Reality slammed into my brain again, my eyes pelting open to see the cluttered room in which I slept. I shot up clasping my chest, my breath ragged.
“Dang it!” I punched the bed in frustration over losing the dream. Guy mumbled, shifting on his pallet on the floor. I froze, clamping my mouth shut, not wanting to wake him, my heart thudding so loud I was certain he could hear it. But to my relief, he rolled over, once again eliciting the soft breaths of sleep. I released a long sigh, but inwardly cursed my own mind.
Why couldn’t I have held on for one more minute, one more second so I could remember my maker? I remembered the eyes I saw in my dream and how they felt familiar somehow, comforting. I strained to focus on those eyes, to see who held me in their cold arms. But alas, the memory waned like the eclipse of the moon, the coldness of the small room replacing its presence, pebbling my flesh.
I rubbed my arms, feeling strange in my own skin, unease creeping over me like wriggling maggots. I wanted to either remember my maker or completely forget all about it. My taunting dreams frustrated me, and I just wanted to get away from them, get away from the anguish over my impending trip— only hours away now. I wanted to get out of my own head, if only for a little while.
Though I realized it was a risky move, I needed some air. I rose and, even before Wilson awoke, left the old ranch house, unlocking each bolt of the front door with care. I scurried down the long drive toward town, into the dusky twilight haze.
I headed toward town, thinking maybe I’d get a gift for the two men in my life. They’d done so much for me and I needed to repay their kindness. And it’d be a great opportunity to clear my head anyway.
I’d grown up only a couple hours from Tucson and had gone there on many day trips with my mother. I was familiar with the town’s grid-like streets and the shopping hotspots, so I sped myself to town like lightning, wanting to get there and back before Wilson and Guy woke up. I wondered what the heck a Captain of FUSE and a two hundred year old vampire could possibly want or need.
I found myself downtown on the old roads, the streetcar rolling by the crumbling adobe buildings. I inhaled the smell of funnel cakes and restaurant food, thick and savory. Now that I knew I was a hybrid, I wondered whether I could enjoy the delicacy of food, but my stomach rumbled in protest. Ever since turning and drinking the other vampire’s blood, I hadn’t much of an appetite.
Crowds of people filtered in and out of bars and clubs, the bells on the doors of little shops ringing happily with busy customers. If only for a minute, I forgot I was no longer human, enjoying so much the bustling city.
I stopped at the corner of Fourth and Sixth where a group of onlookers watched a lone man strumming his guitar. The case was open on the ground for tips. I stood to the side, listening to the tinny melody and wrapped my arms around myself, contented. Aside from when I was with Guy, I felt alive for the first time in… well, it felt like forever, and I was happily distracted from my dark thoughts and haunting memories.
There I stood amongst the living, enjoying a Friday night stroll. The lights of the city twinkled overhead and the sounds of music wrapped me in a blanket of merriment. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew what I’d done was wrong; I shouldn’t have left the safety of the ranch house. I knew being out on the town, mingling with humans was a dangerous plot but I couldn’t stop from getting sucked into the lively atmosphere. It would be one of the last times I could enjoy such a luxury.
The man finished his tune and the crowd applauded before moving on to the next store or attraction. A stray cat meandered over to the man and he leaned down to scrub its mangy fur. I pondered leaving a tip, but realized I had no money. And then it struck me.
What was I doing here anyway? How had I been so stupid? I couldn’t very well buy the men a gift with no money, and I’d never stolen a thing in my entire life. Except for that lip gloss when I was fourteen, but hey, who was counting?
The whole trip had been in vain. I sighed in frustration, accepting that I needed to get back to Wilson’s quickly. The guys would be more than angry if they found me gone when they woke.
I gave the man and his cat friend one last glance before I bolted, only to find myself stunned, my teeth jamming together painfully. I blinked, seeing I’d plowed right into a tall metal parking meter. The strength of my body broke the thing from its base, the bolts pulled from the ground and the meter slammed to the pavement with a loud metallic bang. The impact did not go unnoticed, the echo resonating through the streets as well as vibrating through my body.
I stopped, frozen by my stupidity and realizing in my haste, I’d forgotten to control my ability. The cat bolted. The lone musician and a group of straggling pedestrians stopped to see what had happened. My first reaction was to speed away, but that would draw even more unwanted attention, so I backed up a few paces, slowly. I turned around, only to catch the glower of a group of patrolling soldiers and a man in a black coat. FUSE soldiers, of course, as the patches on their uniforms indicated. Oh, crap.
The men were stationed right across the street at the next corner, in front of a smoke shop. Their suspicious gazes glued to me and they spoke in hushed tones. I could not see the face of the man in black; it was hidden underneath a hood. But the soldiers’ foreheads were clearly lined with concern and I caught the word “unfortunate” in their quiet conversation. My heart threatened to pound out of my chest as I wondered if they were talking about me.
I smiled, acting as though nothing in the world was wrong, and walked myself as humanly as possible in the opposite direction.
Breathe. Just breathe. Act normal.
I concentrated on moving one foot after another, my arms swinging languid at my sides, yet I couldn’t shake the lingering soldiers’ presence. I wondered if they were following me but didn’t dare look back, knowing that would appear suspicious and incriminating. I inhaled through my nose and exhaled from my mouth, hoping I would get away unnoticed.
I made a sharp turn down the next street, keeping myself in the dark shadows. I dared a peek behind me and, sure enough, the three soldiers and the man in black came trailing around the corner after me. I took in my surroundings and noted that I now walked through a residential area, the street vacant except for my pursuers and me. I quickened my pace, realizing I was in big trouble. I focused my senses behind me and the swifter my pace became, the faster the soldier’s boots followed. They were gaining on me.
The only option to get away now was to use my lightning speed ability. Before giving another second’s consideration, I sped away in a flash.
My heart pounded and my breath quickened as the city lights sped by me. I wove in and out of backstreets and alleys, avoiding heavily populated areas. Dogs barked and cars whizzed by, but I kept my mind on staying as far away from the trouble I’d caused as possible. God, Guy would kill me if he found out. And Wilson? I could almost imagine his fatherly scorn and his wagging finger. Jeez, I was such an idiot.
I flew past a group of dumpsters behind an old warehouse, my breath hitching in surprise as the man in black leapt through the air toward me, his growl fierce and terrifying. I didn’t even have time to wonder how he’d caught up to me so quickly before I was ducking and rolling across the ground to avoid his impact. I glanced around and saw he was alone, the soldiers nowhere in sight. Who was this man?
Fear tore through me as I bolted away again, mounting a tall brick wall with surprising ease. I flew across the wall and leapt to the top of a flat roof. I didn’t have time to admire my ability to jump so high, but let my body react by instinct, huffing and puffing as I scaled from rooftop to rooftop. I figured I could avoid the man in black if I kept up high and out of reach. But just when I assumed I’d gotten away, I sensed a dark presence behind me. I spun to see the black-hooded stranger yet again, eye to eye with me on the rooftop. Dang.
He flew at me, his face cloaked in darkness, his muscular form tense and ready to attack.
Who the hell was this guy? There’s no way he was h
uman, from the speed and agility he displayed. Was he a vampire? No, I would’ve smelled that unmistakable banana pudding scent on him. He definitely had a smell about him, dingy and muddy, though I couldn’t place it.
Once again, I shifted my position just in time to avoid his attack. I threw myself from the roof and landed with a deafening boom in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, the large blue sign casting an eerie glow across the scenery. I looked down to see my feet had made large divots in the pavement and glanced up to see shoppers screaming at my unearthly arrival. People abandoned their shopping carts and scattered, disappearing into the night.
My dark pursuer joined me, landing a few paces in front of me in a standoff position, his curved back hunched forward, and his abnormally large legs were bent. His heaving form rose and fell with exasperated breathing.
“You gonna keep this up all night?” I asked, holding myself in a fight-ready position. “Or am I going to have to kill you right now?” Of course, I was bluffing. First off, I had no idea what this man or thing was. And second, I had no idea how to kill it.
The stranger did not answer, but his head twitched to the side before he pounced. I dodged him and flashed away into the night, begging my legs to carry me faster than they ever had before. My mind whirled, my heart pounded, and the need to get away was suffocating in itself. Somehow, I had to get back to Guy and Wilson but I could not lead this beast straight to their door. And that thought led me to more questions.
Not only did I wonder what the hell was following me, but how it was following me. He must sense me somehow, like the night at the mission how that dreadful vampire found me and Guy. But this was not a vampire, I was sure of it. Maybe a werewolf? I wasn’t certain, but it was the only logical guess I had. And if this cloaked stranger was indeed a wolf, then it would make sense he was following me by sense of smell. I knew what I had to do.
I pushed my aching legs even faster, jetting toward the east side of town. My pursuer grew more distant, but I hadn’t lost him yet because I sensed him just out of sight. I halted when arriving at a long row of businesses, my attention flickering from store to store. Restaurant. Laundry mat. Restaurant. Salon. Restaurant. Morgue.
Crap. I had two logical choices: a restaurant where I could hide my scent amongst the aroma of cooking food, or the morgue, where my smell might be masked by the odor of dead bodies. The restaurants were jammed with hungry customers and I would have a tough time avoiding attention there. On the other hand, the morgue had been shut down for the day and was dark and seemingly vacant. That was my answer then, the morgue.
I leaped across the street, sensing the werewolf’s presence gaining on me like a looming shadow of darkness. Terrified, I circled the building and found the back door locked. I focused, grasping the handle tightly. I pulled with all of my might and it burst open, the lock breaking under the pressure. I scrambled inside and shut the door behind me, finding a deadbolt at the top. Just my luck. I locked it and found a heavy table off to the side. I pushed it against the door and then turned to face the room, panting.
The morgue was cold and frigid, as though encapsulated in ice and narrow silver drawers marked with names of the deceased covered the walls. The room I’d entered was the one where the bodies were kept. I shivered with dread.
An eerie silence seeped through the place and I couldn’t help feeling like I wasn’t alone. But I reassured myself I was alone, the people there dead and no longer of this world— kinda like I should’ve been just a few nights ago before someone infected me with vampirism. I shook away my random thoughts and slid beneath a wooden desk, wrapping my arms around my knees. I would have to wait it out and pray the werewolf would lose my scent. I resisted the urge to nervously laugh aloud, to laugh at the stupidity of my actions and the irony of my situation.
Here I was on a Friday night, a vampire hiding amongst the dead, running from a werewolf and, once again putting my life in danger. I shook my head, knowing it was all my fault. I should’ve stayed at the ranch house and ignored the urge to go to town, but I tried to justify my decision because it was my last night before beginning my new life— a life I wasn’t sure I’d even like, at that. Maybe it had been cold feet or a last-ditch effort to feel alive again, a last effort to embrace freedom, but either way, I’d made a huge mistake leaving Guy and Wilson.
I leaned my head back against the solid wood, my breath slowing to even pants. I could only imagine the look on Wilson and Guy’s face when I came traipsing in from a romp around town, and I was pretty certain they’d be awake by now, wondering where the heck I was. I shifted my attention to the door, hearing only silence and the beat of my own heart.
Right when my hope solidified that I’d lost the werewolf, the door burst open and the table went flying. The cloaked man stood over me, heaving, and I was pretty sure I’d have to check my pants when, and if, I found myself out of this situation. I looked at my pursuer, finally seeing his hands, or paws rather, and fear crashed through me like a vase shattering against a wall.
I was right in my suspicion, he was a werewolf, but not fully transformed. He looked like a strange human mutation of a wolf, the flesh on his long face still pink, his features similar to a human’s. But fur covered his hands and long sharp claws extended from his fingers. They splayed out, ready for a fight. A fight to the death.
THIRTY-THREE: GUY
I woke abruptly, my body being shaken.
“She’s gone!”
I blinked my confused eyes open and squirmed beneath Wilson’s strong grasp. He knelt over me on the floor, his strained face red as blood.
“God damn it, wake up. She’s gone!”
“What?” I sat up, rubbing the grit from my eyes. The world came blaringly into focus.
“Ruby!” Wilson growled. “You let her escape!”
Fear tore through my chest as my gaze flashed to the empty bed beside me, the covers rumpled and askew. I shot to my feet and scoured the room, flinging open the closet door, checking the covers and beneath the bed. When I found no sign of her in our room I rushed to the bathroom, the living room, the kitchen, Wilson tight on my heels.
“It’s no good searching. She’s gone.” Wilson’s voiced mirrored the dread I felt inside.
“No. She’s got to be here somewhere.” I ran back through the house, stopping at the red door— the one that was perpetually locked, the room I’d never been allowed to enter. I jiggled the handle and when that didn’t work, I slammed my body into it, knocking myself to the ground. I jumped to my feet and tried again. Wilson placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me but I shrugged him off.
“Let me in there Wilson.” Fury grew inside of me like the hot rays of a mid-day sun. “She could be in there.”
“She’s not in there. She left.”
I stopped cold and turned to the old vampire. “How do you know?” My chest heaved with panting breath. “How do you know she’s not outside, breaking spoons?” I started to run to the back door and search the property, but Wilson grabbed my arm and held me in place. I glared daggers at him.
“I played back the security camera,” he explained and his voice had a dark finality to it. “She left hours ago.”
“Show me.” Disbelief that Ruby would leave when we were so close to Tombstone rattled my brain. “Show me the tape.”
Wilson stared at me with frustration and sadness combined.
“Wilson!” I barked. “Show me the damned tape!”
He considered me for a moment longer. I’m sure he could see my body trembling with adrenaline for I could feel it like a cyclone. I couldn’t believe neither one of us had seen her go. She’d disappeared just like that. Wilson’s chest expanded with a deep breath before he pulled a key from his pocket. He slid it into the lock and opened the red door.
I burst into the room, taking notice of the walls. Walls and walls of electronics. Cameras, TVs, computers, maps. Wires everywhere. Wilson had always been privy to the happenings around town before anyone else. And this was
why. He had his own intelligence office, comparable to the FBI, right here in the ranch house. But I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting Ruby back. That headstrong girl, she’d likely get herself killed before she’d be able to join the others.
“Show me.” My head swiveled back and forth, looking for the right screen. “Where?”
“Here.” Wilson sat in front of a large screen, hooked up to a keyboard. He clicked at the keys, an image flashing upon the screen. It was a shot of Wilson’s front driveway. A blur of long white hair and quick legs flashed by.
“That was her?” It’d been so quick, I wasn’t sure if it was my eyes playing tricks on me. But Wilson nodded. My chest tightened, panic stricken. “Where did she go?”
Wilson shook his head. “How should I know? She could be in Mexico now for all I’m aware.”
My anger flared and I clenched my fists. “How do you not know? You know everything Wilson! How do you not know this?”
Wilson shot to his feet, his face mere inches from mine, fangs bared. “Don’t yell at me as though this were my fault!”
My heart pounded, threatening to explode in my chest. I glared at the old vampire with a young man’s façade. Just the sight of him enraged me. “You’re the surveillance expert here. And you said so yourself, you hardly ever sleep. How did you not notice her leaving? Shouldn’t you have used your… your superhero vampire abilities to sense her or something?”
I scowled at him, my temper rising. He was a two-hundred year old vampire with extraordinary vision and hearing. I was only human after all. He should’ve sensed her leaving.
Wilson’s nostrils flared, his voice dangerously low. “You were the one who brought her here. She was your charge. Your responsibility. You slept in the same room as her. It is you who should’ve been keeping a closer eye on her.”
Unfortunate Souls (Book 1): Unfortunate Souls Series (The Unfortunate Souls Series) Page 20