The Homecoming Masquerade

by Baum, Spencer

  Annika stood in place for a moment, as if trying to sort out in her mind what was going on. Jill had been around enough drunkards, her dad being one of them, to know about where Annika was in the process. Her eyes were thoroughly glazed. Her cheeks were bright red. She couldn’t walk straight but her speech wasn’t slurring yet. One more drink and Annika would be totally useless. Jill would have to keep her away from the booze until the movie was over.

  “Okay, you’re on,” said Annika, a smile taking over her face. She jumped over the back of the couch, landing right next to Jill and giggling at how clever she was. On the TV, the screen went from black to bright orange. A flute played a somber melody. Time lapse photography showed a sunrise over the ocean.

  “This movie was an open declaration of artistic war against the ruling regime in China,” Annika said. “By the time it was released, Fu Xi and his clan had already taken over the Chinese government. The sunrise represents the triumph of humanity over the vampires.”

  “Vampires,” Jill said. “I love it when people say that word.”

  “I do too,” said Annika. “I think everybody does it, in secret. Pass that beer over here, Sweetie, will you?”

  “Have some water instead,” Jill said, grabbing a bottle off the end table and giving it to Annika.

  Annika held the bottle up to one eye and pointed it at Jill like a telescope.

  “I see you,” she said in a sing-song voice, before breaking into a giggling fit.

  The movie was short, just over an hour long, and its plot was simple. It was Romeo and Juliet with a Chinese setting: two teenage lovers named Zhang Li Gong and Hong Chung were kept apart by the warring parties of the ruling regime and ultimately died for their love. An evil villain known simply as “The Chairman” orchestrated the murder of Zhang Li. Upon learning that his lover was killed, Hong looked out at the sun rising across the ocean and stabbed himself in the gut. The movie ended with Hong falling into the sea and the camera panning up to show the sunrise.

  It was a dark, brooding movie. The yellow English subtitles running across the bottom were frequently the brightest things on the screen. Even though she found it all a bit boring, Jill could see the appeal of the movie to someone like Annika, someone who harbored feelings of rebellion but repressed them. To Annika, watching this movie, and explaining all the symbolism as it went, had to be a liberating feeling, even if she was drunk.

  The minor characters in the film matched the fake names in Annika’s secret emails. Duan and Xu were friends of the main characters, and couldn’t decide if they wanted to be a couple or not, just like Vince and Mattie. Ming was the comic relief character, a strange girl who brought happiness to the screen until the Chairman killed her.

  And Liu, Jill’s namesake in Annika’s emails, was a princess who turned on her father and tried to help Zhang Li and Hong. Although Liu’s plan to smuggle Zhang Li out of China failed, she was a heroic character, who died at her own father’s hand after her treachery was revealed.

  Jill found it quite touching that Annika viewed her this way.

  “Do you think anything is ever going to change?” Jill asked.

  “You mean, will the world stop being so evil? No, I don’t think so,” said Annika.

  “You’re a happy person,” said Jill. “How can you be so pleasant all the time when you know the world is like this?”

  Jill was openly inviting Annika to engage in sedition with that last question. Her words asked Annika how she could be so happy, but they both knew the question really was, ‘How can you stand aside and do nothing when you know the truth of the world?’ The question was Jill seeking an opening to find out if Annika might be Network material.

  Her reaction was disappointing.

  “We shouldn’t have watched this,” Annika said, racing to the TV and turning it off. “I should throw this movie away. I don’t really believe in any of this stuff. I just like being bad sometimes, that’s all. It’s getting late. Maybe we should go to sleep. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

  “Annika, I enjoyed watching this movie with you,” said Jill. “And I promise I’ll never breathe a word about it to anyone.”

  “I know you won’t, Sweetie. I trust you. I…”

  Annika was crying now. Jill sighed. Whatever she was hoping to accomplish with this little movie date wasn’t going to happen.

  “Here,” Jill said, grabbing the beer bottle she’d been withholding from Annika during the movie. “Have a drink. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  Annika took a swig from the bottle, then another, then a third. As she reached for the table to set down the bottle, she fell off the couch.

  “W’oh, are you okay?” Jill said.

  Annika started laughing. She rolled onto her back and laughed even louder.

  “Look at me!” she gasped. “R..O..F…how’s it go?”

  “ROTFL,” Jill said.

  “Yes! That’s me right now!”

  Annika rolled back and forth on the floor, laughing louder and louder as she went. Somewhere upstairs, a toilet flushed. Jenny must have had to get out of bed for puking round 2. Watching Annika roll on the floor, Jill wondered if she’d be next.

  Jill stayed at Annika’s house until Saturday evening, tending to Jenny and Annika both. Annika started puking at three in the morning, but was done by four. Jenny wasn’t finished puking until after dawn. All three girls slept until mid-afternoon. When they awoke, Jenny was still a moaning mess, but Annika was happy as a lark. Jill hung around to cook lunch and help Annika clean up. There were many opportunities that afternoon for Annika to bring up Crimson Sunrise and what happened the night before. She never did. Either she didn’t remember, or she intended to forget.

  Three weeks had passed since girl’s night out. Now, Annika was standing near the bar in Renata Sullivan’s mansion, her eyes getting glazed underneath her bejeweled mask, her cheeks turning rosy. Annika’s story about Uncle Charlie had come to a close. This was the moment Jill had been waiting for. Everything was in place. Nicky Bloom had arrived and made her presence known. Jill had given the cover story about the “secret consortium” behind Nicky’s campaign. Kim Renwick had tried to ruin Nicky’s night with a spilled glass of wine and failed in spectacular fashion. The ballroom was buzzing. In barely an hour, Nicky had demolished the hierarchy and order of the senior class. Annika was on her third or fourth glass of wine. If ever there was a time to close the deal, it was now.

  Jill put her hand on Annika’s shoulder.

  “Oh hey,” Annika said, as if she and Jill were old friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time.

  “How’s it going?” Jill asked her.

  “Great,” Annika said before gulping from her goblet of wine.

  Something was wrong. Jill had spent enough time with Annika that she could tell.

  “Is everything alright?” Jill asked.

  “Why wouldn’t it be?” Annika said.

  “I don’t know, it just seems like you’ve got something on your mind.”

  Annika gave Jill a look that was a mix of curiosity and sympathy. “Let’s go someplace to talk alone,” she said.

  A minute later they were in the far corner of the ballroom.

  “You know, I was thinking during the first hour of the dance,” Annika began, “and I’ve decided I’m angry with you. Really angry.”

  “Angry with me. How come?”

  “You’ve known about Nicky Bloom all this time and didn’t tell me.”

  “Annika, like I said--”

  “I know, I know. Your family’s in some secret club.” Annika waved her hand dismissively.

  “And we weren’t supposed to tell anyone,” Jill said. “I wasn’t even supposed to tell you tonight. The only reason I said a thing is because you guys are my friends and I’d hate to see you get caught backing the wrong girl.”

  “See, I think that’s horse shit,” Annika said. “I think your little club thought it would be a good idea for you to become
friends with me, and this whole summer was just a charade leading up to that speech you gave us before the dancing started. I think you started hanging out with us to see if I was worthy of being in your secret club but decided to stay away from me because I wouldn’t talk enough smack about Kim.”

  “Annika, that’s not how it is.”

  “Really? Are you sure, Jill? Because I seem to remember you trying hard all summer to get my friends to talk shit about Kim Renwick and I had to shut you down. I thought it was strange at the time, but now it all makes sense. You were testing me, and I failed. You didn’t trust me to join your anti-Kim crusade, so instead you fed us this story tonight that you care about us and don’t want us to get left out.”

  Jill took a deep breath. She was losing her. A whole summer of work and potentially the whole operation would go down the drain if she didn’t get this turned around.

  “It’s not a story, Annika. I do care, and that’s why I told you guys what we were up to. Okay, I admit it. I pushed my way into your group this summer because the consortium wanted you, but that doesn’t mean my friendship was fake. That doesn’t mean the week in Cozumel, or the lunches, or the girls night out were any less special to me than--”

  “Don’t even talk to me about girls night out,” Annika snapped. “Oh yes, Jill, I remember everything. I just pretended to forget because that was better for us both. You and I both need to be more careful. This isn’t some little game. Make a wrong move in this town and you might end up dead. Don’t you think for a second that Kim Renwick won’t arrange for her enemies to end up at the bottom of the ocean, just like Shannon. You and your little club can go do whatever the hell you want, but I’m making it out of this year alive. I don’t care which girl wins Coronation, but I do care about my friends, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to see another person I care about go down because of stupid DC politics. You put me and my friends in danger when you started hanging out with us this summer, Jill, so now I will kindly ask you to leave us the hell alone.”

  With that, Annika turned and walked away. Jill thought about calling after her, but what good would it do? Annika wasn’t going to back Nicky no matter what Jill said. She had blown it. Her brilliant plan to bring Annika and her friends over to Nicky Bloom had backfired big-time. She hadn’t made Annika into a supporter, she’d made her into an enemy, and there really couldn’t be a worse outcome than that. The big weapon she’d been aiming for, Annika Fleming’s sway in the senior class, was now turned against her. They’d be lucky to get anyone to come to Nicky’s after-party now.

  20

  Nicky stood up from the bar and went to the back of the mansion, thinking about the mission, thinking about her role in it all. She saw Jill standing there, staring blankly at Annika Fleming, who was walking away.

  It didn’t look good.

  Nicky nodded in Jill’s direction, guiding her with her eyes. There was a hallway in the south corner of the ballroom that led to the restrooms. Having given Jill a cue to join her there, Nicky stepped into the hall, but instead of turning towards the restrooms on the right, she turned left, then left again, finding herself in a short corridor just outside the kitchen. It was the one spot in the ballroom that was suitable for Nicky and Jill to get together and talk shop. Not only was it removed from sight of the party, but it was also a rare blind spot for the many security cameras in Renata’s mansion.

  Jill showed up a few seconds later.

  “How’s it going out there?” Nicky asked.

  “Terrible. Annika is angry at me and has absolutely no interest in your after-party. She’s scared to death of betraying Kim and wants me to stay away from her.”

  “It’s Shannon, isn’t it?” said Nicky. “Annika’s afraid she’s going to end up dead.”

  “Seems that way,” said Jill. “What’s weird is that she’s got this other side of her that’s totally rebellious. The secret boyfriend in Brazil, the forbidden Chinese movie…”

  “The secret boyfriend is the reason she’s scared,” said Nicky. “There’s a reason she’s hiding him. There’s more to Annika and this Hong guy than we know, and whatever it is, she’s scared that Kim will find out.”

  “So scared that she wants to be as far away from us as possible,” said Jill. “It sucks. I felt like I was getting so close to figuring her out.”

  “Don’t get discouraged now. This angry rejection she gave you is the final piece of the puzzle and now we know what we have to do.”

  “Is that so? Then maybe you should enlighten me what it is we have to do now, because I have absolutely no idea. I’ve just spent the last three months chasing Annika Fleming only to have her flip out on me.”

  “Jill, you’ve spent the last three months getting to know Annika Fleming on an intimate level. You have the intel you need to make this happen. Annika is staying with Kim because of a secret she doesn’t want revealed. But we already know that secret. We hold all the cards.”

  “All I know is that she’s got some secret boyfriend who shares her love for a weird foreign film.”

  “That’s enough. Once Annika learns you know that much, she’ll be eager to do as you ask.”

  “You’re suggesting I should blackmail her?”

  The look on Jill’s face was baffling. It was as if Nicky had asked her to commit murder or something.

  “Of course that’s what I’m suggesting,” said Nicky.

  “But…that’s just what Kim would do.”

  Nicky sighed. “I don’t know what you were expecting when you signed up for this, but this game we’re playing – it’s for keeps. The immortals eat people. At the end of this contest, if I don’t win, I’ll be put in a cage so the winner can eat me. Blackmailing your new friend might not be an appealing idea to you, but it’s our best option. Our only option, really. You have everything you need to march right up to Annika and demand that she comes to my after-party and that she brings everyone with her. It’s a strategy that works. Just ask Ryan Jenson.”

  “What? Ask Ryan?”

  “Yes, Jill, you’re not the only one who’s having a tough night. Ryan said he isn’t coming to my party either. Kim has something on him and he’s committed to her through the bitter end.”

  “Holy shit,” Jill said. “I didn’t know.”

  “Of course you didn’t know. Nobody knew.”

  “Now what?” said Jill.

  “We’re going to regroup and get back out there,” said Nicky. “You’re going to keep working the crowd, and the minute you see Annika take a break from the dance floor you’re going to follow her and make her come to the party.”

  “But without Ryan?” Jill began, “What good is Annika without Ryan? Without Ryan we don’t stand a chance.”

  “Ryan’s not the only guy in this school who has money, and I’ve already worked out a backup plan. But I’ll need your help to pull it off.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “I need you to find Art Tremblay and talk me up while you dance with him. If we can’t have Ryan, Art is second best. He’s got plenty of money.”

  “But just a few minutes ago Art Tremblay was trying to spill wine all over your dress!”

  “Exactly,” said Nicky. “And he failed. Kim just took Art outside and whipped him like a dog. You should have seen the look on his face when he came crawling back to the ballroom. That guy is so beaten down I don’t think he could get much lower. A guy like that is vulnerable. He’ll be open to anyone who is willing to build him up again. And it’s going to start with you. By the time you turn him over to me, we’ll have him ready to listen.”

  “Nicky, this is crazy. I have no idea what I’d even say to Art.”

  Out in the ballroom, the musicians began tuning up, which was everyone’s cue that the dancing was about to start again.

  Nicky put her arm around Jill and began leading her out of the hallway.

  “You’re going to tell Art a story that makes him rethink the ramifications of what happened when he tried to push
me into Rosalyn. The first words out of your mouth will be, ‘I saw what you did earlier.’”

  “What he did?”

  “That’s right, what he did. In your story, Art wasn’t a victim in the great wine spill fiasco. In your story, Art knew exactly what he was doing.”

  Part 4

  The Hunt

  21

  While a hundred genuine teenagers gathered inside Renata Sullivan’s mansion, nine ageless beings in teenage bodies gathered in the woods outside. As the host of Homecoming, Renata had certain responsibilities. She had to provide a setting for the party, which she did gladly. Her mansion, surrounded by a thick swath of Virginia forest, was the perfect getaway for students and immortals alike. She had to provide entertainment, which for the students inside meant a chamber orchestra assembled from all the best players in the world.

  And she had to provide food.

  For the teenagers inside the mansion, Renata’s slaves prepared hors’dourves in the kitchen then carried them around the ballroom on silver platters for all the guests to enjoy. For the immortals outside, no such courtesies were necessary. For the immortals, Renata’s slaves didn’t make food. They were food.

  At any given time, Renata, like all members of the Samarin clan, had at least forty slaves on site. A few of those slaves had been there for many years, growing old in Renata’s mansion while they taught all the new kids their roles in the house.

  But most of the slaves arrived when they were young and never made it to old age, becoming Renata’s dinner when they ripened to her liking.

  Immortals preferred to feast on people who were in the prime of life and health. Humans aged eighteen to twenty-two tasted best. Their blood was vibrant in those years. Their flesh, tender.

  Renata and all the other immortals of the Samarin clan ate often, feasting on ripe young humans whenever the mood struck them. Consequently, their slave populations needed frequent replenishment. That was where Melissa came in.

  Melissa Mayhew was a small girl whose eyes and hair were matching shades of gold and whose tiny frame masked her enormous ambition. That ambition won her the Coronation contest in 1968. Immediately seeing her potential to do important work for the clan, Daciana put Melissa in charge of the newest institution in her hierarchy of power. The Farm.