by Dima Zales
"No," he said, and shook his head. "They don't have a single lead. They don't know who the thugs are, and there is no trace of them at all. The girl had been getting bullied pretty badly at school, so they were investigating kids at their school, but they didn't come up with anything convincing."
"That is so sad," she said.
"It's especially hard to watch when any of the parents gets in front of the camera," he said. "They always break down in tears. They can't hold it together, and the parents actually have a spokesperson speaking on their behalf now."
I felt a lump forming in my throat.
He turned his attention back on me. "You really do look just like her."
I bit my lip and said, "I haven't seen that news story either. I'll have to look into that when I get home. I really hope that they find that couple."
A million questions ran through my mind, but I couldn't ask any of them without raising suspicion. I had wanted to blend in and not be noticed at all. If my picture was all over the news, I had little chance of that happening.
Then I wondered if should tell them that I really was the girl from the news. I could be whisked away without Adam being able to get me. I could still see him watching me from all the way in the woods.
On the other hand, I had the whole issue of not being able to be in the sun, and that was going to be very hard to explain. I needed to get that fixed before going back to my family. If I was discovered, then there would be a huge media circus, and I would never be able to get back to Tanner or get my sun blessing back.
The guy looked at his girlfriend and said, "I'll be right back."
"Okay," she said.
We both watched him join a group of guys and start talking to them. One by one, they looked over toward the table and started whispering. I focused my hearing on their whispers.
"I think that's the missing girl from Delphic Cove."
"Did you ask her?"
"She only said that she hasn't seen the news."
"How would she get all the way over here?"
"Ever heard of a car, you tool?"
"She's not even wearing shoes. I doubt she drove herself over here to attend the wedding."
"She does look like she's been through some kind of ordeal."
"I watched her eat. It was like she hadn't eaten in three days."
"Dude, she's been gone for three days."
"Exactly."
"Should we call the cops?"
"Is there a reward?"
"Shut up."
"Do you think her boyfriend is around here?"
"Who knows? I didn't see him though."
"Do you guys think that I should call the cops? I really think that's her."
"Be sure to get a picture of her with your phone. They'll want proof, especially if she takes off."
"Right. How did I not think of that?"
"I can't believe you didn't get a picture. Epic fail."
Pictures. I hadn't even thought of that. This was a wedding celebration, and someone could end up getting a picture of me. The worst part would be if there were a flash. That could be as bad as the sun.
"Pardon me," I told the girl next to me. I got up and walked as fast and furtively as I could to a tree nearby. I took a deep breath and began running so fast that the humans would never be able to see me.
23
I came to a movie theater, stopped and stood among a crowd waiting for a movie to start. I was glad to discover that artificial lighting didn't affect me negatively.
As I stood amongst the people, I looked into the distance as far as I could see. If Adam had managed to track me, I couldn't see him. I had taken many random turns and ducked between a couple dozen buildings. He would have had to have some crazy tracking skills to keep up with me.
I walked to a wall and leaned against it to rest and regain as much energy as possible. I'd run at least fifty miles and still felt energetic, but I didn't want to take any chances.
Someone nearby said, "Did you hear that they think that girl from Delphic Cove was spotted tonight?"
I looked down, letting my hair fall in front of my face. I didn't want to be seen again so soon. I needed to find a place where I would be able to hide out when the daylight came back.
"They did? Where?" asked another.
"They were near the woods where we go camping every year."
"I wonder if it was really her."
"It sounds like they were really sure, according to the news interview I saw before I left. It was at a wedding, and they're looking through all the cameras there to see if anyone got a picture of her. The guy that recognized her said that she had disappeared before he could get a picture of her."
"Her boyfriend wasn't with her?"
"No, she was alone. I wonder if something happened to him."
"It's so crazy that there are just no clues in that case. I sure hope this will help find them."
"Do you think it was the bullies at her school?"
"She's so hot. I can't believe that she was getting bullied."
I couldn't help smiling despite everything, and was glad that my hair was covering my face.
"That's exactly why she was getting bullied. Other girls were jealous of her. That's what happened to my neighbor before she moved to our street. It was so bad that they had to move to a different district."
I decided to move on before anyone recognized me. I was obviously a hot topic of conversation all over the state. I casually walked away from everyone to a dark part of the parking lot and began running again.
Before long, I came to a neighborhood with some very fancy houses. I saw foreclosure signs on many of them, and decided that one of these houses would make a great place to stay and rest. I picked the one with the most pristine yard, because I thought that it might still have electricity and water. I really wanted a long hot shower after everything I had been through.
I walked around the house, making sure that nobody else had decided to squat there. A motion activated light went on when I walked in front of the garage. That was a great sign that I might be able to get a shower. I couldn't find any sign of people or vampires so I walked to a dark corner and leaned against the wall.
Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the foreclosed owners had left in such a hurry that they had left quite a bit of stuff behind. They must have had to move someplace smaller and only took what they could bring with them. Or maybe they were coming back.
I went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, and I saw the food in there. I was still hungry but hadn't realized it until I saw that food. I grabbed things that I could eat quickly, and then made a couple of sandwiches and had some juice. Some of the stuff had expired, but I didn't care. If it wasn't moldy, it was fair game at this point.
After I was finally full, I checked out the second story and found some bedrooms and several bathrooms, all with items left behind. I found what looked like a teenage girl's room. She had left some decent clothes behind, they would be just a little big, and she had left enough stuff that I take a decent shower too. I could live without conditioner.
I listened intently to make sure that nobody was in the house before taking a shower, even though I was certain that I was alone. I couldn't be too cautious.
Never before had a shower felt so good. Not even after my hibernation, it felt like a lifetime had passed since then. Once I was out of the shower and dressed in some clean clothes, I felt like a new person. I noticed that the sun was beginning to come up, so I went through the house and closed all of the blinds and curtains as tightly as I could. I didn't want to have to deal with any sunlight.
I was getting tired but wanted to wait until it was light out to sleep. I found a small black and white TV in one of the bedrooms on the third floor and turned it on. The early morning news was on, and I watched the weather forecast—sunny with no chance of rain so I would definitely be in this house all day.
After that, the story they were covering was about the disappe
arance of two teenagers from Delphic Cove. They were discussing the sighting of me at the wedding, and everyone was really excited to finally have a lead in the case, even if it wasn't much. They had found one picture taken of me on a camera there, but it was blurry and a side shot. So, they were debating whether or not it was really me.
They interviewed some kids from school and a couple of neighbors. Nobody had anything of significance to say. It seemed to me that people were taken in by the case and obsessing over it the way that people do sometimes. Every little detail gets hashed over to death, and everyone has a theory and an opinion to share.
They showed images from candle light vigils at the park, and I felt horrible when I saw my family holding candles with tears pouring down their faces. There was a lady and a boy with them, Tanner's mom and brother I assumed.
Next, they went through a slide show of pictures of Tanner and me to make sure that everyone knew what we looked like, even though everyone already knew since I had been spotted so easily. They had pictures of Tanner playing football, pictures of us from class, pictures from the homecoming dance, and even a picture of the two of us together. I didn't even know that there were any pictures of us together. With so many different pictures of us on the news, it was no wonder that I had been so easily recognized.
There was a full, ten-minute slot dedicated to us. I couldn't believe that there was so much interest. I knew that our families would be upset, but for the news to be so interested in it so many miles away seemed surreal.
When the topic moved to stocks, I turned the TV off and went to an old computer that I had seen in one of the rooms to see if it was online. I wasn't surprised to see that it was, since everything else in the house was running. I wondered if the owners were planning on returning for the rest of their stuff. I hoped they would wait until after dark, if they were coming back.
The browser's startup page was a national news network site, and a picture of Tanner and I was right at the top of the page with the caption, "Sighting of Alexis Ferguson Last Night."
I shook my head. National news? This was crazy. I knew that statistically, the missing cases that got the most attention were of the people who were the most attractive. For some stupid reason, the masses cared less about ugly missing people. It was ridiculous, because beauty doesn't make one person more worthy than another.
I wondered if Cliff was aware of any of this news coverage. Everyone was calling Tanner my boyfriend, and that picture of the two of us looked pretty cozy.
I thought about checking my email or social profiles, but I didn't want anyone to know that I was online. I could be tracked too easily.
I turned off the computer and went to the master bedroom with the only bed that had been left behind. It was also the bedroom with the thickest curtains. It had no blankets, but I remembered seeing a couple of blankets in another bedroom, so I grabbed those on the way.
I lay down on the bed and thought about my plan. I had no idea where Cliff, Brooke or any of the other vampires were. I wanted to communicate with them somehow, and I was extremely tempted to email Brooke.
I thought about Adam and those vampires. I was glad that it was almost daylight, so I didn't have to worry about them hunting me down in the light. Or did I? I was trying to remember how dark it was when they approached us at the edge of the woods. The sun was setting, but it had been dark inside the woods. I really didn't know if they could be in the sun or not.
Next, I thought about my family and was worried about their safety if I returned. Home was the obvious place for me to go, and that would be the first place that Adam or the Morettis would look for me. I hoped that if I stayed away they would leave my family alone.
I thought about Tanner and hoped that he was okay. There was a chance that Adam would have told Samantha to do anything she wanted to him since I had escaped. I thought that it was more likely that they would keep him safe, so they could use his life against me. If there was any way to help him escape, I needed to figure it out.
I could feel myself getting drowsy, so I listened one last time to make sure that I was alone in the house, and aside from some critters in the attic, I had the house to myself. I let myself drift off to sleep.
I woke up feeling refreshed and decided that I would risk sending Brooke an email. I climbed out of bed and walked out of the darkened bedroom. The light inside of the hallway was blinding, but not enough to cause pain.
I closed my eyes, covered them with my arms and ran to the room with the computer. It wasn't as dark as the room I had slept in, but it was dark enough. This time of year, the whole house would be dark enough in a few hours, and I would have to decide whether I should move on or stay another night.
When the computer was back on, I quickly went to a free email site and created a fake email address. In a matter of minutes, I had begun composing a message to send to Brooke. I hoped she would open it, despite it being from an email that she didn't recognize.
Subject: Important! Important! Read me! Do not ignore!
Message: Brooke, it's me. ME. I have to stay on the down-low, so you know I can't say more than that. Some guy named Adam and his jokers grabbed you-know-who and me. The M's have a bounty out on me, and they want me dead. I got away from Adam and his stooges. You-know-who is still captive with one of them as far as I know, a v. named Samantha. I doubt that he can get away, for obvious reasons. I'm on the run, but I'm fine. I'm not going to stay in any one place for long. I don't want to be found, and I don't want to put my family in any danger. I want to find you guys so that we can team up against the M's. I don't dare say where I am or how to contact me aside from emailing me back at this address. I can't guarantee when I will next be able to check it. -Me
I stood up to see if I could make it downstairs to eat. Not all of the windows were covered downstairs, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it yet since the hallway was blindingly bright on the middle level of the house.
I walked into the hallway and closed my eyes immediately, because it was so bright that I felt like I was looking directly into the sun, yet there wasn't even any direct sunlight in the hall. I felt my way down the stairs and cracked open an eye when I got to the bottom.
The painful daggers shot through my eyes once again, and it felt much worse than the day before. It took all of my strength not to scream at the top of my lungs and draw attention to any neighbors that might be nearby. I ran upstairs as fast as I could and jumped into the room with the computer.
I lay on the floor in agony. The pain was too much, and I started to feel sick to my stomach. I crawled to the closest bathroom with my eyes closed as fast as I could and threw up in the toilet. Five times.
When I was done, I fell on the floor in front of the toilet, grateful that this bathroom had no windows. I watched as stars danced before my eyes and the pain from the daggers lingered. I lost track of time and could think of nothing else except the pain that refused to leave.
By the time that the pain was gone, and I could get up without getting nauseous, it was dark outside. I could walk around the house freely. I hoped that my stomach was settled enough to eat, because it was empty again.
I walked cautiously to check my email. I glad to see that Brooke had replied to my email.
Message: Thank u 4 the update. Keep hiding & stay safe. Email me when you can - but not 2 often. I don't want 2 raise suspicion. We R working 2 keep your family safe. We R on a strong lookout 4 any v's. We feel horrible that we missed Adam coming 2 town 2 get u. If you want 2 come home - go to the house where C was staying. No other v's know that we own it so it will be safe. Talk soon. -B
At least I didn't have to worry about my family, but I wished she would have told me if Cliff had come back or not. I knew that I hadn't asked directly, but it seemed like something she should mention.
I decided that I didn't have time to worry about it. I needed a plan, and I needed one soon. I walked downstairs and decided that I would calculate a plan while I ate.
I
wanted to stay here and take it easy. It was nice that the house had everything I needed, even though I didn't know when the power would go out or if anyone would return. I was also afraid that if I stayed in one place too long, it would become easier to find me.
I didn't want to just keep hiding as Brooke had recommended. I was a born princess after all. I was not meant to run and hide all the time. I needed to have a mission and to focus on that.
I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote out a list of what I needed to accomplish:
Rescue Tanner
Take down Adam, Samantha, etc.
Find Cliff
Meet my vamparents
Take down the Morettis with Cliff
Rule the kingdom
I looked over the list several times and didn't even know where to begin. I didn't know how to accomplish anything on the list, especially on my own.
Taking a bite from a sandwich, I noticed that I could smell some cheese that was in the closed refrigerator. If I could smell food that way, I could surely use this sense to find people and vampires. I could also make stakes with just a stick and my own fingernails.
I smiled with the realization that I could actually do a lot more than I realized. I really could come up with a plan and follow it through. I was destined for greatness, and it was supposed to be me, not my knight in shining armor, that was going to beat the Morettis once and for all.
It was up to me to figure this out on my own and I could. I was no damsel in distress. Being in this mess sucked, without a doubt, but it seemed like it was the ideal way for me to find out what I was capable of.
I finished eating and then went through the house, looking for things that would help me. I grabbed a bag from the girl's room and put in some clothes, food and some makeshift stakes that I made from pulling apart some empty picture frames.
Before leaving, I sat down, closed my eyes, and tried to recall the scents of the people and vampires that I knew. I hadn't paid much attention to the smells before, but when I thought about it I could remember each one's distinct scent. I held on to each one in my mind so that I would be able to detect it as easily as possible.