Stalked by Death tod-2

by Kelly Hashway

  “Good.” He kissed me. “I’ll go get you some food. We’ll eat up here. Just the two of us.”

  I was torn. I wanted to get away from him, yet I didn’t want him to go. My body, my blood, was at odds with itself. “Hurry back.”

  He smiled. “I knew you’d come around.” He kissed the back of my hand. “I’ll make you much happier than Alex did. I have so much more to offer you.”

  He left, leaving me to think about Alex. Now that Chase wasn’t touching me, my head wasn’t cloudy anymore. Alex was the one I loved, not Chase. What was I doing? I couldn’t give in to him. I had to get out of here. Flinging the covers off me, I ran to the door, peeking out. The hallway was empty. Everyone was downstairs in the dining room. I doubted they were eating after what had happened to Lucas. They were probably discussing how to overthrow me. Maybe making plans to give me to Hades in exchange for their freedom.

  I couldn’t think about it now. I had to run while I had the chance. I didn’t head toward the stairs. There was too much of a chance of running into Chase that way. Instead I turned right and went up to the third floor. I had to hide out. Make Chase think I’d run away from the school. Once he was out searching for me, I could come up with a plan. Lock him out or something until I could get help.

  I went to the library, figuring it would be the last place Chase would look for me. Plus, no one ever came up here. Tony did on occasion, but maybe if I got him alone I could make him listen to reason. I went straight for the computers and logged in. I sent Alex an email, hoping he’d be online and respond. I needed to tell him what was going on. I didn’t dare explain in the email though. I didn’t want to leave anything Chase could trace. I simply told Alex I was in trouble. I waited ten minutes for a reply before logging out. Then, I logged in under Alex. I knew his password; I’d actually guessed it as a joke about a month back. “Macandcheese” was an obvious guess, so I never thought it would be right.

  Alex had two recent emails, both opened and responded to. The first was from Arianna. She wanted to check up on him and make sure he was okay on his own. I checked his sent folder for his reply. He said he was fine, that he went to find Ethan and would be staying at Serpentarius. Not to worry.

  Serpentarius wasn’t that far away. If I really could escape and get there, Alex could help me stop Chase from whatever evil he had planned. But the more I thought about it, the farther away Serpentarius seemed.

  I noticed another sent email, more recent. It was to someone named Ethan. I opened it. It said, “We need to talk about Chase. I’ll be at your house tonight at nine.” I went back to the inbox. There was a response from Ethan.

  “I’m out of town. Need to reschedule.” That was all it said.

  Who was Ethan, and what did he know about Chase? I checked the sent messages one more time to see if Alex had responded to me. He hadn’t. I logged off. I heard a commotion coming from the second floor. Chase must have figured out I was missing. I ran to the back room and locked myself in. Chase didn’t have a key. Tony did, but I hoped Chase would assume the door was always locked and I couldn’t have gotten in. I ducked under the desk and stayed absolutely still, listening.

  “Jodi?” Leticia called into the library.

  “Oh, please,” Lexi said. “If she’s hiding in here, do you really think she’s going to answer you?”

  “Ow!” Leticia said. Lexi must have pushed by her.

  “Toughen up,” Lexi said. “I’ve never seen such a weak Ophi before. You make McKenzie and Lucas look like gladiators, and they’re pathetic.”

  “Don’t talk about Lucas like that,” Leticia said. “He just died. Show a little respect.”

  I smiled. Leticia was actually standing up to Lexi. Good for her.

  “The weak should die.” I got what Lexi was hinting at, and I was sure Leticia got it, too. Too bad Chase wasn’t interested in Lexi. They seemed like the perfect match. Thinking that made me hate myself more for giving in to the power of his touch.

  “Anything?” Tony asked. He must have just come into the room.

  “No,” Leticia said. She actually sounded happy. Did she not want to find me because she thought they were better off without me?

  Tony cleared his throat. “All right. I’ll tell the others. You two head to class.”

  “Class?” Lexi spoke as if Tony had cursed at her.

  “Yes. I don’t think we should let Jodi’s disappearing act disrupt our training. I’m sure she’ll show up soon.” I was glad Tony was getting them out of here, but sending them to class meant they’d be directly across the hall from the library, and I’d be stuck under this desk until dinner.

  I waited until the library door closed before I peeked out. The office had windows, so coming completely out of hiding wasn’t an option. I doubted Chase would go to class. He was determined to find me. I made sure no one was in the hallway and reached for the laptop sitting on the desk. Pulling it into my lap, I logged in under Alex again. I figured the school might have some way to keep record of us logging in, and since it would be my name they’d search for, I wanted to avoid leaving a trail. I went to Alex’s sent messages, and this time there was a reply to me.

  I opened the message and two words stared back at me. “Got it.” What did that mean? He understood I was in trouble? He got my message? What? I took a risk and sent him another message—from his own email account. I thought maybe seeing the desperate measures I was taking might make this all sink in and get a better response than “Got it.” My fingers flew across the keys.

  Alex, don’t email me on my account. Reply to this message—if you are going to reply. I need help. You were right about Chase. He’s evil, and he’s hurting me. He’s found a way to control me with his powers. I’m helpless against him. I need you, Alex. Please. I’m so sorry about what happened. I love you. ~J

  I knew it was his personal email account, but I still couldn’t convince myself to type my whole name. He’d know it was me. I didn’t mention going into hiding. If Alex showed up, I’d come out. I’d risk everything to be with him.

  I had hours to kill before dinner. I peeked out again and saw Tony had the lights off in his classroom. Must be another thrilling PowerPoint presentation on the history of the Ophi. I couldn’t say I was sorry I was missing it. Still, I was bored out of my mind under this desk. I decided to do a little digging, see if there was anything on the Internet about Chase. I pulled up a search engine and typed his name. Nothing. Not a single match. Like he didn’t exist. That was strange. I typed in Alex’s name out of curiosity. Nothing. I tried mine. Nothing that actually pertained to me. There were other Jodi Marshalls, but all my old records and stuff were gone. Deleted.

  The only conclusion I could come to was that the Ophi didn’t want records on themselves. They’d practically deleted my identity. There was one problem with that plan. They couldn’t erase my mom or my friends. They knew I existed, which meant there was still some imprint of me on the human world. I spent over an hour searching Melodie and my mom. I stared at their images on the screen and read Mel’s blog. She raved about the Valentine’s Day dance. The one I would’ve gone to with Matt if I hadn’t come into my powers. She didn’t mention her car being stolen by her former best friend, though. That was odd. Although, there was a picture of a different car in her profile picture. Nothing fancy, but definitely newer than the clunker I’d stolen. I was so wrapped up in Melodie’s life without me that I barely heard the key turn in the lock.

  “No, problem, Tony.” Chase came into the room.

  Oh, please no! If he walked around the desk, I was done for.

  Chapter 20

  I didn’t move. The laptop was still in my lap, and my knees were sticking out from under the desk. Chase was going to find me and kill me. Or worse, he’d use his power on me to turn me into his slave again. If I’d had the choice, I’d pick death.

  He moved to the bookshelf on the wall. I tensed up when his legs came into view. No way was I getting out of this. I thought about hitting hi
m over the head with the laptop and making a run for it, but I figured he’d hear me and catch me before I could do any damage to him, so I stayed like a sitting duck.

  “Did you find them?” Tony came into the office. He walked right over to the desk, and his eyes fell on me.

  “No. Didn’t you say they were on the shelf under the severed hand?” Chase laughed. “By the way, it’s awesome that you use a severed hand for a paperweight.”

  Tony continued to stare at me. I mouthed the word “please,” hoping he would understand. Chase’s little charade had done a good job of fooling Tony, but maybe seeing how desperate I was now would make Tony understand that I wasn’t losing my mind. That Chase was doing something horrible to me.

  “You know, I just remembered I never made the copies,” Tony said.

  Chase turned around, and Tony stepped toward him, blocking me with his legs. “I’ll make the copies,” Chase said.

  “No, that’s okay. Why don’t you go back to class and tell everyone to study the image on slide twenty-six? It’s fascinating. I think you’ll all get a kick out of it. I’ll be back in a second.”

  Chase left, and I finally could breathe again.

  “He’s gone,” Tony said. “Now, do you want to tell me why you’re under the desk with my laptop?”

  I handed him the computer. “Sorry. I needed to look up something.”

  “From under there?”

  “I didn’t want anyone to see me.”

  “By ‘anyone,’ are you referring to Chase?” Tony put the laptop back on his desk.

  “Yes.”

  “Because…” His face softened. Maybe he did suspect Chase was up to something.

  I wanted to blurt out everything. Tell him how awful Chase really was. That Chase was making me look like the bad guy to everyone else, but really he was to blame. So why wasn’t I?

  “Does this have anything to do with Alex?” He put his hands up in defense. “I don’t like to pry, but you and Alex were awfully close, and now all of a sudden you and Chase are inseparable.”

  Yeah, because Chase wouldn’t let me out of arm’s reach. I looked down, avoiding Tony’s eyes.

  “You don’t have to tell me,” he said. “Maybe you should go for a walk to clear your head. I bet you’ll feel better by dinnertime.”

  A walk. Like into town? I could go find Alex. I couldn’t just let Tony go on believing Chase was the good guy, yet something was telling me this wasn’t the time to tell Tony everything. Chase could walk back in.

  “Thanks, Tony. I think I will, but please don’t tell Chase you saw me. He’s not what he seems to be. He knows his power is affecting me, hurting me—”

  “Hurting you?” Worry spread across Tony’s face. “Jodi, we have to do something if—”

  “I’m not sure what to do about it yet. I have to think this through. I think Chase is up to something, but I don’t know what it is. Please, just don’t say or do anything yet. Let me figure it out first.”

  Tony nodded, but I could tell he didn’t like this at all. “You’re the boss, Jodi, but be careful. And might I suggest you take the back way out?”

  “Back way?” I’d been sitting here this whole time when there was another way out?

  “Right there.” He pointed to a door next to the copier.

  “I thought that was a closet.”

  “No. It leads to the storage room, which has another exit.”

  “The one in the hallway.” Boy, did I feel like an idiot. “Thanks.”

  I made sure no one was watching before I ducked into the storage room. It was pitch black. I’d never come in here before. No one but the adults ever did. That kind of made it the perfect hiding place. I’d have to remember that for next time, although I hoped there wouldn’t be a next time.

  I felt my way along the walls to the other exit. It was in the same hall as the classrooms but farther down. As long as no one was in the hallway, I’d be able to get away unnoticed. I put my ear to the door, listening for footsteps or any other sounds. All quiet. I opened the door a crack. The hall was clear. I stepped out and ran for the stairs. I took the back way out of the school and headed straight for the woods. As long as Chase wasn’t at the classroom window, I was sure I’d made it undetected. I had to stop a few times, too drained to run the whole way, but I made it to Melodie’s car. The road wasn’t much farther, and this time I was going to make it.

  I was so close, and I wasn’t going to let anything surprise me this time. I got to the road and ran into the center of the street. I’d make someone stop for me. Breaks squealed and a big gray car came skidding to a stop. My heart pounded, not because I’d almost been creamed, but because it was Alex.

  I ran to the passenger side and got in. He pulled away quickly without saying a word. His tires screeched around the turn, and I struggled to get my seatbelt on before I was thrown through a window. I looked at him, but his eyes stayed focused on the road. I didn’t know if I should say something or wait for him to talk, but I’m not that patient.

  “How did you know I’d be here? I just emailed you about an hour ago.” I held onto the door for support as Alex launched the car around another bend in the road.

  “I answered your email from my phone. I knew if you tried to get away you’d head for home. You’re really predictable, Jodi. You’re lucky I got to you before he did.”

  I could tell he was avoiding Chase’s name. “You’re right. The first time I ran away, he caught me. That was this morning. This day has been one unending nightmare. He’s pure evil, Alex. I should’ve listened to you.”

  He still didn’t look at me. “You smell like his cologne. How do I know this isn’t a trick? That you didn’t lure me out here so he can come out of nowhere and—”

  I reached for his hand on the steering wheel. “Because you know me.” I smiled, trying to ease the tension. “And because we’re in a car doing 85 on a windy road. He’d never catch us.”

  Alex slowed down, but he didn’t face me. I let go of his hand.

  “If you think he’s evil, why are you getting close enough to him to smell like him?”

  I had to tell him everything. The way Chase really made me feel. The way I was defenseless against the connection we had. I took his hand again, hoping that, by touching him, he’d know I how I felt about him. Know how difficult this was for me to say and how much I didn’t want to hurt him.

  “When Chase touches me, he transfers power to me. It’s not like anything I’ve ever felt. It’s—”

  “You can tell me, Jodi. I can handle it. I need to know everything if we are going to fight him.”

  “Fight him? What do you mean? He’s one of us.” As I said it, I felt my blood mixing. The whole Alex/Chase situation was screwing me up again. Making me unsure of everything.

  “He’s evil, Jodi. You said so yourself.”

  “I did?” What was happening to me? “My blood is acting strange. I feel so confused.” I rubbed my forehead.

  “I think it has to do with this connection you’re trying to tell me about. I don’t blame you. I want to protect you from it.” Finally, he looked at me. He pulled into an abandoned warehouse and parked. He cut the engine and turned to face me. “We have to get rid of him.”

  “Alex, I really do think we need Chase. The power between us is so strong. Maybe strong enough to fight off Hades. If that’s true, we can’t lose him. No matter what.” I looked down at my feet. I wished I could send Chase away. Things would’ve been simpler, but I was the leader of the Ophi. I had to do what was best for the group, not what was best for Alex and me.

  Alex sighed. “Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out. No matter how much you think it’s going to tear me up inside. Got it?” His features were hard, serious.

  I nodded. I told him about the way Chase’s touch sent me into an almost euphoric state when he dosed me with the power in the right side of his body. How it made me feel better than alive. I also told him about the kiss. The way Chase had surprised me th
e day Alex had left.

  “I wasn’t planning on kissing him. All I cared about was you leaving. Trying to convince you to stay.” I squeezed his hand, not wanting to let him go.

  “I know.” He looked away. “I saw it. I saw him grab you and kiss you. I also saw you kiss him back. It wasn’t one-sided.”

  “I’m not going to deny it or try to lie my way out of this, Alex. I did kiss Chase. I gave in to his power. It filled me up so much I was overwhelmed by it. I loved it.” I was embarrassed to admit I loved the power, but Alex needed to know. “I probably sound like a drug addict, don’t I?”

  “Kind of.” He looked at me and brushed the hair from my forehead. “Why does he get to you like this? Make you lose control?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why does he make you feel so alive and…” He paused, but I knew what was coming next. “I can’t?”

  “I don’t want you to make me feel like that, Alex. I’m scared of Chase. I’m scared of what I become when I’m with him. I lose control, and bad things happen. Everyone died when Chase kissed me. My powers went crazy, and I killed all the Ophi in the school. Medusa helped me bring them back.” I swallowed hard. “All but one.”

  Alex narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

  “Randy. He’s gone. His body couldn’t hold his soul in place. That zombie took a huge chunk from his shoulder and nicked a small artery. We couldn’t stop the bleeding. When I brought him back, he died all over again.”

  Alex pulled me to him and hugged me tightly against his chest. I couldn’t believe it. I thought he’d hate me for everything I’d done. For kissing Chase, for giving in to the power, for killing Randy. But he was comforting me. As much as I didn’t want him to let go, I had to finish explaining what had happened.

  “There’s more.” I pulled my head back to look at him. “When I ran away, he caught me and tortured me with his power. He can send the poisoned part of his blood to me in concentrated doses. It feels like I’m burning in a hellfire. Like when Hades stared at me. Chase can control me, Alex. He makes me hate him and crave him at the same time.” I was crying now. Admitting all this to anyone was hard enough, but saying it to Alex was heartbreaking. “I’m so sorry.”