by Amy McClung
Will walked me home, even after I insisted he didn’t have to. I wanted to be away from him as soon as possible. It’s not his fault that his mind has been screwed with but I feel like I am cheating on Quinn and it sucks. He walked me to the front door and as I unlocked it and stepped through I could feel that he was following me so I turned abruptly, kissed him on the cheek and said “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” He looked a bit taken back but replied, “Ok…I love you.” Smiling I said, “me too. Bye,” and shut the door quickly. Once inside I propped up against the door for a minute and took a deep breath, this was going to be difficult. Keeping up this ruse, while trying to find Quinn and Mitchell, was going to be close to impossible.
That night I could barely sleep, I kept thinking about Quinn and wondering if he was even alive still. What could have happened to keep him away like this, to leave me in that cave locked up. He never would have done that on his own, he must be worried sick about me like I am about him. The bit of sleep I did get was riddled with nightmares.
“Parker! Parker! NO, she needs help! Please, let me go to her!” Quinn was shouting. Someone was standing over me and my shoulder was on fire as they were putting some medicine on it. I could hear Quinn screaming my name but I couldn’t find my voice to say anything, I felt so groggy, everything around me was fuzzy. Whoever was bandaging me got up and started to leave, I pulled myself up and tried to follow but I was weak and stumbling. My eyes were blurry and I could only see shapes and a bit of light shining through a small opening. I stuck my hand through the opening and someone grabbed it. “Parker, sweetheart, I love you, don’t forget that, I will be back for you I promise,” Quinn said, he sounded like he was upset, he kissed my hand and then I felt his hand pull away and I tried to hold on but someone was pulling him. He kept screaming my name as his voice faded and then I felt a sting and I stumbled backward and the light was gone.
Just then, I sat up straight in bed and I was sweating and shaking. It was a dream, just a dream. But what if it wasn’t, could it have been a memory? Who would be strong enough to pull Quinn away from me when he was so upset? Walking to the window I opened it up and stuck my face outside in the cold air. “Quinn, where are you?” I whispered.
Chapter Sixteen
School was the last place I wanted to be but I had to make an effort to appear normal, like nothing was wrong. The hardest part about that was that everything was wrong because nothing was how it should be anymore. My stomach was churning with worry for Quinn and Mitchell; it was hard to focus on anything else but them. I headed into class and when I stepped inside Jackie and Will had their heads together looking serious and then Will looked up and saw me and they broke apart. He smiled and tried to look like nothing was up when he motioned to me to sit next to him. He leaned over to kiss me and I turned just in time for him to hit my cheek with his kiss. Class was starting so it saved me from having to talk to him or explain why I just did that.
Lunchtime came and I went to the cafeteria and again Jackie and Will were sitting together talking. Why does that seem so strange to me? They never seemed that close before when he was around. Guess I have to put on a happy face and try and act normal. I walked over to the table and sat my tray down and smiled at them. Jackie spoke first, “What’s up chickie? You haven’t been around much lately. I hope you aren’t mad at me about that call the other day. I was in a bad mood and I didn’t feel like talking about the whole “Wolf” thing, ya know.” Well that was a relief, she remembered that I am a wolf and I didn’t dream that she is one too. “So, is that why you were sick, being a wolf can play hell with your insides,” I said. Jackie looked down and mixed her food as she replied, “yeah, I am just not used to this whole thing yet, I am not sure how you deal with it all the time. I just feel so stupid for going out into woods all alone after that fight with Mitchell. He feels so bad about the fact I was attacked because of him.”
That is not what happened. “Wait, what? I thought you were taking the trash out when it happened?” I asked. Jackie shook her head and looked like she was about to cry, “no, I found out Mitchell was cheating on me so I ran out of the house and straight into the woods and I came upon a wolf. I tried to back away but it was too late, it jumped at me and bit me on the shoulder and took off like something scared it. That’s why Mitchell left town with his parents, they went to visit some of his family for Thanksgiving but I told him I needed time apart so he said he would give me as much time as needed. He swears he still loves me but I don’t know what to believe anymore,” she finished. Will looked uncomfortable, maybe it was the girl talk or the mention of cheating, which he thinks I did to him. I’m beginning to get a migraine. I have no idea what is going on and why history is changing around me all of sudden. Mitchell would never cheat on Jackie or hurt her in any way. I didn’t want to ask any more questions, I had enough spinning around in my head to confuse me thoroughly and could not take much more. Placing my hand on my head, I said, “I gotta go, I need to stop by my locker and get some Advil, I have a killer headache coming on,” I stood up and grabbed my tray of food, “see you guys later.” My head really was killing me; I wanted to get as far away from those two twilight zone freaks as I could. Yes, they are two of my best friends and I love them dearly but right now they are so screwed up in the head because someone is using them as puppets and filling their heads with lies.
Obviously I didn’t get away fast enough because Will caught up with me after school and Jackie was right behind him. “I thought it would be fun if the three of us went and saw a movie,” Will blurted out. I sighed and said, “I’m not sure I really feel up to it, I’m kind of tired and I still have a twinge of a headache.” Will pulled me to the side and whispered in my ear, “I think it would be good for Jackie to be around friends right now.” My shoulders slumped as I gave in, stupid douche bag puppet plays dirty by pulling the depressed friend card. The three of us headed to the theater. It seemed to make Jackie happy because she didn’t stop talking the whole walk there. They wanted to see the newest paranormal romance but I wasn’t really in the mood for a vampire movie. I wanted to take my mind off vampires right now. But, that was the best choice out there so I decided to just go with it. I didn’t really see much of the movie because I kept racking my brain trying to figure out what could have happened to Quinn. The dream from last night kept replaying in my head. He had such fear in his voice when he left me. He doesn’t even know that I am alive. Tears were rolling down my face and it must have been at a good time in the movie because Will just chuckled, kissed my head and said softly “you are so tenderhearted, that’s one of the things I love most about you.” I wish he didn’t have to be such a sweet, yet stupid douche bag puppet, I hate leading him on like this.
We went to grab a pizza after the movie and I stepped away for a minute to go to the restroom. I had to get away from them for a moment, even though they were two of my closest friends they felt more like complete strangers lately, or pod people would be more accurate. I took my phone with me and dialed Quinn’s number while I was in there, it still gave me a message that it was an invalid number. I dialed Mitchell’s phone next but it went to voicemail, I didn’t leave a message. As I opened the bathroom door to leave, I stopped and pulled the door back to where it was only a small crack that I could see through. I had a clear view and Jackie and Will were looking serious again and Will put his hand on Jackie’s face, she leaned against his hand and smiled at him, then he leaned over and they kissed. My mouth fell open in shock. What the hell? He is supposed to be dating me! So was Jackie’s version of events true or did Mitchell find out she cheated on him and that is why he left? Oh geez, I am starting to believe the madness! Snip, Snip, taking two fingers I made a motion of scissors over each shoulder as though I was cutting the puppet strings, no one is going to screw my head up. Quinn is real and I knew Mitchell hadn’t left town because his stuff was still there at his house, he was wherever Quinn is, most likely. Jackie and Will pulled apart and looked around to mak
e sure no one was watching them but they didn’t see me. I saw them mouth, “I love you” to each other. This was the perfect out for me.
Taking a deep breath I channeled Meryl Streep and stormed out of the bathroom, walked over to the table, smacked Will dramatically and threw my drink in Jackie’s face. “You can have each other! I saw everything! How DARE you make me feel bad when you have been cheating on me this whole time and in love with her!” I shouted as I pointed at Jackie. They both looked shocked at my reaction. I stormed out and started my way home. I couldn’t help but giggle at my acting abilities. Thank goodness that charade was over, now I can focus on finding Quinn. I am still in shock that Jackie is cheating on Mitchell but it had to be the brainwashing, there was no other excuse that made sense.
Heading straight to Quinn’s house was the first step in my plan. It was still boarded up but as I stepped in I noticed that for a place that was supposed to look deserted, there was not that much dust accumulated, I started to brush at the cobwebs and realized it was that fake webbing they sell at Halloween. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make it seem that Quinn didn’t exist. I went into the bedroom, and there were no clothes, nothing. What did they do with all his stuff? The cave…why didn’t I think of that, I need to go back to the original cave, the one where we thought Will had been buried. Whoever brainwashed Will and Jackie must have been the one who pulled him out of there.
Running to my car I sped off as fast as I could to the cave where I was hoping I would find Quinn or at least a lead. As I was driving, I got a weird feeling like I was being watched or followed. I kept glancing in the rearview and didn’t see any other cars though. I made it to the spot where I first met Will and pulled my car over. Running into the woods I kept stopping and looking around, that eerie feeling was still there but I still didn’t see anyone. It was starting to creep me out. I saw the cave ahead, it was closed over again. Falling to my knees in front of where the opening would be I started to pray that Quinn was just on the other side of that wall and that he was okay. Pulling out the rocks was harder than I expected, they were put in there very tightly and they were heavy. It took a couple of hours for me to move four or five of them but finally I could see a little into the cave. “Quinn! Quinn, are you in there? Please answer me baby!” I kept screaming over and over hoping for an answer. It didn’t matter that there wasn’t one, I kept digging.
Another hour went by and I was able to move a few more rocks and make a hole that was big enough to crawl through. Sliding my leg into the hole I started to panic thinking about how I was locked in that cave under the waterfall and I started to pull my leg back out. My chest heaved and this terrible wave of fright took over, just like when I am up high and my acrophobia, fear of heights, kicks in. Then I remembered that Quinn could be in there, hurt, and I started my way back in, if I was going to die at least I will be with him when I do. I put my feet in first and slid into the opening until I felt my feet touch the ground then I slowly slithered in careful to not scrape my face. My whole body was shaking, not like it does when I may shift but out of total fear instead. I did not want to get stuck in a cave again those two days were torturous enough. I was all the way in but it was dark, I felt around the walls trying to make my way to the center where I spent so many nights and even though my eyes were still unfocused I could make out a figure against the rocks and I heard a moan.
My breathing became more rapid as I tried to make my way to the sound, I don’t know why I didn’t bring a flashlight. “Quinn?” I said into the darkness, another moan, it sounded muffled as though the person’s mouth was covered. I felt along the wall and then my foot hit something and I fell forward. It was a person, I grabbed their shoulders and felt their face and there was a gag on their mouth. I pulled it off and heard a grunt. “It’s Parker, is that you Quinn?” I asked as I felt the contours of his face. A hoarse voice sounded “No, Parker, it’s me Mitchell, Quinn isn’t here…my hands are cuffed,” he cleared his throat, “the key is on top of a rock, I heard it placed there when I was left here, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get to it for days. Get it to me and then get out of here before I get loose, “he demanded harshly. “I am going to help you out of here, we will leave together,” I replied. “Parker, I haven’t had anything to eat in days and I am very thirsty and even though I am in a weakened state, I could probably still kill you in the blink of an eye. You smell really good to me right now” he emphasized the word ‘really’ enough that it told me I was like a cheeseburger to a starving man, “and I am not sure what my actions will be once I am free. Hand me the key and then run…as fast as you can. I will hunt in the woods and then find my way to your car. Please just wait for me at the road, I do not want to take a chance of hurting you,” he pleaded. Reaching around on top of the rocks, my hand came across a metal object that felt like a key, it’s so dark I wasn’t sure though. I took it and sat it beside him just a little out of reach. “I am going to go now; I made it a little difficult to reach because it is going to take me a minute to get out of here. As soon as you feed, meet me at my car where we always parked it. Good Luck Mitchell,” I said and then I started backing out the way I came in as fast as I could go. As soon as my feet hit the ground I took off running to the car as fast as I could without looking back.
Getting in the car I locked the doors and waited for Mitchell. I hoped he would find something to feed on quickly because he would be able to tell me what happened to Quinn…I hoped. It seemed like hours went by and the sun was starting to set when I finally saw Mitchell stumble out of the woods. He looked terrible and he was now covered in blood. I popped the trunk for him and he took the hint and cleaned off with the blanket back there and then came to the passenger’s side of the car. To be safe, I cracked the windows and asked, “Do you feel full?” He leaned down and smiled showing me that his fangs were gone and I unlocked the door so he could get in.
“You have no idea how glad I am to see you are ok. How did you get out of the cave you were locked in?” he asked me. “Will found me,” I said and his head spun around quickly to look at me. “What? Will is dead, we buried him…didn’t we?” he said shocked. “I thought so too, but he is the one who found me in the cave. He said that the bullet wasn’t silver and that it took him a while to heal so he stayed away to do that. However, I think the real truth is that the vampire woman got to him and brainwashed him, because he doesn’t remember Quinn and he thinks that he and I are dating.” I finished and looked at him, he looked thoroughly confused and I couldn’t blame him, I still didn’t understand it all. “But there are more important questions to be answered. How did I end up locked in that cave what happened to you and where is Quinn?”
“The night you were bitten by that other wolf, we were taking you back to the cave to heal and we were attacked by someone. All I know is that I was knocked out and as I was coming to I heard the key drop and could make out a shape leaving. I was locked up and gagged and left in that cave in the dark with a stake in my chest. It wasn’t plunged into my heart so it didn’t kill me but it did drain enough blood from my body to make me weak enough to not be able to get loose once I regained consciousness. The cuffs they used were silver so I couldn’t break them if I tried, they were searing my skin off with the amount of contact they had with my wrists already.” He held his hands up and I saw that his wrists were covered in scars of mangled skin that was slowly healing. Carefully I reached out and touched the skin and cringed at the thought of how much pain he must have been in. “Once I freed myself I pulled out the stake which is why it took me a while to get back to you, I was still quite weak.” He lifted his shirt to show me the hole that was still healing from the stake, I gasped at the size of it. “The last thing I remember about Quinn is that he saw someone behind me and said to them,” it’s you”, and then I was hit and that’s the end of my story. I am not sure how many days I was in there, it was always dark and I had nothing to tell time on, my phone was gone and my hands were bound. I thought I was goin
g to rot in there forever which would have been a horrible way to spend eternity.
What do you remember since you were bitten?” he asked as he finished his story. I told him my side of the story, from my new claustrophobic tendencies to Quinn’s house being boarded up and everything about Jackie and Will both being brainwashed, except their kiss, I was going to let him take in a little at a time. “So neither of them remember Quinn? Seems strange don’t you think?” he asked. Shrugging my shoulders I said, “Someone went to a lot of trouble to make it seem like he never existed, so I figure they brainwashed Will and Jackie and that they left me in that cave figuring I would die from my wound. And I probably would have if Will hadn’t found me. I still am not sure how it healed so quickly once I got out, when it seemed to be getting worse.”
Another question came to mind, “Where was Jackie when all this was going down?” He shrugged, “After you got into it with that wolf she took off after it and we didn’t see her again. I wanted to go after her but I knew she could take care of herself and…” His voice got quieter as he finished by saying, “…I wanted to make sure you were ok.” Well I hope he doesn’t tell Jackie that he chose me over her, that was really weird but all I could figure was that it was because I was hurt and we have become closer friends. It was really sweet though, I just hoped Quinn was wrong about him having more than friendly feelings for me. Mitchell seemed to be lost in thought for a few minutes and then finally spoke. “So, Jackie told you that we broke up because I cheated on her and I left town with my parents?” I nodded and he continued, “I think we need to keep my return a secret, if Jackie and Will have been brainwashed then we can’t assume they can be trusted.” We were driving by the diner in town at that moment and as I looked over, Will and Jackie were outside and he had her pressed against the car making out, I tried to distract Mitchell but I was unsuccessful. “What the hell?” he shouted. He was getting angry and I sped up and put my hand on his leg, “look, just remember she is not in her right mind, we can’t hold that against her. I should have told you they have a thing going, I’m sorry.” Mitchell was fuming and it scared me a bit, I mean he is a vampire after all and I don’t know what would happen if he lost control right now. His fists were clenched and he had a scary look on his face, I pulled the car over and turned to him, “Get out,” as I said that he looked at me a bit bewildered and I clarified myself, “Get out and release your anger, for your own good.”