It's funny how when someone's watching you, you can feel it. Like, the hairs on the back of your neck standing up and a prickly feeling crawling up. And that's exactly what it feels like right now. I shiver in the cold air. The night sky is unusually dark, even the moon seems obscured. I don't like this. I hardly know this town, let alone know how to navigate my way in the dark.
A twig snaps, causing me to jump. "Hello?" My whole body goes rigid when a hand claps over my mouth. My muffled screams are no use. I try kicking out but none land. My thoughts begin to blend together as I inhale the mystery substance. My limbs turn to liquid and my vision swims until I'm melting against them. It all fades to blackness, and the last thing I'm aware of is the mystery person, swinging me up into their arms.
~~~
"Oh hell. Trevor?! Who is that?" A shuffling sound. My throat feels dry and achy. I don't know where I am. The only thing that gives any indication is the dusty air, ticking my nose. Strangely enough, my hands are not tied, there's no gag in my mouth, and no blindfold over my eyes. Nevertheless, they stay shut so I can give the illusion I'm still unconscious. Maybe if they leave, I can scope out the scenery, see when I am, and figure out how to escape.
"It's not her. That's not the Petrova doppelgänger." A male voice says.
"Duh, you think?! Elijah will have our heads if he thinks we've played him false." A sigh. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. I'll go get her." Footsteps recede and I try not to make a sound. "Oh, and get rid of her. No witnesses. You know the rules." My heart begins pounding as I realize what he means to do to me. He's going to kill me.
Fear seizes my brain, slowing down its ability to think. I stay perfectly still as he lifts me from whatever it is I lie on. When I feel the surface disappear from underneath me, my eyes fly open and I elbow him in the face, hard. He drops me with a shout. Breathing hard, I make a sharp right and begin running. The house is abandoned practically, dust covered with old furniture everywhere.
I round a corner and spot the front door. Relief pulses through me so strong that I nearly collapse. My legs pump harder and just as I reach the door, he appears in front of me. I come to a halting stop. He's furious, but somehow also nervous. Then his face contorts. Black veins stretch from his eyes, which rapidly dilute to a dark red. Like a monster. My mouth opens but the scream dies on my lips.
He grabs me and bangs me against the wall. Pain explodes behind my eyelids as I slide down it.
Not again.
~~~
I wake up for the third time in a row. I'm lying on the floor. My hair is splayed out all around me, and I'm lying on my stomach. A few feet away from me, there's a couch. And a girl. A pretty brunette with a blood-stained pink shirt and low rise jeans. "What do you want?" She asks the man hovering over her. He leans down. She begins gasping and trying to push him away. I can't see why, but I don't need to.
"Shh..just a taste." He says to her. I scramble to my feet, despite being slightly dizzy, and kick him where the sun doesn't shine. He grunts and whips around, hissing. He grabs my face and jerks it to the side, exposing my neck. "Trevor!" He lets go of my face, and slinks away. The girl is standing now, staring at the woman at the top of the double staircase.
She has black cropped hair, frayed at the edges. "My my, you really look just like her." She's in front of her impossibly fast. "But I'm not her!" The woman shushes her. "What do you want?" The woman rears back her hand, and before I can warn her, it's already tearing through the air, landing on her face. She jerks back, practically flying through the air.
The crack resounds through the air. I rush to help her. Then woman narrows her eyes, tutting. "What am I going to do with you?" She turns to the one called Trevor. "I sent a message to Elijah. We'll have to wait and see if he got it." Trevor immediately gets nervous. "This was a bad idea. We should leave them both here and run! It might save us from his wrath." The woman pats his shoulders, attempting to calm him down.
I don't notice the girl attempting to sneak off in the other direction until the woman stops her. She gulps. "Who's Elijah?"
"Your worst nightmare." The woman leaves us alone, conferring with her...friend? Partner in business? "Do you know what's going on?" I ask her. She turns around surprised, seeming to finally notice me for the first time. "Not really. But help is coming. Trust me." I frown. How does she know? "What's your name?"
"Amelia. I just moved here, like two weeks ago. I did not sign up for this. I don't know these people. I think they thought I was you. I don't know why, though. What's your name?" I'm positive I've seen her before. Maybe at school? "Elena."
"Gilbert? As in, the girl whose parents...uhm, "-died? Yeah, that's me. How did you know?" I shuffle, uncomfortably. "People talk. Especially when you're new. They like to get you updated on all of the "drama"." That ends our conversation.
~~~
I don't know how long we've been here now. Maybe hours? Elena and I both sit on the dusty couch now. Steps shatter the silence. Trevor comes running down the left staircase. "He's here! This was a mistake. He wants me dead Rose!"
"Trevor! You have to trust me, okay?" A bang sounds from upstairs. Me and Elena both scramble to stand. Not today, traffickers. "Stay here with them. Perhaps he'll be pleased to have a free meal." At that, my blood goes cold. What does she mean by that? I don't see any food. Rose disappears. Elena shoots a look my way. I nod. A man appears at the top of the staircase.
He wears a suit, which further deepens my suspicion of being traffickers. But I must admit, the man is wildly...beautiful almost. His jawline is prominent, and his broad shoulders are most defined through his suit. This must be Elijah, I realize. Like the others, he moves with impossible speed. He's in front of Elena in seconds. I can see her fear rippling through her shaking figure. Her bottom lip quivers as she attempts to back up. But Elijah continues to move closer to her.
Until he's practically touching her. He leans in, and for a split second, I think he's going to kiss her. But his nose just skims her face, traveling to her throat. He lifts off her. His face may show no sign of emotion, but I notice his eyes flicker with something. Surprise, I think? "Human." He announces. Are these people insane?
"It's impossible. Hello there." It's at that moment my dust allergy decides to kick in. I sneeze loudly, then freeze. "And what of this one?" Rose speaks up. "I thought I might I save you a snack for all your trouble." Elijah sniffs and walks over to me. I stand perfectly still as he threads my hair around his finger. "Hm. You know as well as I do that I don't feed on innocents Rose-Marie. What's your name young one?"
For a second I don't answer, but something tells me I should. "Amelia. Amelia Thatcher." He purses his lips, then places his hands on my shoulders. "Well, Amelia, you will not remember these events. The last thing you remember is walking to your car and then you passed out. You think that something scared you." My brows furrow. "What? What are you talking about?" He stands back, clearly surprised.
Then he frowns. Rose looks horrified. "Rose-Marie, you did not inform me that your little friend here has consumed vervain in the last 24 hours. Are you trying to injure me?" Rose splutters. "N-no! I promise I had no idea-" He waves her away. "Relax." Vervain? What the hell is vervain? At this point, I just want to go home and forget this happened. "Please don't let him take me!" Elena whimpers.
Elijah turns away from me to face Rose. "One last piece of business, and then we're done." He walks to Trevor, who avoids eye contact. There must be history there. Perhaps I've got it all wrong and they're all part of a gang or something? "I've waited for years for this moment, Elijah. I'm truly sorry." Elijah's shoes crunch on the broken glass on the floor.
"Your apology is not necessary."
"Yes. Yes it is. You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you." Elijah continues walking, making a circle around Trevor. The air feels thick with tension, like a rubber band about to snap. "Oh yes, you are the guilty one here." He stops in front of Trevor. "Rose only did it because she's loyal to you. That, I honor. Where was your loyalty?" Trevor hesitates. "I beg-" in one clean motion, Elijah's hand sweeps through the air, severing Trevor's head from his neck.
Rose screams. My whole world seems to be swimming. He just killed him. With his hand. My legs wobble uncertainly as I stay absolutely silent. My mouth betrays not a single sound as I watch Trevor's body fall to the ground. Elena covers her mouth with her hand. Rose cries out in anguish and rushes at Elijah, attempting to attack him. But Elijah stops her with his unnaturally calm voice.
"Don't, Rose. Now that you're free. Come, Elena."
"I know about the moonstone!" She blurts out. "What do you know about the moonstone?" I'm not listening anymore. I'm numbly staring off into space, wondering if I'm even really awake right now, or if this is just one big nightmare. A bang from upstairs jolts me back to the present. "What was that?" Elijah asks. "I don't know." Rose replies in a tight voice, eyes filled with hatred.
"Who else is in this house?"
"I.don't.know." Elijah grunts and grabs Elena's forearm, dragging her up the stairs. He seems to have forgotten all about me now, and I'm grateful for that. I now have a chance to escape. Rose follows him up the stairs. I seize the moment and make a mad dash. A hand reaches out, banging me into the wall. Again. Okay, this is seriously starting to piss me off.
~~~
It's nightfall when I wake for the fourth time. Frowning, I slowly stand. The house is empty, save for some blood stains. It's over. The relief is overpowering. The front door has two large holes in it. By the ground, are what looks like two large wooden chair legs? Whatever. I pull open the door and stumble outside.
I don't know how, but I find my way home. My father is sitting on the living room couch, watching a soccer game. He turns it off as soon as I walk through the door. "Where the hell have you been? Why didn't you answer your cell?" The truth is, I don't know where my cell is. I don't know if they took it or if it fell out of my pocket. Just that I don't have it.
Instead of telling him that, I simply say: "I was at a friend's house. My cell died. Sorry." He frowns, looking suspicious. "A friend's house? Why didn't you tell me? What friend? And God, what happened to you? You're all dirty." I just shake my head. "I'll tell you tomorrow Dad. I'm tired. I'm just gonna go..." He protests as I go up the stairs but I ignore him.
Upstairs, my little sister is fast asleep with the door open. I check the time. It's 11:15 P.M. Sighing, I make my way to my room. Without turning on the light, I go in and shut it behind me.
"These are lovely paintings."
I jump, letting out a scream which is muffled immediately. Elijah stands in front of me, pressing a finger to his lips. "Shush. You wouldn't want to alert your father now, would you?" Somehow, I can sense it's a threat. A threat for what? I don't know. He slowly removes his hand, and I gasp in air. "What are you doing in my room? How'd you get in here? What do you want from me?"
"A., I came through your window. B, see A. And C., I need you as bait. You couldn't be compelled, which means you have vervain in your system." After seeing my confused look, he says: "it's a plant. It enables you so you cannot be compelled." Still confused. He sighs. "You really know nothing, do you?" I shake my head. "Are you-are you going to kill me?" I gulp.
"That's entirely up to Elena. Normally I'd compel you and send you along your way, but seeing as how I cannot do that currently, I'm going to use you to get Elena to give herself over. She won't allow a stranger to die in her place, surely." So my life is in the hands of a stranger? I might faint. "Pack your bags. We're going on a road trip. I'm giving her five days to give herself over. She'll probably wait until the last minute."
"So I'm just going to have make sure they don't try to rescue you themselves. Though, I doubt it." They? Who's going to rescue me? "What about my father?" He waves me away dismally. "I'll take care of him." Upon seeing my face, he backtracks. "I will not harm him. You have my word. Unless of course, you refuse to cooperate." His word means nothing to me, but I can see it means a great deal to him. So for the sake of my own sanity, and my father's life, I agree.
What have I gotten myself into? As I throw together random clothes without looking at them, I stare at my window. I'm on the second story. I stop and look out. There's no way he could've possibly gotten up here. How in the hell did he manage to get two stories up without a ladder?
I think the answer will scare me more than anything.
~~~