“Ronnie?”
I rotate and see Joey walking towards me. He frowns when he sees Adrian. His eyes flit between us, trying to figure out what I’m doing talking to him, wondering if I know him.
Abandoning the idea of going to the restroom to dry my shirt, I turn back towards Adrian. My forehead creases when I see his sharp glare. I look back over my shoulder and realize his hostility is directed at Joey.
My friend arrives at my side. He stands close.
“Hey, Joey,” I greet, shifting slightly away from him. “What’s up?”
He’s looking at Adrien when he answers, “Annie sent me to find you because she said you’re taking too long. The concert is about to start.”
I glance at my smartwatch, pressing the light button to read the time.
I nod and look up at Adrian. He’s still scowling at my friend. A peek at Joey reveals he’s glaring back.
“Well, uh… I better go,” I offer lamely. “It was nice meeting you.”
Adrian moves his gaze back to me. His expression softens. “Yes, it was nice to meet you. I hope to see you around soon.” I’m confused by the remark. After all, I’d just told Adrian that I rarely venture into the city.
“Sure. Thanks. Have a nice night.”
Adrian dips his head and saves me from being the one to break away from his enigmatic gaze by turning on his heel and walking towards the crowd.
I watch him leave and notice the bundle of muscles shifting beneath his tight, white shirt. His shoulders are broad, broader than Preston’s, and his waist is obviously toned and tight.
Before I can move my admiration to his lower half, Joey clears his throat and says, “Come on, Ronnie. We need to get to our spot.”
I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I take Joey’s offered hand and let him push the way through the sea of people, choosing to ignore my friend’s disapproving expression.
Five
Surprisingly, I end up having fun at the concert.
Once Joey and I rejoined Annie in the middle of the crowd, Young and Heart came onto the stage almost immediately. My friends cheered with the rest of the crowd, and I wound up joining in as the Texas country band began to play. I shimmied and swayed to the familiar country-rock songs, and I laughed as Joey alternated between twirling me and Annie. I didn’t even care when people bumped into me. Everyone was too busy enjoying the concert. No one intended to be rude. If I ignored the unfortunate incident of being spilled on, I’d consider the whole evening a blast.
Two hours later, my friends and I funnel out of the venue. We trail behind a large group of drunk adults, singing along as they scream-sing their favorite Young and Heart songs. Joey hangs his arms over Annie’s and my shoulders, shifting us from side to side like we are still dancing at the concert.
The fun doesn’t stop when we pile in to Joey’s new car. As the birthday girl, I am given the honor of sitting in the passenger seat. I use my coveted position to hook up my phone to the auxiliary cable. I proceed to play Young and Heart’s lesser known tracks, and we continue to belt out the lyrics.
The drive back to Valley Lake happens too fast. Before I know it, Joey is pulling into Annie’s neighborhood. Annie lives on the outskirts of Valley Lake while Joey and I live close to town center.
Joey pulls into her driveway, and I step out of the car at Annie’s request. She gives me a big hug and tells me “happy birthday” for the tenth time that night. I squeeze her tight, thanking her for a great time. I tell her I will text her tomorrow, then we part ways.
I slide back into the car. Joey and I watch Annie unlock her front door under the porch light, and we wave goodbye right before she ducks inside.
Joey rests a hand against my headrest when he turns around to check for traffic. He reverses out of the driveway, puts the car in drive, and we roll away from Annie’s house.
“Did you have fun tonight?” Joey asks over the music.
I lower the volume to a manageable level. “Actually, yes.” I turn my head and smile at him. “Thanks for pushing me to go.”
Joey shoots me a glance and returns my smile. “Don’t thank me. It was all Annie’s idea.”
That doesn’t surprise me. Joey’s only slightly more social than I am. Annie is definitely the outgoing one in our group.
“Still,” I say, “I appreciate you being there. I had a lot of fun.”
“No problem.” He hits his blinker and turns right at the stoplight. “So, tell me, how does it feel to be eighteen? Feeling super mature or adult-like yet?”
I roll my eyes at his corny joke. “Nope. I feel exactly the same.”
“You sure?” He persists. “You don’t suddenly have the desire to go buy a lottery ticket? Or what about cigarettes? We can stop at a gas station right now.”
His words remind me of Adrian. I can still picture him standing on the rusty staircase, smoking at the concert. I’m still not sure what to make of our unusual conversation. He’d been so direct. He almost acted like we’d known each other. There was a lot of familiarity in Adrian’s comments and loaded looks.
“Hello? Earth to Ronnie?”
My eyes snap to Joey. “Huh?”
“Did you hear what I said about the gas station?” he asks. Though, his words lost some of their humor.
“Oh, yeah. No thanks to the cigarettes and lotto. Maybe some other time.”
Joey shrugs. “Suit yourself.”
I face the road, and my mind replays my short encounter with Adrian. I remember the tingles his handshake caused on my skin, and I wonder why he bothered to talk to me in the first place.
When I think about it, there is no way Adrian’s greeting had occurred by chance. I’d seen him staring at me from the staircase. Logic says he must have seen me leaving the crowd and intentionally intercepted me on my way to the restroom.
But why?
Why would someone like him be interested in speaking with someone like me?
Joey interrupts my thoughts. “Aren’t you going to ask me about Preston?”
I frown, turning toward my friend again. Oncoming headlights shine through the windshield, illuminating Joey’s face. He looks tense. “What about Preston?”
I see him raise an eyebrow. “Don’t you want to know why I was talking to him at the concert?”
“Oh.” You know, after I spoke with Adrian, I’d totally forgotten about Preston and the fact he not-so-subtly checked me out.
“Sure,” I answer his question. “Why were you talking to Preston?”
Joey tightens his grip on the steering wheel. “He saw me talking to Scott. They’re friends. Preston came over to say hi, and then he asked about you.”
“Me?” My voice squeaks. I take a second to make sure I sound normal before I ask, “Why was he asking about me?”
Joey shakes his head. “I don’t know. I told him it was your birthday, and then you showed up before he could ask anything else. I just thought you’d want to know Mr. Daydream asked about you.” I don’t miss the bitterness in Joey’s last statement.
“Hey.” I lean forward to try and get Joey’s attention. He spares me a quick glance before looking back at the road.
“Hey, what?”
I don’t understand his clipped reply, or his angry expression. “What’s wrong? Why are you mad?”
“I’m not mad.”
“Tell that to your face.”
Joey sighs. “Look,” he sounds normal again. “It’s nothing. Forget I said anything. I think I’m just tired.”
But you didn’t even say anything, I want to tell him. But in the interest of ending the weirdness, I refrain.
A loud thump hits the hood of the car.
I tilt my head back toward the sound. “What was that?”
“I don’t know.” I can hear Joey’s confusion. “Maybe it was a rock.”
“Maybe.” I keep my eyes peeled for any more stones. Joey slows his speed, unwilling to risk damage to his brand-new car.
I’m watching the road in front
of us, identifying the mile marker saying we are less than five minutes from our turn off, when I see a tall, slender shadow bounding towards the car.
“Joey?” I grip the armrests. “Do you see that?”
“See what?”
I look from Joey back to the shadow. “That!” I point towards the approaching shadow. “I think an animal is charging towards us.”
Joey continues to slow down, but he sounds skeptical as he says, “I don’t see anything.”
My initial assumption is quickly squashed when the shadow draws closer. I see that it isn’t an animal. At least, not one I’d ever seen before.
The Corolla’s headlights shine on the creature, showing its elongated limbs and naked body. It opens his mouth, and I hear a heart-stopping roar.
I cover my ears and shout, “Drive, Joey! Don’t stop.” I don’t know what I’m looking at, but it’s definitely not a harmless animal. My adrenaline kicks into high gear as my instincts tell me to be terrified of the creature.
Joey doesn’t heed my command. He’s too confused by my odd behavior. He looks at me and sees my frightened expression. “Ronnie? What’s wrong? What do you see?”
It’s too late. I scream as the creature leaps into the air and disappears from sight. A loud bang sounds on the roof. Joey swerves, and the rumble strips cause the car to bounce until he swivels back onto the road.
“What the hell was that?” Joey shouts, unnerved by the sound, as well as my scream. I’m relieved to know he, at least, heard the sound after not seeing the creature run towards us.
“I don’t know,” I shout back. I look up and see a large indent. “But it’s on the roof.”
The passenger window breaks and glass shatters all over me. I don’t have time to scream before a sickly-black arm reaches in and grabs me by the arm.
Joey yells. At last, he sees the creature. He reaches over and tries to hit the hand off of me. The car is going all over the road. I use my fingernails to try and dislodge the creature’s grip, but it’s too strong.
“Ronnie!” Joey cries out as I’m lifted out of my seat. The only thing holding me in is the seatbelt.
I flail and twist, trying any tactic to free myself. Glass digs into my skin, but I ignore it. Despite my efforts, nothing works. My panic escalates, and I have to plant my feet firmly apart to keep myself from being pulled out of the window.
What kind of beast am I dealing with? It definitely isn’t human, but I’m unable to think of a single a creature who has such dexterity in its limbs and fingers. The closest thing I can come up with is an ape or monkey, but those animals don’t live in Texas. They, also, don’t have gross, black, scaly skin. I gag when its scent fills my nostrils. It smells like both burnt and rotten food.
I’m thrown toward the driver’s side as Joey jerks the wheel to the right. My rib hits the middle console painfully, but I don’t have time to dwell on my pain. The creature still has a hold of me. Though, it feels looser than before.
Joey straightens out the vehicle, cursing obscenities and shouting.
I attempt to pry the fingers off again. I succeed with one, but it immediately presses back against my arm. I throw my body from side to side, forcing it to adjust, then re-adjust, its grip.
I holler in triumph when I manage to force all of the bony fingers off of my arm. I wrap both of my hands around the creature’s wrist and lock my elbows to hold the limb as far from me as possible.
I hear a loud, guttural sound coming from outside the window. The creature is pissed.
Bile rises in my throat as I feel the muscles in the arm move beneath my fingers. The texture is eerie and frightening.
A horn honks.
I look away from the arm and see a large truck heading right towards us.
I don’t have time to scream before Joey turns the wheel. This time, however, he isn’t able to correct the move.
The Corolla spins out, and I release the creature’s wrist to brace myself against the sides of the car. We drive off the road, sliding down the hillside. I’m unable to make out the scenery until the back of the car crashes into a concrete barricade, preventing us from driving into the ditch at the bottom of the hill.
My head whips forward, but I’m forced backwards by the deployment of the airbags.
I see stars, and my vision blurs. I think I see a large mass fly off the roof and into a nearby field. Before I can confirm the sight, my mind loses its battle with consciousness.
Six
The smell of pine trees and lemon tickles my nostrils. Recognizing the aroma of the air freshener, I scrunch my face and try to lift my hand to scratch my nose. But I can’t. My limbs feel like an iron anchor. They’re impossible to move without help. My head is pounding, and my throat and chest feel like they’ve been hit by a truck.
The memory of the oncoming truck jolts my memory. My eyes fly open and I lean forward, but I immediately regret the act. My eyes are sore, and it’s a struggle to keep them from falling closed again. The back of my head lands on the headrest. I stare up at the visor in front of my seat, trying to breathe through my pain. I will myself to not pass out again. No doubt, I have a concussion, and rule number one about concussions is to not fall asleep.
Movement on the other side of the cracked window draws my attention. I squint, doing my best to ignore my throbbing skull. Through the webbed glass, I see a shadow slink towards the vehicle. The person seems to be limping. It’s not until the shadow creeps five feet closer that I realize it is the creature that had jumped on the roof.
I shriek on instinct. Forgetting my aching body and powering through my heavy limbs, I struggle to unbuckle my seatbelt. In the process, my eyes fly to the driver’s seat. I see Joey slumped over the wheel. His airbag had deployed, but there is a trail of blood running down his temple where he must have hit the window.
“Joey?” I croak. My windpipe sounds like its crushed. I reach over and shake his arm. He doesn’t react. His body is totally limp.
I look back and see the slinking beast has drawn even closer.
Terrified, I search the car for anything that might help me fight off the creature. I refuse to be a sitting duck, but I’m frustrated to see there is nothing for me to use. Other than my cell phone, which is surprisingly still connected to the auxiliary cable, the floorboards are bare of everything except broken glass. I’m cursing the fact the car is brand-new when I spot a palm-sized shard underneath the glovebox.
I snatch the glass, hissing when it slices into my hand, but I don’t put it down. Right now, it’s all I have to defend us from whatever monster is responsible for this mess in the first place.
When I look back at the creature, it is nowhere to be seen. My pulse spikes. My breathing is ragged, and I frantically search all around the car. I don’t see anything other than the grassy hill and surrounding trees.
The passenger door is ripped off its hinges. I scream. I’m yanked out of the car, and it feels like my right shoulder dislocates. I cry out in agony, and I drop the shard of glass. But that doesn’t stop me from winding my left arm back and swinging it forward to punch the monster’s face.
A sickening crunch fills the air, but I can’t tell if the sound came from its face or my knuckles. Normally, I wear boxing gloves and only punch wall pads or punching bags. I’m not used to hitting actual skin and bone.
The creature bellows. I don’t know if he’s hurt or just irritated.
My eyes grow wide and my mouth opens in a scream when I see two rows of sharp teeth. The creature snaps at me, but I rear back in time to avoid being bitten. I use my weight to try and throw it off balance. It doesn’t work. I’m screwed.
“Help,” I croak. Then, I shout, “HELP!” There is no one around to hear me, and I don’t hear any cars on the road above.
The creature yanks my arm and I grit my teeth against the pain. It pulls me to its chest, and I gag when I smell its gross, burnt flesh. I stare at its face and note an ugly, flat nose and bulging red eyes. Four, short horns extend from it
s skull. Whatever I’m looking at, I’ve never seen before.
The creature opens its mouth, revealing its teeth again. I throw my shoulders from side to side, hitting and kicking with all of my might. The creature is unfazed.
Just as the monster starts to lean down, a blur of black feathers fills my vision. Then, I am knocked to the side. I fall onto my rear and stare up. I panic when I don’t see the creature anymore. Afraid of being attacked from behind, I stand up and spin in a wild circle. I hear a roar of pain from the tree to my left, and I stumble in that direction.
I round the tree trunk but stop short when I see a pair of midnight wings protruding from a man’s back. Rubbing my eyes, I try to clear my vision. But the sight remains.
A winged man is standing over the cowered creature, and I gasp as he runs a sword through the creature’s gut. Black blood spills from the wound, covering the grass with its inky darkness. The creature cries out, and it sounds like it is speaking a different language. The mysterious man withdraws the sword, and the squelching sound of guts and blood makes me nauseous. I have to steady myself against the tree.
I watch as the gangly, grotesque monster falls to the ground. It gurgles its last breath and stops moving. My knees weaken, and I collapse. The bile that had been building in my throat comes up. I vomit.
The air shifts as the winged man approaches, but I am unable to look up. I continue to spew out all of my fear and disgust. I can’t believe what I just saw. My entire body trembles. I must be in shock.
My shoulders jerk with another bout of throwing up. Above me, I vaguely register the man speaking. Only, he isn’t talking to me.
“I told you we should’ve kept an eye on her.”
My ears roar, and I’m not sure I’m hearing correctly. I try to look up, but moving my neck makes me dizzy. I dig my fingers into the grass to steady myself.
“The change is starting,” the strange man continues, “and every demon within fifty miles will be able to sense it.”
Claimed by the Fallen: A Fallen Angel Reverse Harem Novel (The Fallen Harem Book 1) Page 4