“Did you see that new freshman?” she asked. From the expression on her face and enthusiasm of her voice, I suspected that Aiden’s power extended to all the girls in the school. “The one called Aiden, what’s his name?”
“Winters,” Karen answered without hesitation.
“Oh no,” I groaned, “not you too.”
“Looks like the new boy’s got the entire school talking,” said Rick.
“He’s in all of Amy’s classes,” Lydia reported.
“Lucky you,” said Flora. Rick cleared his throat. She sat back in her seat and reached out to touch her boyfriend’s face. “Oh, don’t worry. You don’t have any competition. Besides, he’s a freshman, way out of my league.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” said Rick with a false offended expression.
Lydia and Karen giggled. I was not amused as I should be. Aiden Winters had taken the school by storm and he had done everything in his power to avoid me. It wasn’t fair but then remembered that Ethan hadn’t said anything about answers. I could feel my phone pressed against my leg in my pocket and I wanted very much to call the elder Winters brother, but not in a carful of people. Even though Karen and Lydia had full knowledge of my dream and Ethan’s supposed existence, Rick was driving the car and Flora seated in the front seat next to him.
No, I decided, I would call Ethan later, but after I’ve checked out a book on vampires. Although it was only meant to be a joke, Karen and Lydia had brought up the theory again and perhaps Ethan had something to do with it. He did wipe their memories about Saturday and it seemed that he also did the same to Rick and my parents. As for Luke, I wouldn’t know. Perhaps he was spared, considering that Luke spent most of his time in his room with his ears clad in headphones. He wouldn’t have seen or heard a thing.
“Hey, Rick, can you drop me off at the library instead?” I asked.
“Yeah, sure. But how are you going home?” Rick peered out of his windscreen, his eyes up towards the sky. It didn’t look like the rain was going to ease up any time soon.
“I’ll get dad to pick me up. I know he gets off early today.”
“Alright,” said Rick and indicated left instead of right at the intersection.
The library was almost empty, except for the librarian, who sat behind her desk reading a newspaper. Rick dropped me off in front of the entrance and drove off with my best friends and his girlfriend still in the car. I rushed inside to avoid getting splattered by the rain.
The lights were on, except for the back section where the janitor hadn’t gotten around to changing the bulbs. I walked amongst the shelves and books and could almost hear the words printed on the pages whisper to me. I found myself walking back to the blank book I found yesterday but did not feel compelled to open its covers. I stood in front of the small volume and starred at it, uncertain what to do. I shook my head and thought myself as silly. I was here for a book about vampires, not this book where all the pages have faded with time. And yet, as I tried to walk away, I felt as if it would not let me.
A shadow moved behind the shelves and when I turned around, I saw a glimpse of Aiden. He moved to remain hidden, as if he had accidentally bumped into me at the library but didn’t want me to know. I turned back to the empty book and held my breath. Perhaps it was some sort of destiny that I should come back to this book, perhaps the book was meant to be taken away by me. I didn’t where the thoughts came from and the sudden jump from Aiden to the empty book felt strange. I took it from the shelves and shoved it in my school bag. It was an act of theft that I was willing to take. Besides, it had no barcode to stop me. In fact, the book looked like it didn’t belong in the library at all, as if it had been left there to hide it from someone.
I could sense Aiden’s presence a few shelves away. He was much quicker than I am and it was clear that he didn’t want to talk. Chasing after Aiden was hopeless. He wouldn’t let me catch him unless he wanted to. After fifteen minutes of the cat-mouse game, I gave up.
“Fine,” I whispered. I knew that he could hear me. “If you don’t want to talk, don’t stalk me.”
I left the library and as I did, I felt Aiden following me. In the car park, I spotted his car. The black mustang seemed to wait and I could see that it was unlocked, perhaps on purpose. I inhaled deeply and wondered what, exactly, did he want from me.
“I’ll take you home,” said Aiden. The sound of his voice so close to my ear made me jump. He appeared out of nowhere and stood behind me. I spun around to face him and saw that he didn’t avoid my eyes.
“Just like that?” I said, “And you’re not going to leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere again?”
“I apologise again for my actions and I did not mean to bring you injury. How are your feet?”
“I could have died,” I hissed. “I could have gotten kidnapped and no one would have known. You left me and then you knocked me out. And there is the matter of your brother messing with my family and friends’ memories. He promised me answers, are you going to give them to me?”
Aiden did not let his stoic expression slip. “From what I’m informed, I don’t think he went that far.”
I stared at him. “What are you?”
“It best that you don’t know.”
“Why?”
“Because knowledge of my existence already endangers you.”
“What about the rest of the school?”
“They do not know what I am.”
“Well, neither do I. Unless…” I paused and continued to stare at him.
Aiden tilted his head slightly to the side as he waited for me to finish my sentence, which I held and the suspense of what I intended to say grew.
“Unless?” he asked finally.
I narrowed my eyes. “Unless what your brother said about you is true.”
Ethan hadn’t really said anything to me, but that didn’t matter. The mere mention of Ethan brought a change of expression onto Aiden’s face, and it was then that I realized I had just discovered his weakness.
“What did he say to you?” he asked, almost too quickly and he regretted it. I could see that he wanted to take it back but couldn’t. He turned to walk away but I grabbed his arm.
“Don’t you dare run away from me,” I commanded. Aiden looked down at my hand and then at me. He hadn’t expected me to be so daring. I released him. He bowed his head.
“I apologize for my rudeness. Please, let me take you home.”
I sighed. There was no winning with him. Aiden’s mood changed quicker than anyone I’ve ever encountered. The rain lightened its downpour and I made my dash across the parking lot to his car. Within moments, I was in the passenger seat.
I barely had time to blink when Aiden was in the driver’s seat and pulling his seat belt over his body.
“This isn’t fair,” I complained, “you stalk me, you pretend to be a student, and you still won’t let me in on your secret.”
“I already told you my name,” he said, “is that not enough?”
“No, it will never be enough.”
Aiden started the car and the engine purred to life. “You ought to be scarred of me, I’m not good for you.”
“Yeah, tell me that, now while I’m sitting in your car again.”
Aiden started driving. I refused to let us slip into silence.
“That person you killed,” I started, “what was he? A doppelgänger?”
“How did you know?”
“I’ll tell you after you answer my question.”
“Yes,” he said after some time.
“And what are you?”
“Why are you so persistent?”
“Because I’m a girl. It’s what I do. Answer me, Aiden Winters.”
Aiden refused to speak and he drove until he reached my driveway.
“Take care, Amelia,” he said. Aiden leaned over me and pushed open the door. My heart pounded against my chest as his body momentarily pressed against mine. He unbuckled my seatbelt and waited for me to
get out of his car. I blinked and turned my face to look at him. He adverted his eyes and avoided looking at me, it was as if he was ashamed.
“Fine,” I said, “take care, Aiden.”
I got out of his car, ran up the front door and shoved my house key into the lock. He waited until I was inside, only then did I hear his car drive away. I watched him leave from the living room window.
I sprawled myself down on the couch and closed my eyes. I didn’t know what to do. Ethan wouldn’t talk and Aiden flipped from one person to another within a blink.
An urgent knock sounded at the door and interrupted my thoughts. I pulled myself off the couch and went to answer it. I gasped at the sight that greeted me. Lydia’s adoptive mother stood on the other side, her clothes drenched in blood and with the rain all over her face. There was a large gash across the nape of her neck and the open skin looked like it had been mauled by some vicious animal. Her dark skin was bruised and beaten, her lips broken.
“Amy,” she managed to utter with relief as she collapsed into my arms. I barely kept my balance.
“Luke!” I screamed. I knew he was in the house. My brother didn’t make a sound and I knew he must have had his headphones on. “Help!”
Chapter 8
Rick, Karen and Lydia arrived at my house at approximately the same time as the ambulance. Luke was beside me as the paramedics hauled Anna, who was barely alive, away. Lydia went in the ambulance with her while the rest of us followed in Rick’s car. I sent my parents a text when they didn’t pick up their phones.
We waited with Lydia in the hospital foyer as the doctors operated on her mom. One of the nurses reported that she had internal bleeding and an emergency operation was needed immediately. Rick filled out the forms for Lydia as Karen and I held her in our arms. Even though Lydia and Karen did not recognise it, I knew that whatever attacked Anna was the same one that attacked Lydia.
About an hour later, Karen’s parents arrived. They just got off work and saw their daughter’s frantic message. Page and James was both surprised and confused as neither of them expected to see Anna ever again. My parents arrived about ten minutes after.
We sat for what seemed like forever and it was Jess who came out of the operation room to talk to us. Lydia was still shaking despite our efforts to comfort her. I didn’t blame her though, if it was my mom, I would have reacted the same way.
“It’s bad but she’ll be alright,” the emergency nurse reported.
All our hearts sighed with relief. We expected worse. Jess turned her attention to Lydia. “It looked like whatever attacked your mother is the same creature that attacked you. Are you sure you don’t remember what it looks like? Or where you were when the attack happened?”
Lydia shook her head. Her mind was completely blank about the entire event and I knew she was not lying. Lydia had no reason to hide the truth from us. I instantly thought of Ethan and Aiden. They would know something about the attack on Anna and Lydia.
I went home in mom’s car and Luke sat in the backseat while I sat in the front. Dad followed us in his car. I looked out the window, my eyes glazed by the streetlamps that provided little light through the thick rain.
“Do you think she’ll be alright?” I asked.
I was speaking to mom but it was Luke who answered. It was then that I realised how disturbed he was by the sight of the blood and bruises. “Who? Anna or Lydia?”
“Anna and Lydia are strong,” my mom said, “They’ll both be fine.”
The car slipped into silence and I watched my brother’s hazy reflection in the side view mirror. He looked pale, or maybe it was just because of the dim light. I felt sorry for him as I remembered that he was still only fourteen and didn’t know what I knew.
None of us had the stomach to eat dinner that night and retreated to my bedroom when we got home. I dumped my bag on the floor in front of the dresser. The empty book I stole from the library slipped out, its covers opened. I picked it up but could not find anything different or significant about it. The book was just a book, and yet sometime it felt as if it was trying to be more.
My phone rang and when I looked at the screen, the incoming number was unfamiliar. I answered it.
“Hello?”
Silence ensued on the caller’s side.
“Hello?” I tried again and moved from my bed to stand by the window. Perhaps the rain was making the reception bad. “Can you hear me?”
I frowned when the caller hung up.
“Weird,” I found myself saying.
I looked out my window and my skin suddenly pricked up with fear. For half a heartbeat, I thought I saw something glint in the dark, like the eyes of something demonic. The memory of Aiden’s transformation just before he kicked me out of his car returned to me and I wondered it if was him. But my gut told me that it was something else, something dangerous and definitely not Aiden. My fingers instinctively found Ethan’s number. I pressed the phone to my ear as I stared at the spot where I thought I saw the eyes.
“I’m busy. This better be life and death.”
I felt relieved by the sound of his voice, despite his angry tone.
“There’s something outside my house.”
“I know.”
“What?” I hadn’t expected that reply from him.
“Keep your window closed.”
“What is it?” I attempted to peer outside but the light in my room prevented me.
“You don’t want to know. Isn’t it past your bed time?”
“Is it the same creature that attacked Lydia and Anna?” I pressed on.
Ethan didn’t reply. “Go to bed,” he said.
“No. I can’t sleep with whatever it is outside my house. I can almost see it.”
“Almost isn’t the same as can. Now, go to sleep. Don’t worry. I’ve got Aiden on its tail. You’ll be safe. Now, if you’d excuse me, I have to go and help my brother before he accidentally kills it.”
Ethan didn’t hesitate to hang up on me. The line died and there was nothing else that I could do. I could have rang him back, but didn’t.
I turned off my lights and went back to the window. I stared out into the darkness and searched for the eyes I thought I saw. No, I did see them, those big black eyes that glinted with life and not just a figment of my imagination. Ethan had confirmed that something was definitely outside.
I stared into the darkness but the rain helped the night hide its monster. I hated not knowing. It made me feel helpless. I stayed at the window for what seemed like at least an hour, my eyes glued on the drenched yard below and my ears pricked up with alertness. But despite my efforts, I still couldn’t hear or see anything.
I jumped when my phone buzzed with a message. I looked at the lighted screen and saw that it was Ethan.
Seriously, go to bed.
His message was not very compelling, especially when he just told me that there was something outside, along with Aiden, who was going to kill it.
Another message came in. I looked at my phone again and saw that it was from the number that had rung me before I decided to call Ethan.
Listen to him, Amelia.
The message baffled me until it quickly dawned on me that it might just be Aiden. Surely, the brothers are communicating with each other. There was no other possible explanation. I stepped away from the window and went to my bed, but I did not go to sleep as instructed. Instead, I remain seated with my eyes staring at the darkness outside.
~
I didn’t know when I fell asleep but I must have. It was obvious enough for me to quickly deduce that I was dreaming. The forest returned like a long lost friend who I had abandoned for more pleasant dreams that I can’t remember. The trees shivered their branches above my head as they attempt to wave and hail my return. Even the gentle wind that stalked the dreamscape kissed my cheeks and hailed my return. It was as if they missed me. I certainly did not miss them.
It felt strange to know that I will eventually walk towards my death, exce
pt this time, I knew the Winter brothers.
I walked down the familiar track and half way towards the execution ground, I found Ethan, the once mysterious blonde young man that almost drove me mad with curiosity. He wore his usual leather jacket and dark jeans, his shoulders broad and strong, his hair cropped short. I called out his name but no sound came out of my mouth. I was not allowed to communicate with him.
Ethan did not turn around and remained still, his eyes transfixed on something in the distance, just beyond the trees. I realised that I didn’t remember this part of the dream. I usually skipped right to the part where I was about to die.
I walked up to Ethan and reached out for his arm, but no matter how many steps I took towards him, I could never quite touch him. It was as if he was off limits. Someone called out my name in the wind. I turned around and thought the voice sounded familiar. It was a male’s voice, deep and sultry.
“Aiden,” I whispered.
I turned back to face Ethan, only to find Aiden in his place. He looked at me, his eyes filled with pity and sorrow. I didn’t understand it.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said to me. His green eyes were like emeralds caught in the light. My legs became rooted as Aiden stepped forward and lifted his hands up to my face. I felt his soft palms against my cheeks and my heart in my ears. For that moment, the forest melted away and I was alone with him.
“This is a dream,” I told myself. “And I’m going to die soon.”
Aiden shook his head. “It doesn’t have to be that way. You have to trust us.”
“Who? You and Ethan.”
Aiden did not reply as his seemingly solid body became incorporeal and started to fade. He turned into a ghost and his hand disappeared from my face. I watched as the wind blew his existence away.
“Aiden,” I called out.
The path to the execution ground returned and I felt compelled to walk down it. But Aiden’s words caused conflict in my head and his touch seemed to linger on my skin.
Witchling (Chronicles of Witchood) Page 7