“I don’t think your teddy is gonna fit in the car!” Mercy announced, dodging a parked vehicle.
“Er, yeah it will! I’ll make it.” I hoisted up the teddy and squeezed it against my chest. “This is so gonna be my new boyfriend.”
“That’s not right,” Chuck pointed out.
“Oh, I see how it is,” Sam said, trying to wrestle the teddy from me. “The teddy gets the love. What about the person who got you the teddy?”
I shoved him playfully. “Get off of my man, you! Teddy gets all the love.”
Mercy giggled. “At least we know she doesn’t have commitment issues after all.”
As we approached the car, everything changed. A bitter cold trickled down from my head to my toes. My pulse sped up, adrenaline pumping through my veins. All around, the streetlights flickered off one by one until darkness consumed us. I froze, my bag of memorabilia and the teddy dropping to the floor. There was no time to try to diffuse the situation. I slid my rucksack off my back and pulled the Blessed dagger out.
Mercy’s eyes widened. “Amerie – what the...?”
“Get in the car now,” I ordered. “I’m serious, guys. Get in the car. It’s not safe out here.”
Something dark leapt out of the shadows and flew at Sam. They fell back, struggling against the tarmac. I raced towards them, ignoring Mercy’s screaming and Chuck’s cursing. Just as I reached them, someone grabbed me from behind and threw me at one of the cars. I hit the windshield, groaning as the breath was forced out of my lungs.
“Get off of him!” Mercy shrieked, jumping on the back of Sam’s assailant.
“Mercy, no,” I choked out and untangled myself from the dented glass. I rolled down the hood of the car to Mercy’s aid. Right now, there were only two Damned for me to fight, but who knew if more would come?
I dodged the Damned who’d grabbed me, and yanked the other one off Sam. He swung at me, his long dark hair whipping around an irate face, and I ducked, sweeping his legs out from underneath him. As he fell, he lashed out, and his fist connected with Sam’s head.
“Sam!” He swayed and then dropped to the ground. Hard.
“Oh my God,” Mercy whimpered, kneeling down beside him. “Why are they doing this? What the hell are they?”
“Mercy, get in the car. Chuck...”
I spun around, searching through the darkness for Chuck. He was doubled over as the other Damned pummelled him. Punch after punch after punch. Someone cried out Chuck’s name, and it was only when my throat began to burn that I realized I was doing the screaming. Snapping out of my shock, I ran forward and leapt between Chuck and the blonde Damned, blocking a punch and sending one right back.
“What’re you doing?” Chuck groaned, stumbling back to lean against a car. “You’re gonna get yourself hurt!”
I blocked another punch and kicked Blondie in the chest. He flew back, smashing into one of the broken street lamps.
“I can take care of myself.” I turned to Chuck, helping him stand upright. “Please get in the car and lock the doors.”
“I...how did you do that?” Chuck’s eyes were wide, and his nose, bloody and swollen.
“Now’s not the time to explain,” I snapped frantically. “Just get Mercy and Sam and keep them safe in the car. Okay? I know how to stop these guys.”
“What the hell is going on? What’s wrong with them?” Mercy shrieked.
I ignored her. The dark-haired Damned was nowhere to be seen. I spun around, searching through the car park. I had to move the fight away from my friends. Keeping my secret was the least of my worries.
The Blondie was getting to his feet, groaning slightly. His eyes swept over Mercy, crouched by an unconscious Sam. Then he looked over at Chuck who was doubled over and panting loudly. Lastly, he glared at me.
“Seal will reward me greatly for killing you.”
I saw my chance. “Yeah? You’re gonna have to catch me first.” I took off into a run, chasing down Dark-Hair while ensuring Blondie followed me.
He was.
Dagger still clutched tightly in my hand, I ran faster than I ever had before. I dodged parked cars as I went, making sure I was still being pursued. A row of bushes was fast approaching, leading into an empty field that backed up against the theme park. The Dark-Haired Damned that I was chasing leapt over the thorn bushes and I mimicked him, pushing myself so that I landed on his back. We tumbled onto the grass, a mess of limbs and curses.
I twisted away from him, sending a kick to his face before flipping to a stand. The blonde one rushed at me, and I sidestepped the attack, kicking him in the rear, so he buckled and fell to the ground. I dropped to one knee beside him, plunging the dagger through his back, and yanking it out almost instantly. As the black mist seeped into the air, something grabbed onto my hair and pulled me backwards. The dagger dropped from my hand. I rolled to a kneeling position, blocking a blow coming straight for my face.
“Amerie!” Marshall yelled, rushing over.
“I can handle this,” I shouted, blocking yet another attack. The Damned was throwing so many punches at me that I could barely get my footing. Finally, I ducked out of the way and jumped to my feet, falling back into Marshall as I tried to avoid another hit.
Just as I was about to launch a counterattack, Marshall’s hand grabbed mine and squeezed tightly. We all froze at the sound of grass crunching and bushes rustling. I focused on the sound. Footsteps, lots of footsteps. Like an army was coming.
“We should get out of here,” Marshall whispered.
“No,” Dark-hair hissed. He backhanded me. Pain burst behind my eyes as I fell back to the ground. “Stick around.”
I lay on the slightly damp grass, trying to clear through the fog in my mind. Someone was shouting for me to get up, but I couldn’t seem to get my body to cooperate. Why was I on the ground anyway? Dark figures circled me, blocking out what little light the moon emitted.
“Get away from her!” Marshall demanded.
Then the fog cleared, and the impossibility of the situation shone through like the rising sun. We were vastly outnumbered. I hesitantly stood, looking for a gap through which I could escape.
Marshall caught my eye and with a slight nod of his head, gestured for us to make a run for it. Some of the Damned were distracted, talking amongst themselves, mocking Marshall and me. Using this as my chance, I grabbed one of them by the shoulders and threw him into the others, knocking them down like bowling pins. Then we ran for our lives.
The Damned were hot on our tails. I kicked it up a notch and powered forward, feeling the burn in my legs as I ran at impossible speeds. Marshall kept up with me, though, eventually passing me. When I noticed my dagger in his hand, I was momentarily grateful to him for him saving it.
I followed Marshall as we doubled back on ourselves, slipping into the darkness and heading back to the cars. I assumed his plan was to head back into the amusement park, where there were too many people, too many witnesses, for the Damned to find us. Once we hit the car park, we ducked and crept between vehicles, keeping our heads down, our movements quiet. Stopping to catch my breath, I listened out for them, fear pumping in my stomach.
“I think we’re okay,” Marshall whispered.
“I need to make sure my friends left.” I tried to peer around the car we were hiding behind with little success. “Can we check and then go? You drove here, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah. My car’s a little way over there.” He gestured to my right with his head. “Where did your boyfriend park?”
I ignored the boyfriend jibe. “Not that far down. Come on.”
We quickly crept towards where Sam had parked. There were fewer cars around than before; making it harder to hide in such an open space, but we made it without being spotted. Sam’s car was gone and so were my rucksack and teddy bear. The car, whose windshield the Damned had thrown me through, was the only sign of a struggle.
“They’re gone,” I said, letting out a breath of relief.
“
Nice friends,” Marshall scoffed. “Drive off and leave a girl to face their attackers.”
He started moving again, his footsteps fast but quiet, and I followed behind, trying to figure out what he was talking about now. “Huh?”
“Your friends, Amerie. If you can call them friends. They drove off and left you. You could be lying in a ditch right now, needing help, and where are they? Probably half way down the motorway.”
I watched his back, his words sinking into my head. “I told them to go. It was safer for them to get away, than hang around here. . And anyway, Sam needed his head checked.”
“Do they know about you?”
“Do you?” I countered.
I saw him nod. “Yes, and that wasn’t my question.”
“No, no they don’t know about me,” I reluctantly answered. “But I’m guessing they probably suspect something now.” My tone was bitter. “They saw me fight.”
Marshall stopped suddenly, and I slammed into his back. He rifled in his coat pocket for something, and I heard the jangle of keys. The lights of the Porsche in front of us flashed, and Marshall rushed forward, yanked open the door and jumped inside. As soon as I climbed into the passenger seat, he had the engine started and was skidding against the tarmac as we tore off, away from the theme park and away from the Damned wanting to kill us both.
We didn’t speak for a while. I checked the time on his dashboard constantly, trying to distract myself from the anxious feeling in my gut. I had no phone – it was in my rucksack – so I couldn’t call Mercy and make sure things were okay and I didn’t want to put her number into Marshall’s phone when I still didn’t fully trust him. I also had some explaining to do once I did get in touch with them, which would be better face to face. I knew Mercy too well. She wouldn’t stop until I told her everything. Something I’d been longing to do since we first became friends.
“You mustn’t tell anyone about what we are.” My mother’s voice rang in my mind. “If you do, you won’t have to worry about the Damned coming for you. Something worse will be lurking in the shadows.” What the hell was I going to do?
“You okay?” Marshall finally spoke.
I nodded. “Yeah, fine. Just...a bit anxious I guess.”
“Yeah, understandable.”
I checked the time again. We’d been driving for ten minutes. Surely, we were far enough to slow down now? Marshall was going well over one hundred and twenty miles an hour. Usually, I wasn’t afraid of fast cars. Fast rides. Fast horses. However, today I felt vulnerable.
“So,” I choked out, my hands gripping the seat. “Where’d you get the car from?”
“The land of cars,” he answered. Then seeing my unimpressed face added, “A car show room.”
“Whatever. Tell me the truth.”
“I won it.”
“How?”
“In a fight.”
He drove down a slip road leading onto a long country lane. I stared through the tinted window at the dark woods surrounding us. In a way, they were terrifying, but it was a terrifying beauty.
“In a fight?” I repeated. “Seriously?”
“Or maybe it was a card game. Either way, you decide.”
I looked up into his face at the fading bruises. This morning they had been ugly and harsh. Now they were faint blotches on tanned skin. “How did you get those bruises?”
A bright pair of headlights shone through Marshall’s window, blinding me. It was as if we were in slow motion. I squinted, trying to shield the light away with my hand when the car smashed into ours. The Porsche flipped off the road, bouncing, rolling, and twisting through the wooded area beyond the road. I screamed, throwing both hands up to protect my face from the shattering glass coming at all angles.
“Amerie!” Marshall shouted. “You’ve gotta jump out. NOW!”
The roof caved down towards my head, and I grabbed at the seatbelt, trying to pull it out. Damn it – why wasn’t it coming off? The car began to slow its rolling, and I could make out the sights around us. I saw why we hadn’t hit a tree; we’d crashed through a clearing where a vast lake glistened under the moonlight, and we were heading straight for it.
“Amerie, now,” Marshall yelled again.
He threw open the car door and dove out just as the car rolled again onto the already caved roof. Hanging upside down caused all the blood to rush to my head. Frantically, I pressed at the button so hard that it snapped, but the belt remained fastened. The car lurched and rolled again, and I froze. Everything seemed to slow down, as the water got closer and closer...
Then the lake swallowed the car whole. Icy, dirty water spilled in through the cracked windows and filled up the car. It was so cold, so thick that I gasped, and water rammed its way down my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to tell myself not to panic. I could get out of this.
I opened my eyes, staring out into the dark abyss. The water licked at my stinging cuts, and my head began to feel light. This was it. Damn this Porsche and its faulty safety devices. Then the seatbelt loosened around my chest, and my eyes flew open in surprise. Marshall was there, holding my dagger in one hand and part of the seatbelt in the other. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the car. With me tucked safely under his arm, he swam for the surface, his powerful legs getting us there in fluid strokes.
Marshall saved me. Marshall saved me. The thought wouldn’t leave me alone. I almost drowned, and Marshall had saved me. The surface was still pretty far away, though, and I desperately needed air. I thrashed against Marshall and his arm loosened. There was no strength left in me, at least, not enough to swim. I began to sink, and I shut my eyes, my whole body shutting down. Marshall had tried to save me, anyway.
“Amerie, wake up,” someone shouted shakily.
My heart jolted and water rushed up my throat, demanding an escape. I turned and choked it up onto the grass beside me.
“Oh my God, you’re alive,” Marshall said. His arms pulled me up so that he was squeezing me against his chest. Hugging me. “I thought you were dead.”
I allowed him to hold me as I tested out my body. My throat burned, and my eyes were sore. I flexed my fingers and wiggled my toes in soaked shoes. Everything still worked. It was strange; I should have felt weak, groggy, but I felt alive and strong.
“I’m...I’m fine,” I muttered in disbelief, pulling back from him.
He stood up and helped me to my feet. “You sure? We need to get outta here. Can’t be long until they swarm us.”
I focused my hearing, and sure enough, I could just make out voices in the distance. “We’re miles away from home with no car. How’re we gonna get back?”
“There’s a train station about a mile down that way.” He pointed through the trees. “Think you can make it there?”
“Yeah, I can make it. I might nearly have drowned, but I’m fine.”
“Okay, okay.” He held his hands up. “I was just trying to be polite or whatever. Chivalrous.”
“You? Chivalrous? Are you feeling okay?”
He started walking, and I had to jog to keep up with him. The voices of the Damned were getting closer. I shivered and wrapped my arms around my cold, wet body. I sucked in a deep breath and sped up. I hoped that the Damned didn’t know there was a train station nearby and that they were already there waiting for us. Otherwise, we were well, and truly, screwed.
Chapter Thirteen
So, Who Are You?
The town that the train station was in, turned out to be not too terribly far of a walk, but it was an uncomfortable one. Neither of us spoke, both too fixed on listening out for our attackers. Were they hiding somewhere, waiting to sneak up on us? Had we lost them? I imagined them swarming the lake, maybe wondering if we’d both drowned. The thought made me smile.
I wondered, then, about the attack. Before I’d heard the voices of the Damned closing in on us, I’d not known for sure whether the assault on the car had been an accident. Now I was positive this was the work of the Damned from Thorpe Park.
>
“Why are they after me?” I demanded.
Marshall stopped and slowly turned to look at me. I wanted to scrub the sadness in his eyes away somehow. Sad for me? Or, sad for himself?
“Not now,” he muttered. He pointed to the entrance of a dingy little train station ahead. “Let’s make sure we’re safe before letting our guards down.”
I nodded and shivered, allowing him to wrap his arm around me. The contact was nice, familiar. It made me feel like with Marshall at my side, I could face anything.
We walked up a little concrete hill together, passing a row of closed shops that sold touristy memorabilia and clothes that were at least two years out of season. So far, I hadn’t seen anything remotely interesting in whatever tiny town we’d stumbled across. It was deserted.
There weren’t any ticket barriers at the train station, either. Their version of a ticket office was a hole in the wall that had its shutter down, so we didn’t have to buy a ticket, which was lucky seeing as I had no purse or bag. There were only two platforms. We headed to the first one and looked up at the display monitor. Only five minutes until the next train into the city. With a grateful sigh, I flopped down on a wooden bench, and pulled my knees up to my chest, eyes locked on the brick entryway.
Marshall perched hesitantly beside me.
“They asked me to protect you.”
My eyes widened. “What? Who did? The Sisterhood?”
“No, the Teletubbies did. Of course, the Sisterhood.” Marshall rolled his eyes at me, and it took all of my will power not to shove him off the bench. “Anyway, when you fell off the map, they worried for you. I...kinda owe them a favor. And you’re it.”
“If I fell off the map, how did they know how to find me?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“This is the Sisterhood we’re talking about. They’ll eventually find you. They always do. Because your mentor...”
I looked down at my hands. “You can say it, you know. She’s dead. My mother’s dead.”
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