The Childe (35 page)

“Why does everyone look so scared?” Cat whispered confused. No one spoke. “Ryan, what are you doing here?” She asked wearily.

“Mom! Dr. Bane said he’ll meet us at the ER.” Taylor’s voice came through the door of the study.

Cat looked at her mom and dad, “What happened? I feel so groggy.”

“Yes honey. Just relax, Taylor will go start the car and I’ll carry you,” Sam said.

“Don’t be silly, I can walk.” Cat struggled to sit up and then immediately fell back on the pillows.

“Mr. Colvin, I think we’ll go home now, but please call us when you can.” Matt grabbed Cat’s hand, “You hang in there kid, we’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?” The other three took turns squeezing her hand and then they all left the room. Cat saw Julie turn and wave, worry in her eyes.

“I’ll carry her dad,” Taylor said.

“No, son, get the keys to the car and start it up. Rachel honey go with Taylor, I will carry Cat to the car. Ryan, thank you for your help,” Sam said as he grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around Cat. Cat tried to smile at Ryan but it looked more like a grimace as Sam swept her up in his arms and quickly made his way to the car.

Trish grabbed Ryan’s shoulder, “go home. I’ll let you know how she is. I know they appreciate all that you’ve done.”

“I’ve never seen her so pale,” Ryan choked out and Trish realized Ryan had true feelings for Cat. She walked him to his car and then grabbed her keys from the study and followed the Colvin’s to the hospital.

“Well young lady you sure gave your folks and friends a scare, didn’t you…again. I just told your mom and dad that I was going to keep you overnight, but I think it would be best for you to sleep in your own bed,” Dr. Bane ordered.

“I don’t understand…I was doing fine…What happened?” Cat’s voice had become stronger.

“I don’t know, but I think we’ve got it under control now. I don’t feel any bumps on your head so I don’t think you hit it. Your friend said you just screamed and then collapsed. Your initial blood work is normal, so the anemia is not the issue. The other test results will take a little while. Until I get those, behave yourself and no more late nights and overeating.” His handsome smile dazzled Cat as he patted her arm and left the room. She laid there trying to remember going out on the balcony, but the last thing she could remember was the conversation about Elle’s slippers.

As Dr. Bane closed the exam room door behind him, Rachel and Sam stood up from their seats and moved toward him.

“So, how is she Harold?” Rachel asked anxiously.

“She is fine, but-”

“But what?” Sam asked.

“I think you two will need to monitor her more at night. It would seem that she is becoming more nocturnal, as we suspected she would,” he explained in a whisper.

“Well Ryan did say she looked as if she was sleep walking with her eyes open,” Rachel said.

“Well in the mean time we should just keep a closer eye on her. This is unfortunately all a part of the change she is going through. Now, you should all go home, it’s late, and I will call you within the next couple of days to follow up,” Dr. Bane explained looking into their tired and worried eyes.

Everyone was exhausted by the time they arrived back home. Sam carried Cat upstairs despite her protests that she could manage it by herself. Her mom followed and tucked her in, smoothing back Cat’s hair to kiss her forehead. “I’ll check on you in a bit. Just go to sleep honey. Love you.”

“Love you too mom and dad,” Cat echoed as they closed her bedroom door.

Cat had just shut her eyes when she heard a noise at her window. “Jewels, it’s about time you came back. You had me worried,” she said grabbing her pink robe. Cat noticed the balcony was empty. A small rock hit the window from the outside, startling her. A dark shadow stood below and she could see by the moonlight, the figure wore a letterman’s jacket. Opening the window, she stepped out onto the balcony.

“Cat! It’s Ryan,” he whispered forcefully, so that his voice would carry up to her.

“Ryan what are you doing here? You’ll get into trouble! What about the curfew?” she asked confused.

“I don’t care about that! I was driving by and saw your dad carrying you into the house. I had to see you.”

“You were just driving by, at three in the morning?” Cat asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, can I come up?”

“Why?”

“Because I want to see if you’re all right! We’re friends aren’t we?” She nodded and motioned for him to come up as she sat down on the wrought iron bench. It seemed like only a second had passed before Ryan was standing in front of her.

How did he get up here so quickly?
She thought to herself still dizzy from all the tests at the hospital.

“Hey you’re looking really pale, shouldn’t you have stayed in the hospital?” Ryan asked sitting down beside her, staring intently into her eyes.

“Is my hair a mess? Do I have something on my face?” she asked self-consciously wondering why he was staring at her.

“No, I’m looking at your eyes. Do you know your eyes are different colors? How stupid, of course you do. But I’ve looked at them before and never noticed.”

“Colored contacts, that’s my secret. I just started wearing them this year. I didn’t want anyone to know about my defect. So I convinced my parents that I needed them.”

“Defect? But your eyes are so beautiful.”

“I…thank you,” she said blushing.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked softly taking her hand.

“I’m fine really, I am. So did you go to the dance?” Cat asked trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, I hung out with some of the guys. Not Isaac though. Amelia demanded that he be exclusively with her all night.”

“I thought Isaac was in charge,” she stated sarcastically.

“Since when are men allowed to be in charge?” Ryan replied causing her to laugh. Combing her fingers through her hair, Cat’s laughter faded, and her eyes became serious.

“I want to thank you for -” she began, her eyes widening as Ryan’s face moved closer to hers. Her eyes closed as their lips touched, first with the lightest of pressure and when she didn’t protest, he pulled her closer. Cat felt herself becoming light headed again.

Suddenly Ryan broke away, “Cat I’m sorry, I know you aren’t feeling well. I couldn’t help myself. I was so scared when I saw you walk out into the road…and that car narrowly missing you…I thought my heart stopped for a second.” She stared at him unable to speak. “I’ll go…bye.” Before she could respond he climbed over the railing and disappeared from her sight. Seconds later she heard a car start and stood to see red taillights moving quickly up the road. Heading back into her room, Cat shut and locked the window behind her. “I hope that wasn’t a dream,” she whispered. Exhaustion overcame her as she crawled into bed. Burying herself under the covers, she fell fast asleep.

17

Movie Premiere

Robert Craven’s little hideaway always gave him a sense of security and a feeling of peace. Sitting at his desk in front of his computer he intently scanned a large old style leather bound book with his index finger. Closing the book, the title became visible.
Vampyre Compendium
was written on the cover in a black bold gothic font
.
He reclined heavily in his chair. Removing his glasses he began to massage his temples. Looking out the wall sized window to his left, he watched a huge hawk circle his backyard and then fly off. Even though most of the country had begun to lose its winter coat, his little piece of heaven, nestled on a desolate mountainside, hadn’t. White pristine snow filled his vision along with the dark, bare trees that were patiently waiting to sprout life again.

Only one person knew of his location. Max, his longtime friend and agent, would rather die than reveal Craven’s whereabouts. Max was a ghost in the publishing world. Never having been seen, Stan Maxwell’s true identity was a mystery.

Both men knew that when Craven began writing the
Dark Shadow
series using the
Vampyre Compendium
, there would be many furious individuals who would make it their life’s mission to stop them. Their method would result in one thing,
death
. Thus Craven became a man of mystery, never appearing in front of large crowds of people, just popping up at random bookstores to sign his latest book. At first, Craven’s sole purpose for writing was revenge. But now he had a responsibility. What once was a mission to shed light on an unknown world shrouded in darkness and deceit was now something more important, a mission of repentance. His ultimate goal now was to protect Catherine Colvin from the forces that she had no knowledge of. Ever since Max discovered that Cat was an avid reader of Craven’s novels and member of the Cravenite online fan club, Robert decided to switch the focus of his writing. He would write for Cat, to inform her of her past and warn her of her future. For years now he has watched her from afar. Recently, on several occasions, he tried to make contact with her, but to his dismay he caused more harm than good. His next book would set everything straight. It had too. But time would only tell, and until then, he would continue writing.

Amanda grabbed the Sunday paper and turned to the entertainment section. She laid it on Cat’s bed, everyone waiting for her recital. “Robert Craven’s vampire and werewolf works have set the world of horror fans on fire. His unusual take on the mythologies of these creatures have caused an unprecedented following. Book and movie reviewers alike speak highly of the Master of the Macabre. He’s set many records including box office revenue and book copies sold. Fans are eagerly anticipating the fifth movie based on his works, which is due out in theaters in two weeks. A special midnight showing is scheduled for numerous venues across the world. This reporter has to admit that he will be first in line at midnight to witness the big event!” she squealed, finishing with a flourish.

“I can’t wait!” Matt exclaimed while thumbing through Craven’s most recent work,
Darkness Awakes,
the fifth book in his
Dark Shadow
series. Cat received the book as a birthday gift and broke down and read it, thus breaking the pact the five had made when Craven’s first movie had been released.

“I can’t believe you broke the pact Cat!” Amanda groaned while trying to take the book away from Matt. Escaping her grasp, he deftly jumped over Cat’s bed, plopping down on the yellow bean bag chair, continuing to thumb through it.

“The way he tells a story is like no other before him. Every little detail is tied together in the end. No matter how small or insignificant it seems,” Matt explained.

“Wait ‘til you get to the end Matt, the twist is great,” Cat said with a grin.

“Don’t tell me! I want to be surprised,” Elle moaned covering her ears.

Cat giggled. “Don’t worry I’m not going to ruin it. And guys, I’m really sorry for breaking the pact. It was a gift after all, so I felt obliged to read it. But it won’t happen again, promise.”

“It’s okay Cat. We forgive you. By the way, speaking of
Darkness Awakes,
the premiere of the movie is in two weeks at midnight! And of course,
us
little kiddies can’t be out after the sun goes down!” Amanda complained.