Chapter Seven
We made it
back to Jonas's house in about ten minutes.
Cameron was too stunned to talk to me, which wasn't that bad. I didn't have anything to say to him. That kiss was a surprise, even to me. I hadn't expected to do it. My problem, I guess.
The walk to
the cave was extremely simple. I could
hear Claud screaming from where we were, which was about half a mile away. Her fear of bats precedes anything and
everything she has ever experienced. I
think it's all in her head, but she swears on her life that it's not. Like I believe that shit.
At some
point, Cameron passed me up. I just
kept staring up ahead at a nice round behind while he swiftly dodged low
hanging branches and stepped over rotting tree trunks that were decaying in the
soft soil of the earth. I continued to
be clumsy and tripped over anything and everything that my feet could possibly
fall over. It's extremely annoying. You have Mr. Nature freak and then me, the
city girl. The last time I was outside
on a hike was the last time vampires were trying to get to me. I ended up with a huge deep scar on my back
from tossing the bitch on the ground.
She hung on with her claws in my skin.
When she crashed to the groundso did a pound of flesh off my back. It was the most painful moment of my
life. It was more painful for her
though. She ended up missing a
head. I was still alive.
I usually
hide it from the world along with my guns.
I'm not proud of my scars, but if they can help me save my life, then
keep them coming. I'd rather live,
thank you.
The inside
of the cave didn't even appear to be twice as scary as it was last night. It looked like a normal cave. Well, all except the huge letters carved on
the top of the entrance. It said,
"Midnight Fly." I wonder what
the hell it means. Okay, so bats
usually fly at night. Maybe that's
it. Maybe, they go get their munch on
at midnight.
Cameron's
voice came out in a rustic fashion.
"Sara, your friend is getting louder. Wanna check on her?"
I ran up
closer to him. He was already inside
the cave. Nearly ten feet inside the
mouth of it.
My eyes
passed from the ceiling to the floor.
The walls were like marble. A
beautiful gray-bluish marble that is simply breathtaking. On the left side of the cave was a small stream
that expanded further out in the cave.
It looked as though it was deep enough to actually get your swim on way
in the back of the stone temple dive.
Cameron's
face was raised in the air while he tried to touch the sleeping bats. I slapped his shoulder. He looked down at me and laughed. I smiled and stepped closer to him. Hey, if there is anything remotely dangerous
besides Claud out in this cave, nothing like a little supernatural beef cake to
save my ass.
Claudia's
voice nearly busted a hole in my eardrums.
"Damn girl, I'm here."
Her voice
still remained loud and constant. I
think I even heard a gun being shot.
Shit.
I took
Cameron's hand and tugged his arm behind me.
He understood what I was trying to do and stepped behind me. No need to have Claudia aiming at an
innocent fool. I poised myself to where
I could turn around and run if I need to, but in a good enough position to
which I could blast a few into the bad guys heads. I crept forward, slow and easy.
I've learned never to rush into any situation. Someone might end up dead.
Possibly, the stupid ass that jumped into the line of fire too damn
quickly.
I carefully
lined my back up against the roughness of the stone wall in the cave. I slid across, ever so cautious not to
scrape my back. My legs were so tense
that if I stayed in that position too long, I knew I'd be getting a charlie
horse tonight. Ouch!
There, in
the distance, was a mass of blonde wavy hair tossing left and right with a gun
being flaunted in the haunting presence of an awaken bat.
Her scream
stampeded through my head like fifty bulls parading across an open field. I ran up to her, grabbed her wrist, and
snatched the gun away from her. Cameron
came behind me, took Claudia's hand, and led her to the outside of the
cave. I stood in the cave glaring up at
the awakened bat wanting to laugh my ass off.
Claudia's sister came to my side and giggled.
"I
can't believe she went that berserk over a bat."
She placed
her hand on her head and tried to hide her face. I put my arm around her shoulder, turned her around, and walked
her outside.
Her chestnut
eyes glittered full of humor from behind tidbits of bangs, when she looked at
me. Her brown hair was still straight,
thick, and long. Her face was angular
unlike Claudia's. She did, however,
have a dimple on her chin. She was
wearing a black suit with a white shirt beaming underneath it. She looked great in it. It made her extremely beautiful, well more
attractive.
When we left
the cave, Apolonia let go of me and went to stand near Claudia.
"I'm
sorry about that Sara."
"It's
alright Lonia."
"I
didn't think Claudia would blow her cool."
Claudia's
glazed over eyes seemed to not recognize anyone as she skimmed over us. I stepped over to her and ran my hand over the
invisible wall she was staring out at.
She didn't even blink. What the
hell? Has she been in Texas too long? Do all Texan's have this invisible shield
that only they can see? Ugh.
"Lonia,
what the hell is wrong with her?"
"The
last time she did this was when," she started giggling again, "she
saw a bat."
"Just
great. We've got a bat lover in the
house."
Apolonia
slapped her knee and laughed until her face turned red. I just rolled my eyes, sighed, and begged
for this day to be over soon.
Cameron's
eyes searched the trees, grass, leaves, anything and everything. I think he felt something. I couldn't agree with him there. I didn't feel shit.
Claudia
stood up straighter and began to take in uneasy breaths. Her chest moved up and down so abruptly that
I thought it was going to cave in on itself.
Apolonia caught a hold of Claudia before she fell to the ground. Her screaming started again in jagged
unsteady breathes of hot air. I thought
she was going to hyper ventilate.
Apolonia laid Claudia softly on the ground to make sure she didn't tip
over.
Cameron
began to pace around in circles from tree to tree searching for whatever he
felt. Apolonia was frantically trying
to get Claudia to calm down. Her hands
were briskly struggling to keep Claudia from harming herself. I was about to kneel down, but two small
petite hands grabbed my face and pulled me up.
My unsteady legs were shaking so badly as my face was lifted to see
Selena's smile flow into my eyes.
"Hello
Sara."
My throat
convulsed under the feel of her hands.
I almost couldn't find my voice.
"Selena."
"Didn't
expect me?"
I reached my
hands up and pried her index finger away from my face. She pulled my face closer to her until my
feet were almost off the ground. She
let go when I was about two inches above the ground. My butt was the first to crash to the ground, then my weak
legs. My hands caught the rest of the
impact. It caused my head to flick
back. Ah shit. Whiplash.
When I knew
I could focus my eyes again, I looked up at her. "What the fuck is your problem?"
She glared
down at me with emerald eyes set on fire.
"Why must you use profanity around me?"
"Why
must you toss me on the ground?"
She brushed
her right hand through her hair and then laughed. Is it just me or do supernatural creatures have the weirdest
sense of humor? Oh well.
She
stretched her hand out to me in a very feminine fashion. Oh.
She wants to help me up. I think
I'll pass. I shook my head at her, but
she just insisted more. I gave up and took
her hand. She quickly helped me to my
feet in one graceful move on her part.
I was, however, as clumsy as they came.
Hey, she didn't crash on her ass.
She stood
before me in the same dress she wore in the restaurant. Guess she didn't go home after all. She had her hands on her hips and her legs
stretched almost a foot apart.
Her voice
sparked an emotion so close to jealousy and anger in me it was almost
scary. "Sara, why are you on my
lands?"
"Oh,
when did you become a map maker?"
She raised
her hand as if to strike me, but froze in mid action. To the back of me, I felt this incredible power creeping up my
spine.
Her face
glowed with the feeling of bitterness.
"Cameron, why are you trying to protect this human?"
"Because
she's human."
She tossed
her head back and her hair went flying in the wind. Its black surface glittered underneath the heat of the sun.
"My
poor dear Cameron. Bitten by the lust
bug. I almost feel sorry for you."
I stepped up
to her face and stared her in the eyes. My right hand was on my hip and my gun was showing. I didn't even bother to keep my overshirt
on.
"Bitch,
are you implying that I might not make it out of Texas?"
She smiled
down at me. "Summing it up exactly
Sara."
"Fuck
you."
Her face
lost all its elegance and casualness.
Her eyes flowed past me to Cameron then back to me. "I challenge you."
I felt
Cameron step up behind me in a wave of overwhelming power. His voice was barely seeping out from behind
his pouty lips. "You can't, she's
not like you."
"I can
and did. Do you accept Sara?"
Cameron
looked down at me and was trying to plead with me through his eyes. I shrugged him off. "I accept."
Cameron
stomped off and started cursing into the wind.
Selena, on the other hand, held a confident smile upon her face.
"We
will see who is more powerful."
"Sure
bitch."
She turned
on me and began to walk off. "Make
sure you are here tonight at midnight.
My bats fly tonight."
Claudia's
frightened screams returned. Apolonia
held her sister close to her again and tried to get her to calm down. Selena started laughed as she disappeared
into the wooded area. Cameron grabbed
my arm and turned me around until I faced him.
"Why
did you accept the challenge?"
I jerked my
arm out of his grasp. "Because I
never leave a challenge unanswered."
I ran his
hand threw his hair. "You will get
killed."
"Well,
fuck you too Cameron."
He looked
down at me with eyes that were both full of anger and envy. "And you said I was brave."
He turned
around and started walking away with me.
I sighed out and ran up in front of him. "Cameron, I accepted the challenge because I had to. It would eventually drag me down and catch
up with me."
He smiled at
me as if he actually understood.
"It's a value thing with you."
I rolled my
eyes. "I suppose."
I turned
around to check back on Claudia. She
was sitting on the ground actually breathing right. She looked up at me with a flush of embarrassment spread across
her face. I smiled at her. "It's alright Claudia. Life goes on."
"I
can't believe I freaked like that."
"I
can." Apolonia added.
I laughed,
but Claudia hit her sister. Her
bitterness flared in her voice.
"Thanks Lonia."
"You're
welcomed."
"Will
you help me up?"
Lonia stood
beside her as if thinking for a few minutes.
"Yeah."
When I
turned around trying to hide a laugh, I spotted Cameron staring out in the
wilderness. I walked up behind him and
put my arm around his back. He turned
to me, took my hand, and held it.
"Cameron, what the hell?"
His face was
decorated with all smiles. "Tried
to surprise you."
"Well
duh!"
I let go of
his hand and turned around. Claudia was
standing tall this time. Her brown eyes
were still wide with fear and shock. A
beautiful ribbon of blonde hair streaked across her face.
I pointed my
finger at her. "I won't be seeing
you tonight."
Her face
fell into deep shadows of confusion.
"Why?"
"Think
real hard Claudia."
She smiled
an embarrassed grin and glared back at Apolonia. She shook her head then looked down at the ground. She couldn't kill anyone anyway.
"I'll
go."
I turned
around to see Cameron proudly walking up to me. "No."
He stopped
in his tracks, which was about three feet from me. "Why not?"
"I'll
go alone."
He stomped
his feet across the scattered grass. He
came to stand directly in front of me.
Sorry, but height doesn't intimidate me. An uzi does.
"You
are not going alone." His eyes
searched my face trying to find some common ground to which he could stand on.
"Actually,
tall man," I pointed my finger into his chest. "I will. I don't
think that you'd risk your life for me."
His face was
suddenly being cradled by a feeling I hadn't seen in such a long time. Sorrow.
He felt sorry for me. Shit.
"Why
are you looking at me like that?"
He touched
my face with the tips of his fingers.
"I feel sorry for someone that trusts no one."
I caught his
fingers and held them in my hand. I
pulled them roughly away from my face.
He glared down at me with a look of remorse.
"I
haven't seen anyone taking a bullet for me lately."
I turned
back to Claudia and started walking closer to her. "May we go now?"
She nodded
and put her arm around Apolonia. I
treaded off with Cameron's fingers still in my hand in the same direction we
came. I didn't have to look back at
Cameron to know his shoulders were slumped and his feelings were hurt. It seems weird to me to know that I actually
would hate to see his feelings hurt.
That I would want to know him better.
That I would try to stop him from getting hurt. Shit!
I've only known him a fucking day.
This is truly scaring me.
