by Nicole Rae
Emily wanted to extend the communication further, to try and get some explanation out of Sebastian. Unfortunately with him,further explanation wasn’t the way he worked, no matter how much she wished it to be true. She didn’t bother and instead just nodded and walked the rest of the way home.
CHAPTER 11 The next morning Emily got up early so she could get the rest of the laundry done. Thanks to her conversation with Lucy, the chore was right in her face screaming at her to get it done. With the washer and dryer located in the garage, it was easy to forget things needed washing until you were out of socks. The pile was getting as high as Everest. Menial household tasks weren't her top priority. She was bound and determined to try and make heads or tails of her suspicions one way or another. Of course, the prospect of that task wasn’t that appealing. Not only were all her theories freakishly absurd, but it was also like finding a needle in a hay stack.
The best solution was to go to the library. Their computer was on the fritz and she didn’t want Sam to be able to look at her browsing history anyway. Not that Sam knew much about computers or anything, but it just wasn’t worth the risk. She was going to do some research, or at least try and do some research. How does someone look up information about vampires for crap’s sake? There would more than likely be a lot of fluff out there. The problem was finding something accurate,that wasn’t all propaganda. Maybe there were news stories similar to what had been going on in Lakeview. That would if nothing else, tell if anything could be done.
If there was anything that could be done, Emily mused. She pushed that pessimistic thought from her mind as quick as it had entered. That way of thinking would not bring results. Optimism was crucial, even if she didn’t believe a word of it. Real life vampires roaming the Earth might have seemed farfetched to Emily, but at this point nothing was off limits. It was clear something was going on. A simple search online, allowed her to eliminate the halfcocked theory from the list of possibilities.
After she got a couple loads done, she decided that was good enough. At least a small dent had been put into the dirty clothes pile. It may have not been the responsible choice to leave,but she couldn’t wait anymore. Anxiousness made her body move like a live wire. She couldn’t concentrate on anything while thinking about going to the library. When she looked down at herself, she realized that she was still in sweat pants and a tank top. Figuring leaving the house in her pajamas wasn't the best option, she hopped in the shower.
She had gotten dressed fast after bathing and was out the door in no time at all. It was warm outside. Emily had decided to wear jean Capri’s with fraying around the bottoms. They were super comfy. Her stark white V-neck tank was one of her favorites. There was a little lace on the neck of the shirt and at the bottom. It wasn’t as Emily would call it, skank wear though. No skin was revealed that she didn’t want shown. There were three small Hawaiian flowers across the chest in blue. Emily had never been to Hawaii but it was the number one thing on her “Things to do before I die list”.
The walk to the library didn’t take long. Even though the sun was obscured by big fluffy white clouds, it still took a second for her eyes to adjust to the indoors. As she walked into the poorly lit computer lab she looked around for a free station. She hoped she could find a cubicle that was discrete. That way no one could read over her shoulder and realize how crazy she had become. Word traveled fast and the last thing she needed was another lecture about what a disappointment she was.
Luckily there was a semiprivate workstation in the back corner. No one worked at the seat next to it, so it was completely perfect. Fearing someone could sense what Emily was there to research, her face grew hotter and hotter the closer she got to the computer. There weren’t a lot of people working in the lab but most of them seem to be college age. Maybe they’re starting their first round of term papers. She had wanted to take classes summer quarter but she needed the extra shift at work much more.
Sam made good money, but his bank statement would never reflect that fact. Most of the family fortune was drunk away every evening at Moody’s Tavern and all day on the weekends. Other than that she had no idea what he spent his money on because it sure wasn’t on anything practical. Melissa would be utterly disgusted by the lack of the family funds.
Emily’s mom was a penny pincher from way back. Her main pleasure in life had been finding a good bargain to save another dollar. When she went to garage sales, she was the type, who could talk the seller down from a quarter price sticker to a dime. Melissa had charm and wasn’t afraid to use it. She also knew how to work someone. If she didn’t think she’d get the reduced price she was after, she would wait until the last day of the sale to return. By then the seller wanted to get rid of the junk, cluttering their driveway and was willing to give it away. If they weren’t, she’d pretend like she wasn’t interested either and start to walk away. She had a presence about her that before she got to her car the seller would be on her heels, accepting her low ball offer.
Melissa used to tell her young daughter that the number on the price tag was just a starting point for negotiations. If a seller isn’t willing to drop it down they must not really want to get rid of the item. Emily used to marvel at watching her mom work her gifted craft. Even as a little girl Emily was amazed and entranced by watching her mother work. Depending on the type of seller she would bat an eye lash here or toss her hair there. If the seller were an elderly woman, she would change her angle to play off the woman’s compassionate side and practicality. They seemed just as mesmerized by her mom, as Emily was. Who could blame them? Melissa was flawless.
When Emily sat down at the cubicle the PC was already on, so all she had to do was click on the internet browser. She sat back in her wobbly chair and waited. The lab was connected to high speed, but when too many people were on the server, it was slow to load up. She didn’t mind, it gave her time to think of where to start.
If Emily were totally honest with herself, she would have to admit that she had absolutely no idea what she was looking for. If anyone had caught sight of what she was doing, they would probably have her committed. Part of her was beginning to think that were a good idea.
When the Google homepage came to life on the screen Emily leaned forward with her hands ready on the keys. Her posture was rigid. Now what? Well, she might as well start simple. With a deep regretful sigh, her fingers began typing the word Vampire into the search engine.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. Seriously, like a zillion results popped up on the screen. There was everything from myths, books, movies, legends, and clothing. The list went on and on for what seemed like a million pages. She had no idea this was such a popular topic.
There was definitely going to have to be some narrowing done. Without really knowing what to look for, the task was going to be cumbersome. Emily couldn’t wrap her head around all the books out there on the subject. The majority appeared to be fiction, but she had never heard of most of the authors, let alone the titles. Working at a book store, she had countless titles at her disposal, she shouldknow about them shouldn’t she?
Maybe George didn’t care for the topic and that’s why he didn’t carry them. However, she didn’t think he cared much for ghost stories either, and he had all of those on the shelves. She decided to make a mental note to ask him about it. Emily could hardly believe that George would pass up a chance to tap into a new Genre that might bring the shop more revenue.
As corny as it seemed, she decided to type real vampires. That had to bring up something. Maybe the screen would go black and big letters would scroll across in red telling her she was nuts. That really wouldn’t have been that surprising.
Well, it did narrow the amount of results that were found to only like a million. Scrolling through all the results she was astonished at what she saw. Most of the headlines were about old world myths from other countries. There were even some blogs done by people, who claimed to be authentic vampires. Emily couldn’t help but laugh at that.
One headline stood out from the others as she scanned. It read “Today’s Urban Vampires Truths, Myths and Protective Measures”. The description underneath briefly informed that today’s vampires were a force to be reckoned with. It said that the new breed held old ways as well as new at their disposal. The part that really got Emily was “Check out this site for recent news stories that will chill your bones. Emily was just getting ready to click on it when she was interrupted.
A firm hand came down on her shoulder. Emily jumped in surprise. She whirled around in her seat to see a towering male standing in front of her. He was dressed all in black. Upon further examination, she realized who he was. It was the scary man from the bus; the one that was with that icy woman. They were the ones that herded those people into that big house. Instantly Emily saw that she had been right, His eyes were the same emerald green as that Luke guy.
He hadn’t done anything overtly threatening, but malevolence rolled off him. Emily couldn’t speak. She couldn’t even move despite the fact that her instincts were screaming at her. The pain in her midsection was agonizing. It was almost impossible not to yell. Emily bit the inside of her cheek against the pain. She had to stop when she could taste blood in her mouth.
Even though she had turned completely around, the man’s hand remained on her shoulder. He seemed to be holding her in place. She quickly scanned the room. Not a single person seemed to notice anything was happening. Theoretically, nothing was happening. Even still, the growing knots in her stomach told her otherwise. Emily knew deep in her gut there was something very wrong with this man.
Don’t panic . The unfamiliar voice in her head warned. Don’t move and don’t look him in the eye.
The reassurance that came from the male voice was calming. It helped her to keep a level head. Freaking out would just make this situation worse, and probably please her captor. More than ever, the voice reminded her of someone. Try as she might, she still couldn’t place it. It was right there at the edges of her mind just out of reach. Clicking on the note to self tablet in her mind, she mentally jotted down the words find out what on Earth that voice was.
Whether it meant she was crazy or sane, it seemed like good advice so she decided to follow it obediently. Weirdly, she still thought it sounded an awful lot like Sebastian. Obviously, that couldn’t be the case though. The comparison was more than likely a product of her wild imagination.
The man cleared his throat. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to look at that.”
Look at what? She wasn’t really looking at anything. Then, with a start she realized he must be talking about her web surfing. “Um… I just thought it would be a fun topic to look up.” She didn’t know why but everything in her gut told her that playing clueless was the way to go. It really wasn’t much of a stretch anyway. She was totally clueless.
His eyes widened questioningly as he watched her intently. “Well sometimes little girl the answers you seek aren’t always found on the World Wide Web. You children and your… technology, disgust me. I happen to know a lot on the subject though.” As he said this, he gave a slight nod to the computer screen that was still loaded with search results. “I may be inclined to share my knowledge for a small fee.”
When he said fee, he stretched it out, implying that Emily wouldn't understand. Even with the lack of understanding, she was able to pick up on the obvious threat behind his words. Emily gulped. “Oh thanks, but this was just for fun. I was just bored and don’t really even need to look at the site. Just bored.”
The words flew from Emily’s mouth with little abandon, sounding a bit ridiculous. For all he knew, she was some dumb teenager and that was probably a good thing. Maybe that would allow him to disregard her and move on? Emily suddenly wanted to go home badly. At any moment, this whack job could turn her into one of the pod people.
“Have it your way.” He gave her a placating smile. “You might find that in the future, it would be wise to be mindful of your research. Too much knowledge can be damning for a person. He lowered his voice to a more secretive tone.“Also, it can become quite dangerous.” His face was hard and all business. The tone of his voice was a contradictory melodic that did not match the expression at all.
Emily found her eyes drifting up to his against her will. How could she have ever thought something was wrong with them? Those eyes were beautiful. They seemed to mesmerize Emily, capturing her deep within their depths.
The unfamiliar voice screamed at her to look away and the urgency of it instantly grabbed hold of her attention. In all the times she had heard it, the voice never carried such acid or such volume. It completely broke her concentration on the man standing before her. Emilycouldn’t help but jump, instantly breaking the stare. “Uh, thanks for the tip. Ium, guess I’ll be seeing you.” She tried to sound strong. Instead, she stuttered uncontrollably.
“Oh yes, you will be seeing me very soon in deed. By the way my lady, you should know I am called Andre.” He grabbed Emily’s hand and raised it gingerly to his lips.
The action made her stomach contract violently, churning with nausea, like she might flip inside out.His lips weren’t cold, yetthey weren’t warm either. The sensation was like nothing she had ever experienced before. His touch caused an involuntary shiver to come over her.
Emily quickly, but politely took her hand from Andre’s. “Well,nice meeting you.” Her tone was dismissive she hoped anyway. To further make her point she swiveled back around toward the computer screen.
Without another word shewatched the man’s departure from the corner of her eye. His steps didn’t make a single sound, not a shoe shuffle or noise from the material of his clothes rustling. There was just nothing. As he passed, she felt a cool breeze follow him, like when the wind picked up after a snow fall. That type of weather shift wasn’t normal in the middle of a computer lab.
Everyone working on a computer still did just that. Their heads never turned to see Andre. There were a few that she could tell upon closer examination,weren’t actually working. They simply stared at their screens, most with their hands in their laps clenched into fists. Emily considered asking one of them what they knew of Andre. Figuring she would get the same response as on the bus, Emily kept her mouth shut.
When she turned towards the computer screen her thoughts weren’t on Andre. In all actuality, they probably should have been, he was really freaky. Instead, they were on the new unfamiliar voice she had acquired as some sort of conscience. It was a male voice. She knew she had heard it before, and not just in her mind.
She ran through everyone she knew in her head. No one in her life sounded like that. It was stupid anyway. Someone couldn’t be talking to her through her mind. Her thoughts stopped onSebastian’s face. Could it be?
If he was the “V” word, it may very well entitle him to special powers. Except if Andre was one of them as well, why would Sebastian feel compelled to help her? Shouldn’t they have some kind of undead solidarity or something? Besides, Sebastian seemed different from Andre and Luke. They had an evil presence that seemed to radiate off of them like a breathing pulse. It pooled around them like a living shadow. Sebastian was mysterious, yes. Was heevil? No, Emily didn’t think so.
“Hi Emily, remember me? Tyler?”
The voice came from behind her making her jump and her breath catch in her throat. God, hadn’t she had enough scares for one day? She spun around to face him. Even though she knew who he was, the sight ofTyler didn’t calm her nerves.
“Wow, are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” Tyler sounded worried.
Emily was vaguely aware of the color that had drained from her face. The encounter with Andre had left her feeling numb and very cold. Was it just a coincidence that Tyler would come strolling along right after him? “What are you doing here?” She shot back at him with a little too much acid.
He held his hands up in surrender. “Easy there, I didn’t mean to bug you or anything. Sorry.”
He began
to back up in retreat, when a wave of guilt passed through Emily. “No wait. I’m sorry.” Emily held out a hand to him. “You just startled me, that’s all. You don’t have to go. It’s just been one of those days you know?” Emily motioned for him to take the empty chair beside her.
He hesitantly took the chair watching her the whole time. He looked as though he thought Emily might bite him or something. “When I came in it looked like you might need help with something,” said Tyler.
“I’m fine,” Emily replied. She gestured vaguely at nothing in particular.
Emily let him help you. I summoned him. It was the peculiar voice in her head again. It had never been that directly personal before.
Despite the fact that the voice was trying to help her, she wanted to scream. Some partof her knew she wasn’t insane and should trust the voice. The other part wanted to reserve her very own room in the psych ward. Emily noted that the more she thought about it, the voice did sound like Sebastian… if that was even possible. Finding him had to be a priority. He was going to answer her questions one way or another. If his was the voice she was hearing, she deserved an explanation as to why he was invading her thoughts. Not to mention he needed to explain how the heck that was even possible.
“H ello? Earth to Emily. You still here?” She realized Tyler had been waving a hand in front of her face trying to get her attention. “You sure space out a lot don’t you?” The hesitation was gone from Tyler completely.
“Sorry I just have a lot on my mind,” sh e apologized. Then, her mind sparked with an idea. “Hey Tyler!” She realized she sounded frantic and toned it down a few notches. “Sorry. Did you see the guy I was talking to a minute ago?” Emily stared at him hopefully, praying he could confirm her suspicions.
“What guy? When I came in you were alone.” Tyler looked utterly perplexed. He looked around the room as though he could have gotten a glimpse of the mystery man Emily spoke of.
Not wanting to let go of the thread, Emily pressed on. “What about on your way in? Did you see a guy all in black with crazy intense green eyes?” If Tyler saw Andre then maybe he would have some opinion. He totally didn’t look like one of the pod people, Stepford Wife combinations. Surely he had to have seen him. Emily bounced her leg impatiently waiting.