“I’m fine,” I said, dragging my gaze away from him. “So, what were we saying?”
Chapter Four
Fiasco and a Smashed Window
“...And then I fell down the stairs! It was so funny. You really should have been there,” Mercy was saying.
I dropped the piece of lettuce I was considering. So far, the whole evening consisted of Mercy telling Sam stories from our past. Though he looked interested, I could tell he wasn’t.
I rested my head on my hand and quickly glanced over to the pool table section. The strange guy from before was still there, playing yet another game, and by the look of things, winning.
“So, Amerie, what’s your favorite subject at school?” Sam asked.
I turned my attention to him, forcing myself to be sociable. “Erm...English I guess.”
“She wants to be a journalist,” Mercy elaborated. “It suits her ‘cause she’s so nosy. Like, really nosy. Wants to know everything.”
I gave Mercy a pointed look. “Thanks, Mercy.”
“I think nosiness is kind of endearing,” Sam said. “Asking questions are the second best kind of compliment.”
“Is it?” Chuck sounded bored. Moreover, he looked bored too; head leant back, eyes focused on the ceiling.
“Why?” Mercy asked.
“Shows you’re interested in a person,” Sam elaborated.
“What’s the best kind of compliment?” I said, mildly interested.
“Imitation.”
Chuck let out a loud groan. “Yeah, right. Surely, praise is the best compliment. It works for me anyway.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Well, this has been fun, but if you don’t mind, there’s a girl over there that’s caught my eye. Might see you lot later.”
In order to let him pass, I slid out of the booth and then watched, as he strolled across the room, to talk to a blonde girl who was leaning against the wall by the dance floor. His confidence was unbelievable.
“Think we were boring him?” Sam laughed gently.
I turned to Mercy, expecting her to have some snappy comeback about Chuck and his doggish behavior, like usual, but she remained silent. Her expression slowly changed from disbelief to vacant. There was only one reason Mercy would have that look, but I didn’t want to consider it. It would just mess everything up.
Needing to change the atmosphere, I started asking questions.
“How about you, Sam? You’ve learned loads about us tonight. Tell us something about you.”
Sam nodded, as if finally happy to have the chance. “I lived down in Essex, but then my dad got promoted and had to change offices, and my mum – she collects antiques – wanted to move to the city for business anyway. Luckily, there was a space at Maxwell Academy. My mum was practically foaming at the mouth when my acceptance letter came through.”
“So what are you? Rich or bright?” I leaned my head on my entwined knuckles.
“How about a bit of both? Or does that make me sound conceited?”
“It makes you sound like a guy,” Mercy snapped suddenly. Both Sam and I startled at the change in her mood. “Look, can we just go? Or can I go and you two stay here?”
I sighed. “If you really want to go, hon, we can go.”
“Thank you.”
Sam’s face fell, but he slid out of the booth anyway, allowing Mercy to brush past him and storm toward the doors. I stared over to where Chuck had been, planning on saying goodbye, but he was already gone.
Grabbing my jacket off the seat, I followed Mercy, Sam at my side. When we had to push through a crowd, his hand found my elbow, guiding me through it all. It was a sweet, albeit unnecessary, gesture.
The cold air slapped my face the moment we walked outside the Hut. I shivered and slipped on my leather jacket, my eyes searching the large car park for Mercy. Focusing, I spotted her in the distance, heading towards the bus stop.
“Mercy, wait!” I shouted, leaving Sam to rush after her. I grabbed her arm and pulled her to a halt. “Why are you storming off like this?”
She shrugged and tried to blink away tears brimming in her eyes. “He’ll never see me. No matter what I do.”
“Chuck?”
She stayed silent, just looked down to the pavement, twisting her foot. I was right. How long had this been happening? She hadn’t mentioned it once.
“Since when did you have feelings for Chuck? I mean, he’s always been this way, and you’ve never reacted like this.”
“Because I’ve never felt like this before. I didn’t choose for this to happen. You think I like having feelings for a notorious man-whore? You think it feels good to watch him stare at everyone but me? He even stares at you, Amerie. Everyone but me.”
“He doesn’t stare at me,” I said, realizing too late that this shouldn’t have been the first point of hers that I addressed.
“You know what? Whatever. Whatever, Amerie, because you know it’s true. And you know I’ll never get him, and he’ll never want me.” She shook her head dramatically. “See you at school tomorrow.”
I let her walk away from me. Sometimes Mercy liked to make a dramatic exit, and this was one of those times. She’d text me tonight, apologize for being a drama queen and everything would be cool.
“Is she okay?” Sam asked, walking up beside me.
I smiled at him, glad he had the forethought to stay back during our conversation. “She’ll be fine. She’s just emotional.”
“Because she likes that Chuck guy?”
I threw my hands up, exasperated. “How come I’m the last one to know this? They’re only my best friends...”
“Sometimes,” Sam said, folding his arms, “it takes someone on the outside to see what’s really going on in the inside.”
It made total sense. “You’re kinda smart.”
“You’re kinda beautiful.”
Silence descended upon us as I stared down at the pavement, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. What did I say back?
“Thanks, Sam. That’s nice of you to say.”
“I’m not kidding. You’re gorgeous, and athletic, and pretty ambitious from what I can tell. I’d love to get to know you better.” My face fell. Mercy had been right all along – Sam was coming onto me. Sam noticed my expression. “I mean, as friends of course.”
“I’d like to get to know you as a friend too.”
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his black coat and shuffled from foot to foot.
“So, erm, you wanna lift home? I drive...”
I shook my head. No one would ever see where I lived now. Not even Mercy or Chuck.
“Nah, I’m okay with getting the Tube. I should probably find Chuck too, and warn him against talking about his conquest to Mercy tomorrow. But thanks for the offer.”
“You get the Tube? Wow that must be a journey.”
“It’s cool. I’m used to it.” We fell into an awkward silence, one I was desperate to break. “Okay, well, see you tomorrow?”
He nodded, a little too enthusiastically. “Yeah. Definitely.”
I started walking away first, and then he took off in the opposite direction. Over my shoulder, I watched as he approached a black Mercedes and climbed inside. He wasn’t lying about being rich.
I glanced around the car park again. The night was still young. Not many people had left yet. The area was pretty much deserted, and the quietest I had ever seen the industrial district. Though, if I knew Chuck, and I did – very well – then he’d be in an alley around here somewhere with his lady of the night - as Mercy and I liked to refer to his conquests.
Focusing, I strained my ears, listening out for his voice.
“...Didn’t know she was your girlfriend, man. Back off.”
I froze, and my whole body tensed. Chuck was in trouble; I had always known his love of pretty girls was going to bite him in the ass one day.
I took off into a run towards where Chuck’s voice had come from, panic rushing through my body. What if something happened and I was
too late? What if I had to stop something from happening and Chuck saw what I could actually do?
The girl Chuck had been flirting with was closest to me. In front of her were three guys, all circled around Chuck, who had his back pressed against the wall of The Hut. This didn’t look like a friendly chat.
Blondie spotted me and made a beeline for me. “The Hut’s that way.” She pointed in the direction of where I’d come from earlier. “You don’t wanna be here right now.”
She clamped a firm hand down on my shoulder, a hand I guessed that was meant to both intimidate me, and turn me in her desired direction. I yanked her hand away and bent it back toward her shoulder. Times like this were when I actually liked being a Hunter. I was definitely hard to intimidate, and even harder to beat in a fight.
“Touch me again, and I’ll break every bone in your body. Got it?” I hissed.
She nodded; her eyes went wide with pain. Letting go of her, I shoved her out of my way and stormed over to Chuck.
“You wanna touch my girlfriend again?” the guy in the middle shouted. He lunged forward and swung right for Chuck’s face. There was a dull thunk and a howl of pain.
“Hey!” I shouted. “Get away from him.”
“Just leave it,” Blondie agreed from behind me. “It’s not worth it, and you’re already on probation, Jeff.”
Jeff, her boyfriend I guessed, turned to face me with a snarl. I could take these three clowns no problem. However, doing it in front of Chuck would mean having to explain some things I just wasn’t ready to do.
After sizing me up a bit, Jeff nodded to his two friends, and they began to back away from me. I pushed past them and over to Chuck, who was clutching his eye.
“Are you okay?” I asked gently.
A brick whizzed past my face and smashed through a tinted window of the building near where Chuck was standing. Chuck scuttled away, tripping over his own feet and falling backwards. I turned in search of the idiots who had thrown the brick. Now I was seriously pissed off.
“Don’t come near my girlfriend again!” Jeff warned, and then they all ran. Pricks.
I turned back to Chuck and pulled him up to his feet. His eye was swelling up and darkening. He’d have an impressive shiner come tomorrow.
“Why did that girl follow you out if she had a boyfriend?” I demanded.
He shrugged out of my grip and glared at me. “I didn’t need your help, Amerie. I can take care of myself.”
His words stung. Though I knew it was only his ego talking, I was a little annoyed at how ungrateful he was being.
“Chuck...”
He held up a hand to stop me. “Save it. I’m gone.”
I watched him walk away with a sinking feeling in my stomach. Now neither of my friends was speaking to me. And for no real reason. I leaned against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut. Until someone moved in the alley behind me. I whirled around; my fist raised, and then froze.
It was a tall man, fat and balding, with a gold hoop in one ear. I recognized him; he owned The Hut. Instead of staring at me, he stared at the smashed window. Oh, shit.
“Did you do this?”
I shook my head. “No! No, it wasn’t me.”
The man gestured to Chuck’s retreating form. “Your boyfriend get mad and do it, then?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. And no, it wasn’t him.”
“One of you two will pay for this. Do you want me to ring the police and get them involved? Or do you want to come into the back office with me and we’ll work out how you’re going to pay for the repairs?”
What a no-win situation. If I continued to deny it, then he would blame Chuck, and involve the police no less. If I accepted responsibility for something I didn’t do, then I was paying out money I didn’t have.
Chuck or money?
“Lead the way,” I said with a heavy sigh.
He nodded and waddled toward a black side door. I followed him, walking into what looked like his office. The walls were a dark color and he had pictures framed and pinned all around the room. Most of them were of him with various celebrities who had visited the place. I wondered if he’d Photoshopped it. I’d never seen a celebrity in here before.
“Take a seat.” He pointed to a black, leather sofa, and I sat down obediently.
He took up a seat behind his long desk. His chair groaned and creaked in protest under his weight. For a moment, none of us spoke. I kept staring around the room, trying to find a hint of this guy’s personality. He had no pictures of his family up, though he wore a wedding ring. The furniture was basic but had an unused feel about it. It seemed that this room was for show only.
“I’m estimating that window will cost a lot to fix,” he said, startling me. “You got cash, kid?”
“I’m not a kid,” I corrected. “And no, I don’t. I have no money. My dad’s broke.”
He nodded as if expecting this. “Thought so. Well, you’re gonna need to pay for it somehow, and you’re lucky someone just quit on me. I suggest you work off the payment. I’ll give you a couple shifts here after school during the week, and you can quit when the payment is done, or you can keep going after if you want spare cash in your pocket.”
“You can’t force me to work here,” I said, glaring at him, though, part of me realized having a part time job might be a good thing. At least I could help Dad out financially, and I had the spare time since I’d quit Hunting.
“You’re right. I can’t.” He picked up a small phone from its cradle. “So maybe I should phone the police and see what they say...”
I jumped up, rushing over to take the phone from him. “No, please don’t.”
He let me put the phone back in its cradle, leaning back with a satisfying grin. “What’s your name? I’ll need it for your name badge.”
“Amerie.”
“I’m John. I’ll be your boss.” He held out his hand, and I shook it. Probably a little harder than normal.
His eyes widened. “Nice firm shake. I like that.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Waitress. I’m guessing you’re too young to drink let alone serve behind a bar.” I nodded, and he continued, “Clean tables, take orders, bring out food. Make money in tips.”
I scoffed. “Are you kidding me? Tips? Students fund this place. I’ve got no chance of getting a tip.”
“Ah, but when the waitresses are pretty, the rich students who go to that swanky school half an hour away from here like to tip real big as a way to impress you. You’ll do just fine.”
By ‘swanky school’, I knew he meant my school. I sucked in a deep breath and took a step away from his desk. “When do I start, boss?”
“We’ll need to train you. Come down tomorrow after school.”
“Fine. Am I free to go now?”
“Give me your phone number and you can leave.” As I bent over to scribble it down on a notepad on his desk, he added, “But don’t think about giving me a fake number. You’re on CCTV.” He pointed to a camera in the corner that I hadn’t noticed. “Smile!”
I ignored him and slammed the pen down. With a bitchy smile, I turned and stormed out of the door I’d entered. This was going to be a flipping joke.
Instead of heading straight home, I took a detour to the graveyard. The Samuel crypt had a new lock, and I suspected the caretaker to keep me from trespassing had also installed other devices.
So I avoided it.
As I walked, I contemplated my new job, thinking about the help I could offer Dad, and even the spare cash I could have for myself. Maybe working at The Hut wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
I stopped when I reached a towering oak tree. When I wasn’t in the crypt, then I usually hid out in these thick branches; waiting until the urge wasn’t so strong to be here. With strength not many could match, I hoisted myself up and began the climb to the top. I found a sturdy branch and bounced on it a few times, making sure it’d hold my weight.
I sat and pulled my knees up to my chest, gaz
ing across the graveyard below me. From my position, I could see for miles. Not just the graveyard, but the town surrounding it too. The bright building lights, cars rushing past. Nothing up here moved except debris the wind picked up and scattered. It was stupid to come here. I don’t know why my body still demanded it. I’d quit this life. No patrolling the streets in search of the Damned.
Damned.
I played with the word for a few moments. I wondered who thought of calling them that. The Damned were evil souls, living like parasites, using someone’s body to cause havoc and mayhem. Even unspeakable things. I guess the human host was the Damned one. Damned until I came along and set them free.
I thought about the dude in The Hut. The gorgeous one who, may or may, not have been Damned, and tried to make him fit into what I understood about them.
I’d lost count of how many books my mother had made me read about them. She’d made me learn the history and mythology of the monsters I was born to Hunt. Their strengths. Their weaknesses.
I did know the Damned’s main weakness was that they couldn’t lie. They couldn’t deny what they were. It had something to do with the way the Damned soul meshed with the host; I never actually paid much attention to that part.
When a soul from Hell had escaped into a cemetery somewhere – could be this one – it waited, buzzing around until it sensed a host with a soul already doomed for Hell. Moreover, the host had to be a genetic match for them too. Same gender, same blood type. That kind of thing. The most important quality in a host? They had to already been destined to go to Hell.
Once a Damned possessed someone that meant that person’s own soul was trapped within his or her body, yet controlled by something else. In addition, the Damned had abilities to match my own: super strength, accelerated hearing, good reflexes, enhanced hearing, and sight. And the intent to use all of that for selfish gain.
In a way, I couldn’t blame these souls from wanting out of Hell. The way Mum had always told it, those who sinned with selfish intent were sent to the darkest parts of Hell, tortured over and over…
My Heart be Damned Page 3
