“What?”
“It’s true. I wanted to meet you ever since I saw you last week on the track. So yesterday when I walked into English class and saw the audition sheet with your name on it, I decided to sign up. And here I am…telling you…I can’t believe I just told you all that.” He had been talking very fast, and now he blushed as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“So you went up there…in front of everyone…and sang. Just to get to meet me?”
“Yeah, I pretty much figured that if I screeched like a barn owl and you weren’t embarrassed to talk to me after that, then maybe you wouldn’t be too embarrassed to be seen in public with me on Friday night.”
She couldn’t believe this cute, popular senior was asking her out. Sure, guys had looked at her before, but no one had ever asked her out. She figured it was because she had the words “Damaged Goods” stamped on her forehead—and her chest and back and probably even on her butt.
His eyes were like emeralds shining against a golden sky. She’d been taking them in for several seconds when he cleared his throat and his words finally registered in her brain.
“Wait. Are you asking me out?”
“Only if you are going to say yes.”
She laughed. “OK. Yes to this Friday.”
“Great.” A beautiful smile spread across his face. “I’ll pick you up at your place around five thirty.”
“No!” she almost shouted. “I mean. Why don’t you pick me up here?” She could only imagine what it would be like if he came within ten miles of Phyllis’s clutches.
“Uh here…at the auditorium?” He frowned.
“Well, I figure I’ll at least get into the chorus, so I’ll be here at rehearsal that day and we won’t be done till a little after five. And you have track, don’t you?” It surprised her how easily keeping people from finding out about her mother had come back to her. She’d been hiding Phyllis for so many years that self-preservation came naturally.
“Let me give you my cell number in case something changes and you need to get a hold of me before then.” He looked at her for a minute, and a smile creased his warm face. “But you can’t change your mind. You aren’t allowed to do that. If you think you are going to then I’m not giving it to you.”
* * *
Her eyes flew open as a large pothole in the road threw her against Victor’s seat. She looked around frantically and tried to figure out where she was. A moment before she’d been talking to a tall man with broad shoulders. Now, she sat shaken, in a black vehicle bumping down a road with men she didn’t know. She’d been dreaming. The dream was important, and she tried to remember it, but the harder she tried the quicker it slipped away like water running through her open fingers. After a minute she stopped and stared out the window as they rolled down the highway. A tear slid down her cheek and she closed her eyes, listening to the soft bass of the rock music.
It didn’t take long for her mind to wander again. Slipping away into the darkness between sleep and wake. Though her mind was still empty, a ribbon of awareness now stretched out into space. Relaxing, she let her mind follow the ribbon. A voice spoke, like an inner monologue. She felt a connection to the voice. Reaching out she followed the sound like walking down a cleared dirt path in a dense forest. Someone was in pain. An arm throbbed with an unending ache. Her mind wandered into the thoughts of someone else.
Exhaustion rocked the person attached to the voice, down to the bone. Little by little energy flowed out through their wound. Something inside had been awoken by this new female. Something this person didn’t want awakened. Allowing a female in was not in the plan. He had a job to do. Feelings hadn’t even been on the radar since… Don’t think about her.
At least an hour till they were home and he fed. Every time he got a little bit closer to losing it. Closer to giving in to the euphoria of the feeding. Closer to going back to the way he used to be. Maybe it would be easier if he didn’t try so hard to deny it. Maybe he’d be able to control the rages if he fed more often instead of swearing off feeding altogether. The wound would definitely require feeding to heal. Aron would need to do some repair work as well. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any real damage. He was the head of the tactical recon team and had to be up to par when they went out to try and stop the bastards who were doing this. He had to stop them.
Something was wrong. Someone was listening to his every thought…but that wasn’t possible, no one had that—
“GET OUT!”
She awoke with a start, as if she’d been shoved physically. Her eyes flew open, Luca stared at her, his eyes glowing with fire. Somehow, she’d been inside his head. Fury rolled off of him in waves. She would have apologized, except that he shook so hard that she was afraid if she said anything he might hit her. Turning away she tried to block him out.
It took more than thirty minutes of her staring at the back of Victor’s seat before she felt Luca start to relax. She was out of his head, but she still felt his emotions as clear as if he had a sign posted to his chest declaring them to the world. She could tell the exact moment that his posture shifted and he finally let go of the tension in his shoulders. He no longer held his breath but let it out in large bursts. She spent the rest of the ride shaken, watching the scenery rush by.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Victor pulled into a gas station. Luca jumped out as soon as the vehicle stopped at the pump, slamming the door behind him. She felt him behind her, but she dared not look.
Aron turned around in his seat to face her. “We’re almost there, just a few more miles.”
“Where are we?”
“Connecticut.”
“I don’t think I have ever been to Connecticut.”
“Do you remember anything about yourself?”
She frowned. “No, I don’t.”
“That’s normal. There have only been one or two of us who remembered our before lives right after rebirthing. You might never remember.”
“Do you know anything about me?”
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t.”
“I don’t even know my name.”
Victor hopped into the driver’s seat. Luca still stood behind the SUV.
“What’s he doing out there?” Aron asked Victor.
Victor shrugged. “Beats me.”
She averted her eyes.
“Hey, Ronan, you still undead?” Victor asked.
“Yeah.” A weak voice croaked from the backseat. “We at Al’s for gas?”
“Yup, should be home in a few minutes. Provided Luca gets his butt in his seat.”
“What’s he doin’?”
“Who knows.”
Victor rolled the window down and spoke in a low voice. “We need to take care of that arm, bud, and Ronan’s barely hangin’ in there.”
Even though Victor spoke in a hushed tone, she knew Luca heard him perfectly. She felt Luca move; he slid in without a glance toward her. She pressed her lips tightly together. If he was bound and determined not to look at her, she could be just as determined not to look at him.
Close to four thirty in the morning the car stopped at the gate of what appeared to be a very large estate. Ornately carved, the wrought-iron entrance bore a floral and bird pattern. Victor rolled down his window and pushed a button on a call box. The mechanics of a camera moved somewhere above them, and then the gate creaked open. They started forward, and a white colonial home with a large circular drive set back from the road came into view. Beautiful flowers and lush, green grass carpeted the ground. Tall maple and birch trees stood like sentinels on the outer perimeter. A white marble fountain bubbled in the middle of the lawn, illuminated by lights. The house wasn’t the kind she was used to seeing either in New York or on the West Coast. Her brain perked for a moment at the realization that she remembered living in those two places.
The home had black shutters and a bright red, inviting door. A barn stood off to the right. A white delivery van with the sign “East Coast BioWaste” on t
he side in large red letters was parked at the barn entrance. A kennel with about six dogs sat to the left of the house. The dogs barked and jumped at the approaching car. Their barking pierced her ears, forcing her to cover them to try and block out the sound.
The car stopped to the left of the entryway. Everyone piled out but her. She sat, covering her ears, not moving till rough hands pulled hers away and shoved something into her ear canals, muffling the barking. She glanced up to see Luca’s cold stare. Just as the contacts had helped her eyesight, the earbuds helped her hearing.
“Forgot I had those.” He spoke unapologetically. She had no idea how she had gotten into his head, but he still seemed to be shaken by the intrusion. He motioned for her to get out.
Victor and Aron helped Ronan out of the car. She stepped out on her own, and a gust of moist breeze hit her in the face. The scents of grass, dog hair, the gas Victor had put into the tank, and water filled her nose. Cherry blossoms were a distant memory in the late fall, but their fragrance still lingered. She stood for a moment, entranced in the smells of the house grounds.
Two men in black who she hadn’t noticed before walked forward with German shepherds on leashes. She watched as they approached, their sideways glances setting her on edge. She turned her back on them. She could only imagine how she looked.
Another gust of wind blew in her face, and she smelled something different. Something sweet and tangy. Her stomach rumbled. The smell came from the direction of the barn. She heard movement in the barn. Intrigued she walked toward it. Her mouth watered, the scent growing stronger. Almost to the entrance she heard someone behind her call out. For a fraction of a second she turned to see Luca watching her. The rest of the men glanced over at her from their discussion. They were going to stop her, keep her from the food. Baring her teeth at them, she turned and ran straight for the barn.
Yelling and the sound of footsteps ensued behind her. A blast of energy flew at her. She dropped and rolled. It passed over her head and dissipated a few yards in front of her. She scrambled to her feet and took off running, past the front of the white truck until she reached the barn. The delivery truck hung open, and two men leaned over a large red bag that had spilled open onto the ground. The bag smelled delicious. She growled and darted forward, startling the men. Their faces went white, but almost instantly one of them was knocked away by a blast of kinetic energy, out of her reach and into a pile of hay. The other man stood motionless, covered in gore from the bag’s contents.
The hunger took over, and she was on him in a flash. Tearing and slashing and biting at his once white jumpsuit. She remembered the high feeling and the buzz of life she had gotten from feeding just a few hours ago. She needed it back again.
A voice burst through her fog. “Stop!”
She shook her head at the buzzing in her ear. In that moment of confusion she found herself dragged backward, the man in white scrambling away from her, terrified. She howled in rage, grabbing and pulling at the arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground and away from her food. She kicked while being carried like a child throwing a tantrum.
“Let go of me! Let me have him!”
“Stop it! The hunger’s strong, but you can control it. You’ve already fed, you don’t need any more.”
Solid arms unwrapped from her waist and turned her, grabbing her by the shoulders. Luca was in her head again. No longer commanding, his voice soothed her, soft as a lover. “Look at me.” He called to her, over and over, until she met his gaze. His eyes blazed, but no longer bright orange. They were blue ice, with sparks of fiery orange flecks in them. She concentrated on his soft, gentle voice. Her head began to clear, and she felt the tingle of his hands through her shirt. Sparks of energy flowed through her body.
“I know you want the high from feeding again. But believe me, you don’t want to start out your new life by killing people—it will haunt you forever. You have to learn to control your hunger. Control the rage.”
His words sunk in and like cool water flowing over a fevered brow. She focused on the vibrations of the sound. His tight black T-shirt was stained with blood and torn in several places. Her gaze roamed over his face and his chest, seeing every hole, every mark, every smudge. Luca was a good head taller than her and broad as two men at the shoulders. An unmistakable musky odor rolled off of him and sent fire into her belly. She traced light patterns over the surface of his T-shirt absently with her fingers. He watched her fingertips as they touched him. Fire bloomed inside her in sudden waves of need. She wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on her skin. The weight of his hip bones on hers as they made love. Embarrassed at her shockingly sexual thoughts of a man she didn’t know, she glanced away.
He released her and took a step away, still watching her with a rapt interest. The moments passed and she finally relaxed. Luca stepped forward, grabbing her once more, and ushered her toward the front of the house. Behind her she could hear Aron quietly apologizing to the workers for her behavior.
What happened? Her body ached as though she had run a marathon. She didn’t want to move; she didn’t want to think. One minute she’d been completely fine getting out of the car. The next, out of control, taken over by a rage and her need to feed. And have sex. She sagged, exhausted, sad, and embarrassed. Allowing herself to be drug along, she was so weary all she could think about was her feet. Right over left, right over left. Lift, drop, lift, drop.
The warm air from the inside of the house whooshed out to greet her as she stepped up the front steps. Luca walked her down an entrance hall over to the side of a staircase. He pressed on one of the wainscoting panels, and it slid inward, exposing a dark hidden passage. Stepping inside he pushed a button on the wall directly in front of them. Silently a door opened and white florescent light poured out. A small elevator, only big enough for maybe four people appeared. The door closed and it pulled them downward.
A small chirping sound came from Luca’s pocket. He pushed a Bluetooth in his ear.
“We’re almost down…no, everything’s fine, there was a slight incident topside, but no one was hurt.” Luca looked sideways at her and tried to talk in a lower voice.
Like she wasn’t going to hear him in a four-by-four aluminum box.
“Yes. Aron says that I’ll need to go off diet to heal… Will do.” He pushed the off button. The rest of the ride down was almost unbearable. The silence between them stood like a huge brick wall.
No wonder he didn’t want to talk to her. She was going crazy! With her invading his thoughts and attacking innocent people, he had every reason to hate her. Especially after what she had done to his arm. Yet somehow she still felt the conflict within him. She’d heard his thoughts in the car, and now she could feel his emotions. He was angry and confused, and a little bit…something, something she couldn’t put her finger on.
The elevator came to a stop with a bump. The door opened into a long white corridor, like an underground dorm. Her eyes widened in surprise. Propelled forward by the force of Luca’s hand on her arm once more, he moved down the hall as if he couldn’t wait to be rid of babysitting her.
Her ears picked up noises she didn’t recognize. Muted at first, they became louder the farther they walked down the hallway. Getting to a T, the hallway split in two different directions. The sounds grew clearer, sending a chill down her spine. Cries of anguish floated toward her. She froze on the spot, jerked her arm away from Luca, and stopped moving.
Who were these people? She had gone with them without even thinking it through because they had come in and untied her. But what if they weren’t really trying to help her? Maybe the doctors they’d killed were the ones trying to help her. What had she been thinking? That was the point. She hadn’t been thinking this whole time. Something else inside of her had been doing the thinking for her. She tried to step away.
“Easy.” Luca caught her by the arm. “They won’t hurt you. They can’t get out. They’re like us, only not quite so much.”
She turned t
o run and crashed straight into a giant barrier. Victor.
“We having a problem?” He directed the question to Luca, but did not take his eyes off her.
“No, we aren’t.” Luca reached for her and spun her to face him. Once again she could hear him in her head. The tingle from his hand spread through her body like a blanket.
“You have to trust me. You’ll be safe here. You may not understand right now, but you will soon. Come with me.”
Tears began to trickle down, though she determinedly held a look of defiance on her face. He moved forward a fraction as if to comfort her, stopped, and turned toward Victor.
“Why don’t you go grab a shower? I’m gonna need to go visit Aron.”
“I’ll see you in a few hours in the war room to discuss the information we retrieved. Ronan’s with Aron now.” She heard Victor’s steps walking down the opposite hallway.
Luca stood over six foot two, his arms like two giant tree limbs, cut and pruned just right. He wasn’t Conan the Barbarian like Victor, but he was just as well toned. She couldn’t figure out how someone who looked so different from a normal human could be so beautiful to her.
Slowly Luca’s eyes drifted down to her. He moved a stray hair off her forehead, his finger brushing across her skin. Little sparks of electricity lit up a trail where he touched her, like a string of tiny Christmas lights. He looked down at his fingertips and rubbed them together as if inspecting something. His arm caught her attention. The bandage he had been holding onto in the car had partially fallen off and she could see the extent of the wound she had inflicted. The ragged teeth marks surrounded a large hole in his skin where blackened tissue and raw muscle showed beneath. How could she have done something like that? Without thinking she took his arm in her hands and pressed his wrist to her mouth, kissing it. She had barely touched her lips to his arm, when Luca’s body stiffened and he pulled away. She wanted to apologize but was too shocked at what she had done. His face hardened, and after a minute he moved her forward yet again.
Dead Awakenings Page 3