by Cheree Alsop
“Sa,” Annie called out.
Everett smiled. “I’ll be safe.”
He followed the others out the door. As he walked down the porch steps, he was hit by the enormity of leaving his home. It was one thing to sneak out for a walk through the tunnels at night, and another by far to go on an expedition past the wall to some unknown vampire community in the hopes of rescuing his city. The question of if he would return lingered in the back of his mind. Everett shoved it away, determined to he would keep his promise.
He followed Adrielle and Vanguard through the empty city streets, grateful that curfew kept them from the sight of Nectaris’ citizens.
“This is it,” Adrielle said after they had followed the wall to a more run-down part of the city. Unchecked, the vines snaked through the alleys and tangled around the empty buildings. “Dr. Transton said we would see the grate.”
“Do you really see it, or is just a figment of your imagination?” Vanguard asked. He waved his hand and the grate disappeared.
“That would be handy if it was really gone,” Everett said.
Vanguard gave a melodramatic sigh. “Oh the ironies of my shortcomings,” he said with a hand on his chest. He gave his fingers a flourish and the grate reappeared. “At least it looked gone.”
“Yeah, handy,” Everett muttered. He didn’t know why he was so inclined to be rude to the warlock. It was entirely against his character.
“It really did look gone,” Adrielle said with an admiring smile. “It’s so amazing how you can do that.”
“It really is,” Vanguard agreed.
Everett remembered why he was rude. He spotted one of Horace’s eyes buzzing near the far side of the grate. The creature looked at a section of the wall with its one eye, then back at Everett. If anything, its wings appeared to be fluttering even more frantically than usually.
“Look over there,” Everett pointed out. “I think it’s trying to tell us something.”
“It’s gross,” Adrielle said.
“In a cool kind of way,” Vanguard told her. “Is it a bug? Is it an eyeball? Or maybe it’s in disguise. It could be a tiny wendigo waiting to kill us all.”
“Way to put a positive spin on things,” Everett said dryly. “I’m pretty sure it’s just an eyeball with wings.” He shook his head and muttered, “That may be one of the strangest things I’ve ever said.”
He crouched near the wall and touched the brick the eyeball looked at. The huge bricks were rough and cold. Thick mortar held them together.
“Wait a minute,” Adrielle said. She put her nose closer to the bricks and sniffed. A smile spread across her face. “I would recognize the scent of toothpaste anywhere, even if it is old and stale.”
She pushed hard on the brick and the mortar cracked. The huge stone slid. Everett and Vanguard joined her. When the brick moved further, it revealed a track of wheels to ease it out of the wall.
Vanguard grinned proudly. “Leave it to a werewolf to find our exit.”
Everett gave one last shove and the brick slid clear. He moved to climb through the hole when he noticed the reluctant expressions on Vanguard and Adrielle’s faces.
“There’s no going back,” Adrielle said. She looked at Vanguard. “We’re leaving the Pentagrin.”
He nodded. “For a good cause. I mean, who else would help Rett follow through with hunting down supposed vampires who will supposedly help us with the supposed wendigo attack?”
“That was a lot of supposeds,” Everett said.
Vanguard nodded and pushed his hat forward. “Exactly. We should be worried.” He put his hands on his hips. “Don’t worry, my dear. I’ll protect you.”
Adrielle lips tightened into a small frown. “We don’t know what’s out there.”
Everett was beginning to wonder why Dr. Transton had asked the pair to go with him.
“There’s only one way to find out,” he said. He climbed into the hole.
“Everett, wait!” Adrielle pleaded.
Everett crawled through and stood on the other side. “It’s okay,” he called back. “I’m still alive.”
“I wonder how long that will last,” he heard Vanguard say to Adrielle. The comment was followed by a muffled exclamation of pain.
“Have a little faith,” the werewolf replied. “Everett’s our only hope.”
“Is that supposed to reassure me?” Vanguard asked. Another yelp of pain followed.
Adrielle’s head poked out of the hole. Despite the DRAK’s attempts to keep the post-fallout jungle away from the wall, the dark expanse of trees and thorny vines crowded against the bricks in most places. The thick vegetation shut out the moonlight. Everett wished he had thought to bring a flashlight.
“Not bad,” Vanguard said, rising to his feet next to the hole. “It almost looks as though creatures aren’t about to jump from their hiding places to eat us. Wait. Never mind. They definitely want to eat us.”
“Van,” Adrielle replied with a sigh.
Vanguard shrugged. “It’s the truth.” He put his shoulder to the brick Everett was trying to maneuver. Together, they slid it back into the wall.
“How are we going to know which brick it is when we come back?” Everett asked.
“I’ll know by the smell,” Adrielle replied.
Everett didn’t dare voice what they would do if something happened to Adrielle. Standing outside of the wall with the jungle leering down at them and barely enough room to squeeze by it felt like entering a whole new world. The thought of braving it alone was too daunting; even though one of his companions was Vanguard, Everett was grateful not to be by himself.
“Dr. Transton said the vampire community was southwest,” Vanguard said. He squinted into the night. “How do we know which way that is?”
“Follow the stars,” Everett replied. A pang filled his chest. It was something his mom always said. When in doubt, follow the stars.
“Right,” Adrielle echoed. She threw Everett a warm smile. “That’s exactly what I was going to say.”
Everett’s heart tightened. He hated that she had such an effect on him. She was Vanguard’s girlfriend. He shouldn’t care if her eyes lit up when she talked to him, or if the way she said his name made his chest tighten. She was with Vanguard, and that was that. He only wished he could convince his heart to be so accepting. As it was, he felt captivated by the way the starlight reflected in her golden eyes and how it softened the edges of her cheeks as she stared up at the night sky just visible through the canopy.
“So, that way, right Rett?”
Everett realized she was staring at him.
“Oh, uh, right. Let’s go that way,” he fumbled.
She smiled at his agreement and took Vanguard’s hand. Everett found himself in the unfortunate situation of following after the girl who had unwittingly stolen his heart while she talked and flirted with the warlock whom he doubted had two brain cells running at the same time. Vanguard produced a small flashlight from his pocket. Its glow was just enough to light their path.
“You’re hopeless.”
Everett jumped at the sound of Lisette’s voice.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked in shock. “You shouldn’t be beyond the walls.”
“What am I going to do? Die?” she asked dryly.
“I don’t know,” he told her. “But it’s not safe.”
“Everett, are you talking to yourself?”
He looked up to see Vanguard and Adrielle staring at him. Adrielle’s head was tipped to one side.
“No, I’m talking to...” Everett’s voice died away when he realized Lisette wasn’t visible.
“To yourself. That’s okay,” Vanguard finished. “Sometimes I talk to myself, too. I’m a pretty good conversationalist.”
Everett shook his head. “I wasn’t talking to myself. She was here, she just...” His voice died away at Adrielle’s expression.
“It’s got to be lonely being the only vampire you know,” she said with an understandin
g smile. “Don’t worry. We’re here to talk to if you start feeling alone.”
“Of course, then we’d have to think of things to say back,” Vanguard said as though Everett wasn’t right there listening.
He sighed and waved a hand. “Go on. I’ll follow. I’m just fine.”
“Are you sure?” Adrielle asked.
“Yes,” Everett answered shortly.
Adrielle turned away still holding Vanguard’s hand.
“I’m worried about him,” the warlock said.
“I’m right here,” Everett told them. “I can hear you.”
“Poor guy,” Vanguard continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Maybe we should get him a puppy or something.”
“Seriously,” Everett muttered. “This is ridiculous.”
“You do look ridiculous when you talk to yourself,” Lisette said from his left side.
“Oh, sure, now you’re here,” Everett told her, careful to keep his voice low. “You couldn’t have spoken up and convinced them that I’m not some freak?”
“Aren’t you?” she retaliated.
“Oh, good,” Everett replied. “Now you’re on their side.”
He looked up to find Adrielle and Vanguard watching him again. Adrielle gave him a little, worried smile before turning away.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” she said.
“I’m sure you’re wrong,” Vanguard replied.
Everett sighed. “I don’t need this.”
“What?” Lisette asked. “It sounds like you very much need a comrade on this trip. Your choice in traveling companions confuses me.”
Everett glanced to the left. He could make out her form just barely in the starlight. She moved as though she was walking with him. Her long dark hair brushed her back with each step. She appeared alive, just vague as though she was a memory instead of reality.
He noticed that she was watching him, her gray eyes narrowed in laughter.
“So you’re teasing me?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said. “It’s much more fun making them think you’re crazy than telling them the truth.”
“Why is that?” he replied curiously.
“Because the truth is I haven’t left the Asylum since I got there years ago. I’m not very good at social interactions,” she confessed.
Her cheeks reddened. It was just the slightest hint of coloring, but the effect heightened her beauty enough that he found himself staring.
“I, uh, well, I guess I’m the same way,” he stammered. He lowered his voice before they caught the others’ attention again. “I’ve sort of been homebound since I found out I was a vampire.”
“I can imagine,” she said, keeping her own voice quiet. “Aversion to the sun, blood-thirsty, pale, toothy smile. None of that makes for trips to the movies or going to the mall with friends.”
Everett couldn’t help but smile at her teasing tone. “Neither does vanishing whenever you’re questioned or being able to walk through doors.”
“You forget outliving everyone you’ve ever known until the world is filled with strangers,” she replied.
Everett didn’t know how to respond. He glanced at her. She seemed to realize she had overstepped their conversation because her outlined dimmed and she started to vanish.
“Don’t go,” he said.
She hesitated, but didn’t look at him. “Why not?”
Everett hoped humor would keep her there. “Because my traveling companions, as you called them, want to get me a puppy. I need help.”
That won a smile from her. Everett saw her dimples for the first time. They made him want to smile back.
“Puppies are cute,” she hedged.
Everett shook his head. “Not for a bloodthirsty monster. It’s like giving a lion a pet rabbit.”
“What’s a lion?” she asked.
Everett thought back to the hundreds of nights he had spent with the books from his mother’s collection. He had thumbed through them so many times the pages were starting to fall out, yet his mom continued to let him look through them. “It’s from before the Ending War. They’re huge with big manes, like monstrous cats.”
“You definitely wouldn’t want to give one of those a rabbit,” she replied.
He smiled. “Definitely not. It wouldn’t last long.”
“Maybe you should find a pet of your own,” she suggested.
Everett gave a quiet chuckle. “So I could turn into even more of a creepy loner?”
“No,” she said. “It would be cute. Girls love pets.”
Everett gave in. “Fine. What would you choose for me?”
Her lips lifted in a half smile he found captivating. “A bat.”
Everett rolled his eyes with a laugh. “I should have seen that coming.”
She nodded. “Yes, you should have.”
They walked along in amiable silence for a few minutes. Everett became more aware of the ominous jungle to his right. The trees were thick and twisted with the ever-present thorny vines snaking among them as though holding them captive. Everett felt a whisper of empathy for the trees. They had no hope of breaking free from the vines that were thicker around than his waist. As much as the jungle was fighting to take over the Pentagrin, the vines were winning the battle to take over them both.
“This is it,” Adrielle said. “Dr. Transton told us to turn directly southwest through the jungle.”
They had reached the end of the wall. The thought of heading straight into the vegetation was intimidating. Everett could feel Vanguard and Adrielle watching him. Despite all of his bravado, it worried Everett to walk away from the city that had been their homes.
“You can do this,” Lisette whispered from somewhere on his right side.
Her words calmed Everett’s heart. He took a steeling breath and forced a smile. “We can’t stop now,” he said. “Nectaris needs hope, and we’re the only people who can bring it.”
“You mean the only monsters,” Adrielle said.
A true smile spread across his face. “That’s right. We’re monsters, and that’s why we’re going to make it.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Everett lost track of how long they walked through the jungle. The gray light of dawn hinted at the horizon just visible through the tangled branches. Eerie hoots and howls stayed ahead of them, silencing when they drew near so that they only felt the eyes of the creatures that made them while the animals themselves stayed hidden within the darkness.
The floor of the jungle was soft as though they walked on a thick carpet. The jagged vines and reaching branches tore at their clothes and hair. Bugs with big feelers and multiple mouths bit at their exposed skin. Everett felt as though every plant and creature in the jungle wanted to draw blood. He had very little to spare, and found himself guarding it very preciously.
“Everett, look!”
The sound of awe in Lisette’s voice drew his attention to his left where the sun was just breaking through the leaves. Usually the sight of sunlight was enough to send chills and burning sensations across his body, but this was different.
When the sun hit the leaves, the jungle transformed. The reaching branches of the trees that had snagged and pulled at their clothes rose away from the ground, reaching for the sky. Each leaf spread out in a multi-faceted fan. Colors in every shade of the rainbow caught the sunlight and spliced it like one of his father’s prisms, sending it in waves across the ground.
The thorns of the vines weren’t as solid as they had felt. Instead, on closer inspection, Everett saw that they were hollow like his fangs. The vines turned, writhing on the trees so that they caught the most possible sunlight. When a beam hit the thorns, the light was drawn inside like the blood a vampire sucked. The thorns lit up, glowing from the inside out with a bioluminescence Everett knew his father would love to see. As the light grew stronger and more was drawn into the thorns, it spread down the vines, lighting them and jungle in a hue of greens and blues.
A humming sound began. The brig
hter the sunlight got, the louder it became. It took Everett a moment to locate the source. It came from the moss that covered the ground beneath their feet. Wherever the light from the sun or colored light passing through the leaves touched, the moss hummed. Everett crouched and set a hand on the soft surface. He could feel the humming as much as hear it. The entire ground felt like it was vibrating.
“This is amazing,” he said.
“You mean terrifying,” Adrielle replied in a tight voice.
Everett spun around to see the werewolf backed against a tree. She stared in horror as the tree branches of the tree across from her rose, lifting toward the light. The raising branches exposed a nest made of vines wrapped tightly together. They glowed with blue and green hues from the sunlight, but that wasn’t what held Adrielle’s attention.
It took Everett a moment to see the faces poking out from the nest. They were green and furry with huge ears. Each creature hung upside down from the vines, and they stared at Adrielle with wide eyes that reflected the same colors. When they moved, Everett saw their leathery wings colored in shades of dark blue.
“Vanguard, they’re looking at me,” she squeaked.
“I’m a little busy,” the warlock replied.
Everett spotted the older boy on his hands and knees a few steps from Adrielle. He had apparently tripped over a root, and he stared at a mound beneath his face. It moved, squirming and wiggling. Everett realized with a start that instead of a single creature, the mound was made of a huge group of bugs.
“They have wings,” Vanguard said, his voice thick with fear. “They have stingers. I think they’re Gray Widowmakers.”
A shudder ran down Everett’s spine. Gray Widowmakers were a product of the fallout. The bugs had been eradicated from the Pentagrin, but occasionally outbreaks near the walls where the vines were the thickest occurred. News of the outbreaks were usually followed by a body count because the first sting rendered a person completely numb, and the second was deadly. Vanguard stared into a nest of hundreds.
“Don’t move,” he said.
But it was too late. Buzzing arose from the pile and the Gray Widowmakers lifted into the air in a huge mass.
