Fledgling

by Tabatha Palomo

Chapter Three

  Austin stumbled into a wall, sucking in a deep breath. She winced, closing her eyes as she willed the dizziness away. Something was up with her today, or maybe it was something in the air. God knows what parasites float around in New York, "Dustin?"

  "What's up?" he walked out of her kitchen with a cup in his hand, "Hey, are you okay?"

  "Fine," she shook her head to clear it, "I'm fine. Are we going now?"

  "Yeah," he was good at pretending not to notice that she looked sick, "Can we stop by this one place first, though."

  "Where is it?" Austin asked. She didn't want to pry (actually, yeah. She did) but if he was taking her somewhere, she needed to know where it was.

  "It's a jewelry shop," he mumbled, obviously not wanting to talk about it, "I wanted to drop by and say hi to the owner."

  Austin nodded, "Seems fair enough."

  "It'll only take a second," he told her quickly, "There’s a bakery down there. If you wanted, we could meet up there when I was done?”

  "What kind of car do you drive?" she asked.

  He smirked at her, "It's not a car."

  Just a few minutes later, the two were speeding through the downtown. Her arms were locked around Dustin's waist tightly in something almost like fear. The helmet clamping down on her head gave her only a little reassurance that she wasn't going to die.

  "Faster," she laughed. She'd never been on a motorcycle before. In the rare moments that she forgot to be scared, Austin found herself enjoying the ride.

  "Some other time. This is the place," Dustin said as he slowed to a stop, and parked his bike in front of a bakery, "I'll be right across the street."

  "Won't there be food at the party?" Austin asked, hopping off the bike. She handed the helmet back to him and immediately missed its weight.

  "Probably," he shrugged and jogged across the street. He gave her a small wave before disappearing inside the doors of a small store.

  Austin, not wanting to stand and wait by the bike, walked into the bakery. The warm smells of baking bread and cake surrounded her, and she smiled. The cafe was near empty, with the only inhabitants being a waitress who looked younger than her and a twenty-something year old man typing furiously at his laptop. Austin looked at the brightly lit shelves, and her eyes were immediately drawn to an icing covered dessert.

  She waited awkwardly at the counter for the girl to notice her, not wanting to bother her.

  "Oh, sorry," the girl said as she rushed to the register, "What would you like?"

  "Could I have, um, one of those cupcakes?" Austin pointed at the neatly arranged array of cupcakes.

  "Which color?" the girl whose name tag read AMELIA asked, her happiness clear on her face, "I baked the ones with white icing. My aunt usually doesn't let me sell the ones I make, but she's not here today."

  It was a healthy dose of rebellion, and Austin decided that she wanted to support it. Besides, the ones with white tops did look more appealing than the rest, "I'll have one of yours, then."

  "Really?" Amelia beamed, but didn't give Austin a chance to reconsider. She took out a paper plate, laid a napkin on it, and set the perfectly iced cupcake in the middle, "That'll be $3.97, thank you."

  Austin took the plate and gingerly picked up the cupcake, careful not to get icing all over her fingers. Amelia was watching her expectantly, so she took an experimental bite.

  "Oh," Austin's eyes widened as the rest of her melted, "Oh, wow."

  "Good?" Amelia asked, clasping her hands together. The cupcakes were better than good, much better. They were spiced and sweet, smooth as silk, and just tasted like fall. Austin nodded quickly.

  "They're fantastic," she said, taking another bite, "Pumpkin pie cupcakes, right?"

  Amelia's smile widened (if that was even possible) at Austin's words, "Yes, I didn't know if anyone would be able to tell. You're the only person to ever try one of my cupcakes. Other than my aunt."

  "I'll be back again," Austin promised her, eyeing the tray full of the small desserts with hungry eyes, "You should really convince your aunt to let you sell these."

  "I'll try," she bit her lip, "What's your name, again? You seem familiar."

  "My name's Austin," she introduced herself, "But I don't think we know each other."

  "Isn't that a boy's name?" Amelia asked, losing almost all the credibility that she had built up in Austin's mind, and then earned some of it back, "Oh, you must get that a lot. Sorry."

  "It's okay," Austin nodded, turning towards the door once she heard it open. Dustin stood at the doorframe with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face, and she could almost feel Amelia's bewildered stare burning holes in her head.

  "Is he a friend of yours?" the girl whispered. Austin swallowed the last bit of the amazing cupcake.

  "I suppose so," she laughed, going to meet the boy in question, "This place has amazing cupcakes."

  "I don't doubt it," Dustin nodded, looking around the near abandoned cafe, "Are you ready for your first party?"

  "No," she walked out the door. When he didn't immediately follow, she looked back with an eyebrow raised, "Aren't you coming?"

  She wasn't sure that she'd ever be ready. Parties and people seemed so terrifying and the thought of them made her feel a little sick. Oh well. At least it wasn’t going to be boring.

  After another frightening speed through the city, the two of them were standing at the doorstep of a gigantic, well-lit house. Dustin held open the door and nearly pushed her inside.

  It wasn't actually that bad. A few people looked at them and said hello, but no one gave them a lot of attention until they had made their way towards the kitchen. Austin guessed that most people were either in the living room or the backyard, since the this area was empty for all but two other people.

  "Dustin, I'm glad you could make it," Kai Davis said coolly with his arms crossed, the exact opposite of the welcoming host that Austin had been expecting. He had a reputation for being friendly among most people, but now he was acting just like he looked. Cold.

  With fine, short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, he resembled a block of ice more than a high school student. He gave Austin a slightly warmer smile, "You too, Austin."

  She was surprised that he knew her name. He was friendly, but he wasn't that friendly. "Austin, I think you should leave us for a second. I have some things to talk about with them," Dustin tugged on her arm, trying to lead her out of the room. Austin didn't budge. Something was wrong with this picture.

  "Neither of you are going anywhere."

  Austin hadn't recognized Chelsea leaning against the counter. Her hair fell around her thin face in waves, and a grin was again stretched out across her face.

  "You're going to wait here until Aiden comes," she continued, stepping towards the boy with black hair, "And then we'll all be going home."

  "I'd rather not, actually. There’s kind of a reason why I waited until he left," Dustin grinned, but his face was noticeably pale, "Austin, let’s go now. I know this cool place downtown. Lot’s of cool doors and w-”

  Chelsea took another step until she was in hugging distance of Dustin, but she obviously wasn't in the mood for hugs. Austin was confused. Why was everyone acting so weird?

  Click.

  The sound of the safety being taken off a gun echoed around the room, but was quieter than Austin had imagined it would be.

  "What the hell?" Austin choked out, staring at the lethal weapon that Chelsea was pressing into Dustin's stomach. She was dreaming. She had to be. That or they were all playing some big joke on her, "This isn't funny."

  "Austin, shush," Dustin reprimanded her, then spoke to Chelsea "Oh, Chels, you have no idea who you're messing with."

  She should be scared. Chelsea was having some sort of psychotic break, and there was no doubt in Austin’s mind that the gun was real.

  “I know exactly who you are,” Chelsea glared at him.

  "Anyone could just walk in here and see us," Dustin sighed, stuffing
his hands in his pockets. He seemed oddly calm, and that somehow kept Austin calm too.

  Well, as calm as anyone could be in this situation.

  "Chelsea-" Austin started, her voice laced with worry.

  "We’ve made sure that no one will come into this room as long as we're in it," Chelsea laughed, "Stop thinking like such a human.”

  They were so close, staring each other in the eyes with a kind of familiarity that came from way more than just a day of knowing each other.

  "Really?" Dustin's grin slipped off his face, not liking that bit of information. With a sigh, he jerked his head to the side and made a quick movement with his arm. Chelsea made a noise that sounded like she was choking, and that was it.

  Austin froze as she watched the blonde girl pitch forward into Dustin's chest. Chelsea sucked in a ragged breath and when Dustin took a step back, no longer supporting her, she fell to her knees. The gun clattered to the ground, and Dustin kicked it away.

  "What?” Chelsea was nothing but confused, staring forwards. Her voice cracked, “What did you-“

  It was only then that Austin noticed the pointed knife in Dustin's hand, dripping dark red liquid onto the otherwise spotless floor. It was blood, a small voice supplied in the back of her mind.

  Chelsea's blood.

  "Oh my god," Austin gagged, dropping to her knees. She crawled forwards, placing a shaking hand over the girl's arm. Her other hand sought the source of the blood. She raked a gently hand over Chelsea's stomach and when she inspected her palm, she saw that it was covered with red, "You killed her."

  "I'm not dead," Chelsea's body was steady under Austin's touch, but her voice hitched as she talked, "I'm not going to die."

  "Of course not," Kai spoke, his tone too soft and sweet to have been anything but a lie, "Dustin, you crossed the line."

  "Maybe,” Dustin smiled widely and twirled his knife around in his hand. He was insane. He was crazy. He...he was… “Or maybe she had it coming.”

  Chelsea exhaled, and then she was suddenly very still under Austin's hand. The dead girl's face was stared emptily to where Dustin was still standing.

  "You killed her," Austin said again. She rose to her feet and faced the murderer. He had killed a person. He killed Chelsea. When she spoke, her voice was a deadly sort of quiet, "Why?"

  "I’ll explain later, okay?” Dustin paused, sliding the knife away, “C’mon, Austin. Let’s go.”

  "Austin, get behind me," Kai was saying. Austin was suddenly aware that he had been speaking to her this entire time. She didn't listen to him.

  "You sick-" Austin lunged towards Dustin. She didn't know how she would do it, but she wanted Dustin gone.

  If this was what happened when she tried to make new friends, she wouldn't be repeating the experience.

  Dustin sidestepped and she tripped over Chelsea's body. She fell down, landing on her shoulder at an awkward angle. She hissed in pain, but started to stand up again.

  A warm hand on her uninjured shoulder stopped her.

  "Let me take care of this," Aiden whisperedin her ear.