by Unknown
“Wait here,” I say to Aaron as he props his body against the doorframe. He’s unsteady from loss of blood. I hope he can make it out of here.
“Sadie—” he starts, but I leave to check the next room before he can finish.
The concrete under my naked feet is cold and hard. I peer around the half-open door of the adjacent room only to find a boy lying on the ground in a pool of shimmering crimson blood. It’s Vinny. His eyes are staring blankly at me. My stomach churns at the sight.
“What is it?” Aaron yells as I stand frozen in the doorway, gripping my stomach as I try to prevent the contents from coming up.
“It’s—” I peer back into the room.
There are no vampire remains, no ashes in the blood. The vampire that came into this room is still alive.
“Help me!” A piercing scream comes from the next room. It’s Lakia’s. My throat tightens up as if the scream came from me.
A gun goes off. I duck for cover. There are no more cries from Lakia.
I spring to my feet. Before I can reach their door, Lakia and Ryder sprint down the main road in a blur, then pivot towards the woods. Lakia glances over at me as she runs. Terror is evident on her face. “Run,” she screams at me as she races towards the woods. “Run!”
Why did they not keep going down the main road?
The streetlight illuminates something blue on the road. It’s a dress, the one Brittney had been wearing. Something is leaning over her body, feeding. I don't think twice and sprint back to Aaron. “Run,” I yell as I sprint to him, pounding the pavement with my feet.
Aaron and I sprint to catch up to Ryder and Lakia. I look over my shoulder to see the old motel receptionist in Lakia’s doorway.
He’s standing there proudly with his worn pants and old, yellow-stained shirt, a shotgun over his shoulder and a toothless smile on his face. He’s…happy. The streetlight shines down on his hairless head, creating a halo, as if he is our guardian angel. A little laugh escapes my lips. The creepy man ended up being our guardian angel. What an irony.
I turn away, ready to keep running to the woods, when something catches my eye. The shadow of death appears behind the motel worker. It's another vampire.
I want to scream to him, but that would give away our hiding spot in the woods. The motel worker is dragged back into the motel room, his legs thrashing. I gasp in horror.
Move, Sadie. I know I cannot do anything for the motel worker. It’s too late for him.
Chapter Seven
I head up the muddy slope, grabbing hold of branches as support, trying to remain quiet.
Each time I place my naked foot on the muddy ground, it feels like I’m walking on a bed of nails.
“Sadie,” Aaron whispers in the dark.
I run towards him, wrapping my arms around him. He pulls me close to him. My muscles relax a little from his embrace.
Heavy breaths fill the night. Lakia and Ryder are here.
It's hard to see them in the darkness, with trees towering around them and only the moon for light. I can make them out from the whites of their fearful, bulging eyes. It's easy to tell which one is Lakia. She's shorter than the boys and tears glaze her eyes, making them shine under the moonlit sky. There is a musky smell from the damp leaves beneath my feet, which slide around with every movement I make.
As soon as I reach Lakia, we grip each other tightly as if we didn't think we would ever see each other again.
“Brittney. Tell me that wasn’t Brittney,” she blubbers. “Tell me it wasn’t her.” Lakia looks around the group, willing us to lie to her. She buries her head against my shoulder, her body shaking as she sobs for Brittney.
“And Vinny?” Aaron asks.
I shake my head. I cannot bear to tell them what I just saw.
Lakia sobs louder. My heart aches at the thought of not seeing them again.
“The others?” Aaron asks us.
“Didn’t see any others. Did you?” I ask.
“No. Sadie, I’m sorry we didn't believe you,” Lakia stutters as she speaks.
Lakia’s teeth chatter.
“I told you I didn't drug her,” Ryder says bitterly.
“This is really not the time,” I say. Jerk.
“What the hell were they?” Lakia asks.
I look around at our group, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. Everyone is silent. We all know what they were, but none of us want to say it out loud. This nightmare has just started.
“Vampires. They were frigging vampires,” I say bluntly as I let go of Lakia’s grip. Even with more clothes on—sweatpants and one of Ryder’s old school t-shirts—she’s shaking more vigorously than I am.
“Vampires?” Ryder laughs.
“It’s not frigging funny. One tried to drain me alive,” Aaron says.
“Vampires aren’t real,” Lakia mutters.
“Call them whatever you want, but there is a group of crazy people down there,” Aaron says.
“We have to get home. We need to head that way.” I point north, through the woods. In the distance, the streetlights from the main road gleam. “We can hide in the woods,” I add.
I unzip my bag and put on some shorts and my sneakers. My feet tingle with the comfort of the sneakers. They feel like a bed of feathers compared to the branches I’ve been running on.
I pull out my school sweatshirt and pass it over to Lakia. She needs it more than I do. “Thank you,” she mumbles as she puts it on.
“Come on,” I say, leaving my bag on the ground. Aaron is dressed in shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers. He, too, leaves his bag.
“Stay quiet. There may be some in the woods,” I say calmly, surprising myself.
A whimper of fear escapes Lakia’s lips. My strong, confident friend is turning into a blubbering wretch. Maybe that’s why she wears all the makeup—a kind of war paint to face the day.
In the darkness of night, every noise is louder—each snap of a branch under my feet sounds as if it's screaming out in pain to alert the vampires. My feet are cut up from climbing up the slope; each time the sole of my sneaker connects with the ground, I feel shooting pains from the splinters embedded on my skin.
Ryder curses and jumps every few minutes. Lakia yelps out in pain. Their feet must be ripped to shreds.
“Hush,” I whisper loudly, holding a finger to my lips. The group stops.
“What did you hear?” Aaron asks as he stands frozen next to me.
I turn to glare at him, even though I know he can’t see me that clearly. “Hush.” There’s a rustling noise behind us blocking everything else out.
The silhouettes of the trees merge to create skinny people leaning together, pointing out our locations.
My heart races like it's going to explode. I can feel someone—something—out there. I breathe in deeply. I can smell death. We are being followed. The woods crunch. Someone is running through them, and it’s getting louder; whatever it is will be here any second.
“Grab anything you can to protect yourselves,” I say to Ryder and Lakia. Aaron and I still have our stakes. I will not let go of mine; my life depends on it.
“W-What?” Lakia stutters.
“See if there is anything on the ground,” I say as I search for a good branch or anything Ryder and Lakia can use to defend themselves.
“I'm getting out of here,” Lakia says.
I grab hold of Lakia’s arm. “You can’t run out there defenseless. You need a weapon if they catch you.”
Lakia tries to pull her arm away from me. “Get off me. You’re hurting me.”
“Sadie, get off her,” Ryder orders. I release my grip on Lakia when he pulls on my hand.
“Don’t touch her,” Aaron says as he pulls Ryder’s hand off mine.
“Who are you to tell me what to do?” Ryder asks, puffing his chest out.
“Don’t do this,” I tell Lakia. “Get something—anything—to protect yourself with.”
Lakia shakes her head. “Come on, Ryder,” she says, pulling Ry
der away from Aaron. “We’ve got to go,” she pleads. “I can’t just stay here.”
“I’ll see you later,” Ryder says. With that, they both take off into the woods.
Chapter Eight
“Don't leave my side,” I say to Aaron as we run next to each other. Lakia and Ryder have disappearing into the darkness.
“I wasn’t planning to,” Aaron says, almost baffled because the idea had even crossed my mind.
We run in the same direction as the others. I can see light breaking through the trees. We’re approaching the main road. Branches crack louder as the stalker gets closer. Too close.
I sprint as fast as my body can take me, but it still doesn't feel fast enough. My lungs burn.
Aaron is no longer running beside me; he’s behind me. The star football player can’t keep up with me. There is a whistle in Aaron’s heavy breathing, like something is broken inside of him. I hope he hasn’t broken a rib.
“Aaron, are you okay?” I ask as I slow down to run beside him.
“I will be when we get home.” He smiles reassuringly.
“I hope Lakia’s got out of here safely,” I say.
“Yeah—and Ryder,” Aaron adds.
The bitter, acidic smell of death drifts up my nose, as if the vampires are right behind us. We can’t run anymore. It’s pointless. I grip the side of Aaron’s shirt, bringing him to a halt.
“We need to hide. It’s almost here,” I whisper in his ear.
His eyes widen. “We’re nearly at the road.”
“It will get us before we make it.” For some reason, I know it will. We have to hide and fight.
With my fist still grasping Aaron's t-shirt, I pull him with me towards a large tree trunk. He stumbles, then regains his footing.
I place my finger to his lips. I can feel the warmth of his breath on my finger, and it comforts me. I’m glad he's with me.
We stand next to each other behind the tree trunk, hoping that the tree is keeping us hidden. The darkness can do the rest. I hold my breath, praying that my own body doesn’t give me away.
Aaron wraps his arm around me, pulling me in. He smells of sweat and dirt, a pleasant change from the rotting smell the vampires give off. His hot breath brushes my cheek; he needs to slow it down, or we’ll be caught for sure.
As the soft night breeze flows through the woods, pulling my hair with it, the smell of death drifts back towards us.
He or she is here—the vampire is here for its next prey. It cannot be us.
I hold my breath. In the darkness, it feels like Aaron does the same. I can feel my body trembling, and Aaron’s as well.
Something starts sniffing a few trees over from us. “I know you’re here,” a young woman’s voice says in an almost seductive way.
A heavy inhalation is followed by a gagging noise, as if she’s smelling trash. “I can smell you,” she says eagerly.
I push my body up against Aaron. All I can hear is his heart racing, like a drum beating to the music of our own nightmare. How come I can hear his heart?
Then everything falls silent. As if she's gone. But it feels like she's still here. Every second we wait is a lifetime of dread.
My mouth is dry; all the saliva dried up when I was panting as I ran.
I can hear branches being trampled in the distance, away from us. Maybe the smell is what she left behind, a trail of death…
We wait in silence. Is she gone? The need to know takes over my body, and I look around the tree gingerly.
“Argh!” I scream as a hand yanks at my hair with such force that it feels as if my hair is being ripped from my scalp, one strand at a time. The pain ripples down to the very core of my skull.
She snatches me from Aaron’s arms. “Get off her,” Aaron yells as he runs towards me.
It’s too late.
She lifts my body up off the ground with all her inhuman force and then tosses me up in the air like a shark playing with its food before the kill.
I slam up against a tree. It feels like I’ve been hit by a car. I try to scream out in pain, but no sound comes out. My ribs are crushed up against the trunk. The pain is unbearable. As I tumble down the tree, my body crashes against every branch and then to the ground with a thud.
Chapter Nine
Bright stars shine in the pitch-black sky above me.
My head buzzes with pain. With all my remaining energy, I turn my head towards where I was just standing. Help me, Aaron. Stars form in front of my eyes. Sadie, stay awake, or you will die. The pain goes away when I close them. My eyelids are so heavy, as if someone is pushing them down…forcing me into the peace of darkness.
Aaron is darting around, fighting with the vampire. She resembles a girl, someone I would go to school with—jeans, a top, and sneakers clad her petite body. Her brown, almost black hair whips around as her image becomes a blur. She’s quicker than any human. I feel dizzy just watching her.
Sharp pain rips through my ribs with each breath. I am alive. Fight.
I push my hand down into the damp grass; the blades tickle my fingers. Grabbing hold of the tree, I pull myself up to view the horrific sight of the vampire punching Aaron in the jaw. His jaw swings sideways and blood flies out as his body drops to the ground with a thud that echoes around the woods.
The vampire stalks towards Aaron's body as an animal would its prey. I open my mouth to scream at her to stop, but before the words can come out, a man appears. Leaves flutter and settle back down on the ground as if the wind brought him here.
I squeeze my eyes shut and reopen them. It wasn't my mind playing tricks on me. There is another person by her side—a man with huge, broad shoulders. He's twice the size of the female vampire. He's also wearing normal clothes—fitted jeans and a t-shirt. I'm not sure why that surprises me, but it does.
How are we supposed to know they are vampires if their appearance is the same as ours?
I can feel the bile wanting to come out of my mouth. I force it back down—now is not the time to be sick.
“Leave,” the male vampire says.
The two vampires start to talk; they sound as if they’re bickering. I try to listen, but it’s like I'm in a tunnel of buzzing lights. I can hear the girl referring to him as “Blake,” and he calls her “Heidi.” They know each other.
I try to gather the last bit of energy in my body, using the tree as support. The girl called Heidi spins in her heels and stares at me, pure anger on her face. Her lips are curled back to reveal sharp fangs. She takes a step towards me. I don't flinch. I don't move. I stand my ground, letting go of the tree. I will not allow myself to be weak.
Her eyes trail down to my hand. I look in that direction. I hadn't let go of the stake through the assault. I wrap my hand tighter around my lifeline. My fingers are numb from holding on to it for so long.
Blake is now also staring at me. His brown eyes show recognition, yet I’ve never seen him before. His dark eyebrows are slanted, almost forming a V. The little hint that points towards what he is not lost on me.
The ground crunches beneath Heidi as she takes another step towards me without breaking her piercing stare. Blake takes hold of her arm before she can put down another foot. Behind us, I can hear the woods being unsettled once again. This time, it’s from Aaron rising to his feet, his stake firmly in his hand. Don't do anything stupid, I pray.
Heidi’s eyes narrow, and her head spins towards Aaron. If looks could kill, he would have been dead by now for sure.
“Leave now,” Blake says in a deep, firm tone that makes my bones vibrate.
“Are you crazy? They’re hunters.” Spit flies out of Heidi’s mouth as she scowls at Blake, as if she’s eaten something bitter. Hunters? “And her, she—”
Blake immediately cuts her off. “Leave,” he says again, gritting his teeth so his white fangs stick over the edge of his lips. His hand tightens around Heidi’s arm. Her face screws up as she tries to pull her body away from him. Blake doesn’t react. His eyes are locked on mine.
“Sadie, run. Don't look back,” Blake says under his breath. How does he know my name?
I start to ask. Before I can speak again, he does. “I will release her,” he says with a sense of urgency. My body feels as if it’s being pushed down by a blanket of fear. Are there more vampires out here?
I squint and scan the woods for a moving shadow in the blackness of night, but I can’t see anyone—just the shadows of trees. I take a deep breath in. The musty smell of blood is all around me.
The vampires don't even glance at Aaron, like they don't care about him. Only me.
Heidi snarls at me, flashing her snow-white fangs. Then a smile appears on her face as she raises one of her eyebrows mischievously. “You know Remus is hunting her down.”
“I will deal with Remus.”
“Get off me,” she says as she tries to get away from Blake.
I take one last look at Blake. His nostrils are flared, his teeth clenched, as if he’s concerned about whoever Remus is. In the pit of my stomach, I know I should be concerned also. Blake nods his head towards the woods behind me. It’s time for me to get the hell out of here.
With Aaron by my side, I take off running. I can hear Heidi’s high-pitched, annoying voice as she curses at Blake for letting us go.
I do as Blake said: I don't look back, only forward. There is nothing for me to go back for.
Chapter Ten
The sharp sound of a gun going off rattles through the woods, followed by a whimpering cry.
I jump off the ground in shock.
The urge to look over my shoulder is unbearable. As I glance back, my eyes connect with Aaron’s warm ones, which are a stark contrast to the soulless eyes of the vampires. The space between us feels too great, and my need for Aaron is strong. As if gravity is pulling us closer together, our hands wrap around one another’s. With the feeling of togetherness giving us strength, we both turn to where the gunshot came from. I can make out the silhouette of Blake standing in front of Heidi, with a gun pointing towards her.