Destined to Kill: A Destined Novel (Destined Novels Book 1) (9 page)

Lunch with Amanda had been interesting. She stuffed her face with Jake's famous juicy burger and fries while she talked non-stop about Robby and their long, non-existent love affair. I tried to listen, but a dull ache had replaced the sharp pain I had felt in the school cafeteria. It was a familiar feeling, but I didn't want to think of why. We had left school to get away from the watchful eye of Mr. Galloway, however for some reason I still felt like I was being watched. Of course, Amanda was annoyed with me because my attention was not completely on her. I apologized, telling her I had cramps and just needed to go home and get some rest. She reluctantly forgave me–I think.

The cramps excuse wasn't exactly a lie. I just don't know why I'm having them now. Today has been very odd, I decide. I haven't felt this connected to my past in a very long time and, frankly, I don't like it.

A nap. That should help. I will merely sleep off the cramps and the odd feelings. Seems reasonable enough. I'm feeling optimistic as I head towards my bedroom. Then I feel the pain again, and it brings me to my knees. This time, with the pain, came a craving I haven't felt in so long that I almost don't recognize it.

"What in the hell is going on," I whisper in the empty bedroom. I concentrate on my surroundings, willing myself to remain in the present and not slip back into my past. Taking deep breaths, I wait for the pain to subside. I sit there, rocking on the floor, holding my stomach. The hunger makes my head pound, my eyes burn and my teeth ache. Crap. This can't be good at all.

"Get a grip, Ana. You're just thinking about the past because of what happened in school today. Let it go." I crawl to my bed and pull myself up into it. Pulling the covers over my head, I wait - and pray - for sleep to come.

The cool breeze caresses my face as I creep down the dark alley. Unfortunately, it carries with it the stench of the garbage that lines the way. My boots click on the street, eerily echoing as I hum a cheery tune that doesn't quite fit the scene. I sense the group of guys watching me from the dead end, and I know exactly what I am walking into. It's what I want.

There are five of them and they look menacing enough with their tattoos and piercings. They're all big–either muscular or just fat–and I would guess that each of them had to be near the 300lb mark. Perfect. Their smiles are ominous and I can hear them making vulgar suggestions about what they want to do to me. They're speaking in broken English and Spanish, but I understand every word, as well as their intentions. It's not too difficult to know what they want from the beautiful girl who's stupid enough to walk down the dead end street by herself. Obviously, I am asking for it.

"Hey there, Mami. You come here looking for some fun, you found it." This comes from what looks to be the ring leader of the pack. He's huge and muscular and has a face that I don't even know his own mother could love. When he smiles, I can see he has a diamond grill. At least that's what he wants everyone to think, but I can tell–even from this distance–that the diamonds are actually fake. So, he's a guy who wanted to seem more important than he really is.

I force myself to look timid. "I'm just out for a walk. I don't want any trouble," I say quietly.

"No trouble here," he laughs. "Just a good time."

I start to back away as they come towards me, at the same time I brace myself for what I know is coming. "I'm sorry I interrupted your...meeting. I'll just go back this way."

"But you came all this way," another one says from behind the leader. "Look, we got beer and everything." He lifts the six pack he's carrying to show me that he's telling the truth.

"I don't drink. But, th-thank you," I say, making myself stammer with fear. I hear the faint click of one of the guys opening a knife. Even better. They start circling me like vultures and keep discussing their plans, though I'm not listening anymore. I focus, instead, on the best way to go about taking out the biggest first, then working my way through the rest.

"I get her first," the ring leader is saying, and then quickly makes a grab for me. Anticipating his move, I - with blinding speed - jump up and over him. While in the air, I grab his head between my hands and, with a quick twist, I break his neck. As his limp body falls to the ground, I come down beside him and sink my teeth into his neck. I can hear the rest of the gang either getting sick or shouting for me to get off of their leader. My head snaps up and I snarl at them, my white eyes a sharp contrast to the red blood dripping off my fangs.

"No!" I shot up in bed, a cold sweat rolling down my back. My entire body is shaking as I struggle to gain control. I look around frantically, wiping at my mouth. When I see there's no dark alley, no blood, I regain a bit of composure. "Just a dream," I say in the darkness, although, somehow it doesn't make me feel any better.

The relentless pounding that I think is my heart pounding in my ears turns out to actually be someone banging on my front door. When the noise finally registers in my cluttered mind, I reluctantly get up. I wrap a blanket around me, still feeling chilled to the bone by my dream, and pray it's not the police coming to arrest me.

"Who is it?" My voice sounds like I've been gargling sand.

"Ana? Open up!"

Confused, I open the door. "Zac? What are you doing here?"

"Seeing if you're alive! Jeesh, maybe you could answer phone calls or something once in a while." He pushes his way into my apartment without invitation.

"What are you talking about? I'm not feeling well, so I took a nap. I guess I did not hear my phone." As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure where my phone is. "Why are you here?" I ask again as I begin searching for my missing phone.

I freeze in the middle of my search. If Zac is here and I've apparently missed many calls, that had to mean... "Oh my God, is something wrong? Is Amanda okay?"

"Ana, everyone is fine. We're just worried about you." Zac looks at me as if I have gone completely insane.

Once I hear everyone is okay, I go back to rummaging around for my phone. I'm not quite sure what else to do. Zac being here - along with my dream still being on my mind–has seriously made me feel that I
have
gone completely insane. "If everyone is fine, then
why
are you here, Zac?"

"Are you kidding? Ana, no one has been able to get a hold of you..."

"Wait. So you come banging on my door and waking me up from my nap just because people haven't been able to get a hold of me for a couple of hours?"

"Hours? Ana, seriously, what is wrong with you?" Zac came up to me and put his hand on my forehead as if checking for a fever. "You haven't been to school for two days!"

I swat his hand away from me. "Stop being ridiculous." Two days. My nap couldn't have been more than one or two hours, tops. "There's no need to exaggerate. What is so damned important?"

"I'm not exaggerating, Ana. It's
Friday
!"

I roll my eyes. "I
wish.
That would mean I wouldn't have to put up with your shit at school tomorrow." I know being mean is unnecessary, but I'm really not in the mood for his crap right now. The cramps are still there, my head is still pounding and I am famished. And, I still can't find my damn phone!

Zac sighs dramatically. "Look, I offered to come over here because Amanda has her date with Robby tonight. She was going to cancel, but I told her I'd check up on you instead."

"Amanda's date is Friday night," I offer absently.

"
Exactly!
" Zac all but screams the word at me. I turn to look at him, his expression is...well, hard to describe. When I say nothing, he gets even more frustrated and digs his phone out of his pocket. "Here! Look at the date!"

I take the phone–still wondering where mine was–and look at it. Stare at it. That can't be right. Friday. "Did you change the date on this?"

"Ana, you just saw me take it out and hand it right over to you. Turn on the TV. Call information. Do whatever you need to do to understand that it's been two days since anyone has heard from you."

"That's impossible. Zac, I don't remember..." I pause, trying to think about the last thing I
did
remember. Was I wearing the same clothes? If it's been two days, have I eaten? Have I been sleeping the whole time? Why was there a huge hole in my memory? "What was I wearing the last time you saw me?"

"Sorry, Ana, I'm a guy. I don't really look at what a girl is wearing. Maybe you could ask Amanda. I told her I'd have you call her as soon as I made sure you were still alive."

"I'm still alive," I say, though even to my own ears, I don't sound very convinced. "I'm sorry I worried everyone." I sit on the couch and push my hand through my hair–which I'm pretty sure resembles a birds nest. Zac sits next to me, and puts his hand on my thigh. Normally I would push his hand away knowing how he'd like to cop a feel, but there was nothing sexual in the touch. It was–concern.

"I'm worried about you, Ana. At first, I thought you were just playing hooky. No one to get on to you since you're emancipated, right? Amanda told me how you were freaked out by Galloway, so I thought maybe you just wanted to stay away for a while. But, when we weren't able to get a hold of you...you should've answered your phone."

His reprimand reminds me that I still haven't found my phone. "I don't know where it is," I tell him wearily.

"I'll dial it," he says softly and takes his phone back from me. He punches a number and waits. "It's ringing."

I get up and walk around the small apartment trying to listen for it, but hear nothing. If it has been two days, the battery could be dead or I could've left it on vibrate. Whatever the case, I don't hear it. "It's okay," I shrug. "I'm sure I'll find it." With days missing out of my memory, not knowing where my cell phone was is the least of my problems. "Listen, Zac, don't tell Amanda about this."

He walks over to me. "If something is wrong, she'll want to help."

"I don't even know what's wrong. Let me figure it out first, then I'll tell her. Tonight is really important to her and I don't want to mess it up."

"You sure?" Zac doesn't look convinced that he shouldn't say anything to my best friend about my lapse in memory.

"I'm sure. Just tell her that I lost my phone and I'm sorry I skipped out for a while." I think for a moment. "Tell her that what you thought was right. I just wanted to get away from Galloway."

"Fine. But, I'm still worried about you, Ana. If this happens again, promise me you'll call me or go somewhere and get some help."

"I promise." Zac's a couple of inches taller than me, so I have to get on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Weakness - either from not eating or too much sleep - makes me fall into him. He catches me, but doesn't immediately let me go, and I don't make a move to get away. Instead, I reach up again and kiss his mouth.

My kiss shocks him as much as it does me. But, I can't seem to help myself. It's like I don't have control of my actions. I deepen the kiss, moving my body into his. Even if he wanted to resist, I don't give him a chance. I tug him towards the couch and pull him down on top of me. This snaps Zac out of his shock, and he starts to become more enthusiastic with the kissing - and with his hands. My own actions become more intense, and I dig my hands in his hair as he kisses my neck, nipping it with his teeth. The feeling of his teeth scraping against my skin is erotic to me, and it releases that hunger in me that I have tried to suppress for many years. I can feel the change coming on. Of course, deep down, I knew it shouldn't be happening, but it doesn't stop me from feeling that familiar feeling. It's a feeling I hated, and have been so glad - and lucky - to be rid of. At least, I thought I had been rid of it. But, here, with Zac moving on top of me, kissing my neck, it takes over. My eyes fly open and I know, without seeing them, what they look like. I know they're white, rimmed with a blood red and hold a hunger in them that can never be fully satisfied. I pull his hair making him turn his neck towards my mouth. As I bare my teeth, ready to sink them in his golden skin I hear the words in my head.

"
Fight it, Anala!
"