Dust’s gaze moved to Josie. She sat leaning against the steering wheel. She grinned at him with a raised eyebrow, and gave a small shrug at his questioning expression.
“We missed you,” Sammy quietly murmured.
He jumped when he felt her warm hand against his chilled skin. A confusing rush of emotions swept through him as he looked down at her. He didn’t know what to say. He was suddenly overwhelmed with unfamiliar feelings at the efforts Sammy and the others had gone to—all for him. Looking toward the bus, he regarded all the faces looking at him with quiet, almost pensive expressions.
“Sammy, I don’t think…” he started to say.
His voice faded when she lifted her hand and gently placed the tips of her fingers against his lips to silence him. A wry smile made his lips twitch. Sammy had that intensely determined expression on her face—the one he had come to love.
She shook her head. “Then, don’t. You are a part of this family. We love you,” she informed him in a low, fierce tone.
The agonizing fear swelled inside him again. “There’s something you should know,” he started to say.
Sammy shook her head again, this time more angrily. “Josie already told us. She sort of guessed when your teeth did the, you know….” She poked her fingers in a downward movement from her top lip. “We’ll figure it out in time,” she stated in a tone that brooked no argument.
His lips twitched with a reluctant smile. Unsure of what else to say, he nodded. “Okay,” he agreed.
He gasped when Sammy suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close. She buried her face against his neck and held him like she never wanted to let him go. A shudder ran through him when he felt her hot breath and warm tears flowing against his skin. His arms moved instinctively around her waist, and he pulled her close when he felt her body tremble.
“Happy Birthday, Dust. I really missed you,” she sniffed.
He bent his head and pressed his cheek against her hair. “Thanks, Sammy. Thanks for finding me,” he replied with a slight tremble in his voice.
She leaned back and looked up at him. “Always,” she whispered before reaching up and pressing a tender kiss against his lips.
“Aw, man, they’re kissing again. I thought vampires just drank people’s blood,” Todd said in a loud, disgusted voice.
Dust lifted his head in time to see Todd’s head disappear back into the bus. He could feel his mouth hanging open and the heat rushing to his cheeks. Fortunately, Josie’s laughter drowned out everyone else’s response.
“Come on, you two. This circus has a long way to go if we are going to try to find your relatives, Dust. We’re running short on gas, short on food, and I think we might just get some snow tonight,” Josie said, grabbing the back of her brother’s shirt and pulling him away from the opening.
“That’s okay. I know someone who loves to play with fire,” he retorted.
He grinned at Josie as he loosened his hold on Sammy so she could return to the bus. Randolph muttered a curse when he almost toppled backwards from Josie’s tugging. Josie rolled her eyes at her brother’s clumsiness. Dust paused when he felt Josie’s hand on his arm as he reached the top step.
“Happy Birthday, Dust,” Josie said, her gaze moving over his face.
“Thanks, Josie,” he replied.
Her eyes hinted at an emotion he didn’t quite understand. Breaking eye contact with her, he focused on the other people looking at him with broad grins. He pasted a crooked grin on his face as he made his way to the back of the bus. He followed Sammy. He didn’t have much choice considering she had a death grip on his hand.
He slid into the seat next to her and grinned at Todd when he quickly changed to the seat in front of them. Todd twisted and rested his chin on the back of the seat. The young boy watched him with an almost worshipful expression.
“So, can you do any really cool stuff as a vampire?” Todd curiously asked.
He shrugged. “Yeah, I can do some really cool things now,” he answered, holding onto Sammy’s hand.
Josie released the brake and shifted into first gear. He grimaced when the bus jerked forward before it smoothed out. She managed better when shifting to the higher gears. Around him, the others quietly talked. He didn’t miss the curious glances they sent his way.
He leaned back in his seat and listened to the conversation, but soon he was fixated on the oncoming darkness behind the window. For the last three weeks, he’d had a lot of time alone to think. Today, he had done nothing but think about being alone, about his parents, his life, and where he was going.
This world was a lot different and so was he. If he was going to survive, he needed to make a decision. He could continue with the solitary life he’d had in the last three weeks, or he could embrace Sammy and the others’ acceptance of him. His dad had told him to be who he wanted to be. Well, he wanted to be good and strong and help others. He also didn’t want to be alone—not now that he knew what it felt like to belong.
If he wanted to be who he was, then he had to accept who he was becoming. Every day was a new one in this strange new world. He didn’t know what would happen. The only thing he could do was make the best of it, try to make the world a better place, and hope that he got a chance to try again tomorrow. If it meant he would continue to evolve—well, he would use each new power to make the world a better place every day.
Satisfied with his decision, he felt grateful for his parents’ wisdom. It felt like it was their birthday present to him. A sense of peace washed over him, and for a moment, it was as if they were there with him. In the reflection of the window pane, he could see his father’s eyes staring back at him and his mother’s mouth smiling.
Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom, he silently thought.
“Happy Birthday, Dust,” he murmured to his reflection.
Chapter Five
Secrets:
Hundreds of miles away, Daciana stood in front of the ruins of the old house that had once been her home. Her memories here were fleeting shadows. She stepped over the scattered bones of an animal and onto the steps. A wave of dizziness hit her, and she reached out and grasped the broken column that had once held up the roof of the porch.
“Memories…,” she hissed.
She wrapped her hand around the column and extended her nails. Pain, death, fear…. She remembered those feelings. She looked at the brittle, bleached bones.
She had returned here to find answers. Turning on the top step, she glanced over the ruins of the compound. The burned-out remains of a large metal building were now covered in vines. The single concrete block structure near it had fared better than the hollow skeletal remains of the other structures.
She would start searching in the house she remembered before exploring the outer buildings. Turning back around, she stepped over the hole in the porch’s floor and passed through the doorway. The front door had been blown off during the initial devastation and had landed partially across a long rectangular table and the sofa.
A quick scan of the room showed that very little of the house was left intact. There was the living room and combination kitchen and dining room. In the corner of the living room lay an antique dresser that had fallen through the ceiling from the second floor. One of the drawers was partially open, and clothes were spilled out onto the floor.
She stepped over the debris littering the floor and made her way over to the low table. Grabbing the edge of the front door, she tossed it out of the way. On the couch was the skeleton of a human woman. Wiry strands of gray hair still covered the white skull. The stained and torn remains of a light blue blouse, tan pants, and dark brown shoes hung on the bony frame.
Daciana frowned. There was something familiar about the woman’s clothing and hair. She looked down at the woman’s hands and noticed a folder clutched in the skeletal fingers. The door had shielded it from the after-effects of the comet and weather. It was covered with a light film of dust, but otherwise undamaged.
She
stepped around the coffee table and pulled the file from the dead woman’s grasp. Opening the folder, she focused on the papers inside. Frustration ate at her as she thumbed through the documents. She didn’t understand the writing on the sheets of paper. She paused on the photo of a young dark-haired girl who stared back at her with a large smile.
The photo shook her for some unknown reason. Closing the folder, she silently stood staring down at the deceased woman. Her memories were disjointed and saturated with pain and fear.
“What did you do to me?” she demanded in a soft voice.
An eerie howl outside drew her attention. Turning, she straightened and looked out the door. Through the open doorway, she could see several dark shadows slinking near the concrete building.
“Secrets…. What secrets are hidden here?” she murmured.
She bent over and picked up a light brown satchel lying on the floor. Opening the flap, she emptied it before carefully placing the folder inside and snapping it securely shut. The satchel had a long strap that she could either wear across her body or easily grip in her hand depending on which shape she assumed
The shadows across the compound moved again, coming closer. She emitted a low, hissing snarl of warning. The sound of their approach and scents were carried on the wind. Daciana’s very presence exuded a powerful warning that she was no ordinary adversary. It drew whines of submission and fear from the creatures who had been stalking her.
“Come to me,” she ordered with a wave of her hand.
The creatures reluctantly emerged into the fading daylight. Most of the beasts cowered in fear as they came closer, yet they were still unable to resist her summons. Her attention focused on the last beast when it finally emerged from out of the shadows. He did not cower beside the others. This more dominant creature was larger than the rest of the pack.
“You will submit to me, creature,” she ordered, jutting her head forward in warning.
The beast shook his head and stood on his hind legs. Once standing, he was still nearly a foot shorter than she was in her human form. His charcoal gray body was hairless. She studied him with a glitter of warning in her eyes. A short snout protruded from his flattened face. His mouth was wide and filled with sharp teeth. While his hind legs were short, his front legs were longer. Instead of paws, he had hands with three fingers and a thumb ending with long curved nails.
“You will die,” she stated, allowing the strap of the satchel to slip from her fingers.
She watched dispassionately as the beast opened his mouth and roared. His long yellow canines dripped with saliva. He bent forward and charged at her on all fours. The creature’s long claws dug into the hard ground, sending dirt and gravel flying in all directions.
Daciana’s features changed between one thud of the male’s paws on the ground and the next. The long white gown she wore was replaced by sleek black fur. Her face contorted, forming a long snout with a powerful jaw full of razor-sharp teeth. Her body elongated, becoming lithe yet muscular. She kept her claws sheathed until she struck.
She waited until the beast was almost upon her before she leaped. While gracefully twisting her body, she extended her right arm out and ran her now extended claws up under the beast’s neck. Her sixteen inch long, scalpel-sharp claws cut through tendons, muscles, arteries, and bones as if they were soft butter. Simultaneously, she pierced the skull of the creature with the claws of her left hand, impaling the beast’s severed head as her momentum carried her forward. The creature’s headless body rolled to a stop against the steps of the dilapidated porch. Dark red blood pooled over the steps and dribbled down to soak into the ground behind her.
The fight was over before it had even begun. Daciana landed in a crouch, facing the other creatures who warily watched from a safe distance. She lifted the severed head high, and, tilting her head back, she released a long, ground-shaking howl.
As the sound faded, she lowered her arm and tossed the head across the ground at the other beasts. She curled her lips and savagely snarled. The other creatures cowered and whined, backed away into the shadows, and disappeared.
Daciana’s dark gaze scanned the area for any other threats. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air. She could smell decomposing flesh.
Partially turning, she looked down at the beast that had attacked her. Once again, memories assailed her.
She concentrated on the images flowing through her mind. For a moment, it almost felt as if Daciana was seeing them through another’s eyes. Her focus moved to the dark space beneath the porch.
She remembered waking up frightened and confused. She hadn’t understood what was happening at first. Bending down, she looked under the porch. Despite the dark shadows, she could see the bleached white bones of almost a dozen animals. The hollow-eyed skull of a large canine looked reproachfully back at her—as if accusing her of some horrific atrocity.
“Litter…,” she murmured as the image became clearer.
She had killed her mother and her own litter mates. She remembered the unbearable hunger that had felt like it was driving her insane. She rose to her feet, stepped back, and looked through the open door at the skeleton of the woman sitting on the couch.
She remembered her puppy form staggering out from under the porch. Ash was falling from the sky and the ground shook. She had been the runt—the smallest of her brothers and sisters. Tilting her tiny head back, her focus had fixed on the darkening sky above. There had been strange, green flashes of light all around her. The light had mixed with the glowing ash that coated her small, shivering body.
“Pain. There was so much pain,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
She had been in intense agony as her body contorted and changed. When she woke several days later, she had been ravenous. The more she had eaten, the stronger she felt—and the more powerful she became. The changes had not only transformed her physically, but mentally as well. New and more complex thoughts had come to her—a newly heightened sense of self-awareness and the ability to process and analyze what was happening in her environment.
The sound of voices—human voices—had frightened her. Her primitive instincts of survival had warned her that she was in danger. She had escaped into the night. Over the next year, she learned to perfect her hunting skills. She had encountered dangers, and with the overcoming of each one, she grew stronger, more cunning. It was not until she met the boy/man named Dust that a different desire came to her. She wanted the power he possessed. The more power she gained, the more she evolved until she had transformed into the creature she was now.
Her focus moved back to the satchel she had dropped on the porch. There was still something missing. With a mere thought, her body contorted—the bones, muscle, and tissue changing and reforming. There was pain, but she was used to it now. The pain of her transformation was a part of her power, and she embraced it.
She now resembled a fifteen-year-old girl on the brink of womanhood. Her long, black hair hung down her back. Her features were almost classical. Her dark brown eyes were almond shaped, her nose slightly wide, her lips full, and her skin a lovely light mocha.
She stepped over the dead beast. Bending over, she picked up the satchel and returned to the house. She walked over to the overturned chest and picked through the clothing that lay partially scattered from the open drawer. She quickly dressed in the clothing, which fit her surprisingly well. These were different from the white gown that she had created—they made her appear more human.
Daciana didn’t understand why the clothes fit so well until she pulled out a pair of socks. Under the pile was the framed picture of a family. Pulling it free, she carefully studied the picture of a woman with gray hair and a young couple who had their arms around a teenage girl. The girl was smiling at the camera—and she looked just like Daciana’s assumed features.
“Who am I?” she hissed, her eyes growing dark with suspicion as she turned and looked back at the gray-haired skeleton on the couch.
Chapter Six
Life, death, and changes:
The sound of footsteps crunching on gravel attracted Dust’s attention. A burst of frigid air drew groans from everyone as Raymond slipped through the opening. Dust raised an eyebrow when he saw the older man was carrying a bundle of firewood.
“I found an old tree and thought it wouldn’t hurt to have a little more wood,” Raymond explained, dropping the bundle on top of the pile near the fire. “It’s starting to snow and it’s colder than a polar bear’s tit out there.”
“Raymond,” Martha admonished, glancing at Todd when the younger boy giggled.
Raymond cleared his throat and shot Sammy an apologetic look. “Sorry, Sammy,” he said.
“It’s okay,” Sammy replied.
“Josie, can you roast me a marshmallow?” Todd pleaded.
“After dinner, Todd. You need to eat something other than marshmallows. Besides, we should save them, just in case,” Sammy softly added, looking over at Josie before turning her attention back to Dust. “Are you doing okay?”
He nodded. Everyone had been super nice to him since they stopped for the night. They had wanted to stop before it got too dark out. Their hope of finding a small town or a house had faded with the sun and the drop in temperature. The decision was made to find a place along the highway where they could pull the bus over and build a campsite out of the materials they had brought with them from the gym.
Dust had been amazed when Randolph and Raymond pulled out a large canopy with sides and a huge heavy piece of canvas that must have been used to protect the gym floor. Within minutes, they had set up the canopy next to the bus and anchored it so it wouldn’t get blown over if the weather turned bad. They threw the heavy canvas over it to make it large enough for all of them and give additional protection against the weather.
He and Todd had helped the other two men with the canvas tarp before they went to work pulling out some mats, blankets, chairs, and a small table to make the interior more habitable. Sammy and the other women had searched for enough firewood to get them through the night. By the time they were done, they had a nice, warm and cozy shelter.