One of them, YA Urban fantasy A.D. Duling (Author of The Anna Kippling Series)

by A. D. Duling

  Evie cradled her dishes stash against her chest and pressed the button on the light switch, sending the room to darkness. She pulled the door closed with her foot, but left it cracked a little. She returned to the kitchen and loaded her stash and the ones from the sink into the dishwasher and pressed start. She then put away the rest of the groceries and went back for her book bag she had dropped by the front door on her way in.

  Evie normally did her homework in her room, but she felt hungry again and wasn’t allowed to eat up there. Her passed out mother would have never known the difference, but Evie felt better following the rule anyway and sat her bag down on the kitchen table. Her quick snack turned into a turkey and provolone sandwich and Fritos to go with it. She grabbed a soda out of the fridge and carried her meal over to the table. She was grateful to have a light homework list tonight and pulled out her math book first. She got to work, taking big bites from her sandwich here and there as she calculated her algebraic equations.

  An hour later, she was finished with math and finishing up the last chapter to her history assignment when a light tapping on the glass window of their back door pulled her attention away. She looked up, but saw nothing. It had grown windy outside and she wrote it off as a twig or a pine cone blowing against it. She returned to her reading and not a minute later she heard the noise again. This time she got up and walked over to the window and looked out. It was dark out and she could from as far as she could see , she saw nothing and assumed it to be the wind again. As Evie turned to head back to her seat, the same noise came again. She quickly jumped around to catch the culprit, but again found nothing.

  Growing annoyed she unlocked the door and opened it, the crisp cold night air slithered its cold fingers through the fibers of her clothing and sent a chill down her spine. Evie listened for the noise again and searched the darkness. She spotted movement a few yards down away from her past the deck and walked out to the edge of it, to get a better look. She could see the outline of an animal, but could not decipher what it was. A big gust of wind came rolling in and blew up behind her at the back of her neck, its coldness reminding her she was standing in twenty degree weather without a coat or boots on. The cold wind blew again against her neck and sent her hair flying all around her. A gush of warmth followed right after the cold sting and Evie instantly knew what it was. The growl that immediately followed after, confirmed her worst fears.

  Her body instantly started trembling in reaction as another warm breath came at her. She could hear its breathing, not very far behind her. Another gush came again as and she heard the animal step closer. In her mind, she scolded herself for being so stupid and going outside in the dark alone. Thoughts of how to escape could not come to her and she stood rigid in fear as the animal started sniffing up and down her back. She heard it whine and trembling, she slowly turned around and faced it. She expected to turn and look down at the animal, but instead she came directly into the face of it. Its blue eyes stared back into hers and Evie could see her reflection in its eyes. It growled a little and her trembling increased. “Jonas…?” she asked it, hoping it was him, remembering his words from lunch.

  It stood up and still on its hind legs and stared down at her. Her eyes widened at its increased height, she had not remembered him being this large. The animal stepped closer and she screamed in reaction. It tilted its head up to the moon and howled in response to it and she started crying. It looked back down at her and lowered to all fours and leaned its face in. Evie scrunched her eyes shut waiting for it to attack, but only felt the tickle of its fur on her cheek as it sniffed at her hair.

  “Jonas….” She pleaded and another wave of spasms shook her body and she opened her eyes. It leaned its head away from her and looked back at her, fresh tears fell down her face and she whimpered. It sniffed at her face, it’s wet, warm nose grazed her own. It whined again and then licked at her face, surprising her at its sudden gentleness. “Jonas, is it you?” she asked it again.

  The animal stood still and stared at her, she could see it was trying to communicate, but could not. There was a familiarity about him and without thought she reached her hand up and touched his snout. He pressed it forward into her palm and she slid her hand up and stroked the animals head. It whined again to her touch and then growled and pushed her hand away with its muzzle. It stared at her for another moment and then turned away.

  She watched it leap off the deck with graceful ease and then run off into the darkness of the woods. The scratch on her back suddenly burned and the sandwich she had eaten earlier suddenly came up and she quickly leaned over the rail and threw up. She was freezing now and returned to the warmth and safety of the kitchen, dead bolting the lock behind her.

  Nathan had told her they only shifted once and only under the full moon, yet here Jonas was in werewolf form. How was that possible and why was he here? What was behind his behavior? Was he trying to terrify her or warn her? His gentleness was a big contrast from last night’s demonstration. She could not understand this creature. She walked out of the kitchen and left her homework unfinished for the night. She needed a warm bath and did not care if it caused the scratch to burn even more. Her shivering had become uncontrollable as she walked towards the staircase. She peeked inside her mother’s studio quickly and found her thankfully still asleep.

  Evie rushed up the stairs towards the bathroom and started the water to her bath. The scratch still burned like fire and she started to feel sick again to her stomach, but instead of a wave of nausea, a huge cramp took over her insides and she clutched at her stomach in agony. She reached over and shut the door and went to the sink and leaned over it. She took deep breaths to calm herself and hoped it would subside soon, a few agonizing minutes later it eased and she was able to stand erect again. She looked at herself in the mirror and found her face pale and her cheeks flushed.

  Probably reaction from the wolf… she reasoned.

  Evie undressed and grabbed the hand mirror and looked at her back in the cabinet one. She reached behind and as best as she could and pulled the bandage off. She was surprised to find the wound almost completely healed and was glad it was not as bad as she had thought, but wondered why it still burned so much.

  After a few more minutes the cramping finally dispersed and amazingly so did the burning. Evie also no longer felt chilled, but instead felt very hot and turned the tub faucets off. She pulled the drain to it and returned to the sink. The cold water she splashed on her face did little to cool her off and when the tub finished draining; Evie turned the cold faucet on and started the shower.

  She stepped underneath the cold water and within a few minutes she was able to cool off and washed up for the night. She grabbed her mother’s robe from behind the door and wrapped herself in it. Still scared, she childishly ran across the hall to her bedroom and threw on her pajamas. Her stomach began hurting again, and she felt hungry. She cautiously returned to the kitchen and quickly made herself another sandwich with chips and grabbed a fresh soda from the fridge. This time she ate her meal upstairs, not caring about her mother’s rule anymore and ate in bed.

  After she finished, Evie sat her plate down on the nightstand next to her finished soda and pulled the covers up to her nose, like she used to do as a little girl. After a few minutes however, she became hot again and had to kick them off. She chided herself on being afraid, but still left her lamp on next to her bed feeling it deserving after tonight’s ordeal.

  It took a while for her to finally relax and lower her defenses enough to try and fall asleep. Eventually her exhaustion overpowered her fears and she drifted off. She slept hard after that and did not hear the footsteps or the click of the lamp being turned off a few hours later. Nor did she feel the comforting stroke of her mother’s hand against her head and the kiss on her cheek as the covers were pulled back over her.

  Chapter five

  Conflicting interests…

  Each time she switched classes that morning; she looked for Jonas in the halls. At lu
nch Evie scanned the cafeteria twice for him, but still did not find him. Nathan was already seated at the table waiting for her and had noticed her behavior when she walked in. Evie shook her head to his concerned expression and mouthed “Wait” to him when he stood up and headed over to the line. She was starving and quickly piled her tray with her selections as she followed the line. She paid the lunch lady at the end and walked over to the table, where he waited.

  “Ask me what happened last night.” She instructed him.

  “Ok, what happened?” he asked her, playing along, but still concerned.

  “A werewolf visited me last night.” She told him. His face went blank and he quietly waited for her to continue, which she did. “I’m sitting at the kitchen table doing my homework when suddenly I hear a noise outside. After a few more repeats of it, I decide to step out to further investigate. And guess what I found?” she cynically asked him.

  He didn’t attempt to give her an answer and nor did she wait for one either. “I found a werewolf.” she revealed. “I thought you said they only change once a month and under the full moon!” She leaned in and hissed at him.

  “I thought they did.” He responded.

  “Well…you’re wrong!” she snapped back.

  “What happened?” he asked her, worry apparent on his face.

  “He scared the crap out of me, is what happened!” she got excited and spoke to loud, catching the attention of their neighboring peers. “And I have no idea why he was there.” she lowered her voice. “Cause if that was him asking me on another date… the answer was definitely no!” She followed.

  “Perhaps I should start watching your house at night.” He suggested to her.

  “And what, sit outside in the cold dark woods all night and worry my mother.” She shook her head in disagreement. “No thanks, what we need to do is to go and find Jonas and get to the bottom of this!” she hissed at him.

  “Are we interrupting a lover’s quarrel?” Pete’s voice asked from above their bent heads and Evie shot up straight. Nathan calmly sat up and looked up at him. “No, Evie had just shared her frustration about something and we were putting our heads together to come up with a solution.” He answered for them.

  Pete stared at Evie as he sat down. “What is it? Maybe I could help.” He offered believing him.

  Evie shook her head and smiled. “No, it’s nothing big. Just stupid silly girl stuff. I’m kind of stressing over my dress.” She lied and Pete noticed this. Evie sucked at lying and both her friends knew this. Evie regretted it the moment she did it, seeing the disappointment it brought to his eyes and avert her own down to her tray in shame, making a mental note to herself to apologize to her friend later as soon as this mess was cleared up. Her stomach growled again and her attention went back to her lunch; she picked up her hamburger and took a large bite out of it.

  Cass sat down a moment later and her constant chatter kept everyone entertained throughout lunch; Evie could not be more grateful for the distraction. When the lunch bell rang, she was surprised to find that she had actually devoured both burgers and the fries she had piled on her tray. Evie had never eaten two burgers before and to eat the fries as well made her feel like a pig. She hoped no one had noticed it and made another mental note to watch her eating habits from now on.

  The bell gave the second warning and the friends quickly parted ways to their classes. Nathan shared her gym class that afternoon and escorted her to the girls’ locker room.

  “I think your right and we can talk more about this after school.” He threw at her as he left her by the door and walked towards the boy’s locker room. Evie felt offended by his demand, yet a little at the same time did not. She had a feeling part of the allure of a vampire was always getting his way. She however would have to educate him on that later.

  Today, they had to run laps on the track and Evie was glad. She liked to run and even better, she also needed to burn of the ridiculously large lunch she had just gluttonously eaten. The coach blew his whistle and half the teens started running. Evie started out slow, but her pace picked up rapidly right after. She somehow had a burst of energy and completed her first lap rather quickly.

  Nathan ran up to her just as she was rounding the first corner of her second lap and paced with her.

  “You’re a fast runner.” He observed.

  She knew she was pushing herself and also knew the little effort it was taking him to keep her pace, which irritated her more and she ran ahead of him.

  “Great time Patterson!” the coach called out to her as she finished her third one. Nathan had slowed down a lap ago and she didn’t know why, but didn’t care either. The sun was out a little that afternoon and the warmth felt nice on her face, the cold air that hit against was refreshing and the adrenaline that came with the running was euphoria to her. Evie ran the entire period and when the coach blew the whistle to head in, she ran all the way to the locker room door.

  “Hey Patterson…” The girls track coach walked up to her as she was buttoning her shirt after her shower. “Mr. Hinkle told me about you time today…very impressive! How come I haven’t had you on track before?” she asked her.

  Evie shrugged. “Don’t know… just never thought I was fast enough.” She explained.

  The woman laughed. “Not fast enough! Honey… you underestimate yourself! It’s not too late to join…” She suggested.

  Evie shrugged again. “I’ll have to think about it, I’m not sure if it’s something I’m really into.” She responded.

  The woman shook her head. “It could get you a scholarship and to run that fast just for leisure, doesn’t sound like “it’s not something you’re really into.” she repeated Evie’s words. The woman patted her shoulder and left her to finish dressing.

  At the end of the day, as she walked out of the school building, Evie scanned the parking lot for Nathan and his mustang; but could find neither.

  “So much for talking…” she spoke to herself and headed down towards the buses. Cass had band practice today, so Evie would get no ride from her either. When she reached them, she had already decided on not going home just yet and headed downtown for some hot chocolate and a slice of cheesecake from the deli she visited often. The holidays were closing in and the stores already had their decorations up as she walked by them. Thanksgiving was just a week away and her mother hadn’t even bought their turkey. Her mother used to go all out on the holidays, last year she didn’t and Evie prepared herself for another disappointing holiday season. During the cold season, business was slow and she liked that, even though she was sure the business owners would disagree.

  She spotted the antique shop belonging to Nathan’s parents and looked through the window to find them. She saw Marsha right away, but the woman’s back was to her and she was busy with a customer. She didn’t see Seth and decided to move on and continue to her way towards the deli. Inside she ordered her cocoa and dessert and headed towards a table near the window to watch the shoppers walk by. She took of her hat and gloves and stuffed them into the pink puffer’s pocket and sat her book back down onto the floor next to the table. She pulled off the bright coat and hung it onto the back of her chair and sat down.

  A few minutes later a nice lady brought her ordered and talked briefly about the weather before leaving her to enjoy her treat. Evie thanked her again as she walked away and picked up her mug. She delicately brought the hot liquid to her lips and took a small sip. The warm sweetness of the mint flavor pleased her taste buds and she swallowed it with satisfaction. The homemade cheese cake was even better today and she ate it more quickly than her normal routine. The screechy drag of the sliding metal chair behind her caught her attention and she looked behind herself. Jonas now seated in it smiled back at her, so close she almost knocked heads with him as she turned around.

  She scooted her chair back a little and scowled at him, but his grin didn’t quaver and his green eyes looked her over. “What do you want?” she asked coldly.

  “
You really shouldn’t bring so much attention to yourself; people will think you’re showing off.” He remarked.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, confused.

  “I saw you in gym today; you looked like you were running for your life out there.” He clarified.

  “Like I should have from you?” She shot back at him.

  His grin still remained. “Should you have?” he asked.

  “Why did you do that, to scare me?” She probed.

  He shook his head. “I did not mean to hurt you, just to scare you…besides you lived.” He defended.

  “I didn’t say you hurt me, I said you scared me.” She corrected him.

  He gave her a confused look.

  “Will you eventually make a meal out of me as well?” She kept at him.

  “It’s a meal.” He responded with no remorse.

  “It’s not a necessity, you can eat animals.” She jabbed.

  He looked at her cheesecake. “It’s not a necessity, yet you still eat it.” He pointed out.

  She shook her head. “Nice try, but no comparison.” She responded back looking into his hypnotic eyes, but noticed sadness there. “You don’t like killing people, do you?” she asked him. He shook his head.

  “Then why do you?” she gently pried.

  “Revenge...” The single word brought the reality.

  “Revenge?” she asked him confused again.

  “Instead of looking for clues on what killed those people Evie, what you should have been doing is looking for were clues as to why.” He educated her.

  “Revenge is never a good reason for anyone to kill.” She told him.

  “Perhaps not, but it has started solving the problem.”