All The Beautiful People (A Dread Novel Book 1) (4 page)

CHAPTER 7

Things were happening too fast for Taylor to digest. Her mind raced to take in all the information as she sped down the freeway toward her next assignment.

“Still refusing to see that something is wrong here?”

Taylor allowed her eyes to leave the road for the briefest second. Jason sat in the passenger side seat beside her with something dangerously close to a smug look on his face. For the second time that day Taylor thought about throat punching the man.

“You’re sure he said you have to come?” she asked.

Jason shrugged. “I’m only relaying what Wade said over the phone. He said he was taking over supervision of all Operators and Cleaners and we were to go on calls as pairs now.”

Taylor sighed. “And it’s our turn already?”

Jason’s expression fell as he caught her meaning, “I know what you’re getting at.”

Taylor didn’t know how many pairs of Operators or Cleaners there were but she did know they worked on a rotation. That was why her services were only required so rarely. Receiving a call so soon either meant it was a fluke or all the other teams had already received calls in the last twelve hours and it was their turn once again.

“How many other teams are there?” Taylor asked.

Jason hesitated. “I wish I knew. You know how Lazarus works. They keep us all separated to cover their back. We don’t know what other events are going wrong. Together, you and I have only handled eight events. In a city this size, say they need ten, maybe twelve teams. That would bring up the number somewhere between eighty to ninety-six circumstances that needed to be cleaned over the last two years.”

“Did you have a Cleaner before I was assigned to you?”

Jason shook his head. “No, you were my first as soon as I was hired on. Makes me wonder what the life expectancy is for this job.”

Maneuvering around morning traffic, Taylor thought on Jason’s words. The car grew quiet as the two were left to puzzle out the events transpiring and what the near future would hold. They drove in silence to their destination. It was a high school in an upscale suburb of Los Angeles. Wade told Jason that more information would be given to them on the way. For now they were to go to the high school and await further instruction.

After a few minutes of silence, Jason leaned forward and adjusted the radio. Taylor was so used to driving alone she never considered the effect someone else turning on and tuning her radio would have on her. It was silly, she knew, but some animal instinct deep within told her another person was invading her territory. Taylor eyed Jason’s hands playing through the stations. He tuned the knob one painful click at a time, pausing to listen to a station for a brief moment then abruptly transitioning to the next.

The pain forced interaction with another person brought Taylor was ridiculous. Even she realized she was overreacting. Still, the fact that she was required to partner with her Operator, with anyone, took away a slice of her freedom. While Taylor wrestled with these ideas, Jason continued to turn the dial.

Click, click, click…

She wished she could close her eyes and center herself. She wished she could use one of the many techniques she learned while working as an agent for the government. Slow her breathing, relax, calm her heartrate, and close her eyes. It was impossible, not only because she was driving, but because Jason was humming along with each song he tuned to. He’d hum for a brief second then switch the station, then repeat.

Just as Taylor was about to let him have it, Jason stopped on a station. All humming ceased and he remained motionless, his fingers on the knob. It was a commercial for Vanidrum. A male voice brought images of a middle-aged, everyday man with a smiling face over the airwaves.

“With all the worries of the world you deserve the very best. The last thing you need is to second guess your outward appearance or be hindered by insecurities you don’t deserve…”

The male paused briefly to let his message seep through to eager listeners. Jason leaned back in his seat and looked at Taylor. The voice, full of hope, continued.

“Introducing Vanidrum. Vanidrum is the first drug of its kind that alters both perception of appearance and promotes inner happiness. With only a few weeks of medication research has shown an improvement in temperament, lifestyle and overall satisfaction. You deserve to enjoy life to its fullest. Let Vanidrum show the beauty within. Talk to your doctor today to see if Vanidrum is right for you.”

The commercial ended and another immediately took over. The next advertisement boasted an energetic man speed talking about car sales. Taylor mentally blocked it, her mind replaying what the Vanidrum commercial had said:
“Let Vanidrum show the beauty within.”

Jason must have caught onto the same phrase. “Looks like Mr. Jones was lacking in the beauty within department.”

Taylor eyed the GPS displaying their route. Their exit was coming up soon and the school was only a few blocks off the freeway.

“No word from Wade,” she said as a fact rather than a question.

“I’m sure he’ll call soon,” Jason replied. “Usually, it would be me handling this part of the job. I’m sure he’s on the phone with the school now taking down the specifics.”

As Taylor exited the freeway a thought struck her. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t asked the question yet. “Jason, how much field experience do you have?”

When Jason cleared his throat nervously, Taylor knew he had none.

“Well,” he started in a very political manner of speaking and danced around the question, “I graduated with my masters in—”

“You can stop there,” Taylor said with a smirk. “You’ve never been in the field, have you?”

Jason looked at her, offended at first. Then he hunched in his seat in a sign of defeat. “No, not exactly. This is my first job out of college. I do have degrees in both technology and pharmaceuticals though.” When he added the last part, his voice raised as if that fact was going to redeem him in Taylor’s eyes.

Taylor was a lot of things but one thing she was not, was a complainer. She’d been dealt a rough deck of cards on this one. Still, she’d find a way to make it work—she had to.

“How old are you?”

Jason fingered his seatbelt buckle as they turned onto the street where the high school stood only a few blocks away. “I’m twenty-six, I’ll turn twenty-seven this year. Why? How old are you?”

“That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that this is your first time in the field. You need to do what I say when I say it. Trust me, this is what I do for a living.”

Jason sobered for the first time since she met him. He knew she was a professional and he was taking her advice seriously.

They reached the high school and pulled to a stop at the curb. It was a private school with manicured lawns that spread out in lush green hues. An American flag rustled in the light breeze and another flag boasting the school mascot fluttered beneath. The school mascot was a yellow jacket. The flag portrayed the school insect on a field of blue, its wings extended, nose forward with narrowed eyes.

The school buildings themselves were massive. Cream colored walls with white roofs made the structures look more like a museum than an educational institution. The parking lot was full of SUVs and sport cars, but there was no one in sight.

Jason’s phone started ringing again. He turned to Taylor with a look that said,
“Here we go”
and answered the phone.

“Sir, this is Jason. I have you on speaker. Both Taylor and I are in the car outside the school.”

Wade Treadstone’s voice came over the phone, strained and weary. It was hard for Taylor to imagine the voice belonged to someone who seemed so confident and sure only an hour previous.

“Taylor, Jason, I know this is anything but normal having the two of you go in the field together but the Board has deemed it necessary to travel in teams for the time being.”

Taylor heard frantic voices in the background. Wherever Wade was calling from was a center of chaos. She leaned toward the phone as if closing the few inches between herself and the square plastic handheld would help. It didn’t. She couldn’t make out the words being said in the background of Wade’s call, only the panicked tones of both male and female voices.

“Your target is a freshman at the high school. Her name is Rachelle Lake. The principle called the local authorities regarding a student acting hysterical in class. A quick background check brought up her doctor and prescribed medication.”

“Vanidrum,” Jason whispered.

Despite the low tone, Wade Treadstone heard his mutter. “That’s correct. She’s been taking Vanidrum for the last few weeks. Handle this one as quietly as you can and call in for anything you need once you assess the situation. Remember, no local authorities or press. Under no circumstances do you let her blood or saliva enter your own blood stream. I…”

The hesitation in his voice confirmed what had been building in Taylor’s mind since she talked with Wade the previous night. This wasn’t a man with a steel heart. Despite his status and rank, Wade actually cared about his people. A trait Taylor found confusing.

Wade recovered and left one parting comment. “Both of you be safe. We’ll need your skill sets for what comes next.”

That was it. The phone hung up, leaving nothing but questions in his wake. Jason was the first to speak.

“What do you think he meant by that?”

Taylor unbuckled her seatbelt. “Let’s go. There’s a girl in there who is a danger to herself and to others. If it’s anything like what happened to James Jones, then we have no time to lose.”

Taylor grabbed her notebook from the back seat and exited the sedan. She walked to the rear of the car where Jason stood by the trunk waiting.

“You forgot to pop the trunk,” he said.

Taylor could almost smell the anxiety pouring from him. “Why would I open the trunk?”

“You know, for the weapons and vests and masks and stuff.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t carry any of that with me.”

“You’ve been going on these calls alone and without gear or weapons?”

Taylor raised her right pointer finger to tap her temple. “All the gear I need is right here.” She lowered her right hand and balled it into a fist. “If things get bad, then I have these.”

Even through his black-rimmed glasses Taylor could see Jason’s eyes were glazed over. “You’re crazy, you know that right?”

Taylor walked past him and motioned for him to follow. “Who’s crazier? The Cleaner who knows she’s walking into danger or the Operator who follows her?”

CHAPTER 8

The school’s appearance was nothing like Taylor remembered her own high school looking like. Memories of chipped tile floors, rusted lockers, and flaking paint came to mind when she thought of high schools. Steel Hart High was nothing like that. Glass doors opened to a large building with a welcome desk. Lilac scented air greeted every visitor while soft cushioned carpet almost carried you across the floor.

Jason whistled low under his breath. Taylor recovered from her momentary awe and looked around for a clerk or receptionist. No one was in eyesight. No music played, no phones rang, nothing.

A scream ripped through the silence and sent chills up Taylor’s spine. She heard plenty of screams in her line of work; this one was different. This was a young girl’s scream that spoke of a sick mix of happiness and pain. The howl came again, this time louder and with more pleasure than sorrow.

The noise was coming from the back of the building where another set of glass doors opened into a courtyard. Taylor hurtled over the reception desk and ran through the room of short cubic office spaces.

She slammed into the metal release bar leading outside, her hands tingling at the force of her impact with the lever. Her eyes searched the scene, trying to remember where the sound came from. Was it to the right or the left? She couldn’t tell. Then she saw them. Across a lawn a group of school security guards and a handful of what Taylor guessed were teachers huddled around something.

Wasting no time, Taylor sprinted across the new sod. Perfectly symmetric squares of the fresh laid sod came together to form a quilt of greens. There were so many different shades of the one color Taylor didn’t know grass could be so bright and vibrant.

“Stop right there,” one of the school security guards said with an outstretched hand. “Who are you?”

“I’m here to help. We were sent when you called.” Taylor skidded to a stop a few yards from the group. Her simple explanation seemed to be enough for those huddled around in a circle looking down at something on the ground.

One man separated himself from the rest and walked forward extending a hand. “I’m sorry. Without the uniform we didn’t know. I’m the principal here at Steel Hart High. Can you help her?”

Jason arrived next to Taylor at that moment, panting. He hunched over, hands on his knees. “Help—help who?”

The principal pointed behind him. “Give her some room, guys, the police are here.”

The wail tore through the sky again. Security guards and teachers parted for Taylor to see. A young girl was lying on the field writhing in pain.

“Is this Rachelle?” Taylor asked. She asked the question to everyone around her without taking her eyes off the form of the writhing girl.

“No,” the principal said. “This is the girl Rachelle attacked today, Amber McCloud.”

Taylor dropped to the ground. Blood was all around Amber but there were no visible wounds marking the area of injury. The girl was wearing khaki pants with a collared white shirt. Red marks splotched her entire body. From her pale lips all the way down to her twitching feet.

“Jason,” Taylor called over her shoulder. Jason came to stand next to her. Even with their lack of history as partners, Jason knew what she was going to say. His hand was already reaching for his phone. “I’m on it.”

“A paramedic team will be here soon,” Taylor said to the small crowd. “What happened?”

An older woman stepped forward. “Rachelle and Amber were in my math class this morning. Rachelle didn’t look well and kept mumbling things to herself. I should have known something was wrong then. Rachelle is one of my brightest students. Never so much as a tardy note or missed homework assignment. Amber is her best friend. She asked to take her to the bathroom.” The woman’s voice caught. “I should have known better. I thought it was something emotional. You know kids this age. Maybe a broken heart over a boy or her parents fighting at home. I excused them both to the restroom. A few minutes later the screaming started.”

“Amber came out covered in blood and collapsed here,” the principal picked up the story. “The security guards were called. They went to the bathroom to check on Rachelle. She was violent, even tried to bite one of our staff. He was lucky and pulled back at the last moment. We’ve locked Rachelle in the bathroom and have the rest of the students gathered in the gymnasium.”

The entire time the story was being relayed, Taylor didn’t take her eyes off Amber. The girl was shaking with tremors but her wailing reduced to whimpers. Her eyes were open, staring into the sky above. Her mouth moved, pushing words too low in volume to be heard from her throat.

Taylor leaned forward so her ear was only inches above the girl’s moving lips.

“She bled, she bled all over me. So I could see. Isn’t the sky beautiful?”

While they weren’t the exact words she heard when James Jones spoke they were close enough for her.

“Do you have any handcuffs?” she asked the surrounding security guards.

One balding man that looked like he had never missed a meal in his life shrugged. “No, we only carry walkie-talkies.”

Taylor removed her own belt and forced the young girl in a sitting position.

“What are you doing?” the principal asked.

“Until the medical team arrives we need to restrain her. There’s no telling what she might do to herself or others.” A mixture of nods and open mouths answered back.

“They’ll be here in minutes,” Jason said. He knelt beside Taylor and to his credit held the young girl’s wrists behind her while Taylor secured them.

“I can see now,” the girl whispered. “I can see why I wasn’t happy and I can fix it, we can all fix it.”

Taylor motioned to the security guards. “Make sure she doesn’t move. Do whatever is required to keep her here until our backup arrives. Don’t let any of her blood or saliva get in your mouth or eyes. Now, I need to see the other girl. Where’s Rachelle?”