by Martha Woods
“I prefer to be called Countess Bathory after the serial killer .” The stranger she sounded the fewer people would bother her.
The woman laughed. “There’s no way. Grab an easel. Just fake it. I’ll pass you. If you want them, there're some paints in the back.”
“Thank you.” Sara had never heard a teacher say anything like that in her entire life, but you don’t need to know how to paint to work at Wal-Mart, so none of the students were going to need this class.
That point was not lost on the blond girl sitting to her right. Her canvas was blank, and she was using it to block the teacher from seeing her use her smartphone. The teacher didn’t seem to care. She was doing the exact same thing.
Sara hated painting. She’d imagine a beautiful landscape and end up drawing an irregular nonsensical shape. She just didn’t have the talent for art, but she was doing her best to be a nonconformist.
Sara painted the canvas black then started with a baby blue dot in the center. Then she expanded it outwards until she had a shape like a tear drop. Then she changed to a darker color and gave it arms, fiery tendrils flying out all ends. The teardrops became the zenith of the flame.
“I like it.” Sara whipped around, ready to throw paint thinner in the girl’s face but she seemed harmless, a simple nerd with a thick red bush of hair and black rimmed glasses.
Sara turned back around and added a small tinge of yellow in the center, representing the soul of the fire.
“What is it?”
“Blue fire.”
“Do you paint much?”
“No.” Sara turned back around to her painting and tried to decide if it needed anything else. The flames didn’t pop so she decided to add some more white into them.
“I’ve been doing it a while myself. It’s kind of my thing.” She walked back to her easel. “I’ve been working on this one for most of the semester.”
It was a beach scene, perfectly modeled after the beach near her house with intricate designs on the waves, mirroring real life reflections.
“That’s superb.”
“Thank you,” she blushed. “I’m Andrea.” She held out her hand which meant that Sara would have to shake it.
Sara gave her a quick smile and turned back to her painting.
“You’re Sara right. I mean--of course, everyone knows who you are.”
“It’s been less than an hour. How could everyone possibly know about me?”
“We have cell phones.” Andrea and Sara both started laughing.
“You know, I told that creature Barbie not to introduce me and she gave me this ridiculous spiel about how introducing me to the entire school will help me learn the social skills I’ll need to succeed for the rest of my life.”
“As if hobnobbing with future Wal-Mart employees was a major life event.”
“You read my mind.” Sara didn't mind her. She was cynical and goofy to be relatable.
“Have you ever been to the cliffs?” Andrea asked. “There's some nice quiet places to sit out and watch the water.”
“I live near the cliffs. You can see the drop-off from my window so every time I look out, I can see the water past it.”
“Well I was going to go there after school,” Andrea said. “I was wondering if you'd like to tag along.
A quiet walk near the side of a cliff. Ironic that Sara had just tried to kill herself less than 24 hours ago. “Alright. Let's go.”
Chapter 9
When Sara came home, she slammed the door so hard the house shook. If she was going to lie to she was going to make her discontent known. Margaret, rather than rushing into the living room, stood leaning against the wall by the stove where she was roasting something in the oven.
“Don't think I'll put up with that crap.” She chased after Sara who was making a quick dash to her room. Margaret cut her off at the stairs. “I said, I won't put up with that crap.”
“You think I'm going to let you lie to me without hearing a word about it? You're wrong.” She tried to push past Margaret, but she cut off Sara's path.
“I will be respected in my own home.” She met her granddaughter's eyes with a threatening tone.
“You wretched old hag.” Sara advanced on her. “I was beaten and violated. I killed two men. If you know what happened, you have to tell me.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.” Sara advanced on her grandma again causing her to retreat backward.
“Yes. You do.” Sara reaffirmed.
“No. Sara you were delu—
“Delusional!” Sara bared her teeth. “Grandma, are you going to let me live the rest of my life not knowing what that was?”
“I am.”
“Start talking to me or so help me god...”
“No.”
Sara nearly knocked her grandmother off balance trying to get to her room. She threw the door closed and climbed into bed so she could hide her head under the covers. Sara was never going to find peace, not one second of it until she got a full explanation. She heard voices, doing things. She had a right to know what was going on.
Sara wanted to trust her grandmother. She thought that Margaret would find some way to make things alright. They would sit and reminisce, cook together, maybe walk. Her time at her grandmothers should be centered on healing and remembering her mother. Sara needed that support. She needed honesty and trust. If Sara couldn't trust her grandmother, then she would have to grieve alone.
She felt robbed. The terror was supposed to be over. She was out of the hospital, but she didn't feel free. She was trapped with Margaret, and she needed to leave. Sara changed clothes and climbed down the trellis outside her window, careful not to make too much noise when she landed.
She walked downhill until she was sure she was out of earshot. Then she called Andrea and made plans with her to meet down at the beach. Sara had sawed Andrea before Andrea saw her. She was standing near the water with her shoes thrown over her shoulder.
“Hey.” Sara walked up beside her.
“Oh, hey.” She turned away from the water. “How was your first day?” They stood side by side watching the waves.
“Traumatizing.”
Andrea giggled. Then she got a glimpse of Sara's sour face. Sara should've just gone on walking alone. She couldn't have a normal conversation, not with anyone, much less some random girl she just met in high school. She pointed to a trail leading up alongside the cliff. “You want to take that?”
“Sure.”
They cut through across the sand until they reached the cliff trail and shortly after that found themselves walking alongside the edge of the cliff with the open air just a few feet away. More than once, Sara felt like she was about to fall when she got too close. It was a thrill, which generally would've driven her crazy but with her head pounding the way it was, it didn't do much. Having Andrea quietly walking alongside her didn't help much either. Her friend would probably want to talk, and that's exactly what Sara didn't want.
The girls stopped and climbed onto a boulder sitting at the edge of the trail. When Sara sat down, she felt like she could see over the brink of the world. For what seemed like miles there was nothing but navy blue water and clouds.
“Do you think it's nice up here?” Andrea pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her backpack. Sara peered at them longingly.
“Yeah, uh...”
“Here,” Andrea handed her a cigarette and lit it for her.
“Thanks.” Sara took a thick puff and let it linger in the air.
“No problem.”
“It is nice.”
Andrea pointed out at the beach. “There's tons of seafood. People come out with lobster traps and catch shrimp with nets and little boats. There're bonfires on the beach. Usually, the police will leave everyone alone, so it's nice. Kids stay out there all night.”
Sara caught a glimmer of something on the beach while Andrea was talking. It looked like a cell phone or a flashlight but it was obviously artificial. Andrea noticed that Sar
a wasn't actually listening and turned her head to see what Sara was looking at.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing. Hey, thanks for coming.” It was a nice way of telling her to fuck off. She didn't want to hurt Andrea's feelings, but she couldn't stand having the girl hovering around her while she was trying not to lose her mind.
“Huh, what—
“I just got to be alone,” Sara reassured her.
“Oh, alright.” Andrea sounded disappointed, and Sara felt sorry for sending her on her way, but Sara needed to. She had enough going through her mind. Sara didn't need other people. She needed to quiet her mind and let her thoughts flow into the water.
When Sara closed her eyes, her mother's face still crept out from behind the shower curtain and her arms were still tied to the gurney. Sara had been through more than one person could handle. She was sitting on the between life and death. She needed a reason not to jump off the cliff.
Given the right opportunity, she would still do it. Sara might have failed at dying once, but she wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. She'd run right off the edge and let the fall snap her neck. There was nothing left for her, no home, nobody to talk to. Her own family was turning against her. Things couldn't possibly be any more horrific. Nothing was keeping her alive except for momentary hesitation.
She might end up throwing herself off the cliff when she hopped down from the boulder.
It would be too dark to walk back soon, so Sara started down the trail. She took one last peek down the before she did. The light she saw when Andrea was there had moved up to the cliff on the other side of the beach. It seemed to stop at the edge. Then it fell straight towards the water. Maybe somebody else had the same idea. It felt like the right kind of night to die on. The air was thick and gnats were swarming everywhere, picking at her skin while she pushed through swarms of them.
Sara was in no mood to wander. She just wanted to get home, but to do so, she would have to follow the road away from the shore and into the hills. The walk would quickly take her an hour or more. She decided to take a shortcut through the field.
The wind was picking up, blasting off the coast, sending with it a crisp chill that wrapped its arms around Sara and just wouldn't let her go. It got so bad that she was hunched over, shivering with her arms pulled close to her chest. She stopped, looked around and realized that she was going to get caught out there in the middle of the night. She would have nothing to light her way except for her phone.
She was standing in the middle of a vast expanse of grass. If it got dark, she would never find her way through this. She would just wander around lost until she fell off the edge of a cliff. A breeze hit her in the face, driven by what sounded like a gunshot.
Something just ran past her.
She froze and started looking around. There didn't seem to be anything but the empty field. She had to get out of there. Her feet moved smoothly, and propelled her forward. She was going to beat the sun and get home before it got dark. She didn't want to be out there.
Sara didn't realize she was on the ground until something tore her carotid artery open and expertly held back the fountain of blood. It moved slowly, lapping up the warm spray while its rough tongue scraped around inside her.
Then it started to drink. It began with quick swallows as the blood gushed from its mouth. That's when she began to struggle. All she managed to do was lift her head enough to get a look at the thing. It was like a man's form carved out of white marble, and its blond curls were so thick it looked like a wig.
Sara's last thought before passed out was that the thing that killed Sara's mother was trying to kill her too.
Chapter 10
The needle stabbed into the crook of her arm and stuck. She was laying in the grass staring up at a creature with the same white marble skin holding up an IV bag of blood.
This Monster was different, with a strand of his unruly black hair hanging down his forehead and a wide jaw. He didn't move quick and strike like a snake. His movements flowed like a human's. He didn't move like a monster wearing the skin of its kill the way the other one did.
He wasn't hurting her either. She'd lost a lot of blood, and he was replenishing it for her. He was saving her from the thing that killed her mother.
Sara didn't know how long she stared up at him until she finally passed out. There were brief flashes after that, the scraping of boots against the ground and the feeling of being carried. Once she did finally wake up, she swatted at her arm to get the needle out. There was nothing there but a little pin prick.
She was laying in her room with her clothes from the night before neatly folded on her chair. She hobbled out of bed, surprised at how weak she felt.
Her grandmother couldn't deny anything after what happened. If she was going to stay safe, she needed to know how to protect herself. Besides, she'd earned some answers. She didn't even remember coming home. She blacked out from God knows what. Her safety was being threatened. The thing that killed her mother tried to eat at her neck.
She checked herself in the mirror in her room. Her neck was bare. “Nothing!” She whispered. There were no marks where the thing bit her. She checked her arm. The track mark was gone. Now there would be no proof and Sara would get no answers.
No.
She wasn't going to put up with her grandmother’s bullshit. She was going to march right up to the woman and demand to know what was going on. If her grandmother didn't want to answer, Sara would push her and push her until she gave in. Now, this shit was threatening her life.
Sara put on her slippers and hopped down the stairs. “Alright,” she slammed her fists on the kitchen table. “I want to know what the hell is going on and I'm not leaving until you tell me.”
“No.” She spun around to face Sara, leaning against the counter casually.
“No. I'm not going anywhere. I had something feasting on my neck. It was the same thing that killed my mother. I know it was. Now I almost died last night. I think giving me a little information would be a smart move.” She leaned forward over the table.
“Alright. You want some information, Sara?”
“Yes!”
“I found you delusional, screaming about leeches in the field. Don't go out at night. You're only safe when you're here.”
“Is that it? I need a real explanation.”
“Nope.” She turned around to finish scrubbing the counter. Just like that, Sara was certain she wasn't going to get any information out of her. It was a slap in the face. Sara needed Margaret right now, more than she ever needed anyone.
Sara stormed around the house while she was getting ready for school. Sara made it as difficult as she could for her grandmother, crashing around, stomping her feet. Sara put her grandmother to the test. There were a couple of times the woman became genuinely frustrated, but she didn't say much of anything, so Sara eventually stopped, went dead silent and left when Margaret's back was turned. Sara would rather walk the entire way than have to spend one-second longer with her grandmother.
She got halfway down the drive when her grandmother caught up with her, stopped her and said, “You don't think it's hard for me either?”
“You think I care? I can't handle the lies. I mean after all, I've been through...do you have any idea how much I need to just talk openly with you?”
“Yes.” She couldn't meet Sara's eyes,
“Then why would you let me suffer like this? Tell me what's going.”
“No.” She stiffened.
“Fine.” Sara got in the passenger seat of the car. “Let's go.”
The entire way to school, Sara had to avert her eyes. She wanted to shake the woman silly until she spilled everything. Margaret stayed silent. She just pulled up to the school and waited while Sara got out.
Andrea avoided Sara until lunch when she started hovering in the hall while Sara was trying to put her things in her locker. Sara slammed it shut and motioned for Andrea to follow. Andrea was the kind of girl
that Sara didn't mind having around. She knew to keep a little bit of space and probably suspected there was something a bit off about Sara.
“Did you stay out late last night? It's kind of hard to get down from the cliffs when it's dark.”
“I almost got lost in the field.”
“Huh.” They took two slabs of greasy school pizza to their tables.
Sara just stared at hers. She couldn't be paid to touch the thing. She didn't want to hear Andrea talk either. The girl looked like she was about to explode with a million questions and comments. So she scanned the crowd and looked anywhere but back down at her friend.
The creature that gave her the IV was posing as a school kid eating pizza in the corner. She shot up off her chair.
“What's wrong?” Andrea got up.
“I'll be right back.” He watched her out of the corner of his eyes with a grin while she walked over.
“Alright.” She sat down across from him.
“Hey, what are you doing?” He pretended to sound shocked.
“You're going to tell me what the hell that was.” She bared her teeth. “And I'm not taking any bullshit.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.” He leaned back in his chair casually. “Now if you could, please leave me alone.”
“Oh, bullshit. I remember you. You stand out like a sore thumb. Look at you. You're bright white with muscles that look like they're carved from stone. You're different, which wouldn't matter except that I almost got killed by something just like you.”
“I have to go.” He got up and turned to leave.
Sara avoided human contact the rest of the day and spent the evening up in her room sulking. She was living in hell, stuck in the middle of something horrific and nobody was willing to give her any answers. The next day at lunch Sara kept watch for him while Andrea stared at her. “What happened with Caleb yesterday?”
“Caleb?” Sara's eyes darted around while she searched the crowd.
“The boy you were talking to yesterday, Caleb Baker.”
“Tell me everything you know about him.”