HUNTED

Chapter 2

Hairs along Liza's arms and the back of her neck raised. An icy chill turned her blood to ice. Her feet seemed to be frozen in place, planted to the muddy ground. She recognized the place where she stood; the cemetery where her family was buried, where Denny was buried.

Fog billowed over the horizon, cascading over the glossy headstones. The ground rumbled beneath Liza's feet. Four headstones shot up from the ground. No longer frozen to the grass, Liza lost balance and tumbled backwards. The fog made it impossible to read the inscriptions in front of her. She crawled forward on her hands and knees. The fog separated, thinning around her.

She screamed. No sound came out, but her throat burned, the taste of copper filling her mouth.

Her parent's grave was first. But there was a new name added to the list. Benjamin Geyer, it read, killed in the brave line of duty.

Beside that, the grave of her aunt and uncle stood, sunken crookedly into the ground, the patch of grass in front of it overgrown and unattended to. Again, another name was added. Thatcher Arcos, this one said. Liza closed her eyes, not daring read more.

She crawled to the right, making her way to the graves beside them. Liza nearly choked. She sank back on her knees. Addison Beynart. Beside it, Nathan Carthy.

Liza's nose dripped. Tears flooded down her face in endless streams. She let out soundless ratchet sobs that caught and multiplied in her chest like a bulbous cancerous tumor, choking her. Finally, she let out a wail, a moan of a broken soul.

"Shhh, hush now child." A soft yet husky voice pierced her ears through the chilling air. Liza spun around, fingers slipping in the mud beneath her. The fog had gathered, blackened, and collected in a clump behind her. It took humanoid form, limbs disproportionate and eyes glowing a hollow blood red. "Fear not, young Elizabeth. Only give yourself to me and their lives will be spared."

The humanoid collection reached out spindly fingers. Slowly, the fog began to compress, until a true being pushed through it, gray skin and glowing eyes. A sly smile tugged at the corners of its slate gray mouth. White hair flowed just over his forehead. In a last puff of smoke, the fog fell, curling around the humanoid's-now clearly a man's-ankles.

"Casper." The words formed on Liza's lips, coming out in a dry puff.

The vampire's lips curled. Then he vanished as quickly as he had appeared, his haunting laugh filling the air. All at once, the previously inaudible screams bubbled to the surface.

"Shhh, shh."

Liza woke up, her lungs emptied of air. Her throat was sore, as if someone had clawed at her vocal cords. Blood filled her mouth. She flicked her tongue around the inside of her mouth until she found the source-she'd bitten her cheek. Hard.

She panted, her hair clinging to the back of her neck with tears. She found herself in her brother's arms.

He held her tight against his chest, eyes closed as if it pained him to see her in such a state. His hands were flat against her back as he rocked her back and forth, back and forth.

"Don't let me go, don't let me go." Liza mumbled, pleading. She clung to her brother's shirt, her fingers digging so deeply into the fabric that she was sure she'd pinched him.

"I'll never let you go. Never again, Lizzy I promise."

Standing in the doorway, Liza could see Thatcher. His lean build was crowded against the threshold, bent in a sleepy disposition. His silhouette's hair stuck up in tufts from his restless nighttime thrashing. She knew he must be having nightmares too, but he kept quiet, the only thing giving him away the bags that multiplied like the endless mosquitos in summer under his eyes.