So, all the stories of what this world would become were true. I knew they were, after everything I’d read throughout my lifetime—the time for which my parents had tried to prepare me—but now, I was seeing it with my own eyes.
I was as ill-equipped to battle this creature as the two unlucky teenagers, but couldn’t stand there and do nothing. I felt I was already living on borrowed time, so didn’t have a whole lot to lose. I’d seen the world from the ground, felt the wind on my face and tasted the fresh air. And I’d actually seen one of the vile creatures myself—not just read about it in some database.
“Let her go!” I demanded.
The vampire looked up from his prey, his icy blue eyes nearly glowing in the darkness.
“Brave words from a brave boy,” the creature said.
“Then are you going to heed them?” I asked.
“The part about me letting her go?” it asked in a mocking tone. “As a matter of fact, I was going to, but now you’re here, I don’t have to.”
The song changed again and was now the beautiful harmonies of The Temptations.
The girl lay limp in the vampire’s arms. I guessed she’d simply passed out from shock and hoped to God I was right.
“What happens next?” I asked. “You won’t let her go. And I won’t let you go, either.”
“It seems we’re at an impasse.” The vampire produced a radiant, bloody smile that practically stretched from ear-to-ear. “I would surely like the pleasure of your name—the pleasure of the name of the man who does not run from a predator of the night.”
My body shook, but I tried my best to conceal it. The anticipation of standing face-to-face with this predator of the night as he’d called himself, was killing me. “Sanders. Matthew Sanders. And like you, I’m not natural to this world either.”
“Well, Matthew Sanders, I am Frederick Alabaster. If you’re not natural to this world, then what are you? I sense you’re not one of us—born or made.”
“What year is it?” I asked. I figured there was no need to hide who I really was any longer.
“Well, that’s interesting. Not a question I was expecting,” Frederick said. He laid the unconscious girl across the front bench seat and leapt out of the car with amazing speed and agility. In an instant, he was standing merely a few feet away. “The year is 1949, Mr. Sanders.”
I noticed Frederick studying my face for a reaction.
“You ask for the year as if you have no idea when or where you are, and yet upon receiving the answer, you don’t appear to be surprised.”
“I knew this was where I’d end up. I just needed confirmation,” I said.
“And you were too embarrassed to ask these innocent kids such a monumental question?”
“Perhaps.”
“So, I take it you’re a time traveler. Like The Time Machine. Is that what you’re saying?”
“It appears I am,” I answered.
“And from what time does this mysterious time traveler originate?” Frederick leaned back against the door of the convertible and crossed his arms.
“2048. The world’s very different now—then. Ah. I don’t really know what to call it!”
“I’ve lived a long time—a very long time—and the world has changed considerably over the centuries. You have my attention. I’m curious. What makes the world so different in 2048?”
I told Frederick the story of how the world ended as far as I understood it, and he was riveted to say the least. He remained leaning against the car, taking in everything.
“So where is this portal?” Frederick asked. “I must see it for myself.”
“There’s nothing to see,” I said. “It’s an invisible wormhole between times. And it’s not even on the ground. I fell a good five or six feet and was lucky I didn’t crack my head open in the fall.”
“Some days you’re just lucky.”
I didn’t know how to take that statement. “I don’t even think I could find it again if I wanted to.”
“Well, surely the others from your station should be coming through as well. We should look for them, you and I.”
“I don’t—”
I was interrupted by the moaning of the girl in the front seat. She lifted her head above the top of the driver’s side door and flung a bloody hand over the edge. Frederick whirled around in a flash and finished her off with one last savage bite.
I diverted my gaze from the grisly scene and tried to push the girl’s final scream out of my head. But I was afraid it would never happen—that I’d be haunted by this girl’s screams for the rest of my life—however short that was destined to be.
Frederick turned back toward me and wiped his dripping mouth on a dark sleeve. “Where were we, my friend, before we were so rudely interrupted? Oh yes, you were about to take me to the portal.”
“No,” I said, not quite as confidently as I’d intended to sound. I couldn’t guide this creature back to the portal, back to ParallEarth and Sector 7, where the last of my people would be just as unprepared as the two teenagers I’d met and lost tonight. I realized it had been an incredibly stupid idea to tell him the truth, the whole story, even though it’s what had allowed me to live this long.
“No?” Frederick sounded amused, then pushed off the side of the car and approached me. “This has been a very interesting conversation indeed, but if you’re unwilling to take me to the portal, then I have no further use for you.
I took a reflexive step back. “Everything I’ve told you tonight could have just been an elaborate story, but if you kill me now, then you’ll never truly know.”
“That was a desperate line. I can tell you were telling the truth. Your story didn’t sound rehearsed; there were details and intricacies you kept quite consistent. This was no fabrication. And I believe others will appear out of nowhere, and if not you, one of them will show me the way. If it’s one thing I have plenty of, it’s time… patience and time. I will give you one final chance. Take me to the portal.”
I lowered my gaze and shook my head. “I can’t.”
“You mean, you won’t,” Frederick said and sped toward me, grabbing me by the neck, and lifting me into the air. “You speak of vampires, but you do not truly understand.”
Unable to breathe, I clawed at Frederick’s forearm, trying anything to loosen his grip, but it was ironclad. The night was already dark but grew darker still as my vision blurred.
Then Frederick released me, and I collapsed to the ground in a heap, coughing and fighting for air. The difficulty breathing was all too familiar, and it wasn’t more than a few hours ago that I thought I would die from asphyxiation. Now I was about to die at the hand of a vampire who desperately wanted to see the future.
I tried to stand, but every muscle in my body was too weak to support my own weight.
“I’m not going to kill you this evening,” Frederick said, crouching down before my crumpled body. “But I can tell you that soon, you’ll probably wish I had. You will have your chance to tell me again, and by then, you’ll probably be jumping at the opportunity. That is, if I haven’t already met one of your fellow travelers. But like I said, I’ve got time—all the time in the world. And tonight, your time is up.”
Before I could respond, Frederick was on me again, but now, instead of holding me by the throat, he sank his fangs into it. I screamed at the sharp pain, but the agony steadily morphed into an odd euphoria. I’d made my peace with death in the station earlier that evening and could do it again. As the creature drained me of everything but my conviction to protect my comrades, I said a short prayer and made my second peace with my own mortality.
1
Fiona
I had to remind myself where I’d be going in a few short days because my life had become so normal again. I wasn’t allowed back on the True North compound until my time had been served at the Sisters of Mercy Psychiatric Hospital, where I’d be sharing a room with the reprehensible Mallory Fiennes. But we had to learn to work together—and our i
ncarceration was supposed to somehow ensure that.
I’d signed up for a self-paced online GED prep class and had two weeks to prepare before my registered test date. I didn’t want to know what would happen to me if I failed, so had to pass on my first try. I’d never studied so much in my life. Luckily, since Mallory had seen to me being fired from Hot Coffee, I had extra time on my hands—extra time I still hadn’t told Mom about.
When the morning of the test arrived, I stopped into the coffee shop for a quick white mocha fix, then waited for Matthew to pick me up and drive me to the community college where the test would be held. And—to continue our shared fates—Mallory was registered for the same test, in the same classroom. Since there wasn’t assigned seating, we chose to sit as far apart as possible. It probably wasn’t what we were supposed to be practicing, but at least we agreed it wasn’t part of our final exam, and it wasn’t as if Matthew or Aaron were following us into the testing room.
I’d had plenty of time to reminisce on the first kiss Matthew and I had shared in the Nevada compound, as well as several since. Many study sessions were interrupted by infiltrating memories of the taste of his lips, the exquisite feel of his hands on me, and how his entire essence fully consumed me. It saddened me I’d had a boyfriend for over a year and not once had I ever felt like that. Seeing Matthew again brought back those wonderful feelings, making the start of the exam a challenge.
Focus, Fiona!
Mallory and I had been signed up to take all four subjects on the same day, so it turned out to be a long, grueling day to not only test our comprehension but also our endurance. We were going to need it with what we’d be forced to endure in the Sisters of Mercy. The only thing that kept me from completely freaking out about it, was the fact it would be a controlled environment. There’d be some semblance of restraint, or so I was promised.
Within a few days, I received an email to announce my scores had been posted. As I logged onto the website, I didn’t know if I was more afraid of failing or passing. I didn’t know what failing meant but understood all too well that passing was my golden ticket into the asylum. So, when I realized I’d passed all four subjects and was being awarded my GED, I broke out in goosebumps all over. This was really happening; I was going to Sisters of Mercy…
“Congratulations,” Matthew said over the phone.
I lay on my bed, my eyes following the blades of my ceiling fan as they circled above me. “So, I guess this is it,” I said.
“Most people are happy when they pass a big exam.”
“This was an entrance exam to be admitted to a vampire-run asylum,” I said. “I’m not exactly thrilled about it.”
“I’m not thrilled about you going in there either—I fought vehemently against it—but you’ll be okay. I promise.” Matthew sounded sincere, but I sensed the hint of doubt in his voice. “The faster you make nice with Mallory, the faster I can get you out of there.”
“Speaking of things I’m not looking forward to…” I said, sardonically. Matthew interrupted.
“I know you both currently don’t get along but keep an open mind. Be the bigger person. Extend the olive branch.”
“Wow; I’ve got a vampire telling me to turn the other cheek,” I scoffed. “Are you going to take me to church and AA meetings too? But then again, you probably already know we hug and make up or something.”
“I know you’ll get through this,” he said, his voice still calm—seemingly unfazed by my combative sarcasm. “I just want you to get through it quickly.”
“That makes two of us,” I said. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and she failed.”
“Nope. You both passed.”
It seemed everything was set. I had one more day of freedom and didn’t even know what to do with myself. Should I still go to school? Should I get the girls to ditch with me? Should I go out and treat myself to some expensive food? Get wasted? Get a tattoo? Wait, I supposedly already had one of those coming.
What does someone do with their last day of freedom—especially when no one else knows?
In the end, I went about my normal routine but did my best to appreciate every bit of it. I got up early—mainly because I couldn’t sleep—and made breakfast for Mom and me, then gave her an extra long hug before leaving for school. I enjoyed the morning walk, confident I’d never be repeating it. I went about my school day with a little extra enthusiasm.
The day passed so smoothly, I began to wonder why I’d never acted like this before. I still let Alexis drive me to Hot Coffee after school, since Candace and she were on shift and I didn’t want to go home.
During a lull, Candace brought Alexis and me our usual drinks—my three-pump, extra hot, extra-whipped white mocha, and Alexis’s sweetened, black, iced tea. Even though I no longer worked here, Eli didn’t mind that the girls continued not to charge me for my mochas. As long as the store manager, Michael wasn’t there—which he usually wasn’t so late in the afternoon—then we could all pretend I was still a barista.
“Any new job prospects?” Alexis asked, munching on a jalapeno cheese bagel. “Or are you just going to hang around here until they come to their senses?”
“It’s too much work to find something new right now,” I said. “I might as well wait until after graduation.”
“It’ll be too late by then; all the summer jobs will be filled.”
“Then I’ll get the summer off too. I’m not going to stress about it.”
“That would be nice. I wish my parents would let me do that.”
“Hey. Where’s your new friend? Haven’t seen him around lately,” Candace said, coming to stand by us after finishing with the few waiting customers. “I miss his dreamy eyes.”
“Shut up,” I admonished. “I don’t know. It’s not like we talk all the time.”
“Well, you should,” she said with a sly smile. Candace inched up onto the countertop just as Eli came out of the office.
“Seriously, Candace?” Eli sighed.
“Why are you even surprised anymore?” she asked, hopping down and rolling her eyes.
“Why do I even put up with you?” Eli countered.
“Because you love me. And I don’t tell or complain about all the extra breaks you take.”
“Oh. We’ve stooped to blackmail now?”
“Umm, no… because we have an understanding.” Candace smiled sweetly.
“Right,” Eli said and continued into the storage room.
“I’m so gonna miss this,” I said and took another glorious sip of my white mocha.
“I already miss the three of us working together. It’s just not the same anymore,” Alexis said, finished off her bagel, then slurped the rest of her iced tea.
“You sound like you’re dying,” Candace said. “You’re still here like every afternoon.”
“But when she gets a new job, then she won’t be coming with me anymore,” Alexis whined. “And it’s not like you close with me. It’s gonna be so lonely.”
“You’ve got Eli,” I said.
“I might as well be closing alone.”
“I wish I could say I’d stay and help, but…” Candace shrugged. “I’ve got homework to do.”
“Don’t we all,” Alexis argued.
“Yeah,” I said, halfheartedly, knowing my high school homework was done. High school itself was done. And I couldn’t bring myself to speak a word of it to them.
Alexis clocked in a few minutes later, and I hung out with them for a while, talked with some of the regulars that came in, had dinner with Candace, and finished off the evening with another white mocha—full strength—since I didn’t anticipate being able to sleep tonight anyway.
I finally left after Candace’s shift ended and she was picked up by her older sister, Bethany. I had a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that I’d never see my friends or this place again. Matthew had assured me I’d be back to my new, semi-normal life in no time, but my doubts were kicking in hard now.
“Have a good night,”
I said to Alexis and Eli, hopping down from the bar stool.
“Turning in?” Eli asked.
“Unless you’re gonna start paying me again,” I said with a laugh. If he’d said yes, I probably would have stayed.
“I wish I could.”
“See you tomorrow at school,” Alexis said, waving from the espresso bar.
“Yup,” I said, my voice hitching, which I hoped no one noticed.
“Fee, are you crying?” Alexis was now walking over to see me off.
“No,” I said, quickly rubbing my left eye. “Just some makeup in my eye.”
She gave me an empathetic smile. I rushed into the bathroom before I really started balling. After wetting a paper towel, I used it to dab my eyes as I leaned against the sink and sobbed in relative privacy. Once my eyes were clear enough to pull off that I hadn’t been crying, I snuck out of the bathroom and headed for the door, glancing back at Alexis in the middle of making drinks. I didn’t call to her as I left Hot Coffee and began my trek home under a darkening sky.
Seeing the kitchen light on, I was relieved knowing Mom was home. She’d said this morning that she wasn’t working tonight, but a lot could change in the span of a day.
“Hey, kid. You’re home early,” she said as I closed the front door.
“It was a slow night and they needed to cut hours,” I said. “I pulled the short straw.”
“Most girls your age wouldn’t call that the short straw.”
I shrugged. “I like getting to hang out with my friends.”
I dropped my backpack on a dining room chair and plopped down on the opposite side of the couch from her. She set down her tablet and removed her reading glasses.
“You got homework?” she asked, a hopefulness in her voice.
“All done,” I said.
“Then are you up for a show?” A smile was now spreading across her face.
“I can’t think of anything better,” I said and reached for the remote.
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