"I'm sorry, Lanie, I didn't know you were talking with someone. Thanks for getting the paper for me." He came around Melanie, wrapping both his arms around her waist and kissing her on the top of her head. He looked at Stuart and said, "Hey man, I'm Josh." Josh outstretched his hand to shake Stuart's. Stuart slowly extended his hand to Josh's and Josh proceeded to crush the bones in the nerdy guy’s hand. Josh towered over Stuart by at least 7 or 8 inches, looking like a Greek god in comparison to Stuart's gangliness.
Awkwardly and a bit in pain, Stuart said, "I'm Stuart."
"Nice to meet you." Josh smiled at him then directed his attention back to Melanie, "Lanie, we have to get going. My parents are expecting us in less than an hour." Josh looked back at Stuart and said, "Sorry, Stuart, I have to steal her away from you, but it was nice meeting you. I'm sure I'll see you again." He smiled at Stuart, and spun Melanie around, leading her to the stairs where half way up he tickled her, to get her to giggle to make the charade even more convincing.
Josh closed the door behind him and chuckled. A flushed Melanie turned around with arms folded and brows furrowed.
"Aw, Lanie, don't be mad. He was being a jerk. Nobody should talk to you like that. I won't allow it."
"You won't allow it? What are you, my father?"
Josh could tell that he had said the wrong thing. "I didn't mean it like that. I've told you, I'm not very good at words, or this kind of stuff. I mean come on, what's the guy’s problem with you?"
She sat down on the couch and said, "I turned him down a few times when he asked me for a date."
"I guess I can see his being bummed, but it's still no way to act. I'm sorry if I made you mad. I just didn't like the way he was talking to you. Maybe I overstepped, but you shouldn't have to put up with his bad behavior.”
"Well, I don't think it will be a problem anymore." Her brows unfurrowed and Josh thought he saw a smile forming on her lips as she tried to avoid his gaze. She grabbed his shirt that had been thrown on the couch and handed it to him. "Maybe you should put this back on. You look..." she looked at his chest, blushed again, and then continued, "You're going to catch cold." She glanced up into his face.
Josh smiled and again felt off guard at not being able to read her mind. Never had he wished so hard that he could hear what someone was thinking. He'd never felt this way before, never wanted his power to work so badly. In the past, when he liked someone, he knew what to do, what she wanted him to do or say, but with Lanie, he had no advantage. It was like poking around blindly in the dark, in search of the light switch on the wall, but never finding it. He took the shirt from her and put it on.
"Can I ask you something, Lanie?"
"Sure. Not sure I can answer, but you can ask anything you like."
"Why can't I read YOUR mind?"
"I'm not sure. Have you ever come across anyone else that you couldn't read?"
"No, but I'm not absolutely sure. I've spent so much time trying to drown the sound out with music that I don't listen to the voices anymore."
"There are probably others. In a world with so many people, there are bound to be others. But to change the subject, I was thinking that maybe we should retrace your steps and go back to the alley. Maybe we can find something that will help us with this mystery."
"Oh no. I'm not taking you there. I can't protect you from these 'things' and I don't want to endanger you."
"Who says I need your protection?"
"It's not an insult, Lanie. I just don't know what we are dealing with and I don't want you hurt because of me."
"Look, it's highly unlikely there will be anyone there. I'm just worried that you may have left something behind that they might be able to find you with. If they think you have this thing they've lost, you are in danger."
"Exactly, and if I'm in danger, then I can't have anyone I care... I mean, I can't have you involved with something that could..."
"Would you stop it already? I am involved. You can't do this on your own. Besides we don't know if there is anything to be worried about yet. If you won't take me, I'll just hit all the alleys in town by myself."
"You can be a bit stubborn."
"Only when I'm right."
"And how do you know you're right?"
"I don't know. I just know we are missing something. Something big."
"Okay. I have no idea what you are talking about, but okay. I give."
"Good. I'll go take a shower and we can go. There's more bacon and eggs if you want some."
Chapter 4
Their walk was silent, and for the first time in Josh’s life he wished it wasn't. He was thinking nonstop about vampires, alleys, and the man in dark clothing. Before he knew it, he and Lanie were at the corner store. He stopped there. He wasn't sure why, maybe he was nervous. He was still moving in place but he wasn't moving towards the alley. She stood there with the morning sun behind her making a halo around her face. Her brown hair now was lit up like red embers and she smiled at him and put her gloved hand on his forearm.
"It's okay, Josh. We are just two people walking along a street and glancing into an alley."
Like an angel, she melted all his worries away and calmness came over him like he’d never known. How does she do that? he thought.
"Right." He started walking again with Melanie right beside him. When they came to the lamp post, Josh looked around and nodded towards the alley. "This is it."
"Okay. Josh, I need you to open your mind and listen for me. Do you sense anyone in the vicinity?" she said in almost a whisper.
Josh took in a deep breath, let it out, and listened. His eyes were far, far away as he cocked his head and listened to the chattering in his head.
"No. I mean yeah, there a lot of people around, but no one on the street or near us."
"Perfect. Okay, now I want you to think back to the night you left my house and came across this alley. Try to remember exactly what you did and saw."
"Okay. Well I was walking along and I was thinking about y.., well I was just walking and when I came to the alley, something caught my eye and I stopped."
"What caught your eye?"
"I don't know. It was really dark, but whatever it was caught the light from the lamp post and I stopped."
"Okay, then what?"
"I stepped in the alley to see what it was."
"Good, Josh. About where were you then?"
He took two or three steps in the alley way and said, "I guess about here."
"Then what?"
"I bent down to pick up the object and that's when I heard his thoughts."
"Good. You're doing really well. Now you told me that his thoughts were jumbled. Can you remember anything else?"
"Not really, just that he seemed frustrated. He was angry because he couldn't find what he was looking for."
"Did you get an image of what he was looking for?"
"No. I rarely get images, just voices."
"That's okay. So he was angry and frustrated and you were bent down, then what happened?"
"That's when he sensed me. His thoughts focused on me and he thought something about being hungry or that he might as well eat."
"Good. You didn't tell me that before. That's good. Okay, then what?"
"I kept my head down and I stood up and tried to back out of the alley and that's when he grabbed my throat with one hand and threw me against that wall." Josh pointed to the right wall.
"Ow. That must have really hurt. That is solid brick. I'm surprised you don't have a concussion." She rubbed his shoulder as if to comfort his old wounds. "So are these your groceries from that night?"
"Yeah."
"Pop Tarts, beer, and milk? That's not a very healthy diet." She smirked at him.
"We're not here to discuss my dietary habits, Lanie."
She laughed. "How did you pay for the groceries?"
"Why?"
"Well, I don't see the receipt. Do you remember if you paid cash, debit, or credit?"
"I used Fast
Pay because I was trying to catch up with you."
"Hmmm. That's not good."
"What are you talking about? Why is that not good? Do vampires not like people who use plastic?"
She smiled at him. "Well, I don't know about that, Josh, but when you use your debit or credit card, often the receipt will have your name on it."
"Oh crap. You're right, and since you can't find my receipt in the bag, maybe the second guy now knows my name."
"It's possible."
"And in a small town like this, it would be pretty easy to find where I lived."
Melanie nodded. "But before we get too worried about that, tell me what happened next."
"Okay. So I hit this wall, dropped my stuff, and started to slide down the wall, when he had a grip at my throat again and he threw me back and I landed there." Josh pointed to the broken pallet.
"You're lucky the throws didn't kill you, Josh." She started back towards the pallet.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm going to look back there."
"Is that necessary?"
"Yeah, it's necessary," she said. Josh followed her tentatively. "Okay, so you were smashed into the pallet, then what?"
Josh looked into the corner where the man had been crouched the previous day and then continued towards her. "Well, I could see his red eyes staring at me and as he slowly stepped closer I could see his fangs and then he lunged at me about there." He pointed to a spot about twelve feet away. "I was feeling around on the ground and pulled up a piece of wood and pointed it towards him as he started to lunge and he landed on it."
"Right and then he exploded into ash, right?"
"Yes."
She was looking around on the ground for remnants of ash when she found a small patch. Then she did something that Josh didn't expect; she started to take her gloves off. Josh wasn't sure what he had expected to see, maybe burned hands, maybe disfigured, but no, they were dainty, milk white hands, small and beautiful, so much so that he almost sprang at her just to touch them and take a closer peek. Instead, he watched her meticulously put the gloves in her pocket and then she put both dainty hands in the ash she'd found. She closed her eyes and stayed there for what Josh thought was five minutes, but in actuality was only a minute, maybe less.
She stood up, clapped both hands together to get the excess ash off and then grabbed a little pouch of towelettes from her pocket, cleaned her hands, and then put her gloves back on. She turned towards Josh and said, "So where did you see the second man?"
"He was crouched down right where you were."
"Looking at the ash?"
"Yes."
"Hmmm. We need to get out of here." She grabbed Josh's forearm and headed back to the street.
"Where are we going?"
"Back to my place."
"But I need to get some stuff from my place."
"I don't know if that is such a good idea."
"Why?"
"They're going to come looking for you."
"What? Why?"
"I can't explain right now, we just need to get you somewhere safe."
"But can't I go home and get some stuff?"
"Is it far from here?"
"No, just three blocks or so."
"How about we walk by and if it looks okay you can go in and get what you need?"
"Okay, but then will you explain what's going on?"
"I'll try. Lead the way."
They walked in silence to Josh's house and now it was Melanie acting paranoid, looking over her shoulder every couple of minutes. When they got to the house, Melanie made him walk past it. She whispered, "Listen, Josh. Do you hear anyone in or around your house? I want you to listen and tell me if you hear anyone thinking about you or that sounds similar to the man you saw. We'll go to the end of the block, cross the street, and come back. If all is clear, then we will go inside. Okay?" He nodded.
Like a couple out for a morning walk, they went up the block, crossed the street and walked back. As they got closer to the house, Josh bent down to whisper in her ear that all sounded quiet. With her brows furrowed, not knowing if this was a good idea, she said, "Okay, let's go in and get what you need, but quickly, Josh. Very quickly."
They walked across the street and up the walkway to the nondescript taupe ranch house. She looked around as he unlocked the front door. They both stepped in quickly only to find the house had been ransacked. Josh's mouth dropped. "Oh my God. What happened?"
"Well, Josh, I think these vampires think you have something of theirs and they want it back."
"But I don't have anything of theirs. I don't have anything!"
"Josh, we need to get out of here. Grab what you need and let's go."
Josh jumped into action running through the house with a duffle bag grabbing this and that. Melanie wandered around the house as he packed until she came to the back door. The glass in the door had been broken and she was sure it was how the vandals had gotten in. Carefully she took off her gloves and put one hand on the doorknob. She closed her eyes as she had before, but this time she pulled away with a jerk. Josh was coming into the kitchen when he saw her without her gloves and her eyes wide with shock.
"Are you okay?"
"We need to leave now. Do you have any cash in the house or on you?"
"Yeah. I hate going to the bank so I keep quite a bit in a wall safe."
"You're going to need as much as you can take and hurry."
Without questioning, he ran out of the room and was back in a flash zipping up the duffle as he entered the room.
"Ready?" she asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Okay, when we get to the front door, I want you to listen again to see that no one is thinking about you, this place, or anything sinister."
"Yeah, okay."
When they got to the door, Josh did as Lanie had asked and stopped and listened. He shook his head and they headed out the door and proceeded down the road as fast as they could without looking conspicuous. This time they went through the park, avoiding the alley as they headed for Melanie's. When they got to the corner of the street, Josh put out his hand and herded her behind his body as he backed up slowly.
She whispered, "What is it?"
He was still stepping backward, keeping her behind him. "It's the guy from the alley talking to Stuart," he whispered.
"Empty your mind, Josh, NOW. Think of sitcoms, work, grocery lists, mundane everyday ordinary things."
His eyes went far away as they had the last time she asked him to listen. He thought of laundry that needed to be done and the brakes on his bike that needed to be fixed as he spun her around and they headed back away from house.
"We need a car. Obviously, we can't get to mine. What about you?" she asked.
"Don't have one. But I have a bike."
"Well, that won't do us much good unless you can pedal really fast."
"Not a bicycle, a motorcycle."
"Hmm, but that means we'd have to head back to your house."
"Yeah, but if he's at your place he can't be at mine."
"Unless he has help."
"True, but I think we should take the chance, don't you?"
"I guess we don't have much of a choice. If we can stop at the bank on the way out of town I can grab all my cash and we can get out of here."
In a running walk they headed back to Josh's house. They went straight for the garage. He tossed a leather jacket to her. "Here, put this on. Your coat is no protection if we take a fall. In fact, it will probably fit over your coat and keep you double warm. With you at my back you are going to have to carry the duffle bag. Sorry about that. Easiest way to carry it is cross the strap over your body with the duffle across your back. Good. Okay and here." He gently helped her put on an extra helmet he had for passengers. He brushed her hair out of her face and strapped the helmet under her chin. “How is that? Not too tight?"
She nodded her head that looked like a giant ping-pong ball on her tiny slen
der neck. He pushed the bike into the driveway and closed the garage door. He got on the bike and started it. He reached out his now gloved hand to help her get on the back with the heavy duffle. With his visor up he yelled, "Are you okay?"
She put her thumb up to tell him she was fine. He could see her smiling through the visor. He yelled, "Hold on," and flipped his visor down and took off like a shot. The bike lurched forward so quickly that Lanie grabbed Josh hard around the chest. He could tell by the tightness of her grasp that she had never ridden on a bike before.
When they got close to the outskirts of town, she pointed at a Wells Fargo bank and he knew this was where she wanted to get her money. She couldn't get the helmet off and Josh chuckled as he helped her. When he lifted it off her, her eyes sparkled with what he could only assume was wild excitement from the ride. Her hair came down in wisps from the helmet, meeting with her shoulders and falling back into place in a disheveled way, but Josh thought it looked very becoming on her. She smiled and said, "Be back in a flash." He laughed at her as she handed him the duffle bag and she ran into the bank wearing his old leather jacket looking much like a five year old might look in her father's jacket.
Like she’d said, she was back in a flash and he was again helping her with the duffle bag and the helmet, but before he shut her visor he asked, "So where are we going?"
“I say we go as far as we can south until it gets dark and then we get a hotel and some food and decide what to do then. We just need to get some distance between this guy and us so that we can think.”
"Okay then. Highway 5, here we come." He shut her visor, buckled her helmet, and started the bike. Again, he held out his hand to help her get on and in no time they were on Highway 5 heading south.
Chapter 5
Despite the reasons for the road trip, Josh felt good to be on the highway. He’d always liked long rides on a cool day. The brisk air cool all around him along with the heat from the engine and the leather he was wearing kept him at a perfect temperature. However, with Lanie behind him, it was heaven. Her arms were tight around his waist now, her thighs against his, and her head and body tight against his back. It was distracting - very distracting, but very nice.
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