The Turning

PROLOGUE

It was like nothing that I had ever seen before. It sat low, crouched in the darkness, hidden by the bushes and the shadows of the trees. Its skin was pale, a translucent white with a network of blue veins all over. It had large bright eyes, the pupils a light beige and almost transparent as it kept glancing up at the full moon. It was completely hairless.

Except for dark loose pants, it wore no other clothing. Or shoes. Its ears were pointed much like a bat’s and its nose was squished flat against its face with large nostrils. I was amazed by the brilliant pink of its lips which was perfectly formed but curled into an ear-to-ear grin that randomly appeared every now and again. Its mouth opened and closed in silent utterances as it continued to sniff the night air all around.

I was too far away to hear anything.

Down below in the valley, they gathered. There were about six of them and one in particular—a big one—stared endlessly at the clear sky. Was it counting stars?

They walked oddly, not like how humans walked upright but on all fours, sometimes running with an extended curvature in their backs as they moved. Sharp claws replaced nails on both of their hands and feet, their arms much longer than the length of their legs. I was reminded of something supernatural, hidden, and only found for the first time.

Discovered.

My thoughts changed as the creatures shifted around, each offering sharp howls and guttural snarls as tribute to the moon goddess. Unnatural was what they were, undoubtedly.

I was curious about the big one. While the others talked in whatever kind of speech that they had, he continued to be totally aware of his surroundings. He sat like a cheetah scanning the Serengeti in search for the most vulnerable prey. His eyes reflected light like an animal’s that casts off the pale light from the heavens. While the others were engrossed in each other, he stood watch.

There was a deep urge inside of me that kept saying, leave and just go. I ignored it as best as I could and focused on the fantastic creatures down below. Here, high on the cliff with miles between us in distance and in depth, they wouldn’t be able to catch me even if they did see me. I’d be long gone.

As I sat peering, the wind changed directions and I felt a rustle from behind my ear. The wind blew past my face and down below to the great plain where they were. The big one suddenly snapped his head in my direction. Although he looked like an ant from where I sat, the grin on his face told me that he had found what he was looking for: he was looking for me.

CHAPTER ONE - A NEW START

I dreaded the days of having to get up early for school, especially since it was my first day again. It wasn’t fair that I had to continue my boring lessons since it was the middle of the last semester but life wasn’t fair. The saying used to be, “live and learn”, but it was now, “learn and live with what’s left”. My life had changed dramatically within the past few months, too much for me to believe in anything different.

I brushed my teeth, got dressed in clean clothes, did all of the normal getting-up-in-the-morning stuff, ate a bowl of cereal, and reluctantly marched out of the door, leaving the bowl in the sink to be cleaned up later. I could afford to leave a dish dirty or a half-eaten apple out of the fridge for a few hours. It was far too nice and too cold where I was to have any of the normal bugs that I didn’t like, like roaches. I pushed the thought away and locked the door behind me.

My car was the only source of comfort that I had. Bought as an early graduation present, Rose beamed as I approached the shiny piece of metal. I didn’t know much about cars, except to keep them clean, but this one screamed attention. I gently ran my fingers over the top of the hood as I made my way over to the driver’s side. She was cool to the touch.

“Good morning Rose,” I said cheerfully as I popped the car door open. “Shall we go for a ride?”

It was silly talking to a car, but she was the only friend that I could depend on. She never stalled, gave up, or died on our five-day journey here to Sterling, South Dakota. It was a small backwoods town nestled deep in the Black Hills. We made a safe journey together. I made sure to never push her beyond her limits, always giving her plenty of time to rest and cool her engine down.

Most people had a beloved pet, some kind of cat or dog or even a bird. I didn’t have any of those things. All I had was Rose and she meant everything in the world to me. She was the last gift that my parents had given me. She was a metallic red Mustang.

I sat the shoulder bag in the passenger’s seat and buckled up. It was a chilly late spring day and the skies were a dusty gray with rolling clouds. It looked like snow.

I had wanted to move right after everything happened, but I was glad that I waited out the winter months somewhere a lot warmer than up north. I couldn’t imagine myself trying to shovel Rose out of two feet of snow all the way to school. It wouldn’t have been a pretty picture.

School didn’t happen to be very far. It was just down the long, winding road into the heart of town. Sterling had two schools: the local high school and a combined elementary/junior high school. It was hard to miss the big letters labeled STERLING HGH on a metal board suspended above the street from telephone poles. I turned and made my way to the visitor’s parking lot by following the arrows marked on the pavement to direct the flow of traffic. It led me right to a building with a sign that said, “Front Office”.

Around me, people were coming and going. Most of them were in cars, others walking. Almost every one turned to glance at the shiny red car with its out-of-state license plate and its driver—me.

All of the other cars were drabby colors. A maroon too dark to be anything but black. A forest green so deep that it would’ve blended into the trees in my backyard. There was a pretty flash of silver here and a dull yellow car there that could’ve passed off for a gold needing a paint job. Another couple of other colors scattered across the now-filling parking lot. I thought I was early to school, but obviously not early enough. I parked and hurried into the very square red-bricked building, hoping to escape the scrutinizing stares of passing students.

At the front desk sat an older woman with very short cropped hair and a vest with pictures of wild animals on it. The clothing item had leather fringe. She looked nice but was oddly dressed. Who wore leather fringe now-a-days?

Her silver hair matched her glasses and her red lipstick was a shade too bright for her pale face. “May I help you?” she asked.

“I’m Marisa James.” I quickly looked up from the embroidered picture of a wolf and a bear, both on the edge of a wooded lake. I hope she hadn’t realized that I was staring at how tacky her vest was. “I’m new and I need to register for school. I just moved here from the east coast and I brought my high school transcript along. I also brought a list of my teachers’ names and phone numbers in case you want to contact them.”

“Why would I want to do that?” She gave me the kind of smile that reminded me of the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother’s clothes.

I paused. “I brought in case you think I’m lying.”

This comment sparked her interest and she moved towards me with purpose. “Now why would I think you’re lying to me? And about what?”

I glanced at the name tag sitting on her desk. It was carved out of wood in big bubble letters. “Well, Mrs. Bru…”

“Brukenheimer,” she pronounced it for me. I tried to make a mental note to not mess up her name. Why did names have to be so difficult?

“Um, I have to tell you that both of my parents are dead. Car accident.”

“Oh my,” she said with a gasp that was horribly fake. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“Marisa,” she said, leaning in to get a better look at my face. Maybe I was on Cops or America’s Most Wanted. “We do need a parent or a guardian present to be able to enroll you in school since you’re not eighteen yet.”

“I don’t have one,” I replied.

“No guardians?” she asked. I shook my head. “No relatives? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins or anything of that sort?”

“Nope. It’s just me.” I knew that she didn’t believe me. It was obvious to her that I was a delinquent child or worse. As if those types would even try to register for school! “I don’t have a brother or a sister. My father was an only child and my grandparents on both sides have long been dead. I have heard of an Aunt Margaret or something, but she’s in South Africa or somewhere in Africa trying to convert the local natives to Christianity. I haven’t heard from her since before I was born.” I paused. “I just want to please finish high school.”

She hesitated. “Do you have any id?”

I nodded and fished out my driver’s license, birth certificate, and social security card. Mrs. Brukenheimer took the ids and made copies, then retreated to a back room where I couldn’t see her. I took a deep breath and waited. Everything should be easier now.

She came back and sat down without offering to return my ids. “I called the sheriff and gave him your information,” she said smugly. “He’s going to run a very thorough check to make sure you’re not in any trouble or anything.”

I shook my head and went to go sit down in one of the blue cushioned metal chairs in the little waiting area. I couldn’t do much of anything until the sheriff called back. It was unbelievable that there was no trust in the world! Even the landlord didn’t ask so many questions except if I could make my rent payments. I was trying to avoid this type of situation but clearly, it couldn’t have been prevented. I sat down and wondered if all the people who turned in runaway teenagers got some kind of reward for their tips. That would’ve explained Mrs. Brukenheimer’s wolfish grin.

Frustrated, I pulled out a couple of pictures of my parents and me, along with the newspaper article about the crash. I bit my tongue and started to walk towards her desk. She was amused by my feeble effort to defend myself and she smiled politely.

“Here,” I said, breathing slowly as I pushed the documents on the counter to her. “I’m not lying. I have a six-inch scar on the left side of my head to prove it.” I didn’t wait to see what she would say next. Instead, I walked back and sat down. What had I expected?

I noticed that she took a look at the article but said nothing. The phone in the back office rang and she went to go pick it up. She took everything that I gave her to the back with her in case I decided to run at the last minute. I frowned. At this rate, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get to my high school diploma within the next decade.

Mrs. Brukenheimer returned and settled in her chair behind her desk. With a long finger beckoning me to her, she indicated that she wanted to have a talk. I should've been stubborn and sat still, but unwittingly, I got up and followed. When I reached the counter, she gave me a warmer smile. “I had a very strange conversation,” she started, her voice a bit softer than the harsh tone that she used moments before. “I was told to allow you to register. There weren’t any explanations. What grade are you in, Marisa?”

I was shocked to see the difference in her attitude. Whatever the sheriff had said to her, it must not have been normal for her to allow teenagers to register alone. I wished that I could’ve heard what he said too because I was starting to feel a little unusual. “This is the last of my senior year,” I replied.

She nodded and held out a hand. “Let me take a look at that transcript and I’ll have you registered in a jiffy. You may start today.”

It all happened very slowly like in a dream. She took my transcript, made copies, and handed it back to me along with the other papers that I gave her, and talked and smiled as if we were old friends. I didn’t understand any of it at all. The accusing tone that she used was gone. The tiny slits of eyes that she used to peer at me with were gone. The cold demeanor that she used was gone. Disappeared were all of the things that pointed me out as a stranger. I stared as she typed into the computer.

“Here you go, Marisa,” she said as she printed out a copy of my class schedule for me. I took it and glanced down at the sheet of paper. There were two electives, one of which I had never heard of before. “I know,” she said with a sad smile. “It’s the only available classes. I couldn’t fit you into anything else.”

Could she read minds? I nodded and gave her a smile. “Thank you.”

“Come. Let’s get you a student ID card.”

When she finished explaining to me the school rules and after welcoming me into their little town, I had a brand new picture ID in my hands. I actually smiled in the photo. The card was red with a silver wolf in howl pose in the background. I assumed the wolf was the school mascot. Mrs. Brukenheimer promised me a student escort, but since no one actually showed up for the task, I was left to find my classes on my own.

The first period of the day was Biology in room 105 D building. It was a bit hard trying to figure out which building was which since they all looked the same. The only difference was a small white letter printed above the main doors, covered in mold and mildew that turned it a brownish black instead.

By the time that I had found the classroom, it was almost over but not for another forty-five minutes which meant that I was extremely tardy and I had no idea what to expect as a repercussion from a teacher that I’ve never met. The narrow rectangular window in the wooden door revealed a large man in his early forties with balding hair in a strange yellow-mustard and a fuzzy square beard. He wore round glasses attached to a gold chain and his rosy cheeks didn’t make him look very menacing. He was the same size and wideness of Santa Claus. Hopefully, he’d be as jolly and happy as old St. Nick and overlook my tardiness. Taking a deep breath, almost hyperventilating, I knocked on the door twice.

He glanced over and I immediately stepped back. It was a normal reflex that developed from social inadequacy. I didn’t get to be around people much. He walked over and opened the door. I was staring at Paul Bunyan in a suit. “May I help you?” His voice was deep and rustic.

Definitely a woodcutter, I thought to myself. I imagined him living out in the wilderness, dressed in red and black flannel, and carrying an ax. “I’m Marisa,” I said quickly. I handed him my schedule and tried to avoid his eyes. “I just registered today.”

He glanced over the piece of paper and I noticed the bright smiley faces on his tie. Anyone with yellow smiling faces on their clothing had to have a sense of humor and a good attitude or so I wanted to believe. He handed the paper back to me. “Come in, Marisa.” He smiled. “You can have a seat in one of the chairs in the back row for now.” He stepped aside to let me through the door. “I’m Mr. Carol.”

I nodded and spotted a few empty chairs in the back before obediently following his order. I stared at the floor, hoping to not trip over my own two feet. No one actually turned to look at me although I did get some weird looks from a few people who quickly turned away as I noticed them noticing me. I tried smiling with no success. I guessed that being a stranger was just something I would have to deal with.

No one offered to share their book with me as Mr. Carol announced that we’d be going through pages 239 to 241. I sighed, wondering when I would get my own book. I did get one at the end of class, but I had to wait out the forty minutes of unwelcomeness. This was not a friendly town.

In second period, my English teacher, Mrs. Dierk, was much worse than anyone that I’ve ever known in my life. She deceived me at first, smiling when I walked up to her in front of the class. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled into a bun and she wore a red skirt pulled high on her tiny waist over a pink pearl blouse with lots of Victorian ruffles. Her nose crinkled as she glanced me over from head to toe.

“Well,” she said to me after a moment of silence. “Introduce yourself.”

“I’m Marisa James. I just enrolled this morning.” I handed her my schedule and she glared at the page, boring a hole through it with her eyes.

She handed it back. “Introduce yourself to them.” She pointed to the class with a piece of chalk in her hand. It extended like a sharp and deadly fingernail. Her brows furrowed in impatience as I gathered what little courage that I had to be able to speak in front of others.

I didn’t do so well in the spotlight. First, my knees started to get weak, then I started to feel faint, and before I knew what happened, I couldn’t breathe. And then I wake up on the floor. That was what happened in front of my speech class one fateful day during an oral presentation. I dropped the class immediately afterwards.

“Hi, I’m Marisa James,” I said with a quick wave, averting my eyes back to Mrs. Dierk. Thankfully, that was over.

“Where are you from?” Mrs. Dierk asked. Her hazel eyes turned a beady black.

“The Carolinas,” I replied, eager to sit down and rest my tongue from saying something that would incriminate me.

“Tell us something about yourself.” She was persistent.

I bit my lip. What was there to say? “I’m seventeen.” The class erupted in a wave of laughter as Mrs. Dierk smirked. My face flushed red.” Can I please go sit down now?” I asked, aware that I was being laughed at and not with.

She calmly pointed to an empty seat in the second row and I slunk over, sitting down and resting the shoulder bag on the floor beside my chair. I pretended that what had happened really didn’t happen. The whisperings already started.

Mrs. Dierk brought a textbook over and sat it down on the desk. “We’re in chapter eight of Greek and Roman mythology. We’re currently reading Odysseus. I’ll give you a week to read the whole book—” She emphasized the word. “—up to the eighth chapter. You’ll have a test on it.” I held the book up stiffly and cowered, glancing at the purple cover. “I hope you’ll pass it,” she said with a big smile. “Now, turn to page 314.”

I started to flip through the book, wishing that she’d leave me alone. Fate humored me and she started to walk away. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Mrs. Dierk was a bitter woman on the edge of vengeance, probably because she was growing old and when people got older, they seemed to go through crisis after crisis of some sort. I’ve often heard of a mid-life crisis before although I’ve never seen it happen.

I slouched in the chair, trying to relax and brought the book close to me, standing it upright on the desk. I glanced over at page 314 and started to read. Suddenly, there was the hard slap of something on the desk and it surprised me enough to make me jump up off of the ground. The book fell backwards and I saw Mrs. Dierk with her hand on the desk.

“Sit up straight, Marisa,” she said sternly. “There will be no slouching in my class.” The class laughed and Mrs. Dierk gave them the evil eye which made them all as silent as people trying to walk around a rattlesnake without waking it up.

I sat up straight, pressed my back to the chair, and turned to the correct page. Seeing that there was nothing else to humiliate me for, Mrs. Dierk left. I nervously—carefully—watched her walk up to the front of the classroom before I even breathed. There were people taking odd glances at me while the majority sat silent, staring at the front. I couldn’t wait for the class to be over. I knew that I wasn’t going to like Mrs. Dierk anymore than she liked me.

I was thankful when the bell finally rang. I avoided her by staying as close to the wall as possible, trying to quickly walk out of the classroom without having to run. I was so happy to be out from under Mrs. Dierk’s horrid harsh scrutiny that I paused outside of the door to catch my breath. Tomorrow, I’d have to suffer through another hour or so but I wouldn’t have to introduce myself again.

The cafeteria was located in C building which was in the center of the campus. It was actually more to the back, right behind the front office. I found a bathroom in there and stepped inside. There were five stalls, each painted a cerulean blue. Dark tiles littered with blue veins covered the floor—an attempt at cheap marble flooring. It wasn’t so bad looking. I couldn’t afford anything like it in life, real or fake. A large wall mirror reflected the conjoined quadruple sinks, each one with its own soap dispenser.

Making sure that there was no one in the bathroom, I started to check for leftover Fruit Loops stuck in my teeth or a big black sign on my forehead that said, “loser”. Nope. There was nothing. I licked the surface of my teeth clean. No colorful, crunchy crumbs here!

My mouth closed slowly. Somehow, the large canines on either side of my upper teeth made me feel self-conscious. Each of the four was large and pointed, resembling animal teeth and getting sharper by the day. I didn’t notice it until after the accident. But by then, I had a lot of things wrong with me. I shut my mouth tightly. My oversize teeth made me feel nervous. I didn’t need to add freak on to my list of reasons why I wasn’t getting friendly reception here.

My mother, Cheryl, was beautiful. She had the Hollywood starlet blond curls and big blue eyes with perfectly pout lips. Her skin was flawless. She wasn’t stick thin, but curvy with an hourglass figure that made men drool. If she wasn’t pregnant with me so young, she could’ve been the next Marilyn Monroe. Unlucky for her, I was born. I looked nothing like my mother. I looked more like my father—not that he wasn’t an attractive looking guy, but his features on me were pretty bland.

What I got was straight brown hair, the muddy looking kind. I got the same eyes as my father. I got my mother’s pale skin and his thin lips. I also got unlucky and got his build. I wasn’t too tall, but I was thin and lanky. I wasn’t anywhere near flat-chested, although a growth spurt in that area would’ve helped to give me a boyfriend or two. Unfortunately, no such thing happened. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at my reflection, hands flat on the edge of the sink and elbows locked stiff.

“You haven’t even made one friend today!” I sighed. “Mrs. Dierk was horrible and not a single person talked you. Your luck can’t be that bad, Marisa. You’re not cursed!”

Ugh. I glanced away in frustration. Was it just difficult being the new girl or was I really under bad karma? I didn’t know which was true. It did bother me that not even one person said hi. Surely, someone somewhere in some class would’ve felt sorry for me and introduced themselves by now.

I glanced up at the mirror and tucked all of the loose hair behind my ears. I had recently gotten it layered to frame my face. It looked pretty good. At least I thought so. That was probably wishful thinking contrary to reality.

I pulled out Chap Stick and dabbed it on, puckering my lips and smacking them. My bad habit of constantly licking my lips whenever I was nervous made them dry and I didn’t want them to start cracking. I looked into my own eyes and breathed.

“Alright, Marisa,” I began. “You’re going to go out there and introduce yourself to someone. You’ll make at least one friend in this school by the end of today.” I paused. “You’re not a freak. You’re just new. It’s not bad luck.”

My self-encouragement abruptly turned sour. “If only I could’ve been born popular and well-liked! Why is it so difficult for me to just—”

I didn’t realize that I had started to shout and the creak of the door made my mouth clamp up. I saw the reflection of a girl in the doorway, giving me an odd look. How long had she been standing there? What all did she hear?

I dropped my gaze to my hands on the sink, holding on with such force that my knuckles were turning white. We said nothing to one another. As soon as I heard the stall door closed and locked, I bolted out of there.

Great. Just great. Now the whole school will know that I am a freak. There was only one solution: run.

As I tried to put as much distance between myself and the bathroom, the cafeteria food called to me with its delicious smell. My stomach growled. If I was going to run away, I might as well eat first. I hesitated. Should I stay or should I just go? Unable to decide, my hunger won out and I headed for the lunch line.

Lunch food was, well, it was lunch. It looked a lot better here than at my old school. Spaghetti was my favorite meal. The mac and cheese looked homemade. Dessert even looked edible. I loved lemon meringue pie. How I missed eating those!

I was very grateful that the lunch ladies gave me a heaping spoonful on to my plate because I was hungrier than usual. I grabbed a bottle of water and continued down the line to pay for it. I was glad that no one would be watching me scarf it down. I would be gone anyhow. I planned on eating super-fast and then leaving. This town wasn’t for me.

One thing worse than not having any one to talk to was not having anywhere to sit. The cafeteria was crowded with students everywhere. I stood there for a long moment, not recognizing one face that I could make an excuse to go sit with. I had already forgotten that I wanted to eat and run, not stay and talk.

“Hello,” came a voice from behind me.

I spun around too quickly, excited that someone might actually be talking to me. My tray would’ve hit him if he hadn’t moved out of the way. Wait. It did hit him, didn’t it? I didn’t know how it came to be, but he had taken the tray out of my hands and was now holding it. I caught my balance and glanced up at him.

“How did you do that?” I asked, a bit shocked. “We’re you talking to me?”

He smiled. “You’re new here, aren’t you? Would you like to sit with us?” His voice was beautiful. It was deep and throaty with a heavy accent. Was he foreign? He was pale with russet hair sticking up everywhere in a good messy kind of way.

“Us?” I asked. He nodded and turned his head. I followed his gaze to a lone table with two other equally handsome guys staring in our direction. They all looked very similar—gorgeous.

“My brothers and I,” he said. That explained the similarities. “I am Alessander Arromanovokzja.”

My knees felt weak and I suddenly realized that the whole cafeteria had gone quiet and was staring at us. “Alex who?”

“Ah-leh-sahn-der Ah-roh-mahn-no-vok-shah,” he said slowly. “It’s Russian.”

I licked my lips. I probably wouldn’t remember how to say his name correctly. “You’re Russian?” That was a dumb question. Of course he was. His name was Russian. I could kick myself for spoiling the moment. Whatever moment there was.

“Yes,” he said patiently. “Would you like to sit with my brothers and I?” he asked again.

“Sure,” I said, still trying to pronounce his name silently in my head. I reached for my tray.

“I’ll take it for you,” he offered before walking off. I followed in silence.

One of the brothers had jet black hair and sat with his arms crossed against his chest. The lines on his face were harsh and he didn’t look happy at having me there. The other had an orange tint to his dark hair, making the color metallic in sunlight. He looked more cheerful and in a much better mood than his brother.

“These are my brothers, Demetri and Ra’vin,” Alessander said. “You’ll have to excuse Demetri. He’s always like that.”

“I’m Marisa James,” I said with a smile. There. It wasn’t that hard to introduce myself to someone. Demetri gave me a dark stare and I cringed, wondering what and why he was in such a foul mood. Ra’vin—correctly pronounced Rah-veen, which I’ll have to remember—was all smiles. I liked him better. Alessander sat my tray down on the other side of the table and took a seat beside Demetri. I took that as my cue to sit down also. “Are you all not eating?” I asked.

“We eat.” Alessander’s lips spread into a thin smile. “Just not here.”

“Oh.” I sat down at the round table quickly. “Should I not eat then?”

He laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with the food. We choose to abstain from eating at this time.”

I smiled, almost disappointed that I didn’t sit alone so I could shove giant forkfuls of spaghetti into my mouth. I was that hungry.

We sat in silence as I ate, the three of them on one side and I on the other. I tried not to choke, be messy, or do anything stupid in front of them that would jeopardize my chance at friendship. They were beautiful, like out of some incredible dream that I didn’t want to wake up from.

“Tell us about yourself,” Ra’vin said. His voice wasn’t as deep as Alessander’s, but it was just as smooth.

“There’s not a lot about me. I just got here today.” That was another dumb thing that I’ve said so far. Of course they knew that I was new. It was obvious. “Tell me about you guys,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

“We don’t talk about ourselves,” Demetri snapped. His voice was like the others, thick and rich in accent but sweet in an odd way even though he practically yelled at me. His tone was even and although he didn’t raise his voice at all, I felt fear crawling underneath my skin. I licked my lips and said nothing more, biting my tongue.

Alessander laughed to ease the tension. “It’s true that we don’t talk about ourselves much. Perhaps if you asked a question, we might be able to answer it for you.”

I thought for a moment about what to ask them. When I found a suitable question, I hesitated. Should I ask this one? I really wanted to know the answer so I sighed and asked anyway. I turned to Alessander. “Why did you ask me to sit with you?” Of course that question wasn’t about them. I was trying to stay on Demetri’s good side from now on.

Demetri mumbled something under his breath and Ra’vin laughed. Alessander grinned and whispered something back. It was all much too quiet and much too fast for me to grasp. They were talking to each other, but not very loud. I continued to cautiously eat, wondering what the answer was and if they were now talking about me to themselves.

Finally, Alessander leaned on the table closer towards me. “I think you are very interesting,” he said with a toothy grin, showing pearly white teeth.

I almost choked on the spaghetti. Did I hear him correctly? I’m interesting?

“Where are you from? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Where are your parents?” Ra’vin started asking questions a mile long a minute.

“Wait,” I said in disbelief. They really wanted to know about me? I frowned. All except for Demetri who just stared past his brother Ra’vin and out of the window. What was his problem? “One question at a time please,” I said to Ra’vin.

“How about, ‘do you have any brothers or sisters’? Would that be okay?” he asked. I nodded. “You do? Where are they?”

I shook my head and laughed, a little nervous because of the coldness drifting off of Demetri. “Yes, it was okay to ask me questions. But no, I’m the only child.”

He bit his lip clumsily as if what I said wasn’t the correct answer that he was looking for, but he continued on. “And your parents?”

“Both died in a car accident recently. I almost died too.”

“I’m sorry,” Alessander told me. “When did it happen?”

“Three months ago,” I replied.

There was more of that whispering back and forth. It was annoying, but I tried to ignore it as best as I could. Thinking about my parents made me sad because I missed them a lot. I focused on eating and kept my eyes from tearing by looking at the delicious pie and concentrating on how good it would taste.

“Where are you from?” Ra’vin asked.

“The Carolinas.”

“Why did you decide to move here?” Alessander asked in between his silent conversations with Demetri and Ra’vin. It was driving me nuts. All I could do was to stare at their lips. Alessander continued with the questions. “Did you come here alone?”

“I…” It was difficult to look away. I was losing focus on the questions that they had asked me. I was mesmerized by how fast their lips moved and how they could hear each other. I paused for a long moment, just staring. Something had to be said to stop the madness. Or was I only imagining it all? “Will all of you please stop talking about me? I don’t know what you’re saying or how you can even hear each other, but I see your lips moving and that bothers me. It’s very distracting.”

Demetri turned to glance at me. “My lips haven’t moved,” he said, his eyes narrowing with intrigue. His voice sounded a lot softer than it had moments before when we first met. He now reminded me of a poisonous snake. Deceitful like Mrs. Dierk. Ugh.

I turned to Alessander. I wasn’t about to talk to Demetri. He wasn’t very nice and I didn’t need him to stab me in the back or something. Or worse, humiliate me in front of everyone. “I saw all three of you,” I said to Alessander. “If you brought me here to just talk about me, you might as well say it loud enough for me to hear you.”

Alessander smiled. “I’m sorry then,” he said politely. “We will not speak about you.”

“Thank you,” I said with a sigh of relief. The movements of their lips were fast enough to make my head spin in circles. I tried to eat more despite the queasiness I was starting to feel.

“Sit with us tomorrow,” Alessander said with a smile as they all got up out of their seats. I nodded and watched them leave, splitting up into separate directions. Within a few steps, they were gone.

The bell rang and I glanced down. My plate of spaghetti was only half-eaten and I didn’t even get to touch my pie. Life really wasn’t fair.

The second half of the day was nothing like the first half and I was thankful that the rest of my teachers weren’t anything like Mrs. Dierk. One of her was already too much to handle. School actually wasn’t so bad and since there was one Mrs. Dierk here, I decided to stay instead of chancing to go somewhere else where there could be more of her there.

I had Home Economics after lunch. Mrs. Bewden was very sweet by not making me do any introductions at all. She happily pointed to a seat and I remained there until the bell rang. She was a plump woman with dimples and graying blond hair. It was fitting that she taught knitting. It seemed to be something that she would’ve enjoyed doing if she wasn’t teaching. I didn’t understand why teachers made students do the embarrassing introduction thing. Not Mrs. Bewden though. She seemed genuinely kind. Almost grandmotherly. I never got to meet any of my grandparents. However, I knew from experience, and a recent one, that some teachers got gratification from seeing their students cringe and make mistakes. Being at school on a base was much worse than here. At least no one shouted orders here.

Mrs. Bewden worked the needles, explaining each stitch by stitch. I found a pair of hard plastic needles in a big box and took some coppery gold thread back to my seat. I didn’t know what I’d end up making, but a nice sweater for fall wouldn’t be a bad idea. Being careful, I found that knitting was rather easy and I was surprised that I wasn’t a complete lost at everything. There was no way that I could’ve stabbed myself with the blunt needles although with my luck, there was no telling what could’ve happened.

It was more surprising that no one stared or even whispered about me. I almost wished that they did, but I had three new friends that talked me into staying. Well, they didn’t actually do any of that at all since they didn’t know I had planned on leaving, but I was still a bit curious about them. I bit my lip and tasted the strawberry flavored Chap Stick that I reapplied after lunch.

Did Demetri not like me or was he just having some issues in his life? Whatever his problems were, it was perfectly fine because I didn’t need his approval to be friends with his two gorgeous brothers. They were all very good looking, each one a little different from the last. Alessander, Demetri, and Ra’vin Arro—whatever their last name was. They were the first kind people here that spoke to me. I wondered if all small town people were afraid of strangers like me. I just wanted a new life, a do over, not trouble.

The day passed fairly quickly. In Math class—which I hated math—I drew flowers instead of paying attention. No one noticed anyway. I found it odd that people didn’t speak or weren’t as friendly as I had expected them to be.

When my pencil rolled off my desk and under the seat of the person beside me, the girl just turned her head and stared at me blankly. She didn’t pick it up or say anything. I had to bend out of my chair to reach the pencil and she only continued to look on as I retrieved it. Once I had my pencil in my hand and my back was against the chair once more, she looked away and never turned back again. It was the weirdest thing that I had encountered, much worse than Demetri and his cold demeanor.

I had never heard of Floral Arrangement Design class back on the east coast. We had foreign languages for electives, not classes that taught someone how to put flowers into a pot. That was easy to do. How difficult was it to make flowers look beautiful when they were already beautiful?

I introduced myself to Mrs. Peabody—yes, that was really her name—and was thankful that it was the end of the day. She made me say a quick hello to the class and as I did and waved, I caught a glimpse of a familiar stranger. My heart froze. It was Demetri.

The only empty seat was beside him. I forced a smile and walked towards him. He didn’t notice me and if he did, he did a good job of pretending that I didn’t exist. I sat down and tried the smiling thing again. “You’re Demetri, right? I’m Marisa. We met at lunch.”

He said nothing. He sat straight up, head perfectly leveled with the floor, and eyes focused ahead. He didn’t even glance at me. Demetri gave no indication that the seat beside him was occupied. I was invisible. I felt invisible.

I sighed and took out my drawing from math class to finish it. I guessed that if he wanted to ignore me, then I’d ignore him too. All I had to do was pretend that the angelic looking being next to me really wasn’t there. I shook my head and continued to sketch poppies. Who was I kidding? He was too noticeable to ignore and probably too good to even look at someone like me. He left before the bell rang and without saying a word. I waited for the bell, then picked up my things and left also.

It was such a relief to see Rose waiting for me. I opened the door, buckled up, and started the engine. I was starving again. Lately, my appetite had gone from normal to ravenous. Although I’m a small girl, I’ve been eating three or four times the normal amount of food for any regular person. I didn’t know where all of the food went, but a couple of hours later, I’d be hungry again. It was like a binge-purge cycle without the purging.

“Let’s go home, Rose.” I smiled at the familiarity of seeing her. “I’m ready to eat.”

I pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the light. “I don’t know what his problem is,” I said to her. I had forgotten that I didn’t introduce him. “Demetri,” I said. I waited for the light to turn green before I turned on to the long, meandering road that took us home. “He’s unapproachable. I bet he thinks that he’s too good to be talking to me or something like that.” I had already agreed that he did.

“Oh, and there’s Mrs. Dierk.” I wanted to get off the topic of Demetri. It was too chilling of how his behavior coincided with why no one else spoke to me either. He did speak to me—sort of. I pushed all thoughts of him away and continued on about Mrs. Dierk. “She’s a horrible woman! She insists on humiliating me and is out to ruin my life!”

I sighed, stopping first at a fast food place. I ordered extra-large fries, one double bacon mushroom smothered beef burger, a spicy grilled chicken club with extra mayo, a tall vanilla shake, and a slice of some kind of chocolate truffle pie. I was super hungry. We drove off and I continued telling Rose about Mrs. Dierk.

“She is spiteful and wants to give me a test next week on the whole English book! What kind of teacher does that? And I’ve only got a week to study! How absurd. I can’t believe it. What a—”

The tires squealed as I hit the brake pedal, my shake was quickly stuck in the cup holder between the seats. A rabbit had dashed out in front of the car as I was speeding around a corner much too fast to stop.

“No, no, no!” There was going to be a collision. I knew it. Felt it in the pit of my stomach. All the spaghetti started to rise in my throat. The rabbit froze. Its body was stiff in the middle of the road, unmoving. “Please don’t squish it, Rose!” I pleaded.

I tried to go around it but Rose couldn’t avoid the animal so I desperately tried not to get rabbit all over the wheels. We went right over it. There was a loud thump but I was too scared to look in the rearview mirror. No way was I going back to see if it had died. We didn’t go over a bump, so I was partially relieved that I probably didn’t kill the poor creature. My heart pounded in my chest.

“Rose,” I said a few moments later when the adrenaline in my veins settled down a bit. “I hope it’s still alive. I guess we’ll see tomorrow on our way to school.” With a heavy sigh, I leaned back and continued to drive home in silence.

CHAPTER TWO - ROTTEN LUCK

It was the smell of burning rubber that pulled me out of my coma-like sleep. I awoke to pain and lots of it. “Mom? Dad?” My eyes were too blurry to see anything and the seat belt was still strapped tightly against my chest. There was a bright light ahead. It was blinding.

I unbuckled myself, yanked the belt free and shuffled forward towards my parents. I made out two large shapes through the red haze. “Dad?” I tried shaking him. “Mom!” No one moved. I continued to shake them until all I could manage was a slight push. I was screaming and the tears started to wash away some of the liquid covering my vision.

The car was on fire.

“Dad, we have to go! Mom!” There was no answer and I felt their necks. No pulse. They were as cold as ice.

I grabbed my purse and scooted over to the passenger’s side. The glass was broken to my left. I didn’t want to have to deal with it. The door opened with ease, but I tripped and fell on the gravel beneath. It hurt.

My body felt weak and I weighed a ton. I just wanted to rest there and not move. For a moment, I did just that. Then I opened my eyes and saw something leaking underneath of the car. Instinctively, I knew what it was and it was getting really close to the fire. I needed to move and I had to move fast.

Time slowed to a stop as I inched my way from the burning car. I’ve seen accounts on TV where time slowed down so that people can escape from danger. Was that what was happening to me also? I didn’t know, but it took forever to crawl away from the scene. I hid behind a pile of large rocks a few dozen feet away.

My parents were dead.

That was the realization of everything. Somehow, I thought that they were dead before the crash, maybe even for a long time before anything happened. The coldness was unnatural.

What about me? Was I going to die too? My head started to throb and I felt blood, dried and matted in my hair. There was something else too, but I didn’t want to think about what I was touching. Sobbing, I pulled out my cell phone and called for help.

“911 dispatch,” the woman answered. “Do you need police, ambulance, or the fire department?”

“All three,” I gasped out in between sobs. My voice was cracking badly.

“Where are you at?”

I looked around. Nothing looked familiar. There was no landmark of any kind. No houses or buildings were in sight. “I don’t know. My parents were driving and I fell asleep. I woke up and the car had crashed. They’re dead, both of them!” That last part came out in a whisper.

“I’m turning on your GPS. We’ll get emergency services out to where you are soon. Are you hurt?” She sounded concerned. “What’s your name?”

“Marisa,” I replied. “I’m hurt.”

“Alright Marisa, where are you hurt?”

I tried not to think about the large gash in my head. “I’m bleeding,” I told her. “Please hurry. I don’t think I—” I didn’t even get to finish my sentence when there was a loud boom and I screamed. Jagged metal pieces went flying everywhere.

I heard my name being called from out of the phone. Marisa! Marisa! Everything sounded so far away. Darkness was already upon me and my arms dropped to my sides. My eyelids closed on their own.

I woke up with the pillow soaked in tears. I hated those dreams where I relived the nightmare of the crash over and over again. I touched the scar. It had miraculously healed to a faint line. That was as unexplainable as my survival.

My skull was cracked with multiple compound fractures and the bone was pushed into my brain. The wound was definitely fatal. The doctors couldn’t even perform surgery because it was so messed up. All they did was bandage my head and see if I’d last the night. I did.

I remembered the voices in the operating room. I was out cold, but I still heard clearly.

“DOA,” a man said. “I swear she was, but her eyes popped open and she looked at me. She whispered a word.”

“What word?” a different man asked.

“Blood.”

“That’s right,” the second man said. “She desperately needed a transfusion and fast. She was bleeding to death.”

“How many liters did you give her?”

“Eight, and counting.”

“That’s impossible! The human body doesn’t hold but—”

“Her body’s soaking it up like a sponge,” the second man cut him off. “It doesn’t matter how much blood she needs as long as we save her life.”

“Will she even last the night with that head injury?”

He hesitated. “No, but we can’t give up.”

“It looked like someone took a metal bat and…”

I blinked the thoughts away. It was cold. I glanced over to the opened window. I didn’t remember leaving the window open.

I turned the pillow over and got up out of the bed. There was no shadow lurking in the yard. It was easy to see with the light from the moon. I closed the window and locked it. I went to the closet. Nothing there. No monster hiding under the bed either. I went downstairs and found everything locked and in the exact places that I had left them. I turned back towards the bedroom. Maybe I did leave the window open.

Biology passed by pleasantly. Mr. Carol was just as nice as I thought he was going to be. He was the only person that noticed me. The other kids didn’t even look my way. I found everything odd, but I pushed the eerie sensations out of my head. The goose bumps-on-my-skin kind of feeling wasn’t what I had aimed for. I made a few friends so that was good enough for me.

I was surprised to have sat through Mrs. Dierk’s class. She was less threatening but just as demanding as yesterday that I finish reading the whole English textbook. My test was to be very soon. That meant that I only had the weekend to read and study. I sighed and ignored her—a lot—and was glad when the bell rang. I dreaded seeing her again the next day.

Lunch was the bright part of my day. I had three—well, technically two—new and handsome friends to talk to. It was weird how no one even bothered to say hi, but I was finding a lot of things strange lately.

I found the brothers sitting at the same table. Demetri looked as glum as ever. “Hi,” I said as I walked over, hoping that they wouldn’t pretend to not know me. Alessander and Ra’vin smiled. Demetri stared out of the window. Think of something cool to say, I told myself. I turned to Alessander. “Nice shirt.” That was smart. Yeah, right. I sat down across from them where the only other chair was, as cool as a cat that fell into a pool of water.

Alessander smiled and touched the black ribbed sweater. It clung tightly to his muscular chest. “Thanks.”

“Tell me, Marisa, are you our friend?” Ra’vin’s question was abrupt and directly to the point. Not knowing what to say, I told him what I had hoped for.

“Sure. I’m your friend.”

He gave me a big smile. “That’s all my questions for today.”

We all laughed except for Demetri. “I was expecting another fifty questions or so,” I teased Ra’vin.

“I can think of some more if you want me to,” Ra’vin replied.

“I’ll wait,” I said, trying to juggle food in between talking,

“Did you sleep well?” Alessander asked.

I nodded, lying. I slept okay until I had the nightmare.

“That’s good to know,” he said with a smile. There was more of that whispering. I tried not to focus on their mouths.

“Are you mad at someone or something?” I asked Demetri. He didn’t answer. “Demetri?”

“You’re talking to me,” Demetri said. It wasn’t a question. I nodded and he shrugged. “No, not in particular. Why?”

“You just seem all moody and quiet. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” was all he said.

Alessander offered an apology. “You’ll have to excuse my brother. He is very stubborn at times.”

“Who’s the oldest?” I asked, trying to eat while talking and getting away from the topic of Demetri’s gloominess.

“I am,” Alessander said. “Then Demetri and then Ra’vin.”

“How old is everyone?”

“Eighteen,” they all replied in unison.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you triplets?” The question was absurd. I felt just as ridiculous asking.

“We’re blood, but not of the same parents,” Alessander explained.

Oh, that made a lot of sense—not. “Blood brothers?” I asked.

“Blood brothers,” Demetri repeated.

I nodded. “It’s where you make a pact with someone not related to you and you swear to be their blood brother or sister for life. Is that how this is?” I had seen things on television about when people join in gangs; they had to be blood for life. But Alessander and his brothers didn’t look like they belonged in a gang.

“Yes,” Alessander replied. “You are incredibly smart. How can we get anything past you?”

“Now you’re humoring me,” I said with a frown.

“No,” he said with a laugh. “You are smart.”

“Where are your parents?” I asked, trying to change the topic to anything else but me.

“In Russia.”

“Are you staying with someone?”

“We live by ourselves like you,” Demetri replied.

“What?” He caught me off guard. “How do you know that I live alone?”

“Your parents died, didn’t they? And you said that you didn’t have any siblings. I do listen.” Demetri grinned.

My cheeks flushed red. Of course they’d assume that I lived alone. I turned to Alessander and smiled. “Would you please write your names down and teach me how to pronounce it?”

He nodded and took out a sheet of paper. He wrote down:

Alessander, Demetri, Ra’vin Arromanovokzja

It was in a beautiful script that looked like it came off of a computer. He pronounced their names and I tried practicing it a few times.

“Good,” Alessander said to me. “You’re doing well.”

Immediately, they all stood up. “Sit with us every day, friend,” Ra’vin said with a smile.

I nodded, but they all disappeared before I could reply. The bell rang. I glanced down at my plate of food. It was three-fourths eaten. I was getting better at this. I dumped my tray and hurried off to class.

Math was boring. There was no other way to describe it.

When Floral Arrangement Design class came around—the last period of the day—I made a point to sit beside Demetri again. He didn’t even notice me. His face was towards the front of the classroom, stiff but beautiful.

“Hi Demetri,” I said politely before class began. If he spoke to me at lunch, didn’t that mean that he acknowledged me? “I don’t think I’m getting this right and your flowers always look great. Would you mind helping me?”

He said nothing. Not a word. Not even the hint of a smile. I frowned and turned back to Mrs. Peabody, all red-faced and embarrassed. She continued to go on and on in that high pitched voice of hers while I was greatly distracted by Demetri’s beauty and the thick wall that separated him from the rest of the world. It was hard to concentrate.

“Pay attention,” he whispered to me. His voice was thick and buttery. “If you paid attention, you’d understand.”

“Is that your way of saying no?” I asked.

He let out a semi-chuckle that sounded more like a sudden cough or the puffing in of air. He said nothing more.

Class dragged on slowly and my temples were starting to hurt with all of the worrying that I had myself thinking of. Mrs. Peabody didn’t seem to notice that I was turning green underneath of my skin. No one looked. I was certain that if I turned into the Hulk right now, no one would’ve batted an eyelash—although I was more apt to faint than get mad and destroy things.

“I like your car.”

I glanced up at Demetri. “You like my car?”

“The shiny metallic one, right? The Mustang the color of blood.” His choice of words were descriptive.

“Thanks,” I said, not sure what else to say to him.

There was a sickening feeling in my stomach. It was like being hungry but not wanting food. I felt my head throbbing, trying to burst open from Mrs. Peabody’s lecture on the fertilization of plants. Her squeaky voice sent nails on chalkboard sounds screeching through my head. I felt like exploding. I was going to die and it was ironic that my rotten luck had caught up with me just moments after someone complimented me on Rose. I closed my eyes, grimacing at the pain.

“Here, drink this.” Demetri handed me a silver pouch. It resembled one of those Kool-Aid pouches, but of a generic brand. I’ve seen the brothers drink out of it constantly. The package read, 100% Grape Juice. I glanced over to him.

“Are you kidding me?”

“It’ll make you feel better,” was all he said.

Since it was Demetri offering and I didn’t want to lose any progress that we’ve made so far, I accepted it. I took the straw out of the wrapper and punched it through the small hole covered with foil at the top. At least it wasn’t one that he had been drinking out of. I put my lips to the straw and drank.

The rush of cool liquid entered my mouth. It was very watery but rich, with a heavy sweetness to it. It was odd how the sick feeling in my stomach was actually going away. And with it, my headache. Maybe Demetri wasn’t such a bad guy after all. He watched me drink the juice, his thin lips forming a crooked half-smile. It might've been rude, but I slurped it and drank every last drop.

“How was it?” he asked as he reached for the empty container.

I licked my lips. My stomach felt ten times better. My migraine was fading and Mrs. Peabody’s voice no longer impacted me. To be truthful, I felt a little drunk. It was a silly thought and I laughed.

“What’s funny?” Demetri asked.

“What’s funny is that I feel good, like I don’t care about anything at all. That’s not wine in there, is it?”

He grinned and shook his head. “You opened it, not me.” He paused for a moment and then asked, “What did it taste like?”

“Sweet,” I said with a shrug. “Watery, but strong. I don’t know. I feel a lot better though.”

Demetri stuffed the empty juice container back into his backpack. “That’s good that you feel better.”

This was going on much better than I had expected it to go. Demetri was talking to me. I had three friends and that was more than enough. Classes were too easy, except for Mrs. Dierk’s absurd request. And I’m high off of grape juice.

The last thing that I remembered seeing was Demetri’s face. And such a beautiful face it was.

I awoke moments later in the nurse’s office with Demetri sitting across the room. The sick feeling returned. When he saw me trying to sit up, he walked over. “What happened?’ I asked. The hole in my stomach hurt like mad.

“You fell on me,” he replied.

I looked away. “Sorry.”

He laughed. “You got really badly sick. You were throwing up. Do you remember?”

I shook my head. No wonder my stomach felt so empty! “Is that why I’m here?”

“No,” he said. “I brought you here before all of that happened. You threw up here. Do you want to see it?” I gagged at the thought and couldn’t speak. I tried to shove him away with my hands as he laughed. “Too much grape juice too fast,” he said to me.

“But it was good,” I protested. I felt the sickness rise. I sighed and fell back on the padded metal table. “Kill me,” I mumbled. He couldn’t stop laughing. I threw up because of grape juice? How ridiculous! “Where’s the nurse?” I asked him.

“Gone,” he replied. “I said that I’d look after you if you woke up.”

“What time is it now?”

“Do you have to be somewhere?” He suddenly seemed interested.

“Home,” I told him.

He glanced at the clock on the wall, its thick circle covered in a black band. “It’s a quarter after five.”

“School is over?” I almost jumped out of the bed and stumbled, falling back into the thin mattress.

“I’m afraid you can’t leave in that condition,” he said with a frown.

I slumped farther into the bed. “I just want to go home and lay down in my own bed,” I muttered under my breath.

“How long have you been getting sick?” Demetri asked.

“A few weeks now. A month, maybe. I don’t know.” My head was pounding and I couldn’t think straight.

“And what would you do to feel better?”

“Eat,” I told him. “I’d eat and eat until I no longer felt sick.”

He pulled out another pouch and opened it. Demetri held it up to my face. “Not the whole thing,” he said. “Only enough to make you feel better.”

I nodded and drank. It went down my throat and into my stomach, soothing the burning pain and coating it from the nauseousness. He pulled it away from me and a drop fell on my chin. He wiped it off with his finger and quickly put it to his lips.

“That’s enough,” he said as he took the pouch and started to drink out of it.

I glanced up at him. He sat in front of me, happily gulping down on the only thing that made me feel better while I was the one who was sick. And starving. And weak. “It’s not fair,” I said aloud.

He stepped back and stood a short distance from me. “If you can get out of bed and take it from me, I’ll let you have it.”

“That’s stupid. I’m not going to fight you over some juice—” He put his lips back on the straw and my eyes grew wide. “—that tastes absolutely delicious!”

Demetri’s lips left the straw and he dangled the container in front of me. “There’s only a little left,” he mocked me.

I rolled my eyes and got down, surprised that my feet were firm on the ground. I didn’t trip as I took a few cautious steps towards him. Strength was flowing into my legs. “Okay.” I breathed slowly. “I want that juice, that addictive whatever-it-really-is.”

“Come and get it.”

Demetri held it out to me an arm’s length away. And like a baby going after their bottle, I went for that silver pouch of grape juice. He started to laugh and I lunged for his arm, falling and crashing into him. He let go of it and I put the straw to my lips, taking a much needed drink.

It was empty.

“You lied.” I almost shouted at him. I pushed myself away from Demetri’s grasp. I stood up.

“Only a small joke,” he said with a grin as he got up off of the floor. “You seem to feel well enough to drive home. I’ll bring you one tomorrow, I promise.”

I rolled my eyes and he walked over to his backpack and stuffed the empty pouch in there. “You promise?” I asked.

“Sure,” he replied. “Have a good day, Marisa.”

I managed to turn and see the door shut behind him. I needed to leave also. I followed him, but as soon as the door opened, Demetri was nowhere to be found. Shaking my head, I started towards Rose. She was the only car left in the parking lot. At least I had some kind of a conversation with Demetri.

CHAPTER THREE - DINNER PARTY

The day couldn’t have moved any slower if it wanted to. Night finally came and then the next morning. I was anxious and ready for lunch. I haven’t felt sick since yesterday which was strange because I mostly had insatiable cravings at night. When the bell rang, I practically ran to the cafeteria, determined to beat them there. They were already seated and waiting for me. I sighed, put my bag down, and continued to go get my tray from the lunch line. The Arromanovokzjas might not eat, but I was a hungry and growing girl and I needed food.

“They naturally stay away from us,” Alessander explained. I had asked him why everyone was so unfriendly here. It was nice to know that I wasn’t the only person feeling left out. “We’re foreign to them. We’ve only been here for two years, so we’re pretty new too.”

“Will people ignore me too just because I’m new?” I asked.

They laughed. Even Demetri had a sparkle in his olive colored eyes. Did I say something funny? I glanced at Demetri for a second. He wasn’t his normal dark and brooding self. He actually looked happier.

“I don’t know,” Ra’vin said with a shrug. “It never bothered me. I like being alone.”

Alessander turned to look at me with an odd scrutiny. “I heard about yesterday,” he said with a frown. “Demetri can be such a—” He paused for a word. “—problem sometimes. I hope you are not upset by his joke.”

“I would be if he didn’t bring it,” I said with a laugh. I was half-serious since I was looking forward to having my own juice pouch. I didn’t know what it was, but my stomach craved the liquid. My mouth started to water and I licked my lips.

“You see, that’s the part that I’m referring to,” Alessander said with an extra degree of politeness. “Demetri said something that he shouldn’t have and I didn’t allow him to bring it.”

“It was just grape juice, wasn’t it?” I didn’t see the big deal about sharing.

Alessander paused, trying to think of a way to explain. “It’s like a protein drink that you take instead of food.” He fumbled around with the words but they came out more graceful than a ballet dancer. “We drink when we do not want to eat. It’s a substitute. It’s got extra vitamins and things like that. Because you eat, you should continue to eat.”

“I’m still not understanding.” I tried to think of it as the three of them on diets—as if they even needed to be on a diet since they all looked absolutely gorgeous! How does that come down to me not being able to have some too? “I can’t have grape juice because I eat?”

“You don’t want to gain weight, do you?” Ra’vin asked.

“That’s improper of you to ask a woman,” Alessander hissed. Ra’vin’s cheeks turned a light pink. Demetri laughed and Alessander turned back to me. “It’s for your own good. You mustn’t try to push things. When you do, it goes badly.”

Still, nothing made sense. What was I pushing? I glanced over to Demetri. Did he not want me to talk to him? Was that what this was all about? I was pushing him to be friends or something? Thinking made my brain hurt.

“Fine, I won’t try to push anything,” I said, concentrating on trying to bore a hole through Demetri’s face with my laser beam eyes. If only I had such things! He couldn’t tell me himself that he felt pressured to be my friend?

“Great,” Alessander said. “Now that that’s settled, I’d like to ask you something.”

“Sure,” I replied. What else could be worse?

“Would you like to see our house today?”

“Come over?” I asked. Alessander nodded. The thought of being invited was exciting. “Sure.”

“After school. Demetri will show you to our car and you can follow us there.”

Things were all too strange. Wasn’t it Alessander who just said, “Don’t push“, but here he was, inviting me over to their house? I could only nod my head as they said their farewells and left moments before the bell sounded. My plate was still full of food. I skipped next period to finish eating. I couldn’t think on an empty stomach.

Math was a cinch. I drew more pictures in there.

I walked past Demetri and sat a few seats behind him. We were both early so I just sat in someone else’s seat. He turned around. “Are you upset about the juice?” he asked me.

It all sounded ridiculous. Me? Angry about grape juice? I’d go buy my own, thank you. “No,” I replied, getting up and going to sit by him. “I just don’t want to push anything.”

“Oh,” he said as he understood. “About that. It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”

“Your fault?”

He nodded. His pitch black hair tousled nicely as he shook his head. “I really shouldn’t have given it to you, but Alessander made such a big deal that I wanted to see it for myself. You can’t imagine how few interesting people we’ve met. You’re the first in a long time.”

“Are we still talking about the juice?” I asked. He nodded. “Ugh.” The sound escaped my throat and I turned away.

“What did you think we were talking about?’

“Me. Pushing you to talk to me and to be my friend.”

He laughed. It was a nice sound, a low throaty chuckle. “You can never force someone to be friends,” he said politely, not mentioning whether we were friends or not.

I turned back to him. It was hard not to. There was a certain appeal to him—to all of them—like staring at a beautiful renaissance masterpiece, exquisitely drawn with the finest details and brought to life only by magic. No such thing existed.

“Alessander invited me over. Do you have any idea why?”

“I naturally assumed it was because you’re our friend,” came the reply. “Do you not wish to come over?”

As if I’d ever say no to these handsome foreign guys who wanted me at their house! Not a chance! “Of course I want to see your home,” I told him.

“You’re not afraid we might hurt you?”

His words had me laughing. To be hurt by them would’ve probably been as painful as sitting through a two-hour long film with no plot. The brothers were nicely built, especially Ra’vin. He was thick and beefy. They each stood around six-foot-three or four. They were okay, I was sure of it. Definitely not threatening. And too beautiful to be afraid of.

“You’d laugh at that?” Demetri raised a brow and his words brought me back to reality.

“It’s hard to imagine you hurting someone,” I said to him. “You’re all very polite.”

He gave me a big smile. “Thank you.” Then he added, “We can be extremely dangerous.” There was a sort of sinister gleam in his eyes, a flash of something mysterious.

“Sure,” I agreed. “Tell me about your parents.” I changed the subject.

His eyes softened and for a split second, he looked sad. “My parents in Russia adopted me. My real parents, much like yours, are gone now. They’ve been dead for quite some time.”

“What do your adopted parents look like?” I didn’t want to ask about the other ones.

“Nothing like me,” Demetri said with a smile. “Very graceful. Very patient.” He pointed to his hair. “Blond. They’re aristocrats from Great Britain, but they no longer wanted to live there. I believe they’re expatriates now.”

“Are they really old?” The question blurted itself out before I had a chance to think of what I said. He started to laugh. “I’m sorry,” I said softly, turning a bit red in the cheeks.

“No. They’re quite young actually. They’re only in their thirties.”

I licked my lips, a bit embarrassed and red-faced. I started to mess with the flowers on the desk. Mrs. Peabody spoke a mile a minute like a speeding freight train. Today, however, her voice wasn’t affecting me as much as it did yesterday. Was it because I barely noticed her as I talked to Demetri the whole time?

“What were your parents like?” he asked me.

“Mom was a great cook. I learned to cook from her.” I smiled. “I miss them. Dad was in the military. He was finally going to retire this fall. That didn’t happen.”

“Tell me more,” Demetri said.

I shrugged. “There really isn’t more.”

“You moved around a lot?”

“Yeah.”

“What was it like?”

“Hard,” was the first word that came to mind. “I didn’t have any friends. When I was finally able to have a good friend or two, we always moved. I got used to doing everything by myself.” I paused. “Dad was always busy, overseas and here. I didn’t know when I’d see him again if he left on a mission. Mom wasn’t around much either. She worked two jobs and gave me the best of everything.” I paused again, wondering how any of this could be of interest to Demetri. “I got used to people not talking to me.”

“That sounds lonely.”

His observations were dead on. I was lonely. My parents were hardly ever home. There weren’t a lot of kids to play with. All the ones on base were pretty spoiled and horribly bratty. I didn’t like it much at all.

He was up a good fifteen seconds before the bell rang. “Shall we go?”

“How do you do that?” I asked, getting up out of my seat.

“Do what?”

“Get up right before the bell rings.”

He laughed and pointed to the huge circle clock found in every classroom and the cafeteria. “I keep track of time,” he replied.

I felt like an idiot as I followed him out of the classroom and out of the doors of the building. If I paid attention to the clock also, I would be getting up too. We walked in silence for a moment.

Demetri was tall and lean, graceful like a dancer. Or male model extraordinaire. Walking beside him, I felt like I had just stepped out of the Stone Age. He didn’t seem to notice my lack of fluid mobility as we walked towards the parking lot.

“We parked beside you today,” he said with a grin. He pointed and I looked over to see a sparkling green hybrid beside Rose. “It stands out like yours.” It did stand out and next to mine, they both looked like car-shaped boats in a Christmas parade. As we got closer, I saw Alessander and Ra’vin already in their car waiting for us.

“They’re quick,” I said to Demetri.

He smiled. “They’re always on time.”

I waved and there came a glimmer of perfect white teeth as they both smiled. I expected Demetri to walk over to their car, but he stood next to mine instead. “Are you getting in?” I asked.

“I’ll make sure you get there okay if you get lost,” Demetri replied.

I shrugged and opened the doors. They were automatic with the push of a button on my key chain. He got in and strapped himself down. There was no helping but to glance at him for a moment before I slowly pulled out and backed up, giving Alessander room to do the same and lead. We followed them to the light.

“I hope he drives slow so I can catch up.”

“Don’t worry,” Demetri told me. “He’ll drive very slow for you.”

His words didn’t make sense but I ignored them and listened to the sound of his voice. I could fall asleep to a foreign accent, no matter what was said to me. We followed Alessander for a while and Demetri was right. Alessander was driving really slow. “You can listen to the radio,” I suggested to him. He simply shook his head and that was the end of that.

It took nearly an hour to get to their house, but when we pulled into the driveway, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was staring at a French mansion! It was rustic looking—all brick with a strange but very neat neutral pattern of soft mauves and berries. There were double doors painted in a khaki beige with an arched border of glass on top and panels on the sides, depicting wild vines stained on the glass. It was such a beautiful sight!

The windows were arched and had a 3-d relief of grape clusters and vines spreading over the top of each one. The wooden shutters were painted a light lavender which matched everything very well. The second story windows had flower pots with hanging vines and assorted flowers. The roof was a dazzling blueberry.

The front yard was a healthy green and manicured with large hexagonal flag stones that made steps which led up to the front porch. There was a mid-sized tree, off center and to the right, that provided shade and trimmed hedges formed a thick line along the white pebbled walkway from the driveway to the house. It was magnificent.

I got out of the car and stood there frozen in disbelief. I had never seen such a gorgeous place before. I turned back to see Demetri getting out from the passenger’s side of Rose. It seemed only fitting that extraordinary people would have such an extraordinary place. Demetri gave me a smile.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful,” I replied.

Alessander and Ra’vin were already out of their car. “I picked it out,” Ra’vin said with a grin. I nodded. Leave it to the biggest guy to pick out the biggest house in the whole state.

“You own all this?” I asked. They laughed at the foolishness in my question. Even with all of my inheritance: the life insurance on both of my parents—and they had amazing life insurance coverage; retirement funds that I am entitled to; stocks; and whatever else I had—all of it wouldn’t have been enough to purchase a home nearly as grand as this.

“No.” Alessander winked. “It’s rented, actually. Our parents pay for it.” Did he just really wink at me?

“You must have really rich parents.”

“Yes,” Alessander agreed. “They have accumulated quite a lot of wealth. Would you like to go inside?”

All I could do was to nod my head. It was the perfect dream: three equally gorgeous guys beside me and I was about to walk into a house straight out of the French countryside, somewhere private with its own land. Alessander opened the door and held it for me. As I stepped into the real marble stone foyer, I was certain that all of this had to be a dream.

Right above us was an enormous glass chandelier. I saw the railings on the stairs above the open foyer. I wasn’t sure if there were two stories or three, but the size was overwhelming and impressive. Marble statues of lions adorned the bottom of the staircase and the stairs curved around to form a balcony overlooking the foyer and another balcony which overlooked the living room. All of it was amazing.

“I can’t believe you all live here in such a beautiful house. You should see my two-bedroom cabin, and then you’d understand how all of this seems so unreal to me.”

They laughed and led me to the living room. It was just as nice with a polar bear head sticking out from the white rug. Wow. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what they must’ve cost. There was no way they used a fake bear if they could afford all of this other nice stuff. The sharp dark claws and the sharp teeth all looked pretty real to me.

I sat down on the couch and the brothers all sat in armchairs around me. It wasn’t a complete surprise that no one sat next to me. The same thing happened during lunch also. There seemed to be an invisible line drawn, especially when there didn’t have to be one.

“Would you like something to drink?” Alessander offered.

I shook my head, trying to take everything in. “It’s all so beautiful,” I said. I wanted to scream out, as beautiful as all of you are, but I bit my lip instead.

“Thank you,” Ra’vin said. “I decorated this room.” There was a big smile on his face and I suddenly understood why there was an animal in the room. Even with the fur, the design was very elegant and classy. This was the kind of room that would have been seen at some high-end home exhibition that catered to the rich and famous. Ra’vin picked out the house. Of course the rooms would be decorated to fit.

“You have very nice taste and style,” I told Ra’vin. I was beginning to see how each piece of furniture complimented the others. I was sure they all had excellent designing skills. It was also probably why Demetri excelled in Floral Arrangement Design class. I, on the other hand, couldn’t tell the difference between a lily and a lilac. Or was it an iris?

We sat there for a moment in silence. I was way out of my league. It was difficult not to stare at them. And they lived in a mansion of a house! My whole cabin was probably the size of this one room. And I thought my luck was bad? This was certainly good luck.

“I hope you don’t think it’s rude,” Alessander said gently. “But I did look up and read about the crash and your parents’ deaths. It’s not that we don’t believe you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, not missing one beat in the change of his words from ‘I’ to ‘we’. “I actually carry a copy of everything with me just in case I needed it. You can imagine the trouble I went through trying to register for school with no parent or guardian.”

“Do you remember what caused the accident?” Ra’vin asked me. His eyes were large. There was a bit of worry in his voice—or sadness. I couldn’t tell which.

“I was asleep,” I replied.

“So you didn’t see anything?” Alessander asked me.

I shook my head. “When I woke up, the car was on fire. My parents were dead and I couldn’t see well because there was so much blood in my eyes. My head impacted the door and there was glass everywhere. I have a six-inch scar on my head.”

Ra’vin made a grimace and I laughed. Their laughter was essential to pushing away painful memories. He flashed me a smile.

“Can we see it?” Demetri asked. I nodded and tilted my head over, showing them the faint scar. They didn’t move. “It’s hardly present. It healed very well for such a long scar,” he remarked to the others. I nodded my head in agreement.

“Your parents died because of the crash?” Alessander asked politely.

I hesitated. “No,” I replied. “I remember shaking them, trying to wake them up. We had to leave. The car was on fire. But they didn’t respond. They were already so cold when I touched them that I felt like I was touching ice.”

“And how did you feel?” Alessander kept a steady gaze on me.

“Pain. Lots and lots of pain.”

“What happened next?” Ra’vin pressed me onward.

“I got out of the passenger’s side. There was too much glass on my seat.” I paused, trying to think of a way to explain it without looking incredibly stupid or weak. “I fell out of the car.” There was no way to say that smoothly. “I saw the gas tank leaking and I knew that I had to get out of there. But I couldn’t move so I crawled for what seemed like a really long time. There were some big rocks ten or twenty feet from the car and I went there and hid. I dialed 911 and the car exploded while I was still on the phone.”

“What do you think really happened?” Demetri asked, his face full of concern. He was too perfect to have any wrinkles.

“I don’t really know.” I paused. “I think they were murdered, but I wasn’t awake to tell who did it.”

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Alessander asked me, changing the subject.

“Only if I can help cook.” I grinned. “What’s for dinner?”

“Demetri told me you’re a great cook.” Alessander smiled. “I’ll let you decide.”

I glanced over to Demetri. He hadn’t said anything in my presence about my knowing how to cook, did he? “Sure,” I told Alessander. “Can I see what there is to work with?”

He nodded and all three of them got up. I was led into a well-lit kitchen. It looked custom made with spacious counters and a large silver fridge filled with food. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve guessed that everything was staged and that all of the food was bought specifically for me. That never happened in real life though.

“What do you all like to eat?’ I asked them.

Ra’vin only smiled and Demetri said nothing. Alessander spoke. “How about your favorite?” he suggested.

The thought of cooking spaghetti for three guys didn’t seem so impressive. Three beautiful guys that resembled angels more than men. What did mom used to make for dad that he loved so much? It was amazing the amount of information that was lost over time when it wasn’t in use or needed. I simply forgot. Oh well, spaghetti it is! Wait. How about something a little better? I glanced over all the food and made up my mind. Angel hair Alfredo with sausage and peppers and onions. That sounded a lot better than lunch food.

“I think I’ve got it,” I said with a smile. “But I need everyone’s help so start rolling up your sleeves.”

They laughed. Alessander pulled out aprons from one of the drawers and we all donned them on. It was a good thing that they were prepared for the mess that would result from having me cook. I grinned. The fun had only begun.

Alessander chopped up vegetables while Ra’vin boiled the noodles. Demetri cut up meat and I, well, I just relaxed and bossed them around. I laughed, watching them work hard. What about dessert? I decided to make one of my favorites—chocolate turtle cheesecake.

The kitchen was busy and we had a fun time trying not to run into each other or make great messes. There were plenty of little messes. It was nice how we all worked together. I didn’t feel like a stranger anymore. Right now, we were all friends and I felt like I belonged.

Ra’vin drained the noodles and made the Alfredo very cheesy. Alessander started to cook the meat. We used big polish sausages and bratwursts. He then added the onions and peppers. Demetri helped to set up the table and promised to do the dishes which was the biggest help of all. The preparation for the cheesecake was ready and I stuffed it in the oven to bake.

When everything was finished, I left the cheesecake to bake for another ten minutes while Ra’vin went around the table, spooning large amounts of pasta onto our plates. He poured the rest into a big bowl in the middle of the table and went back into the kitchen to wash the pot as I had told him to do so. Alessander spooned the meat and vegetable mixture on top of the cheesy noodles. The rest of it went into the bowl and Alessander went into the kitchen to hand Ra’vin the skillet to be washed.

I took the cheesecake out of the oven and put it in the fridge to cool off. When I came back to the table, Demetri was pouring red wine into their glasses. “What would you like to drink?” he asked me.

“Some of that,” I said, pointing to the bottle in his hand.

He frowned. “I’m afraid you’ll be driving home so there’s no alcohol for you.” He paused for a moment, and then grinned. “Unless you want to invite me over to spend the night.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “In your dreams, Demetri!” I rolled my eyes. In my dreams too, I thought to myself. Of course I’d wish it, but I’d never have the guts to say it out loud. “But you’re all drinking it,” I protested. “One glass will not make me drunk.”

He laughed. “Do you want tea, water, juice—” He paused at the word and corrected himself. “—orange juice, or milk?”

“Tea,” I replied unhappily. He smiled at my answer and went to go fetch it from the fridge. The wine was a deep red, somewhat watery, but odd in how it started to separate in color. It was a lot darker at the bottom than at the top. I was tempted to take a sip out of Demetri’s glass but he returned with a cup of tea for me. I sighed and sat down in my seat which was across the table from all of theirs.

“Let’s eat,” he said cheerfully, handing me the cup.

I nodded and took the tea, saving my ambitions for a later opportunity. My eyes stayed glued on to the wine until Demetri cleared his throat and I snapped awake from my daze. I glanced up and he raised a curious brow at the object of my affection. I only smiled and sipped my drink. By then, Alessander and Ra’vin had returned from the kitchen and taken their seats.

We ate and laughed and had a good time talking about nothing at all. I tried hard not to look at their drinks which I suspected to be the same as the grape juice although I had no proof of it. The cheesecake was cool enough to be cut without crumbling into pieces by the time that we had finished eating and talking. A good ten minutes in the freezer also helped. It was delicious! Very moist and yummy. The caramel was delightful and the brothers enjoyed dessert in between sips of their wine. I wanted some too, but Demetri kept an eye on me after he saw me trying to covet his drink with my eyes. I sighed.

It wasn’t shocking that they drank alcohol. In some places in Europe, the legal drinking age was as young as fifteen or sixteen. And wine was better than beer. I watched them shake the glasses a little to mix up the drink before sipping. I pushed all of the negative thoughts aside and focused on enjoying the moment with friends.

Rose and I left shortly after dessert. The evening turned out better than I had imagined it to be. I wanted to help clean up, but Alessander insisted that I leave while there was still light left, otherwise I’d get lost. I said that I was going to be fine, but he persisted until I finally said goodnight.

And he was right. I did get lost. I drove around helplessly until I came to something that I did know—Sterling River. From there, I made my way to the main road which took me home.

CHAPTER FOUR - PAIN

It was already morning when I woke up with the sun shining brightly through the window. The clock read 9:20 am. I was late for school!

I rushed, haphazardly packing things and trying to figure out whether all of my homework was done or not when I realized that it was Saturday. I laughed at my own inability to grasp on quickly and I put everything back down on the bed. At least I wouldn’t have to cram in breakfast.

The laughter was overtaken by something much stronger, something that made my knees weak and my fingers immobile—pain. I fell on top of the bed, half on and half off, with my knees collapsing under me. There was a reflection of someone unbelievably unreal and beautiful as my body slumped to the floor.

There was a puddle of drool next to my mouth. It was disgusting. The pain had disappeared and my surroundings were slowly coming back into focus. I felt weak. There was still some Alfredo and cheesecake left in the fridge from last night’s feast. Alessander insisted that I pack at least half of the remaining food. I’m now glad that he made me do that. If only I could make it down the stairs and into the kitchen. I crawled downstairs, step-by-step, dragging my heavy body along. All there was to it was to stick the food into the microwave and eat. Easy.

I was starving.

The fridge opened with ease, but I had to prop myself up on the counter to reach the microwave. Thankfully, Rose was outside and didn’t have to witness my rather pitiful performance of reheating leftovers. I barely got the bowl down on the counter top before I started digging away. I didn’t even try to bring the bowl to the ground in case I dropped the whole thing and had food flying everywhere and wasted it. I pulled a drawer halfway out to help steady myself. There was no reason why I felt completely helpless, but I did. I ate the pasta and sausage with haste.

Moments later and seven cold minutes on the floor, exhausted from the effort of feeding myself, I felt a little better. Just enough to get up, cook, and eat again. It was surprising that due to all the food that I ate in the past month, I could’ve fed a whole family! None of that changed my 120 pound weight. Lucky genes, I assumed. Thanks, dad!

I decided that Rose needed a rest today. We had gone to school nearly every day this past week, not to mention all of the driving that we did coming here. I promised to take her out for a ride tomorrow instead.

The day was beautiful, a little warm, but it never occurred to me before to take a walk in the woods where I lived. I rented the cabin from the owner. He wasn’t a bad person to deal with. It came fully furnished, which was great in case I decided not to stay in Sterling, and I enjoyed not having to spend money on purchasing furniture that I didn’t quite know where to put if I had left. I had at first tried renting an apartment in town, but that didn’t work. I didn’t have credit and I wasn’t eighteen yet. The little cabin was beautiful though. It was situated close to a body of water called Wolf Lake. Everything about the Black Hills spoke of wolves, but I had never seen any.

I grabbed my shoes and was out of the door in no time flat—after changing out of the drool-stained clothes that I had on earlier. In my hand was my secret weapon: a bright pink object that was powerful enough to make a bear cower or run away—mace. It was effective against unwanted people and animals although I had never tried to use it before.

I was expecting the woods to be like the ones back home, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it much different. In the Carolinas, the woods were so thick with thorns, underbrush, and all sorts of things that it was a wonder at how such a big animal like a deer could ever possibly make its way through the mess. Here, it was calm, quiet, and there were actually places on the ground to step on. The dirt was soft and rich, a deep black and there weren’t any thorns at all. Thorns must’ve only been native to the east coast. Here, big trees sprouted and there were very few trees that were shorter than ten feet. I could clearly see if an animal was stalking me due to the sparse undergrowth. There were no ferns, no brambles, and no tiny bushes. It was a nice alternative to what used to be home.

The sparkle of water caught my eyes. Wolf Lake. I was there.

The lake was a few miles wide and a few miles long. Its waters were pristine and blue, not that the bottom could be seen. I wouldn’t dare swim in it. Years of watching The X-Files and other shows like Lost Tapes and MonsterQuest had me a bit cautious of the unknown things lurking in the depths of unseen places. If I was to go swimming, it would be in a pool where I could see the bottom and the water would turn green if someone peed in it.

The breeze blew and the sounds of nature were at its minimum. It felt good to ease my mind from any worry or stress that I’ve had in the past few days. And those from months ago. Everything felt so peaceful.

I spotted a floating dock and decided to walk along it. The wood creaked beneath of my footsteps as the dock gently bobbed in the water. I sat down at the end, trying to peer past the sky’s reflection. My eyes closed. The wind gently ran through my hair and my mind was quiet. All was perfect.

Then came the pain. It hit like a ton of bricks, pushing me down on to the dock with such a force that the water rolled away and returned, rising a few inches around the wood. I lay there, barely breathing, trying to imagine the pain to go away. It didn’t work. There was a deep throbbing in the pit of my stomach, an emptiness that needed to be filled. There was so much hunger that I literally felt like I was starving to death.

As I stared down into the dark waters off the edge of the dock, I noticed someone staring back. His eyes were huge, a deep amethyst with a bright circle of dandelion colored spikes. It was so strange, like someone beneath of the waters was staring up at me. I peered over the edge, holding on to the wood for support and leaned down for a closer look. There was something in those eyes that I couldn’t see clearly. My face was so close to the water that the tips of my hair were wet. What were in those eyes?

It was a reflection of me.

I lost my balance—although I wasn’t quite sure how since I was laying on the dock—screamed, fell over into the water, and swallowed a mouthful of disgusting algae gunk. If I wasn’t alone, I could’ve sworn that someone pushed me in. I surfaced, spitting out as much as I could, choking from the terrible taste. The water was only a few feet deep, lucky for me, and I dragged my body back to the shore. Completely exhausted and wet, I collapsed a few feet from the water’s edge.

Me in the great outdoors? Never again!

The picture in the eyes, the reflection of me—was he really looking at me? How did I know that it was a he? I didn’t see a face, but somehow I knew.

Unable to hold my head up any longer, I let it fall to the side. My breathing came out in short hard breaths, like I had been running away from something. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and as I opened my eyes, there was something worse there than the eyes that stared at me from beneath the water’s surface. I screamed.

There, attached to my forearm was a fat leech. It was nice weather so I had on a short sleeved shirt. Bad idea. The little blood sucker was about four inches long and an inch or two thick. It wasn’t little at all! That was huge! Pepper spray didn’t work on leeches, according to my knowledge.

“Get it off! Get it off me!” The screams went unheard. My arm flailed wildly as if thrown hard enough, the leech would detach on its own.

“It’s okay. It’s just a leech. Calm down. People don’t die from leeches,” I told myself. “Just get it off.” The feel of its slimy skin shattered any thoughts of pulling it off. I couldn’t even put a worm on a fishing hook, let alone touch this huge squirming thing.

A few frantic, desperate screams later, I was searching my body for signs of other leeches. This one must’ve attached itself as I crawled through the shallow parts of the water.

“Just one leech. Pull yourself together, Marisa. Get up! Get up! Get up!” My pep talk didn’t help much. It was still a big, squirmy, slimy, yucky thing that was drinking all my blood. My legs felt like jelly. I was hungry, losing blood, and unable to move. This possibly couldn’t be the end of me! Imaginations started to fill my head.

In today’s stupid news: teenage girl dies from a leech, hypothermia, and starvation all on a sunny day in today’s decently better economy.

Girl falls in lake, gets eaten alive by leech.

Teenager found dead in the woods. Cause of death? The leech still attached to her arm.

“Get up, Marisa!” I screamed through clenched teeth. It was easy to hear myself say it, but to do it was a different story. I got up on my knees. Great. That was progress. One knee off the ground. Awesome. Now, the other knee…the pain hit in another wave of angry fury and knocked me down. The last thing that I saw was the leech, uncomfortably close to my face.

 ***

Thank you for reading the sample chapters to my vampire novel, The Turning. It can be purchased here at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/386187 or through Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Turning-Xao-Thao-ebook/dp/B00HBKIPUY