Dead by Morning (Rituals of the Night Book 1) (20 page)

                                                                      Chapter Thirty-Five

Sarah’s bright eyes widened in surprise. She stopped walking in time to avoid crashing into Luna. Luna looked at her carefully and noticed the swollen puffy bags under her eyes. She had obviously been crying.

Sarah dipped her head to Luna politely to try to hide her original astonishment. “Hi, Luna.”

Luna almost couldn’t respond. She hadn’t thought it’d be so easy to find her. In all the times that she had come to study hall, she hadn’t remembered ever seeing her.

“Hi, Sarah. I haven’t talked to you in a while,” Luna finally managed to say.

“Likewise,” Sarah said squeezing through the space in the doorframe.

Sarah stayed there uncertainly, but after Luna didn’t say anything she began to walk away. Luna watched her as she began to walk across the room feeling torn. She thought she would’ve had at least another hour to try to plan things out. But the opportunity to ask Sarah seemed to have presented itself. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw she had four minutes left until class started.

Luna could talk to Sarah, but that would mean skipping some of first hour. Not having to deal with Chance sounded like Heaven, but if she wasn’t there, he would certainly be suspicious. What if he decided to come looking for her and saw her talking to Sarah?

Luna glanced back at Sarah again as she took a seat at one of the nearest tables and began rummaging through her bag for a notebook. She was here and she was alone…Luna couldn’t seem to have stumbled across a more perfect moment. She had to talk to her, she had to take the chance. Luna walked over to the table and cautiously pulled out the chair across from Sarah. Luna looked up and a gentle smile touched her lips. It filled Luna with relief, and she smiled back.

“So, have you heard about Susan?” she asked her quietly as she sat down.

Sarah nodded. A sad look covered her face, and darkened her bright eyes. “Yeah, I was the one that reported her missing. On top of that, everyone in school is talking about it. As if that’s not bad enough, the cops were at my house yesterday questioning me for hours about her because it seems that they’re stuck without any leads in the case.”

“Really? I’m sorry about that…” Luna said uncertainly, worried that she was messing around with a touchy subject far too soon to get out the information that she needed. “I thought they would’ve had some kind of idea after what happened to Kate.”

“They think that whoever took Kate is responsible for Susan as well,” she whispered, not seeming offended by her questions like Luna feared. “I guess that means that Susan is as good as dead.” She sniffled and a tear ran down her pale cheek. “That’s the way the cops were questioning me.”

“Hey, we don’t know that for sure,” Luna said in her best attempt to comfort Sarah. She had a gut feeling that if the same person
was
responsible for both Kate and Susan then she was done for.

“Nobody’s too optimistic about it.” Sarah sighed sadly. “A lot of them don’t really even care, they’re acting like Susan’s already been buried which I can’t understand at all.”

Luna looked at her with a sympathetic gaze though she couldn’t think of a thing to say. She knew why they were all being so cold. Because Chance was. They followed him without question; whatever he felt, they felt. He didn’t care, so of course none of them would.

“But I do get that they have no real reason to be optimistic,” Sarah continued on anyways, unaware of Luna’s thoughts. “Oh! I hope that she’ll be okay. I mean she’s my only sister. Maddie doesn’t think too positive of it, but like I said, nobody does really. I’m trying my best to keep up the hope that she’ll be found okay anyways. I mean people go missing all the time, and turn up days later okay, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of that happening before,” Luna tried to say hoping that Sarah wouldn’t lose her hope. Inside, Luna knew it was pointless. “She could turn up at anytime.”

Sarah nodded and a bit of hope seemed to sparkle in her eyes. “That’s what I’m hoping will happen. I’m hoping that she won’t end up like Kate.”

“That’s good. I think she’ll be okay. I mean she’s a strong girl. If something bad happened, she’ll figure out a way to get out of it and come back to us.”

Sarah nodded and sniffled again but didn’t speak. Luna couldn’t tell if she was glad for her hopeful words or not. The bell announcing the start of first hour rang suddenly, and Luna knew that Chance would notice her absence. There was no turning back now. She was here, and she would stay here until she could get what she needed.

“Can I ask you something?” Luna said partially wondering how she’d react.

“Yes, of course,” Sarah replied leafing through the pages of her notebook.

“Do you know where she was before she disappeared?”

“Ugh.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You sound like the cops.”

“I’m sorry,” Luna said feeling instantly mortified.

She should’ve guessed that Sarah wouldn’t answer that so easily…at least not when she was already so wrapped up in her grief. In the back of her mind, Luna wondered if she should’ve just went to class and kept her mouth shut.

“No, it’s okay to wonder. You were her friend too, it’s fair of you to be curious,” she sighed again as if she didn’t really believe the words that she had just said. “She was really withdrawn for the few days before she disappeared. She stopped talking to anyone, and when I asked her what was wrong, she said it was Kate’s death. I think it was something else. I don’t know for sure where she was before she disappeared, but the last time I saw her she was leaving to go hang with that Chance Welfrey.”

Luna sat there, staring at her without a single thought of what to say. She wasn’t really surprised, but her heart seemed to sink into her chest anyways. Sarah’s words were a confirmation to what she already knew.

Chance had taken Kate and Susan just like Max and Luna had suspected. Chance was behind the trail of missing girls, and nobody else even had a clue.

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~

Luna talked to Sarah for about ten more minutes, trying to make small talk so that Sarah wouldn’t see the horror in her eyes. Luna didn’t want her to think anything of it so she racked her brains for anything small to keep a normal conversation in place. She finally decided to go to class. Maybe Chance wouldn’t notice how late she was. Luna politely ended the conversation with Sarah, and she seemed glad to get rid of her. Luna stood up from the table and left her alone to study as she crossed the room.

As Luna neared the door, Amy looked up at her from her book and casted a glance towards Sarah. Luna could see the curiosity there, but Amy didn’t say anything. She looked back down at her book, and Luna shrugged off her curiosity as she continued her journey out the door. She walked down the silent halls and into her classroom.

It was bustling with activity with kids pacing about and chattering wildly like a bunch of squirrels. The class seemed to be in total disarray, and Luna wondered what was going on as she walked into the room slowly. Mr. Katerwall looked up at her from his desk at the sound of her quiet approach; an un-amused expression wore heavily on his face.

“How nice of you to join us, Miss Ketz,” he said. “We’re in the middle of a group activity right now, take your seat and find out from someone what you’re supposed to be doing. You’re already well late.”

She looked at the class again. All the desks were filled with chattering, loud kids already bundled up in their groups. All the desks were occupied except for one, one lone desk in the middle of the room that appeared to be forgotten. As she walked towards it, she let her eyes drift to the desk behind it knowing what she’d see.

Chance was there, of course. His face was propped up by one hand as he leaned his elbow on the desk. He sat there completely disconnected from the activity in the room. He had obviously been waiting for her to arrive (which meant he had been keeping careful count of the minutes she had been absent). He watched her with cold blue eyes, an angry shadow burning with hatred.

Luna tossed her backpack beneath the desk and sat down slowly in the chair as she prepared herself to hear him ask where she had been. She sat sideways in the hard chair so that from the corner of her eye she could see Chance and out of her other she could see Mr. Katerwall at his desk. Chance was staring at her, unreadable emotions in his eyes and on his face. Luna guessed he was waiting for her to acknowledge him. Finally, she brought herself to look at him.

“Where were you?” he said instantly dropping his hand off of his face as he stared at her. His voice was a strained whisper, and she recognized the tone there. He wasn’t in the mood to be his “good boy”. He was upset and not very good at hiding it.

“I was in study hall, and I guess I just lost track of time,” Luna said shrugging. “It was no big deal. I’m not that late anyways.”

“You’re never late,” he pointed out. “Don’t play me. Last time I checked, your grades and attendance are always a big deal. What were you up to?”

Luna looked down at her hands and picked at the skin on her fingers nervously. She didn’t know how to respond.

She could hear his desk creak as he leaned towards her. “I know you’re lying to me, Luna,” he whispered in her ear.

She whipped her head up to look at him as she locked her gaze onto his. “I’m not lying.”

“Uh-huh. I guess I’m gonna have to end up telling David that you aren’t being very co-operative with his punishment then, huh,” he said. “That’s fine. Who knows? He might even make your punishment longer since it seems that that’s what you want.”

She gritted her teeth. He was playing hardball. The likelihood was that he would win, he always won.

“All right, fine, you got me.” She sighed in exasperation as she realized that sometimes the best solution is the easiest.

His eyes glittered in triumph, but for once he didn’t say a word as he waited for her to continue.

“I was in study hall, but not to study. I was talking to Sarah.”

“Sarah Cross?”

“A girl that I talk to sometimes. We haven’t talked in a while so I thought I’d say hi, and I kind of lost track of time.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. Inside, he could sense that she wasn’t telling him the whole truth, but he had nothing to call her out on. He had no choice but to accept it…for the moment anyways.

“Alright, fine. But this is exactly why I don’t leave your side. You can’t be trusted on your own,” he said as he twisted a small yellow pencil between his fingers.

“I do just fine,” Luna said curtly turning back towards her own desk. “It’s when you harass me that bad stuff happens.”

“Without me, there’s no one to keep you in line. I leave you alone one time, and you manage to be twenty minutes late to class,” he snorted.

She didn’t turn to look at him. “Things happen. I can’t control everything.”

Instantly, she could feel the sharp point of the pencil in the middle of her back. She turned in time to see him clench his teeth, and his cheeks began to flush with different shades of red as anger filled him. She stood up, glad to get the pencil tip out of her back, and Chance’s hate-filled eyes were focused on her.

She picked up her backpack and walked away from him to find a group on the other side of the room before he had a chance to say another word.

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~

Chance watched Luna cross the room; he couldn’t believe what she had told him. Even under his surveillance, his watchful eye, she had found a way to slip away long enough to get in contact with Sarah. He knew the two weren’t friends, no matter what lies Luna said. They only had one thing to talk about.

                                                                      Chapter Thirty-Six

Luna found that crossing the room in first hour had proved to be a big mistake. When Chance got angry, he was more likely to act out. She found that out the hard way. She was patiently waiting for the bell to ring, for it to be lunch, but time didn’t seem to be on her side. She sat staring at the clock, nearly
willing
time to move, but it wouldn’t. It never moved when she was around Chance.

“-and I’m sure David will let me stay over,” Chance was rambling on from the desk behind her.

Luna tried her best to block it out, to save her sanity. Lunch was only five minutes away. She honestly had no idea what he was even talking about at the moment. She had managed to successfully block out most of his ramblings. She guessed he was saying anything that came to mind, desperate to get a reaction from her.

“Maybe I could even spend the night, who knows,” Chance said and frowned at the back of her head. “Hey, are you listening?”

Four minutes,
Luna thought to her herself,
four lousy drawn out minutes.

Chance stared at her, despite everything, she still could ignore him. He picked up his pencil and turned it in his fingers. When he was finished with his plan, she wouldn’t be able to ignore him.

Luna bit her lip not knowing how else to express her frustration. One minute left. One measly minute, but it seemed the longest one yet. And finally the bell. She grabbed her books and hurried out of the room to lunch with Chance right behind her. She wanted to talk to Violet. She had seen surprisingly little of her friend since she and Max had visited her house on Saturday.

Luna got her lunch, and Chance clung to her in the line again. She looked around for Violet, but to her surprise she didn’t see her friend. It wasn’t like her to take a day off of school, but maybe she had finally fallen asleep. Crestfallen, Luna sat down at the nearest table, and picked at her food with her cheap plastic utensils.

Chance could sense the mood change. “Are you okay?”

She ignored him as she put a tiny bite of the cheap food into her mouth. What was the point of answering? It was just her and Chance alone again.

                                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~

Violet came to lunch twenty minutes late thanks to Ms. Sable. She had yelled at her for her less than average grades which Violet had argued was the best she could do since it had been too many days count of no sleep. When Violet entered the cafeteria, she noticed Luna and Chance sitting together at a table by themselves.

Luna was picking despondently at her food, not bothering to look up. Chance was sitting close beside her, just watching her. He had a tray in front of him as well, but for the time that Violet watched, he didn’t seem to eat any. It was creepy, the way he shadowed her, Violet could see that all the way across the room. She wanted to go over there, talk to her best friend, and help her get away from that mental freak.

Violet remembered back to Saturday, when he had threatened her (actually
cut
her, her mind was careful to remind her). She knew he was mentally unstable, but he was serious about what he had said. Her cut burned at the memory; she couldn’t image the pain of it being the last thing she’d ever feel.

So, Violet stood there contemplating between sitting with her friend and choosing a table away from her on the other side of the room. A spot where she knew that she’d be safe. She took a step towards Luna’s table but stopped again. Besides looking depressed, she noticed that her friend seemed otherwise okay. Violet stared at her for another moment longer before she turned away to head to another table.

She was ashamed with herself for once again choosing herself over her friend, but fear made her think that avoidance might just be the best choice that she had. It was no different for Luna when she had refused to press charges against Chance. Sometimes the logical solution didn’t always seem like the best one.

                                                                      ~~~~~~~~~

Luna hadn’t wanted Chance to give her a ride home from school. She had insisted on walking home, but he had somehow managed to get her in the truck anyways. She pouted the entire way, hoping that maybe he’d get tired of her. He drove her all the way home. When they got there, Luna hopped out of the truck before it had even slowed down all the way.

“Hey, wait for me!” she heard him call.

She didn’t listen as she ran towards the house. David looked at her from his place on the couch as she busted through the door. He looked unsure of her.

“Luna, are you okay?” he asked her worriedly.

“I’m just peachy,” she replied bitterly not bothering to look at him. She knew he didn’t care either way as long as she was following his orders. No matter what Luna said, David would verify it with Chance. When Chance talked, people were more likely to believe him for some reason that Luna didn’t understand.

She stormed into the kitchen and set her backpack down on the table. She glanced out the window as she stood there. She could see Chance just getting out of his truck. He seemed like he was taking his time. Luna glanced at the phone as it hung on the wall a few feet away. She knew she needed to talk to Max about what was happening, and she might not have another opportunity to do so.

Without wasting another second of her precious time, she picked up the phone and dialed the number as quickly as she could manage. She held it to her ear as it began ringing. Each ring seemed to drag out. She watched Chance begin to walk up the path to the front door. The phone rang again, and after the third ring there was still no answer from the other end of the line.

“Hello?” Max’s voice finally answered.

“Max,” Luna said in relief. “I need to tell you-“

Suddenly, she felt the phone get ripped out of her hand before she could finish her sentence. She turned to see Chance glaring at her with all of his rage as he held the phone to his ear.

“She can’t talk to you. Don’t ever call her again or I’ll find you,” Chance snarled without moving his eyes off of her as he hung up the phone loudly.

Luna frowned and looked at him defiantly. “Why’d you do that? Max is my
friend.
You can’t do this.”

“You know you’re not supposed to be on the phone when you’re grounded…especially with
him
,” Chance said and he spat Max’s name as if he were a disease.

“What do you have against Max?” she asked him. “He’s my best friend.”

He looked back at her and didn’t seem fazed. “I don’t see why.”

“You don’t even know him,” she growled at his untenable response.

“I don’t want you around him anymore,” he said matter-of-factly.

Luna frowned. “What are you my father now? You can’t tell me what to do even if David says otherwise.”

“I’m your supervisor, remember? As long as you’re grounded, my word is your law,” he said. “If you don’t want to listen to me then David will tell you to do the exact same thing that I do. You know what I have to do to get him to forbid you from talking to Max? All I have to do is tell him that he’s the reason you started drinking.”

“You wouldn’t dare do that to me,” she snarled at him.

“You know damn well I would. Now, hear me out, and we won’t have any more problems. As long as you’re grounded, you’re forbidden to talk to Max,” he growled back at her.

Luna looked up at him and scowled. It was like he was trying to change her whole life. He couldn’t get her to stop talking to Max forever. He may have won this time, but she’d win the next round.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” Chance snorted as he looked down at her. “You can talk to me about anything that’s bothering you. You don’t need him.”

She sighed and turned away from him. His words had been meant as gentle, but they made her fill with anger. She needed to talk to Max, not this arrogant, crazy piece of work! Without him, she couldn’t think of a way to stop Chance’s miserable haunting dreams. There was no way she could talk to Chance about them. He wouldn’t help her take himself down.

“No, I can’t talk to you,” Luna said bluntly.

Another thought crossed her mind suddenly. Was the dream dog still roaming their land free? If it was, she was sure it’d still be hunting Max. He’d still be in danger no matter where he went. She remembered the nasty gash he had shown her yesterday. Did Chance want her to stay away from Max so that his dogs could kill him? Or was it already too late to save Max from sharing Kate and Susan’s fate?

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~

Max stared at the phone that went dead in his hand. That voice; that cruel malicious voice had sounded a lot like Chance’s. Could it be? Could he have gotten to Luna in the time that he had left them alone? Max frowned, wondering what had happened to his friend when he left. He decided that maybe he didn’t want to know because he could guess that whatever happened was nothing good.

He found himself wishing with all his might that his tiny friend would be okay. If not, well than he would have to fight Chance on his own. He knew very well that if he had to fight one on one against Chance, he didn’t have a prayer.