I slowly turned and the scream finally tore from my mouth.
Chapter 23
In front of me was a man only he wasn’t a man. His flesh was ashen gray and rotting in places. He had fangs like a vampire—currently bloody with bits of flesh clotting between them—but he wasn’t a vampire. Dried, caked rust colored blood mixed with fresh red matted his golden blonde hair. He reeked of death and his eyes were burning crimson orbs.
Crimson eyes of my nightmares!
My scream only startled him for a second. His claw-like hands snaked out and slashed at my throat. I ducked and he missed his mark, knocking my phone away instead.
I sprinted from the classroom, pulling on the vampire blood that still remained in my body. My heart was in my throat by the time I made it outside, the cold night air stinging my face, but a welcomed reprieve from the stench of Professor Forsyth’s office. I glanced back to see if he was following me.
Nothing.
Oh god. What was that thing! A creature from a horror flick stepped right off the screen and into my world. It was Night of the Living Dead crossed with Nosferatu. Madison would have loved it.
Before I turned back I collided with something solid. I opened my mouth to let out another scream, but a familiar face swam in my vision.
“Rubi!” Vera screeched, catching me in her strong arms. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
I didn’t have time to answer. Her dark eyes lifted above my head and widened in terror. I knew what was behind me. Or at least I thought I did.
I swiveled around and saw the thing stalking toward us—and another one right behind him.
Vera tugged my arm. “Run!”
We hadn’t gotten very far when I felt an icy hand in my hair. Panic slammed into me and I shifted to see the blonde one from the classroom inches from my face. But before he had a complete grasp on me a blur streaked by and chopped his arm off with a single slice of a blade.
James!
The undead vampire howled into the night as his ashen arm flailed on the ground and blood too dark and thick oozed from his bicep.
The other creature was older with black shoulder length hair soaked in gore, framing a masculine face. His square jaw held a five o’clock shadow tinted red by blood. He rushed forward at insane speeds and clawed James’s back, slicing through flesh.
My gasp echoed as the royal guard stumbled.
Vera cursed and forced me behind her. “Stay back.” Her voice dipped octaves deeper and her eyes were glowing orbs in the darkness. Her shoulders curled in and she folded into herself, landing on all fours. A black wolf stood in her place.
A freaking wolf!
She sprang into action, jumping on the black haired male that clawed James, taking him down. James was now fighting with the one armed corpse, their actions a blur. I backed into a giant oak, my heart racing in my chest so loud I could hear it over their snarls.
What if a human walked up on this? I thought numbly as my eyes flickered between fights.
A howl of pain rang through the night and the blurring battle halted. Horror crashed over me as James fell to his knees, grabbing his chest whi
le the one armed male clutched James’s bleeding heart in his hand.
His perfect smile flashed through my mind as he helped me over the brick wall weeks ago when I heard a vicious growl emanating from the bowels of a holly bush. Had it been one of these creatures?
James hit the ground face first, dead.
Agony twisted my insides and a giant lump rose in my throat, blocking my airways. James was a royal guard. He had to be well trained and one of the strongest vampires yet this thing ripped his heart out with ease.
The blonde undead vampire brought James’s heart to his mouth, biting down. Blood spurted out, smattering his face and dribbling down his chin as he chewed.
My stomach rolled and I dry heaved, choking on air. Panic thudded through my head, quaking my frayed nerves until my whole world tilted disconcertingly.
A crack echoed as Vera smashed into a tree, falling on its roots with a cry of pain. She lay quivering and helpless.
The blonde, one armed vampire lapped up the rest of the guard’s heart and when he was finished his crimson eyes zeroed in on me, undiluted hunger radiating out.
Terror froze me to the spot, poisoning my limbs until they were trembling uncontrollably. Fear invaded every cell in my body like a disease slowly killing me. Within seconds the undead vampire was barely an inch away, reaching with his claw-like hands so caked with blood they were no longer alabaster, but red.
The black haired one forgot about Vera and stalked toward me, lured by the smell of fear permeating off me. His clothes looked expensive, but the black slacks and cobalt shirt were wrinkled, ripped in places, stained with blood and other indiscernible substances, and coated with dirt. The blonde one’s clothes were just as disheveled. It looked like they had both crawled out of the ground, remnants of a dirt grave plastering them.
These were true horror film vampires—undead monsters with no desire other than sinking their fangs into their next victim.
And that was me.
The blonde one snatched me off the tree with his good arm and slammed me into the other one. Apparently they were a team and wanted to share.
