by Willow Rose
The sound of a predator approaching.
Chapter Fifty-One
I was up till long past midnight, staring at my computer screen, doing research. Every now and then, I looked toward Jayden's house, wondering if he was up too. I even thought about texting him and grabbed my phone with the intention of doing so, but then put it back down. I had to give him time to figure out what he wanted. I couldn't pressure him into loving me more than her.
I felt such a deep disappointment. When he came back, he had been so into me; even at school, he had kissed me so intensely that I had actually begun to believe he really wanted me back. But then, as soon as we started to doubt Ruelle's role in it all, he had run away, and I hadn't heard from him since. What was he doing? Why wasn't he at least texting me or calling? How could he change his mind so abruptly?
He loves Ruelle. He only wanted to get back with you because he thought she was a killer.
I returned to look at my screen with a deep sigh. I made a couple of notes on my pad, then continued my research when I thought I heard something. It sounded almost like a scream coming from outside. I opened the window to be better able to hear.
It was coming from the park.
I swallowed hard, wondering if someone was in trouble in there. I saw the pictures of Carina Robinson lying dead in those bushes over and over again, then of Natalie Jamieson, whom we pulled out of the water. So many deaths in the past several months, so many attacks on people in our neighborhood. Was this another one?
I stared toward the park as another scream rung into the night. My hands were shaking while wondering what was going on. Who was this killer and how were we supposed to stop him?
I felt paralyzed, knowing there was nothing much I could do if it was someone in trouble. Then I looked at my phone and grabbed it with the intention of calling Jayden's dad and letting him know when something jumped through my window and landed on my face.
I screamed and was pushed backward while the furry mass grabbed onto my head and blocked my vision. Long claws were piercing my skin, and it hurt like crazy. As it meowed and hissed, I realized it wasn't some monster that had attacked me, but Jazmine's annoying cat.
I managed to pull it off me, then looked at it. "BamBam! What the heck has gotten into you these days?"
The cat meowed loudly again, and I held it away with my arm stretched out as my dad came bolting into my room, a baseball bat in his hand. He looked around with a confused and sleepy expression on his face.
"What's going on in here?"
He gawked at the cat in my hands.
"Is that…?"
"BamBam," I said. "Jazmine's cat. This is the second time it’s attacked me. I think it's gone insane."
"Here, let me take it back over there."
My dad closed the window, then grabbed the cat from me. He walked to the door, then stopped and glanced at my computer. He gave me a look.
"No more computer games now, you hear me? You have school tomorrow."
I nodded and smiled.
"Okay, Dad."
As he left, I rushed to the window and looked toward the park. I opened the window again to listen, but there were no more screams. Whatever had been going on over there, it was over now.
I lay down in my bed, eyes wide open, heart thumping in my chest while wondering what we were going to find over there the following day.
Chapter Fifty-Two
"What was that?"
Kipp opened his eyes and looked at her. "What was what?"
"That sound."
Amy turned around and looked toward the tall trees.
"I didn't hear anything," Kipp said.
"That's strange," Amy said, still staring at the trees behind her. "I was so certain I heard something."
He shrugged. "Maybe it was a rabbit or a cat or something."
She turned her head to face him again, calming down when their eyes met. "I hope you're right."
"Of course, I’m right," he said with a smirk. "I’m always right."
"Of course, you are," Amy said, forgetting all about the sounds and the worry in her heart.
She closed her eyes, and they kissed again just as another roar emerged from behind them. This time they both heard it and turned to look.
Amy couldn't see what it was, but she did see a set of burning red eyes glaring at them from between the trees. Amy gasped while her heart started to pound. Whatever the creature was in front of them, it was snarling, sounding like something between a wolf and a lion.
"W-what is that?" Amy asked.
"I don't know," Kipp said. "But I have a feeling we shouldn't stick around to find out."
He looked behind them at the lake. The waves were crashing on the shore, letting them know Kipp was agitated. Amy realized he was scared. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the water.
"We need to get in."
“But…but I can't swim," Amy said.
"You have to try," he said. "I'll help you."
She swallowed hard, then looked back at the glaring red dots between the trees. A low growl sounded like it was coming closer. Amy turned and stared at the crashing waves and then at Kipp's frightened expression on his face lit up by the moonlight.
"Come," he said.
Amy took in a deep breath, then approached the water. Kipp jumped in and swam away from the shore, going under the waves while she hesitated and stared at the dark water. It was one thing to go in during the day, which she never would, but at night? When you didn't know what was underneath the surface?
"Come on!" Kipp yelled. "Just do it!"
Amy closed her eyes.
"Just do it. Just jump for it."
And she did. She leaped into the waves, eyes still closed. Just as she felt the water hit her face, she also felt something else, something hard pinch the skin on her calf and then a pull, dragging her back out of the water again.
As her head was once again out of the water, Amy screamed at the top of her lungs while the creature pulled her to the shore, her leg in severe pain.
"AMY!" Kipp yelled.
Amy felt more pain in her leg and couldn't really figure out what was up and what was down.
"Blow fire at him, Amy!" Kipp yelled.
Not knowing which direction the creature was in, Amy puffed herself up, felt the anger rise inside of her, then spewed a ball of fire into the air. At least that was what she thought she had done. But in reality, all that emerged from her nostrils was a small spark that died out as quickly as it appeared.
"The water, shoot," she mumbled. Her nostrils were wet and just like a lighter that had been soaked; she couldn't light any fire. Without the fire, she had no weapon to protect herself. Realizing she was defenseless made her turn back to her human self, overcome with fear. Fear that was soon flushed by a huge amount of water. Amy felt the creature let go of her foot while she was washed further up on shore in a whirlwind of water. As it receded, she coughed and sputtered, while realizing what had happened.
While she was screaming for help, Kipp had managed to lift a wave of water and send it directly at the beast, flushing it back into the forest, where it ran off, snarling and whimpering.
Amy lay on the shore, panting and coughing up water, while Kipp came back out of the lake and after regaining his legs, and hurried toward her. He knelt next to her.
"Are you okay?"
"My foot," she said and looked down. "My foot is bleeding. I think it bit me."
"I'll take care of you," he said and reached down and grabbed her in his arms, then lifted her up. She never knew Kipp was so strong and, as she clung to his neck, she leaned her head against him, wondering what she could have possibly done to deserve such a perfect boyfriend.
Chapter Fifty-Three
I was still awake when I heard someone scream in the street. Realizing my dad was still out there after getting the cat back to Jazmine's house, I jumped to my feet and rushed to the window.
"Dad!"
But there was nothing down there
. No one in the cul-de-sac or even by Jazmine's house. It was all completely quiet.
"Dad!" I yelled again, then rushed down the stairs and out into the street. I looked around me, desperately searching for my father, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Dad?" I called again, my voice cracking.
I suddenly wondered if I could have dreamt it all when there was movement coming from behind Jazmine's house, and I turned to look with a shriek.
"Who's there?"
A second later and about a gazillion really fast heartbeats, I spotted something coming out from between the trees. As it moved underneath the streetlight, I saw that it was Kipp.
Kipp carrying Amy in his arms.
"Amy!" I said and ran toward them. I saw her bloody foot right away. "What happened?"
"We were attacked," Kipp said. "By the lake. By some creature. It bit Amy, we think."
I stared at her foot where those precious drops of her blood were dripping down. Then I looked up at her face. "Are you all right? Amy?"
She nodded.
"She needs stitches," Kipp said. "I’ll take her to the hospital."
"What happened to whatever it was that attacked you?" I asked.
"It ran off," Amy said.
"We shouldn't be standing here," Kipp said. "It ran in this direction."
"I-it ran this way? Toward our neighborhood?" I said.
He nodded while I looked around me again, my eyes frantically scanning the area for my dad.
"I…I think it might have taken my dad," I said. "He was out here…and I think I heard him scream."
"Oh, dear Lord," Amy said. "We have to find him."
"We need to get you to a hospital; that's what we need," Kipp said. "Right now."
"I can take you in my car," I said.
"It's okay," Amy said. "We'll take my truck. Kipp can drive. You go look for your dad."
I exhaled, frustrated and very confused. "Okay."
"We're those who are out of here," Kipp said and took off with Amy in his arms. I thanked God that they were together when it happened and that she had Kipp to take care of her.
"Let me know if you find him," she yelled after me. Knowing Amy, I knew that she was more concerned about my dad and me than her own foot and getting it stitched. That was just the way she was. Always taking care of us all. I wouldn't know how to be without her.
As they left, I stood there in the cul-de-sac wondering what to do. I didn't know where to start looking for my dad, but I did know there was no way I could do it alone. Not at this hour of the night.
Chapter Fifty-Four
A lot of things are to be said—and probably will be—about the vampire community, but no one could ever say that they didn't look out for their own when needed.
All it took was one call to Duncan and, minutes later, they were all there. He had gathered probably a hundred vampires who were swarming the cul-de-sac, entering the forest, and soaring up over the neighborhood to look for my dad.
With Veronika's help, I had searched the house first before I called Duncan. Even my cousins were ready to help, and my mother and Grams were there too, even though I had told them they shouldn't come. The spiders were gathered in house number three, and they risked being seen by them.
But in this case, my mom didn't care.
"This is my husband," she said with a snort when I told her she shouldn't have come. "The father of my children. Of course, I am here."
To be honest, I was overwhelmed with great relief that she was here and, as she led a search group into the park, I leaned my head on Gram's shoulder while we sat on the swing in the front yard of our house, in case my dad came back somehow.
"We'll find him," my grandmother said and tapped my cheek. "Don't you worry, my child."
Duncan had taken another group and led them into the mountains to look for him, and I could hear them screeching and shrieking in the distance. Meanwhile, my heart was galloping in fear as I wondered what exactly had happened to my poor dad. Had it been the same creature that attacked Amy and Kipp? If so, would he still be alive? If it was a werewolf, then its bite was one of the few things that could actually kill a vampire.
A bat circled above us, and soon Duncan stood in front of us. My face lit up, and I lifted my head.
"Did you find him?"
He shook his head. "No. Nothing. The others are taking another round, flying through caves and so on, but so far, we have no trace of him up there. I just came down here to see if you had any news."
"Nothing," my mom's voice sounded behind him.
I sat up straight. "Mom!"
She shook her head. "We searched the entire park. Nothing. I’m sending them through town now. Hopefully, they'll find him there."
I swallowed, imagining the huge bats flying through town, waking people up with their screeches. This wasn't exactly keeping a low profile like we were supposed to.
"But…what are we going to do, Mom?" I said, my voice shaking heavily. I was fighting not to cry. I loved my dad. He couldn't just vanish, could he?
Jayden did. When Ruelle kidnapped him.
"Have them check the farm," I said. "Where Jayden was kept when Ruelle had him. It's a couple of hours out of town."
"We'll find it," Duncan said and lifted off into the air, then disappeared.
My mom gave me a tired look, then sat down on the swing next to me. I could sense how worried she was by the way she kept rubbing her hands against one another. I stopped her by grabbing her hand in mine. She sighed and looked at me. A chill went through my body when touching her skin, but I didn't mind. It felt good to be here with her and my grandmother and, for the first time in years, I felt very close to my family again.
"We'll find him," I said and tried to smile. "Whatever it takes, we'll get him back."
My mom smiled at me, then nodded. We sat in silence for a few minutes, while listening to the shrieks and squeals of the vampires roaming the town when we realized there was a lot of activity coming from number three. Suddenly, the doors opened, and what seemed like hundreds of spiders oozed out, staggering along on their long skinny legs, holding vacuum thingies in their hands. They got onto their black motorcycles, then rushed off, roaring in the night.
"Where do you think they're going?" my grandmother asked. I could tell she was afraid. Her voice was shaking.
None of us tried to answer. We just stared at the many motorcycles leaving our street, hearts thumping—or at least one heart was since I was the only one whose heart was actually beating.
Minutes later, we heard loud cries and screams emerging from downtown, and I realized what I had done. By calling them all here, I had just engineered a massacre.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Amy heard the screams outside of the hospital and looked at the window next to her but could see only darkness.
"What's going on?" she asked Kipp nervously.
The doctor had stitched her foot together, and she was supposed to be asleep, while Kipp had told her he would sit by her bedside till she woke up. But the noises from downtown kept her awake. There was no way she could sleep with that. It sounded like a war had broken out.
Kipp stood by the window and looked out.
"What is it, Kipp? It's scaring me."
"I…it…looks like…oh, dear Lord." He turned his head and looked away, his eyes closed.
"What? What's going on? Kipp?"
He lifted his head to look again.
"I…I just saw a vampire get eliminated by a spider and now…there's another one…oh, my God! They're taking them down one after another. It's like a friggin' slaughter."
Amy felt her heart start to thump. She looked down at her foot. She was going to be unable to run or even fight if it came to that. She began to huff in agitation and anxiety, and soon a few clouds of smoke emerged from her nostrils. Kipp heard it and turned to look at her, his face pale in distress.
"Oh, no. Not now," he said and approached her. "You can't change here, not now."
"I…I…Kipp…I…can't…" she huffed and gasped for air.
"Amy, stop it."
"I…I can't control it."
"You have to, Amy. You have to stop it. Please."
"I…I can't. I don't know how. When I get scared or angry, anything that makes me agitated, that's when it happens. I don't know how to hold it back. I’m not strong enough."
He grabbed her hand in his and looked deep into her eyes.
"You have to. This is important, Amy. If there ever is a time when you need to control yourself, it is now. You can do it. I know you can. All you have to do is calm down and not get agitated. But you've got to focus, baby. You've got to work for it. Please, calm down, please, baby. There are hundreds of those spider-men out there in town; if they come in here looking for supers, and you have changed, then they'll take you down. You're kind of hard to cover up or hide once you become your dragon."
Amy hyperventilated. She knew he was right, and she tried with all her strength to control herself, she really did, but there wasn't much she could do at this point.
It was too late.
Just as her dragon broke out, they heard voices in the hallway. They were scary loud voices, and a second later one of the spider-like men poked his head inside her room. He took one glance at her with his close-set eyes, then pointed his vacuum thing at her while he yelled:
"GOT ONE!"
Chapter Fifty-Six
We could hear the screams coming from downtown. Terrified screams of pain and torture. As we stood together, holding hands in our front yard, something came down from the sky and landed right in front of us.
"Duncan."
