B008GMVYA4 EBOK (33 page)

Suddenly the ringing noise and the sucking motion stopped
just as quickly as it had started. Brendan found himself stood at the edge of a
tarmac road.

“Madison?” Brendan called spinning around in a 360 degree
circle. He didn’t have time to take in his surrounding; he was looking for a
figure in the distance or some sort of clue that would lead him to Madison.

The sun beat down onto the black tarmac road which was
surrounded by an almost deserted countryside, for only a few cattle dotted
around the landscape.  

One end of the road stretched for miles down a steep hill
and the other continued out over the distance before eventually vanishing in
the horizon.

“Madison?” Brendan called searching the road in both
directions.

Panic echoed around Brendan’s head and it was beginning to
consume him. Human emotions were once again getting the better of him,
something that shouldn’t affect a Vampire.

Madison stumbled off the underground onto the platform, the
back of her heel almost sliding down the gap between the train and the
platform.

She scanned the platform cautiously; this had become more of
habit rather than searching for any real danger.

The platform was still - empty. Discarded paper cups and
newspapers scattered the ground, the undergrounds of London were never litter
free – some worse than others.

Since the Lodge has unexpectedly vanished before her eyes,
she had been left with no choice but to go in search of the nearest town. She
had to get back to London - to get to Stephanie. Fortunately for Madison, a
taxi had stopped when it spotted her running down the side of an abandoned road
and offered a lift to the nearest train station. The little bit of kindness
Madison had received by the taxi driver provided her with a small spark of hope
that she very much needed at this point. Even with all the evil in the world
there was still hope that a little bit of good still existed.

Now that Madison arrived back in London dread sat heavy in
the pit of her stomach. 
Had Brendan noticed her absence?
Was
Stephanie still alive? Was she alright? Had Gabby already killed her?
All
these questions ran circles around Madison’s head, but she felt little concern
for her own safety and Gabby wouldn’t stop until she had want she wanted –
Madison. She knew that she couldn’t deal with the guilty of Stephanie’s blood
on her hands or the sorrow of losing her closest, dearest friend.

Dread hung around her, a terrible, indescribable feeling
crept into the back of her mind and she couldn’t help but feel her efforts to
get to Stephanie were not enough – that she was too late. Madison couldn’t give
up hope. She pushed the feeling back down into the pits of her mind, took a
deep breath and pushed her legs across the platform. She would not believe that
Stephanie wasn’t alright until she had seen it with her own eyes.

There was a sense of calm about Madison’s composure; she was
bringing the fight to Gabby. She found a small piece of comfort in the fact
that somehow she was saving both Brendan and Stephanie at the same time. This
small flicker of hope pushed her to power on.

Her heart thudded rapidly in her chest and her hands were
clammy with anxiety. Madison sped towards the stairs which led up onto the
street above. She began to climb the staircase, turning unconsciously a few
times to check that she wasn’t being followed. She concentrated on the bright
light at the end of the dark, gloomy staircase – focusing on it, powering
towards it. She found her pace quickening. The hair on the back of her neck
rose, a cold, suffocating presence seemed to linger on her tail. She could
almost feel the presences ice cold finger tips on her shoulder or was it just
the presence of death that was beginning to place its hand over her shoulders?

Madison continued to push her legs to stride faster and
faster, up the solid stone steps - this time not daring to look behind her.

Her heart beat echoed in her ears, pulsing with each step
that she took.

A shuffling noise echoed the stairwell, Madison froze – she
slowed her breathing, listening to darkness. Carefully, she began to twist her
torso around to identify the presence behind her. The soles of her shoes
slipped slightly on the damp smooth stone and grabbed the thick metal railing
for support.

The stairwell was empty and had become eerily quiet as
quickly as the shuffling had started. The platform below was now covered in a
shield of darkness that appeared threatening. She sighed, relaxing a little.
Slowly, she turned back to face the top of the stairs. Madison jumped. Her
footing slipped on the smooth stone, almost causing her to fall backwards down
the long flight of stone steps. Luckily, she still clung to the thick metal
railing, preventing her from falling and enabling her to pull herself back up
onto the step.

Two dark figures stood before her, they were dressed in
black jeans and black hooded jumpers. The hoods of their jumpers pulled up over
their faces, masking their facial features in shadow. Their postures were
slumped forward, their heads bowed over towards the ground. Both boys were not
much taller than Madison; by the structure of their forms they looked to be
about 15 years old. They were the same two boys Madison had since on the first
night that she had arrived in London, the two boys that she had seen with
Brendan. The memory of their faces flashed in Madison’s mind, their drawn,
pale, ghost-like faces. The memory had lingered in Madison’s mind for days
after she had first witnessed it, even now the memory was as clear as day. She
cocked her head wearily, unsure of their intentions – searching for a way
around the two boys, but they blocked the width of the staircase.

 “Wha…What do you want?” Madison asked, her voice
quivering with fear and her heart beat quickening in her chest.

The two boys did not answer, they both remained motionless
and their postures identical.

Madison’s breathing increased and slowly she began to drop
her right foot down onto the step behind in preparation to turn and run back
down onto the platform.

Before her foot had fully touched the step below, both boys
lunged at her grabbing at her arms. Madison opened her mouth to scream but no
sound came out, she was frozen. Her body became light and she lost control of
all motor-functions. Slowly, she began to rock back and forth in the same kind
of motion as if you’re standing on a boat. Whatever the two boys had done to
her she was now completely paralyzed, unable to talk or move. Everything began
to grow dark and the walls around her that had seemed so confiding a moment ago
were now vibrating and growing wider. A feeling of lightness washed over her
causing all of her limbs to become limp and almost twitch repeatedly at the
bizarre occurrence.

The room began to dissolve around her paralyzed body and the
two boys still clinging to her lifeless shell kept her pulled up right on her
feet. It was like when you fall in a dream and you seem to fall forever in slow
motion, weightlessness, frozen. Madison tried to struggle but it was no use,
her eyes began to flicker as unconsciousness took its grip and dragged her in.

* * *

Madison stirred from beneath the unconsciousness that clung
on tight.  Distance voices sounded in the back ground, they were muffled
and she was too still too dazed and confused to work out what they were saying.
Her left cheek was frozen against a cold hard floor and it stuck slightly when
she tried to lift her head. A strong smell of ale filled Madison’s nostrils –
it was a smell she had become accustom to over the last few weeks, familiar,
almost homely.

She opened her eyes, the room spun for a second but slowly
her vision began to correct. She was disoriented and everything looked strange
but some aspects also appeared oddly familiar. Madison was unsure of her
surroundings at first, but quickly the haze began to lift and she realised
where she had been taken.

Her back ached as she began to lift her head further off the
wooden floor - she had been taken to
Luxuriance
. Her surrounding were
clear now, she was led on the dance floor in a heap as if she had just been
thrown there from the ceiling - her body twisted awkwardly.

Two identical twins stood either side of her; both of them
wore identical suites and had stubble on their necks and chins. They appeared
to be in their early twenties, but there features were waxy, almost perfect.
Madison had become accustom to identifying these waxy appearances as Vampires.

She couldn’t differentiate between the twins, the way they
stood and even their hair was exactly the same, blonde and spiky – gelled
forwards. The twin’s eyes were bright yellow, cat like, only revealing a black
slit of a pupil. Their lips long and thin parted slightly revealing a set of
stunningly white teeth. A smirk twitched at the corner of their mouths as they
both watched Madison curiously.

Her eyes shifted over to the two hooded boys that had
attacked Madison in the underground, both of them stood in the center of the
room their backs to her, posture identical and their heads and shoulders
lowered. They were whispering to each other, their deep voices unnatural. The
sound of their voice sent unnatural shivers up Madison’s spine. Her body was
cold on the hard, wooden floor and she curled up into a defensive ball at the
sight of the two boys. The two boys began to raise their voices as if they were
disagreeing with someone who was not visible through the cover of darkness.

Madison moved again, stretching out her legs silently as to
not draw any attention to herself.

 “This is unacceptable. The deal was, we bring you the
human and you give us what we want” said one of the boys, their voice
unnatural, almost hallow.

“Breaking your side of the deal would be unwise on your
part” said the other boy his voice just as unnatural.

Madison couldn’t work out which boy had spoken, neither of
their bodies moved when they spoke and they were both completely motionless –
still.

“Ummm……Gabby?” said a man’s voice.

The name ‘Gabby’ spoken aloud was enough to freeze Madison
and cause her heart to pause instantly. She stared into the shadows her eyes
searching the darkness for the face she feared most of all. Her heart resumed
beating with a shudder that erupted out over her body. Her eyes flickered to
the right; one of the twins was now staring at her – his eyes piecing her skin.

She felt another pair of eyes burning into the opposite side
of her head as she turned to see the other twin staring at her in very much the
same way as his brother. Madison eyed him wearily, fear stricken her heart
pumped rapidly in her chest. Gabby was the one thing that scared her more than
anything else and the one thing that really wanted her dead - the reason being…
jealousy.

 “Gabby!” one of the twins shouted. He turned, looked
past the two boys into a thick cover of darkness. Slowly, he turned back to
stare at Madison after he caught the eye of the thing that has orchestrate the
whole event – directing her attention to Madison.

“What?!” Gabby spat coming out from her shadowy cover.

Her face was pasted in frustration and anger as it became illuminated
by the dim lights of the nightclub. As always, it was still blemish free and
stunningly beautiful and her facial features softened when she noticed that
Madison had woken.

Her bright blonde hair was pinned up on the top of her head;
it was shiny and fixed perfectly. She wore black leather trousers which clung
to her skinny, but perfectly formed legs and a pink crop top which showed off
her toned stomach and a shiny black leather jacket.

An amused grin spread across Gabby’s lips and her eyes narrowing
at Madison’s terror.

 “Madison. Long time no see!” Gabby said, stepping
around the hooded boys, closing the gap between them.

Her sweet, soft voice instantly sent waves of fear through
Madison body. Never before had she heard something so beautiful but equally so
terrifying.

“I kind of thought we would meet sooner, but I’m glad it’s
like this. This way is so much more fun!” Gabby spat, casually walking towards
Madison and crouching down beside her.

Madison gathered her strength and pushed herself up onto her
feet, she felt sick that Gabby was so close to her – almost repulsed.

Her legs wobbled beneath her, she swayed in dizziness from
standing up too quickly.

Both twins now eyed Madison, watching her carefully. The two
boys remained motionless, their backs to her in the same position they had been
while they were disagreeing

 “That’s funny, I kind of hoped it would be longer”
Madison said sarcastically, slightly shocked as to where her brave and bitter
statement had come from.

“Wow, look who just grew a pair!” Gabby clapped in
amusement, standing up to face her.

“Where’s Stephanie?” Madison demanded, focusing back on to
the reason why she had travelled back to London.

“She’s here, upstairs. Don’t worry, Trace is keeping her
company” Gabby said slowly, surprised by Madison’s new strong attitude.

The two boys shuffled behind Gabby, their heads hunched over
towards the ground covering their faces in utter darkness.

“I want to see her!” Madison demanded, staring hard into
Gabby’s eyes.

“In time... but now I really want you to stick around down
here - with me” Gabby said wheeling around to face the two hooded boys like she
was performing some type of dance routine.

“No! You have me you can let her go now!” Madison protested
stepping towards Gabby trying to draw her attention back.

Both twins moved towards her in a defensive manner -
protecting their boss. Gabby threw her hand up to stop them, knowing Madison
wouldn’t get too close to her – not if she valued her own life.