Chapter 13

This chapter's picture is Shelly.

Abby's POV

I moan as I gradually get up. I look around and instantly notice Melanie missing. Great. She's gonna kill me if she keeps leaving me alone with Britney.

I walk over to my closet and put a red sport jersey over my lace bra before I head out to get something to munch on. I leave my room and work my way around the halls until I feel someone's eyes drilling into my neck. I turn around and see a guy leaning against an opening on the wall, revealing a ledge. His rough blue eyes watch me like as if I was his prey.

We both stand there, watching each other, frozen in time, until his eyes lower down my body and stare at my boobs. My face immediately becomes red and I start to feel uncomfortable. I turn around and start walking away quickly. A few seconds later, I can feel his breathing just inches away. I suddenly stop and as I expected, he ran into me. I turn around and shout, "Okay, what do you want?"

He looks at me funny and in a low voice says, "Nothing. Unless you wanna fool around a bit? Maybe even go all the way if you want?"

I stare at him, speechless and dumbfounded. I can feel myself starting to get mad. How the hell do I respond to that? Matter of fact, what the hell is he doing in the girl's dorm?

"Fuck you, I'm not a slut. Bye." I snarl back. Before he could respond, I leave before I burn his ass. Moment later, my eyes slowly adjust to the dim lights in the girl's lobby. Tiptoeing, I go through the cabinets and eventually pull out some oreos and peanut butter. Grabbing my treasures, I turn back and sit on 1 of 3 large red sofas forming a U letter in the middle of the bright pink room. I turn on the TV and watch a few reruns of MTV's Girl Code until an auburn haired girl with pale skin, green eyes, a wearing a yellow long sleeve shirt with Hello Kitty pajama jeans, enters the room yawing tiredly. I watch as she rummages through the refrigerator but then decide to ignore her and get back to my show.

To my surprise, she returns holding 2 cups of warm milk and sets them down on a

coffee table in front of us while at the same time, takes an oreo and dips it in peanut butter.

"Thank God there's someone else in here that likes this." she says.

I start to giggle, "Oh my gawd, I know! My friends back home would always say that it's gross. But it's really not."

"Same here. And it doesn't get any better here either." She says as we both take a sip of our milk. We sit silently, watching the TV again until she asks, "How do you feel about having your affinity being fire? Especially this early?"

I stare at her quizzically. I never really thought about it before.

"I don't know. I'm just still surprised that I have one to begin with."

She nods understandingly and continues, "Well, at least the fantastic 13 are almost complete."

I raise an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Taking another oreo, she says quietly, "Well, don't tell anybody this, but last year in my Vampyre Sociology class, we got assigned to do a research paper about the way vampyres can worship Nyx. I did mine on the elemental circle we cast before we start rituals. I found out that there's more to the circle than that. Turns out that the elemental circle is the most common and that the whole circle is forbidden to be made for some weird reason. Anyways, there's 3 parts to it. It starts off with a cross with someone in the middle, then there's the elemental circle and normally Spirit is in the middle of it all but it's joined with something else I'll get to. Behind the elemental circle is the outer circle, which are the substitutions of the elemental circle. They stand in between the elemental circle to add more power." She paused and as she noticed my very clueless expression, she said, "Think of it like a compass, the pin-point is Spirit and the Unknown, then draw an imaginary cross with the pin-point as the center. Then you know, south is fire, east is air, and so on. Then there's ice for northwest, gasses for southeast and blah blah blah."

"I think I'm starting to get it. But what do you mean by the Unknown? And can you explain more about the substitution part?" I asked quite intrigued.

"I say Unknown because it's never stated what it is. It's a mystery. And the substitutions are like our sidekicks in crime. So since your fire, your sidekick is a guy named Red and he has a thing for lava."

I stare at her as if I just saw the future, "That's really amazing. So besides the Unknown. how many are there here?"

"With your and Melanie here, you guys complete the elemental and substitution circle. It's just the Unknown that I'm waiting for."

That was when we heard the boyish snickering coming from the halls. We both turn around and see 4 guys coming into the room. 3 of them were trying unsuccessfully to be sneaky while the 4th didn't care.

"What are you guy's doing?" I ask not sure whether to laugh or not.

"It's none of your concern. Don't worry about it," said a guy with short brown hair, brown eyes, and wearing a red shirt.

My new friend turns around and says, "Mario, don't make me get security again."

The guy - Mario - gives her the finger as he begins to creep down the the hallways with the 2 guys following him. The one standing, a guy with a grey long sleeve, eyes as brown as coffee beans, and curly dark brown hair, stays where he's at and looks at us, taking a few steps close, "Tiffany, just ignore this idiot. He's just trying to get laid with Lindsey but we all know he ain't gonna."

"Fuck you Robin." Mario responds.

"Not tonight you won't." mutters Robin as the trio vanishes in the halls. Just then, Bridgette comes in with 2 other people behind her. "Hey guys, you wanna come with me to th-"

"Sure! Anywhere but here. Lead the way." Tiffany interrupts her but then stops and as she turns to face Robin, I noticed that her cheeks were burning red. Crush maybe?

"You wanna join us?" She asked him very nonchalantly

Robin looks back where his friends ditched him and then back at us. Finally, he said sure. As we were walking, Bridgette introduced me to the 2 people who were following her; Shayy, a nerdy girl with black hair and blue tips, and (for the love of God) I uncomfortably met Lance, (AKA the perv from the hall).

"Oh My Gawd! This place is hella cool!" gushes Shayy as we enter the room. Turns out Bridgette led us to what looked like a piece of an art exhibit from a museum. The room seemed to have been divided into 5 parts; photography, sculptures, paintings, fashion, and room was alive with creativity, too much creativity that it kinda did look creepy.

We slowly wandered off from each other and explored. I enter the painting section and I will admit, it was beautiful; portraits of elderly ladies laughing, a boat in the distance with the sunset, and a family in the park.I studied them all into I jumped at on that was very disturbing. A man stands in what seemed like a cellar with stitches all over his body, his shaved head splitting in half and his mouth and cheeks ripped off, revealing his teeth, muscles, and veins. But what really struck me was his wicked smile. I don't know how long I've stayed there staring at the smile, until I heard Tiffany call my name.

It took me a while to find her in the photography section looking at a picture of a naked women walking into the water. Under it, I saw a poem. At the same time, Tiffany, began to read it.

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever god may be

for my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstances

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.

Every word seemed to gush out of her mouth like a raging river. I stopped breathing. I didn't wanna miss one syllable or vowel.

"That's very deep and beautiful." I whispered, lost in the words.

"I thought you'd like it. It reminded me a lot of you. I see a leader in you Abby." she says.

I stood there speechless for a minute, until I found my words, "Ugh - thank you, but that can't be right. I'm mostly a follower. I'm usually never in charge of things."

"Things will 'll see."

I gushed. How do I respond to that? So I changed the subject.

"Who wrote it?"

"Liz Fisher. She's a great poet, but a greater photographer. You KNOW, she's held a photo shoot in America's Next Top Model AND has promised internship for Nylon and Seventeen Magazine."

I smiled, "I'd love to meet her one day."

"You'll love her. She's an amazing person." Tiffany says as we continue observing.

Leader huh? Maybe being marked was a good thing after all. Lets just hope Tiffany's right about it.

Shelly's POV

"God what the hell is taking them so long?" Gaby whines as she yanks of leaves from a tree.

"Be patient. They'll be here." I say while gliding my fingers on the invisible barrier of the school. Funny, these stupid vampyres really think they're safe behind this weak wall they call protection. They have no idea what's about to reign upon them.

"Finally!" Gaby loudly mutters as a group of fledglings emerge from inside the barrier. They stop walking, not daring to cross the other side until they're leader Calvin, a dirt blonde curly haired stoner with light skin and green eyes, grabs my attention.

"Why did you call us here Shelly?" he says in a low voice with a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"I need your help." I respond.

"And why would we? Just because you showed us the preschool during our bloodlust doesn't mean we're all buddy buddy now." says a typical I'm-Daddy's-Little-Princess cheerleader with thick black hair & grey eyes. I glanced at her. I think her name was Amy. I have to remember to show her a lesson next time. I smiled at her and with fake cheerfulness said, "Because if you guys don't help me in the only opportunity I'm giving you, you'll surely die."

They all froze. They were all listening now.

"What do you want?" asked Calvin.

"A simple exchange" Gaby pitches in.

The group all share a look until Chris, a brunette swimmer with brown eyes, asked nervously, "What do you want from us?"

I could feel my mouth crack a smile, "Your loyalty."

They all looked puzzled so I continued, "I can see that you guys aren't like the rest of the fledglings. You crave power. Hungry for blood & destruction. Join me & I'll make it all happen."

The group all looked at their leader, waiting for his response. With an unsure look, he said, "What do you want us to do?"

I reached for a box out of my backpack and opened it. Inside were 2 sets of vials. 12 were filled with this dark purple powder while the other 12 were filled with this milky-colored liquid. "I want you to spread the zombie virus inside the barrier. That way, the House of Night will have no choice but to break down the barrier, in attempt to save themselves. Nevertheless, no ones going to survive." I then point to the vials with the liquid, "In return, you guys will get the vaccinations for the virus."

Without hesitation, Calvin says, "Deal. We'll start right away."

Laughter escaped me. Calvin turns to Amy and says, "Get the box." She nods and as she pulls out a raven's feather, she begins to chant:

"In the nights when the hour glass between life and death is thinnest & when magic is most likely to obey this earth's-"

I raise my hand & stop her. With this insanely long chant, I recite my own spell.

"Lamashtu, hear my plead. Let destruction be our guide & open the portal to the Raven Queen."

Instantly, the feather Amy was holding, burst towards the wall and like a spider web, it sticks and spreads along a small part of the barrier, dissolving it. Swiftly, I hand her the box before the opening closes.

"Once your job is done & the barriers torn, I'll find you again for your next task."

"How will you know where we'll be?" asked Chris.

"Don't worry, we will." I speak while I turn and walk away with Gaby following as I whisper, "Till then.."

Calvin's POV

"Holy crap! Did this really just happen?" says Pierre, an Italian twin with light brown hair & ocean blue eyes.

"I can't believe it, we're saved!" screams the other twin, Paris, a cute blonde scene girl with lots of multi-colored haired and ivory green eyes.

"Not just yet," says Chris, ruining their excitement, "We need to be wise on who we give the extra vaccines to."

"Why would we even give the extras away?" We should just hold onto them until our vaccines wear off, then just use them again." says Mario until Bria, a light brown hair with shoulder tattoos & black eyes, slaps the back of his head.

"Don't you think ahead? With all these viruses, we're gonna need help spreading them. Plus, these vaccines might be long lasting. We might not even them them & in case we do, we're gonna see Shelly again. We could just ask for more."

"She has a point. We're gonna need more help than we already have." says Hunter, a popular blonde with grey eyes. Chris turns to me and says, "Got anybody in mind?"

I wince as I slowly mutter, "I could possibly get Ella to do it…"

"Calvin, you dirty dog, you just want her in on it so you can get laid." jokes Mario but I ignore him.

"She'll be willing to do anything for me. And if Ella's in then her shadow of a cousin will tag along. I think her name's Lucie. That's 2 right there."

"I'll get Chloe to do it to." Pierre says.

Bria starts laughing hysterically, "No way you're serious! Your 6-year-old sister?"

Pierre began to nod until Paris started to yell, "No! we're not doing this to Chloe again! How many times do I have to tell you, She's NOT you! She doesn't know what she wants and you putting shitty ideas in her mind isn't helping! For once can you just be a big brother for her and not be a fucking joke!"

Pierre smiles awkwardly and before I knew it, he rushed towards her, grabbed her hair, & dragged her down onto the floor. She squealed & slapped him but he was too strong for her.

"Funny things about our nails… they can grow crazy sharp. Sharp enough to cut through a skull. So if they can cut through a skull, hair wouldn't be much of a problem."

"No!" screams Paris before I shout, quieting everyone, "Enough! I will not deal with your guy's crap." I wait for Pierre to get off his sobbing sister before I continue, "I'll get Lucie and Ella. Pierre, this is a very difficult decision due to the fact that she's just a child, but she won't be suspected as trouble & she knows more people to infect… so as long as she doesn't know ANYTHING, then she's in. But give her the vaccine first."

"What about the rest of us? Do you want us to get more people?" asked Hunter.

I shake my head. "In total we have enough for everyone to get a vaccine. Right now our mission begins. So I want you to go infect the water supply. Bria, you'll join him."

Hunter and Bria both nod as they take a vial of the vaccine followed by the virus before they turn and disappear into the darkness. I turn to the twins & continue I want you guys to sneak into the cafeteria and & spread it in the food. That way, it's likely everyone will get it. Have Chloe help to." Pierre whistles his goodbyes as a traumatized Paris grab the vials and follows him. Lastly, I turn to Mario and Chris. "Go to the air vents and dump it in their. Make sure you turn on all of the vents after wards. I don't think you'll get caught but if you do, then run like hell. Got it?"

They both laugh as they leave, leaving me alone with Amy. Without looking at her, I said, "We'll rub it on ourselves and do it old fashion style: physical contact. It's too risky to use our magic."

We both pop off the screw from the vials and like a shot glass, we drink the vaccines.

"It taste like cough syrup." Amy coughs.

"Alright, lets just get this over with & start at th-"

"Hey! I thought I recognized your voice."

Out of the shadows comes out Bryson, a scrawny gadget wiz from my spell and rituals class. We waited for a while until he awkwardly reached us and continued, "Derek is hosting a party to ease everyone up from all this, " he gestures the outside of the barrier, "and he wants everyone to be there."

Oh god Derek… I've never really liked him. I always thought of him as a try-hard with a pole up his ass. The guys always serious. Especially since he's leader of the Dark daughters & sons, this is typical for him to have events like this.

"Great we'll be there." says Amy.

Bryson smiles in achievement and starts to leave before an Idea pops into my head.

"Bryson wait, Amy wants a kiss goodbye."

Amy's POV

Bryson looks at me sheepishly, "Really?"

Normally, I would never consider kissing anyone below an 8 from a scale of 1 - 10, let alone Bryson who's a 5. But I knew what Calvin was playing. We've always used this technique on police officers when they try to arrest us.

I pull out my lip gloss and put some on, signaling him to come closer. He smiles foolishly & walks up to me. By the time he presses his body against mine, I could feel the spider crawling up my spine.

"Pucker up baby…" he says as he kisses me. It's obvious the boy didn't know what he was doing. His tongue was EVERYWHERE. I would rather have slit my throat with a chainsaw then go through this never ending kiss. Thankfully, I felt the spider crawl off me and seconds later, Bryson pulls back agitated.

"Fuck, I think something just bit me."

Before he could say anything else, I start to walk away with Calvin as I shout back, "Learn how to kiss next time loser."

"You're mean. Your fooling him about a next time." Calvin laughs.

"How much of the virus did you put in the spider venom?" I ask as I stare into his new set of eyes. Once green, they've transformed into a black & yellow striped design, including the whites in his eyes. They reminded me a lot like a bee. They glowed like stars as he spoke, "Enough for a crowd. Perfect for a party."

I snicker as we walk into the night, "They're totally screwed. Maybe this party won't be a failure after all."