Dark Days (The Childe Series, #2) (63 page)

“Well, that’s a relief. I know that Mr. Bancroft said the tunnels had been searched and they found no signs of anyone else down there. But I still had this horrible feeling that they might have been stuck down there.”

“Well, they’re not, so you can quit worrying,” Matt replied.

“I still would like to know why they followed you that night,” Ryan interjected.

“Yeah, it was kind of weird how they kept their distance behind you. I wonder why we never saw them,” Matt said.

“Maybe they got lost. Which is probably for the best, if you know what I mean,” Cat replied.

“Here comes Elle, act natural,” Matt said as he nudged Cat.

“So what are you guys chatting about?” Elle asked inquisitively.

“How to celebrate our last day of prison, what else?” Matt joked. A goofy smile spread across his face as he saw Hannah heading toward them. “Isn’t she wonderful?” he said. Hannah blushed as everyone turned to look at her, her hands clutching her books nervously at the attention she was receiving. 

“Hi guys, do I have something on my face?” Hannah asked shyly.

“No, you’re perfect!” Matt responded and went forward to grab her hand.

“So now that we’re all here, except for Amanda, who’s going to a gig with The Bombshells tonight, and Julie, who’s still battling a serious case of mono. What are we going to do to celebrate surviving another year?” Elle asked.

Cat put a fake smile on her face. “How about my house? Movie-fest? You know, the usual,” Cat chimed in, trying to muster up some enthusiasm. She didn’t really feel like celebrating since she was still reeling from the events from the days before, but she couldn’t bear to let her friends down.

“Alright, but only on one condition, Matt doesn’t get to pick the movie,” Hannah joked, laughing as he lightly shoved her on the shoulder.

“Okay, so movie night it is. But not too late because you, Cat, need some beauty rest,” Elle giggled. Cat laughed it off,
if only you knew
, she thought.

“Miss Colvin,” Mrs. Rosenbaum called out to her down the hallway. Cat left the group and moved toward her. Mrs. Rosenbaum’s tight miniskirt and high heels caused her to move like a model on the runway. “I’m so relieved I caught you. I found this little tidbit stuck in my drawer and wanted to make sure you got it. I know the grades have already been handed in, and it’s a moot, point now, but I thought you might want it back,” she said, handing a stapled packet of paper to Cat. Looking at the front page, Cat recognized it as an essay she had written. It was entitled:
I’m Normal
. She also noticed the
A+
circled in red at the top of it. Looking up at her teacher she smiled. “This is the first A plus I’ve ever given, by the way.”

“Why thank you, Mrs. Rosenbaum, I worked really hard on this,” she replied.

Leaning in close to Cat’s ear, Cat could smell her flowery, overpowering, and expensive perfume. “We both know this paper is a lie,” she whispered, and then backed away with a smirk. “Have a nice summer, dear. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Cat stood there staring in disbelief as Mrs. Rosenbaum walked away.
What did she mean by that? There’s no way she could know. Quit being paranoid, Cat,
she thought.

Rounding the corner into the next hallway, Mrs. Rosenbaum scanned the hall cautiously before entering her empty classroom. After closing the door behind her, she hurried over to one of the many classroom windows that lined the far wall, and threw one open. She looked out the window suspiciously and watched as the last few students left the area. After slipping off her shoes, Mrs. Rosenbaum removed the sprigs of baby’s breath that lay within.
Don’t need that to mask my smell anymore
,
I prefer cinnamon anyways,
she thought as she tossed the sprigs out the window. Grabbing ahold of the necklace draped about her neck, Mrs. Rosenbaum chanted a few words in a strange language. Suddenly, her mouth shot open and a thick black smoke trailed from it, drifting its way toward the open window. Her body collapsed to the floor as the last of the smoke left her body.

Waking up, Mrs. Rosenbaum felt her head as a headache began to invade.
What happened
?
What am I wearing
? She asked herself, tugging at the skimpy outfit she had on. “Geez, I feel like I’ve been sleeping for months.” As she rose to her feet, Mrs. Rosenbaum steadied herself with one hand on a desk. She began buttoning up her blouse to the top button and pulled her skirt down a few inches. “What was I thinking wearing such a scant outfit? I look like a streetwalker.”

A faint trail of black smoke just outside the classroom windows caught her eye, and she turned to watch it trail off. She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she saw what she thought she did. When she opened her eyes again, the smoke was gone. “Hrmph, you’re losing it, old gal,” she murmured. 

Ryan waited in the car while Elsie ushered Cat into Aldon’s estate. “They’re in the basement, dearie, tending to those poor unfortunate souls,” Elsie said in a solemn tone. “Do you really want to go down there, Catherine?”

“I need to see for myself that Linda’s okay. I haven’t been getting much info from the adults,” Cat replied.

“Don’t be expecting too much, my dear,” she said, patting Cat’s shoulder, and then moved forward to the basement’s entrance. “I could come down with you, if you’d like?”

“I’ll be fine, Elsie, I know my way down there.”

“Alright, but keep a stiff upper lip, Catherine, no matter what you see down there, dearie.” Cat nodded. Elsie stood at the top of the stairs watching Cat.
I hope I’m not making a mistake by letting her go down there. I wish Aldon and Druanna were here,
Elsie thought while wringing her hands.

Cat made her way slowly down the stone steps, finally coming to the large steel soundproof door that locked from the outside. She pulled the handle and was immediately met with painful cries coming from inside. She hesitated, but only for a second and then moved forward, closing the heavy door behind her. Aldon’s basement was filled with numerous rooms, some furnished, some empty. She followed the piercing screams and took a deep breath as she reached the doorway to where the vampire girls were being held. Nothing prepared her for the sight that met her eyes when she opened the door.

The three girls were strapped to padded tables, each one attached to an IV pole with a bag of red substance hanging over their heads. All three were struggling to break free. Cat wanted to put her hands over her ears to block out the painful sounds they were making.

Dr. Bane and Lucien stood with their backs to Cat in deep conversation. Dr. Bane sniffed the air and turned quickly to face the doorway. His handsome face filled with shock as he saw Cat standing there.

“What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be seeing this Cat.”

“What’s wrong with them? Why are they in so much pain?” Cat asked, ignoring Dr. Bane’s question. Lucien moved quickly and took her arm.

“Let us go outside, Cat, and leave Dr. Bane to take care of them,” Lucien said soothingly. As they stepped outside the room, the screams ceased.

“What just happened? Are they okay?” she asked, turning to go back in. Lucien’s grip on her arm grew firmer as he pulled her to his side.

“It is alright, Catherine. Just before you came in Dr. Bane gave them a dose of sedatives. They’re probably asleep now.”

“Why were they screaming like that?”

“Well, they refused to take the capsules, so we had no other choice than to force the blood supplement into them. But something is not right.”

“What do you mean?”

“They are having a reaction to the supplement and it is not taking. Their bodies are rejecting it for some reason,” Lucien explained, looking directly at Cat. “Don’t worry, though, we are taking good care of them. We will figure this out.”

“But Linda-”

“Linda will be fine. Hurry along now, Ryan is waiting for you.”

“How did you know he brought me here?” Cat asked.

“That boy is smitten with you, my dear, and I would expect nothing less than him to be attached to your hip, am I right?”

Cat just gave him a hollow smile, and then made her way for the basement stairs. She felt a tinge of worry as she left the basement, thinking about what would happen to Linda if they couldn’t get them to take the supplement.

As Cat reached the car, there was no need for words when Ryan saw her face. He immediately took her in his arms and hugged her closely for a few minutes until she stopped shaking.

As they pulled into Cat’s driveway, Ryan and Cat groaned simultaneously as they saw Maude with Fredricka in tow making a beeline for them. “Yoo-hoo! Catherine, what a nice surprise bumping into you! I haven’t seen much of you lately. Fredricka’s missed you too, haven’t you, sweetie?” Maude mentioned and then flashed a glare at Ryan. “I wanted to ask you about last Friday night. You had your lights on awfully late. A party maybe? Did your parents know?” 

“Oh nothing like that, Mrs. Roberts. Taylor forgot to turn them off when he went to bed.” 

“I bet your parents weren’t very happy about the waste of electricity. I know I wouldn’t have been. I could’ve sworn it was a get-together. But then again, your friend Julie wasn’t there, and I know you and her are like twins. Haven’t seen those other girls much either. Amanda and Elle was it? Had a falling out, did you? Amanda’s a little wild, I mean, look at her mom and that crazy store she runs,
Squaresville
. What kind of name is that? She probably sells that marajuwana in there. One day the police will listen…I mean…wise up and raid that place. Oh Fredricka, quit pulling Mummy. Stop!” Ryan and Cat kept straight faces as the little poodle kept dancing around and pulling with all her might, trying to make Maude move.

“Well, it’s always a pleasure, Mrs. Roberts, but we’ve got to go!” Cat said, moving slowly away and pulling Ryan with her. “Bye, Fredricka,” Cat called out over her shoulder as she and Ryan made a dash for the front door.

“Okay, tell your folks I said hello. Haven’t seen much of them lately either,” Maude said as the door closed. Stomping off in frustration, she yanked on the dog’s leash. “Fredricka stop that! Just when I almost had them spilling the beans on what’s been going on over there, you had to act up. I swear, we’re going straight home, and there will be no special treat for you!” 

Ryan and Cat collapsed on the living room couch, giggling. “I know this is so weird, me laughing like this after what I’ve been through, but I really think I needed this,” Cat finally let out.

“I love it when you laugh, and they say laughter is the best medicine,” Ryan said and threw his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been put through, Cat. Linda will be fine. I trust Lucien and Dr. Bane to get to the bottom of this.” 

“Oh, Dad, what are you doing home so early?” Cat asked, spotting Sam standing in the doorway to the living room.

“My last class was canceled.”

“Everything okay? You’re not sick are you?” she asked anxiously, seeing the solemn look on his face.

“No, I’m fine. What are you two up to?” he tried to smile, but knew it looked more like a grimace. Cat’s expression changed to one of concern.