BITTEN (Book #3 of the Vampire Legends) (9 page)

She focused on the deer with all her might, and used Mind Control. It stopped in its tracks and looked her straight in the eye. She knew this was it. She had mastered it. Now all she had to do was make her way over to the deer without scaring it away, and then its fate was sealed. It would be her next meal.

She crept over to the deer, which was still entranced, staring at her, and then, with twenty or so feet to go, she leapt into the air, her fangs descending from her gums, her hands outstretched and her fingers wide, as she prepared to capture her kill. The deer continued to stare at her, and within moments, she sunk her fangs into its neck. Then, with her supernatural strength, she lifted the deer up off the ground and drained its blood into her mouth. As she did this, her body felt more relaxed. She was much less tense, and felt her eyes go back into her head as she became normal again—well, normal enough to fit into her school.

She put the deer back down and stared at it, watching the fleas jump off its lifeless body. Suddenly she felt a little grossed out, and she couldn’t believe what had just happened. She sat down on the ground next to the deer and began to cry. Part of her felt bad for killing an animal but what upset her the most was the fact that she didn’t recognize herself anymore. She hated who she’d become, and knew there was no turning back. She knew this was the new Rachel and she just had to get used to it – it was just a hard pill for her to swallow.

As she wiped the tears from her cheeks, she stood up and looked at her watch. She’d been gone from class for about twenty minutes, and knew she would be in big trouble for this. She quickly walked back out of the woods, checking to make sure nobody was watching, then she heard a man’s voice coming from the back door of the school.

“Excuse me? What are you doing outside?” the man said.

She looked up to see the security guard standing in the doorway, looking dead at her. She didn’t know what to say, and waited for a moment as she walked closer to the building.

“Oh, I um, just needed some air,” Rachel said, smiling. “I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Are you ok?” the security guard asked, looking stunned, as if she got hurt.

“I’m feeling better now, thanks,” Rachel said.

“No, I mean, your face, it’s bleeding,” the security guard said, ushering her into the building.

She touched her face and looked at her hands, which had blood on them. She couldn’t help but think what a misstep this was, what an amateur move she’d just made to leave blood dripping down her face.

“Oh my!” Rachel said, trying to sound surprised. “I just brushed by a branch, it may have scratched my face?”

“You better get to the school nurse right now and get that cleaned up, Ms. Woods,” the security guard demanded.

“OK, I’ll go now,” Rachel said, as he took her arm and walked her to the nurse. They walked in silence, until finally she opened the door to the nurse’s office.

“What do we have here?” the school nurse asked, looking at Rachel’s face.

“A scratch?” Rachel said, uncertainly.

“Well let’s get that cleaned up, shall we,” the nurse said in a soothing tone.

The school nurse reached into her drawer and got out the alcohol and gauze pads to wipe down her face. She put on rubber gloves and then began applying the alcohol to the gauze. As she put the gauze up to Rachel’s face she said, “There’s no scratch here? No evidence of anything that would cause all this blood.”

Rachel didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to get out of this mess. “Well, I um don’t know?” she said, looking at the nurse.

“This is the strangest thing I’ve seen in all my years,” the nurse said, taking off her gloves.

“Guess I healed pretty quickly!” Rachel said, trying to turn it into a joke.

“Well, you should go back to class,” the nurse said as she handed her a nurse’s note to get back into class.

“Thanks!” Rachel said, as she turned and walked out of the office.

Realizing what a close call that was, she walked quickly back to Mr. Allen’s classroom, passing the hall monitor on the way. She was surprised that her Mind Control worked so well on her, because she didn’t even look twice as she passed by.

“You feeling better?” Mr. Allen asked as she entered the classroom.

The class stared at her as if she was a freak.

“Yes,” Rachel said, feeling much more like herself as she walked in and handed Mr. Allen her nurse’s pass, which thankfully she had because it had been over a half an hour since she’d left.

“You all right?” a guy’s voice asked quietly from behind her.

She turned to see Rob, sitting in the seat behind her, looking visibly worried about her.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine, thanks,” Rachel said, smiling.

She couldn’t believe he even noticed she’d left the classroom and even if he did, that he would care to ask how she’s feeling.

“What happened? You flew out of here so quick, I got worried,” Rob asked, whispering so that the teacher wouldn’t hear.

“Just felt sick, that’s all. It passed,” Rachel replied.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Rob said. “So do you want to hang sometime?” he asked.

She thought for a moment, remembering their last interactions and time spent together. She couldn’t help but remember the feelings she had for him at the movies and how it abruptly ended when Benji showed up.

She remembered her love for Benji. She didn’t want to betray him or cheat on him, but part of her felt OK with spending time with Rob. It wasn’t like they were dating or anything – it would be an innocent hang out.

“Um…I guess,” Rachel replied. “This weekend works, I think.”

“Perfect, I’ll be in touch,” Rob said as the bell rang and everyone got up out of their seats.

“Rach! I’ll see you at lunch, right?” Emily asked, as they parted ways down the hall.

“Yup! I’ll be there,” Rachel said, secretly dreading the cafeteria. She didn’t even want to let her mind go there yet. The morning passed quicker than she would have liked it and as she looked at her watch, she knew lunch was right around the corner. Thinking about it made her feel queasy, then the thought of throwing up made her even more nervous, because the only thing swishing around in her stomach was blood. She couldn’t image the scene that would cause.

As she walked towards the cafeteria, she didn’t know how she would face everyone in such a big, bright space. She didn’t want to do it, but knew if she didn’t, it would cause more of a stir.

“There she is!” Taryn’s voice came barreling down the hall.

“Ahhh!!!” yelled Liv and ran to give Rachel a hug.

“OMG! You’re really back!” Jen said, waiting her turn for a hug.

“I’m back! In the flesh!” Rachel said, as she pointed to herself and smiled. “Glad to see you guys, too! I’ve missed you.”

“Let’s grab our table!” Emily said as she started walking into the cafeteria.

With all her friends around her, she felt at ease. She didn’t feel as overwhelmed as she thought she would entering the cafeteria for the first time in days since she’d gone missing. She was happy to have such a caring and loyal group of friends at AHS and she felt lucky that they all happened to meet up with her before she had to walk in alone.

As she sat there, at the lunch table, she wasn’t feeling hungry for her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After all, she didn’t need to eat human food anymore.  She watched as everyone took out their food and began to eat.

“So Rach, you have to tell us, what the hell happened?” Taryn asked.

“Yeah!” the others said, waiting for her to talk.

“Ya know, I really don’t want to talk about it,” Rachel said back, trying to conceal her privacy around the matter.

“What do you mean? You can tell us!” Emily said.

“Yeah, we won’t tell anyone. We promise,” Jen said.

“I know, you guys are the best, but it really was scary and I’m not in a good place to talk about it right now. Plus what really matters is that I’m back and still breathing, right?” Rachel asked, trying to make light of the situation.

“Um, you’re seriously not going to tell us?” Taryn asked, getting annoyed. “We’ve been worried sick about you, and now that you’re back, you’re pleading the fifth?”

“Seriously, you guys can’t be mad at me, it was really terrible what happened and it’s so raw that I need time to heal myself before I start talking about it. I can’t just snap my fingers and go back to normal,” Rachel said.

“Guys, let’s respect her, she will tell us, eventually,” Emily said, sticking up for Rachel.

Rachel shook her head and said, “Yeah, I promise, I’ll tell you guys, just not here.” She looked around the cafeteria at all the staring faces. It was like everyone was listening to her, the hustle and bustle sounds she was used to in the cafeteria were very quiet today and she could tell that everyone was curious about what had happened. It was like everyone was eavesdropping on her conversation with her friends. She didn’t feel safe at school—she felt like she had to completely censor herself, especially now. If anyone found out what really happened, well, she didn’t know what they’d do.

“So, what’s this I hear about the Halloween ball?” Rachel asked, changing the subject.

“OMG! The Halloween Ball is the coolest event at AHS. Like everyone who’s anyone goes to this!” Liv said, excitedly.

“It’s tonight!” Jen said, “Do you have your costume yet?”

“Well, seeing as I just found out about this, no!” Rachel answered.

“We have to get you one then!” Taryn said. “I’m going to be a rock princess! I already got my costume and tried it on. I think I have everything set to go. Plus, you know who asked me to be his date! So I’m pumped.”

“Who?” Rachel asked. “The guy in your math class you like?”

“Yup! Sure did!” Taryn said, smiling.

“Well lucky you!” Rachel said.

“Do you have a date? I assume not since you didn’t even know about the ball,” Emily asked.

“No, I don’t. I guess I could always go alone right?” Rachel asked.

“Um, you could,” Emily answered, sounding uncertain.

“Well, it’s going to be sick! It’s tonight at the bowling alley in town. It’s going to be so fun. You have to come!” Jen said.

“I’ll be there! I’ll be there!” Rachel said, getting excited. She finally was happy to have something to look forward to.

“Rach, you haven’t touched your lunch? Aren’t you hungry?” Emily asked, sounding concerned.

“Not really, still full from breakfast,” Rachel said.

“Ok, well, you should really eat something, don’t want you to start feeling sick again,” Emily said.

“Thanks for looking out,” Rachel said with a smile.

“So you guys cool to come to my place for a sleepover later?” Taryn asked. “My mom said it was OK, we could all sleep in the basement.”

“Yeah!” the chorus of girls chimed in. “Can’t wait!”

“Rach, can you come?” Taryn asked.

“I’ll have to ask my parents. They’re not exactly thrilled with me at the moment,” Rachel responded. “But I’ll try my best!”

As she sat there, the bright lights were beginning to hurt her eyes and skin. She could feel her body getting warmer and warmer as she sat there. It felt almost as if she were about to have a panic attack, but worse. She couldn’t help but squint her eyes to keep the bright lights out.

“Rach, you ok?” Liv asked.

“Yeah? You don’t look so good,” Jen said, worried.

“I, um, I’m fine,” Rachel said.

“You’re skin, it’s getting red and your eyes, are you sure you feel ok?” Emily said.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” she said, getting worried they were starting to assume things.

“You’re acting kinda strange,” Emily said.

She didn’t know how to respond to this, she was acting strange and she knew she shouldn’t have left the castle. But now she was here and she would have to make the best of it.

“Yeah, I’m ok, just a little hot, that’s all,” Rachel answered.

“Okay...” Emily said, still sounding curious.

As the bell rang, she said goodbye to her friends and began walking towards her fifth period class. She couldn’t believe she’d made it through another interrogation session about her disappearance. She also couldn’t believe this was the AHS Halloween Ball this weekend. She couldn’t stop thinking about finding the perfect costume and the perfect date. She didn’t know who it would be but she was hoping that someone special would ask her.

Just as she was almost to her class, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned around to see Arielle, standing there looking mean and cold.

“Heard you talking in the cafeteria,” Arielle said.

“Um, hello to you, too,” Rachel replied.

“Listen, I thought you were gone once and for all,” Arielle said, eerily.

“Well, I’m back!” Rachel said, trying not to sound scared.

“You better watch your step. If you even come between me and Rob, that will be the last thing you ever do. I don’t even want to catch you looking in his direction,” Arielle sneered.

Rachel was scared. She didn’t know what to do. She’d already kind of made plans with him for the weekend. She started to tremble, and then said, “Calm down, I haven’t done anything to get in your way. Relax.”

“Well, if I see it, or hear about it, you’ll have to answer to me,” Arielle said and then quickly turned around and walked the opposite direction.

Chapter Ten

Hunter could hear the footsteps getting louder as Violet and four soldiers stomped down the hall to his jail cell. The jingle of the keys on the large key rang through his ears as they looked for the key to his cell. As they opened it, Violet walked in and then turned to the soldiers and said, “You are released now.”

“Violet? What a surprise, what are you doing here?” Hunter asked.

Violet walked around his small cell, looking at his belongings. She picked up a family picture and then put it back down and smiled.

“I’ve come to give you one more chance,” Violet said, as she turned and looked at Hunter.

“What do you mean?” Hunter asked. “I don’t understand.”

“I’ll give you one more chance to live,” Violet said, sternly.