by Cheree Alsop
“Like you?” Everett couldn’t hide his surprise. “I’m a vampire. There’s no chance for me getting anywhere close to the city of knowledge. But if you’re smart, it seems like the type they’d want.”
Torrance shook his head. “You have a skewed picture of the world, even for a monster.” He softened the words with a small smile. “I guess it’s easy to get a sheltered view stuck in a house until dark.” He waved at the dim moonlight. “It’s creepy out here at this time of night.”
Everett shrugged. “It’s not bad.” He glanced at Torrance. “So why can’t you go to college?”
Torrance was quiet for a few steps. When he answered, he kept his voice level as if to avoid sounding bitter. “My mom’s a weeder. She works at the lowest level of the Groweries pulling weeds that were tough enough to stand the fallout. I’ll be a weeder next year when I turn eighteen, and Tricky will be, too. It’s just the way it is.”
His answer bothered Everett. “So you can’t choose to go to school?”
Torrance shook his head without looking at the vampire. “Who’s going to pay for it? Education isn’t free, and if you can’t afford it, you have no options whatsoever.”
“That doesn’t seem right,” Everett said quietly.
Torrance gave a humorless laugh. “Welcome to the Pentagrin, Rett.” He paused and gestured to a building on the right. “That’s home. Come on.”
Everett followed him to the skinny front door. The buildings nearly touched on either side. It felt as all of the apartments that lined the road had been built by cramming them into the smallest possible space. The feeling continued inside when they immediately reached a tiny hallway with four apartment doors. Torrance led the way up the small staircase, past four more apartments, then up more stairs. The sound of babies, music, people arguing, and laughter came from various apartments. They reached the third landing.
“This is it,” Torrance said. He knocked on the door to apartment 3B.
The door immediately flew open. A woman who had to be Torrance’s mother by her matching brown eyes and dark skin grabbed him in a tight hug.
“Mom, Mom!” Torrance protested in pain.
“Sorry, baby,” she said, stepping back. “I’ve just been so worried about you.” She looked him up and down. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? If you’re not, I asked you to stay one more night in case you need help I can’t give. You look a little peaked. Maybe we need to take you back...”
Torrance raised his hands. “Mom, I’m okay, I promise.”
“Torrance!” a girl shouted. She slipped past her mom and hugged her brother carefully. “Are you okay?” she asked, looking up at him with big eyes.
“Yes,” he said. “I’m fine, honest. Like I told you on the phone, it was just minor, no big deal.” He gave Everett a pleading look, asking him to keep his secret. “Mom, Tricky, this is Everett. Everett, this is my mother, Mrs. Bowers.”
His mother stared at Everett as if noticing him for the first time. “Y-you’re the, um, the...”
“The vampire,” Patricia said in awe.
“Shhh,” Torrance warned her. He looked down the tiny hallway. “We don’t want the Taskers hearing.” He motioned for everyone to go inside and leaned close to Everett. “They like to call the authorities on any sort of disturbance. This would be just the thing they need to finally get us kicked out of here.”
Everett followed the family inside and shut the door carefully behind him. He turned around to find Torrance’s mother watching him.
“Hi,” he said self-consciously. “I’m Everett. Thank you for inviting me into your home.” He held out his hand, then dropped it again when she made no move to shake it.
Torrance and Patricia were already in the tiny kitchen that branched off from the living room. Two chairs and a coffee table filled up the room Everett stood in with only a little space for walking in between.
Everett searched for a topic to break the tension he felt from Mrs. Bowers. “Torrance mentioned that you’re a weed remover at the Groweries. I’ve always liked helping my dad clear the weeds in his greenhouses.”
“Torrance said you were from the Neighborhoods,” she replied. “Must be nice.”
Everett could hear a hint of challenge in the woman’s voice. He looked around the room. “You have an aloe plant,” he noted. He crossed to it.
Mrs. Bowers followed closely behind him and hovered near his shoulder as if afraid he would hurt the plant. Everett gently touched the leaves the way his father had taught him to.
“My dad plays music for his plants. He says it helps them grow.” He smiled without looking at her. “My mom’s convinced he just likes to go out there and listen. She tries to tell him that the studies show classical music is better, but he likes rock.”
Mrs. Bowers gave a small laugh. When he looked at her, Torrance’s mom’s eyes were wide and she appeared embarrassed as though the laugh had come out by accident.
He pretended not to notice. “My youngest sister, Isabella, likes to sing to them, too. She sings songs about fairies and rainbows that she makes up. She says it’ll help the plants dream.” He smiled. “That’s a four year old for you.”
He turned to find Mrs. Bowers watching him quizzically as if she didn’t know what to make of him. “You have siblings?” she asked.
He nodded and answered the unspoken question. “None of them are vampires, just me. The rest of my siblings are human.” He gave her a knowing look. “Luckily, my mom has a soft heart; any other family would have sent me packing when they realized they had adopted a vampire.”
His honesty seemed to soften her walls. She actually smiled. “Well, we’re grateful for you. It sounds like Torrance was in pretty bad shape when you found him.”
By Torrance’s description, it seemed he had given them a much milder story of what had happened. Everett chose to play along. “He’s tough. He just needed a bit of help getting to the right place.”
Her expression warmed. “I’m glad you were there. Why don’t you come sit down? Dinner’s about ready.”
She led the way to the small folding table in the kitchen. Four plastic lawn chairs made up the rest of the furniture. Patricia had already taken a seat near the barred window. She smiled up at him with the innocence of youth.
“Do you like drinking blood?” she asked.
“Tricky,” Torrance warned.
“It’s okay,” Everett said. He took the seat across from her. Concern from her mother and brother was palpable. He searched for how to answer the question. Luckily, he had lots of practice with his own younger siblings. “I don’t really like it,” he admitted. “It tastes awful.” He made a face.
Patricia giggled. Her hair was caught back in two fluffy buns of thick black hair that made him think of Isabella’s wild brown locks. The two would no doubt get along wonderfully.
“Why do you drink it?” she asked.
“Well,” he answered. “You know I’m a vampire, right?” At her nod, he continued, “Do you know what a predator is?”
She nodded. “An animal that eats other animals.”
Everett smiled. “Right. You’re really smart.” At her beaming expression, he continued, “A vampire’s body acts like a predator to blood. Instead of using it like a human does, my body has to eat it to keep going. If I don’t get enough blood, I die.”
“That’s like the snake in Mr. Varney’s class,” she said with a knowing nod. “If he doesn’t feed it a mouse once a week, it’ll die, too.” She leaned forward and her voice dropped to a whisper. “Can I tell you a secret?”
Everett leaned across the table. “Yes.”
“I like the mice better than the snake, so I freed some of them out behind the school.”
“Patricia!” her mother scolded.
“Mom, you weren’t supposed to be listening,” Torrance pointed out.
Everett grinned. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
Patricia sat back. “Good. I like you.”
“I like you, too,” he said. “I have a little sister you remind me of. She’s a lot younger, though. She’s four and her name is Izzy.”
“Does she have dog fangs like you do?” Patricia asked.
Mrs. Bowers threw up her hands and turned away as if she gave up on the conversation entirely.
Everett chuckled. “No, she doesn’t. I’m the only one in my family who does. It’s a good thing, though.”
“Why is that?” the little girl asked.
Everett winked at her. “I don’t think she’d like to drink blood.”
The little girl grimaced. “Me, either.”
“Dinner’s ready,” Mrs. Bowers said, setting down the pan of lasagna in the middle of the table.
“It smells amazing,” Everett said honestly.
Torrance grinned. “See, Mom? Compliments before he’s even tried it. I told you having a vampire over for dinner would be a good thing.”
Mrs. Bowers gave a small smile. “Maybe he’ll rub off on you two. I could use a few more compliments around here for all I do.”
She scooped out a square of lasagna and set it on Everett’s plate. After serving everyone, she brought over a bowl of chopped salad.
“This lasagna’s excellent,” Everett said. “It’s so cheesy.” He took a forkful of salad. Tomatoes were conspicuously missing. Those in the lasagna had been canned. “My dad loves to give away the tomatoes he grows. They’re a hot commodity in our neighborhood. Would you mind if I brought you some?”
Mrs. Bowers looked as though he had offered her a diamond. “We haven’t had tomatoes in years, not since the Kingship declared the soil better used for growing spinach.”
“Spinach, yuck,” Patricia said, making a face. “I miss tomatoes.”
“I’ll bring you some,” Everett promised.
“Can we go pick them?” the little girl asked with a hopeful expression.
“Maybe,” he said. Everett took another bite of the lasagna. He wanted to invite them to his house, but he didn’t know how Mrs. Bowers would feel about it. His mom loved to feed anyone who came over, and visitors were too few for her liking. He swallowed, then took a chance. “My mom would like to have you over for dinner tomorrow night if that works for you.”
“That’d be great,” Torrance accepted. He grinned at his mother’s surprised expression. “We can’t say ‘No’ now, Mom. I’ve already accepted.”
“Are you sure?” she asked Everett uncertainly.
Everett nodded. “I’ll bet Dad will even send you home with a tomato plant. He has a few extras sitting around and he needs to make room for the raspberries my mom keeps begging him to grow.”
“Raspberries,” Mrs. Bowers repeated with a wistful expression. “I’ve heard they’re amazing.”
“Dad’s ready to start them. He says he’s just waiting for the right conditions. It’s something about perfecting his bees so they’ll be sure to pollinate accurately.” Everett shook his head with a smile. “I don’t understand it all, but I’m sure he’d be glad to explain it if you’re interested.”
“I think it’s fascinating,” Mrs. Bowers replied with a hint of amazement. She looked at her children. “Do you want to go?”
“Yes!” Patricia said with a squeak of excitement.
“Are you sure we wouldn’t be imposing?” she asked.
“Honestly,” Everett told her. “I have eight siblings and my mom always cooks way too much food even then. I swear she makes enough to feed an army. She always welcomes more mouths.”
“Like you, Mom,” Torrance said, gesturing to the lasagna pan where four squares had been cut out for their dinner and nearly two-thirds still remained.
“I’m always telling you to eat more,” she reminded him.
Everett grinned. “That’s what my mom always says.”
Mrs. Bowers laughed. “I think we’ll get along just fine.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next evening, Everett walked with the Bowers through the empty streets.
“It’s creepy out here,” Patricia said. She gripped her mother’s hand with both of her own as if afraid they would get separated.
“Are you sure the DRAK won’t come after us for being out after the curfew?” Mrs. Bowers asked, looking around worriedly.
“I’ve been out every night lately and I haven’t seen any sign of them,” Everett told her. “I’m beginning to think they have everyone so used to being in after dark, they don’t worry about it anymore.”
“Or there could be another reason for their absence,” Torrance pointed out. At his mother’s look, Torrance quickly said, “Or maybe Everett’s right. If everyone stays home, there’s no reason for the DRAK to patrol.” He was quiet a moment, then said, “I do think one of those cars would come in handy about now.”
“I always thought I’d look pretty in the passenger seat of a convertible,” Mrs. Bowers said.
Torrance stared at his mother in surprise.
“What?” she asked with a blush of embarrassment. “A woman’s allowed to dream, right?” She waved her free hand. “Imagine it, driving across the sunflower-strewn countryside, having picnics under trees, sitting next to a real stream.” She sighed. “A life without walls or curfews; it would be amazing.”
Everett paused near the tunnels. It was one of his favorite spots. With the skyscrapers behind them, it was easier to see the stars.
“We might not have the countryside, but you can have the night sky,” he said, gesturing for them to look up.
Patricia gasped. “There’s so many stars,” she said.
Mrs. Bowers gazed at the velvet expanse above them. “It’s been so long I’d forgotten how beautiful it is.”
“Sometimes the night isn’t so bad,” Everett said.
As if in reply to his words, a noise came from behind them. It sounded exactly like metal on glass, a spine-tingling screech that bounced off the walls of the alley it had come from and surrounded them.
Terror filled Torrance’s face. “It’s the creature that attacked me,” he said with certainty.
“You were attacked?” Mrs. Bowers repeated with frustration and fear in her voice. “You said you fell on a grate!”
Everett had planned to lead them through the streets instead of the direct route through the tunnels because it was better lit by the stars and moonlight, but with the dark creature at their heels, he knew their only choice was to get to the Mastersons as quickly as possible. In the back of his mind, he kept telling himself that his dad would know what to do. They just had to get home.
“Through the tunnels,” Everett said, his voice tight.
“But it’s dark,” Patricia protested. She looked between the sounds coming from the alley and the dark depths of the tunnel to their left. It was obvious neither choice appealed to the little girl.
“I’ve got you,” Torrance said. He knelt and his sister climbed onto his back as if they had done so more times than they could count. If the teenager was in any pain, he didn’t show it. “Come on,” he said. He ran for the tunnel with his mother close behind.
Everett kept between them and whatever followed. As soon as they hit the tunnels, the beast left its alley and followed. The sound of claws scraping on asphalt sent chills through Everett’s body. He couldn’t see it behind them in the poorly lit depths, but by the sound, the creature was gaining. He called directions to Torrance.
“Take the right branch!”
The creature drew closer.
“Now left,” Everett shouted.
Torrance ran as fast as he could. His mother held his arm, helping him when he stumbled. Everett kept close on their heels. He glanced over his shoulder. The sight of a huge dark form made his heart skip.
“Faster,” he urged.
Somehow, Torrance found the strength to run. They cleared the last tunnel and ran down the street toward Everett’s house. He could make out the forms of his family standing on the porch waiting to greet the Bowers. He didn’t dare look back. He could hear the cr
eature behind him drawing closer. His mom and Celeste screamed. They weren’t going to make it. If the Bowers had any chance of reaching the safety of the house, he needed to do something.
Everett stopped. The thought of the dark creature reaching his friends and family remained foremost in his mind. He would protect them if it was the last thing he did.
The second he turned, the creature hit him like a battering ram. Everett slammed to the ground and held onto the beast. It rolled over him with the force of its momentum. All Everett saw was a whirl of darkness, black teeth closing inches from his throat, and claws that sunk deep into his shoulder as it fought to break free.
Everett let out a yell of pain. He channeled his strength and turned his body. The force threw the creature away from him. The instant it hit the ground, it spun and glared at him.
For the first time, Everett got a good look at the dark creature. The hair stood up on the back of his neck and his breath caught.
Its body was a mass of black bumps from the size of his fist to the size of his head as though its entire body was made of tumors. It looked in form like the bulldog from the book of pre-Ending War animals his mother had, but that was where all similarities ended.
The creature was the size of one of Torrance’s cars. Serrated rust-colored claws tipped each of its legs, and when it opened its mouth to give an ear-splitting roar, black fangs longer than his hand dripped drool. Huge black horns curled back on its head and spikes stood up along its spine. They rubbed together when it walked towards him, creating the metal on glass sound from the alley. It studied him and its glowing orange eyes narrowed.
“Everett, run!” Donavan shouted.
He could hear his mother sending his siblings inside, her voice high with panic. Donavan argued as though someone kept him from getting off the porch. Everett didn’t dare look back. He hoped the Bowers had made it. Although the house was just wood and glass, things the creature in front of him appeared able to tear apart with ease, the thought of home was one of safety Everett couldn’t put aside.
“You’re not going to hurt them,” he growled.
The dark creature looked at him. Its tattered ears flattened against its skull and it bared its teeth. Everett’s lips pulled back in a snarl. The creature clawed at the asphalt, slicing through the pavement in massive gouges before it charged. Each footstep sounded like a cannon to Everett’s ears. He was amazed that the windows of the houses around them didn’t shatter with the impact.