Dangerous Girls (8 page)

D
estiny gasped when she stepped into the living room and saw the visitors. Courtney, Fletch, and Ross sat on the floor, cheering Mikey on as he played a PlayStation racing game.

Courtney climbed to her feet. “Dee, hi. Why do you look so shocked?”

Destiny and Livvy exchanged glances. “We…uh…just didn't expect you,” Destiny said.

“Where were you?” their dad asked. “I was surprised to find Mikey with Mrs. Mitchell next door.”

“Uh…just doing some things,” Destiny answered. Pretty lame. Could everyone see how upset and frazzled she was?

“Yeah. Things,” Livvy echoed. Not helpful at all.

“Well, it's Mikey's bedtime,” Dr. Weller said, scratching his graying hair. “How about it, Mikey?”

“How about
no way
?” Mikey replied, his fingers moving rapidly over the controller, his car rounding a turn on the video speedway.

Fletch used Mikey's shoulder to help push himself up from the floor. “Pretty cool game.” He stretched his long arms over his head. “You guys want to go out or something?”

“I don't think so,” Destiny said. “I'm…really tired.”

Ross stood up. “It's only a few days till school starts. We've got to make the most of it. Who wants to go down to Donohue's, get some burgers, see if anyone else from school is hanging there?”

“I don't have any money,” Courtney complained. “Someone has to treat me.”

Fletch turned to her. “Hey, Court, we're always treating you. How come you never have any money?”

“Maybe it's because I'm poor?”

“Nice move, Fletch.” Ross slapped his friend a low-five. “Got any other questions for her?”

“Give me a break.” Fletch grabbed Ross and started wrestling around.

“Hey, cut it out, guys,” Destiny said.

Please leave, everyone. Please. I'm so frightened, I can't think straight. I keep seeing that
hideous woman…keep hearing her warnings rasping in my ears.

Ross held up a fifty-dollar bill. “Look—birthday money from my grandmother. I'll treat everyone at Donohue's.”

Fletch put an arm around Ross's broad shoulders. “You the man!” He turned to Livvy. “You coming?”

Livvy crossed the room to Destiny. “Maybe we should go,” she whispered. “You know. Help take our minds off…everything.”

Destiny shook her head. “Not me. But if you think it will help you…”

Livvy had her eyes on Ross. “Yes. Maybe it will….”

“Come on, you two,” Courtney called from the front door. “Before Ross changes his mind.”

Livvy turned and hurried after the others. She pulled her cell phone to her ear. “I'm calling Bree, guys. Maybe she'll want to meet us.”

The door closed behind her. Destiny shut her eyes, enjoying the silence. But as soon as she closed them, she pictured Mrs. Bauer, her skin torn and decayed, her eyes tiny marbles sunk deep in her skull.

Destiny started to the stairs. Her dad stood
at the stove, waiting for the kettle to boil. He turned when he heard her enter. “Not going out with your friends?”

Destiny shook her head. “No. I'm kinda tired.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, studying her.

Should I tell him what's happening to Livvy and me? Should I?

The teakettle on the stove whistled. He turned back to it.

Destiny hurried up the stairs to her room. She dropped down at her desk and clicked on the lamp. Then, elbows on the desktop, she buried her face in her hands.

This is a nightmare. I feel so helpless, so all alone.

I almost told Dad just now. But I can't do that. He looks so terrible, so old and sad. Besides, what could he do?

Destiny stepped to the mirror. She smoothed her fingers gently over the tiny puncture mark on her throat. Why doesn't it heal? She brought her face close to the glass.

What did Mrs. Bauer see in my eyes?

Yes. My eyes do look strange. My pupils are so tiny.

She picked up the phone and punched in Ari's number. He picked up after the third ring. “Ari, hey. It's me. What are you doing?”

“Dee—hi. I'm watching
Night of the Living Dead
. The 1990 version. I'm comparing it to the 1968 version. You know. The original.”

“Which is better?” Destiny asked, trying to sound interested.

“The original, of course. The grainy black-and-white photography is so much more terrifying.”

“Ari, can I ask you something? Remember what we were talking about this afternoon?”

“You mean vampires?”

“Yeah. Well, I have one more question. Have you—”

“How come you're so interested in vampires all of a sudden, Dee?” he asked.

He sounds suspicious, she realized. She felt her throat tighten.

“Hey—I know why!” he said. “I knew it! I knew it!”

Destiny nearly dropped the phone. I should never have gone to see him. He's figured it out.

“It's because you agree with me!” Ari
declared. “You agree that it's not a virus that killed those animals. It's vampires.”

“Well…yeah.” Destiny let out a long breath of air. “Right. And I…uh…want to learn as much as I can.”

Whew.

“Cool,” Ari said. “What were you going to ask me?”

“Well, have you ever heard of someone called the Restorer?”

Silence at the other end.

Then, “The Restorer? You sure you don't mean
The Regurgitator
? I remember a low-budget, independent film—totally gross—called
The Regurgitator
. This giant creature kept throwing up on Tokyo.”

“No. It's not a movie,” Destiny said impatiently. “I think it's supposed to be a real person.”

“The Restorer?”

Come on, Ari. Please know who it is. Please come through for me.

“Is the Restorer a teacher?” Ari asked.

“Huh? Why do you say that?”

“I kinda remember some book I read on vampire lore. A long time ago. There was a teacher in it who claimed he could cure vam
pires. Is that what you mean?”

“Yeah. I guess. A teacher…. Can't you remember anything else?”

“No. Not really. I guess I struck out, Dee. You stumped me. You win the prize.”

She sighed. “What's the prize?”

“Uh…you and me go to a movie tomorrow night?”

“What's
second
prize? No. I'm kidding. We'll have to see about tomorrow. Hey, I've got another call. Catch you later.”

She clicked off the phone. She didn't have another call.

But she had to think. A teacher…

Mrs. Bauer had said
parental guidance
. And Ari had said a
teacher
.

Who else could help her? Who else might know about the Restorer?

Coach Bauer?

An image from her childhood flashed into her mind. She saw Coach Bauer looking much younger. Destiny remembered him tossing a football to Livvy and her. How old were they then? Seven or eight? Dad stood in the driveway, grinning, hands in his pockets. Barking out plays at the top of his lungs, Coach made the
two girls run across the front yard, across the neighbor's yard, and heaved the ball high in the air at them.

Livvy always ducked. But sometimes Destiny would leap up and—miraculously—catch the ball. That made Coach cheer and jump up and down. When they went to toss it back, Bauer would warn them: “Don't throw like girls. Pull your arm back. Don't throw like girls.”

Destiny loved Coach Bauer because he was the only adult who didn't treat her like a delicate little princess.

Thinking about those football games in the front yard, Destiny sobbed. Poor Coach. Hiding his undead wife in the basement, refusing to let her die. Forced to go out and hunt the vampires who ruined her life—and his.

The frightening thoughts circled her brain. Destiny slid over to her desktop computer. She pressed the power button and waited for it to go through its startup humming and beeping. Then she went online and called up Google.com.

She typed in
The Restorer
and
vampires
, and waited to see what the search engine found.

It took only a few seconds. Surprisingly, there was only one result.

But one will be enough if it's the right one!

Her hand trembling, Destiny clicked on the link. The website came up slowly. Destiny groaned when she read the large, blue headline at the top of the screen:

 

99%
EFFECTIVE!

AMAZING HAIR RESTORER

GUARANTEED BY DOCTORS!

 

Disgusted, Destiny spun away from the computer.

Where else can I look?

She turned back to the screen—and discovered that she had an Instant Message:

Destiny leaned over the keyboard and typed.

Destiny hesitated. Did the vampire bite Livvy and me at camp? Is that where it happened? Could anyone else have been bitten?

She took a deep breath and then typed.

Holding her breath, Destiny waited for the answer. When it finally appeared, her mouth dropped open in shock.

W
hoa. Destiny stared at the words on the screen.

Is Nakeisha serious? Is she making a joke? I've got to know….

Nakeisha was joking. Destiny let out a sigh.

The girls chatted online for a few more minutes. Nakeisha wrote that she'd be traveling with her mom this fall, looking at colleges, and
they might drive through Dark Springs. Destiny replied that she couldn't wait to see her.

When she got offline, Destiny's eyelids felt heavy and her muscles ached. What a long, dreadful day, she thought, yawning.

Stretching, she walked to the open window and peered down on the front yard. Snakes of black cloud rolled over the pale half moon. The yard lay in deep shadow. A car rolled past slowly, one taillight out. Destiny could hear the music on its car radio.

Destiny squinted hard and saw a gray squirrel with a nut in its mouth, darting across the grass.

I can hear it. I can hear the squirrel's footsteps.

Destiny clapped her hand to her mouth. She suddenly felt sick. Her stomach lurched. She fought to keep her dinner down.

I'm changing. My body is changing. My hearing is becoming…inhuman. Oh my God. I can hear a squirrel's footsteps.

She shut her eyes and listened hard. Concentrated.

She could hear breathing. Mikey, asleep, breathing slowly, steadily, in his room downstairs.
And she could hear her dad, humming softly to himself, probably reading a book in bed. His stomach growled. She could hear his stomach growl all the way up in her garage room!

Where is Livvy?

Livvy and I have
got
to talk. We don't have time to waste.

She picked up the phone and punched in Livvy's cell number. Livvy answered on the second ring. “Where are you?” Destiny asked.

“You know. Donohue's.”

“Well, come home now. We've got to talk.”

“But it's still early, Dee.”

“No. Come home, Liv. Right now. There's no time for hanging out with friends. We've got to make a plan.”

Livvy hesitated. Destiny could hear the crowd at the restaurant, the steady thump of the reggae music on the stereo there. “Okay. Be right home. Promise.”

Destiny clicked off the phone. She won't come for another hour or two. I know her. I'd better go get her.

She pulled on her denim jacket, brushed her hair, found her sneakers. Then she crept out of the house.

She stepped out into a cool, cloudy night. The wind gusted, sending dead leaves swirling off the ground in wide circles. Donohue's was just five or six blocks toward town. Destiny zipped her jacket and started to jog.

Three blocks from home, she saw a figure walking toward her on the sidewalk. “Livvy!”

“Hi,” her sister called. “What are you doing out here?”

“Coming for you,” Destiny answered, breathing hard from her run.

Livvy frowned. “I told you I'd be right home.”

Destiny shrugged. “I just wanted to get some air.”

“I'm a little worried about Bree,” Livvy said.

“How come?”

“Well, she said she was coming to meet us. But then she never showed. I tried her cell, but…no luck.”

“Weird,” Destiny muttered.

They turned and started walking toward home. The moon kept sliding behind clouds, then reappearing, making it seem as if the pale light over the lawns and houses kept turning on and off.

“Can you hear it?” Destiny asked. “Can you hear every leaf rustling? Can you hear bugs crawling in the trees?”

Livvy's mouth dropped open. “Yes. Yes, I can, Dee. It's…terrifying. Every sound so clear. As if the whole world is closing in on us or something.”

As if we're some kind of animals, Destiny thought. Some kind of night creatures.

Destiny pointed. “Hey, what's that?”

They had reached the vacant lot just cleared next to the corner house. Destiny squinted at something on the ground beside a large backhoe. Was it a pile of rags the workmen had left behind?

No. The clouds parted. Moonlight washed over the lot, revealing a pale, white leg.

No. Two legs, gleaming so brightly against the darkness of the ground.

Destiny's eyes focused on the pile of blond hair, silvery in the pale light from above. And then the whole scene faded like a dream, and the sprawled, still figure appeared to sink into the ground as clouds covered the moon and darkness spread again.

“Oh, no. Bree!” Livvy let out a choked whis
per and took off running, her sneakers thudding the ground, hair bouncing behind her. Destiny took a deep breath and hurried after her.

Please, no.

But, yes. It was Bree.

She wore a short skirt and a brown leather jacket. She lay on her back, legs spread, one arm bent beneath her body. Her thick hair covered her face.

“Bree? Bree?” Livvy shouted her name in a high, shrill voice. “Bree? It's me.” She dropped down beside Bree and began smoothing the hair off her friend's face.

“Bree? Bree? It's Livvy. Bree?”

Breathing hard, Destiny stood behind Livvy, staring down at the unmoving girl. Bree's eyes were open. They gazed up blankly, wide with horror. Her lipsticked mouth was open, as if frozen in a scream.

“Bree? Please move. Please!” A sob escaped Livvy's throat. “She's…dead. She's dead, Dee. Oh my God, she's dead.”