Chapter 5

• Silence once again.
• For a moment I wondered if I'd imagined the crash, but the thought disappeared once I heard a thud from the room at the end of the hallway. The same direction of the crash. Now I knew this was a party and there was a chance the people in there were drunk and having a good time. I might be intruding.
• But that crash didn't sound like a good time.
• As if evoked by my thoughts, I heard a loud thud.
• My instincts screamed at me to stay back, but it was like my feet had a mind of their own. Slowly I stood and hesitantly made my way down to the room on the last row. What if someone was hurt? What if someone was getting...
• The thought brought an onset of nausea. I tamped down the sick feeling by focusing my attention ahead of me. Soon I was standing before the wooden door. I placed my hand on the wood, feeling slight vibrations from the other end.
• Setting my jaw, I grabbed the handle and gave a sharp twist.
• The scene in the room had me paling.
• A vampire had his arms clasped tight around a human female. In his state of desire, black claws had extended from his fingers and they dug into the arms of the woman. Trickles of blood snaked down.
• He had his fangs buried in the side of her neck, taking greedy pulls of her blood, his pale face flooding with colour. The woman moaned in pleasure, curling her whitening fingers into his broad shoulders.
• Bile rose to my throat and everything around me seemed to slow. To the silence of the hallway, I took one step back. A miniscule movement, barely louder than a whisper. But his head snapped to where I stood.
• A rush of panic raced up my throat when interest flooded his eyes. His eyes. I inhaled a sharp breath. They were flooded with black. The whites of them had taken on the colour of his pupils, and now they were barely distinguishable, bottomless.
• Stumbling away from the door, I turned and ran down to the main floor, my heart pounding in my ears. The music became louder with each distance I covered.
• Icy fingers skittered down my spine. I needed to get the hell out of here.
• Breaking into the packed dancefloor, I stopped, straining around the mass of rocking bodies. Purple strobe lights flashed around, a ray momentarily falling on me. Exhaling a sharp breath, I dove into the crowd--I literally swam through, my arms shooting out to dislodge bodies in a forceful arc.
• "Hey, watch it!" A pissed male.
• My reply was to shoot out my arms yet again, parting the sea of sweaty bodies.
• I exhaled a relieved breath once I got to open space, then, nervous, I threw a glance over my shoulder, half-expecting the vampire to have followed me. When I brought my gaze back ahead, it was to meet an empty bar.
• My nerves spiked and I scanned the wide floor, searching for Charlotte. Quickly I approached the vampire bartender. "My friend," I began without preamble, "the blonde girl I came in with. Have any idea where she went off?"
• Without looking up from the drinks he was mixing, he pointed a finger across the room. Following his pale hand, the space behind a wall became visible.
• Squinting, I made out Charlotte, with a man. They seemed to be in a contest to see who could swallow the other's face completely.
• Tearing away from the bar, I made a beeline towards them, keeping to the fringes of the room. Nearing the wall, I ran the rest of the way to her. "Charlotte," I said on a rushed breath, grabbing her hand.
• She swatted me away but I gripped harder, tugging her arm sharply. She disentangled from the man, who shot me an irritated look.
• Char's tipsy gaze fell on me and I pulled her to stand beside me, then I sent an apologetic look to the man she'd been with. "I'm sorry to interrup--"
• He flipped me off and walked away.
• Pissed, I yelled over the music, "Well--f*ck you too!" The curse sounded alien to my ears. I could almost feel mum's rebuking stare centering on me.
• Turning, I pulled Charlotte. "Come on."
• Drunk, she stumbled after me, slurring out, "Where arre we goiingg?"
• "Home."
• "But it's sstill earlyyy," she whined.
• "We have to leave."
• "Ughh," she groaned. "Why d'yu havvee ta ruin everythingg."
• Uncertain, I asked, "What?"
• I relaxed when she said, "He was reeallyy cuwe... Luckily I got his numberr. I was"--hiccup--"so gonna make Matt jealouuss."
• My hand tightened around hers. I continued steering her towards the exit.
• We bypassed the heavy bouncers, walking over to the lawn. Among several other cars, I spotted Charlotte's.
• The night air was tinged with the smell of cigarette and careless giggles. I pulled Char along with me until we got to her car. Letting her slip from my arms, I positioned her against the car. She slowly flopped to the side, her face pressed against the window.
• Going around, I wrenched the door open. I paused briefly when I saw Char's face meshed against the glass. Her flushed cheeks had caused humid splotches to form on the glass.
• She was saying something when I immediately drew her away from the car, opened the door and nudged her in.
• I went back around and got in, the hairs on my nape rising when I shot one final glance at the building.
• To the gradually thinning sound of heavy music, I pulled out of the lot and drove to the narrow strip of road leading to the freeway.
• As I drove further, an unsettling feeling dug into subconscious; I almost felt like I was being watched. Followed.
• The road ahead of me was mostly empty. This was a normal sight since the invasion, and I'd come to get used with it, comfortable.
• Tonight I felt nothing close to comfort.
• By the time I'd driven to an intersection, Char was sound asleep beside me. The car was silent.
• Minutes crawled by. Unable to bear the quiet any longer, I reached out and turned on the radio, brushing back a lock of hair that'd fallen forward due to the movement.
• Settling back, I focused on the road, my ears catching on to the sound of an ongoing news podcast.
• "...Thank you, Tanner. I'll take it from here"--a cleared throat--"Citizens of the Faulk County are to ensure their houses are heavily protected tonight. That's right, hang out those garlics and keep a wooden stake or two beside you! The Board of Vampires have reported an escape of rogues--"
• My throat dried up.
• Rouges were a division of vampires that were as good as animals; wild, crazed, and only relying on one base instinct-- to feed.
• To say they were dangerous was an understatement.
• Unconsciously my fingers went to my neck, disturbing the beads around it. A nervous habit.
• A sharp honk sounded, causing me to actually jump.
• Struggling to calm my breathing, I veered into another road, bringing my attention back to the podcast.
• The woman's cheerful voice was a large contrast to the grave nature of the news. "...And please, do insure to tell your friends, loved ones--and even those you don't get along with!--to be. At. Home. By. Ten."
• Street lamps shone down the winding road, illuminating the buildings off to the side. I grabbed my phone and my eyes fell on the screen. 9:38pm stared back at me.
• Tucking it away, I stepped on the accelerator, my heart drumming.
• __
• "Where amm aiii?" Char slurred as I threw her arm around my hunched shoulders, climbing up her front steps with great effort.
• "Home," I said, barely containing a wheeze.
• "Huh?" she mumbled.
• Reaching the landing, I fitted the key in. A sound to the right had me turning. One of Char's neighbours was heading out, a large trash bag in hand. I didn't recognize him. Well, I didn't expect to, given I never came around here often.
• Wrapping my arm around Char's surprisingly heavy weight, I hauled her in. Her neighbour didn't bat an eye at our awkward movements, and I wondered if this was a regular occurrence. Just how often did Char and her other friends hang out late?
• Not allowing myself anymore thoughts, I maneuvered her through her cluttered living room and up the staircase. She mumbled something incoherent beside me as I pushed open the door to her room.
• I briefly registered the gothic posters up on the walls, trudging down to her bed. I let her sit, then knelt and quickly took off her shoes, nudging her to a lying position. Straightening, I pulled the sheets over her.
• She suddenly grabbed my hand.
• Startled, I snapped my eyes down to her face. She blinked repeatedly, her gaze focusing on me. "Ellie?" she mumbled.
• "Yeah?" I said, gently prying her fingers off me. "Go to sleep," I told her.
• She pulled me down and I yelped when she brought her hands to my mouth, opening it wide. She shocked me by sniffing. "What the hell are you doing?" I tried to say, but it instead sounded something like: whaw da hew ah youw hooing.
• She let me go, her gaze skeptical. "You didn't drink, did you?" I noticed her slur was disappearing. Her eyes held a look of betrayal in them.
• "I..." This was not the time for this, whatever this was.
• Suspecting she was still drunk, I said while impatiently inching my way towards the door, "Char, how about we continue this conversation tomorrow?"
• She sat up, her eyes narrowing on me. "Are you some kind of prude?"
• I turned immediately. "What?"
• She folded her arms before her. "You don't drink, you seem to have sworn off men, and you don't engage in a lot of social activities.... Do you think they're... ungodly?"
• "What?" I repeated foolishly, unable to say anymore past my shock.
• Her voice suddenly turned conspirational, her eyes softening. "You know, in your favour I don't think you are. Because for one, you're not judgemental--not to mention really sweet--and, you could get any guy you want with that face. But..." She suddenly looked confused. "There are some... some things you do or say that makes me think that there's more to you, that there's something you're not telling me... Telling anyone." Her voice gentled. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
• A pause.
• Seated there, with her makeup running, her eyes swinging between soberness and downright intoxication: Char was determined to play my shrink (God knows I've had enough of those in the past).
• The whole situation was absurd. And while this went on, I was running out of time to get home.
• "Char," I said, desperately trying to make my voice sound patient. "Thank you for the trust you have in me. I'm really grateful that in you, I've found someone I can confide in whenever I need to. I'll forever be grateful for that. But now... I really need to go."
• She said nothing, watching as my hand found the door handle.
• Before I pulled it open, I turned and gently said to her unmoving form, "Hey, after I leave please make sure the doors are locked. And don't go anywhere else tonight... The Board have reported there's been a rogue escape."
• Then I turned and was gone.