Who is Audrey Wickersham?

by Sara Shrieves

  “Kirk, you can allow him to get up now. We can seat him in a chair. No need to treat you like an animal, right Lucian?”

  “I hate you, you bitch.”

  Oh, wow. I guess he could speak.

  Kirk smacked him upside the head and started to throw him back down on the ground again.

  “No Kirk,” Agnes said, grabbing his arm, trying to prevent him from throttling Lucian. “He is only allowed to speak when spoken to. And he is only allowed to speak truthfully. I deserved that because I baited him.”

  Kirk stopped and straightened up. Lucian sneered at him and Kirk asked, “Can I hit him again?”

  “No,” Agnes said.

  “How long will this last?” I asked, interrupting them.

  “Not too long, so we must be quick.” She turned back to Kirk. “Why don’t you bring a chair over, and I will stay with him for the moment? He won’t try to run in this state.”

  “Okay…sure.” Kirk brought the chair back over, glaring angrily at Lucian the entire time. I could tell he didn’t trust the situation at all. Neither did I.

  Agnes sat him down and then was silent for a few seconds. Then she looked Lucian in the eye and asked, “What do you want with Audrey?”

  “I wanted what she was supposed to become.” Lucian seemed surprised that he was answering this question. He appeared to be struggling, trying to stop himself.

  The three of us looked at each other, intrigued.

  “You wanted her to become a zombie?”

  “No, you moron. I wanted what she was becoming, due to your involvement. It was going to be something new. Something that could be used as a tool. A weapon.”

  “Why did you leave me alone?” I asked, interrupting Agnes. “You knew I could hurt people; that I was still changing. Why would you do that?”

  He smiled at me. “We needed insurance.”

  “We?” Agnes asked.

  Lucian looked angry. He tried to look away from Agnes but she grabbed him by the chin and yanked his face back so they were looking eye to eye. He started to quiver and I saw a trickle of blood drip from his right nostril.

  “Damn it!” He scowled deeply and then said, “Myself, and Andrei.”

  “Besnik had nothing to do with this?”

  Agnes seemed to care about this more than she was trying to let us know.

  “No of course not,” Lucian replied, looking affronted.

  Agnes let a little relief show and then cleared her throat, ready to move on to the next question.

  “Besnik is nothing but a pawn that we used to distract you. And it worked.” He smiled maniacally, the blood from his nose smearing over his lips, onto his teeth.

  Agnes didn’t seem disturbed by this at all. Lucian seemed to sag, seeing that he was getting no reaction from us. I was only letting him think that. His blood was beginning to entice me. I didn’t care that he was disgusting. Blood was blood. I darted my eyes quickly over at Kirk to see if he was paying any attention to me, but he had all of his energy aimed at Lucian and the interrogation. Wow, he was seriously into it. He was all hunched forward, ready to pounce or throttle. I smiled and then looked back at Lucian…and his bloody nose.

  “So where is Andrei now?” Agnes asked.

  “He has gone back to report to the council.”

  “What has he gone back to report?” This time Kirk asked the question. I could tell he was getting impatient.

  “About the insurance, and that Audrey is to be eliminated.” He looked over at me and said, “She is useless to us now.”

  We were all quiet for a moment, and Agnes seemed to be thinking carefully about what to ask next.

  “Are you telling me the council knows about Audrey becoming a zombie?”

  “Almost becoming a zombie,” I mumbled.

  “Yes, sorry dear.” Agnes waved her hand absently in my direction, as if I were a fly or something. “Is that what you’re saying Lucian?”

  “Yes, that is what I’m saying.” He seemed smug now.

  “And they’re all right with this?” Agnes was in shock now. This last question was rhetorical, but Lucian of course had to answer because it was still directed at him.

  “Most of them already were, yes. And now it is Andrei’s job to convince the rest. And to figure out a way to control Audrey’s victims, as you were trying to control her. Or victim I should say. She ate the brain of her second one.” He grinned at me, happy to humiliate me all over again.

  Agnes turned to me in shock and I couldn’t bear to see that look on her face, because I knew my dad’s would be a million times worse.

  “That’s it Lucian,” I said, pushing Agnes aside, yanking him up out of the chair, “You remember what I told you when you left my house?”

  “Yes of course,” he said, still grinning.

  “Then why in the hell are you still smiling like that?”

  “Because I know they won’t let you do this to me.”

  “You’d be wrong there, man,” Kirk said, leaning casually against the shelves on the wall.

  I relished the sudden look of fear in Lucian’s eyes and yanked him towards me, then bit viciously into his neck.

  Chapter 12

  “Audrey, no!” Agnes yelled.

  Kirk glanced indifferently in her direction, as she stared at me in shock. He turned towards her; ready to hold her back if she tried to pull me away from Lucian.

  I wasn’t paying her any attention. I was in a frenzy, ripping into Lucian’s neck, relishing every drop of blood that came out of his pathetic body.

  “Audrey, please,” Agnes pleaded. “We need him.”

  I stopped drinking for a moment and opened my eyes to glare at her. I pulled away angrily from Lucian’s neck and asked, “What else do we need from him Agnes? He sold us all out! I’m doing what needs to be done.” I turned to Kirk. “Take care of her until I’m done.”

  She started to turn towards him, suddenly realizing she should have used a spell or done something to protect herself, but Kirk overcame her before she had the chance to say a word, and I was done before she could really even begin to struggle with him.

  I dropped the body and shoved it aside, then went and sat on the floor next to Agnes. Kirk was still holding her in a careful embrace, with his hand over her mouth. I licked my lips casually, relishing the remnants of the blood. I smiled at the two of them and said, “You can let her go now, Kirk. I don’t think she’s going to raise him from the dead. I think she’s had enough of that for a while.” We both laughed together as he released Agnes. She looked back and forth at the two of us, warily.

  “He could have told us more, Audrey.”

  “You even said so yourself, that spell you put on him wasn’t going to last long. And then what were we going to do? Haul him around with us when you used that other spell like you did with Besnik? For what? He wanted me dead! Along with you and my family. So, now he’s dead. Too bad if you don’t like it.”

  Agnes stared at Lucian’s body for a little while, silent. We were all lost in thought it seemed now. Finally she asked, “Did you have to…mutilate him like that?” She grimaced slightly.

  I looked back over at the body and noticed that I had gone a little heavy on his throat. Well okay, I had torn it out, leaving it hanging awkwardly off to the side, partially touching the carpet. His blood (what was left of it) was getting all over the place now. I sighed deeply. “Yeah, I sort of have an issue with that.”

  Kirk tried to suppress a grin, but before he could hide it I caught it and sent him an icy glare. “I’m glad that you’re beginning to find this amusing.”

  I looked at Agnes sympathetically. “I’ll help you clean the carpet.”

  “How about we figure out what to do with his body first?” Kirk said.

  “Oh…right. Well, I guess we could bury him, like we did the other guy.”

  “What other guy?” Agnes asked, alert now.

  “Someone who was unfortunate enough to be my first victim after Kirk changed me,” I said
.

  Agnes seemed to sag, looking defeated. “I’ve completely failed you,” she said morosely. She covered her face with her hands and moaned sadly into them. “This whole thing is my fault!”

  “Oh…no Agnes,” I said awkwardly. I began to pat her on the back, as I looked around her at Kirk, not knowing what else to do or say. I gave him a what-in-the-hell-do-I-do-now look and he shrugged his shoulders and mouthed, “I don’t know,” at me.

  I mean, really, technically, this was all of her fault. If she hadn’t brought those stupid Zomorwai things over here I would have never become infected in the first place. Yes, I was clumsy and maybe overly curious. But did I deserve what I had gotten so far? Or did my victims, for that matter? I couldn’t say any of this to Agnes, however. I needed her to just suck it up. We had a damn body to bury and it was getting closer and closer to daylight, and we needed to get to my dad’s.

  “Okay, Agnes?” I waited a moment for her to compose herself. She looked up at me, wiping her eyes. She seemed older and younger all at the same time. “Kirk and I will handle the

  body-”

  “Lucian,” she said, cutting me off.

  “Okay…Lucian. We will handle his body.” I waited for her to say something, but she just kept staring at the body. “Alright so…” I glanced over at Kirk, awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say to Agnes, when she cut me off again.

  “I wanted him to die, you know.”

  “What?”

  “I let you kill him.” She looked directly at me now. “I could have stopped you. I had time to shout your name. I definitely had time to shout a spell.”

  “Agnes,” Kirk said quietly, “you were in shock.”

  “No I wasn’t! I wanted him dead. And I will help you bury the body. Because it’s just as much my fault as it is Audrey’s. Maybe more so. I could have stopped it. So let’s just do this, and get the hell out of here.”

  “Well okay then,” I said. I jumped up, and turned to help up Agnes, but she was already getting up on her own. She was angry and determined now, and I also kept forgetting that she was strong for her size.

  The three of us brought the body back to the same park where I had killed and buried my first victim as a zompire. Agnes remained focused and determined the entire time, and did not let me do her share of the digging. Even though daylight was getting closer and closer, and she was just so incredibly slow. I don’t care how strong she was as a human, compared to Kirk and I, she was taking forever. Finally I had to shove her aside and finish everything up.

  “Okay,” Kirk said, dusting off his hands. “We need to run to your dad’s Audrey. I mean really run.”

  We both looked over at Agnes.

  “I’m always up for a good run,” Agnes said, shaking the dirt out of her clothes.

  She looked up and saw the two of us staring at her doubtfully. “What? You don’t think I’m up to it?” She took on a defensive stance and pointed her finger at us, ready to give a lecture about her time back in the day, living with the dinosaurs, I was sure, when Kirk walked over, picked her up as gently as possible, and threw her over his shoulder. She squawked loudly in protest and started yelling about her dress flying up in the air.

  “No one will notice Agnes, trust me.” Kirk glanced back at me and flashed a cocky grin, then began running like he had when he’d first come upon me feasting on a man’s brains. I waited only a few seconds before following after him. I hadn’t ever thought about trying to run full speed like this before. I had only had that one burst of speed rushing to my prey, while I was with Kirk in this same park. The moment I allowed myself to really give into it, and to not be completely freaked out by what I was actually doing (which would make me trip and come to a stop every time I gave it a thought) it felt…amazing. Absolutely the most incredible sensation I think anyone could experience, besides actually being able to fly. It pretty much was flying. I mean, my feet barely even skimmed the ground. But I could see everything so clearly. I knew where I was going and I could anticipate every turn that was going to come up long before it was actually there. It’s like my brain kicked into warp mode along with everything else. I felt like a super genius. I almost felt clairvoyant, except for the moments when I would trip. Then…I just felt how I had always been. Clumsy, and human. But when I got it down…wow.

  We reached my dad’s house right away. Too soon, I thought. I could have kept going; running right past it, out of the Valley, away from everything that was happening. Until I finally wore out and had to stop. It would have been interesting just to figure out how long that would take. I felt bad for thinking that when I saw Agnes looking at me, askance.

  “What?” I asked, suddenly feeling transparent.

  She remained silent for once. She just stared at me for another few seconds and then walked up to the front door, following Kirk. I had been waiting on the sidewalk while the two of them figured out exactly what we were going to do. They had both seemed to be ignoring my lack of participation in the conversation and probably assumed I was tired from my first real run as a vampire…or zompire. (Or at least that’s what I assumed they thought.)

  They finally figured it was best to just go inside and wait out the daylight, and to come up with a plan involving everyone. We now needed to defend ourselves against The Council, after all.

  Kirk raised his hand to knock.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Oh,” he said, lowering his hand slowly and turning back to face me. He smiled and said, “Habit.” He stepped aside and gestured for me to move up to the door. “After you, Audrey.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered. I felt nervous about coming home. This meant I had to tell my dad everything as well as Bruce, and I had to deal with their reactions to what I had become and what I had done to people. And I still had to control myself around all of them. That included Kirk. Whether I was dead or alive, my dad would not want to see me showing any sort of affection (romantically) in the open.

  “Audrey?” Kirk was looking at me anxiously. “We’re running short on time. Would you like me to…?” He reached out for the door knob, indicating he could open it for me, as my hand seemed to be frozen in place.

  “No, I’m sorry. Let’s go.” I opened the door, with no more hesitation, and we walked in to find the living room empty.

  I looked around for a moment but didn’t bother calling out. I could tell that no one was in the house.

  “Well where are they?” Agnes asked.

  “I have no idea,” I said, seating myself at the kitchen table. Kirk stood in the living room, seeming lost.

  “What should we do? I can’t go back outside.” He looked derisively at the front door, and at the sunlight now beginning to creep in towards him. He went over and slammed it closed with his foot. He glanced around at all of the windows, making sure the curtains were closed. Agnes had already thought of this, however, and was in the process of closing the last set, over near the dining room. Kirk smiled at her appreciatively when she turned around.

  Before she could say anything, the phone blared out, making us all jump. I stared at it, wondering if I should pick it up or not.

  “Well?” Kirk said. He walked up behind me.

  “I’ll just let the machine get it.”

  “Wimp.”

  After a few rings the machine clicked on and we all heard silence at first, and then, “Helloooo? Audrey we know you’re in there! If you don’t pick up I’m going to start talking about that embarrassing moment between you and your poster of Justin Timberlake-”

  “Hello?” I answered, cutting Bruce off. I glanced over at Kirk and Agnes, feeling incredibly stupid. “How could you even mention his name?” I whispered viciously to Bruce.

  He laughed back at me over the phone. “Oh doll, you’re just so easy! So how’s it going? Are you three okay?”

  “Bruce. Where are you guys? Can you stop acting all Stepford and just tell me what you two are doing?”

  “You’re dad ran out of alc
ohol so we shacked up at my place sweetie!”

  I heard my dad grumble something in the background. All I caught was the word “pink”.

  “I don’t think he’s going to last much longer here,” Bruce said quietly. “He’s not a fan of color…or design. Well, you know that though!”

  I rolled my eyes at the ceiling. “Can you two please come back over here then? Kirk can’t leave the house.”

  He asked my dad and then said to me, “We’ll be over in two shakes, doll!”

  I hung up the phone and grudgingly sat back down at the table. I wanted to go and throw myself on my bed.

  “So…Justin Timberlake, huh?”

  “Can we just, never speak of that again?” I looked over at Kirk and he came to sit across from me.

  “It’s okay. I always had a thing for-”

  “If you say Britney Spears that isn’t anywhere near as embarrassing; she was pretty. A lot of guys liked her.”

  “I was going to say cheesy pop music.” He smiled, making me laugh.

  Bruce and my dad came back to the house, carting a shopping bag filled with supplies. I was sure a majority of what it held was Bruce’s liquor. When times got tough, Bruce got tipsy.

  I stood up quickly from the table when I saw my dad and hesitated for a moment when he just stood and stared right back at me. After a moment of this he put his arms out, and I went and gave him a hug. I knew everything wasn’t the same as before, but I felt better knowing he wasn’t repulsed by me. Yet.

  “So what’s the plan?” He asked all of us.

  Everyone had taken a seat in the living room. Agnes had explained what we had gotten out of Lucian. We had not told him that I had killed him, or anything else about what I had done. I was going to tell him that on my own. Until then I would have time to come up with exactly what to say to him.

  “So what exactly happened to Lucian?” Bruce asked. “I mean, did you just let him go?”

  I glared absolute ice cold hatred at Bruce.

  “I think our plan needs to be focused on how we can fight The Council, with them having the advantage of magick. And only one of us having that ability,” Kirk said, a little more loudly than necessary.