The Emerald Talisman (25 page)

“Oh, I remembered I’d forgotten something,” I
said with a straight face.

He gave me a funny look, shook his head then
noticed my ice cream.

“Is there any left?” he asked, pointing at my
bowl.

Luke popped up off the couch headed toward
the kitchen before I finished nodding my head yes.

During the commercial, I was tempted to
change the channel, feeling anxiety from the graphic images in my
head. But I couldn’t completely blame the show for my state. The
events from my real life caused the distress. I wondered how it
could be so enjoyable to become basically a cannibal. Then to my
horror, I realized, if I were in the same room during a feeding
frenzy, I would be able to know. The thought made me shiver.

I decided Nicholas was right. I could never
defend myself in an attack. And I wasn’t positive what Phil’s
intentions were, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I’d eat
crow and beg for Nicholas’ forgiveness tomorrow before my shift
started then quit my job. But just in case, I decided to be
prepared.

While Luke was still in the kitchen, I snuck
down the hallway towards the garage. The cold rush of damp dusky
air wafted across my face when I quietly opened the door, the
darkness a little creepy for my liking. Was this considered part of
the house? I figured it had to be.

I felt the wall for the light switch and
flicked it just when Aladdin darted between my legs. I yelped as
she disappeared into the house.

The light penetrated the room and I felt
foolish for being afraid to be in my own garage. Everything looked
just like it always had, floor to ceiling cabinets on one side and
a work counter on the other. Luke’s tools lay on the floor, along
with other unknown devices. The space where Dad normally parked was
empty; around it was all kinds of junk we’d collected over time,
most of it in boxes.

I looked around for something I could use to
make into a stake. In the corner was a broken old broom. I ran over
and picked it up.

Perfect.

I removed the hacksaw from the wall and after
much elbow grease, managed to cut the bristly end off.

“What are you doing?” Luke asked, holding a
huge bowl of ice cream.

With a squeal, I dropped the stick. I felt he
was close by but didn’t realize he was in the room.

“You scared me! Geez!” I barked, embarrassed
I was so jumpy. I nonchalantly retrieved the stick from the floor.
“I’m just sharpening this stick.”

“What for?”

“Because,” I said defensively, struggling for
a reason. “It’s – it’s to garden with.”

He paused mid bite and blinked. I remained
composed.

“You aren’t going to be able to sharpen it
with a hack saw. The sandpaper is in the drawer over there.”

He pointed to the workbench.

“Thank you,” I said, marched over, found the
roughest sheet and went back to the workbench stool. Luke sighed,
leaving me alone in the garage.

After a few minutes, I transformed the broom
into a vicious weapon and practiced a few jabs in the air against
an invisible assailant. An old song my dad listened to came to
mind.

I am woman, hear me roar.

There was something very rewarding in being
proactive in my protection efforts. I figured since I’d be home a
lot, I’d just workout to a Taebo DVD with it. That way, if I ever
got into trouble, I’d already have practiced and could just stake
the monster in one smooth motion.

I managed to sneak by Luke, while he watched
the end of his sickening TV show and headed upstairs. Nicholas’
need for a trench coat suddenly made sense. I didn’t own one or
anything remotely useful to conceal the stake, so for now, I’d have
to store it in my backpack. I just hoped it wouldn’t accidentally
fall out during school or I’d have some serious explaining to
do.

. . .

18
- FEAR

I arrived at school Monday morning feeling
numb and annoyed. I hadn’t slept soundly because of the reoccurring
nightmares. And sometime during the night, I’d changed my mind
about needing Nicholas’ help. His behavior still angered me and I
wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.

“You didn’t call back,” Sam said a little
perturbed when she caught up with me as I walked alone to first
period P.E. class.

Instantly I remembered listening to her
voicemail message and felt bad. She called late Saturday night, but
I hadn’t listened to her request for me to call until early Sunday
morning, just before Nicholas came to pick me up to go to the
beach. I’d completely forgotten to call back.

“Sorry, how was the dance?” I asked, trying
to sound interested.

“It was magical,” she said, her anger melting
and face suddenly all aglow.

I looked at her happy expression as she
continued to fill me in and softened. I was thrilled she had a good
time and decided not to let my Nicholas woes interfere. Fight or no
fight, my weekend was magical for me as well, but I wasn’t allowed
to say a word. Yet another unbearable secret to keep. I never felt
more alone.

My classmates were also semi-excited and a
little depressed, maybe because it was Monday, but I also sensed a
general fearfulness. As I half listened to Sam, I scanned the faces
around me to see if I could figure out why. Was this vampire thing
affecting more people than just me?

“What’s wrong with everyone?” I finally asked
Sam.

“Huh? I don’t know,” she said, suddenly
paying attention the people around us. “Everyone seems fine to
me.”

We changed our clothes and headed towards the
basketball court, where I overheard two classmates ahead of us.

“That’s so sad about Justin,” Mia said to
Erika.

“Yeah, isn’t it awful?”

I touched Mia’s shoulder to stop them.

“What about Justin?” I asked.

“You haven’t heard?” Mia gave me a look like
I was a complete idiot. “He’s missing too.”

Her words sent ice down my spine. My last
interaction with Justin played through my mind as I continued
listlessly into the gym, grieved. He quite possibly could be
another victim and I felt responsible.

Why is this happening?

The epidemic was spreading like a disease and
I couldn’t allow it to continue. Desperate times called for
desperate measures. I needed to do something, but what?

The fortune teller’s words came to mind, but
I pushed away the thought. I didn’t care what she predicted. I
wouldn’t go see her. I couldn’t go. Darkening her doorstep meant
I’d have to accept everything. The true fate Nicholas and I had –
his demise and my valiant rescue of an oblivious world who wouldn’t
know my sacrifice. I didn’t know how I’d ever live without him.
There had to be another way.

I put my face in my hands and searched for a
solution.

“Julia, are you okay?” I heard Sam ask,
pulling me back towards reality.

I lifted my head and stared into five pairs
of inquisitive eyes. Somehow in my concern and denial of what I
needed to do, I’d auto-piloted myself all the way to lunch.

“I’m okay,” I murmured as I looked down at
the table at my uneaten food that I didn’t remember getting. “I’m a
little tired today.”

“Do you know Justin?” Cameron asked me, his
eyes moving slowly to focus on my face.

“Not really,” I said, feeling the weight of
the responsibility hitting me heavily. “Did you?”

“He’s in my Calculus class. He came to the
tournament Saturday night,” he replied, sort of in a trance. “But
never made it home.”

My stomach churned at the news. Maybe if I
was his date Saturday night, he’d still be here.

“What happened?” Dena asked.

Cameron shifted. All the geeky spunk of his
normal demeanor was absent. He looked despondent under his red mop
of curls. The heaviness of his heart almost made me well up with
tears.

“The chess club met at Clark’s house for our
tournament. We played until about three in the morning. I decided
to just spend the night, but Justin had to be home for Boy Scouts
in the morning,” he said with a sigh. “We got a frantic call from
his mother in the morning because he didn’t come home and wasn’t
answering his phone. So the cops came and interviewed us. He’s
vanished into thin air.”

He looked down at the table and picked at his
food. I felt sick thinking about what his parents must be going
through when another wave of conviction hit me.

“That’s horrible, Cam,” Sam said.

“Well, there’s a new curfew now. If you’re
under eighteen, you’re supposed to be home by nine p.m. and rumor
has it they might even make it eight,” he said without any emotion
in his voice.

“Yeah, we know about the curfew,” Katie said,
her voice laced with annoyance. “They squelched the bonfire with
it, but eight? Seriously, that’s just lame.”

“It’s not lame,” I piped up, overwrought with
new found terror. “And, actually, I wanted to ask all of you not to
go out after dusk until this is over.”

“What?” Katie exclaimed. “Are you kidding
me?”

I shot her a look. More than anything in the
world, I wanted to share what I knew, scare them into submission.
This was very serious and I couldn’t bear losing any of them to
those vicious murderers. I would make them listen.

“Just trust me, okay? I wouldn’t ask if I
didn’t think it was that serious, but my Dad has some friends who
are cops and whoever’s doing this is looking for certain kids to
prey upon. All I can say is we fit the type.”

Katie let out a groan, contorting her face
while she rolled her eyes. “Yeah right,” she snipped.

I restrained from reaching across the table,
grabbing the collar of her shirt and shaking some sense into her.
But something in my disposition elevated the general fear level
from nothing to DEFCON 1 in a matter of seconds. Everyone knew I
meant business and couldn’t deny the facts.

“I’ll do it,” Dena said quickly, watching me
with a new found fearfulness.

I glanced at Sam.

“Me too,” she said under the weight of my
stare.

“My mom isn’t letting me go anywhere, so I’m
already grounded,” Cam said, still playing with his food. He didn’t
need any intimidation to agree.

“You will too, won’t you Morgan?” Dena
asked.

“Yeah,” he said, watching me
suspiciously.

Everyone’s honest commitment eased my
conscience. Only Katie remained. One by one, the group’s glances
rested on her sour expression. She tried to keep a cold front, but
eventually caved. Our effort managed to penetrate her childish
reasoning.

“Fine,” she said with reluctance while
crossing her arms.

I let out a quick exhale.

“You’re such a big kill joy sometimes,
Julia,” she with a sneer and left the table.

Receiving the brunt of Katie’s anger didn’t
bother me when I knew it might possibly save her life. Now, the
first part of my plan was in motion – the most important, keeping
my friends from harm. My next step was figuring out how to get into
my house without needing Nicholas’ help after dark.

I bit my pencil and conspired while in
Algebra when I got a brilliant idea. If there was a way to get Phil
to follow me home and I drove into my garage, I could talk to him
from the safety of my house. It would take some preparation, but I
knew it would work.

With that decision, I just wanted school to
be out, so I could put everything into motion. The faster I got
through my visit with the dreaded fortune teller, the better.

. . .

All the little houses that lined the road
next to the theater looked identical until I settled on the one
that looked vaguely familiar. The only problem was the curtains
were drawn hiding the fortune teller sign.

I got out of the car and studied the front.
The memorable tiny walkway to the porch brought it all back. My
senses told me no one was home, but I decided to knock anyway.
While waiting, I noticed the pile of newspapers next to the rickety
screen door. The mailbox overflowed with mail as well.

Has no one been home since I was here
last?

Something rubbed up against my leg and I
looked down. A black cat with icy blue eyes sat at my feet – the
same one from before. I squatted down and scratched her head,
wondering why she was so friendly to me now.

“Where’s your mommy?” I whispered, hoping the
old woman was just out of town and didn’t leave her pet behind.

‘
She’s not here.’

The words I heard weren’t spoken out loud,
but said inside my head – a woman’s voice, ethereal in tone with a
slight echo. Afraid, I stood up and looked around. I knew for sure
no one was there but someone had spoken to me all the same. Was I
losing my mind?

“Who’s there?” I asked quietly, thinking that
whoever it was hid their feelings from me as well. I didn’t like
being caught off guard.

‘
You’re special, aren’t you, Julia?’
the woman’s voice said in my head, like it was a new
revelation.

“Show yourself right now,” I demanded a
little louder, stumbling off the steps, walking backwards down the
path so I could scan the bushes alongside me.

‘
I’m right here.’

The voice came from the porch area. I glanced
around to see who was there, but only the cat sat perched on the
edge of the porch, looking directly at me. I could’ve sworn the cat
smiled at me. I blinked.

I’m officially losing it. I’m talking in my
mind to a cat!

I spun around and prepared to sprint to the
safety of my car.

“Wait please.”

The voice was spoken out-loud, followed by
her tender caring feelings of peace and warmth. I turned around to
find the source and gaped. On the porch stood a beautiful, angelic,
raven haired woman with fair skin and radiant, crystal blue
eyes.

“Where did you come from?” I asked in
bewilderment.

“I think you know,” she said sweetly, a
simple smile playing on her lips.