“Fine.”
“–I really don’t think it’s too much to ask for you to… What? What did you say?”
“I said fine.”
Well that was easy. A little too easy.
“You’ll really do it?” I said suspiciously. “You’ll take me to Travis?”
“No.”
“But–”
“He isn’t the Travis you remember. If I brought you to him he would kill you in an instant.” Maximus’ eyes darkened. “Or worse.”
“Travis would never hurt me,” I said confidently. Even if Maximus was telling me the truth and Travis really had been turned into a drinker there was no way he was a blood-thirsty monster. I mean, Travis? Red-haired, freckle-faced, bucktoothed Travis? Give me a break. The guy had cried when he’d run a frog over with his bike. “Bring me to him and you’ll see.”
“The only thing I will see are his fangs sinking into your neck. No. It’s out of the question.”
“Then how am I supposed to be believe you?”
“I will take you to his grave. His empty grave. That will have to suffice.”
“That won’t prove anything!” I waved my hand in the air, belatedly realized I was still holding my gun, and quickly stuck it back in its canvas holster before I did something stupid like shoot myself in the face. “He could have been dug up.”
“By whom? The drinkers would have no use for a dead body.” Maximus’ mouth thinned into a stubborn line I recognized all too well. “If you truly require evidence of his turning then I will take you to his grave, but that is all.”
If that was the best I was going to get…
“Tonight,” I said. “I want to go tonight.”
Maximus’ gaze went to the sky where the sun was making its final stand. In a few minutes it would be completely dark and I’d be stuck out in the middle of the woods with a drinker who may or may not have killed my best friend.
Let’s face it. Did you really think my decision making was going to improve this time around?
“Tomorrow morning at first light,” he countered. “It will be safer.”
“Either I go with you or I go by myself, but either way I’m going tonight. I have plans tomorrow morning.”
Maximus’ jaw clenched. “I told you that your attempt to rescue the prisoners in the farmhouse will fail. You will be going up against a drinker more powerful than any you’ve ever faced and you will suffer great casualties as a result.”
“How can you possibly know that? Oh wait,” I sneered. “Because you are a drinker.”
Faster than my weak human eyes could track Maximus leaped off the edge of the bridge and landed directly in front of me. His arm whipped out, fingers sinking into my flesh as he held my chin in his hand and forced my head up. Not hard enough to hurt, but definitely hard enough to let me know that if he wanted to cause me pain he could.
“You’re right.” Even though his voice was soft the angry flecks of silver burning in his eyes revealed he was anything but calm. “I am a drinker. A predator. A monster. And if I wanted I could crush your skull to dust. It wouldn’t be hard.” His grip tightened. “Just one squeeze and my face would be the last thing you ever saw.”
I trembled as all of my false bravado was stripped away beneath his dominant gaze. With my cocky attitude and my gun and my never-ending sarcasm I had grown accustomed to feeling in charge, but this was all it took to remind me that of the two of us Maximus would always be the strongest. I was like one of those antelopes on the Discovery Channel. So fast and sleek and clever. Until a lion came out of nowhere and ripped my stomach open.
“I - I get it, okay?” I hated that I stuttered, but what else was I supposed to do? A drinker literally had me by the throat. “You’re badass and I’m just an ordinary human. Message received.”
Something flickered in Maximus’ eyes before he abruptly released me and stepped back. “There is nothing ordinary about you, Lola. You are unique.”
Yeah, uniquely idiotic.
What the hell was I thinking? I should have shot him when I had the chance.
“I’m going back to the gym.” Without waiting for him to respond I turned around and started walking. After a few seconds he appeared beside me, his footsteps eerily silent despite the fallen leaves and overgrown brush.
“You can’t go to Travis’ grave tonight.”
I stared straight ahead. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like ‘stubborn female’ before he reached out and closed his fingers around my wrist. Without breaking stride I tried to yank my arm out of his grasp, but I might as well have been trying to pull it out of concrete.
Stupid drinkers and their stupid super strength.
“If you insist on going tonight then I will accompany you. But only if you promise to call off the attack on the farmhouse tomorrow morning.”
“No way,” I said flatly.
Maximus gritted his teeth. “Lola…”
“My dad could be in there!” I stopped so suddenly that Maximus shot past me. Unfortunately he didn’t let go of my wrist and I stumbled straight into his chest as he whirled around.
For a split second the only thing my stunned brain could register was the hardness of his body pressed against mine before my instincts kicked in and I plowed my elbow straight into his gut.
“Stop manhandling me, asshole!”
He let go of my wrist with a sharp grunt. Satisfied that I’d managed to inflict at least a little bit of pain I resumed my determined march back to the gym. I half-expected Maximus to give up and go away, but I’d forgotten how persistent he could be.
“You are going to get yourself killed,” he said as he fell in step beside me. We’d almost reached the edge of the woods. The sun was all but gone and the moon had taken its place, casting silver shadows across the soccer fields. I’d been gone way longer than I should have been. Hunter was going to be pissed. I could hear him now, lecturing me on the stupidity of my actions and the danger I’d exposed everyone by rushing out into the woods by myself and blah, blah, blah, blah, BLAH.
I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek. I was so sick and tired of people telling me what to do! The only person who had any right to boss me around was my dad and he was the only one who had never tried. Maybe if he had I wouldn’t be so reckless and prone to self-destructive behavior.
And if that wasn’t irony I didn’t know what was.
“What do you care?” I flung back over my shoulder. Evening dew clung to the bottom of my sneakers as I stomped across the middle of the soccer field.
“I care because finding you unconscious and bleeding in a dirty alley was not…pleasant for me. I do not wish to repeat the experience.”
“It was you?” Stunned, I slid to a stop on the slippery grass and spun around to face him. “You were the one who carried me back to the school and bandaged me up?”
Maximus inclined his chin ever-so-slightly. “Yes.”
“But…why?”
“Do you mean why you thought it would be a good idea to go up against a crawler by yourself? Or why you continue to put your life in danger? Or why you–”
I held up my hand, cutting him off. “Alright, alright. I get it. I take stupid risks. But I’m still alive, aren’t I? So I must be doing something right.” My eyebrows darted together. “And what’s a crawler? Is that what the drinker zombies are called?
Maximus’ brow lifted. “Drinker zombies?”
“That’s what I’m calling them. Catchy, right?”
“Call them whatever you like. It does not change the fact that even though they may seem slower, they are no less dangerous than a drinker. In some ways they are even more deadly as they can hunt during the daylight.”
Something clicked in my head. Something that should have clicked a long, long time ago.
“Like you,” I said slowly. “The sunlight doesn’t affect you like it does the other drinkers. Why not?”
“
That is not important.”
“Why not?” I insisted. “If you want me to believe you about Travis you’re going to have to start answering some questions, Maximus. How can you go out during the day? And how can you retract your fangs? And why–”
“I don’t know!” His unexpected shout caused me to jump. Without another word he turned and stalked away into the darkness. Just when I was beginning to think he’d left for good he abruptly returned, nostrils flaring and chest heaving with the force of his ragged breaths. “I have always been different from the others. I do not know why and it is not something I wish to discuss.”
Clearly.
“But why–”
“Enough,” he growled. “We are not talking about me.”
“Fine.” I might not have known Maximus’ deepest, darkest secrets but I did know arguing with him would be nothing more than a waste of time. “Are you going with me to Travis’ grave tonight or not?”
A vein pulsed in his forehead. “No, and neither are you. It is far too dangerous.”
“And I repeat: what do you care?” Tossing hair out of my eyes I pinned my hand to my hip and glared up at him. Who did he think he was to tell me what to do? “I don’t know what we are Maximus, but we’re sure as hell not best buddies. I don’t owe you anything and you don’t owe me anything. So if you’re not going to help me you can just stay the hell out of my business and go back to being dead.”
Okay, so maybe I should have been a little more grateful seeing I’d just found out he’d saved my live for the fourth time. Not that I was keeping track. But if we were to have a relationship on Facebook it would definitely be listed as ‘It’s Complicated’.
Maximus may have saved my ass more times than I could count, but he’d also lied straight to my face and he still couldn’t give me a straight answer when I asked him a simple question. Even now he was hiding things behind those dark, mysterious gray eyes of his. Truths. Secrets. Answers to questions I didn’t even know to ask.
This time when I started walking again he didn’t follow me. By the time I reached the edge of the soccer field and looked back he was gone.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
One Bad Decision After Another
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Green eyes wide and just a little wild Hunter grabbed me by the shoulders the second I stepped into the gym. “I thought they’d killed you or kidnapped you or hell, I don’t know.” Releasing me he dragged both hands through his hair and hissed out a breath. “Something worse. How could you go off on your own like that without telling me?”
Did I have DAMSEL IN DISTRESS stamped on my forehead or something? Hadn’t I proved that I knew how to handle myself? What was it about boys that made them go full-fledged Neanderthal when they thought a girl was in danger? Well, I hated to break it to Maximus and Hunter, but this girl could look out for herself. In fact, she preferred it.
“Not now, Hunter.” Brushing past him I headed straight for the locker room. I needed some serious alone time to wrap my brain around everything I’d just learned. Finding out Maximus was still alive was one thing, but discovering Travis might be a drinker on top of it?
Mind. Blown.
“Lola, we need to talk about this.”
“Where is everyone?” With the exception of Greg and Stevenson playing a game of one on one the gym was completely empty. The basketball echoed like a drum on the court as one of the guys – I was pretty sure it was Greg given his boxy silhouette, but it was too dark to be sure – dribbled it towards the basket. There was a moment of silence, a quick swish, and then an enthusiastic, “In your face, bro!”
I grinned. Greg might not have always been the sharpest tool in the shed but he definitely knew how to have a good time and there was something to be said for that. Why bother fighting to survive if you couldn’t enjoy the little moments life handed you?
None of us would ever lead normal lives again. Not after everything everyone we’d lost and everything we’d seen. But I liked to think that when it was all over, when the drinkers were dead and we could go out at night without fear of having our throats ripped open, that Greg and Stevenson would be playing a game of basketball just like they were now.
“They went to bed early.” Hunter followed me across the gym. “Lola we need to talk about this. Who sent you that note? Because I know it wasn’t one of us.”
“There’s nothing to talk about, okay?” I pressed my hand against the locker door and looked back at him over my shoulder. “I left. I came back. End of story. I’m sorry I freaked you out, but last time I checked this isn’t a cult and I don’t need your permission to leave.” On that note I shoved the door open and stepped into the locker room. Undeterred Hunter followed me inside and the door banged shut behind us. Our unannounced entrance startled Livy who was sitting cross-legged on top of her sleeping bag, already dressed for bed in a pair of flimsy silk shorts and a white tank top.
“You can’t be in here!” she squealed, the miniature flashlight she’d been using to read one of her girly magazines flying into the air as she crossed her arms over her chest and burrowed down inside her sleeping bag like some kind of deranged gopher. “This is girls only!”
“Yeah,” Becca piped up from behind her even as she quickly ran her fingers through her hair. I did a double-take when I saw she had some kind of green goop spread all over her cheeks and forehead. “Girls only.”
“I’m here to talk to Lola,” Hunter said through gritted teeth as he averted his gaze.
“Lola? Did someone say Lola?” Sprinting around the lockers holding a flashlight in one hand and a book in the other Rose’s entire face lit up when she saw me. “You’re back! I was so worried. I tried to keep Hunter from finding out for a long as I could but…oh.” She blushed a deep tomato red when she finally noticed who was standing behind me. “Hi Hunter.”
He threw a hand up in front of his eyes. “Hi Rose. Mind lowering that?”
“Sorry,” she squeaked, directing the beam of the flashlight down to the floor where it spread out in a pool of flickering white. “And, um, sorry for lying to you.”
“No problem.”
Oh, sure, Rose got a free pass. But what did I get?
A lecture.
“You heard Livy. This is the girl’s locker room and last time I checked you weren’t a girl.” I pointed at the door. “So get out.”
“What on earth is going on?” Muffling a yawn, Ms. Siegel stepped around the corner wearing a ruffly white nightgown that went all the way up to her neck. Her eyes widened when she saw me and widened even more when she saw Hunter. “Young man, what do you think you’re doing in here? This is the girl’s locker room.”
“See?” I smirked. “Told you so.”
“Ms. Siegel I just need to talk to–”
“Out!” she exclaimed, cutting him off. “Right this second. These girls are hardly dressed!”
“But–”
“Out.” Darting past Rose she literally shooed Hunter out the door while I stood by and watched, struggling not to laugh. I knew if I was in Hunter’s place I would have been beating him over the head with questions, but the look on his face when Ms. Siegel told him to get out had been priceless. If I had to guess Golden Boy wasn’t exactly accustomed to not getting his own way. For his entire life he’d been handed things on a silver platter – good looks, a charming attitude, the ability to throw a football like a rocket – and the word ‘no’ wasn’t one he was used to hearing.
“Are you girls all right?” Ms. Siegel asked as she fluttered around us like a mother hen looking after her chicks. “Do you feel violated in any way?”
“We’re fine,” Livy said as she leaned back on her elbows. “He just caught me off guard. I mean, I’m not even dressed.”
I considered pointing out that the string bikini always Livy always wore on our school’s annual end-of-the-year trip to Lynx Lake was a hell of a lot more revealing than her pajamas, but I thought better of it. Why pick a fight when for once I wasn’t the bad gu
y?
“Good.” Ms. Siegel nodded solemnly. “I am sure he did not mean any harm.”
“What time do we have to be up tomorrow?” Becca asked, muffling a yawn. “I want to make sure I give my clay mask enough time to set before I go to sleep.”
Yes, because the drinker zombies really cared about clear pores.
For the first time we all looked at Ms. Siegel for an answer. Looking pleased – and just a little bit flustered – she glanced down at her watch. “Well, according to the plan Hunter has put together we should be up and ready to leave the gym by first light which would be about…seven and a half hours from now.”
Shit.
The plan.
Distracted by Maximus and possibility of Travis being a drinker I had almost forgotten all about it. I didn’t know if Maximus was telling the truth about the farmhouse being under the protection of some big bad drinker who would turn us all into human shish kabobs, but on the off chance he wasn’t lying through his teeth I had to warn Hunter.
Then again, even if Maximus was telling the truth what were we supposed to do? Just leave Hayley and my dad and everyone else the drinkers had captured to rot? One way or another we were leaving Revere tomorrow and we weren’t coming back. If I told Hunter what Maximus had said and he decided to call off our attack, would I be able to leave without Dad?
My mind whirled with all of the different possible scenarios as I grabbed a flashlight and my toothbrush out of my bag. Clicking on the flashlight to avoid slamming my shins into the half-wall that separated the showers and sinks from the rest of the locker room I went to the furthest sink and turned on the cold water full blast.
Maybe it would be best if I just didn’t say anything at all. Yeah, it would be a total dick move and yeah, I was putting our lives at risk, but weren’t they at risk already? And who knew if Maximus was even telling the truth? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d told a lie to serve his own purposes. Maybe he had other reasons for keeping us away from the farmhouse, like the fact that he was a drinker.
The Lola Chronicles (Book 2): A Day Without Dawn Page 13