“Would we take the guns out of the trunk?”
Dave was obviously caught in two minds, but Mary-Christine decided for him. “Dad! No matter how dazed I was, I would take the few seconds to lift the cases out of the trunk. We can take them in the ambulance. I would be too scared to leave them; they’re your property, Dad. I wouldn’t leave them for some passer-by.”
“Okay. Bring the guns.”
“Wait.” I grabbed Dave by the arm. “If I had an accident, they’d notify my parents. My mom would go mental.”
“That’s all taken care of, young man. Roni’s round there right now, sorting it all out. The story to outsiders is ‘hit the truck’. The story just for your parents; you got jumped by a gang, and we needed an alibi.”
“Dave.” I almost didn’t say it, but then I did. “That’s kinda lame.”
“What can you say?” he held his hands up in mock of me, and it was the worst Brooklyn Italian accent I’d ever heard. “It’s all I got!”
Then I watched in horror as Clint took my car, and drove it right at the side of his truck. Man, that was some driver. He hit it, then spun so close to the edge of the drop, that we barely had to touch it to put it over. Down she went.
“My insurance will be toast.”
“Hey, your Uncle Dave will buy you a new one!”
Then the ambulance arrived. I looked at my watch. “Half past ten.”
“No, Lyman. It’s half past nine, remember, Uncle Dave time.”
~ ~ ~
After the whole scene with getting barricaded by Alan’s little gang, I went back to my old house. Going back to the Coles’ didn’t really seem like an option since Mona freaking hated me.
In the dark, I hunkered down in my old, empty house and listened to the ghosts of my parents telling me how pissed they were that I turned vampire and killed them. Not literally; but, it sure felt that way. It was miserable to be there. It wasn’t my home anymore- just a decent place to hide.
Three separate times I tried sneaking out and leaving Everton but every time I’d get tailed and it’d take a lot of maneuvering to lose them. Moving at super vampire speed didn’t do much good when the people chasing you were just as fast. Whenever the coast was clear- or so I thought- I’d sneak back to my house. It was like they were freaking corralling me.
Seriously- in the middle of the night, early, early morning—it didn’t matter. I even made one last attempt right when school was getting out so I could just blend in with the other kids walking around. That was the dumbest idea of all—people who hadn’t seen me in months and months were coming up to me, hugging me and crying. Turned out most assumed I hadn’t come back to school ‘cause I was too broken up about Cami.
Mostly people were freaking out about there being some kind of lunatic on the loose. Although there were those who thought Cami had gotten knocked up and skipped town to have it or just hooked up with some rich, older guy and ran off.
But, just in case the lunatic theory was right, everyone was walking in packs. Me being all alone made me stick out like a sore thumb.
Craig spotted me passing by the Lucky Charm on Eighth and Crowder. It was little convenience store the kids liked to haunt right after school. I’d been out of the teenager scene for a while and was kind of spacing on who’d be where at what time. Craig, mine and Cami’s former boyfriend, was not someone I was happy to run into. Oddly, he didn’t feel the same.
He was all excited and happy, running up to me, burning cigarette in hand.
“Mandy! Hey!”
Craig grabbed me so hard it was like he was trying to sumo wrestle.
“How’re you doing? Damn- I barely saw you all summer and now it’s like you’ve dropped out of school! What’s going on with you, woman?”
It was so weird to have him all fawning over me. Maybe three months ago or so I would’ve creamed myself. But, now it just really ticked me off. Not only had Craig been a total dick, dumping me for Cami… but, now that Cami was dead (well… “missing and presumed dead” was the official status) he was going to act like we’d been best buds this whole time? What a freaking loser. Oh- and let’s not forget that he was totally keeping me hostage when I was trying to bolt without being noticed.
“Too much to explain,” I said, kinda with an attitude, “and now’s not a good time.”
“Okay… when is a good time?” Craig was rubbing my arm, like trying to free a genie from a bottle, “I’ve really missed you, Mandy. It’s been rough since… Cami up and vanished and you’re always so great to talk to.”
“What? So, now I’m like your therapist?”
Ooh. He didn’t expect that. Craig’s face went totally blank. He backed off then and stopped with that lame rubbing thing.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just that we used to be so tight.”
“That was before you fucked and dumped me for my best friend.”
Craig didn’t have anything to say to that. He just turned around and started walking back to the store where a group of his buddies was hanging back and totally watching him get shot down. I was feeling pretty liberated; that is- until a car I didn’t recognize pulled into the parking lot and a whole big group of kids got out of it…most of them I’d become all-too familiar with lately.
Alan was with them this time. He got out, leaned up against the trunk and just stared at me with that cruel grin of his. I didn’t know what else to do- I figured lingering with the humans was my best bet since the vampires didn’t exactly want everyone else to know what they were.
“Hold on, Craig!” I yelled and then trotted up to him. His car was parked right next to where Alan and the others had just pulled up. “You know what- I could use a friend right now, too. Let’s get out of here for a while.”
The doofus was more than willing to oblige and we drove around for a long time; he was going on and on about his lonely life but I was just overtly tuning him out. Alan and his gang were pretty good at the cat n’ mouse thing. They followed just enough to keep tabs and let me know they were around without Craig even noticing.
After it’d been dark for a while I asked my whiney chauffer to drop me off by the mall. That way, I figured Craig could drive away and they wouldn’t follow him- that’d keep his useless ass alive a while longer. He pulled into the parking lot outside Macy’s but far away from the building and in a darkened spot. He was pretty freaking determined to get into my pants.
“…. Lately it’s like I don’t even know who I am anymore. You know what I mean?”
I’d been peering around, looking for the vampire wagon to pull in. Honestly, I hadn’t heard a word Craig had said in like two hours.
I faked like I’d been hanging on every syllable. “Yeah. Totally.”
Craig kind of twisted around to face me. He put his hands on either side of my face, clamping them down like a vice. Not a swift move when you’ve got a vampire in your car. That really pissed me off.
“Listen, Mandy,” he said all pathetically, “whatever happens between us I just really need to tell you something… dumping you for Cami was the biggest mistake of my life. I mean—yeah I was totally infatuated with her for years. But, once I got her I realized that she was nothing compared to you. You were so much prettier and smarter… better in bed…”
Man. I really wanted to bite his neck. As he was moving in to suck my face I could literally feel my fangs tingling, dripping with saliva. If any guy deserved to be turned into a TV dinner it was Craig.
I was just about to lunge when a bang on the window distracted me.
Craig bellowed. I mean- he was squirreling around and shrieking like a little girl. Then I turned around to find the face of Mona Cole at my window. It was squished up against the glass, eyes closed and mouth hanging open. Then I saw a set of fingers twined into her hair, holding the body-less head up to the window.
It was Alan.
Then another bang on the driver’s side window. Steve Cole’s head, being held by Jock.
I got all up
set then, expecting any second to see Jackson’s head on the windshield. That didn’t happen. Instead, Alan just tapped casually on the glass. I took a deep breath (Craig was totally flipping out still) and rolled it down.
“This is what happens to Blanche vampires that break away from the family. It may take fifty years, Mandy Cross, but we will get you, too. So, think it through very carefully before you try to leave town again.”
Alan, Jock and the rest got back in the car and drove off like they were leaving a barbeque. I just watched them go, knowing for sure that they were never going to let me be.
Craig was crying hysterically. I didn’t blame him. He’d seen way too much for the Blanche vampires to just let him walk away now. I guess they were expecting me to handle it. Looks like they were right, too; I couldn’t keep Craig alive at that point. But, I could keep him from being turned into a vampire slave.
Besides—I was really, really hungry.
I put my arm around him like a warm blanket and eased up to his ear, letting my sweet-smelling skin intoxicate him.
“This is for your own good, sweetie.”
Chapter 12. Keeping the Story Straight.
The hospital was difficult for me. I had to remember the story for the ambulance guys, the nurses, then the police arrived, and it was a different kind of pressure. He sat down in the plastic seat next to the bed. Sitting on my left, kept him away from the bruised knuckles on my right hand. My left looked okay.
“What happened kid?” he asked, flicking through his notebook to a clean page.
“We were driving north.” I said.
“Where were you going?” the officer asked. He didn’t look like the in-your-pocket kind of policeman, so I had to give it my best shot.
“Somewhere quiet, for me and my girlfriend, you know.” I hoped he’d get the idea. Seemed that he did.
“And what happened then?”
“It was at the bridge, I got distracted by, her, you know. I don’t know what happened after that, I just lost it. Next thing I knew, we were down the slope.”
“Fortunate you didn’t turn over.” He said, still taking notes.
“Yeah, really.”
He pointed to my face with the pen.
“All this?”
“It all happened so fast, but my airbag didn’t open, I slammed my face into the steering wheel when I hit the truck. Then I guess it hit a couple more times as we went down the slope.”
“Nasty.” He looked me right in the eyes. I held the contact. “The ambulance report mentions firearms.”
“Yes, sir. Two nine millimeter automatics. Mary-Christine picked them out the car when we left. She said she wasn’t leaving them.”
“And why were you carrying them anyway? You got special licenses?”
“We were at the gun club till nine, nine twenty-ish. We were going to register the serial numbers at the weekend. They were safely locked in the trunk.”
“And the license?”
“Under my girlfriend’s dad, Dave Muscat.”
“And where were the firearms when you were driving?”
I shook my head slightly, I had just told him. He looked up at me, his pen poised over the book.
“In the trunk. That’s where we always kept them between houses and gun club.”
He looked back through his notes. “Gun Club till nine twenty, called ambulance at nine thirty-six.”
“The Gun Club time is not exact, but the class finishes at nine, and we always clean our guns.”
Oh fuck. I suddenly remembered, Mary-Christine’s gun wasn’t clean anymore.
I started to sweat, but luckily the officer was already turning, rising from his seat by the bed. “There may be some more questions, time will tell.”
As the officer left the room, I saw Mom outside, hands up to her face, looking in at mine. She looked mortified.
She rushed in front of dad, and gave me as much of a hug as she thought I could stand. “We’ll get these boys.” Her face was angry. “We’ll get the boys that did this.”
“Now, now, honey, you heard what Roni said; one of the boys has a judge on his side, we’re not going down that route. We don’t want Lyman to go to jail over some story they concoct.”
Seems Dad had drunk the Kool-Aid; that was good.
“But how can we let them get away with it?”
“Seems that the judge’s son didn’t exactly get away with it, did he son?”
Oh crap, I didn’t know this part of the story. I just grinned as far as I could, then flinched in pain.
“See!” Dad looked all proud. “You gave him a good taste of his own medicine, didn’t you son?”
“Sure did.” I grinned again. “You should see the other guy, Mom.” I grinned wider, and she kinda melted a little bit.
“I’m not agreeing with this charade, but I’ll go along, don’t worry.” Mom said rubbing her hand over my shoulder.
“Broke his jaw, huh?” Dad was still reveling. I showed him my knuckles. They were a bit swollen, and very red.
Dave and Roni were at the door, then Mary-Christine squeezed between them. I waved her in.
“Mary-Christine!” Mom stood up and hugged her tight. “What an ordeal to go through.”
“She was great, Mom.” Then I stopped myself suddenly. I had almost told them of the shootings. I kept quiet, really not knowing her story in this.
“I’m sure she was.” Mom hugged her more. “Poor thing.”
I had the image of that poor thing putting a shell into Jim Creary’s head.
Extricating herself from Mom’s hug, Mary-Christine came round to the other side, and leant in to gently kiss me.
“Oh, look at them.” Mom said. “Even now, they look a picture!”
Dave and Roni came in, making it a whole family affair.
“I gave the office a call.” Dave began. “Looks like we can get a car from the carpool.”
“Wow, that’s great.” Dad’s face all lit up. “How did you swing that?”
“Well, pool cars are all auctioned after two years, I’ll just whisk one away.”
“And the insurance? Who’s going to pay for that?” Mom was getting indignant again.
“Don’t worry, Lilly.” Dave said, putting his arm on dad’s sleeve. “I’ll see to it that it’s all worked out okay. Your guy’s insurance won’t be touched.”
“That’s very kind of you, Dave, but I still feel the boys who did this should be made to pay somehow.”
“Lilly.” Dave’s voice was calm and collected. “We’re just hoping they don’t come back at the police with their own story that puts Lyman in Juvenile Hall.”
Mom shut up then.
After a bit, my parents left, Dave and Roni walked them to the elevator, leaving Mary-Christine and I alone.
“How did it go with the police?” I asked.
“He basically just verified everything you said. I just nodded most of the time. How about you?”
“My only problem, is if they ask for your gun to be examined, it’s not been cleaned after firing.”
“Oh. That’s a bad miss.”
Dave came back into the room, and we told him our fears.
“No problem, I’ll pick them up tonight, clean them for you. Listen, I know it’s very early, but we have to act quick sometimes.”
He paused.
“Out with it, Dave.” I said, wary of where he was going.
“Well, we’ve got Creary secured, he’s already out of town. Would you like to be involved at the kill?”
“Involved?”
“Yeah, deal the final blow?” Dave put his hand up. “You’re the guy who took him down; you get that right. I know the Dorothy thing hit you hard, but you handled tonight well. I don’t have to give me an answer right now, but I need to know by tomorrow night.”
I shook my head. “No need to even think about it. I’d fucking love to be there.”
Then I realized that I’d cussed in front of Mary-Christine’s dad.
~
~ ~
It was time to turn Alan’s game around on him; see how much he liked being stalked. The very next day after I killed Craig, all flush and strong from a good feeding, I strolled right onto the campus of Vampire High.
Of course, I didn’t have the Gregor uniform and I stuck out like a sore thumb and so it wasn’t like I could follow Alan around without being noticed. So, I didn’t even bother. Instead, I loitered within visual of the school and waited until a bunch of kids spilled out into the common.
Lunch time.
It was a nice day; the weather hadn’t begun to change yet and most everybody ate outside. I didn’t take Alan for a cafeteria dweeb, so I figured he’d be outside in the quad somewhere. There were little clicks of kids scattered all over the place and a lot of chatter. By the smell, I could tell all of them were human. I wondered how much they knew.
I was getting quite a bit of attention as I passed by them. I weaved in and out of the groups of kids, looking at each face for one that was remotely familiar. Beanstalk, the tall one from Alan’s gang, stood above the crowd. He was the first one I found. As I got in closer I saw Jock, too.
That made me laugh right out loud. Jock and the Beanstalk…
Some girl who was with them saw me before either of the guys and she nudged Beanstalk in the ribs. He glared over at me. I glared back. Seeing how most of the student body was of the non-vampire origin, I figured they were pretty interested in keeping their secret… uh, secret. I didn’t have to worry much about getting attacked on campus. So, Beanstalk was my lighthouse and I let him lead me right to Alan.
Quick enough- I found the son of a bitch. Alan wasn’t standing with his crowd. They were hanging by close enough to like keep guard or something, but it looked like they didn’t want to be seen together. Not sure. That’s just what it looked like to me.
Alan was off on a tall planter, sitting with this dorky, skinny red haired dude who was chowing on a bologna sandwich. He had mustard on his chin. As I walked up, the red head noticed me first. This guy was such a loser; I mean—his eyes just moved up my body and like froze at my chest. I wanted to hurt him.
Vampire High School (Book 1: Gregor Academy) Page 15