“Think it’ll fit?” I asked making a face.
“Of course it will,” she said getting behind me and pushing me inside. “Now go change so we can get this game started!”
I did as I was told. I walked into the kitchen and removed the tank top I had worn for two days and tossed it on a chair. Pulling the shirt over myself I couldn’t help but laugh; it was way too small for me. Shaking my head, I reached down and replaced my jeans with the shorts, which were a little more comfortable fitting. I grabbed a piece of string from one of the inside drawers and wrapped it around my hair until it held a loose bun in place. As for shoes I put my flip-flops on and went outside.
When I stepped on the porch Jazz and her two friends started clapping and hooting. It reminded me of when Kaeden and Drake had done something similar and I smiled faintly at the memory.
“Alright, so here’s our team. I’m captain, Court here,” she said waving at a girl with curly blonde hair, “is the goalie and Molly,” she said gesturing toward a taller girl with straight red hair, “is going to be offense and defense with us.”
Nodding I looked at each girl in turn. Suddenly I noticed that they had all tied their shirts behind their backs to give off a midriff look. I started to laugh again. It was nice that they were trying to make me feel so comfortable.
“Yeah, you noticed huh?” Jazz asked grinning and putting her hands on her hips. I nodded and her grin got wider. Then she looked at all of us in turn, “Alright. Let’s cream the boys, they deserve it from the last scrimmage!”
We all put our hands in a circle, bounced them three times, and let out a team shout! As we jogged to the back of the house, Court jogged over next to me.
“What’s your name anyway?”
“Finnegan,” I said looking down at her.
“Nice to meet you, Finnegan! Feel free to ram that ball down their throats,” she waved at me as she ran over to the goal they had made out of an old fishing net and some boards.
Jazz went to the front of the field and was met there by the boy that had run from me in here. I glanced over at Molly and whispered, “Doesn’t the cold weather bother you guys?”
She shook her head and smiled, “Once the scrimmage starts, you’re going to be sweating so much the cold won’t even seem like a thought.”
“Call it,” Jazz said, as she flipped a coin in the air.
“Heads,” the boy shouted.
It hit the ground and they both leaned down to look at it. The boy let out a whoop and started to do a dance to mock her and the rest of us. I had to remember that they were only children and that I was going to have to take it easy on them.
Even though I never really did try sports in school, I was a constant hiker back in Marble, so I knew that I was somewhat fit enough to keep up with a bunch of kids.
I looked up and saw Jazz scoop up the ball and rocket it at the boy’s chest who laughed and stuck his tongue out at her. He ran over and tossed the ball to their goalie who looked up and down the line of his team. After he spotted who he was going to throw the ball he pulled his arm back and let it fly. I watched quietly as it made a perfect arch in the air. The girls around me had already started to scramble for it, but I watched patiently until I knew where it was going to land. Jumping up, I hit it hard with my head and sent it back into opposition territory and ran after it.
Molly slapped me on the back as we went by, obviously impressed with what I had just done.
“Congratulate each other later,” Jazz shouted running past us. I looked over and saw that she and the captain of the boys’ team were side by side as ran the ball down the field toward Court. I turned and started to backtrack to help out when I saw her get the most determined look on her face. She was squatted and her hands out waiting for the kick. At that moment, he pulled away from Jazz and kicked the ball with all his might.
“Yeah!” Jazz had pumped her fist in the air and ran over to high five Court, as she caught the ball in midair and ran over to the other side of the goal.
These kids sure take this game seriously, I thought in amusement. But I ran back anyway and got into an offensive position anyway.
“Finn!” Court yelled tossing the ball at me. Getting behind it, I started to kick it down the field when I noticed that the kid that had run from me was coming at me with his two pals, determination written on all of their faces. So I decided to use his fear of me to my advantage.
Making an evil face and raising my hands up like they were claws, I ran at him growling and snarling. Skidding to a stop he turned and ran after the lightning had once again flashed and lit up the worst parts of me. Screaming he ran past his goalie clear into the distance. I had no idea where he was running but I was laughing so hard by that point that I had fallen down into the mud holding my stomach.
Jazz was bent over, hands on knees laughing so hard she was crying. Everyone on the field, including his team members were laughing uproariously at him. I wiped the tears from my eyes and pushed my bangs out of my face. Where was he running to? I stood up and let the mud drip off of me, leaving brown streaks of grit and dirt.
I put a hand over my eyes and squinted to see if he was visible still but he wasn’t.
“Guys, go inside the house and lock the door. I’m gonna go get him, okay?” I said.
“Sure,” Molly said, “His name is Pete, just so you know.”
“Thanks, I’ll be sure to use it,” I said.
Then I waved them off and watched them scatter for the house. I didn’t move until I heard the front door close and saw their faces in the window. I smiled at them then turned and took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to be able to run as fast as I wanted too with them watching me. So I decided to start at a jog and pick up a little speed. With as far as Pete had run, I’d be able to kick it up soon enough.
The rain had started to come down harder now and at an angle making visibility rather difficult. I figured that if I ran in a straight line, I’d be okay so that’s what I did. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the house was now small so it was safe to break into a monstrous speed. As I ran I looked around the field to see if maybe he was hiding somewhere but there was no sign of him. Of course he could be staying out of my line of sight on purpose; maybe I should’ve brought one of the kids with me.
“Pete!” I called out looking around.
No reply.
I ran faster and took a deep breath, “PETE!”
“Over here,” came the faint reply. Looking at the sound of the voice I started to run toward the right side of the field.
“Pete?” I yelled out again.
“Yes, help me!” the voice shouted, sounding closer now.
“I’m coming, kid. Hang out,” I shouted back. I started to run faster now, but lost my footing in the mud and fell headlong into the ground. “Argh!” I screamed wiping the dirt off as much as I could.
“Where are you, kid?” I shouted scanning the terrain.
“Over here. Come find me,” the voice said with a slight giggle to it. Then again, I figured that it was probably fear that made the voice shake and sound like it was laughing.
“Throw me a bone here, Pete! I can’t see you,” I shouted into the dark field.
“I’m right here,” the voice said directly to my right.
“Where?” I said starting to get frustrated.
“Right here,” said a whisper into my left ear.
Screaming, I jumped and looked down to see Pete standing there smiling at me in an odd way. He’s way smaller than me so how did he manage to do that?
“You okay, Pete?” I asked him suspiciously.
“Just fine,” he said tilting his head to the side with that same chilling smile.
“How are you?”
“Look so you know, I have no qualms killing you and leaving you in this field so drop the creepy act or I’ll drop you.”
“Gosh, we were only playing around,” said another voice back to my right.
Whipping around I looked and saw P
ete; again. I scratched my head, confused, wondering if he was a multiplier too. But then the second Pete walked over to the first Pete and then it dawned on me.
“You’re twins!” I exclaimed.
“Yup,” Pete said proudly. “This is my brother Adam. I thought that since you scared me it was only fair that I scare you back,” he said grinning.
“Yeah but how did he know to be out here?” I asked suspiciously.
“When you went inside to put on your uniform, Adam was in the back setting up the goals because he didn’t want to play. I thought you might try to scare me so I told him to wait out here and that we’d scare you back.”
I put my hands on my hips and looked at them. I couldn’t really be mad at them. That’s something I would’ve done had I been a twin, a child, and human. In a way it was actually kind of funny but I fought to keep the smile off of my face. If he thought I was the scary monster, then that’s what I was going to play.
“Um, you’re not going to tell the others are you?” Adam asked nervously looking at Pete. “Jazz will kill us.”
“Hm,” I said tapping my chin, “I’m not sure yet.”
“Please,” they begged together.
“Alright, I guess I can let it slide. Why don’t we all get back to the house though? It’s raining and you guys could get sick from it.”
They both nodded and we all ran back to the house. Well, they ran really, I only had to jog to keep up to them. As we neared the back window, I could’ve sworn I saw someone looking out at us that wasn’t one of the children. I shook it off though. When we entered the front door, the rest of the kids were sitting on the floor in a circle.
“Are you guys okay?” I asked closing the door.
Court looked up at me and smiled, “Yeah we’re fine. Hey you found Pete and Adam!”
“I sure did,” I said smiling back. I looked around the room as the two boys joined them and noticed that Molly was looking at me a little uncertainly. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she got up from the floor and walked past me motioning for me to follow her. We walked into the small kitchen area and she sat in one of the old wooden chairs.
“What’s wrong, Molly?” I asked leaning forward.
She looked hesitantly toward the doorframe then back at me. Something was really bothering this poor kid. She put her hands on the table and then took them off again.
“Molly?” I asked gently.
“A man came while you were gone,” she said quietly.
“A man? What man?”
“He said he was a friend of yours, but he wanted us to keep it a secret that he was here. He asked us our names and we told him and then he asked us how you were doing,” she said looking away.
“Did he say what his name was?” I asked curiously.
“Yes, but we all swore to him we wouldn’t tell you. He asked us if it was okay if he sat here with us until you got back. Jazz told him he could and he sat down and started telling us stories. He’s a very nice man,” she said looking at me. For some reason she looked really pained.
“Go on, honey,” I said putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Well, when we heard you guys running back toward the house, he brought me in here and asked me to tell you something,” she said uncomfortably. I sat there looking at her expectantly.
“He said to tell you that, ‘Fireflies look different now but you still shine brighter than any star in the Heavens.’”
Instantly I felt tears spring to my eyes. There was no way. There couldn’t be. I leaned back in the chair and looked out the window over the sink. I wondered if he was still around.
“Molly,” I said my voice cracking. “What did he look like?”
“I promised I wouldn’t tell. I’m sorry Ms. Finnegan. I can tell that you were best friends because you’re crying, but I’ve always been really good at keeping promises.”
She got up and came around the table and hugged me. I couldn’t keep it in anymore. My body was racked with sobs, and she hugged me tighter. I put my head on her shoulder and cried like my heart would break. She held up my face and pushed my hair back, then went to the sink and grabbed an old hand towel. Turning on the faucet, she hit it a few times to get the water going then held the rag underneath it. Coming back over to me, she carefully started to wipe the tears from my face.
“I’m not supposed to tell you this, but he said he’s been watching you to make sure that you stay out of trouble and don’t get hurt. When I told him that you had been hurt because you’re so burned, he asked me how it happened,” she whispered.
Sniffling I looked up at her, “What did you tell him?”
“I told him I didn’t know, but not to worry because you’re still one of the prettiest people I had ever seen. He laughed and said that he knew that would never change.”
“When we were getting close to the house, in the window ...” I trailed off pointing and she nodded.
“I was standing next to him while he was looking out the window, and he smiled and whispered, ‘Hey dolly’ then he made me go back to the living room and ran out the front door.”
I didn’t dare think it was a possibility. Maybe she was playing a cruel joke on me, but would she know what he called me? How would she know what he said to me in the cemetery that night?
“Listen, I’m going to go upstairs and go to sleep,” I said to her. I suddenly felt a terrible headache coming on. “You guys can stay here until the storm is over.”
I got up and started to walk out of the room when she stopped me. “I’ll let them know that they can leave when the storm is over, but he made me promise that I would keep an eye on you.”
Spinning around I stared at her. Why was everyone suddenly appointing me a babysitter? First Kaeden with Charlie and now ...
“No way Molly. Hanging out with me is dangerous. I’ve got a lot of bad people after me and I don’t want to risk you getting hurt. Besides I’m sure your parents would miss you very much.”
“But ... but I promised him I would! I can’t go back on my promise! I’ll be careful, I swear I will and I’ll only come over during the day to make sure no one comes in. And if anything feels wrong or like something bad is going to happen I can take care of it; I’m a black belt,” she said desperately.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do but it’s not just that they’re bad guys,” I said looking at her. I wondered if she’d be able to handle what I was going to tell her, or even if she would believe it.
“I know. He told me what they are and I promised I’d still help you and that’s what I’m going to do,” she said crossing her arms defiantly over her chest.
“So tell me then. How do you plan on handling a crazy, vicious half burned vampire that wants to kill me? I’m sure she’d show up here since everyone else has.”
“I attack. I don’t stop attacking until one of us is done for.”
“Molly, you’re just a kid. Being human on top of it doesn’t help. If any of them come here to get me, you’re not going to be able to handle it and I don’t want to be responsible for what happens to you, sweetie.”
“Geez, would you give the kid a break? She’s just doing what I asked her too,” said the voice behind me.
I sucked in my breath and I spun around so quickly that I almost fell over. There he was, leaning against the kitchen sink with that mischievous smile that I loved. I ran over to him and I threw myself in his arms and started to bawl hysterically.
Laughing he ran a hand over my head and held me tightly against him.
“Thanks little lady,” he said over my head, “But I think I can take it from here.”
“You’re welcome,” she said cheerfully as her footsteps retreated out of the room.
Leaning back, he reached down and grabbed my face in his hands and smiled at me. Those blue eyes were still so full of life and as kind as ever. He used his thumbs to wipe my tears away then pulled me back against his chest and squeezed me tightly. He let out his breath wistfully and rested his cheek
on the top of my head.
“I missed you kid,” he said softly.
I pushed away from him and stared at him accusingly. Suddenly I felt myself becoming angry with him. If he hadn’t died, then why didn’t he come find me sooner? Why did he let me believe something so horrible?
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked accusingly.
Laughing he pulled me back toward him, but I put my hands up on his chest keeping us apart just enough so that I could look at him.
“You know you’d think my coming back from the dead would be enough to curb your anger,” he said grinning.
I didn’t respond. I just stood there and stared at him waiting for an answer.
“Dolly, Kaeden didn’t kill me. He didn’t even try. We staged it so you would get out of Devils Lake for a while. I know who the spy is now and to tell you the truth I needed to get you as far away as possible. The only other person that’s involved that knows I’m alive is Drake. Shane turned his head when Kaeden faked my death, so he was easy to fool.”
“But Phoebe thinks you’re dead too.”
“That’s the point,” he said the grin disappearing from his face. “My sister doesn’t want us together. She thinks it’s making me soft so she’ll do anything she can to keep us apart. I never thought she’d be a spy though,” he said. He was quiet for a moment, and then he continued. “So when I heard that Billie had descended I knew that the only real way to keep you safe was to show myself to them. Which I have to do.”
“Billie; what is she,” I asked breaking away from his arms and going to the table.
“Have you ever heard the line: Even now in Heaven there were angels carrying savage weapons?”
“Cant’ say that I have,” I said fixing him with a look.
“Wow, you look so smart too,” he said seriously.
I threw an empty can at him and he laughed and sat down across from me.
“Just kidding little miss temper! Anyway, so that line was probably written for her. There are many different types of weapons, but there’s one thing we all have in common,” he said pointing to his eyes, “And believe me, her eyes are her most dangerous weapon. Kind of like Medusa you know? Only you don’t turn to stone. You turn into her puppet and do whatever she tells you too,” he said with a chuckle.
Monster Page 29
