We reached the Boardwalk and took up camp at the front entrance again. I remained quiet, giving the impression no one should try to talk to me. Marko and Paul were aware of the problems, but they went into their normal activities of teasing the pretty girls that walked by. Dwayne sulked hard, sitting on his bike.
Star made attempts to talk to Anna, but nothing worked. Anna remained tight-lipped and looked like she was just as angry as she was scared.
Suddenly, Star took off, giving a vague "I'll be back..." towards me and hurried off into the crowds. I took a heavy drag from my cigarette and kept my gaze down on the concrete.
"Marko, Paul." I motioned. Dwayne had the best chance of getting Anna to talk. The blond boys looked at me then dismounted and followed. I gave Dwayne a look; his eyes were hard when he looked back at me. He didn't like what I'd done. But he would try. It was killing him as well. He wanted to know why Anna was upset.
I led Marko and Paul deep into the crowded tourist attraction. As usual, they grabbed up hot dogs and cotton candy from little kids that weren't paying attention and hurried to catch up to me as I walked, cramming the stolen goods into their mouths.
The crowds always parted around me, like I was a rock in a riverbed. Mothers clutched their children's hands, pulling them closer, whispering to them to not wander off. On the other end of the scale were teenage girls, younger then I, staring at me till their eyeballs nearly fell out. I always flashed them my best smirk or grin, hearing their hearts skip a beat when I looked their way. None of these girls stood a chance with me, would never be more then a tasty meal. But they didn't have to know that.
Paul sucked the last bits of spun sugar from his fingers. "You think Dwayne can get Anna to spill her guts?"
"Maybe." I kept my answer vague. I lit another cigarette and started back in the direction of the bikes. Anna and Dwayne weren't there. Perhaps he had gotten her to talk.
Paul and Marko got into a friendly shoving match, laughing wildly, while I climbed back on my bike and waited.
Something was pulling at the back of my mind. The feeling you get when you experience déjà vu. Only... it couldn't be déjà vu. Maybe it had been a dream, though dreams didn't come as easily to me as they did before I was a vampire. I tried to shake it off.
Dwayne returned with Anna, and Laddie. Anna got on her own bike and I could tell she was purposefully avoiding Dwayne's gaze. Star rounded the corner just then; walking past us with the dark-haired teen we'd seen the night before.
Anna hissed loudly, starting her bike. It roared and she zoomed over blocking Star and the boy's path. The rest of us followed. I pulled up along side Star. Paul and Marko fanned out and Dwayne drew up by Anna.
"Where ya going, Star?" I asked, suddenly very amused she'd tried to sneak out on us -- me -- with this boy.
"For a ride. This is Michael." She wouldn't meet my gaze, only kept looking at the boy. Michael, huh. The boy started to climb aboard his dirt bike and reached for Star's arm.
"Let's go." He called to her. She started to take his hand.
"Star." I stated, raising an eyebrow. I was tired of beating around the bush. She knew the rules. Star swallowed hard, looked at Michael then came back to me, sliding her arm around my neck and climbing on. I kept my eyes on Michael. I could feel his emotions seething at Star's rebuff. Star pulled on her jacket, pulled her long hair free. Paul laughed loudly, smacking his knees. Marko stretched a bit, raring to go. Anna grinned.
I looked this Michael in the eyes. "You know where Hudson's Bluff is, overlooking the point?" my lip twitched a bit. I could feel the old excitement in my blood. If Star wanted this one, fine, but he had to join the Pack. And this was always how we did it.
"I can't beat your bike," Michael replied, voice defeated.
"You don't have to beat me Michael," I smirked, revving the engine. "You just have to keep up." I took off first, Star tightly wrapped around me. Paul and Marko followed, Anna right behind them. Dwayne brought up the end of the Pack.
Michael paused at the top of the wooden stairs, but quickly followed us.
Again, for the second time in as many weeks, we led another potential to the bluff. On the last long stretched, I pulled ahead, knowing Michael would follow me. He wanted Star badly. I egged him on, smirking and grinning, as the wind roared around us, as loud as the bikes we rode.
Michael crashed, bike sliding away from him, moments before going off the cliff. He extricated himself from the heap of his bike and hauled over to me, landing a solid punch to my jaw. Star screamed at him, too late.
"Just you," Michael roared at me "Just you." I kept my face turned out to the sea, listening, feeling. Michael was gearing up for another punch when someone knocked him to the ground. I knew the other boys were only just dismounting, catching up to Star, Michael and I. Anna. Anna had knocked Michael to the ground! I frowned a bit, trying to understand. But I couldn't make sense of it. Finally I turned my face back.
"How far are you willing to go, Michael?" I asked him, letting my smirk ride out on the question. It infuriated him more, but he did nothing. The Pack reassembled and all of us entered the cave.