The Willows

by Krystal McLaughlin

  He smiled and stopped what he was doing for a second to wipe sweat from his forehead. “But I am a police officer.” I punched him playfully and he laughed, “okay, okay. Before I was a police officer, I was a lot like Mason. I had a sister, loving parents, I was a senior in college,” he blushed, “I had a girlfriend.”

  I waited for him to go on, but when he didn’t, I nudged him, “what happened?”

  He was looking off into the distance, the sun was highlighting the various shades of blue in his eyes, almost distracting me, but he finally looked at me, sadness and regret shadowing his face. “My sister, Labreah, became a vampire.”

  I gulped. “What about you? What brought you here?” I wanted to tell him that I was sorry, that I understood what he was going through after having lost Jackson, but something told me that I didn’t understand; that there was much more to the story.

  “Evie, you have to understand that I will do whatever I can to stop what’s happening.”

  I waited. “There sounded like there was a ‘but’ in there somewhere,” I finally said.

  He nodded, “there is.” He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, looking directly into mine. “I came here, looking for my sister. She’s one of the vampires that I think is after you.”

  Well hell.

  Chapter Thirteen

  We had an hour before the sun set. Time was running out and we still had no idea where to look or what to do. Emma and Mason were staying pretty quiet. I think that both of them were just banking on the hope that Jake and I knew more than we were letting on. Unfortunately, I knew that I didn’t.

  With no other leads, we had separated. Jake had used his police connections to get Emma and Mason alone with Willow Grove’s missing person’s files. We were hoping that somehow, somewhere inside all of the information there would be a connection. Something that the police had missed, but that we, armed with the knowledge of what we were truly up against, would find.

  Jake and I were in a waiting room at the Rocky Mountain Hospital. After I finally told him what had happened the day before, he had called and found out that Arnie was okay. He was pretty banged up and would be in the hospital for at least a few weeks, but he was alive. We were waiting to see him. Despite the lack of answers he had given to me so far, I still had faith that he knew something that would prove to be vital to our mission.

  “I wish they would hurry,” Jake said. He was tapping his foot impatiently and looking up expectantly at each nurse that passed us by. The hospital was about half an hour from Willow Grove and almost forty five minutes from Rocky Point. Time was our enemy.

  I remained silent. There was nothing I could say that would change our situation so I just waited. I didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later, an older woman approached us holding a clipboard.

  “Arnie Reems can be seen now; room 202.” She didn’t ask us if we knew where to go. She didn’t ask us if there was anything else we needed. She just said what she needed to say and then turned on her heel and went back the way she had come.

  Jake was on his feet in an instant. “Let’s do this.”

  We walked quickly toward the elevator and waited for the door to slide open. Once inside he pressed the button for the second floor and a few minutes later we were standing outside Arnie’s room. I hesitated because I was feeling nervous. I was afraid that this was another wasted trip; valuable minutes that could have been spent in other, more productive ways. Jake, sensing my nerves, rolled his eyes and pushed me gently on the back, urging me forward.

  "I just can't get rid of you, can I girl?"

  Arnie was sitting up in bed. He had tubes attached to his body and monitors buzzed and beeped beside him. Other than being pretty bruised up and bandaged, he looked much better than I had expected him to look. He coughed and then grimaced. I could tell that he was in a lot of pain and even though it wasn't entirely my fault that he was in there, I still felt guilty.

  "I'm really sorry to bother you like this, but we didn't know who else to talk to."

  He smiled slightly and nodded at Jake, "you have your hands full with this one, she's persistent."

  Jake grinned and I blushed. I mean it wasn't like that, but still Arnie's words made my stomach sort of feel funny.

  "I'm Jake Cole, sir, sorry to be meeting you on these conditions."

  Arnie grunted and turned his attention back to me. "You were wrong, you know."

  I frowned, "about what?"

  He sighed and rubbed his eyes, the tube attached to his arm made his movements seem awkward and uncomfortable. "About Dan. He is dead."

  I took a deep breath, "I know that you know what's going on with all the missing kids in this town." I walked closer and grabbed a hold of his hand, he looked startled at the touch but didn't stop me. "I know what they are," I whispered.

  He closed his eyes and I was moved when I saw a tear fall. "They're dead," he insisted.

  "Arnie, please, if you can help us... so much depends on it."

  Jake watched the two of us. I could tell by his demeanor that he was getting impatient, but he was trying to force it away. It was probably only minutes from sunset. I could feel the energy bubbling through my veins, exhilarated by the promise of darkness. I wondered if he felt the same way.

  Arnie opened his eyes and squeezed my hand. "The Willows used to be such an amazing place. Families would spend time there, animals played there, the trees flourished there," he gulped, "but they've changed it to something evil and dark. Some of those kids, the lucky ones, are dead. Their blood used to keep the others living." Another tear fell, "I wish that Dan had been one of the lucky ones."

  I looked at Jake and saw that he was frowning. "Are you saying that they are hiding at the park? That doesn't make any sense. There's no where for them to go, not that many of them, and be safe from the sunlight."

  My mind raced from Jake's words. The Willows. Darkness. A place to hide. I closed my eyes. That day. The snow storm. Even without my heightened senses I could tell that something had been wrong. The smell and the blood that I had found on my coat. Arnie's reaction when he looked toward the bathrooms. The maniacal laughter I had heard when the sunlight began to disappear in the gloom.

  I gasped, "I know where they are."

  Arnie nodded as if he had been watching me come to my own discovery. Jake looked at me with his intense blue eyes and waited. When I remained silent, he held his hands up, "well? Where are they?"

  I ignored him, distracted by the last ray of sunlight as it faded across the hospital floor. A breeze ruffled my hair, sending chills down my spine. The window wasn't open. My mind became alert and foggy all at once.

  Evie....

  I cocked my head to the side. "Did you say something?"

  Jake frowned, "you said that you knew where they were."

  Come to me Evie...

  "Where are you?" I turned in a circle, but I couldn't find him.

  "Evie, what are you talking about?" Jake walked toward me, but I backed away from him.

  You know where to find me...

  "What's happening to her?" Arnie asked.

  I was still spinning in circles. I was desperate. I needed to leave this place.

  "I don't know," Jake answered.

  Evie...

  I pressed my hands on either side of my head silencing any outside noise. I needed to concentrate. I had to focus on his voice, I had to find him. Jake walked close to me again and I hissed at him.

  He backed away, "shit."

  "What? What is it?" Arnie tried to sit up further, but the tubes prohibited the movement. The machines beside him began beeping and screaming in protest.

  "She's being summoned."

  I didn't understand what Jake meant. At least I didn't at that moment, all I knew was that I needed to get out of there and he was between me and the door. I spun around again, analyzing my surroundings. I knew what I had to do.

  One second I was standing guard, making sure Jake didn't get any closer to me b
ecause my instincts told me that he would stop me. The next and I was soaring through the window. Glass shattered and rained down around me. Air whipped my hair back and forced my coat to billow out behind me.

  There was no thought of getting hurt. I was too strong for that. There was no fear of not making it. My mind had analyzed every detail of the jump and I knew that I would make it. There was no regret of what I was leaving behind. I knew where I had to go. I knew where to find him.

  The second my feet hit the pavement, I was off. It's not like the movies, I wasn't moving at a super fast speed or anything like that, it's just that I didn't feel tired. I felt strong, and my strides matched that feeling. They were sure and steady, blowing by mile after mile with ease and consistency.

  I kept to the woods. It was more private that way. No one to see me and wonder why I was running from one town to another. No one to stop me. With each passing minute, the darkness intensified and with it, my strength increased.

  There were no more whispered pleas. No more telling me to come. He knew I was on my way. He could feel me in ways that no one else could. We were connected. I understood that now. If I had tried, I would have always known where to find him.

  When the trees began to change and I was surrounded by willows, I slowed my pace. I was home. This was where I belonged.

  A sound off to the side alerted me that I was not alone. I smiled when he moved closer to me, matching his stride with mine. Sadness emanated from him and I wanted to reach out to comfort him, but I couldn’t. It didn’t feel right.

  “I’m sorry.”

  His words confused me at first. So much had happened since I last saw him, but after a few moments I understood. “What happened?”

  Remy sighed and stopped walking. He put his hand on my arm, stopping me too. “I wanted to turn you.”

  I frowned, “why would Jane try and stop you if she is like me?”

  “Jane’s not mine. She’s Labreah’s. Just like you are not mine, you are Sevren’s.” He closed his eyes and turned, punching the trunk of the tree next to him. His fist left an indention in the fragrant wood. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way! You were mine, I claimed you.”

  I swallowed hard, not sure how his words were making me feel. Part of me regretted that things had happened the way that they had, the other part of me felt guilty for feeling that way. “What’s done is done,” I said sadly.

  He smiled. It was eerie enough that he would smile during such a strangely intense conversation, but the way that he smiled made it worse. The shadows surrounding us darkened, causing his face to look darker and more mysterious than usual. “What I am about to do is unheard of amongst our kind.” He looked off in the distance, his words causing goose flesh to pop up all over my skin, “but I don’t care. You’re mine, Evie. From the first moment I saw you, I wanted you. How dare Sevren, my own brother, try and take that from me?”

  I began backing away slowly at his declaration. “You’re scaring me,” I told him softly, rubbing my arms. It was the truth. There was something in his eyes, something in his demeanor that was making me nervous. No. It was making me more than nervous, past the point of uncomfortable, and leaving me somewhere in the vicinity of totally freaked out.

  He walked forward and reached out, letting a stray piece of my hair curl around his finger, “don’t be scared, Evie. If your blood wasn’t already tainted, you’d want this too. Now I just need to make sure that my blood and my will inside of you are stronger.”

  “What are you…” but my words escaped me because in that moment I knew what it meant to be truly terrified. In that moment, every nightmare, every whimper, every monster I thought was hiding in my closet came to light in one horrifying vision.

  Remy’s eyes darkened, the pupils and iris’s becoming the same black color. The whites of his eyes began to glow with a strange inner light, made all the more prominent by the ever increasing shadows around us. He smiled and his incisors began to grow, stretching and sharpening to razor sharp points. I watched, frozen and fascinated, so scared that I could hardly breath. In those seconds running was out of the question. I was too terrified.

  He licked his lips and then ran his tongue across his teeth, causing a long narrow gash to form across it. Blood pooled up, oozing over the cut. I was mesmerized by the sight. I began licking my lips. The motion disgusted me, but it was like I couldn’t resist. A part of me, a truly dark and evil part of me, wanted to taste it; to taste him. Then he pounced.

  One second I was standing, my eyes locked on his mouth. The next second and I was on the ground, his knees straddling me and his face pressing down against mine. Even with my strength, I was no match for him. I whipped my head from side to side, but I could not get away from him.

  “Don’t fight me, Evie. This is meant to be. Sevren should not have taken what was mine.”

  Using the strength in his legs to stop my body from moving, he used his hands to stop my head. Then he lowered his mouth toward mine. The smell of blood was so intoxicating, I couldn’t help it when my eyes began to drift closed, eager for the kiss; eager for the taste.

  I snapped out of it just as his lips touched mine and the warm, thick liquid seeped into my mouth. It took all of my willpower not to savor it, to drink it. Instead, I spit it back in his face. I expected him to get angry, to slap me or hurt me in some way, but he didn’t. He just laughed and began sucking on his own finger, covering it with blood. “You can’t stop fate, Evie.”

  I whimpered, partly in desire and partly in disgust when he lowered his finger to my mouth. I tried to move my head again, but his grip wasn’t weakening. Then something extraordinary happened. Remy flew backwards off of me. I was up in an instant, running as fast as I could through the woods. I didn’t care what happened, I didn’t care if he was chasing me, I just wanted to get as far away as possible before temptation overtook me and I gave in to his dark demands.

  Fear was making me sloppy. My feet, that had taken me so swiftly from the hospital, felt heavy and uncoordinated. I was tripping over branches, slipping on snow packed ground, banging in to trees. Tears of self loathing were streaming down my face. How weak I was, I couldn’t help thinking. My strengths were just skin deep and I hated myself for that.

  I’m not sure how long or how far I ran for. My heart was beating and my chest was heaving when the fight caught up to me. I spun around, not sure what I would find. Sevren had Remy up against a tree with his fangs bared and a growl coming from deep in his throat. For those first few minutes, they were oblivious to me and I just watched, horror struck, as they fought, causing chaos throughout the area.

  Trees cracked and branches fell from the impact of bodies hitting them. Hissing and growling filled the sky with a hideous sound, sending animals fleeing from their shelters. Crater like holes covered the ground as one after the other crashed into the earth, shaking it and sending snow and dirt flying through the air.

  Finally, bloody and bruised, his clothes torn and dirt smearing across his face, Remy got the upper hand. With one final blow, Sevren flew through the night sky, hitting a tree so hard that the entire trunk snapped. He didn’t move.

  “What have you done?” I screamed at Remy.

  He had me in his arms before I could even check to see if Sevren was okay. I was shaking with emotion and tears were streaming down my face. “Just relax, my love, it is all going to be okay.” He re-opened the gash on his tongue, letting the blood flow freely into his mouth.

  There was no stopping it this time. He lowered his lips to mine and pressed them gently together. He used his bloody and wounded tongue to coax my lips apart. My eyes closed when the warmth of the liquid filled my mouth, causing me to begin to fill light headed.

  It was a different experience kissing Remy then it had been kissing Sevren. Maybe because with Remy there had been an instant connection; an instant chemistry. Maybe because with him I knew what to expect and what I was dealing with. Maybe because, like he had said himself, it was fate. Whatever the rea
son, I couldn’t begin to describe the sensations I was experiencing in those moments. I was lost in him. The feeling of belonging to Sevren was instantly replaced by one of belonging to Remy. The blood inside of me began to feel confused, tainted by deception and lust, churning through my veins with an intensity that was almost painful.

  He pulled away and I tried to hold him closer. He chuckled. “Not too much,” he kissed my forehead tenderly, “we have to make sure that the change is successful. A little a time until it’s completed.”

  I wasn’t sure what he was talking about exactly. My mind was so intoxicated by him that I felt fuzzy and dense, like nothing made sense expect the feel of his arms wrapped tightly around me. I was happy. I had been wrong before, this was where I belonged; with him.

  One minute pure bliss and satisfaction and then my soul was being ripped into two pieces. A scream tore through the forest, I had no idea that it was my own. That was the first experience I had of pure agony. Everything hurt. I was being torn into two people. I was in love with two different vampires. I belonged to each of them.

  As the pain spread through me, I lost all coherent thought. The light of my world went dark and the only salvation I had was pure oblivion.

  Chapter Fourteen

  My whole body ached. From my head to my toes things were either pounding, throbbing, or aching. I squinted open one eye and winced. There wasn't a lot of light, but what there was, was enough to make me wish I was still sleeping. I had never had a hangover before, but I imagined that this is what it felt like.

  What happened last night?

  Everything was lost. I strained my brain, but I could not make it remember what had happened. The last thing I remembered was talking to Arnie at the hospital. I hadn't been alone there, had I? No. I am pretty sure Jake was there. Did that mean he was somewhere close by? Were Mason and Emma?

  I squinted open my eyes again and looked around as much as I could without moving my body. I had no idea where I was, but it seemed like I was alone. I concentrated on any sounds and could only hear the muffled songs of the birds somewhere outside.