The One That Got Away || Benny Weir

35

"They have those?"

Their conversation was interrupted as the doorbell rang. Then, Sarah's voice was heard.

"I'm still gonna ask Sarah if she'll come driving with me," Ethan says.

Benny and Reagan snicker. "In what? Your imaginary car?"

Ethan glares at them as he stares into their eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Shooting imaginary laser beams into your head." He answers. "Don't. Stop." Ethan goes over to the front door and opens it, talking to Sarah.

"You gonna take me for a ride?" Reagan overhears Sarah asking Ethan. The boy hesitates before Reagan shouts, "Take her out!"

Ethan glares at the girl before Sarah drags Ethan out the door. Reagan chuckles before turning back to Benny.

"They're so gonna get together soon. I can already see it."

"I hope not," Benny says. "Ethan and I made a bet that he has until the end of the school year to ask Sarah out. The winner gets a hundred bucks, and I'm not taking my chance to lose."

Reagan smiles. "You're such a dork."

*

"Do you think anyone's gonna blame me for what happened with Malcolm yesterday?" Ethan asks his two best friends.

"Nah," Reagan says. "You'll be fine."

As soon as she said it, students jump out of Ethan's way while the three walk through the hallways.

"Could be," Benny says.

Nice." Erica says, she and Sarah at the end of the hall. "Yet another reason for girls to avoid you."

"Sorry about yesterday." Ethan apologizes to Sarah. "Relax. Everyone has accidents. That's why there's insurance."

"But it wasn't me, it was the car. It's possessed for something." Ethan tries to explain.

"Oh, right! It's a ghost car! Vroom..." Erica mimics as she walks away with Sarah. Then, Rory appears in front of them.

"Don't worry, bro. When I first started flying, I rear-ended a 747." He says.

"Dude, this will all blow over soon. I bet it already has." Benny assured him, and Reagan and Rory nod in agreement. "You!"

"You tried to run me over!" Malcolm yells as he's on the other side of the hallway. He made his way to them with his crutches. "I better get my car back by the end of the day or I'm calling the police and I'm going to have your permit revoked. Revoked!"

"Your bandages are leaking." Rory smiles. Rory follows him as Malcolm tries to walk away as fast as he can in crutches.

"Just give him the car, Eth," Reagan tells him.

"I don't have it. The last time I saw it, it was on his front lawn." Ethan explains. "Growling."

"Well, we need to find it," Benny says. "No permit means no practice driving with Sarah. And uh... jail time."

"Bad choice of words, babe," Reagan tells him. "Okay, relax. We'll find it. We'll make it talk."

*

"There you are," Reagan says as she and Benny enter the cafeteria, trying to find Ethan. He was sitting on the sofa. "You missed class."

"I ran the car's registration number. Can you believe it was originally designed to be a racer?" Ethan explains.

"That clunker? I could beat it on my tricycle." Benny remarks.

"Your tricycle has rocket-boosters." Reagan chuckles.

"Check out this old newspaper. Malcolm's grandfather was Manfred Bruner." Ethan shows them the newspaper. "Bruner? As in Bruner Automobiles?"

"That car's been in a bunch of suspicious accidents -- all involving members of his family," Ethan says.

"Wow. Remind me never to be related to Malcolm Bruner." Benny tells them.

"This totally shows that something is going on with that car. Suspicious accidents? I bet that car was possessed back then too." He throws the newspaper down. "This is my get-out-of-jail-free card."

Ethan's phone begins to ring and he picks it up to see Rory calling him. "Hey, Rory. What's up?"

"Did you savagely chew Derek Malvern with your car?"

Reagan's head shot up from the newspaper as she heard Rory on the other line. She and Ethan met each other's eyes. "What? No!"

"This is all Ethan Morgan's fault!" Derek Malvern's voice was heard yelling on Rory's end.

Ethan ends the call with a sigh. "Well, at least we know where the car is."

"The Beatles are coming to town!" Benny reads from the newspaper. "We gotta go!"

*

The three best friends make their way to the parking lot, joined by Rory. Reagan was surprised to see the car in great shape.

"Woah. Creepy car makeover." Benny says.

"I don't get it. This car has been in two accidents since I found it and it looks better than ever." Ethan says in awe about the car. "Maybe one more will get it heated seats!"

"Wow, looking good." Sarah and Erica walk over. "Mmm, smelling good too."

Reagan sniffs the air as she finally knew what the smell was.

"I smell blood. Dibs!" Rory exclaims. He follows the scent of blood and lifts the car's hood, showing the engine.

"The engine is filled with blood," Reagan says as she sees the inside. "I did not see that one coming."

"Blood? Like squirrel blood?" Ethan asks.

"No, it's definitely human." Sarah grins. The four vampires smile and lick their lips.

"A possessed car that runs on blood? That's it, I'm pulling the plug right now." As Ethan grabs the car's engine, he receives a vision. It was interrupted though, as the car zaps him. He slams the hood down, shutting it.

"I think this car's possessed by a vampire. It just bit me." Ethan exclaims.

"Oh, so you're hungry, jalopy face? Well, how about a knuckle sandwich?" Rory punches the hood of the car with his fist, leaving a dent. But a moment later, the car repairs itself, as if there was never a dent.

"It feeds like a vampire. It regenerates like a vampire." Sarah says.

"Well, we'll just tell everyone it's a vampire car. You won't get blamed for anything. Because of insanity." Benny comments.

"I'm not worried about me anymore," Ethan tells him. "We have to stop this car before it hurts anyone else."

The bell rings.

"Later," Benny says, receiving a look from the others. "What? You don't want both prison and detention." He grabs Reagan's hand as the two and the others walk to class.