Awakened (Book #5 of the Vampire Legends) (10 page)

After days of
searching, Hunter, Penelope and Matilda were still no closer to finding the
Waverly Mirror. They searched high and low, and tried to follow the clues, but
they hadn’t yet found it. It seemed that each clue brought them only a little
bit closer to finding the mirror. In fact, each clue took them to different
islands.

The first day,
they spent the entire day on the Isla de la Palma. They looked all over the
island, but they were unsuccessful. Then, they flew to the Isla de El Hierro,
where they thought they were getting close, but when they got to the bridge
where they thought the mirror was hidden, it turned out that the bridge had
collapsed decades ago and the only remaining structure were the beams that
stood up out of the water. They searched around the beams, even diving
underwater to look, but there was no sign of the mirror there.

They wished that
Benji had come with them because they thought he might have a better sense of
where the mirror was hidden. They knew that time was running out and they
didn’t have time to be flying all over the islands looking for clues that
didn’t exist anymore. It was a complete waste of their time and they knew it
was only a matter of days before Violet and her coven would take over the
world.

“We can’t do this
anymore,” Penelope complained. “The mirror is nowhere to be found.”

“We haven’t
finished searching everywhere yet,” Matilda said. “There is still one place
left to look.”

“Where is that?”
Hunter asked. “I thought we had covered everything.”

“No. We only
covered the major places. But there is one more place, a minor place, that is
mentioned in the scripture of our forefathers. Uncle Drew said that if we can’t
find it anywhere else, we should look there.”

“Where?” Penelope
asked.

“The Teide
volcano,” Matilda said, “on Tenerife. It is the highest mountain in Spain. And
an active volcano. Uncle Drew said that if we can’t find it anywhere else, it
may be hidden deep inside the volcano.”

“So we should fly
inside the volcano!” Penelope screamed. “What if it erupts?”

“We may have no
other choice,” Hunter said.

The three looked
at each other grimly, then finally nodded to each other in resolve. As one they
set off into the air, resolved to do whatever they had to to find the mirror
and save the world.

Rachel lay there
in bed after Dr. Goldman left, half awake and half asleep. She kept waking up
from her dreams, her heart racing and out of breath. She didn’t know what was
going on and was now scared to fall back asleep. She was having night terrors,
which she’d never had before. As if things couldn’t get worse for Rachel, she
was now being haunted in her sleep.

BUZZ BUZZ

The sound of her cell phone was going off under her
pillow.

Dana: How are you? Are you coming to school today?

Rachel: No, staying home.

Dana: There was a big hoopla here this morning between
Brian and some guy named Rob.

Rachel: Rob?

Dana: Yeah, says he’s from your old school. He said he’s
your boyfriend.

Rachel: HUH? WTH?

Dana: I don’t know. Anyway, he was here looking for you
but he’s gone now. Not sure where he went or if he knows where you live, but
just a heads up.

Rachel: Um, thanks, I guess.

Dana: How was the rest of your night with Brian?

Rachel: Fine

Dana: We all heard what you did and I think it’s very big
of you.

Rachel: What did I do?

Dana: You left him at the café because you didn’t want to
be with him anymore.

Rachel: What?

Dana: Yeah, Sam told me you did it for her! She’s so
grateful, too!

Rachel: Really?

Dana: Didn’t she text you? She said she was going to text
you to thank you for doing that. She said she owes you big time!

Rachel: Um, no. She didn’t text me.

Dana: Well, I gotta go. Let’s chat later. Class is
starting.

Rachel: K Bye

Rachel didn’t
know what to make of that conversation. She knew that something had gone wrong
and there was a complete miscommunication between her and Brian. She wondered if
he was the one spreading the rumor that she left him or how Sam even found out
in the first place. She was confused by the entire situation with Brian, not to
mention this news about Rob. She didn’t even remember who Rob was, but figured
he probably was her boyfriend. She hated not knowing these things or people and
she just wanted it all to end.

She slunk under
the covers again and tried to avoid the situation. Then, she heard another
buzzing noise coming from her cell phone.

Sam: Hey there!

Rachel: Hi

Sam: I want to say thank you.

Rachel: For what?

Sam: You know!

Rachel: ?

Sam: For everything with Brian.

Rachel: Um…

Sam: I heard what you did and I can’t thank you enough. I
mean, I honestly felt bad about last night and how we treated you. I really
didn’t think you were going to leave him so I was upset.

Rachel: Oh

Sam: I hope you’re not mad at me or at us. It was all my
fault. I turned them against you and I want to apologize for that. You didn’t
deserve it.

Rachel: Yeah, thanks.

Sam: So will I see you today?

Rachel: No, taking the day off to rest. This has all been
a whirlwind for me.

Sam: Well, I’ll come by after school today to see you
then. Can I bring you anything?

Rachel: Nah, I’m cool.

Sam: Well, see you later then.

Rachel: Later

Rachel couldn’t
believe that Sam really thought she left Brian so that she could have a turn
with him. She was flabbergasted by the idea, but part of her was glad that she
was misinformed, because now all her friends don’t hate her. She felt a little
bit of a relief from that. It was hard enough not remembering the past two
years of her life and was even harder to have all her best friends mad at her.

Feeling a little
bit better about things she felt able to get out of bed. She looked in the
mirror at her wild bed head and her smudged make up from last night, but didn’t
care. She didn’t care how she looked and didn’t have the energy or the drive to
do anything about it. She threw on her Gap hooded sweatshirt over her Walmart
Christmas tree PJ set, and headed downstairs. She walked down the hall and as
she got to the top of the steps she heard men’s voices whispering downstairs.
She stopped and listened for a minute and could hear the voice of Dr. Goldman,
talking to her father. She couldn’t make out what he was saying, but she
assumed she was talking to her father about their session. Part of her was mad
that he was still there talking to her father, because she’d thought their
session was confidential. She felt a little bit betrayed by Dr. Goldman, but on
the other hand, she was kind of glad he was sharing some things with her dad,
because it had been hard for her to express herself recently, and she wanted
her dad to know what was going on. She desperately needed help, and without her
families support, she wouldn’t get the help she needed.

Rachel started
walking down the stairs and then heard her dad stop talking and say, “I think
she’s coming now.” She continued walking down and then saw her dad, standing
there at the bottom of the stairs, and then look back towards the kitchen and
make a gesture. She didn’t know what he was doing, but continued down anyway.

“Hi, Dad,” Rachel
said.

“Good morning,”
her dad said.

Within seconds of
her going into the kitchen, two strong men wearing white lab coats quickly
grabbed her. They put a blindfold on her eyes and said, “You’re coming with
us.”

“DAD! DAD!”
Rachel shrieked.

“Rachel, it’s for
your own good,” Dr. Goldman said. “You are a very troubled girl, you need to go
to a special home for a while to figure out what’s been going on with you.”

“NO! I WANT MY
DAD!” Rachel screamed.

“Rachel, I’m
right here. I have arranged for this. I knew you wouldn’t take it well, so we
have to do it this way. You will be fine,” her dad said.

Rachel felt the
men start dragging her out. Her body grew limp as he heels skidded across the
floor. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her and didn’t quite
understand why.

“BUT WHY!?” she
yelled out, as she was being carried outside.

“You are a very
rare case,” Dr. Goldman yelled out after her. “They will help you.”

Her body stopped
moving as the sliding door to what sounded like a big UHAUL van opened. She
could hear it sliding on its hinges and then heard other kids voices in the
truck. She couldn’t understand what was happening to her and she knew she
couldn’t let this go on. She had to get out of it.

Then, all of a
sudden, she felt a bolt of energy surge through her body and she started to
flail around. She felt the strong, firm grip of one of the men grab her even
tighter, causing her skin to burn. She then ducked down and got out of his grip,
ripped off her blindfold and stood there, staring them right in the eyes. One
man reached into his pocked and pulled out a stun gun and quickly shot her in
the leg.

Rachel looked
down at her leg and realized that the bullet had stopped right before it hit
her, turned around and then hit the man who shot it right between his eyes. He
started screaming in pain as the other guy pulled it off of his face.

“How’d that
happen? The man asked.

“What’s going on
here?” the other man said, looking back at Rachel in sudden fear and terror.

She then, walked
over to the man who had shot her and grabbed him by the throat and lifted him
high up into the air. She didn’t know how she was doing this, but her body was
surging at an uncontrollable rate and she couldn’t stop her motions. She was
fearless and unstoppable, and she was going to do everything in her power to
put an end to this.

She started
circling him above her head, and then with a big surge of power, threw him into
the air and he went flying so far, she wasn’t sure where he landed, but she was
sure, he wasn’t going to come back after her.

The other man in
the white lab coat started running down the street as he watched his colleague
get launched into the air. Rachel knew she couldn’t let him get away, because she
knew he’d be back to get her or even worse, steal other kids from their homes.
She started running at lightning speed to catch up with him. Within one second
she was standing there, in front of him as he rounded the bend. She started at
him and then, all of a sudden he stopped running and laid down on the ground.
Rachel didn’t know how she was doing this, but it was almost as if she was
controlling his mind and his actions with her thoughts. She kept thinking about
what she wanted to do to him, and watched it play out before her eyes. She
watched him lift himself up into the air really high and then drop back down
onto the hard pavement with a thud. She repeated this over and over until he
lay there, in a puddle of blood with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

The smell of his
blood permeated the air, and she went over to him, and touched his blood with
her fingertips. Then, she put her fingers to her nose and sniffed it slowly.
The smell was like something she’d experienced before, in a past life. Something
that she wanted to taste, but didn’t know why. She quickly stood up and ran
away from the man when she heard the voice of her dad and Dr. Goldman running
up the hill. She didn’t want them to see her standing over him or catch her and
try to lock her away for good. She knew she had to get out of there and fast.
She had to run away, but she didn’t know where she could go that would be safe
for her now.

Rachel ran at
lightning speed down the streets of her neighborhood and into her town. She
could already hear the chatter and the buzz around her about what had just
happened. She pulled the hood of her hooded sweatshirt over her head and pulled
the strings tightly around her neck in an attempt to hide her face from
passersby. She knew it would only be a matter of time until people knew that
she was the one who committed this crime, and she knew she had to get out of
their quickly to avoid what she had coming to her. She was no longer safe in
her town, or in her house. She couldn’t go back at this point. She knew her father;
Dr. Goldman and probably the police at this point were all looking for her.

Just as the
thought crossed her mind, she heard loud sirens coming down the street. It was
the sirens of both the fire trucks and the police cars.  The sound was louder
than she’d ever heard before. It almost sounded to her like all the firemen and
police of the surrounding counties were alerted to this event. She plugged her
ears with her fingers as the cars started zooming by towards the scene of the
crime. She had to think quickly and get out of their fast.

Then, it dawned
on her that the only place she could escape to was to the swamps to find her
grandmother. She knew she’d be safe down there since it was so far away from
Pennsylvania, and she was sure this news wouldn’t travel down to that part of
the country, at least for a while. She knew she had a few days until the FBI,
police and others would be searching for her. She quickly reached into her
pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She knew she’d be able to be tracked by
it and quickly turned off the power. She knew she could only use it in serious
emergencies or else, she’d be found.

She went into a
local store and asked to use their phone. She dialed a cab company and then
waited behind the store until they came. She couldn’t escape the loud sounds of
the fire and police cars and they flew down the streets with their sirens and
lights blaring. She stood there, with her back against the wall of the
building, trying to hide from everyone and everything. Waiting for this cab
felt like it was taking years, even though she knew it had only been three
minutes since she called.

Then, as she
stood there, watching the people walk by in confusion with all the chaos around
them, the cab drove up and rolled down its window.

“You call a cab?”
the cabbie said.

“Yes!” Rachel
said. She was so grateful that the cab was here and she was finally going to
make her big escape. She knew she was cutting it close as people started flocking
into town to hear about what had happened. It was like a scene from a movie.

“Where to?” the
cab driver asked.

“The train
station,” Rachel said, hiding her head still to ensure the cabbie wouldn’t be
able to track her down once the news broke. She didn’t want him to remember
that he drove the criminal to the train station to make her get away.

The car started
driving along towards the train station and as she rode in the back seat she
couldn’t help but feel ashamed of what she just did. She didn’t know what had
come over her to do such a thing. She realized it was a strength she never knew
she had before and it was almost uncontrollable. Her mind was telling her body
to do things she didn’t even know were possible.

“So, where you
headed?”  The cab driver asked.

Rachel looked up
at him and saw that he was staring at her through the rearview mirror. His
large brown eyes looking back at her made her feel a bit nervous. She didn’t
know how to answer that question, after all she was a fugitive and she didn’t
want anyone to know who she was or where she was going. Not even the most
unassuming of people, like her cab driver.

“I’m going to
visit my grandmother,” Rachel said. That was the truth, after all.

“That’s nice of
you. No school today?” he asked.

“I’m taking the
day off!” Rachel answered.

“Oh, well then.
Do your parents know what you’re doing?” he asked, in a concerned tone. “They
might punish you for skipping school.”

 “Don’t worry
about me, please, Sir. I am fine. My parents don’t care. Everything is just
fine!” Rachel replied, getting upset at his nosiness.

“Maybe I should
be driving you to school instead of the train station!” the cab driver said.

“Sir, please just
take me to the station,” Rachel yelled. “I don’t have time for this.”

“You know cutting
school is an offense!” the cab driver said.

Rachel couldn’t
help but think that killing two people was a bigger offense and she’d better
get out of there quickly before they found her. She figured the police didn’t
care if she was cutting school.

“Listen. I don’t
really want to talk anymore. Can you please just drive?” Rachel asked. “I’m not
trying to be rude, I’m just not in the mood.”

“I can, but
people call me Dr. Billy. I’m not really a doctor but my friends like to talk
to me about anything. They say I can cure people of anything. So if there
something you need help with my child?” the cab driver asked.

Rachel didn’t
quite know what to make of this conversation. It was getting weirder and
weirder by the minute and they were still a far ride from the train station.
She wished at that moment she had called a different cab company, or gotten a
different cab driver. The last thing she needed was a therapy session from this
cabbie. She knew she was in for it though, since she wouldn’t let him turn
around and drive her to school.

“I’m ok!” Rachel
said. “Thanks, though.”

“I have a girl
your age, you know. She’s going through a lot now with her friends and boys. I
help her though everything. Trust me, there’s not a situation I can’t help
someone with. So, try me! I’m all ears,” the cab driver insisted.

Rachel didn’t
know what to say to this guy. He was clearly not taking no for an answer and
desperately wanted to talk to her. She thought this was little creepy but
decided she’d indulge him in some of her problems. Why not? She had nothing to
lose.

“Well, if you
insist,” Rachel said, as she took a deep breath to begin her story. “I am a
senior in high school, and have been away for two years, but the thing is, I
completely forgot what happened the past two years. I’m suffering from amnesia,
I completely ruined my relationship with Brian, there’s a guy named Rob who’s
come back from my unknown past saying that he is my boyfriend, my mom is in the
hospital because of the stress I caused her, my sister is away at college, my
brother is acting a bit strange, I have supernatural strength that I didn’t
know I had. Oh, and my friends all ganged up on me last night. I think that
pretty much sums up what I’m going through right now. No wait, there’s one more
thing! My dad is making me see a shrink because I’m so crazy.” Rachel stopped
talking, and looked at the driver’s eyes in the rear view mirror. She could see
his eyes growing big and bright as if he’d just heard the craziest story of his
life. “So, now that you know my story. What advice do you have for me?”

Rachel waited for
the cabbie to answer her, but he was dumbfounded. It seemed as if he didn’t
know what to say back. She waited for a minute and then said, “Well, Dr. Billy,
it looks like I’ve stumped you!” Rachel said.

“I’m not stumped,
I’m just trying to process everything you said. Boy, you really are going
through a lot. Now, I see why you took the day off of school. It must be hard
for you to wake up and face each day with all of this going on. I wish I could
help you, but I’m afraid you need a real professional to help you with these
issues. These stretch far beyond any problems my children have had and anything
I’ve heard of for that matter. I’m sorry, really I am,” the cab driver said.

Rachel slunk back
into her seat as she heard him speak. She knew she was in way over her head
now. As if the problems she was facing weren’t enough now she was a criminal, a
true criminal running from the law. She carefully omitted those details in her
list of problems to the cabbie. She couldn’t imagine his response if she’d
added that one in. He would probably have crashed the car.

“Do you mind if I
turned on the radio?” the cab driver asked.

“Nope,” Rachel
replied.

The cab driver
turned on the radio and started tuning to different stations.

Breaking news,
two are found dead after beating by a young girl in Pennsylvania. Girl said to
be…

“PLEASE TURN THAT
OFF!” Rachel yelled, trying to stop the driver from listening to the news.

“Do you hear
this?” the cab driver said.

“What?” Rachel
asked.

“The news!
Apparently there was a killing. Right in our town!” the cab driver yelled. “I
can’t believe this. Who would do such a thing?”

Rachel couldn’t
bear it anymore. “Are we almost there yet?” she yelled from the back seat.

“Be quiet for a
minute girl!” the cabbie yelled. “This is very important!”

Police are on
the look out for a girl, age eighteen, brown hair, brown eyes, 130lbs. If you
have seen her, please contact your local law enforcement station.

The news blared
through the speakers. She couldn’t escape it. She just hoped this cab driver
wasn’t smart enough to put two and two together and hoped that even if he were
that smart that he wouldn’t realize it until after he dropped her off at the
train station.

The car ride felt
like it was taking forever. She wished the train station were in walking
distance because she would have definitely walked, or ran, instead of this.
This ride was torture to her and getting worse by the minute. Finally, the cab
driver put on his blinker and got off at the exit for the train station.

“We’re just about
here,” the cab driver said. “This will be twelve dollars.”

At that moment,
Rachel realized that she didn’t have any money with her. All she had were the
clothes on her back, shoes, and her powered down cell phone. Everything else
was still in her house.

“Sir, I’m so
sorry, I just realized I forgot my purse. I don’t have my wallet on me,” Rachel
said, in sorrow. “I don’t have the money.”

“You don’t have
the money?” the cab driver questioned. “Why would you leave without your
wallet?”

“I completely
forgot. I guess I was too scatterbrained when I left this morning,” Rachel
said.

“Well, because
you are going through a lot right now, I’ll let it slide this time. You don’t
have to pay me. It’s on the house!” the cab driver said with a smile.

“Thank you so
much! You have no idea what this means to me!” Rachel said.

“Well, here you
are my dear. We have arrived. Now, you be safe out there. We don’t want you to
get hurt. There are crazy people out there!” the cab driver said as he opened
her door and let her out of the back seat.

“Well, thanks
again, I gotta run!” Rachel said, putting her head down so that the cabbie
wouldn’t be able to see her full face. “Bye now!”

Rachel ran into
the train station and looked up at the big board of arrival and departure
trains. She knew there was no direct train to Mississippi, but she knew she
could get a connecting train through Wasthington DC; all she had to do was
sneak onto the next train to DC since she didn’t have any money for a ticket.
The next train going her way didn’t arrive for another twenty minutes, which
was actually lucky timing for her because she didn’t even check the schedule
before she arrived. She was glad it was only twenty minutes and not hours.

She looked around
the big train station and saw police with guard dogs walking up and down the
platform. She feared the worst and assumed they were out to get her. She
quickly ran to the bathroom and into one of the stalls, and waited there,
hiding from everyone and everything. She couldn’t believe her life had come
down to this. As if things weren’t bad before, now they were exponentially
worse. She actually thought for a moment that she’d be better off dead than in
this scenario. She knew she had it coming for her, she just didn’t know how
long she had until she was caught.

Train number
192 to Washington DC now arriving on platform number 2. Again, train number 192
to Washington DC now arriving on platform number 2.

Rachel quickly
opened the stall door and headed down to the platform. She quickly breezed by
one of the security guards at the station who was busy looking down at his cell
phone. She knew she had just narrowly escaped her fait, now all she had to do
was get onto the train and she’d be able to escape, for now anyway.

The train doors
opened and throngs of people exited the train. For a moment she felt like she
was in a movie, making her great escape. The people all lined up to get onto
the train as the conductor greeted everyone at the door, “Tickets please!” he
yelled as the passengers started filing in. “Have your tickets ready!”

Rachel had to
think quickly. She knew she had to get on this train or else she might not ever
see the light of day again. She tried to hide behind the person in front of
her, but then realized that was pointless and wouldn’t work. She stood back up
and then started rummaging around in her pockets as if she were looking for
something.

“Ticket young
lady?” the conductor asked.

“I um, I’m trying
to find it,” Rachel said.

“You can’t come
on this train unless you have a ticket. Please step aside,” the conductor
sneered.

Rachel knew this
was it for her. She knew there was no way she was ever going to get onto this
train with no ticket and no money.

“Excuse me, is
this your ticket? I just found it on the floor?” a lady asked her.

“Oh, thank you!”
Rachel said.

The lady handed
Rachel the ticket and the conductor took it from her and pointed to a set of
open seats. “Thank you, you may find a seat.”