Revamped (10 page)

On the ground, at the site where the figure had been lurking, I found a large, heavy, branch. It lay torn from the trunk of a thick maple tree, as if someone—
or
something
—exceptionally strong had ripped it away in anger. Feeling extremely uneasy, but grateful for the interruption the being had provided, I returned back to Ethan. To my relief, the moment had passed and we turned in for the night.

The day following our almost-kiss, things between Ethan and I were tense. We awkwardly avoided each other all morning, until he finally had to go into town for his shift at the diner. I was thankful for the distance between us, fully immersing myself into my work with the recruits. Things had taken a turn for the worse.

Much like the heavy storm clouds that had assembled over Angel Creek, the trainees were in dark, foul moods. Out of the blue, they seemed to have regressed to their former states of being. I caught Hunter attempting to take a sip from Mr. Johnson, the notorious town drunk whom he had somehow successfully lured to the cottage. Seth, on the other hand, stayed in his bedroom, refusing to come to training because his online game character was dumped by his virtual girlfriend. Brooke was sulking because the current Angel Creek High polls showed that she was behind her Prom Queen rival, Christy, by ten percent. Due to her immense fear of thunder, I couldn’t even get Sophie out of her room.

Even if I succeed in assembling the foursome, I knew that forcing the team to train while the members were in such negative states would only do more harm than good. I gave the recruits a day off, also allowing myself an opportunity to get away from the cottage and clear my head. I stormed into the forest, weaving through the trees without a particular direction in mind. Hot, heavy summer rain had started to fall, complementing my desolate mood. I picked up my pace until I was running in full sprint, my feet matching the swiftness of the thoughts darting through my mind.

I had grown up thinking there was no obstacle that I couldn’t overcome. If something was hard, I only worked harder until I had it under control. I knew that if I wasn’t successful in accomplishing this mission—a task that was supposed to be so simple—I would be a failure. Perhaps not in anyone else’s eyes, but certainly in my own. This was my chance to show my father that I was his daughter, strong and capable of the lifestyle he had trained me for. A chance to make him proud. And I was failing.

I increased my speed, the trees around me melting into one another as I sprinted by. The warm raindrops were no longer able keep up with me. I ran until my both my body and mind were completely depleted, finally collapsing in front of the grand white mansion I had visited on my first day in Angel Creek. I gasped, partly horrified by the realization that I had run all the way to Sebastian’s house, partly ashamed of my tear-streaked face and rain-soaked wardrobe.

My shame deepened, turning into mortification, when Sebastian appeared in front of me.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“No!” I shouted back over the loud rain.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing!”

“Do you want to come in? You’re getting wet.” His own clothes—a collared white dress shirt and black jeans—were becoming soaked with rainwater.

“No!”

To my surprise, he simply shrugged and lowered himself down on the wet ground beside me. We sat side-by-side, my knees tucked tightly into my chest, his long legs sprawled out in front of him. The rain was slowly letting up, but it was already too late for us both. My hair lay matted against my face and back, covering my mud-spattered clothes. Sebastian’s shirt was completely drenched, clinging tightly to his chest.

After a few minutes of listening to the raindrops, he finally broke the silence between us. “Dawn, what’s wrong?” he asked gently.

“Nothing.”

“Are you in trouble?”

“No.”

“Is it the training?”

“No.”

“Is it that Ethan guy? Did he do something?”

“No.” What did he know about Ethan anyway?

“Well, what is it?”

“Why should I tell you?” I challenged.

He raised his arms in defense. “Hey, you’re the one who came here, remember?”

Why had I come to Sebastian’s house?

“It’s not like you care anyway!” I said, burying my face in my knees.

“Perhaps I don’t,” he retorted, shrugging.

“Then don’t ask!”

Suddenly, Sebastian’s expression softened. “Hey, my pants are all grimy because of you,” he teased, smiling. “It’s the least you can do.”

I looked up at him, bewildered.
Was the always-somber Sebastian actually making a joke?
For the first time since I had met him, his gray eyes twinkled brightly, free of their usual hardness. He looked at me expectantly.

“I—” I began, then fell silent again.

I wanted to tell him that my worst fear of failing my father’s mission was slowly becoming realized. I wanted to share my frustration toward the four vampire trainees who sometimes acted excited about their positions as town guardians, while at other times seemed to personally resent me for it. I wanted to talk about the turmoil my almost-kiss with Ethan caused in my already conflicted mind. And, in this moment of weakness, I also wanted to get on my knees and plead with him to join our dismal, little group.

Instead, I took a deep breath and calmly asked, “Why don’t you want to join us?”

Sebastian gazed at me intently, but didn’t speak.

I narrowed my eyes, bringing my face closer to his. “Why?”

For a moment, we locked eyes, neither one of us daring to breathe. The storm had ceased, but the air around us crackled with a surge of charged energy.

“Why?” I repeated again, this time more urgently.

Sebastian looked away, his jaw tensing. He seemed to be struggling to find the right words for what he had to say.

Before he managed to form them, the shrill sound of my phone rang through the air. I jumped, startled by the loud buzz. I hadn’t had much use for the phone since arriving in Angel Creek, and the familiar tone suddenly sounded so alien.

“I have to take this,” I said, moving away. He looked relieved at the interruption.

The voice on the other line belonged to Ethan. “Dawn, it’s Hannah,” he shouted over the sound of Hannah’s loud sobs. “She’s in trouble. Can you meet us at the cottage?”

“Yes, of course,” I said, hanging up.

I turned back to Sebastian. “It’s Ethan,” I explained.

“Right.” Did I detect a flash of anger in his eyes?

“Our friend Hannah is in some kind of trouble. Do you want to come along?” I asked hopefully.

For a brief moment I thought he was about to say “yes”, but then he clenched his fists and stood up. “I’d like to Dawn, but I can’t. I just…can’t.” Any moment of tenderness we may have shared earlier had been long forgotten.

“Of course not,” I retorted bitterly.

I left without saying goodbye. As I sped off through the forest, I could feel his eyes on my back, watching me intently.

Back at the cottage, I was greeted by Hannah’s mess of bright red curls. She was standing on the porch, her bright blue eyes puffy and red. Ethan and the four vampires gathered around her, attempting to comfort the sobbing girl. Despite her distressed state, Hannah took one look at me and gasped.

“Wow!” Her jaw dropped as she took me in. “What happened to you?”

“Whoa, Dawn! Did you take a mud bath or something?” Brooke wrinkled her nose.

“I’m fine,” I assured them, trying to divert their attention back to the problem at hand. “What’s the matter?”

“Hannah was assaulted by a werewolf,” Ethan explained, as Hannah’s round eyes pooled with tears.

“It was horrible!” she sniffled, burying her head in Ethan’s shoulder.

“
A werewolf
? Are you sure?” I asked, perplexed.

Never, in the history of the werekind, had there been a recorded attack on a human. Yes, films and books were written about the dangerous, frightening wares, but in the real world, werewolves were serene creatures. In fact, they could be credited for the start of the hippie movement back in the early sixties. “Peace and Love to All
”
was the ware motto.

Exasperated, Hannah blew her nose into a tissue. “Yes, he was definitely a werewolf!”

“I didn’t even know those things existed!” Seth exclaimed.

“What did he look like?” Brooke asked. “Was he at least hot or was he, like, all wolfed out and hairy?”

“He looked like a normal human being.” Hannah began, deep in thought. “There definitely wasn’t anything hairy about him. Now that I think about it, he was actually really cute—dark complexion, green eyes, short hair, pretty muscular. Not as good-looking as you, Ethan, of course.” Hannah turned to Ethan with a smile.

“What did he do?” I quickly cut in before the conversation had a chance to veer completely off topic. “Did he hurt you?”

“Yes!” she cried, tearing up again. “He—he kidnapped Daisy!”

“Oh, no!” Sophie gasped. “Is Daisy your little sister?”

“No. Daisy is my baby! My poor, little baby!” Hannah was hysterical. “Oh, little Daisy!”

I looked at Ethan for clarification. He shrugged.

“So Daisy would be?” I gently asked.

“My puppy, of course! My baby Daisy is an adorable little maltipugchipoo!”

“So, uhh, what did this werewolf want with Daisy?”

“I have no idea! She’s never done anything to harm anyone. This werewolf jerk came to the diner when I was on my morning shift and gave me this note.” Hannah handed me a crumpled up piece of paper.

“If you ever want to see Daisy again, bring your vampire friends to the werewolf camp in Millwood at 6:00 p.m. tonight,” I read out loud, fighting my way through numerous spelling mistakes and accommodating for the grammatical errors. “It’s signed Leif the Werewolf and is followed by a couple of post-scripts—PS: Daisy is your dog. PPS: Tonight, as in, the night of today.”

“Lief sure sounds like a bright guy,” Ethan said sarcastically. “I didn’t get a good glimpse of him when he was in the diner, but I drove Hannah home to check on Daisy and she really is gone.”

“He probably slipped in through Daisy’s doggy-door. She must’ve been so frightened!” Hannah cried.

Hunter turned to me. “So what do we do now?”

“Well, technically, you four are the official guardians of Angel Creek. I suppose that role also extends to the town’s furry creatures,” I mused aloud. ”Now, we head to Millwood and help Hannah get Daisy back.”

How tough could this mission really be?
I thought. I was still in disbelief that a werewolf could be so malicious.

“Prepare for a fight, Werewolf Leif!” Seth shouted, jumping up and down excitedly.

“Not so fast!” I put out my hand to stop him. “We’re going to try to resolve this situation peacefully. I’m certain that this is all some big misunderstanding, and I’m really hoping to get us all there and back in one piece.”

“You’re no fun, Dawn!” Seth whined. “I want to show off my new super punch!”

“You mean the one you mastered in your video game?” Brooke teased.

“Please, like you’re any better, Miss I-Don’t-Wanna-Break-A-Nail?” Seth retorted.

Sensing that a fight was about to break out, I quickly ushered everyone into the cottage to gather supplies for our trip.

The distance to Millwood would have taken a strong vampire only an hour or so to run, but because we had two humans and some not-so-strong vampires in the group, we decided to pile into our cars for the two hour ride instead. I loaded Ethan’s pickup with weapons I hoped we would not need, and we set out on a race against the clock. It was already mid-afternoon and we had no time to spare if we were to make Leif’s deadline. I sped away in my convertible with Hannah, Sophie and Seth, while Ethan followed closely behind with Brooke and Hunter in his truck.

We reached our destination shortly before 6:00 p.m., barely giving us enough time to find the werewolf camp. The village of Millwood was small, only boasting a population of three hundred, but, unlike the town of Angel Creek, it spread over a wide area of land.

“Where is this werewolf camp?” Hannah asked anxiously, as we drove through the town.

“We should check the forest first,” I proposed. Werewolves, unlike vampires, lived in concealment from humans; often being teased for their inadequacy as supernatural beings.

It wasn’t long before I caught a distinct scent of wet, greasy fur emerging from the Millwood forest. I parked the car near a hiking trail, as Ethan pulled in beside me.

“We’ll have to walk the rest of the way in,” I explained to the group, grabbing the large weapons bag out of Ethan’s pick-up.
Just in case Lief caused any trouble.

“Be alert,” I instructed. “The camp will be well-hidden.”

We followed the scent through a winding maze of trees. After hacking through thick underbrush, we neared a clearing with a colorful sign welcoming us to
Camp Utopia
and wishing us a peaceful stay. Men, women and children of all ages milled around a campfire, some singing and dancing, others doing yoga—all laughing merrily.

A tall woman in a long, tie-dye dress approached us. She swayed from side to side as she walked, almost as if she was experiencing some sort of a trance. A colorful flower wreath rested upon her bright pink dreadlocks.

“
Namaste
, sisters and brothers,” she whispered, bowing her head.

Brooke rolled her eyes, mouthing a silent “Wow!”

“Namaste,” I replied, wishing that she would stay still.

“I am Rayne, head of the Millwood Werewolf Tribe,” she spun around with her hands up in the air, motioning at the people around us. “You can also call me Sunshine, if you’d like, for that is my middle name. Or, you can call me Rayne Sunshine. Or, if you’d like, you—”

“Okay,
weather woman
, we get it,” Hannah cut in impatiently. “We’re here on a very important matter. We’re looking for a puppy named Daisy. Do you know where she is?”

“
Hmm
…” Rayne mused. “I’m afraid we don’t have any ware pups named Daisy here. We have a few kids named Rose, one Magnolia and a Turnip, but no Daisy.”