Isolation (4 page)

―I‘ll cal you when I feel like it,‖ I say, and push past her.

She doesn‘t even respond, just stands there in the hall way looking old and broken.

I leave without another word.

***

We decide to use my car to make the trip to—

wherever it is we‘re going. Hadley refuses to be specific.

―Head towards 93,‖ she tells me as we get on the highway.

―Why can‘t you just say where we‘re going?‖ I ask.

―I just want to be cautious,‖ she says, glancing at me and then turning to look out the back window.

―Cautious about what? Is somebody following us?‖

―No.‖ She thinks about it and shakes her head. ―No, I don‘t think so.‖

―You don‘t think so?‖ I look at her for a little too long, taking my eyes off the road. I turn back just in time to see the brake lights of the car in front of us come on.

We‘re going way too fast to stop in time.

―Shit.‖ I spin the wheel quickly to the right and pump the breaks. There‘s a squeal of tires and my car fishtails for a brief moment. I‘m able to steer us into the breakdown lane just in time and we avoid plowing into the car ahead of us.

When we come to a full stop, Hadley lets out a shaky breath. ―You need to stop worrying about me and start paying attention to the road. That was way too close.‖

―Sorry.‖ I sit there for a moment, waiting for my heart to slow. Then I hit the left turn signal and we begin driving again. But as the car speeds up, there‘s a loud bump-bump-bump noise and then I notice that one side of my car is tilted toward the ground.

―Shit,‖ I say, pulling back over to the side. ―We got a flat.‖

Hadley rolls her eyes. ―Great.‖

―Relax, I can change it.‖ I get out of the car and walk around to the back, pull out the jack, the tire iron, and the spare -- which is luckily a real tire and not some cheap plastic thing.

Hadley gets out and stands next to me as I set up the jack under the car and then begin loosening the lug nuts.

Cars are whizzing by us at high speeds and the wind is blowing briskly.

―Can‘t you make a spell to speed things up?‖ I joke, wiping my hands on my jeans.

―Sorry,‖ she says, leaning back against the car. ―I don‘t change tires. Not in my job description.‖

―Why am I not surprised?‖

Her eyes narrow, like she takes offense to my remark. ―Fine,‖ she says, kneeling down next to me.

―Let me spin the jack.‖

I back away. ―Be my guest.‖

She starts to try and spin the jack. ―Crap!‖ She pulls her hand back. ―I cut myself.‖ She looks down at her hand. There‘s a small trickle of blood coming from her nail. ―I tore half my nail off!‖

―Wow,‖ I say, ―Some trip this is turning out to be, huh?‖

She glares at me. ―This isn‘t funny, Cam.‖

―Okay, okay, sorry. Hold on a sec.‖ I go around to the trunk and pull out the first aid kit my mom insists I carry with me. I rummage around until I find a large band-aid and some Neosporin.

Hadley‘s sucking her finger like a little kid. ―Give me that,‖ I say, grabbing her hand gently but firmly and squeezing a glob of the Neosporin onto the cut.

―Ouch,‖ she says.

―That hurt?‖

―No, I‘m fine.‖

I laugh a little.

―It‘s not funny!‖

―You stick to casting spells and let the man change the tires,‖ I say.

―I could have done it!‖ she says. ―That jack malfunctioned or something.‖

―Whatever.‖ I apply the band-aid. ―Better?‖

She nods. I give her a little smile and she smiles back. It gives me a weird feeling in my stomach, so I quickly go back to changing in the tire. ―Tell me the truth, Hadley. How old are you real y?‖

―A little older than I look.‖

I glance up at her. She doesn‘t real y seem older to me.

She rolls her eyes. ―I‘m telling the truth.‖

―And what about Raine? Can you at least explain to me why you kidnapped and tortured her?‖ I say, jacking the car up so that the flat tire is all the way off the pavement.

―It‘s not something I enjoyed, but it had to be done.

You don‘t understand what‘s at stake.‖

―Right, the fate of the world. I forgot.‖ I pull the flat off and lay it to the side, then put the spare and the lug nuts on. ―Natalia actual y believes that garbage and now everything‘s messed up between us,‖ I tell her.

―Do you and Brody work as a team or something?‖

―It‘s not garbage, Cam. The war is coming. But I can help you and Natalia.

That‘s part of my job.‖

I finish tightening the new tire, and reverse the jack.

A few seconds later the car is back on the ground and it‘s done. I gather the materials and start putting them away.

Hadley follows me to the trunk.

―You and Nat and Raine are at a fork in the road,‖

she says. There are a couple of ways things can go.

You could end up with Raine or—―

I laugh at this. ―Me, end up with Raine? Sorry, sweetheart, I don‘t think so.‖ I slam the trunk shut.

We both get back inside the car and I start the engine. For a moment, as we pull back onto the highway, we‘re both quiet.

Then Hadley starts talking again.

―You‘re already partial y tied to her. Raine. That‘s why she has so much power over

you.‖

―What do you mean, tied to her?‖ I ask.

―Raine believes that you can help her fulfill her destiny. So she put into motion a series of spells that eventual y would end with you and her being bonded eternal y.‖

―How do you know all of this?‖

―Like I said, it‘s my job.‖

―So why didn‘t you just kill Raine when you had the chance? If she‘s so evil?‖

―I would have, but when I saw how strong the bond is between the two of you, I realized there was a good chance you‘d die too.‖

―So if Raine dies, so do I?‖ I laugh. ―That‘s impossible.‖

Hadley smiles in sympathy, like it‘s almost better if I don‘t believe the truth.

―So you figure if you take me far away from her, maybe the bond will break down or

something?‖ I say.

―Basically y. But we have some ways, some techniques for removing it by force if

necessary.‖

―You can remove the bond with a spell ?‖

She doesn‘t answer at first, as if she‘s thinking careful y about how to answer.

―Sort of. When we get to our destination you‘ll get a lot more answers. I promise.‖

―You keep saying that.‖ I start to drive faster. ―Let‘s hurry up then, because I‘m sick of waiting for answers.‖

Chapter Four

Natalia

For an hour and a half, I fight the urge to cal the number I saw Cam dialing. I try to forget it, to push it out of my head. But after I‘m done helping my mom with the dishes, and I‘m up in my room alone, I can‘t take it anymore. I push *67 to block my number from coming up on any caller IDs, and then I dial, my hands shaking.

She picks up after the first ring, and I recognize the voice immediately. ―Hel o?‖

It‘s Hadley. I can hear the sound of rushing wind behind her, which means she‘s probably in the car.

With Cam?
I wonder. I hang up and then try cal ing him. But his phone is off, and it goes right to voicemail.

Well . That‘s that, I think, ending the cal without leaving a message. He‘s probably with Hadley. I don‘t know what they‘re doing, or why he didn‘t want to tell me where they were going. But either way, he made it perfectly clear that he doesn‘t want me involved.

Let it go,
I tell myself. But what if he‘s in danger?

What if he went to Hadley‘s, and she put some kind of crazy spell on him? Isn‘t it up to me to do something?

I sit there on my bed, thinking about this, until my mom knocks on my door and tells me she‘s going to bed. When I hear her footsteps heading down the hall toward her room, I go to my closet, and pull the iPad Brody gave me out from where I hid it in my closet. I wait twenty minutes, just to make sure my mom‘s asleep, and then creep downstairs, and grab the car keys off the hook by the door. I‘m going to Hadley‘s.

***

On the drive over, I think about cal ing Brody, but then I decide that‘s not a very good idea.

One, because I‘m still not completely sure I can trust him, and two, because I don‘t want Cam getting even more pissed off at me. If Cam‘s at Hadley‘s, and I show up with Brody, things are not going to go well . When I get to Hadley‘s house, it‘s dark outside, and there‘s no lights or anything coming from inside.

Hadley‘s car is in the driveway, which I guess means she‘s home. I take a deep breath.

Now that I‘m here, I‘m not sure exactly what to do. If I ring the doorbell , Hadley will obviously know I‘m here, taking away any element of surprise. I reach up and finger my butterfly necklace, thinking about it.

Final y, I circle around the block, and park my car around the corner. It‘s a risk.

If I need to get away, I‘m not going to be able to get to my car quickly. But unless I want to tip Hadley off right away to the fact that I‘m here, it‘s the best choice.

I walk quickly down the street, then cut through the grass until I‘m in Hadley‘s backyard.

There‘s a chance she could see me, of course, but I can‘t worry about that now. If she‘s dangerous, and has some kind of powers, she might even already know I‘m here.

The backyard is sparse, with no deck or patio or anything. There‘s a bulkhead door that must leads to the basement, and the grass looks like it hasn‘t been cut in at least a month.

The windows on the first floor are pretty close to the ground, and if I stand on my tiptoes, I‘m able to see inside easily. I step up and look through the kitchen window.

What I see is surprising. And kind of creepy. There‘s just… nothing.

In the corner is an overturned box with what looks like a bowl of soup sitting on it.

Someone was obviously using it as a makeshift table. There are cabinets, and a white refrigerator, but that‘s it. No real kitchen table. No pictures on the wall , no paper towel holder, no microwave. It looks like whoever lives here isn‘t planning on staying. And never was.

―Jesus, Hadley,‖ I whisper. ―What the hell are you up to?‖

I circle around the house once, peering through the windows, but al I see is more of the same. Empty rooms. Darkness. No sign of Hadley. Or Cam.

I‘m not sure what to do next, and I‘m thinking maybe I should just ring the doorbell and see if anyone answers, when I see it. A butterfly. She flutters past where I‘m standing in the yard, and her wings are so black they blends into the night, making it hard to see them.

She flies around in front of me, not fast, but kind of slow and deliberate. I take a step toward her, and as I do, she flies toward the side of the house. I follow, looking around, wondering if this is a trick. But as I move, the butterfly‘s wings start to lighten a little bit, which makes me feel like I‘m supposed to be following her.

When we get to the side of the house, she flutters down to the ground, and just…

sort of lands there on a blade of grass. I look around, wondering what she‘s trying to tell me.

This is crazy. I‘m standing out here, in front of some creepy empty house, by
myself f,
in the dark, depending on a butterfly to tell me what to do. I‘d think I was completely losing it, except for the fact that the butterfly‘s wings are now almost total y white.

I sigh. And that‘s when I hear it. A thumping sound, coming from inside the basement. I peer through the window. And there she is. Raine. Tied to a chair, her eye swollen, her hair matted.

I‘m so shocked that I freeze.

She looks up, and her eyes meet mine.

***

―Natalia!‖ she screams, ―Get me out of here!‖

Which is pretty hilarious when you think

about it. I mean, the girl basically y tried to kill me and steal my boyfriend‘s soul, and now she‘s acting like I should be rushing to save her or something.

I take a step back. Yeah, she‘s tied up, but who knows what kind of crazy ninja shit she‘s going to try? She might be able to teleport herself out of there or something.

The butterfly flies up and sit on top of the window ledge, then flutters its wings, which are now pure white.

―What are you doing down there?‖ I ask Raine. I have to yell , because the window is closed.

―What does it look like I‘m doing?‖ she says. ―I‘m tied up! That bitch Hadley tied me up and took off!‖

―She took off?‖

―Yeah. With Cam.‖ She looks at me, and even though her face is bruised and swollen,

she has that same bitchy girl look, the kind of look that says,

„Haha, your
boyfriend took off with another girl, what
are you going to do about it?"

I pull out my phone and dial Cam‘s number. Again, it goes right to voicemail.

This time I leave a message.

―Hey,‖ I say, ―It‘s me. I know things are weird right now, I know you‘re mad at me, but we real y need to talk. Cal me. Right away, okay?‖ I don‘t want to get too specific, just in case Hadley somehow hears the message. I think about adding something else, something about how I miss him and about how I just want all this stuff to be over so that things can go back to being the way they were before, but I don‘t.

―Hel o!‖ Raine screams. ―Are you going to try and get me out of here or what?‖

I kneel down and look through the window, being careful not to make eye contact with her, just in case she tries any of that mind control bull shit. Raine‘s tied to what looks like an aluminum chair, and now I can see she has bruises all over her face and on her arms. There‘s a length of rope and some wrinkled up duct tape around her neck, like it was in her mouth but she somehow got it out.

―I‘m cal ing the police,‖ I yell to her.

―No!‖ she screams. ―The police can‘t help us, Natalia!‖

But I don‘t real y care what she thinks. She‘s tied to a chair, beaten, and despite how I feel about her, I can‘

t just leave her down there. I turn back to my phone, and push 9…1…

―STOP!‖ Raine screams. ―Stop! Listen, I know where Cam is. I can take you to him.‖

I stop. If she knows where Cam is, if she can help me find him…

―How do I know you‘re telling the truth?‖ I ask, my finger still hovering over the