Archaic

by Regan Ure

  My phone rang. I looked at the display and saw Stacy's name flashing in tune with the ring.

  "Hi," I answered.

  "Hi, I'm around the corner from you. Are you ready?" she asked.

  I made a noise of agreement as I continued walking around the house, grabbing my things.

  "See you in a few," she said before ending the call.

  I picked up my duffel bag and reached for a jacket. Although it was pretty warm during the day, it did sometimes get a little chilly at night so I was taking a jacket with me just in case. I stood outside the house on the sidewalk, waiting nervously for Stacy. Unlike the night before, the forest across from the house looked beautiful and welcoming in the light of day. My eyes drifted down the road, wondering which house Jared lived in.

  Forget it. Forget about him, I chanted in my mind. I needed to forget what I'd seen.

  In the distance I saw a car and pulled my attention back to the road as I saw Stacy pull up in front of me. She leaned over and unlocked the door and I got in.

  "Hey, there," I greeted, putting my seatbelt on and laying my duffel bag by my feet.

  "Hi," she greeted back with a grin. "We just need to go and pick up Kennedy."

  "Okay," was all I got out before Stacy hit the gas pedal, and I flew back into my seat as the car screamed down my road.

  By the time we made it to Kennedy's, my hands ached from gripping my seatbelt, and my heart was still lodged in my throat. Stacy might only be driving a Beetle, but she drove it like a Formula One car.

  I struggled to let go of the seatbelt, because my survival instinct was telling my subconscious that it was my only chance of survival. I took a couple of deep breaths and tried to slow my heart rate down. I was pretty sure I had come close to having a heart attack.

  Eventually I got out of the car. I decided that maybe it wouldn't be so bad in the back seat, so I took my duffel bag and climbed into the back while Stacy waited patiently outside Kennedy's front door. Before long we were all in the car and on our way to Stacy's house. Sitting in the back seat made no difference. I wasn't sure my heart could withstand another ride in her car.

  "Does she always drive like that?" I whispered to Kennedy as we walked into Stacy's house.

  Kennedy laughed and told me I'd get used to it. My heart, still lodged in my throat, disagreed with her.

  Nobody was home when we entered her house. We walked up the stairs and entered a doorway, two doors down on the left. Stacy skipped in, followed closely by Kennedy and, lastly, myself.

  Her room was quite big. What hit you the most when you entered Stacy's room was the color pink. It was everywhere. A dark mahogany bed with bedposts stood in the center of the room and it had pink, netted curtains tied back to the bedposts. A soft-pink comforter matched the soft-pink curtains bordering double windows overlooking the pool. Dark-pink pillows were tossed onto the bed. Most girls grew out of the color pink but apparently that hadn't happened with Stacy. There was so much pink.

  I was starting to get a headache. I didn't know if it was the overload of pink or the nerve-wracking ride over. Toward the foot of the bed was a sofa around a massive flat-screen TV with a mahogany cabinet beneath it. Even the sofa was pink.

  A couple of painkillers later and I was feeling better and ready for the evening ahead. We painted our nails while we munched on some sandwiches. I kept to light blue. Stacy, as you could have guessed, went for a hot pink and Kennedy went for lilac. Then we started getting our outfits on. Stacy and Kennedy gave me a disapproving look when they saw my outfit.

  "What?" I looked down at my skinny jeans. I couldn't see anything wrong with them--they looked perfectly fine.

  "You can't wear jeans," Stacy informed me, shaking her head. It was like she was dealing with someone who didn't have a clue. Clearly I didn't.

  "Okay, so jeans are out." I picked the jeans up off her bed and stuffed them back into my duffel bag.

  I watched Stacy walk to her closet and start sifting through some of her clothes. I was surprised when she pulled out a couple of items out of her closet and they weren't pink. Thank goodness.

  "Skirt or dress?" she asked me, holding up what looked like a tube top, but was in actual fact a very short skirt. She was also holding a dark blue dress. I was definitely going with the dress, and only because it was definitely going to cover more than the so-called mini skirt.

  "I'll try it on," I said reluctantly.

  It was only when I got inside her adjoining bathroom and started to change that I realized the scrapes on my knees would be visible if I wore the dress. The little blue dress clung to my skinny frame. It really did leave little to the imagination. I wasn't sure if I could actually pull it off, but I couldn't wear the dress if the scrapes on my knees were going to be seen.

  "What happened to your knees?" Kennedy gasped when I stepped out of the bathroom into the full view of my two friends. Although my knees weren't really sore anymore, they did look terrible.

  "I fell when I was out running yesterday." It wasn't a lie. Somehow spending time doing normal teenage things with my friends had actually managed to help me forget all the life-altering things I had seen last night. Stacy stood there, eyeing my outfit again.

  "I have the perfect remedy!" she exclaimed and off she went to her closet again. How could she possibly remedy this? This time she pulled out black leggings. At least I had my jacket, so I could still cover myself up a bit more. Tonight was going to be a very long night.

  Stacy insisted I wear my hair down. She said my hair was beautiful and I should show it off more. There was no arguing with her. I normally wore very little makeup, but with Stacy in charge there was no way I was stepping foot outside this house without full makeup on.

  By the time we were finished, I was looking at a stranger looking directly back at me in the mirror. It couldn't be me. The girl who looked back at me was stunning. Stacy was a magician with makeup and hair. Now I was kind of excited about the evening ahead.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The party was relatively close to Stacy's. We didn't have far to walk, so I didn't have to endure Stacy's driving again. That by itself got the evening off to a good start. We giggled and gossiped the entire walk to the party, the topic of the conversation being boys. They were giving me the rundown of most of the guys who were going to be at the party. Other than Jared and Andrew, I hadn't really taken note of the boys in our school.

  It was getting a little cooler as we made our way over, so I put my jacket on. I hugged it tightly around myself, glad I had an item of clothing I could hide behind. I wouldn't be able to hide in it for long, but for the time being, I felt protected from prying eyes. Stacy was dressed in a black mini skirt with knee-high boots and a red halter-neck top. Kennedy was dressed a little more conservatively in a thin, strapped, blue top with a sequence design on the front, matched with a dark blue skirt and matching sandals.

  The closer we got to the house where the party was, the louder the music got. As we got into the party, music vibrated through the house and the partygoers were scattered around the front as well as talking and dancing outside on the front porch.

  It was only eight, but the party seemed to be in full swing. A couple of guys looked a little unsteady on their feet as they continued to sip liquid from red plastic cups. They had clearly been drinking for a while already. There was even a girl hunched over the bushes, which bordered the front garden, throwing up. I scrunched up my nose in disgust.

  Stacy pulled my hand and we followed Kennedy into the house. For a quiet little town, these kids sure can throw a party, I thought. I looked around and saw that most of the house's furniture had been moved to make room for a makeshift dance floor in the living room. It was really packed. I wasn't going to stress about it now. I decided I was going to relax and try and enjoy myself. We continued through the house until we got to the kitchen.

  A few guys were pouring a mysterious liquid into plastic red cups--liquid that I was positive was alcoholic.

  "H
ey, David," Stacy greeted one of the guys who was pouring the drinks. I recognized him as the same David who Andrew had introduced me to and I wondered if Andrew was at the party as well.

  "Hi, Stacy, glad you made it," he greeted back with a twinkle in his eye. Stacy smiled, obviously loving the attention she was getting form him.

  "Drinks?" he offered us. We all accepted and I took a tentative sip of the mysterious contents of the cup. It was definitely alcoholic, although I didn't have enough experience in drinking alcohol to be able to distinguish what kind of alcohol it was. It didn't really matter, I supposed. Looking around the room, it seemed to have the desired effect. People were letting loose and enjoying themselves.

  "See you later." Stacy winked at David and then led Kennedy and me out of the kitchen to the living room.

  We stood on the outskirts of the dance floor, sipping our drinks and watching people dancing. After a while the alcohol loosened us up and we all joined with the rest of the crowd on the dance floor. That was the thing about alcohol: it made me feel more carefree. The three of us lost ourselves to the music. Once our drinks were finished, Stacy went back to the kitchen for refills while Kennedy and I remained on the dance floor.

  I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Andrew standing next to me.

  "Hi," I greeted him, giving him a friendly smile.

  "Hey," he greeted back, watching me with his big, expressive eyes. "Are you having fun?"

  "Yes," I said, feeling the warmth of the alcohol in my veins.

  I realized then that I was enjoying myself. It was nice to be young and carefree, to not care about the problems that I had to face on a daily basis.

  "You look beautiful," Andrew said as he eyed me up and down.

  "Thanks," I said, not quite sure how to take the compliment. I wasn't used to getting them.

  Kennedy exchanged greetings with Andrew, and Stacy returned with our drinks. With a red cup in my hand again, we continued to dance. I was dancing with Andrew when I felt a warm shiver run down my spine, like someone was watching me. I scanned the room and didn't see anybody watching me, so I shrugged it off and continued to dance.

  Another red cup later and I was looking for the bathroom. I left my friends and Andrew on the dance floor and went looking for it. The guest toilet downstairs was being used, so I went upstairs in search of another. I found it all the way down at the end of the hallway. Once I was finished and had washed my hands, I checked out my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed from the alcohol--I was definitely feeling a little tipsy.

  Lost in my thoughts when I finally opened the bathroom door, I walked straight into something hard. Hands caught my upper arms and I looked up into Jared's hard, green eyes. Fear made me try to pull free, but he maneuvered me firmly out of the bathroom and into an empty bedroom across the hallway.

  The click of the door closing behind us made me panic and I felt my heart thump in my chest. With his back to the closed bedroom door, he let me go, but I was trapped. He was blocking the only exit out of the room. I backed away from him slowly. The room was dark, but the light from the moon streamed in through the windows. I could see the silhouette of him as he stood guard in front of the door.

  "What do you want?" I managed to get out hoarsely, going with my initial decision to pretend I hadn't seen anything.

  "Don't play dumb with me, Ava," he warned. He crossed his arms and remained in front of the door. He wasn't going to let me out.

  I clasped my hands together nervously.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," I said, continuing to pretend.

  He stood there quietly for a few minutes before he whispered, "I saw you."

  I was in trouble.

  Any hope I'd held on to evaporated at that moment. There was no more pretending. He had seen me in the clearing and I was scared what that meant for me.

  He walked slowly toward me. I was still in shock, so instead of trying to get around him and out of the bedroom door, I just stood as he approached me. I raised my hands to ward him off as he stepped right in front of me. My hands came into contact with his chest and I could feel the warmth of his body beneath his thin white T-shirt as he leaned closer.

  "Don't make a scene," he warned softly into my ear. I felt his breath on my neck. Then with a seductive smile, he took my hand and gently led me out of the bedroom and down the hallway.

  I started to panic as we made our way down the stairs and he purposefully led me toward the front door. I glanced back over my shoulder and saw Stacy and Kennedy watching us. They were smiling and giving me the thumbs-up. If only they knew. Andrew stood behind them, watching me, his expression unreadable.

  For a moment I was tempted to pull free from him and try to escape, but I had no idea what he would do so I pushed the thought from my mind and followed him. My hand trembled in Jared's tight grip. He held tighter so that I couldn't try and get loose and make a run for it. I swallowed a hysterical laugh. Did he really think I was stupid enough to try and run? I'd seen what he was capable of.

  He pulled me along the path. He took long, purposeful steps while I stumbled behind him, trying to keep up. He pulled me into the passenger seat of a black Jeep. Jared quickly got into the driver's seat and started up the car.

  "Where are we going?" I asked nervously as I fidgeted with my hands. Maybe he was going to take me back to the clearing. He could kill me and hide my body there and nobody would ever find me. Maybe if they had those dogs that could smell dead bodies, the cops might find my charred remains buried deep under the trees bordering the clearing.

  "We need to talk," was all he threw back at me. He pulled into the road and drove away from the party, keeping his eyes glued to the road in front of him.

  It was only when he pulled into the street we both lived on that I realized he was taking me to his house. Maybe he had a dungeon where he could keep me locked up. He pulled up in front of his house and switched the car off, glancing at me. He lived five houses down from mine.

  "Don't try anything," he warned.

  I didn't think he realized just how scared of him I was. I wasn't going to give him an excuse to hurt me. He got out of the car and walked around to stand next to the passenger side of the SUV while I climbed out. He led me into his empty house. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what I had been expecting. The layout of the house was similar to mine; it looked homely and normal.

  I hesitated for a moment as he led me into the house and closed the door. He grabbed my hand and I followed behind him. He remained quiet as he led me up the stairs and into his bedroom. I was opposed to going into his room, but he just tugged me along and I didn't have a choice but to walk behind him. Once we were in his bedroom, he shut the door and dropped his car keys on a desk. He shrugged out of his black leather jacket and draped it over the chair by the desk.

  "Sit down," he commanded me and motioned to the end of his bed. I walked over to his bed and sat down. I was trembling, and I wasn't sure if it was from nerves or the cold evening air. He went to his dresser and pulled something out and threw it at me. "Put it on."

  It was a hoodie--he'd given me a hoodie to keep me warm. I didn't argue and pulled it over my head. The shivering continued despite the warmth of the hoodie.

  "Thanks," I said, watching him walk over to the window.

  "How much did you see, Ava?" he asked as he stared out of the window.

  I bit my lip as I contemplated what to tell him.

  "How much?" he prompted, looking angry.

  "Enough," I said. There wasn't any point in lying. I didn't see his reaction because he still had his back to me. "What are you?" I whispered before I could stop myself.

  He turned around and folded his arms. "What do you think I am?"

  "I don't know. What you did in that clearing isn't possible..."

  I watched him as he contemplated what I said. I was sure he was thinking about the best way to tell me what he needed to.

  "Well, at least
not for a human." There, I'd said it. Whatever he was, he was definitely not human. My words hung in the air between us, adding to the tension in the room.

  "You can't tell anyone what you saw me do in the clearing and you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you now. Do you understand?" he demanded.

  I nodded my head in agreement. He had that air of authority that made you want to obey what he commanded.

  "I'm human," he said at last as he dragged a hand through his hair roughly. He looked at me while I processed what he had said.

  I shot an unbelieving look at him.

  "Humans can't do what you did," I said in a disbelieving tone. How stupid did he think I was? His features looked so serious as he studied me for a moment.

  "I'm human and more," he added.

  More. It was so cryptic.

  One second of silence led into another.

  "I'm an Archaic," he finally revealed. I had never heard that before. I stared back at him with the puzzled look on my face. I just wished he would explain the whole thing outright. Maybe he was telling me slowly so I wouldn't overreact, but it was still annoying.

  "Does that mean you're like a vampire or werewolf--something supernatural?"

  He threw his head back and laughed. This was serious and here he was laughing at me. After a few minutes and trying to keep a straight face, he said, "No, not supernatural."

  "Just spit it out. We could be here all night if I have to keep guessing." I'd finally lost my patience. His eyes widened at my sudden exasperation with this whole process. It was like trying to play charades without being allowed to use my arms.