Chapter 10
Aunt Tina’s dinner party was uneventful. Although Daisy had been sent to the hospital, she was in good spirits, making conversation with Kevin. Her mother Ronny and her stepfather Chad laughed and talked about how glad they were that Rowan was becoming a part of the family. When my mother lit candles, they flickered out, due to my anger at this wedding. Elias took that as a sign to hold my hand the entire night. Our clasped hands rested on my lap, and I knew that Daisy took note of his romantic behavior because her eyes widened. But then, she continued trying to convince Rowan to have hot pink bridesmaid dresses. Yuck. Despite the fact that Christina Johnson vandalized both Daisy and my lockers, she was invited to this get-together. Evidently, she happened to be sleeping over Daisy’s house when her family got the invite. My Aunt made me mashed potatoes and a bowl of tomato soup to eat, and I even managed to eat a small portion of the prime rib. That was the highlight of the night. When it ended, I told Elias goodnight, and tucked myself into bed.
It was when I heard the doorbell ringing at five thirty in the morning that I figured that something was terribly wrong. Because I knew that everyone in this house had been up until two in the morning bonding and playing cards, I slipped into my fluffy slippers and rushed downstairs. When the peep whole revealed men in red and blue, something sank in me. I slowly opened the door and said, “Hi officers.”
“Are you Lena Lake?”
“She sure is,” My uncle rumbled out. I hadn’t even heard him coming. I yelped back and took a deep breath.
“And you are?”
“Her uncle. Is there a problem.”
“Can we come in?”
“Sure.” I stepped aside as two officers entered. One was tall with dark hair and a wide smile. The other was short with a pop belly and ash blonde waves. My uncle ushered them into the living room and when they sat, he offered them coffee. They both complied fully, and my uncle shot them a warning look. He didn’t want them to begin the questioning until he came back. It took my uncle two minutes to turn on the coffee pot, and those were the most uncomfortable two minutes of my life. When he returned, the blonde spoke.
“Have you heard from Daisy Sanchez?”
“She came here last night for dinner. Her brother Jose and my cousin Rowan are engaged.” The brown haired guy began taking notes on a notepad.
“Was she upset about anything?”
“Yes.” It was best to tell the truth and nothing else. I’d watched enough cop shows to know that lying drew suspicion. I had a terrible feeling that something had happened to Daisy. Regret filled my chest when I thought about our stupid fight.
“What was she upset about?”
“She was mad at me because I’m spending time with a guy that she wants her other friend to date.”
“And who is her other friend?”
“Cora Lynch.” Daisy’s mother didn’t know too many of her friends. Cora hardly ever came over so I tossed her name in there, trying to be useful. Now, because I was useful, these two needed to answer a question for me.
“What happened to Daisy?” The detectives shared a look, and my uncle’s glare caused the blond to speak up.
“Daisy Sanchez and Christina Johnson went to a party last night. Christina was found behind a dumpster and Daisy’s missing. I’m sorry Ms. Lake, we can’t give you any more details.”
“When you say found, what do you mean?”
“Christina Lynch is dead,” the man said, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. No! No! No! The wind outside howled and it took all of my control not to break the windows. I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath.
“Daisy’s gone too?” My question came out like a whimper.
“We have reason to believe that she was kidnapped,” Uncle Calvin growled.
“And you decided to talk to Lena about this now?”
“My apologies, Mr. Lake. Her parents gave me permission to question her,” the blonde man assured. They introduced themselves, but I didn’t care to pay any attention. My best friend was missing, and a classmate was dead. I needed to call Elias. Maybe he could help. After saying goodbye to the detectives, I sprinted up the stairs and ran into my room and raced for my phone. I didn’t bother texting, I called the Phoenix instead.
“This better be God. It’s too early,” he grumbled into the phone.
“Elias, this is an emergency.”
“What happened?” He yawned as he asked the question.
“Daisy is missing and Christina is dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yes. Two officers just spoke to me. I’m freaking out. Can I come over?” My bedroom door opened as I asked the last part.
“Why can’t I just come there?” That wouldn’t do. We couldn’t talk about Dwellers here. Maybe they thought that Christina and Daisy were abominations and killed them. I wouldn’t know until Elias told me. But that meant that I had to confess to reading his journal.
“Because I…” Kevin snatched up the phone.
“She’ll call you back,” he snapped before hanging it up. After he tossed my phone on the bed, he glared at me.
“You’re really that self-absorbed. My friend goes missing, and I have to hear about it because I happen to be walking past your door?” His glare deepened when I had no answer. I had been so caught up in being assured that this wasn’t connected to Dwellers that it didn’t occur to me to tell Kevin. “Lately, you have been a bit self-centered, Lena. Come-on. What are you doing? You haven’t even gone to visit Madison and yet you managed to go to Elias’ house?” Kevin was right. I hadn’t gone out of my way to see Madison. She had come to me. But he didn’t understand the circumstances. And I wasn’t going to involve him.
“Kevin, get out.” He was like a brother, and I often did kick him out. He sighed.
“So you aren’t going to tell me what happened?”
“I would have if you had been nice about things.” He left slamming my door so forcefully that it rattled in the frame. Boys! I ran into the shower, taking the fastest one in my life. When I was finished, I dressed in comfortable clothing, homely blue jeans, a turtleneck, and my favorite pair of sneakers. Elias was in the kitchen, waiting for me. He rubbed his eyes, and I immediately thought of the fact that he was kept up most of the nights by his memories, and felt terrible. This could have waited.
“Lena, sorry for what happened,” Elias gently said. I nodded as Uncle Calvin placed a heaping plate in front of my friends. Eggs, pancakes, sausage links, and bacon all made my stomach growl. He gave Elias utensils and a cup of orange juice. I stared at his plate, craving the food with a vengeance.
“I’ll give you just a little,” my uncle told me. I sat beside Elias and watched as Uncle Calvin gave me a small portion of everything, plus a heaping bowl of oatmeal. He cooked to comfort me. Would he have bothered if he knew that I wasn’t his biological niece? Probably. Rowan and Kevin weren’t his biological children, and he still loved them. So, what was making me feel so bothered?
“Thank you, Mr. Lake,” Elias said with a wide grin.
“Thank you, Uncle Calvin,” I said, but my voice quivered. Uncle Calvin nodded at the both of us before leaving the room.
“He loves you, Lena,” Elias whispered. “You’re like a daughter to him.” Kevin came in at that exact moment and helped himself. He plopped down beside me and frowned at Elias.
“Hi, Elias.”
“Hi, Kevin. What’s up?”
“My friend’s missing. And my other one is dead. How are you?”
“Sorry about that. I hope that the police find Daisy.”
“Yeah, me too,” Kevin muttered before stabbing his sausage. He ate aggressively, and I felt awful for what I had said. But there was a pit between us that could never be filled. He was human, and I was a freak.
“Are you two going to homecoming?” Rowan asked as she skipped into the room. She didn’t know what happened. I glared at Kevin in warning, and he nodded.
“Yes,” Elias and I said
in unison. Rowan looked pleased when she saw that I was nibbling on a piece of bacon, which tasted divine. It was awful that while Daisy was missing, I was able to taste and enjoy food. But the fact was that it had been two long miserable years since I had been separated from my favorite foods.
You’ll probably get sick if you eat anymore,” Elias warned. So I gave Kevin the rest of my food. The oatmeal was just as good. My uncle even went through the trouble of adding sliced strawberries to it.
“What color dress were you thinking?” Rowan asked. She was Miss Chat me up this morning. Great.
“Well, I’m…”
“Rowan, go see Jose. Something happened to Daisy.” Rowan had been in the middle of eating her pancakes. But when she heard the news, she ran out of the room, and out the door without a jacket. I glared at my cousin.
“You could have waited until she finished breakfast,” I scolded.
“She had to know.”
“Rowan won’t eat at all when she finds out what happened,” I argued.
“Now, you’re concerned about Rowan? If you had been, she would have been the first person you bothered to tell.” Kevin tossed his dishes in the sink and then left. Elias shook his head.
“He’s feeling resentful of me.”
“Why?”
“Because you use to go to him to solve your problems. You haven’t paid enough attention to him,” Elias explained.
“I know. With what I found out, I…” Uncle Calvin entered, smiled, and handed me an envelope. My heart went into overdrive when I saw that it just had my name printed in block print. I tore open the note and read.
Jessalena
What do I have to do to warn you? Leave town. Something’s coming that you can’t handle. Trust me, you will suffer.
Elias snatched the note from me before I could say a word. When he was finished reading it, he actually handed it to my uncle. I gaped at him. Calvin cursed under his breath.
“Not again,” he grumbled before leaving the room.
“Why did you show him? For all you know, it could be a dweller.”
“Dweller?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“Lena, a Dweller wouldn’t be interested in killing you. They would be recruiting you.”
“Why?”
“Because you aren’t a part of the Touched Audience. You haven’t pledged yourself to our cause. Trust me, you would be their perfect candidate.”
“Who is it?” Elias shrugged.
“He has to be human. That’s my guess.”
“Why aren’t you afraid?” Elias shrugged again.
“You aren’t human. If they went after you then…”
“Then, I’d kill him,” I said, feeling sick. Elias would expect me to kill whoever came after me. I stood, and he tried to reach out to me.
“So the touched audience is made up of nothing but evil killers?” Elias shook his head.
“No, Lena, we aren’t killers. We try…” I needed air. Calling Elias over here was a stupid idea. I ran out the back door and sighed in relief when he didn’t follow me. It felt wonderful walking under my own power. Deciding that the back yard wasn’t enough pacing room, I walked around the side of the house and crossed the street.
When Daisy and I were young, we use to hang at the park. It was beautiful and had a pond where we would feed the ducks. The wind was smacking at my face, but I didn’t care. I was positive that there had to be a way for me to control the stubborn element, but at the moment, it didn’t concern me. As soon as I saw the entrance to the park, relief filled me. I entered, and someone snagged my arm. I blinked, stopped, and stared up into Madison’s sorrow-filled eyes.
“You didn’t hear me,” she explained softly.
“I got another letter from the stalker.”
“Seriously?” Madison bit her bottom lip as we began walking toward the pond, her hand still gripping my arm. I guess she hadn’t noticed that she was still doing it.
“Yes. He threatened me and told me to leave town.”
“That’s strange.”
“Yeah. But…” I stopped, and Madison peered over at me, looking confused. Should I tell her? Maybe her mother should tell her. I wasn’t sure but she was ignorant of what had befallen her friends, and that didn’t settle well.
“What is it, Lena?”
“Madison, I hate to be the one to tell you. But…”
“Freeze. If you’re going to tell me horrible news, tell me when we get to the benches. It’s better if I’m sitting down,” she bluntly told me, and I nodded. So we walked down the jogger's trail and as soon as we got to the fork in the road, we turned left and reached the duck pond. Madison released her grip on my arm and sat down on the bench. I followed, dreading what I had to do. “Now, speak.”
“Daisy’s missing and Christina’s dead.” Madison frowned.
“Daisy Sanchez is missing? Which Christina is dead?” How did I forget that there were three Christina’s on the cheerleading squad?
“Christina Jonson,” I softly said, knowing that she was the closest to her.
“Did your stalker do this?” I lifted my head and frowned.
“I don’t know.”
“You need to go to the police! You have to, Lena! Right now! I’ll drive you myself. You have to tell them! Please!” Madison was hysterical, shaking with grief. “My friends are gone. No. This can’t be.” I wrapped an arm around her and whispered that everything would be alright as she fell apart. It took all of my self-control not to cry. If I did, who knew what would happen. I fell apart briefly, before Elias and I went to my Aunt Tina’s dinner party, and that hook the window panes. What would have happened if I were really upset? I was just about to burst, so needed to focus on something. I listened to the sound of the water, the ducks swimming and calling to one another. It smelled like grass, woods, and decay. That smell caused my eyes to round, and I stared around and spotted something by the pond. I released my hold on Maddison and rushed over to investigate. Resting at my feet was flowers that were so decayed that I couldn’t make out its identity. My heart pounded when I recalled what had been waiting for me in my locker. Was the stalker behind this as well? He wanted me to get out of town.
“What is it?” Madison asked, startling me enough to lose a bit of my control. A gust of wind lashed out and knocked her to the ground.
“Madison, are you all right?” I asked, peering down at her. She sat up and smiled at me.
“Wow! I’m clumsy.” I gently helped her up, and she looked down at the mess.
“What is that?”
“Flowers,” I said, breathlessly. We needed to get out of here. Something didn’t feel right. But before I could urge my friend away from the park, two ragged looking men ran toward us. They were both bald and carried what looked like swords. They were in all black, and they eyed me with venom. Dwellers. They had to be. But if they were Dwellers, why would they hurt me? Elias seemed to think that they wanted to recruit me. But he was wrong. Anger flooded me because Elias hadn’t even considered that the dwellers were a threat. Now I was forced to face off with them.
“Madison, get behind me,” I snapped as I jumped in front of her. One of the barbarians drew a sword that was stained with blood. My stomach rolled. He laughed and then he lunged at me. I ducked, and the wind sent him flying twenty yards away. Another man chuckled and rushed me, a syringe in his hand. I knew whatever it was, the thing would kill me, and so I jumped over his arm and delivered a roundhouse kick to his face. The wind held me as I delivered the blow and his nose shattered. “Madison, run,” I pleaded right before I crashed to the ground. The impact was painful, and I was already wearing out. But my poor friend had next to no chance fighting. She wasn’t like me. She was defenseless. My rage at them picking on someone so innocent bolstered my strength. With all that I had, I begged the wind to topple the idiot who was now clutching his nose. It worked. He fell flat on his back, his head cracking on a rock that jutted out from the ground.
Daisy and I use to call it, useless rock, since it was so jagged that you couldn’t even sit on it. But this time, it served its purpose. The man’s grip on the syringe relaxed, and I yanked it from his grasp and frowned. Did I use it on him, or… A shrill scream caused me to panic. I got to my feet and ran in the direction of the trail. That’s where Madison must have gone. I called on the damn wind to help me. All it did was rage around me, sending a cyclone of leaves, decaying flowers, and rocks out in front of me. No! Please, no! I reached the fork just as another bald man thrust a dagger in Madison’s chest.
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