Staked!

by Candace Wondrak

  “What was what about?”

  She pointed in the direction her friend disappeared to. “That. What was with you today? You acted...”

  I cut in, irritated, “I acted like what?”

  “Like you suspect Kass is the reason John’s gone,” her quiet voice stated simply.

  “And if I do?”

  “If you do, I’d reevaluate your thought process. If she were the reason, she’d be dead—and you know that,” Alyssa said as she shook her head.

  My jaw tightened, and I ran my tongue over my teeth, thinking. “She definitely knows something, though,” I conceded. “She knows something about why he’d gone. I knew it the moment she walked into the office.”

  Alyssa’s eyebrows lifted. “The office? What office are you talking about, Kirk?”

  I closed my eyes briefly, hating that I’d let it slip. “I may have sent the principal out for donuts and called her down.”

  “For what? An interrogation?” She threw her hands up in the air, aghast at my actions. “She probably thinks we’re crazy.”

  “She doesn’t know the truth, and that’s all that matters.”

  “No, she doesn’t know the truth,” she agreed. “Yet. With everything that’s going on, do you really think we can hide it forever? If John—”

  “If it comes to it, I’ll take care of him,” I told her seriously. “But Kass, she knows something about it. I feel it.”

  “But you didn’t get anything out of her, did you?” Alyssa guessed the truth. “Do you know why that is?” She waited one moment for my response, but when none came, she added, “Whether she knows it or not, she’s not human. She might be strong enough to resist the glamour. What you did was stupid, Kirk. Ridiculously stupid.”

  I held onto the shovel harder, stunned. “So you knew all along? Do you know what she is?”

  Alyssa sighed. “What she is…even if I did know, right now it’s none of our concern. We have to focus on finding John before it’s too late. Can we at least agree on that?” Her expectant gaze all but forced me to nod.

  Satisfied, she returned to the house, leaving me alone in the yard. Cursing myself, cursing her friend, even cursing John, I started to continue digging out the flower beds when I noticed that a deep crack had traveled along the wood in the shovel.

  I’d held onto it so tightly that I’d broken it and didn’t even realize it.

  Throwing it down, I swore out loud. Back to the hardware store, for shovel number two.

  Chapter Six – Kass

  I dropped my books at the foot of the stairs, paying no attention to Michael, who was busy throwing a fit about how he thought I was dead since I didn’t tell him that I’d be going to Alyssa’s house after school today. Yeah. Right. I wasn’t going to die that easily.

  Running up the stairs, I tried taking two at a time. I just wanted to get in my room and slam the door, to drown out Michael. Why did he try to act like a parent? He wasn’t my father no matter how hard he tried.

  Because I didn’t have a father.

  “Dude, Raphael’s pissed at you. Not that he’s not normally, but after the stunt you did today, expect a very bad training session tomorrow,” Gabriel said as he followed me into my room.

  What he said didn’t surprise me one bit. Raphael and I had never gotten along, so why should the fact that I was still dealing with my heavy heart over killing John change anything?

  I didn’t respond. All I did was plop on my bed, face down, hoping Gabriel would get the hint and go.

  “Kass.” Gabriel sat next to me. Well, so much for my theory of Gabriel getting the hint, understanding it, and then leaving. “What’s wrong?”

  “Wrong?” I echoed. “What do you think is wrong, Gabriel? Could it be that I’m upset that I, uh, oh…I don’t know, killed John? Or could it be that I’m upset about killing my only friend’s brother? Could it possibly be that her other, older brother somehow knows who I am, found me in school today, called me down to the principal’s office, and questioned me?” I leaned on my arms and frowned at him. “You don’t think something’s wrong because of all that, do you?”

  “Whoa. Simmer down there.” Gabriel positioned himself closer to me, angling himself better. “And wait a second. Explain all this again. Try to do it in more than two breaths, because it was hard to understand any of what you just said.”

  “Ugh.” I jumped up and picked up a brush off my dresser. My hair was very messy, and I figured that if I acted interested in brushing it, Gabriel would get the second hint. But since he didn’t get the first one, I didn’t see why he would get this one. “Gabriel, just—” I stopped myself when I noticed that when I glanced in the mirror something wasn’t right.

  Something was here that shouldn’t be. Something was off, different. But what was it?

  That’s when I heard the wind rush through my windows. My open windows. The wind rippled through the dark red curtains, creating a scene and making my eyes study that region in the mirror.

  “Gabriel,” I changed my pitch immediately, so that I sounded like a Purifier on high alert. At this point, I was always on high alert.

  “What?” In a second he was next to me, staring down at my hairbrush like he thought it was the culprit.

  Yeah, like I’d get paranoid by a teeny-weeny brush that had a few pieces of hair in it. Though, if that said brush was possessed by an ancient Demon with unimaginable power and those pieces of hair started to choke me, it’d be a different story.

  But that wasn’t the case.

  I flipped around and pointed to my windowsill. “What is that?” My voice was low, giving Gabriel the telltale sign that he had to go over, on the other side of the room, and see what it was.

  “I don’t know.” Gabriel was silent as he walked over and picked the plastic square up. “Wow. I’ve never seen anything like this…”

  “What is it?” I asked again, noticing how he was studying it and not moving.

  “It...it’s…” He spun around, holding a DVD, one that I haven’t seen in a very long time. “It’s a crappy movie!” His tone had turned into a very sarcastic and very mocking one. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.” Gabriel handed it to me after he returned to my side.

  But when I saw the title of the movie, it slipped right out of my hands and fell to the floor with a thud that rang throughout my ears for at least a minute.

  Edward Scissorhands.

  “Gabriel, no. I don’t think this is a good idea. I think you should go back to bed,” I whined as Gabriel shook his head. It was ten at night and he had just now come up with the idea to watch the movie that had, just a few hours ago, appeared on my window.

  “Nope.” Gabriel fixed his baggy shirt. “It’s too late. I already put it in. And I want to see what’s so special about this movie anyway. You’ve always gone on and on about how awesome it is, and frankly, I don’t believe you and need to judge it for myself.” He threw himself on my bed, creating a ripple that made my stomach even more upset than it already was.

  I wanted to throw up.

  Gabriel and I had opened it and examined it, seeing if it was really a DVD. And it was. But still…something wasn’t right. I knew that movie wasn’t mine. I never owned it, and only saw it once.

  I was almost one hundred percent sure that it was left there for a reason. The last time I left my room, my windows were shut and locked. I made sure of that. Someone, or something must have gotten in and left the DVD.

  How? I had no clue.

  Why? I didn’t know.

  I had no idea what any of this meant. All I knew was that I didn’t feel as safe as I should in my bedroom and I was beyond nauseous.

  “Seems like a girly movie to me.”

  I watched as Gabriel made himself at home on my mattress. It was like we were two friends having a sleepover.

  “What?” He realized I was staring at him. “Is there something wrong with my hair?”

  In spite of everything, I laughed.

  Nothing was wrong with any
part of him, and that was the problem. He was like, like…if I said it, I might regret it later.

  Gabriel was perfect, and sometimes I felt like he was my personal guardian angel, and I knew that was outrageous because guardian angels weren’t real, no matter how hard some people wished. Purifiers were the closest things to guardian angels.

  I leaned my head back on my pillow, letting an explosive sigh free from my lungs. “Nothing’s wrong with your hair, Gabriel.” He started to say something else, so I continued, “Nothing’s wrong with your teeth. Or your face. Or your shirt. Or your…” I trailed off, not knowing where I was taking this.

  “Or my…” He tried helping me, giving me a knowing gaze. Only I wasn’t going to keep going, because I didn’t know what to say. “My ruggedly handsome looks? My perfectly chiseled body? My huge ego that is both annoying and loveable? My—”

  “Stop before I make something wrong,” I whispered out while I resumed my relaxation. This pillow was so comfy. It made me feel a little better.

  “Are you saying that you’d hurt my sexy looks?” I nodded. “Well, if you’re going to, then please break my nose and make it straight again. I think you owe me that.” A humorous smile expanded on his face.

  “No way. If your nose was straight, then I just wouldn’t be able to look at you. It’d be too weird.”

  “Thanks. Thanks a lot. Just mold me however you want me, Kass.”

  “Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.” We laughed. “Movie’s on.” I shushed him and sat up, leaning against the backboard of the bed.

  Only the thing that started playing wasn’t the movie or the previews.

  Gabriel and I observed in horror as the homemade movie that was certainly not Edward Scissorhands played before us. There was a body. A bloody body that wasn’t moving. From what I could tell, it belonged to a woman.

  “Gabriel,” I spoke as I ran up and pressed the stop button. I wanted to turn it off now. There was too much blood. Far too much for that woman to still be alive. But as I frantically pushed and pushed, I realized it wasn’t doing anything.

  And then I looked around, noticing I wasn’t standing in my room with Gabriel laying on the bed anymore. I was inside the movie. In it, like watching it happen before my very eyes. And I couldn’t move.

  She was dead. But that didn’t mean anything. Her foot jerked. Her body began to shake. Her voice rung out like a penetrating shrill. She was turning into a Nightwalker.

  She screamed. Again and again.

  I was unsure if I could handle this. I’d never seen anyone turn before, and I didn’t want to. What went on during those moments should not be seen by any eyes. Her blood began to clot and turn black.

  She heaved. Blood spurted out of her mouth as she turned herself over, revealing an even more battered front. The woman was turning, that was for sure. The bite marks on her...there was no way a Nightwalker would’ve just torn her up like that and let her turn, not to mention leaving her body and filming it.

  Something else orchestrated this.

  But this…this was only the beginning.

  Every muscle in her body started twitching rapidly. Her head moved up and down, trembling back and forth, side to side. It was utterly revolting, making me gag. Her skin started to molt and become harder than normal, tougher than it was when she died.

  Her legs began to buckle, but she caught herself as she turned to face me. She leaned over and heaved out more blood. Blood that was fully thickened and blackened. Her mouth opened, showing me the growth that took place in her teeth.

  A small growl escaped her as her fangs grew to incredible size. Her pupils burst and changed from brown to yellow. A loud howl arose from her throat. That was it. It was over. She turned, so she was no longer a she.

  She was an it.

  “Kass!” I felt Gabriel yank me, causing me to snap back into reality. I was now standing in my room and not wherever that horrifying thing was filmed. “Are you alright? You totally just spaced out.”

  “I was there,” I managed to breathe out.

  “There as in…” Gabriel and I stared at the television. The girl had fully turned and was about to lunge at whoever was taping. Only a wooden stake plunged through the air and landed on her chest, where her heart used to be. She fizzled and fire engulfed her whole body in mere seconds.

  It was as if whoever did this purposely killed her, knew she was going to change, and taped it. The video camera was being picked up and moved, though we still couldn’t see who was behind, filming it.

  It landed on more blood, except this blood was smeared into words. Words that read: I see you. Do you see me?

  Gabriel wrapped his arms around me, using his body to shield me, as he glanced around my room, trying to see if someone was there. “We need to tell Michael about this. Now.” He started to pull away, but I didn’t let him go.

  I held him by me, and he didn’t resist. I didn’t want him to leave me. We were a team, after all, right? Purifiers till the end. Together until the last breath.

  “Gabriel,” I murmured, “whoever did this, they were in my room. They unlocked my window, from the outside.”

  I felt his hand stroke the top of my head. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  I craned my neck so I could look up to his face. Although, I realized after I did so that I could only look up to his chin. “I’m not afraid. Whatever this is, I can handle it.”

  “We can handle it,” he corrected me.

  “Yes, we. I just wish they didn’t break into my room.” Pulling away from the blonde, I glanced at my bed. “I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping for a while.”

  “Come on.” Gabriel walked me out of my room, away from the offending DVD and downstairs, to Michael’s floor. I stood, grabbing onto his doorframe, and watched as he told our Guardian what we just saw.

  The blood. Thinking about the amount of blood made me think of John. It was like everything that I could possibly think of reminded me of John.

  Michael was up in a flash, running up the stairs to my room and telling Gabriel to stay with me and make sure all the windows were locked. He took my hand and led me upstairs, into his room. He sat me on the bed as he checked all his windows.

  I felt out of place, as if I wasn’t really there. Someone who’s aware, but not totally understanding of what was happening.

  Gabriel pulled the sheets down on his bed. “Michael will handle it now. Try to get some sleep. I’ll watch over you, make sure nothing unwelcome comes in.”

  I studied Gabriel, at his total seriousness, awed at how protective he could be of me. I wasn’t a glass doll. If I was, I wouldn’t be a Purifier. I wouldn’t even know who Gabriel was. We never would’ve met.

  Then again, I would’ve had a family.

  A real one.

  The wooden floor creaked below my feet. It’s not like it mattered or anything. No one could see me. This was all a dream, so technically it didn’t matter how much noise I made. I could scream my lungs out and no one would notice.

  But it still felt weird to make noises in a house like this—ancient, centuries old. I’d never been in a place so regal. The furniture was beautifully handcrafted, the paintings were expertly done, the whole air about this place was majestic and elegant. This was the finest house I’d ever seen, that’s for sure. There were fireplaces, swords hanging on the wall, curtains made of satin. The whole shebang.

  “No!”

  A voice rung out and reverberated throughout the house. And that voice certainly wasn’t mine. I headed toward the commotion, figuring that was what I was supposed to do. But then again, I was never sure about things like this. I always seemed to read them wrong, when they counted. The last time ended in John’s death. Not a very stellar record.

  “How could you?” the same voice said.

  “I didn’t know this would happen!” It was another voice this time. Both were male.

  “Yes, you did.”

  “No, I—”

  “I warned y
ou! I warned you.”

  I finally stumbled across the living room, where two men were standing and arguing. I couldn’t see their faces, for their backs faced me as they continued to shout.

  “Yes, however—”

  “No! Do not argue with me on this. I remember specifically saying not to touch the totem that’s been in our family since the crossing. What the hell did you think—that I wasn’t serious? For once, I was utterly serious.” The voice’s tone was mean, angry, and a bit sardonic.

  “It was an accident.”

  “An accident? An accident? Because of your stupidity, we’ll have to move. Again and again. Time after time. We are doomed to live our lives on the run, never staying in one place long on fear of being found out. Because of your foolish mistake.”

  “Brother—”

  “We are cursed. Once again. Because of you. That totem was all we had that helped us.”

  Now they stood silently, staring at each other.

  That’s when I moved to view their faces, instantly knowing who they were. I didn’t know how I could have not known sooner, even though their hair was different and they were a bit younger than what they were now. They wore strange clothing, stockings and buckled shoes.

  Their tall statures, their black hair, their brown eyes. I stared and listened to John and his brother fight about something. Something that, to me, made no sense.

  “What are you talking about?” John spoke, dark eyes wide. “Curse? What curse?”

  Rain rubbed his eyes. “Mother was supposed to tell you before she…died.”

  “How do you know?”

  “As the eldest man in the family, it was my duty to protect the totem. And that involved knowing why.” Rain glared at his brother with hatred, but in a split second, the hatred turned into sympathy. “It’s time you learn of our family legacy.”

  When I woke, I was extremely hot and sweaty. Whether it was from the dream, from seeing John again in eighteenth-century clothing, I had no idea. But, as my groggy mind came fully to, I realized I was not simply hot and sweaty.