Chapter SixTaylor opened his eyes slowly. Though the room was dark, he recognized it as his own. The blanket felt and smelled like home. In a chair beside him, reading a book was a woman. The light from the window glinted off her long blonde hair. "Mom?" he said, with a voice scratchy from lack of use.
She closed the book and leaned a little closer. "No, I'm Sonya. Your mother's not here right now." She said very softly.
"Oh." He said. She watched him carefully, he seemed very confused.
"Where is everybody? What time is it?" he asked, sitting up slowly.
She stood up and placed the book on the chair, "Well, I suppose they're still in St. Louis, and," she looked at the clock on the bedside table, "it's 5:48 p.m."
He ran his hands through his hair, then put his bare feet down on the floor. "Where'd I get these clothes?" he said, looking down at his attire of sweat pants and a St. Louis Cardinals t-shirt.
"K-Mart." She answered. Then she asked, "How do you feel?"
He thought for a moment, "Weird."
She smiled, "Probably so."
"What's going on? What am I doing here instead of St. Louis? I mean, they can't do the show without me, can they?" he stood up and flipped on the lamp that sat on the table. "And who are you?" he asked, looking at her closely.
"I'm Sonya, I brought you here." She said, backing up a little.
"Why? Did you kidnap me or something?" He asked, stepping closer to her.
Taylor, can you hear me? She asked him, using only her mind.
"Of course I can hear you! Can you hear me!?" He asked loudly, "Cause you're not answering any of my questions!!!" Suddenly, two figures appeared in the doorway. He turned and his eyes widened, "Stay away from me." He said, stepping up on the bed so that he towered over them.
The two girls looked at Sonya and she shrugged her shoulders, "See if he can hear you." She said. Both girls looked at him, but neither of them said anything.
"What the hell is going on?!" he demanded.
Both girls shook their heads and looked at Sonya. "I guess he was connected to you when he died, so that's why you two can hear each other." Melanie said.
He turned his head and looked at her incredulously, "What did you say?" he asked.
"She said I was connected to you when you died. You are dead. Or, at least, you were." Sonya said.
Camille stepped into the room and he backed up against the wall. "Just stay there Camille." Sonya said. "Taylor," she continued, "we didn't kidnap you. Well, maybe your body. Um, how do I put this?" she asked herself. "You are one of us now." She said, "You're changed. You're a vampire. God, I hate that word, but that's what we are." Melanie and Camille looked at each other, then back at Taylor.
"There's no such thing." He said.
Melanie laughed and he glared at her, his eyes glittering. "Oh yes there is—just look in the mirror." She leaned against the doorframe.
"Well, if I was one, I wouldn't see my reflection anyway." He stated, furrowing his brow.
She giggled again, "Ok, you've been watching Bela Lugosi movies, right?"
"Melanie, don't be such a bitch!" Camille spat. "We have reflections Taylor," she said, "and we don't turn into bats and sunlight won't kill us right off, but it'll sure give you a wicked sunburn in no time at all."
He was shaking his head, "Hey," he said looking at Melanie, "You tried to drown me!"
Melanie smiled proudly, "Yeah, that was me." She said and she began to walk towards him. He backed up again, knocking a picture from the wall, the glass shattering as it hit the headboard of the bed.
"Melanie stop." Sonya said calmly. "Taylor, I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. Come with us and we'll teach you what you need to know. We could go to L.A." she said hoping to tempt him.
"I can't go to L.A.—We're on tour, we gotta be in Chicago a couple days after Thanksgiving. I'm not going anywhere with you! She's a stalker and she's a murderer!" he said, pointing at the other girls. He then reached down and grabbed the phone from the table and began punching in numbers. All three girls lunged at him then and he was knocked to the floor. Still, he clung to the phone with all his might.
~~~~
Isaac's cell phone rang and he slowly looked down at it. "Tulsa" the readout said. Great, he thought, it's probably some relative wanting to know when the funeral is. "Hello?" he said, putting the phone to his ear.
"IKE!!! You gotta help me!!" It sounded like Taylor's voice. In the background, he could hear other voices as well.
"Tay!?" he said loudly. Walker and Diana both looked at him. "Where are you? Taylor?!!" he shouted into the phone. But, he only heard grunts and the sound of the phone being shuffled around.
Walker took the phone from him, "Who is this!?" he demanded.
~~~~
"Get him!" Sonya growled, but just as she'd feared, Taylor was extremely strong and so far was managing to keep the phone out of their reach. Finally, she pulled herself from the melee and just grabbed the base and yanked the chord from the wall. It took a moment for Taylor to realize the phone was dead and he stopped struggling with the two girls. Tears welled up in his eyes and he rolled over on his back. Camille and Melanie both untangled themselves from his long arms and stood back, straightening their clothes and regaining their composure. Taylor placed his hands over his eyes and moaned.
Then, suddenly, he threw the phone, shattering it against the wall and he pounced on Sonya with all fours. Camille and Melanie both tried to pull him off her, but he was like stone. Sonya looked up into his eyes. They had the shine and his fangs were bared. She knew he couldn't kill her, but he could make things very unpleasant for awhile. "You can't hurt me," she smiled, "so you may as well get off me. You are what you are, Taylor—look."
He raised his eyes to the mirror on the back of the door. He saw his own eyes looking back at him, but they were different. It looked like when headlights shine in the eyes of an animal—not blue like a dog's, but green like a cat. And he had two sharp fangs where once his canines had been. He raised up off of her and slowly walked toward the mirror. Sonya let out a sigh of relief. Camille and Melanie both watched aghast. Sonya was stronger than either of them and he'd subdued her like it was nothing. She got up and stood next to them, all watched as he gazed into the mirror, mesmerized by his own reflection. She brought up a block in her mind, praying he wouldn't be able to read her thoughts if she didn't want him to. She then looked to each girl and pointed to her temple. Males were stronger physically, but females were stronger mentally. She knew they could control him in some ways using their minds, but they'd have to figure out how to go about it.
~~~~
Zac sat on the couch in the girls room. In his lap Avery clutched her blanket and sucked her thumb, something she'd given up six years ago. In the adjoining room, he could hear Isaac and his parents. They were arguing about something as their voices were carrying through the wall. "It was him!" he heard Isaac say. Zac closed his eyes—ever since the murder of his brother, people had been yelling and crying and just generally going insane. Isaac swore a man had killed Taylor while Avery said it was a woman. Killed Taylor. He couldn't believe the words. His brother was dead. One day, he was there with them, sightseeing, eating lunch, swimming—the next his body was thrown on a stretcher by strangers, a white sheet covering his face. He'd even told them someone had tried to kill him, and he and Isaac had not believed him. A girl—he'd said a girl tried to kill him. Perhaps Avery was right.
~~~~
"Where'd they go?" Taylor turned to the girls as his teeth turned back to their normal state.
Melanie spoke, "It's sort of like having an erection—you get excited, or hungry, or just think about something, and they'll come."
"I'm dreaming, right?" Taylor smiled. "I'm gonna wake up, and Zac's gonna be drooling on his pillow, and Ike's gonna be snoring and we're gonna get ready for the show tonight, right?" He sat down on the bed, seeming to ignore them.
Camille walked over and sat next to him on the bed, looking at him. If he'd been beautiful in life, now he was breathtaking. Other than the purplish scar on his neck at the moment, his skin was flawless, his lips barely pink—but she knew when he fed, they'd be plump and red. His eyes, lovely before, now held tiny, bright flecks of green which enabled him to see in the dark. His hair, a sunkissed blonde now, would undoubtedly darken a little as time went on. A small price to pay for eternal life.
~~~~
"Zac, I need to talk to you." Isaac said, rushing into the room. Zac looked down at Avery, finally her eyes had closed. He carefully got out from under her and spread her blanket over her. He then followed his brother into the hallway. "He just called me!" Isaac said excitedly.
"Who?" Zac furrowed his brow.
"Tay. He's in Tulsa!"
Zac's face fell, "Ike, he's not in Tulsa—it wasn't him. He's gone."
He put his hands on his brother's shoulders. Isaac knew Zac thought he was crazy, but he also knew Taylor's voice. And that was Taylor's voice on the other end of the phone. "Zac, I'm driving home to Tulsa, now. If you don't want to go, that's cool. But, I'm twenty years old, I can do what I want and I'm leaving in 15 minutes or however long it takes me to pick up my stuff. It's not like cops are asking me any questions—we haven't heard a thing from any detectives or the hospital or the morgue. His body's missing Zac. Know why? Cause he's got it with him in Tulsa." And with that, he went into their room.
Zac stood in the hallway, trying to decide what to do. Finally, he went into the girls' room, past his sleeping siblings and into their parents' room. His mother was crying again and his father was pacing. "Dad?" he said.
Walker turned toward him, "What?" he said back.
"Would it be ok if I went back to Tulsa with Ike?" Zac asked.
Walker closed his eyes for a moment, "Zac, that was just a crank call or something—Tay's not sitting at home waiting for us."
"I know, Dad," he answered, "but Ike's going and I don't want him to go alone. I think he needs to go."
Walker sighed, "I don't know if it's a good time to split the family up Zac. I really think we need each other close right now."
"Dad, the funeral's gonna be at home, right? So, you all will be there really soon. Please." Zac pleaded as tears started to glisten in his eyes.
Walker reached over and hugged him, "As long as it's alright with your mother," he said quietly, "she might be needing you guys right now."
Zac nodded, then stepped over to his mother. She looked up at him, her eyes were red from crying. Eyes like Taylor's. "Mom?" he said.
"Just be careful, Zac. Call me—I need to know you're alright." She sniffed.
"I love you, Mom." He said, hugging her.
"I know you do, baby—I love you too, we're going to make it through this. Take care of your brother." She said back.
Zac turned and headed for the room he and Isaac now shared alone. Everything was picked up, including Taylor's things. "Ike, that's like, evidence, ya know?" he said.
Isaac looked at him, "Bullshit. If they needed it, they would have gotten it already. Somethin' freaky's going on Zac." He picked up two duffle bags, his and Taylor's backpacks and said, "C'mon, if we leave now, we'll be there before midnight." Then, he marched out into the hall, leaving Zac scrambling for his own things.
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