Van
Van had a temper. It wasn't a fact she was blind to, but she had never considered herself capable of murder until this moment. Sandwiched between Isaiah and another Novitiate- Jett or Jackson, she wasn't really certain- the fry she had been about to eat grew cold against her lips. No one at the table seemed to catch her lack of enthusiasm except for Hailey, and the blue-eyed girl looked like she would rather be anywhere but there.
That makes two of us, Hailey. That makes two of us.
"Can you believe it? It actually pissed itself like a little kid."
Don't say it. Don't say- "What else would it piss itself like?"
A deep dimple formed in Isaiah's cheek as he smiled at Van. It wasn't a friendly smile or even a polite one. It was the kind of smile you gave someone you considered inferior or a little soft in the head.
"Jett," Isaiah began, pushing back in the booth and dropping a heavy arm on Van's shoulders. "This is why it's so important for Novitiates to attend Asylum school from day one. I mean, look at Hailey..."
For someone with the face of a cherub, the look on Hailey's face was anything but angelic when she snapped, "Go on, Isaiah. Finish that sentence."
"With pleasure. Hailey's parents caved and let their daughter attend school with the humans and Shifters. Her mom has some sort of hard on for the creatures, and since she was BFFs with Van's mom, our Supreme looks the other way. Now, Hailey thinks it's okay to hang out with them and speak to them like they're human."
Van threw the fry back onto her plate. The thought of eating it made her ill. "Maybe she doesn't feel the need to go out of her way to be a douche canoe all the time. You know, my mom always told me that the true sign of a powerful person was someone who treated everyone as an equal because they didn't need to fluff their ego by putting other people down. Power isn't something you get by taking it from others. You either have it, or you don't."
It was probably a good thing Luca had abandoned her. In five minutes she'd undone all the hard work from the last week. But everyone had limits, and listening to Isaiah and Jett brag about torturing the captive, underage Shifters for sport had pushed her over hers.
"Oh, see I think this is where you misunderstand me." The gentle squeeze on her shoulder became a punishing vise. Isaiah's breath was hot and moist against her ear. "I don't treat them like animals to remind me of my place in this world. I treat them like animals because they are animals, and they forget it real fast."
Jett cleared his throat and squirmed, making the vinyl covers squeak in protest. For a Friday evening, Wanda's was practically empty. Most of the kids were what the Asylum kids called the Unknowing. A few were Novitiates, but none of them were Shifters. Tensions were high on the pack lands as they searched for Rosita, and though she wished to see a familiar set of brown eyes, she was glad he wasn't there to watch her submit to Isaiah.
"Levy?" Jett said, his voice uneven with nerves or puberty, Van couldn't be certain. The color was high in his pale, golden cheeks, and he didn't look at anyone for too long.
"What's the levy?"
Hailey shook her head while delivering a swift kick to Van beneath the table. "Isaiah, come on? Is now the right time?"
"Let's go," the boy commanded, sliding out and holding out a hand to help Van out.
She didn't need assistance, but after baiting him during the meal, she needed to do some sort of damage control. When her fingers slid onto his palm, he curled his thick fingers over them, pressing down possessively.
Five minutes later, she was seated snugly next to Hailey in the backseat of a late model Range Rover as they pulled out of Wanda's parking lot. She wanted to pay attention to their route, but an incessant tapping on her leg drew her attention to the girl at her side.
"Wh-"
Hailey shook her head, cutting her eyes at the rear view mirror. Van found Isaiah's blue eyes pinned on her rather than the road.
"What are you two chatting about back there?"
"Just girl talk. Maybe it's about you." she replied, injecting honey into her words- thick and sweet and strong enough to mask the bitterness.
Jett swiveled around and laced his hands over the back of his head. He winked at Van and Hailey before turning back to the front. In another life, she might have found him handsome with his tilted eyes and ink black hair. But the way he groveled for Isaiah's attention was enough to disfigure any good looks.
"Dude, teach me your way with the ladies," Jett joked before cranking up the stereo.
The car vibrated as the song's bass beat thudded through the speakers, but no more than two words passed before Isaiah pressed mute.
"Can't hear anyone talk if we listen to music."
"Music is distracting anyways," Van replied.
The engine roared as the car sped up, and Hailey groaned. Van gripped the door handle, desperate to appear calm even as her heart thudded and her vision dimmed. It was bad enough to be in a speeding vehicle during the day, when she could judge how fast they were going based on the blur of the trees and sky, but at night, she felt as if she were sucked into a tunnel. No escape.
Isaiah continued to speak without looking where he was going. "Oh, that's right. I bet you're really careful in cars, Van."
They fishtailed as they took a sharp turn onto a gravel road. A bit of moon broke between the clouds. The thick forest edging the road was gone, replaced by still waters edged in white. Gusts of wind stirred up the fine powder on the icy rocks, making it appear as though the snow was rising up from the ground, and when the flakes landed in the water, they dissolved on contact.
The scenery should have been beautiful. Instead, it made Van want to vomit. She had forgotten about the snow, so not only was she in a speeding vehicle with a reckless asshole, but she was in a speeding vehicle with a reckless asshole on slick roads. On a bridge.
"We should really slow down."
"What was that?" Isaiah demanded, his eyes bright with a maniacal fire as he pushed his foot against the pedal.
"Come on, Van. Sing along. You know the words to the song."
"Pay attention to the road, Mom."
"Walker, your big sister is too cool to sing with us anymore."
"It's going to be okay, Van," Hailey whispered. "They do this to all the kids who will make the officer track."
"They kill all of them in car crashes?" she hissed, both hands now on the handle. She didn't give a damn that anyone knew she was terrified.
"You're not going to die, Van. I would never allow it," Isaiah said, jerking the steering wheel around a curve. They were off road now, every bump jostling them into the ceiling and doors. Jett let loose a curse as his face struck the window.
"It's an initiation, Van. They're just going to scare us a bit. Right, Isaiah? Isaiah!"
"Mom, slow down."
Van pressed her hand against the window as they zipped over the bridge. She hated this part of the drive. It didn't matter that they crossed it everyday or that her mother assured her the historic society kept the metal death trap up to safety standards. It predated the Civil War, and stretched over the widest and roughest part of the river.
"Come on, Walker. The chorus is our favorite part. Louder," Mom shouted, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel the way she always did when she was really feeling the beat.
"Mom, do you not see that car. It's stalled-"
Hailey shrieked. The car pitched sideways.
Van screamed as the nose of their car crashed into the railing. White rapids rushed up to greet them. Walker was crying. Mom held her hand. Whispered something that sounded like sorry. And then there was nothing but cold and darkness.
The water was so much colder this time. It washed over her face, bubbling up through the crushed portion of the roof. They'd rolled several times, but the car stopped before it was fully submerged. It was enough to drown them. Just like last time.
No.
Last time she'd been unconscious. By all accounts, she should have died, and there had been times she wished she had. Why had she survived the unsurvivable but they hadn't? This time she would save them.
Van tightened her core and lifted her upper body out of the water. Fingers trembling, she fumbled for the seat belt latch, taking a deep breath before pushing the button. She plunged back into the water, but the frigid temperatures didn't make her gasp in shock. She was too numb and determined.
Saving Hailey was easy. She came to as soon as Van got her head above the water, and she did the rest on her own. Getting out was trickier, but a familiar surge of power washed over her, and she pushed on the door until the hinges snapped off.
"H-how?" Hailey stuttered.
"Don't worry about it. Get Jett. I'll get Isaiah," she said, crawling on hands and knees to the front passenger side and yanking the door open so Hailey could reach the boy.
Van gasped as the ground disappeared beneath her as she worked her way back to the driver's side. Spluttering, she fought her way to the surface and was grateful to find she could reach the bottom with her toes, but all her gratefulness faded when she found Isaiah's door was fully submerged.
"Jett isn't breathing," Hailey shouted.
"Do you not know CPR?" she yelled back as she tried to figure out how to rescue Isaiah.
Her burst of strength was fading, the door was bent, and she would have to go under water to reach the handle. Why was she even bothering? Isaiah was the worst sort of Slayer. They were in this predicament because of his foolishness, and if he were gone, it would be a lot easier to pretend at school. He was too watchful. Too knowing.
"No," she spit out. Leaving him to die because they were different would make her no better than him. "One, two, three."
Sucking in a lungful of air, Van dove. The water burned her eyes, and it was almost so dark she might as well have kept them closed. She slid her fingers along the metal. Something sharp bit in her skin, but she didn't withdraw. The handle had to be somewhere close.
Suddenly, everything sharpened, and she could see as clearly as if it were daylight above water. It lasted only a moment, but it was long enough for her to find the handle. She tugged, waiting for power to warm her blood; instead, her chest tightened as her need for air propelled her to the surface.
"Damn it," she choked out, swiping at her face. She barely had the energy to swim back to shore much less find the handle and open the door. But she had to try.
If only she wasn't so cold and tired. Maybe she could rest for just a moment. Her head dipped forward, the tip of her nose skimming the water before she jerked herself upright. Then, a strong arm hooked around her waist, crushing her against something solid and so warm it almost burned.
"Van, are you okay? Look at me."
She blinked rapidly, not remembering closing her eyes. Luca's face came into focus, and he sighed, his breath a puff of silver mist against her skin as he pressed his forehead against hers.
"Isaiah-"
"I got him out. Hailey is working on him."
"Wh-where have you been?"
Luca's eyes widened, then narrowed. But behind the irritation, she spied something like relief.
"You almost drowned, and your first question is to ask me where I've been?"
"You ghosted me." Her anger heated her body, and it almost drowned out the pain of sensation returning to her limbs.
He looked over her head at something she could see. Probably the other Novitiates. Then, he cupped her face. "It won't happen again, but I have to go now. Help is coming, and I can't be seen here. I just needed to know you were going to be okay."
Hailey spoke up, her voice hoarse. "I've got her. Go Luca. We've got this."
"I'll call you."
"Maybe, I won't answer," Van snapped, earning a chuckle from Luca before he slipped into the night. She rolled to her side and stared in the direction he disappeared, a smile curving her lips when something blue flashed on the horizon.
"Van, we need to talk," Hailey said as headlights flooded the area with brightness. "Later. Where these asshats can't hear us."
"Okay. You're not going to tell anyone that Luca was here," she asked, praying Isaiah and Jett hadn't gained consciousness during the last few minutes.
The blonde shook her head before flopping to her back on the hsore. Exhaustion was clear in both girls' faces. Van crawled to Hailey's side and curled against her, hoping whoever was in the cars had blankets. Because sleep was about to claim her.
Just before she slipped into slumber, she heard Hailey whisper, "No, Van. I want in."