Beauty and Beasts

by Willow Rose

  Amy sighed and lay still for a few more minutes while the pain lasted, then slowly resided, at least enough for her to be able to sit up straight. The pills were finally kicking in, and she could move without wanting to scream again. The relief was immense.

  Amy was finally able to move her upper body back and forth a little, even though it was still painful. She then walked to the kitchen and started on her baked ziti that she had planned to make for tonight. She missed being able to cook. She looked out the window toward the mountains and wondered about Melanie again. It was strange that she didn't even call or give any sign of life. Was she that angry with Amy? Melanie didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge like that, and she hadn't seemed angry at all on the morning before she left.

  Amy just hoped she was all right.

  She returned to her cooking and put the dish in the oven. She stood for a little while and listened to the silence in the house. It was like it was worse now, more intense after Melanie left. It felt unbearable.

  Amy walked out in her yard to get some fresh air and get away from the quietness. She grabbed a soda and sat outside on the porch, leaning forward in the chair so it wouldn't touch the upper part of her back. She wondered how she was going to tell her parents about this when they returned from their latest trip. She had to tell them at some point. But she really hated making them sad or upsetting them in any way. Especially since she rarely got to spend time with them. She really didn't want them to be sad when they were finally home. That was why she never told them much about what went on in her life. She never told them if she was sad or lonely or even if she had hurt herself when she was younger. Or if someone bullied her at school. She didn't want them to know the bad stuff. Because maybe they would never come back again if all they got was bad news.

  But this wasn't something that would just go away on its own. This was serious, and she couldn't hide it from them forever because she didn't have forever. If it was cancer—and she was pretty certain it was—then she didn't have long.

  Amy sipped her soda, feeling lonelier than ever before when she spotted something at the end of the yard. Amy got up and walked closer, realizing it was an animal of some sort. It was whimpering.

  Is that a dog?

  Amy hurried toward it when she realized it was in pain. She hurried to the end of the yard and knelt next to it. It was a small fluffy brown dog that smelled so bad, Amy could only assume it was a stray. But that wasn't the terrible part; no, the horrible part was that it was trapped underneath the shed that Amy's dad had built. The dog's small head was poking out, and it was obviously in distress.

  "Oh, my God," Amy said. "How did you get in there?"

  Amy looked at the dog, then tried to help it wiggle out, but no luck. It seemed to be stuck somehow and couldn't move. It had a hurt leg. The dog was whimpering loudly now, panicking a little. Amy stuck her head closer to the dog and realized that the dog wasn't alone in there. Eleven small puppies were lying in there with it.

  "Oh, dear Lord, I need to get you all out of there, but how?"

  Amy looked around to see if there was anything she could use. Any tools to help lift the shed or maybe dig it out. But she didn't see anything. She was about to look inside the shed when the dog whimpered even louder, and Amy panicked. She growled angrily, walked to the shed, and grabbed it by the side with her bare hands. Now, Amy assumed she wouldn't be able to move it at all, maybe she was hoping that she would be able to lift it slightly, at least enough to make the crack big enough for the dogs to get out, but much to her surprise, she had barely touched it when the entire shed lifted off the ground. Amy couldn't believe her own eyes as the momma dog grabbed her puppies one after another and carried them outside, jumping along on three legs. Amy was holding the shed in the air, not even feeling the least bit strained by the effort. When they were all out, she put the shed down, wiped the dirt off her hands, and looked at the dogs.

  "Guess we should get all of you inside and get you cleaned up," she said, and for the first time in days, Amy didn't even think about the excruciating pain in her back. She took off her sweater and put the puppies inside it to better carry them. She looked back at the shed just before entering the house, her arms filled with puppies, the momma dog limping along beside her on three legs.

  "Huh," she said, pensively wondering how on earth she had the strength to lift the entire shed into the air.

  "Not bad for a dying girl, I guess."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I was so angry with Duncan. I couldn't believe him. Who did he think he was, showing up like that at Jazmine's dad's funeral and trying to get me to help him? Why would I do that? Why on earth would I help him find the girl so he could kill her?

  What kind of fool did he take me for?

  I grabbed my computer and started to research the girl who had told the world she had been attacked by vampires. Amy had been right; we needed to find her and explain to her who she was going to be and what would happen to her. I felt terrible for her. It was all my fault. I knew I had saved her, but still. I had some responsibility here. Big time.

  She hadn't been conscious when I took her to the hospital, so I didn't even know her name, but it was easy to find in all those articles and news clips online. Stacy Morgan was her name. I read some of the comments. Most of them had come to the conclusion that the girl was crazy as a bat and probably doing drugs in the park, where she claimed to have met the vampire that abducted her. She probably had a bad trip, they said. No one seemed to believe her, which I guess was to my advantage. I just wished I knew what to tell her, how to tell her the truth.

  "Why are you reading about that girl?"

  I gasped and turned to see my mother. She had entered my room silently like she often did when she wanted to check on me and see what I was up to. One of her surprise-attacks. It was like she appeared out of nowhere and it freaked me out every time.

  "Have you heard of knocking?" I asked.

  She ignored my remark and looked at the screen. "You shouldn't fill yourself with that sort of nonsense," she said. "That girl is obviously on something. I can't believe they would give her all this airtime. Like we don't have enough to deal with in the real world."

  "I just found it interesting, that's all," I said and closed the lid of my laptop.

  My mom's eyes were observing me. "Did you now?"

  "Yes."

  "And exactly what about it was so interesting to you that you would read that instead of doing school work?"

  "It's Sunday, Mom. I usually don't do schoolwork on Sundays, remember?" I asked.

  "Don't take that tone with me, young lady. And maybe you should. You're falling behind."

  I wrinkled my forehead. "I am not falling behind. At all. I am two months ahead of schedule."

  "Still. You could be three months ahead if you worked harder."

  I sighed, knowing this was going nowhere. "What do you want, Mom?"

  "I saw you with Duncan today," she said.

  "Oh, that."

  "You looked like you were fighting. And why did that…boy…attack him like that?"

  "They had a fight. It was nothing."

  "It didn't look like nothing."

  "Well, it was."

  "I don't believe you. They were fighting. Over you, I assume."

  I exhaled again. "And what if they were?"

  "You took that…boy's side."

  "His name is Jayden, Mother. You can say his name. It's not like he'll magically appear if you do and try to kill you."

  My mother scoffed. "Funny."

  "I thought it was."

  "I don't want you to take his side over Duncan's. Duncan is the right one for you, you hear me?" She grabbed my ear and twisted it, hard.

  "Ouch."

  "I want to hear you say it."

  "Okay, okay, just stop hurting my ear."

  "Say it."

  "Okay, okay! Duncan is the right one for me. Geez."

  She let go of my ear, then caressed my cheek wit
h her long nail. "That's my girl. You'll thank me one day. Remember, Momma knows best."

  Then she turned around on her heel and was gone just as fast as she had arrived.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Stacy couldn't believe it. She had told her story over and over again, yet no one believed her. All the so-called experts said was that she was probably drunk or on drugs when it happened or hallucinating for some reason. Here, she had told them the entire story of how she was abducted, how she was taken and hid somewhere in a small animal cage before she was released into a dark forest along with other people and chased down by vampires. What was so hard to believe about that?

  Even her own parents didn't believe her. Her mother was so angry with her for running away, she could hardly speak to her, and she even yelled at her for making up these crazy stories.

  "Have you gone mad?"

  She was beginning to feel like she had. Especially since she was brought home from the hospital. She had been in her room most of the time, watching the news and reading what they wrote about her online. And it wasn't comforting. Here she thought she could warn the world about this threat, these vicious monsters that apparently lived here among us, drinking our blood, and that people would appreciate her for telling them. But, no. The story had been going viral, indeed, but for the wrong reasons.

  Stacy turned off the TV in her room and sighed. She was happy to be home and so pleased that she had survived this nightmare—and without a scratch, the doctor had said—but she wasn't happy. She had started to doubt herself and what she had experienced. Were they right? Had she just dreamt it all? Had she somehow been drugged and then hallucinated it all? Or was she actually going mad?

  One thing was certain. She was grounded for the rest of the school year, her mother had said. She wasn't sure she would ever let her outside again, she had added.

  What was most disappointing was probably the silence she was met with from her friends or the people she believed to be her friends. None of them had even called or stopped by to hear if she was all right. She had lost her phone when she was abducted but had gotten it back when the police found her backpack in the park. No one had texted her. No Snapchats, no comments on Instagram or Twitter. Nothing but silence.

  What kind of friends were they anyway?

  Stacy felt tired and laid down on her bed to close her eyes for a few seconds when she heard the doorbell. She rushed into the hallway, hoping it was Melissa or maybe even David coming to check up on her. Even Olivia would make her happy right about now.

  "If it is more journalists, then I swear I’m gonna…" she heard her mother grumble as she walked to the door.

  "Yes?"

  Her mother returned, a slightly baffled look on her face. She spotted Stacy standing on the stairs.

  "There’s someone here to see you. She says she's the one who found you and helped you out of the forest."

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I was taking a great risk coming here. I knew I was, but I had to do it. This was my responsibility. I had to help Stacy and, luckily, Amy knew where she lived since she used to live in that part of town before she moved to Shadow Hills. I had told my mom I was going for a run and, even though I got the feeling she was getting suspicious of my constant running and not getting in better shape, she let me go.

  We had driven to Stacy's house in Amy's truck. It was just her and me since I didn't want to risk being seen with Jayden, and we really didn't need to scare her off by being a crowd coming to her house.

  Stacy approached the door. I could see her coming up behind her mother, who didn't seem too pleased to see me.

  "Make it short," she said with a grunt.

  Stacy came outside, and her mother closed the door behind her. She looked surprised. I smiled.

  "Hi. You feeling better? This is Amy, my friend."

  Stacy stared at me, squinting her eyes, looking confused. "I remember you," she said. "Vaguely, but I do. You…you…made him stop. You made that vampire stop. How did you do that?"

  "Oh, dear. That's a long story," I said. "And I have a feeling I will tell you everything, another time, but right now, I need to tell you something that might shock you slightly."

  "You didn't tell me it was something I had dreamt," she said.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I just mentioned vampires to you, and you didn't laugh or tell me it didn't happen."

  I exhaled. "Because it did happen," I said.

  Stacy stared at me, shocked. "But…my parents, the experts on TV and on the Internet, they all say it didn't."

  "Well, between you and me, I wouldn't trust any of them," Amy said.

  "They don't know," I said. "That's why."

  "But we do," Amy said. "We’ve seen them too. They're very real."

  Stacy's eyes grew wide. "So there really are vampires? Wow."

  I shushed her, trying to make her keep her voice down.

  "Yes. They're very real and very dangerous."

  "But…they're real…!"

  I nodded. Stacy's eyes were on me, and she looked like she was about to explode.

  "But you can't walk around telling everyone," I said.

  "Why not? This is amazing!"

  "First of all, no one will believe you, as you have already experienced," Amy said. "Second, they will come for you."

  "Who?" she asked. "Who will come for me?"

  I sighed again. "You're a liability the way things are now."

  "I’m what? I don't understand," she said.

  "Okay," I said. "Listen, I know it might be a lot to take in right now, but the way things are…well, there is a great chance that you might…that you will…at midnight, you might…"

  "You will probably turn into a vampire, is what Robyn is trying to say here," Amy took over.

  I was grateful for her doing so since I couldn't really get the words across my lips.

  Stacy stared at us. She wasn't blinking. She stood frozen for so long I was scared she was going to pass out or maybe that she had a heart attack.

  "Stacy?"

  Finally, she blinked. Her eyes grew wide and wild. Then a smile spread across her lips.

  "I…am…I am going to be a vampire? COOL!"

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Stacy yelled the last part so loudly I was scared the entire neighborhood would hear her. I shushed her again.

  "Now, we don't know for sure that it will happen to you," I said. "But you were bitten by a vampire and chances are that you might."

  "Wow," she said. "What's it like?"

  I looked at Amy, then back at Stacy, and shrugged.

  "You don't know? Aren't you…I just assumed…?"

  I shook my head. "Nope."

  "But her family is. All of them," Amy said.

  "Amy!"

  "What? She's kind of part of it all now, isn't she?"

  Stacy stared at her hands, turning them in the light. "I’ve read about vampires…I mean all the books…well, not really but I watched the movies and…woo, I can't believe that I…me…little Stacy Morgan that I will be, that I am…"

  "Let me just stop you right there," Amy said. "This is not Twilight, okay? All the vampires we have met so far are vicious beasts who kill people for the fun of it. There are no sparkles here."

  But Stacy was a girl we could no longer reach. She had gotten into her head that this was an amazing deal.

  "But I'll be immortal, right? I am immortal! I can't die?"

  I exhaled. "I guess. We don't really know that much."

  "But Robyn's brother did get shot, and he survived that," Amy said.

  "Really? Wow. That is so…cool."

  I didn't really know what to tell her. I didn't find it cool at all. "Yeah…well…I don't…"

  Stacy stopped looking at her hands and looked up at me. "Will it hurt?"

  "I don't know," I said.

  "But you need to be careful out there," Amy said. "You might kill someone or make them into a vampire."

  "Really? Oh, w
ow. I didn't even think about that."

  "It's gonna be hard controlling your urges, especially in the beginning…I guess," I said.

  "But…I'll be a vampire," Stacy said.

  "You'll probably be sensitive to the sun," I said. "My family usually wears sunglasses and hats and long sleeves and loads of sunscreen, and I have a feeling your taste in food might change. You will probably like a lot of weird stuff like kale and beets and raw onions and stuff like that."

  Stacy wrinkled her nose. "Really?"

  "Yeah, well, I don't really know about that part, if it is the same for everyone, but that's my experience so far. I’m pretty new to this too."

  Stacy nodded, biting her lip. "Okay, so stay out of the sun, check. Eat weird food, might be difficult, but let's see. What else?"

  "You'll run out at night. At least that's what happened to my brother. I don't really know what he does out there, but I guess he drinks animals’ blood."

  Stacy nodded. She looked pensive. "So…do you know the vampire that bit me and made me…this?" she asked me.

  I breathed in, then nodded. "You could say that."

  "They used to date…a little," Amy said. She was squirming in her sweater again and had that strained look on her face that made me wonder what was going on.

  "It's a long and slightly complicated story," I said. "Why?"

  "I don't know. I just…I kind of felt something when he bit me, some sort of very strong connection. Like we shared our mind and emotions. Like we knew each other in a deeper way…I don't know. It's probably silly."

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I returned to my home, not really knowing what to think of my meeting with Stacy. My mom was in the kitchen using the blender to create some gelatinous smoothie that she would force me to drink. I couldn't stop thinking about Amy and how she didn't seem well lately. I had asked her in the car if she was all right, but she hadn't answered and started talking about something else.