Unfortunate Souls (Book 1): Unfortunate Souls Series (The Unfortunate Souls Series)

by Jade M. Phillips

  “Don’t you worry, Faith,” Guy said. “I promised Wilson I’d protect you and I never break a promise.”

  I held my breath as we descended rapidly, our bodies shaking with the bumpy decline. The night was so dark; I could barely see the bottom of what seemed a ravine. But I focused my sight and saw the end. We were close.

  I gasped as we hit ground level, the truck spinning out and ducking us beneath the underpass. Guy flicked off the headlights and ceased the engine, the only sound was our heavy breathing. I gazed out with my vampire vision, the fine dirt glistening like stardust as it settled in the moonlight. Guy surprised me by grabbing my hand in his, electric shocks jolting up my arm, making me shiver with his warmth.

  “It’s okay.” He looked at me from within the darkness. “We’re safe now.”

  The excitement of the chase heightened my senses, and with Guy’s closeness, the attraction grew thick and heavy between us. I could feel our two hearts beating in time with each other, his warm blood and my cold, coursing vibrantly through our veins. My head turned to his, and his to mine, our lips mere inches apart. I leaned in closer, wanting to press my mouth to his, but hesitated. At his warm breath on my lips, a heavy ache settled into my gut and I couldn’t do it, knowing it would only cause trouble.

  Headlights approached the top of the ravine and Guy swiftly sat up straight at their increasing glow, forgetting our closeness. We sat still and silent until the black SUV that had been following us flew over us on the bridge and disappeared from sight. Guy released a short breath and smiled, combing his fingers through his hair in relief.

  “That was a close one.”

  I smiled, but it was a solemn one. I had to admit I was saddened we were in the clear, because that meant I would be at Tombstone within the hour.

  “Maybe we should wait until tomorrow night,” I offered with a shrug. “Until we’re absolutely sure we aren’t being followed anymore. We could find another seedy motel and watch a movie? We could have a memorial for Wilson.” I grinned hopefully.

  Guy slid me an apologetic smile. “No. We’re fine now. Plus, I need to get back to headquarters by morning or they’ll start to get suspicious.”

  I was about to reply when a burst of lights and spraying rock erupted from the top of the ravine. Guy and I froze in fear, our chins lifting upward to see the black SUV take air over the ridge and slam down hard onto the rocky hill, descending toward us with unrelenting speed. Closer… closer.

  “Shit.” Guy turned the engine, the truck roaring to life. He slammed his foot to the petal, causing the tires to spin out a cloud of dust. The vehicle bucked, but then settled back into place, panic gripping my insides.

  “What’s wrong?” I clasped the sides of my seat, fear coursing through me. Guy pumped the petal again and again, the tires screaming at their stunted use.

  “We’re stuck.” His face drew in hard with strain as he tried yet again to move the truck. But each attempt seemed to dig us deeper into the mire. My heart thundered against my ribcage and I dared a look upward. The SUV’s bright beams bounced from its bumpy decline, illuminating the dust and debris it kicked up. It was nearly half way down.

  “Damn it!” Guy pounded the steering wheel in frustration and, yet again, slammed his foot to the petal. Rubber grinded dirt, squelching and crunching. But the truck shuddered, unmoving.

  “Get out,” he commanded, shifting his wide eyes to me. “Run.”

  My frightened lungs pumped air quickly in and out of my chest. I shook my head in denial.

  “No,” I breathed, barely above a whisper. The glow from the approaching SUV danced across Guy’s face, casting his tense jawbone into light and shadow.

  “Go. I can handle this. But you can’t be caught.”

  I fisted my hands to stop them from trembling.

  “I’m not leaving you.” Fear blazed through my chest. “I won’t.”

  “Don’t be foolish, Faith!” Guy tried the tires once again to no avail. He shot me a steely glance. “Use your speed. Tombstone’s only a few miles away. You can make it there quickly.”

  Burning rubber prickled my nose and dust burned my eyes. Fright tore through me at the thought of leaving Guy this way. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. I wasn’t ready yet.

  “I… I don’t care. I can’t leave you.”

  For a split second, Guy’s expression melted into softness. He was about to say something when the SUV blanched into sight and, after fishtailing, slammed into us, the concussion knocking our bodies sideways. Dust clouded the air making it hard to see. I shook my head from the stun of the impact and looked to Guy. He blinked dizzily, but seemed physically unharmed. Our scared eyes met.

  “Go!” he hollered. “You can still get away.”

  I don’t know if it was the panic rising in my throat like bile, or the fear I saw in Guy’s face, but I grabbed my door handle and jiggled it. It wouldn’t budge. The SUV had crushed my side of the vehicle, trapping me inside.

  “I can’t! It won’t open.”

  I heard a door open and footsteps crunching our way. Guy sucked in a deep breath, and leaned over me to grasp at the handle.

  “Damn it Faith! I— Todd?”

  I took in Guy’s shocked expression, and followed his eyes to the windshield. A man in a FUSE uniform stood there alone, illuminated by the headlights, panting with heavy breath. Guy and the soldier stared at each other for one long moment, the dust settling around us to reveal our two dented vehicles.

  The stranger saluted, three fingers frozen to his shoulder and I watched in utter shock as Guy smiled, his body sagging with reprieve. He opened the door of the truck and called out to the soldier.

  “God damn it, Kemp! Are you trying to kill me?”

  The man stayed in position, but gave a half-hearted smile. “Sorry, Sir. Lost control, Sir.”

  “At ease soldier.” Guy made his way to the front of the vehicle. Kemp dropped his hand and after a moment, the two men hugged, thumping each other on the back.

  My mouth hung open in awe. It was clear by the way Guy was acting that we weren’t in imminent danger anymore. But still, the man was a FUSE solider and trepidation clung to my insides like glue. As if sensing my unease, Guy locked eyes with me through the windshield and smiled. “It’s okay,” he mouthed, holding up a hand, signaling me stay in the truck. He turned back to Kemp.

  “What were you doing chasing me down like that?” Despite the purr of the truck’s engine, I strained my ears, listening in on their conversation. Kemp dug a boot into the dirt, his eyes flickering from me to Guy.

  “I’ve been trying to find you Sir and couldn’t reach you by your cell.”

  Guy eyed his friend warily, the headlights illuminating the profiles of the two men. “What could be so important that you’d hunt me down like this? I told you I was taking a few personal days. What is this about, Kemp?”

  Kemp licked his dry lips nervously, shifting his weight from one leg to another. “We have an Unfortunate at headquarters, Sir. The only survivor of the Bisbee battle.”

  I creased my brows, confused. I thought I was the only survivor from that night. Images flashed in my head of the battle, the night I awoke amongst explosions and fire, thinking I was in some sort of hell. Dread trickled through me at the mention of it. Kemp reached behind him and produced a long white envelope. He held it tight, continuing his explanation.

  “The Unfortunate I speak of asked me to deliver a message for him. He said it was important.”

  Guy grimaced uncomfortably, digging his hands into his pockets. “You know that’s against the rules, Kemp. Detainees are allowed no contact with the outside world.”

  “I know.” The soldier’s voice was shaky and uncertain. “I would’ve ignored him except for something he kept saying. A name that might be of some interest to you.”

  Guy cocked his head to the side. “What name?”

  Kemp took a deep breath, flipping the envelope over in his hands. “Ruby Carter, the girl you aske
d me to check up on last we talked.”

  My stomach lurched at the mention of my name— anxiety and fear combined. Guy had checked up on me? And who on earth would know of me in the world of Unfortunates? Unless…

  My heart hammered in my chest with realization. The night I awoke after having died in the car accident, I was turned into a vampire. But I was alone, my maker nowhere to be found. Could this be the Unfortunate they talked about? My maker? I inhaled slowly, trying to calm the raging turmoil inside my brain, a wash of emotions I couldn’t quite decipher.

  Kemp handed over the envelope, Guy studying it before offering me a quick glance. He shifted his attention back to the soldier.

  “Does anyone know you’ve done this?”

  “No, Sir.”

  “Does anyone know you’re here, that you’ve come looking for me?”

  “No, Sir.”

  Guy sucked in a mouthful of air and released it slowly. He looked sternly into the other man’s face. “All right, then. Let’s keep it that way. And we’ll worry about this Unfortunate business once I get back to headquarters.”

  Kemp shuffled his feet in the dirt. “If I may be so bold in asking Sir, when might that be?”

  Guy raked a hand through his disheveled hair and sighed. “Soon, Kemp.” He glanced to me and then back. “I have some business I need to attend first, but I should be there by morning.”

  Guy saying that I was merely business would’ve hurt me, had I not been so preoccupied with that darned envelope. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it. I needed to know what was in there. I needed to know if it was a clue to who my maker was.

  Kemp went to his SUV and opened up the trunk. He came back with a couple of wooden boards. He and Guy shoved the boards beneath the two front tires of our truck. They both met back in front of the windshield and looked at each other.

  After a moment of silence, Guy stepped forward and patted Kemp on the arm. “Keep up the good work, solider. And this,” he tapped the envelope, “stays between us. All right?”

  Kemp nodded, his gaze hesitantly sliding my way. After a moment, he jumped into the black SUV and drove away, leaving a trail of dust. Guy climbed back into the truck and shut the door. He gazed at me, his eyes soft and liquid, and handed me the envelope. I glanced down at it in my hands, my heart squeezing in my chest. The name on the front was drawn in neat, uppercase letters.

  RUBY CARTER.

  I glanced back at Guy, the blue glow of the dash washing over his face. My voice shook when I spoke. “You’re not going to read it?”

  Guy shifted into drive and revved the engine. After a moment, the truck bucked forward and drove smoothly over the wooden boards, releasing us from our stuck position. We both knew what this might mean; that this envelope might just be the answer I’d been searching for all along. He glanced over at me and sighed.

  “It’s not mine to read. That’s your decision.”

  Guy made his way up the rocky wash and back onto the highway. After a while, I saw battered old signs signaling our nearness to Tombstone. My limbs went numb, my body tingling with nerves.

  “Guy?” I clenched the envelope between my palms.

  “Yeah?”

  I didn’t want to admit my fear, but I found the words slipping from my mouth anyway.

  “I’m scared.”

  I wasn’t exactly sure what scared me more: joining the other Unfortunates of Tombstone, or opening the envelope. But either way, fear and anxiety tore through my body.

  “You’ll be fine,” Guy replied with a sincere gaze. “Like Wilson said, you’re strong and determined. You’ll fit in fine. And whatever is in that envelope is for you only. It’s not my business anymore.”

  My heart sank at his words. He might as well have said I wasn’t his business anymore. But I understood. Guy had another life to lead and we wouldn’t be able to stay together this way, as enemies. But the truth still didn’t subdue my sorrow. And now with my impending stay in Tombstone just around the corner, fear dug deeper into my soul.

  I wasn’t just some normal vampire joining its kin. I was a half-breed weirdo with super-hero powers and the heart of a human. But I had no other choice at that point but to try and acclimate. We came upon a barricade in the road marking our approach to the old ghost town. A sign hung there saying ‘Condemned: Turn back.’ But Guy veered off the road and went around it. He kept on driving.

  “Think of it as a fresh start,” he said, focusing on the road. “A new beginning to a brand new life. Not many people get a chance like this.”

  I didn’t reply because I didn’t want him to hear the fear and sorrow in my voice. I wanted to be strong, no needed to be strong for what was to come. I was a vampire now and I was almost home. And maybe, just maybe, I would finally find out who my maker was.

  THIRTY-SEVEN: RUBY

  Nervous tingles ran up my spine as I held the envelope between my palms. The envelope from, who could only be assumed as, my maker. I gazed down at my name plainly written on the front, my heart skipping a beat.

  RUBY CARTER

  Guy cleared his voice, bringing my attention back to his grey eyes, the dim light from the dash giving them a blue glow. “Aren’t you going to open it?” he asked.

  I glanced back down at the letter. I’d assumed he wanted me to wait until getting to Tombstone to open it, but apparently now was the time. Apprehension spread through my gut like frothy water running into a bath as my fingers curled around the paper. “Do we have enough time?”

  The truck careened down the lone highway, the roadside signs signaling our closeness to Tombstone. Guy stared out the window for one long moment and then slid me a smile. He lifted his foot from the gas pedal, the truck decelerating to a crawl.

  “I’ll make time.”

  The wide open desert streamed by us so slowly it was as if time stood still. I returned Guy’s smile and sighed nervously, feeling the paper between my fingers.

  If this letter was from my maker like I assumed, that left me with the question of why? Why now? And what could they possibly have to say? But regardless of my trepidations, I couldn’t wait any longer. I took a breath, trying to calm my frenzied heart, and peeled open the back. I slid out the paper from inside, unfolding it with trembling fingers.

  Highway lights flashed over the page and the words blinked in and out of sight, but I saw them just the same.

  Dear Ruby,

  My name is Frank Cavalon. I’ve dreamed of writing you this letter a hundred times over in my mind. But now that I am able, I find the words difficult to produce. Therefore, I will just come right out and say it. Ruby, I am your biological father.

  My breath caught in my chest and I released an audible gasp. Guy slid me a curious sidelong glance but said nothing. I offered him an uncomfortable smile and when he looked away, I dropped my unbelieving eyes back to the page, my heart pounding inside of me.

  I need you to know that I never wanted to leave you and your mother, but under the circumstances I had to for your safety. It pains me more than I could ever express that I was never able to hold you in my arms once you were born. But the past is the past and now I find myself in a situation where this may very well be the only communication I will ever have with you. There are so many things I’ve wanted to tell you, and I speak to you in my mind every day of my life. But there is only so much room on this paper, and only so much time in which I have to write. So here goes.

  Whether you could see me or not, I was always with you, Ruby, since the day you were born. I watched from the shadows when you took your first step. I saw your eyes light up when you rode your bicycle for the first time. I was there the night you broke your leg in the front lawn and cried crocodile tears. I wanted more than anything to take you in my arms and comfort you the way a real father should. But all I could do was watch with sadness from the darkness, my heart breaking.

  I was there when you had your first school dance. My heart swelled seeing you dressed up like a princess, your hair curled and your make
-up on. I was there for your high school graduation, the proudest father in the world.

  The truck hit a pothole and my body bounced in response. Anticipation coursed through me at what I suspected to find in the letter. My lips quivered and my heart threatened to pound out of my chest. But I continued reading, unable to peel my eyes from the page.

  I was there for it all, Ruby. You were never alone like I know you felt all those years. Your mother was always a good mother, and though I hate to admit it, the man who took my place, loved you despite his long hours away. I could never truly thank them for taking such good care of my daughter, but I am so very grateful they did. But all the times I was there for you, the last time painfully grates at my soul.

  I was there the night you rushed into the rain, driving away with a heavy heart. I know what happened. And I know your mother finally told you about me and it kills me that it had such an effect on you. But she never knew my reason for leaving, for I was unable to tell her. And I can’t imagine how mad you must’ve been finding out that I’d abandoned you both. That was never my intention.

  But I followed you that night, worried for your safety. And when your car crashed, it was me who held you in my arms as you bled. I was never able to hold you in my arms in life, but I held you in death, savoring our closeness.

  It was my eyes that you finally looked upon for the first time, our first reunion. But it wasn’t the reunion I’d always dreamed about. You were dying and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t bear to lose you that way, not when I knew I could do something about it. So I pulled you from the car before it burst into flames and took you to the one place I knew you’d be safe. A place where people like me hide away.

  A cool waft of air blasted my face as Guy cracked the window, and I found myself gripping the paper so hard, my knuckles ached. My eyes wavered with sorrow and joy combined, threatening to spill hot tears. Instead of letting them fall, I trudged on, wanting to know more. Needing to know more.

  But they took me away before I could see you through your transformation. They —the men who wish our kind dead—ambushed our hideout and killed everyone except me, taking me prisoner. Rage tore through me when I thought they’d killed you, but then I sensed you. Because I was the one who made you, I knew you still lived, and still live to this day. And wherever you are, I hope that you will forgive me for what I’ve done to you. Though my existence has been a dark one, I thought if I could save you, I might yet see the light again. As I look back I know it was a selfish move, but at the time it was the only option I could see. I couldn’t let death take my little girl away.