Mortal Obligation

“Oh my God,” Juliette muttered to herself. “I hit her with a toilet seat.”



“Really, I don't think we had a choice. I'm pretty sure she would have done worse to us if you hadn't hit her.” Ree said. Personally she was glad Jules had acted so quickly. She’d been out of ideas. A shiver ran down her spine as she wondered what Shannon would have done if Juliette hadn’t knocked her out.



“Oh, it isn't that. I’ve always hated that bitch anyway. It's just that it was a toilet seat. At the Civic Center!” She scrubbed her hands on her jeans. “Can you imagine what was probably growing on that thing? No wait, don't. It might make me sick.”



Ree snorted and then looked at Juliette. When they made eye contact, both girls started laughing loudly, if slightly hysterically. How she could laugh right now, she didn’t understand. Instead she decided to let it be, as she wiped a tear from one of her eyes.



“Ree! Jules! Get in!” Bryce's SUV pulled up onto the sidewalk. Paden leaned out of the passenger side window waving them over. Weylin and Melanie were sitting in the very back, letting Jules and Ree have the middle section.



Chapter 5



The tires of the SUV squealed as Bryce swerved back into the street and headed toward the island. No one said anything for a few moments, concentrating on the road and gathering their thoughts. As Bryce turned onto the road heading out of the historic district, it was like someone flipped a switch. Suddenly everyone was talking at the same time, interrupting each other.



“Is anyone going to explain what the hell happened back there?” Weylin demanded.



“Listen, we didn't really plan on anything like this happening.” Paden craned around so he could see the back seat.



“Ree, your eyes! What was that?” Melanie leaned forward, her arm resting on Ree’s headrest.



“Where did you go when we went out for the car?” Bryce asked Juliette.



“The bathroom,” Jules said. “That bitch followed us! I had to hit her with a toilet seat!”



“Toilet seat? You hit someone with a toilet seat?” Weylin laughed. “How did you pull it off the toilet? That is just gross!”



“Ree, are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?” Paden reached around his seat and touched her hand.



“Geez, thanks for all of the concern, Paden! She wasn't the only one crammed in that stinky stall being stalked by a psycho, black-eyed freak!” Jules reached up front and punched him in the shoulder.



“Black eyes?” Weylin had to shout to be heard.



“I knew Shannon was a freak. All contorted like a broken doll. Completely spooky.” Jules shivered in obvious disgust.



Ree didn’t say much as everyone else tried to talk over each other. She watched out the window as the large mansions of the historic district flashed by. She had no answers for them. She was just as lost as they were, but hopefully her boss could explain. She tried to sort out what she already knew. She was different. Paden was different. And she had the sneaking suspicion the others were different as well. Green stuff came out of her hands. Her eyes could glow like silver. Paden had fangs. Michael and Shannon were dangerous, and they obviously knew she wasn’t exactly normal. And she knew from every sci-fi book she had ever read that it wasn’t a good sign when the bad guys were a step ahead.



“Ree?” Paden asked quietly. She sighed and turned away from the window. A lump caught in her throat as she stared into his eyes. His expression was tense and worried. She realized that he thought she was going to freak out. Everyone else got very quiet as they waited on her response.



“I'm okay.” She patted his hand with her free one. “Really. I think we should start at the beginning.”



“Yeah, that usually works the best.” Weylin offered his opinion from the back. Melanie swatted his shoulder in annoyance.



Paden nodded and squeezed her hand before turning back to the front seat.



Ree explained to them all about the feeling at the restaurant, the attack in front of the Civic Center, Ms. Diakos, and the odd things that had happened to Paden and herself. Everyone looked somewhere between horrified and skeptical, except for Jules.



“Really, guys, I saw the green stuff shoot across the bathroom. And we all saw her eyes go crazy when Michael and Shannon got near.”



“When you say green stuff, are we talking ectoplasm-style green goo? Or beams of green light, wizard style?” Weylin wanted to know.



“It’s more like this energy that just builds up and then flows out. It’s only happened twice now, so I don't know for sure.” Ree made a face as she tried to remember exactly.



“Yeah, and it looked more like a wave than a beam of light. It rippled across the room.” Jules added.



Bryce laughed from the front seat. “Yeah, and Paden here has fangs! I vant to drink your vlood! Arrggghhh.”



Paden looked at him sourly. “Shut up.”



“So, all of that stuff happened when you were around those dark creatures?”



“Don't forget Shannon. That was completely weird, even for her,” Juliette grumbled angrily.



“Going all killer-zombie on us.”



“That’s the thing. Sophie warned us that some of the people that were at the restaurant were not to be trusted,” Paden said from the front seat. He frowned, his brows pulling together and shadowing his eyes. “I never really liked Michael, but he was always involved in the same sports. It didn't do me any good to be unfriendly.” She could tell he was really angry that he hadn’t realized just how much he had missed.



“It's not your fault, Paden,” Melanie said. Ree swiveled to look at her. Mel's eyes were full of compassion. Her full lips curved into a comforting smile. Something in Ree's chest gave a lurch when she saw the intimacy in that look. Was there something going on between Melanie and Paden? She bit her lip and tried to quell the anger the thought brought her. Melanie was a wonderful person. There wasn't anyone more thoughtful and fun to be around. Everyone loved Mel. She was beautiful in that natural way, without any makeup or effort. Her hazel eyes were always open and understanding. It would make perfect sense for Paden to like someone along those lines. They would fit well together. That thought didn't do much to calm the anger, but it did smother some of the flames in disappointment.



Melanie looked away from Paden when she noticed Ree was staring at her. Her eyes shifted, obviously registering something in Ree's expression. Suddenly, her lips curved into a smile and she sat back, amused. She looked from Ree to Paden and raised an eyebrow. Ree just looked at her blankly, not sure what she was trying to convey.



“You missed the turn.” Paden pointed toward the street sign that said Waters Avenue.



“No, I didn't. I decided to not take it,” Bryce said, his tone distracted. Ree noticed that he kept checking his mirrors.



“Okay, does this mean you have a quicker way to get to Shipyard Road?” Paden said icily.



“No. It means I'm trying to lose the car that’s following us,” Bryce said as he whipped onto another road, the tires making a noise a lot like they did in the movies. Everyone in the back braced themselves as the SUV leaned far to the right.



“Following us!” Juliette squealed.



Everyone in the car but the driver turned to look out of the rear windshield. Sure enough, a red sports car ran a red light and swerved into place behind them. That horrible cold sensation crawled across Ree’s shoulders as the car came closer to their bumper. She looked down at the floorboard, willing herself to stay calm as she felt that answering burn in the pit of her stomach.



“Who do we know that has a red car?” Melanie asked. She looked back up front, her eyes wide.



“It’s Michael and his friends,” Paden said from up front. Ree raised her head to look at Paden’s profile. He had spoken very slowly and carefully. It sounded like he was trying to talk around the fangs he had developed earlier. He must have been responding to the presence in the red car as well. He looked at her for just a moment, his eyes worried, before looking back at the road.



“Uh, we might need to go faster if we’re trying to outrun them,” Weylin said sarcastically from the back.



“It's a damn SUV, Wey. What do you want me to do? It's not like I have nitrous or anything,” Bryce said, his voice strained.



“Oh, no. You hafe got foo be kidding me!” Juliette said suddenly. Ree didn't have time to ask what was wrong because the red car accelerated, slamming into their rear bumper. Everyone slammed forward against their seatbelts before jerking back against the seats.



“What the hell man! What the hell!” Bryce hollered. He jerked around a slower car and swerved down another road.



“We've gotth to losthe them!” Paden was gripping the handle above his door. Apparently



Bryce glanced over at him. “Really, is that what we need to do? Way to be helpful, jackass.”



“Hey, I don't think the red car is alone,” Melanie said. She hadn't taken her eyes off the car behind them. “There’s a black Mercedes following them really closely. “



“Great, a horde of angry misfits,” Weylin said. He turned and looked at Ree. He paused for just a moment, his eyes narrowed as he studied her face. “Huh, they do glow. Well, what do we do? I mean, can we do anything? What about some of your green stuff? Or maybe have Paden bite them?”



“Har, har,” Paden said sarcastically from upfront.



“I don't know if I can do anything with all of these people around. What if I accidentally hurt one of them instead? I'm not sure I could even do anything at all. I'm really not sure what I would be doing if I did it!” Ree was working herself up into a mini-rant. Why were they being followed? Hadn't Sophie said they would be fine for the rest of the night?



“Jules? You're being awfully quiet,” Bryce said from up front. He still didn’t take his eyes off of the road as he swerved around a delivery truck.



Juliette made a noncommittal noise and shrugged her shoulder. Ree looked at her and was surprised to see she had her arms crossed, her face set in angry lines.



“Jules?” Ree touched her shoulder, but Juliette jerked away. “C’mon Jules. What’s wrong? Are you carsick?”



Paden turned in his seat and looked at her. He searched Juliette’s face and then smiled, showing his fangs. “Openth upfth and let us fthsee.”



There was a gasp as Melanie turned around and saw the light glinting off of Paden’s teeth. Juliette waved an inappropriate finger in Paden’s direction and clenched her mouth shut even tighter. The SUV lurched to the side as Bryce avoided another car, throwing them all into the windows.



“Jules?” Bryce said in a quiet voice. He was the only one that could get through to her when she had a stubborn moment. Juliette’s eyes looked rebellious for a second, and then she slowly opened her mouth. Ree watched, fascinated as Jules exposed the extended teeth.



No one said anything for a moment and then Bryce chuckled. His dark eyes were watching them in the rear-view mirror. “That’s actually pretty sexy, Jules.” She closed her mouth with a snap, but her eyes twinkled.



“Vine, but it iv very hard to talk vith them,” she said. Someone in back smothered a laugh. Ree really wasn't sure whether it was Weylin or Melanie. When she glanced back, they both wore pained expressions as they tried to stay serious.



“Well, at least you can hide them if you need to. My eyes are glowing like a night-light back here.” Ree said.



“Vell, vhat’s true,” Juliette sighed.



“Not to break up the moment and all, but the red car is coming in for another hit,” Melanie's voice was tense. Sure enough, the little red Eclipse slammed into the bumper again, this time causing the SUV to fishtail. Bryce cursed loudly from the front seat. He spoke colorfully about the driver’s mother, grandmothers, and siblings before swerving into an empty parking lot.



“Whath the fhell are you doing, Brythce? We can'th get outh and check the car fhright now!” Paden hollered.



“Shut up!” Bryce roared. He darted behind the abandoned grocery store, into the dark alley. Everyone was muttering, but Bryce paid them no attention. Suddenly he jerked the car to the left and down a small path that had obviously been used for deliveries. The red Eclipse slowed some, because the little road was in such bad shape that the smaller vehicle literally couldn’t make it over some of the potholes. Ree let out a sigh as they pulled back onto a main road and put some distance between them and their crazy pursuers.



“Good thinking, man,” Paden said in apology. His tone was tense and distracted, but you could sense the genuine appreciation.



“I think we lost the Mercedes,” Melanie said. “But the Eclipse is catching up to us again.”



“Fhit,” Juliette cursed, looking back. As the Eclipse neared, the tension in the car escalated and everyone grew silent. Ree felt that power bubbling up inside of her, but she had no idea what to do with it all. Could she lean out the window like they did in the movies? Great, now she was getting ideas from bad movies. The burning was growing, her stomach squeezed in pain, and her head began to ache. She closed her eyes, and gently shook her head in an attempt to clear it. The others were talking amongst themselves, trying to come up with ideas.



“FhRee?” Jules said quietly. She laid a hand on Ree's arm, and some of the headache drifted away. She opened her eyes and looked at the hands folded in her lap. They were glowing again, and she had no control over it. She took a deep breath and met Jules frightened eyes. Paden turned around in his seat to see what was going on.



“I'm not sure what’s happening, but we really need to get to the dock soon.” Paden looked at her hands and his face shifted. Something in his eyes flashed from worried to dangerous. His gaze shifted to Bryce, and his tone was commanding. “When we get to the next stoplight, slow down and let me out. Take everyone else to the dock.”



“No, no, no. There is no way you are getting out of this car!” Bryce yelled frustrated.



“Listen, I think I can handle them. I need to do this,” Paden said his voice tight. “I can't let them get to Ree.”



Ree’s heart did a little leap in her chest when he spoke of her. He was trying to protect her at the cost of his own safety. She couldn't let him do that! Just as she was about to tell him hell no, Bryce answered for her.



Bryce turned onto Waters Avenue, the tires screeching, and hit the child-lock button on his door. “No one gets out right now. And no one is getting to Ree or anyone else.” As they drove down the busy road passing other streets, Ree could feel the power begin to leak from her fingertips. Almost like she could no longer hold it all bottled up. She concentrated on holding it inside and trying to stay calm. Juliette's hand on her arm was soothing, but it did nothing to stop the pain building in her head and chest. The heat in the pit of her soul was still growing, still trying to escape. She felt like there were things pushing on her every time they neared another car or passed a busy store. It was like walking through cobwebs that clung to you as you tried to brush them away. You couldn’t see them, but you could feel them sticking to your face and arms. Now that they were in the coastal neighborhood the feeling stayed, constantly pulling and weighing on her. Emotions warred inside of her head, varying from anger, to amusement, to fatigue, to elation. That by itself might push her over the edge of reason.

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