“Dude. His arms were bigger than her waist,” says Cody. “Pretty sure he’s not weak.”
“So pretty much bad news.” Ben cringes.
“Like a Kodiak bear with opposable thumbs.” I sigh at the trees. “At least we got away from him.”
“Yeah, but where the hell are we?” asks Cody. He pulls the stake out from his harness, and tosses it.
“Dude?” asks Ben.
“You weren’t paying attention, were you?” Cody points at me. “She rammed your stick right through the one dude and he didn’t even slow down.”
“Oh, shit.” Ben blinks at me. “Your little bro was telling the truth. Stakes are a lie made up to fool people. Like, does your family know you’re a vampire?”
“Yeah. Hang on a sec.”
I float straight up until I’m over the treetops. As far as I can see in every direction, forest continues all the way to the horizon. Miles away on the right, water cascades down the face of a rock ridge that has to be over a hundred stories tall. It’s dark, so I can’t tell which way is which. If the ridge is north, to the southeast, I spot a crumbling ruin that looks so much like a medieval castle I decide not to believe my eyes. Of course, there are ruined castles in Europe that don’t look much different, so maybe things aren’t as weird as my brain is trying to make them out to be.
My iPhone isn’t any help. I pull it out to use the compass app, and it’s stone dead. Black screen. Won’t turn on at all. Grr. Guess I’m not calling for help either.
I land between the brothers, pretty sure Ben’s mouth has been hanging open the whole time I hovered. With one finger under his chin, I lift his jaw shut.
“You… saved us. But you’re a vampire.” He blinks.
“Not all are monsters. Some really are, but I’m way on the other side.”
“So, what do you want with us now?” asks Ben.
“Umm. Just trying to help Cody find you alive. What I want is to be as normal as possible.”
Cody puts an arm around me. “Relax, man. She’s cool. He’s only upset because he had a thing for you.”
“I know.”
Ben turns white.
“It didn’t take powers of mind reading.” I poke him in the stomach. “You were way obvious. And no, I don’t think you’re being immature for believing in vampires.”
“But you said they don’t exist.” Ben fidgets.
“I was trying to keep it a secret. It’s not easy to attempt being normal when I have idiots with stake-chucking crossbows showing up every month.”
“That really happened?” asks Cody.
“Yeah. Hurt like hell.” I rub my chest.
Cody whistles. “Did you kill them?”
“No. Just a light ass kicking and sent them on their way after making them forget vampires exist. And you two should really stop worrying about hunting us. I’m basically still a baby, and the weakest bloodline… and even I can pound the snot out of four guys at once. You’d have more luck beating up an Army tank with a baseball bat than taking on an older vampire.”
They exchange a glance.
“Okay,” says Cody. “Back to the ‘where are we’ issue. How do we get home?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the portal to open?” asks Ben.
“Oh, sure, and have that monster be there waiting for us?” Cody flails, gesturing at the portal.
Ben takes a couple steps, turning as he walks. He pulls his hair off his face, listens to the wind for a moment, then points. “I think we should go that way.”
“Based on?” I ask.
“Sometimes he gets feelings like Mom.” Cody looks at me. “Did you see anything when you went into the air?”
“Nothing promising. A big waterfall and an old castle.”
“C’mon.” Ben walks in the direction he seems to like. “There could be another portal somewhere.”
I shrug, but follow. “I love how you’re talking about portals and stuff like it’s real and normal.”
“Either portals are real, or there’s a giant forest beneath the caverns.” Cody punts a brown lump that resembles a walnut the size of a baseball.
“Fair point.”
“Crap, my phone’s dead,” says Ben.
“Mine too.” I groan.
“Watch is toast,” says Cody. “And the flashlight.”
“Great, so anything electronic died.” I squeeze my hands into fists. “Question is, did the portal do that or is it this place?”
“Does it matter?” asks Ben. “It’s not like we’re planning on moving here.”
“But where is ‘here?’” Cody picks a bit of moss from a tree on the way past it. “Are we still even on Earth?”
“Where else would we be?” I ask.
“Some other dimension,” says Ben. “Maybe another time period. Maybe another planet.”
I swallow a sense of rising panic. It’s rather difficult to disregard that swirly blue thing I saw around the door. “Another planet? Don’t get crazy. That’s a little far-fetched.”
“But alternate dimensions aren’t?” asks Ben with a hint of a laugh.
“There has to be more than one vampire,” I say. “There’s no way a Beast knows how to make portals like this.”
“Why, are they all dumb?” asks Cody. “Or are you just guessing because you think no dude that ripped could be smart?”
I roll my eyes. “No. It’s not because he’s huge. Everything I’ve heard about Beasts says they’re real close to being feral creatures.”
“Whatever that door was, it closed and trapped us here,” says Ben. “And I don’t feel like waiting around there for that monster to open it again and grab us.”
“Good point.” Cody nods.
We walk among the trees across flat ground that would be a welcome change from the hilly forests around the park, if not for us being trapped and lost who-knows-where. Our conversation drifts from where we wound up to what we’re looking for, to how long we have before our parents collectively freak out at our absence. When it turns into the ‘what’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done’ competition, the only thing I come up with is passing out drunk headfirst in Tiffany Hoffman’s hamper.
“Wow, really? That’s the craziest thing a vampire did?” asks Cody.
“Okay, how about literally ripping my ex-boyfriend’s head off and burning him to final death in a staged car accident?”
The boys stop walking and stare at me.
“What?” I ask. “He did murder me first.”
They blink.
“And he was already dead. A Scrap like those people back in the cavern.”
“Oh.” Cody nods like that makes it all okay, and resumes walking.
Ben shrugs and keeps going as well.
“What about you guys?” I ask. “What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done?”
“Two years ago, we suspected a guy who lived down the street from us was a vampire. We spent half the summer scoping his place out, trying to find proof,” says Cody.
“His yard was way overgrown and stuff. We kept getting ticks.” Ben shivers.
“So, late August, we figure the summer’s almost over and we haven’t found any proof.” Cody gestures like he’s grabbing an invisible box. “So we decide to step it up a notch.”
“A couple notches,” mutters Ben.
“Did you ever think you didn’t catch him being a vampire because he wasn’t a vampire?”
“I’m getting to that.” Cody chuckles. “So, we break into his house and, figuring a vampire would lair underground, head for the basement. Only we didn’t find coffins or anything.”
“Lots of old paintings and stuff,” says Ben. “The guy’s like an art thief or something. Or he works at a museum.”
“Holy crap. You really broke into a house?” I blink. “I guess you got away since you’re here and not like, in jail.”
“Yeah. We scared the shit out of the dude, but he didn’t see us. Fell down in a giant pile of junk and crap. Dust everywhere.” Co
dy grins. “Cops never showed up, so he didn’t see us.”
“Or he is an art thief and didn’t want the cops involved,” adds Ben.
“You two probably almost killed an innocent old man.”
“He wasn’t that old,” says Cody. “Like fifty something. And, what exactly are we looking for?”
I gaze around at the trees again… noting everything is pretty much the same. “I dunno. Some kind of landmark or a sign of civilization so we can figure out where we are.”
“What if we aren’t anywhere?” asks Ben.
“We have to be somewhere.”
Ben sighs. “No, I mean we might not be in our world anymore.”
“Could there be other portals?” asks Cody.
“Argh!” I grab two fistfuls of my hair. “There’s no such thing as magic portals to alternate worlds. Dammit! I just knew going on a vacation was a bad idea. Ever since I woke up as a vampire, nothing is ever simple anymore.”
Ben stops again, and whirls to face me. “You’re saying the supernatural doesn’t exist?”
I let my arms fall, my hair draped over my face. After a momentary stare of defeat, I huff at it, but clear only one eye. “Okay. Whatever.”
“My brother has a good sense about stuff like that.” Cody pats him on the shoulder. “Pretty sure he’s got the gift like Mom.”
“Yeah… yeah…” Ben looks around again, then resumes walking.
A few minutes later, a sudden twinge of alarm washes over me. I peer up at the sky, brightening to a clear blue directly ahead of us. “Oh, shit.”
“What?” The boys ask at the same time.
“The sun’s coming up.” I point.
Cody glances at the sky. “Wow. That can’t be right. It isn’t late enough. It should only be like one in the morning.”
“Maybe we’re in a different time zone now,” says Ben. “Or, you know, an alternate dimension that’s on its own separate time.”
I look around in a mild panic. “Shit. Shit. Shit. I’m gonna die. I gotta get out of the sun. It feels like it’s gonna be too strong for me.”
“We have a little time.” Cody points. “Maybe fifteen minutes.”
“Look!” I shout, flailing wildly at the trees. “It’s the same shit in every direction. We’re not going to make it anywhere before the stupid sun comes up.”
“Hey… Hey…” Ben runs over and grabs me.
I sink to my knees, on the verge of sobbing. God dammit. Try to help someone out, and now I’m gonna die for real. “You should get away from me before I go nuts. The sun makes me crazy… Just tell my family what happened, okay?”
“Sarah, don’t be a dumbass.” Cody pulls off his jacket and throws it over my head. “We got you.”
“Huh?” I peer up at him, too overcome by grief and panic to think straight.
“You said you can survive weak sunlight, right?” He grins, then pulls his jacket down over my face. “Just gotta cover up. Ben. Jacket. Come on.”
I curl up on the ground as the boys cocoon me in their coats. Something small and uncomfortable—probably a flask of holy water—presses into my cheek. Dread of imminent doom wells up deep inside my soul. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to sit still and not surrender to blind panic. Exploding into a hissing, growling, clawing wildcat wouldn’t do anyone any good right now.
Cody’s right. I’ll be okay. I’ll see my family again.
Did Dalton feel this scared when he wound up hiding in those sewer pipe sections? I do my best to shield my face and keep my skin covered. Snaps and splintering crunches come from nearby. The boys chatter back and forth but I’m too wound up in panic to comprehend what they say. It doesn’t get any easier on me when the oven starts. I feel like the meat inside a dumpling after it’s been dropped into a deep fryer. The jacket cocoon is at least preventing me from vaporizing, but holy shit is it hot.
“Gah!” I yell. “It’s burning.”
Arms scoop under me and drag me a short distance before setting me down on a hard branch. When it tilts back, I realize they must’ve made some kind of stretcher or drag sled. Amid the searing agony of bright daylight, I huddle in as tight a ball as I can manage. We’re moving, I can tell that much by the constant jostling around.
I’m aware only of twigs breaking beneath me, the vague murmuring conversation of the brothers somewhere above and behind me, and the vibration of being dragged across the forest floor.
Oh yeah, and pain. Lots of that. There’s smoke too. I really don’t like how I smell cooking.
Bit by bit, my panic ebbs. ‘Oh shit I’m gonna die’ gives way to ‘ow, ow, ow, ow.’
Heaviness spreads over my body, the grip of vampiric sleep fighting my reaction to sunlight. There’s nothing I can do at this point but trust a pair of wannabe vampire hunters. If I’m going to foom, I don’t want to be awake for it.
I try to think about feeling safe between my partial tolerance for sunlight, the jackets covering me, and my hope that these two won’t actually try to destroy me. Of course they won’t, right? If they wanted to, they wouldn’t have wrapped me up in their jackets. They’d have run when I told them to and left me to burn to death.
Yeah. They’re going to help me.
My eyes grow heavy…
…and I lose consciousness.
17
Lost Expedition
With a gasp, I lurch upright and find myself sitting on a patch of damp mulch inside a small one-room hut. Flaps of ancient burlap hang over two small windows, the glow of sunlight under them obvious. Despite the covering, the room’s got enough color that I imagine the boys can see fairly well.
Walls of dark brown wood mottled with white spots reek of wetness and mildew. The seat of my jeans has soaked damp; however, cold, wet butt beats burning so I’ll deal. Pretty sure the lingering aroma of medium rare steak is coming from me. The smashed ruin of a table, two chairs, and a shelf lean against the wall to my right, the only furniture in here. Ben sits in a ball at the opposite corner from where I am, staring at me. His expression is a weird mixture of freaked out and sad. Cody’s flopped on the floor by the wrecked table, half asleep.
“Whoa,” I mutter, examining my intact hands. “I’m not charcoal. You okay, Ben?”
“Don’t mind him,” says Cody. “He’s over his crush.”
I glance at him. “Huh?”
“You, umm… look a bit different when you’re sleeping.”
“Oh.” I cringe. “Sorry. Hope I wasn’t too gruesome.”
Cody sits up. “Nah, you don’t look like a mummy or anything. Just obviously dead. Even paler than you are normally, with blue lips… and cold.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Cold?”
“He, umm, might’ve tried to kiss you.”
“On the cheek,” mutters Ben, turning scarlet. “You know, just like an ‘I’m glad you’re okay’ kiss.”
Considering how unnerved he looks, I drop it. An innocent peck on the cheek is hardly taking advantage of an unconscious girl. “Thanks for dragging me out of the sun. You saved my ass.” I brush at my sweatshirt sleeves, making the smell of grilled hamburger stronger. “Ugh.”
“No problem.” Cody leans over and fist-bumps me. “You saved Ben. And I guess me, too.”
“Any clue where we are?” I ask.
“Nope. We walked for a couple hours until we found this little cabin. Haven’t seen another person or anything else bigger than a rabbit.” Cody yawns. “I’m so messed up, I have no idea what time it really is.”
I check my phone, but it’s still dead. “No luck on calling for help.”
“Everything electronic is useless.”
“Maybe electrons work differently in this dimension, so our devices can’t work?” asks Ben.
“Do you have to keep calling it another dimension?” I ask, head in my hands.
Ben shrugs. “If you have a better name for it, I’m all ears.”
“Umm. Maybe it took us to Europe or wherever that guy is originally from, and
whatever energy powered the gateway blew out our devices.”
Cody scratches his head. “Maybe. That could also explain the sun coming up so fast.”
“Well, that answers that question,” I mumble.
“What question?” ask the brothers simultaneously.
I explain my earlier mental debate about a vampire’s sleep cycle being tied to chronological time or the actual sun. Since I either jumped across the globe to a different time zone or wound up in another universe, and became sleepy when the sun came up—it’s tied to the sun.
“So, theoretically, if a vampire hopped on a plane and kept flying west to stay in the dark, they might not need to sleep,” I say.
“That’s kinda dumb.” Ben’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. “Uhh, I didn’t mean your theory. I mean why would they do that? Stay awake constantly but be trapped in a plane?”
Cody laughs. “Might be a way to actually finish Mr. Santos’ homework in one night.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Ben shivers in dread.
“Freshman biology teacher,” says Cody. “I had him last year. Ben’s got him this year coming up.”
“I had bio freshman year, too. Teacher was such a basket case. He was so weird the school wouldn’t let him in the lab, so we never did any lab work at all.”
“Wow.” Cody blinks. “Sounds hilarious.”
“The guy hit a deer on the way to school one morning. He threw it in the back of his pickup and came in anyway. Said he was going to clean it and make steaks out of it when he went home.”
They both cringe.
“I think we should probably go back and hope that portal opens again,” mutters Ben.
“What about that giant Beast dude?” asks Cody.
“He could’ve come through the door after us, but didn’t.” Ben flicks at his shoulder-length hair. “Maybe he can’t. We can go back to the spot we came in. If the portal’s open, we peek through and see if he’s there, then try to sneak out into the caverns.”
“Why would a vampire have a portal in his bedroom that he can’t go through? That doesn’t make any sense.” I rub both hands up and down my face, massaging my sinuses. Ugh. I’m going to be smelling smoke for days. “But… Beasts can’t fly. At least, as far as I know. I could peek in and check things out. If he’s dangerous, I should be able to get away.”
The Last Family Road Trip Page 13