Scarlet was cold, achy, her neck and back twisted from having slept in this uncomfortable position. Most of all, she was disoriented, freaked out at not recognizing her surroundings. She was underneath a small local bridge, lying on the cement slope beneath it, as dawn broke above her. It stank of urine and stale beer down here, and Scarlet saw the cement was all marked up with graffiti, and as she studied the ground, she saw empty beer cans, refuse, used needles. She realized she was in a bad place. She looked around, blinking, and had no idea where she was, or how she got here.
There came again the sound of breaking glass, accompanied by shuffling feet, and Scarlet turned quickly, her senses on alert.
About ten feet away stood four bums dressed in rags, looking either drunk or on drugs—or just out for violence. Unshaven older men, they stared at her as if she were their play-thing, lecherous smiles on their faces, revealing rotting yellow teeth. But they were strong, she could tell, broad and tall, and by the way they approached, one of them throwing a beer bottle and smashing it under the bridge, she knew their intentions were not kind.
Scarlet tried to remember how she had gotten herself to this place. It was a place she never would have willingly gone. Had she been brought here? Her first thought was that maybe she had been raped; but she looked down and saw herself fully clothed, and knew that wasn’t it. She thought back, trying to remember the night before.
But it was all a painful blur. Scarlet remembered in flashes: a bar at the side of Route 9…an altercation…But it was all so hazy. She couldn’t quite recall the details.
“You know you’re under our bridge, right?” one of the bums said as they all approached, getting ever closer. Scarlet scurried back on her hands and knees, then rose to her feet, facing them, shaking inside but not wanting to appear scared.
“No one comes here without paying the toll,” another said.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know how I got here.”
“That was your mistake,” another said, in a deep guttural voice, smiling back at her.
“Please,” Scarlet said, trying to sound tough, but her voice shaky, as she stepped back, “I don’t want any trouble. I’m going to leave now. I’m sorry.”
Scarlet turned to leave, her heart pounding in her chest, when suddenly, she heard footsteps running, and then felt an arm wrap around her throat, holding a knife to her throat, his awful beer breath in her face.
“No you’re not, honey,” he said. “We haven’t even begun to get acquainted.”
Scarlet struggled, but the man was too strong for her, his stubble scraping her cheek as he rubbed his face against hers.
Soon the other three appeared before her, and Scarlet cried out as she struggled to no avail, and then felt their awful hands running down her stomach. One of them reached her belt line.
Scarlet bucked and twisted, trying to get away—but they were too strong. One of them reached down, yanked off her belt, and threw it, and she heard the clang of metal on the cement.
“Please, let me go!” Scarlet screamed, as she squirmed.
The fourth bum reached down and grabbed her jeans by the waist and started to pull on them, trying to yank them off of her. Scarlet knew that, in moments, if she didn’t do something, she would be hurt.
Something inside her snapped. She didn’t understand what it was, but it completely overwhelmed her, an energy flooding through her, rising up through her feet, up through her legs, her torso. She felt it like a searing heat, shooting through her shoulders, her arms, all the way to her fingertips. Her face flushed, the hair stood on end all over her body, and she felt a fire burning inside. She felt a strength she didn’t understand, felt herself to be stronger than all these men, stronger than the universe.
She then felt something else: a primordial rage. It was a new feeling. No longer did she have a desire to get away—but now she wanted to stay right here and make these men pay. To tear them apart, limb by limb.
And finally, she felt one more thing: hunger. A deep gnawing hunger that made her need to feed.
Scarlet leaned back and snarled, a sound that was scary even to her; her fangs extended from her teeth as she leaned back and kicked the man reaching for her jeans. The kick was so vicious, it sent the man flying through the air a good twenty feet, until he smacked his head against the concrete wall. He slumped down, unconscious.
The others stepped back, releasing their grip, mouths open in shock and fear as they stared back at Scarlet. They looked as if they realized they’d just made a very big mistake.
Before they could react, Scarlet wheeled around and elbowed the man holding her, cracking him across the jaw so hard, he spun around twice and collapsed, unconscious.
Scarlet turned, snarling, and faced the other two, like a beast looking down at its prey. The two bums stood there, eyes wide with fear, and Scarlet heard a noise and looked down to see one of them pee in his pants.
Scarlet reached down, picked her belt up off the floor, and walked forward casually.
The man stumbled backwards, petrified.
“No!” he whimpered. “Please! I didn’t mean it!”
Scarlet lunged forward and wrapped the belt around the man’s throat. She then lifted him with one hand, his feet dangling off the ground, the man gasping, clutching at the belt. She held him there, high overhead, until finally he stopped moving and slumped down, dead.
Scarlet turned and faced the final bum, who was crying, too scared to run. Fangs extended, she stepped forward and sank them into the man’s throat. He shook in her arms, then in moments, he lay there in a pool of blood, limp.
Scarlet heard a distant scurrying, and she looked over to see the first bum rising, moaning, slowly getting to his feet. He looked at her, eyes wide in fear, and scurried to his hands and knees, trying to get away.
She bore down on him.
“Please don’t hurt me,” he whimpered, crying. “I didn’t mean it. I don’t know what you are, but I didn’t mean it.”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” she answered, her voice dark, inhuman. “Just like I don’t mean what I’m about to do to you.”
Scarlet picked him up by the back of the shirt, spun around, and threw him with all her might—straight up.
The bum went flying like a missile, up underneath the bridge, his head and shoulders smashing through the cement and popping out the other side, the sound of rubble falling everywhere as she sent him halfway through the bridge. He hung there, lodged in it, his legs dangling underneath.
Scarlet ran up to the top of the bridge in a single bound, and she saw him, his upper torso stuck in the concrete, as he shrieked, his head and shoulders exposed, unable to move. He wiggled, trying to break free.
But he could not. He was a sitting target for whatever car happened to come along.
“Get me out of here!” he demanded.
Scarlet smiled.
“Maybe next time,” she said. “Enjoy the traffic.”
Scarlet turned and leapt and flew off into the sky, the sound of the man’s cries growing dimmer and dimmer as she flew higher and higher, away from this place, having no idea where she was and no longer caring. Only one person loomed in her mind: Sage. His face hovered before her in her mind’s eye, his perfectly chiseled chin and lips, his soulful eyes. She could sense his love for her. And she felt it back.
She did not know where her home was in this world anymore, but she didn’t care, as long as she was with him.
Sage, she thought. Wait for me. I’m coming for you.
CHAPTER SIX
Maria sat with her friends in the pumpkin patch, hating life, so jealous of all of them. Everyone seemed to have a boyfriend but her. And the ones that didn’t seemed to have a really strong clique of friends that all huddled together.
Maria sat on a pile of pumpkins, Becca and Jasmine by her side, and she didn’t really know where she fit in anymore. Maria used to have such a strong clique, an unbreakable clique forever, the four of them, she and Becca and Jasmi
ne and, of course, her best friend, Scarlet. They had been inseparable. If one of them didn’t have a boyfriend, the others were always there for them. She and Scarlet had vowed to never fight, to go to the same college, to be maid of honor at each other’s weddings, and to always live within ten blocks of each other.
Maria had been so sure of her friends, of Scarlet, of everything.
Then, in the last few weeks, everything had suddenly fallen apart, without warning. Scarlet had stolen away Sage right from under her eyes, the only guy Maria had been totally obsessed with for a very long time. Maria’s face flushed as she remembered the indignity; Scarlet had made her look so stupid. She was still so mad at her for that, and she didn’t think she’d ever forgive her.
Maria recalled their final argument, Scarlet defending herself, saying that Sage liked her, and she didn’t steal him. Deep down, a part of Maria knew that probably she was right. Still, she had to blame someone, and it was a lot easier than blaming herself.
Someone bumped her, and Maria slid off the pile of pumpkins, landing on the ground, and her jeans got muddy.
“Watch it!” she yelled, pissed.
She looked over and saw it was one of the drunken boys. Several hundred of her class had gathered here, as they always did by tradition, the day after the big fall bash, for this stupid school “pumpkin picking” event. Everyone knew that nobody really picked pumpkins, they all just sat around the pumpkin field, filling up on hot apple cider and donuts, while the riffraff of the class spiked their cider with gin. It was one of these boys who had bumped her. He hadn’t even realized he had done it, adding insult to injury, as he stumbled by. Maria knew him, and she knew that all those boys who drank at this age would end up doing nothing with their lives anyway, so at least she took solace in that.
Maria had to clear her head. She couldn’t stand it anymore, being around all this. She just wanted to get away. She was still so upset, and now she didn’t even know why. Losing her best friend, even with Jasmine and Becca there, made her feel at loose ends. Making things worse, she still felt a lust for Sage. Thoughts of him were driving her crazy.
Maria got to her feet and began to walk.
“Where you going?” Jasmine asked.
Maria shrugged.
“Just to get some air.”
Maria pushed her way through the crowd, going farther and farther out into the farm field on the outskirts of town, looking at all the kids holding mugs, sitting around laughing, everyone seeming to be so happy. Everyone but her. At this moment, she hated them all.
Maria made it to the edge of the crowd and kept walking, finding a lone haystack at the base of the corn maze.
She put her head in her hands and held back tears. She was feeling depressed, and she did not know why. Mostly, she thought, it was because Scarlet was out of her life. She used to text her a hundred times a day. She didn’t understand why it had all happened, either. And she couldn’t stop thinking of Sage, even though she knew he didn’t like her. She closed her eyes and willed and willed and willed for him to appear.
Sage, I’d give anything, she thought. Come here. I want you. I need you.
“What’s a pretty thing like you doing sitting here all by herself?” came a dark, seductive voice.
Maria flinched, as she opened her eyes and was in utter shock at the sight before her. It was not Sage. But it was a guy, if possible even more gorgeous than Sage. He wore black leather boots, black leather jeans, a black T-shirt, a small, black shark-tooth necklace, and a fitted black leather jacket. He had gray eyes and wavy brown hair, and a small, perfect smile. He had more sex appeal than any guy she’d ever seen: he looked like a rock star who had stepped off the stage just for her.
Maria blinked several times and looked all around, wondering if this was a joke. But he was the only one there, and he was actually talking to her, and nobody else. She tried to respond, but her words stuck in her throat.
“Pretty?” was all she managed to say back, her heart thumping in her chest.
He laughed, and it was most the beautiful sound she’d ever heard.
“Come on, they’re having all the fun. Why aren’t you?”
Without waiting, he approached her gracefully, held out a hand, and without even realizing it, she took his hand, jumping down off the stack of hay, and followed him, the two walking hand-in-hand into the corn maze alone. She was so swept up by him, she didn’t even stop to think or realize that this wasn’t exactly normal. A fantasy of hers had materialized, and had swept her way. But she wasn’t exactly about to start asking questions.
“Um…who are you?” she asked, tentative, her voice trembling, overcome by the feel of his hand in hers.
“I was looking for a date for the corn maze,” he said with a smile as they stepped inside. “This is my lucky day. Maria, right?”
She looked at him in wonder.
“How did you know my name?”
He smiled and laughed.
“You’ll soon find out about me,” he said, “that I know just about everything. And as for my name: you can call me Lore.”
*
Lore walked hand-in-hand with Scarlet’s friend, delighted with himself at how easy it had been to seduce her. These humans were too frail, too naïve—it wasn’t even fair. He had barely even needed to use his powers, and in just moments, he had her in the palm of his hand. A part of him wanted to feed on her, drain the energy from her body, and dispose of her as he had other humans.
But another part told him to be patient. After all, he had flown across the countryside and set down just for her. Lore had been searching for a way to get to Scarlet, and as he was flying, he had sensed Maria’s strong feelings cutting through the universe; he had felt her desire for Sage, her desperation. It attracted him like a magnet.
Lore had spotted Maria with his eagle eye from the skies, and as he’d dove down, he realized she would be the perfect trap after all, someone so alone, so vulnerable—and so close to Scarlet. If anyone knew of a way to find Scarlet, it must be her. Lore decided he would befriend her, use her to find Scarlet, and when he was through, kill her. In the meantime, he might as well have fun with her. This pathetic human would believe whatever fantasy she wanted.
“Um…I don’t understand…” Maria said, as they walked, her voice shaky, nervous. “Explain it to me again. You said you’re like…like new here?”
Lore laughed.
“In a way,” he said.
“So like are you going to be in our school?” she asked.
“I don’t think I have time for school,” he replied.
“What do you mean? Aren’t you my age?” she asked.
“I am. But I finished school long ago.”
Lore almost said centuries ago, but he stopped himself at the last second, luckily.
“Long ago? What do you mean? Are you like advanced or something?” She looked at him with wide, admiring eyes, and he smiled back at her.
“Something like that,” he said. “So your friends are back there, at the party?” he added.
Maria nodded.
“Yeah, all of them except… Well, I’m not friends with her anymore, so yeah, all of them.”
“Except who?” Lore asked, intrigued.
Maria blushed.
“Well, my former best friend. She’s not there. But like I said, we’re not friends anymore.”
“Scarlet?” he asked, then immediately regretted giving too much away.
Maria looked at him, suspicious.
“Like, how do you know all this? Are you, like, stalking me?”
Lore began to feel her retreat from him, and he didn’t want to lose her. He looked at her, held her cheeks, made her stare at him, and flashed his eyes at her. She blinked, and as she did, he wiped out the last thirty seconds of their conversation from her memory.
Maria blinked several times, and he took her hand, and they continued walking.
Close call, he thought. Let’s start again.
“So your fri
ends are back there, at the party?” he added.
Maria nodded.
“Yeah, all of them except… Well, I’m not friends with her anymore, so yeah, all of them.”
“Except who?” Lore asked, intrigued.
Maria blushed.
“Well, my former best friend. She’s not there. But like I said, we’re not friends anymore.”
Lore paused this time, thinking through his words.
“What happened between the two of you?” he asked carefully.
Maria shrugged, and they continued to walk in silence, their boots crunching in the hay.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Lore said, finally. “Anyway, I know what it’s like to be estranged from a friend. My cousin Lore. We were once as close as brothers. Now we don’t even speak.”
Maria looked up at him with compassion.
“That’s awful,” she said. “What happened?”
Lore shrugged.
“Long story.” Centuries long, he wanted to add, but he restrained himself.
Maria nodded, clearly feeling sympathy for him.
“Well, since you seem to understand,” she said, “then I’ll tell you. I don’t know why, like I don’t even know you, but I feel you’d understand everything.”
Lore smiled reassuringly at her.
“I seem to have that effect on people,” he said.
“Anyway,” Maria continued, “my friend, Scarlet, she, like, stole a guy that I liked. Not that I care about the guy anymore.”
Maria stopped talking and Lore sensed she wanted to say something more, and he read her mind:
Well, not since I met you, that is.
Lore smiled.
“Stealing someone’s mate,” Lore said, shaking his head. “There’s nothing worse than that.”
He squeezed her hand tighter, and Maria gave him a half smile.
“So you’re not friends anymore?” Lore said, fishing.
Maria shook her head.
“No. I like totally cut her off. I kinda feel bad about it. I mean, she’s like still stored in my favorites and we’re still friends on Facebook and everything. I haven’t quite gotten that far. But I haven’t called or texted her. We used to text a hundred times a day.”