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Chapter 14
"Larkin?" Luke sounded surprised as I shook that disturbing image from my head.
"Luke..." I blinked as the red I thought I'd seen disappeared. The shocked look on his handsome face quickly fell away to that signature charming smile.
"I'm surprised to see you here, but I'm glad came!" He left the stairs to walk towards me, his now-brown eyes shining happily in the darkened hallway. I sucked in a shaky breath as the sound of a toilet flushing reached my ears. I just imagined the red eyes. I've been drinking, I'm not comfortable here, and I've been stressing about those freaks at that ice cream shop all week. Luke's eyes were normal—normal. But that didn't change the creep-a-zoid vibe I got from the guy.
"Uh-uh, yeah. My friends wanted to go partying since it's the first official week and yeah..." I let my voice trail off as I listened intently to Siena washing her hands. Let's go, girl. I got to get the hell out of here.
"Oh? You made friends already? That's great! See, this place isn't so bad!" Luke was beaming down at me, and I couldn't tell if he had been drinking or not. He seemed completely sober, not that I was one to really be judging or anything. "Hey, why don't you come hang out with me and some of my friends—"
Siena finally decided to open the door then, her dazed gray eyes widening as they landed on handsome, creepy guy. "Luke Acton..."
Those brown eyes snapped to her and he sent that pleasant, perfect-toothed, smile her way. "Yeah, but you can just call me Luke. What's your name?"
"Siena." I answered before she had the chance and wrapped my hand around her wrist in case we needed to make a hasty retreat. "Thank for the invite, Luke." I continued as I eased around his nicely toned body and pulled her carefully with me. "But we should really be getting back to our other friend downstairs."
His smile didn't falter as we headed for the steps, though his brown eyes watched my every move. "No worries, maybe some other time." Luke followed us to the stairs, and my dazed mind noticed half-way to the first floor how he purposely kept his body between that door he came out of and us.
He followed us all the way downstairs and half-way through the crowd. I was convinced Luke planned on being our night-long stalker, so I turned around to snap something rude, but he wasn't there. I blinked at the bodies surrounding Siena and myself. I could have sworn he had been right there.
"Where's River?" She shouted over the music.
"No idea! But, I'm ready to go home! Let's find him!"
She tugged on my hand as I turned to push through the crowd, her bright gray eyes widening. "Oh, he's not going to want to leave until the cops show! If you want to go, I'll stay with him and make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble!"
I didn't want to leave either of them, especially after witnessing all the alcohol they both drank. But I sure as hell didn't want to stay if cops were going to be showing up. I already completed my mission anyways—completely, and totally pissing Adriel off. He had been leaning against the entryway to the living room when I left, his blue eyes bright with fury, but the sardonic smile sitting on his lips was what scared me the most.
An angry, jaw clenched Adriel I was used to. Not one who was so beyond pissed that he was smiling. He had seen what I was wearing too, and that smile fell slightly—just slightly, before he rolled his eyes. "Nice look, Larkin. Have a good night." The icy edge to his tone made my back stiffen, but I kept my mouth shut as I walked out the door. I didn't turn back to look at him either.
Point 1 for Lark.
I had enough adventure for one night though. "Alright, Si. I'll help you find him first." We spent about ten minutes hunting through the massive, sweaty crowd.
I never saw Luke again, though I wasn't sure if that was a good thing. I almost wished we hadn't found River when we finally did. The guy was pressed against the back wall of the party and basically sucking the tongue out of that rando' from earlier. Well, at least one of us was getting some.
"Are you sure you're alright?" I asked Siena as she took up camp at the kitchen counter, right next to her best friend and the guy whose face he was practically eating. She nodded, those gray eyes focusing slightly more than before.
"Yeah, I'm good. You alright to walk home?"
"Always am." I shot her a thumbs-up, and a quick goodbye before heading back through the crowd. I would just text them in the morning to make sure they got home okay. And I'm sure the 'king of one-night-stands' is going to want to talk all about his little adventure.
I wasn't sure if it was the mistaken red-eyed scare, or maybe just the lack of alcohol for the past hour and the hot, sticky air, but my mind seemed to be sobering up. I shoved through the crowd, the front door my only objective in mind. I got outside easily enough, although someone did reach under my skirt and grabbed my ass. I spun around and sent my fist sailing through the air in the direction of the perv. I didn't notice who I hit, but the throbbing pain in my hand I tried to shake out as I walked down the street let me know I definitely nailed someone.
The upper classmen apartments were at the back of campus, with roads leading in every which direction. I focused on the familiar tall buildings of the school and headed in that direction. If I could get to the middle of campus, I could get home. I had my cellphone in the waist band of my skirt, but I absolutely refused to call Adriel.
First of all, I was still beyond pissed at him, and I didn't want to deal with that smug attitude when he found out I didn't have fun at all. And secondly—well, secondly, I was terrified of what could happen to him. Just because they were in college, didn't make them smart, and I knew a handful of those people back there would be driving. All it took was one drunk driver and busted headlights to change lives forever. Maybe it was just the party-setting tying the two events together for me, but I would never endanger him like that, or anyone. Never again.
I had been walking for a while when I realized something wasn't quite right. Those weren't the campus buildings surrounding me, it was the center of town. I paused on a dimly lit street, the only light coming from a few streetlamps hanging sparsely through the area. Town Square? I could have sworn this was campus.
Damn it. I groaned out loud as I dragged my heavy, achy feet towards the marble cathedral in the distance. Town center was twice as far from the house as campus. I had a lot more fucking walking ahead of me. Oh well, calf muscles for days, right? Besides, the cool night air and exercise would help clear my head more.
I had been walking the desolate sidewalk of the square, passing by closed, dark shops, when I felt an all too familiar feeling. Someone was watching me. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, my hands gripping at my upper arms. It was the end of August, and I hadn't worn a jacket. Though, walking around in just a short skirt and crop-top didn't feel like the best idea anymore.
Just hurry up, stupid. I chided myself and quickened my pace. Besides, what real harm could come that I haven't faced before? It's Deshua freaking Oregon. A town in the middle of nowhere, with people who have lived here their whole lives and will probably never leave. I grew up in every area of California you could imagine. I could handle kicking a few pervs ass. I've done it plenty before. But I didn't hear any footsteps as I kept walking. No other sound of someone else's presence reached my ears as I made a beeline for the street that would lead me to our subdivision.
But I could still feel eyes watching every step I took.
The streetlight above me flickered, and then sputtered out. My breath hitched in my chest as darkness shrouded the sidewalk. My gruesome nightmare suddenly flashed across my mind. And I remembered the square filled with bloody thirsty, beautiful demons with red eyes chasing me up the cathedral's steps. Completely, totally, sober now I nearly started jogging through town. This was the absolute last place I wanted to be.
I knew this night was going to be shit. I knew the minute River asked me to go. But I just had to be a shit-eating brat and shove it up Adriel's ass. I didn't even know why the guy was so fucking irritated!
Turning my thoughts onto that infuriating man eased the fear raging through me, and I tried to keep the anger running hot as I hurried down the dark street. The fury didn't work. As I turned away from the town's center and onto the street that would lead ours, the streetlamps behind me started to flicker off. That's when I heard the footsteps, and the deep rolling male laughter following them. I was wrong, there wasn't just one person watching me. There were many.
Breaking off all false pretenses of walking I burst into a sprint, not giving one shit about the skirt riding up my legs or the Converses on my feet. The laughter increased as I ran, and I had a brief flashback of the group sitting in the ice cream shop. The group with the red eyes. That laugh sounded like theirs. It carried over the houses and sidewalk in an effortless, intoxicating allure. If I wasn't so scared, I would have been tempted to stop and listen for an eternity. I ran faster.
"Little girl!" A light, tumbling sound of a guy's voice reached my ears. "Don't run! I want to have some fun!" The voice sounded young, lacking years of rasp and gruff tones that came with age. It did absolutely nothing to slow me down. That laughter danced around my skull.
"She's fast!" Another voice hollered with laughter as I booked it down the street.
The fear raging through my veins only seemed to pump energy through my body and I didn't stop—until my street came into view. I stumbled. I was being followed, but a bunch of fucking creeps. Did I really want them to know where I lived? I slowed until my feet came to a complete stop just a few streets shy of Eyre Drive. No, I couldn't lead them right there. Right to Raffie, and Dri.
"Fuck!" I shouted into the air and ripped my hand almost viciously through my long curly hair. That laughter echoed around me. What the fuck was I going to do? A flash of silver caught my attention, and my gaze snapped done to a broken, jagged pipe hanging out of someone's trash can on the side of the street.
First things first. I ripped the pipe out of the trash can and held it tightly in my right hand. It was about two feet long and would sure hurt a fucking lot if you got hit by it. I didn't want to face those guys, but I wasn't quite sure what else to do. Even if I took the time to call Adriel, he wouldn't get there fast enough. And no matter how strong he was, there was no way he could stand up against three, if not four, guys.
"Awe, little girl!" That first voice sang as another streetlight flickered off. Alright, now I knew they were doing that somehow. No way in hell all of the town's lights were being janky when I needed them the most. My heart pounded viciously in my chest. "You did stop to play!" Their footsteps grew closer, but it was the sound about them that had anger slowly pushing the fear away.
They were walking. There was no sound of running, or even jogging, just simple walking. Like they had all the time in the world—like they could catch me no matter how fast I ran. Now that pissed me off.
"Listen, fellas." I snapped as the light to my left flickered and turned off. "I might be cute, and pretty, but I played softball in high school and I got one hell of a swing." I swung the pipe in emphasis and was pleased at the loud 'swoosh' sound it made as it sliced through the air.
Their laughter echoed around the empty street. "Fiery!" A completely new voice cheered as they grew closer. "I like the fiery ones." I couldn't see any of them, not in the utter darkness surrounding me, but I knew how many there were, and where every single one stood. Their presence was like four dark, pulsing, shadows that pushed against my vision.
The streetlights on the opposite end from where I was running started to sputter and die. One by one they flickered off until only one stayed alight—the one directly above me. I braced myself against a large, wooden, private fence, ready to use it as momentum if I had to. All I had to do was distract them long enough to run a few streets down then cut through a few yards until I reached ours. It wasn't a great plan, but it was the only one I had.
Then they were in front of me. Four, dark shadows standing directly beneath the only lit streetlamp. I forced down a terrified gulp of fear. "What the fuck do you want?" It was a stupid question. What else would four, creepy as fuck, people with the ability to control the town's lights want?
One of them laughed, and the sound was so pleasant it almost cocooned around me, urging to put down the pipe clutched in a death grip in my hands. "We just want to play a bit, that's all."
"Easy Adam." Another guy chimed in, his voice was deeper than the others. "You know he doesn't like us playing with the food."
I so did not hear that right.
"Oh, lay off, Pete." Adam sighed and stepped closer. "What 'boss-man' doesn't know won't hurt him." The way he said boss came out way too sarcastically to be genuine.
The four of them spread out in a slow, large arc, and stepped carefully closer. I realized a little too late that they were caging me against the fence. Even if I was able to hit the one closet to me and take off running, the others would cover the distance in no time. I could try to hop the fence behind me, but I was starting to have a sick feeling I really wasn't going to get out of this.
They stepped closer until the light of the lamp was no longer covering them in shadows and I could see their faces. Ice ran through my veins like a deadly avalanche. It was the group from the ice cream shop, all four of them. And just like then, their eyes were glowing a bright, ruby red.
"Y-You're the freaks with the contacts..." The words slipped past my lips on their own accord, and my grip loosened on the pipe in surprise.
"Oh? You remember us? How perfect." One of them purred, like straight up purred, the word perfect.
What the actual fuck?
"Though 'freaks' is a little harsh, and they're not contacts." The one on my right spoke, his eyes flashing in response. "They're all-natural." I was starting to believe him.
God, maybe I was a lot more drunk than I thought and had passed out at the party. This could all be a delirious, alcohol induced dream. I had thought I'd seen Luke's eyes red too, before the liquor started to wear off. It was a weak hope, especially when that encompassing arc of theirs closed slowly in around me.
"I will beat the fuck out of you with this." I tightened my fingers around the heavy metal once again and raised it in emphasis.
Red eyes flashed in amusement. "I don't doubt that, but I'm sure we can all play nice. There's no need for violence. We just want to have some fun."
"I really don't think I'm going to enjoy your 'fun'." I dealt with enough perverts in California to know that you never crack under pressure. No matter how much fear and anxiety were running through you. Never let them know your completely shit-eating terrified.
They laughed again, and I had to physically shake off the temptation to drop the pipe and just listen. "You never know, you might actually enjoy it." Adam spoke again and his pale hand reached out for my pipe. "Why don't you hand that over to me, and we can show you how much fun you can have." His voice had turned soft like silk and as sweet as candy. The sound of it seemed to pass through my ears and wrap around my mind in a tempting commanding way.
I shook it viciously away and raised the pipe in the air. The look that passed his red eyes could have been disbelief, but when he glanced over at his friends it was more confused than anything. "You try." I didn't know what that meant, but then another one was trying to reach for my pipe. I swung it as his hands.
"Whoa, she's got a bite too." He laughed, though the look in that blood-colored gaze was not amused.
"Leave me alone."
"The compulsion's not working, just taking the fucking thing and get this over with." That Pete guy snapped, and his red eyes flashed in the sole light of the one streetlamp. "We've been at this for too long already."
Adam sighed and adjusted the open lapels of his suit jacket. Yeah, the fuck was wearing a suit. "Alright, fine. You're right. I'm getting fucking hungry anyway—" He had taken a step forward as he spoke, his hand outstretched for the pipe when he stopped dead in his tracks. Ruby red eyes widening as they locked on something behind me. But there was only wood fence pressed against my back.
"No." His mouth dropped open, mimicking the other three's perfectly. "No, it can't be..." The Adam guy hissed, like straight up cat hissed and stepped unsteadily away. I blinked, and they were gone. All four of them.
Just like that.
I clenched the pipe as possibly tight as I could and forced myself to step away from the fence and look behind me. Whatever they had seen there had made them so terrified their already pale faces had turned ghostly white. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to see, but I was ready to take off running as fast as I could when I did. My gaze landed on simple wooden fence slats. I frowned. The only other thing there was my shadow, and that sure as hell wouldn't scare anyone.
The streetlight slowly flickered back on as I stood there dumbfounded. Then realization dawned on me and I took off down the street as fast as I could. Home. That's the only place I wanted to be. And I doubted I would ever leave again.
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Bum bum bummmm! *Cue old Dracula music*
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