The Emerald Talisman (17 page)

“Can we change the subject? This is really
starting to bother me.”

“I know this must be so hard for you,” Sam
said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

“Did you hear about the reporters that tried
to come on campus?” Katie announced, oblivious to my request.

I glared in her direction.

“No way,” Dena said.

“I guess the principal made them go away, but
they tried to interview some students about what happened,” she
continued, proud of her juicy little tidbit.

“This is getting totally out of hand,” I
said, meaning both the drama and Katie’s continued
interjections.

At the same time the bell rang and I was the
first to get up. Sitting in class, even Algebra would be better
than rehashing all the ugly details.

But class wasn’t the escape I desired. People
still gossiped behind my back and their overwhelming feelings of
curiosity gnawed on me. I almost got up and left when the girls
next to me wouldn’t stop gawking and whispering to each other. They
finally stopped when I glared at them.

In Spanish though, Mrs. Valenzuela put her
foot down and wouldn’t allow any extra talking unless it was in
Spanish. It almost felt like a normal day until the announcement
came that the homecoming game was postponed. The entire class went
into a frenzy and blamed the administration for overreacting.

I was amazed they’d do something so drastic,
but at this point, keeping drama to a minimum would be Mr.
Brewster’s modus operandi. The game, though, was the least of my
worries. My only tie to homecoming would be helping Sam get ready
for the dance tomorrow night.

When the bell finally rang, I ducked out
before anyone could corner me. I wanted to be far away from the
school drama and the quicker the better.

Nobody was home when I arrived to change and
get ready for work. I was earlier than I had expected, so I had a
little bit of time to kill before heading out.

The setting sun left the sky a beautiful
display of vibrant purple and pink hues so I grabbed a bowl of
cereal to eat on the back porch and enjoyed the view. The quiet
breeze played against the trees and the birds sang the day away. I
closed my eyes and listened to the creek gurgle along.

All the weight of the events of the past week
pressed heavily on my heart. I had no idea anyone’s life could be
so complicated. In a short time, I’d managed to meet two terrific
guys and lose them both without explanation. I didn’t know if I
could handle any more pandemonium.

A single tear trickled down my cheek and I
tried to hold back the emotions I couldn’t seem to keep stuffed
down. What I really needed was answers.

What did I do to have this chaos in my life?
Why was this happening to me?

I feared I’d never know the truth or ever be
able to get over Nicholas fully, even though I’d said my goodbyes
at the cliff’s edge. In time, I hoped I’d stop thinking about him
so much, but something in me craved the completeness he made me
feel the night of the fall and I couldn’t help it. Even when I
dwelled on the mean things he said outside the theater, as soon as
I let my guard down, the longing would come back — almost like his
presence was the missing puzzle piece to happiness I’d been looking
for all my life.

I could still feel his strong body carrying
me up the hill, his touch when he brushed aside my hair, his
tenderness and concern when I fought going to the emergency room.
He ruined all future relationships for me because no one could
compare. And the sad part was, in one small lifesaving gesture,
he’d managed to capture my heart and had no idea.

I hated him for it.

And then there was Phil. I knew he was in
trouble and for some reason afraid to go home. I constantly worried
about him. But then, I was banned from ever being his friend. There
was no escape.

I wanted to throw my cereal bowl and smash it
into a million pieces. More than anything I needed to talk to
someone who would understand and give sound advice – someone who
would tell me I’d survive – someone who had been through what I was
going through – someone like a mom. The tears flowed down my cheeks
and splashed into my bowl. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and I felt
so tired.

If only I could just stay home tonight.

I drug out my pity party as long as I could
before I walked into the house. I washed my face with water, blew
my nose and tried to cover up my red cheeks with a little make-up.
The puffy eyed girl in the mirror smiled and conveyed things would
work out. It had to.

When I arrived at work, everyone was happy to
see me. It was my first day back since the accident. No one said
anything about my red eyes, so I assumed my blotchy face had
returned to normal. I wore a smile on my face but had a burden in
my heart as I put on my apron and got behind the counter to take
orders.

The evening was slow, which wasn’t typical
for a Friday night. Everyone blamed the countywide curfew. I really
wanted to keep busy, so I asked if I could organize the
storeroom.

Once I saw the mess, I wished I hadn’t
volunteered. Straws, napkins, silverware and condiments were
everywhere and needed to be consolidated to make room to stock the
missing items. But eager to distract myself, I got right to work.
It felt good to dive into a mind-numbing project. When I was done I
gathered up the bag of trash I’d accumulated and headed for the
dumpsters out back. As I neared the back door I sensed
something.

Evil lurked outside in the alley. I looked
out the peep hole expecting something horrific, but didn’t see
anything. Convinced my recent drama had me overly spooked, I slowly
opened the door and peered out.

The events I witnessed unfolded like a scene
from a scary movie. Three tough-looking guys in leather trench
coats approached a lone guy who had his back to me. Their voices
were hushed, but confrontational, full of overwhelming confident
anger. Warning bells went off in my head to shut the door and get
help, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the showdown.

The ghostlike similarity of the thugs
translucent skin struck me odd as it strangely reflected the light
of the alley. And the inky blackness of their irises reminded me of
those of a shark, unfeeling and cold. I watched them shift their
glances from each other to the man they encircled, almost as if to
communicate a secret plan. Suddenly, the rage rose along with the
tension. They were about to strike.

I yelled in my mind for the lone man to run
knowing he didn’t stand a chance. But instead, he reached into the
folds of his jacket and pulled out a pointed stick, holding it in
his hand next to his side, poised ready to act.

The thugs began to laugh and mock him as they
tightened closer around but the lone guy did not move from his
position, fearless as ever.

I held my breath anxious to see what would
happen when I heard a “hey” coming from my general direction.

I almost looked behind me when I realized,
the sound came from my own throat. And before I knew it and against
my will, I’d stepped into the alley. The big door slammed shut and
locked behind me. I froze in terror.

All four men turned to look at the noisy new
intruder in the alley.

I blinked my eyes and began to process in
slow motion. I fearfully stared back at the shifty men wondering if
I should try to run for it. But my breath caught in my throat and
my knees grew weak when I focused on the face of the lone man. It
was someone I knew.

“Julia, watch out!” Nicholas called to me,
but it was too late.

Suddenly, I was knocked off my feet and one
of the thugs was on top of me, his hungry black eyes excited as he
growled like a tiger. I tried to scream but nothing came out. He
opened his mouth and licked his long, pointed, canine teeth.

“Hmmm… look who came for dinner,” he said
with a hiss and sniffed the air above my collarbone.

I forced my eyes shut and prayed the
nightmare would end when I felt him go limp and fall heavy, right
on top of me. I heaved him off and watched as he twitched with a
wooden stake protruding from of his back.

Not sure if he was actually dead or not, I
began to crawl away. He grabbed my arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he
demanded with a raspy voice.

I pulled with all my might to get away when
suddenly, fire spread out from the edges of the stab wound and
consumed his torso. The thug squealed as I yanked harder, ripping
his arm off his body in the process. I screamed and flailed my arm
with the smoldering appendage still gripping me tightly. The fire
continued to burn down like a candle’s wick towards my skin. But,
right before the flame reached me, his arm’s flesh disintegrated
into a plume of dust that flew everywhere. I looked back at the
rest of the thug’s body as he dissolved into a pile of ash.

I stifled a scream with my hand and watched
wide-eyed while the remaining pieces continued to sizzle. All that
was left was his greasy hand print on my arm. I rubbed violently
until it came off, surprised to discover my skin unharmed
underneath.

The sounds of fighting and destruction drew
my attention from the ashes to the other end of the alley. I
watched in fear for Nicholas’ life as the blur of what seemed like
twenty other animalistic men-creatures ambushed him. Every once in
a while, one would come flying out of the pack, slam into the
pavement, stand up unharmed, then jump back in. After a few
seconds, I realized it was the same two guys. They were hurling
themselves at him, biting and hissing, trying to get some sort of
contact. But Nicholas was faster and fought them off with a
graceful ease.

I sat mesmerized at how the incredible fight
looked; like a planned choreographed event. Nicholas was actually
having fun, while the thugs were just getting angrier because they
couldn’t defeat him.

And then, after I felt Nicholas’ boredom, he
whipped out two more stakes and in one fluid motion, stabbed them
both in the chest at the same time. And just like the first one,
they squealed and burned up in smoke too.

Nicholas was at my side before the stakes hit
the pavement.

“Are you okay?” he asked, cupping my elbow
and helping me stand up.

“OKAY? Am I okay? He… they’re…” My mind swam
in confusion. I just used my hands to motion to the scorched shells
of people.

“Did he hurt you?”

I blinked and shook my head, still tongue
tied and shaken.

“Just breath. It’s going to be okay.”

I furrowed my brow and slowly looked around
at the three piles of dust complete with wooden stakes. My head
started feeling woozy, so I grabbed the wall to steady myself.
Nicholas’ worry heightened.

“Julia, I know this is hard to comprehend,
but I can explain what you just saw,” he said slowly and
deliberately.

“Yes, you need to explain,” I whispered, my
voice shaking uncontrollably.

I realized I was breathing again.

“I’d prefer not to do it here. Can we go
someplace else?”

“Leave?” I questioned, afraid there were more
of them hiding around the corner. I only felt safe next to
Nicholas.

“Yes, someplace other than here?” he asked in
urgency.

“But... there could be more…” my voice
sounded frightened, raspy and broken.

“There’s no more, Julia. But it’s not safe
out in the open. Let’s go to my car.”

I took a few small steps forward and kicked a
bag of trash, the one I originally needed to throw away.

Work.
I’m still on the
clock
.

“I need to ask to leave early,” I
mumbled.

Nicholas gently put his arm around my waist
and directed me out of the alley to the front of the store. The
short walk got the blood moving into my limbs and I started to
think a little clearer.

“I’ll wait out here,” he suggested. I stared
blankly into his green eyes, managed to gain composure and pulled
open the door.

I don’t remember what I said, or how I
managed to collect my things and make it out of the store without
causing my manager alarm, but I did.

Nicholas escorted me over to his black
Chrysler 300, opened the passenger door and helped me get in. The
door shut and left me alone in the deafening quiet. I drew my feet
up onto the seat and hugged my legs. My heart was still beating a
mile a minute.

The word
vampire
kept ringing over and
over in my head and I wanted it to stop. I started to rock back and
forth. There had to be a rational explanation for what just
happened. Vampires were not real.

His door opened and he slid in, checking his
rearview mirrors carefully first before turning to me.

“I’d like to take you someplace so we can
talk, if that’s okay with you.”

I nodded, trembling, feeling a little safer
in his car.

“Can you please put on your seat belt?” he
asked while putting on his own.

I drew in a deep breath, straightened my legs
and complied with his request. Once the seat belt clicked, he
started the car, pulled out of the deli parking lot and headed
towards the highway.

“I owe you an apology Julia,” he started
off.

I turned my face towards him in disbelief.
This had to be Nicholas’ twin brother or an alter ego of the one at
the theater. Who did he think he was anyway? One moment he played
the shining hero and the next a horrible ogre. I wasn’t going to
fall so easily this time, even if I knew the apology to be
genuine.

“The night you almost fell off the cliff, I
had to lie to you about what happened. I really wanted to tell you
the truth, but I couldn’t, so I told you I’d killed a mountain
lion.” His voice was low and even, as if he chose his words wisely.
“What I actually killed was a vampire.”

I gulped. That was the first time the word
vampire
had been uttered out loud, confirming that they
truly existed. He hesitated when I didn’t respond.