The Walkers (Twilight Fan Fiction)

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Only three out of thirty-two… that’s less than ten percent… why didn’t he tell me… what chance do I have… why would Collin want me involved in all this… especially if it kills me…

I stared out the windshield as I drove through the mildly wet streets of Jacksonville, squinting through the misty glass and switching on my wipers. The storm, which had been hanging around for the past few days, had finally decided to make its way north, leaving behind a wispy drizzle that clung to whatever it touched. I watched the windshield wipers smear the tiny dots, leaving a trail of dirty water, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The rain was finally on its way out.

It was difficult to feel happy for long, especially with Nora’s words echoing through my mind, and I beat the steering wheel in frustration. Why hadn’t Collin told me about the potential dangers of being turned into a Walker? Didn’t he care that I had a less than ten percent chance of becoming like him? Was it all some cruel joke?  Did he do this to every receptor he found?

I pulled into my mom’s driveway and locked the car, planning on spending the evening working on homework, but as I tried to make my way to the house, I stopped. A surge of energy ran up my spine, making me shiver, and I turned to the shrubs. It was dark outside, so I couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t deter me. Someone was there. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I knew regardless.

“Hello?” I narrowed my eyes and clutched my bag when I heard a twig snap. “Is someone there?”

“Obviously.” A bored, masculine, somewhat sarcastic voice came from the bushes. Slowly, a figure rose from the foliage and walked toward me. In the dim porch light, I recognized him immediately. Tobin, the second tallest Walker among Collin’s pack… or whatever they called themselves. Tobin ran his hand through his hair, and I noticed a few drops of rainwater trail down his wrist. Why was he outside my house? Had he been waiting for me? His eyes narrowed, and his lips turned down in a disapproving frown. “Where have you been? The mall closed almost forty minutes ago.”

“Um… I… uh…” I was speechless. The last time I had seen Tobin he hadn’t exactly been excited by my presence. So why was he at my house? And moreover, why was he scolding me? “I’m sorry. I drive slower when it rains. It’s an old habit. Why are you here?”

The accusatory look on his face vanished, and he smiled broadly. “I was bored and looking for someone to entertain me, but everyone’s down in the Under Passage tonight, so I—“

“The Under Passage?” My ears perked up, and I tried to ignore the fact that I had cut Tobin off. “Collin said he doesn’t go down there.”

Tobin laughed. Like Collin, there was a natural roughness to it that made me want to smile. “None of us really care for the Under Passage. It’s a seedy place, ripe with untutored vampires. Don’t get me wrong, it’s prime hunting ground, but extraordinarily unsettling. It smells down there too.”

“So, they’re hunting tonight?” The concept of the Walkers actually hunting vampires and drinking their venom was still bizarre to me. I couldn’t deny that a part of me wanted to see them hunt, just as I had with Ed… with him.

“Not tonight.” Tobin’s gaze darkened significantly. He looked displeased, almost disgusted, and when he spoke again, his voice was leveled with a hefty amount of revulsion. “Today is the beginning of Market Days.”

I took a step closer to him, noting the distinct change in his demeanor. His smile dropped to a frown, and his eyebrows pulled together tightly. Whatever these Market Days were, Tobin clearly didn’t approve. “What’s Market Days?”