Grim

by Jessica Sorensen

  “Oh, my gods,” the one behind me says through his laughter. “Were we ever this stupid?”

  My lips curl upward. “You’re going to pay for that remark, dumbass.”

  The one to my right shakes his head, eyeing me over with hilarity. “We were a bit clueless back in the day, but never stupid.”

  “Don’t lie to yourself, Ryder. You were—and still are—pretty damn stupid.”

  “For sure. I mean, look at what you did last night?” the female agrees, and the one behind me leans over to high-five her.

  “Nice one, Cali,” he says to her.

  “That door came out of nowhere,” Ryder snaps out. “And you know what? Fuck all of you. You’ve done just as dumb of stuff as I have.” He glares at the guy standing in front of me. “And screw you, Ellis. Just because you’re our leader doesn’t mean you can be a dick and get away with it.”

  “Actually, it kind of does,” the one to my right says.

  “Stay out of this, L.E.,” Ryder bites out, his fists curling at his sides. “No one asked your opinion.”

  A smile touches L.E.’s lips. “Here comes another temper tantrum.”

  Snarling, Ryder barrels at L.E., who only smiles amusedly. Ellis sighs and strides toward them while Cali groans, her head bobbing back.

  “Not again,” she gripes. “Why can’t we go anywhere without you two fighting?”

  An amused smile graces my lips. This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. They show up, corner me, call me stupid, and then proceed to attack each other?

  I start to back away, figuring I’ll just slip on out and let them kick each other’s asses.

  “You’re not going anywhere.” In the blink of an eye, Ellis is right in front of me, close enough that I can see his face beneath the shadow of his hood.

  Dusky eyes, even darker lips, and his skin is startling pale. He also has a black vein across his left brow and eye, all the way down to his cheekbone.

  “What are you?” I wonder, the scent of his tainted soul engulfing my nostrils.

  Whatever he is, he’s done a lot of bad things in his lifetime, so the smell of his soul … my mouth salivates as it encompasses my senses.

  I begin to lean in, imagining what it’d be like to drink him. But then I remember how he warned me last night that drinking his soul would kill me, so there is a slight downfall if I decide to give in to my desire.

  He could’ve been lying, though …

  He slants closer to me, his chilly breath dusting my skin. “Shouldn’t you be asking what you are?”

  “Why would I when I already know the answer?” I play it cool, despite how much my need to feed is purring underneath my skin.

  “Liar,” he says, his nostrils flaring. “I can smell it all over you. The lies and confusion and naivety.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, I may be a lot of things, but I’m not naïve,” I protest, holding up my hands in front of me. “I was once, but not anymore.”

  The corners of his lips tug upward into a smirk. “If you weren’t, you would’ve never wandered into the forest alone with us.”

  “I think I can handle four idiots who, from what I can only assume, have some sort of dress alike fetish with each other.” I motion at his outfit then lift my knee to kick him in the junk.

  He moves lightning quick, blocking my kick with his arm. Then, making a circular motion with his finger, an unseen force twirls me around. I try to glide away, but I’m bound in place by an invisible force … Magic maybe?

  Well, I so did not see that one coming.

  “Now, what were you saying about handling us?” He glides up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, pinning me to his chest.

  A cold chill spills down my spine as memories of the last time someone pinned me down pierce through my mind.

  Rain pours from the sky and the wind howls as hands push at my shoulders, pushing me against the ground, the wet dirt caving in underneath my weight. I start to sink.

  “Help,” I croak out. “Help me.”

  Someone laughs, pushing me harder and making me sink deeper into the mud, nearly burying me alive. Part of me wishes it’d bury me completely …

  “Let go of me!” I growl, throwing my head back.

  Either the magical force is gone or weakened, because my head collides with his, the clank making my brain rattle in my skull.

  “Goddammit,” he growls out, digging his fingers into my waist.

  Ryder snickers, his balled fist coming up toward his mouth as he coughs out a laugh. “Now who’s the idiot?”

  “Shut the hell up,” Ellis warns, his voice a bit strained. “Or when we get back to headquarters, I’ll make you spend an hour in the tank.”

  Ryder instantly stiffens, his hand falling to his side as he backs up. “All right, I’ll chill. No need to get testy.”

  Ellis releases a frustrated sigh then pulls me closer to him, aligning my back with his chest. “If you try to hit me again, I’ll break your legs,” he whispers in my ear. “Do you understand?”

  “Go ahead,” I reply, curling my fingers into a fist. I have no intention of backing down. “They’ll be healed by the end of the day.”

  “Not if I break them,” he breathes out, tightening his grip on my waist.

  “Why? Do you have some sort of permanent bone breaking power?” I roll my eyes, preparing to head-butt him again.

  “That’s exactly what he has.” Cali positions herself in front of me with her arms crossed. “He could crush you into pieces right now if he wanted to, so if I were you, I’d be very cooperative.”

  “I’ll take my chances.” I push up on my toes and kick my legs upward, doing a backflip out of his arms.

  I briefly sail through the air before landing in the grass in front of him.

  “Bravo,” he says with a taunting clap, his voice oozing with sarcasm. “Those are some pretty cute tricks.” He stops clapping, lowering his hands to his sides. “What you don’t realize, though, is you have a tremendous amount of power. And until you can tap into that power, you’re cute little tricks aren’t going to get you very far.”

  “They’ll get me away from you.” I launch up on my toes again, preparing to jump over Cali, but mid-jump, she lifts her arm and makes a flicking motion with her wrist.

  I freeze, fleetingly suspended in the air before I sail to the side and crash into a tree.

  I recover quickly and jump to my feet, but they’ve already cornered me. My back bumps into the tree trunk as I step back and frustrating anger bursts through me.

  What are they that they can control my body like this?

  I take them in. Their hoods are drawn now, every one of their inhuman features evident.

  Ryder, the whiny one, has short blue hair that coincides with his eyes and lips. His golden skin has patches of scales that glint and move against the trickle of sunlight seeping through the clouds.

  L.E. looks completely the opposite of Ryder. His skin is as smooth as silk and almost has an iridescent glow to it. His blond hair reaches his chin on one side and is shaved on the other, and his violet eyes sparkle like starlight in a way that could be considered pretty if you’re the kind of person who thinks stars are pretty.

  And Cali, well, the best way I can describe her is fire. Her coppery red hair dances in the wind like flames, and her blood-red eyes flare as she glares at me, her fangs bared.

  Wait … Fangs?

  “Now, what were you saying about getting away?” Ellis steps in front of me, his hood drawn, too.

  While I got a glimpse of him earlier when he was being a creeper and invading my personal space, I couldn’t see all his features, like his dark hair that hands across his forehead. And the black vein I thought ran from his brow to his cheekbone actually goes all the way to his forehead, and his ears are pointed.

  “You’re a faerie,” I say. “I didn’t think those existed.”

  “Oh, crap.” Cali pulls a wary face as her gaze skates to Ellis.

  “You t
hink I’m a faerie?” His low tone is like frostbite, his dusky eyes darkening like storm clouds.

  “You do kind of look like one. Well, except for that weird black vein you have right there?” I tap my forehead. “That seems kind of un-faerie-like. But, what do I know? I’m just some stupid girl who doesn’t know anything, right?”

  He grinds his teeth as he inches toward me. “One day, that mouth of yours is going to get you in some serious trouble.”

  “And one day, your issue with personal space is going to get you in trouble.” I move to drop-kick him straight between the legs, but he again blocks my kick, like he’s simply swatting a fly away.

  I grind my teeth so forcefully my jaw aches.

  I don’t like this at all. This helpless feeling. It reminds me too much of how I was before. Back when I was weak. When I could be attacked and broken by someone.

  “Stop trying to kick me,” he says. “It’s not going to get you anywhere.”

  The muscles in my jaw spasm as I lift my leg up to kick him again. He reaches out to swat my leg away, but I quickly lower my foot and swing my fist toward his face. He reaches to stop me, but my knuckles manage to briefly connect with his jawline.

  Cali gasps while L.E. says with wide eyes, “Well, holy hell.”

  Smoke funnels in Ellis’s eyes as he lifts his fingers to his face. “You just hit me.”

  I raise my fist again and lift my chin defiantly. “And if you don’t move out of my way, I’ll hit you again. Only, this time it’ll be a lot harder.”

  His smoky eyes scrutinize me as he lowers his hand from his jaw. “No one’s been able to hit me in over a decade.”

  Over a decade? Wait …

  “How old are you?”

  By looks, I’d guess him to be around eighteen or nineteen—all of them look around that age.

  “A lot older than you,” he replies with a curl of his lips. “Which is why I know you’re naïve.”

  “I’m not naïve!” I snap, losing my cool.

  “Yeah, you are,” he says with a grin. “You know hardly anything about your powers. And what little powers you are aware of, you use incorrectly. Not to mention your little feeding ritual is reckless.”

  “It’s not reckless,” I retort. “I clean up my messes and erase the memories of anyone who spots me.”

  “I watched you for a while last night. You’re sloppy.”

  “I’m not sloppy. My moves are flawless.” Yeah, okay, flawless might be a stretch, but why the hell would I agree with him? “And what do you mean you watched me? I didn’t see you anywhere other than out in that field.”

  “Which proves my point.” He leans so close that I can feel the chill of his breath. “You’re sloppy and reckless and clumsily. And you need to stop this little mission you’re on.”

  “What mission?” I feign dumb. But seriously, how does he know about it?

  “Your mission to take down TSUC.”

  Huh?

  “What’s the TSUC?” I ask then immediately regret it, regret letting him know that he knows something I don’t.

  “The fact that you don’t know the answer to that shows how in over your head you are.” He dips his head, putting his lips beside my ear. “Stop tracking down these warehouses and find somewhere else to feed, or we’re going to have to force you to stop.” When he slants back, his eyes are like embers.

  I fold my fingers inward, rage pulsating through me. “I’m not sure who you think you are, but if you think I’m just going to do whatever you say, then you’re stupid—”

  He lifts his hand, and my lips cinch shut. I attempt to pry them open, to no avail.

  As fury storms through me, I lunge at him, but he flicks his wrist like Cali did earlier, and I sail through the air and slam into a tree. When I hit the ground hard, I quickly move to scramble to my feet, but my body won’t budge.

  So, this probably isn’t going to end well …

  The four of their faces appear above me.

  “Stay away from the warehouses,” Ellis advises, pulling his hood back over his head. “If you don’t, then I’ll show you exactly what sort of powers I have. For now, consider this a warning.” He snaps his fingers and scorching hot pain flares underneath my skin.

  It’s been a long, long time since I’ve felt pain, and I have to say, I’m not a fan.

  “Goodbye, Remi, hopefully we’ll never have to cross paths again,” Ellis says, then the four of them evaporate.

  I grit my teeth as the searing pain spreads and struggle to get control over my body. But the more I fight it, the weaker I get. Darkness starts to spot my vision until it takes over completely.

  Undead Temper Tantrums

  When I open my eyes again, I’m still lying in the forest, but the pain is gone and I’ve regained control over my body. I roll over and push to my feet, exhausted, sore, and beyond aggravated.

  Just who do those guys think they are? Coming to my school, luring me into the forest, and trying to threaten me into stopping my mission to take down the sex trafficking circle in this town. Screw them. That’s my main food source. Not to mention those guys deserve to get their souls drank.

  But why do they even care that I am? Do they work for the circle or something? They did mention something about headquarters. And they were at the warehouse last night. Although, I’ve never seen any creatures working at any of the warehouses.

  I curse in frustration as tons of questions stream through my mind. Not to mention I feel achy from whatever Ellis did to me.

  “I’m not going to let him get away with this,” I mutter as I storm through the forest. “I’m going to get him back.”

  Branches, leaves, and twigs crunch underneath my boots as I march for the edge of the forest. I assume I’ve been out for a while until I emerge from the trees and see that the parking lot is still full of cars. Digging out my phone, I realize I’ve only been out for about an hour.

  Great. That means I have to go back inside, go to class, and to the pep rally. And I missed fifth period so my mom’s going to think I ditched again.

  “Freakin’ Ellis and his minions,” I mumble as I stride across the grass, heading for the front entrance.

  As I arrive at the corner, though, I slam to a halt.

  Getting out of a car is Nina and Zane. When they meet around in front of the car, they lace their fingers and start for the school, pausing every once in a while to lock lips.

  It’s disgusting to watch. They’re disgusting. But what’s really irks me is that they may have been doing this while I was dating Zane.

  Earlier, I was mildly irritated, but between Ellis threatening me and using his power to control me, my control over my rage has crumbled. Something snaps inside me, a loss of control, over my hunger and over my rage.

  The moment Nina and Zane enter the school, I stride across the parking lot toward the dumpster. Grabbing a couple of bags from the top, I reel around and stomp over to Nina’s car. Then I drop the bags near the back and check the doors. But they’re locked.

  I pause, racking my brain for another way to get in other than breaking a window. That’s when my gaze zeroes in on her cracked open sunroof.

  Grinning, I glance around to make sure no one’s around. Then I hoist myself onto the top of the car and use my super strength to push the window all the way open.

  I whistle the tune of one of my favorite songs as I jump down to the ground, grab the bags, then hop back onto the roof where I proceed to dump the garbage inside the car, all over the front seats. Then figuring, if I’m going to act like a drama queen, I might as well go in, I reach inside her car, open her middle console where I know she keeps some spare makeup, and snatch up a tube of her favorite lipstick. Smiling at my lovely idea, I slide down onto her hood, pop the cap off, and I use the lipstick to write on the windshield:

  Dear Bitch Girl,

  Do this school a favor and stop being such a bitch. Everyone is tired of your bitchiness plaguing up our school.

  P.S. Your car sme
lls like trash, but it’s better than the stench of your shitty perfume.

  I toss the lipstick aside, dust my hands off, and jump off the hood.

  I really should’ve left it right there. It’s the perfect revenge and fitting for what Nina did to my locker, but I get cocky, and here’s where I make my mistake.

  Instead of walking away and leaving it at that, I kick her tire and my inhuman strength deflates it. The move would’ve been fine except, when I spin around to head into school, I become aware that I’m no longer alone in the parking lot.

  Revenna is standing only a few feet away, her books clutched to her chest, her eyes wide.

  I curse, then part my lips to breathe out my breath of forget on her.

  The strange part is I almost feel a bit of guilt for doing it to her.

  For reals, what is with me today? Guilt, pity, anger? It’s like my body suddenly remembered how to feel.

  I crinkle my nose at the thought, wondering, if I do start feeling things, if I’ll be able to continue feeding. Not that Ellis and his minions haven’t complicated that for me already.

  “Wow,” Revenna breathes out in awe as she glances at the deflated tire then back at me.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, right?” I agree, stepping toward her. “You might want to soak up the awe now, though, because in a second, you’re not going to remember any of this.” And while I’m at it, I think I’ll erase her memory of me intervening while Nina was being a bitch to her. That way, we won’t have to suffer through any more peanut butter sandwich lunches together.

  Not that it was totally bad sitting with her. It could’ve been a lot worse, like say if one of my old friends tried to sit with me and have mind numbing conversations about shoes and guys like we used to.

  Revenna shakes her head. “No, I’m definitely going to remember this forever.”

  I sigh, almost feeling bad. “Yeah … Look, I’m really sorry about this, but no one can know I exist. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I completely understand,” she agrees with a nod. “If I were one, I wouldn’t tell anyone either.”

  My lips part to blow my breath of forget in her face, but then I pause. “What do you mean, if you were one? Do you …? Do you know what I am?”